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captainrogers-thepatriot · 9 months ago

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The funeral of Peggy Carter

Summary: Steve is called up on to play a part in Peggy's funeral. He gets the chance to meet and get to know her family. He also learns more about the life she lived. Steve gets to interact with Peggy's husband for the first time. As he talks to her family, Steve learns some information about his future.

When the day came, Steve got into his best black suit and somberly went to the church.

Sharon had told Steve that Peggy specified in her Will that she wanted Steve to be one of the pallbearers at her funeral. She said that Peggy had always had a special place in her heart for him and that he had always meant alot to her. Steve saw this as honor and accepted.

He wanted to be strong at this wedding and keep a brave face, that was his goal. Yet losing Peggy felt like a hurt he had never known before. He loved her and invisioned a life that could have been with her. Through the years just having her to talk to, made him so happy. It made him feel like home, like in those few moments he was back in his own time. Now she was gone for good. He hoped he could keep it together.

As he entered the church, he looked for someone to give him direction on what to do and where to be. He was told that Peggy's husband, Grant would help him.

As he waited he spotted an elderly man comforting a teenage boy. Steve recognized the two from one of the photos on Peggy's night stand in the hospital. The boy was her youngest son (he was adopted) and the elderly man was her husband.

The teen had blonde hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in a black suit. The old man was dressed in similar suit. He had white hair that seemed thinning and blue eyes. He had wrinkles across his face.

The old man and the boy sat in a pew. The father hugged the boy as he cried.

“I will never get to see her again.” The teen cried out. “What am I going to do without her? Me and her did everything together and now…she was always there when I needed her. Now she's going to miss everything.”

“She will still be with us and watch over you. She will watch everything from above. she will see your accomplishments. She will-”

“I want her here!” The boy yelled.

Steve watched the interaction. He felt bad for the boy. He knew how he felt. He was about his age when he lost his mother. He knew how defeating it felt, how hopeless.

Steve walked over to the two. The boy looked at him with surprise and stared. Steve figured that not many people he would be attending and he figured it was surprising to see an Avenger in person. Sometimes people got tongue tied or starstruck when people saw him and others out in public. They were public figures ever since the Battle of New York.

“Hey I over heard the conversation. Your Peggy's son.”

The teen nodded.

“I knew Peggy really well. She was one of closest friends back in the war.” Steve told him. “If I had to guess she would want you to focus so much on her death. Focus on how she lived and the time you got to spend with her.”

“He is completely right.” The old man, Grant, said. “She lived an extraordinary life and she was so happy with how it turned out. She lived her life and she wouldn't want you to stop living your life to it's fullest.”

The boy nodded and hugged his father.

“I know you guys are right.” He sniffled.

Suddenly Steve felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Tony Stark.

“Im not here to fight or arguing about the accords. Im here to pay my respects.” Tony spoke.

“Why?” Steve asked, looking at Tony confused. “You knew her?”

“Of course I knew her.” Tony answered. “Her and my dad worked together to create shield. Honestly, aside from our butler, she was his only real friend. Peggy was like a second mother to me growing up.”

“How come you never told me?” Steve asked.

Tony shrugged.

“I guess it never came up.” Tony told him.

Tony looked off to the picture that was placed by the stage, one from her military days.

“Aunt Peggy was an amazing person." Tony began to tell Steve. "When I was a teen I got myself into a lot trouble drink. My parents had no idea what to do. Aunt Peggy come over and she just sat with me and let me out everything I was feeling. All the hate and anger I had toward my dad at the time, all the pressure I felt. Then she told me: ‘Don't let his mistakes, create yours. Don't give him the power to define who you are. You get to choose who want to be in this world, so do it.’ I never forgot that.”

“That really great. I'm glad she helped you.” Steve answered.

“Me too. I don't know where I would have gone with my life if she didn't help me get back on track.”

“Did you know her family? Her kids? Her husband?” Steve asked.

“Yeah. Her family and mine used go on vacations together. Her daughters were like sisters to me. Didn't really know the youngest too well. Anyways, I tried to date her oldest daughter back in when we were teens. She wouldn't give me the time of day.”

Steve chuckled.

“I'm not surprised by that.” Steve replied.

“She told me I was a narcissist ass whole."

"...She wasn't wrong.” Steve said with a chuckle.

Tony was surprised by this response but smirked. Then then laughed.

"Wow you know when Captain American calls you an ass, your doing something

"I didn't mean it like that, I just joking. I have always thought of you as a good man, Tony. I was wrong about you when we first meet. You are the type of man to lay down your life for others and make the hard call. That's what your trying to do with the accords. I respect that and that your trying to do what you think is right."

"but you still think your way is best?"

Steve nodded.

"What was her husband, Grant, like?" Steve asked.

"He was a great guy. She seemed really happy with him. He was a stay at home dad, before it was a thing. He was a painter and Aunt Peggy was the director of shield. She worked a lot and traveled, but it made her happy. She always wanted to keep saving the world. She seemed relieved to know the kids had him when she was traveling. She felt she could travel for missions and presue her career because she knew he would support her through it all and be there waiting."

"Thats really wonderful for her." Steve spoke. "I'm glad she has such a supportive man. That's what she needed. Someone who wouldn't stand in her way, but instead support her."

****

Later, Steve saw the same elderly man, peggy's husband again. He was crying silently in a pew away from everyone else. Steve approached him, then sat next to the man. Steve watched as the old man held a small picture of Peggy to his heart. His eyes were closed and he bowed his head before the cross on the stage. He prayed as tears streamed down his face.

When he was done he opened his eyes and noticed Steve sitting next to him. He was silent for a moment, he almost seemed embarrassed to be caught in such an act.

“You must be Grant, Peggy's husband.” Steve began.

“Yes I am, and your Steve Rogers. It's an honor to meet you.” the elderly man spoke putting out his hand.

Steve shook the old man's hand.

“I'm sorry for your loss. She was an amazing woman.” Steve spoke.

“She really was.”Grant answered. “She wasnt like anyone else. She was a truly special woman. I know you saw it in her too.”

Steve nodded.

“The first day of training camp,” Steve began. “she knocked out a grown man who was twice her size in one punch.”

He chuckled.

“I believe it.” Grant remarked.

“Everyone quickly learned to stay in there place and not to mess with her.” Steve continued. “She was smart and strong. The one thing I will never forget is that she believed in me when no one else did. When the army just wanted to make me a dancing monkey for their USO shows, she encouraged me to take matters into my own hands and take a risk to save my friend.”

“I'm glad she was able to do that for you. Sounds like she was a good friend to you.”

Steve nodded.

“Peggy never stopped helping people.” Grant spoke. “She created shield to protect our world. She went on countless missions and even trained some top agents. Even in her older years she was working with shield. She didn't stop until they literally forced her to retire at 80.”

“What was your life with her like?”

He had to ask. Part of him felt like it would be rude not to. Also part of him felt by asking he could feel comfort in knowing she had a good life. That him being in the future at least worked out for her.

The old man smiled.

“It was beautiful.” Grant answered. “The love between us never died or lessened. I loved her so much and she loved me just as much. Anytime she would look at me with love and adoring. She worked a lot. She wanted to do as much as she could with the time she had. When we would get to spend time together it was great. We went on trip around the world and we had parties with our friends. We had three beautiful kids. One works for shield, oh she is just like her mother in so many ways. Headstrong, kind, beautiful and a fighter. The other is a school teacher. She is so kind and loving. She is the most generous and patient person I have ever met. then there is Jay. He's the youngest. He's such a a sweet boy. Idolizes Peggy like crazy. He used to sit and listen to all peggy’s war stories with such excitement. The two of them loved to watch spy movies together. They got so happy anytime a new Janes Bond movie came out. I feel so bad for him, he's only 16 and already losing his mother.”

Steve felt both happy and saddened. Happy that Peggy had such a wonderful life, but saddened that it was him she had this life with.

“That really does sound like a beautiful life.” Steve answered.

“She talked about you a lot. She admired you so much and the time you two spent together in the war. You were her hero.” Grant told him.

“And she was mine.” Steve answered. “I wish I would have had more time with her.”

“Sometimes life is funny.” Grant spoke. “Sometimes things happen the way they were meant to.”

As the old man got up to leave, a compass fell out of his pocket. Steve picked it up to return it to him. Yet as he looked at it, it seemed very familiar. It was black and the metal on it was slightly rusted. When he opened it, his heart nearly stopped. the compass had a picture of Peggy inside the lid. The same picture he had in his compass, the one that was always with him.

“Holy shit…” Steve uttered.

What did this mean? Why did he have this? He had to know.

“Grant!” Steve called out as he approached the man.

The old man looked to him as he turned around.

“Why do you have this? This is mine… but it fell out of your pocket.” Steve spoke holding out the compass.

Grant was visably nervous and snatched the compass out of Steve's hand.

“Oh no this is mine. I guess similar minds think alike.” Grant said with a chuckle.

“It's the exact model compass, and it's rusted in the same places as mine.” Steve pointed out. “plus it's the same picture I have. You cant seriously be trying to tell me it's a coincidence?”

Grant was silent. He was trying think of something to say that make sense of all this.

“Maybe it's not. You wouldn't believe the truth, if I told you.”

“Trust me, I have seen a lot of weird things in my time. I faught aliens, a robot and a red faced Nazi. I'm pretty sure what ever is going on here can't be that stranger.”

“Trust me, it can.” Grant remarked.

Grant thought for a moment and thought of his past and how it intertwined with Peggys. He thought about Steve's life so far and what it could become.

“Steve your going to have a great life ahead of you, I can guarantee you that.”Grant told him. “There are somethings your not meant to know right now.”

“What are you talking about? What's going on!? What's the big secret!?” Steve shouted in frustration, forgetting where he was for a moment.

He was meet with many stares. Then whispers among the crowd. One of Grant’s daughters, Amy,rushed over to him. She hugged him and asked if he was okay.

“I'm sorry.” Steve said, looking to the old man with compassion and guilt. “I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I just…I should go. i'm sorry.”

As Steve began to leave, he heard the daughter speak.

“He's you.” Amy said.

Grant grasped his daughters hand tight and shook his head.

“This is stupid, he deserves to know.” Amy argued.

“I told you not to say anything.” Grant told his daughter. “Who knows how this can effect his future? Knowing too much might change things. We talked about this before the funeral.”

“What do you mean he's me?” Steve asked.

“Years from now the ability to time travel with be invented.” Amy explained. “You go back in time to 1953 and you reconnect with my mom. You decided to stay with her, in her time. That's when you and her decided that nobody, in that time, could know who you really were. If they did it would effect the time stream and the flow of future events. Captain America wasn't meant to show up again until he was found in the ice decades later. So you became Grant Rogers.”

“No, thats impossible.” Steve remarked. “Time travel isn't real. It's something you see in movies, but it's not possible. …being with Peggy. It's too good to be true.”

“It’s true, Steve.”Grant spoke up. “It's all true. You get to be happy. After all the wars and all the pain, you get the life you always wanted. You find peace with the woman of your dreams.”

Amy went into her purse and pulled out a small photo album. Amy handed it to Steve.

The first picture was of Steve in hospital room holding a baby in his arms. The look on Steve gave was a mix of joy and disbelief. He looked at the kid with wonderment and awe.

The next photo was the four of them: Steve, Peggy, Sarah and Amy. All in a living room. Peggy was holding Amy on her lap and Steve had a toddler with short brown hair in his arms. Amy was older in the photo she was at least 10 years old. She made a silly face in the photo and Steve looked like he was trying so hard to not laugh. The child in his arms was hugging his neck, as she stood on his lap.

He couldn't believe his eyes. How was this real?

“You changed your look a bit over the years, so you weren't recognizable.” Amy explained. “As you can see you had black hair and glasses when I was really little. When the 60s came around it was medium blonde hair and a beard. You really fit in to the hippie look.”

He pointed to a picture with the two girls at Steve's side, standing in front of the Disney castle. Howard Stark stood next to him, with his wife Maria. Peggy was taking the photo, Steve presumed. He pointed to Howard in the picture.

“Did he know who I really was?” Steve asked Amy.

“Yes he did.” Grant answered. “He was one of Peggy’s closest friends and she didn't want to lie to him. The only ones who knew you were Steve Rogers were Howard Stark and Peggy’s best friend Jarvis. They were the two people she trusted more than anyone. Peggy and I tried to keep the secret from the kids. That didn't last very long. Amy started develop powers at young age, so we had to tell her the truth about who I was. Tony and Sharon didn't know Grant was you either, by the way.”

Steve was speechless. he didn't know how to respond. He was going to get the life he had always dreamed of, the life he thought he lost a chance at. He was going to see Peggy again, alive and he was going to build a life with her.

He went over to Amy and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back.

“Thank you. You have given me something I really needed right now: hope.” Steve told her.

#peggy carter #captain america #steve rogers #marvel #mcu #old man steve #steggy #tony stark #captain america civil war

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