New Avenger (A Steve Rogers love story)

The Smithsonian

I followed Steve to the doors, excited to visit someplace new. Steve grabbed my shoulder and stopped me from going any further. "Keep your head down and try not to draw any attention to us." I nodded.

We were at the Smithsonian, the world's largest museum in DC with 19 museums and galleries. I had never been to it, although I really wanted to visit. It was amazing. We were in the Air and Space Museum building. Planes hung from the ceiling and were parked everywhere, old planes, new planes, rockets, helicopters, everything that could fly. The very first plane was there too. I looked at all of it, taking it in. It was truly amazing.

Steve wanted to visit one exhibit in the whole building. He wore a baseball cap and kept his head down as to not be noticed. I had a hooded jacket on, the hood off, and the outfit I had gotten from Emma at the infirmary.

We went straight toward the Captain America exhibit. As we walked in, a narrator spoke through the speakers.

"A symbol to the nation. A hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery and sacrifice."

Fury had told me everything he thought necessary about Captain America's past, so none of this was new to me.

We walked past a giant mural of Captain America saluting with an American flag behind him. Steve didn't look up, kept his eyes on the ground. Behind us, I watched as a little boy looked up at the mural and saluted to it. 

I looked around, curious what else was displayed in this exhibit.

The narrator continued. "Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of America."

Some pictures on a wall showed what Steve looked like before and after he had the serum. The change was insane.

A father held his son up to a changing picture, showing the height differences between pre and post serum Steve. The mother held her hand up, comparing the boy's height to Steve's old height, as it soon changed to the new Steve. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a little boy with a Captain America shirt on, his eyes wide and staring at me and Steve. He knew.

Steve looked at the boy and smiled softly, putting his finger to his lips. The boy nodded, understanding as amazement filled his eyes.

Steve led me through the exhibit and I continued to listen to the narrator.

"Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission: taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division."

When I heard the word HYDRA, I froze, unable to take another step. I had heard that word before, but where? Fury briefly spoke about it, but I'd heard of it before then too. I tried to remember, standing in the middle of the crowd. A hand touched my shoulder and I flinched, turning toward the person. It was Steve.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked me. I wasn't sure if I was okay, but I nodded anyway.

We continued through the exhibit. Steve stopped in front of seven mannequins, the one in the front wearing a replica of his old suit. Steve turned away and looked around. When he found what he was looking for, he walked toward it. It was a glass memorial, words etched into the glass and a picture of a man.

I tilted my head as I walked closer to the picture. On the memorial was the man's name. Bucky Barnes. I recognized the man and his name, but how?

I turned around and stood by Steve.

"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country."

Fury didn't tell me anything about Bucky. Maybe it was a sore subject?

Steve looked at the picture of Bucky. I didn't have to ask, but I knew Steve missed his old friend. I watched a video with Bucky and Steve smiling together, not a care in the world. Looking at Steve now saddened me. 

I put my hand on Steve's shoulder. He looked at my hand, then at me. I gave him a sad smile, and he returned it, his hand on mine.

"That was a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line." Agent Peggy Carter spoke in a video.

Steve brought me to a tiny theater and I watched the video.

"Steve, Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down for months." Peggy tried to hide it from the camera, but I caught it. Tears were trying to form in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them. "He saved over 1,000 men. Including the man who would...Who would become my husband, as it turned  out." She seemed to say the last bit with sadness.

I looked at Steve and noticed he was looking down at something in his hands. It was an old compass. As I looked closer, I noticed a picture inside. A picture of Peggy Carter. I gasped in my mind as something clicked. Peggy and Steve had loved each other, but because Steve had been frozen and thought dead, they never got what they wanted. They didn't get to be together.

"Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life."