in the shadows ? steve rogers

chapter sixty-seven
the first three months

month one.

𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍 the bed, her arm landing on the mattress. She lifted her head briefly and noticed the empty space beside her. Sighing quietly, she slumped back against the bed and stared at the ceiling.

It had been exactly one month since Thanos' snap caused half of the universe to disappear and precisely eight days since Thor had cut off Thanos' head, preventing any way of bringing their loved ones back.

Adelaide was still trying her best to help Pietro process that his sister had disappeared with half of the universe while also reeling with watching Sam disintegrate in front of her. They were currently staying in Adelaide's bedroom at Grace's apartment, and the brunette agreed that after everything that had happened, they could stay as long as they wanted.

As for Grace and Steve...

"Did I wake you?"

She looked over at the voice, seeing Steve standing in the doorway of her bedroom in a pair of sweatpants and a tight shirt covering his muscles. His blonde hair was shorter than when he had returned to help fight Thanos, but still longer than usual.

"I was trying to slip out quietly."

Grace shook her head, sitting up in the bed. "No," she replied quietly, bringing her legs up to her chest before looking up at him. "I don't think anyone's slept well lately. Did you go out running again?" He nodded wordlessly. "You've been going out running every day lately. Something on your mind?"

"There's a lot on my mind, but I can't do anything about it," he said and she pressed her lips together, adjusting the cover on the bed, patting the empty space beside her. He slowly joined her. "Half of the universe is gone and we're just... expected to move on?"

"Not move on, per se," she told him, shuffling closer to him. "We just... have to learn how to live with what happened, as hard as that sounds. Find ways to honor the ones we love, aside from a monument that lists everyone's names. There are billions of people in the world feeling the same way as us right now."

Steve turned his head to look at the woman next to him. Her chocolate brown hair was pulled into a loose ponytail that fell over her shoulder. Her hazel eyes were tinted red from the month-long lack of sleep and the dark bags under her eyes were evidence of that. She was playing with the ends of his sweatshirt that she was wearing.

He watched her slip out of the bed to adjust the blinds on the windows, moving slightly from the soft breeze coming from the early morning weather. She paused momentarily, taking in the scenery outside of the window.

"Marry me."

Grace looked back at him, her brows furrowed in confusion. "What?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.