Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

Steve Rogers wore the expression of a man who had somehow wandered into the wrong conversation and was now paying the price.

He’d been bothered when he’d first learned Peggy had married someone else. Even then, he hadn’t made nearly as much of a fuss as Dottie was making now.

What on earth is wrong with this woman?

And apparently, he’d just acquired another thing to feel conflicted about.

After a while, Dottie finally managed to calm herself down.

"That cripple..." She stopped herself. "I mean, your husband. He’s dead?"

Dottie was still unhappy about the revelation, but she wasn’t about to hold a grudge against a dead man. Even her choice of words had softened.

"We were married for three years," Peggy said quietly. "Then he died during a mission. He was killed in the line of duty."

That changed the mood immediately.

There wasn’t much anyone could say to that.

Whatever else could be said about Peggy’s late husband, he’d been an extraordinary man.

He had lost a leg and still chosen to serve on the front lines protecting his country. He’d continued working despite the doubts, the stares, and the people who assumed a disabled man couldn’t possibly handle the work of an agent.

He had eventually given his life doing it.

Of course, there would always be people cynical enough to dismiss someone like him. They’d call him reckless, accuse him of seeking attention, or insist the entire story had been fabricated.

How could a cripple possibly have served as an agent?

People like that considered themselves clever because they always knew how to protect themselves. They were smart enough to avoid danger, smart enough to put their own survival first, and smart enough to assume everyone else must think the same way.

They couldn’t understand sacrifice because they had never believed in anything worth sacrificing for.

The world didn’t need people who were merely clever enough to look after themselves.

It needed people with wisdom.

People with conviction.

Not people who mistook selfishness for intelligence.

"This isn’t something you need to worry about."

Peggy shrugged, surprisingly calm.

"We were both agents. We understood the risks. We knew something like this could happen."

"Did you have any children?"

Dottie asked.

"No."

Peggy’s hand drifted unconsciously to her abdomen.

Her smile was bitter.

"You should know this, Dottie. During one of my missions, I was impaled by a piece of rebar. I... can’t have children anymore."

"Whitney."

Dottie’s voice dropped into something vicious.

"So she really did that."

Her eyes hardened.

"Letting that woman die of old age in an asylum was far too merciful."

The anger in her expression was unmistakable, but there was something else there now, too.

Pity.

Perhaps it was because they had more in common than either of them liked to admit.

Dottie Underwood had also devoted her life to serving her country. She had been one of the earliest products of the Black Widow program, and that life had come with its own permanent sacrifices.

She had lost the ability to have children as well.

Even Evenson couldn’t help feeling sorry for Peggy.

Her first fiancé had died before they could marry, sacrificing himself on the battlefield.

Then she’d finally admitted her feelings for Steve, only for him to vanish beneath the ice for more than sixty years.

Eventually, she’d found someone else, married him, and managed to build a life together.

Three years later, that husband had died on a mission.

Evenson slowly glanced toward Steve.

The man had to have one hell of a survival instinct.

Actually...

The timeline was almost unsettling.

Steve had confessed his feelings to Peggy, they had finally become a couple, and then he immediately disappeared beneath the ice for sixty years.

Peggy’s first fiancé had died in the war.

Her second husband had died in the line of duty.

And Steve had technically died too, only to come back decades later.

Maybe it was a miracle Steve was still alive.

Or maybe the universe simply hadn’t figured out how to kill him yet.

Evenson edged closer to Steve and lowered his voice.

"Captain, if you somehow make it through today, come by my shop afterward. I’ll give you a lucky charm."

Steve blinked.

"Don’t worry. It’s free."

Evenson rarely gave anything away, but this seemed like a special case.

"Honestly, charging you would feel cruel. And, uh... I can’t guarantee the charm will actually work."

"What are you two whispering about?"

Peggy had already recovered from the memories. Whatever had happened had been decades ago, and she’d long since learned how to live with it.

Then she noticed Evenson whispering to Steve.

Her eyes narrowed.

"It looked like you were saying something rather ominous."

"Nothing."

Evenson straightened immediately.

His eyes darted around the room as he searched for an excuse.

Then inspiration struck.

"I was just telling Steve that when I transformed you, I also healed all your old injuries."

Peggy blinked.

"So, as long as you two are physically capable of raising them, you can have as many children as you want."

Steve’s expression transformed instantly.

The man who had been mourning Peggy’s tragic past a moment ago suddenly looked delighted.

"Exactly!"

He nodded vigorously.

"That is precisely what he said."

Peggy’s face lit up.

For one brief moment, pure happiness erased everything else.

She could be a mother again.

Then the happiness vanished.

Her expression fell.

"But what does it matter now?"

She looked at Steve.

"He... still minds my past."

"I don’t mind your past!"

Steve suddenly raised his voice.

Peggy stared at him.

"I don’t mind that marriage."

Steve’s expression was intense now, almost desperate.

"When I first found out, yes, I took it badly. For a moment, I was angry. But I’ve already told you, Peggy. You didn’t do anything wrong."

His voice softened.

"I was dead."

He swallowed.

"I know you mourned me. I know you missed me. But I never wanted you to spend the rest of your life trapped in grief over a man everyone believed was gone."

Peggy’s eyes began to glisten.

"So that isn’t what bothers me."

Steve’s own eyes reddened.

"The thing that bothers me, the thing that’s been eating at me this whole time, is your guilt."

Peggy froze.

"You sometimes talk to me like you’ve done something unforgivable. Sometimes you look at me like you’re waiting for me to condemn you."

Steve slowly walked toward her.

"You didn’t betray me, Peggy. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve told you that again and again."

His voice cracked slightly.

"I just couldn’t stand watching you carry that guilt anymore."

He stopped in front of her.

"So I thought... maybe if I did something wrong too, you’d feel like we’d both made mistakes. Then we’d be even. Maybe you could finally stop feeling guilty, and we could just live our lives normally."

His expression twisted.

"But I didn’t expect..."

He couldn’t even finish the sentence.

Because somehow, in the universe’s infinite supply of terrible coincidences, the woman he’d chosen for that particular mistake had turned out to be Peggy’s niece.

Steve had wanted to make one bad decision.

He had not intended to commit suicide by family tree.

"Don’t."

Peggy’s voice trembled.

"Don’t say anything else, Steve."

She crossed the distance between them and threw her arms around him.

Steve caught her.

For once, neither of them had anything left to say.

Evenson watched them embrace.

He quietly accepted the emotional damage of witnessing someone else’s happiness.

Yeah. Getting crushed by this much romance is probably worth it.

Then the front door of the Carter residence suddenly swung open.

A woman strode inside without hesitation.

Sharon Carter, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 13.

Steve’s latest mistake had just walked into the room.

Given that she was a trained agent, nobody should have expected an ordinary lock and an ordinary door to keep her out.

"Uncle Peggy."

Sharon took one look at the room.

She ignored the awkward atmosphere completely.

Then she stared directly at Peggy.

"I strongly oppose you being with Captain America."

Crack.

Evenson heard something that sounded suspiciously like a bone giving up on life.

He looked at Peggy’s arms.

A moment ago, they had been wrapped lovingly around Steve.

Now they were tightening around his ribs with enough force to make the super-soldier visibly struggle for air.

Evenson stared at Steve.

Then at Peggy.

Then back at Steve.

"Captain..."

He couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry.

"There has to be something seriously wrong with your family’s feng shui."

He immediately reconsidered the choice of words.

"Actually, forget that. Go find a specialist."

Evenson gave Steve a sympathetic look.

"Just don’t come to me. Whatever this is, even I can’t fix it."