Clara hadn't expected Happy to go out for a simple bag of salt and come back with Iron Man.
Tony raised a hand and greeted her, deliberately trying to sound casual.
"Hey… I was actually in the middle of saving the people of New York City. Just happened to pass by and ran into Happy. He insisted on dragging me here."
Happy shot Tony a fierce glare.
That was not how the story had gone earlier.
Clara smiled faintly. "Since you were passing by anyway, why don't you stay for a simple meal? It'll take a little while longer, though. If you're bored, Mr. Stark, you can watch some TV first."
She treated Tony exactly like a guest.
Polite.
Courteous.
And distant.
That subtle distance made Tony feel… oddly uncomfortable.
Lunch turned out to be a complete surprise for both Tony and Happy.
Braised pork ribs.
Sweet-and-sour fish.
Stir-fried pork with green peppers.
A little girl's cooking made two grown men blush in shame.
After the meal, Clara came out of the kitchen carrying a thermal flask.
"This is chicken soup I made for Pepper," she said softly. "She's been troubled by my situation for so long. It's just a small token of my gratitude. Could you help me give it to her, Mr. Stark?"
"No problem!" Tony replied immediately.
His eyes, however, were fixed on the flask.
That dish definitely wasn't on the table just now.
—
After work, when Pepper returned to New York City, the first things she saw in the living room were a white thermal flask and Tony sitting there with one leg crossed over the other.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Love-filled chicken soup."
"You made it?" Pepper raised an eyebrow. "Or is it takeout?"
"Clara made it for you," Tony said smoothly. "I just happened to bring it back."
Pepper opened the lid.
A rich, mouthwatering aroma rushed out.
"It smells amazing… Wait—where's the soup?"
Under the light, she saw that the large thermal flask was now less than half full.
"Maybe Clara didn't make much to begin with—burp…"
Tony let out a very poorly timed, extremely satisfied belch.
"I think I ate too much lunch," Tony said quickly, clutching his slightly overstuffed stomach. "I should go downstairs and work it off."
And with that, he fled to the underground workshop.
Pepper shook her head helplessly at his retreating figure, amusement flickering in her eyes.
At least he had the decency to leave some.
—
March arrived in New York, bringing warmth and blossoms.
Cherry trees on Roosevelt Island quietly bloomed.
Central Park seemed to turn green overnight, vibrant and alive.
The golden leaves left over from the previous year were swept away, leaving only fresh color to adorn the great city.
Spring melted winter's ice—
But it could not melt a heart that had been frozen for seventy years.
Sitting on a park bench, watching people stroll by at ease, Steve Rogers felt a profound sense of displacement.
And truthfully, that feeling wasn't wrong at all.
Though Steve now appeared to be a man in his twenties—young, strong, and healthy—his heart still belonged to a World War II soldier, filled with old-fashioned ideals and unwavering patriotism.
It was as if his life had been brutally cut in half.
He had merely fallen asleep—
And when he woke up, everyone and everything he knew was gone.
Every night, Steve dreamed of the past.
Gunfire-filled battlefields.
The Howling Commandos.
Bucky.
Peggy.
Howard.
Even the Red Skull.
Sitting quietly, Steve felt detached from the world. The laughter and joy around him couldn't break into his memories.
Steve Rogers was born in Brooklyn, New York.
Ninety years ago, Brooklyn looked nothing like it did now. There were no towering skyscrapers—just rows of three- or four-story buildings lining the streets.
As a sickly child, Steve had been an easy target for bullies.
He still remembered the day two older boys cornered him in an alley and beat him down—until Bucky Barnes suddenly appeared and sent them running with just a few punches.
When Bucky reached out and pulled Steve to his feet, their bond as lifelong brothers was sealed.
In 1939, World War II broke out, and the shadow of fascism spread across the globe.
By early 1943, Bucky had enlisted and joined the 107th Infantry Regiment, eventually becoming a sergeant. Meanwhile, Steve—an art student who had chosen to enlist—was rejected again and again due to his frail body and chronic illnesses.
The day before the 107th was deployed to Britain, Bucky took Steve to the Stark Expo, hosted by Howard Stark.
There, Steve met Dr. Abraham Erskine, the man who would change his life.
On Erskine's recommendation, Steve passed his fifth enlistment attempt and was selected for a secret government project—the Super Soldier Program.
At boot camp, Steve met the love of his life: Peggy Carter.
Under Erskine's insistence, Steve became the first—and last—test subject of the Super Soldier Serum.
The experiment was a success.
Steve Rogers became the world's first Super Soldier.
But moments later, a Nazi spy assassinated Dr. Erskine, taking the secret formula with him to the grave.
As the only successful result, Steve was repackaged by the government as a propaganda icon—
Captain America.
Dressed in red, white, and blue, a bright star on his chest and a shield of the same colors in hand, Steve became a poster hero.
On November 3rd of that year, Steve traveled with a performance troupe to the front lines, only to learn that Bucky had gone missing during the Battle of Azzano.
With Peggy and Howard's help, Steve secretly launched a rescue mission.
In the POW camp, Steve discovered terrifying Nazi weapons powered by a mysterious artifact—the Tesseract, rumored to be a relic once held by Odin, the All-Father.
The Super Soldier Serum was not unique to Steve.
A Nazi leader named Johann Schmidt had also injected himself with the serum, becoming a monster who called himself the Red Skull.
The camp was set to self-destruct. Red Skull and Dr. Zola escaped ahead of time.
The four hundred rescued soldiers were reorganized by Steve into the Howling Commandos.
From that moment on, Steve was no longer just a poster hero.
He became a true soldier.
Steve Rogers achieved legendary military feats during World War II and came to symbolize the very spirit of America.
While attempting to capture Dr. Zola, Steve boarded a speeding train racing along a cliff—
And there, he lost the man closest to him.
His brother.
His best friend.
Bucky Barnes.
In early 1945, shortly before Germany's surrender, Steve piloted a plane loaded with devastating weapons to stop a Nazi super-rocket launch. He diverted the aircraft away from New York City and crashed it into an uninhabited frozen wasteland.
He still remembered the moment the Tesseract was activated.
The vast universe unfolded inside the tiny cockpit.
Red Skull, clutching the Tesseract, was annihilated by its overwhelming energy—vanishing without a trace.
The Tesseract burned through the plane's hull and fell into the ocean below.
The aircraft was moving too fast to control.
All Steve could do was guide it away from civilians—
And into the ice.
Lost in the chaos of that final crash, Steve suddenly sensed someone approaching.
The instincts of a World War II soldier kicked in.
He reached out—
And grabbed the intruder by the throat.
When he opened his eyes—
He saw a wide-eyed little girl, staring back at him in pure terror.
--------------
T/N:
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