Chapter 20

Bruce's POV

Time Skip... The Next Day... Steve's Funeral...

    All of us found an abandoned church that's somewhat old but surprisingly didn't get destroyed entirely in the battle, therefore it's the venue for Steve's funeral. Most of us aren't super religious but still find it proper to have funerals in churches. We're a weird group of people and beings. None of us want to be here though. None of us wanted to lose anyone, especially not a person like Steve, one of the two people that were the glue to hold us together. Everyone has always known Tony and Steve to be the leaders of the Avengers even though they weren't officially declared so. 

   All of us take turns speaking, some of our speeches are longer than others depending on how well each person/being knew Steve. Nat and Tony's are going to be the longest for sure because they were the closest to Steve. Tony and Nat both call me up when they speak because they can't handle standing in front of everyone alone. I comfort both of them while they give heartbreaking but beautiful speeches that truly conveyed how wonderful Steve was. I'm honored to be able to stand beside them like this. Everyone on the team means a lot to me but these two are my heart and soul. I wouldn't survive without them. Nat is the love of my life and Tony is my best friend and brother. 

   After the funeral ends, we all get into several cars, which surprisingly weren't destroyed in battle, and go to the burial site to give Steve a proper burial. When we get to the cemetery which is outside of city limits, there's a huge crowd already there as it is. We got so caught up in Steve's death that we forgot that so many people lost loved ones in the battle, here in the NYC area and beyond. It's beyond sad. So many innocent people lost their lives at the hands of Thanos and the Black Order. So many lives taken that can't be taken back. It's a constant living nightmare that's never going to end for most of us. 

  We all gather round Steve's body, stand through a couple of sermons, and watch Steve's body go six feet under the ground in a patriotic casket designed just for men like him, true heroes. Steve saved us all. Thanos could have killed us all if it weren't for him being brave enough to take on Thanos himself. We all place flowers and various tokens onto his casket. Steve deserves to be buried with nice things from us to remind him that he truly was loved and cherished by us all. 

  We linger for a little while longer before heading back into the cars we rode in and ride to headquarters, meeting Nick Fury to have guidance as to where we should go from here. All of us are well trained heroes but have no clue as to what the next step should be. 

A little while later...

 We get to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters to find Fury already standing outside with Maria Hill, both of whom have grim expressions on their face and hug us all surprisingly. I guess even Fury has a heart after all. We follow them both into the main board room and take our seats, letting Fury take the lead. 

   Fury stands before us with the grim expression back on his face once again. "Thank you all for being here, I truly appreciate it. I know that things have been tough lately, especially today. Hell you all just through a funeral and burial of someone who was not only dear to you but a huge part of this organization. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm also sorry for all of the losses that happened in this battle, well to the innocent people anyways."

   He takes a deep breath and continues speaking. "Now you're probably wondering what the next step is, where do we go from here. Well my honest answer is I have no idea. This is the first time in my life that I've never been sure about where to go from here. I guess what I'll say is this, you all deserve some time off. The world needs to recover from this attack. You all have time off until the next serious danger arises. Take care of yourselves, the Earth won't truly be safe if Earth's mightiest heroes can't fight for what's right." 

    I look at Fury for a moment sincerely before volunteering to speak for all of us since I don't speak in meetings too often. "Fury, I think I speak for everyone here when I say thank you. You're being very considerate and understanding, more so than usual. I know most of us have had rough patches with you, but you're a good leader and strong man. I respect you, we respect you. Thank you for giving us some time to regroup ourselves. Hopefully no more destruction will occur in our world while we go through this rebuilding process." He nods and waves us out of the room, but not before telling us that there are rooms here for all of us to live in for the time being. 

    Nat and I get to share a room with Tony right next door to us. I'm so glad to be close to the both of them, we're going to need each other a lot right now, though we've always leaned on each other for support. 

Hoped that you guys liked this chapter! :) -Mary