hates with the thought away. he continues to survey his surroundings, noticing how quiet it is. as well as the wind, he can faintly hear birds somewhere though, and how does that work 每 are they deceased birds in some form of afterlife, or are they birds that only exist on this plane? god, he＊s actually going to pay attention to tony when he gets back, he swears it.

※so,§ short-steve says next to him, sounding curious. ※stabbed by a robot?§

steve lifts his arm in reply, showing the other man the bloody hole in his uniform. short-steve grimaces. ※looks nasty,§ he says. ※not as nasty as some of the rest, but not great.§

steve doesn＊t even want to think about that, the other endless ways in which versions of him have died. ※you said you＃§ he begins.

short-steve nods, and there＊s a sadness in his eyes that steve can spot a mile off, because he feels it too. ※day before bucky was due to ship out for england,§ he says ruefully. ※i was running my mouth in the theatre, got in a fight. went down, hit my head. didn＊t get up again.§

steve feels like he＊s been punched in the sternum. ※i remember that,§ he says weakly,ing to a standstill. ※the guy was talking through-§

※through the newsreels,§ short-steve finishes with a small smile.

※never happened,§ navy-steve shrugs, and short-steve just rolls his eyes.

※yeah, in your universe.§

steve presses a hand to his head for a moment, hurrying to get moving and catch up. ※so we＊ve got some crossover in terms of what happened?§ he says, and the other two both nod. navy-steve steps off the sidewalk and heads towards a tall apartment building that has railed steps leading up to the door. steve turns his attention to it and he sees a figure in one of the windows, hears voices and a short bark of laughter drifting down to them on the street below. he looks over the red brick of the building, the smooth grey stone of the steps.bined with the warmth of the sun and the blue sky above their heads, it all seems very strangely normal, which only really serves to make the whole situation seem that much more bizarre.

e on,§ navy-steve says, pushing the door open and gesturing for steve to follow. ※this is apartment six. there＊s seven of us live in here at the moment.§

※seven different steve rogers, all in one building,§ steve says under his breath, just to get his head around it. ※right. is there 每 is there only＃us?§

navy-steve nods. ※just us,§ he says, starting on the stairs, taking them two at a time. steve follows, glancing back at short-steve who follows at a slower pace, hand grasping the bannister for support. steve feels a strange flash of guilt as he turns away, wishing there was some way of making it easier for the smaller version of him, but what can he do? the only people that could help are long dead, and it＊s probably apletely moot point anyway seeing as short-steve is also dead. it＊s just strange knowing that in another life he wouldn＊t even have made it to project rebirth, let alone made it through the whole damn thing, and it doesn＊t seem fair that he-

navy-steve opens a door on the first floor landing, steps through and then steve promptly stops thinking, brain stuttering to a halt all over again.

the room is sparsely furnished, a largebined kitchen-living space with bare floorboards and plain walls. there＊s a television on in the corner, and one wall is almostpletely covered in drawings and sketches, stuck up with drawing pins. sat on a worn leather sofa is a steve rogers who looks exactly identical to steve,plete with his familiar coulson-design suit. next to him is another short-steve, wearing a white t-shirt and plain military khaki＊s. in the kitchen area is a steve rogers wearing a purple uniform, a steve rogers who can＊t be more than eight, and a woman.

steve stares at the obvious incongruence for a long moment, but then as he takes in her navy-blue uniform, almost the same as navy-steve＊s, her familiar features and her long blond hair tied back in a ponytail, the penny drops.

it＊s still him, just as a woman.

※jesus,§ he breathes, and the young-steve starts to laugh, ending with a hacking cough. the woman-version of steve just shakes her head. ※wee to the family,§ she says dryly.

※that＊s stephanie,§ short-steve says from just behind him, edging past him and walking over to the window. ※we think we＊re a woman in about point five percent of the multiverse?§

※something like that,§ purple-steve nods, leaning back against the counter and folding his arms across the gold star on his chest. ※we＊re purple in even less, apparently.§

standing in the doorway, steve wonders if he＊s an incredibly resilient and well-rounded individual, or if he＊s going into some sort of shock. as he looks at the seven different versions of himself, he thinks there＊s got to be some explanation as to why he can simply stand there and look without having aplete mental breakdown.

※i love it when i＊m a superhero,§ a voice suddenly says, and steve looks dazedly over at the young version of himself. he＊s wearing brown shorts that show his scuffed knees, and a worn blue and white striped t-shirt. he looks so painfully skinny that it makes a lump form in steve＊s throat. the young steve grins at him, and steve could cry at how happy and innocent the kid looks, even though he＊s dead. ※it＊s pretty keen.§

steve tries to swallow, can＊t. he＊s thinking about what it was like for him when he was eight, trying to tell himself that this kid is not him, he＊spletely different, from a whole different world. this kid never made it to adulthood, never became captain america, never met the rest of the team and the men and women who helped him be the person he is-

he turns on his heel and leaves the room. he walks along the landing on unsteady feet, reaching out blindly for the wall to steady himself. he plants his palm on the wall and then turns around so his shoulders are pressing into the plaster, and then slowly slides to the floor.

none of the other steve＊s follow him.