the best of the vanished marvels have gathered inside your door.

For about ten minutes after Steve first rises, everything is normal. He gets out of bed, gets dressed, and heads out for his morning run. When he hits the streets, the realization that all is not well sinks in quickly enough. Even at dawn, the streets of Darrow are never so quiet. It reminds him of when he first arrived in the city, when it was still deserted. And as soon as he makes that connection, it's like he already knows. He spends the next hour hoping that he's wrong. He visits the boardwalk, which even at this early hour would attract a few joggers, but there is no one in sight. No traffic in the streets. The lights are on at the 24-hour gym, but there is no one at the front desk to stop him from going inside without a membership, and the rest of the building is empty as well. He checks one establishment after another, cutting between alleys where trucks would be making their morning deliveries, eventually grows desperate and begins to knock down the doors of private homes. Then he runs, fast as he can, back to Ocean View.

He nearly breaks her door down, but Lucy answers. He stays long enough to reassure himself that she is real, that he hasn't lost her, and to explain as best he can what is happening. Then he has to pull himself away; there are other people to check on. On the way back to his apartment, he starts calling friends. He doesn't care who he wakes up, there are voices that he needs to hear. Finally, he sends a group message — Bruce, Natasha, Sam, and Tony all get a wake-up call to action. He sits on his couch and waits for them to arrive, and hopes that this meeting will go better than the last.

sweet dreams till sunbeams find you.

For as long as he can remember, Steve has never been one for sleeping in. And even if he had been, before, joining the army would have rid him of the habit rather swiftly. Lately, however, the temptation to stay in bed is getting greater. It has nothing to do with getting more sleep, and everything to do with Lucy. It seems a shame, anyway, to spend so much of his time with her unconscious. And although he should be getting up, getting dressed, and getting on with his morning routine, he finds it impossible to make himself move, like the signals from his brain are being intercepted by a more powerful desire.

Five more minutes, he tells himself, as he lie on his side, unable to stop staring. They are close enough that he can feel the warmth of her breath on his face. She looks so serene, he's almost afraid that if he did get up now, he'd only disturb her sleep. And he can think of worse ways to spend a morning than confined to his bed with his utterly breathtaking girlfriend. So those five minutes pass, and still he stays.