Author's Note: Guys. Holy crap. We made it to the final chapter of Bohemia. I'm actually in tears as I'm posting this, because I never thought that I was going to get to this ending. I'm mostly leaving this author's note blank, because there's going to be a fairly long one at the end of the chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to get this and the other stories up, but I wanted to make sure that they were absolutely perfect and ready to go, because I needed them to be good.

As always, I take no claim to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Steve Rogers and the associated characters of the show. I only own my original characters and plotlines, especially Mack Donahue, who I am so beyond proud of right now, because I actually got through a full story with her as a character.

It by far won't be the last though, and I can confirm even now that Idiosyncrasy won't be the last part of this story and misadventure. I hope you'll all stick with me through Bohemia's conclusion and the rest of the universe and adventures I have planned for her and Steve. Once again, thank you so much for reading, and please leave a final review when you're done, just to celebrate the fact that I somehow got this thing finished. XD

Bohemia
In her three years at SHIELD, Mackenzie Donahue has run into some strange things. Weird hammers, egocentric billionaires, and of course her archer SO. Somehow, a gentleman soldier out of his time turns out to be the best of it all. Steve/OC

Chapter 50 – Where You Belong

May 15, 2011

"I think we're all packed!"

Steve glanced up as Mack came into the bedroom, dropping another box onto the ground as she scowled, noticing a few other things on the ground. "Or not," she grumbled, scowling darkly as she looked around, shaking her head. There were still various knickknacks and knives around the bedroom, and Steve knew it would be awhile until they were sure they were packed.

Steve chuckled, blue eyes sparking as he stood up. "We're not leaving for a few days," Steve pointed out, chuckling as he moved over, wrapping his arms around Mack's waist from behind.

"I know. But still," Mack protested, scowling as she looked around again. The last day or so had been spent trying to get their stuff together. They had managed to figure out what they would need for their road trip, and everything else would be going down into storage until they were ready to move into the apartment down in DC. It was just a matter of getting everything together.

"We'll get it done," Steve promised, kissing her cheek gently, not worried. "You just need to relax a bit."

"You're telling me to relax?" she asked, raising an eyebrow up at him.

Steve rolled his eyes, merely kissing her, almost hesitantly. They had been a lot more physically comfortable after the Battle of New York. There was something about fighting for your life besides each other than really opened the floodgates of comfort. It was something that they could both use, and Steve wasn't going to lie and say that Mack wasn't a fantastic kisser.

He was sure that his own kissing left much to be desired, but he was getting plenty of practice with her.

"I wanted to mention something to you," she said, raising a hand for a second before going over to her bedside table. She patted Arizona's head as she passed the dog, who had made his nest on Steve's side of the bed as always. "Breakfast is out there, I'll be there in a minute."

Steve chuckled, nodding and snapping his fingers to get Arizona's attention. The dog's tail wagged happily as he followed Steve, gently nudging his leg. Steve rolled his eyes as he glanced down at the dog, going to get his breakfast out as well.

Arizona whined impatiently, nudging Steve's leg and barking. "Relax, bud, I'm getting your food," Steve laughed, shaking his head as he managed to get a decent amount onto a plate, setting down next to Arizona's water dish before watching the dog practically inhale his breakfast.

"Tell you what, Arizona, I'll take you for a walk this morning," Steve promised, kneeling down and chuckling as Arizona licked his face happily, giving him a face full of doggy breath. "Oh, you like that, do you?" he asked, chuckling and rubbing the dog's back again. He was a good dog, and Steve was glad that he had actually ended up liking him.

He glanced up at Mack as she came back in. "So, take a look at this," she said, sitting down next to Steve at the breakfast island, pulling her hand through her hair as she pushed a pamphlet into Steve's hand.

Steve raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the pamphlet, frowning as he read over it. Interest entered his eyes as he looked back at Mack, a grin crossing his face. "Swing dancing?" Steve repeated, raising an eyebrow as he stared down at the pamphlet in his hand.

"It's a night club out in Queens," Mack explained as she made her way to the breakfast island. She pushed a cup of black coffee over to Steve as she nursed her own mug of French vanilla. "They have dances every month, and this month's feature? 40s dancing. It's kind of a mix, of both modern and swing, and I think it would be fun for us. A last date before we left New York. It's not for a few days, so we have time to decide…"

Ah. That explained when Mack was so dead set on convincing him to go. For a few moments, he was a bit surprised at the fact that she had gone to this much trouble to figure out something that he would enjoy like this.

Steve raised an eyebrow as he looked over at her. "And you want to go?" he repeated. He couldn't tell if he had misheard her or not. "You want to go dancing?"

Mack shrugged lightly. "I think it's something you would like to do," she explained, sipping her coffee. She pulled a piece of bacon off of Steve's plate, passing it to a waiting Arizona, who immediately scurried away, most likely to go and sleep on Steve's side of the bed as he usually did. "And if you'd like it, I'd be willing to try it out."

Steve thought for a few moments before chuckling. "It sounds like fun, actually," he admitted, nodding once before looking back over at her. "I'm not going to promise that I'm actually any good at dancing though. I'm probably going to step all over your toes."

"You're better than me, trust me." Mack rolled her eyes, sipping her coffee again. She rolled her eyes. "Here I am, pulling off some super complicated martial arts move… and I'm a failure at dancing. You should have seen me at senior prom. Grinding does not count."

Steve rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he leaned in, kissing her. "I'm sure you're not that bad," he murmured, shaking his head as he smirked at her.

"I can't wait to surprise you then," she replied, smiling against the kiss.

She already had, in a thousand ways, but there was no way that he could begin to explain that to her.

May 16, 2011

"A cross country road trip?"

Even less than two weeks after the Battle of New York, Central Park had gotten back to its normal liveliness. Her phone to her ear, Mack shrugged lightly as she glanced down at the small notebook in her lap, a list of things that still needed to be done in front of her. "We both want to get out of New York, and Fury offered me a transfer to the Triskelion."

It was stretching the truth, probably a bit much. Peggy Carter, at least, deserved the truth about the fact that Mack didn't have much of a choice in her transfer. She was to report to the Triskelion sooner rather than later, and Steve was choosing to follow her down there. Mack could not have been more grateful for that fact, but she knew that it was much less of her choice in the matter than Fury's will.

Steve seemed to be actually a bit relieved at the idea of a transfer. He had admitted to Mack at one point that it was hard to be in New York after everything that had happened, that too many things reminded him of his mother and Bucky. Mack honestly thought that a new start would be the best thing for both of them.

God knew that Mack didn't consider New York her home anymore.

Mack pulled a hand through her messy hair, glancing up towards the small clearing where Steve was throwing a stick. Arizona was absolutely thrilled at getting to play fetch, something that he hadn't had a chance to in months, since the fall at the absolute earliest. It was something else, seeing her dog and boyfriend getting along so well.

Though Mack wouldn't be surprised if the two ended up choosing each other over her, honestly.

"You'll be fairly close to General Ross," Peggy pointed out, her voice clear over the phone, her role as the voice of reason coming through more than ever.

"President Ellis told Ross that if he got near me or Steve, he's going to get into some insane trouble," Mack replied, smiling over as she watched Steve throw a stick, Arizona bolting after it, barking loudly. "Apparently Fury went to Ellis and complained about me and Steve being forced to literally flee the country a few months ago…"

It was beyond hard to believe that it had been months since she had met Steve. Her life had changed in so many ways as of late, and it was hard to process the fact. Mack's gaze drifted to a makeshift memorial not far away, set up in the aftermath of the Chitauri invasion. Mack took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a few moments.

It wasn't a question of whether New York would be able to recover. The city and its inhabitants were tough people. It would take time, but everyone would be able to get back on their feet again. Everything had changed though, and none of them could go back. Mack just hoped that they would be able to figure out how to go forward.

Her attention was brought back to reality as Peggy's bell-like laugh crossed out over the phone. "Use whatever you can to your advantage, Mackenzie." She paused for a few seconds. "Tori told me that you two were official."

Mack swallowed, pausing as she struggled to come up with a response to that.

She knew that it would come up eventually. Mack knew that Peggy Carter was always going to mean so much to Steve, and she would never stand in the way of that. Their bond was something special, something different, and over Mack's dead body would she ever do something to put Steve and Peggy's bond at risk. She respected both of them too much for that. She knew that Steve respected Peggy too much for that.

On some level, Mack couldn't help but pray that she was about to get some form of approval from the older agent. Steve's family had died before he had even become Captain America. The Howling Commandos were his family, and she knew she would do what she had to if it meant getting the approval of the people who loved Steve more than anything.

Getting Peggy's approval meant everything to Mack.

"Yeah, we are," Mack admitted, running a hand through her hair. "It's not even a month old yet. We got together about a week before the Battle of New York."

Mack knew that if their relationship could survive an alien invasion at one week of age, she and Steve could handle whatever else might come their way. Mack could honestly see her and Steve working it out in the long run, and she knew she couldn't begin to describe how happy that realization truly made her.

Even so, the occasional mental crack of marriage absolutely scared the shit out of her, and probably would for a very long time.

To Mack's surprise, Peggy gave a small chuckle over the phone. It was a sound that sounded proud, and almost relieved. "Do you want the truth? I encouraged him to go after you in London, Mackenzie. You were both fairly obvious to how you felt. And I could not be more glad that you've both finally admitted it."

A few different thoughts shot through Mack's head in that instant.

The first was embarrassment that it had been completely obvious that she had feelings for Steve even back then. The next was gratitude that Peggy had encouraged Steve to do something back then, even before the bomb had nearly killed them both in London. Relief exploded in her chest when she realized that yes, she had gotten the Peggy Carter seal of approval. A smile of pure joy crossed Mack's face as she breathed out that sigh of relief.

For a few moments, Mack realized just how much Peggy's approval of her and Steve's relationship had meant to her.

"We were apparently obvious to everyone but each other," Mack chuckled, running a hand through her messy dark hair. She had realized early on that she had feelings for Steve, and from what she had guessed from other interactions, Steve had realized that he had feelings for her after the sniper attack in Sarajevo.

And now here they were – with Mack sitting on the bench, watching as her solider and her dog played in the grass. Steve was laughing, this deep, loud from the depths of his belly as Arizona knocked him down, licking his face, the words of protect Steve managed to get out choked back by genuine laughter, laughter that she hadn't heard since… she didn't know when she had heard that laughter. A small smile crossed her face as she shook her head, so relieved to see that smile on his face.

"Mackenzie." Mack swallowed as she heard the tone in Peggy's voice. "Do you remember when I told you that once you befriended Steve, you'd have a friend for the rest of your life?"

"Of course," Mack confirmed, nodding once. She wondered where Peggy was going with this line of thought. She remembered so much about what they had went through in the beginning, from telling the others that Steve had been found alive, to their first meeting.

"From what I've heard, he's let you in. Steve's strong, Mackenzie. But when he lets a person in, he's giving them more than his loyalty. He gives them the power to shatter him." Mack dimly realized that she had never quite heard a better description of Steve than that.

Steve had given Mack the power to completely break him down.

She also knew that she would rather die than hurt Steve Rogers.

"I promise. I always will take care of him, Peggy." The use of her first name had been out of instinct, and Mack cringed slightly, praying that she hadn't overstepped her boundaries with the older woman. She respected Peggy Carter so much, and she would not screw up that respect now.

There was a slight pause before her reply came through. "I appreciate that, Kenzie. So much more than you will ever know, my dear."

It warmed Mack's heart when she heard the smile and hope in Peggy's voice.

May 17, 2011

"So, Capsicle, you excited for your road trip?"

Though it was nearing midnight and he had just gotten back from taking Arizona from a middle of the night walk to get rid of his own insomnia, Steve rolled his eyes as he stood in the elevator of the apartment building, leaning against the wall. Arizona sat next to him, his head leaning against Steve's leg.

"I am, actually," Steve admitted, not sure how or why he was having a civilized conversation with Tony Stark. Then again, he wasn't sure why Tony Stark was calling him in the middle of the night, either.

"It sounds completely horrible, if you ask me. Ratty motels, car rides, the dog…"

"Arizona's one of the best parts!" Steve protested, chuckling as the German Shepherd's ears perked up at the mention of his name, his bushy tail wagging happily even though he had no idea what this conversation was about.

Tony laughed. "You're just saying that because it's your girlfriend's dog."

"I'm saying it because he doesn't judge," Steve replied simply, knowing that he had gotten through to Tony when there was nothing but silence on the other end of the line. "Why are you calling so late, anyway, Stark?"

"It's like nine o'clock, old man," Tony protested, sounding a bit irritated before realization crept back into his tone. "Oh. Shit. I forgot the time zone thing. I always forget the time zone thing. I'm back in California, have been since the day after Coulson's funeral. What are you doing up at midnight?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I took Arizona for a walk," Steve answered, kneeling down as he patted the dog's head again, glancing up at the floor numbers as the elevator slowly crept up to the right floor. "I think it's just nerves for the road trip, honestly. I'll be okay when we actually go."

There was a dead silence on the phone for a few moments. Steve was sure that he had lost the connection until Tony's voice, surprisingly more serious, came back over it. "Tomorrow a debit card is going to arrive for you. It'll have enough funds for you guys to survive in DC and on this road trip, for the next few… decades, maybe."

Steve was taken aback for a few moments, unable to formulate a proper response. His mouth bobbed open and closed for a few moments, rather like a goldfish as he tried to figure out how he was supposed to respond to that. By the time that he got his thoughts together, he had gotten himself out of the elevator and into the main hallway of their apartment, unlocking the front door quietly for fear of waking Mack up.

"You don't need to do that," Steve finally said, leaning against the now close and locked door for a few moments as he looked over at the bags sitting near the wall. He knelt carefully down to unlock Arizona's leash, watching as the dog hurried to the kitchen for some water

"I want to," Tony replied, his voice almost cheerful. There was something almost resembling pride in it. "And besides, I already did it. So, it's there. And if you don't know how to use it, Princess Stabbity can show you how."

"I know how to use the card, Tony," Steve protested, managing a small smile as he knelt down to pet Arizona. He glanced over towards the living room. Mack was asleep on the couch, her turquoise blanket thrown over her, her breathing light and even. He smiled gently as he sat down on the leather chair, smoothing her hair back gently. "I'm not completely hopeless with technology."

"You sure, old man?"

Steve caught the double meaning in the question, not just referring to the fact whether he was going to be able to use the debit card that Tony had set up for him. Steve had been wondering himself if he was going to be okay after everything, after the war, after the Valkyrie, and even after the Battle of New York.

The idea of not knowing was far less terrifying than it had been a few months ago.

"I'm very sure." Steve paused, sighing and running a hand through his hair as he stood up, glancing down at his shield. "Thank you," he added, biting his lip. "For everything, Tony."

"My pleasure, Cap." Tony's answer was hesitant, but his words were firm. "Anything you need, call me. You or Mack the Knife."

Steve decided then and there that there were a lot of people worse than Tony Stark.

May 19, 2011

"The blond at the end of the bar sent this down for you."

Mack glanced up from her phone at the bartender who was handing her a glass of wine. A single thin eyebrow rose when she realized that it was a glass of red wine, her favorite. Several strands of dark hair fell into her face as she looked over, a coy smile appearing when she saw who exactly the bartender was speaking of.

Mack picked the glass up, smirking and toasting over towards the blond before taking a sip. The leather jacket-clad blond moved over to her, taking the seat next to her with a fond, warm smile. Mack couldn't help the small smirk when he leaned over and kissed her quickly. A small laugh broke free as she let go of the coy act, letting her genuine joy show up.

"Buying me a drink?" she asked teasingly, smiling over at him. "Such a gentleman."

Steve laughed, running a hand through his hair as he held onto his bottle of beer. "I thought so," he replied, shrugging as he watched her. "I figured you would get a kick out of it."

"I did. It was kind of adorable. I completely approve," Mack confirmed, taking another sip of wine before leaning over and kissing him again, her hand grazing his hip for a few short seconds. "Have I ever mentioned that you're an amazing boyfriend?"

"Once or twice," Steve replied, a mischievous light twinkling in his eyes. He glanced around the club, raising an eyebrow. "So this is a club for the twenty first century?"

"Hey, believe it or not, this is mild compared to some places I've seen," Mack replied, shrugging lightly. She swiveled in the bar seat, her back against the bar as she took a look at the small club. "I actually wish I had found this place before now. Of course I find out about it my last week in New York."

"How are you dealing with that?" Steve asked, shooting her a concerned look. "I know you've been here for a few years. It's gonna be a big change leaving."

Mack shrugged, shaking her head. "I'll miss it. I mean, I'll have to come up to visit Clint and Natasha, especially consider the fact that they're taking my apartment," she explained, shooting him a look. She gave a small, fond smile. "But it's not the same New York it used to be."

A very thoughtful look came over Steve's face as he watched the people around them. "I would take a lot of walks around Brooklyn, after I first woke up. Usually at night when I couldn't sleep, after I moved out of your place." He ran a hand through his hair. "It was hard to recognize that it was the place I grew up."

Mack sighed, her hand finding his. "And now we'll both get a new start in DC," she replied, shooting him a warm smile. "It'll be good for both of us."

"And Arizona," Steve added, unable to stop the small smirk on his own face.

"Can't forget Arizona," Mack replied, chuckling to herself as she glanced back over at the dance floor.

Steve hesitated for a few moments as he took a sip of his whiskey. "I'm proud of us," he admitted, knowing that they had been so many breaking experiences. Yet here they were, somehow stronger because of it all.

Mack squeezed his hand tightly. "So am I," she whispered, looking back over at him before turning back to the dance floor. She paused for a few moments, the smile on her face growing as she looked back at Steve.

Steve followed her gaze, groaning and running a hand over his eyes. "This is not going to be pretty," he warned her, knowing instantly what she had planned at the moment. "I'm warning you now."

"It'll be fun," Mack replied, smirking as she set her drink back on the bar. She grabbed his arm, pulling him onto the floor. It seemed to be going back to a modern song at the moment, though Steve was more distracted at the proximity between him and Mack. "Don't you trust me?"

Steve rolled his eyes, kissing her gently as he let her pull him into yet another misadventure. "You know that I do."

Her arms went around his neck, the small smile playing on her face as the music started growing slower. He didn't recognize the song, though from the small grin on Mack's face, he could tell that she recognized it. His hands slipped onto her waist, trying to be as natural as possible and not step on her foot. He was never going to forgive himself if he stepped on her foot.

"Ever think that we'd make it this far?" Steve asked, glancing down at her. His voice was low even against the music, Mack straining to hear him.

"Not at all," Mack admitted, smiling sheepishly up at him. "Did you think that the angry brunette that you met in Moreau's office was going to end up dancing with you?"

"Never," he whispered, complete honest in his voice and eyes. He had never expected to make it this far. He had never expected to be able to move past everything that he had lost. "I'm glad we did."

Mack Donahue had helped with that in so many ways. He knew that he could have gotten through everything on his own, but she had been an unquestionable help in terms of his recovery. Having her become a friend and eventually more meant everything to Steve.

It had been decades for the world, but for Steve, he had only been that skinny kid from Brooklyn a few years ago. So much had changed over the last few years, but he knew that he couldn't change it, not after everything. Even through all the pain, Steve knew that he had done too much good to discount it. As long as he had been the one suffering, he was more than fine with it.

As long as his loved ones were safe and protected, he didn't care. And right now, he didn't care about everything that had happened over the past few weeks. For right now, for once, he could focus on himself and Mack, and let his thoughts drift away from responsibility and pain. He could focus on her, for once.

"I love you, Mack," Steve murmured.

It took him a split second to realize what he had blurted out without realizing. For a few moments, he saw the surprise cross Mack's face. He was a bit surprised with himself, that he had said that. He had loved Peggy, but God, he had never told her than he loved her. Now, it was the end of a different war. This time, though, he had a life to go back to.

He only realized then how much he wanted three particular words out of her in that instant, and prayed desperately that he was about to hear them. He hoped that he hadn't been too bold, that he hadn't said it too soon.

"I love you, too, Steve" Mack replied after a few moments of silence, and he smiled into her hair, feeling more at peace than he had in a while. His arms wrapped around her a little more tightly.

When he had been pulled out of the ice and found out that he had missed out on a lifetime, Steve hadn't been sure whether he could survive it. He hadn't been sure if he had wanted to survive losing everything.

For now, in that small nightclub, Steve Rogers and Mack Donahue were where they belonged.

Author's Note: Um, wow. So Bohemia's come to an end. When I started writing Bohemia in the beginning of this year, it was a bit of a distraction to keep me from thinking too much about my homesickness and stress from starting college. Now? I've finished my first year of college. I'm a sophomore who has adjusted to her college life, and I actually love it, and I can't wait to go back in August.

And Bohemia became so much more than I thought it was going to be. It's become a huge story, and I'm so incredibly proud of it, and I'm so grateful that you all came along with me for it. We hit over 1000 reviews and thousands of views, and I am never going to be able express how grateful I am that you all enjoyed Mack and Steve's journey together.

In Idiosyncrasy, expect a few things from Bohemia to come back and bite everyone in the ass. Included in Idiosyncrasy will be a few appearances from the other Avengers, a lot more information on Mack's family, Tori being the sarcastic doctor we all know and love, and even a few appearances by characters you might be surprised about.

Idiosyncrasy is going to be posted in the next few minutes, and so is the first chapter of Potential, and once again, thank you so much for going on this journey with me. Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story, put it on favorite, and signed up for alerts. It's absolutely amazing for me to think about, and I am so grateful for everyone who wrote about this story. Thank you all, so much, and I hope you guys had as much fun reading Bohemia as I did writing it.

Thanks again for everything and I'll see you all next story!

Idiosyncrasy
Two months after New York, as they figure out their relationship and place in a new world, Mack and Steve find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy that threatens all they hold dear.