[1] 𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙄𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 | 𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨

! ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇɪɢʜᴛʏ-ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ: ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴏғ ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇs

➸ 2024
📍AVENGERS COMPOUND
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Galina sat emotionless in the bathtub, her knees up to her chest while Tony delicately ran a sponge over her skin.

She couldn't think straight.

Tony looked at her face in worry...she's never seen her this emotionless in...a while.

Just an hour ago she was screaming at a delusional Thor who thought that they could get Pietro and Natasha back.

Now, well, she's lost her voice completely.

"Hey Lina?"

"Mm?" she hummed, her focus still on the wall.

"I'm gonna go get you a towel, okay?"

"Yeah."

Tony's lips turned downwards into a frown as she left the bathroom to get a towel from the closet.

...

Later on, Galina was curled up in her old bed in one of Pietro's old oversized hoodies and sweatpants when Steve came in.

He sat down beside her on the bed and ran his fingers through her damp hair.

"I said that this was a bad idea from the beginning, did I not?" she mumbled against her pillow.

"Pietro and Natasha both made heroic sacrifices to save the universe." he concluded, although it sounded as if he was convincing himself more than he was trying to convince her. "Think of it in that way."

"I can't keep doing this, Steve." her face crumpled in anguish. "There's like.., it's just like this wave washing over me, again and again. It knocks me down, and when I try to stand up, it just comes for me again...continuously. The grief the pain." she looked over at Cap who was trying to keep it together as well. "I can't keep doing this anymore, Steve. I don't know how long i'll last until I completely snap and do something crazy."

He shakes his head. "You won't break because you know why? Tony's here for you, i'm here for you and everyone else that we lost five years ago will be here for you. You're gonna be okay, Lina."

"Did she know?" she questioned.

Steve's brows pulled together at her question. "Did who know what?"

"That you loved her?" she asked brokenly. "Did you guys ever get your acts truly together while I was gone?"

"Yeah." he gave her a pained smile. "We did."

They never did.

Galina felt at peace with that response and she slowly nodded to herself. "You know, the last full conversation I had with Pietro, we were arguing.." she let out a self-deprecating laugh. "We were arguing about how Ezra should be raised and now he's not even here to help raise him." her lip began to quiver as her nose reddened. "He's not here to help raise him."

He wrapped a strong arm around her shoulder and let her cry into his chest. "I know, Lina. I know."

...
📌 MAIN AREA