Retribution ★ Avengers

Candles and Christmas

Marlena pulled away and looked up at him with a raised brow. "You do know we aren't exchanging gifts for another five hours, right?"

"Yes, but I wanted to give this to you before everyone got here," Steve told her.

He walked over to retrieve a small blue gift box from their dresser and held it out to her. Marlena smiled and took the gift from him, wasting no time at all in pulling the box open. Inside was an adorable three-wick candle. There was a wrapping around the glass container of the candle inscribed with Marlena's name. Marlena's smile grew wider and she looked at Steve.

"Marlena?" She sniffed the candle and was immediately in love with the smell, "It smells so good."

"I got it from a little store in lower Manhattan," Steve explained to her. "You sit and you talk with the candlemaker about the person you want the candle for and they make a candle using the perfect combination of scents to remind you of that person—"

Marlena laughed and placed a hand on his cheek as if to calm his babbling. "Hey, I get it, it's absolutely perfect. I'm just not understanding what warranted this gift to be separated from the others. It's not like they'll suspect anything over a candle, Steve," she said.

The smallest hint of a smirk pulled at the corner of Steve's lips and he placed his hands over Marlena's, whose were wrapped securely around her boxed candle. "This gift is a lot more valuable than you think, and it means a lot more to me than you know."

Marlena narrowed her eyes at him, wishing now more than ever she had her abilities to let her know what he was up to. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Steve only chuckled and shook his head at her. He placed a gentle kiss onto the top of her head and met her eyes. "It means I love you, okay?"

"Okay," Marlena smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. "I love you, too."

"Steve! Marlena!"

Steve and Marlena immediately tore their attention away from each other at the sound of a familiar voice. Marlena placed her candle carefully back onto the dresser and headed out of their room with Steve following closely behind her. Natasha stopped in the hallway once she saw the two of them and raised a brow, her eyes flickering from the bedroom door and back to her two closest friends.

"Am I interrupting something?" Natasha smirked.

"No," Marlena answered her. "Why would you think that?"

Natasha ignored the question and moved to wrap Marlena in a tight hug. She hadn't seen Marlena since they last trained together, and that was more than two months ago. She loved seeing Marlena any chance she got, especially considering with each time she seemed much better than the last. This time, she was radiating something Natasha couldn't exactly put her finger on, but she was Natasha Romanoff. She would figure it out.

"It's so good to see you guys," she greeted the pair as a knock on the door sounded.

"It's good to see you, Nat," Steve offered her a small hug while Marlena scurried off to answer the door.

Another smile broke out on Marlena's face as she opened the door to the rest of her guests. Rhodey was smiling from his spot beside Bruce. Pepper and Tony were in the front holding little Morgan Stark, someone Marlena had been waiting so long to meet.

"You guys made it," Marlena breathed out a sigh of relief. Part of her wasn't sure everyone would actually come. She spent years distancing herself from them because of the negative emotional state she was in, and while they'd gladly shown up to celebrate her thirtieth birthday, she wondered if a small part of them resented her for completely cutting off everyone but Steve. She was prepared to start fresh, though, and that was what she hoped this Christmas party could be—a fresh start.