Retribution ★ Avengers

We've Got Your Back

"You have no idea how much I would love and appreciate that, Rogers," she said quietly with a grin on her face.

The two spent a few moments in silence, and Marlena's mind began to linger back to Scott and everything he said to them. She wondered if what he was implying would actually work, and while it sounded absolutely ridiculous to her, part of her hoped Tony would change her mind. She hadn't had hope in years, and even now she still lacked a huge portion of it when it came to that particular topic, but Scott had given them something. Possibly.

"What do you think about what Scott said?" Marlena asked Steve.

"About the time machine?"

"Yeah," Marlena answered. "Do you think it'll work?"

Steve shrugged and glanced over at her. "Tony'll tell us tomorrow, I believe."

"What if it does work?"

"If it works, we get another chance to undo what was done five years ago, but I know it'll be the last chance we ever get," Steve answered her. "All I've been trying to do for years is find a way to get them back."

Marlena furrowed her brows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Do you remember the days I'd just randomly disappear?"

"Yeah."

"Well, a lot of the times I was at the compound working with Natasha, Nebula, and Carol to figure out a way to bring everyone back," Steve revealed.

"Why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"You were so broken, Marlena," Steve answered her quietly, a frown falling onto his face as he thought back on the years he spent watching Marlena suffer through absolute turmoil. "I didn't wanna give you any sort of hope only for it to be ripped away again."

"Thanks for caring, I guess," Marlena muttered.

"I'm sorry," Steve apologized.

Marlena shook her head and pressed her head to her seat. "I understand why you're all still trying—I would love nothing more than to get them back—but we tried and we lost. Scientifically, what Scott said sounds like it could work, but I won't get my hopes up. If this works and we blow it, like you said, it'll be our last chance, and I don't wanna put myself through that again."

"And you don't have to," Steve assured her. "If it works, it works, and we get everyone back; if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, and we can all go back to getting those lives I said we should get."

"You know, I already have a life," Marlena smiled over at him. "It includes you and Natasha and Tony and Bruce and everyone else."

"Even Rocket?"

"Only sometimes," Marlena scoffed at the mention of his name. "Sometimes I'd really just like to cook him."

"That's not a nice thing to say," Steve chuckled.

"Whatever," Marlena leaned over the console to lay her head on Steve's shoulder. "But you are my life now."

"I know," Steve pressed a quick kiss to her head. "Can I ask you a question, though?"

"Yeah?"

"What would you do if we did get everyone back?" Steve asked quietly. "What would happen between you and me?"

Marlena let out a breath and stared out the windshield at the seemingly endless road ahead. She knew exactly what he was referring to and who he was referring to, and she knew he was afraid to receive a certain answer. She hated it. "Steve—"

"I know you still love him, and that's okay, really," Steve cut her off. "I've just thought about what would happen if we somehow did figure out a way to bring everyone back."

"I do still love him," Marlena answered him. "I will always love him, but things have changed. I was in love with him, and he will always be someone so important to me, but I'm in love with you, Steve. You're the one that I plan to spend my life with now, so I know exactly what would happen between you and I if he came back. The only thing about it is that I don't think I'd be able to live with myself for hurting him."

"I feel the same way," Steve finally pulled into their complex's parking garage. "I've always tried to do right by Buck, but I know if we found some way to bring them back, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing I was part of the reason he was hurting."

Steve parked the car, and Marlena sat up, pulling her knees to her chest in the seat.

"I think about him a lot," Marlena said to Steve. "I think about my entire family, actually. All I want is for them to be okay...wherever they are...I just hope they're okay and they're at peace."

"I like to think they are."

Marlena looked over at Steve and smiled. "Forever the optimist."

"Someone has to be in this relationship," Steve teased and turned off the engine.

Marlena only scoffed, grabbed her gym bag, and hopped out of the car. She didn't even bother stopping to wait on Steve. "I happen to think I'm pretty optimistic, thank you very much."

Marlena could hear Steve laughing behind her, but she kept walking. It wasn't until Steve ran to grab her from behind that she stopped walking. She turned to face him, her hands falling onto his chest, and her hazel eyes met his blue ones under the dim light of the parking garage.

"Why don't you tell me something optimistic?" Steve smiled down at her.

"How about the fact that we're gonna have the greatest little wedding and the most beautiful little babies and the cutest little house for our kids to grow up in," Marlena giggled.

"Oh, yeah?" Steve hummed. "So, you want more than one?"

"I might need at least two."

"I'll give you whatever you want."

"Well," Marlena wrapped her arms around Steve's neck. "Right now I really want you to fix me that soup."

Steve shook his head and pulled her in for a kiss. He hugged her body tightly against his own and picked her small form off of the ground, pulling away from their kiss to look down at her again. "Don't worry, I'm gonna make you your soup," he assured her.

"I would very much appreciate that," she replied with a grin. "I would also appreciate you putting me down before I puke all over this nice shirt of yours."

Steve chuckled and sat her back down, though he grabbed her hand instead. "That bad, huh?"

"Nothing a little chicken soup can't fix."

Steve simply smiled and pulled her along to their apartment, more than ready to fix her some "get well" soup and crawl into bed with her. They had a semi-big day tomorrow, and Steve wanted nothing more than to rest up. He needed all the energy he could get to prepare him for whatever answer Tony was going to give to them, but it wouldn't prepare him at all. Not in the slightest.