Retribution ★ Avengers

Everything Is Perfect Now

"She said it was okay, Cass," Sarah reassured her son.

"'Miss Claire' makes her sound old anyway," Sam chimed in. "If anything, you're doing her a favor."

"That's funny coming from the oldest one in the room," Sarah remarked with a laugh.

"Are you kidding me?" Sam scoffed. "You've got two living fossils sitting across from you. Anymore and we'd have to open up a damn museum."

"Just because Natasha isn't here anymore, doesn't mean you're allowed to use her jokes," Steve chuckled. "And this fossil still has a Christmas gift for you—for both of you," he finished, glancing between Sam and Bucky.

The two men exchanged glances with one another, unsure of what Steve had planned for the both of them. They were sure they'd received everything from him the night before, but as it turned out, that was far from the case.

"You guys are gonna be so rich," Charlie giggled.

Marlena shook her head and let out a breath, more than aware that Charlie was subconsciously using her abilities to peer into Steve's mind. It wasn't her fault, of course, and Marlena was far from angry, as Sam and Bucky would discover the meaning behind her words in just a few short seconds.

Steve pulled his worn leather wallet from the back pocket of his pants. From within it, he removed two, folded white envelopes, each labeled with Bucky's and Sam's names in his own handwriting. He disregarded Charlie's giggling as he handed the two men their respective envelopes.

Bucky reached out for his envelope rather hesitantly but instead of opening it, he simply folded it back up and put it in his back pocket. Sam, on the other hand, practically snatched the envelope from Steve and tore out its contents. Charlie's words had intrigued him and made him wonder what exactly he had to look forward to. He assumed it would be a small monetary gift from Steve and Marlena to help them recoup from the financial struggles his absence had on his family following the Blip, but the number of zeroes printed on the check in his hands left him absolutely blindsided.

Sam stared at the piece of paper for a few short seconds before looking to Steve and Marlena, both of whom had very endearing grins on their faces as they watched him. He was absolutely speechless, which was, of course, completely out-of-character for the Avenger that never shut up. Sam was baffled by the gesture, but absolutely thankful and grateful as well. He'd always known Steve and Marlena to be incredibly outstanding individuals who stopped at nothing to take care of those they loved, and while this was something he never would've expected from them, he wasn't sure he was too surprised they'd done it to begin with.

"Well..." Sam cleared his throat and placed the check back into the envelope. "It's about damn time I got paid for savin' everyone's ass."

Marlena couldn't help but laugh at his response. She expected nothing less from Sam, and that was what she loved so much about him.

"Are you sure about this?" Sam asked a little bit more seriously, his gaze shifting between Marlena and Steve.

"We are," Steve assured him. "You and Buck are everything to us, and we know the last couple of months haven't been the easiest on you."

"You both deserve the world and we wanted the chance to give it to you," Marlena added, shifting her focus to Bucky. She met his eyes and smiled softly. "We're always gonna do whatever it takes to make sure you're taken care of."

Bucky stuffed his hands in deep in his pockets and shifted uneasily from Marlena's gaze. Taking had never been something easy for him, and what they were offering was something he felt he didn't deserve, not from anyone and especially not from them. "Thank you." He nodded once in Steve's direction and then offered a smile to Marlena.