𝗀 𝗁 𝗈 𝗌 𝗍 | | 𝗌 𝗍 𝖾 𝗏 𝖾 𝗋 𝗈 𝗀 𝖾 𝗋 𝗌

𝗌 𝖾 𝗏 𝖾 𝗇 𝗍 𝗒 － 𝗍 𝗐 𝗈

✧ 𝟤𝟢𝟣𝟪, 𝗎𝗉𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝗒𝗈𝗋𝗄 ✧

IT HAD BEEN THE LONGEST three weeks of Marta's life. Life was a mess, society and governments fallen apart. The Avengers couldn't do anything but pray that their unknown friends were still alive. Tony was still missing, and no one knew whether he had made it through. The compound was full, yet completely empty at the same time.

        Steve, Marta, Natasha, Rhodey, Thor, Rocket the raccoon and Pepper occupied the building, many of them having nowhere else to really go. Rocket's entire team were still in space, and the state of their lives was unknown. No one spoke, no one smiled, no one laughed. It was miserable for Marta to exist like that, but there was no other way to function.

        On the twenty-third day since the snap, Marta woke up in Steve's arms like she always did these days. She rolled over and swung an arm around her husband's side, tucking herself close to him, face nestled into his neck. Steve tightened his hold around Marta, never taking her presence for granted again. Steve continued sleeping and Marta just breathed him in, her fingers dancing lightly on his cheek.

        When he awoke, Steve kissed his wife softly. Feeling so depressed while mourning the lives of all they had lost took a toll on the intimacy Steve and Marta were able to offer each other. Just a light kiss here and there, tucked close together every night. That was all they could muster, and that was okay with both of them. "Doing okay?" Steve asked, voice barely above a whisper.

        Marta nodded. Her nightmares, which had plagued her ever since she had come out of the ice, were still troublesome. They weren't frequent during the year of marriage Marta held wiht Steve, but once he left, they were back, a million times worse than before. Now, they were okay. When she woke up in a panic nearly every night, Steve was right there, calming her down, hugging her tightly, forcing her back into sleep. He never minded staying up for hours to lull her back into sleep, or playing a game of chess to empty her mind. She was his wife, and he loved her more than anything. "Doing okay." Marta responded, kissing Steve's neck sweetly.

        Steve moved onto his back, settling Marta comfortably on his closed chest. Marta's arm was tossed over Steve's waist, her legs tangled with his. Steve's arm that wasn't wrapped around Marta's body rested on her arm, fingers on her skin. "Do you want to get up?" Steve asked, staring at the ceiling.

        "Not yet." Marta answered softly, and Steve agreed. They were safe with each other. Marta  didn't want to lose that just yet.

        The day passed by in the same numbing blur it always did. Marta would've tried to see her patients, work with them, but they were all dead. Every last one of them. Steve left the room quietly, muttering something under his breath. Marta sat with Natasha, reading a novel until she noticed Steve had been gone for a long time. Marta stood and found him in their bathroom, wearing a white tank top as he shaved his beard. She leant against the wall behind him until he noticed her. "Oh. Hey." Steve said, wiping his face off.

        Marta stood up straight and seated herself on the counter next to the mirror her husband was standing in front of. "No more being a nomad?" Marta asked, watching as Steve wiped his face clean.

        He put the cloth down. "I don't need to be anymore. I'm back with you." Steve said, moving to his left to stand in front of his wife, hands on either side of her legs.

        Smiling lightly, Marta put her hands on Steve's jaw, kissing him once before wrapping her arms around his neck. Marta loved hugging Steve, just as much as she loved kissing him. He made her remember exactly who she was, who they were, with just a simple and loving embrace. They had missed too much time. Steve's muscular arms wrapped around Marta, waist as he pulled her into him, kissing the side of her head a few times.

        Marta pulled back when the mirror behind her shook, and Steve's brows furrowed in concern. "What the hell?" Marta muttered as the rumbling grew louder and more intense.

        Steve picked Marta up and placed her on the ground, wanting her far away from whatever was happening. Quickly, Steve pulled a shirt over his head, and the husband and wife left their room, meeting up with Bruce, Rhodey and Natasha. They made their way to the grounds of the compound, where Pepper had already run to. A woman surrounded by colorful light beams lowered a spaceship to the ground, and Marta was confused, concerned, and hopeful, all at the same time.

        When the doors to the ship opened, Steve had already ran over there, helping Tony out of the ship. He was injured and malnourished, but he was alive. A blue woman from space remained near the ship as Steve helped Tony walk. As soon as she saw that it was Tony emerging from the ship, Pepper ran over to him, sobbing as she embraced him. Rocket walked past Marta and she had to remind herself not to scream every time she saw him. He sat on the steps of the ship with the blue alien named Nebula. They knew each other, were friends.

        They started walking back into the compound. Rhodey and Pepper helped Tony, so Steve fell back to walk with Marta. She grabbed his hand and he held it tight, thankful to be alive, thankful they were together. Marta had lost almost everyone and everything she ever had, but not Steve, and she was thankful.

        Growing up, Marta and her siblings went to church every Sunday with their parents, as well as with Steve and his mother. Marta didn't enjoy it back then, she thought it was a chore, something that pulled her out of bed on cold Sunday mornings, or kept her from playing early on summer weekends. Then her father died, and her mother stopped going with them. So, Sarah Rogers took her son and the Barnes children.

        When she needed guidance, Marta prayed. When she needed strength, she prayed. When she was alone, and she needed to talk to someone, she prayed. It was just nice to believe that someone was there watching over her. Every Sunday since emerging out of the ice that Marta wasn't fighting someone else's battles, she went to church. Steve went with her most times. She was the last living member of her family, lost in a time that wasn't hers without her brother. So she prayed.

✧