𝗀 𝗁 𝗈 𝗌 𝗍 | | 𝗌 𝗍 𝖾 𝗏 𝖾 𝗋 𝗈 𝗀 𝖾 𝗋 𝗌

𝗌 𝖾 𝗏 𝖾 𝗇 𝗍 𝗒 － 𝗌 𝗂 𝗑

✧ 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟢, 𝗎𝗉𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝗒𝗈𝗋𝗄 ✧

𝗍𝗐𝗈 𝗒𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝗅𝗂𝗉

LIFE WAS DULL TWO YEARS after the blip. Darkness and grief still surrounded the compound and the people inside it. Clint was still scattered across the globe, Rhodey still tracking him. He came by less and less now. Bruce still came back, but there wasn't anything compelling him to stay. Marta still went and saw Tony and Pepper, baby Morgan now two years old. Thor never visited, but Steve went to check on him every once in a while.

Marta missed Bucky more and more with each day that passed. But she knew she had to move on. Eventually. The three Avengers that remained relied on each other as best as they could to get through the years. It would only get worse if they bottled up their emotions, but Marta and Natasha weren't good at being open and unguarded.

Steve tried to help people, as he had done since childhood. It was embedded in his DNA. He was always the best at encouraging people to talk about things they didn't want to talk about. Marta loved that about him. She was still drinking, a lot. It was easier to drink alcohol and never talk about what bothered her. Even Natasha tried to get her to stop, but it just didn't work. Marta knew she was in too deep to quit.

She woke up one morning, Steve on his run. Marta couldn't go back to sleep, so she started to get ready for her own run. When she rushed into her bathroom to vomit, Marta knew something wasn't right. She was a super-soldier, she never got sick. This was something else, and as she washed her hands and face, she had a sinking realization that made her throw up again.

        Marta brushed it off and tossed her hair back into a ponytail, tying her sneakers on. She said goodbye to Natasha, her face paler than usual. "You okay?" Natasha asked. Her hair was to her shoulder, red roots blending with her growing bleached ends.

        "Yeah, I'm fine." Marta said casually. She couldn't tell anyone yet. Natasha was curious because Marta didn't have a drink before she left. She always had a drink before she left.

        Marta ran farther than she usually did, faster than she usually did. She figured maybe if she ran fast enough, her potential problem would just disappear. But as her stomach churned, she wasn't very hopeful. When Marta returned to the compound with a small bag hidden behind her back, she said a brief hello to her husband and best friend before disappearing into her bathroom.

Once she took the test, fingers shaking, Marta flipped it over and showered quickly to take her mind off of the results sitting on the counter. She got dressed and braided her hair, all in an effort to stall looking at the test. It wouldn't have been a bad thing if it was positive, so Marta didn't really know why she was freaking herself out so much. Taking a deep breath, Marta turned the test over.

She was pregnant.

Eyes wide, Marta set the test down, pacing the length of her bathroom and back again. She took two more, just to be sure, and they all came up distinctly positive. She was pregnant, and she had been drinking. Marta was terrified and instantly had flashbacks to the baby she had briefly carried all those years ago. The baby she believed she had killed with alcohol. Steve knocking on the door gently caused Marta to jump out of her skin. She had to tell him, but how?

Marta opened the door, hands shaking. "Are you okay?" Steve asked, a crease between his eyebrows that appeared on his face when he was worried or tense.