❝Whatever happens, I will never stop loving you.❞
. . .in which they are broken and battered, but their love for one another is what keeps them from completely falling apart.
[BOOK TWO]
[Highest ranking: #9 in fanfiction as of 5/26/18]
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★ ★ ★
Stepping into the Avengers facility, Marlena felt oddly out of place. All she could think about was calling Bucky and relieving herself of some of the weight she carried on her shoulders after the tragedy in Lagos. Her mind had managed to stray away from the Lagos incident long enough for her to think about Bucky and, more specifically, how much she wished she was with him at the moment.
"Marlena," Sam's voice caused her to turn around as she hiked her duffle bag up her shoulder.
Instead of faking that she had the energy to speak, she simply nodded in response, waiting for him to continue.
"Are you—"
"Alright?" She spoke for him, surprisingly, "No."
"What happened. . .it was an accident. No one believes that you intentionally—"
"Ended the lives of several innocent civilians?" She spoke for him again, tilting her head sideways at Steve as he walked in behind Sam. "I don't care what people believe—what people think of me, Sam. I only wish there was a way to bring back those people Wanda and I killed, but there isn't one. So," she turned away to walk with Wanda towards their rooms, "we're going to go clean ourselves up, and we will meet up downstairs later."
Wanda's lips pursed as her cousin spoke, her words causing her to remember the horrors she felt when watching the building burn. In her eyes, she was more to blame than Marlena was, though she knew Marlena would disagree. She glanced at the two men and Natasha before turning to join her cousin, her heart heavy.
Sam opened his mouth to speak, only to be stopped by Steve. His hand on Sam's shoulder, Steve shook his head, "They need some time, Sam."
"Time for?" Natasha questioned, arching a brow.
"Learning to live with the fact that we can't always save everyone. They have to learn to forgive themselves, and nothing you have to say can speed the healing of those wounds up." Steve sighed before turning away.
"I know this mission was hard, Rogers, but we still have to do a mission report for the files," Natasha said, following behind Steve.
"Screw the files," Sam shrugged. "Let's just get our shit together and fly to D.C. Marlena and Wanda don't need to be sulking around this place for the remainder of the day. Besides, I'm sure Bucky's itching to have his girls back home."
"For once, I'm going to have to say 'that's a pretty good idea, Sam.'" Steve glanced over his shoulder at the male, "I'll go tell his girls in a minute."
"You both do realize that we can still hear you, right?" Wanda called out as she and Marlena reached the top of the staircase, though they were no longer in sight of the three downstairs.
"Mind readers, man." Sam rolled his eyes.
"No, Wilson, you're just so damn loud that your voice echoes off the walls," Marlena sassed, though she wasn't in the mood to argue with him.
