Retribution ★ Avengers

Better Believe It, Pal

Mindless chatter could be heard in the near distance. The smell of cinnamon, vanilla, and bacon wafted throughout the air in the large house, waking Marlena from her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open and she rolled over in bed, not at all surprised to find Steve was gone. The clock on her bedside table revealed it was 10:33 in the morning, which meant Steve had likely been up for a couple of hours.

Marlena sat up in bed, running a hand through her long hair before grabbing her glasses from the bedside table. She was in her old room, which was, of course, simply a guest room since she was well past the age of returning back home.

Marlena got out of bed. She threw her slippers on and headed out of the room. She was desperate to shower, but she was also desperate to see who else had finally made their way over to the Claire household. Marlena was still unaware of those that would be attending her mother's "Blip-mas Reunion," and she was eager to find out.

From the stairs, Marlena could see Cooper and Lila on the loveseat playing with their phones, while their little brother Nate was in the floor watching TV. Sam, Pietro, and Clint were talking amongst themselves on the sofa, and Marlena strolled over to greet them.

"Good morning!" Marlena chirped.

"Hey, kiddo."

"What's up, Claire?"

"Why do you look so disgusting?"

Marlena rolled her eyes at Pietro's comment and stopped to stand in front of them. "Why do you always have to criticize my appearance?"

"Well, Mar, you do have a large stain on your shirt," Clint pointed out to her.

Marlena looked down at her black shirt to see a decent-sized white spot, and she groaned when she remembered what it was. She'd dropped a spoonful of ice cream on her shirt the night before while watching a movie with her mom, Greyson, and Steve.

"It's ice cream," Marlena grumbled.

"And you're only wearing one sock," Sam told her.

Marlena didn't even bother looking down, because she knew he was right. She didn't care too much, though. "Look, I haven't showered yet, because I wanted to come see who all had shown up."

"There's a few more of us in the kitchen," Sam informed her.

"I know, I can smell it."

"You off to get another stain to match the one on your shirt?" Pietro remarked, earning a laugh from Clint and Sam.

"I haven't missed you," Marlena called back to him as she headed into the kitchen.

"Who haven't you missed?" Miranda's voice sounded. She was at the stove working on finishing breakfast with Laura by her side. Wanda and Steve were sitting at the counter bar talking. Charlie and Jay couldn't be seen, and Marlena wasn't sure where they were, but she figured someone would tell her.

"I was joking around with Pietro," Marlena answered and walked over to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water. "Apparently my appearance is a bit disheveled, and he felt it was necessary to inform me."

"Well, you're only wearing one sock," Wanda said to her.

"And there's a giant stain on your shirt." Miranda grabbed the bottom of Marlena's shirt to inspect it, and she looked at Marlena with a raised brow. "This looks wrong, Marlena."