❝Whatever happens, just know that I never stopped trying.❞
. . .in which she must do whatever she can to protect the world and what's left of the ones she loves.
[BOOK THREE]
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★ ★ ★
The air in the house was comfortable and warm. The smell coming from the kitchen was mouthwatering, and it seemed to be all Marlena could think about, aside from the voice coming from the blond man sitting just a few feet away. Marlena stared up at the ceiling as she listened to him talk, though every few moments she would glance over at him to make sure he knew she was still listening.
"So, he dies, and then four years later you screw his best friend?"
Marlena groaned and sat up, removing her legs from Levi's lap to place on the floor. The two had been talking on and off for a while. Between new guests arriving at the house, as well as two very persistent nine-year-olds, Marlena and Levi hadn't had the chance to have the conversation they'd waited years to have.
"Y'know, you could be a bit more delicate about it," Marlena said with a raised brow. She pushed her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose and fixed her attention on the large flat screen hanging on the wall. They were currently in Marlena's room. It was the only place she could think to go that provided them with the privacy needed to speak with one another. It was also way too loud downstairs; Marlena could hear everyone even with the television turned up. "It didn't happen like that."
"Then how did it happen?"
"Slowly...then all at once."
"Okay, John Green, I kinda wanted more of an explanation," Levi remarked. "I need more details, c'mon."
"He's always been there," Marlena started, and Levi gave her his full attention. "Bucky disappeared because of Hydra not too long after my mom died in 2016, and Tony had me moved to the Compound because of it. Around that time, Steve was dealing with the loss of someone equally as important to him, and the two of us just kind of became each other's support system after that.
"H-he kissed me for the first time, and I remember that's when things changed between us. I felt different when I looked at him. I felt different when I thought of him. I don't think it was love, necessarily, because I was still so in love with Bucky at that point in time, but whatever it was, I buried it as deep as I could...until about two and a half years ago."
"What happened two and a half years ago?"
Marlena let out a breath and fell back onto the mattress, fixing her attention on the ceiling once more. "I decided I was done feeling guilty for wanting to be happy in a world full of so much sorrow," she answered quietly. "Steve is the only person in the world who's seen me at my absolute lowest. And he stayed when I gave him every reason to go."
"He was your peace."
"He was," Marlena confirmed. "He still is."
"So, what does that mean for you and Bucky?" Levi asked her. "Do you just not love him anymore or how does that work? Clearly, I don't have very good luck in the romance department."
