Over the course of the next day you had done a brilliant job of avoiding Steve. You didn't have the drive to talk about what was happening, not because you feared anything that he might say, but because you didn't have the answers you knew he would want. You had spent this day with Esihle and the other girls to choose her wedding gown and you couldn't shake the feeling that she was rushing to just get it done, and that she had picked almost the first thing she saw. The frenetic energy of the day left you tired and ready for bed early; Steve had been out with Anthony for tuxedo fittings, and you hadn't seen him back yet, so you hurried through a shower and dressed for bed, hoping to continue your masterful plan of elusiveness.

But of course, that wouldn't last. You had just stepped from the bathroom to find your husband there, pulling his shirt off and tossing it aside, looking as tired as you felt; his shoulders were heavy and hunched as if they were weighing him down, and as if his age was nearly caught up to him now. His usual strong, assured stature was smaller and his muscles were beginning to soften with the lines that used to clearly outline each one becoming less defined. He was likely even more tired than he was letting on. Taking quiet steps and grabbing your slippers, you opened the door of your shared room to leave, but you couldn't avoid his attention.

"Where are you going?" he asked, without so much as a glance in your direction.

"Guest room."

That was enough to shock him to attention, and he quickly spun to face you. "Why? (Y/N), if this is about our argument yesterday-"

"No, you're right, I'm a threat, Steve. It's best if I keep my distance since we can't be sure of what I might be doing to you. I'm going to go to bed, I'm exhausted. Good night." You hadn't so much as crossed a toe over the threshold when his hand gently grabbed your arm to hold you there.

"(Y/N), come on, wait."

"Steve, I'm too tired to fight anymore. I can't fight anymore. It's best that I stay away from everyone. Becca made that very clear, and it would seem that Stephen agrees with you. I'm going to ask Dad to reinforce one of the rooms downstairs, and I'll make it into my new quarters until we figure out what to do with me."

"What to do with you?"

"Well, I certainly can't stay here," you shrugged.

"Okay, that's enough. You're taking this too far, even for my standards."

"No, I'm taking precautions," you snapped harshly. "You were right, and I need to realize that."

"(Y/N), Ant said something yesterday at the caterer. He said that I need to step back and look at why you were hiding this from me. What did he mean?"

"I don't know, you'd have to ask him."

Steve finally released his hold and took a step back. The disappointment in his eyes weighed on his entire appearance, and it aged him. Yes, the serum wearing away was doing that enough as it was, but the pain he was feeling from you sped that process. "That's the best you can do?"

"Okay, if that's your play, then when were you going to tell me about what happened there yesterday?"

"Probably never."

"Then we're even, aren't we?"

"Hiding an allergic reaction is so not the same as hiding the power of an Infinity Stone, (Y/N)."

"You could have died, Steve. This wasn't a case of the sniffles."

"Come on, (Y/N), you're stalling. If you have something to say to me, then say it."

"I didn't tell you about this because I wouldn't be able to live with what would happen if you knew, and if it made you stop loving me," you blurted out. "I couldn't see that look in your eyes once you knew."

"What are you talking about?"

"I see the change in you when that day comes up, and the rage you still carry. Just the name Thanos makes your blood boil. I have this because of him. I cursed Becca with it too, like he cursed me. You said it yourself, I'm the catalyst. This is my fault. All of it. You're dying, and it's my fault." You stopped and caught your breath when it began to speed up, beyond your control, and certainly not following your wordless command to stop as the anxiety took over. Calling your dad to help you regain your senses was out of the question, even though he was your best bet, but you were on your own now. Your voice wasn't going to last much longer, and you had to get this done. "How could you love me now? How could you look at me and not see him? The monster who destroyed our lives? You watched him kill us right in front of you and I carry that energy inside of me now. But it's okay, I understand. I hate me, too."

"I could never hate you," he rushed forward, stopping when you reflexively took one away, "I love you so much that I don't think I could ever love you more, then the next day, I do. None of this is your fault, and there's no way in hell that I would ever see you as any part of him. Ever."

"I'm still a threat though. You were right."

"No. Not to me. I wasn't right, I was so wrong...so very wrong. It's been ten years, (Y/N), and it's not you. But even if it was, it's okay. You could never hurt me."

~~~

"Let go of me," you snapped, pulling away and turning to face him. "Don't ever touch me again!"

"(Y/N), come on, just get in the jet-" Steve stopped short, your fist slamming into his jaw. He stumbled back, but didn't go as you were ordering him to, planting his feet in case you came at him again. "Please, (Y/N)."

"This is all your fault! I just killed my dad and it's your fault, Steve! You started this!" Your eyes darted to the gun that you had disposed of minutes before, and it didn't miss his attention. You both hurried to it and dropped to the ground to grab it, but you came up as the victor, aiming it at him with that same coldness in your eyes that you had worn when they first arrived. "Leave."

"(Y/N)-"

"(Y/N) died here today, that's how this story will read. Get on the jet right now, and leave. Don't even so much as think my name again."

"Steve come on!" Natasha yelled to him from the jet door. "We need to go!"

When he didn't move, even with the pleading urgency in Natasha's voice, you decided to give him a little nudge in the right direction. Your gun went off for a second time that day, this time with your bullet piercing Steve's shoulder. "Is this how you want to play, Steve? Because I'll play. This isn't Hydra. This is me. You don't want me getting into that jet with you."

"Jesus Christ, (Y/N)!" Bucky joined in, rushing forward to help Steve into the plane. "Get in the goddamn jet!"

"Tell them I love them, Buck," you replied, strikingly much quieter than him. You held your weapon steady and backed away, allowing yourself one last thought about your children before closing that part of your mind and yourself away for good. This was too much, and you couldn't go back to them as the person who took their Papa away; you couldn't look at them knowing that you hated their father this much. It was easier this way, you told yourself. It was easier for everyone if you just disappeared.

~~~

For a living room full of people who were normally quite vocal and terribly animated with everything they did, the eerie quiet that filled it now was palpable and uncomfortable. Bruce had just shared with his teammates the details of the cause of your argument with Steve, and why no one had seen much of you since your group returned home.

"Wait, this is crazy," Nat sighed, a heavy disbelief in her voice. "Why would she keep this from us?"

"She was afraid of how we'd react," Bruce shrugged. "She really had no idea what to expect when the truth came out. If she's a part of what's happening to Steve and Bucky, you know that she's going to be her own worst enemy. This is really foreign territory for all of us."

"She has to know that we'd never think-"

"Nat, she didn't want to look in our eyes and see fear. She equates this power with Thanos, and worries that we will too."

"That's ridiculous, Bruce," Clint joined in. "After everything we've been through, after all these years, that doesn't make any sense. We're her family."

"Well, there's a lot going on right now, so thinking isn't exactly clear for most of us. She's also terrified that she could lose Steve at any moment. I'm really not surprised that she feels this way."

"Okay," Scott stood, "give me this one more time so I'm on the same page. When Thanos hit her with the hand that wore the Gauntlet, she got stuck in the soul world, right?"

"Yes," Natasha nodded.

"Okay, and we're saying that she has some of the power from it?"

"Yes."

"And Becca has her power because she was born after that? Like a genetic thing?"

"Yeah, you're up to speed," Sam groaned, with a rub of his hand wearily over his eyes. "Any genius ideas on what to do next?"

"Yep," Anthony said as he entered the room, "we're having our wedding next weekend. We've decided that we can't wait. I want to be sure that my dad and uncle are there, and Esihle agrees."

This time, Wanda stood to join the discussion, lending her voice, though calmer than the expressions everyone around her wore. "Next weekend? Already? Will you have everything prepared that quickly?"

"We can't stop the clock, Aunt Wanda, and they're getting worse. I need my dad standing up there with me..." he paused, taking a quick visual inventory of his family, "wait, where is he? And mom?"

"Upstairs. They haven't seen each other all day, and he finally decided to go talk to her."

"It's about time," Ant scoffed, "because he tried to ground her over this stupid stone stuff." He closed his mouth quickly and turned away as Brooke walked into the room a moment after he had, realizing that he had forgotten to talk to her and Grant about this first. There was no time like the present, because there was nearly no time at all anymore.

"Ant, what are you talking about? What stone stuff?" Brooke interjected looking at him eagerly, but on the verge of panic. There was no discussion in the universe that could possibly be good if any of the Infinity Stones were a part of it. Just the word itself sent a barely audible groan around the room.

"You'd better sit down, sis. This could take a while."