★ ★ ★

4 YEARS AND 10 MONTHS AFTER DECIMATION

APRIL 2026

★ ★ ★

"I can't believe you."

Marlena scoffed and collapsed to the floor in a heap of sweat. Natasha stood over her, her green eyes especially judgmental given the latest new that had been sprung on her.

"Yeah?" Marlena took a deep breath and rolled over to grab her water bottle from the bench. She took a swig of the water inside and looked back at Natasha. "And why not? I figured you wouldn't be all that surprised."

Natasha chuckled and took a swing at the sand bag hanging in front of her. The two were in the recreation center at the Avengers compound. When Marlena wasn't exercising in the city and when Natasha wasn't busy running missions, the two took time together to train, per say. Marlena doubted she would find herself trapped within another battle, but living a life like her own came with no guarantees whatsoever. Truthfully, Marlena wouldn't be surprised if she were to step outside the compound and immediately find herself locked in a confrontation between two of New York's finest criminals.

"It's not that I'm surprised, because I'm not surprised at all," Natasha said to her. "I'm bothered because you didn't tell me—neither of you told me. You and Steve have been together for ten months now and somehow the only one who knew was Tony."

Marlena grunted and scratched her head. "Yeah, I underestimated just how close the two of them actually were."

"They're obviously closer than we are."

Marlena frowned and sat up, her glistening hazel eyes falling on Natasha. "Please stop, okay? I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I wasn't ready to tell anyone. Throughout the entire time I've known all of you I've only ever been with one man, and I figured a transition from me with Bucky to me with Steve would be a little bit weird for everyone. I also wanted time between me and Steve without the interference of any outside forces; I needed to know if we could work the way I wanted us to work."

"And did you get your answer?"

"I did," Marlena smiled as her thoughts began drifting to her relationship with Steve. "He's been everything to me and more, Natasha."

"How do you feel about being in another relationship?" Natasha asked her.

Marlena shrugged and took a swig from her water bottle. "It's different, and of course I will always love Bucky, but Steve has given me back what I never thought I'd have again. The way I love him is different from the way I loved Bucky. It's comparable to being in love with both the sun and the moon; interpret that as you may."

"Damn," Natasha sat down beside Marlena on the floor, "So, is this the last time I'm gonna see you?"

"I'm only gonna be gone for two weeks," Marlena reminded her.

"I know," Natasha chuckled. "I still can't believe you bought him a trip to France for Christmas."

"We both needed a vacation," Marlena breathed out.

"That's cute, but why Nice?" Natasha asked. "I figured you of all people would've chosen Paris."

"A while ago we were joking about sunning in the French Riviera, so I decided to actually make that happen," Marlena explained to Natasha.

Natasha hummed in approval and stood back up. She held her hand out to Marlena and pulled her off the floor. "You have no idea how happy I am for you, Marlena."

"Thank you, Nat."

"It is a little weird, but after all these years, if I had to watch you spend your life with anyone apart from Bucky, I couldn't have seen you with anyone else but Steve," Natasha smiled and squeezed Marlena's hands. Marlena could see the tears filling up Natasha's green eyes and she wrapped her in a hug without hesitation. "I'm so sorry that this life has been so horrible to you, but you know he'll do whatever he can to make it right. He'll take care of you, Marlena."

Marlena could no longer hold back the tears that threatened to fall, and she hugged Natasha tighter in her arms. She would never be able to express how thankful she was for the redhead. She always knew how to say the right thing. "I know he will," Marlena replied.

"Now," Natasha pulled away to look at Marlena. "You get back home and you start packing for that vacation you absolutely deserve."

"I love you so much."

"You know I love you, Marlena."

Marlena smiled at Natasha and grabbed her stuff before heading out of the compound. It wasn't necessarily a long drive back to Brooklyn. Forty-five minutes later, Marlena was parked in her building's parking garage, only remaining long enough to gather her things. She headed to her shared apartment with Steve and closed the door behind her.

Inside was relatively quiet, so Marlena made the assumption Steve wasn't home. The television was off and the only light that lit up the room was that of the lamp sitting in the corner. Marlena kicked her shoes off and headed for the bedroom to put away her belongings. Steve wasn't in bed either, though that wasn't too surprising. He was never a fan of daytime naps unless he and Marlena found themselves wrapped in the warmth of each other's arms during a movie.

Marlena took a quick shower and returned to the bedroom to get dressed. She wound up stealing one of Steve's t-shirts to pair with her leggings, as she often did, but she knew he didn't mind. Wearing his clothes comforted her, and Marlena's comfort was something incredibly important to the soldier.

As Marlena started out of the bedroom, she noticed her candle sitting on the dresser. She lit it before she left and figured Steve had blown it out before he did, but that wasn't the reason it captured her attention. The candle hadn't been blown out, but had simply burned through a good majority of wax, revealing a small black ball embedded into the remaining wax. Marlena furrowed her brows in confusion and reached down to grab it, all while the sound of the front door shutting echoed throughout the apartment. Marlena paid it no mind, however, as the little ball she now held in her hands had all of her attention.

With a simple shake of the object, Marlena knew there was something inside, but before she could get it open, Steve decided to make his grand entrance.

"Mar—" Steve stopped when he noticed what Marlena had in his hand, and he took a deep breath. He hadn't expected the candle to burn out so quickly, but as Tony said and as he knew, Marlena loved her candles.

"What's this?" Marlena held the small, black ball out to him. "I found it in the candle you got me for Christmas."

Steve let out a nervous chuckle and grabbed it from her hand. "I didn't know this was going to happen so soon."

"You didn't know what was going to happen so soon?" Marlena questioned him. "What is it?"

Steve sighed and pulled open the small container to reveal a very beautiful diamond ring. The sight of it was an absolute surprise to Marlena, and as she stood looking at it, she was met with a very warm and loving feeling.

"Is that—"

"It is," Steve answered her nervously.

"Oh, my god."

Steve stepped forward and grabbed her hand in his own. "Marlena—"

"Is this what you meant when you said the candle meant a lot more to you than I knew?"

Steve nodded.

"You wanna marry me?" Marlena squeaked. "I mean, you actually wanna marry me?"

The last time someone proposed to Marlena, she'd just turned 22. She was almost 32 now, and while she wholeheartedly planned on spending her life with Steve, marriage was something she hadn't really put enough thought in. It hadn't been long at all since the two had gotten together, and as the thought presented itself, Marlena was sure it was what she wanted—she was sure he was what she wanted—but she was scared. From a young age she figured the person she married was the person she was going to spend the rest of her life with, but the circumstances had unexpectedly changed things, leaving Marlena absolutely blindsided. She didn't know how to handle it.

"I do, I really do," Steve answered quietly. "But I forgot just how much you love candles and didn't think about the fact you could've found this after three months or after three years."

"That's the significance of it," Marlena smiled as she looked up at him. "When the time was right, I would find it, and I just so happened to find it."

"The last thing I want to do is pressure you with this."

Marlena wrapped her arms around Steve's neck and pulled him closer to her. "Everything is falling into place for us, Steve. We just moved into a brand new apartment, I just started my job at NYU, you're working at the VA center, and you're now an even better cook than you were eight months ago."

Steve couldn't help but laugh at her.

"For months the two of us have been building a life with each other and we never really took it upon ourselves to notice," Marlena continued happily, though her tone was serious. "So, yeah, it's been super long since marrying anyone else was at all on my mind, and I know it obviously wouldn't happen right away, but if I can promise that you and I will have a life together, if I can promise you that you're the one I'm always going to want and need, I'll do that."

"Marlena..."

"I'm ready to take on life with you," Marlena ran the pad of her thumb over the soft skin of his cheek. "I don't wanna spend anymore time waiting to take that leap."

Steve smiled down at her and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, the ring he had for her still within his grasp. "You...are absolutely everything to me."

Marlena leaned up to kiss him, her insides filling with so much love and admiration for the man wrapped in her arms. The feeling of his lips pressed to hers was something so electrifying yet so gentle. They felt perfect against her own. She longed for them. She longed for that feeling. She longed for him.

"And you are the absolute world to me."

Steve smiled against her lips and very quickly placed the ring on the dresser before grabbing Marlena and hoisting her into his arms. He placed her onto the bed and hovered over her, his blue eyes burning into her hazel ones.

"You have no idea how much I love you," Steve spoke softly as he traced his fingers over the waistline of her leggings. He slowly began pulling them down, while Marlena's breath hitched below him. She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him down to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his once more. She didn't want to talk anymore. All she wanted was to feel him, to show him how much she loved him through her actions rather than her words.

"Show me," she breathed against his parted lips. She grasped his shirt tightly between her fingers and pulled it off of his body, revealing the flawless, fair skin of his torso. Her fingertips traced every visible inch of his bare skin, only stopping as the rough material of Steve's jeans rubbed against her fingers.

Steve hummed in content at the feeling of her skin against his and gently removed her leggings. In that moment, all he wanted and all he needed was her. Marlena was his happiness. Marlena was reassurance that everything he worked for in life was more than worth it. He didn't need a ring, and he didn't need a trip to France. All he needed was her, and as long as he had her, life would be nothing less than extraordinary.