YEAR 5 HOPING FOR THEM

Octavian gave Curio a grateful smile as Curio placed the plate of eggs in front of him.

"Thanks, C." Octavian thanked Curio, his hand eagerly finding the fork and, making slow movements, carefully finding the eggs and bringing them to his mouth. Curio smiled at the man, taking a seat himself across from Octavian. The pair began to eat in silence, as they always did - it was Curio's favourite part of the day. It was the time when they could just indulge in the presence of the other person. It was the time that their San Francisco house truly felt like a home. 

Normally the streets outside were silent. Ever since the snap, no one had taken the responsibility of caring about the cities, all too preoccupied with their own grief. All too soon nature began to creep through the cracks in the tarmac, to the point where Curio could look outside and see a forest. 

No one went outside either. This always baffled Octavian and Curio - when they were in their own reality people were still busting to feel the fresh air on their faces. They guessed that they struggled to understand the desire to stay inside when they'd been kept underground in the Libertas compound for oh so many years. 

So when the serenity of their lunch had been disrupted, they both froze. 

"Did you hear that?" Octavian asked, slowly pushing his chair away from the table. 

"Kind of hard not to." Curio copied Octavian's actions, making his way to the window and pushing the curtain aside. 

Curio's heart soared. 

It couldn't be. He couldn't be seeing what he was seeing, because if it was what he thought it was, there might be hope for them all. 

Not wasting a moment, Curio leapt away from the window and bounded for the door, oblivious to Octavian's confused calls at his back. He yanked the front door open, the door smacking the wall loudly, the noise rebounding throughout the street. This didn't deter Curio, his eyes focused on one figure across the road. 

He sped across the road, his bare feet tearing beneath the mix of concrete and weeds. He was oblivious to the pain, pushing himself until he was standing in front of an all too familiar house, a piece of a puzzle falling into place. 

Before him his neighbour was hugging a tall man, his black hair neatly groomed on his head. 

Curio cleared his throat, uncaring about how tightly the pair were holding each other. "Sorry to interrupt this heart warming moment, but we need to talk." 

At his words the pair let go of the other, both turning to face him. Curio held in his gasp, unbelieving that what he'd actually seen had been true. 

Scott Lang was looking Curio right in the eyes, his eyebrows furrowed. "Who the hell are you?" 

*

Octavian's foot was tapping wildly. The action was shaking their kitchen table, and Curio was in half a mind to tell him to stop. But upon seeing the way Octavian was gnawing at his lip, he swallowed his complaints. 

"So you guys are from a different reality? How did you end up here?" Scott spoke between bites, chewing rapidly on the peanut butter sandwich Curio made him. 

Octavian scoffed, and Curio was certain that he rolled his eyes. He couldn't confirm his gut feeling, Octavian's eyes hidden by his sunglasses and the end of his jagged scar creeping out from under them. "That's a long story we don't have time for." 

"What we really need to know is how you did it." Curio looked expectantly at Scott, but all he did was stare back blankly. "You vanished, with so many other people. How did you get back?" 

Scott gulped, putting what little remained of his sandwich back on a plate. He wiped the crumbs off his pants, licking the excess peanut butter from his fingers. "I honestly have no idea what you guys are on about." 

The pair waited for Scott to say something else; nothing followed. They waited a long time for him to say something, anything at all - it was futile. 

Octavian's face fell, his voice being so quiet they had to strain to hear it. "You have no idea what we mean, do you?"

"I'm sorry." 

Curio felt an urge to reach over and squeeze Octavian's hand. He knew how much his hope must have surged, and how he must have been thinking of how he could save Messalina. All of that had been dashed before it even started. 

"We need to see Nat, she might know what to do," Curio suggested, standing up and grabbing a coat from a nearby chair. Octavian agreed, sluggishly getting to his feet and making way for the door. Scott followed wordlessly, letting them lead him to their car. He got into the back without complaint, clearly as confused as Curio and Octavian were. 

The journey to the Avengers compound was a slow one. The pair hadn't visited since they'd left, something they were both nervous about. The one thing that made the journey so slow was the hope they had had so crudely ripped from them. 

Curio looked in the rear view mirror, watching as Scott slipped into slumber in the back seat. He was perplexed as to how he'd come back, but it didn't seem like something they could handle alone. 

"O?" Curio asked, checking to see if his friend was awake. Octavian grunted in response. "Are you okay?" 

"I will be." 

That was the end of the conversation. Curio didn't know what else he expected really, Octavian was never the type to open up about his feelings, and the one person he ever opened up to had disappeared along with half of the universe. He sometimes wished he could be enough for Octavian; he knew that was cruel to think. Messalina was Octavian's sister, they had a type of bond that was foreign to Curio. As someone who had long become adjusted to having no one, he wished Octavian could recognise he had at least him. 

Curio shook these thoughts away, concentrating on the road ahead of him. Soon the time quickly slipped away and before he knew it, they were at the Avengers compound. Curio woke the other two up, getting out of the car and smiling at Natasha and Steve stood at the entrance waiting for them. 

"Long time no see." Curio greeted the pair, shaking Steve's hand and offering a hug to Natasha. She seemed to take a beat to decide, before falling in his arms. 

"I missed you two," she whispered in Curio's ear. That struck guilt deep into his heart. But now was no time to ponder on the past. 

Octavian took Curio's place, squeezing Natasha tightly as if his life depended on it. She whispered something in his ear, something Curio couldn't pick up on, something that made Octavian smile.

Being at the compound once again overwhelmed Curio with a sense of deja vu. The majority of his time in this reality had been spent here, and now it just a building that he no longer knew. He had a feeling he would quickly grow to learn of this place again. 

He had a feeling that this was the start of something, but he didn't yet know what. Whatever it was, he hoped it didn't end in heart ache. 

- 

hi guys! so endgame has officially started, are you all excited? i personally CAN NOT wait to get right into it! 

i hope everyone is okay and doing well! thank you for reading!

-thirdwheelchurchill