2016 | AVENGERS COMPOUND — Steve was in denial. He couldn't accept any of this. There was so much in his life that he regretted: so many things he still wanted to do, and too many things he still wanted to say. Sometimes one never truly appreciates the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.

While this story had heroes, soldiers, warriors, even witches and mermaids, this is not a fairy tale... because fairy tales, as always, have happy endings. No, the girl dies in the arms of her first love and one finds it cruel that in this world Shakespeare kills Juliet first.

And for Steve, the worst part of it all was watching her lie there in front of him on that cold table. He cried and begged in pain for her to to open her eyes, while she peacefully took her last breath.

But that wasn't the only thing that bothered him. Fate was once again not kind to him and Bucky. Nobody had expected it, nobody understood it at the same time, but once again there was no trace of Bucky. The Others had last seen him helping Wanda into a Quinjet. He was no longer under the mind manipulation, no doubt, but he was gone nonetheless. Maybe he was trying to live in the shadows for now?

Steve felt cursed. It was like bad luck was always following him. He wasn't superstitious, nor did he believe in something like actual magic existing. I don't believe in magic, he said so many years ago, back in 2012. You will when you meet the right one, it was none other than Tony who answered this - just another poor attempt to cheer the old Captain up. How many times had he hoped to encourage Steve to date anyone? He just wanted him to be happy and not so alone: a nice life with security, stability and a family, because, isn't this what everyone wishes for? Deep down inside Tony cared a lot for him, even if he might not always show it.

Sure enough, Steve wasn't alone or unhappy when he still had the two of them. And that's exactly why Tony, didn't give up so quickly on Ariel. She was still in her room, lying peacefully in her bed, next to her an IV that pumps her system with saltwater and other meds. Tony hoped this would purify her blood and strengthen her somehow. After eight days, on her being on salt-water, the genius noticed a change. Her cheeks had turned a soft pink. Her hair became a fiery red again and her lips a peach hue. Yet not a single heartbeat, not a breath, not a pulse, not even Wanda could comprehend even the purest thought with her powers.

To be fair, he didn't know if it really helped her or just kept her body upright. But he did it for Steve.

He visited her every day and stayed by her side. He didn't give up hope. Sometimes he would sit on the chair next to her bed and play music in the background or tell her something that she probably would have liked to hear. He told her about the 30's and 40's, about Bucky, he even told her about Dr. Erskine, from New York, from Washington and from Sokovia... as long as it would somehow help her get back to him.

With a sad frown, he looked at her motionless hand, which he held in his, hoping that she would move a finger, stroke the back of his hand, or just squeeze it lightly. He just wanted a sign. One single sign that she was still here with him.

Even after fourteen more days, there was still not a single sign of life from the lost mermaid of the Avengers. No heartbeat, no breath, no pulse, no sound, no normal body temperature and not a single thought could be registered from her.

Maybe it was best not to hold on to her for any longer, Tony thought eventually, staring sadly at the young woman's lifeless body. So young, and so very tragic. His gaze shifted from her closed eyes to her blue-scaled hand, that was hidden in Steve's very own one. He was sitting on a chair next to her bed and must have fallen asleep because he hadn't noticed that Tony had also entered the room to check on Ariel. He was beginning to lose all hope that the salt water would do anything for her other than sustain her body. It really did hurt him to see Steve like that.

Steve has never been good at letting go. Sometimes it was a blessing of sorts, but also a curse at the same time. He never gave up fighting for his dreams: in 1940 he made it into the army and was allowed to defend his country. What he didn't know was that being a hero had a price. He lost so many people he loved. His parents. His best friend ... and now the girl who could've made him forget about all the grief, if only for a little while.

Everybody else was loosing hope as well. Every day Tony would report to Natasha and the others if he saw any progress in the Ariel-Situation, but it didn't look too good and so the others thought it was less and less likely that she would wake up again (as much as they wanted her back). Without Ariel's help, the Avengers might not have found the three of them that quickly before even worse would have happened. It's quite sad to think about, that all Ariel wanted was to be free...

The others thought it was best to let her go now. But they didn't know how to tell Steve.

One more time the door opened to reveal Natasha who was wearing a sad smile on her beautiful face, but she was surprised to also find Tony here. She then looked over to Steve, who seemed to have been woken up by her presence. With tired eyes, his first priority was to check on the girl in front of him, hoping her lovely turquoise eyes would greet him. But instead, his heart sank when they were still closed and he now noticed Nat and Tony in the room. "Sorry..." Steve apologized, somewhat feeling caught, before he sat down straight again.

"I actually came to check her vital signs," Tony began, before offering him a warm smile. "but I didn't want to disturb you." Natasha mirrored him, smiling sadly. „And I just wanted to visit her." Steve wasn't the only one who checked on her too often.

Deep down inside, the assassin hoped history would just repeat itself, like when she first met Ariel. The strange girl would just simply wake up and stagger around the halls of the compound like a cute little duck... and Natasha could laugh about it.

Steve wasn't the only one who had lost a lot, although hardly anyone knew about it, the Black-Widow knew all too well what it was like to lose people she loved, she was just a master of secrecy. When she was just a small child, she was deprived of her freedom, was raised to be a murderer. She once lost her very first family and she lost her little sister Yelena. Oh yes, she remembered her, even though she tried so very hard to forget about her and Ohio. And maybe, that was why she wished so badly that Ariel was still there with her. Natasha spent so much time with her, it almost felt like old times. She gave everything to find her... to save her. Because she couldn't save Yelena. She missed them both so very much.

"Hey, uhm- ... can we talk?" Tony said after a long silence and turned his gaze to Steve who just nodded. "Has something happened?" He continued, but got only a weary shake of the head as an answer. "Don't you think... we um- well..." Tony sighed, not daring to finish the sentence.

Natasha noticed his stutter and knew what he was getting at. "Steve, it's been almost a month and she is not getting better-" She exhaled as her eyes fell on the hands of the two. Uneasy, she looked back up at Steve's face, feeling even more guilty for that sentence. His face resembled that of a frightened puppy and she had never seen him like this before.

"But what if she's still in there?" he asked, gripping her hand tightly, not wanting to let her go. "You can't keep her here forever, Steve." She sighed apologetically. Tony finished the thought and continued speaking for her. "I think it's the best-"

"Give her a few more days." Steve interrupted him hesitantly. He just needed more time. "Steve..." Natasha exhaled.

"She was your friend too!" he said firmly. "Tony, how many times has she been in your lab watching you make those weird inventions? You even let her help you and do you know how happy she was about it?! Yeah, she told me almost every night what she did with all of you." he continued as Tony's lips turned to a frown. He had no idea. He still remembered clearly when he met her in that shipwreck. He doesn't know how much longer she would have been imprisoned or even tortured if he hadn't discovered her. He had even developed a necklace for her because he thought she would miss her tail for swimming. He had grown to care for her too.

"Natasha, she looked up to you!" Steve's voice grew louder. "Do you know how many times she has raved about you?! After each of your training sessions, she has told me all about how strong and great you are. How many times have you two and Wanda spent time together on that couch, eating junk-food and making fun of us?!" Natasha wanted to laugh at the last part, but instead she swallowed sadly. He was right, all too often the three of them sat on the couch and laughed their heads off at Steve's clumsiness or Sam and Bucky's silly idiotic arguments. Of course she missed those moments.

"Are you really going to give her up this fast?" Steve was sure she was still in there. But perhaps all they needed was to get the human part of her back...