Music is "New Life" by Thomas Bergersen.

Picture is my edit of Vlad and Glory.

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"New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings."

- Lao Tzu

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Recommendation from the author: "Photographs - Bucky Barnes" by arymyth.

Recommendation from the audience: None.

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Author's Note:

Hey guys!

This is the final chapter! I can't friggin believe that this is happening. It's ending so soon! As I said, there will be an Epilogue, and after that, another book, but I'll give the info for the next book in the following post on Friday.

Thank you so much for your support! I never could've gotten this far if it weren't for you. Please, feel free to leave comments about this final chapter. I would really appreciate the feedback!

And I'm sorry for the picture overload below. I wanted to show exactly what I envisioned (hehe, get it? EnVISIONed? Ehe... ehe... I need help) for the Glietro house.

Also, I saw Civil War on Monday and it was fantastic! No spoilers, but go see it if you haven't already!

Your friendly neighborhood author,
- SaveTheBrooklynBoys

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CHAPTER FORTY

I never thought I'd be so used to silence. After everything that's happened, silence is the last thing I thought I'd be accustomed to. Between the bombs, the nightmares, the sirens behind us, silence is a luxury that few of us have these days.

I'd never felt silence this heavy than when I visited Aspen's grave for the last time. It's just a half an hour before the twins, Vision, and I were preparing to ship out to Wakanda to pick up my children. Then we were off to Sokovia, or what was left of it. We were never coming back, that much I knew. This would be the last time I would see my friend's resting place.

It hurts like hell.

I step through the marsh of a graveyard that leads to Aspen's gravestone, finding the dark clouds overhead to be a foreboding sign. It's been like this ever since the day I woke up in Stark Tower, especially yesterday when we buried our dead. Why does it seem that whenever we finish a fight we always are right back here, in a cemetery, burying someone?

It hurts, but sadly, doesn't surprise me anymore. What does surprise me is that the first thing I see in front of Aspen's grave is not an animal of some sort feeding on the treats left at her grave, but my old friend Vlad Spencer. He stares at his wife's name like if he does it long enough, she'll come back.

I purposefully make myself known, shuffling a few bushes on my way towards him. This is a private moment, and I'd hate to intrude. "Hey, stranger."

Vlad turns around, wiping his eyes as he looks to me. "Hey. Didn't hear you, sorry." He looks over his shoulder back to Aspen. "I was just... visiting. Felt the need to confess a few things. You know, get a little weight off my chest."

I nod, placing the small, brown paper bag I'm holding on the tombstone beside me. "I know what you mean."

After that, there's an awkward silence between us. Last time we really talked, it was in the Negative Zone, in Prison 42, and we were shouting and throwing darkness and cosmic energy at each other. Not one of our best moments in our friendship, but I'm surprised to say not one of our worst.

"Look," Vlad starts, trying to find the words, "What I did... siding with Tony and tricking you like that... that was wrong."

"Damn right it was."

"I should have told you to be fair. I shouldn't have used our friendship as a ploy."

"Again, damn right. Was our friendship worth nothing to you?"

He sighs. "I still agree with what Tony was saying. I still think that we need to be put in check, but the way we went about it was wrong. We shouldn't have thrown people in a prison because they wanted to protect themselves or their families."

"Finally. Something we can agree on."

"But giving up our friendship wasn't worth any of it," Vlad adds, his voice breaking as more tears flood his eyes. "Glory, you were my friend when everyone else thought I was either too emo, too gay, too depressed, or all three. You were my friend when no one else would be. Do you remember the first thing you said to me in seventh grade?"

A smile tugs at my lips. "You were sitting alone in the library, trying to get some homework done. I had seen you every day that year. It was around Christmas, one of the last days before the break, and I went up to you, and said, 'Hi, my name is Gloria Northern. My friends call me Glory, and you're going to study with me from now on.'"

Vlad laughs as I imitate the scene that I had played back over and over in my head. "We left school for break that day as acquaintances and returned after the break as best friends." He sits down in front of Aspen's grave, patting the spot beside him. "Do you remember that you let me ask you out at Prom in our junior prom because I was too chicken to ask Aspen?"

I take the spot beside him, handing him the brown paper bag. "I do. You were such a wuss. You wanted to make her jealous because she was going with someone else."

Vlad shakes the bag upside down and out drops a small sapling, barely popped out from a seed. "What's this?"

"It's an Aspen tree sapling," I whisper, taking it from his hands. "I always plant something when I come." I nod my head towards the Lavender I planted last time. "Help me plant it?"

He nods, a soft look coming into his eyes. We turn to start digging at the ground in front of her grave, and Vlad lowers the sapling into the tiny hole. We put the dirt back, patting it down firmly. "Tony told me you're moving to Sokovia with the Maximoffs. He said you were going today."

I nod, wiping the dirt from my hands onto my jeans. I turn back around, looking at the stone that has my best friend's name on it. "Yeah, we are. We need a new start. As far as anyone outside of the Avengers think, the Maximoffs and I are dead." I turn to Vlad with a shrug. "Being a superhero and fighting supervillains isn't the only way to save people. Maybe I can do some good in Sokovia, you know? Without punching holes in the sky."

Vlad smiles, giving my shoulder a squeeze. "You'll do good anywhere you go, Morning Glory. It's not a career. It's who you are. Just promise you'll give me a call every now and then? Be the better woman and don't let my stupidity ruin over fourteen years of friendship."

"I promise. Same to you, Vampire." I give him a smile, leaning in to hug him tightly. "Let's stay here and talk for a while. I don't have to ship out for a half an hour. Just stay and talk?"

Vlad nods, hugging me back just as tightly. "I'd like that. Just the three of us again."

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Pietro shoves open the door of the private jet that Tony provided, taking a deep inhale before he steps forward. Little Ksenia is in his arms, her blue eyes wide with curiosity. I'm right behind him with Steven in mine. Out of the twins, Steven is very clingy to his mother, not that I mind in the slightest. Ksenia is a free spirit, so she matches up well with her father. That one is going to be a handful when she's grown.

"Finally," he sighs, smiling at the sight of the small town ahead. A few flurries of snow float down from the mountains that surround his home country. "Home at last."

As soon as I follow him down the stairs, Wanda and Vision come behind us. They hold many suitcases in their hands, and Wanda has many more floating behind her using her chaos magic. "I never thought I would move back here again," she says, excitedly. "Lorna, come! I must show you everything!"

"Slow down, sister dear!" Lorna shouts, bursting from the cab, the last passenger of the seven of us. "I have a few days before Natasha wants me back. You can show me everything in that time, but we need your house to be set up first."

"We have a house already," Vision states, earning a half-glare from Pietro. "We, um, came here for vacation over a year ago. It was where Glory and Pietro found us after he had returned from his journey to her world."

Lorna gives him a very confused look, then shakes her head. "You lot are confusing. Fine, Vis, then we'll help my sister-in-law and brother set up their home."

Vision nods. "You guys do realize that we aren't actually married yet, right?" I chuckle.

"Soon, my sister," Wanda says in a slightly creepy voice, a smile to match. "Soon."

I turn to Pietro, trying to ignore Wanda for the moment. "You know where this house is? I've only ever been to Sokovia twice, remember? You said you found the perfect place."

Pietro grins at me over his shoulder. "Trust me, you will love it."

As the rest of the family moves down the slope towards town, I turn to the jet. "FRIDAY?"

"Yes, Ms. Glory?"

"Thanks for the ride."

"It was my pleasure. Only the best for Tony's friends."

"Right." I pause. "Hey, can you give Tony a message for me?"

"Of course."

"Tell him... tell him we create our own demons, but we can destroy them, too. We don't have to let them control us." 'We create our own demons' was one of the first things I said to Tony, one of the things that got him to believe me. It's not poetry, but it means something to him and I. He'll understand what I mean by it.

"I have recorded your message, Ms. Glory. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"And tell him thank you."

"Glory!" Wanda's voice comes from behind me. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah! Be right there!" I step back, watching as the jet takes off from the runway. It sails high in the sky, turning into a tiny dot, then disappearing altogether. "Godspeed, Tony."

I turn and head away from the runway, turning away from the past and walking towards my new home. Sokovia, still partially in ruins, is the most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time. Not for it's architecture, or it's scenery, or anything aesthetic. It's beautiful because it's our choice to be here. We chose to move here, to help in a way we never have before. The closing of this chapter opens a new one.

As the seven of us walk through town, we are met with both smiles and scowls. I can understand the hesitation towards newcomers, especially those who trashed your country over six years ago.

Gosh, it's been six years since Age of Ultron, and the country is still in upheaval. No wonder they seem so standoff-ish. If I lived under a Communist regime, I'd be more than slightly concerned about new people coming into my city.

Some of Sokovia has been rebuilt, the inner part of the city. The outskirts are still pretty desolate, but that's something we can help. Luckily, the house Pietro picked out is in the mountainous part of Sokovia, one of the few houses that has a view of the city below.

When we are able to see the house for the first time, I instantly know that it's going to be absolutely perfect. It's a medium sized, dark brown house with a pyramid shaped room typical of those in the Slavic countries. The small porch is white and it wraps around the house . There's a fenced area around back, facing the town. I can see multiple small gardens in the enclosed space, and if the front of the house says anything, I'm sure the back is just as, if not more, beautiful.

Outside, there are many flowers in full summer bloom. Some are in baskets, hanging from the ceiling of the porch. Others are in window boxes. The entire building screams of happiness and spring.

"What do you think?" Pietro asks. "It is not what they have in America, not what you are used to I am sure, but I thought of you when I saw it. I had Alma look after it for a few months until we could come here-"

I give him a huge smile, breaking off his sentence with a kiss to his lips. "It's perfect! Absolutely perfect!" I turn to Wanda. "Can you hold Steven for a moment? I have to go explore my house!"

Wanda laughs, taking her little nephew from my arms. She speaks small words to him in Russian, smiling as he looks up at her in awe.

I kiss him on the forehead, taking off towards the house. It's my house. Mine. Even before I came to this world, this world's Glory only ever had apartments or condos. This is the first time I've had a place to call my own, completely my own.

Once inside the door, the house just keeps getting better and better. Right as I walk in, there's a long, rainbow carpet that goes along the thin hallway, stopping right before you get into a large room. Connected in this room are the kitchen, an eating area, and a large room with plenty of seating. There's a large fire in the corner, and a mural of a meteor shower on the side of the wall that the largest sofa leans against.

All the colors nearly overwhelm me. I guess you don't realize how dull American architecture is until you come here. I waltz into the kitchen, running my hand along the stone counter. There's plenty of kitchen space for all the cooking I'll be doing. A large fridge and electric stove are clearly the upgrades for the house.

I hear footsteps behind me. "What do you think, возлюбленная?"

"This is beyond anything I could ever had imagined," I reply with a huge grin. "You did all of this? When?"

"Well, I cannot take all the credit. I had Vision and Clint come out here a few times to help me fix her up. She was in rough shape when I first bought her, but she is pretty fine now, da?"

I run at him, throwing my arms around him in a tight embrace. "This is the best thing you've done, by far, Pietro Maximoff. You've outdone yourself!"

Pietro laughs, lifting me off the ground and spinning me around. "I am so glad to hear you like it! I had Wanda help me decorate, because she clearly has better taste than I, and I had Nat put in extra security. You know, just in case."

I nod, looking around at the gorgeous house. "How many rooms does it have?"

"Four rooms. One for you and I, one for each of the twins, and a guest room. There are three bathrooms, kitchen, den, laundry room, small shed in the backyard, an attic space, and a small basement. The guest room is in case friends ever visit. I doubt your mother will need it, though, now that she and Bex are moving to Sokovia next week."

I turn with mouth gaping open. "What?!"

"I asked if they wanted to move here to be with you, since you have given them up to start over. I know that you just rekindled you relationship with them. I do not want you to give that up for anything, not even us. So I am having them shipped over here with all their belongings." He walks me over to the large window in the kitchen, pointing to the house on the other side of the small clearing in the trees. "They will live not two miles from you. You can see them whenever you like."

I take his hands, squeezing them while looking into his bright, blue eyes. "Pietro, this is amazing. Thank you!"

He leans over and pecks me on the forehead. "A home is something Wanda and I haven't had until the Avengers, and now we can settle down back in our home country. It is I who should be thanking you, Glory."

"Well," I reply in a teasing voice, "I am pretty awesome."

Pietro rolls his eyes. "Oh! I almost forgot. I have one last thing to show you. Then we come back, unpack, and Alma is coming over to help us prepare a welcome home meal." He pulls me into his arms and rushes us out the back door, heading to Odin knows where.

When he comes to a stop, we're in front of a small garden. The pathway is long and filled with colorful flowers just like the ones in front of my house. It looks like something out of a fairytale. "What's all this?"

"This is one of the places I thought you might like for the wedding," he says, surprising me a little. "You said you wanted to be married outdoors, in a garden preferably. This is the town floral garden. It is where we throw all of the seeds we did not use that year so they can grow wild."

I glance around in awe. "It's perfect, Pietro. Absolutely perfect." I turn to him, raising my eyebrow. "Please tell me they have wedding dress shops here."

A knowing smile covers his features. "I do believe we will need my sister for this one."

· ~ · ~ · ~ · ~ ·

The scent of Paprikash fills the room, along with lots of other things. Thanks to the help of Alma, Wanda, and surprisingly, Vision, we had prepared a meal fit for royalty. It had taken us a few hours, but it was well worth it. Nothing says, "Welcome to the neighborhood" like a home cooked meal in the new house.

Alma turns to me and hands me the last dish, and I place it on the table. "We are...ready." She had been learning English over the past few months, and though she still struggled with lots of words, it was nice enough for her to try to learn my language. But when she wasn't speaking English, it was very interesting to listen to her and the Maximoffs speak Russian. I mean, I had heard them speak to each other, even picked up a word here and there, but full conversations in the den between more than the twins was very cool to hear.

"Awesome," I say, smiling as the last dish is placed on the table.

"Um... awe...some?"

"Oh!" I turn to Pietro. "Pietro, Russian word for awesome?"

Pietro stands from his spot on the floor with our twins to walk over to me, chuckling a bit. "There is no Russian word for awesome. Not in the way you Americans use it. Try здорово. It means something similar."

I nod, turning to Alma. "здорово."

Her face lights up, and she smiles. "Ah! Yes, здорово!" She pats me on the shoulder and walks over to the table, putting the finishing touches. "время ужина! Dinner time!"

Wanda takes Ksenia from her knee and hands her to Pietro. "I will get the baby seat." She turns to Vision who cradles Steven to him. He looks very perplexed at the young human. "You are doing wonderful, Visi."

"I must say, I have never held a baby before," Vision admits, looking towards Wanda. "Are you certain that they are to be rocked back and forth like this, Wanda?"

She nods, chuckling a bit. "Yes, Visi. I am certain."

Vision looks back down to Steven. "It seems traumatizing. If someone took me and shook my like a rattle, I'd be a little more than upset, but it seems to calm them right down."

I take a sip from the soup on the stove, warming it to a hot temperature. "Oh, thank the gods you cannot procreate," Pietro mutters under his breath.

His words cause me to spit the soup out into the sink, sputtering out a laugh. "What is up with you?" Lorna asks, and Wanda returns with two, identical baby seats. Pietro settles our daughter in one, and Vision rests Steven in the other.

"Oh, nothing," I reply, wiping my mouth just as we hear a heavy knock on the door. My eyebrows pull together in confusion. "Who could that be? We only just got here." I turn to Pietro. "Did you invite anyone else?"

Pietro gives me a grin, taking my hand and tugging me towards the door. "I did. Do not be mad. He made me promise to keep it a secret to surprise you."

I give him a look out of the corner of my eye as he tugs me towards the door. "Pietro Erik Maximoff, what did you do?"

He doesn't reply, just gives me his usual smirk and opens the door. Outside is one of the last people I thought I'd see at my front step tonight. It makes me suck in a huge breath, and after the short period of shock passes, I lunge towards him to wrap my arms around his neck.

Steve Rogers laughs, an angelic sound to my ears, throwing his arms around me in a brotherly bear hug. His arms lift me off my feet, not too hard to do because of my stature being a foot shorter than the super soldier. "You stupid, stupid man!" I shout, nearly crying at the sight of him alive, well, and healthy. "I am never owing you any favors ever again!"

"And I promise I won't ever make you promise to shoot me through the chest ever again." He pulls back, a huge smile on his face, one that reaches his eyes. It hasn't done that in a long time. "I was kinda hoping for something more subtle, though. A metal spike through the chest? Really?"

I punch him in the arm, harder than I intended to. "Shut up, you big patriotic jerk." My head turns slowly to Pietro. "How did you find out he was still alive? Only Bucky, Sam, and Nat knew."

Pietro shrugs. "Bucky told me because Steve wanted to come see us. We can keep a secret." He nods towards the Cap.

"So you knew he was coming and you didn't tell me? One of these days, I will kill you both and you will both deserve it."

Pietro and Steve both laugh at the same time, Pietro circling his arm around my waist. "Come in," he offers, waving Steve through the door. "There are others who will certainly like to know you are alright."

"You're alright, though, right?" I ask Steve as he walks with us to the kitchen. "You were gone. Barely a heartbeat. You had open... everything surgery. If I hadn't known..."

Steve places a hand on my shoulder. "I'm good. A little banged up, and I still have a lot of healing to do, but I'm going to be alright. Thanks to the wonderful Helen Cho, who, by the way, knows about this whole thing, too. She was more than happy to help me get away from the mess."

I nod, thankful that there are people in the world who can help Steve start again. "So, where to after this? I hope you plan on staying for more than just a quick dinner."

Steve shoves his hands in his pockets, turning to talk to me before we enter the room and all hell breaks loose. "I actually am planning to stay for a while. Don't know how long yet, but Sokovia is a place where Stark isn't welcomed at all. He can't come here. No cameras, no satallites, no suits, nothing. If I stay here, I can do so without hiding."

"You don't think people here won't recognize the famous Captain America?" I tease with a smirk.

Steve chuckles, shrugging. "It's a chance I'll have to take. I'll change up my look a little, maybe dye my hair or get it cut-"

"-Absolutely not-"

"-but the point is that I'm staying." Steve turns to me again with a smile. "For good, maybe. I can lay low while staying with people I care about. With Bucky, Nat, and Sam still with the Avengers, I don't have a place to go, really. Nat only dropped me off just a few hours ago so I could visit here. She has to be pretty sneaky about when she gets away and where she goes."

"You could stay here," I suggest, nodding my head towards the second floor of the house. "We have a guest room for that very reason. You could stay with us until you get a place, or you could just stay here. Sure, the bed is probably two feet too short, and I know you're used to American food by now, but hey. It's a home, and you're more than welcome. After all, Ksenia and Steven are your godkids."

He shakes his head. "Thank you. Maybe just for tonight, but you and Pietro deserve this. You deserve a home and a new start, too." He looks around the hallway. "Nice house, by the way. Very homey."

"Pietro picked it out," I reply, looking to my fiance that is picking up a crying Steven. He rocks him back and forth, trying to console him back to sleep. "He's really come a long way, Steve. He used to be so anxious and unpredictable and ungrounded. He's matured since I've met him."

"You both have," Steve adds. "You've come a long way from the geeky girl who freaked out over meeting the Avengers." I roll my eyes at him. "Now you're a mother, a fiance, a leader, an Avenger. You've saved lives, Glory."

"You have, too. Don't forget that." He nods. "And Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for not disappearing. I couldn't have taken it if you just dove off the radar without saying goodbye first."

Steve leans up from against the wall, nodding towards the kitchen. "You're not gonna get rid of me that easily. So, what's for dinner?"

"Paprikash, an old soup recipe of Alma's, Wanda's bread, and lots of other things. You hungry?"

"Like an Asgardian demigod," he laughs, giving my hand a quick squeeze before we step into the kitchen area. "We made it, Glory. We really made it."

"It's the end of the line, Steve," I reply with a smile. "We made it to the end."

As Steve gives me a proud smile, the rest of my family turns with a gasp, all of them shouting, "Steve!" and crashing into the super soldier with hugs and "We didn't know you were alive!" and "How are you alive?" and "What the hell?" That last one came from Lorna.

Steve greets each of them, telling the tale of how he survived such a horrifying blow. He shares how it's our secret, and only four others know. He, like the rest of us, wants to start over here in Sokovia. He tells how his best friend, Bucky Barnes, and Natasha Romanoff are to lead the Avengers now. They, along with Sam Wilson, will choose who join the team from here on out.

Lorna looks to me with a huge grin on her face. "Do you think they'll take a seventeen year old daughter of a super villain?"

"They took us, did they not?" Pietro adds with a smirk. "I am sure Natasha would be more than happy to give you a spot. Just behave, alright?" He ruffles up her green pixie cut. "Or I will have to come over there and kick your ass myself, little sister."

Lorna glares at her half-brother, fixing her hair back. "Why don't I doubt you?"

"Because he will, and he has," I chuckle, "multiple times." I turn to Alma, and she gives me a nod, telling me the food is ready. "Alright, time to eat! For real this time."

As the family starts for the table, I can't help but think over the past year or so. Like Steve said, we've all come so far. We've all changed so much, mostly in good ways. A year ago, I had just found out I was pregnant. I had just become engaged. I had just lost Aspen. So many things were up for grabs at once. If you had told me then that everything was going to be okay, that I would get through that and so much more, I would've never believed you.

But we did. We perservered. We made it through one of the hardest things any of us will ever have to go through, and yes, we lost people. We lost Clarke, Rhodey, and plenty of others. Some of will never see each other again, but the strange thing is... it's okay. The things that break us are the things that make us. No strong person ever comes from a life without struggles.

We've lost things, but I think we've gained just as much, if not more. I gained two, beautiful children whom I love with everything I have. I gained back a mother and a sister, and I've forgiven the burden of hatred I've harboured towards my father for almost two decades. I've gained more family, and those who weren't really there for me were shown in these tragedies. I've gained a home that is all my own, and a life that I have complete control over.

It's like Gwen Stacy said, "We have to be greater than what we suffer." I've found this to be one-hundred percent true. Going through life with no hardships doesn't built you up or make you stronger. It makes you soft, it makes you easily broken. With everything that the Avengers have gone through this year, if there's one thing I know for certain, it's that it's going to take a hell of a lot to break us.

As I look around the table, I see the people who have become the closest things to my heart: my sister-in-law to be beside me, Wanda, and her love beside her, Vision. At the opposite end sit Alma, the person who took care of the Maximoff twins since they were fifteen, and Lorna, the daughter of a mad-man who proves that your parents don't define you. On either side of me are Pietro and Steve, one my fiance and the other one of my best friends. In the baby seats between Pietro and I are Ksenia Aspen Wanda Maximoff and Steven Dmitri Maximoff, my two little angels who mean the world and more to me.

And this is where you would read "The End" of the story, right? But that's not true. This isn't the end; this is only the very beginning of a new chapter in our lives. The story doesn't end on the last page any more than it begins on the first page. We all have the power to say, "This isn't how my story ends" and to begin again. Beginning a new chapter takes courage, but as I look to see the smiling faces of those I love, I can truly say to myself, "It was worth it."

And who knows? Maybe some time down the line we'll take up our old mantels of superheroes again. Maybe, one day, we'll go back to the Avengers, and I'll punch holes in the sky once again. But for now, in this moment, this is exactly where I want to be.

Pietro looks over to me as I'm deep in thought, swallows his food, and ask with a concerned look, "Is everything alright, возлюбленная? You seem a little lost." He takes my hand over the table, giving me his full attention as the rest of the table continues to converse and laugh and eat.

I nod, smiling at him as I'm pulled from my reminiscing. "Believe me, for the first time in a long time, I know exactly where I am. I'm not lost anymore; I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be." I give his hand a quick squeeze. "I love you, Pietro."

He smiles back at me, all concern melting off his face. "I love you, too."

We turn back to the conversation at hand, continuing to dine and laugh with our family. All through the night, and into the days that will follow, even the years ahead, I know that this statement is one that will make me smile every time I think of it:

I'm not lost anymore; I am exactly where I'm supposed to be.

THE END.