Chapter Six
Soroya

Everything is ready. There is nothing else to do but wait for the Kree to arrive tomorrow morning.

When Thanos first came to Earth it was so sudden. He came, he took everything, then he left. When Thanos came again, it was just as sudden. But that time he came and he lost. Both times there was no second to think, to process. The night before each battle, I didn't know that the next day would be filled with so much destruction and death. I didn't know that the next day could be my last. This time is different. Here I am, the night before the battle, and I know what's coming tomorrow. I know what could happen to me, to everyone. I've had days to think about it, to process it, all of it. I thought maybe knowing what's coming in advance would make things easier. It doesn't. If anything it makes it harder.

This could be my last night alive. My last night with my friends. My last night with my family. I am making sure that I don't waste it.

Everyone is settling down in their rooms for the night, wanting to attempt sleep before the battle. Before they do though, I make sure to get in my goodbyes. I don't want to leave anything unsaid, have any regrets. After the blip, I regretted not saying goodbye to Alex, Bucky, and my friends while I had the chance. I won't make that mistake again. I went to Bruce, Scott, Okoye, Shuri, Nakia, and T'Challa. I hugged them each and told them I loved them. I called Rhodey, Everett, and Sharon and told them the same. I didn't go to Sam or Zy since I'll be with them all day tomorrow.

I went to see my brothers and my niece, hugging onto them so fiercely I may have given them bruises. I hugged onto Alex the longest, and as we held onto each other, my brother whispered into my ear: "It's you and me. No matter what happens tomorrow, we'll endure it together. Like always."

Whether we live or die, we'll go through it together like we always do, like we've gone through everything else. Getting kidnapped by HYDRA, forced to become weapons, going on the run, fighting Thanos, fighting HYDRA, getting mind controlled, and years of imprisonment and torture. All these things we've dealt with together, with each other. As much as I wanted to convince him and myself otherwise, I didn't. He's right. The Roberts siblings have always been in this together, and if one of us dies tomorrow, the other will die too. The thought made me hold onto him tighter.

When I left them I went to find Ana, and I discovered her not in her hotel room, but outside the hotel on a bench. She didn't look at me as I sat down next to her, she just silently slipped her hand into mine. I squeezed her hand in response.

"Promise me you'll be careful tomorrow." I murmured.

"I'm not the one who needs to be careful. You're the one everyone is after." She responds frankly.

I raised an eyebrow her way. "You don't sound very concerned for my safety."

She smirked. "I know from personal experience how hard it is to capture and kill you. You'll be fine."

I sat closer to her then, keeping my fingers wrapped around hers, and placed my head on her shoulder. "You're my best friend, you know."

Ana chuckled darkly. "Against all odds, you're mine, too."

"I just wanted you to know that in case—"

Ana finally leaned her head against mine. "Don't. Don't say it. I'm not accepting any goodbye from you. I'll be fine, you'll be fine, and when this is all over, we are going to drink every drop of alcohol Wakanda has."

"Sounds like a plan." I told her, and then she and I sat in silence for a long time, my head still on her shoulder, our hands still intertwined.

I make my way back to my hotel room now, only having a few goodbyes left to make: the goodbyes to my husband and my children. I find Bucky, Livy, Stevie, and Liam in the room, all of them finishing up some room service pizza. They offer me some but I'm not hungry. I wait until they're all done eating, and while I wait, I watch them. I memorize their movements, their faces, their voices, everything about them. I think about all the things I might not get to see: Livy become a certified doctor, Livy and Zy get married, Stevie and Liam graduate school and become Avengers, the two of them maybe tying the knot. The three of them having children of their own...

I feel my throat grow tight, my breaths grow rigid as I think about all I could lose, the memories I may never get to make with them, how this might be the last time we're all together. Tomorrow one or all of us could be dead.

When everyone is done eating, the kids say they are going to their own rooms, but before they move even an inch towards the door, I stop them. I look at each of them individually, smiling sadly, trying to keep my voice steady as I say: "Stay together tomorrow, guard each other's backs, keep each other safe. Will you promise me that?"

They nod, each of their faces growing distressed upon hearing my strained voice and seeing my tear filled eyes. But they say nothing.

I continue. "I will always be with you, no matter what. Even if I'm not with you on the battlefield, even if I'm gone."

"Mom..." Stevie begins, but he trails off, tears forming in his eyes as well.

I brush my hand against his cheek, then I do the same to Liam and to Livy, whispering to them: "I love you all very much. And I want you to know that the greatest honor of my life hasn't been being a hero or leading the Avengers, it's been being your mother."

All three kids hug onto me then, burying their heads against me, trying to stifle their cries. I hold onto them and let them cry, doing my best not to cry myself. If I let myself cry then I don't think I'll be able to ever let them go. They have to get some rest and get ready for tomorrow, I can't hold onto them forever, even though I would gladly do so. I force myself to step away from them after a few minutes, and after each kid hugs onto Bucky, they walk out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Bucky and I are now alone, and just as I'm about to open my mouth, Bucky stops me with a look.

"No."

"Buck—"

"No!" He says a little more forcefully. "You are not saying goodbye to me."

"Please—"

"I said no!"

"Don't take that away from me!" I nearly shout. I close the distance between us and grab onto his face, keeping those angry eyes focused on me. "I didn't get to say goodbye last time, Buck. Thanos took away my goodbye, and I will not let you do the same. This time I get to say what I couldn't say last time and you're going to listen whether you like it or not."

Bucky's jaw tightens under my palms, his face still contorted in anger and pain. He nods though, bracing himself for what I'm about to say. I brush my thumbs across his cheekbones, smiling up at him, pressing my chest against his.

"When Thanos came, you and I had only just stopped being stubborn and gave into how we felt. We only got one day together and then you were gone. I never even got to tell you I loved you before you died. Since then we've had twenty three years together. We got married, had two children, took in a third, bought houses, cooked meals, did laundry, fought bad guys...It's been a strange, complicated, hard, and beautiful life. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Bucky almost smiles. "Neither would I."

I lean up on the tips of my toes and press my forehead against his, letting go of his face and wrapping my arms around his neck. I feel his hands grab onto my hips, holding me tightly against him, his breathing jagged, his bottom lip beginning to quiver.

"I love you, Bucky Barnes. And if I die tomorrow, if all that remains of me on this Earth are ash and dust, I will still love you."

His grip tightens on me, his body shaking as he begins to cry. His lips are wet and salty from tears as he places them on mine, his hands rubbing up and down my back, like he's trying to mold me against him. My hands leave his neck and dig into his hair, which has grown out to fall past his ears. It's soft, silky as it slips through my fingers. Bucky has now taken an interest in my hair, too, but he's only using one hand, the other is still holding my back.

"I love you," He whispers against my mouth, backing me up towards the bed. "I love you so much." His mouth never leaving mine for a moment, he lowers me onto our bed, his hard, solid figure pressed up against mine. His hands leave my back and explore the rest of my body, like he too is trying to commit everything to memory, commit me to memory.

I do the same for him. All throughout the night.

-

Liam

I think trying to sleep tonight is pointless. An alien invasion is happening tomorrow, how can I shut my eyes for one second when tomorrow they could be shut for good? That's all I keep thinking about: I could die tomorrow. Dying fighting an alien army is not how I thought I'd go out. Not that I've thought a lot about my death, but in the brief moments I have, I didn't see my end being met at the end of an alien weapon.

If these are my last hours alive, I'm glad I'm spending them here: in bed with Stevie, my head pressed against his, our hands intertwined between us.

Stevie isn't asleep either. He's been rambling about random things: school, the paintings he's been working on, the Star Wars marathon he watched a few days ago. He's trying to distract himself from the things I'm thinking about: our imminent deaths. Stevie is a very positive person, death isn't exactly a topic he's comfortable talking about, especially since tomorrow will probably bring us knocking on death's door.

"Stevie..." I begin, taking in a deep breath, brushing my thumb with his.

"Hm?" He responds, glancing from our combined hands to my face, his brown eyes searching mine.

"In case we die tomorrow—"

"We aren't going to die."

"But in case we do—"

"We aren't going to die!"

"For Shiva's sake will you let me finish?"

"No," Stevie says, his voice sounding thick. "I refuse to hear that kind of talk from you. The moment you start talking about possibly dying tomorrow is the moment you accept that as an outcome from the battle. I refuse to accept that outcome. I-I can't bare the thought of you dying. I can't, so don't talk like that."

I move closer to him in the bed, gripping onto his chin gently with one hand and guiding his lips to mine. Stevie grabs onto the collar of my shirt to pull me even closer, his lips moving against mine in a firm and determined manner. After a few seconds he freezes though and pulls away, his eyes widening at me.

"Wait, wait, wait...what were you going to say? Actually, no, never mind. Don't tell me."

"Make up your mind!"

"I was so wrapped up in the whole 'if we die' part that I didn't consider what you might be leading up to say. But I don't want you to say it now." He replies, now looking sheepish.

I quirk an eyebrow up. "What do you think I was leading up to say?"

"Whatever it is, it can wait until after the battle. I don't want you to say what I think you're going to say just because we might die tomorrow. When you say it, I want it to be natural, real."

"It's real now." I whisper, all of the sudden feeling a little nervous. Stevie's cheeks begin to blush.

"Regardless," He says, his voice breaking a little. "I don't want you to say it right now."

I nod, trailing my thumb along his chin, his jaw, his neck, his collarbone. "Okay...but when I say it, how are you going to react?" I think that's part of why I haven't told him yet. Part of me is afraid he won't feel the same way, that I'll have put my heart out in the open only to be crushed. But the other part of me knows that he does feel as I do, and that he would never hurt me. Never.

Stevie grabs onto my hand and guides it towards his mouth, placing a kiss on my palm. "I'll say it back."

"Really?" I ask, and I hate how insecure and timid I sound.

Stevie nods, shaking his head at me like I just asked a pretty stupid question, his lips still hovering over my palm. "Really."

He begins trailing kisses down my hand to my wrist, his lips lingering over a scar I got from falling off my bike as a child. He kisses that scar for several seconds. The heat of his lips and the intensity of his gaze, cause butterflies to let loose in my stomach. Using my other hand I pull his face back towards mine, hearing him let out a yelp of surprise as my lips crash into his with newfound attention and excitement. Stevie lets go of my wrist and grips onto my hips, his fingers snaking under my shirt to feel the skin underneath. I do the same, lifting his shirt up in order to feel the smooth planes of his stomach, the curves of his biceps, the defined bones of his neck and shoulders. Stevie lets go of my hips and lifts his arms up to allow me to take his shirt off altogether, and in a quick motion, my shirt is off as well.

Stevie leans forward again, but I place my hand on his chest to stop him, watching his eyes fill with panic.

"Did I do something—"

"No, absolutely not, you're doing great. I just wanted to know where this is going, how far you want to take this, if we're taking this anywhere at all." My words come out kind of mumbled and incredibly rushed.

Stevie seems to understand me though. He shrugs, a little out of breath, that dorky smile I love so much spreading on his face. "I'm down for some end of the world sex if you are."

I can't help but laugh at how casually he just said that. "So end of the world sex is fine but you won't let me say—"

"That's correct," Stevie says with a nod, bringing one hand up to untie my hair from the messy bun I have it in. It now reaches past my shoulders. I want to cut it, but Stevie has forbidden me from doing so, and I'm incapable of denying him anything. "But, like, do you want to do this? I don't want you to do something you don't want to do just because of me."

"I want this," I respond, leaning forward and touching my forehead with his. "I want you."

He swallows hard, his voice growing raspy. "You ever done this before?"

"No. You?"

"No...I just want to say that I'm sorry in advance."

I pull back a little. "For what?"

"I've been told by my mother and uncle that sex with a shapeshifter can be weird," Stevie explains, already looking embarrassed. "Apparently growling, howling, scratching, biting, and possible shifting can occur. Since it's my first time I may have to stop and get my powers under control, I'm sorry if—"

"Don't apologize," I urge, brushing my lips gently with his. "Your powers are beautiful. You're beautiful."

Stevie catches my lips with his, placing his hands on my shoulders to push me onto my back, his body now completely covering mine.

I feel incredibly nervous about doing this, not only because I've never had sex before, but I'm worried I'll disappoint him. I'm worried I'll mess up something and ruin one of the best things in my life right now. But I try my best to push those fears and insecurities aside and focus on Stevie: the boy who invited me into his family, who gave me a home, who paints better than Van Gogh, who has an unhealthy obsession with Brendan Urie, who never fails to make me laugh, who has the biggest heart, the greatest optimism. The boy I love.

-

Zy'aire

Saying goodbye to my family and friends was the hardest thing I've ever done. While they are on the battlefield risking their lives, I'll be up in the sky above them, unable to help them, unable to stop them from being hurt. It's the worst kind of torture. I'm trying my best not to think about it, and instead think about Livy, who is laying in bed with me, her head resting on my chest.

If I do end up dying tomorrow, I'll die happily knowing my last hours were spent with Olivia Barnes in my arms.

"I wish we could have gotten married." Livy whispers into the darkness.

"We still could."

"Only if we live through tomorrow."

"No, I mean we could right now."

She pushes herself off my chest and sits up to look at me, her eyes wide in confusion. There isn't much light in the hotel room besides the light flooding in from outside, from the other buildings in the city. It illuminates her face in a blue glow. D.C. is quite beautiful. It's a shame that it will all be destroyed tomorrow.

"What are you talking about?"

"As king I can can officiate a wedding, including my own."

She chuckles softly, shaking her head. "So you're suggesting you marry the two of us alone, in an unofficial ceremony, in a hotel room?"

I sit myself up, too, rubbing my hands over her bare arms. She's wearing a tank top with a picture of John Lennon on it and sweat-shorts. Her hair is let down, it's falling past her shoulders. She never usually has it down, it's usually up in a high ponytail. I love seeing it like this, so much so I brush some away from her face and tuck it behind her ear.

"It wouldn't be unofficial. Usually the wedding and crowning ceremony happen at once in Wakanda, and according to Wakandan law, you need witnesses to become a monarch. There's nothing that says you have to have witnesses to get married, just an officiant, which I am."

The smile that spreads on her lips is infectious. "You really want to marry me right now?"

"Livy, I've wanted to marry you since we were children. If tomorrow is the end, I want to be able to call you my wife for however many hours we have left."

Livy nods, grabbing onto my hands, waiting for me to begin our wedding ceremony. I hold onto her hands tightly, clearing my throat.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Olivia Barnes and King Zy'aire," Livy quirks an eyebrow up upon hearing me speak in the third person, and I offer her a smirk in reply. "Olivia, do you take Zy'aire to be your husband? Do you promise to love him, support him, and listen to My Chemical Romance with him as long as you both shall live?"

Livy stifles a chuckle, nodding her head. "I do."

I begin chuckling as well as I talk to myself in the third person: "And do you, Zy'aire, take Olivia to be your wife? Do you promise to love her, support her, and listen to her talk about all of the disgusting things she has to do as a doctor no matter how uncomfortable it makes you?" Livy punches my shoulder, shaking her head at me. I let go of one of her hands and brush my fingers across her flushed cheeks, answering my own question: "I do."

I straighten up a little more, now cupping her face in my hand, my smile growing with each word as I finish off the speech: "By the power vested in me as king of Wakanda, I now pronounce us married."

After the last word leaves my lips, Livy flings her arms around my shoulders and kisses me. I hold onto her hips and pull her closer to me, and as I do so, Livy positions her legs to straddle my lap, her lips never leaving mine. I never get tired of kissing her, holding her, touching her. For so long it was something I thought I would never get to do. I thought she would never love me the way I loved her, that I was doomed to watch her fall in love with some other man. Bast it was so painful, just picturing her with anyone else but me. Now that I know she loved me too the whole time, I can only imagine it was the same pain she felt seeing me with all my relationships.

I only had those relationships because I was trying to get over her, I wanted to move on, give my heart to someone else. Whatever my reasons were though, it wasn't fair to them, to myself, or to Livy. It was a vicious cycle of finding someone nice, dating them, not feeling an ounce of what I feel for Livy, then feeling guilty for staying with them and ending things. When Livy would ask me why none of my relationships lasted, I would tell her that something was missing. She was what was missing. I'll never love anyone like I love her.

I pull back from Livy a little, trailing a finger down her face, her nose, her lips. "Whether we die tomorrow or live another hundred years, I will always love you, Olivia Barnes."

My best friend, my queen, my wife places her hand over the one now cupping her face, staring into my eyes, my soul, as she smiles. "And I will always love you, Zy'aire."

She reconnects her lips with mine, pushing us backwards, her kisses, her hands, her body, her love making me forget for a moment that the world could end tomorrow, that we could die. When we're together, when we kiss, when we touch, nothing else matters. It's just me and her. Whatever happens today or tomorrow, it will always just be me and her.

-

Josephine

Dad and Baba are sleeping in the bed next to mine, their arms wrapped around each other, their eyes closed in a restless sleep. I can't sleep. I don't know how anyone can sleep when impending doom is tomorrow. But maybe they're sleeping because they know what to expect, because they've accepted the reality of the situation. I've only heard stories and seen videos of the last alien invasion, I really don't know what to expect. I think it's honestly more terrifying this way.

Since I can't sleep, I've been silently pleading to Hanuman, to Bast, to whatever God that will listen, for my family to be safe tomorrow on the battle since I will not be there to protect them. I'll be in a fucking metal bunker, on the bench, the sidelines, off field. I feel like the newbie member of a football team that the other players don't trust enough to play. It pisses me off.

As I watch my parents sleep, I make a promise to the Gods and to myself: that I won't stay down there the whole battle. That I will fight for myself, for my family, for my planet, and I will not let any member of my family die. Not again.

Never again.