Marlena sat quietly at the island in the kitchen, while Tony and Clint worked diligently in front of her. She had stumbled into the loft earlier with swollen, tear-filled eyes and quite possibly one of the saddest facial expressions Tony and Clint had ever seen on her. They weren't exactly sure why she had been so upset, as both had arrived from their missions hours after her argument with Bucky. Tony assumed it was because she felt bad about the events of the previous day; Clint assumed it was because she missed her family. But rather than immediately asking her what was wrong, the two decided to make her breakfast in an attempt to cheer her up beforehand. Marlena appreciated the gesture, of course, but to her there was nothing anyone could do to make her feel better; at least not at the moment there wasn't.

Bucky's words were still so vividly etched into Marlena's mind; they played on a constant loop inside her brain, despite everything else that seemed to be going on. Nobody had ever said such a thing to her, and even if someone had she never would've imagined that someone to be Bucky—the love of her life. She had learned to accept the fact that he didn't mean it, but he still said it, nonetheless, and he couldn't take it back, no matter how desperately he wished to. The damage had already been done; the tears had already fallen, and even now, at almost ten in the morning, they were still falling.

Marlena thought of nothing but Bucky's words as she sat and watched Clint and Tony prepare her breakfast. They were cooking her favorite: chocolate chip waffles with a side of bacon and strawberries. She couldn't bring herself to care, though, as she could only ponder on Bucky's words and just how frighteningly accurate they seemed to be.

Marlena's dad would be disappointed in her if he were still here, or at least that was what she seemed to want to believe. She was most certainly not the Marlena he had raised, and it tore her apart inside to actually come to terms with the reality of it. Marlena wanted her dad back—she wanted him back more than anything; she wanted him back so she could tell him just how sorry she was for what she had become—for what they had transformed her into. She would not get that opportunity, however, and that was an aspect of the situation that made Bucky's words hurt her all the more.

"Here you go, cupcake," Clint's voice sounded.

Marlena snapped out of her thoughts long enough to see Clint placing a plate full of food down in front of her, along with some silverware and a bottle of Dr. Pepper. She smiled in thanks and picked up her fork, wasting no time at all in digging into her breakfast. She wasn't very hungry, considering her emotions were all over the place, but she would eat regardless. It would be disrespectful to waste the food Tony and Clint had so graciously fixed for her.

"While you eat," Tony started, sitting down across from her with a cup of coffee in his hand, "why don't you tell us why you're so sad? Is it because of yesterday?"

Marlena frowned and shook her head, shoving a forkful of waffle into her mouth.

"Wait, what happened yesterday?" Clint asked as he sat down beside Tony, his own plate of food in front of him.

"Marlena here snuck off on a mission with Steve," Tony told him.

Clint shrugged. "And why is that such a big deal?"

"Because she's still on the suppressors," Tony answered. "She's lucky she only managed to get away with a bullet graze to the arm; she could've gotten herself killed."

Clint almost choked on his food. "You're still on the suppressors? I thought Tony and Bruce took you off of them like two weeks ago?"

Marlena sighed and shook her head. "No, they didn't. But if they could that would be much appreciated."

"You actually want off the suppressors?" Tony asked with wide eyes.

"Yes," Marlena answered quietly.

In actuality, she didn't want to be taken off the suppressors, but she had something she needed to prove to her group of friends. She would work to control her mental abilities and her psionics and then proceed to show her friends that she was in fact more than just her powers. She wanted to prove that even if she did have the strength of her abilities to aid her in any given situation, she could be just as strong without them. She didn't want to be considered a reliable asset solely because she could conjure up a seemingly deadly energy; she wanted to be considered reliable on account of her physical skills and her determination to assist those who needed it.

"I'll get on that ASAP," Tony said, taking a sip of his drink. "But what's the real reason why you're upset, little one?"

Marlena put her fork down and looked up at the two of them, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "M-me and Bucky got into a f-fight after getting back to the tower," she paused as she tried to suppress her tears, "and some things were said. Let's just leave it at that, okay?"

Tony grunted. "That explains the crying."

Marlena frowned and quickly wiped the tears from her face.

"What the hell did he say to make you upset like this?" Clint exclaimed angrily.

"Barton," Steve's voice sounded, attracting the three's attention. "I think it's better that we don't talk about that."

Marlena quickly looked back down at her plate when she took notice of Bucky trailing into the kitchen behind Steve.

Bucky watched her with a frown on his face, the guilt from the night before eating away at him. He could see the pale color of her face that had been caused from crying, and he could see just how red her eyes were from crying. He hated seeing her in such a state, and he hated even more that he was the cause of it.

"I think it's better that we do," Clint retorted. "A girl like Marlena shouldn't be bawling her eyes out because her boyfriend is a dumbass and hurt her feelings."

"How about you guys talk about it and I'll take our little Marlena here down to the lab so I can start working on taking her off the suppressors," Tony remarked.

Marlena placed her fork onto the countertop and looked up at him.

"You're taking her off the suppressors?" Bucky asked, glancing at Marlena.

"Per her request."

Marlena pursed her lips and looked down again, pushing her plate away. "Is there a chance we could do that later when I'm not being a disappointment?" she spoke quietly.

The room fell silent at the sound of her words; even Marlena herself grew quiet. She hadn't been expecting that to come out of her mouth, but unfortunately for her it had, and it made her feel worse than she already did.

"What the hell are you talking about, Marlena?" Clint asked her.

Marlena shook her head and removed herself from her stool. "Nothing. I need to go."

She made a move to head out of the kitchen, but before she could get far a hand latched onto her wrist. She turned quickly to see Bucky looking down at her, his blue eyes boring into her hazel ones. He was upset, more than upset, but so was she. It made it easier for her not to care that he was upset. She had her own self to worry about at the moment.

"Mar, baby," Bucky said quietly.

Marlena's lip trembled. "Please, just don't."

He wasn't able to respond before Marlena practically ripped her wrist from his grasp and sped off, leaving the four men to stare after her.

"What the hell did you say to that poor girl, Barnes?" Tony questioned.

Bucky sighed. "Something I regret more than anything in the world."

"I'm gonna go talk to her," Steve said, maneuvering himself around Bucky to follow after Marlena.

He ran up the stairs and ventured down the hallway until finally coming to her shared room with Bucky. He could tell she was inside just by the sound of the sniffling coming from the room, so he pushed the door open and headed inside.

Marlena, who lay curled up on the large bed, was slightly startled by his entrance. She was afraid that it might have been Bucky who entered but was seemingly relieved when she realized it was only Steve.

Steve shut the bedroom door behind him and strolled over to Marlena, sitting down beside her on the bed. He pulled her small, trembling body close to his, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting notion.

"He told me what happened; he told me what he said," Steve began, rubbing Marlena's arms soothingly.

Marlena buried her head into Steve's chest and cried. It was difficult for her to formulate a response through her cries, so Steve continued with what he had to say.

"It was wrong and quite possibly one of the most disrespectful sentences I've ever heard come out of his mouth, but just know that he did not mean it whatsoever," Steve assured her. "Bucky can be impulsive when angry; he speaks without thinking, which tended to get him into a bit of trouble back when we were young."

Marlena sniffed and looked up at Steve. "But he was right, though. My dad would be disappointed in me if he was still here. I've turned into everything he didn't want me to be."

"But that's not your fault, Mar," Steve told her. "Bucky told us a lot about you while you were in Russia, and yes, I will admit that several of the things he's told us completely contradict with the Marlena I know, but you changing had nothing to do with you—Hydra is responsible, just as they're responsible for Bucky. You can't put yourself down because of that. You did what you had to do to survive; you did what you had to do in order to get back to the people you loved, and if your dad was anything like Jo, then I can guarantee he'd be more proud than anything else."

"Thank you," Marlena squeaked. "But it still hurts, Steve-it hurts so much. The person I love the most managed to shatter my heart in a fraction of a second just by uttering a few words. I mean, it already hurt to argue with him in the first place, but when he said that. . ."

Steve sighed and hugged her. "Like I said, he can be impulsive when angered, and I'm pretty sure Winter helps contribute to that impulsivity now. But he didn't mean what he said, Marlena. Bucky loves you more than anything on this planet; he'd never do or say anything to hurt you on purpose. You should know that."

Marlena sighed and nodded, electing not to give a verbal response.

"Let's not forget how this entire situation expunged, though, Little Miss Sneaks-Onto-Missions," he chuckled. "When he realized what you had done, when he realized that you had lied to him, he was scared to death, Marlena."

"But why? He knows I'm perfectly capable of handling myself," Marlena said quietly.

"That's true," Steve said. "Except he also knows what the suppressors do to you; you don't fight as well as you normally do and your senses aren't as acute, not to mention you don't have your abilities to aid you."

Marlena wiped her face. "Don't remind me."

Steve chuckled. "The point is, you lied to him and put yourself in unnecessary danger—danger that could've resulted in your death. Your lie could've cost you your life; your lie could've cost Bucky the love of his life. He thought he lost you once and he was devastated; he was terrified to think he could've lost you again, this time for good."

Marlena exhaled deeply, pondering over Steve's words. She had never taken into thought Bucky's fear of losing her when she kept the suppressor secret from him; she didn't necessarily think the two corresponded with each other, but now that she had put some thought into it she was beginning to see just how the two connected with one another. It made her feel absolutely horrible, and it made her want to leave the room so she could find Bucky and tell him just how sorry she was for lying to him, but she couldn't face him, not yet anyway. She would still need some time to get over the pain his words had caused her before she even thought about speaking with him. It was imperative to her that their encounter be free of tears, and if she were to head out and find him now, a tear-free encounter was most certainly not what she would receive.

"I understand, Steve—we're both in the wrong here," Marlena sighed, wiping the tears from her face once more. "And I want to apologize to him, I do, but I can't do that just yet. I need some time to think about things."

Steve looked down at her and smiled. "And that's okay. But please don't tell me the expulsion of your relationship will result from you thinking."

His words left a dull ache in Marlena's chest, and she swallowed the lump in her throat before looking up at him. "God, no. That's a pretty extreme thing to do just because he said something to hurt my feelings."

"I'm glad you feel that way," Steve said, rubbing her arm. "He was scared you wouldn't forgive him."

"I love him more than I've ever loved anyone, Steve," Marlena said quietly. "I don't think there's anything that man could do that I wouldn't forgive him for."

Steve smiled. "You two are definitely relationship goals."

Marlena chuckled and shook her head. "You really need to stop hanging around Clint and Tony so much."

"I'm well aware," Steve laughed, standing up from his spot. "But you take some time to think about things, and I'll keep Bucky busy for the time being."

"Thank you, Steve," Marlena smiled.

Steve leaned down and kissed the side of her head. "You're more than welcome, Mar."

Steve walked out of her room without another word, leaving the small girl alone to ponder in her thoughts.