★ ★ ★

The sun reflected brightly off of the snow that had fallen overnight. The curtains in the guest room of Steve's apartment were closed, but a small sliver of light managed to force its way into the bedroom, bothering its tired occupant.

Marlena groaned as the warmth from the light met her skin, and she pulled the comforter over her head. She sighed in content as she was met with darkness once again, but her contentment only lasted a mere ten seconds before her bedroom door burst open. She didn't need to look up to know that it was Steve; he was the only other person in the apartment with her, and his thoughts were considerably loud—so loud Marlena couldn't not listen to them.

"If you could lower your voice that would be great," Marlena muttered into her pillow. "I'm trying to sleep here."

Steve stopped in his tracks, slightly confused as to what she was talking about. "I haven't even said anything?"

"I can hear your thoughts, Steve," Marlena said as she poked her head out of the comforter to look at him. "And they're loud."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he chuckled, "I'm just excited; today's gonna be great."

She smirked and pulled the comforter back over her head. "Let me know how it goes. I'll be here sleeping if you need me."

"Nope," Steve walked over to the bed and yanked the blanket off of her, causing a groan to escape her lips, "Get up and get dressed. We have someone to go and meet."

Marlena sat up, running a hand through her hair. "I wish you'd tell me who this someone is. I've been trying to figure it out since yesterday, but you've been doing a pretty fantastic job at keeping your thoughts from drifting."

Steve laughed and sat down on the mattress. "I'd hope so. Took some serious training to master it."

"You're a sneaky person, Steven Rogers," Marlena's eyes narrowed, "you and your little friends."

"You have to be sneaky when one of your good friends is a telepath," Steve said as he patted her on the knee and stood up. "But you get dressed and I'll go make you some breakfast. Any requests? I know you're a picky eater."

Marlena thought for a moment before answering him. "How about french toast and bacon?"

"Got it," Steve smiled before heading out of the room.

Marlena hopped off of the bed and moved to grab her bag from the other end of the room before venturing down the hall towards the bathroom to shower. She could've went without one, considering she had taken one before she went to bed, but she found herself wanting to look and smell her utmost best for whoever it was she was going to meet. Surely, if they knew Steve, they were bound to be of importance.

After spending fifteen minutes in the shower, Marlena stepped out to dry herself off. She wasted no time in throwing on the clothes Mason had picked out for her, and to say she was impressed with her little brother's fashion sense was an understatement. She wore a pair of distressed, black skinny jeans, a burgundy-colored sweater, a charcoal grey leather jacket, and a grey knit scarf around her neck. Once she had finished putting on her calf-length boots to match her jacket, she headed out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Her hair was still wet and her face was free of makeup, but she decided it would be best for her to eat first and worry about her hair and makeup later.

"Wow, you're sure dressed up," Steve said as he placed her plate onto the table.

Marlena furrowed her eyebrows and looked down at her clothes before averting her attention back to him. To her, she was nowhere near dressed up; this was a casual outfit for Marlena. "What do you mean? This is what I would normally wear."

Steve chuckled and sat down across from her. "At the tower, you would always be dressed in jeans and a hoodie or t-shirt, or your workout clothes. The only time I ever saw you in average civilian clothes was when you came back from getting your hair done."

"Oh yeah," she snickered, shoving her fork into her breakfast. "I never had anywhere to go."

"You're not wrong there," Steve said, digging into his breakfast.

The two mostly ate their breakfast in silent, though every now and then Marlena would tease Steve about how much cinnamon he had put into the french toast or how long he had cooked the bacon. She was only joking, of course.

"Alright," Marlena started as she stood up with her plate. "I'm off to put my face on and fix my monstrosity of a head."

"You women take so long to get ready," Steve shook his head as he shoved his final piece of bacon into his mouth.

Marlena laughed and started down the hallway. "I'll only be like fifteen minutes—twenty tops."

She took off for her room before Steve could say anything else and rushed over to pull out her makeup bag. She quickly, but flawlessly, applied a natural-toned eyeshadow to her eyelids before moving on to her lashes. After putting on a light pink lip color, she was done and ready to fix her hair.

She grabbed the blow dryer her brother had packed from her bag and proceeded to dry her damp hair. Once dry, her hair was left falling over her shoulders in naturally beautiful waves.

She put her belongings back into her bag and grabbed her purse before scurrying back out into the living room, where Steve sat on the couch watching TV. He looked up as she entered the room and smiled.

"Ready to go?" he asked as he switched the TV off and stood up.

"Yes."

Steve grabbed the car keys and headed towards the door.

"Y'know, your hair looked better long," Steve said as he and Marlena headed into the lobby. "Don't get me wrong, it's still beautiful, but you look so much older with shorter hair. I don't like it."

"So you'd rather I look like a twelve year old?" Marlena chuckled.

Steve shrugged and glared at the man staring at Marlena in the lobby. "Yes, if it means men who aren't Bucky won't stare at you."

Marlena pursed her lips, more than aware of the 'men' he was referring to. Although she didn't bother looking over at him, she could hear his vulgar thoughts clear as day, and was more than grateful that she was the telepath rather than Steve.

"It's a really good thing you can't read minds, Steve," Marlena snorted as she pushed the door to the apartment complex open and headed outside.

Steve's eyes widened in slight shock, and he glanced back at the man with another glare on his face before running after Marlena. "It's also a really good thing I have morals and self control."

Marlena smirked and opened up the passenger's side door of the Range Rover. "I guess so."

Steve hopped into the car seconds later and wasted no time at all in taking off down the street. Marlena sat quietly in her seat as Steve drove, wondering where he could be taking her. She attempted to pull some sort of information from him by delving into his mind, but the only thing on his mind at the moment was Natasha, Christmas, Bucky, and Marlena. None of those topics could help Marlena figure out their destination, and that frustrated her slightly.

Several more minutes passed before Steve pulled into the nearly empty parking lot of a retirement home. Marlena gazed up at the building with furrowed brows. She wasn't sure who Steve could possibly know inside the home that wanted to meet her, but she was more than willing to find out.

"Little warning: the person we're about to meet has Alzheimer's, so I'm not exactly sure what to expect," Steve said. 

"Who is it? Who's here, Steve?" Marlena asked as Steve parked the car.

Steve let out a breath and looked at her. "Stop asking questions and come with me."

He got out of the car and Marlena followed behind him. The two entered the building and were immediately greeted by the smiling faces of the workers.

"Captain Rogers, you can go ahead and head down," one of the women said. "She's been waiting for you."

Steve smiled and thanked her before grabbing Marlena's hand and pulling her down the hallway. She squealed in slight surprise but allowed him to pull her. They soon came to a room, and Steve slowly pulled Marlena inside.

Marlena looked around the room but stopped when her gaze fell upon the old woman sitting up in her bed. Though Marlena had never seen the woman before, at least not in her elder state, she knew exactly who she was. Not only had her abilities given her insight as to who the woman was, but the familiar hair—although grey—and the facial structure was a dead give away. The woman Marlena stood looking at was none other than Peggy Carter.

"Hey, Peggy," Steve greeted with a small smile. He let go of Marlena's hand and strolled over to her bedside. Peggy's eyes lit up at the sight of him, and all Marlena could do was stand there and watch in awe.

"Steve," Peggy nearly whispered, holding her hand out for Steve to take.

"I have someone for you to meet," Steve said as he took her hand, glancing over at Marlena who still stood idling by the door. He gestured her over, and Marlena removed herself from her thoughts before making her way over to stand beside Steve.

Peggy grinned at Marlena and removed her hand from Steve's hold. She held it out to Marlena, and Marlena didn't hesitate before taking it. "You're Marlena, aren't you? Steve has told me so much about you, darling."

"Yes, ma'am," Marlena smiled. "I've heard a lot about you from my grandpa Jo. It's such an honor to meet you, Peggy."

I thought you said she had Alzheimer's, Marlena spoke with Steve mentally. How does she remember you talking about me?

Sometimes she has her days where she remembers more and remembers less. It won't last very long, unfortunately. There's a slight possibility we'll lose her before we leave.

Marlena gave a small nod in response to his words, though it was only noticeable to Steve.

"Your great grandfather was an amazing man, my dear," Peggy coughed, squeezing Marlena's hand slightly.

Marlena smiled sadly as she thought of her great grandfather and sat down in the chair at Peggy's bedside with Steve following her actions shortly after.

"Are you not having anyone over for Christmas, Peg?" Steve asked her.

Peggy hummed as if she were reveling in the sound of Steve's voice. "I don't believe it's Christmas just yet, darling, do you?"

Steve smiled brightly at her words; this was the Peggy he still loved and missed so dearly. "I guess not."

Peggy smiled and turned to look at Marlena, studying her features intently. "Steve mentioned you quite a lot when we would speak on the phone. He spoke of an incident—he said you had been taken. I'm quite curious as to what happened."

Marlena's breath caught in her throat at Peggy's indirect mention of being abducted by Hydra. Images of her time in the Russian facility immediately began flashing inside her head, and she strained to prevent herself from freaking out. Steve, however, noticed her change in demeanor and let out a sigh.

I'm so sorry, Mar, he told her telepathically. I didn't think she would remember, let alone ask what happened.

Marlena swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up at him. It's okay; you can tell her.

Steve gave her a reassuring nod before looking at Peggy. "She was abducted by Hydra back in late June; they tortured her, they trained her, they did whatever they needed to do to turn her into a particularly dangerous weapon, and they succeeded to an extent. We managed to find her back in October and bring her back home. It's been a rough couple of months since then, but she's a trooper; she's one of the strongest people I've ever met."

"I am so sorry that happened to you, Marlena. I can't imagine how horrible that experience must have been for you, sweetheart," Peggy said sadly. "I can tell just how much it still affects you, but I can also tell that you're working hard not to let it. It will take some time, but I know you can do it. I've known you for only minutes, yet I can already confirm that you are a very strong and a very brave young girl."

Marlena smiled as she took in Peggy's words. It meant everything to her to hear those words coming from such an incredible woman. "Thank you so much, Peggy. That means a lot coming from you."

"Steve is a very lucky man to have found you," Peggy breathed out. "I'm glad he has someone as courageous and determined as you in his life. I do hope he cherishes you and his time spent with you."

Marlena looked up at Steve, obviously aware as to what Peggy was getting at. She believed her and Steve to be in a romantic relationship, which revealed that Steve hadn't told Peggy about him and his feelings for Natasha or even the fact that Marlena and Bucky were together. There was a slight possibility she could've forgotten, but Marlena didn't think so. She would have definitely remembered talking to Steve about Bucky before she remembered talking to Steve about her.

Steve's face fell as he met realization. Marlena noticed this and grabbed his hand, more than willing to play along in order to keep his spirits up. It was Christmas Eve, and she didn't want to see him upset when he should be happy.

"He does," Marlena spoke, earning a grateful smile from Steve. "He's one of the greatest people I've ever met, and I'm so thankful to have been given the privilege to know him."

Marlena's words were true, of course; Steve was in fact one of the greatest people she had ever met, and she was glad to have him in her life. He was like an older brother to her, and her tone had slightly insinuated that rather than him being her lover. Steve had noticed this, but she could only hope that Peggy wouldn't.

"That's what I love to hear," Peggy smiled. "And I love even more that you two came to see me; it's made my entire day."

Steve smiled and grabbed her hand, though his hold on Marlena's had yet to falter. "Of course, Peg. Anything for my best girl."

The only thing Marlena could do was smile with a certain sadness etched into her expression as she silently watched the star-crossed lovers interact with one another.