★ ★ ★

"Secretary Ross has a congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have," Rhodey said to Sam.

The Avengers were gathered together in the loft of the compound living quarters to discuss the accords. It had become a rather heated debate over the past hour or so; some supported the accords, some didn't support the accords, some were still trying to determine what exactly was going on, and some were just completely sick of dealing with the situation.

Tony and Marlena were among those who were in fact done dealing with the topic regarding the accords. Tony laid on a couch with his hand over his face, shaking his head at his fellow teammates every once in a while. Marlena sat by Steve's legs, her head pressed against the arm of the chair in which he sat on. She wanted to go home now more than anything, but Tony wouldn't let her. She had asked three times, only to receive the same answer each time. 

"Let's say we agree to this thing," Sam said. "How long is it gonna be before they low jack us like a bunch of common criminals?"

"A hundred and seventeen countries wanna sign this—a hundred and seventeen, Sam, and you're just like 'Nah, it's cool.'"

Sam gave him a look. "How long are you gonna play both sides?"

"I have an equation," Vision spoke loudly from  his spot beside Wanda.

"Oh, well this'll clear it up," Sam scoffed.

Vision looked around at the group before speaking. "In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And, during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate."

Steve looked up from the accords to look at him. "So, you're saying it's our fault?"

"I'm saying there may be a causality," Vision paused, "Our very strength invites challenge; challenge insights conflict; conflict breeds catastrophe. Oversight. . .oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."

Marlena let out a sigh and leaned her head against Steve's knee. She had remained silent throughout the entire altercation. She couldn't find the words to say or the strength she would need to say them in the first place. Her mind was running a million miles an hour. She didn't know what to focus on, whether it be how lost she felt without Bucky, her feelings regarding the Lagos incident, or the dangerously annoying topic regarding the accords.

"Tony, you're being uncharacteristically nonhyperverbal," Natasha said.

Tony removed his hand from his face to look at her, though Steve spoke before had the chance.

"It's because he's already made up his mind."

"You know me so well," Tony responded as he sat up in his seat, rubbing his head as he did so. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache."

He walked over towards the kitchen, pulling a mug off of the counter. "That's what's goin' on, Cap—just pain and discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal?" he exclaimed, turning around. "Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?"

The room was silent for several seconds. Tony pulled a small tablet from his pocket and placed it into the fruit basket. In seconds a holographic image of a young boy came into view, confusing the group slightly. Marlena and Wanda knew who he was thanks to their abilities, but what they didn't know was why Tony had a picture of him.

"That's Charles Spencer by the way," he breathed out. "He's a great kid—computer engineering degree, three-point-six GPA. He had a floor level gig, an Intel plan for the fall. But first, I wanna put a few miles on his soul.

"Charlie didn't wanna go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do; he didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam—sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor, guess where? Sokovia."

An eerie silence fell upon the room at Tony's words. Wanda's mouth fell open in sadness, and she looked down to the floor; Marlena stared straight ahead, unable to formulate a response.

"He wanted to make a difference, I suppose, but we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kickin' ass," Tony exclaimed, taking a sip of his drink. "We need to be put in check, and whatever form that takes I'm game. If we can't accept limitations and boundaries, we're no better than the bad guys."

"Tony, if someone dies on your watch, you don't give up," Steve said.

"Who says we're givin' up?"

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame," Steve answered.

"I'm sorry, Steve, but that is dangerously arrogant," Rhodey chimed in. "This is the United Nations we're talking about; it's not the world security council, it's not S.H.I.E.L.D., it's not Hydra—"

"No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change," Steve countered.

Tony stepped back into the loft. "That's good.  That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down."

Steve shifted in his seat, jarring Marlena slightly. "Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there's somewhere we need to go and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own."

"If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later," Tony said, his tone serious. "That's the fact, and it won't be pretty."

"You're saying they'll come for me? They'll come for Marlena?" Wanda spoke up.

Steve placed a comforting hand on Marlena's shoulder as he felt her tense, and Vision glanced to her before looking back at Wanda.

"We would protect you both," he assured her.

Wanda simply smiled at him.

"Maybe Tony's right," came Natasha's voice, surprising just about everyone in the room. "If we have one hand on the wheel we can still steer. If we—"

"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" Sam cut her off, more than surprised that she was actually agreeing with Tony.

"I'm just—I'm riding the terrain. We've made some very public mistakes; we need to win their trust back," she replied.

Tony leaned down, placing his hands on the arm of the couch to hold himself up. "I'm sorry, did I just mishear you, or did you agree with me?"

"Oh, I wanna take it back."

"No, no," Tony said, wagging his finger at her. "You can't retract it."

Steve's phone vibrated inside his pocket, catching the attention of Marlena. She glanced up at him, a frown pulling onto her face as she watched the sadness set into his eyes. She knew instantly that whatever it was had to do with Peggy, but she wasn't even given the chance to confirm it before Steve dismissed himself from the room, slamming the accords down onto the table in front of him as he did so.

The team watched as he hurried out of the room, Marlena included. She let out a sigh and got up from her spot on the floor, ignoring the calls of her fellow teammates as she ran from the room.

Marlena ran down the stairs in an attempt to find Steve, but slowed to a walk when she noticed him leaning against the railing at the bottom of the stairs. His hand was covering his face, but Marlena could tell by the way his body shook that he was crying. His tears alone were enough to give insight into what happened: Peggy had passed away.

She took a slow step off of the final step so that she was now on level ground with him. She reached her hand out to touch his arm, her own sadness beginning to make an appearance as the reality of the situation had begun to set in.

Peggy Carter was one of the nicest and strongest women Marlena had ever had the opportunity to meet—the opportunity to sit down and talk to. She treated Marlena with the same amount of respect in which Marlena treated her with, and knowing that she had passed saddened her deeply, though she knew her death cut far deeper in Steve than it did her. She was Steve's first love; she was the only person Steve had left from his life before the ice, aside from Bucky. But with Bucky gone, it seemed as if Peggy was in fact the only person left. And he had lost her.

"Steve," Marlena spoke quietly.

He removed his hand from his face to look at her. His face was soaked with tears, and his normally vibrant blue eyes were now dull and broken. Marlena couldn't recall ever seeing Steve in such a state, and that pained her more than she originally thought it would.

Steve looked at her for several seconds before pulling her to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her small body. He held onto her as if she were his anchor, as if she were the only thing keeping him from completely falling apart inside.

"I'm so sorry, Steve," Marlena said into his shirt, a few of her own tears managing to escape.

Steve cried harder and squeezed Marlena tighter, though he was careful not to harm her.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Marlena questioned him.

"Tony has orders for you to stay in the compound for the time being," he followed as he pulled away from her, wiping his face with his hands.

"I don't care about Tony's orders. Being there for you is more important to me than that, Steve," Marlena told him. "You were my shoulder to cry on; I think now it's my turn to be yours."

Steve grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you, Mar. You have no idea how much that means to me—how much you mean to me."

Marlena did her best to smile at him, though her emotions quite negated the gesture. "You're more than welcome."