The crisp autumn breeze whipped through Marlena's hair. The brunette was sitting outside in what used to be the Avengers's landing zone. She was still at the tower, as was the rest of the crew and now Bruce. There was nowhere else to take Alena aside from prison, and Marlena didn't want to do that, so she remained at the tower sitting and waiting until she was ready for visitors. Marlena was tired and a bit nauseous. She sipped away at the tea Steve made for her and looked out at the city. One thing she'd always missed about the tower was the breathtaking view. New York City had never looked so beautiful.

"Been awhile, huh?"

Marlena turned her head to see Bucky heading outside. She smiled at him and turned her attention back to the city, while Bucky made his way over to sit down beside her.

"I haven't been here in years," Bucky said to her, his eyes meeting the bright lights of New York City. "I forgot just how peaceful it was."

"I don't know if peaceful is exactly the word I would use." Marlena looked over at the large landing pad that extended over the edge of the building. She remembered watching Tony practically dance his way back into the tower after returning from a mission, and she remembered the way Natasha would playfully roll her eyes at him. She remembered the parties, the meals, the holidays, the heartbreak, and the time spent with those she loved the most. "We went through a lot while we were here."

"We did," Bucky sighed. "Can't say I don't miss those days. Everything was so much simpler."

"You're not wrong." Marlena took a sip of her tea and looked over at Bucky, "Being back here just feels so different, y'know? Tony and Natasha are gone, Thor took off with the Guardians, Clint went home to his family...it doesn't really feel like home anymore."

"That's because it's not home anymore, Marlena," Bucky told her. "A home isn't just about a place—it's about the people you decide to let inside."

"I just feel like I'm running out of people."

"You have me," Bucky reminded her. "And you have Steve and Sam and Wanda and Mason and Charlie and Jay—"

"I get it," Marlena chuckled quietly. "I just wish there were a couple more names I could add to that list."

"I know you do."

"I'm sorry, y'know?"

"About what?"

"Alena." Marlena pulled her jacket tightly over her chest as the wind began to pick up. She had plans on going back inside long ago, but she figured she could wait. Talking to Bucky was a decent distraction, and she figured they were due for another conversation anyway.

"And why exactly are you apologizing to me?" Bucky said, a small smile on his face. "None of this is your fault. How could you have possibly known you had an evil twin sister hellbent on taking over your life?"

Marlena only shrugged and offered him her mug, which he took without hesitation; it was a bit chilly, and while Steve would never be able to make a cup of tea better than Tony, he still made a good cup of tea. "Tony knew about her and he never told me," she said quietly, a frown pulling at her lips when she thought about Tony. She missed him so much, and she hated just how fresh the pain of it was.

"If he knew and didn't tell you it was probably for a good reason," Bucky told her, but she already knew that.

"I know that, and I'm not mad at him, I couldn't be," Marlena smiled softly and wiped her face free of tears. "All he's ever done is try to take care of me, and this was that."

"He's always treated you like his own." Bucky took one last sip of Marlena's tea and handed the mug back to her, which she happily accepted. "I think he had a weak spot for you and Peter," he chuckled quietly.

"I really miss him...I miss them both." Marlena's voice broke with emotion, and Bucky frowned. "For five years, I've been in an emotional rut because I thought I lost you, and apart from Steve, Natasha and Tony were there, they were always there. I spent the first couple of years isolating myself from them, from the team, but even then they were still there. Now they're not, and I'm so happy to have you back—I'm so happy to have all of you back—but with Tony and Natasha gone there's just this emptiness inside me. Nothing feels right."

"I know," Bucky grabbed Marlena's free hand and squeezed it gently. "Just know they did what they had to do for you—for all of us."

"And I won't forget that," Marlena squeezed Bucky's hand back and stood up, her mug still in her grasp. "This world—no—this universe is what it is now because of them. It just sucks they'll never know that."

Bucky stood up with her, and together the two started back inside the tower. "I like to think they do."

"I just wish they were here."

"You and I both."

Inside the tower, Steve and Wanda were sitting on the couch talking to one another. Sam was sitting across from them angrily beating the television remote against the palm of his hand. The only one missing was Marlena's father, but it wasn't but a few seconds until he appeared again.

"Hey," James greeted Marlena, who was now in the kitchen rinsing out her mug. His voice caught the attention of those in the room apart from Sam; he was much more concerned with the television. "Um, so, Alena's finally awake. Bruce gave her some of that suppression medicine he told me he used to use on you, so I'd say going to see her is a non-issue. She's actually asking for you. I don't know if it's the drugs or not, but yeah."

Marlena nodded in understanding and looked at Steve, gesturing him over to her. She then looked to Bucky and did the same before starting out of the room.

"I understand they're your 'boys', but I'm a little offended you'd choose them over me to help protect yourself," Wanda's voice could be heard inside Marlena's head, and she chuckled quietly to herself.

"Who said I needed protection? This is more or less about an apology," Marlena reassured her young cousin. "Even if I did need protection, I've got me, myself, and I."

"You're pregnant."

"Thanks for pointing that out, I had absolutely no idea."

Steve, Bucky, and Marlena continued through the halls of the tower and worked their way down to Alena.

"What are you gonna say to her?" Bucky asked.

Marlena shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest. "I still have a little bit of anger left to get out, so I guess we'll see," she replied.

"Marlena, please—"

"Stop worrying so much, Steve," Marlena cut him off. "Everything is under control, I promise."

"Just don't kill anyone, please."

"Roger that."

The three of them finally reached the containment center in which Alena was being held. Bruce sat next to her large cell, typing away at the computer in front of him. Alena was inside the cell laying comfortably on the cot provided, her legs crossed and her arms behind her head. Movement from the three of them caught Alena's eye, and she turned to look at them, a quiet breath escaping her.

"She's not gonna hurt you," Bruce told Marlena as he continued to type away on the computer. He noticed the way Marlena was standing, almost as if she was afraid to approach her, but that was far from the case.

"I know." Marlena walked closer to the plexiglass barrier separating her from Alena, who was now looking up at the ceiling. "Let me in."

"Um—" Bruce looked up at Marlena, his brow raised. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I just wanna talk to her," Marlena told him. "Open it, please."

"If you say so."

Bruce opened up the door and Marlena headed inside, making her way over to the desk across the room. She pulled the chair out and sat down in front of Alena, who still wasn't looking anywhere else but the ceiling.

"How much do you think Tony spent building this tower?" Alena scoffed. "This cell is a lot nicer than yours and I spent a good $11,000 on that."

"Where exactly did you get $11,000?" Marlena questioned her with furrowed brows. She definitely hadn't anticipated their conversation starting off the way it had.

"Please, that's barely even a percentage of what I've saved and stashed over the years. I've done a lot of bad things to a lot of people, Marlena, and eventually it paid off." Alena finally looked over at Marlena. "We don't all have Tony Stark to fall back on when we need a financial pick-me-up. Or a fancy science job, Doctor."

"Y'know, I was really hoping I could come in here and have a decent conversation with you without wanting to crush your windpipe, but you're making it incredibly difficult," Marlena remarked. She wasn't angry at Alena, per se, but rather annoyed. She was trying to remain calm, as she was still a bit angry over everything Alena had done and tried to do, but she figured it would only take a few more remarks before Bruce was scraping her off the ceiling.

Alena exhaled and sat up, her eyes falling on Bucky and Steve, both of whom were now standing at the door. "I assume you brought them to do the job for you? Y'know, since you're a bit delicate at the moment?"

"I don't need them to fight my battles for me," Marlena said, and Alena looked back over at her. She looked bored, and she was, but she was too weak to do anything about it.

"But they would," Alena chimed with an amused smile on her face. "They worship the very ground you walk on, it's actually kind of annoying."

With the suppressors wreaking havoc on Alena's system, Marlena was able to read her mind. Alena meant what she said about Steve and Bucky "worshipping" the ground Marlena walked on, but it didn't annoy her. In actuality, she envied it, and the mere fact of it made Marlena feel a lot worse than she anticipated. All Alena was looking for was a family—a group of people to love her the way Marlena was loved.

"I can read your mind now, y'know."

Alena pursed her lips and pulled her knees to her chest. "Okay? Do you want me to admit it? Is that what you want? Do you think you're going to get some sort of satisfaction from watching me fall apart over this?"

"That's not the intention here," Marlena shook her head. "What I want is to give you the chance to have the family you've dreamed of and the family you deserve. Now, I'm not happy with you whatsoever—you took my children, you tried killing Bucky to spite me, and you put Steve through emotional hell. You've managed to hurt four of the most important people in my life, and it's forgivable, but believe me, it's gonna take a while."

"Who said I wanted your forgiveness?" Alena questioned with raised brows. "Who said I wanted any of your forgiveness?"

"Once again, I can read your mind," Marlena reminded her. "I know exactly what you want, but you're just too stubborn to say it out loud. You know that I'm the only chance you have at a family, and if I were you, I'd swallow your pride and take that chance."

Alena took a deep breath and looked back and forth between Marlena and Bucky and Steve. She frowned when she realized Marlena was right, and accepting it sent a burning pain throughout her body. The pain of Alena's past began to overwhelm her, and finally, she broke down.

"You got everything and I got nothing," Alena wiped her face angrily; she couldn't believe she was allowing herself to display any kind of emotional weakness. Part of her wished Marlena was responsible for her sudden outburst, but she knew better than anyone she wasn't. The pain had been building inside Alena for years and years. It was bound to find its way out somehow. "Why? Why did they let them take me?"

"I wish I could give you an answer."

"How is it?" Alena started. "How does it feel to live your genuine dream life?"

Marlena huffed and leaned forward in her seat. "This life is not what I originally considered to be the definition of a dream life. A lot of bad things have happened to me, just as they have to you, but the difference between you and I is that I've found peace in the good that's happened to me."

"It's hard to find peace in something that's yet to happen," Alena remarked.

"What about dad? I know you said he spent a lot of time in cryo, but I'm sure when he was out you got to experience what it felt like to have a father who loves you," Marlena explained to her. As she thought over her next words, a quiet, and subtly bitter, laugh escaped her. "And don't forget about Kellan. He told me just how much he cares about you."

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't mind falling in love the way you have." There was a small smirk on Alena's as she glanced over to the two men at the door watching them quietly. "You seem to have had quite the luck in that department. Steve and Bucky—they're you're everything, aren't they, Marlena? I can sense it."

"Yes, they are," Marlena responded quietly, glancing over at Steve and Bucky before looking back to Alena.

"The same way you're theirs," Alena added. "All I want is to be that for someone. Anyone."

"And one day you will be, but you aren't going to get that by taking it from me."

Alena nodded her head in acceptance and looked over at Bucky. "You know I was there, right? For years I watched you train with the other soldiers. I watched them wipe you and stuff you back into a freezer over and over again for the better part of a decade, only for them to ship you off to Washington," she chuckled and wiped her face again.

"I don't remember seeing you," Bucky told her.

"That's because I didn't want you to see me; I wasn't even supposed to know you existed," Alena said to him. "I wasn't supposed to know any of the soldiers existed, and I didn't care about the rest of them, but you—you were different. I risked being punished just to see you, and every so often I would be, so I'm sure you can imagine how upset I was when you showed up in 2014 to rescue Marlena."

"If you care about me as much as you're implying, why'd you try to kill me?" Bucky asked. He didn't like Alena, and he doubted he ever would.

"I did it to spite Marlena, I thought we already covered that," Alena sighed and began tinkering with her fingers. The tears still continued down her face, but she wasn't too concerned about it anymore. "But I'd like to apologize for that. I never wanted to hurt you. I just wanted a chance to get to know you better—know you the way Marlena got to know you."

"And how did that work out for you?" Bucky wasn't here for her excuses or her apologies. He wasn't here for anything she had to say to him. None of it mattered to him. Not in the slightest. "The only reason I don't kill you right now is because of Marlena. You're lucky there's a small part of her that cares about the person she seems to think you can become, because I sure as hell don't."

Bucky's anger towards Alena bothered her more than she cared to admit, and she frowned before turning back to Marlena. "Your taste in men is impeccable," she remarked sarcastically.

"Okay." Marlena rolled her eyes and stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. "When you're ready to accept that you do have a family waiting on you, I'll be here, but until then, enjoy isolation."

Marlena started to leave, but Alena stopped her. She wasn't sure Marlena would come back if she did leave, and she hated that the thought bothered her so intensely. She'd been alone for years, and she couldn't take it anymore, especially not when everything she'd ever dreamed of having was standing right in front of her.

"Wait! I'm sorry," Alena finally apologized, her tone that of defeat. She looked at Marlena, Bucky, and Steve with tear-filled hazel eyes. "I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for taking the twins, I'm sorry for hurting you, Bucky, and I'm sorry for lying to you, Steve. Okay? I'm sorry. Please believe me when I tell you that I'm sorry."

"I believe you." Marlena sat down beside Alena, who seemed to be surprised Marlena was willing to be so close to her. Alena was being genuinely sincere, however, and Marlena could not only feel it, she could hear it in her voice.

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"What about you two?" Alena looked at Steve with hopeful hazel eyes. "You haven't said a word to me this entire time."

"I have words, just not the kind you want to hear," Steve said to her. It was so strange to him looking at the face of the woman he loved and feeling absolutely nothing.

"I thought you were supposed to be the nice, understanding one." Alena looked at Marlena and gestured to Steve. "I thought he was the nice, understanding one."

"He is," Marlena told her. "They're actually both very nice and very understanding, but I told you this could take a while because of the circumstances. Not just with them, but with me, too."

"So, you don't forgive me?"

"Look, I'll come back tomorrow and you and I can talk alone," Marlena said to her, a small smile on her face. "It's gonna take time, but we'll get there. Hopefully we get there."

Alena didn't say anything, but Marlena didn't expect her to. She simply bid her sister goodnight and left the room, followed by Steve and Bucky.

"Marlena," Bruce's voice stopped Marlena, and she turned to look at him with glistening hazel eyes. "I heard about Tony's part in all this. I'm really sorry he kept it from you, but watching you in there with her—let's just say I can almost guarantee you're doing everything he thought you'd do had it come down to this."

Marlena smiled softly at Bruce's mention of Tony. "It's good to know I'm doing him proud," she replied quietly. She said her goodnights to Bruce and headed upstairs with Steve and Bucky, both of whom had questions for the brunette.

"What is this about giving her the family she deserves?" Bucky asked. There was no secret he was unhappy with Alena, and there was a strong chance things would remain that way for a while. Bucky just hated that Marlena wasn't on the same side of things as he was.

"Are you forgetting what she just put you through, what she just put all of us through?" Steve added. He wasn't happy with Alena either, and he doubted he would be any time soon. He didn't trust her and he wasn't sure if he ever could. He hated that Marlena was even thinking about it.

"Please tell us you've thought this through, Marlena."

"Look," Marlena said to the two men. She stopped in the hallway and turned to look at the two of them, her hazel eyes serious and her voice stern. "I'm not happy about any of this, but all of us got our second chance. Why shouldn't she have hers? I'm not saying things are gonna happen overnight or if they'll even happen at all, but I still want her to have the opportunity to be the person she's always wanted to be—to live the life she's always longed for."

"Your compassion is admirable."

"Your intentions are a bit questionable, though."

Marlena only rolled her eyes at the sarcasm lacing their tones and started forward again. "My entire family was just brought back from the dead, so I'm gonna take that as a sign things are supposed to be falling into place for me—for all of us. I'm tired of fighting, and I would appreciate living in a world where I didn't have to, at least for now. I just want peace, okay?"

"All is peaceful until your psychotic twin sister tries to kill you in your sleep," Bucky remarked, his tone bitter and filled with agitation.

"Oh, how I've missed you."

"Yeah, that ring on your finger tells a different story."

Marlena stopped walking once more and turned around, looking at Bucky with an agitated expression on her face. He could see the hurt hidden behind her eyes, though, and he knew his sarcastic response was the reason it was there. On top of trying to explain herself to the two of them, Bucky's words only made matters worse. The two had been fine just twenty minutes ago, but his emotional state had since shifted, leaving him prone to his impulses. Marlena completely understood, but her feelings were just as valid as his.

"Don't even start with me, James," Marlena said to Bucky, her tone firm. "I know you're angry, and I know you're hurt, but I'm done feeling guilty about this. We've got a lot going on right now, and I don't need this. I don't need your remarks, and I definitely don't need the two of you questioning why I'm trying to help Alena. I just need you to trust me, okay? I'm not 20 years old anymore. Let me make my own decisions."

Marlena didn't wait on a response from either of them. She simply turned around and started back down the hall, the heel of her boots echoing off the walls. Steve sighed and looked over at Bucky, who not only shared his aggravation over the situation, but was upset given the brief back-and-forth between him and Marlena.

"Buck—"

"You know I didn't mean it," Bucky cut him off before he could scold him.

"You and I both know that's not true," Steve responded quietly.

Bucky shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "What do you want me to say, Steve? You struggled when we were gone, but now we're struggling to be back. I'm five years behind. My three-year-olds are almost nine and my wife is engaged to my best friend. I'm allowed to grieve the life I lost the same way you were allowed to grieve when you lost me. So just let me grieve, okay?"

"I can do that."

"Don't get me wrong...I'm so happy you're both happy, but it's gonna take me a while to find a way to deal with this properly," Bucky reminded him. "Especially on top of these new...developments."

"You know she loves you, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"We both love you."

"I know that, too."

"Take all the time you need, Buck," Steve placed a comforting hand on Bucky's shoulder. "I'll try to see if I can't talk to her about this whole twin situation."

Bucky shook his head quickly. "Don't waste your time. You know she's gonna do what she wants anyway, just as she always has. That hasn't changed."

"Yeah, you're right."

"I'll see you later, okay?"

Bucky took off in a haste down the hall, leaving Steve alone to watch him disappear. He frowned and leaned against the wall. Getting rid of Thanos was supposed to be a solution to a problem that spanned five years, but things had only become more and more complicated. Readjusting to life back on Earth was taking a toll on those lost during the snap, but things weren't simple for those that had lived five years beyond the snap either. Things were completely out of place for the Avengers, and the worst part was fearing they'd never find a way to get back to what used to be.