𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆 ⪢ mcu

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄

♤

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄⬎

━━━━"Come on down," Bucky said, getting out a backpack. Steve stood behind him, holding a folded up blanket to his chest. Tasha stepped up with a small similar backpack, and Loki took out a small file from under her bed. They all stepped into the room of their new lakehouse none dared to touch. They all knew what they were thinking.

A small one at the end of the hallway, with a lower roof, but a big window. It came with a small bed, and a doorless closet. The fireplace collected remnants of dust, and would almost definitely make anyone sneeze.

Steve was the first to step inside, some tears already pricking at his eyes. He sat on the ground, criss crossed, and beckoned the girls to follow. Loki, who was still as runty and short as she was when they first visited the orphanage sat on Steve's lap and snuggled into him for comfort. Bucky sat next to him as well, and set the backpack down in front of them, while Tasha sat opposite of the three, and faced all of them.

"So... I'll start I suppose," Steve said. "Demeter was the oldest daughter I had for 3 and a half years. I loved her so much, and I hope she did too. But I never noticed her slowly slip away. I guessed that I thought it's how the punk kids were these days. (I know punk was a 1976 thing, just let me use the word). I thought she was happy. I was wrong. I was wrong to let her struggle, and I was wrong to forget about her. I- I made a lot of mistakes. I saw many fake smiles and thought they were real." Steve stopped, Loki moved her hand to wipe his tears. He whispered a small thank you before continuing. "I loved her so much that even when I thought I saw something wrong, I tried to think otherwise. I tried to think that everything was perfect. I'm so sorry for letting your sister fall away."

Loki shocked on a sob and buried her face into Steve's shoulder, whilst he hugged her back.

"It's alright, Pops," Tasha muttered, rubbing his knee. Steve nodded at her, mouthing a small thank you, and picking up the blanket.

"This was something Demeter had, and as today is the day she left, I want to leave this here. The room where she would have stayed in." Steve concluded, standing up, (Loki still clinging like a koala), and draping the blanket across the mattress. Bucky nodded, tearing up as well. He shoved his face into his arms. Shaking his head and trying not to cry anymore than he needed to.

There was a pause of silence, before Loki reached into the file she brought. "These were Demeter's. I'm also sorry. I knew her longer. And- sometimes I want to just hate her for leaving- but when I remember everything she has stayed for. And I just can't hate her anymore. She did so much for me, and I hope she loved me too, because I never realized how much I loved her till she left. And- I hope-" Loki choked on another sob, "I hope she finds peace where she is, and that she learns to be happy again."

Steve nodded, and rubbed her back. Loki pulled out photo frames she kept, some were handmade to look like an album cover. Most of them were of her family. Some were pictures from the orphanage, some were polaroids, and some were large and glossy, the entire family smiling.

Tasha opened her backpack, and pulled out the stacked books. No, they art sketched, "She left these for me. When you look at them, you can't really just look. You have to read them. You have to see every detail and realize that it was made from her heart. And I realized how messed up I had made things for her. If you just glance at any one, you'll see that she was crying when she drew these. I feel like such a fool for not seeing her fall apart. In front of everything, she still smiled. I love Demeter so much, she was my older sister. And when I realized she left, I realized that everything she's tried to reach out to lead up to this." Then she pulled out an old folded up sweater. It was faded yellow and red, and had stitched on blue arc reactors on the sleeves. Steve choked on a sob as he saw it.