The Weight of the Universe | Avengers

26. Time Travel

Eve hasn't had the heart yet to leave New York. Deep down, she knows she's too much of a New Yorker to leave permanently. So, instead of traveling to another place first, she decides to explore New York and is now walking along the Hudson River. It's refreshing and calm, not a single soul is in the area but her.

For the first time in her life, her mind is free and not plagued with problems or fights. Her next stop would be Tony's home to inform him about her upcoming journey, then she might pay New Asgard another visit. She's only ever visited other countries for missions, not to enjoy different cultures, maybe now is the perfect time to go to Chile or Thailand.

The loud water movement catches Eve's attention and she glances at the river with furrowed brows. Her green eyes widen in astonishment when she witnesses how a whale surfaces from the water, the majestic creature swimming through the Hudson River. Eve walks closer to the shore and watches with big round eyes how the gigantic animal stays at the surface of the water. Kneeling down, she's now on its height, as if she could reach out for the lonely whale although it's too far away from the shore anyway.

"How weird." Eve mumbles to herself with a gentle chuckle. "I've been on this planet for 104 years and it's the first time that I see a whale."

"It's been here since the boats and ships stopped using the Hudson." A voice behind her appears and Eve freezes, the comfort vanishing into thin air. "No pollution, just clean water."

Eve presses her lips together and her inner peace is gone when she stands up and turns around. He hasn't changed much throughout the years, he looks neat as always. "What do you want?"

Steve smiles softly with sadness edging his lips. The soldier gets straight to the point, aware that Eve's patience is thin. "We've found a way to bring everyone back."

"No, stop this bullshit." She starts to walk off without hesitation, the whale in the Hudson River now long forgotten. Steve follows her patiently but eagerly. "I don't wanna listen to any of your lies."

"I'm telling the truth, Eve. Can you please wait and hear me out?" He asks and this makes her stop and look at him indignantly. Now she's breathing heavily in rage, trying to tame her temper. The bottled up disappointment and sadness during all these years have now turned into anger.

"Wait??" Eve repeats in disbelief, her voice rising. "I've waited for you for five years! I've been waiting for you to show up and stay with me! That was the only thing I needed from you! I needed you to stay, but you just left! You left Natasha, you left Tony, and you left me!"

"Eve– " Steve takes a step towards her, but she pushes him away, not bearing to be near him.

"No!!" She cuts him off, the fury blinding her. "I needed my best friend! I needed you more than ever and you just ignored me! If you couldn't be there for me, then at least do me the favor now and stop giving me hope! The last time I had hope, it got crushed and I completely lost it. It almost killed me but I've still been trying so hard to stay strong during all these years, to be a good person and to pull myself together. So, don't do this, don't give me hope. Because I won't survive it another time."

He realizes that he has hurt her more than he thought and remorse is written all over his face. Putting her through all this pain has been his last intention. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? I know I was selfish, but I just– I couldn't see you, at least not until I'd find something that could bring everyone back."

"What?? What the hell are you talking about??" She scrunches up her face in confusion and Steve presses his lips together.

"I just couldn't bear the pain in your face, it made me feel even more guilty about our loss. The day you broke down after Thanos' death... It broke my heart to see you like this. I– I was so scared you would go back to that time again." He refers to the time when Eve was suicidal and her eyes widen. "So I promised myself that I wouldn't face you without a chance of bringing them all back again. I looked for anything that could possibly work. I went to China to dig deeper into old myths, I visited Thor and asked him out about his sister, I even joined Carol a few times to find something out there in space. I first didn't tell you anything because I didn't want to give you false hope, I didn't want to break you even more. But now I realize I partly didn't tell you anything because I knew if I had seen you, I would've had to face the hard reality and accept everything."