Everly || Steve Rogers

73. A Time Machine?

Everly let out a deep breath as she and Steve strolled through the empty halls of the Avengers facility. A sick feeling settled in her stomach as she looked around at the very walls that had once been so familiar. Her heart sunk when they stepped into the kitchen area to see Nat sitting alone at the long wooden table, her face buried in her hands to muffle her sobs. Her hair had grown out, leaving only the tips blond and the rest its natural flaming red. Just by looking at her, Everly could almost feel the radiating ache.

"You know, I'd offer to cook you dinner but you seem pretty miserable already." Steve joked, smiling sadly at their old friend. Nat let out a deep breath and managed a smile as she turned to look at the pair.

"You here to do your laundry?" Everly chuckled, shaking her head lightly.

"And to see a friend." He added. Natasha folded her hands together, dropping them in her lap.

"Clearly, your friend is fine." She returned. Everly gazed down at her shoes. Being with Steve for those long, horrible years made the ache a bit more bearable. It was easy to forget that some people were left to do it all alone.

"You know, we saw a pod of whales when we were coming over the bridge." He said, playing with the jingling car keys in his hands.

"In the Hudson?" Nat asked with raised eyebrows.

"There's fewer ships, cleaner water." She scoffed and stared up at the ceiling, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"You know, if you're about to tell me to look on the bright side, um..." She rolled her head along the back of the chair to meet his eyes. "I'm about to hit you in the head with a peanut butter sandwich." Everly smiled as Steve stepped further into the room, plopping down across the table from Natasha. She pulled up a seat at the head of the table and glanced between the two as she traced her fingers over the wooden grains.

"You know, I keep telling everybody they should move on and grow." He sighed. "Some do. But not us." Natasha shook her head in the slightest, a lost look in her eye.

"If I move on, who does this?"

"Maybe it doesn't need to be done." Everly added quietly. A suffocating silence settled amongst the trio and Nat's eyes began to swell with tears.

"I used to have nothing. And then I got this. This job. This family. And I was better because of it." Everly ran a hand down her face as she fumbled with her locket, tears stinging her eyes as she simply listened. "And even though they're gone, I'm still trying to be better."

"I think we all need to get a life." Steve remarked. Natasha pushed back her tears, though a few fell.

"You first."

Everly let out a puff of air from her cheeks as a device sounded from somewhere in the room, a hologram screen appearing in front of Natasha. She smiled sadly and swiped it aside.

"Oh. Hi. Hi! Uh, is anyone home?" A frantic voice hurried. Everly turned to see a live video of the front gate. Her mouth fell open and her eyes grew wide at the man waving his arms through the air, a rusty brown van parked behind him.

"Is that-"

"This is, uh, Scott Lang. We met a few years ago at the airport... In Germany?" Natasha's expression faded to one of disbelief and Steve stood from his chair, not daring to take his eyes off the screen. "I was the guy that got really big. I had a mask on. You wouldn't recognize me."

"Is this an old message?" Steve questioned as Natasha and Everly too rose to their feet.

"Ant-Man? I know you know that."