EVERMORE ─ marvel ⁷

VI. In The Still Of The Night

Chapter Six
Soroya

Everything is ready. There is nothing else to do but wait for the Kree to arrive tomorrow morning.

When Thanos first came to Earth it was so sudden. He came, he took everything, then he left. When Thanos came again, it was just as sudden. But that time he came and he lost. Both times there was no second to think, to process. The night before each battle, I didn't know that the next day would be filled with so much destruction and death. I didn't know that the next day could be my last. This time is different. Here I am, the night before the battle, and I know what's coming tomorrow. I know what could happen to me, to everyone. I've had days to think about it, to process it, all of it. I thought maybe knowing what's coming in advance would make things easier. It doesn't. If anything it makes it harder.

This could be my last night alive. My last night with my friends. My last night with my family. I am making sure that I don't waste it.

Everyone is settling down in their rooms for the night, wanting to attempt sleep before the battle. Before they do though, I make sure to get in my goodbyes. I don't want to leave anything unsaid, have any regrets. After the blip, I regretted not saying goodbye to Alex, Bucky, and my friends while I had the chance. I won't make that mistake again. I went to Bruce, Scott, Okoye, Shuri, Nakia, and T'Challa. I hugged them each and told them I loved them. I called Rhodey, Everett, and Sharon and told them the same. I didn't go to Sam or Zy since I'll be with them all day tomorrow.

I went to see my brothers and my niece, hugging onto them so fiercely I may have given them bruises. I hugged onto Alex the longest, and as we held onto each other, my brother whispered into my ear: "It's you and me. No matter what happens tomorrow, we'll endure it together. Like always."

Whether we live or die, we'll go through it together like we always do, like we've gone through everything else. Getting kidnapped by HYDRA, forced to become weapons, going on the run, fighting Thanos, fighting HYDRA, getting mind controlled, and years of imprisonment and torture. All these things we've dealt with together, with each other. As much as I wanted to convince him and myself otherwise, I didn't. He's right. The Roberts siblings have always been in this together, and if one of us dies tomorrow, the other will die too. The thought made me hold onto him tighter.

When I left them I went to find Ana, and I discovered her not in her hotel room, but outside the hotel on a bench. She didn't look at me as I sat down next to her, she just silently slipped her hand into mine. I squeezed her hand in response.

"Promise me you'll be careful tomorrow." I murmured.

"I'm not the one who needs to be careful. You're the one everyone is after." She responds frankly.

I raised an eyebrow her way. "You don't sound very concerned for my safety."

She smirked. "I know from personal experience how hard it is to capture and kill you. You'll be fine."

I sat closer to her then, keeping my fingers wrapped around hers, and placed my head on her shoulder. "You're my best friend, you know."

Ana chuckled darkly. "Against all odds, you're mine, too."

"I just wanted you to know that in case—"

Ana finally leaned her head against mine. "Don't. Don't say it. I'm not accepting any goodbye from you. I'll be fine, you'll be fine, and when this is all over, we are going to drink every drop of alcohol Wakanda has."

"Sounds like a plan." I told her, and then she and I sat in silence for a long time, my head still on her shoulder, our hands still intertwined.

I make my way back to my hotel room now, only having a few goodbyes left to make: the goodbyes to my husband and my children. I find Bucky, Livy, Stevie, and Liam in the room, all of them finishing up some room service pizza. They offer me some but I'm not hungry. I wait until they're all done eating, and while I wait, I watch them. I memorize their movements, their faces, their voices, everything about them. I think about all the things I might not get to see: Livy become a certified doctor, Livy and Zy get married, Stevie and Liam graduate school and become Avengers, the two of them maybe tying the knot. The three of them having children of their own...