Letting go isn't about having the courage to release the past; it's about having the wisdom to embrace the present. – Steve Maraboli
Following Natasha back out into the main hangar, Aphrodite was surprised, and also not surprised to see one Tony Stark standing there chatting with Bruce. What shocked her more was seeing the circular, red, white and blue shield hanging off of her husbands arm. He gave her a look that said they would discuss more later.
For now Tony's arrival meant that they had more than half of the original team back and on board with the 'Time Heist'. With what remained of the Guardians of the Galaxy and Rhodes arriving within the next few days there were only two other people that were left to convince.
"Hey Rogers," Tony greeted as Aphrodite approached and Natasha went into the conference room to follow up on a message from Rhodes.
"Stark." She responded hugging him, "What made you change your mind?"
"I had someone remind me that there were still somethings left to fight for." He responded his eyes softening as he looked at her over his sunglasses.
"Welcome back." She said genuinely.
He nodded straightening and pushing his sunglasses back up his nose, "Now where's Jolly Green? We've got a lot of work to do. And someone get that brown monstrosity out of here." His voice faded as he moved deeper into the facility, Natasha went with him to grab Scott and get him to move his van.
"Looks good on you," she said approaching her husband and placing her hand on the shield, he looked down at it, contemplative, "Familiar." She added and he nodded his lips quirking slightly.
"Uh excuse me, Mrs. America?" Scott's voice awkwardly called out and they both turned to him curiously, "No? Mrs. Rogers? Aphrodite?" he shrugged. "Banner asked me to tell you that Natasha's outside, said she got some bad news."
Steve and Aphrodite shared a look and she sighed as they both answered, "Barton." She sighed again stepping away from Steve, she passed Scott placing her hand on his shoulder, "Thanks Scott."
She found Natasha just outside the compound, sitting on a bench. It had began to rain but the redhead didn't seem at all bothered by it. At least she had on a thick jacket Aphrodite mused as she opened the door, shielding herself from the rain.
"You shouldn't be out here," Natasha's muttered not looking up from her hands, "It's probably not good for you." It was a lame excuse and they both new it, but anything to get her mind off of her own problems.
"I think a little rain is the least of my concerns." Aphrodite said approaching her friend and shielding her from the rain as well. "Do you know where he is?" Natasha nodded ringing her hands together, "Do you know where he's going next?"
Again she nodded before clearing her throat, "Rhodes doesn't think I should go after him, he thinks he's a lost cause."
"We don't give up on family. No matter how far gone they seem." Natasha nodded again a smile pulling at her lips, "Do you want me to come with you?"
"No," she whispered seeming reluctant to reject the offer, "Banner and Rocket are gonna need you to help convince Thor."
Aphrodite huffed, "I still can't believe he's being so immature and making us fly all the way out there."
"The things we do for family huh?" Natasha joked.
"Exactly." She pulled her up from the bench, "C'mon, if you're going to sulk, you shouldn't have be soggy while you do it." Aphrodite was happy to see Natasha's lip twitch at her bad joke letting her friend lead her inside the compound.
Shortly after guiding Natasha back inside the compound and drying her off, they started plans on where, when and how long it would take them approximately to build a proper Time Machine, and the accompanying GPS wristbands that Tony had invented. The entire process would probably take at least a week, which was incredible.
The Rogers family of three made the long drive back to their Brooklyn home, and on their way over the bridge they agreed that after the trip to New Asgard it would probably be best for Arina to stay with Pepper and Morgan for the week in case anything went wrong while they were building and testing machines, and also to keep her out of trouble. The little girl in question protested the executive decision all throughout dinner and her bath, but ultimately sleep won out. Aphrodite wasn't too far behind falling into bed after her own shower while Steve cleaned up downstairs.
Despite the sleepiness tittering on the edge of her senses thought, she found it hard to fall asleep without her husband there. Though she would vehemently deny it, Aphrodite found herself to be quite clingy when she was pregnant with Arina and it seemed as if it wasn't just exclusive to her first pregnancy. Neither was it exclusive to just her husband as on numerous occasions Natasha was on the receiving end of her clinginess and need for cuddles, and so was Thor.
"You know, your thoughts aren't always this loud." Aphrodite's tired voice caused Steve to jump slightly and he turned to see her standing at the foot of the stairs rubbing her eyes as she approached him.
"Sorry," he said as she slid down to sit sideways in his lap on the couch, "Did my thoughts wake you?" a sentence that many years ago wouldn't have made any sense to him, but here he was.
"No," she shook her head laying her arm around the back of his shoulders, "I rolled over and you weren't there." She explained, running her fingers through the short hair at the back of his head. "What's going on?"
Steve sighed running his hand along the soft skin of her thighs as he wondered where to even begin, "It's heavier than I remember." He finally went with.
Aphrodite glanced over her shoulder at the red, white and blue symbol in the shape of a circular shield. "I'll bet it is." She responded, "There's a reason you were the one who carried it."
"You know, I've been basically retired for the last five years-"
"Not by choice." She reminded him.
"Still, we've created an amazing life together. A child, a family. What if after this, we stop for good?"
"You mean, not being Avengers anymore?"
"Not entirely, just not on the front lines anymore. Let someone else carry the weight for a change."
"Steve, this world needs Captain America."
"But maybe they don't need me." He insisted. And it clicked. "I'm getting old honey, and to be honest so are you." He joked and his wife scoffed smacking the back of his head, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you and not have to worry about leading the next battle."
"You want to pass on the shield." Aphrodite surmised, "The mantle of Captain America."
"I think so." He said thoughtfully, "And I've already considered who should take it up-"
"Not Bucky," Aphrodite cut in.
"Okay?" Steve's brow furrowed, "Why not?"
"He'd do it if you asked him to, you know that? But he's been fighting a long fight, for seventy years you slept, he didn't. And if he wants to be done fighting he should have that option as well. Not being forced to become Captain America."
Steve nodded patting her thigh, "So I guess we're in agreement then?"
"Let's get everyone back before we give away your job completely yeah?" she joked before leaning down to connect their lips, "And if he says no, it'll make an excellent wall piece."
Steve chuckled against her lips, kissing her back for a moment before pulling back slightly and meeting her eyes, "Are you okay with it?
She sighed, "I want our family back, all of them." she wanted to tell him right then that their family was going to grow regardless of if the Time Heist worked or not, but decided against it, "And by the end of all this, if stepping down is what's best for all of us, then I'm more than willing to do just that." She leaned her head on his shoulder, "Besides your right, a battlefield is no place for a hundred and five year old man."
Steve laughed loudly but quieted down quickly so as to not wake their sleeping child upstairs, whose hearing was just as enhanced as her parents, "And what about a nearly thousand year old Goddess." He teased running his hand along the back of her thigh and creeping underneath her shorts.
She bit back a moan as he leaned in to trail kisses along her neck, ignoring the fact that he called her out on her age after she finally revealed it to him on their third anniversary thanks to one too many glasses of ale, "Definitely not."
He shifted so he could press their lips together and slide his tongue into her mouth, while she turned to straddle him wrapping her arms around his neck. "Since you think I'm an old man now," he mumbled in between kisses, "I think I ought to make sure I'm not losing my touch." He emphasized this by cupping her ass fully in his hands and squeezing, "What do you think?" he didn't give her a chance to respond before he was hitching her higher up on his waist and standing up, easily carrying her upstairs and into their bedroom where he showed her several times over that age, wasn't but a number.
The next day while Tony got busy beginning set up for the new Time Machine, Natasha had already taken the quinjet from that morning to fly to Tokyo to retrieve Clint, Steve was helping gathering the supplies he needed. Hulk and Aphrodite were awaiting the message from the Benatar so they could fly along with Rocket to New Asgard.
The message came during lunch, it was Taco Tuesday, so they packed up and headed outside. Arina blew her father a kiss but was too busy giggling to tell him bye for real, as she was happily bouncing along on Hulk's shoulder.
"Bye Uncle Rhodes, bye Neb-Neb." Arina chirped as they passed by the pair on their way inside the compound. Rhodey's mask retracted as he greeted his surrogate niece in kind with a bright smile, Nebula's smile was much more subdued but she'd stopped trying to ignore the rush of emotion she felt when the tiny human accepted her.
"What's up Big Green?" Rocket greeted as they climbed up the steps of the Benatar, "Short stack." He added seeing the little girl hanging onto Bruce's giant shoulder. Arina giggled again as Bruce plucked her off his shoulder with one hand plopping her onto one of the seats, "How you doin' princess?"
"Never better." Aphrodite sighed dropping into the co-pilot's seat and entering the coordinates to New Asgard. Bruce sat his big body down on the ground next to Arina since he couldn't fit in any of the seats and began eating his tacos, watching Arina eat hers so she didn't make a mess, Rocket situated himself comfortably in the pilot's seat and began take off for the few hours long journey ahead.
New Asgard didn't have a landing zone for ships as large as the Benatar so they had to land a few miles out and Aphrodite drove a truck into New Asgard, passing by the sign saying as much and the bronze statue dedication to the always watching former gatekeeper Heimdall. When she parked at the docks the truck heaved as Bruce climbed out of it followed by Rocket, Aphrodite hopped out of the front seat and pulled her daughter out placing her on her hip.
"Kind of a step down from a golden palace for an Avenger highness and whatnot." Rocket said with slight disdain looking around the community for fishermen that were once proud warriors, Aphrodite raised a brow but Bruce responded so she didn't have to.
"Hey, have a little compassion, pal. First they've lost Asgard, then half the people. They're probably just happy to have a home." He told the raccoon as Aphrodite led them to the docks when the former Valkyrie was tying up a net.
"You shouldn't have come." She said with a shake of her head as they approached.
"Ah, Valkyrie! Great to see you, Angry Girl." Bruce beamed and Brunnhilde looked over his new appearance not amused in the slightest.
"I think I liked you better either of the other ways." She said bluntly.
Bruce nodded with a shrug gesturing to their companion, "This is Rocket."
"How you doin'?"
Brunnhilde eyed the raccoon before turning her attention to Aphrodite, "He won't see you." She told her honestly.
"How bad has it gotten?" she asked shifting her hold on Arina.
"We only see him once a month, when he comes for," she trailed off shifting to the side and looking back at the piles of crates near the edge of the dock, "supplies."
"It's that bad." Bruce surmised.
"Yeah."
Aphrodite set Arina on her feet crouching down next to her, "Why don't you go with 'Hilde for a little while, while we go talk to your uncle?" she suggested false playfulness in her tone, "Grown up stuff, it's gonna be really boring." She faked a sigh, Arina looked skeptical but nodded, brightening up when Brunnhilde cut it.
"C'mon kid," she said holding out her hand, "Pegasus has been dying to see you again."
Arina grinned distracted for the moment, Aphrodite mouthed a thanks to the Valkyrie as she led her daughter towards the stables that housed many different animals before straightening up and leading Bruce and Rocket into the village.
She sighed when they arrived at the house Thor had declared as his own and Rocket opened the door wide the three of them filing inside, Bruce having to duck down to get through the doorframe.
"What the," Rocket grimaced at the smell, "Something died in here."
"Yeah," Aphrodite agreed fanning her eyes so they wouldn't water, "Dignity."
Ignoring the smell and their chided Bruce called out, "Hello? Thor?"
"Are you here about the cable?" A familiar voice came from the other room. Then Thor himself staggered into view looking much different than he did five years ago. He put on quite a few pounds, and his hair and beard grew out to almost unmanageable lengths. He didn't seem to notice them right away going on about the television, "The Cinemax ran out about two weeks ago, and the sports were all kind of fuzzy."
"Thor?" Bruce asked again to make sure.
Thor looks up and then notices Bruce and Rocket standing there, breaking out into a big smile, "Boys! Oh my God! It's so good to see you!" He beams throwing his arms around Bruce to hug him, before turning and trying to do the same to Rocket. "Come here, you little rascal!"
"No, I'm good." The raccoon protested immediately squirming away, "I'm good. That's not necessary."
"And my sister!" he added throwing hugging his sister tight picking her up off the ground, Aphrodite smiled and patted his sweaty back before he set her down, "Where's the little one? My favourite niece?"
"She's with Brunnhilde," Aphrodite told him before muttering, "I didn't want her to see you this way." Thor either didn't hear her, or ignored her as he turned back to Bruce.
"Hulk, you know my friends, Miek, Korg, right?" he said pointing at the two aliens on the couch playing videogames and eating chips.
"Hello everyone." Korg waved happily.
"Hey guys, long time no see."
Beer's on the bucket. Feel free to log on to the Wi-Fi. No password, obviously." Korg went back to his game for a moment, "Thor, he's back. The kid on the TV that called me a dickhead again."
"Noobmaster." Thor growled.
"Yeah, Noobmaster69 called me a dickhead."
Thor went over to the couch and grabbed the headset from Korg speaking into the mic, "Noobmaster? Yeah, it's Thor again. You know, the God of Thunder? Listen, buddy. If you don't log off this game immediately, I am gonna fly over to your house, come down to that basement you're hiding in, rip off your arms and shove them up your butt! Oh, that's right. Yes, go cry to your father, you little weasel!"
"It's worse than I thought." Aphrodite said to Rocket as Korg thanked Thor.
"You're telling me." Rocket agreed bobbing his furry head, "You sure that's your brother? Or is that the creature that ate your brother?"
Aphrodite laughed before her attention was brought back to Thor as he offered them drinks, "So you guys want a drink? What are you drinking? We have beer, tequila, all sorts of things." He gestured around before he used Stormbreaker to open a bottle of beer and start drinking it. Taking charge Bruce walks over to him and places a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey buddy, you all right?" he questions softly leaning down slightly to catch his eye.
"Yes, I'm fine!" Thor says straightaway "Why, don't I look all right?"
"You look kinda like melted ice cream." Rocket says as a joke but he can't hid the hint of concern.
Once again Thor either didn't notice or didn't care as he laughed, "So, what's up?"
"We need your help." Aphrodite said bringing his attention to her, "There might be a chance we could fix everything."
He scoffed, "What, like the cable?" he asks pointing at the television before belching loudly, "Cause that's been driving me bananas for weeks."
"Like Thanos." Bruce said and things went quiet and still in the house.
Thor exhaled shakily taking a step closer to Bruce bringing a hand to his shoulder, "Don't you say that name."
Korg stands up from the couch and takes off his headphones, like he's preparing to get in the middle of a fight, which might be true with the way Thor is glaring hard at Bruce, but Aphrodite knows that he isn't even seeing their friend right now. Rather he's seeing a reminder of his failure, "Um, yeah. We don't actually say that name in here." Korg continued.
Calmly and quietly with a hint of warning Bruce told Thor, "Please take your hand off me." Before taking his wrist and removing it for himself, "Now, I know that," He hesitated, "guy might scare you.
"Why would I be? Why would, why would I be scared of that guy? I'm the one who killed that guy, remember? Anyone else here killed that guy? Nope. Didn't think so. Korg, why don't you, tell everybody who chopped Thanos' big head off." Thor rambled pointing at the alien rock before going into the other room.
"Umm, Stormbreaker?" Korg's response sounded more like a question.
"Now, who's swinging Stormbreaker?" Thor came back with another beer in his hand, Aphrodite didn't even realize he'd already drank the first one.
"I get it. You're in a rough spot, okay?" Bruce continued calmly, "I've been there myself. You wanna know who helped me out of it?"
"I don't know. Is it, Natasha?" Thor spat and Bruce smiled.
"It was you. You helped me."
Thor points out of a window as he walks over to it beer in hand, "Why don't you ask the, Asgardians down there, how much my help was worth." He responded before dropping down onto a chair, "The ones that are left, anyway."
"We think we can bring them back." Aphrodite explained.
"Stop. Stop, stop it, okay?" he snaps opening a packet of candy, "I know you think I'm down here wallowing in my own self-pity, waiting to be rescued and saved. But I'm fine, okay? We're fine, aren't we?" he directs the last part to his friends sitting on the couch eating pizza.
"No, all good here, mate."
Thor nods, "So, whatever it is that you're offering, we're not into it, don't care, couldn't care less. Goodbye."
"We need you, pal."
Thor shakes his head ignoring Bruce popping a few pieces of candy into his mouth. Aphrodite sighs and wonders what was left for them to do that could convince him, luckily Rocket already had that figured out as he crossed his arms over his chest, tossing out casually, "There's beer on the ship."
That seemed to do the trick as Thor paused in his chewing but didn't look up just yet, "What kind?"
"Is what the kid said true?" Brunnhilde questioned Aphrodite as they were stood by her truck watching as Arina held onto Thor's hand climbing up the side of his larger body while she told him of her time with Pegasus, while Bruce and Rocket climbed onto the bed of the truck.
Aphrodite sighed, her little girl was too observant, "Depends on what she said." She told her friend squinting against the sunlight.
"Are you going to bring them back?"
"We're going to try, but we don't wanna get anyone's homes up just yet."
"I understand." Brunnhilde nodded, "Just started settling into something like a routine here, don't need to disturb that on something that might not work."
"Exactly, and to be honest with you we don't know how long this all will take, so I'm going to need you to keep holding things up here."
"No problem." Brunnhilde nodded before she began backtracking towards the village, "You all be careful."
"We will, and keep the lines open, we might need you in case things go south."
The Valkyrie nodded before turning completely and making her way back, while Aphrodite hopped into the crowded truck, now creaking in protest at all the added weight before she started it driving back to where the Benatar was parked.
Arina fell asleep on the ride back, so that meant she'd be sleeping for the ride back to Brooklyn, but would wake shortly after and would be up for who knows how long. Thor carried her off of the ship while she drooled on his shoulder, the rest of them filed off behind him before going their separate ways. Aphrodite instructed Thor to set Arina down on the couch in the conference room since they would be leaving shortly after, and he did before leaving without a word.
Steve entered the room moments later glancing over his shoulder to where he no doubt passed by Thor as he entered the room, instead of asked what he really wanted to, Steve asked, "How is he?"
"He's here," Aphrodite sighed leaning back against the table as he came to a stop in front of her, "Physically at least. Clint?"
"He's here," Steve nodded repeated what she'd said to him, "Physically."
"This is going to be a long few weeks isn't it?" she asked rhetorically.
"I'm afraid so."
Fin-Fish Jun-Tenshi: Ayyyyeee.
Babyi.G: Lmao, could you imagine the duel aneurysm that Steve and Aphrodite would have if Arina snuck her way into the time heist.
KEZZ 1: Thank you.
Ivana Bocanegra: I think Frigga and Aphrodire had they're mother daughter moment during Infinity War so I don't think I'll be sending her to Asgard. Also if you wanna send me fan art you can email me at phsycobarbie .
Love. Fiction. 2019: Thank you.
TheMysticGC: How do you mean?
xLaBellaVita: Welcome back, and thank you!
April2016: Thank you!
I literally have no excuse as to why this chapter was so late, I've had the draft completely for like a month and a half I just never went back to proof and edit, sigh, I promise I'll do better guys.
So, the brainstorming session is up next which should be lots of fun to write, lmao I'm trying to decided how I'm going to incorporate Aphrodite into Thor's rambling because I still want it in there. Also I think I'm finally somewhere I like with Aphrodite in the actual Time Heist so that'll be fun to write. But I'm still open to suggestions regarding said Time Heist.
Also, have you guys watched the Witcher on Netflix, cuz I did in like a day, and fell in love with Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia (who is Ares' faceclaim btw). So of course my little hamster wheels started turning and I thought about maybe, after Endgame, writing a little pre-MCU Aphrodite/Ares story, but don't get your hopes up just yet.
As always let me know what you think and what you'd like to see in the future. Leave me a review too, as you can see I'll be answering/responding to the ones can. So feel free to say or ask me anything.
P.S. Happy Holidays! And Happy New Year!