[ I ]
Sam Wilson knew that Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff were best friends. Everyone did actually. Those who denied it because they thought Steve and Natasha were too different to get along were blind, entirely oblivious to the way they looked at one another, the small touches they shared, and the way they always had one another's back. This time was no exception as they and Sam were completing a mission in the frigid mountains of Canada.
Steve had covered Natasha's six while she was hacking into the antecedent Hydra base, and a bullet had pierced his shoulder as he had been shielding her from the terrorists' onslaught. He was a super-solider, one of the most selfless and strongest men that Sam had ever known, but strength could only go so far as Steve had continued to fight in knee deep snow with a bullet in his shoulder. They had won, yes, bringing down the base in a furry of searing flames, but at what cost? They still hadn't received instructions about extraction, and it was evident Steve's injury was beginning to take a toll on him. He lay on a thick blanket underneath the tent Sam had propped up, pale the snow around them while Natasha cleaned his wound with trembling hands and glassy eyes. Sam had yet to figured out if it was from the cold or the fact that Steve had gotten hurt protecting her.
"Why can't Hydra build a base in the Caribbean or something? I'm sick of this cold!" He said as a bitter chill went up his spine, and he tugged his coat around him. He felt useless as Natasha focused on Steve but every time he tried to help, she pushed him away and ordered him to carry out some mundane task.
"The only damn thing we don't have is a space heater and tweezers to get this bullet out. The wound is already starting to close." Natasha said in frustration as she guided Steve to a sitting position. She then tugged her own thermal blanket off her shoulders and tucked it around him, even as he shook his head in protest.
"Even if we had a heater, we have no where to plug it in." Steve quipped, making Sam chuckle while Natasha simply glowered at him. Even with a bullet lodged in his shoulder blade, the stubborn man still had an impish remark.
Sam settled in the tent across from Steve, pulling his blanket around himself as he watched Natasha dig through the little supplies they were given. It was supposed to be a simple mission, but the word 'simple' and the Avengers never alloyed. There was always one more terrorist to take down, one more civilian to save, or one more f*cking alien that spit fire at them. Sometimes, he missed his old life - a simple one consisting of morning runs and long nights at the VA. However, he had swiftly adapted to life as an Avenger, and he loved being back out in the field again, especially with such great teammates. Sometimes though, when it was just he, Steve, and Natasha, he felt like the odd man out. Those were the times he was wholeheartedly convinced his friends were actually more than best friends.
Times like these.
"Nat, come here. I'm fine, and I'm sure Maria will contact us soon." Steve said, breaking the silence between them as he sat up on his knees before swiftly sitting back down as his shoulder rounded forward painfully.
Natasha ignored him as she pulled out more and more supplies that they didn't need and would be no use to them. Although Sam definitely didn't have the nerve to tell the fiery redhead that. He had known Natasha for six months now, and he knew her well enough that he would never want to get caught in the Black Widow's web. Steve, on the other hand, knew her like no one else did and was the only one brave enough to pick a fight with her, even in times when Clint wouldn't.
"What if she doesn't? I can't get that bullet out, Steve." Natasha snapped.
"Then Bruce will take it out when we get back. Please relax and come here." He implored.
Sam bit back a smirk as he watched Natasha pause, the wheels seeming to turn in her head as she decided whether or not to heed Steve's words that had a cogent amount of truth to them. To Sam, the choice was clear, and it seemed it was for her as well as she threw the supplies back together and sat down beside Steve with a vexed huff.
He drew his arms around her so she was underneath the blankets as well, and she sat between his legs with her arms around his waist. It wasn't necessarily unusual for them - they often shared a blanket when the team sat down to watch a movie. What was unusual was the way Natasha curled into him, reaching up to brush her hand across the sharp arch of his jaw before she tucked her head into the crook of his neck. She closed her eyes as he brushed a tender kiss to her forehead.
Sam looked away, the moment entirely too intimate for him to feel comfortable watching, even though he knew if he were to tease them about it, they would say that they were just cuddling to keep warm. Over the months, he learned that there was two sides to the woman in front of them. There was the Black Widow - the merciless assassin the Red Room had been molded into the perfect weapon. Then, there was Natasha Romanoff - a bright, joyful woman that Steve drew laughter from like no one else could. Their relationship had seemed platonic but now, with the way she relaxed in his arms like it was as easy as breathing, Sam knew there was something brewing underneath the surface of those still waters.
"Your heart is racing." Steve mused to her, an adoring smile on his lips as he held Natasha as though she was his to love.
"Is yours still beating, old man?" She smirked, not lifting her head from the nape of his neck as she nuzzled her nose against his skin.
They all laughed at her remark.
[ II ]
The Avengers Tower was brilliantly embellished with sparkling chandeliers along with aesthetic decorations for the charity event Tony Stark was hosting that evening, and Bruce Banner speculated that the food Tony (or maybe it was Pepper's doing) ordered might have cost even more than his apartment in the quiet town of Maine he resided in. He sipped his red wine as he strode amongst the crowd of his teammates and those who were most likely as rich as Tony but only willing to give a fragment of their money to those who needed it the most. He tried not to be bitter about it... he tried not to think about the sickly children he had cared for and the dying elderly who had no chance of recovering from a sickness that could've been prevented, but it was impossible not to.
Nonetheless, he tried his best to enjoy the good company and delicious food.
He walked up to the lavish dessert table but just as he reached for a plate, Clint caught his attention with a wave of his hand as he gestured Bruce over to where he stood along with Steve, Natasha, and Rhodey.
Immediately, he was drawn to Natasha who stood beside Steve, her emerald orbs glowing in the lights and her dark, blue dress embellishing the curves she wasn't shy about showing off. He walked towards his teammates, trying to catch her eyes that seemed to look at everything but him. Ever since she had recruited him for the Avengers Initiative, he had been entirely enraptured with the Russian. There was just something about her that he couldn't put his finger on, and it wasn't just her breathtaking features that sparked interest in him. He tried hard to get her attention, to at least get her to look at him the way she looked at Steve, but it was to no avail.
That didn't mean he was going to give up, however.
As he neared them, Clint flashed him a smile, and Bruce returned it. "Tell these idiots that we saw Thor playing with a dog yesterday! Rhodey and Nat don't believe me." He said sounding entirely vexed.
Bruce chuckled with a slight shake of his head. He and Clint had in fact seen the Asgardian playing fetch with one of their technician's dogs but if he hadn't seen it for himself, he wouldn't have believed it either. However, before he could back up Clint, Natasha chimed in with a dazzling laugh that made his pulse jump.
"Thor is a God. Do they even have dogs in Asgard?" She said, lifting her drink up to her entirely kissable lips and taking a sip.
Bruce momentarily forgot what they were talking about as he watched her.
Steve tilted his chin down and smirked at her. "You could go ask him, but I think he's been on Earth long enough to know what a dog is." He said as he gently nudged her with his elbow.
She rolled her eyes at him before she handed Steve her drink so she could flatten the hem of her dress. "Don't sass me, Rogers." She jested.
"I'll go ask him now. I just can't believe that." Rhodey mused, stepping away from them to find Thor amongst the crowd.
"I get to say I told you so!" Bruce called after Rhodey. It was a ridiculous thing to contend over, but it was always nice to be right once in a while.
Clint humphed in satisfaction as he watched their friend walk away before he turned to look at Steve. "Why haven't you tore up the dance floor yet? Or is the music not old enough for you?"
Please go dance, Bruce thought to himself. Maybe then he'd be able to draw Natasha away and talk with her privately about everything and nothing, to try and get to know the woman behind the walls she had built between them. If he had the chance to show her that he could be more than an acquaintance, maybe he would stick around New York more often.
"Oh, I think he was just about to ask me." Natasha smiled up at him, taking her drink from Steve to set it down on the table before she looked at him expectantly.
Bruce resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Sometimes, their little quips and touches were ludicrous. Over and over again, they denied ardor for one another and claimed that they were merely friends. He believed them for the most part, even if he didn't know exactly what they were. However, his other teammates often jested about their blooming relationship and how Steve couldn't keep his hands off her while Natasha couldn't keep her eyes off him.
"Yeah, I was." Steve chuckled lowly, placing his hand on the arch of her lower back as they walked to the dance floor.
Bruce and Clint watched as they turned to face one another, and Natasha threw her head back with laughter as Steve pulled her to his chest. He took her small hand in his large one and then wrapped his arm around her waist as if he'd held her a hundred times before. She rested her head against his chest, one arm around his neck and her eyes closed as they swayed to the beat of the slow song.
"How long do you think it'll take him to ask her out?" Clint mused to Bruce.
Bruce shrugged, a pang of jealously flaring in his heart. If one of Natasha's closest friends conjectured that there was something between them, surely there had to be. "You' think he wants to ask her out?" He looked at Clint momentarily before he looked back at them slow dancing.
He watched the way Steve gazed down at Natasha and when she tilted her chin up to look at him, he smiled. She laid her head back down on his chest as a smile of her own tugged at the corner of her lips.
Bruce realized then that maybe it was time to move on. The love between them was evident, and who was he to deny their joy? They were his teammates... he wanted them to be happy, even if he longed for Natasha to be his. They both had lost so much in their lifetimes, and he knew Steve would always treat Natasha with the respect she utterly deserved - he would love her the way she deserved.
Yeah, it was definitely time for him to move on.
"I'll give him two months to ask her out." Bruce said to Clint with a smile.
[ III ]
Peter Parker was entirely ecstatic to be spending the night in the Stark Tower for the very first time. Tony had thought it would be good for him to get to know the team before he officially began his 'internship,' and Peter was grateful for his hospitality. Everyone he met had been extraordinary kind and understanding, even when he had gotten lost in the never ending hallways while trying to find the guest bedroom he was staying the night in. He had never seen such an embellished building - each photo hanging on the wall was evidently expensive and each chandelier sparkled like diamonds above his head. For a brief moment as he watched the gems glimmer in the light, he wondered if he would be able to swing from them.
"Don't even think about it, kid." Steve Rogers smirked at him, the man noticing Peter's look from where he sat across from him in the central den.
Peter flushed at the fact that he had been caught and looked back at the television playing the movie Fast and Furious. He, Steve, Tony, and Sam had settled down to watch it, but he was still trying not to get starstruck being surrounded by such heroes. He hoped to be half as good as them one day, but he knew that he still had a ways to go.
He heard the elevator open in the hallway with a ding and the distinct sound of women's voices. The infamous Black Widow and Maria Hill, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s commander, soon strode into the living room, conversing about their workout earlier that day. Although, he had heard stories about Natasha Romanoff, he still admired her drive to do good in the world, and Maria had been extraordinary helpful in guiding Peter throughout his internship. He shyly smiled at them in greeting as he leaned back into the plush, leather couch, and they both returned his smile as they strode past the television and into the kitchen.
Just as silence settled over the room, Natasha shouted Steve's name.
Steve froze, his azure eyes widening as Natasha stepped into the doorframe, her hands on her hips as her emerald eyes glared at him. It was than that Peter, who was sometimes blatantly observant, noticed that Natasha was wearing a Dodgers sweatshirt that was definitely not hers. It was far too big for her and for a moment, he wondered whose it actually was.
"I told you, man." Tony smirked at Steve, evidently knowing something that Peter didn't.
Steve swiftly stood from the couch, a vivid flush rising to his face as he walked over to Natasha. "You seriously had the audacity to eat them..." She hissed through her teeth.
"What happened?" Peter asked curiously, glancing at Tony sitting beside him on the couch.
"Those chocolates he was eating earlier? They weren't his, and you never eat a Russian's chocolates." Tony replied. "You're about to see Captain America get his ass whooped."
Steve reached out to take Natasha's hand, but she swiftly drew away from him as if his touch scalded her. "I'm sorry... I'll go out and get more right now." He said. Peter imagined if wounded puppies could talk, one would sound like Steve.
"Yeah? I bet you weren't sorry while you were eating them." Natasha snapped.
Suddenly, she lunged forward and kicked Steve's leg out from underneath him. He caught himself just before he hit the floor and reached out to yank Natasha's ankle, throwing her off balance. He caught her in his strong arms just as she fell with a surprised gasp.
"I hate you." She laughed in disbelief, glancing at Steve just before she rolled him over onto his back. He moved under her touch, his powerful muscles seemingly impotent against the woman as she sat astride him. It became apparent to Peter that the sweatshirt she wore just might have very well been Steve's.
"You say that all the time, but I don't think that's true." He smirked up at her with confidence Peter didn't know he had with woman.
"When did they start dating?" Peter asked, his eyebrows arched. No one else seemed impertinent to Steve and Natasha. It was as if their banter happened often.
Sam chuckled, shaking his head. "They aren't."
[ IV ]
God, the mission had gone to sh*t all in the blink of an eye.
Tony Stark had thought that everything was under control but in hostile territory, nothing was really in their control, and it had been entirely precarious for him to think that. A week ago, Fury had assigned he, Rhodey, and Natasha to a civilian town in the Middle East inundated by terrorists who were planning to bomb the village. Their goal was as straightforward as it could be: protect the civilians, take down the terrorists, and attain their ammunition. The mission was nearly complete as the sun was going down and a vivid sunset painted the sky above them. The terrorists were arrested, the civilians were safe, and the only thing left to do was secure the explosives. Tony and Rhodey had been carefully transporting the bombs while Natasha oversaw the operation from the Quinjet. She been assigned the systems engineer for the mission while Tony and Rhodey were the combatants.
She really was the brains of the operation, but Tony would never tell her that. She didn't miss a damn thing, and Tony knew that he owed Natasha his life in times like these. He and Rhodey had missed one bomb... one f*cking explosive. It's two-minute timer had been set off from the movement of the cargo, and Natasha had been the one to notice it. She had set off the town's alarm system, leaving the Quinjet to alert the civilians and implore them to seek shelter while Tony and Rhodey tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
The weight of the world fell on his shoulders when his team was put in harms way and innocent civilians were caught in the crossfire. The bomb could've been more deadly... more people could've been killed... but it still had done plenty of damage. The Quinjet was destroyed, their communication system was down, and there was an ashen mess to clean up.
Tony, Rhodey, and Natasha had spent the night assisting civilians and working with the government to further protect those in harms way. Tony couldn't envisage the panic Pepper was in at home - those outside the remote town only knew that a bomb had exploded and people had died. Fortunately, the government agreed to fly them back to New York and a doctor had flown along to treat Natasha's wounds. She wasn't seriously hurt - she needed stitches along her jawline, glass pulled out her face, and her wrist was most likely broken. However, Tony and Rhodey had still fretted over their friend and teammate. She didn't have any combat gear or armor to wear as she helped civilians to safety and after the blast, it took them an hour to find her buried under the rubble.
Tony and Natasha had a rocky past, but he still cared deeply about her. He could hear her voice in the back of the plane as the doctor treated her wounds, but it did nothing to reassure his mind in a whirl. He longed to contact his wife - his other teammates - to let them know that they were safe and the mission was complete. All they knew back at the Avengers Compound was that a middle eastern plane was scheduled to land soon.
"You' think Steve is going to be mad?" Rhodey said, breaking the tense silence between he and Tony as they sat down for landing.
"He won't be mad at us, but he's going to chew out Fury for this." Tony mused, knowing Rhodey was referring to Natasha getting hurt.
He would feel the same way if Pepper was sent out in the field without appropriate equipment. Steve and Natasha weren't married or even dating but even he, a millionaire playboy, couldn't deny the love between them. Natasha had face-timed Steve every night on the mission and more than once, she had fallen asleep while on the phone with him. It was glaringly obvious how they felt for one another, but Tony knew things were never that simple. If it was, he figured they would already be married and settled down like he and Pepper were trying to do.
Rhodey hummed in agreement and leaned back in the worn out seat of the aircraft as the wheels dropped and the plane jolted. "We survived a bomb, but we might not survive this landing." He mumbled under his breath, making Tony chuckle.
The airplane landed roughly but once the doors opened with a whoosh, his heart began to pound as he thought about holding Pepper and seeing her beautiful face. It was really all he longed for, especially in times like these... to carry her away to their own safe haven on the lake and drown willingly in the extraordinary love he felt for her.
Although, it was only three in the morning, there was people already waiting on the runway as Tony stepped out of the plane and under the dark New York sky. The cold was frigid compared to the Middle East, but he hardly noticed it as he looked around for Pepper.
Maria rushed up to him a few moments later, flinging herself around him as she embraced him tightly. "She's on her way, Tony!" She said, knowing immediately who he was looking for. "They didn't say anything about you guys being alive. All they said was they were bringing our team back, and we thought that meant your bodies." She said, her eyes shining with tears.
As Tony held Maria, who he wasn't even sure if he had hugged before, he was able to fully comprehend the situation. They had thought he, Rhodey, and Natasha weren't returning alive. His heart ached painfully as he thought about their loved ones grieving and preparing themselves for the worst, thinking that they would be making funeral arrangements instead of celebrating their return home. It was then he was entirely grateful for Natasha who had alerted them, giving he and Rhodey time to suit up and take cover.
They might not be alive if she hadn't.
"Oh, my God!"
Tony was pulled from his contemplation as he heard Steve exclaim and then there was the solider, rushing past him and Maria to Natasha being helped down from the aircraft by their pilot. She jerked away from the man, nearly falling down the steps as she ran into Steve's arms.
Tony could hear his frantic voice, watching the way Steve pulled back from her to cup her face. He then run his hands down her arms as he looked her over, as if he was assuring himself she was really there, before he pulled her back to his chest and held her closely.
"I t-thought you were... Jesus Christ, Nat." Steve breathed, squeezing his eyes shut as he pressed his nose into the nape of her neck. She embraced him just as tightly, the tension in her shoulders swiftly dissipating.
Tony looked away from them, seeing Rhodey reunite with the rest of their teammates. It felt good to be home, but it would feel even better once he saw his wife.
Maria pulled back from Tony as Natasha and Steve walked up to them, his arm around her waist as she leaned into his side.
"Do you need me to do anything before we head out?" Natasha asked, sliding her hand over Steve's arm as she looked at Tony.
He smiled at them, shaking his head. Of course, she would ask that. "Hell no. You two go home."
They bid him goodnight and he watched them walk away, wondering if tonight would be the night they finally admitted their love for one another.
He was certain of one thing.
He would be holding Pepper just as tight as Steve had held Natasha and telling his wife just how much he loved her.
[ V ]
Bucky Barnes' smiled at the captivating woman in his arms as he drew her to his broad chest in the elevator. "Mhm, how did I get so lucky, Wanda?" He hummed, sponging adoring kisses down the column of her neck. "I wish I could give you the world."
He was certainly going to try.
He still couldn't believe that she was his to love. As soon as he had met the witch, he had been enraptured with Wanda and everything she stood for - her breathtaking beauty, her extraordinary kindness, and her unduly protectiveness over those she cared about. She had gotten inside his head in the most exquisite way possible, and she had him wrapped around her finger.
"You are always enough, James." She said, making his heart thrum as she reached up on the tips of her toes to kiss him.
A delicious shiver went up his spine as heat pooled into his core, his strong arms curving around the small of her back as he rolled her bottom lip between his. He gently tugged on the ends of her cascading, dark hair as she stole the breath from his lungs with each caress of her tongue against his. All he could feel was Wanda and with her, he felt like he was enough. With her, he was able to omit the ghosts of his past, the innocent people he murdered, his best friend he tried to kill, and how uncertain his future was. He knew that as long as she was by his side, he would fight for her and the goodness she stood for. "I love you, baby girl. So much." He murmured against her lips. She'd been in his life for six months now, and he swore that he fell more in love with her every single day. He had never really believed in love at first sight.... until he saw her.
"I love you too and once we get upstairs, I want you to show me how much." She replied zealously, her thin fingers reaching between them and brushing against his belt buckle. "Don't we have the place to ourselves tonight?"
He groaned as his hips arched into her hand, and he jerked his head in a nod. "Steve and Nat said they were staying at his place tonight." He mumbled.
"God, I can't believe they aren't dating yet. Don't they sleep in the same bed?" Wanda laughed, abruptly pulling away from him as the elevator doors opened with a ding.
Bucky felt the loss of her touch instantly, and his fingertips twitched with the compelling urge to pull her back to him and make love to her in the elevator as he followed her through the main floor of the compound. "I feel like they already are and just aren't telling us." He chuckled, shaking his head to himself as he thought about his friend and the woman he so clearly loved.
Wanda shrugged in response, glancing at him over her shoulder as she walked ahead of him. Her eyes gleamed wickedly, and he stared back at her for a moment before she turned around. "You're killing me." He groaned huskily, his length hardening in his jeans as she swayed her hips sensuously. Their pace quickened as they neared the quarters, and Bucky almost yanked the door off its hinges as he opened it for Wanda.
Just as it shut behind them and he drew her into his arms, there was a moan.
It wasn't Wanda's.
It wasn't a moan from someone in pain, no. It was an org*smic, sexual moan that echoed off the living room walls and into the foyer where they stood.
He and Wanda froze, their eyes widening, and he bit back a laugh. "So much for being alone." He grumbled with vexation. He had thought that he planned their date night perfectly but evidently, one of their teammate's plans had changed. His arousal was swiftly doused as he thought about one of his friend's having sex on the couch he had been planning to f*ck Wanda on.
"Who is that?" She frowned, her lips curving up in an amused smile as they came to stand in the doorway of the living room. They tried to be loud enough so those caught in the compromising position would realize they weren't alone, but the woman's moans became wanton cries as a man groaned and cried out with her.
Bucky could've swore his jaw hit the floor as he saw who it was.
Steve and Natasha.
She sat astride him on the leather couch, her forehead pressed against his as she ground her hips down, her breasts pressed against his chest as he held her closely.
"Ты такая красивая, Наташа." [You are so beautiful, Natasha.] Steve moaned in Russian as one of his hands tangled in her hair, tilting her head back to suck another mark on her neck.
She squeezed her eyes shut as she trembled against him and her nails scratched down his back. She cried out, rolling her hips with his. "God, yes!"
"Hello!" Wanda shouted, shattering the entrancing spell around them as she waved her arms. They were evidently too wrapped up in one another to realize they weren't alone.
Steve gasped when he heard Wanda, swiftly moving Natasha so she was behind him while she grabbed the blanket that'd fallen on the floor and pulled it around them.
"You two are ridiculous!" Wanda laughed in disbelief. "I have so many questions."
"No... no. Wait a minute. Wasn't Steve calling us the horny teenagers last night?" Bucky said pointedly, smirking at them who were entirely flustered at being caught in a very compromising position. "Jesus Christ, how long have you two been sleeping together?"
"We've been dating for five months." Natasha said, her cheeks flushing vividly as she peeked at them from behind Steve. "Now, can you please leave so we can finish?"
Both Wanda and Bucky's jaw dropped as Steve threw his head back with laughter.
[ VI ]
Clint Barton's world had stopped turning. She was gone... Natasha Romanoff. His teammate - his best friend - who pieced everything back together had sacrificed herself for the Soul Stone. She was gone in the blink of an eye, her broken body at the bottom of the cliff she had thrown herself off to save the world, to sponge the red from her ledger. His legs shook underneath him as he stood on the platform, surrounded by his rejoicing friends who had yet to realize their teammate was missing. The room spun around him, and his hands began to shake as grief shook him to his core.
How were they supposed to continue fighting without her? How was he supposed to live without her?
Of course, Steve was the first one to notice his wife hadn't returned with Clint.
He stepped away from Tony, his eyes widening in panic. "Where is Natasha?" He said, his bottom lip trembling as his azure eyes glazed over with fear.
Clint shook his head numbly, tears brimming in his eyes as Steve stared at him. "I'm so s-sorry." He mumbled as a sob pushed through his throat.
"No... no... where is she?" He shouted, rushing up to Clint and grasping the collar of his ensemble. Clint shook his head again, trying to find the words to explain to Captain America that his wife had died. "A soul for a soul... she scarified herself for the stone." Clint said through sobs that tightened unbearably around his throat.
Steve fell to his knees in front of him. His body shook, and Clint tried to tell him how sorry he was, even though he knew it would do nothing to ease the solider's anguish. She meant more to him than even he could fathom - she was his world and everything he lived for, as he had told him one quiet evening on the porch when they were visiting.
"She told me right before she jumped that she loves you... she loves you so much." He said to Steve, recalling the moments before Natasha sacrificed herself for the soul stone, and Clint's heart began to ache like someone had twisted a knife through it.
He tried so hard to stop her.
Steve shook his head, tears streaming down his face as he buried his face in his hands. "I-I told her I'd see her in a m-minu..."
Tears pricked Clint's eyes as he watched his friend grieve so horrifically that his words were lost in heaving sobs. "She loves you, Steve." He forced himself to say, even as his throat tightened until it was nearly unbearable. They all had lost a teammate and a friend, but Steve had lost the love of his life. She had showed him how to love, how to rely on someone and have something that he thought would last a lifetime. Clint knew that Steve thought he would have forever with her, that he would never have to live without the woman who had his heart. However, he also knew that they shouldn't promise forever. He couldn't even promise that to Laura and their children that he lost in The Snap.
He tried to block out the sounds of his teammate's cries as they realized Natasha wasn't returning, that the woman who held them all together was gone.
It was his fault...
He hadn't been able to stop her.
Later that night, Clint sat on the couch beside Steve, trying to bring him any sort of comfort to ease the ache in his heart. He didn't want him to be alone because apart of him knew that he was the reason why his wife was gone. Clint had told him how it happened, how he had given everything in his fight to stop her. He told Steve about how she hadn't cried, that she was at peace with her decision and just wanted Steve to know how much she loved him. To Clint's surprise, he wasn't angry with him, but he felt like it would be better if he was because it was his f*cking fault. It was his fault that they were sitting on the couch, looking at photos of Natasha on their phones, trying not to crumble under the unbearable weight of losing her.
"She wasn't supposed to be an Avenger. She was just supposed to help recruit us and then return to S.H.I.E.L.D.." Steve said numbly as he scrolled past a photo of he and Natasha on their honeymoon in Greece. "She deserved so much more than this, and I was never able to give her that."
"She was so convinced that she had to make up for her past. I wish she realized that she did that long ago, that she was always a good person." Clint mumbled, blinking back the tears in his eyes that were seemingly never ending. "But you gave her everything she wanted and so much more. You gave her a reason to believe in herself, that she could love someone who would love her back just as strongly." He reassured his friend because Steve had been her reason to keep fighting.
Just as she had been his.
However, he knew no matter what he said, he wouldn't be able to ease Steve's anguish. Yes, he loved Laura and their children more than life itself, but Steve and Natasha's relationship was significantly different. They depended on one another, saving each other many times in and out of the field and in a way, they both needed each other. It made him feel guilty, that he should've been the one to sacrifice himself. He should've even told Natasha and Steve a while ago that they were too dependent on each other, that maybe she shouldn't sit in his lap every time they sat down in the living room or that maybe Steve should've just gone to sleep on missions instead of calling Natasha just to hear her voice.
No.
He wouldn't have been able to tell them that. Their relationship was beautiful, and they deserved that - something even deeper than love. Only now, Steve had to find a way to live without the woman he couldn't go a day without talking to. It made Clint's heart break all over again as he knew Steve's pain and his love for Natasha would never fade.
Time couldn't heal all wounds.
[ IX ]
"Do you think he's going to come back?"
Stephen Strange looked at Bruce Banner as they stood around the platform of the time machine that Steve Rogers had just gone through to return the infinity stones. "What do you mean?" He asked.
"I mean - is Steve going to go in the past to be with Natasha?" Bruce clarified.
He was silent for a moment, thinking about the possibilities. Everything was possible now that Thanos had been defeated, people had been brought back from The Snap, and the world had been righted on its axis. After the final battle, he had been planning to finish his own journey, to safeguard the other realms of the universe and find his place amongst the chaos. However, he had one final mission on Earth and that was to ensure the stones were returned to the past where they belonged. "He really loves her." He stated, not knowing how to answer Bruce's question because he did not want to reveal the future. He had not known Natasha Romanoff well, but he knew Steve Rogers. He knew how passionate he was for those he cared about, the fight burning bright in his eyes, and his love for the woman that had been cruelly taken from him. "In every lifetime, they are together. It's something special, something we so rarely see."
"I believe it." Sam Wilson nodded. "Seen' it firsthand myself."
Stephen Strange smiled, recalling this life that Steve and Natasha had together. He remembered getting the invite to their wedding, how relieved he had been that they were getting the ending they so deserved. Both the solider and the spy had lost so much but in that, they had gained each other. He remembered when Natasha had walked down the aisle, Steve had cried; the unbreakable Captain America brought to tears as his future wife walked towards him. He remembered their first dance as husband and wife, how Steve swept her off her feet as Natasha kissed him breathless. He remembered their vows, the vows he'd heard over and over again from Steve and Natasha in another lifetime. In every lifetime, they chose one each other at the end of it all, and he knew this timeline would be no different.
He knew.
"Is it supposed to take this long?" Stephen Strange asked, shifting his weight impatiently. Despite him knowing the future, he still wanted the stones returned as quickly as possible to right the universe. He trusted Captain America to do the job, but he had never been a patient man.
As if on cue, there was a flash of bright, blinding light, and Steve appeared in front of them.
Only he wasn't alone.
He was on his knees, cradling someone in his arms. His head was bowed, his blonde hair falling in front of his face as his shoulders shook and a sob pushed through his throat.
Stephen Strange's heart sunk to his stomach because for the very first time, he was wrong.
Natasha Romanoff was supposed to return with her husband alive. Steve wasn't supposed to be cradling her limp body in his arms, his shield forgotten on the ground beside him.
"sh*t..." Sam breathed, rushing forward to the solider. "I'm so sorry, Steve."
Steve sat back on his heels, his arms tightening around Natasha's body. As he shifted, Stephen Strange began to laugh because there she was, her emerald eyes bright with life and blinking at them. "He's just being dramatic." She smiled.
Sam and Bruce gasped, rushing forward to embrace her despite the fact that Steve wasn't quite ready to let her go.
Later that night, dozens of people had crowded into the Stark's cabin. The grief of losing Tony hung in the air, but the tears shed that night were joyous ones as they celebrated Natasha's miraculous return. The stone was exchanged for a soul, but a soul was exchanged for the stone, and the universe had righted itself. For one of the very first times, Stephen Strange could sigh with relief.
Natasha hadn't left Steve's side and despite the fact that the solider had her back, he was going to struggle with the fear of losing her for years. However, Stephen Strange knew that Natasha was a patient woman, that she would lead her husband just as she always had because they all knew who was really in charge. Even in the final battle against Thanos, Natasha had led Steve with him following his heart that led right to the Black Widow. It was simple, something as easy as breathing, and Stephen Strange was truly happy for them. She sat in Steve's lap, her legs crossed and her arms around his neck as he sponged adoring kisses to her lips every so often. It was then that the last thing Stephen Strange wanted to do was overstay his welcome when he knew the spy and the solider had quite the long night ahead to make up for lost time.
He walked across the room to bid them his goodbye before he left. They were his teammates, his friends, and he would in fact miss them. "I just wanted you to know that I find your story to be extraordinary. Fate is a fickle thing in this universe, but it just might be on your side." He said with a smile.
"I hope fate will let us retire." Steve laughed.
"You really want to retire?" He asked. He could hardly envisage Captain America setting down his shield for good, but he would frankly do anything for the woman he loved.
"I think we just want to get a life." Natasha smiled, squeezing her husband's hand.
"Well, you just might get that together." Stephen Strange smiled.
Fate was truly a fickle thing indeed.
