This is a one shot based off the Endgame trailer, so spoilers for the trailer. I own nothing except my feelings, and they are a mess after watching this trailer. Seeing the compass with Peggy's picture broke my Romangers' heart, but some have commented that it looked like it was in Natasha's hand. I'm not sure about that, but the implications of Natasha holding the compass were even more terrifying. Here's my fix it.
New chapter of A Boy out of Time coming later tonight.
"Did you reach them?" Steve asked as Natasha joined him in the Avenger compound's common room.
Natasha shook her head. "Still no answer. I spoke to Mrs. Foster from next door before we left Wakanda. No one is at the farm. I could check the safe house, but-"
"It's okay. You don't have to do anything until you're ready. Clint, Laura, and the kids were your family."
"We all lost family. So many disappeared, Steve. Wanda, Sam, Bucky-the list is long."
"You still have me. I have you. We've got Thor, Rhodey, and even Bruce. We're going to fix this."
"Of course we are," Natasha replied, adding her own false bravado to Steve's. "It's what we do."
Steve pulled his compass from his pocket and placed it in Natasha's hand. She opened it, unsurprised to see Peggy's picture still firmly in place. It didn't even make her feel jealous, which was oddly comforting. She knew why he kept it. That compass had survived his first attempt to sacrifice himself to save the world. Still, Natasha couldn't resist commenting on the image. "You're girlfriend was quite a looker, old man."
"She sure is," Steve replied, making eye contact with Natasha, "and, as long as my best girl is beside me, I can't help but feel like there is hope." He paused. "If you need to look for Clint, we'll do it together. I just don't want to do anything apart right now. I don't go anywhere without this compass. It's a reminder that there are a whole lot of people counting on me, on us, to do what has to be done whatever the cost. You hold it for me then all I have to do is hold on to you."
"You sure about that, Steve? This is yours. It's special. You should be the one carrying it," Natasha replied, the compass still open in her hand.
"We've never talked about what we are, Nat. You're in my bed every night, even now that Banner is back. When we're awake, you are never far from me for long at a time. Don't you think we should talk about what this is?"
"Are you complaining?"
"Definitely not, but some clarification would help. I know how I feel about you, and I think you feel the same way. I love you, Nat. I just need to make sure you know before anything else happens."
Natasha sighed and gave him a soft smile. "I know. I love you, too." She gently closed the compass and put it in her pocket. "Whatever happens, we stick together."
Steve pulled Natasha into an embrace as the video monitor turned on. "Is that Scott?" he asked. "Is it a recording?"