The sort-of time-travel sort-of fix-it that no one asked for but I just couldn't get out of my head.

I don't own Wonder Woman but I really, really wish I did. Whose idea was it to give us such an amazing love story and then end it like that?! My only hope is that Chris technically has a multi-movie contract, which means maybe, just maybe, we'll be getting him back, as will Diana.

No idea where this story came from exactly. Wasn't planning on staying in WW long enough to write anything for the fandom, but I just couldn't get the idea out of my head. Got all this done in three days (which means I didn't quite proof-read it as much as I probably should have, sorry about that). I'm on my way out of the fandom already so... it kind of was now or never.

Anyway, here's the fic and I really hope you'll enjoy it. It's mostly in chronological order, except for one kind-of flashback... didn't put the scene earlier because I didn't want to give some things away too soon. Again, hope you'll like this.

Angels

By: Lalaith Quetzalli

He was asked to make one more sacrifice, a final one, and of course he made it. He'd do everything, anything for her, to ensure she'd smile, that she'd live, that she'd have a chance to love even if the one she loved wasn't him… Because she'd once been his Angel, and the time had come for him to be hers…

"Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful,

and endures through every circumstance."

Corinthians 13:7

If there was one thing he never expected to see (never wanted to see) it was Diana dying. She was an angel, and angels are meant to be immortal… which meant she was never supposed to die. Even if it hurt, knowing that they'd never be together again, because she was alive and he was… well… not; he'd rather watch over her from the Other Side than deal with her dying.

He'd known for a while that Diana wasn't happy, it was impossible not to see that. The way that even when she smiled, the smiles never reached her eyes. (She never smiled the way she did at him, that night, in Veld…) The few lovers she'd taken through the years had never been quite able to touch her heart. He knew she'd lost her faith in humanity for a while, after WWII (and didn't he fight a war that was supposed to end all wars?!), after the loss of so many people, so many children… He'd hated seeing her retreat into herself, but had understood it; accepted that she needed the time to recover. A part of him had wished that she'd go back home, back to that Paradise Island, her mother and all the other amazons… but she wouldn't go. She believed she wouldn't be welcome, though he was sure that regardless of what her mother and anyone might have said, they'd have received her with open arms if she'd just taken the chance, but she never did. A part of him wondered if that was a choice she made for herself (or maybe it was for him? He'd never know).

Hard as it was to see Diana lose so much of her faith, and even her hope… (be so absolutely unable to do anything except watch each new hurt tear a piece of her heart and soul out) he never expected to see her lose her life.

The only thing he expected even less, was to suddenly find himself back at the beginning, back on that beach, after having almost drowned, and with an angel leaning over him, having just saved his life…

xXx

Steve Trevor was still somewhat out of it, even as his very first conversation with the woman who'd become the love of his life, replayed around him. Even as the Germans made it through the barrier separating Themyscira from Man's World, and then the Amazons arrived… it was until the first of the warrior women fell to a bullet that he fully comprehended what was going on. That he wasn't lost in a memory or a flashback, he was actually, somewhat (incredibly… shockingly… horrifyingly?) back in time.

Rifle in hand Steve did his best to help the amazons, to watch their backs. He'd no idea if he was making any difference, if more or less of them were dying than the first time around. Had no idea if he could even affect such a change. So much hadn't been explained to him… then again, it wasn't like he asked too many questions, the moment the offer had been made, to do something that might help save Diana's life… the answer was always going to be yes. No matter anything else; not the cost, any other consequences, nothing mattered except doing everything in his power to make sure Diana would not die (especially not with that look in her eyes, the mix of sadness and… and relief… it was heartbreaking, if a dead man's heart could even break).

He noticed the soldier stalking Diana from the corner of his eyes; a second later he realized he wasn't the only one who had. One of the amazons was on the move (he knew how that one went, what was going to happen next). Steve was lining the shot and firing before he was fully aware of what he was doing.

The German fell, not without taking his own shot, but at least Steve's own made his go wide, Antiope ended with bullet high on her arm; painful but nothing life-threatening. The last enemy fell seconds later and it was then, as the amazons crowded around him and not only Diana but Antiope sprung to his defense, that Steve realized the potential for greatness (for disaster) of the situation he found himself in.

When several amazons marched him straight to the throne room and looped the golden lasso around him he didn't fight it. On the one hand, he knew it was pointless, on the other, he didn't want to risk them asking the kind of questions that would lead to him having to try and explain how a supposedly long-dead king of the gods sent him back a century to do… something that might somehow keep his last living daughter from dying in a battle against friking aliens (gods was one thing, but aliens…? Really?!).

The amazons did not like his answers, but that was no news to him. Still, he was almost sure there was less animosity than the first time around (Could saving one life really have changed things that much? Was that a good thing or a bad one?). At least Diana still wanted to go with him to Europe, to the war.

Steve waited until Diana was off to collect armor and weapons and went looking for Antiope. It was insane, and he knew it, but that didn't stop him. Things might go completely wrong, but in the years he'd been alive he'd learned to go with his instincts, and those told him someone needed to know the truth, in case everything went wrong (in case everything went right).

"Do you know how insane that all sounds?" The amazon demanded the moment he finished his speech (more of a rambling and ranting, but still).

"I know exactly how insane it sounds." He replied, running a hand through his blonde hair in exasperation. "I know. And it's not like we have the golden lasso of fiery truth here to prove to you I'm telling the truth. And I definitely don't want to tell Diana… not right now."

"Why you?" Antiope asked next. "Why send you back?"

"Probably because I was the only one?" The man suggested. "How the hell should I know? All I know is that I'm supposed to make sure that Diana will not lose her faith, her hope, because if she does, she will die. It might be a hundred years from now, but die she will."

"It would be easier to just keep her from going to Man's World..." The amazon pointed out.

"Probably. But how many would die then? Would you condemn thousand, millions, to death by depriving them of the one who can save them? Who is meant to save them? And what of your duty, of Diana's duty to destroy Ares?"

"She will do it!"

"I didn't get to see it. Last thing I saw while alive was her beginning to fight. I couldn't stay, had to stop a plane from taking a poisonous gas that would have killed millions of innocents… I died blowing up that plane." He let out a breath, a shiver running through his body. "By the time I was fully conscious of myself on the Other Side it was all over."

"What do you want from me? I mean, why tell me all this at all?"

"Because the last time, when the war ended, Diana was all alone; and that's not right. She had our friends, of course, but she needs her family, her mother, you..."

"I would have never left my niece alone..." Antiope understood it a moment later. "I died. I was dead in this… past of yours, wasn't I?"

"Yes. You took a bullet meant for Diana."

"The man that was stalking her… the one you shot..."

"I shot him that time too; only I managed to do it a little faster this time."

"So… I'm alive, when I was dead in the other timeline? What does that mean?"

"I have no idea. But I hope it means that you'll be there for Diana when she needs you. When Ares is dead…" He shook his head. "I don't know if you understand this or not. God of war or not, violence… wars will not end even when Ares is gone. Not completely. I think that was what made Diana lose so much of her faith, her hope… she will need someone to be by her side, to tell her it's alright to have doubts, to keep her from losing all belief in others, and especially in herself. Her life might well depend on it."

"What about you…?"

The question was obvious. Why was Steve working so hard to make sure Antiope would be there for Diana? Wasn't he planning on being there? Steve did not answer, he wouldn't have known what to say, how to even begin to explain that it simply wasn't in his power…

xXx

Steve Trevor couldn't have known how differently the departure later that night went. The quiet words exchanged between Diana, her mother and her aunt, how much they differed from the ones said a lifetime prior. Antiope might not have been able to convince her sister to send a legion of amazons with Diana, but she'd made sure her niece wouldn't feel abandoned regardless.

Two nights and a day later they were back on London and Steve could have almost kissed the ground the moment they docked. He never imagined it would be so hard, spending that time alone with Diana on that little ship. All the ways it was both a blessing and a curse. The love of his life was so close… and yet she didn't love him, not yet. He wanted so much to kiss her, to caress her, to worship her body and prove to her that while some women might consider men 'unnecessary' for pleasure, that did not mean they couldn't do things right (that night in Veld… he would never forget it, every kiss, every caress, every groan and moan and…)

He had fun, arriving in London. Getting new clothes and necessities for Diana. He tried to be more mindful of her preferences, rather than try and force her to wear clothes that not only made her uncomfortable but were absolutely unnecessary. He remembered the first time around, he'd tried to be patient with her, and yet at times he'd still attempted to push her into the mold of the traditional women of the time… one she'd never been meant for.

The hardest thing of all was perhaps not to pull out his gun and shoot Sir Patrick the moment he laid eyes on the man again. Not that it'd have done much, but still, the temptation was there. In that moment he really wished he could do it, that he could kill Ares himself, save Diana all the stress, the grief, the pain… but that wouldn't end the war, or the other wars that would yet come. Killing Ares in the end wouldn't change much in the grand scheme of things; it was everything else he needed to work on, the aftermath. He needed to make sure that someone would be there for Diana once he was gone…

It was odd, seeing Etta, Charlie, Sammy and Chief again. He'd watched over them from the Other Side, he knew everything they'd done (would do) had achieved and would again. Charlie's wife and son, Sammy's own wife and daughters, and his career as an actor (he remembered a particular red carpet, Diana had gone with him, and he'd been the envy of every single man present… not that it had been any different when he began attending those events with his Jasmine… still, Steve had enjoyed seeing Diana in that gorgeous red dress…). He'd watched Chief (and that was one can of worms he wasn't in any hurry to revisit). And he'd watched Etta, sweet, kind, reliable Etta; with her suffragettes, and her husband, her children, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren… she was the one who lived the longest, who tried her best to be there for Diana no matter what. Steve would forever be grateful to Etta for that (the first thing he did, once back in London, was update his will, this time everything would go to Etta once he was gone; she could give it a better use than the son of the half-sister he'd never met).

xXx

By the time they reached No Man's Land he knew what was the next thing he wanted to change. Probably the most important of all (though he'd no idea how he'd manage it). Still, he did his part, said all his lines, waiting for Diana to take the choice out of his hands, to shed the clothes (the trappings) of Man's World and reveal herself in all her glory. Once again he did not doubt (it was one of the things he was proud of, regarding himself, that even the first time he'd not doubted); the moment the enemy began shooting at Diana he followed, calling for the others to do the same. Also like that time, his friends followed right away.

The fight went much like the first time around, and the aftermath; with Charlie playing the beaten piano and singing, the beer that tasted awful and then when he and Diana got to have that one dance under the falling snow… and the night that followed.

Steve had no idea how much he did the same, how much he changed. Had he worshiped Diana as much the first time around? He couldn't imagine trying any less hard than he did in that moment and yet… and yet at times he couldn't help but feel like he loved her more every day. It was an odd dichotomy.

In the morning he chose to push the mission aside for the time being. He knew that Chief would get the uniform he needed, and Sammy the horses. Instead he went to see as many people as he could, doing his best to convince them to leave the town. Because he had no idea how to stop the gas from being released, but he couldn't just let them die, not again; he had to do something… He knew not everyone would leave. Half-crumbled as the town might be, it was all most of the people there had, but still, he had to try. If even just half of them left it would be worth it (or so he told himself). A part of him wished he could stay, make sure they'd go, but he couldn't risk it, not when he still had a duty to fulfill. And Diana…

Steve could still remember a time when he hadn't believed in Ares. Even after having seen all the wondrous things Diana was capable of, and the amazons in Paradise Island, he hadn't believed that actual gods like Ares could exist, that they could be behind the war (and he'd been half-right on that front; so maybe Ares had been connected to it, but killing him hadn't been wholly enough to end things; nor had it stopped other wars from happening).

It didn't make it any easier, hours later. After stopping Diana from killing Ludendorff in the middle of that gala, watching her after Veld was attacked. And he couldn't even tell her that not all the people had died, that at least some of them (more than half of them) had followed his advice and left; because he could have never hoped to explain why he'd told them to leave in the first place. It didn't make it any easier when she looked at him with those eyes condemning him for his inaction, for letting innocent people get killed… She would never forgive him for that (and that was alright, he'd never fully forgive himself either, not for the people in Veld, and not for all the others whose deaths he'd had a hand in throughout the war).

Night came, and the next battle. Ludendorff finally died and Steve somehow managed to keep from telling Diana the truth. The things he knew, about her, about Ares, the battle that was still coming her way… at least he managed to keep from telling her that he hadn't believed her. Because this time around he did, he'd known she was right (he wished he'd had a little more faith in her the first time around… but then again, in the middle of a war, when so much had gone wrong already… it had been so hard).

She still told him no, when he asked her to go with him, but that was alright, he was expecting it, he didn't blame her for not wanting to be involved any longer, for feeling disappointed in him, and in the rest of humanity. He wished he could do more, that he could stay with her, convince her to have faith in them, in individuals even if she could not have it in mankind as a whole (not like he had much faith in mankind as a whole himself anyway). But he still had his part to play and couldn't delay it. Too many lives depended on it, on him…

Saying goodbye a second time wasn't any easier than it had been the first time around. When those words left his lips: I love you… He wanted to tell her so much more. To explain that he'd loved her for a century, and would likely do so for many more… or he would have, if given the chance. As it was, such a thing wasn't in the cards, it had never been…

It still was extremely hard to turn his back on her, to walk away, to not go back the moment she called his name in that voice… so full of confusion… she couldn't quite hear him just yet. Even if his words would come to her later on, in that moment she didn't understand what was going on and she wouldn't, not until it was too late to do anything about it (and perhaps it was better that way, perhaps…).

When he found himself, once again, sitting on that chair, on the huge plane, pistol in hand and ready to blow it, himself and all the gas up to kingdom come… pulling the trigger was almost easy. There was nothing left to do, he'd done everything he could, and could only hope it'd be enough; could only hope that in a hundred years things would go better than the first time around… not like he'd be there to find out.

And then… the one thing he never expected to happen. In the fraction of a second between him shooting the gas, and the explosion actually taking place, the plane's door burst into pieces. Steve didn't quite know what was going on as he was pulled out of his seat and through the broken glass at the front (he wasn't even sure if the glass had been shattered before he went through it or after). And then the explosion happened, and the cloud of orange gas.

"Don't breathe!"

It took him a heartbeat or two to process the voice he'd just heard… Antiope!

Steve did his best to do as she said, but it didn't quite work out.

A second or two later they landed; him in Antiope's arms. He didn't even get the chance to greet her before he began coughing. His lungs hurt, as did his throat, his mouth, his nose…

"Captain..." Antiope began, obviously noticing things were bad.

"It's okay General..." He panted someone, doing his best to breathe slow, so as not to hurt himself further. "You tried… thank you..."

It would seem he'd be going down the path of the slow death, this time around…

xXx

Somehow, he managed to last until Diana finished off Ares, saw to their friends, and then arrived. Apparently they'd gone looking for the remains of the plane, on the off-chance that he might have made it out miraculously (Steve could only hope they didn't find his burned-out husk the first time around).

"Steve!" Diana practically shrieked as she saw him and Antiope sitting against a tree. "Aunt!"

"Diana..." Antiope began, obvious hesitation in her voice. "I tried… I..."

"What do you mean?" Diana either couldn't see what was wrong, or she just didn't want to. "Steve…?"

"I'm sorry Angel..." Steve went into a coughing fit right then, he actually ended spitting a mouthful of blood that time.

"Steve!" Diana cried out in distress. "What's going on…?"

His friends' expressions showed they understood what was going on.

"I'm dying Angel..." Steve whispered between pants.

"No..." Diana was in denial.

"I'm d-dying an… and there's no… nothing you o-or anyone els-e ca-n do about… it." Steve said, slowly, trying to be clear.

"No!" The demigoddess shrieked. "No! I killed Ares! And you… you destroyed the gas! We ended the war, we saved the people! You cannot die now!"

"I'm so sorry Angel..." Steve gasped.

"Stop saying sorry, just don't die!"

Steve was sure Diana realized how impossible it was to ask that of him, but that didn't stop her from asking, or him from wishing he could comply… he'd known all along that it was coming, his death… that had been one thing he could not change… just like he couldn't change what was yet to come…

"Diana… Angel… I… I need you… need you to p-promise me something-g." He murmured, voice low in an attempt to lengthen what little time he might have left.

"Anything." Diana replied promptly.

"P-promise me y… you wo-won't give u… up." He went on. "No… no matter wha… what happens. You wi… will never s-stop believin-g..."

"I never will." She assured him, holding his hands in hers, kissing his knuckles tenderly. "It's not about what people deserve, it's about what we believe. I know, I will remember, I promise."

"Tha… thank you..." Steve did his best to smile at her.

A part of him wished he had died like the first time, that she didn't have to see him as he was in that moment, in singed clothes and with blood falling down the corner of his mouth, staining his teeth and lips… another part of him could only be thankful that he had the chance to say goodbye to her, one she'd actually hear…

"An-tiope..." Steve called next. "Re-member the p… promise."

"I'll remember Captain… Steve." The older amazon nodded solemnly.

"What promise?" Diana asked immediately.

"I'm so-sorry I-I wo… won't be able t-to show you wha… what p-peace is like. B-but at least y-you won't be-e a-alone..."

"Steve..." The princess practically moaned out his name in her growing grief.

"I… love… you… angel..."

And then his eyes closed, and Steve Trevor let go, the image of a dark-haired angel-goddess taking every inch of his mind, heart and soul…

xXx

"NO DIANA!"

He was still screaming when he realized he wasn't in 'paradise' anymore (and whatever passed for paradise in the so-called Other Side). Instead he was lost somewhere in the middle of nowhere, a black nothingness…

"Steve Trevor..." A deep, booming voice that seemed to come nowhere and everywhere at the same time called him.

"Wha…? Who's there? Where am I anyway?" Steve demanded.

"What would you do to save Diana?"

"Anything." Even having no idea who was talking, what was going on, Steve did not hesitate before giving his answer. "I'd do anything, give anything."

"Even your life?"

"Didn't you know man? I'm dead already!"

"And yet you still exist."

"Are you… what are you talking about?"

"The soul is a very particular thing Steve Trevor… only humans of all the gods' creations possess it. It's even more immortal than the gods themselves. It is an essence that shall continue existing to the end of time… unless it is given up. Demigods lose their souls when they reach divinity, as the immortality of the flesh is incompatible with such a thing as a soul. They do not stop being who they are, but if their bodies are destroyed, they're gone forever. Humans… humans may live a hundred lifetimes, different ones, and yet the soul remains the same."

"I cannot be reincarnated. I've been told it's impossible for me."

"And do you know why that is?"

"I… yes. I've been told I have a tie to strong to be broken, to be forgotten even if I were to drink the waters of Lethe..." Steve made a pause before adding. "I love Diana too much to forget her… to let her go..."

"Would you give up your soul for her?"

Steve actually had to stop and think about it then. Not because he didn't love Diana. It wasn't a matter of religion either; he hadn't been a very religious person before the start of the war… and afterwards even less. And it wasn't like Diana would be joining him in death… or him her in life. So perhaps there was no point to hesitating. If there was a chance for Diana to live, he'd give anything, anything at all…

"Yes." He said finally.

"Do you understand what you're saying Steve Trevor? If you do this, you may save her, but your soul will be lost, forever."

"I understand… King Zeus..."

He got a sense, like satisfaction, or perhaps a smile. Perhaps because he'd guessed his identity correctly? It mattered little.

"What am I supposed to do now? What can I do at all?"

"Diana's powers lay in her soul, she draws on them by both her mind and her heart… but for that to work she must be at balance. You must do your best to ensure that such a balance will remain. Her faith, her hope, her belief, in those she wishes to save, but especially in herself… without those she cannot be who she is meant to be..."

"And how can I do that?"

"That's something only you can work out Steve Trevor..."

He had no idea how he was supposed to do it, but that wouldn't stop him from trying.

"Good luck." Zeus said then.

And then, with a loud boom and a flash of thunder that illuminated everything in such a way that even closing his eyes Steve couldn't keep himself from being blinded it was over…

Next thing he knew he was coughing out water, his throat raw from the salt; his clothes were damp and there was an angel looking down at him…

xXx

Diana did not like finding out about the conversation Antiope had had with Steve while she was getting the armor and weapons. The fact that they both had kept something like that from her… it felt like a betrayal.

"Was he afraid I wouldn't believe him?" Diana demanded, clinging to the anger to avoid the heart-clenching grief that threatened to overtake her.

"He didn't want you to bear that kind of burden, I think." Antiope tried to sooth her. "All his focus was on you. On you being content, alive… I think… I think he knew from the start he was going to die and chose to focus on the things he might be able to change instead, the things he might be able to do to help you..."

Finding out precisely then that about half of Veld's remaining population had left the town hours before the gas-bomb had been shot at them both delighted and crushed her at the same time. It was wonderful knowing that at least some of that wonderful people she'd met that night were alive; at the same time it was terrible remembering what she'd said to him regarding Veld, and the fact that he'd never even tried to defend himself…

"He did tell me one thing though." Antiope added right then. "He said: 'Tell her that I believe in her even before I knew she was a goddess…'" She let out a sigh. "It was actually what convinced me that he was telling the truth, how else could he have known about you being the daughter of Zeus when even you did not know?"

Diana had no words to reply to that. It was comforting, knowing that he believed in her… it didn't change the fact that he was gone…

Diana would never do anything to go back on her promise though. So she did her best to honor it, and him. She refused to go back to Themyscira for more than a short visit every few years, but that was alright, Antiope hadn't expected more than that. She was only trying to do her part, make sure her niece would never be alone (she had her own promise to keep to Steve Trevor, after all).

Time passed, years of peace, and of war. During WWII Diana and Chief (whom his friends had begun to notice did not age like others did) teamed up with Antiope and a few other amazons and helped smuggle Jews out of Germany, Poland, and other territories being occupied by the Nazis. Sammy and his troupe helped where they could, as did Charlie, and Etta coordinated with those who did their best to help the fleeing people get to countries where they'd be safe. It might have been a bit less showy than what they'd done during the first war, but they managed to save many, many lives, and that was good enough for them.

After 1945 Diana refused to get involved in any more wars. While she hadn't fully lost her faith in humanity (if only because, doing what she and the others had, had allowed her the opportunity to see that not all people were bad, and that there were others, people without powers or any special resources, who also took great risks to help the innocents), she couldn't help but think that wars had become pointless. It was no longer about corruption, about freedom, about saving… it was about power (economical, political, social…), or at least that was how it looked to her eyes. So instead she focused on helping those who truly needed it; victims of slavery, of forced labors, those affected by natural disasters. Doing so allowed her to do her part to help humanity, while still staying away from seemingly pointless wars.

Art became a part of her life almost by accident. And before she quite knew what was going on she was the head curator of a small museum in Lyon. She never planned on making a career out of it, but she found that working with art, with historical pieces suited her… and it also soothed her at times, allowing her to see the good, make sure it wasn't forgotten. He hadn't wanted to burden either of them with that kind of information, didn't believe they deserve something like that (and it wasn't like them knowing would change anything). Steve had made his choices, and he didn't regret them (he never would… if there was the slightest chance that his angel would live, that was enough).

There was one thing Diana never knew, as it was something Steve hadn't shared, not with her and not with Antiope… the price he paid to be able to go back and try to make things better.

She never let go of Steve's watch, make sure to take good care of it, cleaning it often and fixing it when necessary. And thus she eventually found herself living in Paris, working as head of the Hellenic Arts Department in the Louvre. The one thing she regretted was never being able to track down the picture that had been taken of them in Veld… until it surfaced, in Lex Luthor's hands of all places.

It was probably a good thing that Antiope had been visiting at the time. She insisted on staying and helping Diana in any way she could to recover that picture. If she hadn't been there the Amazon princess was quite sure someone would have died on the fight against that creature Luthor had created, the one Superman had called Doomsday…

That battle was just the beginning of course. They knew more dangers were coming. Antiope had promised a legion of amazons would join the fight when the time came; while Bruce Wayne wanted to track the meta-humans Luthor had been investigating. Superman (Kal-El… Clark Kent) had agreed with him, and thus began the work of creating a team tasked with protecting the world. No longer would she be the sole protector of mankind (nor would Superman be… a part of her actually regretted not intervening back then, but she'd been in Themyscira, incommunicado from the world outside; hadn't known anything was going on until it was all said and done).

And so, in the fall of 2018, exactly a hundred years after the end of WWI, after the loss of her One True Love, Diana Prince, Wonder Woman , found herself standing side by side with the other members of the Justice League and her amazonian sisters, fighting an alien army that intended to enslave the Earth. They'd never allow that to happen.

xXx

When Steve Trevor opened his eyes, for the longest time he wasn't sure what to do. There was the fact that he hadn't the slightest idea of where he was at all… and the second, though no less important (much… much more important, in fact) matter of him being alive, or even existing at all. Steve just hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on.

The last thing he remembered was laying in his angel's arms, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth and down his chin, as he burned from the inside out… The last thing he remembered was spending the last century watching over his beloved princess and their friends (and her new friends) from the Other Side… He remembered witnessing the death of a hero at the hands of a monster while his angel turned her eyes away from the sight of a woman sobbing at the loss of her love (the reminder hurt her too much); and he also remembered that same woman kissing her alien beau in delight while Diana stood beside Antiope and Batman, each of them celebrating the hard-won victory in their own way.

Steve hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on, and there was no time to wonder about it either. Suddenly sound reached his ears, a battle taking place but a few yards away from him. He didn't even have to think about it, he went straight in that very direction, turned a corner just in time to witness the clash between the protectors of the Earth, and the alien force wishing to conquer it (to enslave it, and quite probably destroy it).

He got there just in time to watch a shot from one of the alien weapons hit Wonder Woman in her stomach. She doubled over and Steve couldn't quite drown the cry that left his lips. Diana was back up a moment later though, using her shield to block the next discharge and rush at her enemy. That didn't stop Steve from rushing right into the battle though.

He had no idea where the guns he found on him had come from (while one looked remarkably like the very gun he'd fired to blow the plane back in 1918, it just couldn't be it, could it?); the other looked like a mix of a rifle and machine-guns he'd only ever seen and never used… and yet in that moment he knew exactly how to use them. Also, the first time he hit one of the horrid aliens and it did not get back up right away he knew there was something… odd about him. Still, there was no time to focus on that, there was a battle to fight, and an angel to protect…

xXx

When Diana heard the voice calling her name she thought it was some kind of hallucination, or maybe a memory calling her as she fought to recover from the attack that had left her breathless for a moment. It did not occur to her that Steve might actually be there, it was impossible…

And then the battle came to an end, victory was theirs, and Diana found Bruce standing still, looking at something (someone) like he'd just seen a ghost. At first she thought it might be Selina (Bruce had been such a mess the last time she made an appearance, and while Diana still didn't know everything that was between those two, things both said and unsaid, she knew enough). The demigoddess spun around automatically, mouth opened to say something… she'd no idea what, for the moment she laid eyes on what Bruce had been looking at, all thought vanished from her mind, a single word crossed her lips before she could stop and think about it.

"Steve..." Steve… her Steve… he was there… alive…

Diana had every intention to throw herself at him, and apparently so did he, because the blonde began running towards her at the same time. However, before she could give more than a couple stumbling steps, arms were holding her back.

"Wait Diana..." Bruce stopped her.

"But Bruce." She turned to look at him, confused by his attitude. "Don't you see? It's Steve!"

"Is it?" Bruce questioned. "I know you love him princess. But your Steve has been dead since 1918. How could he possibly be here now?"

He finished asking the question at the same time as Steve reached them, as the others closed ranks around them. They were all protective of Diana, saw her as their princess; and it wasn't just the Amazons, the league too, they respected her, admired her, she was one of their leaders, one of those who'd brought them together…

"I have no idea." Steve answered, dead-honest. "My memories seemed to be a bit jumbled up right now, to tell you the truth."

"Then how can we know you're not an enemy, a parademon disguised as a lost lover in order to get close and destroy us?" Bruce insisted.

Steve moved fast, before the others knew quite what he was doing, his hands were on Diana's waist; he pulled back before anyone could attack him though. And then they saw what he was doing… he hadn't moved to touch Diana, instead he'd taken the end of the lasso of Hestia, which he proceeded to loop around his right wrist several times.

"My names is Steve Trevor, formerly of the United States Army Air Service 94th Aero Squadron and pilot with the American Expeditionary Forces." He began reciting, completely calm as he let the lasso pull the truth. "I was a spy during WWI, I crashed into the sea and was saved by an angel. I took Diana, princess of Themyscira, daughter of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, and Zeus, King of the Gods, to Man's World, where she might fulfill her destiny and destroy Ares, where she might help me end the war. Followed her through No Man's Land. I went into a plane carrying gas-bombs meant for London, shot it up, gave my life to protect those I could..." He made a pause before adding. "I left you my watch, the one my father gave me. You tried to stop me but I told you it had to be me, that I could save the day and you..."

"I could save the world." Diana finished for him.

She didn't need him to say anymore. Truth was, from the moment she'd laid eyes on him she was sure it was, indeed Steve, her Steve… she had no idea how he was there, why, what kind of miracle had brought him back to her after so long… but she was willing to leave the questions for later, to enjoy the moment, the joy at having the love of her life back with her…

xXx

It wouldn't be until much, much later that it would occur to them that when Zeus made his offer to Steve, asked him for what he'd be willing to give, the cost had been his soul, the potential for any mortal life… no mention was ever made about anything else. About the potential of an immortal existence. In the end Diana was still his daughter, and Zeus wanted nothing more than for her to be happy. She'd earned it, both she and her Steve Trevor had…

Hours later, the two lovers found themselves entwined in bed, in Diana's personal quarters in their base, the one they called Watchtower. They'd spent themselves, celebrating their reunion, worshiping each others bodies, making silent promises to one another and sealing them with tiny kisses, touches and more on every inch of the other's skin. And then, once they were done, their bodies were exhausted, from the fight and the lovemaking, still their minds would not quiet, not just yet, not until their hearts could feel truly secure in their reunion.

"Why did you do it?" Diana eventually asked, very quietly, as if afraid that her voice alone would be enough to break what was between them in that moment. "Give your soul… I… why?"

"Because I love you." Steve answered plainly, as if it was the simplest and at the same time the biggest truth in the world, and maybe for him it was. "Because even though I got to spend less than a week by your side, I knew I loved you like I'd never loved before, and never would again. Because even a hundred years later I loved you as much as I did when I first laid eyes on you on that beach in Paradise Island..." He let out a breath. "You were my angel that day, and every single day I had the pleasure of spending by your side. And I think I wanted to get the chance to be yours, for once."

"You've always been my angel..." She told him immediately. "You were so kind to me, so patient… and you believed in me, even when I had trouble believing in myself."

"Yeah well, you are a goddess..." Steve quipped, before sobering up. "But to be honest, I believed in you even before knowing that."

"I know. Antiope told me."

"Good… good." He nodded, mostly to himself. "It was important to me, that you know that. That even when I didn't quite believe in Ares, I always believed in you."

"Wish I could say I always believed in you too. That I hadn't turned my back on you that night, when you asked me to go with you, to help you… things could have been so different."

"I knew why you wouldn't come, and I understood it. Also, things might have been different, but that doesn't mean they would have been any better. Even if I had survived that night, that doesn't mean I would have been here, with you, right now… if only for this chance I cannot say I regret the way things went."

He was right, of course. If he'd survived that night, he'd still have been mortal, and there's no way of knowing for sure that Zeus would have intervened then, made him an immortal… would Steve even have taken the opportunity, if offered in any circumstance that weren't the chance at saving Diana's life. He'd like to say yes, that he'd do anything for Diana, to be with her… but truth was, immortality was a rather daunting prospect. He still had trouble wrapping his head around it, even though he knew it was no longer a possibility but a reality, and one he'd have to deal with sooner rather than later.

"Do you regret it?" Diana inquired, as if reading his mind.

"I will never regret anything that involves you, making you smile, being with you..." And that was true enough. "I may not have expected being made immortal, may not have imagined so much as existing once all was said and done, but I will never regret being here with you, right now, and for as long as the fates might allow us."

"I couldn't regret it either." Diana admitted quietly, placing a single kiss on the side of his neck, right above his pulse-point. "You're my angel, come back to save me right when I thought life was too hard, that I might not be able to go on anymore..."

"You're the angel..." He whispered in turn, running a hand down her back and kissing her dark tresses. "My beautiful angel goddess… always..."

"Forever." Diana agreed.

They'd be each other's angels, always and forever… and that was enough to make it all perfect.

And that's a wrap!

What did you think about it? Whatever you liked or didn't I'd love to read all about it, please leave comments (and even kudos and bookmarks if you did like it).

Not sure if this came quite through in the fic, but while it was a time-travel fix-it, technically, it was never about changing the past, not really. It was about Steve making sure that Diana would not stop believing, in humanity, and especially in herself. He chose to go about it by making sure she wouldn't be alone (with Antiope) and in the way did his best to save others, not just for her, but for himself too. In the end I see it as always being about Steve and Diana, them being the cornerstones for one another. Or, as I said it in the fic, one another's angels.

If anyone would like to I welcome and give blanket permission to all podfics, remixes, translations, etc. Just let me know so I can link your work to this one.

Full-sized poster can be found on DA account. It's a bit simple this time around, but I liked how it came out.

See ya around! And keep spreading the love for WW and Wondertrev!