Natasha had just finished her shift in the cockpit and was heading to her bunk when she noticed the door to Steve's pod was ajar. A quick glance into the dimly lit room told her everything she needed to know. Steve was alone in the room, but he wasn't in his bunk. He was on the floor doing pushups, and, from the looks of things, he had been at it quite awhile.

"You should be sleeping," she said, leaning against the door facing as she spoke.

"Not such an easy thing to do lately," he said, quickly raising to a standing position.

"When's the last time you really rested?"

Steve avoided meeting her eyes and shuffled his feet a moment. "The truth?" he asked. "I guess our nap after you came back from Hong Kong is the only time I've been able to really relax enough to sleep more than a few hours since the Snap."

"That was six days ago," Natasha said softly.

"I know." Steve sighed and slumped onto his bunk.

"Me either," Natasha finally admitted. "I haven't really been sleeping much." She walked through the narrow doorway and pulled the sliding metal door closed behind her. Steve gave her a puzzled look as she stepped out of her shoes and cargo pants before crawling into the bunk, climbing over him to take the space near the wall. "What? We need sleep. Pepper is probably out cold anyway. She won't even notice if I don't come to our room. Just spoon me Rogers, so we can get some real rest."

Her words were all it took for him to roll up behind her and put his arm around her waist. "What does it say about us that we can't seem to sleep without each other?" he whispered into her hair.

"I think it says we make each other feel safe, and feeling safe doesn't come easy anymore," she said, snuggling deeper into his arms. "Let's try not to overthink it, Steve. Just know that I trust you and I'm glad you're still here."

Natasha felt a feather light kiss in her hair before she heard Steve's whispered response. "There's no one I trust more than you, Nat."

Hours later, Natasha felt a soft kiss on her blonde head. Steve was awake. His arm was still draped over her waist, but he was tracing some kind of design on her abdomen, just below where her t-shirt had ridden up in the night. Wait, it wasn't a design. It was letters. What was he trying to spell and why did this feel incredible? Where was her hundred year old soldier and his 1940's manners?

Natasha was torn between feigning sleep so she could figure out what he was writing and letting him know she was awake. The sensation of having his artist hands on her stomach was almost overwhelming, and after a moment, a sharp intake of breath gave her away. His hand stopped moving immediately.

"Sorry," he whispered into her ear. "I'm not sure what came over me." He started to remove his hand, but Natasha quickly put her own hand over his.

"I think I know. It's okay. It happens. Just a few more minutes before we go out there?" she asked. "We should be getting close to the coordinates. I think we could use a little time to process things before we find out what happened to Tony."

"Yeah, of course," Steve said. "I didn't have any right to touch you."

"Didn't you?" Natasha asked, rolling to face him. "The lines have been blurry for a long time. We lean on each other, Steve. You were reaching out for human contact. It's not a big deal."

"I'm not so sure about that. Having you in my arms always feels like a pretty big deal to me."

"I know we care more than we used to but that doesn't mean anything has to change. I'm not going anywhere. Why don't we just save this conversation for later when things are less confusing?"

"Got it. No talking. How about this?" Steve brought his lips just millimeters from her own and waited for a sign. Natasha gave a slight nod, but just before his lips descended on her own, there was a knock on the door.

Natasha pulled back slightly, just as Pepper opened the door a crack. Natasha noticed that Pepper's face was turned away as she spoke, probably a habit she'd picked up during her days as Tony's assistant when she could never be sure she wasn't interrupting a make out session. "Rhodey sent me to wake you. It's almost time."

"On our way," Steve said as they both jumped out of the bed.

Rhodey was waiting in the cargo hold. He handed Pepper her rescue suit then pulled out two other metal cases. One had a Steve's shield engraved on the top, while the other had Natasha's signature hourglass. Rhodey pushed the button on Steve's case and it opened revealing an iron suit obviously designed just for him.

"You two should suit up. These are better than any space suits NASA could ever design," Rhodey said.

"I didn't even know Tony made these," Steve said as he ran a hand over the shiny armor.

"He made them after you left," Pepper said softly. "He always knew there would come a time when you needed to fight side by side again."

"When he realized you guys were the ones tracking down terrorist cells who were savaging Chitari tech, he had Friday keep an eye out for suspicious activity. We monitored things from the compound. He almost deployed the suits to rescue you during the Bagdad fiasco."

"I don't know what to say," Steve said.

Natasha picked up her own case. "You can say thank you as soon as we pick him up. I'm not surprised. Tony had our backs. We've got his," she said.

Natasha and Pepper went back to their quarters to change. She wasn't surprised when Pepper brought up Steve. "So, you didn't come to bed last night," Pepper began, "and you were in the capatain's room this morning."

"I was," Natasha replied.

"How long has that been going on?"

"There's nothing going on exactly. We sleep together sometimes," Natasha said.

"Wow, I'm a little impressed. I assumed you were in a relationship. How did you talk him into something so casual? Better yet, why? I mean, I always thought you would be great together."

"It's not like that. We just sleep together, as in sleep. Steve and I depend on each other. The last few years have been hard. I guess we've just gotten closer, and it's just comforting to be together."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I just assumed-"

"An understandable assumption."

"So, never?" Pepper asked.

"We came close a few times, but we were interrupted. Sam came in at the wrong moment when we were dealing with the mess at Shield then you came in this morning."

Pepper's eyes grew wide. "I am so sorry."

"Don't be. Saving Tony is top priority for all of us, and it would have been a bad idea. That's not something that needs to happen in the heat of the moment. If it ever happens, the world doesn't need to be in crisis. What Steve and I have is unique. I'd hate for a moment of passion to take away what we've got."

"I have a feeling it would only make what you have stronger," Pepper said, "but I see your point. Things are pretty bad right now."

"Let's go see if we can make them better. We should be almost there. Let's save Tony."

Tony looked at the sensors in the cockpit. Temperatures were already falling. It was frigid, and he could see his breath. He guessed he should be grateful he was still breathing, but it seemed like a moot point. He wouldn't be breathing much longer. Oxygen levels should start dropping within the hour. He almost hoped the bitter cold got him first.

He looked over at his silent companion and almost pitied her. Nebula had already told him her body would probably last an extra twelve to fifteen hours longer than his own. She would be on her own at the end. It seemed wrong after hearing about the life she'd led, but what could he do? Apparently not much.

He couldn't hold the team together. He couldn't stop Thanos. He'd failed royally at protecting Peter, and he hadn't even managed to get a wedding band on Pepper's finger. He was a complete and utter failure in every sense of the word, and he was just about out of time.

If he could go back, he'd do a lot of things differently. He would have been a better son. He wouldn't have spent all his time womanizing and just popped the question the minute Pepper entered his life. Ultron would never have happened, and the team would have been standing together at the end.

His thoughts turned to Steve, and he was surprised when he felt no anger, not even a tinge. He just hoped Cap was alive and mad enough to rain hell down on Thanos.

As the thought crossed his mind, he heard static over the radio. "Did you hear that?" he asked.

Nebula didn't bother answering. She just quickly started making adjustments to the coms. There was more static, but this time he heard just a twinge of a familiar voice even though he couldn't make out the words.

Tony couldn't see anything unusual out of the cockpit window, so he used the little strength he had left to walk to towards the back of the ship. That's when he saw it. The ship he had privately dubbed the Enterprise wasn't far away. They were going to be rescued.

Once Nebula got the radio to work, it didn't take long to get the Enterprise docked to the Guardians' ship. The first person he saw was the angel he never thought he would see again.

"You're here," he said softly. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"Of course, I'm here," Pepper said. "Let's get you onto the ship. You look terrible."

Rhodey had already hopped down onto the floor beside him and was trying to help him climb the ladder to where the Enterprise was docked above them when Pepper slid to the side to make room for someone else. Steve reached his arms down to steady Tony and pull him up into the hold.

"Good to see you among the living," Steve said.

"Likewise, Capsicle. I'm a little surprised to see you here, but I'm glad you came."

Once Tony was aboard, the others helped Nebula onto the ship and Pepper and Natasha insisted on putting them on oxygen. Before long, Tony was sitting in the galley surrounded by his rescuers and listening to their own stories about Thanos.

One person was noticeably absent from the conversation, understandable since the ship's autopilot wasn't installed yet, but Tony had a hunch Steve had made a conscious choice to stay away for a bit. Piloting gave him an excuse. They would need privacy for their talk, but it would be okay. They were Avengers and the universe needed them to make their peace.

"I still can't believe you came," Tony said after they'd finally finished sharing their war stories. "You didn't give up on me."

"We don't give up on our own," Bruce said.

"Some people, most people, probably would have," Tony said.

"But, not us," Natasha said.