Natasha awoke with a start, unable to immediately recall where she was. After a few seconds, her eyes to adjusted to the darkness, and she remembered she was still in Steve's bed. She looked to her right at his sleeping form. He was on his side, facing her with one arm draped over her middle. Natasha was grateful, then, that Steve had asked her to stay. Sleeping alone was difficult enough, but after the previous day she was certain it would've been impossible.
The vintage analog clock on the bedside table read 4:45 a.m., far too early for anyone else to be awake. At least she hoped it was. After trying and failing for several minutes to remove Steve's heavy arm from around her waist without waking him, Natasha finally just pushed it off her. It made a soft thud on the bed, and she winced waiting for him to stir. When he didn't, she chuckled to herself.
"Must be nice to sleep that soundly," she thought, briefly, before remembering it hadn't always been that way.
Their first six months on the run, she'd find Steve pacing the property of whatever hostel, motel or safe house they were staying in until the early hours of the morning. His excuse was that the beds were too soft, but she suspected the sleepless nights were caused by much more than that – Bucky, the team, the Accords.
Natasha thought she knew Steve Rogers pretty well, but with extra time on their hands, she really came to understand the depth of the man she'd fought alongside all those years prior. She also eventually realized he was terrible at asking for what he needed. On one chilly fall night, after Sam had gone to sleep, Natasha wordlessly slid into Steve's bed, knowing he was still awake, and let him wrap her up against his solid chest. She hadn't thought about the potential implications or the fact that Sam would surely see them the next morning; she just acted.
That night, they both slept more soundly than they had in years. In fact, it became commonplace for Sam to wake up to find one of their beds empty, though he never said a word about it.
After Sam found them curled around one another for the sixth morning in a row with no acknowledgement, Natasha couldn't take it anymore. She waited for Steve to close the bathroom door and turn on the shower.
"You're being uncharacteristically silent about this."
Sam didn't look up from the newspaper in front of him, but an amused smirk spread across his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Really?" she said, leaning forward and resting her palms on the small table where he sat. "Not even one sarcastic comment?"
He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. The smirk on his face faded to a soft, affectionate smile, "Listen, Nat, whatever is going on between you and Cap is none of my business."
"We're not…"
He held up a hand to stop her. "Like I said, it's not my business. All I know is I haven't seen him this relaxed in a long time, hell, probably not since I've known him. God knows the man deserves a good night's sleep. You both do."
Despite her best efforts, Natasha felt a blush creep up her neck. "I didn't know you were such a softie, Wilson."
"Don't tell anyone, or I might accidentally let it spill that Black Widow likes to snuggle."
"There is it," she rolled her eyes. A few seconds later the shower turned off, and the topic was put to rest.
Natasha pulled herself out of the memory and made her way down to the training room. A few rounds with the punching bag sounded like the perfect way to blow off some steam. She turned the music up full blast, never more grateful that Tony had taken her advice about making the gym soundproof. She was dripping with sweat and tears, with no sense of how much time had passed until the music cut off suddenly.
"You're up early."
Natasha turned to see Rhodey behind her with two cups of coffee in his hands. He offered one to her and sat down. She wiped the sweat from her face with a towel and accepted the beverage with an appreciative smile, joining him on the floor.
"Couldn't sleep. What time is it?" She asked, taking a sip of coffee and allowing the hot liquid to make its way into her system.
"Just past six." He sat back on his hands and observed her with a look that told Natasha the man had something on his mind.
"I know that look, Rhodey. What is it?"
He sighed and ran a hand across the back of his neck. "I can't stop thinking about Barton's family."
His words sent a wave of emotion into Nat's chest. Laura and the kids had been on her mind from the moment she landed back on that platform. Assuming their plan to undo the Blip actually worked, she would be the one to tell Clint's family that he was gone. Natasha knew Laura would understand his sacrifice, but that wouldn't make it any easier.
Rhodey must've seen the pained look on Natasha's face because he quickly added, "And about you. I know what he meant to you, Nat. This is going to work. It won't be for nothing."
Nat place her hand over his and gave him a tight-lipped smile. Though none of them could be sure, she had a gut feeling that he was right. That didn't mean she wasn't still teeming with nervous energy. "It has to work."
It'd been a while since Nat had been able to hang out with just Rhodey, and even though the topic of conversation left much to be desired, she was glad for his company. They'd been quiet for a few minutes when she glanced up to see him staring at her with an expression she couldn't decipher.
"What?"
After considering his response, he said, "So, you and Rogers."
It was more of a statement than a question, and Natasha felt her cheeks flush but quickly deflected. "What about me and Rogers?"
Rhodey pressed his lips together and raise one eyebrow. "Come on, Romanoff. I haven't spent a whole lot of time at the compound lately, but it only took five minutes over these last few weeks to notice there was something going on there."
"Steve and I are friends," she tried her hardest to keep her voice even. Though part of her wanted to admit that, yeah, there was probably something there, but it didn't matter right now. "It's not like that."
Rhodey smiled, and Natasha could tell he didn't believe her. "Well, maybe it should be. That man would die for you."
"He'd do that for any one of us, Rhodey."
He stood and gathered the empty coffee mugs before looking Natasha straight in eyes. "You know that's not what I mean.
She opened her mouth to reply but stopped short as Steve entered the room. Rhodey clocked his entrance, too, and Natasha shot him a look imploring him to drop the subject.
"Speak of the Devil, and the Devil shall appear," he said tossing a knowing look in Nat's direction before exiting the room.
"Is he feeling, ok?" Steve asked, confused. He'd showered and changed into pressed khakis and a blue and white checked button down. His hair was combed back off his forehead. Nat liked that he was still wearing it a bit longer. She missed the beard, though.
"Just Rhodey being Rhodey," She replied, rolling her eyes in feigned annoyance.
Her answer seemed to satisfy his curiosity. "I woke up, and you were gone." Steve subtly regarded her, hair was piled in a messy bun on top her head, sweaty pieces stuck to her forehead. She was wearing black leggings and a dark purple sports bra. Her feet were bare. "I thought I might find you down here."
"You know me so well," Steve grinned at the open flirtation, and Natasha's stomach flipped. She was going to kill Rhodey.
"Tony wants us in the hangar in 30. I left the last chocolate chip muffin in your room."
Natasha gathered her things and headed toward the door, stopping to press a kiss against his freshly shaven cheek. She definitely missed the beard. "Always taking care of me, Rogers."
Steve's eyes fluttered shut at her touch. "Someone's got to."
A half-hour later they were back in the hangar watching Tony and Rocket carefully set each stone into place.
"So, how do we decided who's going to put that thing on? Flip a coin?" Nat asked, stepping toward the glove.
"I'll do it," Thor offered without hesitation. He stood next to Nat with his large hands braced on either side of the gauntlet. Tony shook his head, but Thor wasn't deterred. His voice was thick with desperation. "Just let me do something good, something right."
Tony place a hand on the taller name's shoulder in a futile attempt at comfort. "It's not just the fact that the glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent. I'm telling you, you're in no condition."
Thor shook his head and stepped into Tony's space, "What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?"
"Cheeze Whiz?" Rhodey deadpanned. They all turned to look at him then back at Thor who threw an unamused look over his shoulder.
"Lightening," he said turning his attention back to Tony.
This time it was Bruce who spoke up.
"Lightening won't help you, pal. It's got to be me," he said softly. "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. They nearly killed him. None of you could survive."
"How do we know you will?" Tony asked, already knowing Banner was their best option.
"We don't, but the radiation's mostly gamma," Bruce dipped his head slightly and drew in a deep breath. "It's like I was made for this."
With the decision made, Tony locked down the facility and they spread out around Bruce. Steve pulled Natasha to his side and held his shield out in front of them. She gripped his arm and pleaded silently that they wouldn't lose someone else today.
She took a few deep breaths to ground herself and looked around the room – Steve, to her right, determination painted across his face. Tony, Scott, Rocket and Rhodey looked as apprehensive as she felt, and Thor was teetering between anticipation and looking like he wanted to throw up.
Bruce squeezed his eyes shut and slid the glove over his hand, nearly passing out as the stones' power surged through his body. he snapped his fingers a blinding white light filled the room. Once the light dimmed and Natasha's eyes readjusted, she saw Steve and Thor rushing to Bruce's side as Tony tended to a burn that spanned the length of his muscular arm, up onto his shoulder.
She was about to go to him, too, when she heard her cell phone buzz on a table nearby. Laura Barton's name flashed across the screen.
"Guys," Natasha called, her voice hoarse, as if the breath had been sucked from her lungs. She cleared her throat and started again, this time loud enough for everyone to hear. "Guys … I think it worked!"
A chill suddenly crept up the back of Natasha's neck, an instinctual feeling of imminent danger. Then two things happened simultaneously: She realized Nebula was missing and noticed a quickening movement in her peripheral. Nat turned toward the floor-to-ceiling windows in time to see an explosive careening in their direction. She locked eyes with Steve, his pupils blown wide, just as the world went black.