DISCLAIMER: ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE.
The rating of this story has CHANGED from T to M now, due to sexual content. Please bare this warning in mind if you decide to continue reading.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Watching as Clint vanished before her eyes, Natasha had felt ready to throw up.
Clint had offered himself as a volunteer for this trail run without any hesitation, claiming that he didn't have much to lose anyway, if something went wrong. The words had clung inside Natasha, and it was all she could manage to keep a straight face. She understood his sorrow and anger, and she couldn't imagine how much pain her friend was in, but hearing those words...it reminded her just how lost Clint had been, and how little help she had been.
An arm had wrapped around her waist, and she moved closer to Steve's side, appreciating his silent comfort. His hand rested under her shirt so he could gently stroke her side, the tiniest of movements, but one that helped her remain as calm as possible.
The next few seconds, even with Banner counting them down, had felt like the longest stretch of time.
Then, a lot of things happened at once.
Everyone jumped as the sound split the air, the whirling that indicated that something was happening. Clint appeared out of thin air, looking exactly how he had looked a few seconds ago. Then, Clint was on his knees and sobbing. Natasha was beside him in a heartbeat, her hands around his shoulders as she helped him up.
"Hey, hey, look at me." She ordered, as Clint's wide eyes kept frantically darting around him. He steadied himself, barely. "You okay?"
Clint panted heavily, but he looked down at her. "Yeah." He whispered, shaking his head in disbelief before looking up to where Steve and Tony hovered nearby, with the others watching from below the massive stand that Rocket had constructed practically overnight. Clint patted her, and for a moment, she had no idea what he was doing, or why. But, then she saw the relief on his face, and realised that he must have been checking that this was real, that she was real.
"It worked?" Tony guessed, his voice neutral. Beside him, Steve was watching closely, arms folded over his chest as he seemed to check Clint for any sign of harm.
When Clint nodded and confirmed that it had worked, Natasha's legs almost buckled beneath her. Reminding herself that it was Clint who needed the support, she forced on remaining upright, on not letting her shock show too much.
Now, they were all assembled in one of the larger meeting rooms. Natasha took a seat at the table, clearing aside the stacks of books so she could place her own notepad down. She resisted the urge to bite her pen, something she always did when her nerves started to eat away at her. Rhodey took the place beside her and gave her a little nod of his head, as if he understood exactly how she was feeling. A digital screen appeared in front of them, and Tony and Steve stood at either edge of it while the rest of the team took their seats, apart from Banner who remained standing for obvious furniture reasons.
Natasha glanced to the doorway where Clint stood, leaning against it with one shoulder. He had told her, once the others had headed away, exactly what he had heard. The news had pierced at her, but also given her the much needed boost.
Steve cleared his throat. "Okay, so the 'how' works. Now we've gotta figure out the 'when' and the 'where'. Almost everyone in this room has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones."
On the screen between him and Tony, six shapes appeared, all in different colours and shapes, but Natasha knew all too well what these stones were, and how much destruction they had caused when they'd fallen into the wrong hands. So much power, in such tiny forms. The ability to destroy but also to create, to harnish power and abuse it.
"Or substitute the word 'encounter' for 'damn near been killed' by one of the six Infinity Stones." Tony chimed in.
"Well, I haven't." Scott pointed out. "But, I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about."
The looming shape of Banner cast a shadow across the entire table as he paced the room. "Regardless, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round-trip each, and these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history."
"Our history," Tony reminded them. "So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in, yeah?"
"Which means we'll have to pick our targets." Clint commented, not moving from the doorway.
"So, let's start with the Aether." Steve said, dipping his head towards the person slumped in the corner of the room. "Thor, what do you know?"
Everyone turned expectantly, and Natasha tried her hardest to not think too much about how much the Asgardian had let himself go over the years. She had barely recognised him when he had entered the facility, and probably would have questioned whether it was really him or not, if Banner hadn't assured them all he had brought the right guy. Now, it didn't even look like Thor was paying attention.
"Is he asleep?" She asked, clicking the end of her pen.
"No, no. I'm pretty sure he's dead." Rhodey commented dryly.
Natasha debated whether it would be worth chucking her pen across the room at him, but Rocket beat her too it, settling for a book instead. Thor didn't so much as jump, but he got to his feet and stretched, his shirt barely covering his rounded stomach. As he headed to the front of the room to stand beside the screen where a red stone was shown, Steve took the spare seat beside Natasha.
Her husband looked drained already, and they'd only just begun. They were all looking drained, and Natasha certainly felt it. She covered his hand with hers, resting them over the table, and Steve gave her a small smile of thanks.
"Uh, where to start?" Thor scratched his head as he looked up at the image of the Reality Stone. "The Aether, firstly, is not a stone. Someone called it a stone before." A pointed look to Steve. "It's more of an angry sludge sort of a thing, so someone's going to have to amend that and stop saying that. Here's an interesting story, though, about the Aether-"
And so he rambled on about the stone for a little while, his words slurring together slightly, so much so that Natasha wondered if he'd been drinking this morning. In the state he was presenting himself in right now, anything was possible. But, she listened, as Thor told them about Jane Forster, about dark elves and how his grandfather had originally hid the stone, only for it to be found by Jane herself. When Thor's ex-girlfriend touched the stone, the stone seemed to sink into her, lurking inside her. To try to fix what had happened, Jane was taken to Asgard, and chaos had erupted. When Thor reached the part about his mother and his now broken relationship with Jane, Tony tried to get him to sit down with the offer of breakfast.
"No, I'd like a Bloody Mary." Thor declared, and no one doubted that he was being serious.
"So would I." Natasha commented under her breath, and the squeeze to her fingers showed her that her husband had heard. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the corner of his lip twitch in amusement, and it eased her heavy heart more than she could ever explain.
Tony relayed all his knowledge about Time Stone, and about the man named Dr Stephen Strange who had protected it all these years, who in the end had given it up for some unexplained reason.
When it came to discussing the Mind Stone, an uncomfortable coldness seemed to enter the room. Those who had known Vision, who had been his friend, had gone deathly pale, and even Rocket knew better than to make sarcastic comments.
It was Rhodey who decided they should take a break, to let the information they had exchanged sink in over a takeaway, as no one had it in them to cook. Natasha barely tasted her noodles, but when she tried to give the remaining half a portion to her husband, Steve had refused to take them. The glare he sent to Scott, who had willingly offered to take care of the noodles himself, was enough to prevent any further offers. Natasha reluctantly ate the rest of her meal, but it did warm her stomach.
Finishing her meal, Natasha stared at her plate, almost jumping out of her skin when Steve took her hand. He got up, and she went with him, and didn't protest as he led them to their bedroom. He didn't lock the door behind them, but no one would come looking for them.
"Talk to me, Nat." Steve whispered, as he sat on the bed with Natasha in his lap.
She bit her lower lip. "It's just...it's so real now." She knew she sounded foolish, but she couldn't help how she felt. Seeing all those six stones on the screen in front of her had brought back that panic that had consumed her when they'd faced Thanos the first time, and the emptiness that had found her when they'd discovered him the second time, to find the stones destroyed.
Steve's arms wrapped around her waist. "I know, sweetheart." She nestled her head against the crook of his neck and closed her eyes. "I know." They sat there in silence together, until both of them felt ready to return. One look at the rest of their teammates showed that everyone was feeling overwhelmed right now, but no one stepped away from that table until close to midnight.
Exhausted, Natasha practically flopped down on the bed. She knew both of them were far too tired to do anything but sleep, but they'd still showered together and exchanged lazy, passion-fuelled kisses that had made Natasha's entire body tingle. Within minutes of snuggling into Steve's side and giving him one last slow kiss goodnight, sleep found her. It wasn't an easy night, but having Steve beside her kept her nightmares and fears away.
The next morning came too quickly, and morale hadn't picked up from last night. Everyone knew that they were well out of their depths, and that this was going to be a lot harder than simply going back in time and getting the stones. But, like last night, no one gave up. They sat around the table together, with their notepads sprawled out where they had left them last night, and resumed.
Rocket gave the next report on the Power Stone, telling them all about his former teammates and how they became entangled with the stone, all wanting the nice sum of fortune it would bring them before releasing the true power of it. It came from a planet named Morag. Rocket seemed to be in fine spirits, as he took great joy in teasing Scott Lang, who was still drinking in every scrap of information with bewilderment on his face.
When Steve spoke about the Space Stone and what had happened in New York, Rocket made another comment, referring to the Chitauri as the bottom of the pecking order when it came to alien armies, therefore making the Avengers feel rather foolish for not taking the simple route of taking out the mothership, even though none of them had known that was even an option. If she wasn't feeling like her stomach was being churned, Natasha would have skinned the raccoon alive for that.
Lastly, it was Nebula that told them what she knew about the Soul Stone, how it had been retrieved from a planet named Vormir, and how Thanos and Nebula's sister, Gamora, had gone there together. Gamora had not returned. Silence passed over the table, until a muffled 'Not it' sounded from Scott, who hid his words with a mouthful of toast, eyes locked on the table as if he hadn't meant to say the words out loud and now wished to disappear.
Natasha looked down at her notepad, the page covered in scribbles and lines, of diagrams of the stones and their locations and their powers.
An hour passed before Clint declared he needed five minutes. He stood, stretched his arms over his head to crack his back, before heading out. Thor went with him, although Natasha doubted that the Asgardian was heading outside for fresh air. He'd already raided the facility of alcohol though, so she wasn't too concerned. Nebula and Rhodey were the next to get up.
"I'll go make us some lunch." Steve told her softly, kissing her temple as he got up and headed to the kitchen. Rocket trailed behind him, having heard the promise of food being prepared, and knowing that Steve would be too much of a push over to not offer to make him something. Natasha rolled her eyes, but turned her attention back to her notepad.
Natasha glanced over her notes one more time, her brow furrowing. "That Time Stone Guy - Dr Strange - what kind of doctor was he?" She'd never heard of him, but something nagged at her.
Tony leaned back in his chair. "Ear-nose-throat meets rabbit-from-hat."
"Helpful," Natasha commented, and Tony smirked, despite the bags under his eyes betraying just how much Tony had thought this through, over and over, probably all of last night.
"Nice place in the Village, though." Banner commented, from where he laid spread out on the floor, seeing as no seats would hold him.
"Yeah, on Sullivan Street?" Tony asked, whilst Natasha rubbed her forehead in an attempt to save herself from an approaching, pounding headache.
"Bleaker Street,"
Natasha straightened that. "Wait, he lived in New York?"
"No, he lived in Toronto. Have you been listening to anything?" Tony raised his brow, the glint in his eye evident despite his tired features. He ducked when Natasha threw a balled up piece of paper at him good-naturedly.
She glanced down at those notes one last time, and mentally smacked herself for not thinking about it sooner. "Guys, if you pick the right year, there are three stones in New York."
At that, Banner sat up instantly. "Shut the front door."
"What's happened?" Steve asked, returning with four plates. Push-over indeed.
"Your wife just made us look bad." Tony told him, looking at Natasha as if it was the first time he had ever seen her. She tried not to be offended, even as she folded her arms over her chest and huffed.
Once he placed the food down on the table, passing a plate down to Banner, Steve's hand rested on her shoulder and squeezed. "She's been doing that for years, Tony." Her husband pointed out, and Natasha stopped glaring at Tony because of it. The billionaire must have known that Steve just saved him, because he took a bite out of his sandwich without further comment, whilst Natasha quickly caught Steve up on what had just been made clear.
He listened, and that proud glow in his eyes silently said, That's my girl.
The others were called in almost instantly, and once again, the six stones appeared on the screen. This time, they were seperated into three groups. Under the caption of New York, were the Time, Space and Mind Stone. The Soul and Power Stone were in their own group together, and then the Reality Stone was underneath the caption of 'Asgard'.
"Alright, so we now we just need to decide who goes where." Steve, stood by the screen, folded his arms over his chest.
"Well, Asgard is pretty obvious." Tony said, inclining his head to where Thor was slouched back in his corner, a plate balancing on his large belly. "Any volunteers for babysitting the thunder god?"
Glances were exchanged before Rocket, surprisingly, agreed to go.
"I know Morag," Nebula said, stood closest to the windows. None of them had expected her to go to the other planet, not considering what had happened to her sister there. Rhodey said he'd accompany her to retrieve the Power stone.
"Well, New York has three stones, so that will require more bodies." Tony pointed out.
Natasha glanced across the table to where Clint was sat. He met her gaze, and the dip of his head showed he understood exactly where her mind was going. Someone had to do it...
"Clint and I will go to Vormir." She voiced, the words coming out a bit sharper than she intended, only because she was trying to sound as confident as possible.
Everyone fell silent, and Natasha didn't dare look to her husband. She could picture that muscle in his jaw jumping as his whole body tensed, but she also knew he wouldn't challenge her outright in front of everyone else. So, she just continued to look to Clint, softening her features. Are you okay?
He blinked once. Yes.
"Alright," Tony cleared his throat. "That leaves Banner, Spangles and Lang with me to take on New York. Any questions?"
No one said anything.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Trying to slow down his racing heart, Steve headed for his bedroom, straight for the bathroom and placed cold water over his face. Several times.
That meeting had been long. Even after they had all signed themselves up for their separate trips, they still had a lot of things to iron out; possible risks, what they would do when they actually got the stones, how they would handle certain situations cropping up. Now, his head was pounding, but one thought kept nagging at him.
When he looked up, he wasn't that surprised to see Natasha watching him from the doorway, leaning against it with one shoulder. Her face was neutral, purposefully hard to read. But, he could see that glimmer of uncertainty in her eyes, not at what she had signed herself up for, but because she now wondered what he was thinking about it.
"Is there a reason you don't want me to come to Vormir with you?" He asked, not meaning for his words to come out quite so chipped. He didn't turn around, instead he remained where he was, with his hands resting on the counter.
Her eyes met his in the mirror. "Someone had to go to Vormir."
That someone didn't have to be you, he wanted to say, but he wouldn't dare voice that out loud, because Natasha would definitely take it the wrong way. "I would have gone with you." Steve pointed out, trying to keep himself from overthinking. "Clint could go New York."
"I knew Clint was going to sign himself up for Vormir." Natasha said firmly. "It's a planet we know nothing about. Not even Nebula knows where that stone is. Someone had to go, and I volunteered, on my own accord." The firmness in her voice challenged him to argue, but Steve couldn't. He'd never overstep her like that, make her feel as if he was the one who made the decisions. It had never been that way between them, and he wasn't going to start now, even if the thought of her going to such a place made him feel sick.
"Steve," She sighed, walking across the bathroom and wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, her hands moving under his shirt to touch his bare abdomen. "What is bothering you so much?"
His head dropped as he closed his eyes. "I don't know how I'll be able to concentrate, knowing you've gone off to some unknown planet, whilst I'm in New York."
"We won't have time to think." She reminded him, but when she kissed his back, he allowed the action to bring him much needed comfort. "We'll go, get the stones, and come back."
The time travel had worked, Clint Barton was proof of that, but for some reason, Steve couldn't push down that feeling of dread that was sinking in his stomach. Tomorrow morning, they would get dressed into their suits and go after the stones. It seemed so far away, and yet far too soon as well. Shame crashed into him. No one else seemed to be stressed or worried, or they were all just far better than him at showing it. But, he wasn't surprised that Natasha had sensed it, or been the one to come and address it with him.
Slowly, he turned in her arms, wrapping his own around her slender body so he could pull her against him. She didn't resist in the slightest. "I'm sorry." He kissed the top of her head.
"You're scared." She corrected. "And that's okay, because I'm scared too. We're all scared. But, Steve, we've wanted this chance for so long. We owe it to everyone whose not here to give this our best shot. Please, don't put yourself at risk by worrying about me. I'll be fine."
He closed his eyes, almost begging her to not make promises that neither of them could keep. But, her statement had been true, and a much needed kick up the ass; this was the only shot at doing this, and even if there was the faintest chance that this could work and could therefore bring everyone back, he had to give it his all.
Just the thought of seeing Bucky again brought a wave of emotion to him. He'd only just gotten his best friend, to lose him again.
Sam Wilson, who had given up his normal live and willingly gotten himself entangled with the Avengers because he had wanted to help Steve and Natasha when they had nowhere safe to go.
And finally, he thought of Wanda. The girl who had lost so much. Her parents. Her brother. Vision. Who had still faced those aliens in Wakanda and not backed down, who had stood against Thanos by herself even when her heart was breaking into a thousand tiny pieces.
For them, and for everyone else who had been taken away when that Snap had happened, Steve had to focus.
"You know I'm always going to worry about you, Nat." He whispered, burying his face into her hair.
Her hand stroked his spine comfortingly. "Likewise, solider." When they pulled away, her emerald eyes were glistening. Not with fear, or adrenaline. Just love and faith, in him, in all of them.
And in those emerald eyes that he adored ever since he had first seen them, Steve found the courage he needed.
Natasha reached up on her tiptoes so she could kiss him, taking her time to explore his mouth. Steve's grip on her waist tightened slightly, and he could feel the thudding of her heart against his chest, matching the beating of his own.
She kept her arms around him when they pulled away, and Steve leaned down to press his forehead against hers, nuzzling her nose with his and earning a chuckle from his wife. "Nothing reckless," She said as she kissed him again, the words slightly muffled by his lips.
Steve breathed in the scent of citrus that surrounded them and agreed, "Nothing reckless,"
~0~0~0~0~0~
That night, the final night before everything happened, Natasha knew her husband was taking things as slowly as possible, wanting to drag out the hours, to stretch them and savour every single moment. Natasha had no complaint about it, especially when her husband's talented tongue brought her more pleasure than she would ever think possible, and then they'd made love to each other for what felt like eternity.
"I'm so close, Steve." She moaned out, her back arching as he continued to move slowly in and out of her, each movement of his hips deliciously sinful. Her pleasure danced along the edge, ready to consume her for the second time that night.
Steve's tongue licked a line down her throat before his mouth claimed hers, swallowing her every sound. "Come for me, Nat." The order was like a lovers caress across her senses.
With another loud moan, Natasha gave in to the desire that swarmed inside her, crying his name out against his mouth as her orgasm struck. Steve followed close behind, remaining inside her for a moment longer before pulling out.
Both of them sated, Natasha smiled as her husband stretched out at her side, his hand resting on her lower stomach, stroking slowly. "I'm sorry about earlier."
"You are allowed to worry." She reminded him, her fingers entwining with his. "I'll worry about you, too, every second you aren't in my sight. But, we're going to do this. We're going to get these stones, and we're going to fix this."
He kissed her gently before they settled down for the night.
No nightmares found her, as she spent the night sleeping in his arms, eased into a peaceful slumber by the subtle rise and fall of his chest and his steady heartbeat. In the morning, Steve had woken her up with small kisses that covered her neck and sucked at her pulse point, and she'd been more than willing to start the day properly with him.
"I love you," He whispered into her ear as the final waves of their orgasm subsided. His body remained against hers in the best of ways, and her hands mapped the broadness of his shoulders and his muscular back, which was now criss-crossed with marks left behind from her nails.
She hummed against his mouth in appreciation. "I love you, so much."
As she dressed for the day ahead, she tried to ignore the feeling in her stomach. It was like butterflies, but nearly as joyful. She had no idea why she was feeling suddenly nervous. They'd gone over the rules of time travel and all the safety procedures so many times that she felt it was now engraved into her brain like an everlasting tattoo. Don't do anything to change the future, was the biggest rule.
Watching her husband dress, Natasha sat on the bathroom counter and brushed her teeth without much thought. Her eyes appreciated the show in front of her; the exposed chest, the muscles that moved and rolled as he pulled his pants up. Then, Steve caught her staring, and his smile was one of a triumphant lion. He strode across the bathroom and stopped between her legs. "It's rude to stare, Natasha." He teased lightly.
She rolled her eyes. "It's rude to look as good as you do, but you don't hear me complaining about it."
He responded to her smart-witted comment by kissing her hard, his tongue taking in the minty after-taste of her toothpaste. Natasha's arms linked round his neck, pulling him even closer against her.
"We need to meet the others." Steve reminded her. Their earlier activities had cost them a lie in, but not even Natasha could complain about that, not when making love with her husband was so much better.
"Hmm." She said thoughtfully, and then kissed him again.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Losing the Tesseract completely had definitely not been part of the plan.
Being back in New York, back when the Chitauri were raining down on the original Avengers team, was a strange experience to say the least. Steve couldn't help but glance down the street, where he could make out the faintest figures of himself, Natasha and Clint as the three of them fought back with everything they had. He watched as past-Natasha jumped from his shield, powering herself up into the air where she grabbed onto one of the Chitauri smaller aircrafts.
Shaking his head at how he waited so long after that to tell Natasha how he felt about her, Steve tried to concentrated on the task at hand, but found himself smiling nonetheless.
See you in a minute, the love and hope that shone through her voice, that glistened in her eyes as she looked at him right before they all plunged through time, had almost had him sweeping her into his arms and kissing her senseless in front of everyone.
Having a scrap with 2014-Steve had not been the original plan either, but Steve didn't mind the distraction that a couple of well-placed blows and kicks had given him, nor did he see why warning past him that Bucky was still alive would hurt. Seeing Rumlow again and not beating the man into a bulb had required an awful lot of self restraint.
How it happened, he wasn't sure, even as Tony recounted exactly what had happened on their end of the mission. But, how it happened came as a second priority now, as there was nothing they could do to change it. The first priority was finding a solution to this problem.
Tightening his grip on the sceptre in his hands, Steve crossed the rubble-filled street to where Tony and Scott were sitting in a beat up car. "Well, what are we going to do now?"
Creaking his door open, Tony said, "You know what, give me a break, Steve. I just got hit in the head by the Hulk."
Unable to sit still for longer than twenty seconds, Scott was out of the car and pacing. "You said we had one shot. This was our shot. We shot it. It's shot. Six stones or nothing. It was six stones or nothing."
"You're repeating yourself." Tony pointed out in frustration. "You know that? You're repeating yourself."
Lacking a better comeback, Scott snapped, "You're repeating yourself, you're repeating yourself."
Mentally slapping his forehead with his hand, Steve glanced around the deserted streets, looking for any sign that perhaps Banner had been more successful on his end of the plan.
"You weren't on board with the time heist." Scott was saying by the time Steve turned his attention back to their squabbling.
"I dropped the ball." If it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation, Steve would have been taken aback by the fact Tony Stark just admitted to being in the wrong. He also probably would have had to jot down the time and date for future reference, as none of the others would believe him.
"You ruined the time heist."
"Is that what I did?"
"Yeah!"
Steve sighed, attempting to stir the conversation back to the problem they were now facing. Arguing and pointing fingers wasn't going to get them anywhere. "Are there any other options with the Tesseract?"
"No, no, no, there's no other options." Scott declared, still pacing. "There's no do-overs. We're not going anywhere else. We have one particle left. Each. That's it. All right? We use that, then bye-bye you're not going home."
Steve's temper and patience was already waver thin, so Scott's rambling certainly was not helping. "Well if we don't try, then no one else is going home, either." Was Natasha already back at the facility, or was she facing who knows what kind of horror on that planet? Still tried his hardest not to think about it, even though his palms were getting sweaty.
That was when Tony straightened slightly, and Steve could already see some sort of plan starting to form in the man's mind, like a spider creating its web, piecing together strands. "I got it."
Everything paused, even Scott.
Tony climbed out the car, eyes on Steve. "There's another way to retake the Tesseract and acquire new particles. Little stroll down memory lane. Military installation, Garden State."
His words had a heavy impact as realisation dawned on Steve, as it was clear exactly what Tony intended to do. It was risky…
"When were they both there?" Steve asked, jaw tight.
"They were there at a time...I have a vaguely exact idea."
"How vague?" Steve pressed. This was too big of a risk to not have one hundred per cent certainty over, because if they went back and failed, they wouldn't have any Pym particles left, and therefore, neither of them could go back. See you in a minute, Natasha's voice echoed through him.
If they got this wrong, that was it, and he'd never see his wife again. That possibility alone felt like a punch to the gut, as if his world was about to be ripped apart.
"What are you talking about?" Scott chimed in, eyes darting between the two men. "Where are we going?"
Tony didn't even so much as give him a glance, "I know for a fact they were there, and I know how I know."
"Who's they? What are we doing?" Scott repeated.
Forcing himself to breathe, Steve weighed up what Tony was suggesting. To go back in time, and grab more Pym particles so they could return home, this time with the Tesseract. There were so many risks, but what other option did they have? They couldn't go back without that stone, because if they did, everything would have been a waste. All that hope, everyone working together, all wasted.
See you in a minute.
With a deep sigh, Steve met Tony's gaze. Trust. He had to trust his teammate, a man who had been a friend for so long. They had to do this. Natasha would tell him to do this. Heck, she would have already agreed by now. Steading himself, he dipped his head. "Looks like we're improvising."
~0~0~0~0~0~
Being back in the army base was certainly surreal, but Steve focused himself on exactly what they had come for. Soldiers marched down the corridor, just as Steve slipped into the nearest office, not wanting to strike up any conversations or gather any unwanted attention. Shutting the door quickly, behind him, he froze as his eyes landed on the photo frame sat on the desk - a photo of himself. One glance over his shoulder confirmed exactly whose office he had unknowingly stepped into.
Margaret Carter.
Peggy.
His chest tightened as he crossed the office, not daring to flick the lights on. The blocked windows allowed in a little bit of light, setting everything off with a faint orange glow, but his eye-sight was strong enough without needing extra support. They'd gone back to 1970, so decades after his plane had hit the ice, taking him with it. The fact that his photo was still on her desk, and didn't have even the thinnest layer of dust coating it, made him swallow.
It was his hearing that picked up her approaching presence first. Even though the blinds blocked him from actually standing in the same room as her, he could see her as she strode in, walking with that same purpose and confidence that she had always had.
Peggy stopped when she was stood directly in front of him, completely oblivious to his presence. She was talking to someone who waited in the doorway, her voice hitting Steve's soul with an old warmth of a familiar friend.
There was no hollowness inside him at seeing her again. No aching in his heart. No real urge to push the door open and hold her.
He'd always told Natasha that he'd loved Peggy, but that they'd never really gotten the chance to fall in love with one another. Before Natasha, he beleived that they had, and it was only when the fiery red-head had captured his heart that he had realised just how different the two woman were when it came to how he felt for them.
He loved Peggy, and would always love Peggy. Even right now, stood looking at her younger self, Steve remembered his last conversation with the woman. Sometimes, the thing our heart desires the most, isn't the easiest option. If it was easy, everyone would have it. You have to fight for it, Steve. If it's special to you, hold onto it. You've already lost so many people you care for. Don't let her slip away.
After all, it had been Peggy who had been able to see through him, see how he changed whenever he thought about Natasha. It had been Peggy who had given him that shove of courage to go after what he wanted. Since then, he'd never let Natasha go.
For a moment, Steve felt the strong urge to go and tell Peggy just that, that she had so much in her life to look forward to, and that they would both find love. But, he couldn't. Past-Peggy could not know he was here, even though it killed him to have to allow himself to go undetected. Soon enough, Peggy had gathered whatever paperwork she had been after, and she walked back out of the office, leaving Steve looking at the now closed door at the other side of the room from him.
But, he smiled softly. Peggy Carter was going to do amazing things with her life, she was going to achievement so much because she had the courage and determination to go after what she wanted, and one day, she would have a family of her own.
Both of them had ended up exactly where they had been destined to be.
~0~0~0~0~0~
The hard surface of the stand hit his feet as Steve landed none too gracefully. His balance found him a heartbeat later, and he glanced around. It was just him and Tony.
"We've really got to have a team meeting about punctuality after all this," Tony commented, brushing his knees. "We went on two missions, and still managed to be the first to arrive back."
Just as the final word fell from his lips, there was a whirring sound, and the massive figure of the Banner-Hulk appeared, along with the perfectly average-sized Scott Lang. "Did you get it?" Scott asked them instantly, eyes wide.
Steve dipped his head. "Yeah, we got it. Banner?"
Dipping his head, Banner opened his curled fist, revealing a pendant that was currently closed, but no doubt held the green stone inside it. There would certainly be a story to tell about how Banner managed to get the stone by himself, but that would wait.
Moments later, Thor and Rocket were standing amongst them. Thor's entire face was pale, as if he'd seen a ghost. He probably had, Steve remembered, as his mother would have been alive back then. Had the Asgardian seen her? Had he been torn between wanting to speak to her, one last time? Steve couldn't blame him if he'd taken that chance. None of them would blame him.
Rocket patted himself with his tiny hand, as if wanting to make sure he hadn't left any piece of him behind. In his other hand, contained inside a tube, was the Reality Stone. "Well, that was an experience."
"Thor, you alright?" Steve checked. Having four of the six stones between them was excellent, but Steve was more concerned for his friend than anything else right now. He couldn't begin to imagine how it must have felt for him, to go back to that time, before everything happened to his mother, and then to have to walk away knowing what was round the corner. Warning her would have changed the future, which was against the first and only real rule of time travel. They'd all known that going in, but for Thor, it certainly would have been a hard pill to swallow.
The Asgardian looked across at him with glazed over eyes, so much emotion showing in them that Steve was quite astonished by. But, then he cleared his throat and dipped his head. "Fine. We got the Aether." That's make it worth it, his silent words hung between them all.
The sound struck again, just as Rhodey and Nebula returned. Whilst Nebula stood twitching ever so slightly, as if the whole time travel thing had made her feel slightly unsure of her own skin, Rhodey grinned, "Are you telling me this actually worked?" He raised what he was holding; the Power Stone, contained and safe.
Five out of six.
"I thought everyone was supposed to come back at the exact same time?" Steve checked, trying to keep his voice level, but his stomach turned with dread as neither Clint or Natasha showed up. See you in a minute, her voice found him again, so light and hopeful, that he was desperate to see her, to pull her into his arms and kiss her until they couldn't breathe.
Tony glanced at the empty spaces, brow furrowing. "Maybe, they got a little caught up?" He suggested. "Those two are probably squabbling over something, or still making the most of having the Benetar to themselves. Best make room on this thing for them; they'll probably come back wrestling one another."
Swallowing, Steve tried to relax, but as every moment passed without an appearance from his wife, he was certainly starting to panic. They're fine, he told himself firmly, as the others started to move off the pillar with the five infinity stones in their grasp. They're fine. They'll be here soon.
He couldn't forget the short conversation he'd had with Clint before they had all gone off in their separate ways. The archer's face serious as he said, Don't worry, Cap. I won't let anything happen to her. It was that promise, along with the fact that Steve knew Natasha could handle herself, that had made him okay with the two of them facing this planet together. Now, he really wished he'd gone with them, just so he'd know where they were.
"Cap?" Tony called from the bottom of the stand.
Steve headed towards him, glancing over his shoulder one last time. Even as he crossed the large hanger at Tony's side, he couldn't push away that twisting feeling in his guilt. "I think something's gone wrong, Tony."
Tony paused. "They're professionals, Cap." He reminded them, but his voice wasn't sharp. Instead, it was understanding; from a man who was also a husband, who also knew what it was like to worry over someone like this, to the point of being unable to breathe without them.
Waiting for them by the control keyboard of the first trail run, Banner gave Steve an encouraging smile. They all believed that everything was fine, so why couldn't Steve push away the worry that was eating away at him? He tried to focus on his breathing, on keeping his head high. Now was not the time for panicking. They had five of the stones, and in no time, Clint and Natasha would be back with the six. Then, with all six stones, they could finally finish what they had started.
Yet, as every second passed, Steve couldn't stop thinking. Thinking about his brave wife, who had volunteered herself to go to that unknown planet. Of Clint, who had always had her back.
He should have gone...
Subconsciously, he started to fiddle with his wedding band, twisting it round and round slowly. He knew that Natasha would scold him for stressing like this, but he couldn't help it. His heart felt ready to combust with every moment that passed.
Even Rhodey, Rocket and Thor remained by the large doorway and seemed to be holding their breath as they waited.
It was that sound returned, the sound that alerted them all of the return of their final, missing team members.
"What the-" Hulk breathed out in utter disbelief.
Steve turned, and then his heart gripped painfully at his chest when his eyes landed on one single figure, standing on that dais on shaking legs.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Now, I know in the film that they all returned at exactly the same time, but I wanted to write it this way as it was slightly easier to add in the cliffhanger at the end.
- E x