A/N: I did try to be okay with Natasha's death in Endgame. I even wrote stories how I imagined her friends would deal with their grief (it's entitled, The Aftermath). But it turns out, I am not okay because I still spend my brain cells thinking of alternative endings for Natasha (and Steve). And as I continue to browse Avengers fanfictions lately, I am so happy to see that there are other writers out there 'fixing' what happened to Natasha. So I was motivated to finally put my 'fix' on paper and share it here. I hope it makes sense to you and that you like it! Thanks!

Steve knew war so he perfectly knew what victory could cost them. But still, nothing can ever prepare a man for a lost that hit close to home. Tony's death broke his heart but Natasha's death shattered it and broke him everywhere else, cracked his spirit and bore deep in his soul.

He was relieved to see the world finally reunited with its half. And while reunions differed from person to person, at least there was no other way for everyone on Earth but forward. This time, people can finally and truly move on. In Steve's case, he knew it was easier said than done. He barely and hardly moved on when Natasha was still alive, how much more now that she was gone.

When Scott and Bruce finished a new quantum tunnel so they could return the stones to their timelines, Steve did not hesitate to volunteer because unlike him, everyone else had lives to pick up, to resume. Besides, he needed to see the war to its end and returning the stones was the last phase of that war; the war that Natasha fought those five long years while everyone else, including him, coaxed themselves into thinking they could and should move on.

The idea of staying in the other timeline and getting more than just a dance with Peggy did hit him. But as he pondered on it he realized it was not right, it was not even what he wanted anymore. As much as he loved Peggy, he was not that Peggy's Steve. That Peggy's Steve was still frozen in a glacier somewhere. Also, and the biggest realization he had was, he was not even the same Steve who fell in love with the Peggy in his own timeline. So, yeah, it did not feel right.

That was why after returning the stones, he would come back. He promised Bucky that. He would come back to the timelime the woman he loved died for;the world Natasha sacrificed everything for to make whole again. He would live the rest of his life in it and would never stop making it better.

After he placed the Tesseract exactly where Tony extracted it from, Steve discreetly walked to Peggy's office. He stood behind that glass wall again to see her for the last time. Then as a farewell gift, Steve wrote on a piece of paper a set of coordinates and placed it near his photo on her desk. He whispered his goodbye to her and suited up for his last stop.

When Steve appeared in Vormir and saw the mountain, he immediately felt a sharp pang of grief. He made his way up the mountain with a heavy heart, realizing that he was re-tracing Natasha's last steps. And there he suddenly felt he could not do it, he felt his courage ebb away. But he controlled himself and refused to cry. He would have plenty of time to do that later on. Right now, he needed to focus on his mission so he could go home. Although, he admitted he was not quite sure how to go about this one. All Clint said was talk to the Guardian.

Now that Steve was face to face with the Guardian, he wondered why it didn't cross Clint's mind to tell him who the Guardian was. He found it hard to believe that Clint did not know who the Red Skull was, not after what happened to SHIELD. But here he was, slightly gaping at his old nemesis.

"Steven, son of Sarah," the Guardian greeted him.

"You've got to be kidding me. You just can't die, can you?" Steve mocked.

"In a way, Captain, I am dead. My obsession with the stones brought me here, a prisoner of endless servitude to the stone in your possession. My life is tied to its fate."

Steve opened the case in his hand and the golden amber stone glowed right before him, floating steadily in the center of a glass tube.

"Then that means you technically serve me, right?" Steve continued to mock.

"Just because one can wield the power of the stones does not make him its master. That's a fool's belief," the Guardian replied. "You are many things, Captain, but never a fool."

Steve shook his head in disbelief. His old enemy just complimented him, in a way. There was a small voice in his head telling him to kill Schmidt now, exact revenge and gain closure. But the permanent banishment in barrenness the stone imposed on Schmidt was enough payment for his atrocities. So he focused on the mission at hand. Steve picked up the tube.

"I'm here to return it. All part of the deal," Steve said.

The Guardian cocked its head slightly to one side and fell silent for a moment. It glided further up the mountain steps and Steve followed it. The Guardian led him all the way to the mesa, the flat summit of the mountain. Steve looked around and saw the expansive desolation of the planet. His heart sank thinking it probably was the last view Natasha ever saw.

"This never happened before," the Guardian said.

"Well, there's always a first for everything, Schmidt. What do you suggest? How should we go about this then?" Steve asked with urgency.

The Guardian looked a bit baffled. It glided back and forth for a while. It looked funny, Steve thought, to see its version of pacing. Then it stopped. It looked at the stone in Steve's hand then at the edge of the mountain. Steve followed its gaze, then his eyebrows furrowed. He carefully walked to the edge and peered down. He was not afraid of heights but this one made his stomach churn.

He did not know the details of Natasha's death there. No one asked Clint knowing how painful it would be for him. All they knew was Natasha did everything to see her mission through and secure the stone. Whatever it takes.

"Throw it down," the Guardian simply said.

Steve looked at it again, hesitation and suspicion etched all over his face.

"I am not your enemy anymore, Captain. I know no other purpose than guide those who seek the stone. And as its guardian, you have to trust me in this."

"You said the stone was never returned before but you're asking me to trust that this is the way?"

"Well, there's always a first for everything," the Guardian said.

Steve did not mind sass and he would have chuckled at that if the Guardian was not someone he despised all his life. But deep inside, Steve knew he did not have any other choice. There was no manual to tell him how to do it properly, so in his defense, he was just following what the Guardian of the stone told him. He would not make the mistake to think he knew better.

So Steve moved further to the edge. He extended his arm, fist firmly around the tube. He took in a huge, deep breath and released the stone. He leaned forward and tried to lock his eyes on the tube as it slowly became smaller and smaller. Then he saw the tube shatter into pieces, leaving the stone lying against the rough, hard bottom of the cliff.

Both him and the Guardian did not know what to expect after that. So when nothing happened few seconds after, Steve was more than ready to leave.

"There. It's done," Steve said to the Guardian.

The Guardian ignored him. It looked like it was still in anticipation. Steve held his ground again and looked around. Nothing still happened. Steve sighed and finally suited up.

But before he could activate his helmet, he saw the Guardian glided to the edge of the cliff. Then he suddenly felt tremors underneath his feet. It was faint at first but he was sure it was intensifying by the second and based on the vibrations, it was rising fast too. He noticed small rocks on the ground violently shaking and some of the boulders cracking and eroding a bit.

He looked at the Guardian, hoping for some explanation. It did not offer any and instead it simply peered below. Steve copied him but before he could decipher what he was looking at, a huge pillar of light shot up from the bottom of the cliff and straight through the dark clouds above. The clouds swirled around the light and released thunder-like rumblings to match the rumblings from underneath the mountain.

Steve looked at the light but had to squint and shield his eyes because it was way too bright. He looked at the Guardian again and this time, he found it retreating, away from the edge. He starting stepping back too.

"No," the Guardian said, its voice a bit louder so Steve would hear him amidst the rumblings. "Stay there."

Steve was about to ask why when the light finally disappeared, like it was sucked back by a pit below. And when Steve turned to see what happened, he saw her.

The light revealed Natasha, floating upright in air. She seemed unconscious. Steve realized Natasha must have been floating in the middle of the light, like how the stone floated in the center of the tube. His heart did not only flutter, it also felt like it grew ten times bigger in his chest that he found it hard it breath all of a sudden. Tears blurred his vision and this time, he did not fight it anymore.

He almost did stop breathing at what happened next. Natasha's body slowly floated towards him and when she was an arm's length away, the invisible force keeping her afloat vanished. Steve quickly reached out and managed to catch her, encircling his arms around her waist. Natasha immediately went limp against him, her cheek slumped hard on his shoulder and her arms dangled like a rag doll at his sides.

Steve was going out of his mind. No, he was not going crazy, he was sure of that, but he was juggling a lot right now in his brain and in his heart. He wanted to know how this was even possible but the bigger part of him did not care. Logic can screw itself in the ass. It was only at this moment when he realized that his knees were wobbling. So before he ended up dropping Natasha unceremoniously on the ground, he slowly sat himself down and carefully shifted Natasha that he ended up cradling her.

He reached for her face and cupped her cheek, his thumb gently brushed her cheekbone. Then realizing something, he immediately checked her wrist for a pulse. Nothing. Refusing to give up, he went for her pulse in her neck. He pressed at the pulsepoint deeper and there it was. It was faint, but it was there. Steve sighed, cried, and laughed softly all at the same time in relief. He cupped her face again and waited for her to wake up.

"I have to admit, I did not expect this," the Guardian said. "But then again, the soul stone is not like the rest of the singularities. It has power over life and death and it's the only one among the six that can wield its own power."

"You mean the stone can decide for itself?" Steve asked without taking his eyes off of Natasha.

The Guardian glided and stopped by Natasha's head. But Steve still did not bother to look at it. He kept his eyes on Natasha, afraid that it might be just temporary or the stone was just playing tricks on him and Natasha would disappear again.

"Yes. The rule is clear and irreversible, a soul for a soul. But this proves that the stone can make an exception when it deemed fit."

"Why make that exception now?"

"I do not know," the Guardian admitted. "It may have something to do with the nature of the initial exchange."

"What do you mean?"

"The souls that ended up as payment didn't take the fall by choice. She was the exception," the Guardian explained and looked at the edge of the cliff again.

Steve's eyes widened in understanding. Natasha literally took the fall because it was the only way. He imagined Natasha falling and then lying still below, cold and alone. Then the memory of Bucky falling too flashed in front of his eyes. He immediately shook those images away and looked at Natasha again. A wave of relief came over him because just like Bucky, he got Natasha back.

Steve thought of finally activating their suits so they can be on their way home. But he did not because he was not sure if that was the best thing to do right now. He did not fully understand the terms of Natasha's return and the stone might have other plans or conditions.

"Why isn't she waking up?"

"That I do not know."

There was a faint but detectable softness in the Guardian's voice that Steve had to looked at it. The Guardian stared back at him and Steve thought of something to say but the Guardian floated away before he could come up with something. So Steve focused his attention on Natasha again. He reached for her hand and held it close to his heart.

"Nat, wake up. Please."

Steve tried to gently shake her but still no response. Steve cradled her higher and buried his face in the crook of of her neck where he continued to cry silently for probably another minute.

Then without anymore hesitation, Steve whispered, "I love you. I love you."

Steve hugged her even more desperately and continued to sob in her neck. Then -

"Steve," a soft, weak voice reached his ear.

He released her from his hug and cradled her again just as Natasha opened her eyes and managed a weak smile. Steve cried out in happiness. He cupped her cheek again, leaned down and boldly kissed her. It took a couple of seconds but Natasha did kiss him back. He even felt her stretch her neck and reach up to deepen their kiss. Steve could not help but smile into the kiss.

When Natasha pulled away he saw her smile wider. Then he felt her fingertips on his temple. He leaned into her touch as she traced his eyes, his lashes, the stain of tears on his cheek, then his lips. He lightly kissed her fingertips and said, "Hi."

"Hey, old man," Natasha whispered back.

Steve chuckled and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Then he immediately went for her quantum-GPS to check if it was still working.

But Natasha tried sitting up. Steve let go of her GPS to help her because her elbow gave way when she tried to push herself from the ground. Steve watched in worry as Natasha looked around. As she slowly got re-oriented to her surroundings, Steve saw her smile fade and her brows furrowed in confusion. Her eyes then lingered on the edge of the cliff and her hand immediately reached for the back of her head. She hesitated for a moment but eventually touched it as if she was looking for something. Then she brought her hand to her face and found it clean.

The Guardian moved closer to them and this time stood by Natasha's feet. Natasha looked up.

"It's always a soul for a soul," the Guardian addressed Natasha.

Steve felt Natasha tighten her grip on his hand. She looked at him, her green eyes glazed and wide in panic.

"Clint? The kids?" Natasha stammered, her voice weak and quivering.

"They're fine, Nat. They're back. All of them," Steve replied with a smile.

Natasha squeezed her eyes shut and sighed in relief. Her tears trailed down her cheeks. Steve wanted to wipe them away but she tugged his hand closer to her heart. So he just wrapped his other arm around her and kissed her on the temple.

Then Steve felt a subtle change in her breathing. Before he could make what that was about, Natasha slid her head back down on his shoulder. She was falling asleep again but she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Nat," Steve shook her gently.

"Hmmm," Natasha hummed, weakly, her eyelids getting heavier and heavier.

"Let's go home. What do you say?"

"Sounds good," Natasha whispered and managed another smile before she fully surrendered to sleep.

Steve gave the Guardian one last nod goodbye before activating their quantum suits. Once their helmets slid shut, Steve pressed a button on their quantum-GPS and soon he was navigating the quantum tunnels with Natasha in his arms.

A/N: Whaaa! I don't know how good that was haha! But thanks for reading!