Here is a surprise chapter for you all. I don't know if I'll write anymore chapters after this one (I know I keep saying that, but I feel it's finished now). I did update chapter 1 too since I am caught up on all the films now aside from two. Thank you to those who reviewed, followed, and favorited! Happy reading.
A Few Days Later
Natasha stood looking at Tony's grave, feeling a sadness in her soul. She felt guilty that she had found her way back and he would forever be lost. She felt even guiltier that Tony's daughter, Morgan, would grow up without a daddy because of Thanos. Nat clenched her fists and her jaw at this. Thanos. She was relieved to hear he had been killed, but he had caused so much pain and suffering.
"He wouldn't have wanted it any other way," a voice said, making Nat turn around. Steve waved at her, and she smiled.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked. It was on the verge of raining. She didn't know exactly how old Steve was, but she knew he was old enough to catch a cold and possibly die from it.
"I come to say hi often," Steve replied, gesturing to the gravestone. "I'm sure soon enough I'll be saying hi to him in the afterlife."
Nat felt cold at this even though she knew Steve was going to die from old age at some point. It was a difficult adjustment seeing him like this. He smiled at her, knowing what she was thinking.
"I'm happy with my decision," he told her.
"What did she say when she saw you?" Nat asked. She wanted to know. She stood up to stand beside him, and they started walking while Steve looked thoughtful.
"She cried," he answered after a moment. "When I walked through the door at 8pm sharp to that dance hall, she burst into tears, and I couldn't make a lick of sense of anything she said for the first five minutes until she stopped crying." He chuckled at this now.
"She must have thought she was never going to see you again," Nat noted.
"I know. She said as much."
"So, how did things go after that? I mean, did you stay together? Did you get the life you wanted?"
"Oh yes. We started to date each other, and then I proposed to her about eight months later. We got married in the spring of '47," Steve said, his eyes far away at this point. Nat figured he was remembering it.
"I bet it was beautiful."
"It was. She was gorgeous. We were both nervous of course, but it was a good nervous, you know?"
"So, how did you not get involved with everything that happened since?" Nat asked. "I mean, you knew it was going on, right?"
"I did. As Banner explained, though, my going back did not change anything, so my other self was out there fighting those battles."
"You never worried about bumping into him?" Nat asked, curious.
"No. Peggy and I moved far away and kept to ourselves," Steve answered. "I knew I could trust her with what I had done, and she understood I had to stay off grid."
"It must have felt so strange, living a second life while your double was out there," Nat said, looking at him.
"I got used to it," Steve laughed. Then he coughed. Nat put her hand on his arm, concerned, but he stopped after a moment. He patted his chest.
"These lungs are getting old," he teased. Nat gave him a look, and they continued walking until they reached a pavilion where they stood watching the rain come down.
"I'm assuming Peggy passed away?" Nat asked after a while. Steve bowed his head.
"Yea. The same time as before. It was...hard."
"Did you have any children?" Nat questioned. He pursed his lips for a moment, contemplating on whether or not he should respond. He looked at her, and he decided he could trust her.
"A boy and a girl," he answered. "But that's between you and me."
"Got it," Nat nodded. She smiled then. "You must have been so proud."
"I felt way out of my league for a while," Steve laughed. "But they're great kids."
"Are they still alive?"
"Oh, yes. James is late sixties, and Natasha is early seventies."
"You named your daughter after me?" Nat asked, surprised. She felt tears in her throat then.
"I did," he nodded. "You saved us all, Nat. Without you, we would not have succeeded in defeating Thanos, and I wanted to honor you. You're also one of my best friends." He smiled at her then.
"Oh, Steve," she said, hugging him then. He hugged her back, patting her a little.
"I've got grandkids and great-grandkids too," he said afterwards while she was wiping her eyes.
"Aw really?"
"Yea."
"Does James know who he's named after?" Nat asked, remembering.
"He sure does," Steve nodded.
"Do any of them have any...powers?" Nat questioned, curious.
"That's my secret," Steve winked, making her laugh.
"Okay. I won't pry."
"I should get home, though," he said, looking around them as the rain slowed down.
"Thank you," Nat said to him.
"For what?"
"For bringing me home, for doing everything you did, for being you," she said. He smiled.
"It's my pleasure, Nat," he told her. She hugged him tightly again, wondering how long he would be with them. When they pulled back, he gave a small wave and started on his way towards an idling car. She saw it was Bucky at the wheel, and she waved. He waved back. She watched Steve get inside and the car drive away. She was glad he got the life he wanted with Peggy.
...
"You doing okay?" Bruce asked when Nat returned to their new headquarters. It was a bit cramped with everyone, but she didn't know how long she was going to stay here. She was thinking of traveling for a bit, getting reacquainted with living instead of fighting.
"I am," she nodded, removing her wet coat and hanging it up. She was still getting used to Bruce in his Hulk form and not having him smash everything to pieces in an instant's notice.
"You went to see Tony?" Bruce questioned.
"I did. I still can't believe he's gone."
"Neither can we, but without him doing that snap, none of us would be here," Bruce said sadly. Nat didn't respond. She knew all about making sacrifices. She didn't tell Bruce that she had nightmares of falling off that cliff and watching Clint screaming her name as she fell.
"Of course, we wouldn't be here without you either," Bruce said quickly, remembering.
"What about Thanos's daughter?" Nat said suddenly, changing the subject. "She wasn't on Vormir."
"She was brought here from a different timeline," Bruce answered.
"But...if I'm not dead, then she shouldn't be either. She'll have two versions of herself in this timeline," Nat said, frowning. Bruce frowned as well, scratching his head. He had wondered about Nat's story of floating and not dying. He wondered if Steve returning the stone brought Nat back to life and instead of her remembering dying and death, the memory of floating and being frozen was planted into her mind instead. It would explain why Gamora did not return because Thanos had destroyed the stones instead of returning them. Bruce looked at her then, and she was examining his expression.
"You think I died," she said after a moment. She felt her heart rate pick up. How could she have died when she remembered looking up at Clint?
"I...I think that perhaps you did, and Steve returning the stone brought you back. What you're remembering isn't what happened," Bruce said carefully.
"I don't understand," Nat said.
"I don't really understand it either," Bruce confessed, "but it's the only thing that makes sense to me. Unless I really did bring you back when I did the reverse snap. What do you remember before seeing Steve?"
Nat thought hard. What did she remember? She couldn't think of anything. It was fuzzy and dark. It had been warm. She remembered feeling peaceful for some reason. She sat down then, feeling dizzy. Had she really been dead until Steve had gotten there?
"I...I don't remember," she said slowly. "All I remember is seeing Steve standing there and thinking I was stranded until he showed up, that my death had been an illusion."
"It's okay, Nat," Bruce said kindly. "The biggest thing is you're back, and you're here. You're not dead."
"But I was," Nat said, feeling panicky. She had been dead but didn't remember it. She hated having memory gaps.
"Nat," Bruce said as she got up and went to her room. She closed the door, breathing hard. She had died after all. It explained why Clint gave her that look when she had told him her story. She buried her face into her hands, trying to calm down. She had died, but Steve had brought her back. The harder she tried to remember what she was doing before Steve got there, the more it slipped from her grasp. It was a bunch of nothingness. She felt her phone vibrate then, and she saw it was Clint.
"Hi," she said.
"Hey," he said back. "You okay?"
"Did Bruce tell you?"
"Yea. He's worried about you. I thought I'd check in."
"I died, Clint."
"I know."
"Why can't I remember it?"
"Because you wouldn't," Clint answered logically.
"I saw you disappear, though."
"I don't know what to say, Nat," Clint said. She heard him sigh. She didn't know how to explain anything anymore. She had been so certain she had been frozen but alive, watching him disappear. Maybe she had lived long enough to see that before she died. It made her head hurt.
"Why would I think I was floating?"
"Maybe your mind is giving you answers that explain what happened to you to help it make sense," Clint suggested. Nat rubbed her brow with her fingers, knowing that no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't ever know what really happened to her.
"If Gamora came from a different timeline to this one, why can't we bring Tony from one to now?" she asked, changing the subject. Her death or floating or whatever the hell she experienced was going to have to stay unanswered. She was alive. She didn't want to think about it anymore.
"We've thought about it."
"Then why not do it?"
"I don't know if it's the right thing to do," Clint answered.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't think he'd want us to do that."
Nat felt cold again. If given the choice, would she have decided to stay dead? She didn't know if Tony would make that choice, especially if his past self found out he had a daughter and was married.
"So, if you could have brought me back from a different timeline, you wouldn't have," Nat said, realizing they could have for her as well.
"We didn't have to. Steve brought you back first," Clint reminded her.
"And if he hadn't?"
"I would have suggested it."
"So why for me and not for Tony?"
Clint was silent for a moment.
"Pepper said no."
Nat inhaled sharply at this. How could Pepper say no? How could she let her daughter live without Tony?
"Why?" she asked, finding her voice.
"Tony left her a message saying to not to," Clint replied. "Pepper's just doing what he asked."
"Why would he...?"
"I don't know, Nat. All I know is he wanted it this way," Clint interrupted. Nat gripped the phone tightly in her hands.
"Okay," she finally said.
"Why don't you come out and see the kids again?" Clint suggested. "Get your mind off all of this."
"I think I'm going to travel for a while," she answered. "But thank you."
"Travel?" Clint asked, the meaning in his voice clear.
"Not time travel, Clint. Regular, old fashioned plane travel," she said, snorting.
"All right. Just checking."
"Thanks for calling."
"Nat, try not to get tangled up in trying to make sense of what happened to you. Remember, you were on a planet in outer space. Maybe that had something to do with it. Just know that we're glad you're back."
"I know, Clint," Nat said. She could spend forever trying to figure it out, but he was right. It would only keep her tangled up and stressed out.
"I'm here anytime, okay?"
"Okay."
They hung up, and Nat fiddled with her phone in her hands. She knew that if it had been her wishes to leave her dead, she would want people to follow them. She had to believe Clint when he said Tony's message said he wanted it that way. She crawled into her bed then, hoping for no nightmares that night. Her mind wandered after a while. It surprised her how much she missed Tony. He had been annoying at times, but he had meant well and genuinely cared for the world and everyone in it. She guessed she just wanted him to have a second chance the way she had been given one. She knew she had to let him go, just like she had to let go of what had happened to her. One day she would, she knew that. Some things just didn't have answers or make sense. She'd been given a bonus round of life, and she was going to live it to the fullest. Tony would want her to, just like he wanted Steve to. For now, it was time to sleep.
I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I guess it's just more about Nat's thoughts and feelings and some closure for her regarding Steve and Tony. I hope you all enjoyed! If you like my stories, feel free to check out A Family, which is my latest story. Until next time!