Between Soldier and Spy

The Return

"You know I really tried to bring her back man.... I miss her." Bruce says as Steve makes his way to the platform.
"I know man, we all do." Steve replies, if his plan goes accordingly they won't have to worry about this for much longer.
"You know I could come with you." Sam says as he makes his way to him
"I know, you're a good man Sam but I need to do this alone." He replies, pulling his friend into a hug.
"Don't do anything stupid till I get back." Steve says walking over to Bucky
"How can I you're taking all the stupid with you?" Bucky replies as they pull each other in for a hug.
"How long is this gonna take?" Sam asks as Steve stands in the middle of the platform
"For us 5 seconds, for him however long he needs." Bruce says flipping the switches and just like that he's gone.

He starts in New York and when he catches a flash of red, the color that's become so familiar to him because he associates it with home, with her, he pauses and watches from a far. He debates approaching her because if this plan of his doesn't work, this will be the last time he sees her like this. He sees her look around after a moment clearly aware of someone watching her and he takes that as his cue to leave.

Soon he's on his way to New Jersey, playing his role as a new soldier once more. He returns the tesseract but his eyes still draw slowly over Peggy Carter's office door. He enters careful not to draw any attention to himself. He looks around her desk, pictures lined in frames. There's one of him, the commandos, and her with a man, 2 children sitting on their laps. She's happy, she's moved on. He will too. He writes a note in messy handwriting, sprawled numbers, coordinates on a memo pad. He sets his compass next to it, in another life he'd get that dance with her. He never would have went into the ice, never met Natasha. The old Steve wanted a life with Peggy, but the Steve now just wants one with her. He opens it one last time looking at the picture before, placing it on her desk and setting his watch. The space stone was surprisingly easy to return, even if he was nearly caught by the queen. Now he was down to the last stone, it's light orange glow warming Steve's hand through his glove as he flew the ship to Vormir. He can't help but hate the place because it took her from him, from them. He watches as a magnitude of colors dance in the sky, it's peaceful in a way. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?
He wants to shake her voice from his head because it causes so much pain, too much. But he wants to hold on to it, to her, the way she sounded after training, on early morning missions, during 2 a.m. talks, the tone she has reserved for him and the quirk of her eyebrow that comes with it. He lands the ship and stops at the cascading cliffs and mountains that lie before him. He feels the stone grow hotter in his hand as he climbs up the mountain. He comes face to face with the guardian of the stone. Clint was right, he definitely looked like some kind of Harry Potter dementor. The figure turns at his presence.
"Steven, son of Sarah." The figure says as Steve takes a step forward "I'm afraid what you seek has already been taken."
Steve can finally get a good glimpse at his face, Red skull?
"How the hell are you still alive?!" He asks, in more of a rhetorical sense.
"This is my punishment, dear captain. For I can see the stone, but will never hold its power..." Red skull replies
"I'm not here for the stone. I'm here to return it, in exchange for her. A soul for a soul." Steve says
"It was an everlasting trade, as was told to your friends." Schmidt adds
"You didn't expect to get it back, yet here I am returning it..." Steve says as the stone continues to glow in his palm
"Captain as foolish as ever..." Red skull says "I am not in control of the stone's power."
"Will you just tell me what I need to do with it?!" Steve practically begs, if he's not going to get Natasha back he wants to get off this freaking planet.
"Toss it over the edge, as it were a sacrifice itself." Schmidt muses
Steve walks towards the edge preparing himself for what he may find, her body, lying there. He surprised to see nothing, no trace of blood, not a single drop. He tosses the stone over the edge as a blinding light surrounds him.

When he awakens he's drenched, even through his suit. He wipes a hand over his face, he's failed. A voice snaps him from his thoughts.
"What are you doing here?" His heart clenches at the words,  at her voice. He turns around to meet her eyes.
"Please tell me you didn't do something completely stupid..."
He's at a loss for words. He pulls her into an embrace instead, her head near his heart. Finally he feels like he can speak, can breathe.
"You're here... you're really here..." he says pulling away, looking over her body for injuries.
"What are you doing here, Steve?" Natasha asks
"We won, Nat... we did it..." Steve says hesitating
"What did it cost?" She's knows there's something he's not telling her and she's not sure if she wants to hear it.
"Your life and Tony's." He replies. She feels the tears stinging in her eyes and he's taking a step towards her and pulling her into his embrace once more. They take a moment to compose themselves.
"I'm here to take you home." Steve adds after a moment.
"You're sure that's the only reason you're here?" Natasha asks "no one would blame you if you wanted to go back, stay in the past, get that dance, get your girl..."
"You've got to be kidding me..." Steve says running a hand over his face. Natasha raises an eyebrow at him.
"I'm not that guy anymore, he went down with the plane. Me? I have everything I've ever wanted right here." He says, reaching out for her hand.
Natasha stills, processing his words.
"Do I need to spell it out for you, Romanoff?" He asks teasing "I'm in love with you."
She doesn't reply, crashing their lips together instead. He feels her smile against his lips.
"Why didn't you say something before?" Natasha asks leaving her arms around his shoulders
"I'm notorious for waiting too long..."
"You should probably stop that... it's a good thing I love you." Natasha adds. Steve almost misses it the words falling off her lips effortlessly.
"What do you say Romanoff, want to get some of that life we've been talking about?"
"Only if it's with you." Natasha replies
"Of course, I wouldn't want you to be alone." Steve smiles. They set their watches to the correct time stamp and return home.

The days spent with hugs between friends, between family, reminiscing over the good memories and putting the past behind them. Steve isn't surprised when Wanda's the first to pull her mentor into a hug, mumbling a phrase in Russian as tears drip down her cheeks. He sees the tears in Natasha's eyes too. Sam's next wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off the ground, until she tells him she can't breathe. Wanda still has a hold of Natasha's hand, acting as a tether to the world. Steve feels the same way. If it was up to him he'd hold her hand and never let go, but she needs these moments with their family too like he had nearly a week ago. It's nearly dark by the time everyone is done with the reunion. He glances around the room for Natasha and his heart panics a bit when he doesn't see her, but he knows were she'll be. He follows the lights down to the dock, he can see her figure there, legs dangling inches above the water.
"Want some company?" He asks sitting down next to her.
"Of course." She says fingers trailing across the wood of the dock.
"Today's been a big day..." He acknowledges, she hums in response.
"I'm glad to have them back...thank you." She says reaching over to give his hand a squeeze.
"You know I'd do anything for you..." he says pulling her closer to where she's nearly on his lap, no space between them. She smiles in response, the genuine one that he loves so much, before leaning in to kiss him. Soon they're both out of breathe, but Steve swears he's never felt more alive.
"You know we could've been doing that a long time ago...." Natasha smirks
"Guess we'll just have to make up for lost time..." Steve chuckles leaning his forehead into her collarbone. He didn't want to waste another minute. See you in a minute. "Hey Nat?"
"Hmm?" She smiles fingers running through his hair
"Marry me." He asks looking up to meet her eyes. "Marry me?"
She's nodding, quickly bringing his lips back to hers. He smiles against her lips. "I love you."
"I love you too."

They got that life.

Hi everyone sorry for the lack of updates. I've been super busy with school and most of my energy for writing goes into my other story, "Starting Over". Thank you all for all the reads and support on this story! Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions of what you guys would like to see below! - musicgirl145