The Algorithm To Infinity

[10] after the dust settles

He covered her mouth with his hand as she screamed again, soothing her with whispered words. "Relax, Nat. It's okay." He hushed.

"Where is he?" She shouted, shoving his hand away from her mouth as she tried to stand up again, but his hold was unyielding, and she trembled against him.

"I saw him a minute ago. You need to shut up and relax." He told her imploringly.

Her heart was still racing and tears still streamed down her cheeks. "He trusted me... he trusted me!" She cried, grasping onto Clint's shoulders and trying to push him away from her.

"Hey, we could really use Widow's help." Tony's voice broke through the communication system.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Clint responded quickly. "Come on, Nat." He murmured, helping her to her feet.

• • •

It was unusually quiet on the jet, Natasha staring ahead blankly as she sat on the bench with a blanket around her shoulders. Although her tears had dried, her hands hadn't stopped shaking, and her throat was unbearably tight from crying. Her heart was in a million pieces as she and Clint waited for the rest of the team to return - for Steve to return alive.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Clint asked, breaking the silence between them. He sat across from her, looking at her with concern glinting in his eyes. It had been years since he'd seen her cry, but he had never seen her cry like that. She had been inconsolable and panicked because she thought that Steve was dead. As he looked at her, her emerald eyes glassy with the horrors the Scarlett Witch had imposed upon her, he realized just how worried he was for her.

"He died... Steve. I killed him." She choked out, blinking back the tears that stung her eyes as she envisioned his death that seemed so real. Every time she looked down, she saw her hands covered in his blood and his azure eyes glazing over as his chest heaved for the last time. She saw their future flash before her eyes, the silver ring she wanted to put on his finger as he smiled handsomely and kissed her breathlessly.

He had trusted her.

He had trusted her to protect him and call the shots, but she hadn't been good enough. She was the one who put a bullet in his neck, the one who stole his life away and shot him, murdering him just like she had killed so many others. For once, she wasn't scared of how she felt for her soulmate. She wasn't scared of what she wanted.

She was scared of herself.

"It was only a vision that witch made you see." Clint shook his head, rubbing his face as he stood and began to pace the length of the jet.

"I killed him, Clint!" She shouted, a lone tear streaming down her cheek as she clenched her fists.

He sighed heavily but before he could muster a response, the scuffle of boots on the Quinjet made them both jump as Steve and Thor trudged onto the aircraft. Their faces were twisted with affliction from the fight with the genetically engineered twins who had played them all. Natasha jumped to her feet when her eyes locked with Steve's, and he smiled softly. He was alive. At that moment, that's all that mattered to her. The staggering weight was lifted off her shoulders as the semblance from the Scarlett Witch faded from her mind, the blue from his eyes enveloping her and chasing away the accursed vision. "Steve... oh my god!" She exclaimed, running up to him and throwing her arms around his neck.