AURORA ODINSDOTTIR
Once Steve and I got to the compound, I noticed Nat, Bruce and Scott all looking excited.
"Did you figure it out?!" I asked, enthusiasm prominent in my tone, but they shook their heads.
"Congratulations!" Nat exclaimed, pulling me in for a hug.
Steve told them.
He's so cute.
"Thankyou." I smiled, and we all shared hugs while Steve locked eyes with me.
'I love you.' He mouthed, making me smile.
'And I love you.' I winked, and we walked inside the compound to figure out the Quantum Tunnel.
•••
Bruce was fiddling with the buttons on the panel, while Scott stood in his Ant Man suit in front of his van.
Nat, Steve and I stayed behind Bruce, and I took Steve's hand in mine, holding it gently.
He gave my hand a small squeeze, knowing I was nervous.
I'm sure he was too, though.
"Okay, here we go, time travel test number one." Bruce said, looking at Scott.
"Scott, fire up the- the van thing." He instructed, making Steve nod and open up the portal.
This is happening.
"Breakers are set, emergency generators are on standby." Scott said, making me let out a breath.
That's reassuring.
"Good, beause if we blow the grid, I don't wanna lose Tiny here in the nineteen fifties." Bruce chuckled nervously, and I gave him a bewildered look, along with the others.
"Excuse me?" Scott asked, sounding panicked, and I quickly shook my head.
"I'm sure he's joking around, Scott." I tried to reassure him, and Nat nodded in agreement.
"He's kidding."
I watched her turn to Bruce, looking slightly angry.
"You can't say things like that!" She whispered in a hushed tone, and Bruce shrugged.
"It was just a bad joke."
"You were kidding, right?" I asked, making him look worried.
"I have no idea, we're talking about time travel here. Either it's all a joke, or none of it is." Bruce responded, turning to Scott.
"We're good! Get your helmet on, Scott." He said with a thumbs up, and Scott nodded.
"I'm gonna send you back a week, let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in ten seconds. Does that make sense?" Bruce asked, and I felt my chest tighten.
I'm scared.
"Perfectly not confusing." Scott responded, and I felt Steve kiss my temple, making me smile.
"Good luck, Scott." I smiled, and Steve gave him a wave.
"You got this."
"You're right. I do, Captain America." Scott said confidently, and Bruce pressed a button, sending Scott disappearing into the Quantum Tunnel.
"Okay, on the count of three." Bruce said, and I sighed, squeezing Steve's hand.
Please, let this work.
Bruce pressed a button, but the person who returned was a teenager.
"Uh, guys? This doesn't feel right."
"It's Scott." I whispered, and Steve looked worried.
"What is this?" He asked, making Bruce panic.
"What's going on?"
"Who is that?" Nat asked, and Bruce pushed a bunch of buttons, trying to fix Scott, to no avail.
"Hold on."
"That's Scott, right?" I asked, and the teenager looked scared.
"Yes, it's Scott!"
Uh oh.
Before any of us could respond, Scott got sucked back into the Tunnel, reappearing, but as an old man.
"Ow! My back!"
"What is this?" Steve asked, and Bruce lightly ushered for us to move.
"Can I get a little space here?"
"Yeah, of course." I said, and we took a few steps back while Steve held onto my hand.
"Can you bring him back?"
"I'm working on it!" Bruce exclaimed, tapping the side of the button pad, trying desperately to bring him back.
After a moment, Scott disappeared, coming back as a baby.
"It's a baby." Steve said, and Bruce sighed.
"It's Scott."
"As a baby!" Steve argued, making Bruce shoot him an annoyed expression.
"He'll grow."
"He's actually pretty cute." I commented, and Steve playfully rolled his eyes at me before turning to Bruce.
"Bring Scott back!"
"When I say kill the power, kill the power." Bruce ordered Nat, who nodded, running to the generator, looking stressed.
We all were.
Poor Scott.
"Alright, kill it!" Bruce shouted, and Nat immediately reacted, pulling the lever down, causing everything to shut off.
Scott disappeared again, hopefully for the last time, returning back as normal, looking tired.
"Oh, thank God." I heard Nat say under her breath, and I leaned my head into Steve's shoulder, sighing.
"Somebody peed my pants." Scott said, looking at all of us, relieved, but exhausted.
"But I don't know if it was 'baby' me or 'old' me." He said, locking eyes with me, a confused expression on his face.
"Or just 'me' me."
"What do you think?" I asked Steve, who tilted his head in wonder.
"What do I think about what, love?"
"I think it was 'baby' Scott." I joked and Steve shot me a cheeky warming glace, before Bruce held up his hands in a dramatic way.
"Time travel!"
Steve shook his head, squeezing my hand before walking out of the room, shaking his head.
"What? I see this as an absolute win!" Bruce exclaimed, and I gave them a small smile before running after my fiance.
I found him sitting outside the compound, staring at the floor, clearly deep in thought.
"Hun?" I asked, and Steve turned to look at me, looking beaten down.
He was tired.
"Hey." He said, and I pulled him in for a tight hug, resting my forehead on his shoulder as he buried his in the crevice of my neck.
"How are you feeling?" I asked, and I felt the rise and fall of his shoulders as he shrugged.
"I'm not good, but how are you, angel?" Steve asked, making me smile softly, pulled away to look at him.
He kept his arms around my shoulders, and my hands stayed firmly planted on his hips.
"I'm not okay either, but you're here." I sighed, and Steve leaned down to lightly kiss my lips.
We fell into a comfortable silence, but it only lasted a moment, the deafening noise of a car speeding towards us breaking the peace.
The car pulls up to Cap, going a bit too far, and reversing to meet us again.
"Any idea who this is?" I asked Steve, and he shook his head.
"No."
The question was answered when Tony rolled down the car window, noticing how upset we were.
He was here.
Tony came back.
"Why the long face?" He asked, looking between us.
"Oh let me guess, he turned into a baby." Tony said, the sass evident in his tone.
"Among other things, yeah." I responded, giving Tony a small smile.
"What are you doing here?" Steve asked, and Tony got out the car, walking around to the boot as we followed him.
"That's the EPR Paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might've wound up pushing time through Lang." Tony said, ignoring Steve's question and trying to explain the situation.
"It's tricky, dangerous. Somebody should've cautioned you against it." He said, looking for us to admit he was smarter than us.
"You did." Steve said, making Tony smirk.
"Oh, did I?" He brushed us off, looking confident.
"Thank God I'm here." Tony said smiling at me.
"Regardless, I fixed it."
Tony held up a small device, and I eyes it off.
"A fully functioning Time-Space GPS." he said, looking at Steve.
"I just want peace. It turns out, resentment is corrosive, and I hate it."
Let them forgive eachother, please.
"Me too." Steve said, and Tony nodded.
They were okay.
"We got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities. Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I got? I have to, at all costs." Tony lay down the law, opening the boot of his car.
"And maybe not die trying, will be nice."
"Sounds like a deal." I smiled, and Steve reached out his hand for Tony to shake, which he did.
I watched Tony reach back into the trunk to pull something out, and I gasped when I saw what it was.
The Captain America shield.
I haven't seen that in forever.
I felt Steve tense up beside me, knowing the last time he saw it was when he and Tony fell out.
"Tony." Steve said, but he was quickly cut off.
"Why? He made it for you."
"Plus, honestly I have to get it out of the garage before Morgan takes it sledding." Tony joked, and I smiled at the thought of it.
That would be super cute.
Steve took his shield from Tony, fixing it onto his arm, and Tony gave me a smile, which I returned.
"Thank you, Tony." My fiance said, and Tony shut the trunk of his car, motioning for us to head inside.
"Congratulations, by the way." Tony smiled, and I shared a confused look with Steve before turning to Tony.
"About what?" I asked, and Tony gestured to the ring on my finger.
"I saw that diamond all the way across the driveway."
"Well, thankyou." Steve said, and Tony nodded, gesturing to the shield.
"Will you keep that a little quiet, by the way? I didn't bring one for the whole team." He said, making Steve and I nod.
"The secret is safe with me." I said, and Tony looked at me, a little cautious.
"We are getting the whole team, yeah?"
"We're working on that right now." Steve said, and I nodded in agreement.
"I can get Thor, everyone else is reaching out as we speak." I said, making Tony let out a sigh of relief.
"Let's get the ball rolling."