I jolted from my bed, the air thick around me. I felt like I was covered in sweat as the dream I had was replaying itself in my mind. I tried shaking it out of existence as I brought myself back down to reality. The room was dark except for a single light in the corner of the room. I looked over to see Steve at the desk in our room.
It's been a couple of weeks since the snap. Steve and I were barely holding it together. The only thing keep us from falling was each other.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked, making his way over to the bed.
"Just a nightmare," I explained. "But, I was going to ask you the same. Couldn't sleep?"
"Not at all," he confirmed.
"We will figure this out. We will find a way."
"I don't know what we'll do if we don't."
"At least we have each other," I said, trying to remind him of something positive. Something I had to do a lot lately. It was so weird, the way everything changed in a moment. In a singular moment the world seems to turn upside down.
All the small problems before seem like nothing. As much as the snap was the worse thing to ever have happened, it brought us closer than I could have ever imagined. We were a part of the lucky few whose partner survived.
I've been trying to keep things positive, a new change for me. But, I felt it was my duty to look on the bright side. To keep things moving for all of us. Something normally out of character for me, but I felt it had to be done.
"You want to spar in the morning?" I asked. The best thing to do right now was to distract his thoughts. We wouldn't help anyone by sulking.
"Yeah," he said, absentmindedly. Steve got in the bed beside me, wrapping an arm around me. I turned to face him. We were nose to nose now, our eyes glancing into one another's.
"This isn't your fault," I reminded him. "It's no one's fault. We tried everything."
"Did we?" he asked, his voice catching.
It seemed that no matter how many times we had this conversation, the words never seem to ring true. I was hoping one of these times the meaning would stick. That if I said the words enough it would make them true. That we would feel comfort.
"We did, Steve. And we're not done trying. There's something out there. I just know it."
"Yeah..."
"Do you remember when we got married?" I asked him, reaching down and touching his ring finger. I gave a small smile feeling the cool metal on my hand.
"Of course," he said, a small smile on his face.
"Remember what we said? What we promised each other?"
Steve nodded his head, looking back into my eyes.
"Forever."
"Remember everything else we been through?" I started. "Do you remember how we met?"
"Hmmm, I think you'll have to remind me," Steve said, still sounding down, but playing along.
"Well, I remember it perfectly," I began. "I walked into the gym with Fury, we were trying to recruit you. I remember I was annoyed that I was the one who had to help find you. Why couldn't I have gone looking for Banner? He was someone I could relate to. You, you were everything I wasn't at the time. So good. So strong. I was scared by you, although I would have never admitted it then. I was way too proud for that."
"I remember the way there was a spark the moment we shook hands. This only scared me more. I hadn't been close to anyone before, not like that. But, what I didn't know at the time, was you were the best thing to have happened to me. Without you, I'd probably still be some miserable agent, sulking in her own past. Drowning in the moments I thought would consume me, but you were always there to rescue me. To pull me back to the light. So that's what I'm going to do now," I finished.
"You were something I needed to," he told me, brushing my hair back. "You were something so different and exciting. I don't think I had ever seen someone so headstrong in my life. It was like I was drawn to you."
"Like a moth to a flame," I said, completing his thoughts. "Almost like destiny. We will figure this out, one way or another."
"How?"
"I don't know yet, but we will. We were all brought together for a reason. You and I, us and the Avengers. It was all for something, a bigger purpose."
"I hope you're right."
"I know I am," I said, trying to reassure not only Steve, but myself.
Suddenly, there was a roaring overhead.
"What the hell?" I asked, before both of us popped out of bed. I hurriedly slipped on a pair of skinny jeans and slipped on a jacket over the tank top I was already wearing. I left the metal arm on the side chair. Not caring as Steve grabbed my other hand and we both ran outside.
Overhead there was a plane being brought in by Captain Marvel, who we had only met yesterday. She had come in suddenly, looking for Fury. It was a disappointing moment to tell her what had happened. How we had failed.
Everyone was out here, looking up at the jet. Natasha, Rhodey, Rocket, and Pepper were all quickly behind Steve and I. We waited, trying to see if who we thought was in there would come out alive. Who was left.
I felt a sense of relief when the door opened to reveal Tony. But, it was quickly replaced with guilt when he and only one other passenger stepped out.
I rushed forward with Steve, to help Tony step out of the plane. He looked so small in that moment.
"We couldn't stop him," Tony said, as we helped him out.
"Neither could we," Steve said.
"I lost the kid," Tony replied, his voice sounding lost.
"Tony, we all lost," I told him. We both made eye contact, a small understanding passing silently between us.
"Oh my god!" Pepper's voice came forward, she grabbed onto Tony. Steve and I backed off, letting them have their moment.
We all soon went inside, to have a meeting. A meeting that was going to decide everything.
~A/N Can't believe this is the first chapter to my 6th book! This is so wild. But, I wouldn't have ever made it this far without all of you! You guys are amazing and make writing these stories so fun!
QOTC: What did you think of the first chapter???
Please remember to leave a vote or comment if you enjoyed this! I can't wait for you all to see where this story goes! ~