A/N: (shitty) Angst. Endgame spoilers, but if you haven't seen it yet by now... Then don't... Don't read this... I Guess lmfaoo... Inspired by a post on Instagram. I wanted to show Natasha some love, and since she Did Not Deserve To Die (not to say that Clint does), might as well Kill Someone Else ;) And this was originally a male reader fic, but it was vague enough so that it can be gender neutral.
AND I KNOW, THIS WHOLE BOOK IS MALE! READER SPECIFIC BUT MY WRITING IS USUALLY VAGUE AS HELL ANYWAYS SO-
"... It's going to have to be one of us."
Your jaw clenched as you were sat on the ground next to Natasha, who held her head in her palms.
You were silent as you peeked through your lashes to look at the bastard who was already up here. He's also silent as he looks at you, almost through your soul as your guts clench with anxiety.
"... What if he's bullshitting us?"
Your voice was quiet.
She didn't answer you, though you didn't really need an answer to that question. It was inevitable. Neither of you could ever go back from this- you had only one chance to get the soul stone, no matter what it took.
Your lips were pressed in a fine line.
You thought about it logistically, trying to find some way to justify you being the one to jump.
Family?
You winced.
No, that wasn't really a great one to start off with. Biologically speaking, you had your father, Tony. You'd know he'd miss you beyond words, after all you saw him grieving for Peter first hand. And Pepper would be devastated from losing you, her first- if not technical- child...
As for Natasha...
As far as you and the team knew, she doesn't even know her own family members or if they were even alive. Hell, she didn't even know her own father's name when the red skull guy said his name.
But, either way, the team would miss her... And besides, Tony would still have 2 kids left- Morgan and Harley-, and if this whole thing works, 3 since Peter would come back.
And chances are if it does work, then they could just... Use the Infinity Stones to resurrect you, right?
It was a gamble to take, but if it meant that you were to be the one who jumped, then so be it.
But... How were you going to convince her to let you be the one to jump? There was no real guarantee that you could be resurrected, and even then, she'd argue that she should be the one to jump since she's older than you.
She always used that to her advantage, saying that her age came with more wisdom than you'd ever have. Even if the age gap wasn't all that big, she'd still say that.
You sighed quietly.
Either way, there was no real way of going around the argument that she should be the one to jump. All of the logistics point to her being the one to do it, even if you didn't want to admit the facts.
Your head buzzed with ideas until one hit you.
"(Name)?"
You stood up abruptly.
Was this going to work? What if she doesn't agree with your plan? How are you going to convince her to go through with it with you?
You held your hands out to her and she took it with a curious but grim expression. Chances are, she's probably thought of a million ways to get you to stay behind.
"Follow me..."
You held her hands with a tight grip as you walked towards the edge of the cliff. You were a few feet away from it as you stopped and turned around to look at her in her eyes.
Your eyebrows furrowed as you spoke in a low, quiet voice, trying to make it seem like you didn't want the red skull guy to hear. Either way, it didn't matter if he heard you or not, but it would at least give some sense of slyness that should spark some hope in her.
"I have a plan, Nat."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Care to tell?"
She kept her voice at a soothing calm tone, but you knew better than that. Her palms were getting a tad bit sweaty. You really didn't know who she was trying to calm down- you, or her.
"I know this might sound really stupid, but most of my plans are stupid but they work. You just... Please, just trust me, okay?"
You weren't lying. Whenever you used to suggest plans to the team when you were all in your prime time, it sounded absolutely bonkers. But never had they failed you, so no matter how ridiculous it was, the team always trusted you and your plans.
"Okay. I trust you."
She nearly whispered that her warm breath momentarily heating you up as you both stood on the cold clifftop. You searched in her eyes for any hesitation. Any reluctance, any doubt.
There wasn't any of them in her eyes. Just trust and mutual understanding.
Your heart ached.
She trusted you.
You were thankful that you kept up that little tidbit of yours up until the bitter end. You were thankful that she trusted you. Just so you could use it to your advantage.
"To keep it all short... We jump off together."
Her eyes widened and her mouth opened. She tried forming words, looking into the windows of your eyes, searching for humor in them. Only seriousness.
"... What...?"
You squeezed her hand and felt your heart swell when she squeezed right back.
"Look, Nat, both of us are stubborn as a mule. You won't let me jump, I won't let you jump."
You shook your head as you pulled her in for a hug. She didn't hesitate to wrap her hands around you as you murmured quietly.
"But... I have a plan, and that plan needs us both to jump."
She leaned back, but not enough to separate herself from your embrace. Her lips quivered as she tried to smile at you.
"(Name)... I don't..." She shook her head as she cast her eyes down. She rested her forehead against yours.
"... I don't know, (Name)..."
You strained a smile as you closed your eyes.
"Natasha, do you trust me? Yes or no?"
You prayed that she said yes. There was a lingering doubt in the back of your head. What if she said no? What would happen then?
Knowing Natasha, she... Oh God, she wouldn't hesitate to try and beat you into the ground, just to prevent you from jumping off.
You both knew in your heart, even if she was more skilled than you, you had an iron suit for god's sake. You could easily overpower her into the ground, even if that meant having to do the worst just so she could stay down.
You opened your eyes and stared right into hers. Emotions were swimming through her eyes as they were illuminated by the dim sky.
"... Yeah... I trust you..."
Relief flooded your system. You were glad. If she had said no, you two would eventually have to brawl for the cliff.
But as quick as the relief came, it left and was replaced with anxiety.
If your plan worked, then...
You stepped back and faced the cliff. You held her hands with a vice grip as you both approached the edge. You swallowed the lump lodged in your throat as you teetered over the edge. You take a quick glance down as your stomach dropped to the floor.
It... You were so high...
You snapped out of it when you felt Natasha squeeze your hand. She's smiling at you, which makes your throat clench up. She thinks it's a good plan.
She thinks it's a good plan.
She thinks it's a good plan.
She thinks it's a good plan.
You clenched your other fist behind your back, trying to get rid of tears threatening to come out. You looked away and down at the bottom of the cliff before glancing back at her with half-lidded eyes. You chewed on the inside of your mouth as you sent her a smile.
"Trust me, Nat. I have a plan."
You prayed that she didn't hear the uncertainty in your voice.
You two stood there for what seems to be an eternity before you nodded at her, and leaned forwards together and off the cliff.
The cold wind hit you with more force than you were expecting.
You felt like you were flying in your suit, freefalling as you always did in your free time.
Only this time, your suit wasn't going to save you.
You still held hands with Natasha as you were both falling. Blood rushed to your ears as you pulled Natasha close for a hug. She returned it back and you saw her lips moving, but you couldn't really tell what she was trying to say.
You glanced up- or down, since you both went head first, and saw the ground near. You couldn't see the ground from the cliff, but now, you saw it clearly.
Strangely, it was rather clean. Just rubble.
You swallowed as you heard F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice in your earpiece.
"7 seconds until impact."
Shit, you had to act quick.
You glanced back at Natasha, and you could tell she was getting extremely nervous as the ground got closer and closer as each millisecond passes.
"5 seconds until impact."
You snaked your hands over to your nano-tech storage center- it was conveniently on your chest, just like your fathers. You tapped it and felt the nano-tech forming rapidly. Only this time, it wasn't wrapping around you.
It was latching itself onto Natasha.
'Take her to the top.'
The suit commanded your last order. You pressed your lips firm on her forehead and pulled back, mouthing her your last words.
'Trust me.'
Her eyes widened as you pushed away from you and watch as the suit form at light speed over her body. She's trying to struggle out of it, but the suit simply holds her in one place as she screams at you.
"(Name)!"
You sighed quietly and watched with a smile as the suit completely forms over her. The suit immediately flings itself upright and uses the leg thrusters to stop her from descending with you.
Quickly, her figure fades away from your view until the fog takes over. You couldn't really see the cliff top from here, but you closed your eyes.
It wouldn't really matter now.
All that you could do was pray that the next time you saw her, she'd forgive you for using her trust in you to your advantage.
"... Where's (Name)?"
Tony asked Natasha. She avoided his gaze and stood there silently.
Steve frowned and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Romanoff...?"
His voice was gentle but firm. Natasha's lips quivered as she lifted her head up to reveal her glassy eyes. Tears gently slid down her face as she locked eyes with Tony.
Realization passed Tony's eyes as his hands trembled. Fear rushed through his palms as he furrowed his eyebrows. He clenched his hands as the shook.
"No..."
"Tony..."
Thor approached him from behind and placed his hand on Tony's back. He turned around to look Thor in his eyes, and all Thor saw was immediate grief.
"My baby..."
Tony's voice trembled as he gripped Thor's bicep. Clint and Scott hung their heads as they didn't know what to say. Bruce shook his head as he clenched his jaw, tears already slipping down his face.
Natasha's voice was caught in her throat. She wanted to say so many things to Tony right now. She wanted to fall to her knees and beg for his forgiveness. She wanted to cry and yell and scream and punch the ground for letting you- letting you trick her into jumping with you.
She wanted to do a lot of things, but she could only say one last thing before she tasted her tears streaming down her face.
"... It should've been me..."