a/n: let's take a moment to appreciate T'Challa. ily king <3
edit: i didn't feel right not adding this, rest in peace, chadwick boseman. you were a great man and were such an inspiration to many. i hope you find peace in the afterlife, thank you for everything you've done <3
y/f/n- your first name
y/l/n- your last name
disclaimer: based on infinity war :o
word count: 2917
—
You had gotten into the most elite program there could be in existence, Tony Stark's internship. Your expertise in all types of engineering and any math and science subject you could ever think of got you this far, and as you walked up to Avengers' headquarters, you began to hope it could get you further.
You heard of all the crazy stories that made their way out of this building and hoped that you would become a part of them. Tony had told you during your one-on-one interview that you reminded him of his adopted son, Peter Parker, which is what helped you get the internship. Your life's purpose was not solely based on academic success, but on being able to make a difference in the world while using that academic excellence. You knew your shit and knew when to apply it.
"Y/N! Good to see you," Tony shouted as he greeted you with open arms. "Now, let's get started, shall we?"
You nodded eagerly, perhaps too eagerly, in response to Stark's suggestion. You looked around the building's entrance and knew that this would be one hell of a milestone in your life, and if you managed to have the same charisma as Peter Parker, then you were willing to go through anything if you could potentially be a part of something groundbreaking and Nobel Peace Prize worthy.
Tony led you to an elevator, which opened to the main lounge. There, you were introduced to the most powerful group of people you've ever come across.
"This is 95% of our group, Banner's in the lab and Barton's with his family up in the middle of nowhere. Make yourself at home, Y/N!" Tony introduced the others. You were taken aback at the amount of badass-ness and attractiveness in the room. All greeted you with open arms as they took you in as their own.
"If Stark ever almost kills you, you know where to find us, alright?" Natasha said to you as she pulled you in for a warm hug. You laughed in response and nodded your head as you went back to Tony's side on the way to his lab and waved to everyone else in the room.
"The iconic, Y/N! Nice to meet you," Banner introduced himself, holding out his hand for a handshake. You immediately took his hand and shook it, quickly scanning the room and taking in every possibly world-changing experiment that Stark and Banner had and would go through.
"Alright Y/N, this isn't some bullcrap internship where I force you to sit at a desk and get me coffee... this is the real deal, okay? I picked you because I saw a hero in you, and we could use some more of those in this world," Tony began as he flipped through some files that he had already gone through a million times. "Let's get started."
[ time lapse ]
It had been over a year since you first stepped into the Avengers building. Every day was rigorous, but you enjoyed every bit of it. The Avengers became your family and you became inseparable with every member in special and differing ways.
"So, Y/N," Nat had started as she brought you an iced coffee from the kitchen. "Any crushes?"
"If I'm gonna be honest with you Nat, I think I have the biggest crush on you. You're literally amazing in any way I could think of," You responded before taking a sip from your glass.
Nat chuckled as she took a sip from her own and continued with, "Y/N, I'm genuinely flattered, but I've seen the way you and Rogers are with each other. It's basically marriage."
You lightly laughed, blushing slightly at the thought of Steve. Aside from Nat, Steve was your absolute best friend. He understood you better than anyone else did, even Tony. You were head-over-heels in love with him.
"I for one completely agree with Romanoff, Y/N," Tony pitched in as he sat across from both of you. "Steve should just pop the ring out and marry ya already."
Nat raised her eyebrows and made a gesture showing her alliance with Stark, which resulted in you playfully rolling your eyes.
"What's all this talk about a ring of?" Steve entered the room and climbed over the back of the sofa to sit next to you. He took your glass of coffee and took a sip from it and set it down on the coffee table.
"To summarize, just confess your undying love for Y/N already. It's way too obvious and if I have to keep seeing you two attempting to subtly flirt with each other for any longer, I might just vomit," Tony confessed and chuckled as he slipped out of the room alongside Nat. Nat winked at the both of you as you both blushed heavily.
"How long have they been harassing you about this?" Steve asked as he rested his back on the armrest.
"The past five minutes have felt like five hours of my parents giving me a motivational speech," You confessed and chuckled. Steve flashed a smile and chuckled lightly in response to you.
"I mean, since we're on that topic, I was meaning to tell you exactly what Tony and Nat have been bugging you about," Steve said as he grew a bright shade of pink as he looked up at you and moved closer.
"Okay, Rogers, who paid you?" You asked and felt your pulse get gradually faster. There was definitely no way that Steve felt the way you've felt about him. This had to be a dream.
"Nobody, I'm being completely honest, Y/N. You're an absolute gem and I'd be lucky if I could take you out someday, sweetheart," Steve confessed as he looked at you with hopeful eyes.
"Well, in that case, I'd love to be taken out by you, Rogers," You responded as you smiled and got up from your seat, leaving Steve giving himself a high-five and patting himself on the back for doing what he would've never thought he'd be able to do.
[ time lapse ]
It had been months since you last saw Steve and Nat. You stayed with Tony back in the Avengers headquarters and helped develop new technology to improve his suits for future battles. Tony had always discretely warned you of something big, but never fully disclosed what this "something big" was.
One day, you were left alone at the headquarters with Rhodey while he was in the middle of a meeting with the UN panel. News reports were filled with Tony, Peter Parker, some wizard you had never met, and Banner. You tried to ask Rhodey about the situation but all he did was signal you to wait until the meeting was over.
Maybe this was that "something big" Tony always subtly mentioned. You gulped at the thought of this being it. This wasn't some minor attack on the Avengers... this was something bigger. You looked at every photo you had framed, which captured moments from when Tony held an Avengers-exclusive (including you and Parker) party to celebrate the one-year anniversary of you joining the team to more personal moments like a photo of you and Steve at the park on one of your dates. As you picked up the photo of you and Steve, you heard a familiar voice that you had missed for what seemed like ages.
You crept your door open and eavesdropped from your room, waiting to hear the conversation die down. Once it did, you saw Steve and Nat with Wanda, Vision, and Sam. Your jaw dropped at the sight of them, the look on your face was a result of shock, excitement, and confusion.
"Since when did you have a beard, Rogers?" You asked as a way to introduce yourself into the conversation. "And Nat, blonde hair looks amazing on you."
They both pulled you in for a tight hug, alongside with Wanda, Vision, and Sam.
"It's good to see you, Y/N," Nat said as she gave you an extra squeeze as she hugged you again. "Please take Steve, he won't shut up about you."
You laughed in response and went directly to Steve. It had felt like a lifetime without him and now, you weren't sure if things would go back to the way they were pre-Civil War.
"Y/N... I missed you so much," Steve softly confessed as he pulled you close to him and kissed your forehead. Your heart fluttered at the re-introduction of his arms around you as you wrapped your arms around his neck.
"So... the Infinity Stones," Banner awkwardly inserted himself into the conversation to pause your moment of PDA.
"Right. We caught two of Thanos's minions trying to get the Mind Stone from Vision. My gut tells me they're coming back, and soon, so we better figure out what we need to do and do it now," Steve said, keeping one arm around your waist as he proposed the mission. Everyone nodded, already knowing their place in combat. You felt silently defeated because in cases like these, you were just a normal person without any superpowers, which meant that you weren't involved in the fighting.
"What exactly is going on? Why is everyone freaking out?" You interjected as everyone's head turned quickly in your direction.
"The Infinity Stones together are indescribably powerful. Thanos wants all six to destroy half of the universe. Says it's for "balance", whatever the hell that means," Banner explained before plopping down in a seat across the room.
"It's literally genocide. So fucking horrible," Sam added as he paced around the room. Suddenly, your phone began to ring. It was from Tony.
"Hey, Y/N! This is Tony, currently in a flying donut," He updated you. "So, remember the million times I've mentioned "something big"? Well, we're living in it and we're ridiculously outnumbered. It's kind of embarrassing. Take that suit I made you and use it to your best abilities. I believe in you, Y/N. You're an Avenger now."
"Hey, Mr. Stark! Can I be an Avenger too—" You heard Parker exclaim before the call cut off. It made you chuckle, but you were also left in shock.
"Y/N?" Steve asked, looking at you with confusion. "What did Stark want?"
"Well, once he told me that desperate times call for very desperate results... I think it's one of those times."
"What are you hinting at, Y/N?" Nat further questioned.
"I guess you could say that I'm basically an extension of Iron Man..." You said as you began to process everything Tony had said in the call. You held your arm up, waiting for the most iconic moment of your life. Parts of the suit that you had worked on with Stark came in and molded themselves to your body as you stood still. Everyone watched in shock and excitement as your suit came together.
"Holy shit! I'm so glad I was a witness of this," Rhodey exclaimed as he clapped for your proper introduction into the Avengers. "Welcome to the club of badasses, Y/N."
"Okay, not to be a downer, but I really think we should get back to the Mind Stone," You said, finally feeling like you fit in properly.
The conversation took many turns, from Wanda and Vision calmly arguing in the corner, to Banner making points about the possibility of Vision being able to live after removing the stone.
Steve shot up from contemplating and processing everything and suddenly said, "I know somewhere."
In who-knows-how-long, you and the rest of the team set out to Wakanda.
"Okay, Y/N, no swooning over T'Challa. Rogers'll throw a fit," Sam warned and chuckled.
You all walked down the ramp of the quinjet and met with Wakanda's king, T'Challa. Steve walked up to the king and shook his hand, greeting him with, "Seems like I'm always thanking you for something."
Behind you, Banner is bowing down to T'Challa, to which T'Challa responds with, "Uh, we don't do that here."
"So how big of an assault can we expect?" T'Challa continues with.
"Well, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault," You responded with as you crossed your arms across your chest.
"How we looking?" Steve asked T'Challa.
"You will have my King's Guard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and—"
"A semi-stable, 100-year-old man," Bucky added as everyone's jaw dropped. He walked up to Steve and gave him a hug. The two shared their moment and had a well-deserved reunion.
Up in Shuri's lab, they all discussed the removal of the Mind Stone. Shuri had found a safe way to remove it without killing Vision, but it would take time.
"Guys, we got a situation," You warned as you pointed outside towards the crowding at the defense shield.
"God, I love this place," Bucky said in a calm tone as he watched the way the intruders died in every attempt to enter.
"I wouldn't celebrate just yet," You responded with.
"Yeah, there's way more coming our way from further away," Sam added as he sighed.
"We have to get started on getting rid of that stone, now," You said as you turned towards the rest of the group and ran towards the quinjet to suit up.
Everyone made their way outside, leaving Shuri, Vision, and Wanda inside the lab. T'Challa made his way in front of everyone else and began chanting.
This was it. The "something big" that Tony had mentioned whilst you helped him with whatever experiment he had up his sleeve. Where was Tony? Despite every moment of slight annoyance that he gave you as a parent figure, you wanted Tony by your side more than ever. He guided you through every step of the way to getting here, it was as if he knew you would be a part of this moment.
"You ready, Y/N?" Steve asked as he squeezed your hand and gave you a soft smile.
"Ready as I can ever be," You returned, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I think I should go help Rhodey and Sam up there. After all, I could use some practice with the flying ones."
Steve looked at you with fear in his eyes. You knew he couldn't handle the possibility of losing you, but he also knew that you had to be on your own during times like these.
"Go, Y/N. Go be a hero," Steve said as he gave you a soft smile and before giving you a kiss. You flashed him a smile and ran, prepping for flight. You flew up next to Rhodey and Sam as T'Challa opened up the barrier. You gasped as what seemed like an endless amount of the most horrifying things entered Wakanda. You sent blasts into the ground, putting those things to a halt. You cringed as you flew away, hoping this would end better than you felt it would.
Suddenly, something blasted you out of the air and you lost balance. You crashed into an area filled with bushes and trees, where you saw Vision and Wanda from afar. Wanda flashed you a look filled with terror as Vision laid on the ground behind her. You recollected yourself as you got up.
"Let's try this out..." You said as you took a deep breath. "Friday, scan the area for others. If threatening, please give me permission to murk the shit out of them. Nobody hurts Wanda or Vision."
"Of course Y/N, scanning the area," Friday responded as you observed your surroundings. "Others include Rogers, T'Challa, Okoye, Bucky, Sam, Rhodey, Thor, a raccoon, and a Groot. Threatening target acquired."
"But none of them are—"
Your suit flew away in the direction of the target. Before you was Thanos, the tall, purple titan, fighting Thor.
"Thor! Get out of the way!" You shouted as your suit unleashed the most technologically advanced attacks on Thanos.
"I'm afraid it's too late, Y/F/N Y/L/N. You're out of time," Thanos calmly but arrogantly responded to you and your attacks as he put his arm up to display the gauntlet, filled with the stones. You gasped as you flew up to Thanos, unknowingly grabbing Thor's new weapon, Stormbreaker. You slashed the weapon into Thanos's chest and landed in front of him.
Regaining balance and your breath, Thanos chuckled coldly at you and only said, "You... you should've gone for the head." Without thinking, you turned your head to your right and saw Thanos snap his fingers.
Everything turned white. You saw nothing but yourself, covered in blood, sweat, and dirt.
"Where'd he go?" Steve softly managed as he was panting. "Y/N... Where'd he go?"
"Steve..." You said as your voice trailed off. "I-I don't know what... I don't know why..."
You fell to your knees, tears swelling up and falling down your cheeks. Steve kneeled beside you as you wept heavily into his chest. Your grip tightened as his did too.
"I'm so sorry.." You let out as you felt the world collapse around you. That was it. "Something big" was too big for anyone to contain. The innocent, excited person that walked into the Avengers headquarters was defeated and beaten down to dust.
Steve stayed on his knees, completely taken aback at what had just happened.
"Sweetheart?"