*****SPOILER WARNING: This contains spoilers from Avengers: Endgame (kind of).*****
(Y/D/N) = your dad's name
"Five years ago, we lost," Steve started. All eyes were on him, except yours. You glanced around at everyone dressed in their Quantum Realm suits with determined and hopeful expressions. "All of us. We lost friends, we lost family, we lost a part of ourselves." Your hand found it's way to Steve's and you gripped it tight. "Today, we have a chance to take it all back." Steve glanced down at you as you stood beside him and he smiled.
"You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each, no mistakes, no do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. That doesn't mean you should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other." With that particular line, he glanced at Nat and Clint, they were your team and Steve was nervous about not having you beside him like always. To be honest, you were nervous too, but you knew it would all work out. Nat and Clint were practically your family. "This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win. Whatever it takes."
"Whatever it takes," you repeated softly and smiled at him.
The team fell back into a larger circle, each having their own separate conversations, leaving only you and Steve in the center.
"Please," Steve started and grabbed both your hands. "Be careful."
"When am I not?" You laughed when he raised an eyebrow.
"I can name a few occasions." He smirked.
"This will work." You nodded confidently. "And when this is all over, we can finally have that wedding."
"Finally." Steve pulled you into him and kissed the top of your head. You wrapped your arms around his waist tightly and wished you didn't have to let go.
"Lovebirds," Tony called. You and Steve pulled away to glare at him. "You ready?"
"As we'll ever be," Steve said. He gave you one last kiss before you separated.
Bruce made his way back onto the platform. You shook out your hands nervously. Everyone synced their watches to the right time and place.
Natasha smiled as she hopped back and forth from foot to foot. She looked at everyone with a smirk. "See you in a minute."
With a loud whir, the platform opened up. Everyone closed their helmets simultaneously. You shared one last look with Steve, he gave you a reassuring nod and you smiled, even though he couldn't see it. In the next few seconds, you were sucked into the Quantum Tunnel.
~
"You know," you said as you, Nat, and Clint, made the long trek through the sand to the stone. "If we weren't trying to save the world right now, I would totally consider staying here for a while." You glanced around again at the new planet. It was dark, but there was a purple hue to it all. The sky held clouds covering a pink-toned sky. In the distance, there were mountains. It was beautiful.
"When this is all over, you and Steve can come here on your honeymoon." Natasha nudged you with her elbow. You laughed.
After several more minutes of walking, you'd finally made it to the top of the mountain. Natasha let out a sigh. "I bet the raccoon didn't have to climb a mountain," she grumbled.
"Technically," Clint pointed at her. "He's not a raccoon."
"Oh, whatever," you said.
"He eats garbage," Natasha added with a small shrug.
You put your hands on your knees and bent over, trying to catch your breath. Clint and Natasha were both trying to steady their breathing as well.
A noise from behind the three of you caused you all to pull out your weapons. You pointed your gun swiftly at the threat. A cloaked figure stood before you, it almost seemed like it was floating. You couldn't see it's face due to the hood that was covering it. Right when you were about to speak, the figure beat you to it.
"Natasha, daughter of Ivan." The voice sounded male. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Nat's posture stiffen. "Clint, son of Edith." Clint's weapon lowered slightly. "(Y/N), daughter of (Y/D/N)." Your breath caught in your throat.
The three of you took a few steps closer. "Who are you?" Natasha asked.
"Consider me a guide to you and to all who seek the soul stone."
"Oh good," Natasha said with a hint of sarcasm.
"You tell us where it is and we'll be on our way," your voice was steady despite the slight shaking of your hands.
"If only it were that easy." The figure came closer to you, as well as the light, which revealed his face. It was red and skull-like. Your eyes widened slightly as you vaguely remembered him from Steve's stories about what happened before the ice.
Silently, he turned and began to float farther up the mountain. You glanced back and forth between Nat and Clint before lowering your weapon and following him. The other two did the same and followed you.
After a minute or two of silent climbing, you made it to two huge pillars of stone that lined the edge of a cliff. Below were piles of rocks and debris. The figure stopped at the edge.
"What you seek lies in front of you," he said. You raised an eyebrow. You didn't see the soul stone anywhere. "As does what you fear." You looked at him for a second before looking over the edge once more. Natasha, beside you, did the same. Clint stood a few steps behind you two.
"The stone's down there," Natasha said. You looked at her and bit your lip, wondering how you were going to get down there to retrieve it. Before you could go too in depth with a plan, the figure continued.
"For one of you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Your eyebrows scrunched together and you turned to face him.
"For the others, you must lose that which you love."
You felt a small gasp escape your lips. "Okay. What's that supposed to mean?" You asked the same question again, hoping it didn't mean what you thought it meant.
"An everlasting exchange. A soul for a soul."
You, Clint, and Natasha looked at each other. Your expressions all matched, they were a mixture of fear, nervousness, and sadness. "Please, tell me he doesn't mean what I think he does." Your voice was shaking.
"I think it's pretty obvious what he means, (Y/N)," Clint whispered.
"What are we gonna do?" You asked. "We can't get the stone unless..." Your voice trailed off. None of you wanted to finish the sentence, but you all knew the ending. "Why wouldn't Nebula tell us this is how he got it? She had to have known," you said angrily while running a hand through your hair.
Natasha took a seat on a nearby rock. Clint paced back and forth with his hands on his hips. You stared at the bottom of the cliff with your arms crossed over your chest.
After a few minutes of silent thinking from the three of you, Clint broke it. "How's it going?" He chuckled. "Jesus," he mumbled. You kept your back to him. "Maybe he's making this shit up."
"No," Natasha mumbled. "I don't think so."
"Why? 'Cause he knows your daddy's name?" Clint asked sarcastically.
"I didn't." This made you turn around. Your eyes landed on Nat who was staring at the ground with her elbows on her knees.
"It makes sense," you said with a slight shake of your head. You took a step in their direction. "I mean, think about it. Thanos left here with the stone and without his daughter."
"That's not a coincidence." Natasha's eyes met yours when she spoke.
"Yeah." Clint's voice was so quiet you could barely hear him.
"Whatever it takes," Natasha whispered. You looked at her, you could practically read her mind.
"Whatever it takes." Clint got your attention now and you could tell he was thinking the exact same thing.
"Whatever it takes," you said with a determined look. If they were gonna try to do it, you had to stop them.
Natasha stood up. "If we don't get that stone, billions of people stay dead." You nodded somberly.
"I guess we all know who it's gotta be." The other two didn't catch on to what you had said.
"I guess we do." Natasha looked down again.
"Yeah," Clint said for the second time. The three of you looked at each other in silence for a moment. "I'm starting to think, all three of us mean different people here."
"The last five years I've been trying to do one thing," Natasha started. Tears were brimming in her eyes as she looked back and forth between you and Clint. "Get to right here. That's all it's been about. Bringing everyone back."
"Oh, don't you get all decent on us now," Clint mumbled.
"What?" Natasha said with a hint of sass. "You think I wanna do it? I'm trying to save your lives, you idiots."
"Yeah, well I don't want you to," Clint said and you nodded in agreement. "You both know what I've done. You know what I've become."
"We don't judge people on past mistakes," you spoke up.
"Maybe you should." Clint's eyes were watering and tears were on the brink of falling. Up until this point, you'd managed to hold your own back, but seeing the other two starting made your own begin to drip down your face.
"No," your voice was strong despite the tears. "Stop it! Neither of you are doing this, okay?"
"(Y/N)--." You cut Natasha off.
"They need you. The Avengers need you." You threw your hands up in the air. "The billions of people who died need you to be there for them when they come back."
"(Y/N)--." This time Clint tried to cut in.
"If one of us has to go, it's going to be me." You shook your head slightly. "I've never been needed on this team. I can't fight like you two and I'm not as smart as Tony or Bruce. I have no skills. My only talent is my ability to binge-watch a show in less than a day. There was never a reason you guys needed me."
"Yes, we do need you. You're our family." Natasha tried, but she noticed that wasn't working on you. "Steve needs you." Natasha reached a hand out to you.
You stepped out of reach. "Steve will be just fine without me." You didn't entirely believe it, but you wanted it to be true. Your heart hurt thinking about how much pain he would be in if you did this. You knew he would be devastated, especially considering the fact that you two were about to be married. You shook your head. You knew that some day, Steve would understand why you had to do this. If he truly loved you, he would know you had no other option. "This is why I'm on this team. This is what I'm meant to do."
The three of you looked at each other for a moment until you took off running at top speed toward the edge of the cliff. Before you got there you were tackled. You let out a grunt when you hit the rocky ground and flipped over to see Clint who was also gripping Natasha's arm to keep her away from the edge. Clint swiftly knocked Nat's legs from under her before standing up. He took one step before you grabbed his leg, making him stumble and fall as well.
You got up before the other two could and made it a few more feet before an explosion knocked you over. You looked behind you to see the blast had also forced Nat onto the ground. You realized Clint had fired an explosive arrow. You winced and tried to push yourself up. Clint threw his bow on the ground before running toward the cliff.
Natasha forced herself up and ran after him, firing a grappling hook behind her and clinging onto Clint.
You got up as well, just in time to see Natasha dangling from Clint's hand, with only the thin rope holding them up. Clint was torn between trying to pull Natasha up or making sure the rope didn't snap.
"Let me go," Nat whispered. You could hardly hear her and you knew you didn't have much time.
"Tell Steve I love him." You shouted to them. Their heads snapped up to you, they must have completely forgotten that you were still up there. "I love you both, too."
You didn't wait for a response and jumped over the edge.
"No!" You heard them both scream as you fell.
For a second, all you felt was the wind whipping around you. Your eyes saw a beautiful pink sky with purple clouds. Your ears vaguely heard Natasha and Clint shouting, but it was drowned out by the wind. It was peaceful and if you closed your eyes, it almost felt like you were flying.
And then you couldn't feel anything.
~
"Where's (Y/N)?" Steve asked. Natasha and Clint were both crying quietly as they looked at him. Nat held out her hand with the stone and Clint dropped to his knees. "No," Steve mumbled and shook his head violently. "No!" He shouted.
"She wanted us to tell you that she loved you." Natasha wiped a tear, but another took it's place in less than a second.
Steve opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Streams of tears poured down his face as he stormed off the platform.