-Two Days Later-
With Thor gone, and the stones destroyed, not much faith was going around the team. Natasha had to faced down photo's at HQ that had the ones that were dusted in, as she couldn't look at them without feeling all sorts of guilt. Her fists would clench whenever she was reminded of what happened with Thanos, and how Thor ruined their last chance of saving everyone. She didn't hate him, and neither did Steve, but there was no need for what he did. If only he would have gone for the head before the snap, things could be completely different.
With the days going by, someone was always sat keeping an eye on Ashley. Even Rocket did for a bit. And as much as Carol wanted to get back into space and help those effected by the snap, she stayed to make sure Ashley was okay before she left. But the person who stayed the longest was Steve. George was a close second with Natasha taking third.
At the moment, Steve was the one keeping an eye on Ashley. He had been sat waiting for 4 hours already, and eventually he had fallen asleep in his chair as rain softly hit the window in the room. He had been asleep for maybe 20 minutes when Ashley's hand's started to move and her eyes fluttered open. She squinted at the bright light and rubbed her eyes with her hands. She then took notice of her hands and looked to her right to see rain out the window. She had survived, and couldn't quite believe it. She then heard a grumble and turned to see Steve sat next to her bed. She gasped and almost cried seeing that Steve had survived and reached over to shake his knee.
"Steve." Her voice croaked, making her cough. Steve was awoken by her coughing and was shocked to see Ashley looking back him, now awake.
"Ashley." He gasped, leaning over to take her hand.
"Hey." Her throat was dry, but that wasn't going to stop her talking to Steve. "How long have I been in here for?" She asked as she shifted herself to lay more comfortably.
"A few days. Your friend Carol found you and Tony and brought you back to us." Steve told her, and her eyes widened at the mention of Tony's name.
"Tony. Is he okay?" She asked frantically, sitting up on the bed.
"He's fine." Steve spoke softly, relaxing Ashley's worry. "He's fine. A little angry at me but when isn't he?"
"You shaved." She noted, using the back of her fingers to gently stroke his now smooth chin. Steve had to close his eyes at her skin contacting his own. Her skin was still so soft and could relax him in an instant, even after 3 years of not being touched by her. "I like it." She gave a smile, making him smile too as his eyes reopened to find hers. This was the most pleasant conversation with Ashley that Steve had had in 3 years, and he had missed her more than words could describe. "So tell me. Who did we lose?"
"Ash-"
"Just tell me, Steve. Tell me straight." She said, and he nodded before clearing his throat.
"T'Challa, Wanda...." He paused for a second and squeezed her hand. "Sam, Fury and Maria as well. Um....Fred, Vicky and Tom." Ashley gasped at the revelation and put as hand over her mouth, tears filling her eyes. "Bucky." At that word, Ashley couldn't hold it in anymore and began to sob into her hand. Steve's heart broke seeing her that way and lifted the hand in his to kiss the back of. "If you need me, I'm here." She nodded and opened her arms, wanting him to hold her as she cried. He didn't hesitate to, moving to sit on the bed to hold her better. "I'm so sorry I failed you again."
"Hey no." She leaned away from his embrace and looked into his eyes, having to ignore the fire that erupted in her when she saw those ocean blue eyes that made her feel weak at the knees once again. "You didn't fail me. You saw him, right?" She asked and Steve nodded. "With the stones he had, he was unbeatable. We tried, and now it's up to us to get them back." She said, and Steve nodded in agreement. Then, for the first time in three years, she took in how he looked, his features and hair, and without thinking, she cupped his face. He closed his eyes again at her touch, and put his hands over hers. He took in the fact she was here, alive and awake, speaking to him, touching him and not having at go at him. All different to how she was the last time he saw her. It felt so different, and in the best way possible.
"You were almost dead, Ashley. One more day up there and you would have been." He spoke quietly, looking into her eyes that never failed to make butterflies appear in his stomach.
"I know. But I had to."
"Why? You know how much it would hurt Tony if you died for him."
"I can explain. But I'm really hungry and I want to see everyone." She said. He sighed and nodded, as she slowly dropped her hands from his face. "We also need to talk, Steve. A talk that should have happened a long time ago."
"Okay." He said quietly and softly, making her give him a small smile. "Um, I'm gonna go get Bruce, and whilst he checks you I'm going to you some clothes." He spoke and stood, making Ashley look down to see her still wearing her suit.
"Yeah, thanks. Feels like I haven't showered in ages." She lifted her arm to smell her armpit and gagged at the smell that was coming from it. Steve smiled lightly at her before leaving the room to find Bruce.
Bruce came in not long after and before he checked her, he hugged Ashley and told her how good it was to see her. He then checked her vitals and was satisfied that she could get up and walk around if she could. Steve eventually came back with some clothes and the two men gave her some space to change. She walked out when she was ready, now wearing a Queen band tee and blue jeans, and the men lead her to the kitchen where some of the others were.
When Ashley walked into the kitchen from the corridor, Natasha instantly saw her and gasped, standing from the table and rushing over to her to hug her tight. Ashley hugged her back and waved to the others that were behind Nat as she did so.
"Thank god, you're okay." Natasha whispered, pulling away from the hug. She could see the colour was now back in Ashley's face, and that she had gained weight to look more like the Ashley they knew for so long. It was such a relief to see her recover so well. "You scared us half to death."
"Sorry. I'll explain everything later, okay?" Natasha nodded slowly at her words and looked to Steve for answer. All she got was a shoulder shrug from him.
"It's good to see you awake." Rhodey stepped foreword and hugged Ashley. "Tony's been going out of his mind with worry. But is what he said true? Were you really staving yourself for him?" Ashley looked around the room before nodding. "Why? Why would you do that?"
"As I said, I'll explain later. But right now, I'm hungry and want to see him. Where is Tony?"
"Taking a nap." Rhodey let her know.
"Okay. Carol?"
"Somewhere around."
"Ollie and George?"
"Walking your dog." Ashley breathed a sigh of relief hearing Cooper had survived. But it must have been hell for him not knowing where she was for a long time. "It's been real hard for both of them."
"Yeah." She sighed and looked down to her hands, then sniffed and put a smile on her face. "Is there any food?"
"Yeah, course." Rhodey went over to the kitchen, taking a plate and scooping some pasta onto it.
"Has Steve told you about-"
"Who we lost?" Ashley cut Nat off. "Yes. But I think I know a way we can get them back." She said, getting the attention of everyone.
"What? How?" Bruce asked, and Ashley motioned to the table. Nat helped her over to sit, before going to get her something to drink, whilst Bruce and Steve joined Ashley at the table, with Rhodey placing a plate of food in front of her.
"Oh jesus." She immediately grabbed her fork and started putting pasta into her mouth, moaning at the taste of it.
"Slow down, Ash." Bruce warned her, making her pause her eating. "You haven't eaten properly in days. Too much now could surprise your stomach and make you puke it all up."
"Noted." She said, going back to eating but at a more casual pace this time. "This is so good, Rhodes." She pointed to the food with her fork.
"Glad you like it." He replied, taking a seat at the table. "So when you say you think you know a way to get them back, how do you mean?"
"Well, when we were up on whatever planet we were on, Stephen, my friend who is a sorcerer, used the time stone to look at all the possible ways the fighting could go." She began to explain, opening a bottle of water Nat had given her before she sat down next to her. "When he was done, he had seen fourteen million outcomes. There were a couple more but I can't remember the exact number."
"Fourteen million?!" Bruce exclaimed, his eyes wide in surprise at the number.
"Yep. And guess out of fourteen million ways, how many did we apparently win?" The table didn't say anything. "One. One way that we win out of fourteen million." That revelation hit the team like a tonne of bricks and made all their stomachs drop.
"So, are we in that one way or not?" Natasha asked.
"I think so. Stephen gave the stone to Thanos after he stabbed Tony in the side. He saved Tony's life by doing so, even though he swore an oath to protect the stone with his life. I do remember him saying that he would let any of us die before he gave the stone away, and he said that before he saw the outcomes. So he saved Tony's life by giving Thanos what we were trying to keep from him, and he told me, before he dusted away, that 'it was the only way'. I didn't know what that meant until I figured it out whilst we were lost in space for 22 days or however long it was." She said, then put some pasta into her mouth.
"Tony's important to the one way coming true." Steve realised, and Ashley nodded.
"That's what I think. Tony does something to make us win, even after all we've lost. He creates something, or he comes up with something that get's us to win. It's the only explanation."
"That's why you were so willing to starve yourself." Rhodey realised, leaning back in his chair.
"Yeah. So, I'm gonna talk to him. I don't think he'll turn away from seeing if what I think is true, is actually true."
"It might not be that easy. You know what's Tony's like."
"Rhodey, he saw someone that I know he see's as a son, die in front of him and practically in his arms. I'll be very surprised if he doesn't take this possibility and see where it leads." She said, taking another sip of her water.
As soon as Ashley finished her food, she went to Tony's room and showed both him and Pepper that she was awake and okay. The two of then hugged her like they were never going to hug her again, before they sat down and talked. The conversation was going well, until Ashley brought up what she had to the others.
"That's bull!" Tony exclaimed.
"It's not. Tony, he saved your life for a reason and that reason is the one way we win. I firmly believe you do something that allows us to-"
"Okay, stop." Tony cut her off. "Ash, you're thinking way too much into this."
"I'm not."
"You are. Look, Ashley we lost, okay? And we were too late."
"You're really going to not even look at the possibility?"
"You know what, no. I've given too much to this team. So how about you all do something for a change. Ask the man you love to do something."
"Tony-"
"Ash, I love you. I do. You're my best friend. But I'm tired. I'm tired of mopping up everyone's mess. I just want to live a life I should have had if I hadn't been pulled into this crap. So, I'm sorry, but I'm no longer part of your Avenger gang. I can't do it anymore."
"If Peter was hearing this, how you're giving up on him like this, he wouldn't see you as the hero he did." She said, which made Tony look away and out the window in the room. Ashley was so disappointed in his silence, in his so quick to give up attitude. How he could do that to Peter, she couldn't understand. Unlike Tony, she wasn't one to give up easily. Especially on her friends and family. "This isn't over, Tony." Ashley said, before getting up out of her seat and leaving the room. She headed to find someone to rant to and ended up bumping into Steve in the corridor.
"Sorry. Didn't see you." Steve told her.
"It's okay." She said, taking a moment before deciding to look at him. "I told Tony about my theory and he doesn't believe me. He said he's leaving the Avengers to have a life he should have had. How can he give up on everyone like this?"
"I don't know. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't losing hope." Steve let her know, which shocked her, her shoulders slumping. "He destroyed the stones, Ash. We've got nothing. And I'm sorry, but your theory is just that. A theory. I want to believe you and it does make sense. But how can we know? We can't ask your friend if that's what he meant. How can Tony know? Everything is just shrouded in too many questions."
"Maybe you're right. But I'm gonna keep nagging him. It's a theory that makes sense, and to me, that's enough to try." She said, and he nodded, knowing she was right. "Is now a good time to talk actually? Me and you?"
"Uh, yeah. My room's just here." He walked past her to a door, pushing it open before motioning for her to go in first.
"I'm gonna need something. Be right back." She rushed off, and went back to Tony's room. When she arrived, Tony opened his mouth to talk but Ashley didn't want to hear any of it. "Where's the helmet of your suit?" She asked. He nodded to a side table, where the helmet sat. "Thanks." She avoided eye contact as she took it, checking it's power before going back to Steve's room. She found him still stood waiting for her to walk into the room first.
"Nebula mentioned you did leave a message on a helmet. Guessing that's what you're about to show me." He nodded to the helmet in her hands. She nodded and walked into the room, Steve following after her.
"Tony said to me that he made a message for Pepper, and he'd left some room for me if I wanted to make one. I did want to so I made one. But just a reminder, even though I did think it was the last message I was going to get to send, I still meant every word. Okay?" She warned Steve, and he nodded.
"Sure." He replied, before she set the helmet on the end of Steve's bed, facing the helmet towards the wall across from the bed. She took a deep breathe and pressed the button of the side.
"Hey Pep." Tony's voice sounded, his picture being shown on the wall.
"Oh, that's just Tony's message. I wonder if we can fast foreword." She crouched in front of the helmet and wiggled her fingers before holding down the button on the side, which made Tony's message skip foreword quickly. She quickly let go when she saw her face replace Tony's, standing to let the message play out. Steve walked closer to the centre of the room, his eyes fixated on Ashley's face on the message. She looked as ill as she did when they found her, and it made his stomach feel sick.
"So. It's been 22 days since everything happened. Oxygen will run out tomorrow so, that's a thing. I'm only recording this cause I'm not sure if we'll make it." She took a shaky breathe before looking into the camera that was recording her. "To anyone who is alive and seeing this, if you are seeing this, I'm probably dead. And you should know that if I am, it was my choice. I did what I had to do to save everyone. To whoever is listening, I ask you to show this to the people I list. They're the one's most important to me. To Bucky, I'm sorry that I didn't help you as much as I should have done when you were framed for something you didn't do. I hope you can forgive me for being that way. I love you Buck, and if she's still alive, talk to Natasha some more. I think you two would be cute together. Um. To Bruce, I'm sorry this had to happen. If Thor is alive, give him a hug from me and tell him that I'm gonna miss him. I'm gonna miss you all so much. To Natasha, know that you were always better than me and I give you the authority to take over from me as Avengers leader. You were the bestest friend I had, after Peggy, of course. To Pepper, Rhodey and Happy, god I love you guys. My family from another time. Always there for me and Tony and to that I say thank you. And to my godsons. My beautiful godsons, Fred and George. Oh god." She then looked down to her hands, tears falling down both her cheeks before she looked back to the camera. "I love you two so much and I want you two to live your best lives. Please be happy, for me. And last but not least, Steve. My Steve."
Ashley looked to Steve and he glanced at her before looking back at the message.
"If you're alive, know that I regret taking so long to talk to you. Now that my life is flashing before my eyes, I wish I talked to you sooner. If I somehow make it out alive, we can talk. I promise. But if I don't,...." She began to sob, a hand going over her mouth. "...know that I'm so sorry for what I'm doing. I'm doing it for the world, for you, and for Tony. When I fall asleep and my life runs out, all I'll be thinking about is you and what we could have been if I wasn't so stubborn. I love you, Steve. Always have and always will."
When the recording ended, Ashley turned the helmet off and faced Steve.
"I meant what I said, Steve." She spoke, and he looked to her. "I still love you, actually never stopped. I was being stubborn, when an alien called Mantis held my hand and felt my emotions. She saw my love for you pushed deep down, and that I was scared to admit that I had made a mistake when I knew that I did. But before you say anything you need to know everything. I don't want to keep secrets from you anymore." He nodded for to continue, and she sighed heavily before doing so. "Howard was my first. But my second was a man called Frank Castle. We met around 2001, I think. It lasted for a month. Then that Stephen guy I was talking about before? I shared a kiss with him a year or two before you came back from the dead, before he became a sorcerer. I had feelings for him, but I'd learned my lesson by then so broke it off before it could go further. Then I found out you were alive. Since then, you've been the only person I ever wanted to be with. I know I've lied to you in the past, and I'm truly sorry about that. And I understand if in these past 3 years you've moved on and don't love me anymore, I totally understand-"
"You think I could ever stop loving you?" He asked.
"I dunno. Maybe."
"I know you. There is nothing you could do that would make me fall out of love with you."
"But I lied to you about Howard-"
"I know you did. But I get why you did. It means a lot that you came clean about it all here and now. But it doesn't change how I feel, how I've always felt about you. I'm gonna love you until the earth stops spinning, Ashley." He told her, and she smiled as tears began to blur her eyesight. "You're the love of my life. This seemingly long, unageing and forever life. It will always be you, Ash." She smiled at his words and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Steve?"
"Yeah?
"Please for the love of god, kiss me." She said, and without missing a beat, they met halfway, their lips meeting for the first time in 3 years. It felt so exhilarating and the best feeling in the world. Steve pulled her legs to wrap around his waist, their kisses becoming deep as she cupped his face. He spun her round as they kissed, making her laugh against his lips. They took a moment to look at each other and they felt their love for each other surge inside them both. It felt so right to be together, and there was no way they were going to mess this up again. "I'm so sorry, Steve."
"Ash, don't be."
"I have to be. I pushed you away for 3 years, and you never stopped loving me all that time. I basically tortured you."
"No, you didn't. You had reason why you did what you did, and I don't blame you. You never tortured me, okay?" He reassured, and she nodded.
"Okay. I love you."
"I love you too." He told her, making her grin happily before they connected their lips again. Then she pulled away, smiling at how happy he looked to be with her again.
"Just out of interest, do you still have my ring? It's okay, if you don't."
"Actually I do. I couldn't bring myself to let it go."
"Can you get it for me? I wanna see it."
"Course." He pecked her lips before setting her down and going over to a draw on his side of the bed. He brought out the box it was in and opened it, happy to see it was still there. He walked back over to her with it in his hand and turned the box so she saw the ring. "See? Still as shiny as it was before."
"I hear it's tradition to get on one knee as you ask." She said out of the blue, looking to Steve with a soft look.
"You want me to-"
"Yeah. I do."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I mean, first time you asked we were on the run. Second time you were in a hospital bed. Third times times the charm, yeah?" She gave a smile. Steve nodded and took the ring out of the box, throwing the box on the bed before getting down on one knee. Ashley tried her best to keep calm at the image of him on one knee, about to ask her to marry her yet again. She couldn't lie and say when they were engaged before, that she never imagined what it would have looked like if he did ask her properly.
"Ashley, will you marry me?"
"Yes." She replied, making him smile before he carefully put the ring back on her finger. It looked so good to have the ring back on her finger. It made his heart do somersaults that she felt she could wear it again after so long. "I've missed wearing this." She commented before pulling Steve down by his neck to press his lips to her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, ready to never her let go like he did before ever again. "This is it, okay?" She whispered, cupping his face so he looked into her eyes when she spoke. "No more messing around. This is it, me and you."
"Me and you." He nodded.
"But let's wait, okay? I know we've waited long enough already, but I can get Tony to rethink this so called 'theory' I have. It's not just a theory, Steve. I know Stephen and I was there when it all happened. I'm sure I'm right. And if not, I'll work through day and night to figure out something. I want Bucky to see us get married."
"I do too. And I'll support you and help you as much as you want me to. I'll stay up with you and help you. But we have to be prepared for the worst, okay? This is not like any other fight we've fought before. And I don't think it's gonna end well."
"I can't give up on them, Steve. I can't." Ashley muttered, making Steve nod before he wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest and he kissed the top of it. He didn't get to see the smile that appeared on her face as he hugged her, but did get to feel her snuggle closer and hug him tighter as she sighed with content.
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A.N. Ashley's back! I've missed her so much. And Sashley are back on! Been waiting so long to have them back together. I'm so happy they are! And as they said, no more messing around. They are endgame as of now.
Just so you know, I will be doing the rest of Endgame in third person as it will be easier when Tony and Steve go to the 70's. Can't wait for that!
-Emma x