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It's been a long five years.
Long, exhausting, and lonely.
You lost most of your friends when Thanos snapped his fingers and changed life forever. You didn't think you could be heartbroken like that again, not since Sokovia, but you were proved wrong. Having to rebuild and continue what the Avengers have left with Natasha has helped distract you a bit, but it's never going to be normal again, and there's no solution to what happened all those years ago.
Though it's still weird sitting on calls with Natasha, talking to people (and a raccoon) around the world and galaxy, things for you haven't changed in the past few years. It's unusual for The Compound to be so quiet or for you to only see other Avengers very scarcely. You may have only joined the team after Sokovia with Wanda, but this was still weird. Weird not to be out on missions because there were way fewer people to fight, and weird to be going on with life like nothing happened.
But when Scott Lang showed up with some hope, you tried your hardest not to hope too much; you didn't want your heart to break again. You lost your boyfriend, then your best friend, then your hope. What else was there to lose at this point?
Natasha sat with you one night while the original team was working together. "What are you thinking about?" She asked. After you joined the team with Wanda, it was a bit hard to be accepted after being HYDRA's favorite experiments, but you and Natasha got close.
"What am I always thinking about?" You sighed.
Natasha knew the answer, and talking about it used to help you. Now, it was just a normal conversation, and she hated that there was nothing she could do to help make you happier. "I know they're talking about a way to get all the stones and go back in time, but I can't get my hopes up. Even if and when we get the others back, I still won't have Pietro," You sighed.
"Maybe when we get the others back, he'll magically come with everyone," Natasha tried to offer some comfort.
You shook your head. "I like the idea, but I can't think like that. He's been gone for eight years, and I still can't move on."
"Everyone grieves differently," Natasha reminded you. "And you've been through a lot. You're allowed to take as much time as you need, especially with how weird these last few years have been," She said.
"I know. Thanks, Nat; I appreciate you always being here," You said.
And not too long after that conversation, it was time to test Scott's idea for a complete plan. Clint, who looked very different after all those years spent very differently from the Avengers, was happy to see you nonetheless. You were a bit surprised that he even came back here, but he volunteered to be the tester of this plan if it meant seeing his family again.
Hulk explained that Clint would only be there for about a minute, but it would be immediate for the rest of the team. Clint was prepared and knew he had to act quickly to be able to report it all to the team, and maybe bring something back to show that it worked.
The team was in front of the platform to watch. Steve, Thor, Nebula, Rhodey, and Rocket were all behind Hulk as he counted Clint down. You, Natasha, and the others were a bit further back to observe from afar.
With a flash, the platform opened, and Clint shrunk down to size and was gone, and a second later, the platform opened back up and moved toward the top. Natasha ran up to him when he saw Clint on the ground, and the rest of the team followed. "Hey, you alright?" She asked him, and Clint looked up and nodded, then looked behind him as everyone stared.
It took Clint a moment to realize where he was. Debris falling around him and the weird sensation of...flying? He was in the Battle of Sokovia! Not really where he expected to end up, but he had to get over it quickly. He saw the robots flying around and the helicarriers carrying endless amounts of people, and he knew it was near the end of the battle. He knew Wanda would be in the center of the church to shut it all down, and he saw you running by helping people out of harm's way and to the hellicarrier.
Clint had to act fast when he saw the kid that he saved, which caused Pietro his death. Clint was closer to the boy and grabbed him, moving him out of the debris and out of what would be Ultron's path, resulting in 2015 Hawkeye not being in front of the bullets Ultron fired. Clint set the boy down and started running, looking for something to bring back to prove the tech worked, when a blur of blue ended in front of him. "You have a costume change, old man?" Pietro asked Clint, then saw 2015 Hawkeye running behind him to the kid, only making him more confused. "What's going on?" Pietro asked.
Clint's suit began to beep, meaning he only had a few seconds left, and there was worry spread all over Clint's face. He grabbed Pietro's hand, and they both shrunk down and were back in 2023.
"P...Pietro?" You said, barely above a whisper. He was kneeling on the ground next to Clint, a bit disoriented and confused. Which makes sense; he was just shrunk down and transported eight years to the future.
"Love?" Pietro blinked hard and shook his head. "What's going on?"
You moved around Clint, who was being helped by Natasha, to help Pietro up and hug him. A hug you wished you could have had for years, and you took the freshest breath that you had in a long time. "I've missed you so much. I have a lot to catch you up to," You said and pulled back. Pietro took a moment to look around and realized there was a weird mish-mash of heroes standing around him.
"Clint, what did you do?" Natasha whispered.
Clint shrugged. "I'm going to get my family back; I thought they could use theirs, too," Clint said, and Natasha grinned at him, glad he made that decision.
You carefully walked Pietro off the platform and to the med bay to wrap his arm up from where a bullet grazed his skin. You couldn't believe he was here, though it felt a bit weird; you were just happy to see him alive. "You've been gone for eight years from this timeline," You started to explain to him as you patched him up, and Pietro's eyes went wide.
"Eight years? That's a long time; what happened? Where's Wanda? I couldn't have left her for that long. I couldn't have left both of you," Pietro spit out, surprised at what you told him, and tried to get up.
You pushed his shoulder back and got him to remain seated. "I will explain it all. You died saving Clint and a little Sokovian boy from Ultron; it was very heroic," You told him. "Wanda and I joined the Avengers after that; there was some infighting, then a big threat came to Earth and brought everyone back together," You rushed the mid-years some, but those parts weren't important anymore. "Long story short, this guy's name was Thanos. He stole the Infinity Stones, a bunch of magical rocks, and in the end, he caused half of the population to disappear. A lot of our friends were lost to that, including Wanda," You explained, and Pietro shook his head, not believing it. "But, now we have a way to get them back, and you and Clint just proved it worked."
Pietro took a deep breath and held your hand once you finished on his arm. "Then there's not a moment to waste; let's get you back to your team," He nodded once and walked with you out of the med bay so you could join the others to talk about the plan.
---
"Six stones, three teams. You know your assignments, let's get the stones," Steve said to the group.
"He's really good at that," Rocket said, and Scott nodded in agreement.
All of you stood on the platform in your time travel suits, preparing for what was about to happen. Hulk was getting the last-minute stuff ready as you gave Pietro one more hug before your mission. "I want to help," Pietro said.
"You staying here and recovering from your battle is helping. We will be back before you know it," You reminded him. "Literally."
"Fine," He said, kissed your cheek, and let you get back on the platform next to Natasha.
The platform activated, and everyone shrunk down, following the path to their place and year. Once you made your stop with Rhodey and Nebula, Natasha made the ship full-sized again and flew it to the marked coordinates in the ship. "If it were in a better situation, I'd say this place is pretty," You told her as you two approached the mountain.
It took longer than you wanted to climb the mountain, but it was worth it for the stone. It was starting to snow, so it was a bit cold, but it felt good after all the walking. "Ugh, I bet the raccoon didn't have to climb a mountain," Natasha complained.
"Welcome," A deep voice echoed from behind you.
Reacting quickly, both of you pulled out your weapons and aimed at the mysterious voice. "Natasha," The voice paused, then said your name. You could see the figure hovering, but not the face.
"Who are you?" Natasha asked, holding her gun at him.
"Consider me a guide to you and to all who seek the Soul Stone," He said.
Natasha cocked her head. "Oh, good. You tell us where it is; then we'll be on our way."
The figure walked closer to you, speaking another language, and now you could see his face. "If only it were that easy," The man said. Red Skull said. Putting that aside, you followed him to the Soul Stone, but were confused when he stopped at a cliff.
You had to hide your emotions when Red Skull explained what getting this stone cost. You had to lose someone you love, and with how close you and Natasha have gotten over the last eight years, you were the perfect pair for this decision. One of you would not be returning to 2023.
You both sat opposite each other, thinking about all this meant. "Whatever it takes," Natasha mumbled.
"Whatever it takes," You said after her, looking over the edge.
"No," Natasha stood up and rushed over to you, grabbing your arm and pulling you away from the edge. "No. It has to be me," She said.
You shook your arm out of her grasp and looked at her like she was crazy. "What are you talking about?" You scoffed. "You've been with this team for forever. This team is your family; you can't leave them. You're so much more valuable to this team than what I can do; they need you," You said.
Natasha hugged you tightly, which was unusual for you two. "You're needed just as much as I am. I've found my family, and I have spent the last five years to get to right here. That's all it's been about; bringing everyone back," She said, then pulled back. "You're part of my family, too. And you just got Pietro back, don't leave him now. You two deserve the time together, and when you get everyone back, you two can just live."
"I can't let you do this," You said, tears starting to fall down your cheeks. "You've been the one constant in my life since I joined the Avengers. I can't lose you," You said.
"We have to get that stone. And if this is what I have to do, then I'll do it," Natasha determined.
You shook your head again, not stopping. "No, I can't let you."
"You don't have to let me; it's my choice. I can't let you lose your chance at happiness after all these years of sorrow," She said, giving you another hug, and before you knew what was happening, she was gone.
You screamed and dropped to your knees when you realized it was too late, and Natasha was gone. There was a loud explosion; you closed your eyes and fell onto your back. Once you woke up with water surrounding you, you opened your hand to see the Soul Stone. Natasha sacrificed herself: a soul for a soul.
A few moments later, you were back to being small and navigating your way through the quantum realm, then back in the Avengers Compound, missing another part of you.
"Did we get them all?" Hulk asked.
You walked off the platform as Pietro ran up to you to engulf you in a hug. Your face was tear-stained, and you didn't react to his hug; you just stood there lifeless. "You're alright!" Pietro said.
"Uh, where's Nat?" Hulk asked, and you didn't respond, just started crying. You got out of Pietro's arms, set the box with the stone in it on the floor, and broke down crying again.
You got Pietro back and lost Nat altogether in such a short amount of time. You were mad at everything, mad that you've lost so much, mad that Cap didn't prepare you ahead of time for the Vormir decision, mad that you didn't get a choice. Steve took a deep breath as he tried to walk over to you, but you pushed him away. He sighed, then looked to Pietro, who was next to you. "Pietro, do you want to take her-"
"I'm on it," Pietro said, put his arms around you, and found his way to your room. “Natasha sacrificed for you. I know it hurts, but I'm here to help you through it," He tried to comfort.
You know Pietro meant best, but it was still hard. He died barely having met Nat, and now Natasha was gone, too.
After a little time of self-wallow and grief, after the hours Pietro tried to comfort you, you shook your head to yourself. Wiping your face with your blanket, you took a deep breath and forced yourself to stop crying. "She sacrificed her life for that damn stone. Let's get to work," You said and marched out of your room, Pietro by your side. It was time to bring everyone else back; Natasha's sacrifice would not be in vain.