Chapter Text
Steven Grant Rogers is not a quitter.
He was not about to lose his best friend without having anything to say about it.
So, when the team asked who had to go back and return the stones, Steve knew he had to volunteer. He couldn't with a good conscience accept Natasha's death without doing something, anything, to try to get her back.
The soldier had a plan.
A/N: And that does not include going back to marry a girl he didn't know for very long and completely forget about his entire life after the ice.
New York, 2023
"Are you ready for this Steve?" Bucky's voice tore through Steve's thoughts. The soldier shook his head.
"Yeah. Ready as I'll ever be," he replied quickly. He had all the pym particles he would need and everything was ready with the portal. All he had to do was face the task in front of him.
"You ready man?" Scott called from the launch pad.
"Be there in a minute," Steve replied before turning back to Bucky. "Don't do anything too stupid while I'm gone."
Bucky smirked. "How could I when you're taking all the stupid with you?"
Steve rolled his eyes and pulled his friend into a hug before turning around to join Scott on the launch pad.
"Alright man, you've got all the time in the world, as far as we're aware, you'll be back in five seconds. Take your time, be safe, return the stones, get back in one piece. Good luck Cap."
Steve nodded. "Got it. I'll be back in a few seconds I guess then."
Vormir, 2014
Returning the first five stones went fairly smoothly. Steve intentionally saved one for last, the soul stone. He knew it would be the hardest. It wasn't that there was something dangerous about it, it was arguably the least dangerous of all of them. The issue was in Steve's heart, in the fact that the body of the woman he had loved so much lay at the bottom of the cliff and the soldier knew full well that he would have to face it (face her) when he reached that point.
The trek up the cliff wasn't anything Steve wasn't capable of physically, but it was one of the hardest things he had ever done. The knowledge of what was coming killed him inside. However, an even bigger bombshell hit him the moment he reached the top.
"Steven, son of Sarah."
Redskull.
"Schmidt."
"Natasha, son of Ivan, and Clinton, son of Eve, just came through here. The stone is gone," Redskull stated.
"I know. I'm here to return it." Steve chose to not ask how Johann Schmidt ended up being the keeper of the soul stone. It was just another thing to add to his plate and the only thing he was focused on at the moment was Natasha.
"That has never been done before, Steven."
"Well there's a first time for everything. I need to return it and I need to make an exchange," Steve steeled his voice, trying to prevent any fear from slipping through.
"I'm afraid that's not possible."
"Well it better be. The stone demands an exchange and I'm willing to make an exchange."
"And what exchange do you plan to make?"
"It's simple, my life for Natasha's," Steve tried to keep his voice steady.
"I am not sure whether that is possible, Steven. You may try, but I can not promise good results."
Steve said nothing, pushing past the man that he despised so much and reaching the cliff. He looked down and choked back a sob, seeing Natasha's broken body at the bottom of the cliff. It was all too much.
He felt everything flash in front of his eyes: the day he first met her on the helicarrier, watching her jump off his shield and onto an alien ship, kissing her on the escalator, pulling her out of the wreckage of the bunker, her letting him go in his fight against Tony, despite being on opposite sides. His mind ran through all of it, the years they spent on the run together, fighting alongside each other in Wakanda, and finally the five years after the snap.
I used to have nothing. Then I got this team, this family, and I was better because of it.
Steve knew that he had to this. She deserved a second chance. She deserved to live. He would do anything to give that to her, including jumping off a cliff, in a heartbeat.
"My life for hers," he whispered. Then, stone in hand, he jumped.
-=-
Light.
Steve opened his eyes to find himself laying in a realm of water, almost like a huge puddle.
Did it work?
A cough alerted Steve that he wasn't alone. Maybe 10 feet away from him lay a small figure, red-blonde hair splayed down a black suit, drenched with the water they were in.
Natasha.
Steve scrambled toward his friend's body, pulling her into his lap. She coughed up a little more water before cracking open an eyelid.
"Steve?" Nat whispered. Tears began to flood down Steve's cheeks as he stood and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her as if he was afraid she would slip away.
"It's okay, it's okay, I'm here," he whispered into her hair as she hugged him tightly, using him as her lifeline.
They stood there for a while, just holding each other. Steve knew what was to come, he knew that he wouldn't leave with her, but he just wanted to be there for a little longer, to hold her for a little longer. She pulled back far too soon for his liking and he protested, not letting go of her at first.
"Steve."
He looked up at Nat, meeting her eyes. His own cheeks were stained with tears and he could tell hers were too.
"Steve, what did you do?" Her voice cracked as she spoke, and Steve realized she knew there was something wrong.
"You're back, Natasha, that's all that matters," he replied, putting his hands on her cheeks to wipe away the tears.
"You must have done something to get me back, Steve. It couldn't have been that simple. Tell me what you did, please." She whispered the end, pleading him to listen to her.
"I'm sorry, love. I'm so sorry."
The realization hit Natasha like a rock. She let out a sob before clinging on to him again, nearly collapsing if it wasn't for his hands holding her up.
"Why would you do that?!" she sobbed, hitting his chest. "It's not worth it Steve, I'm not worth it." She sounded agitated, looking almost angry at the man in front of her.
"No, no, no," the soldier pulled her back in, wrapping his arms around her tightly so that she couldn't pull back. She clung to him, crying into his shoulder. "You are worth it. You are so worth it. You are worth everything, Natasha. You deserve a second chance."
"We don't trade lives, Steve! I thought we agreed on this!" Nat began to pound on his chest again lifting her head to look at him.
"And we don't leave our friends behind," he whispered into her ear, stroking her hair. To him, everything was calm. He didn't share her agitation or fear, he just felt peace. This was it. He gave her a second chance and that was worth it.
Steve felt her bury her face into his neck and he held her tighter. He wished he could chase everything away, make everything better. However, he knew that he couldn't. This was it.
"I love you," he whispered.
The soldier dropped the stone in his hand and in an instant, Natasha found herself alone.
New York, 2023
Five seconds after Steve left, he returned. Except it wasn't Steve that appeared on the launch pad again, it was Natasha.