Frostbite

My Forever

My eyes fluttered open, and I released a long exhale, feeling something off inside me. There was nothing there. No magic of any sort for me to access. It was gone. Oh god. A single tear raced down my cheek. I didn't let myself freak out, not wanting to startle the man beside me.

I smiled at Steve's relaxed face as he slept in the chair next to my bed. He looked like he hadn't done much of it which made me wonder how long I'd been out. It was a miracle I wasn't dead. Other than the missing piece of me, I felt fine. I pulled the IV line out and quietly placed it down.

I sat up and reached over, gently caressing his cheek. His eyes shot open, and he sucked in a loud breath of air as he met my eyes. He swiftly moved forward, crushing me to him. My own arms moved around his neck, and we soaked in the moment.

"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered, pulling back to look at me again. His eyes shone with relief, and I couldn't help but feel guilty for what I had put him through.

"I'm sorry, but I had to-"

"You almost died, Melanie. We had already won. You didn't have to."

His tone revealed the anger that I had suspected would be there. I didn't blame him. I sighed, rubbing the sides of my face.

"I did. If it were Bucky who you had watched die, and you had the power to do something about it... You would. I'd have never forgiven myself if Tony had died," I told him earnestly, wanting him to see. To understand. He contemplated my words, still holding me to him.

He finally sighed and said, "You're right. I would have. I'm sorry. I'm just glad you're okay. Do you feel alright? Do you want anything? I can go get Bruce or Dr. Cho-"

"No, no. I want a few minutes to ourselves," I chuckled, "I should be the one apologizing, though. What I said before I grabbed the time stone- I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, hun. I know you didn't."

I leaned up, brushing my lips against his gently. He deepened the kiss before we finally broke apart, our foreheads touching as we sat there. I gulped as I prepared to tell him I wasn't really okay. Not that I was nervous to tell him, but saying it out loud... It made it real.

"Uh- I can't- I don't have- my magic is gone," I managed to stutter out. He pulled away, his brows furrowed in surprise. His mouth opened and then closed again. He didn't even know what to say.

"I'm sorry, Mel. I- You're sure? You can't feel anything?"

"No," I shook my head, "When I reach out for it, there's nothing there. It's just gone."

"I feared that would happen," a voice chimed in from the doorway. My head whipped around to Stephen and Tony hovering there.

"You knew I'd be cut off from it?" I asked dejectedly. Tony entered the room, but Stephen stayed where he was.

He shook his head, "No, I never actually looked past how we'd win." I nodded in understanding, staying quiet. His expression fell and he spoke again. "I am sorry that I couldn't tell you. The only way we won, and Tony lived was if you did exactly what you did. And I couldn't reveal that."

I smirked at him. "You don't have to explain. I get it. What matters is that we won. And I'm glad your back. I'm sick of running the sanctum," I joked. He snorted at that and rolled his eyes with an amused grin.

"When you're ready to come see me and Wong, just say the word. You're always welcome there, magical abilities or not. I'm happy to see you're okay, Elsa," he smiled softly before opening a portal to go.

"Will do, Doctor."

And with a final chuckle, he was gone. My face scrunched as I turned to Tony, who was standing on the other side of the bed unusually silent. His eyes were narrowed, and arms crossed. My mouth was suddenly dry, and I scooched closer to Steve.

"We gonna talk about what you did?" he gritted, deciding I was well enough to deal with his wrath. I blinked dumbly at him.

"Uhm, I owed you shawarma?"

"Melanie- That was idiotic. You could have died and then what?" he demanded. I knew he was just shaken like Steve had been, so I tried not to completely snap at him.

"Then I would be dead, and you'd still be alive," I shrugged, narrowing my own eyes at him. Steve flinched from my bluntness and Tony tutted, rolling his eyes. "You have a family to take care of Tony. It was the right thing to do, and you know it. Don't let the guilt you feel continue to run you into the ground. You've done enough of that your whole life. Just this one time I didn't want you to be the one sacrificing yourself. And in the end, it worked out. I'm alive. You're alive. Morgan will get to have both parents. I'm sorry I scared you, but it's over."

The words sunk in, and his shoulders slumped as he realized I was right. He pulled me in for a brief hug, ruffing my hair as he pulled away again. I sighed as I fixed it.

"Just don't make it a habit," he barked, the corners of his mouth twitching, "Can't let my little sister take all my glory."

Steve and I laughed at that as he took up a chair in the corner.

"Wouldn't dream of doing that," I snickered.

We quietly talked, just the three of us for a bit. I knew once we told anyone else I was awake, Bruce and Dr. Cho would want to do a workup. There was time for that later. This moment was almost perfect. No one wanted to ruin that.

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Steve led me outside to the dock, the evening sky glittering with stars over the still lake. I had no clue what was so important that he had to drag me out here this late. Not that I was complaining to have a little time to ourselves. Everyone was still hanging around for Natasha's funeral in a few days.

It had been almost a week since I'd come out of the coma. Dr.Cho had done a final work up on me today, worried because something was off, and she wanted to be sure. She'd let me know before she left if it was anything serious.

Steve would be returning the stones now that everything was ready. Tony had built a smaller version of the tunnel out in a clearing near his house. There hadn't been much that was salvageable from the compound. Steve would be leaving tomorrow. He shouldn't have any issues with his last mission, one I hadn't asked to go on. I couldn't.

"Is something wrong?" I wondered, staring into his eyes as we reached the end of the dock. He smiled and glanced out to the water.

"No, everything is fine."

I pursed my lips, still not understanding, but gave him a chance to explain. His gaze returned to my face and his smile grew even wider. I couldn't help but mimic his expression.

"What?" I cried in exasperation with a laugh. He pulled something out of his pocket, and I gasped softly. It was my ring. I figured it had been lost in the battle when I had realized it was missing from my neck.

He held my hand in his and moved his body closer to mine. I stared at him in disbelief, unsure of what he was doing.

"I know I've done this once before, but I figured another try couldn't hurt-," he grinned brightly, "And- I have a confession. I saw Peggy when we went back for the tesseract. And as I stood there... I realized I didn't want to wait anymore. I realized it was our turn to finally get our happy ending. No more fighting. No more waiting for the right time. I love you more than I ever thought I could love another person. I want you to be my forever, Melanie."

I smiled broadly up at him and breathlessly replied, "That's all I want, too. Forever, with you. Let's do it!"

He laughed as I held my hand out waiting. The ring slid easily onto my finger, back where it belonged after all this time. Steve pulled me to him, swinging me around in excitement before setting me back on my feet. My hands wrapped around his neck, tugging him down to me. This kiss was sweet and full of promise. Promise of everything the future had to offer us. Of what we'd make of it- together.