Summary: Something goes wrong as Steve heads to return the stones.
Warnings: swearing, angst with unhappy ending, post-endgame
Pairings: Natasha Romanoff x reader, Tony Stark x reader (siblings), Steve Rogers x reader (platonic), Bruce Banner x reader (platonic), Bucky Barnes x reader (platonic), Sam Wilson x reader (platonic)
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You stood beside Bucky a quarter mile from the ruins of Avengers compound. Steve was about to bring the stones back to their original timeline and you were there to wish him luck. "Don't do anything stupid till I get back," Steve said.
Bucky chuckled, "How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." They both shared a meaningful hug before Steve turned to you.
You had a solemn look on your face. Steve could see the dark circles under your eyes and how pale your skin was. The cuts and bruises on your face and arms still hadn't healed yet, which worried him. "Are you sure you don't need help bringing the stones back?" You asked, breaking the super soldier from his intense once over of your face.
"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." He attempted to reassure; Steve knew how hard the past couple days had been for you, how much pain you were hiding behind your nonchalant façade.
"You better, or I'll never forgive you and Wanda will replace you as my best friend," You playfully threatened. "But seriously, be super careful!" You gave the super soldier a tight hug, hoping that the feeling in your chest was because of the grief you were dealing with and not your gut telling you something was wrong. You stepped away as Steve walked on the platform, the time machine whirring to life. He tapped a button and his clothes morphed into the quantum suit.
"How long is this gonna take?" Sam asked Bruce.
"For him, as long as he needs. For us, five seconds." Bruce replied. "You ready, Cap?" Steve nodded. "All right, we'll meet you back here, okay?"
"You bet," The quantum suits helmet enveloped his head, protecting it.
"Going quantum. Three... two... one..." You held your breath as you watched him disappear. "And returning in five... four... three... two... one." Bruce flipped a switch but nothing happened. The knot in your chest grew tighter as Bruce flipped another switch.
"Where is he?" Sam asked, worried.
"I don't know, he should've re-appeared right here." Bruce responded, panicking slightly.
"Well, bring him back!!" Sam yelled, growing frantic.
"I'm trying!" Bruce said, pushing the button again. The sounds around you grew muffled as the knot in your chest grew increasingly tighter.
'This can't be happening!' You thought, as you watched Bruce hit random buttons and flicked switches but nothing changed. Steve still hadn't appeared.
"Okay! Okay! Give me a couple minutes to figure out what went wrong." Bruce cried out.
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"What do you mean?" You tried to comprehend what Bruce had told you. It's been three hours since Steve was supposed to come back after returning the stones and Bruce still hadn't been able to figure out a way to bring him back.
"I mean, something must've happened to the machine when Thanos blew the compound." Bruce tried to explain. He had pulled you aside after figuring out what had gone wrong. He had already informed Sam and Bucky and the two had left to give you and Bruce some space so he could break the news to you.
"So, you're telling me that Steve is now stuck in the quantum realm?" You whispered. You couldn't believe him, you wouldn't.
"Yes,"
"Well, bring him back!!" You screamed, tears welling up in your eyes.
"I can't! It's impossible!!!" Bruce said.
"Nothing in our line of work is impossible, Bruce. We've defeated aliens and been on different planets! For fucks sake, we've even met a talking raccoon! Nothing is ever impossible!"
"Well, this is. I'm sorry Y/N,"
"NO!" You screamed, shaking your head. "I will not accept defeat so easily! These past few days have been HELL for me! I watched the love of my life sacrifice her life to save half of the universe! I watched as she pushed herself off a 400 ft cliff all for some fucking stone! I watched Natasha Romanoff sacrifice everything she knew and loved for the soul stone! And that included me! I watched her fall and I couldn't bear to close my eyes because I didn't want her to live the last moments of her life alone!" You were sobbing, tears were rolling down your face, blurring your vision but you didn't care.
"So I watched her fall and hit the ground! I watched as the impact broke her neck, and watched as my wife's crimson blood poured out of her head and onto the rock below her! I watched the person I thought I would spend the rest of my life with die! And to make matters worse, my brother died the next day!" You screamed, everything was pouring out of you now. Like a waterfall you didn't know how to stop.
"He snapped his fingers and defeated Thanos but he left behind a life with Pepper! A chance to see his 5 year old daughter ever again! A chance to spend more time with Peter! And he left me behind!! ME! HIS LITTLE SISTER!!! The person HE PROMISED TO NEVER LEAVE AFTER MOM AND DAD DIED! And he died IN MY ARMS! TOLD ME THAT I WOULD BE OKAY EVEN AS I BEGGED HIM NOT TO GO! I BEGGED HIM TO STAY WITH ME, TO HOLD ON A LITTLE LONGER. BUT HE DIDN'T! He was gone before I even got a chance to tell him how much I LOVED him. How much I ADMIRED HIM! HOW MUCH HE MEANT TO ME!" You were hysterical now, your vision was blurry, your nose was runny and your knees threatened to buckle but you held strong.
Bruce just stood there as you yelled at him, the guilt threatened to pull him under but he stood there and listened to you scream knowing how much pain you had hidden. "And now you're telling me that one of our closest friends is stuck in the quantum realm and you can't bring him back?!"
"I'm really sorry Y/N," Bruce apologized. You knew he felt bad but you couldn't help but scoff and walk away. "Where are you going?"
"To go find someone who gives a fuck!" You replied without turning back. You didn't know where you were headed but you knew you weren't going to give up on Steve. You were going to do whatever it takes to get your best friend back.
Whatever it takes.
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1066 words
