I Can't Help It - Steve Rogers

Chapter 73

Carol charges towards Thanos while sending blasts of her powers at him, taking him by surprise and knocking him off his feet. She quickly wraps herself around his upper body and forces his gloved hand away from himself. When Thanos begins overpowering her, Bruce comes up from below them and pulls Thanos' hand away from him. Rachel runs in and uses her powers to hold Thanos' other arm in place and before he knows it, every part of his body is being held still. Thor flies in and uses his axe to cut off Thanos' gloved hand, causing him to scream in pain.

Steve, Nat, Rocket, Nebula and Rhodey enter the hut and Rocket rolls over the gauntlet to reveal its empty slots, where the stones used to be. "Oh no" he mutters as he looks up at Steve and Nat. They glance at each other worriedly before Steve looks up at Thanos. "Where are they?" he questions. "Answer the question" Carol orders as she tightens her grip around his neck. "The universe required correction. After that, the stones served no purpose, beyond temptation" Thanos answers and everyone grows more concerned.

"You murdered trillions!" Bruce yells as he shoves Thanos, causing everyone to let him go as he falls backwards, bracing himself on his one arm. "You should be grateful" Thanos argues which provoked Bruce to punch him in the face. "Where are the stones?" Nat asks, clearly shaken by the possibility of them being gone. "Gone. Reduced to atoms" Thanos answers remorselessly. "You used them two days ago" Bruce argues. "I used the stones to destroy the stones. It nearly killed me. But the work is done. It always will be, I am inevitable" Thanos replies proudly as he glances at every Avenger standing around him.

"We have to tear this place apart. He has to be lying" Rhodey states, clinging to the possibility that the stones are there. "My father is many things. A liar is not one of them" Nebula assures the group as she looks at her father sadly. "Thank you daughter. Perhaps I treated you too harshly" Thanos responds before Thor yells and slices Thanos' head off with Stormbreaker and everyone stares in shock and disbelief.

"What?" Bruce questions. "What did you just do?" Rocket asks in disbelief. "I went for the head" Thor answers before walking out of the hut, leaving everyone to stare at Thanos' body and process the loss once again. Nebula kneels in front of Thanos' head and closes his eyes, silently saying her goodbyes to her father.

The journey home was quiet and sorrowful, no one knowing what to say or do to help themselves or each other. They all slowly exit the ship and enter the compound, going to their own rooms. Rachel follows Steve into their room, desperately wanting to comfort him but not knowing how. He sits himself at the edge of their bed and Rachel sits beside him before resting her head on his shoulder. He rests his head on top of hers and they sit in silence for so long, they both lose track of time.

"What do we do now?" Rachel finally whispers, breaking the silence. "I don't know" Steve answers with a deep sigh. "I'm sorry it didn't work" she says as she takes his hand. "It's ok, you don't need to apologise. It's not your fault" he replies as he squeezes her hand. "How do you feel about seeing Tony again? You seemed a little out of it when he arrived" he asks, changing the subject, hoping to clear her mind. Rachel takes a deep breath before raising her head from his shoulder. "I don't know what happened. He was here and then all the memories from two years ago just came flooding back. I think about it everyday, every time I see the scar but when I saw him it just felt so much worse to remember what he did" she answers honestly and didn't even realise her eyes filling with tears.

Steve wraps his arm around her and pulls her towards him. "Do you think talking to him will help?" he asks as he rubs her arm. "Maybe. But I don't think he's in any state to talk about it" she answers, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to go through that" he apologises. "Steve, no. It's not you fault. I helped you because I believed you and Bucky, it was my choice" she assures him, knowing that he's blaming himself like he has in the past. "I know. It's just, sometimes I think that I could've done something" he replies, relieved to hear she doesn't blame him. Even though, she's told him before. "You couldn't have done anything. Tony made his decision and we couldn't change his mind" she states before pulling away from him. She turns her body towards him and wraps her arms around his neck and Steve instantly wraps his arms around her waist.

Their embrace seemed to do them both some good, relieving some stress and disappointment from the last few weeks. Eventually they pull apart and change out of their suits and climb into bed, exhausted from the day's work. However, their minds are too preoccupied with the question 'What now?'. The stones are gone. Along with their friends and family. How will they get them back? Can they get them back? How can they move on with their lives when their loved ones aren't? They eventually fall asleep in each other's arms, grateful that they didn't lose each other. Not many people have been that lucky.