The Captain's Husband

25. July 4, 2028 (Natasha)

The smell of hot burning metal and vaporized blood wrenches me from sleep like a claw to the throat, and as I look around me, I realize that I'm not on a massive ship in space. I'm at home, in Avengers Tower, with Tony sleeping beside me and Brookie sleeping at my feet.

I look at the clock.

03:44.

I shouldn't wake him again.

He's only been asleep for an hour.

Shit.

I woke him up earlier, when I had a nightmare that resulted in me kicking and screaming, begging Steve and Bucky to hold on for just a few more minutes. I cried when he finally managed to shake me awake from the terror, and I apologized profusely for having another nightmare. He just tucked my hair behind my ears, pressed a kiss to my forehead, and rubbed my back until I relaxed enough to fall back asleep.

Yeah, I'm not going to wake him up again.

I silently slip out of bed and leave the room, hoping that maybe I can shake off the anxiety creeping into my mind with some time in the dance studio.

Brookie appears at the door to the stairs and follows me into the stairwell. I let her come with me. She can't sleep either it seems.

She's grown a great deal in the five years that Steve and Bucky have been gone. She's flawless on missions.

Just like Steve, and just like Bucky.

I do my best to steady my breathing and focus as I descend the stairs, and I finally feel like I'm in the clear as I reach the floor my dance studio is on. I keep my eyes on the floor as I walk through the hallway, making sure to hold my breath and squeeze my eyes shut as I walk past Steve's music studio and Bucky's favorite gym in the tower. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, like usual, as I step into my dance studio and shut the door.

Brookie saunters over to the window and lies down there, looking out over D.C. like the silent protector she's become.

Perfect, pup.

I walk over to the media center in the corner and randomly select a random playlist to dance to, and then I take my place at the center of the room. I wait for the first notes to carry me into my usual spirals, twists, and turns, but I'm struck down by grief as an all-too-familiar song plays through the speakers.

Celine Dion.

Damn you and damn "My Heart Will Go On."

Fuck you.

I remember hearing them, Steve and Bucky, and feeling so overwhelmed by the harmonies they created together. I was touched by their voices, not even the song, and it was surreal to me. I couldn't imagine anything else in that moment except the love that they have for each other. It sealed their fates, and it sealed mine.

I would never be with either of them. I don't mind that at all, not a bit, but I do mind anyone attacking them or their relationship. They're meant to be together, no matter the case, and anyone that disagrees is damn stupid.

They're my boys, the ones I specifically vowed to protect in that moment. Like a mother bear with her cubs, I'll die before I let anything happen to them.

But, I failed.

I thought that I would be able to protect them from everything, from anything, but Thanos...he's something else entirely.