Hidden | Bucky Barnes

thirty eight

•••

Or at least that's how Ellie had imagined this to end. But that wasn't the case at all. Instead, Ellie had jumped first and Natasha had quickly followed after her. Eliana clung tightly onto her best friends wrist, making a desperate attempt to connect their hands.

"Why the fuck did you do that?" Ellie growled, desperately trying to hold herself together as she felt her grip loosen on Natalia's arm.

"It's okay. I love you." Natasha promised Ellie, her eyes filling with tears. "Let me go."

"No. Please no." Ellie begged shaking her head, before glancing up to check that she and Natasha were still safely secured to the cliff face.

Natasha gave a warm, reassuring smile at the woman she loved dearly. "It's going to be okay."

Ellie screamed as Natasha kicked off the cliff face, and she was no longer holding onto her best friend.

Ellie closed her eyes tightly as Natasha fell quickly towards the ground, heavy sobs wracking her body as a blinding flash of bright light rose from the bottom of the cliff and erupted upwards into the sky.

- - -

Ellie awakened with a gasp, and she quickly sat up in the pool of murky water. She looked around desperately for Natasha, but she wasn't there, and she wasn't going to be there. Because she was dead. She opened her hand so that it was flat, and saw the orange stone led in the palm of her hand. Natasha had sacrificed her life for this stone. All Ellie wanted right now was Bucky, but she couldn't have him, and usually she would go to Natasha, but she couldn't have her anymore either.

She stood up quickly and tried to run back towards the cliff, to get back to Natasha, to try and save her. But it seemed that everything was against her as her suit helmet clasped back over her head and the rest of her body, making her cry out for her best friend as the suit shrunk her and sent her back through the quantum tunnel.

She landed back on the glass platform inside the Avengers HQ with a loud thud, along with the rest of the team.

"Did we get them all?" Bruce asked, looking around at his friends excitedly.

"You telling me this actually worked?" Rhodey confirmed proudly, a smile on his face.

Everyone paused for a moment as they realised that someone was missing, Ellie felt everyone turn to look at her but she kept her teary eyes glued to the floor.

"Ellie, where's Nat?" Bruce asked, frantically looking around for the woman, but she wasn't there.

At the mention of her best friends name, Ellie collapsed to the floor, sobs taking over her body. The silence and Ellie's loud sobbing told them all they need to know. The mission was completed but at a dire cost.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She sobbed. Tony sighed and walked over to the woman and knelt down next to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her, only making her cry harder and she lent into him.