To Find Love: Romanogers One-Shots

at the end of a war, the wounded lie dead

Summary: Steve groaned again, slumping against her and giving her a perfect view of the wound on his head. It almost looked like his skull was dented even though there was a massive bump nearby. She didn't dare touch the spot, knowing that's what was causing him pain and had likely given him a concussion.

"What happened?" she asked softly, brushing his hair back from his forehead.

"Thanos has one hell of a punch," Steve mumbled.

Breathe. It was the only thing she knew she could do at the moment and even that hurt more than it should have.  Just breathe.  We can panic later.

Stumbling blindly through the forest, clutching her abdomen that was really, really painful (honestly, should it hurt this much?), Natasha tried not to panic until she was certain it wouldn't make things worse.  For all she knew, the huge blast had just been a tree falling over and the sick feeling in her stomach was from a few broken ribs (maybe that why she was in so much pain).  However, coming across Steve in a clearing and watching him collapse in a heap on the ground confirmed the blast had not just been a tree.

"What happened?"

Who asked that? She looked up from Steve's form to see Rhodey and Bruce staring at Steve in shock.  Where's Sam and Wanda? She'd told them to check in often, why hadn't she heard from them in a while?

"We lost,"  Steve mumbled, barely audible from where he was hunched over on the ground.  She went numb, unable to feel or think anything as she tried to understand what it meant that they lost.  Did that mean Thanos was their ruler?  What was going on that made her feel so sick about the prospect of losing?

"What does that mean?"  Bruce asked.  Steve looked up at him, blinking twice before focusing on his face.

Natasha frowned, not hearing Steve's brief explanation as she watched him closely.  He didn't look good.  Well, that wasn't really true.  He looked almost fine like he did after most battles.  His eyes, however, seemed to be struggling to focus and no matter how hard he may be trying to prevent it, his words still slurred when he spoke.

When he finished his short explanation, he brought a hand up to his head and Natasha hurried over to his side.  He did a doubletake when he saw her before engulfing her in a tight hug.  Ignoring the reason she'd approached him in the first place, Natasha melted into his arms and hugged him back just as tightly.  Her body ached, but she wasn't about to let him go.  Something was wrong but maybe if she just stayed there in Steve's arms, it would all go back to normal.

Too soon, Steve's arms dropped and he groaned slightly, reminding her why she'd approached him at all.  In a rush of panic, Natasha pulled back and gently grabbed his head.  Steve groaned again, slumping against her and giving her a perfect view of the wound on his head.  It almost looked like his skull was dented even though there was a massive bump nearby.  She didn't dare touch the spot, knowing that's what was causing him pain and had likely given him a concussion.

"What happened?"  she asked softly, brushing his hair back from his forehead.

"Thanos has one hell of a punch,"  Steve mumbled.  That did the opposite of calm her worry, but she had to let him go in order to help him to a medical facility.  Beckoning Bruce over, she moved so she was no longer on top of Steve and the two helped him to his feet.  Steve groaned and his head dropped forward, causing worry to jolt through Natasha.  Rhodey led them out of the forest and they were almost far enough across the field to call for help when they stopped short.

Dust.  That was the only way to possibly describe it.  Ashes seemed too solemn, but dust didn't seem much better.  Natasha had to blink a couple times and confirm with Rhodey that her eyes weren't deceiving her.  When he looked just as horrified as her, she knew the people turning into dust across the battlefield was not her imagination.