#fvwl

You look up from the helm, where the lights are flashing warnings. Shit, that's bad, you think, the thrusters are about to die.

"Y/n! You need to finish that shit NOW!" You hear the voice coming from behind you, a metallic clang the only indication that your co-captain is trying to keep your spaceship afloat. "The thrusters are gonna crash in two minutes, top!"

Definitely bad, you remarks uselessly in your mind. You almost look back to tell her that you're doing your best but the ship shakes under a new hit from the enemy, and so, you keep your mouth shut for now.

"Alright, alright…" you mutter as you navigate closer to the planet.

It's a barren rock with bodies of liquid across the land, and a sun constantly eclipsed. You'd never been here before, but as you approach, you feel a profound dread knot in your stomach. You ignore the feeling and focus on the descent.

You feel the winds change around the ship as the resistance increases, and you find cover from the next burst of lasers that breaks some rocks clean off. You're far from it already when the rumble of the mutilated landscape reaches your ears. You fly through a narrow pass before the opportunity you were looking for presents itself. You shot two blasts towards the ground where steam escaped from rocky cones. The crusty dirt flies around you and heavy plumes of steam escape from everywhere under the sudden pressure and destruction, offering you cover and scrambling the heat sensors of the enemy ship. You make a brutal turn to face them once you reach the other end of the geysers' field, and as it appears in front of you, you fire, destroying it and flying through the debris it leaves behind.

"Hell yeah! June! Have you seen that?!" You turn around, and your eyes go wide when you notice black ashes appearing in the cockpit. As it happens, the thrusters start to fail.

"We're gonna crash, Y/n, look at the damn road!"

"There are no roads in the sky!"

There is screaming, and you manage to stabilize your ship before it finally crashes. You groan, feeling like every bone in your body is about to break, and you look around you.

"Everyone okay?" You ask, and you're answered by various sounds and confirmations that no one is hurt. "Perfect. Now." You get off your seat and unholster your blaster, pointing it at the head of one of the newly appeared people. "What the fuck just happened?"

The newly appeared people you don't recognize, but you know what they are. Aliens. Slavers. And now the question is: will you have to fight for your life, because those assholes look very well equipped, better than you and June after you spent years in space with little resources. You look in the fully black eyes of the alien with long saber-tooth cats-like fangs.

"You tell us, human," he answers. "We're just the maintenance crew."

"Very well armed for a maintenance crew," you sass and he growls.

"This is just a vacuum." As he says that, he reaches for the weapon strapped to his back. "Look." He pushes a button and the very distinct sound of air being aspirated resonates between the walls of the ship. Your brows knit together, but you put your weapon down.

"Weird place to keep a vacuum but okay…" you mutter as you look at the rest of the crew in overalls. They seem harmless enough, besides from the predator teeth guy. You offer him a hand and he takes it to help himself up. "My name is Y/n."

"I'm Tim," he says in a rumble, and you frown.

"Tim? That's a very human name."

"Don't insult me. It means great warrior in my language. Tim."

"I swear, it's a human name."

"Are you sure your translator isn't broken?" He groans and shows his teeth, his ears falling flat against his cranium, so you decide to drop the subject. No need to antagonize your new guests.

"Anyway, guess you were taking care of the ship when you got dusted."

"Dusted?"

Oh boy. You had to catch those aliens about everything that happened, that was going to be a pain in the ass, so you decide your best course of action. "JUNE!"

There, that should get you out of trouble. Your best friend and crewmate finally emerges from the ship's entrails and looks around. "What the–"

You shrug. Her problem now. You let yourself fall back on your seat while you consult the star map.

LMC-H 13g.

Or at least that's what the translation is giving you. In any case, it clearly isn't Earth. You let out a deep sigh, and it gets the attention of someone in the ship that you barely noticed until then. One of the aliens that reappeared stops listening to June's explanation and approaches. She's less threatening than the others, with a tall body but frail members with three joints, like those of a praying mantis. She also sports the features of an insect on her face, and you suspect she might not be as frail as she appears. You eye her suspiciously, her fully black eyes staring at you with a chilling intensity. You can't help but put your hand on your weapon.

"I don't mean any harm," she reassures you with a raspy, almost tantalizing voice, mandibules clicking around her mouth. "I just want to know where we are."

You still your hand, but don't move it away, simply orient the arm on which the coordinates' screen is suspended to show it to her. You don't even want to attempt to pronounce it.

"Vormir…" she whispers. You feel the fear in her voice, see it in the way her mandibules move nervously.

"Vormir?" You ask back, looking for information. During the last few years, you learned that information held lots of power. Before that, you thought it was a saying that only made sense in books while you lead a peaceful life on Earth.

Her black scleras and irises turn back to you. Her lateral lids close in a microsecond. "It's a bad place, I heard whispers of people disappearing around this system, or weird frequencies coming from here. We should go as soon as we can."

"Wish we could, but the bastard after us fried our thrusters. We're gonna need to get them working again."

"Are people after you?" You wince at her question, but nod. The insect-like alien nervously rubs her eye with her arm as she looks away. Not the most disturbing sight you witnessed before. "Who?"

You point at the insignia on her overall, a circular patch with a blue 'x' with a white star on each bronze section it makes. It's the flag of an alien race living on the edge of known space and civilization, nomads slavers with barely anything to scrap by because they are chased around by most known authorities.

"Those guys." You decide to keep the reason why to yourself, since you know nothing of your stowaways for now. "We bought something under their nose and they didn't like it," you lie. The alien's mandibule seems to nod at the explanation.

"Explains why you threatened us. But we're nothing like them."

You adjust your position and the screen you moved earlier as a sign that you were getting back to work. "We'll see about that."

The conversation is over, she understands, and you look at the star chart. This was supposed to be your last mission before you could get back to Earth, so of course you had to get unlucky. You let out a new sigh and got up to grab your exploration material. The ship already told you outside was safe to breathe, but the gravity was slightly higher than on Earth. Seems like I'm getting my workout in, you think and giggle to yourself before covering it with a cough.

With that, you equip your toolbelt and your protections, in case an enemy survived your attack and subsequent crash.

"I'm gonna check the enemy crash site," you tell June who is recounting to the others what happened the previous five years. The door's pneumatics hiss when you press the button to open it, and soon you have a platform to get outside. When you touch down on the ground, you look around. This place really is just a rock with a few big puddles. That's going to make walking around a lot more annoying.

You set out into the unknown.

Walking around the planet is hard, but you quickly get used to it. You find a good rhythm and settle into it, which allows you to arrive only after twenty minutes to the other crash site. Bits and pieces of the ship litter the ground around you, some on fire, along with some body parts. You approach a charred body and give it a small kick, almost to make sure it's truly dead, before you keep walking around. It's easy to find an opening inside the ship through a hatch. The metal floor resonates under your feet when you land inside, and you look around. The dying lights flash like a gas station neon tube about to surrender, so you get your flashlight on before you set to look around the silent ship. You see a few more bodies around, and after taking anything useful they have on them, you keep walking. You're quick to find the command room, and once there, you approach an operating workstation. It takes a few minutes for you to get it running - after working with that technology for five years you're used to it now - and you navigate the applications, where you find the one giving you the general state of the ship. You save that information so you can bring it back to June, and if you're lucky, it will save you time on repairs.

After a quick round on the ship and no enemy in sight, you go back to your own ship.

*

"A week," June announces, her eyes on schematics you can't even begin to comprehend.

"We don't have enough resources to survive a week here," you whisper to her. "Not if we have to take care of those guys too." You point your finger to the sleeping aliens in the ship. They had to find whatever spot was available, as there were five of them, and only four beds - two belonging to June and you.

"Why are we even helping them? You've seen their uniforms, they're the enemy," she comments and finally looks at you.

You look at them.

"I mean, they're not really like them, so, they were probably slaves too. And they haven't been hostile."

Your friend sighs, and you shrug. She always says you have a soft heart, and maybe she's right, but right now what else were you supposed to do? Leave them there to their own device? They would die.

"I looked at the other ship's schematics, their rations should have survived the crash. At least their water."

June opens a plan for you to look at, and you lean closer to get a better look. You remember walking by the door she's showing you, but it was locked and you had no way to open it.

"Alright, I'll go back tomorrow to open it." You declare. "Or at least try to," you add, less assurance in your voice while the plan disappears in favor of some ship's part.

But as you discuss repairs with June, you fail to notice the slitted pupils staring at your back.

*

The feeling of dread never goes away, no matter how long you're staying on the deserted planet, no matter how hard you try to ignore it, it stays at the back of your mind, like an itch you can't scratch.

The good news is that with some of your new friends you manage to salvage enough resources to repair your ship. The bad news is that you keep failing at opening the food compartment, and your rations are dwindling way too fast. After three days, you're starting to see the end of it and the urgency to open that damn door is weighing heavily on your shoulders. You kept working on it the last few nights, and tonight you're going back to it. You're now used to the small trek across the wasteland and can do it without any trouble, but as you do this time, you feel like someone is staring at you. No matter how much you look around, you don't see anyone, so you put it on the account that you're tired and walking at night. You reach the crashed ship, then the door, and to your surprise you find it open. Immediately you reach for your weapon. The now familiar weight in hand, you take a step inside the room.

Packages of dehydrated food litter the room, with some jugs of water. They probably fell from the shelves during the crash, but they still seem intact. You look around, your heart beating against your ear and your breath heavy with adrenaline despite your attempt at not making any noise. You reach a corner at the end of a line of shelves, putting your back against the left one before you surge in the corner, weapon pointed in front of you to look both right then left. No one is there, and you let out a sigh of relief.

"Guess whoever was there already left," you tell yourself in an attempt to regain your composure, letting your weapon lay low. You briefly wonder who else could be there. Was the planet inhab–

You swallow hard when you feel the cold metal at the back of your head.

"You guessed wrong," the cold, feminine voice rings in your ears. Fuck. You should have been more careful, now you're fucked. But not dead, you think as the firearm recedes. "Put your weapon on the ground, your hands up, then turn around, slowly."

You do as you're told, slowly reaching to the ground where you put your weapon, before you stand up and put your hands in the air. With fear in your guts, you turn around. The stranger is in the shadows, and you can't see her beside her silhouette.

You finally gather the courage to speak. "Who are you?"

Despite your best efforts, your voice shakes slightly when you talk. The woman steps forward, out of the shadow, and for a second you forget all your fears. Not only are you surprised to see she's human, but she's also gorgeous. Her red hair is tied in a braid, the strands degrading to blond towards the end. She has the bluest eyes you've ever seen before, and her face is perfect, with a pretty nose and full lips - too bad she is frowning and pointing a gun at you currently. You can't help but feel like you've seen her somewhere before.

"I'm the one asking the questions," she says, and you're not in a position to negotiate, so you nod. "What are you doing on Vormir?"

"I was on a retrieval mission, but I got tailed and now I'm grounded here," you answer, leaving out the small detail that you aren't alone. "I'm just here to get some supplies."

You know you have to look as little of a threat as possible if you want to get out of here alive. You see the cogs turn in her head before she speaks again. "What happened to the ones who were after you?"

Your eyes wander away from the woman. "They're a bit everywhere around us," you answer with a grimace. So much for looking harmless. She squints her eyes at you.

"Does that mean you have a ship with you?" You can see where she's getting at, and you frown. You answer with a simple nod right before something moves at the corner of your eye.

Suddenly, a massive form tackles the woman in front of you and pushes her against a shelf in a roar, her gun being thrown away in the impact.

Tim. Did he follow you here? Shit. You don't have the time to say or do anything, the woman is throwing Tim away with barely any difficulty. One of the shelf topples and you have to jump away so you don't get crushed. You look around and see she's reaching for her weapon. By reflex, you jump on it and grab it before she can reach it, pointing it at her. She kicks it out of your hands in the air and her hand reaches up, but before she can catch it Tim is back up and charges at her. She has to put one hand on his shoulder before she jumps above him and falls back on her feet gracefully, almost like a dancer.

You flap your hand once or twice, to shake off the pain, looking at Tim and the mysterious woman having it out. She clearly has the advantage, but if Tim manages to actually hit her even once he would probably do a lot of damages. You have to find a way to stop them, because you were pretty sure the woman just needed a ride, and Tim intervened only when he saw she was a threat - but was she, really?

You grab your own weapon while no one is paying you any mind, and fire a round to the ceiling. It bounces back, almost grazing you. You manage to keep your face calm and barely avoid a yelp, but still you clear your throat.

"Okay, that's enough you two!" They pause, Tim his claws up in the air, ready to strike, the woman in a low, close to the ground fighting pose. You point at Tim. "First, what are you doing here?"

"I followed you. You were acting suspicious," he explains, and you sigh.

"I was looking for food, trying not to have people panic."

"You did so good…" he mumbles sarcasticly and the redhead snickers. You send him a glare.

"You, do you need a ride? Cause if so, no need to threaten me. Sheesh." You roll your eyes, and she arches an eyebrow.

"I had to make sure you wouldn't try to kill me."

That makes you groan and you pass your hand on your face, bringing your loose strand of hair back only for them to fall around your face again.

"I think I can try to contain myself," you say with a hint of sarcasm while you holster your weapon. "Tim?"

He groans and crosses his arms, ears still halfway flattened on his head. "I won't attack you again." There is a growl coming from the back of his throat, but it seems to be more out of annoyance than a threat.

"Perfect. Everyone grabs as much food and water, and we're going back to the ship."

You turn your back to the both of them and start throwing everything you can in your backpack and pockets. The other two follow suit while they avoid each other. As you're stuffing your pockets, you feel a presence next to you and then hear the woman playing with a crackling packet.

"What's your name?" She finally asks, and you scoff.

"An apology first would be nice," you mumble, then sigh. "Y/n Y/ln. What about you?"

"Natasha," she answers simply, and that's when it clicks.

She's Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. Shit. Fuck. You decide to play it cool and not reveal right now that you know who she is.

"What are you doing on this rock?" You decide to ask, even though you feel she won't give you an honest answer. "It's not exactly a great holiday destination."

"Tell me about it." Something flashes in her eyes and you barely catch it before it's gone. "I was trying to find something here."

"What were you trying to find?" You find yourself pushing.

"Solace." Her eyes navigate the darkness in front of her, but you feel like she's contemplating a very different one, something inside of herself. That makes you tilt your head, and you decide not to push much more. You close your now full backpack.

"We should head back now. Tim, you got everything you could?" You ask when you find him between two rows of shelves. He linked a few jugs of water together and is now carrying them around with his muscular arms.

"Water for weeks." He eyes the redhead. "What about you, humans? Found anything?"

You go back to Clint's the same day, late at night, in the car you borrowed while everyone else went to Tony Stark's funeral. Your dad's words are still resonating inside your mind, despite trying your hardest to ignore them. You don't know what to do, or what decision to make. Lucky for you, something is there to distract you when you arrive in the form of the lights being on on the porch of the house. You frown; it's almost 2am, so you expected everyone to be asleep at this point. But no. You recognize the redhead sitting on the bench and a slight wave of worry washes over you. Why was she still awake? Did something happen? You exit the car and close the door as silently as you can before you join the spy on the porch. She's holding a beer in her hands, and you guess it's not her first one seeing a few empty vessels are down on the windowsill behind her.

"Did something happen?"

Natasha looks up at you with a questioning eye at your worried tone, then it dawns on her she must look pretty miserable, so she shake her head to answer you.

"No, nothing happened. Just… grieving. It feels weird after arboring so much hope." The high of hoping to see their plan succeed against the cost of it. She clears her throat that started to constrict again, and offers you the seat next to her. "Care to join me?"

You agree, and she grabs a bottle to give to you from the cooler on the other side of the bench. You take it and open it in one swift move. She bring her bottle closer to yours for a small toast.

"To saving the world, and the heroes we lost."

"To coming back to a life you don't want," you answer in kind.

You clink your bottles together. Both of you drink. There is a lull in the night that you both enjoy, before you break the silence first. You're hesitant at first.

"You know… for what it's worth, I'm really sorry. It must be really hard."

She sighs after taking a swig of the beer. It stings, the loss, but more so, the what ifs. What if she'd been there, what if she could have saved him. Obviously, it likely wouldn't have changed the final result, but maybe, just maybe… she lets out a sigh.

"Sorry about your reunion with your parents. Sounds like it didn't go so well." She prefers to change the subject. No point in wallowing now. You take the change of topic gracefully, understanding she wishes to talk about something else.

"It went well, actually. We're having a barbecue on sunday. You and the crew are invited."

She snorts, then raises an eyebrow when she realizes you're serious. She tilts her head and pinches her lips. "You know what? Sure, I'll be there. Maybe I can go as your date," she offers with a wink.

Your heart skips a beat at those words and you blink a few times. Your date? Wait, is she serious? You look at her, trying to read her and make sure you're not hallucinating. There is a bit of a blush on her cheeks, but you quickly attribute it to her drinking. She's probably just slightly drunk and teasing you, you reason before you roll your eyes.

"Sure, why not," you answer, now certain that there's nothing serious there. "Just get ready 'cause my mom is going to ask you a lot of questions."

"I faced death and came back, I'm sure I can deal with her. I'm very charming."

You both laugh and you shake your head, drinking more of your beer. You were glad to see that at least she could still laugh even on this heavy day. You have no idea that it's because she feels so much lighter now that you agreed to have her be your date, after she got to reflect on the fleeting nature of life some more, and finally decide to take the plunge one way or another.

"Well, as charming as you are, I think I need to get some rest," you admit with a yawn that you hide behind your hand, your eyes watering with your need to sleep. It is 2am after all. It makes Natasha smiles at how cute you are, right as she nods.

"Alright, I'll join you soon. Oh, and careful in the living room, someone is sleeping on the sofa."

"Explains what you're doing outside." You put your hands on your knees, ready to get up.

"Truthfully? I was also waiting for you," she admits with a slight blush. You're surprised at the admission and almost lose your balance trying to get up. You almost can't believe your ears, but as usual, you decide to ignore the way her words make you feel. You turn around to look at her and try to not notice the way the pink of her cheeks makes you want to caress them and lean forward to kiss her, or how fragile she suddenly looks from where you're standing.

"You were?"

"Someone had to tell you we had another guest." She arches a teasing eyebrow. There is another reason, not so obvious to you, but she likes to keep you on your toes. You laugh behind your hand and nod.

"Obviously. Alright. Good night, Natasha."

She smiles at you, it is more tender than anything she ever said to you so far. "Good night. And thank you for checking on me."

"Anytime."

You then disappear inside the house, careful not to wake up the sleeping form on the couch, and go to your room. You easily fall asleep, and after you do, you're joined by a sleepy redhead who, after a minute of internal debate, finds a way into your arms. After all, you said yes to a date with her, didn't you?

*

You frown as you awaken, feeling something tickling your face. You scrunch up your nose and get your face out of… what was it even? You opened an eye only to be met with red and blond hair everywhere up in your face. That's when you notice that Natasha is in your arms, keeping you warm and cozy and, oh god you're blushing like crazy now that you notice what your hand is. You quickly take it off and get a groan from the smaller woman.

The sound of protest makes you blush even more, so you decide to find a way out of there really fast, or as fast as you can considering that extracting yourself without waking the woman is as easy as taking a bear cub from its mama bear. But, against all odds, you succeed and leave for the bathroom. There, you take the time for your heart to calm down and your blush to recede before heading downstairs.

How did you end up in that position? You aren't particularly cuddly during the night, at least not accidentally, so something must have happened. You just hoped Natasha didn't notice anything.

When you arrive downstairs, you notice that you're not the first one awake. There is a woman with long red hair there too, and you recognize Wanda Maximoff. She must have been the surprise guest who was staying on the sofa last night. You offer her a nod.

"Hi. Y/n," you introduce yourself.

"Wanda," she goes, and you grab some of the coffee she made. She seems lost in her thoughts, and you notice the rim of red around her eyes, like she cried. You're unsure about what to do before you take a seat opposite from her.

"I'm sorry for your loss," you try, and it startles her. She scoffs.

"Everyone keeps saying that, it doesn't feel like it means anything anymore." You nervously wet your lips and play with your mug. She's not done. "You don't even know me, you know nothing of my grief."

She's being a bit of an ass, but you decide it was okay considering she looks at the end of her life.

"I don't, you're right. Doesn't mean I can't feel your sorrow and want to take a chunk of it away for you."

"Is that what it is? Or is it just pity?"

With those words, she stands up, jaw set and tears filling her eyes. She leaves the room, and you sigh. You have no idea what she's going through, and you feel bad for her, but there is nothing you can do about it. You stay in the kitchen for a few minutes longer, when Clint joins you. He notices Wanda is missing and sends you a questioning look in case you know anything.

"I tried to be civil," you simply say, and with a frown, he goes outside to try and comfort Wanda. Once again, you stay inside. Clearly you're not close enough to be of any help whatsoever, no matter how bad you feel for the woman.

Lucky for you, you don't have to think about it much longer when other people start to pour inside the kitchen. Apparently being able to properly rest is conducive to getting up early. You make small talk while you drink your coffee peacefully, until Natasha shows up.

You blush upon remembering the way you woke up, and try to act natural when she comes and sits next to you.

"Good morning," she says your way after greeting everyone else, her hand ghosting over your thigh briefly. Your heart is about to beat out of your chest and you tense slightly, awaiting the contact, but it never comes. Feeling your tension, Natasha decides against touching you. Maybe it was too soon for you, and she doesn't want to push you. "How are you doing?"

You force yourself to relax slightly, and a smile comes naturally when you answer her.

"Pretty good, but I don't think the new girl likes me."

"Give her time. She needs to heal first." You nod at Natasha's wisdom, even if you have no idea what she's talking about.

"I guess Tony mattered a lot to her, huh."

"Not really. It's more complicated than that. Don't worry about it too much." And with that, she captures your hand briefly. You can only nod in answer, and breathe again when she lets go of the contact. You immediately miss it and the way it makes you feel. The conversation from yesterday comes back to you and you think it's a good idea to actually ask what she meant when she offered to be your date, especially since you agreed.

"On another note," you start, "what did you–"

Before you can ask anything more a crashing sound came from outside and you both immediately stood up ready to fight. June comes running and turns to Natasha.

"Your friend is losing it, you need to do something."

"I need to go save Clint's ass. Talk later?" She offers and you nod, dumbfounded. Seems like you actually could have gotten in a lot of troubles by upsetting Wanda.

"Yeah, definitely. Hum, good luck. I feel like you might need it."

Natasha smirks, then puts her game face on before she goes through the door. There is a beat of silence between you and June before you decide that you might as well ask her opinion.

"So, I have a question," you start very hesitantly. Your friend gets her hand up almost in your face, as if she already knows what you're about to ask.

"Don't bother, I already know."

"You do?" You arch an eyebrow, and it doesn't stop June.

"You need to bang it out with superspy."

You sputter, blush, frown, and look at the woman in front of you.

"What the hell June?!"

"What? Don't tell me it wasn't about her!"

"It was, but come on!"

"I said my piece then." You bang your head on the table, and June looks out the window to see how the situation is going. She sees she still has time to keep going and sits opposite from you. "Okay, just, listen, I think she likes you, and I know you like her! Don't let it go to waste. We lost enough of our lives like that."

Of course, June has a point, whether you like it or not. You feel something for Natasha, but you're too scared to act upon it, and if she feels the same - which you doubt - she isn't going to wait forever for you, so you have to act. Or at least ask if you're right to doubt there is anything there instead of assuming. Be brave. You owe it to her.

"Alright, alright," you concede with a sigh. "I'll talk to her."

"Finally." She looks up at the sky in silent thanks and you roll your eyes at her theatrics. You decide it's time to give her a bit of a heart attack in turn.

"How is it going with Carol, by the way?" You ask in turn, a smirk adorning your lips. A very light blush takes root on her cheek. Got her.

Her answer comes in the form of a finger.

*

"Do you need some help with that?" You offer when you catch Natasha alone in your bedroom.

You came upstairs to tell her food is ready, and she was taking care of a cut in her back. Calming down Wanda went poorly, and even if she seemed apologetic after the facts, it wasn't going to heal the redhead's bruises. It was unfair, but you understood that grief could make you do crazy things.

"I could do with some help." Her admission is small.

You approach Natasha slowly and sit on the bed next to her, a leg under you, grabbing the first aid kit for some disinfectant and gauze. Carefully, she surrenders the material she's holding on the side of the kit and turns around so her back is facing you. You look at her skin which is peppered with scars, and you can only imagine all she went through. All the hurt, all the trauma, everything that led to her being in front of you right now, so vulnerable.

You start your work carefully. You learned how to take care of cuts and bruises during your travels.

"Do you ever wish you could take someone's place?" She asks you in the religious silence. There is a tremor in her voice that clues you in how serious the conversation is. You swallow your jokes and answer truthfully.

"The first few months after the abduction I did. Then I realized it meant someone else would be in my place so I stopped."

"I do. To take off the pain from my friends." Her words made no sense at first, but as you thought about it, you realized she is talking about lessening the pain of Wanda. Taking the place of her lover who died long ago now, but only moments before for the witch. Carol told you everything in a way only someone who wished they had been there could.

"Displacing people's grief wouldn't really lessen the pain. Just make it different."

"I still think I could have… maybe if I stayed…"

She can't bring herself to finish her sentence, but you understand. If she were dead maybe things would be different.

She hangs her head low. You sigh, almost groan at her truth. You finish patching her up, and lay your hand against her back. Against her scars. Her past laid bare against your palm.

"For what it's worth, I'm glad you're here with us." With me, you don't add but still think so loudly you're sure she can hear you. If she understands the subtext, she says nothing about it.

"Thank you," she simply answers, still looking away, but relaxing against your touch. It's a moment of vulnerability, but more importantly of trust. It lasts until a shiver runs along her spine with the cold. She smoothly puts back her shirt and you put your hand away. She gets up, and when she turns around, she has a shy smile directed at you.

"I can smell the food, should we join everyone?" She extends a hand towards you, and you take it. In a swift move, she helps you up and brings you against her in a hug. "Thank you."

You hold her, hum when she rubs her nose against your neck, your heart ready to burst. You wish for this moment to last forever against your better judgment.

After the short conversation you had with Natasha, it feels insensitive to bring up how you felt to her. You don't want to put her in a position where she ever thinks she could lose your newfound bond. So you just suck it up. You welcome every small touch and every gesture, the simple hand at the small of your back to the cuddles in bed as you are falling asleep. It's both your personal hell and heaven wrapped into one. It leaves you feeling confused, but happy with the proximity you share. And that is of course until the barbecue comes.

That week-end is luckily a beautiful one; you can wear anything from a summer dress to a simple short and t-shirt. As you're dressing, you realize Natasha is coming as your date. Of course you already knew, but now that it's D Day, it's really hitting you and you start to panic slightly. All your questions without answers come back to you. Why did she offer when there was no need for a date, what did she mean by it, is she truly your date, what does it mean for your relationship? The questions swirl around until you're sitting at the edge of the bed you've been using, a panic attack ready to swallow you at any time. But before it can hit, someone is knocking at your door and not waiting for an answer to come in. There, standing in front of you, is Tim, in all his feline grace, looking fabulous in his relaxed outfit, but also about to shatter into pieces. You're immediately alert to his state and put aside what you're going through.

"I can't go to your… bar-beuh-queue. I can't."

"Wait, what? Why not. You seemed really excited at the prospect of free meat." You pat the spot next to you so he would sit down instead of pacing around. He immediately sits and the bed cracks slightly under him.

"And I was but you also said there were going to be many humans."

"Yes? But you've been fine here so far."

"It's not the same!" He roars at you and you frown. He sheepishly looks at his paws. "Sorry."

You shake your head. "You'll be fine. If anything they'll love you. Believe me. Plus you won't be alone there, and you can hide in my childhood bedroom." It couldn't be worse than when you came out anyway. Good thing your relationship with your parents had had time to heal before you got abducted.

"You promise?"

You nod.

"I promise."

"Thank you."

"Oh, I should thank you. I was having my own meltdown before you arrived." You laugh it off, but his curious glance has you sighing before you explain. "I'm just not sure where I stand with Natasha."

"Next to each other?" He asks, not really understanding your doubts. He makes it sound so easy. "You're mate, yes?"

"I… don't really know. We haven't discussed that."

"No discussion necessary. I can smell it. Your scents intertwined."

This makes you smile. Not only does he make it sound easy, he also makes it sound true. Somehow it appeases you for when you'll have that discussion with Natasha.

"Not how it works with humans, but I'll keep that in mind. Now come on. It's time to go."

He nods, and the bed creaks even when you stand up now. 

You're finally ready to face the day.

*

It takes two cars to bring everyone to your parents' place, and a good five seconds for your mother to realize she invited aliens into her house.

"You should have told me!" She whispers to you frantically. "I would have researched what they eat and made it!"

"First, that's sweet, second, do you think there is a website out there with aliens recipes?" You ask, on the verge of laughing uncontrollably.

"There isn't?!"

"I doubt it."

And from there, she makes it a goal to get recipes from your new friends.

"Your mom seems very special," comments a deeply amused Natasha while you show her the way to the garden with everyone else. "Not as terrifying as you painted her."

"That's because she doesn't know you came as my date yet," you smile teasingly, your heart ready to burst when you say it out loud. Not that you have the time to explore the meaning of it all as you enter the garden where half your family awaits all of you. The event quickly takes over you and you go socialize with everyone, people you haven't seen in the past five years, some still looking the same and some looking older. The barbecue quickly turns into a celebration of all the people who came back, and you get a few drinks pushed into your hands without needing to ask for them. Before you know it, your head is light with happiness and alcohol, and you're sitting next to Natasha having the time of your life, your hand lazily dropped around her shoulders. She's clearly comfortable with the contact, even leaning into it as you talk with one of your now almost adult cousins about your adventures in space.

"I need to go to the restroom, I'll be right back," she whispers in your ear at some point and you nod, eyes on her as she leaves.

"You're super lucky!" Your cousin exclaims, and you look back at them with a tilt of the head in questioning. "She's a superhero, so I never imagined she'd date anyone but she seems super sweet."

You blink once, twice, and it finally dawns on you. Your cousin thinks Natasha is your girlfriend. "Oh, you think that… I mean. We're not– she's not–" you fumble and your cousin gets the message.

"Are you sure?" They ask, confused.

"I mean, she came here as my date but it doesn't mean, you know."

Your cousin stares blankly at you. "Dude. Does she know? Do you know? Because you were acting really close."

Your cousin was on your case now too? You thought only June noticed your infatuation but apparently anyone in the vicinity could see it if even your cousin did. You decide to extract yourself from the situation and stand up.

"You know what, she's taking really long so I'm just gonna go check on her."

"Sure buddy," your cousin chuckles with no respect.

You quickly make your way towards the house and once inside, you take a deep breath. That sure was a callout. You decide to forget about it and focus on what you came to do, looking for Natasha. You go to the first floor bathroom and knock on the door, only for it to open on your surprised uncle.

"It's free, but I would wait if I were you," he tells you before he leaves. You wrinkle your nose. Ew.

You take a few steps back and wonder where Natasha could be. She probably went to look for another bathroom, which would be upstairs. When you arrive on the second floor, you quickly notice that the door to your bedroom is open. You frown, before you approach the room when you see a shadow moving inside.

On your guard, you take a peek before you enter the room, only to breathe a sigh of relief. A very short one when you realize that Natasha is in your childhood bedroom. You push the door slightly more to finally enter the room.

"Unless I'm sorely mistaken, this isn't a restroom," you point out with derision. She rolls her eyes and smirks, focusing on you instead of the photographs on the wall.

"It isn't, but my instincts kept telling me I might find some treasure here." She grabs one of the photos and shows it to you. "And I was right!"

It's an old picture of when you were a kid wearing a mismatched outfit with some old friend. You groan and try to snatch the picture out of her fingers, with no success. Between the alcohol and Natasha being a super spy, you stand no chance. Still, you're not giving up. You corner Natasha against your bed, and before you know it, you both fall over on top of it. On top of her.

Your first reflex is to apologize, but the words stay stuck in your throat when you notice how close to her face yours is. Your eyes are focused on hers, the blue entrancing you, until her breath on your lips brings another reality to you.

"I– huh– I'm sorry," you vaguely manage before you feel her hand caress your arm up to the nap of your neck.

"Why don't you show me exactly how sorry you are?" She proposes in a sultry voice and your heart stops, your breathing suddenly hard, and harder even when her other hand navigates between the both of you to find your belly.

Your brain completely stops and leaves you only with your screaming instincts, and her command. So you finally do something you wanted to do for a long, long time, and lean closer until your lips connect. As it happens, it feels like a wave of relief courses through you, like the last five years were worth it to be able to kiss Natasha, and more importantly, have her kiss you back.

The hand on your neck grip grows stronger as your kiss gets more passionate. You tilt your head further when you feel her tongue pass over your lips in demand and give her access without an ounce of hesitation. It feels good when your tongues meet in your mouth in a precise dance that leads you to moan, and again when her other hand caresses the back of your thigh, up to your ass. She gives it a squeeze that makes you melt. Something she takes advantage of. With a simple twist of her hips, she exchanges your positions so she can be on top of you. You look up at her in awe at her beauty, at the cascading red and blonde hair, at her bright eyes and swollen lips. 

"I've wanted to do that for so long," she states as she admires you too - you can see it in the way her eyes seem to caress your skin, trace your features, and get lost in your eyes.

"Me too," you admit with no shame whatsoever, her lips growing in a gorgeous smile. You lean up to give her a quick kiss. "But we need to go back, before they send someone to find us."

She gives you a quick kiss in turn, one that makes you long for more, but you restrain yourself while she stands up. You sit up in turn and adjust your clothes quickly so no one can suspect what just happened. As you do so, you notice Natasha stopped in her tracks to check her phone and concern is plastered on her face. She turns to you.

You were right, June didn't like you bringing one more person along. An Avenger on top of it. Still, she simply gave one look to the newcomer, groaned, and went back to her repairs. You could work with that.

Now, you're hanging in the cockpit of your ship, looking at the star chart. In the five years you spent drifting into space, you never managed to find Earth again. Most Aliens don't care for humans, and don't know where they're from. As for star charts, they cost an arm and a half, so you have to work with the one you have - one which of course doesn't give the common names of planets in human language and no translator has cracked it.

"What are you doing?" The voice comes from behind you, covering the snores of the rest of the crew in the background. Sleep doesn't come as easy to you, even if you have the privilege to have your own bed. For tonight, you decided to give it up to Tim. He looked miserable after the fight with Natasha.

"Looking up at the stars," you answer simply, eyes still on the chart.

"What are you doing in space?" She asks after a moment of silence.

"What are you?" You retort, not even contemplating answering her question, and finally looking up at her. Now that you know who she is, bitterness is starting to build inside you, for her and all the so-called Mightiest Heroes of Earth. You take a deep breath, you don't want to lose focus. "I know for a fact Avengers don't travel that far out without a reason, and clearly something happened." You point at the Aliens who came back from the blip. "Cause those guys appeared out of nowhere three days ago. So, what's up with that?"

"So it worked…" she whispers at first, in a sort of wonder, and you understand she had something to do with all that. She looks at you, searches your face, and for a bit you think she won't answer you. And then she smirks. That surprises you. "You're a smart one, aren't you?" She puts her feet on the board and you glare at them as she keeps talking. "I was here to save everyone from the snap. It's good to see we succeeded." She seems genuinely happy about it, but also troubled.

You hum, and you wonder if that's truly for the best. Memories from the day of the Snap flood back to you.

-

You had never been that scared in your life before. You had no idea where you were, if you were even still on Earth - you guessed that you weren't, because those… people were clearly non-humans. You remembered going to the convenience store down your street, after a long shift at work. The night had already set for a few hours at the time, and as you were about to pay for your ramen pack and soda, those things came out of nowhere. You tried to hide, to fight, but it was no use. You remember thinking that maybe, just maybe, someone would come and help you. The cops, the military, anyone. Maybe SHIELD or the Avengers had detected that strange activity, somehow, and they were on their way. But no one came.

The aliens took all of you, all the ones that were in the store, and the next time you opened your eyes, you were in what looked like a ship.

You were kept in a cell with the clerk from the store - June, you learned, an engineering student who was working two jobs to pay for college - and food was coming from the ceiling in bags. You quickly realized it was sedated, and stopped eating until your stomach begged for something, anything. Some of the aliens were walking around, probably to keep an eye on the prisoners, and you quickly noticed that the only ones armed were those who had six eyes and a weird stone in the middle of their forehead. There were others, they looked like they were only doing maintenance or cleaning. They had a collar around their neck. This lasted maybe a week, and you kept praying that anytime, at any moment now, someone would come to save you. But once again, no one came.

And then one day… no one came again. No guards. The prison doors opened for apparently no reason, and you took a step outside. Was it a trap? Your naked feet walked alongside other prisoners. Besides June, you couldn't understand any of them - they were all aliens speaking different languages, and the other three humans were nowhere to be seen. You found weapons, and fought some of the aliens. You managed to outnumber most of them with the other prisoners. Soon enough, you were aboard a ship and on your way elsewhere. You remember looking at the star chart with so much hope. Home. It was right there.

-

Home is nowhere to be seen.

"I wish you could be as optimistic as you." You shake your head.

Now, those Aliens have more manpower than ever, and will certainly come after you again. You will need to lay low for some time before you can keep going on your quest for Earth.

"You're not happy," Natasha simply states. It feels like you're raining on her parade, so you decide to reassure her in order to keep the peace. There is also this weird feeling in your chest that makes you like her smirk, and the stupid spark in her eyes, so you might as well try to keep it there even just for some personal gratification.

"No, it's probably good. Means more people to help us get back to Earth. Which, you wouldn't happen to have a star chart on you?"

"No. But I might know someone who does." Here is the smirk again, thinning her full lips that you could kiss right now if she is telling the truth. You lunge towards her and put your hands on her upper arms, one on each side, squeezing her. She looks surprised, eyes wide, almost ready to fight but she keeps it in her.

"Wait? Are you for real?! This would be fantastic!"

"Why don't we calm down first, hm?"

You want to throw a party and dance of joy. "Calm down? It's been more than five years!" You whisper yell to not wake up your guests. "I can finally go home!"

She decides you're a lost cause when she sees you walk towards June's quarters and almost fall from dancing happily between the bodies sleeping on the ground. Somehow, seeing this after the past few days makes her smirk slightly, her heart lighter. You disappear around a corner just as the memory hits.

-

When she opened her eyes, it was to a dark sky and crimson surroundings. Her clothes were damp from the small pools of water under her. Not far was the sharp cliff she jumped from. She remembered the last thing she saw. Clint. She sat up. He was nowhere to be seen, and she wondered if her sacrifice didn't work, because right now, she was very much alive. No. She should still be dead. She should still be… free. She swallowed. She never wanted to die. But. But… she stood up, as tired as ever, and checked her equipment. Her Widow's bites were fried, as were her comms, but she still had her sidearm. Now, she had to find Clint.

He was nowhere to be seen, she realized once she came back up the cliff. No one was here anymore, not even Red Skull, she was all alone. Alone. She was used to it, it was fine.

She checked her comms again. Still nothing, not even statics.

She sat down on the same rocks as earlier. Was it earlier? She searched around her pockets, and found her phone. She was barely able to make it work, but soon enough she realized what her problem was. She was back to today's time, after she left for the past. Clint wasn't here, not because he abandoned her, because the last time he was had been years ago. It suddenly made sense. What didn't was why she was here. But for now, she had a much more pressing question: how was she going to go back to Earth?

Luckily, fate gave her a quick answer.

In the horizon, light caught her eye. Someone was crashing here, and she would only hope to get to you before you left again. With no time to lose, she started her walk.

-

"Are you sure she isn't brain dead? 'Cause she ain't answering." June's voice brings Natasha back to the present. She arches an eyebrow and tilts her head the slightest in her direction.

"See, not dead," you say in triomph.

"Why don't you stop talking about me like I'm not here." Her tone is harsh, and it shuts up both of you. You rub the back of your neck and look away, ashamed, while June just crosses her arms almost in defiance. It's still enough to get back to the main subject.

"Whatever," June starts, "do you really know people who could help us?"

The irreverence aside, there is some fear in her voice, and it quickly clicks in Natasha's head: she's scared to get her hopes up. It's a fear she understood all too well; hope is always the first step towards disappointment. Hope is dangerous. But sometimes it's all you have, and she isn't about to disappoint those lost women.

"Yes, we just need to find them."

"And who are they exactly?" asks a very guarded June. You elbow her, and she simply send you a glare, ignoring your suddenly very shiny personality. You'd never been one to be pessimistic, despite everything that happened, you just knew how to hide it, but right now you were almost beaming with joy.

"Carol Danvers, ideally, then Peter Quill, or Thor, one of the two if we don't have a choice." She shrugs like this will be easy. To be fair, they are very well known individuals. June looks at you to see if you know who she's talking about, since you're well informed usually. You are always the one going outside the ship to find the missions. It takes you a second to know exactly who she's talking about, and you nod.

"Carol is our best bet, anyone with authority has a way to contact her. We can just go to the federation probably, but the Nova Corps could be closer. I think they have an outpost a few jumps away…" You're already thinking, looking back at your star chart to find the closest place where you can contact Marvel, or whoever the other two were - well, Thor you know, but the name of Peter Quill sounds made up, even if it titillates your brain. "I'll check the radio as soon as we leave Vormir's atmosphere. Something is blocking the communications."

June nods, then looks at Natasha with distrustful eyes. "You better be telling the truth or you'll pray you did."

Somehow, the threat works on you too and you move on your seat in discomfort. June always was the more serious of the two of you, and held an even bigger grudge against the Avengers than you did. It reminds you that maybe you should distrust a spy a little bit more, as you eye the ship's console. Natasha is less impressed, but still takes things seriously.

"I am," she simply reaffirms in all seriousness. You observe her, and she seems genuine to you. It looks like it's enough for June too, because she simply goes back to her bed.

"Sorry for June," you say when she's out of earshot. "She's… we both went through a lot. Makes things hard." Hard to trust, hard to forgive. You're happy that she could help, but you also know tomorrow the bitterness will still be there. Of course, Natasha knows too well what you mean, the vulnerability that comes with the short explanation, and she offers a simple nod in understanding, her eyes expressing all of her empathy.

You're thankful for it.

A small silence establishes itself, during which you look each other in the eyes. It's easy to fall in hers, the infinite pool of water so inviting, so full of hurt to learn and comfort to find. You could read a full life, and something more, a spark no one else had. It lasts a few seconds, before you get back to the star chart, and she stands up to go get some water. When she comes back, she brings some to you, and you thank her in a whisper. She starts to clean her weapons and tinkers with her widow bites to try and repair them. While she does that, she notices you talking to yourself when you plan your next course and smiles slightly while looking down. Her lips crack from three days spent in what was virtually a desert.

Somehow, it makes her think of home.

-

Everything is ready for take off, and as your hand hovers over the handle ,you send a look to June. She gives you a thumbs up, but you know she isn't as sure as she looks, you know she probably thinks there is a small uncertain chance you will crash again and not survive this time. But with the help of Natasha - turns out she's a good mechanic at least - and some of the maintenance crew, you managed to repair the ship earlier than June told you the first time.

"Okay, up and away we go," you whisper to yourself as you push the thrusters. "Let's hope."

The ship shakes under the building pressure, but it holds. You push them some more as you gain elevation, the ground further and further away, and before you know it, you manage to leave Vormir's atmosphere.

You let out a breath of relief.

The ship stabilizes under you, and you send a thumbs up to June this time. As you go back to the console, your gaze crosses with Natasha's, and you exchange a small smile. You only had brief talks since she joined you, but she always was nice to everyone, if a bit short with Tim. The giant humanoid feline was still suspicious of her, the same way he was suspicious of almost everyone. You mainly tried to ignore the small brewing conflict, but it was getting harder. For now, you were simply happy to be back in space and not in pieces.

"We're green across the board," you announced, and everyone let the reassurance lift the weight off their shoulders. You then focus back on the ship. You still had to have the autopilot calibrated to the nearest jump point that would allow you to access the Nova Corps, then, if you were lucky, Earth.

It takes you little time to get the autopilot calibrated, and once you do you notice Natasha is still watching you, where the others simply went back to their activities. She's leaning against the hull, her arms crossed, a spark of curiosity in her eyes.

"How did you learn to pilot?"

"Observation. When we… commandeered this ship–"

"You stole it?" She raises an eyebrow.

"They were bad people." She nods, and you continue. "We had aliens with us. I just watched them pilot and learned via observation."

"Not everyone could have done that. What did you do back on Earth?" Her interest starts to make you the slightest uncomfortable, but you simply answer with a shrug.

"I worked some job that barely matters anymore."

"Never had a flying lesson?"

You shake your head no, and you notice admiration in her traits. It seems like you impressed her.

"I'm impressed," she confirms. "It takes some exceptional skills to pick up something like that."

Somehow, it makes you blush slightly and your chest rises with pride. You look away to hide it as you feel conflicted, and decide it's probably because the only other person you spent time with the past few years has been June, and she's not one to show admiration for others. Definitely nothing to do with Natasha herself being incredibly competent, and pretty. Very pretty.

Your eyes can't help but wander back to her when you notice the way the dim lights from the ship are highlighting her sharp jaw and her cheekbones, her long lashes projecting their shadows on her delicate skin. You realize you're staring, and that she's actually staring back. It makes you slightly uncomfortable, as you feel that after five years, there isn't much to look at, so you decide to break the brief silence.

"It's not… maybe a bit but– you know, you look tired. Maybe you should rest or something?" You fumble to change the subject. She has the audacity to smirk, and you want to cross your arms like a petulant child who's been caught in the cookie jar. But she's nice, and simply agrees.

"I should. You should too, commander." There is some teasing behind her voice, and you sputter a bit. She doesn't wait for an answer before she ducks back to the other side of the ship.

You stay there for a minute, trying to process the whole conversation. Was she…? Was that flirting? No. No way. You frown, trying to understand what just happened.

"Nope, no way. She's right I'm just tired," you finally settle on. You stand up and go back to the living side of the ship, asking Tim to keep an eye on the trajectory before you join your bunk. It was more a hole in the wall with a mattress stuck in it than anything else, but it was yours. There was another bunk on top of yours, where you kept some of your stuff before the arrival of everyone, but it had been cleared to give space to them. On the other side of the room, there is the same configuration, and on the top bunk you can make the silhouette of the spy. 

It takes little time to tell everyone that Carol Danvers is on her way, and they look so happy. Tim's ears are all perked up, and the Mantis lady's eyes are all bright with… joy you guess, not knowing better. Even June grumpily admits that she's glad they're out soon. She's been feeling uncomfortable staying here; not because of the accommodations, mind you, but because of the constant rounds around the room from the soldiers that made her feel more in prison than anything else. It was understandable, but you keep reassuring her it's probably an effect of her trauma, and that you were safe.

Afterwards, and once you're sure your friend is feeling better, you go back to simply waiting, sitting next to Natasha who is keeping her cool facade but you can feel that she's impatient to get home too. You talk a bit, and share a meal with everyone when food is brought to you - along with the other people. You feel relaxed for the first time in five years, if you have to be honest, and your laugh when Tim dances around to catch his bread after losing his grip on it manages to get a small smile from Natasha. 

But those good times don't last when three soldiers approach you. You can see how tense they are, the way one of them has their hands hovering their weapon, and the others have no warmth in their voice. Maybe it's just your imagination, but one look at the others tells you it's not.

"We've seen Captain Marvel's heat signature on our sensors, she'll be there soon, please come with us."

You feel like you don't really have a choice, so with a nod, you agree. Before you can pick up your weapons, they signal to you.

"Leave those, you won't need it."

You share a worried look with Natasha, and she shakes her head to signal you not to grab it. She knows something is wrong too, but with all the civilians around, she also knows better than to put them in danger.

With that in mind, you all stand up and follow the soldiers. They guide you away from the mess hall into corridors until you reach one of the numerous landing bays. There, more soldiers are waiting for you and some train their weapons on you as soon as you walk in. A few feet away from you a woman in a suit and with blond hair was standing up proudly, also with weapons trained on her.

That was Carol Danvers, you guessed.

"See, your friend is here," the general said. "Now, surrender to us and no harm will come to them."

The brown eyes examine your group and upon falling on Natasha goes wide. There is a question in her eyes, and the answer comes in a nod from the redhead. It's her, she's alive. She's back. There are a lot of emotions in the eyes of the blonde, but mainly she stays serious, and nods back.

"What's going on?" You whisper towards Natasha after their silent conversation, and with the whole situation.

"Best guess? Carol and those guys aren't on the best of terms." This is rather obvious.

"And here I thought they were best buddies," you nervously joke.

"Just get ready to fight." You're about to protest that you're barely a fighter compared to those guys, but she shakes her head. "Just do what you did when we met."

Slowly, you nod. You held your own that day, and the past five years. You know you can be dangerous when provoked. You can do it.

Meanwhile, Carol is being her usual cocky self.

"You know, I could pulverize all of you easily, why should I surrender?"

"You could, but one of us would have the time to put down one of your friends."

"I barely know them," she shrugs, and Natasha knows it's a stratagem to destabilize them.

"Not even her?" One of the soldiers comes behind Natasha and pushes her forward with his weapon - something that resembles a rifle. Danvers frowns as the Avenger is brought in front of her. You can see cogs turning in her head, and she eyes your group before she makes a decision.

"Okay, I surrender." She puts her hands up in the air, just as her eyes stop on you, like she was talking to you, and you nod. You don't know what you agreed to, but you did. You exchange a look with Tim. You're both on each side of the group. If things go south– no, when things go south sounds more likely, you'll have to disarm three soldiers or at least make sure they can't shoot anyone. You just need a signal.

They put cuffs on Carol. Not yet. You hear the click. Not yet. The soldiers relax in a collective sigh of relief.

Now.

Natasha turns and kicks the rifle from the soldier behind her in the air, and you charge with all your strength against the closest guy, his rifle flying away, before kicking the weapon of another one away. Tim takes one of the soldiers in his massive hands and throws him in two others, stopping them from retaliating.

In this time, the redhead grabs the rifle she sent in the air and shoots the handcuffs from Carol's hands.

From there, it was a debacle for the enemy. Carol was shooting with her powers left and right, causing damage not only to the enemy but to the structure too. In the chaos, it was easy for you to grab a weapon and take care of any threat coming your group's way. When no one is left standing, Carol turns to Natasha.

"Where's your ship?"

"Bay E-12!" She answers and quickly you start making your way there. Now that you're armed, and with Carol, it's easy to make your way through the station. Although, as you pass the mess hall, Tim stops and look in the direction of your bags.

"We should grab our stuff before we leave!"

"We don't really have the time for that," Natasha protests, and Carol groans.

"You go to the ship, I'll grab your stuff. You, with me!" She points at you, and you can only straighten your back before you follow her. People are avoiding you and even make themselves small as you advance. Once there, you get your backpack and Junes, and then help move everyone else's. Luckily, no one had a lot.

You bring back everything to the ship, where Natasha already started the flight procedures. Apparently she could also learn just by watching. Still, when you arrive, she gives you your seat.

"Alright everyone, buckle down, we're going 0 to a 100 in a second."

"A 100 what?!" Tim asks at the expression, and you almost find yourself explaining before Natasha focuses you on the command board in front of you.

When the ship leaves, you're followed by Carol outside, guiding you. She's easily as fast as the ship. No wonder she barely took any time to reach you. It takes little time for the ship to get to the hexagonal door, and luckily, no one is following you when you get through and arrive somewhere you've never been, according to the star chart. You stop the ship a bit further away from the arrival point and June takes care of letting Carol inside via the depressurized locker. She is barely in when she throws herself around Natasha.

"You're alive! How?" She takes a step back and looks at the redhead, making sure she's not hallucinating.

"I don't know. I woke up… I was at the bottom of the cliff."

The exchange tickles your curiosity; you still had no idea what Natasha was doing on Vormir at the time, nor how she ended up there alone. You frown, but don't interrupt as you listen with rapt attention.

"I have so much to tell you, you need to know what happened." The joyful reunion suddenly feels much more serious, and like you're intruding. You turn to everyone and grab the bags Carol brought back inside.

"Okay everyone, get yourself set up," you half order everyone to disperse them and give Carol and Natasha a bit of privacy. You give them one last look before you leave them alone.

-

You are en route to the next jumping point and after your adventures most of everyone is sleeping. Carol and June are awake, swapping stories in hushed tones - turns out Carol is immune to June's caustic remarks -, so you decide to go to the cockpit to check on the ship. When you arrive there, you're surprised to find Natasha sitting in the pilot seat, her knee under her chin and her eyes red from crying. You approach slowly, like you would with a predator, and gently grab her shoulder with a soft hand.

"Natasha?"

"Y/n. Sorry, I didn't see you there." She starts unfolding her body to stand up, but your hand makes itself firmer and forces her to stay in place.

"Don't worry about it." You let go of her, only to sit in the co-pilot chair. "How are you doing?"

She snorts and sniffles. "I think it's obvious."

"I don't know, you could be overjoyed," you joke, and she rolls her eyes before you ask more seriously:

"What's happening?"

"There was a battle for the stones, and Tony sacrificed himself." You only vaguely understand what she was talking about, if you have to be honest, but you feel for her. "He is such an overzealous idiot. Or was, I guess." She snorts. "But I'm one to talk."

You have no idea what she means by that, so you simply take a deep breath and slowly rub her back. "I'm sorry." Your hand moves from her back to her shoulder and she takes it without thinking much.

"Thank you. It's hard to wrap my head around it."

"Of course. Is there anything you need?"

She shakes her head. "No. Just… stay her?"

You nod and adjust your hand position so you're slightly more comfortable. Her grip tightens, and you get the type of support she's looking for; silence, understanding, kindness. Someone's simple, soft presence.

And you do your best to be that someone.

-

It only takes 24 hours to arrive at the next jumping point, the one leading the Earth. Before you press the button that would make you go through the hexagone, you turn to Carol.

"C-53. You're sure?"

"Let me think." Her eyes squint and she pretends to think. "Yep, pretty sure it's the good one."

"Okay. Everyone takes a seat, we're taking the door." You take a deep breath and gets the ship to speed before you go through the jumping point.

And see Earth appear in front of you.

A tear rolls on your cheek.

After five years, you're finally home. You power the ship to approach the blue planet, emotions swelling in your chest. You hear people talking in the background but all you can focus on is the approaching land, until Natasha puts her hand on your shoulder.

"I know a place where we can go."

You nod and take the coordinates she gives you, following them until you're above the trees' limit. There you're able to see a house next to a barn and from there it's easy to find a place to land. Once you land, you turn to everyone with a smile.

"Welcome to Earth."

An unusually emotional June wraps her arms around your neck and you hug her back with a smile.

You are finally home.

Natasha smiles at the display, in that brief, tender way she reserved only for some special people. You notice, your heart skipping a beat, and mouth a 'thank you' to her with emotion in your eyes before June releases you. Without her, you would still be looking around in space. You could kiss her. You want to kiss her, you realize, and look away.

Oh no.

You want to kiss her.

-

Carol is the first one to touch the ground, followed by you. When you do, you notice a man approaching the ship with his arms pointing at it.

"Carol! What is this in my backyard? Who is this in my backyard?!"

"Sorry birdie, not my fault." She smiles and looks back towards the ship, Natasha finally appearing in turn after almost everyone came out.

"Then who–" he starts before he can stop, and Natasha is in front of him.

Natasha, who he thought he had lost. Thought he was responsible for losing. But no, she was right there. Right in front of him like nothing had happened, like he didn't lose his most important battle on that cliff.

"Nat–" he can't even manage her name before he runs at full speed towards her and crashes in her arms. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, it should have– should've been me. But you're here. How are you…?"

"I woke up on Vormir, I don't know…" She hugs him back, without a hint of hesitation.

"Tony, he tried to bring everyone back. I guess it worked to some degree." He finally let go of her, his eyes red with unshed tears. She doesn't look any better, only imagining what it must have felt like for him. "Shit… Tony–"

"I know. Carol told me everything."

He nods, then finally looks at everyone else. You give a small wave as a form of hello, as a chorus of mumbled hellos come from the rest of the group.

"We're going to have to bunk, won't we?" Natasha asks jokingly.

You awake in a silent room, everyone sleeping. Or almost. It's scary how quickly you notice Natasha's absence in the bunks or on the ground within the improvised beds. With a low groan, you sit up and look around to find her. And you do, she's sitting at the helm, one leg against her torso that she holds with her connected hands, her eyes fixated on the space advancing at speed around her. The colorful tapestry reflects against her like water navigating her skin, and you realize you could look at her forever. This too scares you. So you decide to face your fears head on and stand up to go talk to her.

"I'd prefer if you didn't put your boots on the seats," you whisper as to not awake anyone else. She looks up at you with those blue eyes and you feel your heart skip a beat. She offers a mischievous smile to you, before she puts her leg down.

"Stick in the mud."

"Better than mud on this… I want to say leather, but I have no idea if I'm honest." Her throaty laugh makes you smile and you hide it by looking at the console. You were doing good time, all things considered.

"I'll keep that in mind for the future."

Her teasing makes you escalate the situation. You refuse to back down now that you set up that boundary.

"You better remember."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll have to come for you," you threaten, leaning closer to her before you think better of it. There is a tension there, but you can't quite put your finger on it until she leans up, her eyes searching yours.

"We wouldn't want that," she says in… is that a flirty tone? No. No way. You were imagining things.

Things like a future after you're back on Earth, a very unlikely one, where she comes to visit you, or you go back in space together. Maybe you could be friends, or maybe… you stop your gay brain. 

Yes, Natasha Romanoff is a very attractive woman, but one who would never be interested in you. And she is an Avenger, an incredible human being, a hero - no matter if they never came to save you right now. It's crazy how much you already want more from her despite barely knowing her, which is why you decide to simply shelve these budding attractions that you can't call feelings yet. It's better that way.

You just need to get further away from her face. And you did. Very slowly.

"I'm glad we agree," you say, your throat suddenly very dry.

You hear a beep coming from the side and take a look at the controls. Apparently you just made it to the Universal Neural Teleportation Network. You look at the empty space before you, and give a look to Natasha.

"We need to wake up everyone to secure them for the jump." You stand up and start to shake a few of your passengers awake, ordering them around with Natasha. When everyone is secure, you sit back at your seat and send the signal to open the door to the network and go through. You feel the sudden speed pull at your inside uncomfortably and before you know it you're far from Vormir.

-

A few hours go by before you are able to see the outpost orbiting a gaseous planet. You slowly approach until you receive a transmission.

"Outpost Theta-3, decline your identity."

The voice sounds frantic, and you quickly notice you were far from the only ship approaching the outpost. Probably an after effect of half the galaxy appearing back suddenly.

"We're mercenaries, in need of a place to board."

"Alright. Bay E-12 starboard."

"Thank you."

You fly and park next to the platform you were given access to, quickly feeling the gravity dampener relaying your ship's thrusters. It was bumpy with all the ships coming and going right next to you, but it was still a success. You let out a sigh of relief, glad to be able to get out of the ship. After staying in for so long, you're starting to feel cooped up. Still, you let everyone know they can leave safely, and wait for the cleaning crew to go first. When you leave your seat and look behind you, Natasha and June are still there, waiting for you to get out of the cockpit. There are no words exchanged, and no need for them, but you're thankful they waited for you. You join them towards the open door and before the three of you come out, you hand Natasha a small chip.

"Universal translator. So far we all had one, but we might come across people who don't so…"

"Alright," she nods. "Can you…?"

"Ah, yes, let me…" you come closer to her and gently move her hair out of the way, your fingertips caressing her skin so you can attach the chip right behind her ear. She let out a breath, now noticing she held it in at your proximity.

You offer her a shy smile before turning back to the door and going through it, only to see your new friends were under the threat of weapons. Some of them are pointed your way once you go through the door. You quickly put your hands up and someone comes to you to get your weapons, including those Natasha have.

"You're under arrest for being a part of the Grafd Syndicate. Charges include theft, attack against the Nova Empire, slavery, and numerous other crimes," one of them say as he steps forward.

"I'm so glad I can understand them," she seethe with a look your way. Did she think you…? No, she has to know.

"Wow. Wait, no. We're not– we stole the ship, remember. We stole it to escape them," you address the man in front of you, as much as Natasha. You can't see if she believes you or not, too worried by the scan they submit you to. It isn't the first time something like that happens, but every time it puts you on edge.

The man who scans you reports the results to his superior, who examines them for a minute. Tension feels your back, and you want to flee but you know better. They'd shot you down in an instant. Luckily it doesn't come to that. With a gesture everyone brings their weapons down. You take a deep breath, relief washing over you.

"We understand your situation, we will keep you among the other refugees until we know where to send you." The man starts to leave and you take a step further.

"That usually doesn't go so well," you whisper to yourself before you decide to plead more of your case. "Wait, actually we need you to contact someone and we can be out of your hair in no time."

He considers your words carefully.

"Lieutenant Krio, please see to them," he says without answering you directly. The Lieutenant in question, an alien with green skin but otherwise an humanoïd appearance, nods before she takes a step towards you.

"Please follow me, any of your needs will be covered once you get settled. Including your requests," she adds when she sees you're about to interrupt again. You abdicate for now and agree to simply follow her. You could almost smell Earth, you just needed to be patient a little bit longer.

After traveling through some hallways, you arrive at their mess hall. It's a long room, with a high ceiling, white walls and no windows but a skylight that gives directly into space, and more room than needed most of the time you imagine. But not today. Today, it's full of people. You guess most of them are past victims of the Snap, judging by how lost most of them look. There were at least a hundred people packed in the room, and your group just added to that number. When your guide finally stops it's to show you a small space delimited only by some holographic tape, with barely enough space for all of you to lay down, some sleeping bags and blankets stocked in a corner.

"Wait, we can just stay in our ship if you don't have the space," you offer upon observing your new quarters.

"Sorry, but we have to follow regulations."

"Regulations say we have to be parked like animals in a room?" You ask, your tone bordering on anger.

"That's how it is. No one likes it but we can't do anything about it. We need to secure your ship and it might take some time with the current influx of people."

You're about to protest some more when a hand grabs yours, and you immediately calm down at the cold coming from it. You give a pout to Natasha at her clear message. Calm down. We won't be there long.

"Okay, okay… can you at least try to contact the person I need you to?"

"Sure, do you have an ID number for them?"

"No, just a name." You turn to Natasha and let her give it, ignoring the annoyance on the face of your interlocutor.

"Carol Danvers, also known as Captain Marvel."

Recognition crosses the face of the Lieutenant and she nods. "We can try to contact her, but don't expect much. She rarely answers."

"Simply tell her it's from Natasha Romanoff."

"We will. Now if you'll excuse me…" she looks at your new quarters, then to your group. "I have more work to do. Someone will bring you food and more sleeping arrangements."

"Thank you," you answer very briefly and walk into your small corner. There was barely any space to move around and once everyone was sitting down, it felt even worse, especially with your bags thrown on the ground.

-

You discard your empty food tray when a soldier walks the imaginary hallways with a trolley to recover all the discarded dishes. After that, you sit next to June, who is now sleeping directly on the cold hard ground, and face Natasha, talking a few words in hushed tones to her.

"So, how do you know this Captain Marvel?" When you were taken from Earth, she wasn't yet a big name. You briefly wonder if you should have kept this question to yourself when you see the haunted look in her blue-green eyes, but she still answers.

"It was shortly after the Snap. We were still counting our losses. So many people…" you can see her eyes glimmer with unshed tears, and you wonder how many people close to her she lost. You guess a few. You yourself wondered sometimes if upon returning on Earth you would find the empty house of your parents, or if they would be there still.

"Anyone you knew?" You ask before thinking.

"Friends. My sister, too."

Slowly you move next to her and put your hand on her cold one, before you squeeze it gently. She looks so vulnerable, so far from the image you had of Earth's mightiest heroes. You truly hope your warmth can reach her somehow.

"I'm sure she's back like everyone else."

She smiles at you, just from the corner of her lips but it's enough for you. Your eyes meet briefly before she looks down, and you think you can see a bit of red on her cheeks. Somehow it makes your heart skip a bit.

"Yeah, she's probably fine. I just hope she'll be okay until I come home."

"Hey, if we're lucky we won't take 5 years now that we have your friend." Your joke makes her chuckle.

"Anyway… she appeared not long after the Snap, looking for Fury. He was part of the casualties so from then on we started working together," she finishes.

The haunted look made you think that this short explanation left out the weight of the numerous years spent feeling these losses. Her sister, her friends, whoever this Fury guy was. It was a lot when you also had the weight of half the world disappearing on your shoulders too. The grief must have been agonizing.

"That's quite the story. I guess that's all it takes for superheroes to start working together."

She hums, and after a lull in the conversation, she leans against you. It takes you by surprise, your breath catching in your throat. You swallow hard and turn your head to look at her. She's looking back at you with her sea-side eyes, and her face is so close you can feel her breath on your skin.

"I'm not bothering you, am I?" She asks in the same whispery tone you've been using for your conversation, but suddenly it feels so much more intimate. "You're just warm."

"No, it's no problem." Your answer it's a bit louder than you intended, and a small smirk finds its place on Natasha's lips. You blush in embarrassment.

"I'm going to take a nap then. Wake me up if anything happens."

You nod, she closes her eyes, and your throat is the driest it's ever been.

-

"Wake up," you urgently move Natasha away from you. "I think something is happening."

When she opens her eyes, she takes a deep breath and your scent immediately invades her senses. She'd had the best sleep she had in a while, and awakening is now harder than she expected it would be. But, contrary to her spirit, her body is ready to fight. Instinctively she reaches for her weapon. She still had two full magazines but it won't be enough if they're under attack. Maybe she can nick a weapon, but first, she has to assess the situation. She looks around, seeing everyone is agitated and some of the guards are running in the hallways. The floor is slightly shaking, too, a clear indication of something happening.

"Any idea what's happening?" She asks, crouching instead of simply sitting to get ready to act. You're already doing the same, a knee still on the ground to check on your own weapon and make sure the coils are in good shape.

"Not really. The station has been moving for a few minutes now -" explained the shaking "- but no one told us anything." As you are checking your weapon, Natasha notices your fingers are unsteady. It's the first time she sees something worry you since you met to the point of making you tremble.

"Y/n, are you okay?"

You nod at first, then shake your head, your breath shallow. "I just… What if it's the Grafd? What if we endangered everyone by coming here? When it's just us, it's fine, but there are so many people here!"

Natasha frowns. She's worried about your sudden panic, but also focuses on the fact you mentioned that you are being pursued by some people - the people you escaped from, she guessed now - but why would they still be after you? Yes, you took a ship from them, but it had been five years. It makes Natasha wonder if something else happened that they were so hell-bent in finding you again. She would need to bring the subject again later. For now, she decides to simply comfort you. You seem on the verge of a panic attack.

"Hey, it's probably nothing. See, Lieutenant Krio is here." She gently rubs your back, and you take a deep breath to relax slowly as you listen to the Nova Corps agents.

"Please, everyone calm down. The station moved through an asteroid field, we're in stable space again."

You let out a deep, shaky breath, and Natasha has you sit back down. Gently she pries your weapon from your fingers and puts it down on one of your packs.

"Those guys really scares you, huh?" She asks a rhetorical question. You know it's useless to deny it, no matter the bravado you show more often than not. Usually, there isn't a station full of innocent people around you. Usually.

"I guess. It's just… it happened once. People got caught in the crossfire." You swallow with difficulty. You remember the screams and the fire and the smell of burned corpses. After that you avoided places that were isolated, and you kept as low a profile as possible. You only scavenged in hope of getting out of this whole mess.

Natasha knew the feeling too well. For her, it was Dreykov's daughter, the people of New York during the battle who didn't make it. She knew what dreams haunted her friends too. It was the price of that life after all.

"Does it get better?" You ask when you see in her eyes what you see in yours when you look in the mirror.

"It does. Bit by bit. But never fully." It's hard for her to tell you the truth but she knows it's what you want. You nod. "It helps to have people you can count on." She looks towards the now awake June, and Tim. You barely know the guy but he'd been there for you so far - a bit out of paranoia but still it counts for something. "And to have people to talk with."

She smiles at you and takes your hand, lacing your fingers together. The gesture is firm but she offers you the possibility to take your hand away. You choose to leave it there.

It's a peaceful moment, and a peaceful feeling that she brings to you. But it barely lasts, when a soldier comes to your group. You let go of her hand, almost like a shy highschooler who doesn't want their parents to know about their girlfriend. A blast to the past.

"We got an answer," he says shortly. "Says she'll be here soon."

Natasha straightens her back. "Perfect."

"Are you sure it's okay for you?" You ask. You have a good thing going, but sharing a bed was something else entirely.

"Yes. You're not sleeping on the floor. And the ship has been claimed by Carol and June." You grumble something about those two getting along way too well, and Natasha smiles at that. You fluff the pillow and throw it back on the bed. It's the third time you do it, while Natasha is just looking at you, laying down on her side with her head in her hand. She looked stunning in a short and simple tee-shirt, with her hair freely flowing. You can see very clearly the disparaging hair color, and you want to plunge your hand in it to see it in more detail, get closer to her skin, and smell her scent.

Oh god. No.

Since the stress of landing was gone, and you realized how she made you feel, your brain started filling with all those thoughts of you and her together. You tried your best to keep them at bay, but it had been harder than you thought. During dinner, you spilled water on you when you tried to drink because your eyes were glued to Natasha while she was talking. Everyone laughed but they were gracious enough to not point out the reason why you were so unfocused even if you had a feeling a few of them noticed - maybe even including the one responsible. But no, if she did notice, why offer to share a room? 

She's way out of your league, and now that you're back on Earth it's not like there is any reason for you to act on any of how you feel. Yep. No reason, you think as you finally find the courage to lay down in the bed, under the blanket. It feels nice as the house is slightly too cold for you - contrary to popular belief space is very warm and you are used to it now. But you quickly forget about it when Natasha slides her silhouette under the blankets in turn. She closes the distance between the two of you and faces you with a smile.

"Hey."

"H-hey?" You answer, confused about what she is doing and why she's so close to you suddenly.

"I want you to know, I'm not sorry."

Her words confuse you even more. Until you feel it. Her ice cold feet on your legs. You shriek and try to worm your way away, but there is no use, Natasha grabs your arms and quickly neutralizes you as the cold is penetrating you to your core.

"Please, stop! Get your feet away! Please!" She laughs at your shrieks, which are more laughs now, but you won't give up, moving around erratically as she keeps trying to fully pin you down to steal your warmth. And she succeeds, obviously, she's the Black Widow after all.

Once you realize you can't move anymore, you stop thrashing around and open your eyes. She's straddling you now, her eyes in yours, her cheeks a nice shade of pink - you're not sure if it's because of the play-fighting or something else -, and you feel her breath on your lips. Your mouth opened slightly to lick your lips, your heart suddenly pounding in your chest and you know she can feel it in your wrists as she holds them.

"Natasha–"

"Don't." She leans down towards you, your eyes closing briefly when you feel her plush lips ghost over yours.

"Don't what?" You swallow hard.

"Don't say anything."

You can't help but obey, nodding lightly. You can barely breathe when her fingers slowly caress your cheek, only for her hand to go higher. That makes you frown, especially when you feel her move faster and seemingly grab something.

"Okay, you're good." She smiles at you, and stands up, approaching the window with something in her hands.

"Hm. What was that?"

"There was a spider," Natasha says as she opens the window to let the creature out.

"There was… a spider…?"

"Mhm."

You stay where you are, frozen in time as what happened dawns on you. A spider? You almost kissed… but… A. Fucking. Spider? Your brain is trying to catch up to everything as the redhead joins the bed back and lays down like nothing happened. You feel the mattress cave under her but don't look, completely shocked by what just happened.

She turns off her light.

"Good night."

"A spider…?" You whisper as the only possible answer. Is it all that caught her attention? The only reason why she was so close?

A spider.

Tonight, Natasha falls asleep before you.

-

It's early morning, and the first sun rays are hitting the kitchen just right to illuminate the wooden furniture and the silhouette of the redhead assassin. Natasha is sitting there with a thousand yards stare. She has a forgotten cup of coffee in hand, no puff of smoke coming out of it anymore. It simply sits there with her.

The events from last night replay in her mind.

"I almost kissed her," she tells the man who just entered the room. He looks tired beyond his years, but he comes to sit opposite of her. He knew perfectly who she was talking about - the way the both of you interacted didn't escape his legendary perception. The both of you had developed a quick connection that was evident. And if he would normally just listen, he feels that she needed a push.

"Why didn't you?"

It takes her a moment to contemplate an answer. Why didn't she? You were willing, that much she could tell, but something stopped her. Maybe her deep seated fear of abandonment. That she wasn't worth it. Or that you would end up the same as Bruce, not wanting her. Not enough. And seeing this spider - a wretched creature unwanted by most - made her realize she was maybe not enough. For anyone.

"I'm just not good enough."

It is the same room where she stayed the first time the Avengers learned about Clint's family. She doesn't want the cycle to repeat either. But it is her abandonment issues that are mainly responsible after all.

"Nat, you're amazing. No matter what you think, anyone would be lucky to have you."

"I don't think I should. She's still a civilian, and I'm–" she doesn't finish her thoughts, but it's clear to Clint. He is still there himself, after everything he's done. He shakes his head.

"You're a hero. You saved half the galaxy. I think that warrants some peace and quiet with someone you like." He extends his hand and takes hers from her mug. "At least think about it before you go all tortured soul on her."

She considers it, and nods. With a deep breath she comes back to Earth and looks at her coffee. She gives Clint's hands a press before she stands up and grabs her mug to put it in the microwave.

"Cold coffee is the worst," she declares before she turns around and leans against the counter. She's back in business. "You said Tony's funeral," she clears her throat from the emotion of his loss, "will be tomorrow?"

Clint nods and starts to move around the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Since his wife and kids came back, he's been making it for them everyday. He could barely believe his luck to have them back, and now Nat.

"I'll need to buy something for it," she comments when she realizes that the Compound had been destroyed, and that she had no safe house around the city that would have what she needed. It will also give her the time to be alone for a bit ; she had no occasion to be on her own the past week, and with everything that happened it might do her good. Give her time to grieve. To think about everything that happened. Think about you and what she truly wants.

"Hey guys," a strangely happy Carol Danvers enters the room. They take one look at her and it quickly makes sense what happened to her. Apparently Natasha isn't the only one with something going on. The redhead is barely surprised, knowing how charming the blonde is. This spells trouble if she knows anything about Carol.

With a sigh, she drinks from her coffee cup, still leaned against the counter. The day is going to be long.

-

You barely have time to think about what happened yesterday before you're alone in front of your parents' door. It's still the same as before, and you feel like nothing changed, like you're just visiting the way you used to until you were kidnapped. You take a deep breath and knock. You hear ruffling noises before the door opens, a waft of familiar smell invades your nostrils, and you're face to face with your mom.

"Y/n…?" She whispers with incredulity before she launches forward and embraces you in a warm hug. It feels so familiar, but it's been so long you're not so certain what you should do. It has been five years, after all, plenty of time to forget about the affection your parents gave to you whenever you met. Slowly, still, it comes back to you, and you raise your arms to return the strong embrace with delicacy, almost fear it's going to dissipate if you're not careful enough. It feels stilted on your part at first, but you relax as time goes on. The familiarity of the warmth feels good.

Your dad comes to peak what could be taking his wife so long out there, and when he sees you, when he understands you're back, his legs almost buckle under his wait and he has to hold onto the table in the hallway to not fall. Tears are not so resistant to gravity, and soon his face is peppered with them.

It takes your mom a while to let go of you, and your dad to be able to stand up properly again. When it finally happens, you're whisked inside and in questions that you answer patiently, retelling the events of your abduction and eventually how you came back, but you never go into the full details; you don't want to break their hearts further.

After that, your mom leaves the room to go call the rest of your family and tell them you're back, leaving you alone with your dad. He lets out a long, heavy sigh, and after a long beat of silence finally speaks.

"She never stopped looking for you. She always knew you were somewhere out there." He looked at you with the same eyes as yours. "But I have a feeling you didn't come just to stay here."

"I have to go back to see the proper authority at some point and I might have to stay with… people, for some time. Let the dust settle, you know." The government is probably going to want to know about your abduction, and your spaceship. It rubs you the wrong way, but you had a feeling you might not have a choice.

"No, it's not what I meant." He grumbles, his eyebrows knitted together. "Once the dust settles, what will you do?"

You open your mouth to answer, but nothing comes. You often dreamed of coming home, but you never thought beyond that.

"I don't know," you admit. You look down with confusion. What were you supposed to do? Go back to your old life?

"You've tasted adventure, kid, and yeah, it was bad, and scary sometimes I bet, but you changed now. You have a foot in a new world, and I know you." He smiles as he remembers. "I don't know if you remember, but when you were a toddler, you got lost in some caves, and after we found you, all you wanted to do was go back in. No matter how scary it was." He chuckled. "I knew there and then, I told your mother 'oh this one, this one is gonna find troubles one day, and she'll like it.' You know. A 9 to 5 is never going to make you fully happy. So maybe… maybe space can be your thing now."

You look away, frown in the same way he does. In those five years, you were so focused on going home, you never stopped to think about the way flying made you feel, or how at ease you had gotten with taking jobs on the other side of the galaxy. "What about mom?"

"Now that you know where we are, you can come visit us from time to time."

You shake your head. "I don't know."

"Just think about it, kiddo. Just think about it."

You nod, and your mom reappears. You smile at her, and laugh when she tells you your aunt broke her phone again.

"We should have a get together with everyone! I already invited them, they'll be there this week-end!"

Of course she did before even consulting you. Still dazed by your conversation with your dad, you simply nod.

"Sounds great."

"You can bring your new friends if you want too!"

"I, huh, i'll see if they want to come."