#outriders

You didn’t know what to do anymore, you’ve never felt so…alone. After that day everything seemed like it was blur. You tried to stick around the avengers compound but it wasn’t the same, some days you you couldn’t even get out bed. The normal jokes and remarks haven’t left your lips in months, and it wasn’t any better with the worried looks coming your way. You hid. It’s what you knew best. You locked yourself away from the world.

The first couple of months, Natasha and Steve would visit and share a cup of tea with you. But it soon became just Steve, then even sooner, nobody. You didn’t understand why he had to go, why you had to go through this kind of pain, for fucks sake he died in your arms.

Out of all people…why him.

Five years had passed and you didn’t leave the comfort of your home…until you heard a knock at your door. The knock is faint, almost hesitant. After five years of silence, the person on the other side of the door takes a deep breath and knocks again, louder this time. The sound echoes through the empty house, breaking the silence that has become your constant companion. “You in there?" Staring blank at the door, your mouth had gone dry. The third knock was heavier, powerful. Finally getting up you open the door, “Natasha?” You whisper.

Natasha leans against the doorframe, her expression unreadable. She scans you from head to toe, taking in the visible changes - the pallor of your skin, the dark circles under your eyes, the way your clothes hang loosely on your frame.

"Jesus, look at you,"

You didn’t look that bad? Did you…?

Natasha steps inside, closing the door behind her. She turns to face you, her arms crossing over her chest. "You look like death warmed over," she states bluntly, her voice laced with concern that she's trying to hide behind sarcasm.

“It did.” you mutter underneath your breath, “Did you need something?” You weren’t trying to sound rude, but you really weren’t in the mood for the sarcasm. You can see her expression sour. She pulls out a chair at the kitchen table and sits down, gesturing for you to sit as well. "Steve sent me," she says, getting straight to the point. She watches you intently, waiting for a reaction to Steve's name. Your head perks up hearing his name. “Did he now? Well let’s hear Romanoff.”

Natasha's lips twitch with a faint smile at your use of her full name. It's the first sign of life she's seen from you in months. "We can bring him back." she says, her voice softer now. She leans forward, resting her elbows on the table.

You can feel your heart drop to your stomach, she has to be joking. It was no secret you had a crush on Bucky, not with Steve’s big mouth. Once you lost him, it was clear he was the reason you are the way you are now, “Say you’re joking…” Your voice was barely above a whisper, afraid it’ll crack at the mention of him.

Natasha's heart aches at the sound of your whispered words. She reaches out, placing a hand on your shoulder. Her thumb brushing gently over your collarbone. "I'm not joking," she says softly. Her eyes search yours, trying to gauge your reaction. "Scott found something." You smiled, for the first time in years, you smiled. Quickly nodding, you grab your things, just as you reach the door you look down at your attire. “Maybe I should shower first.” Natasha chuckles nodding her head. You and Nat arrive at the avengers compound, you couldn’t stop your leg from bouncing in the car, you haven’t felt this alive since Wakanda.

The Avengers compound is bustling with activity as you and Natasha enter. You can feel the stares, the whispers. Natasha leads you to the war room where Steve, Bruce, and Scott are waiting. As soon as you enter, Steve's eyes widen in shock. You flash a smile at him, pulling him into a hug. “I’ve missed you Rogers.” you whisper. Steve returns your hug with a tight squeeze, emotion evident in his voice. "God, I've missed you..." He pulls back, examining your face just like Natasha did. "How are you..." His words trail off, not knowing how to ask what he wants to know. "Really..."

You furrow your brows slightly, a smirk still playing on your lips. “I’m fine, really.” You glance at Scott doing a double take, the realization hitting, “Didn’t you…?” You know Scott disappeared after the snap, “how is he…?”

Scott grins sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, about that..." He glances around the room before leaning in conspiratorially. "Turns out quantum physics is a bit forgiving. Took some tweaking, but we cracked it." You nod acting like you understood a thing he said.

“Good to see you by the way, you too Bruce!” Turning your attention back to Steve, you lean a bit closer, voice dropping for only his ears, “Is it true, you can really bring him back?” Steve's eyes flick to Bruce briefly before he turns back to you, his expression serious. "Bruce thinks so," he whispers. "He's been studying the time-space continuum, trying to figure out a way to retrieve the souls that were dusted..."

“Sounds easy enough.” Yeah right.

Standing in the middle of the ‘time machine’ you prepare yourself to retrieve the soul stone with Natasha and Clint, The air is thick, making the hair on your arms stand up. “You guys ready?” You whisper. Clint and Natasha nod, their faces set with determination. As the machine activates, the room begins to distort and fade away. You feel a strange sensation, like your molecules are being torn apart and put back together again. "Hold on," Natasha warns, her voice steady despite the chaos. Squeezing your eyes shut just as hard as your hands in Natasha and Clint’s, the feeling stops.

It worked.

“Holy shit.” you mutter stepping off the quinjet. Vormir is absolutely stunning, the sun is set a beautiful shade of purplish red. You look upon the rocks seeing the rocky cliffs, “I guess that’s the way” you mumble. “I bet the raccoon, didn’t have to climb a mountain” Natasha says, stopping for a moment. “Technically he’s not a raccoon, you know?” Clint responds. “Whatever he eats garbage.” Natasha breaths. What feels like hours you finally reach a flat part of the mountain.

“Welcome.”

You snap your head, pulling a knife from your belt.

“Natasha…daughter of Ivan, Clint…son of Edith.” When the phantom gets to your name, you clench your jaw. No one knows your parents, how could he possibly… “Who are you.” You snap back.

“Consider me a guide…to you…to all who seek the soul stone.” The phantom says, his voice echos sending chills down your spine. Your eyes meet Natasha’s, a disgusted look on your face making her laugh softly.

“Oh good, alright you hot tamale, where’s the stone? tell us where it is and we’ll be on our way. You’re starting to freak me out.” You mutter. A quiet chuckle slips from Clint’s lips, of course he would find that funny. He emerges from the darkness revealing his crooked face. You know him…but where…The Red Skull. He leads you to the top of the mountain, you don’t know how to describe it but it feels, different up here.

“What you seek, lies in front of you.” You look over the cliff, the bottom of it dangerously low. “For one of you, for the other…In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul for a soul.” The Red Skull says.

“He’s making this shit up guys.” You say walking over to nat, sat on a nearby rock. She shakes her head finally meeting your eyes, “Thanos left with the stone, without his daughter. That’s no coincidence.”

“Whatever it takes.” Your voice barely above a whisper.

The three of you approach the cliff, “We know who it’s gotta be.” Clint says. Clint knocks Natasha to her feet, giving you the opportunity to run. Sprinting towards the cliff your eyes glued to the sunset in front of you. Just as you’re about to jump, your body falls to the floor in shock…damn Natasha. You shake in pain, eyes locked onto Natasha watching her movements as she leaps off the cliff. You scramble to your feet catching her hand, “Nat…please.” You swallow harshly, tears brimming your eyes. “Natasha Romanoff, don’t you fucking dare.” A single tear falls from her eyes, “I love you.” she whispers, a weak smile on her lips. She kicks the rock in front of her yanking her hand out of yours. Time seems to freeze as your fingertips slip through hers. The sound of her hitting the bottom echoes through you, rattling your very soul. You collapse to your knees, an anguished scream tearing from your throat. Clint lies there stunned, unable to process what just happened.

You and Clint stand in the middle of the Time Machine hand in hand, tears mirroring eachothers. You didn’t say a word as you make it back to your timeline, the others are looking around, a smile on their faces, succeeding on getting the stone. “Where’s Nat?” Another tear glides down your cheek turning your body to face Clint, resting your head on his chest. His arm wraps around you, holding you tightly as he tries to comfort you. Steve and Bruce notice your tear-stained face and Clint's somber expression, their smiles faltering. "Where is Natasha?" Bruce asks, his voice laced with concern.

Your throat is dry, head fuzzy. You saw it happen and you still couldn’t convince yourself she’s gone. It should’ve been you. Sat on a bench staring at the water infront of you, face unreadable. A single tear falls from your eyes, you wipe it just as quick as it fell hearing someone sit next to you. Clint. He sits quietly beside you, his arm slipping around your shoulders. He doesn't say anything, just holds you as you stare out at the water. "She's really gone, isn't she?" his voice is barely above a whisper. Your head rests in the crook of his neck, “yeah.” you whisper.

“why would she do that?” Voice finally cracking, letting the tears flow.

Clint pulls you closer, his arms wrapping around you tightly. "Because she thought it was the only way," he murmurs, his voice breaking slightly. "She thought it was the sacrifice that needed to be made. She always was too stubborn for her own good." A weak laugh slips from your lips, god you miss her already. “Then we have to do this, for Nat.” You say tilting your head up to look at clint. Clint nods solemnly, "Damn right we do," he says, wiping away one of your tears. "She didn't die for nothing. We end this war. For Natasha." He stands up, offering you his hand. "Come on."

Tony puts the last stone in place on the red mechanical hand, the tension floats in the air uncomfortably as everyone looks upon it. “Question is, who’s gonna snap their freakin’ fingers?” Rocket says. Everyone glances at eachother, “I’ll do it.” Thor says walking closer to the glove. “Excuse me?” Tony retorts. The bickering goes on for at least five minutes, with a roll of your eyes you speak up, “Enough.” Their eyes shoot at you immediately, “It’s got to be me. You saw what it did to Thanos, it almost killed him.” Bruce says finally cutting the tension. “Bruce…” you plea but his mind is already set.

As the glove goes around his hand, everyone prepares for what’s about to happen. You stand behind Clint holding his hand comfortingly. As the glove sets around Bruce’s hand, colorful beams shoot through his arm, you shut your eyes unable to look at your friend going through such pain. He finally snaps his finger causing everything to blur, “did it work?” you say releasing Clint’s hand walking beside him, he picks up his phone as it starts to ring. “is that…?” you whisper. He nods a faint smile on his lips. It worked. You’re gonna see him, just as the smile creeps onto your lips everything comes crashing down. The sounds of bombs bursting and rubble hitting your body shakes you to your core. “CLINT!” you shout out, coughing what feels like your lungs straight out. The world around you crumbles as the time reversal causes chaos. You hear Clint shout your name back, but the sound of rubble falling drowns out his voice. You're thrown to the ground, hitting your head hard.

Your body feels like it’s on fire but you can’t stop now, you’ve gotten to far to just quit. You use all the strength you had left to push the rubble off of your body, finally free you jump to your feet running out of the now broken down building. “Tony! Thor! for fucks sake, anyone?!” you shout out hoping somebody would hear you. Through the haze of dust and destruction, a familiar voice calls out. "Over here!" Tony's armored hand waves frantically from behind a pile of collapsed metal. As you rush over, you find Tony pinned, his leg trapped under a large beam.

You run over directed by his voice, finally finding him. “Stay still.” You mutter, focusing on the rubble on top of his leg. The piece of concrete levitates above his leg slowly freeing him. “hurry!” you bark out not able to hold it for long. Tony hisses in pain as his leg comes free, but he's quick to push himself to safety. "Thank fuck," he mutters, grabbing his leg. "Where are the others?" he asks, looking around the devastation.

"And how the hell are you still standing?"

You side eye him, shaking your head. “Instincts. I don’t know where the others are, I haven’t seen…” You trail off seeing Thor standing in the open, focusing on someone. “what…” you mumble walking over to him, that’s when you see it. The person who took everything from you.

Thanos.

As you approach, you see Thor stood frozen, his eyes locked onto Thanos. The Mad Titan is kneeling, surrounded by rubble, his armor damaged but his gaze unwavering. He's alive. And he's looking straight at you.

Your body freezes seeing Thanos menacing eyes lock with yours. “I’m gonna kill him.” you mutter, a hand covers your shoulder shaking you out of the trance. “Thor.” you breathe turning to face him. “Let’s kill him properly this time.” With that Steve, Tony, Thor, and you circle around. Thanos starts talking saying god knows what, but you couldn’t care less. You began focusing your energy on him boiling the blood in his arms giving the others time to attack him. It’s going smoothly till he powers through it hitting you hard enough to send you flying. You crumple to the ground, unconscious, but the battle rages on around you. Thor's hammer swings, Tony's repulsor blasts, and Steve's shield charges through the air. But Thanos is a force to be reckoned with, his power overwhelming despite their combined efforts.

Your eyes flutter open seeing Steve lay near you, groaning in pain. “Rogers?” Crawling to your knees you place a hand on his shoulder, “Get up, we’re not losing this fight.”

Steve groans and pushes himself up, nodding grimly. "Fucking asshole," he mutters, gritting his teeth as he stands. He looks over at your battered state, concern flashing across his face. "You good?" he asks, checking his shield. You nod helping him stand stable, “Language Rogers.” A smirk plays on your lips glancing at him. He chuckles softly, despite the pain and chaos around them. "Yeah, yeah," he says, rolling his eyes playfully. Their brief moment of levity is short-lived as a roar from Thanos sends both of them staggering back.

“What I’m about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet. I’m gonna enjoy it…very, very much.” As the words leave his lips, his troops began crowing the field. “shit.” you mumble.

“Hey cap, can you read me?” Is that…?

Sam says through the coms, that surprisingly still work. Your head perks up at Steve, eyes widening. “On your left.” Sam says. Your head snaps to the left seeing a familiar portal form in the air. “I’ve never been more happy to see that birdbrain.” you breathe out, letting a genuine laugh slip seeing Sam fly through the portal. Multiple portals began opening all around you as the people who were once blipped step through. Bucky. “Oh my god…Bucky.” you whisper looking through the crowds of people trying to locate him.

Standing amidst the reunited earth's mightiest, his eyes immediately scan the crowd for a familiar face - you. As he spots you, his expression softens for just a moment, intense relief passing through his features. He moves towards you, pushing through the reunited heroes.

Your heart drops seeing him rush towards you, just as you’re about to rush through the crowd Steve finally speaks up, “Avengers…Assemble.” Everyone starts running towards the troops and you get lost in the crowd, Unable to finally reach the man you’ve been fighting to see, you rush towards the troops aswell. You explode multiple Outriders at once pushing your abilities to their furthest. As you’re about to explode another, you spot Thanos.

You rush towards him, determination dripping from your forehead. “You took everything from me.” You say, eyes locking with his cold ones. “I don’t even know who you are.” he mutters, “you will.” You retort, sending him stumbling back with the lift of your finger. He rushes towards you but you focus all you had left into his blood boiling it. You smirk raising your hands, levitating his body in the air. “Not so tough now?” you mumble, slowly tearing his body in half. You can see the strain on his face before he barks out, “rain fire!” Your eyes widen as beams began shooting from the air. You release him unable to finish what you started, before running and ducking under debris.

In the midst of his own brutal combat with several Outriders, he catches sight of your confrontation with Thanos. His heart pounds as he sees you standing your ground against the Mad Titan. When Thanos suddenly shouts "rain fire," his world stops. He rushes towards you, barely making it before hitting the ground, a beam almost stricking him. Your head snaps, seeing Bucky hit the ground. “Buck!” you scream out, scrambling towards his body. You make it to him, pulling him under the protective shield Wong created.

“Bucky..?” your voice is barely above a whisper, tears breaming your eyes.

Bleeding and bruised, he looks up at you through heavy lids. His chest rises and falls rapidly as he struggles to catch his breath. When he sees the tears in your eyes, his expression softens. "Fucking hell," he gasps, reaching up to touch your face gently.

Your heart stops beating feeling his warm touch on your face, “I thought I lost you.” you choke out, the tears now flowing freely. Pulling you into his arms despite his injuries. He can feel you shaking, can hear the sob escaping your lips. He wraps his arms around you, ignoring the pain in his ribs. "Shh, shh," he whispers, holding you tightly. Your body relaxes in his arms, the years you’ve yearned for his touch has finally come. Pulling back ever so slightly from his embrace, your cup his cheeks in your hands, “God…you look like shit.” you smile, letting out a weak laugh.

He lets out a surprised laugh, the sound rough and broken. "And you look like you've been through hell," he retorts, his thumbs gently wiping away your tears. He searches your face, taking in the sight of you after so long. "Fuck, I missed that smart mouth."

Tucking your bottom lip between your teeth, you gaze into his eyes, missing the captivating glint in them. No better time than now, you pull him in lips finally meeting his. He returns the kiss with a desperate urgency, his arms tightening around you as he pours years of longing into the embrace. The world around them fades away as he loses himself in the feel of your lips against his, the taste of you, the warmth of your body pressed against his.

“I’ve waited five years for that.” you murmur.

He leans his forehead against yours, his breath coming in short gasps. "Five fucking years?” he whispers, his voice low and hoarse. "I was gone for five hours, doll" he murmurs.

“It’s been five years buck, I was losing myself without you.”

He freezes, his heart stopping completely at your words. Five years. You had been without him for five fucking years. The thought of you suffering, of you being alone and broken guts him. He pulls you back into his arms, holding you so tightly it's almost painful. You wanted to stay in his arms forever, but you’re not finished yet. You kiss his shoulder softly before pulling away, “We’ll finish this after we win this war.” You say focusing back on the bigger task, you have to do this. Standing to your feet you see Carol getting thrown by Thanos, racing over to them, you stop Thanos Freezing his body in place, manipulating his mind once again. This gives Tony the opportunity to take the stones and finally finish this all. “Is that fear I see?” you mutter looking up at Thanos, reading his mind. “Pathetic.” you spat out.

The world goes quiet as Tony snaps his fingers, we did it. You release Thanos stumbling back, your head dizzy. “Buck?” you whisper falling backwards, blood dripping from your nose. He's by your side in an instant, catching you before you hit the ground. His heart drops when he sees the blood, his training kicking in immediately. "Fuck, how bad is it?" he asks, checking your nose and face for any other injuries. "Talk to me, doll." He helps you sit up, his arm wrapped protectively around your waist. He knows you're not fine, not really. The blood, the dizziness, it's all a sign that you're exhausted and probably hurting. He looks around at the others, taking in the scene of destruction and victory.

You look around at the now empty field, no more Outriders, not more Thanos, wait…where’s..? Tony! “Oh my god, Stark. Is he okay?” you try to stand up but you’re held back down by Bucky. “Shh, stay still," he orders, his voice firm but gentle. He looks over at Tony, who's slumped against a nearby wall, the Infinity Stones glowing faintly in his hand. "He's...he's okay. Just overwhelmed." He lies to you, he’s knows Tony isn’t gonna make it…but you’ve been through too much and his heart aches for you already. Seeing you hurt more is going to tear both of you in half.

You nod letting your body relax in his arms, The air fills your senses, it smells like ash, dirt, just purely gross. But it’s finally safe, clear…turning your head you meet Bucky’s gaze, smiling weakly at him.

“I love you.”

The words rolled off your tongue smoothly, you didn’t have to regret them. You didn’t want to. You meant it, you really did, you’ve always have.

“I’m-i’m sorry, that was-”.

His heart stops, his breath catches in his throat. Those three words, they're the only thing he's ever wanted to hear from you. He stares at you, his eyes searching yours for any sign of regret or confusion, but all he sees is that weak, tired smile. He silences your apology with a soft kiss, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "Don't you dare take it back," he murmurs against your lips, his voice thick with emotion. He's always known, always felt it, but hearing the words...it nearly breaks him.

“I love you.”