What If... Steve Came Back?

As with the others in this series, this is not a reader insert, but still worth the read :)

They had to bring the stones back. That was the deal Bruce made with the wizard lady from New York. Of course, none of them expected to be doing so directly after Tony's funeral, but who knew how much longer they'd all be together.

Steve had been the one to volunteer to do it. In his mind, this would be his last service to the Avengers. They didn't all know that, but that's what this was.

He stepped up onto the platform, the case holding the stones in one hand, Mjölnir in the other.

Bruce was talking about the whole process, but Steve already knew what to do and put his helmet on. He made eye contact with Bucky one more time before he pressed the button.

As Steve traveled through time, he thought about the look on Bucky's face. How he knew what Steve was planning on doing. Or at least, one of the many plans Steve had thought about. There was still a possibility a different one could work out.

His first stop was the Tesseract, where he stole a couple more Pym particles, just in case, and managed to avoid suspicious eyes again, even though there were people all around looking for him.

Then, he went to Asgard. This one was going to suck just a bit. He didn't really want to stab Thor's ex-girlfriend and re-infect her with this Aether, but he had to. For the sake of the timeline.

When he got there, she was already on high alert after seeing the raccoon. Steve's top skill wasn't espionage- especially not in the daylight. So, he had to rely on his speed. He also decided to leave Mjölnir there, since that's where Thor got it from. Or, when really.

The moment she fully turned her back to him, Steve hurried out and used the device to give her back the aether, jabbing it into her bicep.

She let out scream and jumped, but Steve was already successful. Asgardian guards were hurrying around a corner to him, so Steve took the device and hurried as fast as he could.

"Captain America?!"

He didn't care to stop and explain anything.

Steve turned a corner and had just enough time to get the next spot loaded in, and leapt just as the guards turned their corner.

(Unbeknownst to him, they all thought Loki had something to do with it somehow. It was the best explanation that required the least amount of actual searching.)

His next stop was New York. First, he found his knocked-out self and replaced the Mind stone. When he went to leave, his shield stopped him. He had left Thor's hammer, as promised, and he kind of wanted to have his own shield back.

It had barely even been gone, and he already missed the damn thing. It was an object, and yet to Steve, it meant so much more. To everyone it meant so much more.

Steve grabbed it quickly, then hurried off to find the keeper of the stone- the one before Stephen Strange. According to Bruce, she'd be expecting him.

When he got there, she was still on the roof, waiting. "I see you've kept good on your promise," she said once Steve got onto the roof.

He shrugged. "We had to," was all he offered. He held out the case with the Time stone waiting inside for her to grab.

Steve watched as she opened the eye-shaped necklace around her neck and then took hold of the stone. Once it was safely tucked in, she looked up and nodded. "Thank you."

Then, she looked down at his shield and raised an eyebrow. "I hope I'm not breaking too many time laws with this," Steve said, gesturing with his head to the shield in his hands.

She smiled. "I'm sure it will all be fine." Her cryptic words were her salutations- once they were out in the air, she turned and left the roof. However, her way was much less chaotic than Steve's.

Once the door was shut and Steve was alone on the roof, he got ready for the last stop. Clint hadn't talked much about it, but everyone knew enough. Steve just hoped he wouldn't have to see anything he didn't want to.

As he traveled through space and time to arrive at Vormir, a new thought struck Steve. What Clint had explained is how he got the stone. Natasha sacrificed herself for it. Even thinking about it now made Steve's heart lurch.

But the thought kept going. If he were giving the stone back... would he get her back...?

When Steve "landed" on Vormir, he noticed he was a long walk away from the giant place he assumed Clint had briefly mentioned. At least he'd have time to prepare his case or whatever he needed to find a way to get her back.

After a very long walk and a lot of thinking, Steve made it to the base of the mountain, then managed to climb up and make it to the top.

At first, no one was there. Steve actually worried for a moment that, since he already had the stone, the place was sort of "out of commission."

But then a figure suddenly appeared. Steve put his shield up on instinct, and then kept it up when the figure fully appeared.

"Steven Rogers... we meet again."

The Red Skull floated before him, dressed rather differently than he was the last time Steve saw him. Instead of his Hydra uniform, he was in a black cloak that seemed to disappear at the bottom.

"We do..." Steve responded, on guard. "What happened to you?"

The Red Skull sighed. "When I held the Tesseract, instead of burning me to a pile of ash, I was transported here. I was assigned the guardian of the Soul stone and have never left since."

Steve scoffed. "Sounds lonely."

"Indeed," the Red Skull responded. "I will not harm you, Rogers, for my duty is only to this monument now and what it once held. What you have brought back."

He wasn't surprised the Red Skull could "sense" the stone, if he really was to be believed about his life being dedicated to it now. Steve finally brought the shield back down to his side.

"I've come to bring it back."

The Red Skull thought. "Strange... this isn't the kind of item one returns very often," he responded. Then, he held out his hand, and Steve got the message.

He started opening the case the lone stone was nestled in, but then paused. "First, I have a question."

The hand lowered. "What do you need to know?"

Then, Steve hesitated. If he were told no... "If I return the Soul stone, do I get the sacrificed soul back? You know, the whole 'soul for a soul' thing you seem to preach."

Neither spoke for a moment, the Red Skull looking at Steve, but not really looking. He was thinking, mulling over the possibilities for sure. Like he said, no-one really returned one of the most powerful objects of all time.

Finally after a moment, the Red Skull refocused on Steve. "I'm afraid I do not know. The only way to find out is to give me the stone. When you come to, you'll find out." Then he held his hand back out.

Steve hated this answer. But as a figurehead for being "honest," he was pretty good at seeing it in others. Despite the past relationship they had, Steve fully knew the Red Skull was being honest. He really didn't know.

With one finally pause for the inevitable, Steve held the open case out to the Red Skull.

He did something similar to the Time stone keeper of New York, using an invisible force to bring the stone to his awaiting hand.

When it did, there was a blinding light. Steve squeezed his eyes shut and used the case to try and stop it from blinding him. Then he felt funny. He didn't know how to describe it, but it was almost like his conscious disappeared for a moment and then returned when he was in a different place.

Steve opened his eyes. He was laying down now, flat on his back, looking up at the Vormir sky. He sighed, assuming the answer had been no.

But then he heard a gasp, followed by coughing. Steve practically flew to his feet and turned to see her, laying a few feet away from him, alive.

"N-Natasha?" Steve asked quietly. He didn't know if he could believe it.

But when she looked up at him and saw the same look in her face, he knew it was true. "Steve..." she breathed, now that she was done coughing.

He finally got his brain working again and hurried to her side to help her to her feet. The second she was, he pulled her into a hug- one she reciprocated.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay? Oh my... I can't believe you're here right now," Steve rambled, his emotions having a hard time being held back. He'd consider this one of the few times that was okay.

Natasha squeezed him back, her own face wet with tears. "I'm here," she whispered, almost trying to convince herself, too. "I'm here..."

They finally pulled away from each other and Steve had a horrible thought. "Wait... how do I... how do I bring you back? I- I didn't bring another suit, there's nowhere for me to put these particles," he said, holding the extra ones he grabbed in his hand. That's when he realized his case was gone. Red Skull must've taken it. A souvenir maybe.

"Steve," Natasha interrupted, grabbing his arm to get him to look at her. "I'm still wearing mine, it's okay."

He let out a breath of relief, and finally let some tears fall. "Nat I... I didn't think it was gonna work. I thought... I thought on my way here that if it's the whole 'soul for a soul' thing then it should work the other way around. Hell- even he didn't know if it would!"

"But it did," Natasha said. She was so happy. When it came down to the sacrifice, she thought herself the obvious choice. Not only did Clint have a blood family that would be waiting for him when all was said and done, but...

She didn't know she'd be so missed. In reality, she thought everyone would sort of move on and let her memory stay as 'the one who sacrificed herself.' Never did she believe they'd want her back, or even fight to get her back.

But Steve did. He found a way. Of course, she shouldn't be surprised that Steve did.

"Wait, so what happened?" she suddenly asked, remembering the whole reason she sacrificed herself in the first place.

Steve decided telling her everything now would be better. The first thing he mentioned was that her sacrifice did work, and they got everyone back. Then he had to talk about the battle with Thanos, who found out about them and used their portal to travel to 2023.

When he mentioned the compound blowing up, he saw Natasha deflate. Her life had been in there, since she'd solely been there since 2018.

He talked about the fight, how they thought it was just their ragtag, tired group. But then they all showed up. And they won. But Tony had to snap to do it, and he didn't make it.

At that part, Steve held Natasha as she cried. They had been close- best friends, Steve was willing to bet. He knew he was right in telling her here, before they went back.

Speaking of... "Do the others know? About you trying to- to get me back, I mean," she asked.

Steve shook his head. "They don't know a lot of things about this mission," Steve said. Nat's raised eyebrow invited him to keep going. "This is my last mission. I'm retiring after this. I thought... I thought about going back, being with Peggy but she had a life. I don't think I was meant to be in it more than I was.

"So then I figured I would retire when I got back, pass the shield on to Sam- oh, that reminds me, I am worthy," Steve suddenly pointed out.

Natasha needed to explanation. "Really? I guess it did move at the party... how did Thor react? Was his ego crushed?"

"Well, considering I used it to stop Thanos from pushing his own axe through his chest, he was pretty happy. I was only restricted to using the hammer, though. He got the axe."

The two of them laughed, and it felt so right. It hadn't even really been long since they lost her, and yet to Steve, it felt like decades. Being here in this moment made him realize that.

After they calmed down, Natasha hummed. "That whole retiring thing? What do you plan to do?"

Steve shrugged. "Get a life like Tony. I don't know about the family part, if that's still an option for me... but at least anime house. By a lake would be peaceful, but really anywhere away from the city. Surrounded by trees. I love Brooklyn, but I need to move on."

Natasha smiled. "Sounds kind of nice," she said, picturing her own life and what it would look like if she retired.

Steve smiled down at her. "It would be a bit lonely, you know, if I did it all by myself," he said.

She looked up at him and smirked. "Oh really? Isn't one of the perks of retirement supposed to be getting all that alone time?"

He laughed. "Well... maybe not for everyone." Natasha just chuckled.

They couldn't stay there forever, though. "Ready to go back?" Steve asked.

Natasha got her suit back on. "You have no idea."

Sam and Bucky were waiting by the platform for Steve's return. Bruce was counting down and pressed the big button. It didn't work at first. Sam started to panic, but Bucky wasn't surprised. Steve had briefly mentioned seeing Peggy during the stone retrieving mission. He wouldn't be surprised if that's where he ended up.

But then it did work. In a second, Steve fully reappeared on the platform. With his shield back and not alone.

"Nat?" Bruce asked while Sam and Bucky looked on in shock. She smiled and nodded, walking toward the edge of the platform. "Nat!"

The two hugged, Natasha having an easier time since she was elevated by a couple feet. Bruce was rambling on about how happy he was to have her back, and how he had tried when he snapped but he didn't think it worked.

Other people suddenly starting coming over when they heard Bruce's yell, wanting to see for themselves.

Thor was first, and then Wanda came over, followed by Pepper and even Peter. By this point, Natasha had been able to get off the platform. When she got to Pepper, Nat gave her a tight hug and the two spoke a few more words.

Then, Steve watched as Clint appeared with his family in tow. "Natasha?" he asked quietly.

The crowd of people parted to let her through. She smiled wide and ran over to hug him. The Barton clan came up behind and made it a big group hug.

Steve took this as his chance. "Hey, Sam, can I talk to you really quick?"

The other man nodded and the two walked away from the crowd. "What's up man?" Sam asked.

"I... I thought about not coming back. About going back to the 40s, finding Peg, and having that life that I always thought I wanted. But... I didn't. She had her life, and we had our time together. It was good."

Sam nodded along, understanding why Bucky wasn't as panicked a minute ago. But he didn't know what this pertained to.

"I wanted to bring Nat back, so I did. But I still... I still want to retire. Have the life I wanted in the world I'm in now."

Sam smiled and clapped Steve on the shoulder. "You deserve it, man. Go out there, grow old, live your life without having to fight for it, too."

"There's more," Steve said, all though he appreciated Sam's words. The man recrossed his arms and looked at Steve with confusion. "Someone still needs to hold the shield."

That's when it finally clicked. Sam's jaw dropped and he looked at the gleaming shield in Steve's now outstretched hand. He started to shake his head as he looked back up at Steve, but Steve held up a finger.

"I'm making the right choice, Sam. If I wanted anyone to hold the shield, to keep representing what it does, I'd want it to be you."

Sam paused and looked over at Bucky. He watched with a smile and nodded. This was something Steve had actually discussed with Bucky before his mission, and Bucky couldn't agree more.

"Take it, Sam. Do me proud," Steve said, and Sam finally accepted the shield.

After gawking at it (on his own arm!!!), Sam looked back up to Steve. "So what's this new retirement plan of yours look like?" he asked.

Steve smiled and looked over at Natasha, who was excitedly talking with Clint and Laura's kids. She looked up, saw him looking, and sent him a small wave.

"Have the life I deserve in the time I'm in."

~Fin~

A/n: I think I like this ending more than the one we got, so this is now canon in my head thank you very much

I'm doing my absolute best to just crank these bad boys out ahead of time because I suddenly thought about how I really won't have much free time over the summer. this also throws a wrench in my plans for other books. once February is over, though, I will have so much more free time. So that's good.

Anyway, hope you guys liked this! Please send me some requests and keep interacting and all the things. I'm trying my best besties.

See you next week Lovelies!!!!!!!!!!!!