Joyous moments weren't meant to last, at least not in your family. It had come to be expected after so many of them had found their way to you, so even though you had just heard the news of your son's engagement that made Steve smile genuinely for the first time in days, the feeling couldn't last through the slamming door and heavy feet of two of your best friends entering your room in a rage.

"Who in the hell thought it would be a good idea to talk about what's going on without making sure that Becca couldn't hear?" Bucky snapped, looking to everyone in the room. "She thinks it's her fault now and wants to move to Xavier's."

"What?" you asked in surprise. "Why would she think this is her fault?"

"She overheard Banner and Cho talking to Wanda and Vision."

"And just because her powers go a little wonky it doesn't automatically mean it's her," Sam added, only creating even more confused stares. "Where's Bruce anyway? I think we need to have a little talk with that guy."

Steve already had his phone out to send a fast text to the doctor, nervously typing as quickly as he could despite the shake in his fingers. He didn't want this to be put on Becca; she was so young, and she would take this personally and definitely to heart when it was something she couldn't control, if it really was her creating the problem with him and Buck. It only stung at Steve's heart that much more when he imagined the pain they both felt, being fathers and daughter, and having this be something that could change their lives forever and not in a good way. He had felt the pain of loss of a child in his life himself, and he wouldn't wish that on anyone, even if only loss by distance.

"Hey doc," you greeted Bruce as he came into the room, "Buck and Sam want to know what you said to Wanda and Viz. Becca overheard the conversation and now she's convinced that this is all because of her."

Bruce stopped and looked at the pair, the two of them glaring at him as if they could attack at any second if he so much as thought the wrong words before even saying them. He carefully took off his glasses out of pure habit, and maybe a little bit of safety if anyone took a swing at him, slipping them into his pocket with one hand as he rubbed the fatigue and regret from his eyes with the other. "Well," he began, "I'm really sorry that she overheard what we were saying. We should've spoken in private."

"Damn right," Bucky interjected.

"Also...she's right. It is her."

"Hold up, so what she heard about the Iridium stuff is true?"

"I'm sorry, Sam, but yes. Her ferrokinesis has grown considerably stronger since she was at Xavier's. So strong that she's pulling your blood apart with the Iridium used to make the serum."

"Why would they use-" Steve tried, but you cut him off.

"To stabilize your body's reaction to the serum...shit, Shuri was right," you groaned, turning away as you thought. "It was used to stabilize the portal from the Tesseract, remember?"

"Which is why she's reacting," Bruce added, taking slow steps across the room to stand at your side. He lowered his voice some, but it didn't matter when Bucky and Sam were quick to join him. "(Y/N), Becca is different from the other kids. She was born...after..."

"After what?"

"After..." he started over, "after Thanos."

"So?" Bucky shrugged, looking to Sam to add his own confusion, but he stood steady and listened for more.

"You were the only one that the Gauntlet touched," Bruce went on. "We think that she has traces of energy from each infinity stone within her. The Iridium that was used on the Tesseract left a specific signature behind with it, and her power is drawn to it now. Unfortunately...we have no way to stop it. Even if we gave Steve and Bucky the new formula that you took, it wouldn't remove the metal from their bloodstreams."

"You're saying that I can't even be around my own daughter without dying?" Bucky gasped. "I can't accept that."

"Guys, I think she has a good idea, and she should go to Xavier's," Bruce urged, "at least to give us more time to figure this out. Maybe the Professor knows something we don't. Maybe there was something that Erik did that he can undo. We shouldn't close the door on that option, because I don't have any left here."

~~~

The very next day, bright and early after breakfast was cleaned up and goodbyes were reluctantly said, Becca gave her dads one last hug and sat herself down in Brooke's car to leave the compound; for how long, no one knew for sure.

"You okay?" your daughter asked gently, taking the younger girl's hand.

"Yeah, let's just go."

"Okay, of course." Brooke started the car and was about to begin the drive, but a frantically waving William running across the lawn stopped them. Or perhaps more so, was that he was carrying his suitcase with him. She put the vehicle back into park and sat steady, not interfering when Becca opened the door and rushed to his side.

"Wills, what are you doing? You said you didn't want to go?"

"I changed my mind," he panted, "that's still good, right? Mom and Dad said I could, so don't worry about that."

"But...I don't know how long I'll have to stay there."

"I'm not a prisoner, Becs, I can leave if I want to. I mean, I won't want to," he shrugged with a smirk, "but still. So? We gonna go or what?"

Becca looked over his shoulder and back towards her family, smiling hesitantly at the sight of Vision and Wanda watching their son stand up for what he knew was right, that going with her would keep her connected to home. Next to them stood Sam and Bucky, talking to each other quietly as they watched, as if they were suddenly realizing that maybe William was too good of a friend for their comfort. "Um...yeah...y-yeah, let's go," she finally sighed, turning to allow him past.

The two kids hopped into the car and Brooke began the trip as they waved back to the family they were leaving behind. Becca wouldn't admit it outright, but she was relieved that William had changed his mind, and that she would have someone there with her; it was tearing her apart that she had to go in the first place, and why she was leaving, so to have her best friend at her side made it all just a tiny bit okay.

"Wills?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you change your mind?"

Will pushed himself up from the back seat, one hand holding himself up while the other reached forward to connect to hers, "I didn't want you to be alone."

~~~

Of all the ridiculous bullshit that had gone on in the last several days, it was just one more thing, but you still couldn't believe what you were seeing. You knew you weren't hallucinating, because there was no good reason to be, but what you were watching in front of you now had to be a sick joke or prank that was absolutely not funny. You had already done this with him once, and apparently your words of warning hadn't stuck in his thick skull very well.

"Give me the shield, Steven."

"No."

"No?"

"Pretty sure that's what I said. It's only one syllable."

You stood on the doorway to the quinjet, hands on your hips just above your holsters; if you really wanted to push this, a non-fatal hit to his foot should be enough to stop him. You had just arrived in the hangar and ready to go for a mission with Anthony and Sam, but as soon as you set your first foot into the plane the sight of the pilot had stopped you dead in your tracks. "Steve, get your ass out of that chair. Now."

"I thought you liked that ass?" Bucky laughed, giving you a friendly swat on yours as he walked by, also fully suited and ready to go.

"What in the hell is going on?" you asked, fully pissed off now. "There is no way that I'm letting this bird off the ground if you two are on it. You are in no condition to be out there. I thought I proved that pretty well by taking a bullet for you, Captain."

Steve closed his eyes and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the look on your face that would likely freeze him in place. The tone in your voice was very clear that this wasn't going to end well for him. "Doll-"

"No," you halted him with a hand raised, "no, Steve, you're not allowed to argue this by trying to sweet talk me. I'm putting my foot down. You are both staying here."

"You're putting your foot down?" Bucky smirked. It was a smirk that you wiped clean off his face with the look that Steve was expecting to come at him instead.

"(Y/N)," Steve tried again, standing to face you, "we can't handle sitting at home knowing that you guys are out here. All I can think of is how the ticking of the clock is another second closer to the end. I'm going crazy and this is the only place that makes sense to me."

"Yeah, right where I didn't want you to be. There's no way that either of you thought this through."

"I did-" Steve tried in a futile attempt.

"No, there's no way."

"(Y/N), I did," he insisted, "okay? I did. Listen, what's the worst thing that could happen?"

"I'll get shot again?"

"Okay, besides that?"

"There's worse than that?" you gasped, feigning hurt with a hand to your chest. "Wow, Rogers, you even said you loved me this morning."

At that, even Bucky began to change his tune and he swayed just a bit to your side of the argument. "Yeah, Steve, what the hell, man?"

Even with his support, it wasn't going to change your mind, and you had to call him out for his disloyalty to his best friend and partner in crime. "Barnes, don't you have your own husband to annoy? Go find out what's taking him so long to get here."

Bucky opened his mouth to reply, but now it was Steve who shot him the warning glare, and the idea of saying even a single word was immediately destroyed. With heavy, dragging steps, he made his way towards you to go back to the hangar, but he stopped at your side and took a tight grip on your forearm with one hand and metal fingers practically bending the metal of the doorframe with the other.

"Buck? You okay?"

"Sure, yeah...just stood up too quick."

"Is that all? Don't lie to me."

"That's all, promise."

You exchanged a knowing look with your husband, neither of you wanting to say what you were thinking as you watched your mutual friend slowly make his way back into the building. It was a defeating feeling, being completely helpless when you would give anything for these two. Your mind allowed a terrible thought, that at least they were going through this together, as if that would make any of this okay. "Go back inside, Steve, please," you tried one more time, your voice cracking through barely a whisper. "For me? Please...stay home."

He didn't answer you right away, and after what felt like an eternity, you turned back to face him only to see that he seemed to be fighting his own demons, deciding just how far to take this argument.

"Really? Not even for me? We're there now?" you huffed, dropping yourself heavily to sit on one of the benches in defeat. "You know what? Maybe I won't go. I can't watch you go into a fight anymore. I used to know that you would survive almost anything, and I wasn't worried. I mean...yeah, I worried some...but not like this. This is different. This..." you stopped, because the anxiety was building and you could feel it getting ready to take over. Trying to stop the shaking, you sat on your hands quickly, hoping he wouldn't see, but you should've known better. If the hands weren't what would give you away, the tears and rapid breaths definitely would. "I can't do this, Steve. You think I'm strong...but...but I'm not. I can't pretend anymore."

"Honey, I never expected you to," he said, hurrying to your side and kneeling on the floor in front of you. "You don't have to hold this in for me, alright? I don't want you to."

"How are you holding together so well then?"

"Ha!" he scoffed, taking your hands from their hold beneath you and lacing his fingers with yours. "I cried in the shower this morning. Twice."

"You did?"

"Damn right. I'm about to start up again, too. You're scared to lose me, but babe, that's nothing compared to how terrified I am to say goodbye to you."

"Oh, god," you shuddered, and the dam broke. "Maybe getting shot again would be better after all..."

"We probably shouldn't do this before a mission," he added, also now fully engulfed in tears and shaky laughter that he didn't mean, but it just as quickly faded away. "You always take care of me, (Y/N), and you always have my back. You're the one thing in my life that's never a question."

"Please, stop."

"I want you to understand why I'm here, doll."

"Okay..." you whispered. He wasn't going to stop no matter what you said now, and maybe you really didn't want him to. The moments you had left were precious and to get these now was a gift that you hadn't recognized. "Why are you here, Steve?"

"Because if I'm not gonna be able to do this much longer, I want every chance I can get to fight at your side. You have no idea how proud I am of you when we're together out there. And I know, our lives are so much more than the fight, but this is where I found my home...where I found you, and...I don't know...it just makes me happy. Is that weird?"

"No, it's not weird. It's a little concerning that you're happier in a fight than you are staying home with your family, though." When he looked at you as if you had just slapped him across the face, you hurried to backpedal and smiled as best as you could through your continued tears. "Sweetie, I'm joking. It's okay, really. I get it."

"You do? Or are you just placating me to shut me up?"

"No way, not ever. I want to hear your voice as much as I can. I can't imagine..." you tried, but your emotions once again had their way with you. Your breaths were thin and your throat burned, but any discomfort now was nothing like the breaking of your heart when you were in no way ready to have this conversation. Not yet. "I can't imagine the day...when I wake up and can't hear you next to me. We decided that we wouldn't die without each other, remember?"

Your husband furrowed his brow, deep in thought as he replayed years upon years of memories in his mind, desperate to find that one single moment amidst a wealth of moments that he never wanted to forget. "Sorry, honey, you're gonna have to help me out."

~~~

"I remember it all," you finally sighed, keeping your gaze lowered, "and how I almost gave up, even when you were right there asking me not to. I thought it was just a dream that I was remembering at first, like from anesthesia or something, but I've been watching you and noticing how you look at me, and I realize that it wasn't a dream at all. You were there."

"Yes."

"That had to be terrible. I'm so sorry."

"Well," Steve cleared his throat nervously, "it...uh, yeah...it was rough...but I did what I had to. And Wanda...she's the one who got me to you, so if it wasn't for her..."

"I'd be dead."

His chest trembled when he took a breath, visibly uncomfortable with that idea, the surge of feelings that accompanied it slapping him with painful memories in a flood of still-raw emotions. "But you're not...and I don't know what I would do...(Y/N)," he stopped, sniffling gently, "I...I have to admit something, but I need you to promise me that you won't get upset."

"Okay, I promise." Your voice was cautious yet accepting, hoping that whatever bomb he was about to drop on you wouldn't be so destructive that you would have to break the promise that had barely just passed through your lips.

"If we didn't have the kids," he began, his tone almost shy, "I don't think I'd be able to keep going if you didn't make it. The only thing that kept me from thinking about what I would do were those three. I got a glimpse of what it felt like to see your last day before I saw my own, and I don't know if I can do it again. I mean, you've been injured before, sure, and I've been worried, but there's always been hope. This..." he stopped, shaking his head and avoiding your eyes, "this was nothing like that. When I was the only thing between you and that damn light that wouldn't stop pulling you in, I had no hope left. When you just slipped through my hands like nothing, it was the worst feeling that I've ever experienced. I wanted to go with you, (Y/N)."

"Steve..."

"No, it's okay," he corrected quickly, trying to brighten his expression and force a small smile, "don't put that on yourself, please. That's my baggage, and I can carry it. I guess I just needed to tell you."

"I'm glad that you did."

"Really?"

"Yeah," you scoffed, "because that just means that neither of us can ever die. There's no way in hell that I'm letting you go first."