Five years later

"You sure about this? I don't think that Sam would be too thrilled to see me flying around in these things."

"(Y/N), who else better to take his place than you?" Tony asked with a weak smile. "I've built the wings to be the lightest and most aerodynamic yet, and when we get your husband back tomorrow, he's gonna be so damn jealous. I can't wait to see that, so humor me, please, if for nothing else."

"That's your only goal?"

"No," he scoffed, "of course not. I want to hear you give him hell about it. I've done my time listening to you and it's only been a day."

"Well, I'm sorry. Things have been a little tense. Banner's about to put that gauntlet of doom thing on and if he doesn't get this right-"

"He will."

"I know he will," you clarified, "but we need to keep a little realism here. After the day we've had, nothing seems real anymore."

Tony could only nod and take a step back, admiring his work one more time before everyone could finally be considered ready. The rest of the team had taken their places around Bruce and kept trained eyes on the man, in full gear and ready to take down a Hulk if things started to go south. There was no guarantee that he could even wear the gauntlet without it killing him before he had the chance to snap his fingers; there was no guarantee of anything.

The air in the room was heavy with a strange humidity from the shared anxieties and a heaviness of desperation that pulled the wind from your lungs. Standing just behind Tony, sharing his shield with Clint, you closed your eyes and took a long breath, trying to remember every detail of Sam's face just in case it was the last time that you would be able to see it.

~~~

When your eyes opened again, the world around you was gone. It had been replaced by fire, crushing weight and dust that stung your eyes and dried the tears that tried to wash it away before they could fall. Each breath taken burned like the flames that threatened to touch you, and even if you had tried to call out for your team, no sound found came; you simply didn't have the power for your voice to carry.

"(Y/N)!"

"Tony?" you barely whispered. There was no way that he could possibly have heard you.

"(Y/N), I see you," he called back, "hold on!"

"Not going anywhere..."

Huge pieces of rubble were cleared away quickly and as if they had weighed nothing at all; if it weren't for his suit, you were sure that Tony would have collapsed from the stress alone. As soon as your line of sight began to clear and more light was allowed to help, you saw that Steve was on the other side of the pile, working with Tony to get both you and Barton out as he crawled up from the depths of what remained of the compound's main building.

"(Y/N), are you injured?" Steve said next.

"I don't think so, just shaken up. Everything hurts but that's expected, right?"

"Can you help get the others?" Tony asked quickly, repeatedly looking back and over his shoulder. "Cap, we need to get over there. Thor's got an eye on him but he's on his own."

Without having to see anything at all, you knew exactly who Tony was talking about. There was no one else in the entirety of the universe that could put that look of terror, anger, and revenge into his expression, and no one who could so willingly resolve Stark to the idea of these being his last moments if it meant that the world might be saved in exchange. It was a look that you couldn't stand to see, but you completely understood. "Tony, go, I'm on it. Steve, go."

"You sure?"

"Cap, go. Kill him properly this time."

You watched as the two men left to join Thor, standing together for what could easily be the final time for all anyone knew. The battle began to rage behind you as you searched for other surviving members of your team, and you wanted desperately to get back to it to help; there were no guarantees that anyone else had survived, and you felt that your efforts were best spent on the field, even if that meant fighting at Steve's side again. You had fought against yourself successfully until FRIDAY's voice filled your ears through your communicator, her tone taking on emotion that you had never heard from her before.

"Boss, wake up!"

That couldn't be good. You ran as fast as your injured and exhausted legs would carry you, out into the open where fires burned hotter than before, and the blue sky was charred and looked as if it might never return to this place. You pushed your way up on bruised and torn knees, to a precipice of shattered building, just enough to see Steve standing alone, facing Thanos with his shield in one hand, and Thor's hammer in the other.

"Son of a bitch," you mumbled in pure shock. "Didn't see that coming."

You watched with awe as Steve swung Mjolnir with ease and held his own against the Titan, though the giant had eventually come out on top. You were helpless as your Captain was tossed aside like a rag doll, his shield cracked in half and blood streaming from beneath his cowl. It wasn't a shock to see him try to push on, standing with indignance and prepared to take one last run at the giant army even if he had to do it alone. You took a step towards him so if nothing else, he wouldn't die without a friend at his side. You only made it one step.

"Cap? Cap, come in, can you hear me? It's Sam."

It was the one and only thing that had any power to pull you from your decision to make peace with the end. The one thing...one person, who could make you push yourself to move again and take steps back into the battle. It was Sam.

"Cap...on your left."

But the sound of his voice was all that you would have for now; the battle began again immediately, this time with a much more evenly balanced field once those who had been snapped away were returned. You tried to connect with your husband, who you had lost for five years now, but each battle that you engaged in only tore you farther away from him. There was so much going on, so many flashes of people you knew and armies of creatures that you couldn't identify, that seeing even a glimpse of Sam was a chance sighting at best. The next time you would see him would be at an unimaginable moment, when a reconciliation wasn't appropriate, but when you needed nothing more than to find yourself in his arms again after far too long.

"We won, Mr. Stark."

~~~

"This isn't how it was supposed to go," you whispered, standing next to Sam in the driveway of the home that Tony and Pepper had shared. "He didn't want to do this, but we pushed. All he cared about was that he couldn't lose what he found here, and now they've been the ones to lose him. It isn't fair."

"I know it isn't, but it was still his choice."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. If there was going to be a chance, he was going to find the answer or suffer every day that he tried to deny it. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he hadn't tried."

"Hey, let's just focus on saying goodbye, and be thankful for what he did. He gave us another shot at this."

"I am thankful," you answered, almost with a snap of attitude that he wasn't expecting.

"Babe, I wasn't implying that you weren't, okay? All I meant was that I want us to be in this moment. If I've learned anything, it's that a moment means nothing if it's taken for granted."

"You know, that sounds like a really well-built belief, Sam, but you have no idea what you're talking about. You have no idea what it's been like. You have no right to say anything about how I should spend my moments, alright?"

"Alright," he answered softly, hands up in deference. "Alright, I'm sorry."

"I was Tony's friend long before you knew a thing about him. The last thing that I want to hear from you is that I need to feel thankful because he gave up everything for us. All he ever wanted was peace, and to have a life free of this bullshit, and when he finally got it, we guilted him into giving it up. Now that little girl..." you paused, fighting the lump in your throat as it choked your voice away, "Sam...how am I supposed to look at her now..."

"I'm sorry, (Y/N)," he rushed forward, pulling you tight to him; so tight that you allowed yourself to let him carry your weight when you finally gave in. If it could be an option, you'd allow yourself to absorb into him, just to avoid what was coming next. "It's okay. I've got you. I've always got you. I'm not leaving you again, I promise."

"You can't."

"I can't what?"

"Promise," you whispered shakily into him. "None of us can make that promise ever again."

~~~

Little did you know, little did any of you know, that you were dangerously accurate in your prediction.

Tony's funeral had gone as expected; solemn and respectful, attended by people you never would have thought to be there. It was attended by people from entirely different galaxies who had barely known the man but knew how important he was and how selfless his actions had been to save them. Pepper was strong, as usual, and even little Morgan wore her best stoic expression. She was clearly a Stark through and through and it gave you a glimmer of hope that she would be okay after all.

Steve had volunteered to return each Infinity Stone back to the point from which they were taken, feeling that he was best suited to handle each situation should anything go wrong. He was also the only one who could return Mjolnir back to past Asgard when Thor declined the mission entirely. It was supposed to be simple; a quick trip to each point and back home, taking only seconds for those of you who remained in the current time.

But when Steve didn't return as planned, you knew immediately what had happened; deep down, you had known what he would do before he ever left. As Sam pushed Bruce to get Steve back, you wandered to a nearby bench overlooking the lake, where your answers waited to be spoken. Bucky stopped you, taking your arm for a second to hold you back.

"Don't stop him."

"You really think I could?" you huffed. "I can see the damn shield from here. I just need to talk to him before Sam does."

"Okay, well go easy on him. He looks a little frail."

You approached the bench with light steps, but you knew that he could still hear you; even with the age that he was now wearing, Steve hadn't lost his enhanced senses. Taking a seat at his side, you nearly pulled your hand back as he rested his on it, the shaking not from nerves but from the passage of time, each wrinkle in his skin carrying its own story. "Hey, Cap. Rough trip?"

"Hey, (Y/N)."

"So, did something go wrong? Or did something go right?"

"That's maybe a story for another time," he smiled gently. "I know that you didn't come over here to ask me about my trip."

He was right, and it pissed you off that he was right so often, even now after everything that had happened. "I know what you're doing. You sure you don't want to give that to Buck?" you asked, pointing at the shield that rested next to his leg. "I think it would look really cool with that arm of his."

"You have the same arm."

"Yeah, but his is more...muscle...y."

"That's not even a word, (Y/N)." Steve laughed. "But no, we talked about that already, and he wants to find his own way for the first time in a long time. Actually...I was considering giving it to you."

"Shut the hell up," you gasped, slapping his arm. You had forgotten yourself and your strength, tipping him slightly but enough so that you had to catch him. "Don't you dare, Rogers."

"Then that leaves Sam, doll. You know as well as I do that he's the right choice. From the day that Nat and I showed up on your doorstep, I knew."

"I've regretted that every day since," you admitted, albeit with a smirk. "You've been a major pain in my ass, Steve, and now, you're passing the torch to my husband so I'll never be rid of you."

"That was my plan all along. I'm glad to hear that it's working."

With a heavy sigh, you dropped your gaze to your feet, wanting to give the man at least a polite chuckle, but you held it back. If this was going to be the last time that you saw Steve Rogers in this lifetime then you wanted to at least give an effort to end your stressed friendship on a descent tone. "Do me one favor, okay?" you asked quietly.

"Of course."

"If he says no," you answered, looking up eagerly, "then let him say no. You know as well as I do that if you push, he'll give because it's you."

"I won't, I promise. I'll only ask once." Steve laughed softly to himself and turned fully towards you, smiling with that dumb grin that told you he was thinking he was about to win the conversation. "On one condition."

"Oh, god. What?"

"That if he says no, I get to ask you."

"Ask her what?" Sam broke into the conversation, arms crossed and brow furrowed as he waited not so patiently for the answer. "Something I need to know going on over here?"

"Nope, nothing going on," you reassured him, "he actually wants to talk to you." You gave Steve a quick kiss on his cheek for a goodbye, looking at him purposefully as if to remind him of the promise he had just made. "See ya around, Cap."

"Bye, (Y/N)."

Bucky had been standing well to the side of the whole conversation, watching and listening in silence until it was time to send Sam in. You could tell that he was sad about the turn of events, in that he was losing his best friend before getting time to know each other again after so long, but as he watched Sam take the shield in hand, you recognized that there was more than that being exchanged. He had lost Steve, but he still had Sam.

"I'm never going to escape that damn thing, am I, Buck?" you groaned, resting your head on his shoulder as you stood next to him. A moment of pause happened before he decided that he could answer, but he still sounded unsure of himself; it was so convincing that you weren't certain if he was being serious or not. It was a glimpse into your new future.

"Uh...I assume you're talking about the shield...right? Because if you mean Sam, then I've got a few ideas..."