(Listen to My Heart Will Go On By: Celine Dion while you read this one. I'm sure you can tell just by the song title that this one is going to be a sad one. But this song is the perfect match for this one shot, not only with it's breathtaking lyrics and Celine's stunning vocals, but the music itself builds with the story and really emphasizes everything I've tried to bring to life in the writing. It's a heartbreaking piece... but undeniably beautiful.)

The icy wind swirled around you, as your boots crunched softly against the snow that paved the path. And with each strong gust that blew, you shivered at the cold that seemed to go straight past your chilled skin, and straight into your very bones. Piercing you from the inside like the tip of a knife, over and over again, sending painful pricks down your skin at the sensation that shot through your body. It was a cold you had never experienced before. One that seemed to turn the breath in your lungs to ice and cause frozen tears to collect in the corners of your burning eyes. The narrow path you walked along was engulfed in shadows, a darkness that only seemed to fuel the cold that ate away at your skin. The place itself seemed to embody the cold it unleashed, the deep shades of blue near black, almost seeming to enhance the frozen temperatures. It was an unnerving place, and even if it didn't carry the cold the way it did, you knew you would still be trembling just the same. It was a cold place. Down to its very core. 

A surge of sudden warmth meets your left hand, and the sting is enough to break through the denseness of your thoughts. It burns like a fire at first, the heat pricking through every inch of your thin skin like a million tiny needles. But soon, you can slowly begin to feel the warmth melting away the ice like feeling in your fingertips, and soon the blaze spreads up your arm. Sensation that had been long ago lost from your hands, is returned. And it isn't just the heat that you feel in the five fingers of your left hand. But a pressure, one strong and secure, and yet there is an underlying gentleness that is undeniable. The pressure is careful, as though your fingers are icicles and they could snap in half at any given moment, but a sensation of comfort and safety entwines itself within your fingers without hesitation. And you can feel the cold completely melting away. As though this sudden warmth is a shield, protecting you from the numbing elements this place throws your way. 

Looking down at your hand, you spot something better than a shield however. You spot a hand, intertwined with your own, and running your eyes over the tendons in the warm flesh that holds your own, you smile softly.  

Steve Rogers walked beside you, his footsteps matching your own, and you continued together hand in hand up the narrow path. Fear had filled you the moment the two of you had landed in this haunting place, and yet as you gaze delicately over at him as his hand safely holds your own, its as though he is capable of making all of the anxiety in your chest disappear. Making your body feel lighter; calmer. However, in the smallest corner of your mind, you still fear what you know is coming. Because this isn't a dread Steve can erase, for he doesn't even know its coming. And it is for that reason, that you kept this piece of information to yourself. Because you knew the moment you told him, that he would take that anxiety upon himself. He always did and you know he always will. He would happily take your pain and carry it on his own shoulders than see you suffer. But for once in your life, you want to carry this fear. It's your turn to carry the anxiety and the burden, and give Steve a rest. And for that, you spared him in knowing what is about to come next.

The path curves and the darkness that had encompassed you along that narrow road, widens and suddenly the two of you are standing in a vast open space. The shadows have lifted and a dark indigo light surrounds you. Painting the sky for miles in the deep shade of blue, with tones of purple swirled within its streaks. It would be a breathtaking sight, if you didn't know why you were here. 

The stone you stand on is cold and hard, just as the rest of this chilling planet, and it stretches out in front of you a ways, until it abruptly drops off. A cliff, feet away from where you both stand cautiously in place. You feel as your hand sways gently with each twist Steve's body makes, as he looks around at his daunting surroundings, but you stay frozen in place. Staring out at the shadowed abyss in front of you. Trying to catch a glimpse of your fate, perhaps, in the clouds that hover ominously around the cliff. 

"Where's the stone?"

It's as though you were underwater, for his voice sounded faded and far away despite the mere inches that stand between your feet. Pulling your steadied gaze from the sight in front of you, your eyes turn to look up at Steve. And you realize he's speaking to someone. A figure, cloaked in blackness, seeming to hover above the frozen ground like some kind of shadowed ghost. You had been so lost in your daze and your own troubled thoughts, that you hadn't even realized the presence of another on this vacant planet. 

"What you seek," He speaks slowly, and his low voice rattles your bones. "lies in front of you."

Steve took a slight step forward towards the mysterious creature, but his hand never let go of your own. Your arm reached just barely as your hand moved with his movements, but he still held onto you with all his might. His stance was firm and you saw the tension locked in his jaw, but he held no fear. 

"For one of you," It was with those words that your eyes finally fell. You could no longer look to Steve. You could no longer watch him with dishonest innocence, for you knew the truth. You knew that this part of the journey was coming. Part of the journey was the end... wasn't it? 

"For the other, in order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love."

Wincing at his words, you felt Steve's grip on your hand suddenly tighten. Squeezing warmth and protection into your flesh, as he stood questioning the creature. And once again, you slipped beneath the waves. You were floating beneath the currant. Steve's words near and yet so far away, but muddled by the waves just enough to dull the pain they inflicted. The pained expression in his words as he tried to comprehend what exactly the stranger meant.

"A soul for a soul."

And as though his arms had wrapped themselves around your waist and hoisted you out of the deep trembling waters, air rushed into your lungs and your focus returned on Steve. His head was tilted downward, gazing blankly at the solid stone his boots stood upon, and you could feel the loosening in his grip. 

"Steve," You whispered softly, and his head perked at the faint sound of your voice. His head turned slowly to face your direction, and it didn't take long for his eyes to lock with yours. They were a deep blue, one that made it hard to think clearly or even breathe deeply, and yet they seemed to drown in so many emotions they overflowed from them all. 

"You and I both know what has to happen here."

His eyebrows bent at your words, and confusion swept his face. "What are you talking about?"

"How do you think Thanos got the soul stone in the first place, Steve? His daughter came here with him, and yet, he was the only one to leave. Why do you think that is? Gamora didn't come back because he had to sacrifice the thing he loved in order to get the--"

Steve shook his head, and you watched as a few loose strands of his beautiful blonde hair fell from their place. Brushing against the skin of his temples. "What are you saying?"

His grip that had loosened, had since tightened, and it's strength was more powerful than before. And although the pressure began to feel a little too much for your delicate fingers, you allowed him to hold you as hard as he needed to. Staring into his eyes, you saw the way he searched your own for clarity. He searched your eyes as though he was riffling through files in an office or on a hard drive, trying desperately to find what was hidden in the depths of your mind. And it broke your heart the moment he found what he was looking for. 

The blue in his eyes softened, and raising your right hand, you gently pressed it against Steve's face. Cradling his cheek, you could feel his warmth spreading straight into your fingertips. And running your thumb softly against the smooth skin of his cheekbone, you felt as your nails began to dip slightly into his hair. It was a sensation you had felt so often, one that seemed almost as though a nightly occurrence, but this moment was different. 

"I won't let you do this," Steve said softly, and the breath he spoke with froze as the words escaped him. And you felt the puff of chilled air fan against your face, and yet you didn't feel any coldness at the impact. You could only feel his warmth, his hand in yours, his face against the touch of your palm. The cold couldn't touch you when you had Steve Rogers to keep you warm. "I can't."

"You can," You assure him, and your voice is barely louder than a whisper. For it's all you can manage with the tears building in the back of your aching throat. "you have to Steve."

"We need that stone."

"We'll find another way." 

You could hear the pleading in his tone, and his words made your chest tighten from their impact. The way he was so positive of the things he was telling you, the emotion and his certainty only making the pain inside you grow. To know deep down, that as much as he believed there could be another way... that he was wrong. Leaning forward, you pressed your forehead gently against his own. Feeling the very tip of your nose brush against his own, and your eyes fluttered shut. 

"We have to bring her back Steve, we have to try."

Steve released a breath then as your words entered the frozen air. And it wasn't just warmth you could feel as his slightly shaken breath reached you, but pain. You could hear it in his exhale, and you could feel it beneath your fingers that held his face tenderly. For your words made his face cringe. His body reacting to your stinging statement. 

"Then let it be me." He said suddenly, and tore his forehead away from yours. You looked up at him through your quickly fluttering lashes, and gazed into his blue eyes. They blazed as though a fire had been lit behind them, and they bounded to and fro in the softest way. Staring deeply into your own, as though he could change your mind just by his intent scrutiny. And most times, it would've worked. 

"Steve--"

"It shouldn't be you," Steve shook his head with force, and your heart ached as you stared into his entrancing eyes.  "I'll do this for her. For you, for us." You could hear the commitment and the surge of passion in his voice, and it began to scare you. Because you knew that if he had even the slightest chance, he would trade his life for yours in an instant. 

Your fingers gripped tighter to his hair they found themselves lost within, and you bit down on your lower lip as you shook your head gently. "Steve, it has to be me."

"Why?" He breathed out, and the warmth was welcome against your cold stricken face. "Why does it have to be you? Tell me why your life matters any less than my own?"

You felt the first tear of many dribble down your cheek in a slow manner, and it allowed for the numbing temperatures to freeze it against your skin almost instantly. But even as the tear sat preserved in ice, it didn't last for long as another hot salty tear trailed right over it. And melted away the freeze that had encased it. 

"Because this," You released a shaky breath as you stared at Steve through your tear stricken eyes. "this is all I'm able to do. This is all I have to give, all I have in me to offer."

"I'm not a super soldier Steve, I don't have the strengths that you have. I can't take down bad guys or fight in combat and win a war. I don't have strength that allows me to flip over army tanks or pull a man out a sinking helicopter that's going in the water. I don't heal from injuries like you do, and I am certainly no American hero."

"But this... Steve," You felt yourself sag slightly against his strong chest. "I can sacrifice my life if it means we get our little girl back."

"I can help get her back today," You breathed against the stiff fabric of his suit. "but you can keep her safe for the rest of her life."

You could feel against your chest as Steve released a tear driven breath, one that shook with the emotion he tried to swallow down. And the grip you didn't think could get any stronger, tightened. 

"Don't do this," He breathed against the top of your head, as your hand dropped and your cold cheek pressed against the hard fabric shielding his chest. "please."

Squeezing your eyes shut with all your might, you felt the tears tumble from your burning eyes. And although they froze against your skin with a stinging sensation, it could never amount to the pain ripping your heart apart inside of your chest. It felt as though someone had cut you open, and tore your beating heart out of your chest with their bare hands. All the while, you were awake and watching them do so. It was tortuous, this pain... this goodbye, and yet you knew in the end all of this unfathomable pain wasn't for nothing.

Slowly, you open your eyes and pull yourself away from Steve's strong chest. His arms now wrapped around your waist, holding you as close as he possibly could to him. As though he could attach you to himself and keep you there until he found another way. But looking up at him with eyes that burned like salt in your wounds, you saw the expression in his tear swollen eyes. He knew he couldn't stop this. 

Reaching your hands up, you hold his face securely in your gentle grip. Talking one last opportunity to feel the warmth of his flawless flesh against your own, and you took in every detail of his beautiful face. Even though it was reddened by the nipping cold and stinging tears, it was beautiful. Gnawing on your bottom lip as you gazed up at him, nearly choking from the sobs in your throat, you exhaled a soft breath. 

"Take care of her Steve." You whispered to him softly, pleading to him lightly with your eyes. "love her for us both, okay?"

Steve crumbled then, and there hadn't been many times in the past that it had been you holding him together. But you were thankful your hands were already there, keeping his head up, for he shook violently with a sob that almost seemed to radiate straight into your own body.

"I love you Steve Rogers." And leaning forward, you pressed your trembling and near numb lips to his own. You could taste the salt of his tears against the smooth skin of his lips, and although it coated his lips in a sadness that only made your heart ache worse, you could still feel the man beneath the pain. The man you fell in love with, the man you could kiss over and over again and never get tired of. You could feel him, underneath all of the angst that flooded his system, he was there beneath it all. Your Steve. 

Pulling away from his intoxicating lips, you looked up once more into his blue eyes. As you stared deeply into his mesmerizing eyes, you reached down and rested your hands against his own that held your waist. And slowly, as you watched him continue to cry along with you softly, you dug your fingers gently between his own. With just enough strength to begin to wedge them from their placement. 

"Give her a kiss for me," You told him as you gripped both hands tightly in your own, and were able to remove them completely from their hold on your small body. "and tell her just how much mommy loves her.

Steve choked suddenly as his eyes flashed up, and realization swept across his face as he began to feel what you had done. "No, wait--"

Releasing his hands quickly, you spun around and you felt as your feet began to pick up pace. Your boots hit the stone beneath you with conviction, and you could hear them echoing around you with the pounding sound of their descent down on the rock. And soon, you were sprinting towards the edge that dropped off into the clouds. Tears blurred your vision, and your ears burned with the sound of Steve's pained screams of your name, and yet your body felt light as you ran towards the end. 

Peace had found you. For you knew all of this pain would bring your daughter back to the world and most importantly, to Steve. 

It felt as though you were flying, the moment your feet stepped off that cliff, and you were soaring down faster than a star shot through the evening sky. Everything around you blurred and the breath in your lungs dissipated with the air around you. But slowly, you closed your eyes. And the image painted within the blackness of your mind, was the breathtaking blue of Steve Roger's eyes, as he looked upon his daughter with undying love. 

A/N: Wow. I literally have tears in my eyes right now. This is definitely the longest one shot I've written and by far the saddest. But I am so unbelievably proud of this one. I really dug deep with this one, and the writing I was able to create, has really blown my mind. I'm so proud I can't even explain it, even as my heart aches with pain for this one shot. I hope you could all really feel the emotion I poured into this one, and I hope you enjoyed it. 💙