The Night We Met | Steve / Bucky

sixty-four - are you with me

Steve, Tony, Bruce, Thor, Clint and Katherine sat on the dock, overlooking the lake of the Compound. The sun beginning to rise from behind the horizon. Katherine sat on a wooden bench, her elbows resting on her knees. 

Everyone sat in silence. Natasha's passing weighing heavily on everyone. Katherine kept her head lowered, letting out shaky breaths. "Did we know if she had family?" Tony asked, his voice quivering slightly. 

"Yeah." Steve gulped, "Us." 

Thor continued pacing up and down, catching wind of Steve and Tony's conversation, "What?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips, "What are you doing?" He asked, Tony climbing to his feet to face him. 

Thor stood tall, his grief and angst making him intimidating. "Just asked him a question." Tony responded in a soft tone to the God of Thunder. 

"Yeah, no." Thor spoke, his voice quivering slightly, "You're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead." Thor's words cut deep with Katherine. She's dead. It didn't feel real, she didn't want it to be real. "We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back. Isn't that right? So stop this shit -" Thor spat, his passion fueling his aggression, "We're the Avengers. Get it together." 

"Can't get her back." Clint spoke, his arms folded across his chest. He stood, staring at the water, the rising sun illuminating the surface. It was quite peaceful, something most of the team needed. 

Thor let out a heavy breath, looking to Clint. Hope diminishing from his eyes, "What's he - what?"

"It can't be undone." Clint looked to Thor, "It can't." 

Thor began chuckling, looking to the rest of the team, "Look, I'm sorry. No offence, but you're a very earthly being, okay? And we're talking about space magic. And can't seems very definitive. Don't you think?" Thor's condescending tone echoed over everyone. The weight of his words falling heavy on the shoulders of those who grieved. 

"Yeah look," Clint held up his hand to Thor, "I know I'm way outside my - my pay grade here. But she still isn't here, is she?" Clint turned to Thor, his tone rising. 

"No, that's my point." 

"It can't be undone." Clint spoke, his voice quivering with the memories of Vormir. "Or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say about it." Clint shouted, catching most people off-guard, "Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer and you go fly and you talk to him!" Clint took a moment, "It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it."

Thor stood in silence. He knew what Clint was saying, it hit him. Natasha was gone. Katherine kept her head low, "I should have been there." She spoke softly, catching Tony and Steve's attention. Steve looked to Katherine, wiping the tear from his eye. Katherine raised her head, "I asked to go to Vormir." She said through gritted teeth, "I asked to be assigned on that team, and you said no." Katherine spoke to Tony. 

Tony removed his sunglasses from his face, turning to his sister, "And what could have you done any differently?" Tony asked. 

Katherine got to her feet, "I would have thrown myself over the edge."

This got everyone's attention. Everyone turned to Katherine, questioning her words on sacrifice, "Kat," Steve sighed reaching out and grabbing her hand.

"No." Katherine pulled her hand from Steve's, "I'm expendable. I should have gone." She bit on her bottom lip to prevent the quiver but her voice could not hold strong. Tears escaped her eyes, "She's not coming back. We have to make it worth it."