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DAY 149
STEVE'S POV
They fucking did it.
Steve had his suspicions from the moment the group blipped through time itself to their allotted periods to retrieve their assigned infinity stone. It was rather impossible not to sense impending doom when it felt like every atom inside of his body was either inches from being ripped away or permanently jumbled - but that situation seemed puny compared to the moment he saw the version of himself from over ten years ago.
So, yeah, naturally - he was doubtful of the entire plan.
But they were the first ones to arrive back in the present - Stark, Lang and himself, mind and space stone in hand. It took the trio a few moments to gather their bearings after travelling through time again, sharing knowing glances towards each other as they controlled their breathing.
"Do you think they'll make it?" Scott asked, sucking in a deep breath as he sat on the linoleum floor outside of the giant machine created for this very event.
"I don't know what we're going to do if they don't."
Steve could feel both of their eyes lingering on him as he spoke, undoubtedly thinking the same thing - just too afraid to say it out loud. This mission was close to preposterous, not to mention highly dangerous for everyone involved, it wasn't exactly a golden plan but it was the only one they had left. The last ditch effort for mankind, and the people they loved.
It had to work.
His mind immediately flashed to Honey - the way those brown eyes would examine him with concern right now if she were here, the way her soft-spoken voice would comfort him, her touch. He wanted to make the universe right, he wanted his best friend back, he wanted to save all of the lives they had lost - but more than anything, more than even seeing Buck's face in front of him again, he wanted to reunite Honey with her family.
She deserved that.
And he was only four infinity stones away.
Tearing him from his all-consuming train of thought, the machine made a loud whirring sound, zipping another group through the space-time continuum. Short, rugged blonde hair came into view, followed by the dirty grey fur of his raccoon partner, as Thor and Rocket stumbled from the machine - a flash of glowing red confirming that they had confiscated the reality stone.
"Never ask us to do that again," the animal growled, his teeth flashing just slightly as he hopped off of Thor's back to sprawl out on the ground with the rest of them.
"Ahh, Rabbit," Thor clicked his tongue, resting back on the palms of his hands as he sat on the floor. "Not cut out for a real man's job, eh?"
"Well, someone had to do it while momma's boy over here was too busy-"
"Do not speak about my mother-"
The whirling sound of the machine started up once more, interrupting their bickering and saving everyone's ears from having to listen to it, as someone else was jumping through time. The giant, green creature was the first one Steve saw, observing the way Banner's veins were nearly close to imploding under his skin as he fell to his knees, chest heaving as he crawled from the system with the stone that reflected the same shade of green as his skin in hand. War Machine wasn't far behind, but his blue sidekick was no where to be seen.
"Nebula?" Rocket questioned, faintly concerned, as his small, black eyes blinked slowly.
Rhodey shook his head somberly, his eyes training on the ground.
It wasn't a question as to if they would lose anyone, it was who would they lose? With a mission as sensitive as this one, it was merely unavoidable, this wasn't a fairy tale. This wasn't a children's book with a sappy, happy ending, this was real - and risky. Each individual of the group acknowledged those risks before they traveled through time, they knew what the end result could possibly end up being.
And every single person was willing to risk it all.
This was much bigger than anyone in this room.
All they needed was the soul stone, which had been assigned to Natasha and Clint, who still hadn't blipped back just yet. The final piece to their operation, the last step to their attempts at snapping everyone back to Earth, it was all just within reach - he could practically feel it on his fingertips now.
But then the machine was humming, for the last time, and only one, singular figure appeared on the platform in the middle. Clint emerged from the time machine, like a swift punch to the stomach, jaw clenched as he stepped down the stairs towards the rest of the group. Steve examined the way his shoulders sagged, ultimately defeated, and the way his eyes were glazed over with a look that he knew all too well. He had worn the same look more times than he should have, more than anyone should have.
"Where's Nat?" Banner quipped immediately, his voice raising faintly as he pushed himself from the ground to tower over the broken man that had just came from the machine.
Clint lifted his head weakly, his glossy, blue eyes staring up at Banner's green form, swallowing the thick lump in his throat as a single tear trickled down his cheek - streaking through the dirt against his skin. His mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out, no words, not even a sound - there was nothing he could possibly say in this moment, hell, maybe he didn't want to say it all because that would mean that it's real.
Instead, he looked around apologetically, like it was his fault.
Steve had been there once, too.
The look on his face meant that Natasha wasn't coming back. The inseparable pair that once was, was no longer. And Steve knew the world of hell that was going to surround this man, the guilt, the sadness, the grief. He knew exactly what Clint's world was going to be like past this point, he had been living it for a while now, and he wouldn't wish that on anyone.
