Through, Together (A Romanogers Fanfiction)

Too Little Too Late

It took several days to get Tony back up to speed, physically, mentally; the whole kit and caboodle. Things were tense around the base. Stark had been throwing a lot of "I told you so's" around, and it was causing mixed reactions. He was adamant in his claim that all of this could've been prevented if they'd just listened to him. They could've protected the world; they could've stopped Thanos and his fleet from ever reaching it, but hindsight was always 20/20, wasn't it? Natasha had stopped keeping count of all the things she should have done differently in the past. All the decisions she should have made. Recounting one's failures was never a good way to move past them, and everyone here had failed, in some way or another. Whether it was failing to listen to one another, or failing to beat Thanos on whatever playing field they'd met him, it didn't matter. They'd lost. The best thing to do was to get up, wipe the dirt off your face, and try again.

That's exactly what they were going to do.

Tony's intelligence was a monumental addition to the operation they were running. He worked with Bruce, Carol and Rocket, and together, they devised a way to track Thanos based on the global catastrophes he was causing. They discovered that the use of the gauntlet sent out powerful shock waves, with Thanos at the epicenter. They tracked where he used the gauntlet while they prepared a ship to take them into space. Not the Quinjet, though. That idea was scrapped the second Rocket and Nebula deemed the new ship-- the one Tony and Nebula arrived on that was, apparently, named "Benetar"-- capable of being repaired and restored to proper flying shape. Rocket proved to be just as adept at engineering as Tony, so the mechanics didn't all rely on Stark. That was good. He was far from top shape, and even if he would never admit it in a million years, he needed all the help he could get. So, while some built, others watched, keeping a close eye on the signatures on the map until...

The signatures were gone.

One day, they just... stopped. And they didn't start again. Natasha was terrified for what that might mean.

"It's too late," Thor surmised as they all stood, huddled over an intergalactic map and waiting for it to do... something. "He's accomplished his goal. Finished what he set out to do..."

"So, now what?" Rhodey asked, incredulous. "He retires to a nice, sunny planet far, far away and sips pina coladas on a beach for the rest of his life?"

"Not a beach..." Nebula's voice sounded from the back of the room. Everyone turned around to see her, leaning against a table, a faraway look in her black eyes. "When we were children, father would speak often of his plan. He swore his success would be followed by a long rest."

"Where?" Natasha asked.

"The farm." Nebula said simply. She pushed off the table and took a few steps forward. "I can take us there."

There was uncertainty in her demeanor. Fear. Was she afraid of facing her father, or was she afraid of seeing him die? It seemed he had been nothing but cruel and inhumane to Nebula, but Natasha had to wonder if, somewhere, she still harbored love for her father. She wondered if, when push came to shove, they would be able to rely on her to make the right choice. If they were going to take the fight to Thanos, with all six stones, they would need everything to go absolutely right. Betrayal would not be the key to success. But neither would hostility. She decided it would be best to give Nebula the benefit of the doubt; to trust her. She'd earned that much. If that trust proved to be misplaced, they would handle her.

"When can we go?" Steve asked.

"Ship should be ready in another couple days," Rocket replied.

"Let's get to it, then." Steve gave a nod and stepped away from the table.