ROMANOGERS: And Then You

Chapter 3

The sound of Scott Lang's voice ends their serene embrace. Reluctant to let go of Natasha snuggled into his body, but she manages to slip right through his arms and steps toward the holographic monitor with eyes open wide.

"Oh my God," she says moving her hand over her mouth in surprise.

Steve walks up right behind her to get a closer look. "Is this an old recording?"

She smiles in disbelief. "He's out there, right now."

Both rushing outside to greet Scott, he's franticly asking questions about the state of the world and what's happened during the time he was trapped. They hadn't seen Scott since the airport fight... so they just grieved him like he had disappeared with the others after the snap. As relieved as Natasha and Steve are to see an old familiar face, they bare the devastating news of their lost friends. Pale sadness washes over Scott when he thinks about the last time he saw Hope.

"We're so sorry, Scott," Natasha says. "It must've been a long and difficult five years."

Deep in thought, Scott comes to a realization that perhaps the Quantum Realm saved him from the snap. He looks from Natasha to Steve and explains, "The thing is it wasn't... It might've been five years for you, but it was more like five hours for me." Natasha sends a confused glance at Steve, while Scott sees Nat's peanut butter jelly sandwich on the table and hungrily grabs it, "Oh my God, I'm starving! Anybody going to finish this?" Without hesitating for an answer, he nearly scarfs the whole sandwich down in two bites.

"Scott, please explain, the Quantum Realm?" Steve says.

"Right, right, as I was saying," Scott continues, "In the Quantum Realm, space and time are irrelevant. What if we used the Quantum Realm to get past versions of the Infinity Stones before Thanos and just undo the snap?"

"You mean, time travel?" Steve questions.

"Well, yes, basically. Like a time heist."

"We're going to need more brains and power for this," Steve says.

They leave the Avengers facility building and get into Steve's car. Nat sits in the passenger seat, while Scott takes a back seat. After coming back from being lost in space, Tony didn't take the humiliation of losing to Thanos very well. While the Avengers fought together in Wakanda, Tony nearly died fighting alongside Doctor Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy, but eventually surrendered to Thanos, and the image of Peter Parker clutching his chest begging for his life haunts his memories.

Steve never meant for Tony to fight that battle without them. They were supposed face victory... and loss together. He knows Tony had pent up anger with him, and he doesn't blame him. Since then, Tony has tried hard to move on and keep any danger at arms length, especially with his daughter, Morgan. Steve knows them asking him for help will be bursting that bubble, but they can't do it without him.

On the drive to Tony's house in the woods, Natasha can see the tension building up inside of Steve. He keeps a stern face and clenches his teeth with his hand tightly gripped on the steering wheel.

Natasha turns her body toward Steve and says, "Hey, you alright?"

Breaking his silent tension, he glances at her and feels his breathing steady from seeing her soft and concerning gaze. "Yeah... yeah, I'm fine." Nat smoothes her hand on top of his freehand, and her small hand barely covers the backside of his palm. She gives him a small comforting smile and Steve mouths 'thank you'.

Scott silently examines their interactions from the back seat. His eyebrows furrow, he feels unsure, but a bit sure... He has been gone for five years. It doesn't exactly make him feel awkward... yet.