Steve Rogers thought he was one of the lucky ones but Natasha Romanoff, well, she thought that she was terribly misfortunate and she would love to kick fate's ass. In a world where soulmates are real, unequivocal marks etched on skin signifying an i...
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Steve Rogers couldn't hear anything other than the sound of his racing heart as he stared at the man pointing a gun at Natasha. The seconds were ticking by, precious seconds of the life she had left. He was trembling, his mind running in circles as their life together flashed before his eyes. He had to do something - anything - but the man just stared at him, a glint in his eyes that chilled him to the bone. It was clear that he wanted him to move, to fight him just so he could shoot her. However, if he continued to stand there, shaking like a leaf in his boots, she would bleed out right before his eyes.
How was he supposed to choose when the wrong decision could kill her?
In the stillness of the forest, he could hear her heaving gasps, her body fighting to hold onto the little strength she had left. She was fading fast and slipping right through his fingers. "Что ты хочешь от нас? Деньги? Мой щит? Я тебе все дам!" [What do you want from us? Money? My shield? I'll give you anything!] He choked out, stumbling over the Russian that he hadn't spoken in so long. He hadn't spoken the language since he left Natasha alone in Miami... if only he would've stayed and forgiven her right then and there. Maybe they wouldn't have been sent out on this mission, maybe she wouldn't have been shot because he would've been good enough to take the bullet for her.
"Вы не можете дать мне то, что я хочy." [You cannot give me what I want.] The man said, the corners of his lips turning up in a malicious smirk.
He wanted to cry out with frustration, his fists clenching as he longed to kill the man who held so much power over them with one, single bullet. He was playing them like a fiddle, trying to push him to his breaking point so he'd give up, so he'd yield entirely to his demands by using her life as leverage. Only the man didn't realize that he would do anything to save her, that he was past his breaking point and already broken. Tears were streaming down his face, his eyes flickering back and forth to where she lay, to the man above her.
"Don't move, Steve. Don't do it. We're coming. I'll tell you when." Tony whispered through their earpieces.
He felt a sliver of relief as their teammates realized what was going on. Only he wasn't sure if he could wait... if she could wait. He could feel her pain through their bond, the way she was slowly being submerged in the darkness he wasn't sure she would resurface from. Yet he could feel her own relief from taking the bullet for him, how at peace she was because she had saved him. A sob tore through his throat, a cry that he hardly recognized from himself. He couldn't remember how to breathe because his world, his love, was dying, and he didn't know how to save her. He couldn't lose her, not when he had just been given the chance to get her back.
"Okay, Steve. On three, cover Natasha." Tony spoke through the earpiece.
Steve hardly had time to understand what his team's plan was before Tony began to countdown.
