TW- Mention of depression and slight mention of Su/cide

*STEVE'S POV*

I sat on the couch of my apartment, letting myself stare at the wall in thought.

It'd been so long since...

Since hope was lost.

Despite how long it'd been, I still missed everyone. I mean... of course I did. They were my best friends.

We had been so close to figuring it all out 5 years ago. We could've saved the universe. But it was just too risky.

A lot had changed since then.

Once Tony and Pepper moved out, everyone else followed. We had all gone our seperate ways. It was just too hard to be around each other when everyone wasn't present.

Clint went back to his home, allowing Nat to move in with him so he wasn't lonely. Bruce lives in an apartment in queens. From what I've heard, Thor lives in new Asgard. No one but Nebula and Rocket has heard from him at all. For all we knew, he could've been dead.

Speaking of Rocket and Nebula, they decided to live in New Asgard as well. As for me, I moved back to Brooklyn and got an apartment. Days went on slowly for me and the sky was always a shade of grey. Most people that were left never left the comfort of their homes, especially after we were told that the reason for the dark sky was because of the ashes of half of the human population.

It was hard hearing that.

Some tried to move on.

Others couldn't.

I didn't know how I felt, honestly.

I missed everyone but I knew deep down I had to keep going. Bucky and Sam were my best friends but all I can do is hope they are ok, wherever they are.

My small apartment was very bland, with beige walls, a small couch, a small bed, a tv... just things you'd use every day. It was fine. The most exciting thing I had in there was a picture of the team and I. It was taken after a mission. Of course, we won and we all went back to the tower for drinks and pizza.

All of us were scrunched together. Clint was leaning on Natasha smiling widely. Nat was yelling at him, though a small smile still pulled at her lips. Thor was squeezing Tony and Bruce at his sides, I recalled Tony yelling at him playfully while Bruce stood there with a shy smile. "Oi point-break! Let go of me will ya?! I'd like to die in my sleep, not by electrified Shakespeare crushing my lungs!"

I smiled fondly at the memory.

We would've never come to think that our team would break apart so easily back then. By some stupid papers. That something like that would grow into a much more personal situation, rather than dealing with the problem like adults.

It was a relief that we were on better terms but... was it really better terms? What good is going on in the world right now? What good has gone on in the world in the past 5 years, where everyone has lost their family and friends, where everyone's too afraid to leave their houses in fear of having energy drained with every step you take. As you walk down the street, the silence is thick and the knowledge that there used to be people practically flooding the streets weighs down on you.

Though, seeing how everyone around you was in pain at their losses was both painful and sickeningly comforting at the same time.

There was a knock at my door.

"Clint..?"

"Steve, I gotta talk to you. It's about Nat." Instantly, my heart dropped. "What's wrong with her?" "I- she's just- she's going crazy Cap. Since that day we tried out the time machine, she's been off. She got better for a while but lately, it's been getting worse. I don't know what made her snap but- I can't remember the last time she didn't look numb. She barely eats, barely sleeps, she stared at my damn wall on the couch from last night to this morning and when I asked if she was ok she just- she stared at me- she looked like she was dying Rogers. I'm scared she..."

He didn't need to finish to get the point across. "I... what do you want me to do?" "Bruce is trying to calm her down right now but Steve, we have to fix this." "What do you mean?" "I've known Nat for years and never have I ever seen her loose hope. Not like this."

"... I don't know Clint..." "We have to try again. Death rates have skyrocketed. People are loosing hope more and more. Please, we have to do something. I can't loose Nat." His eyes were clouded with emotion as he begged me to help. "Ok. You said Bruce is at your house? We can try to ask Tony... god, how long has it been since we've all been together?"

Clint huffed out a breath, a small smile pulling on his lips.. "A few years... he's been busy raising mini Stark. It actually surprised me how committed he was to being a dad."

"Yeah.. I actually always saw him as someone who would be a good father."

"Should we get going? Times wastin'." "Yeah. You driving?"

We drove off to Barton's home, hoping to get a second chance.

Maybe... maybe we could do this.

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Words: 909

God, I've lost motivation for this book. There's just so much wrong with it-

I'm not going to abandon it though. I'd rather finish it so I can start a new story.

I hope everyone's doing well 💚