"Ultron thinks that we're monsters, that we're what's wrong with the world."

"You okay?" Bruce whispered, nudging you gently with his shoulder as he sat next to you on the quinjet. "You haven't looked up since we left."

"This isn't about beating him. It's about whether he's right." Steve finished, glancing at you briefly, though you didn't see him. You had completely avoided looking anywhere in his direction since you last spoke.

You gave Bruce a silent nod, trying to focus on preparing yourself for the fight; the fight that would put you side-by-side with your very recent ex. Steve had always been your partner on a mission, long before your relationship had begun, but this would be the first time that you were fighting him at the same time. "I just need to focus, Bruce. I can't let myself get distracted."

"I don't think that you're going to have much of a choice, (Y/N). He's been watching you since we boarded."

"Good for him," you whispered with a flat tone, standing to make your way to the pilot seat but pausing, pointing and looking at Wanda inquisitively when familiarity struck you. "Is that my jacket?"

Her head lowered immediately and turned away from you, her body language visibly uncomfortable. Steve cleared his throat slightly and turned towards you, but you still didn't acknowledge him. "She's with us now, (Y/N)."

"Still doesn't explain the jacket."

Tony let out a small chuckle, turning back to watch the sky and checking the controls for how much time you had left to be confined in the jet together, hoping to get there before a full-on brawl had a chance to start. Clint was next to him, groaning quietly to himself and shaking his head, "those two might forget that Ultron's even there. We might need a plan B just for them."

~~~

Even fighting with Steve, both next to him and with him, you hadn't said a word to each other during the battle. You didn't really need to though; your styles complemented each other and you had worked together so much that it was natural to be a team. When a pause finally came and you had a moment to catch your breath despite the thinning air around you, he reluctantly joined you at your side.

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

Steve was so noble and so selfless that you had no choice but to admire him for it, but you also knew exactly what he was saying to you. "There's worse ways to go," you agreed with a sad smile. "Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"

He wasn't expecting you to so readily agree with him; he was expecting you to put up a fight, given that he was the one saying that he was ready to die here and knew that it would take you with him. When he turned to finally look at you he thought that you would be watching the sky, but you were finally looking right at him. "(Y/N)..."

"Glad you like the view, (Y/N)," Fury interrupted as the helicarrier rose along side the city, "it's about to to get better."

"That's not possible," you replied quietly, both of you quickly turning to run back towards the crowds together.

~~~

The fight had ended with the team fractured and beaten, with a loss and a missing member. That small moment together during the rescue was the last time you had spoken to Steve; he had moved to the new training facility upstate while you had stayed behind to help Tony with the renovation of the tower. You had both agreed that time apart was what you needed, and this provided the perfect opportunity for exactly that. Several weeks had gone by before Tony felt it was time for him to pay the new group a visit.

"You're coming with me, right?"

"I don't know, Tony," you sighed, "it's too soon."

"I'll buy you lunch on the way," he bargained in the sweetest voice he could manage. He really didn't want to go alone, wanting your support for what he needed to tell Steve; he was going to leave the team and that he didn't know for how long. "Just come with me. You won't even have to see him, I promise."

"That's the problem. I want to see him."

He shook his head in disbelief and moved to stand in front of you, taking your arms in his hands. "Why is that a problem, (Y/N)? Isn't that good? What the hell are you two doing? You both know that you're supposed to be together."

Taking a small step back, you pulled from his grip and turned back to the work on blueprints for the rebuild. "We don't work, Tony. I think we've proven that." He reached out and grabbed the tablet from your hands and threw it on the table with a loud bang, but you didn't turn around.

"What? Because of Wanda? That's history, (Y/N)."

"Exactly," you spat, slamming your fists on the table top and resting yourself on them, "it's history. It's his history. It has nothing to do with Wanda, I know that. All she did was make it painfully obvious that he hasn't moved on and that I can't live up to something like that."

"Have you even talked to him?"

"I don't need to."

"Oh, I think you do. And there's no time like right now." Tony reached out and put his hand on your shoulder with a small squeeze, "be ready in ten minutes. I think you might be in for a surprise."

~~~

"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance," Tony scoffed, standing between you and Steve as you watched Thor disappear into the sky. After he was gone, you all stood silently for a moment, you and Steve looking at each other with Tony glancing back and forth between you. "Okay, well I'm gonna give you guys some time," he smiled, "(Y/N) just let me know when you're ready to go, but there's no rush." He practically skipped back into the building, seeming far too excited at the idea of you and Steve even just speaking to each other.

"He seems to think that something's going to happen here," you said quietly.

"Isn't there?"

"Steve..."

"Listen," he sighed, "I've been thinking...it's all I've been doing since I got here, actually." He looked uncomfortable, now watching his feet as they shuffled slightly, crossing his arms but standing with absolutely no confidence in his posture. "And you were right."

You were taken aback slightly, cocking your head to the side as you started to feel as uncomfortable as he looked. "I appreciate that, but about what, exactly?"

"I haven't let go. I haven't let go of things that happened so long ago, that they're barely a memory anymore. But they're still a huge part of who I am."

"I know that," you replied, "and I was out of line. I guess I have a few things to work through, myself. I can't help how I feel, Steve, but I can apologize for how I acted towards you."

Several minutes passed in silence, each of you diligent in avoiding eye contact as if you were afraid to find each other as a stranger looking back. You heard a small tapping behind you and spun around slowly to see Tony giving you a hopeful thumbs up from the other side of the glass wall, with Natasha and Maria next to him. With a harsh glare of warning, you waved them away before Steve could see.

"I came here..." he paused, kicking a few rocks around anxiously. "Dammit...I'm more nervous than the first time I asked you out."

"That's pretty nervous," you whispered,

"You're tellin' me," he sighed, uncrossing his arms and finally looking up at you. When your eyes met his shoulders dropped and he began to look more at ease. "I came here to think, just like you told me. I came here...to win you back."

"Steve, I don't-"

"Just tell me what I need to do," he interrupted with urgency, stepping forward quickly to close the space between you. It was the closest he had been to you in nearly a month, and the proximity was something you had desperately missed, not realizing how much until this moment. "Just tell me."

You reached up to rest a hand on his chest, but stopped before connecting, noticing a faint tremor in it. Being away from him had been so hard, and so lonely, and all you wanted was to throw your arms around him again; to accept him without question and without hesitation. But the problems were still there. You may have both had time apart and time to think, but he just admitted that he hadn't let go of Peggy yet, and you had to hold your ground; you refused to compete with her.

"I've already told you, Steve. I'm not her."

"I know you're not, (Y/N). Believe me, I know that." He made the first move and touched your arms, gently caressing them and moving so close that there was no gap between you. The feeling of his touch was electric, sending a chill through you. "You're more." He smiled to himself and let out a quiet chuckle, "you were ready to take me out in one shot. Peg only shot at the shield."

"Oh, you were so close, Rogers," you groaned, squeezing your eyes shut and pulling out of his grip. "This is what I mean."

"Wait, so you want me to forget?" he asked with an anger building in his voice. "You expect me to just forget my past completely? That's not fair, (Y/N)."

"Of course I don't. I would never do that. But I can't live in comparisons, and this isn't the first time, Steve. I don't think you even realize that you're doing it, but it hurts and I can't keep going this way."

His hands dropped to his sides and his expression saddened, returning to refusal to look at you. "So this is it? Is that what you're saying? Because I'm not ready to accept that."

"I'm sorry, Steve. But..." you paused, shaking your head in disbelief in what you were saying, "but right now, yes." The finality hit you and tears began to sting your eyes and you felt the tightness in your throat that threatened to grow into crying in front of him, but you held back. "Right now doesn't mean always," you whispered. "I'm not ready to accept that."

"I do love you."

"And I love you too," you replied, doing your best to hold your ground, each passing moment making it harder. You needed to walk away from him before you crumbled. "I'll be back here in a few months when the tower is finished. Until then, I think it's best this way." You turned and walked towards Tony's car, grabbing your phone and sending him a quick text to join you and take you away from the hardest decision you've ever made.

"I'm not going to stop trying," Steve called out after you, holding his place as he watched you get farther away. You stopped at his words and glanced over your shoulder, taking care to not allow him into your line of sight. All you could manage was a small nod, hurrying to lock yourself away in the car, watching him as he said his goodbyes to Tony.

Once he was back in the car and began to pull away from the facility, and away from Steve, your emotions took over and you finally began to sob. Everything that had happened in the past months finally broke you, and you struggled to maintain any composure in front of your friend.

"Hey, are you sure about this, (Y/N)?" Tony asked, pulling the vehicle to the side of the road as it left the grounds and turning to grab your hand. "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"Go, Tony," you panted between gasping sobs.

"(Y/N)..."

"I said go."