My take on what could have happened with the snap.

The battle was over almost as quickly as it had begun.

Natasha had thought they were winning. She really thought that they had a chance until Thanos showed up.

But when they tried to even approach them, it became painfully obvious that they were no match for him.

Natasha had been tossed away like a rag doll before she had even reached him. Her guns had done nothing against him and she felt completely powerless.

The only one of them who stood a chance was Steve.

For a moment, he had held him off.

But it still wasn't enough, Thanos had gotten over his shock at Steve's strength and punched him to the ground, knocking him unconscious for a moment.

Natasha had let out a desperate yell but it was ignored.

She struggled to get out of the rock cage Thanos had trapped her in and watched as Steve came to.

He locked eyes with her and started to walk towards her but Natasha shook her head slightly, "Go help Wanda."

Steve frowned but nodded and ran off towards where Wanda and Vision were.

But by the time he arrived, Wanda was gone and Visions grey body was laying motionlessly on a log.

Finding herself free from the rocks, Natasha took off running towards the others.

"Steve?" She heard Bucky say. She looked towards him and saw Bucky dissolving into dust.

Her eyes widened and she looked to Steve frightened.

Steve leaned down to examine the dust only to look up at Natasha with wide eyes when his own hand began to dissolve.

"Nat?" He whispered, standing up and trying to go towards her.

Natasha's heart stopped and she ran to him, grasping at his shoulders as if she could somehow stop his disappearance.

"Steve? Please no, please don't leave me," She cried as he faded into dust, his eyes full of regret.

"I lo-" Steve started, his sentence ending abruptly when he turned completely to dust.

Natasha's eyes welled with tears and she collapsed to the ground, her breathing irregular as she grasped at the remains of the man she loved.

"What's happening?" Bruce asked, approaching the group.

Natasha shook her head, "We lost."

Everyone was silent for a while until slowly they walked away and went back to the palace.

Natasha didn't move for hours.

She couldn't. She felt frozen in time. As if maybe if she stayed there long enough, she would wake up and see that this was all just a nightmare.

But the sun soon set and Natasha knew that she had to go back and help the others.

She wasn't the only one suffering. Everyone had suffered loss.

Natasha walked back to the palace and tried to remain completely emotionless as they tallied the losses.

"Has anyone seen Captain Rogers?" Someone asked.

Natasha shook her head, her heart aching as she let out a pained whisper, "He's gone too."

After trying to understand what had happened, they figured it was necessary to alert the world of what was happening.

"Rhodey, can you contact whoever's left in charge of the US government? We need a press conference as soon as possible to let the people know what's going on," Natasha asked, her voice void of all emotions.

Rhodey nodded solemnly and walked away.

Everyone decided that it was best to rest for the night and resume everything the next morning.

Natasha walked to her room quietly, her face still blank and her eyes empty.

It wasn't until she got into her room and was sitting on her bed that she let herself feel the pain from that day.

Her tears flowed down her cheeks, dripping onto her hands, which were still dirty. She looked down at them and frowned, they were dusty.

She walked into the bathroom and scrubbed at her hands harshly, wanting to rid herself of the evidence that she lost him.

She slammed her fist on the mirror and broke down into sobs, sliding down the wall behind her until her head was buried in her knees while she cried.

Natasha had no idea what to do. It was as if her lifeline had been snatched away from her and now she couldn't breath.

Her entire world had dissolved right before her very eyes.

Now she had no one.

Steve was gone. That was hard enough alone.

But then she had found out that Sam and Wanda had also been dusted. The three of them had been her family for the past years, and without them she wasn't sure how to stay strong.

Blood seeped from her hand where the mirrors broken glass had cut her, but she didn't care.

It was nothing compared to the pain of losing her family.

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The next day, Natasha had pulled herself together the best that she could and flown to Washington to give a press conference.

"As most of you know by now, my name is Natasha Romanoff, the black widow. I'm here today to speak on behalf of the Avengers. Yesterday, a new threat came to Wakanda. His name is Thanos, and he came here seeking an item that would allow him to eliminate half of the world's population with a snap."

Natasha paused, "And as most of you can tell, he succeeded. We don't know the long term effects of his snap. All we know is that approximately half the Earth's population has been turned to dust. If someone you love is missing or you can't get ahold of them, try and remain calm. We all lost people yesterday."

She paused again, looking down, "But we can't let our grief cause more deaths. The government is asking that everyone stay off the roads until the wreckage can be removed."

Again Natasha sighed, this was more difficult then any other press conference she had done, "Please don't lose hope though. Because we will keep fighting. We won't give up until we get them back. If it's possible, we will find a way."

She nodded at the camera man and walked out of the room, her eyes glossy with tears.

She meant what she said, if there was a way to get them back, she was sure as hell gonna find it.

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Five years passed and Natasha had never felt so awful.

She tried to hold on to hope. Hope that one day they would be able to bring everyone back.

But lately, that hope had been slowly burning out. Like a fire slowly burning out while no one bothered to replenish the wood.

She kept herself busy with meaningless task. She searched for Clint, tried to do some good for the world, and made sure that kids who were left orphaned by the snap had a home.

But every night when she would close her eyes, it was a cruel reminder of her loss.

Steve's unfinished words ran through her mind like a broken record.

It sounded like what she desperately wanted to hear. It sounded like he was going to say he loved her.

But she couldn't be sure, and now there was a chance she would never know.

It was her desprateness to see Steve again that got her ready when they found a way to get the stones back and fix everything.

She was ready. She had to be.

Clint was back now, they had assembled a team. All they had to do now was get the stones.

Clint and Natasha were being sent to Vormir.

Natasha didn't know much about it, but she knew it was dangerous.

A part of her was terrified. But she knew that she would need to push her fears aside and get the job done.

She would do whatever it took to get him back.

As she finished getting ready for the mission, she walked over to the framed picture of her and Steve and sighed.

"See you in a minute..." She whispered, looking at the picture longingly.

She joined the team and they went to their retrospective time periods to get the stones.

Arriving in Vormir, Natasha already had a bad feeling about it.

Despite the planets beauty, the air was heavy with sorrow, and the light wind almost sounded like soft cries coming from beyond.

"This place gives me the creeps." Clint said, drawing his bow as they walked up the mountain.

At the top she learned why the place gave her such a terrible feeling.

"It has to be me Natasha." Clint insisted.

Natasha shook her head, "No, you have a family to be there for. Your kids need you, Laura needs you."

Clint held Natasha's hand in his, "They'll have you to take care of them. Natasha I got my time with my family. You haven't gotten to life your life yet. Steve will be back if this works. Do you really want him coming back into a world that you aren't in?"

Natasha sighed, "Of course not. But he'll understand. I've done terrible things Clint. You know that. Let this be what wipes my ledger."

Clint shook his head, "Your ledger is already wiped Natasha. You've done more good then anyone I know. In the last five years, I've killed more people then I can count. People who had families. If anyone deserves to die today, it's me."

Natasha's eyes were teary now, "No."

Clint nodded, "And I'm sorry to do this but you don't exactly leave me much choice."

Natasha frowned but before she could react, Clint had swept her legs from underneath her and pinned her down, "Tell my family I love them."

Natasha kicked his knee and shot him with her widow bite, "Tell them yourself."

She ran for the edge of the cliff but felt a sharp jab in her leg and was blown to the side by one of Clint's arrows.

He cast her a sad smile as he ran for the edge and jumped off of it.

Natasha tried to get to him before he could jump but by the time she got to the edge, he was gone.

"No!" She yelled as a wave of light surged from the bottom of the cliff.

Before she could move, she found herself in a strange pond holding the stone.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she clutched the stone, willing herself to return to the ship and get everyone back.

When she arrived, her knees gave out almost instantly.

Tony frowned and bent besides her, "Clint?"

Natasha shook her head, "He's gone."

Everyone gave Tony the stones and slowly walked away. The hadn't expected to lose anyone.

Natasha refused her friends suggestions to go lay down or rest. She needed to make sure that Clint's sacrifice meant something.

She would be able to move on if it worked. If she got Steve back, everything would eventually be okay.

So she watched Tony work silently, her foot bouncing anxiously as she waited for him to finish the gauntlet.

When it was done, she was waiting with a frown settled in her brows and hopeful eyes.

Bruce did the snap and Natasha heard a buzzing coming from Clint's phone.

Her eyes widened and she sprinted towards her room to get her phone.

She had barelt gotten to the stairs when she heard a strange whirling sound from behind her.

Her head whipped to the side and she saw one of Doctor Strange's portals opening.

She watched it silently, hoping that the face she longed to see would appear.

"Natasha!" Wanda yelled, running at her.

Natasha smiled and collected her into a hug, trying to not watch the portal so obviously.

"Are you okay?" She asked Wanda.

Wanda nodded and before she could say anything further, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned around quickly and found Sam, "Miss me much Romanoff?"

Natasha laughed and shook her head, "Not even a little bit."

Sam rolled his eyes and hugged her, "Yeah well I bet you missed him..."

Natasha's eyes shot up and she saw Steve standing by the portal with a smile on his lips.

"Go on," Sam encouraged.

Natasha nodded and ran into Steve's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder, letting all her tears go.

"Is it really you?" She asked, cupping his face in her hand.

Steve nodded and placed his hand on her cheek, "It's me Nat. I'm okay."

Natasha let out a choked sob and leaned her forehead on his, "I love you."

"I love you too." Steve said, kissing her as lovingly as he could.

Natasha eventually pulled away, tears still forming in her eyes, "I lost Clint," She whispered.

Steve's face fell, "What?"

Natasha's lip trembled slightly, "He's gone Steve. He sacrificed himself so I would live."

Steve frowned and pulled Natasha into a tight embrace, "I'm so sorry Natasha."

Natasha cried into his shoulder for a while, letting all the emotions she had buried for the past five years flow out now that she has someone to pick her back up again.

After telling him everything about Clint, she looked up and frowned, "I've never felt more alone then I did the past five years Steve. Everything hurt. I couldn't sleep, I didn't want to eat, I spent every waking moment trying to do something you would approve of."

"It'll be okay Natasha. I promise everything will be fine." He whispered, stroking her hair softly.

She nodded, "I know. Because now I have you."

Steve nodded, "And I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon."

Natasha closed her eyes and kissed Steve again.

She was a mess, the last five years had drained her completely and she had become a broken down version of herself...but it would be okay, because now she had Steve to help put her back together again.

With him, she would always be okay.

Hey guys. Here's the depressing one you've all been waiting for. It was about 2200 words long because I decided to give you guys a somewhat happy ending. So don't completely hate me....I almost killed Natasha too, so you guys got lucky this time.

If you enjoyed, please comment and vote!