Soulmates

His heart was pounding in his ears as they flew to the planet and he had to grip the seat in front of him to prevent his normally steady hands from shaking too much.

“Are you scared?” Sam asked.

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“You’re going to be too upset if this doesn’t work,” Bruce commented from the co-pilot’s chair.

He swallowed hard, the tears in the backs of his eyes threatening to spill with each shallow breath.

“We’ve only got one shot at this,” Stephen warned him. “Are you sure you can handle it?”

He nodded again. “I have no choice. I have to.”

“That’s right,” Wanda said, patting his knee comfortingly. “And if any one of us can pull it off, it’s you.”

He sighed, turning to look at Strange. “Tell me again how it has to go?”

“We’ve got to get down there at the exact time of death so you can possess the soul stone. You’ve got to make sure you don’t come into contact with your past-past self. Take a couple of deep breaths, Barton,” Stephen warned him.

Clint breathed in deeply, exhaling slowly as his teammate continued.

“Wanda will bend reality around you to prevent your other self from taking the stone just yet. The moment you take possession, you’ve got to place the soul stone physically on her, otherwise the reverse exchange will not complete. I will use the health stone to heal her injuries while you work, but it can only be used once. We are on a very tight time schedule here. Are you going to be okay once you see her in the current state?”

"I don’t know,” he murmured. “I think so.” He looked Strange in the face with vulnerable eyes. “Are you sure I’m the right person for the job?”

Strange nodded solemnly. “To prove that we understand the value of a soul and successfully complete the exchange, it has to be you. Wanda and I are going to help you as much as we can with the mystical, but the rest is going to be up to you. Do you think you can control your emotions long enough?”

The aircraft landed with a jolt and Clint blinked against the tears that were already falling. “No.”

Strange stood up from his seat and walked out of the spacecraft, gazing down at the long drop below. “That’s what I’m counting on.” With that, he leapt off, the thick air around him bending to accommodate his sudden presence.

“Good luck,” Wanda said as she took off after him.

“I’ll fly you down,” Sam said, reaching for Clint. “Come on.”

Clint closed his eyes against the whoosh of cold, gray air as the metallic wings popped open and they soared for what seemed like forever, yet in an instant his feet were on the ground.

He saw a flash of bright light and then Wanda seemed to disappear into the light and he fingered the soul stone he now felt in his pocket. With a deep, shuddering breath he crouched down to Natasha’s lifeless body, his heart shattering into an infinite amount of pieces.

“No,” he cried, tears falling unbidden down his face and neck.

“Barton, now!” Strange firmly reminded him.

He pulled the soul stone out of his pocket, placing it gently in the center of her chest and pulling her body close against him. He was suddenly unaware of Strange’s whereabouts, the only thing that mattered was the woman in his arms.

“Nat,” he sobbed as he held her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

Her weight was heavy in his arms, her hair brushing against his cheek, her face cold against his neck. “Tasha,” he whispered intimately into her ear. “I can’t do this without you. Please, come back. Come back to me. Don’t leave me. Please.”

For a moment, he imagined he could feel her raspy breath on his face and he thought he would tear in two if she would just be okay and then he felt her fingers tightening on his shoulders and he dared to open his eyes and her face was wet, probably from his tears, but then she was crying too as she clung to him.

“Clint?” She asked in a small voice, her eyes slowly opening and turning wide as she gazed up at him.

“Nat!” He sobbed his relief, pulling her closer than he ever thought possible. “Oh, god.”

“Is it really you?” She murmured tearfully.

He nodded frantically. “It’s me,” he promised. “It’s me and it’s you, and this is it, Tasha. I’m taking you home and I’m not letting go of you, ever again.”

“I love you,” she breathed. She swallowed thickly. “I should’ve told you that… before….”

“I love you so much,” he whispered, his fingers tracing her face. “So much, you don’t even know.”

He couldn’t help it. He kissed her then, his lips crashing against hers before he could even stop himself and then he felt her hands on the back of his head, her fingers raking through his hair as she kissed him back.

“There’s infinite timelines now,” she told him, her hands on his face. “We did that, at least some of it, somehow. And somewhere, there’s a timeline where this is really happening.”

He smiled. “The only thing that matters is this timeline. Right here, right now. You and me.”

A stern cough behind him brought him back to the reality they’d just created. “It’s time to go home now, darlin,” he said, the statement coming out more like a promise.

“The stone worked, I think,” Wanda said softly and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he remembered that they were right behind him.

“Can you stand up? “ Clint asked, lifting her body effortlessly into his arms.

“I think so,” she said, clinging to him as he helped her feet find solid ground.

“I’ll fly you back to the ship,” Sam said, walking up beside her. “May I?”

She nodded and he wrapped an arm around her waist, hoisting her up into the air as his wings took flight. She buried her face in his shoulder as they flew.

“Come along, Barton,” Strange said as he took hold of Clint’s wrist. “You did good, kid,” he added once they were airborne.

He raced to Natasha’s side once they landed on the top of the cliff, feeling as if they couldn’t get away fast enough as he and Sam helped her onto the ship.

Sam moved to the pilot’s chair while Bruce and Thor embraced Natasha fiercely. “It worked,” Banner murmured incredulously. “You’re coming home.”

“Sam… Wanda… Strange….” She said as she slowly sank into her seat. She turned to Clint, watching with a slightly open mouth as he buckled her safety belt for her. “We won?”

He smiled. “We won.”

She smiled back as they took off, seemingly satisfied with that answer.

After awhile, Clint noticed that she was shivering. “Are you cold?” he asked.

She nodded.

He rushed to her side, removing his leather jacket and draping it around her shoulders. He hesitated only a second before he wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Better?” he whispered.

She nodded again, although he swore he felt her shiver again.

They stood in silence for a moment as they sailed through time and space.

“Where’s Steve and Tony?” She asked after awhile.

Bruce frowned, turning around to meet Clint’s gaze over her head.

“Tash…. there’s a lot we need to catch you up on,” Clint said gently. “But you’re going to be okay now.”

He tightened his hold on her, hoping the others would help him explain the enormity of the things that had happened while she was on the planet as they all rode home together.