A/N: The movie broke my heart. This is my band-aid.

Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers or anything in the MCU, if I did I sure as hell would have not let Nat die.

"It's okay, boss. This was never going to work if they never had something to… [avenge]."

- Agent Phillip J. Coulson

"Whatever it takes."

(But what if it was too much?)

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"See you in a minute." She sassed, a rare smirk gracing her lips. Hope tingled behind her words, sparking through the everlasting cloud that had consumed them for five long years. (A promise of what could be.)

Their arms extended in unity, their eyes met the others' with conviction, and they shared nods of understanding. (They were gonna get this son of a bitch.)

With a flash, they were gone.

(If only they knew it would be the last good-bye.)

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"Let me go."

"No!"

"It's okay." Her eyes are soft, comforting, accepting. He remembers when she had been on her knees with his arrow drawn, and it was her eyes that changed his mind then. The blankness gone from her programmed gaze, he saw only acceptance and eagerness. It was what had made him betray direct orders and offer her his hand instead.

Another protest rises at his lips, but she is too fast. (She was always faster than him when sparring, pinning him down with a triumphant flash of teeth). Knocking his hand away, she is falling, and he is reaching, grasping, catching only air as she leaves him.

He looks away, but he hears the thud in his ears and concurrently feels the lurch in his heart as the rope pulls him back.

(She was always saving his life, one way or another.)

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Mid-afternoon light shimmers across the lake as five men on a covered dock let silence reign.

"Why did it have to be her?" A broken whisper comes from a hunched figure, his eyes never leaving the arrow necklace in his hand.

The other four figures stay quiet, none having a good answer.

"It should've been me." The hunched figure whispers more to himself. "It should've been me."

Thor takes a swig of his bottle, his eyes averted from his fragile friend. (Everyone he touches seems to die.)

Bruce feels anger pulsating through his body as he sees his battered arm. (A reminder of his failure to the woman he loves.)

Steve sits next to Clint, rubbing his back in a feeble attempt of comfort. (They both lost their partner today.)

Tony turns away from his teammates watching as the sun sinks lower, signaling the end. (She was there since the beginning.)

(Of all the souls, why did it have to be hers?)

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Joy. For the first time in ages, they felt it. Pure, untainted emotions as they saw their loved ones return before their eyes.

Steve ran to clutch Bucky, their smiles brighter than the sun.

Tony scooped up Peter, the teenager's face filled with wonder as he choked out a "Mr. Stark?"

Rhodey pulled Sam in for a quick hug, equal grins on their face.

Clint held Wanda in his arms as tears streamed down her face.

Shuri and Okoye ran to their king, throwing all formalities aside as he grasped them in a bear hug.

Rocket wiped tears out of his eyes as Groot picked him up in delight.

Thor looked down at Peter with a strong smile, as Drax and Mantis swooned over the god.

Carol teased Fury about letting himself get evaporated away while he mumbled back good-naturedly, "It took you damn long enough to reverse it!"

After the calm settled and everyone cast their hellos, a voice piped up, "Where's Nat?"

Questioning glances were exchanged as Bruce managed to choke out, "She's gone."

Wanda, ever the brave one, asked, "What do you mean?" The young girl turned to Clint, whose face was crumbling by her side.

Taking the lead, Tony explained, "She sacrificed herself for the soul stone. We can't bring her back."

Protests and sobs obliterated the euphoria in a heartbeat.

"There must be something we can do!"

"We can't turn back time?"

"How come we could come back, but not her?"

Attempting to calm the masses, Tony raised his voice, "We already tried. It's not possible to reverse."

An uneasy silence encased the group and this time Sam, asked, "So what can we do?"

"Well, that purple demon is still out there."

"Then I say we take that son of a bitch down." Fury spoke up, eying the strangely united group in front of him. Familiar words repeated in the back of his mind, knowing that Natasha Romanoff's sacrifice would not be in vain today.

Multiple pairs of eyes glinted as vitality returned to the group, knowing what their next mission was.

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As they stormed the battlefield, powers ablaze, weapons drawn, machines firing, and enemies charging, they remembered who they were doing this for.

(What better way to honor her memory, than by doing the same exact thing she would have done?).

A/N: This is the start of a drabble series I plan on doing actually. I want to write a scene with each character in the Avengers interacting with Nat and showing how important of a character she really was. She was the glue to the Avengers and I hope this first piece and the rest that I'll be posting soon will showcase this. It's also just an excuse to write some fun scenes that I imagine happened at some point or another.

Whether you stick around for the series or not, I just hope you enjoyed my attempt at working through my grief.