[ It's a drawn out explanation, some of it dealing with science and concepts that Steve hasn't had to contend with before now, but he's also used to that. Natasha is good at boiling it down to the most important details rather than over-explaining, so he's able to follow along with what she says.
And, well, the idea of time travel is definitely a bizarre one, but there's something else she said that he's tripped up on, which he needs clarified first and foremost.
He stares at Natasha, studying her face yet again as he holds his glass of water in front of him, almost suspended in place. There's the tiredness in her eyes, an extra couple of lines around her mouth... ]
It's been five years for you? Five years since the snap?
[ He'd guessed she was from the future, but not that far. ]
[ She pauses, reassess what she'd explained, and then sighs at her own slip. Lifting a hand, she wiggles her fingers in vague explanation and also apology. ]
Yeah, give or take a few months. I guess I should take that as a compliment, that I don't look as aged as I feel some days.
[ Five years? Steve can't begin to imagine what Natasha has been through in that span of time. It's one year longer than he's even been living in the modern day, and his head can't stop spinning with the revelation.
Not only has it been five years, but those five years have passed with half of Earth's population gone. Natasha has had to live with that failure every single one of those days. ]
I can't imagine what you've been through. [ There's a pause, and Steve leans forward to set his glass of water down on the coffee table. ] Obviously. That whole time -- you were looking for a way to fix it, weren't you?
[ He knows Natasha enough to guess at that much. ]
[ She looks down at her hands, fingers lacing around the glass he'd given her. ]
Sometimes. We... After the Snap, we did track down Thanos. But we were too late. Again. He'd used the Gauntlet a second time - he knew we'd come for him. For the Stones. So he used the Stones to destroy the Stones. There was nothing left when we reached him. Thor struck him down, but... it was hollow. We couldn't reverse what he'd done. We had no choice but to live in the world he'd created.
It all fell apart. Us. The team. The whole world. A few of us still tried, but... [ She looks up to meet his gaze, a wry smile twisting across her lips, but the expression doesn't reach her eyes. Instead, there's a tiredness there. A resignation not even Lang's crazy plan had been entirely able to shake loose. Maybe nothing ever will, now. ]
Mostly, we had our hands full just trying to keep what was left from falling apart, too.
[ It's a more in-depth version of the story that Bruce had told him. Dr. Banner had left out a number of the details, although now Steve can understand why that was. It had been an act of protection for those among their number who hadn't yet experienced it for themselves. A kind act, but one that was unnecessary for someone like Steve, who always preferred to know where he stood.
Or where he would stand, in this case.
Natasha's expression isn't completely broken, but it is worn down in a way he's never seen her before. If they're relying on time travel to fix things, that shows just how desperate they'd become. Of course Steve wants to know what his role in all of this had been, and maybe he'll ask that of her eventually, but there's a more important question that he needs cleared up first.
He fixes Natasha with a look that might as well bore right through her. He needs her to be honest with him. He knows she will be. ]
[ It's more or less the answer that Steve wanted to hear, and while it isn't an exact confirmation, he realizes that Natasha can't give him that. Not if she'd been pulled here when they were still in the middle of carrying out the plan. That's the best he can get for now, and he isn't going to begrudge that for a second. ]
Yeah, good point. Well, strange as it all might sound, I'd accept pretty much any option if it would bring everyone back.
[ Chances are that they've already had this conversation from Natasha's end, and he'd rather not retread too much ground, especially since she's likely had to explain this to others already. ]
It's more hope than any of his here had until now, so... [ He dips his head down for a moment, hiding a small smile. ] Thanks.
[ Not that it solves the more immediate problem of them all being trapped here, but it is some kind of weight off his shoulders. ]
[ She relaxes at the sight of that smile, even though there are still important things she left out. But the fact that he took encouragement from what she could share... that that hope was still there to be rekindled. That was enough for her. ]
You're welcome. I know it's not as much as some here are going to want to know. And if Tony and Bruce start babbling science questions at me... they're going to be really disappointed in my answers. I only understood about every third word in most of the explanations, and the rest of the team spent the time arguing about which pop culture movie got the time travel right. Apparently Back to the Future did not. Most of them felt very betrayed.
[ Her voice is dry as she relates these moments she does remember for him, letting him know that the team does come back together - what's left of them. That the old camaraderie isn't gone. It can still be salvaged. It's another little piece of hope she can offer, one she hopes will bolster the rest here who are still mired back in the division they'd all struggled with before Thanos. ]
Well, you don't have to worry too much about that from my end.
[ Steve's positive that Tony will at least try to wring every ounce of detail from Natasha that he can once he catches wind of all of this. He doesn't envy Natasha that conversation, though he's also sure that she can handle Tony with ease. She always has, come to think of it.
It is nice to get some tiny glimpse of what the future holds for the team, a promise that they come back together, even when losing half of their number. Of course he wants to know more. Who else was there? Who wasn't? He has a few names that have been confirmed already on either side, but getting an entire list is something that he knows will exhaust both of them. It's not fair to Natasha for him to ask, not when she's been mourning those people for five years now. ]
So, Tony and I. [ He takes a quick sip of water, though chances are that Natasha can already guess at his question. He doesn't look at her as he asks. ] We found some way to reconcile?
[ It's starting to get better here on Prismatica, though they've also been forced to forge that truce because of the circumstances. How long had it taken back home? ]
[ She takes a long moment to think about her answer for that before inclining her head and meeting his gaze. ]
Eventually. Once you two had a common goal to work towards together again. Tony... his loss against Thanos up there... it changed him. He walked away when he got back and I'm not sure he ever looked back until we showed up on his doorstep with Lang's crazy theory. And even then, he had to work around the problem on his own before coming back to join in.
[ Steve finds that Natasha's answer doesn't surprise him that much. Feeling responsible for what Thanos did, losing Peter and then almost dying out in the vacuum of space, that would screw with anyone's head.
Of course it was a common goal that brought them back together. That's what had happened here, too. ]
Well, I guess he did always threaten to retire. Figures that losing half the universe would be the final straw.
[ He keeps his gaze on Natasha, studying her features with a close eye. ]
You didn't ever throw in the towel, though, it sounds like.
[ She gives him a lopsided grin - one she feels like she's been giving him for ages now. It almost feels like deja vu, that last day he'd come to her, before Lang showed up on their doorstep. When they'd talked about moving on. Something neither one of them had ever managed to do.
It would take them both a lot longer than five years to accomplish that. ]
You know me. I'm really bad at knowing when to quit. Kinda like someone else I know.
[ Natasha isn't making any effort to mask the fact that she's calling him out, but she's always been good at telling him how it is without much in the way of fluff or hedging. It's part of why Steve had grown comfortable with her so quickly compared to some of his other teammates. He smiles wryly and bows his head, shaking it slowly.
Her words do serve to tell Steve at least a little about what his role in the future is going to be. There are a lot of blanks still left to be filled in, but he doesn't want to bombard Natasha with questions either. ]
I'm guessing you're still adjusting to this place. If there's any questions you still haven't gotten answered, I can try to help.
I'm also guessing you're making lists of questions in your head even now of things you want to know, but you're trying to take it easy on me.
[ She's still sounding very amused as she gives him a crooked smile. Leaning forward, she rests her elbows on her knees and cocks her head to the side to study him. ]
Works for me. I've asked you a lot already, so you first.
[ Steve knows that Natasha deals in information more than anything else. It's the most important tool that any spy can have; she taught him that too. That may mean she's already gathered together everything she needs to know, but he still wants to throw out the offer. ]
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no subject
And, well, the idea of time travel is definitely a bizarre one, but there's something else she said that he's tripped up on, which he needs clarified first and foremost.
He stares at Natasha, studying her face yet again as he holds his glass of water in front of him, almost suspended in place. There's the tiredness in her eyes, an extra couple of lines around her mouth... ]
It's been five years for you? Five years since the snap?
[ He'd guessed she was from the future, but not that far. ]
no subject
Yeah, give or take a few months. I guess I should take that as a compliment, that I don't look as aged as I feel some days.
no subject
[ Five years? Steve can't begin to imagine what Natasha has been through in that span of time. It's one year longer than he's even been living in the modern day, and his head can't stop spinning with the revelation.
Not only has it been five years, but those five years have passed with half of Earth's population gone. Natasha has had to live with that failure every single one of those days. ]
I can't imagine what you've been through. [ There's a pause, and Steve leans forward to set his glass of water down on the coffee table. ] Obviously. That whole time -- you were looking for a way to fix it, weren't you?
[ He knows Natasha enough to guess at that much. ]
no subject
Sometimes. We... After the Snap, we did track down Thanos. But we were too late. Again. He'd used the Gauntlet a second time - he knew we'd come for him. For the Stones. So he used the Stones to destroy the Stones. There was nothing left when we reached him. Thor struck him down, but... it was hollow. We couldn't reverse what he'd done. We had no choice but to live in the world he'd created.
It all fell apart. Us. The team. The whole world. A few of us still tried, but... [ She looks up to meet his gaze, a wry smile twisting across her lips, but the expression doesn't reach her eyes. Instead, there's a tiredness there. A resignation not even Lang's crazy plan had been entirely able to shake loose. Maybe nothing ever will, now. ]
Mostly, we had our hands full just trying to keep what was left from falling apart, too.
no subject
Or where he would stand, in this case.
Natasha's expression isn't completely broken, but it is worn down in a way he's never seen her before. If they're relying on time travel to fix things, that shows just how desperate they'd become. Of course Steve wants to know what his role in all of this had been, and maybe he'll ask that of her eventually, but there's a more important question that he needs cleared up first.
He fixes Natasha with a look that might as well bore right through her. He needs her to be honest with him. He knows she will be. ]
Do you think it's gonna work?
no subject
Now, though. Now she pauses to give his question serious thought and making sure she gives him the most genuine answer she can.
Because there's something here she's not telling him yet. Can't. But that doesn't mean she can't give him an answer to the question he is asking.
Natasha meets his gaze, resolution in her own eyes, a stubborn lift to her chin - an expression no doubt familiar to him after all this time. ]
I think we're going to do whatever it takes to make sure it does. None of us will accept an alternative.
Besides, [ she pauses, adding a hint of levity with a twist of her lips. ] who in their right mind would suspect we're coming at them from the future?
no subject
Yeah, good point. Well, strange as it all might sound, I'd accept pretty much any option if it would bring everyone back.
[ Chances are that they've already had this conversation from Natasha's end, and he'd rather not retread too much ground, especially since she's likely had to explain this to others already. ]
It's more hope than any of his here had until now, so... [ He dips his head down for a moment, hiding a small smile. ] Thanks.
[ Not that it solves the more immediate problem of them all being trapped here, but it is some kind of weight off his shoulders. ]
no subject
You're welcome. I know it's not as much as some here are going to want to know. And if Tony and Bruce start babbling science questions at me... they're going to be really disappointed in my answers. I only understood about every third word in most of the explanations, and the rest of the team spent the time arguing about which pop culture movie got the time travel right. Apparently Back to the Future did not. Most of them felt very betrayed.
[ Her voice is dry as she relates these moments she does remember for him, letting him know that the team does come back together - what's left of them. That the old camaraderie isn't gone. It can still be salvaged. It's another little piece of hope she can offer, one she hopes will bolster the rest here who are still mired back in the division they'd all struggled with before Thanos. ]
no subject
[ Steve's positive that Tony will at least try to wring every ounce of detail from Natasha that he can once he catches wind of all of this. He doesn't envy Natasha that conversation, though he's also sure that she can handle Tony with ease. She always has, come to think of it.
It is nice to get some tiny glimpse of what the future holds for the team, a promise that they come back together, even when losing half of their number. Of course he wants to know more. Who else was there? Who wasn't? He has a few names that have been confirmed already on either side, but getting an entire list is something that he knows will exhaust both of them. It's not fair to Natasha for him to ask, not when she's been mourning those people for five years now. ]
So, Tony and I. [ He takes a quick sip of water, though chances are that Natasha can already guess at his question. He doesn't look at her as he asks. ] We found some way to reconcile?
[ It's starting to get better here on Prismatica, though they've also been forced to forge that truce because of the circumstances. How long had it taken back home? ]
no subject
Eventually. Once you two had a common goal to work towards together again. Tony... his loss against Thanos up there... it changed him. He walked away when he got back and I'm not sure he ever looked back until we showed up on his doorstep with Lang's crazy theory. And even then, he had to work around the problem on his own before coming back to join in.
no subject
Of course it was a common goal that brought them back together. That's what had happened here, too. ]
Well, I guess he did always threaten to retire. Figures that losing half the universe would be the final straw.
[ He keeps his gaze on Natasha, studying her features with a close eye. ]
You didn't ever throw in the towel, though, it sounds like.
no subject
It would take them both a lot longer than five years to accomplish that. ]
You know me. I'm really bad at knowing when to quit. Kinda like someone else I know.
no subject
Her words do serve to tell Steve at least a little about what his role in the future is going to be. There are a lot of blanks still left to be filled in, but he doesn't want to bombard Natasha with questions either. ]
I'm guessing you're still adjusting to this place. If there's any questions you still haven't gotten answered, I can try to help.
no subject
[ She's still sounding very amused as she gives him a crooked smile. Leaning forward, she rests her elbows on her knees and cocks her head to the side to study him. ]
Why don't we trade answers for answers, then?
no subject
[ Steve knows that Natasha deals in information more than anything else. It's the most important tool that any spy can have; she taught him that too. That may mean she's already gathered together everything she needs to know, but he still wants to throw out the offer. ]