He leaned in enough to rest his forehead against Natasha's with a soft sigh, sliding his hand to cup her nape gently, "I know. I know you're all capable of making the hard choices just like I do. I just . . . wish you didn't have to. I wish I was enough to take all the damage and all the responsibility. I hate knowing my friends, my family, have to suffer."

It tore him up when he thought about it. So many lives lost over so many years. They might be a motley crew, but they were his, the closest thing he'd ever have to a family, and he treasured all of them. Even when they argued, he still loved each and every one of them. Especially Natasha. Of everyone he knew, she probably had the most brutal past and certainly deserved the best life. To find out shed never get it . . .