“The Watchover”|Part I
Summary: It’s hard to watch someone special struggle and not be able to do anything.
Pairing: Avengers x Reader (Platonic)
Pronouns: Gender Neutral
Notes: This is NOT CANON. Please don’t come after me. You’ve been warned.
Next Part(s):
“The Watchover”|Part II Summary: You struggle with being trapped in The Watchover as your best friends seemingly refuse to find closure due
**YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY PERMISSION WHATSOEVER TO REPOST MY WORK ANYWHERE.**
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“Hello, Y/N,” came a voice. You turned your head, confused.
“Hello? Who said that?” You asked.
“Why, it was only me,” the voice replied, and a figure stepped out of the shadows.
“Death?” You asked. “Is it really you?”
“Of course it’s me!” Death replied. The figure had a skull-like face and a black hooded robe. However, Death didn’t have a scythe. “Welcome to The Watchover.”
“The what?” You asked, tilting your head.
“The Watchover,” Death repeated absentmindedly. “It’s kind of like the afterlife, but not quite.”
“That’s not so bad,” You replied. “But where are all the people I know who died before me?”
“They finished their time here,” Death explained. “Their loved ones and friends found closure and they got to continue on their path to the afterlife.”
“So all that I have to do is help my fellow Avengers find closure from my loss?” You asked. It seemed simple enough.
“Sort of,” Death replied. “But there is one key attribute to The Watching: You have no contact with Earth life. Your friends and family must learn to move on without you.”
Your mouth hung open in shock. It wasn’t because of what was about to happen, no, but because you were worried for one person: Yelena. She was your best friend (alongside Kate) and you knew she didn’t handle loss very well.
After she’d lost Natasha, she was a hollow shell. She’d never talk to anyone and only ever come out of her compound room to eat. It was miserable, even to watch.
You didn’t remember how you died very well. You just remember you were on a mission with Yelena. You’d split up due to a spat you two had, and she’d stormed off along with you going in the opposite direction. You’d live to regret that.
You turned a corner. And who was waiting there? None other than a HYDRA agent, his short, sharp knife burrowing its way into your stomach.
There wasn’t any pain at first, only shock. And horror. You were numb to the world at that point, and you wondered who created the blood-curdling scream that echoed in your ears. Until you realized the scream was yours.
Before Yelena even got there, you knew you were going to die. Your body was already starting to struggle, trying to grip onto life itself. It was a tiring battle.
You couldn’t remember when you died; all you knew was that you died just before Yelena came to your aid. Your eyelids had been heavy and your head felt light. You could see her blurry figure running over to you, her cries muffling as you faded away.
“How long will I be here?” You asked Death as you looked around. “And how do I ‘watch over’ my friends and family?”
“To answer your first question, Y/N,” Death began, “you’re here until every single person who is important to you finds closure.”
“So I could be here for years?” You asked, shoulders dropping.
“It’s plausible,” Death replied, “And for your second question, I will open up watching to you once you finish asking questions. From then on, you can only see me for half and hour, once a day.”
You stood in shock. “Death sucks.”
Death nodded in sympathy, “Indeed.”
There was a moment of silence before you finally spoke again, “I’m ready to begin The Watchover.”
Death nodded. “Alright then.” Death waved his hand and a scythe appeared. “Watchover, I ask that you open the watching process for Y/N Y/L/N, S/D/N (Son, Daughter, Neither) of Y/F/N (Your Father’s Name).”
A rumbling noise sounded, and suddenly the white clouds that shrouded you and Death parted, leaving a pristine glass floor supporting the both of you.
Beneath the glass was the compound, and it looked as if you were in the vents looking down. You could see all your teammates trading around the compound, obviously devastated.
“It… hurts to see them like this,” You observed, “Why? I thought death was free of suffering. That’s what I was always told.”
There was unending silence. You spoke again, calling out.
“Death?”
No reply. Then you remembered: Half an hour, every day. That was all.
You sighed, sitting down on the glass floor. It was already boring being dead. You laid down against the cool glass, your back up against it. Suddenly, you flew through the glass, dropping onto the compound floor.
“Ow!” You exclaimed, scrambling to get up. You then realized you were in the compound. Looking around, you saw Steve moping in the corner. “Steve!” You cried out, running over to him. You tried to hug him, but you simply phased right through him.
You looked at your hands, puzzled. “What?” You asked, waving your hand in front of Steve’s face. Then it hit. You were invisible.
Well, not invisible. Dead.
You watched Steve get up and pull a picture of him and you out of his pocket. He smiled sadly and shoved it back into his pocket, suddenly, when he heard Sam coming.
“Steve?” Sam asked, but seeing Steve’s face and the corner of the picture sticking out of his pocket was enough to tell him what had happened.
“I miss them,” Steve said solemnly. “They were the best of us.”
“I know,” Sam replied, patting Steve on the back. “I know.”
You couldn’t bear to watch any more of the sad exchange as you backed out of the room. You needed to find Yelena.
You walked through the winding, twisting hallways of the compound, but stopped when you heard hushed voices behind a door.
Turning your head, you saw it was a purple door. A purple door with a small bow hanging in it.
“Oh no…” you muttered, “Oh Kate…”
You phased through the door to see Clint holding Kate on the archer’s bed, gently rubbing circles on her back. Kate was curled into a tight ball, and her breathing was labored and uneven.
It broke your heart to see her like this, your best friend.
“I miss them,” Kate mumbled. You came around the side of the bed and saw her eyes were puffy and red. They had dark half-circles under them; clearly she’d been losing sleep.
“It’s gonna be alright, kiddo,” Clint whispered. “It’s gonna be alright.”
This only made Kate let out a pained cry as she turned and burrowed herself into Clint’s side. You wished you could hug her.
After a desperate search through the rest of the compound, you found the person you’d been looking for. Yelena.
She was in your room, laying on her stomach on your bed with her face in your pillow.
“Yelena?” You called out, but there was no reply. Worried, you ran over and went to hug her but—once again—you phased right through her. Your eyes began to water.
She was in a withered state: eyes red, dark circles under her eyes. Her breathing was slow and heavy, unlike Kate’s uneven and labored breathing, but it was clear she was upset.
A knock sounded at the door. “Yelena? It’s me.” Yelena didn’t far look up as you turned to see who it was. Clint walked through the door, slowly, carefully. “Hey, kiddo.”
Normally, Yelena would’ve lashed out at him for calling her a kid, but this time she remained still and silent, unmoving. Your heart shattered.
“I just came from Kate’s room,” Clint spoke, “and she’s having a pretty rough time with Y/N’s death, too.”
Yelena still remained silent. You broke away from the bedside and looked over Clint.
He looked tired as well, and sad, too. It looked like he had spent all his time comforting Kate about your death.
“Not talkative?” He asked, starting for the door. “Alright, then.”
He was just about to exit the room when Yelena’s timid voice broke the silence.
“Do… do you think they’re up there with Natasha? Do you think Y/N is up there wrestling with her and visiting?” Yelena asked.
Clint have a sad half smile and nodded. “I do. I do.”
He then exited the room and shut the door.
You looked at Yelena, then left the room to check on Kate.
It was a sad sight, really. Both of your best friends were miserable, and everyone else was practically moping around. The compound wasn’t as lively as it should’ve been, nor was it as interesting.
It was missing Sam’s playful manner, his jokes and his smiles.
It was missing Yelena and her going on and on about her pockets and many, many vests.
It was missing Kate running into an important Avengers meeting to tell Clint she beat her high score on the holographic combat training system.
It was missing Steve and his stories about World War II and how he’d become Captain America.
It was missing so many things. So much.
But you knew it was because of you and you alone. But now you couldn’t do anything. You were stuck here with Death.
You were trapped in The Watchover, waiting for release.
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Hi, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this! It was a random idea I got, but it’s pretty long (for me anyways). How’s you like it? Also, PART 2?