Engaged
Maria and Natasha find us half an hour later sitting in an old café a few blocks away from the event, we slip away together and make it back to the compound at about the same time as the others.
After getting in and slumping on the sofa Maria finally speaks up
‘FRIDAY initiate protocol: We’re all in this together’ a collective screech/groan goes up
‘come on dude, that gathers everyone’
‘yeh, what dya do that for’ everyone complains and I grin to myself, knowing it calls all the team and family to the room and is only used when big news is in order. Maria and Nat however-being the superspies they are keep their faces black, but Ria subtly hides her left hand from view.
After a few minutes, the elevator opens and Tony, Pepper, Steve and Buckey walk in huffing but receive no answers until the doors open for a second time and bruce, peter and Clint stalk in, flopping on the sofa.
‘urm guys, you know we have an announcement to make’ Maria states nervously and all eye in the room swivel to the couple
‘we’re engaged’ Nat bursts out and the room flurries into motion, Peter jumps onto the ceiling, Clint falls backwards off the sofa and Thor lets out a high pitched squeal (I heard some gasses shatter in the cabinets)
‘congratulations guys’ Stark calls and Pepper nods, smiling (she was the only one other than Val and I to know about the plan-she knows everything)
‘oh my gosh you’re getting married’ Bruce exclaims, clapping his hands together in glee
‘Congratulations’ Tony laughs as everyone lines up for hugs ‘but there is one problem…’
At once shadows cross Nat’s face, but the billionaire just laughs
‘Who will Fury walk down the isle?’ Maria’s eyes grow wide
‘Both of us?’ she questions, but Nat shakes her head.
Slowly she walks across the room to where clint is sitting huddled in the corner, trying to hide the fact he may or may not be crying a bit. She reaches out her hand and pulls him to his feet, starting to open her mouth then decided against it. Then, gently and tenderly she reaches up and calmly fiddles with his ears. A minute later she places his hearing aids on the table. Looking straight into his eyes, face clear of any emotion she begins to sign.
‘Clint, my little hawk. You saved my life, you saved me in so many ways so many times. When you came to Paris I thought you would kill me, instead you gave me a life. Without you I wouldn’t be here today. You once told me everyone has chapters of their life they don’t read out loud. You showed me how to do this. Taught me to have team mates, shoot an arrow, bake a cake. I cannot express my thanks to you. I love you so much, so, My little hawk, will you walk me down the isle’ The room is dead silent only Peter, Val, Clint, Bruce and I know sign language so Tony is reading the translation from FRIDAY. After a moment of silence Clint reaches up and wipes a tear away from his eye and begins to reply
‘Yes tashie. Yes’ at the point the red-head lets out a high pitched squeal and throws herself at the man.
Clint grabs his hearing aids and shoves them in, wincing as the cheers all around him catch up to him
‘Im walking my sister down the isle!’ he screams and then pulls out his phone ‘I gotta tell Laura and the kids’ he places another quick kiss on Nat’s head and sprint out of the room to the dial of a ring tone
***
It’s later that night I turn on my phone to find an enormous amount of media flash back, at once I call the gang over and read out to them
‘Fake Natasha Romanoff proposes in front of crowd, Red Dawn attends Pride Speech, Black Widow engaged to a woman-oh look there’s 7 question marks after that one-are all the female avengers gay, yada, yada’ I announce, showing them the post with Val and I, Nat and Maria and Carol with a huge red cross over our faces
‘wow’ Shuri states flopping on the sofa
‘I say we prove them wrong’ Ria announces, pulling out her phone
‘our good old friend’ I bow my head in mock salute ‘Red is bi’
‘yess’ Lena cheers ‘I say we post a picture of us all with our respective partners in a huge rainbow flag’
‘and comment it-‘actually we’re Queer’’ Carol agrees
‘and if you have a problem with that we will go and work for Iceland’ Nat adds, dropping down from the vents (agile like a cat, not like Clint who just drops and hopes he doesn’t crush the table he’s landing on-which he does frequently)
So we do, we hire Peter as photographer and by the end of the night a picture of all the female avenger kissing their partners is viral, posted with the suggested caption plus invites to a press conference tomorrow (Pepper’s rule)
‘ahh’ Shuri announces, stealing a blanket and pressing play on Call the Midwife ‘to be icons’
‘and engaged’ Maria giggles, snuggling into an insanely happy (like literally I think her face is broken she’s been smiling non stop since this afternoon) Natasha.
*end scene with them all giggling like 5 year olds, then sobbing as they re-watch season 4*