If you read "The Reunion" (one of my Pepperony one-shots) you will know from where the proposal idea came.
Summary: Back in Budapest, Clint made an interesting proposal.
Yes, they both remember Budapest in a different way, but that's because Natasha remembers a flaw with their plan (that almost got them killed) and Clint remembers proposing.
Back in Budapest…
After working together for two years now, Clint knew that he didn't want to be with anyone else than Natasha. Right from the beginning, right from the moment where he was about to release an arrow that would have imbedded herself in the assassin's heart, he knew that Natasha was something else, something that would finally give some sense to his life. He was tired of drifting, of being lost. Everything was a routine before her. Get up, train, scare the living daylights out of the new recruits, get called to Fury's office because of it, laugh about it with Coulson, train, train, train, sometimes go on missions, bed. With Natasha in his life, everything got so much better. He wasn't stuck on a routine anymore and life had more meaning. Sappy, but deep down, Clint was sappy.
"Snap out of it, Barton, we're in the middle of gunfire, now it's not the time to drift to la la land," Natasha snapped at him.
"I'm focused," he threw back at her, releasing another arrow.
"Of course you are," she replied sarcastically, firing with both of her guns, in two different directions. "I know you, Barton, you are on auto-pilot, meaning that your brain is too busy with something else. Whatever it is, let it go!" She yelled.
Clint gritted her teeth, glaring at the little army the drugs dealer had gathered against them. It was an easy mission. They always seem easy in the conference room. A drugs and weapons dealer was causing havoc in the beautiful Budapest. He sold only to big clients. Natasha and Clint went undercover as rogue agents working for the Russian mob. Their job was to get a hold of every contact in the man's black book, destroy his warehouses, arrest his thugs for interrogation and bring him in – dead or alive. They thought that their plan was flawless. Until half an hour ago, when they were spotted! Natasha was recognized by one of the dealer's guys and it all went to hell. They were in a dark alley, surrounded, Phil's voice ringing in the comm that they had in their ears, while they waited for backup and extraction.
They were two against forty. The odds were against them once again.
"Marry me," Clint asked, releasing one of his bomb arrows, letting Natasha reload her weapons.
"What?" Natasha screeched.
"Oh my God," Phil muttered in their ears. "You are unbelievable!"
Clint ignored his handler and checked the arrows in his quiver, as they both duck behind a garbage container.
"You heard me," Clint insisted. "I'm asking you to marry me!"
Natasha looked bewildered. "In the middle of a gunfight? Are you absolutely insane?" She roared, straightening up and firing another row of bullets, getting out of their away at least ten thugs.
Clint also got up, firing the remaining arrows and pulling Natasha down, before a bullet could hit her heart. He was fast enough to save her life, but couldn't help the gash that opened as the bullet scratched her arm. Natasha hissed but said nothing, instead grabbing Clint's collar. "I can't believe you are doing this to me right now!"
"I can't believe it either," Phil sighed. "Five more minutes until backup arrive!"
"Making it three," the master assassins yelled.
"What's the big deal?" Clint shrugged as he groaned when he noticed the lack of arrows in his quiver.
"You have an awful timing," Natasha growled, trusting a gun into his hands.
They both rose again, now jumping over the objects that were covering them.
It was the two of them against twelve. Odds were even.
"Just answer to me, please," Clint asked breathless as they back collided in the middle of the hand to hand fight – they were out of bullets and arrows. "Not that hard," he added as he kicked a guy in the groin and slammed his knee on the guy's face.
"I'm not cut out for your proposal," Natasha replied snapping one of the thugs neck and kicking the other guy's gun. "That is not who I am!"
"Liar," Clint scoffed punching a guy, throwing him against another, before making them fall inside a garbage container. "Admit it, you love me and want to be with me," he quipped.
Natasha growled and not-so-accidentally hit him in the arm. Clint yelped, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the two guys she was fighting, before he finished them for her.
"I could have handled them," she said in a raged breath.
Clint looked around, forty some corpses surrounded them. "Well, I say this is a win," he breathed.
Natasha swallowed looking around. Thank God this was one of the abandoned sides of the city. Otherwise they would have an audience.
"So?" He prompted.
"Give me a break," Natasha frowned. "I want to think about it."
"No, I want an answer now," Clint squinted. "You have her. Just give it to me."
She glared at him. "Stop acting like a spoiled child!"
"Look who's talking," Phil snorted in her hear.
"Where is our backup?" Natasha snapped.
"One minute away," Phil replied.
"Well, too late, we've done it all by ourselves. Send the cleaning crew," she growled before grabbing the ear piece and throwing it to the trash. "You…" she pointed a finger at her partner.
"Yes or no, Tasha," Clint smiled, not a bit intimidated by her glare – he had grown used to it.
"Give her time, Barton," Phil sighed – now only in his ear. "I can't believe you did it now. What happened to candle light dinner with the stunning view of Budapest?"
"You're bleeding," Clint frowned looking at her arm, previously hurt by the bullet.
"I had worse," she dismissed it.
"You're losing a lot of blood," he muttered and ripped a piece of his shirt, wrapping it around her arm.
"You're bleeding too," she noticed his stomach.
"Knife wound, I'll live," he said dryly.
"So will I," Natasha replied crossing her arms. "Stop fussing!"
"Barton, Romanoff," Hill's voice rang through the alley.
They both turned around to find Maria, Phil, a crew of at least twenty SHIELD agents.
"Nice job, messy, but hey, I take what I can get with the two of you," Phil commented looking at them warily. "You need medical attention."
"Let's clean this up before the sunrise, agents," Maria ordered to the agents. "You two can leave now."
Natasha nodded, the action making her feel faint. Maybe she was losing too much blood. Had she eaten today? Had she slept at all? Her mind was starting to get confusing.
"Tasha?" Clint called out, eyes widening, watching her sway a little.
"Yes, and for the record, I hate you," she mumbled before passing out in his arms.
Clint caught her easily, lifting her bridal style.
"The medical team better be closer than the stupid backup," Clint growled.
"They are, and calm down, she said yes, didn't she?" Phil smirked as he led Clint to a van parked in the end of the street. "What happened to your previous proposal plan?"
"Who was I kidding with that?" Clint shook his head, trying not to think about the knife wound in his stomach. "Tasha and I…we're not that kind of couple. Let's admit it; if I didn't propose now, I would only do it in the hospital. There is no way I'm doing it in the helicarrier with Fury breathing down our necks. Creeper!"
Phil chuckled. "Think she'll remember saying yes?"
"Don't care, I have witnesses!"
Natasha groaned, recognizing the place even before she opened her eyes. The smell of bleach was distinct and really, the heart machine was just so loud! Bracing herself, she opened her eyes to close them again. The light hurt her. "I hate hospitals," she mumbled feeling her throat dry.
A familiar chuckle on her right side, forced her to open her eyes again. "How long have I been out?"
"A day and a few hours," Clint explained, closing the book he had been reading. "How do you feel?"
"Tired of being here already," she replied flatly.
"I can imagine. It's not like you've been sleeping all the time," Clint deadpanned. "Me on the other hand, I'm tired of being here, on this chair, and I think I smell like bleach already," he frowned sniffing his shirt.
Natasha chuckled. "Get the Doctor and take me out of here, please?"
Clint nodded, getting up and kissing her forehead. "It will be just a couple of minutes, I'll be right back."
A few minutes after he left, Phil knocked on the door and entered. "How are you feeling, Nat?"
"I hate hospitals, I'll be better once we leave," she sighed.
Phil chuckled lightly and sat down next to her. "Clint went looking for the Doctor. The mission was a success, by the way," he added. "Your fiancée was a pain in the ass during the debriefing because he was constantly saying 'can I go now?', like the spoiled child he is, but Fury is pleased with the information we gathered and with the fact that we could catch the bad guy alive for a change."
"What fiancée?" Natasha asked looking at Phil like he had grown a second head.
"Yours," Phil snickered giving a glance at her ring finger.
Natasha followed his gaze and gasped, sitting up straight when she noticed the simple diamond sitting on her finger. "That jackass," she muttered with affection running a finger trough the delicate square cut diamond on a platinum band. "I never said yes!"
"You did," Phil countered. "Before you passed out."
"That doesn't count," she replied, not taking her eyes of the ring. "It was the blood loss talking."
"Let's save some time here, and admit that you were going to say yes," Phil sighed. "He finally had the guts to ask you. Even if the timing was bad."
Natasha smiled and looked to her handler – her best friend (besides Clint). "No, the timing was perfect, the timing was just…us," she admitted.
Phil grinned. "Going to tell Fury?"
"So we can spoil our fun?" Clint's voice replied with an answer, having just walked into the room. "He'll be the last to know!"
Natasha nodded in agreement. "You're sneaky," she accused Clint. "This," she showed the ring "was not here when I passed out."
"You don't mind, do you? It was getting heavy to carry around," Clint said dramatically while reaching towards her hand and kissing he knuckles.
"For now, it stays where it is!"
"When do you want to do this?" Clint asked smiling at the ring.
"Tomorrow?"
Natasha's proposition made Clint and Phil give her an odd look.
"Don't look at me that way. I don't need or want a church wedding. I don't want a lot of guests with whom I'm not even friends with. If I am getting married, it will be on my terms," Natasha spoke sternly. "The both of us," she mentioned between her and Clint. "Plus Phil and his wife will be enough, don't you think? Unless of course, you want to invite Fury…"
"It all seems good to me. But you better be talking seriously about tomorrow, I'm taking you to court and marrying you," he gave her a pointed look.
"I'm serious," Natasha said. "Phil, when can Alyssa be here?"
Phil chuckled. "You're in luck, she's already in Budapest. Came in late last night!"
"Good, it's a date," Natasha smiled. "Can I go now?" she asked Clint.
"I signed your discharge papers, we're good to go," he nodded happily.
She had to be under the effects of some drugs or painkillers. Marriage? Marriage? There was no way she was going to do this. Nuh-uh. Wrong assassin! She didn't even have a decent dress, for crying out loud!
A knock on the door, made Natasha jump. She scowled to herself. Since when was she jumpy?
"Yes?" She asked before opening.
"It's me, Nat, you can open up…I bring gifts," a feminine voice chuckled from the other side.
Natasha smiled before opening the door. "Good morning, Alyssa," she greeted her handler's wife, letting her enter the room.
"How's the bride-to-be feeling?" Alyssa teased, carrying a medium rectangular box inside and dropping it on top of the bed. She tossed her wavy brown hair behind her shoulder. "Nervous?"
"I'm not feeling well, so, probably, it's not going to happen," Natasha shrugged.
Alyssa chuckled. "Nice try, you're doing this, Nat."
"I can't. It's not in me, not who I am…" she trailed off.
"What? Red Room forgot to implement marriage information and wishes in you?" Alyssa signed and kept talking before Natasha could say anything. "Let. It. Go."
"Not that simple," Natasha frowned.
"Yes, it is," Alyssa nodded. "You're not an assassin today. You're a bride. There are no marks, there's no mission. I am not your handler's wife; I'm your maid-of-honor. Phil is not going to write a report about this, he's the best man, he's in charge of the rings. Today, you are going to put on the dress and shoes I got you," she pointed at the box. "Let your hair out of your ponytail and get married. Tomorrow, you can be an assassin again."
"You are out of this world," Natasha shook her head with a smile.
"I try," Alyssa replied cheekily. "Now, I'm going to help you get ready. You have twenty minutes."
Natasha gasped before running through the bathroom to get ready.
Her dress went by the knee, had a generous cleavage and it was in a pure white color. She wore strappy silver sandals, her long red hair was loose in waves and there was no gun strapped to her hip – only her garter. His outfit was a simple black suit and white shirt – Clint had an aversion to bowties or ties.
"Fury expects you there tomorrow," Phil said while they walked down the stairs of the court.
"Great, 'cause the first thing I want to see after my wedding night is the sky pirate," Clint rolled his eyes.
"He will know by then," Phil went on.
"More reasons for us not to show up," Natasha snorted. "He'll need to calm down. We can do a conference or something."
"Phil will talk to him," Alyssa smiled. "You should enjoy a couple of days alone."
"Me?" Phil squeaked. "I am not their father!"
"Quiet, you'll do it!" Alyssa waved him off. The newlyweds chuckled.
"We're going then," Clint said kissing Natasha's temple. "We'll see you when we get back?"
"Always," Phil smiled.
Clint and Natasha waved before rushing to their car so they could get away for some normal honeymoon period.
New York - After the Battle
"I can't believe you remember Budapest that way!" Clint huffed.
Natasha shrugged with a little smile. "Don't be spoiled, Clint, we were in the middle of a battle. Next time, if we stand next to a church, I'll remember our wedding first!"