Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers, Marvel does.
Clint competes for the gold. Natasha watches (not calmly) from the stands with the other Avengers.
Going For Gold
Natasha tightened her grip on the chair. fuck fuck fuck fuck. shit. Oh, God. "Barton. Jesus. Fuck." Her finger nails dug into chair and she shoved her back against the chair, almost refusing to look at Clint. Fuck fuck fuck. How was he staying so calm?
"Clint Barton, lines up his shot for the United States of America" The announcer startled Natasha, who clutched even harder at the chair. He just needs a ten. Come on Clint, a ten.
Just like Budapest.
"Come on, Barton" She heard a loud slap, "Ow, Pepper, Jesus"
"Clint's concentrating, Tony. Keep your mouth shut" Pepper snapped, her eyes never leaving Clint. Natasha barely noticed and focussed her attention on Clint who was slowly lining up his shot. She's seen him do it a thousand time. Line up his shot, pull back, aim, and release. Why was she freaking out again? Oh, right, because it was the goddamn London Olympics, that's why.
"I don't know how you can watch this" Steve said, his voice muffled. Natasha didn't need to look at him to know he was holding his hands in front of his face. Bruce grunted in response.
Natasha watched as Clint pulled the bow back, and aimed his shot. Later, Pepper would tell her she left a 2 inch hole in the ground, from where her feet had been digging into the grass. Natasha watched as Clint rested the bow against his check; the muscles in his arm were tight, very tight.
Just as Clint let go of the arrow, Natasha grabbed the nearest thing and clenched it as hard as she could. Apparently it was Tony's arm. (Tony later claimed he lost feeling for 14 hours). She heard Tony yelp next to her.
Fuck. Shit. Mother fucker. Fuck Fuck Fuck. YES - Natasha realized she screamed the last part. Pepper was jumping up and down next to her and pulling her into a hug- "We knew Clint could do it! Congratulations!"
Clint's arrow had landed dead center in the middle of the target awarding him a ten, and also -the Gold Medal. Natasha heard herself cheering again, arms waving in the air. She watched as Clint searched the crowd for her. Steve was patting her on the back, and Bruce was leading the row behind them in a USA chant.
"Way to go, baby!" Natasha heard herself yell. Baby? Jesus, Clint had turned her into a softie. But, Natasha didn't let it phase her and felt her heart stop as Clint's eyes found hers. He looked... Shocked. She mouthed: I'm so proud of you.
He nodded, his smile widening, if that even possible, and she read his lips, his reply was drowned out by the crowd: Marry me.
Her heart skipped a beat, and Natasha felt her throat tighten. She nodded vigorously before her mind could catch up with her heart. She mouthed back: I love You.
Clint's coach had draped an American flag over his head, and Natasha found herself being pulled into a monstrous hug by Steve Rogers.
"Congrats, Natasha! Clint was amazing"
"Yeah, he always is" Natasha muttered, her voice raspier than usual from all the yelling.
Pepper and Tony waved at Clint just as he disappeared into the changing room. Pepper turned to Natasha, "Can you go down now and see him?"
"He's got to change for the medal ceremony" Natasha said, sitting down in the chair, and feeling relaxed for the first time since they had landed in London. Fuck. I can't believe it. He won. He's a gold medalist. She shoved down the part that thought: He's my gold medalist.
"You need this more than me, Romanoff" She felt Tony shove a suspicious drink into her hands. She raised her eyes, "Hey, I was nervous"
"It's 10:45 in the morning" Natasha said, but brought the drink to her lips anyways. Scotch. Classic Stark.
"It's 5:00 somewhere"
Natasha thought back to the last four years, and how hard Clint had trained for this moment. Everyday, every week, thousands of hours; she had lost Clint to his love for archery. She had fought it for weeks, and thought about giving up on it.. on them. But, well, she couldn't bear to lose him, and she had learned to love him and even share him with his beloved bow.
"Did Clint just propose?" Natasha hadn't even realized Pepper had taken the open seat next to her. Tony and Bruce were reenacting Clint's final arrow, which had given Pepper the chance to sneak over.
"W-What" Pepper raised an eyebrow. Apparently Pepper was a superb lip reader. Natasha huffed, "Yes. Yeah, Okay, I think so"
"And what did you say?" It was Natasha's turn to raise her eyebrows. Pepper laughed and held up her hands in defense, "Thought so"
"Ladies and gentleman," the announcers voice boomed, breaking Tony and Bruce from their conversation, "the Olympic champions in Archery"
The stadium broke out into ear-splitting applause. Natasha vaulted out of her seat, waving her hands in the air, and screaming for Clint. Clint waved to the crowd as he walked onto the top of the podium. Pepper was squeezing her hand as the bronze and silver medalist were awarded their medals- "And receiving the gold medal, from the United States of America, Clint Barton!"
Natasha clapped and cheered with the rest of the crowd and gave Clint a thumbs up when he smirked at her just as the gold medal was placed around his neck.
"And now, the National Anthem of the United States of America" Natasha couldn't take her eyes off the gold medal that was hanging around Clint's neck. Wow. And she Totally didn't notice how his muscles flexed when he put his hand over his heart. She watched as his lips moved, and he mouthed the words to America's anthem. Natasha felt intense pride as Clint took a few last waves and smiled before he was hounded by the media.
Natasha slipped away from the guys and Pepper, knowing it would be a while before they noticed her disappearance, and well, she had an Olympian to congratulate. It only took her five minutes to sneak her way into Clint's changing room. He wasn't there. She assumed he was still talking to the media.
Her head whipped around as she heard the door open- "Yes, sir. Just give me five minutes and I'll make the rest of the media circuit"
"Okay. Hey, Clint," Natasha heard Clint's coach's crack, Fuck, wow, this meant a lot to Phil. "I'm so proud of you"
She heard Clint pull Phil into a fierce hug, "Thanks, Phil. Couldn't have done this without you"
The door slammed, and Natasha heard Clint unzipping his USA jacket he had worn on the podium. He obviously didn't see her and just as he was about to take off his medal she broke the silence, "I think congratulations are in order"
Clint was only startled for a moment before his eyes found her, "Tasha." He took two steps and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. She squeezed him tightly and swore she could feel him relax against her.
"Clint" she murmered, she moved her arms to rest around his neck and brought his lips down to hers. He hands moved to her waist and pulled her tightly against him. Natasha pulled back, and was momentarily memorized as Clint licked his lips, "I'm so proud of you. So. So. Proud"
Clint gave her another one of his infamous shit-eating grins, "Thanks, Tash. I-I.. It's.. I can't even put into words.. Any of this. It's surreal. And it's a blur, mostly"
Natasha threaded her fingers through the hair at the base of his neck, "You deserve it, Clint"
He smiled again and wrapped his arms around her and kissing the top her head, "I didn't imagine proposing to you, did I?"
Natasha rolled her eyes, "No, you didn't imagine that"
"Should I take that very intense nodding as a yes?" She could hear the smirk in his voice. He looked down at her and kissed her again.
She pulled back after a few moments, panting. Her fingers found the gold medal that was hanging around his neck, "ask me again, Hotshot. Tonight, in bed, wearing only that gold medal, and you'll get your answer"
~ Hope you liked it. I just realized that I didn't put Thor in this, so let's just imagine him and Jane are off somewhere. If you've got time to leave a review, I'd really appreciate it!