Disclaimer: I do not own the song lyrics to "Amazing." They belong to Aerosmith. I also do not own Where the Wild Things Are. It belongs to Maurice Sendak (may he rest in peace).
Also, when it says that "We Are Young" by Fun. starts playing after graduation, fire up your iPods or YouTube and listen to it from there to the end of this chapter. This isn't a choice, it's an order. You need to have the full effect haha.
Now, without further ado, here is the penultimate chapter of Fix You, chapter 34!
Natasha awoke on the morning of graduation curled up next to Clint in her bed. Today, she would be graduating high school. Today, she would be finding out Clint's "plan" and why he's been acting so strange for the past several months. Today would be the first day of the rest of her life.
The past week had been stress-free for Natasha. She had managed to pull A's in all of her classes, therefore exempting her from her final exams. Aside from graduation practice, she had nothing to do during the day to bide her time. Clint had ceased his strange behavior ever since Moving Up Day so when they hung out in the days leading up to graduation, it felt like everything was the way it used to be.
"Hey," Natasha heard Clint mumble. She craned her neck so that she was looking up at Clint, and she was greeted with a small smile.
"So, you're graduating today," Clint said.
"Indeed I am," she said.
Clint chuckled and kissed the top of her head as she repositioned it to rest on his chest. Natasha looked around her room, the four walls she had been so accustomed to since kindergarten. In August, she would be leaving everything behind. Sure she would come back and visit during breaks and some weekends, but it wouldn't be her home anymore.
"Probably should get up," Clint said. "It's almost noon."
Clint gently pushed her off of him and then rolled out of bed. She propped herself up on her elbow and watched as he stretched. She had managed to convince him to sleep without a shirt on last night, so she watched the muscles in his back contort as he stretched his arms above his head.
"Are you finally going to tell me what your 'plan' is? You did promise you'd tell me today," Natasha said.
"I said I would tell you after graduation," Clint said. "I can't have you getting distracted before and during the ceremony."
"Seriously Clint, if you don't tell me, that's going to distract me even more," Natasha whined, falling back onto the pillows with a sigh. Clint climbed back onto the bed and leaned down to kiss Natasha on the lips.
"Trust me on this," Clint breathed, and then walked out of the room.
Natasha groaned. For fuck's sake Clint, she thought. Stop doing this to me.
Four o'clock rolled around and Natasha started to get ready for graduation. She couldn't control the butterflies in her stomach, and at the time, it had more to do with the fact that she would be graduating in a few hours than the big reveal of Clint's "plan." She wondered how Clint had been so calm last year when he graduated because she couldn't exactly control her hand from shaking as she tried to apply a small amount of mascara.
After she had her makeup applied and her hair curled, she slipped into her dress – a simple black shift dress – and then pulled on her black sandals. She grabbed her phone, car keys, driver's license, and cap and gown, and followed Clint out her front door. He opened the driver's side door of Natasha's car, slipped in a quick kiss, and then told her he'd meet her on the field after graduation.
As she was driving to graduation, the nerves had really started to kick in. This would be the last time she would set foot in Stroudsburg High School. This would be the last time she would set foot in Ross Stulgaitis Stadium.
When she reached the high school, she parked her car next to Peggy's when she spotted it and headed into the auditorium to join the rest of her classmates. Stepping into the auditorium was pure chaos. Natasha's classmates were taking pictures and hugging one another. The girl's were dressed in their white gowns, while the boys toyed with their maroon ones. Caps were being thrown into the air already, and squeals of excitement echoed throughout the vast room every so often.
"Natasha!" Natasha heard Peggy's voice. Natasha turned around and saw Peggy, Jane, and Bruce – already clad in their cap and gowns – and looking extremely excited.
"Hey!" Natasha exclaimed when she joined them and was enveloped into a group hug.
"Can you believe this?" Peggy said. "We're graduating!"
"Yeah, I can't believe it," Natasha said, a little more excited than expected.
At that moment, Principal Fury walked onto the auditorium stage to call the soon-to-be graduates to order. The auditorium fell silent – mostly because no one ever dared to talk over Principal Fury – and Principal Fury began to give instructions on getting the students in order.
Row by row, the students were called to the front of the auditorium to get in line for the graduation march into the stadium. Natasha would be stuck towards the back of the line with the R's while Peggy, Jane, and Bruce would be closer to the front. When all the students were in order, they were told to put on their caps and gowns if they hadn't done so already, and then they marched out of the high school and up to the stadium.
As they got closer to the stadium, Natasha could hear the buzz of voices coming from the stands. The closer they got, the more nervous Natasha seemed to be. Her heart was racing; she wasn't quite ready to leave this all behind. Before she knew it, "Pomp and Circumstance" kicked in and the line lurched forward as the students began to march into the stadium. The spectators cheered as the students made their way into the stadium and filled the seats. Natasha scanned the crowd for her father and Clint but she knew that she wouldn't be able to find them in the sea of people. Once all of the students were seated and the music had ceased, Principal Fury stepped up onto the stage and cleared his throat.
"Good evening, parents, staff, and students," Principal Fury boomed. "Another year, another graduating class come and gone and it is an honor to be standing in front of such accomplished young men and women. Tonight, is the night they will end one chapter in their lives and begin another. I just hope that they will make the most of it. Join me in applauding their accomplishments."
The spectators joined in a round of applause with Principal Fury and the rest of the faculty that were seated on stage.
"Alright, now is the time for our first student speech," Principal Fury announced. He called the class president on stage and Natasha immediately tuned her out. As rude as it seemed, she didn't care much about what she had to say, and she was really eager to hear what Jane and Bruce had to say. Every so often she heard the usual junk about making memories and ending the high school journey together, and Natasha rolled her eyes. When the class president was finished with her speech, Natasha was relieved and watched as Principal Fury stepped back up to the microphone and called Jane up to the stage.
A huge round of applause echoed throughout the stadium as Jane made her way to the stage. She shook Principal Fury's hand, and then placed her papers onto the podium, arranging them in the order that she needed them. Before starting, she took a deep breath and then smiled at her audience.
"Steven Tyler once sang 'Life's a journey, not a destination, and I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings' and there's nothing that couldn't be more accurate for any graduating class. Life is full of many destinations, but as a whole, it's a journey.
"Today, we reached one destination: graduation. For the majority of our lives so far, we've been trying to reach this one specific destination. There have been obstacles and people who have been so rude enough to get in our way, but we have worked hard and persevered to get to where we are today.
"But no one really knows what tomorrow brings. We have a general idea. We'll get up, eat breakfast, maybe hang out with some friends or go to work, and then later, go to bed to do it all over again. But that isn't always the case. Something almost always gets in the way. Each day is a journey in itself.
"I can't tell you what tomorrow may bring. I can't even tell you what's in store for us once we walk out of this stadium. However, I can tell you that some of us will join the work force. Some of us will join the army, the navy, the air force, or the marines. But mostly, a lot of us will be heading off to big things at different colleges and universities across the country.
"None of us know what it will be like. It's going to be something completely new to all of us. We're going to be meeting new people, having new experiences, and most important of all, we're not going to have our parents around to do our laundry.
"But what we don't know is if we'll like it. Many of us think we're ready for it, but there's no way to really prepare yourself for being on your own, seeing as none of us have done it before. We've always had our parents around to pick us up from slumber parties if we got homesick. We've had our best friends to share all of our deepest and darkest secrets to. Now, we have to adapt to a whole new surrounding and a group of complete strangers.
"However, the most important thing to remember is that no matter where we go, we will reach our destinations. We will graduate from college. We will get that job at that law firm that we so desperately wanted. We will get married. We will have children. And we will live happily ever after. There will be obstacles that we will have to face, there's no doubt about that, but we can beat them. We've already beat 18 years worth of them, so what's another 60 or 70 going to hurt?
"So Steven Tyler is right. Life is a journey, not a destination. And he's right that there's no telling what tomorrow will bring. But whatever it is, we will conquer it, we will persevere, and we will prevail, just like we are going to do tonight."
Jane finished her speech and took a step back from the podium as the crowd – parents, faculty, and her classmates – erupted in cheers. Jane shook Principal Fury's hand again as she passed by him and stepped down the stage steps with a smile plastered on her face.
"Thank you Miss Foster," Principal Fury said, clearing his throat. "And now, without further ado, I would like to welcome to the stage, your valedictorian, Mr. Bruce Banner."
Cheers erupted from the stadium – mostly from the soon-to-be graduates – as Bruce made his way up to the stage with his speech in one hand and a book in another. He shook Principal Fury's hand and then took his place behind the podium.
"Before I really start my speech," Bruce announced. "I want to read you one of my favorite children's books. It won't be long, and I'm sure many of you have heard this story before, but I promise there's a purpose to it."
Bruce arranged his materials on the podium so that his speech was lying underneath the book. He cracked open the book so that he was on the first page.
"Like I said," Bruce said, "this is one of my favorite children's books and I'm sure a lot of you have heard this story before so I don't think there's any need for an introduction."
Bruce cleared his throat and then began.
"The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another, his mother called him "WILD THING!" and Max said "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to bed without anything to eat.
"That very night in Max's room a forest grew and grew – and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max and he sailed off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost a year over to where the wild things are.
"And when he came to the place where the wild things are they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws till Max said "BE STILL!" and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all and made him king of all wild things. 'And now!,' cried Max, 'let the wild rumpus start!'
"'Now stop!' Max said and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper. And Max the king of all the wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all. Then all around from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat so he gave up being king of where the wild things are.
"But the wild things cried, 'Oh please don't go – we'll eat you up – we love you so!' And Max said 'No!' The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved good-bye and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him and it was still hot."
Bruce closed the book and the stadium stayed silent because they knew he wasn't done quite yet.
"So here's the deal," Bruce said. "All of us, after tonight, are sailing off to where the wild things are. We're going into the work force. We're going into the military. We're going off to college. We're going to face the wild things. And let's face the facts; we have to conquer the wild things by ourselves. Our parents are sending us off without any dinner and we have the sail off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost a year over to where the wild things are.
"However, we have to remember that through the wild rumpus, we always have a home to come back to here in Stroudsburg. Even if the wild things make us lonely and make us feel like we want to be where someone loves us best of all, we can always come home.
"So we can sail back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of our very own rooms where we can find supper still waiting for us. And it will still be hot."
Bruce thanked his audience – who cheered him on – as he gathered up his papers and his book, and shook Principal Fury's hand as he stepped off stage with his head held high.
"Thank you Mr. Banner," Principal Fury said. "And now, it is time. Are you ready to graduate?"
The soon-to-be graduates roared with excitement and the first row of boys and girls made their way to the stage to receive their diplomas. One by one, a row of boys and girls would rise and make their way to the stage while Principal Fury would simultaneously hand out diplomas to the students waiting patiently.
When it came time for Natasha's row to walk up to the stage, she rose from her seat with the rest of her classmates and they made their way up to the stage in single file. She listened as the girls' names in front of her were called and she moved closer to the steps until they were directly in front of her.
"Natasha Romanoff," Principal Fury's voice boomed throughout the stadium and she mounted the steps and made her way up the stage. If people were cheering for her, she didn't notice because she was too focused on shaking Principal Fury's hand and taking her diploma from him. She walked down the stage steps – giving both Jane and Bruce hugs, who outlined a path for the graduates – and made her way back to her seat. She was glad that she was near the end of the alphabet because having a last name beginning with an A must have been complete agonizing. She reached her seat and sat there in a haze as Principal Fury continued to hand out the rest of the diplomas.
When the last student received their diploma, Principal Fury waited for them to reach their seat before making the announcement.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the Class of 2012!"
Chaos erupted from the stadium as confetti, silly string, and graduation caps flew through the air. Their class song, "We Are Young" by Fun, blared through the stadium's ancient stereo system. Natasha pushed through the crowd to find Peggy, Jane, and Bruce and enveloped them into a group hug.
"Oh my God, to tell you the truth, I never thought I'd say this but I'm going to miss you guys," Natasha said.
"Oh don't be so stubborn Natasha. You love us!" Peggy said.
"Indeed I do," she said, trying to choke back tears. Peggy pulled them all closer together as their former classmates continued to celebrate around them. When they pulled apart, they spotted their parents making their way to the field on the other side of the fence. They waved at them to show them where they were and waited patiently for them to join them.
Natasha saw Clint before she saw her father, and her heart started to race. He could finally tell her his plan, and it made her so excited and nervous at the same time. When he approached her, he pulled a piece of silly string out of her hair and then leaned down to kiss her.
"Now will you share your 'plan' with me?" she asked impatiently.
Clint chuckled. "Okay fine, fine. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt seeing as you have graduated and I did promise to tell you after you graduated. Hold out your hand."
Clint reached into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out a silver key and placed it in Natasha's palm.
"This is the key to our townhouse in The Village," Clint announced.
"Our townhouse? Clint, you go to Penn State. Do you seriously expect me to live there alone and wait for you to come there on weekends? And how the hell can we afford it? We're in college Clint!" Natasha exclaimed.
"First, why do you think I've been so buddy-buddy with your grandparents? They paid for it, and will be paying for it. Memorial Day weekend, we were actually signing the papers for it. And many times before – including the time I told you I was in Pittsburgh when I really wasn't, and I'm sorry I lied to you – we were searching throughout Greenwich Village for the right place, and this place is it."
"Okay, but you go to Penn State Clint - ," Natasha but Clint interrupted her by reaching to the back pocket of his jeans and handing her a piece of paper. She took it but hesitated to open it.
"Open it," Clint ordered and Natasha's fingers fumbled to unfold the paper. She read down the page, a letter from NYU addressed to Clint.
Dear Mr. Barton, it read. Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to New York University.
"Y-you're…you're going…you're going to NYU?" she asked, stunned. Clint nodded in response. It took a moment for Natasha to collect her thoughts, and when she did, she punched Clint in the arm.
"Ow! What the hell?"
"I told you not to throw away your life at Penn State for me!" she screamed. "What did I say to you? Don't do that! Take it back! Take it back! You're going to Penn State in the fall and that's final!"
"Well, it's too late Tasha," Clint said, rubbing the spot on his arm where Natasha had punched him. "The transcripts have been sent. The deposits are in, and I've even scheduled my classes. I'm going to NYU with you in the fall."
"But I told you not to throw away your life for me," Natasha whined.
"I'm not throwing away my life for you. I'm trying to make a life with you," Clint said.
"What are you talking about?" Natasha said angrily.
That's when Clint reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt and pulled out a small blue box – a Tiffany's box.
"Clint, what is that? What are you doing?" she asked nervously. Her eyes were wide with shock as Clint got down on one knee. She dropped her cap and diploma on the ground as she brought her hands up to her mouth to cover it in shock.
"Natasha Alianovna Romanoff," Clint said, "I've known you since I was six-years-old, and to tell you the truth, I fell in love with you that day on the playground. It's always been there, and it's always been you, and I want it to continue to be you."
That's when Clint pulled open the blue box to reveal an all silver ring with a simple diamond perched atop the band. Natasha realized that this was the exact same engagement ring she had always stared at when she would go into Tiffany's on Fifth Avenue. She never thought it would be hers. She never thought it would be right in front of her. She never thought Clint would be giving it to her. And most importantly, she never thought Clint would be asking her to marry him.
"They…they told you," Natasha said, trying to choke back tears. "My grandparents told you which one was my favorite ring."
Clint nodded in response.
"Clint, you can't afford this. I can't accept it. I would love to marry you, but I can't accept the ring. It's too expensive."
"You can, Tasha," Clint said. "Yes, your grandparents bought it and somehow they got it at a strange discounted price, but I will be paying them back every penny. I am taking on this debt on top of my student loans just for you. Please Nat, just take it."
Natasha hesitated. "You were asking my dad. That day, Moving Up Day. You were asking him if you could marry me. That's why he was close to crying," Natasha stated.
"Yes Nat," Clint said.
Natasha was silent for what felt like an eternity. Clint was still on the ground on one knee with the ring box still open.
"Natasha," he breathed. "It's not like it's a blood diamond or something. At least, as far I know it's not. Your grandparents bought it so we can be together. They like me enough to do this for me. For you and I. And seriously, you can't say no after all I did for us."
Natasha rolled her eyes and giggled. She stood there looking into Clint's blue-grey eyes and realized that she had to say it.
"For God's sake, just say yes already!" Natasha heard Peggy's voice from off to the side. She turned her head and saw Peggy, Steve, Thor, and Jane, as well as Mr. Romanoff and all of her friends' parents watching in suspense. Natasha rolled her eyes again and then turned her attention back to Clint. She drew in a deep breath and then released it.
"Clint Francis Barton…" she trailed off. "I…Yes, I will marry you."
"Yes?" Clint asked in surprise.
"Yes. I said yes you idiot."
Clint jumped up from the ground – pulling the ring out of the box – and slipping it onto her ring finger before crushing his lips against hers. This kiss had more meaning. It was the first kiss of many more kisses. It was the first kiss of the rest of their lives.
Oh boy, isn't that quite a plan? Clint, you hopeless romantic! Shout out to guest reviewer "beccabearlove" for actually guessing the holy trifecta of Clint's plan. Damn, I can't fool you guys can I? Oh well, I tried! haha.
There's only one more chapter, the epilogue. I'll say all my thank yous after the epilogue because it's 2:00 in the morning here and I have to be to work at 8 so I don't have time to do the thanks yous now haha.
As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Review away please! I have a long shift at work tomorrow and Saturdays are always slow so if you put two and two together, you get the point. I'll need some reading material while I'm sitting at work bored. Tell if you guys are still alive, and let me know what you think of Clint's big reveal of his "plan." Oh and let me know what you thought of Jane and Bruce's speeches. I worked (somewhat) hard on them haha.