Hey guys! I'm really sorry for not posting this earlier. I planned on working on this after work today but then my dad asked me if I wanted to go see Ted so I did (it was hilarious by the way. Funniest movie I'd seen since Superbad). Anyways, I have been working on this chapter since I finished that ridiculous paper late Thursday night/early Friday morning so it may not seem consistent. When I don't write something all at once, it tends to not be consistent or not flow well, so I apologize in advance. But either way, here is chapter 23!
Following Clint's prom proposal at the Senior Football Banquet, Natasha had less than a month and a half to find a dress. She was lucky enough that Peggy and Jane still hadn't found dresses either, which made it easier for Natasha to shop.
When Natasha wasn't working or spending time with Clint, she was with Peggy and Jane driving anywhere within a 25 mile radius trying to find the perfect prom dress. On the fourth trip, Peggy found her prom dress – a crimson red satin curve-hugging strapless dress with a mermaid bottom. Jane squealed with excitement when Peggy had tried it on and Natasha nodded in approval.
"God, Steve is going to die when he sees you," Jane had said as Peggy twirled around in her dress.
On the eighth trip, Jane was lucky enough to find the perfect dress for her. They were at the mall in Allentown at an expensive store that sold evening wear when she saw the dress that she wanted. She knew it as soon as she tried on the dark blue ombré dress with the floral adorned strap stretching across her chest that it was the dress for her.
As Peggy and Jane obsessed over Jane's dress, Natasha felt like the odd one out. It was now two weeks until prom, and she still didn't have anything to wear. Peggy and Jane noticed that she was upset about this and reassured her that they would find something for her to wear in no time.
Despite already having their dresses, Peggy and Jane still accompanied her on her hunt for a prom dress. As they sorted through the racks and displays of gowns made of silk and chiffon, Natasha couldn't help but get more and more frustrated. Peggy and Jane knew that Natasha was getting frustrated with being the only one who didn't have a prom dress and they tried their hardest to make her feel better about it.
"Natasha, you'll find a dress," Jane said as she pulled a knee-length dress from the rack and examined it.
"I just…I don't want to disappoint Clint," Natasha said letting out a sigh.
"Oh please," Peggy said. "You could wear a garbage bag to prom and Clint would still think you're the most beautiful person there."
"If I don't find a dress soon, I probably will be wearing a garbage bag," Natasha said, angrily pushing the dresses aside on the rack.
"Oh stop, you'll find a dress," Peggy said waving off her last comment.
Natasha had no luck and she felt bad that Peggy and Jane kept wasting their time to help her look for a dress. Not to mention wasting the gas in Peggy's car. Natasha always offered Peggy money for gas, even before the two girls had found their dresses, but Peggy refused the offer.
By the time they had arrived at Natasha's house, Natasha was even more frustrated that she was coming home, once again, empty handed. She invited Peggy and Jane inside and the girls happily obliged. They had even offered to help Natasha search online to see if there was anything worthy enough for prom.
Natasha's father was sitting on the living room couch – eating a microwavable meal and watching Friends – when the girls walked through the front door. He greeted the girls with a friendly hello and Peggy and Jane reciprocated the gesture. Mr. Romanoff then turned to Natasha.
"My mom and dad sent something back with me for you. I set it on your bed in your room," Mr. Romanoff said. Natasha mumbled a "thank you" and made her way to her bedroom with Peggy and Jane in tow.
Natasha had expected maybe an envelope or just a tiny gift bag, but what she didn't expect was the enormous box that was placed in the center of her bed. Peggy and Jane whistled at the gigantic box and encouraged her to open it.
"They're probably just trying to bribe me again," Natasha said, tossing her bag onto her bed.
"Just open it Natasha," Peggy whined.
"Okay, okay," Natasha said, putting her hands up in defense. She stood next to her bed and pulled the box closer. She carefully slid the lid off to reveal a bunch of tissue paper and a note written on some very fancy cardstock. Natasha picked up the note and Peggy and Jane huddled around her to read it.
Natasha, it read. Your dad said you were having trouble finding a dress for prom so your Pop Pop and I took the liberty of making a call to Ms. Georgina Chapman (the designer of Marchesa, in case you didn't know) and we gave her your measurements. She made this dress especially for you. We hope you like it, and we hope you and Clint have a fantastic time at prom. Love, Nana and Pop Pop.
Natasha placed the note on her bed beside the box and, with a shaky hand, slowly pulled away the tissue paper to reveal one of the most expensive looking dresses she had ever laid eyes on. She carefully pulled it out of its box to hold it up to her body. It was a simple white chiffon dress with intricate beading on the bodice and a strapless sweetheart neckline. As Natasha held it up against her, it even felt expensive, but given that it was a favor to her grandparents from this designer, it probably didn't even cost them a dime.
Peggy and Jane were rendered speechless as Natasha held it up to her body. Natasha didn't move at all, for fear that even the slightest movement would destroy it.
"Oh my God," Peggy muttered and Jane nodded in agreement.
"I know," Natasha said as she felt a smile spread across her face as she looked down at the dress.
"Damn it," Jane said suddenly. "Now this means we can't go shopping anymore."
Natasha looked up at Jane and giggled at her comment. "Don't be ridiculous Jane. I still need shoes and accessories."
The few hours leading up to prom were quite possibly the most stressful and tiring Natasha had ever experienced. She scheduled to have her hair done by a professional at a local salon, and by the time the girl had finished tugging at her hair and spraying it with hairspray, all Natasha wanted to do was go back to sleep.
Before they were to actually arrive at the Stroudsmoor – a country inn and resort located just a minute away from Tony Stark's house and where prom took place every year – they were to meet at Steve's house for pictures at 3:00. At 2:00, Natasha occupied the bathroom to apply just the right amount of makeup and then fix the few parts of her hair that had come undone.
At 2:30, Natasha cautiously slid into her dress and zipped up the back. She stared at herself in her full-length mirror in the corner of her room. To be honest, she didn't recognize herself and she couldn't help but wonder if Clint would like her dress. She backed up to sit on her bed and strapped on the simple silver heeled sandals she had bought. She slipped in the silver chandelier earrings and then grabbed her bag and walked out into the living room to show her father.
"Well?" she asked, nervously. Mr. Romanoff nodded in approval with tears in his eyes and gave Natasha a gentle squeeze and then they made their way out to his car so he could get Natasha to Steve's house. Natasha was still nervous if Clint would like her dress. He could tell her a million times that she was beautiful no matter what and she still wouldn't believe it.
As they pulled into Steve's driveway, Natasha could see that Clint had already arrived and was joking around with Steve and Thor in Steve's front yard. Peggy and Jane had also arrived and were fussing with one another's dresses, while the parents were standing on Steve's vast front porch conversing with one another. Mr. Romanoff got out of the car and came over to Natasha's side of the car to open the door and help her out.
When Mr. Romanoff opened the door for Natasha, she carefully picked up the hem of her dress and swung her legs out of the car. When she stood up straight she looked right at Clint, whose mouth was hanging open in awe.
So, he likes it I take it? Natasha thought to herself.
Natasha carefully made her way across the grass to Clint, mouth still hanging open. She had seen him dressed up before but never like this, and never for her, and it made her heart race.
"Hi," she said, smiling at him when she approached him.
"H-hi," he stuttered, shaking his head to pull himself back to reality.
"You look handsome," she said.
"Y-yeah, you do too," Clint said, and Natasha tried to hide a laugh. "Wait, no, I meant to say that you look…I mean, you just look…"
Natasha giggled. "I think I got the point," she said.
Clint let out a breath. "You look beautiful, but I feel like beautiful just doesn't cut it so I don't know how to explain how you look."
Clint pushed back the strand of hair Natasha had kept loose and leaned in and kissed her. Once again, Natasha didn't care that they had an audience because all that mattered was that it was her and Clint.
When Clint pulled away from Natasha, Steve's parents announced from the porch that it was time for pictures. The group gathered in front of Steve's vast front porch and prepared themselves for the blinding flashes for the next half hour or so.
"Shit, I almost forgot!" Clint exclaimed as soon as he took his place for the photos. He rushed over to the porch and picked up a plastic container that held a simple white flower. When he came back to Natasha, he popped the lid off of the container and carefully took the flower out. Natasha smiled and held her arm out for Clint to slip the corsage on. After he did, he turned back to the parents – waiting impatiently to take pictures – and gave them the go ahead.
Flash after flash, the group of teens were instructed to look this way and look that way. The parents asked for pictures of just the girls, then just the boys. There were pictures of the teens with their parents, and then pictures of the couples.
After the ceremonial picture taking before prom, the teens piled into their cars and drove to the Stroudsmoor. The Stroudsmoor was a lovely country inn and resort which held prom for Stroudsburg every year. This year, prom would be taking place at the Terraview location, the biggest building to accommodate all of the students from Stroudsburg attending prom.
Because the Stroudsmoor was also an inn, many of the students had booked rooms and suites weeks prior to prom, and that included Clint, Natasha, Peggy, Steve, Thor, and Jane. By the time prom was over, they would be too exhausted to drive home. It wouldn't be a smart idea either, so they decided that reserving a few suites in the resort was the wiser choice. They were just surprised that all of their parents were okay with it.
When they arrived, they parked in the designated parking lot and headed into the castle-like building. For such a beautiful building, the prom committee had managed it into a stereotypical prom setting, complete with streamers and balloon arches.
The group found the table they had were assigned to and took their seats. Dinner would be served first, and then the actual prom festivities would follow. When the majority of the students had arrived, it was announced that they could begin choosing their dinner from the buffet.
One by one the students formed a line and went down the buffet, piling the appetizing food onto their plates and then returning to their respective tables. The vast room was abuzz with chatter and the scraping of silverware against plates. By the time dinner was finished being served, the prom attendees were just itching to set foot on the dance floor.
When the DJ started playing an upbeat pop song by Katy Perry, girls rushed onto the dance floor and started dancing to the beat. Peggy quickly got up from the table and hastily grabbed Steve by the hand and pulled him on the dance floor. Jane was just as excited and grabbed Thor by the back of his tux and pulled him from his seat to the dance floor, leaving Natasha and Clint at the table by themselves.
Natasha giggled at Peggy and Jane's girly behavior but got up and pulled Clint onto the dance floor as well. The group was reunited on the dance floor and they jumped around to the beat.
Song after song, they slowed down or sped up their rhythms, feeling themselves getting hotter and hotter by the second. After a while, they took a break and returned to their table to find that dessert had been delivered. They savored the chocolate mousse cake and then walked over to the bar to get something to drink.
Since it was a high school event, the only drinks the students could get were water, fountain drinks, and non-alcoholic cocktails, such as Shirley Temples and virgin Strawberry Daiquiris. They ordered a couple Shirley Temples and some virgin Strawberry Daiquiris and walked back to their table, sipping on their drinks and savoring the flavors.
As they stared to sit down, a slow song came over the sound system. To anyone else, this particular song would mean nothing; it would be just another slow song for student to couple up and sway along to. For Clint and Natasha, this song meant so much. It was Florence & the Machine's "Never Let Me Go," and Clint did not want to pass up this opportunity.
He set his drink down on the table and offered his hand to Natasha, who took it with a smile on her face. Clint led her to the dance floor and then pulled her in close. Her arms were wrapped around his back and her head was rested against his shoulder, her face turned in towards his neck.
"We really should just consider this our song," she muttered against his chest.
Clint gave a low-chuckle. "Okay then. This is our song," he said.
She pulled away from Clint to look up at him. His hands were still resting on her waist, while she brought her hands to rest on the sides of his ribs. They stood there for what felt like an eternity before he leaned in to kiss her. A simple kiss but it held so much meaning.
As the song faded out and transformed into a hip-hop song, Natasha and Clint pulled away from each other, but were still in each other's arms. They started to feel enclosed as the remainder of the students piled back onto the dance floor to join in on the hip-hop action. Clint grabbed Natasha by the hand and led her out of the crowd.
He started to lead her to the table when she tugged his hand. When he turned around, she pointed towards the doors that led to the venue where the weddings were usually held. Clint nodded and Natasha pulled him by the hand through the door and they stepped into the cool spring night.
Terraview, the venue prom was currently held at, was also used for weddings. There was a cobblestone aisle that led up to the black steel gazebo. Behind the gazebo was an artificial waterfall that cascaded down into a small pool. There were two huge patches of grass on both sides of the aisle that were currently vacant; it was undoubtedly where the chairs for the guests were placed.
Natasha went to sit down on the wall of cobblestones in front of the lush greenery when Clint stopped her. He stripped off his jacket and laid it down on top of the stones, and then let her sit down. He took a seat right next to her and then wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him.
They were surprised no one else from prom had come outside to enjoy the peaceful alone time and no one came in the time they sat out there. After a couple minutes, Natasha shivered from the chilly nighttime air. It had been a gorgeous day, but the temperature had dropped off after the sun went down.
"Cold?" Clint asked, turning his head towards her.
Natasha nodded. "Real smart to give me your jacket to sit on," she said sarcastically.
Clint chuckled and she got up, pulled the jacket out from underneath her, and slipped it on. With his jacket on, she felt a lot warmer, and it only made it better when she leaned into him again and he wrapped his arm around her.
"Your dress is going to get ruined," he said.
Natasha shrugged. "I didn't pay for it," she said.
"What'd you do? Rob a prom dress shop?" Clint joked.
"No," she said, jabbing him in the ribs with her fist. "My grandparents got it for me. I was having trouble finding a dress because I didn't want to disappoint you so they took the liberty of having this custom made for me."
The fact that her grandparents got it for her didn't bother Clint, and neither did the custom made aspect of it. The fact that she thought he would be disappointed in her dress really bugged him.
"Disappoint me? Nat, how could you possibly disappoint me?" he asked. "Yes, you look beyond beautiful tonight, and the dress certainly contributes to it, but I don't look at the dress. I look at you."
Natasha turned her head so that she was looking up at Clint and she flashed him a ghost of a smile. He could sense that she didn't quite believe it so he leaned down and kissed her on the lips. When he pulled away, Natasha felt a wave of tiredness wash over her. She tried to stifle a yawn, but failed.
"Tired?" Clint asked.
Natasha nodded her head as she rested it against Clint's shoulder.
"Want to go to the room?" he asked. Natasha nodded her head again and Clint helped her up and led her back inside so they could grab their belongings. They returned to the table and found Steve, Peggy, Thor, and Jane taking a break from dancing. Clint told them that he and Natasha were headed to their suite and they headed off as their friends returned to the dance floor.
As they stepped out into the cool nighttime air again, Clint pulled Natasha close. They grabbed the overnight bags they had packed from Clint's car and then walked the distance across the resort to their suite. When they reached their suite – one-half of a small cottage on the outskirts of the resort – Clint whipped out the key and slid it into the lock. The door creaked open and Clint felt around on the wall for a light switch. He found the switch and flipped it upwards, flooding the room with light.
It was nothing too special, but it would suffice for the overnight stay. There was a queen-sized bed opposite where they stood, and an armoire to their left. There was an arm chair and an ottoman that matched in the corner, and a door that led to the bathroom on their right.
Natasha was the first to step into the room and she flopped down onto the bed on her back, letting out a sigh. Clint dropped the bags on the floor by the door, kicked the door shut, and crossed the room to lie on the bed with Natasha.
They laid there in silence for a couple minutes before Natasha sat up and started tugging at her hair. Clint sat up and looked at her in confusion until she pulled a bobby pin out.
"I'm going to need your help pulling my hair apart," she said as she dug into her hair again and pulled another bobby pin.
Clint brought his fingers up to her hair and started to pull out the pins as he found them.
"Geez, Nat, how many are in here?" Clint asked as he pulled out yet another pin from her hair.
"I have no clue," she said stifling another yawn.
It took some time, but once all 47 bobby pins were out of Natasha's hair, her hair hung in loose curls, barely touching her bare shoulders. She got up from the bed, pulled her hair up, and turned her back to Clint.
"Could you unzip me?" she asked. Clint looked at her dumbfounded, and he was sure if she saw the look on his face, she would have given him an annoyed look right back. He quickly got up from the bed and grabbed the zipper, gently pulling it down the back of her dress. A few times, his fingers brushed against her soft skin, and it felt like an electrical surge. Almost like when they were just starting to develop feelings for one another, except this was magnified by a thousand.
Clint, don't, Clint thought to himself. She's not ready. Don't push it, you dumbass.
He removed his hands from the back of her dress. Anymore contact and he might make a mistake that he would regret. He couldn't help but want her. All of her, but he knew that she wasn't ready. The more pressure he put on it, the more he would push her away.
He watched as she stretched an arm across the front of her dress to hold it up and then walked over to her bag to root through it. She grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and hastily walked to the bathroom, closing the door with a click.
Clint's legs gave way and he fell back onto the bed. He didn't realize his hands were shaking until he ran one of his hands over his face.
After a couple more minutes, he heard the bathroom door softly open and he quickly composed himself. Natasha stepped out of the bathroom in a loose fitting t-shirt and a pair of black yoga shorts. Just the sight of her made him want her more.
Stop it Clint! He thought. Just. Stop.
He slid off of the bed and walked over to his bag on the floor to search for a change of clothes. Natasha was pulling back the covers when he turned back around, and then he quickly rushed into the bathroom, nearly slamming the door and locking it. He tossed his clothes on the floor and turned on the sink faucet to splash some cold water onto his face.
Get it together Clint, he thought.
He dried off his face with one of the towels on the rack and then changed into his clean t-shirt and gym shorts. When he opened the door, he found Natasha already underneath the covers. She was lying on her side, facing the bathroom door, and she patted the empty space beside her.
She was just making this ten times harder for him. Her hair was a tangled mess splayed all over the pillows and her green eyes were bright and eager but weighed down with sleep. Clint walked over to the armchair and neatly laid out the tuxedo, then climbed into bed with Natasha. He covered himself up and then rolled on to his side so he could face Natasha. She tried to stifle another yawn but failed and Clint chuckled.
"You act like you haven't slept within the past 24 hours," Clint said.
"I feel like I haven't. All of that dancing, and then waking up at six a.m. to get my hair done. I'm pretty exhausted," Natasha said sleepily.
Natasha rolled onto her back and closed her eyes, almost as if she was ready to go to sleep without even saying so much as goodnight to Clint.
"Oh," she mumbled, with her eyes still closed. "Don't think I didn't notice your weird sexual frustration with me tonight."
Clint rolled onto his back and groaned. Great, so she had noticed. She opened her eyes and turned her head to face him.
"If tonight weren't prom," she said, "this would totally be the night. But, having sex the night of prom is so cliché so I figured I'd just be a tease again."
Clint groaned again and then rolled over to kiss her on the lips. Natasha giggled and kissed him back. When they pulled away, she flashed him a small smile, and then she rolled over onto her side to face the other wall. Clint, not wanting to sleep without her in his arms, nestled up against her back and slung his arm across her chest, lacing his fingers into hers.
So she was finally ready, but in Clint's eyes, having sex would probably never beat just having her in his arms, falling asleep to the rise and fall of her chest and the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. Nothing could compare.
Uh-oh, so Natasha's finally ready to take the next step. When will it happen? Only I know! haha. And sorry to burst your bubbles but Natasha's dress is not "custom made." Like, it's not one of a kind haha. It's actually from the Marchesa 2013 Resort Collection. I'm sure if you look it up, you guys will be able to figure out which one it is. I hope lol.
As always, thanks for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. I promise I'll try to not go on a hiatus as long as the one I just did. (Though, it was worth it. DMB was awesome! As always. Concert got cut short because storms were rolling in so they only did one song for the encore, but at least it was "Ants Marching.") So yeah, anyways, tell me what you guys thought of prom. Did it live up to your expectations or was it a let down? Therefore, review away!