An accident leaves Natasha without her memories, without anyone to guide her, and the Red Room chasing after her, the odds are not in her favour… unless those that love her find her first.
Whumptober 2025: Day 1 - Ceremony
Warnings: explosions/canonical violence
Word Count: 1.2k
Summary: It was supposed to be a happy day.
Whumptober Masterlist / Masterlist of Fic / ao3
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LONDON / OCTOBER 01 / 13:00PM
Clint adjusts his tuxedo, the bow tie sitting too snug against his neck as he grumbles to himself in annoyance.
“Hey handsome,” the voice comes from the door.
Without turning, he smiles, glad that for once he gets to spend the day with her.
She sneaks behind him and hugs him from behind, her joy mixing with his.
He spins on his heel, turning her around and kisses her.
“You look beautiful,” he breathes.
And she does.
The blue dress is form fitting, down to her knees and splaying out, so that when she spins, it twirls with her.
“It has pockets,” she laughs, showing him.
He grins.
“You look beautiful, too,” she smiles, a hint of embarrassment in her nod.
Clint spins just like she did, and she hugs him in approval.
“I’m glad Tony decided on no jackets, and just shirts.”
Natasha nods.
“Outdoor weddings feel a bit…”
“Out in the open?” Clint finishes.
“Yeah, and it’s not like he hasn’t advertised his love everywhere.”
“Page 6 did an exposé on both of them the other day. They painted them in such a good light I made fun of him for the rest of the day.”
Clint shakes his head.
“That’s so unfair, I haven’t had time.”
She laughs.
“Maybe tonight when everyone is drunk.”
Clint touches his bow tie again.
“I feel like a penguin. I feel I could have done a tie but a bow tie?”
Natasha reaches up.
“Well groomsman, sometimes you just have to do what the groom wants.”
“Yeah but Pepper let you choose yours,” he grumbles.
“Yeah,” she pauses, thinking.
“Who knew I’d ever be close enough to anyone to become a bridesmaid?”
He half hugs her, and pushes her to the door.
“Was that in the exposé?”
She rolls her eyes.
“Unfortunately.”
He takes her hand and leads her to the main foyer, where he sees the rest of the party has gathered.
“It’ll be okay, and it’s not like you’re not armed.”
Natasha nods grimly, “always.”
“So with half the avengers and a buttload of civilians, what could go wrong?”
She hits him hard, annoyance flooding her features.
“You’re an idiot Clint Barton,” she growls.
“You’ve jinxed us now.”
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Natasha walks down the aisle before Pepper and Clint can’t help but feel choked up.
She looks so beautiful and he wishes he could convey to her how much.
It feels in slow motion as she comes towards him.
He takes in every part of her.
The way her hair flows in light breeze, and the crinkle in her eyes as she looks towards Tony, recognizing his emotions.
There’s a clicking of the camera, and Clint is glad in the moment that no expense was spared.
Natasha seems to walk in line with shutter speed and too little too late, he realises that it’s a count down.
A timer.
His face turns serious as he looks up, to find a drone hovering.
It’s not a shutter.
All at once, chaos erupts, an explosion detonates from drones dropping straight down.
Clint screams for everyone to get down, and catches Natasha’s eyes as panic and fear pass between them.
The first bomb blows him back, his ears unhearing to the screams of the guests, he only has eyes for Natasha who sprints towards Pepper to cover her, but she’s too slow as the second bomb detonates, throwing her backwards.
Clint watches her body get pushed back, before succumbing to numbness of unconsciousness.
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Steve shoulder bumps Tony, his smile bright as he watches his friend walk down the aisle.
Natasha looks beautiful.
He wishes Bruce and Thor could be here, but Thor had promised some off world exploration and there had been no telling when they’d be back.
Clint stands next to him, alongside Rhodey; everyone can’t help but smile.
He felt the emotion well, as he pushes it back down.
He was proud of their little family.
Even though they didn’t all still live together, he liked to think that he was there at the beginning of it all.
He looks up to stop the tears of happiness welling too much. He’s sure there paparazzi somewhere, there’s drones and a general disquiet.
Natasha walks down the aisle.
She’s radiant.
Clint keeps grinning like a madman and Tony looks like he too, is trying not to cry as he spots Pepper far down the aisle.
Clint shifts his weight; his movement out of step with the moment, and Steve turns to watch his face turn serious.
The explosion seems to happen out of nowhere.
The red hot flames of the world lick around them, and Steve ducks, waiting for the initial explosion to finish, then, slowly holds his head up to look around.
Almost immediately he spots Tony’s prone body, underneath the wedding arch.
Fire, the world is on fire and everyone is yelling.
It feels like war and Steve growls to ground himself into this time and place.
“Get to Tony,” he says to himself.
The pain in his leg grows and he realises his pant leg is on fire.
He tries to spot Clint in the crowd, but he’s nowhere to be spotted amongst the bodies.
A second explosion puts him on his ass again, and Steve starts to see double.
The world is too loud. Too bright.
.
The explosion sounds and Natasha’s heart almost stops as she watches Clint’s body get thrown.
She starts towards him, her stomach dropping.
“No,” she whispers, as the repercussions of what’s just happened slams into her.
Clint’s up, and they share a look.
“Pepper,” she says to herself, as fear for her friend explodes in her heart.
Maria is yelling for everyone to get down, and Natasha is all at once thankful it’s an outdoor wedding.
No building to collapse on them. Not like last year.
Pepper stands but her face is one of shell shock, a loud boom sounds, and then a rush of heat as the aftershock hits Natasha at full force.
It must have been close, she thinks, as the world goes dark.
.
Soldiers in masks file in.
Dressed in black.
Two by two.
Tony watches his wedding turn to fire and ash. He’s trapped under the stupid pine wood wedding arch. Guests scatter, people that he knows and loves lie littered on the floor.
The fire grows closer.
They’re clearly on a mission.
He thinks it’s for Steve, but they march straight past the super soldier.
Steve struggles to get up, but a solider cracks him over the head with their rifle.
There’s eight of them.
Tony watches them closely.
The world is hazy.
Past Clint.
Towards Pepper.
Pepper.
The fear of her being anything but okay steels him to act.
She said no iron man suits.
He’d agreed.
He’d agreed and told the truth.
There was no way they could help him.
“Friday!”
There’s no answer.
He shouts again, trying to peel himself away and out of where his body is stuck.
But it’s not Pepper, it’s Natasha.
Her body limp as they zip tie her hands and legs and pick her up.
He struggles again, pain icing its way through him.
There’s a shot as they leave, and a flashbang that makes the world white, and Tony’s head spin.
