Your POV
I woke up on the hospital bed to Nat holding my hand while talking about her tales on mission and I sat there with my eyes closed quietly, not notifying her that I was awake so I could continue hearing her stories.
"So I got up on his shoulders and twisted him down to the floor. He didn't even stand a chance against me." Nat paused for a moment before continuing.
"Steve was mad that I wasn't in position and didn't reply to his comms but he didn't know that I had a separate mission from him. He barged into the room while tackling another guy and caught me while I was downloading files."
I couldn't control myself and ended up letting out a chuckle. "Well, that must have been awkward." I said while Nat looked at me with a shocked expression on her face.
"You're awake!"
"Yeah, ever since you were talking about how you jumped onto the guy's shoulders."
Natasha bent down and placed a kiss on my forehead before saying. "I'm going to get Bruce."
After a series of checks from Bruce, I was good enough to leave the medbay.
Ever since the scare, Natasha has been by my side whenever she was free. After doing her reports, she's with me. After her lunch, she's with me. As long as she has a single second to spare, she spends it with me.
However, most of the time I was sleeping due to the pain medication I got from Bruce which I never fail to take due to Nat's reminder. Each time I would wake up, Natasha would sit by my side and stroking my head before planting a kiss on my forehead and welcoming me back.
"Welcome back my love. How are you feeling?"
"Loved." I gave her a sweet smile. I appreciated not waking up alone even though it was the middle of the day. I was getting memerised by her green orbs when she waved her hands in front of me.
"Where did you go?" She asked. I just cuddled further into her and sighed in content. "Are you feeling better? I want to bring you out on a date." I nodded my head and she got off the bed and gave me a change of clothes.
I started changing in front of her as I was too lazy to head to the washroom to change and she came over to help me. I let her put my arms through the holes of the clothes as I continued to close my eyes, sleepiness yet to leave me.
Natasha POV
I wanted to bring Y/N out on a date since it's been a while. I wanted to make use of all the time we got. It taught me to make use of what we have now before it's too late.
We got into the car and I started driving to the restaurant we always like to visit. Their food is delicious and we've been there so many times that the owner knows our orders. The waitress showed us to our place and Y/N just stood there when I pulled the chair for her.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" I went next to her thinking she may be feeling vertigo.
"Yeah, I just want to sit on your lap today. I want to be close to you." She pouted.
I kissed her lips before sitting on the chair and patted my lap, inviting her. "You don't have to explain. I love having you near me." She sat sideways on my lap and rested her head on my shoulder. I held her waist and kissed her temples as we waited for our orders to come.
The waitress was a bit flustered as she didn't know how to place our food but I just told her to place it on the table and we would settle it ourselves. Y/N adjusted herself and started eating. I tucked her hair behind her ears so it doesn't get caught while she's eating.
---
After the amazing dinner, we took a stroll by the beach to relax. I didn't know how much exercise Y/N should have so I suggested taking a seat halfway through. We talked about everything under the sun or the moon until it landed on the topic of how she was feeling.
"I am just tired of staying in the compound and doing nothing."
My heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach. I knew she was itching to be more active and it wasn't going to be easy on her mental health but I can't help but fear when she feels like this. "I know... once we remove the bullet it's going to get easier and you can slowly get back on the field." I held her hand and caressed her cheeks.
"Marry me." I said after a comfortable silence. Her head snapped towards mine in shock. "I want to know that each morning I wake up, you'd be beside me. Each time I come back from a mission, you're mine. I cannot let you go, I need you. Marry me, Y/N."
"Nat..." She dragged. "I don't know if I can even last that long."
"Please Y/N. I love you too much. I want us to spend all of our remaining time together."
"I'll marry you, Natasha Romanoff." She nodded. "But you can't regret it."
"Never! I'll never regret this decision." I held the back of her neck and kissed her passionately. The feeling of her lips never fails to light a spark in me.
---
Ever since I proposed to her, I've been trying to get ready for the wedding. I knew that the proposal wasn't the most romantic but I aim to give her the best wedding. I scouted out a few of the wedding venues and asked for Y/N's opinion each time, showing her pictures of the few options I've chosen.
Each time she would say that a small and private wedding would do but I wanted to give her the best possible. With Tony's money, this wouldn't be an issue. Private isn't a problem. I wanted to give her a grand and private wedding. One she would remember and cherish for a lifetime.
It was not easy planning for a wedding, but I had a lot of help. Especially from Pepper and Wanda. They pitched in whenever they could and would always give great ideas.
The only thing remaining was getting our wedding dress/suit.
"After I come back, we're going to get married." I whispered next to her eyes as I pulled away from our hug. The team was going away for a mission and I was really worried about her staying in the compound alone.
"Stay safe, I can't have my wife dying on me can we." She playfully joked and I smacked her arm lightly.
"Don't do anything stupid before I get back." I told her even though I knew FRIDAY would inform us if anything went wrong, I can't help but be worried.
"I won't." She pouted lightly.
"Good."
"We gotta go, Romanoff." Tony shouted from the quinjet smugly because he wasn't the last to arrive this time.
I turned to leave but Y/N held me back. I looked at her and she patted her pouting lips and I chuckled at her kiddy nature. I gave her what she wanted before joining the rest in the quinjet.
We were on our way to our destination and everyone was mentally preparing themselves, going through the plans in their mind and calming themselves down. As per usual, I was the one piloting the quinjet when FRIDAY suddenly spoke.
"It appears there are intruders in the compound." My eyes widened and my heart sank.
"Show me the visual." I said immediately as I turned the jet around. The team was coming to the front to see the screen when the sudden movement swiped them off their feet. They all groaned when they got back up but none of them complained that we were heading back.
I went full speed ahead as I kept glancing at the screen getting updates. Y/N was clearly fighting against them but it wasn't going to be easy with just her alone. "Please be okay... Please be okay." I kept repeating under my breath as I rushed to get back.
I left the piloting to Clint as we were almost reaching, pacing around the door wanting to be the first to get out and meet my fiance.
Sure, I was the first one to get to her.
But she was lying on the ground with a pool of blood surrounding her.
"Y/N." I slowed down slightly before rushing to her side. "Y/N." I called out to her again. I refuse to believe what I am seeing in front of me. She's not going to leave me like this.
Your POV
After Nat left, I sat in front of the TV flipping through the selections before settling on The Hobbit. It was high time I started rewatching the series so why not start now.
Thirty minutes in, FRIDAY informed me that there were intruders entering the compound. I placed the movie on pause before sticking close to the wall and making my way towards them.
"Finding something?" I questioned them as they were rummaging through the drawers in Tony's lab. "Don't ask me where things are placed. I have no idea." I shrugged my shoulders as they suddenly displayed their knives.
"I thought all the Avengers went out?" One guy asked his buddy.
"That was what he said!" The two of them look so unsteady with their knives that I almost felt bad for them. It was painfully obvious that someone ordered them to come as they had given out so much information before I even started asking for them.
They started lunging at me and I swiped them off with much ease. Even though I haven't been training, these two were no match to me.
But I spoke too soon. I disarmed them with two swift actions before a wave of dizziness washed over me. I held my head and I steadied myself with the corner of the table. Taking this window of opportunity, one of them striked the back of my head and I saw the world tilting.
Through my blurred vision, I could see as they approached for a stab before getting scared and running away due to the voice I could vaguely recognise from FRIDAY.
I could feel my life drifting out of me as I laid on the ground. I couldn't move but all I wanted to do was call out for Natasha, she was on my mind until the end.
Natasha POV
Steve quickly took charge and scooped Y/N up and brought her to the medical lab where Tony and Bruce worked to try to save her life. Dr Cho came after hearing the news and she gave me a small nod before heading in to get scrubbed.
"Y/N is going to be fine, Nat. She's a strong person. If anyone can pull through this, it's her." Wanda tried to comfort me as I continued to shake my head.
"I cannot lose her, Wanda. We were supposed to get married." Tears were falling down my cheeks no matter how much I tried to stop them.
Hours passed but there was still no news from anyone inside. Each time there were more and more people entering but none of them came out. There were times where I wanted to just barge in but Steve would stop me the moment I step close to the door.
"Nat, you should rest. You haven't even taken a wink." Steve pushed himself off the wall and sat next to me.
"No, I'm going to wait for her to come out." Most of them have already come and gone as her surgery has taken up half the day. Wanda fell asleep on the bench opposite me and Steve helped move her legs so she could rest more comfortably on the bench. Now, it's just left me and Steve awake waiting for her.
A few more hours later, Bruce finally came out with Tony and I shot out of my chair and approached them. "How is she? Is she going to be okay?" My questions woke up the younger redhead that was resting. The rest of them crowded around in front of Bruce waiting for his answer.
"There is good news and bad news." Bruce started. "Good news is, due to the bleeding from earlier, the swelling has reduced and we were able to take out the bullet from her brain." I nodded following alone with his explanation.
"The bad news is, she's currently in a coma and we don't know how long it is going to take for her to wake up." Bruce looked at me sadly, disappointed at himself for not being able to do more for his friend.
He left to get out of his current clothes and to rest after standing more than six hours of intense surgery.
Doctor Cho came out wheeling Y/N to her ward and we followed behind her. I watched as they set her up on multiple machines. She has difficulty breathing on her own and she needs a tube down her throat and tapes surround her mouth so it doesn't move and gives her oxygen she needs.
With a shaky breath, I stepped forward after everyone left. "Y/N..." I stroked her cheeks carefully, making sure not to hurt her even further. "I'll wait for you... forever."
The road to her recovery was long. It keeps getting longer each day she continues to sleep. Bruce told me that this was her body's way of recovering. It was better for her to continue to sleep than to wake up and feel all the pain.
I spend each passing day by her side. And like she said before falling into a coma, I continued talking to her about the mission I've been on to entertain her. I rubbed her knuckle with my thumb as I heard the constant beeping sound coming from the monitor to let me know she's still alive.
The day has been on repeat, staying next to Y/N only leaving when really necessary. I sighed before pushing open the door after coming back from the washroom one day and Y/N had her eyes open.
I rushed to her side before shouting for Bruce. He came over in a hurry and did a quick check with his pen light to check for her reaction. "Very good, now can you follow my finger?" Bruce raised his index finger and moved from one side to another. She's able to do it and Bruce moved on to another exam.
"Can you feel it?" Bruce touched her feet and she didn't move, same goes for her hands. "Blink once if you can hear me." It took a lot out of her and I could her eyes twitch before blinking once.
"Okay, Nat can I talk to you for a sec." He brought the conversation outside and I was worried about Y/N as it does not look to be a pleasant talk.
"It is possible that her nerves may have been damaged when she had the fall causing her to lose the sense of touch."
"Is she going to be okay?"
"We're going to have to do more tests to know more but it should be temporary. Another surgery would be needed for her to be back to normal again." I nodded before glancing back at the window. She looked so frail in the bed still with the translucent tube in her mouth.
"And the tube?"
"She still needs it."
The team was notified of her state and they came down to visit her. They all understand that she couldn't speak or move and all the questions they asked could be answered yes or no (Blinked once for yes. Twice for no)
Wanda ended up being the middle person as she was able to converse with her using her powers. It was much easier for her to engage in conversation and she can reply in longer sentences.
In the end, it was just Wanda and I stayed behind. Wanda tried to stop a smile from climbing up her face and I knew Y/N must have said something to her.
"Y/N wants me to tell you that she loves you and you should take a rest." Wanda told me.
I turned my head to look at Y/N and she was already looking at me. Even though she was not speaking directly to me, her eyes spoke a lot to me. "Alright, if I rest, you have to get better." Her eyes blinked once.
"Then that's my cue to leave. Have a nice rest, both of you." Wanda excused herself and I made myself comfortable with the spare bed in the room.
"Good night, Y/N. I love you." I said, before planting my head on the pillow and watched as her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.
She's still here with me, that's all that matters.
Written on 6 April 2022
Posted on 18 Aug 2022
Originally, this was going to be posted 2 weeks later but since so many people asked for a pt2, I decided to bring it forward. Note the written date jump from Feb to April.