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Initially, all that (Y/N) noticed was the feeling of emptiness in (Y/N)’s nerves disappeared as quickly as it came on. The dreaded feeling of death still loomed within the fibre of her being as she looked around the half-empty battleground of Wakanda.
All she heard was confused muttering as she watched golden sparks forming in a circular motion. In the growing centre of the circle was the wreckage of what seemed to be the Upstate Avengers facility. She barely felt the ground below her as she walked through it.
Thanos’ army loomed before her as if they a God before the rapture. Her body was tired but she knew that she would fight on, she had too. They had come too far, and fought too hard to give up on the 11th hour.
As she manoeuvred her way through the battlefield, taking down the enemies on her path, she kept look out for the flash of red hair she had come to love. She knew Natasha couldn’t be far; she had never backed down from a battle before and (Y/N) knew that come Hell or high water, nothing would keep her away.
But even as the battle faded out and the corpses piled high, Natasha couldn’t be found. After Tony had snapped the stones again and the numbness set into (Y/N)’s bones, the possibilities raked through her mind. The adrenaline spiking through her veins felt like needles as she pushed herself towards the rubble, barely noticing as she fell down due to the darkness taking over her senses once more.
The smell of disinfectant is what she noticed first when she woke up a second time that day. A makeshift infirmary had clearly been set up. She was thankful for the smell as it helped keep back the ever present smell of death that lingered around her.
“Hey,” a familiar voice croaked out from beside her. Clint. He looked as rough as she felt. Dried blood on his face restricted some of the movements but he didn’t seem to care. His hair seemed a mess and his eyes were red, as if he had been crying. “How you holding up.”
(Y/N) spluttered a cough as she tried to speak. She gratefully took the water Clint held out for her before trying again. “I’ll heal. What about you?”
“Seen better days.” Clint let out a shallow laugh, his smile looked foreign, almost as if he had forgotten how to smile at all. “I need to tell you something.”
But she didn’t listen. She didn’t have too. The look that Clint gave up said it all. (Y/N) had lost so many people that she knew the look; it was the same one you give an injured puppy or someone with a terminal illness. She knew that Natasha was gone the second she felt the emptiness in Wakanda but now she had to face the truth.
“Did you hear me, (Y/N)? She’s gone. She’s gone and she isn’t coming back.” Clint reached into his pocket as he stood up. He turned to leave, placing the golden wedding band on the chair where he had sat. “She wanted you to have this.”