Chapter Text
"Are you sure about this?" Clint asked.
"Yes," Nat replied firmly.
"It's not too late to change your mind."
"I know."
"Well...good luck, Nat. It's been an honor to work with you."
"Likewise. But I have a feeling it won't be the last time."
"I suppose we do most of our best work at night, anyway."
"Exactly," Nat said with a fierce smile. Clint smiled back. Nat knew he was still wary about her plan, but she appreciated that he trusted her enough to let her make her own choices.
The doorbell rang. "I guess your date is here."
"I guess she is." Nat stood up from the couch, and Clint waved her back down.
"Let me have one last dad moment," he said. "Your leg is still healing."
Nat rolled her eyes in one last teen moment. It had been a month since she'd gotten out of the hospital, and since she'd gotten home, she'd barely been allowed to do anything. Pepper had barely left her side, which Nat sort of expected, given how fragile Pepper thought all humans were. Nat should have felt smothered, but she never seemed to get tired of Pepper's company.
Clint had surprised her. Nat had grown up with an organization whose health care plan was "suck it up," and she hated showing weakness to Clint. But he had babied her as much as she'd allow him to. When Pepper wasn't there, he made sure she was eating and encouraged her to be gentle with her physical therapy. It was a little touching, but Nat hated being out of commission for so long. She couldn't wait to be rid of her frail human body.
Despite being confined to the couch for an outrageously long period of time, she'd managed to stay busy. She and Clint had worked on putting together reports that offered a convincing alternate explanation for the Stark family's activities. They decided to paint them as simply a group of harmless eccentrics with old money. They also got the local state park to blame the spate of hiker deaths on an exceptionally large bear, which had been killed by a heroic park ranger. The bear had been immediately incinerated due to potential rabies threat, so sadly no photos were available. The story didn't quite add up, but somehow it still made more sense than the truth. And it had a comforting conclusion, so everyone was pretty willing to accept it, even Director Fury. The only thing that mattered was that people of Forks would be safe from now on.
Clint and Nat were just about to sunset their cover identities and consider the mission officially closed, but first...Nat was going to prom. Weeks ago, before she'd gotten hurt, she'd gone into Port Angeles with Liz and MJ to get dresses. It was silly and pointless and had nothing to do with her mission. It had been fun, even if Liz's approach to dress shopping was exhaustingly thorough.
But now, as Nat stood up off the couch, Pepper's reaction to seeing Nat dressed up made it worth it. Pepper gasped--which was purely performative, since she didn't actually need to breathe, but it was still flattering.
Nat's dress was black with a filmy metallic red overlay. It was knee-length and flared out, so it didn't restrict her movement. She paired it with an air cast on her broken left foot and a black Converse high top on her right foot. She'd put some effort into curling her hair and perfecting her winged eyeliner, and she knew she looked pretty damn good.
But Pepper outshone her. She wore a strapless sapphire blue gown that hugged her curves and set off her creamy skin perfectly. She paired the gown with 3-inch stiletto heels, which meant Nat barely came up to her shoulder. Her auburn hair was in an elaborate updo, exposing a diamond pendant as well as her delicate collarbone.
"You look amazing," Pepper said. She slid a red rose corsage around Nat's wrist.
"So do you."
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Seems like it would be a shame to waste these dresses."
"I--I didn't mean prom. I--"
Nat pulled Pepper's face down to hers and kissed her. "I'm sure."
Clint coughed, and Nat rolled her eyes again.
"We made a very good plan, and step one is that we go to prom, where we dance with each other and say goodbye to everyone."
"Step one is fine," Pepper said. "I'm definitely in for step one."
"Okay. Then let's just take it one step at a time," Nat said. She put her arm through Pepper's and said, "Goodnight, Clint."
"Pepper, make sure to have my daughter home by midnight," Clint said sternly. Then he laughed and said, "Just kidding. She's not my daughter and I guess she's never coming home again, huh?"
"Oh, I--" Pepper said. She sounded stricken.
"Pepper! Don't listen to him. Let's go to our prom." But Nat stepped away from Pepper to give Clint one last hug. She whispered, "This isn't goodbye."
"See you around, Nat. You know how to reach me if you need anything."
Then Pepper helped her climb into the passenger seat of her old truck. Nat knew it pained Pepper to drive the beat-up old truck, but it was part of their plan. On their way home from prom, the old truck would be involved in a single-car collision. Natalie Rushman would die, and Natasha would be reborn to start a new life with Pepper and the Stark coven.
"Thank you for coming to prom with me," Pepper said. "I know this kind of event isn't your idea of fun."
"Being with you is my idea of fun. Besides, I've never been to prom before. Maybe I'll like it."
"I've never been to prom before either."
"Really? But haven't you gone to high school...several times?"
Pepper shrugged. "When I was human, high schools didn't have promenades the way they do now. And afterward...well, I suppose there was never anyone I wanted to dance with. Until now."
Nat smiled. "I'm afraid I won't be much of a dancer with this boot on. I hope I don't disappoint."
"You could never disappoint me," Pepper said firmly.
Nat had mostly been thinking of prom as an excuse to say goodbye to her human friends from the school newspaper. She felt a little guilty that they could never know the truth about what she was, and what she was about to become. They'd been so kind and welcoming to her and expected nothing in return, and she knew they'd be devastated to hear about her "death." But perhaps that would be less devastating than the knowledge that she'd been an adult woman who was using them for information--and as much as she had genuinely enjoyed spending time with them, that's what she'd been doing.
Nat had done a lot of bad things in her short life, but mostly to people who deserved them. She'd thought that by changing sides, she could change her life. But in many regards, her new job didn't seem that different from her old one. What she really wanted was a fresh start, and soon she'd have one.
When she and Pepper walked into the hotel ballroom that hosted prom, she was surprised by how lovely it was. She'd been expecting something...sillier, more juvenile. But it was elegant, and smelled like the fresh-cut roses that were everywhere.
"Betty helped decorate," Pepper said.
"It looks amazing."
"I know, right?" Betty said. She'd appeared out of thin air, with a panicked-looking Bruce on her arm. "Nat, you look beyond gorgeous, but I can't believe you went shopping without me."
"Next time," Nat promised.
"I'm holding you to that."
"There's not going to be another prom, is there?" Bruce asked miserably. "I thought we were done with high school after this."
"Oh, no, I just meant...next time I go shopping, I'll go with Betty," Nat said.
"There are so many occasions that call for gowns, you know," Betty said.
"Sure," Bruce said.
Betty laughed and nodded her head at the ballroom's wall of windows, overlooking a courtyard with a gazebo. She tugged Bruce's arm and said, "We're going to step outside for some air, but I just wanted to tell you both that you look lovely."
"Thanks," Nat said, and watched the two vampires gracefully make their way outside. She scanned the room and saw James and Tony dancing together in the corner, lost in each other's eyes. She smiled, but kept looking until she spotted the group she was looking for. Peter beamed and waved at her. He and his friends began crossing the dance floor toward her.
"Peter thinks you look beautiful," Pepper whispered.
"Give him a minute, I'm sure he'll tell me that himself." Nat had a soft spot for sweet, awkward Peter, her first friend in Forks. Pepper was a bit territorial, even though they both knew that Peter was much more interested in MJ than he was in Nat.
"Just as long as he knows you're mine."
Nat rolled her eyes, although she did find Pepper's jealousy a little flattering. "He does. And I'm sure he thinks you look beautiful, too."
Pepper shrugged. Nat said, "He's a very nice boy, Pepper, and after tonight I'll never see him again."
"It's for the best," Pepper said with a sniff. Then, seeing that Nat's friends had reached human hearing distance, Pepper gave them a tight smile and nod.
"Nat! You look beautiful!" Peter enthused. "And, um, Pepper, so do you."
"Thank you," they chorused. Pepper slid a possessive arm around Nat's waist.
"Love the shoes," MJ said to Nat.
"Thanks," Nat replied. "Is it too late to do a style feature for the paper? I think air casts are going to be the next big thing, just wait."
"Mm-hmm, yeah, I think I saw that in Vogue," Liz agreed with a bright smile. "Oh, Nat, I'm so glad you could make it tonight. We've been so worried about you since your accident!"
Nat felt a stab of guilt. She'd missed more school than was medically necessary, since she no longer needed to spy at the school. Dr. Stark had written her a very thorough note for the school. Peter and the rest of her newspaper friends had dropped by to visit fairly regularly, keeping her caught up with school gossip that she didn't really care about anymore. Still, they were very sweet. She hoped to hurt them as little as possible.
She said, "Of course, I wouldn't miss it. I'm so glad I got to know you guys this year. I...I wasn't sure about starting over in Forks, but this has been my best year of high school." They didn't need to know that it was her only year of high school.
"Aww," Liz said. "That's so sweet."
"It's kind of out of character, to be honest. Are you feeling okay?" MJ asked drily.
Nat laughed. "They gave me the good painkillers, I guess they're just making me feel sentimental."
"Maybe it's the ambiance, not the painkillers," Liz said.
"It's a potent combination," Nat said.
The DJ played a slow song. Nat didn't know it, but she said, "Oh, I love this song. Peter, do you want to dance with me?"
Peter blushed and Pepper dug her nails into Nat's shoulder. "Um, sure, if--if that's okay?" Peter asked, glancing between Nat and Pepper.
"Of course it's okay. Just don't expect any fancy moves out of me," Nat said. She put her arms around Peter and they swayed gently. Next to her, Ned and Liz danced. MJ started taking photos of awkward couples, and Pepper went outside to join her siblings.
"I just wanted to say, I'm so glad the school assigned you as my welcome guide back in the fall," she said, and meant it.
"Aww, me too," Peter said.
"And...after this, you should ask MJ to dance."
"Really?"
"Definitely."
"Okay! I mean...yeah!"
After the song ended, Nat pulled Peter's face down to hers and gave him a tiny kiss on the cheek. Then she walked outside to find Pepper, who was standing alone in the gazebo, looking like a model posing for a portrait. Joining her in gazing out over the railing, Nat noticed Betty and Bruce dancing in the far corner of the courtyard, as far away from everyone else as they could possibly be without actually leaving the event. Bruce looked much more relaxed than he had been inside the ballroom, and Betty was transcendent under the moonlight.
"Ugh, now you smell like him," Pepper complained.
"He smelled fine," Nat said. "He wears way less Axe than most of the other boys."
"Still."
"Well, it's the last time you'll have that problem," Nat said.
Pepper smiled and put her arms around Nat. "That's true. But first, may I have this dance?"
"You may have every dance. Just keep in mind, I'm normally much better at this."
"I can tell. You always move like a dancer, even now, with the boot."
They spent the rest of the night out in the gazebo, dancing with each other, as best as Nat's clumsy air cast boot allowed. Nat almost didn't want the night to end...but she was too excited for what would happen next.
They stayed until the very end of prom, when the lights came back on and the chaperones started awkwardly making sure everyone was safe to drive. Nat gave her friends goodnight hugs and cheerfully told them she wasn't going to the school-sponsored After-Prom event, but she'd see them at school on Monday. Then she climbed into her truck one last time.
"We really don't have to do this now," Pepper said. "There's no rush. I'll wait forever for you."
"I want to do this now," Nat said. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life. I choose this. I choose you." She knew her decision must seem abrupt, especially to someone who'd been around for over a hundred years, but Nat had learned to trust her gut. She knew what she wanted, and what she wanted was Pepper. Forever. Everything else would work itself out.
Pepper nodded. "Very well," she said. "I won't miss this truck at all."
Working together, they efficiently faked Natalie's death on one of the winding roads leading toward the Stark house. It would be a clear-cut case, the kind of tragedy that happened on prom nights all across the country, a tired, maybe-drunk teen driver lost control of her car after a long night. She texted Clint one last time and destroyed her phone, now a literal burner. Then Pepper, still in her stilettos and gown, carried Nat back up to the Stark house. Inside, she carefully deposited Nat on the elegant chaise in Pepper's bedroom and sat down beside her.
Pepper reached down to run her fingers lightly across Nat's air cast. "Soon, you won't need this."
"Oh, right."
"The venom will heal everything. When Howard turned James, his spine was shattered, and now look at him."
"Hmm. Maybe we should have done this last month."
"But then we couldn't have gone to prom." Nat had been warned that it would take her some time to adjust to her new life as a vampire, and she wouldn't be able to safely be around humans for months, if not years. Nat had no problem with that; given all her training, she wasn't sure if it had ever really been safe for her to be around humans, anyway.
Nat smiled and pulled Pepper in for a kiss. "You're right. This is perfect."
"You're sure you don't want Howard to change you? He's the professional," Pepper said. "I've never done this before."
They'd been through this. "No. I want it to be you. I trust you."
"I--if I don't stop in time--"
"You will," Nat said firmly.
Pepper stroked Nat's cheek. "It--it will hurt."
"I know, you've told me. I can handle pain, Pepper. It'll be worth it."
Pepper kissed her on the lips and let her hands roam Nat's body. "Where do you want me to do it?"
"Isn't the throat traditional?" Nat asked, and tipped her head back in offering.
"Yes, and you do have such a lovely throat," Pepper said, running her thumb along the hollow of Nat's throat. Then she pulled Nat's hand up to her face and delicately sniffed the rose corsage that was still on her wrist. "But the wrist is good, too." She gently traced a finger around the corsage's lacy wristband. "Or…" She gently pushed Nat down on her back and hiked her skirt up above her waist, revealing the lacy black lingerie Nat had on underneath. Pepper caressed Nat's inner thigh and said, "Or there's the femoral artery…here…"
Nat gasped. "Whatever you want, Pepper, please…"
"I love you, Natasha," Pepper said, and sank her fangs into Nat's thigh. Nat's body flooded with endorphins. She felt like she was floating. She reached out and tangled her hand in Pepper's soft hair, mussing her perfect updo. Then she felt the burning start, as the vampire venom began to flow through her bloodstream.
Natasha took her final breath as a human and moaned, "I love you too."