Iron Heart: The Beginning

Chapter 9: Funeral

A few days later Natasha's funeral was held at the Barton farm. Tony was still recovering but made the journey to the farm with Pepper and Morgan. He did, however, call in Doctor Strange to portal him and his family to the Barton farm.

Most of the Avengers were attending Natasha's funeral. Only a few weren't, mainly because they hadn't really known her. Doctor Strange did not stay after dropping Tony and his family off.

Peter Parker was present even if he had not really met Natasha. He'd fought on the same side as her during the Civil War at the airport but other than that they hadn't had any other interactions.

Tony, Bruce, Thor, Clint, and Steve all sat in front row seats. Pepper was behind Tony with Morgan and Peter at her either side. On the other side of the aisle were Clint's wife and three children. Then in the rows behind the two front ones was a small section of seats where the rest of the Avengers sat.

Behind the rest of the Avengers sat Nick Fury and Maria Hill, alongside Carol Danvers who had formed a friendship with Natasha during the last five years.

Behind them was a section of people from SHIELD who Natasha had worked with and grown close to over the years.

It was a breezy but warm day.

Clint had chosen to hold the funeral outside in one of his family's fields. Natasha had always loved the outdoors when she had visited. It seemed only right to say goodbye to her outside.

There wasn't a body to bury, only memories.

Out of all of the Avengers, only Nat had really kept in touch with Tony. It hadn't been often but she'd still known about Morgan, and Tony's another family,Potters. Not many people had. She'd always bought Morgan and Harry presents every year.

Clint stood from his seat and moved to stand in front of the seats facing towards them. He looked nervous but his eyes were red. He'd already been crying.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming today. I know for some of you it was only a few months ago you were fighting an alien army in Wakanda and the next you were waking up with no knowledge of how much time had passed. It's been a long five years. Five years since I lost my family... five years in which I isolated myself away from the second family. I know Nat kept looking for me for years..." A single tear slipped down his cheek. "I shouldn't have avoided Nat for years. I should have made contact... I will always regret not responding to her messages. Nat and I met over a decade ago. I was sent to kill her but I chose a different route."

He swallowed visibly.

"I chose to offer her a choice. To take a different path or to continue down the one she was already on." Clint paused for dramatic effect. "Nat chose a different path, stepping away from the people who controlled her and becomir5 ng an agent of SHIELD. Without SHIELD, Nat would have died years ago." He paused for a long moment, tears shimmering in his eyes. "But I am so glad that we had the time together with SHIELD and then with the Avengers to grow together and become a family. Nat was more than my best friend, she was a sister to me and her being gone has ripped a hole in my life that I don't know I can ever fully repair. That day she died, it should have been me. She worked so hard to bring everyone back and she deserved to see the reality. She didn't deserve to lose her life. I wish... I wish I could thank her for everything she has done."

Clint took a deep breath and stepped away from the podium, leaving space for Bruce to step up. His new appearance had once startled his former teammates since the last they had seen of him before they had snapped away in 2018, had been his struggles with the Hulk. Now he was the Hulk permanently. For some of his teammates, it was taking time to get used to it.