IronWidow fanfiction: Time Bomb

Six

She felt cold, her hands shaking and memories ricocheting around her head. Clint with his bow aimed at her, about to shoot, when he had spoken up, telling her about his plan to save him. The goofy smile he always gave her. Those kisses, either on missions or odd ones in the storage cupboards, were always loving and passionate. But she didn't love Clint. He was her best friend, she would sacrifice everything for him..

Now, his blood-covered face, gnawing on human flesh, stared up at her. She felt her eyes water but held up her gun. This wasn't real. Clint was in Australia, on a mission. It was a hologram. It was a hologram. It was a-

"Tony!" She snapped and leapt towards the man. He was running towards the cannibal and in that second, Natasha knew the difference between her and him. She could tell when something wasn't real, her mind would clear and she would know. Tony was running straight into danger, not bothering to think about the other possibilities.
Another difference; she was pointing her gun at the fake Clint and Tony was running, trying to help the fake Pepper.

"Tony, she's not real, it's a hologram, I promise," she consoled him, pulling him back. The cannibal snarled and slowly stood up. The mask slipped and she saw pale skin and tired eyes for a second then it was Clint again.

"It's Pepper. Pepper.." Tony strained against her arms but she grabbed him and hauled him against the wall.

"Stay," she muttered. "I'll take care of Cli-the cannibal and you stay here."

"It's Pepper," he repeated and she turned away, letting him slump to the floor. He stayed there, mumbling to himself.

Natasha glared at the cannibal and held her finger to the trigger of her gun. It growled but didn't make an attempt to move out of the way. It just licked the blood off its lips like it was savouring its last meal. Like it didn't mind that it was going to die.

She closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. She made herself look but instantly regretted it. Clint was slumped onto the floor, his hands desperately trying to staunch the blood flow coming from his bullet wound. He was writhing in agony and staring at her. Natasha turned to the side and threw up.

Someone was rubbing her back. Slow circular motions that were comforting. "It's okay," Tony whispered and he was holding her hair back as she retched. "It's not him. It's not him. Or Pepper."

"I killed him." To her embarrassment, she was crying. Tears ran down her face. He helped her stand up straight and made her face him, walking her away from the vomit.

"You killed a monster, Natasha. You saved us. You didn't kill your boyfriend."

"He's my friend, just a friend," she sobbed.

"Okay, you didn't kill your friend then." Tony flashed her a smile. It did nothing to help her stop crying. If anything, it made her cry harder. She felt like someone had squeezed her heart and it had shattered.

"What if it was Clint? With a hologram mask on to look like Pepper? But I saw him." Natasha asked. She twisted round to look at the corpse. It wasn't him. "Oh thank God," she muttered.

Then Tony was on her. He pressed her against the wall and kissed her. The heat of his lips made her jump slightly then she kissed him back. His hands were running down her back and she was loving this. Despite the dead bodies not far away and the gun by her feet, it felt right.

It felt okay.