Chapter Text
Neither Tony or Banner would even remotely consider trying a time jump without intense study of the portable quantum tunnel the Pym-Van Dyne family had built into the back of Scott’s van and a good week's worth of calculations, so Nat wasn’t terribly far out of the loop when she came back, Clint in tow, about four days later. It delighted her to have Cassie around, and the two of them bonded quickly over gymnastics; Cassie had been about six months into lessons when Thanos had attacked and taken away her teacher and half her classmates, so Nat took the opportunity to help her practice what she’d learned.
It took Clint a few days to be able to hide his grief when he looked at Cassie, but once he could he joined in on the practices.
Natasha had been right; Clint’s entire family had been taken by The Snap, and it had...she’d described it as “sent him off the rails”, though she didn't go into any more detail than that. I didn't need it, for now. Like I'd told her when she'd left, we would deal with anything he'd done once we were finished with this mission. If it ended up being a problem, we would handle it.
While Clint was distracted with Nat and Cassie and not otherwise talking, Rhodey was liaising, and the others were caught up in quantum mechanics, I found myself a bit of a loose end again. I’d always been one of the “cleaners” anyway – although to my pleasant surprise Rhodey used the kitchen regularly too, so I hadn’t been the only one cooking or scrubbing down – so that first night we were all together again Scott found me loading the dishwasher when he wandered into the kitchen. He blinked. “Oh, hey, sorry Cap. I was just coming for some–” But he co*cked his head when he noticed the oven was on. “–fuel. Oh. Those are...probably for you, right? I'll wait. I'm going cross-eyed anyway.”
I had to chuckle. Scott was the kind of person who either you couldn't possibly stay serious around or you kicked the ass of regularly because he couldn't stay serious. “I could eat them all, but even I shouldn't. I was gonna bring at least one of the trays into the lab so you all could pick at it.” My lips quirked. “I’m just glad I got in here before Tony.”
“Lemme guess. He’s had personal chefs and takeout on speed-dial all his life, so he’s never had to cook?” Scott inquired. The twitch of my lips stretched into a full grin.
“Anything more than coffee and he leaves this place a disaster. It's mind-boggling. I know he's had staff and robots all of his life, but...” I shook my head. “So how goes it in there?”
Scott leaned forward and rubbed his eyes. “I'm an electrical and mechanical engineer and not really a quantum physicist. I've gotten into it pretty well over the past two-ish years, but Hank and Janet – and Hope, really – were the ones with the schooling and the years of study. When we’re math-ing the math I can keep up fairly well, but Stark and Banner are light-years ahead of me with the nitty-gritty of the science. And that kid Shuri that Banner has on speed-dial is amazing. I feel like an eighth-grader in a room full of PhDs.”
My lips quirked again. “At least you’re an eighth-grader.” When he backpedalled and sputtered, I chuckled. “Banner told me once that sometimes they bounce ideas off me because they get so caught up in the science that they need a layperson to see the simple things. It's the different levels of experience and perspective that are going to get us to the answer, I think. And that means you're helping no matter how useless you feel.”
For a long beat, Scott stared at me, a surprised sort of grin on his features. “That was a helluva pep talk, Cap.” But he flinched in surprise at the oven timer going off, then bounced to his feet. “Lemme help you with those, then.”
When we entered, Tony and Shuri were involved in a heated discussion over a vid-call, while Bruce sat poking at a curved metal frame with a handful of wells in it. It took me a second to recognize the roughness of the metal, but it gave me a jolt when I did. “Where’d you get that?”
“Carol went to go fetch it from Thanos’ Garden. I wanted to analyze it, see if we can replicate what it’s made of.” He frowned at it. “It’s some super alloy – something like what Mjølnir was made of? But I've just barely managed to mass-spec it, and I think we can whip up something...eh, similar-ish, if these two can stop bickering.” He waved offhandedly at Tony, who shot him a look.
“The raccoon says the Power Stone nearly ‘fried the skins off of’ him and his team, and the Reality Stone can invade the bodies of sentient beings according to Thor. You saw your Skull guy get transported by the Space Stone, and we have no idea what the Soul Stone could do. Strange could hold the Time Stone in his hand for brief periods, and Ultron and Vision both held the Mind Stone without harm, so we’re hoping some sort of vibranium alloy will protect us from the nastier ones. But Princess here won’t–”
“You don’t get to tell me how to distribute my country’s resources, colonizer,” Shuri snapped, and I very nearly grinned. “If you were politer about it, I might allow you to buy a small amount off of us.”
“Tony, are you not using your guest manners again?” I inquired dryly. He shot me – and a snickering Scott – a scowl.
“I figured we were beyond that since we've been seriously working on reversing genocide for a week or so now,” he snarked back. “But clearly my humour is lost on–”
Oh, dear. “You tried to be funny. No wonder.” I caught a twitch in Shuri’s lips when he whined something about “Weren’t we trying to be friends again?” while I set the tray in my hands down. “Eat something and try again later.” He pouted as he began to pick at the nachos, and I swung around the table and into Shuri’s field of view. “Hey Shuri.”
“Captain,” she greeted. We both ignored Tony’s continued grumbling. “Do you all really think vibranium will work to contain the Stones?”
“It’s probably the best bet we’ve got,” I admitted. “We figure since Vision and Ultron could handle the Mind Stone without harm, something in vibranium’s energy-absorbing capabilities will shield us if we can manage to get them all together again. So can you help us out?”
“See, Stark? How hard was that?” But she grinned at me. “You’ll be paying us for it, but since I like you and I want to see you with your Wolf again – and if you succeed, you'll be getting my brother back as well – I'll knock...twenty percent of market value off for you?”
I raised my brows at Tony, who made a face. “That’s all I was asking for. Jeez,” he muttered. With a lip-twitch of my own, I glanced back at her.
“Sounds like a done deal. Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Proper respect, see? It gets you places, Stark,” she declared airily, and that time even Banner snickered. “So, let's keep working on these calculations so I know how much to send you.”
“So what’s happening with the quantum tech?” I asked. Tony waved a hand dismissively.
“We’re about ready to start actual testing, we think. We figure we'll start with chucking potted plants into it, see if they come back and what it does to them.” He jerked a thumb at Scott. “And then this guy.”
My brows rose again as I looked at Scott. “You sure you're up to being a guinea pig?”
“Yeah, I guess you'd know what that's like, wouldn’t you?” he asked with a grin. “Yeah, I'll be okay, once we know the settings that won’t throw me back as a pile of bones. I’m not as worried as it sounds; Janet spent thirty years down in the quantum realm and came back having aged in all the right ways even with her suit damaged. And she did this cool energy-channeling thing that made her hands glow that I totally wouldn’t mind having.”
I shook my head. At least he was informed...or as informed as anybody could be, anyway. “All right. Let's get this done.”
It wasn’t a joke; they did actually start with throwing plants through...in boxes made of the same alloys Scott’s Ant-Man suit was. Tony had hooked some sort of...quantum GPS, into the shell of the box, which would direct the thing – or person, eventually – to where we wanted, then allow us to pull them back. The math and the science were well beyond me, so I just had to trust to the evidence of my eyes. We did lose the first one or two, and a few others came back younger or older than when they left us, so I was glad that was what we’d tried until Tony and Banner and FRIDAY refined the calculations all the way.
Once we had a dozen or so returns without a mishap, we called Rocket and Carol and Nebula back to help Tony rig up a platform that could send us all at once. The tunnel in Scott’s van couldn’t carry enough power to send more than one person at a time, and with the weird way time compressed during travel we couldn’t accurately send a second person to the exact same time using different jumps. (Tony used the term ‘causality ripple’, to which I just sort of nodded and trusted him.) And no one wanted to risk having all six Stones around for any longer than absolutely necessary, just in case it somehow...led to attention we didn’t want.
Besides, it got Nebula back to Earth, which was something Tony had wanted. I didn’t know why until a few days later, when Pepper came to find me outside. I was spending some quality time with my art supplies while the weather was still nice – not on the picture of Sam, I was still superstitious about that one, but a few of the newest members of our team. When Carol flew, she flamed, wisps of power coiling around her like she was burning. The colours she made had snagged at my imagination, so I was getting a few of those images out when I realized someone was walking over. “Hey.”
“Hey.” She sat carefully. “Can I see?”
Pepper had been the first to catch me drawing when I’d first joined the Avengers, so I had no problems showing off to her. She sighed in awe, tracing the shape of a plasma trail with a fingertip just over the surface of the paper. “Gosh, she’s so pretty. What a thing to be able to do; fly through space without a ship.”
“She’s pretty remarkable,” I agreed. “She’ll be keeping an eye on things while we do this ‘Time Heist’. If the worst happens, and some or all of us don’t come back from this, she’ll be here to protect you guys. And I’ve left contacts for a few others.”
Pepper chuckled a little, sort of wryly. “Along those sorts of lines, I...well, I had a request for you.”
I blinked. “Shoot.”
She took a deep breath, clearly steeling herself before she lifted her gaze to mine. “Tony wants– well, no, it’s us both, really. We want to...make it official, before you guys do this.” She lifted her left hand and twiddled her fingers, making her ring sparkle. “With all the work you’ve been doing, we just haven’t had the time to get it done, but now...”
“No, you’re right.” I reached out and took her hand. “It should be done before we leave. At least all the legal stuff; the paperwork, the license. If we pull this off, we can have parties after, with everyone that matters. And if we don’t, it’ll be done, and you and the baby will be taken care of in case of the worst.”
“That was sort of the thought...though, you know, I don’t like to think about it not working. Just in case.” She squeezed my hand. “But you know Tony has to have a party of some sort, so we figured we’d do a little ceremony. Probably here, just because it’s convenient and wide open, and everyone who matters and is still...around, is here.” For a brief moment she sobered, but then shook it off and co*cked her head at me, her lips curving. “So will you be my best man?”
It took me off-guard, not the least of which was, “You have a best man?”
“Would you rather I called you my maid of honour?” My face must have done something hilarious, because she laughed. “There’s no lead up, no real duties, so in reality it’s more like a ‘bride’s-man’, but...I wanted you to stand with me, because you and Natasha, really, are the closest things to family I have right now.” She leaned up against me, hooking an arm through mine. “I wanted Tony to have Rhodey, and Happy’s already agreed to walk me down the aisle. You’re next.”
“I–” I had to swallow hard, then laugh shakily. “Wow. Okay. Of course, Pepper. I will be your best man. Thank you.”
She beamed, leaning up to peck me lightly on the cheek in a sisterly sort of way. “No, thank you.”
She and Tony had actually been working on the legal and ceremonial side of things in between work for some time before this, so it only took about three days to throw a ceremony together and get an officiant...though to be fair, Tony still had plenty enough money to be able to speed things up a bit. Natasha managed to drag Nebula away from building the quantum platform long enough to go shopping, the two of them returning with a deep navy pantsuit and a sleek matching dress, as well as a long garment bag that I assumed held what Pepper would wear. The day of, Nat also whipped out a handful of bow ties and waist sashes for anyone who didn’t have ‘the right’ navy in pants.
“You’re really into this,” I couldn’t help but remark as she tisked at my poor attempt at putting on the bow tie. Not something the Army had taught me, and not something I’d had much chance to learn since. She laughed.
“No matter how jaded they end up being about it, most people have thought quite seriously about weddings at some point or another,” she insisted. “I may never get there, and it won’t kill me not to, but I sure have a vision just in case. Next best thing is to help a friend make theirs a reality.” She fiddled a moment or two more, then stepped back. “Better.”
“Does she need either of us?” I asked as I followed her out onto the lawn. Nat shook her head.
“Nope. She’s set.” Her lips curved. “And is it just me, or is this the perfect thing for us to be doing before one last team mission? A burst of positive vibes to go with us on this insane ride?”
It made me laugh. “No argument here.” I glanced across the aisle; Nebula looked quite sharp, actually, in a white blouse under the navy vest-jacket and pants, but she herself looked distinctly uncomfortable. “You okay?”
She scowled at me. “I have no idea what I’m doing here.”
“Basically standing there looking pretty.” Nat quipped, earning a scowl for herself. “No, I mean it. Tony clearly wanted you here. All the decorations and food are set up, and he hasn’t yelled for help with anything yet, so unless we catch him trying to bolt–” her lips twitched when I chuckled, but she kept her tone even, “–you’re here to witness and to party.”
Nebula’s brow arched, and her voice was deadpan when she responded. “Party.”
“Yes, party.” Still chuckling, I looked down at my phone. The officiant was supposed to be arriving soon and Tony had yet to make his grand entrance. “I’ll go make sure he doesn’t...bolt, that is. But you may want to keep an eye on her for the same.”
“Probably a good idea,” Nat replied with a grin. “Go for it.”
I could hear him speaking through the door once I got close enough, but I couldn't hear any responses. Was he talking on the phone? He was just quiet enough that I could hear his voice but not the words, and I stood there for a minute before I knocked. “Tony?”
There was a rustling, and some more muttering, like he had to put something away before he called. “Come ahead, Cap.”
“You okay in here?” I asked as I swung the door open. He was in front of his mirror, holding one wrist cuff together with his teeth while he slipped a cufflink in, and I tisked at him as I came over and swatted at him. “Give me that.”
“Okay? Are you kidding me? I'm terrified.” He mimed a shudder even as I chuckled. “Whose stupid idea was this, again? Oh, right. Mine.”
“They’re worth it, and you know it,” I replied briskly, snatching the cufflink out of his hand. “It's about damn time you let her make an honest man out of you.”
“Yeah, that’s the scary part, really.” He watched with interest as I secured that cuff, holding up the other link when I looked around for it. “You remember when I had to do this for you, down in Orlando when we launched VERONICA?”
“I do, actually.” God, it felt like lifetimes ago somehow. “Lucky for you, I only needed to see it done once. Haven’t had much chance for fancy dress since.”
For a long second, he didn’t reply, and when I looked up I saw him watching me. “If this works, and we get them all back...would you consider it?”
I’d been distracted and wasn’t really following his train of thought, so I blinked at him. “Dressing up fancy every once in a while? I mean, I don’t mind the thought, if I've got an excuse. Hasn’t been much of one these last couple of years, but getting everyone back would be a good one, sure.”
“What about being the excuse?”
Oh. I went still when his meaning clicked, staring at him. His brows went up when he saw my expression. “Don't tell me Captain America is scared of a little paperwork and a ring or two? You went to war and to space for him, and you’re planning on jumping through time for him, Steve; clearly you’re serious enough.”
He wasn’t wrong, but my commitment wasn’t the only thing in play. “When have I had a chance to consider it when it was actually possible, Tony?”
That brought him up short. “Fair point. The forties weren’t too considerate of that sort of thing, were they?”
“And we don’t really know how it’s going to roll out even if we do pull this damn Time Heist thing off without a hitch. So let’s get this positive energy Natasha was talking about going, shall we? Because we might as well have all the help we can get.” But he was still eyeing me when I stepped back to give him a full look-over, and I rolled my eyes. “But I promise if we get to that point, you’ll be involved somehow, okay? That good enough?”
“I still think you’re chicken,” he replied blithely, though he was already out the door of room before I could scowl at him. “It totally could have happened in Wakanda.”
If I tried to argue with him, we’d be at it all day, so I just shook my head and bit it back as I followed him back out onto the lawn. The weather was holding – warm and clear for late October, though a little bit of sun through the clouds overhead might have been nice – and I saw that the officiant had arrived while we’d been talking. She nodded at us both, holding out a hand as Tony walked up. “Mr. Stark.”
“Ms...Anders. Laila, right?” He shot her a finger-gun salute as she blinked at him, clearly taken aback that he remembered her name. “Let’s get this show on the road. Happy!” he shouted as Rhodey punched him in the shoulder and I shook my head in my hand. “Get my lady out here!”
“Don’t make me shock you,” Nat reprimanded through her sweetest smile, and I caught Clint in the front row bowing his head to hide a snicker. Bruce started to shake his head too, and I hadn’t stopped yet.
“God help us.”
But the joking around was short-lived, and as Tony quieted music began to play; something soft and classical that I vaguely recognized but had never bothered to learn the particulars of. I looked up to see where it was coming from and nearly laughed aloud; the one of Tony’s robots everyone referred to as “DUM-E” was rolling out towards the party draped in a curtain of flower vines that shed petals like rain, with the music broadcasting through its speakers. Pepper and Happy walked out into the daylight, a good six or seven paces behind it – in case of mishaps, I imagined. Happy was trying to maintain some composure, taking his job as seriously as ever, but Pepper was openly giggling at DUM-E’s shredding cape and trying to catch flying petals with the hand that wasn’t holding her bouquet. Tony was controlling the robot; I could see him directing its movements with the panel on his watch, so it managed to make it to the foot of the aisle without running into anything and turned, bowing to Pepper and Happy before backing off to let them come up the red carpet that led to the dais.
I’d never doubted Natasha’s eye, so I wasn’t at all surprised that Pepper looked stunning even if it wasn’t quite her usual look. The dress was a sheath of off-white satin with short, capped sleeves and a high waist – I think it was what they called ‘empire’? – and an overlay of a slightly darker lace that split to accommodate her bump and trailed over the grass behind her for about a foot. She reached the head of the aisle with Happy, then spent a handful of minutes hugging everyone.
“Honey, we've got a thing we're doing here. I imagine Ms. Anders has a busy day.”
“Actually, I cleared my schedule for this,” Anders interjected quietly, and I couldn’t help a chuckle when Tony rolled his eyes.
“Ignore him,” I advised. “Now that it’s happening, he just wants it done before someone notices how anxious it’s making him.”
He swatted at me. “You're not supposed to tell people that.”
“All right, all right. I'm coming.” Throwing her arms last around Nebula and pausing just long enough to say something that made her stiffen and stare in shock, Pepper finally took her place across from Tony in front of the officiant. Anders took a long beat watching the two of them before her brows rose.
“Are we good?”
“Absolutely not,” Clint quipped, and the rest of us laughed. Tony pointed at him accusingly.
“Behave, or you can't stay. Jeez, you kids are rowdy today.”
“I swear, we aren't usually this bad.” I assured Anders, who was pursing her lips to hide a smile, before I placed two fingers in my mouth and whistled sharply through them. “Can we focus long enough to get this done, please?”
Clearly amused – I felt like she possibly had prepped herself for something like this, given that she’d already said she’d cleared her calendar for the day – Anders waited a handful of moments more for us to get it out of our systems before she took a deep breath. “All right. Friends, family, teammates. We come together today to celebrate the trials and triumphs of love in extraordinary circ*mstances. I am truly blessed to be here to officiate the union of these two in the eyes of God, the laws of New York State and the United States of America, and as we've recently discovered, the universe. Haven’t studied for that one yet, so here's hoping I haven’t missed anything.”
“Not so far!”
We chuckled collectively as Thor grinned from the chairs, hoisting what appeared to be a flask in his hand. Anders nodded at him in acknowledgement. “Thank you, sir. Anthony, Virginia, I can only imagine the stresses and the events that have united you, tested you, and forged the love between you two that we have gathered to celebrate today. And it's been emphasized in the last few years just how precious life is, no matter who you are, where you’re from, or what powers you may or may not possess, so sometimes you just have to seize it and hold it close when you find it. So with that being said, I believe you two have vows you've prepared?” She spread her hands. “Who wants to go first?”
“She does,” Tony replied promptly. Pepper shook her head, and I had to chuckle as I leaned forward over her shoulder.
“Chicken.”
“Pot, meet kettle,” he retorted. But his gaze softened when he turned it on Pepper again. “Go on, honey. I'm banking on you making me cry so I don’t have to say anything.”
It made her laugh, and she shook herself again as if to ready herself. “Great. Okay, I–” She swallowed hard. “We were...God, we were a romantic comedy skit. Billionaire playboy falls for his savvy, attractive personal assistant because she was the only one who could put up with him. And I fought so hard, because how could that possibly be sustainable? We all knew your reputation.” She drew a hard breath. “But your heart is what convinced me. Underneath the love for toys and good food and the ability to fly off to Paris or Korea on a whim is a man with so much capacity to love humanity. And that is what won me over. I–”
I couldn’t see her face, standing behind her as I was, but I saw the concern flicker on Tony’s as she cut off with a gasp. Her hand snapped out and snatched his, and the both of them seemed to...coalesce together, as she laid his hand on her belly. He stared at her, shock in his eyes. “Is that–?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Her free hand clapped over her mouth as she squeaked it. “That’s a kick. Baby wants to–”
But she couldn’t get the rest of it out before he nudged her hand away, grabbing her by the shoulders and kissing her enthusiastically. Anders’ hands lifted to her face, and for a long second all anybody could do was watch. Then Rhodey turned to the rest of us, casting a quick look over his shoulder as if to clear it with Anders first before he called, “Anybody gonna protest?”
More laughter, including Pepper's as she broke away crying. “I...I think I forgot the rest,” she admitted. “So unless you want to say your bit?”
“Ah, nope, I think that was pretty damn perfect.” Tony pulled her close again, the two of them almost looking like a single person from where I stood. I had to smile fondly at the glistening trails on his cheeks as he held her...held them both. “God, I love you.” His voice rose. “I love this woman so much, and since we've already talked about how unbelievable that would have been to hear not even five years ago, that can stand in for all the flowery language I was trying to figure out an hour ago. Can you say your bit so I can kiss her again?” he asked Anders, who grinned wryly.
“By the powers vested in me by God and the State of New York, Anthony Edward Stark and Virginia Potts, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” She swept both her hands together. “Clearly you don’t need encouragement.”
Tony scooped her up and spun her around, and they shared another long kiss before his head rose to take in is all. “Now, go find the food! You too.” He pointed at Anders and made a shooing motion before looking up again. I saw him catch Banner’s eye and co*ck his head indicatively, and Bruce nodded in response.
“We’ll be back. Just gonna do a quick scan, I think,” he explained when he saw me looking. I nodded.
“Sure. Rhodey and I will corral everyone.”
Scott had offered to handle food, and when we entered the larger conference room we were using as a reception hall he was filling the last of a spread of champagne flutes, looking up at us all with a grin. “Welcome to the reception for the Potts-Stark wedding! Stark-Potts?” He frowned. “I know I didn’t hear, but does anyone know if she’s taking his last name?”
“I think she finally decided she would, but I’ll be highly amused to see the reaction on Tony’s face to your referring to it as the ‘Potts-Stark’ wedding, so I say you go with that,” Natasha quipped, making several of us chuckle. “They’ll be a minute; baby kicks interrupted the vows, so I think they’re just doing a quick test or two to make sure everything’s still okay.”
Since they didn’t have to go far to do it, Tony had been a little obsessive about checking on the baby’s development, but so far Pepper had refused to do anything beyond the standard regimen and an imaging about once every three weeks. Our holographic systems were magnitudes better than the US healthcare system, but even so... “Have they managed to see if it’s a boy or a girl yet? That was the most exciting part with you, Peanut,” Scott grinned down at his daughter, who had walked up behind him with hands carefully and securely clenched around the rim of a substantial veggie tray. She grinned back.
“Mommy said you went pink crazy for weeks once you knew I was a girl.”
“Yeah. I’m glad you ended up liking it for a while, because I spent so much money. Here, put that there,” he pointed her to a smaller table nearby with a convenient space cleared. “There’s a way it sort of...settles you, once you know what you’re getting. God has a way of shaking up plans, I know, so you’ve gotta be flexible about it, but that’s when you can start dreaming about sports teams and fixing cars, or walking down aisles and threatening dates. Or threatening dates AND fixing cars, which is what I’m thinking is going to end up happening with this one.”
“It’s more fun with a mixed bag,” Clint quipped, toasting with his glass. “But do your stress levels a favour and make sure they all can handle themselves no matter what you’ve got, because that way all you have to do is remind them they can and send them on their merry ways. Then you can back them up if they don’t think they can handle it.”
“It boggles my brain a little bit that somehow we went further into strict gender roles than we had before the war, and are really only just bouncing back,” I admitted. “While I wasn’t very good at cooking because gas fumes and wood smoke messed up my breathing before the serum, my mother made sure I at least knew the theory on the basics, and how to do other household chores; cleaning, laundry, mending, making and fixing basic household things. The Army taught me to find my way around an engine, but the other Commandos were actually better at that than I was in a lot of ways.” I shook my head. “I wouldn’t ever tell a kid of mine they couldn’t know one or the other because of their gender. That’s ridiculous.”
Natasha chuckled, leaning on my shoulder. “I guess that’s why you don’t really protest when we call you ‘Mom’,” she teased, and I rolled my eyes.
“Even if society had gotten to me in that way, I appreciated mine far too much to think of it as an insult.”
The door opened across the room, behind the table that had the cake on it, and Bruce entered first with a grin. “Everything’s fine!” he called. “And so that we can get all the applause over and done with at once, I’ve been allowed to announce: we finally know it’s a girl!”
“Oh!” Scott clapped his hands over his heart and wiped at the corner of his eye as Tony and Pepper swept inside to a handful of confetti and cheers. “Oh, man, that’s so perfect. This is the best thing we could have done before all the craziness.”
“I thought so too.” Natasha grinned.
“So, I hate speeches and I love booze, so we’re not going to do a whole lot of talking,” Tony began, raising the glass he’d plucked from the table on the way in. Thor roared his approval across the room, making us all laugh. “But apparently it’s only polite to thank you all for being here even though most of you are living here, so thank you for bearing witness to the crazy that was today.”
“And for putting up with Tony as much as I do,” Pepper kidded. Tony’s mouth opened instinctively to protest, but at the looks he got from several of us – myself and his new wife included – he considered it for a brief moment.
“Fair point. I’ll be nice and admit to that today.” he agreed. “Now, I’ll open the floor to the idiots who agreed to stand up specifically for us. If any of you would like to roast us, now’s your chance.”
“Oh, I’m one hundred percent taking advantage of that.” Rhodes tipped his glass. He co*cked his head at me as he turned. “You got your own, or do you want to get in on this?”
“I've got mine handled.” I gestured. “Spotlight’s yours.”
“All right. Let’s go.” He shifted and made his way to the front table. “If you had told me ten, fifteen years ago I would actually have the opportunity to do a Best Man speech at the Wedding of Tony Stark, I would have laughed myself into a coma. You all know him, and we all love him, but Tony was never marrying material. I hear it's genetic?” he called back my way, and I laughed and raised my glass in acknowledgement. “I was like, five years out of boot camp, you know? And my CO comes to me and was like ‘So we have a problem. One of our weapons contractors can’t keep a liaison, because no one can keep up with him. We've had three of them quit in the last two weeks. Rhodes, you're our last hope.’ That should’ve been my first medal,” he pointed out.
“I'll buy you one! Just send me the colours you want!”
“Tony, that’s illegal.” Rhodey shook his head. “Not that that ever stopped you, of course. I swear to God, it was out of my mouth like every ten minutes on a good day.” He blew out a sigh. “And then a lady who called herself ‘Pepper’ joined the handling team. I’d held on long enough to know she would shake things up. I don’t think anyone could have seen how much.” He raised his glass. “She has made you the best version of yourself, Tony. It has been a privilege to see you change yourself for her. To become the man you were meant to be. The hero that this world needed – even without the suit. It took me a while, I’ll admit, but seeing the two of you together made me realize that the world doesn't need more weapons. It needs more love, so hold it close, man.”
I saw him murmur thanks, saw him reach out and pull Rhodes into a hug and press a firm kiss to each cheek. Pepper did the same; hug, kiss, kiss. Then they all turned to me, and I walked up to the third side of the table.
“When you form a team under the circ*mstances we did, you often talk – joke, really, because you need the levity – about going to their loved ones after if the worst should happen. In a way, you joke about it in the hopes that you never have to; that it will keep them hanging on in the event they need it. So I never really anticipated meeting any of the people any of you love.” I glanced at Pepper, at the pensive look on her face, and how she leaned on Tony with a hand on her belly. “But in this case, I'm really glad I did.” She lit, lifting her other hand to her cheek and pressing it there as her eyes misted. “In fact, I think that technically Pepper and I were friends first. I was a little unsure about you, still.” I shook a finger at Tony, and he laughed.
“Not true, Cap, you loved me! That’s why we wanted to beat the hell out of each other!”
“I don’t have Rhodes’ experience with young Tony, but having known Howard, and having heard all the stories over the years, I can imagine. It takes an extraordinary woman to make a man like that want to change himself. And if you ever doubt that about yourself, just know that I’ve known several over the course of a couple of different time periods, and you more than qualify.” I couldn’t help but grin. “And I promise, we’re still going to help you keep him out of trouble, because even now, you're going to need all the help you can get.”
“To Tony and Pepper.” Laughing as Tony pressed his free hand to his chest in the classic ‘affronted’ look, Rhodey lifted his glass again for a toast. I copied him on the other end of the table, and we watched as the room did the same.
“To Tony and Pepper.”
“So this is it?” Nebula wondered aloud somewhat derisively as we rejoined the crowd. There was no formal sit-down, even with cake, because Pepper quietly hadn’t wanted to tempt Tony into a cake-smash, but there were tables all around the edges of the room between the food stations if people wanted to sit. Clint laughed.
“Not the fanciest shindig I've been to, I'll admit, which is a little surprising considering it's a Stark party, but there’s talk of something shinier after the Time Heist.” His brows danced. “I’m sure between Scott and Tony and I, we can come up with something amusing if you're really that bored.”
Nebula’s brow rose even as Natasha smacked Clint on the shoulder, her hands flashing in reprimanding ASL. I chuckled a little as he signed back in the same tone of movement. “Like what?” Nebula inquired, watching them communicate with narrowed eyes.
“Drink? Dance? Sing a little, maybe? I bet you've got a voice for a nightclub. Maybe we'll get you dancing on a table again, Steve?” Tony was grinning as he strode up behind us, and I couldn’t help rolling my eyes.
“You know that was one of your drunken hallucinations, right?”
He shrugged. “Well, a lot of that night didn’t feel quite real, so I just sort of treat it like it all was. We were celebrating kicking the Chitauri out,” he added for Nebula’s benefit, and she rolled her eyes too, sniffing at the glass she held. “So I admittedly polished off about two-thirds of a bottle of really good whiskey while we all got to know each other.”
“Is that what we’re drinking?” Her lips twisted disdainfully. “Because if this is what you call intoxicating, you’d die in any off-world bar.”
He laughed. “Not that I wouldn’t try to get you drunk – Steve knows, that’s kind of a hobby for me,” he teased, and my brows went up at the reference. “But no, this first round of bottles actually has no alcohol in it at all, so my lady and the Little Lang can indulge a little. I would one hundred percent be game to try it if you brought something from your alien buddies, though.”
Nebula just laughed, which surprised everyone enough that I could shoot Tony a look without anyone else noticing. “Wasn’t that what got us in trouble, and are you sure you want to bring it up on your wedding day of all days?” I inquired on a breath. His lips twitched.
“You honestly think the kids would believe it if I let something slip after all these years?”
“I don’t think your new wife would appreciate it even if they didn’t.” I clinked my glass against his. “And since I was on her side of the aisle today, I'm allowed to kick your ass about it, ceremony or no ceremony.”
He smirked into the champagne flute. “Might want to get in some practice while you can. It’s been a while.”
I read the look he was giving me in a glance and rolled my eyes again. That was not what I meant and he damn well knew it, but since that was the line he was delivering, I’d give it back as good as I got. “I’ve had plenty of practice in that respect, Tony. Just not with you.”
That made him chuckle. “I really, really hope I’m there to see the reaction when people find out just how much of a lie that prude façade we’ve put on you is.” A song began to play, and he perked up as the first notes rang out. “Ah, hang on, that's my cue. My lady wants a dance.”
He handed me his champagne and took ahold of Pepper with a flourish, leading her out onto the floor. It took me a second to realize why everyone started laughing until the lyrics began and I recognized Bonnie Rait; country wasn’t usually my thing, but “Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About” had been popular in soundtracks and commercials for a long time. I smiled fondly to watch them; they looked good together, sweeping around, heads bowed against each other when they came together, her red curls catching lightly on stray locks that had fallen out of his swept-back style.
As it ended, there was a long beat of silence as they stood together on the dance floor, holding still as we clapped and whistled. But when the next song started, Tony spun around and swept out his hands again. “All right, time to kick off the shoes and ditch the ties and garter belts, everyone! Let’s make this a real Stark party!”
Maybe it was foolish. Maybe someone else might have preferred to spend the day strategizing or planning. But as we joined Tony and Pepper on the dance floor and began handing around Anders and Natasha and Nebula and even Cassie for as long as she could stay awake, I thought that we'd been right to celebrate.
Anders was right; life was precious no matter how long or short it was, and we needed to emphasize the bright of it to fight the dark.
