Broken Cages (MCU)✔️

Weddings and Boring Dresses

Steve and I flew to a courthouse a week later to get married. It was the opposite of romantic but better than I expected. They had removed my tracker, scared someone else could tap into it. They dressed me in a white silk slip dress and Steve in a suit. He looked just as robotic as I felt. The good thing is that I did not have to look happy about it. I was a prisoner, forced to marry, just like I had always been.

I had avoided everyone all week, only telling Cassie that I would be eating in my room and letting Natasha know I was okay with marrying Steve. Steve was still on a mission, so I had not gotten a chance to talk with him about it, but I knew he would treat it precisely as it was supposed to be—just part of a job. I did not think he would get some kind of enjoyment out of it like Loki or resent me for it like Barnes would.

He was still young, and he was extremely handsome. Kissing him wouldn't be a shame, which I had to do halfway through the ceremony. The first part of the ceremony was a judge, a chaste kiss with dry lips, a big ring, and pictures capturing the moment. We signed the papers, and we were legally bound.

It wasn't like we were sending out congratulations messages throughout the spy networks, so afterwards, we went to dinner at a high-end restaurant frequented by those who had their ears open for international crime. Tony and Pepper had prepped me for this mission, trying to let me know they would keep me safe and I would have to do anything I didn't agree to. I decided to do everything. It was a means to an end.

"We hope the Croatians will think your parents backed out of the deal. We do not think that your parents will want to admit they lost you. We hope to draw them both out."

"Katya, you'll have to act how your parents want. Be silent throughout the entire situation until you are spoken to. Do not look compromised."

I agreed. I would be the doll. I would stand tall and look pretty with glass eyes. But I had always been compromised. They never gave me their love, and I never gave them my loyalty.

Steve wasn't handsy, but he did keep his hand wrapped around my waist, toating me around the restaurant and introducing me as his new wife. His kisses were tight, and I didn't smile; I stared blankly while he played with my hair.

Is this what my life would have been like if I had been married off? Not a moment to think for myself.

Steve cut my food for me and helped me with my chair.

The only time he did not follow me was when I nodded at the bathroom. I am bumped by a man I did not recognize on the way there. I didn't stumble. I knew I had been marked. On my way back to Steve, I tried to remember every detail of the man's face in case the cameras didn't catch it all.

We stayed for a few more hours, celebrating. There were men I didn't recognize, but Steve seemed to know everyone, and many men made lewd comments towards me. He laughed, playing his part perfectly.

He made a big show of bringing me up to our room. When the door closed, he eyed me carefully. The room could be bugged. I had known that ahead of time. So, instead of sleeping in the bed, I locked myself in the bathroom, playing the part of the unwilling bride.

We were silent the whole night.

—

The flight back was just as silent as the night before.

Steve had slept in the bed. I slept in the bathtub, but my eyes didn't close once. I don't know how much sleep Steve had gotten, either. Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured what my wedding would have been like if I had not gotten out. The wedding night would have been very different, that is for sure.

Once Steve and I had been cleared of any bugs and we were far enough away, he pulled me into the back room of the plane.

"Are you okay? You haven't said a word."