Battlefield ｡ Tony Stark

EPILOUGE

PART I - WEDDING BELLS (2013)

Tony Stark had proposed more times than I could count, maybe more times than he even thought possible and each and every time, I had turned him down because I was not ready. It was not because I didn't love him, I loved him too much sometimes. It was because I was never sure it was the right timing. With so many things in our world we could not control; aliens that fell from the sky and killer robots, a wedding never seemed right. But at some point, I had to push away the doubt and jump without opening my eyes.

"Have I ever mentioned how hot you really are?" Lucy Hammer hummed out, her eyes finding mine in the mirror we were standing in front of. We were currently in one of the back rooms of the very church Tony's parents had been married in, a nice touch which had Tony blinking away tears when I suggested it months ago. 

"Maybe once," I smiled. "When we were drunk."

Things had come a full circle; Lucy Hammer and Tilda Hardings standing in a church once again. This time it was not me standing in a bridesmaid dress and pinning curls and encouraging Lucy that it was quite alright to love Aaron, even when it meant we weren't always going to be each other's worlds. 

Lucy smacked her lips together, smoothing out her lipstick while she finished adjusting my veil. I could see the shine of tears in her eyes; sadness and maybe joy mixed together. Sometimes it wasn't easy letting go. "Tony's really good for you." Lucy commented randomly. 

"Are you about to do a sappy speech?"

"Shut your mouth." Lucy jolted back with. Softly, she gathered my dress train and made sure everything looked perfect for me. We could hear the cries of the church organs rolling through the walls. Outside the door were my closet friends and family, ready to watch me finally say the words out loud to the man I had loved for most of my life. "He wasn't always such a catch, but when he saved you from yourself, that's when I knew it. I knew he would do great things and that he was worthy of loving my best friend."

Tears gathered in my eyes. "You're going to ruin my makeup."

Lucy handed me my flowers. "Okay, okay, that's all I'm going to say."

Without another single word, just a shared look which expressed much more than any words could out loud, Lucy Hammer lead me towards the long isle where Tony Stark waited for me. There were horrible butterflies in my stomach and I tried commanding myself to walk in my heels without stumbling. Thankfully, my son was taking hold of my arm with a wicked grin. He was taller now, taller than he should have been for his age. 

"See you at the alter." Lucy said in my ear before she joined Natasha Romanoff in the formal dance of bridesmaids gilding down the isle, groping the arms of handsome groomsmen. Lucy looked so tiny next to the dashing Steve Rogers. 

Samuel's touch was encouraging and together, we followed suit. My eyes scanned the crowd in the pews and spotted a few familiar faces; my mother who was crying quietly, Poppy Thayer, Nick Fury and Bruce Banner. Standing at the alter besides Tony was Happy and Rhodey and standing next to my other two bridesmaids was Pepper, framed in all her red beauty. We were all one big happy family today and all the past and future wars and differences were nonexistent. 

Once I finally reached the alter, Tony took my hands delicately, shooting a wink over at Samuel who stepped back inline with the second ring-bearer; Harley Kneer. "You're not going to back out now, are you?" Tony whispered. 

"We could, you know?" I suggested with a twinkle in my eye. "We could ditch this place, go grab some cheeseburgers and get eloped in Vegas?"

Tony's smile was infectious. "I love you."