The Wedding of the Century

Steve felt Natasha's cold feet brush up against his legs as she climbed into bed. "You're slipping. I heard you coming," he whispered groggily into her ear.

"Only because I wanted you to know I was here," she purred.

"I thoughts you girls were planning to make a night out of it. Pepper said something about a no contact order until we get to the church," Steve said as he pulled her back flush to his chest.

"I'm pretty sure that order only applied to Tony. Besides, I stayed until everyone was asleep. Wanda gave it her best shot, but she couldn't out drink me. She's out like a light, just like the rest of them."

Steve smiled at the way Natasha spoke of Wanda. The admiration she felt for the young woman was evident in her voice. He was extremely grateful their have-baked plan had brought back Wanda and the others. "Yeah, well, not many people can drink you under the table," he said, placing a kiss to her temple. "You planning on sneaking back in before they wake up in the morning?"

"Am I becoming predictable, Rogers?"

"You? Never. I just figured Pepper would expect her maid of honor to be reporting for duty the minute she opens her eyes."

Natasha laughed. "It is going to be a busy day. They deserve this, you know. Tony can be difficult at times, but his heart is in the right place."

"He has a lot more of his dad in him than he realized. Howard may have been a womanizer, but he was one of the best men I ever knew."

"You miss him," Natasha acknowledged.

"I do. I just can't help but wonder what it would have been like if Bucky hadn't been sent on that mission. We could have avoided so much pain for Tony, and, honestly for all of us, if Howard and Maria Stark had gotten to live a long, healthy life," Steve sighed. "A lot of things could have been avoided."

"True enough, but a few of those things rank pretty high in my book. Barnes has been completely deprogramed. That's a good thing." Steve nodded, so Natasha continued. "You and I finally got on the same page."

"Don't you think that would have happened anyway?" Steve asked.

"Who knows? But, I'm glad we don't have to find out. What matters is the here and now. Howard may not be here to see his son get married, but you're here. You and Tony have way more than a tentative truce. We beat Thanos at his own game together. And, I'm in bed with the man I love. It doesn't get much better than this."

"And, we have the wedding of the century in just under eleven hours," Steve groaned. "You know it's going to be a mad house."

"Awe, Steve, everybody loves a wedding," Natasha teased.

"Even you?"

Natasha turned to face him in mock indignation. "Even me? Of course, I do. You clean up good, soldier, and my dress is stunning. There'll be an open bar and almost everyone we care about will be in one place. That doesn't usually happen unless somebody dies or the world is in danger."

Steve laughed. "Last time, it was the whole universe."

"See? All the more reason to enjoy every minute."

"Yet, you're here with me instead of with the bridal party," Steve observed.

Natasha cuddled into his embrace. "I always want to be with you."

"Think we should plan one of these for ourselves?" Steve asked tentatively.

"What? A wedding?"

"Yeah. Do you want one of these?"

"Do I want to obsess over the perfect dress, track down venues, arrange seating charts, book bands, and make our friends crazy for months? No, thank you," Natasha replied.

"Oh," Steve said softly.

"Now, if the question were phrased a little differently, like 'do you want to marry me?' well, I could definitely get on board," Natasha countered.

"Wait, what? So, you are okay with marrying me? A minute ago-"

"You asked if I wanted a wedding. I don't want a big wedding, Steve. You, me, and our friends at Clint's house exchanging our vows and starting our life together is all I need."

Steve smiled and kissed Natasha. "I think that could be arranged. Actually, it sounds perfect. We're going to do this, right? We're getting married."

"Yes, but it's our little secret until after Pepper and Tony's big day. We're not stealing their thunder."

"Yes, ma'am. I just have one question."

"And that is?"

"Can I practice kissing my bride for awhile before she has to sneak back into her sleepover?"

Natasha laughed. "Well, everyone needs practice."

When Steve woke up the next morning, Natasha had already slipped away but there was a note on her pillow. It read 'Keep our secret, Rogers', and it had a lipstick kiss in place of Natasha's signature. Steve grinned. He hadn't dreamed it. He was going to marry Natasha. He made a mental note to get Natasha to commit to a date as soon as possible then jumped into the shower to get ready for the wedding.

The ceremony was really special even though half of New York seemed to be in attendance. Steve sat beside Sam and watched as Natasha came down the aisle. She was breathtaking. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Pepper and the others looked great, too, but he only had eyes for Natasha. He still couldn't believe she wanted to marry him. He'd only been feeling her out on the subject the night before but it was something he'd wanted for awhile. He couldn't help but grin at the realization that she'd given it enough thought to have a simple wedding planned out in her mind.

Once they had finally arrived at the reception, Steve had Natasha to himself more or less. "Want to take a walk onto the terrace, Nat?" he asked, trying to conceal the dopey grin on his face.

"Lead the way, soldier," Natasha replied as she accepted his outstretched hand.

Steve guided her out onto the secluded terrace and pulled a ring out of his pocket. "I picked this up when we were talking out the cell in Moscow a little over a year ago. It only seemed right to get your ring in Russia. I've wanted to give it to you so many times but it never seemed like the right time. Being on the run then fighting Thanos, well, we haven't exactly caught a lot of breaks."

"It's beautiful, Steve. It's absolutely perfect," Natasha said as he slipped it on her finger.

"I know we agreed not to announce it today, so if you need to take it off-"

"Not a chance. We won't announce it tonight, but this ring isn't leaving my finger, and you're not getting out of my sight." Natasha pulled his head down to her level and kissed him. "You are my happily ever after."

Steve smiled. "Let's go back inside. I want to dance with my fiance before anything goes wrong."

"Don't worry, Rogers. Nothing is going to make you miss this dance. You're mine."

And, that's the end, folks, except for One small detail. And, they lived happily ever after.

I have already started another Romangers fic. It is called Moral Culpability, and it focuses on a Natasha born in the late 1930's. Spolier alert: She is mad at Steve for something that happened during World War 2, and her age defying serum means she's around to seek justice in 2011.