A/N: Ok you guys I was seriously thinking about not putting this in here. Please please please tell me if you like it or if you think I should leave it out. Especially the last part. Thanks! Also HOLY CRAP IM DONE WITH THIS FIC WHAAAT?! I can't believe it's finished aahh. I give an enormous thank-you to everyone who's reviewed/liked/followed/read my writing; you guys make me so so happy :)

Tony

"You're gonna do great, Tony. Don't worry about it, just relax."

"Yeah. Relax. Okay."

Rhodey laughed. He'd never seen Tony so nervous – and it wasn't like he was about to face off with some freaky alien creatures; this was only a wedding.

"Just take a deep breath, and try not to blow anything up."

Tony turned to his friend. "Blow anything up? Me? That would never happen."

"Really? Because I have this distinct memory of an explosion caused by you in my kitchen last week."

"Hey, I said I was sorry. And I don't even have anything flammable or combustible with me, so that won't be a problem."

Both of them were standing on the beach, out of sight of the guests that were starting to file in. White chairs were set up with gold and red banners on the back that read "Mr. and Mrs. Stark" on them. The altar was set up in front, decorated with white and purple flowers.

The wedding was going to be a small one (Pepper had insisted that it be simple, because she knew Tony's tendency to overdo things), with mostly family members and close friends attending. For Tony, that was a very small group of people. All he had besides Happy was Rhodey, who had agreed to be his best man.

Today, April 4th, was a perfect day for the wedding. It was sunny but not too hot, and there was no wind to blow sand into everyone's faces. The air was crisp, and there were only a few clouds that hung in the sky.

As much as Rhodey tried to calm him down, Tony hadn't been able to sleep much last night. The thought of him making such a huge commitment to the woman of his dreams was enough to both fray his nerves and make him giddy with delight at the same time. The latter was an emotion he had never thought he would experience. Giddiness was not a word that most people used to describe Tony Stark. Yet that's exactly how he felt right now.

The bell tower near them chimed one o'clock, and the butterflies in Tony's stomach seemed to increase in number.

Rhodey clapped him on the shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. "You ready?"

Tony inhaled deeply and nodded. He was ready to make the biggest promise of his life. He was ready to forever be with Pepper. He was ready for the blissful years they would spend together, and for the inevitable difficulties that were to come. He was ready for the laughs and for the tears, and he was looking forward to seeing how his life would change, and how it would stay the same. He never thought his life would lead to this, but it was a wonderful surprise that he was especially grateful for. As long as he had Pepper, he would be happy.

He was ready for a new beginning.

Thor

Loki's smug little smirk did nothing but fuel Thor's anger.

"You were behind this all along!"

"Of course I was. What's your point?" The God of Mischief was unfazed by his so-called brother's aggression.

"Why must you be so intent on destroying the Earth? What do you even hope to gain from all of this?"

Loki laughed, and the sound was chillingly haunting. "Destroying the Earth?" he repeated. He stepped away from Thor, who had furiously approached him just a few moments ago, and walked out of reach. "You seem to not be grasping the concept at hand. I mean to improve that world. Its inhabitants are so ignorant and petty. I would be doing them all a favor by making myself their ruler. I would –"

"Enough! You have no good intentions; you're only motivated by revenge and hatred and power. You bask in the enjoyment of killing others."

"Ah, yes. Like your Black Widow friend."

Loki took pleasure in the enraged expression he got from Thor as a response.

Thor could not express how saddened, how betrayed, how utterly hopeless he felt. All he wanted was for things to go back to the way they were. He wanted to be happy, and he wanted his brother to be happy. But there was no way to repeat the past. Those days of contentment were over. The Loki he once knew was gone forever, and though Thor tried, he knew that it was nearly impossible to find him again.

"You foiled my plans, Odinson. I'm quite disappointed by that."

"There was no way you would have won," Thor replied, returning to a calmer tone. "What you fail to see is that humans are smart, and they are powerful when they are determined enough. Even if your Exitium had succeeded in the battle, you would still never be able to rule over them."

Loki turned on his heel. "You're wrong," he hissed.

"You do know what's going to happen to you now," Thor said, "once our father finds out what you've done."

"He was never my father."

"All of Asgard then."

Loki shrugged nonchalantly. "I supposed I'll be exiled."

There was a stretch of taut silence, in which both of them waited for the other to speak.

"There's another way," Thor finally said. "If you just promised to leave these harmful dreams behind and showed everyone that you have changed, then maybe –"

"No."

Loki quickly cut him off, but he felt himself hesitating. He could see the desperate plea in Thor's eyes, in his voice. And for a moment, he actually considered the possibility of a new life. But that was impractical; he was too far gone. The damage was already done, and there was no way to change that.

Thor growled in anger and frustration. "So that's it then?"

Loki shifted his blue-green eyes up so that they met Thor's. That same pang of regret and sadness hit him, but he ignored it. The pain had already been replaced with malice; there was no need to fret over it now.

"Oh, no. I have a feeling that this isn't over."

Clint

It had been exactly two months and three days since Natasha's death. Clint hadn't exactly meant to keep track like that, but it was impossible to forget. He found himself thinking about that day whenever he let his mind wander.

'I let Natasha die yesterday…'

'I let Natasha die a week and three days ago…'

'I let Natasha die a month ago…'

That moment was forever ingrained in his mind. When he closed his eyes, all he could see was Natasha's dead body, as if the image was etched into the insides of his eyelids.

Clint growled in frustration with himself and forcefully threw down the object that was in his hand. He wasn't even sure what he'd been holding, and he didn't care either. 'Oh, right. My bow.'

He was sitting alone in SHIELD headquarters, up in his 'nest' where he usually sat. He liked that perch because it gave him a good view of the whole room from a distance. Everyone else who was usually bustling around on the floor had already left by now. The only source of light was the moonlight that shone through the windows.

With a heavy sigh, Clint stood up and started to head towards the ladder that would take him to ground level. He paused for a moment when he thought he heard a something, just a little whisper in the air, as if someone had moved beside him. He shook his head, dismissing it as a trick of his imagination, and continued walking.

"Hey, Clint."

Clint stopped breathing and froze in his tracks. That voice was unmistakable… but that was impossible! He slowly turned around, almost afraid of what he would see.

There she was, as plain as day. Her long red hair flowed around her shoulders, her soft eyes gazed into his. The moonlight illuminated her from behind and gave her an almost angelic appearance.

"Natasha?"

It felt like all the emotions in the world surged through him all at once. Elation, relief, betrayal, confusion, sadness, gratitude, love….

Natasha took a step towards him and pressed her full, soft lips to his thin, calloused ones cordially.

'I'm dreaming,' he thought. No way in real life would Natasha just kiss him like that.

He must have actually said it out loud, because the woman in front of him then said, "No, you're not." She reached out and pinched his arm. "See. Not asleep."

Clint gaped at her, a million thoughts rushing through his head at once. She was alive. It made no sense, but she was alive. Her eyes were sparkling, her body was radiating warmth. She was full of color and vibrant energy, as if she had been in perfect health the entire time.

"How…" he breathed. It was the only word he could seem to say out loud at the moment.

Natasha smiled at him, and his heart did a backflip. He'd almost forgotten how beautiful her smile was. "Oh, Clint," she said. "It's a really, really long story."

A/N: Fun fact - RDJ and I share the same birthday, which is April 4th, so that's why I chose that date of their wedding :) Another fun fact - this was initially meant to be a one-shot, which I find kinda funny because it turned out to be so long. Anyway, that's it for this fic, I hope you enjoyed it!