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“Natasha!”
“Yes, Tony?” she replied without turning, her eyes scanning the list in front of her for the third time.
“I need your help!”
She finally turned around to see Tony walking towards her, looking halfway panicked. Behind him and following from a distance, was Lady. Without anything around her neck. “Aright, calm down. What is happening to you?”
“ She is happening to me!” he exclaimed, waving his good hand towards Lady.
The issue was becoming obvious; at least Tony hadn’t finished dressing up. She raised an eyebrow.
“She won’t sit still. Wilson was supposed to take care of this, but his sister called him and he told me to take care of it! I would ask Clint, but I can’t find him. She won’t cooperate with me.”
To Natasha, Lady looked perfectly cooperative. She was sitting still, her head was inclined and her tongue lolling out.
“Hm, I don’t know if I have the time. I’m busy Tony.”
“Please”
“I am very busy,” she insisted, waving her hand at the half decorated tables for emphasis.
“Okay, name your price.”
“I don’t know…”
“I know! You wanted a new bike, right? I haven’t gotten to it yet, but it would get up on my priorities list.”
Now it was interesting. Natasha frowned and tapped her index on her mouth, faking reflection.
“Come on, Natasha. She won’t let me, and you know her better than me.”
Natasha said nothing, instead looking at Lady.
“Please!”
She made a show of sighing very loudly, and held her hand out. “Okay. But only because she has to look good. And I want this bike by the end of the month.”
“Deal!”
Tony hastily gave her the supplies and made his hasty retreat. He didn’t see Natasha’s grin and barely there nod to the door, which had Lady get up on her legs instantly.
Natasha led the dog to a more quiet room and ordered her to stand still. She retrieved the brush from the bag and combed through the Australian shepherd’s fur. In less than five minutes, Lady was looking almost perfect. Natasha looked for some treats she knew were in the bag and gave some to the dog.
“Good girl,” she said before kissing the top of the shepherd's head. “Now, only one thing left.”
Natasha grabbed the item from the bag and secured it over Lady’s back. There, perfect. The little harness with a cushion on top looked great on her.
“Come on, girl. Up you go.”
The two left the quiet room and re-entered the reception area.
“You know what would be good now?” Lady cocked her head. “To work some of your magic on your dads. I’m sure these two idiots are stressing out.”
Knowing who Natasha was talking about, Lady was wagging her tail.
“Ready? Come on, let’s find Steve.”
Between Natasha’s vague idea of where Steve was and Lady’s skills, they found the blond in no time. He was currently with Pepper and Wanda, who were trying to style his hair back correctly after he kept on screwing it every two minutes by running his hands through it -their words.
As soon as he saw his dog, Steve sprang from his chair and crouched next to Lady.
“Hey, sweetie. No kisses, please”
Lady stayed calm, only panting and wagging her tail.
“All good, Steve?”
Her friend lifted his head, his hand burrowed in Lady’s fur. “I’m just a bit stressed.” Pepper scoffed. “I know I don’t have any reasons to be, but I’m freaking out a bit.” It was Wanda’s turn to scoff.
"Well, if you start to freak out more than a bit, let me know and I'll bring Lady back."
Steve nodded. "Bucky's on the other side of the building."
"Who said I was going to see him?" She teased. "Maybe I'll just keep Lady to myself."
Steve raised an eyebrow and she smirked. Good, he had unwinded a bit.
“I’ll be on my way. Lady? Come.”
The dog accepted one last pat on the head from Steve then left the room with Natasha. As Steve had said, Bucky was on the other side of the building.
Natasha suspected she would have to stay a lot longer with the other man.
She and Lady stopped by her things on their way to Bucky, and indeed, the man was a lot more nervous than Steve. Shuri was there with him, looking absolutely regal. The princess threw a relieved glance at Natasha as soon as she stepped into the room.
Sensing her dad’s mood, Lady circled around him before putting her paws on his knees and yapping. A smile appeared instantly on the man’s face. He muttered some things in her fur then looked up at Natasha.
“Hey, Nat”
“Hey yourself. How nervous are you? I don’t think I can see you vibrating through your chair yet.”
“That obvious?”
“Oh, very. Although I don’t get why.”
The groom was about to reply when Shuri cut him. “No. No self depreciating, especially not on your wedding day.”
The man closed his mouth audibly and Shuri beamed. “Great. No more nonsense. Your Steve loves you, you love him, the ceremony will go swiftly and then we’ll all be able to eat and party.”
Bucky suddenly looked very alarmed and turned to Natasha with wide eyes. “Please tell me she didn’t end up in charge of the music. Or Peter. Or Stark.”
Natasha grimaced, then chuckled when Bucky’s eyes continued to get wider.
“Relax. One: neither of them was allowed to do it. Two: it was a team effort.”
“Fuck, don’t do that to me. I almost had a heart attack.”
“Pfff. As if. I know you have very good endurance. Remember that time last winter when I caught -”
“YES! No need to say more. I get your point.
“By all means, please continue,” pipped Shuri.
“She will not ,” grumbled Bucky, looking at Lady.
Natasha mouthed ‘later’ at the princess then stepped closer.
“So. Do you need any help?”
“Actually, yes. We wanted to get his hair braided on the top, but I’m not sure of what he wants and we haven’t been able to find a picture online.”
“I wanted to have the same one Steve did two Christmases ago, a bit of elvish style.”
“I remember it. I’ll try my best.”
“Really? Thanks Natasha.
It took more time than with Lady, but Natasha managed to recreate the hairstyle Bucky wanted. Shuri helped, but she focused more on her friend’s makeup. Not much, but they could do something about the bags under his eyes.
All in all, it was quickly time for the ceremony to start. Bucky started getting anxious again, but the combined presence of Natasha, Shuri and Lady helped him stay calm. Natasha gave the dog and the rings to Shuri while she led Bucky to T’Challa.
As Natasha stood in front of the flowered arch, images flashed through her mind.
She saw herself, a year and a half ago, on Vormir. Laying down in tepid water for a few minutes, then being assaulted by a gigantic blond. She saw herself stepping through a portal and arriving on Tony’s cabin land, only to see Bucky break down into tears and Steve run to him. She saw herself panic as Steve went down, running to him when she barely could hold herself upright.
She saw herself sitting next to Steve’s bed as he slept, watching over him and Bucky - who had finally fallen asleep after confiding he had thought he would never see Steve again, that he had been convinced the man had chosen to go back to Peggy.
She saw herself in the early days, comforting Steve without knowing what was giving him so much grief. Later, when they were chasing down the Winter Soldier. She saw herself comfort Steve once again after the brunet had decided to go back to cryo, getting to know who Bucky was through Steve.
She saw herself celebrating with Steve when Bucky had finally been freed from HYDRA, then once more the first time they visited him in Wakanda. She saw herself becoming friends with Bucky, and getting to know who Steve was with his Bucky at his side.
She saw herself with Steve, broken with grief once more after Thanos, as they all had been. Over the years, with Steve telling her even more stories about Bucky - some people move on. But not us . The tentative hope in his eyes before she and Clint left for Vormir.
Murmurs all over brought her back to the present just in time to see Steve arrive under the arch. He was positively glowing, which was infectious because behind him Sam was sporting a huge grin and Bucky had also let his face relax into one of his small smiles.
This time her mind flashed back to happier days. Images from the first Christmas after Thanos when she and the Wilsons had spent the festivities together flooded her brain. She had never seen Bucky so relaxed and Steve so obviously happy than that time - except for today, of course. She remembered going with the boys and Sam to find a dog to adopt and assisting as their heartwarming meeting. She remembered Steve and Bucky announcing to everybody their engagement, Bucky later asking her to be his witness.
The clearing of a throat brought her back to the present and the idyllic decor. A simple flower arch, under which Steve and Bucky stood in their matching suits and boutonnières, radiant.
The ceremony was kept short. T’Challa officiated, joking a few times, the boys read the vows they had written, and Lady momentarily stole the show when she brought the rings to her dads. Steve and Bucky exchanged quiet ‘ I do ’, lost in each other, and kissed under a roar of applause.
Somehow, the boys managed to have a nice dance, without Steve stomping on his
husband's
foot. Steve then went to ‘dance’ with Lady while Bucky swept Natasha off her seat. They had fun, dancing together on different styles for a good twenty minutes, before a slow song started playing.
Steve went back to Bucky and they were instantly joined by Pepper and Tony, Clint and Laura, and T’Challa and Nakia. Natasha went back to the table, grateful for the little hydration break, and found Lady sitting sagely. She pulled a few treats from her purse then scratched the dog between the ears. Lady put her head on Natasha’s knees, seeming very happy with the attention. They stayed like that until the end of the song, when Bucky came to sit next to her.
“You know what, I think I finally got my happy ending,” he said without taking his eyes off Steve.
“I’m glad,” she replied. She kissed his cheek and he swung his flesh arm around her shoulders, the other one caressing Lady. They laughed together as Peter tried to lead his dance with Michelle before she took the reins, and Steve who was trying to dance with Pepper.
Halfway through the dance, Steve looked up and beamed when he saw Bucky watching him. By the end of it, he all but sprinted towards his husband. He swept him up and squeeze him in a tight hug before kissing him. With the tongue.
“Boys. I’d tell you to get a room, but your honeymoon won’t start until a few hours.”
They reluctantly broke apart but brought their foreheads together. Bucky flipped her the bird.
Yes, this looked a lot like happiness.