21 year old Natasha Romanoff sighed as she closed her eyes, standing at the edge of the dock. The warm sea breeze blew through her short red hair. She stared out to the water surrounding their beautiful island home/hotel. She gripped the journal in her hand, and stuffed it down the back pocket of her denim capris.
She had been living here with her single mother, Pepper Potts, for many years now, helping her out with the business. She didn't know who her dad was, since he had run off many years ago. But she was okay, she didn't have any daddy issues or anything. She and her mom had fun together. But at the back of her mind, Natasha had a growing curiosity to figure out who her dad really was…
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a high pitched voice squealed from behind her. "NAT?!" Natasha turned, to see her two best friends, Darcy Lewis and Jane Foster. She grinned, and ran toward them. They ran to her, and they had a tight group hug. They did their weird little secret handshake, and jumped around like little girls.
"Oh my god! Nat, you look so good, so happy!" said Jane, pushing her straight light brown hair behind her ear. Natasha smiled. "So do you!" Darcy playfully punched her in the arm. "It's been too long, Spidergirl, we miss you on the mainland!" Spidergirl was Natasha's nickname, since she seemed to love anything to do with arachnids.
Natasha put one arm around each friend's shoulder, and they started walking into the forest. She had invited them for her wedding, which was only three days away. "I still couldn't believe it when you said you were getting married," Darcy continued, pushing her square rimmed glasses up further on her nose and adjusting her beanie, "We always thought you'd be the last one to marry!"
Natasha was a rather indecisive person, and was determined to wait for just the right guy to come along. And he did. She had met a man named Clint Barton, full of adventure and ambition. They were perfect for each other.
"I just wish I had a perfect fiancé like yours…. Or at least a boyfriend," Jane pouted. "Oh, Jane, it'll come soon enough." Jane nodded. She had always been the boy-crazy one. Darcy… well, Darcy pretended not to care one way or another, but Jane and Natasha both knew she was a hopeless romantic.
Darcy noticed the small journal sticking out of Natasha's back pocket. "What's this?" she asked, plucking it out. Natasha's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, I meant to tell you guys! I found this in my mom's room! I know, I know, I shouldn't have been poking around, but it's from when she was younger. I think this book is the key to finding out who my real dad is!"
Jane squealed excitedly, taking the book from Darcy. "Boy, Pepper is going to be so pissed at you when she finds out you have this!" "If she finds out I have this!" Ha! Here, lemmee read!" She flipped it open.
They started skipping through the woods by the ocean. Jane started reading in a mock lovey dovey voice. "August 5th. I met these men. These three men." She stopped, and they all went 'ooooh!' "They are all very different, and I fell for all of them. Hard." Natasha's mouth opened. "This is crazy!" Jane nodded, and continued. "The thing is, it got kind of… complicated. I think any one of them could be Natasha's real dad."
At this, they all screamed and jumped around, flapping their arms. "Okay, okay, keep reading," Darcy prompted.
"First, there was Steve. Steve was so sweet, and a real gentleman. He always looked out for me, and was the protective kind of guy. He took me for a moonlight walk. He's so handsome… one thing led to another, and, dot dot dot!"
"What?" "That's what is says, dot dot dot!" "Oh my god! AH! Keep going."
"Ahem. So then there was Bruce," Jane said as they walked, elevating her tone as she said the possible dad's name. "Bruce is so smart, he's a scientist. But he's also caring, and loves me for who I am. He's laid back, and very chilled out. He took me for a ride in his boat. He's so sweet… one thing led to another, and, dot dot dot!"
"That dot dot dot again!" Natasha said, laughing as they circled around. "Alright, I really wanna know who the last guy is now…" Darcy said, peeking into the book, and Jane snatched it back. "Last but definitely not least…. Tony," They all 'oohed' again, "was a cool inventor that I met in a restaurant. He's adventurous, he's funny, and best of all, he's 'drop dead gorgeous.'" She put air quotes around the description. They all giggled. "He took me paragliding. So, one thing led to another, and,"
"DOT DOT DOT!" They all yelled together. Natasha laughed. "Well, there's three of them… Who do you think it was?" "I think it was Bruce," offered Darcy. "But she did call Tony 'drop dead gorgeous,' remember?" reminded Jane. "But she seemed to like how protective Steve was…" added Natasha.
They all stopped to think. "I know! I'll invite all of them to the wedding!" Jane's eyes widened, and Darcy snorted. "If you did that, it would be death by Pepper!" Natasha grinned slyly. "Who said Pepper had to know?" They all gave her looks of disbelief. "You are devious!" shouted Darcy.
"I have to do this. You guys understand. I have to know who my real dad is. I've been waiting for this chance my whole life. And now is the perfect opportunity, to invite my dad to my wedding!"
Her friends nodded understandingly. Darcy linked her arm with Natasha's. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with us. We'll do anything to help." "But how are you going to do it?" Jane asked, "The three men don't even know you exist!"
"This is where it gets even better. I'm signing the letters as Pepper, so they come thinking it was her who invited them!" "Oh, you really are evil with a good cause."
They began walking up the many steps to their huge place, stepping on the cobblestone stairs. "Quick! There's Pepper! Hide the journal!" Natasha shoved the book back into her pocket and pulled her shirt down. "Hello, girls! Pepper shouted as she hugged each of them tightly. "Hey!" Darcy said, and Jane said, "Hi!"
"Well, it's great to see you two again! Natasha sure has missed you!" "Oh, we've heard," smirked Darcy. They started walking backward toward the home, giggling to themselves as they looked at Pepper. Pepper stared back at them weirdly, but just laughed and turned back around.
When the three 21 year old friends got upstairs, Natasha pulled out the accessories she was planning to wear at the wedding. "Simply gorgeous, dear," Jane said, twirling Natasha's locks of hair. "Yeah, these are really pretty!" Darcy said, fiddling with a crystal flower hair clip.
"And this," Natasha said as she pulled something out, "Is the dress!" They gasped. "The dress! AH!" They admired it.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Clint came in. They all screamed, pushing him away. "You can't see the bride's dress before the wedding!" Jane squealed. Darcy shoved him playfully. "Get out, Clint!" They had known him when they were younger.
Clint laughed, and covered his eyes. "Relax, relax girls, I'm just here to get my stuff I left in here for the bachelor party!" He playfully grabbed a cigar and a party hat. They laughed, and Natasha kissed him on the cheek as Darcy and Jane pushed him out. He chuckled, and jogged away.
"Geez. Men," said Darcy with a sigh. They all did a mock sigh, then burst out laughing. "Nat, we are so happy for you," said Jane as they all sat down on the edge of the bed. Darcy nodded furiously. "Thanks guys. It's great to have you back," said Natasha through a smile.