She is married
I watch as she smiles shyly at her new husband as they dance around the ballroom. Everyone turned up to see their beloved friend and coworker get married. She was a symbol of pure beauty, a summary of all things still good, pure and innocent in this mixed up and twisted world. I remember when that goodness intermixed with my life making it brighter, first in small increments. She leaves flowers at my parent's gravesite, always bringing me black coffee with two spoons of sugar, no cream, rubbing my back those first few nights when I could not sleep after I returned from Afghanistan. In bigger events, in Monaco and the Stark Expo when I was fighting for my life against that Russian psychopath or against Obadiah Stane on Stark Industries premises.
This is why I could not stop this event she deserves freedom, happiness and just a general peace of mind that I cannot provide or will not try to provide. I am Iron Man, my duty is to the world its security comes before my happiness and keeping her near would only end in tragedy.
I jump slightly at the sudden sound of a champagne bottle opening it is soon drowned out by the chatter of the crowd, the insipid giggling of the bridesmaids and the upbeat sound of the live band. She is alone now stealing a small piece of cake from the dessert bar. I get up from my seat at the very back of the hall; a hand rests on my shoulders, not trying to halt my intentions just to warn. I glance back at Rhodey sitting in his formal dress uniform; I give a slight nod and he releases my shoulder. I walk along the edges of the hall avoiding the crowds, coming to a halt behind the blushing bride. I stand silently waiting for her to notice me taking yet another moment to absorb her beauty. She is poking absently at the cake with the fork; she stops her actions then turns around and looks directly at me. I know I didn't make any sound that she would be able to hear over the live band, it's as though she sensed me behind her, looking at her. This was a joke Rhodey constantly made over the years that I am starting to believe slowly but surely. We are connected somehow on a different level.
I extend my arm taking the plate from her hand and placing it on the table; I look her directly in the eyes, grasping her hand as I escort her to the dance floor. The music plays softly in the background; I grip her hip bringing her close to my body. Her skin feels like silk, soft and smooth. She lifts her chin and looks me in the eye as we begin our slow spin across the floor. The room falls away and all that exists in my world is her and this dance floor, her eyes hold me captive, I am trapped, I cannot look away. The room blurs and I lean forward holding her tightly memorizing the feel of her against my body one last time, smelling her hair, feeling her skin, knowing I will never hold her in my arms again. I hear a strangle groan that comes from either her or me it does not matter. I step back and for the first time I notice her husband Nick, Nigel, Norman or whatever his name is, I look back at her I smile and say all the appropriate things that I cannot remember now. I turn and walk away before I do something I regret before I say something I swore to myself that I would not. I hurried out the exit knowing Rhodey was on my tail, knowing she would be safe and happy, knowing that tomorrow I will put on the suit and have to go save the world. What I did not know was when I started to cry.
The love of my life just pledged loyalty, love and faithfulness to another man. She is my heart and my soul the beginning and the end. I cannot survive in this world knowing she is gone from it, I will not survive. This is the reality I have chosen and I must survive in because I am Iron Man and the world needs me and I need her to live.