A/N: ROFLAMAO! FTS = Fuck this shit! Congrats to everyone who guessed it correctly!

Chapter 36

Frank blew his nose on a tissue, which caused Darcy to stare weirdly at him from the corner of her eye. Both of them were standing at the back of the room, making sure everything ran smoothly for the happy couple exchanging vows at the front, but as the event progressed, Frank was getting louder and louder. Darcy ignored the second and third hiccup coming from her companion, but after the fourth deep sigh, Darcy had to pull him away from the room and into the hall.

"Why are you crying?" Darcy whispered, not wanting her voice to interrupt the ceremony taking place. There were hardly any people present –only close friends, so the smallest move or whisper could easily be heard across the aisle.

"Weddings always make me cry," Frank whispered between sobs, now feeling as if he could just let his bottled up emotions go even though they were still very close to the wide entrance door of the small room.

"But, you're a party planner, Frank! Aren't you used to them by now? Shit, you organized this wedding!"

"I know, but…God! I can't get used to them; not when such a beauty is taken off the market, no."

Darcy smiled and her eyes landed on the glowing redhead ahead. "I know what you mean." The young woman agreed. "Even with her seven-month baby bump, Natasha looks great in that dress."

"Miss Romanoff?" Frank scoffed. "No, no, no! She looks gorgeous and all, but I was talking about the groom!"

Darcy rolled her eyes at Frank before the man leaned his forehead on her shoulder and began sobbing again as the minister pronounced the Hawk and the Widow husband and wife, a proclamation that was inevitably followed by the long awaited command of "you may kiss the bride."

xxxXXXxxx

The silence in the room was welcoming, peaceful and incited the genius to nap again; it was a complete contrast to the ambiance of the party that had happened in his house last night. He could not remember when he had become so pathetic, not being able to survive long party nights as he used to before. The current nap was actually an extension of his short sleep after Natasha and Clint's wedding, but he could afford a couple more hours of sleep. He knew he should have been up and out of the mansion hours ago –he was not sure how Pepper had been able to just leave for SI before the sun was even up – but the bed refused to let him go, and he had just found the perfect spot on the mattress for his muscles to continue to relax. He felt his mind drift off again, tempting him with another long nap, but it was then that he felt something cold and humid hitting his face.

Tony opened his left eye only as he spat and snorted the water off his face. When he finally opened both eyes and looked up, he found his sassy new PA, smiling without shame at what she had just done, empty glass still in her hand. Tony shook his head before mumbling to her. "You have a lot of nerve dousing water on the face of the guy who signs your paychecks, Lewis." He wiped his face with his hand.

Darcy snorted and rolled her eyes. "Uh, first off: you don't sign my paychecks; Pepper does. And, two: she told me to get my boss –that's you – off his ass, dressed and on your way to the video business meeting you have in about half an hour, on time. She even allowed me to use any means necessary to get this done."

Tony groaned and tried to pull his blanket over his face again, but Darcy was quicker and snatched the last protection he had on him. "Jarvis, lights on," she demanded of the AI, who complied immediately. The bright California sun hit him like a ton of bricks, his pupils hurting in the process of getting adjusted to the change in light.

"You're mean!" Tony spat. "If I'd known you were gonna be worse than Pepper, I'd never have hired you!"

"Well, you did. So, get up, or Pepper's gonna kill us both!" Darcy walked to the closet and started taking out his clothes and laying them on the bed. Tony growled loudly as he got up and dragged his feet to the bathroom for a quick shower.

"You're no fun, Lewis."

"That's not what Rhodey said last night." She responded without losing a beat.

"Ugh!" Tony covered his ears. "I don't want to hear that!"

"Then get in the shower and be out in five minutes! And if you fall asleep on the toilet again, this time I'll take a picture and have Jarvis put it on the web."

"You suck," he mumbled before slamming the door shut.

"You're welcome!" She responded with a small smile on her face. Annoying the hell out of Tony in the morning was her favorite part of her new job.

xxxXXXxxx

"Vacation? When was the last time you took a vacation?" Steve asked Maria as he sat in the chair in front of her desk. She had just received an e-mail from Director Fury, indicating he was taking an extended leave, and that he had left right after Barton and Romanoff had left for their honeymoon, which meant she was in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the next month.

"I remember my parents taking me to Disneyland when I was 8." She responded, her eyes glued to the screen.

"That was your last vacation?" Steve's eyes shot up to the ceiling. "You need a break!"

"Yeah, I know." She conceded as she opened yet another e-mail marked as urgent. "Maybe when Director Fury returns, I'll take a three-day weekend off."

Steve chuckled, adjusting his back in the chair. "That's not a vacation; that's…a holiday weekend."

"Well, there are things that need to be done here, you know. With Fury, Natasha and Clint out, Jasper, Coulson and I have to run the ship." She hit her desk with a fist when she saw another urgent e-mail arrive to her inbox.

"But when Fury comes back, so will Barton; that's enough people, if you ask me."

"And then a month after that Barton will be out again on paternity leave."

"But Fury will be here again."

"But Fury needs me to help him."

"But I need you to go on a vacation with me."

The incessant typing and clicking ended, and Maria stared at Steve with a small smile. "Really?"

"Well, yeah," Steve rubbed the back of his neck; he was still getting accustomed to talking to women in such a direct way. "If…if you want to come with. I need a vacation myself."

Maria returned her eyes to the screen and continued answering e-mails. "Well, I'll think about it. But, we're taking my car, not your bike, deal?"

"Deal," Steve responded as he stood up from the chair. "Well, I gotta go run some reports. See you at lunch?"

"Sure."

Maria noticed that Steve hesitated for an instant but eventually left the room. When she heard the door close behind him, her eyes stared at the spot he had just left, and it was then she saw the single red rose left on the desk. She grabbed it with care and placed it in her previously empty vase, shaking her head. The next e-mail that arrived to her inbox marked as urgent did not upset her anymore.

xxxXXXxxx

Erik sat by himself in the large lab at S.H.I.E.L.D., staring in boredom at the results of the latest analysis. The amount of space seemed even wider now that Darcy had become employed by SI, and Jane had just left this morning with Thor to visit Asgard once more. Having nothing else to do for now he had been left to work on their Makluan science findings all by himself; well, not entirely all by himself – the Mark L was mixing up chemicals on the other side of the room.

"Jarvis?"

"Sir?"

"What are you working on now? Another Extremis serum or just the cure for cancer?" Selvig joked, amazed of how it had been Jarvis who had been the one to find a way to turn the Extremis into the new super soldier serum without the nasty aggressive side effects –which was now being researched and tested on in Coulson's body – and an immediate, non-lethal cure to the Extremis virus.

"A request from Mrs. Stark."

"Oh? Can you share or is it a secret?"

"I am not at liberty to release the details, but she requested I created something for her to give to Doctor Banner."

"Banner? What is he up to now?"

"I do not believe he is aware of this."

"Ah!" Selvig said and nodded. "A surprise."

"Indeed."

Selvig eyes returned to the results on the screen as he thought about everything that had happened after the battle in the Valley of Spirits. Despite the threats and obstacles, they had finally been able to move on with their lives after one final meeting of the team, going over the all the facts before the Extremis/Mandarin mission was officially filed as completed. The soldiers –all of them, had been treated with the cure. The Mandarin's castle had been bombed to the ground after the ship had been taken out in pieces, and was now kept at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

Aldrich Killian had been confirmed to be dead by Pepper's hand, and after a long interrogation Loki had confessed that he had been planning to take the throne of Asgard with the use of the Makluan soldiers he had been promised to get from the Mandarin himself.

As far as the terrorist went, Fury had described his status as "neutralized", to which Tony had responded that neutralized, in this case, meant having a one-way ticket shoved up his ass and being shipped off to the Twilight Zone. The Mandarin's fate had been filed as "undetermined," as not even Pepper was sure herself of where the Darkforce had sent him off to. There was a chance he was still living, but not in the way a normal person would consider someone to be alive.

Selvig shuddered at the thought; he just did not want to know the details of being lost in an unknown dimension with no chance of escape.

The rings of power had been taken away with Loki and Thor to Asgard, and were now being kept in Odin's Vault, watched over 24/7 by the new version of the Destroyer and other guards. Pepper had kept the headband with her, however, as it was now linked to her as much as the rings were. She had only kept the piece of Makluan technology around so that she could check up on the rings through it whenever possible or needed, and as a secondary measure of security if someone or something decided to take the rings from the vault.

The headband allowed Pepper to call the rings to her from anywhere they could be, and a part of her consciousness would forever remain inside them. Even though the rings only responded to her now, she was not taking any chances; she did not want anyone else to go through the pain the rings had caused them all. Part of the arrangement for her to be allowed to return to Earth after the Ritual of Worthiness was to be the safe-keeper of the rings; a burden she would one day have to pass on to someone else when her time to die came. Tony had not allowed her to dwell on that fact for long, and had instead tasked himself and the other scientists on the team with coming up with a way to destroy the rings. Nick Fury had not been thrilled about the idea, but Tony's reasoning that they could not really trust anyone else not to misuse the power of the rings was all the logic that was needed to make everyone understand.

Selvig took a sip of his coffee and looked up at Jarvis once more. The more he interacted with the machine, the more he realized why Coulson and Tony kept him around. The AI was always thinking, always working, always looking for ways to help out around here. Perhaps, Erik wondered, the AI was due for a vacation itself.

"Hey, Jarvis?"

"Sir?"

"Have you ever been to a bar?"

"Other than when Mr. Stark used the suit to travel to some, no, I have not."

"Well, when you're done with whatever it is that you're doing, I want to take you to one."

"But, I lack the digestive system to process alcohol."

Selvig laughed. "It's not about getting drunk, Jarvis. It's about the company; having fun."

Jarvis remained quiet for a moment, as if considering the idea. Finally he spoke again. "Perhaps Mr. Stark should have been informed of that a long time ago."

Selvig laughed even harder, and shook his head. "Maybe we'll tell him together after we get out of the bar ourselves."

xxxXXXxxx

Bruce pulled on the edge of his collar, the suit and tie he was wearing made him uncomfortable as hell. For the nth time he cursed himself in his mind for having accepted to come to this date. It was not as if he did not like the company, but he hated public places, and he hated having to dress up. The restaurant Pepper and Natasha had picked was very upscale, and had it not been for their sad faces, he would have never agreed to this.

When did a simple 'thank you' become not enough? Bruce mused. Ever since their return from China, Pepper and Natasha had said that everyone –especially the two of them, owed Bruce for so much. If it had not been for Bruce, Natasha would have died of Malaria, and Tony would have died of his virus clusterfuck he injected himself with. In addition, Pepper insisted that his meditation sessions and advice had been the key to completing the Ritual of Worthiness with flying colors. She had never gone into details as to what the test she had been given entailed, but she swore it had been Bruce's words and actions that had helped her return.

They had been planning this outing for weeks, but it had to be placed on hold when Natasha left for her honeymoon. Now that the redhead was back, there was no excuse for him not to go out on a double-date with the women. Even Tony and Clint had pushed him to go through with it; Clint insisting that going out on Tony's dime was well worth it. As he was gaining the guts to just rush out of the restaurant, Pepper and Natasha arrived at the table. He stood up and gave them a bright smile. He expected them to sit down and was going to pull the chairs out for them but his still annoyed face made the two women frown.

"Aw, Bruce. Do you really hate being here? We want you to have fun. Relax, for once." Pepper said.

Bruce gave them both an apologetic smile, wringing his hands as he did when caught. "I'm just not used to this, and well…I don't want to be on the list of who is the father of Black Widow's baby," he pointed to Natasha's very pregnant belly.

Natasha laughed aloud and patted her stomach, shaking her head at the scientist. "That's not gonna happen, Bruce. No one even knows we're here!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. You," Banner pointed to Pepper, "are the wife of Iron Man –they've already associated me with you before, remember?" Bruce asked, recalling the events of the list of possible fathers for Pepper's twins when news of the babies had been leaked. "And you," he pointed to Natasha, "are one of the heroes of the Battle of New York and the wife of a Class-A Master Assassin, who is known to be a jealous guy. I wouldn't be surprised if Clint tagged you before you came here."

Both redheads snorted, but their disagreement did not make Bruce feel any better about this. "Well, Bruce does have a point, Natalie. Maybe this is a bad idea."

Natasha shrugged. "I don't think the relaxing part is a bad idea, but the company…well, he might be onto something. Maybe going out with two married woman is not the best way to say thank you. What do you think, Pepper?"

Pepper tapped her chin with her finger and nodded. "I think you might be right. Bruce, I don't think we can stay."

"That's all right." Bruce said almost immediately, relieved to have gotten himself out of being in the media again.

"But," Natalie interjected. "We brought someone who might make you stay." As if rehearsed – and now Bruce wondered if it had been – the two women parted ways to reveal the third woman that had come with them. Bruce's mouth went agape, an action that was reflected on the brunette's face.

"Bruce?"

Banner froze on the spot as his new date walked toward him. She stood in front of him and placed a hand on his face. "Betty?"

The sound of her name from his voice made her smile. The redheads close by also smiled with them, thrilled to see the look of happiness on the doctor's face. Pepper nudged Natasha with her elbow and whispered down to her. "I think we just became invisible, Natalie."

"I'm gonna agree with you on that. Should we ditch now?"

"Yeah, I think Tony and Clint should be out there waiting for us by now." Pepper took out from her purse a small box and left it on the table as they left the restaurant, the couple not even noticing when the women left. The box on the table had Bruce's name on it, and inside was a set of three vials. A single folded paper had been placed below the ready-to-use syringes, with a handwritten note that read: Hulk needs a vacation for a while; Jarvis sends his regards.

xxxXXXxxx

Tony walked down to his basement in the Malibu home where he knew he would find his wife. Every month she took some time at night, after the kids had gone to bed, to come here and check-up on the rings. When his feet reached the last step of the stairs, Pepper was removing the headband from her head and placing it back inside its protective case. She locked the small compartment with the key code only she knew, and stood up from the chair, vault in hand.

Tony observed as she walked to the larger vault on the wall of the basement and walked inside. A few seconds later, Pepper came out of the vault and locked it behind her, giving a sigh of relief when her back pressed against the cold metal wall.

"Everything alright, Pep?" Tony asked from his position by the entrance of the room. Pepper looked up at him and nodded. Tony took this as an invitation to walk inside and did not stop his feet until he stood in front of her. He grabbed her by her waist and titled his head to the left, giving her a side smirk. "You're beautiful."

Pepper bit her lip and giggled lightly, looking away to avoid his deep gaze. "So you say, Mr. Stark."

"So I say, Mrs. Stark, and my word is law around these parts."

Pepper chuckled, laced her arms around his neck and returned her eyes to him. "Your word is law until Gigi bats her eyelashes at you and asks you to let her have one more cookie after I explicitly say 'no more.'"

Tony flinched. "Guilty as charged but, you don't understand, Pepper. Have you seen her face when she begs? How can I deny one more cookie to a little version of you?"

"You have no trouble denying it to Robbie."

"That's different." Tony scoffed. "Robbie is supposed to grown up to be a tough man. Tough men don't eat cookies."

Pepper raised a single eyebrow at her husband. "You ate an entire box last night."

"I am Iron Man. You don't get any tougher than that; having cookies doesn't affect me at all."

Pepper shook her head lightly. "Firstly, you're no longer Iron Man; and, secondly: you are bad, Mr. Stark," she teased him with a light kiss on his lips. The quick gesture made him close his eyes and moan.

"Firstly: I'll always be Iron Man, even in retirement; and, secondly: you're one to talk, Potts. I can recall a handful of occasions when you have been the real bad one."

"Do you? Maybe I should be grounded for it?"

"Yes, my word is law, remember? You're grounded…for the next…few hours," he said in between kisses.

"Are the kids asleep?"

"Out like a light."

"Well, in that case…" Pepper pulled away from him and grabbed his hand to lead him to the staircase. "I think we should start my punishment now."

"The sooner, the better," Tony agreed, trailing behind her with a silly smile on his face. Halfway up the stairs he stopped and snapped his fingers together. "Wait, I forgot something."

"What?"

Tony extended his arm toward the still opened door of the lab and in seconds the new pair of bracelets of the recently rendered Mark XLIX made it to his hand. Pepper gave him a questioning look and he just shrugged. "You'll see," he answered her unspoken question and she nodded once.

"Right. We're wasting time, Tony." She purred as she began pulling him up with her again.

"No time like the present." He responded, taking the steps two at a time.

"Time and time again." She sing-songed when they reached the top of the stairs.

"Once in a lifetime." He picked her up from the floor and she surrounded his waist with her legs.

"Ready for the time of your life?" She asked him as they made their way up to their bedroom.

"Baby," he kissed her again. "I was born ready."

"Actions, not words, Tony Stark."

"Oh, you'll be eating those words, Pepper Potts."

"For once, Tony, I hope I do."

A/N: So…almost over…yeah, go ahead and press NEXT. The epilogue has been uploaded, too.