Lex found herself stifling a yawn as she climbed the stairs to the Stark family jet once again. The past week had been exhausting. Tony, as usual, wouldn't stay still for more than thirty minutes. He kept the group running from one end of the park to another all day long. Not to mention his all out refusal to maintain a low profile midweek. Some time Wednesday afternoon he decided the whole universe should know that Tony Stark was at Disney World, despite everyone else's insistence that they keep things quiet. As a result the group was constantly stopped for autographs and selfies with fans.
A highlight of the trip had been watching Rachelle and Steve experience the parks for the first time. Her heart swelled like a proud parent when her favorite super soldier finally got to meet Mickey Mouse. During their brief interaction, Steve told the head mouse in charge all about seeing Steamboat Willie in the cinema when he was about ten years old. To which Mickey replied, through miming and some interpretive help from his character attendant, that he too remembered seeing Captain America on the big screen. This naturally reminded Lex and Rachelle of the "Star Spangled Man With a Plan" song, sending them into a fit a giggles before posing for their own photo with Mickey.
Although Rachelle enjoyed everything about being at Disney it seemed, at least to her best friend, that the character she enjoyed taking the most pictures with was their very own "Pet Bird" Wilson. From the first group photo of them outside of Cinderella Castle to their final one outside their Hotel, Sam and Rachelle grew closer and closer with each snapshot. Honestly, Lex thought while flicking through the pictures on her phone, the two of them made a good couple. Out of all the Avengers Sam told the best jokes and had the best sense of humor. There was nothing Rachelle loved more than a good laugh. They both saw things their own way and were more than happy dancing through life. They fit together.
"Get a load of those two." Lex and Steve were standing by the bar when she gently nudged his ribs and nodded her head in Sam and Rachelle's direction. The new couple was cuddled together on the couch, her head was resting against his shoulder.
"When did that happen?" Steve whispered.
"You really don't know anything about women do you?" She shook her head. Reaching for her phone, she approached the couch. "I'm invoking my right as your best friend to post your first official couple picture in Instagram, so smile and act like you want to me take your picture!" Rachelle and Sam didn't bother trying denying her accusation. Instead they made small smiles and silently hoped one photo would be the worst of their torment.
"Oh no!" Tony groaned. "Not you two, too! When did the Avengers turn into Match dot com? Banner and Nat, my princess and Capcicle, Now Rachelle and birdman." He shook his head. "What is this world coming to?"
"You complain way too damn much for someone who has so much money." Rhodey laughed as he flopped down into the third spot on the couch.
"I think somebody just misses Pepper." Lex said, rejoining Steve at the bar.
"And I think somebody needs to see this again..." The black and white video of Steve and the Star Spangled Singers was once again playing on the flatscreen.
"Oh like you've never done anything you regret." Steve asked with folded arms.
"Nope." Tony responded almost immediately. "Practically perfect in every way." Everyone rolled their eyes at that.
"How about a Disney Movie?" Lex questioned. The group agreed that this was a good idea and, following a quick vote, they settled on Beauty and the Beast. The movie seemed to subdue everyone until the song Be Our Guest swelled through the speakers causing the two girl's to belt out the lyrics. Rhodey surprised everyone when he joined in by singing Lumiere the candlestick's lines in a terribly French accent.
"He gives her a library?!" Steve remarked enthusiastically and the Beast lured Belle into her surprise. Everyone had to remind themselves that this was the first time the super soldier was watching the movie and did their best to refrain from any other decade old spoilers. Lex held his hand as he watched the cartoon with boyish excitement. When the scene of Belle and her Beau dancing in the ball room began, she insisted her own handsome partner take to his feet.
"Oh I don't know..." Steve cringed. He was too shy to admit that he'd never gone dancing before and too embarrassed to admit that he had been avoiding it since coming out of the ice. All those years ago, he'd told Peggy Carter that he was waiting for the right partner. Perhaps all that waiting was worth it if his first dance was going to be with the fiery, beautiful, intelligent Alexandria, Stark. If only Howard could see me now. Dancing with his Granddaughter on his son's jet. He thought to himself while allowing Lex to pull him off his stool.
Rachelle and Sam were already on their feet, swaying as Angela Landsberry's Mrs. Potts sang out the lyrics to the film's famous song, Tale as Old As Time. Gulping similarly to the Beast on screen, Steve concentrated hard so as to not trip on his partner's feet or bump into the couple next to them. After a few awkward steps he realized this wasn't necessary. Lex seemed to be leading him around the cramped space in a small box step.
"I took ballroom dance lessons in high school." She explained to him in a whisper.
"I have to say, this is the first time I feel fifth wheeled in my own jet." Tony chipped in from his seat at the table.
"Don't look at me." Rhodey shook his head. "I am not dancing with you tonight. This is not Cabo, and I haven't had nearly enough tequilla."
"That was in Cabo?" His friend frowned. "Hmm, I thought it was Prague."
"No Prague was the time you..." Rhodey stopped talking when he realized Lex, Steve, Sam and Rachelle had all stopped dancing. They were now staring at he and Tony instead of the movie. "You know what, that's a story for another time." One Hour and twenty four minutes later their movie came to an end. Rachelle cheered the loudest when Gaston came to his grisly demise, tumbling to his death off the room of the castle.
"That guy got what he deserved." She huffed unapologetically. "Can we watch Aladdin next? It's my favorite!" Since there was still an hour and a half left of their flight home, and Aladdin had a ninety minute runtime, Lex played the next of Disney's long list of animated features without even waiting on a vote from everyone else.
"A Whole new world! A dazzling place I never knew..." Both girls were loudly bellowing the lyrics to the Aladdin song when their travel party burst through the front door of Tony's apartment. The whole thing was nearly a sensory overload for Pepper, who'd almost gotten used to the quietness of the last week.
She looked up from the book she'd been reading to see Lex riding in on Steve's back, her arms secured around his neck and a Brooklyn Dodgers cap backwards on her head. Rachelle was in a similar position, her purple and blue locks dangling in front of Sam Wilson's face, as he impressively carried her through the doorway. She wondered absently when those two had become an item when Tony stepped through the door, his trademark smirk firmly in place.
"Would you two give it a rest? Go unpack or something." He huffed at the girls as Rhodey brought up the rear of the room, shutting the door behind them all. "They've been squawking away like that since, what would you say Rhodey, Deleware?"
"That's being generous." Rhodes shook his head. "I need a nap." He announced before wondering off to the guest room. Rachelle and Lex dismounted their respective human-camels before pulling their suitcases to their shared bedroom.
"A nap sounds nice." Sam agreed.
"Don't even think about it." Tony snarled in his best dad voice, which was weak he knew it. "Rachelle lives here, that makes her basically my kid too. So same rules as Capsicle. You sleep at his place 30 stories downstairs or I'll make sure you sleep 6 feet under. Clear?"
"Crystal. Stripes! Lucky! I'm going to crash at Steve's tonight. Catch you later!" Rachelle and Lex both popped their heads out of their room and called appropriate good-byes to Sam before watching him leave the apartment.
"Wilson and Rachelle, huh? That's new." Natasha let herself into the apartment, not bothering to knock or announce herself before strolling in with Banner.
"Aunt Nat!" Lex beamed. This was the first time she'd seen the black widow since she'd left for Germany. "When did you get back?"
"Just this morning. But It seems I should have taken the early flight out last week...how much did I miss while I was gone?"
"Not much." Bruce smiled.
"Everything." Lex said at the same time.
"Why don't you two stay for dinner, we'll tell you all about it?" Pepper invited. While Tony, Pepper and Nat immediately started discussing take out options, Lex looked around the room. Six months ago she thought her life was perfect. Her only family was her stepfather and the majority of her free time had been filled with School or extracurricular activities. Since connecting with Tony, she'd become overwhelmed by his generosity. Her family had grown in include such a wonderful array of people and for the first time since her mother died, she felt like she belonged somewhere. It felt so good to be home.
A/N: Last Chapter everyone! I want to thank you all so much for reading all the way through this journey with me! When I started this story back in February I really didn't think it would go on for this long or be so well received and now here we are!
I want to thank Ziggy55 for the only review of Chapter 37, because reviews just make me so happy! And I want to again thank you all for your past reviews, favorites, follows and any other support you've given to Lex and I!
As promised I've already written & posted the first Chapter of this story's sequel! You can find it by searching "Genius, Billion-heiress, Socialite, Hero" since that's the sequel's title! And as a reminder, if you don't have enough Lexcicle in your life you can always stop by Lex's tumblr for updates in between chapters. [luckyprincesslex. tumblr . com] There's usually hints about the next chapter posted there and some really terrible Photoshop done by yours truly! :D
So in short, I look forward to your final thoughts on Hearts of Iron & Ice, Can't wait to see what you guys think of Genius, Billion-heiress, Socialite, Hero, & I want to thank you for your never ending support!