Life After Death

by Team Damon

Sequel to Breath of Life. He's overcome a lot to get to where he's at, but he still has a long way to go. She knows that it's not going to be easy, but she also knows that he's worth it. And neither of them have the slightest clue what in the world they're doing. Bucky/OC, post-TWS and non-Civil War compliant. Now complete!

38. Chapter 38

When Summer and Bucky had mutually decided to get married in six months' time, neither of them could have ever anticipated how quickly those six months would fly by.

During those months, Summer's job at the tower grew steadily busier and she got better at it with each new party or event that she planned, and she applied her new skills to the planning of the wedding. Natasha helped when she could, and Summer found two very helpful new friends in Esteban and Nicolo, who were more than happy to lend her their opinions and ideas over lunch and occasional drinks at the tower. Her little vintage farm wedding came together beautifully, but far more rapidly than she had realized it would.

In fact, the date itself all but snuck up on her. It seemed like one day she was going in for her dress fitting two months after picking it out and ordering it, and then the next, it was the day before the wedding and she was in the midst of her final practice run for her surprise wedding night dance.

The process of learning the dance had begun as awkward and incredibly difficult, not just due to the nature of the dance and learning to get comfortable with the very concept of stripping, but also from getting her leg into shape and learning how to move gracefully again following her accident. It was a learning and growing process in more ways than one, and yet when Summer awoke on the eve of her wedding and went through the dance one more time in Natasha's room, she pulled it off flawlessly.

The routine ended with Summer on Natasha's lap, which she was so used to by now that there was zero weirdness involved, and she waited with bated breath as the song playing on Nat's phone died and she awaited the verdict.

"I think you're definitely ready," Natasha smiled, nothing but sincerity in her voice and pride in her eyes. "That was perfect."

"Yay!" Summer squeaked, clapping and accidentally bouncing a little, which jostled the woman underneath her. "Oh, whoops. Sorry, I'm just - oh my God, I'm so excited!"

"It's okay," Natasha assured Summer as she carefully eased off of Nat's lap. "And you should be excited. Tomorrow night," she smirked, "you're going to be doing this for your husband instead of just practicing in front of me."

Summer's eyes widened as she grabbed her shirt and threw it back on. "That's... oh God. That's so weird. I can't believe this is happening. Like... I'm getting married tomorrow."

"Yes you are," Nat grinned. Then she paused a moment, expression becoming a bit more serious. "And just to let you know... I'm proud of you."

Summer smiled in surprise, having gotten her pants back on, and asked, "Really?"

Natasha nodded. "One of the reasons that I encouraged you to do this was because I knew it would help your confidence. It's not easy to do what you've done, come in here three or four times a week for the last six months and practice with your level of commitment. And I don't just mean that considering your lack of dance training and your leg, although... that makes it even more impressive."

"You mean it's a big deal because I'm a giant dork who acted like an idiot the first time I had to actually remove an article of clothing in front of you," Summer guessed, smiling. Oh, how utterly painful it had been at first, and yet now it was so routine she didn't think twice about it.

"Yes, essentially," Natasha grinned back. "And even though you're doing it for him, for the wedding night, you're doing it for yourself just as much. It might seem like just a dance, but for you especially... it's a lot more, and that's why I'm proud of you."

Natasha wasn't often one to dole out words like these, and that made them mean even more to Summer. She smiled hugely and then couldn't help but to hug the other woman, squeezing her and pouring all of her gratitude into the hug as Natasha lightly returned the embrace.

"I just can't thank you enough," Summer gushed as she drew away. "You are literally the best maid of honor ever."

Nat chuckled a little at her enthusiasm, then blinked and said, "Oh, that reminds me. I got some things for tonight."

"You mean for my bachelorette party that nobody will tell me about?" Summer asked, following Natasha to her closet across the room. The whole operation was extremely top secret, and that made Summer quite terrified as to what the night would entail.

"Yes, that," Nat replied, reaching her closet and then pulling out a bag from within it. Then she turned around and said, "I've never done this before, as you know, but I figured you should have the traditional bachelorette experience. So I got these things."

Summer then watched as Natasha pulled out a sparkly, pink fuzzy-trimmed tiara with the word "bride" spelled out big and brightly, and then in addition to that, a white sash with the words "bride to be" written in cursive. Summer opened her mouth in a big, happy smile and said, "Oh my God! You didn't have to do that!"

"Oh yes I did," Natasha replied, reaching in and pulling out one more thing. "And I got something for me, too."

In her hand was a big button with the words "maid of honor" written in big, cute letters, and Summer grinned and said, "Oh, you're definitely wearing that. I want that in pictures of us getting ready tomorrow, too. And all night tonight, of course."

Natasha smiled and nodded her agreement, then looked down and turned the button over in her hand. Her eyes grew more thoughtful for a moment, and then she said quietly, "I've never gotten to wear anything like this before. Can't say I ever thought I would."

"Well," Summer said, "I never thought I'd find someone who actually wanted to marry me, so... this is definitely a first for us both."

Nat smiled back. "Yeah. I guess I'm just still getting used to the idea of having friends. You don't really get to have those, doing what I do."

"Then I'm glad I get to be the exception to that rule," Summer replied. "And actually, I'm not used to having friends either. I had some in high school, but they either sided with Mark after we broke up or I just lost touch with them after I had David. Nobody really wanted to hang out with me once I was a boring and broke single parent."

Natasha nodded understandingly, then furrowed her brows as she looked back down at the button. "I learned to keep my distance a long time ago. I had a friend when I was a girl. We were both... raised by the same people, in the same place. I made it, but she didn't. They made an example out of her, and..." She shrugged, unwilling to go on, and Summer didn't need to hear anymore to understand.

"... That is infinitely worse than my story," Summer said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Natasha shrugged, years of emotional control and acceptance for the reality of her life settling back on her face. "At least now you know why I wasn't very nice to you at first."

"Oh, I totally get that," Summer waved her off. "And I wouldn't say you weren't nice, you were just... kind of scary. Well, really scary. Very aloof. Cold as a giant Popsicle."

"... I'm not sure that's much better."

They both laughed quietly. "Well, maybe not, but I still totally get it. I mean, I could have been a psycho or who knows what else. So you were right to be that way. Even though I did die a little inside every time I ended up in a room alone with you because you scared me so much. You do realize you're the single scariest Avenger, right?"

Nat chuckled again. "I've been told. Though I do think Banner has the edge on me there, honestly."

"Well, I still haven't met him, so," Summer shrugged. Then she paused. "Why haven't I met him yet?"

"He's... taking an extended vacation," Natasha replied. "But I'm sure you'll meet him someday."

"Hopefully when he's not green," Summer smiled. "But no, I think your scariness is a good thing. And hey, even David's used to you now."

"He is," Nat agreed. "He doesn't run and hide when I walk in the room anymore."

Summer nodded happily. "Or throw little tiny Lokis at your head."

They'd all come a long way, that was for sure. And now, in only a day, Summer would be starting a brand new journey. Somehow, it didn't terrify her - she was simply incredibly excited.

After chatting a bit more and trying on her cheesy but adorable bride tiara, Summer gave Nat another hug - because she just couldn't help herself - and then with a spring in her step, headed back to Bucky's room. It was nearly ten in the morning now and he was still asleep, having been up late the night before keeping up with his mostly-secret vigilante activities. But there were things to be done today, and he had to wake up soon if they were going to stay on schedule.

Quietly opening his door and slipping inside his room, Summer couldn't help but smile at the sight of Bucky curled up like a cat under the covers. He was in the same position he'd been in when she'd left, facing the side she normally slept on and sleeping so peacefully that she wouldn't have believed it was even possible a year ago. She almost didn't want to wake him, but, being the eve of the wedding and all... he could sleep later.

Knowing better than to wake him up with any sudden sounds or movements - which was a one way ticket to an accidental punch in the face, which she had avoided thus far - Summer settled into bed next to him, facing his back. She first gently brushed a few stray hairs off of his forehead, then ran her hand along his shoulder before pressing a kiss to the edge of his cheek.

"Wake up, sleepy... Avenger... vigilante... soldier... muffin," she babbled, furrowing her brows with each new word and deciding that she really needed to work on her pet names.

He merely groaned and ignored her, probably not even hearing a word she said.

"Oh come on," she kissed his cheek again, then his neck. "We're getting married tomorrow. Lots to do today."

He groaned again, but this time he rolled over on his back, blinking up at her as he fought to open his eyes. She smiled and kept playing with his bed-ruffled hair as he slowly woke up.

"Why are you awake?" he asked, voice rough and eyes briefly closing again.

"Well, it's ten, and I wasn't up all night beating up scumbags in alleyways, so..."

He didn't say anything, his eyes closing for good this time as he began drifting off again. She smiled and gently shook him. "Hey! Come on, seriously. We've gotta drive all the way to the farm and back today. Rehearsal, remember?"

He grumbled and nodded, opening his eyes again and looking up at her with a mixture of acceptance and annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Good," she said, leaning down and placing an entirely innocent and chaste kiss on his lips, which successfully wiped away all traces of irritation on his face. "Now I'm gonna go get ready to leave."

She flashed him a smile and then turned and started to get off the bed, but the moment she tried to swing her leg off, she heard the familiar sound of Bucky's metal arm whirring to life and then felt it slide around her waist and pull her right back.

"Hey!" she playfully protested, grinning as Bucky turned on his side towards her and pulled her close, keeping his arm tight around her so she couldn't escape even if she wanted to. "We really don't have time for this."

"Time for what?" he asked, voice still sleepy as he grinned at her. He ran his metal hand up and down the back of her shirt before slipping up under it, the chill of his fingers making her shiver a little.

"For... things," she smiled, closing her eyes when he responded by kissing her softly and then letting his hand wander to her hip. He gripped it gently and pulled her tightly against him, guiding her leg over his hip in the process, and she chuckled and broke away from the kiss at the contact of a certain eager part of him.

"My God," she giggled softly as his kisses wandered down along her neck. She leaned her head back so he could reach better and asked, "Were you dreaming something good?"

He shook his head and then grumbled against her collarbone, "We haven't had sex in a month, plus it's morning."

"It hasn't been a month," she pointed out, biting her lip as he shifted her on her back and then climbed over her, all while keeping her leg slung over his hip. He kissed her again, and then she said, "It's been two weeks."

He shook his head and kissed her once more, more deeply than before, and when he drew away for a breath, he looked down at her and said, "It's been more than two weeks."

"No," she continued to argue, her fingers sliding through his messy hair as he started kissing his way down her neck. "Because remember that time in the middle of the day, when David was trying to teach Vision how to play Mario Kart and I came in here to grab my phone and you followed me, then closed the door and put me on your desk and... yeah?"

"That was like two months ago," Bucky said, glancing up at her as he pulled her shirt up as high as he could get it without taking it off.

"No, it was two weeks ago," she laughed, though her giggles became breathy sighs as he impatiently yanked at one of the cups of her bra and then dipped his head down to replace the fabric with his mouth.

"Too long either way," he muttered between kisses and teasing flicks of his tongue, and though Summer couldn't agree more, this hadn't happened on purpose. They'd just been so busy, and most nights one or both of them fell asleep before anything could happen.

Her back arched slightly under his touches, and she wrapped her legs tighter around his hips as they started rocking into hers. Soft but deep noises left his throat in the process, and then when he raised his head and started kissing her again, she got the feeling that just this would be enough to do it for him, clothes still on and all. And that was fine, because it had been a long two weeks for her too, and she wouldn't have a problem being satisfied with this either.

But just as they were hitting their stride, working out a rhythm that worked for them both, her phone rang in the pocket of her pants. The annoying-on-purpose wedding bells ringtone meant that it was a call she couldn't ignore.

"Crap, crap, crap," she muttered, pushing him away and scrambling to get her phone. He didn't get the hint at first, so she had to push him again, and as he rolled off of her with a highly annoyed groan and laid next to her, she answered the call with a chipper, "Hello?"

But Bucky didn't seem to care much that she was on the phone, since he went right back to kissing her neck and sliding his right hand up her stomach as she tried to pay attention to the call. She batted his hand away, but he put it right back where it had been, and a whispered "Stop!" got her only a half grin and a whole lot more kisses on the parts of her neck that made her entire body shiver.

"There's a problem with what?" she asked, trying to focus on what the voice on the other end was saying. "No, it has to be gluten free. I've got a niece with a gluten allergy. Yeah. No, I already had this worked out before, so I don't know why..." Bucky's sharp little nip to her neck made her trail off mid-sentence.

She stopped talking for a moment to glare at Bucky in a way that she hoped was threatening, but he merely grinned in that slightly devious way of his and then started kissing behind her ear. His hand on her stomach slid up, over her bra and between her breasts, then slowly went back down until his fingertips grazed the waist band of her pants.

If he even dared... "Yeah, I understand, but I've had this order in for like two months now, so if there's a last minute issue then getting my money back is the least of my problem. Yes, it's tomorrow."

Meanwhile, Bucky nipped at her earlobe and did, in fact, dare to slip his hand where it shouldn't have gone in that particular moment. She clenched her jaw and grabbed his arm with her free hand, intending to stop him, but then he raised his head to look at her challengingly, eyes hooded and a small smirk on his face. A little flick of his wrist later, she let go of him and instead covered her mouth with her hand, so she didn't do something humiliating like gasp or moan into the phone and freak out the baker on the other end.

Later on, she was going to kill him for this.

"Yes," she said in response to the baker, eyes closed, voice a little too high pitched as Bucky continued his untimely assault. "I, uh... wait, what did you say?"

Bucky chuckled against her neck, and she gave his metal shoulder the weakest slap possible in response. It was like barely tapping a toaster. He probably didn't even feel it.

"Okay," she said, gritting her teeth and trying so hard to not make any noises that she was pretty sure she was about to burst a vein in her forehead. "Right, you know, actually, let me call you back later. No, it's okay. Yeah. I'll call you back. Okay, thanks. Bye."

She then hung up and tossed her phone so hard that it ended up on the floor as she grabbed Bucky by the back of his hair and forced his head up so she could glare at him. "I'm going to kill you. You're dead."

He only had time to grin widely before she pulled him down for a furious kiss, letting herself moan into it now that she wasn't on the phone anymore. He groaned against her lips just as loudly and sped up his movements, getting back on top of her and almost whining in relief when she, rather than kill him or otherwise punish him, put her hand to good use right with him. His reaction was immediate, all open-mouth gasping and soft moaning against her lips, and she was amazed at how desperate just two weeks could make him.

And then, like clockwork, there was a soft knock on the door. Summer froze, Bucky didn't, and he whined quietly at her sudden stop, but she held up her hand to shush him as she listened. There was another knock, and then she whispered, "That's David's knock."

Bucky's face then fell and he groaned like she had just told him that an asteroid was hitting the planet and everyone would be dead by morning. He rolled off of her and landed heavily on his back, throwing his right arm over his eyes. Summer tried not to smile, running her hand over his chest and whispering, "I'm sorry." Then she fixed her clothes and got up, feeling more than a little bereft herself but feeling especially bad for Bucky as he visibly tried to calm his breathing and threw the covers over his lower half to mask the sight of his his very-prominent need.

Summer couldn't help but smile to herself as she made her way to the door. Perhaps this was just the universe's way of keeping them on the edge before their wedding day, making that night all the better for desperate they would be for each other after all of these interruptions. Plus with what she had up her sleeve for that night... it was certainly a recipe for something quite spectacular.

She opened the door and smiled at the little boy standing there, half asleep himself and looking at her quite displeased for having not been around when he had apparently woken up. She ruffled his hair and said, "Hey, sweetie. Go on in the kitchen, okay? I'll be right behind you."

He merely stared at her, clearly not wanting to do this, so Summer added, "Guess what? We're going to the farm today, remember? And we've gotta leave soon, so go on and I'll be there in like two minutes."

With this, David relented, though not enthusiastically at all, and as he trudged off towards the kitchen, Summer left the door slightly ajar and headed back to the bed, where Bucky still laid in all of of his frustrated dejection.

She leaned down over him and pulled his arm off of his eyes to lay a gentle kiss on his lips, then smiled, "Sorry. But I've gotta get going, and so do you."

He half-glared at her. "Getting going isn't the problem, Summer."

She rather poorly stifled a laugh. "I know. I really am sorry. But... welcome to parenthood, I guess?" When he merely continued to glower and pout slightly, she sighed and gestured vaguely towards the bathroom and said, "Just... when you're in the shower, just... you know. But make it fast because we have to leave."

He narrowed his eyes at her and immediately replied, "Why don't you just get in there with me?"

She smiled at his irritated expression and said, "I've gotta go feed David, and call back a baker who's trying to make our gluten free cake full of gluten. So... you're on your own."

Summer then grinned and tried to dash away, but Bucky caught her hand and managed to pull her back down halfway to the bed. He kissed her insistently, like he was trying to convince her to stay, but as much as she would like to, she truly just could not.

She broke away with a smile and untangled his arms around her as she stood back up. "I am officially running late. Go take your shower. Think of me... uh... I don't know. Think of me doing something. Then hurry up and get done so we can leave." She kissed him one more time. "Okay bye."

Summer then successfully managed to escape his clutches and leave his room, looking back over her shoulder and throwing him a grin in the process. After she closed the door and cheerfully headed to the kitchen, Bucky rolled his eyes and smothered his own face with a pillow.

About fifteen minutes later, when Bucky emerged from his room and came shuffling out into the kitchen with his glower still distinctly in place, Summer smiled brightly and jumped up from the table to hand him the cup of coffee she'd fixed for him already. She continued to smile happily as she handed it to him, and as he merely eyed her quite neutrally and suspiciously, she chirped, "Have a good shower?"

He took a sip and then replied, "Yes. I love cold ones."

She furrowed her brows and dropped her voice down so that nobody else could hear her. "But why do that when you could have just..."

"Because," he said, leaning in and whispering his next words into her ear, "you're rushing me out the door, and I prefer to take my time. Even with myself."

Good Lord. Knowing that her face was surely an extremely bright red, Summer gulped slightly as he pulled away to enjoy her reaction. She merely floundered for a bit before, to her immediate regret, giving him the thumbs up and saying, "Super. Good to know."

She then closed her eyes, turned around, then opened them just to roll them at herself so hard that it hurt. It really was entirely too easy for him to reduce her to awkward gestures and stupid words.

But, she forced herself to recover quickly, because she had a rehearsal to do and then, after they got back to the city, an honest to God bachelorette party to start.

She could blush and flail over God knew what later. For then, it was time to hit the road, and maybe mentally scream a little about how one of her song choices for her dance might have just became even more appropriate than it already was.

---

Paul shifted on his feet and muttered, "I can't believe this is actually happening."

"What, that I'm getting married tomorrow," Summer asked, "or that I'm marrying someone we read about in sixth grade history class?"

"... Both?"

Summer chuckled and continued to hold Paul's arm as they stood outside, on an open stretch of grass on Clint's farm, where Summer would be walking down the "aisle" the next day. They were waiting for the others to get in position, namely Bucky and Clint, so Summer and Paul simply stood there and chatted as they waited for their cue.

Tomorrow, there would be an archway just up ahead, flowers galore, and every single person who was important in both Summer and Bucky's life would be present. The closer this day came to closing, the giddier Summer got, but it was only mid-afternoon and there was still plenty to go.

"Well," Paul sighed, "at least you won't be living in sin anymore."

"Very true," Summer nodded. "That's always a plus."

"Can I assume that the babies are gonna start popping out soon?" Paul asked.

"Well, I am officially off the shot," Summer replied. "Ovaries are back in full force, so..."

Paul grimaced. "You're probably already preggo and you don't even know it yet."

"Nope," Summer shook her head, "because since I've been all the way off of it, we haven't done anything. So I can't be."

Paul looked at her with wide eyes. "Hold the phone. Have you been doing that thing they do on TV shows where the engaged couple stops defiling each other to make the wedding night feel somehow more special?"

"No," she rolled her eyes. "We just haven't had time."

"Good. Keep not having time," Paul replied, and Summer chuckled with a roll of her eyes. "Hey, did he ever get his, uh... boys checked out, like you said he was going to?"

Summer looked at him in confusion. "His what?"

"His boys," Paul repeated. "His swimmers."

"Oh," Summer grinned, stifling an unattractive snort. "Yes he did. He got that done awhile ago, before I stopped the shot."

"And?"

"And he's, um... all good," Summer smiled awkwardly. "Everything appears to be normal. Perfectly fertile. I mean, the serum might affect a baby somehow, but as far as... his boys... they're all right."

"Good." Paul paused. "I think."

She smiled. "Yeah, well, want some news you'll definitely think is good?"

"Hit me," Paul nodded.

"I got my draft finished, and I sent it off to a bunch of publishers," Summer grinned, watching her brother's face first light up in shock before giving way to sheer pride.

"No. Really? Don't mess with me, Summer. Lying isn't nice."

"It's totally true," she beamed. "I mean, I'm expecting nothing but rejection, but -"

She was then cut off by a huge and unexpected hug. Paul knocked the wind out of her, squeezing the life out her as well, for good measure, and she laughed as he said, "I am so proud of you. I really am. You finally did it."

She laughed, patting his shoulder as he pulled away. "Well, I haven't done it yet. Somebody's gotta publish it first."

"No, you've done it," he insisted. "Regardless of who picks it up or how long it takes. You did it. You wrote a book."

"I know," she smiled excitedly. "I still can't believe it."

Then Clint was calling after them, now standing with Bucky where the arch would be the next day. "All right. Ready?"

Summer nodded, taking Paul's arm again, and she turned her full attention back to the task at hand. First down the imaginary aisle was David, who would also be fulfilling the role of ringbearer. Marina was flower girl and would be carried down the aisle by her oldest sister, but they weren't present, so their parts were skipped. Next came Steve and Natasha, walking together as Summer had decided that she liked the tradition of the best man escorting the maid of honor to the altar. Once they made their way there and took their places, it was Summer and Paul's turn, and she looked up at him and grinned, "Ready to walk me down the aisle?"

"Nope," he sighed, "but here goes anyway."

And so, both of them wearing stupid grins, they began their practice run of the fateful walk that would be taking place the next day. Summer's eyes immediately went to Bucky, standing there in his jeans and dark t-shirt and watching her walk to him with a mixture of affection and amusement in his eyes. She repressed the sudden urge to make a stupid face or stick her tongue out and cross her eyes, that giddiness starting to make its way to the surface at a rather bad time. Then again, better to get it out of her system now than when they doing it for real the next day.

Once they made their way to the imaginary arch, Paul sighed and led Summer to stand next to Bucky, facing him, and he sighed heavily before saying, "I feel like I should give one last threatening speech now. So I don't have to tomorrow."

"Go ahead," Summer said, rolling her eyes.

Paul nodded and turned back to Bucky with a cheerful smile. "Okay. As always, I will find you and I will kill you if you hurt her. You will die slowly and painfully, even more so now that you're marrying her. Like, before I would have just beaten you to death or something. Now I'll draw and quarter you like they did in the old days."

Bucky nodded without hesitation. "Understood."

"Awesome," Paul smiled. "Okay, guess I'll... give you away now."

He then let go of Summer's arm, allowing her to take Bucky's hand, and Paul then promptly burst into fake, overly dramatic tears as he stepped away. Summer laughed at her brother's theatrics, then turned back to Bucky and felt her smile shrink to one that was a little bit more serious as they looked into each other's eyes.

Then Clint cleared his throat and said, "So then this is when I say that we're gathered here today to witness the union of two very... loud individuals..."

"Clint," Natasha smiled, tone amused.

"... Who have an unnatural affection for barns and -"

"Clint," she said again, slightly firmer this time, but still smiling. Summer couldn't help but blush slightly embarrassed, though Bucky just rolled his eyes.

"Fine," Clint sighed. "Flowery speech about how special it is that these two lovely people found each other despite the odds, which were a hell of longshot, and all that good stuff. Did you guys write vows or do I need to print out some generic ones?"

"We wrote our own," Summer said, grinning excitedly at Bucky. He drew a breath and smiled back nervously, and she knew why. He hadn't been silent about his struggle with writing his, but when she offered to switch to traditional ones to save him the angst, he had outright refused.

"Sweet. All right, so then vows, rings, kiss, married, bam. Tears everywhere."

On cue, Paul started wailing, and Summer cracked up all over again. Even Bucky let out a chuckle or two, and then Clint clarified, "Actually, I meant Cap over here. We all know he's going to be sobbing like it's his wedding day."

Behind Bucky, Steve shrugged. "Guess we'll find out tomorow."

"I think it's safe to say that I'm going to be the one sobbing," Summer said, voice suddenly wobbly, "because I'm already about to cry like an idiot."

Sure enough, as soon as the words came out of her mouth, the waterworks turned on, and Bucky smiled warmly at her sudden burst of emotion before pulling her closer by her hands and then wrapping his arms around her in a sweet hug. David, who had been distracted almost the entire time by a cat that was prowling about, saw the opportunity for a group hug and took it.

"Aw, isn't this sweet," Clint said, gesturing to the little family standing in front of him. "This is hell on my allergies."

"You don't have allergies," Natasha pointed out.

Clint nodded. "Exactly."

Summer smiled, sniffing back the rogue tears and pulling away, one arm around each of her boys as she said, "Okay, I'm good. I think. For now, anyway."

David beamed up at them both, fully aware of everything that was going on and every bit as excited as Summer was, maybe even more, if that was possible. Then he looked down at the cat that was back and pawing at his leg, and Summer turned her eyes back to Bucky and grinned as Clint tried to get the rehearsal back on track.

"So yeah... this is when you'll swap spit and then skip back down the aisle the way you came," Clint said, and Summer had all of two seconds to catch the glint in Bucky's eye before he was kissing her, though that was the last thing they needed to practice.

She giggled into the kiss, which was relatively short and chaste, and when they parted, Steve remarked to Bucky, "I hope you've got something better planned for the real thing."

Bucky glanced over his shoulder and said with one eyebrow raised, "Didn't know you were the wedding kiss expert."

"Well, I'm just saying," Steve grinned, shrugging. "Gotta make it count."

Bucky rolled his eyes slightly and then turned back to Summer, taking her hand in his and then turning them back towards the aisle. She smiled, imagining doing this tomorrow knowing they were really and truly married, and as a result, she kind of did actually skip a little bit.

The others cheered for them, leading both Bucky and Summer to glance back and give them amused looks, and then they turned back to each other and stopped walking when they reached the point where Summer had began with Paul.

He gave her hand a squeeze and kissed her again. She felt her heart soar even higher than it already was, and when he drew away, she saw the same happiness reflected in his eyes.

"We're really doing this," she said quietly and wholly excitedly.

"Not having second thoughts are you?" he teased.

She shook her head. "You know I'm not. How about you?"

"Only about getting married here," he joked before gesturing behind her. "That chicken that hates you is right behind you."

Summer's eyes widened as she whipped around and came face to beak with Matt Damon himself, the angry rooster who attacked her at every opportunity, who had apparently escaped his confines and was now bobbing his ugly little head her way. His evil intent was clear from the malicious glint in his beady eyes - or so she would swear - and as she let go of Bucky's hands and ran away screeching, Clint sighed and started chasing after the rooster.

"That's it, you ugly little bastard," Clint yelled at the rogue chicken, who was indeed chasing Summer and trying to divebomb her feet. "I'm cooking you for dinner."

"And Good Will Hunting was overrated!" Summer yelled just as Clint grabbed the bird and saved her from sure peril. She stopped running and then glared at it as it flapped its wings and tried to get free, but Clint merely held it tighter and marched it back to the coops, muttering about recipes for chicken pot pie.

No longer in imminent danger, Summer looked at Bucky and kept a straight face for all of three seconds before bursting into new gales of laughter. The best part of it all was that he laughed right along with her, and she would never take for granted seeing that smile on his face or hearing a real laugh bubble out of his chest.

She was certain that she was going to be the happiest bride in the world, crazed chickens seeking her demise and all.

---

Later on, after they all made their way back to the city, Bucky was in his room quietly changing clothes and listening to Summer putter about in his bathroom. She had been in there for a good twenty minutes, and he was exercising a decent amount of self control in leaving her alone to get ready for her night out on the town. But, after awhile, he really couldn't help himself.

Figuring he could always use the excuse of needing to fix his hair, he sauntered into the bathroom and almost immediately forgot what he was even trying to do. Summer looked up at him, curling iron in hand as she worked on her hair, and she smiled as she sang along to some awful pop song playing on her phone.

Then she reached down and turned off the song, also releasing the lock of hair wrapped around the iron as she asked, "Was I being too loud?"

"No," he shook his head, running his eyes from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. It wasn't that he hadn't expected her to dress to her very best that night. It was just that even after all this time, he still couldn't help but stop and stare every time she did.

For their supposed "last night of freedom", Summer was wearing a dress he hadn't seen before, a slinky dark purple number with a partially open back and hem that left most of her legs on display. It ended up being those very legs that drew his eyes the longest, and for a moment, he couldn't quite tell why. But then it hit him.

His long moments of staring wordlessly had apparently begun to concern her. "Do I look okay, or..."

"Yeah," he assured her quickly, nodding as his eyes stayed glued to her legs. "You look great. It's just..."

"... Just what?"

"Your legs," he finally blurted. "Look at them."

In the midst of curling another piece of hair, she looked down in sudden mild panic and asked, "Did I miss a spot shaving them?"

"No," he said in exasperation. "They're... what kind of exercises are you doing in therapy?"

She blinked a few times, putting the curling iron down. "Um... just the usual stuff, I guess."

He doubted that somehow. More importantly though, how had he not noticed before how suddenly well-defined and shapely they were? She used to complain about them being too thin, but that certainly wasn't the case now.

He came closer to her, glancing at the counter to make sure the curling iron was far away before he gently grabbed her and set her on the counter to get a more up close look at her legs. She let out a surprised breath and clutched his shoulders, then smiled as he ran his hand down the leg that he'd once lifted a car off of. The scars were fading still, and it didn't look like it used to, but it was whole again and strong.

His hand slid from her outer thigh to her knee, then under her leg so that he lift it and examine all of it. As he did, he remarked, "They look incredible."

"You usually say that when you're looking up here," she smiled, gesturing to her chest.

He looked up and noticed this, then grinned and said, "Well, those too, but..." he ran his fingertips down to her shoe, black closed-toe with a small kitten heel. "... Damn."

"Hey," she smiled, "don't get too carried away because I've gotta leave in like ten min-"

He cut her off with a kiss that had her silent in an instant. Ten minutes was more than enough time to finish what they'd started earlier, as far as he was concerned, and besides, it was their parties. They could be late if they wanted to be.

Summer didn't seem to agree, however, and after that first kiss had quickly turned into many, she gently pushed him away and said breathily, "Whoa, there. We don't -"

He cut her off again with another kiss, one that she moaned into this time before seemingly relenting and pulling him closer. Standing between her legs and sliding his hands up her hips, venturing under her dress, he was sure that he'd convinced her and that this was finally happening. He was so confident, in fact, that when he broke the kiss to take a breath and then start kissing her neck, he also started tugging at her underwear with one hand while his other went to his own belt. But, to his dismay, she stopped him long before he could get anywhere with either.

"My phone just went off," she said with a faint giggle, reaching across the counter to grab said phone as he groaned in frustration.

"Just leave it," he pled to no avail, pulling away to watch her read a text, knowing that he probably looked a bit like a kicked puppy and hoping that she noticed. Then when she started typing a reply, he slid one of his hands back under her dress and started kissing down her throat. "Come on..."

He thought for sure that she would give in. But all she did was groan softly and grip the back of his hair as she said, "But that was Nat, and they're all outside waiting for me."

"Just give me ten minutes," he said, raising his head level with hers. "They can wait."

He could tell how utterly torn she was. "But she said we have to leave now. It's like time sensitive. I don't know why, because I don't know where we're going, but..."

It was time to break out the big guns. He silenced her with another kiss, this one softer and slower than the others, and he waited to pull away until she stopped trying to squirm away and instead whimpered into the kiss. His forehead against hers, he cradled her face in his hands and murmured in his most deliberately seductive voice, "Please, baby, I need you."

The way that she looked up at him and choked on the breath she was taking was incredibly satisfying, but not nearly as satisfying as the way that she then pulled him back down and kissed him hungrily, fully giving in at last. He could have cried in relief, and yet, even that ended up being incredibly short lived.

No sooner had she kissed him when her phone rang next to them, loud and impossible to ignore. He growled against her lips and reached out to grab the thing and maybe throw it at the wall or at least turn the ringer off, but Summer ended up grabbing it first. She broke their kiss and put the phone to her ear, cheeks bright red and expression as irritated as his was. "Hello?"

He tried to ignore the phone call entirely and simply keep kissing her, touching everywhere he could and doing his best to keep her exactly where she was. It worked until it didn't.

"I know, I know, I just - what? You can hear him breathing?" She squinted. Bucky paused and looked up at her, and she then blinked and said, "... Okay."

She then put the phone on speaker, and Bucky proceeded to listen to Natasha tell him in their shared Russian tongue to get off of Summer and let her have her damn bachelorette party in peace or face her wrath. He wanted to scoff and tell her in no uncertain terms what she could do with herself, but Natasha had a way with words and, in this instance, managed to convince him that Summer really was on a timetable tonight and needed to go. This was one of those circumstances when he needed to put her needs before his own, regardless of how... pressing they were.

"I hate you," he muttered, answering in Russian, and Natasha laughed before hanging up.

Summer put her phone down slowly and looked at Bucky cautiously as he drew away, face slightly pained as he begrudgingly accepted his fate. He fixed the bottom of her dress for her as she bit her lip and said, "I am so sorry. I don't mean for this to keep happening."

He shrugged, helping her down from the counter. "It's okay."

"No it's not," she replied, eyes darting down to his pants and then back up again. "And now I'm dying too because you broke out your stupid sex voice."

He forced out a chuckle. "Sorry."

She leaned up and kissed him softly, hands gently holding him after she pulled away. "Well... I mean, I guess we should just look at it this way - pretty soon it's gonna be just the two of us for an entire week, so we can definitely make up for today and then some. Right?"

It didn't help his immediate problem, but he couldn't argue with her logic. He also couldn't wait for that week. "Yeah. You're right. I'm fine, just go. Have fun."

She frowned but nodded anyway, giving him one more quick kiss and muttering one more apology before grabbing her phone and all but running out of the bathroom.

He followed her into his bedroom, hands in his pockets as he watched her grab her purse and stuff her phone into it, then turn and look at him with that same apologetic, slightly horrified but also somehow incredibly cute expression.

"Um... have fun with the guys," she smiled. "I'd say don't get too drunk, but you can't get drunk, so... uh..."

He nodded. "Have fun, too. Be safe."

"I will. And don't worry about me. I've got a taser and several superheroes with me," she grinned before kissing him one more time and then darting for the door.

She chirped an I love you on her way out the door, and he smiled and said one back just before the door closed and she was gone. The smile then dropped from his face, and he turned around and slammed his head into the nearest wall.

What a way to kick off a bachelor party.

---

"Holy crap, a limo!"

Summer had not been expecting a sleek black limousine of all things to be waiting for her once she reached the sidewalk outside of Avengers Tower, but as fate would have it, that was exactly what the four girls joining her tonight were all standing next to.

"It's one of the perks of having a CEO in your bachelorette party," Pepper smiled, laughing when the very exuberant Summer hugged her in sudden gratitude.

"You are the best boss ever," she gushed before turning to Natasha, who was prominently wearing her maid of honor button on the little black dress that she was wearing. "Hey, Nat, do you have my..."

"Right here," Natasha grinned, producing Summer's bride tiara out of seemingly nowhere. "The sash is inside the limo."

Summer squealed a little, slipping the silly but awesome tiara on her head and then grinning widely at Darcy and Wanda, who rounded out her little guest list. "Okay. Now that I look the part... where are we going?"

"Oh no," Darcy shook her head, opening the limo door and physically hustling Summer inside. "It's a surprise. No hints."

"But," Summer protested to no avail, eyes widening at the luxurious interior of the limo before refocusing on the other girls as they slid inside, one by one. "Oh, come on. Somebody tell me something. Nat?"

Natasha, getting in last, closed the door and shook her head with a grin. "Nope."

Wanda had ended up sitting next to Summer, sandwiched between her and Darcy, so Summer asked her, "Can you give me a hint?"

Wanda shook her head. "They told me nothing."

"We didn't," Darcy confirmed. "And we have our reasons."

Once the limo had pulled out incredibly smoothly into traffic, Pepper was getting to work uncorking a terrifyingly expensive bottle of champagne, and Summer was starting to get nervous.

"Guys?" she asked, eyes slightly wide as they darted around the four women. "Um... should I take all this secrecy to mean that you're taking me somewhere super embarrassing? Because I swear to God, if you're taking me to like Magic Mike..."

Natasha waved her off, though the way that Pepper choked slightly on her glass of champagne was concerning. "Just trust us, Summer."

"What is Magic Mike?" Wanda asked, expression mildly confused and increasingly nervous the more anxious Summer got.

"A highly overrated movie," Darcy explained. "Seriously, there's like twenty minutes total of dudes stripping, and then the rest is all wah-wah boring crap. But I'm also not that into Channing Tatum. His face is too small for his head. Tiny face, giant head. Weird."

This didn't seem to help Wanda understand. "What?"

"So," Natasha smiled, changing the subject as everybody got a glass of champagne, "this time tomorrow, Summer, you'll probably be finishing up your reception."

Now it was Summer's turn to choke on her champagne. "Holy crap, you're right. Actually, we'll probably already be at the cottage." Just in case anyone wasn't aware, Summer explained, "We're spending the night at a cottage like an hour away from Clint's farm, then leaving for our honeymoon the next day."

"Honeymoon," Darcy sing-songed with a knowing grin. "Bet you can't wait for that. You guys are never alone."

"We've basically never been alone," Summer nodded. "I'm not sure we'll even know what to do with ourselves." She paused. "I'm totally kidding. We'll bang everywhere."

"Just try to keep the house in one piece," Pepper pled with amusement. "Tony does like to spend a week or two at the house, every few... well, it's been awhile, but still."

"Oh, of course," Summer assured her. She and Bucky were being treated to an essentially free honeymoon spent at a very private, very expensive vacation home of Tony's at a picturesque lake in Georgia. She hadn't expected a wedding gift of that magnitude from Tony, but he had never forgotten how Bucky had saved Pepper's life the previous year. He and Bucky were still not friends in the traditional sense, but there was a respect and tolerance there that allowed them to work together and coexist without incident.

"I hope you guys have a good cleaning crew down there in Georgia," Darcy remarked before taking a long sip of her champagne. "Just saying..."

"You know, I know everybody makes comments like that about us, but it's really not that hard to stay clean and not - wait a minute." Summer narrowed her eyes, and Wanda watched her with ever-increasing concern. "You're all distracting me, aren't you?"

"We're already almost there," Nat grinned.

"But where is there?" She then nudged Wanda's shoulder and said, "Hey, read Darcy's mind for me."

Darcy scrambled away to the other side of the seats so fast it made Summer blink in surprise. "Oh hell no. That's cheating, you little... cheater!"

"Well, can you blame me?" Summer laughed. "You're all being extremely weird and I can only assume that it means you're taking me to a..."

Summer trailed off when she realized that the limo was no longer moving. She then nearly pressed her face to the window and peered up at the building they were stopped in front of, and it was in that moment that she realized exactly what she was in for that night.

She turned back to the three excited and apparently quite evil women sitting across from her, and she groaned, "Oh my God. I was right."

Next to Summer, Wanda looked back and forth between her and the others and asked, "Where are we?"

Summer glanced at her and answered, "A deep dark abyss full of pain and humiliation."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "More like a building full of abs and thongs with dollar bills sticking out."

Thankfully, Natasha at last spelled it out for poor Wanda, who looked more and more scared the more she heard. "We're at a strip club."

Natasha then opened the door, leading the way for them to start filing out, and Summer met Wanda's now-knowing and equally nervous expression. "I'm just going to go ahead and assume you've never been to one of these."

She shook her head. "No. Definitely not."

Summer took a deep breath and then patted Wanda's hand. "Me neither. Which means we're really in for it."

"Come on, losers!" Darcy yelled from outside of the limo. "Big show starts in like ten minutes!"

Summer cringed, but ever the brave soul, she adjusted the crown on her head - which she knew made her a clear and distinct target once she was inside the place - and led Wanda out of the limo with a courageous, "Okay. You're a superhero, and I'm marrying a superhero. We can handle male strippers. Let's do this."

Wanda wasn't quite sure, but she followed Summer out of the vehicle all the same, and thus began a night Summer would never forget.

---

Meanwhile, back at the tower and on the very top floor, in the room normally reserved for much larger parties or, generally, whatever the hell Tony wanted, Steve was playing bartender. Or, more accurately, he was digging up the very best of Tony's private stock of liquor, mostly whiskey, and setting it all on top of the bar and then grinning proudly as he said, "All right. Did anyone find the glasses?"

"Right here," Sam said, carrying over four glasses and setting them down next to the array of bottles. "Even though drinking's kind of redundant for you guys, but..."

Bucky, ignoring the inherent bummers of being physically unable to get even buzzed from all the alcohol in the world, reached forward for one of the bottles only to get a smack on the hand from Steve.

"I'm your best man," Steve pointed out. "That means I'm in charge of getting you hammered before your big day. And since you can't get hammered, I at least have to pour all your drinks."

Bucky gave Steve a look as he poured him a drink. "That doesn't make much sense, Steve."

Steve shrugged. "Oh well. Doing my best here."

Bucky then took the glass that Steve sent his way, and he took a healthy gulp of the very expensive whiskey as Clint sitting next to him grabbed an entire bottle of liquor rather than a glass to pour it into.

"I hate to ask this," Clint said as he popped the top off, "but... is this... it? This is your bachelor party?"

Half his drink already gone, Bucky shrugged and looked around. He had his best friend and two other guys that he genuinely liked being around - Sam and Clint - and a truckload of liquor. What else did he need?

"Not that I expected much from two grandpas in committed relationships," Clint added after having taken a gulp of the bottle and then wincing, "but..."

"I suggested going out," Sam piped up, "or doing something involving girls in some capacity, but I was outvoted."

Bucky shrugged again at that. "Wouldn't really get much of a thrill from watching random girls strip."

Steve nodded his agreement. "I think this suits you just fine."

"Hey, it's your party," Clint gestured to Bucky. "Whatever you want, man. But I bet the girls are having a much more exciting night."

Bucky's head turned Clint's way mid-sip, before he lowered his glass and asked, "What do you mean?"

Clint raised his eyebrows and pointed out, "Natasha planned their night out." When nobody seemed to understand the inherent meaning in those words, he repeated, "Natasha."

"I'm sure she won't get them into too much trouble," Steve said in an oddly naive sort of way. Then all three other men looked at him incredulously, and he amended, "Okay. Never mind."

Sam paused before admitting, "Darcy might have let it slip what they were doing."

Now Bucky turned his full attention on Sam. "And?"

Before Sam could answer, Clint had a sudden thought and asked, "Where's David right now?"

"Someone's watching him," Bucky muttered without looking at Clint, waiting impatiently for Sam's answer.

"Who?" Clint asked.

As if on cue, outside of the glass surrounding the room, there was a quick and colorful zooming by of someone with a cape and someone clinging to their back. Clint's eyes widened and he almost dropped his bottle, following the moving body - or bodies - as they flew leisurely through the air, and he blurted, "Oh man, Summer's gonna kill you."

"He's safe with Vision," Bucky said as an afterthought, not thinking twice about allowing the boy to go joyriding through the air on the back of a flying robot-man. Then he asked Sam once again, "What are the girls doing?"

"Well," Sam sighed, "they're going to a strip club. And not the cool kind. The guy kind. And it's superhero night tonight."

Bucky's eyebrows furrowed in instant confusion and horror on Summer's behalf, and Steve couldn't help but ask, "Superhero night?"

"Yeah," Sam explained. "They all dress up like... well... superheroes."

"Told you," Clint half-bragged, nudging Bucky's shoulder. "Natasha."

Bucky stared at his drink, quietly contemplating this new information. He wasn't mad, and he certainly understood why Natasha and the other girls would want to drag Summer to such a place and give her the traditional bachelorette experience while also embarrassing the ever living crap out of her for good measure. And if the strippers were dressed as superheroes, well, that made it all the more hilarious.

He eventually chuckled and shook his head. His poor, poor soon-to-be wife. She was going to utterly lose it. He almost wished he could be there to see it.

---

Natasha, having long called ahead and planned this night, knew right where to go to lead Summer and the others to a VIP table which, unlike what Summer thought was true of most VIP tables, wasn't tucked away or private at all, but instead... right in front of the main stage.

The place was nice, at least. It wasn't seedy or creepy, and it also happened to be packed. Apparently, male superhero stripper night was quite popular. She figured out the superhero part due to a giant sign advertising it right outside of the front door.

"Okay, I'm setting some ground rules right now," Summer said as they approached the table, which was so incredibly close to the stage that she feared for what sorts of... things... would be in her face all night. She sat down in the seat farthest from the stage on purpose. "First of all, please, for the love of God, don't get anyone to give me a lap dance, and -"

"Sweetie," Natasha said gently, sitting next to her, "you literally have the word bride all over you. Even if I hadn't already planned everything, you would still end up getting a lap dance. It's just the way things work."

Summer paused. "Wait. You planned... everything. Does that mean you've like paid a guy in advance?!"

Natasha merely shrugged nonchalantly and then smiled at a girl who came by to take their drink orders. Summer stared accusingly at Natasha before she was suddenly reminded of her other ground rule.

"Oh! Nobody let me get drunk," Summer said, mostly addressing Natasha. "I don't want to be hungover on my wedding day. Nothing past tipsy for me."

"No problem," Natasha assured her before rattling off a handful of orders, giving Summer a chance to survey the other women at the table.

Wanda shared Summer's slight deer-in-headlights look, and it was oddly reassuring to know that she wasn't the only one who was about to be embarrassed beyond all belief. Darcy, however, was tapping against the table impatiently, clearly ready to get on with it, and Pepper looked a lot more comfortable than Summer would have expected.

"You've been here before, haven't you?" Summer asked Pepper, whose slight smile gave her away.

"I... yes, I have," Pepper nodded. "My life isn't all board rooms and conference calls. And it certainly wasn't for most of my adult life."

"I dragged Jane to a strip club in London once," Darcy recalled. "I'm telling you, those accents can make anything seem classy. Hey," she turned to Wanda, "did they have these places in Russia?"

"I'm not from Russia," Wanda sighed. "And I don't know."

"Well, as the only single girl here, you should totally go for it."

Wanda blinked and asked, "Go for what?"

"You know... flirt. I don't know. You're about to be surrounded by mostly naked dudes, okay? Take advantage, that's all I'm saying. Being single and all."

Having been listening, Summer couldn't help but pipe up, "She probably won't be single for long."

Wanda's eyes flickered to Summer and became both confused and curious. Darcy, knowing exactly what Summer was getting at, smiled and said, "Oh really? Do tell, Miss Matchmaker."

Summer opened her mouth to answer, though she paused when their drinks arrived. After, she opened her mouth again, only to then freeze in terror when the lights suddenly dropped.

She gulped. "Oh God."

Then, music started playing. To shield herself from what was surely coming, Summer dropped her face into her hands, but both Darcy and Natasha grabbed her shoulders and set her back upright. It was as she was groaning in resignation that the stage suddenly lit up, and for better or worse, her eyes became glued to it.

She was pretty sure that she would go to her grave one day still blushing about this.

---

"Don't tell me that this is the bachelor party."

Having been chuckling together prior to the interruption, the four men sitting at the bar at the top of the tower paused and looked towards the elevator door. Bucky's face sobered the most quickly, having not expected a visit from Tony at any point in the night.

"Seriously, half of you can't even get drunk," Tony pointed out, a plain white folder in his hand as he strolled their way. Then he turned to Steve and said, "You could have asked me for help, you know. I've planned my share of bachelor parties in my day."

Steve tilted his head in a slight shrug. "Well, no offense, but I wasn't sure you'd be the... best choice of planner."

"Yeah, yeah, none taken," Tony said, walking up to the bar. "I didn't come here to crash, though." Then he glanced at the array of bottles on top of the bar and did a double take. "... Is that my private stash?"

"Figured you could just... bill me?" Steve smiled uneasily. Bucky merely kept drinking, and Clint giggled even though it wasn't that funny. He was already tipsy.

Tony paused, appearing to steady himself for a moment. "You're lucky you're so pretty, Rogers. Otherwise I actually would bill you."

"Please don't kiss again," Clint said after swallowing another big gulp of whiskey from his own bottle. "It was weird enough the first time. Nobody needs an encore."

"Left an impression though, huh?" Tony pointed out to Clint, then turned Bucky's way and tossed the folder in front of him. "No, I'm actually here for a good reason. I tried to find Summer earlier to give her this, but I missed her. So here you go."

Bucky looked from Tony to the folder, then opened it carefully and saw what looked like legal papers sitting within it. He looked back up and asked, "What is this?"

"Well, as you know, adopting a kid when you're legally dead and a wanted fugitive isn't exactly easy. But Summer asked me for help with that, and I happened to have a judge who owed me a favor -"

"How?" Steve squinted.

"None of your business, Captain Nosy-Pants," Tony snapped before going on. "Anyway, so I pulled some strings and got some papers quietly pushed through. Long story short, you are officially a parent now."

Bucky's eyes widened fractionally at Tony before he turned back to the papers, flipping through them now with sudden very real interest. Even though he had known this was coming, it still struck him on a deep and profound level to see it written in black and white and marked with the state of New York's seal.

As of the date stamped on the papers - which was that very day - little six year old David McAdams was now legally, and forever, David Barnes. Though he had been his father in every sense of the word for quite some time now, now it was legal and official. Bucky had a son, David had a father.

"I challenge everybody to give a better wedding gift than that," Tony said as Bucky stared at the papers. "Just saying. Not even including the honeymoon deal. It's kind of ironic, since I still don't technically like you."

Sam was the first to give Bucky a pat and congratulate him. Then Steve gave a sort of one-armed hug, and Clint gave a high five and a comment along the lines of "You were frozen in a tube for decades, how the hell did you beat us all to having kids first?"

In that moment, Bucky didn't care one bit about the strained history between himself and Tony. He looked up and told the man in a tone full of unmistakeable sincerity, "Thank you."

Tony nodded. "You're welcome. Where is the kid, anyway?"

Before Bucky could give the slightly concerning answer, there was a very quiet landing outside on the circular landing platform that Tony used when he was Iron Man. Vision carefully helped David climb off of his back, and everybody looked their way just in time to watch David throw up over the railing and hopefully not on someone's head down below.

Tony slowly turned his gaze back to Bucky and, eyebrows raised, said, "You know, they offer parenting classes now. Just putting it out there."

David, however, seemed absolutely fine once he was done puking, and he came bounding into the room with renewed energy and a big smile on his face. He ran straight to Bucky, gesturing and signing wildly about his exciting night spent flying through the skies with his android friend, and Bucky watched and listened with ever-growing amusement.

"I thought that perhaps we had stayed out long enough," Vision explained, standing next to Tony now. "The immediate expulsion of his stomach's contents seemed to confirm as much."

"Yeah, thanks," Bucky nodded to Vision before smiling back at David and grabbing one of the pieces of paper from his folder. "I've got something to show you, buddy."

David calmed down enough to stand still, at least for the moment, as Bucky showed him the paper and then pointed to the bottom of the page, where his name was printed next to David's new one.

"This is your name now," Bucky explained, watching David's brown eyes flit over the letters. "This piece of paper means... it means you get my last name. Remember how we talked about how I was going to adopt you?" David looked up and nodded. "This means that I did."

Everything clicking into place in his head now, David broke into a huge smile and reread his name on the paper over and over again. Then he threw himself at Bucky in a hug, and Bucky couldn't help but hug him back and get a little choked up, though he hid it well. This had been a long time coming, and that piece of paper made everything feel more real in a beautiful way.

"Damn," Sam grinned as the father and son hugged each other. "Kid got your last name before his mama did. I don't know why, but that's hilarious."

"Only by a day," Steve grinned, visibly extremely pleased by the whole scene. "I think it's perfect."

"Man, this is officially the weirdest bachelor party ever," Clint said. "I mean, that's sweet and all, don't get me wrong, but..."

When David pulled away, still wearing his huge smile, Bucky smiled back and then glanced up at Tony, who appeared a bit unreadable at the moment. Maybe he was contemplating how strange it was to be the one to make a legal adoption happen for his father's killer, but if he was, he didn't seem to come to regret his decision at all. Hopefully, seeing how happy David was only made Tony feel better about his actions.

"All right," Tony said, "now that we've had our touching Hallmark moment... guess I'll leave you guys to your party."

"Thank you, Tony," Steve said sincerely, nodding at the other man. It was a thank you that covered a lot more than the adoption, though that was a big part of it.

Tony nodded back. "I give all the best gifts. Duh." Then he flashed a grin, one that was a little more real than most of his others, and then he asked, "So who's watching the kid while you guys don't get drunk?"

Bucky looked around and shrugged. "I guess he's just staying with us now."

Tony rolled his eyes and then bent down to David's level, tapping the boy on the shoulder. David turned around, and then Tony asked, "Hey, kid, want to learn how to take an engine apart and put it back together?" When David's response to that was less than enthusiastic, Tony sighed and said, "Okay, fine. Want to shoot stuff with a real-deal Iron Man gauntlet?"

David actually squeaked in reply. Tony then chuckled and straightened up, gesturing for David to follow him, and then he pointed at Bucky and said, "You're welcome."

"Thanks," Bucky replied. "Be, uh... careful."

"Says the guy who let him fly around skyscrapers on Vision's back," Tony shot back as they walked away. "Totally telling on you, by the way."

Bucky laughed quietly to himself as the two of them then disappeared into the elevator. He picked his third glass of whiskey up and paused, shaking his head a little at the unexpected emotional turn that the night had taken.

Vision was the one to eventually break the silence. "Is this the customary sort of party before a man's wedding?"

"No," Clint replied. "The custom is to get drunk and watch girls take their clothes off. This is the G-rated Disney version of a bachelor party."

"Oh. How do I participate?" Vision asked, ever eager to understand the odd behavior of the humans around him.

Bucky replied by pouring another glass full of the whiskey he was drinking, and then he handed it to Vision with one word. "Drink."

Vision wasn't a fan of the taste of whiskey, but he took the glass anyway and sighed, "Well, if I must."

"Dude," Sam asked as Vision took a tiny sip of the drink and made a face, "can you get drunk?"

"I am not entirely sure," Vision admitted. "I suppose we will find out."

"That's what I'm talking about," Clint slurred slightly, well on his way to drunk now. "And now that the kid's out of here, let's talk about something more interesting. I mean... if we can't look at boobs, can we at least talk about them?"

"I can talk about that all day long," Sam declared, straightening up as if this was finally a conversation he could really get in on. "Where do I even start?"

Bucky caught the amused look in Steve's eye as they both drank at the same time. He wondered what Summer was up to at that point, though he had a pretty good idea of what the answer to that was.

---

Summer was sinking into her chair and hiding her burning face behind her fingers, but she couldn't resist peeking through them just one more time. Once she did, she promptly squeaked and wailed, "Oh my God, I'm never gonna look at Steve's shield the same way ever again!"

Then Natasha grabbed both of her wrists and pulled her hands away from her face, fully enjoying herself as she said, "You're about to miss the best part."

The best part ended up being the man on stage - who had come out to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner of all things, and then stripped off a much thinner, easily ripped version of the 1940s Captain America suit - finishing up his routine by turning his back to the audience and then tossing the shield covering something into it. Then the lights went dark again, and Darcy jumped up to catch the shield but lost it to another table by just the barest of inches.

"This is the most embarrassing night of my life," Summer muttered, picking up her third and final drink and sipping slowly to try to make it last. She felt a little warm and fuzzy, but the drinks weren't very strong and she was pretty sure she'd have to be full-on drunk to competently handle the whole male-stripper thing.

Next to her, Wanda was leaning her face into her palm, laughing a bit goofily and blushing as much as Summer. She was closer to tipsy than Summer was, and Darcy had already started slamming tequila shots like the fearless college student she was. Pepper and Natasha were sticking more to the sober side of things, and Summer only wished she had their ability to handle this situation with such ease and lack of face-burning blushes.

"Hey, this is fun, though," Darcy said, picking up another shot glass. "And that guy was hot. Not as hot as Steve himself, but he was an okay stand-in. Who's next?"

"Thor's next," Natasha grinned, and Summer choked on her drink for roughly the thousandth time that night.

"Oh God, I don't even want to know what Thor's gonna be like," she said, fanning her face to try to de-tomato-fy it.

"Oh, but you will," Natasha smirked nonchalantly. "More than the rest of us."

Summer looked up suddenly, paling slightly. "Wait, what?"

"What?" Nat repeated innocently.

"What did you say?" Summer demanded. "What's that mean?"

"I didn't say anything," Natasha shrugged, though the faint grin on her face told another story.

"Nat," Summer began anxiously, only to then be effectively shut up by the lights dimming again. "Oh God. I am so not drunk enough for this."

Then, a few moments later, a new show began. And it was indeed one starring a fake but impressively attractive Thor, with a hammer prop and everything, and the moment he stepped out to the delight and cheers of the crowd, Summer once again tried to slide down far enough into her seat that she'd disappear entirely.

The DJ stoked the audience in the beginning, introducing the man as the god of thunder himself, then made Summer groan to herself with a pun along the lines of how he was going go prove just how well he could swing his hammer. She only wished that Thor himself was here to see this. He'd probably find it hilarious and then give the stripper tips on how to improve his game.

Not that it needed it. Being slightly - slightly - adjusted to the general idea of strippers now, Summer was able to watch most of the routine without completely dying and acting like an idiot, and she had to admit, the guy was good. She managed to hold it together this time until the really embarrassing stuff started.

Once it did, though, she found that there was no escaping her fate.

Having began the routine in a pretty decent replica of Thor's armor, the man danced and grinded his way through his set and, once he was left in just the cape and leather pants that looked like they were actually made of shiny tissue paper, made his way to the edge of the stage. That was when the DJ started talking again.

"A little birdie told me we've got a blushing bride-to-be with us tonight."

Summer's heart dropped and she froze in her seat. Her eyes had possibly never been so wide before in her life. Then, to her eternal humiliation, one of the damn spotlights flashed to life right on her.

She didn't even have time to look at Natasha and beg for mercy before she realized that "Thor" had sauntered off the stage and was now behind her. He pulled her chair out and she squeaked, mind racing with ways to get out of this, but there was simply no way out.

Wanda looked horrified - though entertained - on her behalf, while everybody else at the table was laughing and clapping excitedly. Then "Thor" walked around her chair, extending his hand to her as she looked up with her huge eyes and was momentarily blinded by his bright smile and lustrous long (though likely fake) locks.

"Come with me, my lady," he said, and she laughed unexpectedly, because he was even trying to replicate Thor's voice, and it wasn't very good. Then she went back to being terrified, because he was pulling her to her feet and oh my God this was actually happening.

"Wait, wait, oh God, hold on, I don't think I... somebody help me!" she wailed, half-smiling and half-crying as she was dragged away from the table. All she got were assurances that she'd be fine, and a flash of light in her eyes that was the result of Darcy snapping a pic.

She was on her own.

Thor have mercy.

---

"Allison... West, I think, in ninth grade," Clint sighed, resting his face against the quickly emptying bottle of whiskey. He was fully drunk now, but quite able to recall the name of the girl who owned the first real pair of boobs he'd ever seen. "They were so perky..."

"And you are smashed, man," Sam observed with a chuckle, though he was on his way there as well. "But let me think... oh, right. Eva San... San... wait, no. Rodriguez. Wow, I was way off. But yeah. And... tenth grade. But she was in twelfth."

Clint reached over to give Sam a drunks high five, and Bucky kept drinking quietly as Sam then asked Steve, "Let's hear yours."

Steve paused, then grinned a little sheepishly and said, "Well, uh... don't know her name, because I never actually met her, or spoke to her, but... a really pretty redhead at an old burlesque club in Brooklyn. I was 17. Bucky was 18 and snuck me in."

Sam clutched his chest suddenly and gasped in mock horror, "Captain America snuck into burlesque shows underage? America's shining star of morality? You're killing my childhood here, Steve."

Steve laughed and shrugged, while Bucky tried to recall this particular incident. He couldn't remember the specifics, but it did seem familiar, now that Steve mentioned it.

"It was my birthday," Steve said. "And I had an asthma attack."

Clint cracked up laughing. Sam tried not to, but the laughter bubbled over anyway. Bucky merely smiled as Steve sighed, "But as asthma attacks go, it was one of the best ones I ever had."

After some more laughs, Bucky somewhat hoped that nobody would want his story, because he damn sure couldn't remember it. Luckily, though, Sam and Clint were diplomatic enough not to ask, and Steve was helpful enough to fill in the blanks for him.

"Yours was a girl named Joanie. You were 16. Don't remember her last name," Steve said to him, "but I do remember how you wouldn't shut up about it for an entire week."

Bucky chuckled and nodded, taking Steve's word for it. "Sounds like me."

"Yeah," Steve smiled. "She was pretty, uh... gifted, in that area. You tended to go for... that type. Dark hair and big..." he shrugged, trailing off.

"Wow," Sam remarked. "And all these years later, dude's still got the same type."

Bucky couldn't deny that. He grinned to himself and looked down, debating on whether to comment or not. In the end, he decided what the hell. "I might not remember every girl I ever fooled around with, but I do know Summer's got them all beat. And not just in terms of her body, although..." he shrugged appreciatively, then took a drink.

"You don't have to elaborate," Sam assured him. "We're not blind, man. She's hot. And I say that with all the respect in the world."

Bucky nodded. "Thanks."

Then, the quietest member of the group spoke up, still working on his first glass of whiskey. "I'm afraid I have yet to experience what you all speak of."

Steve gave Vision's shoulder a pat. "It's okay. I waited a long time, too. It'll happen."

"Yeah, but," Clint blinked slowly, "do you even want it to happen? Like... do you... you know... have urges? I've gotta ask, because you're kind of a robot."

"You don't have to answer that," Bucky told Vision, but he seemed unperturbed by the line of questioning.

"I am not sure," Vision said thoughtfully. "I don't think so. At least not in the sense that you are referring to. The urges I feel are more along the lines of... protecting and... caring."

"Well, that's how it starts," Steve replied. "At least most of the time. That's how it should start."

"Who are you protecting and caring about?" Clint asked, hiccuping slightly.

Bucky snorted and said, "You need to come visit more. Then you'd know."

Clint scoffed and then said, "But there's nobody single in the tower. You've all paired up, as if this was a damn dating show. So who could it... oh. Oh." Realization dawning on Clint's face, he pointed a finger in Vision's direction and said, "I'd give you the scary, fake-big-brother talk, but since you're worthy of the stupid hammer and all, I guess I can trust you with her."

Now it was Vision's turn to look slightly lost. "But..."

"No, no, it's okay," Clint shrugged. "I approve. Hell, I bet even her real brother would approve."

Vision looked at Steve and then Bucky, as if trying to fully understand what Clint was getting at. Bucky decided to help the guy out and said in his typical blunt manner, "You and Wanda. Everybody sees it."

He blinked. "They do?"

Bucky nodded. "And she's as damn oblivious as you are."

Vision then looked down at his drink, staring in deep concentration as if he were trying to work out a difficult equation in his head. Everyone stayed quiet until he looked up and spoke again. "I'm not sure why I feel the way I do. Sometimes I wonder if it's because of him. If he intended for me to be this way. For her."

"It wouldn't matter if he did," Steve assured assured him, understanding the reference to Ultron without having to hear the name. "He was never in control of you. Whatever you feel or think, that's you. Not him."

Vision nodded, though he seemed unconvinced. Sam seemed suddenly contemplative as well, and the silent, serious spell that had been cast over the room broke when Clint said, "How did talking about boobs turn into this?"

Bucky couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't really had too high of hopes for this little party, but he really was genuinely enjoying himself, even if he still couldn't feel a thing from the copious amounts of whiskey he'd drank.

---

What was happening didn't become entirely real until Summer found herself right in the middle of the stage, sitting on a chair that "Thor" had sat her down in. From there, she could see everyone and everything, including Darcy recording the entire spectacle on her phone. She was going to kill her, and Natasha as well, when this night was over.

But for now, she had bigger problems. Problems like the muscular blonde dude who was now in front of her again. He was nice enough to take her hand and kiss it before turning around and... well.

She heard Pepper whistling as the guy started dancing again. Face burning with the fire of a thousand suns already, Summer covered her face and started giggling nervously to herself and trying to figure out where to even look. What was she supposed to do? Just sit there and stare at the man's gyrating hips, or maybe sink to the floor and crawl under the chair and hide?

She was seriously considering the second option when it happened. "Thor" ripped his pants off, and as the crowd cheered, Summer's eyes bulged wide enough for everyone back at her table to see and laugh at. Because of course Thor would be wearing a red thong. What else would he wear under those fake leather tear-away pants?

With a flourish of his cape - which was just short enough to not cover anything worth seeing - he turned around and got on with the task at hand, and Summer melted against her chair even more. He seemed nice enough though, smiling at the mildly terrified and highly embarrassed look on her face, but he didn't hesitate to give her the full bachelorette experience. She, meanwhile, just tried really hard to not stare at "Thor"'s... hammer.

It felt like it lasted years, but in reality, it only lasted about five minutes. First, he took it easy, dancing near her but not on her, easing her into it. Then, still facing her, she squealed and turned even more red when he ventured on to her lap, still taking it easy and just teasing her, though she did die a little more when he took her hands and put them on his chest. She snatched them back as soon as she could, laughing so hard that she was crying.

It was slightly humiliating, yes, but she couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard. If ever.

Eventually "Thor" turned around, and he spent the next portion of his dance like that, with his back to her chest, giving her a lap dance to remember. Eventually he made full contact, and she screamed a little before clamping her hand over her mouth and dissolving into nervous, mortified giggles all over again.

But it wasn't over yet. As his grand finale, he turned around so that he faced her and took her by surprise by grasping the back of her chair, then slowly tipping it backwards. She let out a few nervous uh's and um's and giggles on the way down, and when she was almost all the way down to the floor, then she let out a mixture of a gasp and a squeak. He let her have it now, rolling his body on top of hers, and there was definitely nothing teasing about it now. She laughed and tried not to sputter throughout the whole thing, finding it both incredibly funny and also legitimately hot. He knew how to do his job and make a girl squirm, that was for sure.

Thankfully, though, he ended the dance on a non-embarrassed note. After he pulled her chair back up, he gently eased off of her, fixed the tiara atop her head, and grabbed his hammer from where it had been on the floor. Then he presented it to her with a grin and said in his hilariously bad imitation of Thor's booming voice, "Take it. You are worthy."

She took it with a relieved laugh, and he helped her to her feet and guided her down off of the stage as the audience cheered. He escorted her all the way to her table, then gave her a one armed hug as as he said in his normal voice, "You're a good sport. Good luck with your wedding."

"Thank you," she said, wiping away stray tears from her eyes and then handing the hammer back to him. "Here you go."

He waved her off. "I've got like ten of those. Keep it as a souvenir."

"Oh. Okay," she smiled, keeping the hammer and then all but collapsing back into her seat at the table as he walked away. She immediately slammed her face into the table, then was hugged by everyone at her table at once.

"You didn't run away! I'm so proud of you," Nat said, her smile reflecting her pride.

"Dude, that guy was hot! What'd he smell like?" Darcy asked.

"You're a brave, brave soul," Pepper said, patting her head.

Wanda picked up the hammer and then immediately set it back down as she made a face. "Why is the hammer... oily?"

Finally, Summer sat back up and looked at each woman at the table and said, "I hate all of you. Like. So much. And by hate I mean love but kinda hate too. Like I want to hug all of you and also smash your faces into some mud somewhere, but..."

"I totally get it," Darcy replied. "But you had to have the full experience or else we wouldn't be doing our jobs."

"And you recorded the whole thing, didn't you?" Summer cringed.

Darcy grinned and held up her phone proudly. "Yes I did."

Summer groaned and dropped her head back against the table. Meanwhile, Wanda grabbed her drink and said, "If I get married one day, please do not do this to me."

"Too late," Darcy said.

Wanda froze with her drink straw halfway to her lips. "What?"

"Nothing," Darcy said innocently.

"Oh, just tell her," Natasha said. "She deserves a fair warning."

"Fine," Darcy rolled her eyes. "Since you've never been to a strip club before, you're next. We paid in advance for... well..."

"The Hulk," Natasha finished.

Summer's head shot back up as Wanda paled. Then the lights dropped again, and this time, a rather large man with black hair and purple shorts came slowly stomping out on to the stage. Then he roared in a way that was both cheesy and hilarious.

Summer and Wanda shared a look of mutual look of utter horror. Darcy cackled and got her video function ready on her phone.

The night was clearly far from over.

---

Later on that night, after Vision had literally floated off somewhere and Sam had half-drunkenly called it a night, Bucky was carrying a passed-out Clint over his shoulder and walking with Steve towards one of the empty rooms on their floor. It was after midnight, and Summer and the girls hadn't come back yet, but Bucky's party had wound down to a close. Now it was just time to deposit Clint into a bed safely and, hopefully, get some sleep himself.

"I didn't take Clint for a lightweight," Steve remarked as they found a room that would do. He flipped on the light and Bucky followed him inside.

"I did," Bucky replied, heading towards the bed in the center of the room. He dropped Clint into the middle of the bed, and he didn't so much as twitch. He simply kept snoring, and Bucky chuckled before turning to Steve.

There was a lot to say, and not just because he was getting married the next day. As usual, Bucky wasn't sure where to start, but he figured it out soon enough.

"Thanks for tonight," Bucky said. "It was nice."

Steve nodded, and together they started making their way out of the room, towards the hallway. "Yeah, you're welcome. Might not have been the traditional bachelor party, but..."

"Why get traditional now?" Bucky joked as Steve turned off the light and closed the door behind him, leaving Clint to snore in peace.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Steve said as they lingered in the hallway. "So, you ready to get married tomorrow?"

Bucky grinned a little and glanced at the floor before replying, "Actually... I am. I've been ready since the day I asked her. Feels like it's been forever now."

"Yeah, I bet," Steve replied. "Well... try to get some sleep. Probably won't be easy, but..."

"Yeah, it won't," Bucky admitted. "But maybe I'll just..."

He was interrupted by Darcy and Natasha suddenly appearing in the hallway, talking animatedly amongst themselves and stopping short when they saw the two men standing there. Bucky blinked at their sudden presence and asked, "Is Summer back yet?"

"Yeah," Darcy replied. "She came in before us and said she was going straight to bed to try to sleep."

Bucky furrowed his brows and looked in the direction of Summer's room, then gave Steve a quiet goodnight before heading towards it. She must have slipped in while he and Steve had been putting Clint to bed.

Without a second thought, once he reached her door, he grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. He opened the door, then began to walk inside of it, only to hear a loud squeak just before being physically shoved out of the room and having the door slammed in his face.

"What the... Summer? What the hell?"

She opened the door just a crack and hissed through it, "It's after midnight! You're not allowed to see me now!"

He rolled his eyes and hissed back, "Oh come on. That doesn't even count."

"Oh yes it does," she argued. "I wanted to come back before midnight so I could see you, but..."

"Yeah, I heard from Sam what Nat planned for you," Bucky said more quietly. "How did that... go?"

"Um... well... uh... good, I guess? In a horrifyingly embarrassing kind of way? But yeah... how did your night go?"

"Good," he replied, staring at the door. "I actually have some... news."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Tony gave me some papers, and... the papers for the adoption went through I guess, so..."

He heard a thud on the other side and smiled. "Seriously?" she replied excitedly. "Does that mean... does David have your name now?

"Yeah he does," Bucky answered. He could hear the smile on her face.

"... He beat me to it!" she laughed, and Bucky chuckled with her. Sam had called that one. "No, but seriously. That's great! The timing's perfect."

"Yeah, I thought so too," he replied quietly, leaning his head against the door. "Can't you let me in for just a few minutes?"

"No!" she half-whined. "It's the rules! I didn't make the rules. Trust me, I'd like to, but..."

He sighed heavily and tapped his forehead against the door. "... Fine."

"Sorry," she said softly. "But we'll make up for all of this tomorrow. I promise."

"You promise, huh," he grinned. "Got something up your sleeve?"

"Well, I'm actually not wearing sleeves right now... I'm actually just in my underwear, so..."

He groaned. "That's not helping, Summer."

Her little giggle on the other side wasn't helpful, either. "Okay. I'll shut up. We should go to bed. We've gotta get up at like five."

"I know," he replied. "I'm not that tired."

"Me neither. But we need to try anyway. I don't want to be all sleepy on our wedding night."

His grin returned. "I guarantee you won't be sleepy."

"Yeah... well, maybe," she conceded, and again he could hear her smile. "But still. Go to bed. And I'll see you at the altar... arch... thing."

He laughed softly. "Okay. See you there."

"I'll be the one in white," she said lightly. "And probably crying."

He paused. "I'll be the one who can't take their eyes off you."

She was quiet for a moment before there was an answer. "I'll hold you to that."

"Okay." He smiled to himself and added softly, "I love you."

"Love you too," she answered without hesitation, in the same quiet, anticipatory way that he had.

Through the crack in the door, Bucky slipped his right hand past it and found Summer's on the other side. If he couldn't see her, then he could at least touch her one more time tonight. She eased the door open just enough for him to pull her hand closer, lay a soft kiss on the back of it, and then entwine their fingers together.

"Goodnight," he said, running his thumb over her hand softly as she gave his a gentle squeeze.

Her voice was barely over a whisper. "Goodnight."

And then, though he didn't want to, Bucky disentangled their fingers and let her hand slip out of his. He slowly straightened up and, with a small smile on his face, lingered for just a few seconds before he turned and walked away from her door. He heard it click shut once he was a few steps away.

He was getting married tomorrow. They were getting married tomorrow. Six months of planning and working and time ticking by had brought them here, mere hours away from doing something he still couldn't believe he was lucky enough to be experiencing, after all of these years and everything he'd been through.

There was no way he was going to sleep a single wink.

A/N: WEEEEEEEEE bachelor and bachelorette parties! And another gigantic chapter! And the wedding is next! Woooooot! As you all can see, I am excited :D Expect another enormous chapter next week, and the week after, actually, because... yeah. I think you're all gonna like the next, ah, two or three chapters in particular :D At least I HOPE so. Lol

To 127FluffyKittens - omg, your last review made me giggle like an idiot :D comparing my answer to a celebrity autograph was definitely a first and MIGHT have made me squeal a little, so thank you :D and to anyone who happened to see the troll review I let post, yeah... sorry about that, but I went ahead and approved it because I thought it was hilarious, but it also pissed me off because it was actually insulting to you readers, saying I write weird "fantasy porn" to satisfy my "loyal readers", so I take that as an insult to you guys and that is NOT cool. And it's also pretty inaccurate. So boo to the troll, whoever they are. Lol

Thank you guys SO MUCH for reading and reviewing, and a HUGE thanks to midnightwings96 for helping A LOT with this chapter. I would have been lost without her. Gah. I love you ALL, and I will see you all next week with a wedding as my weekly gift to you guys :D