(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 21 - Greatest Day
"When he said this was going to be the party to end all parties, I thought he was exaggerating!" said Bucky, really having to yell to be heard over the cacophonous music and general cheering and laughing of the party guests. "This is insane!"
"This is a Tony Stark party!" Nat yelled back at him, laughing at the same time, even as they got caught up in the crush of all the other people dancing around them.
There really were a lot of people, a lot of noise, a lot of food and booze too. Of course, Nat had experienced similar things before, but she wasn't sure any one of Tony's parties had been quite this huge. Of course, those things were always single celebrations, specifically for a birthday or an A on a paper or something. This one was a combined event, celebrating just about everything good that anybody in their friendship circle had going on, and therefore, it really was a truly epic event.
"Hey, guys!" Clint yelled, as he and Laura danced by them.
"Isn't this the best party?" she asked, not even pausing for an answer, as her boyfriend swept her right up into his arms and carried her away.
Since she didn't attend college herself, Laura was totally available to come out for the party, but living two states away was a problem. At least, until Tony sent her a plane ticket to get her there.
"No sad faces at the party. No exceptions, no excuses," he had insisted to Clint. "The girlfriend comes, okay?"
He liked to get his way, that was for sure, but nobody was going to argue with Tony when he hit generosity mode. There was something a little narcissistic and over-the-top about the whole thing, Nat had to admit, but underneath all the bravado and latent teen rebellion, everyone knew Tony had a heart of gold. Nobody knew it better than Pepper.
Across the way, she and Tony were dancing incredibly close and way too slow for the music, but it didn't really matter. They both looked very happy, as did Bruce and Darcy who were over in the far corner, making out like crazy. As activities went, Nat could think of worse ways to spend an evening, not least since Bucky had just stepped on her toes for the third time in as many minutes.
"I need a break!" she told him, reaching to take his hand.
They made a reasonable job of fighting their way from the dancefloor area to the outskirts without further incident.
"I am so glad you said that," Bucky told her, when they were far enough away from the speakers to actually hear themselves think.
"Hello, you two," said Peggy, squeezed so close to Steve in an oversized armchair, she was practically in his lap and clearly perfectly happy about it. "Steve's not much of a dancer."
"Oh, I know." Nat smiled too much, the expression wavering when she realised both Peggy and Bucky were looking at her strangely. "Hey, when you were back in England, and before I even met you," she explained, looking from one to the other, "this guy needed cheering up. So, yes, we went dancing. Once. He gave me more bruised toes than you just did," she told Bucky firmly. "It never happened again."
"And nothing else happened," Steve insisted to Peggy. "No offence to Nat, but there was only ever you."
"Besides, kissing Steve would be like kissing my brother." Nat shuddered.
"Glad to hear it," said Bucky, pulling her closer in his arms.
"Glad to tell you," she replied, planting a quick kiss on his lips and beaming at him.
"Ah, more happy couples!" Thor greeted them all with gusto as he joined them, Sif at his side, their arms around each other's shoulders. "Isn't being in love wonderful?"
"Aye, brother. I shall not argue with you there," Loki agreed, appearing beside him, a shorter blonde girl tucked into his side. "This is Sylvie," he told the assembled group.
They all greeted her with smiles and waves, though Nat couldn't say she had any interest in getting to know any girl that had a thing for Loki. The way Thor told it, they were so alike, it was almost scary, but hey, at least they were smiling. For Loki to be doing that without having just pulled the biggest prank ever was practically a miracle.
"He hasn't even spoken of spiking the punch or causing a power outage," Thor told Nat then, almost as if he read her mind.
"I guess he has other things to focus on," she replied, tilting her head and trying to figure out just how far it was possible for Sylvie and Loki to put their tongues down each other's throats before somebody got hurt.
Not that it bothered Thor, he only laughed heartily, until Sif dragged him away to dance. Nat watched them go, eyes moving over a lot faces that she didn't know and quite a few that she did. In amongst the crowd, she caught sight of Bucky's dorm-mate, Sam, getting along famously with an unknown blonde, smiling widely. It actually seemed as if everyone was smiling, everyone having such a great time.
Nat was used to these kinds of events feeling like hard work. There were definitely more than a few when she had to paint on a smile and pretend she was cool with being the girl without a date, the girl with the sucky family, the girl that never quite felt like she fit in. Things were certainly different now.
Not that she was comfortable saying that her whole life had been redefined by her getting a boyfriend, but honestly, finding someone who really understood her, finding someone she could love who would love her back, it did make a difference.
"We're not going back out there, are we?" Bucky asked her, his voice just this side of whining. "I mean, if we have to..."
"At ease, soldier," she said, taking pity on him, her hand at his shoulder. "Come on let's grab that chair before somebody else does."
Diving in the general direction she had pointed in, Bucky all but threw himself into the abandoned armchair, seconds before another couple claimed it. Pulling on Nat's hand, he soon had her landing in his lap with a bump, much to her surprise.
"Okay then," she said, shaking her head slightly. "Never let it be said you're a guy that doesn't know how to handle a woman," she said with a salacious smile.
"Only you, Natalia," he told her, pulling her down, close enough to kiss. "I don't want any other woman," he assured her, before he kissed her firmly on the lips.
"You've come a long way, Barnes," she told him as they parted, pushing his hair back from his face for him. "It's not so long ago, I was wondering if you were ever going to ask me out."
"Still glad that I did?" he checked, only half-joking, she could tell.
"What do you think?" she countered, pushing herself down further into the chair with him and kissing him all over again. "Of course, as much as you love me, you still really don't like parties, do you?" she said, her forehead pressed against his own.
"This one's actually not so bad," he admitted, shrugging one shoulder. "Your friends are a lot, but I guess they mean well."
"That is true," she agreed with a smile, surveying the scene for a moment. "Not that they're just my friends. You have friends here too, you know? Sam, Steve, even Tony at this point."
"Yeah, I guess," Bucky agreed, his hand at her cheek gently bringing her gaze back to meet his own, "but even if they were all your friends and they were the worst people in the world, I'd deal with them, for you," he said, smiling widely.
"Don't go getting sappy on me, Barnes," she warned him, unable to keep the smirk from her lips.
"No promises," he said, kissing her one more time, good enough to make her toes curl, good enough that she kind of wished they were alone instead of in the middle of a noisy party. "I love you, Natalia Romanov," he told her, lips close to her ear now, voice just loud enough for her to hear over the noise.
"I love you too, James Barnes," she promised him just the same.
Nobody knew what the future would hold, if all the current romances would pan out, if everyone would stay friends forever, like they vowed they would right now. Honestly, Nat wasn't even sure what she wanted her life to be after college, but for the next couple of years, she planned on having the best time she could while she figured it out. If Bucky, her James, wanted to go with her on that journey, and possibly beyond, then she was more than okay with that.
The End