Chapter 22: Woven Together

Parker and MJ were getting married in October. Steve and Bucky found out when Parker asked them to be groomsmen, alongside Tony, Bruce and Ned. As soon as he learned this news, Steve started work on their gift, leaving Bucky with more responsibility with the final legs of publishing Barnes and Rogers. They'd finished the ending and had a publisher who was interested. All that remained were the final tweaks to the storyline and art, and some logistics. At this rate, it could be released by the beginning of the new year.

Steve worked tirelessly on his art piece, and the end result was, in Bucky's opinion, one of his best. He used some specific type of pen—Bucky didn't understand the artistic technical terms—to write out "The Weavers" in such a way that each letter looked like it had been spun from spider silk. Bucky's contribution to the gift was helping Steve wrap it.

Tony's tailor, the same one Steve and Bucky had used several times before to modify Bucky's clothes, had all five groomsmen come for fittings at the same time. Parker wanted them all in bright blue suit jackets and red ties, to complement his red jacket and blue tie. Steve clearly fell in love with the color scheme as soon as he tried it on for the first time. Bucky whispered in his ear that he well and truly looked like Yankee Doodle now, with the blue and red on top of his white button down.

"So do you," Steve retorted.

"What's the matter, Bruce?" Tony asked. Bucky looked over to see him anxiously fidgeting with the tie. "Not a fan of blue and red?"

"I prefer green," he said shyly.

Tony clapped him on the shoulder. "Well I think you look great."

"Thanks."

Bucky's and Tony's needed the most work, Bucky for obvious reasons, and Tony because he wanted subtle extra pockets to stow his VAD batteries. Bucky asked them to pad the shoulder a bit like Steve had done for his blue peacoat; it gave his left side a little more definition that he appreciated for more formal occasions such as this one. They'd done the same thing to his wedding tux last year. Bucky had to admit, while at first he'd feared the bright primary colors would be garish, when he actually put it on he found he didn't feel like a crayon. He felt like the groomsman for a joyous, vibrant man like Parker. And he loved how the bright colors looked on Steve. They may or may not have gone home from that fitting and headed straight for the bedroom, as they'd done on their own wedding night.

~0~

Whether Parker asked for this specifically, or Ned somehow knew about it, or Tony offered, Steve didn't know. But he wasn't complaining about being invited to another bachelor party on the trampoline floor of Stark Tower. Bucky, on the other hand, was downright upset that he hadn't known about this place's existence sooner. "Tony, how long have you been hiding this from us?"

It was difficult for him to look angry while bouncing up and down, but he tried his best.

"I haven't been hiding it. There are only so many occasions where it's appropriate for me to invite a bunch of grown-ups to go trampolining, and those just happen to be bachelor parties."

"Parties plural? Who else have you hosted a party here for?"

Steve stopped bouncing and slowly backed away from Bucky. He'd asked back before their wedding, but Steve never told him what Tony and Nat had planned for him because he was afraid Bucky would feel left out. Steve looked at Tony and hoped the expression on his face conveyed his "Please don't tell him" message. Clearly, it didn't work.

"Steve," Tony answered.

"What?"

Steve attempted to bounce away, but he barely made it one panel over before Bucky launched himself forward and tackled him to the ground. Bucky's leaping capabilities on solid ground were formidable, so with a trampoline to boost him along he literally soared. Steve and Bucky hit the ground and rolled to a stop, the tramp beneath them quivering. "You had a trampoline park bachelor party and you didn't tell me?" Bucky asked accusingly.

"I didn't want you to be jealous," he said honestly.

"Well now I'm officially jealous."

The elevator doors opened with a ding, revealing Parker and Ned. Parker took in the scene before him, Bucky straddling a supine Steve while Tony and Bruce looked on, bouncing unsurely. "Am I late?" he asked.

Steve gathered his strength and threw Bucky off of him, scrambling to his feet. "No."

Parker definitely didn't believe him. "O…kay."

Bucky glared at Steve. "This isn't over."

Now it was Steve's turn to tackle him. Bucky saw it coming, but Steve was so close that Bucky wasn't quick enough to evade his dive. Steve slammed into his left side and they both went down. Instead of a mere grunt, Bucky let out a strangled scream. At first, Steve thought he was playing it up for the fun of it, but then he heard, "Mercy! Steve, get off! Please." The last word wasn't even shouted, but sucked through his teeth as he fought not to scream again. Steve immediately rolled off as Bucky curled up on his right side, breathing heavily.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," he spluttered. "I didn't mean to hurt you." By this point, the rest of the guys stood in a loose circle around them. Steve knelt down in front of Bucky and tried to meet his eye, but they were clenched shut. "What did I do?"

Bucky exhaled. "I'm okay." He took another deep breath and sat up. "I'm okay. I dunno…my stump is kinda sensitive sometimes and you managed to hit a sweet spot. Goddamn, that smarts."

"I'm so sorry," Steve reiterated.

"'S okay. My fault. I started it." He reached up and Steve helped him to his feet. Bucky's hand hovered over his stump as if to try and rub the ache away before he decided against it. For the first time, he noticed everyone else staring at him. "What are you all looking at?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Parker asked, concern pouring off him like heat from a radiator.

"Yeah."

"That reaction was…intense," Bruce remarked.

"I overreacted a bit. I'm fine now. It's just phantom pain, nothing's actually wrong."

Steve didn't exactly believe him, but Parker's bachelor party was not the time nor place to have this argument. Tony opened the cabinet and released the foam dodgeballs, and for the rest of the party they almost forgot it even happened.

"So, married at twenty-two," Tony said when they left the trampoline floor in favor of the bar above. He and Parker were engaged in an intense round of billiards while the rest of the guests watched and drank. Steve had already reached his self-imposed limit and switched to Gatorade, shocked that this place even stocked it. Maybe Tony made sure they had some just for him. Parker had also cut himself off, though he was definitely more drunk than Steve. After each turn, he took another sip of a chocolate milk juice box. "Did you ever think you'd be here?" Tony continued.

"Definitely not," Parker said. He sank the red striped ball in the corner pocket and moved on to another one. "Most of my childhood, I thought I'd be single forever."

"Why's that?" Ned asked. He, too, was sipping chocolate milk.

Parker shrugged. "When I was little I was so shy I hardly ever talked to people I didn't know. And then, you know, everything happened with Ben and May, and I didn't even have the mental capacity to think about this sort of thing at all. But when I met MJ back at school, I don't know…something just clicked."

"Have you guys really been together since the ninth grade?" Bucky asked.

"Not exactly. We took a break the first two years of college, just to explore the world and other people and stuff. But I've never been happier than when I'm with her."

"That's amazing," Steve said. "I'm so happy for you guys."

"Thanks. She actually spent most of your wedding taking notes," he explained with a laugh. "Didn't want anything at ours to be too similar."

Bucky nudged Steve's hip with his own. "Hate to break it to you, but no wedding will ever be as cool and awesome as ours."

"Don't you think maybe you're a little biased?"

"What? Never."

Parker sank the eight ball and won, much to Tony's frustration. Bruce and Ned took their places and began resetting the table. Steve and Bucky sat down at the bar, facing the table. Parker hopped up beside Steve, chocolate milk in hand. "So, it's been over a year since you guys got married." He took a sip, the telltale hollow rattle letting everyone know there wasn't much left in the box. "Any advice for a future newlywed such as myself?" Parker slammed the empty box down on the bar and smashed it with his hand before spinning in a circle on the rotating stool.

"Enjoy it," Steve said wistfully. Bucky kissed him on the temple. "Every fucking minute of it."

"Sounds simple enough."

~0~

Parker and MJ's wedding was exactly what Steve would expect from Parker and MJ. He chose the bright color scheme for its brightness; she agreed to it because of its deviation from "traditional" wedding silver and white. Needless to say, Steve looked forward to seeing the wedding photos. They probably turned out even better than his and Bucky's.

"Look at my cufflinks!" Parker held out his hands. "They're spiders."

"I can see that," Steve remarked. He hadn't stopped smiling this entire time, seeing Parker so happy. "Any particular reason?"

"Inside joke from Quizbowl. MJ picked them out."

"They're so cute. Just don't drop one on the floor or else everyone will think it's real and freak out," Bucky warned.

Parker tapped his nose. "Good point." He readjusted the cufflinks and tore off to talk to more people.

"That kid's got magic in his veins," Bucky said.

"You know he's only a year younger than you, right?"

"Yeah, I know, but he's got more youthful zest in his little finger than I do in my whole body."

"I won't argue with that. I'm just so happy for him."

"You and me both. He really deserves this."

Steve threw an arm around Bucky's shoulders. "Yeah, he does. And I'm glad we get to be here to witness it."

"Don't make me cry at our friend's wedding. Nobody cries at weddings that aren't their own."

"That's not true. I counted at least four people crying at ours."

"Were they our parents?"

"Well…yeah, but I'm sure there were a few others too."

"Uh-huh, sure."

"Whatever. I'm probably going to cry. Whether or not you do is your decision."

"It's Parker, of course I'm gonna fucking cry."

Steve gave him a loving squeeze. "That's the spirit."

They took their seats in the second row on Parker's side, between Tony and Bruce, and both shot him a thumbs up as he stood waiting with his hands clasped before him. He literally bounced on the balls of his feet in anticipation. MJ hadn't wanted any of the ridiculous pomp and circumstance of a walk down the aisle, or the patriarchal practice of letting her father give her away, but Steve didn't know what exactly she planned to do instead. Apparently, neither did Parker. She approached him from behind and said, simply, "Hey loser."

The startled look on Parker's face had half the crowd erupting into laughter. It faded back into that dazzling smile when he turned to look at her. She wore a stunning white dress, and her only jewelry was a broken flower necklace. Steve guessed it probably had a story behind it, as with most things Parker and MJ shared. MJ took Parker's hands in hers and moved across the altar to stand opposite him.

Steve barely heard the words; he was too focused on the palpable love flowing between the two of them as they gazed into each other's eyes. Every breath he took, his gratitude for simply being able to be here in this moment swelled until he didn't think he could possibly fit any more. As Parker said his vows, Steve glanced over through his own tears and saw that Bucky was also crying. Along with all of their fellow groomsmen.

MJ swallowed back tears of joy before beginning her own words. "Parker, you and I both have a history of not talking," she began, making Parker laugh. "I didn't speak to you the first few days after we met, mostly because I was painfully shy, but also because most of the things that come out of my mouth tend to be really depressing, and at the time you looked like that was the last thing you needed. So, this is my chance to say non-depressing things, because I love you, Parker Weaver. I love your intellect, your compassion for all people, and even your obsession with movies I will never understand. But most of all, I love the unbridled joy you bring to every room you ever walk into. In a world that has tried everything it could to extinguish your light, Parker, you shine. And I cannot wait to bask in that glow every day for the rest of our lives."

MJ had the whole place in tears. Steve glanced at the other side of the aisle and found that even Gabe was crying. Those last lines resonated with Steve so deeply that he felt them in his teeth. He also considered himself one of the lucky planets in orbit around Parker's sun, a sun that still shone as brightly as the day it was formed despite all the events that should have dimmed it. Steve clapped, cheered, and cried as the two of them kissed passionately up on the altar. No matter how often he experienced it, he never tired of seeing Parker happy when for so long he'd been depressed into silence. His eyes drifted for the briefest of moments to the too-large collection of empty seats in the front row. He only wished Carol were here to see this.

~0~

No matter how many times Bucky begged him, Steve refused to dance. He succumbed to the pressure at their wedding, but he hadn't practiced since then and didn't want to make a fool of himself. Bucky decided to drag Gabe out there instead, and it looked like they were having a great time. Steve sat with Natasha and watched the festivities.

"This whole energy is so Parker," she remarked. Her dress matched the red of Parker's jacket, and around her neck hung a charm that looked like a black spider with a red hourglass on it.

"What is it with you people and spiders?" Steve asked. "Did you match Parker's cufflinks on purpose?"

"No. MJ gave me dress color, and that's all. I picked this out." She shrugged. "I like spiders."

Steve decided not to question it further. She'd always liked spiders. The song changed to another Ramones track. Based on what had played so far, Steve guessed Parker and MJ had split the song choices half and half. Bucky tired of dancing and sat back down beside Steve. The next song to play had Steve completely puzzled. He'd never heard anything like it before.

Bow chika bow wow, that's what my baby says!

Mow mow mow, and my heart starts pumpin'

Chika chika chu whop

Never gonna stop! Gitchee gitchee goo means that I love you!

Alex and Russell Weaver, on the other hand, clearly recognized this, and began singing along at the top of their lungs. Parker grabbed Ned by the hand and dragged him onto the dance floor. Steve scanned the crowd for MJ and saw her watching Parker with her arms crossed but with hearts in her eyes. When the song eventually ended, Parker wandered through the throngs of people and landed in front of Steve and Bucky.

"Favorite song of yours?" Steve asked.

"Yeah!" he answered, breathless from dancing. "MJ said I could put only three Phineas and Ferb songs in the playlist for the night, and that one just had to make the cut. It's a classic."

"Okay."

He lowered his voice to the minimum possible volume that could still be heard above the music. "Is it bad that I'm a tiny bit jealous there was no flash mob?"

"Maybe," Bucky told him.

"We knew you would dance anyway," Natasha explained. "This one," she elbowed Steve, "Needed more convincing."

"Hey, I danced before the flash mob!"

"That one was obligatory."

"Well, it's my wedding, and I obligate you to dance at least one song," Parker said. He held out his hand and honest to God pouted. Steve just couldn't say no to him.