The morning of Kayla's wedding, she woke up in her king-sized with Wanda on one side and Tiffany on the other. The blonde had kicked out her fiancé in favor of having her girls stay in their apartment the few nights before their Sunday wedding. However, she hadn't seen Steve since Friday morning, and wasn't even sure where he'd been hiding.

"Mmm, good morning." Wanda hummed.

"Good morning." Kayla answered. She laid on her back staring at the ceiling with her hands clenched across her chest, "So, I'm getting married today."

"In many hours, meaning you can go back to sleep." Tiffany grumbled into her pillow.

Wanda laughed lightly and turned to look at Kayla. Her eyes glowed red and Kayla sighed, "To answer what I'm guessing your question is, I am nervous."

"Getting... what do you say? Cold toes?"

"Cold feet." Kayla corrected, turning her head to look at Tiffany as she shoved the pillow over her head, "I don't have cold feet, I'm just nervous. I... wasn't sure if I'd ever settle down. Especially this young."

Tiffany's phone began to buzz repeatedly on Steve's nightstand, but she ignored it by holding the pillow down harder over her ears. Kayla raised her brow questioningly to her friend and assistant, "You gonna answer that?"

"I'd rather not."

Kayla grunted as she leaned over her best friend to grab the phone and answer it, "Hello, Tiffany Jones speaking."

Wanda sat up in bed as Kayla pinned down Tiff with her forearm, despite Tiffany not attempting to get up anyway. Kayla's coy smile faltered at whatever the person on the other line told her, and she began to respond with a series of 'uh huh' and 'okay' until she finally said goodbye and hung up. She drew her brows together as she read through all of Tiffany's unread messages, "Tiff?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there a reason a dozen news outlets are texting you about my wedding this afternoon?" Kayla drawled as Tiffany slowly appeared from behind the pillow in horror. Kayla cocked her brow as Tiffany stammered in fear, but Kayla didn't allow her to answer before looking at the phone and adding, "Oh, they want to clarify the address of the Avengers Compound."

"It wasn't me!" She finally squeaked, grabbing her phone and jolting out of bed, "I- I didn't tell anybody, you know that!"

"Well, somebody did." Kayla mumbled as she stretched, not as worried as she'd led Tiffany to believe, "Could have been the seamstress? The caterer?"

Tiffany was already pulling on a cardigan over her leggings while she typed on her phone frantically, "They signed NDAs. I'll murder them."

"It's fine. If the press shows up, we'll move it inside, it's not a big deal."

"It's your wedding, it's the biggest deal! This... this is it! This is the day when you graduate from being Kayla Ellis, famed and unlucky socialite who has fought her way back from the dead, to being Kayla Rogers, Mrs. Captain America. Doting wife and supporter of the First Avenger." Tiffany held her hand out in front of her face, as if she could see the story on a billboard in her sights.

Kayla just shrugged and scratched her head, forgetting how uncomfortable extensions were the first couple of days. "Listen, it is what it is. The dress designer wasn't happy that we were having a private wedding, and she had the date, so she probably leaked it to get some press for her dress. Worst case, Steve and I can take a few pictures by the lake after the ceremony before we all have dinner."

"You are much calmer than we expected." Wanda admitted, taking the words out of Tiffany's mouth as she pointed at the Sokovian.

"It's not like we were going to hide our marriage, we just didn't want to invite a million people." Kayla said, tilting her head as an idea struck her. She motioned for Tiffany to come closer and asked, "Listen, if the paparazzi are gonna be here anyway, make it a bid. Whoever pays the most gets to photograph the wedding. We'll give the money to the VA in D.C. where Sam used to work, it'll be great."

"That..." Tiffany trailed off as her eyes scanned the ceiling, "is a really good idea. Raises money. Gives a good image. You get wedding photos by someone other than Barton."

Kayla climbed out of bed and looked in the full length mirror on the opposite wall, taking a deep breath, "Wedding's at three. Send the message that we'll start the bidding online at eleven, and choose an outlet by twelve-fifteen. Anyone besides the highest bidder shows up, they'll be escorted off the property."

"There she is." Tiffany teased as Kayla looked over her shoulder with a scowl, pulling her long extensions over her shoulder. She'd dyed her hair honey blonde and gotten extensions to give her length to her mid-back with the intention of cutting them off little by little as her hair grew. Kayla turned back to the mirror to study her reflection, realizing she finally looked like herself again after several months of hard work.

She nodded, beginning to feel those nerves build up again as she mentally prepared herself for the biggest day of her life, "I can't believe this is really happening."

"It's really happening."

Sam chuckled at Steve's nervous chatter, "You got this. Don't get cold feet now."

"She will track you down." Natasha warned as she fiddled with Steve's suit tie. Her green eyes lifted to meet Steve's as she smiled gently, "As someone who has spent a lot of time with both of you during all this planning, I know how ready you both are-"

Natasha was cut off by a sharp knock at the door, and she nodded towards it for Sam to open. When he did, Tiffany came sweeping in with her hair in a towel and Sam's button up shirt that stopped mid-thigh. "So, there's been a snag." Steve leapt towards her, so she raised her hands to calm him, "Not a big snag. Kayla's fine. Everything is fine, it's just the press found out today was your wedding and of course they are very excited to be a part of it, but don't worry! Kay and I are handling it! We're auctioning off the ability to be the only photographer and we aren't allowing any live footage, only still pictures, but giving the money to charity. All good things, all good things..."

"What's actually wrong?" Steve blurted and Natasha dropped her forehead into her palm.

Tiffany tilted her head, looking between Sam, Steve, and Natasha in confusion, "Nothing. That's it. I know you guys wanted to keep it quiet, but we think the dress designer-"

"But like," Steve swallowed, loosening the tie Natasha had just straightened, "something has to go wrong. Something always goes wrong."

"Not today." Tiffany assured the man with a weak smile, "Today will be perfect. We promise." She looked to Sam and he nodded in agreement.

Once Tiffany was gone, Steve turned back to Natasha, "I'm scared."

"Don't run."

"I'm in over my head. I don't know if I can do this..."

Sam's eyes practically bugged out of his head at this revelation, but Natasha stayed calm as always, shaking her head with a knowing smile, "You can. It's just Kayla. She knows you better than anybody, and all she expects from you is to be there. She's your life preserver, Rogers, you'll never be in over your head with her. She adores you."

He rubbed his hand over his face roughly, "What if once we're married, she gets bored?"

"You'll figure it out." Sam said quickly, patting Steve on the shoulder in an attempt to calm the groom, "If you don't marry that woman today, you'll regret it the rest of your life. We all know what you went through looking for her."

"For a long time, she brought out the worst in you," Natasha said evenly, seeing Steve's eyes widen nervously in response, "I was worried that she'd ruin you because she was a spoiled brat and she treated you like a trophy boyfriend, but she came back from Sokovia a different person- a better person. I think she's going to keep you grounded, instead of the other way around. You need her."

Steve turned back to the mirror, and Natasha shared a hopeful glance with Sam as the soldier fixed his tie again, "You're right," he said with a slight smile, "I can't be without her."

At two fifty-five, Kayla stood behind a large tree in her dress, hiding from Steve and the small crowd of Avengers in attendance. She breathed deeply and nodded at Tiffany as the woman handed her a massive bouquet of roses that matched her and Wanda's dresses. Tiffany had a long sleeved, floor length dress in rose red, while Wanda's stopped at her knees and had little capped sleeves that covered her shoulders. Despite not standing with the other girls, Natasha wore a navy blue dress that hugged her curves, but had a high neckline to avoid stealing any attention away from the bride.

Not that she could.

"Do I look okay?" Kayla asked nervously after stealing a peek at Sam and Natasha standing at the edge of the clearing in front of the lake. "Where's Steve?"

"Calm down, he'll be here." Tiffany scolded, grabbing Kayla's arms through her lace sleeves and rubbing her arms gently, "He's probably wrangling Stark. Everything is fine."

"Is the photographer here?"

"All set up in the front. Once you're down the isle they'll take to the middle to get photos. You raised two million dollars."

Kayla snapped her head to look at Tiffany and her friend just nodded, seeming to be in as much disbelief as Kayla, "Our wedding is worth two million dollars?"

"Apparently. I've heard you're both kind of a big deal."

Kayla snorted and tossed her head back, causing a chunk of hair to fall out of her chignon. Tiffany shoved her finger into her mouth before winding the loose hair around it and holding it for a moment before releasing the hairs, causing them to form a pretty curl, "Kay. You got this."

"Two million dollars?"

"Kayla."

She whipped around to face her mother, seeing the older woman gawking at her with teary eyes. "Mom."

"You look so beautiful," Sandra cried softly, cradling her daughter's cheeks in her hands, "Your father would be so proud of you."

The bride sniffled and nodded, "I wish he was here."

"Me too, Sweetie. Me too. But, it's going to be a wonderful day. I caught a glimpse of your groom. I didn't think it was possible for him to be any more handsome." Sandra said with a grin and Kayla's teeth broke through her deep red lipstick at her mother's words. Sandra leaned around the trees to look down the path cleared to be an isle, "They are ready. Now we're just waiting on you."

Kayla sucked in a deep breath and nodded, allowing Tiffany to fluff out the train of her dress before lining up behind Wanda.

Across the clearing, Steve was trying to prepare himself for the biggest moment of his life. Somehow, it felt bigger than an alien invasion, bigger than a floating city, even bigger than climbing into that machine to become the world's first super soldier. If he could fight through the next twenty minutes, he'd come out the other side married to the love of his life. He was determined not to let the vision Wanda gave him come to pass. He was determined not to lose Kayla again.

Wanda and Tiffany appeared from the trees, and Steve's stomach dropped to the ground when he realized what was about to happen. He felt Sam's hand on his shoulder as Wanda reached them, and then Tiffany, who gave him a wink before blowing Sam a kiss. There was nobody left to stand between him and Kayla. She just needed to come around the corner with her mom.

And when she did, Steve's legs buckled, and he had to grab onto Sam's wrist to keep from collapsing. Sam chuckled and Steve's eyes widened when he got a better look at his girl. Her white dress had a tulle skirt, but the top was all lace with long sleeves that hooked around her thumbs to stay down. A sheer veil covered her face as she approached, but Steve couldn't miss her bright emerald eyes and red lips that were parted as she walked, as if she was nervous as he was and needed to keep breathing deeply to keep her wits about her.

Steve's crooked smile reached his watery eyes and Kayla laughed at the sight as she reached him. Sandra handed her off to Steve and hugged the soldier, patting his arm and whispering, "Take care of her, okay?"

"You know I will." Steve promised as she moved to sit in the front row beside the photographer. Steve barely registered anybody else was there. He flipped her veil over her face and gazed down at Kayla as his chest rose and fell, trying to supply enough oxygen to the man who forgot how to breath, "Hi."

"Hi." She whispered, her smile so big she could hardly contain it. She bit at her bottom lip as Tony made a joke about them being thankful they had someone so important to officiate their wedding, but neither Steve nor Kayla heard anything he said until he asked them to say their vows.

Kayla and Steve looked to Tony and he gestured for them to start. The bride cleared her throat and started, laughing through her words, "I kinda think you're supposed to go first, but, I'm going to steal the moment. I'm going to do that a lot, while we're being honest. I'm going to be loud, and demanding, and I'm going to make you cook me pancakes when I've had too many drinks with the girls. But I promise to be there for you every day. I promise that I'll see you off every time you leave, and I'll be there waiting when you return. I'll love you more than anyone has ever loved you, and I'll listen to you when you need to complain about your coworkers." She looked to Tony with a smirk, then tilted her head back to Steve with a coy grin, "I'll be your favorite distraction, and your biggest cheerleader, and if anyone says Thor is their favorite Avenger, I'll show them a few things I learned in war-torn Sokovia."

Steve chuckled and shook his head, holding her hands a little tighter as she continued, "When I forgot myself, you didn't give up on me. When I didn't know who I wanted to be, you were patient with me. And when you messed up, you literally went to the ends of the Earth to fix your mistake. We're going to make a lot more mistakes, and I swear that I'll never give up on you. No matter what this world throws at us, specifically you, because you get shot at a lot, but no matter what, I will stand by your side, for as long as I live."

"Good luck following that up, Cap." Stark mumbled as Kayla released her breath. Steve somehow stepped closer to the woman, wondering if he'd get yelled at if he kissed her before he was told.

"I've been told I'm good with speeches." Steve said simply. His mouth curved to the side in a small smile, but it showed he wasn't completely confident. Kayla smiled a little brighter, seeming to realize where this was going, and that gave Steve the push he needed to keep going, "When it comes to you though, I have no words. I just love you. I love everything about you. You're the best thing to ever happen to me and you make me thankful that I crashed that plane into the arctic in '45 because if I hadn't, I would have never met you."

Kayla's lip wobbled and Steve reached out to stroke her cheek, "I will never let you go again. No matter where I go, no matter what I have to do, I'll always come home to you. Everything I do for the rest of my life is for you. I will give you whatever life you want. I'll give you everything you ask for. I swear on my life, if I ever mess up again, I'll make it up to you tenfold. I promise you my undying love and loyalty, as Captain America and as Steve Rogers."

"I prefer you as the latter." Kayla laughed through her tears, wiping them away before they could mess up her makeup. She turned to Tony and said, "Wrap it up so we can get to the kissing and cake."

"Alright, alright, calm yourself!" Tony yelped, looking past Steve and Kayla to her mother, "I'm sorry you have to witness how impatient your only daughter is to consummate her marriage!"

Kayla swatted Tony and Steve glared at him darkly, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers while the photographer snapped photos. "That one doesn't see the light of day!" Kayla warned the photographer with a smile, then looked back to Steve, "I mean, he's not wrong." Kayla whispered so quietly only Steve could hear and he desperately tried to hold back his laughter as Tony finished the ceremony.

"Do you, Steve Rogers, take Kayla Ellis to be your smoking hot wife?"

"Tony."

"Do you or don't you?" Tony questioned, gesturing to Kayla as if Steve needed to be convinced to marry her.

"I do!" He said quickly when Kayla raised her brow, then added more seriously, "I do."

"And do you, Kayla Ellis, take Steve Rogers to be your elderly husband?"

"Tony!" They snapped in unison, but Kayla sighed and answered, "I do."

"Then by the power vested in me by the state of California, I mean New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride." Tony told Steve, looking more sincere than Steve had ever seen him.

He grabbed her by the arms and dipped her as he kissed her before scooping her up to hold in his arms and carrying Kayla back down the isle while she tossed her bouquet back of her shoulder to be caught by Tiffany, much to the small woman's surprise.

"Steve! We gotta go back to the party!" Kayla whined as Steve sucked on her neck as she drug her fingers through his hair. He hummed against her soft skin and her eyes rolled back, feeling his hands roll over the fabric of her wedding dress to her hips, "Baby, there's cake! You wanted cake!"

"Past tense. Right now I'd rather eat you."

"We have guests."

"They live here."

"Not my mother." Kayla finally pushed Steve away to look at him smugly. "Two hours. Then I'm all yours."

Steve huffed and stroked her jaw with his thumb, "I'm going to break you in half."

"Okay." Kayla said nonchalantly, tugging Steve's hand to lead him to the door; only stopping to fix her smudged red lipstick and messy wisps of hair.

When they swept into the common area of the Avengers Compound, everyone erupted into whooping and clapping when Steve spun her around and placed one of her hands on his shoulder before grabbing her waist to pull her close for a dance.

While Kayla leaned against Steve's chest, dancing away without a care in the world while the photographer took photos, one of the SHIELD agents working at the compound scurried up to Sam Wilson nervously.

"Sir, there's been a security breach."

"Shhh!" Tiffany and Sam hissed in unison as the woman yanked the agent away, "What?!"

"A security breach on the roof. Somebody tripped the alarm."

"I'll take care of it. They never need to know." Sam told Tiffany before slipping away, leaving his fiancé to face the bride and groom nervously.

A few moments after Sam left, a ping emitted from the tablet and the agent's eyes widened. Tiffany glared at him, "What is that?"

"Another breach. Somebody came through the front door who wasn't authorized."

"Nat!" Tiffany yelped, grabbing the Black Widow by the arm and whispering in her ear, "We have two separate security breaches. What do we do?"

"I'll deal with it. Make sure they don't find out." Natasha answered under her breath, looking over to Wanda, "Come with me."

The Scarlet Witch eyed Tiffany but followed Natasha nonetheless as the song ended and Steve dipped Kayla for another kiss, causing those who were left to clap excitedly. Kayla beamed at the room, meeting Tiffany's eyes before scanning the crowd before her smile dropped.

Tiffany scurried towards the bride and took her hands, "Wanda and Nat just ran to the bathroom, they'll be right back."

"Okay." Kayla said slowly, only to be called by her mother. She smiled at her best friend before trotting over to her mom with Steve in tow. Her assistant sighed as the same agent appeared again. She shoved her finger into his face and growled, "Don't you dare tell me-"

"There's someone in the kitchen."

"Who's in the kitchen?" Stark asked as he walked up to Tiffany and the agent, "I remember you. You were on the helicarrier after Sokovia."

"Cameron Kline, Sir."

"I don't really care, who is in the kitchen?" Tony asked Tiffany and she looked around with her lips pursed until she sighed, "We have a couple of security breaches. Nothing big. We're handling it."

"You want Happy to check it out? I'm sure he wouldn't mind- Happy!" Tony called and his former bodyguard appeared by his side quickly, "Hap, can you check out the kitchen for me? Apparently somebody is snooping around who shouldn't be. If you need backup call Rhodey. I'm retired." Tony raised his beer bottle in a cheers before reaching his hand out for Pepper to take as he approached Vision to ask him some questions about how he was doing among the humans.

Meanwhile, Sam landed on the roof and looked around, seeing it devoid of life. He heard one of the agents in his ear asking, "What's going on up there, Sam?"

"We had a sensor trip, but I'm not seeing anything." Sam said into his wrist, looking around anyway, "As you can imagine, today isn't a day to leave anything up to chance." He scanned the ground until he locked in on something with his goggles, "Wait a second."

It looked like a tiny person frozen against the rocks, but it was clearly somebody trying to break into the storage building, "I can see you." Sam called and the man blew up to regular size and started chattering like Sam was one of his old friends.

"Hi. I'm Scott." He said with a wave after popping open his helmet.

Sam stared him down, unamused, "What are you doing here?"

"First off, I'm a big fan."

"Appreciate it, but this is a closed campus, especially today. So the the hell are you?"

"I'm Ant-Man."

While Sam was dealing with Scott Lang on the roof, Natasha was sneaking towards the main lobby of the Avengers Headquarters with her gun drawn. She was thankful she'd chosen a dress with a slit, allowing her easy and free movement in case of an emergency such as this. One break in wasn't out of the realm of possibility, but two started to seem like an ambush.

Wanda's eyes glowed red as she wiggled her fingers, and Natasha turned to ask what she was doing until she heard a panicked shriek from behind a pillar.

"Hold them!" Natasha ordered as she ran forward with her gun aimed at the intruder, ready to shoot on sight if needed. When she rounded the corner, she saw a tall woman in a pencil skirt and suit jacket stuck to the ground by Wanda's magic. When she saw Natasha, she gasped and started apologizing profusely.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I'm Jennifer Martinez, I'm a reporter for WHiH World News! My photographer was the one chosen to shoot the wedding and I was hoping to sneak in and get a story to accompany the photos!"

Natasha looked over at Wanda and motioned with her head for the younger woman to join her. Wanda released Jennifer when she got there, studying the reporter with her arms cross. Nat scoffed and released a long 'aahhh' before explaining to Wanda, "I remember her from our meeting with the President after the Battle of New York. You're the one who knows Kayla."

Jennifer glared down at the Black Widow, but she knew better than to sass the assassin, "We were roommates in college. I was in the suite with KD and Tiff."

"KD?" Wanda asked quietly.

"Kayla Dawn. It's the name she went by to fly under the radar. We did a lot of partying. She was very quickly rising to fame while getting her science degree. She took Tiffany along for the ride and left me in the dust." Jennifer admitted darkly, "Tell me, is this wedding a sham? It seems like a great way for her to keep him close to work on her serum. That's all she cared about was her stupid serum."

Natasha raised the gun and Jennifer raised her hands in surrender, quivering in her sights, "It's not like nobody is thinking it! Let me get the story out that it's real, if it is. Wouldn't he want that? For the world to know she truly loves him?"

"This is a private wedding. You weren't invited." Natasha warned as she lowered her gun and slid it into her thigh holster, "The woman you know is gone. Had her mind erased and put back together."

"That's already common knowledge. I need a big story. If I can get a story from KD, I can take over Christine's spot on the international news. Let me in, and we'll all win. At least let me talk to her attack dog. If Tiff lets me in, will you let me talk to Kayla?"

Wanda and Natasha shared a glance, then Natasha nodded, "Fine. But Kayla doesn't see you until Tiffany says it's okay."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Happy was looking around for the intruder, but unable to find anything out of ordinary. Everything was in place, and everyone there from the catering company had their credentials displayed for him to check. "Badges out, please! Somebody here doesn't belong."

They looked among each other and a tall man with a clean shaven face and his hair pulled back into a bun shrugged, "Sorry. Everybody here was sent from the restaurant."

Happy narrowed his eyes on the man for a moment, then turned around, "If you see anyone out of place, I'm the first one to hear about it, understood?"

"Understood." The caterer said with a nervous smile as Happy stormed out of the kitchen back to the reception.

Tiffany ran up to Happy when he reappeared, pulling him away from Kayla and Steve to ask, "Did you find them?"

"Everyone in the kitchen belongs there. I double checked all the badges." Happy assured her, but Tiffany just pursed her lips and hummed, looking over her shoulder as Natasha appeared and motioned with her index finger for Tiffany to come see her. "I gotta go. Just... keep doing whatever you're doing."

Tiffany jogged over to Natasha and Wanda, then stopped when she saw the woman with them, "Get the fuck out of here."

"Nice to see you too, Jones." Jennifer sneered as she peeked around Wanda, "Where's my photographer?"

"Oh, your photographer. You're the one who authorized the two million dollar bid? Thanks for that, by the way. We're giving it to charity." Tiffany said as she looked over her shoulder to see Steve and Kayla cutting their massive cake, "What do you want, Jenny?"

"I want a story for my news station. I told your friends that you want this story too, because I'm the one who's going to report that this wedding isn't a sham."

"It isn't, and they don't need you to report on the authenticity of their marriage. Kay isn't interested in the press, the only reason we even allowed your photographer in was to make a little money for a good cause. You were not invited."

"Hmm," Jennifer looked over the smaller woman as Kayla laughed loudly, a smidge of icing on her nose, "She looks beautiful."

Tiffany rolled her eyes and growled, "She does, I'd love to actually spend time with her on the happiest day of her life, but I keep having intruders to deal with."

"Listen, here's what I'll do- you let me talk to KD. Maybe she tells me something good, maybe she doesn't, but if you don't, I'll report that she's only marrying Captain America to work on her super soldier serum, and he's only marrying her to get good press for the Avengers after the Sokovia incident this summer. So basically, the fate of their public image lies in your hands. Because I'll have the photos, and I can spin the story however I want."

Natasha grabbed Jennifer's arm tightly and the woman began to whimper in pain as Tiffany clenched her fists, ready to deck the reporter until Kayla's voice rose above the music, "Jenny? How'd you get in here?"

They turned to face the bride, finding her more curious than angry, and potentially amused by the potential scuffle that was about to happen between her friends and her old roommate. She smiled when she felt Steve's hand land on her waist, and Natasha let go of Jennifer to speak with Kayla, "Hey, KD! Wow, you look... you look beautiful."

"Thanks, it's my wedding, so it's to be expected." Kayla answered easily, "What'cha doing here?"

"My photographer."

"Ahhh." Kayla answered, patting Steve's chest as she leaned into him, "So you're here for the story. Something to write in addition to the pictures, right? Well, here you go." Kayla gestured between herself and Steve, "We got married. We're gonna dance, eat, and eventually stay up all night having a good time alone. What's to be expected."

Jennifer narrowed her eyes at Kayla, "Is it even real?"

"Yes. Take a look at the photos, it's pretty obvious." Kayla chuckled, holding Steve back to keep him from pummeling her old roommate, "I'll make you a deal, you stay. Have some cake, mingle. And the first interview I do is yours." Jennifer tilted her head and grinned, but Kayla raised her finger, "Just consider this, should you stab me in the back, and write lies about my husband and I, I know several ways to make you disappear. And yes, that's a threat, but do you really want to see if I mean it?"

Steve smirked and held Kayla a little tighter against his side, leaning down to whisper in her ear as Jennifer considered her options, "The first interview is mine?"

"Don't know when it'll be, but it's yours. I'm sure we'll have something to talk about in the future."

"Then you've got yourself a deal." Jennifer reached out to shake Kayla's hand, and the blonde did so slowly, smiling grandly before gesturing for the woman to begin mingling.

"You didn't have to do that." Steve whispered in Kayla's ear, tossing his head up in greeting to Sam as he reappeared from wherever he was hiding. "I'll kick her out."

"Honestly, it's fine, I'm feeling charitable." Kayla said as she led Steve back to the dessert table, deciding she'd rather have cake and ice cream than dinner. She picked up a piece of cake before pursuing the ice cream for which one she wanted. Kayla stopped and picked up a small tub that wasn't like the others, studying it carefully before looking up at Steve with wide eyes.

He cocked his head to the side, "What's wrong?"

"Wanda?" Kayla called over her shoulder, turning a little to show the Sokovian what she had, "When did you get this?"

The Scarlet Witch approached, and Kayla realized her brows were drawn in confusion because she didn't know. "I didn't bring it."

Kayla's breath caught in her throat as she sat down the ice cream and looked up at Steve, "He's here."

Steve looked up and over the small crowd, scanning for his old friend, but he recognized every single person in that room and none of them were him, "Kay, that's not-"

"This is him. He's here." Kayla said quietly as Steve sighed and rubbed his eye socket with his fist, "You believe me right?"

"I do. That's what makes it so hard." Steve and Kayla looked to each other and she smiled up at him sadly, "You know, it's been an hour and a half... only a half hour more. We should start saying our goodbyes so we can, you know..." Steve winked and Kayla giggled, grabbing a spoon and shoving it into the Sokovian ice cream to scoop up some for Steve. He opened his mouth for her to feed him, and he hummed happily, "That's delicious!"

"I know right? So unexpected!" Kayla exclaimed as she dug her own spoon in to eat it, "We're taking this with us, right?"

"I mean, I wouldn't complain if we took all of it with us..." Steve trailed off as he looked at the buffet in the corner, but Kayla fed him another spoonful of ice cream. "I love you."

"I love you too." Kayla said through a mouthful of cake, "How about we blow this popsicle stand now?"

"It's early."

"I think they'll live." She whispered loudly as she leaned up to kiss Steve's cheek. "Come on. Go thank everyone for coming and we'll head out."

Steve let go of her to address the room, and once he was turned around, Kayla reached under the ice cream tub she was holding to pluck off a taped paper from the bottom. She quickly scanned it, reading the message sadly.

If you need me, you know where to find me. Love you both.

"Thank you all for coming." Steve said to their guests as Kayla quickly crumbled the note and tossed it into the garbage can at the edge of the dessert table. She took her place next to Steve and he continued, "We can't tell you all enough how much we appreciate all your love and support. It's been a hard year and a half, but I think I can speak for both of us that we're thankful this day finally came. Above that though, we're thankful you all could celebrate with us."

"So you guys enjoy the cake, I'm going to steal my husband away for a little alone time." Kayla teased as she held onto the sides of Steve's jacket tightly, "We love you all."

"Hey, uh, where'd the cake go?" Stark asked quickly, pointing to the table where it had been sitting just a moment earlier.

Sam narrowed his eyes and growled under his breath as Tiffany leaned into him, "Dammit, Scott."