Back at the Compound…
Morgan was sitting down keeping busy while playing solitaire on her tablet while Ellie was pacing up and down the common room.
"You should sit down." Morgan said.
"How are you so calm? We don't know what's going on over there." Ellie said.
"They cut the transmission meaning they got there before anything happened to Nora. And if anything had happened they would have let us know by now." Morgan said.
Just them Wren and Wren (Sr) showed up.
"Wren!" Ellie said running into her fiancé's arms and immediately looked him over, checking him for any injuries.
"Where's Nora and Aiden?" Morgan asked just as they appeared next to them.
"I've missed that." Nora said.
"Powers back?" Morgan started.
"Yeah." I said with a smile. "Everyone stayed behind to handle clean up. Friday you mind ordering some Chinese food."
"Yes Boss." Friday said.
"What a day." I said falling back on the couch.
"I know the feeling." Wren said sitting down next to her putting an arm behind her. "Time traveling is exhausting."
"So where exactly in the timeline did Aya grab you from?" I asked him.
"The week after you time jumped after we…" Wren started before he looked at our son. "Our wedding anniversary."
"Our wedding an… oh!" I said realizing what he was trying to say without saying it.
"Yeah. You've been gone for a while. Kind of getting a bit worried." Wren said.
"It's going to take me a while to get back." I said. "Sorry."
"Don't be. I think it all worked out the way it was supposed to." Wren said smiling as he watched our son and Ellie bickering with Morgan about what they were going to order in.
"It sure did." I said. "She looks just like Jess."
"That's what I said. And Connor? He got so tall." Wren said. "I'm not really surprised because Sam is too but…"
"We still see him as that adorable little kid that called spaghetti pascetti?" I said.
"And Morgan… without a doubt Tony's kid." Wren said.
"What gave it away?" I asked.
"She makes the same face you and Tony do when you do that thing. Same smirk. Wren has it too. They grow up so fast." Wren said.
"Yeah they do." I said tearing up putting a hand on Wren's knee.
"You okay?" he asked sounding concerned.
"Yeah… I'm just gonna go shower and get out of this thing before the food gets here. You should check on your brother. Make sure he leaves some scotch for the rest of us." I said giving his hand a gentle squeeze before letting him go.
"I'll try my best but I'm not making any promises." He said kissing the top of my head before going to check on Aiden.
I teleported to my room and went to go shower trying to get rid of the chlorine smell that was on me. When I got out I was standing in front of a mirror drying my hair with a towel just taking a minute to just breathe when I saw Aya appear behind me.
"So you brought Wren to the future. How'd you pull that off?" I asked.
"Let's just say this time you weren't the one that screwed up the timeline." Aya said.
"How bad?" I asked.
"Well the universe hasn't imploded yet but there will be consequences. There always is." She said.
"How long have I been gone?" I asked her.
"A few hours. How long has it been for you?" She asked.
"Over a year." I said.
"I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to send you anywhere." Aya said.
"Wow, in almost thirty… something years this is the first time you've ever apologized for anything." I said.
"That's because I'm normally right." Aya said.
"Hindsight is 20 20." I said with a smirk. "You always knew Wren was going to be your next host didn't you?"
"You're amazing but your son is going to be extraordinary." Aya said.
"They all are." I said agreeing whole heartedly with her.
"I knew it was a possibility, and I will admit I strongly preferred this one." She said as I bit my lip knowing that the possibility she had hoped for all these years was the one where I ended up dead. "But ultimately this was all your choice."
"Yeah…" I said.
"You should go eat. They're waiting for you." Aya said before disappearing.
Back in the common room- Third Person's POV
"Is that the good stuff?" Wren asked.
"That's the only kind they have here." Aiden said grabbing another glass and pouring his brother a drink.
"What are we drinking to?" Wren asked.
"To Abernathy finally being gone." Aiden said raising his glass. "Didn't think I'd have to wait this long to drink to that."
"I'm kind of surprised about that. I would have thought you'd be done with him ages ago." Wren said.
"Well that was the plan but things changed." Aiden said. "Things came up."
"They always do." Wren said. "but you stuck around."
"I had a promise to keep," Aiden said. "Though as it turned out I wasn't the only one you asked to look after someone? You really thought I needed a nanny?"
"Oh no I know you can take care of yourself and Nora can too. I just didn't want you two to be alone and you weren't. Far from it." Wren said looking at the kids.
"Hasn't always been easy and she can be… a handful." Aiden said making Wren snort. "Time travel is…"
"Tell me about it. I have a son and he's older than me." Wren said.
"He's his father's son." Aiden said. "but in personality…"
"He's all Nora." Wren said smiling. "What about you? Any one night stands you accidentally knocked up?"
"Not that I'm aware of." Aiden said. "I had… someone but it just didn't work out."
"She must be something if she's the one you think about when I ask." Wren said.
"It's complicated." Aiden said.
"Is it more complicated that marrying your best friend for a green card who's in love with her two super soldier soulmates from the 1940's that she met because she's a time traveler, realizing you have feelings and finally acting on them before she disappears who knows when, getting pulled to the future by a sentient being that controls time because in the future she got lost in time only to find out that said friend was pregnant with your son when you died and that you're not going to see him grow up all while a brain tumor is slowly killing you?" Wren said.
Aiden just gave him a look.
"Life is complicated and it is too damn short. There is always going to be something and trust me when I say that when you get to the end you don't want to have any regrets." He said.
"Is the food here yet?" Nora said teleporting in.
"Right on time mom." Wren said as he opened up the bags that had just gotten delivered.
"Is she one of them?" Aiden said looking at Nora.
"She could never be that. Nora's the best thing that's ever happened to me." Wren said smiling. "She's the sun."
"Did you really just call her the sun?" Aiden said snorting. "You're such a sap."
"You know what I mean." Wren said rolling his eyes.
"Yeah I do." Aiden said looking to where the kids and Nora were laughing at something Morgan had said.
"Is she happy?" Wren asked.
"Hm?" Aiden asked confused.
"Future Nora? Is she happy with them?" Wren asked. Aiden took a drink struggling to keep a straight face and not let anything show. His brother already had a lot weighing on him he couldn't tell him the love of his life was also facing a death sentence herself.
"You know Nora. She can see the good in everyone. It took them a while and there were a few bumps along the way not to mention Steve can be an idiot," Aiden said making Wren snort. "But they love her and even when things were bad they never stopped fighting for her and Wren. They're good dads. They love him as if he was theirs."
"That's cause he's theirs too but its good to hear. I didn't really feel like having another talk with Steve." Wren said.
"Don't worry you made your point the first time." Aiden said.
"Guys the foods getting cold." Nora called out.
"You should go, don't want to keep the missus waiting." Aiden teased.
"Who do you think sent me here to check on the scotch?" Wren said taking the bottle out of Aiden's reach. "Come on, its not everyday I come back from the dead. This might be the last family dinner we'll have."
"Yeah." Aiden said finishing the rest of his drink in one gulp. "I'll grab the beers."
Nora's POV-
"Only dad would think it is a good idea to put a stealth suit outside my window." Morgan said as we all started laughing at her teenage antics and dad's attempts to stop her.
"Honestly he is the last person that has a right to judge, And I'm saying that as his secret love child." I teased making everyone around the table laugh.
"Is it true Aunt Pepper found out Uncle Tony was a dad by accident?" Ellie asked.
"He was yelling at you over the phone about us getting married." Wren said.
"I think he was angrier about us getting married than he was about me going to Afghanistan." I said.
"I don't know what you two are talking about Grandpa Tony was awesome. He gave me my first beer, we went to burning man, one time he covered for me when I threw a rager here and the place was completely trashed. I think we even had a horse in here." Wren said.
"Pony Soprano." Morgan and Ellie said as they started laughing.
"Your grandfather was good but Howard…" Wren (Sr.) started.
"Gramps could go for days, always got in trouble and somehow we'd end up in another country." I said. "This one time back when we were in London we went out somehow ended up in Scotland with no clue how we got there. Woke up to Jarvis delivering pressed clothes and coffee."
"Jarvis though…" Wren said.
"Nana." I added and Wren just started laughing.
"When she…" Wren started and I just started laughing because I knew what he was getting at.
"You guys are going to love this. So back in the late 40's early 50's we went back to sign the paperwork to found SHIELD. Grandpa like dad took any excuse to have a party so he threw this huge pool party and invited everyone he knew, models, actresses, actors, it was a full house. And Nana and Jarvis were there too. Jarvis wanted to go out but Nana insisted they stay and have some fun at grandpa's expense for once." I started before I started laughing.
"Anyway Anna was the life of the party. She made a mean Manhattan and that one drink that tasted like fruit punch but knocked you on your ass." Wren said. "What did she call it?"
"Donkey Punch. That was the worst hangover I've ever had." I added.
"So she had this knife trick she would do, she could open any bottle with one swipe of a knife." Wren (Sr) said.
"What do you mean?" Wren said.
"She would just get a knife and with one swipe she would pop off the cork, top, whatever was keeping the bottle closed." I explained.
"No way." Morgan said.
"No really." Wren (Sr) said.
"You can't open any bottle with just a knife." Morgan said.
"Want to bet?" I said standing up and going to the kitchen.
"Nora?" Aiden said as I grabbed the biggest knife out of the knife block.
"Uh mom are you sure this is a good idea?" Wren said.
"Wren, Mommy's got this." I said. "Someone get me a bottle."
"Worst case Aya will heal her." Aiden said as Wren Sr grinned.
"Which bottle?" Ellie asked from behind the bar.
"Something good, and expensive it's a special occasion." I answered.
"Top shelf." Ellie said.
"Your dad always had the best booze." Wren (Sr.) said.
"One bottle of limited vintage Dom Perignon. Because if we're getting drunk we're doing it right." Ellie said presenting the bottle to Nora.
"Your mom would be so proud to hear you say that." I said remembering all the times Jess had said that to me over the years. "Alright it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it take the knife and hold it with the sharp side pointing away from you. Thumb on the edge of the blade like so. Hold the bottle with your fingers out of the way and…"
With one quick swipe of the blade it was popped open. The champagne spouted out.
"What!" Morgan said cheering before everyone clapped.
"Don't forget to make sure the bottle is pointing away from anyone." Wren (Sr) said.
"I want to learn to do that." Morgan said.
"Me too." Ellie seconded.
"Okay finish the bottle first we don't want it to go to waste." I said.
"Yes mom." The girls said condescendingly.
"How'd you get Anna to teach you that trick?" Wren said.
"I had thirty years to wear her down." I said. "So back in the fifties we were at the party and we're going shot for shot with Brigitte Bardot, Grace Kelly…."
"Reagan." Wren (Sr) said.
"That wasn't Reagan." I said.
"He was in all those western movies." Wren (Sr) said.
"Yeah but he wasn't there." I said. "Remember he and Howard got in a fight because they started talking politics and then gramps planted one on Reagan's girlfriend at the time."
"Then whose cowboy hat did you steal?" He asked.
"John Wayne's." I said.
"Oh right." He said.
"Anyway were all there and nana decides to raid the top shelf but the bartender couldn't get him open. She jumps behind the bar takes the bottle and the knife and pops it open with a knife. At the same time the cork files out and smack's Marilyn Monroe on the nose hard." I said.
"And that's how Marilyn got a free nose job." Wren (Sr) said as everyone started laughing.
"We did the world a favor." I said raising a glass.
Hours Later…
"Okay." I said to Morgan fixing her grip on the knife. "Just move your thumb, you don't want to lose that one. Alright go for it."
"So I just and poof?" Morgan said.
"Yeah just go for it." I said.
"Just like that?" She said.
"Don't overthink it." I said.
"Come on Morgan." Ellie cheered.
"Oh this is going to end badly." Connor said.
"She'll probably just miss." Aiden said.
"Or lose a finger." Wren teased.
"Hey!" Morgan said taking the knife and pointing it at Wren.
"Morgan you're in a room with three trained surgeons and a state of the art medical center downstairs. Anything you cut off we can reattach." Wren (Sr) said. "That being said we're really fucked up right now so cut at your own risk."
"I see where you get it from now." Morgan said to Wren (Jr.) who just smirked at her.
"Moe, I'm getting thirsty pop it open already. Do it! Do it!" Ellie chanted and every one joined it.
"Alright one two… say hello to my little friend!" Morgan said sliding the knife against the bottle and popping it open but unfortunately she let the knife slip out of her grasp and sent it flying to the doorway where Steve and Bucky were just walking in.
"Whoa!" Bucky said catching the knife with his metal hand a few inches away from Steve's face.
"I did it!" Morgan cheered jumping up and down hugging me tight as we all laughed.
"Looks like they started the party without us Buck." Steve said.
"Right on time." I said taking the bottle and pouring drinks.
"Everything taken care of?" Aiden asked.
"For now." Bucky said.
"We erased everything that Abernathy had on you so the timeline is safe." Steve said. "We also found the location of all of their hidden bases which are being taken down by local authorities as we speak."
"So we're officially done tracking down religious nutjobs?" Aiden said.
"Looks like." Bucky said.
"Fucking finally. I'm grabbing another bottle." Aiden said.
"Oh I want to pop it open this time!" Ellie said jumping out of her seat.
"Babe, Maybe we should leave the knife tricks for when you're less tipsy." Wren said.
"Aww." Ellie whined.
"It's okay sweetie. There's always brunch." I said.
"You all still do Saturday Brunch?" Wren (Sr) said with a smile.
"We never miss a Saturday. And there's booze now." Aiden said.
"Nice." Wren (Sr) said.
"I still can't believe that after almost sixty years it's finally over. Snow and now Abernathy are gone. Like really fucking gone." Aiden said.
"I can't believe I actually got to live to see it. Sort of…" Wren said.
"I can't believe it really took this long to get rid of them." I said.
"It took seventy years to get rid of HYDRA." Bucky pointed out.
"A lot of hits and misses." Steve said.
"And dying but not really dying." I added.
"This got dark really fast." Connor said.
"Point is we won and we're all still here." Aiden said and everyone tensed and he realized what he said. "For the most part."
"There's nothing wrong with dying." Wren (Sr) said smiling. "Plus from where I'm standing it all worked out."
"That it did." I said smiling at him glad he was blissfully unaware he was not the only one in that room that was no longer around.
"So what now?" Morgan said.
"Now everyone goes back to their own time." Aya said appearing out of nowhere.
"Seriously Aya? Don't be a party pooper." Morgan said.
"Auntie Nora got kidnapped and you time jumped uncle Wren all over the place today. Don't you think they deserve a break?" Ellie said.
"What do you think the past few hours have been?" Aya said. "Every second they are away from their own time, especially him, is a chance to further damage the time line."
"Aya all things considered I don't think we're the ones causing irreparable damage to the timeline." Nora said. "Everything is still the way its meant to be. The universe isn't falling apart. The sky isn't falling. I think we're okay."
"And if you want things to stay okay then you need to go home now." Aya said.
"Aya they can stay a few days or at least until morning." Wren said. "After everything you owe them that much."
"That's not how it works and you know it." Aya said.
"A lot of things don't work the way they're supposed to Aya. You know like people not being the age they're supposed to be." I said. "People not being dead when they're supposed to be but the world keeps spinning."
"You've been here over a year and you have things to do, people waiting for you and an infant that needs his mom." Aya said.
"And I will go back just not yet." I said.
"I wasn't asking." Aya said making her eyes glow.
"Aya come on just a few more days. I want Auntie Nora to be at our wedding." Ellie said.
"You haven't even set a date yet." Aya retorted.
"Why wouldn't current Nora be there?" Wren (SR) asked.
"She's off world on a humanitarian mission, out of range of communication she's not due back for at least a year." Wren answered quickly.
"Seriously?" He said.
"Aya encouraged it and now we know why." Aiden said backing him up.
"As considerate as that is it's still a no." Aya said. "Say goodbye."
I stood up and walked next to Aya glaring at her before I said the three words that from that day forward would win me any argument until the day I died.
"Purple Space Dinosaur." I said and Aya's eyes widened in shock.
"Purple what?" Wren (Sr) said and everyone shut up.
"What did you just say?" Aya said staring at me in shock.
"You heard me." I said.
"H-how did you…" She started.
"Even you have blind spots." I reminded her.
We stared at each other for a minute before she turned to my son and his fiancé.
"You have a week and not a second more. And this counts as your wedding, birthdays, and Christmas gifts until the end of time for the both of you." Aya said.
"Best gift ever." Ellie said smiling.
"Thanks Aya." Wren said smiling before Aya disappeared.
"Looks like we have a wedding to plan." I said as Ellie gave me a beaming smile.
"In a week." Morgan said making Ellie's eyes widen at the realization.
"Oh fuck. OH FUCK! We're getting married in a week and I don't have a wedding dress or flowers, or food and its short notice and we don't have a venue and…" Ellie said starting to panic.
"Ellie sweetie breathe." Wren (Sr.) said. "It's okay."
"Listen to your uncle. We planned our wedding in less than a week and we pulled it off." I said.
"Kept your aunt out of jail and me from getting deported. We can do this." Wren (Sr) said.
"Or worst case scenario we teleport everyone to Vegas and get married in a drive thru." Wren said.
"Dude." Morgan said giving her nephew a look to knock It off.
"Just an idea." Wren said. "Whatever you want babe. No matter how impossible I will make it happen."
"Okay okay… we can do this." Ellie said.
"We got this." I reassured them.
The week that followed was the busiest of my entire life and that was saying something considering how insane my life was on a usual basis. The ranch which was apparently now a school/ orphanage for extraordinarily gifted kids was the venue Ellie had decided on since she wanted an outdoor wedding. I then had to use some Asgardian magic as well as some temporal fields to make flowers bloom out of season, as well as guilt tripping Aya to let me go back in time six months to leave the wedding dress designs with the very same person who created my own wedding dress thirty years earlier and hire a caterer.
All in all I finished with two days to spare.
"Well we did it. We pulled off the impossible." Wren (Sr) said.
"We did?" Aya said appearing out of nowhere.
"It was a team effort." I said.
"That it was." Aiden said.
"You literally moved time to make it happen." Bucky said.
"It's not everyday our kids get married." I said.
"My little girl's getting married." Sam said tearing up.
"Damn it Sam we talked about this. You can't cry because them I cry and we start with the pity party." I said. "And then we start to talk about Jess…"
"Jess." Sam cried.
"Damn it Nora." Aiden said.
"I'm sorry I just can't stop thinking about how she was there for me and she pulled the impossible off for us and now our kids…" I cried.
"She used to imagine what would happen if our kids ended up married to each other and now they really are." Sam said crying.
"Alright I'm ready…" Steve said walking in. "What happened?"
"Nora said the J word." Bucky said.
"Jess!" Sam cried. "I wish she was here."
"Me too. Aya…" I started.
"No!" She said before disappearing.
"Okay that's it no more crying until we finish at least one bottle." Aiden said. "Come on. To the pub."
"Actually I'll meet you guys there. Need to check on a few things really quick." I said sniffling a bit.
"Need a hand?" Wren asked.
"No, I got it." I said kissing him before teleporting to my first stop.
Sister Margaret's was as busy and rowdy as always.
"Really? You have about 48 hours left with dead husband and son and you're here?" Aya said.
"It's a quick stop. Besides If I'm going to die I want to do it with as little unfinished business as possible." I said.
"You have unfinished business here?" Aya said.
"Purple space dinosaur was a game changer. I need to say thank you. If I hadn't found out from Wade what was going to happen I wouldn't have made the most of the past year." I said walking in and walking to the bar where Wade was talking to Weasel and the busboy.
"Wade heads up." Weasel said.
"Sword or gun?" Wade said.
"Just the hired mercenary I was looking for." I said with a smirk.
"How's my favorite zombie?" he said. "Are you looking for brains?"
"Oh just passing through. Take off your mask." I said.
"Whoa buy a guy dinner first." Wade said offended. "I'm a classy guy I don't put out for the first savior that comes back from the dead."
"I'm on a bit of a time crunch here and I have a few more stops to make so stop trying to be funny and take it off already." I said.
"What? You want to see if I aged as horribly as you thought I would?" He said untying the mask before taking it off and putting it down on the bar. "I think It actually got slightly better. I tried that vampire facial Kim Kardashian uses to not look old. Worked wonders."
I put a hand on his cheek and made him look at me.
"You're a good man Wade Wilson even if you like to pretend to be a dick." I said before poking two fingers onto his forehead making his face heal and all of the scars disappear. Even his hair grew back. Weasel jaw dropped and the busboy dropped the glasses he was picking up as they watched Wade's face heal. "Have a nice life."
With that I swiped the shot in front of him and downed it on one go before walking away.
"Did I just get hit on by a zombie?" Wade said turning to Weasel. "I'm really not into necrophilia it's just… I have to draw the line somewhere. What?"
"Uh… wade you're…" he started pointing to his face.
"What? Did she put something on my face?" Wade said before looking in the mirror. "HOLY SHIT! I'M HOT AGAIN!"
Next stop was checking in with Bruce to see if he managed to come through with a favor I asked. If he couldn't do it them no one could.
And finally I teleported back to New York and made my way up to a third floor walk up.
I knocked on the door and a few second later the door opened.
"Hi, you don't know me but we have a friend in common." I said. "And I think you're really going to want to hear what I have to say."
The Day of the Wedding…
The day of the wedding I was so excited it was almost as if I was the one getting married. We got to the ranch early in the morning. Ellie and Morgan were getting ready while Wren (Sr) and I were teleporting around to pick up a few of the guests.
"Alright that's everyone…" Wren (Sr) said before he stopped in front of me. "Wow."
"What too much?" I said looking down at the metallic striped floor length dress with the strappy plunging neckline my niece had picked out for me. It was her wedding day and there was no way I was going to argue with her. My hair was in a long lob and curled while being parted to the side.
.
"Beautiful like always." Wren said kissing me.
"Well you look like a sexier James Bond in that suit." I said fixing his tie.
"Ew get a room you two." Aiden said.
"We have a house." Wren retorted. "In fact were standing in it."
"Well the bride wants to see her mother in law." Aiden said.
"Duty calls." I said going to the room where Morgan and Ellie were getting ready. "Knock knock."
"Come in… damn." Morgan said.
"The bride has good taste." I said looking at the pistachio green corseted gown Ellie had picked out for her maid of honor.
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"Auntie?" Ellie said coming out in her structured skirted wedding dress with a low back and plunging neck line. Her blonde hair up in a messy yet stylish updo.
.
"Ellie." I said tearing up. "You look beautiful. Fuck I'm going to cry."
"No. No crying. You're going to make me cry and I'll look like a tomato in the pictures." Ellie said.
"You'd be the prettiest tomato ever." Morgan said. "Uh I need a shot."
"No drinking until the reception." I lectured my sister.
"Where's Aiden when you need him." Morgan said.
"Okay uh I didn't know if you had a veil or not or if they were still used but I figured you'd need your something old so I brought options." I said opening the box. "Your grandma Ellen hand stitched this for your moms wedding and your mom lent it to me for my wedding, figured you might."
"It's so pretty and now I'm crying." Ellie said tearing up again.
"Happy thoughts. Puppies and unicorns that poop out rainbows." Morgan said making us laugh.
"Also got you this. I wore it on my wedding day." I said opening the box with the bejeweled comb.
"I want them both." Ellie said.
"They're yours." I said helping Ellie put them on. "And I didn't forget you sis."
"I get a present?" Morgan said surprised.
"It's a bit of a hand me down but I think you'll like it." I said handing her the velvet box. Morgan opened it and she started tearing up when she saw my arc reactor necklace.
"It's your necklace." Morgan said surprised.
"Well yours now. Dad gave it to me after he told the world he was Iron man. He also put a tracker in it which I took out don't worry." I said helping Morgan put it on.
"Are you sure?" Morgan said touching the reactor. "Dad gave it to you."
"And I'm giving it to you. I want you to have it and I'm sure if dad was here he'd agree with me. Besides it's not like I'm going to use it anymore and I owe you like thirty birthday and Christmas presents." I said. "But that is enough crying. It's time to get you hitched."
"I'm getting married!" Ellie cheered.
"I'll go get your dad, and make sure the guys are exactly where they need to be." With that I teleported downstairs where Aiden was handing out shots.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I said.
"Busted." Connor said with a smirk.
"I didn't do it!" Wren said dropping his shot glass not taking a sip.
"What it's just for the nerves." Aiden said.
"Told you." Wren (Sr) said.
"I said no drinking until the reception. No exceptions." I said taking the bottle and glass from Aiden. "And aren't you supposed to be ushering people to their seats?"
"They're all grown-ups I think they can find a chair by themselves." Aiden said.
"Then why aren't you sitting down?" I reminded him.
"I was just making sure no one was getting cold feet." Aiden said. "And they're not so I'll be going. Maybe Morgan has a flask."
"Confiscated it." I called out.
"Shit." Aiden cursed.
"How we feeling?" I asked Wren.
"Like it's the first day of the rest of my life and I couldn't be happier." Wren said. "I'm glad you're both here."
"Never thought I'd get to see this day." Wren (Sr) said.
"Here let me." I said fixing Wren's tire before I noticed something on his cheek. "Hold on you got a little…"
"Ew mom…" Wren said trying to playfully slip away while I fussed over him even thought he was enjoying every second of it.
"Perfect." I said as Steve and Bucky walked in.
"Almost." Steve said taking out a box. "Your dad and I got you something. Your mom gave us matching watches with a personal engraving when we started making plans. Obviously that didn't work out the way we expected it to but we wouldn't change a single thing about how it happened because it got us you son."
"It's a bit ironic to give a time traveler that can control time a watch but I think the engraving on the back says it all." Bucky said.
"This is one of grandpa Tony's." Wren said before turning it around to reveal a mismatching bronze case back. "So you don't get lost in time- HS. HS?"
"Howard Stark." I said. "It's the back of the pocket watch necklace your great grandfather gave me. No matter how lost I felt those words gave me a better sense of direction."
"I love it. Thank you dad." Wren said hugging Steve and Bucky.
"Love you Kid." They said.
"Love you too." Wren said before hugging Wren and I. "And I love you guys."
"Love you too. Now lets get you married." I said.
The four of us, somewhat awkwardly walked Wren down the aisle and sat in the front row of his side. When Ellie made her way down I could see how much those two loved each other.
We all sat down and listened to the ceremony.
"The couple have opted to write their own vows. Ellie?" The officiant said.
"Wren, ever since I could remember you have been in my life, my best friend unconditionally supporting me, making me laugh when I was sad and I don't think it's even possible to describe how much I love you. I can't imagine life without you and I'm so grateful I never have to. You are the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see every night before going to sleep. Our lives are crazy and messy but if I get to do that every day for the rest of our lives then no matter what nothing else matters. I vow to stand by you no matter what comes our way, to cherish every second I get to be with you and to love you today, tomorrow and always." Ellie said slipping the ring onto Wren's finger.
"Wren?" the officiant said.
"Elle I don't know what to say other than it's always been you. As far back as I can remember the best memories of my life always have you in them. You're the light of my life and to quote a very wise man, you're not just everything, you're the sun. Everything I am and everything I will ever be is for you and… for our baby." Wren said.
"Baby?" Steve, Bucky, Sam, Wren (Sr) and I said at the same time.
"Surprise." Ellie said smiling.
"I'm the luckiest man in existence because I get to spend my life with you. I vow to never stop trying to be someone worthy of you, to always come back to you no matter how far back or forward in time or how far away I end up and more importantly to infinitely love you today, tomorrow, yesterday, to the beginning and end of time. I love you Elle always." Wren said slipping the ring onto her finger.
"By the power invested in me by the Allfather and the state of Texas I declare you husband and wife. You ma…" The officiant started but didn't get to finish before the newlywed couple were already kissing and Wren dipped his wife while they kissed.
Everyone cheered for them.
"So guess now I really can call you guys grandma and grandpa." Aiden teased.
"Shut up Aiden." The five of us said at the same time.
After we congratulated the bride and groom the reception area was open as well as the dance floor. It was the perfect day.
Sam, Wren and Aiden were at the bar taking shots when I snuck in behind Aiden and jabbed a syringe into his neck and injected him with a solution.
"Ow! What the fuck Nora?!" Aiden said clutching his neck.
"Your welcome." I said smiling looking to the other end of the bar.
"Is that…?" Sam said.
"What did you do?" Aiden said looking to see a very familiar blonde woman sitting at the other end of the bar.
"As of thirty seconds ago you are now aging at the normal human rate. You're cured." I said.
"I'm… I'm aging? Like Getting older?" Aiden said.
"Yeah, once I finally put two and two together and realized what caused you to stop aging it was pretty easy to reverse the process. I call in some favors and with one tiny needle the problem was solved." I said.
"I'm going to get old." Aiden said repeating it to make sure he understood correctly what I was saying.
"We all get old at some point." I said.
"Nora I need to hear it. In those exact words because… I… how… I mean…. Do I have days a hundred years…What does this mean going forward?" Aiden said.
"It means go get your girl before she changes her mind you bloody idiot!" Wren said.
"Oh fuck!" Aiden said jumping out of his seat and taking two steps before running back and tackling me into a hug and kissing the side of my head. "Love you sister."
With that Aiden ran to Abby and kissed her with everything he had. Abby was surprised but eagerly kissed him back before hugging him tight. Over his shoulder she mouthed a thank you to me before kissing Aiden again.
"About damn time." Sam said.
"Yeah." Wren said. "Would you hate me if I didn't want to dance tonight?"
"You let Aya piggy back off of you through thirty years of time. You've earned your break." I said kissing his cheek.
"Good cause I think there's someone who does want a turn on the dance floor." Wren said glancing behind me to Bucky.
"Hey doll. I was wondering if you'd let me have this dance?" Bucky said as a really slow song started playing. I reached for his hand but stopped as I saw Steve talking with Sam and Natasha.
"Uh actually do you mind if I give this song to someone else? I promise you'll get a turn." I said Bucky glanced to where I was looking and smiled.
"I'm holding you to it." He said. I kissed his cheek before I walked over to Steve and tapped on his shoulder.
"Nora." Steve said smiling.
"If I remember correctly, you owe me a long over due dance. Like a hundred years overdue." I said.
"You remember that." Steve said smiling.
"I remember everything." I said teased. "You sure know how to keep a girl waiting Cap."
"I'm really sorry about that beautiful, Can I make it up to you?" Steve said offering me his hand.
"Well some things are worth the wait." I said taking his hand and following him to the dance floor.
It was a really old song, like over a hundred years old but I think it fit the theme. The lyrics of 'It's been a long long time' sounded through the dance floor as we started swaying slowly.
"You're good." I said resting my head against Steve's chest.
"I've been practicing." Steve said kissing the top of my head.
"This is a better ending." I said.
"It's not an ending, it's a see you later." Steve said.
"You know what I mean." I said.
"You came back once, who's to say it won't happen again." Steve said. "Stranger things have happened."
"True." I said. "It'll work out. It always does."
"Yeah." Steve said holding me close.
After a night of dancing and celebrating, reminiscing about the good old days and celebrating good days to come we headed home. We spent the night just talking goofing off making the most of every second we had left until finally it was morning and it was time to say goodbye.
I decided to wear the most normal outfit I had on hand which ended up being a pair of high waisted olive cargo skinny jeans, a cropped white Henley top and black heeled leather booties.
.
We had one last brunch before Aya showed up.
"Alright you've both had your fun it's time to go." Aya said.
"I know." I said standing up.
"I'd say to tell dad I love him but I'm pretty sure its against the rules." Morgan said hugging me.
"Yeah but I can hug him extra tight for you." I said.
"That works too." Morgan said tearing up and I wiped the tears off her face.
"Hey I love you 3000." I said remembering the story she told me about how she would say that to dad.
"Love you 3000." Morgan said crying as she hugged me again.
"And I'm taking back that advice I gave you about getting over someone by getting under someone new." I said. "Because I have one better. Don't ever shut yourself away to love. It'll find you when you least expect it and even when it's hard and messy it's still awesome."
"Promise." Morgan said smiling.
"Connor." I said hugging my giant nephew. "For the record you've always been my hero even before the super suit. I'm proud of you buddy. Always."
"It's only because I had you to show me how to be one." Connor said. "I love you auntie."
"Love you too buddy. And don't be afraid of making mistakes. Life isn't perfect and sometimes the mistakes end up being the best part of it. And I left you a batch of peanut butter cookies on your desk and some dough in the freezer for really tough days." I said.
"You're the best aunt ever." Connor said hugging me tight.
"Sammy." I said hugging him. "You're the best big brother ever."
"And you're the best sister ever. When I was a kid I used to wonder about my parents and my real family, who they were and why they left me but years later I figured it out. I know they left because they weren't my real family. You, Jess, Wren, Aiden, the kids are my real family. The best I could have asked for." Sam said. "I just needed to say that."
"Love you." I said.
"Love you too." Sam said before I moved to Aiden and Abby.
"So you can finally build your bachelor pad." I said.
"Bachelor flats are overrated." He said and Abby elbowed him.
"Aiden be nice." Abby chastised. "Nora it was so nice to meet you and thank you for everything."
"Are you kidding me I should be thanking you for taking this one back." I said.
"Hey!" Aiden said.
"You know it's true." I said.
"I'll give you two a minute." Abby said hugging me before walking away.
"Things going okay?" I said.
"They're going. I've been thinking of taking some time off work. Maybe take Abby of vacation for a few months… might get lost for a while." He said.
"Sounds nice." I said.
"Someone gave me some really good advice of making every day with the ones you love count. Think I'm going to listen this time." Aiden said.
"They sound really smart, like genius level smart." I teased.
"I give you an inch and you take a mile." Aiden said.
"You know you're going to miss me." I said.
"I know." Aiden said suddenly getting serious. "I never said thank you before… for everything. I have a life I never even allowed myself to dream about because I didn't think it was possible for me to have that. You didn't just save my life you gave me a life and I can honestly say that I am a better man for having met you Nora Stark. Thank you for not giving up on me."
"You're one of my favorite people in whole fucking world and my life is better because you're in it. I love you brother always." I said hugging him Aiden hugged me and kissed the top of my head. Before letting go I felt him slip something into my pocket but shook his head to not say anything. We both took a breath pulling ourselves together after getting so mushy.
Next were Steve and Bucky and fuck…
"You know we've said goodbye so many times before and it doesn't get easier." I said.
"I always thought saying goodbye would make losing someone easier than just going but it's not." Bucky said.
"This side of the goodbye sucks too." I said.
"We've said goodbye before and we always find our way back, who's to say it won't happen again." Steve said.
"One of the few perks of screwing up the timeline." I joked. "I love you guys."
Bucky pulled me into a hug and Steve sandwiched me between them. They held me tight, almost as if they were trying to give me all the love they wouldn't be able to give me anymore in that one moment. I kissed them each before moving on to say the hardest goodbyes yet.
"Hey kiddo." I said.
"Mom." Wren said. "Dad."
"Hey." Wren (Sr) said hugging him tight. "I wish I could have had more time with you but the past few days meant everything to me and I love you Wren. You are everything and more than I could have ever dreamed you'd be and I know I didn't have much to do with that but that doesn't make me any less proud of the man you are. I probably don't have a right to ask this of you but when your son or daughter is born don't take a single second of it for granted."
"I love you dad." Wren said hugging him tight before stepping aside to speak with Aiden.
"When you were born Aya told me that while I was amazing you were going to be extraordinary and for once I'm glad she was right." I said. "We are so proud of you sweetheart and no matter what know that we love you and we're always with you. You're the best of all of us and your kids are going to be so lucky to have you and Ellie as their parents. I wanted to do right by you and I wanted to be different than Dad and Gramps but maybe the reason I couldn't be there for you was so that you'd have the chance to do that with your kids."
"You did the best you could mom. We didn't get a lot of time but the time we did get I know I was your world and that's what I'm going to tell my kids. I'm going to tell them about their grandma Nora who moved time to be here when we needed her most, who saved the world so that they could grow up in a world where impossible is just a word for something that hasn't been done yet." Wren said. "They're going to know you through the people you inspired and that says it all. I love you mom."
"Love you to the end of time." I said.
"Oh good!" Ellie said running in carrying a box. "I was afraid I was going to miss you. I was just putting the finishing touches on your going away present auntie."
"Ellie you didn't have to." I said taking the box she offered.
"I wanted to. I know pictures are a no go but I think this will be okay." Ellie said as I opened the box and unfolded the tissue paper to see a very familiar black military inspired jacket. The very same one future me was very fond of. Connor, Sam, Steve and Bucky stared in shock as they immediately recognized it. It was black with gold buttons and stitched accents with symbols that mattered to me from the arc reactor to stars for Steve and Bucky to clock tick marks on the buttons.
.
"Well try it on." Ellie said taking the box so I could slip the jacket on. I slipped it on and sure enough it fit exactly as it was supposed to.
"Perfect fit." I said smiling. "It's beautiful Ellie. I love it."
"You do? I saw you eying it when you visited the studio but wasn't sure if I should. I made some alterations and changed the material. I mean that jacket is basically indestructible." She said.
"It's light but really warm." I said.
"It adapts to your body heat. Cools if needed plus it's machine washable." Ellie said.
"Sweet." I said.
"Ehem." Aya said.
"We're going jeez." I said asking Wren's hand. "So you want to take the long way back? Maybe get lost a bit. See some rock history?"
"No detours." Aya said.
"Purple space dinosaur." I said.
"Is this how it's going to be now?" Aya said.
'What do you think?" I retorted.
"As fun as that all sounds I don't think any of that could beat this." Wren said smiling. "I'm ready to go home."
"Okay." I said taking his hand. "See you guys in 30 year."
With that I let Aya's energy flow around the two of us and sent us home.