Chapter 88
"You already bought a ring?" I said looking down at the box Wren was holding.
"AH! Oh my god? You two are together?" Jess said shocked.
"Uh, sweetie," Sam said before whispering in her ear.
"Oh, that makes sense." She said.
"Nora, my knees are killing me here?" Wren said.
I looked down at the ring and said, "I'm saying yes but we're negotiating terms."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." He said slipping the ring on. "It's my grandmother's ring, it's been in my family for five generations, don't lose it."
"It's pretty." I said admiring it on my finger.
"I got all the pictures we needed. Got a bunch of cute ones." Jess said looking through her phone.
"When's the wedding?" Jess asked.
"Sometime before my court hearing.." I said.
"And before I get deported." Wren said.
"Less than two weeks." I said.
"Are you kidding? We have so much to do, we have to a place for a reception, a church for the ceremony…" Jess said.
"No Church." Wren and I said at the same time.
"We have to buy a dress…" Jess said getting more and more excited.
"Jess, sweetie breath. We can do this just one step at a time. We have to make it seemed like all of this was planned so it might be a good idea to have an engagement party." I said.
"Seriously?" Wren said.
"It'll be good to know how many people we need to invite to the actual wedding." I said.
"Or we could just make an event on Facebook and have people show up." Wren said.
"You really want my old lab partner from undergrad who I only spoke to once show up?" I said.
He thought about it for a minute. "You have a point. We should get going, we have a meeting with Matthews and the hospital's attorney."
"Remember to tell them you're engaged." Sam said.
"We will." Wren said.
An Hour Later- Hospital Conference Room
"Are you two insane?" The hospital attorney said.
"No we're desperate." I said.
"Could it actually work?" Chief Matthews asked.
"We talked to our attorney and he said it's a viable option." Wren said.
"Face it chief this is our only option its this or Wren gets deported and I end up in prison." I said.
"Aren't you dating Kate?" Matthews asked Wren.
"She broke up with me when I asked her to marry me." Wren said not happy about it at all.
"And are you sure you want to go through with this?" Matthews asked.
"You'd have to have an actual wedding, no eloping or courthouses, you'd have to act like an actual couple, no dating other people or sleeping around, maybe even a honeymoon. Can you two handle that?" The attorney asked.
"Trust me when I say they can handle it." Matthews said.
"We already live together." Wren said.
"Your minds are already made up." The attorney said. "If you two are going through with this I suggest you do it before your court date."
"So a little less than two weeks to take engagement pictures, plan a wedding and get you ready to go to trial." Matthews said. "I can't lose two of my best surgeons. So, I don't want to see either of you here until after your married. And I expect an invitation to your wedding on my desk tomorrow morning, Go plan this shit show." Matthews then stormed out of the conference room.
"That went well." Wren said.
"He didn't yell that's something." I said. "We should go, I have to go shop for an engagement party dress."
"I have to go get my suit from the cleaners." Wren said.
"Meet you at the house?" I asked.
"Yeah, It would be weird if we didn't get there together." He said. "Any outfit requests?"
"Whatever you're comfortable in or whatever Jess tells you to wear. I have to go pick her up." I said.
"See you later, be careful." He said.
A few hours later-
After going into every store in the mall I finally found the right dress. It was white with a gold damask print on it. I also bought a sequin necklace and a gold opal bracelet with a gold clutch to go with it. I had a pair of heels I hadn't used yet so I didn't buy any.
Jess and I were done shopping we took a break to grab a smoothie.
"I still can't believe you're getting married." Jess said. "I mean I knew it was going to happen I just didn't expect it."
"Yeah, I'm still processing it. I'm also not used to wearing rings." I said.
"So for the wedding we need to look for a dress asap." Jess said.
"We also need to look for your bridesmaid dress." I said.
"You're having bridesmaids?"
"Just the one, Jess will you be my Maid of Honor." I said pulling out a custom made locket I was saving for her birthday but this just felt like a good moment.
"Oh my god." She said tearing up.
"Jess don't cry." I said.
"I'm sorry it's just the pregnancy hormones making me very emotional." She said,
"Did you just say?" I asked.
"I'm eight weeks pregnant." Jess said.
"I'm gonna be an Aunt again!" I said.
"God mother too." She said.
"I hope it's a girl, tiny dresses are so cute." I said.
"No shopping until I'm at least six months along." Jess said.
"But Jess…" I said.
"Fine until I find out the gender." She caved.
"I can live with that. I guess that means I'm going to have to set up another nursery at the ranch." I said.
"You're planning it right now aren't you?"
"Maybe."
"No, focus on your wedding, as your Maid of Honor I'm making sure you stay on track. As of right now, the only thing you have done is your engagement party and the reception venue." Jess said.
"I didn't reserve a venue." I said.
"No but Wren and I did. Turns out the museum had an opening thanks to a last minute cancellation and he put in the deposit. That place is amazing, he even managed to negotiate closing the garden to the public." Jess said.
"That's great, and the garden's gorgeous."
"Those cherry blossoms look amazing." Jess said. "I called a few places and I got you a few appointments in at a few bridal salons for tomorrow."
"That's great, I got the number for the caterer Jenna used for her wedding along with the bakery, I called and they said they could fit us in for a testing the day after." I said.
"Okay flowers?" Jess said.
"Still no idea, we also have to find a florist willing to do it on such short notice." I said.
"Officiant and rings?" Jess asked.
"I'm gonna need Wren for that. I'm seriously tempted to just make a quick trip to Vegas." I said.
"No, I've been dreaming of the day I get to plan your bachelorette party since the day we became friends." Jess said.
"I have to have a bachelorette party?" I said whining.
"Got to make it look convincing." She said.
"We could just skip it." I said.
"Don't rob me of this." Jess said.
"Okay, Maidzilla. What color do you want your dress to be?" I said.
"It's your wedding you get to pick?" She said.
"I was thinking a Mauve or a Pink color. I saw this dress that I think would be perfect." I said bringing up a picture.
"But you hate pink." Jess said.
"But you don't and it's a cute dress." I said.
"Where can I buy it?' Jess asked.
"Here you go." I said handing her a bag I had put inside my bigger shopping bag.
"Nora!"
"Hey you're planning my wedding the least I can do is take one thing off your plate." I said.
"It's so pretty." She said.
"Glad you like it." I said.
"Holy crap that's the time? You have to go home and get ready," Jess said.
"Wow yeah, I'll drop you off." I said getting up and grabbing my things.
Later that Day-
I got home and showered before blow-drying my hair. I put my hair in a low side ponytail and curled it. I got dressed and went downstairs.
"Hey.' I called out to Wren. "Nice suit," I said.
"Thanks Jess told me to wear a grey one instead of the black one." Wren said. "You look amazing, very gold."
"Thanks figured if my Dad couldn't be here I'd hear something that reminded me of him."
"How'd he take the news?" Wren said and I just looked away.
"Nora, You did tell him right?" Wren said.
"I called him last night but it went through straight to voicemail and this isn't something you say over a voicemail." I said.
"Then dial him right now. We're in this together, if he yells then he'll yell at both of us." Wren said.
"Okay let's do this." I took out my phone and dialed Dad.
"You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, I'm currently out kicking ass or ignoring your call leave a message and I'll probably not get back to you." Dad's recording said before the beep played.
"Dad answer the phone we need to talk." I said before hanging up.
"We'll talk to him when he answers until then, we have a party to get to. Shall we?" He said offering me his arm.
"Let's go." I said taking his hand. We drove to the restaurant we managed to rent out for the party. We walked and everyone started clapping. I wasn't expecting this many people to actually show up.
Someone started taking pictures of us as we walked in. We said hi to people and we decided it was time to practice being a couple. Of course we weren't really good at being lovey dovey so we decided to imitate the most lovey dovey couple we knew, Sam and Jess.
I put a hand on Wren's back and side hugged him and he put a hand around my shoulders.
We walked around and greeted people. Everyone congratulated us and said it was about time we got together. People actually had a pool going for when we were going to finally get together. The winner got close to a thousand dollars.
The more we talked to people the more anxious I was getting. We were lying to everyone around us, people who were genuinely happy we were finally getting our "happy ending".
"Hey." Wren said snapping me out of my inner ramblings. "Let's get some air."
"Okay." I said. He took my hand and led me to the terrace of the restaurant.
"That was…"
"Overwhelming?" I said.
"That's one word for it." He said. "I never expected this many people."
"I'm surprised too, It was pretty short notice." I said.
"Fairly sure Matthews gave some of the staff the night off if they wanted to come." Wren said.
"He really wants us to stay." I said.
"Surgeons are hard to replace, and losing two at the same time is sure to cause problems with management." Wren said.
"More than getting sued and revealing a double identity?" I said.
"You disclosed that when they hired you." Wren said.
"Yet that's how I got into this mess in the first place."
"You could always just use your real name." He said.
"Not an option. Aya's been yelling in my head any time I even mention the idea." I said.
"What's her take on all of this?"
"Hasn't said a word which I guess means you have her seal of approval."
"I hope Tony's as approving." Wren said with a chuckle. "It's really bothering you isn't it? Him not being here?"
"I always imagined that if I ended up getting married that Dad would be there for all of it, the planning, the engagement parties. Me talking him out of giving us some outrageously expensive gift. Walking me down the isle and I know that this isn't exactly the way it was supposed to happen but it would've been nice if one thing was." I answered wiping a tear away.
"It's okay Nora." Wren said hugging me. "I'm sorry you had to do this."
"It's not your fault Wren, just bad luck." I said. "I'm sorry about Kate. I know you love her."
"We had problems before, this was just the final blow." Wren said. "Is it horrible that I was slightly relieved when she said no?"
"Really?"
"I don't know lately we just fought over every little thing. I never wanted to be at the apartment, it didn't feel like home."
"I missed having you around the house, I never realized how much of an echo there was until you left." I said.
"I missed the house. Being able to teleport in and out without worrying." He said.
"Hey you two it's time for dinner." Jess called out.
"Time to face the music." I said.
"We're in this together." He said taking my hand.
"Right." I said before we walked in.
As everyone was being served the best man and maid of honor decided to give speeches.
Sam dinged his glass to get everyone's attention.
"Hi everyone, I'm Sam, the best man. When I saw Wren propose to Nora in my kitchen I was shocked. I mean after a year of the two of them saying they were just friends I wasn't expecting it but at the same time, I was beyond happy because these two are perfect for each other and now Jess and I have another couple to double date with." He said making everyone chuckle. "I'm happy for you two and I wish you a lifetime of happiness."
Wow Sam was really selling it. Wren stood up and hugged him.
We got back in our seats and then Jess started her speech.
"When Nora showed up on our doorstep after six months in Afghanistan with a complete stranger I knew there had to be something special about Wren. And as I got to know Wren I saw why. My mom once told me that you should marry the person who challenges you and brings out the best in you and Nora and Wren do that for each other. I am so happy you two found each other because you both deserve to be happy, so I'd like to raise a glass To Nora and Wren, may you always be happy and in love." Jess said tearing up.
Wren and I both got up and hugged her.
"I win they both got up." She told Sam making everyone laugh.
We finished dinner and thanked everyone for coming. Wren drove us home and the minute I walked into the living room I got the chills.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" I said.
"What? Now?" Wren said.
I answered him by glowing and disappearing.
When I opened my eyes I was at the compound in the future.
"Nora?" I heard two people say at once. I looked around and saw Dad, Steve, Rhodey, Sam. Vision, Natasha and Wanda.
"Hey guys." I said shooing dad's feet off the couch and sitting down. I slipped off my heels and moaned. "Ahhh, so much better."
"You look nice where in the timeline are you?" dad asked.
"I just got engaged to my best friend to avoid jail time." I said.
"That explains the ring." Natasha said. "2.5 carats, halo, Wren has good taste."
"Family heirloom," I said with a shrug.
"You're getting married?" Sam said in shock.
"To avoid jail time." I said.
"What did you do?" Sam said.
"Problem with me keeping my real name a secret. Getting married so we can play it off as we were going to get married but decided to take a break but then came to our senses."
"How many times did I tell you just to use your real name? All of this could have been avoided. Nothing good comes with secrets." Dad said.
"Oh really? You couldn't have thought of that twenty one years ago?" I said.
"You know why I did that and I never heard you complain about it before." Dad said.
"When was I going to tell you dad? You either showed up drunk or you weren't there. I was lucky for the scraps of attention I did get." I retorted.
"Enough, what's done is done. Move on." Rhodey said.
Steve looked down at his phone before saying. "I have to go." He walked out of the room and didn't look back.
"I can't believe you're going through with this." Dad said.
"Don't really have much of a choice Dad. It's either a wedding dress or an orange jump suit."
"You could have called." Dad said.
"There wasn't anything you could've done." I said.
"But you really had to marry Spinster?" He whined.
"Why do you hate Wren so much?" I said.
"You'll find out." He said.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You still have a lot to go through kid." Rhodey said.
"I really hate it when you guys give me vague answers." I said.
"Don't really have a choice."
"Why are you so angry?" I said.
"Because you don't know how hard it is to watch you come and tell us about things we already lived through and realize how much I've screwed up." Dad answered.
"You think it's easy for me? My soul mate comes back from the dead and I can't even consider going to see him without Aya zapping me to another year. I can't talk to you about any of this because you can't change the timeline. You hate Wren but I can't hate him because he's been there for me when you couldn't and every time I even get close to going dark he snaps me out of it. I get it you're angry and life is unfair but get over it because as bad as you have it, at least you're in control of your life." I said.
We were quiet after that. It wasn't until Aya appeared that someone spoke.
"Are you two done bickering?" Aya said.
"What do you want?" Dad said giving her a glare.
"Watch your tone. Nora, I'm sending you back." She said.
"Okay, since when do you let me know when you're going to send me somewhere?" I said.
"I'm letting you know because I thought you may want to go say goodbye to your soul mate before I do. It'll be a while before you see him again." She said before disappearing again.
"I'll go find Steve." I said.
"Nora," dad said making me stop. "I'm sorry,"
"I know." I said before walking out. I walked down the stairs to where I remember the bedrooms were. I got to the bottom of the stairs and saw Steve hunched over sitting on the steps sobbing softly.
I put a hand on his back and he turned to look at me.
"Nora." He said tears streaming down his face.
"Hey handsome what's wrong?" I said softly rubbing his back.
"I can't tell you." He said.
"Timeline." I said and he nodded.
"Come on let's get out of here," I said standing up. I offered my hand and he took it before getting up. He led me down a hallway to his room. I had him sit down while I went to his bathroom and got a wet hand towel. I wiped the tears off Steve's face. As I was about to got put the towel back Steve pulled me into a hug.
He rested his head on my bust and held me. I hugged his shoulders and ran my fingers through his hair.
"Can we lay down?" He whispered.
"Yeah." I said. I laid down on the bed. Steve moved to lay down beside me. Then he moved so that he was hovering over me and kissed me.
"I love you." He said. "No matter what."
"I love you too." I said. He slowly lowered himself to hug me resting his head on my chest. I hugged him back and rubbed his back. I started humming Hey Jude and before I knew it he was asleep.
I was trapped under him but I didn't move him. Steve was warm and I loved being close to him. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
When I woke up I was in my own bed back in 2014. It was still pretty early but I couldn't go back to sleep so I went downstairs.
Wren was already up writing on envelopes. "Morning." He said.
"Morning, what are you doing?" I said.
"Getting ready to send out invitations." Wren said. "Have to get them out before noon. When did you get back?"
"Not sure fell asleep in the future woke up in my bed." I said.
"You should go back to bed you look exhausted." Wren said.
"Can't, too much to do." I said. "Besides we still have to work out terms."
"Right, shall we start with the obvious, all of our assets remain separate. I'll have my attorney and financial manager draw up documents." Wren said.
"I'll have mine do the same." I said.
"Next costs of the wedding," Wren said.
"We split those evenly, we both benefit from this and it's only fair." I said. "Also as soon as this is over you get your grandmother's ring back. You have to keep it in the family."
"Thank you." Wren said. "I've talked to Warren and if all goes according to plan I can get a six month work permit and then renew for residency. He says I might have a chance of expediting my process considering the precedent of my lawyer dying and my file being lost."
"So we'll be married a year or two tops?" I said.
"About there." Wren said.
"My case should be over within the next few months, maybe even weeks if the family decide to finally settle." I said
"Two years then, in a year we reassess terms. Sound good?"
"That works" I answered.
"Dating…" Wren started but my phone rang. I pulled it out and saw dad's photo.
"It's my Dad." I said.
"Put him on speaker, we'll tell him together" Wren said.
I put the phone on the table and answered.
"Hey dad." I said.
"Hey kid sorry I missed your calls, I took Pepper away for the weekend and I couldn't answer." He said. "What's up?"
"I have news." I said.
"What's going on?" dad said.
"It's kind of a long story, cliff notes version, I had to leave surgery, the resident screwed up and killed a patient, I got sued, opposition found a document where I disclosed that Martell isn't my real name. I'm going to trial in a little over a week and facing jail time." I said.
"What?!" Dad said.
"Don't worry we worked it out." I said.
"You couldn't have started with that?" Dad said letting out a breath of relief.
"That's not all." I said.
"There's more?" dad said.
"I'm about to be deported but we found a way out of that." Wren said.
"Spinster…" dad said.
"We found a way out of both of our problems." I said.
"And what would that be?" dad said.
"Dad, Wren and I are engaged." I said.
"Engaged in a legal battle, I get it." Dad said.
"No Dad we mean we're getting married." I said. He was quiet for a minute and for a second I thought the call dropped. Then I heard it, dad laughing uncontrollably.
"Hahahahaha, Oh, Ah, that's, aha, that's a good one Nora." Dad said.
"Dad our engagement party was last night. I'm wearing an engagement ring." I said.
"I got down on one knee and proposed.' Wren said.
"You're serious?" He asked finally understanding that I we weren't kidding.
"As a heart attack." Wren answered.
There was another silence when finally…
"NORA ELIANA STARK! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" dad yelled.
"Tony?" I heard Pepper say. "Who's Nora Stark?"
"Oh shit." Dad and I said at the same time.
"Nora, I'm going to have to call you back but we are not done talking about this." He said.
"That's good cause I have wedding dresses to try on." I said.
"Nora!" dad said.
"Bye." I said before hanging up.
"So he's mad." I said.
"I figured." Wren said.
"Well I got to go." I said. "If I miss these appointments Jess will kill me."
"I have to go try on suits with Sam and Connor." Wren said. "I was going to wear one I already had but Jess insisted we all go try on new ones. She's very frightening when she's pregnant."
"Just wait till she's in her second trimester." I said remembering her rapid mood swings and weird cravings.
"Don't keep her waiting." Wren said.
"I'll see you later." I said.
Wedding Boutique #1-
I picked up Jess at her house and we went to our first appointment.
"Hi welcome to Glamor Bridal, How can I help you?' the receptionist greeted.
"Hi we have an appointment to try on dresses." Jess said.
"Under who's name is it." The receptionist said.
"Nora Martell." I said.
"Oh there you are, if you would follow me." She said leading us to a dressing room area.
"So when's the big day?" She asked.
"Ten days from now." I said.
"What?" She said.
"I'm getting married in ten days." I said.
"Why?"
"Because he's my best friend and I don't want to wait." I said. I also don't want to go to prison and lose my medical license.
"Uh, That's gonna be hard, most dresses take six to eight months to arrive." She says. "The only thing I could do is get you one off the rack."
"That doesn't sound too bad." I said.
I was wrong, I was so so wrong.
The first dress that was brought out pink. I didn't even know they made pink wedding dresses. It was a huge ball gown with a bubbled hemline and topped with white lace.
albu_329843392_00/1.
"No." I said as I turned at stood in the pedestal to look at Jess but she was tearing up.
"I can't believe this is actually happening." She said crying.
"But not this one right."
"Unless you're trying to recreate your sweet sixteen then definitely one." She said.
The second dress was made of sheer material with pom poms on it. The skirt was tulle with more sheer material.
"I feel like I walked into a high school and the school bully through spit balls all over me." I said.
Jess started laughing uncontrollably. "No," She said. "How about I pick out the dresses?" Jess said standing up.
"Be my guest," The consultant said annoyed at our behavior.
Jess came out with a light grey one shouldered A-line dress with a sash and a beaded shoulder. I tried it on and it didn't feel right.
"This isn't a wedding dress." I said.
"It's not, that's a bridesmaid dress." The consultant said.
"I'm sorry everything else here either isn't your size or is a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen." Jess said.
"It's okay, we still have two other appointments." I said. "We can try again."
"Good luck with that." The consultant muttered.
Bridal Shop #2-
The first dress I tried on was a high neck long sleeve dress with a lace top and a satin skirt. The back of the dress had three bows going down the back.
"No, ma'am that is not the dress for you." Angie the consultant said.
"She's right, you have a kickass body, you can't hide that." Jess said.
"It's a wedding, I can't dress slutty." I said.
"You can show off the goods without looking slutty." Jess said.
"And I got just the thing." Angie said.
images/024a76f3-4e99-401c-ba8e-3abbac8b68ac
She picked out a lace body con dress with a plunging neckline, a very plunging neckline. The sheer mesh on it may as well not have even been there.
"No." I said in the dressing room.
"Oh come on Nora it can't be that bad." I opened the door so she could see the cloth they were calling a dress.
"Wow, you have awesome boobs." Jess said.
"Jess!" I said.
"What, it's true." She said before I slammed the door
The last dress was a simple white. It was a halter neckline and slim fitting. It had a small rhinestone belt around the waist.
.
"No." Jess and Angie said at the same time.
"Well this was a bust," I said.
"Yeah, you really do have an awesome one." Angie said making Jess.
"Cheer up we still have one more appointment and third time is always the charm." Jess said.
"I hope you're right." I said.
The Last Hope-
Our consultant at the last shop was very friendly. Her name was Amber and she was surprised by the time limit but instead of making faces she got straight to work.
.
The first dress was a one-shouldered high wasted dress. The skirt was all feathers and the top was slightly sheer.
"It's very unique but the high wasted skirt doesn't show off your figure." Angie, who had just ended her shift and decided to come with us to look at more dresses. Also her boss sent her to scout the competition. Apparently bridal shops are very competitive.
"Feathers are way too much." Jess said.
"Next one it is." Amber said.
.
The next dress was a white spaghetti strap dress with sheer short sleeves. The dress had some beading and the waist down to the bottom was ruffled.
"Shape's better." Angie said.
"Not a fan of the sleeves." Jess said.
"I don't like it." I said. "The ruffles just look like scraps pulled together.
"I have one more but after hearing what you just said I don't think you'll like it." Amber said. "Here take a look."
The dress was blush colored fitted with organza ruffles.
"No." Everyone said at the same time.
"That was the last dress in your size." Amber said.
"I guess that's it then." Amber said.
I got dressed and just about as we were walking out my phone started ringing. I looked at it and saw it was Dad.
"I got to take this." I said. I went outside and answered the call.
"Hey." I said.
"Hey." Dad said.
"So, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Pepper knows." I said.
"She knows." Dad said.
"How'd she take it?" I said.
"There was some yelling, some feelings of betrayal and an interrogation followed by her having to leave for London to close a business deal." Dad said.
"Sorry." I said.
"I'll figure it out." He said, "Just like how I talked to my attorney and he told me what's at stake. I can't help you Nora and I'm not okay with what you're doing."
"Dad…"
"Kid you're getting married to someone who you met in a warzone and six months later asked to move in with you. He ignored you for a month after he started dating someone. Do you really know him as well as you think you do and do you really trust him not to turn his back on you?" dad said.
"I trust Wren dad." I said.
"Well I don't." He said.
"Then trust me." I said. "I know what I'm doing."
"I'm not so sure you do. Nora, I don't know who you are anymore. You disappear for months, you keep secrets, you're willing to fake a marriage to get out of jail and keep you're not boyfriend in the US."
"How is this any different from you using your contacts to get out of trouble?" I said.
"I never committed a felony Nora!"
"You hack government agencies all the time!"
"That's different."
"Dad I stood by your side through your worst years, when you became Iron man and the palladium poisoning, and the mandarin and I have never asked you for anything. I'm not telling you, you have to like it or that you have to stop hating Wren but just be there for me." I said.
"I'm sorry Nora but I can't. I love you kid but you're on your own." Dad said before hanging up.
I stood there just shocked at what had just happened.
"Nora?" I heard Jess say. I quickly wiped my eyes before turning to look at her. "You okay?"
"Uh yeah," I said.
"Who was it?" She asked.
"Just the bakery confirming the appointment later." I said.
"Okay… Anyways Angie said she knows about another boutique close by owned by a small time dress designer. I know it's a long shot but we don't lose anything by trying." Jess said.
"Sounds good." I said forcing a smile. "Lead the way."
We followed Angie down the block to a small shop. There were dresses hanging around the walls and vintage mannequins in the storefront. The back of the store was obviously the designers work room.
"Hayley." Angie called out.
"Be right out." Some one replied. A minute later a blonde haired girl around my age came over.
"Hey Ang," She greeted her with a hug.
"Hey Hales, I want you to meet Nora and Jess." Angie introduced us.
"Hi nice to meet you." She said shaking our hands.
"Nora's getting married next week and she's looking for a dress." Angie said.
"You still don't have a dress?" Hayley asked.
"I had three appointments and none of the dresses I tried on felt right." I said.
"I get that, it's your special day, you have to wear something that complements you and if you're not comfortable then it's not the right dress." Hayley said.
"Exactly." Jess said. "But you do need a dress."
"Have a look around," Angie said. "Paige is an amazing designer."
"I don't want to intrude if you're busy." I said.
"No go ahead I actually just finished a dress, one of a kind." Hayley said.
"Can we see it?" Jess asked.
'Of course come with me." Hayley said.
We followed her to the workroom and right in the middle in a mannequin was the dress she was had just finished.
"It's gorgeous." Jess said.
"The detail is incredible." I said.
"Would you like to try it on?" Hayley asked.
"Sure." I said smiling.
I walked into the dressing room and Hayley helped me put the dress on.
"Fits like a glove, I wouldn't have to adjust it at all." Hayley said.
"I love this dress." I said.
"Some of my best work." Hayley said.
"Can we see?" Jess called out. I walked out of the dressing room and Jess teared up. "Oh my gosh you're so pretty."
"This is it, this is the one." I said smiling.
"Really?" Hayley asked.
"Yeah, it's nothing like the ones I tried on before. Is it for sale?" I asked.
"Of course. You can take it home right now if you want."
"You accept debit?" I asked and she laughed and nodded.
Third Person's POV- Avengers Tower, New York
After Pepper found out about Nora, Tony locked himself in his lab working on yet another suit. He worked until finally he decided he had prolonged the inevitable enough. He picked up his phone and dialed Nora.
"Hey." She said after answering.
"Hey." Tony greeted.
"So, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Pepper knows." She said.
"She knows." Tony answered and boy was she angry.
"How'd she take it?" Nora asked.
"There was some yelling, some feelings of betrayal and an interrogation followed by her having to leave for London to close a business deal." Tony answered.
"Sorry." Nora said.
"I'll figure it out." He said, "Just like how I talked to my attorney and he told me what's at stake. I can't help you Nora and I'm not okay with what you're doing."
"Dad…"
"Kid you're getting married to someone who you met in a warzone and six months later asked to move in with you. He ignored you for a month after he started dating someone. Do you really know him as well as you think you do and do you really trust him not to turn his back on you?" Tony said. He was always skeptical about Wren since the day Nora introduced him. His daughter rarely gave people a chance and there was something about Wren that set Tony on edge.
"I trust Wren dad." I said.
"Well I don't." He admitted.
"Then trust me." I said. "I know what I'm doing."
"I'm not so sure you do. Nora, I don't know who you are anymore. You disappear for months, you keep secrets, you're willing to fake a marriage to get out of jail and keep you're not boyfriend in the US." Tony said regretting how harshly he had said them but they needed to be said.
"How is this any different from you using your contacts to get out of trouble?" I said.
"I never committed a felony Nora!" Tony said trying to reason with her.
"You hack government agencies all the time!" Nora exclaimed.
"That's different." Tony said.
"Dad I stood by your side through your worst years, when you became Iron man and the palladium poisoning, and the mandarin and I have never asked you for anything. I'm not telling you, you have to like it or that you have to stop hating Wren but just be there for me." Nora said. Tony sighed, he knew he had to do what was best for Nora even if it meant she would hate him for it.
"I'm sorry Nora but I can't. I love you kid but you're on your own." Tony said before hanging up. After he found a way to help Nora he was going to have to work to get her to forgive him. She was right she had stood by his side unconditionally never asking for anything in return. Tony wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt but with everything that was at stake he couldn't take the chance.
"Jarvis give me everything you can get on Wren Spencer." Tony asked.
"Yes sir though may I suggest accessing Ms. Stark's files." Jarvis recommended.
"Not an option, don't want to alert him." Tony said.
"Here is everything I could find on Ms. Stark's fiancé sir."
"Don't call him that…" Tony said annoyed. He opened the file and the one thing that stuck out to him was how small the file was.
"Jarvis is there anything else?"
"That is all I could find on Doctor Spencer sir." Jarvis answered.
"That's not possible. There's nothing here from the ages of three to twenty two." Tony said. "Where was he?"
"The last record of the age of three was when Doctor Spencer was taken to St. Mary's orphanage in London after his parent's death in a car accident."
"Are there any records at the orphanage of his time there?" Tony asked.
"The orphanage burned down over ten years ago."
"Something isn't right." Tony said.
Tony grabbed his phone and called the one person he knew would be able to get the information he needed.
"Romanoff just the master assassin I wanted to talk to." Tony greeted.
"Stark." She answered. "What do you want?"
"I need some information on a certain someone."
"Then look him up, I'm sure that's preschool stuff for you." Natasha retorted.
"I can and I did but there are major gaps I can't fill."
"How big of a gap?"
"Almost twenty years." Tony said.
"Send me what you have and I'll see what I can do." Natasha said.
"Thank you." Tony said before Natasha hung up.
Washington DC-
Natasha opened the file Tony had just sent her and what she saw almost made her jaw drop. She quickly opened up her contacts and called someone.
"We need to talk." She said.
A moment later, Wren appeared in front of her.
"I wasn't expecting to ever hear from you again." Wren said. "Didn't even know you had my number."
"Wasn't that hard to get. Any idea why Tony Stark would want to look into your past?"
"What?" Wren was not expecting that.
"He just called to ask if I could help him fill in some gaps in your record. Any reason why?"
"I'm marrying a good friend of his." Wren answered.
"You're getting married?" Natasha said not expecting that answer.
"Long story," Wren said.
"Does she know?" Natasha asked.
"No and I would like to keep it that way." Wren answered. "I got a phone call a few months ago from him and I have a feeling all of my troubles recently are his doing."
"After all this time why would Aiden suddenly decide to show up?"
"Because I finally have something to lose." Wren answered.
Natasha was quiet and just observing Wren.
"You're in love." She said.
"Love is for children." Wren answered.
"You should tell her." Natasha said.
"I don't have feelings for her." Wren said.
"About Aiden." Natasha clarified.
"She doesn't need to know and she already has enough to deal with." Wren said. "Are you going to tell Stark?"
Natasha was quiet for a minute before she answered. "He doesn't need to know."
At that moment Wren's phone started ringing. "Have to take this."
"Go for Wren." He said.
"Hey just wanted to let you know I'm on my way back so we can go to the bakery." Nora said.
"That's good, did you find a dress?" Wren asked.
"I did," She said. She sounded happy but the way her voice cracked he knew she was forcing it.
"You all right you sound off?" Wren said.
"It's nothing I'll tell you later. I should be back in half an hour. I'm just going to drop off Jess and I'll head home."
"Okay then." Wren said before hanging up.
"I have to go." He told Natasha.
"Fiancé?" She asked,
"We have a cake tasting." Wren admitted.
"Go, I'll take care of Stark."
'Thank you." Wren said.
"Wren, if you care about her, you should tell her."
"Goodbye Natasha." Wren said before teleporting back home.
Wren went to the checklist Nora had posted on the refrigerator. He crossed off his suit and the rings. He made some coffee and waited for his best friend/ fiancé. If Tony had asked Natasha for more information then he knew why Nora was upset.
Nora's POV-
I walked in to the house and was welcomed by the smell of coffee. I took my dress up to my room before going to the kitchen.
"Hey you ready?" I asked.
"Yeah I made some coffee."
"We gotta go, I got a call from the florist and she said he could squeeze us in. If we go know we can make it before we get to the bakery."
"Nora stop sit down and catch your breath." Wren said.
"Don't have time." I said.
"I can teleport us there now sit down." Wren said leaving no room for argument.
And took the cup of coffee he set down in front of me and drank a sip.
"What's going on?" Wren said.
"Nothing." I said. "Just busy."
"That's bullshit. I've seen you operate in the middle of a gunfight so I'm going to ask again what's going on." Wren wouldn't ley this go so I told him.
"Dad's not coming to the wedding, said he doesn't think it's right and that he can't trust my judgment because he doesn't know who I am anymore." I said.
"You're not going to like what I'm about to say but hear me out." Wren said. "You're Dad's right."
"Seriously Wren." I said.
"Hear me out. You've changed in the past few years because you had to. You have this whole other life your dad doesn't know about and it's changed you. He sees you and talked to you on occasion so the changes are more obvious to him. He doesn't know this you, the time traveling super powered surgeon we're all very fond of." Wren said.
"So what am I supposed to do because Aya is still adamantly against him knowing?"
"Give him time, He loves you. He'll come around," Wren said.
"I hope you're right. We should get going."
"Right." He said. "What's the address?"
"Here I googled it for you." I said handing him my phone.
"I know a place." He put a hand on my shoulder and we were off.
The florist was shocked that we were getting married in less than a week. He said it would be hard but he could make it work.
He had someone cancel an event but he had already ordered a shipment of white peonies. We got a discount. I ended up picking a teardrop bouquet of peonies, roses, blossoms and orchids. I got a smaller one for Jess. We stuck with the tall vases with flowers cascading down for the table centerpieces.
Next stop the Bakery.
They brought out some samples and left us to try them.
"um, wow I love that chocolate." I said.
"that red velvet actually tastes the way it's supposed to." Wren said.
"Then lets get it." I said.
"I thought you wanted chocolate?" Wren said.
"I like the chocolate but red velvet's good too." I said.
"Then let's get the chocolate." Wren said.
"No it's your wedding too. I got to pick everything else you should get this." I said.
"I picked my suit and the venue." Wren said.
"You mean Jess told you what matched and you picked the one she not so subtly suggested."
"Maybe but I did like the one Jess okayed. I'm going to make Pierce Brosnan look like a James Bond impersonator." Wren said happily.
"Pick the flavor and pick out a cake you want." I said.
"How about we both get a cake what were those things jess talked about… a man cake?" Wren said
"A grooms cake and Wren…" I complained.
"Come on for the pictures we each get a cake table… It'll be funny." He said.
"I thought we were supposed to be a united front."
"No we're a couple, we're best friends and we have a sense of humor. And you happen to be stressed out and are constantly trying not to freak out so I'm going to finish this appointment on my own. I'll pick out a cake maybe even two and you are going to get in Jess' car and go enjoy your bachelorette party." Wren said.
"What?"
"Surprise!" Jess said popping up behind me holding a tiara and sash.
"How did you two…" I started.
"We knew you wouldn't willingly agree to it so we planned it out behind your back." Wren said.
"Guys…" I said. "I don't know what to say. I said.
"Don't say anything. Go put this on in the restroom and get ready for the night of your life." Jess said handing me a bag.
"I…"
"Don't even think about." Jess said.
"Nora go, let me take somethings off your hands. Go, have fun." Wren said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, go change." Wren said.
I grabbed the bag jess offered to me and I went to go get changed. I looked inside the bag jess had brought me. It was a white dress covered in gold sequins and a beige sash. I put on the gold heels before walking out.
"How do I look?" I said.
"Wow." Wren said. "I'm sensing a theme here."
"I know." Jess said.
"Are you sure…?"
"Nora If you ask me that one more time I'm teleporting you to Vegas and handcuffing you to a stripper pole." Wren said.
"Okay."
"I leave you to cake heaven." I said.
"Have fun and if you remember tonight then you did something wrong." Wren said.
Jess just laughed. "That goes for you too." He told jess "She's drinking for you two, don't think I didn't notice you slipping Sam your drinks."
"Sam was supposed to tell you so act surprised." Jess said.
"I will now go."
"Fine bye." I said giving him a hug from behind before running off with Jess. After the past couple of days I deserve a night off with friends.
The Next Morning-
I did exactly what Wren said, I got black out drunk. I woke up hugging Axl with his tail as a mustache. I got up and headed to the kitchen. I needed coffee, lots of coffee.
I headed down stairs and heard people arguing.
"Was this your endgame from the beginning?"
"What no, I don't want your bloody money. I have plenty of my own thank you." Wren said
I walked over to the kitchen.
"Dad?"
"About time, we need to talk." He said trying to grab my arm to lead me out.
"No." I said.
"What do you mean no?" dad said.
"Anything you want to say to me you can say in front of Wren." I said.
"Fine then, you're making a huge mistake."
"You've said that already and I'm going to say it again this marriage is a business agreement to get out of our legal trouble because there is no way in hell I'm letting my best friend get deported."
"And I'm not letting my best friend go to prison." Wren said.
"I don't like this."
"You think we do?" I said.
"It sure looks that way you're making lists and he's making seating charts." Dad said sarcastically.
"We're just friends!" Wren and I said at the same time.
"You're getting married!" Dad retorted.
"For fucks sake Dad, what is your problem?" I said. "Do you want me to go to jail?"
"Of course not but I don't want you to get married to someone you met a few months ago."
"We met almost two years ago!" I yelled. "And in those two years he's been around more than you have."
"I'm your father." He said.
"Then act like it. Trust that I know what I'm doing. You said you don't know who I am anymore then get to know who I am now. We agreed to wing it, to roll with the punches and figure things out as they come. Well this is it. Roll with the punch Dad." I said.
"I can't stand by and watch you do this." He said.
"We don't have another choice." I said. "This is happening."
"Have you two really thought this all through?" He said.
"We've made lists, we talked to multiple attorneys and I have a dress, What do you think?" I said.
"You know your daughter, you really think she would have agreed to all of this without covering all of her bases." Wren said.
"You really trust him?" dad said.
"With my life." I answered.
"Then I guess there's nothing left to say. Here you go." He said handing me an RSVP card with no check on it. "I'll walk you down the isle when it's an actual wedding not this sham. I'm with you no matter what just not this." He walked over to me and kissed my forehead before walking out of the house. I heard the suit fly away and that's when I broke down.
I cried and started falling to the ground but Wren caught me and held me. I don't know how long we were sitting on the ground but it wasn't until I finally stopped crying that he said something.
"I'm calling off the wedding." Wren said.
"What?" I said.
"I'm calling it off, me not getting deported isn't worth the hell it's putting you through."
'That won't fix anything Wren." I said.
"It'll fix your relationship with your Dad." He retorted.
"Bigger things than a wedding have tried to break us. He'll get over it." I said standing up.
"Then why do I feel like you're saying this just so my feelings aren't hurt?" Wren said.
"I'm compartmentalizing. My feelings aren't important. We're doing what we have to do." I said.
"What about Steve?" Wren said.
"Steve isn't a factor in this. He has his life and I have to live mine while he can't be here. We had an agreement the three of us. If one of us reaches the end of the line before the others whoever's left goes on."
"Are you sure?"
"Honestly no but then again are you sure you want to be stuck with me for the next year or two?" I said.
"It's been two years, what's another two more." He said with a smile. "And If there's anyone I had to go through this with, I'm glad it was you."
"Same here buddy." I hugged him and he didn't hesitate to hug back. At that moment I started glowing and so was Wren.
"What the bloody hell?" Wren said.
"Shit, close your eyes and wait for it to pass." I said. We held onto each other until it was over.
I opened my eyes and saw we were back at Gramps house in Los Angeles.
"Where the hell are we?" Wren asked.
"The 1940's, this is Gramps' house." I said.
"Your Grandfather's house. Why are we here?" Wren asked.
"I don't know why Aya does anything. Come on, let's go find Grandpa." I said walking out of the study.
I walked through the house and saw strange women in the kitchen.
"He's probably at the pool." I said leading Wren outside. I walked outside with Wren right behind me. I spotted him relaxing in a pool chair but that wasn't what surprised me. Dum Dum was napping in the chair next to him.
I stood beside gramps blocking the sun.
"Sweetheart you're blocking the sun." He said.
"You ever heard of skin cancer?" I said.
He took off his glasses and looked up.
"Nora!" he said. "It's been a while. I was feeling abandoned."
"You know It's not up to me when I drop in." I said.
"What are you wearing? It's a great dress." Gramps said. "Rough night?"
"Pool boy can you get the lady a seat?" Gramps said to Wren.
"That's not a pool boy Gramps that's Wren," I said.
"Wren your housemate, Wren?" Gramps asked.
"Wren my fiancé and soon to be husband Wren." I said lifting my left hand to show him my engagement right.
"Wren, meet Howard Stark, My grandfather." I said.
"Pleasure." Wren said still slightly annoyed.
"Great to meet you. Nora's talked about you a lot. Just never mentioned you two were fondueing." Gramps said giving me a look.
"Fondueing?" Wren said confused.
"We're not, it's a long story but just leave it as this marriage is a business arrangement to keep him from being deported and me from jail." I said.
"What?" gramps said.
"Oh don't be so shocked, you were on the lamb for four and a half months." I said.
"Yeah for something I didn't do."
"Because you built weapons of mass destruction." I deadpanned.
"Touche." Gramps said. "You look like crap."
"Good to see you too." I said.
"Well your timing is perfect, I have news. I'm taking over the SSR." Gramps said.
"SSR?" Wren asked.
"Strategic Scientific Reserve, they're the guys responsible for creating Captain America." I explained.
"Ah, so the beginning of all the intelligence agencies from our time?" Wren said.
"Essentially." I said. "What brought this on?" I asked Gramps.
"I'm going back into the weapons business but this time I'm going to make sure they don't land in the wrong hands." Gramps said.
'Oh, if only you knew gramps' I thought.
"I'm going to rebrand it and I'm bringing Peggy on to lead it." Gramps said.
"That's great, there's no better person for the job." I answered.
"I was actually about to call and let her know." Gramps said.
"Don't you mean offer her the job?" Wren said.
"Good Morning sir, Nora pleasure as always." Jarvis greeted as he brought a telephone over to Gramps.
"Who am I speaking to?" Gramps asked.
"This is Howard." Gramps said to whoever was on the phone.
"I have orders for Agent Carter." Gramps said.
"I'd say that last night more a notch in her belt than a feather in her cap." Gramps said.
"What happened last night?" Wren asked.
"No idea." I answered.
"Zodiac's a thief and murderer that's been giving the SSR a head ache for a while. Peggy took him down without her SO's permission." Dum Dum said. "hey Nora."
"Hey Dummy." I said smiling.
"You're looking good." He said.
"Thank you." I said. "This is Wren Spencer. Wren this is Dum Dum Dugan."
The two of them shook hands and started chatting while I overheard what gramps was saying.
"Telling her she'll be running SHIELD with me." Gramps said and I was shocked.
The SSR turned into SHIELD? Gramps and Peggy founded it? Did they know about all of this?
"And Flynn" Gramps said, "Let her know that you're honored to bring her the news." Gramps said with a smirk before hanging up.
"I'm guessing Peggy took the job?" I said.
"Never doubted she would. We're heading to New York later tonight to get started." Gramps said.
"That's great." I said. "SHIELD, great name."
"Named after a great man." Gramps said. "Five founding Members total, four officially."
"Who are the five?" I asked.
"Yours truly, Dum Dum, Pegs obviously, Philips, and you." Gramps said.
"Me?" I said not expecting that answer.
"Obviously you wouldn't be on any official records cuz of the whole time jumping but you're a part of this kid. SO what do you say kid, want to join SHIELD?" Gramps asked.
I turned to look at Wren and he was just as shocked about what he had heard as I was.
"I already am." I said.
"What are they wearing?" Dum Dum said staring at the girls stepping out of the pool.
"It's called a bikini." Gramps answered.
"A bikini? You invent it?" Dun Dum asked making Wren and I laugh.
"No, it's French." I answered.
"Bikini." Dum Dum said as he nodded.
"You two should make yourselves at home, we're not leaving until tonight." Gramps said.
"Just might take you up on that offer. I'm starving." I said.
"I'm surprised you're still standing after last night." Wren said.
'What happened last night?" Dum Dum asked.
"My bachelorette party." I said.
"I thought that was only if you're getting married?"
"I am getting married." I said.
"To who?" Dum Dum asked.
"That'd be me." Wren said.
"Seriously?" Dum Dum said.
"Don't be so shocked." I said.
"Nora, how about you go grab a coffee or something a the breakfast bar inside." Gramps asked.
"Um, okay?" I said.
"You want to come with?" I asked Wren.
"I think they want to talk to me alone." Wren said.
"Right, look at it this way, at least they aren't against this like dad was."
"At least they don't have his suit." Wren retorted.
"Good luck." I said as I headed inside.
The Next Day-
Gramps decided that the best place to sign all the Paperwork for the Founding of SHIELD should be a private dinner party at his Penthouse, the very penthouse I now recognize as the one I stayed in when I was in New York.
Peggy showed up with Daniel as her date. I was not expecting that but she was happy and that's all that mattered. She was just as much if not more surprised when I introduced Wren as my fiancé. She also gave him the shovel talk.
"So when's the big day?" She asked.
"A week from now, for us any way." I said.
"When did you propose?" Gramps asked.
"Three days ago." Wren answered. Everyone at the table just stared at us in shock.
"How about we sign those papers now?" I said diffusing the tension.
"To the study." Gramps said.
Flutes of champagne were handed out and everyone but me signed the paperwork.
"I got us all something to commemorate the occasion." Gramps said. He handed us each a ring box. "To honor our commitment and to honor our friend, the man who inspired every one here in some way. We're his legacy and it's our job to protect everything he sacrificed himself for. To SHIELD." Gramps said.
"To SHIELD we all toasted." I opened the ring box and saw the silver ring with the SHIELD logo.
Wren stared at the ring as well.
"Let's get a picture." Gramps said. "For the new office"
The five founding members, myself included stood in front of the desk and looked at the camera.
'Get next to Wren now' Aya said.
I wasn't expecting to go home now but did so anyway.
"What's wrong?" Wren asked. Then we started glowing.
"That." I said.
Next thing we knew we were back home.
"You just help found a spy agency." Wren said.
"Yeah, I have to visit Peggy sometime and ask about that." I said.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Aya didn't stop you which means you're exactly where you needed to be." Wren said.
"True, what are we doing today?" I said.
"Schedule's clear there's only one thing we need to do?"
"Which would be?
"Dance rehearsal, I have to teach you to dance." He said.
"You know how to dance?"
"I'm British, of course I know how to dance." He said.
"I don't see how that would correlate but okay." I said.