Heeelloooooo! Three years and a few months later, and here we are! I probably won't be able to say this enough but I am so TERRIBLY SORRY for not updating this story for that long. I was EXTREMELY stuck, but I was watching this movie the other day and a sudden spark lit up and now, here we are! Thank you to those who've stuck around this long for this story. I wish I could have been quicker with the update, but I'll do my best from now on I promise! I plan on finishing this story! Because after looking back, this was probably one of my favorite ones to write in all honesty. So sorry, again. But I'm back, so hopefully posting this will make up for my lack of presence.

Since it's been awhile, please don't judge too harshly on how it is. I swear, I'm doing the best I can, and hopefully it's not too bad. Leave a message or review and let me know if there's anything I need to work on or something that you like please! Since it's been so long I would especially like to know what you readers are thinking and what I can do to improve!

Thanks and sorry again!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to this movie franchise, just Lily and Travis!

Chapter Four: A Fantastic Wedding

She'd been up for over 24 hours.

Lily slapped her cheeks gently as she shook her head, trying to ward off the exhaustion that continued to creep up on her. She couldn't force back the yawn that escaped her mouth as she gazed down at the computer screen, glancing over at her companion.

"Reed," she called out, the sound of the scientist tinkering with his radar being her only response. "Reed," she tried once more, much louder than before. She smiled as her father-figure sat up from underneath the radar, his five o'clock shadow making her chuckle.

"What's wrong, Lily?"

"You do realize that your wedding is in a couple of hours, right?"

The pair had been working diligently for the past week now, not only with preparing for Reed and Sue's wedding, but building the cosmic activity radar that General Hagar had requested. Between those two tasks, the two had their work cut out for them. Being maid of honor, Lily had been running around and helping Sue with last minute tasks, and Reed followed along. He hadn't realized it until the day before the wedding, but being a groom? Much easier said than done.

Then again, it probably didn't help having the paparazzi on their tail 24/7.

Reed chuckled as he rubbed his face with a sigh, Lily smiling softly as she approached the man and took a seat beside him on the floor. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, letting the still of the early morning rest over them. The 24 year old leaned her head against the dark haired man's shoulder as he smiled and rested his own against hers.

"…You nervous?" Reed gave a soft laugh as he rubbed the back of his head in a thoughtful manner.

"Well, I guess…it all just seems a bit surreal."

Reed had loved Sue since the moment he had met her, even if he hadn't known it then. Never had he cared for, worried about, laughed with and felt connected with anyone like he did with Susan. She understood him in ways no other could, and she was able to deal with his strange ticks and obsessions. And when they had first broken up, the scientist had truly thought he had lost his chance. He had wasted so much time not seeing the obvious and being oblivious to his own neglect, that it had cost him his relationship. But now, it was different. Reed was a different person.

Looking over his shoulder at his nearly complete radar, a strange feeling began to grow inside of him.

Perhaps he wasn't as different as he had hoped to be.

"Alright, Mr. Groom." Lily stood to her feet as she stretched, glancing down at Reed. "I'm going to drink a few cups of coffee and then start getting ready."

"Is Travis going to be able to make it?" A wide smile appeared across Lily's face at Reed's question as he too stood up to his feet.

"As of last night he said so!" Reed smiled as he nodded. He was finally going to meet this mysterious man.

"Alright then. I'll see you in a bit." Lily nodded before she turned to Reed with a giant grin, wrapping her arms around him. He laughed as he hugged her back, holding her tightly.

"Congratulations, Reed."

"Thanks, Lily."

"And try not to stay down her too long!" the woman snapped as her mentor laughed and nodded, waving and watching her go. He stood alone for a moment before he turned to the radar and sighed.

"It's just you and me then."

It had been a busy morning for everyone that day. Although set up for the wedding had been finished, the caterer was still getting ready and people were beginning to show up for the highly anticipated "wedding of the season" as the news channels called it.

As for the wedding party members, Johnny had only just arrived with his "date", Ben already partially dressed. It always took him a bit longer to get ready, what, with his size and structure, so he had wanted to make sure that there was no delay on his part. And anyways, someone was going to have to get Reed all ready and done-up, since the man was MIA. But Ben had no worries, he knew exactly where his best friend was.

The bridesmaid and maid of honor sat in Sue's bed room, both dressed and makeup done. The women of the party had been a bit more efficient with their time and were well prepared, after all, weddings were a bit more of a feminine event. Lily sat at the small, round glass table by the window, taking a large gulp from her third cup of coffee. Alicia, who both Sue and Lily had come to love, sat on the blonde's bed as the bride herself stood by the window, gazing down at all the people waiting outside of the tower, a helicopter flying by. A grimace came over her face as the time continued to tick by, not only her nerves biting away at her, but her apprehension.

Something about all of this just didn't feel right.

"Sue?" Said woman looked to her right as she watched Lily stand to her feet with a concerned look on her face. "You ok?"

"I just…" Sue shook her head as she gazed down at her feet, arms crossed over her chest. "…Something about this just doesn't feel right."

With an understanding look on her face, Lily glanced out the window before she began to rub her friend's arm in a reassuring manner. The younger woman of the three glanced over at Alicia, and although the woman was blind, it was as if she had known Lily's gaze was on her.

"Honey, I think even superheroes are allowed to have wedding day jitters," Alicia pointed out playfully, though the tone was lost to Sue.

"It's not just that," the bride said anxiously as she quickly turned to face her other friend. "Is my life…is it always going to be a circus?" she asked sincerely as she looked over at Lily with an unsure gaze.

"Sue…"

"I mean, do we really want to raise kids in this?" Sue asked as she shook her head. "Face it, we're not exactly normal." And that was true. No matter how much Lily wanted to reassure the woman that everything was going to be ok, she couldn't. Because she understood all too well. With a job like theirs and abilities like theirs, a normal life was nowhere in the picture.

"…That doesn't mean you can't be happy." Sue looked over at Lily as the young woman smiled and approached her side.

"Lets be honest. You and Reed have never been normal. And your relationship was never easy. But that's what makes you guys so unique." Lily's gaze softened as she turned her head to stare out the window. "Even though you have your ups and downs, and even though you guys have been through some crazy and almost unrealistic things, you're still happy and you're still together." And to Lily, that was what mattered the most.

"Lily's right," Alicia nodded as Sue looked over at Ben's girlfriend. "Ben and I aren't normal. But we don't let it get in the way of us being happy." Lily smiled at that as she placed her hand on Sue's back and leaned comfortingly against the woman's shoulder.

"Do you love Reed?" Alicia asked gently, Sue nodding her head with a smile.

"More than I've ever loved anyone before."

"Than you have nothing to worry about."

Suddenly, Sue felt more like herself again, the woman nodded as she looked over at Lily and pulled her into a warm embrace. The young woman smiled gleefully as she hugged her back, pulling away after a moment and watching as Sue hugged Alicia as well.

"Thanks, you guys."

Feeling more prepared for what was to come, Sue walked over to the mirror of her room as Lily watched her and took a seat beside Alicia on the arm of the small chair. They both stiffened and jumped to their feet as the bride gasped.

"What is it?" Lily asked as the pair approached Sue's side, the woman narrowing her eyes at her own reflection.

"I have a zit." Alicia and Lily relaxed at that.

"Can't you put makeup on it?"

"No, I've got it," Sue stated as she concentrated on her zit, relief washing through her when it disappeared. "Crisis averted. Now all I have to do is concentrate on this very spot for the next eight hours."

Lily and Alicia laughed at that.

Ben had been searching for Reed when he had met him.

When he had met Travis.

The Thing had been stomping about, heading towards the lab when he had noticed someone on the phone with a rather confused look on his face. He watched him curiously for a few seconds before the stone-like man finally approached the stranger.

"You looking for someone?" The man stiffened before he looked up, a relieved gleam shining in his eyes.

"Ah! You must be Ben." Said hero blinked before he nodded, the young man standing before him holding his hand out. "I was actually looking for Lily?" And then it all clicked in Ben's head.

Reaching out and shaking his hand. Ben smiled to the best of his abilities. "So you're Travis? Heard a lot about you," Ben stated as Travis chuckled and nodded.

"Same to you. It's really nice to finally meet you," he said genuinely as Ben blinked, slightly taken aback by the man's kindness and honesty. He smiled widely as they pulled their hands away.

"Lily's actually helping Sue right now, but I've got someone who'd probably like to meet you," Ben said as he motioned for Travis to follow him. The young man hesitated before he nodded and quickly scurried along after the rock man.

Immediately, the two broke into conversation about Lily and about how they had met and about how Travis was actually a rather big fan of theirs. Ben found Travis' presence to be refreshing, the man smart and yet humble all at once. That thought made him smirk as the image of Johnny appeared in his mind. There was definitely no doubt about it.

Travis was much more bearable than Johnny.

Finally reaching the lab, the pair stopped they caught sight of a pair of feet sticking out from under the radar. Ben sighed as he shook his head, walking into the room with Travis trailing behind him.

"Hey, Reed. C'mon, you're gonna miss your own wedding." And Ben was only half-kidding about that.

Travis' eyes widened when he heard a rubber-like sound echo in the lab, Mr. Fantastic's face suddenly appearing at the top of the radar while his legs still remained stuck out at the bottom.

That really was fantastic.

"I know, I'm almost-who are you?" Reed blinked in a confused way as Travis quickly took a step forward, smiling.

"I'm Travis."

"Oh! Travis!" Reed smiled widely at that. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"You as well."

"Ah, Mr. Carter." At his last name, Travis looked over at the screen before a serious expression came over his face. He nodded in respect at the general, the stoic man nodding back.

"General Hagar. Good to see you."

"General, I'm putting the sensor online…now!" Travis watched curiously as the scientist and the general talked amongst themselves. He glanced over at the radar as he nearly gapped. He was impressed with what Mr. Fantastic could do.

"Here comes the bride!" Ben sang, catching Travis and Reed's attention.

"Alright, that's it!" Reed smiled proudly at his work as he sighed.

Finally, he could relax a bit.

"Alright, lets get you shaved and dressed. You're getting married in an hour and you look like a bum!" Ben pointed out as Travis chuckled, watching as Reed turned to them. He stopped as a wave of realization washed over him, his eyes wide. Ben and Travis glanced at each other before they watched Reed suddenly begin to fall. Thankfully, the bigger man of the group caught him with ease.

"I'm…I'm getting married…" Ben grinned at that.

Glancing down at his feet, Reed noticed the way they had suddenly turned rubbery, giving him no support at all. He didn't seem to mind too much though as Ben began to carry him out of the lab. "I'm…getting married."

"Congratulations, by the way," Travis rang out, catching Reed's attention. The scientist blinked before he smiled sheepishly.

"So then, tell me about yourself, Travis."

There were only 20 minutes left until the wedding began. Finally, Reed had dressed himself and shaved, looking presentable for the big day. Ben had left him with Travis, the two conversing about projects they had done, and Travis explaining how he had worked briefly with General Hagar in the past.

Obviously, the general was not a big fan of many people.

As for the ladies, Lily stayed with Sue in order to help her do a bit of last minutes check-ups and touch-ups on the veil. Alicia had left and met with Ben in order to help him with his suit. They pair smiled at each other, Ben's date feeling a warmth wafting from the hero's body. Her smile brightened at that before a soft and musky scent of smoke filled her nose.

"Hey, Johnny." Said young man slapped his hand on the counter as he shook his head with a smirk. He laughed as Alicia grinned, Ben shaking his head and doing his best to fight back the smile that threatened to appear across his lips.

"Does that amaze anyone else? How did she know it was me? I didn't say anything!"

"Well, Johnny. To be honest, you kind of smell like ash." Ben snickered at the playful comment as Johnny rolled his eyes but continued to smile. He liked Alicia a lot, and she was nice to him, so he had no issues with her whatsoever.

Carefully placing the boutonniere on Ben's suit, the man glanced down at the sightless woman before he smirked. "Ow!" Alicia stiffened, but when she remembered the man was nearly made of stone, she pouted and slapped him gently on the chest as she scolded him, Ben merely laughed at his own joke.

And as Ben pulled Alicia close and placed a gentle kiss to her soft lips, Johnny watched silently, unsure of what he was feeling. On one hand, he was slightly grossed out, because watching anyone kiss Ben was just a bit unnerving to him, but on the other, there was a slight burning in his chest and a tugging in his gut as he stared, a small smile across his lips.

They seemed happy together.

Watching as Alicia left the kitchen, Johnny smiled as he turned his attention to Ben. The man released a sigh of contentment as he watched Alicia go. "So, seems like you and Alicia are doing well, annoyingly so." Ben looked over at Johnny, noticing the look on the young man's face. He shrugged it off before he smiled and nodded happily.

"Yeah. I'm a lucky guy."

"Yeah, you are," Johnny said earnestly as he glanced back after Alicia. His gaze was soft for only a moment as the sudden memory of Lily's disappointed and sad expression came to mind. He quickly cleared his throat, not wanting to remember such a sight before he turned to Ben.

"Just one question." Ben rolled his eyes at that. Whatever Johnny had to say, it usually was no good. "How do you guys um…well…" Motioning with his hands, Johnny looked at Ben, a horrified look appearing on his rocky face.

"That's none of your business!"

"Alright, relax! I'm just concerned." A completely serious expression was on Johnny's face as he began to back away. "I'd hate to wake up one morning and find out she was killed in a rock slide." And with that, Johnny was running.

"I'll show you a rock slide!"

It was dark and cold in the small room. Monitors sat perched up on the wall as a light beeping sound echoed through the room. A shadow sat in the middle, glancing from screen to screen until something finally caught his attention. The hooded man leaned forward as he froze the frame on the screen and clicked a button, the pixilated image slowly focusing.

What he saw, was a silver man on a silver board.

"…What are you?" And although he didn't know what it was, he knew that was his ticket.

That was his way to get his strength back.