REVAMPED!

Mark XII: Minor Technical Difficulties

"Why did you untie it in the first place?" Thor asks Tony.

Tony looks at the god frustrated. He ripped off his tie seconds ago in the midst of a panic attack, his collar is erect, and that's what Thor asks? This was not the time for questions! At least it sounded innocent and meant to be genuine. Thor even wraps the tie around Tony's neck like a scarf in a jokingly attempt to fix it and lighten the tension.

"I couldn't breathe," Tony replies, taking the tie off again in one swift pull. "Now, could someone tie this back for me? My hands keep shaking."

"One moment," Bruce says, pulling out his phone for a moment and typing on it. He passes it to Steve, instructing him to hold it out. "Clint, come help me."

"You guys don't know how to tie a tie?!" Tony exclaims as a how-to video starts playing from Bruce's phone. He notices that Bruce isn't even wearing a tie and Clint somehow had his on (he guesses that Natasha did it).

Bruce and Clint alternate their views from the phone screen to the tie around Tony's neck, both playing with an end and trying to copy the video as it plays. Steve has to pause it every second and rewind it repeatedly. Tony becomes so irritated and annoyed that he should've left the tie as the scarf Thor put on him. He also isn't sure how, despite Bruce and Clint tying a tie in a collaborative effort and having previous knowledge in other various fields of knowledge, the tie ended up being wrapped around his neck like a noose.

Steve stifles a laugh as searches for a better video.

"Whoops…" Bruce mutters as he attempts to untie it.

"Perfect!" Clint exclaims, leaving it alone.

"You know," Tony starts, grinning a little. "If you guys didn't like me, you could've just said so."

-o-

Pepper stands in front of her vanity, leaning over the counter and applying her lipstick to finish off her makeup. The rest of the women are ready and Pepper was almost done. All that remains is her hair which nobody has figured out what to do. But, they still have lots of time to work out some ideas.

When done, Pepper blots her lips on a tissue and discards it, standing up straight and turning around to look at herself in her wedding dress in the full-length mirror. Behind her, Betty, Jane, and Natasha are all smiling and swooning over Pepper in her wedding dress: it's a bright white gown with a mermaid silhouette that went all the way down to the ground, stopping just where her feet are. It has a halter neckline and keyhole back which saved Pepper the need in wearing a necklace (she only opted for simple diamond earrings). The entire dress is covered in a floral appliqué lace which gives the dress an illusion of detail yet simplicity. Her heels are simple and strapped, sitting by the door.

"Wow…" Betty, Jane, and Natasha mutter in awe at their friend.

Pepper smiles. She runs her fingers through her strawberry blonde hair, moving the strands around and trying to picture what to do with it. When she hears a knock on the door, she drops her hair and turns around to see Betty go and answer it. Pepper smiles when she sees Rhodey who is blown away at the sight of her in her gown and a woman who is also amazed at the sight. Pepper assumes that she's Steve's date and girlfriend of two months.

"Wow, Pep," Rhodey says, making his way over. He gently embraces her and kisses her cheek. "You look absolutely gorgeous."

"I've been meaning to ask you," Pepper says, holding his arm with both her hands. "Will you give me away?"

Rhodey is taken aback for a second, deeply touched by the offer. "I would be absolutely honoured to."

Pepper smiles even brighter this time. "You might want to tell Tony that. How is he, by the way?"

"He was doing great," Rhodey responds. "Everything's good to go and then he panicked a little. But, then he calmed down when Steve showed up for certain reasons."

Rhodey raises an eyebrow, gesturing over there. Pepper looks over and notices that he's referring to Steve's date. Pepper couldn't blame Tony though, she would've done the same thing. She remembers Tony speculating on whether or not Steve was going to bring her to the wedding. She's glad that she's here because based on what Steve's told Tony who told her (and some other comments from Natasha), they seem serious already.

"Panicked?" Pepper questions. "Panicked over what?"

"Just his vows." Rhodey notices Pepper's quick reaction to being concerned. "Oh no, he wrote the vows. He was just going over them to make sure he remembered them."

Pepper nods, taking a seat on the bed. "That's relieving. I have mine as well."

Rhodey nods. "Alright. I will return to Tony and let you ladies finish up."

"Thanks, Rhodey, see you soon."

Rhodey gives one last smile and wave before he leaves, closing the door behind him. The moment it clicks shut, Pepper exhales loudly out of relief before lying back on her bed. She places her hands on her stomach and her head alternatively.

"I think I'm going to throw up…" She mutters before sitting back up again. She looks over at her friends and realizes that she hasn't introduced herself yet and her nausea was more or less their first exchange of words. Pepper stands up and flattens out any wrinkles that formed on her dress when she collapsed before walking over. "Pepper Potts, the bride-to-be."

"Agent Peggy Carter," the woman responds happily, "Steve's plus one. I hope you don't think I'm intruding on your special day -"

"Oh no, not at all. I had a feeling Steve was bringing a plus one." Pepper smirks. "He didn't confirm or deny it and we wrote him down with one."

"It was rude of neither of you to tell me!" Natasha exclaims at Peggy. "I set you two up and this is what I get in return?!"

Peggy shrugs and Natasha rolls her eyes. Pepper backs away, letting the two of them settle whatever that is.

"Now," Pepper says, focusing back on her hair. "What to do about this…"

"I suggest that we put it up in a low bun type of do," Natasha offers. "We straighten the hair so that it'll be a cleaner execution, and then we'll clip the veil underneath."

Natasha does a rough work on what the hair will look like and Pepper nods her head, liking it. She looks at Betty, Jane, and even Peggy for their approval and they give it a thumbs up. That just means they'll have to make sure it happens that way and to perfection.

"Peggy," Pepper says, looking at her. She holds a hair straightener in her hand. "You can use this, right?"

"I have some experience," Peggy responds, taking the device. "Let's see if I remember any of the said experience."

"Just don't burn it off," Jane tells her.

"Don't jinx it!" Pepper exclaims. "I'm going to start panicking like Tony!"

"Just in case, we should think of a plan in case some of it burns off," Betty suggests.

"How about we don't."