May 16th dawned and it was a warm morning. Steve woke up at 5 a.m. like he always does. Normally when he woke this early it was because he could still hear the bugles calling for morning maneuvers. Now, as he looks down at his sleeping fiancée, he feels a nervous excitement. Their wedding day is here. Before going to make breakfast, he leans in and kisses her forehead. This small action brings a smile to her lips, and she intertwines their fingers when his hand comes to rest on her stomach. With her eyes still closed, she teases him for waking her.

"It's too early, Rogers. I see that you still haven't learned to sleep in."

"We'll have plenty of time for that on our honeymoon. I barely slept anyway. I'm about to make breakfast."

The mention of food gets Natasha moving. She's had a lot of strange cravings over the past few months. By far the strangest one was for pickles and rocky road ice cream. This time she knows what she wants breakfast to be.

"Hey, could you make chocolate chip pancakes? Oh, and cinnamon toast."

"Anything for you, Nat."

As he leaves their bedroom, she calls out after him.

"Don't forget the bacon and eggs!"

Steve can't help but laugh. Even with her morning sickness, and her emotions running on overdrive, he wouldn't change a thing. She even slapped him once after he commented on how beautiful she was, right after holding her hair back while she threw up. An hour later their breakfast is ready. Bobbi, Carol, and Sharon arrive as he is cleaning up.

"Thanks for breakfast, baby. Now get out! It's bad luck to see me in my wedding dress before Clint walks me down the aisle!"

After he was unceremoniously kicked out, he went for a run on the beach. Just a quick one to burn off some of the energy. With that finished he ran to the hotel where the rest of the guys were all getting ready. After a knock on the door, Bucky was surprised to see him.

"What's wrong, Steve? Did Natasha kick you out?"

"Yeah, just so she could get dressed. You do have my dress uniform here right?"

"Yeah, I have it..., man you stink! What have you been doing?"

"I went for my morning run. Save the commentary, I have to borrow your shower."

"Well, be quick about it. And I hope you finished your vows!"

In the last days leading up to today, he and Natasha decided to write their own vows. Focusing on this kept him from wondering what she had planned to surprise him with. He suspected it had something to do with their rings, considering he hadn't seen them since they chose them. Hit thoughts were interrupted by Bucky banging on the door.

"Come on Steve, I told you to hurry up!"

After 10 more minutes, he exits the bathroom. To a death glare from his very irritated best friend.

"You better have left some hot water for me. Go get dressed. While you were in there, Tony came by. He says the rest of the guests have arrived."

Serafina Romanoff was the first to reach the hotel. Sam arrived next, followed by Colonel Phillips, and Dum-Dum Dugan. There were two surprise guests for the couple, Professor Phil Coulson, and his wife Professor Audrey Nathan-Coulson. Steve had a hard time trying to get their invitations in the mail, because he didn't know where they'd been living. Tony was able to come through again on this one. Steve and Natasha were undoubtedly their favorite students. They weren't going to miss this day. The last to arrive was Sarah, accompanied by Bruce, Betty, and Dr. Blake. She was cured of cancer, but hasn't been released from the hospital yet. In the beach house, Natasha, Bobbi, Carol, and Sharon are almost done.

"You look beautiful, Nat. Are you ready?"

"I've been ready for this day for a long time Bobbi. Here, hold on to this."

"The ring for Steve? He still doesn't know you had them engraved, does he?"

"No, Bucky and I have been keeping it quiet. He has mine; I can't wait to see Steve's reaction. He told me he was learning Gaelic, along with Russian. He said it was because he'd been gone so long, he wanted to know more about his ancestors from Ireland."

"I think he'll love that you did this. So, no cold feet?"

"Not a chance. You know I never told him, but I found the diamond engagement ring I'm wearing."

"When? How did you know?"

"Before he enlisted, Carol. I didn't know what he had planned. Then we had the fight. I regret walking out on him that day, but I was so angry. The fact that he bought the ring, told me he knew he'd find a way back home. When Alexei proposed to me, I declined, not just because I didn't love him, but because I held out hope that this day would come."

"And now it's here. You've been committed to this for a long time. I hope Bucky proposes to me soon."

"Don't worry Sharon. I can see the way he looks at you. I bet it's coming soon enough."

The ladies were all ready. With thirty minutes until the ceremony, there is a knock at the door. Bobbi opens it to find Clint standing there.

"Hey Bobbi, how's Nat doing?"

"Come on in. She's ready."

He walks in and she has her back to him, doing a final check in the mirror. When he places a hand on her shoulder, she turns around.

"Wow, Nat. You look stunning."

She had decided that she wanted a light blue dress. Blue has been her favorite color since the first time she locked eyes with Steve.

"Thanks, Clint. And thanks for agreeing to walk me down the aisle. You've always been my best friend, but even more like the brother I never had."

"You don't need to thank me for this. I always hoped one day that I would be the one to take this walk with you. I'm even happier that it will be Steve there waiting for us."

"That's a switch. You were the one who punched him the face. Are you telling me that you wouldn't have been happy if it was Alexei waiting for me?"

"To tell you the truth, I never liked that guy. Regardless of what I may have thought of Steve when I first met him, I saw how happy he made you. It's not often you find a love like this. I'm glad you held on to it."

Natasha has to hold back the tears at his confession. Clint was the type who never thought anybody she dated was good enough for her. As he pulls her in for a hug, he knows he was wrong. There couldn't be anyone better for her than Steve Rogers. After a few minutes they break the hug, and he helps her with the necklace Sarah loaned to her.

"Come on kiddo, it's almost time. I'll see you out there."

Normally Clint calling her kiddo would infuriate her. Today it is the exact opposite. She now understands he has always used it as a term of endearment. With everything in place, her bridesmaids step out on the front porch. Carol joins with Peter, followed by Sharon and Sam, and last Bobbi and Bucky. When the wedding march begins to play, she steps out and Clint takes her arm in his. At the altar is an Army Chaplain, ready to perform the ceremony.

"And now, Steve and Natasha have decided to share their own vows."

"Natasha, when we first met, I thought you were the most stubborn, strong willed, infuriating woman in the world. Then I got to know you, and I realized those attributes were a defense mechanism. Underneath all of that I saw a heart of gold, and a fire that no amount of water could extinguish. You genuinely care for everyone you meet. Even if my heart was frozen in ice for seventy years, your smile and your laugh could melt all of that away. I promise that you will always be the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Steve, I admit I didn't know what to make of you that day you bumped in to me twice in college. When you called me out on my attitude, I thought you were arrogant, cocky, and entirely self-centered. But I later realized that you were honest, caring, and not afraid to be yourself. You would give the shirt off of your back to someone in need. You're the type of gentleman that is so hard to find in the world today. I promise to love you with all of my heart, and never let you go."

When they finish their vows, the Chaplain calls for and blesses their rings.

"Steve, place the ring on Natasha's left hand. Do you swear to love, honor, and cherish Natasha as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Natasha, place the ring on Steve's left hand. Do you swear to love, honor, and cherish Steve for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Then by the power vested in me by the United States Military and the State of New York, I now pronounce you Man and Wife. You may kiss the Bride."

All the guests stand and cheer as the couple shares their first kiss as husband and wife. Sarah and Serafina both break into tears with the announcement:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Steven Rogers."

The cheering and clapping reaches a crescendo as Natasha turns to throw the bouquet. Whether it was luck, or just good aim, the flowers landed right in Sharon's hands. Bucky's face turns bright red, knowing what this means. She walks over to him and wraps one arm around his waist.

"We're next Barnes. I hope you've got a really great proposal planned out."

He kind of thinks she's joking, but with school about to end for the both of them, he has been wracking his brain to come up with the most exciting way that he can propose. Whatever he does, Sharon knows she's going to say yes. When the time for the first dance comes, only one song is right for it. Elvis Presley begins to play, and Natasha smiles with the melody.

"Steve, did you choose Love Me Tender for our first dance?"

He just smiles as they sway to the music. This has always been one of her favorite songs. After the dance he speaks the words engraved in Gaelic on their rings.