Life After Death

by Team Damon

Sequel to Breath of Life. He's overcome a lot to get to where he's at, but he still has a long way to go. She knows that it's not going to be easy, but she also knows that he's worth it. And neither of them have the slightest clue what in the world they're doing. Bucky/OC, post-TWS and non-Civil War compliant. Now complete!

39. Chapter 39

A/N: I'm sticking the note up here at the top this week because I don't want to pass up my opportunity to present to you lovely readers this gigantic wedding extravaganza :D I put a LOT of time and effort into this chapter, like seriously I didn't see daylight for like three days lol, and I hope SO much that you all like it :) thank you to each of you for reading, and one of my biggest thank you's EVER to midnightwings96, because she is fricking AMAZING and cowrote a VERY key section of this chapter with me. It would not have been possible without her help, and I ADORE how it turned out and adore her, so she gets my eternal love and gratitude :D I'm going to shut up now, and I look forward to hearing from you guys! Eeeeep! :D

Before the sun had even begun to rise the next morning, Summer's phone next to her head went off in a mildly screechy, incredibly irritating, alarm that made her jerk awake and immediately groan in great annoyance.

Blindly groping for the phone to make the noise stop, she squinted her eyes open and tried to remember why she had set an alarm for such an ungodly hour. When she finally managed to turn it off, she flopped over to her back and held up her phone, too delirious to remember anything until she blinked enough to clearly see the date on the screen.

That was when realization struck her, and in her sudden moment of clarity, she dropped her phone on her face. It hurt, but as of that moment, nothing in the whole world was going to get her down that day. Not even scrambling out of bed so fast that she managed to get her foot stuck in the sheets and send her flying face-first to the floor.

Mentally chanting an excited and slightly terrified mantra of I'm getting married today, I'm getting married today, holy fricking crap I'm getting married today, Summer then managed to make it through the rest of the morning without further injury. She took the world's fastest shower and then crashed about the bedroom, getting dressed and knocking various things over in her haste to not fall behind schedule. David managed to sleep through all of it, and when there was a knock at her door, she rushed to open it, knowing who it was.

Natasha stood on the other side of the door, looking as perfectly awake and together as she ever did, while Summer was pretty sure she resembled a drowned rat. Regardless, Summer smiled excitedly and then pulled her inside the room, whispering excitedly, "I can't believe this is finally happening!"

Natasha closed the door behind her, grinning and replying, "I can't believe you're awake. And already showered."

"Oh, I am wide awake and ready to do this," Summer confirmed. "Is Bucky awake yet?"

"Steve was on his way to check when I came here," Natasha replied. "So let's go over the list."

"Right," Summer said, taking a deep breath and heading to her closet to pull out a small suitcase that contained most of what she needed to take with her to the farm. "I've double checked this about five times, so I think I'm good, but..."

Summer then gently tore through the contents of the suitcase, going so fast that Natasha felt almost dizzy by the time that she was done, at which point she put a hand on Summer's shoulder and smiled, "Hey, take it easy. Breathe. Everything's going to go great today."

Summer did as she said and breathed, closing her eyes and trying to calm her nerves. "I know. I just... I'm getting married today."

She then broke out into a smile and squealed quietly, and Natasha chuckled at her antics before pulling her into a light hug. After, she asked, "What are you more nervous for, today or tonight?"

Summer's eyes widened and she shook her head while trying to form actual words. "Oh God. I'm gonna throw up. I wasn't even thinking about tonight. Now I am. Now I'm not gonna be able to think about anything but it. Oh God."

"You're going to do great," Nat assured her. "You have nothing to be anxious about. Trust me. And I wouldn't say that if I didn't mean it."

Summer believed her. It was true - Natasha was never one to express her confidence in something if she wasn't sincere about it. Deception might have been second nature to her, but ironically, Summer didn't think the woman had ever lied to her.

"Okay," Summer nodded. "Right. Besides, I can freak out about this later. Right now we've gotta get moving."

Natasha nodded in agreement. "Yes we do."

"And you have my dress?"

Natasha nodded again. "In my closet, ready to move when you are."

"Okay. Let me grab my bathroom bag and then we can get going," Summer said, but on her way to bathroom, she stopped in her tracks yet again. She then glanced over her shoulder at Natasha, and with a goofy smile on her face, said yet again, "I'm getting married today."

Natasha shook her head, quietly laughing with her. Summer was nervous, yes, but it was the best kind of nervous she had ever been. It was the sort of anxiety that left her anticipating rather than dreading the coming hours, but there was quite a bit of work to do before the ceremony, let alone everything that would come after. For then, it was time to get moving and get going.

What a day it was going to be.

---

Meanwhile, as Summer was flitting about her room making sure that she wasn't forgetting anything, Steve was standing over Bucky's bed and watching the groom-to-be sleep like he had the whole morning to snooze away. Steve sighed, wondering how hard it was going to be to wake him up and why Bucky's phone hadn't done the job for him.

He glanced at Bucky's phone on the table next to his bed, and a quick check of his alarm showed that Bucky had apparently accidentally set his alarm to go off at five PM rather than AM. He made a mental note to later tease him about this uncharacteristic technological mishap, then leaned down and gently shook Bucky's right shoulder.

He didn't even so much as twitch or groan in reply. Steve rolled his eyes and shook him again, though still very gently.

"Bucky. Wake up."

This time, Bucky stirred and cracked open an eye. As soon as it landed on Steve, he closed the eye and then made to burrow back under the covers, muttering for Steve to leave him alone in a rather colorful way.

Putting his hands on his hips, Steve was amused as he replied, "Well, I would, but I think your wife would kill me if I let you show up late to your own wedding."

Bucky didn't move for a good five seconds. Then, he shot up with suddenly wide eyes and a wild look about him as he sleepily half-exclaimed, "Oh fuck."

Steve grinned, but not before raising an eyebrow and saying, "Hey, language."

Bucky shot Steve a glare. "Shut up."

Steve's grin widened. "The girls are already up and probably ready to go. We need to head out."

Bucky ran a hand over his face, nodding and then grabbing his phone to check the time. "Dammit," he frowned after the screen lit up. "Why didn't this thing go off?"

"You might have set it wrong," Steve shrugged innocently.

"I've never set it wrong," Bucky muttered.

"Well... then you picked a hell of a first day to do that."

Bucky sighed and threw the sheets off, getting up and stomping around the room. Steve followed him, still smiling, and Bucky grabbed a pair of clothes at random out of his dresser as he asked, "How far behind schedule are we?"

"Not much," Steve assured him. "We've still got plenty of time to get there and get ready in time. We just can't afford to... dillydally."

Bucky paused and turned to look at his friend slightly incredulously. "Dillydally?"

"Yes, dillydally."

"Who says dillydally anymore?" Bucky asked, not really caring, but teasing Steve was a good way to distract himself from his brief moment of panic.

"People our age do," Steve shrugged. When Bucky rolled his eyes, Steve clapped his shoulder and smiled, "Go on, get ready to go. I've already got everything taken care of."

Bucky nodded, pausing before asking, "The suit's already at the farm, right?"

Steve nodded. "I took it there yesterday. I told you, I've got this. All you need to worry about is remembering the vows we wrote."

Bucky cracked a smile, slowly nodding back. Attempting to write his own vows had been a nightmare at first, but Steve was good at coming up with flowery speeches and touching words essentially off the top of his head, so it had become something of a team effort. Together they had come up with something he hoped was good enough, and Steve did a good job of putting Bucky's feelings into words. Memorizing them had been easy, but now that the day was finally here, he wondered if he'd blank out and forget when the time came.

Steve gestured towards the bathroom and again said, "Go on. I'll get everything ready."

"Will we still have time to get the surprise ready?" Bucky asked, and Steve couldn't remember the last time he'd seen him so nervous.

"Plenty," Steve nodded. "Don't worry about that."

Bucky nodded again, then finally turned and headed towards the bathroom. His mind was racing, and though he'd been incredibly calm about the wedding since its early planning stages, now he was experiencing that last-minute attack of nerves that he didn't think he'd have to deal with.

Steve, being able to read his best friend like a book, saw his nerves from a mile away. Before Bucky disappeared into the bathroom, Steve called out quietly, "Hey."

Bucky turned and replied, "Yeah?"

"Everything's gonna go great," Steve assured him. "I'm here to make sure of that."

Bucky nodded, knowing that today, at some point, he needed to tell Steve some things he'd been keeping to himself for probably a bit too long. He didn't have a written speech ready for that conversation, but it was needed.

He'd worry about that once he had some coffee in his system.

"Thanks," Bucky finally replied, to which Steve merely smiled and nodded.

After that, Bucky turned and got back to focusing on the task at hand, which was getting out of the tower and to the farm in time to do something that he was still convinced he was wholly unworthy of. He expected to remain convinced of this until his dying day, but it wouldn't stop him from treasuring every moment of his wedding day.

He wondered just how much Summer was currently herself freaking out just across the hallway.

---

When it was time to leave, Summer carried a still-sleeping David into Natasha's car while Nat carried out the other essentials and got them safely packed for the several-hour-long drive. After that, it was a relatively quiet trip to the farm, at least until they were halfway there and driving mostly alone along the highway.

With David snoozing and Natasha driving after having helpfully stopped for coffee along the way, Summer was busy making calls and making sure that certain things were happening on time. The cake would be arriving on time, and Esteban and Nicolo - bless their very souls - had arrived at the farm the night before to start setting things up. She was seriously considering naming her next child after them, because a simple "thank you, nor what she was paying Nicolo for his photography, didn't seem to nearly suffice.

Nonetheless, it was as she was dialing her brother's number to make sure that he and all one thousand of his kids were also on their way that a car driving up rather obnoxiously on their tail stole her attention. She looked at the car through the rearview mirror and muttered, "What the heck is this person's problem? You're not even going slow."

Natasha glanced up just as the car cut into the other lane to pass them. Then she smirked. "No, but apparently I'm driving slow enough that your fiancé managed to catch up with us."

"What?!" Summer squeaked before diving forward in her seat to hide herself, just in case Bucky looked over at her as he passed them. "And what the heck! If that's him, he's driving like a maniac!"

Natasha grinned and looked to her left, rolling down her window as the other car remained next to hers for a bit. Steve in the passenger seat rolled his window down too, and then with a grin he yelled to Nat, "First time I've seen you actually drive the speed limit!"

"First time you've seen me drive with a little kid in the backseat," she pointed out. When she saw Bucky in the driver's seat glance her way, she called, "No peeking!"

From her place curled uncomfortably small and halfway on the floor of the car, Summer said, "If he sees me I'll kill him! Tell him that!"

Apparently Bucky had heard that, because he then merely smirked at Natasha before speeding up and rather noisily cutting in front of her. Natasha shook her head and rolled the window back up, then told Summer, "It's safe now."

Summer sat up slowly and looked around just to make sure, then settled on watching Bucky driving ridiculously quickly away in front of them. "What a jerk."

"You're marrying him," Natasha shrugged, amused.

"And now he's gonna beat me there," she said. "He doesn't even need to spend half the amount of time getting ready that I do!"

"You sure about that?" Natasha asked, giving her a side-look. "I've seen how long he spends on his hair."

Summer couldn't think of much in the way of an argument. "Well... still. But at least he didn't see me. Last thing I need is bad luck." Then she paused and said with sudden concern, "I hope he never drives like that with kids in the car. Or me."

"If it was just you in the car, you'd probably think it was hot."

Summer sighed in concession. "You're probably right."

"He'll probably be driving even faster than that once the wedding's over and you're on the way to the cottage," Natasha grinned as, up ahead, Bucky and Steve's car disappeared around a bend.

Summer smiled and picked up her phone, intending to go back to making her calls but instead drifting off in a sudden burst of mental bliss. She was still nervous, but so incredibly happy that it far outweighed anything else she felt in that moment.

Even her annoyance when she unlocked her phone to find a text from Bucky waiting for her, consisting of two words. Slow pokes.

Rapidly typing a strongly worded response, Summer exclaimed, "Now he's texting and driving! While going like 25 over the speed limit! I'm going to kill him!"

"Now you're starting to sound like a married couple," Natasha quipped. "Let the nagging begin."

One comfort as Summer sent about five texts telling Bucky to stay off of his phone while driving like a psycho was knowing that Steve was surely doing the exact same thing from the passenger seat. Then that comfort got shot to hell when she got another text, again from Bucky's number, saying, I sent that. Thought it would be funny. Sorry. - Steve.

She put her phone down and then slowly looked up, muttering quietly, "They both hate me. They're both jerks."

"They both love you," Natasha assured her, still grinning. "A whole lot. Trust me."

Summer sighed in annoyance, though she smiled to herself as she shook her head and fired off a few more texts. If nothing else, her wedding day was shaping up to be just as eventful and entertaining as every other big day she had experienced since getting tangled up in this new life of hers.

And it only got better from there.

---

When they arrived at the farm, Natasha first scoped it out to make sure that it was safe and that Bucky wasn't hiding in any bushes to catch a forbidden glimpse of Summer. Then she led Summer inside the front door with her eyes closed, because to Summer's chagrin, she wasn't allowed to see any of the decorations outside until she was ready to walk down the aisle. Apparently, those were the rules.

By then, David had woken up, so he followed them inside sleepily and paused at the sight of Clint slumped over at the kitchen table. Summer noticed this as well, and he cracked open an eye to look at the three of them blearily and then wave miserably in their direction.

"You know, you might be getting a little too old for the whole drinking like a frat boy thing," Natasha teased, patting his shoulder as she walked past him.

He groaned and lifted his head, forcing himself to take a gulp of the cup of coffee sitting in front of him. "No shit, Sherlock."

Summer chuckled quietly, imagining Bucky and Steve dumping him in the backseat hungover and probably still-unconscious, then shoving him here once they arrived. She glanced at her phone and then said, "Well, just as long as you're sober and human-looking in three hours."

He gave the thumbs up and then dropped his head back down to the table. Natasha then led Summer and David upstairs, to the room where they would be getting ready. On the way, Summer asked quietly, "Where are the guys getting ready?"

"Downstairs, in Clint's room," Natasha replied. "No chance of any accidental run-ins."

"Good," Summer said, and from there, everything seemed to go smoothly for a bit. They got settled into the room, Natasha brought in their dresses from the car as well as David's clothes, plus all the necessary hair and makeup supplies, and Summer helped her to set everything up and get their dresses hung and ready for them to put them on.

In fact, as the girls decided on getting makeup out of the way first, everything was almost disturbingly quiet for a good fifteen minutes, until there was a rapid and spirited knock on the door.

Natasha went to the door and first asked through it, "Who is it?"

"Two of the most attractive immigrants any of you Americans will ever see," came the reply, and Summer looked up from where she had been examining different eyeshadows at a desk and smiled.

Natasha glanced back at Summer and then opened the door. "You guys know I'm actually Russian, right?"

Esteban and Nicolo stood on the other side, both wearing bright and cheery smiles and the latter toting an impressively huge camera. Esteban led the way inside, answering Natasha, "Of course I know that. But you're dating Captain America, and it doesn't get more American than that."

Then, once he was inside and caught his first glance of Summer, they both made an indistinct high-pitched sound of excitement and rushed to hug each other. Nicolo, being slightly more subdued - slightly - simply turned his camera back on and started quietly snapping away.

"I cannot thank you guys enough," Summer said as she pulled away from the hug after having been squeezed to death. "I mean, seriously - I don't know what I'd do with either of you, and..." She paused and noticed the camera's presence, then asked, "Why is he already taking pictures?"

"I always start with the decorations, then the bride getting ready, then the groom," Nicolo explained with a slight shrug. Then a small smile appeared on his face and he added, "And I never pass up an excuse to photograph him."

"No you don't," Esteban grinned in reply. Then he turned back to Summer and nudged her with his elbow, half-whispering, "Wrapped around my little finger, this one."

"And I would totally be jealous if I didn't have my own super hot... talented... multilingual... guy," Summer grinned back. Then she sucked in a breath and added, "... Who I am marrying in like two and a half hours. Oh my God, Nat, let's hurry up and do this."

With a chuckle from everybody in the room, minus David who really just seemed wary and uninterested in all the fuss, the process of officially getting ready finally began. Nicolo busied himself with taking pictures of the dresses hanging from the walls, and then when Natasha began expertly applying Summer's makeup, he alternated between taking pictures and video. Summer didn't know about the video part - that would be a surprise for later.

All the while, Summer was all smiles and babbling about one thing after another, and halfway into having her face done up, Esteban had to leave to get back to overseeing the last minute touches outside. At his departure, Summer sighed and thought about how lucky she was to have these wonderful, not mention unfairly pretty, people around her on such a pivotal day of her life. Then she remembered that one person was missing, and as Natasha perfected her cheeks, Summer said sadly, "Man, I wish Thor was here."

"Yeah," Natasha agreed. "It's never quite the same without him."

"You want to hear something embarrassing?" Summer asked with a smile, eyes flitting from Natasha to Nicolo, who had been looking through the photos he'd taken so far. He looked up as she went on, "Yesterday, while we were here rehearsing, I kind of wandered off for a minute and... well... I looked up at the sky and... uh..."

"Yes?" Natasha prompted, not looking away from Summer's cheek and the brush in her hand.

"Well, Asgard has that... dude that can see everything, right?"

"Gatekeeper," Nicolo answered a little too quickly. He smiled sheepishly when Summer looked his way, then explained, "In the myths he's called Heimdall. I... read a lot."

Summer smiled back and said, "It's okay. Asgard is totally worth fangirling over. Or fanboying. But yeah! So there's that guy, and just on the off chance that he really does see everything, I sort of... invited Thor to come today. And I know it's stupid and there's no way he could just drop whatever it is he's doing and come here, but I just... miss him."

"I don't think it's stupid," Natasha said. "You never know. And even if he doesn't show up, I'm sure he would if he could."

"Yeah... though I'm not sure I can ever look at him the same way after fake Thor gave me a lap dance last night."

Nicolo looked up from his camera again, ears suddenly perking up. "What did you say?"

Meanwhile, outside, Esteban was directing a handful of volunteers in setting up the last remaining decorations. Wanda was there and, thanks to her abilities, was making it all go by incredibly quickly, and Darcy and Sam were also giving a helping hand at the moment. Clint had ventured out of the house looking a bit haggard but enduring his hangover and feeding his animals, cursing at them when they would make a loud noise and make his headache worse.

Then, all of a sudden, the sky rather literally opened up, and Esteban and the others froze as they turned and stared wide-eyed at the multicolored, brilliant beams of light hitting the ground from the very heavens. The chickens that Clint had been throwing food to clucked in terror and ran for safety in their coops, and then almost as soon as the light had appeared, it was gone. Standing in its place was none other than Thor himself, dressed in his full Asgardian armor and holding Mjolnir in his right hand.

He broke out into a wide smile, unaware of how he had just filled the hearts of each animal present with great fear. Clint sighed and dumped the rest of the chickens' food over the fence, and Darcy piped up, "Holy crap! Talk about wedding crashers!"

Then, before Thor could say a single hello or even move one foot in front of the other, Esteban quite literally swooned and fell into the arms of the person who just happened to be closest to him, which was Sam.

Any potential grand, sweeping greetings fell by the wayside as Thor furrowed his brows and made his way towards the scene. "Have I frightened him? I apologize for my sudden arrival, but I received an invitation and -"

"Nah, man, you're fine," Sam said, rolling his eyes at the fainted man whom he was currently holding upright. "Good to see you."

"You as well," Thor smiled. Then he smiled at the women and nodded. "Ladies."

Wanda smiled quietly and Darcy did some odd cross between a curtsy and a mild flail and grinned excitedly. "Dude! You scared the crap out of the animals, but I can't believe you're here! I thought it would be at least another two years until we saw you again."

"I cannot stay for long," he admitted. "But I did not want to miss this day." Then he came closer to Sam, who was now trying to slap Esteban awake and getting quite sick of holding him, and Thor asked cautiously, "Are you sure that he is well?"

Esteban stirred at Thor's voice, then opened his eyes and croaked, "If I said I needed CPR... would you believe me?"

Thor laughed and then helped Sam slowly get Esteban to his feet. "I apologize, my friend. How are you?"

"A bit woozy, but..." Esteban stood up and looked up at Thor in happily dazed admiration. "I have never actually fainted before in my life." Then he started babbling in Spanish, and Thor smiled, taking that to mean that he was probably rather happy to faint under the circumstances.

Then Clint came up behind Thor, tapping his shoulder. Thor turned and smiled, ready to greet him and ask why he looked a bit under the weather, but Clint pointed to the ground behind them before Thor could say a word.

"Good to see you and all, but the hell am I supposed to do with all this weird Asgardian symbol crap on my land?" Clint asked, gesturing to said weird symbols spread out in a perfect circle.

"Ah, yes, that. It will fade in time," Thor shrugged off before smiling again and slapping Clint's shoulder. He almost flew across the property as a result, and Thor's smile faded as he observed, "You do not seem well."

"Man, everybody's Captain Obvious today," Clint muttered before heading back towards his animals, who were still terrified and making it known with their screeches.

Thor watched Clint trudge off for a moment before turning back to the others and chirping happily, "Where is the bride?"

"Dude, the bride is gonna freak out when she sees you," Darcy grinned.

"Yes she is," Esteban agreed excitedly, energy fully back all of a sudden as he confidently began striding back to the house. "Follow me. Just try not to make her cry. She just got her makeup done."

Back in Summer's room, Natasha had just put the finishing touches on her face and was now standing behind her, brushing out her hair and spraying a few different products throughout it. Nicolo was snapping a picture of David as he wandered over towards the dresses and looked up at them with his nose wrinkled, and then there was a knock on the door.

"Are you decent?" Esteban yelled through the wood.

"Yup, no naked people in here!" Summer called back, expecting only Esteban to then walk through the door. She was wrong.

"I have a surprise for you," Esteban sing-songed as he opened the door, and Summer looked away from the mirror she was sitting in front of to glance at the doorway. She then promptly gasped and let her jaw drop to the very floor as Thor walked in behind him, wearing that friendly smile that she had missed seeing in the tower every day.

"Holy fricking crap!" she exclaimed, all but stumbling out of her chair and all but running towards the Asgardian royalty among them. "You got my message!"

"I did!" he smiled, opening his arms and catching her in a bone-crushing hug. "I am honored that you thought to invite me!"

She scoffed as she pulled away, looking up at him excitedly as she said, "It wouldn't have been the same without you! I was literally just saying how I wished you could come, but I didn't think it was even possible, and now - oh my God, you're here!"

In the midst of Summer flailing and Thor laughing heartily at her enthusiasm, David came running excitedly up to Thor as well and threw his entire body around Thor's leg - because it was all he could reach, Thor was that tall. Thor looked down and laughed as the boy giggled, then reached down and hugged him back. "Ah, I see that you have grown in my absence! Very good! I believe I made you a promise when I left, didn't I?"

David's eyes turned hopeful as he detached himself from Thor, and then Thor glanced at Summer with a brief wink before reaching underneath his cape, somewhere near his side. Summer was puzzled until Thor then pulled out a small swath of fabric, folded neatly until he shook it out and caused David to audibly squeal with glee.

"The cape he asked for!" Summer gasped. "You remembered!"

"Of course I did," Thor grinned proudly as David's eyes nearly fell out of his skull. "As promised, this was made from some of the finest fabrics on my world, and made by the very tailor who supplies my own clothes."

David reached out and touched the little cape like it was the single greatest thing he'd ever seen in his life, and it probably was, if Summer had to guess. Just as David requested, Steve's star symbol was stitched into the red cape, leaving it red and blue and a perfect mix of the trademarks of two of his favorite people. The silver that trimmed the star, however, seemed to signify one other person, and Summer had a very good guess on who it was.

"Turn around, I shall put this on you," Thor told David, who turned around and bounced on his heels as Thor attached the cape to his t-shirt.

After, David spun around with a flourish of the cape, then beamed up at Thor before signing thank you to him roughly a hundred times. Thor chuckled and ruffled David's hair, then watched him run off to start playing with his new, genuinely Asgardian and totally awesome, cape.

That was when he noticed the stranger snapping pictures in between looking at Thor like he was very possibly about to faint just as Esteban had outside. As a result, Thor smiled and nodded at the man. "Hello."

"H-hello," Nicolo replied, lowering his camera as a starstruck daze came over his face.

"This is Nicolo," Summer helpfully supplied, still incredibly giddy herself. "Esteban's boyfriend and my photographer. And friend. I don't know what I would have done without them both."

"Oh, wonderful!" Thor smiled, and at his side, Esteban threw his hand over Thor's chest armor.

"Did I not tell you he was even more perfect in real life?" Esteban asked the still-dumbfounded Nicolo. "I mean, look at him. And look at his hair. Look at everything!"

"As glorious as he is," Natasha said, cutting into the moment of group fawning, "we do have work to do."

"Ah, of course," Thor said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I will be on my way. And you," he took Summer's hand in both of his, "look very lovely, my lady. And you are back to walking normally!"

In the midst of blushing like crazy, Summer suddenly realized that when Thor had last seen her, she had only just begun walking again. "Oh yeah! I'm all better. I can even dance now."

"Oh, she can dance," Natasha grinned knowingly, which didn't help Summer's blushing issue.

"Well I am glad to hear it," Thor said before, as was the custom, kissing Summer's hand and making her squirm. Then he released her hand with a smile and said, "I will go say hello to the groom now, leave you to your preparations."

"Okay," Summer nodded, and before she could stop herself, she jumped at him and hugged him again. "Thank you for the cape. And thank you so much for coming."

"It is my pleasure," he squeezed her back, and then all too soon after he had arrived, he was turning and heading back out the door. But she couldn't be sad, because he was there, and that meant that just about every single person she cared about in the world - all the worlds - were going to be there on her wedding day, and it was perfect.

As Thor left, Esteban looked at Nicolo and squealed at him, then turned to follow Thor. Nicolo, following suit, smiled at Summer said, "I, ah, I think I will go and get some pictures of the guys. Text me when you are ready to get the dress on so I can shoot that, yeah?"

"Sure," Summer smiled. "Go on. Don't drool too much."

Nicolo laughed, then sighed and bit his free hand after making a fist with it, then all but raced out the door. Summer chuckled at his departure, then watched for a moment as David ran in circles and made wooshing sounds to match his glorious new cape.

"Okay," Natasha said, taking Summer by the shoulders and physically moving her back to her seat in front of the mirror. "No more distractions. Hair time."

"Right," Summer sighed, nodding and squaring her shoulders. Back to business.

---

"I'm not hungry."

Steve gave his best friend a knowing look. "You're always hungry."

"Well, right now," Bucky said, eyeing the plate of food that Steve was shoving under his nose, "I'm not hungry, so..."

"Why, 'cause you're nervous?" Steve grinned, and Bucky rolled his eyes just before he hopped up from the chair he'd been sitting in and started pacing Clint's bedroom.

"I'm not nervous, I'm just..." he shook his head and glanced out the little window next to Clint's bed. From there, he could see Darcy trying to tie flowers to the back of the little chairs lining the "aisle" he and Summer would be walking down later, and Wanda was talking to Sam and laughing about something.

"Overwhelmed, maybe?" Steve guessed, now standing behind Bucky and also looking out the window.

Bucky didn't answer, only shrugging a little and thinking back to where he had been just a few years ago. How he had come from that to all of this, just a few short hours away from marrying an extraordinary woman while people who he considered to be real friends helped get the decorations up outside, he would never know. Whether it was luck or fate or whatever, he wondered when he'd stop expecting something horrible to happen that would rip it all away.

But that was just his past speaking. He knew that, so he ignored that nagging voice in his head and listened to Steve instead.

"I always knew you'd beat me to it," Steve said with a twinge of amusement. "Getting married. Of course, I didn't know it would take another century for it to happen, but..."

Bucky glanced back at Steve and then stepped away from the window, going back to pacing while Steve still held the damn plate in his hand. "She's not doing this because she feels obligated, or because she feels bad for me, or..."

Steve raised his eyebrows and almost laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

Bucky looked at him a bit helplessly, pausing in his steps. "I don't know. I'm just..."

"It's okay," Steve assured him. "You're about to get married in a few hours. I'm pretty sure that being irrational is common in this situation."

"I just... I'm not good enough for her," Bucky said, dropping back down into the chair he'd been sitting in a few moments ago. "Or any of this."

Steve sighed, then sat down on the edge of Clint's bed, facing Bucky. "I know nothing I can say will change your mind on that, but... for what it's worth, I think she, and all of this, is exactly what you deserve."

"You're biased," Bucky pointed out.

"I am," Steve admitted. "But so are you. Just... not in the same way that I am."

Bucky fell silent for a moment, staring at the floor until he spoke again. "She's off that shot thing that she was on before. She could get pregnant any time now."

"Well, you're already a father," Steve said with a small smile. "What's a few more?"

"David's big," Bucky replied with slightly wide eyes. "He can wash his own hair and change his own clothes. He can talk. Well, communicate. But a baby... and with this," he held up his metal arm and let it drop. "What would I even do with one?"

"Well, I doubt you'll have to worry about that anytime soon," Steve said in an attempt to ease the sudden panic in his best friend's eyes. "It usually takes awhile to... you know... put a... bun in the... what I'm trying to say is, don't worry about it."

"How?" Bucky asked with slightly wide eyes.

"I'll tell you how," Steve replied with full confidence in his voice. "Because she's a great mother. And in the time that you've known David, you've been a great father to him, and you didn't even help make him. You're both already good parents. You'll still be good parents when a baby comes along."

Bucky still wasn't convinced of that - or at least of his half of the good parents equation - but before he could ramble some more, Steve shoved the plate at him one more time and said, "Eat. Stop thinking. Enjoy your wedding day."

Bucky shook his head and let out a breathy chuckle, finally relenting and taking the food. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Steve nodded. "Just focus on the most important part of today."

"What's that?" Bucky asked, forcing part of the food - which was an omelet that Steve had made him - down his throat, wincing a little. It wasn't bad. He just didn't want to eat anything, though he was starving. Nerves, or something.

"Summer," Steve replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "What else?"

Bucky grinned despite his lingering uneasiness. Steve was right. In fact, just imagining seeing her walk down the aisle - though he had no clue what kind of dress she had picked or how she was going to wear her hair or anything, really - it went a long way in calming his racing mind and reinforcing everything that Steve had just told him.

Of course she wasn't doing this because she felt obligated or pitied him. He couldn't believe he'd actually said that a few minutes ago. What kind of idiot was he?

He had put away a few more unenthusiastic bites when there came a knock on the door, and Steve went to it as Bucky continued to slowly eat. He stared at the plate and its contents until he heard the door open and Steve say in sheer surprise, "Thor?"

Bucky's head shot up and his expression grew confused as he chewed. That was Thor all right, but... how?

"Captain!" Thor smiled before giving Steve the kind of shoulder clap that would seriously injure a lesser man. "It is good to see you again, my friend." Then he looked past Steve to Bucky and smiled a bit more. "And you as well!"

Bucky set the plate aside, happy to have an excuse to be done with it, then watched as Thor and then Esteban and Nicolo came filing in. The latter two looked positively glowing with delight, probably 100% due to Thor, and Bucky mostly ignored them as he stood up and gave Thor a confused smile. "How did you know...?"

"Your lady sent me an invitation!" Thor replied, as if that made perfect sense.

"I didn't know the post office could send stuff that far," Steve remarked with a grin.

Bucky paused. "You mean somebody actually heard when she was yelling at the sky?"

"Of course!" Thor smiled. "Heimdall sees all."

Bucky blinked a few times and muttered, "That's not creepy at all. But I'm glad you came. Does Summer know you're here?"

As the men chatted, Esteban and Nicolo talked amongst themselves and watched, the latter sometimes taking a photo or two just because, and eventually, Bucky forgot why he'd had a sudden attack of nerves to begin with. He'd missed Thor as much as anyone else - the man was sunshine in almost-human form, so who could blame him? - and Esteban and Nicolo were growing on him, too.

They thought they were being sneaky by conversing in a mixture of their native tongues, but Bucky spoke both languages and knew exactly what they were saying. As Steve gave Thor a quick rundown of what had happened since his departure over six months ago, Bucky glanced over at the other two men and eavesdropped as they debating something of utmost importance.

Esteban shook his head. "No, no. Thor wins. I don't care what you say."

"Of course Thor wins, in his own specific category, but -"

"There are no buts," Esteban said rather sassily. "Thor wins."

"Thor wins what?" Bucky asked in Nicolo's native Italian, making them both turn and look at him with sudden gasps.

"You speak Italian?" Nicolo asked, eyes a bit wide.

Bucky shrugged and replied, "I don't remember learning it, but yes, I do."

"Your accent is perfect," Nicolo gushed, switching them all back to English. Then he tapped Esteban's shoulder and said, "Never mind. He wins."

"Blasphemy!" Esteban replied, eyes narrowed.

"The hell do I win?" Bucky asked. Now Thor and Steve were paying attention to the conversation as well, watching with amusement as Nicolo drew a breath and began to explain.

"We were debating which of you was the total package. You know, looks, smarts, personality, all of these things."

"Oh," Bucky replied. "Right."

"And naturally, though I love each of you, I said Thor," Esteban said. "Because Thor."

Thor smiled proudly at this, and Nicolo added, "But then I said that obviously, you're all three the total package, so then we were just debating who was the most attractive."

Esteban waved his hand at Thor. "Thor."

"And I agreed, but then you spoke Italian," Nicolo said to Bucky, "and now I think I must... lie down for a moment and remember how to breathe."

Instead of lying down, however, Nicolo wandered off to the nearest chair and sat down, fanning himself, while Thor patted Steve's shoulder and said, "I am sorry, my friend. It must be difficult to not have been chosen by either of them."

Steve shrugged. "It's all right. I'll live."

Thor chuckled, then changed the subject a bit by saying cheerfully, "I am excited! This will be my first time at a Midgardian wedding. What are the usual customs?"

"Well," Steve began, "The bride walks down the aisle, and then everybody watches her and the groom make vows to each other. Then..."

As Steve went on, Bucky drifted off in his head and started thinking about the vows. He'd gone over them so much and had worked so hard on them with Steve, but he couldn't shake that sense of last-minute panic that something about them just wasn't right.

In his head, he went over what he and Steve had written from the beginning, starting with Summer's name and going from there. He didn't get very far, though.

Eyes suddenly wide and face paling slightly, Bucky muttered, "Steve."

But Steve was still explaining American weddings to Thor. "... Then the bride tosses the bouquet, and whoever catches it is supposed to - ow!"

Bucky did not regret the punch in the shoulder that had gotten Steve's attention. "Steve," he said with a tone of the utmost, most grave importance. "Her middle name. I don't know her middle name. I can't say the vows without it."

Rubbing his shoulder, Steve looked at Bucky incredulously. "Are you serious? How do you not know her middle name?"

Bucky floundered for a moment. "I - she - I know it starts with an E. But every time I've asked what it is, she acts like she's embarrassed and she..."

"She what?" Steve asked.

Bucky shrugged. "She's very good at distracting me."

Thor laughed at that. Steve smiled and rolled his eyes, though his tone was all serious as he said, "Okay. I'll go get her middle name. Thor, stay here and make sure Bucky finishes eating."

Bucky made a face at the last part of that statement, but he was relieved all the same when Steve turned and headed out of the room in a hurry.

Meanwhile, Esteban took a seat on the edge of Clint's bed, then looked down when his shoe seemed to catch something on the floor. He then reached down and, gaining the attention of everyone, picked up a pair of black lace panties from the floor and then asked, "Whose are these?"

"None of your damn business," came a reply from a lump in the bed that Bucky, and everybody else, had thought was just blankets, but it turned out to actually be Clint, who had apparently been there all along.

Esteban immediately let out a high pitched screech and jumped off of the bed, having just been scared to death, and Clint sat up and looked at everybody with highly unamused eyes. He peered down at Esteban, currently sitting on the floor trying to catch his breath and cursing in Spanish, and then he reached and snatched the underwear away before muttering, "It's like nobody thinks that I could possibly find a woman willing to have sex with me."

Thor and Bucky exchanged a quiet look, and Bucky decided that if nothing else, having his wedding at this zoo was worth it just for the entertaining distractions that it provided.

But he'd feel better once Steve had gotten Summer's middle name.

---

With David now outside and showing off his new cape to the others as he ran around happily, Summer had her hair and makeup officially done and now had Darcy's help along with Natasha's. Having just shoved about three donuts in her face - she didn't share Bucky's issues with eating that day, clearly - the next steps were to get her lingerie ensemble on, and then the dress, but getting the lingerie on just right proved a bit time-consuming on its own. She didn't dare complain, though, because the lingerie was gorgeous and Natasha made her look at herself in the mirror once she had it all on.

With her hair swept up into a simple but timeless and pretty hold, her lips stained a deep red and her eyes incredibly blue underneath and above the smoky shadow surrounding them, even she had to admit - she looked pretty good like this. The lingerie was silk and vintage-inspired, of course, a subtle blush pink color and incredibly flattering on her figure. She had pulled out all the stops - garter belt and stockings in addition to the obvious bra and panties, and a pair of killer high heels that would, with any luck, be the nail in Bucky's proverbial coffin. He hadn't seen her wear heels in over a year. And he had never seen her do anything like she was going to do later that night.

Taking stock of her appearance in the mirror, Summer drew a breath and then looked to the girls as she asked, "Well?"

"I'd do you," Darcy replied.

"Perfect," Natasha smiled.

Smiling at their responses, Summer turned back to the mirror and nodded. "Yep. Okay. I'm happy with this. All right, help me get the dress on before I start freaking out and decide I'm actually hideous."

Natasha scoffed and Darcy rolled her eyes, but before Natasha could grab Summer's dress, there was a loud and frantic knocking at the door.

"Who is it?" Summer called, not going any closer to the door quite yet.

"It's me, Steve," came the reply. "And I need your middle name."

"My what?" she squinted, moving closer now to be able to hear him better.

"Your middle name," Steve repeated. "For the vows. Bucky says he doesn't know it."

Summer paused and grimaced, cursing under her breath. "Do I have to? He could just use my first and last name."

"He's pretty adamant," Steve replied through the door. "He'll probably come up here himself if I don't come back with it."

"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "Fine. Um... it's... uh..."

She crept closer to the door and then, apparently not realizing that everybody was going to hear it later anyway, said quietly through the tiny crack between the door and the wall, "Evelyn."

"Evelyn?" Steve shouted back, so loudly that Summer winced and touched her suddenly pained ear.

"Yes. Evelyn."

"That's not so bad," Steve replied. "I actually like that name."

"And you're like a hundred years old!" Summer replied. "Now go back and get ready. Oh, and send Nicolo back, because I'm about to get my dress on."

"Yes, ma'am," Steve replied, and when she heard his footsteps trailing away down the hall, she turned to find Natasha and Darcy looking at her strangely. "What?"

"You're getting married today and your groom doesn't even know your middle name?" Darcy asked with both of her eyebrows raised.

Summer shrugged. "Well, he will in a few minutes. But that's not important now. Let's get this thing on me," she said, looking up at her hanging dress like it was a mountain she had to climb. And in a way, it was.

Nicolo soon arrived back at her room, and he documented both women getting into their dresses. The cake was delivered downstairs as this was happening, and right when Natasha had zipped Summer up, her phone dinged with a text announcing Paul and his family's arrival.

Things were starting to move fast. Darcy sat in the corner finishing off Summer's donuts while she stuck her head out of the window and called down to David, telling him to get inside and go get dressed. Per his own request, he would be getting ready with Bucky, and now that she had almost everything on, she was damn near ready.

But there were still a few more finishing touches. Keeping up with the old tradition of something old, something borrowed, something new, and something blue, Natasha supplied her something borrowed with gorgeous pair of opal earrings that matched her ring perfectly. Then she also supplied her something blue by pulling out a little lacy blue garter, the one that was for Bucky to throw later, and Summer almost fell over as a result of being stupid enough to try to get it on her thigh while standing up in heels and a ball gown.

Once that ordeal was over, Natasha smiled and told Summer as she examined her finished self in the mirror, "For something new, your dress covers that. And something old, well... you've got your groom for that."

Summer laughed, and it was a light, airy sound that was pleasing to even her own ears. Now that the time was drawing closer - less than an hour away now - it suddenly couldn't come fast enough.

"Thank you, Nat, for everything you've done," Summer said quietly and sincerely, smiling at her maid of honor. Natasha nodded and smiled back, looking even more stunning than usual in her deep red floor-length dress. It had a sweetheart neckline to match Summer's and a mostly open back all the way down to the waist, and it was perfect for what Summer had wanted for her. She didn't want Nat to dress down to make Summer shine more. She wanted them both to be ridiculously hot and eye-catching, and she was pretty confident that they'd both achieved just that.

Then she turned to Darcy and smiled, "And thank you so much, too. You've done a lot for me, and not just today. You're freaking awesome."

"Finally, someone gets it!" Darcy joked before smiling. "But yeah, you're totally welcome."

Summer then impulsively drew both women into a hug, and Nicolo made sure to catch it from several angles. It might have been cheesy, but she didn't care. She was surrounded by some of the best people she'd ever been lucky enough to meet, and it helped ease the sting of not having much family there to speak of.

Her parents were watching from somewhere, she was sure of it. Her grandmother too, only she was probably yelling from whatever cloud she was perched on for Summer to cover up her cleavage and eat a sandwich or two while she was at it. She would have given anything to hear some of her ranting and a few of her outdated opinions too, because it would have been followed by a big hug and words of love that she just couldn't replace.

But that was okay. It was just the way that life worked, and a few moments after the impromptu group hug, there was a knock at her door and a ginger head that popped inside the room with a stupid smile for her.

"Oh my God," Paul said, holding little flower girl Marina in his arms as he took in the sight of his sister in her full bridal glory. He was speechless for a good long while, until Sarah came in the room as well and gasped with delight.

Summer grinned at them both and asked, "Oh my God good or oh my God bad?"

Paul replied by handing the baby off to Sarah, then marching right up to Summer and very carefully but firmly enveloping her in a hug. She smiled and guessed, "Good, then?"

He nodded, and when he pulled away, she was surprised to see actual tears suddenly glistening in his blue eyes that matched hers. But it all made sense when he then said, "I wish Mom and Dad were here for this. And Grandma."

"Me too," she replied quietly.

"You look beautiful," he told her sincerely, all of his usual jokes nowhere to be found at the moment. "You really do."

She smiled, then felt tears start forming in her own eyes that she quickly tried to blink away, before they fell and ruined her makeup. "Thank you. Now stop, because you're gonna make me cry."

He chuckled and nodded, then hugged her again, and as the countdown to the ceremony grew ever closer to concluding, Summer's anticipation began to reach critical levels.

So far, everything was perfect. Now everything just had to stay that way.

---

In the last hour before the ceremony, Bucky had successfully procured Summer's middle name, gotten dressed, helped David get dressed in his own little suit, and watched Clint finally overcome his hangover and start looking like a human being again. With everything coming together and time running out, he felt similar to how he usually did before a mission; ready, focused determined to achieve success, and just anxious enough to keep him on his toes. It just so happened that this particular mission was one that only came along once in a lifetime, and there was definitely no room for error here.

Clint headed out once he was ready, and Bucky checked the clock. Only fifteen minutes until he had to be outside. Now it was just him, Steve, and David in the room, and Bucky knew what to do with his last little bit of time before the ceremony. He just wasn't sure how.

Steve was on the phone with Nat, coordinating with her on the timing of everything, and as Bucky waited for him to get off the phone, he reached into the pocket inside of his jacket and retrieved a small little gold band inside of it. He then walked over to David, who was frowning and plucking at the suspenders his mother was forcing him to wear, and got his attention with a quiet call of his name. David looked up, and Bucky smiled, kneeling down in front of him.

"I've gotta give you this now," Bucky explained, holding up the ring for David to see. "Can you take care of this for me until it's time for me to put this on her finger, like we practiced?"

David nodded immediately, more than up to the task, and he took the ring and held it with both hands. Then David gave him a hug, and Bucky smiled into it and squeezed him gently before patting his back and saying, "All right. Go on and head back to her. She's gonna need your help soon."

David then nodded very seriously, and went scampering out of the room, nearly knocking into Steve's legs in the process, but Steve dodged him just in time. Once the door was shut, Steve chuckled and hung up the phone. "Well, someone's excited."

Bucky nodded, hands in his pockets as he straightened up and drew a breath. "Yeah. She almost ready?"

Steve nodded. "We should head out in a few minutes."

Bucky nodded back, feeling like he was in a bit of a state of perpetual nervous nodding. Making himself stop, he then looked up when Steve asked him a question.

"You okay? Nervous?"

He smiled faintly. "Little."

"See," Steve grinned, "normally this is when I'd offer you a drink to take the edge off, but since that won't help you and I left all my horse tranquilizers at home..."

Despite himself, Bucky let out a chuckle. "I'll be all right."

"Yeah I know," Steve smiled. "Always are."

There was something nice about those few, unassuming words. They both knew he wasn't always all right, but that didn't seem to be the point. The point was the undying faith that Steve had in him, faith that he was used to now but had been completely bewildered by when he had first started to regain his memories. It hadn't made any sense back then and sometimes it still didn't now, but it never changed. It was unwavering, and one of the things Bucky could always count on regardless of what was happening in the world around him.

And so, after far too long of keeping his next words inside, Bucky quietly found the courage to speak them. "Thank you."

Steve looked a bit surprised. "For what?"

"Everything," Bucky replied. When no other word seemed to quite cover the depth of what he was trying to say, he simply repeated it. "Everything."

And the nice thing was, that was all Steve needed to hear to understand. Bucky's eyes said everything else that his words didn't, and that was more than enough for Steve.

Bucky didn't flinch at the hug that came next, nor did he stand there awkwardly for a moment before reciprocating just as reluctantly. Instead, he hugged Steve back immediately, and there were none of the feelings of confusion or guilt or an irrational sudden need to get away, all of which used to be the case whenever this would happen during the early days of his recovery.

Life wasn't perfect, and neither was his head, but compared to what it had been before, it was damn close.

After drawing away, Steve smiled at him and held on to his right shoulder for a moment. "Ready to do this?"

Before Bucky could answer, the door opened behind them, and Sam's head poked inside the room. "Time to get moving, guys."

Steve nodded, then turned and gave Bucky one more wide smile. "Let's go."

Bucky nodded, then straightened out his suit and compulsively ran a hand through his hair before following Steve out of the bedroom. Everything became incredibly real the moment he stepped outside and saw the arch, the little white chairs with flowers and fabric draped along the back, and the little aisle that he would be watching Summer walk down in only a matter of minutes.

Even more striking was all of the people there to witness this day. Having been alone for decades, forgotten and considered less than human by those who'd kept him alive, nothing could have felt better than knowing that he would never be alone like that again.

Steve, standing next to him, gave him a smile and gently nudged him forward. Bucky smiled back, no longer nervous and instead incredibly impatient to experience one of the defining moments of his life.

---

As it turned out, getting from an upstairs bedroom to outside of the house required no less than four people helping Summer - Natasha holding up her length veil, Darcy and Paul holding up her dress in the back, and Esteban holding the front. David stood at the bottom of the stairs next to Nicolo, watching with wide eyes as what looked like a ball of fluff slowly descended the narrow stairs.

"If one of you makes me trip, I swear to God -"

"We've got you honey," Esteban assured her, walking backwards down the stairs in front of her.

"Can someone please tell me who the sassy Spanish man is?" Paul asked.

"I am Esteban," he replied. "Unofficial stylist of the Earth's mightiest heroes."

"Oh. Right on," Paul said, and when Nicolo came into view as they made their way down, he added, "Hey, Summer, you didn't tell me you were friends with Bradley Cooper."

"See?" Darcy exclaimed. "I'm not the only one who thinks they could be twins!"

Summer ignored the various banters happening around her, focusing on getting down the stairs in one piece, and luckily, she made it there without incident. After that, David and Nicolo followed her outside of the house, through a back door, and from there, she headed directly to the back of the barn, which was where she and the rest of the wedding party was preparing for their walk from.

All the while, her heart was pounding out of her chest and she felt like she had taken about five shots of epinephrine, but besides that, she was totally calm and collected.

It was a brisk and tedious walk towards the barn, and nobody let the skirt of her dress touch the ground once on the way there. As soon as they got there, Darcy ran off due to her job, which was being in charge of the music, and Esteban didn't linger either, considering it his job to oversee everything and make sure it all went as smoothly as possible. That left Summer with Natasha, Paul, and David, and very soon after they arrived, Sarah and her oldest and youngest daughter popped up as well.

"Oh, wow," nine year old Maya said, dressed to match the wedding's colors and looking at Summer with enormous brown eyes. "You look like Cinderella. But better."

"Thank you," Summer beamed, smiling even wider when Marina in Sarah's arms looked at her and then giggled happily. "Oh my God, I'm gonna throw up, I'm so excited."

"Don't do that," Natasha said, fluffing out her veil and the back of her dress. "Okay. As soon as Steve gets here, I guess, we'll be ready."

And right on cue, out came Steve from around the corner, smiling brightly and then freezing a bit once he looked at Summer for the first time that day.

"Wow," he said quietly, echoing Maya's sentiments from a moment before. "You look amazing."

Summer squealed a little bit, and then Esteban came jogging back, this time bearing her and Natasha's bouquets. Steve's eyes then travelled to Natasha as the girls took hold of the arrangements, which were a mixture of white, cream, and rich red roses, and some little touches of ribbons and pearls within the bouquets. The designs were all Esteban, and that earned him another gush of gratitude from Summer before he dashed off yet again.

"Phew," Summer sighed, holding the heavy bouquet in her right hand and wondering aloud, "Is it time yet, or..."

As if to answer her, the first sounds of the music began to play, and Summer felt her heart suddenly drop. She reminded herself to breathe and began nervously fiddling with her hair and her dress, while Sarah got Maya and Marina ready to head down the aisle first.

This was happening. It was finally happening, and Summer felt like she was about to have a heart attack and throw up the donuts she'd packed away an hour ago, but she had to have brief talk with David first.

"Okay, David, listen up," she said, taking his hand with her free one. "The girls are going to walk first, and then it's your turn. Don't walk too fast, and hold on to the rings really tightly, okay?"

He nodded, expression fully serious. Summer smiled and then patted his cheek with her hand. "Okay. I love you. Are you excited?"

He nodded furiously. She smiled wider and then leaned down to plant a kiss on his cheek, though she then had to wipe her lipstick off of him with her thumb. "All right. Stand behind Marina, wait until she's halfway there, and then start walking. Steve and Nat will be right behind you. Then it'll be my turn."

He smiled widely, hugged her through the fluff of her skirt, and then wheeled around with a deadly-serious expression as he stared at the back of Maya's head and waited for her to get moving. And all too soon, she was.

Holding her little sister, who was clutching a little white wicker basket of rose petals and wearing an ivory dress with red trim and an enormous red flower in her ginger curls, Maya began the walk with deliberate and graceful steps befitting of a little girl like her. The strains of the music grew a bit louder, and Summer was utterly silent as she tried to remember how to breathe. She gave David a small nudge when it was his turn to start walking, and when he did, he walked perfectly according her instructions.

Then it was Steve and Natasha's turn. Steve gave Summer a reassuring and happy smile as Natasha gave her a short hug, telling her, "Just relax. Remember your vows?"

Summer nodded, unable to speak for fear of throwing up if she did. Natasha then gave her a small smile and turned around, linking her arm with Steve's, and then they were off.

Now it was just Summer and Paul, left alone for a few brief but poignant moments as they waited for their turn.

Summer looked up at her brother and smiled, gulping down a lump in her throat, and Paul clenched his jaw and started gnawing on his lips to keep from crying like a baby.

"I know I haven't always been the most supportive of you two and I've had my dick moments," Paul suddenly said, tone quiet and just a little bit wobbly. "But I want you to know that I couldn't be happier for you than I am right now. And I'm going to start crying now."

Summer smiled and pulled him into one last hug, using all of her willpower to not cry herself. It wasn't easy, but she held the years at bay, and then told him as she pulled away, "I love you, nerd."

"Love you too, brat," he chuckled, sniffing the tears back and then looking up when the music changed. That was their cue. He turned to her and asked with a grin, "You ready?"

She took a deep, shaky breath. "Yes. Just please don't let me trip and fall. My legs are shaking and I want to puke and I'm kind of dizzy and -"

"I've got you," Paul assured her, holding her arm securely in his. "Come on. Let's get you married."

With an anxious chuckle, Summer then let Paul gently begin guiding her along the path that would take her to the archway and the man waiting beneath it. It felt like the walk took forever and she expected her legs to give out with each new step she took, but they did not, and she smiled when she looked up to see Nicolo taking photos of them as they walked.

Then, at the end of the trail, she looked down and saw little rose petals on the ground. They led to a corner, hidden by a handful of trees, and that was where Paul turned them and paused. It was the start of the aisle, and as Summer stopped and laid her eyes on upon the gorgeous decorations, arch, and everything else that everybody had worked so hard on for her. It was all beautiful, exactly what she had wanted and so much more, and yet she could barely spare any of it a second glance, because all she could see was the man standing at the end of the aisle, underneath the arch.

He looked perfect. His suit was not the traditional black or white but a dark red wine color, and it fit him perfectly and would have made her drool had their eyes not instantly met across the distance. And even from as far away as she stood, she could see how he stopped breathing the moment he saw her.

As long as she lived, she would never forget that moment, nor the ones that came after. Paul gave her arm a gentle tug, and then, she was walking down the aisle.

---

In the months leading up to this day, Bucky had wondered what this particular moment would be like. Once it had arrived, he found out that not even his wildest dream could have ever even begun to live up to the real thing.

Every last trace of his anxiety was gone, replaced by the sheer reverence he felt for the woman who was slowly, and with a little smile on her face, making her way towards him. Every single eye was on her, but she never looked away from him and never broke their locked gaze once. He did, though, but only once, and it was to take in the fullness of her utterly perfect bridal ensemble.

He thought the dress suited her perfectly. He'd never seen her in anything like it. It was fitted incredibly well in the subtly beaded bodice, and the sweetheart neckline provided quite the sight as a result. Then, at her waist, the dress earned its title of a ball gown, flaring out into a moderately voluminous skirt that was layered with lace and other kinds of material he couldn't name and didn't care to. It flowed to the ground, covering her feet and trailing behind her in a train, all of it ivory and perfectly matching the themes of the wedding that she had insisted upon.

Her lips, he realized as his eyes moved back up, were the color of his suit. And her big blue eyes were still fully focused on him and nothing else. Her elegantly swept-up hair and long, flowing veil finished off the look perfectly.

"Still breathing?" Steve nudged Bucky from behind. Bucky didn't answer, too enraptured to move a muscle.

Once she was close enough for him to reach out to, the smile on her face grew to new heights, and the music gently tapered off into silence. She and Paul came to a stop just in front of him, and Bucky stared at her with what was surely pure stupidity on his face, but he truly couldn't help it. He saw the love and the excitement in her eyes, and he was sure that he'd never seen her more happy.

His brain only somewhat returned when he heard Clint ask the traditional question that came at this point in the ceremony. "Who gives the bride away?"

"I do," Paul choked out, and only then did Bucky realize that her brother was actually fully crying.

Then Paul took Summer's hand and held it out for Bucky to take. He let his eyes flicker over then to Paul, and they shared a moment of silent understanding. Bucky nodded, then took Summer's left hand in his right one. She handed her bouquet off to Natasha, and then he took that hand as well, turning her so that they stood in front of Clint, facing one another.

Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, and her lips were stretched in what was quite possibly a completely permanent and sweet smile. Her hands gripped both of his tightly, and he ran his thumbs over them both, smiling back just as tenderly and barely hearing Clint start his speech.

"We're gathered here today to witness the union of two people who... well... honestly, I'm convinced were just meant to be together."

Summer glanced up at Clint in slight surprise, and Bucky did too.

"There's couples who 'beat the odds', and then there's these two, who by most stretches of logic, should never have even met. And yet here they are. And if that doesn't give the rest of us hope, I don't know what does."

Summer smiled and chuckled quietly, then turned back to Bucky and gave his hands another squeeze.

"I could go on all day about how sickeningly perfect they are for each other and how I've gotten new cavities just from being in the same room as these two, but we'll hear all that in the vows, so... with God, Thor, most of the Avengers, Ron Weasley, and all of their friends and family as witnesses..."

Summer laughed then, looking away once more as Clint went on. This time she looked out to those who were there, watching this moment unfold from their seats, and he watched her eyes water even more as a result.

On her side, what remained of her family sat in the front row. Paul and Sarah and their horde of kids, and David, waiting patiently for his cue to hand the rings over and watching with excitement on his cute little face. On Bucky's side, there was the closest thing to family he had aside from Steve, which was his team. Thor, Sam, Wanda and Vision lined his row, and he would appreciate the gesture forever. Behind them, Tony and Pepper sat with Esteban, who was already in tears and being comforted by the highly amused Tony. Bucky was surprised that Tony had come, but now that he thought about it, maybe it wasn't surprising at all.

He had drifted off and stopped listening to Clint just long enough to be taken by surprise when the Avenger/minister said, "All right. Let's start with the bride's vows."

Bucky froze for a moment, eyes again locking with Summer's as she took a deep breath, no doubt incredibly nervous about this part. But she was brave, and she proved it yet again by smiling up at him and starting to speak as he gave her his undivided attention.

"I spent a long time trying to figure out what exactly to say in my vows," she began, her voice quiet and eyes soft as they stayed locked with his. "Nothing seemed good enough, or it sounded too cheesy. But then I realized I don't care and that I'm allowed to be as cheesy as I want today."

He smiled, feeling her hands grip his a bit more tightly as she went on, taking a deep breath before she did. "If somebody had told me when I first met you that we would be standing here together, saying vows to each other and getting married, I would have laughed hard enough to do my weird snorting thing and then called the guys in white coats to come pick them up. I had no idea that I was taking care of someone that I was going to fall in love with. And I really had no idea that I was taking care of a man who would become a father to my son."

The smile on Bucky's face grew a bit more serious at that point, but Summer's smile only grew as she went on. "I've watched you grow from a man who was scared and couldn't understand why I, or anyone else, would help him or care about him, to a man who is the single most fearless and caring person I know. You've been through more than any one person should ever have to face, but you didn't let it destroy you. You have no idea how strong you are and how much you've helped me grow."

Bucky wasn't smiling anymore. He couldn't, feeling his heart swell more with each new word that she said. She looked down, pausing a moment, then went on, "I had no idea what it meant to be in love before you. I had no idea what it meant to be loved, or treated well, or even... valued at all, by someone I was with. You're everything I ever wanted and never thought I'd get, because I didn't think it existed. And I don't know if I'll ever get used to it, but I'm not sure that I want to either, because I never want to take you for granted."

He watched a stray tear fall from her eye, and before she could reach up to wipe it away, he did it for her. She paused, staring at him for a moment before she made herself keep going.

"I promise to love you, take care of you, and always be here for you, until the day I die," she said. "I promise to be your wife, your friend, your..." she paused and looked around before saying a bit goofily, "lover." Bucky smiled, and there were a handful of chuckles from the chairs. "And your helper, your partner. Anything you ever need me to be. I love you, and not just because I wouldn't be standing here today if you hadn't saved my grandmother's life in 1944, or saved mine a lot over the last few years. I love you because you're you, and you love me and my son in a way that I never thought anyone ever would. And that makes you more to me than even my husband or my best friend. It makes you my hero."

And with that, and another few tears that ran down her cheek, Summer concluded her self-written vows, and Bucky had no idea what to do. He stared at her, well aware of how his eyes were shining now, and he wasn't sure that he could talk around the giant lump in his throat. He also knew that there was no way he could follow what she said with what he and Steve had written. It just wasn't good enough. In fact, nothing was.

Even Clint seemed to have the sniffles. "Your turn, Barnes. Good luck."

He exhaled a bit helplessly, adjusting his hold on Summer's hands and shifting on his feet. He glanced back at Steve for half a second, then spent a long, silent moment in mild panic.

Finally, he decided simply to screw it. He was good at improvising, and that was exactly what he had to do now. Only it would have been a lot easier if they were alone and didn't have an audience. He wasn't that great with this kind of thing to begin with.

But he remained calm and he focused once again on Summer and Summer alone. He let go of the script in his head, and rather than speak from memory, he spoke from the heart.

---

It was awhile before he spoke. But when he did... man, did he speak.

Standing there under the arch, in front of everyone they knew and holding her hands in his increasingly shaky and twitchy ones, Bucky began his own vows just a handful of almost too-quiet words.

"You saved my life," he said, looking down at their hands. Then he looked up and met her gaze. "You still save my life."

She smiled gently, sniffing back her tears and soothing her thumbs over his knuckles, silently encouraging him to go on. She could tell that he was tuning out the world, focusing that laser-like vision upon her and only her.

"I don't deserve you," he said, still almost too quietly for anyone else to hear. His eyes flickered to David for half a second. "Or him. But I'll spend the rest of my life trying to. And I..." he looked down again, furrowing his brows slightly, and when he looked up again, Summer could see how hard he was fighting not to cry. He paused, shook his head imperceptibly, and said, "I remember being younger and... different, imagining this. Getting married, what it would feel like, who it would be with. And now I know why it never felt right. Because this feels right, and... I'd walk through hell all over again if it meant finding you and... feeling okay again."

She knew he wasn't reading this from a pre-written script. It was obvious, and it made it all the more special. She couldn't keep the tears back, and as they flowed and threatened to wreck her makeup, he surprised her by not being done quite yet.

"I love you too," he said, again reaching up to wipe her tears away. "I love everything about you. I say this all the time, but you're perfect. I mean it. There's nothing I'd change about you. Nothing."

His fingers lingered on her cheek, and she smiled up at him and soaked up his simple but utterly sincere and perfect words. His thumb traced feather-light over her jaw as he added quietly, "You're the love of my life. And I'll never leave you."

All of his vows summed up into those two little sentences, he was finished, and all Summer wanted to do was throw herself at him and kiss him. It was hard, but she controlled herself, and instead, she hoped that the smile on her lips and the tears in her eyes told him how very perfect his words had been.

After a bit of silence, Clint drew a heavy breath. "Well then. Let's have the rings."

Heart speeding up all over again, Summer looked at David and motioned for him to come up. He all but leapt out of his seat, bounding up to them and holding up each ring in each hand. After they took them, Bucky high-fived David, and the little boy giggled before running back to sit next to his uncle.

"All right. Let's start with the bride. Can you stop crying long enough to repeat after me?"

She laughed and nodded, though honestly, she wasn't totally sure.

But she was a trooper. As Clint read the traditional final vows, she repeated each one dutifully, though her voice shook and more tears came with each new word. She had dreamed of saying these words as a little girl - to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, til death do us part - and she had never ever imagined that when the time came to say them for real, she and the man that she was pledging herself to would have already faced most of those obstacles listed in the vows and overcome them. They were already battle-tested, and all the stronger for it.

Then, at the end of the vows, she slipped a simple gold band on to Bucky's right ring finger. She thought it was fitting, as they always managed to be traditional in a distinctly non-traditional way... if that made sense. And more importantly, he had told her when they bought the rings that he wanted to wear his on his right hand, so that he could fully feel the weight of it and feel it the way that she could feel her ring on her left hand.

Then, once his ring was safely on, it was his turn. He seemed to relish this, turning the band in his flesh fingers while his metal hand held hers, and his eyes flickered up to hers as he repeated after Clint. She didn't miss the slightly mischievous glint in his gaze, nor the little smirk on his lips as he said her full name for the first time.

"I, James Buchanan Barnes, take you, Summer Evelyn McAdams, to be my wife..."

She blushed when he said her full name, her middle name rolling off his tongue in a deliberately silky, teasing way, and she found that she couldn't be embarrassed by the name when he said it like that. As he repeated the vows to her, he kept his eyes on hers and slid off her engagement ring. In its place, he placed a gold band that matched his, and then slid the opal and diamond ring back on her finger.

"... 'Til death do us part," he said quietly, concluding the vows, and taking her hand back into his.

Behind them, Clint then smiled and said, "So then, with the power given to me by the Internet and the state of Pennsylvania, I know pronounce you..."

Summer waited impatiently during Clint's intentionally dramatic pause, her smile stuck to her face and eyes fixed upon Bucky's, like the world would end if she looked away.

"... Husband and wife," Clint finally finished. "Go on and kiss your bride, we all know you're dying to."

Bucky gave a breathless chuckle, then let go of her hands to slide his around her waist. Her hands immediately went up to his shoulders, and as he drew closer, her arms wound around his neck. All the while, they smiled at each other like idiots, only closing their eyes when his forehead came to rest on hers. Then he kissed her, both of them still smiling, and it was soft and sweet and perfect.

Then there was loud, hearty cheering, and they both laughed into the kiss. Bucky drew away just an inch or two, opened his eyes just long enough for Summer to catch a little tiny glint of mischief within them, and then before she knew it, his arms around her tightened and he pulled her all the way against him before turning and dipping her backwards. The sudden motion made her stomach flutter almost violently, and then the cheers doubled in volume as he really kissed her.

And it was even more perfect.

She savored every last bit of the kiss before he pulled her back up, still holding her tightly as her eyes opened and they smiled at each other with clear and palpable excitement. His right hand slipped into her left one, their rings touching one another, and then he turned them around, in front of the aisle that would now walk down together.

They were finally, officially, married. And only one other person was just as excited about it as they were.

David, unable to resist, left his seat and came running their way, and neither of them even considered doing anything but taking his hand and letting him walk down the aisle with them. It was perfect, just as everything else had been, and Summer would never forget that walk and what it was like to see the happiness and, occasionally, tears on the faces of their family and friends as they walked past each one of them.

If a girl's wedding day was supposed to be the happiest of her life, then this one was certainly living up to that expectation. And if she had to guess, Summer thought that it might just be true for Bucky as well.

---

If Summer had expected something of a respite following the vows and the getting married part of the wedding, she quickly realized that this was the part of the wedding that was actually the busiest.

While she had just wanted to steal a few moments behind the barn with Bucky and squeal to him with sheer glee in officially being his wife - which still sounded so weird - apparently, they had to get down to business and start taking pictures.

First, they posed for pictures under the archway. The first round of photos were of just the two of them, some of them serious and some more lighthearted, though Bucky wasn't quite sure what to do when Summer told him to make a "stupid face". What resulted were pictures of him looking confused while she stuck her tongue out, or laughing at her while she tried to look as ridiculous as possible. For the rest, however, they looked every bit as happy and perfect as they felt.

Then, they took photos with David, and after that, the rest of Summer's family joined in. It was like posing amid a veritable sea of children, and when Paul made a remark that it was but only a glimpse of Bucky's future, he made a face that was forever captured by the camera and would surely be laughed about for months to come.

But the best photos came next, after Paul and Sarah dragged the kids away and Steve was next to pose with them. Summer insisted on stepping away after a few and having Nicolo take a few pictures of Steve and Bucky alone. After that, it was one Avenger after another who came and joined in, until Summer was the one normal person amid a bunch of superheroes who were each trying to outdo the other in terms of looking more ridiculous. Tony even jumped in, though only to try to grab Steve and give him a kiss on his cheek, all while Summer tried in vain to lift Thor's hammer, which required her to bend over and thus caused Bucky's eyes to glue themselves to certain parts of her that decided it was a good time to try to pop out of her dress. It was, in other words, exactly what she imagined trying to take group photos with the Avengers would be like - sheer chaos, but the kind she'd look back on one day and laugh a whole lot over.

After that, Bucky and Summer managed to get a few moments alone, or at least mostly alone, because it was time for pictures of them alone together in various pretty places around the farm. Nicolo led them around from one place to the other, and Summer learned firsthand about his truly keen eye for photography while also quietly talking to her new husband in between shots.

She wondered if she'd ever get used to calling him that.

"So," she said as she and Bucky made their way to the barn, her left hand clasped in his right and her free one holding up the skirt of her dress, "how do you like the dress?"

He turned his head her way and grinned at her, eyes sweeping down from her hair all the way to the ground under her feet. "It's perfect. It suits you." Then his eyes locked with hers again. "And I can tell by how tall you look that you're wearing heels."

She grinned a bit mischievously and walked ahead of him, turning around and walking backwards until her back was resting against the side of the barn. Nicolo was some yards away, changing the settings on his camera, so Summer took the opportunity to tease Bucky a bit by reaching down to lift up her skirt just enough for him to catch a glimpse of her heels.

"Like it?" she grinned, extending her leg just a bit and watching his eyes drop down and all but feast on the sight of her expensive, very high heels. Then she dropped the skirt down, because he was only allowed a glimpse for now. He could have more later.

He immediately groaned and invaded her space, hands going to her waist as he pressed her gently to the wall and kissed her. Assuming that Nicolo was still busy, Summer slid her hands into Bucky's hair and drew him closer, letting him deepen the kiss and reveling in knowing how much he was going to freak out later, once they were alone and she could give him her surprise. The fact that he suspected nothing only made her even giddier inside.

He broke for air after a moment or two, and Summer took the opportunity to really take him in. His suit was perfect, expertly tailored to his body and even better than she had imagined it in her head. The incredibly dark red color of it not only matched the wedding but looked divine on him and made his blue eyes stand out more than they already did. She slid her hand down over his matching tie, down to the first button of his waistcoat, and then said, "I really like this suit."

"Yeah, me too," he replied, clearly enjoying the way her eyes raked over him. "You'll probably like it better off, though."

"Well, duh," she chuckled before grabbing his tie just under the knot and pulling him in for another kiss, though they didn't stop at just one.

When they eventually separated, smiles on both of their faces as they looked at one another with a distinctly newlywed sort of daze, Summer heard a shuttering sound and glanced over towards Nicolo. Apparently, he had been snapping photos the whole time.

"You two barely need direction," he shrugged with a smile, dropping the camera for a minute. "Although, next, can you lean your head back against the wall, Summer, while he kisses your neck?"

"Okay," she replied gamely, doing exactly as Nicolo said and following his directions to a T. She tried not to giggle when Bucky's kisses became a bit ticklish, because Nicolo had then told her to close her eyes and remain serious looking, but it wasn't easy.

After a handful of more pictures, Darcy came running up to them with a certain item in her hands, panting slightly as she explained, "Esteban told me to make sure you pose with this in front of the barn."

Summer took the thing with a smile, recognizing it as the burlap banner she had ordered some weeks ago. It spelled out the words Mr. & Mrs. Barnes, and as Summer held it out by both ends to look it over, she laughed.

"Because we're Mr. and Mrs. Barnes, and we're in front of a barn," she said, snorting somewhat unattractively.

"Dude," Darcy asked, eyeing said barn, "is this the barn? The one you guys banged in a bunch?"

"Yes, but it was only twice," Summer replied.

"Three times," Bucky corrected her quietly. When Summer looked at him in mild confusion, he explained, "The second time was... twice."

"Oh, right!" Summer grinned. "How could I forget that?"

"I wanna see the sex barn," Darcy said, heading towards the big red doors of the barn just as Clint was walking by a short distance away.

"It's not a sex barn, dammit! What's wrong with you people?"

Darcy turned her head and called back with a roll of her eyes, "Oh please, like you wouldn't totally go for a roll in the hay if you could."

"Who says I haven't?" Clint replied, smirking a little before disappearing past a corner up ahead.

"With who?" Darcy asked, though her question fell on deaf ears.

Summer shrugged. "He's banging somebody, but I have no idea who."

"Well, whatever," Darcy sighed, opening the doors and heading inside. "Let's see what's so magical about this barn."

Summer, holding on to Bucky's hand, followed Darcy inside and so did Nicolo, purely out of curiosity. When Summer's eyes fell upon a particular pile of hay in the corner, she squeaked, "Oh my God! Our little pile is still there, exactly the way it was!"

"Do you mean to tell me that's the exact same pile of hay you two did the nasty on like a year and a half ago?" Darcy asked, eyes slightly wide.

"Yup," Summer grinned, feeling oddly nostalgic about the whole thing.

"I guess it makes sense that Clint didn't want to... touch it or... feed it to his animals," Bucky reasoned.

"Yeah," Darcy agreed. "Like this is gross, but in a weirdly hot way."

"Totally," Summer agreed with a smile.

After a few moments of silence, Nicolo asked, "Am I going to have to photograph you two with this... hay?"

"Pretty much," Summer nodded. "It's gotta happen now."

"Well, all right then," Nicolo shrugged, surely having granted much stranger requests in the past anyway.

For the next forty five minutes or so, the trio continued to work on getting all of the posed wedding photos out of the way. Most turned out perfectly, and Summer discovered yet another hidden talent of Bucky's, which was staring at the camera with all the smoldering intensity of a male supermodel. But when he wasn't having eye sex with the camera - or her - they were laughing or giving each other looks that ultimately made the other laugh. It was so easy, and it was fun enough to completely distract Summer from how suddenly starving she was.

Lucky for her, however, once the pictures were done, that meant that next came the reception, and that meant food. After dancing, of course. And figuring out exactly where the reception even was.

---

Following behind Natasha and Esteban, Bucky kept his hands carefully covering Summer's eyes as they were led to a rather large tent that had been hiding on the edge of the property the entire day without him or Summer noticing at all. David trailed behind them and was adorably helping keep Summer's dress off of the ground, and Bucky wondered exactly what awaited under this tent the closer they drew to it.

"You know," Summer said as they walked, "I ordered most of the decorations and kinda know what to expect here, probably, so I don't think the eye covering thing is really necessary..."

"Shush," Natasha said as she led them inside the tent and looked around. Everybody was there already, waiting for them, and even Bucky had to stop and pause when he saw what they had all put together for him and Summer.

"Okay," Natasha said, nodding to Bucky. "Now she can look."

Bucky let his hands drop, and Summer gasped when she opened her eyes.

It certainly wasn't the fanciest reception that had ever been, but for one under a tent placed on the edge of a farm in rural Pennsylvania, it was incredibly elegant. There were tables draped in dark red satin and accented with hints of cream and ivory, topped with centerpieces made from the same flowers as the bouquets, and the longest table that sat at the head of the tent was reserved for the bride and groom. There was a dance floor on the other side, and a stand displaying their cake. Candles in little lanterns hung from the ceiling, washing the whole tent in soft light that offset the darkness of the red hues within it, and Summer couldn't have been happier.

She actually jumped up and down a little bit, and Bucky wasn't so impressed by his surroundings that he missed his chance to look down and appreciate the bouncing that occurred as a result.

"Holy crap, guys!" She exclaimed. "This is perfect! It's even better than I thought it would be!"

While Summer had a cow over the decorations and how gorgeous it all was, something in the corner near their cake drew Bucky's eye. When he found a chance in the midst of her babbling to get a word in, he gave her hand a tug and asked, "What's that? Next to the cake?"

"What? Oh," she said, smiling and laying her eyes on the display in question. She then led him that way, stealing a few more moments alone before they'd be officially "announced" and expected to dance.

"This," she explained when they got there, "is a collage. It took me four months to get all the pictures for it, but... yeah."

Sitting on a little antique table was the collage in question, fairly large and divided into two side by side sections. One side contained pictures of him, his parents, and his grandparents. The same went for her side, starting at the top with little black and white photos of her grandparents, then her parents, and finally her. Then the photos transitioned to, all along the bottom and in the very center, ones of Summer and Bucky together.

"Steve helped me," she added. "Paul too, since I lost all my pictures with my house. But I thought it would be a nice touch."

She smiled at him then, awaiting his reaction, and Bucky continued to flicker his eyes all along each and every photo. He was struck by both the similarities and differences in his and Summer's pictures. The differences were, for one, that the ones of him as a younger man were aged and black and white, the same as her grandparents', where hers were obviously much more recent and in color. But they were the same in the sense that the faces that shared their photos - his parents and sister, her parents and grandmother - were all ghosts of a time long past.

But they did each have a brother. Hers by blood, his not, but a brother all the same. And then in the center of everything was a picture of him, Summer, and David from David's last birthday. Steve had taken it, and all three of them looked incredibly happy in it, and he thought the collage told a good story. Two people who never should have met but did, both with very little in the way of family but finding just that in each other and a certain little boy who adored them both.

"I like this," Bucky said quietly. "I like this a lot."

"Good," she smiled, running her thumb over his hand and then jumping in surprise when a spotlight suddenly landed on them.

"Did you two really think you could sneak in here and miss your big introduction?" Sam's voice boomed through a speaker, and Bucky looked up in time to see him standing not too far away, holding a microphone and shaking his head. "Hell no. Now, smile for the camera while an actual god introduces you."

Thor then came ambling over, smiling but looking mildly confused, and Sam proceeded to try to explain what he was supposed to do. Thor still looked a bit puzzled, but he took the mic anyway and held it up to his mouth. Then he lowered it, furrowed his brows, and asked Sam something else.

Bucky and Summer shared an amused look, and then Thor said "Ah!" rather loudly and then got back to it.

"All right, I am told that it is now my honor to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Bu -"

Sam hastily corrected him, and Thor again grew confused. "James? His name is James? Then why do all of you call him..." Sam then replied with more that Bucky couldn't hear, and Thor sighed before muttering something that sounded like you mortals and your odd behaviors. Then he smiled again and tried once more. "Ah, as I was saying... it is my great honor to introduce Mr. and Mrs. James Barnes."

And then, for the second time that day, everybody cheered, and Summer blushed and probably died a little inside from having Thor do the honors. Bucky grinned at her, finding her even more adorable than usual, only to pause when he heard the familiar strains of a song start to play.

"That would be our song," Summer smiled, taking his hands and leading him to the center of the dance floor.

He tilted his head slightly, following her and smiling when he placed the song and recalled its title. "This is what you chose?"

She smiled and nodded as he drew her close, into his arms and against his chest. "Fitting, huh?"

He agreed wholeheartedly, swaying with her gently to a song back from his time titled I Could Write a Book. It was incredibly fitting, and not only because she actually had written a book based on them. It was a sweet, lighthearted choice for their first dance as a married couple, and he wouldn't have changed a thing about it.

Everyone was watching them as they danced, and Nicolo was hovering about as usual, taking pictures here and there, but Bucky felt like they were in their own little world and far removed from the amused stares and smiles of the others. He held Summer close and danced her around the floor, smiling at her when she looked up at him and wound her arms around his neck.

"Are you enjoying this?" she asked, those deep red lips of hers stealing his attention as her mouth formed the words.

"Dancing with you, or our wedding?" he asked, forcing his eyes to rise back up to hers.

"Well, I already know the answer to the dancing thing, so..."

He smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am enjoying today. A lot. Everything's perfect."

"Good," she smiled back. "Because weddings aren't all about the bride, you know. The groom needs to be happy too."

"I'm happy," he replied quietly, leaning down to kiss her gently and all too quickly. Then he took advantage of her momentary daze by suddenly turning her and spinning her out when she least expected it. She squeaked a little but held her balance, just as he knew she would, and she was all smiles when he drew her back in.

He meant his last two words more than he had ever meant them before. If he wasn't careful, he might actually slip and let himself get used to the rare, exquisite luxury of being truly happy all the time.

Or maybe, he suspected, he already had.

---

Their dance was sweet, quiet, and utterly perfect, and Summer had forgotten entirely about being starving by the time the dance came to an end. She wouldn't have had a choice anyway, because another song came on, and Bucky wasn't ready to let her go just yet.

Around them, the dance floor started to fill with other couples. First was Steve and Natasha, then Paul and Sarah, and Summer laughed when she looked up and saw Thor dancing Darcy around as Sam played DJ. Then she laughed even harder and felt her heart melt a little when David, eager to participate in everything he could, convinced Wanda to let him dance on her feet.

She was floating on air. And just when she was convinced that it couldn't get any better, the song changed again, and so did her partner.

"All right, I call first dance with the bride," Steve said, suddenly appearing and taking Summer's hand and giving Bucky zero chance to protest even if he had wanted to. Then he gestured to Natasha and said, "Here, take my girl."

Then Steve smiled and led Summer away in a hurry, as if he was sure that he had a limited window of time to get away with this. As Bucky and Natasha shrugged at each other and then started dancing, Steve grinned at Summer and said as he held her at a very safe distance and began to sway, "Hi."

"Hi," she chuckled. Somehow, she had never danced with Steve before, and now that she was, she couldn't help but crack a joke. "You cut in like that a lot, Captain?"

He shrugged. "Only when I've got something to say that can't wait."

"What?" She asked with sudden concern. "Is it my makeup? I've been crying a lot and it's probably running but -"

"No," he laughed. "Nothing like that. You look great. No, I... well, I wanted to thank you."

Summer's concerned expression faded as she smiled yet again. "Oh. What for?"

"I think you know," he replied, and instantly, she did know. He glanced back towards Bucky, who was half-glaring at something Natasha was grinning about as they danced, and then he said, "Even counting when I knew him back then... I've never seen him this happy."

"Really?" She smiled, eyes growing bigger.

"Yep," Steve nodded. "Earlier today, right before the ceremony, he thanked me for everything I've done for him, but... the thing is, you're the one that brought him to me. I don't know how long it would have taken me to find him if it hadn't been for you. Who knows what could have happened."

She nearly shuddered just imagining that possibility. "Yeah... wow. I mean, I still didn't really do much, but..."

Steve gave her a look she knew quite well by now, because he gave it to her every time she said something silly like that. "You know that's not true. He told you as much in his vows. Which, by the way, were not the ones I helped him write."

She grinned. "I knew it."

"The ones off the top of his head were better," Steve admitted.

"I'm sure yours were good too. Maybe you could save them and use them yourself one day," Summer winked.

Steve scoffed slightly but smiled all the same. "Yeah, we'll see."

After continuing to dance and talk until the song was over, Steve hugged Summer and then laughed and Thor came by and snatched her up next. It was just the start to a dizzying experience of being passed around from one person to the other, because apparently everybody required at least one dance with the bride. First was Thor, who tossed her around and made her laugh as he was so good at, and then after him, Tony came by and stole a dance. He was much more subdued, and she even got a bit of a fatherly talk from him in the process. It was awesome, at least until she pointed out the paternal nature of his words of advice, at which point he made a face and said he needed to leave and go contemplate his life for a bit. But that was okay, because next in line was Clint, and he was a surprisingly good dancer. But he was quickly pushed aside by Paul, who was quite miffed that every time he tracked her down, some other dude would grab her and monopolize her time.

Once she had danced with nearly every man in the room and a few girls too, plus David who had been her favorite, she almost cried with relief when Esteban - while dancing with her, of course - suggested that she and Bucky cut the cake after the current song ended. She planned on eating at least half of the cake. At least. She was that hungry.

The rest of the reception seemed to fly by. During the cake cutting, Summer was nice and didn't smash the first piece into Bucky's face, but her niceness backfired somewhat when he took being fed as an opportunity to maintain eye contact and subtly suck on her fingertips in the process. She tried to glare at him, but all he did was smirk and then take his turn. She tried to do the same and be a little teasing back, but since she couldn't exactly just go for it in front of everybody, she kept it subtle and reminded herself that she would more than get him back for all the teasing later.

Then, after that, they sat at their little table and finally ate. David sat with them, as did Steve and Natasha, and time continued to fly by in a happy haze of laughter and conversation. Before she knew it, Esteban was leaning over the table and telling them that it was time to do the traditional bouquet and garter tosses, and Summer glanced at Bucky next to her and paused when she saw the grin suddenly on his face.

"What?" she demanded, a little bit nervous now.

He merely shook his head. "Nothing."

She narrowed her eyes, but then Esteban was all but yelling at them (in a very nice way) to get a move on, so then back to the dance floor they went.

Esteban hurried and grabbed a chair for them, then planted it in the center of the open space and said, "Garter first. That's the rules." Then he called out to Darcy, who had taken over DJ duty from Sam, to play the song and get it started. But first, Darcy announced the garter toss in her typical blunt, mildly embarrassing manner of speaking, and Summer sat down in the chair as all the men gathered to try to catch the thing and the women craned their necks to watch.

Summer tried to ignore their audience and watched Bucky as he seemingly casually strolled up to her, hands in his pockets at first and expression quite impassive. She raised an eyebrow at him, then extending her leg in what was either an invitation or a nudge to hurry up. His eyes flashed to her shoe, then back up to her eyes as he pulled his hands from his pockets and, with all the grace of a panther, was suddenly on his knees before her.

She wondered if he'd just reach into the fluff ball that was her skirt and just grab the thing and throw it over his shoulder. Her wondering was quickly laid to rest, however, after he gave her a certain familiar look and then dove with both hands and head under her skirt.

She laughed as the others whistled, covering her face with one of her hands as the other gripped the chair so she didn't fall over. Meanwhile, Bucky made his way up her legs rather leisurely, pushing the fabric out of the way as he did, and when he reached her thighs, she felt him become completely still, but only for a second. Then she felt the fingers of his right hand gently touch what he could see of her garter belt, one of the silky straps clipped to her stockings, and her already-present blush grew to cover her neck. Then that hand trailed to her inner thigh before disappearing entirely, only to be replaced by his lips.

He laid a soft, otherwise chaste kiss high on her inner thigh, then nipped at the same spot, and it took all of her control to not jump and squeal. Then his teeth were dragging downwards, until they caught the lace of her little blue garter, and then he was dragging it down her leg.

Everyone erupted into more whistles and cheers once he emerged from the fluff, garter between his teeth and eyes immediately fixing on Summer, who was so red-faced that one might have thought she had a serious condition. But she managed to blush even harder when Bucky, reaching up to grab the blue lace out of his mouth, lingered for just the briefest of seconds once he had it in his fingers, long enough to inhale her scent on the fabric and subtly enough that she was the only one who noticed. Then he grinned at her in that devious way of his, then winked as he stood up and prepared to fire the thing.

She just stayed where she was, staring at him and wondering just how soon they could leave and get to the damn cottage.

Bucky, meanwhile, glanced over his shoulder once and then shot the garter towards the men like a slingshot. The little thing went flying into the air, and after a bit of a struggle between Steve and Sam, plus the general confusion of Thor, whom nobody had explained the tradition to, it ended up in the hands of the only person who was just as confused as Thor - Vision.

Summer cracked up, and would forever crack up, at the innocently bewildered look on Vision's face as he stared at the garter in his hand and then asked anyone who would listen, "What does this... custom mean?"

Tony slapped a hand on his back and explained, "It means you're gonna marry whoever catches the bouquet in a minute." At Vision's instant look of alarm, Tony assured him, "It's just a tradition. It's not legally binding."

As Vision visibly relaxed, Bucky turned back to Summer and grinned before reaching out a hand to help her to her feet. He pulled her into a hug, and she murmured against his ear, "I felt that."

"That was the idea," he replied before drawing away and kissing her one more time before the music changed again and Darcy screeched for Sam to come and take over again so she could try to catch the bouquet.

The men, including Bucky, took a backseat as all the non-married women gathered on the edge of the dance floor. Natasha brought Summer her bouquet, and before she walked away, Summer made her grin by saying, "I'm aiming at you."

"Take your best shot," Nat said before sauntering away and joining Darcy, Pepper, Wanda, and the ever-mature Maya as they waited.

Summer chuckled, noticing Vision watching with interest as she turned around and prepared to throw it. Hoping she wouldn't throw it too hard or too softly, she said what the hell and hoped for the best, then tossed it over her shoulder and quickly turned around to see what would happen next.

From the beginning, it was a struggle between Darcy and Pepper, both of whom seemed to want it badly. Pepper might have even seemed more determined to catch it, which didn't go unnoticed by Tony and made him smile very visibly from all the way across the tent. Both Darcy and Pepper jumped for the flying bouquet, and one of them seemed to catch a grip on it at some point, but then Darcy accidentally elbowed Pepper in the face, and they both jumped apart and lost track of the bouquet. Then as Darcy apologized profusely and checked to make sure Pepper didn't have a black eye, the bouquet fell unassumingly into Wanda's hands.

Summer contained an inner squeal of delight. It was so incredibly perfect.

Wanda, unsure of what to do at first, stared at the bouquet and then looked up and smiled at Summer first, then Natasha. Summer clapped gleefully, and then watched as Wanda glanced at Vision and both of their expressions softened by just the slightest bit. And Summer, who was the unofficial queen of blushing, didn't miss the sudden twinge of pink on Wanda's cheeks.

Later on, when they got married - and Summer was convinced that they would - she planned to totally claim at least 12% of the credit.

Once that was over, Bucky came and led her back to their table. With all of the main wedding staples now out of the way, there was really only one thing left to do - open their weddings gifts, which were sitting on a little table on the side of the tent, not far from where they sat.

There weren't many to open, only because they had already received most of their gifts in advance. But, there were two boxes sitting on the table, one fairly larger than the other, and Steve was nice enough to bring over the biggest one first.

"This one's from me," he said, smiling a bit proudly, and Summer wondered what in the world he could have gotten him that was this big.

The answer ended up being an extremely expensive coffee maker, the kind that could brew espresso and also make lattes, cappuccinos, and just about everything else under the coffee-loving sun. It also cost more than what most people paid for rent in a whole month, and Summer nearly choked and died several times before she managed to get out a coherent thank you. Steve knew them both all too well and had done a perfect job in choosing that particular gift.

Then, next came the smaller box. This one was brought over by Thor, who was beaming as he placed it down in front of them and declared, "This is from me, with all of the very best wishes for a long and happy life together."

Summer smiled up at Thor and said, "Oh my God, you really didn't have to do this. Is this from Asgard?!"

"It is!" He smiled. "And nonsense, of course I had to to do this. Go on, open it."

Smiling and incredibly intrigued as to what could possibly be inside, Summer fiddled with a few latches on the box, which looked so fancy and was so elegantly carved that it could have been the gift itself. Then she opened it and found a bunch of little elegantly crafted bottles inside, containing liquids of various colors, each of them wrapped in what appeared to be paper. Asgardian paper.

"This is a traditional wedding gift in my world," Thor explained. "It is a collection of various potions. There are some for sleep, anxiety, minor sickness, energy, and even fertility."

"... You got us Asgardian magic potions?!" Summer gasped, eyes the size of saucers as she plucked out a bottle at random to examine it.

"Yes!" Thor beamed. "Now I imagine that being mortal, these would have a more potent effect on the two of you than most Asgardians, so have care. There are instructions written for each potion."

"Yeah, I see," she said, peeling off the piece of paper from the bottle and proceeding to marvel just over the script alone. "Holy crap, this is like calligraphy on crack! Who wrote this?

At this, Thor's smile became one of pride. "A very talented young lady who is also a dear friend of mine. She was my brother's partner before... everything changed. She made most of these potions herself, they are from her private stock."

It took a moment for what Thor said to fully sink in, but once it did, Summer sat frozen to the spot and looked up at Thor wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "Your brother's... partner. You mean Loki's... lover? He had a girlfriend?!" Then she paused. "I mean duh, I'm sure he had a girlfriend, or like a thousand girlfriends, but -"

"I understand," Thor chuckled. "And yes! She and my brother were very much in love."

Summer smiled a bit dreamily, incredibly starstruck to be in possession of potions and notes handcrafted by this mysterious and surely amazing woman. "That's amazing!" Then she frowned. "Except they're... obviously not together anymore because he's..."

Thor's expression changed them, becoming a bit sad and also slightly unreadable, and they both hovered in conversational limbo before Summer tried to recover with, "But anyway, no, that's great! I bet she's like, extremely pretty."

"Very," Thor nodded. "And a very talented singer and warrior. A woman of many talents!"

Summer's dreamy smile came back. "Wow! Well, tell her thank you for us! Like a big thank you! And a hug! And I don't even know! This is amazing," she exclaimed, showing Bucky the bottle and continuing to babble about how great and unexpected it all was.

Meanwhile, standing just a few steps away from Thor, Steve crossed his arms and muttered, "Show off."

Thor laughed heartily and replied, "Take heart, my friend. I am sure they like your... coffee... device as equally as they do my gift."

Steve rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, yeah."

In the midst of going through the various little bottles and vials, Summer noticed one that was, quite unlike all the others, bright pink. She picked it up, read the little note attached, and then said, "Whoa. It's an aphrodisiac."

"A what?" Bucky asked, sitting up straighter and suddenly paying closer attention.

"It says here that all you do is sniff it and it makes you..."

"Oh, have care with that particular potion," Thor said, his tone cautious. "That is given mainly due to the number of arranged marriages that take place in my world. Clearly, the two of you have no need of it at this time."

Summer laughed nervously and then put the bottle back, deciding not to touch it now or possibly ever. "Heh, yeah. We, uh... we're... good... there."

After examining the rest of the box and continuing to be in awe of the gift, Summer then jumped up and hugged Thor one more time, and because Steve was looking a bit sulky about his gift's thunder being a bit stolen, so to speak, she gave him a hug too and assured him that she would certainly use his gift more than Thor's anyway.

It was the perfect way to end the traditional wedding stuff, and Summer was back to floating on air. They lingered for awhile, talking and chatting and laughing with their friends, taking some more pictures, and both of them making sure to get a good amount of time with David. She and Bucky would be leaving very soon, after all, and it would be the longest time Summer had ever been away from him.

When the time to leave eventually rolled around, it snuck up on Summer and hit her with a brand new ball of nerves. The sun was down, the night was getting cool, and the declarations had to be taken down soon. In short, it was finally time to get on with the honeymoon.

As Natasha made sure that the car they were taking was packed with everything they needed for the honeymoon, Summer pulled David aside and had a talk with him just outside of the tent, as Bucky stood just behind her.

"We're going to be far away for a little while, like we talked about," she reminded David gently, kneeling down to his level. "Steve and Nat are going to take care of you. Be good for them, okay? I'll make sure and Skype every day, so you can see us and hear us."

David nodded, but the sadness on his face was unmistakable. She felt a pang of guilt and frowned as she said, "We won't be gone for too long. We'll be back before you know it. You're gonna have lots of fun with Steve. And we'll bring you back a present!"

David brightened a little bit then, though only just, and Summer pulled him into a tight hug. "I love you, and I'm gonna miss you so much."

When she pulled away, he signed an I love you back to her, and then looked up and repeated it to Bucky, who then leaned down and scooped him up into a big hug of his own. It was as Summer was smiling a bit sadly at the sight of them that Thor's heavy footsteps sounded nearby, and she looked up to find him with Mjolnir in hand, ready to head home himself.

"I must be on my way back now," he said, smiling. "It was an honor to be a part of your day, my lady."

"I am so glad you came," Summer said, launching herself at him for about the fiftieth time that day. She regretted nothing, however, because this was Thor, and he deserved all the hugs in the world. "And thank you for the gift! It's amazing, it really is."

After Summer spent a few more moments gushing over Thor and, in general, everything about him, he turned to Bucky and they bade one another farewell with a handshake and a few nods. All too soon then, it was time for Thor to go home, and Summer watched in a stupor as the sky opened up and he vanished in a sudden burst of brilliant light. Then the lights were gone, leaving her and David to gaps in its absence as Clint wailed in the distance about "more freaky alien crop circles in my damn backyard".

It had been a perfect day, everything Summer had ever dreamed of and way more. No longer able or willing to delay their departure, Summer and Bucky handed David over to Steve, and then made their exit under the cover of lit sparklers held over their heads by their friends and family. Summer giggled the whole way to the car, finding the sparklers to be an adorable last little touch.

Once they got to the car, Bucky helped get her stuffed into the passenger seat, which was no easy feat, and then hurriedly made his way to the driver's side as she tried to get comfortable sitting in a pool of fluff that had nowhere to go. Then, once he was in and had flipped on the ignition, they looked at each other and both immediately grinned at the unspoken thought that they knew was just about the only thing on their mind now.

"Ready?" he asked, shifting the gears and slowly backing up.

"Oh I'm ready," she grinned, that excited glint in his eye making her even more impatient to get to the cottage. Then his right hand slid into her left hand, and he raised her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the back of it before placing it back at her side, but not letting go.

She rolled her window down and waved goodbye at everyone as they pulled away, telling David that she loved him one more time. Then they were off, sliding smoothly on to the empty country roads and towards a little house less than an hour away that would be theirs for the night.

Summer's honeymoon was about to officially begin. She couldn't wait.

---

The drive felt like it took forever. Bucky drove quietly but quickly through the dark, empty road, focused wholly on getting them where they were going and little else. Summer, meanwhile, was a chatterbox, a result of her sudden new nervous energy, and Bucky mostly just listened and chuckled here and there while she babbled about the day's events and anything else that popped into her head.

She only shut up once they found the house that they were looking for. It was at the end of a long, gravel driveway, tiny and cute and everything they needed for their first night as husband and wife.

Bucky parked right in front of the house and wasted no time in getting out and helping Summer get out of the car without tripping and falling or ripping her dress. Then, holding her hand, they walked together up to the front door, but he batted her other hand away when she tried to reach for the doorknob.

"Hold on," he said, a small smile crossing his face, and she immediately knew what he was up to

"Are you really doing this?" she asked with a small smile, though really, she had been hoping all along that he'd do this.

"Hell yes I'm doing this."

"You don't have to -"

"Yes I do."

Summer then let out an embarrassingly girlish giggle as Bucky scooped her up into his arms, threw open the front door of the little house they were spending their wedding night in, and then carried her across the threshold. Bucky didn't set her down until they were fully inside of the house, and once he did, he kicked the door shut and then grinned as she threw her arms around him and kissed him.

She was utterly jubilant, a little tired from the day overall but high on a new wave of energy now that they were here and alone and very close to a certain part of the night that she had spent months preparing for. Her nerves were all aflutter, though mostly with pure excitement rather than terror, and it showed on her face as she pulled away and grinned happily at her new husband.

"We're finally alone," she said, hands gripping his suit jacket as she pulled him further into the house. "Like really alone. For the first time."

"I know," he grinned back, stealing another kiss from her before he took one of her hands in his and started steering them towards a staircase to their left. "Come on, I've got a surprise for you."

She almost let out a sudden, ironic giggle, because man did she have a surprise for him, but instead she simply put on a coy little smile and asked, "Oh yeah?"

He nodded, pulling her up the stairs as she held up the skirt of her dress and followed him, excitement inching higher and higher the closer they got to the top of the stairs. Once they got there, it was a short walk to the master bedroom, and Bucky stole one more kiss as they stopped in front of the door.

"Close your eyes," he murmured, grin plastered to his face, and she giggled again before doing as he said and shutting her eyes.

Then she heard the door open, and Bucky guided her inside from behind, with his hands on her shoulders. Then, after a few steps, he kissed her softly under her ear and said, "Okay. Open your eyes."

Her eyes snapped open, and the smile on her face grew as she took in the room before her. He had pulled out all the stops - rose petals on the bed and the floor, candles everywhere, a bottle of wine and two glasses on an antique little table in the middle of the room. She turned and grinned at him, then said quietly, "Oh my God! This is awesome. I love it."

"Thought you would," he replied, his palms sliding down her arms to her own hands as he turned them and started walking her to the table.

Along the way, she glanced at the bed - which she didn't anticipate sleeping much in - and a chair near that little table. Then after they came to a stop, she watched as Bucky shed his jacket and then reached for the wine. He poured her glass first, and she grinned as she took it, "Can I assume that this is the good stuff?"

"$500 bottle," Bucky said, pouring his own glass and watching her carefully sip her own. "Not that I thought you needed it, but... helps set the mood, right?"

"Oh yeah," she smiled, taking a few healthy gulps of the wine in the hopes that it would calm her nerves a bit. Her anxiety was still more pleasant than unpleasant, but all the same, she wanted to make absolutely sure that she was ready for what she had planned.

"Speaking of setting the mood..." Wine half gone, she set the glass down and stepped around Bucky, his eyes fixed on her as she made her way to a record player sitting on a chest against the wall opposite them. Natasha had promised her that she'd have the record that Summer needed for the dance ready and waiting there at the house for her, and sure enough, it was sitting right next to the record player.

She bit her lip as she picked up the record, sliding it free of the sleeve just as Bucky suddenly pressed behind her and started kissing down her neck, humming low in his throat as he did. She knew he was eager, and she definitely was too, but he would simply have to wait his turn.

"I've been waiting all day for this," Bucky murmured near her ear, voice already low with need for her. "These last few weeks, being barely able to touch you and then watching you tease me all day..."

"I've done no such thing," she argued playfully as he nipped under her ear.

"Oh yes you have, and you know it," he replied.

Once the record was spinning, crackling before the first song began to play, Summer smiled at his words and then turned and kissed Bucky, taking him by his shoulders and pushing him back slowly. She walked him backwards, kissing him all the while, until his legs hit the chair she had been moving him towards, and then she broke the kiss and pushed him down into it.

He looked up at her a little dazed, clearly already desperate for her, but he hadn't seen anything yet. She slid her hands off of his shoulders and stepped back, taking a centering breath and, to her surprise, feeling that nervousness in her belly all but fleeing now that the moment she had been practicing so much for was here. She picked up her glass of wine, finishing it before turning her eyes on Bucky.

Time to make Bucky's wedding night the best one of his life.

---

Bucky blinked once, then twice, watching his new wife down the rest of her wine in one smooth gulp. He hadn't expected her to sit him down in the chair like that, nor walk away right after to finish her drink, but he didn't ask what she was up to. He did, however, keep his eyes fixed completely upon her and nothing else, barely able to keep still and not get up and go after her.

Then the record she had put on began to play. When the first strain hit his ears, he watched Summer set down her now-empty glass and then turn towards him, eyes locked with his, and something... changed within her. He could see it in how her body language shifted in the blink of an eye, and her eyes changed too, going from her usual sweet, purely Summer demeanor to something predatory. And that was something he'd never seen from her before.

Then she began sauntering to him. Sauntering, in time with the music playing, and his eyes widened as he slowly began to grasp what was happening.

"Summer...?" His voice came out a lot smaller than he had intended.

Now in front of him, he reached for her, but brushed his hands away and pushed him back into the chair, still wearing that unexpectedly filthy look on her face.

"Shh," she told him softly, even her voice different, darker, more seductive. "Just sit back and watch. And no touching unless I give you permission."

His jaw dropped. It felt like his brain had shorted out and failed to reboot.

She was going to dance for him.

He started babbling, and it was beyond his control. "But... you..."

She merely replied by placing one finger to her lips, shushing him again, and this time, he shut up. Was this even real? Was he just hallucinating as a result of his several-week-long deprivation and the general wedding day experience?

With a little smirk—a smirk—she then backed away from him again, the steady and thumping drum beat in the background echoing his heart beat. Then, suddenly, a wave of brass instruments sounded in a slow, jazzy wail, and Summer started moving. Her hips slowly started swinging to the beat, the fabric of her dress slightly rustling with each movement, and she drew her arms up from her sides and to her waist. Her fingers lightly trailed up and down her body, with one hand wandering up her waist, over her breast, and into her hair. Bucky expected her to pull her hair down from where it sat elegantly atop her head, but then her hand retreated to where it came from, almost as if she were teasing herself.

Bucky's eyes met hers, and the unfamiliar glint in her eyes made him grip the chair so tightly his knuckles turned white. She looked like she wanted to utterly devour him.

Then she got closer, one definitive step for each beat of that ever-present drum, and when she finally stood directly before him, her skirts brushing his spread knees, the music hit an all-time high. The brass instruments echoed throughout the room in a long whine of desire as Summer turned to her side—heated gaze never leaving his face—and slowly bent over and arched her back, running one hand over the dramatic curves of her waist and ass.

He was mesmerized, eyes running up and down her rapidly as he began slowly easing out of his initial shock and focusing his entire existence on this moment and the utterly amazing things happening within it. She had only just begun, and yet he knew that if she took this farther... maybe even all the way... his mind would very possibly be lost to her, and he may never be the same.

No, he would definitely never be the same.

With a slow, sensual roll of her hips, she straightened back up and turned to him again, standing between his legs. Leaning over, she grasped each of his hands in her own, and for the first time, allowed him to touch her.

At that first touch, her darkened eyes met his wide, awestruck ones, and he couldn't help the wonder-struck smile that formed on his lips. The smile told her everything words couldn't at that moment - how amazing she was for doing this, how completely blown away he was, and how utterly perfect she was in his eyes - and for one split second, she smiled back in a way that cracked through her predatory gaze to give a glimpse of the Summer he knew underneath. But then the moment was over, and her sweet smile became that dangerous smirk once more. He shuddered in anticipation, and it didn't go unnoticed.

She guided his hands the entire time over the bodice of her dress, but never let him make contact with her skin. As she ran his hands over her hips, she turned her back to him and slowly guided his hands up her back. He relished being able to touch her at all, even if it wasn't nearly enough.

Then their hands froze when they reached the zipper.

Knowing her intentions, he exhaled a bit roughly and gripped the small zipper, and—with her guidance—dragged it down, down, down until it stopped. Then she tossed his hands from her body and put a couple of feet between them to where he could fully see her entire form.

And as the music seemed to sway, Summer slowly swayed her hips with it, and Bucky watched in desperation as her dress slowly slid down to reveal a blush pink thong and her ass on complete display. His already-wide eyes grew even bigger, both because he had never seen her in such a garment before and because of how tempting and lush a sight it provided him. Holding the dress in place, she turned her head over her shoulder with a teasing, playful, and knowing smile on her face. He met that cute little gaze of hers and didn't know what to do with himself, first bringing his right hand to his mouth and then dropping it, starting to actually squirm in his seat a bit.

When she apparently felt as if she'd given him a good enough look, she let the rest of the dress fall from her form and she tossed it to the side of the room before fully turning to let him soak in her full visage.

There she stood, with all the confidence in the world, in full, exquisitely beautiful, vintage lingerie. His eyes travelled slowly, taking their time in taking her in, not wanting to miss a single detail of this moment as he committed it to his memory. He studied everything from her gorgeous face to the smooth column of her neck, down to the bra that so teasingly gave him such a tantalizing peek of the heavy breasts contained within, then the garter that drew his gaze further downwards. His eyes slid over the exposed parts of her stomach and then down to the thong that only just covered her, and they lingered there for a few seconds before dragging down to her hips and legs and the stockings on them. If those and the gorgeous, shapely lines of her legs hadn't been enough to do him in, the heels were the nail in his cliched coffin. She knew how he felt about high heels, and those in conjunction with the incredible ensemble of lingerie on her body nearly made him moan.

Perfect no longer felt like a sufficient word to describe the awe-inspiring creature before him.

Summer returned to her initial hip swaying and wandering hands, all the more potent now that she was completely on display. She dragged a hand down one leg and pulled one heel off, and the other came off quickly after that and tossed to the side. Then with teasing hands, she hovered over the clasps of the garter that held her sheer stockings up. He was holding his breath now, waiting on the edge of his seat for each new movement, needing them like he needed the very air to breathe. Then she simultaneously unclasped both straps from her stockings, and with her right leg extended to give him a full view, she smoothly and effortlessly dragged the stocking down and off to reveal the bare skin of her leg.

He fully expected her to do the same to the other leg, but Summer had a different plan.

With an almost devious grin, she propped her left leg up onto his chair between his legs, her foot incredibly close to—

His mind stopped working when she pulled the stocking down with a flourish right in front of him and placed her foot back on the ground. With the discarded stocking in her hand, she playfully swayed it right in his face before wrapping it behind his neck, the soft material deliciously dragging across his skin, then throwing it to the side. He watched her all the while, mouth slightly open and eyes ever more dazed, on the cusp of whining if she didn't let him touch her soon.

She backed up from him again, and Bucky vaguely realized that the song was seemingly coming to a close. With the last few fading strains, Summer's movements stopped in a subtle pose.

Bucky had thought she was done. It had certainly been enough todrive him mad with need,but of course, he didn't realize just how wrong he was.

Within the few seconds of silence after song ended, Bucky saw Summer's demeanor change yet again. While earlier she had embodied a sort of dark, sexy seductress, slowly teasing him into madness, she turned into something livelier, a raging fire behind her eyes, and her potent gaze turned downright naughty.

Then a new song kicked in. It had a little faster tempo, and while it had similar instrumentation to the previous one, this song was rougher, grittier. The music accompanied a sultry, smooth voice that spoke of needing a man who knew how to take his time. He was incredibly familiar with the song, but as of tonight, he would never listen to it the same.

Summer began to dance again, her movements a little faster and more playful than before. Whatever inhibitions she might have had earlier were completely dissipated since her hands roamed freely over her body as she swayed and rolled and sauntered.

With one deft movement, she pulled her hair from its up do, and the dark tresses tumbled down to her waist in soft waves, creating a stark difference against the pale pink of her lingerie.

She stalked up to him once again, this time wedging between his legs and placing her hands on his knees. A smirk firmly in place, she rotated her hips in circles as she lowered herself into squat. Still in the squat, she spun around and rose back up, hips never faltering in their movements. His eyes glued themselves to her curves, and it nearly physically hurt to not touch her, to see her like this and be so close and yet able to only touch her with his gaze rather than his hands.

In a suddenly quick movement that took him by surprise, she all but ripped the garter from her body, leaving her in nothing but a bra and that little scrap of lace for underwearthat would surely be the death of him.

She then pivoted around and delicately placed her hands on his shoulders. The eye contact between them searing, Bucky looked at her in a way that was almost a dare, a challenge to really take this where he desperately needed it to go, and the look that she shot back told him that she was more than up to the another smirk, she straddled his legs, and the slow circling of her hips resumed as he forgot how to breathe and heard a nearly pathetic gasp leave his lips. He was aching, desperate already, and now she was even closer, and it definitely hurt now to keep his hands obediently at his side.

He watched with intense anticipation as she started getting lower and lower, watching her hips as they moved and controlling himself from grasping them and pulling them tightly down against his own to get some relief. Then he looked up, across her stomach and her breasts and up to her eyes, just long enough to let the heat in his eyes mix with hers and bring another jolt from within. Just as she was about to be fully seated in his desperately waiting lap, she rose up again and he groaned in a way that would have been humiliating to a lesser man.

She wasn't going to touch him, or let him touch her. He was sure of it. She was simply going to keep torturing him until he simply lost his damn mind,

But suddenly, she turned around, swinging her right leg over his lap to where her back was to him - his eyes greedily soaking in the view that motion provided - and then she was straddling him again. And once again, she started slowly grinding her hips as she got closer and closer to his lap. She paused right above him, and just as he thought that she was going to get up again to torture him more, she lightly chuckled before fully seating herself on his lap. Now finally, finally blessed with the sensation of her pressed against him, he moaned unashamedly loudly and let his eyes roll shut, incredibly sensitive to even just that little bit of touch.

Then she started grinding again, and this time it was so much worse - meaning infinitely better - because she was grinding on him, the circular motions of her hips wreaking havoc upon not only his brain but something he knew she could feel rather prominently pressing against her.

"Fuck," he growled, all of his frustration and need wrapped up into one syllable that dropped into the air between them like a burning coal. Each little movement felt like fire, like pure heat and pleasure on a level that he had never felt before from such a form of touching, not to mention with two layers of fabric shielding his skin from hers. He couldn't help but moan again, more of the same curse flying out of his mouth, panting and gasping and almost letting his lips touch her ear in the process.

Then her hands covered both of his, and he moaned even louder this time in sheer relief as she began to run his hands all over her, all while she continued to grind down on him. She moved his hands over her thighs, the top of them and then slowly along the inner parts, then back up again to run over her stomach. He savored each inch of skin that he touched, his voice still uncontrolled as it left his mouth in ragged and deep groans.

Then she let his right hand move up, drawing it up and over one perfect, bra-covered breast, letting him grab it and squeeze.

It was almost too much, yet still not enough. "Fuck, fuck..."

This time, as his hand lingered on her breast, he let his hips thrust up against hers, unable to hold the motion back. He couldn't help it - she felt too good, too perfect, and if she kept this up, he wasn't going to be able to hold it together, and he was going to be a shuddering, gasping mess beneath her.

But soon as she felt him move against her, she raised her hips up and moved off of him, leaving his lap and making him nearly cry in frustration. Just a few more seconds, just a few more, and he might have...

Her slightly amused smirk was larger than ever, much to his expense, as she lightly danced before him once more. He watched her with heavy, dark, unimaginably needy eyes, barely able to move or even breathe as he watched her. Thankfully, she didn't leave him hanging too long before she started sauntering behind him. He thought about following her, but he physically couldn't.

Anticipation at an all-time high, he heard two tiny but definitive little snaps sound behind him, and he automatically knew what that meant. He twitched - all of him - and clenched his jaw almost painfully tightly, knowing that the breasts he could spend an entire day worshipping were free, leaving her all but naked aside from a barely-there scrap of fabric on her hips. Then, all of a sudden slowly swaying back and forth in front of his face, was her discarded bra. He heard her quietly giggle before throwing the bra to the corner along with the rest of her clothes.

Her hands snaked over his shoulders and onto his chest, shamelessly groping him through his shirt before tightly gripping the fabric through her fingers. With a rough tug, buttons flew across the room, leaving the cool air to hit his now heaving chest. His head fell back and he groaned, closing his eyes, her touch sending him further and further into madness, especially now that she had gone and truly ripped his shirt, something she had never actually done before.

As her fingers trailed up and down his abdomen, he suddenly felt her mouth very close to his neck and her warm breath washing against his skin. Paired with the distinct sensation of her breasts pressing sensually against his back, he was woefully unprepared for what came next. With a slight growl in his ear, she half sang, half moaned a lyric of the song extolling a master's touch. The sound and feel of her words in his ear made his his blood hotter, though it only got worse as her hands slid down to his thighs and she purred in his ear, "How much does the master need my touch?"

She punctuated her question with her hands caressing up his inner thighs, towards where he needed her, and he moaned an incoherent reply that only made her giggle and cheekily point out, "That's not an answer."

Then those teasing little hands of hers slid up and along him, just that faintest little brush making him jerk, moan, and seek more of her touch that she simply wasn't yet willing to give.

"Do you need me as much as I need you?" she asked in a tone that seduced him as effectively as her touch. He replied by gripping her arms, not moving them but keeping them from leaving just yet, and his voice sounded like someone else's when it left his throat a second later.

"Please," he begged, breathily and husky and entirely desperately, but she only grinned and then took her hands off of him.

He had been all but done for to begin with, but the added impact of her words and her voice was a brand new experience just like this entire dance was. A shudder raked through his body when her hands disappeared and he cursed again. He was still so very, very close, and if she simply just brushed her hand or anything else over him...

Then as the song arrived at its last cadence, the music lowering, the beat slowing, and the trumpet began to whine its final note, Summer slinked around his body—her skin never breaking contact with his—straddled his lap one last time, and softly kissed him. He closed his eyes, gave himself up to her and to the kiss, and then her hips brushed softly but firmly across his lap. And then he was lost.

That last little touch was all it took, and he gasped into her mouth, hands rising to almost frantically grasp at her as he came undone loudly against her. Metal hand in her hair and his other arm wrapped around her and pulling her snugly against him as he rode out the blinding waves, he moaned somewhere between a broken cry and a feral growl only a breath away from her own mouth. She watched every last bit of it play out on his face, her own eyes wide because she had not expected this, but he didn't see any of it because all he could see were stars.

It took what felt like ages for him to come down, and when he did, he was shaking. He felt arms wrap around him and pull him close, and he dropped his face into Summer's neck and held her tightly as he breathed like he'd just lapped an entire continent. His brain wasn't functioning and had not been functioning since the very start of the dance, and simply put, he had never stood a chance. He had been at her mercy from the start, and he'd be glad to spend the rest of his life in such a state.

When he finally raised his head again, needing to see her face and gaze into the eyes of his beautiful, sexy, incredibly powerful new wife, he found her expression completely different from before and free of that vixen-like heat that had consumed him during the dance. Now she simply stared at him with her big blue eyes, looking like she was flabbergasted and in awe, and he was pretty sure he looked exactly the same.

Her lips quirked into a smile, eyes still charmingly wide. "Whoa."

He gave her a lazy, satisfied grin. What a woman. And she was all his. Forever.

---

All the countless times that Summer had practiced her dance over the last six months, never had she once imagined that it would end quite that well. She hadn't even tried to make what happened... happen. And yet it had, and now she sat on Bucky's lap, staring into his eyes, and she realized that she had never once in her life felt even half as confident in herself as she did now.

Natasha had sworn to her that the dance was, despite being for Bucky, ultimately all about Summer and her inner confidence. And as with everything... she had been right.

Summer felt good. She felt pretty, sexy, everything that Bucky had always insisted she was but she could never quite believe. She didn't know how long this feeling would last, but she would certainly enjoy it while she could.

And all the while, her husband was staring at her like she was nothing short of a deity sent from the heavens, one that he could spend the rest of his life at the feet of and never want anything else.

His voice sounded ragged and heavy when he eventually tried to speak. "Summer, that was..."

"Yeah," she agreed with a grin. "I could, uh... tell. Good thing the suit's not a rental."

He didn't even chuckle at her joke. He was far too focused on staring at her in pure reverence. She could get used to being looked at that way.

Eventually, though, he tore his eyes away from hers and let them trail back down to her very nearly naked form, still sitting on his lap and on display for him. His hands flexed around her hips, flesh fingertips plucking at the thin strap of her thong, and she noticed that his breathing still hadn't returned to normal.

"This was... the last thing I expected," he admitted, hand traveling upwards slowly. "I didn't think... I never would have..."

"I know," she smiled, unintentionally jerking a little when his hand slid over her breast and lingered there. He might have been sated, at least for the time being, but she sure as hell wasn't. "That's one of the reasons why I wanted to do it. I knew it was the last thing you'd expect."

"How did you learn it?" he asked, tone admiring. "You were so... good..."

"Natasha taught me," she smirked. "I've been practicing three for four days a week for the last six months."

His jaw dropped. "Six months?"

She nodded. "Lots and lots of early mornings, practicing how to strip and give a proper lap dance. I've probably spent like... hours grinding on Natasha's lap, honestly. It's a very precise thing, almost like a science, you know, and..."

Bucky suddenly froze a bit, becoming slightly more slack-jawed as he stared at her without saying a word.

"What?" she asked. Then it dawned on her. "Oh. You probably think that's hot. The whole... grinding on a... girl thing. Right?"

Rather than answer her, his hands clamped around her hips again and he stood up, holding her against him. She let out a sound of surprise and then smiled as he walked them to the bed, then dropped her on it, making the rose petals laying on the sheets rustle and shift. She expected him to pounce on her, but instead he quickly got to work shedding the rest of his clothes. He didn't put on a show for her the way that she did for him, and she was fine with that if it meant having him on top of her faster.

Unnecessary clothing out of the way, she scooted back on the bad as he crawled on to it, wasting no time in laying her down and kissing her with all the determination of a man whose new purpose in life was to make her feel as good as she had made him feel, even surpass it if he could. He kissed her deeply, metal arm holding himself up as his right hand touched and teased and squeezed its way down her body, until he reached her leg and pulled it up and over his hip.

He broke the kiss and breathed against her lips, "I love you so much."

She smiled, gently touching his face and feeling like she was in a movie. The rose petals and the candles flickering all around them really were a sweet, romantic touch, and she loved him even more for thinking of it. "I love you too."

He smiled and kissed her one more time, then started kissing painstakingly slowly but hotly down her neck, and for the next unknown but seemingly eternal amount of time, he took his time in working her up to get her exactly where he wanted her.

All of her teasing was paid back tenfold as he flaunted his knowledge of how to make her squirm and gasp without giving her anything close to what she needed. He kissed every last inch of her, lingered on the spots that made her moan and refused to touch where she needed it except to slowly remove her last little scrap of clothing and drop it on the floor next to the bed. Now they were equally naked, but he wasn't nearly done working her up, not yet. She would have whined and protested if she hadn't known full well how it would make what came next all more powerful for all the waiting.

When he had her where he wanted her - tense, flushed, panting and shamelessly trying to seek friction against any part of him that she could - he covered her body with his and kissed her again, long and deep and passionate, moaning when her legs wrapped around him and her lower half ground against his.

"I can feel you dripping," he said low against her ear after pulling away, almost letting himself give in to her wishes but not quite. "You need me, don't you?"

"Yes," she breathed, not caring how desperate she sounded. It had been a long two weeks for her, too, and her dance had been exhilarating enough even without all of this.

He hummed in reply, kissing lightly along her jaw as his right hand slid down her chest, between her breasts. She thought he was going to bypass them for once, but she was proven wrong when his hand slid over and grasped one while his head then ducked down to tease the other with his mouth. She whined and clutched at his hair, loving this but unsure of how much she could take before she'd simply collapse.

Still moving with such slow but perfect speed and precision, eventually his hand began to move downwards, but his mouth stayed where it was, sucking and licking and driving her crazy as he occasionally glanced up at her. He watched her as his hand finally slid down between her legs, just the faintest brushing of his fingers making her jerk and gasp loudly.

Then he lifted his head, moving up but keeping his hand where it was. He kissed her, swallowing her shaky moan, and then he opened his eyes and gazed down upon her as he said, "You're gonna come for me, just like this. Understand?"

Her incoherent whine in reply was enough for him, and only a few moments later, she did exactly as he instructed. There was no more teasing, only his touch and his words gently but firmly help push her over the edge. One of the best parts was how, for the first time, she didn't have to worry about who would hear as she moaned carelessly loudly. They were truly alone, and she could be as loud and embarrassing as she wanted to be.

When it was over, he reluctantly withdrew his hand, and she panted shallow breaths in and out as her eyes opened and slowly focused on his face. He smiled down at her, laying a soft kiss on her lips and then contenting himself with staying where he was, watching her come back down to Earth.

She was almost okay again, almost able to speak again, and then she opened her eyes once more just in time to watch him bring his fingers to his lips and slip them in his mouth, staring shamelessly into her eyes the entire time.

Then he had the audacity to close his eyes as he lightly sucked his fingertips and make a noise that singlehandedly had her ready for more that very instant.

When he opened his eyes again, he grinned at the new blush on her cheeks and the way that her lips were parted as she stared at him. Then he kissed her, his tongue tangling with hers and sliding in a way that made her skin tingle all over, and she couldn't help but make an impatient noise and try to roll them over.

It didn't work, though. He kept her pinned where she was, breaking away to tell her, "Not yet, sweetheart. Not until I'm finished with you."

"But..."

"Hush," he whispered, stealing one more kiss. "I promise you'll enjoy yourself."

She didn't doubt that.

Giving into his will, she laid back and exhaled slowly as he again kissed his way down her body, as if he had all the patience in the world despite his own needs being neglected at the moment. He kissed her one inch at a time, telling her along the way how beautiful she was, how utterly perfect and tempting every part of her was to him, and all of that combined with her newly pulsing need made her feel dizzy, like she was drunk on him.

In time, he made his way down between her legs, his now-swollen lips kissing a teasingly soft trail up each thigh, and just when she thought she knew what would come next, he left her hanging and rose back up to kiss her more.

But before she could complain, he distracted her by drawing away and reaching towards the small beside table. Her eyes followed his hand, and she blinked in curiosity when she saw him pick up one of the little candles and then pull it closer.

He caught the question in her eyes, and rather than answer, his lips quirked up and he said, "Just relax."

She nodded, eyes flickering to the candle as he held it over her, swirling the hot wax beneath the flame. She was pretty sure that she knew where this was going, but it still took her by surprise when he carefully tipped the candle over and dripped the hot wax across her chest, just under her collarbone.

She gasped sharply and shuddered everywhere at the unfamiliar sensation, eyes widening as they locked with his. He seemed to revel in her reaction, grinning a bit darkly before he ducked his head and blew over her skin to cool it down. Then he traced his cold metal fingers along where he'd dripped the wax, and the contrasts made her shudder again and grip his shoulder for dear life.

"Like that?" he asked, kissing her and then watching her nod furiously.

"Yeah, it's uh, it's different and I ah..."

He grinned at the way that she trailed off babbling, thanks to him having dripped more along her stomach, starting at the top and then moving lower, under her belly button. He gave that part of her skin the same treatment, blowing and then caressing his left hand fingers over it, and she was all but delirious by the time he started kissing downwards again, inching ever closer to where she now really needed him.

He didn't tease this time, setting aside the candle and then earning a strangled moan out of her mouth when his descended upon her hungrily. She lost track of time, of the world around her, of everything, and her entire existence shrunk to include only him and this blessedly rare night truly alone together. The night had only just begun, but she already knew she'd never ever forget a moment of it.

Bucky was relentless, merciless even, and he didn't stop until she could physically take no more. He would take a break to take noisy, panting breaths against her thigh and let her try to catch hers, then start again until she fell apart writhing and shouting, or maybe screaming - she really had no way of knowing. He didn't just use his mouth either. He incorporated his left hand and its vibration when he needed a break or wanted to watch her squirm and claw at the sheets, and then he'd switch to his right hand when his need to really feel her eclipsed everything else.

Then, finally, when she had lost count of each time he'd made her see stars, she begged him to stop before she actually stopped breathing and they had to call 911 on their wedding night. He stopped then, finally, crawling back up her body and himself breathing like he had been the one on the brink of a pleasure-induced early death.

"Oh my God," she panted, feeling like she was going to sink into the bed and just disintegrate at any moment. "What the... how did you even... just... God."

He chuckled, lying next to her on his side and brushing her now quite sweaty hair away from her face. "I try."

"You succeed," she said, turning her head towards him and smiling at the self-satisfied grin on his face. "I don't know if I can move or... do anything after that."

"You can," he told her without hesitation.

She blew out a breath and raised her eyebrows. "What makes you so sure?"

He paused and then traced her bottom lip with his thumb as he murmured, "I'll motivate you."

She raised an eyebrow, deciding to go ahead and play along. "How?"

"Not by touching you," he said, drawing his hand away from her. "You're too sensitive right now. You'd just make me stop. So... I'll just talk."

She paused and tried to mentally prepare herself, knowing it would do her no good. He knew her all too well, and if he was going there, she was as good as dead.

He settled in closer to her, fingers playing with the ends of her hair in the absence of touching her skin. "See, I know there's only one thing you like more than me touching you."

"What's that?" she asked.

"You touching me," he replied with a grin, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. "And you do it better than anyone I can remember."

"I'm... glad?" she said, not meaning for it to come out sounding like a question. Either way, it only made him grin more.

"But I've got a problem," he admitted. He paused and then added, "I don't know what I want."

"That's a first," she blinked.

He sighed, expression contemplative. "A part of me wants to tie you up and fuck you 'til you can't walk straight for a week. Another part wants to hold you and make love to you and make it as slow and sweet as I can. Then there's one more part that wants to just lay here and watch you ride me, do whatever you want with me."

Summer's brain having just caught fire and exploded in a spectacular firestorm of holy crap, she just stared at him and, after a long moment spent gaping, asked, "... Can you repeat the first one?"

He grinned. "Tie you up and fuck you 'til you can't walk for a week."

Her brain exploded again. She opened her mouth but nothing came out, and she wondered why he hadn't done this yet if it was something he thought about like that.

Eventually she regained enough of her wits to stammer out, "Well, whatever you... want."

He smiled at that, then reached down to take her hand in his. "I want it all, but tonight... maybe the third one."

She nodded. "Just as long as we do the first one sometime this week."

"Really?" He actually looked surprised.

"Oh yeah," she blurted. "Yes. Yes. A lot of yes."

He smiled and then nodded, biting his lip for good measure. "All right. But for now..."

He sat up then, not letting go of her hand. He gave it a tug, then said, "Come sit on my lap."

And just as he had predicted, thanks to his words of encouragement, she now had it in her to get up and keep going. Really, she was just silly for ever doubting him, or herself.

He guided her to sit on top of him, much like she had when this night had began, and though her legs were shakier this time and she was a lot more worn out than she had been then. But she had all the energy she needed, and feeling all of him pressed against her along with his hands gripping her sides and her hips in that needy way of his were extra motivation. Not to mention the hungry but still somehow reverential look in his eyes as he kept them focused squarely upon her.

"So, husband," she teased with a silly grin, wrapping her arms around his neck and sliding so that she was just inches from taking him in. "Have you enjoyed your wedding night so far?"

"I have," he grinned back, sliding his metal hand into her hair. "Mrs. Barnes."

She had never felt so silly, giddy, and turned on all at once. She giggled at that name - her name - and then took him by surprise by lowering herself down. His reaction was instant, a second or two of tensing and then letting out a shaky breath of sheer relief.

She kept moving, though very slowly, almost teasing in how languid it was. He didn't complain.

"You said you wanted me to do whatever I wanted with you, right?" she asked, leaning down and kissing along his neck after she spoke.

She felt him nod and tighten the grip his metal hand had on her hair. "Yes."

"Okay," she said, drawing him closer so that he was cradled against her as she slowly but steadily sped up on top of him. Joined like this, it felt like they couldn't possibly get any closer, and for a long time filled with gasps, moans and hands that were everywhere, she didn't once let him go. Not until he raised his head and looked at her with such love and desire in his slightly glazed-over eyes that she didn't even feel him turn them and flip them so that she was laying down on her back and he was on top of her.

She couldn't have dreamed of a sweeter way for the night to end. She watched him lose himself to her, as she always did, but with a new and eternal union between them making what they already had deeper and even more palpable. He told her that he loved her, over and over, holding her more tightly and closely with each word, and she could do nothing but say it back and watch him eventually shudder and cry out with everything within him.

And then, after a long time spent in one another's arms, slowly recovering and simply holding one another and enjoying the quiet, they both raised their heads and smiled at each other. Exhaustion was creeping up on them, sleep ready to claim them for the night, but Summer wouldn't let him fall asleep without telling him one more thing.

"I couldn't have asked for a better wedding day," she said quietly, secure and comfortable in his arms, blinking up at him and smiling. "It was all a dream come true. All of it."

He smiled back, then said just as quietly, "I don't like my dreams. You're better than that."

"A wish come true, then?" she guessed.

He paused. "More like a prayer."

Her smile widened. "I'll take that."

He smiled back and then kissed her softly, then settled her head just under his chin as he closed his eyes. "It's gonna be a good week."

"Mhm," she yawned quietly. "Good life too."

He hummed his agreement, and then in seconds, they were both asleep. Tomorrow, they would officially start their new life together as husband and wife.