I had fallen asleep on my bedroom floor, where I had been sitting and sulking after I had shut off the security camera feed. When I woke up, Bucky was next to me on the floor. My heart fluttered a little, knowing that he stayed with me. I lay there in the position I had somehow wound up in, contemplating the entire argument that had played out the night before.
"Alex, can we talk?" Dad asked.
"Here to doubt me some more?" I asked bitterly.
"No, Alex, I'm here to apologize. I'm sorry that I got upset last night. It was just a lot to take in. That's no excuse, but I still wanted to explain myself to you," Dad said.
"Dad, I know you worry about me, but just remember me going blind isn't the worst thing that's happened to me. Besides, it's not like I can't see; I can't see the way that you do," I reminded him.
"Does this mean I can be on the team again?" I asked, hopeful.
"Let's get you back to training for a few more days and see how you're doing and go from there," Dad said.
"I can live with that," I said, grinning like an idiot as Bucky started to wake up.
"I'll leave you two be for a little bit," Dad winked, and I shook my head, laughing lightly as he left.
"Good morning, doll," Bucky said, still half asleep.
"Morning, Buck," I smiled at him. I was about to say more when I was transported elsewhere and saw something that completely horrified me. It was my mother; she was alive and making dirty deals to marry me off for money. I was even more scared when I realized this was some precognitive ability showing through. I didn't want to marry some stranger; I wanted to stay with Bucky.
"Alex, what's wrong?" Bucky's voice cut through all the noise in my head.
"Bucky, this is bad. My mom is still alive, and she has some bad plans for me," I said, coming back to reality.
"What can I do to help?" Bucky asked.
"Unfortunately, I don't think you can," I whispered sadly.
"Why not?" Bucky asked.
"Because Buck, she wants to marry me off to some rich guy for money," I cried.
"Then you and I leave tonight, and we take care of it. This isn't how I wanted to do this, but I'd do anything if it meant we could spend the rest of our lives together," Bucky said. I knew that he was serious and that he truly cared about me.
"Alex, I have some disturbing news," Dad said, coming back into the room.
"It's about mom and her twisted ideas, isn't it?" I asked him, no life in my voice.
"How did you know?" Dad asked.
"I had a vision," I replied calmly.
"I don't know how to get you out of this, especially since your mom seems to have a way of getting what she wants." Dad looked down sadly.
"Don't worry, Dad, I've already got a plan. I know what mom is planning, and I know what I need to do to stop it." I looked at him with a confident smile.
"What is she planning?" Dad asked.
"Arranged marriage likely to pay off her debts," I sighed.
"Jesus, Alex, but how does that work when you're a grown adult?"
"I don't know, but just in case she can pull it off, it's wise that we make it impossible."
"The only way to do that is for you to be already married," Dad said.
"We reached the same conclusion," Bucky said, speaking up.
"I have an idea, but I don't want to be the one to say it out loud," Dad said.
"I think we may be thinking the same thing. Bucky and I were going to get married to make it to where she can't succeed," I replied, finally just voicing what no one wanted to.
"Are you two really with that?" Dad asked.
"I'd do anything for her, Tony. This may not be the way I wanted it, but I don't care if it's for her," Bucky said.
"I want this, Dad. The way it's happening isn't the way I would've wanted either, but as long as I'm with him, I don't care," I replied.
"I'll arrange travel plans. Where do you two want to go for a honeymoon? I'll have everything set up by the end of the week. That's when your mother is due to arrive to talk to me about this deal. By that time, you'll be married and on your honeymoon," Dad said.
"Italy?" I asked, looking at Bucky.
"Sounds like fun to me, doll," Bucky replied.
"Italy it is. I'll set this up and fill everyone else in," Dad said, leaving the room to make phone calls and talk to the other Avengers. Bucky and I sat there quietly and looked around the room, taking in everything that was happening. I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed by everything and how fast it was happening.
"Alex, are you okay?" Bucky asked.
"I'm overwhelmed and exhausted, Buck; I'm ready just to slow down," I sighed, not wanting to burden him with my feelings.
"I know, Alex, but you and I will be able to slow down once we're in Italy," he reminded me softly.
"Right you are," I replied, scooting closer to him so I could lie with my head on his shoulder. I loved just being close to him and didn't really mind who watched our interactions. The rest of the Avengers soon walked into the room, taking seats, and I knew that my dad was going to explain everything to them.
"So listen, guys, the mother of my lovely daughter Alex is, for lack of better words fucking crazy, and she wants Alex to marry some rich guy so she can get money. Alex, Bucky, and I have come up with a plan to stop this. Bucky and Alex will get married in three days, and then they will leave for Italy until further notice. We will need to figure out exactly why Alex's mother seems to want to use her as a pawn," Dad said, and I looked around the room, seeing the shocked faces of everyone else. Bucky just pulled me closer, and I snuggled into his chest, suddenly wishing it was my hearing that had gone instead of my sight so that way I didn't have to hear what was going on around me.
"That's absolutely awful; what mother does that to her child," Wanda cried, and I shuddered. Bucky tightened his grip on me, and Steve scooted closer to the other side.
"That's just the way my mom is. She loves to cause problems to serve her own needs and hurt others," I muttered bitterly.
"So you're sure you want to, uhm, get married to avoid getting married?" Steve asked, making sure that he understood.
"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, there is a difference between the two options. I'm choosing to marry Bucky myself. I'm not getting married to help some selfish woman meet her needs," I said.
"This is a bit too weird for me," Sam said, and I rolled my eyes.
"You're telling me I have to live through it," I laughed mirthlessly.
"So this is something you're okay with, Buck?" Steve asked him.
"I'd do anything for her, Steve. This may not be the way she or I wanted this to happen, but this is what we want," Bucky smiled, and we both knew that we would have the rest of our lives together.
"This is all so strange. I never thought this was how you would get married, kid," Bruce said, smiling.
"Neither did I. I mean, no one expects their belief to be dead. Mother is very much alive and plotting to marry you off even without knowing hardly anything about you," I laughed dryly.
"This calls for a celebration. This may not be happening because of the best circumstances, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate Mr. Barnes and Alex," Peter said, speaking up.
"That's a wonderful idea, Peter," I grinned widely, "but we should keep it low profile to avoid drawing too much attention to what we're going to do." My smile was still fixated on my face.
"Are you serious, Alex?" Dad asked.
"Hell yeah, just because it's rushed due to my mother's crazy antics doesn't mean it's not worth celebrating," I smiled.
"Then I guess we're having a small friends and family-only party," Dad clapped his hands excitedly.
I knew that this was still worth celebrating because Bucky and I were taking the next step in our relationship. It was going to be scary and a little absurd because of how this was all coming about. I wanted normal, and I got the farthest thing from normal in life. I thought my dad being Iron Man was an embarrassment until I realized that I wanted to be a hero, too. I wanted the joy, the pain, the love, and the heartache that came with it.
"You're sure about the party, Alex?" Bucky asked.
"Yes, I'm sure it will be one of the last carefree nights with our friends before everything is wedding bells and psycho hoes," I laughed lightly.
"You're taking all of this quite well," Bucky commented.
"Well, I have you, so I can face anything that life throws at me. Plus, I'm happy with you, and that means the world to me," I told him.
"You're really something special, Alex," Bucky said, pulling me close and stealing a chaste kiss.