Chapter 52
Tony knew there was no way it was an accident that he was seated right by Lilith at Teddy’s wedding. Neither of them were yet technically divorced, still just separated, and Tony thought that described their situation. The previous week, Lilith had loosed the barrier holding back people from voicing their suspicions that she was enhanced, and he saw she was putting the advantage to good use. She didn’t have any glamours, aging potions, or anything of the sort on her. Just her true face. Looking as seventeen years old as when he had first seen her 32 years ago. He looked like he was in his late 20s. Like he was younger thanTeddy should have been. And Teddy looked like a college student. It was the day they would stop hiding. Stop hiding their true faces, both literal and metaphorical. Tony instinctively gripped Lilith’s hand.
When the audience hushed as Teddy’s bride came down the aisle, looking every inch the royal bride, me like she was born to the position. And to be fair, she was. Her brother leading her down the aisle had his back stiff, his face even more so. He let a small smile show through for his sister, although he very inconspicuously had a look of disdain towards Teddy.
Seeing as the highest ranking person recognized under the planets government was the one getting married, there was no true officiator in the general sense.
However, when Shuri made her way up, rings already on the pedestal, Lilith have his hand a small squeeze as she stood up from their seats in the front row on the groom’s side, and walked up to the spot the officiator usually took.
An emerald fire lit up in her palm, and the audience, at least those who didn’t know her, gasped. Teddy and Shuri each took their right hands and lifted them up, grasping each other’s forearms so their arms were untwined. Lilith’s hand, emerald flame in it, now tinged with thread of black, burning violet, flaming orange, crystal blue, gold, silver, and sunshine yellow, and within it an indescribable rainbow hue, rose up, speeding along the arms of the bride and groom.
Their arms entwined, her fire of magic running through them, they swore their vows, as the fire sunk into their arms, through their skin and into their very bloodstream. It rushed through then, throughout their whole body, the magic curled by their intent. They might not have started on the best of terms, but over a year and a half they had grown into something more. And it showed, as the magic rushed back, their vow the gold of their love.
“You may now kiss your spouse.”
And so it was sealed, with true love’s kiss.
A/N: I was going to end the story here, but I’m not that cruel.
“T'Challa, stop giving Teddy that stink-eye.” Shuri berated.
He glared at her in turn. “Or need I remind you the King ofEarth is now your brother-in-law? It turns out what I said was true, I am your queen.”
“You were eight years old.”
“And I was still right.”
“May I have this dance?” Tony asked Lilith, hand stretched out, in a half-bow.
“It would be my pleasure,” she said, as she took his hand, and they spun on the dance floor.
They danced gracefully, beautifully, like they had been ballroom dancing since they could walk. To be fair though, they had been, at least to the degree of any high society child.
“We swore we would give Teddy the world. Seems it came true, even if it was more you than me.” Tony commented, dipping Lilith back.
“It was both of us, Tony. Things change, people do, big that doesn’t mean some things don’t stay the same.” She said, as they spun around, dominating the floor as soon as Teddy and Shuri left it.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. For the Accords and for everything else that led to our split and Ron and Hermione growing up without a father really there for them. Like we both did.”
“They grew up knowing their father loved then, and that’s more important. Even if both of us were wrong.”
“My guilt overtook me, those scenes of destruction. Those corpses. Some of which…” he paused, “some of which we caused.”
“Tony.” She met his eyes. “It makes you human, and that’s more than I can say.”
“Don’t blame your bloodline.”
“It’s not my lineage anymore. Some sacrifice their time. Their strength. Their energy. I sold my soul.”
“Lilith, soul or no soul, whatever either of us goes through, know that I’ll always love you. Even if you won’t take me back.”
She kissed him deeply as he lifted her up from dipping her back. She could feel his iron-like muscles through his suit, gripping her, hugging her heartbeat to his.
“Tony, we have all the time in the universe. Even if I overreacted and disagreed with your decisions, that doesn’t mean that you’re not still not the man I love.”
“Will you marry me? Again? With an unbreakable able vow? So we can be sure this time.”
“I’d love to.”
***
“Well, looks like your parents are back together.” Shuri noted.
“We’re all surprised it took this long. Though I suppose the unloveable nature has to come from somewhere.”
“We won’t have anything like that, right?”
“The breakup. The love,”
“We will.”
“Of course.”
Michelle gave Hermione Stark a stink eye as she finished twirling Peter around the dance floor. That was her boyfriend, dammit, this little girl years younger should not be getting him.
Hermione smirked as she tossed her hair over her head. Enjoy, now that I’ve had my fill. She said in smirk language, otherwise known as bitch talk. Michelle was as fluent as Hermione.
Hermione moved on to dance with Nathaniel Barton, only a year her elder, just for the sake of it. Just fun as friends, unlike Ron dancing with Lila, her face as red as the deep wine on the tables.
Hermione didn’t really keep track of how it happened, but she ended up talking with Crown Princess Regina Thorsdottir of Asgard, only four and a half years her junior.
For all Regina was strange, she had grown up on an alien planet, she wasn’t as strange as someone like Space Force, Ravager Legion General Yondu Udonta. Her mother was renowned Lady Jane Foster, astrophysicist extraordinaire Of Earth.
And they got along perfectly.
Darcy Barnes had quickly learned that her husband, for all he was elegant and smooth as fuck, needed to be taught to dance. And she realized it was good she had gotten that done ahead of time, because once he learned, he was as good at dancing as he was at anything else. Super Soldier Serum’s endurance boost helped not only with sprinting, but with dancing too, and she could see Natalia Romanova enjoying that perk as well.
“So you’re off duty today, or whatever you call it?” Peter asked Quake. She was uncostumed, but his spider-sense always had the same exact reaction to the same person, how he was able to identify anyone, from Mister Barnes the first time, to now, Quake.
“Nice detective work, spidering.”
“I can’t be more than four years your junior, you can stop with the kid jokes.”
“Fair. And yes, I am off duty. Officers don’t have to guard during the event of forever.”
“That’s what they called Tony and Lilith Stark’s wedding. I was there too.” Peter noted.
“You didn’t notice the bond they did?”
“A light show as they swore their vows. Why?”
“That wasn’t just a lights show.” Skye explained. “Have you ever sworn an unbreakable vow?”
“No. What’s that?”
“An oath that literally uses your life force to enforce an unpredictable combination of your words and your intent, so you’d better follow both if you don’t want to collapse and die.”
“No, I most certainly have never sworn one.” he paused. “Wait, you mean all that stuff about ‘till death does them part, you mean that was literally binding?”
“Why do you think the audience was gasping in awe? It takes guts to pull that move. It also takes an extreme amount of confidence.”
“No shit, Sherlock.” Peter snarked. “And I thought webbing up some wizards was the worst of the insane shit you Order of the Phoenix people do.”
“You need to redefine insanity, and fast. Because the Order of the Phoenix and the Government of Earth are one and the same.” Skye said, as she left to go nag Grant. Maybe she’d get a dance tonight. And she’d see the result of FitzSimmons bet as to whether or not Grant Ward could dance.
“It is my honor to present to you, my wife, Queen Shuri of Earth!” Teddy announced, to the joyous roar of the crowd. Shuri’s outgoing personality had made her no enemies amongst the guests.
“You know, in all his time, Howard was right about only one thing. There was and always will always be a Stark Dynasty.” Tony said, the cheers of the crowd and fireworks in the background as he kissed Lilith under the stars.
“The Stark Dynasty. That sounds nice.”