i'm with you, every step of the way

Chapter 19

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It was almost 6pm and the party was about to start. The beginning of the day has been surprisingly relaxing for Natasha and her friends and family; everything went according to plan. Maria and Pepper arrived extra early to get ready with Natasha, Wanda, and Carol while the guys met up at Steve's house to prepare. Tony lent them his parent's limo so Natasha and the rest of her friends got to ride that on the way to the party's venue.

The venue was beautifully decorated. It wasn't too extravagant but it seems to really understand Natasha, with the decors being simple yet elegant, and mostly in light blue, her favorite color. The place is not too big because she wanted to keep it intimate, so it was just her and her friends, her family, and some family friends. She only invited the rest of the cheer team because she didn't want too much people from school to be there.

At exactly 6pm, Natasha got out from the limo and entered the room. Everyone was quiet save for a soft background music playing. Her dress is something she picked out: a light blue strapless gown with a small petticoat that makes it a bit poofy, and has flowers embroidered on it with beads that gleam when the lights hit. Her curls are a fiery red as it reaches the middle of her chest, making a sharp contrast with her gown.

Her escort is Bucky, a secret her mom kept from her until that morning. He is her first choice anyway, but there's something telling her that if she was given a choice, it would take her a while to get to a decision. Bucky looks "dashingly handsome", as Wanda has put it, in his three piece suit and a light blue bow tie that matches Natasha's gown. Natasha pointed out that most of the guys were wearing suits anyway and that Bucky isn't a special case.

Natasha hooked her arm around his as they walked across and room and tightened her grip whenever she feels like tripping. Bucky looked down at her and flashed her a smile, in which she tried to reciprocate, so he brought up his free hand to rest over hers in an effort to calm her down. They walked the rest of the way like this, and she can't help but to chuckle once they reached the "stage" area. Except there wasn't a stage but a throne-esque chair in place, as per Natasha's request, where she were to sit at whenever there's an activity. Once there, they posed for photos and the party officially began.

They started with Natasha saying a few words and then proceeding to her father changing her flats to heels, and the two of them dancing. After that, they had dinner and Natasha moved to the table where her friends and cousins are at. Since their friend group is way too big, they were divided within two round tables. Natasha sat next to Bucky, with Maria and Pepper on her other side. Steve is on Bucky's other side, and oddly enough, Carol was next to him. Wanda and Pietro sat on the other two chairs, completing the whole circle. Tony, Sam, Thor, Clint, and some of the other cheerleaders, sat with them. The rest of Natasha's cheer team sat at another table next to them.

While eating, a video made up of Natasha's pictures and videos throughout her life played on the background. It was certainly an entertaining touch to their dinner because Natasha was a playful kid. Most of her pictures consisted of her with her parents, Steve, Bucky, and Wanda and Pietro. There were also lots of videos of her dancing with Pepper and Maria, when they were just starting their little dance team. The guests were constantly chuckling or applauding her and Natasha was feeling pretty nostalgic too, she has never looked back on her life like this before. She could feel her eyes gleam with unshed tears and discreetly dabbed it with her napkin.

Bucky noticed this and paused from eating, rubbing her back and smiling at her. Somehow, that provoked Natasha's tears more and she let out a small sob, but has a small smile on her face. Everyone on the table looked at her but she just shook her head at them and wiped at her tears. She gave up on eating and just leaned into Bucky, resting her head on his shoulder as she continued to watch the video. Bucky moved closer to make her more comfortable and adjusted his arm so it's wrapped around her shoulders, with his hand resting on her arm and thumb softly stroking her. She looked up at him and offered him a grin before looking back at the video again and Bucky can't help but to chuckle and he gently kissed the top of her head.