Native Australian flowers lined the aisle that led to the alter, light orange and beige the theme of the ceremony. Artificial grass was laid on both sides of the aisle, leaving a white path to lead to the platform where the couple would say their vows. White chairs were placed in rows, filled with guests that consisted of only the closest of friends and family. Skyscrapers surrounded the rooftop and blocked the full force of the summer sun that warmed the air. A singular SHIELD helicopter hovered above the event and was incharge of keeping an eye on the surrounding areas for potential threats. The wedding of two superheros was bound to bring some sort of trouble.
Guests chattered lightly among themselves, and the singular groomsman took his place next to the alter. Tony stepped up on to the platform, the man having jitters for one of the first times in his life. He took a deep breath as he looked out from the rooftop, squinting from the sun's reflection on the windows of buildings. Usually, he would wear one of his many pairs of designer sunglasses. But he opted to spend the day without them. It would make his life easier as his fiance wouldn't be impressed by the tinted glasses over his eyes when they said their 'I do's.
'You okay there, legless?' Tony looked over his shoulder to his best friend with his walking stick.
'Very funny,' Rhodey rolled his eyes, adjusting his stick to stand upright under his palm. 'You got your notes?'
'Nope. I'm free-balling it.'
Natasha sat closest to where the bride would exit onto the aisle. Next to her was Clint and Laura, who held young Nathaniel on her lap. The toddler gurgled and babbled nonsense, his mother wiping his chin of drool with a tissue. The Bartons' oldest son, Cooper, sat in his chair and swung his legs, as his feet weren't long enough to touch the floor. He was dressed a child-sized suit, with Peter next to him and Thor on the Parker's right. The demi-god stood out in his reflective suit, already blinding Tony who squinted his eyes from his place at the alter. Vision, who would be there for the exchanging of vows only, was sat on the end in a grey suit and tie. The public wasn't completely aware of his existence, so he had to be careful with appearances, as his red skin and amber gemmed-forehead wasn't human-like in the slightest.
Behind the ceremony was an extension of the building where an elevator rose from the floors below. Johnny waited with his hands clasped together, staring at where he would step out with the bride on his arm. Clint's daughter, Lila, stood next to him with a basket of flower petals. The young girl fiddled with the large bow on the front of her pink dress and rocked the basket back and forth in her hand.
'Ta-da!' Wanda chimed as they exited the elevator. Johnny turned and grinned at the sight of his sister.
'Hey! It's the bride of the Iron prick!'
'Don't start...'
Wanda and Pepper stood in their soft orange gowns. The top of the dresses were fitted before twirling into small ruffles at the hem. The bridesmaids' hair was styled with their front pieces tied back, with the rest of their curls graced over their shoulders. In between the women, stood Susan Storm in her white dress and with a bouquet of white flowers in her clenched hands. Baby's breath and snow whites were gathered in the arrangement and tied together with a bow of white ribbon.
'We'll see you out there, sweetie,' Pepper said into Sue's ear, before she and Wanda linked arms to head out down the aisle.
'We're on,' Johnny gestured his head towards the archway.
'Okay, okay...'
Sue shuffled forward and linked arms with her brother as Clint's daughter walked out first. Guests awed at Lila who dropped petals in fistfuls, waving at her Aunty Nat and her parents who gave her two thumbs up. Wanda and Pepper walked behind Lila, their bouquets against their chests and smiling brightly. Wanda caught eyes with Vision, who beamed at the sight of her wide smile. He was glad to see her engaging in something that was considered normal.
The bride felt a weight on her chest and her arms tingled from the nerves. Sue's hair was pulled back into a low bun and held with white clips. Pieces of her blonde hair framed her striking features and curled to the length of her chin. She chose not to have a vail, as she thought it made her look too old-fashioned for the modern theme. Her dress was simple; a strap-less top to show her collarbones and small detailing of twirls on the breasts. But the skirt was the centre of the show, as it was made of white silk and fanned out to cover her heels. Her makeup was light with her eyes bronzed to compliment her brown irises, and her already prominent cheekbones were emphasised with contouring.
'You know...' Johnny spoke up and forced her stare away from where they would step out onto the rooftop. 'You don't look completely ridiculous in that dress.'
'Is that obnoxious brother talk for 'you look kind of nice'?' Sue's voice shook as she tried to be witty.
She had planned almost aspect of the wedding, yet she didn't know what to expect. She hadn't seen Tony since the previous day, as it was bad luck to see the bride before the wedding. Even middle-aged, cosmic-radiation-filled women got nervous on their wedding day. She would soon be married to Tony Stark, the man who she sought help for a suit all those years ago. The man who she fought beside and fell in love with, no matter how irritating and ruthless he was. All the snarky comments and lop-sided smirks made what Sue loved about Tony, and she couldn't wait to be his forever. She thought about how her walk down the aisle won't be for her, but would be for their baby, too. Once they were married, they could start their family that they both wanted with all their hearts.
'You look beautiful,' Johnny said with sincerity, and Sue melted at the smile on her brother's face.
'Thank you...' she whispered, the music beginning to play outside.
'Mum and Dad would be proud.'
'Tony, would you put your phone away?!'
The violins played their melody loud enough to conceal Pepper's hiss at the groom who looked down at his FRIDAY-powered device. His body was turned to face the aisle, but his attention was on the graph on the neon-blue screen. Rhodey glanced at Pepper and Wanda, who all shared a look of disbelief at Tony's behaviour. The pastor behind him held his bible as Johnny and Sue appeared through the archway, the guests cooing silently at how beautiful the woman looked on her wedding day.
Tony slipped his device into his pocket in time and looked up with a smile. But he was blown away by the woman who glowed in white. Johnny walked his sister through the crowd, winking at Pepper who twisted her lips in response. Their pace was slow, letting Tony rake his eyes over her dress of white silk and her complimented physique.
His lips parted in awe and his eyes watered for a second. He forced himself to hold back tears as Sue smiled shyly, the apples of her cheeks pink from her excitement. Sue's chest buzzed with what felt like fireworks and she tried to focus on her steps. Her dress threatened to slip under her heels, so she needed to kick outwards to ensure she didn't trip. She gripped Johnny's arm and glanced at the familiar faces that stood watching her. Everyone smiled at the Storm with their eyes twinkling at her beauty. Her team were the first eyes she met when she stepped out onto the aisle, and she saw Thor dab at the corner of his eye with Laura's pink handkerchief. Everyone who she wanted was in the crowd, all except Steve and Bruce. But the circumstances made his absence inevitable, so Sue tried not to dwell on it.
Johnny took the first stair up to the platform, before looking down to make sure Sue's dress didn't catch under her heel. Tony watched as Sue made it up to the platform and saw how she glowed when he looked up at him. He held out his hand with the edge of his lips hitched up into his usual lop-sided smile. Johnny let go of his sister's arm and gave her away to the Stark, and Sue relished in the warmth of Tony's hand. It enclosed around hers and he brought her to stand next to him, his cream-coloured suit matching the flowers tied to the alter.
'Hi,' he said under his breath, still in awe.
'Hi,' she let out a small giggle.
Sue bit her lip to contain the large grin that pinched at her cheeks. The pastor called for the guests to be seated, and the rooftop had a moment of silence. Tony and Sue stood with their hands intertwined as they faced the pastor. They both resisted their urges to turn to each other and smile or laugh from the bliss that coursed through their veins.
'Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this couple, Anthony Stark and Susan Storm, together, in the bond of holy matri-'
A beep broke through the pastor's loud voice and heads swivelled towards the groom. Wanda and Pepper, who stood on Sue's side, thought the bride's neck snapped when she turned her head to the right. The device Tony had slipped into his pocket before she stepped out was now in his hands, his head down to read FRIDAY's alert. Whispers broke out from the guests and Rhodey let out a 'tsk' at his friend's actions.
'You brought that thing to our wedding?!' Sue hissed with venom in her voice. Her eyes pierced through Tony's side profile, and the man could feel the heat from not only her gaze, but from Johnny's as well. Sue had half the mind to turn the device invisible, just so she could get him to look up at her and see her face of fury.
'I know, but there's a good reason,' Tony glanced up and tried to hide his panic. But his eyes were wide and beads of sweat formed on his hairline. If Sue wasn't so angry, she would have noticed how jittery her fiancé was.
'We have to get through this quickly,' he gestured for the pastor to continue, bobbing his head with his rolling hand.
'That's romantic,' Sue spat sarcasm from the corner of her mouth.
'S-Should I continue?' the pastor looked back and forth between the couple.
'Yes, please.'
'Oh, where was I... oh, yes! There are many kinds of love-'
'Could you skip to the end, please?'
The seated crowd gasped and mumbled at the Stark's request. Natasha put her face into her hands, refusing to watch the trainwreck continue. Peter uncomfortably squirmed in his chair and thought about cracking a joke to the back row, but decided against it. From where they were seated, the Avengers could see the steam coming out of Sue's ears. She stared at the man next to her with her jaw hung open and her eyes wide. The rage that bubbled inside her threatened to explode, and the doctor's recommendation to not use her powers was becoming harder to follow.
'Excuse me?' the pastor raised an eyebrow. Tony swallowed as he refused to turn his head to look at his bride, who was an inch from murdering him. The view wasn't much better on his right, where Johnny stood with his lip curled in disgust. The Storm's fists were clenched behind his back, and he glared at the man who was about to be responsible for ruining Sue's big day.
'I'm sorry, but we've got a bogie heading for us in about fifteen seconds,' Tony tried to quietly speak to Sue without alarming everyone else.
'No, this is my wedding day!' Sue cried. 'I've put up with some shit from you, Tony Stark. But I will not let something ruin this-'
Before Sue could finish her tangent, an ear-splitting noise rang through the city. From above, a silver flash reflected the sun's light and soared past the ceremony's venue. It came and went at lightning speed, but it effects were drastic. The SHIELD helicopter's propeller froze in its circulation and its engine spluttered. A warning noise blared from the controls and guests looked up as the chopper began to spiral downward.
'We've lost power! We're going down!' the pilot cried as the aircraft plunged towards the rooftop wedding.