Star Dust (A Paladin Adventure)

Going public

A few days later, I was in the enviable position of sleeping in while Steve got up and about. Eventually, I hauled myself out of bed. I was meeting Bruce at the store; he wanted to make a special purchase, and there were other things to do as well. After considerable deliberation, I chose a Lilli Ann suit that had belonged to my grandmother. Its original ivory color never looked good on me, so I'd had it dyed a strong periwinkle when I inherited it. It fit like a glove. I wanted to look extra good today because this was the day Steve and I were going public with the news of our engagement.  Tomorrow was the first day of the conference, and we wanted whatever media attention we got to be overshadowed by more important news. I was going to sell Bruce something expensive, then meet Steve and we were going to go to a late lunch.

Bruce bought the diamond and moonstone necklace that Selina had liked so much, had me wrap it while he signed a gift card, and he had me leave it in the safe for her next visit. I put the trinket I'd made for her next burglary in the other safe. No point in over-egging the pudding for her.

I had to hurry to meet Steve, but I was right on time. He and Bucky met me inside City Hall, standing when I walked up to them. "Both of you look so handsome," I said, admiring their suits. Steve always had to get his suitcoats extensively tailored because he was shaped like a human Dorito: very broad through the shoulders, with narrow waist and hips.

"Is somebody going to explain to me what's going on?" Bucky asked plaintively.

The door we were standing beside opened, and a bailiff looked around, smiled, and motioned us in. "How do I look?" I asked him.

"Perfect, doll," he said. "But what's happening?" I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Steve and I are getting married," I said, pulling a small bouquet of white tulips out of my bag and taking off my coat. I enjoyed the look of astonishment on his face as Judge Kamil walked into the anteroom of her chambers and greeted us. Steve and I had both testified in her court and she was tough, fair, and well-respected. She adjusted her headscarf and asked for our marriage license, which we had gotten the day before. It was precisely twenty-four hours later, the earliest we could get married.

"I'm seeing a trend in married couples that they check their blood to confirm that they're both humans," she said. "Is that something you want to do? It's not a requirement, but given that you're both prominent citizens, and also given what happened to Mr Stark, you may wish to." We looked at each other and Steve shrugged. We decided to go ahead and do it; what could it hurt, and this way the judge would be sure she was marrying the actual people she thought she was. As usual, Steve was hesitant about sticking himself, so I did it for him, we showed the judge and Bucky, and wiped off the blood. I kissed his small wound better, and we turned to the judge for the brief ceremony. I'd offered to make him a wedding ring that was different from his engagement ring, but he said he couldn't imagine anything he would like more, so when the time came, I slid that onto his finger with a deep feeling of relief. The band that went with my engagement ring was very similar, having the same pierced floral design. After the kiss, the judge, her bailiff, and Bucky congratulated us and I gave her my tulips. Steve helped me on with my coat and we stepped out into the busy hall.

"Whew," I said. "I'm so relieved."

"I'm taking you to lunch to celebrate," Bucky said, grinning ear to ear. "Then you're going to tell me exactly how this happened."

We went to one of the best restaurants in the city; we didn't have a reservation, but the presence of three Avengers got us a table by the windows in short order. Bucky waited until we'd given our order, adding on a bottle of champagne, before peppering us with questions, ending with, "Last time we talked about this, Stevie, you were still dithering endlessly."