Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing associated with Marvel, Captain America, the Avengers, etc. Only original characters and ideas are mine.

AN: Here it is: Bucky and Anna's wedding! Well, sort of; it's got a lot of other stuff happening, but I do hope everyone enjoys it. Please be kind and review? Thanks!

Weddings and Reconnections:

"Adena, are you okay in there?" Anna called through the door to her cousin.

There was the briefest sound of someone gagging, and the toilet flushing. This was followed by the sink turning on, and someone gurgling and spitting, before Adena came out, pale as the wall plaster. Still, she managed a weak smile as they made their way back to the kitchen.

"Sorry," Adena apologized as she pressed a damp towel against her neck. "I wish I knew why they called it 'morning sickness' when it lasts all day."

Anna smiled and led her to the kitchen, where Bucky was setting a bowl of clear broth and a plate of crackers on the table. Those two foods were the only things Adena was able to keep down.

The soup was actually a very special recipe. It came straight from the cooks at the King's Palace, who had been ordered to make a pot of it every day, to be delivered to the Rogers' and to Bucky and Anna's house every day. Apparently there were special herbs mixed into the broth, to help with the nausea, and many Queens and Princesses of Wakanda had eaten the broth during their pregnancies. Since it seemed to be working, Adena wasn't going to argue over how inconvenient it was, having it delivered every day.

Seeing the soup, Adena's weak smile changed into a stronger, genuine one. "Thanks, Bucky."

He shrugged and smiled back as he pulled a chair out for her. "Hey, you're the one who's planning our wedding while pregnant. Trust me, I'm going to owe you long after we're married."

Anna laughed and took a seat beside her cousin, beyond thrilled that Adena was going to finally be a mom. Adena was the oldest of the grandkids, and she had always looked out for her younger cousins. All of their aunts claimed that Adena would be a natural mother, and Anna agreed with them.

'She's managed to get through kidnappings by demi-gods, alien invasions, HYDRA trying to kill her and her husband, and somehow managed to keep a group of superheroes on the same page,' Anna thought with a smile. 'This kid is going to turn out great; no doubt about it.'

"Where's Steve today?" Bucky asked, taking a seat to Anna's right.

Adena sighed. "Tony called again. He wanted to talk to Steve, but I'm guessing it's going to turn into another shouting match over the Accords. The two of them are so set in their ways, and the lawyers are trying to get them both what they want, but it's hard, especially with the world governments and their demands."

Anna snorted as Bucky rose and headed for the stove, which had a kettle heating. "You'd think the world leaders would be more understanding. I mean, it's the Avengers that put their lives on the line, not them! I'll bet they'd sing a different story if you put them in front of an alien army, or a squad of HYDRA fighters."

Ever the gentleman, Bucky served the two women first, putting cups of hot mint tea in front of them, along with a bowl of sugar cubes and a small pitcher of milk. Mint tea was the other thing Adena was able to keep down.

"Well, politicians will be politicians," Adena sarcastically remarked as she dropped three cubes into her tea. "And Steve didn't want to risk upsetting me or the baby, so he told me to come here and help with the wedding plans, because he thought it would be more fun."

She grinned. "I wanted to do this anyway, but it would have been nice to see how things stood, with the Accords."

Bucky looked a bit doubtful as he retook his seat, sipping his own drink: milk flavored with chocolate syrup. It was something Anna had introduced him to here in Wakanda, and it had quickly become a favorite of his (especially since he could add as much chocolate as he wanted).

"Should he really be thinking about upsetting the baby?" he asked, eyes straying towards Adena's waistline. "I mean, it's a bit early, isn't it?"

The mother-to-be rolled her eyes. "At this point, I don't think the baby is more than an inch long," she replied. "But Steve's always been protective of me, and now that I'm pregnant, he's worse, since he has two of us to worry about now."

"And that's why I'm going to distract you," Anna grinned, clapping her hands excitedly. "Bucky, the book, please."

He nodded and went to a nearby desk, pulling out a drawer to retrieve the thick book that Anna had been working on since he'd propose to her. It was full of fabric samples, reception photos that she'd cut from wedding magazines, and the ever-growing guest list.

As she ran her fingers over the cover, Anna smiled. The day Bucky had proposed was forever in her memories. He hadn't set up a huge, romantic night out, or filled their house with roses, like other men did. Oh, he'd probably wanted to, but he knew that would attract unwanted attention from SHIELD.

No, her sweet man had simply pulled up one of her favorite movies on the television, The Princess Bride, covered them with a warm blanket, and waited until her favorite scene played out: At the close of the film, just as Wesley and Buttercup shared their Perfect Kiss, Anna sighed and snuggled against Bucky's shoulder, just as she always did whenever they watched the film together.

That was when the ring box appeared in his hand, startling her so much that she gasped and covered her mouth in shock.

Bucky wasn't the sort to give any kind of speech, and that night, he certainly didn't need to. Anna had seen the love and hope in his blue eyes, and melted. Echoing the end of the movie, she took the ring, put it on, and gave her beloved a Kiss.

Her memories were broken by Adena excusing herself for the bathroom once again.

"So, we've got the cake flavor, the icing, and the decorations," Adena said, fanning herself a little.

Anna gave her a sympathetic look and carefully aimed the desk fan she'd set up. The climate of Wakanda was not mixing well with her cousin's pregnancy.

"T'Challa says we can use the Palace, if we want to," Bucky said, eying the guest list.

"But will anyone in the family make it?" Anna asked. "I mean, we have been branded traitors and fugitives by the US government."

Adena shrugged. "I'm sure Coulson or T'Challa will find a way. But if both of them work together, getting your folks here for the wedding might be doable."

"Maybe, maybe not," said a voice from the entryway of the kitchen.

Bucky tensed, but Anna put him at ease with a touch on his arm. Since they were on Palace grounds, they also had one of the best security systems ever made. Besides the King, the only people who had access to their home were the Rogers' and a few of the King's most trusted people.

Sure enough, Steve stepped into the room and immediately went to his wife's side. Adena was still a bit pale, but she perked up a little as Steve took a seat and put his arm around her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, eying her up and down. "The morning sickness getting to you?"

Adena smiled and assured him that she was fine, and the morning sickness was a normal part of her pregnancy. "Now, what were you saying about getting Anna's family here for their wedding? I thought you were talking with Tony."

Sighing, Steve accepted a cup of tea that Bucky had hurried to pour for him. "I was, but he got another call and had to go. Before he did, though, Tony told me that some of the other nations are being a bit stubborn about the new version of the Accords, so it'll be a while before we're able to leave Wakanda."

Anna sighed. "So, I guess that means we'll have to postpone the wedding. I don't want to get married without my parents there."

Bucky looked ready to protest, but a glare from Anna silenced him. He knew that there was one thing she was set on, and that was having her parents witness her get married to the man she loved.

The harsh sound of someone trying not to gag turned everyone's attention towards Adena, who was looking pale again. Miraculously, it had been a couple hours since her last visit to the bathroom, and Anna was full of sympathy for her cousin's situation.

"I'm okay," Adena hastily assured them, giving them a small smile, in spite of her nausea. "A bit queasy, but I'm okay."

Steve looked ready to sweep her up in his arms and carry her home, but everyone, including him, knew that would be a bad move. 'First, it might make her vomit all over him.' Anna couldn't help smiling to herself as she pictured that image. 'Second, it would really piss her off. She hates it when he gets that protective of her.'

"So, I guess that means we can postpone the planning," Anna said, distracting everyone from her poor relation. "Since we have no idea when or how to get my folks over for the ceremony, there's no need to panic over this stuff now."

Adena sighed and sat back in her chair. "Okay, but sleep on it for a couple days, while I try and pull a few strings?"

Since she knew that her cousin had many friends and contacts in many places, Anna reluctantly agreed to take a break while Adena went to work on her behalf.

Three days later, the phone rang, and on the other end a cheerful voice lifted Anna's spirits right up.

"I did it!" Adena chirped through the phone. "I found a way to get your parents to see the ceremony!"

Anna nearly collapsed in shock. "What?" she yelped, wondering if she'd heard right.

"Well, they won't physically be there in person, but they'll at least be able to see it live," Adena amended, sounding a bit apologetic. "Would that work?"

That took a moment. "So, it'll basically be a live streaming event," Anna deadpanned, feeling disappointed.

"Yeah, basically," Adena confirmed, her tone changing from optimistic to worried. "I know it's not what you want, but given the circumstances, it's either this, or wait either months or years before you and Bucky get married."

It was a bit of a bind. Anna knew that she loved Bucky, and that she wanted to marry him. The question was whether or not she wanted to wait, possibly indefinitely, to 'make it official.'

The answer was immediate: no, she didn't.

Sighing, Anna closed her eyes. "Okay, how do we do it?"

"I still can't believe it!" Aunt Christine wept, dabbing her eyes and blowing her nose. "My baby is getting married!"

"I still don't know if I like this," Uncle David grumbled from behind her. "Reformed or not, I don't like the idea of my little girl marrying this guy."

Rolling my eyes, I went over to the hologram images of my aunt and uncle and smiled. "Don't worry," I assured them. "Bucky loves Anna more than anything, and he'll do everything possible to keep her safe."

They were still put-out about their daughter being wanted by the US government, but they didn't blame her for that. And since the talks about the Accords were well underway, things were slowly starting to look up. We probably wouldn't be allowed to go back to our old lives for a while, though, and Anna clearly didn't want to wait too long to start a married life with Bucky.

"I still can't get over this technology," Uncle David commented, looking around. "It's crazy!"

I couldn't see what he was looking at, of course. My aunt and uncle were currently in a secret SHIELD base, surrounded by the kind of technology online gamers and teens only dreamed about. The tech involved allowed a live, hologram-type image of them to be sent here in Wakanda, so that they could be somewhat involved in Anna's wedding.

What really helped was the fact that Wakanda was so advanced, technologically. SHIELD had all kinds of gadgets, but ninety percent of it was beyond anything the rest of the world had –except for Wakanda.

'At that point, it really helps to be on a first-name basis with a King and the Director of SHIELD,' I thought with a small smile.

Once I had those two particularly powerful people on the phone, things had moved forward pretty quickly. Phil agreed to smuggle Anna's parents to a SHIELD facility, under the pretense of them going on vacation to a town nearby.

"After that, it'll be child's play to lose whatever tails Secretary Ross has following them," Phil said, nonchalantly. "We'll get them to a base on the day before the wedding, and start streaming their images live."

T'Challa was more than happy to help out with the situation, offering to set up the technology wherever Anna wanted to hold the ceremony. She'd suggested a large, open-air area attached to a small meeting area. It was a beautiful place, with pillars that had vines of exotic flowers growing on them. The necessary image-creating machines had been set up on each pillar, positioned so that it would give the illusion that Anna's parents were standing at the altar. Cameras were also set up, so that it could be broadcasted to the SHIELD base, recreating the wedding ceremony in that location, so they could experience it.

The setting itself was beautiful and simple. A canopy of white material had been erected, in case of rain (it was a tropical country, after all), and there were huge vases of flowers lining the edge of the area. A few rows of chairs had been set up on each side, but they were mostly for show, since the number of guests and witnesses barely equaled ten people. Cyan, Sam, Wanda, Pietro, Steve and myself, as well as T'Challa, were all in attendance.

Surprisingly, Pepper was here, too; Tony and the rest of the Avengers couldn't be here, but they had sent Pepper to represent them.

Officially, Pepper was here to negotiate the possibility of opening a branch of Stark Industries in Wakanda. Some of the world's nations might (for now) still consider Steve a traitor and criminal, but they weren't about to upset a major corporate CEO. In some countries, losing their branch of Stark Industries would cause economic problems, so they'd had no choice but to let Pepper fly to Wakanda, instead of detaining or forbidding her.

Of course, T'Challa had no intention of letting Tony get his hands on any Wakandan technology, or open a branch of the company in the African nation. But he was happy to keep the charade going, since he knew how much I missed my friend.

And Pepper hadn't come empty-handed, either. There were plenty of wedding gifts stacked on a table inside the Palace, where the reception would be, and there were numerous apology presents for me and Steve, all from Tony.

"And there's a large bag full of drawings from Clint Barton's daughter," Pepper had privately told me, gesturing to a brown paper box with a large purple ribbon around it. "She recorded some videos, too, and wants me to bring back some from you."

A hand on my shoulder brought me back from my thoughts. I looked up into Steve's concerned eyes, and smiled. "Just assuring the family," I cheerfully said, looking away from the holograms, who waved. "Are they ready to start yet?"

"Almost," Steve confirmed. "You might want to check on your cousin, though."

Aunt Christine sighed. "I wish I could be there," she said for the millionth time. "I should be there, giving her advice, helping with her dress, and telling her all sorts of things."

Technically, she'd already had a whole night of that.

Keeping with tradition, Bucky and I had swapped places: he stayed with Steve, Sam, and Pietro at our house, talking, drinking beer, and doing whatever guys do the night before one of them gets married. I knew that Sam and Pietro had probably cracked a thousand jokes at Bucky's expense, but knowing Steve, he had probably given his best friend some marriage tips.

Meanwhile, I stayed with Aunt Christine, who was present via a live video link, and Anna, while Pepper and Wanda finished preparing the venues for the ceremony and reception. I'd spent most of the night watching mother and daughter laugh, cry, and laugh again over the crazy planning we'd had to do in so short a time. Really, without T'Challa's personal assistants and event planners, we'd never have gotten it put together so fast.

'It's hard to believe it's time,' I thought, smiling as I slipped into Anna's dressing room.

My cousin was beautiful. Her hair was pulled up into a bundle on the top of her head, with sparkling jewel-encrusted stars clipped here and there. A band of white exotic flowers rested just above her forehead, with thin streams of white material flowing down the sides. When she walked, the material would float, giving her an ethereal look.

"Are you sure about the dress?" Anna urgently asked. "I mean, what do you really think about it?"

Rolling my eyes, I smiled and went to straighten the small train trailing behind her. "You look like a princess; literally, I might add," I said, smiling proudly.

She'd wanted a fairy tale gown, and this was it. The bodice and off-the-shoulder sleeves were reminiscent of the gown Cinderella had worn in the animated film, but instead of puffing out, the skirt went straight down. In the back was a small gathering of shimmering material that fell like mist to the ground, trailing slightly as she walked.

"Bucky's jaw is going to drop when he sees you in this," I teased, earning a nervous laugh from the bride. "Now, let's go get you married!"

I was right. The second Bucky saw Anna walking down the aisle, her hand hovering just above the holographic one of her father's, he froze. From my place as maid-of-honor, I watched in amusement as Steve gently nudged the gawking groom in the side, getting him to close his mouth and straighten up a little.

Performing the ceremony was a priest and a shaman, both natives of Wakanda. Since Anna wanted to make sure this marriage was official, both holy men had agreed to perform the ceremony in two traditional ways.

It was an interesting ceremony, but I could tell that neither the bride nor groom paid much attention to it. They were both too busy staring at each other, grinning like idiots to notice anything except their cues to say "I do."

When they finally kissed as husband and wife, Bucky scooped up his bride and carried her down the aisle, grinning as Anna demanded that he put her down. He ignored her, of course, while everyone laughed and called out jokes as we began following them inside to the reception.

A solid, muscular arm slipped around my waist, holding me close as I walked. Leaning into my own husband's embrace, I heard him whisper, "Are you okay?" into my ear.

Nodding, I let him slow us down so that we were last heading in. I managed to sneak a glance back, to watch the techs take down the hologram machines and cameras. Now that the ceremony was over, Anna's parents were going to be taken back home, to break the news to the rest of the family about her wedding. In a couple weeks, photos downloaded to a flash drive would be mailed to them from Stark Industries, courtesy of Pepper, who would take them with her when she left Wakanda.

By the time we reached the celebration, the drinks had been poured, and everyone had been seated. Since there were so few of us, everyone was able to order their own dinner; with everything being made in the Palace kitchens, it was basically like eating at one of the finest restaurants in the world.

Sitting in my spot between Steve and Anna, I waited for the bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup, which had become a daily staple during my pregnancy.

"Just soup?" Pepper asked, as the bowl was set in front of me. "Adena, are you okay?"

"Just a bit under the weather," I calmly replied. "It's been a stressful few weeks, with the wedding planning and everything."

I didn't want anyone to know I was pregnant yet; I wanted to make sure we were through the first trimester before making that announcement. Heck, I hadn't even told my parents, and that, no doubt, was probably going to bite me in the butt later.

Dinner was soon served, and everyone dug in. Steve had ordered his favorite cut of steak, and seemed to be enjoying it, except for the fact that he kept sneaking worried looks at me. In spite of that, I was able to down my bowl of soup with no issues, and even had a slice of bread with garlic butter, which also managed to stay down.

Dessert was the wedding cake: white cake layered with thin slices of fruit and light whipped cream. Accompanying it was a lovely orange sorbet, and guests had the choice of more champagne or coffee. I couldn't drink, for obvious reasons, and wasn't one for coffee, so I stuck with iced water flavored with mint.

When everyone started mingling, Pepper pulled me aside and asked if I was alright. "First the soup, with no entrée to follow," she said, eying me closely. "Then you pass on the champagne, which I know you like."

She leaned closer. "Adena…are you…pregnant?"

The smile on my face made her gasp. "Oh, my god!" she gasped. "Oh, you have to let me tell Tony! He's going to be thrilled!"

I tried imagining that, but couldn't. "If you say so. But I'd rather wait before letting anyone know. Even my parents don't know, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything until Steve and I choose to make it official."

She looked a little disappointed, but seemed to understand. "Okay, I'll keep quiet. But promise you'll invite me to the baby shower?"

Oh, lord, I'd have to have one, wouldn't I? 'It would probably be a good thing, if I can get some important people to attend. Kind of like a diplomatic gathering, getting the female leaders or even royals to a party, so that the new Accords could be passed faster.'

"If I have one, you'll be at the top of the list," I assured her. "Now, let's get back to the reception. Anna wants to open gifts in front of everyone, so that she can thank them in person."

"Why do people give weird kitchen stuff as wedding gifts?" Bucky asked as he put another toaster into the pile in the living room.

Anna laughed and shrugged. "I have no idea. I haven't been to many weddings."

They now had more toasters, toaster ovens, and microwaves than they knew what to do with. Granted, a number of them had come from Tony Stark, who was trying to make up for some of the crap he'd said and done, but still, he had to know that they didn't need multiples of the same gifts!

'Though, there had been a time when Bucky had gotten frustrated at our new microwave and tossed it out the window,' she thought with a slight wince. It had also been a bad day of recovering his memories, so all around, she couldn't blame him for his actions that day.

Pepper had been more understanding when it came to gift giving, and had handed them a stack of gift cards with substantial amounts loaded onto them, so that they could buy whatever they wanted or needed. Since T'Challa was still trying to find the jobs for Steve and Bucky, either in the Palace or at local companies, the gift cards would come in handy.

'Lucky for Adena that she and Steve had put a lot by, in case of emergencies,' Anna thought with envy. 'And her computer assistant had moved everything to Swiss banks, to keep their assets from being frozen.'

She and Bucky hadn't been that lucky, but T'Challa was currently paying for their room and board, and since their stuff had arrived from their previous home, they were pretty well set up now.

Suddenly, Bucky stopped what he was doing and turned around. Puzzled, Anna gave him a confused look. "What is it?" she asked, dusting off her wedding dress. "Did we forget something at the Palace?"

The smile he wore made her heart beat faster. "No. I just realized that we're husband and wife, we've just gotten married, and now it's time for the honeymoon."

Anna felt her face turn red as her husband came and swept her up into his arms, before heading up to the master bedroom…which was now their bedroom.

The smile on her face matched his as he carefully kicked the door closed behind them.

AN: Next one will be a sort of Halloween one, but a bunch of other stuff mixed in. I'll also try and whip up a Thanksgiving 'episode' for November.

Please be kind and review. Thanks!