Firsts, Seconds, Thirds:

A Love Story from Earth-3490

The first time Natasha 'Toni' Stark fell in love with Captain America, she was watching old film reels with her father, and he was standing tall on the screen.

The first time Toni met Steve Rogers she was in her armor, and he thought Iron Man seemed like a pretty swell guy.

The first time Steve met Tony, he thought she was one of the craziest dames he'd ever met, and wondered how Iron Man handled working for such a wild woman.

The first time Steve saw Toni in the Iron Man suit, she was taking on a robotic imposter while her heart gave out. He marveled at her strength. Later, he wondered what could be so much more important that she'd send away her bodyguard just when she needed him most.

The first time Toni kissed Steve, they were at a New Year's party. She was tipsy. He was off guard. She danced away into the crowd before he could react.

The second time Toni kissed Steve, they were sparring. She used his momentary surprise to kick his feet out from under him. She looked incredibly cute when she was being smug.

The first time Steve fell in love with Toni, she was sitting in the Avenger's mansion kitchen, surrounded by bits of computers she'd been disassembling for fun, while Jarvis rolled his eyes at the mess.

It was also, he realized later, the first time he'd ever seen her look truly happy.

The second time Steve saw Toni in the Iron Man suit (or rather, out of it) was while fighting Molecule Man. One moment Thor and Iron Man were by his side, the next they were Don Blake and a nearly naked Toni.

The first time Steve kissed Toni was the moment they got home.

The first time Steve and Toni made love, it was a week after he'd discovered her secret. She was embarrassed by her scars. He did his best to assure her she didn't need to be. Afterwards, she cracked a horrible remark about Captain America's breast fetish.

The first time Toni fell in love with Steve was when he blushed and told her she was beautiful.

The first time Toni told Steve she loved him, she thought he was asleep. She never knew he wasn't.

The first time Steve told Toni he loved her, she gave him a sad little smile.

The second time Steve told Toni he loved her, she, or rather Iron Man had just done something ridiculously stupid and nearly gotten herself killed in order to save Captain America's life. It was something he would never get used to.

The third time Steve told Toni he loved her, she was too drunk to stand up straight. She had asked him why he bothered with her. She laughed bitterly when she heard his answer. It wasn't until years later, when he saw her try to kill her younger self in a screaming fit of self-loathing that he realized why.

The first time Steve asked Toni to marry him, he did everything right. He practiced for nearly two weeks. He brought the ring with him everywhere, waiting for the perfect moment. When he finally got down on one knee and popped the question, she just shook her head. A week later she left him paralyzed.

The second time Toni fell in love with Steve; she was 19 (again). She had just done something ridiculously stupid and nearly gotten herself killed in order to save Captain America's life. His lecture on carelessness gave Jarvis a run for his money. She wondered if her older self had been more than a colleague, but decided it was just wishful thinking.

The second time Steve asked Toni to marry him, she had just come back to life. She was amazed that he would take her back after all that she'd done, and said yes before he could change his mind.

The first time Steve and Toni got married, the wedding was perfect. Anyone who was any one came. The church was so full that people were jammed into the aisles. Pepper Potts was the maid of honor. Jan, Carol, Wanda, and Natasha were the bridesmaids. Sam was the best man. Clint, Thor, Nick, and a remote controlled Iron Man were the groomsmen. Happy Hogan and Jim Rhodes walked the blushing bride down the aisle. Everything was perfect. At least until six hours in to the honeymoon, when it turned out that Toni had been kidnapped the morning before, and Steve had, in fact, married a Space-Phantom. Toni refused to speak to him for a month.

The third time Steve asked Toni to marry him, she did not have time to answer before they were attacked by a giant robot. It wound up not mattering because three hours later there was an incident with Doom's time platform and the whole previous day was erased from the timeline.

The first time Toni asked Steve to marry her, she got down on one knee and handed him the ring he'd given her all those years ago. He scooped her up and swung her around, whooping with joy.

The second time Steve and Toni got married, the wedding was perfect. This time they did a small ceremony on the beach, friends and family only. Even then, they ran out of chairs. This time they checked to make sure that the bride was really the bride when the ceremony started. They were about to exchange vows when the Mandarin attacked. Wedding canceled on account of Fin Fang Foom had to be one for the history books.

The fourth time Steve asked Toni to marry him; she was in the middle of a very bad month. She'd officially outed herself as the 'Iron Woman', Spider-girl had somehow shanghaied her into playing den-mother to the Pride kids, her company was being picketed by protesters, preparations for Luke and Jessica's wedding were a wreck, the Crimson Warlock had been sighted in the Alps, the Christian-fundamentalist groups were baying for their blood again (this time it was Billy and Teddy who'd been caught on camera), something was up with SHIELD, and Jan had just found out who Victor's real father was. He did not have a ring, he did not have a speech, and he did not get down on one knee. They were in the middle of an argument after a massive battle and it just slipped out. She got very quiet for a moment, and then turned and asked Beast if he was still a licensed JP.

The third time Steve and Toni got married; Toni gave the term 'whirlwind engagement' a whole new meaning. She announced loudly to all the gathered heroes, media, and civilians, that anyone who wanted to attend the wedding of the century needed to get their asses to the church in the next 15 minutes. When Steve asked her what she was doing, she informed him that they were tying the knot right now, before anything else happened. Pepper would handle the paperwork later. They didn't even bother changing their clothes; Toni just taped a veil to her helmet. Molly and Valeria were the flower girls, Sam and Bucky were best men, Pepper was the maid of honor (after promising dire retribution for Toni saddling her with all that paperwork), Carol and the Jessica's were the bridesmaids, Jarvis gave the bride away, and Thor showed up just in time to be a groomsman. When Henry asked if anyone objected to the marriage, he made a point to add that the groom was Captain America and the bride was heavily armed. Needless to say, there were no objections.

The first time Toni realized that, just maybe, she and Steve really were meant to be, they were curled up in her bed, watching the sun rise on their first day as husband and wife.

It would be the first of many.

FIN