Wedding Plans Were No Joke

Logan looked at Natalya and he tried to figure out what she was feeling right then. He wanted to jibe her a bit but he didn’t want to upset her with all of this...attention either. A joke was one thing. Coming from him it was almost a guarantee but there were people out there that still worried her. Tatiana, Valentina and others besides. An official announcement would literally put a target on his back as well as hers though she had been living with one on her back for years. He really doubted the SSB would make a play for Natalya now unless it was just to remove her but they had to know whatever information she had to give to SHIELD, she had already given it by now. Killing Natalya now was just an act of reciprocation. Killing him was just revenge which he knew they were not above committing.

“I’ll take a look at it,” Logan said as he shifted up and put a hand on her shoulder at the base of the side of her neck. “You go ahead, I’ve got this babe,” he whispered to her.

Natalya’s ring alone was just over $100k and with the other rings, the necklace and earrings, the bill had nearly been a quarter of a million dollars. Logan signed the check and never even batted an eye. That was most of his savings but he didn’t intend on much changing for them in the near future. Certainly not because they had a piece of paper and rings that told the world they were married. The money, like the paper were immaterial. Natalya was the prize and she was truly one of a kind. She was unique and she was his and that was all that really mattered to him.

By then Kate and Steve were back and Kate stepped up to Natalya with a smile painted onto her face. “I’m so happy for you Natalya,” she said then looked at Logan. “Well, mostly happy anyway,” she said as she tried to stifle a chuckle. Logan looked back at her and narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. Kate gave Natalya a big hug and even a kiss on her cheek. “Now the fun begins!” She said and rubbed her hands together briskly. Her meaning was plain to Isabella at least. More shopping and looking for a dress. Peter had gone to visit with his Aunt may and Serena came out of the lab when she heard them talking.

Natalya hesitated about the announcement, but she knew that the public would likely find out anyway. She and Logan weren't the faces of the team, but they were known. The public had been the ones to give her the nickname "Black Widow." She didn't really want the attention though. She didn't want this to be a big deal, like Kate and Steve's wedding had been. She just wanted a quiet, completely private ceremony in the Tower with only the team present and that was it. Usually whenever her name came up in the public it meant that people dug back into her past again and brought up things she wanted to forget.

She nodded to Logan and decided just to let him handle it. She trusted his judgement. She really wanted to just go workout, but before she could get away Kate and Steve approached her to congratulate her. She knew what Kate meant and inwardly groaned at the thought of more shopping. She hated shopping and the idea of trying on dresses did not make her excited. "I want to find the ugliest wedding possible," she said loud enough for Logan to hear.

Logan rubbed his chin but he surreptitiously gave her the finger as he did so as he looked at Tony. “I’m still concerned about Hydra and the SSB,” Logan said quietly to Tony in hopes that Natalya did not hear. “Why don’t we have a chat and,” He began in that same soft tone then he had been speaking with then got louder. “Let the women talk about dresses and such. Natalya has been looking forward to this for 2 years,” he said loudly as he shifted Tony toward his office. He rarely got over on Natalya. Very rarely. He was going to ride this fun train for as long as it was humanly possible!

Natalya gave Logan a look that would tell him that he wouldn’t be getting sex for a long time and would likely be sleeping on the floor. Kate and Isabella were both quite excited about the wedding and were already chatting away about her dress. Natalya wanted to pull her hair out.

“Why don’t I just let you two pick out the dress?”

The two women looked at her with poleaxed expressions. “Oh no no no Natalya, this is for you and Logan. We need to pick something that you feel beautiful in and also what you know Logan will love to see you in,” Isabella said,”

“Its that look,” Kate said and Isabella nodded in agreement. “That look he has on his face when he sees you for the first time in your wedding dress,” Kate said with a smile. “It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before Natalya,” she said. “Steve nearly broke out in tears,” Isabella snorted. “Logan can claim he is not like most men but if we find you the right dress, he will be not be able to avoid his natural male reaction,” Isabella said. “Tony…” she began then realized Serena was near them. “Well, nevermind that,” she said.

Natalya still wasn’t sure, but clearly they weren’t going to let her get away with not being involved in the wedding dress choice. And, despite what Logan said, she was doing this for him and she knew he wanted to see her in a wedding dress. She was curious to see what his reaction would be.

Serena heard her mother start to say something about her father’s reaction to seeing her mother in her dress but she stopped talking when she saw her. Serena rolled her eyes and grabbed a water from the fridge and walked out.

“So what happened with Tony?” Kate asked with a grin.

Isabella stole a glance to make certain no one else but them was in ear shot and she leaned in with a very mischievous grin on her face. “His told his best man to hold onto him if it looked like he might try to bolt and as I came down the aisle he was holding onto him,” she said with a giggle. “Tony told me later he just wasn’t certain he was worthy of me when he saw me in my dress. He was terrified,” she said and tried to stifle a laugh. Tony was not afraid of anything but he was then.

Kate smiled and laughed at Isabella’s story. She could see that. To be honest she looked up to Isabella and Tony in regards to their marriage. They had been through so much but they always made it through. It was obvious to anyone how in love they were. Kate hoped it would be the same for Steve and herself after they had been married as long as they had.

“I don’t know if I’m worthy of Logan,” Natalya suddenly said. Kate looked over at her with a dumbfounded expression. “Why would you say that?”

Natalya sighed looked at the two women. “Logan puts up with so much from me. He is always there when I need him. He came back from going out to get a drink with Pharoah the other day because I asked him too because I was having a hard time. And he never complains about it. I’m just such a mess mentally and I’m afraid one day he’s going to get tired of it and leave.”

Isabella chuckled at Natalya’s words about her and Logan’s relationship. But it was Kate that chimed in first.”Natalya, he’s attached himself to you and those cords are like adamantium. Not easily broken or even stretched,” she said plainly.

“He is yours and he always will be no matter what you put him through. You give him more Han enough that he can handle and what you don’t makes him strive to make you happy. In a way I am envious of you. Logan is so yours that I think he might never look st other women he same as he looks at you,” Isabella said.

Natalya listened to Kate and Isabella and a few tears came to her eyes. She didn't cry easily (at least not in front of anyone that wasn't Logan) but today she let her guard down and showed her more vulnerable side. "I don't know what I would do without Logan and all of you. I had nothing before Logan. I was a tool created by the SSB. All they were concerned about was who I killed or what information I got. Then Logan brought me here and I...I got a family."

“Natalya, you have worth on your own. You are a force to be reckoned with and Logan knows that. I think he's known that since he first saw you. You think always of what your not and do not consider everything you really are,” Kate said.

“I agree, you seem to think that Logan can’t just be a man who sees a beautiful woman but when you break it all down that’s exactly what he sees and what you are. We ourselves complicate it all and include the minutia of who we were and what he need and want and forget that the basics are so much simpler then that. Logan is a man who knows you and you’ve captured his heart. You should be proud of yourself Natalya. You come so far,” Isabella said.

Natalya was feeling quite a few emotions right then, but the biggest one was happiness and that happiness gave her strength. She, Isabella, and Kate talked for a while longer and she even let them show her a few wedding dresses online before she went back to the room she and Logan now shared. It had been her room, but Logan slept there with her almost every night. His room was still available to him if for some reason she needed or wanted to be alone, but those instances were few and far between. All of his clothes were now in her room and almost everything else. The only thing left in his room was his bed. She looked over at Logan as he walked in after talking with Steve and Tony about the press release regarding their engagement. It made her a little nervous, but she didn't like having public attention on her. However, she trusted his judgement and if he felt it was alright then she would too.

"So, what do you think?"