Spencer laughed as she took a seat on a bench in the palace's great hall. The night's festivities were well underway. She had just finished dancing to some upbeat song with Bucky only moments before. He sat down next to her, a smile on his face. Spencer hadn't seen him- let alone his smile- in ages, and she was more than happy to spend the evening taking it all in. Everyone else was so busy it had allowed them some time alone, even despite the huge party going on.

The coronation had just concluded about two hours prior. Thor and Loki were now both officially the Kings of New Asgard, making Layla and Anja respectively their consorts, with Anja more than likely becoming a queen sooner rather than later. Usually the crowning ceremony was done by the previous king, but since Odin was long gone, Heimdall led the ceremony that evening. It was all a big to-do, and Spencer was honestly in awe of it all. She had never been a part of something so formal and important, and it was a special night she would treasure always.

Between watching her friends unofficially become royalty and getting to finally spend some time with her long-lost love, this was turning into a pretty perfect day. Even despite the ever-looming threat of Thanos. She had spent some time before the coronation catching Bucky up on all of the nuances that weren't covered in the big team meeting that morning- namely all the personal details. He also filled her in on what he had been up to in Wakanda in her absence. Spencer was honestly just happy to have him back, even if it was likely going to be short lived once again. She had something to tell him that she admittedly was dreading.

A cold metallic hand came to rest on the top of hers, breaking Spencer from her thoughts as she looked over at Bucky. He had a small smile on his face, and while she loved it, she knew he was still far from being okay again. He had been through much, and it was going to take a lot more than a few months of extensive treatment in Wakanda to undo all the damage. Bucky would likely need at least a few years more of therapy, if not a lifetime of it.

"This is some party," he said loudly, breaking her thoughts.

"Did you expect anything else?" Spencer replied with a laugh.

"To be fair, I didn't know what to expect," Bucky countered. "I hadn't met any Asgardians before today. Nor did I think I would be witnessing a coronation when I agreed to tag along."

"Good points," Spencer answered. "Even those of us who knew Asgardians didn't anticipate any of this."

Bucky snorted. "I'm sure Anja and Layla weren't anticipating it either."

It was a good point. Spencer was sure neither of her friends imagined they would be in this situation. Hell, Thor and Layla's relationship was still relatively new, so Spencer was more than sure Layla was certainly caught off guard by all of this. It was why she wasn't being given any title more than consort for now. Thor wasn't rushing her to make her queen, and Spencer was sure Layla was grateful for that, even if she had been the friend who historically rushed things. Anja, on the other hand, was a whole different issue. She had been uncharacteristically eyeing Loki from the moment he had shown up with the others at Stark Tower. They had hit it off more than anyone had anticipated, and had a few months now under their belts relationship-wise. Anja didn't think her crush was ever going to amount to anything, that it was unrequited. And here she was, all but officially engaged to the man. Even still, Spencer doubted Anja ever thought she'd be in line to be queen.

Spencer glanced across the ballroom, trying to place her friends amongst the crowd. Layla was standing a few tables away, her arm linked with Thor's as they talked to Steve and Natasha about who only knew what. Layla was wearing a fancier dress than she was at the meeting- a red gown with lace details on the bodice and the upper part of the skirt. She looked a bit more comfortable than she did in the dress from that morning. Her blonde hair had been piled onto her head in some sort of braided updo that Spencer was sure was only being held together by some magic other than bobby-pins.

She turned away from Layla to find Anja. She stood on the other side of the room, clinging to Loki per her norm, as the two of them spoke to Heimdall and who Spencer assumed were a few Asgardian citizens. The smile on Anja's face was contagious, while Loki appeared to be back to his normal, proud self. The two of them were still matching their clothing, despite the fact both had a wardrobe change since the morning meeting. The only part of Anja's outfit that hadn't changed was the tiara nestled between loose curls and the necklace. The more sleek and elegant green dress from earlier had been replaced by an off the shoulder princess-like ball gown in the same shade of emerald. Spencer hadn't seen the dress up close, so she couldn't be sure if the intricate details were in beads or sequins, but at any rate the dress sparkled in the light. Anja very much looked the part of future queen.

"Last time I saw Anja, she was a tiny ball of rage," Bucky continued with a laugh. "For a minute there, I thought she was going to turn me into a popsicle."

Spencer forgot the last time Bucky had seen Anja and Layla it had been during the airport fight a few years ago. Anja was definitely not a happy camper back then, to say the least. It was the darkest Anja had ever been, and her already icy powers only intensified with the overwhelming feelings of betrayal coursing through her. The little control she had over the abilities wrecked havoc against Steve's side of the schism, yet Anja never deliberately took aim at Bucky.

"Nah, only Clint," Spencer countered. "She wouldn't have hurt you. She pokes fun at you sometimes, but she knows how much you mean to me and wouldn't want to jeopardize our friendship."

Bucky nodded a little, moving his metal hand from hers so he could push some of his long brown hair from his eyes. "Seriously though. I don't think I've seen her smile so much. Not even during the 'good' times with Clint," he continued. "I know this Loki guy has a lot to answer for, but he seems to have done something right."

"He's a character, that's for sure. I'm not quite sure how or why they hit it off so well, but seeing Anja happy again is enough for me," Spencer started, shaking her head lightly. "I'm sure Anja and Loki both appreciate you silencing Steve during the meeting. About the brainwashing thing. I mean, I guess technically speaking, he was being influenced and wasn't truly brainwashed, but still. Either way, he certainly wasn't completely in control of his actions."

Bucky shrugged. "Don't mention it. I know what it's like, having someone else in control, having those actions held against you," he explained quietly. "I think Steve realized he couldn't defend me and be upset with you all for forgiving Loki. We've both done terrible things that were out of our control. It'd be a bad look."

"Eh, not all have forgiven him, but yeah," Spencer replied, smoothing out some creases in her dress, pulling the yellow fabric to her knees. "Tony never will, and I think Layla has spent too much time listening to him recently. She used to not be so critical, but since being home she's been more against him."

Bucky sighed and shook his head. "He won't forgive me either, so Loki and I have that in common too, I guess. But I expected better of Layla. I suppose she'll have to get over it eventually if she expects to one day be Thor's queen."

"Definitely. Thor seems to forgive Loki, and ultimately he is the one whose opinion holds the most weight around here," she replied. "You have a lot in common, I think. Tony was referring to you both as Greasy and Greasy 2.0 for a bit there."

Bucky rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Somehow I'm not surprised by that."

Spencer smiled, and looked back across the room at Anja and Loki again. "I don't even need to use my powers to tell you Anja has never been more in love with someone. She loved Clint, but... not like this," she continued. "I'm so happy for her, and I just wish everyone else was too."

"I think in time they will be," he responded. "Hell, this is the first time I've seen you girls in what seems like an eternity and I picked up on it right away. I would hope someone closer to her would see it too. Especially Tony."

Spencer watched as her friends laughed with Heimdall and the Asgardian citizens on the other side of the room. Despite being the most introverted of the three, Anja seemed to be enjoying socializing with what would soon be her subjects. Spencer recalled all the times one of their friends had referred to Anja as 'princess,' and thought it was only fitting that now she was slated to be queen. Spencer smiled; her friend's happiness truly was her own.

Spencer pulled her phone from her dress' pocket, and zoomed in on the two of them before snapping a couple pictures. She had been taking pictures all night of the festivities and of her friends especially. Spencer knew Anja and Layla were too busy to take any themselves, so she had no problem playing photographer- especially since she had a special attachment for her phone Tony made that made her pictures fairly high quality. Perhaps she'd make them each a photo album or something. After glancing at the pics she took, she rested her phone on her lap before looking back at Bucky. Spencer took a deep breath; there was something she needed to tell him, something she had been delaying all night.

"Speaking of Tony," Spencer sighed, "I know you know he's going back to New York tomorrow to talk to Dr. Strange, and I presume to see Pepper too. Well, um... Bruce and I are going to go with him. We're worried about what could happen if he gets there and one of Thanos' cronies beats him to Strange. Hopefully we're able to tell him without incident, but there is a chance we encounter either Thanos or his lackeys."

Bucky was silent for a moment as he stared at the floor. Spencer knew he wasn't going to like that plan of attack. They had only just been reunited, and here she was, going to be whisked away again. She didn't like it either, but she knew it was for the best. Someone needed to be with Tony in case something bad happened, and lord knew it wasn't going to be Layla or Anja now- even if they would've been the preferable choices given their powers. Even if Thanos' forces didn't show, Tony could very easily botch the chat with Strange; talking nicely wasn't exactly his strong suit, afterall.

Bucky frowned before he looked back up at her. "I wish you weren't, but I know it's for the best. Just... please be careful."

"When have you ever known me to be careful?" Spencer asked, unable to hide a smirk.

"Always," Bucky replied, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Alright, that's fair," Spencer laughed. "I suppose out of all of us, I generally am the most cautious."

"Exactly," Bucky said. "I do worry about you, but not because of your actions. It's not like you're Steve; you don't tend to run towards trouble."

Spencer laughed but didn't say anything as the song playing changed, the upbeat music dwindling into a much more mellow song. She didn't think much of it at first; she had been to many parties and they all included some slower songs, so it didn't surprise her that Asgardian parties did as well- even if someone, likely Tony or Layla, insisted that they played Earth's music intermingled between Asgardian tunes.

She watched as couples stepped onto the dance floor, and was not shocked to see both couples leading the way. Thor and Layla were just sort of swaying to the music, which didn't shock her at all; Thor claimed he was not a dancer, and he seemed to be adamant about keeping that appearance. Spencer picked up her phone again, snapping a handful of pictures of them before turning to find her other friends. Not far away, Anja and Loki were doing some sort of dance that was reminiscent of a waltz, gracefully moving around the room. They moved in perfect unison, and Spencer couldn't help but feel like it was a huge contrast to the dancing the couple had done on the spaceship.

Spencer snapped a few more pictures as Bucky spoke again. "It's so cute it makes me sick," he stated.

"I'll gladly take this over the dirty dancing on the spaceship," Spencer replied. "They weren't even a thing yet and they were all over each other. Definitely made the sexual tension way more obvious than it already was."

"Are you sure this is the same Anja who dated Clint?" Bucky laughed. "They were so proper. They would've never danced like that. Hell, they barely kissed in front of us."

"Right? It's uh... certainly taken getting used to," Spencer said, getting her camera ready again.

She watched as Loki spun Anja out an arm's length away before pulling her close. Spencer made sure to snap a few more pics, knowing very well Anja would love to have some of this moment, being as sentimental as she was. Spencer was more than happy to be the one taking those pictures. This was an important day, and she knew Anja would regret not taking any pictures herself.

She smiled just as Bucky wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to him. She leaned into him a little, content to be with him, even if for just tonight.

"Don't you think we should take a picture together too?" Bucky asked.

Spencer couldn't believe she had forgotten to take pictures of the two of them. She had been so wrapped up in getting photos of everyone else that somehow ones of her and Bucky had slipped her mind.

"Of course!" she answered.

She leaned in a bit more, resting her cheek against his. She flipped the setting on her phone to the selfie mode before extending her left arm out. Just as she snapped the picture, Bucky leaned over a bit and gently kissed her cheek. Spencer was smiling so hard that her face hurt as she turned slightly to look into his blue eyes for a moment before he kissed her again, this time on the lips. She, of course, took the opportunity to snap another photo as she kissed him back.

After a few seconds, he pulled away from her slightly. "Now, I do believe I owe you a dance," he said. He stood before offering her his hand.

A smile still stretched across Spencer's face as she stowed her phone in her pocket before placing her hand in his, allowing him to gently pull her to her feet. "I thought you'd never ask," she replied.

"Surely you didn't think I would pass up the opportunity to dance with my girl?" Bucky asked, leading her to the dance floor.

Spencer huffed playfully, hoping the blush on her face was hidden in the dim lighting. "Of course not."

After finding a gap between other couples, Bucky pulled her close, hands resting gently on her waist as she rested her hands on his shoulders as they started to move along to the song. Spencer was more than content to just sway there with him, staring up into his eyes with a smile on her face. The day had been so stressful initially, and this had to be the most perfect ending to it.

After a few moments, Bucky closed the space between them, pulling Spencer into a tight embrace as they still moved in time to the music. Even though it was her friends becoming royalty, Spencer couldn't help but feel like a princess too.

It was just a shame this feeling wasn't going to last.

*****

Hello everyone! Sorry it took me longer than I anticipated to get this chapter done. It's been a weird month or so. Let's see...

Had our 7 year wedding anniversary a few weeks ago. Work has picked up significantly, so my weekend shifts have been a madhouse. Got a new vehicle. Had a family reunion. Our air conditioner is dying, so we have been dealing with getting quotes for getting that fixed; finally found a good price and  have the replacement date set up. One of the cats had to have a dental cleaning and she needed teeth removed a few days ago, so I have been keeping an eye on her and making sure she's doing okay. Not to mention the general day-to-day life as a mom and all that.

So I apologize again that it took me so much time to get this updated again. The good news is that I know exactly what's going to happen for the next few chapters (minus ONE detail I'm still debating) so hopefully that helps me get it done a bit quicker. This was the last "happy" chapter for a while, so I'm going to apologize in advance for that too. Pain is coming.

As always, thank you so much for your patience with me. I truly appreciate it.

~arty_writes