"Don't you give up on me! Don't you dare! Do you hear me! Do you? Stay with me, 'Ris, stay with me. You can't leave. Not yet. Not like this! Don't you dare go like this!" Celeste's tears starting falling faster. "Damn it, 'Ris you can't die! You saved my life! You saved me twice! How can I ever even try to pay you back if you die? 'Ris you can't go like this! Not because of him! Not because of Evan! Not because of Hydra! Look at me! I said look at me, damn it!"

Iris's eyes were slow to focus on Celeste's face.

"That's right," Celeste insisted. "That's god damn right. Look at me. You're gonna make it through this, because those piece of shit Hydra demon-men will not be the ones to take you from this earth! Do you hear me? You're not going! You're not done yet! You're NOT. DONE. YET. Are you listening to me? Iris! 'Ris! Focus! Stay with me! We're gonna make it through this, okay? Because I would give my life for yours in an instant. And I can't . . . I can't lose you again . . . You can't be taken from me twice. Not from them. You're gonna grow old, and you're gonna have kids, and grandkids, and great grandkids, and they're all gonna go to school and talk about their badass grandmother and their super cool grandfather with a metal arm. Because you're gonna make it. And you're gonna have such a full life. You don't deserve to die like this, 'Ris."

"You're gonna fall into a pit, 'Leste," she whispered, squeezing her friend's hand as she talked on and on. "Don't make it worse for yourself. Make peace."

"I can't make peace with it!" Celeste shouted. "You're my best friend. You and Bucky . . . You've gotta make it. You're all I've got. You and the Avengers . . . We're a fucked up sort of family, but I'll be damned if it's not my favorite use of the word. Don't leave, 'Ris. You can't."

"You don't . . . Owe me anything," Iris murmured. "You'd do the same thing for me. It's the thought that counts."

"The thought won't bring you back! You cannot give up on me, 'Ris! You're gonna be okay! You have to be okay!"

"Hydra's gone," Iris managed to say. "You don't need . . . My protection anymore." She shuddered. "You're okay now. You're safe."

"But I'm not happy if you're not here."

Steve watched her argue with a dying woman, his heart afflicted with the same ache and burden she was facing. He gripped Celeste's other hand.

"You'll find happiness with him," Iris muttered. "You did it before. You will again."

"It's not the same without you!" Celeste argued, the sirens coming closer. The ambulance. But watching the life fade out of her, even Celeste was beginning to realize that it would be here too late.

"Would you ask her?" Iris asked, looking up at Steve. "I want to watch it. I want you to prove to her that she'll be okay . . . Prove it to yourself . . ."

"What?" Celeste looked over to him, tears brimming her eyes, blood soaking her hands. "What is she talking about? Steve?"

Steve looked down, away from Celeste for a moment, but he could hardly deny Iris's last wish. He lifted Celeste's hand up, watching her carefully.

"Do it right," Iris muttered.

"Steve?" She called quietly.

"Celeste," he murmured softly, saying her name like a prayer. "Celeste, I . . . I love you. And if today hasn't proven it already, it's that we are promised nothing. The world owes us nothing. And I cannot bear the thought of dying without you knowing how I truly feel about you. Celeste, I love you. I want to grow old with you. I want to create something timeless with you. With your closest friend, mine, and our small family as witness . . ." Steve sighed softly, reaching for the small box he'd had with him, tucking it safely away as they'd left the plane. "Celeste will you marry me?" He asked gently, revealing the gem covered piece of metal inside.

Pressing her lips together, Celeste took a moment to gather herself, a few sobs shaking her body before she finally nodded. "Yes," she whispered. "I will." Her smile was weak, and she quickly devolved back into sobs, pulling Iris close to her again. "This is not permission to leave!"

Steve squeezed her hand tighter, a few tears tracking down his cheeks. "I'm here," he murmured. "I'm here, 'Leste. We'll get through this. I promise we'll make it through this."

Celeste sobbed, pulling him into her side, the grief washing over her.

"You'll still be safe," Iris whispered.

"It's not about safe! It's about having the people I care about with me as I go through life! Especially now that we actually have a shot of having something semi-normal outside of the superhero business!" Celeste shook her head adamantly. "You can't. You just can't. Please, Iris. Please."

~~~

Celeste looked at herself in the mirror. The white gown flowed out at her hips, with sheer sleeves decorated with flowers. Celeste brushed the chiffon down again, trying to perfect it. That day seemed so long ago, but every so often, it still wiggled its way into her thoughts, haunting her. Those memories were hardly of the sunny variety.

Even two years later, her heart still hurt to think of it. Of all the blood and the terror. Of how close she'd come to death, and feeling as it touched her best friend, taking her away from her. A knock came to the door. "Come in."

~~~

Celeste sat in the ambulance as they tried to navigate through the debris and the rubble. Steve sat at her side. Bucky and Iris lay next to each other, leaving very little room for the paramedics and themselves. It had taken only a small fight to be allowed to go with. They were already infusing Iris and Bucky with blood to replace what they'd lost and assessing other injuries. But as Celeste held Iris's hand, she could feel her slipping away. "Don't go," she whispered. "Not yet. You're not done yet."

But even as Iris tried to look at her, Celeste could see the fogginess overtaking her. Death's touch was light, but it was steady as it crept in. "I love you, 'Leste."

Celeste's tears rushed again. "I love you, too, 'Ris." Squeezing her hand again, Celeste knew something was wrong that Iris didn't scold her for cutting off her circulation in her hand. 'She doesn't have much circulation to cut off,' she reminded herself silently, holding back a sob. 'Much less strength to reprimand me.' "Don't go. You can't."

"I can never hurt you again," Iris murmured. "Hydra can't haunt my dreams anymore."

It took only a few more seconds as Iris began to slip the final few inches into death's embrace.

That was when Celeste felt it. As Iris's body shut down and the medics rushed to revive her, Celeste felt it. Every wavelength that she'd taken for granted vanished. Her body ceased to function, and all of a sudden, the world seemed deathly silent.

And suddenly, she felt control as she reached out, her will eeking its way into Iris.

And then, her body restarted. Her heart began beating again, her brain was awake. She was ALIVE. Her brain was regulating her body through the electromagnetic waves that Celeste had willed back into life. Breathless, Celeste watched, waited as they continued to patch her up. She glanced over at Bucky her eyes wide as she reached out to him, too, balancing the two of them delicately as she worked to ease them out of death.

For a moment, Celeste felt selfish. Iris had nightmares of Hydra. She'd suffered so much. The same was true of Bucky. Was she being a bad human being by bringing them back?

Celeste didn't know. She couldn't say for sure.

As Steve held her hand, watching in wonder as Bucky and Iris began to show signs of improvement, he began to speculate. Unable and unwilling to break her concentration, he watched as the small changes in their bodies spoke of life returning to them, and of death lifting it's grip.

All he could do was hold her hand as she worked, focusing so hard on the people that meant the most in her little world, watching as they slowly began to stabilize, even if they were unresponsive.

~~~

"Hey birthday girl," she called out gently. "They're waiting for your grand entrance."

Celeste smiled softly. "It's my wedding, you weirdo, not my birthday."

Iris smiled, walking over as she wrapped an arm around Celeste's waist. "I know, but 'wedding woman' just doesn't have the same ring, you know?"

Celeste laughed quietly. "I guess so, huh?" With a slow breath, she ran a hand over her hair again.

"Stop that," Iris scolded. "You'll mess it up. What have you got to worry about, anyway?" She asked. "That man out there loves you."

"I don't know," Celeste whispered. "I guess I'm just afraid to be too happy."

"Look at me," Iris ordered quietly, her voice dropping. "Don't let go. Hydra is gone. They can't hurt us anymore. We may never be completely normal, but days like this? You damn well better treasure them, because the good days are gonna get you through the bad." Iris squeezed Celeste's shoulders gently. "Don't let Hydra ruin this day. Don't let them ruin any days ever again, or they will never really be gone. We survived. We are alive and well. They aren't. We won. But you're going to lose if you let their memory taint today."

Celeste smiled again, a bit timidly. "Thanks, 'Ris."

Iris smiled in return, hugging her tightly. "You're marrying a hella-hunk of a man. What could you possibly be sad about today? I bet he's got a big you-know-what, too."

Celeste laughed. "Iris!"

"What?" Iris asked, still refusing to let go. "Like I'm gonna let you go out there without laughing. He does have big feet though. And big hands. It's science."

Celeste laughed again, squeezing her friend. "Woman, that's been disproven!"

"See? You looked into it though. So you're obviously curious. Mmhm, I knew it!"

Celeste couldn't stop laughing as she breathed in the familiar smell of Iris. "You're crazy," she muttered.

"That's why you love me," she answered with a grin.