“Kendis, it’s time to go.”

Kendis wrapped her arms around Alke tighter, and her dog licked her face. She wrinkled her nose, but with a sigh, Kendis stood up. Kendis shot a look at the group of people waiting impatiently in front of a cavalcade of black SUVs.

Pepper tapped her watch impatiently, and Kendis took a deep breath, handing Alke’s leash to Ron.

“Alke will be fine,” Hermione soothed. “And Lan Jingyi promised he would be happy to dog-sit for you.”

“And we will be watching you every step of the way,” Ron assured. He gestured to the large group of men in black suits, including Ian and Jason. Ian winked at her, and Kendis quickly turned to hide her small smile.

Kendis didn’t know why she was suddenly nervous. She had been okay all morning, cracking jokes and calmly working out any last-minute logistics. But now she would have to go to the Sofitel to get ready. Kendis was suddenly rethinking everything.

What if Chester attacks them on the way to the hotel? What if Chester goes after Hermione and Ron? What if he hurts Tony? Her conversation with Death kept rolling over and over in her head. And now, she had to leave Alke behind, and she had just gotten her precious baby back.

Her stomach was tight with nerves. It had been over a decade since they had been in combat. Kendis kept fighting fit, but she knew there was a difference between sparring and live combat. Chester had gotten so close to overwhelming her the night he attacked.

Not to mention that Kendis tonight was stepping back into the public eye for the first time in a decade. And at least when it was the Wizarding press, Kendis could run to the Muggle world to escape. But now, there would be no escape.

All of her fears cycled round and round in her mind, and Kendis felt the tendrils of a meltdown nipping at her heels.

“Deep breaths, tesoro,” Tony whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arm around her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then another until she could breathe again.

“Tony, we’re late.” Pepper pointedly tapped her watch again.

“Take it easy, Pep.” Tony rolled his eyes. “It’s only 8 am. We’ve got plenty of time.”

“Yes, but with the traffic, it’s going to take us double the time to get to the hotel.” Pepper frowned at Tony.

“I’m okay,” Kendis insisted, with a smile she didn’t feel before Tony and Pepper could argue further. “Let’s go.” She gave one last look at Ron, Hermione, and Alke. Then, Tony led her to one of the SUVs. Happy opened the door for her, and she nodded to him.

“Thank you,” Kendis said to him and slid into the dim cabin of the SUV. A moment later, Tony joined her, and Happy closed the door behind him.

Kendis scooted closer to Tony and lay her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around them and kissed them on the top of their head.

“I forgot to ask? Why are you still wearing this?” Tony suddenly asked as he playfully pulled at the end of Kendis’s red satin bonnet.

Kendis looked up to meet his twinkling brown eyes. She smiled, laid her head back down, “Because I took out my braids last night.”

“You did? When did this happen?”

“After my shower,” Kendis shrugged. “It doesn’t take very long if you use magic.”

“Huh, will wonders never cease?” Tony chuckles. “Magical hair care.”

Kendis found herself shooting him her first genuine smile of the day. She kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for taking my mind off of things, love.”

“For better or worse,” Tony quipped. “I think that was part of the whole marriage deal.”

Kendis chuckled and closed her eyes as she enjoyed her last moments of peace as they made the long drive to the hotel.

 ***

 They were the center of attention the moment they arrived at the hotel. Tony laced their fingers together as they walked through the lobby. The eyes on her were like a physical presence, and she kept her back straight. She did her best to keep calm as they walked to the elevator; their entourage following in their wake.

Kendis was not only the savior of the wizarding world (a title that she would be forever saddled with). But in the Muggle world, she was Lady Black of Blackmere. For all of Sirius’s impulsiveness, the one responsible thing he did was write a will and have Dumbledore and McGonagall as witnesses.

And after the war, it had been all too bittersweet to receive an official pardon for from the Wizagomont and then later by the Queen herself.

The Wizagomont accepted Sirius’ will and named Kendis, his only heir, the new Lady Black. To her surprise and horror, the Queen recognized Blackmere as part of the Muggle peerage as a reward for killing Voldemort.

In short, that meant Kendis was forced to go to events she wouldn’t normally be caught dead at. But this was different; Kendis couldn’t just hide in the corner, safe knowing that her tattoo would ruin any photo taken of her.

She hadn’t told Tony, but during her trip to El Caldero, she had her tattoo removed. It was only because of a hastily cast notice me not spell that kept Kendis and her friends from being recognized.

And now as Tony, Kendis, Happy, and Ian got into the elevator, she lost any calm she previously felt, and panic took over.

“Shhh,” Tony said as he pulled her into a hug. She buried her face in his shoulder and took in his familiar scent of smoked amber and cardamom. “You are doing fine.”

“I am completely mad for doing this.”

“Nope, can’t be crazier than me.” Tony shook his head. “I routinely smash into walls for fun and profit.”

There was a snort, and Kendis turned just in time to see Happy glaring at Jason. Her friend just shrugged, but she saw that Ian was repressing a shit-eating grin.

“You sure about this?” Happy asked, throwing the two a dubious look.

“100% sure,” Tony nodded, and then thankfully, the doors opened to their floor. Kendis noticed that the way their suits were cut practically advertised the guns of the few security men who were standing in the hallway.

Happy opened the door and checked it was safe before he waved them in.

“Tony!”

Tony and Kendis stopped in the door to see a pretty white woman about a decade older than Kendis with light blonde hair in a very stylish cut that fell just below her shoulders in dressed in a hot pink double-breasted pantsuit that was low cut enough to show a hint of her cleavage.

“Samantha!” Tony staggered back, eyes wide. “What are you doing here?”

“Saving you from complete social ruin as always, darling.” Samantha rolled her eyes. She sauntered over, every movement sensual and confident. “You are paying me triple my normal rate and a bonus, by the way.” And Kendis wasn’t going to lie. She was weak as hell because Kendis couldn’t take her eyes off her.

Was this woman a secret veela, or what?

Tony and Samantha exchanged air kisses, and then she turned her brown eyes to Kendis, raking her up and down. “This is the new spouse?”

Tony squeezed her hand and pulled her closer. “This is Kendis Black.”

“Lady Blackmere, I presume?” Samantha eyed her dubiously, then turned to Tony. Kendis was expecting to turn up her nose at her bonnet, but she said, “They are going to eat her alive.”

“I can take care of myself,” Kendis straightened to her full height (which, to be fair, wasn’t much, but she was still taller than Samantha). “This isn’t my first rodeo.”

Samantha pursed her lips, and then she shot her a sexy smirk that diffidently did things to Kendis. God, why did she always have to be a bi disaster?

“I like her,” Samantha shot Tony a look.

“She’s taken,” Tony replied dryly.

“Tony Stark being possessive,” Samantha fake-clutched her chest. “Now, I know the end is near.”

They were interrupted by Pepper marching through the door. She wasn’t even fazed to see Samantha there.

“Why is everyone standing around?” Pepper rolled her eyes. She shot a look at the plus-size Latinx man with copper-brown skin standing in the corner. His face was immaculately beat and she couldn’t quite shove away the slight ping of envy she felt. It had been a decade since she had transitioned, and Kendis still didn’t get the hang of makeup.

“As if I was going to get in between Tony and the bruja,” The man ruefully replied.

Kendis froze for a second, thinking that he was referring to her, but realized he was talking about Samantha.

“Accidentally poison one little drink and everyone starts a witch hunt,” Samantha pouted.

It took everything for Kendis to keep from laughing hysterically.

Samantha pulled Tony away, and Pepper bodily marched her over to the Latinx man who introduced himself as Marco. Then, Marco introduced her to his assistant, Mei, a butch Chinese woman who pretty much ignored her unless Marc barked an order.

Then there was Faiza, her makeup artist, who was a statuesque woman in a purple hijab who looked like she should walk the red carpet. Pretty and bubbly, she instantly made her feel at ease as she babbled about everything from the weather to her wife.

But the one thing she was thankful for was that someone had hired a Black hair stylist. Narah was a pretty Black woman with long salt and pepper locs. And when Kendis told her what she wanted, Narah simply nodded.

“Oh yeah, I can do that,” Narah replied. “You are going to be so fly when I am done with you!”

The rest of the day flew by in brief flashes of memory. Kendis dressed in a silk robe as she tried on lots of too-tight dresses and pairs of high heels that she felt strangely out of place in. She loved how Hortense and her girlfriends looked in these types of outfits. And while Kendis could respect the effort, she hated getting made up.

Especially after she nearly tripped and broke her ankle on the shoes Marco made her try on. She hobbled over to the director’s chair and glared at Tony’s stylist.

“No heels, and no dresses!”

Marco pursed his lips but then sighed, “Mascs are always so difficult.” He coughed and clicked his fingers.

“Mei, bring me the Sadek Majed jumpsuit.”

Mei gave a put-upon sigh but pulled out a beautiful teal and royal blue jumpsuit that had a sweetheart neckline with one shoulder bare and the other in blue velvet. It had a teal silk train that almost gave the illusion of a dress. They paired it with a pair of gold metallic slingback flats and gold accessories to match.

The jumpsuit was a little loose in places, so Marco called over the tailor to take it in. The rest of the time, she was sitting in a chair as people hovered around her.

During the day, Kendis would occasionally catch Tony talking on the phone or excitedly chatting with Samantha or Pepper. Every time Tony caught her eye, he would wink at her and blow her a kiss.

They took brief breaks for lunch, then Narah washed her thick hair and put it up in twists. She had to cover them with her bonnet as she ate. Then shortly after, Kendis was back in the chair as Faiza did her makeup, and a white man named Aaron was doing her nails.

Kendis couldn’t help but feel a deep respect for this group of people who did things by hand with no magic. Hell, Kendis couldn’t even do this without fumbling the spells. Make-up spells were more intricate than many defense spells. The only time Kendis tried a makeup spell, she ended up looking like a clown.

But by the time Kendis was finally once again slipping into the jumpsuit, then the gold flats, and the accessories that cost a small fortune; she hardly recognized the person staring back at her in the mirror.

The jumpsuit molded effortlessly to her body, showing off the tattoos that were illustrated against the canvas of her golden brown skin. Samantha and Marco had tried to convince her to cover up her tattoos, but Kendis wouldn’t have it.

Tonight, Kendis was all about being true to herself on the red carpet. She would face the world as she truly was or not at all.

Kendis continued to study her makeup in the mirror. The whole look gave her an airbrushed appearance with the teal green eyeshadow, the dramatic cat’s eyes, and her lips were a shimmering pink that made her lips look full and luscious.

And her hair was the best part. It had been ages since Kendis had worn her natural hair. It was dangerous with her line of work; it wasn’t safe to have any hair out that could catch on fire or get caught in any chains or sprockets.

Yet tonight, her natural, inky black curls fell around her face in a gorgeous twist out that Kendis couldn’t help but love.

A loud wolf whistle startled her out of her thoughts. Kendis turned to see Tony standing there, his eyes hungrily traced up and down her body.

Kendis couldn’t take her eyes off her husband. Gone was the geeky engineer with his endless supply of band t-shirts and jeans. This was Tony Stark in full Playboy billionaire mode. He was wearing a royal blue suit to match her outfit, and it fit his body like a glove. Tony wore a white pressed shirt with a silk teal tie and shiny dress shoes, and the overall effect just made her center throb with excitement.

She was suddenly thankful she had taken her potion this morning, or Kendis would have to explain away her sudden erection.

“We match,” Kendis finally said dazedly.

There was a snort, and she turned to see Pepper and Samantha in the corner. Samantha had her phone up, obviously filming them. Kendis felt her hackles rise at that, but she took a deep breath and let it go. There was nothing they could do about it, so they did their best to ignore it.

Tony quickly crossed the distance between them. He raised his hand out and then froze as Marco called out, “Tony Stark, you better not destroy everyone’s hard work!”

Tony rolled his eyes, but he took her hand and kissed it. “Sei la cosa migliore che mi sia mai capitata e non ti merito.”

But Kendis didn’t need to understand Italian to see the complete adoration in his eyes. He offered his hand. “Ready to take on the world?”

“Born ready,” she lied. But Kendis was a Gryffindor, and she would be brave. She would face this latest chapter in her life with every bit of courage Kendis had within her. And Kendis, with Tony by her side, walked out of the hotel room to face whatever came next.

Translation: “You are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don’t deserve you.”