Blood in the Water | 18+

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦

𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦
*𝘴𝘮𝘶𝘵*

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

I love her.

It was so freeing to be able to admit it, to not have the weight of hiding how I feel from her, from myself. I loved Aurora Coppola with every fiber of my being, she was so interwoven into my veins that if I she died, I would die with her. And right now, as I watched her walk around the rose garden, the spring sun shining down on her white-blonde hair, I could breathe again. She was safe, alive, and home. Aurora hadn't noticed me yet, and I didn't really want her to, I wanted to watch her take joy in the beauty of life. She deserved it, she went to hell and back to fight for me, even if I didn't deserve it.

I tried to fracture her, but instead of admitting my fear of voicing the words I love you, I lashed out, it was easier, but she didn't let me in right away, hell she still hasn't let me in all the way. And part of me doesn't want her to, I want to work for it, to earn it. Aurora's emotions have been taken advantage of for too long and I refuse to do that to her. She'll let me in when she's ready, and for now, I'm pleased with watching her adjust to being mine, fully mine. I jumped when a hand was slapped on my shoulder, looking to see Bucky beside me, a smile on his lips, "It's nice right?" I raised my eyebrows, my eye flickering over to Aurora to make sure she was safe, she was, laughing as she talked to one of the maids who worked here, sitting on the edge of the fountain, "Not having to hide your love for her, it's freeing right?"

"If you're waiting to tell me I told you so, go ahead and gloat."

Aurora's laugh was the most beautiful melody I had ever heard, the simple sound was a siren's song, and if Bucky wasn't holding me up right now, I would've buckled at the sound of it. Aurora was a goddess in her own right. Everyone talks about how Aphrodite was the most beautiful to ever be seen, but they haven't seen Aurora before. They didn't see the beautiful girl who went through hell but always had a smile. Aphrodite had nothing on Aurora's bright blonde hair that seemed to glow under the sunlight, the goddess had nothing on the gray eyes that were flecked with blue and silver. And they had clearly never been so captivated by Aurora's beauty that it made it hard to breathe sometimes.

"I told you so," Bucky grinned but laughed shortly after, "I mean it, Steve, she's your other half, she's everything you need."

"And more," I breathed out, finally catching Aurora's eye, watching her smile grow tenfold when she noticed me. "Aurora is the air in my lungs and the blood in my veins, she's everything to me and more. I love her, and I've known it since the day we took her from her bedroom."

"Now, you only have to believe that you do deserve her."

The comment took me by surprise, turning to see Bucky looking at me with sincerity. He had put me in my place immediately after our fight that night, I had been so convinced that Bucky thought that I didn't deserve her, hell I knew at that moment I didn't deserve her. But I wanted her, so fucking badly. For the past five years I have put this mafia, this family first, I took lovers but never fell in love. I gave up everything so my men could have something to hold onto. But, I wanted to be selfish, I wanted one woman to come home to every day for the rest of my life, and Aurora was that woman. I deserved to fall in love, after everything I gave, for everything I lost, and for everything I was set to gain. I wanted it with Aurora, the only woman who had looked at me with compassion, and who didn't hate me for breathing. Who didn't use me as a means to an end? Who got shot for me, who died for me, who went against her family for me. Even if I didn't deserve her, I would keep her, because I would damn well do everything in my power to deserve the beautiful woman.

"I'm not sure if I'll ever believe I deserve her," I watched Aurora kneel down so one of the maid's children could put a daisy crown on her, turning to look at me after the child whispered something, making Aurora's grin widen. "But I'll damn well take her love because for some reason she believes I deserve it."