Into the Unknown || A Captain America Love Story

19

Tori

     "Anything else you need me to do, Ainsley?" I ask her, brushing a lock of my sweaty brunette hair behind my ear.
     "I think that's it," she pants, wiping a drip of sweat off of her forehead.
     We stand in the restaurant, thoroughly cleaning the place. It's only nine in the morning, yet we have done so much work already. I put the dirty sponge into the bucket of soapy water and bring it to Ainsley, who cleans the bar.
     "Just leave it there, lass," she says, nodding to a clear spot on the counter.
     I set the bucket there and begin to peel off my yellow rubber gloves.
     "So," I ask her, taking off the first glove. "Where are all of your employees?"
     "Oh, lass," she laughs, scrubbing the counter. "There is a whole important story to this place that I need to explain before I get into that."
     "I'm listening," I say.
     "Well," Ainsley begins. "My parent moved here from Scotland and Ireland when they were in their early twenties and got married and raised a family here. Along the way, my mother bought this place and turned it into a pub. It has been a family owned restaurant until the entire family lost contact with each other. So, now I'm here with the place and I've let the employees flee from the area because of the whole refugee thing."
     "Oh," I sigh, questioning her unnecessary history lesson. "Interesting."
     "Yes, it has been some time, though."
     "Ainsley, are you sure that I don't need to do anything else?" I ask her.
     "I'm positive," she giggles. "Just sit there and keep me company."
     I plop into a barstool and gulp down the water that she gave me. I pull down my gray t-shirt and set a hand on my jeans.
     "It must have been strange being in that mess of a city yesterday, eh?" Ainsley asks.
     "Yeah," I say. "But I don't really want to talk about it."
     "Oh, I'm so sorry, lass." she apologizes. "I didn't mean to-"
     "No, no," I stop her. "You didn't know. It's okay."
     I laugh at myself, thinking of how I would always do that to Steve. That is, when I didn't smooch my way around his rambling. Oh, how I miss him.
     "Whatcha thinking about, lass?" she questions me for the millionth time. "Somebody special?"
     "Yeah," I mumble. "The most important person to me."
     "Who?"
     "My boyfriend,"
     "Oh, you have a partner?" Ainsley asks. "Did ya just-"
     "Yes, I had to go. He probably went to do something with our 'special' friends." I explain,  "special" meaning people from S.H.I.E.L.D..
     "I'm so sorry,"
     "It's okay," I sulk. "We've been separated many times, but this time is just different."
     There is a moment of silence between us. Ainsley stares out the window, not paying attention to me. I glance out the glass pane, but I don't see anything.
     "Speaking of different," she says in a low voice. "Have you noticed that it's getting darker and not lighter outside?"
      I look back out of the window. The small bushes in the distance are dancing with the harsh wind.
     "I don't think that it's supposed to rain today," I say, raising an eyebrow.
     I hear a loud crash, like thunder. It rattles the whole building, causing the glasses in a cabinet behind Ainsley to shake with a clinking sound.
     "Mother Nature has changed her mind," Ainsley states matter-of-factly.
     There is only one thing that I can think of that could cause something like that - someone who I haven't seen in a very long time.
     "I'll be right back," I state, standing to leave the building.
     "Be careful, Tori." Ainsley stutters.
     "I will,"
     I open the door and the wind closes it behind me. I step into the alleyway, blocking my eyes from dirt that flies in the violent wind. A bulky man wearing a red cape stands over a marking in the ground. He grips his well known hammer and stares at me.
     "Thor?" I ask the Norse god. "What are you doing here?"
     "I need to take you with me, Lady Victoria," Thor explains. "It is too dangerous for you here."
     "Why?"
     "I'll explain later,"
     "Wait!" I shout. "I need to tell someone goodbye."