Into the Unknown || A Captain America Love Story

31

Steve

     The bright light shines through the window panes. I slowly peel my eyes open and cringe at the blinding sunlight. Tori sleeps soundly on my chest, lightly snoring. I laugh softly and nestle my nose into her hair. After all of these nights without sleep, it feels like miracle to have slept more than three hours.
     Three months I have been without her, without my life. I hadn't heard her voice, seen her beautiful smile, or had her in my arms for three months. Those three months have been the longest in my entire life. And now that I have her again, I'm never going to let her go.
I feel Tori's lips press against my jaw, causing a smile to spread across my lips. I glance down, gazing at her small smile.
"Good morning," she whispers.
"Good morning," I reply.
She sighs and cuddles closer to me. She brushes a strand of my hair up, laughing.
"It's so nice to be home again," I say.
"It really is,"
Tori sits up and looks down at me.
"So what are the plans for today, Captain?" she asks goofily.
"No idea," I snort.
"Well, let's get up and figure it out." Tori giggles, jumping on the bed.
I groan and cover my head with my pillow.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," she repeats. "Get up."
"Fine," I moan.
I toss the pillow beside me and keep my eyes open. Tori cheers and flips off the sheets, causing my bare arms to become cold. She pulls me up and drags me out of the bed. I follow her into the bathroom and find my toothpaste and toothbrush. Tori does the same, but hums while doing so. I bring the toothbrush to my mouth, grinning like an idiot.
"Someone's in a good mood today," I laugh, spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing the brush.
"I am," she chimes, spitting out her own toothpaste.
She cups her hands and gets water in them. She slurps the water and strides out of the bathroom.
"Going to start breakfast," Tori announces.
"Okay," I respond.
I look into the mirror, squinting at myself. My black and blue eye stands out, slowly turning yellow. I carefully touch the cut on my lip, feeling the distinct separation. Now, I understand why Tori was terrified yesterday. Metal hit my face, not a good combination.
     I shake my head of the bad thoughts and step out of the bathroom to help Tori cook.

•••

     "Whatcha thinking about, honey?" Tori asks me, setting her pencil on top of the paper.
     She sits in my lap on the sofa, helping me with a drawing in our sketchbook. Her wide brown orbs glance up at me. I rest my chin on the top of her head, watching her.
     "Bucky," I state, twirling a lock of her hair around my finger.
     Tori doesn't speak for a moment. She just stays still, taking in the simple name.
     "Do you know where he is now?" she asks me, her voice cracking.
     "No,"
     "Steve," Tori starts. "I know how much Bucky means to you, but will the others realize that? I mean, they would have to be blind to not see that, but he's never mentioned around them."
     "I don't know," I sigh. "They all should, but you never know."
     "Just know that I'm here for you,"
     I laugh. "I know you are."
     Tori picks the pencil back up and rewinds to where she stopped. At this point, it's become more obvious to what she is drawing. The star in the middle baffled me at first, but now I almost snort at it. The rings of color are shaded, not necessarily red, white, and blue.
I brush a lock of Tori's hair behind her ear, causing a smile to spread across her lips. She sighs, but it is an unhappy one.
"I hate it," she spits, out of the blue.
"Hate what?" I ask her.
"Feeling helpless," she replies. "I want to help you, but I can't."
"It's a situation where it's hard to help, Tori," I say. "Plus, you already are."
"How?"
"By being here,"
I softly kiss her temple. I watch her sign the bottom right corner of the paper, smoothly creating each letter of her name. She abruptly slams the sketchbook shut and sets it beside us. She turns around, pressing her lips to mine.
     "I'm never leaving again," she mumbles. "Never."