Into the Unknown || A Captain America Love Story

34

Steve

Tori leads me to the elevator and presses the button that leads to one of the lower floors. A sly grin is plastered across her lips. The faint sounds of the music and people get smaller and smaller the further we go down. The doors open and Tori seizes my wrist.
Tony's line of suits is the first thing that I spot. All are a different style, different colors, et cetera. A roundish table is cluttered with parts, blueprints, and technology unknown to me. On one of the neater parts of the strip of a half circle table, there is a computer thingy with a small, black rimmed frame next to it.
Inside of the frame, there is a crumpled, yet preserved, piece of pink construction paper. It looks like it is around twenty years old. There are two stick figures that were drawn with crayons: one tall and another that barely comes up to his hip. The tall one wears what seems to be a lab coat and goggles. The small one has brown pigtails and wears a pink dress. On the bottom of the paper, there is something written in big, choppy letters:

To Tony: The Best Big Brother Ever
Love, Tori

     I smile at the drawing. Just seeing that Tori has loved her brother for so long warms my heart. Plus, Tony has kept the drawing for so long and treasures it.
"I want to show you something," Tori says, grabbing my attention away from the frame.
She brings me to the middle section of the table. She jabs her fist onto the side of the table. A mechanical sound erupts through the floor. A tall tube rises in front of us, possibly six feet tall. A dark, blueish-purple colored suit stands in the tube. It is definitely shaped differently from the other, more feminine.
"Don't tell Tony," Tori whispers, placing her index finger over my lips.
I slowly nod at her.
"It's a modified version of Mark XXXIII," Tori informs me, stepping around the long table. "It's about seven years old."
"Interesting," I say, following her.
"He made it for me, all those years ago when I was training to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
She stands in front of it, staring at her reflection. I glance at the chest area of the suit. I snort when I see a yellow sticky note on it with sloppy capitalized letters:

Tori—
Only use in case of emergency.
—Tony

"Yeah, do not tell Tony," I giggle.
"But, maybe we can just test it out," Tori grins. "Just to make sure it isn't rusty."
"Uh, Tori, we'll be dead if he finds out."
"No, it's okay. Please, Steve?"
Tori gives me her priceless puppy eyes. Her wide brown orbs are so tempting.
"That's pathetic," I state. "It's clearly only for emergencies."
"Fine," she sighs. "You're no fun."
"Excuse me?" I ask. "I am fun."
"No, you're not." Tori sneers.
"Take it back,"
"Never,"
Tori raises her eyebrows, signaling to what she wants. My heart races, but I playfully push her against the tube and crash into her. She pulls me closer to her small figure, not pulling her soft lips away from mine. I rest my hand on the small of her back as she rakes her fingers through my hair. My other hand sits on her hip, keeping her close to me. We pull away to get air, and decide that we were done.
     I lean over and give Tori a last long, lingering kiss. When we end it, I brush a strand of hair out of her face.
     "Happy now?" I question her.
     "Yeah," she laughs.
     "What are you laughing at?" I ask.
     "Don't tell Tony," she whispers.
     "What else?"
     "You have lip gloss everywhere,"
     I press two fingers to my lips. Sure enough, the shimmering gloss covers my fingertips.
     "You little—"