Into the Unknown || A Captain America Love Story

54

Steve

     I walk down the light hallways of the new Avengers Facility with Thor and Tony. The white walls and floors are blinding, but it's great to have a new place where we can all be safe.
     "The rules have changed," I state.
     "We're dealing with something new," Tony says.
     "Oh, the Vision is artificial intelligence," I say.
     "A machine," Tony adds.
     "So, it doesn't count," I grumble.
     "No, it's not like a person lifting a hammer," he chimes.
     "Right, different rules for us."
     "Nice guy. Artificial."
     "Thank you," I sigh.
     "He can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone. It's safe with the Vision. And in these days, safe is in short supply."
     There is a short moment of silence. I think, and I hatch a weird idea. "But if you put the hammer in an elevator—"
     "It would still go up," Tony says.
     I shake my head. I hear footsteps come from further down the hallway.
     "Elevator's not worthy," Tori says in her velvet voice.
     She looks a little bit cheered up. Thor has recently told her about Loki and Frigga, so she has been somewhat depressed lately. I've been cheering her up, which makes myself happy. But she has shown great sympathy towards Thor.
     "I'm gonna miss these little talks of ours," Thor smiles, setting a hand on Tony's shoulder.
     "Not if you don't leave," Tony says softly.
     "I have no choice," Thor booms. "The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the past few years. It's not a coincidence."
     Tori skips to my side, looking up at me. She smiles, causing me to do the same.
     "Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us," Thor continues as we step outside. "And once all of these pieces are in position—"
     "Triple Yahtzee?" Tony asks, putting on his glasses.
     "You think you can find out what's coming?" I question in a serious tone.
     "I do," Thor says. "Besides this one," he pats Tony's chest as he steps away, "there's nothing that can't be explained."
     He nods at us, and lifts his hammer into the air. A rainbow spirals around him, and he disappears. The Stark's and I stare at the burning grass, which is now a pattern in the ground.
     "That man has no regard for lawn maintenance," Tony says, looking up at Tori and me. "I'm gonna miss him though. And I'm gonna definitely miss this one."
     Tony glances at Tori, ruffling her hair with his hand.
     "I'm gonna miss you too, Tony," she laughs.
     "And you're gonna miss me, Rogers," Tony adds. "There are gonna be a lot of manful tears."
     He takes out a car key and presses a button on it. His car beeps, causing the engine to roar.
     "I will miss you, Tony," I say.
     "Well, it's time for me to tap out," he sighs.
     An orange car pulls up next to us on the gravel road.
     "Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book," Tony muses. "Build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up."
     "The simple life," I say.
     "You'll get there one day," he whispers so that Tori can't hear him.
     I smile at him, holding the belt of my uniform.
     "I hope you two eventually make it to that life soon," Tony says in a louder tone.
     "I don't know," I sigh.
     "Family, stability," Tori says. "The list goes on."
     "The guy who truly needed all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago," I state. "I think someone else came out."
     "Yeah, well, I need some nieces and nephews. So there," Tony smirks.
     Tori looks at the ground, blushing. While she is, Tony quickly nods at my last statement. He opens the car door, and stares at me.
     "You alright?" he mouths.
     Soldiers shout in the distance. Tori finally looks up, her face flushed.
     I nod. "I'm home."
     Tony smiles and hugs his sister. "I miss you already."
     "Get in the car before you embarrass yourself, Tony," she giggles. "I don't think the grass needs to be watered with your tears. But I'm gonna miss you too."
     He does as she says and gets in the car, closing the door behind him. He drives away, leaving us alone.
     I wrap my arms around Tori, causing her to smile. She looks up at me, and presses her lips to mine. I run my fingers through her hair, pulling her closer to me.
     "Yeah, you two get to it!" Tony shouts from his car, which is barely seen from the top of the road.
     We quickly pull away, glaring at him. He just laughs and drives away.
     "Well, you heard him," I sneer, gazing at Tori.
     "You dirty old man," she says, punching my shoulder. "You're lucky I love you."

•••

     "Wanna keep staring at the wall, or do you wanna go to work?" I ask Natasha.
     She looks up at me from the other side of the room. It's just us, since Tori left to go see Wanda.
     "I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall," I tease.
     "I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other's eyes," she says, walking over to me.
     "Well, we also had an entertaining conversation with Tori," I say.
     "I already know where this is going," she laughs. "Anyway, how do we look?"
     I give her the tablet that I have in my hands. "Well, we're not the '27 Yankees."
     "We got some hitters."
     "They're good. They're not a team."
     We burst through the doors of a large open room. Tori waits for me by them, grinning. I smile back, watching Rhodey, Vision, Sam, and Wanda look up at the three of us, all in uniform.
     "Avengers," I call.
     "Assemble!" Tori exclaims.