Into the Unknown || A Captain America Love Story

56

Steve

     Tori woke up from multiple nightmares last night. She would bolt upright from the bed, sweating and breathing shakily. But she wouldn't cry nor get out of bed. She just sat there, unmoving. It terrified me. I thought she was paralyzed and couldn't move. Victoria told me that the nightmares were about stupid things like monsters, and some were about Ultron and H.Y.D.R.A.. Thankfully, those horrible dreams haven't affected her this morning.
     "You doing okay?" I ask her gently.
     "Mhm," Tori hums, sipping her steaming coffee. She glances out the window. Snow coats the rooftops of buildings and parked cars along the salt covered streets. Although the snow has come a bit early this year, we both enjoy it. It brings memories of when we first met. More specifically, our first Christmas together.
     We had put up a huge tree in the Avengers Tower last minute. She got on my shoulders, putting the golden star on top. Tony hung up the mistletoe, Clint and Natasha added the ornaments, and Bruce put up lights. On Christmas Eve, Tony pushed Tori and me underneath the mistletoe, grinning ear to ear. And of course, we did what we were supposed to do. On Christmas Day, Tori gave me an iPhone, and I gave her a beautiful burgundy dress.
She wears the dress now, paired with a small golden necklace that Tony had given her a few years ago. Her brunette hair is a messy braid going down her right shoulder. Black leggings shield her legs from the cold weather. Her brown combat boots click when she walks towards me.
"It still makes me happy to see you wearing that dress," I mumble, stepping towards the kitchen.
"It still makes me happy to see that you haven't broken that phone yet," Tori replies, setting her white coffee mug on the counter. She wraps her arms around me, gripping onto my white shirt. I embrace her back.
"You know what we can do today?" I ask her.
"What?" she questions.
"Do you want to go out for a bit? Into the city?"
"Sure, but what exactly to you want to do?
"I don't know," I sigh. "Just walk around. Get out of the house for a little while."
"I have an even better idea," Tori sneers. Her right hand floats to her side, creating ice crystals.
"No, no, no, wait," I shout. "Not in the house!"
"It's not that bad, Steve," she giggles. "Besides, I know how hot you look with snow in your hair."
Before I can add to my response, something cold smacks against my face. I brush the flakes of snow off, glaring at her.
"You know what, two can play at that game," I growl. I pick her up, throwing her over my shoulder. Tori squeals, not necessarily attempting to escape. I laugh, setting her down.
"But seriously, I have an idea," she says, smiling.
"And that is?" I ask.
Tori skips to the living room. She snatches up the remote, turning on the television. She clicks through channels. I raise an eyebrow at her, and cross my arms. After a moment, she finds a channel with classical music.
"Now I'm really confused," I say.
"Don't be," she says softly. She returns to me, only to drag me into a large empty space in the living room. She takes my left hand in her right, and sets her left on my shoulder. I slowly place my right hand on her shoulder blade, beginning to understand.
     "You know, I'm still not exactly sure how to dance," I mumble.
     "It just comes naturally," Tori says.
     She moves her feet to the rhythm of the soft piano. I follow her steps, watching her feet make a small box shape on the floor. We merely sway back and forth for a few moments, just so that I can get the hang of it, and only then we can go more in depth.
     "I think I got it," I smile, gazing into her brown orbs. She smiles back, still swaying. I get the urge to loosen my grip on her hand, and twirl her. She swiftly turns, her dress spinning around her. We spread apart so that the only thing connecting us are our hands. I pull her towards me, her back on my chest. She twirls away, and we return to the same position we were in at the start.
     "I suppose you are understanding?" Tori asks.
     I nod, continuing to dance. She smiles in response and nods back, telling me to take the reins. I gratefully do, and I make us both turn around the living room. This goes on for a while, just dancing and staring into each other's eyes. Once we begin to slow it down, Tori's hand unravels from mine and she rests it on the back of my neck along with her other hand. I put my hands on the small of her back. We barely sway with the music anymore, for our main focus is each other.
     "I've been thinking a lot lately," she whispers. I look back into her eyes, feeling the sadness in her tone. "Have you heard from Tony recently?"
     I almost scoff. "No, he practically hates me. I'm surprised he hasn't said anything to you."
     "Say that again."
     "He hates me."
     "That's my point," she says. "You two cannot get along. What do you disagree about?"
     "Pretty much everything," I laugh. "But I think the main reason is that he is being overprotective of you."
     "But he was concerned about you before he left," she mutters.
     "Y-You heard that?"
     "Well, yeah. I was right there when he asked if you were alright."
     "Uh, never mind that," I stutter. "What do you want to do now?"
"See, you're trying to avoid the conversation, Steve," Tori says, a hint of ire in her tone.
"We just don't agree on certain things. It's not like we're going to start a war, Victoria."
She just scoffs, looking down at her feet. I sigh angrily. It's not that I don't like Tony, we just aren't the best of friends.
"Anyway, I was just curious," she murmurs. "What do you want to do now?"

•••

I sit on the couch with Tori, holding our individual mugs of tea. Steam rises from its surface. It blurs the flashing television screen in the dark room. A scream blares from the high tech speakers that Tony insisted us to keep. Tori jolts in my arms, almost spilling her tea everywhere.
     "For a level eight S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, you sure are jumpy," I giggle. She just glares at me, taking a hand full of popcorn from the bowl in her lap.
     "For an old man, you sure are judgmental," Tori growls. With a loud crunch, she chews the kernels that didn't pop. I laugh even more, stuffing popcorn into my mouth.
     "You wanted to watch a horror movie, so I found one," I smirk.
     Tori rolls her eyes. "Well, I didn't expect it to be terrifying." She peers at the clock that hangs on the wall, then furrows her eyebrows at the television. Curling up in a ball underneath her large furry blanket, she sighs with a smile.
I lightly shiver. Tori glances at me, her eyes glinting white from the television screen. I nod, physically dismissing the issue with my hand. As her attention returns to the movie, I shiver even more. I'm freezing, but I wouldn't be found dead whilst taking her blanket like a jerk. And that blanket is way too small to fit over the both of us. Thankfully, there's another one in our bedroom that I can use so that I won't be ungentlemanly.
"I'm going to go grab something real quick," I say, pushing myself up from the sofa. "Be right back."
"M'kay," Tori chimes, munching on popcorn.
I walking out of the living room area, and behind the table. Turning the ice cold doorknob, the door creaks open. I release it and step into our cozy bedroom. A slam erupts from behind me, causing me to jump. The door closed on me.
     Great. Now that horror movie is getting to me.
     I glance to the other side of the room, towards the bed. The white snow outside brightens the room a little bit, enough for me to spot the fuzzy white blanket on the bed. I snatch it up, and leave the room.
     "Got it," I announce.
      No response. It's dead silent.
     I check the sofa, and Tori isn't there. Bathroom maybe? My heart starts to race. I peek over at the bathroom door. Light doesn't shine from underneath. I open the door and expect to find nothing. But something else happens.
     A shadow pops out from the darkness of the bathroom, causing me to scream. And it isn't a manly scream either. I jolt, somehow getting the blanket over my face.
     "Wow, now who's the scaredy cat?" Tori laughs, coming out of the dark.
     I scowl, ripping the blanket from my face.
     "And you scream like a little girl," she adds, still laughing hysterically.
I roll my eyes, draping the blanket over my arm. Tori pecks my cheek, apologizing profusely. I just kiss her back, pulling her onto the sofa and continuing to watch the horror movie. She rests her head on my chest, pulling both blankets over us. I place my chin on the top of her head. Tori holds onto my shirt, pulling herself up to kiss my softly once again.
"I'm still sorry," she giggles. "I saw the chance, and had to take it."
"It's okay," I smile. "I would've done the same thing."
"Of course you would have, Steve."
I brush a lock of her hair out of her face, glancing at the screen. The climax of the film is in play, uncovering the obvious murderer. I don't really pay attention, nor does Tori; therefore, we enjoy each other's company. Tori doesn't speak, for her eyelids are closing slowly but surely. By the time the credits begin to roll, she's snoozing on my chest. I laugh softly, kiss her forehead, and change the channel. The news flashes onto the screen. It shows Washington DC, a place I haven't seen in a long time.
     When Tori left, I went there to get away from the memories and for work. I got a hotel room and stayed there until the whole fugitive situation happened.
     I can't hear the words being said, but I only have to see the footage to get the full picture. My heart skips a beat. I stop moving—paralyzed. Tori wakes from my increased heart rate that is probably drumming in her ears.
     "Steve?" she asks softly. "You okay?" She gets a glimpse of the screen, and shuts up almost immediately.
     A man sprints across the television, away from someone. His longer dark hair blows behind him in the wind. When he looks behind him, it gets in his face. Instead of having a uniform and a mask covering the lower half of his face like the last time I saw him, he is dressed like an ordinary citizen. The thing that truly gives him away is the shine of metal that glimmers on his left hand.
     Bucky.