Winter's Soulmate | Winter Soldier ✔

Chapter Twenty One

~Winter's POV~

"I almost don't know where we can go, it's been so long since we've been outside."

I looked at Amelie, as she peered out of the window, twitching the curtain excitedly. She was already dressed, and I'd forced her to eat a piece of fruit so she wouldn't collapse on me.

"It looks like such a good day."

How a day could look good I wasn't sure. The weather was fine, it wasn't cloudy and as it was early spring it looked like there would be a crisp breeze later.

She'd fallen quiet, and when I looked down at her, her eyes were peering up at me, "are you okay if we go out today? I don't want to drag you outside. Maybe I could just go and have a loop of the block and -"

She wanted to go out by herself? Alone? Even if she wasn't venturing further than the road, she would not be going alone.

"No."

"No?" Her eyebrow raised, as if she was challenging me, "no?"

"Not alone." I handed her the jacket that she had hung over the back of the chair, "I'm coming with you."

She quietly slipped into the jacket as I adjusted the top I was wearing. I had short sleeves, but the left sleeve was hanging loose and it was winding me up.

I bunched the fabric up, considered ripping it, anything to-.

"Here," Amelie held up a thin bobble that she pulled out of her hair. The slight curls now cascaded messily over her shoulders as she moved my hand gently out of the way. She twisted the fabric and tied it in a small ball, so it felt... better. No longer lopsided.

Her hand stayed on my shoulder, smoothing the fabric as her fingers skimmed over the shards of metal it was hiding.

I could smell strawberries and coconut, a mix of the shampoo and hand cream she wore. It filled my nose, invaded my senses and momentarily distracted me from my plan.

I didn't know my way around this part of the city particularly well. I had used the laptop Amelie let me borrow to search the surrounding areas. I had found the apartment Amelie's family lived at, the bar she works in, and a club that made me irrationally angry, although I wasn't sure why.

I took a deep breath. I would not need to think about it again.

I would not.

I would.

No, nope, no.

Her fingers were massaging the hair at the nape of my neck, her body cradled against mine. "Winter, we're both here, alive, safe. I promise I won't leave your side. I just want to find the park and walk around for a breath of fresh air."

She was about to take a step back, but I held my hand against her, pulling her back into me. I liked the way her body fit against mine, the way she wrapped her arms around my waist, her breath falling softly against my chest.

We weren't very... physical. I saw how the other Avengers acted together, all hugging, high fiving, occasionally the odd kiss on the cheek or head.

Thor, the one who claimed he was from another planet, smothered Tony Stark with kisses when he'd bought him a specific brand of biscuits.

I could count on my one hand the number of times Amelie and I had kissed.

Had we done more? Gone further? I could only recount our time since we escaped HYDRA. I made her a ring, I fixed her broken leg - she had told me these tales when she struggled to sleep at night. Maybe she was hiding something more, maybe I had held her tighter, pulled her closer, kissed her harder, moved my hands -