He Came Back (Steve Rogers x OC)

Chapter 3 - Holding Back the Darkness

Steve stared at the painting in disbelief.

Captain America. His shield holding back the darkness as if it were an enemy itself. Hidden behind him, a small defenseless little girl holding her little teddy bear, standing in a lone pool of light, being protected by Captain America and his shield. All around them was rubble and ash.

Steve was overcome by emotion. It all welled up within him in that moment. All the pain, the grief, the doubt, that fear, the hope, that courage, the love, the friendship, everything he'd lost, everything he'd found. He thought about his fights with Tony, laughing with Nat, running with Sam, watching Bucky turn to dust, seeing Vision's lifeless body... and his mind went further back, facing Hydra's infiltration of SHIELD, fighting Bucky, defeating Loki and the Chitauri, Ultron, even as far back as Red Skull. All the way back to the moment he'd been injected with the serum. And in that overwhelming moment as he looked at the painting of himself fighting so hard against the darkness, he felt the gentle weight of Ceci's hand in his—the precious, talented, hands that had created such an incredible thing. Without another thought, his mind swiftly returned to the present and he pulled her to him, put his hand to the back of her neck, and kissed her as tears ran down his cheeks.

After a few moments he came back to his senses and pulled away slightly. "I—I'm sorry." He whispered out - though clearly the apology was more a question than a statement.

She gave him a shy smile, raising her hands to his cheeks and wiping away the tears. "Are you really?" She asked as she tried to catch her breath, looking up into his eyes from where she still stood close to him.

He shook his head and his lip twitched into a small smile. "N-not really."

"Good. Me either." She watched as he took a shaky breath, her hands moving to his shoulders. "Are you okay?"

He gave a gentle nod. "I am. Just... overwhelmed."

"So—I take it that means you like it?" She asked with a small smile appearing on her face and a blush in her cheeks.

He nodded. "I—I love it."

She giggled and leaned into his hand that rested on her cheek. "Just to clarify... I meant the painting."

A hiccup of a chuckle escaped him too. "Yeah, that's what I meant too." He then bobbed his head back and forth and grinned wider as he took a small step back and turned back towards the painting while keeping hold of her hand which he gently squeezed. "And the kiss. I loved the kiss."

She let out a breath, "Yeah, me too."

He glanced at their hands, then at her before he suddenly blushed. "This is, um... I know this is kind of... fast. It's not something I usually jump into... I'm sorry if it was too forward."

She smiled and squeezed his hand. "I did say I enjoyed it."

"Yes, you did." He grinned before his gaze flicked back towards the canvas before fully pulling away from her gaze and back to the painting. His face morphed to an expression of awe again as he continued to feel the ebb and flow of emotions that came with looking at the painting of himself. "Ceci... this is... remarkable. I can't begin to express how much it means to me."

After another moment of quiet, she decided she'd had enough nervousness over him viewing her artwork, particularly the piece he was the subject of. "Want to go sit down and chat? Maybe move on to a stronger drink? Things might get a bit more boring from here–hopefully it's not too much of a let down."

"I can't imagine there being a let down in getting to know you better, Ceci. I had a feeling about you the moment I walked up to the counter at the coffee shop. And yes, drinks and a chat sounds great."