Time Unchanging

Chapter 114

Several days passed, but FRIDAY couldn't figure out where the message had come from. Wanda had taken over the Compound, saying she had to babysit the scientists every day. After a week, Steve and Thor arranged a double date for their partners. Bucky and Sam were on a small mission, or it would have been a family event.

They all decided to have a simple picnic date at the local park. Many families were there since was a Saturday, but that only added to the happiness the two couples felt. Sure, Eva and Steve felt pain at seeing children with their parents, but they knew they would be parents when the time was right.

They spent several hours enjoying the normalcy around them, that they were finding. Steve and Thor had to talk Eva and Loki out of pranking Sam and Bucky by wrapping their entire room in duct tape. However, seeing their partners determined, they settled on filling the room with balloons... water balloons filled with glue or glitter.

When it started to get close to dinner time, Thor said, "This is nice, having a relaxing date like this."

"I agree," Eva replied, leaning into Steve with a smile as they made their way across the park. "Just a quiet walk and enjoying the simplicity."

They stopped as Steve pulled Eva in close, saying, "I'm glad you like it. Reminds me of our old dates, just being together."

Thor kissed Loki, whose body molded to the golden god's. They lost themselves in each other's eyes when they parted for a short time, trying to catch their breaths.

"And you, ᛚᛟᚢᛖ- love?" Thor asked in a whisper. "How are you-"

A woman with an inverted bob with side-swept bangs cut at an angle walked up to the two couples, saying, "Disgusting! You can't do that here!"

Steve stepped forward, his demeanor becoming protective as he replied, "Ma'am, I don't know what it has to do with you but-"

She interrupted him, putting her hand up as if she could take away his right to speak at that moment. "This is a family park, and I don't want them corrupting my children. They need to leave."

Thor began to say, "Madam, we are simply enjoying our time to-"

"Don't talk to me!" The woman's voice started to draw attention from nearby people, making Eva and Loki uncomfortable. "I don't want your filth rubbing off on me! I can't believe they call you a hero!"

Loki would not stand for this foul woman talking to his boyfriend like that and said in an annoyed tone, "Would you kindly shut up? Your screeching is vile."

Thor tried to hide his smile and the woman went to add to her Harpy call, but a police officer walked up and asked, "What seems to be the problem here?"

As if a switch had been flipped, the strange woman put on a charming smile and said in a sweet voice, "Oh, officer! These two... heathens were being indecent and I politely told them to stop."

Steve came up, angry but controlled, and said, "Sir, I'm sure I can get Tony Stark to pull up CCTV footage-"

The cop leaned in and whispered, "Not necessary, Captain Rogers. I saw all of it." He pulled back and turned to the woman. "Ma'am, you can leave."

"Excuse me?" the woman yelled in shock. "I'm protecting the children. Think of them."

The officer pinched the bridge of his nose before giving her a stern look. "Ma'am, I witnessed you walk clear across the park to harass them. Now, leave or I will be forced to arrest you."

She began crying. "No, they should be leaving. I'm a good person."

Steve went to thank the officer but the woman moved past him, attempting to attack Loki and Thor. However, the cop grabbed her wrist and handcuffed her before escorting her towards his car. They heard her husband swearing as he ran past, apologizing to everyone he passed. Their teen daughter, decked out in her emo-chic look, walked past.

"This is the fifth time this month, Dad," she called out, adding to her mother's humiliation. "If she talks her way out of this one, I'll set fire to my Ouija board."

As the officer and the woman's family drove to the station, the park around them went back to normal. The two couples looked at each other, shocked by what had just happened.

"Well," Thor replied, breaking the silence, "that was interesting."

Eva looked up at Steve on the verge of tears as she said, "You said things had changed."

He hugged her to him after saying, "They have. Some people just choose to hate."

"Yes," said Loki, holding Thor's hand to hide how his shook, "well, can we leave? The mood is ruined."

Thor gave Steve a look, so the blond super soldier gave a smile as he replied, "Sure, Loki. We won't force you to have to deal with more of that. Let's do a movie at home."

Loki gave a shocked look, not having seen the exchange. Eva had, though. Steve and Thor had developed expressions and signals, their own code, to communicate when something was wrong with their partners. This only made her fall more in love with Steve.

"Thank you," said Loki.

They left the park after that. Loki read Eva's mind after a moment, seeing her acting more loving towards her man. When he learned about the code, tears welled up. He and Thor sat in the back seat of the car they had brought, so he could snuggle into Thor's chest for comfort, happy that this man loved him as much as he did.