Into the Snow || A Captain America Love Story

10

     The air is crisp and the wind blows through my long brunette hair. I wear a long burgundy sweater, black leggings, and brown combat boots. All of the Avengers walk out of the quinjet wearing normal clothes. Steve and I walk together, chatting as we wait for the others to get out of the quinjet.
     "Excited?" he asks, gazing at my large grin.
     "Steve, we are in London. Of course I am!" I exclaim.
     Tony walks out last, holding his phone.
     "Watch where you walk, Tony," I say. "We all know what happened last time."
     "What happened?" Steve asks me.
     "Tony pretty much broke his face." I say, grinning at my brother.
     "That was one time!" Tony says, holding up his index finger.
     "Anyway," Natasha speaks up. "Where are we going?"
     "London Eye," Tony says, gripping at the collar of his black long sleeve shirt. "I think it will be appropriate."
     Steve nods. "Yeah, it's a great introduction to the city."
     We walk out of the landing area and into the city. Skipping through the crowds, Tony blabs about the history of the city while Bruce has his phone. Natasha and Clint keep to themselves and Bruce stays silent, walking next to Tony. Steve and I chat about randomness and stroll through the streets, usually losing the group, but then finding them again.
     "Woah, Steve look." I say to Steve, pointing at the top of the large Ferris wheel.
     "There it is." he murmurs.
     My eyes light up like a child's when I see the entire wheel. The hub of it it huge, unlike the normal Ferris wheels I have seen in the United States. The capsules look like small dots in the sky. The spokes are almost impossible to count. There are so many and they cross over others.
"Steve, c'mon," I exclaim, seizing his hand.
He yelps and it transforms into a laugh. The edges of his brown leather jacket rub against my sweater as we run.
The world around us is meaningless to me. I couldn't care less about Tony's teasing and the giggling of the others. I see Steve's blushed cheeks which make a part of me regret my decision to drag him with me. However, his large grin makes me love my decision.
"C'mon, slowpokes!" Steve calls.
"Before the line gets long!" I add.
The others jog up and we wait in the line. No one comes after us. When we are in the front of the nonexistent line, we hop into our own capsule. Once everyone is inside, anticipation fills the area. I press my face against the glass, slowly going up.
"Welp," Tony says, popping the 'p'. "We're going to be in here for about thirty minutes, so, conversation starter?"
"The view," Steve says, gazing out the glass.
The late afternoon sun fills the capsule. I have to block my eyes a few times because of it. Steve and I point at all of the famous places that we know of and the buildings that we think look nice.
"Look, Big Ben!" Steve exclaims, pointing to the large structure.
While Steve and I shout the names of buildings, I can just sense Tony shaking his head at us.
"Hey Tori, come here for a minute." Bruce says.
Steve glances at me and motions me to Bruce. I sigh and walk to him.
"I was having fun," I pout.
"This is more important," he says.
Bruce holds Tony's phone, showing me a news article. I read the heading: Mystérieux In London?
"Woah," I say. "I'm not surprised, but still."
I scan the rest of the article:
"The well-known Mystérieux was seen today in London, England. She stopped a massacre by a H.Y.D.R.A. agent, whom was later held captive by S.H.I.E.L.D.. The witnesses could only say that the young woman swept through the crowd and demanded that the girl that the agent was threatening was set free. After the agent's negative answer, she shot him. A few specifically said that the agent pointed out a pin that Mystérieux was wearing near her shoulder. It is the 'Avengers' pin that Avengers wear. For example: Captain America. This can infer that Mystérieux is an Avenger. She was also accompanied by Captain America himself, and later Iron Man. Most of the witnesses included an interaction with two of the Avengers is between Mystérieux and Captain America. He put a hand on her shoulder and most witnesses said that is was a 'comforting gesture' towards the young woman. However, some said a 'romantic gesture'. Can this mean that the two are together?"
"Woah, woah, woah," I say, looking away from the article. "Too far."
"Is that true?" Bruce asks innocently.
"I-It is," I say quietly. "But they told the situation differently. He was trying to comfort me because of my 'problem'."
"Still," Bruce says. "I've been rereading this thing since we've left."
I look worriedly at Steve. He gazes out the glass, peering at the buildings. His blue plaid shirt peeks from his leather jacket and his jeans seem lighter from the sunlight.
"Out of all people, he had to be brought into this madness." I whisper to Bruce.
"I know how you are, Tori," Bruce says. "I've known you for a while. You wouldn't purposely bring anyone into a situation like that."
"And that just proves that you're the only person who truly understands me."
Bruce smiles. "I just wanted to get your opinion on that, if it was true or not."
We both look at Steve in worry. We both know very well how much tragedy Steve has lived through, most he is still living in or is dealing with the aftermath of it. The only happiness the guy gets is ripped away from his soul.
"Now, go and have fun." Bruce says.