Into the Snow || A Captain America Love Story

13

Our feet clomp against the sidewalk. I walk faster and faster as time goes by. The only thing stopping me from sprinting away is Steve's voice.
"Aren't you cold?" he asks.
Just so innocent, that man. One of my weaknesses - innocence.
"No," I say. "I'm alright. I don't get cold easily."
"Are you sure?" he asks again. "It's making me feel bad."
"Steve," I laugh. "I'm alright, trust me."
Steve nods reluctantly and continues to stroll next to me. He looks up at the full moon, his blue eyes shining in the moonlight. His eyes, another weakness. I quickly snap my head to look at my feet. While Steve and I are silent, the others can't keep their mouths shut.
"Haha, Tony, you're as blind as a bat." Clint chuckles.
"Yeah, I'm still telling Thor." Natasha says.
"Two specific people aren't joining us," Tony mutters.
"Yeah, where are they?" Clint asks.
Everyone looks around, finding us behind them. They don't speak to us, knowing that they'll say something "wrong" and will be snapped at. They continue to walk and talk amongst themselves, Steve and I still keeping quiet.
Steve's eyes dart somewhere to his left, me being on his right. I cock my head slightly to one side and stare at him intently.
"Hey," he whispers. "I want to show you something."
Steve seizes my hand and gently leads me to another street. I see a round white thing peering around a building, eventually seeing the entire structure - a fountain. We sit on the edge of it, gazing into the water. He shifts to one side and then speaks again.
"Look at the reflection," he says.
I shift my eyes and fix them on the reflection of the stars. A few feet away from us, I see the moon's shimmering reflection.
"Wow," I say. "That's beautiful."
"Not that," he coos, pointing to my reflection. "You."
I shift my eyes once more, but on myself. My hair is still pulled back, nothing changed about it since I looked in the mirror. My eyes are still the same brown and my makeup hasn't changed.
"What's different?" I ask.
"Just you," he says. "You seem so depressed. Why?"
I show no emotion while he looks into my eyes. "I wouldn't know. I don't even know myself anymore."
"You can open up to me, and I'll open up to you." he says. "I promise."
I gaze into his now sad eyes. "I feel like I've never told anyone anything. I've just now told Tony that...you know. And I've never had a deep conversation with anyone. I've never even thought about it before."
"Oh," he says. "I know perfectly how that feels. When I woke up from the ice, I was so confused. A lady came in a acted like I was still in the forties. After I noticed her attire and the radio recording was audible, I was skeptical. And when I was in the middle of Times Square, I've never been so confused and scared in my entire life."
"I know how that feels," I say.
"And to answer you're question from earlier, 'him' is my old friend, Bucky." he says clearly.
"Wait, James Buchanan Barnes? One of the Howling Commandos?" I ask.
     "Yeah," he says. "He was my friend."
"Oh, I-I'm so sorry," I say.
"It's okay," he sighs. "We all have lost."
"You're the most broken," I say.
He raises an eyebrow at me.
"Your soul is shattered. I mean, if I went seventy years into the future, no one that I knew is alive, I would freak out. Never mind, I'm broken too. So, I shouldn't be talking about that."
"I can only imagine your childhood," he says. "I don't mean that in a bad way, but no offense."
"None taken," I mumble. "I had a messed up childhood, that no child should ever have to go through."
Steve's eyes light up again and he glances into the distance at Big Ben, checking the time. "We should go soon."
"Yeah, Tony is probably going insane right about now." I say.
"You're probably right," Steve says. "Madam."
He holds out an arm politely and I interlock mine with his. We stroll together, now as close friends.