Into the War || A Captain America Love Story

28

STEVE

After almost burning the house down today for being shot with foam bullets, I think that I deserve a break. It was fun, and definitely Natasha's idea. Tori's more of the type to have an air horn, like her brother. I successfully cooked dinner for the three of us though, Natasha smirking all the way through and bragging about their victory. And no matter how many excuses I make, the girls and I know that I would've lost in half the time if it was just one of them. Anyways, it was fun.

Shortly after Natasha left and our fun was over, Tori and I curl up on the sofa. I twirl a lock of her hair around my finger as we talk about nonsense, per usual. It's past midnight now, for sure, meaning that we're both yawning and still not going to bed. Soft classical music plays in the background, probably because neither of us decided to turn it off after Nat left.

Tori seems a bit hyper, her usual in the late night after staying up after an eventful day, which makes absolutely no sense. Personally, I would just crash, but that's just me. But because of her abnormality of this type of behavior at these hours, she randomly drags me off the couch and around the coffee table, holding my right hand with her left and her right on my shoulder.

"I thought that you weren't into this sappy stuff," I state, resting my left hand on her side and interwinding my right hand's fingers with her left one's. "Too cheesy for you."

She scoffs, beginning to dance to the music. "Since when have I said to stop though?"

"Fair enough," I nod.

"Anyways," she says in a low voice. "We're going to have to dance in front of a bunch of people soon, so might as well get prepared."

I eye the sparkling ring on her finger, a small smile slowly tugging at my lips. "You have no idea how long I've wanted a family. I was on my own when I was eighteen, and I had no one except Bucky. I was alone until I found you."

She scoffs, blatantly glancing at the floor. "I know the feeling."

"Why did you never tell me about all of that until recently?" I give her sad eyes, trying to coax her into answering me.

She closes her eyes, tearing them away from her wrists. "I-I didn't want you to think that I was weak. I guess I didn't want you to know how my brain truly worked back then. My head was, and still is, awful.

"I only had JARVIS, you know," she whispers, her voice barely audible over the music. "Although he was artificial intelligence, he was all I had besides Tony, who was always out and working. I didn't have any friends, no family left. Peggy was always willing to take me in after Tony took me back in after he returned to stability, but I couldn't show her how damaged I really was."

"I know the feeling," I tell her, trying to smile.

She smiles back, but it's crooked and sad. "You did have Bucky though, and he's a good guy," she says. "If there's one thing that I learned from school is that kids are awful to each other. They don't get much better as adults, but I don't understand why someone would hurt another person for entertainment. 'A disappointment of a Stark, worthless celebrity you are, lonely freak.' I took all of those words so seriously, and I have never understood why.

"I-I really did think that there was something wrong with me though, and I wasn't incorrect," she continues. I listen silently, soaking in every word. "I would spend hours and hours scanning through psychology textbooks, trying to find some mental disease with my symptoms in it. I thought at first that I was a psychopath, then that I had antisocial personality disorder. But it turned out to all just be social anxiety. I was twelve."