Into the War || A Captain America Love Story

34

STEVE

I step out of our bedroom, running my fingers through my damp hair. The house is unsettlingly silent, meaning that Tori must be outside. Since Tony told her to learn to control her powers all over again, she's persistent and insistent on doing just that. The first few days, I would only allow her to make a few small snowflakes and that was it. We soon escalated up to entire masses of snow. She hasn't dared to try and produce ice in my presence, so I'm assuming that she's doing that now.

I pull on a jacket, opening the back door. I'm met with a cool wind as I take my first step outside. Peering over the terrace, I spot Tori in the yard with snow surrounding her on the grass. I set my hand on the railing, smiling at her. She sits in the grass with ice crystals swirling through her fingertips. Her brown orbs stare meticulously at the flakes as they float into the grass. Her brunette hair blows in the wind, curling behind her. She pulls the sleeves of her light gray sweater closer to her palms. I can't wipe the grin off my face.

"Enjoying the view?" she sneers, glancing up at me. Her lips curl into a smile.

"As always," I tease, stepping down into the grass. It's now green, hinting at the beginning of spring. Despite the pollen that floats through the air and the fluctuating temperature, I truly like springtime. Tori claims to dislike it, but I know she loves it. She gazes at the baby animals wobbling through the woods and the flowers that sprout from the ground.

"Come here," she calls, beckoning me over with her icy hands.

I instantly obey, dropping onto the grass next to her. She forces ice crystals to combine into each other so she's holding a snowball in her hand a second later.

"I'm bored," she states, tossing the snowball in between her hands.

I smirk, sneaking my hand around hers and peeling her fingers from the snowball. I sit up, throwing it at her. It hits her shoulder, causing her to scoff. She brushes the snow off her sweater, forming a larger snowball in her hand. Before I know it, I'm having to wipe snow off my face. I lean over to her, pressing my lips on to hers. Her hand cups my face and I set my hand on her hip, bringing her closer to me. I eventually am hovering over her as she lays on the ground, still kissing her. Tori flips over, ending up on top of me. I lay on the ground now, grass poking my back. I smile against her lips, slowly pulling away.

"Are you still bored?" I ask her.

She shrugs, scrunching her nose up. "Possibly."

"Well, what would you like to do then?" I smile.

She sighs, shrugging once more in reply. "Dunno. It doesn't matter to me."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well then, let's go on a mission."

"Ha, no."

Tori lays in the grass next to me, setting her head on my chest like normal. I sigh, glancing up at the blue sky. This is what I've always wanted — love and peace. And I finally have all of it. I want a family too, but I have one now. She is my family, and maybe we can eventually have a bigger one.

"Whatcha thinking about, Steve?" Tori asks in a hushed voice.

I smile, closing my eyes. "About how happy I am."

She looks up at me, analyzing my face. "It's not just that," she whispers as she ties all of the information she's found together. She's not wrong. "What else are you thinking about?"

"How much happier I can become with you," I answer.

Her lips twitch into a smile, like she's still trying to figure things out. "By doing what?"

I sigh. We've never really had this conversation before, and now that we're getting married very soon it has to happen. "We need to talk."

Tori takes a deep breath. She licks her lips and nods for me to begin.

"Okay," I breathe. I honestly didn't think that I'd get this far. I don't know why I'd think that, but I did and now I can't find words. My mouth is open, but nothing is coming out.

Tori gently sets her hand on my arm, her eyes sad. "We don't have to talk now if you don't feel comfortable doing it."

I nod, but I refuse her offer. "No, it needs to happen."

She nods, and I can sense the aura of fear coming off her.

"Since we're about to tie the knot soon, I've been thinking that we should really be talking about....about—"

"Kids." She says it so simply, like she can read my mind. "Yeah, I've been thinking about it too."

She lays back down next to me, heaving out a sigh. She begins to laugh, making me confused. "It's so funny how Tony always teased us, saying that we were eventually going to do it."

I snort at the last few words. "Yeah, literally."

She smacks my shoulder with the back of her hand, causing me to erupt with laughter. "Yeah, I think we need to explain the birds and the bees to him since he doesn't seem to realize how children are made, which he forbid us from doing, first of all."

I scoff. Tony knows damn well how it all works, but he just doesn't want his baby sister to grow up. Granted I know he wants us to have kids, but he just doesn't want to think about the thing that gets us there.

"Anyways, what did you truly want to talk about?" Tori asks me.

I sigh. "T-That we should really start thinking about it."

She has a dark expression, the smile falling from her face. I must've upset her. Does she not want kids? She's seemed so happy about it before. After all, she would be a mother. When Tony teased us the first time that we were in the underwater prison, she instantly cut him off when he began to say that she would be a mom.

"I do want kids, Steve," she whispers, "but I'm scared."

"Of what, darling?" I ask her softly.

"That I won't be a good mom, miscarriage, bad health, everything." Her voice is beginning to crack, making my heart chip into little pieces.

I just embrace her, tightly holding on to her in my arms. I'm terrified of the same things — I won't be a good dad, something horrible will happen to our child, bad health will consume them like how I was when I was little....I don't know what I'd do if that were to happen.

"I promise you that won't happen," I whisper to her, smoothing her hair down.

I feel her vigorously nod, choking back a sob. I pull away, wiping her tears away with my thumb. She tries to smile, but it just turns back into a frown. I kiss the tip of her nose, making her emit a small laugh.

"It'll be okay," I tell her. "Plus, children are probably far away for us."

She nods again, rubbing the tears that still cling to her lashes away. "Yeah, we're not even married yet."

"Right," I breathe. "God, just a little while longer until we do. Time goes by fast."

Tori scoffs. "Yeah, it does."

"We sound like were ninety," I laugh. "We're getting old."

"Says the man that's over ninety," Tori remarks.

"Oh, be quiet," I say, pushing her shoulder.

She topples over, still laughing hysterically. "Okay, fine. I will be."

I pull her up to me, kissing her tenderly on the lips. She presses her lips onto mine, pulling me close. She laughs, pulling away. I plant kisses on her neck, causing her to giggle like a child. Her arms are wrapped around me, like she's wanting me closer. I eventually stop by Tori pleading through laughter.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she breathes through giggles. "I apologize."

"Good," I sneer.

"And where did you learn that?" she asks me, referring to my behavior.

I scoff. "I'm marrying a Stark, where do you think?"