Steve Rogers/Captain America One Shots

I'll Be Home for Christmas pt.2

Christmas Day

Steve Rogers listened to the crunch of the snow beneath his boots, as they left behind packed down imprints of his shoes, with each continued step forward he took. The snowflakes still fell heavily from the night sky above him, and dusted the icy sidewalk he strolled down with a fresh layer of pearly white snow. Twinkling like a million tiny diamonds in the shine of the street lights, that lit his way. The small flakes that fell from above, settled upon his coat and melted at the very touch of his exposed neck. It was a soft snow, one of beauty and gentleness. And showered the Earth in a whimsical nature that brought the season to life. 

Steve's eyes strayed to look at the many houses he passed on his path, unable to keep from gazing in wonder at the magical lights strung up with care. House after house, he witnessed an array of colors and patterns that twinkled wildly in the darkness of the night. Brightening up the blanket that had fallen upon the neighborhood, and somehow the sight seemed to warm through coldness that blew in with the late December wind. 

There was a softness that came with the holiday season, Steve believed. One that made the world seem less harsh and calloused around the edges. One that made the world kinder towards man-kind, and that brought hope back to humanity. Even when the holiday was nestled in the coldest of seasons and conditions, there was a warmth that spread through life like a wildfire, when Christmas drew near. There was a sense of childlike spirit and wonder that infected all of those who accepted it, and brought forth goodness in the souls that opened for it. The world needed Christmas to remember that not all was lost, and that goodness still existed out there somewhere and somehow. She always told Steve that the holidays made the world a softer place, and ever since then, he believed it too.  

Steve blew out a breath, and watched with cold pierced eyes as it froze in the air in front of him. Dissipating into a pale cloud before him, as it blew away with the chilling wind. His hands that were tightly buried in the depths of his pockets, still began to feel the cold beginning to numb the very tips of his fingers. And although a part of Steve should've been used to the cold by now, he didn't enjoy the sensations it brought with it's temperatures. 

Blowing out another frozen breath, Steve's feet come to a slow stop as he reaches the beginning of a driveway. Marked by a snow dusted mailbox, one in which he can still make out the faded writing upon, he feels himself stilled by the sight. The small house sits cozily on a bed of snowy land near the end of the street. And along the shingled roof, is a delicate strand of twinkling lights wrapping its way around the house like a gentle hug. Glistening like the shine that bounces off of the snow at Steve's feet in the moonlight, as the bulbs are nothing more than a beautiful pearl like hue. And he soon finds his lips begin to smile softly at the sight of the wreath hanging on the front door. Although a small home, and --to the common eye-- nothing exceptionally special, a warmth radiates from the structure and meets Steve all the way down at the start of the short driveway. One that fills the chest of the longing man with a familiarity that makes his heart swell with love and anticipation. 

And so Steve walks, with a small smile tugging at his cold lips and rosy turned cheeks, up to the front door of the house he had been waiting to return home to. The glow of the lights shine down upon the snow dusted path, as his footsteps are the first to march through it, on his way up the short steps. And lifting his freezing bare hand out of his pocket, he knocks gently against the front door. Listening to it rattle softly, in the silence of the still world around him. 

Steve rocks back and forth on his heels slightly, as he releases a breath through his lips as he waits patiently. There was an emotion that flowed through his body, coursing through his veins right along side his blood. One that felt like anxiety mixed with longing and something completely new. Steve wasn't able to place the feeling he had never felt before, until the door opened slowly. And it was then, that Steve Rogers knew exactly when the feeling he soared through his body was.