Converto - Marvel Studios [8]

forty-one.

Brooklyn

I pulled the car up to the kerb on the familiar quiet Brooklyn street, taking my foot off of the brake as I scrunched my eyebrows together. The living room light was casting a warm glow from the main window of the townhouse, the light diffusing through the thin curtains. I pulled the keys from the ignition, before stepping out of the car, making my way to the front door cautiously, just in case this was a trap I was not at all prepared for.

I pushed open the front door, a lovely smell of tomatoes and onions mingling out from the kitchen and into the hall. If this was a trap, why was someone making pasta sauce in my kitchen? I pushed my car keys into the pocket of my leather jacket as I walked into the living room, seeing Steve standing in the kitchen with his back to me. "What are you doing here?" I asked him as he turned around, a laugh escaping my mouth at the sight of a pink floral apron protecting his white knitted sweater.

He smiled at me as I pulled the arms from my jacket, throwing it onto the couch as he made his way over to me. "We are going to have dinner" he said, jutting out his chin as he kissed my lips quickly, the taste of wine transferring onto mine. "Like everything is normal" he added, moving back into the kitchen are as he picked up the spatula again. There was food scraps all over the counters, a cookbook lying open which was covered in onion peels.

"Like we aren't planning on saving half of the universe in the next 6 hours?" I asked him, shocked at how calm he was acting in the wake of such a big event. This was just how Steve worked. He kept calm and collected even in the worst of situations, because it was exactly how you calmed down everyone around you, which was always high on his list of priorities. "Exactly" he replied, grabbing the wine glass that was sitting next to the stove, taking a large sip.

"What's for dinner then, honey?" I asked him with a smile, grabbing the half full bottle of wine as I poured my own glass, taking a big gulp. "Take a guess" he replied to me as I looked at the stove, a pot of pasta telling me all I needed to know. "Spaghetti" I said as I stood next to him, receiving a kiss on the top of my head quickly. "Bingo" Steve sang as I let out a laugh, shaking my head as he wrapped a large arm around my shoulders, kissing the top of my head again but for a beat too long. "How was Morgan?" He asked as he went back to storing the pasta sauce, my feet carrying me to the counter as I pulled myself up onto it.

"Oh I left the cookies in the car, she had been baking all morning" I exclaimed, someone coming home with 3 boxes worth of chocolate chip cookies. "Great for desert" he said enthusiastically with a loud laugh as I nodded my head at him. "Set the table, honey?" He asked me, nodding towards the archway that led into our dining room. It was never used, the pair of us preferring to just sit at the counter or on the couch to eat, but tonight felt like a great night to use it.

"Sure, thing"

!

The room was dull as we lay in the bed, our bodies in a tangle as Steve drew circles onto my bare shoulder blade. It was nice to be back in our house, even if it was for one night, the compound had never felt like home to me. My head was resting on Steve's collar bone, the warm of his bare chest radiating back onto me. The sun was starting to come up, illuminating the beginning of the sunrise through the gaps in the curtains that had been haphazardly closed hours ago.

It could have been any normal day to us. This is what I was used to now, not saving the world one infinity stone at a time.

"If you would have told the scrawny kid at Camp Lehigh that he was going to end up with that agent he would have laughed in your face" Steve said, his voice croaky as it filled the room. He didn't need to check if I was still awake, there was no sleeping that would happen tonight. For multiple reasons. "Well, I probably would have snapped your neck" I replied, setting my hand on his chest as I spread out my fingers. Steve let out a small chuckle that reverberated through himself and then me, the bed shaking under us.