No Winter Lasts Forever

Chapter Six

Willow led Steve and James out back, behind the apartment complex where a large field had been shaped into the grass. She walked over to the shed at the edge of it and pulled out her keys to unlock it, stepping inside. When she emerged, she held a football in one hand. "Have either of you played?"

James' face lit up. "I haven't played since before I enlisted." He quickly caught the ball when Willow tossed it to him. "Kind of hard to play with only two people, though."

"Just throw it back and forth. You won't have to hold back your strength with each other, so it should prove to be entertaining," Willow commented.

"What're you going to do?" Steve asked.

Willow shrugged and sat in the grass, leaning against the shed. "I'll watch. You two have some downtime." She watched as they walked out into the middle of the field and began to throw the ball back and forth.

"Come on! That's all you got?" James complained as he caught the ball easily with his flesh arm. "I know you can throw harder than this," he added as he spun the ball in his hand, then threw it as hard as he could.

Steve caught it with a grunt and had to take a step back before he shook out his hand. "That's how you're going to play?" he laughed.

"You're not going to hurt me if that's what you're worried about, Steve," James countered.

"Fine." Steve gripped the football tight in one hand and launched it as hard as he could, and watched as James caught it easily with his vibranium arm. "Nice catch!"

James smirked and spun the ball in his hand. "Thanks... old man."

"Hey!" Steve pointed, but he was smiling. "Don't start that shit."

"Language!" Willow yelled, making both James and Steve laugh.

"Not you too!" Steve turned and called.

Willow laughed. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. It's one of my favorite stories... Tony used to tell me."

Steve smiled. "It's a fond memory." He went to take a step towards Willow, only to almost get blindsided with the football but caught it last minute. "The hell Buck?"

"I'm tired of talking about sad shit for today. Do you still wanna play?" James said as he stepped closer to Steve.

"You could have just said that instead of almost nailing me with the ball," Steve griped.

James shrugged. "I figured I'd keep you on your toes."

"Behave you two," Willow interrupted. "You're over a hundred, yet you act like you're five."

Steve chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, we kind of do. That's what happens when you've known someone for so long."

James scoffed and tossed him the football. "Shut up, man. Stop making me feel old."

"Old man..." Steve teased.

James smirked and moved towards Steve. "Shut it, Stevie. Old men don't make fun of younger kids."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Who says I was joking. And who are you calling old?"

James stopped and took a moment to think before responding. "Alright, alright, fair enough. Sorry for calling you old, Stevie." Steve huffed but gave James a smile and threw the ball to him again.

Willow chuckled and looked down at her phone, scrolling through messages she'd sent earlier in the day. She heard the sound of someone approaching and didn't need to look up to know it was James walking towards her.