Close || Steve Rogers

Twenty

"Hello love." Steve whispers in my ear as I'm eating my breakfast a few days later. I smile and take in  his appearance as he sits in front of me. 

"Why are you wearing your suit?" I ask him, raising an eyebrow.

"We're going on a mission." Steve informs me. 

"Really? I thought that wasn't until next week." I reply, suddenly becoming very nervous. 

"Well, Dr. Zola's train is ahead of schedule." Steve shrugs. 

I stay silent for a moment before asking, "When do you leave?"

"As soon as everyone's ready." Steve says quietly, looking away from me. 

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I ask. 

"I didn't want you to be worried." Steve admits.

"Too late." I chuckle. Steve looks at me sadly before standing up and walking over to me. He pulls me up out of my seat and cups my cheeks. 

"Everything will be okay, I promise." he whispers. I place one of my hands over his and lean my head into his hand.

"I just...I feel like something is going to go wrong." I admit, tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. 

"I won't let anything happen, I promise. Everyone will come back safe." Steve assures me. 

"You can't promise that." I laugh.

"I can try." Steve laughs with me. I look up at him and wrap my arms around his neck. I bring his face down to mine and kiss him. 

"I love you." I tell him once we pull away from each other. 

"I love you more." he smiles.

"Okay, okay. Break it up lovebirds." Bucky chuckles behind Steve. I blush and hide my face in Steve's chest. 

"What do you want?" Steve asks, sounding slightly annoyed. 

"We're all ready." Bucky says seriously. I lift my head off Steve's chest and make eye contact with him. He smiles at me before kissing my forehead. 

"Everything will be okay." Steve whispers. I nod before pushing off of him and walking towards Bucky.

I embrace him in a hug and say to him, "You be careful, okay?" 

He laughs and responds, "I always am." 

I pull away from him and glare at him. 

"Okay, I promise I'll be careful." Bucky says seriously, pulling me back into a hug. 

A few tears roll down my cheeks but I pull away from Bucky and quickly wipe them away. Bucky looks behind me at Steve. I turn around to look at Steve too and he looks torn. 

"Go on. I'll be okay. You have a mission." I tell him through my tears.

Steve sighs before walking to me and pulls me into a tight hug. 

"I'll be back before you know it." he tells me, his voice cracking as he too begins to cry. 

"Steve, don't cry." I laugh. He pulls away and looks down at me, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. I reach up and wipe them away, smiling at him. 

"I love you." he tells me. 

"I love you too. Now go." I say, smiling a little and pushing him towards Bucky. Bucky slings an arm around Steve's shoulders and leads him out of the mess hall. Just before they walk outside, Steve turns his head around and smiles at me.