First Christmas
(Iris POV)
I walk into Steve's apartment in a really bad mood after work, another night full of assholes, even some asshole woman too. "I hate my job!" I snarl as I slam the door, Steve's making dinner. "What happened?" He giggles.
"Oh a girl caught her boyfriend with someone else and instead of the girls you know being pissed with him they got into a fight, they broke things, caused a huge mess and got beer all over me. I swear I can't with this job!...Oh and to top it off I still can't find my mom's locket, it's like it vanished."
"Yeah, I've looked everywhere too. Don't worry, you'll find it." I sit on the chair in the dining room with a sigh and Steve hands me a glass of wine and starts massaging my shoulders.
"Thank you." I hum as I lay my head back. "Your probably thinking I need to stop complaining, you have to deal with so much more shit then I do. I just need to stop bitching all the time." I said mostly to myself as I bring my head back more from enjoying his massage on my neck.
"Actually no." He starts to say, "I was actually thinking, why don't you quit?"
"What?"
"Yeah, I mean you hate it there, if it makes you so mad leave, find something that you really want to do."
"I don't know, what would I do? The bar has always paid pretty good money and it's not easy to find good work."
"Why not?"
"Because, I'm not very smart and I barely passed high school," I explain.
"You got to stop doing that to yourself, you are smart...you can do whatever you want...what do you want to do?"
"I don't know." I simply answered.
"Don't worry, you'll figure it out, just don't sell yourself short." He told me as he leans down and kisses my cheek, he came around and sat across from me while we ate. I couldn't stop thinking about what he said, did he have a point?
A Few Weeks Later
Christmas is approaching and Steve and I are decorating the Christmas tree. I told him about week ago that I was going to do what I usually do and that's get a little one for my table. I didn't really celebrate Christmas, obviously Christmas was not done in my home except for my mom being able to sneak one present for me. So I just never celebrate it, I have gone to Renee and Amber's and even though it was very nice of them I always felt like a third wheel. I think for once Steve and I had something in common because he told me that he never really had a tree growing up either, they were so poor and never really could afford it and after his mom died he just celebrated with Bucky and his family and like me he felt like a third wheel. So Steve suggested we should start a brand new tradition to get the biggest tree we could, go all out with decorations and spend it with each other, this one is going to be very special because it's going to be our first Christmas together!
"Did we have to get one so big?" I ask conflicted.
"Yes, isn't that the idea of getting the biggest?" He wondered.
"Yeah but I can't even reach the top." I sighed as I try to reach with my tiptoes, he starts to laugh at me from my struggle.
"Here." He says as he goes behind me and lifts me up so I can put the star on top of the tree.
"Thank you," I smile down at him, he always carries me with such easy. When he puts me down I hear him let out a little hiss of pain. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing...I'm fine." He responds, I don't believe him, instead of saying anything I lift up his shirt and he has the biggest bruise on his rib.
"Oh Steve that looks so painful!" I lightly touch it.
"I'll be fine, I'll heal in no time." He reassures me.
"Well, that doesn't make me feel better, come here and lay down on the couch." I demand.
"Iris.." Is all he can get out before I gave him the look, I signal with my head for him to lay down, he indeed listens to me. He lays on the couch, I grab some ointment and ice, just to help him until he healed himself. I rub it gently on his amazing abs. "Why didn't you show me this before?" I ask kind of upset with him for hiding it.
"I didn't want you to worry." He explained.
"Well, tell me next time, I always want to know if your hurt." I reply with a pointed finger.
"Yes Ma'am" I smiles, it always put a smile on my face when he called me Ma'am. After a few minutes of rubbing him down I hear him hiss again, "I don't know how much more of this I can take Iris." He suddenly blurts out.
"What do you mean?"
"Hydra...I feel like it's never going end. Sometimes I don't know what I am doing anymore, I feel like crawling into a hole where no one knows me...well except for you." He vented and with that last part formed a grin.
I didn't know how to help him or what to say to make him feel better, I inhaled praying I could say the right thing. "You will stop them Steve, every time you battle them they grow weaker like you told me, don't give up and keep kicking their ass," I encourage, he gave me a bigger grin, "thank you."
"Now...does that hurt to much to...you know." I wiggle my eyebrows up and down quickly, he giggles.
"Absolutely not." He smirked as he leaned over and kissed me.
Christmas!
It's Christmas morning, I wake up to Steve planting a kiss on my cheek, "Merry Christmas." He whispers in my ear, that made me open my eyes. He's hovering above me, I wrap an arm around his neck pulling him down to plant him a passionate kiss. "Merry Christmas to me." I half joke, I can hear and feel him snicker against my lips.
He turns and pulls out a tray, he surprised me with a great breakfast in bed. "This is also going to be a Christmas tradition." He informs me, I just smile loving this idea! I start chowing down right away, of course it tastes amazing!
"I've got to ask, how did you learn how to cook so good?" I ask with my mouth full.
"Well after my mom got sick I had to take care of her, I had no choice to learn if I and her wanted to eat. She talked me through it sometimes." He explains as he's just watching me eat.
"Well, she definitely taught you right." I give him a grin, "...I wish I could have met her."
"Me too...she would have loved you."
"Yeah?" I asked hopeful.
"Oh yeah, she liked women that were out spoken and tough." He responded with a smile.
After breakfast we sit beside the Christmas tree and he hands me his gift. It's small, it looks like a ring box, I am getting really nervous...is Steve going to propose on Christmas? Was I ready? I don't know if I am or not. I am beginning to get terrified and I take a deep breath and open it.
"Oh Steve!" I sigh, it's my mom's locket! He had cleaned it and put a new chain on it, it looks brand new. I open it and he had put a new picture of my mom and me in it, the only picture of us in the box. "You had my mom's locket all this time!" I hit his shoulder playfully, I was looking everywhere for this thing!
"Yeah, sorry I made you go crazy."
"Are you really apologizing?! Thank you," I smile and give him a kiss.
"How did you get the picture so small to fit it inside?"
"Tony helped me out."
"Well tell him I said thank you." I kiss again. "Okay, your turn. You sort of have two." I hand him a skinny folder, he opens it and he's kind of confused at first. "It's enrollment papers, I'm taking courses to get a degree...I know what I want to do, I want to be a counselor for abused children," I explain.
"What? Iris, that's amazing!" He excitedly smiles.
"You were right, if I didn't like my life then I have to change it and it was time to stop hiding and stop letting my dead father control my life...and to help other kids whose going through the same thing."
"When do you start?"
"I've already started...I started a month ago."
"What? Your telling me this now!" He asks very shocked.
"Well, I am not very good with following through with things and I didn't want to tell you before I went and ended up quitting but...it's been going really good." I explain, he just keeps smiling at me.
"I think that's a great idea...I'm proud of you."
"Thank you." I smile before handing him his second gift, also an envelope. He opens it and they're plane and travel plans, again he looks at me shocked. "Next month we're going to Fiji."
"What?" He asked confused.
"Yeah! We're going for a week, I remembered you saying how you would love to get away, so we are. It will be just us." I reveal to him. "And I chose a month away to give you time to notify everyone...I know it's probably not easy for the leader of the Avengers to get time off."
"But what about school? You just barely started."
"No worries, I already told my professors and they already gave me everything I need so I don't miss anything." I reassure him.
"This is great! Thank you." He genuinely smiled as he gives me a sweet kiss.
"You think the Avengers can have you be gone for a week?"
"Well...they'll have to live with it whether they like it or not...who cares, we're going." He confidently replies with a big smile, I became so excited!
Another chapter where a a lot happened, Iris going to collage, celebrating Christmas and now going on a trip!
