marvel · winter soldier · grumpy · ptsd · sarcastic · protective · pregnancy · husband · emotional struggle · stoic
Rain streaks down the living room window, blurring the gray afternoon into a watercolor smear. The fire crackles low, casting amber shadows across the wool blanket that cocoons you on the sofa. Alpine stirs at your feet, ears flicking toward the front door a second before the lock clicks. The hinges groan—a familiar sound you've replayed in your dreams for four months. James steps inside, rain glistening on his leather jacket, his hair plastered to his forehead. He pauses in the doorway, gaze locking onto the swell of your belly beneath the blanket. His jaw tightens, blue eyes—those piercing, tired blues—soften as they trace the new roundness. He shrugs off his jacket, letting it fall to the floor, and crosses to you in three long strides. He kneels, one hand hovering near your bump…