No Words

No Words

Elizabeth was silent, dressed in her cozy blue and green sweater and slouch beanie, sitting on the steps of her porch. She was still for what seemed like an eternity, her free strands of blonde hair blowing in the winter breeze as Jack Frost caressed her face. The wind was almost bitter in its blustering against her skin, but the woman made no move to go back inside. Her mind was a tempest, just like the weather, and she found the howling wind was somewhat comforting. . . Besides, it was either stay here until she cooled off, or be tempted to put her fist through the nearest wall. . .

Life hadn’t been particularly friendly to her lately, nor had things necessarily worked in her favor. Not that she was one to give up, or be a sore loser. But the discouragement had been adding up, and her mood had taken a dip, despite her best efforts to remain positive. So, instead of blowing up, like she so desperately needed to, the young woman had opted for the peaceful option. Sitting outside in the pre-blizzard until she had her head on straight.

Elizabeth watched thoughtfully as the frozen miniature fractals gracefully floated through the pallid heavens. The smell that followed snow had always been soothing to her, even as a child when she’d played in it, and now was no different. She inhaled deeply, fighting the urge to cry, as her inner desperation reared its ugly head. She made herself focus on the blistering cold blowing past her face, and the numbing sensation it left behind. She pushed aside the darkness and only felt the feather light kisses of the flakes, feeling her heart flip as she fought to remain steadfast.

Elizabeth wasn’t a crier. She was a doer, a woman who acted, and kicked the ass of anything that got in her way. . . She wasn’t weak, dammit! And yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that lodged firmly in her stomach. It was like butterflies, but the bad kind, stuck in a constant fluttering that made her feel sick with anger.

The woman, lifted a hand to push her hair away from her heart shaped face, before she shut her eyes. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, with her mouth and nose, listening to the stillness of the snow and the thrumming of her own pulse. She counted as she filled her lungs full of the fresh December air, and then counted again as she let it out. She repeated the process numerous times, until it all seemed to blur together.

“If I knew you wanted to show off your yoga moves, I would’ve whipped out the mat, beautiful. . . And yoga pants. . .”

Elizabeth’s bright eyes shot open at the familiar voice, her gaze instantly meeting with a pair of deep brown ones.

“Yoga pants my ass, Tony.” Though her words were firm, her tone was soft, as she looked at the love of her life.

“A man can dream, babe,” he replied with humor.

Tony Stark, dressed in a simple coat and jeans, stood before the woman. The snow was up past his ankles as he moved to sit beside her on the safety of the porch, but he didn’t show any discomfort over having the cuffs of his pants wet. Instead, he sat down beside the beautiful woman, and immediately pulled her into his side. And despite still being upset, Elizabeth didn’t resist.

As his strong hand curled around her waist and brought her close, she felt several tears trickle past her lashes to coat her pink face. She wiped them away quickly with her hands, but not before the handsome billionaire saw. . . But he didn’t call her out on it. He didn’t even mention it. Instead, he reached into his coat pocket with his free hand. As he pulled out the item in question, he held it out to her.

Elizabeth’s brow rose in confusion as she studied the thing Tony was offering her. It was a bottle of Dr. Pepper, wrapped in a festive silk turquoise ribbon.

“What the hell-?”

“I figured this was the next best thing, gorgeous. Seeing as you can’t legally drink for a couple more years.” He sniffed, as he watched her intently.

Liz hesitantly took the drink from him, before she cracked it open and took a large chug. The fizz felt good as it trickled down her throat, and the taste of cherry exploded pleasantly against her taste buds. She was usually one for water, but on occasion she enjoyed a soda. . . Tony must have been a mind reader tonight. . .

“Thanks.”

“Sure thing, baby girl.”

The two were silent for several minutes, as Liz drank and Tony cuddled her close. His cheek was pressed against the top of her head, his fingers tracing patterns against her side, as they watched the snow fall together.

“You wanna talk about it?”

Elizabeth shook her head, making his cheek rub against her beanie. “Not really.”

Tony mumbled his understanding. Then he surprised her by asking a question.

“You know that I love you beyond all reason, right?”

Elizabeth felt the beginning of a smile creep up to grace her lips, though her earlier feelings remained.

“I love you too, Tony.”

“I know, beautiful.” Then he added, “I’d wonder about your sanity if you didn’t love me back, Liz.”

“Shut up, dork.” She leaned up to pepper his cheek with kisses, enjoying the way his stubble tickled her lips and nose as she nuzzled into him. Liz had always loved his facial hair. . . he made it look good. But then again, Tony made almost anything look good.

Tony gently captured her mouth with his own, smiling into the contact as she deepened it.

While Tony had been a playboy in his youth, he had always been willing to let Liz take the lead in their relationship. Not that he lacked initiative, or didn’t take control when it was called for. But he had always been relaxed with her. There was no reason to put on a show, or puff himself up. They were comfortable in a domestic sort of way, and both took strength from the relationship.

As Elizabeth pulled away from the kiss, she sighed and turned back to watch the snow, shivering as Tony wrapped his arms around her again.

“Tony, I’m sorry. . . A lot has happened lately-”

“Uh-uh, baby girl. No words.”

“…What?”

“You don’t owe me any explanations, Liz.” He lifted an eyebrow before he smiled. “You’ll tell me when you’re Zen again, and I’ll be here until then.”

Elizabeth laughed softly as she took another sip of her Dr. Pepper, noting how lucky she was to have Tony as her man.

“Merry Christmas, Tony.”

He kissed her forehead before gazing back out to the falling flakes of white. “Merry Christmas, Elizabeth.”