"Come home to me." She whispered, not able to talk out loud for fear of crying in front of all those people. "Please."

"I will, Beck." his eyes were soft and sad and he wanted more than anything to stay there with her and hold her but there was something he had to do. He had to stand up. He had to be the hero. He had to be her hero. And he couldn't do that sitting around at home.

"Promise?" She sniffled. He didn't want to make a promise to her that he couldn't keep but he knew he had to promise he'd come home to her to keep her from crying.

He pulled her to him with a hand on the back of her neck. He tangled his fingers in her hair and kissed her forehead. He savored it, for he was afraid it could be the last him he ever did it. He took in her smell, vanilla. He focused on her soft skin but then decided thinking about it would only make him weak. But memories kept flooding back. Memories for when they were kids, their first date, first kiss, first 'I love you' and the first time they really showed each other they meant it. It dawned on both of them it might be their last time.

"I promise, Beck." He nodded, wiping away tears on her cheeks. "I will, darling, I promise." She pressed her forehead against his and he pressed his lips to hers for as long as he could stand it with out breaking down. Steve placed small kisses all over her face. "I love you, Beck. I really love you." He kissed her cheek one last time before he shut his eyes tight, feeling her close to him for the last time for a while before he turned. 

 "I love you too." She called after him. She wanted to follow him, go with him wherever it was he was going but she knew she couldn't so she moped her way back to their apartment. Even Duck knew something was wrong, he whimpered, waddling around the apartment with his tail between his legs and his ears back. She missed him, he'd only been gone two hours but she missed him. She wanted to feel his hair again, touch his lips and his skin and lay in his arms like she had the night before. But all she would do was sit on the couch, listening to his favorite records and cry for hours until she fell asleep on the couch.