He could see Abbie’s apprehension at that—she probably hadn’t expected him to respond so enthusiastically, or so seriously. He released her hair and stroked her face, his fingertips gliding over her brow, her temple, along the line of her jaw. Everywhere he touched, tension seemed to ease out of her. “I’m just asking, Abbie,” he said softly. “I’m asking what you want to do because I care about the answer. I care about what you want.” It had occurred to him recently, that he should tell her things like that—should say what seemed so obvious to him out loud. Because it wasn’t obvious to Abigail, and if he didn’t show her his heart, how the fuck was she supposed to learn it? He wasn’t leaving her in the dark anymore, to stumble around with nothing but her hopes and her fears.
Not ever.
She gave a tentative smile, and his heart squeezed at the sight. “Okay. Well … I think they’d be pleased, but I also think that talking about … about our feelings for each other was a lot, and we don’t exactly know what this is going to look like, or at least I don’t, and—”
“One year,” he said softly.
She blinked. “Hm?”
“That’s how long I was going to wait,” he reminded her, “before I asked you out. One year of being with you however you wanted before I ever brought up my feelings. I might’ve failed on the feelings part, but we can still wait a year, if you want.”
Her lips parted for a breathless moment, and she leaned into him, just a tiny bit. Just enough for him to feel the warmth of her fledging trust, chasing away the blizzard’s chill. “You’re rather dedicated,” she said dryly, but she looked at him with so much soul-deep affection he almost passed out. Really, he felt a little light-headed. The fucking eyes on this woman.
“Yeah,” he said hoarsely. “Dedicated. That I am.”
“And perfect,” she added quietly, fondly. “You’re rather incredibly perfect.”
“You told me you have things you need to work out,” he said, fighting the loopiest fucking grin of all time because this was supposed to be a serious adult conversation about boundaries or whatever the fuck. “So do what you gotta do, Abs, and in the meantime, I’ll still be here, and we’ll still be us. Okay?” You’re safe with me. You’re trying for me. And you will never fucking regret it.
She looked up at him as if she couldn’t see anything else. “Okay, Will,” she said. And then she kissed him so hard he felt weak.
Epilogue
@AbbieGrl: Have you seen this?
@DoURe1dMe: Uh … is that supposed to be me?
@AbbieGrl: It’s Captain X getting pegged by Captain Marvel 
@DoURe1dMe: INTERESTING … how do you feel about wearing spandex?