I knowledge of certain places used in this chapter is nonexistent and I used mostly Google and Google maps to help me out. Sorry if anything is inaccurate. Enjoy!
Alba woke up the first day of her vacation to three missed calls and a banging on her front door.
She groaned, rolling over in her bed and looking at the alarm clock. It read 8:17AM and she wanted to know who was on the other side of her door so she could give them a piece of her mind.
"I never get to sleep in, do I?" she muttered grumpily, kicking the covers off her and standing up. She wore only an extra-large grey t-shirt and her underwear, so she hastily searched her hamper for the basketball shorts she had worn the night before.
"Just a second!" Alba called angrily as the banging continued. Finally finding the shorts in the small hallway leading to the private entrance to her bathroom, she jumped into the shorts, stumbling slightly against the door before pulling it open and walking towards the front door.
Considering her hair was already naturally straight, her hair wasn't so extremely unmanageable in the morning, but it didn't stop her from running her hands through it to make sure she looked just slightly presentable as she looked through the peephole on the door.
"What the hell?" She muttered, confused by the person she saw before unlocking the chain lock and the bolt lock and swinging the door open.
Jack stood in the hallway, grinning from ear to ear and holding a small, rectangular shaped paper folder in his hands.
Alba quirked her eyebrow at him, "I'm not coming into work on my vacation." She said simply, not caring that he was her boss. It was her vacation and he had come banging on her door at 8 in the morning. She was not in the mood to play the respectful employee.
Jack shook his head quickly, "No, no, I know that! I'm here for a completely different reason!" he said giddily.
Alba's eyebrow remained raised, as she waited for him to continue.
He waved his hand at her in a 'hurry up' motion and said, "Go pack your bags! Your plane leaves at 10 at Washington National Airport and I'm here to deliver your ticket and drive you since you don't own a car." He explained.
Alba's eyes widened considerably and her mouth fell open in shock. She slowly shook her head, her mouth flapping lamely before she could finally form words, "J-Jack, I…I can't,"
Jack shook his head, waving his hand in the air as if waving away her words, "I already bought the ticket so if you don't go I wasted $297 dollars. You have no choice but to use it. This," he held up the small blue envelope, "Is your ticket there, and you return at 9:45AM July 5th, so you should be at O'Hare International at around 5AM, just to be safe. You can pick up your return ticket there." He paused, staring at her. "Well, go on! Go pack your things!"
Alba was frozen to the spot, before her lower lip started to tremble and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.
Jack gapped at her, his eyes wide. "W-Wait, no, no, don't cry!" he said hastily, holding up his arms awkwardly, looking around the empty hallway for some sign of help. "This was supposed to make you happy!" he said quickly.
Alba nodded, pressing the palms of her hands against her eyes as she took in a sharp breath. "I can't believe you d-did this, Jack." She choked out, her voice cracking.
Jack nodded, "I told you, I wanted to make it up to you, and my wife said $297 dollars is nothing to help a girl see her family after almost two years. Now, go pack! Traffic is a bitch right now."
Alba nodded her head, pulling her hands from her eyes and hurrying back into her bedroom.
She tore off her clothing as she ran into her walk in closet, dressing in a white short sleeved button down and a pair of blue jeans, stepping into some flats before pulling one of her suitcases down off the top shelves.
She flung it open, grabbing a pair of flip flops and sneakers and tossing them into the bag, running out of the room and grabbing four days' worth of underwear and bras from her dresser, along with pajamas and two different bathing suits before returning to her suitcase.
She opened the drawers of the dresser in her closet and pulled out three pairs of shorts and a pair of jean capris, folding them sloppily before tossing them into the suitcase as well. Finally, she grabbed some tank tops and t-shirts from the dresser drawer and placed them at the top of the suitcase, slamming the lid shut and crawling on top of it to force it down, zipping it closed.
After that she unzipped the small compartments on the top of the suitcase and ran into her bathroom, grabbing her toothbrush and ran back into the closet. She stuffed the toothbrush inside before grabbing an unused backpack off the top shelf and walking out of the closet, suitcase and backpack in hand.
She quickly placed the suitcase in the hall outside her bedroom door before running around her bedroom, stuffing things into her backpack. She grabbed her phone charger, a few necklaces out of her jewelry box on her desk, she packed her laptop away in its case and placed that in the hall next to the suitcase, before finally stuffing her sunglasses, hairbrush and hair ties, and an array of different little objects that were scattered on her desk that she thought she might need.
Spinning around the room to make sure she had everything, and grabbing her cellphone off the nightstand she ran back outside her bedroom to see Jack had already grabbed her suitcase and was walking towards the door, leaving her to carry her laptop.
She grabbed her purse that was sitting idly on the counter in the kitchen and pulled her keys out, locking the front door quickly before hurrying down the hall to catch up with Jack.
She couldn't believe this, she felt like the luckiest girl in the world at that moment.
Steve sighed, completely worn out as he slumped back in his seat on the quinjet. He was returning home from a short two day mission with Natasha and Clint, the two assassins flying the jet as Steve relaxed into his seat, ready to return home and rest. His birthday was in four days, he would be turning twenty-six, but it didn't stop Tony Stark from sending him a text asking if he'd get a senior citizen discount at iHop for his 'ninety-sixth' birthday celebration.
Steve rolled his eyes at the thought, before reaching across the seat for his knapsack that held his cell phone, wanting to check to see if Sam or Sharon had called him while he was gone.
He was surprised to see a missed call from Alba from three hours ago, and tapped the button on the screen to listen to her voicemail.
There was a lot of noise in the background, as if she was in a crowded place, and she spoke a bit louder than she normally would, so Steve could hear her a lot better.
"Hey, Bucky, or Steve, whichever one of you guys is listening to this, hey, it's Alba. If this is Bucky, I am so sorry but I'll need a rain check on those fireworks on Friday. My assistant manager, Jack, surprised me like an hour ago with a ticket to Chicago so I'm on my way home. I'm at Washington National right now; I'm in the gate watching the planes take off and everything! I'm so completely sorry, though, that I have to cancel. If you're all alone on Friday and can somehow make it to Oxford, my family will most likely welcome you with open arms to join us in our barbeque and Fourth of July fun." She chuckled, "But, it's pretty stupid to think you could. It's a miracle I'm going; I doubt you'd be able to find a way. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, and if this is Steve listening please tell Bucky what I just said or let him listen to this message, I honestly don't know how the voicemail thing works when you share a phone so, uh," Alba paused. "Okay, well, I should go. I need to call my parents and tell them they'll need to pick me up in Chicago. Bucky, feel free to call me though, if you want to talk or something and I'll be back on Saturday morning if you want to pick me up from the airport, because Jack said he wasn't. Okay, bye."
There was a click on the phone and Steve knew the voicemail was over.
'So Bucky did ask her to spend the Fourth of July with him! But…I guess that's not happening anymore. I bet he was real excited too. Damn.' Steve sighed, slouching a bit in his chair as he stared at his phone.
He didn't know how Bucky would feel after hearing the message. Steve believed Bucky would have mixed emotions, because on one hand it seemed like Bucky was excited to be spending the Fourth of July with Alba, asking Steve and searching the internet for the perfect beaches to travel to to watch the fireworks. But on the other hand Steve had a feeling Bucky knew Alba's family was important to her, as was the case for most people, and he'd most likely be very happy Alba was able to go see her family.
It didn't matter what he felt when he heard the news, though, Steve knew Bucky would hide his emotions regardless.
Alba fiddled nervously with the strap of her laptop as she walked off the plane, staring around the gate at all the strangers walking towards the baggage claim to meet their friends or family or no one at all.
She had only been able to reach her parents answering machine so she hoped her mother had checked the messages, otherwise she'd be stranded an hour away from home until she could reach one of her siblings.
She followed the strangers down a set of escalators and followed the electronic signs hanging from the ceiling, saying Flight 462's luggage could be located at Baggage Claim C.
She took a left and saw the conveyer belt hadn't turned on yet, leaving the passengers of the flight standing around waiting impatiently for their things.
Alba sighed, reaching into her pocket for her phone when someone came to a stop next to her, waiting as well.
She didn't pay too much attention to the man as she checked her phone for any missed calls while she was in the air, but no one had gotten back to her, not even Bucky.
She sighed once more, looking off to her right in exasperation.
"Tough flight?" the man next to her asked, his voice deep and playful.
Alba's eyes widened and a large grin stretched across her face before she spun around, going to fling her arms around him but nearly smacked him in the face with her laptop case.
He stumbled back, grabbing hold of the case as Alba gawked in shock at what she had almost done. He gave her a pointed look, arching an eyebrow at her, "I haven't seen you in almost two years and the first thing you do is try to hit me in the face?"
"Parker!" Alba laughed, regaining her composer to drop her laptop by their feet and jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms around his back and burying her head in the crook of his shoulder.
Parker laughed, wrapping his arms around Alba's waist and hugging her tighter to his chest. "God, why the hell do you have a horse's mane on your head?" he laughed, nuzzling his head against her hair.
Alba shook her head, rolling her eyes as she let go of him and reached back down for her laptop, "I'm getting it cut soon; I can't stand it in the heat any longer."
"Good!" Parker grinned, absently running his pointer finger and thumb along his stubble on his chin.
Alba poked him squarely in the chest, "Why don't you shave when I cut my hair?"
He gawked at him, feigning mock shock, "I'll have you know Ryan loves the stubble."
Alba rolled her eyes, "Yeah, you look like a fifteen year old without it." She said, looking towards the conveyer belt to see it had finally turned on and luggage was lying idly on top of it.
The two of them walked towards the conveyer belt and Alba looked for her suitcase, hoping she didn't suddenly forget what it looked like, or worse, realizing the airline had lost it.
"Aha!" Parker exclaimed as he grabbed the medium sized suitcase with Alba's name written on the tag and pulled it off by the handle.
"Oomph!" Parker grunted, the suitcase falling hard against the floor by his feet, he had underestimated the weight.
He glared at her a moment before heaving it up and leaning against the opposite foot, "I should have known you wouldn't pack light."
"Actually I did." She said smartly, walking towards the doors leading outside.
Parker rolled his eyes, "Yeah, packing light for a guy is like two t-shirts, a pair of shorts and maybe a change of underwear."
Alba gagged, "What does Ryan see in you?" She asked him playfully, holding the door open for him.
Parker smirked at her before sending her a playful wink, "I don't think I want to scar my little sister just yet with that information."
Alba laughed and the two of them hurried across the street to the parking garage, Parker pulling out his keys and setting off the alarm to remind himself where he parked.
Alba hurried up to Parker's 2008 Audi S5, pulling open the passenger side door and throwing her backpack and laptop in the back seat while Parker stuffed her suitcase in the trunk.
"Still runs well?" she asked, buckling her seatbelt as he stepped into the driver's side.
He shrugged, "I'm not looking into getting rid of it anytime soon. It's doing pretty good for six years old." He explained, starting the engine and taking off out of the parking lot at a fast speed.
Alba gripped the seatbelt strap, suddenly remembering her brother's love for driving fast. She didn't have too much of a problem with it, except when they were driving 20 over the speed limit in a parking garage.
"God, you're insane." She muttered, lunging forward as Parker came to a stop at a crosswalk.
He smirked, nodding his head, "It's what I've been told. Now, hold on tight. We're going through the city."
Alba arched an eyebrow, looking over at her brother as she readjusted herself in her seat, "Why? That's completely out of the way from home."
He nodded, pursing his lips, "Yeah, but this new building got put in about a year and a half ago and I think you'll be interested in seeing it." He said a playful tone in his voice.
Alba gave him a confused look, not completely understanding what he was getting at, but sat back regardless, knowing there was no talking him out of taking her once his mind was set.
They drove for over thirty minutes to reach the heart of Chicago, Parker going on about his job at the restaurant and Ryan's recent promotion and a few tedious updates about their siblings and spouses.
"You know Mags is gonna question you about work." Parker started suddenly, taking a sharp right.
Alba gripped the console, her eyes wide and her teeth gritted before the turn was over and she relaxed a bit, finally processing what Parker had said.
She rolled her eyes, "She always does. It's like she enjoys reminding all of us that none of our jobs compare to her glamorous life as a vet."
"Hey, I'm the assistant manager for a 5 star bistro in Chicago; I think I'm doing well. Well enough to make Maggie stop asking me when I'm going back to school." He chuckled.
Alba sighed, "Yeah, well, I'm working on being a published writer, and if she doesn't see I can't just be a teacher or a reporter until then she needs to get to know me a bit better."
Parker nodded, his lips pursed in thought as he came to a rough stop in the middle of the road. Alba lunched forward, stopped roughly by her seatbelt before Parker put the car in reverse and began parallel parking next to a tall, ten story building.
Alba peered out her window curiously as Parker finished up his parking job, and placed his car in park.
"Like that building?" he asked.
Alba shrugged, her forehead pressed against the window as she peered up at it. "It's nice. What is it?"
"Langston Brothers Publishing Company." Parker announced formally, using a mocking British accent as he spoke to sound a bit distinguished.
Alba looked over at him, confused on her face. "I've never heard of them."
He shrugged, "I did some research. They're based in California but they just opened up this branch a year and a half ago. I don't think you've sent them any copies of your books, have you?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows with a knowing smirk on his face.
Alba's mouth fell open slightly as she peered into the backseat at her laptop. She kept virtual copies of all her work on her laptop, and she always took it with her when she traveled. She knew a place in Oxford that could print off her book in this company wanted a physical copy, and she was prepared to email a copy to them as well.
"I'll look up their information tonight and call tomorrow morning about sending in my book." Alba told him, a grin slowly stretching across her face.
Parker smiled, holding his arms in the air as high as he could in his small sports car, "Yes!" he cheered. "I have no doubt in you, Ali. This is your lucky day, I can feel it."
She laughed, nodding her head, bouncing in her seat a bit at her own excitement. "Now, let's please go home! I'm dying to see everyone and take a much needed nap."
Parker was forced to park his car across the street, considering the two car driveway and all the parking space in front of the house was taken.
"Well, you know everyone's here to welcome you home." Parker chuckled, heaving her suitcase higher off the ground as they walked across the street to the beige colored two story house with dark brown window shutters. There was a covered porch with a two person swing and a two car garage, the garage doors painted a dark brown color to match the shutters. Covering the front lawn was shrubs, flower beds with pink or blue flowers, and a baby tree planted firmly in the center of the front yard.
Alba and Parker maneuvered their way around the cars and up to the white and dark brown painted front door. Alba pushed open the door, stepping inside to cool fresh air and the sounds of water splashing, children and adults laughing, and a faint sound of music.
"We're back!" Parker shouted as he kicked the front door closed, letting Alba's suitcase call noisily onto the floor next to the door. He kicked off his flip flops and waited as Alba shrugged off her backpack and placed it on the floor with her laptop and suitcase.
Alba stared around the house she grew up in; a feeling of pure and utter happiness take her over as she took it all in. The front room to the right of the front door, which was normally a formal sitting room but had always been her mother's playroom for her children and now grandchildren, was completely clean; all the colorful cubbies lining the walls were filled to the brim of different toys, a small table with a train track design sat in the center of the room with Thomas The Train Engine toys on top of it, and the beige rug was stainless.
The walls hung multiple pictures of Alba and her siblings growing up, along with just as many pictures of the grandchildren.
Almost directly in front of the front door was the staircase leading upstairs, and Alba and Parker both walked down the hallway past the play room and walked right into the kitchen, living room and dining room.
The kitchen was on the right, immediately after the play room, and had white cabinets and tile countertops, the appliances, however, weren't as dated as the rest of the kitchen, and was instead a cool stainless steel. There was a breakfast bar leading into the dining room, which held a dark mahogany table that count seat nearly twelve with the leaves places in it, and next to the dining room table was the sliding glass door leading to the backyard.
To the left was the large living room, which held Alba's father's favorite leather recliner, a large grey sectional and in the corner a variety of beanbag chairs for the grandchildren to sit, while mounted on the wall was a flat screen television and a small shelf under the television held the cable box and a DVD player.
And, like the rest of the house, the walls were covered in photos of various family members.
Parker ushered Alba towards the sliding glass door, opening the screen and pushing her onto the back patio first.
There was an average sized built in pool in the right corner of the backyard, with a diving board and a slide, and in the center of the backyard was a plastic playpen which held two small children under the age of four, running around a sprinkler.
On the patio were one large picnic table and then a smaller one, and seated at the larger one was the majority of the adults, while two of them were swimming in the pool with the rest of the children, and a small boom box played music on a table next to the screened in door.
Everyone's attention turned to Alba and Parker once the screen door opened, and nearly everyone stood up and hurried over to the brunette engulfing her in hugs and a few of them being reduced to tears.
A short woman with fluffy light red hair and stick skinny was the first to reach Alba, her eyes watering and a large smile on her face as she hugged her, hugging her tightly and Alba realized for the first time just how small her mother was, and how she was nearly two inches taller than her.
"Oh, my little baby, she's come home!" her mother cooed as she rocked Alba back and forth.
Alba laughed, nodding her head, "I've missed you mom!"
Her father was next; his glasses perched crooked on his nose as he smiled at her, giving her a one armed hug since her mother had yet to let her go. "I take back all the crap I've ever said about that boss of yours." He muttered to her, but her siblings still managed to hear and chuckled.
Alba went around once her mother let go of her and gave quick hugs to all her siblings before nearly being tackled by the dozen of nieces and nephews she had.
"Aunt Alba, you've been gone for forever!" Caroline whined, flinging herself into her aunts arms as Alba bent down to be on the same level as most of them.
Damon and Harley let Ana and Julia out of the playpen and Aiden and Susan ushered the five year olds out of the pool and they all hurried over towards Alba, their arms held up away from their as their water wings kept them from putting their arms down.
Miles, Avery, Bryce, Katelyn, Gabriel, Ana and Julia all tried to pile on top of Alba, wanting to be held or to sit on her knee like Caroline but they only managed to topple Alba over and she fell back against the patio, letting out a laugh.
"Come on, leave her alone!" Harley demanded, taking charge as the eldest of the grandchildren and gently pulling each cousin away, Damon and Tate stepping up to help him as well.
Once all the children were pulled off Alba she held out her arms for the older kids to come give her a hug, and Harley, Damon, Tate and Beth all hurried into Alba's arms for a large group hug.
"Took you long enough." Harley muttered into her ear, causing Alba to laugh.
"I could say the same to you, Smart Guy." She said cockily, causing Harley to smirk.
Bryce walked past the bigger kids once they had stepped away from their hug and took a seat on Alba's knee, smiling at her happily before looking over at his cousins.
"How long are you here?" Beth asked, brushing some of her shoulder length damp red hair out of her eyes.
Alba shrugged, absently wrapping her arms around Bryce's stomach and pulling him closer to her, allowing her to rest her chin on his small shoulder. "I leave very early Saturday morning, so our goodbye would have to be Friday night after the fireworks."
A collection of awe's and moans escaped all the children's mouths, and Harley piped up, "But you're bringing me to D.C., right? You promised last month I could spend some time with you up there." he said smartly.
Alba narrowed her eyes as all the kids began complaining and asking why Alba hadn't invited them to stay with him.
She shook her head at them, giving them a small smile, "That's not gonna happen, kiddos. I don't have enough room in my apartment for all of you, and I only agreed to Harley visiting when he was old enough to take complete care of himself."
"I can!" he defended, before giving her a smart look, "Might I remind you about the time I fought bad guys with,"
"Tony Stark." A chorus responded, causing a small flush to tint Harley's cheeks and he crossed his arms, a frustrated look on his face as he pouted his lips.
Alba laughed, before nudging Bryce off her knee and standing up. "Alright, I'm gonna catch up with all your parents, you guys go back to playing." She called, and the children scattered towards the pool with Susan, Aidan staying behind to catch up with his sister.
Alba took a seat at the picnic table in between her mother and Parker, while her sisters and father took up the rest of the room on the benches and all the son-in-laws and fiancés stood behind their respected spouse.
"Okay, so, what's been happening in D.C.? You never tell us anything anymore!" Cassidy asked, giving her sister a grin.
"I'm almost positive there is a guy waiting for her back home." Parker smirked, sending a side eyed look at Alba.
Her cheeks tinted a light shade of pink and she quickly shook her head, "No, there isn't."
"Then why did you keep checking your phone when we drove into Chicago? As if you were expecting someone to call you," Parker trailed off in a knowing voice.
Ryan swatted Parker's shoulder and glared down at him, "Quit it, she just got here and you're already tormenting her."
Parker rolled his eyes before looking back at his sister, nudging her with his shoulder, "What's his name?"
Alba ignored him, looking towards Victoria at the other end of the table, "How was the drive up?"
Victoria fiddled with her brown hair, shrugging her shoulders, "Boring. Harley played DJ and Katie was cranky the whole time because she wasn't sleeping in a bed and was bored. Enough about me, what's going on with this guy?" She asked, grinning.
Alba gawked at her sister before crossing her arms and shaking her head, "Nothing is going on with any guy."
Cassidy waved her hand in the air, laughing, "Oh, please, you're all defensive now. Absolutely the sign that there is a guy; tell us before we steal your phone and call whichever number looks suspicious." She said in a playful warning tone.
Alba laughed, "Oh, yeah, like I'd actually let you steal my phone."
"His name is Bucky!" Parker said, jumping up in his seat and holding onto Alba's iPhone.
She paled, staring up at him in shock before Ryan gripped Parker's shoulder and pushed him back down in his seat, grabbing the phone out of his hand in the process. "I swear I'm marrying a five year old." Ryan muttered, handing the phone back to Alba.
She nodded her thanks, but the damage was done.
"What kind of name is Bucky?" Maggie asked, scrunching up her nose as she said it.
"I don't care about the name; just let me have my Big Brother talk with him about hurting you, because I am not letting you go through what happened last time." Aidan said seriously, crossing his arms and nodding his head.
Alba rolled her eyes, before looking over at her sister Rowan. "You're being awfully quiet."
Rowan was resting her chin in her hand, a bored expression on her face before shrugging her shoulders, "Don't take it personally Julia kept me up most of the night."
"So, you're dating a boy named Bucky," her mother started, patting Alba's forearm.
Alba groaned, shaking her head, "I'm not dating anyone mom. We're just friends, I swear."
"Does this 'just friend' have a good job to support you while you're just a barista?" Maggie asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Alba narrowed her eyes, "Let's not get into my work life right now. Let's wait for the family dinner later."
"Well they obviously aren't sleeping together; otherwise she wouldn't be acting like that." Cassidy chuckled.
Alba flushed, burying her head in her hands. "Why did I miss this?"
"Because you love us." Parker said cheekily, nudging her with his shoulder.
Alba chuckled, "That I do."
Steve didn't return home until 8 o'clock that night and saw Bucky was sitting lazily on the couch with a bag of chips watching an old movie.
He knew Bucky would want to know right away about the change in his plans with Alba, so Steve left his bag by the front door and walked into the living room, stopping next to Bucky on the couch.
Steve had his phone out and was pulling up the voice mail as Bucky paused the movie to look up at him.
"How was the mission?" he asked, staring at Steve's tired expression.
"The usual. Here," he held out the phone for Bucky, "I missed the call and she left a voicemail." He said simply, letting Bucky to take the phone and hold it his ear, letting the message play.
As he listened, he realized what she was going to say before she even said it. She was going home. The moment she said she had to cancel he knew she was going home.
He felt like an idiot for thinking this would work out. Hardly anything good every worked out for him. Why would he be so lucky to occupy her time on the Fourth of July? Of course she'd find some miracle that would take her home, where she never had her panic attacks and where she's surrounded by her loving family, something Bucky wished he still had.
He closed his eyes tightly, mentally shaking his head. No, he wouldn't think like that. Alba hadn't seen her family in years; she deserved to see them, even if it meant Bucky couldn't see her for five days. He was just her friend; he had no right to be selfish about spending time with her.
He would wait until she came back and would see her then. Perhaps he'd even see if she'd like to spend some other holiday together.
'Not a date.' Bucky repeated in his head, reminding himself, as if not to become hopeful at the prospect.
"Bucky, feel free to call me though, if you want to talk or something and I'll be back on Saturday morning if you want to pick me up from the airport, because Jack said he wasn't. Okay, bye." Alba's voice rang through his ear before the message ended.
Bucky pulled the phone away from his ear and stared down at the device, thinking over what she had just said.
"Bucky?" Steve asked, and Bucky had completely forgotten Steve had been standing there the entire time.
Bucky looked up at him, and Steve had an expectant look on his face, "Are you okay?" he asked.
Bucky nodded his head, pushing himself off the couch, the phone still in hand. "I'm going to go make a call." He said simply, walking past Steve towards the front door.
Steve cringed, waiting for the door to be pulled off its hinges, but found himself surprised to see Bucky had closed the door gently and quietly.
The brunette walked towards the stairs leading towards the roof of the building, taking the steps two at a time before pushing open the heavy door leading towards the roof and stepping out into the dark night.
He looked out at the lights illuminating the windows of all the buildings in D.C., and waited a moment before staring down at the phone and dialing out Alba's phone number, which he had unconsciously memorized.
It rang four times before she picked up.
Alba sat outside by the pool that night, a majority of her siblings having left for the night, the only ones left were Parker and Ryan to talk with their parents about mindless wedding details, while Victoria was tucking Katie and Harley into bed; the family of three staying at the house as well as Alba.
Her phone sat idly next to her as she kicked her feet back and forth in the water of the pool, leaning back against the palm of her hands. She felt so much calmer, like a weight had been lifted that she didn't know she carried, now that she was home. She had to admit, she forgot the amount of teasing she received from her siblings as the youngest, but she was so grateful to actually be home she was happy to put up with it for the next four days.
She heard the door to the backyard slide open but didn't bother looking as Parker came walking up beside her and took a seat, placing his feet into the water as well and copying Alba's leaning position.
"Good to be home?" he asked idly.
Alba nodded, "Great, actually. I've missed the kids, mom and dad, everyone, even you." She said smartly, giving him a playful grin.
Parker chuckled, nodding his head, "Yeah, I get that a lot." He paused, looking over at her. "Were you going to spend the Fourth with him?" he asked curiously.
Alba looked over at him, quirking her eyebrow up. "Who? Bucky?"
Parker nodded.
Alba nodded her head, "He asked, I said yes. Of course, I thought I wasn't going to be coming home. I felt like shit calling him and telling I had to cancel. I was hoping he'd call sometime today so I could apologize. I still feel like shit for it. I'll try to make it up to him, though." She explained.
Parker nodded, "Just sleep with him and he'll be okay with you ditching him."
Alba laughed disbelievingly, shaking her head, "You don't just solve everything by throwing yourself at someone."
Parker shrugged, "Hey, sometimes the best things happen when you throw yourself at someone. I made the first move with Ry; you should make the first move with this Bucky dude."
"You refused to give him his bill at the restaurant until he wrote down his phone number. You call that a first move?" Alba shot back.
Parker shrugged once more, "Yeah, and we've been together almost three years, and are getting married next year. Sounds like everything worked out for the better." He shot back, smirking.
Alba rolled her eyes, "I'm not throwing myself at Bucky. It's…different with him." She explained.
Parker gave her a look, "Different how? Is he ten years older than you? Married? Questioning his sexuality?"
Alba laughed, shaking her head, "No, you idiot. He just…he's been in a bad situation where he was sort of…controlled. I don't want to push anything on him; I want him to decide if he wants something to come out of us. I don't want him to think I'm trying to control anything in his life or that he can't trust me in any way, because he can. I…I really like this guy, Parker. I don't want to mess it up and if I make one wrong move I feel like I could mess it up so badly it would never go back to normal." She explained, frowning as she looked at her feet in the water.
Parker gave his sister a sad look, before nudging her with his shoulder, "Okay so he was, what, in a really controlling previous relationship? So he's got issues now, so do you. Sounds like both of you are messed up. Maybe be messed up together?" he questioned, before kicking one leg out of the water and splashing Alba's torso with water.
She gawked at him, and he grinned, "Don't doubt my intuition, Alba. I have a gut feeling this is the guy for you, despite the little knowledge I have of him. If you could have seen your face when you were just talking about him, you'd know it's a hell of a lot more serious than just liking this guy. Risk it and make a move, dammit, because just waiting for him to make the first move is torture." He explained.
Alba opened her mouth to retort when he phone began buzzing next to her.
She grabbed it a bit too quickly and saw the familiar name appear on the screen.
She looked towards Parker, "It's Bucky."
He smirked knowingly, pushing himself to stand up, "Looks like I'm not needed. See you tomorrow, sis." He called, walking towards the door.
Alba turned to watch him go before looking back down at her phone. She pressed the 'Answer' button on the fourth ring and held the phone to her ear.
"Hey, Bucky?" she questioned, unsure if it was Bucky or Steve on the other end.
"It's me." Bucky responded, and he sounded a bit on edge to Alba.
"Did you get to Chicago okay?" he asked quickly. Alba realized why he sounded like that. He was worried. She smiled, closing her eyes a moment as she let sudden warmth fill her and she slowly nodded her head, "Yeah, it was a really quiet flight and Parker picked me up."
"Everyone is happy you're home?"
"Yeah." Alba paused, looking down at her lap, "I'm so sorry for canceling on you, Bucky."
"It's okay." He said, "You've missed them a lot, you deserve this."
Alba smile stretched wider and she fell back against the ground, staring up at the stars. "Thank you for understanding Bucky."
He grunted in response, before a small silence stretched between them. Alba contemplated telling him about the publishing company her brother had found her, but Bucky spoke first.
"What's your flight information for Saturday?"
Alba quirked her eyebrow, a small smirk playing on her lips, "Why? Are you going to pick me up?"
"Maybe." He said coolly, and Alba could detect a hint of playfulness in his voice.
She grinned completely, "I didn't know you could drive."
"I can drive a lot of things, you'd be surprised. Now, the flight information?"
Alba rolled her eyes, "Washington National Airport, flight 349, I believe. My arrival time is 9:45 AM, and I think gate 11 is where you can pick me up. That is, if you decide to pick me up." She said, playfully.
Bucky chuckled on the other end, and the sweet, deep sound made Alba forget why she had been so happy to be home for a moment.