Aubrey soared over the houses, if her math was right then her family had gotten home two hours ago. Part of her was happy to be with them but the other half yearned for adventure and travel. The houses overhead started to look more and more familiar and before too long she was landing at the bottom of the street within a grove of trees. Her wings retracted and she rolled her shoulders, feeling slightly sore from the long flight. Her legs wobbled and she caught herself on a tree, waiting until they felt steady enough. Her healing had accelerated her leg rehabilitation but there still were moments where she needed a minute to collect herself. As soon as she was able to stand by herself she walked up the darkening street and found that the door to her parent's house was open. A delicious aroma floated in the air as Aubrey stepped inside and dropped her backpack to the floor. Locking the door behind her, she found her family in the kitchen, devouring pizza and salad from their local place. A chorus of hellos welcomed Aubrey as she said hi to Glacier and turned to the counter.
"How was your guy's flight?" She took a slice of the pizza and dug the ranch out of the fridge, squeezing some onto a plate before dipping her pizza in it.
"Fast but pretty good, what did you think Jesse?" Her mom looked to Aubrey's youngest brother.
"Everything looked so small!" He looked up from where he sat at the counter, playing with mini Dum-E while he ate his pizza.
"I'm glad you liked it" Aubrey smiled around her mouthful of pizza. The family chattered while eating for a couple of minutes but her dad's question brought the conversation to a stop.
"So...now that you're back...do you have any plans?"
The question caught her off guard and she put her third slice down, taking her time wiping her hands on a napkin. She didn't want to disappoint her parents but she also didn't want to give them the answer that shined in their eyes.
"I...I um..-" she puffed a breath out of her lips "I hadn't thought long term...I need to contact Bucky...It'd be nice to talk to him in person again...I don't know...why?"
She saw the disappointment flicker in their eyes but her mother hid it well.
"Well, we just wondered if you wanted to move back into your old house or maybe got a job? You could even finish college if you wanted."
"Oh..I...I don't know..it's kind of a lot to think about. I'm just going to take it one day at a time right now...are you guys cool if I stay here for a bit?"
"Of course honey! However long you need, we understand you've been through a lot."
She nodded, stuffing the last bit of her slice into her mouth before straightening and sliding off the stool she was perched on. The dinner cleanup went quickly and Aubrey stole away to her room soon after. She pulled her direct line to Bucky out, fingering it and turning on the tv that had been mounted above her desk. A news channel played and Aubrey unmuted it when it started playing shots of the Avengers mansion.
"Today Secretary Ross met with the Avengers, proposing the Sokovia Accords.The Sokovia Accords. Approved by a hundred and seventeen countries, states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary. The United Nations put it together after the incident in Lagos, Nigeria. We have yet to find out who has signed it. More after this-" Aubrey muted the commercials, pulling the phone Tony gave her out of her pocket. It turned on and a feminine voice started
"Good Evening Ms. Cristo, my name is Sylvie, a shortened acronym for Stark saved your life. How may I help you tonight? Would you like a tour of my functions?"
"Oh..what are the most important things you do?"
"I can contact Mr. Stark, do searches through multiple different databases, and hold information for you, I also give helpful advice. Anything I can help you with right now?"
"How is Tony doing with the accords?"
"Mr. Stark was struggling at first but he's convinced several of the Avengers to sign."
"Who isn't?" Aubrey tapped the satellite phone on her chin as she listened to Sylvie.
"Captain America, Wanda Maximoff, Hawkeye, and Falcon. It is possible that Captain America may still sign but he left early because someone close to him passed away."
"The first part makes sense, if I read it right, the Accords basically takes away their control. As for the second part, I don't think he'll sign it...and I'm sorry someone he was close to died."
"As we all are Ms. Cristo, perhaps you should call your friend now?"
"Yeah" Aubrey dialed the phone and pushed the call button as she waited for it to pick up. Her other hand fiddled with the hot-pink bedsheets that matched the room.
"Brie" Buckys voice sounded relieved and a small smile fought its way onto her face.
"Hey Buck"
"Hey, hey...hi..how are you doin? Are you still in New York?"
"I'm alright..conflicted I guess and no, Tony told me I should come back with my family so I'm here with them…" she trailed off but he sensed her unsaid words
"But?"
"It's nothing, how are you doing?" she pulled her legs up to her chest, hugging them tightly as she rested her chin on her knees. Aubrey heard a smile in his voice as he responded
"I'm hanging in there, been writing a lot of stuff down...I know more than I did...I'm healing I guess."
"That's good Buck, so good. I think this whole situation has been healing for me too."
"Good, that's good.-" he quieted for a moment and they both silently enjoyed each other's presence "Whats conflicting you?"
"Ah, you noticed my change of subject?"
"It was hard to miss, Brie" she heard the jingle of a key and the sound of a door shutting.
She puffed a breath out of her lips, sighing "My parents asked me tonight what I want to do now and I just...I don't know. Part of me wants to travel and have an adventure, I want to fly and be free and see you...but I know how much they want me here, safe and normal. It's a hard decision and either one would break my heart"
"Which one would make you happy? Like truly happy Brie"
Aubrey slouched down, she knew the answer but part of her didn't want to say it. "I think we both know the answer but I love my family and I don't want them to think I'm leaving them again."
"Brie-" he drew the word out a second longer "you are their daughter and they love you, I saw as much when I was there. They will love you no matter what you choose."
"I..thanks Bucky. I'll try to stay for a couple of days but then I might start thinking about taking off"
"Well when that happens call me, I'd like to see you again Brie."
"I know, it's been different without you around, harder to find people who understand"
"Yeah...I know what you mean" Bucky said, they went silent for a moment before words popped out of Aubrey's mouth faster than she could stop them.
"Bucky I feel like I need to tell you this but I've had the worst feeling of dread ever since the accident in Lagos happened. I'm not sure what it means but something bad is going to happen, I just know it."
"So..your super-soldier senses are tingling?" he chuckled under his breath and Aubrey couldn't help but join him for a moment before they both sobered and his tone of voice changed "Do you have any hunches? Your gut has a good track record and if this is the feeling your getting then it's probably worth thinking about."
"I think somethings going to happen with the Accords. My info tells me that half of the Avengers refuse to sign. It's bound to blow up..right?"
"Yeah, that would make sense…..out of curiosity, Steve is one of the ones who won't sign, right?"
Aubrey nodded but remembered he couldn't see her. "Yep, Cap, Wanda, Falcon, and Hawkeye. But I guess some people still hope Cap will sign it because he left the meeting early. Someone he was close to died."
Bucky sucked in a breath and she heard him whisper "Peggy"
"Buck?"
"I'm here Brie, his girl passed away, her name was Peggy."
"I….didn't know he had a girl" her brows arched slightly as Bucky began to tell her the parts of his youth that he had avoided until now.
Aubrey had gone to bed late and spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, Around five a.m she finally got up and did a perimeter around the house before returning inside and pulling a map out of her backpack. Bucky said he was in Bucharest, which was located in Romania and across the ocean. She planned on taking Glacier and proceeded to have Sylvie look for safe, affordable flights. Aubrey planned out her route and ambled into the living room intending to say good morning. Her father sat on the couch watching the news and he motioned her over. Aubrey plopped down next to him, her fingers playing with the knife she had stuck in her pocket earlier that morning. But her hand stilled as she listened to the news woman's words.
"In four days the United Nations and the Avengers will meet in Vienna for the signing of the Sokovia Accords."
An idea took root in Aubrey's mind and she couldn't help but think about it. If she left the next day then roughly, she would arrive in Bucharest around the time the signing was happening. That way if anything went wrong she was only five hours away, depending on how hard she pushed her jets. And if nothing happened, she would be with Bucky.