Pushing her way through the heavy brush, Aubrey used a sharp machete to whack at the bushes. Her satchel hung heavily on her shoulder but excitement welled up. Navi had hinted at an old trail that led up to a beautiful viewpoint. She'd left half an hour earlier and the slope had since steepened to the point where she started focusing on breathing techniques. Guilt nipped at her heels and Aubrey let it wash over her. She'd avoided Bucky's questioning gaze, choosing instead to disappear into the forest. Months had passed in peace and it had given her time to think...about now...and the future.
But she had no idea where to start.
Wakanda was beautiful...and calm...and perfect but she couldn't help but wonder if there was more she could be doing...more to fix..help...or.. Prepare for whatever..or whoever comes next. Coming to a moss-dotted cliff-face, Aubrey took a hold of a ledge and hoisted herself up, climbing to the top and falling onto her back. Heaving a breath, she waited until her heart had slowed before sitting up. A breathtaking sight awaited her.
From her viewpoint, their whole valley laid itself in front of her. Aubrey sucked in a breath, eyes taking in the land. Two clearings could be clearly seen, with little ones dotted in between. Everything else was surrounded by the African Blackwood trees and the mix of other vegetation. The thundering of a waterfall reverberated through her chest, clearing her head and enabling Aubrey to disappear into her mind.
She loved Wakanda, for its beauty, its people, and the kindness that had been shown to her. Aubrey knew the world was safer with the two of them tucked away but she felt something deep inside wanting to do more. Help more, apologize more...just do more.
But Bucky.
She couldn't bear the thought of leaving him again. Not out of fear or...protection. Bucky was capable of taking care of himself...She just wanted to be comforted by the thought that the only person in the world who understood her was close-by..and...and..there. Aubrey knew he felt the same about her...even if lately he had been acting more protective than normal….but she also understood his actions. Somewhat. The rest of the world had been convinced that he had killed innocent people, reverting to his...old self. And the reality that they could be found and….taken away had become very real. . She'd avoided thinking about the subject for days but had pushed it away until now. Sucking in another breath, Aubrey scooted to the edge and hung her feet off. Shuri had offered to let her test new gadgets and suits, Navi had even asked if she wanted to learn farming from one of the village families. But neither of the options excited her as much as she wished they would. As much as she loved being here...in this untouched place...Aubrey wasn't sure that this was where she wanted to be for the rest of her life. Various emotions warred inside of her as she sighed heavily, noting how the smell of rain lingered in the air. Footsteps below the cliff-face sounded, peering over the edge Aubrey glimpsed a head of dark brown hair grabbing a hold of the rocks. Several minutes later, Bucky pulled himself up and over, grinning at Aubrey as he caught his breath.
"Took you long enough" a smile lit her face as he grunted
"Well, I didn't know if you'd seen the alert on your Kimoyo beads or not so I followed your trail."
"What alert?" She hadn't even put on the beads that morning.
"I guess there's what is assumed to be winter weather headed this way...and Shuri keeps sending me articles or something about Christmas….I guess it's coming up. I don't know...this is why you need to wear the beads! You have more headspace for this stuff" he huffed, crisscrossing his legs and fingering a white pebble laying in the dirt.
"I usually put them on, you know that. I just needed some time to think today. You hardly ever wear them." Aubrey's eyes narrowed as she assessed his body language, surely it wasn't the storm that had him this distressed. Bucky's body was pulled stiff and he nodded robotically. "What's wrong Buck?" her voice quieted "you're not just worried about the storm."
His posture sunk and he stared at the ground. She waited patiently but when he stayed silent she bumped his shoulder gently. "You know I could never be mad at you Bucky."
After a brief hesitation his voice started to whisper "I know you don't want to stay here forever...and I don't want to be the reason you stay….I...I don't want to be the person holding you back Brie...I...It's something I keep thinking about and… I know you broke ties with Stark when we were in Siberia and that was hard for you and…and"
"Bucky-" she cut him off, speaking softly and sucking in a shallow breath before continuing "-You aren't holding me back, I'm here because I want to be...just because I'm unsure about the future doesn't mean you are the one inhibiting it. I...I'm just trying to figure out what my options are, but I can't imagine leaving you here by yourself...neither of us should have to face life alone….and finally-" Aubrey paused, knowing that if she said this then it could shift their friendship. "-I did what I did in Siberia because I…-" her courage faltered and clearing her throat, Aubrey continued differently then she had planned "-I knew that Tony wouldn't have stopped and I needed you to leave that place alive. Someday I might go and try to rekindle our friendship but the one I have with you is much more important to me."
He gave her the tiniest of nods before meeting her eyes "Brie...I-" but the rumbling of thunder cut him off as dark clouds rolled in on the horizon, flashes of light streaking through their swirling depths. His gaze snapped to the mass of darkness and he slid to the edge of the cliff, clearing his throat and speaking "We should head back before it gets here….you coming?" glancing back at Aubrey when she stayed put. Her gaze was on something far away and it took a moment for her head to clear. Plastering a forced smile on her face, Aubrey nodded and followed him down the cliff and towards their huts. The sky continued to darken and halfway back big, fat raindrops started to fall from the sky, splattering on the earth below. Just as the trees gave away to their clearing. The cold tingle of water soaking through her clothes gave her a slight shock as they both bolted into Aubrey's hut, the door slamming closed behind them. Glacier popped up from his spot on the couch and barked excitedly at his owner's sudden appearance. Water dripped from their clothing and onto the floor as thunder boomed outside, shaking the ground.
"You were right about that storm" she gasped, heading up the ladder to change into something dry.
"Of course I was-" he grinned, ambling over to the kitchen window and waiting until she had come back down. "-I should go to my hut I guess. I'd like to come back over here but I would get soaked to the bone." The rhythmic tapping of rain on the roof was almost comforting as she leaned against the ladder and threw a towel at him. Bucky caught it and started drying himself off as much as possible. But he shook his head back and forth, sending droplets of water everywhere. Aubrey frowned at him before shrugging.
"Or you could just stay, it would be like old times when we were moving around a lot…..only if you want to though" she added, unsure how he felt about the idea.
Bucky pushed himself up onto the countertop and gave her a wry grin. "Is someone afraid of the big bad storm?"
Rolling her eyes, she slid the kimoyo beads onto her wrist before digging around in the coat cabinet, wondering if Shuri had put any board games in it. But the fact that she didn't respond only spurred Bucky on. Laughter was in his voice as he continued
"Don't worry Brie, I'll protect you from the raindrops."
Something warm crept up her neck and onto her face. Aubrey couldn't help but feel surprised at the new feeling, it wasn't something that had happened before and for a brief moment, she wondered if there was something wrong with her. He opened his mouth to say something else but Aubrey pulled a weathered box from the cabinet and gave him a look, growling,
"Shut it." The box made a sound as she set it on the floor and inspected the lid. A note was taped to the front
Thought I'd give you something for a rainy day. I believe it's from your time period, anyway, enjoy!
~Shuri
In bright, boxy letters were the words The Game of Life. Vaguely she remembered playing this game once before…..a long time ago. Bucky pushed off of the counter and settled onto the floor across from Aubrey, curiosity sparkling in his eyes. Pulling off the lid, a light film of dust flew off, drifting through the air. Glacier bounded up beside Aubrey and sneezed before settling down beside her. The game board had a long winding pathway, cards, miniature cars, and pink and blue little sticks for people. Glancing over the instructions, bits, and pieces came back to her.
"Ready to find out what your life would've been like otherwise?" Aubrey spun the spinner, rolling a six. Her maroon-colored car "drove" to the spot, reading the job. "I got Therapist…"
"Would you have been a therapist?" Bucky leaned back against the wall, raising a brow at her as he spun the spinner. "You've helped me with my problems."
"I dunno, maybe. I helped you with yours because I understand them. Your problems are mine Bucky. Would you have stayed in the military?" she questioned, nodding to the spot he'd landed on. A particularly violent rumble shook the ground as lightning flashed outside the window. The electric lighting blinked as Bucky's face became contemplative.
"I dunno-" he flashed her a grin when he copied her answer from earlier. "-I probably would've stayed in for a while...until I figured out what I would do without Steve…."
"And from there?" she rolled again, moving the character and stopping at the "Get Married" spot. Sliding a blue stick into her car, Bucky rolled,
"You may not know this but in my days I was quite the specimen and all the girls were after me-" he winked for good measure and Aubrey couldn't help but snort lightly. "-But there was a girl...I called her Dot. She's gotta be like a million years old now"
"You're a million years old" Aubrey cut in, something unexplainable growing hot in the pit of her stomach.
He rolled his eyes "You need to respect your elders Brie. Anyway, I might've settled down or something but I..honestly don't know."
"If Dot was..here I guess...or you still knew her...would you..?" she trailed off, unsure how to word it. Aubrey felt her neck heat again and her brows pulled down as she took money from the bank and rolled again.
"No...I'm a different person than I was then and...I don't think she was the one for me. I doubt it would've lasted too long anyway. What about you?" he seemed in a hurry to change the subject but she let it slide, glad to be off of the topic but not sure how to answer his question.
"I...was..uhm-" sucking in a breath, she organized her thoughts before continuing "- I had gone into a state of...I had detached myself from a lot of my friends because I was scared and...lonely...there had been some things happening. Before that, though I had a few really good friends and there had been a guy who I'd gone out with a couple of times but I...I was very quiet and reserved. Afraid to say too much I guess. He blew me off after three dates and started talking trash about me to his friends and my coworkers...I worked at a bakery...I think….but I quit because my parents wanted me to move back home and go back to school."
"When did you remember all that?" Bucky's blue car passed over a bridge and he paid money to the bank because he "bought a skunk farm, pay $600".
"It's come in bits and pieces but lately I've been remembering more from before. Parts of it are nice to remember...others not."
" 'M sorry Brie...I wish I could've-" he started but Aubrey shook her head violently back and forth, cutting him off.
"Bucky. I've said this a gazillion times and I'll say it however many more I have to in order to convince you of the truth. There's no changing the past and I wouldn't change it because I would rather have met you than not." Her voice hardened at the words as if hardening it could pound them into Bucky's hard head.
He sighed heavily, watching as she moved the maroon car to another spot. "Twin girls are born!" it read and she put two pink sticks into the car. Bucky spun and they played through several rounds in silence. Both processed the conversation in silence and briefly, Aubrey wondered what Bucky had started saying on the mountain. But her thoughts were interrupted by the hungry growl of her stomach. She got to her feet, padding into the kitchen as Bucky took his turn and rifled through the cabinets for ingredients.
"Brie...how long do you think this will last?"
"The storm? Not long..why?" Aubrey pulled Border Lamb out of the fridge, along with onions, celery, and parsnips.
"Not that...I meant us staying in Wakanda...You said when we first got here that peace never lasts long." Bucky got to his feet, giving Glacier a stern command to leave the board game alone as he came to help chop food.
"Oh...Well, we've been here for… three months?..no wait it's been four. I hope we have at least a year here but I don't know. The next enemy could literally come from anywhere."
"I hope you're wrong" Bucky grumbled, staring out the window to the goat pen, where the goats huddled under their lean-to shelter, attempting to avoid the wetness.
Aubrey didn't answer, she couldn't decide what to say.