JJ takes a moment to text both his uncle and his father to tell them he won't be home for the night. For awhile, he used to just take off for days at a time and never tell his uncle where he was. One day, his uncle and Natasha sat him down and explained just how painful it was when he disappeared on him. They lived in fear until he returned. After that, he never left without at least a text.
It's been years though since he's disappeared over night. It happened a lot the first couple years after the blip. He thought it was easier to face his demons alone so he would teleport to a random country and rough it there for a couple days until he could clear his head.
It wasn't until he was a little older that he began to rely on the people around him. They taught him that vulnerability was okay. Instead of running when he was hurting, he went to Steve or Natasha or even Tony. He hasn't felt like running away in years.
He wasn't running from anything right now, at least he didn't think he was. He just needed time to think about what he wants. He knows that if he makes this decision with the people he loves, he will be influenced one way or the other. This decision will drastically change his life. He's either staying with this new family or going back to his old. He needs to decide what will make him happy and not try to appease those around him. He needs to make a completely selfish decision for once.
He teleports to one of his old haunts in Bulgaria. He likes Bulgaria and it was comforting to be back even if it was only for a little while. He walks up to the small little bar that was so familiar to him.
He was seventeen when he first stumbled upon this place. They would have served him alcohol if he had asked for it but he never had the inclination to. Even now that he was of legal drinking age, he ordered a soda and some warm stew.
The restaurant was owned by a nice elderly couple. The woman, Elena, always fussed about him and brought him food he never ordered.
The first night he came here he hadn't eaten in three days. He didn't want to eat and dash but he was starving. When he sat down, he ordered almost the whole menu.
Elena came out with the dishes and set them in front of him.
"You have no way of paying for this, do you?" she had asked.
She must have seen the flight instinct on JJ's face so she stopped him.
"Eat, child," she said.
He was shocked but he was so hungry that he didn't think twice about it. He finished the food and when she came out again she looked him in the eyes.
"Come back tomorrow and there will be a fresh dish of food for you. In return, you're going to tell me a story. It could be your story or one you've heard or one you've made up," Elena said.
"Why?" He'd asked.
"Because you seem like you'd tell a good story, child," she said.
He had come back to the restaurant every day until he decided to move on. He ended up explaining his story without the supernatural elements. Everyone lost someone in the blip but JJ lost most of his family. She was the one who convinced him to go back to Uncle Steve and Natasha.
Elena walks out of the back room to greet him.
"My little storyteller!" Elena yells with glee.
She walks out from behind the counter and gives JJ a big hug. It's been a couple years since he's been to see her.
"You're so big now! I can barely call you child anymore," Elena says.
"I still feel like a child," JJ says with a small grin.
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Let's Go Back
FanfictionA Sequel to Come Back With Me Bucky and Steve finally got the life they always wanted with the loves of their lives. Everything was perfect until an explosion involving the tesseract leaves their children changed forever.
