Inheritance of ash

day three - part one

Before she could see the reply, she shut her phone off and tossed it aside. She dropped onto the bed next to Peter, exhaustion weighing her down.

"I've got therapy today," she said flatly, staring at the floor.

Silence stretched between them. Heavy. Uncomfortable.

Then, softly, Vicky whispered, "I'm not selfish."

Peter snapped his head toward her, startled. "I never said you were. Why—why are you saying that?"

Her voice cracked when she answered. "With what you said. About Bucky. I just feel like... he doesn't need me standing at his door. He doesn't want to hear my voice, or feel my presence. It'll just remind him of everything he's trying to block out."

Her hands fidgeted in her lap. Her throat ached. "I'll just make it worse."

Peter's chest squeezed. He reached for her hand, but she slipped out of reach, standing too quickly.

"Nat's waiting," she muttered.

She made it to the doorway before Peter called after her, voice gentle, almost breaking.

"Vicky—"

She paused.

"I love you." His words were quiet but sure.

Something small and soft flickered across her face. A smile. Barely there, but real.

"I love you too," she said, before turning and walking out.

Peter stayed sitting on her bed, staring at the empty doorway, wishing he'd said the right thing the first time.

⸻

The three of them had nearly made it.

The garage door loomed just a few feet away when Kate's phone buzzed in her pocket. She dug it out, saw Vicky's text, and groaned so loudly Pietro rolled his eyes.

"She's not coming," Kate muttered, shoving the phone away.

"Why?" Pietro asked, though his tone suggested he already suspected.

"Therapy," Kate said shortly. "With Nat. Guess Peter got to her."

Wanda frowned. "Maybe it's for the best."

Kate ignored her. She glanced back once down the empty hallway, paranoid. "Nobody saw us, right?"

Wanda's lips curved faintly. "We're invisible to everyone else right now."

"Oh. Right." Kate exhaled, muttering, "Still creepy."

The three of them pushed into the garage, the smell of oil and metal greeting them instantly. Rows of sleek cars and bikes gleamed under the fluorescent lights, but their target was obvious: Yelena's motorcycle.

Kate dropped to a crouch beside it, pulling tools from her jacket like she'd been waiting her whole life for this. "Okay, easy enough. We'll walk this baby over to Pietro's little secret stash, and then—"

She flicked a switch, wires sparking faintly.

"If Vicky were here," she grumbled under her breath, "this would be done in two minutes."

Then a soft blinking red light appeared near the handlebars. No sound. Just the steady, taunting pulse.

The three of them froze.

"What is that?" Kate asked, voice low.

Wanda's brow furrowed. "I don't know. But I don't like it." Her hands twitched, a faint red glow curling around her fingers. "Be quicker."