“I don’t want to join the Avengers Steve, we’ve talked about this,” Bucky murmurs.
“It’s the safest option. And you’d make a good addition to the team,” Steve responds.
I watch Bucky carefully and he glances at me, some emotion hidden deep under his impassive mask. “I think you should,” I say simply, shrugging.
Both of them look at me in surprise. I look between them, a little weirded out by how synchronized they are. “Wait… Were you a pilot?” Steve asks.
I look at him, taken aback and also very confused. “I was a Naval pilot,” I correct him.
“Astrid Valla-Castro?”
“Yes…” I say slowly, frowning. How the hell?
“Can you excuse me for a moment?” Without waiting for a response he walks off to the exit to the exhibit and takes out his phone.
“Did I do something illegal?” I mutter jokingly, staring after him.
After a few minutes of Rogers talking in a hushed tone to his phone, with me struggling to catch a snippet of what he’s saying, he walks back over, hanging up the phone.
“Would you be willing to come to the Avengers headquarters?” he asks me, his face serious.
Hell yes! “Why?” I ask, trying not to let my excitement at the thought show.
“One of our on-base labs has some interest in your skills.”
“My baking and coffee-making skills?” I inquire, smirking.
Rogers rolls his eyes. “No. You’re military experience,” he responds.
I glance at Bucky to find him watching me. “I mean… I guess,” I say slowly, looking back at Rogers.
“How soon can you be packed?”
“How soon do you want us there?”
“As soon as you can be.”
“And for how long?”
“Probably only a few weeks,” Rogers responds. Something in his expression makes me doubt that but I don’t question it.
I look at Bucky who stares back at me. “Fine,” he mutters tightly.
“Tomorrow morning then,” I say, turning back to Rogers.
“All right. We’ll arrive at your cafe around 9 am.”
“Uhm… could we maybe not do it in front of my cafe?”
“Then where?”
“Honestly anywhere other than in front of my cafe,” I respond.
“What about across the street from your cafe?”
My eyes narrow a fraction. “Fine. Whatever.”
Wasting no more time we leave the museum and Bucky and I go back to the apartment.
“If you have something to say now would be the time,” I say, hanging my coat up.
“This doesn’t feel right,” Bucky murmurs after a moment.
“Oh, I 100% agree,” I respond.
“You do?”
I turn to him and nod. “Yes. Something’s off but I’m not sure what it is. Rogers didn’t seem to realize, though I feel like he knew it as well.”
We stare at each other for a moment before I turn away, sneezing into my elbow. “Stupid fucking cold,” I mutter darkly, going to blow my nose. “Let’s pack,” I murmur, starting toward my room.
I finish packing, which had taken me nearly two hours, until finally being able to make myself some much-needed tea. I let the elderberry tea packet steppe for a minute before taking a careful sip of the steaming liquid.
“What are you gonna do with the apartment while we’re gone?” Bucky asks as he enters the kitchen.
“I’ll give the keys to Clare like when we visited my dad,” I respond, zoning out and staring out the window as it starts snowing. “Have you met all the Avengers?” I ask distantly, still staring at the snow.
I hear Bucky take a sharp inhale before slowly letting it out. “I’ve been introduced to most of them… but I didn’t talk to any of them.”
I hum in response, still staring at the snow. “What did you do while you were at the S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters?”
Bucky hesitates for a few moments. “Mostly I was questioned by a lot of different people about anything I could remember from Hydra.”
I zone back in and turn to look at him taking a slow sip of my tea. “What did you tell them?” I ask. “If you want to tell me,” I add swiftly.
“Very little since most of them were Hydra operatives themselves. No one seemed to believe that Hydra had such a chokehold on S.H.I.E.L.D so no one believed me when I said that I was being questioned by Hydra… about Hydra.”
My head tilts curiously. “Why would they question you about their own organization?”
“Because they knew scarcely anything. All they had were bits and pieces of information since most of it had either been destroyed or hidden far from their reach.”
“Is Hydra still in S.H.I.E.L.D?”
“I’d assume so. Just maybe not to the full capacity they once were.”
“Intriguing,” I murmur, sipping at my tea. “So, we could be walking into a semi-trap?”
“There’s a chance,” Bucky mumbles reluctantly.
“Hm. Well, you’re a trained assassin. I think we’ll be fine,” I say jokingly.
Bucky’s expression warms and he smiles a bit. “Here’s hoping,” he murmurs.