Joshua Davis sat at the table and stared at Bucky who is sitting across from him. He narrowed his eyes and scanned his face. He can't believe he's related to James Buchanan Barnes, the ex HYDRA assassin. The man, sitting across from him, is his grandmother's brother. His great uncle. He doesn't even know what to do, or what to say. It was such a bombshell and he's having a hard time processing the information.
"Are you just going to keep staring at me?" Bucky asked Joshua.
"Yes"
"You know" Sam leaned over the end of the table and stared at both men "there are some similarities"
"No!" Joshua glared at Sam.
"There's the anger" Sam grinned. They both glared at Sam.
"I can see it now" Tony nodded.
"Definitely related" Vision agreed.
Just like Joshua, the Avengers can't believe that Bucky and Joshua are related. They didn't know that he had a sister, so they never even thought about the possibility of Bucky having family in modern day. But there he is, his great-nephew, the rest are in San Francisco.
"I have donuts!" Rhys exclaimed as he reached the top of the stairs.
"Tension and silence breaker. Our salvation" Tony outstretched his arms and reached for the pink box in Rhys' hands.
"Did Tony found religion while I was out?" Rhys questioned.
"No" Tony answered and took a donut from the box and handed off the box to whoever is standing next to him.
"I also got milk, if anyone wants coffee or just plain milk" Rhys informed.
"And where's the milk" Thor questioned as he looked down at Rhys' empty hands.
"Dia took it from me. She's downstairs, she'll be up in a-"
Biscuit whined and barked when he saw Dia come up the stairs. He wagged his tail and Dia giggled and scratched the back of his ear.
"...minute" Rhys finished "that was fast" he told his best friend.
She nodded and walked over to the table and set the bag down. Dia looked between Joshua and Bucky and up at the group. She didn't need to move her hands around to ask what's going on between the two of them. They could see the question on her face.
"Josh is in denial" Pablo spoke up.
"Poor Josie" Dia pouted.
"Yes, poor me" Joshua pouted "and what have I said about Josie?"
"To call you Josie"
Joshua pursed his lips "I need a donut" he muttered before getting up and walking over to the group huddled around the pink box.
Rhys grabbed a glass cup from the cupboard and poured himself some milk. "I think I accidentally joined a gang" he quietly told his best friend. Dia looked at him in confusion and Bucky, who is still sitting at the table, heard it very clearly.
"How does one accidentally join a gang?" Bucky asked loudly. That got everyone's attention and they turned to the table.
"Who joined a gang?" Scott was the first to ask.
"Rhys" Bucky said and Dia pointed at the man. Rhys gave them a look of betrayal.
"Whoa, Rhys!" Isaura smiled.
"It's not how it sounds! I was walking out of the store and I saw this kid struggling with his bags so I went over and helped him out. Then about five guys show up and they're like 'yo, thanks for helping out our little homie. You have any problems you come to us, ain't no one gonna mess with you'" Rhys changed his voice as he imitated the guy "then they taught me this intricate handshake and I'm pretty sure I joined a gang"
The room was quiet for a moment as they let the words sink in. They've never heard of someone accidentally joining a gang and they're not sure if its ever happened before. Well maybe it has if the person is as clueless as Rhys.
Dia was the first one to laugh and then more laughs followed.
"Laugh all you want, see who'll defend you when I call in that favor" Rhys threatened before drinking his milk.
"You're gonna challenge us to a rumble?" Natasha smirked.
"Which gang did you join, the Jets or the Sharks?" Scott asked Rhys.
"The Sharks. I be singing on rooftops" Rhys answered.
"I feel like this is a reference to something" Steve spoke up.
"West Side Story" Tony informed him. Steve didn't recognize the name. "Cultural movie. Musical. Have you really not seen it?"
"No" Steve shook his head.
"Guess our movie dates aren't over. We're watching it tonight"
"Can I join? I haven't seen it either" Wanda told Tony.
"Yeah" he nodded "you're all welcome to join"
"I'm sorry" Joshua sniggered "but I keep thinking of that Bob's Burger episode where Linda is all like 'we're going to a rumble. Right in his handsome face'"
Isaura stared at him weirdly "you need to go out more"
"And you need to go out less" Joshua replied "coming back with all those diseases and infections" he shuddered.
"And if you're not careful, your death might come sooner than expected" Isaura threatened Joshua.
The man gasped and placed a hand on his chest "did you just threaten me in front of the Avengers?"
"We will help her hide your body" Natasha commented before she took a bite from her donut. Joshua gave another dramatic gasp.
"Fine. I have something better than the Avengers! Something better than people I just met last night!" Joshua exclaimed.
"No!" Rhys immediately stopped him.
"Aw come on!" He pouted and then stood up straight as he thought of something "I wonder if Jessica will defend me"
Dia choked on the milk she was drinking, the white liquid spluttered out of her mouth and cup and landed on the table. She put the cup down and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Jessica can barely take care of herself. She survives on alcohol and take out" Rhys told Joshua as he handed Dia some napkins to clean herself.
"I don't know who this Jessica chick is but it sounds like she follows my eating habits" Tony spoke up.
Dia, her siblings, Rhys and Joshua stood in silence when they heard that.
"Whatever happens, we must never introduce Tony to Jessica" Pablo told his roommates. They all agreed with that.
·𖥸·
The group settled on a nice smooth discussion that had nothing to do about Joshua and the people that might not defend him when Isaura plans his death. They made themselves at home, Pietro even got to play on the Xbox with Luis and the other guys.
Dia shuffled around the kitchen, not really taking part in conversations. Everyone seemed to forget about the bombshell of Bucky and Joshua being related, but in reality they didn't. Everyone is shocked and maybe impressed, but they just don't know what to say or do. They let it go for the moment and instead talked about other things not long lost family related.
Dia sighed as she turned around, her eyes landed on the table where Bucky is still sitting there. He has his elbow propped on the table, his chin resting on his palm. His blue eyes are distant and unfocused as he stared off into space.
Dia tilted her head to the side and walked up to the table. Bucky didn't move, he kept staring off into the distance. The brunette knocked on the table and brought Bucky out of his daze. He blinked and looked up to see Dia smile at him and sit across from him. He smiled back.
"You okay?" She asked him.
Bucky sighed and shrugged "I don't know"
Dia took a look around the place and saw people talking and laughing. The guys were being loud as they played video games and Biscuit walking around begging for attention. She stood up, opened the fridge and reached for something in it. She pulled out a cheesecake and closed the fridge.
Bucky didn't take his eyes off her as she moved around. Her brown eyes locked with his blue eyes and she nodded her head to the side. He didn't understand her and she did it again, walking to the stairs that lead to the front door.
Bucky glanced around the room as he walked out, no one paid attention to him. He reached the stairs and saw Dia making her way down. He followed after her and she had him hold the cheesecake so she can open the door.
The two walked out of the apartment and to the bar where its empty and quiet. The broom Stephen was using when he was sweeping, is still leaning against the counter where he had set it. The chairs are resting on top of the tables, the frames Dia was hanging earlier are all up for display. The bar is nice and clean, ready to open later that day.
Dia and Bucky walked in and he set the cheesecake down on the bar. The young woman went behind the bar and began to make drinks.
"Its a bit early to be drinking, don't you think?" Bucky told her.
Dia pointed at the iced tea section of the menu and Bucky understood. In five minutes, Dia and Bucky were sitting in a booth in the back of the bar, they both had raspberry iced tea and a cheesecake in front of them. Dia didn't bother on cutting it up so she just grabbed two forks.
"I hear you have a great nephew" a voice came out of Dia's phone.
Bucky sighed "I do" he nodded.
"How do you feel about that?" Dia typed in her phone.
"I don- I don't know. Confused? Surprised? Shocked?"
"Flabbergasted?" Dia's phone interrupted.
Bucky chuckled and nodded "yes, flabbergasted" he poked at the cheesecake and sighed "I spent many years in Hydra being the Winter Soldier, then Steve came around and saved me from that. After everything that's happened with this team- what's happened in my life, I never thought that I might have family out there"
"Now you know. What are you going to do?"
"I...I don't know. What does a one hundred year old, brainwashed, ex-assassin do when he finds out he has family?" Bucky looked up at Dia.
She shrugged "I don't know. You might be the only person in the world going through that"
"What would you do?"
"Freak the fuck out" the phone said.
"I can do that later" Bucky stabbed the fork in the cake and ate the piece he took off.
"If I wake up seventy five years in the future, and I meet Pablo or Isaura's grandchildren, I would like to know about their lives. I would want to know what they did and where they went. I would want to know if they were happy, or sad. I want to know about the person they married, their children, their grandchildren. I want to know the highlights of their lives, the moments that defined them"
Bucky smiled as he heard that. So far he's agreeing with everything Dia is saying- more like typing on her phone.
"Then after I hear everything about them, I would punch myself in the face because I wasn't there to witness it. I didn't experience any of it and I would hate myself for missing out on all that. But that wouldn't matter because I would miss them like hell. We grew up together, we were supposed to grow old together and live in the same home and make fun of the old people there. We had it all planned out but I wasn't there" Dia continued to type on the phone" So what do I do? I would honor their memory and get to know their grandchildren because they're all that's left of them and I wouldn't want to lose them"
Bucky sat in silence for a minute. He wasn't expecting an answer like that, but he's glad he got one because it made it clear to him that that's what he wants.
"Wow" Bucky breathed out "that was beautiful"
"Yeah, well, I have my moments" Dia smiled and put her phone down. She picked up the fork and began to eat the cheesecake.
He could tell that what Dia said had plenty of feelings behind it. Yes, it was a beautiful speech but there was something about it, something that made him think that Dia lost someone very special to her.
"Who did you lose?" Bucky suddenly asked her. She looked up at him with wide eyes, confusion on her face "what you said, its like you've experienced it"
"My parents" she signed "I was sixteen"
"I'm sorry. If you don't mind, what happened?" Bucky softly asked.
"Car crash. I was with them when it happened"
"I'm sorry" he whispered "is that why you don't drive?" Dia looked at him in confusion once more "I notice that you don't really drive around. You always take a car or Rhys drives you around"
Dia was surprised. No one has ever noticed it before. People just assume that she doesn't know how to drive, that's why she's always driven around. But the truth is quite simple. She was in the car with her parents when they got in an accident and they died. They died and she survived. That's why she doesn't drive. Just like Jessica doesn't drive either.
Dia nodded, confirming Bucky's question.
"Are you always that observant?" She asked in sign.
"I was trained to be observant" Bucky replied.
The young woman grabbed her phone and quickly typed something "you can use those skills to observe Josie. But not in a weird stalker way"
"Its just-" he sighed and passed his hands through his hair. Light caught on Bucky's metal arm and Dia's eyes flickered at it for a moment.
Tony had told her a while back, that T'Challa, King of Wakanda, had given Bucky a new arm while he was over there getting his "head fixed". Dia had seen Bucky's first arm, the shiny silver arm with a red star on it. That arm gave her the heebie-jeebees. She's not sure why, considering that she's a Master of the Mystic Arts and has seen far weirder and possibly scarier things, but that silver arm sent a shiver of terror down her spine.
"I don't know what to do" Bucky sighed "how do I begin? Where do I begin?"
Dia leaned back in the booth and smiled small "he might act stupid, but he's actually really smart. He likes history, Lord of the Rings, giraffes, he likes teasing his friends, he's a bit of a mama's boy, he loves his brother and he's really into the girl he's dating right now" the voice came from Dia's phone "just a couple things to get you started"
"Lord of the Rings. I heard that its a sequel to The Hobbit" Bucky told her.
"Not a sequel, exactly, more like a new story. Characters from The Hobbit do make an appearance, tho" Dia explained, her fingers hovering over the screen of her phone "did you read The Hobbit when it came out?"
Bucky opened his mouth to respond but then closed it. He thought about it, he tried to remember but his memories are still scattered and missing "to be honest, I don't know"
She gave an apologetic smile and reached for her iced tea. She stirred the straw around in the drink before taking a sip.
"Thank you, for all this" Bucky smiled at Dia. She set the cup down and smiled back.
"What the hell are you two doing here?" Pablo yelled when he spotted his sister and Bucky sitting in a booth in the empty bar.
They both looked around and saw everyone from upstairs entering the bar.
"And with the cheesecake! You ladrones!" Pablo glared as he came to stand in front of the table.
Bucky looked up at Pablo and saw a blue earring on his left ear. Just like the one Dia has on her right ear.
"You guys were being loud up there" Dia told her brother "just now you notice our absence?"
"I didn't feel the silent sarcasm in the room" Rhys slid in with Dia. He grabbed her fork and went for the cheesecake.
Tony gasped when he saw the cheesecake "I want some!" he breathed out. Suddenly he pulled a fork from an inside pocket of his jacket and took a piece of the cheesecake.
"You carry a fork with you?" Bruce asked Tony in disbelief.
"It comes in handy!"
"Oh my god" Bruce sighed and shook his head.
"I hope you're going to share because I want some" Sam spoke up.
"Me too" Pietro agreed.
"We all want cake" Thor said.
In less than a minute everyone had a fork and the cheesecake had been moved to a larger table to fit the whole group. Dia and Bucky sat on the booth with only their drinks left. They shared a look and shrugged.
Revenge shall be ours.
•••
Ladrones = thieves.
I feel like this is the longest chapter yet.