Lark

He's not worth it

Aria's POV

All of the shouting was too much for Aria to handle, even if it was on her behalf. Her natural reaction was to flee. So when everyone was busy yelling at Steve she made her escape. Doubting that anyone would miss her for a while or at all besides Tony or Peter she headed back to her apartment. After the day she's had Aria needed some peace and quiet. Just as she reached her rooms Peter ran up to her. "Ari, wait! I'm so sorry. I just couldn't sit there and let Clint talk about you like that and then I just got so mad at them all for being jerks." Giving him a small smile she let him know she didn't blame him.

"I understand that, Peter. I just wasn't ready for everyone to know about my suspension or the deal. Honestly, I don't think I would have said anything to them until I had to leave and maybe not even then." Peter's face falls even more. She knew he was mentally beating himself up, but she found that she couldn’t be mad at him. Not for wanting to defend her so vehemently. Thinking about it Aria hadn’t had anyone defend her since before she last saw the women she once considered her sort of ‘sisters’.

"I won't let you be kicked off the team, Ari. I'll tell Fury to his face that he was wrong for agreeing with Mr Rogers. He shouldn't have forced you to do this in the first place. I mean, you've been in therapy since you've been here, right? I'm sure you've come a long way from when Mr Stark first met you." He hadn’t been allowed to come around back then because of how jumpy she’d been. Meaning she was a little stab happy and with as much as Pete was effusive the two of them together would have been a bad idea.

Placing a hand on his arm to quiet him, she motions for him to follow her inside her apartment. "Come on. Let's go through all of this and separate out your stuff so we can set up your room."

"You're going to help me even though I messed up?" He stands there hands in his pockets with his head hanging down. It reminded her of how she felt earlier today waiting to be shut down and abused. Knowing that feeling better than anyone else she knew, Aria wanted to do what she could to reassure Peter that she forgave him.

"Can you help me set up the DVD player we bought? You know I've never actually used the TV in here. Never saw the point." Peter's head jerked up in disbelief. She again motioned for him to follow her inside. Glad to help her with anything he bounds past her and starts digging through the pile of bags. Helping him search through the hoard, they separated out his stuff and took it over to his apartment. Agreeing to set up all of the big stuff the next day, she did help him make up his bed so he could sleep on new sheets.

Back in her apartment Peter insisted that they would need the coffee table they bought so he ran quickly down to the SUV to grab it. Making sure to borrow some tools from Tony along the way so they could put it together. While Peter was setting up and explaining how to use the DVD player Aria pulled out all of the movies he insisted she buy. Finished, he showed her how to turn everything on so she wouldn't need him if she wanted to watch a movie by herself later.

Sitting on the couch they were going through the stacks of DVD's deciding what to watch first when there was a hestiant knock on her front door. Without a word needing to be spoken Peter went to open it for her. Standing in the doorway so whoever it was couldn’t just come in he opened it further when he saw who was standing there. "Oh hey, Mr Bucky. What's up?"

Not looking up, but still paying attention, she listened to their conversation. "Just call me, Bucky. No need for you to add the Mister." She could hear amused annoyance in his voice, making her smile a little. "I just wanted to check on Aria and to apologize."

Keeping her eyes down she continues to organize the movies. She takes Peter's advice in taking small steps and calls out, "He can come in." Glancing up she caught the surprised expression on Bucky’s face. Quickly looking back down she bit back her smile until her face was back to her resting face. "What exactly do you need to apologize for, Barnes?" Looking up when he comes over to stand across from her, Aria rested her hands on her thighs to keep them from fidgeting and giving away her nervousness in him being back in her apartment.