Betrayal - A Bucky Barnes Fanfic

Chapter 30

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a short one, I promise the next one is gonna be longer!

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All week Ava had felt like she was a popstar needing two bodyguards to get her home safely. When James wasn't picking her up from work, Natasha was waiting outside the editorial building, her car always parked in a side alley. "There are a hell of a lot of cars in New York!", Natasha had justified her offside parking after Ava had called her on it.

On Tuesday James came over as promised and Ava excitedly told him about her plans to go to Portland with Natasha and Steve to visit her mother again. To her surprise, he was absolutely thrilled with the idea. Ava almost felt like he was even more excited than she was, and she had never thought of James as a particularly enthusiastic person. Her astonishment was much greater when James simply decided that he should come along. "I'd love to meet your mother, you always seem so enthusiastic when you talk about her. Almost as enthusiastic as when you talk about your work," he had said to Ava.

Ava had been convinced she was dreaming at first, but then James had tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at her determinedly. His blue eyes had drowned out all of her thoughts and she had no good argument ready to talk him out of the idea again. Following his announcement, she had stayed awake half the night worrying. She had a million questions running through her head – Would James like my mom? Would my mom even like James? What would he think of my old room? And, oh God, I still have posters hanging in my old room! Or has my mom ever bothered to take them down?

Thursday hadn't been much better when Ava finally mustered up the courage to calling her mom. Actually, she had wanted to get it done on Tuesday, but after James had invited himself on the trip, it felt like an almost impossible task for Ava to call her mom. First she only mentioned Natasha and herself planning to visit her and her mom was already beside herself. She was audibly happy to welcome Ava and Natasha back into her home. Then she carefully inched her way in with Steve's presence before dropping the James-bomb. "Oh Ava, you don't know how pleased I am that you and Natasha are bringing dates! And then they're such good friends as well, charming!" her mom had shouted into the receiver completely out of her mind. "And don't worry about space, you know the house is big enough for an extended family. There will be more than enough room for everyone!" she added quickly when she noticed Ava's reserved voice. And it was true, Ava's mom Melinda still lived in the house Ava had grown up in. It was actually far too big for a single person, but Melinda simply hadn't been able to part with it after Ava's father had died. Too many memories were attached to that house.

But all the anxiety Ava had felt over the week was nothing compared to what she felt now: it was finally Friday and Ava walked to the car that had just parked in front of her complex. James got out and immediately grabbed her travel bag before placing a kiss on her mouth.

"Hi," Ava said with a grin. No matter how nervous she was, seeing James caused a comforting feeling throughout her body.

"Hi," he replied, returning her grin.

James stowed her bag in the boot while Ava got into the car. She took one deep breath through her nose to inhale the smell of James.

"Are you excited?" asked James as he got into the car with her.

"No," Ava lied. She wasn't very good at lying and her body gave her away anyway. She had her hand clenched into a fist in her lap, her other hand having to stop her leg from bouncing nervously.

"You're a bad liar," James remarked dryly.

"Alright," Ava blurted out, her thoughts just bubbling out of her with no filter, "I'm really damn anxious. I've hardly slept the last three nights and I drank three cups of coffee this morning, which I'll regret at the latest when I have to beg you to stop at the next exit. Besides, you're going to meet my mother today. My mother, James!" Now Ava was on a roll. Her pent-up emotions and worries burst out of her like a bursting dam.

"I know I'm going to meet your mother," James said, amused. He didn't look at her, but kept his eyes on the road and all the traffic in front of him. Isn't he anxious at all?, thought Ava a little indignantly.

"That's crazy! Why do you even want to meet my mother? I can't get my head around it. I mean, what am I to you? What is this to you? Are we good friends? Fuck buddies? Are we in a relationship? Or are you one of those people who says 'I don't do relationships'?" Ava now fervently wished she had just shut up. Annoyed with herself, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Had she really just, on the verge of an hour-long car journey, sparked a discussion about what James and she were? She would have liked to crash her head against the window. Maybe she should just jump out of the moving car.

"Ava," James said in a composed and gentle voice. He turned to her and took her hands in his. Ava hadn't even noticed that they had already stopped in front of Steve's building.

"You are incredibly important to me. I'm surprised about that myself. I didn't think anyone would ever mean this much to me, but you do. I'm going to Portland with you because I want to meet your mother, who is obviously very important to you. But I also want to go to Portland with you for selfish reasons." Ava looked at him with wide eyes. She couldn't believe what he was saying.

"I couldn't bear to be away from you all weekend. Me in New York, you in Portland – I couldn't stand it. The distance is far too great and even though I know you can take care of yourself, I prefer to be within your reach. Just in case."

It took Ava a moment before she found her voice again. "So I'm introducing you as my boyfriend?" she asked incredulously. Her mouth was dry as dust.

"If that's what you want as well, yes," James replied with a smile. Ava leaned over the centre console, released her hands from James' and kissed him passionately. His hands immediately moved to her neck as his tongue invaded her mouth authoritatively. Ava buried her hands in his well-groomed hair and tugged lightly.

"Shall we come back later?" a voice asked and Ava broke away from James, startled.

"God, Nat! You scared me!", Ava groaned indignantly. Natasha had opened the back door of the car and stuck her head inside.

"I hope we didn't interrupt anything," Natasha provoked, glancing at James, who stubbornly kept his gaze on the windshield. Ava just rolled her eyes.

"Everyone ready to go?" asked Steve after he had stowed his and Natasha's luggage in the boot and joined Natasha in the back seat. Judging by Natasha and Jame's faces, this could be a very long car ride. Did Ava know any good car ride games? She had to think of something if she didn't want to spend the next few hours in uncomfortable silence.