GROW (BUCKY BARNES x OC)

34

After the confirmation that Saige was not in fact a HYDRA agent, but a loving aunt in search of her niece, she was brought up to the floor and introduced to the rest of Aurora's family. Olivia was excited to learn she had a great aunt, and Saige was very sweet to her, treating her with kindness and love.

It warmed Aurora's heart to see the two interact. A small selfish part of her wished that she could've met Saige when she was Olivia's age, and dreamed on the what ifs of the situation. She couldn't dwell on it too much though when she was just happy to have met her aunt at all. Part of Aurora felt anger towards her parents resurface. Stephanie Stone never loved her daughter, and neither did her husband Colin. Why couldn't they have left Aurora in custody of her aunt? Saige seemed so kind, she probably would've taken her in. Why keep Aurora around if she was, as she'd been told many times, a burden? It almost seemed like they wanted Aurora to suffer purposefully. The thought was disheartening but Aurora tried not to dwell on the past.

There was also the matter of confirmation that Chris was looking for her. The thought sent chills down her spine and she couldn't focus on it too long without panic seeping in.

Bucky's birthday party that night helped distract her a bit. He made sure to tell her numerous times that she didn't have to sit through any festivities she didn't want to. He told her she could skip the whole experience if she preferred. Aurora appreciated the sentiment, but the party distracted her and she'd also been looking forward to it. She wasn't going to let the threat of Chris take a single happy moment away from her.

Bucky opened his gift from Aurora, a beautiful notebook with a message from her inscribed inside the front cover. He'd told her about his journals before, even shown her a few entries. When he was having trouble remembering himself and his past, he would write down memories as they came to him so he wouldn't forget them again. Now that his mind was much healthier and whole, Aurora thought journaling about simple things would be a good way to distress.

She was also interested to see if he would write any stories or poem in the book that he wanted to share with her. Some of his entries from his old journals were quick notes and names, but some were described in great detail and she had a feeling he'd be a good author. She wouldn't push him on it if he didn't want to though. Aurora just thought he should find a special hobby that wasn't target practice or watching her garden. She wanted him to find something he enjoyed doing.

Bucky was very happy with the journal and thanked her with a kiss. Saige watched them with a smile, having warmed up to Bucky once she began to trust his good intentions. Olivia had gifted Bucky a handmade beaded bracelet with a smiley face charm. He'd put it on right away, much to her delight.

Saige stayed with them at the tower for the first week, planning on returning to her apartment in England after that. Upon reveling that she had no real interest in staying in England or social ties to keep her there, Tony offered her a space at the tower. Saige had found this very sweet, but decided to compromise between both options and move to an apartment close by in New York. That way she could still visit her niece and great niece as often as they wanted, and still give the family privacy.

On the terms of privacy, Bucky had been debating a discussion with Aurora about them moving their little family off their current floor in the Tower. Tony had plenty of space on some upper levels and Bucky thought the option of having more privacy while still being able to see their family frequently would be good for them. He'd yet to bring it up to Aurora though.

Wanda and Vision were in full blown wedding planning mode. They decided to set a tentative date for mid fall that year. Wanda had always been one to devote herself to her passions, but comparing different shades of whites for a table cloth for the thirteenth time in a week grew a bit much for Aurora. She did want to support her friends, but some of the shaded Wanda was debating were so similar to each other they all looked the same. Wanda seemed convinced that the wrong shade would ruin the whole aesthetic, and wanted to prefect it.