the strongest avenger (3)

8

"How old is your child?"

I make a face as I turn towards Thena, sitting across from me on the plane.

After we burned Gil's body, Thena scattered his ashes and we prepared to travel back to the States to retrieve Phastos for his help in stopping the emergence.

And this morning...when I went to bathroom I realized I popped. As in, I have a very noticeable bump. It was so small before, and now it's there. My kid is growing and it lowkey scares the hell out of me.

Luckily, I fabricated a loose t-shirt for me to wear with some leggings to help conceal and stay comfy at the same time.

It's a little tense on the plane, Sersi, Sprite and Kingo are in the front talking. Ikaris sits behind them staring out a window, while Karun talks his ear off. Waves of stress come off of Ikaris while Druig sits closer to Thena and I in the back.

"A little over a year."

Thena nods, her eyes scanning over my body and resting on my face.

"You're young."

"I guess." I shrug. "Compared to you all."

"Why did you have one?" Her face reveals nothing, it's a clean slate and I can't even concur why she's asking me these questions.

"I wanted a family."

"Hmm." Thena goes quiet for a few minutes, then she looks back at me. "Does it look like you?"

"My baby?" Referring to my kid as an 'it' kind of threw me off.

She nods her head yes.

I pull out my phone and scroll through my camera roll, settling on a recent picture. Holding out the phone, Thena leans forward and glances at his.

"Are you sure that's your kid?" Druig peeks over the seat at the phone. "Doesn't look like you at all."

"I mean he did come from my vagina, so..."

Thena sends Druig a glare as I pull the phone away, but theres the ghost of a smile on her face.

"He looks like his father." I mumble at Druig.

"Yes, he does."

My brows furrow as I wonder how he even knows what Bucky looks like.

He then taps his head.

Theres a lot of your husband up here. He sends to my thoughts and I send him the middle finger. A lot of you as well, Talia.

Rolling my eyes, I turn away from him and his smirk and Thena with her eyes closed. I let myself drift off as I watch as we pass the clouds outside.

—-

"Here."

I look up from my phone and glance at the box that Sprite's carrying. As soon as the aroma of pizza hits me, my mouth waters.

"Mmm. Thank you."

Her, Karun and Kingo had discreetly gotten us all some Chicago-style deep dish pizza while Ikaris and Sersi went to get Phastos.

I take the personal sized box from her and set it down on the tray in front of me. We're still on the plane, landed in a field a few miles from civilization.

Thena's outside doing...something. She's odd.

Sprite nods and heads off to join Thena outside.

Karun and Kingo watch a movie on a flat screen near the front of the plane, while Druig opens his own box and takes out a slice.