Cornelia Street - Avengers

A Symbol Of Hope

"Cause I'm a real tough kid I can handle my shit."

Stark Tower, 2017

(I Can Do It With A Broken Heart, Taylor Swift)

...

Maria Hill, her Godmother, had picked her up from SHIELD headquarters in less than an hour, whilst Natasha drove the other two men. She wanted to take the scenic route around New York this time, and her Dad couldn't be mad at her for long if she arrived late. 

She hadn't been around the city, truly seeing it for what it was, in what felt like a lifetime as she had only just returned from a two-month trip around Eastern Europe with Steve, looking for a certain someone. Her mind drifted back to the pair's whirlwind journey they had embarked on. But every trail came back cold.

As Maria navigated the streets of New York, Lucia stared out the window, lost in thought. They had travelled across Eastern Europe, chasing down leads and following the resurfacing of whispered encounters. But every trail had led to dead ends. 

Bucky was like a ghost, like sand, slipping through their fingers time and time again. Lucia remembered the frustration, the sense of helplessness that had gnawed at her with every failed attempt to find him.

Even with the agonising finality of their final conversation, she could hardly sleep since he left, she couldn't eat. "We went everywhere," the redhead said, her voice soft as she spoke to Maria. "Prague, Italy, Budapest, Vienna...we followed every lead and talked to every contact Steve had or we had found. He was always one step ahead of us. Every time we arrived somewhere, it was like he had just left."

Maria glanced at her, concern etched in her features. "It must have been tough, chasing after someone who doesn't want to be found."

She fell silent, memories of their search flooding her mind as her gaze drifted back to the passing cityscape. The late nights pouring over maps, the countless miles travelled, the faces of the people they had questioned. Each lead had felt like a glimmer of hope, only to be extinguished by the harsh reality of their failure. 

Every time they got close, Lucia had held onto that glimmer of hope—the hope that seeing her again would bring him back, that he would come to her, that they could figure it out together and he would change his mind.

Instead, he had left nothing but empty rooms and the faintest trace of his presence, like the wind brushing through her fingers before disappearing entirely.

"He's a ghost story for a reason," the brunette reached out a hand, placing it on her Goddaughter's knee. "But you did everything you could, Lucia, even though I know the hardest part is knowing when to stop searching."

She sighed, the weight of their journey heavy on her shoulders. "I just hope Steve's not too disappointed. He's been searching for so long. By the time I joined him, he'd been looking for three- months already."

Maria glanced over, her expression gentle but probing. "But are you done looking?"

The question hit her like a wave, catching her off guard. She hadn't ever really thought about it, not in those terms. For so long, chasing after him had consumed her, driving her forward with a relentless determination, but now, faced with the possibility of letting go, she felt a tumult of conflicting emotions swirl within her.

"I... I don't know," the redhead admitted, her voice trembling with uncertainty. "I've never really considered it before. I've just been... following Steve's lead, trying to do what I thought was right. Chasing closure that I don't think I'm ever going to get. "