It was the longest trip Adel had ever taken on the road with another person and he found that he enjoyed it. When they stopped to rest a few times or dart inside a gas station, Winter would quietly talk to him for a minute or two before allowing Bucky to come forward to gather supplies and convince Adel to buy something edible and not a race car model that cost way too much for its size.
"But it's red..." Adel pouted even as he put the car back on the shelf next to the blue corn chips and salsa dip. He watched as Bucky loaded up his arms with chips and candy before stuffing them in his backpack after paying. Adel decided he would get them cold coffees and soda for the road as well.
Madonna, Adel's hell cat, was in Adel's own bag, a see-through dome on the back so she could see everything clearly. He had tried to leave her earlier and have one of his neighbors come and feed her occasionally but she wasn't having any of it. She had given a squeaky war cry and wouldn't let go from where she clawed at his pant leg.
So...
She was with them.
Adel was just waking up from a small nap when Winter spoke. "I used your phone to make some phone calls."
"What?" Adel blinked his eyes open, looking around. They were cruising down streets, weaving in and out of traffic with a destination in mind. "My phone?"
"I made a few calls. I figured you wouldn't mind."
"Mind what?" It took the Latino a few seconds to realize that the motorcycle was slowing to a stop in front of a large building. "Wait- Is this-"
The giant words Charleston Memorial Hospital stood out in front of him on a sign and it was then that Adel realized that Bucky and Winter took him to see his aunt in West Virginia.
"You- But-" Anything else Adel was going to say was stopped when the college student saw an elderly Latina woman exit the hospital doors, her grey hair pulled back in a messy bun and her kind brown eyes fixed on them. She brushed her hands down the front of her purple dress, her nails painted a nice cream color. "Mama?"
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"Matthias." The woman opened her arms, chuckling lightly when the man practically dove into her hold, and she ran a hand through his wavy hair. "Mi cielito, how have you been?"
"Tired, Mama." Adel sighed, leaning out of the embrace to push his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "College has been kicking my ass."
Mama, Adel's grandmother, nodded her head before turning to Bucky, walking over to him. She seemed to study him closely, her brown eyes seeming to see more about him than even he knew. "You must be Bucky." Her voice was gentle and her touch was so soft as she placed her hand on his cheek that Bucky had to resist the urge to lean into it. "Thank you for bringing my Matthias back to me."
"Of course, ma'am." Bucky swallowed past a lump in his throat, blinking twice rapidly as if the action would take away the sudden influx of emotions. "It felt right."
