Unravel

From all the ways Liz had expected Bucky to react to the news of her leaving, she had least of all expected him to be fully on board with it. But that was the way it had been and now she was fully packed up with what little she had and standing in front of the door, facing all of the people that had helped her and that she was now leaving behind. But it was for the best.

“Are you sure this is what you want? You don’t seem quite content with your decision,” Clint chimed in, casually leaning against the wall.

She wasn't, he was right. But only because she knew what would happen the moment she left the safe house and was thrown back into the flurry of things. Liz figured that none of the Avengers knew what exactly “leaving” in her case involved. But it was a good thing, so Liz nodded and forced a smile onto her face, “It’s for the best. Thank you all, you were wonderful and I’m forever grateful. If you ever find me somewhere, any favor you can ask for…,” Liz trailed off, holding back on her emotions.

“Thank you, Liz,” Steve answered, the rest just nodded. “And thank you for getting Bucky back,” Steve added and Liz smiled. At least she had done one thing right.

After a few handshakes and even hugs, Liz was left standing alone with Bucky, just a safe distance away. “I’m not happy you’re leaving,” he said softly, stepping closer. “But I’m glad you’re getting out of this mess.”

“Don’t count on it, Sergeant Barnes,” Liz smirked. “Trouble follows me wherever I go.”

“I believe that,” Bucky laughed and hugged her close, muttering into her hair, “Be careful.”

Liz sighed deeply, pulling him closer. “You too. Find me when you can,” she told him before adding, “Just… say hello before you start stealing my leftovers again.”

And then there it was. A full out laugh from Bucky and Liz could have sworn the room had gotten ten times brighter.
But then there was a knock on the door and both of their faces fell, knowing what was happening night. Looking her over intently once more, Bucky pulled her close, his lips meeting her halfway, softly but determined. “I’ll miss you.”

Smiling sadly, Liz opened the door to find Hawk standing outside.

This was it. So she nodded, “I’m ready.”

////

The suburban homes got more sparse with each minute and soon the car pulled onto the interstate heading south. And while Liz was somehow trying to relax, the occupants of the car had an adverse effect on her.
She tried to focus on the trees and buildings flying by but was reminded of his presence each and every time his pen scratched on the paper. He was already marked with worry lines etched into his face so deeply, he looked at least ten years older than he actually was. Liz didn’t know if she could be proud of herself for saying that at least five of those years were there thanks to her.
But her father was an ex-SHIELD executive. He had probably had worse to worry about than a stubborn and wayward daughter running around with a friendly ex-assassin.
Not knowing where exactly they were headed, Liz had tried asking about it but was met with silence and a curt ‘It won’t take long’, so she had resigned herself to watching the world outside, slowly getting lost in thought.

She had always had a problem with accepting help from others. Then along came Bucky and even though she had helped him first, it came around as well. But now she needed to accept help from those she had refused it from for even longer. Her father, namely.
Bucky had been right. She wasn’t all that different from him. And even if she had despised that comparison at first, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing anyway. And she didn’t plan on having children and fucking them up anytime soon, so she was on the safe side there.

“How long?” she heard her father ask Hawk, who promptly looked at his wrist watch.

“Five minutes,” he answered, going back to his newspaper.

“Are you alright?” her father asked.

I have to be, she thought. So she nodded and went back to looking out of the tinted window.
Until she saw a black SUV pull up next to them, keeping the same speed, then passing them. It was the same car, same number plate. Liz inhaled sharply, aware of what would come next.

Putting his files down, Hawk checked his seatbelt, advising Liz and her father to do the same.

“Are we sure this is the right thing to do?” Liz followed up, her palms already sweaty.

“A dead man can work as he pleases. They won’t bother us anymore,” Hawk repeated his own words.

Inhaling deeply, Liz held her breath until she heard tires screeching, something crashing. Holding onto the strap going across her chest, she could feel the seatbelt starting to cut off her air supply and crushing her chest. But even then she could feel her fingers hurt as they were holding onto the seatbelt so strongly.

Then suddenly there was no movement at all and before Liz could realize that it was smoke she was smelling, the car roared to life again, speeding off and leaving everything behind.

<b>Breaking news: Part of I-95 impassable due to crash in Philadelphia. 4 dead. </b>