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Ava leaned against a table drinking some fancy vodka in her nicest dress, a dark purple one that hugged her figure nicely. Yelena and Alexei were bickering at the bar. Walker talked to some well-respected military soldiers. Bucky and Bob stood in the corner talking, though Bob looked like he would be anywhere else right now. Valentina didn’t want Bob to be there, as he was 'unstable', but they had threatened her till she had no choice but to let him go.
The gala was to celebrate some rich people, as most were. She doesn’t know who they are, though, as she didn’t care to catch their names. It was, of course, extremely different than the labs she grew up in. There was a chandelier that hung from the ceiling looking like it cost millions of dollars, a shiny silk floor that people danced around on, and a distinct scent of lavender and money. Ava caught the eye of Joaquin Torres and Sam Wilson across the room, who had been watching her and her team all night. She suspected it had something to do with the lawsuit tension. She immediately turned away from them, going to seek out Yelena to talk about how annoying all the rich Americans are, but she somehow walked right into a journalist's trap.
She doesn’t know how the journalists got in, but they had been spying on Ava all night trying to find the right moment to bombard her with questions.
She tried to move out of the journalist's way who had greying hair and a fancy suit on only for him to block her again. She groaned internally.
"What?" she deadpanned, running a hand down her face, over it already.
“Well, Miss Starr, I was expecting more enthusiasm, as I do have some interesting questions for you," the man said, a cocky smile appearing across his face that made Ava roll her eyes.
"Get on with it then," she shrugged, eyeing Yelena from across the room.
“See, I wanted to ask you, what does it feel like to go from a trained killer and science experiment to a hero?”
Ava's heart sank.
Her past wasn’t a secret to the public; she knew that, but somehow hearing the words "killer" and “science experiment” pierced deeper than she expected, unravelling something inside.
"Uh… what?" Ava could hardly get the words out. She started twisting her fingers around one another, trying to calm the nerves swirling inside of her.
"Don't you feel guilty about all the people you killed? You call yourself a hero, but you're far from it. Your whole team is," the man continued, knowing he was getting a rise out of Ava.
Ava's vision blurred. She felt like someone was holding down on her chest; she could hardly get a breath. “I... I didn’t have a choice. None of us did. Leave me alone," she choked out, looking around for her team – Yelena, Bucky, anyone – but no one was to be seen. She knew she shouldn’t be engaging with this guy, but she was too deep into the panic to care.
Her team deciding to vanish right when she needed them only made her panic worse; her head was working miles per hour trying to listen to the journalist and find an escape from this.
She finally saw a door with a big red glowing exit sign. She ran out through the door into the smoking area, away from the crowds and journalists who wanted to humiliate her and use her for headlines. Finally being able to get fresh air, she sat down on the steps trying to catch her breath, but nothing was working.
As she gasped, tears ran down her cheeks. Next thing she knew, she was sobbing, head in her hands, hoping no one would find her this broken and sobbing like a little kid.
She felt someone’s hand on her shoulder, and she let out an involuntary whimper, head snapping up, praying that it was maybe Yelena who noticed she had gone missing, but instead she was met by the eyes of Sam Wilson and, next to him, Joaquin Torres.
That only made her meltdown worse. She didn't know them well; only from stories Bucky had told her, she knew they were good people, but from her past experiences, she knew to never trust anyone, especially when she was this vulnerable.
"Don't… don’t touch me," she gasped out. She saw Sam and Joaquin take a step back, respecting her wishes; they had a worried tint in their eyes.
"We just want to help you, kid, really," Sam said softly, crouching down in front of Ava, then Joaquin added, "Yeah, we saw what that guy said it wasn’t your fault ava.” Ava squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t believe she was having a meltdown in front of the people who had an active lawsuit against them. "Why do you care?" That was all she was able to get out, choking on a sob again. "I didn't want to kill them, I swear." Her voice cracked violently on the last word.
“Okay, okay, Ava, you have to breathe, okay? Can you do that?" Sam asked, hands out like he was approaching a startled animal.
Ava shook her head repeatedly, hands pulling at her hair. "Yelena-Walker… Where are they?" she sobbed “We need to go home” her leg bouncing where she sat, anxiety taking over. Her hands started flapping before she clenched them into a fist.
“We’ve been trying to reach them. They’re not answering, but we’re here, okay? You’re not alone.” Joaquin said,
"I need them.” Ava’s voice was sharp, raw. her eyes wide
Sam sighed, trying to think of other ways to calm the terrified ghost. “Listen, I know your team isn't here, but they'd want you safe. Okay? Just for now."
Sam met Ava's eyes; he looked like he genuinely wanted to help Ava to see her calm down, so she started to calm her breathing – well, tried to anyway.
"That's it, Ava, breathe in with me," he inhaled, "and out," he exhaled, and Ava followed.
Slowly the panic subsided, and she was able to calm down, not fully but more calm than she was a minute ago when freaking out over being called a killer.
She took in Joaquin and Sam's appearances; they both had sleek, formal suits, and their hair was slicked back. Sam had a Captain America pin on. They looked more put together than Ava looked at this moment. Inside, her purple dress was creased from her fingers crumpling it, and her hair was wild and messy from gripping it tightly. She had smudged mascara running down her cheeks from her tears.
"I'm sorry for all this bother. Thank you for… helping me. I'll go find Bucky now," Ava said quickly, trying to get away from the awkward situation as fast as possible, but as she stood up, Sam stepped in front of her, blocking her way.
"Bucky would kill me if I let one of his family walk around in this state," Ava sniffled, shocked by his kindness. "I'm not his family." She rubbed her cheeks, trying to get the smudged mascara off.
"Well, whatever you are to him, he cares about you."
"Sure…" Ava sniffled.
Ava was still breathing heavily when she heard footsteps behind her. Her shoulders tensed, fearing another journalist, but instead, it was Walker, his expression caught somewhere between fury and worry.
“What the hell is going on out here?” Walker barked, eyes darting from Ava’s tear-streaked face to Sam and Joaquin. His jaw tightened when he saw Ava flinch at his raised voice. Ava knew he would assume Sam and Joaquin had something to do with her state.
“Walker, calm down,” Ava said, eyes glassy, hands moving to grip his blazer, knowing the ways Walker would react when people he cared for were hurting. “She just needed air. A journalist cornered her and said some real nasty shit about her past. We found her out here," Sam said.
Ava wiped at her cheeks again. “I’m fine,” she mumbled, but her voice cracked on the word "fine".
“You don’t look fine,” Walker shot back, softer this time. He stepped closer, crouching down beside her. His face was still set in that harsh look he always wore, but his eyes softened when they landed on hers. “You let that old creep get in your head?”
Ava didn’t answer. She just picked at the hem of her dress, staring holes through the concrete. She looked pathetic and weak; she hated it.
Finally she spoke: "What does it matter, Walker? Just forget about it."
Walker let out a low breath, frustration brimming under his skin but not at Ava, at the people who thought they could dictate Ava's life and who she was. “Goddamn journalists. You know you don’t have to answer to them, right? You don’t owe them anything.”
Ava sniffed. “I know,” she whispered.
Walker’s hand hovered for a second before resting carefully on her cheek. “C’mon, Aves, you're tougher than this. You know who you are. We know who you are.”
Ava looked up at him, tears threatening again. “I looked for you. I couldn’t find any of you. You said we were going to stay together."
Walker's eyes shone with guilt; he sighed loudly. “I know. That’s on me. We got swept into the crowd with a lot of people trying to interview us and talk to us; I should have been watching you closer. That’s my bad, alright? “
She gave a tiny nod, shoulders slumping as some of the tension drained out of her. Joaquin and Sam exchanged a glance.
Walker looked up at Sam. “Thanks. Both of you.” He nodded.
“Don’t mention it,” Sam said, waving his hand and smiling softly. "Are you guys going to get out of here? This place isn’t doing her any favours. People can be cruel."
Walker nodded. “Yeah. This fancy-ass gala can suck it. She’s done for the night. we both are."
He turned back to Ava, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. “C’mon. Let’s go find Yelena before she blows the bar up.”
Ava gave a weak, watery laugh at that, the first sign she was really coming back to herself. Walker stood, then offered her his hand. She hesitated for half a heartbeat before taking it.
"Are you good to walk?” he asked, studying her carefully.
“Yeah. "I think so,” she said, her voice steadier now. She glanced at Sam and Joaquin, her eyes still rimmed red but her posture stronger. “Thanks again."
“Anytime, Ava,” Sam said with a small smile. Joaquin just gave her a quiet nod.
Walker slipped an arm around her shoulders, steering her gently back inside.
Ava cracked a small grin, leaning into his side as they walked. She still felt raw and hollow, but with Walker’s arm braced around her, she felt lighter and not like the whole world was against her.
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