The Fighter

7

Rune's POV

Prisms of light reflected off the shining buildings in Wakanda, giving it the illusion of being made from diamonds. It was beautiful. In that moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. It made perfect sense why this country had been hidden from the rest of the world for so long. I didn't really belong here, but it somehow felt like home. A place that I could finally relax, call my own. A place that I could never be reached by my stalker ex.

That sense of peace was broken as soon as Bucky approached Steve and I. "Where is Tess?" He asked, a deep frown settling on his lips. That seemed to be his go to expression.

"Isn't she with you?" Steve asked, instantly slipping into dad mode.

"No. We had an argument over how I talked to Shuri and she left. I apologized to Shuri and now I cant find her. I'm starting to get worried."

I knew I should have kept my mouth shut. I should let it go, keep myself from getting between the drama that Bucky and Tess had going on but she was my best friend. My only friend, really. "Maybe she doesn't want you to find her, James. In case you forgot, she did leave an entire continent to get away from you."

Bucky turned his gaze to me, anger and something else in his eyes. Sadness, maybe? "I didn't forget what happened. And I am well aware of why she left Wakanda." He focused back on Steve, shutting me out of the conversation. "She was really pissed when she walked away. I don't want her to get hurt. Do you know where she would go?"

Steve hesitated, a bit of annoyance showing in his expression. We'd been in the middle of a tour when Bucky had interrupted. "Yes, I do."

"Where?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Steve-"

"Buck, stop. Pushing and pushing is not going to convince her to come back to you. You have to give her time. I wasn't really on board with tracking her down but I did it to keep her safe. I did it so my daughter wouldn't be unprotected if someone went after her. I did not do it so you could push her into giving you another chance." Steve crossed his massive arms over his chest, staring Bucky down.

"I'll find her myself then." He turned to walk away, anger radiating from him.

I grabbed his arm, gripping the flesh tightly. "No, you won't. Leave her alone. If she wants you, she'll find you when she's ready. If you don't, I'll show you what I had planned the night you broke into her apartment." I snapped, releasing his arm after a moment.

Bucky stared me down, his jaw clenched so tightly I feared he was about to break his teeth. That was how we stayed for a moment before he stalked down the hallway, his back and shoulders tight with tension.

Steve waited a few moments before tapping on the door beside him twice. "He's gone."

Tess peaked her head out the door, checking before entering the hallway. "Thank you. It's so hard to tell him no. He knows that it's nearly impossible for me."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, smiling at her. "You know I have no problems telling someone who could definitely kill me to shove it."

"Oh yeah, I heard what you told him. I'm shocked he didn't snap at you. His temper has been a bit... short lately." Tess said, rubbing the back of her neck. She almost looked ashamed for the way her soulmate was acting.

"Don't worry about it. I think Wanda's waiting for you in the training room." Steve said, kissing Tess's head. She smiled at him before hugging me and walking down the hallway in the opposite direction Bucky had gone.

Steve and I continued down the hallway in a comfortable silence for a bit. That is, until he broke it. "I don't think I've ever seen a woman threaten Bucky like that. Other than Tessa, maybe."

"Yeah, well I don't like how he seems to think Tessa owes him a second chance. He's the one who messed up. He apologized and asked for another chance, now it's up to Tess if she wants to give it to him. The more he pushes, the more he pushes her away."

Steve glanced down at me, a smile playing on his lips. "You have a very optimistic outlook on soulmates, don't you?" His tone was teasing, but I knew that some part of him wasn't actually teasing.

"I don't think soulmates always work. My mom used to tell me that soulmates can be the person who ruins who you are just as easily as the person who makes you feel alive." I didn't look back at him, my focus on the empty hallway. Most people hated my outlook on soulmates and I didn't exactly blame them. Everyone I knew who met their soulmate had beautiful stories. All except me.

"What could have possibly made her think that way? What made you believe it?" He asked gently.

"Well, I guess for my mom and my dad, it was my dad's death that completely shattered my mom. He was an FBI agent and nobody would tell my mom what happened to him. He died when I was two. All I can remember is my mom wishing she'd never found him. My grandpa said she was never the same after he died." I responded, hoping I could avoid the other question he'd asked.

Steve nodded slowly, turning his gaze away from me. "I can understand that. And you? Tess just told me about a bad ex, nothing else."

Damn it. My hopes of keeping Samuel a secret hadn't worked.

"Yeah, I have a bad ex. His name is Sam. We met in high school and started dating pretty quickly. I had his initials on my wrist and he said that he'd had mine. It wasn't a good relationship. He was controlling, possessive, maybe even a little obsessed. I tried breaking up with him right before joining the CIA and he... he didn't take it well. I ended up getting fired because of him."

Just saying his name made my heart race and I had to stop myself from looking over my shoulder to make sure he wasn't there. He couldn't get to me here. I had to keep telling myself that Samuel couldn't reach me in Wakanda.

"He said he had your initials? You never saw them?" Steve stopped walking, turning to look down at me.

"He got into an accident when he was in sixth grade. He lost his right arm from just above his elbow down. He had his arm out of his dad's truck and they got t-boned. completely ruined his arm. I never really saw the initials he had on his wrist." I tried not to acknowledge the way my heart started racing as Steve moved closer, his frame towering over mine.

"So how can you be sure you were his soulmate if you never saw them? He didn't have any pictures? Nothing?" Steve took a step closer and gently wrapped his fingers around my hand, turning my palm upwards. He traced the initials on my wrist, the skin under his fingertip seemed to burn wherever he touched. When had it gotten so hot? T'Challa said there was AC in this building.

"I..." I paused, wondering why I hadn't questioned it. I had been to excited to find my soulmate at such a young age, I guess I hadn't ever thought to push the question that had popped into my mind every time Sam and I fought. "I suppose I wanted to believe that I'd been worthy of a soulmate so badly that I had never asked him."

Steve nodded and pulled his finger from my wrist, pushing up his sleeve. The hand that held mine never released. "Look down, Rune."

I didn't want to. I didn't want to face the fact that I knew would come blaring to life. Steve might be my soulmate and here I was, not believing in soulmates. I'd thought they could work when Tess and Bucky has shown up together. Of course, I hadn't known then that they were still fighting but it had made me wonder if I could actually have a soulmate that was good for me.

So, I looked down and saw the black ink that held my initials.

"You know in your heart that he wasn't your soulmate. He took advantage of a young girl who was feeling insecure. I'm not going to let you feel that way again."