Sunsets In Wakanda | A Buckynat FanFic

| Chapter 2 |

Chapter 2.

Steve made his way up the staircase as he answered the phone, "T'Challa, how are you?" A smooth voice came through the other side, "Captain," replied T'Challa, "We have some news about Sargent Barnes."

Steve closed the door of the study and unconsciously headed to the window to keep an eye on the surroundings of the safe house. He trusted Natasha and knew if anyone knew how to have a proper safe house, it would be her but he couldn't help but always be looking over his shoulder now. This had become a habit that didn't go unnoticed by the others. They were the most wanted criminals in the world and even though he was sure Tony or Fury wouldn't aid in the search for them, he couldn't shake the feeling of always being on edge. He felt as though he had been holding the same breath since Siberia, never knowing when he'll finally be able to exhale. "Good news, I hope," Steve responded, looking for some much needed positivity.

"It appears so. Shuri believes that she has successfully removed all of the Winter Soldier programing from Barnes. We are preparing to wake him up tomorrow but Shuri thinks taking a slower, more natural approach will be better for him."

"How long?"

"Three days. You think you could make it here by then?"

"No problem."

"Captain, there is one more thing."

- - -

The laughter around the table had returned by the time Steve made his way back. The smirk across his face, as he leaned on the wall, seemed to make their smiles grow, none more than Natasha, "So?" She asked, trying not to sound too eager.

"Shuri appears to be a miracle worker, she was able to remove the programming from Bucky's mind." Steve replied with a cautious smile.

"Completely?" Sam asked with a quirked brow, "No more trigger words?"

"That's what I'm led to believe, he'll still have his memories; good and bad, but no more programing."

Natasha's chest became heavier. She tried her best to keep her mind from wander there; if James would finally remember her. She gave up even the slightest bit of hope long ago and refused to let any false sense of optimism rise again. She was sure Hydra had removed even the smallest memory of her from his mind after the Red Room. However much it hurt, it made sense to her. After all, he had always followed orders until she came around. This thought made the smallest smirk appear on her face until she noticed Wanda was looking at her with her eyebrows raised. She shook it off and turned her attention back to Steve, "So are you headed down there then?" She asked.

"Yes, it looks like we're all going to get a much needed break so, after I drop you all off at your desired locations, I'm going to head that way."

"Fantastic!" Sam shouted.

"Just remember the rules, we can't let our guard down." Steve said, specifically at Wanda as she rolled her eyes at him. "Well everybody should pack and get some sleep, we head out tomorrow."

The three of them got up from the table to leave the room. As Natasha passed the doorway, Steve lightly grabbed her arm, "Hang on, Nat."

Natasha tried to read the emotion on his face but it was surprisingly blank which filled her up with worry. "What's up?"

Steve lifted his hand up towards the living room so she headed to the incredibly uncomfortable sofa and took a seat with Steve right behind her. The heavy feeling in her chest returned. There was only a moment of silence but Natasha couldn't take it.

"Steve."

"T'Challa and Shuri think it would be a good idea if you came with me to Wakanda."

Her heartbeat instantly quickened to an unhealthy rate. Not wanting to raise any suspicion, she maintained her eye contact, "Why?"

"Think about it, you have some real horrors in your past. You were forced to do things you had no control over, but here you are now-"

"A world wide wanted criminal." She interrupted. This made them both laugh for a moment. It's one of the things Natasha enjoyed most about their friendship; in good times and bad, they could always make each other smile even for just the smallest moment. A gentle reminder that they're in this together.

"What I'm trying to say is you constantly put yourself in harms way to help others. Whether you believe it or not, you're a good person and I think Bucky could learn a lot from you about coming to peace with your past and moving forward to do good. T'Challa and Shuri think so too."

"But Stev-"

He put a hand up to stop her from talking. She had to fight the urge to smack him; he seemed to notice the look on her face, "Sorry, it's just that I know he isn't your favorite person. He's shot you multiple times so I get it but I'm hoping maybe you can understand his position right now."

Natasha looked towards the ground and let out an exhale. The two lasting scars on her body were not from James, but the Winter Soldier. She knew almost exactly what he would be going through when he regained consciousness. No matter what any told him, he may not of had his hands on the wheel when Hyrda had control of his mind, but he was still in there, witnessing the acts he was forced to commit. He would have to come to terms with that and she felt like she owed it to him to help. More than that, she wanted to help him, no matter what kind of wounds to would open for her. "It wasn't him," She said softly before looking up at Steve, "What do you want me to do?"

Steve gave her a gentle smile, "I'm hoping to be there for about a week after he wakes up. I just want you to talk to him a couple times."

"That simple, huh?"

"Hopefully." He responded as he slapped his knees to get up. As he headed out the room, Natasha asked the question before she could stop herself, "Steve, you said he would have all his memories; the good and the bad. How do you know?"

Steve turned back around the face Natasha, "Well, Shuri would be a lot better at explaining it than me, but something about her going through his individual memories to remove the programing but keeping the memory. Apparently it will take him awhile to remember everything but it's all in there."

She felt every emotion someone could in that moment; happiness, fear, anger, but did her best to mask it with another question she already knew the answer to, "So Shuri has seen all his memories?"

"I know, it seems a little intrusive but Bucky was up for anything if it meant getting the Hydra programing out of there."

"Can't blame him."

"Goodnight, Natasha."

"Night, Steve."

As soon as she heard Steve's door closed, Natasha placed her face in her trembling hands to cover up the emotions she couldn't hide anymore. Shuri knew.

A/N: Is Shuri playing matchmaker? Hope you enjoyed this chapter! We will finally see Bucky in the next update. Please comment and vote. Like always, thanks for reading!