The Lightest Path

28

After some time Grace couldn't handle the shoes anymore and changed to her sneakers. Now a head smaller than Bucky again, they leaned at the edge of the dance floor.
    With his arms around her waist, Bucky looked around, but was soon distracted by his freshly married wife. "Did I already tell you that you are heartbreakingly beautiful tonight?"
    Looking up with raised brows, she tried to hid her grin. "I'm not that beautiful."
    "Grace, did you even look into the mirror tonight?" Cautiously, she shook her head. Now she realised that she did not. Pointing with his vibranium finger, she followed his gaze to a window, where she saw herself.
    Grace saw someone she had never seen before. Her eyelashes were full and black, with a shade of gold on her eyelids. Her lips a natural colour, like light pink roses. Her hair was was shining, braided with tiny glittering stones.
    "Oh."
    Bucky laughed, kissed her cheek and led her away from the commotion. "Come on," he said. "Steve and I have a surprise for you. It was hard to arrange, but we did it anyway."
Whining, Grace held on to her heart, feeling nerveus once again. "You know I don't like surprises that much."
"You'll like this one." He smiled so sweetly at her, that Grace decided to endure this without acting like a child.
Far away from the party lights and dancing guests, at the edge of the Jungle, Bucky stopped. "What are we doing here?"
"I hate all the mosquitoes around here," a familiair voice said, a voice she didn't hear for two years.
Reaching for air, Grace almost stopped breathing and tears filled her eyes. "I'll give you two a moment." Her husband walked away, disappeared into the dark instead of the party. He would not leave her, but was not near them either.
"Tomas," Grace breathed shakily and Tomas Stone, her best friend who was able to make her feel alive again, rushed towards her and spun her around in his arms.
"Don't cry, Grace. The guests cry, not the bride," he joked. She did not see the pain he tried to hide so hard. Their friendship was shattered two years ago, when she chose Bucky above him, even though Bucky had left her for two years with a broken heart and an unbearable pain in her chest.
    "Brides can cry of happiness."
Tomas had been in love with her. So deeply, so passionately. She broke his heart. And here he was, after two another years, after two years of silence.
"I missed you so much," she cried. "I have so much to tell you."
Tom smiled at her. Then he looked at her from tip to toe, his eyes dividing. "Wow," he breathed. "You look beautiful, Grace."
Grace nodded at him, her heart pounded and she felt shaky. "Offer me the honour of a dance?" he asked her and held out his arm. Tom changed nothing, not in his behaviour, his clothing, his hair. Like time did not touch him.
"I have two left feet."
"I'll lead, come on. Please?" Not being able to resist him, she took his arm and he twirled them around. In the distance, slow music reached them.
"How you're doing, Grace? You finally are where you always wanted to be; Africa. Just hidden from the world."
Grace didn't want to talk about herself, she was curious about him. What did he do all those years? Was he still a nurse? Why did he come, this must be so hard for him.
"I'm great, as you can see. I really love it over here." She had nothing more to say, Tom noticed that and held on to her a little tighter. "But how have you've been? What did you do all those years?"
Sighing, Tom distractingly curled a stray of Grace's golden hair around his finger, over and over. Bucky did the same, waiting for her to fall asleep.
"Well, I went back to the hospital, traveled around in other countries to help poor people. I don't know, I was everywhere around Europe, to be honest. I just did what I always did; nursing."
Grace nodded. "Alone?"
A sad smile flew across his face. "Alone." It hurt her heart. The first song ended and the second started.
"But it's good to see that you're doing fine. I mean, you're a married woman now." Briefly, he grimaced. "Guess he's okay now?"
Grace didn't want to talk about it, gave a curt nod. "Why are you here, Tom?"
A joking grin graced his features.
"I don't wanna miss the wedding of my best friend."
When she did not laugh at him, Tom sighed. "Barnes contacted me. Then Captain Rogers. Then this weird teenager. But in the end, I decided to come, as long as I didn't make a scene."
He scoffed and in the bushes the Dora Milaje watched him, making sure he kept his promise.
"I'm really glad you're here. Another pale face." She grinned and Tom shook his head. They kept dancing in silence for a moment and the third song started.
"So you're happy with him?" Grace looked up at him and then knew, that he was not over her.
"I am," she said devoted. "I'm married to Bucky, it would be strange if I wasn't happy."
"There are always ways to make someone marry to you."
"Tom," she said strict, almost mad. "Stop that. He's working on himself, you can't blame him for me loving him."
Tom nodded, but didn't seem too happy with this answer. Another silence fell and the fourth song started. But as the seconds ticked, the more uncomfortable Grace started to feel. He did change.
His character, was scarred. Because of her love for Bucky. She almost felt guilty because of it.
"You don't want to know what I'm going to do with my life now?" she asked him, hoping that the mood would swing.
"Fine. What are you gonna do?"
"I'm not sure if we're leaving Wakanda, we both like it here. I'm just staying a doctor and he a farmer. I can't wait to see my patients, but I have to wait some time of course, because of the honeymoon. I don't know where we're going tonight, he keeps it a secret."
"Give me a call if you don't like it," he winked at her.
"Whatever. Tonight will be just fine, I trust him."
Suddenly, Tom stopped dancing. "You are joking, right?" he asked deadly serious.
"What?" She had no idea what he was talking about.
"You're not going to sleep with him, are you?"
"Technically we sleep next to each other every night," Grace joked, hoping that he would let it go.
"Grace." Tom looked at her as if she was insane. "He's unstable. He can kill you if he wants."
She let go of him. "He won't kill me trying! I don't think he can, why would he want do that anyways? By the way, this is none of you business. Bucky and I are having a normal honeymoon together, a normal wedding night."
He started shaking of anger. "Grace, I've seen his profile, read every file I could get my hands on. He's not stable enough. He'll kill you!" Tom grabbed her arms, shook her, as if he wanted to wake her up.
"Tom! Stop, you're hurting me!" And not just physically.
Within the blink of an eye, a vibranium hand grabbed Tom's arm. "That's enough, Stone."
The Dora Milaje came out of the Jungle, dragged Tom away. "Grace, you have no idea what you're doing!" He focused on Bucky again, who held Grace protectively in his arms, safe from Tomas Stone. "You'll kill her! You'll kill her!"

                                   - - -

"I'm so sorry that happened," Bucky whispered when they were gone, Grace had not been able to move as soon as the Dora's grabbed him. "We had clear rules and boundaries. I thought that if..."
    "It's okay," Grace interrupted him. "He's hurt. Badly. I can't blame him but... it still hurts me, too."
    Trying not to cry, Grace clung to Bucky's jacket, clung to his calm aura. She needed it and she let her head rest against his shoulder. "You don't have to act like it doesn't matter," he said. "I know you good enough to know when you're hiding your feelings."
    Grace bit her lip, hard. She didn't want to cry. Not on her wedding.
    "It's okay," she whispered again. "I think... it's really over now between us." Grace locked his eyes, his attention on her when she looked up at him.
"But are you okay? He said terrible things." That Tom was so convinced of the fact that Bucky would kill her, made Grace upset.
Bucky shook his head. "I don't blame him for saying that. Some time ago I thought the same."
It didn't leave her mind.
"What do you mean by that?"
"That I don't think that now." He pecked a kiss on her temple. Grace was done with the darkness of the Jungle.
"Let's get back to the party, I want to have a nice evening."
    Smiling, he grabbed her hand and led her away from the darkness, back over the lightest path she had ever seen.
    "You need to change clothing; we're not back to the party. We're going to our honeymoon."