Bucky Barnes/ Winter Soldier Imagines

Healing

You glance around your workplace, shoulders spinning you in a lazy circle as your eyes follow every crack and corner in the room. Every box has been checked, every paper signed, every last trial completed. You suppose you now have no more excuses to stop you from getting on that plane, the one that will take you all the way from New York City to Wakanda.

Your friend and fellow lab technician, Rachel, grins at you. She's perched on top of a countertop, legs swinging as she watches you search in vain for something to let you stay even a second longer. "You know, that plane is waiting on you and you alone. There's nothing you can do to miss it." She says, and you roll your eyes. "Oh, come on. This is an amazing opportunity. I mean, hands-on research and practice in Wakanda, with all of their high-tech equipment? This is a chance to die for, which is why I am absolutely not stalling or waiting around." This last sentence drops off slightly in volume, and you scratch the back of your head in a grinning flash of self-consciousness.

Rachel smiles, hopping down from the counter to grab your hands, pulling you towards the door. "Well, it's just like you said. This is an amazing opportunity, which is why I am not letting anything come in between you and getting on that plane. Even if that thing is Dr. Y/N L/N herself." A laugh bubbles up inside of you, and you reluctantly let your friend drag you out towards the lab's exit. "I just don't want to leave! I feel like my whole life is here- the lab, my best friend, everything."

Rachel nods knowingly. "That's exactly why this is the perfect thing. You need to get out of your comfort zone and go do some great work. When you come back and get your Nobel Prize for the amazing scientific discoveries I'm sure you'll make, I'll be right here waiting for you. I expect to be thanked in the speech." You smile, reaching over to sling an arm around your best friend's shoulders. "I feel better about it already. What would I do without you?" Your voice dies off as you realize you're about to find out.

You watch out the plane window as your city disappears off into a haze of clouds, and you force yourself to sink back into your seat. You're taking this trip to Wakanda because you'll be helping aid in the recovery of James Barnes, Steve Rogers' best friend who just happened to be the former Winter Soldier. Are you ready to face the damaged, bleeding maze that locks up his mind? You're not sure, but you don't think you really have a choice.

The plane ride is shorter than you expected, and before you know it, you're already touching down in Wakanda. There's a small entourage waiting to greet you, and you walk with them towards the labs. "Princess Shuri is already in the labs with Barnes. She apologizes that she cannot be here to welcome you herself, but a pressing matter came up and she has to handle it herself." You wave a hand in dismissal. "No problem. I know about sudden issues, trust me."

The labs are amazing, and you find yourself staring in awe despite of all the time you spent researching these very buildings. You are led to a room in the higher floors, and you recognize the figure of Shuri busily tapping away at a screen on the far side of the lab. When she hears your footsteps, she looks up and greets you. "It's good to see you, Y/N! Sorry I wasn't there to see your plane touch down. Things sort of came up."

You grin at her, turning in a slow half circle to take in the full contents of the labs. "No problem. I feel I have to apologize too, for coming in and disrupting your process with Barnes. S.H.I.E.L.D. has decided that they need one of their own to aid in the recovery process of someone with such deep ties to HYDRA, and now you have to share your lab."

Shuri shakes her head fervently. "Don't worry about that. I looked into your work before you came, and I'm glad you're here. Your work with reconstructing the hippocampus of that trauma patient was impressive, and I'll be grateful for your experience with advanced prosthetics as we fix his metal arm. Trust me, we're all friends here."