The Misson Gone Wrong

Chapter 3- Redwing

When Sam awoke, he felt much better than he had before. His left arm and both his legs were mostly healed thanks to Shuri and he no longer felt like half his face was going to fall off.
He looked to his left and saw Bucky had gone to sleep, though he wasn't very peaceful. Sam wanted to wake him up but he didn't know if it was the right thing to do.
Bucky was moving his head from side to side, he sometimes lashed his arms and he yelled out on multiple occasions.
"Bucky," Sam said, "Bucky!"
Bucky didn't wake up.
"Damn..."

Sam scanned the room for something  he could use to wake him up, but before he could find anything, Bucky woke with a start gasping in a cold sweat.
"Hey man, you alright?"
Bucky shook his head slowly.
"You wanna talk about it?" Sam was genuinely concerned. He knew Bucky had constant nightmares, but he wasn't aware of the scale.
"No..." Bucky sat there breathing slowly for a few moments, "you not going to make fun of me or something?"
"I can if you want, it just didn't seem right..."
"Since when did you care?"
"I don't."
"Right..." he said, "feel free to, it makes it more bearable. I don't do pity."

Both of them found comfort in taking the mick out of eachother, it was their form of affection.
Sam tried to find something to laugh at Bucky about, but he couldn't. It was rare he didn't have something to say.

Before either of them could say anything, a red drone came flying in and made a beeline for Sam.
"Redwing!" He yelled as he sat up, "looks like you're gonna have to put up with him for a bit longer, Buck."
"Don't call me Buck."
"Why not, Buck?" Sam had found something to aggravate him now.
"Just don't."
"Steve did." Sam said.
"Steve wasn't in love with a drone..."

Shrui came in not long after the drone, and she wore a wide smile on her face.
"Shuri I can't thank you enough. For this," he said, "the healing and Redwing."
"Don't thank me for Redwing, thank White Wolf here."
Bucky put his head in his hands, embarrassed, although he tried to play it off as frustration.
Sam chuckled, "so you do like Redwing."
"I really don't," he said, his voice muffled.
"Well you clearly do, you wouldn't have done it otherwise."

Sam couldn't work out whether Bucky cared for Redwing or him. He got a sinking feeling when he realised he probably preferred the drone, as Bucky would never just ask for Redwing back for him if he hated it so much, he wasn't like that. Why did Sam's heart feel so heavy? Why did he care?

"You two should be able to walk around by tomorrow," Shuri told them, "by the day after, you'll be free to go."
"Thank you," they both said gratefully as Shuri left.

"So... Redwing?"
"Just drop it Sam..."
"Why? You hate him, but you asked for him back? It doesn't add up."
"Then you're either stupid or blind."
"What's that even supposed to mean?"

Sam was now even more confused.
Did this mean Bucky actually cared about him? Or was he messing with him? Probably the second option.

The following morning, Sam found himself able to walk just as Shuri had promised. Bucky was already up and hogging the bathroom.
"Hey," he knocked on the door, "in the time it's taken you in there, World War Three has started and ended already!"
"Very funny Sam," Bucky called back, "unlike you, I have hair to take care of."
Sam could imagine Bucky standing there brushing and styling his hair in front of a mirror  and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

After a few minutes, Bucky walked out and Sam found himself staring at his chest.
"Man, I get it, you're strong, but you don't have to show the whole world you abs..." Sam said, redirecting his eyes to Bucky's face.
"You're just jealous I'm more ripped than you."
"Man, you wish."
"Sure." Bucky smiled and punched him lightly on the arm as he walked past.

Once Sam came out the bathroom, Bucky had put on a shirt and Sam couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, but he made his way back over to his bed and ate the breakfast that was prepared for him.

They sat in silence and Sam was still trying to figure out what Bucky meant by 'then you're either stupid or blind' Sam wasn't stupid or blind (well he didn't think so anyway), but he couldn't for the life of him work out why Bucky had asked for Redwing back... maybe he pittied Sam for caring so much about a drone? That was probably it. Sam didn't want to ask for confirmation incase he opened a window for humiliation.

Shuri came in, interrupting his train of thought, with some of his gear.
"A lot of your tech was quite outdated, so I've upgraded it and made your wings out of vibranim." She said with a smile.
Sam gave Bucky a smug look.
"Looks like you're not the only one with vibrainium now, Buck."
"Hey, least I'm not the one with the outdated tech," he said, "and don't call me Buck..."
"I'll keep doing it 'till you accept it."
"I will never accept you calling me Buck."
"Fine, Buck."
Bucky rolled his eyes and got up to inspect some weapons that Shuri had also brought in.
"And my mother said T'Challa and I are childish." Shuri chuckled.

Sam tried on his wings and struck a few poses showing them off making Bucky laugh quietly to himself.
"Glad you like them," Shuri said, "they shouldn't break, but if they do, it's your head."
Sam look at her for a second or two, before he realised it was a joke and they all cracked up, even Bucky, though not as much as the other two.
"Right, I'll leave you to it and I'll be back tomorrow to escort you out of Wananda." Shuri told them.
They both nodded and watched her leave.

"They look on your face," Bucky chuckled, "it was priceless."
"Shut up before I hit you with these wings."
"Is that becuase your bare fists aren't strong enough to do real damage?"
"Man, I could beat you to death with my fists."
"I'd like to see you try." Bucky said, laughing to himself.