Red Star ✴️ Bucky Barnes X Reader

9: Rise and Shine

Bucky and Steve passed out on the couch cushions. Sometime in the night, Bucky had returned to his room to grab his couch cushions, only to come back to the makeshift pillow fort they made. It was an amalgamation of childhood nonsense and it was ADORABLE.

Bowman stood in the door, looking over the sleeping boys. It was a sweet sight to see.

"SO!"

The two boys jumped out of their sleepy stupor, hitting their heads against each other in their frantic wake.

"Oww!" They both cried out, breaking apart to rub their foreheads.

"Rise and shine recruits!" Bowman smirked. As petty as it was, it was kind of nice to see Bucky get his comeuppance. "T'Challa needs us upstairs. I'm surprised you didn't hear his call!"

With that, Bowman turned on her heels, closing the door behind her.

"She really is a handful..." Steve chuckled to himself as he rubbed his palm against his forehead.

Bucky looked down at his human and mechanical arm. With a smile, he held his hands up. "That's why I have two hands."

---

The duo walked into the drawing room to see Bowman and T'Challa standing over a map, whispering to each other. When they heard the door swing open, they both turned to see Steve and Bucky entering the room.

"Great to see you guys are up!" Bowman smiled. "Ready for the plan?"

Everyone sat down at the table, looking over the map.

"I have been talking with the commander of The Raft about transporting Zemo." T'Challa began. "For that reason, they gave me their coordinates following where the prison will be over the next two weeks while we prepare for shipment."

"So we know how to get there." Bucky noted. "But how do we get in?"

"We will dress you like the Dora Milaje. It wouldn't be out-of-place."

"They know our faces." Steve rebutted.

"They don't know mine." Bowman quipped.

Bucky looked up from the map to face her. "One person isn't going to be enough. We need a way for all of us to sneak aboard."

"What about that face tech Zemo used to impersonate Bucky?" Steve suggested.

T'Challa stood silent for a moment, his brain calculating the efficacy of the plan. "That could work..."

"Ok, so then we're in the ship." Bucky continued. "Where do we go from there? How do we find the team?"

"They've got to have security cameras, right?" Bowman inquired. "Getting access to those would be useful."

"They'll be centralized, meaning it'll be hard to get there. Besides, three of us haven't worked with anything that was invented past the 2000s." Steve joked. "The only one with a chance of understanding how to manage those things is T'Challa."

"What about me?"

The group turned around to hear the eager voice of a teenage girl walking in the room.

T'Challa didn't miss a beat. "Not happening."

"Oh come onnn!" She whined. "I never get to go on missions, and this job is perfect for me!"

"And what if you get hurt?"

"And what if YOU get hurt?" Shuri bit back, arms crossed. "I don't think you've fully grasped the fact you're king now, T'Challa. If you die or get arrested, that's just about as bad as it would be if I were."

"You have to admit, it's not a bad idea," Bowman commented.

"No," Steve retorted. "I'm not about to bring another kid into battle."

Bucky leaned back in his chair. "I agree with Steve here. I'm not about to risk a kid's life."

"She might be our only option," Bowman rebutted. "She's cunning, agile, and actually knows how to use a computer."

"So do I!" T'Challa defended.

"Yes, your majesty, but Shuri made a good point: you're a king. They're going to be watching you like a hawk. The second you stray away from Zemo is the second they know something's going on."

Bowman turned to the teenage girl. "She might be just the thing we need right now."

T'Challa turned to look at his little sister. Her eyes lit up with glee and hope, glistening like honey-coated amber stones.

He sighed.

"Okay, fine. BUT--"

Before he could finish his sentence, Shuri had already bolted to her brother's side and wrapped her arms around his chest like a viper.

"Oh thank you thank you thank youuuuu!!!" She squealed in delight.

"I still don't like putting a kid in the field," Steve stated, leaning back and accepting defeat. "But... If you think she can handle it, then I trust your judgement."

Bucky looked over at his best friend with a smirk. "You sure you're not just saying that to justify beating up that spider-twerp from Queens?"

"Shut up."