pure devotion | | bucky barnes | | book one

16. two years of peace

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𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

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Shuri is prepping for taking Bucky out the deep freeze tomorrow. Mila hovers near her watching her work closely. Keeping up casual conversation. There's a rustling from behind the two girls and they turn to see the vibranium sand  form into a Lexus LC's cockpit. A voice sounds in the lab.

"Remote driving system activated." Shuri runs over excited. "Yes yes yes!" She jumps into the seat. "Wait... Which side of the road is it?" "For Bast sake just drive!!" Mila can hear T'Challa shout. "Okay okay, calm down brother!" Mila hops in the passenger seat for fun. She can see the view of the street through a hologram.

Shuri starts the car and it revs off. "Woo! Let's go!" Shuri shifts gears, darting left, in behind the trucks on the screen. Mila watches as the road swerves around her on the hologram, everything seems so real. The sand car suddenly runs over something that makes it jostle. "Hey, what was that?!" Shuri shouts. "Don't worry about it. You're doing great."

The chase flies by in a blur. Determined, Shuri rounds a turn, focused. The dashboard shows 115 mph and climbing. Hanging out of the truck up ahead, Klaue fires a massive sonic blast that Shuri can't evade.

"Watch out!" Shuri tries to swerve the car to avail. "No no no no no no no!!" Shuri shouts. The driver and passenger seats explode into a trillion grains of sand. Shuri and Mila hit the floor. "Damn it!" Mila chuckles, "That was fun." Shuri nods smiling over at her, "Next time you can drive." Mila shook her head. "Oh, I can't drive." Shuri smiles softly. "I will teach you."

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Mila woke up to Shuri shaking her. "Mila, it's time." Mila rolled over in her bed. "Leave me be." She groaned. "Do you want to see Bucky when he comes out or no?" Mila finally cracked her eye open at that. "Today?" Shuri nodded.

"Okay, I'm up." She sat up slowly stretching her arms above her head. "Level 3 of the lab?" She asked Shuri. "Yes, I will see you there." Mila nodded and flung the blankets of her body. While staying in Wakanda she was given a room in the royal palace, pretty close to the lab. The walls as beautifully painted as the lab.

Mila shuffled down to the lab in a pair of black leggings and a colourful crop top given to her by Shuri. She tied her blonde knotted hair back, she didn't have the energy to fix it today. When Mila walked into the lab she saw Shuri and three other scientists standing around Bucky's Cryo chamber.

Mila went up to the doctors, "How may I help?" She asked softly. Shuri turned to her and gestured to Bucky. "He might be a little out of it at first and he knows you the best here so we need you to be here when he awakens." Mila nods, a man rolled a hospital bed into the room. She watched as they adjust his pod, he now lay on his back right next to the bed. "Ready?" Shuri asked.

The men around her nodded and she switched off the chamber. Steam hissed within it and the screen came down slowly. Mila watched as Bucky's chest begins to rise and fall. The men go over to his unconscious figure and lift him carefully onto the hospital bed.

Mila followed them as they brought him into a hospital room, overlooking the vast mountain. Shuri came up to Bucky checking his vitals carefully, once all was good she began to leave the room. "Mila, if anything happens, there is an emergency button right beside the bed." She pointed at the red button.

Mila nodded. "Thanks. I'll let you know when he wakes." Shuri left the room closing the door behind her. Mila sat down on the chair beside his bed, she opened the book she had brought with and settled into the chair.

It was hours before anything happened. Mila was on her final pages of her book. She turned the page carefully, her eyes running across the page rapidly, engrossed in her book. A soft low groan came from in front of her. Mila's eyes shot up quickly, Bucky was shuffling in his bed. He opened his eyes slowly and shifted his head to the right. Mila watched carefully as he studied her carefully. This was the ultimate test, which Bucky was she going to talk to.

"Mila?"

She breathed a sigh of relief, flashing him a gentle smile. "Hey, how do you feel?" He used his right hand to pull himself up into a sitting position. "Been better..." He paused, going silent for a minute. "How long was I under?" "A few months." Bucky nodded his head, "And Steve?" "He couldn't stay here. Said he had things to fix." Bucky nodded his head once again.

"Did they figure it out?" he asked the question he had been dreading. Mila smiled brightly now. "Yes, they'll start when you're ready." "How?" "Traditional methods, mainly. I'm not entirely sure but Shuri has it covered." Mila informed him. "Shuri?" "T'Challa's sister." That seemed to jog Bucky's memory.

"That's good... really good." He sighed in content then lay back down on the bed.  Mila and Bucky conversed for a few hours, Mila caught him up on what the team was up to. Wanda and Vision had snuck away together. Natasha went god knows where. Sam and Steve bounced between places, never staying anywhere for too long. Mila didn't know why they didn't just come to Wakanda but she left them to do what they wished.

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The day that Bucky awoke, Bucky was taken to the outskirts of the city where the elders stayed. Mila opted to stay with him there as his roommate so he didn't feel so alone. Shuri told Bucky about her plans for him to get treated a traditional way by her elders.

Mila was glad to just read and relax in her little hut whenever Bucky went to speak with the elders. Their dynamic became almost domestic. Mila would play with the younger children, letting them enjoy her powers.

Once a week Shuri would test Mila's powers. Mila and Bucky settled into Wakanda nicely, their daily rhythm of life a nice change of pace from their previous life. They got all the things H.Y.D.R.A put in his head out successfully over the course of two years.

Bucky was finally free.

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(A/N)

Okay, so now you get a vague idea of what went down in Wakanda in the two years that we don't really get to see Mila and Bucky. Hope you enjoyed!

[Word Count: 1140]