The Archangel (Avengers Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty Six

As it turned out, they weren't wasting any time. That same day, though later in the afternoon, we were on a self-flying private jet bound for Africa curtesy of Tony. Steve had elected to be our escort and he was the only other person on the jet. The only reason my wings weren't fluttering behind me was because Bucky was soothing my nerves.

Though I had never been to Wakanda and they had no reason to bar us entrance, Bucky was innocent after all, I was still nervous that they would somehow know what we had done—what we had once been—and deny us help. Which was crazy because they already knew what we were, it was the entire reason behind us going there, that they might be able to help us.

The silence was unbroken for most of the plane ride, but the silence was comfortable. Bucky had his arm wrapped around me and I was snuggled tight into his side. Steve was looking in our general direction with that same expression of melancholic longing. "You okay, Steve?" I asked as I readjusted my wings.

He looked up, surprised I had caught his attention, "hmm?"

"You okay?"

There was that same melancholic smile and wistful tone of voice, "yeah, just lost in thought I guess." He leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes.

"Wanna talk about it?" I offered, moving forward in my seat. He shook his head, but his eyes were still trained on where my body and Bucky's were connected. "Have you ever been in love, Steve?" His eyes shot to mine and then quickly away, that was a definite yes.

"I had a girl, back in the war." Steve met my gaze again, "You remind me of her, though she never had wings." I chuckled at his joking comparison, he clearly was still in love with whoever the girl was.

"Lucky girl, they can be quite inconvenient at times." I played along with the joke he had set up but really she was quite lucky, whoever could have caught the eye of Steve Rodgers had to be one special woman.

"I don't know, Angel, I quite like them." Bucky inputted, a smirk on his face.

I swatted at his shoulder playfully, "that's only because they make traditional positions inconvenient so you get to enjoy far more progressive ones." Turning back to Steve, I noticed that the tips of his ears had gone scarlet, it was charming that at over a hundred he was still so innocent. Definitely America's golden boy. "I'm sorry, Steve, that was inconsiderate of your innocence."

Steve sighed, "Oh, this is going to be a long plane ride."

Evidently, he expected either of us to make fun of him for it, we weren't that mean. "You've been spending way too much time with Tony." The unexpected remark pulled a surprised laugh out of him.

We spent the rest of the plane ride in companionable conversation and I found myself appreciating Steve and his personal hardships more than I thought I would. He was Bucky's friend but he himself had been through so much in a relatively short timeframe, omitting the seventy years he was stuck in the ice, it was hard not to feel for him. "You deserve to be happy, Steve, don't beat yourself up for being human." By the look on his face, clearly he had never thought of it like that before.

I felt it the instant the plane started descending. My experience with flight gave me an acute instinct for altitude. The self-guiding plane acted more like a helicopter when it landed, hovering above the landing zone before touching down so light I barely felt it. "Here we go," Bucky muttered next to me. I smirked and moved up from my seat, pulling him up with me by the lapels of his jacket.

Bucky and I grabbed our bag of miniscule possessions and filed off the plane behind Steve. We were greeted with the sight of two lines of specialized warriors flanking a man wearing black robes, and behind him, a teenager in white, almost lab coat looking garments.

"Captain Rogers, it is good to see you." The man in black clasped arms with Steve, "you have my assurances that no harm shall befall your companions."

"Thank you, that's all I can ask." Steve motioned us forward and we stepped up to his side. My wings ruffled behind me, tense and poised for flight. The teenager in white looked very interested at Bucky's arm and my wings. "This is James Barnes, my friend Bucky, and Archangel—"

"—Angel, Steve, people I like can call me Angel," I interrupted.

"Angel, then. This is King T'Challa and his sister, Shuri." King? I thought all the monarchs had been disposed of in this modern age. Whatever, T'Challa seemed like a nice guy, so it really didn't matter to me if he was a king or not.

I wouldn't bow, I didn't do that sort of thing, but I did fan my wings and incline my head in deference. I knew I would be grateful to T'Challa and Shuri for the rest of my life for the shelter they were providing. "Please, do not hesitate to call upon us, for any reason, we would be happy to help."

Just by looking at Shuri, I could tell she was the intellectual type, her eyes examining our abnormalities with fascination and excitement. "You should come down to my lab sometime, I would love to study you."

"We'll consider it." Bucky murmured as we withdrew.

Steve lightly hit Bucky's shoulder, "I have to go back, don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." Steve's eyes lit up with recognition, that must have been a running joke from their past that Bucky had remembered. Good progress considering all he could remember from before were bits and pieces of his time from Hydra and even less about his life from before. The fact that he was bringing up a running joke was significant progress in regaining his memories.

Steve boarded the plane, sending us a wave through the window, moments later the engines roared and it hovered twenty yards above the tarmac before shooting off into the distance. Despite his never ending group-mom vibe, I had grown to really like Steve and as he flew away in the plane, I knew that I would miss him. What was this aching feeling in my chest?

An odd sort of homesickness. Not for the place, I couldn't care less about the compound, frankly it reminded me too much of Hydra to ever be homey, but I would miss the people . . . maybe not Sam (still undecided as to whether I liked him or not), definitely not Sharon (because she's a bitch), but everyone else I would miss.

For some reason, it felt as if I was closing a door and I would never see any of them again. Which was ridiculous, the plan was just for us to lay low here and return, I'd see them in a few months, a year tops, and knowing Steve, he would definitely keep in touch.

Bucky and I stood there for a moment, watching the plane recede into the distance. T'Challa stepped up to our side and watched with us briefly but then turned his gaze to us. "Come, I will show you where you are staying."

Shuri elbowed her brother and stepped in front of him, "what my brother should say is; welcome to Wakanda."