The Angel and The Billionaire

Twenty

Grace

- And... we're done. - Shuri announces as I step out of the weird machine she was using to scan me. I thought Tony's house was full of crazy technology, but Shuri's lab is insanity. I have no idea what most of these machines do. - Let's wait for the results.

We walk back to the couches where Steve and Ayo are waiting. Things have gotten easier this past week because I started to remember him, although it's not all back. It's nice to have someone who understands how difficult it is to be brought to a new century. Unfortunately, since I know Steve well, I can tell he's hiding something.

- Hey. - He gives me an encouraging smile. I've seen that smile a million times in the forties, it's one of the things I instantly recognize. - How did it go?

- The results are processing. Hopefully, this scan can tell us why I lost my memories. - I sit next to him, grab the mug I was drinking from before the exam, and take a sip. The royal building has a really good coffee.

Shuri and Ayo excuse themselves to talk to Nakia and T'Challa through a hologram in another room, probably about the Social Outreach Department. Okoye made it a point to explain to me how things work here, so I know Wakanda is working with a bunch of countries in a series of projects. They're trying to save the world.

Also, it's super cute to hear T'Challa talking about Nakia, the girl who runs that department. As Shuri put it, he gets "heart eyes".

- What's the matter? - I turn to Steve as soon as the girls are out of ear reach. - It might be 70 years in the future, but you're still a horrible liar. What are you not telling me?

- It's about Bucky. - He pinches the bridge of his nose.

- Bucky. - I stop for a second, recollecting memories. - He was my boyfriend, right? He died.

- You guys were together for over a year. - Steve shows me a worn out polaroid of me and him next to a man with dark hair. We're smiling and I realize I've dreamt about this guy before. - This was taken a month before he fell from the train. Do you remember him at all?

- A bit. Pieces. - I rub my temples, feeling them burn. Trying to force myself to remember things always gives me a headache. - His name was James. Right?

- Yes, James Barnes. - Steve looks at the picture in my hand. - He used to call you sunshine. It was sickening and adorable at the same time.

Despite recognizing myself in the photo, I don't feel anything for the man hugging me. He's a stranger. Maybe it's unfair to think this, because how could I love someone I can't remember? If my memories of him come back, maybe the feelings will too. I feel this platonic love for Steve that wasn't there on the day I got here.

- Why are we talking about my dead ex? - I give him the photo back. - This doesn't sound like a priority.

- Because he's not dead, Grace. - He almost whispers.

- What? How is that possible?

- Bucky was kidnapped right before "dying". - Steve hands me a tablet with a photo of an office. There's an octopus with a skull head on the wall, a symbol I'll never forget. - This is where he was kept. Familiar?

- It's where Tony found me. - I look through the other photos until I see one of the cryogenic chambers and shut the device.

- Bucky's alive the same way you are. He was frozen and forced to kill people. They controlled him. - He explains and one of my conversations with Tony takes a whole new turn.

- I'm not sure why, we're investigating, but the people who froze you sent him to murder my parents. - Tony shakes his head. - Now I know it wasn't his fault. He was being controlled and didn't have a choice. But when I found out what happened, and that my friend knew about it ... I lost it.