White Panther--Bucky x Y/N

Chapter 34

2023

About a month of living in Sam's house, you guys decided to start training with the shield.

Sam would throw the shield around, and you'd practice dodging and jumping over it in your suit.

"Ready?" Sam yelled.

"Yup!" You said. Sam swung the shield at you, and you ducked it. It came back to you and you jump rolled it.

"Nice!" Sam said.

You guys practiced for more hours, than you switched, you throwing the shield and Sam dodging it. The shield felt weird in your arms, heavier than you thought it would be.

It felt lighter when you thought of Steve, who you ached.

"Feels weird," You said, when Sam came over to you for a drink. Bucky came up to you and gave you a quick kiss. "Picking it up again."

You threw it again, and Bucky caught it.

"The legacy of that shield," Sam said. "Is complicated, to say the least."

"I don't think we understood what Steve was planning," You said. "What it felt like for a Black man to be handed the shield."

"How could we?" Bucky said. "We owe you an apology." He handed the shield back to Sam.

"Thank you," Sam said, taking it. Bucky wrapped an arm around your waist.

"Whatever happened with Walker," Bucky said. "It wasn't your fault."

"I get it," Sam said.

"The shield is just the closest thing we've got left to a family, other than each other. So when you retired it, it made us feel like we had nothing left. Made us question everything," You said. "You, Steve, Bucky, me."

"You know, I've got his, uh, his book," Bucky said, pulling out Steve's book. "And I just figured if it worked for him, then it'd work for Y/N and I."

"I understand, man," Sam said. "But Steve has retired."

You sighed, and Bucky pulled you closer to him.

"And this might be a surprise," Sam said. "But it doesn't matter what Steve thought."

You were looking at the ground, and than your gaze flicked up to Sam's.

He threw the shield, and you caught it. You flung it again, Sam catching it.

"You gotta stop looking to other people to tell you who you are," Sam said. Sam flung the shield, Bucky catching it. "And, let me ask you, Bucky. You still having those nightmares?"

"All the time," Bucky said. You turned around to look at Bucky. He looked at you, apologetically.

"Why didn't you tell me?" You said, softly, cupping his face. "I could've helped."

"I didn't want to worry you," Bucky said. You kissed him.

"Here's a secret," You said. "I'm always worried for you."

"The dreams mean I remember," Bucky said. "It means a part of me is still there. Which means a part of the Winter Soldier's still in me."

He threw the shield, Sam catching it.

"You want to climb out of the hell you're in," Sam said. "Do the work. Do it."

"It means I'm making amends," Bucky said.