you & me. legal. forever.

17. Just Another Tuesday

"We need to talk." The four words no one wants to hear...Zoe tried to keep her face blank as she walked through the house to the laundry room, like she always did after a shift.

"Oh god..." Bucky practically ran after her. "Are you okay? Did something happen at work? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, work was fine, everything is okay." She tried to remain neutral. "I had a very interesting phone call on my way home..."

"Is it Sam? I just talked to him earlier." Bucky was panicking. "Sorry, sorry, you were saying..."

"Actually, it was Ayo." Zoe changed into her t shirt and jeans. "We have some things to discuss."

"Shit, I didn't know that T'Challa would have told her so soon, fuck." Bucky breathed as he rubbed his temples. "It literally just happened today, I was going to talk to you about it as soon as you got home. It's just a visit, nothing crazy."

"What are you talking about?" Zoe looked puzzled. "What happened today?"

"Wait, what are you talking about? Why did Ayo call you?" Bucky was equally confused. "During my internship wrap up meeting today, T'Challa gifted us a trip over for graduation and my birthday. How the hell did Ayo get to you so fast?"

"Huh...I wonder if she actually knew about that before calling me." Zoe walked back into the kitchen, trying not to trip on the dog or her fiance, both underfoot. "That would make a bit more sense, I guess..."

"What did she call you about?" Bucky was still concerned. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine, James. She wanted to talk to me about why it was so important to her and the rest of your extended clan to be involved in our wedding." Zoe explained. "But now that you are telling me that we have a trip coming up, I bet she was trying to sync things up with the king."

"What are you saying?" Bucky was cautious. "What did she tell you?"

"She explained why this means so much to them. Why you mean so much to them." Zoe grabbed his hand. "They love you almost as much as I do, and it has been kind of selfish of me to not even consider their offer. Just because I'm awkwardly proud and stubborn about things does not give me the right to deny you something this amazing."

"You're not being selfish at all, this is your wedding, too." Bucky held his breath. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying let's fucking do it..." She finally broke her poker face and smiled at him. "Let's get married in Wakanda."

"What?! Are you serious?!" He shouted and picked her up, spinning around the kitchen. "Are you sure?!"

"Not really, but why the fuck not?" she laughed as he kissed her all over her face. "As long as we're together, and things are not too out of control crazy, why not let them celebrate how far you've come? Fuck it, I want to celebrate how far you've come, too!"

"I can't believe it!" He grinned. "And here I was, about to suggest we go to Louisiana!"

"Are the bugs bigger in Wakanda or Delacroix?" she joked. "Either way, I think we have some calls to make, sir."

"Yes! Let me call T'Challa in the morning and set a few things up before we talk to Sam..." he put her down and immediately started making his mental to-do list. "Are you really sure about this? Once I say okay to our friends, there's no turning back. Shuri will never stop. You know this."

"Is the end result I get you forever?" She kissed him and smiled.

"Absofuckinglutely." he smiled and kissed her hand. "Till the end of the line..."

"James? You've never said that to me before..." Zoe's face fell. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"No, I'm sorry. Fuck." He heavily sighed. "I didn't mean to say that, it just slipped out. Shit. Fuck. Why the hell did I say that?"