Variation - W.M.

Chapter 66 - January 7, 2017

I had heard a lot about Wakanda in passing back in my timeline; from the death of the king to the inclusion of it's hero in the 'civil war' between the avengers.

Touring around the city, however, made me realize that every tidbit and comment I had heard had been a severe understatement. In fact, by the time we had returned to the palace I was pestering T'Challa about moving in.

"You wouldn't even notice I was here" I pressed, walking backwards in front of the man while he chuckled, shaking his head.

"You're only a couple inches shorter than me and you eat roughly the same amount as a starving pig" Pietro deadpanned and I glared at him, eyes narrowing.

"If you at all value having your head connected to your body I suggest you alter the end of that comment."

Pietro's eyes widened and he held up his hands in surrender, slowing his steps so that he walked farther behind us. I hummed, turning my attention back to the prince. "I'll tell you your future. Like a fortune teller."

"I would rather wait for my future to reach me than learn about it now."

"Lame" I huffed, catching sight of Tony and trudging over to him. "The prince won't let me move in to the palace."

"They won't let me buy vibranium for the next version of my suit" Tony grumbled back, wearing the same expression as I was.

"I even offered to sleep in one of the bathtubs because I'm sure they have extras."

"I mean, come on, they can't have a use for all that vibranium. Just let me use some of it.

It was clear that me and Tony were having two separate conversations but neither of us cared as we continued rants that seemed to fall short of the other's ears.

"Mr. Stark! You should see some of the tech here!" Peter gushed, running over to us, Shuri approaching at a slower pace. "Shuri created shoes that are completely soundproof and she's going to design a new arm for Mr. Barnes!"

"So the ex-hydra agent gets a vibranium arm and I can't even get some to make myself a suit?" Tony scoffed and I patted him on the shoulder.

"They just don't appreciate us here."

"You are becoming more like Stark" Wanda alerted me, coming over accompanied by Pietro.

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" I quoted, grinning when Tony shot me a look. Good to see that Tony's pre-Pepper phase was relatively the same.

"Alright, we're heading back to the compound" Steve announced, appearing with the King by his side.

I furrowed my brow, leaning to the side to try and catch sight of the other two who had accompanied us. "What about Bruce and Bucky?"

"They're going to stay here and get help."

I pouted, silently bidding farewell to my existential talks with Bucky in the middle of the night when neither of us could sleep. That thought, unsurprisingly, earned me an elbow in the side from Wanda who had been previously unaware of this occurrence. I grimaced, mouthing an apology before slipping away and toward the jet.

The entire flight back to the compound was consisted of a montage of annoyances that tempted me to simply phase out and fly home. Peter's nonstop rambling about Shuri and, in less exact words, how she was far better than anyone in the world of engineering and science led to Tony feeling salty, his own grumbled rant expanding from just the injustice of him not being given vibranium to include how Shuri wasn't that amazing. Pietro's rapidly bouncing leg was slowly getting on my nerves and Steve's long monologue about what he and the king spoke about was breaking my brain.

In the end, though, I didn't throw myself out of the jet and instead waited until we had safely landed on the ground to zip out and to the safety of my room.

"Jarvis, please tell everyone who comes here to fuck off because they are all annoying the shit out of me right now."

"Even Miss Maximoff?"

I sighed, pressing my face into my pillow. "No, she's allowed in. I wouldn't hear the end of it otherwise."

"Understood" The AI replied before leaving me in the silence of my room.

As expected, the door opened after a couple minutes before I heard someone step in and close the door behind them.

"I could have been changing you know, how rude not to knock on the door of a lady" I grumbled, not lifting my face as the footsteps grew closer and the bed beside me dipped.

"Are you okay?" Wanda asked, a hand landing on my back and beginning to move in circles. I melted at the feeling, the tension in me beginning to disappear.

"Just tired" I mumbled, turning my head to the side to look at Wanda. "Can we just stay in here and watch a movie?"

"I have to get started on dinner. You know nobody else can cook" Wanda said and I frowned, my hands darting out to grab Wanda's sweatshirt.

"Please? We can even watch a sitcom."

Wanda hummed, nodding and moving back to sit against the headboard. I squirmed around until I could lay my head on her lap, humming contentedly as she began threading her hands through my hair.

Nat was right, I was sure about it. I would be able to find my place in this world. Sure some things were a little different, but I could handle that if I had the people I loved around me.

Right?