Time Bomb

Chapter 22

I woke up the next morning with Bucky's arm draped over my stomach, a quiet snore escaping him every now and then. Slowly, I slid out from under his arm and got out of bed. I don't even remember falling asleep. Hell, I don't remember Bucky coming to bed. I found my phone and a set of headphones placed neatly on a table under the mounted tv. I plugged the headphones in and went out to the balcony, closing the doors quietly behind.

The cool air outside feeling wonderful on my skin. Huh. I must have warmed up while sleeping last night cause I remember being pretty cold.
I sat down in one of the lounge chairs and closed watched the birds fly around just under the cloud line. Wakanda truly is a beautiful country. I could stay here forever. T'Challa is such a generous and welcoming person. No wonder he's such a great King. He has compassion, he's kind, understanding... He's one of a handful of the "Avengers" that I don't know very well but I'm hoping he and I can become great friends while I'm here.
For awhile I sat out there, listening to music and enjoying the peace of Wakanda. I'm gonna need to get myself a guitar while I'm here. I don't have any of my writing materials here either.
"Good morning Miss. Ackles." I heard someone say. I looked around but didn't see anyone.
"Down here." The voice said and I stood up, looking over the balcony to see T'Challa standing on the ground below.
"Oh, good morning, T'Challa. How did you know I was out here?" I asked, leaning against the railing.
"Oh I didn't see you. I heard you singing. You have a beautiful voice by the way." He said.
"Was I singing? I didn't realize it." I said and smiled shyly.
"I knew you sang, but never actually heard it for myself." He said and smiled up at me.
"That's right, any time I've sang at the compound you haven't been able to attend." I said, remembering he had always been invited but due to King duties, he was never able to attend.
"While I've got you here, how does tomorrow sound to start your training?" He asked.
"That sounds great. Who will be training me?" I asked, curious who would throw their life on the line just to help train me.
"Oh, it'll be me training you one on one. I think it'll be best that way seeing as I have the strength of the Black Panther." He said and tapped his silver spiked necklace.
"Yeah I guess that makes sense. What time do I need to be ready? I'm not sure where I'll be going either." I asked, leaned over the railing slightly so I can see him better.
"I will come get you around 7am. Mr. Barnes is welcome to join." He said and took off jogging.

7am it is then. I sat back down in the chair and unpaused my music.
After awhile, I heard the doors open behind me.
"How long have you been up?" Bucky asked once I took my headphones out. I checked the time in my phone, I was up at 6 and it's now 9 so 3 hours.
"A few hours. I didn't want to wake you. You needed the sleep. You're looking much better. Those bags under your eyes aren't so dark now and your eyes aren't bloodshot anymore." I said and stood up.
"I can't deny that I slept great for the first time in a long time." He said and smiled at me.
"Good, I'm glad you got some rest, Buck." I said and we walked inside.
"I was thinking about taking a walk along the water, care to join me?" I asked as I started to change.
"I'd love to." He smiled and he too began to change too.
We both got dressed and made our way outside to the edge of the water. We walked hand in hand in a comfortable silence for awhile. Enjoying the sound of the waves crashing down.
"I remember how much I loved it out here when I was here before." Bucky said and stopped to look out at the water.
"I can see why. It's beautiful here." I said and sat down on a rock.
"It was peaceful. I didn't have to worry about fighting so much. I just had to help out with the farming stuff. That was it. There was no fighting. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for protecting my family and friends when needed and to help save the world and all, but god I'm just so tired of it all. Tired of the constant battles. When I was The Winter Soldier, it was always one fight after another. After each mission, they threw me back in cryofreeze until they needed me again." He said and sat down on the rock beside me.
"I understand. I would feel the same way if I were in your shoes. I'm sure that may be a reason why my dad left. I remember the stories.. he had been in cryofreeze for a very long time until someone woke him up. He lost control for awhile but eventually he met someone I guess and that's when I came into the picture. 10 years later, he was gone. I don't remember much of him ever being around. I would go to school and come home every day to an empty house. I had to teach myself how to cook at a young age and took care of myself for so long until I finally got picked up by social services one day. But even then, the foster families never liked me for some reason so I still had to fend for myself. Then, at the age of 24, I met Clint. I knew who he was but I acted like I didn't. I could only imagine how annoying it gets for everyone to only be your friend because of who or what you are. I didn't want that. I wanted to know him for him. Not as Hawkeye. I had this crappy little studio apartment and he crashed on my couch a lot after we started doing shows together. I love him. He's my brother. Maybe not by blood but still. And now, I've met some of the best people in the world and you all mean so much to me. I don't think there's anything I could do to truly thank them all for being so welcoming of me. Especially you. You saved me that night. Had you not found me when you did, who knows what else could have happened." I said, reaching out to hold his hand. He smiled at me and kissed the top of my hand.
"I wasn't about to just leave you out there. I couldn't do that. And I'm honestly so glad that I didn't. Because now I know you. And I get the privilege of dating you. I haven't let myself open up like this to anyone since I met Steve all those years ago." He said, still smiling at me. I got up and stood in front of him. Holding his face in my hands.
"I am so glad that I met you. And I'm proud of you for being able to open up to me like you have been. It means a lot to me. Now come in, we should probably get back." I said and moved my hands to his hands and pulled him to his feet.