The Sergeant, The Soldier, The Survivor

11: Shuri's Secret

 I sent a smile at Bucky as he entered the doctors office, closing the glass door behind him. I watched him as he sat on the table, the doctors getting out their heart monitors before they pressed a button on a remote and the glass walls fogged over so that you couldn't see inside. With a big sigh I left, constantly feeling worried for Bucky when he attended these appointments. I knew the Winter Soldier wouldn't be triggered unless the words were spoken in Russian, something the doctors here knew to avoid but the worry kept on niggling in the back of my brain.

As always I found myself wandering to Shuri's lab, hoping there'd be something there to distract me. Shuri and I had gotten very close over the weeks I had been here, and she was now one of my closest friends so I knew I could open up to her about my worries regarding Bucky. I was also yet to tell her about Bucky and I, although neither one of us has stated whether it's an actual relationship despite it feeling like one.

"Knock knock," I said vocally as well as doing the action when I reached her lab. She looked up from something she was working on and quickly covered it over with a cloth when she saw me.

"(y/n)! It's good to see you," she jumped up quickly, running over to me. "Something is wrong, isn't it?" She asked quickly and I chuckled.

"You're a mind reader," I said and she smiled, gesturing for me to come into her lab. We sat on two stools in front of the table she had been working on, and at the far end I saw whatever she was tinkering with before I came in hidden under the cloth. Whatever it was it seemed long and circular, but I couldn't gather much information given the fact it was covered over.

"So, are you going to tell me what's been bothering you? Or shall I read your mind again," she teased and I decided to start from the beginning.

"Whatever you do don't go crazy, alright?" I whispered, looking around and gesturing the other people on the far side of the lab. "Bucky and I... we're kind of a thing now-,"

"I knew it!" She cried loudly before slapping her hands over her mouth. "Sorry," she muttered. "What do you mean 'kind of'?"

"Neither of us have really clarified but we've both admitted that we like each other and we've slept together a couple times-,"

"Girl!"

"Shuri!" I hissed and she giggled. "Anyway that's not the point- the point is I can tell he's worried about something but he doesn't like talking about some things because he thinks it'll make him sound weak. I think I know what it is he's worried about... he's worried that he'll never break free of the Winter Soldier..."

Shuri could see the worry in my tone and on my face. It looked like she wanted to say something as there was silence between the two of us and finally she sighed. "There's something I should show you... it is something I've been working on for the past month. It is still in its early stages, and a lot more work needs to be done to it before we are ready to even think about it working," she said somewhat sternly and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Okay... what is it?" I asked and she took me to the centre table, pulling up a holographic screen. She swiped her hand through the air, bringing onto the hologram what looked like the scan of a brain.

"This is Sergeant Barnes' brain," she said, making it 3D and turning it around casually in front of us.

"What?" I couldn't quite grasp it.

"When you first arrived in Wakanda we took scans of his brain so we could delve deeper and try to figure out what can be done to remove the Winter Soldier but keep James Barnes. I have been studying this every day since," she said, turning the 3D hologram of his brain around. "I didn't want to discuss this with you until I was more certain but... so far there's a 95% chance we will be able to rid him of the Winter Soldier."