Bucky Barnes X Reader One Shots

10. Titanium (Part 1)

(Above photo is not mine. Full credit to owner.)

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Wakanda, 1 year after CA:CW

You never knew there could be so much green in the whole world.

You weren't exactly what one could call 'worldly'. The most traveling you'd ever done was between the boroughs of New York City, where you lived. Your mother had always called the city a concrete jungle, but even as you studied your surroundings, you didn't understand the phrase. The jungle was so vibrant and colorful, whereas the city lived in gray scale.

Your face was practically pressed to the helicopter window as you looked out at the Wakadan landscape. The lofty trees swaying below you were as dark and green as the water in the lake at Central Park in New York. A massive waterfall dangled to the side of the chopper, which the man who sat beside you, Sam Wilson, watched with an empty gaze. For you and Sam, this trip was an adventure, and it was also a rescue mission, of sorts. But it was so without the man the both of you had loved as a brother and friend, the man who'd introduced you with a smirk and, "Sam, my friend, meet (Y/N), my new sidekick".

Steve's funeral had been held only hours before; both you and Sam were still dressed in black.

He'd been killed when he embarked on a rescue mission that involved Sharon Carter. She disappeared months before, out of the blue. Steve found her in Washington DC, hidden miles under the Pentagon. When he arrived, she shot him three times; once in the head and twice in the heart. Direct, precise hits. No one knew why she had killed him, but many suspected Hydra had been resurrected and had gotten ahold of her. When the news of his death reached the media, the nation was rocked.

It seemed the entire country came out for the funeral in DC. From each and every one of the Avengers; Norse God, green giant and radioactive spider included, to the President of the United States, to high schoolers and their parents, to children too young to speak. Even Tony Stark, who had left the team a year or so earlier because he "couldn't work with a man who was best friends with a murderer", had attended, with a pregnant Pepper Potts on his arm.

Before he had departed for the mission, Steve had told Sam that after it had ended, he was to take you to a secret facility in Wakanda to talk to the King. You had overheard only snippets of the conversation and were utterly confused, but you followed Sam's lead and nodded firmly to yourself when told about it. It wasn't until a day after that you and Sam had boarded the helicopter that he thought it would be a good idea to clue you in about why you were going.

"Has Steve ever told you about a man named Bucky Barnes?" He rubbed his bottom lip with his index finger, distractedly watching the scenery move beneath them.

"The name rings a bell," You shrugged.

"He's Cap's best friend, ever since they were kids."

"Is that who we're going to get?"

"So it seems. Steve thought he was the only man who was capable enough to replace him."

You closed your eyes at his words, remembering a long passed conversation. Steve's cryptic phrases echoed in your mind.

When the time comes, (Y/N), there's only one man you can trust.

What do you mean, Steve?

There is only one person who you can count on that can replace me.

Why would you need to be replaced? What's going on? Steve, you're scaring me.

Promise me. You'll go with Sam to find this man.

I promise. But why?

Because I asked you to.