Ophelia

Sorry

                "We are sad to see you go, Captain," T'Challa said as he walked alongside Steve to the Quinjet.

"I've got business to attend to," Steve replied. Their footfalls matched, perfecting synchronicity. Had they been on the same side, and should they ever be paired together in a fight, they would be perfect equals. Steve trusted T'Challa with his friend's life, even if only a few days before he would not have been able to say the same thing.

They arrived at the landing pad where the Quinjet sat, cleaned and even repaired for Steve. T'Challa put his hand on Steve's shoulder and they turned to face each other. A fleeting glance of sympathy crossed over T'Challa's face.

"I owe you an apology," T'Challa said.

"Perhaps," Steve said, "but you taking in Bucky and trying to save Ophelia is apology enough."

"I am sorry I could not have done more to save her."

Steve looked down briefly, then met T'Challa's eyes again. "You did what you could."

T'Challa sighed. "Tell me about her, before you go. It may help me understand your friend, when he wakes."

Steve smiled, thinking about the day Bucky would come out of cryo. It would be a painful day, but he couldn't hide from loss forever. He thought of the day when he would come back here to see his friend, and he looked forward to that day.

"They met in a HYDRA base, and after seventy years they finally got a chance at a semi-normal life. That is, until Zemo outed him, forcing them out of hiding. That was the start of it, and now here we are. You know, Bucky changed over the years, and when I met him again just last week I felt he was a different person than when I knew him growing up. Not in a bad way, he had changed but he had learned a lot from her. I think all she wanted out of life was him, and all he wanted was to keep her safe."

T'Challa dropped his hand sighed. "I cannot change what I did in my moment of grief, but I would if I could."

"I think a lot about what I could have done to make things end differently, but it doesn't help. It's about how we move forward from here." Steve looked at the Quinjet, then glanced at T'Challa. "Keep him safe, will you?"

"I will not let you lose another friend by my hands."

"It wasn't your fault," Steve told T'Challa. "It wasn't anyone's fault."