Rising From the Ashes • COMPLETED ✓

27.) James Buchanan Barnes: Steve Rogers

STEVE ROGERS - CAPTAIN AMERICA

July 15th, 2017, Wakanda

My sleep is being plagued by something. Something happy and sad at the same time. Struggling to keep a grasp on the dream, I try to reach out to it―but I'm interrupted by a few rapid booms that resemble drums. At the sounds, my dream dissolves into thin air, gliding through my fingertips. I bite my tongue in frustration.

I hear more drumming before I realize it's actually someone knocking at my door, all the while getting louder and louder and more forceful. "Mr. Rogers?"

"Shuri?" I yawn and try to rub the sleepiness from my eyes. My eyelids are swollen and blinking gathers tears on my eyelashes. "What time is it?" I ask, more to myself then the princess. Reaching over to the bedside table, my fingers fumble around in the dark until I brush past something smooth. My phone blinds me as I see the time. It's three in the morning...

"Steve, come on!" Her Highness sounds frantic now. Is something wrong? Intruders in the castle? People looking for Bucky? Or Sam or Natasha? For me? For all of us? There are about a billion scenarios running through my head, and none of them are good. In a split second, I'm at the door, ready to fight. My adrenaline is keeping the drowsiness at bay.

"Shuri. What's happening?" I meet her brown-eyed gaze―instead of a panicked expression, though; I see one of excitement. What on Earth has she gotten into now? Is Peter awake? I look around the hallway for the twinkling teen but don't see any signs of him.

"Steve, listen. Bucky has woken up."

It takes a bit for what she just said to sink into my sleep-deprived mind. When they do, those last four words punch me in the gut and squeeze me like a cobra. My world feels like it stopped. I have to be dreaming still, right? "Are-Are you sure?" Shuri rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips.

"Since when am I wrong?"

I feel like dropping to my knees and thanking her. Instead, tears start forming in my eyes. "You're never wrong," I reply with a smile; feeling crushed and exhilarated at the same time. Bucky woke up. Bucky woke up. Bucky woke up. 

Those three utterances mean the entire universe to me. I feel like I'm floating. I feel like I'm in outer space, looking at all the stars and supernovas, soaking in all this immense beauty and not understanding any of it. I blink rapidly, making my puffy eyes even puffier. Shuri gives me a huge smile and pulls on my hand.

"Come on, Mr. Rogers! Everybody is there already, waiting for you. You're the rotten egg."

I can't believe it. I can't believe anything. My mind doesn't know what to do with itself. I manage to choke out a few words after clearing my throat a dozen times. "Okay, kid... Let's go?"

I let the princess guide me to her lab even though I know these hallways like the bullet marks and scratches of Howard Stark's shield―I could go there blindfolded and backwards without mistaking a step. As we walk, I can feel my heart racing and pound against my chest. It feels like there's a thunderstorm booming in my ears. I don't notice I'm clamming up until Shuri drops my hand and wipes it on her tunic.

"Working up a little nervous sweat, Mr. Rogers?" She smirks.

"You could say that," In response, I rub my palms onto my sweatpants. After a bit, we finally arrive at the double doors. One by one, my fingers each slowly wrap around the doorknob. I let them rest on the metal, feeling the weight of the world on it. Opening a door has never been harder or easier.