Rising From the Ashes • COMPLETED ✓

36.) Bad, Good, Neither, Both: Shuri Udaku

SHURI UDAKU - PRINCESS OF WAKANDA

July 19th, 2017

"Where are we going?" Bucky tugs on my hand, his blue eyes darting everywhere. I know the reasons behind his paranoia and his hypersensitivity. He doesn't like to be in new areas. I don't answer for a few seconds and just keep walking, then I squeeze his fingers.

"We're here," I reply.

In front of Mr. Barnes and I is a wooden bench. The bench is just plain Oak, with a few gold lines and designs painted onto its surface. It's not the bench that's significant, but the area around it. Surrounding us are many of Wakanda's fountains. To preserve water, they only turn on when someone enters this area of the courtyard, and the liquid is recycled and cleaned through a complex filter system that yours truly helped to design.

"It's beautiful," he whispers.

I look at him with a smirk, "I know." He scoffs at that. I drag the White Wolf over toward the seating area and pat the empty space next to me. "Now tell me, Mr. Barnes. Why are you out so late at night?"

Bucky sits down with a slight grimace. His shoulders bob up and down as he emits a heavy sigh. "To be honest, I don't really know. I just need to get out of this place. I love—" his voice cracks, "I care for Steve so much it almost hurts. We've shared so much of our lives together. It doesn't seem real or stable, and I just..." He pauses again. 

I don't push him, I know better than to do that. It takes a bit, but a few seconds go by before he finally turns towards me.

"Did he tell you about how we met?" 

I shake my head. 

"Well, Steve was just being his usual self. There was this girl, I think her name was Sarah, and some boneheaded guys were picking on her. And Steve, who, mind you—was still this skinny little fella—threw some punches. Sarah ran away, luckily, but Steve... Those bullies turned on him real fast. Then I come onto the playground after getting an earful from Mrs. French, my English teacher back then, and now that I think about it; her name was awfully ironic. Anyway, I saw them beating poor Rogers into a pulp. Let's just say a few knuckle sandwiches were served that day."

The phrase 'knuckle sandwiches' reminded me of roughly a week ago, when I was playing through Bucky's memories and Steve said that same exact phrase. So much has happened since then. I smile at this reference and raise my eyebrows at Mr. Barnes, gesturing for him to continue.

"After that whole mess, I took him home with me and my mom and I stitched him up and gave him some food. He was just skin and bones back then," Bucky says. The change in Bucky's voice is very noticeable as he looks back on the past, and I find that a Brooklyn accent suits him. However, through all this nostalgia, I can see the homesickness in Barnes' eyes as he talks. "That's just one memory with me and Steve. I have so many more, and I think you know just how much of my brain is full of that crazy man."

I think back to when I sorted through the White Wolf's brain. "Trust me, I do."

A sad smile grows on Mr. Barnes' face. "I don't know when I fell in love with him, but I did. And I think I paid a lot of prices for that, and so did he. I'm not worth all of this trouble, Shuri. The world would be better off," Bucky starts crying, "If I had died when I fell off that cursed train."

These words slap me in the face, tear my heart out, and throw me off a cliff all at the same time. "James Buchanan Barnes." I pull him into a hug and squeeze tightly. "Never say those words. If you died, you wouldn't be here. With Steve. With me, or with Sam, and Natasha. You've helped save the world before, Mr. Barnes. Surely you can see that you've done more good than bad. Please see that." I place my hands on his shoulders and shake him, hoping to jolt all the stupidity from his mind.