salvation ; 𝐛. 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬 , 𝟐

in the madness

"HOW'S MY FAVORITE patient doing today?" Shuri quipped with an amused grin as she skipped her way into the infirmary, eyeing up Bucky, who was sitting comfortably on one of the beds. Her hair was pulled back into a braid that cascaded down her chest, resting on one shoulder. "They're all out of pudding, so I brought you some ice cream. Elda says you like that, right?"

Bucky, evidently more himself by the way he rolled his eyes and allowed an easy smile to grace his face, scoffed. "You watch too much American TV, usisi," he hummed. Sister. Regardless, he reached out with his metal hand and retrieved the small pint of ice cream from the princess's tight grip. "Does your brother know you've been taking this from his royal stash of emergency ice cream?" When her eyes widened and her lips curled in a shocked smirk, he chuckled lightly. "You're not the only one that talks to me. He confides in me sometimes. You know, when he wants to feel like something other than a king or a brother."

Shuri smiled mockingly. "Oh, good. Just what I needed. My ubhuti going off and giving my blood brother my deepest, darkest secrets." Rolling her eyes, she tossed Bucky a spoon. "Be glad I'm sharing it," she advised him with an amused warning tone.

The door to the infirmary swung open, revealing a t-shirt-clad Steve, hands already on his hips in his "superhero" pose that was so natural for him despite his every effort to detach himself from the moniker. "Hey," he greeted, walking towards the bed that the two friends were sharing. "Mind if I join you today?"

Shuri shrugged, shifting her eyes up to Bucky's. "It's all up to him."

"I don't mind," he decided. "Just, don't give me your whole worrying routine. It's really annoying."

Steve rolled his eyes, an easy smile rising to his lips. "Says the guy who spoon-fed me broth when I had a cold back in the thirties."

Even with the spoon in his mouth, Bucky managed to make a noise of contempt. "Hey!" He protested, swallowing the sweet substance. "That's totally different. You were an asthmatic with a cold. If I hadn't been there to nurse you back to health, you'd have died right there on the spot, in that grimy old apartment."

Wakanda's first in line whistled lowly. "It's a wonder Elda doesn't get jealous when you two are alone." She gestured between the two men with a spoon, emphasizing their close proximity. "That right there? That needs to be resolved."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Steve inquired, genuinely thrown off by her innuendos.

But Shuri decided to take the teasing no further. "Never mind," she replied evenly, hopping off of the bed and patting it so Bucky would return. "We've got some tests to run, Buck. Sit your white ass down and let's get this day going."

The first thing they did, as they did every week, was scan his brain. Using the wheels on the bottom of the bed Bucky was sitting on, Shuri pushed him into position by the Wakandan technology that would perform the procedure.

Steve couldn't help but notice the bright smile that was on Bucky's face at the motion. "You're a child," he teased, crossing his arms.

"Fuck off, Rogers," Bucky retorted, though it held no hostility. He lay back and took a deep breath, clasping his hands, flesh and metal, together over his stomach. 

With one press of a button, Shuri brought up a three-dimensional view of Bucky's brain, hovering over his head. Using her hands, she poked and prodded at the fake, yet articulate image of his mind. "Huh," she pondered.

"What?" Steve asked nervously.

She shook her head. "It looks different than last time. Remember when I told that his brain looks like it's rewiring?" When he nodded, she continued. "Well, I was right. It's like he's got another...something in here with him. One more consciousness than just himself."