Sweet Surrender

Chapter 11

Maxa's mind was placed into a deep sleep in a room large enough for her to lay completely flat on her back. A piece of equipment connected her with the body of the lifeless girl next to her. Shuri extracts her very spark, or Arcanicus Shard, out of her chest, placing the heart inside the human. If it wasn't for the equipment she had, Shuri would've been instantly exposed to its toxicity. During this, the others watched from behind a large window. The room was silent, shrouded with intense hope and fear. As much as Bucky believed in Shuri, voices inside worried him that he wouldn't see Maxanarda open her eyes again. He decided to close his eyes for the remainder of the wait.

Once the process was complete, the team was allowed into the same room Maxa rested in. It wasn't long until Evanna sat up in the bed with a heavy groan. Everyone's eyes glued to her. At first her mind was dizzy, and her vision blurry.
"Take your time." Shuri commented softly. She sat up further, dangling her legs off the edge of the bedside. Long strands of blond hair traveled down the front of her shoulders as she rubbed her bright blue eyes. Once they're in focus, the first thing she sees is Bucky. He was just standing there, silent and still as stone. In all honesty, she was fearful his demons were coming back. This was the first time Bucky had been away from the base since he came into her care. The way he blankly stared at her was alarming in-and-of-itself. The human Autobot immediately rose to her feet, but soon wished she hadn't. Her mind fogged up just as instantly as her legs gave way. But this time, it was Bucky to have caught her.
"Barnes? What is it lad?" She moaned once in his arms.
"Nothing it's just...I think I've just fallen in love with you all over again." His words cracked the slightest smile across her face. He then teased with a light smile,
"What's that I see?"
"The joy of my spark." She replied. Instantly Bucky wrapped her closer in a gentle hug and closed his eyes. Maxanarda did the same, tucking her chin into his shoulder. He opened his eyes to look at Shuri.
"Thank you."
"My pleasure, Bucky Barnes." She smiled with a half bow before her brother patted her back.
"Well done. I never doubted you."
"Of course not." Shuri sarcastically responded. Eventually Bucky let go, smiling into Maxa's eyes.
"Oh doll, now I can finally show you how much you mean to me." His voice was soft and gravely as if he'd just woken up. He leaned in to create the softest kiss imaginable. It was so slow, so gentle and loving. This was something the Soldier had dreamt of doing for the longest time. To have her in his arms, to hold her so close like this.
"I see what you did now, Shuri. Picking the great Maxanarda of all Autobots for your little science project." T'Challa playfully nudged his sister.
"Oh please, how could I have possibly been smart enough to think of that?" She teased with an innocent look. T'Challa chuckled,
"Ok, I get it. You are indeed very smart."
"Thank you, my king." She smiled and bowed. Tony just kept looking around uncomfortably, trying to keep his tongue.
"Ok how long are we going to watch this before they get a room?" Steve glared at him,
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, don't ruin the moment for the fossil's best friend." Natasha added.
"Cute. Very cute." She smiled proudly at Steve,
"I'm glad you approve."
"The guy's been through hell and back. Frankly, he deserves something like this." Steve gestured to Bucky with his head. Barnes now was dotting Maxa's face with slow loving affection,
"Thank you for helping me feel whole again. In more ways than one. And...for never giving up on me."
"Whether you be of flesh or metal, you've always had a good soul within, lad."
"Man that accent just got ten times hotter." Bucky grinned with his head tilted back, "You never cease to amaze me. One second you're in that," he pointed to her Autobot body, "The next, in this!" He gestured to her human body still with a big grin on his face. Steve and Sam chuckled quietly to themselves as Tony rolled his eyes.
"How long will the affects last?" Asked Wanda.
"For as long as my spark is in this body. But that will not happen for very long."
"Are you sure?" Bucky grinned to himself, "Not that you aren't beautiful as a robot or anything." He tried redeeming himself. Luckily the female leader paid no heed to it.
"That is just crazy she can have any body she puts her heart into. Literally..." Clint thought aloud. Steve scoffed with a smile,
"Naita Koas are somethin' else, aye Buck?"
"Naita Koa or not, whatever other girl you want Steve you can have 'er. This one's all mine." Barnes stared at the girl in his arms, a loving and almost drugged look on his face.
"What has gotten into you, lad?" She nearly smiled just a little. He chuckles softly,
"Ever since I fell for you, I can't get you out of my mind. For once, I have something positive to think about. You have silenced the lingering ghosts. Ever since I met you I've gone further and further away from being the gun they turned me into. I don't care if you've been called the Soaring Phantom. Your love is no myth to me." She casually reaches up and places a kiss on his cheek, something she never thought she'd ever do, let alone kiss the way they did a moment ago. These human emotions sure affected her differently.
"You continue to praise me for what we've accomplished together, but have yet to hear what you've done for me, lad. You have opened my eyes to see how not alone I really am, and have filled a void in my spark. Because of you, I am indeed a stronger spirit." Bucky didn't have the words. He simply smiled with such sweetness in his eyes, seeing such sincerity in hers. Wanda so badly wanted to manipulate his mouth into looking like he was saying I love you, her fingers fidgeting discreetly.
"Well I'd say you're a perfect match. Seems like you both needed each other in the long run." Clint thought aloud, others nodding in agreement. While some continued their conversation, Evanna's eyes wondered over to her Autobot body again. Unconsciously her legs pulled her towards it, and out of Bucky's gentle waist-hold. She ran her flesh-covered fingers softly over her metal helm. She became lost in the fact she wasn't in that form, her mind seemingly drifting off into empty space. Scott was the first to comment,
"Yikes, that must feel weird," he then chuckled while saying, "I mean could you imagine seeing yourself from a different body like that?" Vision shook his head with a look of disproval. Scott cleared his throat and tried to pretend he never said that while Tony scoffed. Bucky approached her from the side. She was back on Cybertron all over again, now imagining her Autobot-self in battle from the perspective of her human eyes. When her hands ran across one of her robotic arms, Bucky gradually started to understand. He knew exactly where her mind was now. Her arms are where some of her weaponry was, and having gotten to know her so well by now, it wasn't hard to figure out her thoughts were clouded with war. Now he was seeing himself in a different perspective, just like her. He saw himself inside her hollow gaze. With a heavy sigh, Barnes wrapped his arms around her waist again and rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Sheesh, what is this a funeral?" Tony mumbled in the background.
"I dare you to say another word, so help me." Natasha grumbled.
"Barnes..." A faint voice filled the silence of her wandering soul.
"I'm here." His tone just as soft as he closed his eyes and hugged her a little tighter.
"I need you to get me out of my head, lad..." He softly placed a kiss on the top of her head.
"Maybe you two should get some rest. It's been quite a day." Steve voiced softly.
"I have a room set up for you, since I will need you to remain here at least for tonight, so as to make sure there are no side effects." Said Shuri. Bucky nodded for them both as Maxa thought to herself. She could understand why Shuri had her stay. This was the first time her spark was in an extremely different body. She didn't expect anything out of the ordinary to happen, but even she surprised herself on occasion. They said their good nights to the team, before following Shuri to their room.

Just before Bucky followed Maxanarda into their room, Wanda suddenly grabbed his arm. That startled him at first, but once he saw her he settled down.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk to you for a moment. I wanted to tell you that your relationship with Maxa is wonderful. You've really inspired me to tell Vision how I feel." She smiled somewhat, causing Bucky to do the same.
"Well, I'm glad."
"I can tell she really does love you." She continued. Barnes grinned with a small chuckle,
"And man, I am brutally in love with her. That's for sure."
"It doesn't have to do with how she looks as a human, right?" Such a thought showed dread in Wanda's tone. She hated to think of something so shallow, and didn't want to believe it.
"What no, of course not. It's just, I wasn't completely sure how to act or say certain things to tell her how I felt when she was her normal self. But right now I feel more capable of being open with her." Barnes shrugged, knowing that probably wasn't a good enough reason. She nodded while looking at the ground, quiet for a moment.
"I'm sure she loves hearing how you feel. She definitely cares about you, Bucky."