FALLEN ─ marvel

III. The Branson Siblings

Three days later...

Chapter Three
Soroya

This is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I know that were doing this for our children, I know were doing the right thing. And I love New York, I've lived there before during the blip with the Avengers. But even when I was living at the compound, I spent all my spare time in Wakanda. It's been my home for twenty four years. How can I say goodbye?

All our things are loaded in two different Wakandan ships. Bucky will fly one ship and I'll fly the other, the kids will pick which one of us they'll fly with. Everett is coming along also, he'll be helping us settle in and help the kids learn the rules of their new lives. John, Jade, and Sam are at our house in Long Island right now waiting to help us unpack. All that's left to do is say goodbye, and I'm not ready. I know that we'll come back all the time, I know we'll move back in a few years, but it's so painful. It takes all my effort not to cry.

Alex, Khari, Jo, T'Challa, Nakia, Zy'aire, Shuri, and Okoye are all here to say goodbye. Each of them look like they're trying to hold back tears of their own. I approach T'Challa first, gripping onto both of his hands, tears welling up in my eyes despite my best efforts.

"I can't thank you enough," I tell him, my voice breaking. "You gave us a home when we had none, you took us into your family. You gave us someplace safe, someplace where we were accepted and loved. You have no idea how much you mean to us."

T'Challa pulls me against him and hugs me tightly, his breaths shaking as he begins to cry as well. "Wakanda will always be your home, never forget that."

I pull back from him and wipe my eyes. "Never."

As Bucky comes over to hug T'Challa, the girls gather me in a group hug, their cheeks glistening from tears.

"I love you." I tell them, pressing my head against their's.

"We love you, too." Shuri whispers, wiping her tears on her shirt sleeve.

As we pull away from each other, Shuri jumps up and wraps her arms around Bucky's neck. He catches her with ease and holds her with one hand, while he hugs onto Nakia and Okoye with the other. Livy and Steve join in the hug as well before going over to hug T'Challa. While they do that, Zy crashes against me, wrapping his arms around my neck. I wrap my arms around my nephew's back and squeeze him as tight as I can, whispering: "You can call me anytime, Zy, for anything."

I feel him nod, his voice trembling as he says: "I'm gonna miss you, Aunt Soroya."

I pull back and take in a deep breath, reaching up to cup his cheeks. He holds onto my wrists and shuts his eyes, a tear falling from his lashes and down his cheeks. "I'll miss you, too, honey."

Livy and Steve come up to Zy next and tackle him in a hug. Jo runs over to join in, but she stops in her tracks to hug onto Bucky and then me, mumbling into our stomachs how much she'll miss us. We both hug her back, but it's very brief, because she's adamant to join in on the group hug. As soon as she reaches the others they gather her into their arms, fitting together like a perfect puzzle. Each year the kids have gotten closer and closer, growing a bond that can never be broken, it makes my heart sore with joy whenever I see them, except now, now it just breaks my heart.

The last people to say goodbye to are Alex and Khari, and the moment I lock eyes with my two brothers, I begin to uncontrollably sob. I break into a run and wrap my arms around both of them at the same time. They both pick me up off the ground and hold onto me, both of them sobbing into my shoulder.