Untangling a Future

New purpose

It was a beautiful morning in Wakanda as Steve and Bucky jogged around the outline of the city. This was one of the many routes they took on their semi-daily runs, running through the streets as the city came to life in the early hours of the day. The market was beginning to open, people were starting to head to work, the dull hum of foot traffic generally growing in volume.

Steve and Bucky had begun going on morning runs together most days of the week since Steve and Sam had returned from the mission and Bucky had awoken from cryo. Quite often Sam would join and rarely Natasha would make an appearance as well. Some days they would talk through their entire run; even at full speed, the two super soldiers were never short of breath. Other days, they just jogged next to each other in pleasant silence, keeping one another company as they took one of their regular routes. After nearly seventy years apart, they were back to being just a couple of Brooklyn guys jogging the streets together.

"That's great news from Shuri! I'm so happy for you, Buck!"

"Yeah, I'll be happy if I never have to undergo cryo again. That would surely be a relief!"

"Understandably so."

Steve nodded his head and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. Steve had seen first hand how taxing it was to be frozen, both mentally and physically, just a single time. He could only imagine the constant freezing and thawing that Bucky went through as the Winter Soldier, and then again to regain himself. It had been such a blessing to have made friends with T'Challa and Shuri, people with the expertise and resources to help Bucky escape the vicious cycle and empty memories.

"Did Shuri say if there was anything else you have to do? Or are you just... done?"

Bucky shrugged his shoulders, as their feet continued to pad the pavement. "As far as we can tell, yeah, I'm done. I mean, I guess who knows really. She's never had to deal with this before and neither have I, right?"

Bucky and Steve both laughed.

"Very fair. You did always need to be first!"

"Yes, but that usually was just because you were too shy or too busy getting beaten up. I would have gladly let you be first on this one." Bucky smirked, trying to make light of his own history.

"Yeah, I would have, too."

Steve tried to joke along, but there was something sad about his tone. Steve always felt guilty that everything had happened to Bucky, that it was somehow his fault for not protecting him better. He would have traded places in a heartbeat if it meant his friend hadn't had to go through the life of pain that he had.

Bucky sensed Steve's change in emotion. "But then I wouldn't have gotten my fancy arm and become the more badass super soldier!" Bucky winked and Steve couldn't help, but laugh.

"You certainly are in a good mood! Sheesh! Is this just about the Shuri appointment or anything else going on?"

Steve slowed his pace, taking a break to sip some of the water he'd brought with him and sit down on a bench next to the road. Bucky slowed next to him, drinking some of his own water, while eyeing Steve suspiciously.

"What do you mean?"

"The past couple of weeks, you just seem to be your old self again. I mean not your old self, things change. But you have gotten back some of that carefree air you always used to exude when we were young."

Bucky scratched the back of his neck. He hadn't payed any particular attention to a change in himself since the procedure, but, thinking back on it, Steve was right. Bucky felt like a whole new man. He wasn't sure whether it had more to do with the confirmed memories or Natasha, but he had a suspicion it had more to do with the latter.