"Come quickly! T'Challa is home!" Shuri burst through the doorway of Ava's room.
Ava jumped at Shuri's sudden appearance and gasped. "You scared me! Don't do that!" She said before processing the information Shuri had come with. "Are you sure? Is he really back?" She untangled her legs from the blankets of her bed. She had been reading a book while leaning against the wall from her sitting position.
"Yes." Shuri smiled. "We just received notice that his jet has entered the projection barrier."
A grin spread on Ava's lips as she got up and pulled on her shoes as quick as she could manage. "Let's go greet him, then!" She said excitedly, flying out the door with Shuri right behind her.
Ava pumped her arms, wind whipping her hair across her face, making her cheeks sting painfully. Her feet flew over the earth, the palace landing pad coming into view as a large, black jet was beginning to land.
"You're slow!" Shuri teased, racing ahead of Ava with a chuckle. Ava scoffed and tried to keep up, her heart racing, thumping like drums in her ears, as she pushed herself further.
The jet doors began to open as she got close, sliding to a stop right behind Shuri. The teenager in front of her blocked her view, and as T'Challa stepped from the open doors of the jet dressed in his black panther suit, a gasp escaped Ava's lips.
"Stay." T'Challa warned, holding up a hand as two more men clambered out of the jet slowly. Dirt and blood coated nearly every inch of their skin, one dressed in royal blue with a helmet, a white letter 'A' on his helmet. Red and white, dirty stripes covered his abdomen. Captain America. There was a limp arm slung over his shoulder, his own arm around the large torso of a man in all black, blood dripping from his nose and head, long black hair matted with sweat and blood dangled in front of his face. His left arm, missing, all except a sparking, frayed metal shoulder. James Barnes. T'Challa didn't say a word as he escorted the two men into the palace.
Ava fell silent, her eyes wide. She had not seen anybody with skin like hers in person, from what she could remember. Only on television. And now, here two white men were, battered and bloody. One was an American hero, the other a murderer.
"Shuri, please follow." T'Challa requested.
"Let me come too." Ava spoke up, her eyes locked on the two new men in their presence. T'Challa cast her a glance, his lips pressing together. He gave a subtle nod after a moment of hesitation, and turned away from her, talking in a quiet voice to Steve Rogers as they entered the palace.
"What is he doing?" Shuri whispered, shaking her head. She glanced at Ava, who looked as lost as an antelope alone in a field, unknowingly being hunted by lions. "Come on, I'll need your help." Shuri nudged Ava's arm.
Slowly, Ava nodded, taking in a shaky breath as she began to follow Shuri inside, her feet feeling as heavy as lead.
Steve Rogers and James Barnes were lead into a medical wing of the palace, in a secluded room with restricted access. It was usually a room for the king and queen if they fell ill, and had all sorts of medical technology Shuri had created for any medical emergency imaginable. Ava stood silently near the door and watched as the Winter Soldier was layed down on a table of magnetic, black sand. Steve Rogers stood protectively beside him, looking around at everyone in the room.
Steve could sense everybody was tense. For all they knew, Bucky had murdered their king. "T'Challa." He said, looking to the prince. All eyes turned to the Black Panther.
T'Challa glanced at him, and turned to face Shuri, Ava, and the few doctors within the room. "James Barnes is innocent." He began. "A man named Zemo framed him for the murder of King T'Chaka. I let American CIA take him under their watch, in return for keeping my identity as the Black Panther in secret. Sergeant Barnes was an experiment of the Nazi ally, Hydra. He is not the Winter Soldier."
"They wiped him of his memories." Ava stepped forward from the door, her eyes landing on the damaged man on the table. Steve stared at her in wonder, curious of who she was. She wasn't like the rest of the Wakandan's, yet here she was, speaking fluently in a language all of them in the room understood except for him and Bucky. "They gave him false thoughts. Whatever he did in the past, was Hydra. Not James."
T'Challa nodded, staring at Ava. "How do you know this?"
"I researched. After king T'Chaka died and the world blamed James." She said clearly.
Steve smiled softly and looked to T'Challa. "The government wants him locked down. There are triggers implanted by Hydra in his head that turns him back to their asset."
"He will be safely hidden here." T'Challa said, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Can you help him?" Steve asked, desperation in his voice. This man, James, was his brother by heart and choice.
"No." T'Challa shook his head, the light of hope in Steve's eyes flickering. "They can, however." The prince said, looking to Shuri and Ava.
Steve looked to the two of them standing side by side, and they nodded simultaneously. "In any way we can." Ava promised. For some reason, she felt responsible for this tortured soldier. She wanted to help him get his chance of redemption.
"Thank you." The words slipped from the Brooklyn boys' lips.
***
T'Challa had taken Steve to go get cleaned up, and show him to his room for his stay overnight in Wakanda, leaving Shuri and Ava to tending to James Barnes.
Shuri was checking his vitals with her bio-monitor, and Ava was leaned over Bucky with a damp cloth, gently wiping away the dirt and blood from his face.
He was handsome. She gently ran the cloth across his forehead, his skin becoming lighter in color with the soot being wiped away. Skin like hers. It was almost breathtaking. She dunked the cloth in the bowl of warm water beside her and rang it out with her hands, droplets of water rolling down her wrists, and gently wiped over his strong cheeks, curving with his flesh, caressing his sharp, stubbled jaw.
After cleaning his face, she wiped the blood from his knuckles on his only hand, the skin torn and bruised over the ridges from the fight he had endured. His hand was large, and strong, and hers was much smaller in his as she cleaned the damaged flesh.
Ava's lips parted slightly as she drew in breath, the soldier's hand slowly clasping around hers. She looked up at Shuri, who was smiling just a little. "He's waking up." The princess said, looking to Sergeant Barnes' face. Ava's eyes followed.
His brow creased as his eyes shifted beneath his lids, his lips moving slowly as he breathed. Slowly but surely, his eyes blinked open, taking the breath straight out of Ava. Stunning, steel-blue eyes, ones that had caught her attention before, looked up at the ceiling as he tried to piece together where he was.
"Steve." He mumbled quietly, his voice raw and crackling.
Ava smiled just slightly, only the corner of her lip arching upward. "He's safe. He is with King T'Challa. Welcome back, Mr. Barnes." She said, lightly squeezing his hand that was still clasped around hers.
His blue eyes shifted over to Ava, meeting her gaze. "We're in Wakanda?" He asked quietly.
"Yes." Ava nodded, gently pulling her hand from his. "My name is Ava. I'm here to help you. And this is princess Shuri." She motioned to Shuri on the other side of him.
Shuri waved and smirked when he looked to her, but he slowly turned his head to look at Ava again. "I'm sorry." His voice cracked again.
Her lips pressed together in a frown, her brow creasing. "What for?"
"T'Chaka." He said. "I didn't do it. I don't... I don't do that anymore, not on my own accord."
"We know." Ava offered a soft smile. "Come on, we need to wash your hair." She said, placing a hand on his right shoulder to help him sit up.
Bucky fell silent, wincing slightly as he sat up. He looked to his left, his eyes lingering where the metal arm, the arm that caused so much pain to others and himself, used to sit. "I'm glad it's gone." He mumbled, knowing that both Shuri and Ava were watching him look at the left over metal on his shoulder.
Ava glanced at Shuri, and Shuri glanced at Ava, before they stood on either side of him and helped him up. "We will put a waterproof cap in your arm so no more damage is caused, but you will need to shower and get changed before we can do anything else for you." Shuri instructed as he walked, leaning on them a little to help himself stay upright.
Ava and Shuri both had an arm around his back, his right arm was slung over Ava's shoulders and her hand rested on his abdomen. Shuri stayed near his side, her hands hovering close to him in case he started to tip over. "Why are you helping me?" He asked, a frown tugging at his lips.
"My brother says you're an innocent man." Shuri spoke up. "We protect the innocent."
Bucky glanced at Shuri, pressing his lips together tightly before he gave a short nod. Ava looked over at him silently as they approached the shower stalls. "Here." She said, letting him go so he could lean against the wall. "The showers work on their own, its voice activated to control temperature and water pressure."
"That's... Insane." Bucky said, glancing around the room lined with shower installments on the walls, curtains between them.
"Welcome to Wakanda." Ava smiled as Shuri put a black cap over his shoulder. Bucky looked at Ava, the side of his lips arching upward in a soft, lop-sided smile.
Shuri chuckled and looked at Ava. "You are a terrible flirt." She said, causing Bucky to arch his brow curiously, not sure what was said.
Ava's naw dropped slightly and she scoffed. "I'm not flirting with him."
"Liar." Shuri smirked at Ava, making Ava'd cheeks flush red.
Bucky's brow creased and he looked intently at Ava. "Liar?" He asked her.
"It's nothing, Sergeant Barnes." She shook her head quickly. "We will have clothes for you just outside the door for when you're done."
"Bucky." He said as she turned to leave. Ava stopped in her tracks, looking over her shoulder at him curiously, her brows furrowed in confusion. "My name. It's just... It's just Bucky." He repeated.
Ava smiled only slightly, nodding. "Alright, Bucky." She said before turning back to the exit and leaving, Shuri right beside her.
Bucky stared at the door as it closed, then looked around the room again. Blinking a few times, he sighed and used his only hand to peel off his shirt over his head, gritting his teeth from the stiffness of his muscles.
He looked down at himself, his eyes widening slightly at the purple and blue bruises scattered across his chest and abdomen. Slowly, his eyes trailed to his left shoulder, looking at the thick, white, jagged scar that lined the metallic bits left of his shoulder where it met his flesh. It was raw, scabbed in a few places the metal had been uncomfortably attached to his skin.
Bucky finished undressing before stepping into a shower stall, looking up at the shower head. "This is a bit different from my day." He muttered quietly to himself. Glancing around awkwardly, even though he knew he was alone, he took a deep breath. "Turn on the water." He said.
Cold water sprayed down from the nozzle, hitting him in the face immediately like a powerful water-hose. He yelped in surprise, shielding his face with his hand and stepping backward, shivering from the cold. "Warmer! Oh, Jesus, warmer!" He gasped, shivering. "And softer!"
As he requested, the temperature of the water rose to something much more comfortable, and the spray calmed down into a regular shower over his head. He took long, ragged breaths, closing his eyes as he relaxed finally, staring down at his feet. The water pooling on the floor, spiraling into the drain was stained red from the blood washing out of his hair.
Bucky let the water cascade over him, closing his eyes as he finally felt a little peace after so much pain. He stood still under the water, not paying any attention to how long he had been there, steam filling the room. After so much cold, he had warmth. Once his heels began to hurt from standing in one place for so long, he began to wash off, running his fingers through the knots in his long, dark hair.
When he was done, he requested the water to shut off and it did. His hair layed in wavy strands, sticking to his face and dripping water as he walked to the shelf across the room that held thick, white towels and took one. He dried off his skin first, careful not to irritate his scar on his shoulder. He quickly scrubbed it through his hair, soaking up the water trapped in the strands, before wrapping the towel around his waist.
Remembering what the blonde woman, Ava, had said, he went to the door and cracked it open enough to peek out, and make sure nobody was there. Seeing that he was alone still, he looked down to see a set of clothes folded neatly beside the door. Picking them up, he shut the door again and put on the clothes, leaving the towel on the floor since he didnt know what to do with it anyway. He had been given a white tanktop, and a pair of white sweatpants and black sneakers.
Once he was dressed, he exited the shower room and looked around for Ava or Shuri, not sure where to go. His wet hair stuck up wildly in some spots, and stuck to his face in others as he walked around in search of someone he recognized.
Turning a corner into a hallway, he could see Ava. She had her back turned to him, but he could see she was talking to someone in front of her, her arms crossed. Everything about her stance screamed uncomfortable, defensive. Her shoulders were straight, hunched up a little, her feet planted shoulder-width apart, and her arms were crossed. His brows furrowed curiously as he hid around the corner to listen.
"Bomani, you need to leave." She said. "T'Challa did not call you in to be a guard. Especially not mine."
"That man is dangerous." A male voice replied. Were they talking about him?
"So what if he is?" Ava scoffed in reply. "It isn't up to you what I do, and it isn't your job to try to protect me. I can take care of myself." She said, her tone harsh and increasing in volume.
"Something could trigger him to turn into the Winter Soldier again."
Bucky frowned, swallowing slowly as he listened, feeling his chest tighten. He never wanted to hurt anyone. He closed his eyes, remembering the screams. The blood. The pain he caused. He wasn't the Winter Soldier, and he knew that, but he lived with the memories, the guilt of what he had been forced to do.
"Go away before I call Okoye to remove you from the palace, Bomani." Ava said calmly. After a moment of silence, footsteps began to trail away and Bucky stayed glued to the wall, out of sight.
Ava sighed in relief as Bomani left, and turned on her heel, walking down the hall to go wait for Bucky. She turned the corner, jumping slightly in surprise to see Bucky already there. "All finished?" She smiled at him as he stared down at her solemnly, her hands toying with each other nervously behind her back.
"Yeah." He said quietly, finding it hard to make eye contact as he nodded.
Her lips pulled into another friendly smile as she looked up at him. "Good. T'Challa has called for a meeting."
AN: So they have finally met! What do you think? Is Bucky going to go into cryo-freeze again or not? Let me know your opinion of Ava! Xx