Frowning, Bucky inspects the broken fishing net in his hands. Looks like some creature had gnawed straight through the ropes, and he sighs in frustration. He had just repaired the net last week. He’s midway through repairing the net when Sam pokes his head around the corner of the ship.
“Someone’s looking for you, Buck.”
Bucky doesn’t bother looking up from where he’s sewing the net back together. “Who is it? I’m a little busy here - “
“It has been a long time since I’ve seen the White Wolf doing something so domestic.”
Bucky’s head snaps up immediately at the sound of a familiar voice.
A Dora Milaje is standing beside Sam, her head tilted to the side in amusement, spear held at her side. He clambers to his feet, sputtering in surprise. “Nomble! I wasn’t expecting you - is everything okay? Why are you here - “
She raises a hand to cut off his panicked rambling, a smile still playing at the corner of her lips, and some of the tension bleeds from his shoulders when he realizes there is no dire emergency. “I’m here as a messenger from Princess Shuri. She would like you to visit, she wants to take a look at your arm,” she jerks her chin towards Bucky’s left arm, “to see what updates are required.”
Something in his expression must have blanched at the reminder of the arm, and Nomble catches it. She shoots a pointed look at Sam, who smartly takes the hint and slips off the deck, giving them privacy. She steps towards Bucky with a gentle look on her face, no doubt remembering the shocked hurt on his face when Ayo had angrily disabled his arm in Latvia. “We’re not taking it away, if that is what worries you. It was a gift from King T’Challa, after all."
He tries to school his expression into a more neutral one, but Nomble knows him too well for that, even as his eyes dart around the area behind her, seeking something, or someone. She offers him a wry, crooked smile. “Unfortunately, it’s just me today. She has new duties now, or she would have made the trip herself.”
Bucky’s face flushes at being caught out, and Nomble’s smile widens. “So you will come?”
“Yeah, of course, though I thought I was told to make myself scarce in Wakanda for the time being,” he ventures carefully. He would be lying to himself if Ayo's last words hadn't cut him to the core deeply.
Something close to exasperation crosses her face, before she gestures for him to walk with her. “This is an invitation from Princess Shuri herself. You need not worry.” Bucky hums, and Nomble can tell that he is dissatisfied with the answer. “I will tell you more on the way,” she offers, and he nods.
Bucky bids Sam and the rest of the Wilson clan a quick farewell, promising to be back as soon as he was able, but Sam gives him a knowing smile. “Take the time you need. You’ve got friends to catch up with there too.”
It takes a full hour into the flight before Bucky can finally bring himself to broach the subject with Nomble.
“You mentioned that she has new duties now. What are they?”
Having served for a long time under Ayo’s captaincy, Nomble can’t help the puff of her chest in pride as she answers. “She is the General now.”
Bucky’s eyes grow wide as saucers. “General? Wow. That’s amazing,” he exclaims, before realization sinks in, and surprise quickly turns to horror. “What happened to Okoye then? I saw the news about the Queen, there was an attack. Is Okoye okay?“
Nomble flicks the controls to autopilot and turns to Bucky, a grave expression now having overtaken the earlier amusement and pride. “Okoye was stripped by the Queen Mother of her rank and place in the Dora Milaje. A mission involving the princess had gone wrong, and the Queen Mother was,” she pauses, licking her lips uncomfortably, “very upset.”
Bucky’s heart immediately goes out to Okoye, whom he had known to have ever been loyal to Wakanda and its royal family. Nomble continues, her lips now twisted unhappily. “Ayo tried to return the position to her after things settled down, but Okoye refused. She said it was the Queen Mother’s decision, and with her passing, it would be disrespectful to reverse the decision. As you can imagine, under the circumstances, this is a heavy burden for Ayo to carry now.” Her eyes flicker to Bucky, full of compassion and knowing. “But like I said, if it were not for these duties, she would have come to get you herself.”
He sinks deeper into the chair, an earlier despondence returning. “We didn’t part on good terms, Ayo and I. I doubt she would have wanted to come, or me to be in Wakanda.”
Nomble snorts in exasperation, and rolls her eyes. “It is small wonder that the two of you get along so well, you are both stubborn as bulls. Yes, she was upset with you, we all were.” Another wave of guilt crashes over Bucky, and his head hangs lower. “She will hate me for telling you this, but it was plain for all of us to see that guilt was gnawing at her for what she said and did to you.”
Bucky looks up in surprise at that, and Nomble’s expression has softened. “Ayo is not a cruel person, you know that. She knows that she acted out of spite and emotion, and that it hurt you. Believe me, when I say she deeply regrets it.”
“Nomble, I - “ the words dry out, and his throat suddenly feels achy, a tightness wraps around his chest. “I’m sorry for what I did. I was blind, I didn’t see how many I would hurt with my actions, for Zemo, for Madripoor, all of it. I’m sorry, I'm so sorry.”
He can see the emotions welling behind her brown eyes, but as with any well-trained Dora Milaje, she manages to keep them at bay. She offers him a tremulous smile. “What I can forgive, I do, White Wolf. But I have a feeling I am not the one you should truly be apologizing to.”
Bast damn you, James.
The words still ring hollow in his ears, the sheer venom, anger, and betrayal behind them. It was personal for her, he knows it - her guilt over Zemo’s assassination of King T’Chaka under her watch, the hurt and betrayal she must have felt when Bucky himself freed Zemo, and pretended to be the Winter Soldier, after all she had done for him. “You’re right,” he murmurs. “I owe her.”
His eyes are immediately drawn to her the moment he steps into Shuri’s lab. She’s hardly changed since he last saw her a year ago, the only thing that’s truly changed is the gold of her armour, swapped out for her previous silver.
She stares at him with an inscrutable expression on her face. It’s unnerving. Previously, he always knew where he stood with her - whether she was pleased with him, frustrated with him, or downright furious. Now, he can’t read a single expression on her face, even the usual knowing twinkle in her eyes is absent. He swallows thickly.
“Princess,” he greets Shuri with a polite bow, then turns to Ayo, and dips his head respectfully. “General.”
Ayo gives him a barely perceptible nod, while Shuri launches herself at him, grasping him by the shoulders enthusiastically. “How are you, White Wolf? It has been too long since you have visited!”
In the face of the younger woman’s boundless energy, Bucky's hesitance around Ayo dissipates, and he chuckles. “I am well, Princess, thank you for having me over.”
“Oh nonsense, you are always welcome here,” Shuri waves a hand about vaguely in the air, surreptitiously glancing at Ayo, whose jaw tightens a little, but she remains silent. “Now come, let me take a look at your arm, I am sure it is in need of an upgrade.”
Bucky disconnects his arm smoothly and places it on Shuri's work table. “It’s working just fine, I don’t think it needs any upgrades, you don't need to bother yourself - “
“It uses tech from six years ago!” Shuri looks appalled. “Of course it needs an upgrade. I cannot have you using outdated technology while you're out there saving the world.”
"I don't save the world," he counters weakly, but she waves his excuses away.
As Shuri continues to babble on excitedly about the new features she wants to try on the arm, Bucky finds his eyes drifting back to the Dora Milaje General standing behind her. He watches as she answers a call, a small frown burrowing her brows, before she steps towards Shuri.
“Princess, I must take my leave. The King has asked for me. Yama and Nomble will remain here with you.”
Shuri shoots her an easy smile. “I will be fine. Go ahead, General.”
Ayo crosses her arms in a traditional Wakandan salute, before turning to leave the room. She brushes past him. “We shall speak later, James,” she says quietly, only for him to hear. Her implication is clear - when she was off-duty and done for the day. He nods, and he swears there’s a ghost of a smile flickering upon her face, before she sweeps out of the room.
Bucky is tired.
While he’s always curious to learn about new technologies, especially Wakandan technologies, he’s had more than his fill of tech-babble from Shuri for the day. He wanders out from his quarters to a favourite spot of his - the royal botanical gardens in the palace grounds.
Standing by the observation spot, looking out over the capital, illuminated by the moon and starlight, Bucky lets a familiar calm wash over him. And to add to the familiarity of the setting, he feels her presence before he sees it. He turns just as she comes beside him, and drops into a short bow. “General.”
She senses the light teasing in his tone, and scoffs. “No need to stand on ceremony, White Wolf.”
He straightens up and smiles at her, and an immeasurable sense of relief grips him when she returns the smile. Off-duty, she is no longer wearing her Dora Milaje armour, but a simple blue dress embellished with golden strands weaving through it, and a pair of light sandals on her feet.
“It’s good to see you again, James.”
He tucks his hands into his pockets, tilting his head to the side. “Do you mean that? Don’t say things you don’t mean,” he fires back half-teasingly.
She must pick up on the insecurity lingering behind his tone, because this time there is a warmth in her countenance that was missing in their previous encounter, as though she seeks now to reassure him. “Yes, I mean it. I wanted to apologize for what I said and did in the heat of the moment in Latvia, and for insinuating you were no longer welcome here. It was cruel and careless, and I regret it.”
Something warms in Bucky's chest at her apology. “I deserved it though. I was the one who was reckless, thoughtless, inconsiderate. I should be the one apologizing to you, to the Princess, to Wakanda.”
A long beat of silence falls between them as they regard each other, and it feels like something has righted between them once again.
“I’m also sorry about King T’Challa and Queen Ramonda. Those are two losses that are… immense for Wakanda.”
A look of deep-set grief settles upon Ayo’s face. “Yes, it has indeed been difficult for us. But we hold strong. We have a new Black Panther and a new King to lead us now.”
Bucky’s own heart aches for Wakanda’s losses, and seeing the heaviness that weighs on Ayo’s shoulders, he chooses to divert the conversation to what he hopes is a happier subject. He flashes her a lopsided smile. “Congratulations on making General, by the way."
But to his dismay, it has the opposite effect on her, and her countenance sags a little, and she looks dejected, even ashamed. “It is not how I wished to become General. I do not fault Okoye for what she did, and I, like many others, did believe that the Queen Mother was too harsh.”
Bucky purses his lips, considering his next words carefully. “Nomble said you tried to return the post to Okoye.”
Ayo’s lip curls in mild annoyance. “Ah, Nomble says too much sometimes - “
“But it’s true?” Bucky presses, and Ayo sighs heavily, and the sound of it aches underneath Bucky’s ribcage. Her shoulders slump, a far cry from her usual ramrod-straight posture. “You’re going to do great, Ayo,” he tries to reassure her.
She shakes her head. “I do not deserve to be General, not when there is a perfectly capable one in Okoye with us, of sound mind and body. How can I take on this role with a clear conscience, James? I do believe she was dismissed wrongly. I didn’t choose this. How do I look my soldiers in the eyes, and command them, when I did nothing to deserve this privilege?” Her voice grows more heated as she speaks, surprising Bucky. He has seen her annoyed, irritated, angry, upset, but this is the first time he’s seen her this defeated and small. He hates seeing her like this.
She must realize the volume of her outburst, because she immediately clams up after that. She abruptly turns away from Bucky, and turns her face to the city before them, her hands gripping the railing tightly.
Bucky joins her in gazing back out at the city, and he takes one step closer to her, bumping her shoulder gently. “I didn’t choose it either,” he says softly. “I didn’t choose to be a Super Soldier, to have these powers, hell, to live this long.” He turns towards her, ducking his head to try to catch her gaze. "But here we are, and we have to make the best of what we have, serve as best we can."
That finally gets her attention, as her eyes flick towards him, and her lips quirk up in a shy smile. "Mmm, sounds familiar."
Bucky's eyes crinkle in an easy grin. "You see, I do listen to what you tell me."
She lifts up her chin, and he thinks he sees a twinkle of pride there. "Well played, James."
Bucky takes in a deep breath, hoping she will believe the sincerity in his words. “Ayo, believe me when I say that I am so grateful for all the kindness that your people, you most of all, have shown me. You’ve taught me alot of things - to live again, to be me again. I wouldn’t be who I am today with you, I'd still be that unstable, amnesiac, psychopathic soldier. Your friendship means everything to me. I hope you know that. So I hope that you’ll forgive me, to let me make amends.”
For a long quiet moment, Ayo remains silent, just staring at him, and Bucky begins to feel panic grip at his chest. Finally, she steps forward, and extends her arm.
With a relieved smile, Bucky grasps her arm in a warriors’ salute. She smiles at him, and Bucky feels his throat tightening with emotion.
Their moment is broken by the beeping of Ayo’s beads. Irritation flashes across her face at the conversation being disrupted. She answers the call. “Yes?”
“General, there is a situation that requires your attention immediately.”
Ayo sighs. “I will be there in five minutes.” After ending the call, she looks apologetically at Bucky. “We must continue our conversation another time. I have urgent matters to attend to. When I return, there is someone I’d like you to meet.”
“I look forward to that. Go, we’ll speak later.”
With one last smile at Bucky, Ayo turns on her heel and disappears into the night.
For the next two days, Bucky continues working with Shuri in the lab to test out new features in the arm, and eventually trying out new arms, with the young genius eager to test out new prosthesis for soldiers who had been wounded in a recent battle.
As much as he enjoys the time spent with Shuri, he becomes acutely aware of the fact that Ayo is nowhere to be seen. By the third day, something churns uncomfortably in his stomach - he hasn’t seen Yama and Nomble in the corridors of the palace either. He tries to slip it casually into conversation with Shuri that morning. “Any idea where Ayo has gone? She normally guards you, does she not?”
“She was sent to the border to explore some suspected poacher activities. She should be back by today.” She must see the worried lines of his face, because she pats him on the shoulder cheerfully. “Do not worry, she is with Yama and Nomble, and besides, it’s Ayo - she’s one of the finest warriors in Wakanda.”
Bucky winces at the clear memory of Ayo’s spear slapping into the side of his head when they used to spar. “Yes I remember that well.”
“Cease your worrying, White Wolf, else you will finally grow the white hairs that your age requires of you!”
But by the end of the day, it turns out Bucky was right to worry. He had seen Shuri surreptitiously try to call them, but all three of them remain out of contact, and Shuri grows increasingly antsy as time ticks away. The situation explodes in the middle of the night when Shuri receives a transmission from Nomble. She bursts into James’ room, shouting. “We have a lock on her location! It makes no sense, she’s nowhere near the village where they were supposed to be!”
She’s about to raise the alarm with the rest of the Dora Milaje when Bucky steps forward. “Let me help,” he pleads.
Shuri’s eyes sweep across his face searchingly, before she finally relents. She, more than anyone, is aware of the close, if unlikely, friendship that Ayo and Bucky share. “Alright. Grab whatever gear you need. Let’s go.”
Bucky glances at the woman next to him dressed in a similar blue armour to Okoye. But unlike Okoye who is calmly piloting the ship next to Shuri in the cockpit, she radiates a restless, jittery energy, constantly shifting from foot to foot, her grip tightening then relaxing, on the hilt of the blue daggers at her side.
He recognizes her from his time in Wakanda, but they had never really interacted before. “Aneka, right?”
She turns to him, mouth slightly open in surprise that he knows her name, before remembering her manners, and graciously dips her head. “Yes, and you are the White Wolf.” The corner of her mouth quirks up. “Or do you prefer James?”
He cocks his head to the side, raising a curious eyebrow. “Either is fine, though only one person in Wakanda calls me James.”
A small smirk crosses her face, and for a moment, the worry that weighs down on her slips away. “I know.”
It clicks for Bucky then. The restless energy she exudes, the knowing smirk on her face at the admission that she knows the only one person in the entire country calls him by his birth name, Ayo mentioning there was someone she wanted him to meet.
It takes him back to their time together in Wakanda seven years ago, when she would eagerly excuse herself when her shift was over, he would tease her about having a hot date, and something close to a blush would creep across her cheeks, before she would brush him off with an annoyed, half-hearted glare. As amusing as he found that, he never pushed his luck.
It makes sense now.
“We’ll find her,” he declares to her with a conviction that he knows to be true.
Her eyes glint in predatory anticipation, no doubt ruminating on what she’d do to those responsible for this attack. “Yes, we will.”
Shuri lands the ship on an embankment beside the river, and Bucky watches in amazement as the Black Panther suit ripples and shimmers across her body. Bounding out the cargo door, she holds aloft her tablet, following Nomble’s signal. Creeping along the river embankment, Bucky finally spots a flash of red and gold, slumped against a rock in the midst of the rapidly flowing river. He points towards the river, calling out for the others. Okoye splashes into the river, Aneka right behind her.
Okoye wades back onto shore, an unconscious Nomble cradled in her arms. “She’s freezing, and she definitely hit her head,” Okoye says, as she and Aneka immediately work to strip Nomble of her armour, before wrapping her in a heated blanket that Shuri provides.
“Princess, look.” Aneka slips the kimoyo bracelet off Nomble’s right wrist, where one of the beads is blinking, and hands it over to Shuri.
“It’s a message,” Shuri frowns, before her expression clears. “Coordinates! She gave us coordinates to the others’ location. It must be.” She straightens up. “Aneka, take Nomble back to the ship. The others, with me.”
She catches the mutinous expression on Aneka’s face, and she claps a hand on the woman’s shoulder, leaning in close. “Listen to me, Aneka, you need to get Nomble back to the ship. You’re one of the most skilled in medical training amongst us, please, she needs you now, hypothermia is already setting in. We will handle the others, no,” she says fiercely, gripping Aneka’s shoulder tightly when the other woman opens her mouth to argue, “I promise you, we’ll get them back. I promise you.”
Aneka knows the unspoken words from Shuri. We’ll get her back. Frustrated, she looks away for a moment. She knows why Shuri is keeping her away from this part of the mission. Emotions are a problem in the field, and they need to keep their priorities straight. But even now, from the heavy way she’s breathing, the agitation she feels, she knows she’ll only compromise them.
Her eyes slide to Bucky. Promise me?
He meets her eyes, dark and intense, and nods. I will.
Seemingly satisfied with his answer, she turns her attention back to Shuri and nods. “Yes, Princess. I’ve got it from here.” It earns her a relieved, grateful smile from Shuri, before the Black Panther disappears into the forest with the rest of the Dora Milaje and Bucky in tow.
The mercenaries don’t stand a chance against the wrath of Wakanda that has been unleashed. Already terrified by the sudden appearance of the Black Panther amongst them, their horror is amplified tenfold when the Dora Milaje break upon the abandoned factory that serves as their base.
Shuri and Bucky go from cell to cell, ripping the doors open in search for their missing comrades, but mostly only finding terrified kidnapped children. Growing frustrated, Bucky whirls around to Shuri. “Where the hell are they?”
Overhearing their conversation, one of the older boys, looking no older than twelve years old, steps forward, his face bruised and grimy. He points to a room down the corridor. “The Dora Milaje you seek are down the corridor, Black Panther.”
Shuri claps a thankful arm on his shoulder. "Thank you."
Reaching the container, Bucky’s vibranium arm wrenches the door off its hinges. Okoye guards the door while Bucky and Shuri rushes towards the limp figure in the cell. He slides to his knees next to his friend, slumped against the wall. Heart beating against his chest wildly, he reaches to feel for the pulse in her neck, and heaves a sigh of relief. “She’s alive,” he calls out to the rest of the room, and Shuri joins him.
“Yama,” she hisses urgently, slapping the woman on the cheeks lightly. “Wake up.”
Yama stirs with a groan. Her eyes flutter open slowly and she peers at them blearily. “Wha? Shuri?"
Shuri can tell Yama is clearly concussed from the glazed look in her eyes and slurred speech, but she presses onward. “Yama, we’re going to get you out. Where is Ayo?”
Yama is still disoriented. “Nomble?”
Bucky squeezes her shoulder comfortingly. “We have her. Where’s Ayo?” he repeats Shuri’s question.
It takes a moment before Yama’s confused expression contorts into anger. “Upstairs. They took her for interrogation.”
Shuri exchanges a pointed look with Bucky, who immediately leaps to his feet. “Okoye, go with him. I’ll get Yama out of here.”
Dashing up the stairs, Okoye on his heels, Bucky is in no mood for anyone to get in his way. Swift and efficient hits take out any mercenaries who dare to take him on, but most of them just flee in the opposite direction when they see him and Okoye. She seizes one of them by his collar and slams him against the wall, her spear at his throat. “Where is the other Wakandan that you took?” she snarls.
Utterly terrified, he points down the corridor. “Third room on the right.” He receives the flat of the spear to the side of his head for his troubles, and he collapses.
Bucky makes a beeline for the door described, and yanks it open. There is a glass panel in front of him and he comes face-to-face with the mercenaries’ contingency plan - two masked men have their guns trained on Ayo, while one of them holds the tip of a Dora Milaje spear to the throat of a small boy.
A loud string of vicious cursing in Wakandan rings out next to him, as Okoye comes to stand beside him, her eyes blazing at the scene before them.
Ayo is kneeling on the ground, unprotected in the black undersuit the Dora Milaje typically wear underneath their red and gold vibranium armour. Bucky walks closer to the glass, and she looks up at him. He nearly takes a step back in shock.
Her shoulder looks out of place, her face bruised and bloody. Her eye socket looks fractured, her nose broken. From the way she’s hunching towards her left, he hazards a guess that a few of her ribs are cracked, if not broken.
The man holding the boy hostage turns to them. “You will let my men and I pass through unharmed, or I will kill this boy, and this bitch here.”
“He’s just a boy!” Ayo rasps out, and receives another blow to the head for her troubles. Groaning, her head drops, and she spits out blood onto the ground in front of her.
Okoye makes an angry noise and steps forward, but the man shakes his head, digging the blade deeper into the boy’s neck. “Another step, and I will kill them - starting with her,” he jerks his head towards Ayo, who’s trembling either with pain or fury, Bucky isn’t sure which, or both.
“I can easily break through this glass,” Bucky murmurs to Okoye under his breath in Wakandan.
“Fine by me,” Okoye whispers just as the man spots them whispering.
“Oi! Shut it, or I’ll kill them both!” he shouts.
“Do it now.”
On Okoye’s command, Bucky lunges forward and slams his vibranium arm into the glass. But to his utter horror, the glass doesn’t break immediately, merely spiderwebs upon impact. He can tell that Okoye is similarly shocked.
The damage is done.
The lead mercenary signals to his men, and one of them flanking Ayo steps forward, delivering a hard stamp to the side of her knee.
A strangled scream of agony tears from Ayo’s throat as her leg breaks, and she topples to the side.
“NO!” Bucky howls in frustration and fury. From then on, he can barely hear anything above the dull roaring in his ears as he batters away at the glass. His eyes hone in on Ayo, her face unnaturally twisted in pain, and he channels all his fury into one last hit that finally shatters the glass.
Leaping through with an animalistic snarl, he immediately tackles the man who broke Ayo’s leg, while Ayo barrels towards the other guard despite her bad leg, sending him sprawling.
“Let the boy go!” Okoye bellows, stepping into the room, her spear trained on the mercenary, who is now circling around slowly, trying to manoeuvre himself out of the room, still gripping his hostage tightly.
Bucky lifts his eyes up from where he’s currently locked in a tussle with the last mercenary, in time to see Ayo force herself to one knee. Before he can shout out her name, the moment the mercenary circles into her range, she lunges at him.
He cries out in shock, when she crashes into him from his blind side.
“The boy, Okoye!” Ayo manages to shout, fueled by pure adrenaline, grappling with the man, before she feels something impale her, and a blinding pain flares across her left side. She howls in sheer agony, her body jerking when the blade is yanked out of her body. Her legs give way, and she topples to her knees, before the stabbing pain in her broken leg forces her to fall to the side.
The mercenary climbs to his knees, just to see the edge of Okoye’s spear whipping towards him, then no more.
Bucky knocks the man in front of him unconscious, and watches as the lead mercenary’s head falls to the floor, Okoye gripping her spear tightly, tears of rage in her eyes, breathing heavily.
After a short beat, Bucky’s eyes fall back upon the stricken woman in front of him. His throat tightens, and he feels like he can barely breath as he collapses to his knees next to her. "Oh god," he chokes out, and he immediately presses his hands against the gaping wound in her side, applying his own firm pressure. There’s blood, far too much blood, pooling beneath her body.
His eyes lock onto Okoye’s horrified brown eyes. “Get Shuri! Now!” he shouts, snapping the woman out of her shocked reverie. She picks up the terrified boy in his arms and rushes out of the room.
Warm blood flows through his fingers, and Bucky feels bile rise up in his throat. He risks a glance at her leg, and he can see the white of bone protruding from flesh, and blood everywhere, and again he fights the urge to throw up.
“James.”
Her voice is soft, breathy, but she’s awake, her eyes, glassy with pain but still alert, lock onto his.
“Don’t you fucking die on me, Ayo, you hear me?” he growls. "We're not done talking."
“I know. Can’t believe he ran me through with my own spear,” she gasps out, her face turning a sickly gray.
“Shh. Don’t speak, save your energy,” he tells her, his eyes watering, and he forces a smile. “You did good, you did really good. You saved the kid. You got Nomble out.”
Running feet come up from behind him, and he cranes his neck around to see Shuri sprinting towards him, a look of abject horror on her face when she sees Ayo.
While Shuri works on her, Okoye hovers worriedly in the background, and Bucky keeps his attention on Ayo, muttering about anything and everything to her until she finally succumbs to the pain, and her eyes slip shut.
Fear grips at his chest again, until Shuri assures him, though her voice trembles. “She’s alive. But we need to get her back to my lab as soon as possible.”
After Shuri manages to stabilize Ayo, Bucky gently sweeps her into his arms. Striding steadily towards the ship that Aneka had piloted and landed outside the building, he tries his best to keep his focus on the precious cargo in his arms, not the stunned and distressed looks from the rest of the Dora Milaje at the disheartening sight of their General being carried off the field.
Bucky gently deposits Ayo on one of the medical tables in the ship, allowing Shuri to continue to work. Aneka grips the side of the table so hard that he’s afraid she would break it, fury permeating every pore of her body.
Yama is sitting on a chair next to them, her ankle in a makeshift splint.
“What happened?” Aneka asks, her voice trembling with anger.
“It was a trap,” Yama rasps out, anger and guilt written across her face. “They were kidnapping children from the villages, hoping to lure some of us out to take as hostage, to negotiate with the King for vibranium.”
“What!” Shuri barks.
“Mercenaries?” Aneka asks.
Yama nods. “They spoke mostly English, some French, but I do not know who hired them.”
“What they did to Ayo. Why?” Bucky asks, his own voice hoarse, anger rearing its bestial head in his chest as he looks down at the blood that stains his arms, his shirt. Her blood.
Yama’s eyes squeeze tightly closed for a moment, and her voice low. “Punishment. The General wanted one of us to escape, so we could get the word out. My ankle was broken in the first fight, and the General refused to leave the children behind. She decided to stay, and Nomble was to go. She created a diversion - attacked the guards when they came to deliver the food, it was chaotic enough to allow Nomble the chance to slip out. When they found out Nomble was gone and the chase had failed, they went ballistic on Ayo.”
At this point, tears swell unbidden to her eyes in anguish and helpless frustration. “They didn’t even punish me. They said if Ayo was our leader, then she would take all the hits. They took her upstairs after, and I do not know what happened, until you arrived.” She exhales deeply, her eyes dull and shuttered. “They punished her, humiliated her. Our leader, our General,” her voice breaks. “And there was nothing I could do.”
Shuri’s hand grasps Yama by the shoulder. “There was nothing you could have done, Yama. It is not your fault,” she whispers comfortingly.
“I should have fought harder. I let her down,” Yama wails, and Bucky forgets just how young she is. When he had come to Wakanda, she had only graduated the academy a year prior, and though talented was green. And since she was also blipped, he has to remind himself that she’s only served as a Dora for three years.
He is about to take a step forward to comfort the young woman when Aneka drops to a knee in front of Yama’s chair, and pulls her into a tight embrace, her hand brushing up and down Yama’s back rhythmically as Yama sobs into her shoulder.
They’re thirty minutes out from the capital when Bucky makes his way back up the plane towards where Ayo lies. To no surprise, Aneka is sitting by her side, dabbing a wet towel against Ayo’s forehead.
Bucky swallows heavily as his eyes sweep over the stab wound at her side, visible through the sticky gel that Shuri had placed over it to stop risk of infection and further bleeding. Her shattered leg has been splinted, but her shoulder remains dislocated until Shuri reduces the swelling in the joint.
“How is she?” he asks quietly. He can see the dried up tear tracks on the other woman’s cheeks, and even as fresh tears well up, she quickly dashes the back of her hand against her eyes.
“She is strong,” she whispers hoarsely. “She has survived worse.”
“She’ll come back stronger,” he murmurs, not sure who he’s trying to convince - Aneka or himself.
Aneka hums, and Bucky watches as her fingers lovingly trace a path down Ayo’s right cheek, over her tattoo, before gently dabbing away at a still bleeding cut on her cheek. “Yes, she will. And we will hit them hard for what they’ve done.”
There is a cold, hard promise to her words, and Bucky nods in agreement.
Three days later
Bucky shifts his chair closer towards the bed. “You know, this isn’t how I imagined my stay in Wakanda going, when I arrived earlier this week.”
“You expected a vacation,” Ayo states, a smile plays at the edge of her lips. Bucky likes that smile on her, it takes away some of the exhaustion and bruising that is evident on her face. But he supposes one might look that exhausted after multiple surgeries.
He shrugs. “Yeah, exactly. Instead, I had to work.”
She pulls a face of feigned pity. “I’m sorry you had to work. Though I'm sure you enjoyed the opportunity stretch your legs a little."
His expression twists in torment as he remembers what happened that night. "Don't say that Ayo. I thought I lost you that night, I really did."
"James - "
“I’m so sorry, Ayo. I’m so sorry,” he whispers, cutting her off. "This is my fault."
She frowns. “Whatever for? Why would it be your fault?”
“I should have known.” His eyes have taken on a familiar haunted look. “The glass. If I hadn’t tried to break it down, or if I just hit it harder, properly harder, then you wouldn’t have - “
“You couldn’t have known. Not even I knew. It’s not your fault. Listen to me, James. Look at me,” she says with a commanding bite to her tone, and he obeys. “Doctors say I will make a full recovery, Shuri did a great job fixing me on the way. Do not worry for me. But as it stands, I owe you a debt, my friend,” she murmurs, her eyes glittering in gratitude and warmth.
Bucky shakes his head with a wet chuckle, wiping at his eyes. “No. I owe you a debt that cannot be repaid, so we’re nowhere near even.” Ayo makes a disgruntled noise, and Bucky’s grin widens. “But maybe you can start by properly introducing me to your partner?”
He laughs at the stunned expression on her face. “I figured it out on the way. If discretion and subtlety is what you two are aiming for, you ought to try harder.”
“How rude!” she mutters indignantly, and Bucky turns around and waves to where he knows Aneka is prowling outside the hospital room. She opens the door and pokes her head into the room.
“Aneka. Come, join us.” Bucky pats the chair next to him.
Shooting a sly look at Ayo, the other woman sidles into the room, and folds herself gracefully into the chair next to Bucky’s.
“So are you going to introduce us or not, my love?” Aneka asks haughtily, and Ayo’s eyes narrow, while Bucky laughs.
“Well, I see the two of you are already well-acquainted while I was unconscious,” Ayo grumbles.
Bucky exchanges a playful grin with Aneka. “Esteemed General, I only request a formal introduction. You’ve hidden her from me for seven years, I would be honoured to meet the person who can bring a smile to your very stern facade.”
“It is not a facade.”
“Mmm, I beg to differ,” Aneka says smugly, and Ayo sighs exasperatedly.
“What in Bast’s name have I done to deserve the two of you meeting? Have you not considered the reason why I never introduced the two of you?”
“You just don’t like that we’re ganging up on you.” Bucky winks.
“Yes. I don’t,” Ayo grunts.
“So, tell me how you two met. Aneka promised you’d tell the story once you woke up.”
His grin widens at the pink that dusts Ayo’s cheeks at the mention of it. Next to him, Aneka is positively vibrating with glee at the opportunity to tell the story. “Actually, I’m happy to tell the story, James.”
It gets her a dour look from Ayo. “You and I remember it very differently.”
Aneka pulls her legs into a cross-legged position on the chair and angles her body to better face Bucky. Ayo groans when she sees the cheeky glint in Aneka’s eyes. “I will tell the tale, White Wolf. Ayo and I were placed on an assignment to assist some villagers along the border, they were having issues with poachers - lions, leopards, what have you. That was our first time working together, just the two of us, and believe you me, I was terrified.”
Ayo snorts, an inelegant noise for one as restrained as her. “You exaggerate! You were not terrified of me. The very opposite in fact, you were irritating me.”
Bucky bites back a chortle, as Aneka continues. “As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, we found a group of poachers, we captured them, but Ayo ran afoul of a few lionesses that escaped during the fight.”
“Lionesses? Really?” Bucky quirks up an eyebrow at Ayo, who heaves a long-suffering sigh.
“An idiot poacher I was chasing decided to open their cages and unleash them on us.”
Aneka nods sagely. “Of course, the General being the brave woman she was, put herself between myself and the lions.”
Bucky finds himself intrigued. “What happened?”
“What happens when humans go up against lions, James?” Ayo responds snidely.
"Ayo."
The amusement has slid off Aneka’s face, and she levels a sharp look at Ayo, who looks mildly chastened. Bucky didn't even know that was possible. “Our armour protected us against the worst of it. But,” she reaches out, her fingers lightly brushing the tattoo on Ayo’s right cheek, and instinctively, Ayo leans into the touch. “She pushed me out of the way of a leaping lioness. She thrust her spear into the lion's jaw, but in its dying moments, the lion lashed out with her paw, and this happened.”
Bucky hums in surprise. He had never realized that it was tattooed over a scar, so well-done it was to mask the previous wound.
“Even with blood all over her face, all she should think about was if I was safe.” Aneka turns back to Ayo, her eyes sparkling with affection. “I think I fell in love with you, right then and there.”
Ayo swallows back a lump in her throat, and Aneka reaches forward to entangle their fingers, pressing a kiss to the back of her knuckles.
The tender moment is broken when Ayo remembers they have another visitor in the room. Her wet eyes slide over to Bucky. “No one is kissing you, James,” she quips.
Bucky barks out a sharp laugh, and Aneka bends over laughing.
Their easy banter continues for another hour, before the pain meds kick in, and Bucky observes that Ayo’s eyes are starting to droop, and she sinks more heavily into her pillows.
He leans closer and smiles at her. “You should get some rest. You need it.”
She sends a half-hearted glare his way. “You’re saying I look terrible?”
“I’m saying you look like you’re about to fall asleep. I’ll see you tomorow, alright?” He rises to his feet, and maybe it’s because of the intense events of the last few days, his great fear for his friend, he throws caution to the wind and lays a gentle hand over her’s. It’s only a brief touch, before he withdraws it with a warm smile. “I’m glad you’re alive, Ayo.”
She huffs out an uncharacteristic watery laugh. “Thank you, James.”
Aneka rises and clasps his arm in a warrior’s salute, a bright smile on her face, before taking James’ chair. He slips out the room, and takes one more glance through the window.
Alone, safe in their privacy, the two women’s foreheads are pressed against one another, Aneka’s hand gripping Ayo’s tightly.
With a small fond smile, Bucky turns and heads back towards his own quarters.