The Only Time the Sun Looked Beautiful
Bucky sat on the ground, staring at his only hand. It was covered in dirt, smudged from helping Shuri lift samples of rock into her lab. Even as a super soldier, it was tiring work, especially with only one arm. But he was glad to help Shuri out, she had always been there for him as he recovered, teaching him everything he needed to learn so that he could stay in Wakanda.
Normally he would've gotten something to eat, would've been eating it inside his little hut that he had actually grown to loving like a home. But he was waiting for someone, someone so important that he was fidgeting with his single hand, something that he never did. Last week, Steve had finally come to visit him, or maybe it was that Shuri had finally allowed him to come back and see him. He explained their situation, he was on the run, along with Natasha, Sam and Wanda. He had noticed Bucky's worry, but had assured him everything was okay with them, especially Nat, it wasn't her first time on the run.
But today was the day she would come to see him, the day he had been waiting for since Steve left that day, saying Natasha would come by soon. He wasn't quite sure when she would be here, she hadn't been very specific with her messages, just that it would be Thursday evening. It had just reached seven o'clock, the sun would be setting soon.
He also wasn't quite sure what he would say when she got here. There were things he remembered, things from back in the day in the red room, and of course a few moments from their extremely exciting meet up in Germany. He wasn't sure if what he was remembering was real though, or if it had been distorted by the millions of brain wipes and freezes he had gone through for the past hundred years.
He looked out past the fields as the sun began heading for it's descent below horizon. He watched it almost every night, but he always felt there was something missing from it. Instead of providing him with comfort, the colours looked like a still water colour painting, and he wasn't sure what he thought of it. It almost made him sadder, more alone.
There was a strong breeze, and a ripple in the sky, as a jet entered the atmosphere. It was far away, but he could see it from across the fields. It had to be Natasha, though he wasn't sure where she would've gotten the jet with the whole being a fugitive thing. He let that thought go as it landed. He could make out a figure in red walking towards the ship, probably Okoye, she was always the one to address anyone coming in.
Then Natasha stepped out of the jet. Or at least, what he thought was Natasha. It was hard to tell from this distance, and Steve had warned him, something about a whole new look. But he knew in the back of his mind that it was her, he would recognize her anywhere, with any hair colour (that was unless he was under hydra's influence at the time, of course). He knew the way she walked all too well.
He got to his feet, now looking straight at her as she turned to see him. Even though it was likely impossible from this distance, he thought their eyes locked, like there was recognition there. Whether it was on his end or hers, he didn't know, but he was okay with that. It felt like he didn't know a lot these days anyway. He stayed standing where he was as she walked towards him. As she got closer, he could read her expression better. He could always read her expression better than anyone, one of the reasons they had become so close back in their red room days. This was one of those expressions that she used to hide her true one. The steady glare, head tilted upwards, but he could see behind it, he could pick out the hope in her eyes, the smile behind her scowl. She just wasn't going to let that show just yet.
She stopped walking about three feet from him. Steve was right, it was a whole new look, with the short, straight, blonde hair, which technically meant he was now the one with longer hair. He laughed inside at the thought, and it may have translated into a smile on his face. She studied him for a minute, before returning a smile. His must've gotten larger at that, looking at the glint in her eyes, as the sun fell behind her.
"James," she said, almost testing him. He knew she was, testing what he remembered, what he would respond to best.
"Natalia," he replied, stepping a bit closer, testing her as well.
"Haven't heard that one in a while," she commented, eyes wandering to his left shoulder, which was currently covered with a triangle of fabric that Shuri helped him tie. "They didn't make you a new arm? Seems like they could." She looked around, eyes focusing on Shuri's vibranium trains.
"They asked me if I wanted one," he said, hand fidgeting again. "I said no."
She looked back to Bucky, at his moving fingers. She stepped forward, and lifted his clearly working, callused hand in her soft one. His nails were broken short, hers clearly cut to an average length. "What do you remember?" she asked, closing the distance between them.
"Only good things," he said assisting her with closing the gap between them slowly, until they had to move their intertwined hands to the side. "Though my brain might be biased towards you." He smirked at the idea.
"No," she said looking up at him. "There were only good memories with us. Only good ones." He could hear her voice break at the end. Even though she had smiled to him, taken his hand, it was on those words that she had dropped her guard for him, letting her voice falter.
He lifted his hand from hers, placing it behind her head, something that felt so familiar and so ancient. Like he was remembering another time. He leaned down, and she raised herself onto her toes. As their lips met, he was flooded with a rush of feelings, none of them new, but all of them at a new extreme. When he was the winter soldier, everything about him was muted, including everything he felt. It was now that he felt like he could love her with all of his heart, his mind only focused on her and nothing else. There was no mission, no worry that they would be separated forever if someone saw. There was no fear, just love.
Her hands wrapped around the back of his neck, pulling him closer to her. He felt her breathing become jagged as she had to pull away for a second, running out of air. He didn't let her pull away too much, and she didn't want to. She kept her arms locked around his neck, his hand drifting down to her lower back. His forehead pressed against her, feeling every breath of hers against his chin.
"Miss me much?" she asked shakily, trying to be snarky as a joke, but it didn't come out of her mouth that way. It came out serious, lovingly.
"Everyday, Nat," he responded steadily, trying to pull her closer even though there was absolutely no space between them anymore. "Everyday."
She kissed him again, shorter this time, laying her forehead on his right shoulder. She fit perfectly inside his arm, head in the crook of his neck. He looked past her at the African sun, which was in the middle of setting. For once, he understood what everyone else meant when they said the sunset was beautiful.