Broodmare

------

Dreams… They weren’t something all that familiar or fond for Bruce Banner. Generally speaking his sleeping time was dreamless unless it was a nightmare. But this… this was not how any nightmare he had ever had began.

There was a field of wild flowers. The air was filled with the buzzing of insects and the chirping of birds and whispers in the wind.

He was at the bottom of a hill and when he looked up the hill he felt faint… was it even possible to feel faint in a dream? Because this most certainly wasn’t real, and it wasn’t like any nightmare he’d ever had before. And generally speaking, when the Hulk was involved he wasn’t also present. But he was. And so was Hulk; sitting patiently next to Ellen and some figure he’d never seen before. There was an almost ethereal air to the man. He wasn’t exactly transparent, but nor was he opaque.

Warily he climbed up the steep incline and came to a holt next to the Hulk.

Suddenly the ethereal man was next to him motioning down the steep hill to a circular clearing in the field below.

His breath caught in his throat. For there, amongst a small gathering of younger children and a couple of adults was Amadeus. His son, with his ridiculous faux hawk, and that cheeky smile. His baby boy was surrounded by other kids, but all he could see was his son, his boy. He was too skinny and too pale, but there he was.

He surged forward to rush towards him but Hulk put his arm out to stop him.

Bruce turned to Hulk feeling murderous. “Soon.” Hulk said simply.

“SOON?!”

“Ghost man say soon.”

Bruce turned his head sharply to the ‘ghost man’. He was indeed ‘ghostly’. He was translucent close up, his body shimmer, all of him was in shades of blue and grey.

“Soon.” The man said simply, moving his arm in a long sweeping motion over the scene down below them. “Soon.”

He wanted to scream at the man, holler, roar. He wanted to make Hulk smash him he…

Out of the corner of his eye a movement caught his eye. He turned his head and saw that both Ellen and Hulk were waving. He looked down and there he was, Amadeus; his precious boy was waving at them smiling as big as he could.

He couldn’t help but wave back… but stopped when the ghostly figure moved. He turned his head and noticed that the man was walking away.

“Hey… Hey! Come back here! I have questions for you!”

He tried to run down the hill but slipped and fell and rolled the rest of the way down. When he arrived at the bottom the man was standing at the end of a small dock gazing into the sky.

“Hey, buddy. Look, I got--”

The man turned to him and Bruce got a good look at him. He looked to be of middle eastern descent with a beaky nose, large almond shaped eyes, creased brow, full lips and a slightly receding hairline. He also looked… sad, unbelievably sad.

“Soon.” The man said again, his voice aching with pain. He raised his arm into the air and point it to the nights moonlit sky. “Soon.” He said one last time before his body seemed to disintegrate upwards into the sky.

Bruce looked up and was awed by a shooting star that streaked through the sky and disappeared into the North Star.

But then it hit him. A wave of despair. He looked up to the top of the hill, but both Hulk and Ellen were gone. He scrambled to the top of the hill to look down but the clearing was empty. The only thing left in the clearing was the fallen log that they had been sitting on.

“No.” He whispered softly. “NO!!!!!” He screamed anguish.

----

He bolted up in bed reaching out for where his son had just been... only to find nothing but the empty night air of the cabin in the quinjet. His heart was hammering in his chest, that was not good.

He quietly scrambled out of the wide couch he was sharing with Ellen with one thing on his brain. Tea with horse tranquilizers. They always kept tea laced with enough tranquilizers to sedate even the Hulk. It tasted nasty, but it was a The Hulk was too close to the surface, he could feel him trying to come to the fore, could practically hear his thoughts. “Puny close. Must find Puny Hulk.”

He stumbled up to the communal kitchen and leaned up against the wall when he saw the light on. Clint was sitting on the counter lazily drinking a cup of coffee.

Rhodey had just stumbled in rubbing his eyes. “Barton… are you literally courting jet lag?” He asked sleepily.

He could hear the sound of the other man shrugging his shoulder. “I reckon if it’s gonna come; I might as well greet her like an old friend. You?”

Rhodey seemed to hesitate. He peered around corner and saw the man rubbing his temple before shaking his head. “I just had the most fucked up dream.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, this middle eastern guy lead me up a hill and showed me--”

That was it. That was the moment Hulk’s consciousness surged forward. But it was different. As though Hulk only wanted to speak… not murder everyone in sight.

“Puny Hulk,” he muttered as he stumbled into the communal kitchenette and headed for the tea cupboard. “Had dream. Puny Ghost showed Hulk and Puny Banner and Puny Ellen our Puny Hulk ….”

Both men were stock still as Banner… as Hulk… as whoever he was rummaged through the cupboard and found the tea with the strongest sedative they had.

“Said soon.” He paused as he turned around. Both men had moved, but you could barely tell. Barton had a butcher knife in one hand and had backed up as far as he could on the counter. Rhodey, on the other hand had already gotten out the biggest mug they had, had poured the ever present hot water into it and was putting it on the table when Hulk/Banner turned around. “Puny Hulk was surrounded by other Puny’s. Will see them soon too.”

He saw the cup and smiled wolfishly. He put the tea into the cup to steep and watched the water turn eerily green. “Ghost man puny. Hulk no smash. Ellen no slap. Banner no throttle. Ghost man say soon. Ghost man disappear. Become star.”

He took a sip of tea and smiled wolfishly still.

“Hulk miss Puny Hulk.” He closed his eyes sadly and drank from the cup again. “Need Puny Hulk.” He sipped again. “Hulk smash anyone who hurt his Puny family.” He gave a guttural chuckle. “Banner would no mind it.”

Both men swallowed hard, there was no argument there. Bruce Banner had never entertained the idea of starting a family; even before the accident. Then Ellen Cho came along… and then… by some miracle… Amadeus happened. But then Ross had sent them on the run. There had never been a closer knit family than the Banner-Cho’s… and then tragedy struck.

Hulk had been enraged. It was his outburst that led S.H.I.E.L.D. to him and Ellen in the first place.

No one doubted Hulks nor Banners devotion to his family, nor Banner capacity to embrace his inner monster to protect that which he held nearest and dearest.

They looked up and saw Banner… Hulk… whoever they were dealing with, drain the last of the tea and set the large tea cup on table.

He started to shuffle away but looked over his shoulder and gave them a smile that almost looked like a snarl. “No one get between us and Puny Hulk. No one.” He growled, but his vivid green eyes flickered and turned brown.

Bruce groaned, rubbed his forehead and shuffled away.

They waited. They waited and waited and when the quinjet didn’t start falling from the sky and no one started screaming for mercy they let out a collective held breath.

Both men looked at each other and put the cups of coffee in their hands down. “What was… did we… did you…. WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!?!?” Clint hissed.

“That was… I’m hoping, a half sleepwalking Banner, who’d might have had had a semi prophetic dream involving his long missing son and Hulk semi taking over to talk it out… but I don’t know man…”

Clint squinted his eyes. “I'm wide awake now. Coffee’s just gonna give me the jitters at this point.” He licked his lips, realized he was still holding the butcher knife, put it back in its place, hopped off the counter and joined Rhodes at the table. “Now… did I just hear you right? Prophetic dream? You’re a man of science…”

Rhodey nodded. “Yes, a man of science that had a dream of a ghostly figure standing next to me on a hill overlooking a field of wildflowers that surrounded a log that one Anthony Edward Stark was sitting on surrounded by… points of light…” he grimaced and shook his head. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“So you saw your bff from back in the day on a log, surrounded by points of light…”

“Six...no seven of em… ”

“And the ‘ghost guy’ said --”

“Soon.”

“Soon.”

“That’s all… just soon.”

Rhodey gave him a long hard look. “Yes, and then he turned around to walked down the hill. When I tried to go after him he pointed to the sky, disintegrated into... I don’t even know how to describe it man. He became a falling star that stopped at the North Star.” He ground out with a groan of frustration.

“Look man, I know Hulk isn’t big on small details but--”

“Soon.”

“Yeah.”

Rhodey rubbed his hand over his face and leaned forward in his chair. “That’s what woke me up. I wanted him to tell me more. It’s been…” He hesitated. “It’s been almost 10 years, man. Ten years of hoping and wishing and praying to any and every deity that might be listening that I could find something, anything that might give me and Pep some closure. A body, a sighting… hell I’d take an amnesiac with no memory and no chance of remembering anything ever. Anything has got to be better than this … this limbo we’ve been living in.”

He let a frustrated sigh and allowed himself to fall back against the back of the chair. “And we got this stupid mission, with this vague idea of what we are going to be coming face to face with…”

“Yeah… I don’t like it.” He paused to shake his head out of the corner of his eye he saw something that made him turn his head. It was a falling star that fizzled out at the North Star.

He shook his head sharply and blinked rapidly.

“Looks like I’m not gonna get a wink of sleep for the next week.” He grumbled under his breath.

“This mission or meeting Hulk in Banner clothing?” Rhodey asked rhetorically.

“Honestly, both.” He shook his head and gave a rueful chuckle. But he wasn’t joking. There was this feeling in his stomach that he couldn’t quite shake, a feeling he hadn’t had since fucking Barney had dragged him Carson’s Carnival of Traveling Wonders.

He wanted to ask Rhodey more about his dream, but the look in Rhodey’s eyes said that the subject was closed. He wondered if others were having similar dreams and couldn’t help but look over his shoulder. Pietro and Wanda were curled up on the couch they had occupied since take off, covered in a soft blanket that Clint had put on them once they had fallen asleep. Natasha was dozing quietly in the pilot seat while the quinjet piloted itself. Sam had his head on Steve’s lap while Steve’s arm was curled protectively around his middle. Hope and Scott were similarly curled up together under an ant themed blanket that Sam had gotten them as a gag gift years ago. Thor was reading a book quietly off in the opposite corner, from the look on his face it was either a story with a happy ending… or one about war. You never knew with that guy.

And then there was Fury; studiously tapping away on his laptop as though there was nothing wrong in the world… more so than usual.

He turned to Rhodey and shook his head. “Now that you are up, what are you going to do?”

Rhodey shrugged. “Run a diagnostic on J.A.R.V.I.S. Look through my email; maybe catch up on the news… you?”

“First I’m going to change my underwear and then I reckon I’ll check my email, maybe text Katie Kate, and lift some weights. I reckon we got about 8 hours till we get into Wakanda air space and it shouldn’t be long after that that we get within distance of the Fortress of Solitude and lunch… which I hope he’s providing.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “You just helped Thor and Scott demolish the last of the pineapple pizza’s a couple of hours ago.”

Clint shrugged nonplussed. “I’m a growing boy.”

“You’re almost 30.”

“Hey, I represent that remark.”

Rhodey took a napkin, rolled it up, playfully threw it at Clint’s face before leaving the communal kitchen area.

Clint gave a snort, shook his head and left the area as well. Eight more hours and this would be over…

Or would it just be the beginning.

-------

Tony had no idea where he was. He’d never been in a field before … any field really. But he heard the sounds of his kids over the birds chirpy and the wind blowing so he climbed up the hill. At the top he smiled. The sun had long since set and the moon was high in the sky. In the field below sat Winter and T’Challa on a fallen log. In front of them was a warm and cozy camp fire and around the fire sat all the pups looking happy and contented. It made his chest swell with love and pride.

Winter was the first to notice him. He raised his arm and waved to him. T’Challa and the pups looked up and waved as well. He waved and smiled at them, but hesitated to join them. They were so happy, why ruin it.

A gust of cold air made him turn around and he gasped at the sight before him.

Yinsen.

His Yinsen.

“Go to them, Qurbaah*.”

Tony shook his head. “No, not without you.”

Yinsen shook his head. “You know I can’t.”

Tony made a keening sound in the back of his throat. “But you’re so much better at this. I’m… I’m broken. I’m Nothing…”

Yinsen turned to him sharply. “Not Nothing. Never Nothing.”

“I’m… I’m… worthless. You and Winter… you had to put me back together… and I still… I’m a failure, and I’m useless and I’m… broken.”

“No. Never. They hurt you. Yes, perhaps maybe even ‘broke’ your spirit, but what Winter and I did for you, my precious precious Qurbaah. We sought to protect you the best way we could. They made your world one of darkness and despair and we merely acted as a lighthouse. We guided you back to whom you were. Who you were meant to be…”

Tony shook his head adamantly. “You had to teach everything again. I was afraid to breathe.” He breathed ardently, tears in his eyes.

“But breathe you did, and blink. Then you ate, and you slept, and you created. That was you, Qurbaah, that was all you.”

Tony was desperate, his heart racing, his chest clenching. “But Kamala, Kamala needs her Poppa. I can’t… I can’t…”

“You’ve done it without me for longer than you did with me. You’ve done right by me. You and Winter both have raised her right.”

Yinsen raised his hand up and cupped the side of his face. Tony’s face crumbled, his chin quiver, he closed his eyes, leaned into the hand as hard as he could as his hand raised up to hold the hand in place for as long as he could.

But it was different. It felt just like Yinsen’s hand… but cold, so cold. Yinsen was warm. The feel of the hand was right, but the… Yinsen-ness of it was off.

“Don’t leave me… Don’t leave me. I love you.” He sobbed hopelessly.

“And I you… but I can’t stay here. We can’t stay in the world of dreams forever…”

“Dreams… no… no…”

Yensen’s thumb gently caressed the tears away from his cheek and he smiled sadly. He pulled Tony’s head closer and pressed their foreheads together one last time. “My Qurbaah. My precious, precious Qurbaah.” He whispered as caressed the back of his neck with the pad of his thumb. “You will always have a place in my heart, and I hope that I will always… in some small way, that I will always be in your heart as well.”

Tony was about to reaffirm his love, but Yinsen’s thumb caressed his jawline to his chin and then traced his bottom lip with great care. “Qurbaah, so precious to me.”

Tony laughed softly through his tears. “You… you promised you’d tell me what that meant.”

Yinsen soft smile faltered. “You know what it means. You’ve always known what it means.” He said softly before gently coaxing Tony forward for one last chaste kiss on the lips before pulling away and walking down the side of the hill.

Tony gulped harshly against the golfball sized lump in his throat. “No… wait… Yinsen… Yinsen!” He called out as he ran after him down the hill. He stumbled and slipped and slid down the hill. He got up and ran after him “Yinsen! Yinsen!” He stopped running when he came to a small dock overlooking a lake. “Yinsen! Yinsen… please… please don’t leave.”

Yinsen turned his head, looking over his shoulder at Tony. “I never left you.” He whispered softly before turning his head back and looking up. “My love for you and our pups is as numerous as the stars in the sky. It’s a metaphor, Tony. I know as well as you do that the stars are gassy masses. But the sentiment still remains.”

“Yinsen… Yinsen please…” Tony pleaded softly as he walked across the dock.

Yinsen pointed upwards to the North Star. “I’d forgotten how beautiful the night sky is. I’d forgotten how brightly the North Star burns in the Heavens. I’d almost forgotten how you can see it during the day as well as the night… almost.”

Something caught Tony’s attention out of the corner of his eye and he turned his head. A falling star sailed through the sky only diminishing when it neared the North Star.

“Maybe that was what I was meant to be for you. Your North Star. Something to give you hope, guide you along the way. Mayhap I was never meant to stay with you this long.”

“No, no, Yinsen. I love you. I love you.” He whispers breathlessly.

“I love you, Qurbaah. I love you enough to let you go. Let me go. Let me be your North Star. Let me be your reminder of what you have overcome to be the man, the Omega, and best Boba you can possibly.”

Tony was still crying, his eyes red and his chin trembling. He shook head. “I want you… I need you…”

“You don’t need me anymore. You have a good head on your shoulder. You have a strong family around you.”

“Yinsen… Please don’t…”

“I didn’t have a choice then, Qurbaah.” He raised his arm and pointed to the sky towards the North Star as the sky began to light up with falling stars. “And I don’t have choice now.” As he raised his hand his ephemeral body began to dissipate upwards into the air.

“YINSEN! YINSEN! YINSEN!!” Tony lunged forward in a desperate attempt to grab onto him. But instead of catching him a warm bundle crashed into his chest leaving him breathless. He looked down and saw a mass of dark hair and felt their warm arms around them, clinging to his chest.

Kamala.

He blinked his eyes and swallowed hard. The pups stood at the end of the bed in varying degrees of distress. Riri was holding Gwennie; who had her face hid in the crook of her neck. Miles was holding onto Peter as though his life depended on it, Peter was sucking his thumb; which he hadn’t done in ages. And Amadeus was holding Nova, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

He wrapped his arms around his eldest and kissed the top of her head.

Behind him Winter was already sitting up looking around semi-frantically.

“We had a dream.” Gwennie said softly.

“Wha… what?”

“A dream Boba. We had a dream.” Riri answered softly.

Winter cleared his throat. “North Star?” He asked gruffly.

They all nodded. Winter cursed under his breath.

“He’s gone, Boba.” Kamala sobbed. “He’s gone.” She whimpered into his chest.

Winter was already standing up, gathering pillows and blankets.

“What… what are you…”

“We’re going outside on the terrace.”

“We gonna seep outside?” Gwennie asked, her curiosity peaked.

“Yes, outside. The lot of us.” He paused to caress Kamala’s hair lovingly. “We’re gonna show Papa Yinsen that he was right. He hadn’t seen the stars in ages, and he wanted us to have to the world at our fingertips. Wanted you to see the sun and the moon and the stars--”

“He’s watching over us…” Tony added softly as he rocked Kamala gently. “He’d want to see for himself that we made it.”

“T’sa metaphor Boba.” Riri whispered softly.

Winter gave small snort at that. “Metaphor or not, we should sleep outside anyways. That way he’ll know for sure that we got out okay.”

Riri smiled and nodded.

“Okay, it looks like all we really need probably is the giant blanket from your room--”

Amadeus cleared his throat and though the room was still dark Winter could plainly see that a blanket was thrown over his shoulder.

Winter smirk. “That’s my boy,” he said with a smile, ruffling his hair. “Always thinking ahead.”

Amadeus groaned but smiled nonetheless.

They all shuffled outside where Winter put down the blankets, sheets and pillows from the bed on the ground. First he got situated, sitting against the building. Tony sat down next to him carefully, as his arms were still full of Kamala; who he was talking very softly too.  Amadeus sat on one side with Nova in his arms. Riri sat between them, Gwennie nestled on hip, she readjusted herself and Gwennie just enough for her to rest her head on Winters chest. Miles was on Tony’s other side with Peter curled up in the middle of his chest as he was so wont to do.

They sat under the moonlit sky and listened intently as Tony spoke softly to Kamala about Yinsen. Reminding her of his love for her and how he protected her and taught her so much.

“What if I forget him? What if I forget the sound of his voice? What happens if I forget what he looks … what…”

“Look!!” Peter exclaimed suddenly. They looked over at him and he was pointing to the sky.

They turned their heads and Kamala gasped.

A falling star. No, a shower of them in the sky and they all seemed to dissipate upon nearing the North Star.

“Poppa.” She  breathed. “POPPA!!” She exclaimed as she scrambled underneath the covers and ran for the balconies stone banister waving her arms wildly calling out. “POPPA POPPA!! WE DID IT! WE’RE FREE!!” She bellowed as loud as she could as she waved her arms.

She felt someone behind her, warm and firm. She looked over her shoulder right as he knelt down, put his head between her legs and boosted her onto his shoulders. He raised his metal in the air and started waving it in the air.

It took Tony a moment to realize why he had done so as he slowly approached the stone banister… the arm was reflective. The moon was bright and full and made the arm look like it was shimmering. It was almost like a beacon, one that could be seen from miles away.

The rest of them made it to the bannister and started waving their arms too.

“WE MADE IT POPPA!!! WE MADE IT!! WE’RE FREE!!” Her voice grew softer, choking her voice, as her emotions overtook her.

Winter easily slid her off his shoulders and onto his hip. She held onto him like her life depended on it. Her chin was trembling and tears trickled down her cheek. “We made it.” She sniffled, rubbing her face against the side of his chest. “We made it.”

“We did. And he can see us.” He whispered as the falling stars dissipated. “And anytime you need to close to him, all you have to do is be outside..” He whispered softly.

“We did it, baby girl. We’re free. And we’re gonna make him so proud of us aren’t we?” Tony whispered into her shoulder, leaned up and kissed her cheek.

She nodded sleepily before turning and reaching out for him to take her.

“Yeah, I think it’s time we all caught some shut eye. We got a big day ahead of us.”

They all nodded their heads and they headed back to their makeshift bed. They took the same relative spots they had before, but this time it was Kamala that was starfished across Tony’s chest while Gwennie curled up on Winter’s chest with her head angled so that it rested next to Kamala’s shoulder, with Peter on the other side curled up on Miles’s chest with his head angled so that it was next to Kamala’s other shoulder.

They all nodded off relatively quickly after a round of ‘I love yous’ and ‘g’nights’ but Winter was still awake when the last of his little patchwork family nodded off.

He looked up at the sky and the North Star, which seemed to be blinking at him, mocking him almost. “I’ll look after them,” he whispered softly, pausing to kiss Gwennies shoulder. “No matter what comes their way, I’m going to protect them with everything I got.”

-----

Failure.

That’s what this meant.

Walking down a pathway towards the field of the Black Panthers of days past with his father waiting for him at the top of the hill.

This meant failure.

He was a failure to his people, to his country, and to this father.

He hated this dream most of all.

But this dream was not like the other times he’d been visited by his father. No, this time there was a man, a short man with a beaky nose and receding hairline. He had a bundle in his arms and was speaking intently with T’Chakka. Then as he got closer the man looked up and smiled, but it was a sad smile. He gave one last nod to T’Chakka before walking down the side of the hill.

T’Challa stopped at T’Chakka’s side. “Father--” His father held up his hand and then extended it over the field.

“Of all people. Of all my subjects, my kin, my kith, my own, never did I suspect that it would be you that would follow your own path first.”

“I-- I don’t understand.” He said softly.

“A thousand years, my son. For over a thousand years our people have brought in nary an outsider to this country. A thousand years and our people have had contentment. Very few have strayed from our country, and they have all come back home. Very few have brought outsiders, but when they have they were always from our surrounding neighbors. Never has one of ours ever fallen for one, let alone two, outsiders.”

“What? Father.. I don’t--”

T’Chakka once more motioned to the field below them.

T’Challa looked down and had to do a double take.

It was not the normal field of the Panther Gods. No, instead it was just a simple field with a small clearing in the middle. In the clearing sat Winter, Tony, and the pups. The man that had spoken to T’Chakka earlier was walking towards the clearing with the bundle in his arms. When he reached the clearing he gently placed the bundle in Tony’s arm before leaving. Tony looked like he wanted to follow him but the bundle moved and Tony sat down again.

Winter reached over and uncovered the bundle and there lay a baby, a dark skinned, dark haired infant. When the baby opened his eyes they were the color of liquid amber. When he reached out his hands to touch Tony’s face his fingernails looked sharp like claws but were gentle enough to not scratch those around him.

The pups were gathered around cooing and fawning over the babe and it made T’Challa’s heart ache. Surely he father wouldn’t show him something he could never have!

He turned to his father and T’Chakka was smiling. “Of all my subjects… of either of my children… Perhaps I was wrong. Mind you, not of our place in the world, I would never change that. But perhaps I was wrong to look down on some foreigners. There are some worth their weight in Vibranium.”

“Father…”

T’Chakka shook his head. “I am proud of you, T’Challa. Make no mistake about it.”

“I don’t-- I don’t understand…”

“Soon, my son. Soon.”

His heart was racing, he couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening. A movement caught his attention in his peripheral vision and he turned his head. It was Tony, waving at him. Winter looked up, saw him and started waving as well, and soon the pups joined in. It made the ache in his heart lessen, but still.

He turned to his father to ask him more questions but his visage was fading.

“Father!”

“Soon, my child. Soon.”

His father faded and in the heavens there was a stream of falling stars. T’Challa shook his head wildly and when he turned back to the field it was empty.

“No.” He whispered. “NO!”

He bolted out of bed and looked out his window. Just as the sun was peaking its way over the horizon the storm of stars were falling. His gut clenched. “No!” He grunted springing to his feet and running through the halls. He skid to a stop in front of the pups room to look inside and his heart wrenched in his chest.

It was empty.

“No.” he gasped, taking off again as fast as he could for the room that he knew that Tony had taken as his own. He skid to a stop at it and his heart nearly stopped in his chest.

It too was empty.

He was about to sound the alarm, have the Dora scour the grounds. Something had happened. Something HORRIBLE had happened. But as he pivoted on his heel his chest came in contact with the palm of his sister’s hand.

“Calm yourself brother.”

His heart was pounding in his chest. Did she not realize what had HAPPENED?

Shuri gave him a soft smile before showing him her phone.

It was a picture, no, a video of Tony, Winter, and the pups on the terrace, sleeping peacefully.

His entire body sagged.

They were safe. They were sleeping beneath the….

“How long have they been out there?”

“Most of the night, since around midnight. The pups seemed to have had a bad dream or became anxious with separated from their parents and they all showed up at Tony and Winter’s room at once. Tony awoke with a start and somehow it lead to them going to the terrace.”

“And you know this…”

“I gave the Dora strict orders to tell me if anything out of the normal happened to our guests. They dispatched the drone as to not startle them… They’ve also been taking pictures. They are quite adorable.”

T’challa found himself sagging against the doorframe and landing on his rear end, his hand clutching his heart.

“Brother… what stirred you?”

He looked at her blankly then shook his head sharply. “Was there a meteor shower? A shower of falling stars or something to that effect last night?”

“Yes.” She answered. “It was the most curious thing. There were two of them. One whence Tony and lot were out on the terrace, and another just before you barged in here. Our astronomers are looking into as we speak.” She cocked her head to the side. “Brother, is something wrong? Did you see something?”

T’Challa shook his head. “I’m not sure Shuri.” He brought himself to his feet and tried to gather his wits about him. “I believe it would be best for us to prepare for breakfast. I believe things are going to transpire sooner than later.” He clutched the phone to his chest. “May I--”

“Of course, or i could patch it to your tablet…”

“Yes please. I just… their security is paramount.” He said softly.

Shuri nodded and trailed behind him as he departed.

This was going to be one of those days.

----------------------------------

I don’t know what language Yinsen is supposed to speak, but I did some research and discovered a language called Pashto. There is an endearment in Pashto: qurbaana (the person I’d sacrifice myself/my life for). The male version is qurbaah. *hands out tissues*