Chapter Text
Epilogue
“Ah! My friend! You have returned to us.” T’Challa said, reaching over to clasp Bucky on the shoulder. “And you have brought another friend!”
Bucky smiled and pulled me closer to his side. He tucked me under his arm, and I burrowed into him. I smiled up at the Black Panther.
“T’Challa, this is my . . .” Bucky trailed off, uncertainly.
“Girlfriend.” I supplied helpfully, smiling as Bucky’s cheeks turned a funny shade of red.
“Uh . . . yeah. Yup. My girlfriend.” He cleared his throat. “Y/N, this is T’Challa.”
T’Challa beamed down at me and gestured to Bucky. “You’ve got him wrapped around your little finger, haven’t you?”
I shrugged nonchalantly, but the smile plastered to my face was anything but. T’Challa’s smile grew only larger. “Well, any . . . girlfriend of my friend is a friend of mine. Welcome, Y/N, to Wakanda.”
T’Challa moved aside and gestured to the thriving country behind him. My jaw dropped.
I was still struggling to take it all in when a beautiful young woman skipped up to T’Challa’s side. “Brother! You didn’t tell me we were expecting guests.”
T’Challa reached over and flung an arm around the girl's shoulders. “Of course I did Shuri. Don’t tell me you forgot that the Avengers were sending you their newest recruit to train.”
Shuri’s face lit up and she turned to me. “You must be Y/N! Oh! I have so many plans for you. Come! Let me show you the labs!”
I sent a mildly panicked look at Bucky as Shuri grabbed my hand and all but dragged me away. Bucky chuckled and waved me away, for once looking totally at peace.
As Shuri chatted by my side, my mind wandered. My life had changed completely in the past couple of years. I’d been abducted by HYDRA. I’d been experimented on. I’d been tortured. I’d survived things most people could only dream of. But I had survived. And in a weird way, I was almost grateful. I would never have met Bucky otherwise, and he was without a doubt the best thing that had ever happened to me.
We would be safe here. I would learn to control my powers, that still short circuited every now and again. Tony had banished me from the tower until I could get it under control. He’d claimed I was worse than Bruce when it came to accidentally destroying his property.
And who knew? I thought back to the peace I’d seen on Bucky’s face before Shuri had led me away. Maybe without constant threats surrounding us, Bucky would let his guard down. I smiled down at the chatting girl beside me. He didn’t know it yet, but I had a plan. If I had it my way, we would be leaving Wakanda as more than boyfriend and girlfriend. He was my future. One way or another, I was getting that man to marry me. Even if I had to drag him to the alter to do it.
Then again, I’d seen the way he looked at me on the flight here. Maybe I wasn’t the only one with a plan. A smile lit up my face. Whatever adventure we found in Wakanda, we’d face it as we had faced everything since he’d brought me back from the brink. Together.
THE END