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Chapter Text

When she saw the white man, she wasn't ashamed to admit that a wave of hostility had rushed over her.

Her brother had explained it to her on the way to her laboratory. He had been set up; he hadn't murdered their father. He was still an assassin, but not under his volition. HYDRA had risen him from the dead and transformed him into their own super-enhanced killing machine. Until recently, when he finally broke away after recognizing his childhood best friend, Captain America. He was the reason the Avengers were split down the middle, despite all his efforts to stay hidden from them.

Shuri understood, really she did. But seeing his face, she couldn't help but remember what she had seen on the news. The explosion, the confirmation that her father had been killed, and the photo of the primary suspect of the bombing.

James Buchanan Barnes. Or better known to the world as HYDRA operative The Winter Soldier.

For days, she had believed he had killed her dear baba. And she wished nothing more than for T'Challa to go after him and get revenge. He had to. If not for their father, then for their people, who had been horrifically stripped of their great king and protector.

Then she had heard his brother had returned home, but not alone. In the back of her mind, she grimly hoped it was with Barnes' body.

Captain America, or Steve Rogers as he preferred to be addressed, was a pleasant surprise, but that's not what was eating at her. As Princess, she was regal and respectful, but not a second after the Captain was dismissed that she turned to her brother, who looked at her expectantly.

"Where is he?" she demanded, grasping tightly onto his wrist.

T'Challa's eyes fell. "Oh, Shuri," he whispered in forlorn. He knew who she was referring to. Their father's body had already been brought home. There was only one other person she was talking about. "Come, take a walk with me."

Shuri ignored her brother's outreached arm, shaking her head as she tried to keep her emotions under control. "No – Don't treat me like a little girl. Just tell me, T'Challa!"

Sighing, he took her arm and linked it with his. With his ever-calming, soft voice, he beseeched, "Please, sister. I trust you more than you'll ever know. In return, I need you to trust me."

So Shuri listened. The chaotic week that had ensued since the United Nations conference bombing, which ended with the revelation of Barnes' innocence and the capture of the real mastermind, Helmut Zemo. And the reason for why Captain Rogers was there. As a result of his guilt for going after the wrong man, T'Challa had offered to remove HYDRA's mental programming. Barnes agreed, and that was who T'Challa was taking Shuri to meet.

"I know you can cure him. It's the least thing I can do for him. After everything... Sergeant Barnes is an innocent man and deserves peace."

"Do you truly believe that?" Shuri asked.

He was silent for a moment. She saw his forehead creasing, as if he hadn't thought about it like that. Then he nodded. "Yes. Yes I do. So will you do it?"

Shuri exhaled. It was hard to argue with what her brother had told her, but she wasn't going to jump in immediately. She was going to examine her options, even if it looked like her decision has already been made for her. "I will have to see him first. Can't make promises."

Upon seeing Barnes seated on the observation bed, Shuri instantly noticed the absence of his left robotic arm. She threw an elbow jab at T'Challa's gut.

"It was destroyed," he answered lowly.

"Oh," she said, adding curiously, "How?"

T'Challa simply responded, "Iron Man."

"Ah." Shuri comprehended. She couldn't blame him; HYDRA had sent Barnes to assassinate his parents. Though she knew it wasn't really Barnes committing the crime, those hands still had taken lives. And now she was supposed to fix him, a wanted fugitive by several world governments.

What was she getting into?

T'Challa introduced them. Neither spoke except for a formal nod. Shuri could count on one hand how many times she had come across a white person – that's how isolated Wakanda was from the rest of the planet.

Barnes was officially the sixth, and by far the most interesting (though she wouldn't say this aloud).

She also wouldn't admit that he was rather... pretty. The prettiest white person she had met. Even with his haggard pale face, covered in dried red bruises and dark scruff that looked itchy to touch. There were circles under his eyes, which were so blue that it reminded Shuri of their cloudless skies.

But despite his defeated appearance, he remained optimistic. It seemed like he trusted the Wakandan scientists, and that minimized Shuri's skepticism. If he trusted them – her – to help him, a bunch of strangers, then Shuri supposed there would be no harm done. She would be curing a man who had suffered long enough.

Seeing him enter the cryo chamber and the ice freezing his body in suspended animation, Shuri had made up her mind.

She was a technologist at heart, but her intellect went beyond. She was also a scientist, and this was an experiment that she couldn't dream of passing up. Barnes was essentially betting his life on her, and if she could save him, then there could be no greater achievement.

Every life was precious. Shuri had learned the hard way.

In the beginning, it was a weird experience for her to talk to an unconscious person. Usually when she operated on him, she was alone. Besides the thrumming of her dance music in the background, the only time she even made a sound was when she was singing along or grunting in annoyance at the bio-scanner.

There was no else with her, and that eventually led to her to converse a bit with him. Of course he couldn't respond, but it didn't matter. She loved to talk, and she discovered it helped talking to him while she worked. She liked that she could tell him anything, although this was just simply because he wasn't awake to hear it.

Nevertheless, Shuri did it. And as time went on, she felt a string of dependency grow. He was always there, whether it was morning or night. The white boy was there, his sleeping form welcoming her into her lab. It reminded her of those Disney princesses that had been cursed to a sleeping spell and only true love's kiss would wake them up. Not that she would ever dream of kissing a white boy!

"I dreamed last night, you know. I don't dream often so this particular dream was surprising. You know what I dreamed?" she asked in giddy. "That I was the Black Panther. Can you believe that? No offense to my brother, but I think I'd be better than him."

"Did I tell you about your friend Steve Rogers?" she asked another time as she viewed a hologram of the metal arm she was making. "Nothing bad happened to him. I'm just telling you that T'Challa saw him a couple days ago with Natasha Romanoff and Sam Wilson. I'm assuming you know them. Well, they're doing okay."

"Alright, quick question," she said not shortly after learning that her brother was going after Ulysses Klaue with Okoye and Nakia. "If you were to go on a mission, would you take your ex? Because that is exactly what my brother, the King, is doing! He's taking Nakia! If I had an ex, which I don't but if I did, I certainly wouldn't want him anywhere near me. That’s the whole point of an ex – he's excluded from my life."

Upon hearing from her brother that they were bringing in an injured man – and not Klaue – she and the scientists hid the chamber. Afterwards, while Everett Ross healed, Shuri took the opportunity to check on the other dozing white boy. "Well. Now that that's over and done with… I don't think my lab has had this much white people ever," she chuckled. "Now I'm housing two in the span of a week. I hope you don't mind me moving you. It's just until the other one gets better."

When Killmonger had briefly overtaken the throne, Shuri tearfully whispered as she swiftly relocated him to an underground hideout, "I'm – I'm sorry to be moving you all of a sudden, I, I just – T'Challa, he's, he's..." She choked up, images of her brother being thrown over the waterfall repeating over and over in her head. "I won't let anything happen to you, Sergeant Barnes. My brother promised to cure you and that's what I will do."

And then after Killmonger was finally defeated, Shuri ran from the battlefield straight to her lab, which was partly destroyed in the conflict. She ran down a secret stairwell, each breath coming out in pants. Her family and country were safe. Now she needed to know if he was too.

The two slide doors opened on her request, and Shuri breathed out a long sigh of relief. He was in the middle of the room where she had left him, safe and completely unharmed. Without thinking, she strode towards him and extended her arms. She embraced the cold pod, smashing her cheek against the glass.

"Everyone's okay," she told him, though it was more of a reassurance to herself. "Everyone's okay."

Months went by until Shuri successfully rebooted Barnes' wildly damaged mind.

Coming up with the algorithm to eliminate the triggers words was the easy part.

It was actually carrying out the efforts which were exhausting. Staring at the bio-scanner of his brain for hours on end, carefully picking which traumatic memories were the most controlling without risking changing any part of his original personality. She had to be very precise and avoid the risk of turning him into a vegetable.

Once Shuri accomplished the feat – in between the country being attacked by their long-lost American cousin and her brother subsequently bringing Wakanda out of isolation, no less – she celebrated quietly.

Standing in front of the pod, she looked at Barnes, still peacefully asleep.

"I think I did it," Shuri declared happily. "I won't know for sure until you wake, but I think I did it."

It was her idea to move Barnes when it was time to wake him up. He was going to be de-freezed, so what better way for him to be thawed out than under the warmth and comfort of the everlasting Wakandan sun.

After unlocking the chamber, the scientists placed him on the observation bed. They removed his white tank shirt and his sweatpants before allowing Shuri to step in. She handed them a red and blue robe to cover him in.

While they dressed him, Shuri focused on his face. With the ice thawing out, she could see that his hair was a few inches longer and the scruff on his jaw was somewhat thicker. There were no more bruises on his pale face. In fact, it was solid hard, like marble.

She lifted the back of his head with one hand, balancing it on her palm as her other hand combed through his dark hair, the heat of her skin melting off any residual ice.

Once she finished, she instructed the scientists to bring him to the huts T'Challa had found for them near a village that was itself not far from the palace.

Overlooking a vast lake, there was one hut for Barnes and another for Shuri. It was neatly within walking distance of the village. No one knew how long it would take him to wake, so it was imperative to stay near resources.

Shuri predicted it would take anywhere between two to seven days; he finally stirred on the fourth day there.

She was by the lake, gazing at the sun as a crowd of little local children played around the area. They had taken an immediate interest in Barnes; she could tell they had never seen a white man before. So intrigued they were that they couldn't help but study him as he slept.

Until his eyes opened. She realized this when the kids scattered out of the hut, exclaiming "White Wolf."

As she teased the children for playing with him, the hairs on the back of her neck went up. She didn't have to turn to know that he had emerged from the hut, probably dazed and confused, the poor man.

She waited until he was a few feet away from her. He approached her slowly, his face expressionless.

This is what white people must think Jesus looks like, she thought amusingly for a moment before turning serious.

"Good morning, Sergeant Barnes," Shuri greeted him.

"Bucky," he corrected.

She smiled. It was the name Captain Rogers called him by. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," he answered with a brief uplift of his mouth. He then paused, never taking his eyes off her. She found herself equally unable to look away. "Thank you." He said softly.

Shuri blushed. The sincerity of his thank you meant more than she had thought it would. "Come," she lightly patted his chest. "Much more for you to learn."

Barnes trailed behind as they took the path back to the palace. There was no Dora Milaje guard to accompany them; just themselves. Not a fan of complete silence, Shuri spoke of her plans for him. Aside from his reprogramming, she hadn't finished his arm, but she had a prototype she was eager to show him.

He didn't say anything the entire way. Just nodded and smiled at her constant chatter. Once they made it to the palace, Shuri went to her lab while two servants took Barnes to change.

She was regarding the floating 3D model of his arm, lightly tapping her feet to the rhythm of her music, when he was brought back. He was donning a black and grey tunic fitted just for him, with the upper part of his hair combed nicely into a bun.

Shuri smiled warmly, her cheeks flaming at seeing him all cleaned up. When had she ever been shy around men? But she couldn't help herself – he was a pretty white boy.

"Come sit by me, Bucky," she beckoned him, looking up at the model, which had his full attention. "I want to show you your new arm."

Chapter Text

With everyone hastily gearing up for a battle of the ages, she excused herself.

Well, more like just slipped quietly into a backroom without getting noticed. Not that they would notice her anyways. She only had one job, after all: to extract the Mind Stone from Vision without killing him.

No biggie.

Shuri sighed.

She could do it. She knew she could. She was one of the most intelligent – no, the most intelligent person in the world. The Avengers had come to her, not the other way around. They sought her help, knowing she was capable of finding a solution. If she could successfully deprogram a brainwashed human brain, then there was truly nothing she couldn’t do.

What was that phrase? The world is your oyster?

Shuri buried her face into her palms. She couldn't stop shaking. Why couldn't she stop shaking?

Because she was scared shitless. Who was she kidding? They were about to get involved in an intergalactic war of unimaginable epic proportions. It was New York, but a million times worse. It wasn't just Earth hanging in the balance; it was the lives of the entire universe. Whatever existed out there, they were at risk as well.

And while her brother and their comrades would be fighting to defend their planet, Shuri would be in charge of keeping Vision alive with Wanda Maximoff protecting them.

She knew she could do it. She could save Vision. She was too skilled not to complete the task.

But could she do it while her brother was out there? With Okoye, M'Baku, and the Wakandan tribes out there? With the Avengers out there? With Barnes out there?

Shuri's knee buckled, causing her to take a seat. She lowered her head to steady her breathing. Arms stretched across the white table, she laid her open palms on the table, her fingers straining as far as they could.

She had read about panic attacks. She wasn't experiencing one, but all she could feel was panic, no doubt about that. Her stomach rolling painfully, her throat drying up by the second, her knee bobbing up and down under the table. She was a nervous wreck.

Enough, she chastised herself. Your country needs you. You need to fulfill your duty. No matter what happens.

She was so deep in thought, anxiously encouraging herself that she only need to focus on saving Vision and nothing else, that she didn’t hear someone sneak in behind her.

"Princess?"

Shuri looked over her shoulder. She smiled, or at least attempted to. If there was any little thing she could currently find comfort in, it was the sound of his gruff voice.

"You're not supposed to be here."

Bucky shrugged. "I just wanted to check on you. Before I go."

This time, Shuri smiled. It was tight-lipped, but a smile nonetheless. She guessed it would be her last of the day.

Feeling the shakiness drift away, Shuri got up. She stood in front of him, admiring his uniform and the sleek cybernetic arm she had designed for him. Despite working on numerous projects for her country and T'Challa over the years, Bucky's arm held a special spot in her heart. It was like he was carrying a piece of Wakanda with him… a piece of her.

"How're you feeling?" she asked.

"Ready to fight. Are you?"

His brows furrowed, and she knew then that he knew. That she wasn't entirely ready. How could she be?

"Of course," she replied with even less emotion than she had wanted to convey. She wasn't at all ready.

Bucky caught on at once. "You don't have to pretend, Shuri. I know you're scared. I am too."

Her jaw tightened as she tried to prove him wrong, but it was fruitless. She was scared, so scared to the bone, that she simply couldn’t help herself. She flung her arms around his waist, burying his face into his chest. She closed her eyes as tight as she could to stop the tears from falling.

Bucky returned the embrace, his stubbled chin resting between her two buns atop her head.

Neither of them said a word; neither of them had to. Their bond was beyond words; it was an emotional connection that was simply indescribable.

As they broke apart, Bucky's human hand gently cupped her jawbone. His blue eyes were centered on her, and like all the other times when he looked at her, Shuri was momentarily lost in them.

"You're a fearless woman, Shuri. Don't ever forget that."

Shuri was feeling anything but fearless, but still, she nodded. If not for her own consolation, then his.

"So are you," she stressed. She hadn't admitted it to him, to anyone, just how much she admired his grit to stay alive in spite of the transgressions done on him. She wanted to let him know, but the words didn't form. Would it even matter if he did know? 

Bucky smiled, the outer corners of his eyes creasing. "I'll see you on the other side, alright?"

"I better," she said skittishly as he walked back to the door. "That's an order, Sergeant."

"Yes, ma'am." Bucky responded in a firmer voice that wasn't at all firm.

Shuri rolled her eyes, eliciting a small chuckle from Bucky. Another sound she'd never get tired of.

Left alone to her thoughts again, she exhaled once and then gripped the door knob.

Enough, she repeated. Your country needs you. You need to fulfill your duty. No matter what happens.

As soon as Bucky saw that Wanda had flown down into the vast battlefield, he angrily ripped off the head of a four-armed alien and narrowed his eyes on the King's Palace.

More importantly, on Shuri's lab.

On her and Vision, who were now left defenseless.

Before he could take a step in that direction, he was attacked from behind. He fought and fought, wrestling them to the ground, pounding his metal fist continuously into snarling alien flesh. He shouted and grunted, each breath he took reinvigorating him to kill every alien.

"Guys, we got a Vision situation." Sam informed the team over the comms.

"Somebody get to Vision!" Steve yelled.

Peeking through the numerous arms of the aliens, Bucky squinted his eyes at the Palace. There were several windows broken on the floor of the lab. 

"Shuri." Bucky whispered under his breath, and something inside of him snapped.

He rumbled into a frenzied rage, his metal arm taking hold of any alien he could get his hands on. He delivered devastating punch after another as he ran towards the lab, freeing himself in the process.

Bucky heard Steve's voice in the comms, directing him to go join Banner and Maximoff in finding Vision. But as much as he knew how vital it was to keep Vision safe, his legs were taking him the opposite way.

Vision was important, but so was Shuri.

Shuri was brought back to consciousness by the rough shaking of her shoulders and yells of her name. When she opened her eyes, she was gifted with the sight of Bucky. He wanted to take her away to safety, but Shuri flatly refused.

"No, we must –" She coughed, wincing as she felt broken glass prick at her hands. She looked around, realizing that Vision wasn't anywhere. "W-where's Vision?"

"They got him, Steve and the rest are trying to get him back – listen to me, Shuri, I need to take you away from this."

"No!" Shuri cried. She pushed him aside and rose to her feet, taking off from her lab to the elevator. "No, we need to protect him! He still has the Mind Stone, I didn't have enough time!"

She didn't hear a rebuttal, which she was thankful for. It wasn't even up for discussion what he was implying.

They dashed into the forest below the Palace, following the fight that the Avengers were in with the three aliens that were leading the army attacking them.

As Bucky brandished his rifle, Shuri cursed herself for not bringing her vibranium gauntlets. Without them, without any source of shield, she felt vulnerable. She had never felt vulnerable before.

Bucky, seemingly realizing that Shuri was heading into warfare without artillery, shoved her behind a tree trunk.

"Stay here!"

"No, no, I'm coming with y–!" she screamed, but she was forcefully rammed back into the tree bark. She gaped at Bucky, whose blue eyes weren't the calming ocean she was so familiar with.

"You stay here," he spit out, his human fingers digging deep into her shoulder. "Once I locate Vision, I'll bring him to you and we'll get the hell outta here."

Shuri's mouth opened to argue, but then the whole atmosphere changed.

Everything just… changed.

Gusts of wind blew softly by them, leaves falling of the surrounding trees. It grew deathly silent, an ominous tone settling in.

"Everybody on my position," said Steve. "We have incoming."

Shuri and Bucky shared a dreaded glance. She instinctively stepped closer to him.

They observed the area around them, and then out of nowhere there was vortex of dark clouds and lightning. What emerged out of it made her jaw drop.

It was him. It had to be him. The galactic madman that Dr. Banner had said was after the Infinity Stones.

Thanos.

He was taller, much taller than Shuri could have dreamed of. He was striding casually on the forest floor, his golden armor glistening, and his unmistakable gauntlet shining with five stones already strapped on them.

Dr. Banner had mentioned there were six Infinity Stones. If there were five on that gauntlet, then he was only missing one…

Oh, no. Vision.

Before Shuri could process what was about to unfold, Bucky went after him. She remained there as Bucky raised his rifle and aimed at Thanos. T'Challa, Okoye, Black Widow, Captain America, Dr. Banner, War Machine, the Falcon, Bucky – none of them stood a chance against Thanos.

And Shuri made no effort to move from her hiding spot. She was rooted, no, paralyzed to the ground. She couldn't move an inch, couldn't feel her muscles, couldn’t feel or hear anything… but just watch.

She could only watch in agony and despair as she witnessed a sobbing Wanda try to remove the Mind Stone out of Vision while simultaneously holding off Thanos from getting to Vision first.

Watch in agony and despair as Wanda killed Vision and with him, the Mind Stone.

Watch in agony and despair as Thanos, bearing the Time Stone, brought Vision back to life only to wrench the Mind Stone himself and discarding Vision's android cadaver.

Watch in agony and despair as Thanos clenched his fist. He possessed all six Infinity Stones. He was truly all-powerful. Her world as she knew it was about to flash before her very eyes.

Watch in agony and despair as Thor tried to kill Thanos but managed to just injure him. Not nearly enough to stop Thanos from snapping his fingers and disappearing into the vortex.

The instant the giant purple madman was gone, Shuri didn't think. She ceased thinking. There was no time left for that. There were only her legs, sprinting towards the closest person to her: Bucky.

But as she dropped to her knees beside him, she felt a cold breeze run through her chest. She reached out to Bucky, but she found she was out of breath. Her skin felt hot, and she struggled to speak. 

"What's going – Oh!" Shuri wheezed.

Her body was disintegrating. It was painless yet horrifying to behold, her remains blowing in the wind.

Her last image was Bucky and his wide blue eyes staring at her in disbelief.

"No, Shuri –"