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May Writing Challenge Day #2
“I need you.”
It had been a bad fight – one that could have been easily prevented if Bucky had just called for backup. He’d realized that the second the invading Chitauri had conned their way through the dome’s defenses. Initially thought to be all but eradicated after the attack on New York, Bucky had anticipated only a few of the shape-shifting menaces and had been overwhelmed quickly by the force. He’d had one job. Monitor the border. Call it in if anything looked out of place. That was it.
Shuri had sat at his bedside from nearly the moment he’d been brought into the hospital bay. Angry tears pricked at the corners of her eyes in the first hour when one of the Dora had explained what had happened. Fear quickly took effect when, after the first three hours, he hadn’t so much as budged. The aliens had really done quite a number on him.
But when his eyelids finally began to flutter at hour five, the sheer rush of emotion nearly sent her reeling. Anger and relief swelled in equal measure. She found it difficult to draw breath around the ever-present lump in her throat. After a few moments of relieved murmurings, the previous hours finally began to catch up and Shuri’s mood took a turn for the worse.
“Hey, Sugar,” he said warmly.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, her voice icy as she peered down at him through slotted eyes.
“’m alright. How long was I out?”
“Nearly six hours, James,” she said, wiping the tear tracks from her face and pursing her lips. She leaned over him with a stern glare. “Why would you do something so stupid?”
“I didn’t know there were so many of them. If I had I would’ve called for back up,” he reasoned, trying to push himself into a sitting position before sliding back with a pained hiss. “I thought I could handle it.”
Not wanting to draw too much attention from the doctors and hospital guests in the hallway as they passed the open door, Shuri settled for letting out a low hum. “James, there are no lone wolves here,” she said coolly, letting a hand come to rest on his forehead, admittedly the only part of him that wasn’t still a sickening mix of green and puce. Even in her frustration, she found it difficult to be physically far from him. “You do realize that your border patrols are a test? T’Challa wants you at court. We both want to find a position for you here. But that won’t happen until we can prove to the elders that you are capable of doing things our way. Going it alone against a pack of aliens? That wasn’t brave; it was foolish.”
“Do you think I’m a fool?”
“Yes,” Shuri snapped, “And you’re a damn lucky one because if Okoye hadn’t checked your tracker at the moment she did, you would have been a dead man.” She let out a huff of breath, shaking her head, “I can’t say that I wouldn’t have done the same thing had I been in your position, but I was hoping-"
“If you would have done the same thing then why are you so mad, Sugar?” Bucky asked in exasperation.
Shuri crossed her arms over her chest, her own frustration evident on her face. “I am mad because I need you, you fucking goat. If something happened-”
She cut herself off, taking a deep breath and swallowing around the lump in her throat and she shielded her face with her hands out of sheer embarrassment. The silence that settled between the two was startling.
They had been together only a few months and up to that point, there had certainly been no grand, emotional admissions. Of need, or any other kind for that matter. He’d insisted that they keep things fun, casual. At least until he’d been fully accepted into the fold by the elders and he was granted full asylum. She’d agreed without hesitation.
This had been the first moment that either of them had said what was, frankly, the obvious.
“I need you too, Sugar.”
In that moment Shuri felt her heart nearly drop through the floor. She’d not been prepared for that – a thanks but no thanks, a look of pity for the girl that had fallen too hard and too fast – but not that. Her body took over then as she leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his forehead that he didn’t shirk, before moving in for his lips. And although it hadn’t been their first kiss – not by a long shot – this one packed meaning that overwhelmed the both of them.
He pulled away first, chuckling for only a moment before hissing and grabbing at his side in pain.
“I’m glad all it took was my nearly dying at the hands of an alien invasion to get a proper kiss from you.”
“So...where does this leave us?”
After a moment’s feigned consideration, he continued, “I’d say we’re ahead of where we were. But...the pet name could use some work.”
Her brow quirked in confusion, “What pet name?”
“I need something for the everyday, Sugar,” Bucky said, rolling his eyes as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, “I’ve made the unilateral decision that you fucking goat is reserved for Sundays and special occasions only.”