And now it is time to begin the next chapter. This will take place a couple days after the last one, continuing where it left off. As I said at the end of the previous one, I initially planned to have this as a continuation of the previous chapter, but due to length, I decided to split it.
So this chapter is going to be relatively shorter than I had initially planned, but it follows the same thread. Just a heads up, there will almost certainly be some angst towards the end there. But enough talk, let's dive right in, shall we?
Disclaimer: I do not own the MCU, Overwatch, and you all know the rest by now.
It was a few days later that the couple eventually arrived where Bucky had suggested, something he had been looking forward to. After all, it was a place that meant quite a lot to him personally, and he wanted to give Amelie the chance to experience it as well.
So the two of them arrived on Bucky's Earth through an interdimensional rift to the Avengers compound, and after that, they took a quick flight to their destination. Of course, they could have just used a portal to the destination directly, but Bucky always preferred to take the scenic route.
And of course, as they flew through the cloaking shield and arrived in the beautiful African landscape, it was easy to remember why. And given Amelie's own awe at the sight, Bucky couldn't help but grin as he pulled her closer to him.
"Welcome to Wakanda."
He enjoyed seeing Amelie's awe at the nation that had freed him from his brainwashing and sheltered him during the time he had been on the run from the world as a fugitive thanks to the events surrounding the signing of the Sokovia Accords.
They came to a landing at the Royal palace, where a compliment of the Dora Milaje were waiting. They were being led by a familiar face as Bucky and Amelie walked down the ramp to meet them.
"Greetings, White Wolf." Ayo said as Bucky chuckled.
"Hello, Ayo." He said in Xhosa, before turning and gesturing to Amelie as he continued in English. "I'd like to introduce Amelie Lacroix."
"It's an honor to be here." Amelie said gratefully, resisting an urge to bow before a King's Royal Guard. Bucky had already told her that they didn't do that here, anyway. "Bucky has told me so much about this place."
"All good things, I presume." Ayo looked pointedly at Bucky, who simply chuckled in return. Ayo shook her head in bemusement as she turned back to Amelie. "And we've heard quite a bit about you too. Like how you were once in the same position he used to be."
"I was." Amelie admitted softly, before giving Bucky a warm look as she wrapped an arm around his waist. "And it's thanks to him that I managed to recover after being freed."
"Glad to see that you're paying it forward." Ayo replied before she and the Dora Milaje escorted the two ex-brainwashed assassins into the Royal Palace. As they made their way through, Bucky noticed a couple of absences.
"I presume King T'Challa is otherwise occupied today?"
"He and the Queen Mother are in Republic space for important talks." Ayo replied, the fact that Okoye had gone with them remaining unsaid. "Though Princess Shuri still remains in Wakanda."
"Oh, that can't be good." Bucky joked, causing Ayo to briefly glare at him though a brief twitch of her lips betrayed her amusement.
"Incidentally, she is entertaining a visitor in her labs." Ayo added, before looking over at Amelie. "A guest from your world, I believe."
"Really?" Amelie was surprised for a moment before she put the pieces together. "Ah yes, due to their scientific collaboration. Hopefully you don't have to deal with as many explosions."
"That only happened once." Bucky protested, drawing a laugh from Amelie and amused smiles from several of the Dora Milaje, Ayo included. But before Ayo could reply, she got an alert on her vibranium beads.
"The Princess wishes to see you both." Ayo reported, as she and the Dora Milaje tapped their spears against the ground before changing course and taking the guests towards Shuri's labs.
"Is that good, or bad?" Amelie asked, feeling a brief moment of concern that was quickly alleviated by Bucky's smile.
"Relax, it's not like that." Bucky explained. "You'll like Shuri."
The journey was relatively quick, and soon the group had arrived outside the door, where the guards in question let them in. They found Shuri working, as well as another familiar face working alongside her.
"Ah, Bucky, Amelie!" Winston greeted as he looked up from his work, causing Shuri to turn to see them as well. "I didn't know you two were coming today."
"Well, we didn't know you were going to be here." Amelie shrugged before smiling. "But it's always nice to see a familiar face."
"Bucky, good to see you." Shuri grinned as she walked up to the ex-Winter Soldier, running her bead and a scanning beam over his vibranium arm. "Glad to see you haven't needed maintenance for this."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Princess." The super soldier drawled, as Shuri then turned to Amelie.
"You must be his new girlfriend." The Wakandan princess offered a hand to shake, which Amelie took. "Just between you and me, I'm glad he finally found someone." Amelie briefly blushed as Bucky rolled his eyes. "All that brooding and angst was not good for the soul."
"Very funny." The White Wolf shook his head before looking around the room, including at all the equipment and other materials scattered around the room, a clear sign that the scientists were very much in the zone. "So, what exactly are you all working on? An intergalactic toaster?"
"No, I think that's Drakken's project." The Princess snarked. "We're working on a way to emulate Forerunner vacuum energy containment methods through various other means. It's a group project at the moment, so we've split into individual teams to experiment on new methods."
"Vibranium really is such an incredible metal." Winston murmured, as he briefly adjusted his glasses. "Though on its own, I still feel it struggles to contain such vast power."
"I disagree." Shuri protested. "If it can contain the energy of an Infinity Stone like it did with Vision, then it should be able to handle Forerunner power systems."
"I take it this argument has been going on for a while." Amelie guessed before they could keep going.
"They've been at it for the last four hours." The voice of Athena spoke up from Winston's personal terminal. "With sporadic instances of these arguments popping up several times before that."
"Good to know." Bucky deadpanned with a sigh. "Anyway, we were told you wanted to see us, Princess?"
"Ah yes." Shuri nodded as she remembered what she had called them here for. "I just wanted to give you something before you head back." She grabbed a couple of devices from her desk and threw them both to Bucky and Amelie, who caught them out of the air.
"What are these?" The blue skinned woman asked.
"Personal shield generators, Republic standard issue. I heard about what happened a few days ago. Really, I'm not sure why you weren't wearing them." Shuri chastised. "Then again, it feels like a lot of people forget that we have access to this kind of technology now."
"What? The fact that we're part of a multiversal superpower still takes some getting used to." Bucky said defensively, but Amelie patted him on the arm before they could get into another good natured argument.
"We appreciate the gesture, Princess." Amelie said respectfully, causing Shuri to wave her hands dismissively.
"Just Shuri is fine." She replied, looking at Bucky with a small smirk. "Now I imagine he wants to give you the grand tour. This is supposed to be a romantic getaway for the two of you, is it not?" She mimed kissing faces, which caused Bucky to roll his eyes again.
"How old are you supposed to be again?" The ex-Winter Soldier drawled as Amelie threaded her arm around his.
"She is right, though." Amelie pointed out, drawing a soft look from Bucky. "This is supposed to be a romantic trip, after all."
"Fair enough." He agreed, before looking back to Shuri and Winston. "Always a pleasure to see you both. Good luck on your Vibranium... vacuum cleaner... thing."
With their permission and goodbyes given, the Dora Milaje escorted the couple out of the palace, allowing Bucky to give the grand tour of the city himself. It was certainly something he felt comfortable and familiar enough doing, having spent quite some time here as part of his recovery.
So, he was pretty eager to share it with her, especially since the country was a natural wonder all on its own. And as he guided Amelie through the streets of the city, she could certainly understand the appeal.
She had read about the history of this world, of course. There were a number of similarities to her own, but also a few differences, including countries that didn't exist on her Earth. Wakanda was one of them, but of course, there was a lot more to it than just that.
Thanks to the Vibranium meteor that had crashed her eons ago, the people of Wakanda had advanced significantly faster than the rest of the planet. They kept their advancement a secret, given the history of humanity, it was hard to blame them, though that changed when King T'Challa came to power.
After a number of events that showed Wakanda wasn't doing any favors by hiding from the rest of the world, he started sharing the country's advancements with the world, though in a limited number at first.
Of course, a lot of things changed after the reveal of the Republic, and the subsequent Tidal Wave, but Wakanda had weathered the storm and remained one of the leading countries following scientific advancement, which of course brought them into heavy contact with the Republic.
It certainly showed just in everything she could see around him. Her own Earth was certainly ahead of his by several decades, but here and now, she could see a number of advancements that dwarfed anything on her world by several orders of magnitude.
But it wasn't just the technology that was incredible, but how they used it to complement the natural surroundings and beauty of their home. Quite a few articles of clothing and some of the wooden stalls and huts looked deceptively primitive, but it was clear they were hiding a lot of technological advancement underneath them.
The two of them kept exploring the city, occasionally drawing curious glances from the natives, but it rarely lasted long. It helped that they were hardly the only tourists around: a few other groups from other countries and even other planets could be seen taking in the sights themselves.
In typical old man fashion, Bucky also talked about the places he had spent time in while he was here recovering, which continued as they left the city proper and headed out into the hills, until they arrived at a hut far away from the beaten path.
"And this is where I spent my time after being freed from my brainwashing." Bucky was continuing as they walked through the currently empty structure. "At least until Thanos' army came knocking."
"Just for the record, you really are sounding like an old man again." Amelie teased, a smile on her face, though it quickly disappeared a curious look appeared over her visage. "I assume we'll be staying here, then?"
"I was considering it." He admitted, before grabbing her hand and pulling her close to him. "But as much as this place brings back memories, not all of them were the best. Besides, Shuri already booked us a place to stay in the city proper."
"And it would be rude to decline the invitation of a princess." Amelie guessed, causing Bucky to chuckle.
"Well, I'm sure she wouldn't care." He shook his head. "Still, it's definitely one of the most booked hotels in Wakanda... which admittedly isn't saying much, given that they didn't allow outsiders in until recently."
"Given what I've seen so far, I imagine it would still be five star resort." Amelie chuckled as Bucky led them back towards the city.
...
Amelie wished it could stop. There was a part of her trapped inside her own mind as she silently made her way out of bed and into the kitchen, grabbing a knife from the drawer before heading back to the bedroom.
It was like every nightmare she had about Gerard. She felt like she was watching through her own eyes, powerless to stop herself as she carried a knife over to the sleeping form of her lover.
But this time, it wasn't Gerard who was sleeping in the bed with her. It was Bucky. Desperately, Amelie tried to stop herself, but her arm moved of its own accord, drawing the knife across his throat.
Amelie woke up gasping for air, the vivid memory all too real. Instinctively, she looked over to Bucky, and was relieved to see him lying asleep next to her, very much alive and his neck not slit.
Still, she couldn't shake the shivers that crawled up her spine as the dream lingered in her mind. While she was reluctant to leave his warmth, Amelie decided to get out of bed, heading to the balcony of their suite to think.
Of course, it didn't take long for Bucky to realize that something was wrong. He had gotten used to feeling her body next to his while sleeping, so her absence soon woke him up a few minutes later. Groggily, he got out of bed as he went out to find her.
He found Amelie on the balcony of their place in Wakanda, leaning over the rail and looking out into the night sky. It didn't take a mind like Stark's for Bucky to realize that Amelie wasn't out here loooking for some fresh air.
"You alright?" She turned around as his voice echoed out, quickly wiping her eyes, which only confirmed his suspicions.
"Oui, I'm fine." Amelie instinctively replied, not wanting to worry him. "Sorry for waking you."
"You're not fine." He walked up to her, as she quickly turned back towards the balcony. He put an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close. "What's going on, Amelie?" She didn't answer at first, but the expression on her face was enough to explain it. "Another nightmare?"
"Oui." She admitted after a moment. "It was just another nightmare."
"There's more to it than that, isn't there?" Bucky asked. Amelie looked away, but Bucky reached for her hands, drawing her gaze back. "Amelie, what happened during your nightmare?"
"I saw myself... killing you in your sleep." Amelie said, rubbing away tears from her eyes again. "Like I did with Gerard." That was all Bucky needed to hear as he pulled her into a tight hug, Amelie reciprocating.
"That won't happen." She didn't need to say anything more as Bucky wrapped her firmly in his embrace. "It won't."
They simply stayed like that, lost in the sensation of holding each other, drowning in the feelings they had for the other. Bucky knew exactly how he felt about her, and he knew that she needed to hear that, as he pulled back slightly to look her in the eyes.
"I love you, Amelie." Bucky promised, running his flesh and blood hand over her cheek. "I love you." Without another word, Amelie pulled him into a deep kiss, blinking back tears as she did.
"I love you too, Bucky."
So, that's the end of the chapter. Yeah, it turned out to be much shorter than it was going to be, but what can you do? And it still had some important moments, such as them using the L word. Anyway, I think I'm going to end this story pretty soon, either in the next chapter or the one after.
Like I said before, I've kinda lost the spark for this, but even if I hadn't, I wasn't planning on letting this drag on much longer anyway. This was never going to be a full length novel size of 100k words to begin with, and it already went past what I was planning.
But with all that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.