Bucky tugged at the collar of his dress tunic as the elder spoke the Wakandan words of blessing. One year ago, in this place, the world changed. Everyone involved in the battle came back for this day, along with Tony and Peter.
He and Steve spent most of the monsoon inside, avoiding the rain, enjoying each other's company and growing closer. Steve picked up his sketchbook again, now filled with pictures of the village, the lake, their home and himself. Their peace interrupted once when word came to them about a disgruntled former Consortium lackey who had somehow managed to create a militant cult in the American southwest. They met an armed and dangerous small army, but the team took him down and free his imprisoned followers. For the first time in a long time, Bucky fought side by side with Steve again.
A moment of silence and T'Challa read the names of the warriors who died during the battle. Before them lay the open plain of Battlefield, now transformed into a Memorial. Five Vibranium sculptures, representing each of the five tribes, stood in a circle in the middle of the field, plaques recounting the highs and lows placed in strategic places, small gardens everywhere and a special monument for the newly named Avengers, a large letter A near the treeline where they had fought Thanos together. Thor, unable to make the ceremony, sent word assuring everyone he would arrive in time for the 'revels' later.
The sun came back out again in full force. T'Challa kept the ceremony short and after a few parting words, departed, followed by his guards. The guests broke into little groups. Bucky groaned inwardly as Sam and Thula approached them. Sam wore a formal tunic shirt, similar to Steve's in colors of bright gold and red. He looked good, something Bucky would never tell him. Thula wore a long sleeveless dress in the same colors. Sam took the time to eye Bucky up and down, much to his annoyance.
"Greetings, Your Royal Wolfness," Sam said as he mocked bowed.
"Shut up," Bucky mumbled, embarrassed. Steve and Thula's laughter didn't help.
'How about your royal Whiteness," Sam continued, making the other two laugh even harder.
"Only you…" Steve said.
"I know," Sam said. "And that's why I have taken on this position, somebody's got to keep him in the real world. You two behave yourselves, catch you tonight, at the party." He and Thula walked off together, stopping to read the inscriptions on a monument.
Steve stared after them for a moment. "This is their anniversary. They met a year ago today."
"You're right. I'm amazed she's still with him," Bucky said. He looked around for their other friends, noting everyone wandering off together in couples. Vision and Wanda strolling together, Bruce and Natasha stopped to sit on a bench and Tony with Ms. Potts, here as his special guest. Peter and his group of young friends insisted on following along behind them, leaving little room for privacy.
"How did the tour go?" Steve asked.
"Great, exhausting! Peter decided he would liven things up by jumping out of the hovercraft while in full flight mode. Scared our driver to death…I caught him before he took flight," Bucky said, tugging at his collar again. "I need to change."
"Warm out here," Steve agreed. "But I want to do something first before we go in."
"Ok," Bucky said. Steve extended his hand, and Bucky responded, self-aware of how public displays of affection no longer a taboo thing with him. He allowed Steve to lead him down across the battlefield, down to the large Avengers monument where he stopped.
"This is the place where you lost him," Bucky said. Steve nodded but didn't speak for a moment, lost in memories.
"Are you ok?" Bucky asked.
Steve turned to him and smiled. "I'm fine. No flashes, nothing. Doctor Mvba is good at his job and having friends helps. In the future, they might come back, but for now, everything's quiet."
"That's what we wanted," Bucky said. They stood still for several minutes, allowing the day to go on around them, still holding hands. Bucky reached his limit with the heat, so he took the lead, guiding Steve back up the hill, back inside to their quarters where they changed into less formal clothes.
"We've got a few hours before tonight. I want to go back down the house if you don't mind," Steve said.
"Sure, as long as we're back in time…"
"We won't go far."
Once again, together they made their way from the complex, across the field and down to the lake but Steve insisted on walking to the pier. Bucky's little boat floated on the water, its bright colors standing in contrast to the other more modest tied up dugouts. He reflected on that day so many months ago when they came here with the village to finish building the pier and the generosity of the villagers. Steve untied the boat.
"What are you doing?" Bucky asked as Steve sat down and picked up an oar.
"Come on," he said. "I want to go to the Inlet."
"Ok," Bucky said, not sure what Steve planning, but didn't object. He sat down behind him in the boat and picked up his own paddle. They synched their rowing and with their combined strength arrived there in less than fifteen minutes. They jumped out of the water and pulled it on the shore. Steve wandered across the small clearing, looking at the trees and brush that surrounded it, creating a canopy so thick they remained hidden from anything patrolling the skies.
"We haven't been back here, since that day…" Steve began.
"No opportunity, and then the rains…"
"And I avoided it. I just wanted to come here...as me, to see if things were any different."
"Are they?" Buck asked.
'Yes. No flashbacks and I'm not experiencing the need to throw you in the water…" he said. Bucky tried to hold back his laughter but Steve noticed. "Go ahead, it is funny. We should name this place."
"Ok...what do you have in mind?"
"How about...Sanctuary?"
"Sanctuary it is," Bucky said. "And we'll make up ghost stories to keep other people away."
'You wouldn't!"
"It's tempting. But seriously, no one comes here but us, so it shouldn't be a problem."
Steve walked back to Bucky and embraced him. "Thank you," he said. "for sticking with me while all that drama going on inside my head. You could have run away." His hold tightened on him, and Bucky responded. They stayed in that position for a long time until Steve let go, opting to sit on the grass.
"I want to talk," he said patting the ground beside him. Bucky obeyed.
"About what?"
"I don't know, anything. Just talk." He laid down and put his hands behind his head, the shadows of the leaves creating a pattern on his face. "There's more I need to tell you…"
"Ok," Bucky said, settling down beside him. He stared up at the canopy and watched the small patches of light move around with the breeze.
"Did I ever tell you about the time…"
They stayed there for hours until the sun set lower in the sky. They returned to the village and found more boats on the landing, the villagers, and crowds of visitors, making their way up the hill. The children found them, squealing in delight, and singing a traditional song that the rest of the crowd took up as they walked. Once back at the Complex, they joined their friends at a pavilion reserved for them.
It started off the same way it as last year, with Queen Ramada singing the quiet lament, and the voices of the crowd joining in. As the song ended, the vibranium enhanced monuments on the fields lit up. Their position on the pavilion gave them an unobstructed view of the now glowing letter A.
The light show surpassed the one from the year before. The Wakandans added traditional fireworks to the mix so everywhere anyone looked in the night sky, there was a different display to watch. Spectacle and song surrounded them. In the middle of a pause in the displays, as if it had been rehearsed, Thor arrived in a blaze of light, to the applause of the crowd. He acknowledged everyone, first bowing in the direction of T'Challa and after seeing his friends, he politely pushed his way through the crowd toward them, insisting on hugging everyone present, even Peter's astonished friends. He produced a bottle, sharing a few drops of a mystery drink with everyone. Peter stuck his glass out only to be stopped by Tony at the last minute.
"Asgardian ale, not meant for mortal men," Steve said, a smile on his face, his eyes far away. "Go ahead, see what happens."
Bucky accepted Thor's offer. As soon as the drops hit his mouth, he felt fire and that freeing sensation he hadn't experienced in a long time, so much so that when a loud and bright display rocketed overhead, he pulled Steve into a kiss, surprising his partner, only the sound of group applause stopped him. He didn't care. Judging by their behavior, they were more buzzed than he was.
"We haven't been able to drink for a long time," Steve explained. "We kind of forgot…"
"No explanation necessary!" Thor said. "These are revels after all, but enough for now. We don't wish to embarrass our hosts!" He put the bottle away and all their attention went back to the spectacle.
The part went on for hours and until once again Thor bid them farewell, for a time, then summoned the Bifrost, returning to his place among the stars.
"This is almost like New Year, " Bucky said. "This time last year, I wasn't in a very good place…but I got to be you, for a little while, visited another world..."
"I notice you left out the negatives," Steve said. "But that's you. None of us were in a good place, to begin with, but right now, things are ok."
"It's all good,' Bucky said, his speech slurring a little. "Why don't we go back home...and finish what we started?"
"Sounds good to me," Steve replied, throwing his arm around Bucky's shoulders. Bucky draped his arm around Steve's waist and they headed back across the field with the rest of the crowd, the lights of the monuments showing the way. He let out a sigh, happy with the way things had turned out but it was time to close that chapter, walk away from the past, and return to life.