"Are you sure about this?" Steve went up to Bucky as Bucky was sitting on these table looking over at Connie who was speaking with Orchid at the sidelines and he looked over at Steve
"I can't trust my own mind" Bucky said smiling and chuckling at Steve and looked back at Connie who was nodding and frowning at the same time while Orchid was speaking and he frowned a bit but saw Connie's face was returning to normal as she smiled at Orchid as she bowed her head to the Queen of Wakanda
"So until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head, I think going back under is the best thing.. For everybody" Bucky looked relaxed in that moment as he later looked up at Steve
"I'm so sorry about you and Riley.." He started but Steve rested his hand on Bucky's shoulder and shook his head at him
"It's my fault, I should have told her and Tony about what happened.. If I did that earlier maybe I would have saved us all from that huge fight and nothing bad would have happened" Steve whispered but Bucky shook his head
"It wasn't your fault, you did what you had to do.. I just wish things were different" Bucky looked at Connie, wishing that they were back in the 1940s era, where she actually stayed and Bucky came back from the war.. He served for his country because he was suppose to and after he finished the war he was going to go home and start a life.. With Connie.
"I wish things were different too" Steve whispered before he brought Bucky into a hug, Bucky smiled and hugged his best friend in return and he opened his eyes for a moment and saw Connie standing there smiling and waiting for him and Steve broke the hug and looked over at Connie and nodded at Bucky
"I'll look after her for you" Steve vowed, not only because Connie was his great-granddaughter but in the last year became his best friend despite everything that happened, After losing S.J. Connie, Sarah-Jane and him were closer than ever but now that Steve and Connie had to go underground they won't be seeing Sarah-Jane for a while but they wrote a letter to her as well and gave Sarah-Jane a cell-phone too incase she needed anything.
"Thanks Pal" Bucky nodded as Steve nodded and walked off to speak with Orchid who was speaking with one of the main doctors and Connie made her way towards him and she stood there looking at him as she was in between his legs and they looked at each other for a moment before Bucky spoke
"How long are you going to look at me for?" Bucky joked as he smiled at her as Connie raised her hand and rested it on his cheek as he leaned into her touch and she frowned
"I'm looking at you because I don't know when I'll be seeing you next" She whispered at him and it hit him.. The next time she may see him.. It may be in a year or two.. Or in 70 years when she's a old woman
"I can go under the ice with you, Orchid said that she can prep me right now if I would like to" She whispered and Bucky's eyes widen in shock, of course Connie is able to go under because she's a super solider and will be able to handle the ice thanks to her genes.
"She said that she'll wake me up when you're awake" She said thankful for her new friend, Orchid knew that her and T'Challa made a mistake and the couple wanted to do everything they could to make it up to Bucky, even if it meant pulling out another ice chamber from the storage center and prepping Connie to go under the ice.
Bucky looked at her for a second and looked down, all he could think of was that if Connie goes under the ice... They could be together when they're awake and Bucky would not go through everything alone.. They could settle down.. Even if takes over 100 years and it would be T'Challa and Orchid's children or grandchildren that will wake them.. He had only a moment to think before he looked at her and cupped her cheeks and brought her into a kiss.. One that he was so desperate as he was kissing her hungrily like if he stopped.. She would disappear to him.
After a few moments she broke the kiss as she rested her forehead on his and smiled softly at him
"We don't have much time" She teased him
"I just needed a moment" He said to her as he thought for a moment before looking at her with his deep-blue eyes
"Don't go under the ice for me" He said and she opened her mouth to say something but he shook his head at her
"I'm not going to let you drop everything just for me, you lived your life before I came into your life.. You can do it without me" He whispered and she started to tear up and shook her head, thinking of the memories they shared and even the past few days were the best few days even though it was challenging she never gave up on him.. Even in that moment when she found out the fate of her aunt and uncle.. She should have been mad, he murdered them.. But she couldn't.. She knew it wasn't his fault.
"Bucky.."
"James" Bucky corrected her and she gave him a questioning look and Bucky smiled softly at her
"You're allowed to call me James, only you" He said softly as he looked up and closed his eyes and spoke to her
"I'm not going to be selfish and let you drop everything for me, here's what you're going to do Connie Audrey Harris.. You're going to leave Wakanda, stay with Steve and live your life.. You're gonna fall inlove with a man whose normal.. Doesn't have a super power or a stupid metal arm. You're not gonna think about me and be guilty when you're with him, and if Steve approves of him and your mother does too.. You'll be married to him, then you'll have these beautiful children that hopefully look like you and are as smart as you, you're gonna be happy and raise them and if I happen to be back around that time you won't feel bad or anything" He said as he looked at her as she started tearing up and it broke his heart to see her like this but he needed to say it
"I want you to be happy, even if it's not with me" Bucky whispered at her and Connie shook her head at him
"I'm not going to be happy like I was with you, you were my first love" She whispered and Bucky smiled at her
"You made me believe I could love again after my heart got broken the first time" He said honestly as she smiled and leaned into him as she brought him into a hug and he chuckled softly at her
"I wish I had that metal arm, so I could hold you one last time" He said and Connie chuckled at him and shook her head
"I don't care, as long as you're with me" She whispered and he had the biggest smile on his face as he looked over and saw Orchid behind them and she gave them a soft smile
"It's time" Orchid said as Connie moved away from Bucky and helped him off the table as Steve came back and walked with Bucky as the doctors guided Bucky into the chamber and strapped him into the chamber as Connie looked at him
"I'll be one of the first ones to be there when you wake up" Connie said as Bucky grinned at her
"I'll be waiting for that day, Doll" He said as the chamber door closed and Connie rested her hand on the glass and Bucky looked at her and smiled and placed his hand on the glass too and they were being counted down by the doctors.
5.
Bucky and Connie looked at each other and smiled softly at each other and Steve looked on from the back with Orchid
4.
3.
Oh god, how much Bucky was going to miss seeing her face.
2.
This was Connie's chance to tell him how she felt..
"I love you" She mouthed to him as Bucky wasn't shocked at all and smiled a bit at her
"I love you too" He mouthed as he let go of the glass and laid his head down on the pillow of the chamber and looked up and close his eyes as the last second hit and all of a sudden the ice took over.. He only felt the cold for a moment before he was completely frozen once more.
Connie was in tears as she rested her head on the glass for a moment before she started crying and looked at the frozen Bucky and Orchid came up to her and tugged on Connie's arm before Connie hugged Orchid, in that moment Orchid understood her, Orchid would have been crushed too if her soon to be husband would be forced to go under the ice as well.
"I promise I'll update you every moment I can" Orchid vowed as Connie was nodding and Steve came to them and Connie went to Steve and Steve held his crying great-granddaughter
"He'll be back" He said as he felt her nodding and she stopped for a moment and nodded
"He will.." She said as Orchid came up to them and smiled sadly at them and looked down
"I wanted to ask you guys before but I felt like it wasn't the right time, but I would like to know if you two would like to stay for the wedding ceremony" Orchid said as Connie looked at Steve who nodded at Orchid
"It would be an honor your highness" He said as Orchid smiled softly and heard footsteps and saw T'Challa looking over at her and smiling as he was adoring her and she looked over at Connie
"Would you like to come with me and help me put on my dress?" She asked, hoping her new friend would say yes
"Of course, It would mean a lot" Connie said softly as Orchid smiled and took Connie's hand as she literally dragged her new friend out of the room and into the other part of the kingdom.. The main one as T'Challa and Steve looked at each other and nodded before Steve went out to the room and T'Challa following him.
Tony was fixing his tie on his tuxedo and saw Felix coming inside the room and looked panicked
"Riley is in the hospital" Felix said quickly as Tony looked worried and was ready to run
"What happened to her?"
"She was bleeding a lot, she was in too much pain so I brought her there and they're running tests on her now and she wanted me to tell you that.."
"I need to go be with her" Tony said quickly as he was ready to rush past Felix but Felix blocked his path and shook his head at him
"Riley wants you to focus on Sean's funeral, she knows that Janet and Jasper won't be there and S.J and Alice being dead.. She wanted people to be there for him besides Me, Nat and Rhody and Vision" Felix said and Tony in that moment understood what he meant, Sean's family members were dead.. His adopted family members, only Janet was the only one on earth but she was on the run while Jasper was with Sif in Asgard.. Only five people would be at his funeral.
"She said she'll call you when there's updates" Felix promised before Tony looked down and sighed before moving towards his drawers and grabbing his watch and talking to Friday
"I want every update on her, look into any doctor records if there's anything" Tony ordered as Felix frowned and sat down and Tony noticed the change of mood and sat beside Felix
"Sean was brave until the end, he will be honored today" Tony said placing a hand on Felix's shoulder, Felix just shrugged at him
"S.J and I, we made a promise to protect the younger ones and we did for most of the part.. But when Alice died.. Then S.J dying and we had to carry his body back to the carrier.. Jasper leaving earth to be a god to be with the woman he loves.. Janet is the only last family I have here, and I won't even see her because she's in the damn prison" Felix said frustrated with himself and Tony squeezed the man's shoulder
"I'll let you in on a little secret, General Ross called before and said they were under attack.. Cap and Connie must have broken in and saved the others, Janet is safe" He said as Felix was relaxed a bit and Tony stood up
"Come on, we have to say goodbye to a friend"
Steve and Connie stood in the back, the wedding took place in a beautiful hall. There were huge glass windows all over the place as the area was covered in beautiful white roses and there were thousands of chairs as it looked like so many people were attending from council members and many wealthy people of Wakanda, to Orchid's former team-mates from her Elite team of fighters. It was truly a wedding that was going to be remembered forever.
Soon the wedding started as Steve and Connie heard the music started playing as they watched as a few members of Orchid's former team-mates and T'Challa's friends were groomsmen and brides' maids started walking down the beautiful white carpet as a few guests had baskets full of white petals as the guests were allowed to throw the petals at the carpet as a few guests started throwing petals and Steve watched as a few children were coming down as Connie chuckled as one of the girls started throwing flowers into the air but was soon shooed towards the front.
Connie looked over and saw Steve's face expression but she knew deep inside he wanted this. He wanted to be planning a wedding with Riley and also experience this but after everything that happened even Connie wasn't sure if Steve and Riley could ever have a good relationship again after Steve's betrayal.
They looked over at the front and saw T'Challa looking on nervously as he was fixing his bowtie. His best-man's hand was on his shoulder for support as the young king gave a smile of thanks. Steve chuckled as Connie bumped into him as she was clearly excited to see what was happening.
Okoye, one of Orchid's former team-mates and her cousin walked down the aisle.. She gave Connie a look as if telling her to calm down. Connie stopped and stood perfectly still and Steve looked down and chuckled at her "This is your first wedding?"
"Oh please Rogers.. I've been to plenty of weddings.. It's not everyday that you get invited to a Royal Wedding and befriend a King and Queen" She said as Steve chuckled and nodded in agreement before Connie spoke
"Since we're on the run.. Us, Sam and Nat.. I've been thinking that maybe I should change my last name from Harris to.. Rogers" She whispered and Steve looked at her with wide eyes "Really?!"
Connie nodded "Harris would be my middle name instead of Audrey, but I want to embrace being a Rogers.. You guys are my family and plus my mother said it was okay.. She was thinking of changing her name to Rogers.. Harris was my father's last name.. My mother accepted his death and is ready to move on and I do love my father.. But I'm also a Rogers at heart" She whispered and Steve wrapped an around her shoulder and brought her close to him
"This is why you're my favorite great-granddaughter" He said as Connie laughed softly "I'm your only one"
"Good.. Let's keep it that way" He muttered and they both stopped dead once they saw Orchid was ready to walk down the aisle.
Her gown had a long train, it was white of course but had tribal marks on them, she was of course holding Orchids. Her mother was walking her down the aisle. She looked up at T'Challa with a bright smile and T'Challa had tears coming down his eyes as he smiled back just as bright.
Riley was laying in the hospital bed, she was in pain. Tears in her eyes as she began crying after what the nurses told her and she was shaking a bit until she heard footsteps and heard Tony's voice as he ran towards her
"Riley? Riley are you okay?" He whispered as he took a seat beside her and he grabbed on to her hand and she tighten her grip on his hand
"I'm in pain.. It hurts too much" She whispered and Tony looked confused for a moment "The armor should have protected you enough.. I don't get it" He whispered as Riley turned towards him and had tears in her eyes as she shook her head
"Tony..There's something I didn't tell you.. I didn't tell Steve either. I only trusted Emily because she had experience in this.. Scott has a daughter" She whispered as Tony felt his stomach dropped as Riley spoke
"I was three months pregnant.. I don't know why I didn't show at all, but I didn't want to tell Steve because I knew he would have dropped everything for the baby and I knew he wanted to fight for Bucky.. I told Emily to not tell anyone and not even Steve.. I knew if I told Connie or Wanda, they would flip.. I trusted Emily and I know she won't tell another soul for as long as she lives"
"I'm so sorry" Tony whispered softly as he squeezed her hand "You should have told us that you were having the baby.. We would have all worked it out"
"I was stupid" Riley admitted as she looked up into the ceiling "I didn't know until last month and I was trying to hint it to Steve and then everything broke out" She said as Tony kissed her forehead
"I wish I found out the gender.. But I had a strong feeling that maybe it might have been.. A girl?" She whispered and Tony stroked her hair and smiled softly "I could see you with a baby girl"
"I feel like she would look like Steve.. With the blond hair and blue eyes but would have my personality and want to kick any butt that messed with her.. I already loved this baby with everything and I lost her in just a matter of moments" She whispered as Tony looked down
"Steve sent us letters.. I brought yours with me today.. Sean's funeral is over and we're going to bury him tonight.. Felix walked out completely after.. We don't know where he is" He said as Riley frowned and looked down. Tony gave her the letter
"When you're ready to come home.. Just call me"
Tony kissed her head and walked out, Riley looked at him leaving before opening the letter and saw there was small box and she opened it to find a flip phone
'Riley,
I've tried to write this letter a million times now.. I keep throwing them away cause all I want to do is punch a wall. I know you're back at the compound now, probably wandering around those long hallways. It breaks my heart and I'm so sorry I lied to you, I should have told you from the moment I knew. I guess I was being selfish.. I lost everyone in my old life and once I found out Bucky came back.. He did everything for me when I was a teenager and he was my best friend. I knew keeping those two secrets was bad.. I was trying to protect you, but I think I was trying to deny everything as well. They say that once things are broken they can be fixed.. Maybe some things aren't worth fixing either? I know I've hurt you enough to last a lifetime and I never meant to break your heart.. I hope that one day, you can look at me with love and happiness that you did before. I'm sorry I've hurt you and I hope one day that maybe.. We can fix what I broke
I've left you with this phone.. It has my number in it.. You know that if anytime you need me.. If you ever want to even talk.. I'll always be there.
I love you,
Steve'
Felix came in with a couple of duffle bags and he looked at Riley reading the letter and stopped and leaned on the doorway as Riley looked up
"You got everything?" She whispered and Felix looked around "No one came?"
"Tony came by.. I'm pretty sure the others will come by once Sean is buried" She said as Felix came towards her and sat in the seat
"I booked the flights to Russia, are you sure you wanna go?" He asked as Riley nodded "I don't wanna know my father's past.. I already know my grandfather is the Red Skull.. I don't want to know them.. But my mother, she loved me from the start and I knew she would want me to see them.. Find the long lost family and maybe find out more about her.. I want to do this" She said as Felix nodded and Riley took out needles and stuff and Felix sighed
"Maybe it would be a good idea to tell Tony?"
"I did.. Before I came to the hospital, I told him I wanted to find them and he just told me that he would get me when I'm ready to come home.. I want to spend a year there at least and then come back to Tony"
"Alright.. We gotta leave soon" He said as Riley grabbed his hand and squeezed it "Thank you so much Felix.. You don't have to do this" She said and Felix smiled softly
"The only family I have left is Janet in prison and Jasper is in Asgard with Sif.. I have no one left" He whispered and Riley looked at him with soft eyes "You have me"
Author's Note:
We are done with this story!
So Riley was expecting a baby but she lost it.. I wanted Steve to know that he was going to be a father but thinking of it.. I think Steve would lose it mentally. He literally fought his fiancé that was expecting and his older son S.J is dead, I think that would completely break him. I think Riley keeping it a secret was best and maybe even one day.. She would tell Steve.
So Okoye and Orchid are also related! Their fathers were brothers and of course her mother is the sister of Black Bolt, Orchid is cousins with Anthea (My GOTG OC) and we will see them reunite!
So the next story is Thor, and currently my Doctor Strange story is being written so of course enjoy those stories and of course tell me what you think of the Black Panther movie when it comes out and feel free to talk to me!