"As I live and breathe." W'Kabi says as T'Challa enters his home. "I'd heard you looked like the princess, but I had thought it was merely wild exaggerations."
"Unfortunately W'Kabi, we were both wrong on that account." T'Challa responds, trying to avoid a humored smile. W'Kabi, cannot resist and starts to chuckle heartily before laughing out loud.
T'Challa feels she should take the situation more seriously, but speaking with an old friend after so long sometimes comes with contagious cheer. She lightly chuckles with a smile. "It's good to see you in good health my friend." T'Challa tells W'Kabi. Oyoke, who is standing behind T'Challa smiles at the lightened mood.
"You still consider me a friend?" W'Kabi answers. "I would think, trying to overthrow your leadership would have put a taint on that."
T'Challa thinks about W'Kabi's words for a moment before smiling and responding. "Remember when we were young, we used to chase toads and lizards so we could race them?"
W'Kabi studies T'Challa curiously for a second before responding. "You used to insist the toad was faster than the agama because it could leap away in an instant." As W'Kabi says this he moves toward a table and sits down, gesturing toward the other seat.
T'Challa moves closer and sits. "And, do you remember who won that argument?" She asks W'Kabi.
W'Kabi thinks about it for a long moment before answering. "We could never get them to race. They'd always run in different directions."
"That's right." T'Challa answers. "Yet we never gave up on that argument. You would always insist on the agama, and I would always insist on the toad."
"The toad only has a few good jumps in it. The agama can continuously sprint until it catches up."
"But the toad can conserve its energy until the last second."
"Orisha, not this argument again." Oyoke says, getting annoyed at an old story. T'Challa smirks at Oyoke's annoyance. W'Kabi studies T'Challa wondering what her point was.
T'Challa turns back to W'Kabi. "I seem to recall we'd get pretty heated about the subject."
W'Kabi smirks and nods his head. "My parents feared your father would throw the whole family into prison."
"Not everybody is brave enough to disagree with royalty, let alone start a physical altercation." T'Challa says with a chuckle. W'Kabi looks away briefly to contemplate the similarities to his life now. When he looks back to T'Challa, despite the changes, he can still clearly see the young boy he grew up with.
"After all those arguments and all those years, did we ever stop being friends?" T'Challa asks.
W'Kabi lightly yet confidently shakes his head.
"In fact," T'Challa continues. "It was that bravery that inspired my father to make you a general, and inspired me not to imprison you." T'Challa pauses for the words to sink in. "Nothing could stop you from fighting for what you believe in, but nothing could tear away your loyalty from that which you love."
W'Kabi gave T'Challa a confused look, remembering only that he had turned on his king.
"You were willing to turn on your king, and your best friend, for the sake of your country... For the sake of the world." T'Challa says.
W'Kabi felt the urge to argue his point, but he felt that now was not the time.
"It is that loyalty that has brought me here today..." T'Challa says. "You have always been able to see a bigger picture than I have, and right now, Wakanda needs their generals."
W'Kabi looks up to T'Challa before speaking. "Is the kingdom still under threat?" He asks.
"No, my friend." T'Challa answers. "It's something much bigger than that."
"The world then? You wish to help the Avengers?" W'Kabi asks.
This time Oyoke chuckles. T'Challa turns with a smile, surprised that Oyoke of all people would break character. She turns back to W'Kabi before speaking again. "I take it Oyoke has not told you everything."
W'Kabi's eyes widen somewhat with concern before T'Challa tells him, "W'Kabi, my old friend, your world is about to get a lot bigger."
***Back at the Palace***
"Hey Bruce, have you seen Tony?" Captain America asks.
"I uh..." Bruce stutters in confusion. She clearly knows where Tony is, but she suddenly feels very guilty for forgiving him so quickly.
"I'm sorry to bother, but I really need to talk to him." Steve says as she moves in closer. She is still somewhat oblivious to their height difference, so she does not register that her nipples are borderline eye level with Bruce.
Bruce knows she should look into Captain America's eyes but she is completely baffled by the large chest in front of her. She wonders if no one has told her that she shouldn't keep wearing basic T-Shirts without a bra. The light sway of her chest, as Steve tries to catch her attention, causes a rush of embarrassed jealousy to run through her head, throwing Bruce off guard.
"He's uh.. In the lab." Bruce finally answers. "We still couldn't get Vision mobile again."
"That's good." Steve answers. "I really need to talk to him." She turns to walk around Bruce, who unexpectedly catches a whiff of perfume.
'She never wears perfume.' Bruce thinks. 'Is it because of Tony?' She wonders. Another burst of emotions rushes through her, making her feel desperate to stop Steve, who is fast approaching the door. "I'm gonna get us some sodas..." Bruce says, eager to distract the Captain.
Steve Rogers turns back toward Bruce, a little confused by the comment. She tilts her head.
"I uhmm... I'm coming back." Bruce realizes she is rambling now and starts to turn red. "You want something?" She asks, trying to cover the awkwardness.
Steve turns to Bruce, forgetting the door for a second. "Is everything alright, Bruce?" She asks.
Before she could answer, the lab door opens revealing Tony Stark. "Everything alright, Bruce?" Tony says, almost mimicking Steve Rogers. He takes a small step back when he sees the Captain standing in the doorway.
"Tony, I uh..." Without warning, Steve lost all the confidence he had only moments ago. He looks back toward Bruce then Tony and they all just stand there confused and awkward.
"Tony, we need to talk..." Steve finally mutters and breaks the awkwardness.
Tony looks the Captain up and down briefly, before responding. "I suppose we do." He tells Steve. I'd ask if it can wait, but I suppose there won't be any other good times. Come in."
Tony steps out of the way for Captain Rogers who walks in almost followed by Bruce Banner. "Did you already get the drinks?" Tony asks Bruce, causing her to pause.
"Oh... I uh, still need to get those." Bruce responds, turning around. "I'll be back." She knows it wasn't intentional, but she felt like Tony was chasing her off. Tony just assumes Bruce is worried about them fighting again.
Fred Durst is screaming loudly, "I did it all for the Nookie!" As they both enter the lab. Steve does not seem to notice the lyrics, but Tony does, and he quickly asks Friday to turn down the music.
"Hey!" Shuri says from out of sight. "I was listening to that."
After a brief sigh for the silent relief, Steve says, "Tony, we need to talk." again.
"I know that." Tony responds. "That's why you're here."
"Right." Steve responds. "You see, about yesterday, and everything that's been going on..."
"Hey, I hope you two aren't going to start fighting again!" Shuri says from peering around one of his computers.
Tony turns back to look at him. "No, we're fine!" He snaps. "Do you think we could have a moment of privacy? This is kind of important."
"I don't think now is a good time for me to step away." Shuri responds while fiddling with one of the computer panels. Tony gives him an annoyed look. Shuri just grins and says, "I'll just use headphones."
Tony waits for Shuri to put on his head phones before turning back to the Captain. "As you were saying." He tells her a bit more aggressively than he'd like to sound.
Steve Rogers feels more nervous now since her first attempt to talk was already interrupted. "Listen, Tony. About Bucky and about me. I know things are very awkward right now, and I know you're still very mad about that."
""Livid," is more like the right word." Tony says, surprising even himself. He has to mentally remind himself to calm down, especially since he made up his mind, this morning, to patch things up.
"Yeah... Livid, Tony." Steve answers feeling a little hurt all of a sudden. "Look Tony, I know saying I'm sorry is not going to change anything. I know, there is nothing I can do to take back what he's done. I know you don't care that he was brainwashed by Hydra at the time."
"Then why are you here?" Tony snaps, unexpectedly. 'Why did I say that?' Tony thinks to himself. He tries not to show his emotions, but he can't help still feeling very angry at Steve.
"I'm sorry, Tony." Steve snaps back. "I should have told you he killed your parents..."
"Wait, who killed his parents?" Wanda asks from another corner of the lab. Tony and Steve both lightly jump at this interruption.
"Great, I forgot you were here, too." Tony says as he turns to look at Wanda. "This is private, ok." He tells him.
Halfway between turning back toward Steve, Tony catches a glimpse of Shuri trying to whisper toward Wanda. "It was Bucky." He mouths while gesturing toward his left arm to emphasize who he's referencing.
"Really?" Tony asks aloud.
Shuri turns back toward him and points at his earphones. He makes a gesture to imply that he can't hear, despite it being an obvious lie at this point.
"Is anyone else listening in on our conversation?" Tony asks sarcastically, not expecting a response.
"I suppose now would be a good time to remind you that I am still here, as well." Vision's motionless body answers.
"Great, you know what?" Tony says. "Let's just take this outside." He gestures for Steve to follow him, which she does. Before they can reach the door, it swings open and Tony is confronted face to face with James Rhodes.
"Oh... Hey, Tony." Rhodes says. "I assume you're here to talk to director Fury?"
"No." Tony responds, clearly annoyed. "I haven't seen him."
"Is everything alright?" T'Challa asks from behind Rhodes.
Tony cannot hide his annoyance at another distraction, but he tries to feign patience. "It's fine. The Captain and I just need to have a private conversation, that's all."
T'Challa nods getting the point, and both he and Rhodes move out of the way as Oyoke steps in. He gives Tony a dirty look, despite not knowing everything that happened the previous night.
"Oh, don't go too far." Rhodes says as they walk out. "Director Fury says there is something important he needs to talk to us about."
"Right, got it." Tony says, without looking back.
"And don't break anything." Oyoke grumbles, as Tony tries to sneak by.
"It wasn't him." Steve says, defensively.
"It's fine!" Tony replies, as he turns back to grab Steve Roger's arm. Because she is still so strong Tony's grip slips and he ends up pulling her out of the lab by her hand. This does not go unnoticed, and after the door shuts, T'Challa gives Rhodes a questioning look. Colonel Rhodes just shrugs his shoulders, equally confused.
As they step out of the room, Bruce spots them as she is walking around the corner. Still feeling embarrassed, she stops and hides behind the wall. 'Were they just holding hands?' She wonders. Before Bruce can compose herself to look again, they begin talking.
Tony has to shake his wrist to let go of Steve who subconsciously started to grip his hand. "Ok now, speak!" Tony says aggressively, accepting the fact that he is now annoyed.
Tony's behavior is starting to become contagious as now Steve is getting annoyed with his attitude, but she still tries to be patient with him. "Look, I know you're angry, and you have every right to be."
"Yea, we already talked about that." Tony says aggressively. "What do you want from me?"
Steve actually does get angry this time and frowns at Tony. "Tony! If we want to complete this mission, we need to get past all that. Or at least put it on the back burner!"
Tony subconsciously agrees with this, but is having a hard time dealing with his emotions. "I want to get past all this, but I don't know if I can trust you!" He snaps.
"Tony, you know I would never do anything to hurt you!" Steve replies, angrily.
"Hey, you two love birds! I'm glad to see you're both getting along again." Sam Wilson says, coming around the corner opposite from where Bruce is hiding.
They both look at Sam with an equally angry glare. This causes him to freeze in his place.
"Can you go somewhere else?" Tony asks.
"Yea, we're having a really important conversation." Captain America chimes in.
Sam raises his hands and takes a step back. "Alright, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude." He says. "Nick Fury just wanted me to tell you, he's coming by to talk."
"Okay, we already got the message. So can you move along?" Tony demands more than he asks.
Sam wants to argue back but he first looks to his friend Steve, to make sure she is alright. For the first time ever, the Captain is giving her an angry look. She jerks her head toward the door and says, "Just go."
Suddenly very concerned for his friend, Sam ends up speaking before he can think his question through. "Are you two going to be alright? I'm feeling a lot of misguided sexual tension."
"WHAT!?" Steve and Tony shout loudly and simultaneously.
Sam instantly regrets asking it, and is about to play it off as a joke but then notices they are both blushing heavily and wide eyed with embarrassment. He debates what to say next, but decides to leave before making things worse. "I'll just... be in the lab." He tells them before opening the door and rushing away.
Tony turns around and leans against the wall in frustration, crossing his arms. "You know what Steve, now is not a good time to talk about this." He says. "I have a lot to do, and I've got to prepare..."
"What?!" Steve snaps. "No! We're not putting this off! We need to talk." She says turning toward Tony and locking eyes.
"What is going on?" Nick Fury asks as she turns the corner with Maria Hill in tow.
"For the love of!" Steve Rogers actually says, throwing her hands in the air. "Can you give us a moment?" She asks angrily toward the Commander.
Fury is a little annoyed by the attitude, but he decides to let it slide, since it's Captain America. He just nods and turns to open the door.
"You know what?" Tony Stark says sharply. "It's fine, because we were done talking." He stops leaning against the wall and turns toward Nick Fury. "You wanted to talk to me?" He asks.
"I said, "No." We're going to talk!" Captain America turns, grabs Tony by the shoulders and pushes him against the wall hard enough to cause a large crack alongside the door.
Tony's eyes widened in shock. He really didn't expect this reaction from the Captain. For the first time in a long time he feels trapped and intimidated. He looks into Steve's deep blue eyes partially concealed by bright beautiful golden curls, and for a brief moment feels captivated by her.
"Leave Tony alone!" Bruce shouts as she comes rushing out from the corner dropping the drinks she was holding.
Before Captain America can realize what is going on, Bruce shoves her away from Tony hard enough to send her flying to the floor. Steve is not sure what to say, because this has not happened to her since before her military days. She turns back to see Bruce standing in front of Tony defensively. Tony, Nick Fury, and Maria Hill are all looking at the other three in shock.
Moments later the lab door opens and T'Challa comes stepping out. "Is everything alright out here?" she asks.
Oyoke steps out after her and immediately notices the large crack in the wall. "What the Hell did I just tell you?" He shouts at Tony Stark, who can only defend himself by gesturing in confusion at the random turn of events.