She woke early, before her alarm, rubbing the heel of her hand into her right eye as a yawn stretched at her mouth. Her sleep had been fitful, flashes of memories plaguing her dreams as she'd tossed and turned beneath her quilt.

Harper stretched her arms above her head as she perched on the edge of her bed, a groan leaving her throat at the twinge in her neck as she did.

Her hair was a mess, she caught sight of it in the mirror on her vanity table across the room as she pushed up onto her feet, but she couldn't bring herself to sort it just yet. Coffee first, battling her knots second.

She leaned against the counter top as her morning pot brewed, rubbing her heavy and stinging eyes with her fingertips. She hated when the memories, the dreams, were just flashes. It made them harder for her to attempt to make sense of the next morning.

A frown furrowed at her brow as a knock at the door echoed through her apartment. It was early. Way too early for Shuri to be on her doorstep and she knew T'Challa was off meeting with world leaders about Wakanda opening up…

"I'm coming, Okoye!" she called as another knock rang out. If it wasn't either of the royal siblings she could count on it being the General of the Dora Milaje, Okoye, calling in to drag her out on her morning run with Ayo and a few of the other members of the Dora "You'll have to come in for a bit anyway," Harper continued, loud enough for whoever was on the other side to hear as she grabbed her hoodie from the back of the sofa and tugged it over the crop top she wore to bed "I'll need to get changed but you can wait-"

She paused, disbelief and confusion crossing her features, once she had swung the door open. Butterflies burst into her stomach and her fingers shook slightly as she leaned against the door to properly take him in, her heart pounding against her rib cage.

Since Shuri had brought them back together in one of the shaman's huts she'd only been able to see him a handful more times. His recovery was much more important to everyone and their meetings were carefully planned so as not to ruin the work they had all put in. They kept to a schedule with Shuri or one of the shamans near at all times, no one wanting either of them to take a step backwards.

And yet…

"Bucky."

His face crumpled as his name left her lips in a whisper of disbelief "I'm here," he confirmed with a nod, stepping closer to her as she reached her hands out toward him "I'm here," he repeated as she gathered him up into her arms, his face, wet with tears, pressing into her neck as his shoulders shook.

They held one another like that for, what seemed like, an age. Their fingers gripping as they squeezed each other closer.

"Are you okay?" Harper asked, breathlessly, as they finally pulled apart. Her brow furrowed as she reached up to cradle his face and his eyes shone with tears. Her thumbs ran gently beneath his eyes as she hopped up onto her toes to kiss away the tear which had escaped down his cheekbone.

"They did it," he said in a whisper, reaching up and holding onto her wrists as though keeping himself steady "My trigger words. They're gone," he explained, his voice wobbling "I'm free."

"I'm not sure what I can tell you," Harper said into the phone pinned between her right ear and shoulder, her hands shuffling papers in front of her as she tried to find the form she needed T'Challa to sign "There have been no sightings of either, I'm pretty sure they're still off earth," she continued, stapling two pieces of paper together and rolling her chair over to place them on Shuri's desk "But I have alerts set up just in case."

"Thanks Harper," Steve answered, sounding exhausted "And Tony?"

"Yeah I'd stay away from New York if I were you, he's still large and in charge over there," Harper replied, raising her eyes to the ceiling and letting out a huff "Still following the Accords of course. I'm pretty sure the Government is also keeping an eye out for Thor and Dr Banner."

"Which is why I'm hoping we find them first," Steve sighed, a noise following like he had collapsed onto an uncomfortable sounding couch.

"You are looking out for yourself as well, right Steve?" Harper asked, placing the papers for the outreach programme to one side so she could focus on his answer "Because this isn't going to last forever."

"You don't know that," he answered quietly "But I'm ticking over, doing the best we can," he continued, attempting to put the old Steve Rogers pep back into his tone "How is he?"

Harper rubbed her hand down her face as she sat back in her chair, unable to stop the smile from coming to her face "He's good y'know," she answered, thinking back to the day Bucky had turned up on her doorstep, emotions running high after a positive test with his trigger words "You'd be able to see for yourself if you popped over here."

There was a beat of silence before Steve spoke again "We've been trying it's just, it's difficult y'know?"

"Not so easy to leave the country when your face has been on billboards hey?" Harper answered with a chuckle, attempting to lighten the situation "We'd rather you, all of you, were safe Steve. Bucky would kill you if you put yourself in danger to come and see him."

"I do feel guilty, I just-" there was a noise in the background, sounding like someone arriving back to wherever it was they were laying low. A voice called something over to Steve and he let out a low chuckle of his own "Natasha says hi."

"Tell her hi back," Harper said with a smile, she hadn't had the chance to see Natasha Romanoff since they had broken Sam, Scott, Clint and Wanda out of The Raft prison but they had spoken over the phone more than a few times.

Footsteps arriving in the lab caught her attention and she turned to see Shuri arriving back, a large rucksack slung over her shoulder "I best get going," she said to Steve, eager to hear her friend's tales of travel "I'll talk to you later?"

"Of course," Steve said, his tone a lot lighter than earlier in their conversation "Thank you again Harper," he added before they said their goodbyes.

"Not quite the welcome home party I was expecting," Shuri said with a huff, folding her arms over her stomach and leaning with her hip pressing into the corner of her desk.

"You were gone two days," Harper answered with a roll of her eyes as she pushed herself up onto her feet and greeted Shuri with a hug "How was it?"

"Cold," Shuri said with an unimpressed wince, she had been in Seattle visiting a potential site for the programme "But good, we're definitely thinking of opening up there," she said with a smile "I wanted to make the journey to visit your exhibit before we came home but apparently there was no time," she continued with an eye roll as she turned to pull out her chair.

Harper let out a sharp laugh. It had been a while since she had thought about her tiny little office in the Smithsonian but, as she closed her eyes, she could picture it like she had only just shut the door and left it behind. The mail spilling out of the bags behind her chair, the posters - her favourites - she had kept to herself on the walls, the post it note she'd left for Angela saying she was sorry…

"I bet it isn't even there anymore," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"You think I haven't seen you checking up on it online when you think I'm not looking don't you?" Shuri asked, tilting her head to one side and jutting out her bottom lip "You're so cute."

"Were there no other places you could have gone and checked out so you were out of my hair for longer?"

Shuri pulled her tongue out before picking her rucksack up from where she had dumped it on the floor, resting it on the top of her desk and opening up the zip "Don't make me regret getting you this," she said, pulling out a small model of the Seattle Space Needle and leaning over to place it on Harper's desk.

A grin lit up Harper's face as she plucked the model up to inspect it closely, "Now this is a tradition I am on board with," she said, sitting back down and placing it between the models of the Las Vegas sign and San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge beside her keyboard "Thank you."

Before Shuri could answer with whatever clever quip was sitting on her tongue a bleep coming from their computers caught their attention. Someone without one of the passes Shuri had handed out after Erik Killmonger's reign had entered the lab.

The two turned together, frowns of confusion on their faces, just in time to see Bucky making his way over to where they were sitting.

Harper's heart jumped in her chest as she took him in. His hair, still long, was neatly pulled back into a bun and he was dressed smartly, a bunch of flowers clutched in his right hand and a shy smile coming to his lips.

"Okoye told me where to find you," he said as he approached "She didn't have time to buzz me in, sorry," he continued with a wince as the computers continued to bleep.

Harper's cheekbones burned slightly as she hurriedly got to her feet "You're here," she said breathlessly, each and every time she saw him seemed to be a welcome surprise. He hadn't been into the lab as of yet, preferring to stay away from the hustle and bustle of the inner city in the countryside with the shamans.

"Sergeant Barnes," Shuri said with a welcoming smile, interrupting the two of them grinning like idiots toward one another "Are those for Harper?"

"Wh-I...oh, yeah," Bucky answered, smiling bashfully as he handed over the bunch of multicoloured flowers, all native to Wakanda "I, uhm, I was wondering if you'd accompany me out this afternoon," he said, the smile still on his face as he glanced across to her from beneath his eyelashes.

"She would love to," Shuri answered quickly, jumping in with a wide grin on her face and ignoring the glare Harper was sending her "She has nothing left to do in here so she's all yours," she continued, ushering Harper toward him "I'll take these and put them in some water for you," she added, plucking the flowers from Harper's grasp "They'll look great on your desk."

Harper's eyebrows arched as she watched the Wakandan Princess hurry away to put the flowers into a vase of water "She...isn't usually like this I promise," she said with a laugh as she turned back to Bucky "But she is right, I would love to escape this place and spend some time with you."

"Great," Bucky beamed as she fell into step beside him "I, uhm, I was hoping you'd say yes," he said as they made their way back out of the lab, a basket sitting just inside of the door "It's all ready to go."

"You were hoping?" Harper asked with a laugh of disbelief as she watched him bend down to pick up the picnic basket "You're saying that like I didn't wait outside of a door the entire time you were under talking to myself," she said, reaching out for his hand before catching herself. She still wasn't used to the metal left arm not being there "In fact, it was that door right there," she said, coming to a stop at the end of the corridor alongside the lab, nodding toward the large door at the end of it "I still don't know what's actually in there."

Bucky grinned as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye "The thought was there," he reassured her before wincing slightly "I was hoping we'd go to the cliffside, the one you wrote about in the book?" he said, referring to his book - the one he had kept a list of things he needed to catch up on before they were caught - that she had filled with descriptions of her day to day life while he was gone.

"It's this way," she confirmed for him, nodding her head in the direction they were heading "You're reading it."

"Of course," he answered, keeping a pace behind her so she was leading the way "Your handwriting is terrible."

Harper's eyes narrowed and she turned just in time to see a teasing grin come to his face "I tell you what," she tutted, shaking her head.

He kept close to her as they made their way through the town centre, his head bowed and his hand gripping onto the handle of the picnic basket.

"Come on, this way," Harper said, gesturing for him to follow her down a quieter side street. She knew people would be emerging from the buildings around them soon, leaving work and heading for their homes "Quieter and shorter," she explained, rewarded with a smile from him in return.

The cliffside, as they climbed right up to the top, looked just as spectacular as she remembered. She hadn't been there since T'Challa's crowning not long after she'd arrived in Wakanda and it didn't disappoint how she had bigged it up in her mind.

"Whew," Bucky said once they had finally come to a stop, placing the picnic basket down at their feet and taking the time to glance around the scenery. His eyes closed for a second and his nose turned up to the sky, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air.

Harper simply stood back and watched him. Watched as his shoulders let go of some of the tension they were carrying and the fingers of his right hand unfurled from the tight fist it was usually kept in. Though he was turned away from her she could see the clench of his jaw loosening as he filled his lungs for the first time in a long time.

As a man free from his own mind.

"Not bad huh?" she said after a couple of moments, smiling as he turned to face her "It was down there," she continued as she stepped closer to him and pointed down to where she had watched T'Challa compete for the crown "I'm sure you'll be able to meet M'Baku soon, he was the one who challenged."

His eyebrows arched slightly as he took her in, wild blonde hair blowing in the slight breeze and a tint of pink to her cheekbones "Thank you," he said in a tone so quiet she almost didn't catch that he had spoken "For keeping me in the loop," he continued when he noticed the confused look on her face as she stepped closer to his side.

"All I wanted to do was speak to you, that book was the next best thing," she said, linking her arm through his and leaning her head against his shoulder "Now, are we eating or am I going to starve to death up here?"

Bucky laughed as he unravelled their arms and reached for her hand, bringing it up to his lips and pressing a kiss to her knuckles "We're eating," he confirmed, pulling her around to where the picnic basket was waiting for them "Ayo helped me get everything," he said as they made their way over. Letting go of her he bent down, flipping open the lid of the basket and pulling out a blanket, spreading it across the grass.

"If it's all healthy I swear I'll be having words with her," Harper grumbled, Ayo was almost as brutal as Okoye on the morning runs they managed to get her on.

Bucky chuckled as he reached into the basket, pulling out a punnet of strawberries with a wince "There's more in here, I promise," he defended as Harper's eyes narrowed, a smile coming to her face when next up was a share packet of salt and vinegar crisps "She said they were what you were craving, Shuri may have picked some up on her travels."

"I take back everything I've ever said, you're all angels," Harper grinned as she took the packet from him and hugged it gently to her chest.

They were silent as they ate - a few Wakandan delicacies thrown in alongside sandwiches and scones - but it was a comfortable one. Between bites Harper found herself stealing glances over to him, both in disbelief that he was sitting right there beside her and terror that he was going to be taken away again.

"I feel like I'm dreaming," she admitted, once they had eaten all they could and were laying on their backs watching the sun set. Their shoulders were pressed together, right down their arms to the backs of their hands.

Bucky turned his head slightly to take her in "I'm sorry," he said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly into an apologetic smile "Ayo caught me up with everything that happened while I was out."

Harper bit down on the inside of her cheek for a second as her shoulders shrugged "I was fine," she said, turning her head so she was facing him.

"It's okay if you weren't, if you still aren't," he reassured her as he placed his hand in hers, the tips of his fingers gently tracing down her palm before he interlaced them with hers "He made you become someone you haven't wanted to be for a long time."

Harper pursed her lips together, her eyes stinging slightly and a lump growing in her throat as she nodded her head "Yeah," she admitted, clearing her throat and turning her head so she was facing the sky once more. Her hand gripped onto his, their palms pressing tightly together, as she took in a deep breath "But he's gone now and I have you back. I get to be whoever I want to be."

"And who is it you want to be?" Bucky asked, untangling their hands and shuffling his arm beneath her.

She leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her "I don't know," she hummed, turning onto her side so she was pressed up against him. Laying her arm over his stomach she glanced up to him "I guess I have time to figure it out though."

"All the time in the world," Bucky agreed, bending his neck so he could press a kiss against her forehead "We have the freedom to figure it out together."

"I can't wait to show you the training room," Harper mused, feeling his chest shake slightly beneath her with his laughter "Okay, so maybe I've figured a part of who I want to be out," she said with a smirk.

"I can deal with that," Bucky replied, leaning his chin on the top of her head and hugging her close "As long as there's a competition section to the training."

"Oh I'm sure Shuri can work her magic so I can kick your ass," Harper answered, pinching his side and laughing as he winced "See."

"We'll soon see about that," he replied "Even with just one arm I stand a chance."

"In your dreams."

They lay there for a few minutes longer, Bucky running his fingertips up and down her arm while they both watched the stars twinkle in the dark night sky. A yawn stretched at Harper's mouth as she closed her eyes and listened to his steady heart beat beneath her, taking in the feeling of his chest rising and falling as he breathed.

"Come on then," Bucky said, cutting through the silence and jolting Harper back to full attention "It's getting late, I best get you back."

"Ever the gentleman," Harper answered once he had pushed himself to his feet and was holding his hand out for her to grab. She smiled as he tugged her up to her feet, his hand landing on her hip as hers rested against his chest.

His eyes flickered over her face before his hand came up to cradle her cheek "I missed you," he said, his thumb tracing along her cheekbone "So much."

"Me too," she answered, sliding her hands up his chest and over his shoulders. Hopping up onto her toes she smiled as their noses bumped together and his arm curled around her waist once more to steady her.

Bucky's eyes closed as he leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together, his grip around her waist tightening "We are never splitting up again," he said "Promise?"

Harper nodded before she confirmed "Promise," her heart jumping in her chest as he bent slightly to seal it with a kiss.