[oom] see right through my walls

[nerves_of_ice]

As T'Challa stares at the hologram in the palm of his hand, he can already feel the headache forming. "She what? No. Never mind. Bring her to me in the throne room, when she arrives. I will deal with her myself."

He clears the image, then taps the Kimoyo Bead again. "Nakia. I need you."

* * * * * * * * *

"You cannot be serious."

"I don't see why this is a problem. You brought Everett Ross here--"

"Ross was dying! And he was never allowed to know that the man he was seeking was here! Nakia, I have made a promise to protect him."

"She is not a threat. Not to him."

"I will be the judge of that."

Nakia throws up her hands. "Fine. You will see. I hope it does not bother you that I stay and watch?"

T'Challa smiles. "Of course not."

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

"He is not ready," Shuri says, almost absently. She's still fiddling with the display, adjusting something. "He is still healing."

"Shuri." T'Challa sounds extremely pained.

She looks up in surprise. "What?" She waves one hand at Sharon. "As if she would just take no for an answer. She should know why."

[from_the_outside]

Sharon sets her jaw.

"He didn't kill your father," she says, hard. "And I'm not going anywhere until I see him with my own two eyes and make sure you're not treating him like he did."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Helmut Zemo murdered my father," T'Challa informs her, just as hard, just as flat. It's almost certain that she will recognize the look on his face, in his eyes; it's nearly identical to the one he wore at JTTF headquarters. "And framed Sergeant Barnes for it. I delivered Zemo to the CIA myself."

"Sharon," Nakia says, quietly. "We are not your enemy."

T'Challa does not appear to hear her.

"Sergeant Barnes is under my protection. I do not take that lightly."

[from_the_outside]

Everyone is her enemy, these days. But that's neither here nor there.

She slides a considering look at Nakia, who nods. She relaxes, minutely, then turns stubbornly back to T'Challa.

"Good. You shouldn't. But I'm still not going anywhere until I see him."

[nerves_of_ice]

He studies her without speaking for several seconds, then trades a look with Nakia for several more.

T'Challa pushes himself to his feet and walks around to stand by the window, looking out at the city in the distance, his hands clasped behind him.

"Why?"

[from_the_outside]

His back is turned, but Nakia and Shuri, if they're watching, will probably see how her gaze turns inward and a little sad.

"I told him once he didn't have to do this alone," she says, quietly, after a long moment. "And I don't go back on my word."

[nerves_of_ice]

Nakia, seeing the expression on Sharon's face, goes to join T'Challa by the window. Although she doesn't say a word, he looks down at her for a few seconds, then nods.

"Very well." T'Challa turns back to face Sharon, and walks over to stand in front of her. "I will take you to him. But if he refuses to see you, no one will force him."

"I will take her," Shuri interjects, as she closes the display. "It is almost time for me to visit anyway."

[from_the_outside]

She lets out a breath, and finds a faint but genuine smile that touches the corners of her mouth like a brief shadow.

"I agree to those terms."

With a glance at the backpack: "Can I have that back now?"

[nerves_of_ice]

Nakia brings it over and presses it into her hands.

"Good luck," she murmurs.

"This way," Shuri says. "Follow me." She offers Sharon her phone back. "How did you get such primitive technology within Wakandan borders to begin with?"

[from_the_outside]

She covers Nakia's hands with her own for a moment, grateful. "Thank you," she says, softly, then slings the backpack over her shoulder and follows Shuri, pocketing her phone as she goes.

"I put trackers into the clothes I took from the Task Force and gave to him," she admits, wholly unashamed, and slides an amused, self-satisfied glance Shuri's way. Her lips twitch like she's trying not to laugh. "And into his boots."

There was no way she was letting him disappear again.

[nerves_of_ice]

"Oh, very clever," Shuri laughs. "We got rid of those old clothes, but did not take the boots."

Two of the Dora fall in behind them at a distance; evidently no one's ready to fully trust the visitor with the Princess of Wakanda. Shuri doesn't seem to even notice.

"Did he know? He must not have."

She says it with confidence, as if there's no way Bucky would have hidden such a thing from her.

[from_the_outside]

"I don't think so."

She clocks the two Dora, but doesn't let it affect either her step or her voice. Now the laugh is perfectly audible in her tone. "I thought he might find one, but probably not all of them."

Were there only three? Sharon's not telling. "Besides, if he'd found them, he would have already found a way to yell at me about it."

She says that fondly, and she takes a second to recognize that fond is probably the wrong tone to take with this subject, but doesn't care enough to hide it.

[nerves_of_ice]

"Yell? No." Shuri sounds disbelieving. "Surely not."

She leads the way out over green grass and open fields, headed towards a distant lake backed by a stand of trees. As they draw closer, a few small cottages fade into view.

"Does he yell? Normally, I mean."

[from_the_outside]

There's a light flicker of a frown between Sharon's brows, but she passes it off as being sensitive to the sudden sunlight.

(It's not...what she'd expected. Not that she'd known what to expect.)

Bust she keeps any observations to herself and laughs at Shuri's question. "Only in the sense that he gets very quiet and intensely disappointed in you and all your life decisions up to the current point, and probably some after," she says, amused.

Or maybe that's just with her?

"So maybe less yelling and more getting annoyed because he thinks he's the only one who can make accurate risk assessments."

The air is so fresh and clear; she takes a deep breath, looking around. "It's so beautiful here. I had no idea. Nakia always said it was, but..."

She shrugs. "You know. Nobody outside Wakanda has any real idea what it's like."

[nerves_of_ice]

"That is going to change," Shuri tells her, openly amused. "The world will soon learn just how wrong they have been about Wakanda all along. Although visitors may still be rare. We have no need of colonizers here."

As they draw closer, the sounds of children laughing and yelling can be heard, carrying easily on the clear air. There are three or four of them, small figures that appear to be playing tag with several goats, jumping back and forth around a much taller figure who is standing like a tree perfectly still in the middle of the chaos.

Shuri puts a hand on Sharon's arm and draws her to a stop. "Remember," she warns. "As I said. He is still healing."

[from_the_outside]

"Honestly, that's more than fair."

That amused shadow plays around her mouth again, and her eyes are bright as she watches, thinking of an evening over two months ago now, and Gene Kelly tap-dancing in the rain.

Good. He deserves as much joy in his life as the world can offer.

She comes to a halt at Shuri's touch and meets her gaze openly, listening before she nods. "I know," she says, soft. "I'm just glad he's finally getting a chance to start healing at all. I'll be careful, Princess, I promise."

She reaches for Shuri's hand and gives it a quick, reassuring squeeze. "Thank you for helping him. Now..."

Letting go, she tips her head in the direction of all this happy chaos with a flashing smile of her own. "What's with the goats?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"I will hold you to that," Shuri tells her. "I am fond of this broken white boy."

She looks at the tiny herd, the laughing children, and smiles.

"He needs to re-learn that he can bring life instead of death," she says. "Goats need care. He can give it."

[from_the_outside]

Sharon smiles over at the little group, too, eyes warm. "So am I."

There had been a few times over the last six weeks when she'd debated doing this, when she'd crafted argument after argument for why he should see her if this turned out to be a bad surprise instead of a pleasant one, but...

She's not worried about it anymore.

"He can," she confirms. "I've seen it." She gives Shuri a crooked half-grin.

"Shall we?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Have you." Shuri's answering grin is delighted. "Well then. Come on."

She walks toward them, and as they get close enough, calls out,

"You children! Have I not told you not to bother this man?" From the way the children laugh and scatter in response to her mock scolding, they've heard it more than once and aren't repentant at all.

Bucky's protesting, mildly, as he turns to Shuri. "They're not bothering me--"

His words cut off as he sees that Shuri's not alone, and he freezes into absolute immobility, staring at Sharon.

[from_the_outside]

She stands a little ways apart, watching with dancing eyes and an irrepressible smile, right hand tucked into the hollow of her shoulder, holding onto the backpack strap.

"Please," she says, holding up her left hand, unable to quit smiling and feeling no desire whatsoever to try. "Don't let me interrupt."

God, he looks – he looks good. Healthy. Some color in his face. She notices, belatedly, the empty space at his left side, but her eyes don't linger on it. In fact, she's having a hard time looking away from his face long enough to notice anything else at all.

Her smile widens into a grin. "Hi."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Hi," he answers, almost numbly, still staring. "Sharon. What--"

Something seems to strike him, and his glance cuts sharply to Shuri, who's looking very pleased with herself.

"I brought you a present!" she informs him.

[from_the_outside]

Sharon presses her lips together hard, but the laugh is clear in her eyes and her dimpled cheeks.

"Yep," she agrees, and it's there in her voice, too. "That's what this is. A present."

[nerves_of_ice]

She's happy, bright and shining in the sun, and the cold fear that had gripped him begins to dissipate at the sight.

Steve's okay. She's not here to bring him the most unthinkable news that he could imagine. She wouldn't be smiling, if she were.

But then why...?

"I don't understand," he says, slowly.

[from_the_outside]

She shifts the backpack up and off her shoulder to show it to him.

"I brought your things. Sorry it took a while, my resources have been a little limited."

[nerves_of_ice]

He stares at it without seeming to recognize it.

"My...things?"

"Bucky." Shuri's tone has shifted now, into something more gentle. "Bucky."

He looks away from Sharon, to Shuri, and waits for her to continue.

(Ready to comply-- no. No. Not that. Never that. Not ever again.)

"Sharon came to visit you." Still gentle, still kind. "But you do not have to see her, unless you choose. What do you want?"

His glance flicks immediately back to Sharon, and stays. He can't seem to find his voice.