[Virginia AU] we rose up from the falling waters

[nerves_of_ice]

A little over a week goes by, and as it does Bucky falls into a pattern, slow but sure. He wakes with Sharon in the mornings, shares coffee and something that suffices for breakfast, then works a little on searches and checking contacts and sources from other time zones and locations. Mid-morning finds him at the Task Force offices with Riley and his team. Early afternoon finds him meeting with Ross, if there's any reason to; mid-afternoon he checks in with Steve, with Tony, or with Natasha before he goes back to tracing rumors and hints.

Today's different, though. Today is Sharon's first day back at work after her suspension, and Bucky's determined not to do a single damn thing that might possibly make it difficult for her.

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

"I'm fine," he says, immediately, automatically. Bucky looks at Ross. "I'll keep watch if you need to take a break."

[marvel_npc]

"I don't need a break," Ross says, grimly. "I need to know what the hell is going on."

Nakia turns her glance to T'Challa, silent. He meets it, then nods, and she turns back to Ross and Bucky. "T'Challa will tell you what you wish to know," she murmurs. "I will stay with Sharon while you speak with him."

[nerves_of_ice]

Reluctantly, he lets her hand slip from his, setting it gently back on the surface of the table as he looks at Nakia.

"If anything changes--"

[marvel_npc]

"I will call you," she assures him, as T'Challa moves towards them. "Immediately. You have my word, Sergeant Barnes."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Thank you." He allows himself another look at Sharon, then goes to stand with Ross in the middle of the aircraft, waiting for T'Challa.

[marvel_npc]

He exchanges another glance with Nakia – he must speak to her later, comfort her, but she is familiar with the priorities of duty – and gestures for the men to join him on the other side of the flyer, where there are some comfortable seats.

"Please," he says, politely. "There is much to discuss."

[nerves_of_ice]

He and Ross follow Wakanda's king across the aircraft to the indicated seats. Before Bucky can say anything, Ross starts, "So when I asked how much more you were hiding-- what the hell, your Highness?"

Bucky manages to keep his wince from being visible, but can't keep from slanting a disbelieving look at the Deputy Commander.

[marvel_npc]

At the helm, Okoye growls.

T'Challa ignores her for the moment and lifts his wrist, the Kimoyo beads there lying dormant. "More than you could ever have guessed," he says, solemn. He pins them both with a serious glance. "And it must remain hidden."

He doesn't allow Ross to sputter a reply, only taps his beads and brings a hologram to life. "Let me tell you the story of Wakanda."

[nerves_of_ice]

This close to the hologram, he's able to get a much better look at it than he was when T'Challa was speaking to Shuri on the other side of the aircraft. Tony would be jealous, he decides, unaware of the flicker of delighted wonder in his eyes as he watches the meteorite land, the mountain rise, the tribes form.

At his side, Ross shifts, but he doesn't interrupt. They both listen in silence until T'Challa finishes telling the history. Bucky opens his mouth to ask a question, but Ross beats him to it. "So - all this," he says, waving his hand at the aircraft around them. "And more. How the-- how have you hidden this all this time?"

"Some of it in plain sight, I'd bet," Bucky murmurs. "Like that car."

[marvel_npc]

T'Challa nods to the Sergeant, unable to stop the smallest of tugs at the corner of his mouth at the look of amazement in the man's eyes. It's a bare spark among the bleakness, but it's something.

"Yes," he says. "And by being very careful with our secrets. And protecting our border. Wakanda is surrounded by a field that produces a realistic illusion. Any outsiders looking at it would see only trees, fields, mountains." He vanishes the hologram with a wave of his hand. "By deploying our War Dogs out into the world to listen for any news of Wakanda or vibranium."

T'Challa nods at Nakia, including her in that group. "By never allowing outsiders into our country," he adds, and looks slightly rueful. "A law which I have now broken, irrevocably."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Car?" Ross asks him. "What - you mean the car they were driving? That was vibranium?"

Bucky nods. "I figure, yeah. Given how it repelled bullets and that I couldn't make a mark on it with my hand." He shifts his glance back to T'Challa. "You did a hell of a job. Almost no one out there has the slightest idea." He studies the man's expression.

"Breaking this law. Bringing us in. Is that going to be a problem for you?"

If it is, then it's a problem for Sharon, too. He doesn't know what he'll do, but there has to be something.

[marvel_npc]

He will not lie to these men, not anymore, not now that he has bared his country's most carefully-held secrets. I'm sorry, baba.

He meets the Sergeant's serious-eyed gaze. "Yes," he says, simply. "In my first action as king, I have committed what many in Wakanda will call treason."

At the helm, Okoye stiffens, listening. He doesn't raise or lower his voice, only speaks to the men he has decided to help. "What it may lead to, I don't know. But there may be trouble. I am sorry."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Shit," Ross mutters. Bucky just gives a small nod; he was afraid of that.

"I can't say that I am. Sorry, I mean. Except that I'm sorry I didn't move faster, that I wasn't better - that I didn't stop it, somehow. But that you're bringing us... Sharon would be dead. She could still die, I know, but she'd already be gone if you hadn't done this. So I'm not sorry about that, but if there's anything, anything at all that I can do or give that'll help, you have it. You just have to say the word."

[marvel_npc]

If that's your price, the man had said, white to the lips, I'll pay it.

Ross is thinking furiously; he keeps his gaze on Barnes. "I'm not in the habit of extorting favors from desperate men," T'Challa informs him. "But there is no doubt we are all in this together, now."

He does look at Ross, now. "If we can capture Klaue, that will help. He was our mission. And... it's a matter of great personal importance to me, as well."

[nerves_of_ice]

"You're not," Bucky assures him. The corner of his mouth quirks in a wry expression. "Believe me when I tell you I know what that's like. It's not this."

He catches the exasperated look Ross gives him, but the deputy commander doesn't argue. Instead, Ross turns back to T'Challa. "We're on it," he promises. "My team's still on the ground there, sweeping the area. We won't give up. And--"

Bucky takes the conversational ball as smoothly as if they'd planned it. "Tony - Iron Man - he's already in Busan," he reports. "Scanning and searching. Natasha Romanoff's working remote surveillance. Cap's overseeing from back in New York, but he can be wherever's needed in a few hours at most. They're - we're coordinating with the Task Force, too. Klaue's not going to get away, your highness. Not this time."

[marvel_npc]

T'Challa exhales, his shoulders dropping almost a full inch. "Thank you," he says, simply, and looks between the men, then focuses on the Deputy Commander. "When he is apprehended, he must come to Wakanda. I simply cannot negotiate other terms, Ross. His crimes against my country and its people are too great."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky looks at Ross. "No one's got a better claim," he murmurs.

"Don't you think I know that?" Ross snaps back at him. He blows out a breath and addresses T'Challa. "I have to be there. As a representative, to oversee the transfer, confirm the local authority, that kind of thing. I'll have C-- someone on my team get started on the paperwork. That's the best I can offer."

[marvel_npc]

T'Challa considers him for a long moment, then nods, though it's not quite agreement. "General Okoye is the local authority," he says, indicating their pilot. "You may communicate with her, when the time comes."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky's never felt less like laughing than he has in the last hour or so, but he has to swallow the urge to laugh anyway at the look on Ross's face as he stares at the general -- who's looking both disdainful and pretty smug at the same time.

He shakes his head and glances at T'Challa. "He's more flexible than he sounds," he offers. Maybe it'll help. "I'm living proof of that."

[marvel_npc]

A tint hint of a smile touches the tired corner of T'Challa's mouth. "We will see," he says, and studies them both. "I will answer any other questions you have, if they are possible for me to answer. If not, I release you both for the remainder of our journey."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Not right now," Ross says. "Although I'll probably think of a lot soon enough so let's put a pin in that, okay?"

Bucky just shakes his head. "Later."

[marvel_npc]

T'Challa nods to them both, and makes his way back across the flyer to Nakia. She gives him a sad, warm glance with a rucked-up partial smile, and he puts his arm around her, unable not to.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs. "We will do what we can for your friend."

She leans against him without hesitation and exhales, then glances up at him. "Thank you," she whispers back, and says no more. Nothing more is necessary.

[nerves_of_ice]

Once T'Challa leads Nakia away for a bit, Bucky reclaims one of the seats at Sharon's side. He keeps count of her breaths, only moving when Ross nags him into eating something - after which he does the same for the other man.

Time passes. They wait. There's nothing else they can do.

[marvel_npc]

They fly swiftly, but it still takes hours. T'Challa spends the flight spelling Okoye or sitting quietly with Nakia, listening as she tells him stories of her friend, her voice soft and fond.

He leaves Sergeant Barnes and Ross to themselves for the most part; they have had a number of shocks already today, and there are still more to come. Both stay near the unconscious woman, weary but vigilant. He hopes that, somehow, some part of her is aware of her defenders, who both seem to care for her so much.

Still, when they near the barrier of the shield, he shifts, considering, before coming to the men. "We are about to enter Wakanda," he murmurs. "I understand if you wish to stay here, but if you are able to spare a moment, you will see a thing few outsiders have seen in generations."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky glances at Ross, then at Nakia, who comes over to join them. "I will stay with her," she promises, and only then does Bucky get to his feet. Behind him, Ross does the same, and they follow T'Challa up to the front of the flyer.

It's beautiful countryside, Bucky thinks. He notes mountains and cliffs, green fields and high plains, with herds of animals scattered here and there. Everything looks to be thriving, as far as he can tell, from the vibrant, rich color of the vegetation, which only becomes clearer as they approach.