I know, I've actually updated - shock! *READ THE BOTTOM FOR A LIFE UPDATE*

Response to reviews:

Ivy Calister - I'm so glad you like my writing, I can never tell if I'm very good or not. I can't believe it's the best one you've ever read, you're so cute.

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Guest - Glad you're 'literally obsessed' with this story. Hopefully this chapter has been as good as the last one. Your words are very kind 3

Caphillfan - Sorry, I haven't been working on that one currently. I've been finding it quite overwhelming doing one, let alone two, but one day I will continue it.

The Mischievous Robin - Thank you so much, I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long. You will definitely see the end of it.

tobi256 - Hiya, I definitely haven't abandoned this story. With it till the end.

ScarletWitchYESSSSSSSSS (hopefully got those number of S's) - They will be together soon, I promise. The burn makes it so much betterrrrrrr, I know you want it though.

D00rFr4m3 - Thank youuuu, I'm really glad you like my writing! Jealous Bucky is funny, definitely need to do more in the future. Their communications will definitely need to improve.

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WraithSnakeZenith - Yeah, I hope I'm doing the right thing with their relationship.

Wanda POV

I felt a bit sick when I woke up that morning, in the pit of my stomach. I wasn't coping with the heat very well. I saw the glass of water next to the bed and quickly gulped it down. I sighed - still cold. Bucky's bedroom was small, but big enough for the basics - sleep and a peace of mind. I could feel the appeal of the hut, but maybe not as a permanent home.

We went straight to sleep last night. I decided to adopt the mentality of 'roll with it' in order to combat my nerves. There were no expectations, no pressures, no judgement, just Bucky and I. That kept me peaceful for the moment. We slept in the same bed, but ended up keeping to our separate sides. I was so tired, I barely remembered falling asleep in the first place. My head hit the pillow and that was it.

I sat up and realised how sweaty the skin was under my boobs. I grimaced, wiping my skin with the shirt I was wearing. I didn't like how sticky I felt - a shower was definitely needed. I slid out of the bed and padded to the kitchen dressed in an oversized shirt of Bucky's and my underwear. The shirt tickled my mid-thighs. There was skylight in the kitchen, which looked a little out of place considering the petite building was made of mud. I wanted to see where Bucky was before I showered and got into the clothes from yesterday. "Oh god…" I groaned, realising the clothes from last night were rather revealing. Daytime walk through Wakanda in an outfit worthy of clubbing in - not great.

I padded my way into the living room. "Bucky?" Nothing was moved from yesterday, except his shirt that lay over a kitchen chair.

I heard a noise outside and walked up to the open front door with a smile. Leaning against the door frame, I watched him pick up the axe and slam it down between a piece of wood. I could've sworn it split perfectly in two. I felt comfortable, leaning against the door to watch him shirtless. I rolled my eyes. Perve.

It was a sexual desire, but I liked admiring his strength and determination. The way the sweat dripped down his neck. I didn't even know sweat could be sexy until now. He lifted the axe again as I quietly sighed. He immediately stopped and I cringed, knowing that he would've heard my breath. He turned to me. God, I could've melted into a puddle right there. I felt a twitch from the bottom of my stomach and bit my lip. I just wanted to just run full speed towards him, tackle him somewhat gracefully and have my way with him. It was incredibly...frustrating. I wanted to punch his beautiful face. I wanted to feel his skin and touch that sweat.

"I…uh…I'm gonna start breakfast." Apparently, that was the only thing my scrambled brain could think of. Bucky was so much more than his physical appearance. His personality was the main attraction. The muscles, that strength was just another thing to admire in my eyes.

He smiled in a very endearing fashion, nodded, and then turned back to continue chopping. He rotated his metal arm a little and curled his fingers round the axe again. I was about to head back inside when the glisten of the arm caught my eye. The sun wasn't helping the fact that the connection point looked red raw. Taking another swing at the wood, I was drawn to him. I somehow carried myself over to him without realising, my fingertips finding themselves against his metal arm.

I felt my heart clench at the way he held his breath. I traced my hand down his arm, the metal warm from the heat.

"Does it hurt?" I could see his eyes swriling with...something. His intense gaze was too much, so I looked back to the arm. From that one look, I could see his emotions brewing. I wanted to discipher that look so badly.

"Used to a lot," he explained, looking down at it. "It aches, but not like the sharp pains I used to get."

It felt like I was being pulled by a magnet. I don't know what made me do it, but my head was moving before my brain could stop it. I placed a delicate kiss on his shoulder. My lips enjoyed the warmth, sensitive to the heat. My throat tightened as my stomach clenched. "Much better," I whispered and leant my forehead against him, closing my eyes for a moment. I wished to stay in that moment. I winced, feeling my heart skip.

I quickly turned and rushed back inside, unable to look at him. Why was I feeling so shy now? I kissed him last night. I groaned as I opened the fridge - I opted for the berries and yoghurt that had been stocked there for our visit. It didn't take long for us to eat breakfast, a very quiet breakfast, and head back to the tower. Surpringly, it wasn't awkward. Almost cosy. We hadn't talked about the kiss, but I had a feeling that we would be alright and figure it out as we went along.

Bucky smiled fondly at the hut as we walked away. "What are you thinking about?" I prompted.

He smiled. "I'm glad I got to show you the hut." I was happy to see that he was proud of himself. It was all his hard work that made it. I realised that he didn't have many things that were his to own. Perhaps he didn't want too many, accustomed to the idea of regularly moving on and changing location. I stared at the hut that was sitting by the lake in the middle of African. It saddened me that we were leaving tonight. There was so much to explore in this world, this fantasy world. And it was a fantasy. Expectations, pressures and judgement - that was what waiting for us in the real world. At least we had today.

"Thank you for showing me," I replied, a small smile on my face containing the grin I had underneath. His lip twitched up at me, a look that stuck to me for a little too long. What I would give to know what he was thinking…and that was coming from someone who frequently explored his memories and thoughts. In reality, I didn't really know how he was feeling. I wanted to sneak inside and understand what he truly felt. I could look at his life, travel to his pasts and even feel some of what he felt, but for me, it was in snippets, in memory boxes. For him, it was a constant.

I knew how I was feeling - embarrassed. I was wearing the same dress as yesterday. Bucky had offered me his shirt to wear as well, but I decided it would look even worse if I wore that! People would talk. Thankfully, we didn't pass many people, but the ones we did either gave me strange looks or were chuckling to themselves. Perhaps people were talking already. I internally cringed at the thought of me being viewed as Bucky's person rather than my own. I didn't come here for him...well, that's not completely true. But I came here for myself. I wanted to see the sights of Wakanda and meet it's people, dance in it's halls. It was beautiful.

As soon as we got into the compound, Shuri met us at the entrance. "I've been looking for you two, how was your night?" she asked with a big grin. She always looked so happy. God, what a fool I was to think Bucky would've been interested in her. She was barely 15 and I had been thinking of her as my prey. She was actually quite funny. I didn't think T'Challa appreciated the jokes, but everyone else did. Their sibling bickering was sweet. It reminded me of myself and Pietro. I smiled fondly at them at that thought. That's the thing about grief. At some point, you realise you're feeling sad at the memory of them. You become comforted by them.

"Really good actually," I replied, feeling my cheeks heat up at the thought of the kiss.

My thoughts were interrupted by a light tickle on the back of my hand. My breath stilled as his fingertips drifted over my knuckles and linked our fingers.

I could feel the ghost of his fingertips still.

I turned my head to look at him beside me.

I looked to Bucky, his eyes already on me.

One second. It took one second of looking into his beautiful blue eyes for me to give in. I desperately shoved my lips on his like some kind of vulture. And I was desperate. Our mouths clashed together like fire. I wasn't even thinking about whether he was kissing me back or not. I gripped onto him, his shoulders, his face, anything I could get.

I took a breath.

The grip of my fingers in his hair loosened, turning into a kneading motion. His hair felt so soft between my fingertips. I sighed as he cradled my face in his hands.

"How was your night?" Bucky asked Shuri. I frowned as his voice. It was much softer last night.

"My God..."

"Ugh, I feel a bit hungover, but there's work to do. Speaking of, White Boy - get in my lab. Things to discuss," she gestured for Bucky to follow her, which he did. "I think Okoye is looking for you. Training room." I nodded as she began to walk away.

"I'll catch you up later," Bucky added before catching up with Shuri. I nodded and smiled, a smile that faded as he walked further and further away.

I returned to my room and decided to call Nat. I wondered what Paris was like - the city of love. I had always wanted to go, but a mission hadn't called for it yet. I was excited to hear about it. I unzipped my dress when she picked up. "Hey" came through the speaker.

"Hey, how'd it go?" I replied, grabbing the phone to take to the bathroom.

"The mission went okay. Should be fine for pick up tomorrow," she answered abruptly. She didn't sound happy.

"Just okay?" I queried as I walked to the wardrobe. "Did something go wrong?"

"Nothing, I just got hit a bit more than I would've liked. When's good for tomorrow's extraction?" I did not like the way that she glided over that question. Nat rarely got beaten, but, unsurprisingly, when she did, she didn't like to make a big deal out of it. I made a mental reminder to check her injuries over in person.

"Whenever's fine, just text us when and where. How's Paris?" I asked, grabbing a sports bra from my bag.

"Good, a bit chilly. Any reason for the call?" She asked. I raised a brow - getting straight to the point I see.

"Uh…well, I just wanted to talk about Bucky," I blurted, excitement bubbling from my throat.

"What about him?" I sat down on the bed, biting my lip.

"You told me to tell you if anything happened and…" I sighed. "We kissed." I giggled a little, a grin taking over my face. "And it was…a proper kiss. He held my face in his hands and it was so...romantic, but overwhelming. I didn't even realise it had happened before it did." I shook my head. "I don't...uh... I dunno, but it just felt like a relief to. It had been coming for ages, but I didn't know if we ever would, you know?"

The line was quiet for a second. I titled my head, suprised she didn't have anything to say. "Nat?"

I heard her cough. "That's great. Did anything else happen?" She asked with a little intrigue. I smirked.

"We slept in the same bed, but we didn't sleep together. I want to wait until the right time, you know. He would never pressure me into anything at all. But I just...I feel stupid and...I basically said that I didn't want to go any further, but I don't know if-"

"Sorry honey, I've gotta go, but you can tell me all about it tomorrow. I'll talk to you later."

"Oh alrigh-" She hung up the phone. I frowned. She was definitely still funny about Bucky and I. I doubt she would've been jealous seeing as her and Clint were practically married now. It must've been the mission distraction or-

A knock at the door stopped me in my thoughts. I quickly grabbed some grey shorts and a hoodie and rushed to the door. One of the Dora Mijale stood there. Their outfits were quite intimidating and why were they all so goddamn tall? Just reminded me how short I was.

"You've been requested to train with us," the lady said with a smile. Oddly, she seemed very friendly compared to some of the others.

"Thank you. The same room as yesterday?"

She nodded. "We start in ten minutes." I smiled as she walked away. She was beautiful, her voice so soft. I wanted to ask for a name, but she had already left. I returned into the room and picked up my phone.

Hey Clint, you spoken to Nat? Says her mission went well, but sounds pissed.

W xx

I sent the text, throwing the phone on my desk. I slipped on a thong, some leggings and my sports bra. My body felt disgusting. Bucky's hut was humid and my skin felt sticky. A cold shower was definitely what I needed, for more than one reason. I grabbed my phone, a water bottle and headed for the training room, mentally preparing for a bashing.

Bucky POV

"You can guess who's suggestion this was," Shuri said as we looked at the new holographic model of a metal arm. This one had a repulsor shooted in the palm.

"Absolutely not," I replied, swiping the palm attachment to the side of remove it. Stark wouldn't be happy, but I wasn't one of his little metal machines.

"I tried to tell him," Shuri answered, laughing to herself. "Don't tell a Stark he's wrong. It doesn't end well."

I scoffed and continued to examine the arm. The design was sleeker, would allow for quicker movement as was sensitive to touch, just like the old arm.

"There is another design," she said, drooping her head a little.

I lifted an eyebrow. "Makes it sound like I'm not going to like it."

She looked up and shrugged. Swiping her fingers to the side, the old arm hologram disappeared. She typed a few things in on her computer and then hesitantly raised her palm to get a new hologram.

It was an arm. A normal, flesh coloured arm. "You made this?" I questioned, frowing at it. No enhancements that I could see, no metal sections, just a plain looking arm. Part of me wondered if people would prefer it, one person in particular. I thought back to the way she touched my arm, her soft lips against the harsh metal. How did she make everything bad seem good? It was a special talent. "Stark actually."

I glanced over, raising a brow as my thoughts disappaited. "Stark? Made this for me?"

She nodded as I took a seat on one of the stools surrounding her desk. Normal. How odd the concept seemed. I never considered just having a 'normal' attachment. And the fact that Stark would want this for me was surprising. I thought he wanted to make me into more of a machine than I already was.

"What do you think?"

I hesitated. "I..." I struggled to bring myself to say it, but...it just wasn't... "I'm not normal and I don't want to...hide it behind flesh coloured metal."

Shuri nodded and swiped the arm away. "Also, it makes you look like a bad ass." I chuckled and swiveled round in the chair.

"Don't know about that," she chuckled, standing up and leaning my arms against one of the side desks. "I'm just not ready to go to that point." The words 'you might never be' echoed in my head.

"And that's fine." Shuri smiled. She started typing in some stuff on her computer. She was such a positive person, it was refreshing to have her around. Not as refreshing as Wanda though. Wanda was someone that no one else would ever live up to. I found myself smiling without realising as I spun around on the stool. What were we going to do? I didn't even know what she wanted or whether she wanted anything at all? I didn't even know what I wanted. Technically, she was my doctor, but she was so much more than that to me. No matter what, I needed her to stay in my life. What would I do without her? if that meant remaining friends to do so, I didn't care. I just...I just wanted her. It reminded me to ask Shuri a question that had been playing on my mind since I arrived.

"Did you uh...did you get anywhere with research?" She stopped typing and looked up at the table. Then up at me. I stopped spinning. "There's nothing is there..."

Shuri looked at her keys and stepped away, sitting down on her own chair. "I search every day, looking for new case studies or answers that I didn't try once you were out of the ice, but..." My shoulders slumped a little, but there was barely any hope to begin with. "I'm not saying Wanda can't repair the damage that HYDRA did to your brain, but...removing programming is an extremely delicate process. I tried everything, I searched every-"

"I know," I interrupted, trying to stop her from spiralling into a guilt trip. I saw the tears in her eyes and I felt my heart break. "It's not your fault, Shuri." She nodded and wiped away one of the tears that had dropped onto her cheek. I stood up and went around the table. I leant down and hugged her in her chair. The girl was under so much pressure. She didn't need any more than she was already dealing with. Every company in the world was watching her back for the next scientific breakthrough or contacting her to work with them. She was the best. But this wasn't her doing.

"I want you to stop."

She pulled away. "What?"

I could see the confusion in her eyes as I stepped back. "I want you to stop searching for a cure."

"But there could be, if I keep looking and testing, it migh-"

"Shuri," I said, sternly. She really looked at me then. I wasn't angry, but she could tell I was serious. "There's not going to be a cure."

We stood there in silence for a moment and it sunk in for me too. No. Cure. I was never going to be cured of HYDRA's programming. Whenever someone said those words, I would be there's to control. There was nothing to stop that. And it was absolutely terrifying to me. That was the first time I realised how scared I actually was. I had people to protect - Wanda, Shuri, Steve, everyone at the compound. Their lives in my hands. Literally.

"You're my brother." Shuri stood up. "I don't want to stop looking for answers that could protect."

"Once a month," I argued. "Once a month, you're allowed to look for the answers. But every day," I shrugged. "There's just no point."

She sighed and stepped forward to give me a hug. She was so much smaller than me that her head barely reached my shoulders. Shuri needed a break in general, but definitely from searhing for a cure for me. It had been months with no result. We were never going to get there. "Are you sure?" she asked, squeezing me tightly.

I nodded. "I'm sure," I answered, looking at the metal arm that was open on one of her computers. She worked so much for me. I wanted to repay her somehow, but what do you give the woman who has everything. "You've done so much for me already. Thank you."

She pulled away and laughed. "Don't get soft on me, white boy."

I rolled my eyes and we went back to our usual, banterous selves. We worked on the metal arm whilst I lectured her on the dangers of underage drinking.

Wanda POV

"Fuck," I grunted, my body being slammed on the floor. I was so done. When the nice lady who met me at my door helped me up, I nodded my thanks, but sighed. My entire body was exhausted, every cell bruisable felt bruised. I started on the far side of the room and 'all' I had to do was make it to the other side without being subdued. No domes or shields around myself for longer than a second whilst I fought about twenty Dora Mijale warriers. So far, no fucking luck.

"Again!" Okoye shouted. The others were tired too, but they definitely wouldn't let her be aware of it. Okoye was a badass bitch, but she was getting on my tits. I was exhausted I just wanted to eat pizza and sleep, fuuuuck.

"Stop being so lazy," she chimed. I blew the hair out of my face as I struted past her. We had done this simulation a thousand times and I hadn't got it yet. I was never going to get it.

"I'm not being lazy. I'm..." I aggressively rolled my shoulder. I stormed my way to the other side of the training room. "Tired and shit!" I shouted. Hospitality was definitely thrown out the window.

"You're in a fight, a thousand more enemies to fight that would kill civilians and you're...tired?" Okoye chastised with a scoff. "Pathetic." I spat on the floor, a bit of blood from my mouth spilling out. I wiped my chin with my arm, the anger bubbling inside. "You think you can protect them when you don't have confidence in your own abilities?" I took a long breath out as I reached the starting position. I turned around, wincing at the pain in my legs.

I was startled by Okoye's sudden presence in front of me. "Because you can." I frowned. My anger starting to disolve when she said that. She placed her hand against my chest, where my heart was. "But you need to let yourself free. What you feel, that anger and that passion, you need to let it out."

She took a step back and I felt her confidence in me flourish through my body. "Show us what you're made of," she whispered slyly, stepping away to observe from the side again. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath in, feeling my body fill with energy. This test was tough, but I was strong.

I breathed out. I could do it. I repeated the mantra in my head, over and over again. "I can do it," I whispered to myself, clenching and unclenching my fists. I felt energy boiling under my skin and it wasn't just my powers. It was my power, my confidence. This was it. I was going to do it this time.

"Begin!" Okoye shouted. I was safe in my circle until I stepped out of it, but I could hear the warriers stepping closer. I opened my eyes and gritted my teeth. Time to go.

Instead of sprinting forward like I had so many times before, I went to the right, taking the ladies on that side by surprise. The first three women came charging with their spears pointed. Two others were thrown which I deflected quickly with my powers. I slid onto my knees and swiped one woman's foot. As she fell to the floor, I quickly stood up and held onto one woman, using my momentum to push the third woman in the chest with my feet. The second I threw to the floor.

Knowing I still had to get to the other side of the room, I began to sprint towards the other five women coming towards me. I swiped my arm out, knocking all the women off their feet. Stupidly, I left my neck free. The first woman immediately wrapped her elbow around my arm. Shit. Reflexively, I leant back then threw myself forward, her body being thrown over mine.

I decided to try a different tactic. I used my powers to lift the abandoned sticks from some of the women as I moved away from the ones advancing. I held them in front of me like a protective circle. I had reached one side of the room, the women slowly cornering.

"Change," Okoye shouted, which meant change tactics/I was using my powers too much. Panic came over me, wondering whether I could actually complete this challenge set for me. Quickly, I used my powers to set the weapons into the ground, creating a protection of spears around me. I spontaneously formed a possibly dangerous escape plan from my situation.

"Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttt!" I shouted as I sprinted towards the wall. I kept the momentum, lifting my left foot to press against the wall. Then my right. I used all the force I could to push myself away from the wall and, almost like a rocket, I propelled myself across the width of the room. I wasn't allowed to fly, but, technically, I didn't. It was like a trampoline. A wall trampoline. Bouncing away was fine, but the landing was my worry.

I managed to take a deep breath in before I landed on the other side of the room in a lunge position, my hands propelling my red energy to steady my stance. Fuck me, that was actually quite impressive. Less women were gathered here, but their sticks were still being propelled towards me. Flicking my hands, their weapons flew to the floor.

I sprinted through them, some women unable to catch me. Others weren't so slow. Another woman tried to tackle me from the side, but I managed to twist her arm once I was on the ground and quickly bounced back up. I was not going to allow myself to be subdued.

"Let's go!" I shouted, even managing to smirk as I sprinted towards a warrier near the wall. I managed to get her close enough to the wall that I jumped, grabbed her neck and kicked the wall. I went backwards whereas her head collided with the wall. Somehow I managed to complete a back handspring. Natasha had been instructing me how to do so, but that wasn't with people attacking me. I didn't have time to be proud of myself.

I ran out of my handspring and locked eyes with the finish. Fifteen metres maybe. So far. Feeling the Doja Mijale creeping towards me, I started running. Two women stood in my way as well as the others behind me. Whilst running, I picked up the discarded sticks and used it to swipe the closest warriers feet from under them. That got rid of one line of defense. That was my downfall of the previous exercise - never take your eye of the enemy, not matter what side their coming from.

The two women starting running for me too. "No powers!" Okoye shouted.

"BITCH!" I shouted back and started sprinting. "Oh god," I whispered, deciding the only way to get past them would be to just wipe them out completely. I didn't stop running - I needed the momentum for what I was going to attempt.

They ran together, no weapons, just us. The woman on the left. I tried to control my breathing as we got closer. Shit, shit, shit!

Before impact, I lowered my body and tackled the woman on the left. As she started to fall, I tightened my core and elevated my legs, kicking the second woman in the stomach. She stumbled backwards as I fell to the floor. I immediately scrambled to my feet and sprinted. God, I sprinted. I ensured my fingers were clenched and streamlined in order for me to reach an optimum sprinting level.

I practically collided with the wall, my legs being unable to slow down. Falling to the floor, I started chuckling with pride, surprised I managed to actually get to the other side. The other women starting clapping and cheering for me, one woman even shouting "Finally!", which made me laugh.

Okoye came over to me and smiled. "Very impressive."

I shrugged from my space on the floor, breathing heavily. "I know...their not attacking...me at their...full strength," I replied, trying to catch me breath. Jeez, that was exhausting. "But thank you."

Okoye rolled her eyes. "Take the compliment, Maximoff. I don't give them often," she noted and walked away. So mysterious, so...uh my brain couldn't be bothered to think about this bullshit. I leant my head against the floor, shut my eyes and sighed. I would not be able to do this every day. I needed at least a few days off after that mess.

"Nice nap?" I didn't need to open my eyes to know who it was.

"Fuck you." I growled, looking up at him. Even upside his smirk looked cute.

He lay down next to me. "You good to leave soon?"

I shut my eyes. "Yeah, I'm just going to lie here for a few minutes. Accept death." Bucky scoffed and I heard him shuffle. His hand brushed over mine, so gently. He turned my hand over and laced our fingers together. Okay, uh, why is this happening? Is this a thing now? My lungs felt so stuttery and my chest felt hot, but I just held his hand a little tighter and kept my eyes closed. It was nice.

In that moment, I didn't care. I didn't care about what anyone else said. I didn't care what Bucky and I were, whether we were together or whether it was something else. I just didn't care, because I felt comforted. Bucky was my comfort.

"I think Shuri posted a video of you doing all that by the way," Bucky said, casually.

I sharply turned my head, wincing at the pain that shot down my neck. "Wait, what!"

*UPDATE - some sad shit ahead*

Mum died at the start of April. That was fun during lockdown. Point is, I'm fine, I'm sorry I haven't updated, but I've been moving house, coping with my mum's death, my boyfriend tried to kill himself, my dad's been having a mental breakdown and I've been trying to do Uni work so I think I've had a fair enough excuse.

Anyway, that's a filler on my life. Many thanks to those who have been concerned, but I'm doing okay. Had three years of preparing for her death, so it was a little easier that way. Still, being 20 with no mum is fucking shite.

Fanfiction has been a way for me to relax. I really enjoy writing it, so I'm hoping that over the summer I update more than previous. I have a lot of ideas and I'm very excited to share them, so please don't think I've abandoned this story. I love it and I'm so thankful for the 200 of you that follow it.

All my love,

Abstract xx

P.S. In the next Chapter, they will return to the Avengers tower and the world's response to Bucky's interview will be revealed!