Chapter 80: Split Ends

Day One Hundred and One

"Your DNA is being very stubborn. I don't appreciate it." Shuri said, and even if he couldn't see her face, Bucky could hear her irritation through the phone. He held in the sigh that threatened to escape, glancing over his shoulder at Mika's sleeping form. Even underneath the heavy blanket, he could tell the angles of her shoulder and hip were much sharper than they used to be.

"What is the next step if my DNA refuses to cooperate?" he asked quietly. He wasn't going to admit defeat, not until death herself came to claim either one of them. But he knew when to call it if an option wasn't viable, and to search for alternatives.

"You wouldn't happen to know anyone else with regenerative healing, would you?" she asked, and for the hundredth time he cursed Thanos. If Steve was still in super soldier mode, they could've used his DNA. But no, the stupid purple titan had to go and ruin that too. He had a vague memory of knowing someone a long time ago who always seemed to have knives on hand and ran headlong into bullets, with no sign of them come the morning. But even if he could remember the man's name, what were the odds that he was still alive, or that Bucky could find him?

"You mean you haven't invented it yet?" he asked, trying to lighten the situation. Shuri was barely eighteen, and he'd already asked her to essentially save half the world. It was too big of a task for anyone, let alone a princess who also had to rebuild her homeland.

"I'm a genius, not a goddess." she replied with half a laugh. Good, he needed to hear her laugh.

"Debatable." he replied immediately. He was rewarded with another laugh, this one a little fuller.

"I can ask around, see if my brother has any connections. Do you think the Avengers will know anyone?" she asked. Her voice was slightly distracted now; she was trying to multitask. He did the mental math and discovered it was late evening in Wakanda - she was probably trying to set up all her projects for the end of the day.

"I'll find something, Princess. You do what you need." he said. He ran through the list in his head. None of the current Avengers had healing powers. But, he did remember a certain kid that had unusual strength. And unusual strength usually led to other unusual powers. "Let me take care of it."

"You call me as soon as you find anything, okay? And tell Mika I love her and I'll be there as soon as everything is stable here." Shuri said sharply. He knew she didn't like leaving problems unsolved, but he also knew she had other priorities right now.

"I will. Thank you." he said, trying to make it sound more human-like than the strict response of a man on a mission. They said their goodbyes and hung up, and his slid his phone back into his pocket before going back into Mika's room. She shifted with the noise, halfway waking up as he took his spot in the chair next to her bed. He reached out, gently smoothing the hair away from her face. "Hey there."

"Ugh, I hate this stuff." she groaned, her voice thick and her eyes groggy. She moved slowly as she reached for his hand, tucking it under her cheek when she found it. The attacks were coming more often now, to the point she now had to be sedated when her levels started climbing too high.

"I know. I'm sorry, love." he said quietly. Truth be told he hated it for her, but he hated seeing her cough up blood and seize even more. Her eyes opened fully, and she suddenly seemed more awake.

"Bucky, listen…" she started. He had a feeling she was about to say something that she'd been thinking about for a long time, and he didn't want to hear it.

"Mika-" he started, but she interrupted with a weak squeeze of her hand on his wrist.

"Just listen." she said quietly. She tried to push herself up into a seated position, but he could see her muscles trembling. He went to help her, but she held up her hand, wanting to do it on her own. Her eyes were clear when she looked at him again, and he tried to hold her gaze so that he didn't see how prominent her collar bones were now, or how her T-shirt hung so loosely on her. "If something happens-"

"We are not having this conversation." he said. His throat ached with the thought of it. No, he was not going to even think of the possibility of 'something happening' because it wasn't an option. Usually she was the one to avoid tough conversations, but this time it was his turn.

"Bucky Barnes." she said as sharply as she could manage. Her annoyance was giving her more energy. "If something happens, promise me you'll move on."

"No." he said shortly. If admitting she might not make it through this wasn't an option, then even considering moving on from her wasn't even within the realm of possibility. She glared, taking a few deep breaths to gather herself again.

"I'm not saying find a new wife a week later." she qualified, and even if it was a joke it sent a knife between his ribs. "But I know you. Don't cut yourself off from the world, okay? Promise me you won't."

"I can't make that promise." he said quietly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He ran his metal thumb over the other palm, the bite helping to give him something else to focus on besides the pain of this conversation.

"I need you to. Just promise…" she stopped to cough, both of them tensing until her hand came back clear of blood. "Promise you'll try. You don't have to do it alone."

He remembered telling Steve the same thing once. At the time, he hadn't understood why the asshole had been so stubborn about living on his own. He'd figured it was a play at strength. But now he understood: faced with the chance at losing Mika, Bucky didn't think he'd want to see anyone ever again. She was right, she did know him - if something happened to her, the only thing he'd want to do was become a hermit all over again.

"I promise." he said. He couldn't promise success, but he could promise to try. He cleared his throat so he could speak around the emotion building in his chest. "Not that it's gonna matter, cause you're gonna be just fine, you hear me, Barnes?"

She smiled, and thank God despite everything her smile was the same. "Sir yes sir." she said. She was getting tired from sitting, he could tell. So he got up and moved next to her, letting her lean into him. She seemed so much smaller now.

"I have to go run an errand for Shuri. Are you gonna be okay?" he asked. He hated leaving her, and spent most of the time in the hospital besides her consistently saying he could go home. But he could see her eyelids fluttering as her adrenaline faded and the sedative started kicking in again.

"I'll be okay." she murmured. He put a finger under her chin, lifting her face so he could kiss her softly. Thank God that still was the same too. "I'll just go back to sleep, I think."

"Lazy ass." he said, though no sarcasm actually made it into his tone. She chuckled anyway, this time giving in and letting him help her back down onto the bed. When she was comfortable and wrapped up in her heavy blanket, he got up and tiptoed back out of the room. He didn't bother taking the elevator, feeling the stairs would be faster despite the high floor. He pulled out his phone again, this time dialing a different number. One that wasn't long distance.

"Mika okay?" Sam answered immediately. If the situation was different, Bucky would've made a quip about proper greetings, but he didn't care at this point.

"She's fine." he answered. No need for pleasantries at this point. "Sam, I have a favor to ask."

Three hours and twenty-six minutes later, Bucky found himself leaning against a wall in Queens, watching as the bell in the high school across the street rang and students started funneling out. The dark sunglasses definitely weren't a good disguise, but the massive beard he'd grown over the past couple months and the hipster man bun Nicoletta had taught him to do certainly helped. His eyes flicked over each face as the kids pushed through the door, another rare occasion he was glad for the gifts Hydra forced on him. He waited, as patient as he was in his days as the Winter Soldier, but with a lot more at stake. Just when he worried about separate exits, he spotted the familiar face. The kid looked to his right, a wistful expression on his face. Bucky followed his gaze to see a tall Black girl walking away, her headphones in and her walk confident. He winced; he did not miss being a teenager at all. An Asian guy elbowed the kid in the ribs, claiming his attention for a minute. They performed an elaborate handshake before separating, walking in opposite directions.

Finally, the kid was alone.

Bucky pushed off the wall, easily falling into step on the opposite side of the street. The kid had his headphones in, face down as he looked at his phone. Bucky crossed the street, taking just one hand out of his pocket and waiting, waiting, waiting until they passed an alley, grabbing Peter by the elbow and yanking him off the sidewalk. The kid yelped and flailed, somehow unable to connect any hits against Bucky despite his arms moving very fast. Bucky pushed him further into the alley, putting some space in between them and hoping that would help him calm down.

"What the fu-" Peter started to say, but stopped himself. Bucky could practically see the gears turning and the smoke coming out of his ears as he tried to place him. "Do I know you?"

Bucky sighed, pulling off his sunglasses. "Unfortunately." He didn't remember anything from the stone, and he wondered if the kid was the same way. Fear set into Peter's face for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by confusion.

"Winter Soldier?" he asked, as if he didn't believe it. Granted, if a former assassin with a scraggly beard pulled him aside, Bucky reckoned that he would be suspicious too.

"Bucky." he corrected shortly. "I need you to come with me."

"I - but - I mean - I've got a huge paper due tomorrow." Peter stammered. Bucky almost rolled his eyes, barely able to stop himself.

"I'm not dragging you off to Germany or anything." he said, and Peter visibly relaxed. "Have you seen the news? About the stone sickness?"

"Yea, dude, it sucks. A couple of my classmates have it, like they'd be in class one second and then just throwing up blood and stuff which was disgusting but like, obviously not their fault or anything but…" Peter stopped his rambling, catching Bucky's tired look. "Um, what about it?"

"When you got your weird spider shit, did you develop enhanced healing too?" Bucky asked. He didn't need a conversation. He needed answers.

"Uh, yea, yea I guess. I mean, there's definitely been a couple times I should've died but didn't, I mean, besides the whole dissolve into nothing thing." This time he winced as he realized he was rambling. "Why?"

"The Princess of Wakanda has been trying to develop a cure." Bucky started.

"I thought the Avengers initiative was doing that?" he asked before realizing that this was not a question-and-answer time.

"They weren't moving fast enough for me." he replied. He still had no doubt that Dr. Kirsch would be offended when she found out he'd asked Shuri for help, but at this point he couldn't care less. "I was hoping with the shit Hydra did to me, she could fashion something to heal everyone. But turns out my DNA is volatile."

"Well uh, I only got a B in genetics so - oh. Oh! You wanna try my DNA!" Peter looked like he'd just found the last piece of a difficult puzzle. Bucky sighed; this kid was exhausting.

"Yes." he clipped. In his mind, they were wasting time. But according to Sam, straight up kidnapping the kid and taking blood without asking was wrong and probably a federal offense and definitely too much work.

"I don't know. I mean, it feels weird just...giving my DNA to someone." he said, still seeming very confused by the situation. Bucky understood the trepidation. Peter was actually much more open to the idea than Bucky would have been. "Can I ask - I mean, obviously you don't have stone sickness so like, why do you…?" He left the question hanging, and Bucky nodded. He figured that question would come up sooner or later.

"My wife. She's been stuck in the tower for over three months now." he explained. Peter's jaw dropped, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head. The reaction was over dramatic; three months in the hospital was horrible, but not unheard of. After all, there were plenty of people who'd been there longer than Mika.

"You have a wife?!" he exclaimed, and Bucky actually cracked a smile. So that was his concern.

"Trust me, I'm just as surprised as you." he replied. He was struck with an idea; Mika would hate it, but it was probably the only way to convince Peter. He jerked his head back towards the subway station. "C'mon, let me show you something."

"Uh, but my paper…" Peter said, and Bucky knew the paper was not the real reason for the hesitation. But he also knew the kid would get over it.

"If you prefer, I can just knock you out and drag you." he said, holding his eyes. Peter stood there for a long minute, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"I can't tell if you're kidding or not." he said. Bucky didn't reply, he only put his sunglasses back on and gave the kid a bit of a smirk. Peter danced from foot to foot for a second before finally groaning and setting off, deciding it wasn't worth the risk. As they went down the steps into the subway, Bucky sent a quick text to Shuri, wondering if the Princess could have someone here in time so the kid could actually go home and do his homework.

It took well over an hour for the train to make it back to Manhattan, Peter tapping his foot and fidgeting the whole way, occasionally sending nervous glances his way. Bucky kept his sunglasses on, still as a statue in his seat as patrons of the train came and went. When they made it, Bucky led him through the familiar streets to Stark Tower, taking him up to the medical floor. He could smell food in the hallways and he wondered who in there could still eat. Mika had pretty much been surviving on pudding the past couple months, that little tidbit from her neighbor helping more than a lot of other things. Peter looked nervous as they stepped into the floor, wondering exactly what they were doing there. Most of the patients were asleep, looking forlorn in a way that is only achieved by long term hospitalization. They finally got to Mika's room, and Bucky felt his muscles relaxed when they found that not only was she okay, but she was actually awake.

"Peter." she said, this time raising the head of her bed so she had something to lean against. Peter stopped in the doorway, surprised yet again.

"You're…" he stopped, looking between the two of them as the pieces started coming together. "I'm sorry, I never remembered your name, after that day on the train."

"Mika. Her name is Mika." Bucky supplied. Mika smiled, holding her hand out for Peter to shake.

"Nice to meet you. Officially." she said, giving him a bright smile. Bucky watched as Peter glanced down at her hand, and he wondered if he was noting how thin her fingers were.

"Yea, yea you too." he said. Mika turned to Bucky, and Peter was honestly a little surprised not only by her blatant look of affection for him, but that the former Winter Soldier actually returned the expression.

"This was your errand, huh?" she asked, and Bucky just shrugged in response. He didn't want to give too many details, just in case things didn't work out.

"Trying to see if we can call in some reinforcements." he said. Mika didn't hear the forced calm in his voice, but Peter certainly did. She only smiled and nodded, looking back at him.

"Finally going to put that big brain of yours to good use?" she asked, and even if Peter still didn't remember most of his time in the stone, he could still feel the familiarity with her. He had to have known her, and trusted her.

"Gonna do my best." he said, his voice cracking in the middle of his sentence and making him blush. That only made her smile more.

"Did you ever start talking to...oh, what was her name…" she bit her nail, her brows furrowing as she tried to remember. Behind her, the yellow line on the wall started slowly inching up.

"Don't worry about it." Bucky said immediately. She waved him off, and he watched as the line inched a little higher.

"No I'm fine, it was, um…" she snapped her fingers in an effort to help her brain.

"MJ?" Peter asked, and Mika brightened.

"Yes! Did you ever-" she paused, suddenly paling. Behind her, the yellow line spiked, and Bucky didn't even think before jumping in, slamming his fist into the nurse call button before the alarms could go off and grabbing a plastic container. He caught her just as she bent over, her knuckles white as she gripped the plastic and stained the bottom of it red. A moment later the nurses were in the room, taking over and gently pushing Bucky and Peter out of the room. With the glass barrier now between them and Mika, it felt eerily quiet. Bucky focused only on Mika as the coughing slowed. He held his breath, hoping they'd gotten the serum into her in time. He then sighed in defeat as her eyes rolled back, her body shaking as the seizure sank in. Dammit. The seizures were the worst part.

"I'll do it." Peter said, nearly startling Bucky. He'd forgotten for a second that the kid was there. He turned to find Peter looking very serious. "I'll give my DNA or whatever. If it'll help."

Bucky felt a deep sense of relief, like a huge weight had been removed from his shoulders. If it didn't work, it didn't work. But at least they were going to try. "Thank you, Peter. Really."

"What do we gotta do?" he asked. Bucky checked his phone to see that Shuri had texted back almost immediately when he'd sent a message to her earlier, but his phone had failed to tell him about it due to the subway. He opened the message and grinned.

"Let's get to the roof. They'll be here soon." he said. Wakanda technology, always saving the day. Bucky took one last look at Mika to find her nurses tucking her back into bed, her body still and the yellow line back where it was supposed to be. She'd be asleep for at least an hour, probably closer to two. He had time.

It was windy and chilly on the roof, but Bucky didn't care. This was the best chance they had so far, and for the first time in a long time he wished he weren't so emotionally stunted so that he knew how to properly thank Peter. As it was, they just stood awkwardly, waiting for the aircraft. Bucky felt the shift in the air, and knew that they'd arrived despite the cloaking mechanism camouflaging the plane.

"They're here." he said. Peter looked at him, confused once again and actually jumping a bit when the black plane materialized. It landed smoothly, and when the ramp opened Bucky fully expected to see someone from the Wakanda medical bay, but he was pleasantly surprised when the Princess herself stepped out, running to him and leaping into his arms.

"I'm sorry it took me so long!" she said, squeezing him tightly. He held her with one arm, giving in to her affection before putting her down. He couldn't scold her for coming in the middle of the night though, because she gave him an absolutely appalled look. "What is this? There is a line between fashionable facial hair and mountain recluse. And you've crossed it." she said, gesturing to his face. He shrugged; he didn't really have a good excuse for it.

"I'm sorry, Princess. I've had other priorities." he said by way of explanation. Her smile faltered at that as she remembered the reason for her visit.

"Right. Of course. Is this our new subject?" she asked, turning to Peter. He was completely slack jawed, and finally raised his hand only to lamely point at Shuri and turn to Bucky.

"Princess?!" he said, and Bucky didn't know if he was surprised, incredulous, overwhelmed, or all three. He didn't know why the kid was so shocked; after all, the first explanation he'd given was that the Princess of Wakanda is working on a cure. Kids these days. Never listened.

"You can just call me Shuri." she said with a smile, her brown skin slightly tinged as she blushed. Peter shook his head vehemently.

"Uh uh. He calls you princess, I'm calling you princess." he said, making Shuri laugh.

"I've been telling him for years to call me Shuri. But that's neither here nor there. Where is my best friend?" she asked, rounding back on Bucky.

"Asleep. She just had another attack." he said. He tried to keep his voice from sinking into the low, depressed tone he adopted often, but it didn't really work. Shuri's face grew serious, and she nodded.

"Then let's get to work."

Day One Hundred And Thirty Seven

It took five days for Shuri to isolate the part of Peter's DNA involved with his healing, two days after that for Dr. Kirsch to find out what they were doing, seven days after that for her to forgive Bucky for going behind her back, and three days for the doctor to catch Shuri up on all their research so far. Once she got over the initial insult (which Bucky was man enough to admit was completely fair, he knew it was not professional of him to do as he did), Dr. Kirsch quickly fell in love with Shuri's mind, and the two of them were up all hours of the day and night consolidating information. Dr. Kirsch was the expert on the stone sickness, no one could deny that. But Shuri could supply the brain and technological power to actualize all of the doctor's hypotheses. And together, Bucky hoped they could make it happen.

He was under the impression that as soon as they got their first serum done, they would test it on Mika and she's either be okay or they would go back to the drawing board. But apparently that was not how research worked. First it had to be tested on other living organisms (which luckily, Shuri had a model for that so that they didn't have to use the mice in the lab anymore), and every side effect catalogued. Every patient's DNA had to be analyzed and catalogued to ensure there wouldn't be any adverse effects. It was a rough awakening for Bucky, who had somewhat forgotten that there were more people in the world who were sick besides Mika.

But then, finally, Shuri exploded into their room in the middle of the night, startling them both awake and not caring one bit because she had a syringe in her hand and a smile on her face.

"We think we've done it." she said. Her voice seemed loud in the quiet of the night, but Bucky didn't care. A moment later, Dr. Kirsch rolled in as well, looking exhausted but elated.

"I've been trying to explain to Shuri that we have an order of operations, that the first patient that arrived should be the first to receive the vaccine-" she was definitely looking to Bucky and Mika for help in this discussion, and neither one of them wanted to assist her.

"But I'm not a physician, so I can play favorites." Shuri interjected, going straight to Mika's bed and helping her sit up. Dr. Kirsch opened her mouth to stop her, even reaching a hand out, but Shuri barely allowed Mika to get her sitting balance before cleaning her arm and pushing the syringe into it. Mika gasped in surprise, and despite earlier protests the doctor waited with a hopeful look on her face. Bucky held his breath, watching as color returned to Mika's cheeks like they'd been a few months prior; behind her, for the first time since this all began, the yellow line began to drop, evening out next to the tick that represented normal levels.

"It worked?" Bucky said, his voice still tight as he held the air and his hope in his chest. All this time, did they finally have answers?

"Of course it did." Shuri said, though she clutched her hands together tightly as Dr. Kirsch rolled forward and gestured for Mika's hand, pricking the end of her finger and depositing the blood into a handheld machine. They all waited, curiosity and hope and fear all combining to smother them into silence as the little dots spun, reading Mika's results.

Normal.

Not within limits for those blipped. Not close to normal. Normal. Her levels were back to normal.

Shuri squealed, tackling Mika back onto the bed. The gesture knocked the breath from her, but she didn't care, holding the princess tightly and bursting into tears. Bucky turned to Dr. Kirsch, extending a hand to her. She shook it, a smile on her face.

"Thank you. For everything. Mika wouldn't still be here without you." Bucky said. Shuri may have been integral to this discovery, but so was the good doctor. She'd given her life to this project, and he owed her more than he could ever reay.

"You're welcome." she replied. She looked like she wanted to say something more, but held her tongue, turning back to her patient. "I'm just glad we finally got here, before anything became more...permanent."

Bucky agreed, though he didn't have time to voice it. Shuri had finally climbed off of Mika, and in a moment of weakness, he swooped down and gathered the princess in his arms, holding her tight enough that she squealed and wriggled to get out of his grasp.

"Let me go, you big softie!" she said, making him laugh and acquiesce. Only Shuri could call the former Winter Soldier a big softie. He let her down, but put his hands on her shoulders to keep her from going too far.

"I don't know how to repay you, Princess." he said. She shook her head and waved him off, her eyes also watering at the sincerity on his face.

"There is no debt here. You know that." she replied. He gave her a half grin, squeezing her affectionately.

"If you need anything, and I mean anything…" he left the sentence hanging, letting her fill in the blanks. She smiled brightly.

"In that case, I do have an order." she said, suddenly looking very proud of herself. Behind her, Dr. Kirsch took a moment to continue checking Mika's vitals. Mika herself sat at the edge of the bed, unable to speak due to the tears coursing down her cheeks. Bucky shot her a smile before turning back to Shuri.

"Name it." he said. For once, he had no trepidations about the unknown request. It didn't matter what she wanted, he would do it.

"I demand that you two return every year for the Moon festival. I won't pretend to understand why you like this…" she gestured to New York outside with a grimace on her face. "...concrete jungle, but I refuse to go longer than a year without seeing you."

"Done." Mika spoke for them, finally able to push past her emotions. "And you know you are always welcome to come stay with us."

"I may just have to do that." she said with a smile. Her face then turned back to business. "Now, this doesn't mean you get to up and leave the hospital. We still have a lot of tests to run."

It took another week until Shuri and Dr. Kirsch were satisfied with the injection's response and how the patients' vitals were holding. Every day they ran through the same battery of lab and physical tests, and each day every number improved. When they were finally discharged, Mika was still far underweight compared to where she used to be, but she was lively, and energetic, and was no longer periodically suffering from the attacks. Finally, they could go home.

"What's first on your list?" Bucky asked as they exited onto the ground floor for the first time in months. Mika took a deep breath when they hit the sidewalk, not caring that half the free air she breathed was sidewalk pollution. She turned to him with a smile, her hand going to his hairy cheek.

"A haircut. For both of us." she said, tugging playfully on his beard. He smiled, the expression halfway hidden by his facial hair.

"So Shuri was right, too mountain man?" he asked.

"Just slightly." Mika admitted. He nodded in agreement, silently thinking that the upkeep was getting to be too much. He slung an arm around her slender shoulders, his heart swelling when she slipped hers under his jacket and around his waist.

"Do you have a place in mind?" he asked, allowing her to lead him away from the tower.

"Oh, darling," she said, using a very affectionate Romanian term. "I've already set up appointments."

The salon they went to was quiet and small, reminiscent of the barber shops Bucky used to visit back in the '30's. A blonde woman with a bright smile greeted them, Mika introducing them to her and confirming their appointment time.

"I'm Davina, I'll be helping you today." she said, eyeing Bucky with a grin. He could see she wasn't recognizing him; instead she was assessing his current hair status, a glint in her eyes saying she couldn't wait to take her scissors to the mane that had developed. "Please tell me you're going first."

"Get the garden shears out." he replied dryly. He hadn't had a haircut in years, and he was still wary of a stranger with scissors so close to him. But Mika was right; it was time to let go of all this. Davina clapped her hands, leading him to a sink so that she could wash his hair first. He didn't close his eyes as she massaged his scalp, but he did relax slightly. Mika wouldn't have picked a place without ample research; he could trust this.

Next Davina led him back to a chair, asking how much they were wanting to take off. Bucky eyed Mika, who shrugged; it was up to him, as long as it was manageable. He looked at the hairdresser in the mirror, barely recognizing himself in the reflection. It was time for something new - or rather, time to return to something very old. "Most of it." he replied with confidence. It was time to stop holding onto his grief and hiding behind it; it was time to face the world again. She gave him a wicked grin, gathering his hair into a ponytail.

"Say goodbye!" she sang, chopping away with her scissors. His hair protested at first, but then gave in, and when she pulled away the long ponytail he felt a weight lift from him. Goodbye, grief hair.

She spent another half hour trimming, buzzing, and styling his hair before taking the razor to his beard, taking it back down to a clean length. Mika begged for him to go clean shaven, and after a wide eyed plea complete with clasped hands at her heart, Bucky reluctantly agreed. A cheer went up from both women, and Davina completed her work, her grin never leaving her face.

"What do you think?" she asked, spinning him around to face the mirror again. At first, Bucky couldn't believe his eyes. He'd spent the years since he walked away from his handlers hiding behind long hair and baseball caps, adding a beard to further his camouflage. And now, with his short hair and clean face, he finally looked like himself for the first time since he fell from the train. He couldn't help but grin, recognizing it in his reflection.

"It's great." he said, unable to form further words. Luckily Mika was there to speak for him, as he could tell Davina was hoping for more of a reaction.

"And by that he means it's perfect and you did a fantastic job." she added, making the woman smile brightly.

"Good! I'm glad you like it. It's nice to see the handsome face buried under all that." she said, her hands resting on the back of the chair. Now, when a faint heat raised to Bucky's cheeks, it was visible. Mika leaned down, placing a few fat kisses on his smoothe cheek before he pushed her away, his face even more red at the public display of affection. She couldn't stop grinning, her love apparent in the way she looked at him.

"I love it. And you." she said in Romanian. He got up from the chair, resting his cheek against hers just long enough to return the sentiment before taking her by the shoulders and putting her in front of Davina.

"Your turn." he said, and once again the grin returned to her face.

Mika's transformation was not as dramatic, though she did cut a fair bit from her hair. Unfortunately with her nutritional difficulties the past few months, her hair was limp and brittle, though it did fall almost to her waist. Davina took a long time washing it, listening to Mika's story and applying product after product to breathe some life back into her hair. When she settled into the chair, she gave Davina the same instructions: chop it all off.

Davina took her time, cutting away inches and artistically forming layers. When she was finished, it fell just below her shoulders, the same length it was when they first met. It was dark and shining, and Mika looked so happy and healthy that Bucky felt his heart nearly seize. They'd made it through everything, and now they were on the other side.

After paying and giving Davina a hefty tip, he took her hand and led her down the sidewalk. They would end up having to take the subway he knew; the trek to Brooklyn was simply too long. But they could walk for a while, hand in hand, soaking in the freedom. They could finally put it behind them, and move forward.

It was time to go towards their future.

And with that, we come to a close! Everything all nicely tied up - Mika's better, Bucky got a haircut, and Shuri saved the day! Wahoo! Don't worry though, this story is far from over. I do still have lovely plans involving babies and happy endings, but in an effort to keep things almost canon-compliant (ugh) I'll be taking a little break until Falcon & Winter Soldier comes out! If you need more Mika and Bucky, you can check out the partner story to this called Shiny and Sweet, which is just a collection of prompts and one shots I've written. I maaaaaay start writing an AU for Mika and Bucky in the mean time but...we'll see.

Also in the mean time, I'm starting a new story! It'll be another Bucky/OC, and it will be veeerrrry different from this. I do plan to keep Sundays as my update days, so I would love love love if y'all check it out!

Thank you so, so, so much for everyone who's faved, followed, and reviewed this story over the past two years. It has been one hell of a ride. As always, I love to hear your thoughts about everything, so please leave a review and let me know!

See y'all soon!

-XM