#stay safe and take care of yourselves; i'll try to post more art soon :)

[tianhai03]

i forgot to do this here last night when i reposted this onto twitter but anyways. happy pride month i dont have time to draw anything new yet so have one of my banger drawings from last year (insert transgender flag here)

[postmortem-bookworm]

Bright - Bucky Barnes - Part One

Fandom: Avengers

Type: Series

Word Count: 1,753

Character(s): Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, Shuri, T'Challa

Warning(s): Cussing, Mentions of attempted suicide (but shouldn't be anything triggering), smut (maybe), mentions of X-Men, Steve is crushing

A/N: This picks up almost right after Black Panther, but before Bucky is awake, there is no Thanos, and everyone is alive.

My first series! Please enjoy!

Shifting nervously in her seat, she watches though the window as Steve and Natasha talk to the King and Princess of Wakanda in privacy. Steve seems to notice her watching as he looks over at her, giving a small smile, which Natasha seems to notice, because she turns to look at her with a unconvincing mirror of the Captain's, and her blood runs cold. Steve hasn't smiled much, since the battle of team Iron Man verses team Captain America at the airstrip. Natasha does smile much, period. This can't be good. She twirls a lock of burgundy hair around a finger, her nail is painted with chipped black varnish, something she'll miss from now on, unless someone in this almost alternate dimension, has any.

"-hut all ready for her stay." The King says as the door to the room opens, the four of them exit as she shifts in her seat once again, gnawing at her bottom lip as Steve nods to the King, before walking over to her, grabbing the suitcase resting at her feet.

"Good news, you can stay. They even have a semi secluded area where they've prepared your hut." She narrows her eyes at the Captain, his baggy eyes and mussed up hair, like he's ran his fingers though it a thousand and one times, doesn't help convince her much that this is for her safety, and not their own. His emotions are chaotic as they practically slap her in the face. "Maeve?"

"You should shave." She says as he reaches up to rub the beard that isn't quite stubble anymore, but isn't a full on beard yet, the apples of his cheeks are red, and the Princess giggles.

"I am princess Shuri, I will help deliver you to your new home, and help explain our culture to you, as best as I can." She says in a friendly manner as she steps up to Maeve, holding out a hand to the American. "Welcome to Wakanda, Ms. Smithe."

"Hello, Princess Shuri. I am pleased to meet you. Please, i-if you don't mind, please just call me Maeve, or Mae." She smiles, shaking the princess's hand, and Shuri drops her hand, smiling.

"Only if you call me Shuri." She says. "Come along. Brother, are you coming?" She asks, looking at the King. T'Challa nods and smiles, everyone following the Princess. The King is close to the Princess, Mae falls behind to talk to Steve and Natasha.

"We will be at your call, anytime you need us, Mae." Steve says as he puts his free arm around her shoulder. Regret and thankfulness emit from the Super Soldier, her exhaustion at everything lately makes her unable to shield against the emotions, though she's grateful she still can fight back against his thoughts.

"You know we won't be able to be here right away, but we'll be here as soon as you need, Mae. This isn't us abandoning you." Natasha says, draping her arm over Mae's other shoulder.

"I'm used to it." She says, ducking out of their hold, moving to follow the King and Princess closer. Natasha and Steve exchange looks with sadness radiating from the duo, as the burgundy haired mutant reflects the emotion back.

The hut sits in a grassy meadow, it's a medium size made out of wood, with a pergola off to the side, and stream in the back behind the small forest. Another hut sits not far away, but other than that, there isn't another in sight. The hut has modern equipment in it, a TV, fridge, stock and oven, running shower, and toilet, with a small bedroom tucked into the back, with a queen-size pillow top mattress. The floor of the hut is wood, with a nice rug every few feet, and plush couch in the living room. A modern house with an un-modern appearance. Outside the pergola is white, with ivy and flowers twining up the posts, a bench sits on the inside, and a foldable art easel is tucked in it, to the side.

"This is nice." Steve says after he sets her suitcase on the end of the bed. "It's remote, so you won't have to feel all of those emotions, of a bunch of strangers. You won't hear their thoughts." He smiles at her as she touches the drapes over one of the windows, before looking over at him.

"It'll do." She says simply, causing Natasha to give him an almost patronizing look, and Mae turns to her. "It's not just his fault." She looks at Mae in confusion, like she's not feeling what Mae knows that she knows Mae can feel. "I can feel your irritation." Natasha sighs as she walks over to rest a hand on Mae's shoulder. The air is tense, making her grateful that the King and Shuri decided to stay outside, to let the three of them have their time.

"This isn't like your parents, Maeve! We're not abandoning you, but we need to do this, for everyone's safety. Not just our's, but for your's as well." Natasha says in anger.

"Bullshit!" Mae snaps, jerking away from the two of them. "You can lie to me, and to yourselves, but your emotions betray you! You think that I'm too dangerous after what happened at the airstrip!" She clenches her fists, before wrapping her arms around herself. "Ju-Just leave! You did what you set out to do, so just go!" She turns away from them, fighting back tears as Natasha looks at Steve, who nods as he leaves the hut.

"I'm not leaving, Maeve." Natasha wraps her arms around the young woman, who is curling into a ball. "Not while you're like this." Natasha pets her hair, holding Mae close. "You're my sister, Maeve. You're my sister and I love you, and I would NEVER abandon you." Her whispers are soothing, her emotions just solidifying the affection she has for Mae.

"I'm sorry, Nat." She sobs, curling up against the assassin, who caresses her hair, silently crying as well. "I just can't forget about how it felt, when my parents left me at the School." Natasha shushes her, and pets Mae's hair.

"It's alright, Mae. I'm not going to hold it against you. We have to protect ourselves, but you too. Your emotions affect your abilities, and we can't have that happen when we're on the run." Natasha explains, and Mae wipes her face, and nods.

"I understand. It's okay." She takes a deep breath, and Natasha smiles at her as the two of them stand up. "Promise me, you'll be safe." She says as she hugs Natasha, who hugs Maeve back in return.

"We'll try, but we can't promise that." She points out, causing Mae to nod sadly as they part. "Now, go tell Steve goodbye." Mae smiles as she walks outside, Natasha is right one her heels. Steve smiles as Maeve smiles sadly at him, leaning up to kiss his cheek with a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry." She murmurs, causing him to shake his head, his cheeks taking on a ruddy color as he cups her cheek with a free hand.

"No, doll. It's not your fault. I'm just sorry we can't stay." She smiles up at him, leaning up on her tiptoes to throw her arms around him.

"Please be safe, try and protect each other." She whispers in his ear as he places his hands on her waist, hugging her back.

"Of course, doll. And, don't forget that we're here for you, no matter what." He murmurs as she nods, leaning back on her heels. She ignores the rush of warmth in her chest, knowing that it doesn't belong to her. "You take care of Bucky for me, when he wakes up, okay?"

"Of course, Steve. You can count on me." She promises, causing him to smile, and scratch his scruffy cheek.

"I know, doll. I'll... give you two a minute to say goodbye." He says, gesturing between Natasha and Maeve. He walks a bit away as she turns to Natasha, who is smirking at her.

"What?" Natasha shakes her head and laughs, yanking Maeve by the wrist into her arms.

"You couldn't be more oblivious, even with your powers." Natasha says, hugging Maeve.

"No, I know how he feels. But, it's just a crush for him. He feels warmth when he's near me, but elation at the mere mention of Peggy's name." She steps away from Natasha. "And, I don't feel that way about him. I don't feel that way, after..."

"Logan, I know." She grinds out his name, before kissing her forehead. "Rat bastard." Her snarl has Maeve throwing her head back, laughing as Natasha blinks, before smiling. "Good to see you laughing. I love you, sis."

"Love you too, sis." She hugs the assassin again. "I'll see you soon, yeah?" She grins.

"It'll be fun." Natasha promises.

"Bye, Nat." She says, and the assassin nods as she starts to walk away, the King nods the Maeve, before walking towards the other two, walking them back toward the castle as one of the women warriors comes into view, standing on the hill with her spear in hand, waiting as Shuri rolls her eyes.

"Mae, these are you Kimoyo beads." She hands the to Maeve, who slides them on her wrist. "I've personally designed them, they will allow you to make calls, and purchases. Brother has taken care of funds, so you need not worry about it." Shuri explains, causing Maeve to nod as she studies the beads. "There are many other things they can be used for, but you can learn about them later."

"Thank you, Shuri." Maeve says as she slides the bracelet up and down, looking at them before, looking up at the Princess. "Would you- I mean... Could you- I feel..." Shuri was her stumble over her words, before nodding as she gestures towards the door.

"I will stay, until you are settled." She says with a smile, the two of them duck inside the hut, the lights coming on as the sun starts to set outside. The two young women talk for a few hours, about the world outside the Wakandan boarders, and Maeve's history with the Avengers and her life before. Shuri talks about the culture of Wakanda, her shenanigans with her brother, and his wife Nakia, and even life inside the castle. It turns out, they're just two lonely girls, craving a friendship. This might work out for the two of them, after all.