#this will almost always send the royal staff into a panic because they’ve just lost the fucking Elden lord

[xxrat--punkxx]

Cringe ass oc x Morgott Valentine’s Day post

[maximofos]

One Day

Pairing: Bucky x Reader//T’Challa x Reader and Steve x Reader friendships

Warning: holy shit this is depressing, language

Summary: Reader seeks out Bucky for comfort, despite him being stuck in cryo.

 Your bare feet pad down the dark hallway, barely making a sound against the cold tile floor. The only light coming in is the light of the moon through the giant windows. The forest of Wakanda makes an eerie backdrop as you navigate the halls on your way to the cryogenics lab.

You and Steve had been staying in spare rooms in the laboratory building where Bucky had gone back in cryofreeze. Neither of you could bring yourselves to leave the safety of Wakanda or Bucky. T’Challa made sure to visit occasionally when he could catch a break from his royal duties as king.

You had clicked with Bucky during your time on the run from the government. Crammed in the backseat of that heinous Volkswagen, you had told him of your time under HYDRA’s control. They hadn’t necessarily brainwashed you, but they had forced you to do things for them. They had taken advantage of your ability to travel time, making you send them back God knows how many decades to procure new weapons and even advice from the Red Skull himself. Your conscience never let you forget it either, reminding you daily of how many innocent lives had been lost because of you, in the past and in the present. If anyone could come close to relating to Bucky, it was you.

You reminisce of the times in that Volkswagen - all the bad jokes exchanged between you and Sam, the loud pop music you made Steve blare from the radio, and the one time you actually made Bucky smile. That smile could’ve sent you back then and there, and you pictured his days as the flirty ladies’ man Steve always talked about. Yes, that was the smile you were sure had won the hearts of every dame Bucky met back in the 40’s.

It wasn’t hard for you to develop a crush on Bucky. Between his rugged personality and dangerous good looks, it was almost too easy. You had developed two different crushes on Bucky actually: one on the charming man Steve talked so nostalgically of and one on the Bucky you knew. Two totally different sides to the same incredibly wonderful man. After meeting him, there was no way you were going to turn your back on Cap.

Fighting your friends hadn’t been easy. Well okay, you had dreamed of punching Tony a couple of times, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t weigh on you. And Natasha… God, you had hated fighting Natasha almost as much as Clint had. But if it meant keeping Bucky safe, you would have fought an army and you knew you weren’t the only one.

Your life was only made worse when the man you were slowly falling in love with chose to go back into cryo. It’s not to say that you didn’t understand his decision, just that you couldn’t bear the thought of him being frozen in time, away from everyone who cared about him and away from you.

It was on especially hard nights like this one that you would sneak down to the cryogenics lab, lean up against Bucky’s tank, and just spill your guts. You came down here so much the staff had finally just given you a keycard.

You settle down in front of Bucky’s cryo tank so you can see him. If you ignore the frosty look on his skin, you can almost imagine that he’s just standing there with you. You sigh, dropping the blanket from around your shoulders and sitting on it with your legs crossed. You take a shuddering breath and begin to talk.

“Today’s been hard, Bucky. It’s been ten months since you went back into the freeze. Ten fucking months,” your breath hitches and you lean your head back on the table behind you, squeezing your eyes shut. Your voice cracks as you say your next words, “It’s your birthday today. Of course, I didn’t know that at first because Steve hasn’t come out of his room today, but I remembered that I looked in your file a while back and then the pieces clicked together.”

You give a watery laugh. “Congratulations, old man. You’re officially one hundred. I would’ve brought some balloons but it’s hard to get out of the lab these days. They’re finished with your new arm, by the way. It’s great, you’ll love it. It’s vibranium, and the best part is there’s no star. You’re free.” Your face falls and so do a few tears. “Well, almost.”

“God, Buck, they still can’t figure out how to get this shit out of your head. T’Challa’s brought in the best from all over the world but…” Tears are cascading down your face now, making no sign of stopping soon. “We’re gonna do it, Bucky. One way or another, Steve and I will not rest until you are free. You have to wake up because we- because I cannot do this without you. Bucky, you’re the only one who understands me.”

“When HYDRA kidnapped me when I was fifteen, I never thought I’d get free. I gave up all hope. And then I was rescued, by Steve no less, a whole five years later, and it was like I could finally breathe again. Of course, I had no one to go back to, but at least I could try to have a life. And then you showed up. You showed up with your metal arm and big blue eyes, and I thought this is it. I finally have something to fight for.”

“You know, sometimes I go back and relive those moments in that car just to see you smile one more time. But I don’t think I can keep doing that for the rest of my life. That’s why I’m going to save you, Bucky. I have to. I need to see that smile in real time, hear the sound of your voice right beside me, saying new things. Not the stuff I’ve heard a hundred times now. See what your reaction will be when I tell you… I think I love you, Bucky.”

“I’ve never said those words before, to anyone. I can barely remember saying them to my parents.” You sniffle, wiping tears off your face. “But I do, Buck, I love you. If there is one person in this world I love, it’s you. And I know we hardly got to know each other, and you probably don’t have it in you to love anyone for a long time, but that’s okay. Because after years of submission and torture, I finally feel alive again, not like a piece in HYDRA’s game or Tony’s or the government’s or anyone’s. And a great part of that is because of you. You gave my fight back, Bucky. So I’m gonna fight for you.”

You lay down on the blanket, the tears and anguish finally exhausting you. “Happy birthday, Bucky.”

You wake up when the bright lab lights click on. You hear whispering between a few of the lab techs, and then T’Challa is crouching down beside you with a kind smile on his face.

“Between you and Rogers, I’m wondering if we need to put a bed in here.” He gives you a hand as you pick yourself up off the floor, your back cracking from the night spent on the hard ground. You collect your blanket, dusting it off as you avoid eye contact with him or any of the techs. “Come, there’s coffee in the lounge.” He tells the techs he’ll be back to see the progress they’ve made on the arm and then escorts you down the hall to the lounge.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep down there, I just –“

“There’s nothing for you to apologize for. Steve has done the same several times. It’s clear to see you both care about Barnes.” He brings you a steaming cup of coffee and you pour in a bit of sugar, stirring it with a coffee straw.

“Bucky…” you shake your head, taking a cautious sip of your drink. “He never deserved this.”

“No, I suppose he didn’t. Your boyfriend was just the victim of a cruel twist of fate.”

You blush, surprised at T’Challa’s assumption. “Bucky isn’t my boyfriend. We’re just friends.”

“Excuse me. I guess I just assumed between the way you looked at each other and the fact that you haven’t left his side through any of this…” He trails off, staring intently at you. You bite your lip, weighing his words. Did Bucky really look at you the way you looked at him?

“No, Bucky wasn’t- we weren’t…,” you shake your head, taking a bigger gulp of your coffee, almost burning your tongue in the process. “We weren’t together.”

“My apologies.” T’Challa stands, brushing the front of his suit jacket off with his hands. “I have some business to take care of, and the technicians in the lab wanted to show me the improvements to Bucky’s arm. Are you going to be alright?”

You give him a tight smile, nodding your head before he saunters off. As you sit there with the mug warming your hands, you wonder if your smile told the truth. If you really were going to be alright.

You spend the next few days curled up in your room. You read and watch television to pass the time, but your mind is always focused on something besides your book or show. It’s been three days since the night you spent with Bucky, and you haven’t been down to see him since. T’Challa and Steve have knocked on your door periodically throughout the day, but besides letting in the lady who brings your food, you haven’t allowed anyone in your room.

When you make your way down to the lab that night, you’re startled to see the door already open. Your defenses immediately go up, but after peering hesitantly around the corner, you relax. Steve is sitting with his back pressed up against the side of Bucky’s cryo tank with his eyes closed. You assume he’s asleep so you jump when he says, “I know you’re there, Y/N. Come on in.”

You carefully maneuver through the lab, taking in the unusual state of disarray. Papers are scattered all over the tables, covered in words and diagrams that you don’t understand. You don’t understand why they just left these papers lying around, abandoned in a frenzy of panic or excitement.

You sit down next to Steve, the both of you relishing the comfortable silence. After a few minutes, you begin to talk. “You know, I’ve considered doing some bad things to save him. Dangerous things.”

Steve glances at you cautiously. “What kind of dangerous things?”

You stare forward, lost in your thoughts. You’re not sure who you’re talking to at that moment, whether it’s Steve or Bucky or just yourself. “Going back, changing things.” You shake your head, staring at your hands in your lap. “I keep wondering if I could make things turn out different for him. If maybe going back and stopping him from falling off the train, or maybe rescuing him before HYDRA got their hands on him…”

“Y/N, look at me.” When you refuse, he turns your head towards him forcefully. “You cannot think like that. We both know the consequences that could come out of you meddling with time. You’ve been given a powerful gift, but you can’t use it. Not like this.”

You yank your head out of his hand and stand up quickly, pacing in front of Bucky’s tank. Steve watches you from the floor as you rant, “What good is my gift if I can’t even use it? I have met Mary, Queen of Scots and Shakespeare and Cleopatra, and okay, once I even met Heath Ledger but that wasn’t time travel, it was just luck. But I can’t save Bucky, and it’s killing me. It kills me, because he is the one person I want to tell when something good happens. I never got to hear him laugh or ask him out for ice cream. All I get is that one day in the car, over and over again. I can’t keep listening to Sam tell the same stupid jokes for the next five years of my life. I just want Bucky to wake up and be okay, but that’s not going to happen either. What if he never wakes up and I have to spend the rest of my life in love with a ghost?”

You don’t even notice that Steve is standing until his hands are on your shoulders to stop your pacing. “I know how you feel, more than anyone else probably. And if you had thought to come out of your room sometime today or open the door when I knocked, you would already know what I’m about to tell you.”

“Steve, what is it?”

His face breaks into a giant grin as he takes your hands into his larger ones. “Y/N, they’re waking him up. They’ve found a way to save him.”