(A trip to Wakanda.)
Chapter twenty seven:
Today we were taking the jet and was searching for Bucky Barnes. I can't continue to do this job if I didn't know if he was safe or not. Between him and Wanda they're the entire reasons why I'm here. Without them I would've been messed up for the rest of my life. I needed to be there for Bucky the way he was for me. We sat in the jet discussing where he could be. We then identified where he and Steve Rogers first met in New York, we asked Fury for the location of any known Hydra bases including where he had been experimented on and finally Wakanda. We prioritized New York and Wakanda we knew that these were our best chances of finding him.
As we landed in Wakanda all of us were nervous. We had no idea if or where to find him. Nick Fury provided us with where he and Steve Rogers lived as well as where they socialized. Sam Wilson and Monica went to one location and Wanda, Peter and I went another route. Peter Parker knew the city better than us so we let him lead. In the back of my mind I was thinking about Bucky. Would we find Hydra's winter soldier or Bucky Barnes? We went around every place that we thought he could be. We asked every person we saw if they'd seen him. But no one had. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, impossible to find. By the time we returned to the jet we were all exhausted and frustrated.
"What if he doesn't want to be found? You know the last time we tried to track him down without him being wrongly accused of murder it took us seventy years." Said Sam Wilson.
"Ok if he's not in Wakanda or the Hydra base then we have to accept it." I replied. Wanda then put her hand on my back trying to comfort me.
As we approached the palace of Wakanda, Wanda and I went rigid. This place was littered with awful memories for the both of us. I was very thankful for the people but I still did not want to be there.
"You okay? I know it's hard for both of you to come back here." Said Monica.
"Honestly I don't know. It's a beautiful place and as the noblest of people but my here was a great shame to me. Remembering that I had to come here after I hurt all of you guys is not a good feeling." I replied.
"I tried to forget what happened here but I can't. The two times I've been here I lost the man that I loved. But luckily I gained one back. So I'm not sure how I feel about it either." Said Wanda.
I then took Wanda's hand's in mine and kissed them gently to reassure her that I wasn't going anywhere this time.
As we disembarked to the jet Wanda saw Princess Shuri come over to us. "I'm sorry I don't know what came over me. It's just I never got to thank you for keeping your promise and bringing Travis back to me." Replied Wanda.
"It's quite alright and you're welcome, I assume you came for Bucky Barnes." Said Princess Shuri.
"Is he here?" I replied.
"Yes but I think that he will be leaving with you. Come on I will show you." Said Princess Shuri before leading us to Bucky Barnes.
"Hey Bucky? How are you doing?" Replied Sam Wilson.
"How am I doing? I'm not ready to come home. I know that's not the news that you probably don't want to hear but I felt the darkness come back. This is the place I need to be at right now. It was either come here or go out on a killing spree across the Hydra bases. Steve wouldn't have wanted that. He would've wanted me to be here." Said Bucky Barnes.
"Will you come back please?" I replied.
"Travis will make every mission look so easy. One thing I'm going to miss is you kicking my ass everyday after running 100 laps. Don't go and get yourself captured again kid. Do you hear me?" Said Bucky Barnes.
We were all in tears but these weren't the sad ones but bittersweet. The hardest goodbye to watch was between Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes.
"You better bring me back a chair or a bench. And not the crappy one like Travis made. Don't be too long ok? Even if our jobs don't need you, I sure in the hell do." Said Sam Wilson.
"Ok. You've got yourself a deal." Replied Bucky Barnes.
The whole ride home was in silence. It felt the same way as the last time I was in Wakanda. We were all just hoping that it wouldn't be too long before he came back. We didn't need him as a leader but as a friend. It just wouldn't be the same without Bucky Barnes.