A/N: Here we are. This is the end of Delicate Stages. First, thank you to everyone who read and commented on this monster of a story! I seriously can not thank you all enough. Thank you to my friend who allowed me to text her all sorts of silly little things and for helping me get my head straight when I needed it. I can't tell you the amount of sleepless nights and down time at work I had to write this story. This has become my baby, and I'm really proud of it and I'm baffled by the attention and praise it's received.

Warnings for this chapter include: minor character death

With all that said, please enjoy, the final chapter/epilogue of Delicate Stages.

/

10 months later

The past ten months have been a fucked-up roller coaster ride.

It starts only three days after Bucky drove out of her life. Max finds Ana, pulling her outside on the patio and carefully wrapping his arms around her in one of the longest hugs she's ever received. He makes her sit then, sadly tells her the bad news.

Jared Sharp has passed away.

Although Ana has already heard a summary the events, Max tells her his side of the story. How Jared was the one to realize what was happening, how he ran along with Max to help them out, and when they got there, Jared tried stopping it. He was shot, and Max tried everything he could to keep Jared from bleeding out.

She's heard this up until that point. Max continues, tells her that Jared asked if he saved her, and for some reason, Max lied. It made Jared smile, said that Alex would be happy, and that was the last thing he said before he passed out. Apparently, his body couldn't handle the stress from the bullet wounds and gave out.

Ana had been staring out into the distance while Max talked. Her eyes sting, so she blinks once, twice. Something wet falls onto her cheek and she realizes then that she's crying. She and Jared didn't get along while working, and he may have hated and blamed her for the wrong reasons, but he was trying to make up for it. They were beginning to get to know one another. Her brother loved him for plenty of reasons, and Ana is sad that they could have been friends for more than a few weeks.

In the end, Jared wanted to protect Alex's sister. He wanted to prevent anything further, he wanted to save her and Bucky, and it earned him a bullet to his chest. Ana leans forward, allowing Max to gather her in his arms as she cries against his chest. She mourns the loss of Jared Sharp.

The long days turn into long nights- some sleepless, some filled with nightmares of the aftermath- busy days, tear filled showers, bottles of wine, and working nonstop. Especially after finding the little notebooks Bucky left behind just for her. Honestly, Ana thinks it would just have been better if he'd taken those with him, instead of leaving them in a neat pile on her dresser for her to find. Then again, as she goes through them, page after page filled with nothing but his thoughts about her, she thinks, maybe not.

The first time she had gotten the nerve to go through one, she cried. Well, she laughed, then cried, maybe it was a mixture of both. She swears James Buchanan Barnes could be a famous poet if he wanted to. It's these words, his words, his thoughts and feelings, that Ana rereads over and over and keeps close to her heart, and under her pillow. She isn't pathetic, she just misses him every single day, and Bucky's words just reassure her that no matter how much time passes, no matter how far the distance is, no matter where he is, that he still loves her. That he will come back to her like he promised. It's her little bit of home she holds onto.

Home isn't a place, it's a person, it's a feeling, and he took that with him.

It's been a week since Ana has cracked open one of the little books, the binding worn at this point. It's not her fault, she's been keeping busy, more than usual. She's been working in the Medical Ward, offering her reports and help to any agent and Avenger coming back from missions. Ana has absolutely refused to join any new mission, to the point of where Tony no longer asks her. She'd rather just sit back, wait anxiously while cuddling Ezra, and do her Empathetic Healing. She tries not to use her Energy Alchemy anymore, at least, not until it stops making her weak.

Sometimes, when she's waiting, or it's just her in the compound, she goes into Bucky's former room. She's already took all his pillows, now piled up on her bed, and a left over shirt or two, but she sits on his mattress, staring at a navy blue hat he left behind. Sometimes, she falls asleep, curled up in the middle of the bed that still smells like him, and sometimes she wakes up to Steve pulling the covers over her. When that happens, he doesn't coax her to get up or move into her room, instead, he sits beside her, pats his lap for her to rest her head on, until she drifts off again. Misery loves company, they say.

The last seven days however, have been crazy. She has been dealing with filing reports, even proof reading others, and the team just came back from a four day mission, uncovering yet another HYDRA base. The mission went smoothly, but Steve still came back rather pissed off, and it took Ana quite some time to calm him. To be honest, she didn't try that hard, because when Steve gets angry about the situation, it allows Ana to let her own feelings out because, yes. She is still upset and angry, and fuck, she just misses Bucky.

As does Steve, who takes it out on the punching bag next to her favorite one. When she catches him during these times, she challenges him to knock all the bags off the chains, and they make a game out of it. Ana tries, punching with all her might, until she just uses her energy and blasts the bag right off. It always ends with them falling to the mat laughing. It's cathartic for them both.

Currently, three hundred and twenty-three days later, Ana is banging her head against the island marble top. She hasn't even emailed Telly in a long time, both apparently busy with their own lives and projects, but Ana is stuck on a mental health device Tony has been trying to come up with and inquired her help. The concept being able to replicate what Ana can do, by healing the mind from emotional and psychological trauma. Maybe she if smacks her head hard enough it'll knock her smarts back into her brain.

"You're going to give yourself a concussion, and I will not be explaining that to Pepper."

"Why? Because your fiancé will have your ass if I'm hurt?"

There's a hand now between her forehead and the counter top, cushioning her blows. Ana narrows her eyes at Tony as he picks her head up.

"Why don't you take a vacation?" He offers, his dark eyes flashing in concern.

"I agree!" Steve shouts from the couch as he sits up straighter, looking overly eager.

"Me too!" Wanda pipes in, pulling her attention away from the card game she's teaching Vision.

"I can't. I'm too busy." Ana glares at both of them.

Sam, who has been eating his lunch on the patio speaks up. "Not too busy to clean my wings! Four times. They didn't even need a cleaning."

Ana rolls her eyes.

"It was entertaining to watch you do that though." Comes Natasha's voice from behind her.

Ana spins in her chair not at all hearing her walk in. She snatches the untouched spoon and jar of Nutella that has been sitting next Ana for a while. She hasn't cracked it open, mainly because it was making her sad. She still has the one Bucky gave her on her bookshelf. No one touches it.

"It wasn't a suggestion." Tony tells her, ignoring everyone else. "I'm telling you. Start packing and pick a place, anywhere you want to go, and I'll have a plane bring you there."

She groans.

"Why don't you visit your friend? That pen pal of yours." Steve suggests, giving Tony a pointed look over her shoulder.

"Pen pal." Ana mutters while Natasha leans against the counter, raising her eyebrows at Steve.

Tony nods his head. "Besides, Pepper will have my ass for real if she finds out how stressed you've been."

It's true. Jumping from one agent to the next, then the issue with helping Peter Parker's Aunt May come to terms with finding the truth about his identity as Spider-Man. Which was something very new to everyone, minus Tony. Not to mention the lack of sleep and still ignoring the Bucky shaped hole in her heart.

"Fine." Ana sighs exaggeratedly. "I'll go see Telly."

"Thank god. All this negative energy was making me antsy." Wanda teases, wiggling her fingers.

"Negative!?" She pauses, then shrugs. "Hush and help me pack."

/

Wakanda is the most beautiful, stunning place Ana has ever seen in her life. The scenery just blooms in front of her eyes, the sky seems more vibrated in color, as do the plants, the landscape. It's the incredibly advanced technology that has her mind reeling. It takes her breath away. She can't help thinking, as she slowly and disbelievingly takes in all the new sights, that Bucky would love a place like this. She ignores the pang of longing in her heart.

Ana arrives to her destination, the doors of the jet she came in open, and she goes to grabs her bags when she's stopped by one of the beautiful women who offered to pick her up in the first place. She politely holds her hand out, her dark skin almost glowing in the sunlight. Ana insists she can carry her own bags, that it isn't a problem, until the woman levels her with a flat look.

Once she exits the jet, she's led down a beautiful hallway, that blooms open into a wide, expansive laboratory. Her mouth drops open. The ceilings are high, one entire wall displaying floor to ceiling windows overlooking the countryside. There's so many technological advanced machines and devices, that Ana is afraid to walk too close to them, lest she break something. Everything in this lab makes the one back home look like child's play. They come to a halt in the middle of the lab, in front of someone with their back turned to them.

"Princess Shuri." The woman introduces the person standing there, holding her hand out. "AnaRosa Rios."

Ana balks at that, because Princess!? Telly sent the Princess of Wakanda to greet her? "Um-" She says dumbly, blinking in surprise.

A young woman, a teenager, dressed in all white with her multiple braided hair wrapped up into a bun, turns. She smiles brightly, waving excitedly. Then it clicks. Telly is Princess Shuri of Wakanda, which means she is the sister of T'Challa, the Black Panther. The King of Wakanda. Holy shit.

Shuri walks up to her, and Ana automatically opens her arms to greet her with a hug. It isn't awkward or weird, because they've talked for so long, have shared so much, that it feels like a seeing an old friend who's moved away. Once they pull back, they both break out into giddy talking and laughing, mainly because Ana had no idea who Telly really was, but Telly- Shuri, knew who she was for a while. That is, until Shuri reminded her that she did in fact introduce herself way back in their first message to each other. Ana is just dumb and was overly impressed by her intelligence that she just opted to call her Telly.

Shuri pulls back completely and squats down until she's level with Ana's knee. "How's your knee holding up in this rusted thing?" She inquires, with a beautiful accent. "Brother told me it was damaged again. Stark technology failed?"

Ana smiles sheepishly. "In his defense, I don't think he was prepared for a pronged electrical disk to be shoved into my knee? It somehow countered the rods between the bones and disabled them. That's a lie. It literally yanked them from my bones." She winces like she can still feel the pain from the moment it happened. It still throbs occasionally, even with the temporary knee brace she is currently wearing.

Shuri pursues her lips. "Hmmm. Painful, yes?" She gently taps the brace with her fingers.

"Extremely."

"Why did you wait so long to see me?" She stands up, crossing her arms. "I offered to help when you told me about your knee the first time."

Ana waves her hand around. "Was really busy and I was handling the pain the best way I could. I'm here now though."

Shuri looks like she wants to say something else, but hooks her arm with Ana's own. "Come. I've got a surprise for you."

She steers Ana towards the back of the lab, past the little workshops with objects she can't quite see. She tries taking in the amazing sights of the lab, but she's being pulled too quickly. They walk towards the Health and Healing area in the back, coming to a stop by the Wakandan version of an MRI machine. Ana's eyes widen, and she drops her arm.

"Oh my god." She breathes.

Shuri smiles at her. "I thought you'd like it."

Ana beams. "Shuri, you literally built a knee. That's incredible!"

The artificial knee looks more advanced than anything she has ever seen. It's a navy blue, almost black in color, clearly made from a material not yet accessible to other countries. There's a thin piece of what looks like golden cartilage cushioning the bones, along with golden tendons.

Ana steps up to the table, examining the artificial knee. "It works like a real one, right? No limited range of motion?"

"Correct. It's better than a real one. It's vibranium. It's kinetic, so it'll absorb any shock impact and converts it into energy." Shuri explains, an excited tone to her voice. "Goes perfectly with what you can do. The surgery for it isn't as invasion as a regular, less advanced knee replacement. Your recovery would be weeks, rather than months."

Ana smiles at her over her shoulder. "Does that mean I have my leg power back?"

Shuri laughs. "Yes! You can land a powerful strike, but it also converts into a positive source of energy throughout your body. I gathered all the information you told me and decided to build it that way to give you more endurance."

"You're amazing, Shuri." Ana tells her, staring back at the knee to take in the details.

"There's one more thing."

Ana turns to face her, excited to learn more. Then her heart stops in her chest, air ceasing in her lungs. She can barely feel her expression melt into shock and thinks briefly that she is going into shock. Time seems to stand still, and a warmth begins to spread throughout her bones. The breath she had been holding in without her knowledge leaves her mouth in a quiet huff. It takes her seventeen seconds to breathe again.

Bucky.

Bucky is standing there. Bucky is standing right there. Bucky is standing several feet behind Shuri, who is probably smiling so wide, but Ana doesn't see her. She doesn't see anyone or anything surrounding her other than Bucky. Bucky who has a soft little smile on his lips as he stares at her. Bucky, who she had been dreaming of standing in front of her for months, is right there.

Ana has to make sure this is real before she truly reacts. She blinks rapidly, but he doesn't disappear. She twists her knee is a way that hurts, but she isn't asleep. Bucky is wearing a white shirt, detailed with threaded markings that look important, royal. His trousers are a gray loose fitting material and his feet are bare. Clearly the past ten months has done him good, since he now has a brand new arm, sleek and dark blue interlaced with gold. It's his face though, that kick starts Ana's heart up again. He looks serene. His blue eyes are clear and popping ridiculously against the white of his shirt. Any cuts and scabs are long gone, and half his hair is gather back into what looks like a bun, the length now just above his shoulders.

"Hi Annie."

It's like daybreak after the longest period of darkness. That simple name, that simple little greeting is what finally makes Ana's feet unglue from the floor. This is real, and Bucky is real and it's not another heart wrenching dream. Ana runs towards him, closing the few feet between them. She literally jumps, Bucky catching her instantly, wrapping her thighs around his hips, and kisses him. Bucky tightens his arms around her waist, pressing her close and kissing her back with fervor.

"Your knee!" Shuri laughs from somewhere behind them. They ignore her. "Love sick, colonizers."

Ana's hands are in his hair, gripping and pressing his head closer. Their mouths open against each other's and Ana has missed the way he tastes. Bucky moves his arm up her back, his own fingers tangling in her hair, to kiss her harder. It's bruising and perfect, like lighting a furnace deep within her soul. Ana can feel herself slipping, so she drops her legs, but Bucky holds her tighter to his chest. Unfortunately, they break apart, just barely, their noses pressed together. They're smiling against each other, Bucky brings his right hand up to cup her jaw.

"You came back to me." Ana whispers, tears welling up in her eyes.

Bucky laughs softly, and it's the best sound she has ever heard. "Promised I would, love." He kisses her again.

Ana's hand slips from his long hair, falling onto his left shoulder. She breaks the kiss again, looking up into his eyes, so incredibly blue and watery. "I've missed you."

"You have no idea." He says, swiping his thumbs along her cheekbones. He kisses her nose.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good. Better. Brand new."

Ana beams and the tears escape her eyes. She's so happy in this moment.

"I love you." Bucky tells her, pressing his forehead against hers.

"I love you too. Oh my god. This is real right? Please, please tell me you're real."

"I'm very real, doll face."

"God." Ana reaches up to tug his hair, only to pull him back down for another long, overdue kiss.

"I'm fixed, Ana, it's gone." He mumbles against her mouth.

She pulls back, completely gobsmacked. "What- I mean- how- what?"

Bucky smiles so wide, his eyes nearly shut. "Shuri. She did this thing with-" he breaks off laughing as Ana places little kisses all over his face, "-the scientists and the-" Ana kisses his mouth, "-thing."

"Very eloquently put." Shuri cackles behind them.

Ana grabs either side of his head, slipping her fingers into his thick, long hair. She rubs her thumbs against his temples. "Fuck," She mutters, beaming at him. "I'm so happy for you, baby. How do you feel?" She has to ask again.

"Free."

The rapidly beating heart swells even more inside her chest. Her stomach flutters, warmth spreading throughout her veins. All she ever wanted was for Bucky to be free from Hydra's monstrous hands. Ana wants to cry from joy.

Ana turns around in his arms, Bucky wrapping them around her chest. "Shuri, this is incredible. You are incredible! How were you able to do it?"

"Come! I'll show you!" She says excitingly, grabbing Ana's arm, pulling her from Bucky's hold and dragging her across the lab. He makes a noise of protest, but Shuri ignores him. They come to a stop by a large digital screen. She taps her fingers swiftly on the screen until images of what must be Bucky's brain pop up.

"We used our most sophisticated bi-scanners to create a one on one digital representation of his brain." The insanely intelligent princess explains, expanding one of the images. "The progress we made was tested and retested again in the digital construct, that way there was no damage to the physical brain tissue."

She looks at Ana, continuing. "I was worried about that. If the tissue would be damaged in the process of deprogramming the words, of pulling them apart, since they were basically embedded into his DNA at that point."

Ans shakes her head in disbelief. She knew how deep Hydra's brainwashing went, seventy years of wiping his mind and repeating those words made a giant impact. A long term affect.

"As you already knew," Shuri says, "there was no simple solution, just erasing mental programming, especially after 7 decades. There's no delete button, and you were right, Ana. The majority of his programming was linked to the trigger words. The last thing we wanted to do was remove all of who Sergeant Barnes was. All his loves, his hates, his whole personality-when trying to destroy what Hydra made him into. The hardest part was rooting out the extent of his memories that had the greatest amount of control over his physical actions. The ones that had been manipulated due to their deep emotional trauma. Which was quite a few."

Ana nods, surprisingly able to follow along. Shuri goes on.

"I ran an Algorithm that was able to flush the influence of the trigger words out, all while retaining the core context of those original memories. Essentially, I was able reboot him."

"So..." Ana speaks up, her voice raspy, taking all the information in. She clears her throat. "Does that mean, his memories..."

"They're all there." She smiles brightly at her. "All his memories, and traits, everything that makes Sergeant Barns himself, is all there. Old memories, and newer ones."

She places a gentle hand on Ana's shoulder. "I was careful. I made sure to keep all his memories with you intact as well. The healing session you told me about, evidently, helped me out more than expected. By performing that, you essentially tied stronger, newer memories, thoughts, feelings, loves, into his brain. It was much easier to separate what he felt with those memories, what he began to associate the former trigger words, as good. Even beforehand, while Deprogramming him, the words weren't as deeply rooted as I anticipated. Which is a direct result from your Deprogramming Sessions as well."

Ana frowns, befuddled. She had been staring at Bucky as he fawned over the vibrainum knee meant for her. Bucky looks up at her, and she tears her eyes away, locking her gaze back to Shuri. She mulls the words over in her mind for several long moments, her heart beat picking up speed just a little at the implication.

"Essentially, what you are saying is-"

"You did not fail me." Bucky's voice interrupts her from behind.

Ana turns around, blinking. He was just on the other side of the room two seconds ago. He's smiling at her, that one where his mouth is tilted up to right, and the corners of his eyes are soft.

"Precisely." Shuri concurs. "If it weren't for you, our process would have been longer and much more invasive. This took around fourth and a half months."

"Wait. Then I really didn't..." Ana shakes her head again, trying to comprehend all of this information.

Everything she has been beating herself up with, everything she felt immensely guilty of, that weighed on her like 20-ton weights on her shoulders, wasn't true. That she really did not fail in helping him. All those nights she spent crying into her pillow, all the nights she spent alone in their spot on the roof, driving herself into a nearly depressed tail spin. All that time she spent knowing that she could have done more, that maybe if she did something differently, that none of what happened would have happened.

"Annie."

The nickname she once despised pulls her from her thoughts. Bucky is suddenly standing a few inches in front of her, placing careful hands on her cheeks, his touch delicate. Ana revels in the contrast of his hands, warm and cool, allowing it to ground her. She's beginning to feel overwhelmed with everything from the past hour. Arriving in a place she had no idea exist until a day ago, thinking she was here to visit, for a new knee, then having Bucky surprise her, to the information about how Shuri and her team were able to fully deprogram him. She feels dizzy.

"You with me, darling?" Bucky murmurs, smoothing his thumbs over her cheekbones. His eyes are so incredibly blue, and she is drowning in them. Want to drown in them forever.

"I didn't fail you?" She breathes, still trying to wrap her mind around it. She brings her hands up, curling her fingers over his wrists.

His eyes crinkle at the corners as he smiles again. "No, you didn't. You were a big part in helping me." He leans closer, pressing his forehead against hers. "Between you and me, you were the greatest part. You are the greatest part."

Then he kisses her, gentle and tantalizing, the feeling melting right down to her bones. It makes her knees buckle, her right one throbbing, but the love of her life wraps his arms around her shoulders and waist, supporting her against his body. Ana can't help it, a few tears escaped her closed eyes as she hugs Bucky around his back.

Shuri decides to speak up in this moment. "Your broken white boy is fixed!" She exclaims.

Not expecting that at all, Ana pulls away from him, laughing loud and unabashed. She barely hears Bucky sigh, before she turns and launched herself at Shuri, embracing her in a tight hug.

"You are an exceptional genius!" Ana tells her, tears still blurring her vision. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Her friend laughs in her ear before she leans back. "When my brother told me exactly who Sergeant Barnes was-

"Bucky, Shuri." He interjects. He's ignored.

"-I had to help." She goes on as if Bucky hadn't said a word. "Not just for scientific reason, which is a major breakthrough for Wakandan artificial intelligence, but for the both of you as well. You became extremely sad in your emails, Ana, and his most recent memories were just as sad. I knew this would make you both happy. Captain Rogers too."

Ana beams at her, until it clicks in her brain. She takes a step back. "Oh my god, Steve knew this entire time!"

No wonder he was eager to take Ana here. That little fucking punk. When she gets back she's going to smack Steve in the face with his shield, then she's going to have to thank him in the biggest way possible when she goes back. She looks at Bucky, who is laughing now, his mouth open and head tilted back.

If she goes back.

/

"You've been sitting on a never-ending supply of Winter theme nicknames for him, and I'm only now finding out about it?" Shuri asks, crossing her arms and glaring at Bucky.

It took a while for Ana and Bucky's reunion to die down, even having several of the Wakadans working in the lab clapping for them. It felt physically impossible to pull away from each other, and even now, Ana has her arms around his lower back, her head pressed against his chest over his beating heart. Bucky has his flesh hand in her hair, his left hugging her spine.

"I think you have plenty of your own nicknames for me." Bucky responds. Ana perks up at that. "No. I'm not telling you either, darling. This information in very dangerous in both your hands."

"I'll just tell her later." Shuri winks at Ana.

"You don't stand a chance, Bucky." Ana says gleefully. She hears him sighs. "You love me." She leans back to look at him, and he's already smiling down at her.

"With every fiber of my being." He tells her with conviction.

Her heart swells. "I've missed you. I love you."

He kisses her deeply, until Shuri clears her throat. Bucky pulls back, smiling unashamed. "I've missed those nine gold dots." He gentle brushes his thumb under her eye. "Would you like to see where I live?"

Ana ignores the little pang in her heart at the words. "That sounds like a line, Bucky."

They stare at each other, silly smiles on their faces, and Ana can't help but feel like it's a homecoming, wrapped in his arms.

"Go, go." Shuri says before Bucky can reply. "Enjoy your time, Ana. In two days come back here and we'll start replacing your knee."

/

White Wolf.

It's what the Wakandans call Bucky. It's what T'Challa and Shuri named him, after all this time during his recovery. Ana finds out that the people have essentially adopted Bucky and have accepted him into their society and culture. He explains all of this to her, as she traces her fingers all over his new arm that seems utterly benign.

She can't get over the beauty of the vibranium prosthetic. It's so very different from the other, then again, this new arm was made with careful tenderness from people who genuinely hold Bucky's interest as important. As someone who is indeed a human, with complex thoughts and emotions. Someone who isn't viewed as a weapon.

Bucky allows her to play with his fingers, twisting and turning his wrist, pulling his bicep closer to her face. The technology is amazing, beautiful. The design reminds her of the kintsukuroi artwork she has in her room. She traces every single line of gold she sees; around his fingers, his knuckles, the lines in his palm, around his wrist, up his forearm, over his bicep.

"To repair with gold." She whispers, accidentally interrupting Bucky.

He stops talking and laces his fingers with hers. Then he lifts her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. Ana smiles at him, before leaning into him, kissing him softly on the lips. As he brings his right hand up to rest against her chest and taps her collarbone, she vaguely remembers never believing in a one true love before. But as they sit all alone on the freight train that takes them from the lab, through the city and into the country side, she thinks maybe she was wrong.

/

Bucky quite literally pulls Ana along through a small village made up of scattered little huts. Animals ranging from chickens, to sheep, dogs and even some cats run around. He shows her around the little farm he works on three days a week. He points out the animals, the little goats and sheep, some chickens and lambs. He points out his favorite little goat, who he named Rosa because she's a stubborn little thing that likes to kick at hay bills. The fact that Ana's full name ends with Rosa doesn't go unnoticed, and Bucky blushes when she brings it up. He tells her moving hay bills and other manual labor, makes him feel whole, that he can be helpful.

He admits, his voice quiet as he pets Rosa on the head, that most days he doesn't even use his left arm. Keeping it safe in a case up in the lab and working with just his right arm makes him feel more human; feel more like himself. That during this recovery process, he had begun accepting himself as who he was. It made him feel like he wasn't just a weapon, and his old Soviet-Hydra- made arm was just an everyday reminder that for seventy plus years, that's all he was.

"I think that's why I was always so cautious with it around you." He tells her, voice barely above a whisper. "All I saw was this horrible thing that could hurt you and I couldn't get rid of. I was stuck with it."

Ana nods. She understands, and to convey that she does, she presses a light kiss to his temple. As Bucky leads them towards the furthest hut just on the outskirts of a small lake, they're surrounded by children with beautiful dark skin, dressed in beautiful wraps with white painted masks on their faces. They're all shouting in a different language, but the smile on Bucky's face tells Ana that they're calling his name. Not Bucky; White Wolf.

He drops her hand in favor of picking up one of the smallest boys, swinging him around in the air. The child giggles brightly as the others all eagerly wait their turn, pining for his attention. Ana's heart blooms warmth, her cheeks beginning to hurt from smiling so wide. Bucky looks so at ease here, content and comfortable, and the little pang gently kicks at her stomach. She ignores it once more as she is suddenly being pulled toward the lake by three girls, who then force her to sit on a boulder.

Bucky makes his way over to them after several minutes of throwing each child up into the air. He chuckles under his breath when he sees the braids in Ana's hair. The girls have been chatting excitedly, and although she doesn't understand a word, she's content to sit there and listen, taking in the life of the small village. Some of the older people offer her friendly waves and smiles, an elderly woman stopping by once to hand her some beads to give to the girls.

"They're saying you have thick beautiful hair." Bucky informs her as he sits down.

One of the smaller boys from earlier had follow him, and climbs into Ana's lap, taking her hands and playing with her fingers. "I figured." She smiles over at him. "They love you here."

"Yeah, I guess they do." He agrees, pinching one of the tan beads in her hair.

"Umfazi!" The girl behind her giggles. "Umfazi!"

Bucky clears his throat and turns to playfully poke the girl in the arm. His cheeks, Ana notices, are tinted red.

"What did she say?" She questions curiously.

"It's not important. She's just being silly."

Ana narrows her eyes, but lets it go in favor of tickling the little boy in her lap.

/

After spending a few hours in the village, he brings her to his apartment just on the outskirts of the city. It's a modern place, all types of advanced tech she has never seen before; sleek appliances and even an entertainment center. Bucky lights up while talking about it, a brilliant smile on his face, telling her how cool and amazing the tech is and Stark hasn't even begun to scratch the surface of what this small country has and can do.

It's here that Ana finally realizes what that panging in her heart is. It feels like she's being shot all over again, steel bullets twisting her insides around. A bitter taste fills her mouth and she swallows it with the painful flutter of her heart as well. Bucky looks like he found his place here; recovering, becoming healthy, physically, mentally, emotionally. His excitement and awe of every little piece of technology hasn't dimmed once, despite living here for months.

"You're happy here." Ana states quietly, interrupting him. "You love it here."

Bucky's smile falls from his mouth, a frown setting in as he takes her hands. "I'm happy you're here with me. I'm happy with you."

He leans down to press his lips to her forehead, then trails his lips down to her temple, her cheek, to her nose. He traces his fingers up from her own, to her arms, until he is cupping her jaw. Ana looks up at him, her heart pounding against her chest, her cheeks heating up under his touch. He is looking at her with so much love, so much adoration, that any seed of doubt she was beginning to have fades away.

When Bucky presses his lips against hers, it's tantalizing, nearly burning her bones and melting against his solid body. Ana snakes her arms around his waist, pressing him closer, because at one point she couldn't handle three days away from him, and three hundred and twenty-three days was horrible. She grips his shirt, trying to hold off the sudden emotion swirling in her chest. She must gasp against his lips, for Bucky starts to walk her backwards, his tongue prying her lips open.

Something wet escapes her eyes, and Bucky swipes his thumbs over them. She doesn't know how they got from the kitchen to his room, onto the bed, but she doesn't complain. Ana brings her hands up to tangle her fingers into his long hair, when Bucky takes them both, interlocking their fingers and pressing them on either side of her head. He pulls back to stare into her eyes, and Bucky's own are wet.

Ana gives him a shaky smile. "I'm sorry, Bucky. I love you, so much, and I'm incredibly happy to see you, you have no idea. Or you probably do. I just..." She trails off, her smile fading.

"It's alright, Ana." Bucky soothes softly. "I get it. I love you, I missed you." He kisses the tip of her nose, then pulls back. "I was in cryofreeze for so long off and on, and from what I remember, I didn't dream too often. This time was different. I dreamt of you, Annie. Your face, your laugh, your touch. Just being with you, and when I woke up, there was a moment where I thought you there with me. When I realized you weren't-"

He breaks off. Ana untangles her left hand, reaching up to wipe a tear on his cheek away. "It was horrible without," She tells him, "and I know that isn't fair for me to say-"

He kisses her to cease her words, and it's a very Bucky like thing to do. It makes her stomach flip. He gently breaks their kiss.

"I nearly begged them to put me back to sleep after they fixed everything. Because being awake, knowing how far you were from me..." Bucky shakes his head, his eye glazing over for a moment. He blinks, then smiles down at her. "I want to show you how much I missed you. I want to show you how fucking happy I am right now."

/

Bucky sits back on his heels, and it should be comical, him sitting there naked with how turned on he is, but it's not. His hungry gaze pins Ana to the spot on the bed, her heart beating wildly as he continues to stare at her, as if he's seeing her for the first time. Bucky doesn't need to show her how much he's missed her or loves her; Ana can feel the emotions radiating off his skin. However, he's still too far from her.

Ana lifts her right leg, hooking her heel over his shoulder, the vibranium base feels smooth and sleek. She tries pulling him in, however, Bucky wraps his fingers around her ankle, moving her foot so he can kiss the Veni Vidi Vici tattoo on the outside of her foot. He then kisses her ankle, trailing his lips up to her calf. He places feather light kisses over her sore knee, the marks from disk faint against her tan skin.

He continues kissing up her inner thigh, her stomach swooping as Bucky moves closer to her center. He ignores her there, opting to lean over and kiss the left side of her hip, where the scars from years ago begin. He drags his lips across her navel, his beard tickling her skin and kisses the newest scar left behind by a bullet. Bucky moves up to kiss the tattoo on her ribs, her skin erupting in goosebumps as his breath fans over the words.

He skips over her breasts, slightly heaving with her labored breaths. She has to bite her lip to keep from whimpering as he tenderly kisses the second bullet scar on her shoulder. Bucky grazes his teeth over her collarbone, tapping his thumb twice, before trailing his lips up her neck and behind her ear, kissing the lotus flower tattoo.

"Bucky." Ana finally whines, her mouth dropping open as his hard chest grazes over her nipples. "Please."

"Shhh, baby." He murmurs over her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "I've got you."

His hands find hers, lacing their fingers together as he finally kisses her lips. He keeps his lips soft, delicate, the love he feels for her seeping into her bones. She loves him just as much, but it's been ten months, and that's ten fucking months too long. Ana wraps her legs around his waist, tugging him close, until his hard cock is pressed between her legs, sliding against her clit.

They both groan into each other's mouths at the contact. Bucky brakes their hold from their hands, lining himself up, pressing into Ana. He goes slow, despite how wet she is, making her feel every single inch of him. She breaks away from their kiss, throwing her head back and gasping quietly as he fills her. He slips his left arm under her waist, holding her close and locking her there, as he takes her right hand away from her own, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

A soft nip to her neck makes Ana move her head back, meeting Bucky's blue-eyed gaze. His eyes are blown wide with lust, nearly hidden with the love that is shinning in them. With shaky fingers, Ana brushes his hair back, bringing him down until their foreheads touch. He smiles down at her before capturing her lips once again.

On the first thrust, Bucky keeps it tantalizingly slow and deep, already hitting that sensitive spot insider her. Ana wraps her arms around his strong back, digging her fingers into his shoulders. She moans into the kiss as Bucky slowly continues to roll his hips, keeping each thrust deep and perfect. Everything feels like it's on fire, the air nearly sizzling around them. Warmth seeps into her skin from Bucky, igniting every one of her veins and makes her heart pound against her chest. She vaguely wonders if he can feel just how hard it's beating for him.

Bucky presses her hips down harder, groaning as her walls flutter around his cock for a moment. At this point, he's barely pulling back, just keeps grinding deep inside her, her clit brushing against his pubic bone. Their kiss is nothing more than open mouth panting, gasps and whimpers being swallowed down once in a while.

It's all so overwhelming, especially when Bucky begins to whisper sweet words into her lips, into her neck when he has to duck his head down for a moment. Ana's nails bite into the skin of his back, holding him closer than ever, their bodies fitting together as if the past ten months never happened. It feels like their first time together, though much more emotional, the distance making everything more passionate.

"Bucky," Ana whimpers, her eyes fluttering. "Baby, please."

Bucky kisses her fluttering pulse in her neck before reconnecting their foreheads. "I've got you, my love." He murmurs, keeping his gaze locked on hers.

He pulls back further this time, snapping his hips forward, slow and hard and it's perfect. With each small thrust, the tip of his cock brushes against that spot, making Ana's toes curl. Bucky continues the leisurely pace, just opting for longer, harder thrusts. It causes waves of pleasure to roll through her stomach, her walls clenching around him tighter and tighter.

He thrusts once, twice, three more times, before the fire and waves crash together, sending Ana over the edge as she comes hard around his cock. She holds onto Bucky, moaning and whining into his mouth as he kisses her again, her hand slipping from his shoulder into his damn hair. He gasps into her mouth as her walls constrict around him. He snaps his hips two more times before Bucky follows right after her.

They're both panting side by side, slowly coming down from their passionate love making, skin sweaty and cooling from the air around them. Ana's heart hasn't stopped pounding since she turned around and saw Bucky standing the lab. She feels sedated now, a bone deep satisfaction she has come to miss. She could lay in this spot forever, except that she's still too far from Bucky, so, she makes herself move.

She hooks her right leg over his thigh, rolling over to press up against his side. She wiggles around, draping her arm over his lower abs, trying to pull herself up his chest. He wraps his arm around her hips.

"What are you doing?" Bucky chuckles, breathy little sounds that make her heart flutter.

"Trying to get as close to you as possible. Keep you next to me." She says, still wiggling.

"Darling, I'm right here. It's not like I'm just going to disappear into thin air." However, he helps shift her around until she's comfortable.

Ana shushes him. "You never know, and I need to keep you close to me. Forever."

Bucky kisses her eyebrow. "This is real, right? I'm not dreaming again?"

She taps her thumb against his collarbone twice. "I'm real, Bucky." She moves her hand down to the middle of his chest. "This is real."

He brushes her hair away from her temple, shifting until he's looking her in the eyes. "Annie. Stay with me?"

Ana feels her entire body light up like the stars, and she can't be sure if it's just a metaphor, or if her energy is doing something to make her feel like that. Either way, she smiles softly at the man she loves with all her heart.

"Of course."

Bucky smiles brightly at her, crinkles and all.

"My Winter Snowflake."

/

AN: "Umfazi" means "wife" in Xhosa, which is apparently one of the languages spoken in Wakanda. What Shuri explains is from the upcoming comic, 'Infinity War Prelude'. I found it very interesting, considering I figured she would have done something along the line of this anyway.

Ps: I wonder how many people got not only one reference, but something I hid within there as well. Thank you reading!