[Leipzig AU] good for trouble

[from_the_outside]

Busan glitters like a disco ball in the night, and no one gives them a second glance as they stroll through the fish market, Sharon in her white dress on Ross's arm, the rest of the team behind them. "Sophia," she says, warmly, and exchanges air kisses with the woman, her pink visor and plastic apron both bright. She knows to expect them, and after she pats Sharon fondly on the cheek, she nods them through.

They spread out through the casino, the team's voices low in her ear. She stays by Ross, playing the part of arm candy, applauding when he wins and consoling him when he loses.

There's no sign of Klaue yet, and the metal briefcase full of diamonds stays locked to the wrist of one of the other agents. "I'm going to get a drink," Sharon murmurs to Ross, and makes her way through the crowd to the bar. 

The martinis here are fine, but not as good as Nat's.

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[from_the_outside]

"Oh," Sharon says. "'Kay."

Ruined. She grimaces slightly, but what's she going to do about it? "Those sound great. Both."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Come with me," Nakia says, standing. "I will show you where to change."

"Here," Bucky says, before Sharon can follow her. He pulls Sharon's phone from his pocket and hands it over. "You'll want this."

[from_the_outside]

She takes her phone from him with a small smile. "Thanks," she murmurs, and follows Nakia back out of the lounge area

[nerves_of_ice]

"If you are all heading back, then I will leave you to it," Shuri says. "I have work to do on my new gauntlet design."

She dashes a mischievous look at Bucky. "Perhaps I will incorporate parts of it into your new arm, when you are ready."

Ross makes a small choking sound. "She's making you a vibranium arm?"

Bucky opens his mouth to answer, but Shuri beats him to it with a loud sniff. "Of course I am! What else should I make it from?"

[from_the_outside]

Her shirt definitely is ruined, but she pulls out her jeans and ankle boots and gives Nakia a sad look until her friend laughs. "I will have them washed and returned to you," she promises, and offers Sharon a light sleeveless jumpsuit in a geometric pattern and a pair of sandals, both of which Sharon takes gratefully.

A few minutes later, they return to the group, chatting lightly about the places in the city where Nakia likes to shop when she's home. Sharon slips her hands into the pockets of the airy jumpsuit and smiles at them all. "Ready?"

[nerves_of_ice]

The three men stand as they return to the room, and Shuri laughs and hops to her feet as well. “So polite,” she teases. T’Challa sighs. “Shuri.”

She wrinkles her nose at him and puts a gentle hand on Bucky’s arm. “Come back soon. I will have things for you to test,” she promises.

He nods and she bounces off to Nakia and Sharon. Ross moves closer to Bucky and asks under his breath, “Things to test?”

Bucky slants a look at him, but recognizes the signs of someone fascinated by the near-impossible tech rather than trying to poke him for intel. The corner of his mouth turns up in a wry smile. “Stuff like you wouldn’t believe. You know she was driving that car in Busan? From here. Holographic remote control.”

Ross stares at him, then breathes out a laugh. “God, what I wouldn’t give to try something like that myself.”

[from_the_outside]

It's nice to see Bucky and Ross chatting a little more easily, though there's clearly still some tension between them. She smiles and comes to join them in time to hear the last part.

"No way," she laughs. "All the way from here? That's insane."

[nerves_of_ice]

“The remote-driven car in Busan,” Bucky explains to Nakia and T’Challa. Nakia laughs. “But it is true,” she promises. “Okoye placed the control disc herself.”

Bucky nods. “I was in the passenger seat. Heck of a ride.”

[from_the_outside]

"Now I really wish I'd caught up with you when you guys split from the casino," Sharon tells Nakia.

[nerves_of_ice]

“Oh, that car was for T’Challa,” Nakia says, flashing a smile at him. She comes to loop her arm through Sharon’s and starts leading her out the door, Shuri having already vanished down the corridor to the main lab.

“He had to catch up. Our car was vibranium.”

Ross makes another strangled sound. “That car? All of that was vibranium, just scattered about?”

“We reclaimed the parts,” T’Challa says, mildly. “We have some experience with this kind of thing, you must understand.”

[from_the_outside]

"I guess you must be."

She still feels pretty overwhelmed, but Nakia's covering for her and she loves her friend a little more for it. It lets her look around with wide eyes as they leave the lab and make their way to the train platform, where a sleek maglev train is swooping in just as they arrive.

"And I thought Europe had a good system," she mutters to Ross.

[nerves_of_ice]

“So did I. Until yesterday. Look,” Ross tells her. He points out the window of the train at the gleaming poles that lean in and out as other trains pass. “They’re transporting raw vibranium on those. And those glowing things are sonic stabilizers.” He glances at her, a little sheepish. “I asked a lot of questions.”

Bucky leans against the wall by T’Challa as the train begins to move. “I hope you’re having fun,” he murmurs, low and wry. “With as much trouble as we’ve brought you.”

“It is not that much trouble,” T’Challa says, firmly. His smile flashes for an instant. “And I must admit, it is a lot of fun to see how you all react.”

[from_the_outside]

Ross points out the various areas of his own interest and Sharon listens as Nakia tells her about the mountain and its history, then blinks and lifts a hand to shade her eyes as the train streaks out of the mountainside and into a brilliant blue-sky day.

"Wow," she breathes, as her eyes adjust and she can see over the sun-soaked grasslands. There's a herd of antelope bounding away into the wide sprawl of Wakanda's lands on one side of the train, and what looks like a city sprung from a science fiction novel on the other. She's never in her life seen anything like it.

[nerves_of_ice]

“Birnin Zana,” T’Challa says. “The Golden City. And there, that is the Citadel, my family’s home for generations.”

“This would be why I never showed you the view from the window,” Bucky says, dryly.

[from_the_outside]

"Yeah, I'm realizing that."

The train curves towards the Citadel, covering ground at an impossibly fast, smooth speed. Nakia points out the details of the city as they come into view, how greenery is everywhere, how the skyscrapers use thatch and other traditional building materials in their designs.

"I will take you into it later," Nakia promises her. "The markets are especially fun to walk around."

[nerves_of_ice]

Ross is listening to Nakia just as intently as Sharon is. Bucky looks at T’Challa, and finds him watching Nakia.

“She has wanted to do this for a long time,” T’Challa murmurs. “She believes we should do more in the outside world.” He glances at Bucky. “Your Captain Rogers said much the same. What do you say?”

Bucky breathes in and out, slow and careful. “That you could do a lot of good, but that there are and have always been good reasons for your secrets, too,” he murmurs. “So if you were going to change any of that, you’d likely want to be careful about how you do it.”

[from_the_outside]

Everywhere she looks, the past and present and plans for the future are evident, from the materials used to the designs to the techniques leveraged to bring them to life.

"It's beautiful," she says, wholehearted and without hesitation when Nakia asks her what she thinks. "It's the most incredible place I've ever seen."

Her friend beams, joy a warm lamp behind her eyes. "Yes," she agrees. "I think so, too."

[nerves_of_ice]

T’Challa gives a thoughtful nod and says nothing more, and Bucky doesn’t push. He straightens from his position against the wall as the train begins its long arc toward the Citadel platform.

“I must meet with Okoye,” T’Challa says. “Nakia?”

[from_the_outside]

"I will show Sharon to her room," Nakia says, and smiles at her. "As much as I would like to show you more, Shuri is correct; you should rest. There is time. But after, I may go into the city."

"I'd like to see the city, myself," Ross says, surprising another smile out of Nakia. "If you wouldn't mind company."

"I would not," Nakia tells him, pleased. "I welcome it."

[nerves_of_ice]

“Then I will see you later,” T’Challa says, as the train comes to a stop and the doors slide open, whisper-quiet. “All of you.”

“Your Highness,” Ross agrees, with a nod of farewell. Bucky also nods, and moves to Sharon’s other side.

[from_the_outside]

Sharon eyes the women in armor flanking the door as they go in, but Bucky seems relaxed and Nakia seems to barely notice them, except to smile at them as they pass.

"Dora Milaje," she explains, seeing Sharon's bemused expression. "The royal guard."

Sharon nods in understanding and takes to looking around once more as they walk through the building with its graceful halls, high ceilings, and wide windows.

[nerves_of_ice]

“Remember Ayo and Mya from Berlin?” Bucky murmurs. “They’re Dora, too. Amazing skills. You’ll see.”

He stays near as they walk, but not so near as to make her feel crowded. Bucky looks at Ross. “Where’d they put you?”

“A really nice suite,” Ross says. “In, uh, the “fifth tribal wing,” whatever that means.”

[from_the_outside]

For some reason, Nakia looks both wry and amused at that. "It is a very nice suite," she agrees, and glances at Sharon, a small smile playing around her lips.

"I think you will like yours as well."

Sharon shakes her head, huffing a laugh. "I'm sure I will," she says. "Everything else here is pretty amazing, so why wouldn't that be, too?"

[nerves_of_ice]

“It is,” Bucky agrees, even as the glimmer of suspicion grows to near certainty as they make the turn into a very familiar hallway.

He glances at Nakia, who smiles innocently at him.

[from_the_outside]

They arrive in front of a door with potted and vining greenery at either side – as most of the doors have, plant life seems to be everywhere – and Nakia shows her how to unlock it, then gestures her inside.

It's a small suite with a cozy living area whose windows take up most of one whole wall, offering a gorgeous overlook across Wakanda's countryside towards the city. Nakia takes her into the bedroom and shows her the ensuite with its luscious tub and rainfall shower, then the closet which she has had filled with clothes in Sharon's sizes.

All in all, the rooms are bright, cheery, and comfortable, and she has to say they're probably at least as nice as her apartment back in Berlin. "It's great," she tells a beaming Nakia. "Thank you, Nakia."