[ t'challa is quiet, as bucky speaks, and he eventually comes to stand beside him, to look out upon the city. it is always alive, rustling and talking and moving and constantly innovating itself into something wonderful. pure, boisterous, untouched. what could have been, for the rest of his people.
the city is something that has weighed on his mind heavily, for the last week or so. unveiling it is a huge risk, but a necessary one.
it is time for the rest of the world to know the wakanda he loves, too. ]
She only says that because she invented ninety percent of what you see before you. [ it's said lightly, but with much affection. t'challa adores his baby sister to the moon and back, however aggravating she can be. he slides his hands into the pockets of his pants, letting his eyes wander across the spires of the city center. ] But it is a beautiful city, full of life, and innovation. My father used to call it the hidden heart of Africa.
[ t'challa pauses, at that. ]
What do you see, when you see the city, Sergeant Barnes?
[ he corrects gently, habit more than anything at this point. he isn’t a soldier anymore, and the name barnes doesn’t belong to him yet, if it ever will again. but he ponders t’challa’s question for a moment, staring out into the distance with the foggy gaze of a man who has seen too much and not enough all at once. ]
Peace. [ he says finally, then shakes his head. ] But not the fairytale kind, y’know, the crap they sell people to make them believe the crimes we commit are worth it. This?
[ another pause as he considers his thoughts carefully. the hidden heart of africa. that seems apt. he thinks of new york’s dirty and crowded streets, of hong kong’s murky skies, of russia’s ice cold emptiness. everything mankind does is in search of something better than what they have now. the things they take from each other and themselves seem justified if they stay ignorant to the holes they leave behind.
wakanda is different. nature and technology coexist here, advancement without the exploitation of life and beauty. it’s unlike anywhere else on earth, and bucky honestly can’t blame them for hiding from the world for so long. he’s seen what men do when they want something, and how far they’ll go to get it. when he looks at this city, for the first time, he sees what life could be like if it wasn’t a fucking competition. ]
[ it's a quiet repetition, a correction, as t'challa commits that to memory. it is hard, sometimes, to forget title and all that. if he ever sees steve rogers again, it will be difficult to drop the whole 'captain' thing, though he's certain steve would rather he do so immediately.
royalty makes things difficult, sometimes. but what is not difficult is bucky's answer, and it warms t'challa's heart, in a way. because it is true -- peace is what t'challa feels, whenever he returns home from the chaotic landscape that is the outside world. hatefulness, anger, frustration . . . all of that brought his father to his death, and nearly dragged t'challa with it.
here? his heart beats with the land, and the sky, and the city, and the thrum of vibranium underneath his feet. peace is what he feels, because he feels alive, here. ]
War is not, has never, and will never be our way, though we descend from the hearts and minds of warriors. [ he says it with great purpose, as he sets himself down to sit on the rock, to draw his arms around his knees, to be comfortable and at ease next to bucky. ] Men stronger than I have been tempted by it, and I am sure I will be no different, when the time comes. This, I think is worth fighting for. To defend such peace, from those who seek to destroy it.
[ t'challa pauses, there, though, and his lips tug into a faint smile, his tone becoming wry. ]
Though I am not so willing to house the Avengers once Tony Stark runs out of rental property to detroy in America.
[ the queen mother will object, and t'challa doesn't argue with the women in his life. ]
[ bucky snorts in amusement and rubs at his left shoulder absentmindedly. tony stark. there’s a complication in his life that may never be straightened. grieving sons all around the world; it’s what one does with that grief that defines them. bucky hid in his, and would’ve been content to do so for the rest of his life before vienna.
yet here’s a man that’s ready to expose his grief to the world as kindness and charity. righting wrongs instead of making more of them. bucky’s only met one other man that made him see the world in a different light, a brighter one, and it gives him something like hope to find another beside him. ]
Think you’ll do just fine without ‘em. [ which reminds him, and he frowns slightly - ] I heard you had to fight for it recently, though. Dunno how much help I would’ve been gimping around like this, but I’m sorry I wasn’t here for it.
[ even if he isn’t a soldier, some things are worth fighting for, and bucky owes a lot to this country and its people. you have my axe, t’challa. ]
[ t'challa glances over at bucky, at his comment, his eyes flickering slightly as he looks bucky up and down before returning his gaze to wakanda. to his city. in the distance, you can see the scars in the land, of ross' spaceship creating gouges in the land. ]
It was a fight that I had to complete on my own.
[ finally, and t'challa's fingers fiddle with his grandfather's ring that rests on his hand. it was a family matter, and a family affair. n'jadaka needed to be defeated by t'challa, and no one else. anything else, or anyone else, would have been an insult, and would have driven his cousin's point home.
no, it had to be him, to drive the knife between his ribs. ]
I would have refused your help, had you offered it. But the sentiment is appreciated.
[ at that, bucky actually does laugh. it's not a mean thing; hell, it's such an odd sound to come from him that it almost forces its way out like a breath of fresh air. two good men, the only genuinely good men in the world as far as he's concerned, and they're so goddamn alike in their own ways. bucky thinks of a scrawny little punk crumpled on the ground, still muttering 'i can do this all day' with blood on his face.
he's seen enough bad things to know the good ones when they're presented to him. t'challa is honest, forthright, noble without naivety. it's hard to have ideals like that in a world that doesn't bend so easily, but ... maybe that's the point of holding on to them.
at least, he knows that's what steve would say. ]
You're a good man, T'Challa. Can't say I know a whole lot of kings - [ although he may have killed one or two; he sighs a little and nods his head towards the city. ] - but you'll probably be pretty good at that too.
[ he thinks so. he hopes so. for one so thoroughly rooted in the darkness, he wants to have faith that someone will be able to carry the light for everyone else. it's why he followed steve into every dumb fight, why he wouldn't mind following t'challa into the next one. ]
[ indeed, t'challa has really only known one king intimately well, and t'chaka was a good king. in his own way. but t'challa is different, and he wants to be different, but: ]
My father once told me that it is hard, for a good man to be king.
[ he doesn't acknowledge the compliment yet, though t'challa does hear it, and accepts it. he believes he is a good man, though he desperately wants to be better. he's made mistakes, but he likes to think that overall, t'challa is good. everyone else seems to think so; he will gauge their opinions over his own.
he glances over at bucky, a slight smile on his lips. ]
It has been a rough beginning to my reign, but I like to think it can only go up from here.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2018-02-22 04:39 am (UTC)the city is something that has weighed on his mind heavily, for the last week or so. unveiling it is a huge risk, but a necessary one.
it is time for the rest of the world to know the wakanda he loves, too. ]
She only says that because she invented ninety percent of what you see before you. [ it's said lightly, but with much affection. t'challa adores his baby sister to the moon and back, however aggravating she can be. he slides his hands into the pockets of his pants, letting his eyes wander across the spires of the city center. ] But it is a beautiful city, full of life, and innovation. My father used to call it the hidden heart of Africa.
[ t'challa pauses, at that. ]
What do you see, when you see the city, Sergeant Barnes?
no subject
Date: 2018-02-22 05:11 am (UTC)[ he corrects gently, habit more than anything at this point. he isn’t a soldier anymore, and the name barnes doesn’t belong to him yet, if it ever will again. but he ponders t’challa’s question for a moment, staring out into the distance with the foggy gaze of a man who has seen too much and not enough all at once. ]
Peace. [ he says finally, then shakes his head. ] But not the fairytale kind, y’know, the crap they sell people to make them believe the crimes we commit are worth it. This?
[ another pause as he considers his thoughts carefully. the hidden heart of africa. that seems apt. he thinks of new york’s dirty and crowded streets, of hong kong’s murky skies, of russia’s ice cold emptiness. everything mankind does is in search of something better than what they have now. the things they take from each other and themselves seem justified if they stay ignorant to the holes they leave behind.
wakanda is different. nature and technology coexist here, advancement without the exploitation of life and beauty. it’s unlike anywhere else on earth, and bucky honestly can’t blame them for hiding from the world for so long. he’s seen what men do when they want something, and how far they’ll go to get it. when he looks at this city, for the first time, he sees what life could be like if it wasn’t a fucking competition. ]
Yeah. This is what it’s supposed to be like.
no subject
Date: 2018-02-22 05:18 am (UTC)[ it's a quiet repetition, a correction, as t'challa commits that to memory. it is hard, sometimes, to forget title and all that. if he ever sees steve rogers again, it will be difficult to drop the whole 'captain' thing, though he's certain steve would rather he do so immediately.
royalty makes things difficult, sometimes. but what is not difficult is bucky's answer, and it warms t'challa's heart, in a way. because it is true -- peace is what t'challa feels, whenever he returns home from the chaotic landscape that is the outside world. hatefulness, anger, frustration . . . all of that brought his father to his death, and nearly dragged t'challa with it.
here? his heart beats with the land, and the sky, and the city, and the thrum of vibranium underneath his feet. peace is what he feels, because he feels alive, here. ]
War is not, has never, and will never be our way, though we descend from the hearts and minds of warriors. [ he says it with great purpose, as he sets himself down to sit on the rock, to draw his arms around his knees, to be comfortable and at ease next to bucky. ] Men stronger than I have been tempted by it, and I am sure I will be no different, when the time comes. This, I think is worth fighting for. To defend such peace, from those who seek to destroy it.
[ t'challa pauses, there, though, and his lips tug into a faint smile, his tone becoming wry. ]
Though I am not so willing to house the Avengers once Tony Stark runs out of rental property to detroy in America.
[ the queen mother will object, and t'challa doesn't argue with the women in his life. ]
no subject
Date: 2018-02-22 05:59 am (UTC)yet here’s a man that’s ready to expose his grief to the world as kindness and charity. righting wrongs instead of making more of them. bucky’s only met one other man that made him see the world in a different light, a brighter one, and it gives him something like hope to find another beside him. ]
Think you’ll do just fine without ‘em. [ which reminds him, and he frowns slightly - ] I heard you had to fight for it recently, though. Dunno how much help I would’ve been gimping around like this, but I’m sorry I wasn’t here for it.
[ even if he isn’t a soldier, some things are worth fighting for, and bucky owes a lot to this country and its people. you have my axe, t’challa. ]
no subject
Date: 2018-02-22 09:38 pm (UTC)It was a fight that I had to complete on my own.
[ finally, and t'challa's fingers fiddle with his grandfather's ring that rests on his hand. it was a family matter, and a family affair. n'jadaka needed to be defeated by t'challa, and no one else. anything else, or anyone else, would have been an insult, and would have driven his cousin's point home.
no, it had to be him, to drive the knife between his ribs. ]
I would have refused your help, had you offered it. But the sentiment is appreciated.
no subject
Date: 2018-02-22 10:01 pm (UTC)he's seen enough bad things to know the good ones when they're presented to him. t'challa is honest, forthright, noble without naivety. it's hard to have ideals like that in a world that doesn't bend so easily, but ... maybe that's the point of holding on to them.
at least, he knows that's what steve would say. ]
You're a good man, T'Challa. Can't say I know a whole lot of kings - [ although he may have killed one or two; he sighs a little and nods his head towards the city. ] - but you'll probably be pretty good at that too.
[ he thinks so. he hopes so. for one so thoroughly rooted in the darkness, he wants to have faith that someone will be able to carry the light for everyone else. it's why he followed steve into every dumb fight, why he wouldn't mind following t'challa into the next one. ]
no subject
Date: 2018-02-22 11:18 pm (UTC)My father once told me that it is hard, for a good man to be king.
[ he doesn't acknowledge the compliment yet, though t'challa does hear it, and accepts it. he believes he is a good man, though he desperately wants to be better. he's made mistakes, but he likes to think that overall, t'challa is good. everyone else seems to think so; he will gauge their opinions over his own.
he glances over at bucky, a slight smile on his lips. ]
It has been a rough beginning to my reign, but I like to think it can only go up from here.