T’Challa’s Birthday (T’Challa x Barnes!Reader)
Okay! Two posts in two days! I am warning y’all now that over the next couple days I am not going to be active at all. I’m going away with my family and will not be able to check tumblr until I get back. But, to make up for it, I have my T’Challa’s birthday post, finally. According to Google, T’Challa’s birthday is May 21st, so once again, I’m a bit late.
Warnings: Barnes!Reader is Bucky’s sister, mentions of CA:CW, it’s Nomad!Steve but not mentioned, T’Challa x Reader, Shuri probably needs a warning too.
Word Count: 2051
Summary: While waiting for Bucky to finish cryo, T’Challa was never as nice to you as he was to Steve. Now that Bucky’s awake, will things change?
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You had no idea what was happening. At all. You weren’t even from Wakanda. You were just supposed to be checking on Bucky, since he was in cryo-freeze to be deprogrammed from the Winter Soldier. And don’t get me wrong, Bucky was attractive and women had always been all over him. But you were always the reason they left quickly, since you were Bucky’s priority, his big sister. You could hold your own in a fight, a point that you would make to both Steve and Bucky many times over the years, all of them. When you found out your baby brother had been drafted, you immediately enlisted as a nurse. You quickly became the personal nurse for the Howling Commandos, getting into trouble with all of them as you had growing up with your brother and his best friend. Whom you had gone down on the plane with after your brother had fallen off the train.
And now, 70 some-odd years later, you are flying into a hidden country that is globally known as very poor, but is actually thriving and has the most advanced technology you’ve ever seen. And oh God, the king? Oh, the king. King T’Challa was literally the nicest person ever, after he discovered Bucky didn’t actually kill his father. Yeah, you definitely went with Steve during the Civil War, much to Tony’s dismay. But T’Challa, he was just so… you couldn’t even find the words for it, but Steve was always the poet anyway.
T’Challa had never treated you badly, but he was not as warm to you as he was to Steve, or even Bucky, and yet you had completely fallen for him. To the point where you actually dreaded coming to Wakanda to check on Bucky because you always made a fool of yourself. Every. Single. Time.
“Ms. Barnes, Captain Rogers, you are back.” T’Challa said suddenly, surprising you. “I assume you’re here for Sergeant Barnes?”
“Your Highness. I am, yes. I’m just wondering how Bucky’s doing.” You said, reiterating what he said. You closed your eyes and shook your head softly.
Steve placed his hand on your back. “It’s okay, N/N. Could we see him?”
“Of course you can. Shuri has almost finished deprogramming Sergeant Barnes, and we should be pulling him out of the ice tomorrow, if all goes well. You’re welcome to stay and be here.” T’Challa started leading you to the room Bucky was being kept in cryo in. Although you all knew he didn’t need to due to the amount of times you and Steve had visited Bucky, both separately and together.
“Stevie? Sissy?” Bucky said, sitting up in a hospital bed. T’Challa raised an eyebrow in Shuri’s direction at this new development, she only shrugged. “You guys are okay?”
“Buck.” Steve breathed out, fighting the urge to go and wrap him in the world’s biggest bear hug. You were not having the same issue, running over to Bucky and doing exactly what Steve wanted to.
“Kiddo. Buddy. Buck, you can’t ever do anything like that again, okay? We were all supposed to go home together, buddy, and all of a sudden you weren’t coming home, and then Steve and I weren’t going home either. But now we can go home. Please, Bucky, say you’ll never go again?” You were crying at this point, having missed your baby brother so much yet not having found the words to say it before, since Steve had the exact same feeling.
Bucky pulled you into his chest, kissing the top of your head. “I’m not going anywhere, dumbass. Gotta protect you and Stevie. Lord knows Steve can’t protect my big sister right. Speaking of, get your ass over here, punk. What are you waiting for?”
Steve came over to the two of you and also wrapped Bucky in a hug, kissing the top of his head. “I missed you, Buck.”
“I know you did. I missed you both too.”
“Given a few months of recovery, most of your memories should return, Sergeant.” Shuri interrupted the moment the three of you were having, but none of you minded. “The brain is a funny thing, so I cannot be sure when or if it will happen, I just have to hope that it will.”
T’Challa was standing there silently, shell-shocked. Bucky was your brother?! Your baby brother?! “I’m sorry, wait, you two are related?” He asked.
You looked at Bucky, and then you both burst out laughing. “Yes!” He said.
“I was there when you were born, I think I was either second or third to hold you, but I don’t quite remember that far back. I was young, two or three, and Daddy was off at war still.” You said, stroking Bucky’s cheek with your thumb. He nuzzled into your hand as he always did. “I remember sitting with Momma, in her hospital bed, and with her arms wrapped around my arms wrapped around you. I’m sure I wasn’t actually holding you, but that’s my first clear memory. There are little snippets from before and after, and the memory has faded over time, but I remember the first time I got to hold you. And now you’re bigger than I am.” You smiled, tears slipped down your cheeks at that memory resurfacing. It had been so long since you had had time to remember your childhood without your sisters.
“Oh, N/N.” Steve said, rubbing your back.
Bucky pulled you back into his chest. “You’d never told me that before. I didn’t know you were there.”
You heard Shuri laugh at something T’Challa had said in their whispered argument. “Would either of you care to tell us what’s so funny about our touching reunion?” You said, muffled by Bucky’s red Henley.
Shuri, still giggling, explained. “Your last name is Barnes, so my darling brother thought you were married to the Sergeant.”
“That’s a new one.” Steve said, chuckling softly.
“I know we look nothing alike, but that is new.” You added.
Bucky was full-on giggling, which was nice to see after the events of the Civil War. “We’ve never been mistaken for being married before.”
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After T’Challa found out you weren’t married to Bucky, and you only shared a last name because you were his sister, he was much nicer to you. In fact, you could almost say he treated you like he was going to make you his queen. You and Steve had decided to stay in Wakanda for a few weeks to help Bucky with his memory, the new metal arm Shuri made for him, and it gave you both a break from being on the run.
Unfortunately, the entire time you had been in Wakanda, all anyone could talk about was the big birthday party they were throwing for the King. It was no surprise to him, of course, you were sure he was part of the planning committee. But it just bugged you, spending weeks talking about a fancy party that half of them weren’t even going to go to due to family issues, political reasons, or fighting with the other tribes. Bucky was going, of course, to repay T’Challa and Shuri for their kindness. So Steve was going to keep him out of trouble, and you were going to keep Steve out of trouble.
‘I had him on the ropes.’ Sure you did, Stevie. Sure you did. Steve Rogers, never one to start a fight he could actually finish. Although Steve was always picked on, he made sure he treated everyone well. He never let anyone mistreat a woman, and there were multiple times he stood up for you, even though you were closer to the guys’ height than he was.
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You glanced at T’Challa from across the room, sipping at your drink of choice. Happy birthday to him, you thought, bitterly. He gets fancy drinks, and women in nice dresses flaunting themselves, no, throwing themselves at him. They probably don’t even want to be with him, they just want the money and title. He deserves so much better. You sighed softly, making both Bucky and Steve look at you.
“Something wrong, doll?” Steve asked.
“No, no. I’m fine. I’m just a little tired.” You replied, faking a yawn to accentuate your point.
“You sure about that?” Bucky asked, wiggling his eyebrows and sticking out his tongue a little. “If looks could kill, N/N, the women swarming T’Challa would be dead.”
You rolled your eyes. “No idea what you’re talking about, brother dearest.”
He smirked. “That’s what you told me when you were in 11th grade and ‘didn’t like Tommy’. Busted.” He told you, properly using air quotes. He was catching on much quicker than you and Steve had.
“Just don’t say anything. I’m sure it’ll go away in a couple of months. It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing if you’re asking them not to say anything about it.” Shuri said, sitting down next to you. “Now spill the tea.” The three of you blinked in confusion. “Tell me the drama, what’s going on?” She clarified. Wow, the new generation really does have a term for everything. You looked between your brother and best friend, silently begging them not to say anything, much like when the three of you were in trouble as teenagers.
Steve, ever the snitch, broke first. “N/N likes T’Challa!” You were just happy the music didn’t stop, although suddenly if a pin dropped, anyone would hear it. The air felt thick and you felt like you were suffocating. You stood up, left the party, and walked back towards Bucky’s quarters, deciding the fresh air on the balcony near there would do you some good.
Once you got to the balcony, you sat down, put your feet up, took your heels off, and looked up at the stars. You had sat there for what felt like forever, entranced by the stars when you heard the door open behind you. “Stevie, have you ever kept a secret for longer than a minute?” You asked, assuming he was the one that followed you, probably to apologize, knowing Steve.
“Sorry to disappoint, Miss Barnes, but I am not Captain Rogers.” T’Challa said from behind you.
“Oh, Your Majesty.” You said, standing. “I’m so sor-”
T’Challa put his hand up to stop you. “Please don’t apologize, Miss Barnes. Your feelings are requited. That is why I was not as warm to you as I was to the Captain and the Sergeant. The most gorgeous lady I have ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. Married to Sergeant Barnes? Impossible. I was overjoyed when I discovered the two of you were merely siblings.”
“Bucky’s a good-looking dude, Your Highness. It’s not that hard to believe, other than the fact that he’s been in love with Steve since he was.. 13. Those two are idiots in love, especially since Steve’s been in love with Bucky from the first time they met.”
“How did you manage to miss the entire point I was trying to make?” He asked, chuckling and shaking his head. You sat back down, looking up at the stars.
“It just doesn’t seem real. A king falling for an army nurse out of her time?” You said, tracing the constellations Bucky had told you about as a teenager with your index finger.
T’Challa recognized it, “Ursa Major?”
You nodded. “I had the unfortunate pleasure of babysitting Bucky while doing my homework. He was obsessed with the stars, I had to take him to the library every week to get a new book about them. He learned about all the constellations, I would help him find the ones we could. I don’t know if more have been found, or if he even remembers, but I do. The stars helped me find him.”
“That’s lovely.” He said, sitting next to you.
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Hours later, T’Challa had finally asked if he could kiss you. You allowed it.
“May I take you to bed, my queen?”
“Of course, my king.”
He treated you like a queen that night, and you became his queen almost 2 years later, with Bucky walking you down the aisle. Steve waiting next to T’Challa, and Shuri waiting on your side. After T’Challa’s birthday, you were treated like a queen for the rest of your life.
