"You can go talk to him if you want to, you know," Steve offered quietly as he piloted the jet to your destination, "he looks like it's killing him to be this close to you and you haven't given him more than his orders."

"So now you're suddenly on his side?" you chuckled dryly, turning to face him. "That's quite the turn of events, Steve. The last time you two were together, you fought like affection-starved children in front of their mommy."

"That's a little harsh."

"It's true and you know it."

"In my defense," he turned and pointed at you sharply, "he said things to you that had you pretty upset. As your best friend it's my responsibility to kick his ass."

"Pfft, yeah, because that ended so well for both of you," you scoffed, "and I'm the one who had to break it up. As your best friend it's my responsibility to tell you that you were being an ass."

Steve looked away with a subtle shake of his head, clearing his throat as he shifted his posture to straighten in the seat, "well, that's neither here nor there," he mumbled, glancing down at the control panel. "Hey, we're a mile out. Strap in for landing, guys." The sounds of belts snapping together filled the jet; when they silenced he looked back to see that the team was secured and ready. As per his habit, he reached over to your seat and gave your harness a firm tug.

"Really? We talked about this," you hissed quietly between clenched teeth with a slap at his hand, "you don't need to keep doing that. You have to stop treating me like I can't do things for myself, Steve. You're being a part of the problem."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," he relented, raising his hands up in defeat. "It's a habit, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, just...knock it off, already, you dumb oaf."

Your head snapped to turn back towards T'Challa when you heard a low laugh at your words. He had already put on his helmet, so you really couldn't be certain that it was him responding to your chiding of the Captain, but you would bet everything you had that it was. When he noticed your gaze on him, he turned to look at you but quickly looked away, only solidifying that you were right, and that the king might be in the mood for just a little bit of trouble today.

~~~

It was a long-shot chance that Steve and T'Challa would get along well enough to be on the same team for this mission, but when you were named Commander for it, you couldn't help but give in to the urge to make them work together. It was a risky game, given their clear annoyance with each other, but ultimately it was also what was best for the job that needed to be done. It would also turn out to be the best situation for when you needed their help.

"Steve!"

The Captain turned at the urgency in Clint's voice, immediately feeling his stomach drop from both the tone in it and the sight of the fear crossing his friend's expression as he grew closer. "Barton, what's wrong?"

"We were crossing...back over the ridge..." he panted, leaning forward to rest his hands on his thighs to ease his breathing, "(Y/N)...stepped on a trap...she fell and we can't see her..."

Before Clint had reached his last words, both Steve and T'Challa were well out of his sight, running towards the only elevation they could see in the direction that Barton had approached from. As they got close to it's highest point, they saw the rest of your team there, lying on the ground at the edge of the expansive crater in the ground and peering over it's side, frantically shining lights into it to try to get any glimpse of you.

"Cap, we've been calling for her, but get nothing," Sam began, standing to meet them. "I could fly down there, but it gets pretty narrow and I don't think I'll fit-"

"I'll fit," T'Challa broke in, taking long strides forward only to be grabbed tightly by the arm and forcibly held back. "What are you doing? Release me immediately."

"We need to make a plan before you just throw yourself down there," Steve urged. "I don't think that losing both of you is the best idea."

"I won't be lost," he hissed in reply, wrenching his arm away. "You have far too little faith in others, Captain. You are not the only one with the abilities to succeed and be of use."

"I didn't say that I was," he argued, "and I have no problem with letting you go if you think that you have a way to do it safely, but we need to have a plan on how to get you back out if something happens. You're working on a team here, Your Highness, and I'm just trying to be the responsible one, alright? You're not thinking before you leap. Literally."

T'Challa could feel every muscle fiber in his body twitching in anticipation of action and in fear of what he would find at the bottom of the cavern that held you. He tried to visualize every option as to try to prepare himself, but he quickly realized that if what he would find was anything other than you being alive, he would never be ready. With a reluctant breath, he turned to Steve and nodded, shocking himself that he would so readily agree to wait any longer before trying to reach you.

"Fine, it's your command," he relented, "but if we don't have a plan within the next three minutes, you will not be able to stop me again."

~~~

"Don't worry, Cap, I've got this," you groaned quietly to yourself, trying to move enough to gauge your own injuries. "I can totally lead my own team, trust me. Yep, I've got this, alright."

Turning your eyes upward, or to where you thought was upward in the pitch blackness around you, you squinted and strained to find even a speck of daylight to get your bearings and direction, but you saw nothing. There was no way to determine how far you had actually fallen, and if there was any further down that you could drop if you were to move too much. Your utility belt had broken and fallen away as you tumbled down against the rocky walls, though for all you knew, it could be only a few feet from you now. You wanted to move and search the cavern floor despite your blinded senses, but you feared dropping any further if you misjudged a movement.

So far, you didn't feel so terrible, given the circumstances of how far you think that you had fallen; the worst injury that you could figure out by the level of pain and gently examining what you could reach, was the bone protruding from your left forearm. The pain was slowly diminishing as the minutes ticked by, leading you to realize that shock was inevitable. Breathing was a bit labored, but the air in the surroundings was heavy with moisture and the smell of dirt, so it may have just been that and not the broken rib puncturing your lung as you had first thought.

"(Y/N)?"

"It's a little early to hallucinate, (Y/N)," you muttered quietly, not immediately believing the voice that you were hearing.

"(Y/N), can you hear me?"

"T'Challa?" You raised your head and saw a faint flash of light from above, growing brighter and steadier with each second. "I'm here!"

As he got closer, dirt and rocks tumbled down on you from the sides of the walls, loosening when he used them to keep his balance and speed of descent steady, his Vibranium claws tearing away at the surface. You closed your eyes and curled into yourself, trying to protect the open wound on your arm from any further debris.

"(Y/N)," he sighed with relief, dropping down at your side. "I'm here, darling, I'm here. I'm going to get you out of here, I promise."

"That's a relief," you chuckled with a hollow sound reverberating from the walls, "here I was worried that you just wanted to hang out."

He didn't smile and didn't laugh, his entire focus on how he was going to move you without causing you more pain or injury. The cavern was very narrow on his way down, and he wondered how it was that you had managed to fall so far without being stuck higher up. He flashed the light around you to check the stability of your position, finding that you could have fallen much further if you hadn't landed where you did.

"Do not move," T'Challa commanded quietly, "there's another drop a foot to your left." You could feel him reaching under your arms to secure a safety harness around you, the sounds of clips and zippers echoing around you. "I'm going to secure you to my back, and will climb out. Steve is at the top ready to pull us up if I lose my grip. We're not going to let you fall again."

"I know," you hissed, taking a sharp breath when he tightened the belt around your chest, "I trust you."

"(Y/N), before we begin, I have to say that I'm very sorry for how I acted, and I ask your forgiveness if you will honor me with it."

"We're really doing this right now?"

"Well," he smirked, barely visible in the dim light, "you're a captive audience. However, before we part again, I need to offer my apologies. Before I return you to Steve, I wanted to know that we were parting as friends."

"Okay, this really isn't the time for this," you groaned, "but T'Challa, I think you're misunderstanding Steve and I. Yes, I love the guy to death-"

"And he loves you-"

"Don't interrupt me," you snapped, cutting him off, much to his surprise. "Now listen, I love Steve like a brother, okay? Like a big, dorky, stupid, stinky older brother that I never asked for. He's so protective of me because I let him be that way for far too long. But, I've worked really hard on trying to be the person that you see me as, because you believed that she was in here somewhere."

"She's in front of me now, (Y/N)."

The long string of words robbed you of your breath, leaving you panting and trying to hold your chest to slow the growing pain within it. "Steve hasn't done anything but help me to get to this point, because he knows..." you stopped, taking as deep of a breath as you could, "he knows how I feel about you, even though he won't acknowledge it out loud."

"T'Challa," came Steve's voice over his comm, "have you found her?"

"Yes, Captain," he replied softly, his eyes intently on you, "I'll begin my ascent in a moment." He reached up and removed his helmet, setting it slowly aside so that it wouldn't topple over the precipice and further away, "how is it that you feel for me, (Y/N)?"

"I don't know if I can be what you want, T'Challa. You want a queen, and your people look at me like I don't-"

"Let them look."

"Easy for you to say."

"Because it is easy," he pressed, "and it is none of their business. I will love who I choose, and if they are unable to accept that, then they will be told to leave and to not return. I refuse to compromise for those that I care about."

"You love me, huh?"

"I don't know how I can make it more clear than I have-"

"I love you, too," you answered, "and I'll love you more if you can get me out of here in one piece."

"Yes, of course," he startled, nearly forgetting his surroundings in the joy that he was feeling inside. "Hold on to me as closely as you can," he directed, kneeling down in front of you so that you could take hold. Before he turned away, he pressed his lips to yours; he could feel his entire body relax at the connection, as if it had taken an eternity to find you again. "Do not let go of me, (Y/N)."

"I won't make that mistake again," you replied quietly, holding on to him as tightly as you could as he dug his claws into the earth to bring you to safety. But right now, with your arms around him and your head against his back, despite the darkness and stinging cold air around you, being next to him this way made you feel safer than you had ever been.