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Jean and Bucky sat hunched on opposite ends of her desk, staring down at the partially complete puzzle between them in complete silence.

This was how they had often found themselves recently. In the past few days, Bucky's visits had become a common occurrence during his free time between examinations with Shuri and much needed time spent catching up with Steve. It was more out of circumstance than necessity that they had spent so much time together. Both were in a strange sort of limbo, not knowing the ex-Avengers well enough to seek them out and not belonging in Wakanda enough to grow familiar with the people.

They hadn't had any groundbreaking or heart-wrenching discussions. They would just get lunch or sit in Jean's office or wander through the halls. A few times Shuri had been kind enough to let them explore her labs. The pure look of awe on Bucky's face was something Jean would never forget. Whatever fear or shyness had seemed to melt away as he took in every invention and waved Jean over to see. And catching pieces of his thoughts had been like catching pieces of music in the wind. They had been faint but soft and at ease, with a thrum of excitement underneath.

After a beat, Jean perked, raising her head from where it had been propped on her hand and plucking up a piece. She could feel Bucky's eyes on her, trailing her movement, as she slotted the piece in place.

Bucky shifted in his seat, scanning over the pieces on his side, before picked one and slotting it in with the one Jean had just placed.

He smiled to himself, and Jean couldn't help but do the same. He almost looked younger like this, with the drawn, haunted look no longer on his face. It was times like this that she could sometimes catch glimpses of the carefree man from before. Before the war.

Jean was drawn out of her thoughts as a small frown formed on Bucky's face, his eyes trained on her hand. She looked down to see her hands fidgeting with one of the puzzle pieces, its edges becoming worn and frayed.

"Nervous about your meeting?" he asked.

"Yeah, kind of, but I think it'll be fine." She hesitated before nodding. "It'll be fine. Shuri's been helping me with my presentation."

She was to speak to the tribal council later that day, and then they would decide whether she could stay and work on the mutant initiative or not.

Bucky hummed and looked down at the pieces. "They'd be stupid to send you back."

Jean chuckled. "Thanks, but I don't know about that. Maybe you could come and tell them that."

"I'm sure they would find me very convincing."

They went back to the puzzle, placing piece after piece. Puzzles required just the right amount of focus to help Jean ignore the flurry of voices always pushing to breach her mind. And now it helped put Jean's nerves at ease. She had already spent hours working with Shuri to refine her words and going back over her notes. At this point, there wasn't much more she could do.

She glanced up at Bucky, her other reason for being here. "So have you talked to any of the others? Steve's friend, I mean."

"No." Bucky shook his head, and a humorless laugh escaped his lips. "I think it'd be a little awkward since I tried to kill a few of them."

Jean only nodded, placing another piece in the puzzle. "Yeah, that'll do it."

Bucky quirked a brow, his lip curling up. "You say that like it's normal."

"Where I work, we have a different kind of normal."

"Yeah, but..." Bucky's brow lowered, the mirth completely gone. "It's not like you've killed anyone."

Jean stopped, tearing her eyes away from the puzzle to look at Bucky fully and dropping whatever casual air she had before. This was newer territory. Dangerous territory.

"I have."

Bucky jerked back as though she had hit him. His icy blue eyes bore into her, and Jean could see his mind struggling to connect the redhead in front of him with a killer. No, he thought, opening and closing his mouth, It was in self-defense. It had to be. She had to do it.

Jean grimaced. She wished she could tell him he was right.

Finally, his mind seemed to stop whirring, and he found his words. Dread crept up Jean's spine. She was not ready to have this conversation now.

"Wh—"

A knock sounded at the door.

Jean blew out a sigh of relief and sat back in her seat. "Come in."

Ayo stepped in. "The council will be ready for you soon."

The Dora Milaje had been assigned to keep an eye on Jean and Bucky. T'Challa had explained that her presence was to help them not get lost in the palace, but Jean knew better. She couldn't blame him for being careful. They would have to respond fast if there were ever any...incidents.

Jean sucked in a deep breath and nodded as she stood to her feet. "Alright."

Bucky moved to follow as she rounded her desk. "Are you ready?"

"I'd like to think so. I hope it doesn't take too long." Guilt gnawed at her for abandoning their conversation now. "Where are you off to now?"

He glanced down, offering a crooked smiled. "I actually thought I could...walk you over."

"Oh." Jean perked. "Thank you. That'd be nice."

Through her own nerves, Jean could feel Bucky's mind buzzing beside her as they made there way through the palace, but when they rounded the last corner, both perked to see Steve Rogers and Shuri waiting for them at a tall set of doors.

"Shuri. Steve," Jean greeted, surprised but pleased to see the captain. The name still felt awkward and somewhat disrespectful on her lips. Although it would probably be more awkward to constantly refer to him as Captain America. "What are you doing here? I thought you already had your meeting with the council."

"I did, but I thought you could use some...moral support."

"Thanks," Jean said, warmed by the support, "I really appreciate it."

She took a deep breath, looking up at the tall doors to the Wakandan throne room. She frowned. Do they call it a throne room? She shook the thought away. There were more important things to worry about.

And she could always read someone's mind to check.

She glanced over at Steve. "What is it like in there?"

He sighed. "It's intense." He offered a more reassuring smile. "But I'm sure you can handle it."

Bucky looked back and forth between the two, his brow furrowing again in concern. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine," she reassured him, "This isn't my first time doing this sort of thing."

"If they agreed to let Bucky stay, I'm sure you won't have a problem." Steve smirked. "We all know he's a real handful."

Bucky snapped his head over to look at Steve, his jaw dropping and lips curling up. A new light shone in his eyes. "If any of us is a handful it's you, punk."

Steve only shook his head, unconvinced. "Whatever you say, jerk."

The sound of the doors opening echoed down the hall, and two Dora Milaje stepped outside. "The king and council are ready for you, Ms. Grey."

She took in another deep breath, squaring her shoulders. "Wish me luck," she muttered.

Steve nodded. "Good luck. You've got this."

Jean smiled. I do, Captain America.

She followed the Dora Milaje with Shuri falling in step beside her. "You remember what I told you about the council members?" the princess asked under her breath.

"The border tribe doesn't like outsiders that much. Neither do the Jabari. The river tribe has the most severe case that we know of. And the mining tribe was most in favor of helping Bucky, so maybe they might like me too."

"Very good," Shuri said as they paused at the doors into the council's room, "and I'll be there to speak on your behalf if you need me to."

"Alright," Jean said, shaking herself out as she turned to face the doors, "Let's do this."

The doors opened and Jean felt a chill run up her spine. T'Challa sat in his throne, looking much more like a king than the kind man that had welcomed Jean into his home and was always teased by his sister. But as Jean drew closer, T'Challa's lip quirked up.

The Queen Mother Ramonda sat at his side and gave a warm smile as Jean took her seat between Okoye and Nakia. Shuri settled in an extra chair beside her mother.

T'Challa straightened on his throne, and all eyes turned to him. "Wakanda is entering into a new era. Our people are manifesting new abilities at a rate that will only increase, and we must have the resources to help and protect them." He looked to Jean. "Jean Grey is a mutant and has served as assistant headmistress at an institute designed to provide aid, shelter, and training to new mutants for almost a decade. I propose we begin a mutant initiative to offer training and whatever support our people need with Ms. Grey's help."

A silence fell over the room as the elders and advisors mulled over his words.

"We already know about the nature of these mutations," the border tribe elder spoke, "Our scientists know more about this phenomenon than any other country could hope to understand. Why do we need this outsider to help us?"

"We have the knowledge," Nakia spoke up, "but we do not have the experience. This is like nothing we have dealt with before."

"How long should we expect to deal with this?" the mining elder asked.

Jean frowned, something in her flaring up at the question. "It's not going to end."

The room fell quiet, her words hanging in the air as all eyes moved to her. She took a breath. "The mutations manifest at a young age, but they last through the person's lifetime. And they're genetic, so you can expect it to be passed down to future generations. This won't go away. All we can do it adapt to it."

The river tribe elder scoffed. "It seems as though adaptation is the problem."

"It's not a problem though," Jean countered, "It will be difficult, but what change isn't? This is a new opportunity that you can use, and Wakanda can do it better than any other country has before. Just by sitting here, speaking about it now, you're leaps and bounds ahead of other governments who would rather ignore it or snuff it out."

The Jabari tribe leader shifted in his seat, piercing Jean with narrowed eyes. She could sense his interest, but she fought back the thoughts that seemed to call out for her to read. Reading the minds of the tribal council would definitely be a breach of some national security.

"What would you have us do?" the mountain tribe elder asked.

"The first step would be outreach. The mutation typically manifests itself at puberty or times of extreme stress. These are children that are confused and scared, and we need to, first, make sure that they and those around them are safe and, second, let them know that they're not alone. From there, it'll go deeper into helping them understand and control their abilities."

Jean looked around the room, making eye contact with each person. "We have to do what we can. We owe them nothing less."

Her spine remained ramrod straight as the council settled. Some thoughts flitting through the air were uneasy, but most of them were amenable.

The mountain tribe elder nodded. "We will do what needs to be done for our children."

Nods and murmurs of agreement were passed around the room, and Jean began to relax in her seat, fighting off a grin.

T'Challa smiled, placing his hands on the armrests of his throne, and stood to his feet. "We will proceed with the initiative with Ms. Grey's assistance."

Shuri clenched her fists and hissed, "Yes."

T'Challa stepped forward and shook Jean's hand. She let the grin break loose across her face, practically buzzing with excitement.

"Let's get to work."

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After an eternity of waiting and watching Black Panther again, here's another chapter!

Also, I've just published my new Heimdall fic, which I'm very excited about, so go check it out! There are many more new plots in the works right now so hit that follow button to stay updated!

I also made this because I've been thinking about it too much! It's just too true.

Thanks guys!