12 // IGNITION

"I can't tell if I'm nauseous because of morning sickness or anxiety. Or both." Delilah said as she and Natasha walked into the conference hall.

"About that, when exactly were you planning on telling me you're pregnant?" Natasha asked, stopping in front of Delilah and facing her. "If you weren't puking your guts out all morning I wouldn't have figured it out."

"I was planning on telling everyone after I told Steve but—"

"Tony knows."

"That was a complete accident." Delilah defended herself. "If it makes you feel any better, you're going to be the godmother."

"Don't you need to discuss that with Steve?" Natasha questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Who else would be the godmother?" The strawberry blonde retorted.

Natasha paused for a moment. "Good point."

Delilah glanced around the room to see if she recognized anyone, which, she didn't until she saw a tall black man looking out the floor-to-ceiling window. "I love Steve, you know I do, but I'm just gonna point out that if I were single, I would be all over that." She told her best friend as she looked at T'Challa.

Natasha looked at prince of Wakanda, sizing him up before looking back at Delilah. "He's not bad."

Delilah scoffed. "Not bad? He is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen."

"It might be a good thing that your husband isn't here."

Delilah waved her hand at the redhead. "I'm positive he's more jealous of us than me with anyone else." She looked around the room, seeing many politicians in their own conversations. "At this point I'll say just about anything to get my mind off this."

"The fight or the Accords?"

"Both."

"I suppose none of us are used to the spotlight." T'Challa said as he walked up behind the pair, causing them to turn around and smile.

"He's even more beautiful up close." Delilah whispered to Natasha.

"Well, it's not always so flattering." Natasha replied, ignoring Delilah.

"You seem to be doing alright so far. Considering your last trip to Capitol Hill. I wouldn't think you would be particularly comfortable in this company."

"Well, I'm not."

"That makes two of us." Delilah muttered, glancing around the room yet again. She couldn't put her finger on what was making her so uncomfortable, but she was more on edge than she had been on some missions.

"That alone, makes me glad you're here, Miss Romanoff." T'Challa told Natasha before looking at Delilah. "And you, Mrs. Rogers."

"You don't approve of all this?" Delilah questioned.

"The Accords, yes. The politics, not really. Two people in a room can get more done than a hundred."

"Unless you need to move a piano." King T'Chaka added as he walked over to the three.

The King of Wakanda and his son greeted each other in their native language before he turned to the redhead and strawberry blonde. "Miss Romanoff. Mrs. Rogers."

"King T'Chaka." The best friends greeted in unison with a head bow. "Please, allow us to apologize for what happened in Nigeria." Natasha said with a soft smile.

"Thank you." King T'Chaka accepted with a nod. "Thank you for agreeing to all this. I'm sad to hear that Captain Rogers will not be joining us today."

"Yes, so am I." Natasha replied.

"Although I'm sure no one is more than me." Delilah said, almost bitterly.

"Everyone, please be seated. This assembly is now in session." A man's voice instructed over a speaker.

"That is the future calling." T'Challa said with a smile. "Such a pleasure." He said, shaking each of the woman's hands.

"If I weren't in this current situation, I would be drinking my sorrows away." Delilah told Natasha as they walked away from the father and son.

"Here or pregnant?"

"Both." Delilah said, taking her seat between Natasha and a man she didn't know. "Although I can't say I wouldn't drink here if I weren't pregnant."

King T'Chaka walked to the podium in the front of the room, putting his hands on either side. "When a stolen Wakandan vibranium was used to make a terrible weapon, we in Wakanda, were forced to question our legacy. Those men and women killed in Nigeria were part of a goodwill mission from a country too long in the shadows. We will not, however, let misfortune drive us back. We will fight to improve the world we wish to join. I am grateful to the Avengers for supporting this initiative." Delilah looked to the window when she heard dogs barking, although she couldn't see anything since they weren't on the ground floor, she knew something was wrong. "Wakanda is proud to extend its hand in peace."

"Everybody get down!" T'Challa screamed as he ran from the window and toward his father. Delilah saw Natasha instantly get under the table from the corner of her eye a second before she instinctively grabbed the man next to her and pulled him to the ground with her. Even though the tables were bolted into the ground, the explosion caused them to come loose and hit Delilah in the side hard enough to knock her off her hands and knees.

The strawberry blonde didn't know how long she was under the table, she just knew it felt like forever and was very hesitant to look at the damage once she was sure it was over. She did slowly bring her head above the table, seeing dust, smoke and debris still in the air.

"Are you okay?" Natasha questioned Delilah, concern in her tone and face.

Delilah nodded, looking around the room to see the damage before freezing. "Oh God." She muttered when she saw T'Challa holding his father's body, cradling him in his arms as he cried.

"C'mon, Delilah, they're evacuating the building." Natasha said, practically dragging her off the ground and out of the conference hall. "We need to get you out of here before you inhale too much smoke."

Delilah followed the redhead, almost getting lost in the crowd of people rushing out of the building. If it weren't for Natasha holding her hand, she easily would've been in the building twice as long. "Who did this?" She asked once they were outside, looking for any sign of a suspect.

"I don't know but you need to get checked out." Natasha said as the first ambulance pulled up to the street.

"I'm fine." Delilah waved Natasha off as she sat on a bench close to the street. "There are many others that need medical attention."

"I think they're saying Barnes did it." Natasha said after hearing his name being said by numerous reporters.

"Steve's not gonna be able to leave this alone." Delilah sighed, putting her head in her hands as she felt a headache coming on. Bucky was fully capable of bombing the building, that was for sure. Whether or not he really did though, that was impossible to tell. No one had been in contact with him in years. The only thing she did know was the fact that Harrison would be with Bucky no matter where he was or what he did.

It seemed like the pair was like that forever, Natasha left to make some calls and Delilah stayed on the bench. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice T'Challa sitting next to her for some time. "I'm so sorry. I know what it's like to lose a parent." Was all she could say. She never was the best at comforting people.

"I'm very sorry." Natasha told T'Challa once she returned, sitting next to Delilah and closest to the man.

"In my culture, death is not the end." T'Challa started, not looking at either of the women. "It's more of a stepping-off point. You reach out with both hands and Bask and Sekhmet, they lead you into the green veldt where you can run forever."

"That sounds very peaceful."

"My father thought so." T'Challa said before putting a silver ring on his finger. "I am not my father."

"T'Challa, Task Force will decide who brings in Barnes." Natasha said, trying to talk T'Challa out of seeking vengeance.

"Don't bother, Miss. Romanoff." T'Challa clenched his fists as he stood up. "I'll kill him myself." He said before walking away.

"Wait!" The strawberry blonde called after the now king of Wakanda as she rushed after him. "You don't want to do that, T'Challa." She said once she stopped him by standing in front of him.

"I do not think you know what I want, Mrs. Rogers." Although T'Challa sounded polite, it was obvious he was irritated.

"Killing Bucky is not going to do anything for you." Delilah told the man before sighing and running her hand through her hair. "I know what it's like to take an eye for an eye, and it doesn't do anything but consume you."

"Thank you for the advice, Mrs. Rogers, but I have to do this." T'Challa said before stepping around the strawberry blonde and walking away.

"Shit." Delilah muttered to herself as she watched the king walk away. "This is not going to end well." The strawberry blonde started walking back to her best friend when she saw a man that looked suspiciously like Steve walk into a café across the street.

"Hey." Natasha stopped Delilah from continuing to the café. "Steve called. He's not gonna stop looking for Bucky, even if it gets him arrested."

Delilah rolled her eyes. "Tell me why I'm not surprised. I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get some coffee." She said before practically rushing to the café and seeing Steve and Sam's backs almost instantly.

"Fancy seeing you here." Delilah greeted her husband and friend, standing between the two but making sure not to look at them.

"How did you—?"

"Do you really think I don't know my husbands backside by now?" Delilah scoffed, cutting Steve's question off. "Besides, I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away once you heard Bucky is a suspect."

Steve glanced at his wife, seeing how dirty her outfit was and dust still in her hair. "How are you?"

"As good as I can be, I guess. I made it out better than many others." Delilah shrugged, deciding it was time to tell Steve what she's been meaning to. "Listen, I didn't want to tell you like this, but it seems like it's now or never." She looked at her husband for the first time as he continued to look at her. "I'm pregnant."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Steve asked after a moment of being frozen in shock. Despite the less than ideal circumstances, he couldn't help the grin growing on his face.

"I was going to tell you after Nigeria but the Accords came up and we obviously were not on speaking terms. Apparently we still aren't if you called Natasha instead of me."

Steve rolled his eyes. "I tried, you didn't answer."

Delilah took her phone out of her pocket, seeing that she had two missed calls and a voicemail from Steve, along with one from Sam. "The one time I have my phone on silent." She scoffed to herself before putting the phone away. "I don't expect you to drop everything and be happy, we are all the furthest thing from that right now. I just couldn't go on without you knowing anymore."

Despite the fact that it probably wasn't the best idea with them being in public, Steve grabbed Delilah's hand and held it in his. He doubted anyone paid enough attention to them to realize that it was him under the baseball cap and sunglasses, and he definitely doubted anyone was paying enough attention to notice the little affection he was showing his wife. Despite everything they were currently going through, he wanted to make sure that Delilah and his unborn child were taken care of. "You shouldn't be part of this. You shouldn't have been here in the first place."

"How was I supposed to know this would happen?" Delilah shot back, but she squeezed Steve's hand nonetheless. "I thought I was coming just to sign the Accords and go home."

"Well, now that you know it is much bigger than that, you need to go home."

"Going home would be worse for me." Delilah scoffed, "all I can do in New York is pace around and wonder if my family is alive or not. Besides, Harrison will be wherever Bucky is."

Steve sighed and rubbed his temple with his free hand, realizing there was no point in arguing further. "Will you at least stay at a hotel until this is all over?"

Delilah shrugged, "depends on what happens next."

Sharon walked up to the counter and stood on the other side of Steve. "Tips have been pouring in since the footage went public. Everybody thinks the Winter Soldier goes to their gym. Most of it is noise, except for this." She slid a folder to Steve on the counter. "My boss expects a briefing and he pretty much knows, so that's all the head start you're going to get."

"Thank you."

"And you're going to have to hurry. We have orders to shoot on sight." Sharon informed before leaving.

"Are you really gonna go through with this?" Delilah questioned as she looked down at the file in Steve's hand.

"He would do it for me."

"In 1945, maybe." Sam retorted before Delilah could, jumping into the conversation. "I just want to make sure we considered all our options. The people that shoot at you, usually wind up shooting at me."

"I'm not gonna try and stop you, Steve. And since you somehow almost always manage to do something stupid, I'm just going to tell you not to get yourself killed." The strawberry blonde said, looking Steve in the eyes. "You're not going to be any help to him if you die trying."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Lilah." Steve retorted. "I can really feel the faith you have in me."

"I'm serious, Steven." Delilah turned to face the entrance of the café. "I know how much Bucky means to you, but he's not worth dying for. Nobody is."

"Harsh." Sam said, finally speaking up again. "I don't think you would've said that even a year ago."

Delilah shrugged. "Things change." She looked at her husband. "Be careful or so help me god I will strangle you." She turned to Sam and smiled at him. "Don't let him get you killed."

Sam returned the smile. "I didn't plan on it, and don't worry, I'll look after him."

The strawberry blonde grabbed Sam's hand in her free one, squeezing his and Steve's before kissing her husbands temple so quick he almost didn't realize it happened. "No matter what happens next, just remember that I love you guys."

*****

this was a rough chapter