King T'Challa and his right hand, Okoye, walked briskly along the palace of Wakanda. The two were doing one of the most painful tasks a kingdom has to do.

Plan a war.

"You'll have the Kingsguard, and the Dora Milaje have been alerted." Okoye's confident strides were, luckily, enough to keep up with T'Challa's fast pace.

"And the Border Tribe?"

"Those that are left."

He sighed, massaging his temples. "Send word to the Jabari as well. M'Baku likes a good fight."

"And what of this one?" Okoye gestured to the man they were approaching. Bucky Barnes was filling up a wooden cart with various things, partly struggling because of his one-handedness. The stump where his metal arm used to attach was wrapped up by a cloth.

"This one may be tired of war. But the White Wolf has rested long enough."

The two and their guards reached the man, and one of the Kingsguards-men stopped and placed an equipment case in front of Bucky, opening the lid and stepping back into formation.

Inside the case lay a brand-new Vibranium arm, his for the taking.

Bucky knew what this meant. There was never a gift this monumental without a cause. "Where's the fight?"

T'Challa squared his jaw and looked at the man with resolve. "On its way."

•

"Drop to 2600, heading 0-3-0."

Steve directed Sam, who was flying the Quinjet, seemingly into a large stretch of forest.

"I hope you're right about this, Cap. Or we're gonna land a lot faster than you want to." Sam looked hesitant at the idea of flying straight into the trees.

"If we die, I just want you all to know that Wanda's my favorite out of you guys." Dahlia said, with her head on Pietro's shoulder.

Pietro looked down at his shoulder, towards her, in disbelief. "She's your favorite? What about me?"

"You're like... fifth." She shrugged. "Wanda, then Nat, then Sam, then Steve, then you."

"Fifth?! We're literally dating!" Pietro whined.

They all shut up as they reached the Wakandan barrier— Dahlia closing her eyes and squeezing Pietro's hand, bracing herself for impact.

But the impact never came.

When she finally plucked up the courage to peek at the world around them, Dahlia's breath was taken away.

Wakanda was gorgeous, with rolling hills, glistening lakes and rivers, and a modern, industrial looking city right at the center.

"Fucking- That's it. Pietro, we're moving here. You don't get a choice."

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me if I'm with you, Dahls."

"Aw, look at you being all sappy and stuff." Dahlia jokingly pinched his cheeks, kissing him on the nose.

While Nat thought it was adorable, Sam was trying to not throw up in his mouth. "Alright, lovebirds, break it up. No baby Maximoff's will be conceived on my ship."

Pietro and Dahlia rolled their eyes in synchronization.

"Of course not, Sam. We both hate children." Dahlia grinned.

"Though, I'm particularly fond of the process in which they're made-"

Pietro was cut off by Wanda, who had gotten

up out of her seat, smacking him upside the head.

"We're here, dumbass, so I'd refrain from saying any of that inappropriate stuff in front of the royal people." Dahlia snorted, getting out of her seat.

"If you know me at, you'll know that not saying things isn't my strong suit." He smirked, getting up as well.

"Aw, I guess we really are meant to be, Speedy, cause I suck at that too."

They exited the ship behind Steve and Natasha, who were leading the way.

"Should we bow?" Bruce whispered to Rhodey.

"Yeah, he's a king." Rhodey shot Dahlia a smile, who snickered in return.

Steve walked up to T'Challa, shaking his hand with a smile. "Seems like I'm always thanking you for something."

Bruce bowed awkwardly to him, and Pietro and Dahlia almost doubled over with laughter.

T'Challa looked extremely disturbed, waving his hand. "Uh, we do not do that here."

Bruce glared at the three guffawing Avengers, but they were all far too busy grinning to care.

Just then, T'Challa noticed Pietro and Dahlia, and his expression hardened. "Ah, the last time I saw you two, you almost killed me."

They both stopped laughing and stood silently, hoping he wouldn't charge them with treason. (Or whatever it is that kings do, Dahlia wasn't quite sure.)

His face broke into a smile. "It'll be good to have you on our side, this time."

"Okay, you're officially my favorite royal." Dahlia said.

"So how big of an assault can we expect?" The Wakandan king asked as the group walked towards the large building in front of them.

Bruce tried to keep up with them, awkwardly running as he talked. "Sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault."

"How we looking?" Natasha asked.

"You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje..."

Bucky smiled as he walked up to the group. "A semi-stable, one hundred year old man."

Steve moved to greet his friend, but Dahlia knocked him out of the way, running to give him a hug. "Hey, Bucky! I haven't seen you in like two and a half years!"

The one-armed man laughed, having missed Dahlia's outgoing nature. "Hey, Dahlia."

Cap looked offended that he didn't get to greet him first, but it was hard to be upset with the young woman, for she was too optimistic for her own good.

Bucky stepped forward, giving Steve a hug.

"How you been, Buck?"

He shrugged, a playful smirk on his face. "Uh, not bad, for the end of the world."

"Damnit! No one told me this was the end of the world! If they had, maybe I woulda brought some popcorn." Dahlia whined, sticking out her bottom lip.

Pietro grinned and pulled a plastic bag full of popcorn out of his popcorn and handed it to her. "You always forget your stuff, so I just started bringing it with me."

Dahlia took it from him with a huge smile and kissed him on the cheek. "You're the best, you know that?"

He looked around at the rest of the group. "You guys heard that, right? Cause I'm gonna remind her of that when she calls me names later."

"Oh, hush, or I'll take it back."

•

Shuri was Dahlia's new favorite person.

It was official.

The girl was a goddamn genius, and she made Tony and Bruce look like kindergartners in comparison. It was so badass, Dahlia liked her immediately.

"Whoa. The structure is polymorphic." Shuri stared at the holographic projection of the stone in her hand with amazement.

"Huh, didn't know you and Wanda were into that kinda stuff, Vision." Pietro crossed his arms, chortling a bit.

Dahlia hit him on the arm. "Polymorphic, not polygamous, idiot."

Shuri snorted at their interaction, not used to two people who were in a relationship being so... open with one another. Her mother was always quiet and reserved, keeping to herself most of the time. Her father used to be very commanding, never showing affection to her mother. T'Challa had his relationships here and there, but he was never quite as joyful as these two seemed to be.

She never really got to see two people openly act like they were in love. It was refreshing, in a sense. To see their playful teasing, caring nicknames, and the happiness that was between them.

"Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially." Bruce said, in response to her observation.

Shuri's brow furrowed, as if she was trying to solve something in her mind. "Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?"

The man looked taken aback, and Vision looked at him as if to ask the same question.

"Because," Bruce stammered, feeling intimidated. "We didn't think of it."

She smiled, trying to be reassuring. "I'm sure you did your best."

Dahlia let out a small 'ooo' from the corner of the room.

"Bruce, you just got mentally destroyed, my guy." Dahlia and Pietro started laughing once more.

The scientist narrowed his eyes at her. "Like you can talk, Dahlia. You can't even do math."

"Actually, I'm a master at quick math."

"Oh really," Bruce raised his eyebrows. "What's 193 + 36?"

Dahlia grinned proudly, not missing a beat. "348.673."

"That is nowhere near correct."

"But it was quick, wasn't it?"

Wanda seemed to be deep in thought, contemplating the risks that could come along with Vision's operation. She couldn't stand the idea of losing the man she loved, and the way this scene was progressing, it didn't look too good.

"Can you do it?" She asked Shuri quietly.

The girl sighed, gritting her teeth. "Yes, but my labs won't be set up until tomorrow for this heavy a project. I need to make sure everything goes smoothly. There are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures."

T'Challa stepped forward from where he'd been observing. "We have intercepted some information that their armies plan to attack tomorrow, so you will have the time to set it up, but as soon as you are able, Shuri, begin the procedure."

His little sister nodded and began to work, shooing everyone out of her lab.

The young king turned to the Avengers. "I will show you to your rooms. We should all focus on getting a good nights rest, the battle tomorrow will be one of the most difficult we've faced, but for now, eat, drink, and rest. The fight is not here just yet."

"Drinks? As in alcohol? I'm down."

"No, Dahlia, only CapriSuns for you." Pietro shook his head, his arm wrapped around his girlfriend's shoulders.

"That works, too."

•

Dahlia was never really one to go easy on anything.

She was underestimated at S.H.I.E.L.D. for being 'just a kid', so she proved them wrong with everything she had.

Her instructors used to tell her that to accomplish anything in the field, she had to stop joking around, so she beat everyone she came in contact with, all while bursting with witty comments.

The Avengers had told her that she couldn't like Pietro, because he was on the other side and therefore the enemy, so she fell in love with him.

So, it makes sense why she wouldn't go easy on the alcohol, either.

Pietro had to literally carry her back to her room, seeing as she was practically unconscious. The only signs she was even awake were the little comments she'd make every now and then.

Dahlia sighed and ran her hand through Pietro's hair. "Your hair is pretty."

He grinned, readjusting his hold on her. "I know that, love."

Suddenly, her face scrunched up. "I could beat you in arm wrestling, you know."

"Sure you could."

"I COULD!"

He clapped his hand over the incapacitated girl's mouth, looking around to make sure there wasn't anyone around who she could've possibly woken.

They were currently walking down the lavish hall where all of their rooms were held, and the majority of the group was already asleep, so a yelling woman was not something that was appreciated at this moment.

Pietro reached Dahlia's room, which was right next to his, and placed her down on the bed.

She began to snore the moment her head hit the pillow, and he smiled at her in adoration.

"Goodnight, Dahls." He whispered to her sleeping figure. "I love you."

As he left, Dahlia's mind escaped to dreams of the beach, of the waves, and of a certain male Maximoff.

Two hours later, at 4AM, a knock came at her door.

The sound startled her a bit, and if she hadn't become a tad more sober through rest, she might have been scared out of her skin, but thankfully the water and popcorn that someone had left at her side had helped a bit.

Dahlia yawned and slid out of bed, sure it was just Pietro coming to annoy her, as he tended to do.

Well, she was correct about who it was, but not about the reason why.

Pietro stood on the other side of the door, looking more shaken than she had ever seen him.

"Dahlia?"

In the early morning light, she could just make out tears on his cheeks, and his eyes, which were red and puffy.

Her eyes widened and she was speechless as he pulled her into a hug, one more desperate then they had ever shared.

"Are you alright, Speedy?" She asked quietly, not wanting to force anything out of him.

A shudder ran through his body, which Dahlia could feel as she hugged him.

"I, uh-" Pietro pulled away and looked at her, seemingly afraid to say something. "I used to get these horrible nightmares all the time, of back at Strücker's lab, where we got our powers."

Dahlia held his hand, intertwining their fingers silently.

He cleared his throat, trying to choke down a sob. "It was a horrible place. I- I don't really want to talk about it."

"You don't have to." She looked up at him, love in her eyes.

"It's just- I didn't have the again dreams for a really long time, not since we moved in together, and I was just wondering..."

Dahlia knew what he was asking. She knew what he was feeling, she had horrible nightmares of her mother all the time, but having Pietro beside her seemed to make them dissipate.

This was the first night in two years that they hadn't slept beside one another, and it didn't seem to be going well.

"Of course you can stay here." She cracked a smile, kissing him on the cheek.

They wasted no time, climbing in beside one another, Dahlia's head resting on his chest, a place where it just seemed to fit.

The nightmares evaporated, their mind protected by the person next to them.

But no amount of love could protect them from the news that came the next morning.

The war had begun.