The Panther's IronHeart (Shuri x Riri)

Prologue

"Thank you so much for this," Riri's appreciative soft voice answered a lab assistant as they passed the reports that she requested.

Riri scanned the documents on the white table of the Wakandan lab. It was the most recent damage report that Griot printed for her suit taken during the battle against the Talokans a couple of days ago.

She analyzed the damage reports extensively and was impressed with the amount of damage that it sustained. According to Griot, it was minimal, meaning that her design was extremely durable; she couldn't wait to continue making improvements on her suit.

A couple of minutes passed until she heard footsteps. She turned her body around and her eyes met Shuri. The morning sun glistened behind her as she smiled brightly in her direction, her black dress fitting beautifully around her figure. Her vibranium necklace that held the Black Panther matched her outfit profoundly.

"Hey!" Riri matched her energy giving her the same smile as their hands connected in their signature handshake.

"Yo, you're looking good?" Shuri responded happily as the taller woman stood in front of her.

"Me Nah, but not you walking in here with open-toed sandals though," as the shorter woman glanced at Shuri's feet in mock judgment.

There was a slight heaviness to her eyes as she processed the statement and chuckled as if reliving a distant memory "I guess I understand why my brother loved wearing these awful shoes so much,"

Riri laughed out loud with Shuri.

"So my plane leaves in a little bit right?" Riri asked "Are you sure it's safe for me to head back to the States so soon?" The hesitation was evident in the way that her breath hitched thinking about what might await her in Chicago other than a furious mother.

"Yeah, I think things should calm down a bit, you just need to slow down on those homemade projects of yours," Shuri poked fun at her though Riri knew it wasn't malicious.

Riri just averted her gaze from Shuri's burning eyes and started to play with her hands as she softly bit her lip in a nervous response as she spoke.

"So they said that you needed to talk to me about something," Riri didn't intend for her voice to drop in octaves the way that it did but she did notice the slight effect that it had on Shuri as Riri's eyes glanced down quickly as she again tried to avoid eye contact.

Shuri stiffened her posture a bit and smiled softly "Yes it's about your suit," the tall woman's eyes found Riri's "It's an amazing design but I can't let you leave with it," her voice apologetic and firm.

"Oh yeah I understand I need to repay Wakanda for the mess I caused anyway," Riri nodded in understanding

"There is something else that I wanted to show you though," Shuri smirked as she walked towards a sheet that was covering a car.

Riri's interest was piqued; whatever vehicle was underneath the sheet would be a kind gesture but she would decline the car; it was just too much. She decided to humor Shuri as she pulled off the sheet and a familiar coat of red paint reflected off her dark brown eyes as her breath halted.

Her late stepfather's car was parked here in Wakanda.

"How did... what... I," Riri couldn't even properly articulate a cohesive thought let alone a full sentence she gave herself a couple of seconds to formulate words "Is this really her?" Riri looked at Shuri in amazement.

"Yes, every last piece I had to fish all the parts out of the water but it was worth it," Shuri responded proudly, her smile as bright as the sun behind her Shuri's eyes followed Riri waiting for her reaction.