Sunlight on your face (Shuri x reader)

Chapter 14: that smile

 We decided to stay in New York till New Year's Eve. I tried my best to follow Ava's advice, even though it was quite hard when she was staring at me with those soft dark eyes. Surprisingly, it did work. I met up with some old friends a few times, letting her do her own thing. When we came home in the evening, she was as sweet as ever. 

We spent a lot of our time in my mom's studio. Shuri was starting to get better, and she managed to play a short song without any mistakes. Seeing the proud smile on her face made my heart melt immediately. It would take a lot to actually be okay with her never truly being mine. I still had some hope left that she would change her mind, so I just went with the flow. 

 It was the day before New Year's Eve, and Sarah had called me to inform me that she and her boyfriend were in New York for a few days, so we planned to get dinner together. I was looking forward to seeing her and finally meeting her boyfriend, whom I had heard a lot about. Shuri and I spent the whole day inside, as it was raining outside. 

We were sitting on the sofa in the studio, dressed in some comfy sweats, the rain softly drumming on the windows. She had insisted that I played her some songs. There was a soft look on her face, as I played the soft notes of "Somewhere over the rainbow", she didn't interrupt me at any time, telling me to keep going. It was heart-warming to see how relaxed she was listening to my voice. 

"I could honestly listen to you sing all day," she said with a soft smile, as I finished playing the last song. 

"I'm really glad you like it, but sadly that was the last song that I can play," I mumbled, carefully leaning the guitar on the side of the desk. 

Shuri was sitting at the opposite corner of the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest. She looked at me, a smile appearing on her face, as I sat back down and met her gaze. 

"Come here," She straightened her legs and opened her arms. I obviously couldn't resist, so I cuddled up to her, laying down between her legs and resting my head on her chest. I was engulfed in her scent, as she wrapped her arms around me. She gently brushed her fingers through my hair, making me relax completely in her arms. 

I slightly lifted my head to look at her, my gaze meeting hers. There was that something in her eyes that I couldn't place, if I didn't know better, I would've said it was love. I quickly pushed that thought out of my head. 

 "What are you thinking about?" Shuri asked, interrupting my thoughts. 

"Oh, uhm... Nothing specific, just thought about that song I wanted to learn..." I panicked.Shuri chuckled at my response, and it seemed as if she knew exactly that I was lying. 

"And what is on your mind?" I returned the question, trying to distract her. 

"Well, there's a lot on my mind... but there is something that's always there and I just can't get it out of my mind..." She whispered softly, her eyes not leaving mine as I felt my heart beating faster. 

"And what is that something?" I asked, hoping for a good answer. A smirk appeared on her face, but she didn't respond, instead leaning in to press a soft kiss on my lips. Her lips were as soft as ever as she pulled me closer, gently kissing me. This time something was different, it felt more meaningful. It didn't become more intense, and it didn't lead to us doing anything. There it was again, that warm, light feeling in my chest. She pressed one last long kiss on my lips before pulling away. I propped my chin up on her chest, failing to hold back a smile. 

"That's it..." Shuri mumbled quietly. 

"What?" I asked, not understanding what she meant. 

"That smile is the something I can't get off my mind..." 

I felt my heart melting at her words. I didn't know what to say, so I just pressed my lips to hers, smiling into the kiss. 

"So, you think about me?" I asked, smirking at her with raised eyebrows. 

"Yeah, I do, a lot actually," She answered pressing her lips together to contain a smile, "Don't you think about me too?" 

"Sure, I do..." I replied, contemplating whether I should ask her about what she said a few days ago or not. Right when I was about to ask, my phone rang, Sarah's name appearing on the screen. She wanted to let us know that they would be arriving a bit later, but when I hung up, the moment was over. 

I continued practising some new song, while Shuri fell asleep next to me. She looked adorable, I had to force myself to concentrate, tearing my eyes away from her face. I had to wake her up an hour later, as it was time to get ready. 

I put on some beige suit pants, a black top, and my leather jacket on top. 

 Sarah and her boyfriend, who introduced himself as Jamie, were already waiting for us in front of the restaurant. We went inside after greeting each other. 

"So, what do you do, Jamie?" I asked, trying to start a conversation. 

"I'm an art student too, Sarah and I met in school," he explained, smiling at Sarah, "I heard you go to the New York Academy of arts?" 

"Yeah, I do, but I'm in my last year," I answered.We continued discussing which art school was the best ones, and what we were planning for our graduation project. I noticed that Shuri wasn't participating in the conversation at all. I placed my hand on her leg, squeezing, making her look at me to make sure she was alright. She smiled at me, her eyes lighting up at me touch.The dinner went great, Jamie seemed to be nice and his knowledge about art was really impressive. 

Just as we were about to order dessert, Shuri got up from her chair, abruptly walking off to the bathroom. I had no idea what was up, so I didn't go after her, thinking she just had to use the toilet. When she came back, I knew immediately that something was wrong. She looked stressed out, her eyes wide open, and digging her nails into her palms. 

"What's wrong?" I asked, worried about her answer. 

"I need to leave, there's been an attack in Wakanda, Okoye just called me, I have to get back immediately..." She mumbled, putting on her coat. 

"What?! I'm coming with you!" I announced, quickly explaining to the others what had happened. 

"Y/N you can't come with me, it might still be dangerous..." Shuri said. 

"I don't care, I won't let you go alone." I started walking towards the door, texting my dad that we had to leave early. Shuri didn't bother to reply, she knew that no argument would keep me from going with her.We went back to my house to get our stuff before Okoye arrived to pick us up. 

"We tried everything to keep them back, but there were too many, and they had weapons we have never seen," Okoye explained as soon as the jet took off. 

"Do you know who the intruders were and how they got in?" Shuri asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. 

"It was the Talokans..." Okoye replied, "but Namor wasn't with them."