seasons | killmonger

17 | C L A I M E D

If there is character, ugliness becomes beauty; if there is none, beauty becomes ugliness.
~Nigerian Proverb
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Erik—N'Jadaka

I woke up the next morning and as always, Mbali was gone. I woke up in her room and for her to not be here and us having no order to follow, I figured she'd be with her friends. This was starting to become her thing. If we had sex, she would disappear in the morning to try to avoid seeing me as if we don't live in this big ass hidden palace together and like she doesn't technically work for me. I ran my hands against my face and groaned before sitting up. I never really noticed how her room had a really strong cinnamon smell till now, but it wasn't something that could make you sick from smelling it.

I quickly grabbed my boxers and put them on, stretching out of the bed and pulled my hair back from my face with one of her hair ties— she wouldn't mind. She had these things all over the place in her room anyway. And she told me a few days ago that she'd touch up my hair for me since she claims I begged her so many times when I know for sure I didn't.

When we didn't have any orders or meetings to follow out for a day, it was honestly boring as hell in this place. So I knew that my best bet since Mbali was gone was to go piss off Shuri. But everything I did to her didn't phase her anymore, so she just took it and threw the shit back at me. She was for sure way different from T'Challa, and not just because of their ages. Shuri was like the female version of him, just with way more attitude and smarts.

But let T'Challa tell it, he was smarter than her; which was a whole ass lie.

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"I don't understand—" Shuri frowned at the screen that was projecting out of her kimoyo beads. She was watching some old ass vine edits. She was on her third compilation video so far. I laid on the operating bed in her lab and tossed the ball back and forth. She had me here explaining every edit that didn't make sense to her.

"It's not supposed to make sense, Shuri. That's why people in America thought it was funny." I sighed.

".... so a 'm-muhfucking uuuuuuuh' is funny?" She frowned, trying to pronounce it the exact same way that he did in the video and failed.

"Yes, Princess... for the third time." I sat up and watched her pace around the room, chuckling to myself. I didn't know shit about family. With my dad being killed and my mom dying and all, aside from me, Y'Lan, and Sage when she came into the picture, that was it. But Shuri pretty much made the idea of it come full circle. She was that one younger cousin that I guess I always wanted.

She was hella nosy, smart— and hand a smart mouth, and she just liked to annoy you if you'd let her. Her, Ramonda, and even T'Challa made being here feel a little different.

"So... can we talk? Like, really talk. Because I have questions that I feel as if only you have the answers to." She sat across from me and smirked, crossing her arms.

"Don't ask me any dumb shit, Shuri." I frowned at her and she held her chest.

"I don't ask dumb shit. I'm not you, and I'm a little offended that you'd think that. I ask questions based off of what I observe." She smirked.

"And what did you observe, cause I didn't peep a damn thing."

"You and Mbali... very interesting pair, in my opinion. Plus, I hear what I hear."