chapter xli.
( black panther )

isn't it strange?
how people can change
from strangers to friends
friends into lovers
and strangers again
strange — celeste

wakanda
october 3, 2016
( lisa's point of view )

Wakanda was alive with noise and color.

Birnin Zana, or the Golden City, was a bustling metropolis of commerce and music and life. The towering buildings of the city glittered on the mountainside behind us, trains gliding smoothly on rails overhead and the scent of food roasting on carts filling the air.

We moved along with the crowd, a part of the crowd as much as we were separate from it. Two Dora Milaje warriors shadowed us from a distance, blending into the crowd while still keeping an eye out. My sandals crunched in the shifting red dirt road beneath our feet, and the sun above was the most golden I'd ever seen, even in Malibu. There were freckles dotting my nose and cheeks and across Maria's too, and despite being in the heart of the city, the air was still fresh as I breathed it in.

T'Challa and I strolled side—by—side, Maria happily babbling on my hip.

Every time in the past that I had visited with... well, with Dad, it had always been on the outside of the cloaking field so T'Challa had wanted to show us everything there was to see, the capital city and the villages beyond.

I was completely entranced, and Maria wasn't much different. She had a lock of my hair in a vice—like grip, pointing and shrieking occasionally. Her eyes were wide and her peach lips slightly parted, trying as hard as her little body could to take in everything all around her. T'Challa smirked down at her, pointing along with her, explaining everything in a quiet voice.

He was king now.

My T'Challa, now a king.

I always knew that would happen, but it was always 'one day', a far off future, a natural succession.

It felt so strange now that it was an actual reality.

I think we both had silently decided not to mention the rapid changes between us — my being an international fugitive, him being the king of a whole fricking country, amongst a multitude of other things that had made us strangers to each other and who we used to be. It seemed easier to just get on with life than actually try to discuss any of it.

I wasn't sure how long this silent truce was going to last.

Street vendors called out to us, and I followed T'Challa's lead when he nodded hello to the people we passed. Maria suddenly lurched forward again, making another desperate grab for another passing musician. I yelped when I hurriedly tried to pull her back against my chest. T'Challa jolted forward, those instincts making him move faster than me, prepared to catch her in case I didn't.

Our gaze caught.

"I could hold her... if you wanted."

I faltered for a moment, heart stuttering in my chest.

Shuri held Maria first. Shuri hadn't even asked when she snatched Maria from me, and I knew I was definitely not going to be the favorite much longer. I didn't mind so much. I had come to accept that Shuri Udaku was way cooler than almost everybody else on the planet. Even Ramonda had softly asked to hold her. But not T'Challa. Never T'Challa. He'd never asked before and I'd definitely never offered.

His hands had been tightly folded behind his back until this point, but now they were outstretched in offering, awaiting permission. I blinked. And then I blinked again.

"Uh ye—yeah." I stumble over my words, "If... If you want."

I winced and resisted the urge to punch my own self in the face.

Was it always this awkward between us? Knowing me, it seemed likely — being an awkward walnut and all that. But it was a different kind of awkward, it had to be. It had been so easy between us, sweet and innocent. Everything felt different now, like our whole worlds had been picked up, shifted slightly to the right, and then dropped back out of place.

Maria went willingly from me to him, only whining slightly when she had to let go of my hair. Peter and Shuri had both needed help on how to hold her, but T'Challa had no such issues. He held her like a natural, and I wasn't sure why that surprised me. I also wasn't sure why it made me blush like an idiot.

God, I just wanted to die.

T'Challa tentatively looked down at her, head cocked slightly and brows raised in question. Maria looked right back up at, really, for the first time putting her full attention on him. I watched with bated breath as they took each other in, both suddenly very serious as if there was some kind of unspoken conversation being made between them.

Then, finally, Maria's lashes fluttered and she giggled slightly, one hand latching onto his lips.

T'Challa flinched and then laughed back at her, letting her curl her little hand around his finger.

I tried to remember how to breathe correctly.

Despite the heat, goosebumps rose on my skin, the telltale sign that we were being watched. The sensation prickled at my neck and in my chest. The new stares weren't from the Dora, I knew, I had felt their gaze since the beginning.

This was something else.

Vendors and musicians alike weaved around us, and in the business of the street, I took the opportunity to cautiously glance around. I found the source pretty easily; no one was bothering to hide their staring anyway — couples and friends sitting at a street cafe, a woman selling woven baskets, a man roasting chicken over a grill.

We were receiving different sorts of looks than when I first arrived. It wasn't so much mistrust and general bitterness anymore, it was more... curiosity. Maybe a bit of uncertainty mixed in there too. It made me feel itchy in my skin, itchy and self—conscious.

I wasn't sure how to respond to it, how to understand it.

"Uh, T..." I started slowly, scratching my forehead, "What did you tell everyone about us?"

He stayed silent for a few moments, choosing instead to look up and down and all around and everywhere but at me. If he was attempting not to be suspicious, he was failing at it. Miserably.

I squinted, "T'Challa..."

After another moment of debating, he finally gave a small sigh and displayed a hand in front of himself, "I may have told them that you were the mother of my firstborn child."

"T'Challa!" I grabbed his arm, yanking us both to a sharp and sudden stop, "You did what now?"

He was unapologetic before me, tall and certain and unyielding as he'd always been, "I told them you were the mother of my child."

I felt as if someone had slapped me across the face and then maybe punched me in the stomach just for kicks. My chest shook with my desperate need to drag in air as I gaped up at him. The stares all made sense now. They looked at Maria the way they did because she was a part of their people, a member of their royal family, the heir to the Wakandan throne, their princess.

I gasped, "Shut up."

T'Challa looked confused, but I didn't have it in me to explain that I didn't really mean 'shut up'.

I suddenly felt the need to sit down.

"And your mother? Shuri?" I hated how my voice shook, "What do they believe?"

"They know."

I ran my hands through my hair, the curve of the metal repulsors rough across my scalp, "T, you can't just lie to your entire country, I'm not about to be the reason you—,"

"It is not a lie, it is the truth." He cut me off simply, but I could sense the sharpness in his words, "If you'd let me, I'd make it the truth. If you'd stay."

Stay. If I just stayed.

He wanted an answer. I couldn't give him one.

We stared at each other for a moment longer, and then we moved on.

We lingered in this tense awkward silence as we eventually travelled out of the city and into the countryside. It was still quiet as we passed several Border Tribesmen in a field, feeding and watering their livestock of horses and goats. It wasn't until we stumbled upon one of T'Challa's childhood best friends that we started talking again.

W'Kabi was Okoye's husband, and unlike his wife, he had never exactly... been the biggest fan of me. Which was totally cool. And didn't make things awkward at all. I was expecting a bit of a cold shoulder, but what I was not expecting was the giant rhinoceros that W'Kabi was currently feeding like a household pet.

My feet tripped to a stop as I gaped.

Maria shrieked and excitedly reached out for the rhino.

T'Challa called ahead to his friend, "Is that him? Glory to Bast, man. Is he still growing?"

"Of course!" W'Kabi laughed, extremely proud of the huge rhino standing behind the wooden fence.

I couldn't help but stare at the rhino a little bit hesitantly as we approached, gnawing on my bottom lip. Like, this thing was huge and the gate was small. It literally could have run over us and not even thought twice about it.

Death by vicious, bone—crunching trampling was not how I wanted to go.

Maria was fearless as she pulled against T'Challa's hold, reaching for the animal.

I helped situate the baby on his hip, glancing quickly at the two men, "He's safe, right?"

Smiling a little, T'Challa gave a reassuring nod.

Still hesitant, I winced as the baby hurriedly clapped her tiny hands on the rhino's head, "Gotta be gentle, Noodle, gotta be gentle with the rhino."

"See, Maria?" T'Challa's accent formed softly over her name, getting her attention easily, "Try it like this."

Slowly, T'Challa reached out and carefully ran a hand down the long nose of the rhino. Taking in his every movement, the baby leaned to follow his lead, her hand trailing beside his.

Maria let out a quiet shriek and giggled at the feel of the rhino's thick sandy—papery tongue on her fingers. I laughed while she bounced and clapped her hands together. She soon leaned forward again to pet the rhino's head again — this time trying to be much gentler.

W'Kabi gave T'Challa a not—so—subtle jerk of his head.

T met my eyes and a silent conversation slipped between us, and it was like all those years of silence and distance didn't even matter. He was apologizing, I was telling him not to worry about it. It was just another thing we wouldn't talk about.

So, with Maria back to bouncing in my arms, T'Challa confusedly followed his old friend a few steps away. Just not far enough away for me not to hear. I somehow felt like that was kind of the point.

"I see Nakia is back. You guys going to work it out?"

T'Challa didn't answer, clearing his throat and squinting at him. I pretended not to notice when he pointedly glanced my way.

Oof, talk about awkward.

"T'Challa, of all people..." W'Kabi voice held an irritated scold, "Why her?"

Scrunching his eyebrows, T'Challa looked back at his friend as if the answer was obvious, "Why anyone else when she exists?"

A soft blush spread across my cheeks and I tried to tuck my face into Maria's hair.

W'Kabi swallowed his obvious distaste before sighing, "There's something else... I can see it in your eyes, my friend. T'Challa, what's wrong?"

T'Challa sighed right on back, shaking his head and leaning his back up against the fence, "Nakia thinks we should be doing more."

"More like what?"

"Foreign aid..." His voice was low in seriousness, gaze distant on the horizon, "Refugee programs."

"You let refugees in, they bring their problems with them. And then Wakanda is like everywhere else." W'Kabi shook his head and leaned closer, expression grim, "Just look at the woman."

My back tensed and my shoulders rolled back, and I could feel their eyes turn to me. My arms tightened around Maria and my tongue rolled over my top teeth. I wanted to leave, to walk away, to go anywhere else really.

"W'Kabi..."

His friend waved off his scolding, moving back onto topic, "Now, if you said you wanted me and my men to go out there and clean up the world, then I'd be all for it."

T'Challa thought on this for a moment before pursing his lips, "But waging war on other countries has never been our way."

Suddenly, both of their kimoyo beads began to buzz, and I turned over my shoulder to stare.

T'Challa motioned me quickly closer before asking his friend, "You too, huh?"

"Bast." W'Kabi tsked teasingly, "Are we in trouble?"

Their beads combined to project a display of Okoye staring back at us, the shifting sand a perfect image of the general. I resisted the urge to touch the rippling yet solid looking figure, wondering how in the heck vibranium was able to do this.

"My King." The general looked between the two men with a small smile, "My love. You will never guess who just popped up on our radar."

We made our way back to the palace all together, intent on finding out just who Okoye could mean. Of course that was until at the door of the throne room, I was barred from entry — told in no uncertain terms that this was a private session meant only for the tribal council. T'Challa was ready to argue, to insist, but there was no point. So I tried to smooth it out, told him I didn't mind, and then they all disappeared into a room that I had no part in.

Instead, I sat cross—legged on the cool dark floor of the hallway, head dropped back against the wall. Maria crawled around on the floor in front of me, a small kimoyo bead bracelet in her mouth, drooling all down the front of her soft blue shirt.

"What are we doing here?" I whispered, fingers looping with her curls, "Huh?

She looked back at me with a tilted head and big eyes as if to ask, 'Where else can we go?'

I didn't know.

Eventually, one of the many royal nannies (who were quite suddenly in Ramonda's employ) swept Maria away for her afternoon nap.

And then I was alone again. As it turned out, being alone with one's thoughts was actually a terrible experience. 0/10. I would not recommend.

When the massive double doors to the throne room finally opened a half hour later, only T'Challa exited. His shoulders were rolled back and his jaw set in a way they only did when he had made a decision. The kind of decision that not everyone approved of, the kind that he made because he thought it was right.

My stomach flipped in uncertainty.

"Quickly." He murmured down at me, head purposefully tilted away from the doors, "Come with me."

I tripped over myself to push off the ground and keep pace with him. I pretended not to notice how his hand hovered under my elbow and he pretended not to notice that I had noticed. Still, he was moving pretty quickly and quite obviously choosing not to look back, and I couldn't ignore the sense that we were more or less trying to keep a low profile.

I didn't mention that he had grabbed my hand along the way or the thrilled tingle that shot up my spine as he did so.

It felt like we were little again, sneaking around like we didn't want to be caught by his teachers, by his bodyguards, by the whole world.

It felt good to be hiding away with T'Challa again.

I waited until it was only the Dora shadowing us when I whispered, "What is it?"

"The council would not approve of me telling you this, but yesterday, a Wakandan artifact was stolen from a museum in London. It appears the criminal plans to sell the vibranium to an American buyer in South Korea; a criminal you happen to know of quite well."

I'd have liked to say my options were few, but at this point, most people I knew were criminals in some way or another.

My chest tightened.

God, that was a freaky thought. Yikes. I think I needed to reevaluate my life choices.

My brows furrowed, "Who?"

"Ulysses Klaue."

The tightness in my chest expanded all the way down my arms until I was making fists, "When?"

"Tomorrow night."

"And what do you plan to do with him if and when you catch him?"

His brows were pinched seriously, "I wish to bring Klaue back here to stand trial. My father would have wished it so."

I eyed his face, the sudden shadows I saw creeping in his eyes, the taut lines around his mouth.

"I want in."

T'Challa smirked to himself, suddenly doing adorable little eyebrow raise thing he does, "What happened to rest and relaxation? A bit of vacation?"

"For an international arms dealer who also so happens to have a super punchable face?" I scoffed, folding my hands behind my back, "I'm willing to make an exception."

"I thought you might."

I squinted at him, "Then why tease me?"

"Because I like to see that irritated look in your eye. It amuses me."

I fought back a grin, poking his ribs, "Don't make me whoop you again. Even fifteen years later, I still can, you know."

His eyes sparkled, "I don't remember that at all."

"Really? Let me refresh your memory, then. We hid in a closet, you tried to make me stop talking, I bit you on the hand."

He tugged on his opposite sleeve and there, on his wrist, were the faint indented scars of a whole set of little teeth, "Ah yes, of course! How could I forget when I have a souvenir from the event?"

"Serves you right." I teasingly winked when he laughed, but we quickly grew serious once more, "So, what do we do? When do we start? Where do we go?"

He smirked, "Follow me."

Apparently, following T'Challa meant hitching a ride in a Dragon Flyer to the Great Mound which was where the meteorite hit, creating a large hill on one side and a cliff—face with a massive panther on the other. Inside the deep underground building, upbeat hip hop music was reverberating off the walls, drawing us deeper still.

With four Dora still at our backs, T'Challa led me down level after level, deeper into the mountain, as the music grew louder until I saw an all too familiar face awaiting us at the end of a stone and glass hallway. Shuri was decked out in a netted white dress with her braids twisted atop of her head, grinning at us with that usual mischief sparking in her eyes.

As soon as we were close enough, the girl swept into a bow, mocking, "My King and Queen."

My eyes widened as T'Challa held up a hand, a smile on his face, "Stop it, stop it."

The girl chuckled near silently, grinning at the two of us.

Still taken aback, I glanced between the siblings with wide eyes. Neither brother or sister offered me any kind of explanation, instead engaging in a special handshake that had obviously been practiced on repeat over the years. I couldn't help but watch with a bitter twist of amusement and jealousy, missing Peter, missing home, missing where I fit just right.

Suddenly Shuri turned to me, grasping my hands, "Now, tell me, where is my favorite niece?!"

T'Challa was carefully quiet and I cleared my throat, "She's back at the palace."

"Ahh." She sighed in dismay, "I love that kid."

I felt T'Challa glancing at me.

With a swift swivel, Shuri turned and led us down the spiral walkway into her sprawling futuristic lab. The entire place was enough to make me jealous, with pounding music and experimental technology spread out on tables and wide open windows with views deep into the mountain where vibranium was being mined.

"I've already sent a car ahead to Busan for you." She informed us as I looked all around with wide eyes, "I am assuming Lisa is going, so who else are you taking with you to Korea?"

"Okoye..." T'Challa answered carefully, glancing off to the side, "And Nakia as well."

I felt myself stiffen a little, head snapping around to look at him.

Shuri made a face at that last part, "You sure it's a good idea to take both of your exes on a mission?"

Ex. Both of your exes. I wasn't totally aware there had ever actually been something between them. I supposed that was just something else added to the long list of things we weren't going to talk about.

Still, I frowned, "You know I'm right here, Shuri?"

"Oh, I know." She winked at me and I rolled my eyes right on back.

She was just living for the drama, wasn't she?

"Yes..." He didn't sound so convinced, but he quickly moved on before any of us could dwell, "We'll be fine. Besides, you will be on call, should we need backup."

"Yesss." She shook her fists in front of herself.

I changed the subject, my arms sweeping around the room, "Shuri, this place is heaven!"

"Just wait." Shuri grabbed my hand and tugged me quicker down the staircase, "I have great things to show you, sister."

Shuri eagerly led us to one of her many work tables which were filled with all sorts of high—tech weapons and gadgets, pointing to a small case with clear disks with small black symbols within them.

"Here are your communication devices for Korea." She clicked the case shut and promptly handed it over, still proudly explaining, "Unlimited range, also equipped with audio surveillance system."

She continued to escort us around her lab, showing us invention after invention until T'Challa curiously cut in, slowly walking towards two pairs of sleek silver soles sitting nearby, "Ahh, and what are these?"

"The real question is..." She slid over, bent down, and shook her hands at his feet, "What are thoooose?!"

I snorted as T'Challa grinned at us.

Shuri pointed at his traditional tire—soled sandals, "Why do you have your toes out in my lab?!"

"What, you don't like my royal sandals?" T chuckled and dropped his foot onto the metal table, "I wanted to go old school for my first day."

"Yea, I bet the elders loved that." Shuri squinted her eyes in amusement.

I squinted at her in amusement, "Yah know, Shuri, you remind me of my brother."

"Is that so?" Shuri smugly hummed back, locking her hands behind her back, "Is he a genius and amazing also?"

I smirked, "Pretty much."

"Then he sounds perfect!" She grinned before setting the pairs of soles before us, "Both of you try them on."

I raised an eyebrow, "How did you know my shoe size?"

"T'Challa." Shuri nonchalantly shrugged.

I glanced over, but he quickly looked away.

It took a second for each of us to put our feet into the black shoes, but they laced up instantly, forming a perfect and comfortable fit. Shuri informed us that they were fully automated and completely sound absorbent. T'Challa stomped his foot and I hopped up and down a few times, each of us landing without a sound.

"Guess what I call them?" The girl smugly smirked, "Sneakers."

Shuri raised her brows, waiting for the joke to land.

I bit my lip to contain my grin while T'Challa just looked at her blankly.

"Because you..." Shuri gave up trying to explain, smacking her brother's chest, "Nevermind. My humor is wasted on you. Lisa gets me."

T'Challa shot me a commiserating look and I playfully smirked, grabbing his sleeve to pull him after her. The teenager led us over to the side of the lab where four mannequins waited — three distinctly male and the fourth obviously female. The first wore T'Challa's current Black Panther suit, the second and third each bore just panther tooth necklaces, and the final had nothing but strange circular rims carved with black Wakandan script over their palms.

"If you're going to take on Klaue, you two will need the best the Design Group has to offer!" With an air of great demonstration, Shuri motioned to the first mannequin, "Exhibit A."

"I mean, I love the little panther ears." I gently tapped on the black points at the top of the helmet, "I don't know what they achieve, but I approve."

"My design," T'Challa leaned towards me quite proudly.

"Old tech!" Shuri cut in to inform me.

He was offended, "Old...?"

I winced, sucked in my lips, and sympathetically patted his chest.

He looked deeply betrayed.

"Functional but old." Shuri squinted at her big brother, dancing away in a mocking tone, "Eh, people are shooting at me, wait, let me put on my helmet—!"

I laughed, "Awww, poor T'Challa."

He frowned between us, equally as annoyed as he was amused, "Enough. Both of you."

We kept on giggling before Shuri instructed us to check out the two other mannequins. My fingers lightly brushed the gold tooth necklace while T'Challa peered over my shoulder with a tilted head.

Shuri raised a brow, "Do you both like that one?"

"Tempting." T'Challa commented, glancing my way so I pointed out, "A bit gaudy."

"Agreed. The idea is to not be noticed." His dark eyes leveled on the silver one, looking thoughtful, "This one."

I watched in silent fascination as Shuri held her kimoyo beads to T'Challa's neck where a flush of bright indigo suddenly shot through his skin. She then dropped her hands, smiling slightly.

"Now, tell it to go on."

T'Challa pressed his lips and stared at the suit for a long moment, and then, without any warning, color spilled from the silver necklace and formed a new Black Panther suit around the mannequin.

"Oooh!" Shuri cheered for her own work, grabbing both of our hands.

I gasped and stepped in closer, "Holy crap, Shuri, you have got to tell me how you did this."

The kid was more than happy to do so, "Okay, okay. So, it is really all about the millions of vibranium—laced nanites that are stored within the teeth of the necklace—,"

T'Challa cleared his throat. We both blinked at him.

Shuri shrugged, "Strike it."

T looked thoughtful as he studied the suit, raising his fists a little, "Anywhere?"

When she hummed in the affirmative, T'Challa turned to the mannequin in a relaxed fighting stance. Shuri nodded and T'Challa spin—kicked the absolute crap out of the mannequin. The thin went flying across the shop and I jumped out of the way, eyes wide in shock.

"What the—?"

"Not that hard, genius!"

Shuri ran quickly after it, fumbling to pick the mannequin back up.

"You told me to strike it!" He defended himself with a light shrug, "You didn't say how hard!"

"T... Stop bullying your sister."

"I am the one bullying her?"

"Yes, Lisa, scold him!" Shuri picked the mannequin back up and dragged it over to the same spot, understandably outraged, "I invite you to my lab, and you just kick things around?!"

"Well, maybe you should make it a little stronger—," T'Challa sharply cut himself off when the suit suddenly turned indigo where the suit had been kicked, "Eh, wait a minute...?"

I leaned in to better study the glowing indigo script rippling through the black vibranium suit right where the impact of T'Challa's foot landed. The teenager shrugged nonchalantly, acting like this wasn't a big deal.

"Shuri..." I began slowly, my voice low and in awe, "Please tell me that my eyes just witnessed kinetic energy absorption and conversion!"

"Yes, you did!" The teenager nearly bounced at actually being understood for once, "The nanites absorb the kinetic energy and hold it in place for redistribution."

I beamed, "That's so freakin' cool."

"I freakin' know," she beamed back.

"Very nice," T'Challa commented sincerely.

I had so many questions, "But in most situations, when you're converting energy by absorption, the result is heat, so how did you—?"

"Ah, that is where the trick comes in. Vibranium absorbs all vibratory and kinetic energy which is stored as more of a compressional force as opposed to a chemical reaction—,"

T glanced between us with a frown, blinking in impatience, "Will the two of you focus, please?"

Shuri squinted at him, "T'Challa, you are annoying me. Lisa, you are my new sibling."

"Thanks Shuri." I grinned brightly.

T'Challa pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Now strike it again, in the same spot."

Shuri backhanded on my arm and winked so we both very carefully backed up. Then, she held up her wrist and not—so—subtly pressed a small button on her kimoyo. A small screen displayed in the air over her skin, a small silver circle spinning and zeroing in on the man across from us.

T'Challa immediately noticed, pointing and eyeing her suspiciously, "You are recording?"

Eyes darting, Shuri slowly shrugged, "For research purposes..."

T'Challa turned to me, eyebrow raised as if asking my opinion.

"It's for science." I waved off his look, "No worries!"

He should absolutely be worried.

Still looking a bit wary, T'Challa loaded up and then kicked the indigo spot. A flash of light filled the air and then he was flying back across the lab, crashing over a table full of Shuri's tech and then colliding the ground with a massive crash! Shuri grabbed my arm as we both doubled over, roaring with laughter.

Still sprawled out on the floor, T'Challa turned with a finger pointed our way, "Delete that footage!"

"Not in a million years," I was breathless, wiping my eyes.

Still laughing, Shuri used her grip on my wrist to tug me over to the very last mannequin.

"Now, Lisa, a bit of a surprise for you."

Her mouth slowly split into a grin as the rims on the palms began to rotate and came to life. Veins like light glowed through the suit and color flushed out the spinning rims like paint, spreading up the wrists into the shoulders and over the chest down to the feet.

"I hope you don't mind," Shuri leaned into my side and took my hand, "But I have made a few modifications to your suit..."

My eyes gleamed and I whispered,

"Let's do this."

so. um. hi. it's been a while. i have no excuse.

every time i opened up my document for the next chapter, i would write one word and be like, yeah, turns out i have no talent. but then i wrote this in two sittings and, well, i'm back!!! so, that being said, i'm very sorry and hooray?

So, let's discuss this chapter. it's been a long while so it felt funny getting back into the swing of these things but i hope it was okay? t'challa is so so sweet with maria and he wants to be what she needs, but you know lisa has trauma when it comes to loving relationships as well as an obsessive guilt complex so that's gonna have to be worked through. poor man just wants lisa to stay... that's gonna be quite the theme through this so... hehehe we love angst. now, thoughts? hopes? theories?

okay so i'm so fricking ready to write lisa and nakia interactions, it's super awkward because they both like each other as people but also it's tense because they both are in love with t'challa? lol, complicated. but the good news is that we support girl friendships in this household!

xx thanks for your patience and love, you guys are literally the best readers in the world, holy cow

next chapter: busan and all the drama that comes with it!