ˢᵃᵘᵈᵃᵈᵉ

t'challa 𝔁 fem! reader
𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟖

❝ you were always enough. you are enough. ❞

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐎𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊, muscles straining as you worked the fields and animals. Your job as animalia caretaker was bestowed upon you years ago, and now the work had become like second nature to you. You were in charge of both caring for the animals and caring for the grasslands most of them fed upon. 

The creatures knew you as if you were siblings, and treated you as such. The rhinos were gentle with you, the elephants were playful and the lions were mischievous. You just always seemed to have a way with them.

Perhaps that's why T'Challa was so enamoured with you.

Not only were you a caring woman, raised from the ground up by the woman who'd found you on the outskirts of Wakanda all those years ago, but you were a force to be reckoned with. T'Challa remembered the day so vividly when you were found.

Barely four years older than you, the memory was stitched deeply across his fondest recollections from a time before the hardships of monarchy. You were bundled up in cloth, your eyes a striking colour he rarely saw. His father and mother looked towards their closest friend and advisor, but the woman could not look away from you, a smile tugging at her full lips.

"Where did you find her?" T'Chaka asked, a small grin painting his features as he looked down at you.

"Just on the outskirts of the Border Tribe; Okoye, my sweet daughter, found her by the Dark Tree," Abeba informed, eyes once again drawn to the small bundle of joy in her arms. You had now started moving, your tiny fists raising from the wrapped cloth towards her. "The panthers, they... I have never seen them so tender. So caring."

Ramonda glanced at the woman with an exuberant smile, placing a hand over your fist. "A gift from Bast, she is."

Yes, you were a gift. T'Challa would foolishly say you were a gift for him from the great feline Goddess, and his mother would laugh fondly at such.

From then on, you had grown up alongside the royal family of Wakanda, forming a close bond with the siblings. Okoye, your adoptive older sister, although being nine years your senior, loved you dearly and treated you as her little sister, regardless of blood-relations. Shuri was your best friend, and she grew up before your very eyes, taking after your spit-fire attitude and sharp tongue.

And T'Challa... He was everything to you. Your rock, your sun, your moon, your life. And would you ever tell him that? Fuck no.

You and the other women, albeit a bit older than you, were tired and in need of a good dinner. You all began walking towards the village that seemed so far away and almost a mirage from the heat waves, but you knew your home. 

"Sweet child, have you spoken to him?" one of the elder woman asked, her eyes focused on the side of your face that was looking down at your feet. You tracked the way they moved, the grass soft and ticklish.

"Spoken to who?" you murmured.

"You know who."

The woman giggled, and you could only huff out a chuckle with a bitter smile on your face, rolling your eyes good-naturedly. "You all surely have other things to think of?"

"We are thinking of our possible future queen."

Your heart stopped at the thought, and you nearly faltered in your steps too, but continued onwards, now a thoughtful crease of your eyebrows replacing the once placid smile. 

The thought had been ever-constant in your life. There was always an unspoken wish from all of Wakanda that you might marry T'Challa one day. It was clear in the way you looked at each other that were was love there, and anyone would be a fool to deny it. And the man has shown the deep affection he harbours for you before.

And you had foolishly denied and denied with a joking smile, flicking his nose into the next day when he would try his luck again. You never actually really contradicted or revealed your own feelings, just telling him that you acknowledged his profound love for you.

He had a feeling, of course. Everyone could see it. That specific smile that only ever seemed to find its way onto your lips when he was around, or the way all tension and pain lifted from your shoulders the moment he spoke to you. T'Challa was such a calming presence in your life, and growing up alongside him, seeing him for the man he was, made you fall for him. It was hard not too.

"Ah, speaking of."

You looked over at her, the woman looking towards the village. Peeling your eyes away from her, you followed her gaze, finding, just in the distance, the figure of the man you could recognise in a sea of a thousand people.

The closer you came, the more you could see of his face. The sun reflected off of his clear skin, a slight smile twitching as he spoke with W'Kabi. However, it fell away upon the sight of you, and to anyone who didn't know either of you would think he was displeased to see you, but everyone here did know you both. And they could see the underlying softness in his gaze only reserved for you.

W'Kabi greeted you and the other women, the others fading away further into the village for lunch whilst you lowered the bucket that was hanging over your shoulders. T'Challa's eyes roved over you in a way that showed he was only analysing you sweetly, and not in a way that hinted lust. Merely intrigue and delight.

You were wearing a two-piece outfit in the dark blue claimed colour of the Border Tribe, skin tainted by the sun and eyes wide underneath the hand that covered them from the blazing orb above.

"My king," you greeted almost breathily, the walk always taking a slight tole on you. Glancing at the man beside you, you smiled a little sweeter, "W'Kabi."

The man said your name in a warm voice, "Little sister, the King wishes to speak to you."

"Does he?" you playfully continued, egging the man before you on. T'Challa glanced between you both, no sign of irritation on his face.

"You speak of me as if I am not standing right here?"

"That's the joke, dummy," you scoffed playfully, reaching down for the bucket again. "Come. You want to speak to me, no?"

W'Kabi chuckled as he watched you walk away, heading towards the rhinoceros sanctuary that the big animals tended to live in unless they wanted to explore the rest of the plains. T'Challa smiled with a rueful huff, trailing after you as he sped up slightly to catch up with you.

"You look nice," he said, glancing down at your clothing again. Something you've worn a million times.

"I know," you rebuked, looking over at him with a smile. He matched it with his own softer one, watching as you stopped near the edge of the sanctuary. Reaching down into the bucket, you revealed a specific root plant that the rhinos enjoyed eating, making your way towards one of them.

The rhino sensed your presence, sniffing the air in front of you before leaning towards your outstretched hand and nudging his horn against it in a way of greeting. If you could speak to animals, T'Challa would be sure the rhino was expressing his happiness at seeing you. 

"So." The word was sighed out as you began feeding the large mammal. "What did you wish to speak to me about, my king?"

Silence. Your brows furrowed slightly when T'Challa didn't answer, and it took you a moment to face him, watching him in slight confusion. 

The man watched you with such a tenderness it nearly had you falling over and into the sanctuary. The sun was slowly beginning to set, and the warm orange sun casted a heavenly glow around him.

"You are beautiful."

You let out a breath, an almost nervous smile making its way onto your lips at the sudden affectionate endearment. You knew he viewed you like a goddess walking on Earth, and yet it still caused an eruption of butterflies in your stomach every time he told you.

"You're going to ask me, aren't you?"

"Ask you what?" T'Challa smiled.

"That question," you continued. "The one you know how I will answer."

The man continued to smile, eyes drooping slightly in contentment and the sight of it was making you feel weak, so you grasped the wooden fencing just beside you to steady yourself.

Finally, T'Challa seemed to snap himself out of his reverie, straightening his posture slightly as the stance of a king overcame him. "And what question would that be?"

You sighed his name, rolling your eyes as your nose flared ever so slightly. "I am not cut out for it."

"Cut out for...?"

An irritated huff escaped you. "All we do is dance around topics. You see, it would be stupid to make me your queen!"

"My queen? That's a bold statement," T'Challa murmured, a mischievous smirk pulling at his lips. "Very bold of you to assume such a thing. You haven't even returned my love yet."

You were fuming now, anger from the way he was treating this as if it wasn't a serious ordeal. You weren't cut out to be queen, you couldn't even fathom the idea of being his. "The people will never accept an outsider on the throne."

This had the mood turning. The smirk vanished from his face once he heard your statement, concern etching upon his features. "An outsider? You? Where have you heard such things?"

"It's not about hearing, it's a common known fact," you continued, brushing off his words. "I don't even know where I came from, no one does! I have been marked, yes, but I am still a foreigner to some people."

"Then those people will have to learn to accept you, because everyone else does," he rebuked with venom lacing his voice. "The people love you."

"I am an outsider."

"My family loves you."

"T'Challa, please-."

"I love you."

You let out a soft sigh at the softness of his tone. You were so used to the imploring tone whenever, all though not a lot, confessed his undying love for you. This was so new, like he didn't have anything to prove, that simply being in love with you was enough. No need for big speeches, exaggerated displays of affection.

Just his actions. Just his words.

"T'Challa..."

Your name was a breathy murmur of slight irritation as he continued, "You are Wakandian, and the rest of our country can see that. Regardless of where you were born, you were found as a Wakandian, you were raised as a Wakandian which means you are a Wakandian. And I will never allow anyone to deny that of you."

He was standing so close to you now, and you had to raise your chin in order to meet his dark eyes. T'Challa's fingers brushed against your arms at your close contact, and you leaned slightly closer to him to ensure the feeling. 

"I've dreamed of the day you said yes. Yes to being mine. It's all I've ever wanted. But I don't want to scare or pressure you, I want you to do this on your own terms. And if that means no, I will accept it. My heart will hurt, but I will look past it-."

"I love you."

His eyes widened at the statement tumbling from your lips, and it seemed to shock you too, for your hands flew up to your mouth, gaze wide and shocked that you had finally said it.

T'Challa leaned down slightly to look at you, tilting his head slightly. "You mean it?"

Slowly, you nodded your head and were overwhelmed with pride at the sight of such a smile on T'Challa's face, pride that you were the cause. You always were.

The kiss caught you off guard, only for a moment, and it really shouldn't have, you knew it was coming. But the intensity, the pure love surging from his body and into yours was overwhelming. You could practically taste how long he had waited for this, the affection still present with the way he cradled your jaw with such care, his fingers digging only slightly into the flesh of your hip to draw you closer. 

Pulling away to breathe, you panted slightly, too scared to meet his gaze because you know that if you looked, you would be hit with such an overwhelming affection, you would never look away.

"I'm not enough for you," you whispered, barely stopping yourself from leaning into his soft palm. "How can I be enough for the great Black Panther?"

"You were always enough," he murmured against your forehead, "You are enough. For Wakanda, for the Black Panther- For me. If you'll have me."

You can't help the teary smile, and you nod. "Always."