Erik introducing the reader to Wakanda
once erik found himself fully settled in wakanda, he immediately invited you to join him.
you were absolutely ecstatic. like erik you had grown up fantasizing about visiting the closed off country and now your childhood dream was coming true.
except it was better because, for one, the royal fucking jet was sent to pick you up, and it only went up from there.
erik took you to the market and showed you the vendors hawking jewelry and clothing and ornaments, all of which containing vibranium in some way or another, the food carts that had the most incredible smells coming from them that it made you dizzy, and the fact that everyone, absolutely everyone, looked exactly like you.
at one point you saw children playing some kind of game, and it was like witnessing the physical embodiment of childhood joy. most of them wore their hair in it’s natural state, or else in braids or knots or another kind of hairstyle that seemed to be native to wakanda as it was utterly foreign to you. you remember how often you had been mocked for your hair and nearly cry.
when you visit the palace you find yourself overwhelmed with nerves, as it hadn’t occurred to you until just then that you would be meeting royalty. even though erik did his best to calm you, your nerves were still going crazy and when you entered the throne room your whole body was shaking and your palms were sweaty (knees weak, arms are heavy, there’s vomit on your sweater already, mom’s spaghetti). but when queen ramonda embraced you and t’challa and shuri treated you like family, every ounce of tension left you.
he introduced you to the dora milaje and that experience could only be described as transcendent. you saw fierce and proud women, like the women you had grown up watching and admiring, who were so brave and strong and devoted that it was unlike anything you had ever experienced. the whole time you’re in a bit of a daze and can barely string two words together, but your heart and soul had never been so full.
and at the end of the day, erik took you the highest point of the palace, and you both watched the sunset together, legs dangling over the edge like when you were children back in oakland and sitting on the roof of the apartment block as the sun fell beyond the horizon, and trying to imagine how different it would be in wakanda.
it was a whole world full of difference. from the lush green jungle to the futuristic city that seemed better than any fairy tale utopia your younger self would be able to conjure. and you cried and cried and cried, while erik held you.
“i know.” he whispered, hugging you so close you could feel his chest rumble and knew that he was crying too. “i know.”
