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"Show Me Your Garden and I Shall Tell You What You Are" Dr. Udaku's Wife Chapter 1 (Mafia!Shuri AU)
Synopsis: An infodump, a game of cat Panther & mouse, many questions get answered
Word Count: 4791
Warnings: moments of intensity, not fun choking (walk with me, okay? it's character building), mentions of murder, drugs, corruption, weapons, and fooling with memories
Shuri kept you out all night after Eden’s art gallery debut, detouring your original plans of a quiet family dinner into a six course meal prepared by a private chef at a restaurant that officially only does breakfast, then a private section at a club, then fireworks and a light show over Golden City. Shuri only turned you loose as the sun was rising, saying that you “need your rest, for you have a busy day later.” Whatever the hell that meant.
You found out exactly what she meant when you woke up to your hotel room covered in the prettiest peony bouquets you’ve ever seen. The one perched on the dining table was the biggest, but the note sticking out of it caught your eye.
To Ms. Y/N,
I greatly enjoyed your company last night, and am honored to have been in your presence, hopefully you felt the same. I have summoned Ms. Henderson to the Citadel later on and requested that she bring you along. I also took the liberty of upgrading your hotel to the Panther Suite at Ritz Golden City, as I feel it’s a more fitting accommodation for a Queen like yourself. Your things will be transferred with the utmost care, and you need not worry about frivolous things such as payment; that will be taken care of.
I will be giving you a tour of the Palace, the grounds, and my lab, so wear something comfortable, as you will be doing a lot of walking today.
See you soon,
Shuri (Dr. Udaku)
You barely had time to acknowledge the butterflies erupting in your chest when a knock came to your door, a staff member with a full cart of food on the other side, “Oh—I didn’t order anything, I think you have—”
“Dr. Udaku would like to wish you a good morning and sends her apologies for this not being delivered with the rest of your gifts.”
Stunned and speechless, you move aside, watching the girl unpack the cart, setting up tray upon tray of mouthwatering food, drinks and champagne all over your dining table and bed before taking her leave right as Eden appears in your doorway, “Girl, what the hell….” She trails off, looking from the note still in your hand, to the sea of flowers and food. “Where did all this come from?”
“Dr. Udaku sent it.” You hand her the note.
Eden grabs your hand after she finishes reading, dragging you further into the room and closing and locking the door behind her. “Okay, we need to talk, after we eat all this food.”
“Alright, so boom.” Eden starts as the two of you get comfortable on your balcony, hoping the Wakandan sun and the tea in your hands will help the stuffed-to-the-brim feeling subside quicker. The two of you gave your most valiant effort at conquering the mountain of goodies Shuri sent, but the food won; you still have four plates that have yet to be touched sitting on your dining table. “These people are not who you think they are.”
“Shuri—Dr. Udaku is the princess, right? She’s the lead scientist of the design team. She was telling me about it last night; she makes technology and stuff for infrastructure and—”
“Listen, I haven’t been here long but it’s a well-known, loudly kept secret: this entire country is run by the mafia.” You frown, but Eden presses on, “Yes, the Doctor makes buildings and planes, but she also makes drugs and weapons that her brother has shipped around the world.”
“And how do you know this? How haven’t they been caught and tried before an international court?”
“Eavesdropping pays dividends.” Eden raises her cup to you before taking a sip, “Apparently, they have all the world’s governments in their back pocket; whoever you think is at the top of the totem pole, the Royal Family is above them. The US media paints China or whoever as the masterminds behind whatever shady shit happens, but it’s really Wakanda pulling all the strings. Nobody would dare cross the Royal Family because they have spies in every corner of the globe, the weapons to keep everybody in check, and the money to pay anybody off. It’s been this way for generations.” Eden takes another sip from her mug, “Oh, and I overheard the hotel staff whispering amongst themselves; apparently, you’re like, the fifth person the Doctor has given this treatment to.”
“What happened to the other people?”
Eden shrugs, “They saw me coming so they changed the subject. Google didn’t provide much info, but the staff girls did say the Doctor’s previous suitors weren’t heard from again after they separated.”
Your heart is pounding in your chest, Shuri was so gentle with me, she would never—"So, you’re saying she killed them? Or had them killed?”
“I’m not saying anything, maybe she deported them or something. All I’m saying is this: I want you to be safe. Your parents would kill me if something happened to you while you were out here, and I would never forgive myself. I fully support you running these people’s pockets and getting the sugar baby treatment you deserve, but please be careful. We have no idea what these people are capable of and me personally? I’m not trying to find out.” Eden’s phone vibrates, she jumps from her chair seconds later, “Shit! Girl, we have 30 minutes to get to the Palace. And the guard told me Dr. Udaku does not like lateness.” The two of you spring into action; you sprint towards your ensuite, and Eden runs back to her own hotel room to get ready in record time.
The Talon Fighter sent to collect you lands on the tarmac exactly 29 minutes and 56 seconds later. Anxiety sweeps through you; all of the things Eden told you come crashing back into your mind with every step you take. The mafia is all made up. It’s just one big joke. Shuri’s just the princess and she just makes gadgets. You focus on your breath, discreetly wiping your sweating hands on your pants, praying to God that your anxiety isn’t showing on your face or in your body language. Shuri’s eyes are once again covered by shades, but she gives no indication that she senses anything off as you and Eden stop in front of her.
“Ms. Henderson,” Shuri shakes Eden’s hand, before her face breaks into a small smile as she reaches for you, “Sthandwa.” Shuri mumbles, pressing a kiss to your knuckles before wrapping your arm around hers, dismissing her guard and beginning to walk towards the Palace. “I hope the breakfast was satisfactory, usana.”
“It was delicious, thank you. I even called Eden to help me, and we still couldn’t finish it all.”
“Good, I assume you saw my note as well.”
“I did. You really didn’t have to move me, Shuri. My hotel was nice enough.”
Shuri lifts your hand, kissing your fingertips, “I wanted to, usana. It’s only a fraction of what you deserve.”
Shuri leads you on an extensive tour of the Palace, showing you all of the hidden entrances, secret passages and updates that she installed during a recent remodel. You try to pay attention as Shuri goes on about the ornate architecture, tradition and all of the technology she’s infused into the building, but Eden’s infodump from this morning continues to haunt the back of your consciousness like a bad dream. You’re having a hard time believing that the same woman who opens every single door for you, guides you with a gentle hand on your back, ensures you stay tucked into her side with her hands on your waist, is the same woman that’s running an international, government-sanctioned drug and weapons ring with the whole world in the palm of her hand. Your breath quickens as you think of the implications of being in a relationship with someone of Shuri’s stature; What if this is all an act to lure me in and she’s actually cold and heartless? Am I trapped here? Has she killed anyone before? Will she kill me if I deny her? Will she hurt Eden and our families? Will I ever see my family again? What if she finds them and hurts them? How can I—
“Y/N!” You jump as Shuri’s voice breaks through your mental spiral, eyes snapping to her as she cups your cheek in her warm hand, and you have to fight yourself not to lean into it. “Are you alright, sthandwa?”
“I—I’m sorry.” You start, wracking your brain for a believable excuse, “I think I’m just tired, is all. We had a long night last night.” You force a small, fake laugh, praying that it sells your lie.
Shuri eyes you for a moment, and you fight to keep down the panic rising within you. She doesn’t believe me, shit! You idiot why would you even try to—
“Ayo.” Shuri calls, and one of the women who’ve been following you since you stepped off the Talon Fighter steps forward, “Please show Ms. Henderson where she’ll be working. There should be canvases and everything you need already there, but if you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Ayo gives Shuri a salute, “Right away, Dr. Udaku.” Before giving Eden a single nod and turning to walk away. Eden hesitates, glancing at Shuri before shooting you a concerned glance.
“Go, I’ll be fine.” You curse your voice for sounding so weak and wobbly, and you suck in a small breath when you feel Shuri’s grip on your waist tighten slightly. You also feel her eyes on the side of your head; she’s watching you very closely.
Eden remains, only turning to walk away when Ayo calls her name. “Call me later, okay?” You nod again, and Eden disappears from your sight, leaving you and Shuri alone—with her security detail, but you hardly think they’d come to your rescue if you needed it.
Shuri intertwines your fingers, “Come.” Is all she says before she’s leading you out of the throne room and the opposite direction from which you came.
“Where are we going?” You finally build up the courage to ask as you wait for an elevator to take you…somewhere on a higher floor than you are now.
“It’s a surprise. I think you’ll like it though.”
The elevator doors open and you enter, watching Shuri press the button for the roof before taking her place next to you.
“What’s on the roof?” You ask, but all you get in return is a smile.
“You’ll see.”
The elevator ascends quickly and before you know it, the doors open to a long hallway that Shuri promptly leads you down, scanning her palm on a panel and triggering the doors to open, and your jaw to drop.
Sitting before you is a massive atrium, filled with the most colorful flowers and palms you’ve ever seen in your life. The anxiety fades away as you step inside, lost in the smells of the fresh blooms and the Wakandan sunlight filtering between the leaves, with Shuri silently following behind you. You can’t help but to reach out and touch a vibrant purple flower that hangs over the path.
“Shuri, this is incredible.” You spin to face her, only to be rendered speechless yet again.
The golden sun casts a perfect, flower-shaped shadow over her face, and her proximity to you allows you to see the exact pattern of her irises and the touch of green that swims in her golden amber eyes. You cup her cheek in your hand, heart melting as Shuri rests her hand over yours, closing her eyes and leaning into your palm. She looks at peace, and you might have just met her a day ago, but you can already tell that peace is not a look she wears often. Shuri opens her eyes, sponging several kisses to your palm, a small smile on her face and hope glimmering in her eyes. “Do you like it, sthandwa?”
“This is beautiful, Shuri.” You watch her eyes flutter closed again, basking in the flowers and the distant sounds of the city below.
“Come.” Shuri suddenly says, gently pulling you along the path towards a clearing near the windows. There sits a small fountain and a concrete bench overlooking all of Golden City. “You can see the entire city from up here.” Shuri positions herself behind you, lowering her lips to your ear and pointing to something in the distance, “You see that mountain? That’s my lab. I’ll take you there later.”
“Hmm.” Is all you can say, your mind hazed over by the scent of her and her presence behind you. She’s wearing a different fragrance today; something clean and lightly floral, but still hypnotic and intoxicating. You lean into her, subconsciously seeking more of her lips against your ear and the Doctor obliges you, nudging your head to the side and pressing a lingering kiss to the junction of your jaw and throat. Shuri loses herself in it all too quickly, her fingers sliding under the hem of your crop top to graze over the bottom of the mounds of your breasts.
“Sit with me.” She mumbles into your ear, tugging you onto the bench next to her.
“My mother built this when she was pregnant with me. She wanted somewhere to escape her duties for a while, something to tend to that was peaceful and quiet, somewhere to take me before I had my lab, so I could wander around and use my hands to explore and build without messing anything up. She would bring me here every time the lab stressed me out; she’d always say, ‘tell the trees all of your problems, and the flowers will solve them for you’. It’s the first place I came to after she…” Shuri’s fist balls up as she trails off, and it doesn't take you long to connect the dots, sliding your hand into hers and relaxing her fingers.
The two of you spend some time in silence. You watch the city pass by, and Shuri watches you.
“You know,” Shuri breaks the silence, “I don’t like being lied to.”
Your breath hitches, mind scrambling to come up with something to spin yet another web of lies. Shit! “Um, I didn't lie about anything?”
Shuri clenches her jaw, looking out over her kingdom, “A few years ago, I took something called the Heart Shaped Herb. It’s very revered in my culture, given to us generations ago by the Panther Goddess Bast to crown the Black Panther; Wakanda’s protector, and a mantle that I share with my brother. The Herb gives whoever consumes it heightened abilities, increased strength, endurance, and speed. It also made my hearing more sensitive.” She looks back at you just as your heart drops. Fuck, fuck, FUCK! “I can hear your heart beating, Y/N. I’ve been listening to it this entire time, and I can smell the fear on you. You’ve been scared since you got off the Talon Fighter, and I want to know what it is.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Shuri. I told you I’m just tired.” Yup, dig an even deeper hole.
Shuri sighs before lifting her wrist and the beaded bracelet that sits on it, “Griot, scan Miss Y/N’s vitals.”
You jump as a beam shoots from the bracelet, panning over your body before disappearing. “Miss Y/N is showing an increased heart rate, cortisol levels and breathing rate, all of which are consistent with fear.”
Shuri locks eyes with you, and you can see the anger swirling in them as her jaw works, “Do not lie to me again, Y/N.” Her voice is dangerously low.
Panic grips you and your fight or flight instinct kicks in. You choose flight and take off, sprinting away from Shuri and the bench and straight for the door to the atrium, only to find it locked. “No!”
A dark chuckle echoes through the flowers, “Do you think I’d make it that easy for you to get away from me, usana? Keep running, pretty girl. I love the chase.”
Your head snaps back towards the bench at the sound of her voice behind you, but when you turn, she’s not there. It goes on like this for some time; you scramble around the atrium, frantically looking for hiding spots or other ways to escape Shuri’s containment, sometimes desperately trying to force the door open with brute strength, which triggers a mocking laugh to echo around the room, “You know that door is made of vibranium, right? Even I’d have a hard time forcing that open.”
Shuri, on the other hand, is very much entertained. She’s been standing in the same spot for nearly 20 minutes, the green of her work jumpsuit effectively camouflaging her amongst the trees as she happily fiddles with the acoustics and built-in speakers in the atrium via her kimoyo beads to mess with your echolocation skills. She’ll come get you when she gets bored, but for now she’s enjoying this all too much, especially the way your breasts move in that tank top as you run.
You’re creeping along the far wall near the windows, eyeing a vent that’s about ten feet off the ground. That should be big enough for me to fit through, if I can get up there, “Shuri! Let me go please! I promise I won’t tell anyone!”
“Tell anyone what, sthandwa?”
You freeze. Fuck! You and your big ass mouth. “U—uh….”
A scream rips its way from your throat as a tattooed hand grabs you, pushing you against the wall, “Shuri please!” You throw your hands up in front of you as a shield.
Shuri observes you, seemingly unaffected by the fear that she’s inflicting upon you, though she doesn’t speak until you slowly lower your hands, “Please what, sthandwa?”
Your voice is unsteady, barely above a whisper for fear that anything louder will cause the woman before you to snap. “Don’t hurt me.”
“Why would I hurt you?” Shuri reaches up, calmly smoothing your braids down and moving the wispy tendrils out of your face.
“B—because I know about you.” Girl, for once in your life, SHUT UP! You look down, suddenly entranced by the blades of grass at your feet, but Shuri wasn’t having it. She takes your chin between her thumb and forefinger, gently tilting your head up to face her, though your eyes still stubbornly remain cast to the side.
Shuri quirks a perfectly manicured eyebrow as yet another smile threatens to break onto her face, “Hmm? What does the pretty girl know?”
The tips of your nails dig into your shaking palm as you force yourself to stay silent, despite the fear surging through you and the terrified tears threatening to fall. You focus on taking measured but shaky breaths, counting the windows of the buildings in Golden City, wondering if anyone in those buildings can see you cornered by Dr. Udaku.
Your concentration is broken when Shuri’s hand drops, wrapping around your throat. “You’re thinning my patience, usana. I expect an answer when I ask a question.”
Fire blazes in your eyes as the fear within you begins mixing a dangerous cocktail with a flood of anger, “Oh, I'm thinning your patience? Imagine how I feel considering you've let me run around this goddamn room for the past 30 minutes!”
Shuri flashes a smile, “You mean you didn’t have fun? I had fun watching you and this flimsy top of yours—”
You snap, snatching Shuri’s hand away from your throat and shoving her back, “Oh, so my fear is just a game to you? I was—am—scared for my life, my family’s lives, and you’re sitting here laughing at me like I’m just a fucking toy!” You march away from her, storming towards the door, “Open this fucking door, Shuri. I’m going home.”
“You’re going anywhere, sthandwa.”
You whirl back around, “Excuse me? Who says I’m not going anywhere?”
Shuri frowns, “Me.”
“And who the fuck are you? You ain’t in charge of shit over here so I suggest—”
In a blink, Shuri is back in front of you, and your back is right back up against the wall—literally, with Shuri’s hand back around your throat. “And I suggest you watch your tone when you speak to me.”
“Fuck you, Shuri.”
“I’d love to.”
“You dollar store gangbanger.”
Shuri laughs a humorless chuckle, “We prefer the term umphathi kwik. And who told you about that?”
You shove her hand off of you again, “Don’t worry about how I found out, just know that I know.”
“Enenkani enjalo.” Shuri mumbles to herself, “It was Eden, wasn’t it.”
Your heart drops for a second time. Fuck! “N–No! It wasn’t her!”
Shuri sighs, jaw flexing again as her temper—the Panther—begins to get the best of her at your hard-headedness. “Bendicinga ukuba ndikuxelele ukuba ungandixoki.” Her nostrils flare, “Andiyi kuphinda ndikubuze.” She hadn’t planned on having this conversation with you this early in your relationship—she wanted to make you fall in love with her before dropping the bomb, for you to know the woman behind the Mantle first—but someone in your party has blown her spot and ruined her plan with you and she needs to know who it is, how much they know, and where they got their information. Wakanda has worked tirelessly to ensure their hands are never directly involved in any of their dealings, and now a few nosy Americans threaten to unravel generations of work.
You don’t respond, folding your arms across your chest and cocking your hip, “I don’t know what you said but—” Your sentence ends in another scream as Shuri’s fist collides with the wall next to your head.
“I thought I told you not to lie to me.” Her hand returns to your throat, pulling you closer and lifting your feet off the ground, lips grazing yours as she speaks. “I’m not going to ask you again, Y/N.”
“I’m never telling you.” Comes your strangled voice.
The two of you engage in a silent standoff—your stubbornness going toe-to-toe with the Panther’s blind rage as she slowly tightens her hold on your throat, pressing down on your airway and cutting off your breathing. The Panther watches you struggle, relishing in the feel of your nails clawing at her hand and your feet kicking in all directions, trying to free yourself from her iron grip. It’s only when your eyes start to roll back into your head that Shuri fights her way back into control.
Shuri gasps, releasing your throat and stepping back, closing her eyes at the sight of you hunched over, gripping your throat as you take deep breaths to fill your lungs after being deprived. “I’m sorry, sthandwa. I lost control. I never intended to hurt you. Are you alright? Let me see.” Shuri reaches out, trying to look at your neck but you jump away.
“No! Don’t you touch me!” You flinch as pain tears through your throat.
Shuri reaches towards you, heart shattering at the rasp you now spoke with as a result of her anger, “Please, just let me look. I can give you something for the bruising, if you need it.”
“For what? For you to finish killing me like you just tried to?”
“I would never.” Comes Shuri’s immediate response. You glare at her, but she remains steadfast, “Please believe me, it was never my intention to hurt you, or anyone in your party. I—I just…” Shuri sighs, her shoulders dropping in defeat as she seems to curl in on herself, “I needed to know who told you about—about my job.”
You eye her warily, slowly dropping your hands to allow Shuri to lean in, turning your head every which way to look at the skin of your throat, “You lied to me yesterday.”
Shuri sighs again “I’m sorry, sthandwa. I didn’t tell you the complete truth, but please understand, I never intended to mislead you. The truth is not exactly something you can lead with when your line of work is like mine.”
“So, you are in a gang?”
Shuri gently takes your hands in hers, taking one hesitant step back towards the fountain, “Come sit with me, please. I’ll tell you everything.”
You search her eyes for any ulterior motives or hidden agenda, but all you see is the earnest, hopeful gaze in her eyes, so you let her lead you back to the bench.
“We prefer the term mafia, or kwik in Xhosa, but yes, my family has run the Black Panther Mafia for almost 200 years now, passed down through the generations.”
“I thought you said the Black Panther was a mantle that you can only get by taking some herb?”
“And that’s true; the mafia is named after the Mantle.”
“You’ll be expected to take over one day?”
“Not exactly, I’m third in line; my brother is next in line, then his son is behind him, and then I’m behind him. Unless my brother has more children, then I’d be pushed back further.”
"Like a regular monarchy then?”
Shuri smiles, “Yes.”
“Do you want to? Take over?”
Shuri sighs, looking away as she thinks to herself. “I’m not sure, usana. My place is in the lab with my technology, not in a boardroom.”
“So, you don’t have to do meetings or anything?”
“I do, usually just training and sales to teach people how to use what I've made.”
You pause, gearing up to ask the next question, but Shuri beats you to it, “Yes, I’ve killed people.”
“H–how many?”
“That’s not something for you to worry your pretty head over.”
“Shuri.”
A sigh as she clenches her jaw, “A lot.”
“Why?”
“A variety of reasons; they crossed me, they crossed my family, they didn’t do as they were told, they caused us to lose product. We aim to keep the supply chain running smoothly, but sometimes the cogs refuse to run correctly, or get in their heads that they’re bigger than they are. In situations like that, the cog gets removed.”
“You speak so casually about it.”
“Years of practice.”
“What about…your exes?”
“What about them?”
“What happened to them? They apparently disappeared after you broke up with them.”
“Are you asking if I killed them?”
You nod.
“Verbally, sthandwa.”
“Yes.”
Shuri flashes you a smirk, “Good girl. No, I didn’t kill them, or have them killed. I have my moments, but I’m not a monster all the time, usana.”
“So why didn’t they—”
“I altered their memories. They know nothing of my family business; they think I’m just a Princess and a scientist.”
“A—and you’ll do the same to me? If we were—”
“Yes.”
“Why do you have such a bad temper?”
Shuri sighs, looking out the windows, watching a train go by in the distance, “I’ve always had one. I guess something about being a woman in a business dominated by men. They always overlooked me, even though I’m the one making all the product. It pissed me off, so I became something they couldn’t ignore; I made them fear me.” Shuri looks back at you, “But fear mongering and violence doesn’t always work, I’m learning that.”
“And what are you doing to work on that?”
Shuri looks down at the grass beneath your feet, “My mother and I would work on it together—she was often the only one who could get through to me when I got like that. I was making progress, I was doing so good but then she—I feel like I’m starting all over again. Like I’m a loose cannon, waiting to explode.”
“You need therapy, and an outlet that’s not tied to your work.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, but we’re gonna figure something out. You can’t go around choking everyone that doesn’t immediately give you what you want.”
“I am truly sorry for hurting you.” Shuri intertwines your fingers, repeatedly kissing the palm of your hand, “It will never happen again, I swear to you.”
“Words mean nothing to me Doctor, I need you to prove it.” You stand, and Shuri follows close behind, tugging your body against hers with her hands low on your hips, her lips hovering dangerously close to yours,
“I intend to. I plan on giving you everything. Just name it and it’s yours, if you'll have me.”
You smile up at her, playing with the lapels of her jumpsuit, “I think I will have you.”
“Good.” She turns, offering you her arm before starting towards the door, “We can start with lunch. How does that sound?”
