jumping through hoops ☆ | riri & shuri x blk!fem!reader (au!basketball) pt 1 | pt 2
attending a basketball game at your d1 college is normal for a lot of students. you never could've imagined it would turn into a love triangle that not only affects everyone involved, but also their basketball skills. with you involved, and the two hoopers creating tension among the team, how can they pull through and win the finals?
warnings : mature themes
word count : 2k+
note : i lowkey want to hold myself accountable with this series so i made it interesting and included two of my fav girls that way it's more fun to write. also my bday is tomorrow so you guys can consider this as like a early bday gift celebration lol. sorry it's kind of short but i wanted to start off slow that way it can really pick up within the next chapters. hope y'all enjoy! :)
“you know i don’t even watch basketball, kami.” you say, watching your friend do her makeup in the mirror. you had gotten ready before coming over to her apartment. you wore a lululemon jacket with your school’s mascot on the side, representing the proud yellow and purple. leggings hugged your body as you moved your legs into a more comfortable position.
“you don’t have to be a regular watcher to know how fine the players are.” kami says, adding on a more than tasteful amount of blush to her cheeks.
you sigh, rolling your eyes at your best friend. sophomore year for you meant locking in and that came with some sacrifices. you’d much rather be studying for your finals right now, but kami sure did have a way with words.
kami sings along to the subtle music playing in the background. a few spritz of her perfume makes the whole room smell like strawberries and cream. a contrast from your signature scent, brown sugar and vanilla.
“andddd,” kami says, placing some freckles on her face, “perfect!”
she turns her chair to face where you’re sitting on the bed. she could always find you staring off into nothing, twirling either your curls or a fresh silk press. this time, it was your curls, held back by a white headband that matched your white jacket.
“you ready?” she says, standing up from her chair and walking over to your position on the bed. your eyes rip from the window and land onto her.
giving a quick smile you say, “guess so.”
kami giggles and pulls you from the bed. you both grab your student ids that had been resting on the bookshelf near her door, preparing yourselves for the apparently life changing experience of a LSU women’s basketball game.
“girl, you can get snacks later! i wanna make sure we got good seats in the student section!” kami says, pulling you away from the concession stand.
you frown, knowing that whenever half time comes the lines are gonna be twice the size they are now. missing the first couple minutes of the game, which was always just warmups anyway, didn’t matter that much to you. what mattered right now was getting some food in your stomach. the business of studying and class had apparently made you forget to sustain yourself with any sort of nutrients for the day.
kami takes the lead as the two of you head into the auditorium. it was clear she knew where she was going.
your eyes were traveling faster than your feet were. it was loud, overly loud. you weren’t sure how people’s voices could travel over the rap music playing over the intercom before the game commenced. purple and gold spanned across every seat, other than one tiny section with the opposing teams colors. it was almost pathetic, and you felt bad knowing that they were definitely about to get the worst of it from the fans surrounding them.
kami continued to drag you through the bleachers until you reached a spot damn near right in front of the court.
“i told you i’d get us good seats.” kami said, a huge smile on her face as she says it.
“yeah,” you scoff, “after pushing through a bunch of students and maneuvering through bleachers. i swear that was a health hazard.”
she laughs, “oh honey, that’ll probably be the tamest thing you see tonight. wait until we’re up like 50 points. everyone gonna be acting crazy.”
“just how many games have you been to?” you can’t help but ask. kami seemed like a seasoned pro.
“every game since freshman year. well, not the away ones of course.” she says, fixing her lipgloss. “thank you for coming with me though.”
her tone turns somber, “it’s nice going to a game with a friend for once instead of alone.”
you give her a smile, her words truly touching your heart.
“i wouldn’t wanna be here with anyone but you.”
kami just stares at you for a second. a smile building on her face. her dark brown eyes somehow get lighter, with a sparkle in them that you had never noticed before.
her hug startles you, but you laugh as her arms get tighter around you. a part of you is, however, praying that none of her makeup gets on your white jacket. a selfish thought, but you couldn’t help it.
“oh!” kami says as she pulls her attention from you onto the court. “they’re starting.”
your eyes follow where her’s have landed.
“oh.. wow.” you whisper out, eyes going wide at the sight of the women flashing toothy smiles and flexed muscles. it was only warmups, but you weren’t complaining at the sight of them in their compression shirts that had a tiger adorned on the front.
you could’ve sworn they were moving in slow motion as they made layups and smiled towards the screaming girls and guys in the student section. this was something out of a sexy r&b music video, and you swore you could’ve died and went to heaven.
a girl who was by far the shortest on the team ran to make her layup. her muscles flexed as she positioned herself to make the shot. you could see that she put a lot of work into how toned she was, even without the ball in her hand.
she had braids that twisted and turned into designs, flowing into slick backs that she had clumsily tied back with a flimsy rubber band. the flow from her quickness made the braids float off her back, and you were sure they were gonna hit someone in the face tonight.
the swoosh from the basket made your ears heat up, and you could’ve sworn that the two of you made eye contact when she ran back to her position. they were a dark brown, and they were utterly enticing.
as if things couldn’t get any better, a couple of girls behind her was a tall darkskinned woman with locs tied back into barrels.
the two girls had been somewhat of a stark contrast, but similar at the same time. one tall, one small. one clearly more feminine and one being more in touch with masculinity. the shorter one had muscles for days, the tall one was more lean, but still super fit.
she was being a showboat, that much was evident. she ran up to the basket with a huge smile on her face, quite literally laughing as she made the shot.
another swoosh.
this one winked at you, or the crowd.
it was definitely you.
“oouuu! girl!” kami says excitingly while shaking you. “i swear i’ve died and went to heaven.”
“yea,” you say breathlessly, taking note of the back of her jersey and how it read ‘udaku’. “i may come to the games more often.”
the rest of the night was filled with three pointers, arguments and technicals called for “inappropriate behavior”, and most of all, a game winner from none other than udaku. you couldn’t help but notice the little one, realizing by now that she was “williams”, pushing her after the game and saying something to her face with her eyebrows furrowed. a hand swayed her away, as the tall girl rolled her eyes and continued to walk over to the benches.
the high fiving of players from both teams was anything but friendly. smiles were only displayed onto the players faces whenever they reached the student section.
kami of course had dragged you onto the court to make sure she got her little high five in and a quick, “good job!”
you reached your hand out, mixing in with the rest of the crowd. udaku approaches you first. your eyes meet hers, and she gives out another wink as her fingers linger just a little too long when pulling away.
you weren’t crazy.
williams was right behind her, hearing the scoff that left her mouth as she watched the scenario play out. she didn’t bother displaying a smile for the fans, her anger was written all over her like an open book. for someone so small, she sure did have a lot of pent up emotion.
a part of you, one that hasn’t had sex in months, couldn’t help but wonder how she would take it out on you.
“good game.” you whisper out to her. it was like the words had escaped faster than you even thought about saying them.
she looks at you, confusion written on her face. it makes you freeze up.
“thanks.” she says back, of course with the attitude you knew she was letting fester inside of her.
kami turns to look at you. “you okay girl?”
“i’m fine.” you say a little breathless.
“don’t worry about her. she’s a senior so she takes every game super serious now. i would be too if i was trying to go to the league, but being a bitch ain’t helping nothing.” kami explains with a frown on her face. mean mugging was her speciality and she was definitely doing it right towards williams as she made her way around the court saying hello to everyone and a quick thank you.
“i’m not really taking it personal.” you say, which is an utter lie.
“perfect, cause i don’t want you to be in a bad mood.”
you make a face towards the girl beside you, “why’s that?”
“we’re going to go to the bar after this. apparently everyone is gonna be there to celebrate the win. some of the players might even show.”
oh great. hopefully it was every player but williams.
the slight breeze was whipping across your face as you took little sips of the drink kami had ordered for you.
voices filled your ears from every direction. you had literally never seen the bar so packed before. every bone in your body was screaming for you to get up and leave, go home and study. do something actually useful with your time.
however, you knew damn well if you stood up from the bar stool you weren’t going to be able to walk straight. kami was no where in sight which meant you were going to keep your ass planted in the chair.
“can i just get a water?” a voice says from beside you, pulling you away from the messed up jumble of voices.
your chin raises as you look away from the wood covered bar. of course, when they landed somewhere they land right onto the sight of williams.
she catches your eye, right as you turn your head away to shield yourself from the image of the girl.
“i already saw you looking.” she says.
your eyes shut out of embarrassment, and probably out of an attempt to push away the tipsiness.
glass hits the table, ice cubes clinging against one another. droplets of water fall out of the cup.
“i was just curious as to who was sitting beside me.” your voice comes out sounding meek.
“well, now you know.” she says.
the room isn’t silent by any means, but an awkward silence fills the tiny space between the two of you.
“you look familiar.” she says, taking a sip of her water afterwards.
a scoff escapes your lips, “i’m sure i do. you acted like i was some creature earlier.”
william’s eyes go wide, “oh shit.”
“yea, ‘oh shit.’” you roll your eyes as you repeat the words from the girl’s mouth.
she sits her glass down, turning her body in the chair to face yours. you look back at her, only to notice a sad expression on her face. it was a stark contrast to how angry she had looked all night long. despite the sad face, she still looked utterly breathtaking. baby hairs had been swooped on both sides to show off her middle part. some of the long hair fell in front of her face onto her shoulder. the rest of the long inches fell like a waterfall down her back. the nose piercing adorning her right side was glistening in the dim lighting.
“i’m–...” she takes a second to breathe, “i’m sorry. i just get so into the game that i can’t help but feel it for a while after it ends.”
your chest is filled with air.
“i get it.” you say, knowing damn well you’ve never experienced that feeling before.
“i hate to treat fans that way.”
pause.
your nose turns up at her words.
“i’m not a fan. my friend dragged me out to that game tonight.”
she laughs.
“my bad ma, i just assumed.”
“what’s the saying? ‘assuming makes an ass out of you and me.’”
she flashes a smile, showing off all thirty two pearly whites.
“right,” her hand extends out to you, “i’m riri williams.”
you look at her hand.
williams. riri. riri williams. how cute.
“i’m y/n.” you say, taking her hand in yours and shaking it.
she takes your hand and lifts it up to her lips, placing a soft kiss.
your body is filled with butterflies.
“yoooo, riri!” a foreign voice calls out to her. it was lathered in a thick wakandan accent.
riri’s voice automatically changes into one of annoyance. which is a shame, considering you had grown to like the soft one that she shared with you.
“and who is this?” says the player from earlier who had given you the wink.
“nobody, udaku.” riri says, all of the pent up annoyance seeping into the softness of her voice.
“nah, you been holding out.” she turns her body to face you, “i’ve been looking for you.”
“for me?” a curious tone lathers your words.
“yeah, listen, we gotta go. however, i definitely need your number. that’s your phone on the bar top?”
you’re stunned, “um.. yea.”
“sweet,” she says, picking up your phone. she frowns when she sees the lock. you don’t even have a second to offer to unlock your own phone before she puts it in front of your face. “perfect.”
she finds the contact app and puts hers in, issuing a swift text to herself. once she’s done, she puts the phone back, face down, onto the table.
“alright, lets go riri.” she says, patting on the smaller woman’s back.
riri rolls her eyes and gets up, placing a crisp hundred bill on the table.
“i’ll be seeing you.” she says, giving a meek smile before leaving.
your fingers instinctively reach for your phone, opening it up to see the text thread. it was a kissy face emoji.
jumping through hoops ☆ | riri & shuri x blk!fem!reader (au!basketball) pt 1 | pt 2
you already knew tonight was gonna be some bullshit whenever you had to lock in on your english paper. when you add a basketball player, a game, a kiss, and a jealous teammate, that just amplifies it.
warnings : mature themes, kissing, cursing
word count : 2.1k+
note : here's part twoooo! i already started working on part three so hopefully my posting will pick up a little bit more! hope y'all enjoy. also i did not proofread so forgive my mistakes if there are any.
“u busy?”
it was 9:26 p.m. when u received the text. raindrops were viciously pounding on a window as you attempted to finish up an english paper that you had been working on for far too long. bryson tiller blarred through kami’s apartment.
she had been cooking, and burning, the dinner for the two of you. she knew you all too well, sensing earlier in the night that you were going to be too distracted by the paper to eat anything for dinner.
you see the text pop up with a ding on your macbook, a perk you were glad to have considering your phone had been put up. your fingers go from typing away on a word document to typing back on your keyboard.
you : “not really, why?”
the sheer curiosity of why shuri had been texting you threw you for a loop. it had been a few days since the game. you didn’t bother to text her, not wanting to get thrown into a huge mess with someone during study season. especially not an athlete, that was a recipe for utter disaster.
shuri : “me neither, we should change that.”
you : “what do u propose?”
she sends you a laughing cat emoji back as a reply to your text.
shuri : “so proper. that’s cute.”
you can’t help but scoff as you see more text bubbles show up.
shuri : “wanna watch me shoot some hoops in the practice center?”
“kami, you’ll never guess who just invited me to hang out with her tonight.”
“you’re right, i won’t. so just tell a bitch!”
you giggle at your friend’s bluntness.
“shuri udaku, the basketball player.”
kami drops the spatula she was using to flip the chicken and starts bouncing up and down.
“no wayyyyy!!” she screams out, acting far more excited than you. “well, are you going to go?”
you frown, “i don’t wanna ditch out on dinner. you bought all this stuff.”
kami places a hand on her hip, “girl, i’m so sorry but if a top prospect basketball player dmed me wanting to hang out i’d have to drop everything that i was doing. even if i happened to actually be doing someone else!”
a laugh escapes your lips, causing her to smile even wider.
“so, does that mean i have permission to go?”
“yes girl!” kami says, picking the spatula back off the counter. “just promise you’ll come back and give me a rundown on everything that happened.”
“who else would i tell?” you say, typing back to shuri.
you : “okay. i’m down.”
shuri : “you know how to make a girl wait. i’m already here. parking lot is next door, lmk when you’re at the door. i’ll let you in.”
you close your laptop and grab your phone that you had put all the way at the end of the counter in an attempt to get rid of distractions. clearly, that didn’t work.
“i guess i’ll see you later!” you say to kami as you pick your keys up from the hook and close the door behind you.
“you was really gon have me waiting out in the rain?” you say to the taller girl as she opens the door with a wide smile.
“my bad, in my defense i was running over here from the locker room.” she says, clearly trying to catch her breath.
“i guess i can’t be mad with you smiling like that.”
“oh, you like when i smile?” she says, really emphasizing her smile this time.
“girl, please.” you say, with a giggle following. she steps aside, holding the door for you as you enter. she was so tall that she practically towered over you. her locs down, clearly taken out of the barrels. a nike ski rested on the top. her muscles flexed, which of course you couldn’t help but notice. her black tank leaved almost nothing to the imagination.
“cute pjs.” she says as she leads you down the hall.
your face begins to flush. you didn’t even realize what you were wearing when you had left kami’s place.
your outfit was nothing crazy, but definitely not your best outfit. just a baggy lsu shirt with some grey shorts that had strings coming off the sides. your curls were pushed back with a white headband, showing off your glassy skin and yellow starred pimple patches.
at least you didn’t have your retainer in.
“you ever been in here before?”
“nah, i don’t know many athletes.”
“you know riri though.” she says, opening up the door to the gym with her student id.
you’re met with bright lights and a wide open court. everyone’s numbers adorned the top of the entire practice facility with their media day pictures above them. your eyes linger for a second on riri’s.
“nah, i don’t know her. we only talked that one time.”
“really?” she says, grabbing a basketball off the rack. you set your keys down and sit in one of the chairs on the sidelines as she makes her way to the free throw line. “y’all seemed friendly enough?”
“do i hint some jealousy in there?”
“maybe. a girl can’t be jealous?” she says as she shoots, you can hear the swoosh of the net as it makes it in. no backboard.
“not when there’s nothing to be jealous over.” you say, watching her grab the basketball again. “besides, you don’t even know me.”
“i don’t gotta know you to know that i like you.”
“says every player ever.” you roll your eyes as she makes her way towards you.
the ball is thrown out of her hands, and your reflexes act quick. you grasp the basketball, shocking her a little.
“you be hooping? you got good reflexes.”
“not really, i played with my homeboys sometimes in highschool.”
she smiles again, “well come on. show me what you got.”
one thing about you, you loved a challenge.
you get up from your seat and dribble the basketball as you make your way to the center of the court. shuri stands across from you, matching your low stance. for the first time, you two are eye to eye.
they’re dark brown and sparkling in the bright lights that overhang between the two of you. she notices how yours got lighter, ambition running wild inside of them.
“first to five,” she says, eyes darting between you and the ball, “if i win, i get a kiss.”
you raise an eyebrow, she means business.
“and if i win?”
“i’ll get you a courtside ticket for every game.”
“even away?”
“even away.”
“make it two tickets and you got a deal.”
she laughs, “sure.”
you smile back. and then you take off down the court. shuri is caught by surprise at how fast you are, not expecting it.
the sounds of scuffles from basketball shoes follow closely behind you. you’re so close to the rim that you figure you might as well take the step back and shoot. which is exactly what you do.
shuri’s feet make it to a hard stop just in front of you, not expecting for the step back shot.
the basketball leaves your fingers in a perfect form, which surprised even you.
swoosh, nothing but net.
you can’t help but smile, looking at shuri’s surprised face.
“boom!” you yell out, making your way back to the middle of the court. shuri is already ball in hand, dribbling back over to you.
“whatever, man! that was a freebie!”
“that’s two points all i need to do is make a three and you owe me the seats.”
shuri drops the smile, looking at you like she’s about to eat you whole. your face drops in return, knowing that shit is about to get real serious real quick. shuri was a show off, yeah, but she did know how to hoop.
you figured that out real quick when she did an in between the leg dribble and a far shot from way beyond the three line.
the ball moves as if it’s in slow motion as it hits the backboard and circles around the rim.
“c’mon go in!” she yells out, and as if the ball was listening, it does.
“hell yeah!” she yells again, kissing her arm muscles in response. you roll your eyes as you pick the ball up and begin dribbling towards her.
shuri runs back over to you and suddenly youre dribbling face to face with her.
“you like that move i pulled?”
you scoff, “you mean the move that luck pulled?”
“luck still got me one point closer than you. you gon really like this move.”
“what move–”
she tips the basketball with her fingertips and it travels into her hand like a perfect instance of gravitational pull. you stand there in shock, feet not being able to move themselves to stop her.
it’s like something out of a movie the way shuri moves towards the basket. she switches lanes, moving with a quickness till she reaches the middle. she bends, then takes a jump that seems to launch her.
she dunks it.
no way.
“are you serious?!” you scream out to her, “that is so unfair you know i can’t do nothing like that!”
shuri just laughs and runs up to you.
“all’s fair in love and basketball, baby!”
next thing you know shes got her hands on your face and she’s kissing you. her lips taste like a peppermint chapstick as they crash into yours.
wide eyes turn into shut ones as your arms wrap around your shoulder and hers move simultaneously to your waist. they feel like they were molded to fit into your shape as she grabs tighter, and tighter.
normally you weren’t one to kiss on the first date, but this was one hell of an exception.
the two of you fight for dominance over one another. you could tell that shuri wasn’t expecting it, just like you weren’t expecting the dunk. she was used to running shit, but you weren’t going to be one of those things. you had to let her know that now, before she got to fucking with your heart and mind.
“so the practice court just used for kissing bitches now?” a voice tears through the makeout session.
you quickly tear away from the girl towering over you. she’s not so quick, keeping one of her hands placed right on your waist as if to assert dominance. shuri knew exactly who that voice belonged to. however, it took seeing the face to place the name onto it.
riri.
she sees your face when you pull away from shuri. an expression of regret, or maybe sadness, fills her face, replacing the angry one.
“my bad, i didn’t know it was you.” she says in almost a whisper. your ears still manage to pick up on it.
“i was, um,” you break away from shuri’s grasp and walk over to your keys. “i was just about to go actually.”
“man, ignore short stack.” shuri says, lifting her arms up and then letting them back drop down as she groans.
“oh so we calling each other names now?” riri says, walking up onto the taller girl. “do you know what coach would do if she saw you bringing a girl up in here just to do your stupid player shit?”
“coach won’t know because she not gonna see shit.”
“yeah? watch, i’ma tell her and you can kiss that starting spot goodbye for the rest of the season since you wanna be on fuck shit.”
“i’m on fuck shit? you mad and for what?!”
the two girls are practically chest to chest as they talk shit to one another. it’s hard to believe they play for the same team when they seem like rivals more than anything.
“you just had to go and do this dumb shit after what i told you! ever since you came to this team you’ve caused nothing but trouble. everyone sees it but you cause you’re too caught up in the lights and who you think you are!”
“bitch, i am who i think i am! i know you not putting up the shots i’m putting up. especially the shots i’m taking with her, since you so pussy!”
what?
you look at the two girls, who have almost completely forgotten you’re in the room, before leaving out of the doors. you can still hear them fighting as you walk away. sure, you could’ve been nosy, but that also meant being a witness to something you didn’t wanna have to deal with in the future.
“you think you can just take everything, huh? That cockiness ain’t getting you no where but the bench and flipping burgers!”
“i don’t give a fuck about none of that! you’re just mad i kissed her! shut the fuck up or do something about it!”
“fuck you, udaku! your ass never touching a court first out ever again!”
that’s all you heard echoing through the halls as you exited the building. your face is all flustered and hot, but cools down as the raindrops hit it.
jumping through hoops ☆ | riri & shuri x blk!fem!reader (au!basketball) pt 2 | pt 3
heavy conversations lead to thinking, which was already enough to add onto your busy schedule. attempting to avoid two stars was never easy, especially when they go to the same college as you. despite you wanting to stay away, you find yourself at another basketball game.
warnings : mature themes, kissing, cursing
word count : 2.5k+
note : part threeee ayeee!!! i'm trying to do better at posting but i really wanted to perfect this before i put it out. thought long and hard about where i want it to go. are y'all mad at reader yet??? trust me, it gets worse.
“i can’t believe they’re not playing udaku, man she must’ve done some crazy shit!”
“i heard she’s failing some classes.”
“with udaku benched i’m sure williams about to get some fire playing time. not complaining!”
“a insider in a discord said that it was because udaku was caught sneaking a girl into the training facility. big no no. hope it was worth the lost playing time.”
before you knew it, kami was snatching the phone from your hands. you two happened to be in the student union, your first time out of the house since the news about shuri being suspended started to spread. for some reason you felt some type of guilt, knowing damn well that at the end of the day, shuri was a grown woman and she made her decision.
she had been texting you all day and night. you sent an apology, for a reason unbeknownst to you. she said it was never going to be your fault, and if she were to blame anyone then it would be riri.
“every athlete got a bump in the road, i’m just glad it’s not a torn acl.”
man, whatever.
you knew better than to mess with something that took away from your studies. you knew better than to fuck with athletes. you knew better, so why didn’t you do better?
“if you keep scrolling through twitter you’re going to get a brain bleed. especially reading tweets about that girl’s suspension.” kami says, taking a bite out of her fry while holding your phone in the other.
“i don’t know how to stop when it’s flooded my whole feed on every app. it’s like my phone knows i did some fuck shit.”
“um!” kami quickly puts a finger to your face, “it’s not what you did. it’s what she did. sure, it sounded like one hell of a kiss. shuri knew the repercussions of getting caught and you didn’t. how can you be blamed for something that you didn’t even know a rule about? stop letting that girl get in your head.”
you lower your head into your hands.
“it’s hard to do that when she keeps wanting to see me. i keep giving her random excuses instead of just telling her i don’t want to be involved in whatever her and riri got going on.”
“then just say that.”
you raise your head again to look at your friend. she was right, you could always just be a big girl and use your words. a part of you was being selfish beyond it all though. shuri was nice to you and clearly wanted to get to know you beyond the surface. but, was it real? or were you just the basketball being dribbled in some ultimate game of riri v.s. shuri? all you knew was that right now you were right where shuri wanted you. in her palms, as she pushed you back and forth, feeling the leather brushing against her fingers.
really, all you wanted was to be one of the balls put up on one of the racks. nah, you were lying. you loved the chase, the attention of a star wanting to be all up on you. the fact that it may be fake was being shielded by the intense kiss the two of you shared. which was already a red flag considering she barely knew you.
can someone call a referee in, preferably not kami?
“you’re right, i guess i should just tell her that it’s best we don’t communicate anymore.”
kami smiles, and nods approvingly. she hands you your phone back and watches you intently as you stare at the last few messages between the two of you.
yesterday, 3:26 p.m.
shuri : “i have a game tomorrow, i hope you pull up.”
yesterday, 5:17 p.m.
shuri : “i got you the courtside tickets. one for you and your friend.”
today, 10:42 a.m.
shuri : “you been ducking? don’t worry your pretty little head about the basketball shit, fr. i don’t want it to affect what we got going on.”
just when you go to pick up your fingers to type, you feel a finger poking on the top of your shoulder. you can’t help but jump a little, scared of the sudden contact from a mysterious person.
your head lifts up to meet the eyes of the person who was attempting to grab your attention.
riri.
“hey.” she says, hands now in both of the pockets of her hoodie. she looked shy, almost embarrassed to be talking to you. which was the stark contrast to everyone else around the two of you looking too starstruck to move.
“hi?” you say back, almost as if it were a question.
“do you mind if i talk to her for a second?” riri says, turning to face kami. it amused you that she was asking your friend, and not you.
“i don’t mind if she doesn’t mind.” kami says, looking to you for a response.
“it’s fine.” you meekly say.
“i’ll meet you out front whenever you’re done. just text me.” kami says, gathering up her stuff.
“you wanna talk here?” you ask riri, noticing that her braids are out of the bun and flowing down her back.
“nah, i was in a private study room and saw you down here. we can go in there. i booked it for a couple hours.”
oh, she’s a great player and she’s a scholar.
“okay, lead the way.” you say, standing up from the chair. you reach out to grab your backpack that was hanging from the back of the chair when she stops you.
“i got it.”
riri grabs the bag with ease, despite the heavy books and laptops in it. your back had been screaming all day carrying it around to all of your classes.
“thanks.”
“it’s the least i could do, after the bullshit riri and i put you through the other day.”
you go silent, not really wanting to talk about what has already happened. however, clearly riri was taking you to the room to talk about the instance. from the way she walked, and talked, she was almost scared of you.
it was a shyness she hasn’t felt in a long time. being around you was probably the first time she wasn’t angry in a long time too. it wasn’t like she understood the effect you had, i mean you two had just met. she just had a feeling that you were too nice. too nice for shuri, too nice for her.
she takes you to a hall in the union you had never been to before.
the both of you stop in front of a door with windows along the walls that had been frosted to just barely see the inside. a student id is quickly whipped out from where she had been resting her hand in her hoodie. you get a quick look at the picture, noticing she clearly hadn’t updated it since freshman year.
“ladies first.” she says, holding the door open for you from the outside, instead of the inside like shuri did.
it was the little differences between the two girls that made your head spin.
you take a seat in the one opposite from where she was clearly working. your backpack moved from around her shoulder and onto the floor beside you. she set it down gently, as if it were a newborn.
she seemed aggressive on the court, but really riri was just as soft as any girl.
“i know you probably don’t want to talk about this,” she starts, as if she was reading your mind, “but i got some things i need to get off my chest.”
“i’m listening.”
riri leans over in the chair opposite to you, her face getting closer so that her voice travels better.
“i want to apologize for how i handled myself around shuri. not that it’s any excuse, but this is my last year to get a ring. i know how to handle a ball, schoolwork, sponsorships, everything but her.”
you raise an eyebrow, curious to see where you come into play with this speech.
“my anger gets out of control when i see her doing dumb shit. the shit she was doing with you was dumb. the shit we were both doing about you was dumb. that should’ve never been a conversation had in front of you.”
“riri, honestly, i don’t want anything to do with whatever y’all got going on. i have shuri texting me, notifications about her suspension blowing up my phone from people i don’t even follow, and then i got you pulling me away to talk about something i don’t even want to be thinking about.”
she furrows her brows, not expecting that response.
“clearly i don’t know how to handle you either.” she says, pushing one of her braids back behind her shoulder. “i don’t want to waste your time with this mess. i just wanted to let you know that i’m sorry. i’m sorry that i said that stuff in front of you, i’m sorry for what she said if she hasn’t apologized already. most of all, i’m sorry for not even acknowledging your presence. i just got so angry and sometimes i don’t know how to stop it from boiling up.”
you two sit in silence for a moment. her words came out of her like a fountain, unable to stop and they sped up with every syllable. you’re shocked you can even make out what she’s saying at the end.
“say something, please?” she looks at you with these dark puppy dog eyes, completely different from the ones she’s showed you before.
“i don’t know what to say.”
she sighs, “okay, i’ll tell you this.”
you nod your head.
“if you come to the game tonight, i’ll know you accept my apology. hopefully we can move on from this and if shuri is what you really want i won’t get in y’alls way.”
huh? get in the way? what could that even mean, considering she without a doubt is the one that got shuri benched.
“if you don’t come, then i’ll leave you alone. i’ll make sure shuri leaves you alone too. i won’t come at her crazy, i can keep it professional.”
“i’ll think about it, okay?”
a slight smile appears on her full lips, “good enough for me.”
you give her a smile back. you just can’t help it, seeing as her’s is just as contagious as shuri’s. it’s just a different kind of smile though.
for some reason you found yourself sitting in the student section. cuddling up in your skims set as you attempted to still fight off the cold in the southern air. kami wasn’t attached to your hip this time, saying that this was something you might need to think about on your own. she had given you more than enough advice, and this is where you ended up.
the game was more lively than the last one. the school was facing it’s number one rival and we were down 15 in the third quarter. halftime had just ended, a show was put on by a dog that could ride bikes as his owner directed him where to go. watching them work was the first time she smiled all night, maybe even all day.
despite the body of students you locked eyes with both girls. shuri was sitting on the bench, anticipating a hopeful return as her coach was looking for any sort of savior. riri was panting, listening in on what everyone was saying at the bench but keeping wide eyes onto you.
she smiled when she first saw you, but it’s not like you saw anything as you settled into the crowd.
riri had been putting up most of the points, shooting from anywhere and everywhere in a desperate attempt to get a lead on the team. her ball hogging shared advantages and it’s problems when one of the girls was wide open and she went for a three, completely missing it and catching a foul for the other team in the process.
“udaku, you’re lucky we’re losing,” the coach said, getting deep in shuri’s face. “get your jacket off and get the hell on that court when the whistle blows.”
and she did exactly that.
the crowd erupted as their savior ran joyfully onto the court. she blew a kiss to the student section and they roared even louder.
of course, you stood when everyone else did. however, cheering wasn’t going to fix anything that’s happened so far.
the ball is in their court. riri is playing point guard as she shuffles down the court, telling her other teammates what plays to make with her fingers and hand motions. shuri was towering over the girl beside her, attempting, and failing, to box her out.
riri, unhappily, passes the ball to shuri, who automatically makes a three from the outside.
damn, she was talented.
only down 12.
the other team fumbles, losing the ball off their foot and right into the hands of another girl. she passes it off to riri so she can reset the court. they reset it perfectly, landing another three from udaku.
by the end of the fourth quarter they pulled off a miracle, staying down up until the last five minutes. by this time both coaches had subbed players in and out. riri and shuri remained in the same positions, considering it had been working so well.
down to 5 seconds.
ball is in riri’s hand as she frantically looks around. shuri makes a hand motion, and riri knows exactly what to do.
the tinier girl barrels down the court. a player attempts to intercept, only to run straight into shuri’s strictly positioned body.
1 second.
riri lets the ball escape from her fingers, praying to whatever god there is that it makes it in the rim.
it makes it to the rim, but it rolls around. the ball had a decision to make and the entire audience goes silent.
buzzing fills the room.
then finally, the net moves as the ball makes it in.
tigers win!
the crowd erupts into cheers and everyone runs onto the court. for some reason, so do you. an inescapable smile fills your face, showing off every dimple you may have. your face finds riri’s first, and she sees you. the star player pushes past the crowd of people congratulating her and wanting to celebrate.
her arms find your waist as she hugs you from all the excitement.
you go to hug back, till youre pulled away by the waist. your eyes meet the face, and of course it’s shuri.
as if no one was in the room, she kisses you.
shit.
you can feel the eyes, the lights from the cameras flashing in your face as the two of you lock lips. what had to have been a peck turned into something long as time slowed. you couldn’t find yourself pulling away, bombarded by the environment around you. the feeling of shuri’s soft lips couldn’t even take away the feeling.
you open your eyes the minute the two of you pull away.
she smiles at you, lifting you into the air in celebration.
you can’t find it within yourself to smile, coming face to face with riri, who has disappointment written all over her face.
study buddies ☆ | riri x blk!fem!reader (marvel;ironheart)
studying really just meant sex for your and riri. this was the routine, when you texted about a study date, she knew what it really meant. something shifts though when the two of you talk about something other than sex and subtraction.
note : idk if i'm back or not yet but i wanted to post some riri. here y'all go. enjoyyy!
“you’re late.” you say to the girl who’s barely your height. your eyebrow raises and it’s very evident that you’re not amused by her tardiness.
“you know i have other clients.” she says so casually as she slips her backpack off and plops down onto your bed. her hoodie read “MIT” in bold letters on the front. her shorts had been sagging to show off the true religion boxers she had been sporting.
“oh, so i’m just a client to you now.” you roll your eyes.
“my favorite one. you’re the only one i don’t charge for my expert services.” a wide smile spreads across her face.
“get away” by the internet plays in the background of the conversation between the two of you. your jbl speaker was almost always on whenever riri was over. always on a specific playlist that you made for you and her.
you looked at the smaller girl on the bed. her dark brown eyes sparkled as the light from your window hit them in the low light. her hair was in a soft loc style, something that you didn’t always see her sporting. your eyes traveled to her lips, causing your skin to tingle as you remember how they felt suckling at your skin. then your gaze shifted to her slender fingers as she toyed with her backpack. you loved her fingers.
how did she expect you to think about coding when her fingers were so deep inside of you?
you scoff, “yea, just cause i don’t pay you in cash does not mean you don’t get paid.”
riri frowns, “i don’t consider our acts of passion as payment for my tutoring.”
“acts of passion…” you say with a smile on your face. you sit down in front of her in your chair by your desk. “you are such a nerd.”
“i’m not a nerd when you be riding me.”
“a small price to pay to pass my classes and maintain my scholarship.”
riri lays down completely on your bed, unwilling to meet your gaze. you make her feel smaller than she already is, in every way. she could have any girl on campus if she wanted. you were just the only one who didn’t actually want her in a serious manner. so to her, you stayed as a client in her mind. even if she craved for something more. it didn’t matter how many girls she fucked, you were just too special to her. her skin crawled when she thought about a rumor she had heard earlier in the week.
whispers were crying out your name, and the name of another woman. an exchange student named shuri was constantly tied to you. somehow the rumor managed to find it’s way to riri, where she wasn’t too happy to hear about how the two of you may be hooking up.
“you paying someone else too, i heard.” she says.
“excuse me?”
“don’t play dumb, everyone knows you’re with that girl in your trig class. so what, i don’t tutor good enough anymore?”
riri’s jealousy was frequent, and usually it was over nothing. however, this time the rumor did have some truth to it.
“riri, it’s not like you don’t fuck every girl on campus. i’m just another girl on your roster.”
“that’s what you think?” riri lifts herself up.
“i mean, yeah.”
“wow, okay.” riri says defeated, she knew all her sleeping around would catch up to her.
it wasn’t a shocker that you didn’t want to take her serious if this was the impression you were under.
deep down, you wanted nothing more than to be with riri. that was a stupid dream though. you knew she liked you but you also knew what kind of person she was. some part of your brain made you think of all the negatives and outcomes that weren’t even on track to come true. with you so afraid of feeling neglected and cheated on, you pushed it all down. it was easier just to be study buddies, fuck buddies.
“sooo…” you say, trying to take the attention off of the charged conversation you both just shared. “i need some help with some of these equations for my trig section eight test.”
riri rolls her eyes, “you can’t ask your bae?”
“i mean if this is how you’re gonna be then i will call her!”
“what do she got that i don’t? i know she don’t fuck you better than me.”
“i don’t know riri, she doesn’t fuck every girl on campus for one. she’s also not doing illegal shit that can get her expelled from campus and have her future ruined for forever. you’re venturing in dangerous territories riri.”
she gets off the bed and steps in front of you. you watch as she kneels on the floor, putting her arms in between your legs. her fingers fold in between one another, as if she’s praying to you. your eyes meet her’s and they look like puppy dog eyes.
“i’ll stop.”
your eyes widened, surely she wasn’t serious. you knew how much money she made off of her little side business. you also knew how much her saying she’d swear off the other girls on campus meant to you.
“don’t lie.”
“i’m not.” she says. you can feel your heart jumping as she looks into your eyes.
“you could’ve asked her for help with your trig homework.”
“i could’ve.” you say, a little breathless.
“you asked me. cause you want to fuck me. you want me.”
“do you want me?” you ask, a little breathless as she’s close to your face now.
“more than anything.”
“take me then.”
you don’t have to say it twice before riri starts kissing you. her soft lips connected with yours and you could feel the fireworks in your brain erupting. you two had kissed before, but this felt different. it felt less lustful and more loving. a love that you had never felt before as she stood, still locking lips with yours. her hands travel like snakes, knowing just where home is, as she grips your thighs. strong muscles flex as she picks you up so easily from the chair. your hands find the sides of her face, as you feign for more.
she takes your position on the chair as you sit on her lap. your legs fit her to make the two of your bodies be closer. your tongues are fighting for dominance, one hand on your ass and the other completely down your pants, playing with the hem of your leopard panties. her favorite ones to tear off.
“don’t be shy, riri.” you beg as you grow impatient.
the music changes to drake’s “hold on we’re going home” and riri can’t help but think about how ironic the song is.
“i’m taking my time with you.” she says, kissing you in between words. “i never get to just take my time with you.”
you look into her eyes, a finger caressing the top of her cheekbone.
“worry about that later.”
she smiles into your lips. then almost immediately she continues crashing her tongue into your mouth. you open up gladly, gasping from the feeling of fingers entering you.
“slid in so easy, never been this easy before.”
you moan, feeling her fingers slide in and out of you. you lift your hips out of her lap and slide back and forth, chasing the high. lips begin sucking at your neck as you can feel her tongue roll circles on your soft spot.
she thrusts in you, hard. and fast.
“riri!” you scream out as she puts in another finger, something she’d never done before.
it hurt, and shocked you. she didn’t stop what she was doing, instead she went harder and faster. the pain mixing amongst pleasure.
the room felt hot as you two attempted to conjoin two bodies into one.
note : feeling generous since y'all liked the last one, also i recommend listening to fall in love by phantogram while reading this one! :)
one party. one lingering gaze from across the room. one trip to the hallway upstairs. one hand gently caressing your face. one hand harshly grabbing your waist. one set of lips placed onto yours. one set of butterflies as she kissed you ever so fervently.
one night with riri taking out your frustrations on each other was all you needed to dissolve the academic rivalry the two of you shared. who knew anger could be so passionate?
she was swallowing your soul with every kiss, and who were you to deny her of it? sure, you were mad she made the highest score on the calc test. but you, you were winning right now in this moment. the fact you got an a- didn’t mean shit when she was dragging her fingertips along the side of your neck, turning your head to the side so she could sink her canines into it.
you yelp, in pain. in pleasure.
you can feel the way her lips turn into a devilish smile at the noise you make. this is just another way that riri has bested you. only this time, you’re not complaining about it. she liked that this was all it took for you to finally shut your smart mouth. not that she ever grew tired of hearing it. especially when it sounded so pretty like this.
you were falling right into her trap. just like how you did when she first introduced herself to you. she had a plan for you, a plan just like how this night was going. however, your smarts and competitive obsession was putting a damper in it.
riri’s crush grew into a feeling more than just hating you.
yes, she hated the way you scored better than her on some tests. or, how you would beat her in class by answering a question that the professor had asked. hell, riri even hated the way you would put your lips on the top of your pen when she knew you didn’t understand something for once.
she hated it because it distracted her from the lesson.
she hated it because it made her wonder how soft your lips were.
only now, she didn’t need to wonder anymore.
your hands searched for open skin desperately as she continued suckling on your neck. her lips move closer to your ear, leaving a trail along the way. one of her hands is still holding your head to the side, the other grasping at any part of your body that she could feel.
“i hate you.” you say to her, voice filled with venom. the air around you is sucked through your teeth as she bites down hard onto your neck. only picking up her mouth when she feels like she’s had enough.
“you love me.” she says, looking into your eyes. your’s are filled with hate, and lust. her’s are filled with desire, and wanting.
her fingers travel under your dress, lifting the ruffled fabric up ever so slightly. soft fingertips touch the skin of your inner thighs, making your whole body tingle. you could feel the pressure of her two fingers pressing on your heat. a moan escapes from your lips, you just can’t help yourself when it comes to her.
“you wouldn’t be this wet if you didn’t.” a smile can be heard in her voice as she whispers it into your ear.
you take your hands and place them on her face, pulling her to put her face right in front of yours. her fingers are still rubbing you back and forth, causing you to fight noises that are clawing their way out of your lips.
“i fucking hate you, riri williams.” you whisper out to her, a smile forming on your face. her once accomplished expression turns into a frown before her lips crash violently into yours.
your tongues can’t get enough as they dance around in one another’s mouth. her fingers search their way for the entrance into you. you moan out as they begin thrusting in and out of you so expertly. She placed her knee between your legs to make sure they stayed spread out in front of you.
“don’t be afraid to get louder. i want everyone to know i won.” she says in between kisses. you don’t have it in you to fight her smart comment. instead, you get louder with each thrust and tongue swirl. the music in the background from the party is almost drowning you out, but riri can still hear you. she swears she could set her sights on you and see nothing else, hear nothing else but that sweet, pathetic, little voice of yours as you beg her for more, faster, harder.
that’s exactly what she does, going harder, faster, and brushing her lips across every exposed piece of skin.
“you’re so fucking wet.” she says to you, hearing the way your body is reacting to her fingers coming in and out of you. she could only dream in her sexed out haze what it would be like to actually fuck you. this was good, but it wasn’t good enough for riri. nothing ever was, but you just might be.
“come on baby, let it all out for me.”
teeth connect back onto your neck.
your hands grip her waist.
she goes in and out, in and out, in and out.
until finally, you cry out for her. your body leaving her fingers a sticky mess and your thighs covered in slick. your mind could think of nothing more than riri as she disconnected from you, but not before leaving tiny kisses onto your head as you slumped onto the wall.
“good luck on the calc exam tomorrow.” she whispers into your ears before licking her fingers and walking off back into the party.
you were too busy letting her fuck you that you didn’t even think about the time.
it was too late to study, too late to do anything but sleep.
fuck. you were going to fail and riri was going to win again.
for some reason, you weren’t too mad about it. because if you did fail, she could come over and make it all better again.
eternal eclipse ☆ | drolta x fem!reader (castlevania;nocturne)
to share only night together was not enough, only an eternity could quench your thirst for drolta.
warnings : talk of death, kissing, vampire stuff
word count : 1.5k+
note : soooo, it's been a while since i've posted any fanfic. not gonna lie life been really kicking ass and i struggled to write for my normal shuri stuff cause i lost my fixation. but i hope this little niche fanfic finds those who enjoy it :)
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p.s. i recommend listening to "no ordinary love" by sade :)
"why don't you ever stay the night?"
"i stay every night." drolta says to you, licking her lips and recalling the fresh taste of your magnificent blood.
"or rather, morning." you whisper out, finding yourself a little too frail to sit up all the way. your dress falls as you sit up slightly. an exposed bite causing blood to run down your chest. drolta watched through pink eyes. the dark surrounding them was something so hypnotizing that you always found yourself falling into it. it was like some kind of inviting abyss.
"mortals and their silly questions. how you grovel for my touch and teeth among your skin is ever so amusing."
"i grow older drolta!" you weakly yell out to her. this grabs her attention, not once have you ever yelled at the higher powered being. you shed a single tear, letting out a sigh of utter desperation. "i age with every sunrise and dawn. my bones grow weaker and some day you will come to see me only to find an old woman in my place. i know i am young now, but i've aged over the last couple years and nothing about you changes. you're still as beautiful as the day we met and you will forever remain this way."
drolta's eyes drop away from yours, taking in your words of anguish. she knew you were right, because she'd have other companions before. she had bed women and men far before you were ever born. she'd watch them go and come, their children or grandchildren sometimes even becoming her next fling. it was a cycle she had grown oddly accustomed to, not feeling any certain emotion for one or the next. she liked the fact that she aged and grew more powerful in the search of the vessel for her goddess while others perished. it made her feel the power she knew she had within her.
your hand finds her exposed arm. she turns to look at you.
"drolta, i envy that some day i will be too old for you and yet someone will be just young enough. it is not fair that you help me to discover such deep emotions. not ever will i feel for someone the way i feel for you. all this feeling, just for it to one day end once i can no longer serve you."
"there have been some before you and there will be many after you. i am a soul that walks this earth with no true claim anymore. you have a purpose, and warm blood to keep you living in the way your story speaks."
"what if my story is simply for me to serve you? i want to be your companion in this feeble mortal life that i share with my human counterparts. then, have that companionship follow into a new world my soul can not comprehend. i do not want to age among the rest, i want to have a face that is young but a mind that is aged by love. your love."
drolta had heard many a confession, but this one did something different to her. she swore that if she had a heartbeat she could feel it perhaps skip a beat.
"do you know exactly what it is that you're asking of me? what that means to be my partner eternally?" drolta asks, clearly enticed by the idea.
"i don't now what all it means, but i'd have an eternity to learn. i want to devour the sunlight with you, devour the world alongside you. what if i am the vessel that you desire?"
drolta's pink eyes lock onto your dark ones. for the first time she thinks she can feel a devotion to someone other than her goddess. or, perhaps, for her goddess in a new twisted discovery. this shocks her, renders her unable to think properly. she had spent so long devoting her life to a woman that she didn't know what it meant to have true devotion back. her body tingled, and her pink hair began to flame up from the idea.
you were the vessel for her messiah.
"you will devour the sun, me alongside you. first, i shall devour you."
the word devour sent chills through your body.
she extends a hand out to you. you gracefully accept the invite. she uses her enhanced strength to pull you up, your warm body next to her cold one as she spreads out her wings. the two of your exit out of the french doors and onto the balcony that your family's wealth had graciously provided for you. it was where you first met drolta.
her wings flap and for the first time you find yourself floating in the air. your eyes grow wide and a childlike smile spreads across your face. drolta gives you a devilish smile in return.
oh, to be in love with something so unholy as she.
no angel could ever look this beautiful.
"romantic, isn't it?" she asks, licking over the neck wound. it sends you into a euphoria, as your blood sends her into a similar one. you can feel the heat from her inflamed pink hair grazing your skin.
"i love you, drolta."
your lips find hers as you're both suspended in the air over a lake. your eyes are closed but you can still see the pink hues from among your eyelids. as if you were stuck in a trance, she kisses you harder and faster. you can taste your own blood in her mouth, ever so addicting. now you can see why she can't seem to leave you alone.
a moan escapes from inside of you, one out of the millions drolta had heard before. she had come to see you every night since you met, which was three years ago. some nights she'd stay for a chat or a simple couple of minutes. others she would ravage you and drink you almost dry just to do it again the next night.
"take me!" you beg to her, causing her flame to grow bigger and eyes to grow wider. god, how she craved your mortal being. your naivety and free outlook. anyone else feared death, and yet you welcomed it, knowing the transformation may not even work with how powerful drolta's blood truly was. she had turned others before. you were just the first in a very long time.
she stops her feverish and hungered kisses, diving for your neck. sharp teeth overtake you, a pain echoing from your neck to the rest of your body. it was a familiar pain, but it never got any easier to get accustomed to. you welcomed the pain and the feeling of being drained entirely. you enjoyed the feeling of her tongue sweeping over the blood seeping from your neck. just as you loved the way her tongue swept over your feminine autonomy. the devil was draining you and you desired it to never end.
it didn't matter that you were losing the color in your body. nothing mattered anymore. as you could feel your life force being drained from your very being. she was bringing you death, but she was also bringing you to a new life. an eternal one.
your hand fell from her neck, losing all of its feeling. drolta senses that you're near the end and rips her teeth away from you, finding it hard to control herself. your blood was unlike any other that she'd ever tasted. it was blood good enough to compare to the likes of her messiah.
the moonlight shone on the two of you, bouncing off of the tiny ripples that existed among the waters below you. it was beautiful, a perfect end to a beginning. your eyes closing slightly, drolta being the last thing you see. she was smiling at you, but not out of love, more out of accomplishment.
"drink." the words slither out of her mouth. she rips into her own wrist, causing a new blood to seep from within her.
surprised in yourself, you don't waste any time reaching fervently for the blood of your lover. your mouth clings onto her wrist and suckles in any blood she can spare for you. your eyes are closed as you fall into a bliss. her moans filled your ears every so pleasantly.
she pulls you away from her wrist, knowing that if you get any more you may kill her.
when she sees your face again it is still the same shade she's always adorned. yet, your eyes are different this time. no longer a dark brown, but a light one, almost a shade of gold. it reminds her of egypt.
it reminds her of sekhmet.
your fangs are dripping with her blood.
"my bringer of death!" she shouts out to you. you don't register what she's saying due to the unfamiliar new being you seem to find yourself as.
her lips once again collide with yours. there's a newfound hunger shared between the two of you. something much deeper than anything ever felt before. drolta did not know what it meant to love, you did. yet, somehow this seemed like something so unfamiliar to the both of you. was it lust? or was it something much deeper that transcends both vampire and human?
it didn't matter, as the two of you kissed deeply and passionately in the air above the lake. the sight so beautiful that even the sun not dared to come up in fear of interrupting the moment. for a second, it seemed as if the night would be eternal, just you and drolta suspended in the air for an eternity.
an eternity you were sure to bring, as the vessel for the new messiah.
love at first sight was something everyone believed in. for wakandans, it was something entirely different. it was the belief that bast had created lines to connect each human to their perfect fit. shuri believed that you were the end of that line for her.
warnings : some fighting mentioned, mature themes, and cursing.
word count : 6.2k+
note : i would play the song right when the word "she" is highlighted. :) also this is the largest fic i've ever written so yayyy
song : un-thinkable (i'm ready) by alicia keys ft. drake
"shuri?" a voice peeks through shuri's daydreaming. when the princess looks slightly down to her left she sees riri speaking to her.
"are you even paying attention to the tour?"
"yes, of course i am." shuri says in a tone that sounds almost as if she were offended that riri would even ask such a question. even though she did in fact have her attention elsewhere.
"don't front. what do you see that's so important?"
riri follows shuri's eyesight across the quad, until it lands on you. her face lights up and her eyes widen.
of course. she thinks as she watches you in a world entirely of your own. your airpod maxes had been on and you were stuck in a studying session. your braided hair was tied back into a long ponytail, keeping the strands from falling in your face. riri could see even from afar that you were wearing very little makeup. your natural face was the one she preferred, and it was one shuri quickly grew attached to. you were in spandex shorts and a red hoodie that proudly repped MIT in white lettering.
"no."
shuri looks back over to riri, "what?"
"i said no. you're not going to get anywhere with her. no one has. not even i could crack that code." riri mumbles out, clearly butthurt.
"so, i'm hearing that you two know each other."
riri rolls her eyes, "yeah, we're friends. i tutored her last year."
"will you introduce me?"
"no."
"the dean said meeting fellow students would be a good idea. y'know, so i can be more accustomed."
"the dean ain't here though, is she?"
"oh don't be like that."
riri grumbles. she assumes that it can't hurt to introduce the two of you. it's not like any of the other generational wealth kids impressed you. however, a princess with panther powers just might do the trick.
"fine. you get five minutes."
shuri smiles and begins making her way towards you. with every step she noticed how much more beautiful you got. she also happened to notice how her heart would be tugged on, as if being pulled along on a string by you. you reminded her of the beauty she found in wakanda. with your rich skin and dark brown eyes, she couldn't help but notice you.
shadows of figures fall over your textbooks as you were reading over a line about quantum physics. annoyance began to bubble up, considering you had to have all of this material memorized by tomorrow afternoon for a test.
your eyes raise to meet the people causing the shadows, ready to ask them exactly what it was that they needed. that is, until you see riri, and a face you've only ever known in the news. your hands quickly find their way to your headphones, slipping them around your neck.
"hey y/n." riri says so casually that it shocks you. did she not know who was standing right beside her?
"uh, hey riri."
riri does her silly smile that she does every time you say her name. you knew she was utterly smitten with you, but you also knew that your friendship to her mattered more than anything.
"hi y/n." shuri says with a sultry wakandan accent. riri knew that wasn't how she usually talked, all sexy like that. a swift elbow was placed into shuri's side. due to her panther powers she could barely feel it.
"are you who i think you are?" you can't help but ask, struggling to pick your jaw up from the floor. shuri was someone you would say you looked up to. politics was something you were extremely interested in and watching her on tv speak about wakanda inspired you deeply. you wished so badly to visit wakanda since they opened up their borders, but their policy on foreigners remained the same. they were not to enter unless absolutely necessary. riri was only granted access because of her and shuri's close friendship, that riri never thought to mention until now.
she laughs, which makes your eyes light up. riri notices and figures it's just because you're starstruck. that's what you assume too, but it doesn't feel like that.
"yeah, this is the princess of wakanda, shuri." riri says as she rolls her dark brown eyes, "enough about her though," she slides next to you on the bench. "what are you studying?"
"i'm trying to study quantum physics right now. which is proving to be practically impossible." you say with a heavy sigh. at this rate you were doomed.
"oh, that's real easy baby. i can help you with it later tonight if you want." riri says as her eyes rake over the material in the book.
"very funny riri."
"no, i'm serious. i'm holding a little study session later for shuri to meet some friends. i know you don't hang out with my crew all like that but you're welcome to join."
the invite is enticing.
"i happen to know a decent amount of quantum physics myself." shuri says with a charming smile, "i can help you if you need it."
now the invite seems even more enticing.
"i mean, i guess. as long as we actually study. last time you had a 'study session' we all ended up high."
riri puts her arm around your shoulder, "yeah, but you passed that test the next morning, didn't you?"
a smile can't help but make its way across your face, "yeah, that's true."
"mhm, i thought so."
"shouldn't you be off giving the princess a tour?"
"shuri." the wakandan says.
"hm?" you ask, your eyes torn away from riri.
"you can just call me shuri." she says, "no need for formalities."
"oh, okay. shuri." you say, testing how her name sounds against your tongue. it feels natural and comfortable. shuri would be lying if she said her heart didn't flutter.
riri's eyes shift back and forth as they watch you and shuri.
"ookayyy. yeah, it's time for us to go shuri." riri speaks as she gets up from her spot next to you. she walks back over to shuri, who is still gazing at you. "see you later y/n."
"bye girls." you say as you watch them walk away. riri is saying something to shuri with a weird look on her face, but you can't tell what it is. you're just surprised you kept your cool in shuri's company.
then almost as if by clockwork, your phone begins to ring. you stare at the name on the screen and a sigh leaves you. of course he's calling.
"y/n is here!" riri shouts to the rest of the guests in the room. the couch had been filled with the couple guests riri had waiting in her living room. you thought this was going to be a small gathering, which granted it was. six people, including yourself, wasn't even all that bad. you just felt like you weren't going to actually study tonight after seeing them all. also, you were the only one with a school book in your hand. you weren't surprised to see a few people you knew, with the exception of one girl who had been in the kitchen with shuri.
you set the book onto the table as you take a seat on a beanbag. you notice the girl you're unfamiliar with is hanging onto shuri in the kitchen, keeping her preoccupied with conversation. however, when she feels a gaze lingering on her she's not shocked to see that it's yours. despite how fast you looked away, she knew you were staring.
"you want a hit?" a girl you recognize as karly says before extending her arm out to you. you can't help but look at riri, who just shrugs at you.
"sure." it can't hurt to relax if everyone else was. besides, this might be exactly what you needed. if you took a break from studying maybe you'd do better on the test type deal.
you take a hit of the blunt, making sure to show off how much experience you have with one. it felt good as it scratched the back of your throat. it took you some time to get used to the feeling. now you could successfully take in large amounts without coughing your guts out.
"we got a pro over there." riri says with a smirk on her face. she moves closer to you and sits on the floor. you pass her the blunt and she takes a hit equivalent to yours.
"with the amount of times you persuade me to smoke with you i should be a pro by now."
she laughs at your remark and passes the blunt onto someone else.
shuri makes her way into the room after watching the conversation for a while. you could tell from her eyes that she had already had the blunt a couple times. you wondered how she looked as she smoked. she takes a spot on a chair opposite of the beanbag.
"ri, so you ain't gonna update us on you and justice? i saw you sneak back into the apartments with her. it's almost like you forget that just because you stay in the bougie ass campus apartments means we can't spy on you."
"she not important."
"mhm, not like how y/n is."
riri narrows her eyes at her friends.
you laugh though, the weed taking your edge off. "i don't think my boyfriend would like that very much."
the whole room's eyes are now on you. your smile slowly dissipates from your face and your eyes go wide when you realize what you've said.
"boyfriend? since when the fuck do you have a boyfriend?" riri asks, a bit hurt that you never bothered to tell her this information.
"since my senior year of high school. he goes to a different school out of state." you say this so matter of factly. you weren't lying, you did have a boyfriend. he did also attend an out of state school. he was studying computer engineering. he was pissed when he didn't get into MIT and you did. he viewed it as an insult to his intelligence. that should've been one of your first of many red flags. you two talked at max five times a day. any more than that would just be a headache. two busy schedules don't mix well, especially when sometimes you're filling up your schedule just to make sure you had a solid excuse for missed calls.
"you didn't think that was important to tell us? no wonder someone hasn't been walking on campus bragging about how they nailed you." jacari says, a mutual friends of your's and riri's.
"lay off, at least she's faithful." karly says, staring daggers at him.
"i mean, you guys don't really ask me about my romantic life because you assumed there wasn't one."
"is there one? if he's out of state i'm sure that's hard to deal with." shuri can't help but say. the entire room turns to look at her, surprised she's asked such a question like that. she barely knew you. the one fact that she now did know about you was that you had a boyfriend that you didn't like to bring up. that was something she wasn't hoping to learn at all.
"yes, i have a very happy relationship with him." you say, knowing it's a lie. why are you lying? are you still trying to convince yourself? just today when he called you as you studied you argued with him. he wanted to stay where he was at for spring break and you wanted him to come visit you. it was months away, but you had to plan these things in advance with him. he never came to see you anymore. just this past christmas he lied saying he couldn't get out of his internship, but instead he was at his mother's house opening presents as she asked where you were.
you should have broken up with him by now. however, he was comfortable for you. did you really have the time to get to know someone entirely new? did you want to relearn someone's favorite color, zodiac sign, dreams, and goals? granted, there were plenty of choices in front of you that you already knew. such as riri, who you could see yourself being with. however, you prized her friendship so much more.
"that was intrusive, forgive me." shuri apologizes. her thick accent making your skin crawl.
"it's okay.." you mutter out.
"what's his name?" she asks, desperate to get any more information out of you. really, she just likes to hear your voice.
"monty." you say, his nickname rolling so easily off of your tongue, "i mean, his real name is montell. i call him monty."
"he sounds nerdy as fuck." riri can't help but say out of her own saltiness.
"i mean, he is."
"oh my god, so when was the last time you had an orgasm?" the mystery girl can't help but ask.
now this was a question shuri was interested in.
"i don't know. the beginning of this past summer." you wouldn't dare tell them that it had been one you pulled out of yourself.
"sis, you're kidding." jacari says, shocked at how long it had been. "y'all don't have phone sex?"
not even once.
"nah, it just never comes up for us." you try to say in a nonchalant manner, as if it doesn't bother you how you don't get turned on for him anymore. as if you ever did.
"that sounds miserable."
"it is." you can't lie as you laugh, "i've been itching to have sex for a while now. guess it'll just have to wait."
"whew, you're better than i am. i would've fucked half the campus by now if i were you." jacari continues on before taking a hit.
the conversation ends abruptly when riri's roommate comes out of her room and towards you.
"i need my beanbag please." she says, standing right over you. "i'm about to start studying and i'd rather not do it on my bed."
it takes a second to realize what she's saying to you through your high.
"yeah, of course." you say as you get up, pulling the chair from beside you and handing it to her.
"thanks." she says kindly, and then glares at riri. she goes back into her room, leaving you to stand.
"that bitch is always tripping. she didn't need her damn chair. she's just mad i have people over." riri says as she glares towards the door.
shuri notices you're standing and her mouth begins to speak before she can stop herself.
"do you want to sit in my lap? it's probably more comfortable than the floor." shuri offers up, everyone looking at her with wide eyes. it was a bold move that she was practically flirting with you despite finding out you have a boyfriend. also, after insulting the said relationship between the two of you.
of course, you didn't pick up on how charged that question really was. you were naturally oblivious to that stuff.
"yeah, okay. thanks." you say as you sit on her lap, or more specifically her knee. your spandex shorts made it so that practically every inch of your exposed skin was touching with hers, considering she had on shorts as well. you could tell they were riri's.
maybe it was the weed, or maybe it was the lack of sexual release. all you knew was that it felt damn good to have yourself pressed up against her knee. it was like she was teasing you, without even having to do it on purpose. you felt embarrassed as you felt yourself pulse from the closeness and how wonderful it felt. you attempted to get up, scared that she might know how you were feeling. however, her arm quickly found its way around your waist as she held you down onto her lap. your skin covered itself with goosebumps from the dominating grab. it was hard to act like you were interested in whatever conversation riri and her friends had been having with one another. shuri, on the other hand, had no problem continuing in the conversation as she felt how warm you were.
really shuri had not noticed just how bold her movements were. she had this want to protect you, as if you were hers. she wondered if it was because of her panther powers. however, she also wondered if it was something more. the reality that you had a boyfriend kept her from doing anything unwanted. she didn't know the way you felt towards her, if you had any feelings at all. if she couldn't get to know you in a romantic way then a friendly manner would have to do. even if she would ache for something more despite just meeting you this afternoon. shuri recalled a moment with her brother earlier in her life that left her thinking for the rest of the day after meeting you.
"when did you know nakia was the one for you, brother?"
he chuckles, "when i saw her."
shuri couldn't believe it, "what kind of hopeless romantic answer is that?"
"exactly what i just said. bast created soul ties underneath the rich vibranium soils that our eyes are unable to see. even us panthers can not view where the lines lead us. however, we can see when they have reached their destination. when you see that person, you just know that this is where your line ends. you know that bast made you for one another. you also know that you no longer need to search for that line."
"is there a chance that bast would forget to create a line for me? or at least, in the same way she created nakia's to you?" shuri began to wonder, scared because when she was young she didn't know where her sexuality laid.
"oh sweet little sister," he sighs, "bast would never forget to make you a person. after all, your annoying tendencies were made for someone to love."
"ugh, you suck!" shuri says, a wide smile on her face as she playfully hits her brother. he just smiles in return.
shuri believed that she saw the soul tie that connected to you. an american girl who she had never seen before. her brother was gone, but he was right.
your phone that is sitting in your lap starts to buzz, interrupting your train of thought as you attempt to uphold your composure and try not to seem too high. you squint your eyes at the bright screen.
"hi monty." you answer the phone, buzzed enough to sound happy that he's called. shuri watches the phone out of the corner of her eye. she's too curious to see what her competition looks like. he's sun kissed and has a buzz cut. he looked just as nerdy as his name sounded.
"where are you at?" he asks, not greeting her back.
"i'm at riri's."
shuri watches as his face turns into one of disgust. "i thought i told you to stop going over there. all she ever does is get you high."
riri is far too buzzed and in her own world to realize what he's said. shuri heard it though, and furrowed her brows.
"getting high is my own choice, monty. i know you get high with your frat bros in north carolina."
"it's different."
no it isn't.
"wait a minute, are you sitting on some other dude's lap?" he asks, as all he can see is shuri's curly hair.
"no, this is shuri. like the princess of wakanda shuri." you whisper that last part into the phone. it shows just how truly geeked you are.
"you're lying. that's a fucking dude."
before you can say anything, shuri takes the phone from you and puts it on her own face. you watch as monty's face goes wide and for once he has nothing to say.
"hello montell."
"oh, um. i-i'm sorry, princess." monty is scrambling to find the words and shuri can tell he wants to hang up. he always hated to be embarrassed. being embarrassed by royalty was the lowest it could get.
you take the phone back before he gets the chance to hang up, "wait, monty, what were you calling for?"
"well, i thought about what you were saying earlier. i'll come home for spring break. i miss you baby."
his voice sounded so insincere and shuri cringed at it. this was the man who got to claim you as his own? you had a beauty unrivaled and here you were wasting it on some man who couldn't even seem excited about seeing you. she felt offended for you, even though you were use to this by now.
"really? what made you change your mind?"
"i don't know. i guess i'll see you over break though. we can talk more about this at another time."
you knew what he meant by this.
"i'm not out partying, monty."
"you are. at least be a responsible adult and get up for your classes tomorrow. bye."
"bye." you say back, unwilling to fight.
when he hangs the phone up you realize the everyone is looking at you. your face heats up from noticing that everyone probably witnessed that entire exchange. of course they caught him on a night where he was being a dick. it was pretty much every night, so this did make your case to defend him a little harder. you didn't want to get up from shuri's knee considering it felt so nice up against you. however, you also didn't want to hear any comments from the gallery.
"i'm going to go home." you say, pulling yourself into sobriety after that conversation. "hope you all have a good night."
shuri lets you up from her lap. she feels bad you're walking home but it's not like you've never done it before. the heat you resonated leaves her feeling cold when you stand away from her. everything inside of her is screaming for her to grab you back into her arms and keep you there. a part of you wanted that too, but it was unrecognizable.
riri hands you the physics book on the table. "get home safe, y/n."
"i always do."
you got home safe that night. you also searched for an orgasm multiple times that night as you recalled how good you felt against her. you replicated her knee with a pillow and held on tight to yourself with your free hand. you tried so desperately to think of monty as you rocked against it. however, nothing worked. all you could do was imagine your head placed in the crook of the princess's neck, smelling her enticing cologne. you could hear her wakandan accent telling you how good you were doing and how badly she craved you. they were all words that monty could never say to you. they were words you searched so bad for because you ached for her praise. only when you moaned out her name as you finished made you so self aware to what you had been doing. this made you dig your head into your pillow, still heaving from the high.
what you did weighed heavy on your conscience. especially when you had been practically spending every day with shuri. she was basically attached to your hip. she joined your study sessions, she came with you to try american cuisine, her favorite being wingstop for some strange reason, and she even waited for you after every class. she was your best friend, making riri fall into second place.
at one point a rumor had been going around campus that the two of you were in a relationship, despite the fact you had a boyfriend. after all, who could deny a princess of the most powerful and advanced nation in the world? you could deny her as much as you wanted. however, you knew deep down that you couldn't do it for long. you didn't know how much longer you'd keep stringing monty and yourself along. commitment was something you were scared of. commitment to a future leader of a nation was something entirely different. what if you had decided to dump monty for a potential happy relationship with shuri? what would happen if it ended? you'd rather not think of all the possibilities, instead you preferred self sabotage. you appreciated shuri so dearly, in the a.m. and in the p.m. when you would finish to thoughts of her. whether it be how she played with your hair when she got bored, how she laughed so sweetly at your jokes, or how she constantly had her hand in yours or on your waist. you knew friends didn't do that. you knew that she also knew that.
the more time you spent with shuri meant the more time you spent ignoring monty. he saw paparazzi pictures that his friends would show him of the two of you together. he felt some type of way of course, blowing up your phone with "she might as well be your boyfriend the way she's touching on you." your only response being a swift "okay" and an "i'm sorry." you weren't sure how else to respond to him, knowing that you were cheating emotionally and even somewhat physically. you imagined that monty couldn't have stayed loyal to you with the lying he did. so what did it matter if you told a couple white lies too?
you didn't even realize that at one point whenever you brought him up you'd start referring to him again as his birth name, montell.
"montell?" you can't help but ask in surprise as you open the door to your dorm.
"surprise!" he says with the most emotion you've heard out of him in weeks. a bouquet of flowers are in his large hands. a nice turtleneck adorned his chest, which had gotten bigger. he must've been putting his frustration into working out. "you back to calling me by my birth name?"
he pushes his way into the dorm, looking around at your space that you shared with your roommate who had been out of town.
"um, you're early. a week early." you express to him, rubbing your forehead. you weren't prepared for his arrival in the slightest. your hair had been pulled into a bun and your face was bare. you adorned some grey sweatpants that did not belong to you. shuri had left them here the last time she slept over. she claimed it was "too warm" in the room to wear such pants. instead she wore a pair of your shorts that you never got back.
"you weren't going to tell me that your spring break started a week earlier than mine? i just decided to do my coursework ahead of time and then surprise you."
"honestly it slipped my mind." you say, which was the truth.
he sets the bouquet down.
"you look pretty." he says as he gets closer to you. his hands grab your waist, pulling you in and looking at you as if he wanted to devour you. it was almost as if he had forgotten how pretty you were. or maybe he was just jealous, because he knew the pants were too big for you.
you wanted to pull away, not wanting to kiss him despite thinking that you had been missing him all this time.
"not right now, i kinda just woke up." you say, which was a lie. it was eight p.m. on a rainy night. you could never sleep when it rained.
"okay, i guess later then when we go out to dinner. you looked like you were expecting somebody though with the way you opened up the door. is it that stupid princess you've been hanging around?"
there was the montell you were used to. a jealous, insecure, fucking man child.
"no." you say, a lie. your face scrunches up in disgust that he would refer to her in that tone.
he knows you're lying.
"okay. so if i wait up around in here she's not gonna show up?"
"i don't know. i can't control what she does."
"bullshit. you've got her walking around behind you like you're the one who's royalty. call her."
what?
"no."
"i said, fucking call her."
before you can say anything he's attempting to grab your phone. you put up a good fight, causing the phone to get launched right into his face. you gasp when you've realized what you did. instant regret fills your body as you spurt out countless apologizes.
"it would've been better if you just fucked her, y/n. cause then i could confidently say i don't give a fuck about you and finally tell you about all the girls i've been nailing since i went away. heh, just like how you've been. guess we finally have something in common."
your eyes go wide at his words. there it was. there was the truth that you had been begging to hear in some deep part of your brain. those were the words that could allow you to finally let him go. this was the moment you decided that you weren't okay with being 'comfortable' anymore. you were utterly repulsed at him and yourself for letting this go on for so long. for months you refused to act on impulses that you craved so badly to have. your lip trembled when you thought about how you could've kissed shuri ten times over by now. you had been holding onto something that you didn't realize had no real value to you anymore. and for what? to be treated like some idiot? you didn't deserve that.
"get the fuck out. you should've never come home."
"yeah i should've stayed with my other girlfriend. at least she doesn't flaunt herself around with other people in fucking tabloids. it's embarrassing you know that? when your buddies send you links of some bitch having her arm wrapped around your girlfriend? they teased me about it in my frat for weeks after she got caught playing in your hair and looking so lovey dovey with you. they called me a pussy for not coming back home sooner."
"so that's why you came back? to prove yourself to some idiot frat boys who are gonna be stuck drinking out of kegs the rest of their life while you write all their code, making them the millionaires? get the fuck out montell."
"you bitch-"
"i said leave."
you don't have to tell him again before he's grabbing up his roses and muttering curse words at you under his breath. you held your composure until he slammed the door shut. when surrounded in your own hospitality you finally crack. the tears fall down your face and plop as they hit the wooden floor. you were crying because you were upset about losing someone you loved. you were crying because you had let yourself be played for a fool for so long. a part of you feels liberated as the weight of montell is lifted off of your shoulders.
"y/n?" a voice says from behind the door. you recognize it's shuri.
attempting to speak only results in you being choked up. the door opens as you raise your head to look up at her.
her grey hoodie that says MIT has raindrops all over it. her curls are wet and drip against the wood floors. she looked beautiful despite being soaked. the fact she looked so beautiful made you cry even more.
when she lays her eyes on you she can't help but immediately rush over. she drops the books about physics she had in her hand. she had every intention on coming over here to study with you, but now she didn't care about any of that. she had never seen you like this before. her only priority was you. her heart was set solely on you.
"what happened?" she asks, her arms wrapped around your body as you huddled into yourself. you don't dare to look at her, feeling too ashamed.
"montell.. i'm so stupid." you manage to choke out.
shuri puts it all together. she thought that man she had passed in the hallway just now looked familiar. she knew even more that something was up when he gave her a glare that could've had him killed. had she known he left you like this, she would've killed him herself. how dare he cause such pain to someone who did nothing but care for others?
"whatever happened, you are not stupid. you are one of the brightest girls i know, and that's saying a lot."
you somehow manage to laugh and look back up at her. she's still holding on tight, making you feel warm in her embrace. it reminds you of the study session at riri's. it feels pure. it feels like you're the only person in the world to her.
she wipes away your tears with the pads of her thumbs, her eyebrows contorted into a face that resembles worry.
"please don't cry. you are too pretty to cry over such ugly things. i hate to see you cry."
you think that this is exactly how love is supposed to feel as she says those words to you.
"shuri.."
"y/n. you make me feel things that i've never felt before. you're something that is so impossible to ignore that i can't help but spend every second with you. you put up with my annoying tendencies. you put up with my clinginess. you put up with my lack of american pop culture knowledge. you denied me my feelings because you knew it was the wrong thing to do if you fell into my temptation. i know you know deep down how i feel for you. it is quite obvious. you are an angel among men, y/n. you are my angel. you've saved me in ways that you can't even begin to think of. i never had any intentions on falling in love with you, but it has happened. you may not be in love with me but you are what makes my world spin. you are what makes my oceans flow and earth quake. you are exactly who bast intended me for and i can't ignore this anymore. i can't let you sit here and think you are foolish when you are anything but. you are considerate, you are kind, you are a person worthy of being a queen. you are my queen, wakanda's future queen."
her words have shocked you as you sit there, eyes wide and your mouth partly gaped open. you thought you'd want to hear those words from montell, but really it had been shuri all along. you couldn't ignore your feelings towards her after a love confession of such caliber. it had shaken you to your core and it took you out of your sadness. your heart was beating at a dangerous tempo, but it was aligned with hers. you didn't know what she meant by her goddess creating you for her, but you could feel it. you could feel it because you knew she was made for you as well.
you hadn't realized, but you knew everything about her. you knew shuri's favorite color was purple. you knew her zodiac sign was sagittarius. you knew her dreams and goals of advancing wakanda. you also knew how scared she was to become the future queen as she once cried in your arms.
you love shuri. you love her so much that it made you blind. you'd rather ignore that feeling than feed into it, but that's all changed now. she took the lead tonight and now it was time for you to express what came to your mind.
so you did.
your lips connected to hers in a wild frenzy. finally you were quenching this thirst you had been searching for since she came into your life. after all this time you were doing the unthinkable. you were allowing yourself to be her's, rather than anyone else's. your fears of commitment felt like things of the past when your hands made their way to her face. her skin felt so soft against yours, as it got wet from your tears. her plump lips are attached to your soft ones. it felt like you were intertwining yourself with her. for shuri, it felt like the soul ties were becoming knotted into one. finally she had you and she had no plans of ever letting you go. this was the unthinkable and it was so beautiful as you held onto each other, placing intimate kisses one one another. this was you saying you loved her just as deeply as she loved you, in very little words.
you were ready. after all this time you were ready to see what was right in front of you this whole time. you could never go back to what it was before. she was your soulmate.
"i'm sorry." you whisper out after you pull away to breathe.
her hands begin caressing your face as her eyebrows furrow. "what are you sorry for, my love?"
"i'm sorry for not doing this any sooner. i'm so sorry."
"you never have to apologize to me. i would've waited until the end of time for you."
you smile, feeling your heart swell.
as the rain falls down around outside of your dorm walls, you stay in her embrace. shuri could feel her brother smiling at her from a distant plane, knowing in death that he was right. he had been smiling even brighter at the prospect that shuri did indeed find her nakia.
the ring on your finger is temporary, while shuri's claim on you is forever. some silly arrangement won't keep from her, she's just hurt you didn't tell her first.
warnings : cheating, kissing, arranged marriage
word count : 4k+
note : this is actually one of my favorite pieces i've ever written, so i hope you guys enjoy it :) also i just skimmed through it instead of proof reading so sorry if there are errors.
as your servants laced up the corset that lays under your black silky dress you couldn't help but dread the upcoming event. you'd been attending the wakandan tribe gala since you were in diapers. your mother and father ruling over the river tribe helped you get the invite after all these years.
when you were young you loved attending the gala. it was a time for you to feel accepted and welcome among the people of higher class. you could relate to the people of your tribe, but you couldn't help but feel isolated. you were the only daughter of your parents, meaning you faced the hard task of taking over for them once they passed.
attending the balls also didn't hurt because shuri had been in attendance. the princess of wakanda obviously had to be in attendance and you were happy to see her every time. when the two of you were just a few years younger you were very close. however, you mainly had to do most of your communication with her through kimoyo beads only. the only time you did get to see each other were at galas or royal meetings your parents would drag you along for. this meant this was the only time you and shuri got the chance to exercise your teenaged romance. your relationship was essentially long distance, without the distance. perhaps social distance and busy schedule distance would be a better term for it.
sneaking around the palace during the galas gave you both adrenaline. stealing kisses behind pillars and escaping the dora milaje at every corner made you somehow fall more in love with her. sometimes you two would sneak off into her lap, where no one would be due to how busy the ballroom was. she would show you all the things she made with you in mind as you sat on the table, smiling wide. you were in awe of her intelligence, while she was in awe of your beauty.
"this one i call y/n prototype number three." shuri said as she showed off a kimoyo beaded necklace, laced with vibranium diamonds. it made your eyes go wide from its beauty. she knew how much you loved jewelry. she also knew how much you liked it when she named her inventions after you.
"it matches your breathtaking beauty."
"oh shuri, stop it! you're too much of a sap." you said, smiling from ear to ear and laughing together as she hugs you.
at one point shuri had even set griot's voice to your own when she was alone in her lab. she had claimed it helped her focus, but really it was the only way she could get any real sleep.
one day she had forgotten to change the voice setting when her mother walked in. this resulted in many questions that shuri couldn't answer due to how flustered she was.
shuri was your first love, first meaningful relationship, and first sexual partner. you two were together for three years, which were some of the best in your entire life. a lot of the most important events in your life involved her.
now, this would be the first time you've seen her since your private break up. it would be the first time that you've seen her since her brother's passing. in his death he handed her the mantle of the black panther, which meant she spent less and less at home in wakanda.
it would also be the first time that you were to tell the queen, and shuri, about your soon-to-be wife. which would make your relationship with her far more public than shuri's.
an arranged marriage was very common within your tribe. your parents had been arranged and sometimes you wondered if they even truly loved one another. your heart had been with shuri, not someone random.
the breakup was caused because shuri was angry with the world. she wanted to burn it into ashes. she thought that because she had lost her brother that she had lost everyone who cared about her. her mind pushed out the thoughts of you, therefore ultimately leaving you alone to deal with your own grief as well.
it was painful knowing that she was dealing with something like this, self sabotaging herself in the process. you knew she would never be the same shuri, which only made you cry more. she was destroying herself and you could do nothing but watch.
however, almost two years had passed since then. this meant you needed to begin to move on, whether you liked it or not. you avoided seeing shuri in the media, blocking news sites and articles from popping up on your kimoyo beads that might showcase her. you refused to attend any formal events in fear that you may see her there despite her busy schedule. you became somewhat of a recluse, only letting your tribe people see you when you needed to go to the market. this ball was the only thing you couldn't get out of, and you tried ever so desperately to do so. your parents went on and on about how you need to stop avoiding the girl you were to marry. really, they had no clue that you were avoiding the girl you wanted to marry.
"they are here to escort you to the gala, y/n." your personal bodyguard spoke out. she had been a part of your tribe and was almost like an older sister to you. she was the only person who knew about the true nature of you and shuri's relationship. she was the only person who truly knew who your tears were for.
"thank you, i shall head out soon." you say to her, a smile on your face to hide the feelings you truly had. she knew it was a facade, but she admired you all the more for it. you were a strong woman, and an even stronger leader someday. she hoped that shuri would open her eyes again to you someday, but it was becoming less likely with your upcoming marriage.
she simply walks away, after giving you a nod. your face turns back to the vanity you sat at. your makeup looked beautiful and your hair was styled high on top of your head. you looked just as regal as you felt. you wondered if shuri would feel the same if your eyes met hers tonight.
"ah, my sweet daughter has finally decided to join society after all this time." your father says jokingly as you bow before the queen. everyone had to do so whenever they entered the gala. you did so, as the princess stood right beside her.
you refused to make eye contact, placing your gaze at anything but her. yet, out of the corner of your eye you couldn't help but watch her.
she had looked older, more mature. perhaps aged by her grief. she no longer wore her signature braids, instead opting for a curly top and a fade all the way around. her jawline no longer seemed childish and her body had been much more toned than before. she wore a dress of her own, it was long and somewhat boxy. it made her look tall and elegant. you curse bast for making her so much more attractive, therefore making her harder to resist.
shuri had been fighting the urge to look at you as well. it proved hard for her, because although she would not admit her cruelty she knew she messed up with you. while you actively went to of your way to avoid shuri, she kept up with you. she watched you in the market when you traveled through. she kept up with your charity work in america at the centers her brother had created before his passing. she thought she knew everything there was to know about you, not being able to let go after all this time.
"i hear we have an engagement on our hands?" queen ramonda asks, causing you to push out a fake smile. shuri can't help but look in your direction now, with her eyebrows furrowed and eyes wide. this couldn't be true, how did she not know? she prayed to bast that you would correct her mother.
"yes. i am to be married."
"to who?" shuri bursts out, her voice cracking a little as she speaks. the outburst causes you to finally look directly at her. your heart skips a beat, and she can sense it. most of all, she can see it, the pain hidden deep within your face when she looks at you. a pain that she caused, and she knows it too. her nose twitched at the realization.
your parents speak for you, considering you're far too choked up. "to make, she also from the river tribe. we thought it best to find someone from within our tribe for her."
"oh, how wonderful-" the queen begins to say, before being cut off by her daughter.
"this was arranged?" she looks bewildered and upset all at once. her voice had arguably raised an entire level and some people even began to look towards her. "do you people not even care if your daughter loves her?"
your mother scoffs as you stand there, stuck in your own embarrassment and surprise.
"shuri! know your place. do not ask such questions!" the queen says, quickly correcting her daughter's unruliness.
"i am sorry mother." she mumbles out, never once taking her eyes off of you.
"do not apologize to me. apologize to y/n and her parents."
in your mind there was nothing to apologize for. shuri had spoken out against something that both you and her knew was wrong. she knew how you felt about arranged marriages. you often expressed your fear to her that your parents would set you up in a loveless marriage someday. she would reassure you, saying that would never happen seeing as how she wouldn't allow it. besides, there would be no worry as long as you two were together. however, now you aren't together. now you were engaged and it was not to her.
"i am sorry elders." she speaks, and then looks at you. "i am sorry y/n."
it felt like her saying sorry for so much more than this outburst.
"apology accepted." your father states, not wanting to dwell on the matter more than you already had. your mother has an angry look on her face, still not taking the apology sincere.
"if you will excuse me, queen mother, i must be seeing my fiancée."
she simply nods her head, "i hope to speak with you about this exciting news later."
"of course." you say before walking off into the crowd of people.
"please excuse me as well." shuri says shortly after you walk off. she only heads off into your direction once her mother sways her away with a hand motion.
"y/n!" your fiancée calls over to you from the bar. her hand is in the air, showing her magnificent diamond on her ring finger. it was the most expensive your parents could get.
"makeya, my love. how are you tonight?" you ask her as you sit next to her in one of the empty chairs. it didn't feel right calling her that nickname, considering you did not truly love her. you loved her as a person. she was kind, beautiful, and ever so considerate of your feelings. had it been another universe you would've loved to be her person. however, you weren't and it felt so wrong to string her along. it wasn't like she had much choice in this situation either, although she seemed quite happy about it.
"i've never been able to attend one of these balls before. i always watched the lavish women enter from afar. i never imagined i'd get the chance to attend!"
for you, this was just a regular day out of the year.
"i'm glad i've been able to give you this experience." the bother in your voice is obvious. you don't even bother to hide it, knowing that you wouldn't be able to.
"is something the matter?"
"not particularly."
"ah, i know what is."
you raise your head, "you do?"
she laughs, "yes, you are probably just too used to these sorts of settings. they are not fun for you anymore."
"oh," you say, a little disappointed she hadn't guessed correctly and called of the engagement right then and there. "sure, that's it."
"y/n?" a familiar voice calls out to you. you would've liked to say you turned slowly to face her, when really it was the exact opposite. it was as if you were desperate for her to call out to you and you jolted up. your posture changed and your eyes widened as you looked at her. your lips went dry despite the gloss and air was caught in your throat. for some reason it felt like you were caught cheating.
"princess shuri?" makeya can't help but ask, the fingerling in her voice is hard to contain.
shuri laughs, and it sends shivers down your spine. the princess watches as the hairs on your arms stand. she was eye-fucking you, and you knew it. yet, it wasn't like you were exactly begging her to stop.
"we should go elsewhere makeya."
"and leave so soon?" shuri questions, making you scowl at her.
"not leaving entirely, just leaving the area."
"oh, y/n. don't be like that when i'm trying to know your future wife."
makeya giggles, not intuitive enough to see what's going on. how she is ignoring the tension between you and shuri is unbeknownst.
"i would love for you to get to know me! i know that you and y/n were close friends once, but she would never give any exact details!"
"oh?" shuri looks from makeya and back to you, "i have many details about y/n. such as one about the star tattoo on her lower hip. you see-"
"enough." you hiss out to the panther, grabbing her arm. "makeya, please excuse us."
you don't bother looking back to see your fiancée as you began dragging shuri out of the ballroom. some eyes fall onto the both of you as you push past the crowd. shuri had a wide smile on her face, knowing she got under your skin. your anger only grew when you realized this was her intention all along.
you don't even realize you feet are taking you to the lab until you reach the smart doors. perhaps it was muscle memory that this is where you decided to take her. if you were being honest, it only made you more angry.
"griot, open." you speak to the ai, assuming that shuri never deleted your voice activations. just as you thought, the doors opened without a second thought.
with your strength you pull her body in front of yours once you're alone in the room.
"what the hell are you doing?"
she scoffs, "that's a question i should be asking you. since when do you feel the need to not tell me you're getting married?"
"it's none of your concern who i am with. you are the the one shut me out! she let me in after you broke my heart."
"i'm assuming pretty easily too." shuri rolls her eyes.
you don't know what exactly you've done until you hear the sound of skin connecting, until you see shuri touching the red mark on her cheek, until you see how wide her eyes are. you don't even notice the tears in your eyes until you feel one rolling down your face. no apology for slapping her comes to your mouth. you can't find it within yourself to apologize. you were hurt by her. hell, you were still hurting because of her. she had lost her brother and you were sympathetic to that. why did she want to lose you as well? that part confused you deeply.
"how dare you?" you ask, your voice breaking. "how dare you start acting like you give a damn about me now? would you have even cared if i wasn't engaged?"
shuri stays silent, fingers still touching her own cheek.
"that's what i thought. you are jealous that i'm happy. you're upset i didn't stick around to put up with your bullshit."
"it is not bullshit. i was grieving."
"we were all grieving shuri, so i understand that. but are you really going to use that as your excuse for pushing me out and then never letting me back in? if so, it's a cheap fucking cop out."
"it was never my intention to fully push you out. i thought i was doing you a favor!"
now it was your turn to laugh, "a favor? you thought that me losing the love of my life would a favor?"
"love of your life?"
you grind your teeth, not wanting to answer that question. her eyes are searching for it, that much you can tell as she looks right through you. your lip trembles as you fight back more tears. this was not the conversation you wanted to have tonight.
"i got scared." shuri begins to say after realizing you weren't going to answer. "i got scared that i would lose you completely, like t'challa. i know you have certain rolls to uphold within the river tribe. i didn't know if i could be that woman for you anymore, living in constant fear that you'd be the one i'd lose next. you deserved to be happy, so i thought that was the only way. i didn't know that it would do the opposite of making you happy."
"you're selfish for not asking me about how i felt. all i ever did was ask how you were doing."
"i won't say that i'm not selfish. i am. i'm being selfish even now about wanting you all to myself. i pushed a lot of people out when my brother died, including my mother. i made amends with her but i never knew how to go about reconciliation with you. now it's too late. you have no idea how many nights i've laid awake sleepless wondering about you."
"then give me an idea." you say, staring deep into her eyes.
"when i realized just how much pushing i'd really done i knew i could never get you back. i had countless nightmares replaying our breakup in my mind. i thought that putting myself into my work would take my mind off of you but it only made it worse. my designs went back to being centered about you. my coworkers knew i was unable to focus on my work. i grew irritated with everything and everyone. i kept tabs on you, but obviously not well enough."
it hurt your heart to know this was how shuri was feeling. however, you knew deep down that you couldn't settle for this. would you have ever gotten this apology from her had you not been engaged?
"i'm telling you this now because i don't want you think i don't love you. i wasn't sure if i could find the courage to admit my mistakes until now." she says, as if she's heard your thoughts. your eyes can't help but go wide. this was the push that shuri desperately needed.
"what did you expect to get out of this?"
"do you love her?" she interjects, not even bothering to answer your question.
"fuck you, shuri."
"fine, then let me ask you this." she says, stepping close to you.
you just keep looking right at her, challenging her with your stance. the feeling of her breathing on your skin makes you shiver.
"who are you loyal to?" shuri asks, gazing into your eyes. she's searching for an answer that she knows she won't get.
"my country, my family, and my people. as every great leader is. you should know this better than anyone." you say back, glaring into her deep brown eyes. you knew she was testing you.
"ah, but not your soon to be wife."
"i am loyal to her especially."
shuri chuckles, "but here you are with me. you're a liar."
you cock your head, smiling at her, "she fucks good." you knew this was a lie. makeya had never even touched your boob without a bra over it.
"oh please," shuri rolls her eyes, "i saw the look on her face when i mentioned your tattoo. she didn't even know it existed."
you grind your teeth together. of course your fiancée didn't know you had that tattoo. you two hadn't actually gotten that intimate yet, knowing you weren't ready for something like that after shuri. even more ironic, it was a tattoo that shuri had given you herself after a drunken night. it was a panther paw. corny, you know. however, it signified that shuri laid her claim on you. which was highly efficient considering every time you stared at yourself in the mirror you would envision her behind you.
"yeah, nothing to say now." shuri says, now even closer to your body. your noses are almost touching and your chests can't help but smush up against each other. her hand makes its way to your face, caressing it softly. "that's cause you're loyal to your princess. not whoever that woman is. i know you're angry and i can't express how sorry i am. however, i will not let you marry her. i will go out there right now and tell them all that i'm marrying you if that is what it takes."
"do it then." you say, offering her a challenge that you don't know she'd actually take. you weren't thinking about how much it may hurt your supposed lover. you weren't thinking about how much it would hurt your mother and father. you knew how hurt you were by shuri, but she was the kind of drug that was the hardest to quit.
you can feel her free hand slipping off the engagement ring you sported on your finger. her eyes never break away from yours as she tries to read the emotion spreading across your face. for some reason, you can't make her stop from throwing your ring across the lab.
then she kisses you. it was nothing like you've ever experienced before. it was better than any first kiss you had with her. it was as if all this wanting built up to a point of no return as her hands found your hips. as she lifted you up onto the table she wasn't thinking about makeya. she was thinking about how you were hers and always would be. her panther powers kicked in as she gripped your thighs, trialing her kisses all the way down your neck.
she smiled in between kisses and sucking as she listened to the moans that escaped your mouth. they sounded like a symphony as they came one after the other. this was what you ached and dreamed for, and damn did it feel good.
"who are you loyal to?" shuri asks again, sounding breathless.
"you.." you moan out, trying to maintain your composure.
"good." shuri states, and then pulls away from you.
"where are you going?" you can't help but ask as you watch her walk towards the exit of the door.
"to tell them you're getting married."
"they already know that shuri!" you exclaim as you fix the straps on your dress and fix your hair she had begun to mess up.
"oh i know. but i am going to tell them you're marrying me instead."
shuri had officially lost it. you attempted to catch up with her as she moved through the halls, but her panther powers made her walk so much faster than you when she was trying. you pleaded with her to not do this, knowing the outcome. the elders would never allow it and you would crush makeya in the same sitting.
yet, you couldn't help but smile at the idea. shuri finally showing the effort you've always wanted from her. your heart ached for this and your dreams were becoming a reality in ways you could never imagine.
shuri was going to marry you, whether the elders approved or not.
