~Marvel One Shots~

Done Joking Around? | Erik Killmonger & Shuri Udaku

A/N: This was requested by SlytherclawGarnet on AO3. Thank you for this request and I really liked writing this!

Summary: Erik was saved and now helps Shuri through her journey in being the black panther.

Timeline: Wakanda Forever so spoilers ahead.

Pairing: None. This is strictly platonic.
Warning: Mentions of major deaths.

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"Nah, don't even think about it, cuz." He grinned playfully at his little cousin, seeing the mischievous and troublesome glare in her eyes as she put her right feet forward to strike.

Ever since he survived thanks to Shuri and her magnificent lab, Erik tried to build a life with meaning, with love and happiness even though it was hard, and that involved being surrounded by his family to heal from his past scars.

He had to admit it was tough bonding with anyone for him, but to his surprise Shuri and him actually had a lot in common.

She let him work in her lab the first few months, trusting him enough to do so because of his MIT history and even eventually gave him his own floor to experiment and create on.

He loved that shit, designing and inventing from nothing but scrap. It helped get his mind off of things and slowly but surely he grew closer to his little cousin.

Especially after what happened to T'Challa..

It was extremely tough to see her so broken and devastated over the death of her older brother and he and Queen Mother instantly took action. He never left the girl alone, always helping her in her lab or making and styling her new outfits. He didn't want her to end up like him and so he made sure she could lean on him and cry on his shoulder whenever she wanted or needed to.

"Or what? What are you gonna do?" Shuri teased, ready to hit him hard with one of her new harmless gadgets. They loved pranking each other to keep the work fun.

"Remind yourself you're not the only panther in this lab real quick, girl." He replied as he checked if some of the computer systems were still running.

The Queen Mother had insisted on keeping Erik the panther for a while too so he could tutor and keep Shuri safe until she was strong enough. However, of course it was kept a secret not to cause too many problems among the traditional people.

"I swear, Shuri." He warned again, not immediately noticing Shuri had already thrown the small bomb his way, but he still caught it in time before she could make it explode and threw it back at her. He laughed as she was absolutely covered in flour because of the explosion now. "What did I say? I warned you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." She crossed her arms before chuckling a little too.

"And guess what?" He smirked as he walked to a hidden camera he had set up beforehand.

"What?" Shuri mumbled, trying to dust off her clothes as she was slightly annoyed at herself for not making it explode sooner.

"It's all on film." He grabbed the camera and waved it around in front of her face.

"No!! Delete that!" She giggled and tried to pull it out of his hands.

"Too late, little princess is going viral on the internet." He joked and unnoticed deleted it for her anyway.

"Are you two done joking around?" The Queen Mother had watched them from afar, a small smile on her face as she saw how close of a bond the two had build together.

"Yes mother." Shuri nodded and took a step back from Erik, a little embarrassed by how childish they had been in a time where they were on the edge of war.

"Hey auntie." Erik smiled, not caring that much as he bowed with his head. They were on schedule with their defense plans and he wanted to lighten up the mood. His whole life was surrounded with hate and revenge and he knew how awful that was to live in so he wanted to change that for his family. In his opinion some fun was allowed in crucial times like these.

"Good to see you too, Erik." She smiled a little at him even though she tried to keep a stern posture. "So, is Shuri's suit done yet?"

"Hell yeah. It's all ready."