REUNITED ~ STEVE ROGERS [4]

Chapter Ten

T'Challa and I were escorted by two members of the Dora to Shuri's lab, and they stayed outside the door once we entered. Shuri greeted us. She bowed her head mockingly.

"My King," she said sweetly. T'Challa laughed.

"Stop it. Stop it," he said through his laugh. They held out their hands and did some kind of complicated handshake. I was surprised how jealous it made me feel. I felt like some outsider.

I was an outsider.

Down the spiral staircase we walked, a dull ache in my hip. I tried, and failed to leave my crutch behind, but even I had to admit it was easier with it than without. We strolled past a desk piled high with unfinished gadgets and files.

"I've already sent a car ahead to Busan for you," Shuri said. She paused, cocking her head.

"Who are you taking with you to Korea?"

"Okoye. Khethiwe. And Nakia as well," T'Challa replied. Her eyebrows lifted at my name but furrowed at Nakia's.

"You sure it's a good idea to take your ex on a mission?" she asked.

"I was wondering the same, Brother," I added, grinning at Shuri. T'Challa grumbled at both of us.

"Yes. We will be fine. Besides, you will be on call, in case we need back up," he said. Shuri grinned even more. I knew that she, like myself, hated being left behind, even though her work was much more important than mine.

I sat down on a stool and watched Shuri lead T'Challa around the lab. I fiddled with some wiring while she explained the updated communication devices and some gadget that connected cars to her sand table.

"What are these?" T'Challa said. I turned and saw him looking curiously at a pair of sleek black shoes. Shuri looked down at T'Challa's feet. She screwed up her face.

"The real question is what are thoooose?!" she gestured to his old-style sandals, quoting a Vine I knew all too well. The internet is a wonderful place when you're bored. "Why do you have your toes out in my lab?"

T'Challa smiled and caught my eye.

"What, you don't like my royal sandals? I wanted to go old school for my first day." Shuri rolled her eyes.

"Yeah I bet the elders loved that. Try them on." I turned back around to glance at the new suits Shuri had made for T'Challa. Mine, the black and gold one, was wrapped around my neck, embedded in the shining choker necklace that circled my throat. Absentmindedly, I pulled out a cigarette and lit it with my pinkie finger, letting it hang from my lips and smoke drift into the air.

"Khethiwe, is that really necessary?" T'Challa said disapprovingly as they walked past me.

"Relax, T'Challa. We have state of the art air regulators," Shuri came to my defense and I smiled at T'Challa. He frowned but continued past me towards the new suits. One mannequin had his old suit, one a silver tooth necklace, and one a gold necklace, bigger than the silver one.

"Now, I've already sorted Khethiwe's new suit, so if you're going to take on Klaue, you'll need the best the Design Group can offer." She waved her hand at the mannequins and winked at me. I winked back. Shuri pointed at T'Challa's old suit.

"Exhibit A. old tech." T'Challa's brow furrowed in response to her statement.

"Old...?"

"Functional, but old." Shuri said. She waved her hands around in the air. "Oh, people are shooting at me...wait...let me put on my helmet." Her hands flopped down by her sides as she looked at T'Challa trying to prove a point. My brother just looked on, amused.

"Enough," he warned. Shuri rolled her eyes. I breathed in, feeling that deep, burning of nicotine in my lungs. How I missed that. I tried to move my casted arm into a better position but nothing took the ache away. My body was piecing together my bones as I sat there, it was bound to be painful. I look back at my siblings.

"Do you like that one?" Shuri noticed T'Challa eyeing up the gaudier, more elaborate gold tooth necklace. T'Challa smiled.

"Tempting. But the idea is not to be noticed." T'Challa turned his eyes to the smaller, silver necklace. I slipped my free hand into my pant pocket, cigarette dangling from my lips. I felt what I was looking for and pulled it out. The photo was crumpled and one corner was torn from my handling it too much, but it still made me smile. In truth I tried not to think about Steve too much. It made the pit in my chest even bigger, the pang in my stomach more painful. I hadn't heard from him, which I had expected, but I was conflicted in whether I should try and contact him. He was, after all, on the run and who knows who was watching him. But I wanted to hear his voice. Even just his voice would be enough.

I was ripped from my blissful thoughts by T'Challa flying through the air and landing on his butt across the room, while Shuri doubled over with laughter. The hologram on her beads showed she had been recording the whole thing. I smiled widely, not quite laughing because I knew I might crack a rib, but amused at the sight of my big brother lying on the floor in his robes and sandals.

"Delete that footage!" T'Challa ordered as he scrambled to get up. Shuri's swift fingers quickly uploaded it to her server, as well as send it to me. I felt the buzz of my beads to confirm it. Who knows who else she sent it to, but it was sure to be the talk of the palace before long.

"Brother, do get off the floor. Who knows what kind of germs are down there," I drawled from above as he finally stood up straight, smoothing over his robes with his hands. He cleared his throat loudly.

"Very good, Shuri. I will take that with me to Busan." He said stiffly, before starting to walk to back up the stairs.

"Speaking of Busan, Shuri my dear, please teach me your ways," I stood up with a wince as she made her way towards me, still smiling.

"You are to be my eyes and ears on the ground in Busan, huh? Don't worry, you won't have to do much." Shuri sat down opposite me and started fiddling with, well, something. "I'll set up a link so we see and hear the same things, and you can alert me if you pick anything up. You have more experience in the field than I do, so I think you'll be fine."

"Have you ever been out in the field?" I asked, extinguishing my cigarette on the material of my cast. Shuri frowned.

"Not really. T'Challa doesn't think its safe, which, you know, fair point but I want to be more than just, the guy in the chair." She said sullenly.

"The guy in the chair?"

"Yeah, you know in spy movies where the spy has the little techy nerd who sits in the van and monitors stuff? I don't want to be just that." Her fingers pulled apart some wires from whatever she was holding.

"I can talk to him about it, if you want. Maybe a mission like this is too dangerous for a first timer, but I'm sure I can convince him next time." I smiled at her, and when her pretty eyes met mine, she smiled back.

" Thanks, big sister."

Authors Note

A mid week update! I'm celebrating because New Zealand went 2 days without any new Covid-19 cases, which is awesome! This chapter is mostly just some cute sibling time, but exciting things ahead! Don't forget to comment, I love reading all my comments!

~JJ