The next five months flew by.
I stayed in Wakanda for the rest of the school year to finish my graduation project and decide how I wanted to continue after.
Since the attack and my near-death experience, things had settled down, and Wakanda was even more vibrant than before.
Shuri and my relationship got stronger with every day. We spent as much time together as possible, and she always made sure to tell and show me how much she loved me.
We visited my family a few times and even stopped by in Florida to visit Sarah after she had left Wakanda in February.
Things were going well for us, Shuri had a major breakthrough in her research, and my project was chosen to be presented at the exhibition in New York. I was over the moon when I got the news, and I couldn't wait to see Shuri's face when she would spot the painting of her.
So overall, things couldn't be better.
****
It was the 18th of June, the day of the exhibition, and I was nervously running through my dorm, trying to find my keys.
Even though the exposition wouldn't start until the evening, I had to be there early in the morning to set up my paintings and organize the presentation.
Shuri was still peacefully sleeping, and I wish I could've woken her up, to let her calm me down but I wasn't that selfish.
After I finally found my damn keys, I sped out the door, praying that I hadn't forgotten anything.
The exposition was going to take place at the modern art gallery in SoHo. It was a beautiful modern building, and the thought of my paintings hanging in there, made me question if this was actually happening or if I was dreaming.
I pushed the heavy door open, taking in the huge lobby. It had high white ceilings, and a few abstract paintings were hung on the walls. I dragged my eyes away from the paintings hanging on the wall to my left and went up to the lady sitting at the reception.
She gave me all the instructions needed and called someone to come get me.
An older-looking gentleman appeared after a few minutes, introducing himself as Richard.
I followed him, as he gave me a quick tour of the gallery before showing me to my place.
We walked past other artists, who were busy setting up their projects.
When we arrived at my presentation space, Richard gave me some last instructions, telling me to look for him if any questions came up.
After he left, I took in the space I had available for my paintings. It was huge. A whole room, just for my work. It was an open room with three high windows on the wall and one up on the ceiling, flooding the place with natural sunlight.
My paintings were standing on a small rack in the middle of the room, waiting for me to hang them up. As soon as I entered the room, a vision of how I wanted it to look started building in my head. I was going to put the introduction on the wall facing the entrance so that it was the first thing people would see, and I wanted to distribute the paintings evenly on the four walls. Each of them would be presented next to the initial sketch. With that, I wanted to show the process behind my work and how every motive was something out of my daily life. I had chosen a title and a short description for each painting, which were printed on small metal plates.
Richard came back with a younger man who was assigned to help me set up my work.
We started by hanging up the sign with my introduction, struggling to get it in the right position. Then we went on to put up all my paintings. Luckily the walls were quite large, so I had enough space to hang them next to each other, without it looking too packed.
After a few hours we were finally done with everything, and I was content with how the room turned out. It looked professional and elegant.
I went over a few details of the evening with Richard before returning to my dorm to shower and change.
Shuri was sitting on the couch when I entered the room. She looked up from her magazine with an excited smile.
"How did it go?" She asked.
"Good, I think. I have a whole room for my project, and it looks like one of those expensive art exhibitions, but I'm so nervous," I rambled, sitting down next to her.
"You're gonna do great, and I know that everyone is gonna love your work... I still don't get why I wasn't allowed to see it," she answered with an adorable pout on her face.
"I told you I want it to be a surprise, you'll see it soon," I chuckled, trying to hide the fact that I was absolutely terrified of her reaction.
Even though Sarah had told me a million times that Shuri was going to love the painting I made of her, my mind was still full of doubts.
What if she thinks it's too cheesy? Or what if it scares her away because it's a big gesture...
I pushed my anxiety away, focusing back on Shuri.
"I'm gonna go take a shower," I muttered, pressing a soft kiss on her lips before getting up.
I stripped off my clothes, looking at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. The nervosity was visible on my face. I had dark circles under my eyes, my lips were chapped from anxiously chewing on them and my hair was a mess.
I got into the shower, turned on the warm water, and let the stream loosen my tense muscles. Just as I was about to shampoo my hair, I heard the clicking of the door.
"Shuri?"
I didn't get any answer but I heard her take off her clothes before pushing the curtain aside and stepping into the shower.
"Thought I'd join you, now that I still have you to myself," she smirked, looking me up and down, "Promise to not forget me when you are the most popular artist in the world."
I chuckled at her dramatic expression, wrapping my arms around her neck as she came closer.
"I could never forget you, and even if I ever manage to have an actual career as an artist, you will be right there by my side..." I whispered, noticing the fondness in Shuri's eyes.
"You're right."
She leaned in, crashing our lips together. Her lips felt soft on mine, and my heartbeat fastened as she ran her hands over my bare back. The kiss was full of passion and lust.
She slid her tongue into my mouth while pressing me closer by the small of my back.
I ran my fingers through her wet hair, feeling her skin flush against mine.
"Fuck" she groaned, her hands roaming over my back before settling on my ass.
A soft moan escaped my mouth, which turned her on even more. She pushed me against the wall of the shower, roughly sucking in the skin of my neck. I wrapped my legs around her waist, her hands holding me up against the wall. Her lips trailed lower before I pulled her up again, our lips colliding with desire.
The bathroom was filling up with steam, but we didn't care.
She put me down again and propped one of my legs up on the wall of the bathtub, letting her hand travel down my front. I inhaled sharply when I felt her fingers draw circles around my spot. Waves of pleasure rushed through my body. She bit her lips, observing my face as she pushed her fingers into me.
"Fuck you're so hot," She exhaled.
I wanted to respond, but I had no control over my body. She removed her fingers, chuckling at my protests before dropping down to her knees.
The view I had was obscene. The water was dripping from her curls, as she looked up at me from between my legs.
I didn't even try to stay quiet when she attached her mouth to me. Her hot tongue licked over my spot, sending goosebumps down my body. I moaned loudly, warning her that I was going to come but she didn't stop. She just kept licking into me, her hands gripping my thigh.
My legs trembled as I came with pleasure rushing through my body.
She stood up again, licking her lips with a proud smirk, "Now you definitely won't ever forget me."
I laughed at her comment but she wasn't wrong so I didn't reply, instead I pressed my lips to hers.
After we got out of the shower, I spent thirty minutes just standing in front of my closet, rethinking my outfit choice.
I had planned to wear a sage green slip dress with white flowers on it and some black high heels I had borrowed from Ava.
Shuri was sitting on the bed, trying to convince me that I should wear the planned outfit. After another ten minutes, she finally managed to convince me, so I put on the dress and finished getting ready. I finished the look with some small gold earrings and a matching thin necklace.
It was almost time to go when I was done with everything, and I felt sick with anxiety. Shuri looked me in the eyes and immediately knew how nervous I was.
"You are going to do great, it's okay to be nervous but don't let it ruin your big evening, alright?" She took my hands, raising her eyebrows expectantly.
"I'll try," I said, ignoring the feeling in my stomach.
She pressed a soft kiss on my lips, reassuring me that everything would be alright and that she would be by my side for the whole evening. I was incredibly thankful to have her with me, without her I probably wouldn't have made it through the door.
There were a few people already when we arrived even though the exposition hadn't started yet.
We walked past the line of people to the reception, where Richard was waiting.
"Hey Richard, how is it going?" I asked, glad to have someone to tell me where to go.
"Hello, it's going well, there are a lot of people coming," He said with a warm smile, his eyes falling on Shuri next to me, "You must be Shuri, it's nice to meet you, I'm Richard."
Shuri took his hand, with a glance of confusion in her eyes which she covered up with a wide smile.
"It's nice to meet you too," she replied.
"You can go in and wait with the rest," Richard said to me, then looking at Shuri "but unfortunately you'll have to wait out here until the exposition begins."
I was about to protest, but Shuri squeezed my hand reassuringly.
"You're gonna be fine, I'll see you inside, and don't forget what I said before," She muttered before softly pecking my lips and wishing me luck.
Richard showed me to the small podium, where every participant would say a few words about their project.
My speech consisted of six sentences that I had rehearsed over and over again. I knew every word by heart, but my mind was still full of horror scenarios.
"Five minutes until we start!"
When I looked around, I could see that I was not the only nervous one. My heart was racing, and my hands were sweaty but as soon as the doors opened, I covered my nervousness with a smile. The room quickly started to fill up, and I looked for Shuri but I couldn't find her.
Richard stepped onto the podium, and welcomed the guests, saying a few words before announcing the first artist. I was third, and when the guy in front of me got onto the stage, I started to feel nauseous. The room suddenly felt really hot, and I saw how the guy said his last few words before leaving the stage.
My body moved on its own, climbing the short stairs to the podium, and when I was standing in front of the mic with everyone staring at me I froze.
My eyes scanned over the audience, finally landing on those familiar dark eyes. Shuri's words popped up in my mind, and I took a deep breath, I wasn't gonna let my nerves ruin this evening.
When I got off stage I felt a wave of relief hit me. Now that the worst part was over, I could finally enjoy the evening. After the last artist had finished their speech, Richard said some last words and opened the exposition.
"You did great!" Ava exclaimed as she reached me with Shuri and Riri on her side.
I greeted them, blushing from all the praise I was getting. They hadn't even seen any of my work yet.
My dad and Willow came up to us, wrapping me into a tight hug, and my dad pressed a quick kiss on the top of my head, telling me how proud he was. They all took off to go look at the exposition and we agreed to meet here again later.
Richard informed me that I was free to go look at the exposition now, so Shuri took my hand, pulling me towards the room my project was in.
"Now I finally get to see the mysterious project," Shuri stated with an excited grin on her face.
"Yeah," I chuckled, "but I'm gonna lead you through it."
She raised her eyebrows with an amused expression, but I ignored it, leading her to the introduction sign.
I waited impatiently until she was done reading, then I showed her the first painting.
She was in awe of my work, repeating how talented I was. I laughed along to her jokes, but my mind was going crazy with doubts about the last painting. What if she didn't like it? It was too cheesy. I should've chosen another one. But it was too late, she would see it in a few minutes. I had no idea how she was going to react but I was expecting the worst.
There was only one painting before the one of Shuri so I took a deep breath and pushed all my doubts aside.
"Alright, the last one is probably my favorite one, but you gotta close your eyes,"
Shuri frowned slightly but did as I told her, trusting me to lead her.
My hands were sweating as we stopped in front of the painting, but I straightened my shoulders and took another deep breath.
"Alright, you can open your eyes now."
Shuri opened her eyes, blinking confusedly but her expression softened immediately when she realized what the painting showed. She slapped her hand over her mouth, and her eyes went glossy.
This was the exact moment I was waiting for, seeing the surprise on her face when she saw the painting of herself hung up high in a gallery.
"That... That is me... Oh my god," Shuri exhaled, still staring at the painting in disbelief.
"Yes, I know it's kinda cheesy but to me, you are the most beautiful in the world," I replied.
When she finally looked at me, all the nervousness disappeared. A small tear slipped out of her eye, and a soft smile was playing on her lips.
"It's not cheesy, I love it... wow..."
I smiled fondly, stepping closer to wrap my arm around her waist.
She was still staring at my work, and my heart melted at the soft expression on her face as she stared at the image of herself.
"I mean it does make sense, I am quite the eye-catcher," Shuri mumbled, meeting my gaze with a smug smile.
I chuckled, "That's true, but you know this was probably the exact moment I fell in love with you, I just remember how we were sitting there, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from you."
"Understandable," she chuckled, admiring the painting, " no but in all seriousness, I love it, this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."
"I'm glad you like it," I whispered, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss on her lips.
"I love you y/N, and just so you know you're never getting rid of me anymore..." Shuri murmured, slightly pulling away to meet my gaze.
"That was my goal," I smirked, "I love you too."
She pulled me close again, pressing her soft lips on mine with so much emotion it felt like my heart was going to explode.
"How did you name it?" Shuri asked curiously.
"It's written on the metal plate..." I replied, nodding towards the wall.
I watched her walk up to the painting and every inch of my body was filled with love when she turned around with the widest smile on her face and read the title out loud.
"Sunlight on your face."