"The downfall of man begins with pride."
- African Proverb
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Omniscient
The sound of Okoye's boots clicked down the hall while her hands stayed behind her back, fingers entangled and shoulders squared. Everyone in the palace was either returning home or to their rooms; but every night, she took it upon herself to make sure every floor was cleared and not a single soul was left wandering the halls. But, when she turned down a specific one, he jaw clenched before she could take another step. Okoye sighed, sinking her teeth into her lip before continuing. It felt like her feet were turning into bricks of cement while her heart was running mad.
She kept her head straight, instantly regretting her descision when she saw who she was looking for. A tired Wakabi, with his back against the wall as he held direct eye contact with his wife; or soon to be ex-wife. He was unsure where their relationship stood and questioned it everyday. Okoye looked over his features. A beard was growing on his face, and his eyes that were once bright, was replaced with a off yellow hue, while the brown shade that she once loved, resembled the darkest coal.
Reguardless of how he looked, Wakabi smiled at Okoye, "Uzokundibona," You came to see me. His tone was hopeful. "sithandwa sam." My Love.
"I was doing my job and turned down your hall." She corrected him. "If you'd like to hear that I came to see you, you're free to think that." She kept her tone sharp, even though she really wanted to break. She wanted to scream at him, hit him, curse him, and do so much more... but she didn't and couldn't.
She didn't want to seem weak. It wasn't in her nature.
"Your job is to protect T'Challa—"
"The King." She corrected him again. "My job is to protect the king, the family, and this palace from any and all threats." Her eyes dropped to the bars in front of her because she could feel the tears starting to form again. "Even if it's from my husband."
"You can protect the palace from your husband— the man you love, yet you allow N'Jadaka... the man who really wanted the power in this situation, to walk up and down these halls freely?" Amusement was in his voice.
"N'Jadaka is changing— he has changed—"
"Thanks to who, Okoye? M'Bali? The fact that you all welcomed him with open arms after his stunt? He tried to kill T'Challa and take what he thought was his. I never did, and you know that, and they know that! So why does he get to walk free and I don't—" His voice boomed.
But it didn't match up to the power of her own voice, "He was a broken boy!" Okoye snapped back, not caring to reel herself in. "N'Jadaka had his wrong doings, and yes they outnumber yours— but the difference is, he came here broken and looking for answers! He was looking for people to accept him in a world that taught him to be angry from his American side and in Wakanda." Her eyes widened. "He had the right to not have loyalty to a throne that was hidden from him all of his life; let alone a family that he knew nothing about— but, you?" The tone of her voice turned sinister.
Okoye never thought she would ever find herself in the position of taking N'Jadaka's side in any arguments. But, she understood what happens if a child wasn't embraced by their village. In N'Jadaka's case, he wasn't embraced by the villages that made up both aspects of his life.
"You may not have been birthed into this family, but your loyalty was important to it; and your true intentions came to the light during T'Challa's moment of weakness, and you expect me to pity you and this situation?" She walked closer towards the bars, coming face to face with Wakabi. "You were a best friend to T'Challa. You were a tribe leader... but greed was greater than loyalty to you. So, yes. Excuse the fuck out of all of us, if we expected more out of you."
Everything that Okoye over the past few months began to spill from her lips, and Wakabi had no choice but to listen. "You will never know how it feels to walk into town, and hear the whispers of people mentioning your name to their friends and family. You don't have to hear them whisper about how they pity me, and how lost I must feel. You will never know how it feels to not even want to live in your own home because everything there is you and it makes me sick. To have to close my eyes at night, knowing that the entire time, you had an army of men walking to and fro... who are so content with overthrowing the family that I work for, even if that means killing them."
Okoye's hands shook and she held onto the bars that had vibranium pulsating through them. "I don't know if you're the man that I married— I don't even know if you're the man that I'm meant to love until the end of this world, but what I do know is, you loved power more than anything."
Wakabi looked at Okoye, brushing his thumb against his bottom lip. "Usandithanda?" Do you still love me?
Okoye could hear the longing in his voice, that made her heart feel like it was sinking down lower and lower into her body. Deep down, because she knew it was the question that she was asking herself every single day that she walked through the palace to start her day, and each time she would leave.
"I love you," She nodded and Wakabi could feel a warmth in his heart. "But, I love this position more." Her eyes fell on him, and the warmth that he felt instantly was replaced with a cold feeling. It was different from a typical windchill, and couldn't even compare to the weather where the Jabari tribe lived. "I know where my loyalty lies— I guess you understand where yours does also. We have to stay in these beds when we make them, and I refuse to share that bed with you, or try to make room for you in my own."
The realization that she knew she'd have to come to, came out easier than she thought that it would; almost as if the weight was lifted off her shoulders so that she could be free of every burden. "Bast is never wrong, and sometimes we can't try to make things work, if she never saw fit for them to."
Wakabi knew. He understood everything that she meant, and all it did was anger him even more. No one knew but the two of them—
Okoye was never claimed by Wakabi.
They were never able to hear each other, feel each other, and never had the marking that they were meant to. They realized a year into their relationship, and one year into their marriage that Bast didn't tie them together— but, they tried to make it work. It just... wouldn't. But, everyone assumed that they were based on how they handled each other. It was the only lie she kept from the family, ever.
That's why Okoye was never able to know his plans the entire time.
"She's been giving signs of this for the longest; and I ignored them because I thought that I could make this work, without her say... maybe, this was her way of getting me to see this situation for what it was." Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip while her fingers toyed with the ring on her hand, sliding it off completely and putting it on the floor. "I don't have the energy to keep ignoring what's been in front of our eyes from the start. Sala kakuhle, Wakabi." Goodbye .
As soon as she moved her feet to walk away, a loud clanking sound went off in the halls from Wakabi throwing his food dish at the vibranium bars, along with the cup. The sound of him screaming Okoye's name sounded off like a war cry as it echoed off the walls. She simply continued to walk, ignoring every one of his attempts to gain her attention back.
It wasn't just anger that was boiling in him now— it was pride, jealousy, and even melancholy. All it did was begin to fuel his next few steps even more.
Mbali
"My arms hurt, so bad." I groaned and tried to hold in the whimper that was trying to sneak out form my lips, so that I wouldn't have to see the irritating smirk Erik more than likely had on his face. "I'm gonna drop." I told him, instead of asking.
"No, you're not." He shook his head, walking over. He had small beads of sweat coming from his forehead and a few dripping from his nose. Grabbing a towel, he wiped them away and tossed it back towards the bench that wasn't that far from us. "You lost the bet, so you gotta follow through... unless you wanna admit to being pussy— that's fine with me too; you just gotta say it."
It was a childish bet that he made earlier. I don't even remember what we were doing before it, but he swore that I couldn't go more than ten minutes without a smart comment coming out of my mouth. He ended up doing something stupid— in my opinion... and a smart comment eventually came out of my mouth. It was a reflex.
So here I was, losing the bet, and stuck hanging from one of the bars in the training room for twelve minute straight while he worked out. "Fuck you." I groaned and tried swinging my legs back and forth to kick him, but all he did was push them back. My hands were sweating and my the same droplets that were on his nose, were already forming on mine. "Could you at least wipe my face?"
"Say please."
"You're definitely pushing it."
"You've got three minutes left, all you gotta do is say please, uthando. Then, I won't have a problem with it." Love. He stood directly in front of me with his hands behind his back. The smirk was there.
"I'm not begging. You definitely have the wrong woman to have this begging kink with."
"Really? Cause that's definitely not the response I was getting from you earlier today—"
"Pholaaaa" Relaxxxx. I frowned. "You don't have to let the walls know."
"The walls knew the moment it happened, ain't no telling what else they know." He chuckled and gave in, wrapping a arm around my waist and hold me, so that I could finally drop my arms.
"Just let me be one with the floor. If I can't feel my arms I'm pretty sure I won't be able to feel my legs either." I mumbled into his shoulder, letting my arms drop to his back. I could feel his chuckle radiating from his back as he did. The inside of the training room was hot, but as soon as we stepped into the hallway, the cold air wasted no time hitting my damp skin; making me shiver.
"There you go, being dramatic."
I silently mocked him and felt a sharp sting on the back of my thigh, making me hiss. "Why? I just want to know why."
"I knew as soon as I said it, that if you didn't say a smart ass comment, you were going to act it out." Turning into my room this time instead of his. A few of his belongings were in here now; mainly the basics since we already shared the same space. A few shirts, sweatpants, journals— even the glasses he'd wear and his fathers ring that he kept on the chain he'd wear would get left in here sometimes. I figured if the ring and the journals were both in here, he was getting even more comfortable in my room, day by day. Sliding from out his grip that he finally loosened, I went to close my curtains that were still open and pulled them together.
"Are you sleeping in here, or with me?" His voice came from the opposite side of the bed, and it caught me off guard. It was becoming normal that we'd just sleep where we wanted, without having to ask that question. So for him to ask, was a little different. "I have to shower, but aside from that I'll be where ever you're at— unless you wanna stay in here alone for the night."
I turned to look at him and saw him sitting on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the beads around his wrist. "....do you want me to sleep with you?"
"That's completely up to you." He shrugged, but it wasn't a nonchalant one that he would give at one point. He was distracted by something.
I tried to wipe the smug look off my face, because I knew that's what he wanted. He just didn't want to come out and say it. "You can sleep with me in here. I don't mind; did you want to shower in here?" He nodded his head and the distracted look came back all over again. "Shower in here." I told him. "I'll go in after you, get some time to yourself."
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Erik's head sat right against my thigh while he kept his eyes closed. My thumb rubbed circles against his temple, and we kept the TV on low, just enjoying the quiet that's in the room. His shoulders would tense and relax every few minutes, but he'd just roll them until he felt comfortable again.
"What's wrong?" What's wrong? I asked and tapped his shoulder, getting one of his eyes to open slightly, right before he closed it again. "And don't say you're just tired, I know it's not that."
The corner of his mouth turned up just a bit, making a smirk. "I can't just be tired?"
"Not when I know you're not tired. Just like you've gotten pretty good at reading me, I've gotten pretty good at reading you, too." I sighed and tapped my finger against the middle of his chest. "What's going on?"
Erik licked his lips and took my hand in his, placing it on his stomach. "It's soft shit... I really don't wanna talk about soft shit. I have a image to keep up."
"A image with who, the walls? Don't start." I rolled my eyes. "It's now or never, and I feel like we're definitely past being uncomfortable talking about 'soft shit'."
It grew quiet in the room and he shook his head. "I just... I feel at ease."
My eyebrow raised at how the sentence came from his lips, "At ease? Is at ease a bad thing?"
"I was never used to feeling at ease before. I just always felt like I was adjusting to whatever the fuck I was doing at the time, and every situation I was in. When you have to do that a lot, it makes you feel numb to damn near everything."
I just continued to listen to him talk, and get whatever off his chest.
"It not a bad thing... just different. It's peaceful— I never got to experience much of that before."
"Are you worried about something coming along and taking that feeling away?"
"I don't wanna be that type of person, but that's what I'm used to, so I've just been staying on my toes just in case." I could feel his hand go down and wrap around my ankle, while his thumb brushed back and forth. "We don't get to experience comfortability that often."
"Well, we're gonna think positive." I smiled and rested my hand on his head. "I like you even more when your mind is clear."
"You like me, regardless."
"I think you should shut up now. I also like you when you're quiet at times." I sang annoyingly, only making him laugh. The soft chuckle made his chest rise and fall, along with letting his teeth pop from behind his lips.
"You're not worried about anything?"
"Of course, I get worried. But sometimes, I don't like to act on it. I think all it does is make matters worse for me. When it comes to this however," I motioned between the both of us. "I'm not worried— I'm curious if anything. That kills cats, but if Bast saw fit... it's obviously more to why she did. I'm just here for the ride."
"We have no choice but to be here for the ride... if we aren't she might kill our asses."
"I don't think that's how that works, but alright." I chuckled, moving my thumb to the base of his bottom lip. Bending down, I quickly pressed my lips to his, taking notice of how he easily returned the gesture.His hand found the bottom of my shirt and made sure he hand a gentle, yet tight enough grip to hold me in place.
Omniscient
Soft but sultry moans fell from Mbali's lips while Erik's eyes stayed locked on hers and their foreheads touching. Little pants came from his own mouth with each thrust, while Mbali's nails left small crescent indents on his arms.
Erik pressed his lips against her own again, feeling the vibration against his. He didn't initiate them ending up this way, this time. It was Mbali; and he wasn't the type to reject any advances she put out between the two of them. He watched her facial expressions change from being soft and angelic, to nearly devilish each time his hips moved against her bare skin.
Reaching out, Mbali put her hand between the both of them and pushed against his lower stomach; letting more moans fall out as she tightened around him. "Move your hand." His voice dropped in tone. Erik placed kisses against every square inch of skin against Mbali's neck and chest that he could reach, moving up to her lips again. Her lips parted, feeling his teeth sink into her bottom lip.
"Hambisa isandla sakho." Move your hand. He told her again, but moved it for her, holding both above her head as curses came from her mouth.
Mbali gave up holding her composure a while ago— specifically when his hand went from being under her shirt, to her sitting in his lap and his hands roaming around her lower half. Even when it was under her shirt, it wasn't in a sexual way; it was comforting— but, her body reacted to it in a way that was sending him indirect messages. Mbali's hips rolled as her legs started to tighten around his sides. Her nails slightly started to dig into the skin on his hand, and a groan came from his lips. This time, they weren't rushing and it wasn't something being done out of lust.
They took their time with everything, admiring every inch of each others body and soaking in every thought that formed in their minds. Some were pure and innocent, and others were too risky to say out loud, even if it was just the two of them there. Every place that Mbali touched on Erik made his skin warm up on the specific spots.
For once, it wasn't about the sex itself, it was the intimacy. It was so much of it, that it made the corners of Mbali's eyes start to water. "You okay?" Erik finally spoke aloud, bringing them both back into reality.
Mbali let a soft "Mhmm," come from between her lips before the moan slipped out. She felt the area where she once felt full, become empty; making her eyebrows pull together. Looking down between them, Mbali bit her lip at the sight of Erik being completely coated by her own essence.
"Turn over."
And she wasted no time following suit.
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Mbali's nails gently went against the back of Erik's neck as he slept with his head against her chest and arms wrapped around her body. Their bare skin still coming down from every touch that went against it. Mbali kept her eyes on the ceiling, feeling like she was in and out of sleep.
She kept on her toes as she watched Erik sleep, just in case he'd have a episode that would make him uncomfortable, and result in her having to put him back at ease. He'd slept well for the past few nights, but she knew nothing would really be certain.
He'd still tense up from time to time— she could feel it in his muscles, but he wouldn't jerk around. A low grumbling sound came from his chest as she brought her hand from the back of his neck to the back of his head. Everything he said earlier played back in her head, making her thoughts run crazy. She loved that he felt at ease with her, and was definitely praying that nothing changed that. Erik's thumb rubbed circles on her side, where the keloids that resembled his were. She could notice his breathing patterns changing, and was praying that it was nothing that would make him panic in his dreams.
Mbali pecked his forehead and closed her eyes. Her hands rested on his back, moving her fingers in the same clockwise circles that he was rubbing on her own skin, at the exact same pace.
She wouldn't be quick to say that she was in love with him— she felt like neither of them would... but she did care about him more that she thought she would. And she hoped that the same at ease feeling that he had, would soon rub off on her.
"Lala" Sleep. Mbali hummed and put one more kiss against his head.
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CHAPTER UNEDITED
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YEAH THIS TOOK MONTHS.
YEAH I BEEN GHOST READING THE COMMENTS (YOU WHORES).
YEAH I'M ALIVE.
YEAH I LEFT YALL HANGING WITH THE SEX
BUT GUESS WHAT... ALL MY IDEAS ARE BACK AND BETTER IN MY HEAD.
WE BACK TO BEING LIVE BABY.
What do we think about seeing more of our good sis Okoye and a soft side of Erik? We like temporary change lmfaoo.
|VOTE & COMMENT!|