Avengers imagines

The hoeless panther

In which you two are sneaking around (au)

As Shuri's head lab assistant, I'm not allowed to have any sort of sexual or romantic relations with anyone that works in the lab, including Shuri. It would be a conflict of interest and I could have my entire title and career revoked. I understand how much of a risk it is, but if Shuri Udaku looked at anyone else the way she looks at me, I'm sure they'd risk it too.

The princess and I have been having late night meet ups for quite some time. It started in the lab, of course. Slight glances turned into stimulating conversation which then turned into Shuri privately asking me on a date. Of course, I accepted having been smitten with her since the first day I laid eyes on her.

We were casual at first, only sneaking around while my coworkers weren't paying attention and meeting in hidden locations around Wakanda. Which is surprisingly a lot of places. As our relationship started to grow, she asked me to be her girlfriend to which I accepted. After a long conversation, we agreed that we'd have to keep things lowkey so that I could keep my job and be able to work close to the person I adored most.

Shuri's main concern was always making sure I didn't get myself in trouble behind her. At the end of the day, if someone finds out about us she'll continue to be the princess and probably have a minimal punishment. I on the other hand have a lot more to lose than she does.

"Good morning, Ms. Y/l/n." Shuri spoke to me as she walked into the lab. I hated how formal she had to be for the sake of our other coworkers.

"Good morning, Princess Shuri." I nodded to her with a small smile. She walked over to where I was sketching a new design for her Black Panther suit. I wanted to incorporate the hand guns she created when she was about 16 years old as a tribute to her bravery in the war with Thanos. I always found her to be one of the strongest people I knew and so I wanted to create something special for her that she could actually utilize.

"You look as beautiful as ever," she whispered as she leaned closer to me. I looked around the room to make sure there weren't eyes on us before giving her a small peck on the lips. She glanced in front of us once and gave me a slightly longer kiss. It was a dumb idea seeing as the other scientists were only a few feet away, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

There's this sort of thrill that comes with being discreet about our relationship.

"What is this impropriety?" Okoye's voice rang behind us.

I guess we should've checked behind us as well. Shuri and I backed away from each other almost immediately. Fear coursed through me as the general walked toward us.

The other scientists scrambled away, knowing what it was like when Okoye was mad.

"Okoye," Shuri spoke but she was only met with a stern glance.

"You two should know better than this," The general now spoke calmly. "Is this how you got the role of head scientist, Y/n?"

Shuri stepped in front of me. "You should know that I have way more integrity than that."

"Obviously not." She scoffed. "I'll have to report this to the elders, Shuri."

She began to walk away, but Shuri ran after her pleading. I could see how worried she was about me and I should've been pleading along with her, but I was frozen in shock. I could hear the others behind us whispering about the situation at hand.

"Y/n is a hard worker," Shuri assured her. "She became my assistant long before we grew feelings for each other, I swear it."

"But you know the rules, Shuri!" Okoye wouldn't budge. Her eyes met mine in an intense stare. "Come."

My feet were moving before I even registered what was said. We walked behind Okoye, Shuri keeping a respectable distance so as to not piss her off more. We didn't stop until we were in front of the throne room. Shuri looked at me, her eyebrows knitted with concern.

We walked through the doors, Queen Ramonda sitting at her throne, speaking with someone through her kimoyo beads. She ended the call when the three of us entered, Okoye giving her a formal greeting.

"What has she done now?" The queen spoke looking between her daughter and I. "Shuri did you get Y/n in trouble?"

She had an amused tone. My heart raced when Okoye started to speak again.

"Your excellence," she said then paused. "It finally happened!"

There was a complete shift in her tone. Shuri and I looked to each other in confusion and then back to the general. Ramonda clapped her hands and smiled widely.

"How much do I owe you?" The queen then rolled her eyes.

"That would be 50," Okoye looked back at our dumbfounded faces. "Did you really think I was going to snitch? How little faith you have in me."

The two older women snickered amongst each other. I couldn't tell whether or not they were joking.

"Okay, I'm sorry," I finally got the courage to speak. "What is happening here?"

"We've been betting on you two being together for months, child." Okoye answered. "You hid it very well. I had no idea."

My anxiety was relieved but my confusion stood. Okoye seemed pretty determined to rat us out, speaking about improprieties and all that, but I guess it was just for show to scare us. Pretty cruel sense of humor she's got.

"So we can still be together? Even though it's against the rules?" Shuri asked taking a hold of my hand.

"You told them it was against the rules?" Ramonda snapped at Okoye.

"I wanted to give them a little challenge." She giggled.

So we didn't have to sneak around for so long? Though I felt slightly dumb, I was elated to be able to show Shuri off as much as I'd like. Even during work hours. The queen and the general then began asking us questions about our relationship, now wanting to know how we got together and how our relationship was doing.

"What will we tell our coworkers?" I realized as we were conversing.

"We don't owe anyone an explanation anymore, my love." Shuri assured me.

We walked back out of the throne room hand in hand. Shuri stopped me when we were a few feet away from the lab and pulled me in by my waist. 

"I love you." She spoke.

"I love you." I repeated.