Avengers Imagines

I Missed You- T'Challa Udaku

(Female Reader)

You had unfortunately grown accustomed to sleeping without T'Challa. Sure he was your husband, but he was also a king. And Wakanda took priority. You knew that going in, but that didn't mean you were a fan of it. You were more responsible for issues within Wakanda, so you were almost always stuck here. Plus, he was the Black Panther. You had lost count of how many times some urgent matter, political or otherwise, stole him away in the middle of the night.  A case in point would be eight days ago. And while the past seven nights you had been able to sleep just fine, tonight was an exception. 

You wrestled with the sheets trying to get comfortable, which was proving impossible. You were cold, plagued by random itches that had no real cause, and nothing was working. It was clear what you needed to sleep, but he was thousands of miles away, somewhere. With all you had, you focused on anything besides where he was or who was shooting at him. You turned to see the empty space of cold sheets next to you. The moon lit your skin in a ghostly way when your fingers brushed over the vacant pillow. The cologne still clinging to it gave a cruel illusion that he was next to you if you closed your eyes, so you decided to do just that as a substitute. You forced your eyes closed despite not being tired, and waited until you finally fell asleep. 

The lonely darkness of sleep was interrupted by a warm feeling wrapping around you. Arms materialized around your torso, and a chin in the crook of your neck. At least in your dreams you could be with him whenever you were really without him. Through the groggy film of sleep, you heard T'Challa hum contently in your ear, and you sighed with the same relaxation. 

Unfortunately, consciousness started to pull you back to the reality where he was some thousand miles away. No matter how hard you tried to fight it, you could feel yourself waking up. You latched onto the arms wrapped around you, but it was all slipping. You regretfully opened your eyes, greeted by warm sunlight pouring through the window, but you felt something encouraging. The arm your hands were wrapped around hadn't disappeared.

Excitement started to flood into your chest. You squinted through the bright light and just what you wanted to see materialized in your vision. T'Challa was laying behind you, nearly snoring into your neck. 

You sprang away from him in a surprise, now wide awake. "T'Challa?!" you squealed, to which he scrunched up his face with his eyes firmly shut. 

"Hey, hey, what are you shouting for? I'm trying to sleep..." he grinned smugly and you smacked him on the arm. 

"You're not funny," you begrudgingly smiled at his teasing. He never failed to make you smile no matter the situation. Through his smirk, T'Challa let his eyes drift open tiredly. He clearly just got in from wherever he was, since he was still wearing his Black Panther necklace. 

"And yet, I still make you smile," he said softly, looking up into your eyes lovingly, and tracing his fingers over your arm. 

"Just shut up and kiss me," you chuckled. He leaned up as you leaned down, meeting in the middle in a long delayed kiss. One you both smiled into. T'Challa pulled you on top of him, having a firm grip on your waist, and you doubted he wanted to let you go anytime soon.

When the need for air separated your lips, you leaned your forehead against his. You clung onto his shoulders, almost like you were convincing yourself he really was there. You savored every moment you had with him, since they could be few and far between. He stared up at you, letting out a content sigh. 

"I missed you, my love." There was a hint of sadness accompanying the comfort in his tone. Being apart so sporadically and indefinitely took a toll on both of you. While he was a great leader and warrior, he was still weakened by being away from you. 

"I missed you too," you sighed and laid your head on his shoulder with your legs on either side of his. "Where were you this time?" 

"Hungary," he stared up at the ceiling while his hand gently grasped yours. "Quite a beautiful country, we should go some day." You felt your chest deflate a bit. T'Challa wasn't one to back out on his promises, but sometimes, you just never knew what would happen or when. 

"While that sounds like a wonderful idea, who knows when our country won't need us indefinitely?" You were half way joking, and your tone matched that, but he knew that was a loaded rhetorical question.

"I'm sorry we have to be without each other so often..." he whispered. There was guilt and regret evident in his voice, enough to prop you up on your elbow in order to look him in the eye. 

"You don't have to apologize, T. It's just, how things are. You're a king, and your country is a higher priority," you said sternly. He looked up to meet your eyes, and his own were practically glowing in the sunlight. 

"That doesn't mean I don't feel like a part of me is missing whenever I'm away." Then the sun lit a tear in the corner of his eye.

"I know. The same part of me goes missing too," you said sadly. There was a melancholy feeling that hung around you two, but you realized something. You didn't know the next time you'd be this close to him again, and you held his face tenderly in your hand. "But hey, we make it work. It's not ideal, but we make it work," you smiled softly before pressing an equally gentle peck to his lips. You felt him soften underneath you with a sigh.

"Have I mentioned that I love you?" T'Challa lovingly asked while running his hands smoothly over your back. This time, a smug grin played on your own features. 

"No, I don't think you ever have," you teased. As petty as it was, you wanted to get back at him for teasing you not five minutes ago.

He rolled his eyes but had a whisper of a grin on his lips. "Ha ha." This only stoked your tantalizing. 

"Wait, do you?" you jokingly asked, pushing yourself up from his shoulders and sitting on your knees. "I had no idea!"

"Alright.." You could tell he wanted to be more annoyed, but his smile kept growing. 

"Gasp, The Black Panther, in love with me? Am I blushing? AH-" you dramatic hand gestures and teasing was interrupted with a yelp as he quickly grabbed your waist and flipped so he was on top of you. And, he didn't hesitate to start tickling your sides mercilessly. The air was filled with your laughter as your limbs flailed in an attempt to get him to stop, but he persisted, laughing himself. 

"Now who's not funny?" T'Challa's jab was nearly lost in the sea of your giggles, as was the knock on the door.

"My King," you both heard Okoye say from the other side, and T'Challa slowed his frantic tickling. 

"Okoye I'm busy showing my wife she's incredibly unfunny," he smirked and you caught your breath while smacking his arm again. 

"It's an urgent call from Steve Rogers." That caused both your expressions to fall a bit in curiosity. "I think you want to take it."

_____________________________

And that completes the countdown! Infinity War opens tonight!! I saw it last night cause I work at a movie theater and we get screenings of new movies, and holy shit, holy sHIT, HOLY SHIT!!! IT WAS A DAMN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER AND I PHYSICALLY CAN'T WAIT A YEAR FOR THE NEXT ONE GUYS I'M A WRECK! IF ANYONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IT ONCE THEY SEE IT PLEASE MESSAGE ME! Also I work tonight for opening night of it so wish me luck. Anywho, thanks for reading! I'm gonna try to update more regularly instead of once every few months lol this countdown helped me a lot with publishing more regularly. Vote, comment, and request!