The King: T'Challa.

Chapter 14: Ulysses Klaue.

T'Challa and Emily moved through the palace's cool stone corridors in silence, the muffled echo of their footsteps following them as they descended towards Shuri's lab. She had been content to walk in his wake, lost in her thoughts of what awaited them in Busan, when he suddenly stopped short. She nearly collided with him, blinking at the unexpected halt.

"Is everything alright, my King?" she asked, brows drawn in curiosity.

He turned, a faint smile tugging at his lips, though his eyes betrayed a seriousness beneath. "First of all, I thought we had agreed to abandon the titles when it is only the two of us."

The memory of that earlier exchange—half-teasing, half-sincere—flickered across her mind, and she allowed herself the smallest smirk. "Of course, T'Challa."

He inclined his head in satisfaction, though he hesitated before continuing. "Secondly..." He paused, as if weighing whether to proceed, before his voice dropped into something more personal. "I wished to thank you. For what you said last night."

Emily tilted her head, studying him carefully. "You don't need to thank me," she said quietly. "I only spoke what I believed."

"You opened my eyes," he admitted, his voice low, almost confessional. "I have long wondered what kind of King I must be. Now, I begin to see the shape of it."

Her chest tightened at the gravity of the admission. She managed a small smile, not wanting to crowd the moment with more words than it needed. "Then I'm glad I could help."

The silence that followed was no longer heavy, but companionable, the kind that spoke of a bond slowly strengthening. Together, they continued down towards Shuri's lab.

***

When T'Challa and Emily stepped into the cool brilliance of Shuri's lab, the young Princess wasted no time. She raised her arms dramatically, her voice pitched with mock ceremony.

"My King!" she exclaimed, striding forward as though to embrace her brother. "My favourite sibling!"

Emily instinctively braced for the Udaku children to share some familial display, but to her surprise it was her Shuri clasped in a sudden embrace. Emily's eyes widened, catching T'Challa's equally startled expression over the girl's shoulder.

"Eh, Shuri," Emily said, voice muffled against the Princess's braids, "your brother is over there."

Shuri drew back, grinning with irrepressible mischief. "Oh, I know. But you're my favourite."

She spun away without waiting for an answer, beckoning them to follow. Emily exchanged a long-suffering glance with T'Challa as he exhaled through his nose, resigned to his sister's antics

Shuri was already at one of her consoles, fingers dancing over the glowing interface. "So," she said without looking up, "who's going to Korea with you?"

"Okoye. And Emily," T'Challa replied evenly.

Emily arched a brow. "No Nakia?"

His glance flickered to his sister. "I thought she would be too much of a distraction. And Shuri was... very persuasive on that point."

Emily folded her arms, considering him. "Perhaps she was right."

He turned his head sharply, surprise plain in his expression, as though expecting her instinctive loyalty. "Whose side are you on, Miss Cassidy?"

Emily smirked, eyes glinting. "Oh, so we're back to titles now, my King?"

T'Challa chuckled despite himself.