The Prince & The Boy | Erik Killmonger x Chiron Harris

Rather Be With You.

It's been about 2 ½ weeks into Erik's initiation process and Chi's can't help but miss him. He keeps himself occupied with track conditioning and hanging out with his friends, but his mind always wanders back to Erik.

He looks forward to the random times they're able to see each other and the early morning/late-night phone calls to keep Erik up. And although he loves talking to him whenever he can, he hates how tired Erik sounds every time they talk. "I wish they would let you rest."

"I know. Shit, but it'll be worth it soon, baby boy"

"I know," Chi sighs dejectedly, "I just miss you."

"I miss you too. We still get to see each other in class though." Erik tries to cheer Chi up a little, "I'll come over tomorrow night if I'm free for a little bit," which makes Chi smile a bit.

"Thank you for staying up with me this whole time" Erik yawns and rubs his eyes.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else." And he meant it. Being with Erik, whether it was in person or over the phone, made Chi inexplicably happy.

Before either of them can say anything else, Erik's dean calls him away, "I gotta go, baby boy."
Chi sighs as he and Erik say their goodbyes and hang up.

"These next few weeks need to go by faster" Chi mumbles to himself as he closes his eyes to go to sleep.

Unfortunately, the two don't have their shared class the next day, but Erik facetimes Chi while in the locker room waiting for practice to begin.

Running on 4 hours of sleep and a can of Monster, he tries to look wide awake and well-rested so Chi won't worry. Of course, it doesn't work and Chi notices anyway. One of the perks of being a quiet person is learning to be very perceptive.

"Are you good to play this week?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry, I got this." Erik's not the only one whose exhaustion is noticed."What's wrong with Chance?"

"Same shit" Erik looks to his teammate and line brother, "I gotta go," Erik rushes off of the phone," I'll talk to you later."

"Bye," Chi whispers dejectedly as the telltale beeps of an ended facetime call comes from his phone. Chi is not only missing him, but he's worried, too. He can tell that Erik's exhausted and he wants this whole thing to be over.

After practice, Chi waits on Erik to say something about coming over, but he never does. Chi's worry is mixed with disappointment. In reality, Erik fell asleep during his small window of free time after doing some homework.

Chi goes to sleep early, trying to forget about what happened and how Erik's accidental ghosting reminds him of many nights with Sean. The next morning, Erik texts him.

My bad for not coming over, I ended up doing some homework and fell asleep right after practice. I'll make it up to you. I promise

Chi knows that Erik isn't one for empty promises, so he feels significantly better about the whole situation.

The final days go by and Chi's more than over it. He hates barely seeing Erik. The same goes for Erik, but he knows this is something he wants, so he won't quit. Erik's determination is one of the things Chi loves about him so Chi attempts to look at the glass half full, thinking of how accomplished Erik will feel after this whole process is over and done with.

The day that the intake process is over is a happy one. Erik comes straight over to Chi's apartment with an overnight bag. There's little conversation before Chi makes him take a nap almost immediately, the exhaustion practically coming off of Erik in waves. Erik wakes up in the middle of the night encased in Chi's arms and immediately think of how soft he feels He's actively plotting on stealing some of Chi's hoodies.