King T'Challa sat in his office in New York. Wakanda had set up a more lavish embassy once its true nature had been displayed but as he read the report, given by two very hungover Dora Milaje, he gritted his teeth. He had been called away from Wakanda and had spent the flight bristling with anger.
It was one thing to find out Venom was not the monster they thought he was, it was another to get a report that this younger sister had been flirting and posing naked in the presence of a man, and that he had not taken offense. Shuri was playing a dangerous game. One that he hoped she knew what she was doing.
His most trusted Dora, Okoye, stood and watched as his hand tightened into fists, and made a note to discipline the two women personally. While Princess Shuri could be a handful, sitting, drinking soda and eating chips while she ran riot was definitely a lack of discipline on their part. Protocol should have been to call either her or T'Challa. Not let her bond with a creature and expose herself to a strange man.
"If I send her home, do you think I will have a home to return to?" he asked her as he leant back and ran a hand over his face. Opting for the more prudent response. Okoye stayed silent.
"You know, that says more than if you had actually answered," and even her normally stoic face cracked, and she smiled at him.
"She is a Princess, and you cannot control her any more than you have. I will make sure her security is better though," but he waved his hand,
"She was surrounded by Augmented and these Symbiotes, I doubt your Dora would have been a match for any of them, let alone Mr Parker."
At that thought, she huffed, to insult her Dora Milaje was to insult her.
"And I know that look as well, leave her security alone, or she will only complain." and she laughed,
"Yes, but she will complain to you, not to me," and while he did laugh he still shook his head at her,
He sighed. "What should I do? We know they are dangerous, but that was two hundred years ago. We know Venom is dangerous but that was all lies and smoke. Do I let my little sister stay in the company of that man, who has seven others?" and Okoye snorted,
"And other than Ororo, how many do you have?" and he leant back frowning,
"The brides in training were not my idea, nor my choice," and she raised an eyebrow, "and that came out wrong, I am sorry." But she stood, lifted her spear and stood back at the door, the smile gone from her face. T'Challa sighed, "please, forgive me. I am stupid and I spoke out of turn." but Okoye stood silently. "Fine, fine, but you know, Ororo has refused to return my calls. I am being forced to choose another head wife. I think I saw a few names on the list. One of my very dear, and not as stubborn childhood friends," and Okoye raised an eyebrow and tapped the butt of her spear on the tiled floor. "Of course, I forgot, your name was second wasn't it." but he shrugged and turned his chair to look out the window, "but it seems we are a poor match, too different, not at all compatible," and as she cleared her throat he was hiding the huge smile on his face.
"My King. Surely discussing a new bride while you have yet to talk to the old one is bad manners." and as his chair swivelled around he laughed, "as if you do not know exactly what you are doing. Shuri is bad enough, without you adding to it." and she scowled but smiled and shook her head,
"Is this official?" and he nodded,
"It is. The council sent me the missive this morning. Ororo was found guilty of behaviour unbecoming of a royal Wakandan. She is being stripped of her position and if she does not stop this behaviour, her citizenship as well." He motioned to her to sit and as she stuck her head out the door T'Challa heard another Dora standing at attention outside.
Leaning her spear against the door frame, Okoye moved and sat, "are we to talk as equals?" and he nodded,
"The missive moved you up to head wife, and you are to begin training immediately. I have no say this time, the council voted that as King I should have done this immediately and that Ororo was an outsider to begin with. But, as they will not ask, I shall. Are you okay? I will not force you," and Okoye laughed.
"Did sneaking away to kiss in the quiet areas not teach you that I love you, my heart, and that I am honoured and happy to be your wife." and as she ran a hand over her head, "and I can stop shaving."
T'Challa smiled, "Good, then as my very beautiful and very capable wife to be, you can please help me deal with Shuri and the mess she is making."
Okoye smiled. "Oh that is simple. Practice this very powerful and very effective charm." and T'Challa raised an eyebrow,
"Please to meet you, brother in law," and his face fell. Okoye laughed and pointed, "oh, your face, is so funny" and holding her stomach his unamused look deepened as did her laughter. As she moved over she knelt by the side of his chair and shook her head as he pouted,
"I have known you all my life, and have been told that I would always be by your side, as your queen or as the head of your guard. I will always be there, but you must let Shuri decide her own fate. You cannot send her to America and then expect her to follow the old ways, and admit it. The reason you dislike Peter Parker is you know that she likes him. His file reads like hers. Stubborn, headstrong, brilliant, and unwavering. If you were just her brother and not King, I would just say you were being overprotective." He crossed his arms,
"She will do this to spite you if you let her, and she will do it to spite the council as well. You know that M'Baku made hints at a union to solidify the promise you made and that she did not speak to you for a week after you mentioned it."
He sighed and turned to her, "Then, my Queen. What do you suggest?" and she stood and smiled, running a hand over his shoulder,
"Make it official first. Break off the engagement with Ororo, and be polite. You made a stupid error there, and the fault is not hers. As for Shuri," and she shrugged, "tell her you have been wrong and you approve. If she really likes him, she will love you, and if she is doing it to spite you, she will lose interest and you will never see him again."
T'Challa laughed. "A good plan, but she is too smart. I will be fair in dealing with Ororo, she was right and I overstepped, but Peter. If I back away she will be suspicious and become more interested. So no. I will disapprove while submitting his name to the council, and if she is serious, I win either way. His file is very interesting, as is the company he keeps."
T'Challa swept a hand over his desk and a holographic display lit up, "Killian Aldrich. We have already made movies to acquire a controlling interest in Futurepharm, as his Extremis formula can rival our own. We had tried to grab the Stacy formula but it is too entrenched in Stark's world to remove. Hammer on the other hand." and as he tapped on the desk, Justin Hammers file sprang up,
"He is a pain in my rear. He had made several attempts to purchase Vibranium through shell companies, over his allotted amount and also tried to smuggle operatives into the county. Hammer is part of AIM and right now I do not wish to upset either Peter or Mr Aldrich. However, Hammer's constant annoyance is becoming more than is tolerable. If he continues I may be forced to use him as an example to the world that Wakanda is playing nice at the moment, but we still have very sharp fangs." and Okoye nodded,
"And the warehouse incident?" leaning back, T'Challa sighed,
"Youthful excitement. It is strictly confidential, explain to your Dora that if word my little sister exposed herself willingly to a man, that they will not be seeing our homeland again." and Okoye agreed,
She had similar plans, and if they were willing, Shuri might find herself with more sister-wives than she bargained for. Peter had the stamina to take them, and strengthening the bonds between him and the country could provide them with a source of symbiotes for themselves.
Even if he was unwilling to marry them it was not unheard of for the Wakandan Royal family to bed their guards, as practice for their wedding night. Even though she had confiscated the video they had shot, unknown to her or T'Challa, Peter's stamina when it came to the bedroom, and his measurements were well known throughout the guard. She had already received several transfer requests to his surveillance detail, much to her annoyance. The Dora Milaje were professionals but they were also still women, and as amongst Wakandans where strength was prized, Peter had proven himself very capable, and to many, very desirable.
If Shuri decided that she was to marry him, she had no doubt that we would pass their trials without breaking a sweat, and that any challengers for her hand would be ground beneath his heels. As she thought more about it, it was maybe a good idea to make arrangements. Shuri was not hotheaded and once she decided on a course of action it would be hard to change her mind. If she grew to like Peter, she would pursue him. It would be prudent, in her opinion, to plan for that eventuality.
Even T'Challa understood this, and while he might be hesitant over the devourer in their midst, he still had to respect the fights Peter had been involved in and won. His dislike for the man was almost as great as his respect for him, and if they ever fought, T'Challa knew he would have to call upon the full strength of the Black Panther to defeat him.
He could only sigh as he realised that Shuri might have already planned this, and that her own operatives were just as capable as his own, and that she was better at seeing a lot of different futures than he was. She would plan her own future, while he focused on Wakanda. This might have even been her plan from the start to get out of an arranged marriage with the White Gorilla tribe. She had never expressed an interest in anything other than her lab and her studies.
"As for Parker Inc. I am going to suggest to Shuri that she partners with Peter. If we can gain more information on the symbiotes it can only help to make a defence against them. If she likes him, then as much as I dislike the idea I will learn to step back," and Okoye nodded and patted his hand, "and I am sure that if Hammer is just as annoying to AIM as he is to us, he might even consider it a small favour."
"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" and as he laughed he lifted and kissed the back of her hand. "Although, getting rid of Justin Hammer is not going to be enough to make up for the fact you accused him of sleeping with your fiance."
T'Challa tutted and swiped his hand over the desk, "there," as he tapped a few keys. "Do you think that should do it?" and as Okoye noted that T'Challa had allotted double the amount of vibranium he had given Stark, almost a tonne of raw ore, she nodded,
"I think he might sleep with you, rather than your sister," and as he roared with laughter, he grabbed her and pulled her into his lap.
"I am taken, and happy." and as they kissed the Dora outside the door knew not to let anyone disturb the happy royal couple.