Disclaimer: I still don't own Marvel
A/N: Hello all! I said I'd be back this Friday with an update, and for once I can actually follow through on that promise! Hope I can keep this up for next week!
This chapter was originally supposed to be part of the last chapter, but the characters got away from me and insisted on having a chapter to themselves. It's a little shorter on that account, but honestly, I'm glad I decided to split it.
Content warning for discussion of voluntary entry into a medically induced coma, but we're otherwise good to go.
Shuri couldn't sleep.
This was not, as one might expect of someone her age, a common occurrence. She liked to stay up late as much as the next teen - a habit that was admittedly exacerbated by the desire to keep pushing the boundaries of science - but she had been blessed with a circadian rhythm that worked, and generally had good sleep hygiene.
Tonight, however, was the night before they were putting Vision under. She knew just as well as anyone that the Mind Stone needed to be extracted, but it didn't make the task any less daunting. This wasn't removing a bullet from a man's spine - she'd done that before; she knew what to expect - but this was unprecedented. Vision was unprecedented.
She had no doubt his mind would stay intact - she was confident in her work - nor did she expect the life support they'd designed to fail, but none of that changed the fact that come tomorrow, she'd be putting someone in a coma they may never wake up from.
The unprecedented was always nicer when no one's life hung in the balance.
Shuri got to her feet with a groan. She wasn't going to be able to sleep like this, and there was no point in just lying there. She might as well go check the life support couplings to the cradle instead, if just to soothe her nerves.
When she got to the lab, however, she was surprised to find that it wasn't empty. Before the cradle stood Vision, staring down at it with a sort of heaviness that tugged at Shuri's heartstrings.
"Can't sleep either?" she called. Vision gave a little jump before turning, smiling slightly when he caught sight of her.
"I don't sleep," they shrugged, and Shuri groaned, smacking a hand to her face. She must've been really out of it to have forgotten that. Vision smile widened a touch, but it was a soft and weary thing. "You're correct though, in that my usual night habits don't involve staring down at the machinery that made me."
"That's probably a good thing, mental health-wise." Shuri made her way over to Vision, plonking herself down in a nearby chair. "Having second thoughts?"
She wouldn't blame Vision if he was. It had only taken a day to reprogram his neurons, and another three days after that to complete the life support addition to the cradle. She and Stark had even managed to design the first prototype of the micro-arc reactor and double its energy outputs by using a Starkanium-Vibranium alloy.
The trouble was it still didn't match the energy output of the Mind Stone - though curiously enough, the nature of the energy it gave off was remarkably similar. They'd get there, but not in time to make it so Vision could avoid voluntarily entering a coma after only four days to process the fact.
The situation sucked.
"Not really," Vision's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Nervous, yes, but second thoughts? No; this is what has to be done, and any desire on my part not to do it doesn't change that. I just… The first time we met, Hela called me 'cousin.'"
"Aren't you though - her cousin?"
"I am! I had just never really thought of myself in such terms - a cousin, a son. It's a novel way of thinking, to me. In my mind, my place among interpersonal connections was simply 'an Avenger.'"
Shuri blinked. She couldn't imagine seeing herself not as a member of her family. She was Shuri, Princess of Wakanda, sister of T'Challa, daughter of T'Chaka and Ramonda. Those definitions were precious to her - grounding and making her feel part of a whole.
"Were you not lonely?" she asked.
"No," Vision said, and the simplicity of the statement surprised her. "To be an Avenger is to be part of a team, to dedicate yourself to the people of the world. I could never imagine myself feeling lonely with that."
Huh. Shuri wouldn't have thought about it like that - but hearing it from Vision, it made sense. To Vision, being an Avenger gave them the same stability being part of her family gave Shuri. It was kind of nice, actually - and always interesting to hear such a different perspective.
"So while Tony and Thor and Bruce were always part of my team - and in that sense have always been family - well, it's just different, to think of myself as their son."
"And is that...uncomfortable? For you?"
Vision hesitated a moment.
"...No," they said firmly. "I think it would, if I felt it negated the bonds I feel as part of the team - including those to Thor and Bruce and Tony, but it doesn't. It's not like they're mutually exclusive existences or anything. It is, however, novel. A whole new layer in how I think about myself - not to mention that it comes with princely responsibilities. It deserves some thought, don't you think?"
"I sure do," Shuri whistled. "And as for the 'princely responsibilities,' believe me when I say I get it."
"Of course," Vision nodded seriously. "You are Wakanda's Princess and chief scientist both - if anyone would understand, it would be you. ...I, ah, know I'm rather new to the job of being a prince and everything, but if I can support you in any way… Well, it's the least I could do, really."
"You don't owe me or anything," Shuri waved him off, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. She didn't want people to talk to her because they felt they owed her. Vision shook his head.
"Is that not what friends do: support each other? Or am I being too presumptuous?"
"Hey you two - is everything okay?"
Vision and Shuri whipped around at the sound of a new voice. Bruce Banner, disheveled and in his pajamas, stood blinking in the doorway.
"You're up too, Bruce?" Shuri asked, surprise overruling any instinct to answer the question. Bruce, however, seemed to find something about that reassuring, and chuckled.
"Chronic insomniac," he shrugged. "I was just thinking about making myself a cookie in a mug - you guys want to join me?"
The break room by the lab was both well stocked and - predictably, for the hour - empty, giving their midnight excursion an air of mischief that wasn't exactly warranted. Something about that was kind of fitting, in Shuri's opinion. Fun, at the very least. Shuri and Vision settled themselves in at one of the tables while Bruce stepped up to the kitchenette like it was a familiar routine.
Maybe it was, if this was Bruce's way of dealing with insomnia.
"Chocolate chip sound good to you?" Bruce called back over his shoulder as he acquired mugs and ingredients. Shuri nodded.
"Fine by me," she said, and the three of them sank into a comfortable quiet. There was something soothing about watching Bruce separate out egg yolks and measure out flour. In the calm, Shuri's mind wandered back to her earlier conversation with Vision. The more she turned it over in her head, the more his words made sense.
Shuri, for all the ways her upbringing differed from the average Wakandan citizen's, had never longed for company. She'd had her parents, her brother, Nakia, Okoye and the Dora - her family and her people - and much like Vision, she couldn't imagine being lonely under those circumstances.
However, Shuri didn't have much in the means of what would traditionally be called friends - and she didn't get to spend much time with those she did have simply because she was busy with her responsibilities. It was a different sort of connection, and one Shuri found she'd like to have more of.
A different layer to interacting with others, instead of a different layer to how she viewed herself, but she saw what Vision had been talking about. In fact, the more she thought about it, it was probably why she'd enjoyed having the Avengers and Helen around as much as she did. True, their presence fell under the umbrella of her work as a princess and scientist both, but despite the grim circumstances, the whole visit felt almost like a slumber party.
The feeling was only amplified as Bruce set Shuri's cookie in a mug in front of her. Unknowingly, he'd chosen her favorite mug - a Studio Ghibli themed one Nakia brought back from Japan - and she tucked into it happily as Bruce placed the next cup in the microwave. Vision - as Shuri'd learned - couldn't eat, but could feel heat and pressure, and Bruce took the time to heat Vision a mug of his own (empty, aside from some water to prevent shattering and ensure even heat distribution) before making his own mug-cookie.
Shuri and Vision clinked their mugs together in toast, Bruce raising his along with them as he sat down.
"Worried about tomorrow?" he asked, and Shuri wrinkled her nose in something of a grimace. She knew talking about it would be good for her - after all, that's what she and Vision had been doing just moments ago - but now that a distraction had come along, she was reluctant to return to the subject.
"...Not exactly," she admitted. "I am not so much worried that something will go wrong, but… I'm frustrated that we have to do it at all. That I cannot get things moving faster."
Truth was, Shuri felt helpless, and it was driving her crazy. She liked to be hands-on, inventing and improving and bridging the gap between possible and impossible. Better yet, it wasn't often that she couldn't - Shuri was brilliant, and she knew it, and there was something wonderful about breezing past roadblocks just by putting her mind to it.
There'd be no breezing this time.
In an objective sense, she knew it wasn't her fault. Sometimes, science took time and there was no way around that. Subjectively though… the last time she couldn't improve her tech fast enough, her father had died. Shortly after that, she'd nearly lost her brother, had her own tech turned against her at the hands of a cousin she hadn't known she had.
"That's not on you, Shuri," Bruce's soft voice cut through her thoughts. "None of this has been easy, and it certainly isn't your fault that we have to prioritize moving the Mind Stone safely out of Thanos's reach over getting Vision back up again. Besides, this is a team effort - if it's on any of us, it's on all of us, and I know without you this would be taking a whole lot longer."
Shuri met his eyes, and Bruce smiled sadly at her.
"I know it's easier said than done - believe me, I know - but try not to beat yourself up about it, okay?"
"I'll do my best," she said, quirking a half-hearted smile of her own. Bruce was right - both on not beating herself up and on that being easier said than done - and melancholy sat heavy on her shoulders and in her stomach. Shuri sighed, then shook herself. This wasn't the time to wallow.
She didn't want to wallow.
"So," Shuri said, falsely chipper in an attempt to distract herself. "What are you planning on doing when you head back to America? Anything exciting?"
"Not really," Bruce chuckled, accepting the non-sequitur with good graces. "Though I might ask Peter - that's Tony's intern - if I can look at the web fluid he makes for Spider-Man. I've been wondering if it could be useful in making Hulk-proof pants."
"Wait, Stark has an intern?" A grin made its way across Shuri's face. Stark was hilariously fun to needle - mostly because he was a dramatic asshole who enjoyed a good verbal sparring match - and Shuri'd bet that this Peter would have insider ammunition. "Oh, you've got to put me in contact with him. And Queen Hela too - I want a commiseration buddy when it comes to royal nonsense."
The other two both laughed, and Vision phased through their chair to grab a sticky note and a pen off a nearby counter. He scribbled out a pair of numbers and passed them to her on his return.
"Thank you, Vision!" Shuri grinned; this would be fun.
"You are very welcome," Vision said serenely, smiling back.
Shrui's grin faded into a softer smile of her own. Yeah, it was nice - to spend more time with friends - and she wore her insomnia away with snack food and good company. By the time she peeled off back to bed, she felt full and warm - and most importantly - like sleep would actually be possible.
A/N: Shuri and Vision insisted on having a heart to heart, and who am I to deny them? This gave me the opportunity to write from Shuri's PoV for the first time, and I hope I did her justice. It also gave me time to explore the nature of family and friendship – which is, to be frank, one of my favorite topics to muse on.
I was lucky enough to grow up in a household in which "friends are the family you build outside the home" were words to live by. That sentiment is something you can expect to see reflected in this piece (if not all my writings). Long story short, in this house we support non-traditional family dynamics/structures, found family, and the diversity of experiences in what "family" means to each of us.
See you next time!