Time seemed to march on at a staggering rate after your arrival in Wakanda. Surprisingly, after your first terrifying hearing before King T'Chaka and the Tribal Council (which featured the Prince speaking for you pretty much the entire time due to your overall speechlessness), the people of Wakanda welcomed you with open arms. You were pushed out of the gaze of the public rather quickly, however, when news arrived of the deaths in Lagos. After that, the King was killed, T'Challa hunted down the bomber and fought with the Avengers, then was crowned king . . . only to have his kingship challenged right after.

You were devastated when the stranger heaved T'Challa, the only person you had truly befriended in this strange land, over the roaring white falls. The American quickly claimed the throne and made ready for war with the entire world. You felt lost, betrayed, helpless. But then again, that had been your life ever since your plane had scarred the earth in the wild outland jungles of Wakanda.

You fled with Shuri, Nakia, Mr. Ross, and Queen Ramonda to Jabari territory, and choked back a sob of joy and relief when M'Baku led you to where T'Challa lay, alive, in the snow. He regained his power and prepared to face N'Jakada - or Killmonger, as he called himself - one last time. As you did not have any powers or experience fighting, you were ordered to stay behind at the gorilla palace while your new friends returned and T'Challa took back the throne once and for all.

Peace settled upon the land once more. Nakia and Shuri were almost always out in another country letting the rest of the world know about Wakanda, and bringing about technological and social advancement left and right.

You spent most of your days wandering the grounds around the palace, hoping to find something to occupy your time. T'Challa sometimes came down to walk with you in the gardens. He was always tired from a busy day, being the king and all, but he loved to talk with you. You were happy to let him vent to you about anything that might be plaguing his mind.

"Okoye has gotten all of the Dora Milaje to join her petition to build a Starbucks. If I know W'Kabi, she will soon have him and the Border Tribe behind her too." Your friend sighed.

"Is their anything wrong with having a Starbucks in Wakanda?" you asked, curious of what kind of damage a little coffee shop could do.

"Not inherently, no." He flashed one of those smiles that you were becoming quite fond of. "It is the matter of bringing American imports and companies into our economy. Okoye and I believe it will be good for our people. The Tribal Council say otherwise, and I have been back and forth with them all day." He looked down at you. "Which is why I was so happy to see you walking down here. You help me to clear my mind."

You smiled and your heart fluttered a bit. You were glad he had turned to inspect one of the flower bushes, so he couldn't see you blushing. "Happy to be of service."

You continued strolling slowly through the colorful gardens. And you were surprised when you realized that when T'Challa had been looking at the plant, he had actually been carefully picking one of the beautiful flowers. You had never seen them before you crashed here, and W'kabi had informed you that it was indeed indigenous to Wakanda.

The king handed you the flower gently. "For your hair." He grinned again.

You took it, still blushing, and stuck it behind your ear. He watched you for a moment with a strange look on his face. You quirked your eyebrow, and he shook his head slightly and looked away.

"It looks beautiful," he said, not looking again.

"Do you think you'll be able to persuade the Council to change their minds?" You asked, desperate for conversation.

"Probably," said T'Challa. He paused for a second, thinking, then asked, "After the Starbucks is built, would you like to go together and get coffee?" His gaze fell everywhere except you.

"Yeah," you answered, trying not to sound too surprised, "That sounds really nice."

He finally met your gaze, that beautiful smile returning to his face once more. "It does, doesn't it?"

"And what if it doesn't get built, your highness?" You joked.

"Well," he put his finger to his chin and looked up, "I guess I will just have to take you to dinner, since that was my plan for the second date."

He winked at you, causing the butterflies to rise in your stomach again and you laughed.

Little did either of you know, it would be almost six years before your date would even happen. The day after your magical stroll through flower lined walkways, the Avengers paid a visit to the king, bearing news of a coming war and the ravings of a Mad Titan.