Chapter Text
Riri closes the door to her dorm and locks it before walking towards her desk. Normally her class schedule is manageable for her but today took all the mental energy from her.
Yesterday she had a class presentation in her Artificial Intelligence, a group project in Aerodynamics, and a midterm in her Anthropology class. Today she finished off with a singular midterm in her Differential Equations class.
On her plane ride back from Wakanda last week, the realization hit her that she would have to make up all of the work that she missed over the time she was gone.
Before her impromptu trip, she kept up with her school work, in fact, she would almost finish and submit her assignments weeks early so she could go to the garage and work on her suit plans.
She. was. exhausted. The girl throws her bag on her desk chair and flops into her bed face down. It was now the weekend and she had the opportunity to relax.
She felt her phone vibrate next to her and hit the green button on the screen to answer.
“Hello?” her voice was muffled.
“Girl?”
“Yes MJ” She crossed paths with MJ during her English class in her freshman year. The girl became one of her closest friends after that.
“Are you doing anything this weekend by chance?” MJ questions from the other side of the phone. Riri finally sits up in her bed and leans against the wall.
“Absolutely not”
“Do you want to come back to New York with me? Please? I don’t want to travel alone and I know it’s kind of last minute but I haven’t seen you in forever and it would be fun I promise?” She rants on but somehow gets her full sentence out in one breath.
“Uhhhhh…”
“Please?”
“What time are you leaving?”
“There’s a bus that leaves at 12” Riri pulls her phone away from her ear to check the time. 10:51AM.
“Michelle Jones! That’s so soon?”
“Okay first of all don’t use my full name excuse you. Secondly, well hurry up I already bought our tickets. Bye!” The phone beeps to end the call and she sighs. Of course, the other girl just rushed into it. She didn’t even get the chance to tell her no.
Well, she could still say no but she decides to get up. She reaches for a spare duffle bag out of her closet and walks over to the laundry basket in the corner of her room. I really gotta put these away , she thinks in her head.
She starts throwing her normal outfit staples into her bag like plain t-shirts, ripped jeans, and her favorite Chicago Bulls bomber jacket. Her phone dings again, this time she got a text message.
Bring something nice we’re going out to tonight. She almost put her phone back down before it buzzed again. Don’t forget your fake .
Riri walks into her dorm bathroom and grabs her toothbrush, deodorant, and a few skincare things she needed. She stops by her closet on the way back to look for something “nice” to wear.
She flips through her hangers in the tiny space until she settles on grabbing this black skirt with a tight sheer white long-sleeve shirt. Finally, she threw her phone charger into the duffle and she was ready to leave.
She threw a light jacket on before sending a quick message to MJ to let her know that she was about to walk over to her dorm which happened to be across the courtyard of the dorm complex.
When she steps outside a slightly cool breeze blows past her, instinctually she pulls her jacket closer to her to shield herself from the wind. She walks quickly towards the other dorm building that was diagonal to hers.
The automatic doors of the building opened when she approached them. MJ was waiting on one of the small lobby couches for her.
“You look comfortable. I’m not, because it’s starting to get cold as fuck outside” MJ was wearing a hoodie underneath a green cargo jacket with black combat boots to match.
MJ got up from the couch and tightened her backpack straps, “Come on, we can catch the public bus to the station. Thank you by the way”
The pair left the building and took a short walk down the street to the bus stop that was on the corner. The bus arrived shortly after they got there.
They used their university bus passes, and MIT had some sort of coverage plan to cover student transport throughout the city.
It was 11:40 AM when they made it to the bus station. Just on time . Riri thought. The girls made their way to the bus terminal and MJ sent Riri a digital ticket to be scanned by the driver.
The sitting area was somewhat full for being relatively “early” in the day, it was a Friday. They decided to take seats near the windows while they waited for their bus to get there.
“Are you doing okay?” MJ asks her while plugging her phone into an outlet attached to the seat.
“I think so I guess” Riri sighs, “I feel burnt out”
“That’s surprising. Is it because of your impromptu trip home?” Riri never actually told her that she was taken away to Wakanda and was on the move nonstop since Shuri showed up in her dorm last month.
She figured that it was important to keep it a secret, for everyone's sake.
“Yeah, my mom needed me, when she called she sounded stressed but she’s good now” She lied, hoping MJ wouldn’t ask any more questions.
Thinking about it now, she hadn’t heard from Shuri since her departure from Wakanda. She didn’t think much of having any contact, Shuri was probably busy anyway.
She took her phone out and decided to reach out to the girl. Shuri . Her message read it was simple, she didn’t expect a reply from her since it was getting late in Wakanda, that or either the phone number she was given to call was a fake.
Riri tucked her phone back in her pocket and went back to listening to MJ talk about how excited she was to be visiting home.
“There’s this boy I met back at home when I was there last, I think I’m gonna see if he wants to come out with us”
“Did you invite me to be your third wheel?” Riri asks, accusing her.
“Absolutely not, I missed my best friend and knew I had to make you come hang out with me”
“You lying?” She asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Are you going to act like you didn’t miss me too”
“Of course, I am” Riri laughed to herself. She did indeed miss MJ, she missed feeling like a normal college student. “What’s his name?”
“Peter I think. Well, that’s what I saved his contact as so we’ll see” MJ hears the bus pull in and signals Riri to get up.
The two get their phone passes scanned and find their seats on the greyhound. It was a four-hour trip to get to the city.
After the rest of the passengers boarded, the bus driver spoke over the loudspeaker.
We will not be stopping during the course of our trip, there is a bathroom at the back of the bus if you need it. Please remember to be mindful of the rest of the passengers as this is a line of public transportation.
Of course, they talked for a while, but they let the conversation die down and went to do their own things.
MJ pulled out her laptop and put on a movie that she downloaded to her computer. Riri on the other hand put her headphones in and grabbed a book out of her bag. She settled on listening to ambient music rather than stuff with words, so she can focus on her book.
Her mind drifts back to Wakanda. She missed being surrounded by all the high-tech equipment in Shuri’s lab and around the city. In a way it felt more homey than Boston. She felt like she belonged.
Shuri. Her heart went out to the girl, she had watched her lose almost everything that had meaning to her while she was there. All while giving up her want for revenge for the sake of her people.
Despite the bad things that happened in her time there, she realized that she developed a small crush while the pair worked together in the lab.
At first she felt oddly attracted to her when she walked in with that purple jumpsuit and that she followed her off campus. Yeah, she put up a front and argued back but she was fully willing to follow her.
What can she say? She definitely has a type…which is women that make her feel willingly submissive.
She gave up on reading her book. Her thoughts kept her from reading the words on the page and rather drifted towards the thought of the other woman.
What’s she up to. I wonder if she’s on a mission. Is she even going to text me back?
When she left Wakanda she did make her interest in Shuri obvious by asking her to come to see a Bulls game with her when she went home to Chicago. She thought it was a bold way to end her visit there but maybe it wasn’t a clear enough message.
She puts the book back in her bag and shoves it under her seat. MJ taps on her shoulder and holds out a bag of gummy worms. Riri takes a few out and leans back into the seat and headrest.
“What’s on your mind, Ri?” MJ shuts her laptop and turns towards Riri.
“Okay so let’s say you met someone you thought was attractive and your type but don’t know how to act on it. What would you tell me? them? Hypothetically.” She corrected herself quickly.
“Call them? Like a normal person would?”
“And what if you don’t think they’ll reply”
“Then you leave it alone until they either reply or don’t. You can’t let beat yourself up over it.”
The rest of the bus ride was quiet, both girls had fallen asleep during the last leg of the trip. The lights of the city started to shine more intensely as they arrived at the bus station in midtown Manhattan. It landed them near Times Square. It was about 5:49 pm, and MJ forgot to factor in traffic times when she decided to go back to the city for the weekend.
MJ guided them to the subway for the last leg of their trip to get to Brooklyn. Their subway trip was short but entertaining. A few street performers hopped onto their train cars and danced for tips and for once the smells coming from the tunnels and cars weren’t overpowering.
MJ lived in a condo with her mom a short walk away from the subway station. The building looked old and worn down from the outside but it was recently renovated and updated inside.
The security guard greeted the girls before they got onto the elevator. They rode up to the 12th floor and made their way down the hall.
The taller girl pulls her keys out to open the last door at the end of the hall. MJ wanted to surprise her mom so she didn’t knock on the door.
MJ walks in and drops her bag next to the table by the door. The condo was warm and welcoming. It didn’t have the stereotypical grey-and-white color scheme other places do. The living room walls were sage green that matched the cream-colored couches perfectly.
A few art pieces were hung up but Riri focused on this one abstract piece next to her, she noticed that it was signed by MJ’s mom.
MJ saw the impressed look on her face and whispered to her “Yeah I know. She’s really good even though this is just her side hustle.”
“Mom! I’m home!” MJ spoke up louder.
A middle-aged woman comes out from the kitchen and pulls her into a hug.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming home”
“I wanted to surprise you. This is my friend Riri by the way, I made her come with me.”
The woman steps away from the hug and turns towards Riri. She smiles before greeting her, “I know who you are, Michelle talks about you all the time. I’m Lauren”
“Hi, Ms. Jones. Thanks for letting me stay here on such short notice” Riri smiles back at her.
“Absolutely not a problem. I’m just glad to have a full house. Are you guys hungry?”
“What did you make?” MJ chimes in.
“There’s takeout on the counter, I ordered enough for me for the weekend but there’s enough for all of us.”
The three of them made their way to the kitchen, MJ went ahead and grabbed plates and silverware for them. MJ swore their normal Chinese food place was the best in Brooklyn. She gave Riri some fried rice and beef and broccoli. As they were eating, Lauren started to ask about campus life.
“Have you guys been up to anything fun up there? Clubs? Sports? Do they even have sports teams for non-athletes?”
“We just finished midterms so we haven’t been doing much other than studying” MJ replies before taking a fork full of food in her mouth.
“Surprisingly they have teams anyone can join. It kills time too but I never have the time to check them out” Riri explains.
“I think most of us just want to finish class and keep it moving” MJ laughs
“Well I’m not saying you have to party all the time but it’s important to have that balance there. Don’t get too stressed out” The older woman smiles at them.
“Speaking of parties, we’re going out tonight.”
“Is that the only reason you came home this weekend MJ?”
“Pshh, no of course not I wanted to see my favorite mother” MJ’s mom got up to gather their dishes as they were done eating. Lauren shot her a knowing look before she walked to the sink.
“Just be safe and let me know when you’re coming home please.”
“Mama you know I always do” Her mom places a kiss on her forehead and smiles at Riri before walking down the hall to her room.
The other two girls make their way to MJ's room. MJ flips the switch and her string lights come on. Her room was cozy and neat, she had a desk across from her full-sized bed covered in her books.
“I gotta give it to you I’m surprised it’s clean” Riri sits down on her bed.
“Oh shut up” She playfully rolls her eyes “So you have a choice”
“Which are?”
“I heard about this party this morning that this kid named Tyler is throwing or we could go back to the city and go to this bar near NYU”
“It makes sense as to why you said grab a fake. What do you want to do?”
“Honestly I would rather go to the party, it’s closer”
“Deal. How long do we have until it starts?”
MJ glanced at the clock near her desk, it read 7:28 PM. “I think at 9, give or take half an hour, I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be the first ones there”
“You’re right, we leave here at 9 then?” Riri took her shoes off and laid back in MJ's bed, making herself at home.
“Yes. I just want to shower before we go”
“Oh yeah me too, but I’m not moving until you get out, I know it’s not going to take me as long to get ready” MJs gathered her things and left her room to go to the bathroom.
Riri curled up in MJ's bed, you would think that a two-hour nap during the day would have you energized but it doesn’t. The traveling made her feel fatigued. She took her phone out and started to scroll through her Instagram.
She scrolled through her feed to see all of her old friends from Chicago, commenting and liking some of their posts. Sometimes she would miss it and the people there but she knew she had to leave so she could pursue her interests.
She tapped the account button and switched to her burner account, the one that mainly focused on being a “fan” of different heroes. Mostly so she could see if people were talking about her, or rather “Ironheart” as they called her online.
Her search came up dead, she had to admit she had not been out much since being pulled away from school. She missed being in the air and feeling free.
She scrolls a little further down on her suggested page and comes across an old video of Shuri and her mother addressing the UN. The girl looked slightly younger than she does now, this must be from a few years ago she thought to herself.
In the video, you could see Shuri trying to make Okoye laugh in the background. You could tell she had this youthfulness to her, before everything that has happened over the past year.
She saw how hard she was smiling in the background and felt herself smile back to the girl on the screen.
Riri missed being around Shuri. She felt understood when she explained her feelings of grief of losing her father or even when she ranted about how students at MIT were “smart enough to get in but too dumb to do simple shit” as she would put it.
She remembers one day in the lab they were finished working on this armor prototype for the Dora Milaje and made their way onto a balcony at the Citadel that overlooked Wakanda.
The two shared memories about themselves growing up and spent time getting to know each other as two old friends would. They learned small things like their most embarrassing moments growing up and the best projects they’ve done so far.
It was nice, it gave them a little break from the chaos going on around them during those few days.
Then the conversation got deeper, Shuri explained that her lab was her safe space and used to make her feel clearheaded but now it amplifies the thoughts in her head she tries to get away from.
Riri shared that she felt that at school, she was smart but somehow didn’t feel like she fit in like everyone else, other than having MJ.
She doesn’t know why she opened up so easily, but Riri was glad that Shuri was comfortable enough to share these things with her.
She was taken out of her thoughts when MJ got back to her room. Riri watched as she rummaged through her drawers to find clothes.
MJ settled on wearing black ripped jeans, combat boots, and a dark green jacket. She sat down in front of her desk and pulled out a mirror to fix her hair and makeup.
“I put a towel in the bathroom for you by the way” MJ turns her desk lamp on.
Riri thanks her as she walks out of the room with her prepacked clothes in hand. Her shower was fast, she didn’t want to take a long time so she could maximize her time getting ready.
When she got back to the room, MJ had already finished fixing her hair. Which was in her natural curls down with product to keep her hair less frizzy. She was currently working on her makeup.
Riri had taken her braids out after coming back from Wakanda and she didn’t want to put too much effort into fixing it just yet. She decided to slick it into a ponytail with her curls out. It was an easy look that went well with her outfit.
Both of the girls settled on going for neutral-looking makeup, just enough to enhance their features yet give them the dramatic eye looks they wanted. It gave them emphasis on their brown eyes.
Riri saw some black boots with decent-sized thick heels in the corner of MJ's room.
“Are these yours?” MJ shook her head yes in response. “Seriously?”
“I think my mom got me those but I’ve never worn them” She turns around to look Riri up and down. “You should wear them, they go with your outfit”
“I knew I liked you” Riri grabs the shoes and sits back down on the bed to put them on. The two of them realized how good they looked and started to take pictures together in MJ's mirror.
Riri was obviously in the front because she was shorter but she knew the best angles to take. After MJ was in a few, she went to gather her things.
Riri stayed for a little to take more pictures of herself. She didn’t want to admit it but she was glad she was going out for once, she was excited to go have fun.
MJ tells Riri to come on and they went to MJ’s mom's doorway.
“Hey, Just wanted to tell you that we’re leaving” MJ speaks to her mom. Lauren puts her book down and looks at the pair.
“You guys look so pretty. Be safe. Love you and you too Riri”
A chorus of Bye mom and Bye Ms. Jones echoed through the hallway as they made their way to the front door.
Yeah, Riri thought, I need this. She hyped herself up to go out tonight. They walked out into the hall towards the elevator.
“Are you ready?” MJ asks.
“I guess” Riri drew out the last word and smiled back at her.