Chapter 37
EMERSON
A few days after she got the letter, she was awoken by her Dad shaking her shoulder.
“Mm?” she questioned eloquently, turning her face to squint at the intruder.
“Hey pumpkin, it’s a quarter past noon and you have a guest.”
“What?” she asked because what on earth was he talking about? “No,” she answered before turning over to bury her face in the pillow again.
“I’ll get your coffee ready, come meet us in the living room,” her Dad said with a fond chuckle, patting her on the back before leaving her room. A guest? Who could that be? She dragged herself out of bed and used her adjoined bathroom to get ready, considering just asking JARVIS but honestly a little too tired to care. All she knew was that it wasn’t her wife.
But she couldn’t help to smile anyway, hearing the familiar rumble as she joined the others in the living room. She made a beeline for the coffee waiting for her and plopped down on the couch next to her Dad before turning to her brother in law.
The goddamn King of Wakanda.
“T’Challa,” she greeted the man after sipping her drink, turning to her favorite General and saying, “Okoye, always a pleasure to be in your presence.” T’Challa only rolled his eyes at that, though a smile was on his face.
“Why don’t I get the warm welcome?” T’Challa asked in a teasing tone, knowing damn well why and chuckling when she simply glared at him. “I am here for a UN meeting and decided to drop by and see how my little sister is doing.”
“You are a spy, something you don’t normally advertise on your resume,” she squinted back at the man, thoroughly enjoying Okoye’s face breaking into a smile.
“And what is wrong with checking in on you? Your wife was the one who made me promise to keep an ‘eye on her boo’,” the smug man said, even adding air quotes. It was a low blow, using her wife against her but it worked. Whatever, she was weak cause she missed Shuri. She wasn’t afraid to admit that.
Still didn’t feel great when she continued drinking her coffee and everyone else chuckled around her.
“Steven, I believe you promised me a tour of the grounds?” Okoye said to her Pop, who nodded enthusiastically and grabbed her Dad’s hand.
“That’s right, come on sweetheart, you have to show Okoye Miles’ spray paint studio.” Emerson watched with suspicious eyes as the three left her alone with her brother in law, feeling like there was a good chance they had planned this.
“So…” he began, sipping his own coffee and turning to face her with a smile. “How are you really doing, sister?” She couldn’t help the smile that broke across her face, having known how persistent this man can be when he wants to know something.
“Fine,” she responded with a shrug, not enjoying the unimpressed look on his face. “What did my dads tell you?”
“Just that you received some upsetting news,” T’Challa said as he put his empty cup back on the coffee table. And wasn’t that a bit of an understatement? She thought to herself as she let out a little scoff, debating whether or not to tell him the truth.
Back when she lived in Wakanda with her wife, he was the second person she’d go to when she was struggling with something. He had proven to her time and time again to be an unbiased confidant.
“I got a letter from my birth mother, inviting me to her wedding and to meet my little half sister,” she word-vomited out before she could second guess herself. Her brother in law hummed to himself, looking deep in thought over her words. That was something she’d always loved about him, both as a King and a brother in law - he always thought long and hard before he spoke.
“Is it the letter itself, that bothers you? Or the thought of seeing her again and meeting the child?” he asked after a moment.
“I don’t know...maybe both? I don’t appreciate how blase she was about me having a younger sister…”
“You mean that she was so blase about replacing Samantha Rose?” he interrupted her train of thought, continuing while she looked back at him in shock. “But she did not replace Samantha because no one can. She also, my dear, did not replace you by having another daughter. Your birth mother is simply living her life and inviting you to be a part of it.”
“I...it’s not that I don’t want to meet the kid. And it’s not that...I haven’t necessarily forgiven Kimberly...I just...it feels like going means invalidating what happened to me. And I know it shouldn’t...I know even with all those years of therapy and medication I should be-”
“-You stopped taking your medications?” T’Challa interrupted, concern in his voice.
“Yeah, like a year ago. Don’t worry Dr. Qobo helped me taper off them.”
“Yes well, that could be part of the reason why you are overthinking this.” She could only gape back at him at that, offended at the accusation. But then again, she did ask T’Challa, the man you can always count on to tell the blunt truth. “Perhaps if I could read the letter, I could help you find your answer.”
“I didn’t ask a question, oh wise one. And give me a second,” she said, quickly getting up and heading towards her room in favor of not having to listen to him further. Goddammit, he was probably right. So she walked quickly to her room, went into her desk and grabbed the crumbled up letter. Yes, it was still crumbled, she wished to keep it that way.
It was also easier to throw, which is exactly what she did to her brother in law. He caught it easily with one hand, quirking his lip at the state before smoothing the paper out so he could read it. Emerson sat back down on the couch, tapping her feet as she waited for his response.
“Kimberly seems genuine. You are not obligated and she makes a point to let you know she isn’t pressuring you. That at least shows recognition of her actions. She could have attempted to guilt trip you with your half-sister...but you want to know what I think, Emerson? I think she’s happy and wants to know you’re happy. It is simple, my little sister, if you want to go, go. And if the thought makes you uncomfortable, don’t. This isn’t an all or nothing situation. If you don’t go to the wedding, you have her contact information, you can reach out to her should you change your mind about meeting your sister.”
Dammit, she hadn’t even thought of that. She knows her issues with dichotomy and didn’t consider just seeing her after the wedding. No pressure to put on a show in public with strangers. That thought relaxed her, hating herself for not thinking of that instead of going through a mental episode.
“Yeah that...that makes sense. Thank you, T’Challa,” she said sincerely but unable to look him in the eye. He reminded her too much of Shuri and everything just piled on top of each other. Fuck she really misses her wife. “I’m going to go eat something, you want anything?” she asked as she got up off the couch, still not looking him in the eye.
“Emerson,” he called after she took a few steps towards the kitchen. “Your brain is betraying you, so you must trust your heart. You have a great one, little sister, trust it to tell you the answer. I love you and I know you will figure it out. And to answer your question, your Pop mentioned something about fresh salted caramel cookies?” She couldn’t help but laugh, rolling her eyes affectionately as she turned to walk to the kitchen.
“Love you too,” she called back, feeling motivated to cook herself some breakfast and consider her options.