Sorry for the long periods of wait between updates. Real life is picking up with finding a job as well as trying to get in certain programs constantly to aid me in the real work force. As I have promised, I will always finish any stories I write, I just sometimes may not do it as quickly as some would like. Anyway, enough about my life. Enjoy the chapter

The assigned housing of Erik Stevens

Harry had moved over and stood guard in the corner of the room. Ever since he had entered the room, T'Chaka had seem conflicted. His whole demeaner seemed to be fight or flight. Erik, on the other hand, just seemed to be fully tensed. He too looked conflicted on this. On one hand, he had agreed to keep this meeting peaceful and civil. On the other hand, he clearly wanted to jump over the table and start throwing punches. Luckily, he kept himself in check.

"You look like him." T'Chaka finally said out softly. Erik seemed to hear him just fine though. He scowled at the words.

"Well he was my father. Not that it seemed to matter to you." He accused. T'Chaka bowed his head in guilt for a moment before looking up again at him.

"Despite what you may think of me, I loved your father, with all my heart. Even with him being here, he was the person I thought I could count on the most. His betrayal was… hard. It was harder than anything I have ever had to deal with. I miss him still, or rather, the man he used to be." T'Chaka said with a noticeable passion in his voice. Erik looked at him seemingly going over what he heard.

"Why?" Erik finally asked. T'Chaka looked at him in confusion.

"I was under the impression you already knew why."

"I want to hear it from you." Erik demanded. T'Chaka just stared at his nephew for a moment before nodding.

"A man named Klaue attacked Wakanda and stole a large amount of Vibranium. He killed several Wakandan citizens as he did so. Soon after, we got a tip from one of our spies that it was actually my brother, Prince N'Jorubu who gave Klaue the information to get the metal. Naturally, I did not wish to believe it but the spy was trustworthy and claimed he had proof." T'Chaka started. Erik was listening with clear interest.

"I gathered some of the guards I trusted most and went to where he was located in Oakland. When we arrived and I saw him, we greeted like normal and he seemed pleased to see me. We embraced as usual and for a moment, I hoped that the spy had been wrong. Unfortunately, my doubt faded as I brought up the theft of the Vibranium. My brother immediately became standoffish and visibly tense. I knew then that, if nothing else, he knew something about it." T'Chaka continued.

At this point, Harry was also paying close attention to what he was hearing. He knew the story, but this was the first time in hearing it in such detail from the King himself.

"The spy we had planted pulled out the stolen Vibranium that my brother had gotten from Klaue. I looked at it in horror as I realized what my brother had done at the cost of his own people. I questioned him immediately. I wanted to know why he would do such a thing." T'Chaka said, at this point, he was starting to tear up from the story. Erik himself kept a stone look on his face but Harry could see in his eyes that he was being affected.

"He started talking about the system within this country and the others like it. He spoke how they pushed down their African descended citizens and treated them as second-class people. He talked about the violence and the prejudice that he had to bear witness to everyday. He became tired of simply sitting to the side and watching it all. He got involved with a militaristic group of like-minded individuals where, as I understand it, he met your mother. He hoped to use the Vibranium to create weapons and fund his campaign to liberate those who he viewed as his people now. I continued to listen with sadness." T'Chaka said. A dark chill formed in the pit of his stomach as he knew what was coming.

"After listening to what he had to say, I was shocked. I had no idea what to say but at the end of the day, my brother had caused the death of his own people and committed treason. That being said, I could not pass judgment on him myself. I was much too close to the issue. I ordered him to submit to arrest where he would be brought before the Tribal Council and judged for his crimes. He chose not to. He paused for a moment and I turned my back on him thinking he would submit but he pulled out a gun and started firing. I was safe in my suit but my guards and the spy where not, I moved in the way to try and block the bullets but he kept firing, I charged him and moved to stop him… the next thing I knew, I was next to him with my claws in his torso." T'Chaka had to stop at this point as he started choking almost as the tears continued to fall from his face.

Erik looked tense as he was staring down at the table with only a single tear going down his face as he heard the story. At this, T'Chaka managed to contain himself enough to continue.

"I went down to the floor with him and for a moment, we simply stared at each and everything we wished to say seemed to pass between our eyes. I wished for him to know the sorrow I felt for going so far to stop him but in his last moments, he looked at me with guilt for what he had done and even though what he did was wrong, I forgave him in his last moments. In another moment he died in my arms." T'Chaka finished. Erik looked up again and showed so many conflicting emotions on his face.

"Keep going." Erik ordered. There was anger and frustration in his voice. T'Chaka nodded wordlessly.

"As I stared down at his body, I made a split-second decision. No one knew of my brother's betrayal except the people in the room. I knew they would all keep it secret so I ordered them to silence. Instead of being known as a traitor, my brother would simply be a missing prince. To that end, we left him and you there to keep the charade." T'Chaka finally finished the story.

"You expect me to believe that you left your brother there to aid him and not watch your own back?" Erik demanded angrily. T'Chaka gave him a look of clear confusion.

"What do you mean?" T'Chaka asked.

"I mean, no matter what you say, the way I see it is you killed your brother and didn't want to sully your own name so you left him there like he was trash." Erik said with steel in his voice.

"I see. I think you are misinformed on something. You seem to be under the impression that if I had told our fellow countrymen what had happened, they would decry my actions. This is the furthest thing from the truth. As much as I loved him, my brother committed treason and tried to kill both me and even more of his fellow Wakandans when confronted. No matter what his reasons, nothing could excuse that. I likely would have been praised and you would have likely grown up as an outcast born from my traitorous brother. It is partially why I left you to grow up here." T'Chaka explained.

"I am supposed to believe that?"

"You do not have to. You could ask Hadrian here if you wish. He grew up as an outcast within Wakanda despite his relation to our family and is still not accepted by many. I still get questioned to this day by my council on why I took him in." T'Chaka told him.

"And why did you? What made some random colonizers kid more important than your nephew?"

"It was not a matter of importance. If I brought you back, both you and your father would have been condemned and you would have possibly been thrown out of the country anyway. In this way, you could be, hopefully, brought up to speed and brought back home."

"Oh yeah? And then what? I may not have necessarily agreed with how he did it but my father was right in that Wakanda has a responsibility to help its brothers and sisters around the world. I will not change my thoughts on that!"

"Nor would I ask you to." T'Chaka pointed out. That brought Erik up short.

"What?"

"I believe Hadrian already told you that it is not necessarily a problem to have opposing views. My goal is to make sure that you simply do not become a militant and a threat to Wakanda like your father became. I would also ask that you do not reveal the fate of your father as well, he is viewed as a Prince who disappeared while doing his duty. You would therefore be accepted. If the council discovers the truth, they may put pressure to revoke your citizenship." T'Chaka said.

"You're the King." Erik snarled as if he could do something about it.

"The King leads at the purview of his people. If he doesn't then he is no King but a tyrant. I can get away with much but allowing a traitorous bloodline who also has some claim to the throne into the country would not be accepted, no matter what I push." T'Chaka explained. Erik seemed to be pacing back and forth at what he heard. He still seemed upset but he was clearly thinking on what he heard. Harry had a feeling on what was going through his mind.

Harry had occasionally used Legilimency on the man to help in identifying his threat level. He had found several plans the boy had made in ways to both improve his skills and one day come to Wakanda. He seemed to have a lot of information already and apparently got it from several hidden files his father left. They were solid plans too, he had clearly spent time plotting, but this whole visit had thrown him for a loop. Clearly his plans weren't as solid as he thought. It seemed to rely on the fact that T'Chaka would cover up his brother's death to avoid shame. Showing that this was not the case had thrown a wrench.

Harry just watched him pace with interest. He was quite curious on what he would do now. T'Chaka seemed to watching with bated breath.

"If I may, my King…?" Harry asked politely causing both men to look at him.

"Go ahead." T'Chaka said giving him permission. Harry looked back at Erik.

"Erik, from our talks, it has been my observation that you still view yourself as Wakandan and seemingly had plans to return one day even before we met. I assume based on what I have observed and the various passions you had, you were planning to make a claim for the throne, gaining ruler status and then using Wakandan resources to disperse weapons and supplies to the African communities around the globe. Am I correct?" Harry asked though he knew he was. Erik frowned and glared, neither confirming nor denying his claims.

"There is another way to do this though. If you truly wish to give aid, then I would advise you make a promise to abstain for militaristic and traitorous actions against Wakanda. Once doing so, you would regain your position as Prince and start attempting to play politics to get Wakanda to give aid through legitimate means. If you went about this smart, you would baby step them into giving help to African communities around the globe. Wakanda maybe an insular country but it can certainly be reasoned with. True logic is hard to fight." Harry pointed out easily. T'Chaka eyes lit up at that and he turned to Erik to see his thoughts.

"There is no guarantee that they would do such a thing." Erik said bitterly.

"This is life Erik, there is not guarantee of anything. You just roll with the punches and do your best with what your given." Harry said to him.

"It's not fair." Erik said through grit teeth sounding frustrated but understanding the lost cause.

"Life rarely is. It does not owe you anything you just have to weather it." Harry told him. Erik looked at him. There was so much anger left but there was also a look of defeat as he seemed to realize his situation.

"Hadrian is being much too pessimistic. I believe if you both teamed up, you could accomplish much more than you think. With your passion and his logic, I doubt the council could truly stop you both." T'Chaka admitted.

"Oh yeah? And what reason would the little white boy want to help me?"

"Did he not mention it? Hadrian is what is known as a progressive in our country. He believes Wakanda should interact with the outside world more and, in his reports stated several of your points that he agreed with. In Wakanda, he will likely be your biggest ally." T'Chaka said. Erik looked at him in surprise and Harry simply stared back at him blankly making sure to not give anything away.

"That's another thing that I'm still tripping on. It's one thing to bring him in to the country and accept him, but why is he here. He's gotta be, what, 15? Why are you trusting him with something like this?" Erik asked with genuine curiosity that he was clearly masking with anger. T'Chaka seemed to weigh his answer for a moment before sighing.

"Hadrian has been with us for years. The first few he was simply a guest but after a while, my wife and I adopted him. He is technically a Prince as well." T'Chaka revealed. Harry had never seen someone cycle through so many emotions in the span of a few seconds.

"What." Erik hissed.

"He is not in any line of succession and neither he nor his children can ever inherit or have a claim to the Wakandan throne. He is really a Prince in name only from the adoption." T'Chaka explained quickly. Erik still didn't seem happy still but the anger lessened.

"You sent a young Prince to spy for you?"

"Yes. Hadrian is much more clever and more capable than you give him credit for which I thought you would have realized by now. Even with me hiding it, Harry eventually figured out what happened between me and your father. I eventually came clean with him once it became obvious there was no chance of hiding the truth. It was he who pushed me to allowing him to reach out to you and try and incorporate you back into Wakanda."

"So, doing so was never your idea?"

"It was, though I was more of the thought to observe and wait till you had hopefully matured and grown out of your anger on your own. Hadrian believed otherwise and after some time, I agreed to try it his way. I am very pleased to have done so now. I can see that once again; he made the right choice even if we still aren't quite where I wished we would be." T'Chaka said. Erik looked at him with calculating eyes, clearly trying to figure out his angle. Harry didn't let him bother him. He had once been the same way after all.

"So, we have talked a lot tonight. What say you N'Jadaka?" T'Chaka asked, using Erik's Wakandan name. Erik wanted it. Harry could see it in his eyes as clear as day. It may not have been all he wanted but he was still getting something out of it. Plus, on some level, Harry truly believed Erik wished to be part of the family. He wished to belong somewhere again. Sure, it would still be a long road before he could even think about forgiving the King, but he was clearly aware that his father was not as perfect as he pretended.

"Fine, if I agree, what would that entail?" Erik asked. Both T'Chaka and Harry made a mental sigh in relief.

"A binding promise to never betray Wakanda or become a militant extremist party within it. You will also never threaten the current royal family. I will not take your wish to try and claim the throne as is your right, but you may only do so legitimately in a Trial of Combat." T'Chaka said. Harry had to roll his eyes at that. The chances of Erik being brought in as King were low. He was good but T'Challa had been training his whole life. Furthermore, if it got revealed what his father had done, the chances of the tribes accepting him would be low.

"That's it?"

"There are other things I want of course but I will not force unnecessary things onto you in this position. It would not be right. Oh, for now, you will join on a trial basis. Hadrian will be your handler and will decide when you come to Wakanda and when you are ready to be integrated into society. That being said, he is meant to aid you to make the transition easier, not more difficult. If you have any questions, feel free to go to him." T'Chaka told him. Harry knew what the man wanted but didn't say. He hoped for Erik to open up further and allow for a relationship to form between the two. T'Chaka was the boy's uncle after all.

"Fine, we'll try this your way. Just don't expect me to kiss your ass now that you're my King." Erik said. Hadrian chuckled. T'Chaka frowned but said nothing.

"Well, I think that went well."

Several Months Later

Harry looked at Erik as they drove silently towards their destination.

"Pay attention to the fucking road, white boy."

"Just curious on how this is going to work out is all."

"This was your idea." Erik pointed out.

"It was not my idea. It was his. He just kept pestering me about you and wants to meet. I could not put him off any longer." Harry said easily. Erik snorted.

"Right."

"Look, T'Challa isn't… like us. He's all sweet and innocent. I mean he knows how to handle situations and such but he's one to see the best in people until proven otherwise. Just prepare yourself for an uncomfortably warm welcome."

"Is that why I met you first instead of him?"

"No. T'Challa would have insisted on meeting you immediately and inducting you back into the country immediately. He's intelligent but he lacks wisdom still. He doesn't quite understand how decisions can have long term consequences."

"Hmph, yeah. I know the type. Whatever, as long as he doesn't prod too much." Erik said as he looked out the car window.

"He will want to get close to you. You are his cousin after all and that means much to him, even if it doesn't too you." Harry said. Erik said nothing at that and they continued to ride in silence. In truth, Harry was worried. These past few months were going well with Erik. He had slowly been getting some lessons on Wakanda and Harry continuously checked his mental state. He seemed to be improving on a weekly basis which was good. He talked to T'Chaka at least once a month to give him an update on his progress though they both knew it was just an excuse to get Erik used to interacting with the man.

Harry cut his thoughts short as he finally pulled up to his dorm house. He put the car into park and they both unbuckled and slid out of the car.

"I still can't believe you've been this close the entire time." Erik muttered as he took in the house.

"I made sure not to give it away. You did attack me at one of our first meetings if you remember."

"You broke into my house."

"You then continuously booby trapped your living quarters to try and injure me."

"Because you kept breaking into my fucking house." Erik said back as if talking about the weather. Harry chuckled at the response.

"I suppose that's fair, but it worked out in the end for you so you could at least apologize."

"Fuck you."

"You don't need to curse to accentuate your points."

"Go fuck yourself."

Harry and Erik continued their little back and forth as they entered his home. They moved into the living room and Erik immediately plopped down on the couch and made himself comfortable. Harry just gave him a look before looking towards the stairs.

"T'Challa. We're back." He said calling up the stairs.

"I am coming." T'Challa said back in Xhosa. Erik just looked at him in confusion.

"It's Xhosa. An African language that is common in Wakanda. Everyone in Wakanda is Bi-lingual at least. If you wish, you can be taught it." Harry explained.

"I know some already but only a little. Just didn't know what he had said." Erik nodded and looked as T'Challa descended the stairs. T'Challa was wearing Black formal wear that showed that he was every bit the Prince everyone knew him as. It was out of place though since Harry was wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans while Erik was wearing a styled hoodie with dark torn jeans. Despite this, T'Challa gave a warm smile as he approached Erik and raised his hand to shake his cousins.

"You must be Erik, or do you prefer N'Jadaka?" T'Challa asked kindly. Erik just shrugged.

"Whatever you prefer. Good to meet you cuz." Erik said giving an awkward shake back to the boy. T'Challa smiled anyway.

"I am so happy to meet you. It was strange, I didn't even know I had a cousin a few months ago and now we are here. I cannot wait to get to know you." T'Challa said. Harry simply hung back and decided to observe the encounter.

"Yeah, I guess I get that." Erik said clearly not understanding what to do about the polite kid in front of him.

"You have to fill me in on your whole life. I wish to know everything about my newest cousin." T'Challa said. Erik frowned slightly and Harry could guess why. He had told Erik that T'Challa was not completely in the know as it were. T'Chaka had not forbidden Erik from telling him anything and left it up to him to decide what he wished the family to know.

"Not much to tell really. Both my parents died when I was young and I've been moved around from foster home to foster home ever since. After I graduated high school, I enlisted. I'm already enlisted in the Navy Seals and after this year is up, I have a mandatory 4-year stint with them." Erik explained. T'Challa listened with his full attention.

"I am sure we can make arrangements to undo such a commitment. If you would like." T'Challa said. Erik looked back at Harry curiously. He thought for a moment.

"It could be arranged. You are the long-lost son of a prince and we could spin it that your father ran to America for a new life and we have been looking for him ever since. Once it is discovered you are a Prince of another nation though, it is likely they will revoke your U.S citizenship. You will have to use Visa's to come here and such." Harry said. Erik nodded.

"I'll think about it." Was all Erik said. They went back into calmer topics as they started to get to know each other.

He could tell that Erik was uncomfortable at the moment. T'Challa, while being his cousin, had been essentially raised as royalty and he was sure there was some part of Erik that disliked that given his own upbringing. That being said, his friendly demeanor and how accepting he was of him was clearly a nice change of pace for Erik after all the subterfuge he had to deal with previously.

Harry zoned out for a while as he let the cousins continue to get to know each other. He was slightly bored and was really just here to make sure Erik didn't suddenly go berserk.

They continued on for hours with Erik talking about what it was like growing up in various foster homes and T'Challa telling him what Wakanda was like and some of the new duties he had as a prince. Harry had already given Erik a general overview of what would be expected of him but T'Challa went into more details. Erik actually looked interested and Harry couldn't tell if he was or not without using legilimency on him.

"Alright, well. This was a nice meeting but it's getting pretty late. Erik, we've got to get out of here." Harry said, finally breaking up the conversation. T'Challa frowned as he looked outside and noticed it was getting visibly dark out. Erik simply looked relieved. The poor man was probably having a rough time processing all the new information he was receiving. It took him weeks to talk to his uncle after their initial meeting. Even then, it was only at Harry's insistence.

Both Harry and Erik, slid back into the car as Harry turned it on.

"That wasn't terrible." Harry commented.

"Bruh, you didn't say shit the whole time. You just watched us talk." Erik said with an annoyed glance. Harry smiled.

"I thought it important you reconnect with your cousin. You and I talk rather often but I know you still don't feel like you can connect with me because… well, I'm sure we both know what I'm talking about. And that's fine. I would never wish to force you to like me more than you want. I hope you can connect to T'Challa one day on a level you cannot connect with me on." Harry said. Erik just sighed with annoyance. Harry briefly looked at him in confusion.

"What?"

"Don't what me, man. You're what." Erik said as he looked back. Harry just rose an eyebrow in confusion.

"I don't follow."

"You're just so… perfect. Makes me want to fucking throw up." Erik said. Harry blinked owlishly at that.

"What do you mean?"

"No matter what I say or do, or even how I act with you, you just take it all and move past it like it's nothing. You could at least have the decency to act like you got some issue with me." Erik said. Harry chuckled as he finally gained clarity.

"I see. I don't know what to tell you on that, it's just how I am. There's already so much shit in this world, I would rather not add to it with needless conflict if I can avoid it. Plus, it's not like I don't understand where you're coming from even if I can't exactly empathize with it in the same way. I get your reasons for the things you do, even if I think they are a little extreme. That being said, on some level, its ingrained within you still and I know that. You will find I can be very patient." Harry said with a smirk near the end.

"Oh, I see. You playing the long game huh?" Erik said seemingly glad there was some sort of second motive within him. Harry got that. In his previous life, he never trusted anyone that seemed too good to be true. Nothing was perfect.

"You could say that, I suppose." Harry confirmed hoping it would satisfy his cousin.

"And what if it doesn't work? What if I never like you?"

"Well, then I can still know I did my best." Harry said to the black, young man. Erik just snorted. They rode in silence for a moment.

"Is it true what the King said… will you really help me with getting them all to give aid outside their borders?" Erik asked in a moment of uncharacteristic seriousness.

"I will." Harry responded seriously.

"You lived there for a while, right? What's your recommendation?"

"Two things. One, you're an unknown and, royal blood or not, you will be watched with a keen eye by the natives. I recommend joining the military forces to prove your loyalty. This will give you a stronger leg to stand on. The second point will be what I do while you're doing that. I need to introduce the council into an idea of giving aid but phrase it in some way to have a direct benefit to Wakanda."

"How does that help?"

"You have to think long term. Wakanda gets random people trying to invade its borders all the time. Usually random warlords making trouble nearby or trying to take over Wakanda for themselves. You join the military and form a strike team to take them out. Some time passes and with it is the realization that solving the problem long term means directly intervening in a way that stops warlords from popping up. With that, you get the council used to the idea of bettering the fortune of others for their own benefit. Once that is done and becomes common place, you move on to simply helping these other communities not because we need to but because it is right. There already a few state-run organizations for good will missions to other countries. The ground work exists, we just need to build it up." Harry said. He finished his explanation just as he pulled up to the campus housing Erik was staying at.

"Sounds like it will take a while." Erik grunted.

"It will. But all meaningful change takes time to truly go into effect." Harry told him.

"I guess…" Erik said. Harry looked at him as his cousin just absently looked out the window, clearly in thought.

"This will be the last time we meet before we both go to Wakanda." Harry commented easily.

"Thank fucking God." Erik said as he opened the car door and stepped out. Harry let out a playful smirk as he watched his cousin exit the vehicle. Harry turned back on the car and prepared to head out.

"Yo, white boy…"

Harry looked back and saw Erik looking through the passenger window right at him with clear confliction in his face.

"What's up?"

"…Thanks… For everything." Erik said. He didn't wait for Harry to respond as he turned and headed inside his own home. Harry smiled as he watched him.

"Good for you kid."

R.I.P to Chadwick Boseman, a King on the screen and in life.