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bestfriend491 · 1 year

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Hateful Love

Okoye x Female Reader

Summary: You and Okoye have a different appraoch to love. One that tends to look like hate when being challenged. Few people see the layers under that. Only the two of you personally know how deep the love runs

Word count: 5.9k

Authors Note: Guess who's back? 🤭

Slightly Angsty, with fluff ending

Warnings: Minor Injury

Subtle Love is an unknown realm full of possibilities. A kind of love that is never talked about. Repeatedly misunderstood and misinterpreted as a lack of love. Though it's often the strongest internal builder of most healthy relationships.

The average life consists of many forms of love. Puppy Love, Toxic Love, Struggle Love and so on. They all come with their own benefits and detriments. Usually sub- sections of the average love story.

They all build up to become society’s standard of what love should be.

Good Love.

The type of love that comes with romantic grand gestures and constant compatibility. The type of love that comes with no problems.

But Good Love isn’t real. No relationship comes without problems. And in that same breath, not all problems can be fixed with grand actions.

It’s the subtle things that matter. The soft kisses of reassurance.. The consistency in trust and honesty. The open nature of the communication with the person, or people in which one has chosen to love.

Subtle Love is filled with subtle things. Ones that only showed their purpose in the later stages, when families have been established, and the foundation to it all has been put down thoroughly enough to securely be able to deal with troubling situations as one unit.

It’s the type of love that Redeh didn’t grow up with.

Her parents, like most, strived to achieve the graceful look of Good Love. With great effort, they tried to make sure that everyone thought that they loved each other. More effort being put into the public persona than in the physical relationship itself.

It took a toll on them both after years of pretending, resulting in a nasty divorce that lacked reasoning but was filled with resentment.

By her tenth year of existence, Redeh routinely witnessed the two fighting about anything that their senseless heads could think of. It was a situation that no child should have had to be a part of. A type of love that a kid should never have been exposed to in the first place.

Before the concept of being alive ever came to be fully grasped, Redeh was a mediator. The devil’s advocate that came between her parents. Never getting an explanation as to how it all fell apart. Only seeing joy followed by immediate sorrow.

It was an unending, thankless job that haunted her childhood and often affected her in her newfound adulthood. It was the one thing that Redeh feared most. Losing the spark that lit under a relationship as soon as an inconvenient problem arose. Even when she wasn’t with a single person, she feared that one thing.

Good Love.

Many people were the same. Witnessing the early signs of Good Love in childhood, never learning how to communicate meaningfully. They learned that the synchronisation that came with being in love only stayed existent as long as problems remained non-existent. And when those problems refused to continue hiding themselves, the relationship turned permanently sour.

There were thick lines that labelled what healthy relationships consisted of. Ones that Redeh took most of her adolescence learning for her own sake. She tried to memorise all the ways that relationships could work. Every scenario where the lines would possibly be crossed and blurred and how to see other healthy relationships in a positive way.

She often struggled. The trauma that being raised by unloving parents always warping her ability to ever believe that Subtle Love could ever exist.

The only rolemodels that she had were the movies that she watched. The ones that showed the natural, and sometimes ethically questionable love stories where all the hardships came before the couples would even get together. It taught her that that was the only way to get Good Love. Having all the problems appear at the beginning of it all.

These movies became her solace. Her safe haven. Her expectation for how she would find her love in the coming years.

They were also her downfall. The sole reason for her struggle in grasping how love truly worked now that she was no longer in the presence of her parents on a daily basis.

They were an unrealistic expectation wrapped with a fake ribbon.

For Good Love did not equate to Concrete Love. Revealing itself to be only another sub-section in the perfect love story.

Subtle Love was what she craved, but because she had yet to discover that that was an option, she knew of only one love that came with conflict before the final storm.

Hateful Love.

Redeh stood in her all but tall form. Staring at the mirror that captured her in her new uniform. Her Dora Milaje uniform. The uniform that was of the utmost importance to her as she wore it.

After a decade of not having a clue where life would take her, and another one where all she could think of for her future was the life she’d live as a Dora. She was finally going on her first non-group mission with only her and her successors.

The news having come only days before; she’d crossed her fingers and hoped that she’d be the one chosen. When her name was called, excitement washed over her and she became fully ready to observe the two best Doras in action. She was even ready to offer help wherever she could, no matter how nerve wracking it became.

Though nervous, due to not having her fellow new Doras there to help cover her mistakes if needed, she knew that she was right where she needed to be. So she walked. Out of her home and straight to the official Wakandan Hangar by the palace, where unsurprisingly she was the second person there.

Second to General Okoye.

“Redeh.” the General spoke, offering her greetings as she looked down at her beads, analysing something on its screen.

“General Okoye.” she returned, failing to hide her excitement.

Okoye cracked a smile as she saw her, remembering the first time that she was hand picked from her group to join the more experienced Doras in combat.

She briefly told the girl what would be expected of her for the day. A threat in some unoccupied land between Wakanda and a neighbouring nation, being the main issue. The queen had offered to investigate in representation of both nations, with a small group of Wakanda's fighters.

“We’re not fully sure what we're getting ourselves into so make sure that you stay fully aware of your surroundings out there. We won't be able to make sure that you're safe the entire time.”

“Of course. General.” she quickly said, the realisation of how real the situation was having fully set in for her.

The General nodded, content with her answer. They continued briefly going through everything, up until Ayo showed up, just as serious as Okoye, and ready for what was coming.

Seeing her 2 biggest inspirations looking at her with full faith and trust put a drive in her that nothing else could. They knew that she had something in her. Surprising Redeh everytime they looked at her. No one else ever had that look. Not even her own self.

Looking around and walking towards a quinjet like she was ready to go, Okoye was stopped by Ayo, who looked utterly perturbed.

“General wait! Where’s Y/n?” she asked her.

Redeh stood between the two, having never been aware of you coming with them. Apparently the other two had left that out of her briefing.

Her heart raced now. You, being one of Wakanda’s best armourers, almost never physically went on missions with the Dora, only supplying them with their best weapons.

All occasions where you were physically there were well-known missions where you and the General, an extremely powerful couple, worked together to beat the worst of people. What you two had, it was the true definition of Good Love. something she aspired to achieve.

She watched the other two Adored Ones look at each other, Okoye struggling to make a definite statement about where you were, though she must have been with you earlier.

Then she started, "She's actually not- "

“-I'm here!" your voice came from a distance, as you happily made your way to them.

Redeh smiled as you crossed your arms in salute to her before happily looking at the others.

She looked at the General’s face, hoping to see the look of utter bliss that often consumed the faces of the people who were with the ones that they loved in real life. Or at least, in the movies...

To her dismay, there was none of that. Instead came a harsh, “You're late.” from Okoye. One of almost disbelief.

You quickly dismissed her.

“Oh what will the world do now? Y/n was five minutes late.” You said calmly, gaining an intense eye roll from Okoye.

The other three went on into the quinjet, leaving Redeh a bit thrown aback. That had never been in the movies. It was always a peaceful, almost surreal reunification. Not one filled with mixed emotions. And although she knew that her mission wasn’t to analyse this new rule to love, she was enthralled by it. It was so much like her parents, but also not at all like it too. It was a moment that she wanted context for, because there had to have been a before.

By the calling of her name, she realised that she had gotten distracted, and everyone else had gone into one of the jets, and were patiently waiting for her to do the same.

With the jet's engine's still off for the meantime, the 4 sat on one side of its double seated benches, looking at the briefing that had been sent to all of them via Okoye.

The tense moment picking up where it left off, you spoke about what you’d brought with you to assist in the missions.

“I don't get how this decision was made. Taking you on a mission.” Okoye whispered, barely letting it out of her lips. It was your turn to roll your eyes, though it was more of a half-roll.

“You said it yourself. We don’t know what we might encounter. Queen Ramonda thought it would be better to bring me if it’s more than we think it is. Now can you just read the briefing?”

Mouth hanging open, Redeh tried to keep her eyes on her screen, too confused to even attempt mediation.

‘Something’s wrong.’ she thought, knowing how kind you both were to others. She reminded herself of all the good memories she had with you both. The two of you were far from toxic. But thinking of it, the two of you, although having a very public relationship, never talked about the true ins and outs of it.

It was easy to forget that you were together if she didn’t constantly remind herself of the fact. Or maybe you just weren’t.

Either way, there was tension. And it was especially evident when you made your next suggestion.

“I’ll be in one of my aircrafts, watching out from above. If I see anything I’ll go down to help.” you said. A completely reasonable suggestion.

"That sounds good." Redeh said, trying to show that she was actively participating. Still, she looked around for Ayo’s approval, just to make sure that she wasn’t completely off the mark.

Ayo gave her a slight nod, not fully dedicated to the idea. Redeh raised her brows, unsure as to how this was a bad idea. That was until she saw Okoye’s face.

"No." the General said bluntly.

You were the only one shocked by this. "No? What do you mean no?"

"You're not gonna be up there by yourself."

This was a fight. Redeh knew it, and despite her better judgement telling her not to, she couldn’t stop from at least asking.

"Are the two of you okay?" This did not defuse the situation at all, but Redeh could tell that she wasn’t fully aware of everything going on.

"It’s my machine! You should feel honoured that I'm willing to use it."

"I feel sick, actually."

The sound of a gasp was all that came from the otherwise silent space. Redeh covered her mouth when she realised that she was the owner of said gasp.

Ayo stood up, making her way to the front of the jet, where she prepared to start flying. In total embarrassment, the young adult that still had her hand over her mouth followed her, sitting in a co-pilot spot, even though she knew that she wasn’t going to be helping in the flight department , her skills in the sky being her only struggle in training.

She turned to look behind her large chair, catching a glimpse of the couple she’d left still sitting together.

Something was said, or at least she thought it was, because Okoye swatted your hand away when you tried to hold her hand. You looked beyond hurt at that.

The overwhelming resemblance of her parents made her turn away, directing her gaze to the pilot now. This couldn’t be the love that she constantly heard that the two had. Where were those grand gestures she knew of?

"Are they still together?" she asked, being sure that the two of you could very well have broken up. That would explain a lot.

"Yes." Ayo said bluntly, confusion laced in her eyebrows.

"Are they always like this or is there some big fight that I'm not aware of?" Redeh went on to ask.

"They're usually like this."

That answer was baffling to her.

"But they don't hate each other."

"Bast, no. They love each other.”

Redeh, crossed her arms, reluctant to believe those words. She was no expert but that kind of love was far from familiar to her. Not in a good context anyway. That was the ‘love’ of exes if she knew anything about it. It was Hateful Love.

Ayo noticed the young woman struggling to understand what was truly going on, and not wanting to scare her off, didn’t tell the full truth about the small change in demeanour that you and Okoye had only moments before.

“Look. Different people show their love publicly in different ways. They’re not like that when they’re alone. Trust me. The love that they like to keep more secret is less tense.”

Turning again, she saw you closer to Okoye, reading from her screen.

“Be quiet. Your breathing is distracting me.” the General said to you.

“Oh, okay, yeah, I’ll just stop breathing.”

“Thank you, that’ll be very helpful.”

For a split second they looked at Redeh and she quickly turned back for the last time.

"If you say so." she said to Ayo.

In the 2 hours that passed coming through to the height of the mission, Redeh couldn't help but be doubtful of the validity of your relationship. Even though she knew that it was none of her concern.

From the beginning there was constant bickering between the two of you.

You were able to get your way in regards to your aircraft. Something that even hours later, Okoye was seemingly upset about.

While you were in the sky, Okoye constantly said things through her earpiece that made it clear where she stood on the issue.

When you realised that the issue that was taking place on the land was a rebellion group that was causing complete destruction, you activated the weaponry that you’d given the other 3 to help them defend themselves beyond their spears. Another thing that Okoye wasn’t too fond of.

Though they helped, you felt like there was no other choice than to go down there yourself. You had more experience with more helpful weapons and you thought you could help more on the ground now that you knew what you were working with.

“I'm coming down!” you said, already lowering the aircraft while you unbuckled and prepared to jump down when you were close enough.

“No!” Okoye yelled instantaneously.

“I have to!”

“Y/n! Now is not the time to be trying to prove something. Stay on the plane!” Okoye yelled, as she struggled to take down the clutter of rebels on the left. Redeh and Ayo stayed silent fighting for their lives on opposite sides.

Not even a minute later, your jet was nearly on the ground and you were practically flying out of it.

Surprisingly, you landed on your feet. The noise of it bringing the attention to you.

Half a dozen rebels ran towards you, ready to attack.

Just like before, you didn’t hesitate to get to work. You tried to go for them all at once ,your impressive weapon skills prompting more to want to approach you, their interest being in the ultra-powerful hydrogen blaster that worked effortlessly with the use of vibranium.

It all went downhill as 2 more dozen rebels approached you, and you were being surrounded.

"You've got to be kidding me." Okoye said, running headfirst into the madness with Ayo and Redeh close behind..

The battle was a blur for the latter. The only thing resonating with her being the glares that Okoye shot at you whenever she got a split second to.

At some point the rebels had stopped gathering around you, as they all laid on the ground, severely injured.

Your job was soon done, with minimal casualties.

When Ayo went up to Redeh, and told her “well done.” She couldn't even remember what she had contributed to the event, only remembering a few significant fights with a handful of rebels.

Regardless of memory, she was glad that she's done well in Ayo’s eyes. Her first day was more than a success

Walking back to the quinjet, her mind still worked, feeling unfulfilled in her analysis of you and Okoye. She’d easily gone to protect you when you were surrounded, though you’d constantly done things that seemingly annoyed her the entire day. And when she was done, the tension rang just as strong as at the beginning of the day.

“I think it’s broken.” your voice rang in her head, causing her to turn her head to look at you and Okoye walking a few steps behind them.

“Of course it is.” Okoye responded.

She turned back again, looking at Ayo with a face that was still concerned.

All Ayo did was smile. Smile like she knew something that nobody else did.

And she did. She knew that the entire day's events were all symbols of love. Subtle Love.

Subtle love is a form of love that is never talked about. The feelings that surround it often fully authentic. Not artificially created for the approval of others.

Just like a lot of hate, it often lives unconfronted. Whether known or not, it stays under the wraps, softly undisturbed.

It’s the kind of love that is open to all. Fully welcoming and accommodating. The kind that holds a safe space where full transparency and vulnerability can be openly expressed without the fear of judgement.

It’s the major things expressed in small ways. The “love” proclamations. The physical and emotional holding of one’s partner. The tears of confession. The late night conversations. All happening in a single moment that only those present get to and want to share.

It is the kind of love that outsiders often can never decipher, but it is one of the closest forms of Concrete Love.

It’s not the kind of love that Okoye or you grew up in. The paths leading up to your relationship having many different examples of love and the dynamics that came with it. There was good and bad with all of them, as they showed you what you wanted and needed and also what you wanted to be kept far away from you.

Subtle love only came into the picture when the two of you collided, When the two of you realised that the only people you wanted were each other and when you realised that that meant dealing with every hurdle that you faced individually, together.

It came into the picture when you realised that Okoye had many things to say to you about how she felt, but struggled to get it out in the presence of others or with great gifts that were

-other than materialy- quite useless .

It came into the picture when Okoye realised that around others you were open and friendly but often put their feelings above your own and you needed help stopping yourself before it went too far.

It helped the two of you navigate through the first 2 years of being together and after the two of you became a known couple, it only became needed more.

The fun part about it was that there was no pressure to constantly implement it, but the comfort of having it made your relationship feel much more in sync.

Almost completely unspoken words were quickly decoded when you were in public, and both of you slowly stopped hesitating to ask for help or space, knowing that with that you could fully let go of the expectations that people brought with them for your relationship because of the love you had.

It made it easy to have completely different conversations behind closed doors, while also quietly continuing those words as the day went on without people being easily able to know exactly what was being said and what was meant.

This love carried weight in its natural existence, but it also made every moment meaningful.

Meaningful enough to be able to bicker in public without heavy words accidently being thrown out where all eyes could see.

It was the perfect grounds to safe communication, and to getting the best out of a relationship.

Subtle Love often got mistaken for Hateful Love. But it was always quite the contrary.

Hours before the mission.

Heavy weighted material closed off the access to cool air to your body as you awoke from soft noise.

You felt instant warmth from this material, like the atmosphere was giving you a soft hug. Attempting to lull you back to sleep.

Feeling hands gently placing themselves around you, you opened your eyes.

Irises of warm brown stared back at you, more aware that you were awake than aware that you were staring back at them. They brought a welcoming hello with them. A silent serenade.

They were owned by the same body that possessed the arms that wrapped around you.

Okoye.

“Morning, my love.” came the words from the lips that you’d unconsciously been staring at.

No words came out of yours. Your mind still fully absorbing her presence, and the gift that it was.

She’d placed a previously fallen blanket on you; you’d come to realise. Tucking you in before she left to tend to her General duties.

You gently lifted your arms out of the tight hold that she’s put them in.

Feeling warm enough knowing that she was there with you, you proceeded to move the rest of your body out of the blanket's grip, eventually lifting your body up to sit.

Stable in your position, you pulled her towards you. Your eyes and hers met and locked, refusing to let go of each other. All you could do was smile, the peace that you felt bringing joy with it every time.

Aeons passed before another word was spoken.

“You have to go?” you asked, though you knew the answer already.

“Mhm,” Okoye responded, bringing you into an embrace now that you were fully aware of what was happening.

“You smell good.”

She laughed, turning to kiss your forehead, before looking at you directly again.

“I’ll be gone for a while. You should sleep in. You looked really tired yesterday.” she said.

You gazed at her in question. “I should sleep in?”

She nodded, clearly oblivious to the information that both you knew and her clearly knew too.

“Okoye…” you started, making sure that she didn’t try to avoid your gaze at you. She looked at you, guilt written all over her face.

“Yes.”

“Are you trying to make me late?”

“Ini (What?)!” she lied through her lips but the rest of her face gave her away.

“Ujaxoka (You’re lying.)" you said through a grin, more of a funny statement than an accusation.

She performed her best fake gasp, “Njani ( How?)”

You laughed, in complete disbelief that her act was still continuing. She joined in, knowing that she’d been caught but happy to entertain you.

“I already got the call from Queen Ramonda, Okoye.” you said, shifting over to allow her room to lay with you in bed.

She opted to lay on your legs, her face looking directly up at you while you played with her hands.

A heavy sigh left her system and the mini suns that you knew as her eyes grew darker than usual.

“Why don’t you want me to go?” you asked. Now avoiding direct eye contact because that would make it harder for her to want to tell you.

“I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“My entire job consists of working with weapons. I’m always in danger of getting hurt.” you tried to reason.

“I know,” she sighed, lacing your hand into hers properly before kissing it, “But it’s different when you’re just making weapons by yourself. I don’t want you fighting and getting hurt.”

Then she added, “You get reckless sometimes.”

“I’ll be safer this time.”

“You won’t”

“I will!”

“You won’t, Y/n. You say you will every time but when we get there you’ll lose yourself in the battle and forget that you ever said that.”

You stayed quiet, knowing that she was right. You did have a bad track record of putting yourself in situations that were dangerous despite promising not to.

Still in your train of thought, Okoye began to get up.

“I’ll tell everyone that you’re sick and then you'll be able to sleep in.”

She looked at you with pleading eyes. Your lack of response leaving a big question in the room.

She couldn’t wait for an answer, but gave you a kiss on the lips, promising not to be too upset if you chose to go after her.

“Okay,” you said into the open, unaware that she had heard you.

Waiting a while before getting ready, you debated whether you should've texted her saying that you were coming, but eventually settled on just showing up and dealing with the consequences later.

When you arrived with a smile wrapped around your face, you saw her grow tense.

“You’re late.” she said bluntly. Not wanting to confront the matter in front of Ayo, and especially not in front of the new Dora that was to accompany the three of you.

You went for a childish dig, claiming that five minutes wasn’t much in any case.

Though she looked mad, you still saw the hurt that shone through her eyes. Not tears, but a defeated lowering of her gaze telling you all that you needed to know.

Her words came off more harsh than your usual banter did, and you knew that a line was crossed.

“I’m sorry.” you mouthed to her, pleading for her to accept it or at least take it in. You really were, but you also wanted to keep her safe. And with the direct request of attendance coming from the queen herself, it was only right for you to show up and do your job.

Okoye knew this. She wasn’t new to what your job entailed, but she sure wished you could be kept away from all the possible danger. She gave you a side nod, acknowledging your words but showing that she was still a bit unsettled and maybe even upset by the dishonesty.

As you went onto the jet, and the young woman that was to join you stayed staring into the open, you figured she was going through her own thing.

Next came the whisper. “I don't get how this decision was made. Taking you on a mission.” she breathed out.

She was in panic mode and there was nothing you could do to stop it. It was directed towards herself more than at you but you felt the need to try to reassure her that everything was going to be okay.

“Sthandwa sam.” you whispered more effectively than she had.

“You said it yourself. We don’t know what we might encounter. Queen Ramonda thought it would be better to bring me if it’s more than we think it is. Now can you just read the briefing?” The last part was your plea to her. One that would hopefully get you somewhere in the long day. Or at least off the ground.

She continued at your request, a worried expression escaping her every time she saw your name written with an instruction to do anything at all.

Seeing this worry, you knew it was a bad idea to suggest flying alone.

“No.” she said.

“What do you mean no?” you knew exactly what she meant. You’d made a promise, and breaking that a couple hours after its creation wouldn’t make her feel like she could trust you with things like that.

When Redeh asked if the two of you were okay, you admittedly let your tongue slip.

"It’s my machine! You should feel honoured that I'm willing to use it."

"I feel sick, actually."

A gasp was let out and the two dora that sat next to you left for the front of the jet, leaving you to talk.

“Okoye, I-” you started.

You went for her hand, and she was quick to swat it away, a reflex. Immediately she linked legs with you -a way for her to show that she wanted you to stay close. and tried to get herself to calm down.

“I’m sorry. I’m just worried.”

“I know. I’m sorry for lying about not coming.”

“I‘ll be safe, I promise.” you finished.

“And I’ll be there when you change your mind.” you both laughed at this, knowing that that was the more realistic plan.

The rest of the trip to your destination was just filled with banter.

“Be quiet. Your breathing is distracting me.” she said, causing you to roll your eyes.

“Oh, okay, yeah, I’ll just stop breathing.”

“Thank you, that’ll be very helpful.”

Your gaze went back to Redeh’s seat where she watched the encounter in dismay.

Locking eyes with Okoye, you both couldn’t help but start chuckling at the clear misunderstanding.

“She’s gonna think we hate each other.” Okoye said, finally taking your hand now that things were back to normal.

“Most people already think that. I’m sure a lot of them think we called it quits a while ago.”

She agreed, realising that besides Ayo, most people refrained from mentioning you to Okoye or her to you. Assuming that the two of you were no longer an item.

You never confronted them on their assumptions, enjoying the fewer questions that came in about your relationship.

When you saw the rebels approaching from all ends of the land, you had to think quickly.

Your banter with Okoye stopped and you became serious, noting that you didn’t have many options to choose from. If you shot from above they’d target your plane and wreck it, putting you at risk of crashing.

You had to help from the ground, much to Okoye’s displeasure.

“I’m gonna jump down there!” you said through your earpiece

“What! No!” your love spoke almost the second you finished saying it.

“I have to!”

“No, you don’t!”

“Okay fine. I want to do it.“

“Y/n stay in the-” before she could finish, you were on the ground and attracting the rebels attention.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” you heard as you became trapped in a circle of rebels ready to fight you.

In true Y/n fashion, you charged for them all, the cause and effect being a sharp fall and a nearly irreversible demise.

Okoye was by your side alongside the others, and although the “I told you not to jump.” was on the tip of her tongue, she refrained. Her instinctive need to protect you coming before her need to be right.

When it was all over, you made your way to her.

Slowly, you walked to the jet with her nudging; her shoulder with your own once you caught up to her.

"See. Told you I would be safe."

"I can see you limping." she looked down at your left foot, where she could clearly see you trying not to put weight on it.

You relented, getting rid of your act and limping more consistently. The pain was excruciating.

“I think it’s broken.”

Okoye stopped dead in her tracks. "Of course it is."

Inspecting your face for any indication that you were overreacting. When she couldn't find any, she was quick to lift you up bridal style, not wanting any pressure being placed on the offending ankle.

You watched her walking with you, smiling up at her.

“You look rather pleased with yourself.”

"I am." you continued to smile.

When Redeh looked back to see you being carried by Okoye, with a bright smile on your face, she felt a sigh of relief. Not at your injury, but at how content the both of you looked in your moment of chaos.

You weren’t like her parents after all. Or like any couple she’s ever seen. After seeing you at your worst (though she knew far worse had most-likely happened before), she’d expected one of you to stop trying, or stay angry forever. She didn’t expect to see organised disruption.

Even as you flew back to the city, and Okoye determined that you had indeed broken a part of your ankle. It was calm. There was synchronisation even when there were problems.

You threw in your jokes here and there, “Who could have predicted that?” Okoye rolling her eyes at you.

It was reassuring, seeing how subtle the obvious love could be. How well it worked for the two of you. How almost therapeutic it was.

Her ideas of love always came in pictures of no complication at all, but seeing the smiles plastered on your faces made her feel just as excited as any grand gesture she’d ever seen would have..

Looking at Ayo she smiled for the first real time that entire day. “They’re good for each other.”

Her successor looked at her fondly. “They are.”

And on the other side of the Quinjet, where you laid with your foot supported upright for the trip back, you gazed up at your favourite 2 things again.

Your suns. Warm and full of life. Staring down at you. They made your pain go away -even if only theoretically-.

They told you everything you needed to know about their owner. They exposed every soft spot that she had for you. They were your symbol of subtlety.

“I love you.” you said to the woman who held you.

“I love you more.” she planted a peck on your forehead, before laying her head against the back of her seat, closing those eyes for a while.

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bestfriend491 · 1 year

Note

Okoye and f reader. Reader admits her love for the beautiful general.

The Honour Would Be Mine

Okoye x Female Reader

Summary: You and Okoye have been friends for years. Since you were kids. You've been each other's source of support for so long, that the line between a friendship and a romantic relationship have started to blur. The only problem is that you haven't told her that you love her. Will you get to before she starts connecting the dots.

Mostly Fluff and slight angst

Warnings: very long 4k+ words

Okoye didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about your friendship. You two had known each other for so long, after all. It was only expected that you would be close.

The other Dora Milaje could tell something was up with the two of you the moment that they saw the two of you interact.

The first day that you were in the palace, you had just retired as a war dog 4 months prior. Having almost lost your life on a mission, you decided to retire and work in another field. Luckily, Shuri was in need of a new weapons co-designer and technologist.

You studied both jobs while training to become a war dog so you were familiar and had the right requirements to work with her.

It would be a mentally taxing career, you knew that. With the mix of having to make weapons good enough to protect the whole nation, and also your deep perfectionism problem, you knew that this job would be just as challenging if not more challenging than your past one.

You were, however, very happy that you would finally be able to see your friend Okoye more often.

With her working with the Adored Ones, and you working with Shuri making weapons for them, you would probably see the person that you had secretly loved for years a lot more often.

Of course, she didn't need to know that this was the main cause for you taking the job offer, or the fact that you had only really quit being a war dog because of the way she reacted when you came back so injured. That was something that you wanted to keep to yourself.

With years of experience hiding your love for Okoye from her, you thought that you knew how to hide your feelings well.

Unfortunately for you, all of the other Dora saw right through you the moment you and Okoye crossed paths for the first time at the palace. They had all been going to their designated placements for the day, and Okoye had greeted you, choosing to introduce you to everybody else before the day's work started.

"Everyone, meet my good friend Y/n. Y/n this is everyone. That's Ayo, Aneka, Nailah…" Okoye named everyone as quickly as she could, and you waved and greeted accordingly. Though, halfway through, you stopped looking at everyone else and your eyes were back on Okoye.

Nailah looked at Ayo suspiciously, who gave the same glance to Aneka, and soon everyone except Okoye had picked up on the way that you felt.

Nobody said anything fortunately, not wanting to expose something that hadn't been accepted by the two of you. The only person brave enough to say anything to Okoye one day was Shuri.

You'd been there for about 3 weeks. Okoye had just come back from a mission in the Border Tribe and she was summoned to drop by the lab to talk to Shuri about how the new weapons developments were going.

She knocked on the door, not wanting to just enter unannounced, but Griot had already alerted Shuri of her incoming presence so the door opened for her automatically.

"Okoye! It's good to see you." Shuri greeted her, glancing her way for a moment before continuing with her work.

" Mmhm. Likewise." Okoye looked around to see you at a desk station on the right, working silently on something very small. You were in deep concentration.

"You wanted to see me?" Okoye questioned, after a long period of silence.

"Ah, yes. I wanted you to start sending me your weapons reports for the spear. Y/n has nearly finished everything that I needed done for her area so she's going to start off the new designs for the Dora Milaje for me." Shuri stated, now moving with a vile, leading Okoye following her to keep talking, walking further away from you.

"Oh, kulungile (okay). I'll do that as soon as I can." Just as Okoye was headed to leave, Shuri spoke softly, almost as if to not wake someone up.

"She really cares about you."

"Who?" Okoye asked, looking at Shuri with a confused expression on her face.

" Y/n. She barely goes a few hours without asking or talking about you." Shuri smiled, looking your way, causing Okoye to do the same.

You were still hyper focused on your work, fiddling with a program on your beads now.

"Oh, that's just Y/n. She's a very inquisitive and talkative person sometimes, you know. You get used to it though." Okoye responded, thinking that Shuri was merely expressing an unexpected characteristic about you. You didn't look like one to talk much, so it was shocking for some people to see that you talked a lot.

"Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that. She does talk, but it's only ever about you. I barely know anything about her, that's how much she talks about you. It's like listening to a concerned wife all day."

Okoye was taken aback by this. Nobody had ever said that before.

What was she talking about? You never talked about her, at least not as much as Shuri made it sound like. It was normal to ask about someone that much, wasn't it?

She didn't have much time to think about it though, because at some point, you had seen her and gotten up to greet her.

She pushed the previous thoughts out of her head, not seeing a problem with the amount that you tended to talk about her.

It was 2 months later before the thoughts crept up in her head again.

The two of you had spent the weekend together, catching up with each other while roaming the streets of the capital city in the evening, when her stomach grumbled quite violently.

"Ingaba ulungile (Are you okay)?" You asked her, not sure why her stomach made that sound when she had just finished eating.

"Sorry, I didn't eat Breakfast or Lunch today, I was so busy." She tried to lie. Seeing your face, and also knowing that you weren't dumb, she looked away from you to avoid your displeased gaze.

"They give you time to eat, Okoye. And everybody seems to know that except you." You had walked around and hung out with a lot of the other soldiers over the last few months, and they all seemed to make time to eat. To you, it was only Okoye who never wanted to sit down and eat.

"Here, have the rest of mine for now." You offered and passed her your food, not wanting her to stay hungry.

"Thank you." She said, graciously finishing it in a few bites.

"Do you want to go back to my place? I have ingredients to make food in my fridge."

Okoye knew from your tone that this was more of a command than a question. You were going to drag her to your house to eat whether she liked it or not. And with how the week had been, she was too tired to try and fight you.

So the two of you headed to your house and enjoyed the food that you cooked. The woman could admit that you were easily the best amateur chef that she knew.

She wanted to take some of the food left over with her for the rest of the week, when you stopped her with a dismissive hand.

"You can't take this. If you don't like the food at the palace, at least let me make your food for you. It will be fresh." She looked at you, not believing that you would actually do that.

"You are far too busy with work to have time to cook that often." She tried to dismiss you.

"For you, I will always have time."

You sounded serious, and that worried Okoye a lot. You really didn't have time to do that, even if you wanted to, and there was no way that she was going to allow you to stretch your schedule that thin.

"Don't bother. I'll take these and be on my way." She took the food and reluctantly left, not wanting to entertain your ideas.

Much to her displeasure though, the following work week, everyday someone from the lab would come to her, and hand her food that you had allegedly made for her to eat.

"Y/n again? '' Aneka joked, sitting down and seeing the food that Okoye was struggling to finish. The latter nodded, looking at the food like she was ready to murder it.

"She really must love you, if she's willing to wake up at 3 in the morning to do this everyday. Even I wouldn't be able to do that for Ayo everyday." Aneka admitted.

"I tried to get her to stop, but everyday it's the same thing. People chasing me down to make me eat at her request. " Okoye didn't want to sound like she was complaining. I mean, she hadn't eaten this well in years and she didn't necessarily want it to stop, but it was becoming too much for her.

She got stressed thinking about eating now, and she was also getting worried that you were waking up too early for your own good, just to make her food that she didn't really need.

She didn't want to be a burden to you, but she knew that there wasn't much she could do.

Maybe she could try to talk to you.

"I just can't seem to get that one move right. It's really starting to bother me." Okoye, sat next to you on a bench in the training room.

You listened to her while eating your dinner.

She had tried to tell you that you needed to stop making her food or she would stop eating it, but that plan had completely backfired, because now you just came to find her wherever she was, and you'd stay there to eat with her, which seemed worse than before as now she had only gotten you to spend even more time on her.

"What did Shuri say about the new additions to the spear? Are they nearly ready?" She asked.

"Ewe (Yes). You'll have them in a week or two. We're just getting the finishing touches on them and then they'll be ready for active combat." You said before you let out a yawn, trying to hide your clear feelings of exhaustion

Okoye tilted her head to the left, observing your lazy posture and deep breathing.

You were not very well rested.

"Y/n. You need to go to sleep. I can finish my dinner by myself today." You were ready to protest, knowing Okoye better than most. She wasn't going to eat if you left. Which is why you had to stay with her.

You were going to wait until at least half of her food was finished before you even considered leaving, and right now, only about a quarter had been eaten. You didn't even need to tell Okoye this. She already knew your conditions from previous days where you wouldn't leave her, even when training had started.

She had learnt her lesson then.

"This time I promise. I'll actually finish it."

You stood up, fixing your clothes, before walking over to the centre of the room.

"I'll leave," you started. "If you just give me a few demonstrations."

Okoye raised an eyebrow. "Intoni? (What?)"

"You've been talking about missing too many blindspots while training. I want you to show me a demonstration so that I know what is wrong so that I can tell Shuri to fix it." You lied again. You knew that you were going to be the one to fix it, but you didn't want to be too obvious.

"Kulungile (All right)." So Okoye stood up and showed you her biggest problems with the spear.

Staying true to your word, you let her take you to her headquarters to sleep for the night. This gave Okoye a little bit of hope that maybe things weren't as she thought. She didn't want you to cater to her and spend valuable time doing all of too much for her.

1 week later, Okoye was once again, eating her words.

"Hayi (No), Okoye, I'm pretty sure yours is the only one that does that." Ayo said, inspecting Okoye's new and improved spear, which seemed to come with an extra feature that nobody else's spears came with.

Shuri had been the one to go down and give everybody their spears back, after having them use spare ones for the past month while their ones were being upgraded.

While doing a few test runs together, Okoye had used her Kimoyo beads to look at signal footage of how her spear moved with her body, a feature that she had noticed while testing it the night before.

Everybody around was quick to come and ask her what that was, not having had that in their spears. Okoye tried to tell them that they all had to have it, since they all got the spears updated by the same person.

"Shuri?" She called the royal woman over, wanting to clear the confusion once and for all.

"Ewe (Yes)." Shuri approached, smiling at the feedback that she had been getting.

"Usebenze ngayo yonke imikhonto, akunjalo? (You worked with all the spears, didn't you?) "Okoye asked.

When Shuri nodded, Okoye smiled, having proved her point. But it was far too soon.

"Oh! Except for yours, Okoye. Y/ n did yours because she said you had some unique issues that she wanted to fix."

Everyone made sounds of conclusions as soon as your name was said.

"That makes this whole thing make so much more sense." Aneka said, gaining a few laughs from the others.

Okoye rolled her eyes, sick of the entire situation. She really couldn't get a win with you. Even when you promised not to waste your time doing things just for her, you ended up just doing them in secret.

She really just wanted you to not do so much for her. So she decided that you couldn't possibly be able to interfere if she never expressed a need for help to you.

Hopefully that would help you rest more.

Okoye and Nakia breathed heavily, making sure that the last of the sudden attackers in the big building was gone.

They were in Chicago, helping Shuri gain some Intel on some newfound threats that had been roaming around, supposedly looking for a stolen vibranium item that they planned to use to create a replica of the substance. That was not good for anyone, as now there was a potential for many more threats if someone got their hands on this item.

No nation besides Wakanda knew how to use Vibranium properly so leaving it in the wrong hands was far too dangerous.

The mission turned south when the few threats turned into many, and the 3 had retrieved the item, but had made the threats very angry by doing so.

They had been trying to get home for a few days, but Wakanda's borders were surrounded and it felt like there were thousands of people in this secret gang, ready to kill them the moment that they tried to leave the hotel.

"We don't have anywhere else to go? Not one secret hideout that they wouldn't be able to find us in?" Nakia shook her hand at Shuri's question.

Too many people could know about Haiti, or even the other places that they had built outreach programs and hideouts in.

They were trapped.

"Wait. I might be able to know someone who can get us out of here." Okoye declared and immediately felt a shiver go down her back just thinking about having to do what she was thinking of.

"Y/n? " Shuri guessed, and Nakia raised an eyebrow, looking questionably at the way that Shuri mentioned her former war dog mission partner.

Okoye sighed, nodding silently. Saying a prayer to herself.

She had been trying to keep her distance lately, giving you more time to sleep and rest. You were still by all means a force to be reckoned with, but she had gotten you to loosen up more, so you hadn't done anything extreme for her in a while.

Now, she was going to have to ask you for the biggest favour that she ever had. And this one, she knew that you weren't going to like.

She rang your beads, because she knew that you were not in the lab today.

"Molo (Hello), Okoye." Your face came up, you were in casual wear, nothing fancy for a day off. You looked at the 2 other women standing next to Okoye, all 3 of them looking quite dishevelled.

"Oh. Molweni (Hello) Is everything going okay down there? You all look terrible." You said.

"Y/n. I'm sorry to even have to ask this. But can we please use C'Chowe. I know you don't like allowing anyone to use her, but we really need to right now."

You looked at the holographic Okoye in front of you, in complete shock that she would even mention C'Chowe in front of other people. This wasn't just spending your time and losing sleep on her.

C' Chowe was sacred and not something you mentioned outside of private conversations.

Her asking this was a lot, but she clearly needed it if she was willing to name her in front of others.

You sighed.

"I'll send someone to get you." You said reluctantly. There was hurt in your voice, Okoye could hear it from across continents, and she nearly shed tears at having to ask something so big of you. So she thanked you, and gave you your sacred 'We'll talk later' signal, before hanging up.

You both started to pack your bags.

Okoye looked at the two other women, who were still waiting for her to explain what exactly your all but clear call was about.

"Get packed." Okoye commanded, too anxious to be nicer in tone.

"Apho siya khona? (Where are we going?) " Nakia asked.

"And who's C'Chowe?" Shuri chimed in.

" I can't answer those questions, but it's safe. I promise." There was no protest .

One 6-hour flight and 2 fully dimmed car rides later, the 3 of them exited into an underground parking area, with spaces that led to a door.

Okoye led the way, using a key that she had been gifted by you years ago to open the door.

Upstairs, there was a fully weaponized house. Spears, swords, guns. You name it.

" This is C'Chowe. The one and only. We should be safe here. It's completely off the grid. "

Okoye led Nakia to one room where she went to call Toussaint and a few others while Shuri looked around the house.

It was nice, clean and fully equipped for battle, so there wasn't much to complain about.

But it felt forbidden. Like it was almost too secret. She didn't even know which country they were in.

"This is Y/n's sacred place. I've already broken one promise today, and I can't risk anything else going wrong, so I can't tell you where we really are. But we're safe and we'll be able to plan our return properly here." Shuri nodded, having learned over the months working with you, how important trust was to you. She knew that you must have had reasons for keeping such a random place secret.

"Intle (It's beautiful.)" She said in response, a silent declaration that she wouldn't ask any questions if she didn't need to.

"She really is." Okoye went to your bedroom, wanting to be close to something of yours for the night.

Shuri woke up in the bedroom downstairs, to the sound of pots being taken out. She got out of bed and went to investigate.

There, she saw you making food while working with your beads on the table.

"Good Morning." She made her presence known.

"Your Majesty, good morning." You smiled and turned to look at her, ushering her to come and sit on the chair next to where your beads sat.

"I have tunnels that can lead us back into Wakanda undetected without opening the border to anyone." Shuri looked at the map of these tunnels, never having heard of them or any other way for people to enter Wakanda other than opening the shield.

Seeing that she wasn't saying anything. You tried to reassure her. "I'm having one of my old underground jets be sent here so we can just rest for the day and go back tomorrow."

Still, Shuri didn't say anything. You began to worry that she might be angry at you for not telling her about this place.

"When did you build this?" Nakia asked, coming down the stairs looking a lot better than the day before.

You looked up at her, not having the right words to answer her so quickly. You decided to check on your food while looking for the best way to tell her.

"I… I built it when I got lost on our first mission together back then. I built a small hut and started storing my weapons here everytime that I would have time after missions iIt eventually turned into this house. I only built the tunnels a few years after though."

You explained, taking plates out so that you could serve everyone the food that you had made.

"You did a really good job." Nakia nodded her head in approval.

"Ndiyabulela (Thank you)." You whispered.

You waited for Okoye to come down for an hour, the two other women eating outside while you waited for her to come out of your room.

You knew that she was there, and you knew that she was awake, so you decided to take the food up with you to talk.

"Ngena (Come in)." Okoye's voice came as you approached the door, having knocked yet, but she had heard you muttering things to yourself in Wakandan.

You entered to see her in casual wear, sitting on the chair by the window. You sat on the chair next to her, handing her her food.

"Greetings-"

" Good Morning-" You both smiled, her smile having hints of guilt wrapped around it.

"I owe you an apology." She started, staring out into the window.

"I would appreciate one, but no need right now. You needed it. "

The two of you sat in silence for a while before you continued.

"I'm just sad that this won't just be our place anymore. I wanted it to be just the two of us and this place in the future, you know."

Okoye scoffed, wanting to kick herself now, hearing you say those kinds of things. It reminded her of the day that she had received your alert of her beads and had used your tunnels to get here, only to see you severely injured.

She had persuaded you to quit right then, not caring that you loved being a war dog. And although you made it seem like it was your decision, she knew that she was the real reason that you quit.

She still couldn't see why you constantly gave up so much for her and yet still wanted her around.

"You sound so confident that you'd still like being around me in the future." She spat out, the venom in your voice directed more towards herself than to you.

"I'll always want to be around you, Okoye."

"But, why? I've been trying to get you to answer that question for years now and you never tell me. Who would like someone like me enough to give up this!?"

"Me, I would. I do. I love you enough to give this up."

Okoye turned to look at you, your eyes connecting while tears formed in both of yours.

"I love you, Okoye. I want to have you in life for the rest of my life, and if that means giving everything up then that's what I'll do."

You stopped yourself from saying more, as the tears forming were getting dangerously close to being full breakdown tears.

"I- I love you too." Okoye said.

"You do?"

"Yes. I want to spend my life with you too. I just don't want you to have to give everything up just for me."

You shifted in your chair, took her hand, and kissed it gently.

"Okoye, giving up everything means nothing to me if I get to have you. I just wish to ask if you'll be mine."

Then, Okoye kissed you and replied.

"The honour would be mine."

The End

And for that split moment, things were finally okay between the two of you.

Author's Note: That was long. 😅 I'm so sorry for creating a whole story for such a simple prompt, I just got a bit carried away. I do hope that you enjoyed though.

Upcoming posts and requests can be monitored on my pinned post

#okoye one shot #okoye #general okoye #okoye x reader #love confessions #black panther2 #black panther #wakanda forever #dora milaje #midnight angels #okoye x fem reader #x reader #x female reader

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