“Baba, is this what Mama looks like when she marries you?”
Namor looks up, smiles, and looks back at her. Their daughter.
“Oh, in chan paalo’, yes, your Mama looks just like this, but in the wedding dress I made her, she is, and forever, the most beautiful bride I ever seen, I am honour—” Namor could go on and on for hours, but theirlittle princess has her mother’s wits, knowing when to snap him out from his reminiscence.
“I know, I know, Baba, Mama is your princess and she is brighter than the sun. You said that last time! I just wanna know what Mama's doing over there?” Their baby girl tilts her head left and right, with Shuri’s eyes, she can get away with anything.
“Now, let Baba tell you,” Namor kneels by her little bed, cradling her in his arms as the father and daughter gaze in awe at his wife, and her mother’s mural together. “Back then, your Mama was helping to make our sun shine brighter because she is our genius, right? So, I watched her tinker with those fiber optic cables as the sun shone behind her. At that moment, she was so beautiful, your Mama, Shuri, will forever be the brightest sparkle in the depth of the ocean, brighter than our sun, I—” He almost cried, reminiscing all that, Shuri, his sun…
“Aaaaaaaand you fellllllllll in love with Mama, am I right, Baba~~~” Their daughter teases as smooth as ever, Namor was pretty sure she got that from Shuri. The mischievous glint in her eyes makes Namor’s heart melt miserably. Their daughter was a mini Shuri, the light and love that Namor thought he never deserved.
“No, no, no, in chan paalo’, I fell in love with your Mama way earlier! Before she helped fix our sun! But the truth is, she is as beautiful as the—”
“Ahem.” A slight cough came from the door, but the father and daughter were too engrossed in story-telling and did not hear her at all.
“—Your Mama is the nurturer from the upper realm—”
“Ahem-” Oh Bast. Shuri rolls her eyes fondly when she hears Namor start reciting the words painted around the portrait of her. She gazes at it too, sighing softly at how much time has passed, how long they have gone through together, and how they have grown their family over the years.
“She is my Sun and I am her Moon—”
Unbelievable. How many times does Namor have to tell the mural he drew of her to their daughter??? Four times a day??? “Ahem!” But Shuri had cleared her throat too loud this time, the little boy in her arms stirred, but quickly drifted away when she lovingly sang the lullaby to him, as their little prince continued his sweet dreams.
Finally, the father and daughter notice her, both beaming at her with matching love eyes and smiles, making Shuri giggle softly, pacing towards them, gracing them with their dazzling presence. She asks her husband…
“I wonder how long you could tell the same old never-ending bedtime stories to our daughter before she gets bored?” Shuri teases, passing him his mini-me to Namor as he settles their baby boy in the crib beside his big sister’s little bed.
“As long as I could, as long as time let me, as long as I love you, Shuri—” Namor leans in and gets rewarded with a sweet kiss from his wife, “Besides, when she gets bored, I still have our baby boy, and their siblings after them, one—” Namor turns around and kisses their daughter’s forehead, tucking her in her little bed, “Two—” turning to the soundly sleeping infant, their son , kissing his chubby face too.
“Three—” He turns back to Shuri, kissing her 2 months and 22 days old pregnant belly and the little life growing inside her, “And maybe a four, or five—” Finally, he places a kiss on her forehead. She leans in too, chuckling and whispers, “You wish.”
Namor smirks, “Sorry to inform you, my queen, but all my wishes have come true.”
Shuri plays with his hands, placing them on her belly, wondering when will their baby start kicking like his or her older siblings do with that tiny winged ankle of theirs. She eyes him slyly, and all she sees is herself in his eyes. At peace and in bliss.
“Because of you, Shuri.” Namor gently cradles both her hands, guiding her to face the murals - the one with both of them, the one she made him yield.
And the other one, Shuri, is not just the Black Panther goddess, but also the Goddess of the Sun herself. “All of my wishes are you… and all of them have come true because of you.”
Shuri wonders how long Namor could go on, maybe forever…Sounds just right to her.
“Alright, my moon, your daughter is waiting for your ending speech, go on~” Shuri nudges him playfully. Together, they sat by her little bed, murmuring to her.
“And so, in chan paalo’, I fell in love with your mother way earlier, by the river—” Shuri squeezes his hand, missing her mother. “—She had long hair, she was so young, so bright…” It was the Shuri he had a glimpse of. When… she hadn't lost everything yet.
Shuri stares into his rich brown eyes, widening in surprise, she squeezes back his hand, whispering, “What?” She thought they fell in love at the same river—
Namor smiles, shaking his head in glee, maybe telling her his long-kept secret some other time. “And so, your Mama got me out of the gloom, and brought light into my life…” Their little girl smiles, just like her father.
Shuri grins, caressing her belly, she hopes their little one will not be too annoyed by their Baba for the rest of her pregnancy. Namor faces her, tenderly cupping her jaw, kissing her slowly, whispering on her parted lips as she nuzzles into the heart of his palm.
“She nurtured you, and your little brother, your future little brother or sister, and my broken heart… ” Despite that, she had a broken heart too.
“I wan…na…a…little…sisi…Mama…” Their daughter wishes out drowsily, closing her beautiful brown eyes, falling asleep when she no longer has eyes to see her cheesy parents. “I hope so too, my sweet child, good night.” Shuri leans down and kisses her little forehead, her baby that made her a mother, she will forever be grateful to her.
“Night…night…Mama…Baba…little brother.” They both gaze at each other and beam, Namor tugs her up, feeling no matter how many times he told her he loves her, it was never enough.
“What are you up to now?” Shuri sees the shimmering in his eyes, her face softening in greater love again, resting their foreheads together, Namor confesses, “You are my Sun, Shuri. Forever.”
“Forever?” Breathless, she promises him too.
“Forever.” Namor holds her hand, taking her away, and she follows him wherever he goes. “So~ you better keep this a secret and don’t tell on me to the kids that I brought you to a sightseeing solar eclipse date right now.”
“Right now???” Shuri nearly squeals, then lower her voice, and sneakily confirms with him, “Right nowww?” Whenever the children fell asleep, they would always go on dates.
“Right now. Let’s go, you and I.” Namor grins from ear to ear, looking at Shuri’s eyes twinkle with surprise and joy, “Maybe we finally get to see some anglerfish’s mating rituals this time before we make it to the surface!”
“I bring my bioluminescent tubes this time.” Namor agrees to his excited wife at peeking at the sea creatures' mating, announcing it was for research purposes.
“No, later your bioluminescence cum attracts the male angler instead! I ain’t fighting with a fish over my husband today.” Shuri slaps him in the ass, “Hurry up, Ch’ah Toh Almehen!”
“You cannot do that to me when you are pregnant, Princess!” Namor feels he’s twitching in his shame shorts.
“Shhhh! Don’t whine! Let’s go, the two of us, before we wake the children up—” Shuri summons her suit, reaching out to take his hand.
“Okay, okay, the queen’s orders—” Namor takes her hand, holding firmly that not even a whirlpool can separate them.
“We are going on a solar eclipse sightseeing, in chan paalo’~” Namor caresses her vibranium-covered belly, leaning down to whisper, Shuri is not showing yet, but he could faintly hear a little heartbeat that makes his wings flutter in love.
“You have so many things to say today, huh? Old man~” Shuri bumps their shoulder together, Namor’s kimoyo beads and her bracelet - his mother’s bracelet clinks together, tangled forever.
Namor rolls his eyes affectionately, “What happened to our kinship and support rule no.1 when we tied the knot???” He just likes to tease Shuri whenever she brings this up, he’s got a better comeback this time like ‘You only get to fuck this pretty old man for the rest of your life so be careful.’
“Not applicable when you draw that portrait of me behind my back… the one we fought? That’s fineeeee, but me???” Shuri smirks and looks back, looking straight at the portrait of herself from his eyes. Now, after she had grown her hair back, she looked just like herself in his eyes once again. “You are never getting away from me, K’uk’ulkan—”
“Like I could.” They stand in the pool,
“You are so down bad, Namor of Talokan—” Facing each other,
“I recalled you taught me the word ‘simp’-” Holding each other,
“How many tricks do you have waiting to use to woo me?” Smiling at each other,
“Oh, probably a million more, my love~” Gazing into each other,
“Sometimes I wonder if you’ll stop loving me one day. Although I won’t—” Understanding each other,
“Not even after I burn the world. I will never stop loving you, Shuri.” Promising each other,
“As will I.” Loving each other, “Do you think we will make it back before the children wake up?” Shuri doesn’t want to explain to her babies that she and their Baba had all the fun without them.
Namor holds her as he sinks them down together, smiling, “Let’s find out.”
In the water, smitten, Namor and Shuri pledge in unison, two halves of the same soul.
“Let’s go, my sun.” “Let’s go, my moon.”