"Pass me the sunglasses, thank you" aka "He's Married!"
12:27 pm. He's late.
"Babies, oh babies, why is your daddy so slow today! We're all hungry!" She could hear the rumbling of her empty stomach and then Shuri felt a rolling and pressure on her bladder. She touched her bump and felt two little feet and a little hand pushing eagerly against her belly. She felt it clearly, grinning as the babies completely agreed with their mama's words! "Right? Hmph, we don't talk to him later!"
Shuri got up slowly, feeling so heavy because of the fullness of her stomach and went to the bathroom, before that, she will always—
Looking out of the window from her high-rise building, a heavily pregnant Shuri sits right by the window. With her eagle-like eyes, she scanned the street below and there he was. Her husband, Namor, was carrying her take-out lunch and crossing the road.
Hmm, quite handsome, if you ignore the female colleagues surrounding him from all sides. The front, left, right and behind. Quite the attention magnet! She snorted while having the desperate need to use the toilet right now.
"Shuri! It's lunchtime!" Her colleagues shouted from afar. "Coming!" She takes her time. "Do you know that—" Shuri joins the group after she is done. As they gossip, she steps into the lift as the last person, and her colleagues, Riri Williams, Michelle Jones, America Chavez and Xu Xialing instinctively flank her protectively.
Shuri got used to it, but still took the opportunity to tease, "Wow, you guys are so coordinated!"
"Can't help it," America jokingly replied.
"Forgive me for being blunt, Mrs. Almehen, but that's what the boss instructed," MJ said seriously, but with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Enough already, there's no place for her to hide here," Xialing laughed.
"Ma'am, I must inform you that my salary hasn't been paid yet," Riri chimed in smoothly. The colleagues in the elevator burst into laughter and cheered along.
"Alright, alright, once the babies are born, I'll have him give you all a big gift," she happily rubbed her belly. "Oh, my babies, look at how spoiled your uncles and aunties are!" Shuri felt bloated with her expanding belly, yet sometimes immensely content with the sensation. She couldn't help but feel a profound sense of happiness, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the two little angels. Ding! The door opened and they arrived at the cafeteria.
As Shuri lifted her gaze, guided by an invisible force, her eyes met his , like two souls intertwined in a moment of serendipity, and even time stood still for them. Shuri and Namor were mesmerized by the sight of each other.
"She's all yours, Mr. Almehen~'' One of them teased and the other nudged her gently, and Shuri automatically extended her hand, and Namor firmly held onto it. "Thanks, ladies." Namor gazed into her eyes, shimmering with a softness that melted Shuri's heart upon meeting her gaze. "Hey, beautiful~" he greeted.
"You're late," Shuri pouted, intending to complain, but her words carried a hint of tease. Namor smiled and patiently explained, "Auntie messaged me she's cooking your favourite dish today. I went early and managed to be the first in line. If I had been any later, you would have had to wait even longer." With one hand, he held her hand tightly as he led her to sit down at their table, the other hand playfully tapping her nose.
"Oh, alright then," she replied, taking out a handkerchief to wipe away his sweat. No wonder he's all sweaty. He must have waited for a long time under the sun. Shuri felt a pang of heartache for him.
The others had bought their lunch and were already seated. Shuri saw new faces among his colleagues and said hi to them kindly. Namor introduced the newcomers and they all looked at their manager's wife with curiosity and interest. Wondering what kind of woman could have managed to tame their manager, who appeared carefree on the surface but was meticulous in his work, generous in his rewards, and capable of reducing people to tears with his scathing remarks, all while maintaining a calm demeanor.
"You mentioned yesterday that you wanted to drink orange juice, right? I bought it for you too," Namor said as he helped her sit down and handed her the orange juice. Shuri drank it happily, thinking how this man could make her heart ache for him in one moment and move her to tears in the next. "You remember even the most random things I say," Shuri teased joyfully.
"I would do anything for you, princess," Namor declared smoothly while smirking.
And everyone was sugar-rushed and cringing to the max, overwhelmed by their sweet tooth-rotting and excessively cheesy flirtatious banter.
Their colleagues around them all made various faces and sounds, pretending to be overwhelmed and disgusted by the sweetness. Especially the newcomers, who felt as if they were witnessing the Seven Wonders of the World.
"I haven't even had lunch, and I'm already full from all this lovey-dovey talk!" One of Namor's colleagues quipped.
"I'm going blind from it." One of Shuri's colleagues covered his eyes dramatically.
Riri, America, MJ and Xialing came back with their lunches and sat around Shuri. Riri and America were both wearing sunglasses dramatically, mocking the others in their face teasingly, "First time~?" "You weak humans~!"
"It's all your fault!" Shuri playfully shifted all the blame onto her husband.
"You started it~ I apologize on behalf of my wife." Namor nonchalantly apologized to the others without any remorse.
As the others groaned once again, Shuri burst into laughter, and Namor joined in too, grinning widely. The two of them finally spared the innocent colleagues and obediently started eating their lunch while holding hands under the table.
Halfway through the meal, Namor couldn't sit still anymore and started touching his wife everywhere. He gently tucked Shuri's hair behind her ear, patted her back, and caressed her baby bump in circles. Then, he began talking to the babies like a silly idiot, asking, "In chan paalo', In bebés, little ones~ did you two give your mummy a hard time today?"
Shuri told him, "You're late today, they don't want to talk to you." But then the babies inside her belly started kicking vigorously as if to say, "That's not true, Mummy said it herself!!!" "Yeah! Yeah! Don't blame us! Mummy!!"
And then Namor felt two pairs of little hands and feets kicking against Shuri's belly, right where his hand is placed. As if they were protesting to their father.
"...Why do they seem to disagree with what you said?" Namor smirked, knowing that things were most likely the other way around. But before Shuri could react, he always knew how to deal with his wife's adorable antics, "Oh, my babies, Daddy is wrong! It's all my fault—" and Namor took a turn real smoothly by— "Can you two help me convince Mummy to forgive Daddy?"
Namor smugly coaxed her, knowing that she couldn't resist being cheered up by this method. Shuri loves seeing his adorable expression when he talks to the babies, knowing that he was already a wonderful father.
"Ah? The babies kicked, they said you forgave me!" Namor proudly declared, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her. Shuri gazed back at him, completely captivated, and still managed to retort, "It was your orange juice that bribed them!" She pretended to be still a little angry, but couldn't help but beam so brightly, her eyes twinkling cutely and her face radiant beautifully. If it weren't for the crowd around them, Namor would have loved to kiss her eyes right at that moment.
"Could you pass me your sunglasses for a while, Riri? Please? Thank you—" MJ teased across them. Everyone made a great effort to hold themselves back from laughing and making "Awwwww~" sounds, truly amazed by the cheesiness of them both.
Some of the older colleagues, who had grown accustomed to their antics, caringly asked her, "How far along are you now, Shuri? It looks like you're about to give birth, isn't it?" One of Namor's colleagues asks and Shuri starts thinking in a blur, "Yes, I'm 8… no… 9 months…?" She couldn't remember, oops!!
"35 weeks, 2 days, you are welcome~" Namor kindly answered on her behalf. Shuri grins and squeezes his hand, "Why thank you~ what would I do without you~~~?"
"I don't know what I'd do without you either~ You know we make a great team~" Namor extended his fist, and Shuri smiled as they bumped their fists together. Then, both of them gently touched her belly, ensuring that their children were not left out. And they both felt the babies bump back with their little fists. Their hearts melt miserably.
"Did I hear Namor say babies? Are you having twins??? Oh my god!! Congratulations!!" The ones who didn't know congratulated them excitedly. "Do you mind if we ask whether they are two boys, two girls, or one of each?"
"We don't know either—" The others all answered in unity.
"You guys were the ones who told me not to tell you, remember? You all said you wanted it to be a surprise!" Shuri teased her colleagues. She turned to her husband and asked, "Didn't you mention it?" Then Namor's colleagues chimed in, saying, "Oh, Namor wouldn't say a word! He's quite mysterious! If it weren't for that one time when he left a pregnancy guideline book on his desk, we wouldn't even know he got married!!"
"Hey, do you think this is just a piece of jewelry?" Namor chuckled helplessly, flashing his matching wedding ring with Shuri on their ring fingers, engraved with each other's names in it.
"You guys really weren't paying attention, huh? Didn't you see Shuri's photo on Namor's desk? It's their wedding picture!" Namor's oldest colleague, Letty, teased. "We never dare to look too closely," the younger ones stuck out their tongues. "So, is it two boys, two girls, or one of each?" they asked curiously.
With a smug grin, Namor replied, "Be my guest and have a guess." Shuri leaned on him, smiling secretly too.
And Xialing raises her hand excitedly, "I know!! I'll give you all a clue!! Pay attention to what Shuri craves! 酸儿辣女!! 所以她怀的是一男一女, 龙凤胎!"
Then everyone looked at her with confusion. "Oh, sorry," Xialing chuckled, "I was referring to a cultural belief. In my culture, craving sour foods is believed to have a baby boy, while craving spicy foods is believed to have a baby girl. So, she's expecting a boy and a girl, twins! It's like a dragon and a phoenix!"
Then everyone took a glance at what Shuri was eating and wore knowing smiles on their faces. They eagerly watched the couple, curious to see if Xialing's guess was right. Namor and Shuri exchanged glances, and he silently asked if she wanted to tell them. Shuri nodded happily and pointed towards Xialing.
"When the children are born, you can be the first to hold them among all of them," Namor told her. Xialing's joy was evident as she danced with excitement. Shuri looked at the blurred expressions of the others and exclaimed, "It's a boy and a girl, geniuses!" Finally, everyone caught on and offered their congratulations happily, sending them all the wonderful blessings. Namor and Shuri were grateful.
"I hope it's an older brother and younger sister pairing, you know I have an older brother, Shang-Chi," Xialing told Shuri happily.
"We hope so too… my older brother, T'Challa said the same thing! But since they are twins, an older sister and younger brother pairing is perfect too~" Shuri happily shared her thoughts with them.
"哥哥妹妹!" Xialing taught her.
And Shuri repeated after her fluently, "哥哥妹妹~" Namor smiled.
Brother and sister.
After finishing their meal, Namor and Shuri sat together, leaning against each other, savouring every remaining moment of their lunchtime. They shared their thoughts, stories, and everything they wanted to say to each other. It was not until Namor had to leave and he escorted her back upstairs. "I have to go," he said. "Hmm, goodbye~" she replied.
"I'm leaving now?" Namor questioned. "Yes, you can go now~" Shuri confirmed. As he turned to leave, he playfully puckered his lips, pretending to be sad as he said, "I'm~~~ leaving~~~" while he sways her hands softly.
Shuri saw that no one was around and pulled him back finally, not needing to tiptoe as Namor leaned down and gently kissed her. Shuri beamed with pride, and he smiled with tenderness. "I gotta go," he said, kissing her forehead and eyes before finally feeling at ease to depart. "I'll pick you up after work," Namor assured her. "Okay, see ya~" Shuri replied. He left and she stood by the window for a while. Watching him walk back to his office.
She watched him safely cross the street, and then Namor stopped and turned around, shielding his eyes with his hand as he looked in her direction. With understanding, Shuri waved her hand widely, and Namor, with his eagle-like vision, saw her and waved back with an equally grand gesture.
The two idiots in love exchanged waves of affection, and couldn't even be separated by the glass windows, tall buildings, and busy streets.
Namor gently caressed his belly and blew a kiss to her, making Shuri laugh silly. Then she had an idea, placing her phone on the table, she started recording a video, addressing the screen, "Dear babies, Daddy is waving goodbye to you two, can you see him?" She stood by the window, waving happily, and Namor remained there, waiting for her.
The babies kicked! They were really kicking, kicking with force. Shuri showed her belly towards the phone, trying to capture their little movements. Finally, she rubbed her belly, blew a kiss and waved goodbye to her love, and Namor left with a contented heart.
Shuri stopped the video, played it again and saw herself looking silly in it, she pressed send. Sending it to her husband , Namor, while smiling blissfully. She turned around and saw the four horsewomen crossing their arms, looking at her smugly.
"Just a few more hours, I'm sure the babies can wait~"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah~" She smiled and sat down on her seat, looking at their wedding picture on her desk as she caressed her wedding ring. Shuri kissed it softly—
The babies can wait, but I can't.
…
Namor was busy teaching the new recruits in all departments about the company's rules and guidelines. And everyone surrounded him, bombarding him with all kinds of questions. Many people were unintentionally drawn to him. Then, his best colleague, Letty, kindly intervened and shouted,
"Married! Married! He's married!"
It was a gentle reminder for everyone to maintain their boundaries and Namor couldn't help but smile gratefully, acknowledging her thoughtfulness.
After addressing everyone's queries, Namor returned to his desk, and the first thing he saw was Shuri's radiant smile. And saw the video his wife sent him, he did see the little movements of the little ones pushing on her belly. And his adorable wife beaming at the phone. Namor's heart softened with so much love because of her. Just for Shuri. Of course, and their babies, but more for their mother, he chuckled.
Namor softly kissed his wedding ring, eager to finish work and go pick Shuri up after work so they could have their dinner at their favourite restaurant, and spend the night watching the latest episode of "Secret Invasion" together at home.