Well, all his dreams did come true after all.
The biggest crybaby gave birth to little crybabies— makes perfect sense, right?
“I know it’s not going to work bebes. I know I know… Baba’s here.”
Shuri once thought marriage was hard.
“Shhh, just a few minutes more we let Mama sleep, just a few more minutes, I promise. I know Baba said that a few minutes earlier, I know I know shh—”
That she and Namor would never work out.
The soft cries of their babies, already quiet, seemed to truly understand their father’s words. They whimpered even more softly in the night, but now sounding even more pitiful than before.
She thought she knew everything.
Shuri shut her eyes with effort, her eyeballs barely shifting beneath the lids. The exhaustion and endless crying left her both heartbroken and drained. When she finally managed to open them, it was only halfway.
That being a wife is hard.
But the moment she saw Namor, everything shifted— the pain and unease changed.
It still hurts, but no longer in that hollow, empty way it used to be in her heart. She hadn’t felt that kind of ache in a long time.
That being a mother is even harder.
Maybe it was because she had just given birth… maybe it made her miss her own mother too much… the way her babies now needed her.
The way she needed him.
Shuri knew she couldn’t know everything. But now, she could see everything with eyes wide open in peace.
Namor held their babies in his arms, gently rocking them with soft murmurs, patting their backs while he squinted in pain. His eyes rimmed with red, misted with tears.
As a wife and a mother, it felt a little wrong. But as just herself, Shuri couldn’t help finding it all a bit funny…
What was she supposed to do? She wanted to send an SOS to the whole ocean. Her husband and their babies were all crybabies! Was there any foolproof way to get them all to stop crying???
Shuri couldn’t hold it in and let out a quiet laugh. Of course the babies were pitiful… cuz Baba doesn’t have milk.
When Namor saw she was awake, his eyes lit up instantly. He hurriedly wiped away his tears and looked at her with a desperate plea tinted with pain and heartbreak.
“Does it hurt this much every time you feed them? Should we—”
“No.”
Sitting up, Shuri reached out her arms to him, waiting for Namor to place either one into her embrace to soothe the hungry baby.
Namor passed their wiggling baby girl to her because she picked up Mama’s voice too quickly with those pointy ears of hers.
One down and two to go.
“Why didn’t you wake me up, they are starving…” Shuri rubbed her eyes and placed a little kiss on her daughter’s little round head with fluffy dark curls. She can’t wait to do her hair with braids and buns in the future.
“They can wait after they put you through enough when you were giving birth to them.” One thing that amused them the most was how fast they could drink while Shuri breastfed them and how quickly they got full. So the twins didn’t need to wait long for each other and got their turns fairly soon. But the hard part was that it meant they got hungry easily. So the more frequent feedings, the less Shuri slept.
“You know I kind of wish you had milk too, one baby each would be perfect!” Soon, their baby girl had got her fill while she heard her brother’s wails. She was placed back into Baba’s warm arms, dozing off peacefully.
“But honestly, we make a pretty good feeding team as it is. Especially since the babies are just like their dad. Can’t be put down for even a second without turning into little crying messes.” Shuri teased him, mimicking his crying face and noises to make him laugh. Sometimes it works!
Namor started crying again.
“Was it not funny? I thought you knew you were hilarious.” It was probably the sleepiness creeping back in, Shuri could barely make sense of her own words anymore at this point. But her free hand reached out and tangled with his, reaching up to poke his breast that she wished there was milk in it.
This time, Namor let out a snort of laughter. Holding the babies, he laughed until his shoulders shook. Then he gazed at Shuri, at her soft face, trying so hard to make him laugh and to reassure him— that she and their babies were being taken such good care by him— and Namor’s eyes welled up all over again.
“Your hormones are wrecking me again.” Namor sobbed a bit hopelessly, he tried to glare at her, but he couldn’t.
Shuri breaks into a wide smile at his complaint, she kinda misses how emotional Namor was throughout her pregnant journey, although she kinda hated it at the time. He was being too much sometimes until he told her…
“I thought you liked it, you said it is a way to share my burden—”
“—I’m not even the one who’s pregnant!” Namor couldn’t help but wail a bit louder and immediately came back to his senses, Shuri would smack him if he woke up the babies. He coos softly, choking while rocking the two little bundles of joy in his arms now.
“Are you now sharing the babies?” Shuri expected the babies to wake up but they didn’t. Looks like they are tired for the day too… or it was their Baba’s arms that were their safest heaven that nothing could disturb them.
“Shhh, don’t wake them up.” Namor gently placed them back into their baby hammocks beside their bed, rocking them a bit and gazing at their little chubby faces. Sometimes they were so quiet when they were not crying, Namor was worried all the time if they were not breathing although he had superpowered hearing. He leaned down lower, focusing on their little heartbeats and breathings and smiled.
Sniffling as he was a little too proud that he and Shuri made these two little crybabies.
Quietly, his cheek was met with another warm one.
Shuri knew everyone’s journey would be a hard one.
Curious nuzzles, playful nuzzles, gentle nuzzles— until he finally turned to look at her with contentment and bliss.
Namor’s tears were kissed away, one by one.
This had to be a dream. “Can you marry me right now?”
Namor asked in a daze, completely falling for her.
But with Namor… “I’m already married to you, crybaby.”
Shuri answered sweetly, remembering the earth-shattering day, remembering how everyone she ever loved was there. They were there. They were always there.
Namor smiled smugly. This time, he leaned in and kissed away the tears that had fallen from her beautiful eyes. The same eyes that captivated his soul, his heart and his entire being every time he looked at them.
“Then marry me again.”
She cupped his face, staring into his sparkling eyes that reflected her, the way she adored him so deeply. Shuri yielded but…
“Only if you promise to cry less this time.”
…it’s not that hard after all.
“No promises.”
They both grinned.
Shuri forgot… that the most difficult person was Namor after all.