Underwater

"Shuri, you are coming with me to Haiti this weekend," T'Challa tells his sister while she is working.

She is working on Ch'ah's gifts—

"I'm busy, brother." Shuri didn't even lift her head up while sorting some stuff.

"I'm sure you can work on it and still come with me." T'Challa insisted.

"Give me a second, I'm in the middle of something…" Shuri simply said.

I should put this and this together or—

"Shuri? I'm sure you can make it—" T'Challa speaks again. The scientists and technologists cut looks at their King and Princess, chuckling as they watched them bickering like any other siblings.

"T'Challa, can't you see I'm actively ignoring you?" Shuri finally lifts her head and looks at her brother. Her eyes, her smile, her face, teasing at her beloved brother.

"Come with me."

Shuri couldn’t say no when her brother's tone was determined and he looked at her, pleading. Is that how she looks every time she pleads with T'Challa when she wants something? Like going on a mission together, or like when she pleads with him to bring her to the river to play when they were young—

Shuri raises her hands in surrender, and finally nods cheekily, "Brother's order!"

The scientists and technologists smiled, and the King's order.

"Why do you want me to go along with you anyway? Third-wheeling you and Nakia?" Shuri teases him.

"Mother is coming with us too." T'Challa smugly tells her.

"So you want me and Mama third-wheeling you and Nakia—" Shuri counters. Mother is going too?

"What's the fuss?" Shuri slaps his arm.

"Can't I bring my mother and sister to have a vacation? To have a break?" T'Challa lets her bump his shoulder, he bumps back.

"Since we settled all the matters and everything is at peace now. The world… and so does Wakanda." T'Challa explains patiently.

"When are we going?" Shuri's mind wanders to Ch'ah.

"Tomorrow. It's Friday tomorrow if you are too busy to recall~" T'Challa was happy to hear her say yes.

"Brother, there is something I have to tell you—" He may not be a threat but still, she needs to be careful. For Wakanda's safety.

"That you are coming up with something?" T'Challa cuts her off and raises his chin at her lab's screen.

"Oh, that. Rapid emergency response task. There could be any number of unknown threats on the horizon and they are creating solutions." She should come up with some protocol when they are out of the country.

"No. I mean that—" T'Challa points at the screen.

"Exo suits for our army. It grants the user super-human strength, speed and durability."

"The suit that I had given my opinions on?" T'Challa teases her. Oh Bast, Okoye is not going to like it, the suit is getting more hideous—

"And as usual, Okoye had notes. I have added the upgrades you suggested and changed the design slightly!" Shuri exclaims.

"Hmm…okay…good luck persuading Okoye to put on that…" T'Challa can imagine their general's disgusting face while looking at the suit.

"The suit looks perfect to me but Okoye hates them!" Shuri tsks annoyingly at him, "When you can just use the "King's order" like what you did just now. My inventions will work exactly as I designed them."

"I did not. And who taught you how to do all that you do now? All of this, my little sister—" T'Challa asks proudly. He just wants to hear from her.

"My big brother." Shuri rolls her eyes fondly at him.

T'Challa stares at his sister, teasing and lovingly.

"YOU DID, alright! And now I'm better than you!" Shuri will not lose in their sibling banter.

"Ei~! If it's not for me who taught you all of this in the first place—" T'Challa will not lose in their siblingly banter either.

"I would have figured it out all on my own later~ but you did help speed up the process a bit~" Shuri smirked broadly at him.

"Speed up? We accelerated at the speed of light."

T'Challa sighed with nostalgia.

It feels like yesterday that his little sister still follows him around and sits on his lap when she tags along with him to play in the lab while he works.

And T'Challa came to this moment in a blink of an eye, his little sister, Shuri is already the head of the Wakandan Design Group.

"So you run along now~ I have to accelerate at the speed of light and finish everything before going to Haiti." Shuri gives the order.

"My Princess!" T'Challa bows slightly.

"I'm not going to tell you to stop it~" Shuri chuckled in delight.

T'Challa and Shuri did their handshake thing as usual before he left. They clapped their hands together, pressing their thumbs together and saluted in Wakanda Forever.

Shuri went to the river ten minutes late. Namor was already there.

"Sorry Ch'ah, I'm late! I can't stay long either, I have a project I wanted to complete today—"

"Why the rush?" Namor reached out to help Shuri sit down, and it was clear that she had hurried over.

"Erm~ I'm leaving Wakanda this weekend, so I have to rush some projects." Shuri sat down beside him, taking a break and catching her breath. She didn't want Ch'ah to wait too long for her.  

"Where are you going???" Namor asked in surprise.

"...Somewhere. I can't tell you~" Shuri looked at him with a big smile on her face.

"—hmm…" Okay, fineee~ Namor snorted slightly. Looking everywhere but her and being silent.

Shuri looks at him…

.

.

.

…Is he sulking???!

"Pffttt—" Shuri found his sulking expression both amusing and endearing. She laughs.

"......???" Namor finally looked at her with a raised eyebrow, clearly puzzled as to what was so funny. Who or what could have made her laugh so joyfully? His brow furrowed in displeasure.

Shuri poked at his arm when she had her laugh, Ch'ah moved away an inch to not let her poke at him. Acting like a child—!

"C'mon— It's not like I'm not coming back. I'm just staying there with my brother for the weekend. I'll be back by Monday, I think…" Shuri doesn't know why she is explaining to him now. She didn't need to.

Ch'ah continues to actively ignore her.

"I have to go, I'll see you tomorrow for a while too. Bye~?" Shuri was kinda annoyed that he does not have a shirt or anything on, so she could tug at his sleeve…she used to do that with Baba and Brother when they got a bit mad at her with her antics.

In the end, Namor nodded to indicate that he had heard her. He got up and left, thinking of something…

Shuri watched him leave.

Great. He left without saying goodbye.

Shuri was a little gleeful, finding him so unexpected and unbelievable…

Ch'ah is pissed off.

The next day, they meet as promised.

She is leaving in the night so they don't attract too much attention when they land their aircraft in Haiti.

Speaking of aircraft, Shuri was curious if they have that underwater.

She sat down beside Ch'ah while thinking, and Namor reached out to hand her something.

"...HUH?" Shuri looks down at it—

"Blow into this, place it in the ocean, I'll be there shortly afterwards." 

Namor said calmly, although his heart was churning. He really hoped Shuri would accept it so that if she ever needed him, he could come to her aid.

"It's beautiful. What is this?" Shuri can't recall what this is called, seashell or whatever, but she was curious how this delicate thing works to call for him.

"It's a conch shell." Namor watched as the corners of her mouth curved upward in a wild grin.

"How can I call you with this? So is this like a communication device of yours??? How does it work?" Shuri had a bunch of questions and she proceeded to fumble the conch, shaking it and putting it beside her ear, trying to hear something.

"Yes, just blow, place it in the ocean and I'll know where to find you." 

"Yes, sort of a transmission and calling device as you think."

"And no, I don't want to tell you how it works~"

Namor replied to all of her questions. He watched as Shuri tried to listen to the conch shell adorably.

"C'MON—!! Don't be so stingy~ I'm very curious about how this works!!" Shuri pouted at him and said in a spoiled child tone, that she wanted him to explain the structure of this thing.

Namor smiled with satisfaction.

"It's not a big deal. The conch will receive what you said into it and it will transmit the message through the ocean, flowing together with the water."

"So it works as long as it's in the water? Convenient~" Shuri said amusingly and Namor nodded.

"What happens if I put this into the water in my bathroom, like my bathtub? Does it work? Can I call you like that? I doubt you can hear me from there, ha~ In case you didn't know, a bathroom is—" Shuri joked that she just wanted to tease him so badly and to learn more about his things.

Shuri's mind wanders, how underwater people go to the toilet…they do need to go to the bathroom, right? Maybe like the astronauts in space? But less troublesome?

"I know what a bathroom is, Shuri—" Namor is amused.

"—And you do not want me to appear in your bathroom." 

"...OKAYYY…what if the place I'm going to does not have an ocean? Now that's possible!" Shuri was certain there was an ocean where she was going. She just wasn't sure if the place they are staying is near the ocean or not.

Now that is something Namor didn't think of. His face went blank.

"I'm joking with you, I know there's an ocean where I'm heading to~ Besides, I won't be needing this, honestly, I'll be back here before you know it." Shuri gave it back to him. She was sure she didn't need it.

"Keep it, it's for you anyway." Namor gently pushed her hand that was holding the conch shell back and asked her to keep it. Shuri held the conch shell in her hand and ran her fingers over its textures. She hugged the conch shell to her chest, feeling inexplicably happy.

"Okay, thanks~ By the way, I was wondering…do you have aircraft or ships back in your nation? Like for transportation—" Or weapons.

"No."

To Shuri's surprise, she didn't expect Ch'ah to say no.

"We don't need it." He alone can take care of the aerial attacks while their people could fight like no other in the water—

"We have our whales to travel around…so we didn't need to build ships and aircraft because—"

"Need inspires innovation," Namor said.

"Necessity breeds invention," Shuri blurted out.

They looked at each other in silence and then smiled, understanding each other.

"Looks like we are on the same page. Wakanda is not that big, but yeah, it's way more convenient and faster if I want to get from the pal— my place to the lab, so yeah, we need it. Recently, I built a new aircraft which is called the Sunbird—"

Shuri couldn't help but start sharing her latest invention with him, because Ch'ah understood her. He also occasionally asked some questions she had never thought of and gave some suggestions, which showed that he seemed to have a lot of experience in inventing things too!

"I remembered I once made my brother a gift of—!" Shuri suddenly stood up and went back to the surface. Leaving Namor puzzled.

Gift! His gift! I almost forgot! "Be right back!!" She runs to the bushes, she put Ch'ah's gift here earlier, like yesterday night. So she doesn't look fishy while carrying such a big box out of the lab and just in case of bumping into someone she knows. Like her brother, her mother, or the general.

They would definitely ask— What's in the box? And her secret will be exposed.

That she's been seeing someone for two weeks!

Shuri sat back in the water, holding out his gift to Ch'ah. Hope he'll accept it or like her gift— and her kimoyo beads buzzed. Her colleagues are looking for her, and Shuri speeds things up a bit.

"You are not the only one who likes to give people gifts~ This is for you. I hope you can accept it…" Shuri turns off her kimoyo beads and continues holding out the box to Ch'ah.

Namor looked at her with surprise. He looked at her and went back to the box. He recognized it immediately. The box is vibranium-made. And Shuri just gave him—

He takes the box from her hands, it's not floating as it has quite some weight in it. Their hands touch.

"How could I dare not accept your gift? If I don't, it would be ungrateful of me. Thank you, Shuri. I really like it…" Namor was more than happy to receive a gift from her. He did see it coming but it was still a surprise.

"Oh please, you don't even know what it is and said you like it!" Shuri poked fun at him.

"I would love anything you give me, whether it's seaweed or a seashell." He grins smugly.

"Stop it~~~ Seriously, I was gonna build you a spear but you refuse, I'm really good at building spears…" It's the only thing that Okoye is more than happy to receive every single time. The woman's eyes lit up when she heard she built her a new one!

"It's the thought that counts, and I appreciate your kindness." Namor ran his fingers over the texture of the box, marveling at its intricacy and attention to detail. It was clear that Shuri had put a lot of time and effort into it, likely carving out a moment amidst her busy schedule to create something special.

"You are welcome~" Shuri felt pleased. And her kimoyo beads buzzed again.

"I have to go, it must be something important. I'll call you on your conch phone when I'm back in Wakanda! And let me know whether you like the gift or not! Since I'm pretty sure you must have a collection of it but whatever~ The built spear is still open if you don't like this! See ya—" Shuri presses on her beads, standing up and saying her goodbyes to Ch'ah. 

She bid farewell to him, and he nodded and waved.

"Be safe. Have fun." 

"Wait for me to come back and tell you about the interesting things and people I met there!" Although she refuses at first, Shuri is excited to go to Haiti with T'Challa, it's not like she gets the opportunity all the time to go out of Wakanda.

.

.

.

Namor went back to his cave and settled the box in his hut. He's guessing what's inside the box. And had something in his mind the moment he received it.

He opened the box and his prediction was precise.

Namor looked inside the box and saw a collection of colourful pigments. A neat arrangement of tubes of paints, each color with several different shades and tones including red, yellow, blue, orange, green and purple. Especially green , it has more varieties than the others. Namor smiled. He understood her intention very well and couldn't help but shake his head. Amusement washed all over him and felt lighthearted.

Different from the paints he regularly used, he realized that these were designed for use underwater. And Namor squeezed a bit onto the back of his hand and sniffed it, realizing that it was made of materials that wouldn't harm marine life. She had thoughtfully considered all aspects.  

He found additional compartments inside, with painting tools and even more different shades of paint. Not just paints and various uses of different types of brushes, but also some paper that can be used underwater, both for painting and waterproofing. It was a material he had never seen before. Namor's fingers gently brushed over each paint, brush, and paper, as well as the entire box.

Suddenly, Namor felt that this gift was incredibly valuable. The box may not look big, but it is excessively well-equipped in a compact and organized format. Although he already had most of the things inside, she had prepared everything so thoroughly and considered so many factors. Shuri had thought of everything—

The gift was incredibly precious because of her thoughtfulness. Namor smiled, realizing that he often received gifts from his people…

But this gift and the person who gave it were different and irreplaceable.  

Namor couldn't wait to tell Shuri how much he loved her gift the next time he saw her.

It's perfect.

The Wakandan aircraft landed deep in the woods at midnight, away from the attention of the locals. The royal family of Wakanda doesn't want to make a fuss.

T'Challa led his mother and sister to their house. A beautiful home, a Haitian Villa beside the beach.

Shuri looks around and ponders, Ha! She ended up staying right beside the ocean, close to him.

But she's not going to call him anyway. Still, she had brought along the conch shell with her anyway. It's in her backpack.

Nakia greeted them at their doorstep.

"Queen Mother, Shuri, it's good to see you," Nakia greets them warmly and they hug briefly.

"Mama, told you he's here every weekend to meet Nakia secretly~" Shuri bumps his brother on the shoulder cheekily.

"I figured that out long ago, my sweet child~" Their mother, Ramonda, plays along with her daughter.

Nakia and T'Challa looked at them, amused.

"Alright, genius, now you know all my secrets. Here, Mother, get some rest. We'll show you two around tomorrow." T'Challa led his mother to her room.

"Come, sisi, your room is over there," Nakia led Shuri to her room, "This is your unbeatable ocean view room."

From her window, she could see the beach and ocean.

"Thank you, Nakia. So this is where you've been staying for the past five years. It looks pretty nice here~" Shuri set down her stuff.

"Yes, I somehow managed to find a peaceful life here after you and T'Ch— I'm glad you came…" Nakia said warmly.

"I'm happy to see you too." They hugged each other goodnight and Nakia closed her door gently.

Shuri fell asleep to the sound of the waves and the soft whispering voice in her head.

♫Uh-uh-uh~~~♫

♫Vamos la star~ vamos la stars~♫

♫Eh, Eh, Eh, Eh, Eh~♫

"Is he asleep?" T'Challa whispered to Nakia, the two looked at the room at the end of the corridor with so much love.

"Yes. I told him that he will finally get to meet his Grandma and Aunty tomorrow. He didn't want to sleep! But I tired him out by making the gifts." Nakia murmured and led him back to their room, chuckling softly with joy.

"Of course, you'll always have a way with both of us~" T'Challa kissed her softly, they both are looking forward to tomorrow.

He couldn't wait to see the look of surprise on Shuri's face.

T'Challa and Nakia would introduce their son to Mother and Shuri tomorrow.

Shuri walked around in the market with her family. She looked around with excitement and curiosity. She rarely leaves Wakanda. The only time was when T'Challa brought her to where N'Jadaka used to live and the battle with Thanos.

She's now in another country. Although it's not as developed as Wakanda…well, no place on earth is as technological advancement as Wakanda. It's vibrant and rustic and the locals are friendly. She finds everything here novel and interesting. Whenever she sees something peculiar, she pulls her mother along to take a look, "Mama, look at this!" Ramonda happily indulged her.

And if she likes it, she pesters her brother to buy it for her, "Brother! Buy me this!" T'Challa could only heed his sister's orders and pay. Nakia laughs beside them.

Shuri feels like she's back to her childhood. Spending time with her family. After going around in circles, they tried many things she had never eaten before and bought a bunch of useless but memorable things for her at that moment. They returned with a full load. And she and Mother sat by the beach, resting and enjoying the sea breeze blowing.

"We could come here often if you like," Ramonda wrapped her daughter under her arms, cuddling together.

"Yeah, Mama. I would love to~ Bet you like it here too~ No wonder T'Challa and Nakia decided to stay here—" As if the time they lost with each other did not happen. Shuri leans onto her Mama, they sit and watch the waves together. Having their mother-daughter moment happily.

"Mother, Shuri, is it okay if we join you now?" T'Challa's voice rings behind them.

Shuri did not turn, "Yeah~"

"Mother, Shuri—"

"Queen Mother, Shuri—" 

They called in sync.

"We'd like you both to meet someone." Ramonda smiled. Oh Bast, how long she had waited for this moment—

Shuri turns around and what she sees leaves her in shock.

A little boy standing between T'Challa and Nakia, holding hands with them.

"This is our son, Toussaint." Nakia happily introduced their precious little one to them. "Toussaint, this is your Grandmother Ramonda and your Aunty Shuri."

Toussaint waves hello happily.

Shuri looks at a smiling T'Challa and Nakia, and then at the boy.

"Is it okay if we join you?"

Shuri nods slowly. And they sat by the beach together.

Ramonda tenderly touches Toussaint's face, the boy did not shy away from her touch and beams at his grandmother.

"Mother, did you know?" Shuri realized Mother wasn't as surprised and shocked as her.

"I'm your mother, of course, I know more than you, and all of you two's secrets~" Ramonda teases her two children all at once. T'Challa shakes his head fondly.

"So I'm the last one to know???" Shuri exclaimed in disbelief. The others all chuckled in glee, giving her a yes in silent agreement.

"...So this is why you sneak off here every weekend, not only to meet Nakia…" Shuri bumps T'Challa on the shoulder. He smiled.

"When I left Wakanda after the blip, I came to Haiti and found out I was with child. So I decided to raise him here on my own. When everyone came back, T'Challa came here secretly." Nakia reached out her hand, and so did T'Challa. Intertwining their hands firmly together.

"We agreed it is better for him to grow up here and introduce him to Wakanda when the time is right. We hope he could stay away from the pressure of the throne since we didn't want the choice to be made for us." T'Challa tells them. And Ramonda and Shuri understood.

Shuri turns to— her nephew.

Oh Bast, she had a nephew already.

She's an Auntie now!!!!

Her umtshana.

Shuri smiled at the boy, her nephew, "Hi! Nice to meet you~"

"Nice to meet you~" He's such a cutie, Shuri loved him already.

"Toussaint is a beautiful name, it holds a great history…" Shuri tells him gently.

"Thanks! Yours is cool too… I guess~" They giggled together. His baby voice melts Shuri. Oh, she's definitely going to spoil him so, so much.

"My mum said you are good at keeping secrets, is that true?" He asked her innocently.

"Yeah, I can keep a good secret~" Shuri chuckled at him, looking at Nakia and T'Challa. She better give a good first impression to her nephew as his one and only Aunty!!

Toussaint looks at his Baba and Mama, looks back at Shuri, and says, 

"Toussaint is my Haitian name."

Shuri raises her eyebrows at her brother and sister-in-law, they smile at her.

"Ungubani?" She asks Toussaint in Xhosa, their mother tongue.

"My name is Prince T'Challa, son of King T'Challa."

Shuri looks at young T'Challa, she doesn't know why— 

But her eyes welling with tearful joy as a gentle breeze passes.

Taking it in, Shuri closes her eyes in gratefulness,

And opens again—

Seeing her brother, T'Challa, smiling at her.

Shuri smiles back as we.  

Shaking her head in great fondness and amusement. She holds hands with her mother and nephew, welcoming their new family member.

Nakia and T'Challa bump their heads with their son, and Toussaint smiles, just like his father and mother.