"-And I didn't have sex with him even one!"
From across the room, where Shuri was packing her things, Riri threw a soda can at her. The pixelated piece of tin ping-ponged through the room, and though Shuri knew it was a projection and wouldn't hurt her, she still flinched.
"What was that for?" She demanded, turning around, and scowling at her American friend.
"Girl! You say that like it's something you deserve a prize for," Riri sighed.
"It is! I managed to avoid his advances, though he did try, just as I said I would! I won!"
Riri made a face, "No, uhm, you haven't. That's a lose-lose if I've ever heard one. Oh, god, Shuri," She rolled her eyes, and suddenly, Shuri felt like the younger one between them, despite the fact that Shuri was the one married.
"Explain," She demanded, raising an eyebrow.
"Your stubbornness will be the death of you," Riri shrugged, going back to tinkering with something off the projector, tilting her head.
"But-," Shuri started to protest, but was cut off when Riri looked up, sighing deeply.
"Oh, Shuri. You're married to him. And if I had a husband like that, I'd be climbing him like a tree every chance I got."
"He kidnapped you," Shuri reminded, angry that Riri was not celebrating what Shuri had thought was a win.
"So did you, but I don't hold that against you, girl," Riri said with a wink.
"We were trying to save you! It's very different."
"Sure," Riri hummed, unconvinced, "Look, look. Either way. I'm not saying you have to have feelings for him, but I have a theory that he's fantastic in bed, so it just feels sad, you know? It's like ordering a $1,000 wagyu steak and just looking at it. Not even licking it, or sniffing it or-," As Shuri looked away, embarrassed, Riri gasped, "Oh! You have 'licked it', huh?" She asked.
"I said we didn't have sex. I never said we hadn't done…other things." Shuri admitted, knowing Riri would be impossible if she tried to deny it, already regretting telling her that. Because, at once, Riri squealed in a way that should be inhuman possible, and whopped.
"I knew it! I knew you couldn't resist that! Oh, god, please tell me he's good? Otherwise, I'll be salty about it all day."
Shuri scowled, biting the inside of her cheek, "He's very good." She muttered.
"I knew it! I fucking knew it! So you see, girl, you think you're doing something noble or some bullshit, but in reality, you're just hurting yourself."
"I don't know about that."
"You gotta live with him now. Might as well enjoy the perks. Or, that's what I'd do," Riri said, shrugging, "Seems…depressing to not partake in the pleasure you could be getting. My two cents."
"You've said much more than two cents," Shuri muttered bitterly, closing her suitcase and pressing down on it to close it.
"There will be other ways to one-up his smug face," Riri said, confident, "But this whole holding out on sex thing? I don't think that's one of 'em."
"Thank you, Riri," Shuri said, rolling her eyes.
"Look, you called me to gloat. Don't girl talk with me if you don't want my brutally honest opinions," Riri said, "Now, can we please talk about my latest project? I know you were having a grand old time not enjoying your damn self all over Europe- stupidly-, so perhaps you got a chance to look at my schematics?"
"Sure I did. Had to keep myself entertained in some way," Shuri said, kicking her suitcase out the door and checking the time, "I'm supposed to leave in about an hour, but I think we have some time."
Shuri pulled up the schematics, glad that they were veering away from talking of Namor, and glad she still was Shuri the scientist, even after marriage. Some parts of her, she told herself, never had to change.
She wouldn't let it.
XXX
Shuri arrived on the beaches, her bags next to her, alone.
She watched the rippling water for a few moments and wondered how long Namor was going to make her wait. Though her stomach was curled and coiled in anticipation and a tinge of anxiety, she promised herself she was not going to let it show.
He rose from the waves, the sun glistening off his skin as the droplets of seawater ran down his body back into the ocean.
"Husband," She greeted, keeping her voice tight and controlled.
"My darling Queen," Namor replied, coming to kiss her knuckles, "Too long."
Shuri resisted a smile, "It was hardly three days."
A quick turn-around to grab what she thought she might need for her six months under the water, and then over to Mexico. She'd come with Okoye but had waved her way, sure that Namor wouldn't greet her until she was alone.
She'd been right.
"See you in six months," Okoye said, "If you ever need to come home, though-,"
Shuri pulled the beads off her ears swiftly, shoving them in her pocket. She was not a ten-year-old being dropped off for a slumber party for the first time and she resented the tone Okoye was using. She knew that her friend was only looking out for her, but she wished that it came across less like she was a child.
"Shall we?" Namor asked, offering an arm. Shuri raised her eyebrows, glancing back at her luggage. "Someone will come for that," Namor assured, "We would not let the sea take it," he chuckled.
So, they went.
"Are you ready to see your palace?" Namor asked.
"I…suppose," Shuri muttered, though realized she sounded frigid and ungrateful. In reality, she was uncomfortable with the idea of a palace all for her. Yes, she lived in a large house in Wakanda, but that was for all ruling families. This was just for herself, and any guests she chose to have if he would allow her that.
It felt like too much. Too much for a girl that was married to a god but felt like she was always three steps behind, never quite matching up.
The palace was built from marble, gleaming and shiny white. It was decadent and ornate and altogether too fancy for her. Not for her tastes, but she felt young and underdressed in comparison.
Namor prided himself in showing her every inch of it, almost far too excited with the progress and creation of it; her primary chambers and on-suite with a tub big enough to fit a football team, the gardens on the top floor, the huge kitchen, the ballroom…she did wonder if he looked up what a castle was supposed to look like and took his drawing plans from a historical home, as she doubted she'd have much need of ballrooms in her future.
"Will you be here too?" Shuri asked as they crisscrossed through the halls, now walking upwards. They'd just finished the tour of her lab, which Shuri had done a quick once-over to assure was up to standards. She yearned to really dig her fingers into every inch of the lab but didn't want to do it with the prying and curious eyes of Namor.
Namor paused on the steps, tiltings his head, "If you wish me to. Do you?"
Shuri hesitated, fingers clenching on the handrail, clear apprehension written on her face.
"It is nothing to decide now. It can always be decided later," Namor assured, "And whenever you need me, I will hear your call."
"With those ears of yours?" Shuri asked, snorting.
Namor frowned, shaking his head slightly. Not in anger, just…confusion.
"No. It is you. I can just hear you. And I cannot riddle it out. Your voice is in my head, whether I want it to be or not."
"My voice?" Shuri asked, tensing, terrified he had heard every moment of her spoken word out loud, and cursed herself.
"It is like a radio on a station too far-away most times. But when you call, I hear it, clearly." He said. Shuri examined him, praying that it was the truth, but found herself unable to figure it out. She didn't know his tells yet to see if he was lying or not.
They reached the top of the stairs and Shuri burst out onto the rooftop where a pool and lounge set was waiting for her, overlooking her garden and the vast seas. It was tucked away, in a place no one would find this palace unless they meant to, and if she recalled correctly, Talokan was hardly a mile away.
"I'm allowed to sunbathe?" She asked, almost dumbfounded.
"If you prefer to." Namor frowned, "Does this displease you?"
"No! I just…" Shuri winced, "I thought I'd be stuck in the palace, only able to open windows."
"You're not a prisoner here," Namor said, and if she didn't know better, she'd say he sounded disappointed to have to say it.
"Six months here, six months there," Shuri sighed because right now, it felt like it.
"All previous agreements can be arranged differently…" Namor said, stepping close, "For the right trade-offs."
Shuri shivered at the way his voice burned. She swallowed, finding her own.
"Ignore me. I agreed to six months per year. We'll see how I fare first." She said, nodding to herself more than telling Namor.
"I want you to enjoy your life here. Whatever you desire, we will give you. Your people are eager to please their queen."
Shuri felt like the wind had been knocked out of her a bit, "My people…" She echoed, "Your people." She corrected.
"Ours. Perhaps not now, or next year, but eventually I would not begrudge you as a part of the council to make choices with me. I think you will come to love them, the way that I do, and I know they will feel the same for you."
"Why? Because their king decrees it?" Shuri snorted, turning back towards the stairs.
"Because they can see the depth of my passion. And I am, it should be noted, a very good judge of character." He added, almost humorously, grinning at his own words.
"Is that so?" Shuri raised an eyebrow, "You looked at a crazy mad scientist girl who just lost her entire family, besieged with grief and handed powers much above their own, and decided this was to be your wife? I dunno, Namor. I find your judgment questionable."
Namor caught her wrist, pausing her, "I saw a woman who did not know the power she had. I saw a kindness, a gentleness, that my people needed. I am their father, but I needed a mother for them. I needed someone who cared, deeply. I needed someone intelligent enough to make decisions that will lead us forward. I may be immortal, but as you nearly proved," He said, and Shuri's eyes flickered to his chest and all the other scars he wore proudly, "I am not invincible. And I have been very lucky for what feels like too long."
"Hopefully not…soon," Shuri whispered, panic gripping her. She hadn't wanted to lead Wakanda! She was not ready to lead a country she didn't know anything about.
Namor stepped back, chuckling, "My definition of soon and yours would surely be at odds. Time goes differently when you are immortal, of course. Soon to me may feel like a blink of 100 years, whereas to you…no, Shuri, I don't intend to die within a week."
It was, in some way, a comfort to hear that.
"Are you hungry?" Namor asked, changing the subject, "As you may imagine, we have some of the best seafood anywhere. And there is quite a feast waiting for you."
XXX
The first meal with Namor was not what she expected.
She had a vision of 'Beauty and the Beast'; her on one end of a long, almost comically lengthy table pouting, and Namor at the other. It was hard not to feel some sort of connection to this Disney classic right now. She doubted Namor had ever seen it. He might know who Mickey Mouse was, but she'd be shocked if she learned he'd ever seen a movie even once.
Perhaps she should introduce him. The errant thought bulldozed whatever she'd been considering as she started to make a list of which movies were absolute musts to see if someone was just starting out.
Back to the point of it, they were intimately close, sitting at a table made for perhaps about four, but their chairs were close to one another, food stacked high above her.
Namora appeared at the doors carrying a box, and Shuri was immediately on edge. She didn't think it would be something terrible, a-la Seven, but she had more than enough reasons to be wary.
"Namor, what's that?" She asked pointedly.
Namor seemed to ignore her, at least momentarily.
"Do you know the myths of Tlalocan?" He asked.
"Well, I mean, people have certainly seen your ears. Luckily, it hasn't reached the eager and curious minds of the Americas, but-,"
"No, not Talokan. Tlalocan? What our city was based on?"
Shuri winced, "I tried to research. But I figure it might be best to hear it from you. Many conflicting entries." She admitted, feeling like she was a student failing a test she didn't know she needed to study for. But of course, she should have known. How inappropriate of her to not spend any time learning about her new home?
"It is considered to be a paradise. Just as Wakanda's ideas of death are far less morose than the Americans, ours is similar. Death was not some dreary place of anguish and pain…well," Namor chuckled, "Not always. But the first ring, Tlalocan, was heaven. Still the land of the dead, but the best place to be. Still under the ground."
"I can see why. Talokan is stunningly beautiful," Shuri said, and that wasn't even a white lie. She was still awed by it and hoped one day to return down there.
"The levels of heaven were designated for those who died violent deaths, which was most people, as you can imagine in those times. Tlalocan was specifically for water-related deaths."
"Ah, well, yes, that would make sense. Drowning?"
"Or bad storms, lightning, and tsunamis," Namor said, and she saw a hint of pride on his face for her to draw conclusions as quickly as she did.
"Well, seems apt. So you're telling me what? You're the god of the underworld?"
"Literally, yes. Figuratively…" He looked at her, chin raised, almost cheeky, "We are very much alive here, Shuri."
"I didn't think you were actually the deity of death," Shuri rolled her eyes, "But I'm glad that's confirmed."
Namor leaned back in his chair, motioning to Namora.
"It doesn't mean that I don't see death. As the god of these waters, I hear and see all. And that includes hearing people drown or floods destroying towns and lives. And as you know, I have summoned a few on purpose," He said, almost with an icy finality, something that had Shuri take pause.
"What's in the box, dear husband?" She asked again, firmer, her question dripping with derision.
"A wedding gift," Namor said, smiling. At her reluctance, he laughed, "It's not severed body parts."
She unfurled the ribbon and a little black dart sprung out at once. She hardly had time to think before her hand reached out, grasping a small kitten from making a mess of their table.
"Oh!" She gasped, taken in by its tiny face.
"It nearly drowned on my shores. Thrown in the water by someone heartless. I will always save creatures that do not deserve death. I wondered if perhaps your time here would be less lonely with a companion?" He asked.
"I…" Shuri stared at it, rubbing her fingers over its baby soft fuzzy face, "It's…very thoughtful."
She'd never had a pet. Her mom was very allergic to cats, which was ironic, all things considered. And a dog seemed like a hassle to have. Well, she once had a goldfish, but it grew too big and they had to release it. Shuri liked to think Mr. Godly was still enjoying life in the canals of Wakanda.
The point being, against her better self, she was drawn in immediately to it, taken and in love at once.
"You're happy?" Namor prompted.
"Very," Shuri said, grabbing a piece of fish and offering it to the kitten, "I…this is really, really…" She struggled to find her words, wanting to know that this would increase her happiness here tenfold.
"What will be its name? Bast?" Namor asked.
Shuri looked at the kitten, tempted. And perhaps she would have named it after her god had Namor not brought it up.
No, even still, she didn't feel like a Bast.
"I think…" Shuri scrunched her nose, thinking hard as she watched the kitten eat from her hands, "She feels like an Intlanzi, or Zizi for short."
Namor laughed, "Ah, little fish. Fitting."
Shuri paused, tilting her head, "You know Xhosa?" At Namor's face, she groaned, "How well?"
"I'm…passable at it."
Shuri shook her head, "That's what one says when there' basically fluent. Great Bast! Wait…" She paused, "How many languages do you know?"
"Perfectly or able to get by?" Namor asked, grinning.
"I don't want to know the answer anymore," She pouted, huffing.
Namor leaned in, teasingly, "Rounding out to 73 this year," He said.
Shuri swore, "What are you, the Rosetta stone?"
"There are only three languages on the Rosetta stone," Namor said, pleased with himself, like a know-it-all, "A perk of immortality," He whispered, which Shuri thought was a low blow for him to be remaining her about how long he'd live and would live and all the things he could accomplish. Time must seem so odd to him, she considered, to have lived so many lifetimes over and over.
He pulled back, "Let me walk you to your quarters." A pause, "What are you going to do today?"
"Don't you have a kingdom to rule?" Shuri huffed, "And I can find my way back," She added, standing, holding Zizi against her chest.
"I want to walk you." He said, simply.
"Oh, like a boy going steady with a girl, huh?" Shuri teased.
"I think we're far past that, aren't we?" Namor asked, eyebrows raised. Shuri licked her lips, feeling her stomach tighten at his smile. She thought of Riri and her 'advice', though Shuri would call it unwelcome and unhelpful badgering. Still, she hated that it was starting to make sense to her.
She was at war with herself all the way to her bedroom, and up until the last moment, she was sure which side was going to win. But as soon as Shuri opened the double doors to her quarters, and set Zizi down to explore, she caught sight of the large king-size bed through the area.
"Husband?" She whispered, unable to call Namor by even his nickname, worry, and desire knotting in her stomach, "Perhaps…" She eased herself into her request, "Perhaps this bed and my new house deserve to be…christened." Even as she spoke, it sounded so horribly cheesy, and she was sure after their honeymoon Namor was going to make a big deal of it, but he just paused.
"Are you certain?" He asked.
"Yeah," Shuri said, voice unbroken and confident, "I am." And when Namor didn't move at all, she pulled him inside the bedroom and undid the top of her dress, letting it fall open, "Please, Namor, take me."
Namor snapped his head up, unable to take his eyes off hers, and she could see the burning in his irises, so warm it made her start to sweat, so immovable a feeling it would have startled her, had she not been so desperate for his touch.
"Do you want me to fuck you?" He asked, taking two large steps to cause her to backtrack until she was against a wall, his fingers flexing before they settled on her neck. Not with enough strength to hurt, but enough to cause her breath to quicken, "Or do you want to make love?"
Shuri tilted her head. They weren't in love and that wasn't them.
"I think you know which," She whispered, closing her eyes, "And don't have any wrong ideas of what this is."
"I don't," Namor said, pressure pressing just a tad bit more, "But neither do you."
He pressed his lips to hers and though the track to join their mouth was slow, nothing about it after was. It wasn't like molasses, a slow-burning heat, it was like TNT at once.
His hands kept her in place, his lips hard and needy, his body warm and smelled like sea salt and algae.
Shuri whimpered, crossing her arms over her exposed breasts.
Namor's hand grasped her wrists, pulling them above her head, his grip iron-tight.
"Why are you insecure?" Namor asked, genuinely confused, "Why do you try to hide your body?"
"I…" Shuri struggled to reply, stuttering out some answer that she was no great beauty, so why wouldn't she be uncomfortable in her body?
And Namor's physique wasn't helping either; sculpted, firm, and literally looked like someone carved it to perfection. It was hard not to feel lesser compared to that.
"You are a goddess," Namor said, his lips trailing down her neck and to her collarbone, nipping enough to leave bruises as he traveled to her breast. Shuri squirmed, trying to free her hands to cover, but Namor would not allow her, "And you have nothing to be unsure of."
"Oh?" She asked, slightly irritated, "Says you?"
"Yes," He said, looking up, pressing his hardness against her thigh, "I can assure you, Shuri. Your body has awakened something in me that no one else has in over a hundred years. If anything, you should feel haughty. Even arrogant. Your body has moved seas and started wars."
She wanted to protest, but Namor made a frustratingly good argument, and any words died on her lips as he licked her nipple, using the hand from her neck to unlace the rest of her dress as she writhed underneath him.
She barely felt her dress pooled on the ground, but she did feel Namor grasp her and pull her toward the bed.
"Last chance for something slow, or sweet," He asked.
Shuri, who had been pushed over the edge of the bed, looked over her shoulder.
"I don't think you could switch if you tried," She said.
"If that's what you wanted. I could. With great difficulty." He admitted after a second, "I'd rather not," He said, a hand ghosting over the bulge in his shorts, "I'd much rather continue this."
"I'm not stopping you," Shuri said.
Namor kicked her legs apart, hands grasping at her thighs and digging his fingers in, and thrust forward. Shuri had a feeling that he was quite large, but having this feeling inside of her was an entirely different story.
Not a bad one, mind you. It hurt, but the pain was intermingled with pleasure, enough that Shuri was bucking up against him, wanting to feel him deeper or harder. Her fingers reached out, grasping the bedsheets and fisting the fabric, moaning as Namor lifted her feet off the ground, not pausing to ask if she was uncomfortable as he maneuvered her limbs to hit something deeply satisfying in her every time.
"Oh, god-," Shuri whispered. Riri was right and she absolutely hated her friend for that.
But Riri also deserved that $500 Starbucks gift card.
"Yes, darling?" Namor replied, grinning ear to ear, forehead pressed into the space between her shoulders, "You are divine, Shuri. Your body was made to be mine." He groaned, "And I was made to fit perfectly into you."
So quickly she almost lost her breath, Namor flipped her over, pulling her up to the headboard.
"Not doing it for you?" She managed to ask, but her body whined at the lack of contact.
"On the contrary. I would have ended much too soon. And I want to see your face when we both come," Namor said, reaching down to place a bruising kiss on her lips as he grasped her thighs, pulling Shuri against him as he entered her again.
Shuri moaned, a vulgar sound she wasn't sure was hers until she reasoned that no one else besides Namor would be making such noises, and he was making different noises, as her fingers clutched the metal bedframe for support.
As soon as Namor's hand snaked between their joined bodies, wet with perspiration to rub at her clit, Shuri stiffened, arching her back and feeling the waves of pleasure ride her relentlessly. Namor didn't withdraw his hand, but continued through her orgasms, pushing her over the edge a second time in a matter of seconds after. It was so intense she almost couldn't breathe, her entire body feel like a live wire, ready to snap at the next touch.
But seeing her limbs so helpless and her body spasm and twitch must have ignited something in Namor, because he pushed her legs as far back as they could go and his fingers found her stomach, and she knew she would have bruises the next morning.
He finished with a stuttered, choking sound.
Shuri was not worried that he didn't pull out. She had made herself a strong cocktail of birth control hormones and if something survived, then clearly it was meant to be because her formula was foolproof.
They lay panting and exhausted for a few moments.
"Do gods get winded?" Shuri asked, grinning.
"Apparently after having sex with you, they do," Namor said, and it seemed like he was about to reach for Shuri but paused. He sat up, rubbing his neck and groaning.
"Look," Shuri coughed, "Uhm if you…you're free too…if you feel so inclined…" She stuttered, "You're welcome to come back for that. This is your palace too. There's no reason I should need to call you. It's not a booty call. We're married."
Namor looked over, mildly surprised.
"Open door policy?" He asked.
"Sure. Of sorts. Scratch each other's itches." She paused, "There clearly is much to be scratched."
"Sure. Yes." Namor nodded, "And you are free to venture out of the Palace. To where I am."
"Maybe," Shuri said uncertainty, "Let's just leave it where it is right now."
"Of course," Namor said, standing and pulling on his pants, "We have the rest of our married lives for that." He said, chuckling.
"Yeah," Shuri said, "Till death do us part and shit."
There was an awkward moment where neither moved. Then, Shuri muttered something and Namor made a reason to leave and Shuri was left. She almost could feel it when he left the palace, and for the first time, she was alone to her own devices.
"179 days to go," She muttered as she found Zizi lounging in the sun of a window.
She could do this. Six months would feel like a breeze.
There were certainly worst fates to have fallen into.