Nashuri Collection (Namor x Shuri)

14 - 15

14. Hot Springs

They were in Namor's private hot springs. She was surprised to see the closest thing to a bathhouse in Talokan. But the water was deliciously warm, and she almost had the place to herself. If he hadn't been the one to personally escort her, she could have been the only one there. But how else would she have found it without the risk of drowning? Her Black Panther suit had been upgraded, but a depleted oxygen tank was still a dead Shuri. So, no chances could be taken.

She had asked him before if only to break the silence, "Do Talokan men and women bathe together?"

"Some families with small ones do, but men and women are often separated," he said while disrobing. "Outside of couples, no, the bathhouses are separate."

Of course, the king can bathe wherever he desires, Shuri thought. Mentally, she rolled her eyes.

She watched as he removed his arm bands, jewelry, and feathers. When he reached for his shorts, Shuri immediately turned away until she heard him enter the water. She had undressed as quickly as she could, hiding behind one of the large rocks. Not knowing if it were worth telling Namor not to look and if he would've obeyed or not. But she was too desperate to feel water, actually warm water, on her skin to complain. All the stress seemed to melt off her once she relaxed in the water.

A shot of steam wisped up into the air disrupting Shuri's thoughts.

Namor's body was submerged in the water. Foggy steam wafted between them. A droplet of sweat ran down her cheek. Only his curly head and his nose were above the water. His gaze was unmoving.

The sweat droplet left a trail before rolling under her chin. Those eyes of his followed every curve and diversion.

"Stop it."

"Hmm?"

Shuri called him out. "You're like a duck bobbing its head every few seconds. I can see you, y'know. Staring at me."

He smiled, lifting his head. No shame. The distance between them was already small. There was only a set of rocks and a thin, opaque divider as a barrier. The divider was like a tennis net, letting each of them clearly see over it.

She hated it, really she did, but she found herself smiling back at his unabashedness. She laughed even, before his gaze sucked up all the air in her lungs. Well, at least it felt like it. He had a way of looking so intensely as if he were trying to see through a person. All he could see of her were her topless shoulders.

"Beckon me to come closer."

She paused and swallowed. The images of what could transpire flew rapidly through her mind.

"Why?"

"Find out."

"Come," she said.

And he crossed over to her side.

-----

15. Reunion

Namor almost gasped at the pure tranquility. The beauty of it. The ancestral realm was just as Shuri had told him. He saw moving rivers and waterfalls, vast fields of beauty, and a light cast down by sunset. A thin rain was falling from the sky. A sunshower.

He felt most at peace when surrounded by water. It had after all been his people's lifeblood.

Namor blinked a few times, checking his surroundings when he noticed three men near the river. The family resemblance was obvious. Two older men and one elder greeted him.