Nashuri Collection (Namor x Shuri)

Baby! pt. 1 (Twoshot!)

Birth

Pregnancy wasn't supposed to be easy Shuri knew that. Even with advanced Wakandan technology, it still wrecked some women's health though Wakanda hadn't had a high maternal mortality rate in centuries. She had studied pregnancy at her most curious as a young girl; had been amazed and horrified by it. Despite loving babies, she hadn't even imagined herself as a mother outside of her inventions being her kids.

And yet Shuri was a mother now. Her pregnancy had few complications aside from being short of breath, needing to be near water and craving vast amounts of it, or, after scratching her neck in the last month of the pregnancy, she had grown temporary scales on her neck and back of her hands. Thankfully, those immediately left after birth. No morning sickness either. She hadn't even known she was pregnant until she was at least 2 months. The baby herself had come with one solitary push. The effects of having a baby from a god (mutant?) and not a mortal, maybe? Did the strength of the Black Panther aid her in some way?

Her life and health had been the most important thing, so no one, Talokans, Wakandan elders, Riri, Okoye, or the Dora Milaje, had dared to voice the elephant in the room. The very imposing topic was so gossip-heavy. The people of Wakanda had a field day of course.

Once the sight of the bump could no longer be hidden, Okoye had demanded in a whisper if he had forced this upon her. Shuri had given such a heavy, staggered sigh. The utter shame she felt explaining it wasn't assault or manipulation. Okoye's mouth had become a perfect circle.

It was Aneka who broke the tension. "Eh, he's good in other areas, huh? I get it. Once you've made love to a god(dess) you can't go back." She batted her eyes at Ayo who refused to smile.

Okoye hadn't pressed the issue any further. She pledged to protect Shuri and the baby and left it at that. No longer was she a part of the Dora Milaje but she would always be family. And Shuri had so little of that left.

She couldn't deny Namor and their physical and emotional connection. Him bringing her to completion every time. The sweet, earnest things he would murmur in her ear. How she would embarrassingly pant his name in ecstasy. How he'd touch her. She didn't like it rough, so he was always so gentle but firm. Maybe Aneka was right he had ruined her for other men. The love they would make was just filling space. Their history was too muddy and jagged for much else.

How many times had they adjourned meetings of the mind for meetings of the body instead? There weren't any excuses. Sure, he had... Uh, love juices? She was a whole scientist, but still a shy young woman at heart. The idea she could be pregnant from one of their many encounters was a possibility, but his genetic makeup and hers were so different. Carrying a mutant baby only took 7 months not 9 she found out when she suddenly went into labor. 7 was the number of completion or perfection biblically.

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When Griot had confirmed the child in her stomach, she had cried. Not in anger or elation but in exhaustion. "You did this to me," she whimpered to herself. "Made me a mother after you took mine away."

It didn't matter how much progress or forgiveness was laid out. Some traumatic or difficult event would trigger the feelings. For Bast sake, she was about to become a mother without having her own there. Wakandan mothers always stayed with their daughters, the new moms, for the first 2 weeks to help them get acquainted, help them learn to breastfeed, and give the mother time to rest. And more importantly to enjoy their grandbabies. "Sometimes, I really hate you Namor."

Ramonda would never meet her child. Shuri knew that and had to sit with it for a long time.

But the further she got into the pregnancy, the more she wanted to keep her child - mutant or whatever - this girl was hers.

Namor was there often during her pregnancy. Sneaking away from ruling Talokan, bringing her food, jewelry, and seashells every week like an excited new hunter as a father.

Neither of them had really spoken or given thought to what was happening. How to define them. But he was ecstatic in a way that made his eyes soft like they were for his people and when he first met her. He would protect and love their child forever. Maybe even when she died the child might live longer and be with its immortal father. Neither would've to be alone.

Shuri was already thinking of the future and how to make the world safe for her beautiful flower. Of course, M'Baku and Nakia were the godfather and godmother respectively. The Dora Milaje was fighting furiously every day to see who would become #1 Aunty as well. Little things like that gave her joy.

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Shuri cried. The hormones, the emotions, and the fact she had a new love came rushing in all at once. She had prepared a water birth in the palace because it just made sense. A Wakandan nurse and two Talokan nursemaids Namor had tasked to follow her around assisted with the birth. One helped administer the Wakandan epidural shot, then the other positioned Shuri into a squatting position.

Her baby girl was so beautiful already. The redness of birth was settling down once the cord was cut. Already her daughter's ears were a bit more pointed than normal. Not as sharp as her father's but not the rounded ear of a human either.

She had her father's striking eyes and ears, but everything else was all hers. She could even see the beginnings of small, coiled black hair on the baby's head. So beautiful. If her baby wasn't still so new, she would've kissed her cheeks over and over.

Shuri named the child Esihle-Peace Izel Onda. Esihle meant someone beautiful for the Xhosa and Zulu people. Peace because maybe the child would usher in a peaceful era. Unlikely, but a doting mother could dream. And Izel came from Namor's suggestion. Izel was a Mayan girl's name meaning "unique or only one." Very true. Never before had a "fish man" and a Wakandan princess produced a child. Lastly, Onda was Queen Ramonda's nickname as a child. Her mother wasn't truly gone if she let the memories live on.

Once she finished feeding Esihle, Namor cradled his daughter, wrapped in a blanket, to his chest. The baby nestled against his flowing white cape.

"Beautiful," Namor said, looking at Esihle and then her mother.

And Shuri was.

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I was going to write the typical gruesome supernatural pregnancy, but then i was like no. It's already so tough on the female body. So let's make it light. She ain't pregnant from no mortal dude lol, so she won't be struggling.