Nashuri Collection (Namor x Shuri)

39 - 40

39. Age

Namor held her wrist gently as she lay in bed, reading with her tablet atop a pillow. A look of tenderness passed through his eyes.

"My, are you lovely," he said.

Shuri snorted.

At eighty years old, she still had the same wiry frame and her brown skin barely showed the effects of aging. Only a wrinkle under her eyes and the decrease in mobility revealed her age. It seemed some body part of hers would hurt at random, then leave just as quickly.

Her Namor, she never could call him husband despite their marriage, at most she called him K'uk'ulkan at her most affectionate, had barely changed. Only a streak of gray in his hair had popped up a decade ago. Whether he was truly immortal or his lifespan was severely slowed, he would outlive her.

"You look so young, my dear. Truly, I've not seen other surface dwellers age like you. Why is that?"

Shuri reluctantly let her tablet go to sleep. Namor was in one of his talkative moods. As she got older, he became more intentional with having leisure, rambling conversations with her. Storing the memories for a time when she was no longer there, he had told her.

"Well, y'know what they say." Shuri laughed.

"Which is?"

She waved him off. "If you know, you know. But thank you. Aging is a gift as all of us don't get to grow old."

Namor shifted alongside her. He lay next to her in the king-sized bed. She spent her elderly years almost exclusively in Wakanda with Namor constantly visiting.

What was it about getting older that made a person nostalgic? She understood fully why his mother had wanted to be buried on the surface. Sometimes, you just wanted to return to what you knew. Also, wearing a deep-sea diver suit was just too much work these days, and she no longer had the convenience of a panther suit either.

After a while, Shuri broke the peaceful silence. "I'm ready to see Mama again. T'Challa and Baba too. Oh, and Toussaint he was so young when he left us, but he made a mighty fine king."

He stilled, releasing her wrist. Pain flashed across his face before he hid it. But Shuri gave his hand a squeeze.

"That day is coming soon, but I'm going on my own accord. I have a few more inventions to finish and Wakandan-Talokan dinners to bless everyone with my presence."

"Shuri." The sound of her name was wrapped around sadness and longing.

"But I'm still happy to spend my days with you. I'll give you a heads up when I'll meet my ancestors, love."

Namor's smile was weak, but a smile nonetheless.

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40. Protector (inspired by artoffemmantion's artwork)

The underwater grotto was beautiful. The waters were still and quiet and the lighting was unnaturally blue and green. It was calming and contrasted Namor's heavy, consuming presence. His desire for an alliance held a sense of foreboding if she didn't deter him.

The idea had tickled Shuri's mind before. An option that had become exceedingly annoying once her dear brother passed, but looking into Namor's wild eyes reignited her motivation. Wanting to save Riri and flex her scientific prowess had become one.

Shuri said to him. "I understand you're on the offensive, but you're only thinking of violence." She held a hand up to stop him from interrupting. "What if there were another protector for Talokan? Y'know a good defense. What if I could recreate the herb?"