ACT ONE. CHAPTER VIII:
QUESTIONABLE FEELINGS

RIVER VILLAGE, WAKANDA.
2016, APRIL 12.

In the centre of a room where clunky electronics contrasted with a neatly arranged miniature laboratory, Sade grunted slightly as she tore another sheet from her notebook. She'd spent the night working on improvements to her costume, barely looking at the tireless running of the hands on the clock face that resided above the door of what she'd begun to call her office. The young princess rubbed her hands over her face as she put down the pencil that had taken refuge between her teeth in her quest for an answer; she hated it. Growing up, she hadn't really needed to study for anything, it was stuff she already sort of knew. But now, whenever she tried something and it didn't work on the first try, the urge to try again struggled to find mercy in her eyes. She opened her notebook to the last page to look briefly at her progress on Bucky's case, seeing the ink-filled pages make no sense to her at that moment.

The supersoldier's brain conditioning often ran through her mind, sometimes causing her to stay awake for long periods of time to unlock the secret of his plight. She saw it as more than just another challenge she could find at hand; Bucky had already been robbed of a large part of his life, she didn't want him to have to wait for another centenarian before he could catch up. Resting her head between her arms on the table, she gave her frazzled eyelids a few seconds of respite in the comforting silence of her personal space. She remained like that for a few minutes before she felt the hairs on her neck stand up. Abruptly raising her head after sensing one too many breaths in the room, she pointed her weapon at the form standing at the entrance of her lab. The man she eventually recognised simply raised his hands in mock surrender as he flashed his usual eye-rolling grin, as she finally lowered her gun.

"It's become a habit for you to have me on target, hasn't it?" he told her as he leaned against the wall, the darkness of his gaze detailing her with rapt attention.

Turning her gaze back to her notes, she just sighed, "Very funny, Ariel."

Namor stepped away from the doorway and walked towards her, noticing the dark circles that weighed down her vibrant gaze. Turning his head briefly to the clock, whose repetitive hands made the silence deafening, he refocused his attention on Sade, who was trying to keep herself awake, her half-closed eyes lazily passing over the ink and graphite-soaked pages.

"You know it's four in the morning, Sade? You've been here since yesterday morning-"

"I'm fine," she cut him off gently, rubbing her eyes unwillingly as she suppressed a yawn that would confirm the Talokanil king's words.

The man rolled his eyes as he shook his head, reaching out to hold Sade's head between his fingers so she could look him in the eye. The gesture was not meant to be harmful, but with enough strength to bring her to tear her away from her notebook. He looked at her face for a moment, repressing the urge to close the last few inches between their lips.

"You must get some sleep, Princess."

Blinking mildly, the young woman tilted her head a little and gave him a tired smile, the shadow of her malice sticking to it like a leech.

"Will you come with me then?"

Namor widened his eyes at her question, his grip on her jaw weakening. He quietly moistened his lower lip as he swallowed, thinking of the next words he would let pass the barrier of his mouth.

"Will you go to sleep if I come with you?" he asked, trying to maintain the normal tone of his voice, fighting against the lump that had lodged in the hollow of his throat, just waiting to explode.

The young princess' smile widened as she nodded lightly, blinking once more. The Talokanil king sighed as he pulled away slightly ― why was she doing this to him? He could read the mischief that had found a home in the smoky quartz of her eyes, framed by long sultry lashes. He liked the way they caught the light, revealing a subtle sparkle in them.

"Fine."

Continuing to smile, Sade rose from her chair to take the hand he had held out to her. It was when she approached him that he noticed what she was wearing.

"Come on, Sade." he sighed, throwing his head back. "Is it another one of your tricks?"

"What? I didn't do anything!"

The young woman frowned before following the tortuous path of his eyes over her. Lowering her head, she simply observed the Rick and Morty t-shirt that was halfway down her thighs before rolling her eyes.

"Seriously? Because you can see half my thighs?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and flashing him an annoyed look.

"You didn't put anything underneath." he added, staring at a dull spot behind her.

"I've got panties on, I think that's enough. And stop acting like a teenager going through puberty, you spend your days in tight short shorts."

Sade gave him another pointed look before walking past him, but not without muttering, "Some weak man you are."

The effect was soon revealed as he grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn around.

"I am not weak."

"Then act like it and come sleep with me without thinking about other things than that ― sleeping."

Namor frowned slightly as he continued to watch her, the tips of his ears twitching in frustration against his will. He nodded silently before following her into the darkness of the hallway that led to her room. Remaining in the doorway, he let his eyes examine the room before him. The light green walls were mostly filled with posters and vinyls of all kinds. The shelves themselves were full of books and small figurines that caught his eye.

"What's that?" he finally asked as he took one in his hand, turning to the young woman in the adjacent bathroom.

"A Funko Pop."

At his confused look, she simply smiled before wiping her face. "These are collectible pop culture vinyl and bobblehead figurines. I have more at the palace."

"How many do you have?"

Sade paused for a moment to think before shrugging. "I don't know, about fifty or sixty?"

"You collect about 60 figurines... just for fun?"

"Hey, you're holding a teal blue chrome Batman figurine in your hands. Do you know how rare it is to find one of those?" she huffed, still focusing on the reflection of the mirror, running her gua sha over her face.

"Who?"

"Oh dear, you have so much to learn." she told him in exasperation before coming out of the bathroom and taking his hand to lead him with her. "But first of all, skin care routine."

The Talokanil king didn't have time to react when she put a headband adorned with a knot on his head, removing the few hairs that had stuck to his forehead. She stepped back slightly before smiling with all her teeth, giggling slightly at the sight in front of her.

"Wait, don't move." she told him before rushing into her room, retrieving a strange sort of box from one of her shelves. "Come on, a little smile."

Not really knowing what to do, he gave her a big smile before being blinded by a flash. Sade turned the camera towards her and took the small white square that had emerged between her fingers.

"What-"

"An instant camera, it produces polaroids. Wait a minute... and there it is!" she excitedly exclaimed before placing the "polaroid" in front of his eyes. He grimaced slightly as he saw the picture she had presented to him. "Stop it, you look adorable in it."

The man who was about to contradict her immediately closed his mouth and blinked several times, unable to prevent a small smile from stretching the corner of his lips. Remaining silent, he simply watched her apply all sorts of products on his face, the usefulness of which he immediately forgot right after her little explanations. Namor didn't really know the final goal of the process, but he could see that the young princess was very concentrated in what she was doing. Moreover, it seemed to please her, so he let her do for him what she called a "skin care routine", enjoying the repetitive touch of her hands.

"I have a question."

"Hum?"

He bit his tongue for a moment as he watched her concentrated face, slightly dreading her answer.

"I've never asked you before but... have you had other men in your life?"

Sade's finger stopped a few inches from his nose, making him immediately regret his question. She looked at him for a moment, her gaze unreadable and her eyebrow arched, before continuing to apply the cream on his face.

"Depends on what you mean by that. Flings or seriously?"

Seeing that she did not seem in any way offended or annoyed by his request, he hastened to reply. "Both."

The young princess returned her gaze for a moment to the bottle of face oil in her hands before looking up at him. He had never asked her such serious questions since they had started seeing each other, she didn't really know how to interpret it.

"Well, both. I mean," she began before moistening her lips, not understanding why the question made her react the way she did. It was just a question. A simple question. "I've had... a lot of flings, like, one-night stands. And I've had something semi-serious you might say."

Namor simply nodded, not expecting to be drowned out by a sudden wave of jealousy that had no business being there. Why was he surprised that she had known men other than him? The answer was so obvious to him, but he had had the faintest hope of being the first. But the first what? He himself could not continue the sentence consciously, blind to the signals of his subconscious.

"Semi-serious?"

"He's a childhood friend. We weren't really supposed to be friends even. The idea of us being together came to me as a way to piss off my dad." she replied simply before hastily clarifying when she saw the confused look on his face. "We were constantly at odds, especially while I was a teen, so I would look for any opportunity to let him know that I didn't agree with him. Good or bad."

"And why did you split up?"

"I guess it was because we were too similar? But mostly because there was no point in us staying together if the feelings were never really there. There was more physical attraction between us than emotional attraction."

The Talokanil king felt his teeth grit against his will at her last sentence, nodding again.

"Has he been here before?"

I hope not.

Sade opened her mouth before closing it again, watching Namor's face carefully, his stiffness not lost on her. M'Baku had been in her cabin more than once, and it was definitely not to do a skin care routine, but she was careful not to tell him that, though he seemed to understand it from her silence.

"Yes." she finally replied as she arranged her products on the tray she had set out for them. "Do you remember the steps?"

"Cleanser. Eye Cream. Toner. Serum. Retinol. Moisturizer. Spot Treatment and face oil."

Smiling broadly, she clapped her hands together before taking off the headband he had finally forgotten, leaving a kiss on his cheek.

"Now it's time for the movie," she said immediately as she pulled away from him, leaving a burning sensation where her lips had been a few moments ago.

"You were supposed to sleep, Princess."

Namor watched her take a remote control from her bedside before crawling under the covers, turning her head towards him.

"Sade." he sighed at the puppy dog eyes she was giving him, looking out the window briefly. After a few moments, he went to close the bedroom door before moving to where the young woman had been tapping. The latter passed him the blanket, smiling before turning off the light.

"What are we watching?"

"Avatar."

"What is it about?"

"You'll see." she told him, preventing a laugh from escaping her mouth. "I think you'll relate to the movie, a lot."

It only took him a few minutes of watching to understand why she had said that. He cracked a simple smile at her joke as he watched the film absentmindedly, casting a few furtive glances at the princess who had her eyes glued to the images produced by the video projector.

"Are you cold?" he asked as he saw her pull another plaid around her.

"No, focus on the film."

Rolling his eyes, Namor returned his attention to the lit wall.

"That Jake Sully kind of makes me think of you." he let slip after a few minutes.

Sade said nothing for a moment, seemingly captivated by the film, before blinking and turning abruptly towards him.

"Did you just call me a coloniser?" she asked him with squinted eyes.

"What? No! I mean, he's an outsider who discovers a hidden civilisation... with blue people. And he..."

"He what?" she insisted as he fell silent.

"He... gets along with one of them."

"Gets along?"

The Talokanil king gulped as he contemplated the features of her face that haunted his mind, eventually returning his attention to the film. "Yeah, he gets along."

He knew what word he should use, but it hadn't come out of his mouth. Beyond Sade's joke about Talokanils being blue (out of water), he did relate to some points of the story. The word he struggled to use only made sense in the memories he had of his mother, and how he felt about his people. The possible other meaning hammered relentlessly at the door of his consciousness, finding no way out of its golden prison.

They remained in silence before Namor noticed that the young princess still seemed cold despite the new plaid she had taken.

"Come." he said, opening his arms slightly.

Looking at him sceptically for a moment, she eventually moved into the space between his legs, immediately welcomed by the warmth of his arms around her as she pulled the cover back over them.

"Better?"

Sade simply nodded before resting her head against his chest, focusing her eyes on the film.

Another ten minutes passed before the Talokanil king looked down at the young woman. His eyes narrowed slightly as he saw her asleep against him. It probably didn't mean anything, but he was thrilled to know that she trusted him enough to be so vulnerable in his presence. Sleep was the state no one wanted to be in when they were around people they didn't trust. Fumbling with her bedside table for the remote control, he pressed a button which increased the sound considerably, startling him. The noise woke Sade up, making her break away from him to see what was going on, rubbing her eye slightly.

"Are you looking to turn off?" she asked softly with a small smile.

At his confirmation, she retrieved the remote control from his hands before pressing one of the red buttons, placing it on her table now plunged into the darkness. Only the light of the moon, which was gradually giving way to the scorching glow of the sun, bathed the room in its gentle rays. Having silently laid down, he had not expected Sade's head to come and lodge itself in the hollow of his neck, her arm surrounding his chest.

"Comfortable?"

"Extremely."

Namor simply smiled, wrapping his right arm around her waist before placing a kiss on her forehead. The young princess's lips curled into a smile against his skin at his action, making him pull her a little closer to him.

"That doesn't mean I imagine us sleeping in my head." he let out in a breath as she snorted slightly, kissing his neck.

"Be still, attaboy."

RIVER VILLAGE, WAKANDA.
2016, APRIL 12.

When Sade woke up the next morning, she found the spot beside her empty. But the warmth of it told her that the person who occupied it had not been gone long.

The sun was already high in the sky when she sat up, putting her hands on the bed.  A noise caught her attention as she noticed the paper lying on the mattress between the sheets. She felt her heart miss a beat as she opened it, widening her eyes slightly. In the centre of the paper was a drawing of her asleep, the deft pencil strokes tracing every feature of her face with precision. Disbelief gave way to wonder as she looked at the drawing one last time before looking down at the small note that lay at the bottom of the sheet.

"Sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye. I would have liked to have waited for you to wake up but there was an emergency that managed to get Namora to the surface to come and warn me. I hope you have a good day, and I look forward to watching another movie with you, Princess :)"

The young woman laughed slightly at the smiley face he had included at the end of his message. However, he had added another small note written in smaller letters, as if he had hoped she wouldn't notice.

"PS: Jake Sully didn't get along with Neytiri. He fell in love with her. And maybe in another universe, the blue Neytiri fell in love first."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

alexa, cue chantaje by shakira and maluma, second verse. finally another chapter, i kinda missed the story and y'all to be honest 👉🏾👈🏾 and we reached 2k wow, i didn't people were going to like this night trope that i got out of nowhere 🤠🥹🧍🏾‍♀️ actually, i'm pretty sure namor's ears don't twitch, buuuuuut idk it's funny, and mines actually do when i'm frustrated or angry 💀 i didn't even notice before one of my friends told me. while cats hiss, izia's ears twitch 💀 they're so cute i wanna cry, like they already act like a couple 🥹 i'm saying this as if i'm not writing this bruh. nah because, if i ever have a boyfriend (it'll never happen lolilol, i have my wattpad wives 🥰) i'll make him read all my cute moments of my otps, he needs to learn how it has to work 🙄 did namor kinda admit that he loved sade via this little note ? 👀 because if the math are mathing, jake sully is sade and he's neytiri, so if he said neytiri fell in love in another universe 🧐 my man got rizz, graduated from cambrizz college fr fr. why are there so much emojis omg. i forgot what i wanted to say. ah yes, the sade thing because she hates not knowing things instantly. this is me, this is the cry of an international relations students who can't sit through three hours lectures about middle ages because her professor is using made-up words *sobbing* let's just roll the memes it's becoming too personal and depressing here

mister was already losing it while sade was simply like

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kinda an unfair trade tbh

it started off like this and look where we are now *dramatic crying*

i just smile like i received a message from a boyfriend i don't even have or one million dollars suddenly, can y'all convince my mom that i'm not driving mad people's sons she's tiring me with her "why are you smiling like that?"

and also, if you feel like making memes about samor/nade, feel free to send them to me or identifying me somewhere where i can see them, i lack of inspiration sometimes <33

&& don't forget to vote, comment and share 🫶🏾

© ADONYSIAC ― IZIA™