Sunlight on your face (Shuri x reader)

Chapter 23: into the abyss

"I don't have time to rest, we are under attack."

She tried to get up, but her legs gave in under her. I caught her, gently lowering her to the floor, keeping my arms around her.
She hadn't noticed me yet, and her eyes widened when she turned around, meeting my gaze.

"Y/N? Were you here the whole time?" Shuri asked.

"Yep, I was, and Nakia is right, you should take a moment to rest before you go down there again," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.

Shuri didn't try to argue with me, instead, she let me help her get up and supported herself on my shoulder.
She sat down in a seat by the window, pulling me down next to her.

"What happened?" I asked quietly, as Nakia and Okoye continued to beam up civilians.

"I'm not sure, they came out of nowhere, they planted bombs through the whole city... I was out by the borders when I heard the explosions," Shuri answered.

I took her hand in mine, trying to comfort her, "I thought Namor solved the problem?"

"We all thought that, but apparently he wasn't able to get through to them..." she sighed, stretching her legs.

Her muscles flexed through the black fabric of her suit, and in any other situation I would've thought she looked hot, but at that moment all I could think of was how she almost died in front of me.

"I need to get back down there," she muttered after a water bomb exploded right under the jet.

I knew that there was no way to convince her to stay in the jet, so I pressed a long kiss on her lips, holding onto her hand.

"Please be careful..." I mumbled.

"I'll try, I love you."

With that, she let go of my hand and jumped out of the jet.

I ran to the window and saw how she swung through the air, taking down one of the Talokans.

Okoye turned the jet around, continuing to rescue the civilians.
There were only a few left, and the others were being escorted to a safe place outside the city.

After half an hour, we had picked up everyone and made our way back to the landing site. A rescue team was already waiting, to bring the last group to safety.

"What are we gonna do now?" I asked,

"Okoye and I are going to take the smaller jet to go help Shuri and the Doras, and you are going with them to the safe place..." Nakia answered, pointing to the rescue team.

"No, I can't just leave and wait till everything is over, I want to help," I protested.

"You already helped plenty, but I need you to leave now, we can't help Shuri and protect you at the same time..." Nakia's voice allowed no objection, so I kept my mouth shut and watched as she walked away to one of the smaller jets.

The group had already left, and I turned around to catch up with them when I suddenly heard a soft melody coming from behind me.

The chant had something mesmerizing, almost hypnotizing. It was beautiful, but at the same time, it made my blood freeze. The sound got louder, and I turned around, to find out where it was coming from.

I took one step after the other, not noticing how I had lost control over my body.
My brain failed to register Nakia and Okoye yelling behind me as I got closer and closer to the edge of the platform.
I was completely captivated by the melody. My body moved by itself; my head was filled with swelling sounds.
I was only one step away from the edge, staring down into the water. Multiple blue figures were standing in the waves.
They were calling me, tempting me to join them. Their melody had taken complete control over my body and mind.

Suddenly a loud bang rang through the air, and the singing stopped. The figures disappeared into the water.

The fog slowly faded out of my head, but it was already too late. I had taken the last step toward the edge.
It seemed like everything around me was in slow motion as I lost balance and fell backward into the abyss.
I saw Okoye and Nakia running toward me, but they were to slow.
I was rushing towards the deep blue sea. The fall felt endless, and I thought about Shuri as I prepared for the impact.

I crashed through the surface with such force that all the air was knocked out of me. The cold waves swallowed me immediately and my muscles went numb.

I was pulled into the depths of the sea with no chance to reach the surface. The water around me was dark and suffocating.

Out of nowhere my mother appeared in front of me. A soft light surrounded her, and she had a smile on her face.
Suddenly I wasn't cold anymore.
I knew that I was dying, but the thought didn't scare me anymore. It felt peaceful.

My mother reached her hands out toward me, and all I wanted was to give in and let her warmth engulf me.
I tried to take her hands, but I couldn't reach her. She kept moving away.

"Don't give up, yet... She needs you, honey." My mom's voice sounded loud and clear in my head.

It was so tempting to just give in, but my mother's words stuck in my head.

Suddenly, pictures of Shuri rushed through my mind; Her little smirk when we met for the first time at Riri's party, her mesmerizing dark eyes staring at me when I let her sleep over, the feeling of her soft lips on mine, and the sunlight on her face when we watched the sunset.

I wanted to fight for her.

I was just so tired.