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The days slowly became easier to bare. The nightmares that were once a plaque came to an end. Except now every single waking moment felt surreal. There were moments where she could still feel his bare hand cupping her cheek, screaming at her to remember while she bled there dying. And the sand, damn the sand, the rough, coarse texture itched at her skin spreading it throughout her body like a disease.
It was getting tedious to stand out here, watching the waves come crashing to the sullen shore. Powerful and strong, just like him. This unbearable rage and fear rattled her bones. An uncertainty of whether or not he would come for her again and have the Duat claim her soul once more.
Any ounce of respect he had for Wakanda was keeping them separated. Or, so she hoped.
"Mom? Do you need anything? Are you hungry?" Njari and Nailah asked for the billionth time. It felt like they had been standing there forever and their mother hadn't noticed. She was too lost. Out of touch with reality. Their mother only remained present when she was there to make them food, clean their clothes, or put them to bed, but the second she was done she became a zombie, sulking around. Njari took it upon herself to make sure Nova was doing what she could to survive. And while some days were better than others, today didn't seem like that.
"I'm fine" Nova promised, fixing Nailah's lose strand.
"No, you're not. Jari says you haven't eaten today" Nailah pleaded, pushing the plate of food toward her. Nova shook her head, mumbling that she was fine one last time.
"Nova, there's someone here to see you" Nakia voiced behind them. Nova sighed, not in the mood for anymore company. She didn't bother giving them a glance as the guest sat down besides her, saying hello to her kids who remained suspicious of the unfamiliar woman. Nova didn't dare to spare a glance away from the water, worried that he might come.
"How are you?" Shuri's voice was soft.
What a surprise. After not hearing a single word from her, here she was in Yucatán. Who would've thought. Nova only wondered what Shuri wanted out of her. Hadn't they already called each other enough names to move on?
"Confused" Nova admitted. Shuri frowned, waiting patiently for her to continue, but Nova doesn't. It was not worth mentioning to her the troubled fears she had while mentally preparing to hear another earful from her.
"Nakia says your doing better" Shuri attempted to remain positive despite the evident wounds on her body.
"Yeah" Nova muttered, not wanting to disagree with Shuri because at this point Nova wasn't sure what to expect from the new Black Panther.
"Look, I have no easy way of saying this, but I'm sorry for everything" Shuri moved away from the bench and kneeled down in front of her. " It was wrong of me to banish you from Wakanda. Losing you again hurt just as bad as the first time. But, I need to know...why did you say goodbye? Why did you have to go? And leave me?"
Nova stared down at Shuri with a tense jaw, struggling to hold her tears back, "Because" she paused, taking a deep breath. "everything became unbearable. I couldn't handle looking at you when all I saw was pain. You were constantly reminding me of how much I failed T'Challa" Nova sniffed her nose, roughly wiping her eyes dry, "My powers were meant to save everyone...everyone, but the one person who gave me meaning"
Shuri darted her eyes up at the spy in sympathy, she rose up, bringing her sister into a hug. Nova hugged her back, burying her face into the girls neck. Sobs shook Nova's body while Shuri rubbed her back reminiscing the times T'Challa was there for his wife. He put her before the court. That was a true King. A man who was there for his family before himself.
"No matter what's going on between us I'll always be there for you" Shuri promised, not wanting to repeat her past. After everything, they only had each other. The rest of their family lied with the ancestors.
"Mom?" The two pulled apart. Njari stood there holding Azuri in her arms with Nailah holding her free hand, "Everything okay?"
Nova with ruby red eyes, nodded, knowing there was point to fixing her puffed up face. She glanced at Shuri who was perplexed by the three kids in front of them. "Yeah, come on over. There's someone who I want you to meet." Azuri was quickly placed in her hold with Nailah hiding behind her with her petite narrow head peaking behind her shoulder. Njari seemed a little more brave, but kept close to Nova with her arm wrapped around hers.
"Auntie Shuri meet my kids, Njari, Nailah, and Azuri" Nova introduced, "Before we could really introduce Njari into the family T'Challa got sick. He didn't want the kids to see him that way so we asked M'Baku to take care them for a bit. And after his passing I had do to what was best for our kids."
Shuri was almost brought back to her crying mass. All the lying and misinformation presented to her made sense. Nova had done all of this to protect them from danger. "It's nice to meet you all"
"It's nice to meet you too" they repeated. Azuri blabbered his words causing Shuri to giggle at this.
"Do you want to hold him?" Shuri instantly nodded. Gently, Nova passed her youngest to Shuri's arms. It took a moment for her to get a good grip on him, but once she did, she couldn't stop smiling, "Hey, little one. Azuri, right?"
"It's just his middle name" Nailah commented, catching Shuri's interest.
"Really, what is his first name?"
Nova met her soft gaze, "T'Challa."
Shuri caressed her sons spiraled curls, "T'Challa" she repeated, now crying her eyes out. Njari frowned, standing up with Nailah to give Shuri a comforting hug. Nova watched in awe not wishing to interfere in this beautiful moment. No speck of darkness could ruin this. This family was their fortress. And no one was going to take that away from them anymore.
Nova looked out to the ocean, catching something in the water watching them. Her shoulders stiffened, mentally preparing to get them to safety. Until he sunk back into the water, disappearing. It was only a matter of time before he realized the surface world was not going to be his only concern.
