ACT ONE. CHAPTER VI:
CORAZÓN SIN CARA

BIRNIN ZANA, WAKANDA.
2016, APRIL 10.

A week had already passed since the events in Vienna. After participating in the civil war that had destroyed the Avengers from within, T'Challa had finally found the man responsible for their father's death ― Helmut Zemo. The man had posed as the Winter Soldier, drawing the world's attention to him so he could be found more easily. It was an ingenious plan, Sade had to admit to herself.

Having spent a few days ignoring him, the young princess had finally forgiven T'Challa. Their argument was still in the back of her mind, but it would do her no good to continue not talking to him as she had been. Considering that the funeral of the late King T'Chaka had taken place about four days ago, Ramonda didn't want her children to be on the outs during what had been a difficult time for everyone. T'Challa was going to be king tomorrow, and she wanted to get rid of everything she had to do so she could join Namor. He had promised her, after begging him over and over, to take her to Talokan again for the day.

"Princess Imani."

The young woman looked up at the doctor who had approached her, dropping her notebook on her table before following him towards the medical wing. Bucky Barnes had finally made the decision to have himself cryogenically frozen, not wanting past incidents to repeat themselves. She felt bad for him, he'll have to pause his life once more to avoid being manipulated ever again.

Approaching the screen that displayed his vitals, she glanced at the scan of his brain, tilting her head to the side.

There has to be some way to get him out of this brain conditioning.

"Did you find anything interesting?" he finally asked after watching her for a long time, curious about her silence.

"It depends on what you call interesting," she replied, turning to him, a slight smile on her face that he returned as best he could. "Are you feeling okay? Any pain? Dizziness?"

"I feel totally fine."

Bucky looked up at the young princess' focused face as she analysed the bandage around his still-valid hand. He followed her with his eyes as she worked around him, undoing the bandage with an exaggerated gasp. Her frustration, surely due to the fact that the bandage didn't look perfect, made him want to chuckle. She had a peculiar aura that brought good humour, even he felt the corners of his mouth twitch slightly.

"Something amuse you, Mr. Barnes?" she asked, not taking her eyes off his hand, twisting the bandage in an expert motion.

"You seem to be picking on this poor piece of bandage." he replied, eliciting a laugh from her that relaxed the concentration straining her facial features. "And you can call me Bucky."

"Well Bucky, I didn't know you were a comedian."

"I probably missed my career." he added with a smile. "You-"

"Princess Imani."

Both of their attentions turned to the person who had burst into the medical room, seemingly surprised to see such ease emanating from the one who had been his friend. The Winter Soldier widened his eyes slightly at Steve's words, turning his head towards Sade who had nodded towards Captain Rogers.

"You didn't tell me you were the princess," he let out in a breath, thinking back on their brief conversation.

"What would have changed?"

Her mocking expression eventually drifted away from him as Sade turned back to his statists, addressing a few people who were hanging around.

"You sure about this?"

Bucky looked at Steve for a moment before sighing. "I can't trust my own mind." he said with a bitter laugh. "So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head, I think going back under is the best thing. For everybody."

Captain America nodded slightly before following his friend's gaze to T'Challa's sister who was setting up the cryo tube. As she moved closer to them, writing things on a notepad that they both couldn't understand, Bucky called out to her one last time. "I guess I have to thank you too."

Sade tilted her head slightly to the side, a movement he'd noticed she did a lot, making her look like a curious child. "I'll put you in a freezer, I don't see why you should thank me."

"Apparently you're one of the people who believed in my innocence from the start." he added as Steve nodded his head in agreement.

"Thanks for trying to convince your brother."

"Emphasis on the 'trying'." she said, smiling all the same. "And you don't need to thank me, Bucky. Everyone's got a right to their presumption of innocence."

Glancing again at her notepad as well as the tube that had popped up from the floor, she turned her eyes to the two friends. "I promise you I'll find a way to get this out of your head. In the meantime, are you ready to turn into a nugget?"

At the two superheroes' faces of incomprehension, she grimaced before adding, "I forgot you didn't have nuggets in your old days."

TALOKAN, TALOKANIL TERRITORY.
2016, APRIL 10.

Sitting in his council chamber, surrounded by his advisors, Namor glanced out of the room's window, somewhat annoyed. The dimness of his eyes rested on the figure of Sade, who was in the middle of a game of blind man's bluff with some of the children who had been following her around since she arrived. The image that formed in his head made him smile slightly as the shouts and laughter found a home in the hollow of his ears.

"K'uk'ulkan?"

The Talokanil king blinked sharply before turning his head towards his advisors, snapping out of his trance.

"Ba'ax je'el?" (Yes?)

"Táan wáaj a u k'aax t'aanil yéetel k tsol p'isik du-luk'enij?" (Do you agree with our plan to expand the market?)

He looked at them for a moment before nodding quietly, not having followed the end of their presentation, too captivated by what was going on in his head.

"K'uk'ulkan, tu yo'olal le Ch'íij-" (K'uk'ulkan, about the human-) began one of his advisors before closing his mouth at the dark look his leader gave him.

"Wa tuláakal le ti'its ts'o'ok u Ku ts'áabal." (If all the points have been addressed, I adjourn this session)

Namor hurriedly pushed his chair out of the way and headed for the door, ignoring Ajtzak's comments as he refused to let go of the matter.

"Ba'ale'-" (But-)

"Ajtzak, Ma'." (Ajtzak, no.)

"Mix ba'al Ku ya'alik teech u leti'e' ma' tu yaan u mentik traicionar a, K'uk'ulkan." (There is no guarantee that she will not betray you, K'uk'ulkan.)

The king paused in his steps before turning abruptly to his adviser, who did not seem in the least intimidated by the dangerous veil that was beginning to hang over his king's eyes.

"Mina'an mix jump'éel t'aan yo'osal in beetik." (I have no reason to do so.) Sade finally said as she stood not far from the two men, still surrounded by the children who did not seem to be surprised that she had spoken in their native language.

Wide-eyed, Ajtzak glanced at Namor, whose face displayed the same surprise as his own. He continued to look at her for a few moments before stammering something, his cheeks on fire, hastily following the rest of the advisors who had disappeared beneath the surface of the water. The children, surely sensing that they were no longer allowed, all left one by one, leaving only one little girl who clung to Sade's hand. Looking at the young woman and Namor one by one, she tugged lightly on her hand to make her stoop to her level. The Talokanil king watched as little Yuritzi whispered something into the young princess' ear that caused them both to laugh. Smiling at her one last time, she walked over to K'uk'ulkan who ruffled her hair before diving into the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

"What did she say to you?" he finally asked after a moment of silence.

"She told me not to tell you, so you won't get any information from me."

Namor arched an eyebrow in her direction before approaching her with that predatory step that defined him. The electricity from the proximity of their bodies made her take a deep breath as she continued to look him straight in the eye.

"What are you going to do? Sing? Talk in my ear? Have a staring match?"

Smiling simply, the Talokanil king exhaled softly, looking down at the swell of her lips. "I don't know. Would it work?" he asked, raising his eyes to hers, the dangerous glint she'd noticed from their first exchange piercing through her. "If not, I can think of other ways to get an answer from you."

Sade held his gaze, her air of mischief competing with the predatory veil he was purposefully casting over her. She chuckled a little as she moved a little closer, feeling his hot breath mingle with hers, constantly seeking to gain the upper hand.

"Two can play the game," she whispered, their closeness making their lips brush against each other in a game of dominance that she currently had the upper hand in. "K'uk'ulkan."

Namor felt all restraint leave his body as his name left the barrier of her mouth. He heard it constantly from his people, and the young princess had made it her mission to come up with funny nicknames for him, so hearing her say it so close to him ― the predator had found himself in the place of his prey. Tilting his head slightly forward to close the millimetres that separated them, a grunt of frustration escaped from the depths of his throat as Sade abruptly pulled away, a smile still on her lips. The Talokanil king felt the cold creep up on him at the sudden break in their proximity, running a quivering hand through his hair to recover from his emotions.

"I'm hungry." the young woman said innocently, watching him look at her with a frustrated expression, the tips of his ears twitching slightly.

"You're hungry." he repeated more as a sarcastic question as he stared at her, aching to catch his breath.

"I've heard that fish breathe better in water." she added as she sat down at a table nearby, noting the laboured breaths he was trying to regulate.

"What a funny human you are."

"I know right?"

Namor eventually sat down at the opposite end of the table as well, continuing to watch her as she began to hum a tune that only she could hear. Some of the servants set down food between them before walking away, not without bowing slightly to their leader whose attention remained fixed on the person in front of him. Dropping her pen into her notebook, Sade reached for one of the dishes as the Talokanil king grabbed her wrist. Sighing loudly as she rolled her eyes, she held out her other hand which he also grabbed. Grunting in frustration, she tried to pull her head closer so she could grab a mango with her teeth.

"Sade." Namor's voice thundered as she chose to ignore him.

"What? Let me eat." she wailed as she dramatically dropped her head on the table.

"What happened a few moments ago-"

"I'm not stopping you from doing your life when you do the same to me so let me eat ugh."

"Seriously?"

"Ma' táak a wilen ka kíimiken wi'ij." (You don't want to see me when I'm really hungry.)

Seeing the serious look on her face, he ended up letting go of the matter.

"What do you call this?" she then asked, holding a kind of burrito filled with meat and avocado in her hand.

"Coçito."

Also starting to eat, Namor began to explain the making of each dish to a young princess who had made it her mission to taste everything, making him shake his head when she would purposely hide that she didn't like a certain dish.

"And this is xocolatl."

"Isn't that nahuatl?" asked Sade, looking at the frothy texture in her bowl.

He smiled as he nodded, pleased to see that she was so interested in learning about their ways that she had been doing her own research.

"It's made of cocoa beans mixed with chili peppers, cornmeal and honey. It can burn-"

His sentence died in his throat as he watched her quietly drink the mixture, seeming to enjoy the taste as well.

"I like it. But I'd probably prefer a simple hot chocolate." she said before seeing the incomprehension on the Talokanil king's face. "Oh by Bast, I must have you try it. How could you live over four hundred years without tasting a single drop of hot chocolate?"

"Is it really that good?"

At the vigorous movement of her head, Namor knew that the next time he crossed the water barrier, she would be forcing him to taste some of it.

"I have a question. It's true that you hate the surface world but, isn't there something you love about the world as it is now?" she finally asked, bringing her knees up against her.

"There's nothing to like."

Rolling her eyes exaggeratedly, Sade began to mimic him as he laughed lightly, seriously processing her question.

"Maybe the music?"

Her attention piqued, the young woman stopped abruptly and sketched a big smile. "What kind of music?"

"What you call Latin music, I believe? It's not as bad as I thought. They even have this dance, one of those 'bachi something' dances."

Frowning slightly, she racked her brain before her face lit up, making her jump out of her chair.

"Bachata! You have to show me your dance moves." she said as she approached him, holding out her hand.

"No, I don't know how to dance-"

"Liar. Come on K'uk'ulkan, don't be a coward." she insisted, knowing full well that he was going to overreact to her last word.

As expected, Namor stood up abruptly and took her hand, resting the other on the small of her back.

Looking through the playlist on her phone, she finally remembered something that made her wince as she looked up at him.

"Are you comfortable hearing Spanish?"

He frowned slightly before realising the source of her concern, spreading that familiar warmth throughout his stomach again.

She's thoughtful.

"Yes, don't worry." he replied, noticing her sceptical look all the same. "Really."

Having gotten his approval, Sade put her playlist on shuffle before placing her phone on the table. His arm around her back, she rested hers close to his shoulder, letting him hold her other hand out to the side at chest height. As the music began, he pulled her a little closer to him, using his outstretched hand to lead the young princess, gently guiding her upper body in the direction he was moving. She was pleasantly surprised to see him leading the dance with such dexterity for someone who lived almost constantly underwater.

Resting her head against his shoulder, she eventually closed her eyes, letting out the words of the song in whispers, tickling Namor's neck with her warm breath.

"Y si eres gorda o flaca, todo eso no me importa a mí."

"Y tampoco soy perfecto, solo sé que yo te quiero así."

The young princess smiled against his skin as she heard him continue, knowing that he didn't particularly like speaking the language of those who had forced his people out of their lands. Namor rested his head against hers, closing his eyes as well.

Nothing was more important at that moment. Just them, and the music still playing in the background. He continued to whisper the song in spite of himself, the words resonating in a subconscious that was surfacing more and more.

"Y el corazón, no tiene cara. Y te prometo que lo nuestro nunca va a terminar. Y el amor, vive en el alma. Ni con un deseo, sabes que nada de ti irá a cambiar."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

i was going for obsesión by aventura, pero parce no está taaaaan obsesionado 🙄 i can't even lie saying this is reader service because i was enjoying writing this waaaay too much. i need me a bachata partner because i can't keep dancing with my stuffed animal 🫠 like, tenoch and lupita dancing lives rent free in my head, i had to put it somewhere-

i didn't know searching about ancient maya cuisine would be this interesting, it's not like i read more than five articles about it, absolutely not 🧍🏾‍♀️they're just so cute i wanna erase what will happen in wakanda forever 😭 oh and hum, i'm like near 600 followers and war of tides is actually near 2k of votes, what should i do ? i was going for a face reveal, but maybe an au chapter would be also good, like namor being a teacher (i read too much tumblr wtf is this 😭💀)🧐 idk

this right there, is sade seeing how namor reacted to her little game

namor every time sade says something thoughtful that he feels his heart drop

it was kinda him when he saw her through the window, mister let's calm down especially when you're going to pierce through her with your spear 🤸🏾‍♂️🥰 (editing: I WAS TALKING ABOUT HIS REAL SPEAR, YOU SEE THE THING HE USED TO DESTROY THAT SHIP THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, HE PIERCED SHURI WITH A SPEAR IN THE MOVIE, gosh y'all are way too dirty minded 💀😭)

THEM

let me tell you that the last chapter is already written and THE ANGST
all i can say is the title 🏃🏾‍♀️ "beg the sun for mercy"

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

© ADONYSIAC ― IZIA™