Chapter Text
"…on other, exciting news, we directly speak to our dreamers out there. There is a once in lifetime comet flying over the earth. Astrologers have called it the 'Eternity' comet due to the many myths found across a variety of different cultures. It's main appeal is that apparently it can grant your wish…
…the unique attribute of the comet is that its rather slow, so you won't have to worry about missing it, and it will be close enough to earth that many will be able to see it as it crosses…
…so whether you're a romantic, a dreamer, or just simply a stargazer, we recommend setting up outside tonight to watch it pass by…
…but be careful what you wish for."
///
The news reporter faded to black completely as the T.V. was abruptly shut off.
Namor threw the remote onto the couch blindly as he rushed around his small modest home to get ready to leave. He grabbed two museum tickets that were a one time event. The planetarium side of the museum was all decked out in honor of the Eternity comet flying over head.
With the event being labeled as a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' the tickets sold out with a speed that would have rivaled a Luna Snow concert. Fortunately, Namor worked at the museum and was lucky enough to snag a couple of tickets.
He placed them in a small empty billfold, then added in a card with a reservation to a hard to get into sushi restaurant. The place was generally hard to get into on a normal day, but said event made it even harder. Most of the local restaurants were fully booked due to the event, by both hopeful blooming romances and older couples trying to rekindle that once there flame.
Namor took one last glance around his home, mentally checking off that he had grabbed everything he needed before leaving. He stopped by the mirror as he was just about to walk out, running a hand through his messy hair and adjusted his glasses.
He stared at himself more critically, taking in his dress shirt that he couldn't ever seem to get the wrinkles out of, his well worn jeans that he would wear until death, and lastly the thin wire frame glasses that he greatly preferred over contact lenses. It made him squeamish to put any fingers near his eyes.
There was nothing wrong with him in his opinion, he didn't really care, but he still let out a long sigh, attempting to push out the annoyance he felt with himself daily.
"Idiot."
The house in front of Namor was twice his own homes size, with a large immaculate yard and a giant tree that swayed comfortably in the gentle breeze. The house was in washes of blue and white, the shutters and door the same dark shade of blue. It was as idyllic as it was expensive looking.
Oh, to have the bank account of an increasingly popular actor.
Namor let out a low whistle as he walked up the long path way, whistling a tune he had heard on the radio. He barely walked up the first step when the front door swung open and he felt his heart skip a beat.
It always skipped a beat when he saw her.
"Namor!" Shuri grinned widely as she opened the door wider to let him. "I knew it was you by the whistle."
"Wow- you look-"
Perfect.
She wore a red lacy dress that had a 3 tier skirt that went just above her knee. The particular shade of red made her dark skin glow warmly. But he knew that his honest answer would probably be an awkward thing to say out loud and settled begrudgingly on, "Great. Happy anniversary."
She shut the door behind him when he settled inside, her eyes flicking down to his hand briefly. "Thank you, but you know you don't have to bring flowers for someone else's anniversary."
The purple hued cellophane wrapped around the flowers crinkled as Namor quickly pointed them to her to take. They were her favorite, clusters of purple blue hydrangeas mixed with little bursts of white baby's breath. She took them and inhaled deeply.
"Johnny asked me to pick up the flowers he had ordered for you."
"Hmm, they're lovely."
From deeper within the house, a brown blur bolted down the hallway and head butted Namor hard in his hip. It threw him off balance and he kneeled down willingly to get a face full of kisses from a young chocolate Labrador.
"You can't keep letting Cosmo do that to you or she'll never stop." Shuri said exasperatedly, and turned to the kitchen to place the flowers in a vase.
Namor just ruffled Cosmo's fur rougher, causing the dog to increase the velocity of her kisses. He had to stand to stop the assault. "She's such a good dog though. Why deny her?
"Pushover." She chided affectionately, adjusting the flowers carefully in the clear vase before placing it at the center of the kitchen table. Allowing Namor to see that the back of her dress was still unzipped.
"Shuri- Your-" Namor gestured to the back of his neck, and tried his best to not feel like a teenager that viewed their first bra.
"Oh! Right. Could you help me with this." Shuri placed her back fully to him. She pushed her short curls at the nape of her neck up unnecessarily. His eyes traced the outline of exposed skin. "I would ask Johnny, but you know him."
He had to rub his sweaty palms on his pants before he took the zipper in hand and pulled up. "In the bathroom, taking his time to perfect his 'look'."
"Bingo."
"Hey! It's hard work to maintain this." Johnny walked in, a fluid confidence to his step as he slid in to pull Shuri to him. He kissed her soundly on the mouth and Namor took a giant step back, glancing toward nothing. "Ready to go, gorgeous?"
"I need to go grab my sweater and clutch. Thank you for my flowers."
"Anything for you."
Shuri pressed one last kiss to Johnny's mouth then slipped away to go upstairs, leaving the two men alone.
The second Johnny heard the upstairs door closed, he glanced around the house before landing on the flowers. He threw a thumb in its direction and grinned at Namor. "Nice touch with the flowers."
Namor felt his eye twitch and slammed the billfold he had prepared in Johnny's hand with a touch more force then he would have liked. "The tickets are inside. The show starts at Eight. Your reservation for Oni Onigiri is at five. It's within walking distance of the museum and there is a bar that serves cocktails."
"I owe you, buddy."
"Sure, look, just give her a good night, alright? You owe her that much after you forgot to plan anything for your five year anniversary." He hissed.
"Yeah, I know. I'll be on my best behavior, scouts honor." Johnny mumbled absentmindedly as he filtered through the bill fold to look at the tickets. "I would have remembered if my job wasn't so hectic. You know how it is with acting and all-"
"-Not really-"
"-But a museum? Seriously?"
"She'll love it." Namor said firmly. If he was confident in anything, then it would be his confidence in Shuri's interests. Particularly in the realm of anything science based. Her mind for any new knowledge greedier than his.
Shuri skipped down the stairwell while she shrugged on her coat. "This is so exciting! Johnny hasn't told me a thing about where he is taking me."
"It's a secret."
Namor had to close his eyes a fraction longer to keep from visibly rolling his eyes.
"I want to surprise you when we get there. You deserve a little adventure." Johnny continued, pulling Shuri to his side.
She gave her husband a small but beautiful smile. It was her way of trying to hold back a grin. Something that she did when she was genuinely happy.
It made Namor's insides clench painfully.
"Namor," Shuri turned turned that smile onto him, "It's too bad we can't see that comet together. I know how bummed out you were to not work the event at the museum. Are you still planning to watch?"
"Yeah, it will just be me and my telescope back at my place."
"Don't forget to make a wish."
The night sky was wonderfully clear, show casing the vastness of the stars above in the sea of darkness. It was a comfort to Namor to see and know how far the reaches of the sky were. It made everything else, his problems and his successes, feel small. Not less then, just small.
He bent over the telescope, adjusting it just so to track the path of the Eternity comet that streaked above him. Without the telescope, the comet was nothing more then a small streak of white. Brighter than the stars around it, but still quite small.
With the telescope he saw the slight color interwoven with the burst of light. Tendrils of blue, purples, and reds trailing just behind the comet. The whites so bright that it left the inky dark around it to look faintly more indigo then black.
It slowly made its way across the sky and would disappear for another few centuries before making another trip around the earth.
Namor worked as an astronomer at the museum and had been hoping to work the event for the Eternity comet, but the role had unfortunately gone to the more senior staff. Either way he was glad to see such a sight in his lifetime.
He stood to straighten his aching spine and tapped at his lower back to help loosen the stiffness. It was a peaceful way to end his night, albeit a bit lonely.
'Don't forget to make a wish.'
"Hm…A wish huh?" He whispered as he stared at the small light above him.
Then he heard the loud banging at his front door, destroying whatever solitude was left of his night.
"Shit." Namor mumbled, slipping off his sandals to walk back into his house. He took a quick glance at his clock to see that it was only nine before opening the door. His stomach souring at the sight of his disgruntled best friend in front of him. "What happened?"
Johnny dragged a hand through his hair roughly, messing his perfectly slicked back look. It was a sign to Namor that he was exceptionally ticked off. "Date was a disaster. And I didn't feel like staying at home." He pushed past Namor and went straight into his kitchen.
"Disaster?" Namor asked in confusion, trailing behind Johnny. The museum event should have been a sure win. "Did she not like the museum?"
"No, that was fine, she loved all that crap." He grabbed two beers from the fridge. After quickly opening them, he handed one to Namor, clinked the two glass bottles together with an unenthusiastic, "Cheers," then slumped down on the couch.
Namor tightened his hold on the beer, trying to keep his own anger in check. He was afraid to ask, vaguely knowing what the answer would be, but he needed to know. "What happened?"
"Same thing that always happens, we fought." Johnny clicked his tongue in annoyance, then took a long drink from his beer. "She was pissed that I was on my phone. Said something along the lines of 'what's the point of us being on a date if I wasn't going to be present.'" He paused to take another swig of his beer. "We were watching stars on a screen for fuck's sake. Present for what?"
The bottle creaked under Namor's hold. "Present for her, Johnny. That's the point. It was your anniversary. You're meant to spend time with her."
"I did! And look were it got me, another big fight over something so dumb."
"Johnny-" Namor let out in frustration, beyond irritated, but Johnny cut him off before he could finish.
"Look, I came here to vent, not to be lectured or get marriage advise from someone not married." Johnny flinched and flicked an apologetic look toward Namor. "No offense. I get that enough from my sister."
A heavy sour feeling broiled in Namor's stomach, and he placed his untouched beer in front of Johnny knowing he would drink it for him. The ironic thing was Namor not being married was largely due to Johnny's own marriage.
A secret he would probably have to take to his grave.
"Whether or not me being married would mean anything, it doesn't mean you should treat your wife so flippantly. Shuri deserves better."
"Yeah, well….I wish I could just take a break from all that marriage crap." Johnny took a long drink, finishing the rest of his bottle and grabbing for the second. He no longer looked at Namor and went dead silent, signifying the end of the conversation.
There was more Namor wanted to say to him though. A lot more. But like always…Namor bottled it up and shoved it away. Hating himself more then he could ever hate Johnny.
"You could stay in the guest room." Then he stormed out of his own house and walked back into the backyard.
He took a large deep fortifying breath, the crisp night air cooling the heat of his anger and he looked up. The comet was still making its way across the sky.
Then he pulled out his phone and called Shuri. She answered after the second ring.
"Let me guess, you have an uninvited guest?" The wry tone of her voice made him smile. He always admired how she could separate her emotions from person to person despite her feeling down or not. It always contrasted Johnny's more fiery personality.
"For the time being…I just wanted to check in on you."
Shuri huffed out a laugh devoid of any real humor.
"That bad?"
"Honestly? It wasn't even surprising. The surprising part was the fact I even got my hopes up." Her breath sounded uneven from movement, and Namor imagined her pacing the length of her home, Cosmo trailing behind her in happy confusion. "I mean I should have known the second he took me to the museum."
"What do you mean?"
Shuri was silent for a long moment. The sound of her soft heavy breathing the only evidence that she was still there on the phone with him. She only started talking again when he softly prompted her with just saying her name.
"Shuri?"
"You arranged for the tickets, didn't you."
It wasn't a question and Namor's heart dropped into his stomach, mindlessly saying, "Johnny wanted-"
"Namor it's obvious. You work for the museum. Of course it was you."
Namor took a second to smack the corner of his phone against his forehead, weighing the options of telling her the truth or not throwing his childhood friend under the bus. He landed somewhere in the middle to his eternal shame. "I was the one who got the tickets, but Johnny was the one to ask me to get them. For you."
"…I see."
"Shuri…I'm really sorry," He paused, the apology was meant for lying to her but he lamely ended on, "That your night didn't go as planned."
She laughed again, that same depressing laugh, "You're always so good to me. Even though I'm just the wife of your best friend."
"You're my friend too, Shuri."
There was another stilted pause, then she took a deep breath, and with the phone held so tightly to his ear Namor could hear the slight hitch in her throat. As if she had been crying.
Then she hung up.
Namor was going to kill Johnny for this, or the very least crank up the air conditioning to sub zero temperatures, knowing how much Johnny hated the cold. He would have a miserable time sleeping. From his view from the backyard, Namor could see that he had already gone to bed, and left two empty bottles of beer on the coffee table.
The comet was still over head, a small bright bloom in the growing dark. Namor closed his eyes and thought about the years of being friends with Johnny since middle school, and about the years he had held tightly to the secret of hopelessly being in love with Shuri since the day they had met.
I wish…I wish I was the one married to Shuri.
Hot…
Was the first groggy thought that entered Namor when he woke up. His mind alerting him to the uncomfortable awareness that his body was on fire. He struggled against the weight of numerous blankets tangled around his body. Each one a battle as he kicked and yanked until their were three blankets dumped on the floor.
Why the hell were there so many?
He flopped onto his stomach to allow his back to breathe and began blindly reaching for the water bottle he left on his nightstand, only to come up empty. Namor lifted his head in confusion, his blurred vision enough to confirm that he must of forgotten it.
Which was…odd.
This had been a habit that had been ingrained in him since childhood. His mother would often call him her little fish with the amount of water he would drink.
…But then the water was no longer a problem—
Where were his glasses?
Namor stumbled off of the bed, careful to watch his step just in case his glasses fell to the floor, but still nothing. He searched under the bed and the surrounding area, and still nothing.
Something was off and his sleep clouded mind was not allowing him to catch up.
He had a spare pair of glasses in his bathroom so he gave up his search on the bedroom floor. The strangeness continued to follow him. Normally he would be able to walk around his bedroom with his eyes closed, but now he was bumping into things that shouldn't be there.
Namor would have questioned it if he hadn't stubbed his toe hard against a small table, nearly toppling over a lamp. "Shit!" He hissed, too caught up at the pain shooting up his leg to notice that his voice didn't sound the same.
A pitch higher, familiar, but not his.
Bathroom, just get to the bathroom.
By some act of god, he somehow made it to the bathroom, confused and unsettled.
He splashed some cold water onto his face, hoping to wake himself up a bit first. Which helped because he finally noticed something he should have noticed ages ago.
His vision wasn't blurry due to him needing glasses. Exhaustion had partially blinded him, and washing and rubbing his eyes had helped clear his vision in a way that shouldn't be possible.
It allowed him to notice another problem.
His hand, normally a dark coppery brown, was pale. Very pale.
For a brief moment he thought he might be still in a dream, but the way his skin had pinched with panic he knew he was wide awake. Namor took his time to look up into the mirror and stared at his reflection in disbelief. Moving his hand to make sure that he was actually standing in front of a mirror and not somehow a window.
The man staring back at him wasn't him, but his best friend Johnny Storm.