#but Thena has to figure this out for herself

[softquietsteadylove]

Could you do little thing in the Actors AU where Sprite and her salad have had enough… but there is an actual salad involved

Why did she agree to this lunch, Sprite had to wonder.

Oh, because she wanted to see their cousin Sersi, of course. She was in town for discussions of a few possible upcoming projects she was considering. And she wanted the chance to get together with Sprite and Thena.

And somehow Gil ended up coming too.

Of course, he had tried to insist politely that he didn't want to interrupt their time visiting with their cousin as a stranger. But he and Thena had made quite a habit of having lunch together.

Ultimately, it was Sersi who insisted that he join them.

"You should'a seen her," Gil chuckled, nudging Thena next to him as he cut his steak. "Really told him off for it."

"I did not," Thena shook her head with a smile, picking a piece of chicken out of her salad much more discreetly.

"Okay, you didn't curse him out or anything," Gil conceded quickly, "but for you to snap at anyone during an interview is pretty rare."

Except in instances that involved Gil, Sprite kept to herself. She had the same salad Thena had, while Sersi had opted for one with mandarin in it. She looked at her cousin, who gave her a wink.

Sersi had heard all about Thena's chemistry with her co-star--had seen for herself, in a few of their interviews together. And having further evidence from Sprite as a witness was more than enough to have her interest piqued.

"I think he's allowed a few too many liberties because he's young," Thena murmured, flicking another crouton from her salad cleanly onto Gil's plate.

Gil happily snapped up the crouton and popped it into his mouth. "I think he's just jealous I got to sit next to you."

"Yes, jealous," Sersi mused aloud, making the other actors' heads snap over to her. She smiled at her cousin with a certain glint in her eye. "I daresay you're onto something, Gil."

Gil swiped at his mouth with his napkin, "what was it like working with him on that thriller?"

"Admittedly, I didn't actually have many scenes with him, so our schedules were quite separated from one another," Sersi set down her fork, also dabbing at her lips. "Although when we did work together, he usually just asked me about you."

"Me?" Thena asked, while Gil just rolled his eyes (as did Sprite).

"Yes of course you, Thena," Sersi voiced what Sprite was thinking, although with a pleasant smile to go along with it. "He found out somewhere that we're related and made it his mission to make it quite known to me how much he fancies you."

"Fancy makes it sound kinda nice," Gil scoffed aloud at the subject, sharply contrasting how pleasant he had been acting with Eros in their interview together not long ago. "I think the punk just has a crush on her and doesn't know how to stay in his lane."

"Yeah!" Sprite put in, raising her hand for a high five, which Gil delivered with a firm but appropriate amount of strength put into it.

"Gil, don't encourage her," Thena gave him a look, tucking back her hair to take one of the last few bites of her lunch.

"I don't need encouragement."

"No, you certainly don't," Thena glared at her sister, who grinned back at her with all the menace she had to offer. Thena sighed, setting down her fork. "That was quite nice."

"Liked it?" Gil smiled at her eagerly. She nodded and he turned in his seat, "I discovered this place when I first got to LA. The owner was all excited, asked for my picture and everything."

Indeed, there was a picture of the owner and Gilgamesh shaking hands behind the front counter.

"I thought it was kinda silly," Gil admitted sheepishly, "since I'm sure there are big celebrities in here all the time."

"You are a big celebrity," Thena laughed in a velvety tone, nudging his arm with the heel of her palm. "And perhaps he's a fan of your action work."

"Either way, it's always nice and quiet whenever I've been in-"

Thena's eyes caught Gil's hand drifting to the inside pocket of his blazer, "don't even think about it."

"Thena-"

"No," she pulled her napkin off her lap and tossed it over her plate, "I'm paying."

"Really, it was nice of you to invite me," Gil argued, leaning forward in his chair as he tried to convince her of his position, "and I know the owner--it just makes sense."

"I'm paying," she corrected, leaning even closer with a smirk, "for my cousin, and my sister, and my co-star."

"You know, some guys find it emasculating to be paid for."

"You're not that insecure."

"No, but still!"

Sprite looked at Sersi, who was just letting this happen--right in front of their salads! They were going on and on, and getting closer and closer. And as much as she wanted her sister to actually deal with her feelings and maybe have a real conversation about them, that didn't mean she wanted to see them flirting like this in front of her. And she swore to all that was holy, if she ever had to see them have some big, passionate make-out in front of her-

"Thena, really," Gil laughed, but Thena was physically trying to pull his wallet out of his hand, tugging at the lapel of his jacket as he stretched it out behind him and out of her reach.

"Oh my god, both of you!" Sprite burst, shaking her head at the gross idiots and their cutesy play-fighting. "Go up and split it or whatever, just stop doing whatever this is."

"Sprite!" Thena hissed at her, although her hands did release Gilgamesh and snap back to her lap, prim and proper. She had plenty more to say but as soon as she let go of him, Gil shot up out of his seat to rush to the counter. "No!"

Sprite shook her head as the two continued to wrestle with each other jokingly all the way to the front register. She poked at her salad, having eaten all her chicken and bacon bits and croutons and now left with the 'salad' part. "Unbelievable."

"Aren't they always like this?" Sersi asked with a grin as she offered Sprite half the chicken from her plate, "in your own words?"

"Yeah, I guess," she sighed, happily accepting Sersi's offering to her. "But, I dunno, maybe it's less embarrassing when we're all hanging out at Gil's and not in public."

Sersi simply smiled, though, watching as her cousin laughed with the man beside her. He even wrapped an arm around her, picking her up off the ground so he could state that he would be paying the bill for them all.

Sersi had left her card with the host as soon as they had arrived to pay, of course. But neither Thena nor Gilgamesh had noticed because they were too busy flirting for all the world to see.

[wildlife4life]

Inspiration Saturday

Tagged by the always fantastic @daffi-990 @gayedmundodiaz @rainbow-nerdss and @hippolotamus Thank you all so much! Inspos today were beautiful!

It is still Saturday for me, and I am super pumped!!!! (My chiefs won a playoff game, and seeing Taylor Swift swag surf at the game, wow. Week made!) Jumping back to NFL Buck today, featuring more of the Dosed arc. More NFL Buck can be found here. Enjoy!

It takes a minute to make it up the too long driveway and Athena does her best to keep her judgement to herself. All of it is a bit exorbitant and a waste of concrete. A few feet up the drive, Eddie's home comes into view and it does not disappoint. A beautiful pale stone mini mansion with a six car garage, perfectly manicured lawn, and an expansive transom windowed entry way. Impressive place truly, but Athena has seen bigger and much more extravagant during her years in LA. What really has Athena completely gobsmacked is the curly blonde haired, blue eyed, over six foot man waiting in front of large wooden french doors. Dressed in a comfortable looking white hoodie, gray workout shorts, and black Nike sliders, is none other than the LA Ram's quarterback, Evan Buckley. Buck. Buckley. The numerous football games and the timing of Eddie's path to LA matching Evan Buckley's exactly. How the hell has none of the 118 and the rest of their family figured it out by now? She looks back at the man who has apparently been keeping one big ass secret. "Firefighter Diaz, you've been holding out on us." Wide, glassy brown eyes fill with fresh tears, "I'm sorry. I thought you could see the pollen too. Ravi could. And-and those little ladies, they were made of the pollen." Eddie releases broken sob, "Please, I'm sorry. I heard Buck, where is he? I want Buck, please Officer 'Thena."

So excited for the upcoming introduction of Athena to this au's Buck! Hope you enjoyed!

Tagging (no pressure): @wikiangela @jesuisici33 @exhuastedpigeon @spotsandsocks @devirnis @jamespearce9-1-1 @disasterbuckdiaz @spaceprincessem @fortheloveofbuddie @lover-of-mine @athenagranted @eddiescowboy @evanbegins @elvensorceress @giddyupbuck @malewifediaz @thewolvesof1998@911onabc @911-on-abc @bekkachaos @loserdiaz @theotherbuckley @ladydorian05 @bigfootsmom @watchyourbuck @eddiebabygirldiaz @thekristen999 @shortsighted-owl @spagheddiediaz @monsterrae1 @rogerzsteven @eowon @princessfbi @honestlydarkprincess @vampbuckley @bitchfacediaz @buck-coded @housewifebuck @glorious-spoon @buddierights @prosperdemeter2 @lemonzestywrites

[madamevirgo]

Hi! This might sound really… outlandish, but I have been thinking about Thena using her cosmic energy in bed ;) Could you write a jealousy/ angst smut fic with Thena x reader , please?

Fireworks

Pairing: Thena x (f!)reader

Words: 2443

Warnings: (bad) smut, top Thena, jealousy, public sex, bit of angst, so much cheesiness I might puke, don’t read if you’re a minor but I’m not your mom so do what you want.

A/N: Tis I! Madame Ghosts Virgo coming to you with my first post in months (?) life has gotten insane. College, work, whoever decided we had to actually do something for a living? Got sick, got sick again, and as I was laying in my sick bed (let me tell you, the flu decided to remind us that she was indeed THAT bitch) my mind came up with the most horrifying car sex scenario and I remembered this request and kinda ran with it? (@poeticgal5 I’m so sorry if this doesn’t live up to your expectations but thanks for the inspo). It is 2:42am so even though I reread myself like a million times, you might find some mistakes. Also, welcome to my first public smut. Okay horn-dogs, enjoy.

The Eternals through the years had learned to fit in. They molded and changed as was asked of them by the times. Even Gilgamesh, in his own peculiar way, adapted to the years. They all did, with the exception of Thena. Blame it on Mahd Wy’ry or her stubbornness to let go of a time where human connection was valued above all; she simply refused to immerse herself in today's world more than necessary.

Then came you. Innocent in a way but with eyes full of pain and trauma. You were determined to have her experience all the joys that this world had to offer. Not that you had much experience with them yourself. A Black Widow since birth, born and raised in the Red Room, you knew nothing but darkness. You craved some light, maybe that’s why you latched onto Thena the moment you met her. She shone bright, literally and figuratively.

Since the moment you met her, you had only one goal: experience all the joys in the world with who turned out to be the love of your life.

It wasn’t an easy task. Thena was stubborn (and scary), but you were persistent and perhaps even more stubborn. A trait you’ve always paid heavily for in the Red Room.

So you didn’t let her disinterest affect you. You’ll admit that her initial harsh words gave you a pause and stung your heart a bit, but you didn’t let that stop you. Soon, she started to give in.

Thena would never admit it, but she enjoyed experiencing life with you. Although she always did so with an air of disgust and boredom, behind each sarcastic and sassy comment could be found appreciation.

Appreciation for you, and surprisingly: life.

With the holidays, came new experiences. Tons of endless new experiences. Every year, it was something. One year it was baking, another it was skiing, another it was carolling (which she learned had nothing to do with the movie with that blonde actress with the fur coat). This year, it was a New Year’s Eve party.

Of course, Kingo had been the one to come up with the idea.

Of course, you’d been more than happy to jump at the opportunity to experience something new. As always.

Of course, Thena had agreed to it in the end. As always.

Because you could show her everything there was to see in every universe, but nothing would top the joy she felt seeing a smile light up your face.

So she helped plan, she got dressed, and she made nice with the people. Even those who insisted on calling her ‘Athena’.

All in all, things were going as well as they could go given that you hadn’t been paying attention to her all evening since you’d been running around playing the perfect hostess. Things got significantly worse when some leggy blonde started following you everywhere and making you laugh.

She tried to keep her cool because if she didn’t, things would get bad and she didn’t want to ruin this night for you. But the way this girl kept touching you was testing her control. She must’ve zoned out for a second because she suddenly felt a hand on her arm. Of course, she’d recognize your touch no matter what state she was in.

“Come with me?” You asked once her eyes met yours. And she nodded. Being with you was one of the greatest joys of her life.

You dragged the blonde goddess out and into the garage, and soon enough, you were driving away from the loudness of the house. Thena had not yet been able to grasp the concept of driving. She said it confused her. You suspected that she liked being a passenger princess.

“Where are we going?” She asked as it seemed like you were getting further away from the house, and into a road she’d never taken before.

“You’ll see. We’re almost there.” You said with a smile in her direction.

Soon enough, you pulled up to a cliff that overlooked the city. The view was magnificent and the air pristine.

“If you’re planning on going sky diving, let me stop you right now. My healing abilities don’t extend to others and I don’t fancy burying my girlfriend.” She said as she gripped your wrist to stop you from getting out of the car.

“I’ve jumped out of a plane before - without a parachute, might I add.” You said with a frown.

“Yes, I know, you’re a big bad Black Widow. I don’t care. Once was already too much. I’m so glad you know how gravity works.” she insisted, making you roll your eyes.

“It was more than once.” You mumbled. Which only made her deadpan. “Would you just let us get out of the car? I’m trying to be romantic.” You finally snapped a bit. After a few seconds, she relented and you stepped out of the véhicule, breathing in the fresh air.

You glanced at Thena and saw her with her eyes closed. Taking it in. She always felt best when she was surrounded by nature. You leaned against the hood of the car and watched her for a few moments. She was majestic. A fact that you knew, but never ceased to leave you in awe.

“You wanna talk about what made you almost have an episode?” You finally asked.

“I’m surprised you even noticed.” And although she didn’t open her eyes, you could sense the storm behind them.

You leaned forward, grabbing her hand and pulling her into you. Both of you, leaning on the car for support.

“What could possibly stop me from noticing you, my love?” You wracked your brain trying to find what she was talking about, coming up blank.

“That leggy blonde, she was all over you.” Whispered your girlfriend, not meeting your eyes. It finally clicked.

“Thena, are you jealous?” That was a first.

Thena and you had experienced many emotions, jealousy had never been one of them. It had to be noted that you never really interacted outside of your small circle of comfort and they all were respectful of your relationship or too afraid of Thena to try anything. So this was definitely new. Your heart filled with warmth at another manifestation of Thena’s love for you. You grabbed her chin and gently made her face you.

“Nobody has my attention but you. Although my eyes may not always reside on you, my mind and heart always do. Worry not my love, for me, there’s no one else but you.” And you sealed that promise with a kiss.

“Cheesy,” said the goddess as you pulled away, but the bright smile on her face showed her true sentiment even as she rolled her eyes.

“Only for you.” And you added a cheeky wink.

“Is there a particular reason why you’ve brought us up here? Or did you just want to get me away so I wouldn’t lose control around the humans?” She asked once you both settled down.

“This is the best place to see fireworks in the whole city. Another joy for us to experience. You know, other than the ones caused by bombs or actual explosions.”

“You do know I’ve seen my fair share of fireworks, right? During our time in Babylon, Sprite would create some pretty phenomenal ones. Nothing has compared ever since.” At times, you would catch a glimpse of sadness in her eyes as she reminisced about the past.

In this instance, you couldn’t help but feel a bit dejected. She must have seen the look on your face because she amended quickly.

“But this one will be even more special and incomparable because I’ll be sharing it with you.” She caressed your cheek with her hand, and you reached up to grab it in your hands.

“I’m sure.” And you knew that the smile you gave her wasn’t convincing, perhaps to someone less versed in the subject that was you; but not to Thena.

With a sigh, you lay down and pulled her next to you, on the hood of the car. It occurred to you that you should have grabbed a blanket for comfort. You suddenly worried that her back would hurt. This whole experience was turning out to be the opposite of what you had hoped it would be.

“We should head back. The others will be wondering where we are.” Before you could fully get up, she grabbed your hand, making you look down at her.

“I’m sure they’ll manage. Besides, I thought you wanted to see the fireworks.”

“I just realized that we came a bit too early and I forgot to bring blankets. I don’t think the hood of the car will be comfortable for long.” You wanted to cry. Like everything you planned for Thena, you wanted tonight to be perfect. It was, however proving to be an utter failure.

“I’m very comfortable, but if you’re not, we can go. Although I was hoping to have you experience something new, and you’ve set the scene for it so beautifully.” She got up and before you knew it she was standing next to the passenger’s door. The glint in her eyes told you she was up to no good, and the shiver that ran up down your spine told you you’d love every second of it.

“I’m sure they can go without us for a little bit longer.” You whispered as she slowly approached you, like a hunter creeping on its prey.

“Uh huh.” She wrapped her arms around you and claimed your lips with hers.

If it wasn’t for the car, your legs would have given out. Every time she kissed you, you turned to mush; but there was something in her energy tonight that was different.

“I have so much energy pant up from not killing that leggy blonde. I think it could be better invested in you. Don’t you agree?” She pulled back from whispering in your ear to bite the lobe and your eyes rolled to the back of your head.

“Yes.” Was all you could manage to say as you wrapped your arms around her to steady yourself.

This seemed to be all the answer she needed before letting loose. She pushed you down on the hood of the car and the telltale gold of her powers that occurred when she was manipulating cosmic energy appeared at each one of your wrists, restraining you to the car.

“I don’t know who will enjoy this more. What I know for certain is that neither she nor anyone will ever be able to make you feel as good as I’m about to make you feel.” If that was her certainty, yours was that your pussy was currently the Nile river.

She rolled up your shirt over your head and locked your lips in a searing kiss that made your head spin from lack of oxygen; before slowly, tortuously kissing her way to your boobs. Neither of them was left without attention. She was sucking and biting on one while squeezing and palming the other with her hand, making your back arch in pleasure.

Thankfully, you could feel that she wasn’t in a teasing mood tonight. Right when you thought it couldn’t get any better, she started sending bursts of cosmic energy into your body with each bite and pinch.

You were suddenly grateful that you had driven you both up here so no one could hear the noises you let out.

“Thena, please. More.” The way you were doing your absolute best to trap her between your legs told her exactly where you needed her.

She removed her mouth from your boob and continued trailing kisses until she reached the gates of absolute pleasure. One kiss, two. It was like a silent prayer that she sent to the universe; thanking it for the feast she was about to taste.

Then she dived in and you could have come right then. You let out a loud moan and the hand that had been left on your other boob disappeared before two fingers were shoved in your mouth for you to suck on.

Again and again and again she cherished your clitoris, drinking you up like the last glass of water on earth. Her powers had always intrigued you. The beauty of it all. But the way she was using it to pleasure you right now? You would’ve given what you didn’t have to keep this feeling from ever ending.

And then she stopped. You were quick to open your eyes with a glare. How dare she deny you such pleasure? Of such a euphoric feeling? It was yours to take and hers to give.

“Relax, my love,” she pressed a kiss to your lips and then your cheek, making your gaze soften. “I’m not quite done with you yet.” And then she pushed into you.

Thena and you had used a strap more than once, but never one made from cosmic energy. It was almost alive; an extension of her, pulsating inside of you and that energy was spreading in your insides. It was pleasure like you’ve never experienced, and it felt almost sinful not to die immediately after.

“Fuck, right there Thena. Rig-” you couldn’t breathe, in the most fabulous way. It was like breathing, speaking, would take away from your experience of this feeling, this moment. You couldn’t have that.

Thena was a dancer, graceful yet impactful in her movements. They were precise and direct and carried everything that couldn’t be said. You saw it in her fighting style, and you felt it in the way she was fucking you.

“I love you”

“We are now one.”

“I love you.”

“You are an extension of me.”

It almost felt like she was speaking all these thoughts directly in your head. You honestly didn’t want to think about the probability of that. Mostly because you reached your peak and as you came undone and felt warmth unleash inside of you, you had to open your eyes to make sure you weren’t going crazy when you heard fireworks above you.

“Happy New Year,” said your blonde girlfriend, as she tried to catch her breath.

“The happiest.” You mumbled as you pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

You could have fallen asleep right there, consequences be damned. And you would’ve if it wasn’t for Thena speaking.

“I think we dented your car.” She mumbled.

“That’s okay. It’s one of Kingo’s.” You mumbled right back.

You would get up eventually. But for now, you wanted to enjoy this new bond that had been formed between you two.

[oneshotnewbie]

Athena grant and f reader. Reader has worked with athena for years, but unknown to athena, is being hurt by her girlfriend. Athena figures it out, and confronts reader, promising to protect her, and helps her leave her abuser, letting her stay in the grant home. Athena admits to Michael that she's always loved reader, which is why she's so protective. Reader overhears and admits her feelings as well?

BTW you are the only one who writes for athena....you are my new favorite human

A/n: First of all; I love to be a new favorite human!🥹Secondly; thank you for requesting for it, I really like writing for her! Third and last- This story takes place at a time when Athena and Michael are still together and Michael is still unaware of his attraction to the same sex. Hope it is okay for you! ♥

---

When you woke up, you already knew what had happened and why you were in a bare room that smelled of nothing but disinfectant and rubber gloves. You could still clearly remember last night when you came home from work exhausted and already were frustrated at the front door about how the apartment looked like, knowing that you still had to clean up the apartment after your hard shift.

It started with a little question about the simple why and eventually, a trifle ignited an argument. Unstoppable screaming that started with yelling words at each other intended to hurt the other turned into an even more reckless verbal assault from her.

She was about a head taller and stronger than you, and even if you tried to fight back, she would be brutally pinning you against the wall in no time. You could fell bruises everywhere instantly when your back hit the wall and angry flashing eyes looked down at you. From then on, the blue miracle began.

You shook your head roughly to free yourself from the memories of the previous night and slowly, you turned to the side and narrowed your eyes sharply as an unspeakable pain ripped through your body.

You closed your eyes and tried to focus on your own heartbeat as your hearing prioritized the voices outside the door. You were able to sort out agitation and irritability in the individual voices and listened intently.

"You are not authorized to enter the room. You are not a relative. In addition, the condition of my patient.." the doctor said in a shrill voice and you heard the material of her smock scratching on the door- she probably had her arms crossed and demonstratively placed herself in the doorway to your room.

"I am Athena Grant, I am working as a field sergeant at the Los Angeles Police Department. She is my partner and I want to see her." stated the policewoman hard, raised her eyebrows defiantly and thus interrupted the doctor´s sentence.

This, who was hardly older than 40, sighed hard and watched her opposite with a look. She was almost intimidated by the self-confidence that oozed out of Athena and she nodded with defeat. "If so, I will let you in. But I cannot promise you she will be awake. She is badly injured."

She hastily pushed herself past her and entered the room with caution. The door creaked shut, despite the effort to close it quietly and she cursed herself under her breath.

"Y/n.." the black haired walked over to your bed and carefully grasped the hand that was resting on the side of your body. You slowly opened your eyes and blinked several times. Your gaze was blurred and limited, but you recognized the special way her fingers danced on the back of your hand immediately. "…thena."

She swallowed hard at the sight of you. Your left eye was completely swollen shut and blue, your lip was split and a scratch ran down your cheekbone to the center of your jaw. Your arms were covered with bruises that shone in all colors on your skin- fresh as well as already healing ones and your torso, which was fixated with tape, indicated that you had at least one rib broken. "What the hell happened? Who was that?"

You kept staring at her, your mouth opening and closing. You knew there was no point in lying, she was way too good at her job for that. You carefully lifted your head a little to look into her eyes. A few moments passed before your facial expressions changed an tears welled up in your eyes.

"My girlfriend.." you stammered, but the lump in your throat choked off any voice. "She did that."

Athena´s jaw dropped and she looked at you in shook and disbelief. "How long?"

You sighed softly and closed your heavy and tired eyes; the images from all the times your girlfriend had hurt you coming up again and finally letting the tears flow. "A few months."

"Sweetheart.." she held your hand even tighter, stroked the back of your hand soothingly and sat down on the free space at your waist. "I will make sure you are safe from now on. I will help you get away from this woman and I will protect you at all cost with my whole life. You are not alone anymore."

Alone. That was the cue. You had felt alone, lonely and cold but it felt good and right to be able to tell the truth to your best friend. You trusted her with your life.

After days of being tied to the bed and feeling like you were in prison, you were finally released with a clear conscience and Athena took you home. But not back to your apartment, no. It was her house you found yourself after you felt asleep in the car, where you should stay for a while as long as she wasn't sure that the person who did this to you would be charged and stand trial.

Even when you asked her to change the locks on your doors and be allowed back into your own apartment because you didn´t feel comfortable sleeping at hers when she had a family to care of her own, she strongly said no and you felt defeated.

There was no point in arguing with her. The woman remained stubborn.

---

Michael had suspected it, always known it but never wanted to believe his own thoughts.

The tall man sat uneasily at the kitchen counter, tipping down a much too generously poured glass of scotch, that he desperately needed now, while staring at his wife, which was leaning on the stove in front of him and biting her lip anxiously.

He knew the alcohol didn´t solve his current emotional state and situation, but it did help him get over the news.

"Michael, I really love her and I have realized that now." The bald man gave a short snort, shook his head and took a long gulp of the burning alcohol. Just thinking about his wife having a crush on her partner and letting her throw away 14 years of marriage hurt him so much that his soul could not get enough of that tanned, hard liquor in his hands.

He had always expected it, repetitive when Athena became a completely different and brighter person with you, when she always stood next to you at parties and celebration and gave you the same look she had given him years ago when she still was in love with him.

There had been indications of this so often and he had disregarded and suppressed them every time. "When I saw her in the hospital, my heart broke into a thousand pieces and I realized my love for her. I did not want to admit it to myself, tried to suppress the feelings but I cannot do it anymore."

Michael wasn´t angry. Rather he was delighted to see the person he valued the most in life happy. Even if it wasn´t with him.

"When are you going to tell her? You can´t dance around each other for life." he asked and his gaze turned once more to his wife. She looked at him questioningly as if she didn´t know what he meant by his previous said sentence. "Around each other? What do you mean?"

"Tell me, are you blind? The feelings are not one-sided. She has feelings for you too and has been for quite a while."

A short but deep silence settled between the two. Athena closed her eyes and shook her head, unsure of the truth of his observation.

"He is right." It was not a second before her head snapped in the direction of your words, startled, and she bit the inner of her cheek as she realized what the two of them had revealed through their conversation. "How much did you hear?"

"I am standing here long enough to confirm that your feelings are not the only ones." The black haired woman, who had recently confessed her love to you unnoticed, looked at you with big dull eyes.

"We have known each other for so long and I still remember exactly how we met back then. You were and still are perfection in my eyes and it might sound surprising to you because I never showed it to you because I was afraid of destroying your marriage but I have loved you for what seems like forever. I am not sure how to put into words how I fell about you but god damn, I love you so much."

[devilwomcn]

THENA + @bridgesbxrned​ LOCATION: Thena & Gil’s Home in Australia

It hasn’t been this bad in a few decades. Not since the last time Druig had to step in, when Thena found herself drowning so deeply into her own mind and the grief that followed that he’d had to put her to sleep. This time, her bout of Mahd Wy’ry almost as draining — though she hasn’t exactly been coherent enough to realize it. Her eyes have been glazed over more often than not for the better part of a week, her body tensed and ready for battle, and not even Gilgamesh could bring her back to Earth.

So he’d called for back up in the form of Druig, a safety net just in case they have to put her to sleep again. It hasn’t gotten to that point yet, but with how long this has been drawn out and how unhinged she’s becoming, it might. Tonight has proven to be somewhat calm, despite the glassy haze that flicks in and out of Thena’s vision. Gilgamesh, despite his best efforts to stay alert, has nodded off on the couch following a long week of fending her off — which is dangerous, she’d scold him if she was even slightly in her right mind, because he certainly needs his rest but he should find it in their bedroom with the door locked and barricaded to keep her out. Though Thena knows better than anyone that her sweet Gilgamesh would never dream of doing that.

It leaves her crumbled in a corner of the back porch, trying desperately to keep a grip on herself so as not to disturb his rest. But her body tenses when she hears footsteps and the sound of a door shutting, her vision is blurred but she can make out the figure coming closer and closer to her in the darkness. Her fingers instinctively flex to form a long, golden spear as she pushes her body further into the corner of the outside wall to support her weight — the events of the last week have taken a toll on her, but even in her exhaustion Thena is ready in seconds for battle, as pathetic as she may look. 

“Don’t come closer—” she rasps the words out, head shaking as her veins pulse a glimmering gold. She can’t see him but her brain supplies that this figure, whoever it is, must be the one to cause all of the devastation her mind has been supplying her with, and Gilgamesh isn’t there so they must be the last two people left on the planet — how she’d survived it all, Thena doesn’t know. Either way, she lifts the tip of her spear to his chest. “You killed them.”

[themculibrary]

Gilgamesh/Thena Masterlist

25 Days of Thena and Gilgamesh (ao3) - Bright_Boisterous_Bananas M, 5k

Summary: A collection of Drabbles for Thena and Gilgamesh!

Countdown to Christmas with 25 little snippets of pure love, pure fluff, pure pining and more!

academy babylon (ao3) - wiigs N/R, 42k

Summary: welcome to academy babylon where everything is very alternate universe, but essentially ajak is headmaster, all the eternals are professors/teachers, and thena has ptsd but gilgamesh is there for her.

A Quiet Language, All Their Own (ao3) - Bright_Boisterous_Bananas T, 1k

Summary: Silence isn’t silent at all, not for Thena and Gilgamesh. They fill it with a special language, all their own; the language of flowers.

even when it all becomes too much (ao3) - funnefatale G, 7k

Summary: "Are you a Valkyrie?" the child – Thor, she recalls someone saying – asks. He doesn't wait for her response before he proudly informs her, "When I grow up I'm going to be a Valkyrie."

.

alternatively: Thena and Gilgamesh accidentally pseudo-adopt a little god child.

Five Times Everyone Assumed Thena and Gilgamesh Were a Couple (ao3) - INMH T, 2k

Summary: And one time they definitely were.

Home Is a Person (ao3) - Highclasstrash G, 1k

Summary: Australia, 1520 - 2023.

How to Build a House (ao3) - iamjustabird T, 19k

Summary: How Thena and Gil ended up in the outback and how their cozy little home for two came to be. It started with just the two of them under the stars after a long journey, and now they have to figure out who they are without the other Eternals, or Arishem, or their mission. Who do they get to be with just each other?

i remember . . . (ao3) - d0mesticbliss E, 4k

Summary: After the events of the Eternals, Thena spends some time to herself, taking in the consequences of their actions.

An unexpected visitor startles her.

Lay Your Hand Within My Hand (ao3) - Bright_Boisterous_Bananas E, 1k

Summary:

“Thena. I need to talk with you.” She stiffens, feeling the meaning of his words. “Not now Gil.” “Yes now.” He corrects, firm but so soft. “I don’t have my memories, and I need to know.”

When the other Eternals arrive with the news of the Emergence, it spurs something in Gilgamesh to have a long awaited heart-to-heart with his best friend, the one he loves above all others.

Life in the Margins (ao3) - Jupiter77 druig/makkari, gilgamesh/thena, ikaris/sersi T, 98k

Summary: In one of the reviews of Eternals, the film critic commented that Makkari and Druig had a romance in the margins of the movie. This story explores the margins.

Not a burden (ao3) - TheShipper47 G, 1k

Summary: What happens after Thena hurts Gilgamesh during an episode of Mahd wy'ry?

on a wednesday, in a cafe (ao3) - TaraLy T, 111k

Summary: Thenamesh Coffee Shop AU. No angst, no plot, only love (and food).

peace and quiet (ao3) - agentromanoff06 G, 1k

Summary: In the kitchen, Thena reflects on her time spent with Gilgamesh. She is safe, she is loved.

reasons are for people you're meant to lose (ao3) - funnefatale G, 8k

Summary: or the one in which Thena tries to move on but can't.

shattered (ao3) - dramaticfangirl1881 G, 2k

Summary: “I’m sorry,” she whispers, the words thick in her throat.

“I hurt you.”

~in which thena and gilgamesh both feel guilty for hurting each other and they just have a lot of feelings about it

Teach Me To Love (ao3) - iamjustabird G, 49k

Summary: Thena has just moved next door to her old friend Phastos with her young son Druig in tow. She's worried about how he's going to adjust to the move and to his new school, but Phastos assures her that his friend and neighbour Gilgamesh is the best teacher a kid could ask for. She'll see about that.

the blues and then purple pink skies (ao3) - TaraLy G, 4k

Summary: It’s been a month since their first conversation on the bus, how are Thena and Gilgamesh doing?

the secret ingredient is love (ao3) - funnefatale T, 1k

Summary: "I have never been less attracted to you than when you wear that," she says, taking a seat at the kitchen table as he puts on his apron.

He laughs, loud and deep, and something inside of her warms. "My dear, considering the mess we made last night, that might not be such a bad thing."

[wineworshipped]

Gods bless Sigyn for the mercy she offers him in finishing that thought. He’s a god of truth—but he’s never been good at it. The emotional truth is easy to tell, but changes like the weather, making his truths equally as mercurial. He can’t bring himself to smile, but his expression softens, merlot eyes conveying a gratitude his lips refuse to reflect. He keeps his eyes on hers and grounds himself in them rather than his spiraling mind or her branching scars. He knew she’d get it. The minor gods always do; they stick together more than most gods cling to their pantheons. He might be an Olympic god, but his pantheon’s certainly never treated him as equal. The forgotten gods of other pantheons—Sigyn, Sekhmet, Chandra, gods and goddesses like them—have always felt more like home to the outcast god.

Thank fuck for that right now.

“Y’know,” he starts, “I always wondered about that. You two. Right around the time the mortals started deciding Loki was some leather clad twink, I started wondering what was gonna become of you guys. You should talk to Sepphie, figure out who does her and the hubbie’s PR. If they can turn a kidnapping into a by-choice tale of feminism, there’s gotta be something they can do for you.” It might sound a little hollow, off-putting, but he means it sincerely. It had mended long-destroyed bridges between Demeter and Hades; if a little good PR was capable of that, there was nothing it couldn’t do!

Of course, now he’s using Loki and Sigyn as a shield to avoid talking about the one thing he knows he needs to talk about. No telling what stories Sigyn has heard—some are more shocking, less truthful, than others. If they even tell of the marriage at all, that is.

“A lot of shit was going on at the time. Ignoring the…let’s call it ‘family drama,’ I’d just gotten back to Greece after a few years outside of it. Kinda hard even now to tell how long—wasn’t in my right mind, story for another day. I’d just gotten off a pirate ship (again, long story) when I found her grieving in the surf. She was trying to drown herself.” The sun was beginning to dip back down into the sea, turning the ship in the distance into a tiny black shadow against it. Parts of her dress floated out as if reaching for the ship, torn in anger and pain and grief from her body. Her eyes burned with tears and saltwater and in their reddened state he had seen all the red that colored his vision, fueled his desires, for the last years…and for the first time since his ascension, the hardened shell over his heart cracked. For her. For her pain.

“I…wasn’t sure what to do. So I scooped her up out of the ocean and brought her further into the island with me. I told her that if she still wanted to die, she could do it in the morning and I’d even help her. We didn’t talk after that for a while. When the last of the sun was gone, she told me her story. It’s actually easier to find that part than it is to find our marriage—the, uh, hah!, the CliffNotes version is that there was a Minotaur, and a princess, and a whole lotta dead kids—and then a hero who killed a Minotaur and tricked two princesses. Stopped the slaughter but left his own savior for dead when he decided to pursue other ass.” A crass retelling, but no less true. Theseus and Phaedra were heroes, but not good people. Ariadne had been both. “You can imagine how she felt.

“A lotta people—here’s a laugh for ya—think I scared him off, or had Thena do it. (Can you imagine Thena doing me any favors? Hah!) But all I did was listen to her tale and trade her a few of my own. I think she expected me to be gone the next morning. I know I expected her to leave after she woke. But I was there and she stayed—more than stayed! She took charge!” Dio smiles, gently, lost in the warm haze of pleasant memories. He isn’t telling the story anymore; the story tells itself through his lips. “Funny how they do that, mortals. I had no plans to leave the island for a long time to come and I guess she just assumed we were both stranded there. She started organizing shelter and water, had me on food detail—flipped a switch overnight. We lived like that for a few weeks. Got comfortable. I was already in love with her, deciding how to break the whole ‘I’m a god’ thing to her, when Silenus showed up and took care of that for me.”

Oh, those dark, beautiful eyes, branded into his very soul from the first time they had met his own, how they widened in shock! He expected to feel chastened, apologetic, but he instead he found laughter rising in his throat and bubbling out into the air between them all. His clever Ariadne, savior of Crete and Athens, struck dumb by what she must now be seeing as having been obvious all along: a beautiful, mysterious stranger who was shipwrecked but unafraid, who feared neither the night nor the wilds, always able to acquire whatever was needed but seldom supplying answers—who else could he be but a god? Her eyes, those eyes, his stars, searched him carefully when she spoke. “Why didn’t you tell me?” His smile grew as he leaned close, tucking one wild curl behind her ear. “Why didn’t you ask?” When her laughter married with his in that moment, his soul married hers; the ritual days later would only confirm what was already true.

Tears flood present eyes and Dio has to look away; in the face of one faithful wife he fears catching a glimpse of another. He hasn’t spoken her name since Rome fell.

“God of ecstasy, joy, liberation—I had never known its Form before her, and I haven’t known it since.” Oof. You know he’s feeling some type of way when the inner narration and the outer swap places.

He’s a mess. He’s a mess and he knows that, and that’s why he hasn’t gone home—not to his Manhattan apartment, not to his villa on Olympus, not even to a fucking temple. It’s just that time of year again. He loosens his tie and collapses into the seat next to her, hair already a mess from where he’s pulled, carded, pushed back, and otherwise rearranged it in his frenetic fit.

This isn’t something he likes to share. But it’s just that time of year again and he doesn’t really want a repeat of what happened in Rome. He just also can’t trust many people, gods especially, with this.

“It’s…—y’know one of the worst parts of being a god?” Attacking this indirectly might make it easier. “Everyone knows your business. Even the private shit! But they don’t…know. Y’know? They hear a story and they think…whatever they’re gonna think, you know how mortals are and gods are even worse…but they never….”

Okay. Or attacking it indirectly might just lead him around in another short, frustrating circle. He drops his face into his hand with a groan, raking long fingers back up through his hair.

Fuck it. If there’s going to be a god to hear this and not judge—or at least not fucking weaponize it against him—it’s Sigyn. Probably. He takes a breath and lets it go, leaving his hand on his face so only one eye is left unobscured, staring directly into her face. Inviting her to stare back. Not everyone knows this story, somehow, even though it’s thousands of years old and not exactly a secret.

“Did you know I was married?”

[wannabeschyulersister]

timing

Request: hi, I was wondering if I could request a druig x reader! maybe the reader is an eternal and after reuniting the spark they had but always tried to hide revives and they try to figure this out while fighting the deviants and the whole celestial thing! y’know, flirty, fluffy, angsty<33

*SPOILERS OF THE ETERNALS AHEAD*

Gif is not mine. Credit to owner. 

Warnings: spoilers and a curse word 

A/N: I set this during the Amazon scene instead of the end scene since my last imagine was based on that one. Hope you still enjoy it! 

The calmness of the Amazon was extremely chilling to you. There were goosebumps forming on your body even though it was extremely humid out. Not only did the environment make you nervous, but also the fact that you were seeing a certain person for the first time in a very, very long time. 

Centuries and centuries had passed since the last time you’d laid eyes on Druig. 

You’d managed to spend time with the other Eternals every once in a while, but never could make your way to Druig. 

The “relationship” that you had with him confused you for the last few millennium. It was a “will they, won’t they” kinda thing. No one that you’d ever met since you stepped foot on Earth made you feel the way that Druig did. He made you feel so safe and secure. Like nothing could ever harm you when he was in your presence. 

Sometimes, you found yourself envying Sersi. She was able to move on from the shit show that was her relationship with Ikaris and found happiness with Dane. You didn’t think that was possible for you. 

It was clear to everyone else that there was a spark between you and Druig. It was in the way that you would both act around each other. There was always this nervousness that you felt around him. Your cheeks would heat up and you could hardly look him in the eyes when you spoke. 

Druig was normally so cool and collected around the other Eternals. His wit and sarcasm would take them by surprise. However, when he was around you, he turned into this bashful man. Sprite would tease him about it and he would always denied everything. 

There was one time in Babylon that you thought something could potentially happen. It was a night where you were all together for dinner. You sat on one side of the table while he was directly across from you. There were some sly looks between you both. You’d glance at him and quickly look away before he could see. You didn’t know he was doing the same thing. 

You went to bed that night wondering if it was all in your head. The feelings that you felt for him was so unlike anything you felt. You loved the other Eternals. You knew you were in love with Druig. 

The fear of rejection stopped you from ever trying to pursue something with him. 

Your feelings laid dormant until the very moment that you saw Druig step out those double doors. It was like no time had passed at all. The last time you had seen him was filled with chaos. The fighting outside. The fighting with the other Eternals. He had been so angry at Ajak at that time. Thena was worried about losing herself. 

He never told you goodbye. 

You were the first one that he looked at despite being near the back with Sprite. He could pick you out of a crowd so easily as if you were connected. 

After Sersi and Ikaris filled Druig in about everything that was going on, you slipped out of the room and went for a little walk. It was a little bit too overwhelming to be in the same room as him. All of the feelings that you had for him came swarming back once you saw him. You wondered if he felt anything at all. 

“Long time, no see.” His voice snapped you out of your thoughts. 

You turned and saw him approach you alone. The others were milling around trying to figure out the next move. There wasn’t much time left. You spent so much of you time on this planet. You’ve watched people live their lives, fall in love, be happy. You couldn’t just let it all come crashing down on the innocent. 

“It has been a really long time.” You agreed. 

Druig stood in front of you keeping a little distance, “It’s been far too long since we’ve seen each other. Longer than I would’ve liked.” 

“You never tried to come and find me.” 

“I knew you were okay. You’ve always been the type that didn’t need anyone to protect them. You’re a strong one.” Druig reached over and pinched your cheek a little like he use to always do. 

You slapped his hand away. That was something that you always did too. “I know I’m strong. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have tried to contact me or something. That’s what you do when-“ 

Druig took a step closer, urging you on, “When?” 

“When you care about someone.” 

Druig’s eyes seemed brighter in that moment if possible, “You think that I care about you?” 

“I thought you did at one point in time.” You looked away. Nerves were getting the best of you. 

“You’re right. I do care about you, (Y/n). I should’ve tried to find you but I didn’t think that you would want me to.” 

“Why would you think that?” 

“I heard that you’ve gone to visit the others all this time. Last I heard, you’ve been with Sprite and Sersi in London.” 

Druig was keeping tabs on you? As much as you wanted to be upset with him, you knew that you could’ve tried to come and see him as well. It was the fear of rejection that stopped you yet again. 

“Who told you that?” You wondered. 

“I have my sources.” He smirked and you couldn’t help but smile as well. That damn smirk sent your heart into a tizzy every time. 

“Well, your sources were right. I have been with Sprite and Sersi for a little while. Before all of this, I was planning on going out on my own.” 

Druig seemed surprised by this, “Is that so? I wonder if your heart would’ve led you here….to me.” 

“Maybe, maybe not.” 

He smiled a little at your playfulness, “I think it would’ve.” 

“My heart has made me question so much. I think most of all…. its questioned how its felt about you.” 

“How do you feel about me?” He asked you softly. 

“Druig, I’m in love with you. I’ve always have been.” You finally said the words that you’d been dying to say to him. 

“(Y/n), I-“ 

Before he could finish his sentence, you heard the screams of the others. Druig turned around and stood protectively in front of you. 

“Deviants!” Sprite shouted. There were too many of them. You didn’t know how they were able to keep finding the group. 

Ikaris had been carried off by one Deviant while Kingo fought another. You didn’t know where Thena and Gilgamesh where. It was pure and utter madness. 

A Deviant swooped down and tried to grab Druig. You were gifted with energy manipulation. Before the Deviant could take away the man that you loved, you hurled a golden orb at it. It screeched so loud that it stunned you for a moment. 

Druig fought the Deviant off as you harnessed more energy. One swipe of your hand and it was flown twenty feet away into an empty building. 

“Are you going to finish your sentence?” You breathed out. 

Druig laughed, “Is this the right time to have this conversation?” 

“It’s the perfect time. These fuckers are everywhere and the world is possibly ending. When else are we going to get to talk?” 

The same Deviant managed to get out of the wreckage of the building. You knew that you hadn’t killed it. 

Druig stood in front of you as it ran towards you both, “I love you with all of my heart and then some, love.” 

If it weren’t for the horrible timing, you would’ve kissed him. 

Stretching your hands out with your palms faced out, the gold swirled all around you and struck the Deviant in its chest. 

“So….. how long have you loved me?” You questioned. 

Druig shook his head playfully, “When all of this is over, we really have to have a discussion about your timing.” 

“This shouldn’t take me long.” You moved your hands up and the Deviant followed. It screeched in the air and tried to fight back. You were stronger. 

“I knew that I loved you that night at dinner in Babylon. You remember? You kept sneaking looks at me. You were so beautiful that night. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you.” Druig placed his hand on your shoulder. You looked away from the Deviant and into his eyes. 

“This would be a really bad time to kiss you, wouldn’t it?” Druig asked as he glanced down at your lips. 

“You never were one to care about timing.” 

Druig pressed his lips against yours so softly that it surprised you. He was so gentle when it came to you. You wondered how gentle he would be when it came to other situations. 

The Deviant must’ve felt forgotten because it let out an Earth shattering screech. Sadly, your kiss with Druig had to come to an end. 

“Just give me one moment.” You winked at him. Using your powers, you tore the Deviant in two. The body came crashing down to the rainforest floor. 

“That was so badass.” Druig blurted out. 

You looked at him, “I’ve been called that before a time or two.” 

Druig cupped your face between his hands and planted another kiss on you, “Now that I’ve kissed you, I don’t ever want to stop.” 

“I wouldn’t dare try to stop you.” 

Before Druig could do it again, Kingo came up to the both of you, “My documentary is going to have a long story! Karun, did you get all of that?!” 

“Yes, sir! It’s going to be beautiful!” Karun cheered. 

[redheadspark]

Holding Back

Holding Back

Summary: After the Eternal Reader saves him from a near death experience with a Deviant, Druig asks her to teach him how to fight and defend himself.  This then sparks something in the both of them they never saw coming

WC: 6,816 words

Warnings: Nothing serious really. Some fluff and a HINT tension (I’m no SMUT writer, sorry )

A/N: I literally wrote this in one day with the thought of Druig learning how to throw a punch! 

My Eternal Reader has the cosmic Energy of producing an Exoskeleton around herself to give her brute strength in fighst!

I tried editing it as best as I could, sorry for any error or spelling mistakes!  Hope you enjoy!

WC: 4,459 words

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                             Babylon

The first time you saved Druig was during your early days on the planet.

Babylon was still developing as a community and as a society, the humans there were not but grateful for the work and service of The Eternals that were there.  You kept the humans safe from the Deviants, which became a daily chore for you all to fend off and kill.  Yet you and your Eternal family were there to destroy all the Deviants on the planet, it was set in stone by the Celestial you created you: Arishem.  You have yet to meet the Celestrial himself, but Ajak was the only one who could communicate with Arishem, so you all had to rely on her and what she would tell us.  Meeting after meeting, it was the same two rules:

Destroy the Deviants, and do not interfere with human conflicts.

Just like the others, you were finding yourself falling in love with the human race.  They were fragile, yes, but they were also filled with joy and light. They beamed in wonder at you when you would defend their home from Deivants, seeing your midnight gray armor shining in the light as you fought with closed fists and level feet.  Your cosmic energy glowed around your body as you could produce an exoskeleton that was practically nearly indestructible.  You could take blow after blow from a Deviant, not breaking a sweat or even getting a single scarp from an assault.  You weren't as powerful as Gilgamesh, nor as quick on your feet like Makkari or even Thena with her weapons, but your exoskeleton was a weapon in itself.

You knew how to fight, and you fight well.

Not all of your Eternal family members could fight, which wasn't a bother or a burden.  You each had a gift or ability to use and bring, always bringing each other up with praises and endearing words.  You loved each ability that was used, especially the ones who were always underestimated.  Phastos was a marvelous inventor, making things out of thin air that helped the evolution of humans.  Sersi was gentle and kind, transforming things that were beneficial to the humans that were wrapped around her finger.  Sprite was good with her illusions, painting a tale to tell the humans that entranced them and gave them hope.  Ajak was the soothing and kind mother figure of our group with healing hands and gentle words.

Which left Druig.

He controlled the mind of humans, being able to bend their will with just a look from his glowing eyes.  Like the others, he knew how powerful he was and would try to use it for the better of the humans.  Yet in contrast with the others, Druig was more on a beaten path that seemed a bit off from the rest.  He saw and felt things in the humans that you didn't nor did the others.  Perhaps he knew how frail they were and would try to prevent them from demise.  Ajak would remind him plenty of times to not interfere with their inner conflict with one another, which always left a sour taste in his mouth.  You didn't say it, but you saw how sad he would be at times for not stopping a fight or an inner human war.  

You two were cordial, good friends to be precise.  You would snort from the banter he would partake in with either Phastos or Kingo, showing his sarcastic side and poking fun with his fellow Eternals every once in a while.  Even seeing him help the humans with farming or repairing their homes brought a new sense of light to him.  He was never one to want to fight.  He was the opposite, actually.  When there was a scuffle, he would try and diffuse it.  If there was any sense of a fight about to break out, he would stop it then and there.  It was safe to say the aloof Eternal was growing on you, very slowly.  You never think of it at first, it would take you years to realize it.

With this one recent fight, we had at least 3 massive Deviants to take care of.  You were already out on patrol when you saw them coming, warning the others just in time to get ready for the fight.  Ajak and Sprite stayed on the Domo to watch inc are we needed help, Sersi and Druig were going to get the humans into the walls of the city, away from the fight and out of harm's way.  You were partnered with Makkari in taking on one of the massive Deviants while Ikaris, Gilgamesh, and Thena were taking on the second Deviant on the other side of the city, which left Ikaris and Kingo with the third near the outlands.   

Makkari was moving left and right swiftly and was light on her feet, taking out blow after blow with her fists against the Deviant in front of us.  You got a few clicks into the beast yourself, using your exoskeleton ability within the fists and arms to weaken the strength of the Deviant down.  Makkari was a good fighter, using her speed with her punches and then having a sonic boom flow through her to land a massive blow. 

Once the Deviant that you were battling took its last breath in a heap on the dusty ground,  the both of you sighed in relief as we were finished with this one particular Deviant.  You looked over at Makkari, seeing her wipe a small sliver of sweat off her forehead as you walked over with a small grin on your face.

That one was tough, you signed to her, seeing her grin back at you.

But we did it.  We're a good team!  Makkari reasoned back with you with swift movements in her fingers.  You were about to say something else when a massive roar was heard in the distance.  You and Makkari looked over in the direction, seeing not too far off a cluster of humans were rushing through the city gates, a Deviant not too far behind them.  You panic, hearing the screams of the humans as the Deviant was coming closer and closer at a rapid speed.

Makkari grabbed your hand, speeding the both of you over to the area.  It was within a second, the two of you and on your feet right in front of the humans.  Makkari started speeding around, ushering humans one at a time through the agues.  You looked too, seeing Druig was off to the side with glowing eyes.  The humans that were rushing through the gate had glowing eyes too, having you realize Druig was controlling them in getting them inside.  Would Ajak approve of this?  It didn't matter, because your heart was dropping from what you were seeing.

The Deviant saw Druig, running over to him instead of the humans.

"DRUIG!" You scream, running as fast as you could the small distance over to where he was.  You had good 30 feet to run over, the Deviant getting closer and closer to him.  Druig, hearing your voice, snapped out of his mind control and his eyes went back to their regular blue, hearing the roar of the Deviant that was barreling his way.  You ran faster, determined to get there first since you knew Druig had no chance of moving away in time.  He looked at the beast, his eyes going big and his stance going stiff as if he was a statue itself.  

You slid on your knees to be between them, your exoskeleton energy hovering over your body just in time.  Facing Druig, you threw your arms out to make your exoskeleton expand into a shield around yourself and in front of the Deviant.  You stood on your feet, feeling the blow of the Deviant against your back as it slammed into you.  The force was so strong Druig fell onto his back as the Deviant ricocheted off of you and over your makeshift shield in a defeated roar.  You didn't feel any pain from the impact, but seeing the Deviant soar over your head through your peripheral vision.  You were about to look up at the Deviant that was flying over your head when something else was catching your eye.  

Druig was on the ground, on his back, and he was staring at you with his wide blue eyes.

Something inside you shifted, almost like a piece that was too big to too small to fit into a formation.  You had no idea if it was because of his eyes and how they were both wide and bright, or the fact that he looked vulnerable on the ground there beneath my feet.  But something was telling you to protect him, to shield him with all your might and with all your strength you had within yourself.  He was kind, kinder than the other would give him credit for.  Yet the others almost overlooked it, thinking of his quietness and sarcastic nature.  But he was your friend, someone who was almost itched in the back of your mind and who you knew to be important to this family that you had.  

Seeing his eyes stare directly right at you made you almost lose your breath.  You never saw him so vulnerable and exposed before.  All you were thinking about was making sure he stayed alive, but that's not what he was seeing back at you.

The Deviant slammed into the wall behind Druig, making you breath out a few deep breaths while still in your crouched position and hovering slightly over Druig.  He was frozen, almost petrified by what he had just witnessed.  You breathed out carefully, moving your arms back down at your sides and standing completely back up.  Your exoskeleton energy disappeared as you looked down at Druig, moving your hair out of your eyes before you finally reached down to take his hand.  You hoisted him up, noticing his calloused hand was slightly shaking.

You stood in front of each other, making you look over his form to make sure he was truly okay.  His eyes were still trained on you with either shock or admiration, maybe even fascination.  

"You okay?" You asked, seeing that he was still somewhat frozen.  Perhaps in shock, but you saw him gulp as he was almost lost in your eyes.  He nodded quickly then, not his cool and collected self.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he replied, his voice sounding almost scratchy with his answer.  You merely smiled, about to say something else to him to break this weird tension.  It felt like tension, and there was no real reason for it.  You saved him from an assault from a Deviant, you would have done it with anyone else.  But why did this feel….unique?

"Hey!  I could use your help over here!"  It was Kingo that called out to you, having both yourself and Druig look over to see him trying to tire down the Deviant he was up against.  You shot a look back at Druig, patting him lightly on the arm.

  "Stay out of trouble," You replied in a huff, then running off from Druig over to the direction of Kingo.  You weren't thinking about too much, merely thinking that you were doing what you were supposed to do.  But you didn't realize that Druig was watching you with his bright blue eyes, still in some kind of trance.  

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"Teach me how to fight,"

You paused, standing in the middle of the meeting room of the Domo as you heard Druig right behind you.  You turned on your heel to see him standing in the hallway, watching you with determination in his eyes as he was hovering slightly in the dim light.  You raised an eyebrow at him.

"How to fight?" You asked him, not understanding.

"Yes," he replied lightly, walking over to you a bit as you cocked your head at him, "I've watched how you spar with Thena or Kingo, even with Makkari.  I wanna know how to fight like that,"

"Why would you wanna learn?" You asked him, intrigued with the notion of showing Druig how to fight, "You hating fighting,"

"I do," He hummed in agreement, "But it doesn't mean that I don't want to be prepared if I do need to fight,"

"Prepared?" You questioned him, almost cocking a grin at him then folding your arms in front of yourself, "I take it you're expecting to fight another human while we're here.  Doesn't sound like you, Druig.  But why me?  Why not ask Thena since she's the stronger fighter, or even Makkari or Ikaris,"

"Thena scares me a bit with how she fights," Druig admitted quietly, though you grinned at him since he felt a bit flustered in telling you how he felt about Thena, "Makkari's too fast for me to keep up."

"And Ikaris?" you had to ask, yet you saw him grimace a bit.  You then sighed, shaking your head slightly.  Druig and Ikaris were never on the greatest of terms, especially when it came to the philosophy of humans and our duties as Eternals.  Ikaris was the second in command, and you did see how he listened to Ajak's every word with bated breath.  Druig saw it as annoying.

"Never mind about him," You hummed then, "But....me?"

"You're a great fighter," Druig explained, "I've seen you fight.  You're precise and smooth in your movements.  I need to know how to move like that so I won't be as vulnerable as I was out there,"

"First of all, that was a Deviant," You reminded him, "We can still be killed by a Deviant if we're not careful.  And since you can't use your mind control on a Deviant, you expect to just rely on your fists?"

He said nothing but was still staring at you for some kind of answer.  He was a stubborn one at that, never blowing with the wind of decisions that were thrown at him.  You could see it in how he was staring at you and in how he was standing there with his hands folded in front of him, he wasn't going to budge in his determination to have you teach him to fight.  It still felt insane for you to do this for him, out of everyone on the Domo.  You knew Thena and Makkari, even Ikaris for that matter, were way better at fighting when it came to tactics and a certain skill.  

Yet, he chose you.

You finally sighed, seeing there was no way out of this, "Fine.  I'll teach you,"

Druig grinned from ear to ear when he agreed, almost having his whole face light up in pure relief that you would agree with him.  You then held a singular finger up at him.

"We're gonna spar like the others, though," you explained, "No powers are allowed.  You're gonna learn the old fashion way,"

Druig held up his hands at you, a twinkle in his eyes as he still smiled at him.  You almost felt your heart stutter a bit now as he nodded.

"Whatever you say."

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Teaching Druig how to fight was a bit more of a challenge than you thought.

First off, the boy had lead in his feet.  That was the first thing you had to show him and train him on: being light on his feet.  Sure he tried to keep up, but after the first two sessions of him just trying to avoid being slammed by one of your hooks or getting his leg swiped, it was going to be harder for him to even just stay on the tip of his toes.  Every time he landed on his back or in some kind of hold, you could see the frustration in how he wasn't about to win a round.  But you would remind him that he was learning, seeing the stubbornness seeping in his stance when you would restart and try again.

He took every tip and criticism wholeheartedly.  You showed him how to move his arm in a punch, how to swiftly move his legs to dodge a strike and then re-center again.  You were calm in what you told him, seeing how he was an infant fighter.  When you saw he was getting tired or almost delirious, you ended the session.  But he wasn't all the way useless, he had some fire within him when it came to you showing him how to hold his own.  

It took a solid few months before you saw improvement.

"She worked you good, didn't she?" Phastos asked in a snort as he watched Druig slowly drag his feet to his spot in the meeting room, waiting for the rest of the group to come together for the morning briefing with Ajak.  You were sitting on the other side of the room with Thena and Makkari, staying silent with a small smirk on your face as Druig grunted and groaned while he sat down on the bench.  All Makkari could do was smile widely from her seat as she ate some fruit, amused at the mind controller and his sore body. Phastos chuckled next to Sprite, who was almost sporting a wide grin from seeing the mind controller with aching muscles.  Gilgamesh laughed from his seat next to Thena and yourself.  

"You know, it could be worse," Gilgamesh said to Druig, yet Druig glared at him now as Gilgamesh shrugged, "She's going easy on you,"

"How can you tell?" Druig asked in a low tone, keeping his glare at him as he was sitting a bit uncomfortably in his spot.

"You're still walking," Sprite explained from her spot on the otherwise of Kingo and Phastos, "When she spars with Ikaris, she works him so hard he hardly stands.  You're getting off light,"

"Alright, that's enough for now.  We have much to discuss today," Ajak floated into the room with Ikaris right on her heels, the others snapping over to her at attention.  Ajak gave Druig a quick look over before she then looked over in your direction, giving you a small concerned look.

"As reassuring and generous as it is that you're teaching Druig some self-defense, let's ease up on the sparing and have him rest," Ajak advised you, once again hearing the soft snickering of both Phastos and Sprite.  You merely nodded at your leader, saying nothing else before she gave you a small wink.  You just smiled, watching her turn back to the group to start the meeting.  You couldn't help but look over at Druig, seeing him rearrange himself on the seat before he finally found a good way to sit.  He looked at you then, having you give him a reassuring smile.  He smiled too, though it looked a bit strained when he did. But it was a smile none the less. Maybe you were going too hard on him, seeing that he could barely walk or sit without having some muscle pain.  

"At least he doesn't spar with me," Thena mumbled under her breath into your ear as you looked from Druig over to her now, seeing her give me one of her intense yet kind stares, "I would have made him bleed the first round.  You’re going easy on him, aren't you?"

"Not really, why?" You whispered back to her, seeing her cock her head at you.  Ajak was discussing something with Phastos and Ikaris, not even hearing both yourself and Thena talk to each other.

"It seems like you are, that you're afraid to hurt him," Thena explained some more, "You and I go at it hard, practically every time.  But with him….you're holding back,"

"He's not a fighter," you reminded her, "Not like us.  He wants to be though. I don’t want to hurt him, Thena."

"And yet he's learning from you," Thena countered back with you as she gave you a sincere smile, "You must be doing something right for Druig to come to you and only you,"

You said nothing else as Thena looked over at Ajak to discuss the new patrols that were going to be in place for the next week.  You stayed quiet, reeling what Thena said about Druig.  Thena was right: He only came to you.  He had others that he could have learned from, and you knew the other fighters in the group had their way in fighting and attacking.  However, he returned to you every time like clockwork. You weren't anything special when it came to actual fighting, you only had an exoskeleton to protect you and to use.  It wasn't that you doubted yourself in what you could do.  You were confident enough in your being.

But now you that a small sliver of insecurity from a mere comment from Thena, because of Druig.

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Druig was getting better as another few more months went by.  The soreness in his muscles was slipping away with every session you would do with him.  You could see the toned muscles building in his arms and legs, sculpting him down a bit to be more sharp and angular. His speed was getting faster and his footwork was much better.  Druig even looked forward to meeting with you in the late afternoons after his patrol, already putting the notes and tips you gave him to practice.  Although you were still winning fight after fight with him, he was no longer beating himself up too much about it.  It fueled him to do better.  Dodging a hook before moving around on his heel, ducking his head to barely miss hitting a blow against your rib.  

He was getting better.

When you two would take a break for a few rounds, you would sit together and find yourselves in deep talks.  You find it easy to talk to Druig, discussing the recent human activities there in Babylon.  Druig loved hearing you talk about what the humans would show you when you would walk around the city, willing to help them in dire times and be sincere.  You did love the humans, seeing how such a fragile but caring race grow right in front of your eyes and they watched you like a mere God.  

Druig, in return, exposed some of his fears and uncertainties of holding back with min color ability with the humans.  He would still help out in the open field, fixing homes that were damaged from attacks, or help Phastos in showing new tools to the humans.  It was simply nice to talk with him and you both grew close.

Closer than you ever thought.

He still stayed behind during Deviant attacks, but he didn't mind it.  You went out to protect the humans as you always did.  But after a fight, you gravitated over to Druig to discuss how the fight went.  He would listen on a still breath when you would tell him the play by play, almost entranced in what you would tell him.  It made me wonder why he would only want to listen to you and what you had to say about it as if you were far more important.  

Yet it was easy to talk with him, almost as easy as breathing or even running.  You both talked to each other constantly and with no hesitation, growing closer and closer together as friends and comrades with the Eternals.  He would crack a joke with you to make you laugh, or you would poke a jab about Ikaris under your breath and he would snort.  It was safe to assume, you two were rather close then.

But something was holding you back.

You were seeing him in a new light, seeing the highlights in his hair out in the sun when you would walk side by side.  Or you would notice a small beauty mark he had near his jawline, almost having an itching sensation to touch it with his fingers and his skin was indeed soft.  You started to notice these things when you were close in your sparring sessions, and it was making your stomach fit and somersault.  Was it because you two were growing together into a relationship that seemed more than friendship?  Perhaps was it because you loved hearing him talk and show more of his true self around you so easily and organically.  

You were getting afraid that you were catching feelings for him, something that was foreign to you and you've never felt before.  Sersi and Ikaris were already a couple there on the Domo, and although you were glad they were together and found their won concept of love, you didn't think you would find it yourself at that moment in time.  Love was the last thing on your list, the romantic kind anyway.  But it was slipping into your brain and your chest whenever you were around Druig.

Were you in love?  

It was like a cord that as wanting to snap in you, as soon as you realized you had feelings for the Eternal.  It was scaring you that you were seeing him in such a light, in a light that made you feel weak and almost exposed at the same time.  But you couldn't help it, fighting him and being so physically close to him at times you could breathe him in and be calm.  He was slowly getting some kind of hold on you, and you were not feeling strong enough to break from it.  It didn't seem right, falling for him when you didn't feel good enough for someone as intense and as massive in him.  

Your rhythm with him was good, you didn't want to break it.

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On the eve of a feast that was going to be held in honor of another victory against the Deviants, you were once again sparring with Druig.  It was like any other session that you had with him.  You two would practice three days a week now, no longer needing to have it every day since Druig was now a decent fighting partner.  Of course, at the beginning of the session, you would win round after round.  It was almost like a dance between the two of you in how you much and swayed around each other.  The way you moved almost made you think of the movement of fish in the water or a hawk in the sky.  Druig was showing no more hesitance or restrain, which was what you wanted with him all his time.

But you were almost slowing your steps down, your swift strikes were a pinch duller and without that bite that you usually showed and used.  It was your fault though, your mind was elsewhere.  As hard as you tried to focus on the current round you were in, your mind was drifting to the man in front of you.  His soft eyes, the smoothness of his skin, and how he smelled of fresh soil from being on the farmlands.  It was almost making you lose your focus.

He punched you hard in the cheek with a right hook, having you fall back a bit and snap back to the present.

His eyes went wide from what he did, his fist falling to his side in an instant as a blossoming pain erupted on your cheek.  You hissed in pain, reaching up and touching your cheek as you stumbled in your steps away from him.  It was going to bruise, and although you were going to be fine with it, it still shook you in your brain.  You squinted, touching the tender spot before shaking it off and looking at Druig.  He looked petrified that he hit you, almost grief-stricken on his face.

"I'm sorry—" he started to say to you, walking over to you and reaching out to touch your cheek.  Without a second thought, you darted away from his touch as if he would sting you, seeing the look of confusion and almost hurt in his eyes as you tried to shake it off casually.

"It's fine," You replied, still feeling the punch against your cheek but not wanting to show it.  Now you felt foolish, seeming like a blushing girl in front of her crush and was trying not to show it.  You then realized, at that moment, that you were the blushing girl, and you were desperately trying to hide the feelings you had for Druig, "Let's…let's just take a break,"

You turned away from him, not wanting to feel any more embarrassment at that moment since it seemed like you acted so silly.  But you felt him take your hand in his own, stopping you from walking away from him and almost pulling you back to him.  Your throat was tightening and your heart was almost feeling like a jackrabbit

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, sounding so concerned as you finally turned to see him so close to you.  He was a mere foot away, searching your face and eyes with his own.  His eyes reminded you of the night sky that was scattered with stars and constellations.  You count breathe for a second before he gave you a serious stare.

"You...You were going easy on me," He stated like an accusation, having you stutter a bit there while he was still holding your hand.  Yet it wasn't a fierce hold, rather it was like you were made of glass or even porcelain.  

"No, n-no I wasn't—" You started to reason, but he shook his head.

"You were," he accused you, having you see him watching you like a hawk now as he was pointing at you with his spare hand that wasn't holding onto you, "I knew you are holding back with me!  Why?"

"I'm…I was just tired from today," You tried to lie.

"Oh, please," he lightly scoffed, then pointing to the tender pink mark on my cheek, "You would never let me hit you, ever.  And yet I landed a hard punch on your cheek, and you're never phased from it?!  What the hell is that about?"

"You're getting better and you got one in, alright?  Let it go, Druig!" You replied cooly, not liking where this was going.  It felt like he was placing you on some kind of trial, trying to expose you and what was going on in your mind.   As much as you were trying not to say anything else, you were realizing how close he was getting.  Breathing in the sweat he had along his skin along with the hint of musk he always had, seeing the glistening of the sweat against his brown hair that was almost having his hair in an alluring manner, and the heat radiating off his skin.  It was almost making you dizzy all over again.

"That's not like you," Druig kept going at you some more as he was still holding his hand within his large fingers, "All this time we would do this, you never once let me win or even touch you.  It's like you're afraid.  Are you?"

"Why do you care if you did hit me?" You asked him back in a leveled tone, "Isn't that why we're here?  You're supposed to try and hit me, that's the whole point of us fighting and practicing like this!"

"Not intentionally though!" he retaliated with you, his voice sounding a bit like a bite when he told you this, "I would never want to hit you on purpose!"

"So what?" You asked then, heat rising to your cheeks, "Why would you care if you hit me or not?!  It's not like you care about me!"

It was deafening, the silence there between the both of you there in the middle of the room.  The way he was staring at you was like you slapped him across the face. Maybe you said the wrong thing, almost like you offended him in how he was no longer showing agitating or anger towards you.  Instead, it was pleased by something softer, gentler.  Even the heat that was one in his eyes was now gone and almost at a low simmer, like dancing amber in a dying fire.

"You don't think I care about you?" he asked, his voice no longer loud or bold but almost like a broken whisper in the wind.  You cringed inwardly, feeling guilty that you said those words to him in the heat of the moment.  A part of you was wanting him to back off of you and let the conversation die there, but then the other part was trying to deflect what was going on within you.  Yet now, seeing how he looked in front of him, you wished you could take it back.

You wish you stayed strong in front of him, to lie and make things go back to the way they were.  You hated that you developed feelings for the Eternal over the time you fought and spoke together.  This change within you was enough to scare you and frighten you.  This turn of events was the first real sensation that scared you, falling for someone that seemed impossible for you to touch.  

"No," you whispered back, almost feeling a shiver as he was a mere inch away from you now.  He was reading you, top to bottom now with his eyes and his body stance.  It was a vulnerable place to be, his hand still holding your own and kept so close you were breathing each other in.  You didn't know if it was the endorphins that kicked in from the sparring, or that this bottle-up sensation to be this close was enough to make you want to scream, but you could almost see it on his face too.  He was so close…so very close.

"You're such a fool," He said in a breath to you, then kissed you squarely against your lips.  As soon as your lips touched, something inside of you was almost shaking you to your core.  His lips, so soft like a feather and yet firm against you to show there was no hesitance, made you almost melt to the ground.  All of those talks together, the jokes and banter you shared late in the night talked together about humans and the fragile species, it was all melting together in your mind like a whirlpool.  

Flashes of moments with him engrained your mind as you smoothly leaned into him to press your kiss against his lips.  You saw his rare smiles that light up his whole face and gave him dimples in his cheeks, how his nimble fingers and hands dug into the rich earth when he would help plant a row of crops, or how his smooth tone of voice carried in the wind when he would give you words of encouragement. 

One kiss lead to two, and then three.  Your mind was no longer working, not logically.  Your hand that was laced in his pulled his hand towards you a bit more before you felt him wrap his arm around your waist as he kissed a bolder kiss against your lips.  Your hands were touching his bare arms, feeling the slight sheen of sweat against your fingertips as you angled your head to feel him press closer to you.  His other hand reached up to cradle your neck, having you feel his fingers touch near your bruising cheek and into your hair. It made you sigh and slightly moan against his lips, almost making your mind go blank altogether. 

It was almost like a drug, what he was doing to do and how it was affecting you.  The Euphoria of your soul and heart was expanding as you found your feet moving with Druig, feeling him gently walking the both of you over to the wall behind you.  Your body was moving without you realizing it, you were only thinking about Druig and how you two ended up in this position.

Your back touched the wall, Druig still leaning into you but not overcrowding you.  It felt like he was giving you enough space to have you move away from him, the kisses he was sharing with you were bordering possessive but still intimate and kind.  You've seen humans kiss before, plenty of times walking through their markets or sharing a moment.  You knew those gestures did fascinate you, how they expressed their love to another with a simple press of lips.  Some did it to be friendly, but others did it to show love.  There were times you yearned to have that, to share that with someone who saw past your strength and plainness.

Now you had it front of you with Druig.  How he held you against the wall with gentleness and yet with a fierceness that made you weak in the knees.  In every kiss he pressed, it was a way he was telling you he loved you.  He didn't have to say that he loved you, you felt it in every kiss he pressed against your own.  He had more emotions to him that he would care to admit out loud, but you felt it there in his arms.

After what seemed like some time, he pulled away from your lips slowly.  You tried to chase his lips, not wanting this sensation to end with him.  But he stopped your gesture, the hand on your neck carefully cradling you still as his thumb traced the still tender cheek.  You froze, watching with your doe eyes that were glossed over as he leaned in to press a kiss against the wound he gave.  You shivered, feeling the kiss against your cheek and how cooling it was.  It felt like he was giving you a seal against your body, like a promise that he wasn't willing to break or tamper with.  

He pulled away, looking back at you again as you were looking over his face.  He was flushed, almost out of sort with his breath and the plumpness of his lips.  His eyes darkened a darker shade of blue that reminded you of the starless nights.  But your mind was at peace with what you were seeing in front of you.  That fear you had was long gone.

"I've cared for you for some time," He confessed to you, having you watch him with that softness still in your eyes as he gulped slightly before he went on, "Ever since you save me from that Deviant,"

"Then?" You had to ask, reaching up to touch the brown bangs that were about to go into his eyes.  You moved his bangs away, stroking his forehead with your fingers and feeling him lean in a bit to your touch, "I merely protected you,"

"Yet I was enraptured with you then," Druig continued as you searched his eyes, "You bewitched me with that strength and selflessness you had.  It was part of the reason I wanted to learn how to fight from you: to be closer to you,"

You grinned, hearing how sheepish he sounded from the confession.  It was almost like he was shy to admit, but hearing that he merely wanted to be closer to you in that way almost broke your heart.  You felt guilt then, remembering all the times you knocked him down or got him good with a kick or punch.  

"So you were willing to have me hurt you over and over, just so that you can get closer to me?" You asked, seeing some blush come to his cheeks with his embarrassed smile as you giggled, "Druig, you could have just talked to me.  I've hurt you so many times…"  Your face was almost crestfallen, from thinking of how you did physically hurt him not knowing his motives.  Druig saw your face confronting into sadness, shaking his head as he pressed his forehead against your own to soothe you.  

"I would do it all again," He reassured you lovingly as he pressed a soothing kiss against the corner of your mouth.

"You're a sadist," you tried to joke with him, but he grinned as he pulled back slightly for you to see his full face.

"No," He hummed, "I'm just in love,"

That piece you thought you were missing, all this time you felt a small hint of incompleteness, it was now complete.  That pice snapped it, almost instantly, just from hearing that simple sentence.  It all felt natural for you up until this moment, those hours and hours of talking together and bearing your souls to one another.  This was just the finale to all that you were festering inside and it was blossoming into some new creation that was beautiful, raw, and real.  You smiled from ear to ear as you watched him pull away from you completely.  It felt cold then, not having him near you as he took your hand once more in this.  This hand-holding felt soothing, palm against palm, as you watched his beautiful face look at yours.

"Let's go to this feast," he explained in a lighter tone to you, "And we can spare again."

"I won't hold back this time," You said coyly at him as he merely gave him a signature.

"I don't plan on you to," He purred back to you.

And you didn't.

[marveloustimestwo]

Hello, can I request a fic with a yandere love triangle in which the reader is friends with platonic yandere Sprite, and loves romantic yandere Druig, but the reader thinks he likes Makkari and doesn't know he likes them back, until Makkari sets the reader up with Druig, so Sprite feels betrayed, since she befriended the reader over the fact that they both had unrequited love, so she lashes out, and Druig takes the blow for the reader (figuratively) and confesses? ik it's specific, but thanks!

Thank you for the request! It was fun to write!

Warnings: Yandere themes, manipulation from Sprite, depictions of fighting, mentions of Sprite using her illusions on Reader and threatening them with a knife. (Please tell me if I need to add more)

To be completely upfront, Sprite was probably the reason it took so long for you or Druig to realize your feelings for one another.

Sprite's a hardcore manipulator and viciously possessive of her darling while also being very smart.

She saw long before you did that Druig liked you back. But before that, you two had already bonded over the fact that both of you had unrequited love.

You thought that Druig loved Makkari while Sprite knew that Ikaris would never love her in the way that she wanted him to, and especially not over Sersi.

You're her sibling, the person who understands her more than anyone in this world. You understand her pain.

But once she realized that your love isn't so unrequited, she feels the threat of a metaphorical dagger.

Et tu, Brute?

She can't lose you now and not to Druig of all people. So Sprite does everything she can to keep Druig away from you.

This means hammering in the idea that Druig and Makkari might have feelings for each other in your mind.

That walk they went on seemed very romantic (in reality, Makkari wanted to coach Druig on how to woo you away from the others.)

That fancy and pretty ring Makkari's wearing is awfully nice. Sprite had seen Druig giving it to her earlier. (Instead Makkari had just been showing him this cool new artifact that she wanted to take back to the ship.)

Just harmless, platonic stuff that Sprite twists into romantic gestures between the speedster and the mind-reader.

Anytime you get close to clearing these things up or confessing, Sprite butts in, acts all innocent, all while knowing she just ruined the moment.

All to make sure you stay her best friend forever, thinking that you two were the unrequited love buddies.

After years and years, you live in ignorant bliss. Or ignorant pain, I guess. You think the person you're in love with is in love with another, but hey! At least you have your best friend, who also suffers from unrequited love, so it can't be all bad.

Sike!

The guy you love loves you back, obsessively and achingly so, and your best friend also obsessively loves you (but in a completely platonic way) and has been sabotaging your relationship with the said guy so that you'll never have anyone besides her.

Very complicated, and it only came to light because sweet, sweet Makkari has been having to listen to Druig complain for the past couple thousand years about how you don't love him back.

She's very tired. She even locked herself back onto the ship with her artifacts just to stop hearing about it.

But it all comes to a head when the Emergence comes to light.

After all of the Eternals reunite, Makkari finally manages to get some time alone with you and figures out that both you and Druig like each other.

Makkari figures that maybe before the Emergence happens, she can use the coaching she already put Druig through and finally get him to confess.

But before that can happen, it's quickly pushed aside by what Ikaris has done.

The group descends into chaos. Sprite, who is already terrified by the idea of you and Druig becoming a couple, sides with Ikaris and begs you to come with them.

That is cut short when Thena interrupts, and they are forced to leave.

Don't think Sprite's letting you go, though. Again, she's a hardcore manipulator. She's going to try to bend your long-term friendship with her into making you stay with her and Ikaris.

Considering how possessive she is, Sprite probably either followed you around after the Eternals split or made you follow her. It's a thousand-year bond, one she won't hesitate to manipulate if it means you'll stay with her.

If you reject her still, for Druig, for the other Eternals, or for humanity, she will lash out. Even going as far as brandishing a knife at you and using her illusions to try and get you to side with her.

It's only until Druig steps in and knocks her out with a rock that it comes to an end.

Sersi puts the Celestial to sleep and it's finally time to deal with Sprite.

Druig really gets the good end to this story. You two are now in a happy relationship after Makkari set you up, and you aren't really bothered by his obsessive tendencies after what Sprite did (she was more harmful compared to him, or you might not see his tendencies at all)

And Sprite gets the choice of becoming completely human and leaving with you and the other Eternals on the starship, or she becomes human and stays with Kingo on Earth.

She may get to reside on the starship and see you, but that will never repair the relationship you once had. Especially since Druig is hellishly protective over you, and will stand guard over you during every interaction you have with her.

He may honestly push Sersi to make Sprite stay on Earth, just to lessen the chances of her hurting you and your relationship with him (which won't be hard when her past actions are brought up.)

[cogentranting]

Kingo was so much more than I expected. 

I thought he was gonna be one-note comic relief-- the vain, self-obsessed one. Good for a couple laughs, if that, and maybe one or two cool fight scenes. 

But Kingo was great and had so much heart. He had a good relationship with Makkari, he bantered nicely with Gilgamesh, and in general seemed to have the most solid connections within the team. And he was perceptive because of it-- he was the one who had Sprite figured out in a way that it didn’t seem like anybody else did. Like he really saw her and paid attention. 

And you can see his relationship with the other Eternals come through in his movies. First of all because he said he loved movies because of Sprite. It was her storytelling that inspired him. But secondly, when he was making a movie about the Eternals, he didn’t make himself the big hero (which is what your typical “vain movie star” character would do)-- the movie he’s making is about Ikaris. And Kingo’s love and respect for the others is shown in Karun too-- Karun only has what Kingo has told him to go on and his takeaway is intense admiration for all the Eternals. Kingo hasn’t been sitting around talking himself up at the expense of the others, he’s been bragging about his family to anyone who will listen. 

Going back for a second that he picked Ikaris to be the main character of his movie trilogy, that’s also a really interesting relationship. It wasn’t totally clear from the movie itself but based on interviews it seems like Ikaris was the battlefield leader, since Ajak herself wasn’t a fighter. And so Kingo has this sort of loyalty to his captain, and an intense respect for him. It’s Ikaris who Kingo wants to follow when Ajak dies, Ikaris who he takes his cues from. And even though it’s not the right choice, I love what it shows about Kingo when he follows Ikaris out and goes “if you lead, I will follow you like I always have”. That loyalty forged on the battlefield between brothers (and the sheer tragedy of Ikaris betraying all that trust and loyalty). 

There’s also the way that Kingo relates to humans. It seems like, out of all of them, he’s the one who’s been the most stable. Some of them (Gil, Thena, Ajak, Makkari) have been in one place but isolated; Sersi and Sprite were among people but must have been moving around frequently; Druig has an interesting relationship with his little cult but that’s a subject for a different post; who knows what Ikaris was up to. But Kingo has been in roughly the same place for a century. He must have disappeared and reappeared some to keep his cover but in at least some instances he seems to have been around people for a long time. I think they said that Karun had worked for him since he was a young man. From this, Kingo seems to genuinely care, especially about Karun who he actually trusts with a lot. But I think in being more stable and seeing these generations pass he has more of an acceptance of humans dying-- not because he doesn’t care about them but because it’s part of the natural cycle of things. 

Which in part contributes to his position at the end where he’s against stopping the Emergence. He’s loyal, he’s a soldier, he’s caring but he’s also used to watching that cycle of life and death and accepting that. But it’s that loyalty that seems to win out in him, though it’s a loyalty that won’t choose. He wants to be loyal to Arishem and to Ikaris and to the other Eternals and ultimately he can’t be loyal to everyone. But fundamentally Kingo will not make that choice and so he just leaves. And I can’t really say that that’s the right choice but it certainly makes it an interesting one. 

And after all is said and done he’s right back there-- supporting Sersi, looking out for Sprite-- trying to pick up the pieces of his family.

[softquietsteadylove]

I think the break up idea would make a good ao3 content

Always love your work btw ～

Thena's head tipped to the side as she laughed, her hands clasped around her cup of decaf latte. Just like she always had. God, she really looked the same, and sounded the same, and felt the same.

Gil stared, blatantly enchanted by the woman across from him. He had moved swiftly from not wanting her to know how pathetically he had spent the last year and a half to telling her about his one miserable attempt at a relationship. "Yeah, I didn't even realise what made her storm out like that until the guys told me."

Thena gave him a chastising look over the rim of her cup. "Gilgamesh."

"I know, I know, it's bad," he admitted while also smiling into his own cup of coffee. He shouldn't make light of having called the last girl he was with the wrong name. But he couldn't help but be glad it was good for something (making Thena laugh).

"If it were me, I would have done the same," Thena offered in his poor ex's defense.

Not that he would have really called her his girlfriend, all things considered. Maybe if that was the only name for it, but he had made it clear at the time that he wasn't looking for anything that serious. Not after Thena.

"I don't blame her," he shrugged, still too preoccupied with the woman in front of him. It was as if he were in a dream and she might vanish at any moment.

"Did you ever apologise to her?"

"'Course," he huffed. He leaned forward on the table, sitting his cheek against his fist. "I have some decency, y'know."

"I know." The quick and familiar rhythm of their conversation stumbled. It had done so a few times, now. For the most part, they felt like themselves three years ago. Things flowed easily between them. But this was the third time now that Thena had said something a bit more pronounced, or more softly, or wistfully.

He looked at her, although as soon as he did her eyes darted down to stare into her mug again. He could feel them circling something. He faked taking another sip; his mug was smaller than hers and he was already done, but he didn't want another cup, and he didn't want to leave, either.

Thena put her mug down, freeing one of her hands to tuck some hair behind her ear. She was still feeling a little restless. "And how has work been?"

It was a very mundane question after the last. But that was okay, she could ask him all the boring shit she wanted. "Restaurant's good--I finally found some good guys for the kitchen so I can take off earlier or take a day off here and there."

Thena merely nodded, appearing to be out of commentary. Her eyes darted down to her mug.

"You out?" he asked directly. It wasn't the most charming way to ask, but he was curious. She nodded, her lips pinching sheepishly. He smiled, "want more?"

She hook her head.

"Yeah, I guess I'm all coffee-d out," he sighed, standing from the little stool. The tall, metal stools always did feel somewhat uncomfortable the longer spent on their square forms. Thena showed no signs of butt fatigue as she also stood. He held his hand out, "bus or uber?"

She tilted her head, but took his offered hand, "taxi."

He grinned; she was still like an old lady with technology. She knew what an uber was but she had probably never ordered one in her life. His hand closed around hers, "there's a spot where they all park that's just around the corner. Probably quicker than calling one."

Thena followed him silently, but he was fine with her silence. It was another thing that felt terribly, painfully familiar to him as he walked out with her hand in hand.

"What about the museum?" he asked in a bit of a rush, reminding himself to ask about her work and her interests.

She smiled as they took slow, tiny steps in the snow. "Quite the same, I believe. Kingo is attempting to convince upper management that he should be in charge of the social media accounts."

"He'd probably do pretty well at that, actually," Gil muttered mostly to himself. He had always liked her friend from work, Kingo. Well, once he had learned that he wasn't interested in Thena, of course.

He snuck his eyes over to her. He caught her doing the same before she rushed them away again, her other hand reaching for her scarf.

There was even less street noise than before they had gone into the little cafe, most of the city asleep and avoiding the snow. Those who were out were probably a few blocks away in the pubs, like his friends whom he had abandoned. He looked over his shoulder.

"Ah, shit."

Thena blinked, still following him silently but now as he dragged her to the corner and around it. "Gil?"

"The guys," he grumbled as he pulled her around the corner of the building, just out of the streetlight enough that they might not recognise him with his back turned. "I, uh, kinda left them in the bar back there."

"Gilgamesh," she chided him again, but she was obviously amused by it.

In fact, he could hear them as they got closer. Were they always so loud and obnoxious? Maybe he just noticed it less when he was getting drunk, too. But he had to admit, that was appealing to him less and less these days. He had chalked it up to getting older.

But looking at Thena, that wasn't it. It wasn't that he just didn't like going out with the guys anymore, it was just that he would rather just be at home, enjoying a quiet night instead. He wanted to be horizontal on the couch, the tv playing whatever. He wanted to have his back against the back of the couch, and what he really wanted was a smaller, lighter frame to be lying in front of him, his arm draped over her because it made him feel big and strong and protective. And she would doze off because she found what he liked on tv uninteresting. But they would lie around together like that for hours.

"Gil?"

He shuffled them closer to the wall as the voices got closer and closer. Even if they did manage to overlook his huge frame, even from the back, they would most certainly recognise Thena. It was impossible not to.

Thena let him guide her closer to him as he raised his arm up against the snowy building's facade. To a passerby, he would probably just look like he was leaning, maybe they would think he was putting the moves on someone, if they could see her past him at all.

He all but held his breath as his drunk asshole friends yapped their way down the sidewalk and past them completely. He knew those idiots wouldn't notice him. He was surprised they had even gathered that he left. He looked down at Thena, tucked against his chest, "sorry-"

She tilted her head up, catching his lips with her own. But it wasn't that accidental. She was definitely kissing him. His hand moved to her cheek completely on its own, like damn sense memory or something. But it made her kiss him again, so maybe it wasn't that bad.

They pulled apart slowly. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted it as if he had been starving the past two years of his life and was finally given some good fucking food again.

Thena's cheeks took on a shade of rouge that stood out against the snow and her general pallor. She slid back half a step. "S-Sorry, I-I shouldn't--it's-"

He caught her hands again before she could slither away in embarrassment. Her eyes avoided his again but he was happy to stare at her blatantly, reciprocated or not. "Don't be sorry."

He pulled her in again, kissing her more properly. It really was like sense memory, but it was better than any memory he had been mulling over for the past however long. Their lips fit together naturally, Thena melted into him like she was the better atop a thick stack of fluffy pancakes. His arm wrapped around her, holding the smallness of her waist, even in her heavy white coat.

They parted again. He moaned quietly and she let out more of a gentle purr. Her hand had slipped up the front of his coat and halfway inside his lapel, although she snapped it back to herself. He blinked, feeling more dazed after that kiss than any number of shots the guys would have told him to get. "See?"

Thena's eyes drifted down again, still blushing, much to his delight. "I didn't plan this with this in mind."

No, she wouldn't have planned to kiss him outside, under the cover of shadow, snow falling on their heads. But that was okay. He dusted some snow out of her hair again. "I know."

She stepped back from him more properly, in a physical declaration that no more kissing would be taking place. She gripped the ends of her scarf. "I should get home."

"Okay," he smiled, although he had to admit that his first instinct was to ask her to stay. He just wanted another hour, just five more minutes. Just one more kiss before she left again.

She took his hand again, letting him lead her to her ride home. Her hand flinched in his before giving it a quiet squeeze. "Next week is a long weekend."

His eyes sparked. She wouldn't bring it up just to make conversation. But he was curious if she would ask him for herself or if she would end up making him ask her out. To be honest, he was okay if that was what she wanted. He had plenty of experience in it. "Oh, yeah."

Her hand was still holding onto her scarf for dear life. But she braved on, "the museum will be closed on the monday. If I recall, so will the restaurant."

She still knew the restaurant hours. His heart leapt in his chest, "yeah."

Finally without any cover left, she managed to squeak out, "if you like, we could-"

"Love to," he blurted out, even stepping on the end of her question. Maybe it was overeager. Maybe it was even more pathetic than admitting he hadn't even come close to moving on from her. But he didn't care.

Her eyes darted up to his one last time before shyness took over and she looked away again. "Hm."

That was her way of sealing the deal, and the nostalgia of her quiet 'hm's and 'indeed's warmed the tips of his fingers. "It's a date."

The glow of the taxi numbers came into view. He had to let her go again. But Thena gave him one last - beautiful - smile. "Then I'll see you monday."

She left his side to cross the street, one of them having already started up their engine at the sight of her. He watched her, from being the only person in sight to getting in. She gave him one last wave before her carriage took off for her side of town.

Neither had asked if their numbers were the same. Maybe that meant that she hadn't wanted to change hers either. He wondered what the background of her phone was now (it had also been of their trip to Australia, once upon a time).

He also tried not to obsess over the kiss. It didn't mean this was anything more serious. They were just two old friends catching up, he told himself. Although his fingers were tingling, eager to hold her like that again.

[kiiecarrera]

"you were going to leave without saying goodbye?" - i think we both know why i'm here.

prompts / @barrykeoghcn

It only takes her a half second to figure out that she isn’t in her own apartment. The mattress beneath her is softer than hers and the blanket draped across her body is lighter than the heavy one she is used to. It only takes her another half a second to piece things together, the memories from the night before to slowly come back to her and remind her where she is. They’d gone on a date — a real date. The first of what she can only hope is many, after having been such a long time coming. Months of build up and anticipation, a game of Will They, Won’t They finally ending with her hand in his as they ate halfway decent pizza and enjoyed each other’s company. They had gone on their first date less than twelve hours ago and now she’s waking up in his bed and maybe if it was anyone else, Makkari would be a little embarrassed about her lack of self control but she isn’t.

Because it isn’t anyone else — it’s Druig, who she has been head over heels for practically since the moment they met. Who fixes her sink for her at three in the morning. Who smooths her hair back for her when everything feels too fast and too much, keeping her grounded when she wants to spin out of orbit. Who looks at her in a way that she doesn’t even have a name for, but it makes her feel like she’s the only one in the room every time. That’s who she is waking up to now, and Makkari isn’t embarrassed at all — only, maybe, that it had taken so long for them to get here in the first place.

But the restless feeling in her body makes itself known, the urge to move around causing her to shift in an attempt to get comfortable again before giving up momentarily. She blinks slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the little bit of light that slants through the curtains. Everything feels calm and still and Makkari can only assume that it is still early enough in the morning that neither of his roommates have ventured out of their own bed yet. Beside her, Druig stays asleep despite the way she had been wiggling only a few seconds earlier. She pulls her arms from the sheets, moving so one of her hands rests on the side of his face gently and she can’t help the silent laugh that shakes her shoulders at the faint smear of lipstick on his chin. Her thumb strokes against it gently and her chest aches at the way that, even in his sleep, he seems to lean into the touch, seeking it out as she pulls her hand away.

From the corner of her eye she sees her phone flashing, a bright light blinking three times catching her attention and she reluctantly untangles herself from Druig’s embrace. It only takes her a half second to cross the room, plucking her phone from the desk where she had tossed it the night before and unlocking it while pulling one of Druig’s t-shirts over the top of her head. The screen lights up to a plethora of text messages and Makkari rolls her eyes, clearing all of the notifications except for one from Thena, who had simply texted to let check in and make sure that she was okay. She crosses the room again, sitting back on the edge of the bed and typing out a quick reply, exchanging messages for a few moments with her best friend slash roommate. She’d been so concentrated on that, that she hadn’t felt the bed dip behind her as Druig stirred awake. She practically jumps off the bed at the feeling of his hand on her back, startled at the sudden feeling. She can see his shoulders shaking with a laugh as she turns to look at him again, a hand coming to rest on her racing heart dramatically.

“You scared me,” she signs, shooting him an accusatory look and he lifts his hands in mock surrender and apologises in return. But then there’s something else in his eyes, beneath the amusement at her jumpy nature Makkari doesn’t miss the glint of vulnerability and questioning though she can’t fathom why — until his hands are moving, and she begins to put two and two together.

“You were going to leave without saying goodbye?”

Makkari’s lips twitch up into a small smile, her fingers snapping together as she signs “No” swiftly, trying to squash that idea before it has a chance to plant itself any further in his mind. “I’m not going anywhere — not unless you want me to?” And now it’s Druig’s turn to give her a look that makes her realize how stupid of a thing that was to even think, and her cheeks flush just slightly. “I was just telling Thena where I am. She texted me a couple times last night,” she explains, holding the phone up for emphasis before dropping it back on his bedside table. He nods, seemingly placated by her answer and reaches his hands out for her in a way that makes her laugh, fingers delicately moving to spell out the word ‘needy’ teasingly.

Druig appears unbothered by it, his hands clasping around her waist and pulling her back down to lay beside him again, blanket tucked up around them. His eyes are half closed and sleepy and Makkari takes a second to admire how he looks right now — the genuine happiness and peace that radiates off of him makes her own heart feel so full that she can’t understand how it hasn’t burst. It’s nice, she thinks, and she lets her eyes linger long enough to commit the sight to memory. I love you, I love you, I love you — the thought dances around her mind, fingers twitching with the desire to say it but it’s too soon. Makkari knows it’s too soon even if she knows it to be true and he busies her hands with tracing the length of his spine instead.

“It’s early,” he signs and Makkari nods in response. One of his hands smooths over her hair, down to the back of her neck where his thumb runs across the skin gently, a trail of goosebumps left in its wake. “Let’s go back to sleep.”

His arms come to wrap around her again, pulling her in flush against his chest and the feeling of one of his hands twisting in her curls has Makkari practically melting against him. She settles herself there, her cheek pressed against his chest where she can feel the faint thump of his heart and a soft sigh leaves her when his lips press against the crown of her head gently. Druig falls asleep first and Makkari wonders if he had even fully come back to consciousness at all in the first place with how quickly his breathing had evened out again. But it only takes a few moments for her to follow suit, eyes fluttering shut and letting sleep consume her again.

[hisbucky]

Our Frayed Edges

It all begins here in Winter, 1996.

Left in the streets of LA, a blue-eyed boy finds his home.

This is his story, his life, what he learns and who he grows up to be.

And all it took was a little love

[full fic here]

Main Pairing: Parent!Athena & Adopted!Buck

Featuring (in future chapters): Bathena, Buddie

Rating: M for Mature Themes

Winter, 1996

The weather is cold outside.

Athena doesn’t need to look any further than the light dusting of frost on her patrol car window to know that LA weather as she knows it is going through one of its record lows at the moment.

Hell, she can’t even remember the last time she saw genuine snow in this part of town, and she’s lived here all her life. This is probably the first time she has the car heater turned on in the middle of the day.

It was honestly nothing compared to Big Bear, but just the sight of snow falling this near the coastline was frankly astounding, beautiful even.

And yet something about it is making her feel uncomfortable.

She hears the passenger side door click open and close, bringing with it a slight chill into the heated car. “Freak weather, ain’t it ‘Thena?” her partner’s voice grunts out.

Turning her head to the other, Athena hums in agreement, blinking her eyes when she sees the man holding out a paper bag to her.

“Here, a cup and a whole box of donuts for you. Well, minus one that I took for myself. You deserve it.” Brogan says, a rare smile gracing his face.

“Why thank you,” Athena smiles back, a little touched at the nice gesture from her usually aloof partner. “I’m just glad I finally got promoted, even if I’m the last one in my year.” She jokes, but it clearly falls flat from the way McCluskey sets his jaw.

“That ain’t anyway your fault.” He snorts, “The brass still isn’t ready to accept the fact that my rookie, a proud and independent black woman, is kicking all the other grunts asses by being the best in her year despite all of the prejudice she faced, mine included.”

Athena takes a sip from her cup to hide her pleased smile, more than thankful for her mentor’s support, but unwilling to give herself away so easily. Instead, she teases the older man, “Now, now. Don’t wanna hurt that brain of yours using a big word like that.”

“Oh, fuck off.” Brogan rolls his eyes, prompting a few chuckles between the both of them.

With nothing else much to say, they eat in companionable silence, the friendly mood a staple thing between them ever since they worked out their differences all those years ago, and especially since Brogan had helped her through that part of her life.

Six years already, the line of her mouth thins as Athena remembers. And still nowhere close to figuring out who was there that night.

The night Emmett took his last breath in that grocery store.

Staring outside at the gentle snowfall, Athena quietly broods as she goes through the crime scene in her head, something that might as well be a daily routine of hers for the past six years. Somewhere out there, she figures Rick is doing the same, the both of them having dedicated most of their time off trying to find the bastard who did it.

Athena could barely find anything in her to celebrate her well-deserved promotion right now, or even trash talk the ‘traditional’ old white men who held her back all along. Not when there is still no evidence on that case—no suspects, no fingerprints, no murder weapon.

You’re going to run yourself to the ground, her Mama said.

Now six years in, she’s starting to think her Mama was right.

“Athena,” Brogan’s steady voice clears through the cloud of her thoughts, and a moment later she finds herself apologizing to her partner for being distracted while on duty.

Brogan waves it off, “No, I get it. It’s that time of the year again, and you have more reason than most to mourn for him. If it was my wife…” the man trails off, letting the unspoken words fill the silence.

Taking the chance, Athena changes the subject, “Have you ever seen LA get this cold, Brogan? Unlike Kelly, you were born and raised here.” She offers her box of donuts, to which her partner gratefully takes.

“Could say the same to you,” Brogan grouses, eyes darting around as he takes in the unusually white landscape, “I think the last one was in 1962, and I was like a babe or something, but my Ma and Pa said it was an amazing thing.”

His eyes squint at the scenery, Athena recognizing it as the distrustful gaze he usually reserves for blatant suspects, “Looking at it now, to me it just feels weird to see this. Not to mention the shit I have to check back at my house later because of it.”

Wincing in sympathy, Athena thinks back to her own apartment and about how unequipped it was for cold weather. In unison, the both of them sigh at the thought.

After each of them has polished off their second donut, Athena sets her empty coffee cup and the box aside as Brogan radios in the end of their lunch break, putting them back on radar for the day.

It was just before she pulls the clutch does she notice something else in her peripherals.

“Brogan,” Athena shakes her partner’s shoulder, getting an inquiring hum in return. She points him to the nearby alley, darkly lit, a seemingly innocuous sight to the untrained eye.

Then it happens again, and she knows Brogan sees the flicker of a shadow just like she did when she hears the man take a short breath at her side.

Like a silent agreement, the both of them carefully get out of the car, watching the alleyway closely for any more sudden movements.

From the corner of her eye, Athena sees Brogan’s hand hovering over his gun, and she does the same. If it was just another tweaker all they have to worry about is tackling them to the ground before they could get away, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Just last week there was another officer who got injured because of carelessness after all.

What greets them, however, is nothing like what they expected.

“…M-mom…?” a voice whispers, and Athena zeroes in on the blue eyes peeking at them, the owner just a little boy huddled in the corner, barely wearing anything but a simple t-shirt and a pair of shorts to bear with the cold.

read the rest here

[themculibrary]

The Eternals Masterlist 2

part one

a love like ours turns even the darkest coldest realm into the happiest of homes (ao3) - OceanSpray5 druig/makkari G, 42k

Summary: Humans know the myth of Hades and Persephone. What varies is what they know and how it differs from how it happened. But the truth is not a far stretch from what they see. And the love the humans describe, the love two Eternals share, retains every bit of its essence immortalized in the myth as the fable of true love itself.

Of Hades, who is only a man. Of Persephone, with wind in her hair.

And they sang it la la la la la la la…

Or, how Druig and Makkari come to be immortalized as Greek mythology's most faithful couple: Hades and Persephone.

built to fall apart (then fall back together) (ao3) - agents_cxrter druig/makkari T, 20k

Summary: My name is Makkari, she tells him, spelling each letter then offering her name sign.

“Makkari?” He repeats, name sign effortlessly rolling through his fingers.

The pleased smile she gives him feels better than any spark of remembrance he’s ever experienced.

or; in a world inspired by the comic run where the Eternals minds are wiped, Druig and Makkari bump into each other (literally).

chip chrome & the mono-tones (ao3) - dannydays sersi/dane, ikaris/sersi T, 11k

Summary: “Welcome to Highton.”

“It’s a shithole,” Druig said, affectionately.

Sersi said, “We’re happy to have you.”

(human au. dane moves to a new estate and meets the eternals. shenanigans ensue.)

Come Home, Unbeliever (ao3) - un_familiar makkari/sersi G, 3k

Summary: Because, after all this time, born anew, she remembers what it was like to share a mind with a Celestial, even for a moment. It was overwhelming space, pinpricks of light coming into being simply by will.

-

Re-imagining Eternals: Celestia but this time I get to talk about religious trauma metaphors. Also Makkari and Sersi are dating (Gaiman's Eternals and Eternals: Celestia SPOILERS)

Eternity Together (ao3) - certifiedglutenfree druig/makkari M, 15k

Summary: Druig hates the idea of soulmates. He especially hates that he doesn't have one, because that means his crush on the girl in the library won't work out. But the universe does seem to work in mysterious ways and maybe just once in his life the universe will be on his side.

Forgiveness (ao3) - Wundersmidget sersi/dane T, 1k

Summary: After the Emergence, Sprite ponders her relationship with the other Eternals and especially Sersi.

i'll spend forever wonderin' if you knew (i was enchanted to meet you) (ao3) - notquitegucci (AllieKitaguchi) druig/makkari, thena/gilgamesh, ikaris/sersi N/R, 7k

Summary: How the Eternals discovered that Druig and Makkari were in love.

Some of them were a little slower than others.

In Paper Rings, In Picture Frames (Oh, You're The One I Want) (ao3) - OceanSpray5 druig/makkari G, 14k

Summary: Or, Druig and Makkari get married and wait for the rest of their oblivious family to figure it out.

I take the risk to feel your heart beating (ao3) - anachronistique (924inlegend) ikaris/sersi T, 57k

Summary: During the Deviants' attack in the Amazon, things take a turn when Ikaris is targeted for his powers during the battle. He is almost killed until Sersi steps in.

Light My Love (ao3) - Redheadclover sersi/dane, ikaris/sersi T, 95k

Summary: Soteri always second guessed herself, even in the very beginning when she was born an Eternal on the Domos. Although the rest of the Eternals can see potential in her, Soteri tries to find her way while protecting the planet with her family.

Perhaps she was too gentle and kind, or that she was too reserve to fully expose herself because of her force field and teleportation ability, but that never stopped her from finding hope and love with her family members, including a brooding mind controller. Her courage and her thirst for protecting those around Soteri has pushed her over and over as time went on. However, once the Eternals broke away from one another, Soteri felt lost without her family.

Without her home.

Now Deviants are appearing once more, her fearless leader is gone, and Soteri has to find her strength to defend and protect her family like she did before. Is she willing to have the old wounds of her fragile and reserved heart be reopened again for the sake of humanity?

Missing you is like missing a part of myself (ao3) - Mimisempai phastos/ben G, 1k

Summary: As Ben receives a message from Phastos announcing his return, he thinks about how much he had missed Phastos.

No Such Beauty as Where You Belong (ao3) - Ilyann ikaris/sersi, druig/makkari G, 21k

Summary: Druig and Makkari through the ages.

on a wednesday, in a cafe (ao3) - TaraLy gilgamesh/thena T, 111k

Summary: Thenamesh Coffee Shop AU. No angst, no plot, only love (and food).

oràil (ao3) - delphiniumblooms T, 3k

Summary: “ A nighean oràil, ” Ikaris says, our golden girl. He takes a little hand into his and counts the fingers. “She’s perfect.”

set after the events of the movie, which i have no knowledge of. ikarsi have a baby!

teach me to love (ao3) - iamjustabird gilgamesh/thena, phastos/ben G, 49k

Summary: Thena has just moved next door to her old friend Phastos with her young son Druig in tow. She’s worried about how he’s going to adjust to the move and to his new school, but Phastos assures her that his friend and neighbour Gilgamesh is the best teacher a kid could ask for. She’ll see about that.

teenage headache dreams. (i want to be free). (ao3) - proud_papaya druig/makkari M, 56k

Summary: - non canon compliant eternals (2021) -

there were millennia that they had been the only sense of normalcy for each other, and then, one night, ikarus flew into the clouds, and never came back down to her. then thanos snapped, and any normalcy was gone, as well as dane. he needed to come back.

TLDR: writing various areas of ikarus' and sersi's past, both during endgame and before, and then writing the entirety of the eternals movie, except i'm not killing ikarus off, because that really made me sad, and i bet i'm not the only one. possibly going into after that, as well. enjoy <3 requests are welcome, as well.

the blues and then purple pink skies (ao3) - TaraLy gilgamesh/thena G, 4k

Summary: It’s been a month since their first conversation on the bus, how are Thena and Gilgamesh doing?

The Eternals: Prelude (ao3) - EchoVdV makkari/sersi T, 25k

Summary: A loosely interpreted collection of stories recounting the endeavors of the Eternals to reclaim Earth from the Deviants. Due to many of these characters having a major lack of personality, in the books and especially in the movies, many characters are radically reimagined, especially if you're expecting them to be similar to the movie versions.

Visiting Rites (ao3) - qodarkness druig/makkari, ikaris/sersi T, 4k

Summary: Sprite was the first to visit.

Or

How Druig knows all the gossip about what's going on with the Eternals despite living in the Peruvian Amazon with no phone reception for five hundred years.

we will make a home someday, one full of love and light (ao3) - delphiniumblooms sersi/ikaris, phastos/ben T, 1k

Summary: Sersi and Ikaris pay Phastos’ family a visit.

[mldnightxxrain]

[ zoey deutch, cis gender female, she/her. ] ✧･ﾟ is that [ hope solo ] who just stumbled into town? rumour has it that they’re the [ 25 ] year old child of [ han solo and leia organa ] from [ star wars ]. i’ve also heard that they’re [ loyal ] but [ stubborn ] and have [ 2 ] sibling(s). i could almost swear i heard [ fall in line by christina aguilera ft. demi lovato] playing when they appeared. // @scatteredintros​

𝙱𝙰𝚂𝙸𝙲𝚂:

Full Name: hope breha solo Aliases/Nicknames: n/a Age: 25 Birthday: october 31 Zodiac: scorpio  Occupation: resistance pilot Homeplanet: chandrila 

𝙿𝙷𝚈𝚂𝙸𝚀𝚄𝙴: 

Height: 5’5 Hair Color: brown Eye Color: brown Scars: n/a Tattoos: n/a FC: zoey deutch

𝙵𝙰𝙼𝙸𝙻𝚈:

Mother: leia organa Father: han solo Siblings: 2 -  Notable Relatives: luke skywalker, uncle

𝙸𝙳𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙸𝚃𝚈:

Sexual orientation: bisexual Romantic orientation: biromantic Gender: cis gender woman Pronouns: she/her Species:  human, force sensitive 

𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙻𝙸𝚃𝚈:

Traits: loyal, outspoken, clever, fierce, smart, caring, giving, stubborn, persuasive, insecure,  Alignment: chaotic neutral  MBTI: enfp-t Enneagram: type 4, the individualist  Archetype: the magician   Hogwarts House: hufflepuff Element: water  Pop Culture Kins: thena from the eternals, anakin skywalker from star wars, luisa madrigal from encanto, wanda maximoff from the mcu, mal from the descendants, elphaba from wicked

𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙲𝙴:

Level of Sensitivity: highly force sensitive. she’s literally 1/4 pure force. skywalker genes are strong.  Signature: hope’s force signature is a vast ocean. when she’s happy , the water is  crystal clear , calm and sparkling. when she’s angry it’s a raging storm of tsunami levels.  neutral is just  still water. sad is lots of rain and waves, like a monsoon. she has a very complex relationship with the force, and has spent the majority of her life figuring out which path is for her.

𝚂𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻𝚂:

Languages: basic , huttese , droidspeak, shyriiwook  Weapon(s): lightsaber, blaster  Strengths: intuition, persuasion, talking herself out of situations, baking, playing sabaac Weaknesses: playing holochess, opening up, second guessing herself 

𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚜/𝙰𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙴𝚕𝚜𝚎?:

hope’s favorite cake flavor is lemon cake with blueberry filling and cream cheese icing. 

she’s a complete dice gremlin. she collects them.

she’s not good at holochess, even if she enjoys it.

her ears are pierced, and one has a stack of multiple in silver jewelry 

hope’s favorite season is autumn

𝙿𝙰𝚂𝚃: 

hope was born on a chilly autumn day in chandrila. her name came easily. “ help me obi wan kenobi , you’re my only hope “ …. “ rebellions are built on hope. “ these very important says impacted the world of the solo-organa family, and thus made sense to name their daughter that. and so , hope breha organa was born. the early years of hope were filled with fun , laughter, and happiness. not a moment wasn’t spent without her siblings. they were always together , getting into trouble , doing typical sibling things.

as a child , one of her favorite things to do was to fly the millennium falcon with her father and uncle chewbacca. she was a natural pilot, of course, taking after her father. 

as a child , hope enjoyed playing sabaac with her father and “uncle” lando calrissian. she was actually very good , even at a young age. this was the first time in her young life she showed force powers - intuition. she was very , very good , and the only way anyone could beat her was to cheat. that’s why to this day , she’s never beat lando - he cheats almost always. hope also started taking up an interest in baking as a child. it started as helping out her mother in the kitchen , making cookies and muffins for the solo men. hope eventually began making cakes , pies , and other sweet confectionary treats. it became a tradition for hope to make the birthday cake for whoever’s birthday it was.  once , she tried to use what mechanic skills chewbacca had taught her and attempted to make a droid. this droid would be helpful in the kitchen , acting as an extra set of hands for hope. she named him C4-K3. unfortunately , it didn’t go as planned and the droid caught fire , almost burning down the solo family house. after that , C-3PO began overseeing hope’s baking when her parents were unavailable. 

despite living happily with her family , the siblings were often left to their own devices or in the are of their family’s protocol droid for a nanny. leia was busy being a senator. han was busy being … han. time spent with their parents was precious , but not often. at least they had each other to entertain themselves.  

when hope was just ten years old, she was sent to go train with their uncle luke at his jedi praxeum. in all honesty , hope never wanted to be a jedi. she saw herself as growing up to become the galaxy’s best professional sabaac player , or perhaps opening up her own bakery. but eventually, training in the force actually became one of hope’s favorite things. she was quite skilled at mental uses of the force , and as her mother knew from early on , intuition was her strongest skill.  she also found that she could communicate via the force and would often send messages to her siblings that way. 

when the war started, hope knew what she had to do. she joined her mother in the resistance and joined an x-wing squadron. 

𝙿𝚁𝙴𝚂𝙴𝙽𝚃:

hope was pulled into the town during the war between the resistance and the first order. snoke is still alive and in power. her friend poe had just gone off on a mission to hopefully get a piece of the map to lead to wherever her uncle had disappeared off to. (basically - during the events at the very beginning of episode vii.)

she is desperate to go back home and finding her family.