#while Gil is pulling the head off a Deviant's body

[softquietsteadylove]

What if the roles are reversed? Thena being the kind and gentle one and Gil being the introvert and quiet one?

He catches her in the corner of his eye, a room away, talking with Kingo and Sersi. She does well with the humans, with her soft voice and gentle touch. They're talking with some as they celebrate the victories of today. She smiles at him.

He catches himself smiling back before he takes his leave. He's not one for the revelry of things. He much prefers taking up his post on the high walls of Babylon temple, scouting for Deviants, being the Strongest Eternal in every sense of the word.

Thena is meant to be beloved.

She glows, in a way. She is both a paragon of their team of Fighters as well as one of the most adapted to life on this planet. The humans think of her like an angel, or a goddess. He understands how they would come to think that of her.

They're more...frightened of him.

Thena swears they aren't--that all they need do is get to know him. See the gentle nature he has with her. But she doesn't seem to realise that she is the oddity. She is this completely new and unique thing unlike any other in his world.

She is his whole world.

"Here."

He smiles as she sets down a full mug of wine in front of him. She's always doing little things like that for him. He looks at her, "and you?"

"Hm, I'm not one for it, you know that," she shrugs, her voice even softer than usual with him. It assures him that the soft spot she has in his heart matches the one he occupies in hers. "But it was quite a fight today. You should let yourself relax."

"Revel, you mean?" he chuckles, but does take a sip of the human fermented wine. It's not nearly strong enough for the makeup of their cells, but he supposes it's not unpleasant.

"Fine, indulge in some revelry," she laughs under her breath, and it's a beautiful sound. "For me?"

He would rip the planet in two for her. "Fine."

She grins at her victory, her smile showing off her pearly teeth. Everything about her is pearly. "Were you listening to Sprite's story?"

Thena looks at him though with crystal green eyes like the seas across the entirety of the planet. She slips her hand under his, "you don't scare me."

He shrugs, leaning more easily on the railing of the mezzanine. "It's a nice story--don't think it's gonna change anyone's mind about me being the scary one."

She scares him, though. The rhythm of his heart shifting to match hers scares him. He smiles, "nothing scares you."

"That is true."

He chuckles this time, just a little, and she looks like she's taken on a hundred Deviants and come out with victory. She's funny, and yet she acts like making him laugh is the highlight of her day.

He takes another sip of wine so he doesn't start telling her that she's the highlight of all his days, too. "Shouldn't you be down there?--revelling?"

She looks at him as if the answer is quite obvious, and maybe it is. "Why would I want to be down there if you're up here?"

He stares down at the crowd, at Sersi dancing with the humans and Ikaris clumsily trying to join in just so he can have a chance for his hand to brush the Elemental Eternal's in passing. There are plenty of things he doesn't like about his brother, but this part--this, he understands.

"Hm?" Thena prompts him again, bringing herself even closer to him. She's tall, and lithe, even against his intimidating frame, although he's quite sure she weighs the same as a human child. But she never hesitates to put herself close to him. She almost seems to enjoy it.

"You win," he concedes, because she loves winning. She gets this little look on her face, and he wonders if he should participate in more of Kingo's antics or Ikaris' little contests just to see more of that look.

"As much as I do relish victory of any sort," she indulges with a grin. She looks at him, and it softens like the sun melting into the horizon. "I would rather be here with you."

By all the stars in the sky, his heart beats for this woman. Not that he has the poetry to express that, so instead he puts his hand on her back, and she lets him. His lips pull up slightly, "then I'm honored to have the Goddess of War choose my company."

She gifts him with another laugh at his little joke before leaning into him again. She's not afraid of affection--not like he is, fearful of hugging someone too hard and breaking their bones. She allows Kingo to pat her shoulder, hugs Sersi and Makkari and Sprite, even Ajak from time to time. She and Ikaris jostle each other in good faith (most of the time).

But with him, she leans in, rests her head against his shoulder, as if he is a safe haven for her in which to find rest. And he may not understand it, but if that's what she needs from him, then he will be that for the rest of his days.

He holds her delicately, but the fear of his strength leaves him. Because every breath they take together is a push and pull, perfectly balanced. He doesn't have to be afraid with her. For all his rough, unbending edges, she has fluidity and grace. She doesn't mind his withdrawn nature or quietness or intimidating stare.

"Gil?"

"Hm?" he responds, because he loves it when she calls him Gil. No one else does. To anyone else, he's not a nickname person. But she can call him anything she wants.

"We have watch," she reminds him gently, moving away but keeping his hand in hers as she starts drifting outside the party room and towards the walls. "Shall we?"

He will follow her anywhere, across this whole planet if need be. But instead of saying that, he squeezes her hand and says, "after you."

[taran-chan]

So, about that spicy thenamesh prompt. Can you please do number 21? Thank you so much!

Here you go! Merry Christmas!

21. “Don’t hold back”

It’s Sersi who found the hotspring. She and Phastos spend half a day building it into a large pool not too far from the castle they’re staying in. The area is swept clean of Deviants so they can enjoy the spring without having to worry that something might snatch them. 

But not every Eternals get to check out the steamy warm pool with a mountain view first thing in the morning. Gil has been helping the people building a secure wall around the town. By the time he reaches the spring, the moon is high up and his body is weary from carrying tons of stone up the mountain. He wanted to ask Thena to join him but Kingo said she’d retired to her chamber. He walks toward the edge of the pool and starts taking off his clothes. His brother and sister did a great job, as usual. The pool is beautiful, luxurious and private. Steam rises up from the water surface and there’s some kind of lighting system underwater that makes everything glow a magical blue. 

He senses her before he sees her. It is just a feeling of presence that belongs solely to her. He knows she’s watching him. He lets her, dropping his last piece of cloth to the ground and steps further into the light. He sits down, dipping his feet into the hotspring and groans in relief. 

“Mind if I join?” He asks. 

Like a siren, she appears from under the water, floating closer to him. If his heart wasn’t hers already, this would be the moment she catches it. He leans forward and she pulls herself up to kiss him hello. He hisses when her dainty hand, warm from the hot water, gently wraps around his cock and coax him out. It doesn’t take much effort, he deepens their kiss, marveling at her soft skin, slippery and glistening under the moonlight.

She moves further in between his legs and before he gets a chance to react, she flats her tongue against his shaft. Her name escapes him like a prayer as she kisses his tip and starts massaging his balls.

“Thena, wait,” he croaks, putting a shaky hand on her shoulder, “You haven’t—”

“Shh. Let me make you feel good,” she touches a finger to his lips, her voice like a low lullaby, soft as silk. She keeps pumping him and watches his eyes close in bliss, “You deserve this.”

He forces himself open his eyes to see her plush lips sucks him in, and it takes all of his self-control not to thrust. He leans back a bit, his right hand removes her wet hair out of her face, his left grip the edge of the pool so hard his knuckles turn white and he feels the building material is crumbling under his palm while she takes him deeper and deeper, until he hits the back of her throat. By now, he’s a mess. His breathing ragged and his face is burning. Then, the Goddess of War, his ethereal, gorgeous Thena, hums around his cock, showing him just how much she enjoys this. It sends a vibration through him that makes his jaw slack and his hand automatically palms the back of her head. 

And then, she moves back, reaches out to cup his cheeks between her hands, smirking when she notices his eyes cling to her breasts for a short moment.

“Gil,” she husks, “Don’t hold back.” 

“Thena…” He only manages that far, but it’s enough for her. 

She takes him in again, her head starts bobbing up and down, slowly increasing her pace. The part that she can’t take, she uses her hand, just as soft and hot and tight. His cock throbs and his moans mix with hers just as he thrust up more and more. He notices one of her hands has disappeared under water. The scent of sex fills the air and he lets out a deep groan when he realizes she’s touching herself.    

“Yes, love, that’s it,” he gasps, “I’m going to make you come again, I promise.”

She whines again, louder this time to encourage him, and sucks him harder. His words turn incoherent, from terms of endearment to her name to curses and how good she feels. His thrusts turn jerky and with a howl, he comes hard into her throat, and the fact that his orgasm has triggered hers, with the way she’s jerking and shuddering beneath him, makes him come even more intense. Thena carefully licks him clean, then wipes her mouth. She puts her head on his thigh and lets out a contented sigh.  

When his eyes clear, he slips into the water, welcoming her into his arms. She wraps her legs around his torso and he leans against the pool’s wall because his knees haven’t quite got their strength back yet. 

She’s petting his hair, purring, “My Gil, my beautiful Gil.”

When he asks her to marry him again, she gives him a smile that can put all the wonders they created to shame, and says yes. 

[dreaminginpastels]

oh my gosh pls provide me with more Druig fluff and his sweet lil nicknames 🤧❤️

the loudest silence

pairing: druig x gn!eternal!reader

summary: you have a moment of crippling self-doubt after a battle goes awry, but then one voice inside your mind rises above all the others.

warnings: angst and fluff (but mostly fluff), hurt/comfort, low self-esteem, self-doubt and insecurity, brief but potentially triggering self-body shaming

reader pronouns: they/them

word count: 2.3k

*✧ eternals masterlist | main masterlist | ask | taglist ✧*

Eternals weren’t supposed to feel exhaustion. So why was it so hard for you to get everywhere you were summoned during this battle?

Your gift of teleportation was mostly used to disorient Deviants to your attacks, and to rush to help your fellow Eternals if the Deviants fought in pairs.

This time, however, was an unprecedented situation in which there were half a dozen Deviants that had arrived unannounced in the village you were currently protecting. They were getting stronger and smarter. You weren’t sure you were ready for that.

You had been battling for about an hour and for some reason, your body was feeling the exhaustion today.

Ajak’s voice cut through your thoughts. “y/n, go to Sprite, she needs backup!”

You nodded before vanishing and appearing next to Sprite. She was currently casting illusions from the ground  to distract the Deviant as some locals ran away. You teleported behind the Deviant and jumped on its back, pulling it away from Sprite who took a deep breath; grateful for the diversion.

Teleporting in front of the Deviant, you landed a heavy blow on its head, buying some time for Sprite to get back in position. The two of you landed blow after blow, with Sprite’s illusions and your teleportation confusing the Deviant until Kingo appeared to deliver the final cosmic blast.

He turned to you, “Phastos needs your help, Thena’s Mahd Wy’ry spiked again and Gil can’t get there in time.”

You nodded. “On it.”

Appearing behind Phastos, you took a second to think through your best strategy, and honestly, to catch your breath. You couldn’t risk the other Eternals noticing that you were puffing - you were sure they already thought you were weak.

Phastos was giving it his all in hand-to-hand combat with Thena, having attempted in vain to calm her with logic. As much as he tried, you all knew it wasn’t his strength. He was significantly disadvantaged against the Goddess of War.

Thena reached back to conjure another weapon and you took your moment - teleporting behind her and grabbing the axe before she could use it against Phastos. He mouthed his thanks while you continued to teleport and disorient the confused Thena in an effort to buy time for Gil, the only one who could calm her down, to find you.

Just as she started to adapt to your fighting style and the pattern of your teleportation with a few successful blows to your abdomen, Gil arrived and began to calm her down, taking over.

If you had thought that fighting Thena while her Mahd Wy’ry was in effect AND while you were physically drained was the toughest part of the battle, you would have been wrong.

You had finally had a couple of seconds to catch your breath and refocus when Makkari appeared next to you in a flash. She signed hurriedly, “A Deviant has Sersi cornered on the cliff near the Domo. You’ll get there faster than me, go!”

You tried to focus on the cliff but it took you a couple of precious seconds to get the location clearly enough in focus in your mind to send your body there.

You arrived at the cliff just in time to meet Sersi’s panicked eyes as she stumbled off the edge, deviant in tow. You panicked and ran towards her, arm outstretched, calling her name. You would’ve followed her off the cliff into the sea below had a strong arm not pulled you back and held you close.

As you felt your vision go blurry, you saw Ikaris catch Sersi from mid-air and fly her to safety.

Relieved, the last thing you saw before it all went black was the concerned expression on Druig’s face as you went limp in his arms.

…

You awoke on the beach below the cliff where the previous sequence of events had taken place. Where you had failed. You had been placed ever so gently on the sand, and Druig was leant over you, eyes still laced with concern.

“Damn it, y/n,” he breathed, desperately searching your eyes before adding “you had me worried, m’darlin.”

Feeling embarrassed that you had let down the Eternals, your family, you hurriedly stood up - only to meet each of their eyes as they gathered around you.

Ajak stepped in front of Druig, reaching up and taking your cheek in her hand. She whispered, for your ears only, “What happened, y/n?”

Taking a deep breath and looking at the sand beneath you, you announced “I need to be alone” before teleporting into your room in the Domo, your door locking behind you.

…

For the remainder of the evening, the Eternals knocked on your door one by one, each attempting to coax you from your room to no avail.

“y/n? It’s me, Sersi. I just wanted to make sure you’re doing okay. You mean a lot to all of us, I hope you know that.”

“Thanks Sersi, I need a bit longer though.”

-

“Okay, y/n, I know you wanted a moment but you’re kinda stepping on my turf with all the theatrics.”

“Go away Kingo”

“Right.”

-

“y/n, I just wanted to say thank you for trying to save Phastos from me. I apologise for the battle wounds I inflicted but you wear them well.”

“Thanks Thena but it’s not your fault. We do what we can to help.”

“And I appreciate it.”

-

“I baked a pie! I know you love them. Come out and have some when you’re ready - it will be waiting. So will we.”

You smiled at his thoughtfulness. “Thanks Gil.”

-

“y/n?” You were surprised to hear Ikaris’ voice at the other side of your door. “I don’t understand what’s going on for you right now but Sersi’s okay. You did what you could.”

“Got it, thanks.”

-

“The moping in your room thing is getting kinda old, y/n. Ajak’s worried about you. Are you going to be gracing the rest of us with your presence anytime soon?”

“Not yet, Sprite. Tell Ajak I’m alright. I just need some space.”

“Fine, I guess.”

-

“y/n? It’s Phastos. Thanks for earlier, you really helped me out there. You know that’s what we do, right? We’re a team - we do this together. If one of us falls, someone else picks them up. I know you need longer but know that we’re all here for you when you come back to us.”

“That means a lot, thanks Phastos.”

-

A note appeared under your door. You recognised Makkari’s handwriting immediately:

Hope you’re okay. I miss you ツ

You smiled and wrote a note back, sliding it under the door.

I miss you too. Be out soon ♡

-

But you weren’t. About a half hour after Makkari’s note, you could hear mumbling from the hull.

“I don’t know what to do, Sprite.”

“Relax, Ajak.” Sprite replied, sarcastic and unfazed. You could practically hear her raised eyebrow. “We all know Druig’s the only one that will get through to them.”

Blush coated your cheeks, and apparently Druig shared your sentiment as a loud, clearly startled cough resounded from the hull.

“Sorry, what?!”

Then Ajak, “Druig, you’re the only one that hasn’t checked on them. Go? For me? Please?”

You heard Sprite chuckle. “Go on lover boy.”

There was a distinct sound of water splashing as Sprite’s grumbling filled the room. There were scattered chuckling as you heard Druig’s footsteps approaching your door, a distant “Nice one, Druig” from Kingo.

Then, the gentlest knock you had ever heard. “I know you’re in there, m’darlin. And I know you well enough to know that no amount of grovelling is going to get you out-”

You knew him well enough to know that that statement was accompanied by a glaring look back at the others.

“-but these losers are right. You went above and beyond today, and you saved more of their arses in one battle than I have in ten. But you also scared me on that cliff. That was a feeling I don’t want to repeat, so, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you could put a stop to it by leaving your room at some point tonight? Even for a minute, so we can all stop worrying about you?”

You sighed. You hadn’t wanted to worry them all and certainly hadn’t intended for these theatrics. To be honest, you’d convinced yourself that they’d all get on with their evenings, not just wait in a huddled group in the hull concerned about you. Frankly, you thought they didn’t care enough. Not when it came to you.

You sunk to the ground, leaning against your side of the door so that you felt close to him. “Druig, I- I can’t. I can’t face everyone yet. Not after what I did today.”

There was no reply. You assumed he had gone back to the hull with a shrug at Ajak as if to say, “See? No way anyone’s getting that stubborn mule out of their room.”

…

A few hours later, most of the Eternals had gone to their rooms to retire for the night. You knew this because they each, adorably, wished you a good night as they walked past. Some with more sarcasm than others, but it still meant a lot to you. It had temporarily quieted the voices in your head that had increased in volume throughout the day.

They had started in the form of intrusive reminders of the events of the battle, with laced messages about how you had failed. How you let them all down. How you had always been the weakest of the Eternals, and now you had proof. How Sersi had nearly paid the price for their faith in you.

Most recently, these thoughts had evolved into a question - Why had Arishem even made you an Eternal if you couldn’t do your sole purpose?

You began a list in your mind. A list of all the things you hated about yourself - all the reasons Arishem had made a mistake by creating you in your current form:

I hate my legs - how they can never get me places fast enough, and weaken quicker than any other part of my body.

I hate my hair - how it always manages to get in the way when I desperately need to focus.

I hate my arms - how they’re never long enough in battle. How they weren’t long enough today to save Sersi.

Suddenly, a powerful voice in your mind replaced your negative thoughts. It was mellifluous and soothing, with an unmistakable irish accent.

I love your smile - how it can light up any room, and brighten the harshest nights.

I love your laugh - how it sounds like pure joy; reassuring me that nothing in this world can harm me.

I love your voice, especially when you call my name. It’s like a second gift - the ability to melt hearts.

I love your shoulders - how they carry the weight of the world on them.

I love your heart - how it beats so powerfully, and feels so deeply.

I love you, m’darlin. And I hope you come back to me soon.

You could have cried, but instead, you opened your door. You were ready to find him, to have a dramatic reunion where you flung your arms around him; his words had touched you that much.

Instead, as you excitedly opened the door, you were greeted with a loud “Ow!” and the sweetest, but most hilarious, sight you could’ve imagined.

Druig lay sprawled across your feet, and it hit you. He’d never left.

He’d never gone back to the hull with a shrug of his shoulders and a witty, sarcastic quip. He’d stayed. Awkward and uncomfortable, in front of your door. He’d sat there whilst each Eternal bid you goodnight.

Now, he looked up at you pointedly from the floor. “Would you at least help me up?”

You chuckled and pulled him up so that he stood before you. He instantly craned his neck down to stare deep into your eyes. With a gentle hand on your chin, he whispered, “Ah, there you are, gorgeous.”

The blush was aggressive but you didn’t care. What he had done was so thoughtful, it had left you nearly speechless. Well, it was either that or the hours you had gone silently sitting in your room, the loudest silence bellowing from inside your mind.

“Shall we take a walk outside, m’love?”

You nodded.

…

You made it as far as the other side of the beach when Druig sat down. You joined him and whilst he looked at the starry night sky, you looked at him. “D-did you mean all that? What you said inside my mind.”

He looked at you then, scanning your face with the fondest of glances before locking eyes with you. “Oh, big time.”

As he glanced down at your lips, you turned away nervously, hoping the steady lapping of the waves would somehow calm the thundering heart that he claimed to love.

“Oh, well, uh, thanks.”

You felt his hand on your chin, gently guiding your face back to him. “Do you feel the same, m’darlin?”

You gulped, the intimacy of the way his eyes bore into yours almost intolerable. Flicking your eyes from his lips back to his eyes, you gently nodded.

A smirk morphed into a proud smile. “Would you mind if we maybe did something about that?”

Finding your voice, you somehow whispered. “I think I’d like that.”

A moment later, his rough lips found yours in the gentlest kiss. It lingered there on your lips for a moment as he pulled away. “Druig?”

He nodded, a rare content expression on his face. “Yes, m’love?”

“I love you too. Everything about you. Thank you for saving me from the battle inside my mind.”

As he pulled you back in for a deeper kiss, he smiled against your lips. “Anytime, m’darlin. Thank you for melting my heart.”

a/n: hello lovely! thank you so much for being my first non-anonymous ask on this blog, it meant the world to me 🥰 I basically melted when I saw this, I hope that you enjoy what I ended up writing for you (and I hope it’s fluffy enough)! any future requests like this one are greatly appreciated - we love Druig fluff and adorable nicknames hehe 🤎

p.s. don’t ask me why I felt the need to try to write a battle sequence, that was such a challenge that literally nobody asked for 😅😂

p.p.s would it even be my writing if I didn’t end a battle sequence with a literal cliffhanger? 😂

[thefallennightmare]

One Mind-Five

Pairings: Druig x Eternal!Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, swears, and maybe some smut here and there.

Summary: For so long, the Eternals were on their own. That was until a Celestial event brought them all back together. Reader is reluctant to help because in order to do what her fellow Eternals are saying, she would have to connect with a century old love; one that she promised herself that she would never work with again.

A/N: I really don't know how many parts this will be. Kind of going with the flow.

TAGS (OPEN): @niiight-dreamerrrr @moonlightreader649

“Son of a bitch!” I hissed, smacking the hand away.

Druig shook his head with sheer annoyance. “I have to clean your wounds, but I can’t if you keep smacking my hands away.

“Haven’t you ever heard of gentle hands?”

A playful smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth. “I think we both know my hands are always gentle, love.”

My face burned red when I realized exactly what he had been talking about.

“So cheeky,” I teased.

Druig continued on trying to clean my wounds, but he let out a deep sigh. “I can’t see anything with you sitting like this.”

I was sitting on the edge of his bathtub, body leaning all the way to my left while I tried to hike my shirt up as high as I could.

He looked around the small bathroom before nodding towards the bed in the other room.

His bed, our bed.

“Dru, I’m still covered in blood and deviant guts. I don’t want to get your sheets dirty.”

Druig remained silent, only standing to his feet and extending a hand towards me; clearly not bothered about the fact I was about to ruin his bed.

Swallowing the nervous lump in my throat, I allowed him to help me up from the edge of the tub and walked slowly towards the bed. As I was about to lay back, Druig stopped me.

“I need you to take off your shirt.”

My brow raised. “If I wasn’t bleeding from three different holes on my side, I’d kick your ass for trying to get me naked.”

Druig shook his head with a smirk. “It’s nothing I haven't seen before, Y/N. But I need to get a better look at your wounds to clean them.”

When I didn’t move, he let out another sigh. “I promise I won’t look at any part you don’t want me to.”

He made a cross over his heart, another action showing that he meant his words.

Lip caught between my bottom teeth, I searched his eyes and saw that he truly meant what he said.

Slowly, I began to lift the shirt above my head and tossed it in a heap onto the floor. It was covered in blood and dried Deviant blood and guts so needless to say, it was trashed.

Even if I stood in front of him in pants and a bra, Druig’s eyes remained on mine as he laid me gently onto the bed, the pillow being the first thing of comfort I felt in days. We traveled on Kingo’s private jet, and those seats are anything but. As I took in a deep breath, Druig’s lingering scent from the pillowcase engulfed my senses and I closed my eyes, body relaxed instantly.

The pads of his fingers worked quick but gentle as he brought the peroxide covered cloth over my wounds, the stinging sensation paled in comparison to the way his fingers felt against my cold skin.

Wind blew in through the open window, curtains dancing at the floors, and in the distance outside, I could hear chatter from the other Eternals. While Druig and I were in here, the rest of them were getting ready to have an impromptu funeral for Gilgamesh.

My heart ached for Thena, knowing that she lost someone that she loved so dearly. Gil had been by her side through everything and even with Thena’s Mahd Wy’ry, he never left.

I turned my head towards Druig, a sudden wave a guilt washed over m, and I needed him to know how sorry I was for leaving. Even if we already apologize, I needed to say it once more.

Druig worked precisely as he slowly stitched up the wounds, eyes glued to them. With Ajak gone, we didn’t have someone to heal us which meant we needed to heal the old fashioned way.

I marveled at the way his bottom lip was caught between his teeth as I quietly muttered his name.

His eyes fluttered up to me while releasing his bottom lip. “Did I hurt you?”

I shook my head. “I wanted to apologize again for leaving.”

“We can talk more about it once this is all over,” Druig gave my thigh a squeeze.

“Does that mean you’re coming with us?”

His body tensed as my question and I realized that he was still unsure about his decision.

“Why are you even going, Y/N?” He questioned, halting his actions for a moment.

I did my best to shrug. “Believe it or not, I love this planet even if it has a bunch of flaws. There’s people here that I care too much about to let die. I’m not ready to give it all up quite yet.”

It looked as if he was mulling over my words and I wondered if it helped or deterred his decision.

Silence fell between us as I watched him resume to stitch me up. His features were hard as he concentrated which caused his tongue to slightly peek out from his lips; something he always did.

My heart started to grow the longer I watched him, the love for him I buried deep so long ago began to fill it once more. I tried everything to move on from him, to forget him or the memories we had, but the more I tried, the less it worked. I found myself dreaming of him every night and the dreams were so vivid, it felt as if his body was on top of mine, tied together in my sheets.

We always joked about being connected with our minds but now knowing what we did about Arishem creating us, I couldn’t help but wonder if he created us that way on purpose; almost as if we were soul mates.

My gaze fell onto my left hand which was placed on top of my stomach, right above where Druig had been working. Every so often, I would catch his eyes darting from my wounds to the ring on my finger.

The black diamond caught in the setting sun and with the bright light that was casted over me from the lamp on the table next to the bed, it casted a shadow over the gold band.

“Why did you ever ask for it back?” I wondered, breaking the silence.

“It was a gift for you, for our love for one another. It didn’t feel right to take it back,” Druig stated while sitting back into the chair he had been perched on.

He cleaned his hands on a rag before motioning back to me.

“Try not to go after any deviants for a bit, ya?”

I smirked while leaning up on my elbows. “No promises.

“Now get your gross ass in the shower to rinse off. I’ll find some clothes for you to wear,” Druig jokes while he helped me to my feet.

After one of the most rewarding yet disgusting shower, I wrapped the towel tightly around my chest and paused, wondering if Druig was around. Even though he had seen me naked many times before, I still felt weird about it. It had been so long since we both saw each other bare, it would have been like our first time all over again.

“Druig?” I called out.

Silence.

My feet smacked against the hard floor of the bedroom as I scurried I saw a pile of clothes on a freshly stripped bed; black skinny jeans with one of his old black shirts to match.

He loved the way I looked in black.

Once dressed, I ran my fingers through my hair as a makeshift comb while walking out into the crisp night air. No one was around so I figured they were all down by the river, ready for Gilgamesh’s funeral.

We would burn his body and Thena would let his ashes go into the water; it’s what he wanted.

Everyone was standing in front of the large fire and I made my way next to Thena, hand placed softly on her lower back. She smiled down at me as I laid my head on her shoulder, a silent action to let her know that I would be by her side now, no matter what happened.

“He hasn’t stopped staring at you.”

I removed my head from Thena’s shoulder and followed her gaze over to Druig, who in fact, had been staring at me. I gave him a small smile.

“Did the two of you make up?” Thena asked.

“We don’t have to talk about this now,” I suggested.

She gave my hand a tight squeeze. “I need something to keep my mind at peace.”

A flash of light shined under the skin of her forehead so I nodded, knowing that if this conversation would keep her Mahd Wy’ry at bay, then we could talk about Druig and I.

“We’ve apologized but I don’t think we’re ready to pick up where we left off. There’s still so much left unsaid. He promised we could talk about it after everything.”

“Does that mean he’s coming?” She asked, hopeful.

I sighed with a slight shrug. “I don’t think so. He wouldn’t leave with me a century ago, I doubt he would now.”

Thena turned to look back to the large flames of the fire and bumped her shoulder with mine. “I wouldn’t give up on him, yet. As I mentioned, he can’t keep his eyes off of you.”

Druig was in fact still watching me with an unreliable expression across his face. Usually I was keen on what he was thinking or feeling but tonight, I had no idea what was going through his mind. And that scared the shit out of me.

[light-yaers]

All Too Well - Chapter Five

Ko-Fi | Fic Masterpost | Chapter List

Warnings: Rated M for swearing, death, alcohol and mild sexual content. F!Reader.

Word Count - 2.5k

Chapter Five

“Get down,” Druig said sternly, pushing you back into the forest until you were sheltered by a large tree. “Stay here,” he added, before running back to the clearing with the others. 

“Druig!” you shouted, clutching onto the tree, but he didn’t look back. 

If you couldn’t be of help in this fight, you needed to make yourself useful elsewhere. You sprinted through the forest, picking up any human stragglers you found and ensuring their safety. You brought an entire group back to the compound, shoving them into one of the main buildings, before heading back out to collect more. 

The entire time, you were thinking of him. You caught his eye a few times as you protected the humans—his combat, his stealth, all topped off with a lopsided smile whenever he got ahead of a deviant. It’d been centuries since you’d allowed yourself to indulge in memories of him, and now here you were witnessing him first-hand once more. 

There were three in total; one already whisked Ikaris into the skies; one in the clearing; one—

“Thena!” 

Gilgamesh yelled through the trees, and that’s when you felt the stomp of his hulkish feet against the ground, racing towards his Thena— in a race with a deviant.

Thena was against the trunk of a large tree, her mind deceiving her and overrunning her logical brain with memories of the past. The deviant was gaining ground fast, but she was stuck in place, depending solely on Gil who was rushing to protect her.

“Stay… stay…” she muttered, as the deviant jumped into the air, ready to attack.

“No!” Gil yelled.

“Gil!” you screamed, rushing towards them both, just as the strongest of the Eternals bombarded into the side of the deviant, knocking it off its path of destruction.

He and the deviant fell to the ground. Gil placed a strong punch around the creature’s jaw, smashing it back up to standing. He trampled over leaves and broken branches until he too was upright, and gave the screeching deviant another whack for good measure. 

You reached Thena and used your body to shield her. 

“Get her out of here!” Gil yelled, taking hold of the deviant’s jaw with both hands and pulled its mouth wide open. He grunted. “Now!”

Thena placed her palms on your back gently. You frowned at Gil.

“What about you?” you yelled desperately. “I’ll get Ikaris, I’ll get Kingo—,”

In a split second, Gil was thrust to the ground. Tendrils snaked from the deviant’s back, each one as sharp as a bayonet, plunging straight into Gilgamesh’s flesh. Thena let out a scream behind you, but you were tongue tied as tears began to obscure your vision; powerless. 

“Gil?” you questioned, as he was lifted to the sky, another three tendrils impaling him one by one. You’d never seen this before, nor did you have the strength to fight or the time to get help. It was no use. 

With a gut-wrenching crunch, a final tendril stabbed through Gilgamesh’s neck, and that’s when you saw it; his golden light, his power, slinking up into the deviant itself. 

This was what happened to Ajak. This was what killed her. 

You slammed your hands over your mouth, holding back a scream as you fell back into Thena. The warrior wrapped her arms around you, both of you helpless while she was in this state. 

Arishem, why did you make me this useless? My family is dying, and I can do nothing but watch. 

Unceremoniously, the creature finally dropped Gil to the ground, before falling back itself. You rushed forward immediately, struggling to breathe as you clutched Gilgamesh’s hand. “No, no—” you stuttered out. “You’re okay, you’re okay—,”

“Kiddo,” he grunted weakly, as his head lolled, his strength completely gone. He couldn’t even squeeze your hand in response. 

With a gasp, Thena’s eyes cleared. She dropped to her knees, eyes glued to her Eternal. “Gilgamesh?” she said helplessly, crawling towards the two of you upon the floor. She took his other hand, as his eyes skimmed over her pristine face. His skin was starting to grey. “No,” she let out gutturally, her eyes overflowing with golden tears. “No,”

You let out a sob as Gil’s hand went limp. 

“Gilgamesh?” Thena pleaded, shaking his lifeless wrist. “Gilgamesh—,”

“He’s gone,” you sobbed, spluttering through breaths. Thena froze for two seconds, taking in the image of him now, before she dropped her forehead to his one last time. She sucked in a breath, and what came out was the worst noise you’d ever heard—

The screams of a warrior, losing her most valued soldier. A screech so loud she could have curdled cream. 

Through your tears, you caught sight of the deviant once more, but it had transformed. No longer did it trounce around on four legs, but two, with defined muscles, and a more human face. It had absorbed Gilgamesh’s power, evolving into a being that none of the Eternals were prepared for. 

You stood on shaking legs, ignoring the naivety of what you were about to do. 

“You did this,” you said in a whisper, before sucking in a breath. “You did this!” you screeched, sending your voice travelling through the forest, all the way back to the settlement clearing. 

The deviant spoke, but you didn’t have the energy to listen. You were overwhelmed by your own anger, surging through your limbs and veins and flesh until your fingers tingled with power. 

It’d been centuries since you’d used your power—calming those around you, lulling children to sleep while they were ill, relaxing your fellow Eternals after battles—but this didn’t feel like that same power you once knew. 

It felt poisoned. It felt red. 

Druig had said you were made to suppress their emotions, make them follow Arishem without question, but you’d had 5,000 years to ponder the true meaning of your power—

And it wasn’t that. It was this. 

It came with years of experiencing humans, their feelings, their emotions. You’d been conditioned to be kind, always, but on your own you’d learned that kindness didn’t always win battles. 

But anger—

Anger allowed you to speak. It allowed you to stand up for yourself, for adrenaline to course through your veins until you felt the buzz of your golden power surging to the surface of your fingertips. 

“We killed you once,” you let out venomously. “We will kill you again,” 

The deviant sprung into a sprint in a flash, crashing through the forest until it was sure to kill you in one fatal blow; until you let out a scream that put Thena’s war cry to shame—

Your power emerged in waves, radiating through the air the same as the Sun did through the trees. It wasn’t peaceful—it was destructive. Trees were flattened in an instant, leaves were propelled in the sky as if a hurricane had whipped them from the forest floor. Thena clutched Gilgamesh strongly behind you, but her gaze was stuck on you. 

The deviant struggled to approach, fighting against the immense power that you emanated. It raised its clawed hand in front of you, ready to strike as soon as it could find a way through. You raised yours to its knuckle, clenching your jaw as your spoke. 

“Sleep on this, fucker,” you said, before giving the deviant one touch. 

Amidst an explosion as large as grenade fire, the deviant was expelled backwards, cracking into trees as it continued to be dragged through the air. You didn’t know when it would land, but you knew it would be gone from the forest by the time your power slowed.

You let out a deep breath, calming down your emotions as you dropped your arms to your sides. 

When you turned back, you met the awestruck face of Kingo.

“What... the fuck?” he said, emerging from the clearing first, followed by the others. Some were in worse shape than others. You looked at them in turn, your stare blank, your limbs already beginning to ache. 

Behind you, a final tree toppled to the floor. You winced, as if you were somehow in trouble. 

“That wasn’t me,” Thena said from the floor, her tears drying on her cheek, hands still pressed to Gil’s chest. 

It was accepted, simply because there was no time to discuss it. This was Gil’s time. 

All of you left for the river then, as the sun started to set over the beautiful rainforest. Gil’s body burned gloriously as you all stood and watched; praying; humming; sending words to him through the flames. 

Kingo and his valet, Karun, held prayer hands, whispering ancient prayers into their fingers as the pyre continued its ferocious burning. Thena was still and silent; flames licked in the reflection of her eyes. Phastos and Sersi clutched each other as fragile tears rolled down their cheeks. Sprite was next to Ikaris, shooting him occasional sad looks, as if she wanted to see what he was thinking. 

Druig was next to you. Not close enough to hold, but not far away enough not to feel. Since being around him once more, it was like his fingers were gently prodding through the contents of your mind. 

He didn’t just control people, but read their inner most thoughts. Within a second, he knew what you and everyone was thinking. It wasn’t the same as what he’d tried years before; when he’d attempted to take over your free will; this was different. It was oddly comforting in the same way it’d been back then. A constant feeling of not being alone. 

And after this long, you hated how much it made you want to weep. Knowing he was there, feeling his presence within your mind. It felt like home. 

A home that you weren’t ready to let go of yet, selfish as it may be. 

Druig shifted next to you. You turned to him with glassy eyes, his hand outstretched towards you. He smiled at you, flicking his eyes from his hand back to your face. He wanted you to hold his hand. 

When did you get soft? you thought loudly. 

“Always have been for you,” he said aloud. You let out a sad chuckle. “Don’t go sharing that around,” he added. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” you croaked, before gently sticking out your hand. You curled your fingers into his palm. He tugged you closer when you were securely in his grasp, and you accepted this closeness from him. Your shoulder bumped into his, his fingers squeezing your hand affectionately. 

You watched Gil’s pyre together, until there was nothing left. 

Thena stepped into the river elegantly, clutching his urn with all of her strength. Slowly, she began to spread his ashes over the surface of the water. His ashes danced as they hit the vibrant river, rippling out into small waves until they eventually disappeared below. 

Back at the settlement, a feast had been arranged. Ikaris was not amused. 

“We have to get to the Domo—,”

“There’s fuck all we can do tonight, lad,” Druig interrupted him, picking up a tankard and smirking at his counterpart. “Eat, drink, let’s try and be merry while we still can,” 

“Druig is right,” you backed him up. “We’ll leave at dawn,” 

“Of course, you’d be on his side,” Ikaris said coldly, leaning against the wall and scowling at the steady flow of humans, bringing more food and alcohol. You soured immediately. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you questioned, as a layer of tension descended over the room. 

Phastos was the first to raise his hands. “Let’s avoid a fight, please, children,”

“I just want to know what he meant by that,” you scowled. 

“It means that everyone knows you’ve been Druig’s little lap dog for thousands of years,” Ikaris said sternly. Silence deafened the table; everyone was too stunned to speak. “You’ve always followed him around like a lost puppy,” you were speechless, too overcome from the utter shock of Ikaris being so rude that you didn’t know how to respond. 

“Ikaris,” Sersi spoke up, dropping her cup to the table swiftly. “Enough,” she warned. 

“No, no,” Druig said, rising slowly from his chair. “I want to hear what else he has to say about my lap dog,” 

“Druig,” you said suddenly, finding your voice. He shot you a look, to which you shot him one back; don’t. He turned back to Ikaris, shooting him a smirk. He dropped back into his chair stubbornly. You rose from yours, slowly walking round to where Ikaris stood. 

You looked at him sullenly, not saying a word. He stood up straight, a sudden uneasy look landing upon his jaw. Was that... fear? No. Was it recognition that, perhaps, he’d crossed a line? Bingo. 

Gently, you laid your palm against his cheek. Within seconds, his shoulders relaxed, his posture softened, his jaw went slack. He sucked in a gasp, leaning into your grasp. 

“Did you just—?”

“Calm you to stop you being a grouchy old man? Yes,” 

Phastos was the first to laugh. His chuckles trickled around the table until everyone had a small smile plastered on their faces. Ikaris smiled too, then, bringing his hand up to meet yours. He laid his palm over your knuckles. “I’m sorry,” he said. You smiled back him. 

“I know,” you acknowledged it. It was enough for now. Stress was high, pressure was on all of your shoulders. You didn’t want to fight, yet you’d stuck up for yourself. It was enough. 

“Is now a good time to bring up what happened in the forest earlier, then?” Kingo spoke up, flicking his gaze onto you. “Karun got it on camera,” you sent a confused look at Karun, who nodded excitedly. 

“Yes, Miss, all on video,” he said enthusiastically. 

You walked back to your chair, dropping down into it. Druig placed a hand on your thigh beneath the table. You thought nothing of it. It was like you were simply back in Babylon. 

“I have an idea,” he spoke up, looking around the table. “Your power is manipulating emotion, but it’s also tied to you. Not the way I manipulate minds,”

Sersi nodded in realisation. “Whatever emotion overtakes you is the one you possess into others,” she added. 

“But, I’m still confused,” you admitted. “How did it work against a deviant? I’ve only ever been able to use it on Eternals and humans,” 

“Gilgamesh,” Thena said suddenly. “That deviant absorbed his power, making it part Eternal. That’s how,” 

“When you’re calm, you make others calm. When you’re angry—,” Phastos interjected. 

“I destroy forests, apparently,” you let out, chuckling slightly. Druig squeezed your leg. You looked at him. 

“Imagine the possibilities once you learn to control your emotions effortlessly. Within seconds you could go from calm to angry to whatever else,”

“What do you mean, once she does?” Ikaris said, approaching the table finally and taking a seat. “She already knows how to. That’s how she calmed me instead of slamming me through the wall of this hut,” 

“I didn’t want to do that,” you said quickly, but all eyes landed upon you. You winced. “Well, maybe a little bit,” you admitted. Ikaris smiled. 

“But you didn’t,” he said. 

“I didn’t,” you nodded. 

“You should’ve,” Druig said lowly. You kicked him beneath the table swiftly. That was the end of the fighting for one evening. 

[descendantofthesparrow]

Regained Passion -Harry Hook x reader - part 1 - The dance studio

=

-canon deviant, after D2; Ben invites more vks over, including Harry and Gil-

Harry huffed in frustration as he forced himself to walk to the dance studio building, FG had made the newest set of VKs go to counselors and his had decided he needed something to burn off his energy, but it couldn’t be sword fighting or tourney as it ‘amplified his violent tendencies’ and he needed ‘a calm environment that tempered him’

“Dumb counselor, dumb FG, dumb dance class” he muttered to himself, shrugging the duffel back on his shoulder to sit correctly as it slid from its spot slightly. The studio was just off campus, being connected to a huge auditorium that had a large stage for their dancers to…well dance.

He stopped in front of the building, grimacing up at the sign that hung off the front of the building “Esmerelda's dance hall” he read, sighing he looked back down at his clothes.

Evie had signed herself up to make some new clothes for him to dance in, and at the moment he was in a flowy white t-shirt, slightly baggy black sweatpants, and wearing his new converse. (he had a feeling he would have to change out of them though) “Let's get this over with” he muttered, walking up the steps and into the building.

He stepped through the doors and looked around, to the left was a reception desk, at least that’s what it looked like, and to the right was a café looking room, with vending machines and a mini kitchen. “Hello! Welcome to Esmerelda's dance hall! Are you a new student?” Harry turned back to look at the desk, now a middle-aged blonde woman sat in the chair behind it, a kind smile on her face.

“I guess” Harry muttered, walking up to the desk and handing her the paper the consular had given him to give to ‘Ms. Smith’ and the woman behind the desks nameplate read ‘Mira Smith’ so he guessed she was the person who he had to give the paper too. “I was told ta give this ta yeh” Mira nodded and took the paper, humming to herself and typing on her computer.

“Yep, got you right here, Harry Hook. You’ll be starting out in the beginners class for teens since we assumed you had no prior dance experience” Harry quirked his brow. He had dance experience just…not the type they did in this school probably. “The school is paying for your classes so you won't have to worry about any payments, follow me!” Mira stood and walked out from behind the desk, leading Harry down the long hallway of doors, each having a number and letter on the wood.

“Your classes, for now, will take place in D-A, with Mr. Bert. Hes our beginner teacher, all our students love him, they say he makes everything very fun and entertaining” Harry didn’t respond, looking at the walls and through the small windows to the rooms. “Well, here you are! Have fun Harry” Mira opened the door and gestured inside, where a good group of teens his age stood, all getting ready for the class. Some were stretching while others just talked to their friends.

Harry stepped through the door, pressing his lips together as some of the teens turned to look at him, brows raising bit. He could recognize some of them from Auradon prep. Harry held down a flinch as a hand clamped on his shoulder “You must be Harry, eh?!” Harry turned to look, seeing a kind-looking man with black hair and blue eyes, a smile on his face.

Harry wasn’t one to trust someone as soon as he saw them but this man just had odd energy that Harry felt like he could trust. Harry felt himself relax and nodded to the man, who held out his hand to Harry. “I’m Bert!” Bert had an odd Boston accent, which again, made Harry feel oddly safe. Harry shook his hand, yelping quietly as Burt pulled him into the group of teens “Now, grab a pair of those black ballet shoes, don’t worry they’re new and ya get ta keep ‘em, and get em all tied up on ya’, and the same ta’ the rest of ya’! get all ready and stretch!” Bert released Harry's hand and walked around the room, helping some of the younger teens stretch and put their shoes on.

Harry looked for his size in the shoes and found one pair left ‘how convenient’ he thought, grabbing the pair and moving over to the wall that had only one other teen sitting against it. He took off his bag and slid down the wall, taking off his converse and replacing it with the ballet shoes.

As Harry got his shoes changed, Bert announced to the new students that had also joined that day; that beginner classes were only an hour-long, and there was no lesson plan, for now, it was learning basics and just having fun with dance. He also said he would teach them to dance along to a song called ‘step in time’. But first, stretching.

Harry mindlessly followed along with the instruction; Harry didn’t want to be here in the first place so he didn’t really feel like trying. “uh, Harry?” Harry looked up, seeing Bert staring wide-eyed at him “have ya ever had any previous dance experience? Gymnastics even?” Harry shook his head, not knowing why Bert was asking “You’re about a half-foot away from a full side split” Harry looked down, raising his brows in slight shock.

It was true, Harry's legs were almost horizontal from his hips “well would yeh look at tha’” Harry muttered, leaning forward a bit, hearing some of the girls of the class gasp in slight jealously.

“How the heck is he doing that! I've been doing gymnastics since I was two and I can't even do that!” a black girl with Bantu knots whispered to her friend, who started starry-eyed at Harry.

“I know… it’s kinda hot” the friend whispered back, laughing slightly as the first girl gently tugged at her hair “I’m sorry it is!” the first girl smirked and smacked the second's thigh.

“You are such a simp” she chortled turning her attention back to Bert and Harry, to which Bert was testing Harry's flexibility, to Harry's slight embarrassment.

“Do you feel any pain like that?” Harry looked down at his almost full side spit and shook his head, he didn’t even realize he had done it. “Could you try to do a full one?” Harry stared at Bert for a moment then shrugged, spreading his legs further and now sitting in a full side split “Well butter my britches” Bert laughed, rubbing his head “and they told me ya were a full on beginner!”

Harry sniffed and moved his legs back into a normal position, now sitting cross-legged as Bert patted his head and went back to stand in the front of the group, clapping his hands to gain his attention “Alright! Now let's start with the basics!”

-

If Harry had been taking the class willingly? He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly because Mira was right; Bert did make the class very fun. But due to Harry being forced to take the class, he had hated every second. Bert had seemed to realize Harry wasn’t into it and left harry alone most of the time, but he still checked on him during the hour of class.

“Remember to grab the schedule on your way out! Class is same time same place tomorrow! Have a good day!” Harry finished tying up his shoes and stood, shuffling his new dance shoes into his bag, and made his way out of the class, giving a halfhearted finger wave to Bert as he walked out.

He walked behind his class, not wanting to mingle with any of them. He stopped, looking to his right as he noticed an open door. He blinked in slight surprise, inside was a whole group, much more experienced than his class, practicing what seemed to be ballet, the girls wearing shoes that allowed them to stand on their toes.

His eyes locked onto a particular girl, wearing a light blue leotard and an even lighter blue sheer skirt that almost looked silver.  Her skirt flared as she performed a set of spins, her head almost sticking to one spot as she did.

Harry had never seen ballet before, at least in person, so he stood slightly mesmerized as she danced, she stopped her spin and moved gradually on her toes, moving about the room in a way that Harry could only describe as ‘flowing water’. The girl turned once more, bright (e/c) eyes locking with his.

Harry felt his breath hitch as a sudden rush of butterflies erupted in his gut, flying about his body and filling his mind. ‘wha-‘ Harry mentally stuttered, taking a step back from the class as he felt his face heat up. The girl still had her eyes on him, but they were filled with slight confusion and interest. ‘I-I I have to go’ Harry turned and ran for the exit, not noticing the girl's classmates walk over to the door and look after him, some of them giggling to themselves.

-

“Oh he’s pretty!” “Think he’s a new student?”

“Oh def, did you see his outfit!? Besides, I heard that Mr. Bert got a new student today from Auradon prep, I think that was him”

“(y/n), do you recognize him?” Anita Beaucop turned to you from the door, she wasn’t from Auradon prep so she couldn’t have known who Harry was.

“Yes,” you mumbled, resting against one of the beams against the wall. “Harry Hook, one of the new villain kids, Chad calls him a filthy pirate” Anita rolled her eyes and sauntered over to you, grabbing a water bottle from her bag and cracking it open.

“Well,” Anita huffed, her French accent strong as usual “your brother is an asshole, both of us know not to trust him, if Chad doesn’t like Harry, then you should make friends, piss him off and all that” you giggled at that, covering your mouth as Emma, another one of your class friends who didn’t go to Auradon prep, leaned into your space, her eyes drifting back toward the door.

“Do you know If Harry's single?” she purred, her smirk dropping as you shrugged.

“I don’t know, he hangs around Uma a lot, and from what I see he seems really into her” Emma pouted, and crossed her arms.

“I got no shot with that hunk then, Uma’s hot as fuck.” the entire room agreed, including Javis and Saki in the corner of the room, who were both very much into men. “See, even Javis agrees!”

“Just because I don’t like anything on the menu doesn’t mean I can’t apricate it” Javis snorted, downing a granola bar as he did a small stretch session. You snorted and rolled your eyes, fixing your skirt and getting back into the starting position as Esmerelda looked back up from her cd player.

“Okay! Let's run it from the top again! Last round ladies! Then we can all go home and relax” As the gentle music began to play and you started to dance, you couldn’t help but think about the striking ocean blue eyes that sent a spark through your soul.

-end of part 1-

Part one of a new series, not gonna be a long one, maybe 5 parts at least-most…dunno which it's gonna be but, yeah! If you couldn’t guess, (y/n) is Chad's sister (fraternal twin but since its x reader you look like you and not automatically a female version of Chad) and isn’t like him, takes more after her mom n stuff. And yeah we got some simps in (y/n)s class lol.

Hope you enjoyed and will enjoy the next parts (to which I have no clue where this fic is actually gonna go I had a beginning and ending part to it and that was all lol, so lets see how this turns out)

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[neekaxiv]

She wanted to fight.

The woman who dealt in the absolute of death wanted a fight, it seemed the company she kept was beginning to rub off on her. Why? Why did she insist on picking a fight she couldn’t guarantee she’d win? It still frustrated her, even days later. The only person she’d ever cared about had been hurt, and given the circumstances doing what she wanted to the other party responsibly wasn’t in the realm of possibility. Sparring partners she’d had in the past would immediately know something was wrong, and try to get her to spill whatever the issue was. She wasn’t prepared to go spilling out thoughts that she couldn’t even make sense of herself. She wasn’t one to start shit unprovoked, she’d want some form of excuse. So here she was... a seedy merc dive in the middle of nowhere It paid to have contacts with knowledge of these little tucked away places, even more so when they owed her favors.

Six bodies - seven if you counted the bartender, all hunkered around their drinks at various tables. A quick scan of the room as she entered told her everything needed, 4 males – two Hyur, a Roegadyn and an Elezen. The final two were female, Seekers that looked rough around the edges. If the redhead had shown up in one of her armored jackets, she just might have fit in. It was the incredibly tight, and short skirt she was banking on. It would only take one of them to make an unwanted advance and she’d have that reason for violence.

“Y’sure you’re in the right place lady?” The older Dunesfolk quirked a bushy brow at Neeka as she approached the counter with a coy grin. “This place not open to the public?” She asked softly, placing one hand on the bartop to let fingernails tap idly against it. “It’s public, just not sure you’re in the right company.” He muttered under his breath, shifting on the step stool he stood on while already noticing the looks coming in her direction. “Watchu drinking?” “Whiskey.” She smiled brightly, casting a single glance over her shoulder as she noticed the Highlander with a fairly beat up looking face getting closer. “Neat.” Her gaze snapped back to the bar, that smile still plastered on her lips.

She’d gotten two maybe three sips into her drink after it’d been poured before she got exactly what she wanted – approached. “Name’s Jorg, and you are?” He’d slid up right beside her, close enough that she could smell the garlic and booze on his breath. “Enjoying my drink.” She mumbled softly, wrinkling her nose at the distinct lack of important teeth in his mouth. “Ha!” A bark of laughter came from the man as one hand moved across the bar top to rest on hers. “A fine ass and a smart mouth, just the type I like! Pa, get this woman another drink, on me.” ‘Pa’ as he was called, flinched behind the bar but went about pouring another drink. The look in his eye as he slid the tumbler towards her told her everything she needed to know. The man beside her wasn’t one to take no for an answer which would explain the sympathetic look cast in her direction from behind the bar.

“How ‘bout you come back to my room, we can talk about that name of yours since you’re obviously too shy out here in front of all these deviants.” Grubby fingers brushed over the top of her free hand that remained resting on the wood, while his other was lower – reaching for her backside. Normally she’d give some form of warning, but this wasn’t a normal night. She took one last drink from her glass before setting the glass down and turning just slightly to finally look at the man with a smile. It wasn’t until the knife pinned his hand to the wood that it registered what happened. After reaching for the blade secured with a garter just barely hidden by her skirt, she’d simultaneously pulled her hand from his while bringing the steel down to the top of his with enough force to pierce through and bury into the bar top underneath.

“You fuckin’ cunt.” He let out a guttural scream after the initial shock had passed and pain set in. His free hand went to grasp the handle of the blade, but hesitation set in as realization as the pain that would follow set in. “Hesitating like the little bitch you are huh? No good refugee, should have stayed and died in Ala Mhigo instead of wastin’ all our air.” The words hissed through a vicious looking snarl. Crimson stained the wood moments after she’d reclaimed her weapon causing another howl of pain from the Highlander. For someone that looked the part of a hardened merc being through gods only knows what, it was quite a surprise to watch Jorg crash to the ground, passed out at the sight of his own blood.

In probably the smartest move of the evening, Pa had mysteriously vanished. Probably hiding behind the bar or in the back-storage room.

The sound of chairs scraping against floor once again told the redhead that her bet paid off. This group was together, and by the sounds of things they weren’t so happy one of their own was just attacked.

She hadn’t expected the second Hyur – a Midlander, to be quite so fast in getting from the table up to the bar. He’d managed to land a solid blow to her side, causing Neeka to double over with a grunt. A fire burned behind her eyes after she’d righted herself to look at him, you could almost see the fear on his features. It only took two steps to the side for her to have a perfect shot, her hand found the mess of blond hair on the back of his head and she shoved him forward – introducing face to wood. She quirked a brow as he fell to the ground out of her grasp, completely unconscious.

It was a shriek that caused her to break away from looking over the Midlander curiously. (Did it really only take one hit to the face?) “Jorg! Mitch!” A name from each of the Seekers as they rushed the redhead at the bar, daggers drawn. Neeka rolled her eyes as it took only a simple side step to avoid the lunge of the first, the side of her hand coming down on the woman’s wrist hard enough to force the weapon to be dropped. “This is too easy...” The redhead seemed almost perplexed that the Seeker was stupid enough to reach out in an attempt to reclaim her weapon. Boot met skin as Neeka stomped onto the beautifully presented forearm without hesitation. A chorus of screams filled the bar, the first coming from the Miqo’te. The blow to her arm had not only broken the bone, but since Neeka followed through with the stomp, shattered bone now poked through flesh. The second scream came from the redhead herself, while she’d been distracted with her new obsession over breaking arms the second Seeker had landed her intended strike. A slash across her back ruined that new jacket of hers and it was deep enough it’d be a problem if she stayed here too long. Luckily, her second opponent seemed more concerned about the other woman than continuing the fight.

The smug smile on Neeka’s face was quickly removed as a chair crashed over the top of her head, sending her straight to the ground. The Roe intended on putting a stop to this insane bitch apparently. It took her only a moment to blink away the stars, spinning on the floor so she was on her back looking up at him. She could feel her own blood smearing the floor, this was the part of fighting she hated the most – getting herself all mucked up. No time to think of that now, the Roe was already moving, looming over her to reach down and grab her neck. She might not have been able to use aether, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a disgustingly powerful kick. The tiniest mount of shuffling was required for her to line herself up properly, both her legs pulled back before she let go – her feet finding his kneecaps with shattering force. A scream of pain came from him as he came crashing down on top of her. A body that size hitting her with dead weight was going to hurt, she’d feel it after the adrenaline faded. It was a quick scramble to get out from under him and back to her feet, taking a few steps away from the heap of bodies she’d left in case one of them decided they wanted to try to grab her.

Dark amber locked onto the Elezen as her gaze flew in his direction. Surprisingly he was still sitting at his chair, causing her to pause and quirk a brow. “Nope. I know exactly who you are...” His gaze wandered over his comrades, either conscious or nursing their wounds in a corner. “Apparently, I’m the only one.” A sigh came with a shake of his head. “I’d rather not.” A shrug offered with the words before he silently went back to his drink.

She wiped a small amount of blood from the corner of her mouth, seems she’s hit her face on the crash to the ground. Funny, she didn’t remember that. A wide grin was offered to the Elezen, she’d had enough, no point in provoking him. Out of her jacket she pulled an oversized coin purse, enough gil in it to potentially remodel this entire place. She’d liked Pa, it was the least she could do. With the purse left on the bar top, the redhead spun on her heel and was out the door.

She’d somehow managed to get back home, it was a long enough walk for all those endorphins to wear off. Before passing out on her lounge chairs she’d been able to get her jacket off, but getting all the way inside was a little too much.

What was she thinking? She hated fighting.

[softquietsteadylove]

Hiiiii could I ask a fic of a ghost face fic with the eternals I loved Scream and I would die to read Thena and Gil in a situation or a storyline like that!🥹😍🖤🖤🖤

(Happy birthday my dear, sweet @dalhia28! You have been such a supporter of mine from the beginning and I am always happy to see you around)

"Sersi," Thena hissed at her, gripping the Elemental Eternal's shoulders as she cried, "there's no time for that."

"Thena," Sersi sniffled, reeling from the idea that not only was their reunion with their family a stage for Ikaris' betrayal of them, but now he was picking them off one by one. "I-I can't-"

"You can," Thena said more resolutely than she could really feel at this time. But they didn't have the luxury of time--not to grieve for Ajak, or Sprite, or Kingo. "We have to."

Thena pulled Sersi to her feet. The statue of Arishem was too open an area. Ikaris could be silently floating around anywhere in the labyrinthine ship. They were at a disadvantage being split up from one another.

She had to find Gilgamesh.

They were all scattered around the ship while they were conceiving their plan. Thinking about it now, perhaps that too was part of Ikaris' plan. Maybe all this time he had been watching them like a predator, thinking to himself how weak his family was and how easy it would be to hunt them just like Deviants.

Thena kept Sersi close to her, her shield in front of them and her blade in her hand. It would be held aloft, ready to be swung. But Sersi was clinging to her hand like a trembling child.

She couldn't be angry with her--the poor thing had watched the man she loved - her ex-husband - shoot down their own right in front of them. He had told them himself of the murder of their leader and 'mother' by his own hand.

No one would blame Sersi for her tears.

Thena stopped, pressing Sersi's back to the wall with her. The corridors of the Domo were narrow, barely wide enough for two people.

Ikaris passed by.

He never was the best hunter of them. His vision was good, but he was too arrogant to make full use of his hearing, the way they were all able to feel the air bend around them.

Thena squeezed her eyes shut as the air compression and sound of Ikaris firing his lasers sounded one hallway away. The wall he was aiming at clearly relented against the force. Sersi flinched.

"Come on out," his accent drawled as he floated through the new door he had made for himself. He was moving away from them, but it was undeniable that the echo of his sinister tone felt right on top of them. "I'll make it quick, love. For old time's sake."

What a wretched man he was. The Soldier Eternal no longer, nor even an Eternal brother, now he was just Arishem's little murderer.

Thena brought Sersi with her by the hand, although she was highly aware of the sounds Sersi made when she moved. Her clothes made sound, her shoes did (Thena was still barefoot), she wore a pendant that dangled loosely around her.

She still had to find Gilgamesh.

He was somewhere deeper in the ship, healing from the fight in the Amazon. She had to get to him before Ikaris did. If he was able to be woken from his healing, perhaps he could even help them try to move the rest of them to the healing bay. At the very least, their bodies.

Thena paused at every corner, listening for every wisp of air, every moan of the Domo's metal body, every possible sign of movement. She nodded to Sersi.

Sersi's tears were dried, which was already admirable. Sersi was always the one with the most human heart, but it couldn't be said that she was weak in any way. If anything, how human she could be at times was something that made her stronger than most, Thena would say.

Thena nodded her head, telling Sersi to find refuge in Phastos' lab, just outside the healing bay with his equipment. She might find refuge in the greentank, which could offer organic material for her to connect to (it might calm her to be around material she couldn't transmute).

The healing pods were humming, one in particular engaged and glowing gently. Thena dispelled her Cosmic Energy into the air, walking over to it.

Her sweet Gilgamesh.

He had nearly given his life to save her in the rain forest. She would have done the same for him, of course, but it didn't make watching it any easier. And here they thought their worries were over after killing that monstrosity.

The monstrosity they had thought killed Ajak.

Thena knelt down to the pod, tilting her head at the image of him. His face was so still. The lights blaring on his face in the echochamber gave distinct lines and bends to his face. She raised her hand slowly, her fingers nearly trembling at the tips.

Her hand went right through him.

"Thena!"

"Gil!"

Of course. Of course he hadn't been able to kill them all going so undetected. Not even Ikaris could be in two places at once. They had seen him shoot Kingo, and then found Sprite's body, seeing the blood. But seeing meant little when it came to the Illusionist Eternal.

"Easy, Thena," Ikaris muttered, his arms locked around her head and his elbow driven into her. "You know very well not even your thick skull can withstand me at point blank range."

Gilgamesh knew it too, revealed from under Sprite's shroud with a knife to his throat. They were each other's insurance policy--Gil and Thena would never do anything to endanger one another.

Ikaris had always been behind Thena, his eyes focused on her. Sprite had rushed right to the healing bay and woken Gilgamesh with the knife ready, telling him that if he made one wrong move, they would toss Thena's body at his feet.

The perfect hostages.

"Gil," Thena managed to squeak out as Ikaris held her head. If she were human her neck would have already snapped. She could feel the heat building in his eyes against her hair.

"Please," Gil whimpered. He was softer than she was--he had no problem begging and pleading with their assailants for her life. "Let her go. I'll help you."

"Shut up," Sprite's once light and lyrical voice barked at him. "We don't need your help--we don't need anyone!"

Oh, Sprite, of course. Kingo had been right, in his oddly perceptive way of seeing the world through his own lens. Sprite, the unseen and even worse the unacknowledged.

"Tell us where the point of emergence is," Ikaris directed Thena, his eyes both on the back of her head and on Gil and Sprite by the door. "I don't care who. You tell us, we'll spare the other one."

"Thena!"

"Don't move!"

Thena's ear was ringing after Ikaris shouting in it. But Ikaris' lasers were far too deadly, and even with too many targets to look at, it would take a fraction of a second for him to kill all of them.

"Not a muscle," Ikaris glared at Sersi, completing the triangle between Ikaris holding Thena and Sprite blocking off Gilgamesh. She held her hands out, having skidded to a halt at the sight of that familiar and menacing glow. "Or I'll fire straight through both of 'em in one shot."

He could, and they all knew he was capable of it.

Thena's mind raced. They were limited on options. Ikaris wanted the point of emergence, and killing them was merely...a series of steps for him. She could tell him, doom humanity, and for all she knew, still not see Gilgamesh's life spared. The same could be said if he bent first.

"Please," Sersi whispered. Her tears returned. "Please don't do this."

She looked at Ikaris, who had far too many balls in the air. His stance kept shifting as he held Thena's head tight. His eyes cooled slightly, "just tell us, Sersi. Just...you could come with us."

Sersi shook her head faintly, baffled and probably disgusted that he would ask that.

"No, she can't!"

Thena moved her eyes from Gil's teary ones to Sprite's suddenly enraged expression. This could work.

"You said it was just gonna be us!" the small Eternal spat, although rather than point at Ikaris in her rage her hand twitched, jabbing Gil in the neck just a little harder.

Thena flinched but Ikaris' grip held strong as well.

"Sprite," he growled at her.

"No! No, you said Sersi wasn't coming with us!" Sprite continued in her accusations. She glared at her sister, "you're ruining this!"

Sprite was just as old as the rest of them, and yet she really could embody that youth that kept her mind tireless and which Ajak had adored so.

"Sprite!" Ikaris repeated. Things were unravelling, "keep it together!"

"No, you said-!" Sprite whirled around at her partner in crime--the love she had who convinced her to turn on their family. She pointed the knife at him.

Thena let her knees go, dropping from Ikari's hold rather than wrestling free. She slipped away. Gil launched forward knocking Sprite's hand out of his way.

Ikaris fired but Gil called his exoskeleton over him, the same way Thena could hold a shield. He landed a punch to his face, shattering bone the way a bullet would.

"Sersi!" Thena called out, but Sprite was already lunging at her.

Sersi moved instinctively. Her body was designed to recognise the makeup of any material it touched--to react and reformat it. Her hand came up to block the knife, but all it did was fade to water and splash onto the floor around them and into their clothes.

"You bitch!" Sprite raged at her. She'd had enough.

Sersi pressed her palm to Sprite's soaked shirt. She could turn steel to water, why not water back into steel?

Sprite's body jerked as the water collected and, while not much, reformed a blade within her skin. She choked on the air in her throat, "S-Ser..."

The Alchemist scrambled back from what she had done. She looked from the bloodied body of their sister to Ikaris, whose head was half caved in from taking a direct hit from the Strongest Eternal. She looked away.

Thena and Sersi helped each other stand. Gilgamesh came over, bending over their smaller frames and placing his hands gently on their shoulders. The night was over.

"I-I can't-" Sersi shook her head, looking at the body of Sprite splayed on the floor, eerily similar to the staging of earlier. "I didn't-"

"No one did," Thena finished for her, pulling her sister's head closer to her. No one saw their betrayal coming, and no one wanted things to turn out like this, either. No one thought they could kill their own family.

Sprite sprang up.

Gilgamesh pulled them back, Sersi held her hands up and Thena materialised her shield. It happened in two seconds. But a glow of gold flew through the air, clean through the smallest Eternal's body from behind.

Kingo gripped the door frame, his shooting hand dropping heavily as his side continued to bleed from Ikaris' earlier inflicted wound. He looked at what remained of his family, "rough night, huh?"

[softquietsteadylove]

What if a Deviant has mind controlling abilities and uses on Gil? The rest of them realizing it a bit too late when Gil suddenly started to attack.👀

Let the action and drama take its place!

Thena pulled her sword from one of the many Deviants from this most recent onslaught. "These seem quite unlike those of the past."

"They are bizarre," Sersi murmured, hovering and fluttering around the slain bodies around them now that there was no more threat. She looked up at Thena, "Deviants tend to mimic the wildlife the planet already sustains. But these are...they seem almost alien, like-"

"Us," Thena concluded, making Sersi nod her head with some reluctance. She looked out to the horizon, where the rest of the Fighters were already gathering along the front of the attack. "I must see to them."

Sersi merely nodded. She wasn't a Fighter, but even she had need to join the fray with the attacks were as dense as they were becoming. It was relatively early in their mission, but the more humans flourished, the more protection they needed. She squinted, "is that them?"

Ikaris was always easy to spot soaring well above everything around them. Kingo was also running towards them, waving his arms about something.

Thena frowned, "what are they saying?"

"Run!"

Gilgamesh rose up, breaking the horizon line and coming down with sheer force, his fist opening up the earth beneath him.

Kingo barely had enough distance to escape the minor earthquake, rolling and tumbling from it. Thena jerked in reaction but Sersi held her arm.

"What's happening?"

Gilgamesh continued his pursuit of them though, using his strength and concentrating it into different parts of his body to use as propulsion. He was launched forward, catching Kingo in his escape and raising his fist.

"Gil!" Ikaris swooped down, knocking him away from the Sharpshot Eternal. His eyes charged.

"No!" Thena launched herself up and into Ikaris' path, grappling onto him with a weapon and dragging them both away from Gilgamesh. "Don't hurt him!"

"Thena!" Ikaris roared at her like a pest on his back. He tossed her off, not bothering to return to the ground while the threat was still so present.

"What has done this?!" she demanded of her brother, keeping her eyes on Gilgamesh. Blank eyes took her in, assessing the new threat she posed.

"We don't know!" Kingo protested as he scrambled to his feet (and behind Thena). "One minute he was fine, then one of those things let out this sound--awful buzzing sound, really, then-"

"Kingo!" she barked at him, backing up slightly as Gilgamesh took slow, unfocused steps in their direction. He was the Strongest Eternal for a reason, and any one of them needed to exercise caution.

"I-I don't know!" he flailed again, faced down with the strongest of his brothers approaching like some mindless beast. "We all were fine but then Gil started acting weird."

"He is under some sort of influence," Thena concluded, as half-baked an assumption as it was. But Gilgamesh would never willingly turn on them like this. She kept her eyes on his, not that they were really looking at her. "He would never do this."

He would never raise a hand against her willingly.

Thena brought up her shield, catching the otherwise unstoppable fist of the Strongest Eternal. They both dug their feet in, the ground cracking beneath them. She held him at bay. "Leave us!"

Ikaris had already done so, taking Sersi away from danger at the first sign of an enemy he couldn't defeat singlehandedly.

"No way, T!" Kingo responded, bracing her from behind to help her not be pushed back by Gilgamesh's sheer strength.

"Go!" she snapped at him, keeping her eyes through the lights of her shield and on the enemy...on Gilgamesh. "Find Phastos--Ajak! Find a way to undo this!"

She knew Kingo was reluctant; he was actually very protective of all of them, despite his powers being most effective with some distance between himself and the enemy.

"I can handle him," she said more quietly. Her arms were starting to tire.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Kingo muttered before letting go of her and rounding around Gil's side. He fired a few shots at the ground between them, creating somewhat of a dust cover. "Kari!"

A bolt of gold zoomed through the area, nearly impossible to see at all. She zipped Kingo away and then she was there. Thena spared her the briefest of glances. "I don't know what this is. But we can't hurt him."

He was still Gilgamesh.

Makkari tapped her on the shoulder. Thena did her best to look at her. He's vibrating.

She frowned. Makkari would know, though. Kingo had said that the Deviant on their end had let out some wretched sound and then this had happened.

Gil pushed harder and Thena increased the surface area of her shield, bracing it with her knee as well. She was growing tired of this. "Kari, did you feel a bigger vibration earlier?--some kind of sound or signal?"

Makkari was just as quick mentally as she was physically, looking at Gil and connecting the dots offered by her fellow Fighter. She placed her hand on the inside of Thena's shield, vibrating every cell in her body through it.

Gilgamesh drew back, gripping his head and roaring in agony from it.

"Gil!"

He gripped his head in his hands until he was on his knees. He drew back and smashed his head against the ground.

"Gilgamesh!" She hadn't even realised she had called out the first time, but this second time, Makkari held her back from going to him.

Gil slammed his head down again.

"Stop it!" Thean shouted, not that she could know if he could hear her or not.

His teeth were gritted together. "Run."

"Gil," she pleaded again--practically whimpered as her throat grew tight. She hated to see him like this.

It was early in the mission, sure. But she knew Gilgamesh, knew how kind and sweet and gentle he was by nature. This wasn't like him. She pulled against Makkari, who was letting her feet impact the ground to hold her back. "Please!"

"Thena!"

Makkari's head snapped up and just like that, she was running them away from him.

"Makkari, please!" Thena tried to reason with her sister as Gil got further away and then suddenly vanished from sight. Being transported by Makkari was always hard on the senses. "W-We can't-"

"Thena."

She turned, the rest of her team - her family - already standing by the Domo. She eyed Ajak, walking towards her a little too calmly. "You are going to leave him out there?"

"He's too dangerous, Thena," Phastos chimed in (from his safer distance). "We have to wait it out a little."

Thena's eyes hardened at her team. "You are abandoning him to this...sickness?"

Ajak had a strange look on her face as she closed the distance between them. Thena never liked that look--like she knew something and wasn't divulging everything. "The risk is too great, Thena. We have to let him get it out of his system. Give it time."

Thena looked back to the battlefield, fully able to sense the lingering presence of one of their own. She watched and listened; dirt dusted up and if she really concentrated she could hear him, still wailing like a beast looking for a fight.

Makkari looked between them all, moving to be seen by everyone's vantage point. Interrupting the vibrations worked. I can-

"We can't risk you," Ajak smiled at her, then looked to Thena's half-turned shoulder, "either of you."

Phastos also half turned, but towards the comfort of their ship. "Let him tire himself out, T. We'll go get him then."

"He's just out there swinging at nothing, right?" Sprite added in far too light a tone for the actual goings on. "Let him."

Druig said nothing but also disappeared into the sanctuary of the Domo. Makkari looked at him, shaking her head, but it did not persuade him to stay.

"I promise, Thena," Ajak said in that slow, lyrical way she had. "We will go to him as soon as the threat has passed."

Thena stood resolute against the skyline, watching over Gilgamesh as best she could. "You may abandon him if you see fit. I will not."

Sersi was the last one to leave, hovering between the lines of staying and saying something and joining the rest of her fellow Thinkers. In the end, Ikaris pulled her inside by the hand.

Makkari nodded at her and then at Thena.

"No," she responded to the question never asked. She looked up again, unable to pull herself away from the thought of Gilgamesh left alone with only the violence in his own mind. "I'll stay."

And so she sat herself down, on the ground, watching until there was no sign of movement, listening until his agony had quieted. And then she began the journey back to him.

[softquietsteadylove]

I love the way you can describe Thenamesh. How you find the right word to describe anything. It’s very poetic. Maybe you can use your talent and write something beautiful?

How Thena sees Gil? What she thinks when she is looking into his eyes, sees his smile? How he is tall and has these muscles but is very very gentle with anything fragile. How he is utterly gentle and soft with her?

Just her perspective of him. Something beautiful, soft and sweet.

Im looking forward for more story’s of you ❤️

Warmth

There are a few things that can come to mind when looking at the Strongest Eternal, but the first and foremost should be warmth. He radiates it, embodies it, effuses it. And it spreads to those around him, encouraging them to bask in such qualities as his warmth and his humour and his utter kindness.

When she looks at him, something stirs within her mind. it's hard to explain, and the Warrior Eternal is not exactly one confounded by her own thoughts often. But looking at him pulls something from deep within her. It lies dormant, under her unconscious thought when she doesn't need it. But how she loves that indescribable feeling.

From the moment their eyes met in deep space, to when her hand slipped into his when they first touched down on the planet, something about him makes her feel at ease.

The nerves in her body calm, the thoughts in her head quiet. He stills her like a ripple stills the water in its wake. She gives him her hand and his warmth washes over her. It loosens her, softens her jagged edges. She tucks her elbow in, bringing herself closer to him by her own volition. Because the choice to be closer to him is an easy one.

She watches him across from her, through the flames of revelry. Deviants have been slain and celebration is in order. She is not one for it, but he is. And if he is there, then she will not be far. Not unless it's to protect that smile of his--the warmth he carries preciously without even realising it.

"Come and have a drink with me."

Cold and hard, just like her. "No."

Not all of them are. Sersi is soft and warm, Makkari is bright and warm. Kingo is a little too bright, if anything. But none of them are warm like he is.

He turns and looks at her, bathed in Babylonian sun. His hair moves in the wind, soft and almost fluffy on the top of his head. It catches the light and holds it with its dark colour. His skin glows from the work he's doing. He waves.

His eyes are warm, and so gentle. Their colour is brown, but Thena will never have the words to describe how they are so much more than that. They are warm soup he makes for her when it's raining, or tea he brews when she can't sleep. They are the last embers of a fire she keeps stoked so he won't be cold after dozing off in the middle of watch duty. They are the first hints of sunlight she glimpses on his skin before going back to sleep, content with just the sight of him.

"Hey," he greets her plainly and simply. The one word has so, so many others behind it--so much that exists between them.

"Hey," she smiles back at him, content as his smile pulls up to one side while he tries to guess her thoughts. She lets him, because she gets to look at him for longer.

His eyes flutter as she reaches up to brush away a bead or two of sweat. He has black eyelashes, which make her envious because they get to touch his cheeks whenever they please.

"What have you been up to?" he asks lightly, his hand hovering closer, lingering in a way that would get anyone else killed.

She allows it, because it's easier than giving in and leaning all the way into it. "Watch."

He nods, content with her one word, because he knows she has chosen it just for him.

"You?" she asks, and this too is more than anyone else would get.

"Helping patch up the hole," he points to the last point of impact from a previous fight. It was a good fight. "Just finished."

"Hm," she purrs, eyes travelling over him. She follows every move of his shoulders, every breath that expands his chest under his armour, ever twitch in his arms after a hard day's work.

Those arms can rip a Deviant's head clean off. They are also made to fit around her in embraces that can only be described as painfully gentle.

"Hungry?" he asks, because he's always so concerned with feeding her.

She lets his hand come to the small of her back, his palm spreading against it. She knows every bend of muscle, every edge of bone, every ridge in the tips of his fingers. "What are you making?"

His smile puts the sun to shame. "Anything you want."

She lets out a fraction of a laugh, but he brightens as if she has promised him riches beyond compare. He always presents himself as living to hear even the smallest laugh from her. That is how she feels about his smile.

"Honey buns?" he suggests, and is rewarded with a full, bright smile, her lips pulling back from her teeth.

His eyes trail over them. Just like she knows every muscle on his body, he knows every bend and line in her lips. "I'll take that as a yes."

She keeps her eyes on him as they walk. She has no choice; he's too beautiful to look away. His hand moves and soon his arm is looped around her, as easily and lazily as he might lean against something.

She leans against him--leans into it.

How she loves him.