Just me, her & the moon | druig

Mahtlactli

Most of them looked surprised as they arrived at a picket fence house. Phastos, another man and a little boy were playing in the front yard. Out of them, Phastos had been the least likely to settle down and have a family. The chances went from slim to none after the world wars and proxy wars that had shown Phastos that his technology and inventions had been used to take lives. Yet, here they were witnessing the most mundane thing with a surprised expression.

Phastos glanced at them, his demeanor changed completely. He told the man something, which by the look and exchange they had it could be deduced that he was his husband, nodding. He took the boy inside the house, leaving Phastos outside with his "college friends".

"What are you doing here?" Phastos said defensively.

"We need your help, we have to stop the emergence." Sersi said. Phastos shook his head in disbelief.

"Come in. Let's talk." Sersi and Ikaris were the only ones who stepped in. They knew that if all of them came in, it would probably overwhelm Phastos and his family.

Kingo was still filming his documentary, Karun holding the camera, telling him where to stand and when to talk. Thena entertained herself by watching Kingo and making sarcastic remarks, ruining some shots. Sprite had excused herself and went on a walk through the neighborhood. The neighborhood looked like any normal neighborhood, houses lined up on both sides, cars parked in front of some, and in the distance you could hear kids playing. Metzi was happy that Phastos had the chance to raise a family; she hated the fact that they were going to put him in danger. But she knew that not doing anything would be worse, it would take Phastos' family from him.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Druig leaned on the fence, arms crossed against his chest.

"Nothing, I'm just worried. What if we can't stop the emergence?" Metzi worried at her lower lip.

"We will figure it out. We always do." She relaxed at his reassurance, yet she still felt on edge. The stakes were too high, they couldn't fail. Not now.

"I heard you got really famous among the Aztec people." Trying to ease the evident distress she was in, he decided to change the topic. Metzi let a chuckle escape her lips.

"Yeah, you could say so." The Aztecs had been grateful when she found them on the building locked up, hiding from the genocide. With her help, they had built up their empire back again, not fully being what it once was. Her time there, although limited, had been thrilling and exciting. It had helped her clear her head and not dwell too much on the heartbreak.

"Rumor has it that you were one of their deities. One of the most beloved." Amusement painted his features, looking at her with a quirked eyebrow.

"Moon goddess for you." She blushed slightly. As they said, Rome wasn't built in a day, but that was because they didn't have the capacities to do so. The Aztec empire was rebuilt in a span of weeks thanks to Metzi. Using her powers and the moonlight. She helped heal people, moved heavy things, and helped them foresee their future with what they called "clairvoyance".

"Metztli" The name flew effortlessly from his lips. Metzi loved how it sounded coming from him. "Goddess of the moon and the night." She couldn't help but smile shyly.

"It's been a while since I've heard someone speak that name" The memories pained her in the most nostalgic and melancholic way. A mixture of sadness, happiness, and longing.

"I like it. Sounds... pretty."

"It does." Silence stretched between both of them. Before Druig could say something more, Metz started talking. She had to get it out of her chest.

"Did you know that the Spaniards came back? Even after we tried to avoid it. They came back." A humorless laugh came from her. "It felt like the genocide couldn't be stopped. That it was meant to be."

"I'm sorry. I heard, but I didn't know that you were still with them." Druig had thought that she had left once the empire had been reconstructed, not living with them for the years to come until their fall. Regret filled his stomach, he should've gone to check it out, check on her.

"The worst part was that I knew. It had been the most gut-wrenching feeling. I was unsettled all week, but I knew... I didn't even warn them, Druig" She closed her eyes, trying to check the images of Tenochtitlán in flames for the second time. "I knew they couldn't do anything, it was an inescapable feeling. So I didn't want to alarm them, I just let them enjoy their last days."

"You did what you could. It wasn't your fault." They knew that the words weren't enough to console her completely, still, there was a comfort in them, even more, that they were being spoken by Druig.

"I guess. I still feel horrible. I felt like I let them down." She looked down. "Part of me was glad that after all these years, there was so little to be found about their civilization and religion."

Druig had leaned closer to her, he was looking at her, offering a small smile. "You didn't let them down, after all, we are not gods." That statement leaving from Druig's lips made her roll her eyes. Using people's against themselves, a low blow.

"What about you? During all these years, you built an isolated community in Brazil?" She was asking, but it sounded more like an accusation.

"Why do you have to say that as if it's a bad thing." Druig chuckled.

"I'm just asking. Take it as you will." Metzi shrugged her shoulders. She had missed the teasing nature of her relationship with Druig, even when they were friends they had the back and forth petty arguments that ended in laughter.

"Basically, yeah. I moved to the Amazons a few years after everything that happened, brought the people with me. From there, I built a community to give them and others sanctuary from the rest of the world." That made her smile. At least Druig tried to help in his own way, keeping humans safe if they needed it. "All of them consent to be mind-controlled by the way.'' He added out of nowhere.

"I never said anything about that." She defended herself. Deep down she did wonder about it, but she knew him enough, or at least she liked to think that she did, to know that he wouldn't take away their free will without permission.

"You were thinking it." He said it, he didn't sound offended or taken back. He leaned over the fence.

The front door opened before he could say whatever he was thinking. Sersi, Ikaris and Phastos were coming out. One less Eternal to worry about, only one to go. Phastos was muttering stuff, it seemed as if he had begrudgingly decided to help them. Though for them, it didn't matter, they needed Phastos "big brain energy", as Sprite and Metzi called it, to defeat the Deviant.

They were now facing the Domo, where it all began. They hadn't seen it since the last time they were together. The hallways felt familiar, nothing had really changed. Their steps echoed across the ship, they made their way towards the center of the ship. On a chair in the center of the room sat Makkari, flipping rapidly through a book. As she felt the vibrations from their steps, she glanced up and smiled at them, the book long forgotten.

"Are we going home?" Her face lightened up. As she observed the faces of the rest of the Eternals, her face fell.

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a/n: this took longer than i wanted it to, this week was exhausting. but finally, the chapter is here. enjoy.