Second time
Humans were...strange. They could be the most beautiful creatures for an instant, with their constant need to learn and grow. And then destroy themselves in senseless wars. They were a constant mix of beginning and end, peace and war, good and bad. And there was something fascinatingly macabre about watching them.
You kept the promise you made to Ajak and never put a foot on the battlefield again, choosing to stay behind and helping the prime eternal or Phastos wherever you could.
Right now, you were helping to keep order in Babylon. It was an incredibly difficult task, everything was in chaos. But your teammates were excellent at doing their thing and the city held its own.
Arishem was happy, or so Ajak said, and you were happy to prove that you could do something. It was a long time since Ikaris had stopped looking at you as if you were useless (you suspected that Ajak had something to do with it), but there was always a painful ghost left.
"You are doing it again"
You jumped up and quickly turned to your visitor. The prime eternal was leaning against a pillar and she was looking at you with a slight smile on her face.
"What am I doing?" you asked, praying your cheeks weren't as red as they felt. Ajak had a special way of making you blush without trying.
"Losing yourself in your thoughts" she replied, walking towards you "you do it when something worries you"
"That's not true" you defended yourself
The woman just looked at you. She knew it was a matter of time before you gave up. You always did it with her. And if she was honest, she found that terribly adorable.
"Can I ask you something?" you sighed.
There it was.
"Of course" she smiled.
"...why did Arishem put me with you?" you said
"What do you mean?"
"...I am not a warrior like Thena or Gilgamesh, I am not fast like Makkari or brilliant like Druig, Phastos and Sprite. I don't even have Kingo's charisma or Sersi's gentleness. And much less I am perfect like Ikaris"
Ajak frowned as she moved closer to you. You didn't even notice it. Your eyes were fixed on the ground and you were holding the urge to cry.
An eternal doesn't cry, you reminded yourself.
"And I don't even have useful powers" you finished "So why am I here?"
"You are all special my dear Y/N" she said, trying to ignore the pang in her chest when you rolled your eyes at her generic speech "You don't need to compare yourself to others"
"It wasn't me who did it first" you whispered.
Ajak frowned again and made a mental note to speak to Ikaris again.
"If you'll allow me a more selfish thought..." she began, catching your attention.
"I hear you"
The other woman wasn't sure it was wise to reveal this part, but she would condemn herself if she didn't do everything she could to make you feel the way you deserved: appreciated and loved.
You held your breath when she closed the distance between you and caressed your cheek tenderly. Her touch was warm and you could see a reddish tinge on her cheeks. You have never seen her like this, it was beautiful.
"You are special in ways you can't imagine, Y/N"
Her thumb stroked your lower lip after you scoffed.
"You are for me" she said, bringing your face closer "And I would like to think that Arishem sent you with us because of me...for me"
Her warm breath tickled your face and you couldn't help but close your eyes as she sealed her lips with yours. Her lips were soft and her hands surrounded and caressed you as if you were the most precious thing in the universe. Suddenly, not fitting in with the others didn't seem to matter, you fit perfectly in her arms and that was much more important.
"Did you always have the universe in your eyes?" You asked when you broke up
Ajak giggled and simply stroked your cheek, looking at you with reserved love.
"Sorry to interrupt"
You two jumped a bit and turned to see Phastos staring at you in amusement.
"The others came back" he said "maybe you want to do a damage count. I heard that Ikaris is slightly injured"
Ajak nodded and gave you an apologetic look. You smiled at her, letting her know that it was okay. However, before she left, a last minute question came.
"Would you watch the stars with me?" you asked.
Ajak blinked in surprise, but smiled after a second.
"I'd love to"
You smiled and watched her walk away with Phastos. You really didn't care what others might think of this change in your relationship with the leader, but you couldn't help but blush when you heard Phastos laugh and say "It's about time"
____________________
You loved helping. Humans, they weren't as bad or insignificant as you thought when you first came to earth. But damn the hour you thought you'd finish on time.
Babylon was chaos, you ran from end to end for hours. By the time you and Ajak managed to find a moment alone, it was already dawn.
