A Thousand Miles And Poles Apart

forever i believe that there's nothing i could need but you

Druig was holding your hand as you stood beside the others. Eros hadn't been brought with you. You had been transported back to the asteroid this test had begun on, The Living Tribunal, Death, Eternity, Infinity and Oblivion in front of you.

"The test is complete," Infinity said. "Judgment shall begin."

I love you, no matter what. To the end, you hear in your mind.

You look at Druig. Me too.

"Eternals," The Living Tribunal's voice breaks your concentration. "You stand accused of upsetting the balance of the multiverse for love. You have been tested and tried. If you should fail, you and the Earth you have betrayed your cosmic purpose for will be destroyed. These are the terms to which we have all agreed upon. We shall begin."

"You were sent to Earth with no memories of your past or powers," Eternity said. "In order to pass the test, you were to prove love was strong enough to correct the balance that has been upset."

"Is there anything you would like to say before we pass our judgment?" Infinity asked. She was staring right at you, as if she were trying to convey some sort of message. But you weren't sure what it could be.

Sersei nudged you, silently telling you to speak. Oh right, you had assumed leadership of your family. You stepped forward, Druig in step with you as he refused to let go of your hand.

"Um well, we did find each other," you said awkwardly. "And we stopped Ghaur from stealing Tiamut's powers and killing all the Eternals and Celestials which would have definitely screwed up the balance."

"This Ghaur was not part of the test," Eternity said, confirming what you had suspected. "Though he did prove useful for our purpose. But was it enough to prove your point?"

"Well, we were only able to defeat him because we came together as one," you said. "And we were only able to do that because we came together, and because of the bond of love we've had over the millennia."

"That was not the love we were testing," Oblivion said, his tone bored. "I see nothing in the chain of events that prove your theory. In fact, I see the opposite. I say we destroy them now."

"I agree," Eternity said.

You exchanged a look with Druig. This wasn't going well. They were going to destroy you. Death looked like she didn't care either way, but Infinity was still staring at you. You looked up at the entities again. "When we were here last, I said I was to blame for what happened with Tiamut. Me alone," you said. "I saw this time that it was our connection and our bond that allowed us to stop Ghaur. But we didn't have that connection until Druig remembered, until I felt him again. Isn't that the love you're talking about?"

"The male Eternal did remember when she was injured," Infinity conceded.

"She was injured several times," Oblivion said. "He didn't regain his memories then. He could have just as likely been reacting to the events at the time."

"That's a load of bullshit," Druig said.

"Druig," you warned him quietly. You heard Phastos groan behind you.

He ignored you. "We were under attack, sure. But we'd been under attack since Y/N came to find me. I didn't remember when she was injured before, no. And I can't explain why that injury and why that moment brought me back, but I know it was because of her. I could feel every cell in my body react to it. And when I did regain my memories, I didn't see the horrors we have spent 7000 years fighting against. I didn't see anything of the previous balance of the universe. I saw her. I felt her. She brought me back."

You felt tears well in your eyes as you squeezed his hand. You knew it was dangerous for him to speak to them like this. They could destroy him without even moving, and there would be no escape. But he hadn't told you what he'd seen when he got his memories back.