𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 - 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙜 [COMPLETE]

t e n

CHAPTER TEN:

"without you"

IKARIS FOUND HERA sobbing on the ground of the now deserted battlefield moments after she had left. Ajak had just released the Eternals, telling them to go and live their own lives.

He frowned as he approached her. Her head was in her hands, slightly muffling her unmistakable sobs. Bodies and discarded weapons were strewn all around. All was quiet.

"Hera," Ikaris spoke softly, crouching down beside his wife and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What happened?"

"He left," she sniffled, looking up at Ikaris. Her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks were stained with tears. Ikaris' hand moved to cup her cheek, his thumb swiping at a fallen tear. "I tried to stop him– but he just told me he never wanted to see me again."

Ikaris shut his eyes tightly, anger bubbling in his stomach. Druig had always been insensitive and rude, and Ikaris wished he could've spared Hera from that. He couldn't stay mad for long, though, as his wife leaned into his touch. He opened his eyes, relaxing as he looked at her. She gave him a sad smile.

"Where to now, my love? What did Ajak say?" Hera asked, voice slightly hoarse from crying.

Ikaris frowned. The other Eternals had already left, and Hera had missed saying goodbye. He knew it wasn't the last time they would see each other– they would certainly reunite down the line– but who knew when that time would come?

Ikaris slowly lifted Hera to her feet, his hands in hers. "Ajak released us. She said we're free to live our own lives now that the Deviants are gone."

Hera's eyes widened. "She... released us? We aren't staying together anymore?" Ikaris shook his head. Hera frowned, engulfing her husband in a tight hug. Ikaris returned the hug, rubbing soothing circles on her back as she started to cry quietly.

"At least now we can live the lives you've always wanted for us," Ikaris told her, his chin resting atop her head. "A boring life with the humans, when the most exciting thing we do is stay up past midnight."

Hera gave a small laugh at that. "A life with you could never be boring."

He grinned, pressing a kiss into her hair. "I hope not. We do have eternity together, after all."

—

Hera and Ikaris spent the next few hundred years traveling the Earth. They would stay in one place for a few years until the locals became suspicious of their unchanging looks, and then they would relocate.

As Ikaris had suspected, Tenochtitlan was not the last time they would see some of the other Eternals. Hera and Ikaris kept in touch with Ajak, and had even visited her once or twice. Once, they reunited with Kingo and Phastos. Hera had even met up with Sersi a few times.

The others remained out of reach by secluding themselves and disappearing. Thena and Gilgamesh were somewhere together; Makkari hadn't been heard from in years; Druig was hidden. Hera missed them, but resisted the urge to go looking, especially for Druig.

Ever since that night, she had replayed their conversation over and over in her head. She wished that she could change how things had happened– that she could save their friendship. But as she spent day after day with Ikaris, she couldn't come to regret choosing him. She loved him, and he loved her.

Or so she thought.

Ikaris had seemed content with their life. He didn't complain– didn't object. He was glad to help Hera with mundane chores and activities. He was fine with keeping his abilities a secret. He didn't even mind having to move– and he often let Hera choose their next residence.

That didn't stop him from leaving, however.

—

"Ikaris?"

Hera's voice echoed through the empty home as she entered, arms full of fruits and vegetables. She placed the food down in their kitchen, eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. Where was he?

"Ikaris?" She called out again, brushing the dust from her clothes before walking through the house. Everything was as they had left it this morning. Nothing was out of place.

Hera normally wasn't one to fret over her husband's whereabouts– but he was always home before her. Always. Even when they had first set out on their own together, Ikaris made it a point to be waiting for her when she returned home.

And now he wasn't here, and he hadn't told her he was going to be late. She began to worry, walking through the house again and again, desperately trying to find any clue that would lead her to her husband. There were none.

So Hera sat up all night, bottom lip bleeding from her anxious chewing of it. Her eyes were trained on the entrance, hoping he would magically appear and profusely apologize for being so late– that he just got caught up with the townspeople or was saving a cat from a tree. Something stupid, something simple.

But he didn't come home that night, or the next day, or the next. He was gone without a word or a trace, and Hera waited for him, believing he would come back. A day turned into a week, a week into a month, a month into a year. She waited in that town for two years, and he never came back.

He had left her and hadn't even bothered to say goodbye. She was now truly alone in the world, and she didn't know what to do or where to go.

Druig was right, she thought bitterly as she packed up her few belongings from the last home she and Ikaris had shared together.

He broke my heart.