black magic woman ; ikaris

𝙩𝙚𝙣

Ikaris handed River a mug of tea as she sat on the couch, her legs tucked up underneath her. The morning sunshine was gone, replaced by gray clouds. A storm was coming soon. The two of them were quiet as the rain began to hit the windows, and she slowly sipped from her mug. He glanced at her, watching as her fingertips tapped against the side of the mug.

"What's happening? What's going on?" she asked, looking over at him.

"I... I don't know where to start," he said. "So much has happened, it's been thousands of years."

"Start from the beginning. Tell me everything so I know how I can help." She set her mug down onto the table and shifted in her spot on the couch, giving him room to sit. He did so, and she reached to take his hand and give it a squeeze.

"River, even if I do tell you everything from the start, there's no guarantee you, or even Dane, could even help," he said.

"I don't care. We're a team now, you and I. And teams work together. So start talking."

And he did. River sat patiently, allowing Ikaris to play with her fingers as he spoke. Not once did he make direct eye contact with her, but his grip on her hand tightened when he told her about his hand in the deaths of his fellow Eternals, Ajak and Gilgamesh. She listened in silence, nodding slowly as she could see tears welling in his eyes, and as they began to drip down his cheeks, she reached up with her free hand to wipe them away. It was then he tilted his head upwards, meeting her gaze before his other hand reached up to hold her wrist.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I never... I knew I would have to tell you eventually but I didn't want it to have to be like this. Not when it puts you in danger."

"If I'll be honest, I'd rather find out now and not, you know, after a big giant monster attacks me," she said, trying for a smile, but he shook his head. He let go of her hand and wrist before standing from the couch, running a hand through his hair as he did so.

"It's not that. You won't understand," he said.

"Really? After everything you just told me, you think I won't understand? Are you serious?"

"This is bigger than all of that."

"How is this bigger than what you just told—"

"Because I can't lose you!"

River stood up from the couch and made her way to him, setting her hand on his shoulder. He looked down at her over his shoulder, and she sighed softly, prompting him to turn and face her.

"You won't lose me. I'm not going anywhere," she said softly.

"River, I've done horrible things. I'm responsible for the deaths of two people I called family. If something were to happen to you, I don't know..." he trailed off, and she shook her head.

"Listen to me. What you did, you were led to believe it was the right thing. And you felt betrayed by the one person who told you what your purpose was, only to have her change her mind centuries later. Now that doesn't justify what you did to her, but it explains it. And... I know how that feels. More than you think. But the point is, in the end, you did what was right, and you've been working to fix things day by day, and god dammit, I'm proud of you. I'm so proud of you," she said, the hand on his shoulder reaching up to cup his cheek. More tears began to roll down his cheeks, but before she could help dry them, he cupped her face and kissed her. But it wasn't like any kiss they'd shared before. He seemed desperate, yet the way he held her was so gentle.

"Thank you, thank you," he mumbled against her lips, trailing his to her cheek and then down her neck. "Need you, I need you."

"I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, I promise," she whispered. He looked back up at her, bottom lip trembling slightly before he kissed her again, hands falling to her waist to pull her flush against him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, one hand gripping the collar of his shirt with the other playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. A soft sigh left her lips as he pulled away to kiss down her neck and along the exposed skin of her shoulder, and when she felt his hands move lower, bunching up the hem of her dress, it clicked into place. His lips left her skin as he lowered himself to his knees and pushed her dress farther up her body. As she leaned against the hallway wall, she could feel his lips against the skin of her stomach, and she reached down to hold her dress up so he could roll her tights and underwear down her legs. He helped her step out of them, tossed them aside, and lifted her right leg to rest on his shoulder. He turned his head to press gentle kisses to the inside of her thigh, trailing them inwards as soft sighs left her lips.