Aeolus ˙ ࿐ Sersi • Eternals

Eleven

CHICAGO

Elyus's POV:

I peek my head through the side of the dining room, seeing Phastos leaning against the bathroom sink as he watched his son place some toothpaste on his toothbrush.

"You got it, Jack?"

"Mmhmm."

"Way to go. All right. Show me how it's done." He moved his hand around his mouth, showing him to properly brush.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I jump at the sudden whisper and glance behind, meeting Sersi's amused expression.

I playfully roll my eyes. "Sneaking behind isn't very nice."

"That doesn't answer my question."

I glance back at Phastos with his son, watching as he proudly smiled at Jack brushing his teeth. "It's just...It's nice to see that at least one of us got the chance to start a family."

"If you had the chance to...would you want children?"

"If you asked me that years ago, I would say yes in a heartbeat. But now?" I turn away and meet Sersi's look of concern. "I'm not sure anymore. Not only because my living conditions in California aren't the best, but I also don't think I'd be a great parent."

She immediately shakes her head. "Seriously? Elyus, you'd be an amazing mother."

"How so?"

"You've always had this look whenever you played with the children in Babylon. This-This spark of energy that lights them all up and always makes others feel safe by just being around you." She rambled. "I'll be honest, that infectious energy you had disappeared right after we left Babylon but with the look that Jack gave you when we first arrived? I saw a glimpse of it. It's still there, Elyus. You just have to...stop holding back."

I give a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good! I-I mean—you do whatever you feel comfortable with." She stammered, dismissively waving her hand off. "I didn't mean to overstep."

"What are we whispering about?" Ikaris stepped up to us, narrowing his eyes in curiosity.

"Just catching up." I shrug, nodding my head behind us. "Spying on Phastos and his son."

Ikaris slowly nodded, his eyes flickering back and forth at Sersi and I. "I see."

"Round and round and round and round and round."

They both giggle with one another until Phastos looks up, my smile instantly dropping to shock since he caught my stare.

I quickly move but accidentally bump into Ikaris and Sersi. We scramble to sit down in the dining room chairs and I snatch the apple from the bowl in the middle of the table.

Sersi picked up the Star Wars coloring book, pretending to read but Ikaris snatched it from her hands. Just as Phastos entered the dining room, Sersi grabbed the mug in front of her.

"Yeah. Incredibly natural, guys." Phastos scoffed as he took a seat beside me, taking the apple from my hand. "It's a fake fruit bowl, don't eat that."

I raise a brow. "What kind of person wants not edible fruit on their table?"

"Hey, I didn't ask for criticism. Besides...it was my husband's idea." He tossed the apple back into the bowl before his eyes landed on Ikaris. "After all these years, even you fell for Ajak's lies."

Ikaris closed the coloring book with a huff. "No need to rub it in."

"Mm. It all makes sense why she wouldn't let us interfere with human conflicts. Conflicts lead to war, and war actually leads to advancement in lifesaving technology and medicine." Phastos shook his head. "So our mission was never to make a peaceful or harmonious world, but to increase the population at all costs. Just farming humans as food for the Celestials, right?"