#Arishem himself be damned he will fight

[softquietsteadylove]

“Today, every day, and on Valentine's Day, I will visit my wife of 56 years. We are separated by her dementia. I will tell her what's been going on outside, as I spoon-feed her in her care-home hospital bed. She says, "Thank you," when I tell her I love her. We both know she would say more, if only she could. We have had a great life together, ever since the second grade. She is slowly leaving, I know that. But we're a pair until then.” I saw this quote on NYT’s post about small acts of love, and I immediately thought of Thenamesh which made me think of you. I know this might be a sensitive topic so feel free to skip this as a prompt if you’re not comfortable, but I do think you could write something not only respectful but absolutely beautiful about this vein of love for our favorite pair. It reminds me of the Notebook too, if that’s at all inspiring! As always, love everything you give us <3

Far out in the Australian desert, there is a house.

It sits completely apart from everything around it. The land is tended to and the house is inhabited despite the arid nothing surrounding it. There is a water pump and an oven, a garden and space to keep goods.

Everyday, a man leaves the house. He leaves with a basket in hand, and he walks under the unforgiving sun. The trip is made in silence, walking for hours. He says nothing, stops for nothing. His journey takes him even further into the desert, further away from everyone and everything.

He walks until he sees a figure on a hill. The figure is all white from a distance, standing out against the sizzling red sands. It remains completely still. Most would even assume it doesn't breathe.

The man sets down the basket first, lowering himself next to the figure. Her hair picks up in the breeze, but he keeps it away from her face. Her eyes are as white as the dress on her back. When the weather turns bad he comes and stands over her, wraps a blanket around her shoulders.

He would fight off the lightning and thunder if he needed to.

He touches his hand to her cheek, to make sure she has warmth in her skin. He checks her eyes, which have not been green in years now. He checks to make sure she's still breathing, that time has stopped for her in a way that leaves her comfortable. He checks that she is still the Warrior Eternal, Thena, his wife.

The Strongest Eternal settles for the time being. He comes and sits with her everyday. Some days it's hours, some days it's only one. He has their home to attend to. He comes and tells her he misses her, what is happening back on their little patch of land. Tells her of the lizards she loved so much running through his garden.

The man pulls over the basket, pulling out some of the mead he has perfected over the years. There's no harm in letting her taste it, now. He pours it into a delicate sipping vessel and brings it to her lips. It is not as if she can expire of natural causes, out here. He can't either.

But he likes to come and share things with her. He's even started taking up her old practice of drawing, although he is certain she would tell him if they were as terrible as he thinks they are. Still, he brings them and shows them to her, one by one. Many are of her.

He eats something for himself, whatever he has made and brought with him. He still cooks because he enjoys it, even if there is no gentle humming at the table or smiles bathed in kitchen window sunlight. She always told him that her favourite part about his cooking was how happy it made him. She wouldn't want him to stop.

He points out clouds to her, asking what she thinks they look like. She would always just say weapons in the past, so now he makes up things like bunnies and monsters and even their family members, in a way. He asks her how they are sometimes, certain that she must be with them. Because he hopes that whatever happens within those completely white shrouds in her eyes, that she is happy, and safe.

He packs up the basket again, preparing to walk home. He tilts her chin towards him. Sometimes he can imagine her lips lifting ever so faintly. He can imagine the smile his wife always had for him. "Hey."

She does not reply.

"I'm heading home," he whispers sweetly to her, promising the next time he will feel most alive instead of the hours in between. "I'll see you tomorrow, sweetheart."

Her head tilts, leaning into his touch just a little more.

He smiles. Because sometimes she's in there--his Thena. He can see glimpses of her in times like these, when she leans into his touch, when her fingers twitch to hold onto him as much as she is able. There are traces of her still there, in the time he feels most alive.

He has no illusions, nor regrets. An Eternal has only the merciless and indefinite future to look forward to. He said they would take that chance, and they did, for almost a thousand years.

He's happy for these moments, and he can live with the hours in between. He leans forward and presses his lips to her forehead. She stopped blinking long ago but he swears he can see her eyes moving when he does this. "See you soon, Thena."

His hand slips from hers, and he sees that little twitch that makes him smile again. The first time he'd seen it, he had stayed for hours and hours afterwards. Now he knows he will see it again.

He walks back down the hill, looking back at her a few times just because he feels like it. She does not move. He knows she will be there tomorrow, and the next day. And if the earth shatters in half the day after then he will come and get her, and he will carry her to a place that is whole. He will carry her to the ends of the earth and sit with her when that end comes.

He would have nowhere else to be.

The man walks back, hours and hours again. The sun shifts in the sky and he makes it back before nightfall. With the dusk oncoming, he can see the light he always leaves on at the house. He follows the same path he walks everyday. He sets the basket down and walks out to check on the garden and the lizards. He makes sure his apron is hung up and his dishes are clean.

He goes to their room, lies down in their bed, and he thinks about his wife. He falls asleep with his hand on her pillow, thinking of her hair trailing onto his shoulder, of her soft breathing and her laughter. And tomorrow, he will go and see her again.

Far out in the Australian desert, there is a home.

It is the home of two Eternals, a husband and wife. They travelled the world together, even saved it, in a way. It was always known that she would leave before him, and they took that chance. They built an entire life out in the arid desert, out surrounded by the sand, surrounded by the sea.

Their home is built at the ends of the earth, and the wife resides further into the nothingness still. And her husband walks to see her, every single day.

#Thenamesh #sorry #oh am I ever sorry because this one is painful #it's a beautiful prompt truly #maybe I do consider this a sensitive one #but the core of Thenamesh is devotion #to love beyond the immediate #Gilgamesh says we will take that chance #knowing one day he could lose her #and they spend a lifetime out there #a life separate from their family and their mission and the outside world as a whole #it's just the two of them #and it will be the two of them until the end of the earth as far as Gil is concerned #they said til death do us part and he meant it #Gil brings her rice wine and water and sweet juices #when it rains he sits with an umbrella over them #or he stands over her to make sure Zeus doesn't get any dumb ideas #strike his wife at your own risk he thinks #Arishem himself be damned he will fight

[dreaminginpastels]

Ikaris from Eternals x reader where he falls in love with someone who doesn’t believes he should lead

a little faith

pairing: ikaris x gn!eternal!reader

summary: ikaris is finally content in your relationship when you betray him in front of the other eternals.

warnings: slight angst (if you count ikaris taking himself way too seriously) and fluff, hurt/comfort, some tense dialogue

reader pronouns: they/them

word count: 2k

*✧ eternals masterlist | main masterlist | ask | taglist ✧*

Ikaris was a damn fool.

He had actually believed for a moment that the two of you could be happy together. That you were his person. He had let his guard down and you had stabbed him in the back. In front of all of the Eternals.

The two of you had gravitated towards each other early on, you being drawn to his strong sense of justice and duty, and him being drawn to the way that you stood resolute in your beliefs. You didn’t back down even when you were outnumbered; in physical or intellectual battles.

Ikaris would never admit it to anyone but he always felt a bit isolated amongst the Eternals. He was always the strong and serious one. The one who came up with the plans while the rest of them all hung out and joked around and had fun. If they were a family, he was the stern father.

And then, you’d started bridging that gap. You’d included him in the jokes and the conversations, and, the thing that warmed his heart the most - you’d asked his advice when it really mattered.

Being an Eternal, and an isolated one at that, Ikaris had never really had someone be vulnerable with him, let alone someone to be vulnerable with himself. That was when his feelings for you had emerged. When you had slowly but surely forced him to open his heart and lay his soul bare.

…

Ikaris had first asked you out under the pretense that he needed to discuss your recent mission, but it became quickly apparent to you that he just wanted to spend time with you away from the others:

“Would you care to join me for a walk?”

You had nodded. His heart had skipped a beat.

The two of you spent hours talking. About your empathy for humans. About his unwavering faith in Arishem. By the time you made it back to the Domo, a crowd of Eternals acted casually in the hull, but their curious eyes gave them away.

You parted ways and as you headed to your room, you heard a muffled comment from Kingo before Ikaris’ low grumble “Don’t push me Kingo. Not unless you want to take this outside.”

“I think you’ve had enough fresh air for one night, big guy.”

You chuckled to yourself. No way Kingo was going to willingly fight Ikaris. He’d learn to keep his snarky comments to himself.

Ajak, noticing your bond, had started to pair the two of you in battle. It had worked perfectly, Ikaris serving as your lookout, and you delivering secondary blows when Ikaris knocked Deviants out from the sky.

You had bonded in what little spare time you had as well, spending every moment that you could going for walks, spending time with the villagers in each dwelling you inhabited, and deepening your connection. Ikaris had been just about ready to propose, convinced of his potentially infinite future with you, when you betrayed him and shattered his heart into a million pieces.

It had happened during an Eternals meeting. Ajak had called you all into the main dining area of your current village and had unsettled you with her proposed agenda.

“I am concerned that, in the event that I am no longer around, or if I have to go away, there is no one to succeed me. To lead you all. I am interested in who you all feel should take my place in these circumstances.”

A hushed silence settled over the room.

“I would be most comfortable with Ikaris leading us. His unwavering faith in Arishem’s plan and his dedication to us all reassures me that we’d be in safe hands with him in charge.” Sersi offered before adding, “If you weren’t here, Ajak, of course.”

She nodded. “Thank you, Sersi. Anyone else?”

Makkari stepped forward, and signed. “I think we’re safest with Thena. She’s literally a Goddess of War. Besides, we work well with a strong woman at the helm.”

She winked at Ajak, who smiled warmly. The sentiment was lost the moment Kingo opened his mouth.

“I nominate myself. It’s important that the face of the Eternals is a handsome one.”

Everyone rolled their eyes at Kingo’s vanity. Sprite laughed it off before patting the poor delusional Eternal on the shoulder in pity.

Ajak tried again. “Does anyone else have any helpful suggestions?”

You pushed away from the wall you were leaning on. “Why don’t we just vote? We’ll go around and vote against each Eternal, and whoever has the most votes can be the leader.”

“Great idea, y/n.” Ajak began. “Is everyone in agreement?”

There were scattered nods, so Ajak continued. The votes were tallied and you were flattered to find that Thena, Phastos, Gilgamesh, and, to your surprise, Druig, had all voted for you to lead.

By the time you all had to decide whether to vote for Ikaris, Druig was in the lead with only Sersi, Ikaris, and Sprite not voting for him.

Ikaris tied pretty quickly, and then the deciding vote was up to you.

The body language of the two Eternals up for leadership was borderline amusing to you. Ikaris stood proud, so sure that he had already won. Meanwhile, you could see the glimmer of insecurity in Druig’s eyes. You wondered if he had even expected to get this far, and you could tell he thought your loyalty lay with Ikaris.

He thought wrong.

With all of the Eternals’ eyes on you, your arm remained firmly by your side. “I’m sorry Ikaris, but my vote is with Druig.”

The energy in the room shifted from calm acceptance to chaos. By the expression on Druig’s face, it would have appeared to an outsider like you had proposed. Well that, or bought him a lifetime supply of twinkies. On the other side of the room, the depth of emotion on Ikaris’ face made you shiver with dread. He was furious, but you continued; determined that they would hear you out. You were never one to back down when stating your views, after all.

“My values align with Druig’s, I feel that it is our duty to protect humankind by way of ensuring that peace prevails over war. I can’t sit back and watch their needless conflicts any more than Druig can, and while I know Ikaris is the natural choice for a leader, I know that his duty to Arishem stands resolute above all else.”

Druig was clearly shocked, and thanked you with a gentle nod of respect. Ajak attempted to calm Ikaris to no avail. He flew out of the room, eyes raging. It was clearly taking a substantial portion of his strength not to use his laser beams to blast the room in fury.

He did not look at you as he left.

…

It had been a few days since your public “betrayal” of Ikaris, and he had not spoken to you since. You had expected him to take your vote badly, but you missed him and were deeply worried about him.

In some of your most vulnerable conversations with each other, he had confessed to you his loneliness and isolation - how he felt no one in the Eternals understood him, or even took the time to try, until you. And what had you done? Betrayed his trust in front of the very people he felt he had to put on a show of pride for. Curse your damn morals.

You wished you were more spineless, that you could keep your mouth shut. But you knew Arishem made you this way for a reason. Ikaris needed someone to challenge him. That’s the reason the two of you had gotten along so well. That was where your chemistry lay. And you were determined to get him back.

As you turned on your heels, ready to face him and to force the uncomfortable conversation until you had both come out of it ready to move forward, Druig nudged you as he walked past, “Battle in ten, suit up.”

You groaned. Great. None of the Eternals took battles lightly. Every battle was uncertain, and anyone could be lost at any moment. You privately thanked Arishem each time all of you made it back to the Domo with battle wounds but alive.

A sudden wave of panic erupted in the depths of your stomach. You had an awful feeling. You were not excited about going into battle without having made amends with Ikaris.

You quickly suited up and found Ajak.

“Ajak, please-”

She put a hand on each of your shoulders. “y/n, of course I’m still pairing you and Ikaris. The two of you work best as a team and he needs to realise that we can’t afford for hurt feelings to potentially compromise the safety of the humans we were created to protect.”

You nodded, reassured for the moment that maybe it would all be okay. That you were being irrational.

…

You were not being irrational. The Deviants had somehow evolved. There were more of them, and they were merciless.

You had been balancing fighting the Deviants with everything you had while simultaneously keeping an eye on Ikaris who refused to acknowledge you even in the heart of battle.

He was mainly fighting on the ground today. You were thankful for this both as it helped you stay aware of his location, and also because even your agility was being tested by the evolved Deviants.

Halfway through the battle, you briefly lost sight of him while performing a tumbling maneuver to confuse a particularly persistent Deviant and panicked.

Desperately scanning your surroundings, you caught sight of him just in time to sprint, flip onto the back of the Deviant approaching from behind him and pull it away from Ikaris before sending a cosmic blast into the back of the Deviant’s skull.

“Thanks.” He turned and looked at you, puzzled. “You saved me?”

You rolled your eyes, “You know, Ikaris, a little faith in me would do you some good.”

He scoffed. “Right. That’s funny coming from the person who proved how little faith they have in me mere days ago.”

“Really? How long are you going to hold that against me?”

“As long as I damn well want, y/n.” He replied, the venom in his voice like a knife repeatedly stabbing your chest. “You betrayed me. You know how I feel about the other Eternals and you go against me like that? I thought I knew you.”

A Deviant approached and you fought it as you shouted your reply. “You do know me, Ikaris. I’m the same person you had all those conversations with. The same person you said you admired for their unwavering beliefs. I thought you were better than this.”

You finished off the Deviant and turned to Ikaris with a pointed look. “Childish resentment doesn’t look good on you.”

“Well maybe I didn’t take too kindly to the person I’m in love with telling me they don’t believe in me.”

You gasped. “W-what? You love me?”

He rolled his eyes. An action that quickly morphed into a blast of laser beams as a Deviant charged at him. “Of course I do. You’re the only person that’s ever believed in me. That’s ever accepted me for who I am. Well, at least I thought you did.”

“I can love you and also think you’re not the best person to lead us, you know.”

His eyes widened. For a moment, all his attention was on you. “You love me back?”

You nodded, a slight smile teasing at your lip as you mirrored his words. “Of course I do.”

A Deviant roared as it ran to the space between you both. You looked at each other and smirked, taking it on together - Ikaris from above, you from the ground. You were a team again, and you knew he had forgiven you.

…

As the battle concluded, you walked back to the Domo hand in hand.

As you smiled up at him, Ikaris knew. He was a damn fool…for nearly letting you go.

a/n: hello lovely, thank you for your request! it was a bit of a challenge to write for Ikaris but one that I really enjoyed. I hope that this story is everything that you wanted it to be ❤️

to all my lovely followers, thank you for your patience with this story! I’ll continue working through my requests in the order I receive them. as always, please feel free to request 🤍

#ikaris x reader #ikaris #eternals #ikaris x gender neutral reader #ikaris x gn!reader #richard madden #ikaris imagine #ikaris oneshot #marvel eternals #marvel oneshot #marvel imagine #eternals imagine #eternals oneshot #gender neutral reader #marvel x reader #requests open #daniella writes 💫

[tegami-kagami]

Ikaris: the Tragic Hero

Character Analysis part 1

If I were to describe Ikaris in one sentence it would be, "The tragic hero hiding behind the mask of the loyal soldier."

Out of the Eternals, Ikaris is by far the most complex. You have no chance of understanding his character during the first watch of the movie unless you were looking to him specifically. His story was hidden and buried in a number of layered storylines such as the threat of the emergence, the death of Ajak, Sersi becoming the prime eternal and the age-old conflict between the eternals and deviants.

If you were to set aside all those storyline and look at him alone, you'll find that Ikaris - at his core - was a hero forced to make hard decisions he did not what to do....

"I didn't want to leave." - Ikaris in the Amazons when confronted by Sersi on why he left.

....but he was led to believe he had to because that was his purpose in life. His fatal flaw was loyalty and it was exploited thoroughly by Ajak. Ajak started to have doubts about the mission back in Babylon. When Arishem shot down her doubts, she turned to Ikaris to reassure her faith.

"Your faith in Arishem is strong." - Ajak, on the balcony during the Babylon feast gathering.

But Ajak got it wrong, Ikaris did not have faith. He had loyalty and that loyalty - first and foremost - belonged to their team, their family. Ajak twisted it over the centuries, turning it into the blind loyalty seen im the movie which caused Ikaris, his heart (Sersi).

The victim of non-linear storytelling.

Ikaris' story was told in bits and pieces throughout the movie. It takes an attentive watcher looking specifically at Ikaris to catch the hints amd subtle messeges thrown throughout his scenes when you are still watching the film for the first time. If you don't, then I am not surprised they went over so many people's head.

The point was, Ikaris' story was not the main one so his arc was buried under layers and layers of other stories. See, Eternals isn't just one story being told, its a series of stories spread out in one movie. Each Eternal had their own character arcs as they lived for years on earth. No wonder, a lot of people found it overwhelming. The focus was Sersi's arc because she was to be the hero that saves the world and the movie is a superhero film.

Ikaris was the victim of this narrative. He was the ploy to Sersi's arc. The antagonist to her protagonist. But understand this fact, the antagonist is not the same as being the villain and Ikaris was never the villain. He was the misunderstood victim at most.

Hero to Soldier: 2000 year tragedy

In the beginning, Ikaris was the shining hero of the team, the point of the lance, the tip in an arrow, the person that put himself in danger so that the others don't have to. He is ridiculously durable as a result.

Ikaris' way of fighting also reflects his core personality trait. He is selfless, never caring for his own well-being if it meant he could save others. He thought his purpose was to protect humanity from the deviants and he was doing a - damn - great job at it. He said as much to Ajak back in Babylon.

When Ajak started to have her doubts, she used Ikaris' loyalty - which she mistook as faith - to reassure herself that their path was right and just, that the celestial's design was the correct path to take. Ajak - after leaving Babylon - told Ikaris about the emergence and all that entailed.

Upon learning the secret, Ikaris was confused and devastated. He would have questioned his entire existance.

Imagine being told that everything you have grown to care about, to appreciate and admire is something you were created to destroy. If the emergence - an event that crumbles a planet - is their purpose for being put on earth then the life he had build - to protect humans so that they could survive and strive - was a lie.

The scene when Ajak told Ikaris this secret would mirror this scene in Australia, just push back 2000 years into the past.

In the span of those centuries, Ikaris would have gone the stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Compare that to the others who were just told and thus were still in their denial phase. Unlike the others too, Ikaris had to deal with all those stages ALONE.

To bare a secret alone is a terrible thing but as was constantly said in the actor's interviews, Ikaris was still able to connect to humanity via his connection to Sersi. As long as Ikaris had Sersi, he could continue to protect humans whilst fighting the deviants. For a man interpretated to be a bastard by many viewers, he certainly showed a lot of care for others around him.

After learning the truth, Ikaris latch onto those he still had, his family - the other eternals - and his beloved - Sersi. Afterall, how could he continue to care about a planet he was told he was partly to destroy one day. Ikaris was never a cold-blooded person, he was simply a man coping with an information that turned his world upside down.

After Ajak told him about the emergence, all Ikaris had left was his family. Yet during the recent history of earth, those were taken away from him too - either by Ajak's misintentioned decision of splitting up the team (1521 A.D.) or by his own selflessness when he decided to leave his wife of a millenia (1900s) so that he could never her with the emergence just as it Ajak burdened him. Ikaris did not want Sersi to feel the pain and suffering that the knowledge of the emergence would bring. So he left her, a decision that broke him inside as evidence by the crack in his voice when he talked to Sersi in the Amazons.

Alone and with nothing more to protect, Ikaris kept his sanity by giving his loyalty to the one thing he had left - the emergence. Thus, Ikaris lived in constant vigil - becoming the silent sentinal to a world that no longer needed him. By the turn of the 20th century, Ikaris was no longer the hero that protected, rather he was the soldier that only followed orders. For the remaining hundred years, Ikaris only lived to see the emergence through.

See part 2 for

Ajak and Ikaris: Mother&Son or Commander&Soldier

Hero vs Soldier: the flickering flame of a hero

#ikaris #sersi #ajak #duty vs love #eternals #eternals spoilers #the emergence would have not happened that way had they had #stages of grief #self-appointed protector #on the verge of insanity #purpose in life #devastation and grief

[softquietsteadylove]

you ever thought about writing a chapter about Ajak trying to push Ikaris and Thena together in the beginning, because of what their combined force can do? But she soon recognizes that her effort is useless and that it is no matter on which planet they are on in which lifetime, Thena and Gilgamesh will always be together, because they belong together.

Love your work, xoxo

"Well done," Ajak smiled as her two best Fighters walked back from the battle.

"You came in too early."

"Will you get off my back for one damned minute!"

And there it was. The two paragons of the Fighters were always at odds with one another. It was a wonder they were able to work together at all. And that was in the heat of battle, when their cooperation was crucial to survival.

Their bickering was even worse off the battlefield, and yet Ajak seemed to have them paired together at every opportunity.

Thena and Ikaris glared at each other as they separated, walking to opposite sides of the room as they settled in for a meeting after their battle. They seemed so much more equipped to be enemies than team leaders.

Ajak sighed. They were less than a month into their mission, and already they were at each other's throats. She had been hoping she might be able to encourage them to get along, but it seemed the harder she tried, the more they disliked each other.

"I think it went well," Sersi attempted to smile, hoping - desperately - to quell the discomfort in the room.

"Ikaris nearly let the winged one slip through his fingers."

"I had it under control!" he snapped at his other half across the control room from him. "You were the one who tossed another one into it!"

"Okay, okay, why don't we all just take it down a notch."

It was always Gilgamesh who was taking the most direct action to diffuse these types of situations. And it was always when voices were raised or fingers were pointed in Thena's direction.

Ikaris scoffed, throwing himself back down into his seat, "you always take her side."

Ajak had noticed. "Battles are not always going to go exactly how we might like, but what's important is protecting the human settlement and disposing of Deviant threats."

Thena stayed silent, turning her head away from Ajak as she spoke, which was as good as rolling her eyes, for the Warrior Eternal. When she opened her eyes, they met Gil's next to her. He smiled. She smiled.

"What's important is workin' as a team," Ikaris grumbled, although he had already lost the attention of most of them. He sighed. "Who's on watch?"

"Me."

Ikaris looked over at Sersi, who raised her hand up partially with a tentative smile. His usual deep set scowl lightened just a little, "I'll join you. Next shift is on when the sun sets."

The group dispersed, sounding less like Eternals chosen by Arishem and more like a group of teenagers being released to go do their chores.

"Ikaris," Ajak spoke up before he took his leave as well. She nodded her head at him, "talk to Thena."

He sighed roughly through his teeth. "She doesn't listen to me, Ajak. She's-"

"Talk to her," Ajak reiterated, not that she really thought it would do any good. She followed him out of the room, lingering at the end of the corridor where he floated over to the Warrior Eternal.

"Thena," he began with putting a hand on her shoulder, and already they were off to a bad start. She whirled around, hair flying, glaring at him just for touching her so casually.

She sighed at the look on his face, "what?"

"Look," he looked around him, trying to find the words for his teammate. "I know we're not always on the same page. But Ajak chose us to be leaders of this team."

"Just because we're strong does not make us leaders," Thena easily refuted, even if it meant denouncing herself to do it. "Gilgamesh is stronger than us both."

Ikaris opened his mouth to argue that point - eagerly - but clapped it shut. There would be no good to come from starting that fight with her (again). "Just...work with me--that's all I'm asking."

Thena's eyes travelled over him. He certainly was trying, she couldn't deny it. But she was so distrusting in her nature--of him, of the humans...even of Ajak, to a degree. "Have you ever thought that might be asking too much?"

"No," Ikaris frowned, his temper rising again now that he was finding himself arguing against a brick wall. "Because we're a team, Thena. Like it or not, we're here, together."

Her eyes followed his movement as he stepped in a fraction closer, his hand rising to grab her arm before she could turn away from him dismissively. She glared at him.

Ikaris held her eyes. He liked the challenge she gave him, in a way. His nature made him relish the battle for dominance they shared on a daily basis, no matter how much he complained about it. "Play nice."

Thena's eyes sparked, which Ikaris seemed to enjoy. And she knew he did--he liked the thought of getting to really have it out with her. They were both Fighters, the warrior and the soldier. It was in their nature for violence to be their language of choice. "No."

Ajak stood back with a sigh as Ikaris flew past her, blasted backward by Thena's shield tossing him away from her. She knew he was pushing it; it was only a matter of time before Thena decided she'd had enough of him.

Maybe the plan for them was a lost cause.

Thena didn't spare a second to check if Ikaris was okay. It wasn't her concern. She continued down the hall in her original direction, pausing when a hand brushed against hers.

It was Gilgamesh, the side of his hand meeting the side of hers like clouds passing in the sky. His pinky wiggled in her direction, "everything okay?"

"I can handle Ikaris," she said decisively, as she would to anyone on their team. She didn't move away, though.

Gil turned to face her first, offering his honesty as payment for her words. "I know, but that doesn't mean he gets to give you a hard time."

It was so slight, almost invisible to the human eye. But to an Eternal, Ajak was able to see the ever present tension in Thena lessen. It drained from her slowly, but eventually Thena looked at Gil. Her lips pulled up into a hint of a smile, "I may not leave much of him for you, at this rate."

Gilgamesh shrugged, giving her an impish smile that showed his more playful side. It seemed to encourage Thena's smile to grow. "So I'll clean up after you're done with him."

Ajak's brows raised as a completely new sound bounced around the Domo halls. She had never heard her Warrior Eternal laugh before. But by the look on the Strongest Eternal's face - and the lack of surprise - he had. In fact, he seemed quite enchanted by the sound.

Thena smiled more easily, completely loosened after her laughter. She turned and fell into a gentle pace with him in the narrow corridor, "he's Sersi's problem now."

"I don't know how she puts up with him," Gil mused, ruffling his hair as he walked with her.

Thena looked at him with what could almost be described as a playful expression, "you put up with me."

Gilgamesh took Thena's hand in his more fully--more deliberately. She showed no resistance. He held her eyes, giving the hand a squeeze between them, "and it's an honour and a privilege."

Thena's laughter rang out through the halls again.

Ajak smiled to herself; this form of the plan was always easiest to execute anyway. She would find a way to talk to Ikaris about things, regardless of how his relationship with Sersi progressed.

The relationship between Gilgamesh and Thena would grow itself.

#Thenamesh AU #a canon au #haven't had one in a while #I have long thought about this though #because it would make a lot of sense #to have the two pillars of the fighters #the most ferocious and aggressive of them #Ajak is like I'm sure they could get get along #immediately they're fighting like cats and dogs #Ikaris and Thena are too alike to work like that' #and I will die on this hill #they have no balance to offer each other #and of course #Thenamesh prevails in every timeline #LiStEn TO Me #Thenamesh i n v e n t e d in every universe #I will not be taking notes at this time