001. pomegranate heart lovers.

575 BC, ANCIENT BABYLON.

ANITUN SWERVED AND RAN WITH THE CROWD

as she tries catching up with the other Eternals, pushing and pulling humans sloppily in a failed attempt to save them... Makkari then passed by and immediately took those humans to where they weren't much affected of the attack... Anitun sighed, disappointed for not being consistent with her actions ─ The others were sent inside the safety of the colossal gates of the empire of Babylon.

She hears Kingo exclaiming about killing the Deviant that Thena just decapitated, and then quickly dismissing the protest as he shoots at the others who dared to barge at the gates,

The biggest one of the pests was already settled in front of the gates, looking at Gilgamesh as it prepares to strike, it swung the Eternal with brute force, Anitun tried to push him back with a gust of wind and make him stand up, but the Deviant had other plans and threw Gilgamesh straight at her, knocking the both of them to the ground.

Dirt and pebbles pierced through her skin and she hissed from the impact, the sharp edges continuing to sink to her epidermis, there was a voice inside her head, but it wasn't from her, or anyone else, or maybe from her lover who was settled in the Domo as of the moment, waiting for her to come back and reunite with him... what in the world are you doing? You're embarrassing... Anitun vehemently stood up.

"I apologize" she murmured to Gilgamesh, looking away, and then they helped them stand up hesitantly shortly after, before running away to meddle with other things.

Guttural screams were heard as the other Eternals striked and as Gilgamesh throws Thena at the top of the deviant, making it hard for the creature to do anything, but to try and withstand her blade,

And then Gilgamesh immediately ran and threw a punch at it right after Makkari and Anitun helped pushing it over with strong gusts of wind... but he wasn't satisfied after what the creature just did earlier and slapped it one more time, killing it that instance,

The six of them stood in front of the gate, regaining their posture and catching their breaths. "Good job, Annie!" Kingo chuckles... bringing himself towards her.

No she did not... the last thing she did was to ease the commotion properly.

Kingo meant no harm, yet it feels as if he was mocking her negligence and attention to details.

Anitun stood in the Gardens of Babylon, right after what happened, her doubt growing like flowers ─ There was nothing to worry about, everyone makes mistakes, but she is no human, she is an Eternal... and they are made to have no flaws, but no... she may be marred, under those luscious black hair and pearly white teeth, she is rotting, insides decaying and offered to the mortals, because the Eternals were so great, so heroic, so amazing, so perfect not to be worshipped... and what's left of her will be nothing...

...it's pathetic... she can never understand how they would stand so proudly in front of the humans... because all they ever did was save them and all the people ever did was to be helpless creatures, and it's all stuck in a loop until another empire will rise and it will once again be saved until it will fall... what's it for them? What do they get in return? Cries for help?

Anitun is in a world where if she'd cry she'll be considered weak... because salty tears wouldn't help anything grow, how can anything thrive when someone so saline is intact with you? Clinging into your arms?

Anitun was getting tired, tired of the sultry scowl she'd had to put up from the great, great Ikaris when she asks him what else is going to happen, nothing else was going to happen... and that patronising gaze from their beloved Prime Eternal, Ajak when she asks her what her purpose is, Anitun I love you... why feel the need to ask this?

She is nothing without them, still... after all those years, she was only visible when she's with them, praised by adults, words in hymm of a 'pleasant' chorus that she is tired of, and small vulnerable children, their little hands reaching out for her, trying to get a touch of her pointlessbeauty.

The touches will burn, the words would bother her, leaving a non existent scar on her skin and to her ever so imaginative cerebrum, an unwelcoming visitor, barging to the doors of her milk tainted skull... but the Eternal behind her thinks the exact opposite, she is just as pleasant, and just as pretty, and pure,

"Ajak never said only bring Sersi back... I was waiting for you to come back with her..."

Druig stands with a red fruit in his hand, "I wanted to check the plants... and she came back anyways... right?" he nodded as a reply and takes a bite from the fruit, making Anitun look at him in confusion and concern "I like this" he said while chewing, a smile formed in his face.

He looked as if he was trying not to gag... "You're bad at lying" Anitun states.

The Eternal raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? It is good..."

Anitun shakes her head, disappointed, taking the fruit from his hand hastily, before he even tried to take another just so he could get a satisfied reaction from her. "Druig... this is not ripe yet"

"...Oh" Druig took a moment, taking a look of the fruit in her hands. "You shouldn't take fruits from their trees without knowing if they are ripe... or not."

He then averts his attention from the fruit to her, staring deeply in her eyes, analyzing it. "And how do you know that this is not ripe yet?"

"I've been there." Anitun timidly stated, Druig scoffs at the revelation, smiling fondly towards her before speaking... "I think the plants are fine... let's go" Anitun grips at his arm before he even starts to leave with them. "I'll be going somewhere else after this" she informs him, dropping her hands from his arm and bringing their hand to their chest and crossing it, gravely sighing,

"Is this about what happened earlier? It wasn't your fault..." Anitun sighs at his words... "Things had been exhausting lately..." she slowly shook her head, bringing a hand to her temples. "But now is not the time to rest... we're having a party... right?"

Druig scoffed at that, "If you don't want to, you shouldn't... we can always skip their little celebrations and fend for ourselves... "

"I do not want to ruin things for you." ironically, she's doing it already.

Druig attempts to protest, shaking his head and bringing another hand to her arm once again, but it slips away when she moves forwards towards him, putting a hand to his face reassuringly, "I'll be going" she informs of her ordeal.

"To where?" he took a hold of her hands on his face tightly, before whining softly when it drops to her side, yearning for her touch.

"Anywhere, I'll be back before the party starts."

Too late, you would've stopped what was about to happen.

"YOU'RE LATE BEAUTIFUL, WHEREHAVE YOU BEEN?"

Druig looks up at them. "I know that our dearest Makkari needed artifacts for the tablet... so..." Anitun placed a few things on the table that both of the Eternals were sitting on. "Here you go." Anitun added, ignoring Druig's little name for her, like she would always do, and then she sighed, "And you need to stop those... have you forgotten my name?" Anitun added,

"What are you trying to expose?" Anitun gritted her teeth, eyeing Druig at the side warily, shifting uncomfortably on her place, Makkari was the nicest, the sweetest there could ever be, but she is fast, even with words... none would even realize that she may already be telling this sappy relationship to the other Eternals now, and they will most definitely laugh at them... she heard Druig chuckling inside her mind...

"Makkari knows, love."

She furrowed her eyebrows... breathing heavily, almost as if she was choking. "What─?!"

"─It's your fault for giving me your name three months late... I got used to calling you beautiful" he immediately replied, Anitun shook her head at him, trying to hide her reddened cheeks, and her furrowing eyebrows. turning her attention back to Makkari who was smiling at them... but didn't replied to make the tension even more... flirtatious and awkward, the tension was humid.

"Thank you, Anitun" Makkari puts a hand to her chest, giving the Eternal a grateful smile,

"Of course" Anitun forms an 'o' with her right hand, brushing it off with a soft smile... and not one even one second went past when Makkari had one of the human's arm in a threatening tight grip,

"I can feel vibrations." Anitun simply said, tilting her head to the side slightly in an eerie manner that was most definitely not helping at all in easing the tension,

"You are not helping, love" Druig states, grinning at her.

"Oh, shut it" Anitun tried her hardest keeping a straight face.

The humans sitting at the very same table stood frozen, and that earned a funny look from Makkari and a small laugh from Druig before the Eternal continues signing,

"Even the smallest movements, that includes voices... you wasted our time" Druig added.

"The emerald tablet you are looking for... is a myth" the human said, earning a soft glare from Anitun, "Well... that truly wasted my time..." She mumbled, immediately looked back at the other people who were fighting each other,

Druig stands up and manipulated their minds into slapping themselves and then hugging each other shortly after, both of the Eternals came up to him, Makkari hitting his arm to stop him which only made the Eternal grin mischievously,

"That wasn't very nice of you"

"But it was entertaining... yeah?" Druig observed her carefully, waiting for an answer.

They shrugged softly. "No comment."

Makkari signed to him, warning and scolding him about interfering with human conflict, Druig listened carefully. "She also said that stealing... is very... very bad" Druig teases, she immediately snatched the thing from his hands,

"If you don't tell her about what happened... neither do I" Anitun simply watched them at the side as the two form a silly agreement,

"Yeah... and what about you, beautiful? Surely you wouldn't expose us?" they both looked back at her with small smirks forming on their faces,

"Fine." she signed, unimpressed, they all nodded at each other knowingly... forming a formidable secret that only the three of them can know about... "I'll be... dancing..." Anitun motioned to Sersi, dancing in being one with the crowd and music in the middle.

"Hold on" Druig grips on her arm, "Are you sure you're okay now?"

"I am fine, Druig." she reassures him, gently taking his hand off her arm. "And also... you don't have to worry about them knowing about what we have... it's... pretty obvious" Druig said. Anitun tilted her head, before nodding, "Whatever you say"

"Go on then dove, I'll be watching" she nodded sheepishly at his words, "Okay..." leaving the two alone with their little banter.

Sometimes... he'd feel as if his heart would violently try to get out of his ribcage, beating so agile and so anticipated, and his lovestruck plethora would messily offer himself to her and he'd be embarrassed to ever shock an ethereal being, show her what a mess he is,

And then there would be that pinpricked thorns encaging and devouring that very same ribcage and he'd be afraid if she'd ever take his heart right there and now she'll hurt herself, scarring her delicate skin, and that's why he is trying to be better for himself, to be better for her,

She made him feel things, he had the longest battle with the butterflies inside his stomach.

It is so stupid.

"You are doing great, love." Druig watched as she twirled with along with Sersi, glossy satin silk glowing under the thousand light of the stars and those about to explode far, far away from them, and the numerous candles around the area, Anitun looked like love under this lighting.

"Don't flatter me..."

Anitun would often catch Sersi glancing up at the balcony nearby, they would follow it from time to time only to be meeting eyes with Ikaris, who was staring back fondly at Sersi himself, and then immediately glancing back at Anitun with a knowing nod,

There was definitely something between them.

It's not like Anitun was trying to judge what Sersi and Ikaris had for each other, it is simply because she couldn't quite understand the concept of falling in love and loving someone who is both a family and more than a family to her; and Sersi is... too good for Ikaris... the broad Eternal is getting on her nerves sometimes.

Romantic and familial love are not to be mistaken as the same thing ─ yet Anitun was able to differentiate them... all thanks to Druig, so she already knows someone who is in love when she sees one,

Anitun and Druig would often try and spot humans in and out of the city; From who is possibly in love and who isn't, who will be separating and who will get married... they don't know those people, and their marital status, but they were bored and it was entertaining trying to predict what happens to the people around them,

It was stupid and somewhat funny, Druig had most of the predictions correct... it is what it is, he's good with minds after all.

Anitun would always be confused ─ but love is different in many forms, it can be hidden or it can be crystal clear... because here they are now, centuries later, still together in secrecy without the others knowing, except for some such as Makkari and maybe Sersi...

Or maybe even Kingo... he would stick to her most of the time and she doesn't know why, he is sometimes irritating yet he is funny and entertaining ─ he would ask for advice with eliminating such creatures... but what does she have anyways? That man literally has the ability to manipulate cosmic energy with his own hands. ( He should've been asking Thena about this... but he says that the Goddess of War is too scary. )

Anitun was the first Eternal to know about their relationship, they're not sure why... Anitun had asked Sersi about what it feels like to fall in love, the Eternal couldn't really answer it properly... it was hard to explain... she had said, and it was both as hard to understand anyways,

And now centuries after, the two decided to get married like humans who are devoted to each others flesh, promising to stay by each others side for eternity and far beyond that... it was Kingo's idea, they couldn't refuse on such an idea anyways, they were deeply, madly in love ─ the Gupta Empire was a lush paradise, miscellaneous colours adorned the place,

Anitun stood beside the other Eternals, watching as Sersi and Ikaris was wedded, smiles formed at the two lovers faces,

"May god unite you in marriage, congratulations"

Druig stands with a pear or it was perhaps a kiwi in his hand ( he just wanted to eat and he'll eat anything ), seemingly smiling at the two.

"Well... who else wants to get married? It's best if we do it now" Kingo asks haphazardly out of nowhere, not clearly thinking of what he just suggested... just to simply tease the two Eternals on the other side of their line,

The Eternals theoretically glanced at both anitun and druig immediately, having to know of the two Eternals... peculiar bond,

Oh... they know about them.

Anitun slowly averted her attention from the wedded couple to their fellow Eternals, furrowing her eyebrows in a confused manner, "What?" she asked sheepishly making most of them laugh at her answer,

Druig simply took another bite of his pear, he was teasingly nudged by Makkari, and he shook his head at the speedster... dismissing the idea with a small smile,

"We wouldn't want to steal the spotlight from them..." Druig states, referring to Sersi and Ikaris. in which the Eternals scoffed at.

The sun sank to the ground, no longer to be seen by its inhabitants, Anitun was watching the horizon she helped created in front of her... simply enjoying and keeping to herself... the other Eternals leaving her be and doing who knows what,

It was the view that would often make her lungs hurt, she would hitch and smile and be glad... breath taken away by its minimal but undeniable tranquility and beauty, and for this she'd hold her trachea close and peacefully die for such a sight like this, maybe this was the only exception, Earth was too beautiful to destroy... the people... however...

"Hello, beautiful" Druig sits, shuffling in his seat beside them, "Hello, love" Anitun replies, taking him by sudden surprise,

"Love?" he immediately commented, "I wouldn't want to be deemed as unkind to my lover don't I?" they replied, turning to look at him this time, Anitun earns a smile from him... "Love? Lover? this feels pleasant." and then he simply stared at her. "Do you not like it?" Anitun asked.

"No... no... I love it."

He observed her being lost in her own trance "What's the matter?"

She looks down this time... trying to find the right words, "Why is it that you... like me?"

"I am still inconclusive about it..." he looked everywhere but her, "Does not mean that my intentions are not pure... I mean... we've been together for hundreds of centuries... are we not?" he immediately added,

"And what if i said that all of this is unrequited?"