Pairing: Druig × Female OC
Genre: Slow Burn | Character-Driven Romance | Hurt/Comfort | Canon Divergence | Found Family | Eventual Smut
English is not my first language. Please let me know if I wrote anything wrong.
Cover and gif made by @spiderswff on Instagram
Phastos’ incessant voice echoed throughout the Domo’s chamber, but that night, it wasn’t enough to hold Tefiti’s attention.
The Eternal Engineer was speaking enthusiastically about his newest inventions, tools designed to propel humanity forward. His fascination with his craft was evident in every word, every animated gesture he used to explain his ideas. Normally, Tefiti was the first to follow along, offering suggestions and pointing out details that could be improved.
But that night, her mind wandered far beyond those walls.
“So… what do you think?” Phastos turned toward his friend, only to find the Eternal staring beyond the small window, where the night sky stretched endlessly, scattered with stars.
Her name rang loudly enough to pull her from her thoughts. She turned quickly and was met with the faintly disappointed expression on his face.
“Oh, Phastos… I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?” The warmth rising to her cheeks betrayed her embarrassment.
“Forget it. I’ll go find Sersi.” With a resigned sigh, he left the room.
Tefiti bit the inside of her lip, silently scolding herself. It wasn’t the first time this had happened.
For days, the same thoughts had occupied her mind without granting her any rest. Everyone seemed to notice her growing distraction, and yet, strangely, no one ever asked why.
The Eternal Matriarch emerged from one of the room’s quiet corners, approaching with her usual serenity. In one hand, she carried a cup of tea, steam rising gently between them.
“Something weighs heavily on your heart, my dear. What troubles you?” She sat beside her on the small sofa.
Tefiti met her leader’s eyes and offered a faint smile.
She had always admired the way Ajak cared for those around her. She loved observing her in silence, noticing the tenderness with which she treated humans, the patience with which she listened to every word, and the softness that naturally settled into her voice whenever she spoke to them. But perhaps what she admired most was the way Ajak cared for the Eternals themselves. Ajak seemed to know each of them intimately, as though she could understand their worries before they were ever spoken aloud.
And once again, it was happening with Tefiti.
“We’ve grown so accustomed to looking toward Earth,” she began softly, “to observing humans and everything they’ve built. But… what’s beyond it? Out there, in the universe. I know that’s where we came from, and yet I can’t stop wondering what might be hidden within all that darkness.”
As she spoke, her gaze returned to the stars.
Ajak raised the cup to her lips before answering.
“That’s a genuine question. And there’s no reason to judge yourself for asking it.”
Tefiti looked back at her.
That was when she noticed something shift in the Prime Eternal’s eyes. A distant light. As though an ancient memory had just crossed her mind.
“You know…” Ajak said quietly. “Arishem once told me a story. And I think it’s finally time I shared it with you.”
“But only if you promise that it remains between us.”
Tefiti’s eyes lit up immediately.
“I promise. Not even Thena will hear a word.”
A gentle smile touched Ajak’s lips.
“During one of our many conversations, Arishem entrusted me with a story older than any civilization we’ve ever seen rise and fall. A story that was never written by mankind, because it belongs only to the Celestials.
“It is the story of the Lost Eternal.
“Before us. Before our mission had even taken shape. Arishem the Judge created his first Eternal to fight the Deviants.
“She traveled from world to world like a silent shadow. Her sole purpose was to eradicate monsters and erase the scars they left behind. She was never permitted to teach. Never allowed to guide civilizations toward progress. And above all else, she was forbidden from forming bonds.
“Wherever she walked, there was only duty. Wherever she departed, there remained only oblivion. And so she crossed countless stars.
“Until, in a moment so brief that even time itself failed to hold it, her eyes met those of a child.”
“And within that single glance, the Eternal who was never meant to belong anywhere understood, for the first time, what it meant to truly be seen.
“It was in that moment that she ceased to be merely a creation.
“She rejected Arishem’s will and abandoned the purpose for which she had been made. For the first time, she awakened to a consciousness she was never meant to possess.
“And in the very instant she made that choice, the bond that connected her to the Judge was severed.
“But freedom, when born without purpose to guide it, can be just as cruel as a prison.”
Ajak’s gaze drifted toward the stars beyond the window.
“Without a mission. Without a home. Without anyone she could call her own.
“She wandered alone through the vastness of the universe, crossing galaxies that would never learn her name. She became an echo among the stars. A soul condemned to search for a meaning she would never reach.
“And that is how the legend of the Lost Eternal was born.
“Not because she lost herself among the worlds. But because she never found someone to whom she could truly belong.”
Throughout the entire story, Tefiti remained perfectly still.
She absorbed every word as though afraid one of them might escape her memory. The legend settled inside her in a strange, almost painful way, as though, for reasons she could not yet understand, it felt familiar.
“Does Arishem really tell you stories like that?” A smile of genuine wonder spread across her face.
“Ajak… that was beautiful.”
The Eternal Matriarch smiled silently. She, too, enjoyed observing.
Deep down, she believed that despite their immortality and the burden of their mission, there was something profoundly human within each of the Eternals. And perhaps it was that small fragment of humanity that allowed them to continue marveling at the unknown.
Tefiti lifted her gaze toward the sky once more.
“Do you… think it could have happened?” she asked quietly. “Do you think she’s still out there… lost among the stars?”
Ajak gently rested one hand over hers.
“Tefiti… it’s only a lesson. A reminder of the purpose we carry, of the bonds we are meant to build with humanity, and of the importance of never forgetting our connection to Arishem. That is what the story was meant to teach us.”
Tefiti understood the message the story was trying to convey. And yet, she knew it would remain with her for a very long time.
“I’m going to check on Phastos and see how the projects are progressing.” Ajak rose to her feet and walked toward the doorway. “And Tefiti… don’t dwell on it too much. It may do you more harm than good.”
The Eternal Matriarch offered her one last gentle smile before leaving.
Tefiti sighed and remained there for a few moments longer, gazing at the sky for the final time that night.
The streets of Babylon were beginning, little by little, to breathe again.
The scars of battle still marked the city’s buildings, while thin spirals of smoke rose against a sky now painted in the warm colors of dusk. Even so, its people refused to surrender to fear. Children ran once more between the adults, musicians tuned their instruments, and the scent of roasted corn began to mingle with the fragrance of flowers scattered throughout the plazas.
It was how humans survived tragedy.
After delivering her report to Ajak and tending to some of the injuries she’d sustained during the battle, Tefiti watched from a distance as the other Eternals blended into the celebration unfolding that evening. Kingo was already drawing laughter from a small crowd of children. Sprite told stories that seemed to grow grander with every sentence. Gilgamesh, smiling with quiet resignation, accepted the food offered by everyone who insisted on thanking him.
She loved seeing them like this. Seeing how much lighter they all seemed around mortals. She admired the way they concealed their own fears so that humans would never sense the constant danger surrounding them. They had to embody safety and peace at all times and, somehow, the performance protected them too, preventing them from becoming trapped in that endless state of vigilance.
Tefiti loved observing them. Learning from them, even when she didn’t realize she was.
But sometimes, she needed silence.
Without noticing, her steps carried her away from the music and the voices. She followed a narrow path hidden beneath the surrounding vegetation until she reached a place known by very few, a place she always felt compelled to return to whenever her worries grew too heavy to carry alone.
A small lake, hidden among the trees. A place where the city felt like nothing more than a distant memory.
It was her refuge. Or, at least, she believed it was.
Tefiti walked toward the water’s edge, only to stop when she noticed a familiar figure seated upon a stone near the shore.
He remained perfectly still, his elbows resting on his knees, his gaze lost somewhere over the lake. Or perhaps among the thousands of fireflies dancing above its surface.
Their tiny golden lights drifted slowly between the trees, reflecting upon the dark water as though, for a single night, the stars themselves had chosen to abandon the sky.
For a brief moment, she wanted to sit beside him. But she hesitated.
Sometimes, Druig’s near-total isolation made him intimidating. Tefiti knew she shouldn’t feel that way. After all, he had always allowed her close — something that could no longer be said of Ikaris. And yet, there was an inexplicable nervousness that accompanied his presence.
Perhaps because Druig was too quiet. Or perhaps because, around him, her own thoughts seemed to become louder.
Even so, she approached without saying a word. She sat beside him. And he remained silent too.
For a few moments, they simply lost themselves in the beauty of the fireflies.
“I thought this was the only place where no one would find me.”
Without taking his eyes off the landscape, Druig replied;
She let out a soft laugh.
There was something about the way Druig existed in the world that captivated her.
She felt embarrassed admitting it, even to herself, but among all the Eternals, he was the one who held her attention most completely. She had spent countless hours watching him retreat into silence during Eternal gatherings and conversations, using it as a refuge. And yet, he never hid his voice from humans. Perhaps because, knowing their minds so intimately, conversation became easier for him.
Once, he had told her and Makkari that after centuries of hearing human thoughts, he had learned to ignore most of the endless noise. The two of them had found the idea impossible. How could anyone simply ignore millions of voices echoing inside their mind?
Druig had only laughed at their disbelief. Perhaps that was why Tefiti remembered that moment with such affection.
For a long time, neither of them spoke. But silence had never been uncomfortable between them.
A space they had both learned to share without feeling the need to fill it.
They had spent countless moments like this before, respecting, almost effortlessly, the invisible boundaries they had drawn around one another.
“The city’s already celebrating again?” Druig asked.
“As if nothing happened.”
Tefiti watched a child in the distance chase after friends while carrying a small lantern. Even from there, she could hear the faint echo of their laughter carried by the wind.
“I don’t think they forget.”
Druig raised an eyebrow slightly and turned his head toward her.
“I think they’ve simply learned that life continues, even after pain.”
He didn’t answer immediately. He merely returned his attention to the lake.
She noticed. Druig was thinking. As he almost always was.
There was something almost frightening about the ease with which he disappeared into himself. Tefiti had often wondered whether the thoughts of the Eternals reached him too, but he had never spoken of such a thing. And for some reason, that brought her comfort.
The fireflies continued their silent dance.
After a while, she was the one who spoke again.
“Have you ever thought about what you’ll do when our mission is over?”
The question lingered between them. It was nearly a forbidden subject among the Eternals. But Tefiti wasn’t afraid to share it with Druig. Perhaps because she knew that somewhere, deep down, they carried the same uncertainty about what would exist after the end.
Druig released an almost imperceptible sigh.
Tefiti turned to look at him.
The faint light of the fireflies seemed to carve new contours into his face that night.
Still, his eyes remained fixed on the water.
“I think…” she said softly, “when everything is over, I’d like to have a home.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“Not an entire city. Just a home. A place to return to at the end of the day. Maybe a garden. A few trees. Perhaps a dog.”
Druig listened in silence.
She laughed quietly and gently bumped her shoulder against his.
“It sounds like a simple life.”
This time, he took longer to answer. Much longer than usual.
There was an emptiness that spread through his chest whenever he thought about the future. Or about what would remain of him when all the other Eternals eventually chose their own paths.
“I can’t imagine a place I’d call home.”
Tefiti lowered her gaze to her hand, tracing absent-minded circles against the stone. Then she looked back at him and smiled. It was a small smile. A gentle one. And even without looking directly at her, Druig felt it.
“Then you just haven’t found it yet.”
At last, he turned toward her. For a moment, their eyes met. And he understood exactly what she meant.
While some Eternals dreamed of marriage, family, or a future built beside someone else, Druig remained bound to what he had always believed was his only purpose: protecting humanity.
He had never allowed himself to imagine that there could be something in this world waiting for him.
His heart, which had spent centuries learning how to remain still, faltered for a single moment beneath her gaze.
There were so many answers he wished he could give her. So many words he had never dared to say. So many questions he had never found the courage to ask.
But, as he had done so many times before, he chose silence, his weapon in a battle he fought within himself every single day.
Druig turned his gaze back toward the fireflies and Tefiti did the same.
And that night, neither of them noticed that the tiny lights reflected on the water seemed to dance precisely between them, as though the universe itself insisted on illuminating what they were both still too afraid to see.