The air was cold and the snow crunched under their feet as they stepped out of the cab. Sersi took a brief glance around at the peaceful, suburban neighborhood and let out a smile.
“Do you think everyone will be here?” Sersi looked back at Ikaris, who was grabbing the last of their bags.
He slung one of their backpacks over his shoulder as he gave the driver a small nod. Moments later, the car sped off down the road. He eyed the house. Unfinished Christmas decorations were strewn all over the lawn and the roof and he could briefly make out some movements through a crack in one of the curtains.
“Most likely.” Ikaris said. “You know how insistent Ajak is.”
“She is, isn’t she?”
Just as they were making their way down the driveway, the front door swung open and out rushed a bright-eyed little boy with a wide grin on his face. He yelled excitedly, “Aunt Sersi! Uncle Ikaris!”
Sersi’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw the kid and she crouched down to his level. She enveloped him in a warm hug while Ikaris stood by, watching them both — or more specifically Sersi rather, with an endearing smile.
He always adored watching her play with children, even back in the early days. She always saw something in them that Ikaris couldn’t, but though he may not have the same connection that she had to humanity, it was more than enough for him to simply watch from the sidelines as she interacted with the people. She always radiated warmth and kindness but they brought out a different side of her that he could never grow tired of seeing.
“Jack, it's been a while!” Sersi beamed up at her husband and nudged his leg with her elbow. “Ikaris, look at him! Last time we saw him, he was still a little toddler.”
Ikaris let out a low chuckle and ruffled the child’s hair. “He’s certainly grown now, hasn’t he? How old are you, Jack? Six? Seven?”
“Try ten.”
All three of them looked up at the sound of the voice and saw Phastos walking towards them. Jack ran to cling to his father’s side and Sersi stood up, smiling at their old friend. Phastos gave the couple a quick hug and said, “So glad you two could make it.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Sersi replied. “It’s nice for the family to have a reunion every once in a while.”
“Is everyone here?” Ikaris asked as they started walking towards the house.
“Not everyone. Kingo and Sprite said they might arrive tonight. Pretty sure they're still enjoying their trip to New York.”
As soon as they stepped inside, they caught a whiff of freshly-baked goods. Sersi didn't even realize just how hungry she was until her stomach quietly growled in response. She heard footsteps coming towards them and turned her head to see Phastos' husband walk out of one of the nearby rooms, Christmas lights and a small ladder in hand.
“It’s good to see you, Ben.” Sersi greeted him.
“Same goes for you both.” The corners of his mouth curled up and he gave them a brief nod of acknowledgement as he brushed past, walking right out the door.
"Sersi? Ikaris? Is that you?" A voice called out from somewhere inside the house. Ajak.
"She's in the kitchen cooking with the others." Phastos told them. "She's been expecting you."
Sersi made her way down the hall. Before Ikaris could follow her, Phastos and Jack offered to carry their things up to the guest bedroom and he thanked them graciously.
The kitchen was a flurry of activity as they rounded the corner. Thena was busy helping Gilgamesh with his blueberry pie. Ajak was rushing about from the counter and to the stove, attending to a couple of the dishes she was cooking but at the same time pestering Druig alongside Makkari as he tried to sneak bits of food into his mouth.
“Ah, there they are,” Thena said as they entered the room. All eyes were on them and they exchanged smiles and greetings with one another.
Makkari, who was the closest to them, reached over to hug Sersi, to which the latter happily returned. How was the trip on the way here?
“The flight was a bit crowded but other than that, it was alright.” Sersi responded, enunciating and also making sure to sign. “The cab driver was very friendly too.”
“What took you two so long? I thought you were supposed to arrive earlier today.” Ajak asked.
Sersi could feel Ikaris’ gaze on her and she didn’t have to fully look at him to know he was smirking. She gave Ajak an awkward look before answering, “We may have missed our flight but thankfully we did manage to catch the next trip here.”
“She overslept.” Ikaris stated bluntly.
“Ikaris!”
“What? It’s true!” That earned him a smack on the arm but he simply brushed it off with a snicker as he pulled her close and gave her a brief kiss on the forehead.
“Because you didn’t bother to wake me up!”
"Not when you looked so peaceful. And to be fair, that wouldn’t have been a problem. I did offer to just fly the both of us here but you insisted on taking the plane." He remarked with a teasing grin and she rolled her eyes.
Many would have easily grown tired from a relationship that lasted for decades alone, but Sersi and Ikaris have spent millenia together and each passing day only seemed to bring them closer. Their fellow Eternals couldn't help but reminisce how back in their days in Babylon, they would spend the majority of their time watching the duo tiptoe around the feelings that they so clearly had for each other, wondering how long it would take for them to finally push their stubbornness aside and get together.
At least it was worth the very long wait, seeing as how refreshing it was now to see just how much their bond had grown over the years they spent together, as lovers — soulmates if you will.
They all went back to what they were doing as they caught up with one another. Not long after, they heard a tapping sound coming from one of the open windows and spotted Phastos outside.
“Ikaris, Sersi, do you mind helping Jack set up the Christmas tree in the living room? I promised him we’d do it today but I’m still busy helping Ben with the lights on the porch.”
"I don't see why not," Ikaris shrugged and glanced at Sersi.
She nodded and tugged at his arm as she said, "Of course."
“Oh, and Sersi?” They were already walking towards the living room when Phastos called again. She hummed in response and patiently waited for him to continue. “Make sure that husband of yours doesn’t break anything like last time, alright?”
Ikaris groaned, already knowing where this was headed. "Here we go."
"Why? What happened last time?" Gilgamesh asked curiously.
Makkari tapped Druig, who had a ghost of a smile dancing across his lips, as if he was eager to hear what kind of trouble Ikaris had gotten himself into. He quickly filled her in on parts of the conversation that she wasn't able to catch up with. Everyone else looked at either Sersi, Ikaris, or Phastos expectantly, like they wanted to know as well.
"Let's just say it involved him breaking a dining table in half."
“Oh, give me a break, Phastos. It was an accident. I thought it was Vibranium!”
Druig snorted and the grey-streaked man shot him a look. Then, much to his dismay, Gilgamesh suddenly burst into laughter. Soon enough, the rest of them followed and even Sersi could barely stifle her giggles.
With all the preparation that needed to be done, and not to mention the number of people running around the house, it took Sersi and Ikaris four hours at most to find some time to themselves.
The moon and stars shone bright, illuminating their surroundings alongside the countless Christmas decorations all around the neighborhood as they stood outside the front porch. It was truly a nice sight to see, but Ikaris couldn’t be bothered to look at anything else other than Sersi, who was watching the children across the street build a snowman.
“You look like you want to go over and play with them.” He noted.
She turned her head, attention fully on him. There was a soft glint in her eyes and the usual, serene smile on her face. “Well, they are adorable, don’t you think?”
“You say that about every child you see, love.” Ikaris pushed himself off the wall he leaned on and reached over to adjust her scarf.
“I can’t help it if it’s true.” She held his hand, her thumb repeatedly brushing gentle strokes against his skin. “Should we get back inside?”
“Not quite yet.” He fished something from the pocket of his coat and Sersi furrowed her eyebrows. When he raised his hand and she was able to see what it was, she laughed.
“For someone who isn’t big into Christmas, you sure love mistletoes.”
Before he could even reply, she stepped forward and closed the distance between them. His hands immediately wrapped around her and he brought his lips to hers. At first, it was slow and chaste, and he pulled away a second later just to brush his lips against her slightly. Sersi sucked in a breath and her eyes flew open to look at him intensely when he didn’t kiss her again. He was sure that his pupils were just as dilated as hers.
“I love you, Sersi.”
“I love you, Ikaris.”
His smile widened. Ikaris brushed a stray lock of hair from her face before leaving it to rest on her cheek. She leaned into his touch. They held each other’s gaze but it didn’t take long for them to flicker to each other’s lips. They brought themselves in for another kiss, this time more heated and passionate. Sersi’s hands roamed his body until they made their way into hair. She ran a hand through his silky strands and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. She then caught a fistful of hair in her grasp, giving it a firm but gentle tug that was enough to elicit a moan from him.
They probably would have continued and gone farther than that if not for the voices that interrupted them.
“Get a room, you two!”
“Sprite, don’t be so rude. You’re clearly interrupting them. Sorry, guys. You can go on.”
They immediately broke apart. At least Sersi had the decency to look sheepish, in contrast to Ikaris who sighed and greeted the newcomers sarcastically. “Good evening, Kingo. Sprite.”
Across the lawn, their friends watched them with amusement. Behind them, Sersi and Ikaris could make out Kingo’s old valet Karun taking their bags out of their car’s trunk. He waved at them politely before getting back inside and driving off. As Kingo and Sprite crossed the lot and neared the couple, they dropped their bags to give the couple a hug. Sersi kept one hand on Sprite’s shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze while Kingo patted Ikaris’ back.
“Boss!” Kingo beamed enthusiastically. “It’s so great to see you!”
“You too, Kingo.”
“Still sneaking out to go smooching, I see. Some things never change, do they?” Sprite quipped at Sersi.
“Yeah, won’t Ajak mind? I’m sure you guys are pretty busy in there.” Kingo added jokingly.
“We’ve been helping out for hours and there’s plenty of people inside. I’m sure she won’t mind.”
They stood outside for a long time, too invested in conversing with one another. All four of them had always been the closest with each other out of the Eternals, and after so many years apart, of course they would have a lot to talk about. Just as they decided that it was time to go inside, the door flew open.
“I thought I heard a car pull up in the street. Kingo, Sprite! You’re finally here.” Ajak exclaimed happily. Then, her eyes fell on Sersi and Ikaris. “So this is where you two went!”
Everyone outside shared a knowing look. Kingo tried to suppress a laugh and said loud enough for only the four of them to hear, “I told you so.”
“Sorry, Ajak.” Ikaris and Sersi mumbled.
She frowned before sighing. Makkari and Druig, she could handle seeing as they were more lowkey with their relationship, but not these two lovebirds. There wasn’t anything she could do about them, not even if she tried. She opened the door wider and gestured for them to go inside. “Come, now. Dinner’s almost ready.”
They didn’t even need to be told twice. They stepped into the household where they soon gathered in the living room, Kingo and Sprite being welcomed by the others.
They’ve held a lot of get-togethers over the years, but not all of them usually made it. Up until now, this was actually the first time since they went their different ways that they were all complete. They didn’t always get along but that was just how families were, especially one as unique and big as theirs, and Sersi had missed them all so dearly.
Laughter and chatter filled the air, giving her a sense of warmth and comfort. With Ikaris’ arms wrapped around her as she watched everyone in the room reconnecting once more, she couldn’t help the contented smile that grew on her face.
It was good to be home.