When Makkari wakes up for her first mission on the Domo, the first thing she notices are her companions.
They have unique vibrations in their steps as they push off the wall, greet each other, explore.
A particular set of footsteps catches her eye.
He’s alone.
Makkari considers approaching him; she could be there in a heartbeat, but someone intercepts her path.
“I’m Kingo,” he says, signing.
Makkari, she greets, grateful to have already made a friend so far from Olympia near this foreign blue and green world.
“Meet Sprite,” he gestures to a woman of smaller stature, ”And Phastos.”
It’s a pleasure to meet you, Makkari signs, even as she is glancing over their shoulders to track the movement of the unaccompanied person as he moves toward the window.
Kingo pulls another pair of people over to introduce Makkari but she keeps peeking at the figure by the glass.
“This is Gilgamesh and Thena.” The man, Gilgamesh, smiles kindly at Makkari and she returns it sincerely. The woman, Thena, strikes Makkari initially as intimidating, but her partner nudges her and she gives Makkari a curious smile.
Kingo continjes, “Sersi and Ikaris wandered off and Ajak left to begin planning.” The vibrations of his voice stop, clueing Makkari to the fact that he is not speaking aloud anymore, “Just a tip, I’d steer clear of the guy over there, he seems hostile.”
Makkari nods gratefully, but maneuvers around the group to make her way to the shadowed form. His back is to her and based on Kingo’s testimony, she should be wary of this stranger, but Makkari is determined not to judge him until she meets him.
She taps his shoulder and he turns around slowly, with an air of danger. He glares at her immediately, but the heat of the gaze lessons into something softer as he stares at her.
I’m Makkari, she signs. You are? She quirks an eyebrow.
The man rolls his eyes, but Makkari can tell it is half-hearted. “I’m Druig.”
It’s nice to meet you. Makkari beams at him, and — she’s sure of it now — his glare is completely gone, and in its place is a slightly mischievous smirk. The earth is beautiful, isn’t it?
“Not as beautiful as you,” Druig says, turning his side to the window and giving Makkari the full view of his face.
It’s a nice one. Makkari can’t help admiring the swirls of his eyes, the tilt of his smile, the dip in his lips.
Don’t tease, she deflects.
“I assure you, beautiful Makkari, I’m not teasing.” Despite his words, there is still a spark in his eyes.
Makkari changes the subject, before she is distracted by his lovely charm and utterly gorgeous features.
How can you have bags under your eyes after the longest sleep of a lifetime?
Makkari brushes at the dark pools above his cheeks and — maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Because now her hands are on his face, and for some reason, all she wants to do is press her forehead to his and just breathe in the sense of Druig.
“Beautiful Makkari, I’ll have you know that even just a few moments with these utter fools is enough to tire me for a century.”
Makkari laughs, and realizing her hands are still on his face, pulls them abruptly away.
The two turn back towards the rest of the Eternals. They have all left to walk the ship, and Makkari is ashamed to have not noticed the many quakes they would have produced when exiting, so caught up by Druig that she was.
“Just you and me, beautiful Druig,” Makkari signs before she can even comprehend the action.
He leans forward, tipping his chin up, “Such flattery from a flawless young woman such as yourself is high praise.”
Makkari instinctively lifts her head up too, responding, Oh stop it.
She swats his arm like they’ve been friends for years and it feels like they have.
Druig smacks her right back, and so she pats his cheek firmly, and when he reaches out to playfully retaliate, Makkari speeds around behind him as he stumbles slightly forward.
She leans in close to his ear and breathes softly on it. The hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he twists to meet her.
“Hello, speedster.” This time, Druig’s voice is deposited straight into her head and Makkari gasps.
Mind control!
Druig winces, but Makkari is grinning. That’s so cool! I want you to tell me all about what the inside of people’s heads look like! Can you see the brain? Can you hear thoughts? How could I hear your voice? Is it hard? She presses closer, full of interest in such an awesome ability.
Druig lays his hands on her arms to slow her speech. “One at a time,” his voice is colored with humor in her head, seemingly finding amusement at Makkari’s endless wonder.
The steady hands lead her to the ledge by the window. Makkari sits cross legged next to him, hands signing too fast, but trying to consciously think of her words to make them clearer to Druig in her head.
---
Makkari spends most of the hour there, feeling the pretty thrum of Druig’s words through the sides that they have pressed together. She thinks about his words echoing inside her head while approaching a planet that could never come close to the beauty she has glimpsed in the man next to her.
She finally lays her head on his shoulder, and he does the same, exhausted from her onslaught of questions.
Makkari hesitates and Druig senses it, placing his hand on her own. A silent reassurance, even if he’s not sure what if is for.
I feel as though I have known you a million years, she admits, signing as well as thinking it, to be clear in her meaning.
“Maybe we have.” Druig replies.
There is a pause.
“I feel the same, beautiful Makkari.”