Long Awaited

Chapter 6

"Freya, you're alright," came Happy's relieved voice over the phone. I sensed him releasing a breath he must have been holding, and I quickly replied with a reassuring "yes." His next words were halted abruptly as if someone had snatched the phone from his hand in a hurry.

"Where have you been?" Happy's sweet, kind voice had transformed into a familiar upset tone, one I knew all too well. Adrien Sirius Stark, my twin.

"Do you have any idea how worried I, and everyone else, have been since you decided to go off the grid? Ignoring calls, messages – it was like you vanished into thin air. I feared the worst, especially with that monstrous thing prowling around London, getting uncomfortably close to where you were staying. I thought..." Adrie's voice wavered, his words breaking over the phone as he struggled to mask his sniffling. Even from a distance, his almost-silent sobs tugged at my heartstrings, making me yearn to give him a comforting hug.

While the rest of the Eternals seemed engrossed in their own activities, either on their phones or raiding the mini bar, I was aware that every word between Adrie and me was echoing in their ears, even with the phone speaker off. Sprite, however, had her own agenda, shooting me a glare that screamed she would gladly chop off my hand to snatch the phone away.

Under Sprite's bone-chilling gaze, I began to pace slowly. The impending confession to Adrien weighed heavily on my mind. "What monstrous thing in London, Adrie?" I let the lie roll off my silver tongue smoothly. The hint of fear embedded in the deception was a direct result of Sprite's glare and the lingering memory of that ominous creature.

"I am really sorry for worrying you and everyone Adrie, but I and a few others had to go to Scotland immediately after the presentation. And when I arrived at the bed and breakfast, I kind of broke my phone by dropping it into the lake as I was taking a picture. And before you ask, I am currently using Dane's one right now. Besides, I did try to ring Dad on this number, but we both how that went."

"Okay... Hold on, you're in Scotland now? How on earth are you going to make it in time for Dad and Pep's big day? You can't possibly miss their wedding, right? Speaking of Dad, he just left for the airport to go—"

Questions after questions, fired off without waiting for an answer or a response—that was always Adrien's style.

"Adrie," I tried to interrupt his rambling before it could spiral out of control. I knew that if Dad arrived in London, he would find out I was lying about being in Scotland because of the presentation. Calmly, I continued, "Adrie, ask Happy to tell Dad I'm okay, and he doesn't need to come to London. I'll be leaving for the airport in just a few short hours, so I should be back in time. Don't worry."

That seemed to work because he muttered my words to someone. "Happy's telling Dad right now. Great timing, though, Freya. He managed to reach Dad just before the plane took off."

"Thank goodness" were the only two words filling my mind at this moment. I wanted to sigh in relief, but I knew I couldn't just yet.

Next, I needed to confirm if the monster Adrien was talking about was the Deviant that attacked me. "So, Adrie, what's this about some monster in London?" I tried passing it off as a far-fetched joke and forced a laugh at the end. "Did a kid make an overly realistic cosplay this time or something?"

"No, Freya, it was real. It was even on the news with this flying guy," Adrien sounded like a kid at Christmas. No doubt he was helping Dad find out who the person was. "The only problem is his face was either blurred or the camera couldn't get his face, even with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Jarvis. We couldn't get his name or anything on him. But you should've seen him take that monster down; it was amazing."

"Oh, really?"

"Yup, even the monster was unlike anything I've seen." Well, at least that gave me a few fewer things to worry about. "Oh yeah, speaking of things other than monsters, did you know Harry is coming to the wedding, by the way?" Never mind; my worries had just increased within a few seconds. All thanks to my awesome brother... Adrien.

"Why is that—"

"Freya, did you seriously think he wouldn't show up? You know he's Pep's godson, and you know she's already planning your wedding." I couldn't believe the words coming out of my brother's mouth at this moment. Did they really think I was going to marry that prick? Just because Harry and Adrien are BFFs doesn't change the fact that he's an arrogant bombastic...

Ikaris suddenly laced his fingers with mine, a gentle calm washing over me. I exhaled slowly, attempting to force a laugh, when a sudden idea sparked in my mind. "Haha, very amusing, Adrien, but I've already got a boyfriend." As I mentioned having a boyfriend, Ikaris's grip on my hand tightened. "So, I highly doubt things would have worked out between Harry and me anyway. Sorry."

Adrien, usually never at a loss for words, remained surprisingly silent on the other end. "Looks like I'll be bringing my boyfriend to the wedding then, and oh, a couple of friends too. Bye for now, love you. See you at the wedding, Adrie." With that, I casually ended the call.

I couldn't stand Harry, and the thought of surprising everyone by showing up with someone on my arm appealed to me. If embracing the soulmate bond with Ikaris meant securing my happiness and being assured of love, as opposed to settling for someone as ordinary as Harry, then count me in.

"Guess what, Ikaris? You're officially my boyfriend now."