ALL TOO WELL || druig x reader

chapter two: present day

Peering out at the Thames, you finally stopped running, but your heart was still beating incessantly beneath your ribs.

Arishem forbid. Sersi.

You tried to remember what she looked like when she left—hand in hand with Ikaris, flying off to some other country or settlement to start their life together. Evidently, it hadn't worked out. It was odd; despite knowing how much you'd changed, you couldn't fathom seeing Sersi in the same way.

You sighed as you finally decided to walk home, intent on forgetting that meeting ever happened, but it was never going to be that easy. When you rounded the corner, you jumped out of your skin as something appeared before you.

"Fuck!" you stopped immediately, just before bombarding into the teenager before you.

Sprite.

"You've been in London all this time, huh? I had a feeling we'd find you somewhere around here. Druig always joked about how you loved large settlements so much—,"

"Don't—," you let out venomously, breathing heavily as you stared her down. "Don't say that name," you finished. Sprite's face dropped and words failed her. You hadn't seen her eyes in so long, but she was still the same. An Eternal with the face of a child.

"Still a touchy subject?" she said, and you had to do everything not to erupt into flames. You rounded her then, shoving your hands in your pockets and continuing on your journey home.

"Go home, Sprite," was all you could manage to say.

"When did you get this mean? You always used to be sunshine and rainbows—,"

"Why the fuck are you here?" you exploded, stopping and turning back to her. "You and Sersi, why are you even together? I thought you stayed with Ajak after Dru—," you stopped yourself, clamping your eyes shut.

"I was lonely," Sprite said, shrugging her shoulders as if it was nothing big. "I found Sersi,"

You nodded, despite wanting to punch the wall beside you. This was a reunion that you'd been trying to ignore since you'd first separated. You hadn't realised that it would happen now—your wounds were still fresh after so many years. You didn't know why.

Everyone left. No one spoke up for you. Druig—

Well, what didn't Druig do?

"Sprite!" a man's voice spoke up, as the pitter patter of two pairs of feet rounded the corner. Sersi and Dane were holding hands, faces flushed from the winter air.

"Oh, brilliant," you whispered.

"Found her," Sprite said, smiling at Sersi.

"No, you didn't," you shot an annoyed stare at Sprite, before turning around once more.

"Wait!" Sersi yelled. "Please—wait," she rushed forwards, until she stood behind you, back still turned to her. "I didn't realise you lived in London,"

"Sorry, what's going on here?" Dane spoke up.

"Shut up!" Sersi and you said in unison. The silence after Dane shut his mouth was almost too much. You finally turned around, taking in Sersi's apologetic and nostalgic stare.

"Sorry," you said, flashing a look at Dane. He nodded curtly.

"Can we... can we talk somewhere?" Sersi suggested, but already you were backing away.

"You haven't talked to me for 5,000 years, Sersi. What makes you think I'd want to talk to you now?" you said bitterly. When she stayed silent, you couldn't stop yourself from erupting. "You let him do that to me, try to control me, as if all of you had somehow expected him to. Do you know what that felt like?" you clenched your jaw as memories and anger and sadness and pain—so much fucking pain—spiralled into your soul as Sersi stared at you, awestruck, speechless, guilty. "You had Ikaris, Gilgamesh had Thena— but none of you fucking tried to get him to stay. You said nothing!"

"I know," Sersi said timidly.

"If following Arishem means doing nothing when something should be done, I stopped following him a long time ago," you said, slower this time, articulating your words so Sersi would fully understand what you meant.

When she didn't reply again, you nodded once. "That's that, then. I'll see you in another 5,000 years," you turned and strolled away, not stopping once to look behind you at their reactions. You didn't have the patience nor the care for them that you once did. All you felt was red.

You didn't sleep. You were up all night, your mind on the verge of overloading, your heart on the brink of cracking. If Sersi and Sprite had been this close for so long, what's to say the others weren't, as well?

That thought was enough to send you down a spiral; one that told you to get the fuck out of London. Somewhere new, that would fix this. Another place where they couldn't find you for another hundred years, at least.

By the morning, you'd packed and made new arrangements. There was a part of you that didn't want to leave; Heidi being the main factor. On the walk to the train station, you texted her, despite it taking a few tries:

I'm sorry. Have a great life.

As you passed an alleyway, you threw your phone into one of the large bins—

You didn't look back.