The journey to South Dakota had been fun. Jack had wanted to go in their car until their first stop. He was talking a lot, commenting about everything new he was looking at. That kind of enthusiasm children had was very endearing. The hum of the engine finally lulled him to sleep. Gilgamesh smiled at Thena when the silence took over the car. One day, they would have children of their own. They both knew that without it being said aloud. Just not right now. They wanted to stay in their little bubble of happiness just the town of them.
Phastos and Ben were following in their own car with Ajak on the backside. The journey was quite long, more than twelve hours. The group had planned to stop at least one night, maybe two depending on how the traffic would be. They could play tourist along the way. There was plenty to see and visit. The journey needed to be fun at least for Jack.
The motel they stopped at didn't look like much but the rooms were clean and the dinner next to it had actually really good food. They didn't need much more. Jack loved his tall burger even if he couldn't bite in it because of its size. The boy made Ajak taste it as well and took a bit of hers. She was the same motherly figure she had always been with or without her memory. She was a wonderful grandmother to Phastos' son. The boy was, in return, taking great care of her. The coldest heart would be warming up seeing those two interact. Jack would always share any of his discoveries with her in every detail. Her memories might never come back. Her life would still be fulfilling within this little family.
Ajak's house looked very much the same as what they remembered. Nobody had touched anything in their absence. Everything was covered by a layer of dust. Ajak seemed uncomfortable in the home that had been hers for so long. Just like Gilgamesh had known instinctively the ups and downs of his house in Australia, Ajak was reacting the same way. Her last memories might have not been so pleasant here even if they were not of her actual death. Ikaris had never really explained the details of that last encounter, just the outcome. A deviant had killed her though.
The Eternals wouldn't mind knowing what had actually happened. How much of Ikari's fault everything was. The little details would not change anything about what had been done. Gilgamesh had already been through some of that and was helping Ajak as much as he could. It wasn't easy but in the end, Ajak might be whole again in a way. She deserved to know what had happened to her.
She had memories coming back throughout their stay. Some little tidbits about Sprite staying with her, how they had been dancing in the kitchen together. Ikaris came back to her mind as well. The images were broken and out of order. She could see herself having a conversation with him on the porch about the humans rising up against Thanos. She had been impressed by them. Earth was deserving better than what Arishem had planned.
Jack was scared when his grandma would wake up, screaming, in the middle of the night. The whole household was waking up at those times. The walls were pretty thin. Phastos' son didn't want Ajak to be hurt in any way and she was doing her best to be strong.
How to explain to a child that she had already been killed and then resurrected, that memories were coming back and that as hard as it was, it would be a good thing in the end? How to explain that his father and his uncles and aunties weren't totally human? Phastos wanted to protect his son from the world because he knew what humanity could do to destroy itself. He had seen it, he had helped it without really wanting it. Children were almost more aware of what was going on than their parents actually realised. None of it was easy.
Just as it had been for Gilgamesh, Ajak was reliving her death first. She saw the vast frozen plain and the odd numbers of deviants. The Eternals had thought they had killed them all. They had parted ways so many years ago with that idea in mind. They didn't need to be together because there was no real danger looming anymore. How wrong they were.
