CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
"tears"
THE ETERNALS HAD given Gilgamesh a proper ceremony before they left the Amazon. They had burned his body next to a beautiful lake; the setting sun causing the blue water to sparkle. Hera had tears in her eyes as she watched the pyre burn. Druig stood next to her, their shoulders brushing.
When the fire had subsided, the ashes were collected and put into a beautiful urn Druig had recovered from the commune. Thena held that urn now, her eyes watery as she stepped into the lake. Her white gown flowed around her in the water, her hands shaking as she slowly tipped the urn. The ashes spilled into the water. Hera heard Thena sob.
"You alright?" Druig's voice startled Hera, who had been watching Thena on the water's bank. She nodded, glancing at him. "Yeah, I'm okay."
He fell silent. She could feel his eyes on her. She swallowed thickly, struggling to stop her tears from falling. She hadn't been as close to Gilgamesh as Thena had, but she had still loved him like a brother. They had spent numerous hours together, cooking and laughing. Hera inhaled shakily.
"Sersi says we're getting Phastos next. I told her we'd sit this one out, yeah? We can stay on the plane." Druig's voice was soft. He gently put an arm around Hera's shoulders, and she immediately leaned into him. The modern age had done wonders for his style– the scent of the black leather jacket he wore overwhelmed Hera's senses as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Druig." Her voice sounded foreign to her ears. She saw him nod out of the corner of her eyes.
"Anytime." He responded, and he meant it completely.
—
As Druig had promised, when the plane landed, they stayed put. The only ones going to fetch Phastos were Sersi and Ikaris. Everyone else had decided to stay on the plane, and Hera couldn't blame them. The air was heavy with their recent loss.
Before they left, Sersi gave Hera a tight hug. "We'll be back soon." She told her, to which Hera nodded. Ikaris stood behind the pair, his eyes trained on Hera. He looked as if he wanted to say something to her, but one glare from Druig was enough to send him on his way without a word.
Hera settled back into her seat with Druig beside her. She inhaled deeply, eyes closing in exhaustion. She hadn't had much time to rest since beginning this journey. Physically and mentally, she was exhausted.
"Hera?" Druig murmured, causing Hera's eyes to open. "Mhm?" She hummed, turning her head to look at him.
"If I hadn't said those things at Tenochtitlan, would you have come and visited?"
She nodded without hesitation. "Of course. Even if Ikaris... drove us apart, I would've still tried to patch things up with you."
He nodded at that, seemingly content with her response. The plane fell silent once more. Kingo and Sprite were sleeping a few rows down, and Thena was staring out of one of the windows, her eyes glassy and her expression blank.
"I thought about you all the time, you know. After you left with him." Druig spoke up, causing Hera's head to turn towards him. "Actually, I just thought about you all the time." Hera looked at him. His expression was genuine.
"I thought about you too."
"It's hard not to think about me," he teased, to which she rolled her eyes. He chuckled and she grinned.
"You're annoying." She told him, to which he smiled. "You love it." Hera shrugged. "Maybe I do."
She felt at ease with him now, just as she had centuries ago. Druig just got her. He always knew what to say and what to do. He was overprotective and harsh at times, but his flaws were what made him... him. Some people just instantly clicked– and that's how it had been with the two of them.
Hera hadn't realized how much Druig truly meant to her until he was gone. Although she had loved Ikaris, there had always been a hole in her heart where her best friend should have been. She may not have known it at the time, but she surely knew it now. Druig meant a lot to her, and she promised herself that she would never hurt him again.
She rested her head against his shoulder as her eyes drooped shut. He welcomed the motion, leaning his head against hers. Before she drifted off to sleep, she felt him press a kiss into her hair.
—
Hera awoke with a start, eyes flying open as a camera was shoved in her face.
"Look at them!" She heard Kingo coo from nearby. Hera shot up, instinctively shoving at the camera. It fumbled in Karun's hands, but he didn't drop it. He righted himself and the camera as Hera scowled, holding a hand out to shield herself.
"Sir, your friends are not very good with cameras," the valet said. Kingo waved a hand in dismissal. "Not everyone can be an actor, Karun. Remember that." Karun nodded eagerly, "yes, sir!"
"Kingo, what is this?" Hera narrowed her eyes as she looked at her fellow Eternal. "Trying to get some cute romance shots for the documentary," he told her, gesturing between Hera and Druig, who was now shaking off sleep and blinking drearily at them. "You guys were so cute sleeping like that! Can you do it again?" Kingo asked excitedly.
"Get lost before I make you explode." Hera warned in reply, to which Kingo tsked. He reluctantly complied, pulling his worry-stricken valet away from them.
"What was that all about?" Druig questioned through a yawn.
"Kingo being Kingo." She rolled her eyes. Her gaze flickered to the window of the plane, taking in the moving sky. She hadn't realized how long they had been asleep. Now completely awake, Hera's eyes scanned the plane, and sure enough she found Phastos sitting next to Sersi at the other end of the aircraft. They were chatting about something Hera couldn't hear. She smiled, glad to have another member of the family back.
"Looks like Makkari is our last stop." Druig stated, his gaze following Hera's as he looked at Phastos. Hera nodded, a grin blossoming on her lips. "I've missed her. I'm sure she's grown her collection of stolen goods tremendously since we last saw her."
Druig chuckled. "Oh, definitely. She always had to have the shiniest things."
"I'm surprised we didn't find you two together," Hera said after a moment, eyes flicking to Druig. He returned her gaze. "You were thick as thieves– even closer than we were."
Druig shrugged. "I needed to be alone, Makkari understood that. Besides, I'm not sure there's many interesting things to steal in the middle of the Amazon."
Hera gave a small laugh, nodding her head. "Fair point."
"Hera, may I speak with you?"
Hera looked up to see Ikaris standing beside her, his eyebrows furrowed. She stared at him, eyes narrowing. "About?"
Ikaris cleared his throat, clearly anxious over something. "It would be better if we talked about this privately." He said, stressing the last word. Ikaris' gaze drifted to Druig. Druig gave her a look of concern, but she nodded as if saying 'I'll be fine.'
Hera begrudgingly complied, slipping out of her seat and making her way down the aisle. She slipped into the back of the plane, which was separated from the rest by a thin wall and door. It wasn't much, but seemed to be enough for Ikaris as he stepped inside and shut the door behind them.
He turned to look at her then. Hera crossed her arms and frowned. "What do you want?"
"We haven't had a chance to speak since–"
"Since you left? And whose fault is that?" She snapped.
He quieted, hurt lacing his features. She couldn't even feel bad for him. "I'm sorry about that, Hera. Truly, I am. But I couldn't stay–"
"And why is that?" She interrupted him again, fuming. "The least you could've done was tell me. I spent two years waiting for you! And nothing!" Tears pricked her eyes, all of the hurt he had caused resurfacing. Ikaris reached a hand towards her, but she batted it away.
"I still love you, Hera." He whispered to her. She shut her eyes tightly, tears flowing freely now. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have left me. Or you would've come back for me. And you didn't do either."
Silence filled the space around them now. Hera opened her eyes once more, looking at the man in front of her with complete sadness and anger. He had betrayed her– had abandoned her. How could she forgive him for that?
"You know, when we were first in Greece, Sprite made up that story about Icarus and the sun," Hera said, to which Ikaris nodded. "She told me that the sun was supposed to be me. That you would ruin yourself for me."
She inhaled deeply, still looking at him. "But she was wrong. You ruined me. You're the sun, Ikaris. I ignored Druig's warnings and I flew too close to you, and you melted my wings. What we had was good– but apparently it wasn't enough for you. So don't come crying back to me when you are the one that left. Not me."
Before he could respond, she turned on her heel and stalked from the room, shutting the door behind her. She wiped at her cheeks, trying to be subtle, but it didn't matter. The others were too focused on their own activities to notice. Hera sniffled as she made her way back to her seat next to Druig. He looked at her with concern.
"You okay?" He asked as she fell into her seat.
"Yeah," she murmured, rubbing her eyes.
"Just fine."