Chapter 2! Longer than yesterday's.

I also did some rough chapter divisions and am happy to let you all know this fic will span not three but five chapters if my estimation is correct!

As they suspected, no one finds out for a good few centuries and the first time someone does, it's a complete fluke.

Kingo doesn't understand Makkari and Druig's relationship. He knows Makkari is the only person who can be around Druig when he gets in his moods and he knows Druig likes to tease Makkari where she taunts back as a game. They play hide and seek and it seems to be a good way for both of them to let off steam. Makkari gets to run off her pent-up energy and Druig gets to spend time away from the other Eternals when they get too much for him to deal with. How someone as extroverted as Makkari is able to hang around someone as introverted and surly as Druig is beyond him but he knows it makes them both happy and that's all he really wants for any of the Eternals. Really it's the least of his concerns. He prefers to mind his own business (unless there's drama) and especially when it comes to someone as closed off as Druig for whom the effort really isn't worth it (unless there's drama). He's more interested in his own little hobbies much more worthy of his time like getting the humans to see him as an impressive figure worthy of their patronage.

It's by complete accident he stumbles upon the truth and even then he doesn't believe it to be true.

He's come to the kitchen in the Domo for a snack. There's been no deviant attacks recently but he needs to keep his energy up just in case. It's been hours since breakfast and Gilgamesh said lunch would be delayed since it's his turn to patrol the parameters. Just because there have been no attacks doesn't mean Ajak will let them slack off. He's not being particularly quiet and yet the two other Eternals already present don't notice him as he rummages around in the pantry, absentmindedly listening in on their conversation.

"And what do I get in return for this delicious orange? I believe it's the last one until we go orchard picking."

He can only hear Druig's part of the exchange since his back is turned but Makkari must have replied because Druig speaks again.

"Perhaps I've acquired a taste for oranges over the past few minutes. You never know."

Kingo snorts at that. He knows Druig hates oranges and so does Makkari. It's the one fruit he refuses to eat because he can't stand the scent for some reason and Druig eats almost anything. It's a running joke among the Eternals that the quickest way to save your life if you offend their resident telepath is to offer him food.

"Me? Lie to you? Never. But you do have something I want, my beautiful wife."

Kingo is in the process of wondering what it is Druig wants from Makkari when his mind screeches to a halt.

My beautiful wife.

My beautiful wife?

Did Druig really call Makkari his wife? He whips around lightning fast thinking his ears have deceived him but Druig and Makkari still haven't noticed him.

"Only asking for one in return," Druig says and Kingo watches as Makkari playfully huffs and hands over a single grape from the bunch hidden behind her own back before snatching the orange he's been hiding behind his.

Druig's eyes crinkle in amusement before he pops the grape into his mouth. He grabs the orange from Makkari, already half peeled with her lightning speed, and begins peeling the rest of it for her not caring for the tangy scent that will no doubt stain his hands and irritate him for the rest of the day. It feels so intimate that Kingo, even with his usual lack of embarrassment, feels he's overstayed his welcome. He needs to go lie down and think over this new information.

(My beautiful wife? Really?)

In the end, after a good lie down which results in a pleasant nap, he decides he probably heard wrong… or maybe it was a weird part of that nice dream he was having during his nap where he becomes the most important figure to the humans, known all around the world despite how widespread it is. There is no way, he reasons, Druig and Makkari can be married. They're good friends but their relationship isn't like that… is it? Nah. It can't be. It was a hot day outside today and he'd spent a fair bit wandering around, watching for Deviants on Ajak's orders. Heatstroke was a thing for humans. They dropped dead like flies all the time because of it. Maybe Eternals can get it too (even if they don't die) and they just haven't realized it before now. So much about their own selves is often a mystery to them.

Yes. He definitely heard it wrong.

Gilgamesh finds out next and only because he's the most observant. It's not just one thing but a culmination of a lot of things that lead him to suspect. He wonders if he's the only one who really knows Druig and Makkari are definitely more than friends even if they're not lovers. Him and Thena have their own connection that cannot be quantified in words. He knows Druig loves Makkari the way Gilgamesh, himself, loves Thena and Makkari returns the favor as Thena loves him. It's a kind of connection that doesn't need to be spoken and goes unsaid.

It's clearly an accident when Makkari tells him Druig and her are married. He's sitting at the kitchen table, noting down the ingredients of a new recipe he created for dinner earlier this evening. It won him everyone's praises and while it's possibly because none of the rest of them know how to cook anyway and would be grateful not to starve, Gil knows he's stumbled upon something good when he tastes it. Besides, Thena is more honest than the others and a perfect judge of his culinary art form. She enjoyed today's recipe the most today, he could see it in the way she'd pursed her lips and impatiently tapped her fingers against the table while waiting for seconds. Gil looks up inquiringly when he notices Makkari looking for something, first searching the pantry and then looking around the rest of the room.

'Have you seen my husband?' Makkari signs. It's such a natural gesture and she doesn't even notice she's done it that Gil does a double take. Before he can comment his confusion, she takes it to mean he hasn't read her the first time and signs her question again but replaces 'my husband' with her sign for 'Druig'.

She still doesn't seem to know she referred to Druig by anything other than his name and Gil decides to let it drop. He tells her where he last saw their resident telepath and turns back to his recipe.

He turns the new information over in his mind later that evening: Druig and Makkari. Married.

It's not all that surprising. He wonders if they've had a ceremony or just began to refer to each other as such. Gil has never noticed rings on their fingers but he never cared to look either. No matter the case, they haven't told anyone and Gil takes it as a sign that he should remain quiet too. Makkari had told him by accident, her sign a muscle memory reflex. He isn't one to invade her or Druig's privacy or broadcast something they desire to keep to themselves. They must have their reasons.

He sits with Thena when she is polishing her sword in her nightly ritual. Thena's weapons are her treasures and she takes good care of them as a way to unwind and release the stress that comes with being the patron of war. He's dusting off his doll collection while she shines her steel. He's come to like the little figurines the humans design and loves collecting any discarded ones. Makkari is the one who often brings some to him from far distances if she finds any on her runs. It's this fact that reminds him of what he saw earlier that day and he turns to his better half.

"Did you know Makkari and Druig are married?" he asks. Thena is just as private as them and respectful of other people's space too. It's possible she had known.

"No." Thena halts her her motions, the surprise in her eyes shocking. She considers his words for a moment before resuming her shining with the oil cloth. "Did they tell you?"

"Makkari signed it by accident," Gil tells her as he rearranges the tangled hair of one of the little figurines. It's beyond him how it gets messed up when they just sit in one place on display every day. "She didn't seem to notice."

"She signs it often then," Thena observes, same as him. It's clear to her too that Druig and Makkari have been married for a while.

"They did always have a connection with each other that they never had with the rest of us, " Gil agrees. This is more so true for Druig who keeps to himself by virtue of his power. The others try not to let him feel it but his abilities are unsettling if the Eternals ponder on them too hard.

They continue their ritual in silence. It's only when Thena's sword is back in its sheath and Gilgamesh's dolls are placed on their shelves when they discuss it again and when they do, its like Thena reads his mind.

"If they don't want to say anything about their marriage, it's not our place to say." There's a smirk on her face and a playful glint in her eyes as she adds a jibe towards the other married couple in their family, "At the very least, they're courteous enough not to scar us with it."

Deviant attacks are never without injuries but Makkari is rarely the one hurt. Super speed comes in handy when it comes to avoiding hits and her reflexes are naturally the fastest. But this time, she's a second too slow, a little too distracted and then she's on the ground, hitting sticks, dirt and stone. The Deviant sees she's fallen and goes for her and she has to roll over violently in order to avoid getting ripped into. Her leg is screaming in pain and she almost passes out not even noticing when someone drags her out of danger and away from the fight.

When her vision comes back Ajak is hovering over her and Druig is panicking above her. Her head is in his lap and he's holding on to her hand with his. She's too weak to sign and no one seems to notice she's awake.

"She's going to be alright," Ajak says above her, voice muffled like it's through layers of cotton or a sea of water.

The caring mother figure of the Eternals works quickly, dealing with the smaller injuries first before moving to the largest injury. The blood is streaming dark and sticky from Makkari's leg and she won't be able to run for a few hours but the injury isn't nearly as bad as Druig's panic is.

Ajak always suspected there was potential for something more in Druig and Makkari's relationship. Druig was a hard person to get along with for the others because of how closed off he could be sometimes. To some extent, they saw his powers as invasive or useless when it came to fighting Deviants. That led to more arguments, mostly between Druig and Ikaris, than Ajak cared to mitigate. And then there was Makkari, who for the first few centuries had been completely unable to slow down. Kinetic energy was always humming beneath the second smallest Eternal's skin and she had found it hard to find an outlet aside from running and Deviant attacks until she got closer to Druig who miraculously had an effect on her no one else did.

With each other, Druig and Makkari both relaxed.

Druig was less lonely and irritable. Makkari seemed to calm down.

Ajak waited for the two of them to make their relationship official to the other Eternals. She knew they were together and had been for a good while now. For the longest time she wondered when they would tell the others or when they would notice but it never happened.

Now, as Ajak heals Makkari's leg, her vision can't help but slide to where Druig's hand holds Makkari's own, fingers intertwined. A simple band of gold wraps around his finger and Ajak notices with a jolt of surprise that Makkari is wearing one that's almost exactly the same, just slightly thinner. She shakes her head and blinks to clear her vision that's a little foggy with exhaustion – Makkari's injury is taking a lot out of her. When she looks at the rings again, more closely this time, it's without a doubt that they match. She has never noticed before but seeing the rings side by side, each worn on their left hands, there is no denying it. Druig and Makkari are married.

She finishes healing up the speedster and by the time Makkari is well enough to sign again Ajak feels she should check on the other Eternals.

"You can't run yet," she warns both verbally and through sign.

"I'll carry her back or stay with her until she's well enough." Druig promises Ajak but it's clear he means it more for Makkari who reads his signs and then leans back against his chest like he's her favorite pillow with a content grin. A tiny smile of adoration slips across Druig's own face and some of the worry wears away in the process.

Ajak almost pauses to ask them why they never told the others, why they never told her. A part of her is naturally hurt that even she was excluded. She thinks she understands the reasons why they would want to keep their relationship and marriage private from the other Eternals, but she sees them all as children and can't help but wonder why she wasn't privy to Druig and Makkari's relationship even now that they're married. Hiding a relationship is one thing. Hiding a marriage is another.

Even so as she walks away, thinking better of her question for now, she realizes the two never bothered to hide their rings. They have always been worn around the couple's fingers or in a chain around their necks. Neither Druig or Makkari are overly fond of jewelry; these rings are the only recurring items Ajak has ever noticed them wear and yet she never connected the dots before today.

She turns around slightly to see Druig press his forehead to Makkari's, gently rubbing his nose against hers while whispering something only she would be privy to through the vibrations of his voice. Even now they aren't hiding it. They've never really hidden it. Their relationship or their marriage. It's just that nobody else took the time or paid enough attention to notice. For immortals with so much time on their hands, they all do tend to miss so many of the little things, her included.

Ajak smiles as she walks away. It still stings that she wasn't told that Druig and Makkari got married. Knowing them it has probably been a few centuries already. But she can hardly fault them for her own obliviousness. A part of her feels like a bad leader for not noticing such an important detail. Not for the first time she wonders if she pays a little too much attention to Ikaris and not enough attention to the others, especially Druig, but she settles her sorrow with the happiness of knowing yet another two of her teammates who she loves like her children have found love and eternal companionship with one another.

She knows if anyone deserves it the most, it is them.

Half the Eternals know now but there's twists yet to come. Predictions on who finds out next and who will win the bet?

I want to thank everyone who left such lovely comments yesterday and hope today's chapter can invoke that kind of response again. I really love hearing all your thoughts and it made me the happiest to get such a nice response even on the first chapter. There's plenty more to come so I hope you all stick around.