The Domo

Three Weeks after Emergence

My eyes slowly opened, taking in a long breath before I dug my head into my pillow a bit more to wake up in my bed. I was facing the window of my room, seeing the small cluster of stars right outside the ship as we were floating in space. There was no real sense of time there on the ship, but my body was telling me it was early in the morning. It was early, and I was hungry.

I watched the stars coast by, feeling the bedsheet that was around my waist against my skin and my pajamas. I stretched out my legs, feeling movement behind me as the arm around my waist tightened slightly. A nose pressed into my hair, inhaling as I felt and heard a groan from a very sleepy Druig.

"It's too early," a voice mumbled behind me as I reached down to tap his hand on my lower stomach. He never was an early riser, sleeping away the morning if he could get away with it. I was the opposite, much to his dismay.

"I'll make us some coffee, " I reassured him softly as I moved out of his embrace. He groaned again, having me chuckle as I rolled over to be on my stomach and face him. He looked up at me sleepily, still keeping his hand on my waist and almost trying to coax me with his blue eyes to be there in bed. I grinned at him, moving his bangs away with my fingers.

This was the first thing that I would see in the morning, every morning since we took on the Domo to find other Eternals that could be out in the cosmos. I never thought I would be back on this ship, since the last time I slept on this ship I ended up leaving in anger and pain. But time had passed and those wounds were calloused over. Although the walls haven't changed, we all changed.

There used to be ten souls on this ship, and now there were four.

Phastos, as a last-minute gift for the four of us taking over the Domo, made some modifications inside the ship that would work out for all of us. It was a great gift from him, having me feel forever grateful for his friendship. He was excited to give us a mini-tour of the Domo, showing a mini greenhouse that had built-in rays of sunlight for me to grow my plants and herbs, a gym and training room for Thena to fight and practice in daily, a small library with a study for Druig to skim over the books and documents that Makkari swiped in the past, and a Recreation Room to keep Makkari busy and occupied.

Another modification that was added was some modern technology within the ship. Phastos loved updating our kitchen and living areas, and he planted a permanent homing device for those who stayed behind on Earth. It was a good thought to do since we were going to stay in contact with them, keeping an eye on them from afar. It was nice that they were all phone call away.

We all took to our old rooms, except for Druig. Druig un-ceremoniously moved into my room within two minutes of being on the Domo, though I wasn't putting up a fight for him not to. It was going to happen sooner than later, and Druig wasted no time in taking some of his things from his room to place in my room. Druig only had a handful of things to swap over, offering to make his old room storage for all of Makkari's old treasures and trinkets that were scattered about the ship.

Makkari and Thena didn't seem to mind it either since they took up their old rooms too. In fact, while I was leaning against my door frame and watching Druig move some of his things over to my room, I saw Makkari watch from her spot near her room with a massive grin on her face. Since she found out about Druig and me, she was beyond ecstatic. I knew she was going to be a massive supporter of her two best friends finally getting together, even teasing at me a bit as we spoke back on the farm two days before we left on the Domo.

It took you two long enough! She joked with me as we were walking together early one morning amongst the long grass. I just rolled my eyes and gave her shoulder a playful shove.

Thena, although not as outwardly pleased with my relationship with Druig, was still just as happy. I knew she knew how I felt for him for some time, and she was quite proud that we were both happy with one another. I read it on her face as she watched us from afar, and I knew it was painful for her at times since she was thinking of Gilgamesh.

I knew she missed him and his company, his constant dedication for her and keeping her connected to reality. Yet now she was still strong, no longer feeling fragile and damaged without Gilgamesh. After she killed the advanced Deviant, her inner strength was back up again. I was proud of her.

"Coffee sounds nice," Druig mumbled as I grinned down at him, seeing him reach up to push some of my red hair from my eyes to see me fully, "But it's still too early. Stay in bed with me,"

"I'll make a dark roast, nice and strong for you," I explained, leaning down to kiss him on his cheek before I looked back at him, "Go back to sleep, okay?"

Druig nodded, grinning from the kiss before he gave me one last loving stare, "I love you,"

"Love you more," I hummed, then slipping out of the bed before I would be tempted to stay in that bed anymore, "And you shouldn't be complaining. It's not my fault you decided to stay up late and spar with Thena,"

"She whipped my ass," Druig grumbled into the pillow as I chuckled and walk out of the room. The hallway was nice and quiet, the old rooms of our old comrades were silent and showed no sign of life. We decided not to touch them at all, almost as a remembrance of our friends. Thena's door was closed, having me place a gentle hand on her door as a silence "Good morning". She never kept her door open, always wanting to have her moments of peace in her own quarters. Then I walked by Makkari's room, seeing that her door was opened slightly and the sound of snoring was heard. I couldn't help but poke my head inside, seeing Makkari asleep with a book in her hand as she was lightly snoring in her bed and curling up under her covers. I had to grin, knowing how Makkari would read herself to sleep from time to time just to quiet her mind down.

I walked down the dark hallway towards the kitchen and main living area, my bare feet touching the cool marble ground as I was wearing a vintage Beatles t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. Ruffling my hair as I yawned, I was floating through Phastos's lab and seeing the hologram of the planet Earth. It was slowly rotating, showing three beacons blinking in three different parts of the planet. I touched one of the workstation tables with the tips of my fingers to activate the ship.

"Time to wake up, Domo." I yawned. The lights of the hallways slowly went from darkness to dim. The main lights in the living room and the kitchen flipped on as a song was floating in the air from our stereo record player. The song was Ramble On from Led Zeppelin, a great choice to wake us up in the morning on our ship.

It was another great feature that Phastos invented for our ship, the Domo being able to follow simple routines and commands that we would give it. He used to be the main engineer of the Domo, apart from Ajak respectively. He knew how to run the ship and how to make it work in our favor, and these routines were amazing.

"Think of it as a massive Alexa," Phastos explained to me as he was showing me how to work the commands and features, "The Domo will only listen to you four, along with the rest of us if something does happen and we're back on the ship."

The living area was made up of a few couches and a bookshelf filled to the brim with books, the open kitchen right next to the living room with a kitchen island separating the two spaces, and a smaller dining room near the massive window that showed out the outside view of space. It was an open area for the four of us to use throughout the day, looking upon other planets that were on our coordinates and radar and keeping up with updates on Earth. I made my way over to the counter to get a large pot of coffee going. Makkari was going to drink at least 4 cups on her own, Druig would have one and I would have two. Thena thankfully stuck with tea as her source of caffeine, having me remember to put the kettle on the stove to have the hot water ready for her when she would wake up.

"Got no time for spreadin' roots

The time has come to be gone

And through our health, we drank a thousand times

It's time to ramble on…"

I hummed along with the song as it was playing softly in the air as I then moved over to grab some ingredients from our refrigerator. It was routine for me to wake up first on the ship, getting breakfast made for the four of us before we would go on and do our chores and work. It kept my mind busy as I cooked, using some of the fresh herbs from the greenhouse to sprinkle in the scrambled eggs. I heard a notification go off on one of the data pads that were on the kitchen island, having me look over and see I was getting an incoming call. I reached over to get the pad, tapping the button to see a face appear right in front of me.

"Hello, Kingo!" I greeted as I propped the pad on the counter to face me as I continued to cook. Kingo would always call every other day with updates and news from Earth, but he was mostly wanting to chat with us and see if we were bored yet being on the ship. I was happy to talk to him again and hear his happy voice. He was in London with Sprite, working on a movie while Sprite was going to Boarding school to have a normal human life.

"Good morning, Soteri!" He said to me in a greeting, having me see that he was somewhere out on a set with one of his moves, already awake and alert, "Wanted to pop in and see what you four were up to today. Any news on new Eternals yet?"

"Same as usual, Kingo," I answered as I finished the eggs in the skillet, "I think we're close to another set of planets that could have Eternals on it. What's going on with you and Sprite?"

"She's off at school today," Kingo explained in a huff, "I think making her a human was a good form of punishment for her,"

"How so?" I asked, seeing him roll his eyes.

"Her mood swings are literally the worst," Kingo complained, though I had to smile in how he was smirking about it, "I don't know how I'm going to deal with her teenage years." I giggled then, getting a few plates ready and some glasses too. As I was setting the plates, I heard Kingo give a pause before he cleared his throat to get my attention, "How's your back feeling?"

I briefly paused, looking back at the datapad and giving Kingo a genuine look.

"It's nearly healed," I replied, wanting to be truthful with him and not hide anything, "I still get spasms sometimes, but it's not as bad as before,"

Kingo looked a bit heartbroken when I told him, making me give him a kind stare to lessen the awareness that I knew was there. Kingo felt terrible for what happened to me, calling Phastos at the farmhouse and hearing all that happened. He made his own choice in bowing out from the fight, but that remorse in how we ended up was there within him.

"Kingo," I said his name softly, trying to snap him out of his thoughts that were drifting, "I'm fine."

"I know," he commented back, sounding gentle himself as he sighed, "I just wish you didn't have to nearly die."

"I get it, Kingo. But I've been getting better every day on the Domo," I explained to him, then seeing him give me a small smirk.

"And I'm sure Druig has something to do with it too, huh?" he asked in a coy manner. I gave him a playful glare, seeing him be his old self with me as I got some eggs on the plates. The last thing I wanted to do was to deal with Kingo and his banter this early in the morning on the ship before I had my coffee. He would pull this all the time after he heard about Druig and me, and although I knew he meant well and was entirely happy we were together, he was willing to push our buttons on it too.

"It's too early for you to start, Kingo," I warned him, though he was going to be on a roll already.

"Oh, come now. It's never too early to start when it comes to you two," He teased, "Are there going to be wedding bells in the future?"

He always teased, and most of the time I would let it slide and brush over my shoulder. I knew I was confident in my relationship with Druig, knowing that the both of us were in sync with one another taking things nice and slow. I hated showing massive PDA in front of Makkari and Thena, having us only hold hands or the occasional arm dropped around the other when we were together. Druig didn't mind it as much, sneaking a kiss here and there before I could stop him. Yet he too was holding back in certain actions, which lead to another dilemma that I was feeling.

Being physical with Druig.

Druig knew my reservations and how I felt about being too physical or intimate, he was respectful and he never pushed the boundaries with me. The more we were together, just being close to one another, the more that temptation was growing. It wasn't there before, or if it was it was barely a simmer that was under my skin like an itch. It still frightened me, but it was also a safe feeling when I was with Druig. There was no denying that Druig was handsome, but I saw his heart and should before his appearance. That pull I was feeling for him was merely for him, I felt it for no one else.

"You're teetering so close to me calling Sprite just to annoy you," I said to him, though I felt a pair of hands move along my waist to wrap around me from behind. I grinned, feeling a body press up behind me and a kiss on my clothed shoulder. It was perfect timing.

"And if it isn't Mr. Sunshine himself!" Kingo said in a chuckle as I felt a chin rest on my shoulder. I leaned back, Druig peering over my shoulder at Kingo through the screen before Kingo went on, "You look so peppy this morning!"

"Morning Kingo," Druig replied behind me in a low tone, sleep still evident in his voice, "Why are you interrogating my girlfriend this early?"

"Girlfriend?" Kingo asked, clearly amused as he was seeing the both of us through the screen, "Took you long enough to give it a label."

"On that note, we're going to have breakfast! Say hi to Sprite for us!" I said to Kingo, turning off the datapad before Kingo could say anything else to us. I sighed, feeling a bit relieved in not having to deal with Kingo and his antics for the time being. I felt Druig press his head against my own, almost feeling my tension.

"He's been giving you a hard time?" He asked me, having me shake my head and moved over to kiss him on the cheek before I went back to plating our breakfast together. Druig removed his hold on me to stand next to me and help me with the plates and place some toast on each plate as I got the last plate of eggs ready.

"He's just being Kingo," I replied, "Mostly checking up on us and seeing how we were doing. I think he misses us back there on Earth,"

"Sprite's giving him a hard time, huh?" Druig asked in amusement, making me chuckle as Druig was about to take a piece of toast that was ready to eat. I reached over to slap his hand, giving him a playful look as he grinned at me while I placed the toast on a plate.

"You can't wait a few minutes for the others?" I asked him, though there was no heat behind it.

"When will they be coming out for breakfast?" He countered back, the coffee maker finishing its job and a singular bell was heard from the machine. I pointed to the machine while staring at Druig.

"As soon as Makkari comes for the coffee," I answered, then seeing a flash of light come over to stop near us. We both looked, seeing a sleepy but happy Makkari in her pajamas as she was reaching up to get one of her favorite coffee mugs from the cupboard. Druig grinned from seeing Makkari pour one cup, breathing in the aroma deeply before she sighed in happiness.

Morning, I signed to her, seeing her grin at me with her sleepy eyes.

Good morning you two, She signed back, then pointed to the cup with her spare hand, Dark roast?

"Just for you," I replied, though Druig looked from Makkari over to me with a mocked hurt tone. I cocked my head at him, "For you too! But let's be honest, she needs it more, honey,"

It's true. Makkari signed in agreement before she took a drink. Druig just rolled his eyes as I handed him two plates to place on the table.

The rest of the day was spent like any other day. We had breakfast together, drinking in each other's company and setting the mood for the day there on the Domo. After we cleaned up the dishes, we all broke off to do our tasks and chores. Thena was researching the planets that were nearby, hoping to find some kind of life on those planets and perhaps some clues that could point us to potentially other Eternals.

We always stayed in contact with the others on the planet, keeping an eye and seeing they were living their lives again. Sersi, Phastos, and Kingo were just mere blimps on the hologram planet that was rotating in Phastos's old lab, having them miss them from time to time.

In her downtime, Thena would spar with the three of us. She told us it would help us be light on our feet and stay sharp, though it was ultimately meaning that we would always get our asses kicked by her. We weren't allowed to use our abilities at all, relying on pure fighting skills. Thena was always a fierce fighter to begin with, not needing her weapons of choice to win at every sparring section. Makkari had swiftness in her punches, but was too slow on her feet and would always fall. Druig was slow in general, trying to keep up with each swipe and blow. I had no good upper body strength, feeling more like an oaf.

She always won against us.

We kept things light on the Domo. We all picked up on hobbies and tasks as the hours went by. Thena did cross-stitching, something she picked up on in the past at her old home in Australia and a hobby that calmed her mind. She made intricate designs and pieces, beautiful patterns that were mixed with colors and highlights too while she worked away in the study.

Makkari was doing some research on the data pads. She grew bored in reading physical books and wanted to catch up on all the technology she's missed hiding out on the Domo. Thankfully, the data pads that Phastos gave us were filled to the brim with new information and new things for Makkari to play with. Since then, I've only seen Makkari with her eyes on the screen, reading novels and articles that brought her into the modern era. It was a sight to see, watching her face light up as she was learning's something new. I would have to take the datapad away from her every once in a while to rest her eyes and give her brain a break, much to her dismay.

Makkari was happy with technology.

In our greenhouse, I was growing a good amount of veggies and some fruit trees. It made me happy to be around plants and signs of life again, breathing in the cool soil under my toes as I touched the leaves and harvested the oranges and apples that were ready for picking. It reminded me of Earth, almost having me miss it a little bit.

The four of us were spending a good amount of time together, enjoying these moments that we missed in those 500 years of being apart. Thena taught Druig how to play chess, which was amusing to see Druig sigh in defeat as Thena won game after game. Makkari and I did yoga sessions together every day, mainly for me to stretch out my back and to work on my flexibility. Makkari could bend like a pretzel in comparison to myself. Thena and I worked in the greenhouse together, Thena knew her way around the herbs and showed me how to plant each one with ease. Druig helped Makkari make an entire inventory of all of her traded and stolen goods that she kept on the ship, seeing which ones were real and which were knock-offs.

I was reading all the books that Makkari picked up in the past, finding myself curled up with Druig on the couch and skimming through novels, and reading them aloud with him every other night. Druig liked hearing me read to him, he didn't like to read as a hobby but he was willing to have me read to him. I loved those smaller moments with him, tucked in his arms and reading to him softly in the living room. Some of the times he would be quiet, only listening to the rhythm and cadence of my voice as I recited paragraphs and sonnets. Other times he would stop me and ask questions, genuinely curious about what was happening in the story.

On the very rare occasion, he ended up falling asleep as I finished a book, having me grin and watch him in deep sleep. It was soothing and reassuring to see him get rest and peace again after what he went through with the almost complete Emergence. He never showed how tired he was, how he was restless with his always busy mind. Yet I could see it sometimes, how he would doze off and let his mind wander. So to see him fully at rest, no longer filled with worry about humans and trying to stop wars, was heartwarming.

I would end up curling up with him and a blanket over the both of us, falling asleep together on the couch together and wrapped in each other's arms. I was his safe space, he was mine.

It felt peaceful, days melting together and having us almost lose track of time. There were still no signs of Eternals out there in space, but we were trekking on and trying to hold onto hope. Every day we would check on the homing devices with the others to make sure they were okay. Phastos was back in Chicago, whereas Kingo and Sersi were in England. It was soothing to see their red light every morning, blinking and showing me they were going to be okay. Although I was living happily and content on the ship, feeling happy being around my loved ones there, I missed Earth from time to time. Being around humans and seeing them live their lives, watching life blossom around me and no sign of slowing down. But I reminded myself, we did all we could do with Earth, and we wanted to find other worlds to help.

One week into being on the ship, two things started happening.

For one, we stopped hearing from the others on Earth. Although it was common not to hear from any of them for several days straight, it was a bit concerning that a solid week came and went with no communication from any of them. Maybe they were busy living amongst the humans, or maybe we were now a bit too far away to hear from any of them being so far out in space. It made me worry though, and I wasn't the only one.

"Let's give it a few more days before we reach out to them," Thena reassured me as we were watching the rotating globe in Phastos Lab. I had my hand on my hips, trying to figure it out in my mind and almost getting irritated, "They might be busy,"

"Too busy for us?" I asked, not wanting to sound bitter about it as Thena gave me a kind look.

"Don't think like that," She reminded me calmly, "If they were in trouble, they would warm us immediately. Soteri, I'm sure they are fine."

I had to believe her, the rational side of my brain was telling me Thena was right. She was never one to full worry, or at least show it. So maybe she was right, and I had to rely on her reassurance and knowledge in thinking the best for our family members still on Earth. I nodded my head then, not saying anything else, and just let this one slide for the moment.

The second thing that happened, was Druig planning something behind my back.

At first, I thought nothing about it, but I could see him trying to plan something in secret without him telling me a single thing. If I walked into the room where he was and saw him sign with Makkari, he would stop and then change the subject before I would say anything to him. I would let it slide, seeing Makkari say nothing else but playing along. There were a few times when I would try and talk to him, but either Makkari or Thena would stop me before I could and have me either spare with them or work on the garden. It would have me forget to talk to Druig, but after a few days of Druig avoiding my gaze or my questions about it, I was starting to lose my patience with him.

"What are you planning behind my back?" I bluntly asked him in the study while he was reading, walking onto the study to see him sitting in one of the lounge chairs. He merely grinned, still reading with his eyes as he turned a page swiftly with his fingers.

"What makes you think I'm planning something behind your back?" He asked while he was still reading, having me lightly glare at him. I knew he was going to play coy with me.

"Since you change the subject with I ask, or when you have secret conversations with Makkari," I explained to him, seeing him close his book and give me a loving look. I saw him cock his head at me, dropping the book on the table in a thump as I then pointed to the book, "If Makkari sees you dropping one of her first editions on the table like that, she'll murder you!"

"I can handle Makkari just fine," He replied as he pushed himself up from the table to stand right in front of me, "Clearly, this is more important than a book,"

"I only want to know what you're planning," I reasoned with him, folding my hands in front of myself as he was looked at me with the smirk still on his face. He was never one to be fully blunt with me, or with others too. He would use his words to skirt out of a situation, and I knew he was doing the same thing now. But the longer I looked at him and showed him with my eyes I wasn't there for his coy games, he fairly caved and reached over to unfold my arms to take my hands in his own.

"I was planning on something special, just for the two of us," he explained to me softly, having me look at him almost in shock now. Druig was planning something for the two of us? I knew Druig had a romantic side with me, giving me small gifts from time to time and wanting to be close by to me. But this was new, something I didn't see coming. Druig kept talking, "It's going to be tonight, just you and me."

"What, like a date?" I asked, not understanding. He nodded instantly.

"Yeah," He replied in a shrug, though I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"What about Makkari and Thena?" I asked him, seeing him give me a small smile since I would think about the others and what they were going to do.

"I already talked to them and they're going to give us the living room and kitchen for the night," he answered me, seeing the worry on my face about our other family members. He rubbed my arms with his hands as he scooted a bit closer to have me stare lovingly at him.

"Tonight's just going to be you and me, Soteri," He said to me, having me grin at him and almost feel those butterflies in my stomach churning over and over. We always had moments alone on the ship, trying to drink in the lost time we missed out from being apart. But to think that tonight he carved out time for just the two of us, looking just as nervous in telling me, that gave me a new wave of adoration and love for him.

"Should I be worried then?" I asked, sounding a bit excited as he just smiled and shook his head.

"Not at all." He merrily replied