(850 AD Ireland)

Soro kept his eyes on Druig's stormy blue ones as the chief bound their hands together with a cord of braided thread. Red, blue and a golden yellow that gleamed in the light of the bonfire before them. The cliffs beyond spilling out into a churning maelstrom of blacks and blues, lightning illuminating the chaos of the sea below. The wind was pulling at them, yanking at their thick swollen cloaks and it was only their iron clasps that kept the material from being stolen away. It was bitterly cold. The weather of the land wet with a chill that seeped in. In a month the wet would become frost but for now it was a dampness that stuck.

Despite the horrible weather, there was a beauty to it. Soro couldn't care about the miserable weather, he couldn't only see the wonderful chaos to it. It felt like everything and the rain that fell over them, hissing in the fire, was pinpricks of sensation. He let out a light noise, almost a giggle as the chief continued to drape the cords.

"Will you honour and respect one another? And seek to never break that honour?" The woman, wizened but still standing strong in the fierce winds, intoned in the local dialect. Her long white hair silver in the firelight.

"I will", Soro replied, hearing his voice echo with Druig's in synchrony. He watched the blue eyed man gaze back at him. That blue as dark and rich as the sea below them.

"Will you share each other's pain and seek to ease it?"

"I will". Once again their two voices spoke as one.

"Will you share the burdens of each other so that your spirits may grow in this union?"

"I will".

"Will you share in each other's laughter and look for the brightness in life and the positives in each other?"

"We will". Soro smiled and watched the golden light flicker across Druig's face as he smiled back.

"And so the binding is made", the chief announced as she tied the chords together. She stepped back and graced them with a smile. The braids in her hair tangling and the wrinkles in her face beautiful in her utterly human way. "You may kiss your husband".

Druig drew him in first, a hand cupping his cheek to push his glasses back up onto the top of his head. Then he was leaning in and Soro was matching him as they kissed. It was a soft kiss, gentle and promising. It marked their wedding vows with a seal and Soro would happily uphold those vows for the rest of his life. Still, the air was cold and the rain was only getting worse so their kiss ended quicker than Soro would of liked. "I fear we are being interrupted by a storm", he muttered through his smile.

"I guess we should go and warm up", Druig replied, his tone hinting at far more things.

"Come on then my charming husband", Soro beamed as he tugged at their bound arms. The chief was already trudging back down the hill to the distant village. The rain dimming the bonfire. The rest of the Eternals were spread in villages up and down the coast to fend off deviant attacks. Soro and Druig were not due to meet them for another few weeks. Until then, they had a warm hut on the edge of a village with a burning hearth waiting for them.

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The fire crackled soothingly, the only source of light in their small wood and earth cabin. The flickering orange and yellow light spilling from the central fire pit in the earth. It was ringed with stones covering the rest of the floor to ensure that no stray sparks lit the building up. Carved wooden furniture occupied the rest of the space. A table in the corner with some wooden chairs cushioned with sheep pelts and benches ringing the fire pit and the cooking wear all assembled at the edge. A bed was against the opposite wall, headboard against the wood and curtails hanging from the posters to provide a semblance of privacy in the one room space.

Soro lay in a tangle of furs and woollen blankets, skin bare on the straw filled mattress. Time had made the straw soft and cushioned but it would need to be replaced soon before cold set in. His mind turned over the domestic detail as he watched the fire cast shadows on the ceiling through a gap in the curtains. The stone chimney in the centre of the roof, lipped to protect against letting rain in, allowed for the smoke to escape but it still lingered. Soro knew that it infused his clothes and his hair. He could smell it in the hair of the man curled up beside him. Maybe he could get Druig to replace the straw in the mattress tomorrow.

He watched the gentle tendrils of light curl over the pale face. Druig's face was softer relaxed with sleep. "Why are you still awake?" The sleepy mumble was half slurred and it was only after centuries that Soro could decipher the accent. "Go to sleep". Eternals didn't need sleep as often or as much as humans, that does not say that they didn't enjoy it just as much. Soro smiled fondly as he watched Druig peak open one eye at him. "Why aren't you sleeping?" The question was pointed.

"Just thinking. We had been here two months already and we have only had one deviant. We have only a week until we are to return to join the others. Do you think there will be more?" Soro had wrapped the cat like beast up in his golden threads until it couldn't move, then snapped it's neck. Druig having been watching from afar.

"You think too much", was his husband's grumpy answer. Soro huffed.

"And you sleep too much".

"Sleep it good". Druig reached out with one arm and wrapped it around Soro's waist to yank him closer. With his other hand, he tugged the glasses off Soro's face and tucked them under the corner of the pillow. Soro let himself be cuddled closer, Druig burying his face into the junction of the long haired man's neck and shoulder. (It was his favourite spot). "Go to sleep". The words were a mumble against his skin.

A distant scream made him freeze. Soro paused, listening for any other sound. Then something hit the thatch of their roof. He was sitting up, dislodging a still half asleep Druig, and grabbing for his glasses. Another scream sounded and Druig was wide eyes and alert, grabbing Soro's glasses first and handing them to him. He slid them on and rolled out of bed as cries began to break the stillness of the night. He grabbed for his clothes from the back of a chair. Sliding on his breeches and his shirt, he glanced up to see flames beginning to eat at the roof. He heard Duig curse as he pulled on his boots. The other eternal fighting with his shirt, one boot on and the other still by the bed.

Soro didn't need to wait of him. He reached the door first and wrenched the thing open to see the village in flames. People screamed and battle cries filled the air as the flames tinged the sky with smoke. Men in armour with sharp steel were chasing the villagers down and spilling their blood across the damp grass. "Oh", Soro sighed, relaxing slightly. "It's just a human attack". He had been worried that it was deviants.

"We should still get out of here", Druig replied, face grim as he watched the battle and the cries of the helpless villagers. Soro felt his heart ache. These people had been kind to them. This was where they had gotten married. But they were not supposed to get caught up in human affairs. Druig handed him his cloak and he bucked it around his shoulders. "Come on", Druig stepped outside and headed for the forest behind the village. Soro following.

Several villagers were already running for the safety of the trees. They were pursued by their enemies. Norsemen from the long boats down at the beach. Soro could see the sails in the distance. He watched Druig's face turn impassive as one of the norsemen drove their sword into the chest of a young man, barely out of his childhood. The boy crumpled to the ground barely a hundred yards away, blood frothing from his chest as he frantically breathed his last. The norseman exhaled a cloud of fog and lifted his head to see their two shadows illuminated by the burning remains of their cabin behind them. Soro grabbed Druig's arm. "Run", he warned as he broke into a sprint. Druig running after him. The norseman yelled something and a bunch of them gave chase.

"I can make them go away!" Druig called as they reached the tree line.

"We are not supposed to mess with the affairs of humans", Soro shot back. "Ajak has always told us that".

"But they're chasing us!" Druig replied. "With large weapons", he added with a certain tone of amusement. This was not their first time being chased by humans, but they had always gotten away before. But that had been with everyone. Now Soro was only with Druig and his husband, though still far stronger and advanced than any human, did not fight deviants on the regular.

Speaking of deviants, a screeching roar echoed from the trees and Soro skidded to a stop as something leapt from the trees. The deviant loomed out of the darkness. It had two large forearms like a monkey and two smaller back legs. A long tail swished behind it as it narrowed it's eyes on the norsemen. It's reptilian head turning as the norsemen stopped running. "Okay", Soro huffed. "You get them out of there. I'll deal with this". He let go of Druig's arm and was already spinning golden threads from his fingers as he ran after the charging creature.

They broke back out of the forest and back into the light of the burning village. The deviant was lolloping towards the fleeing people and he flicked his threads forwards. The ends curled around two of the deviant's limbs and the creature was yanked to a sudden stop as Soro braced his boots against the earth. It turned it's horrifying head and snarled at him, pulling on the cords. It's body sized easily three times the size of Soro and the earth was loose. With a heave, Soro was falling off his feet. With a stumble, he turned the momentum into a run that had him quickly gaining on the beast. When he was close enough he leapt up high in a bound that he had learnt from Thena.

He landed with the agility of a cat on the creature's back and wrapped a series of threads around the beat's neck. The creature roared and reared up, trying to dislodge him. Soro held on, glancing up to see the humans all fleeing for the woods. Druig doing his part. The creature thrashed and Soro gritted his teeth as he tightened the threads around the thing's neck. He didn't see the tail come lashing up behind him. Pain made him cry out as the sharp tip slashed deeply into his back. "Soro!" Druig's voice echoed across the grass. Soro flicked his hair out of his face and put all his strength into his threads. He pulled and the threads flared gold as they cut through flesh and bone. The deviant slumping over as the head hit the ground with a thud and rolled away.

Soro half fell, half slid from the thing's back. Druig was already running to meet him and caught him before he had even made it five steps from the body. "Let me see", he demanded as he caught Soro by the shoulders. The long haired man leaned into him as Druig inspected the wound. "We need to get you to Ajak".

"Get me to that doorway", Soro pointed towards the burning remains of a nearby house. The doorway and frame was still mostly intact as the fire burned. Druig frowned as he dragged the other's arm over his shoulders and wrapped his own around Soro's waist. The long haired man could feel the wound on his back burning as blood dripped down his skin. It felt deep and he definitely needed Ajak.

They reached the doorway and he flicked his threads up from his free hand. Gold lined the framed and he detached the ends from his hands. Unlike usual, the threads didn't fade into nothingness now that they were no longer attached to him. Instead, the air between the doorway seemed to shimmer. "Come on", he muttered, voice heavy with pain as he stepped towards it. Druig assisting him through and soon they were stepping out of a different doorway in a sleepy town with muddy streets and calm houses. No fires and no attacking norsemen.

"So that's how you've been getting things to trade with Makkari", Druig hummed as he adjusted his hold. "I was wondering how you were finding Egyptian cloth when we were in china". The doorway where they had stepped out of only down the street from where they knew Ajak and Phastos were currently staying, where they were supposed to meet them in a few weeks time.

"Can't keep secrets from my husband. That is just a bad beginning to a marriage", Soro murmured back. He was tired.

"Don't fall asleep on me Soro", Druig growled. Soro didn't listen to him.

unedited