Makkari had always been different. Where the other Eternals stood poised and graceful in the face of time, Makkari was a living embodiment of motion, of speed, of the rushing currents of the universe. Her power, the ability to move faster than the speed of light, was both a gift and a curse. It allowed her to see the world in a way no one else could, but it also made her feel like an eternal traveler, always moving, never stopping, never fully able to settle.
And Javier... Javier was the one constant she hadn't expected. He, with his enigmatic silence, his calm presence, and his distant yet unshakable gaze, was the opposite of her. Where she had learned to move at a pace no one could keep up with, Javier was the one person who somehow understood the importance of pausing. He wasn't like the others, too caught up in the complexities of their divine existences. Javier saw the moments, the small things, the heartbeat in between the seconds. And somehow, that made him different from anyone she had ever met.
---
It happened on a day that Makkari had never really expected to feel anything so still. She had been moving, as she always did, racing through the fabric of space and time, observing the Earth from above, feeling the rush of the wind against her face, her feet barely touching the ground. But then, she slowed. It wasn't a conscious decision. It was as though a force, a presence, had drawn her in.
When her gaze fell upon him, there was a moment—one brief moment where the world seemed to slow down for her too. Javier stood in the middle of an open field, surrounded by the vastness of nature, and for once, he wasn't looking at the stars or the cosmos. His gaze was firmly fixed on the Earth beneath him, the ground, the trees, the life that surrounded him. It was as if he was grounding himself in a way that Makkari had never seen before.
She moved towards him, her feet barely touching the ground as she approached with a speed that would've left anyone else dizzy, but Javier stood perfectly still, unfazed, waiting. When she stopped before him, there was an odd tension in the air, a magnetic pull that she couldn't explain.
"You seem to always be in motion," Javier said, his voice steady but tinged with curiosity.
Makkari chuckled softly, feeling the rush of her speed still buzzing within her veins. "It's what I do best," she replied, her lips curving into a small smile. "I can't help it. It's in my nature."
Javier nodded, looking up at the sky, his expression distant yet thoughtful. "I understand. But don't you ever wonder what it would be like to stop? To simply... be?"
Makkari hesitated. The idea of stopping—of truly halting her constant motion—was foreign to her. She had never needed to stop. She had always been running, racing through the universe with a purpose, with no time to look back. But something in Javier's words, in his calm demeanor, made her question it. She had never really thought about stopping. About letting herself feel the world around her without the rush of the wind in her ears.
"I don't know if I could," she admitted, her voice softer now, the ever-present hum of her speed quieting for a moment. "I don't know what it would feel like to just stop moving."
Javier turned to face her, his gaze steady and piercing, as if he could see right through her. "It's not about stopping the world, Makkari. It's about stopping yourself, just for a moment, and feeling what's around you. What you've never noticed while you've been speeding through time."
Makkari swallowed, an unfamiliar flutter in her chest. There was something deeply compelling in his words. A challenge, an invitation, a pull that made her heart race in a way she hadn't anticipated.
"You're saying I've been missing something?" she asked, her voice almost teasing, but with a hint of vulnerability she didn't want to admit.
Javier's smile was slow, a knowing curve of his lips. "I think we all miss things when we're constantly rushing through life. Even immortals need to learn to appreciate the moments between the seconds."
Her heart skipped a beat. Makkari wasn't used to this feeling. It wasn't the thrill of speed, the excitement of outrunning time. It was something slower, something deeper.
She stared at him for a long moment, unable to look away, and for the first time, she let herself feel the world around her. She could hear the gentle rustle of the trees in the wind, the distant chirping of birds, the soft whisper of the Earth itself. The sensation was grounding, calming, something she had never experienced before. And somehow, it felt... right.
---
Javier had never made a move to hold her attention in the way others did, but his presence, his calm, had a strange power over her. The way he spoke, the way he understood the deeper currents of existence, the way he didn't need to rush or move at lightning speed—it all pulled at something inside her that she hadn't realized was there.
As she stood there before him, she could feel her own heartbeat, something that had always been drowned out by the rush of her speed. But now, it was all she could hear. The thrum of her pulse, each beat echoing in her ears like a soft drum, grounding her in the moment. Javier's steady gaze made her feel seen in a way she had never felt before.
"Javier," she said quietly, the name slipping from her lips without her even thinking about it. It felt natural, as though it was meant to be. "I've spent my whole life moving. And for the first time, I feel like I can stop... if only for a moment."
He stepped closer, and for the first time, Makkari didn't feel the urge to race. She didn't feel the need to run away. She simply stood there, looking into his eyes, and allowed herself to feel the connection that was forming between them.
"You don't have to run, Makkari," Javier said softly, his voice like a gentle current. "Not with me. You can just... be."
And in that moment, with the world holding its breath, Makkari knew that her life would never be the same. She didn't need to outrun time anymore. With Javier, she had found a moment that was worth holding onto—a heartbeat that would last for eternity.
---
As the sun began to set, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink, Makkari found herself standing still. For the first time in centuries, she allowed herself to simply be. And in Javier's presence, she realized that the rush of life wasn't the only thing worth chasing. Sometimes, it was the quiet moments between the beats that were the most precious of all.