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softquietsteadylove · 5 days

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I fell asleep making an ask midway... It was a vow au prompt request and I think I was just editing when I suddenly time traveled to now. I digress my request was:

Thena, half-awake smells breakfast. Her dream turns into an echo of a memory with Gil. Once she awoke, she tried to look for Gil— he was not in the kitchen nor dining room. She had left her food in search for him, wanting answers and hoping he hasn't left for work. Only for her to find out that he just got out of the shower. A particular droplet traces down to his hand. The very hand holding the small towel together as it held for its dear life around his waist.

The dream and memory could be anything, likewise with Gil's reaction. Hope this wasn't a duplicate...

- 🃏

The smell of eggs and aromatics pulled her from sleep. Half in a dream and half in her mind, she thought of coming out of a room. Everything was bathed in sunlight and then there was Gil. Gil standing at the stove, cracking eggs into chili oil with miso soup and fresh fruit waiting. Gil making coffee while she slept, and then as she slinked out wearing his shirt. Gil turning around in nothing but a white t-shirt and sweatpants with his hair mussed after their first night together-

Thena jolted in bed as she woke completely. She'd been experiencing it quite often as of late; she would be hovering on the edge of sleep, stuck in a very vivid dream until she was plunged into wakefulness. It was always jarring, always so vivid she could swear it engaged her senses. And then she would wake up not knowing what was a dream and what was real.

She had vaguely expressed these notions to Gil, although admittedly lacking some of the more vivid details. He had asked if she wanted to see her doctors again, but she declined. She could figure it out on her own, for the time being. And if the dreams got any more tactile, she wasn't sure if she would ever want to go back to the hospital to complain that kissing her husband in her dreams was too realistic.

Thena turned over in her bed to look at the clock. She was growing somewhat tired of the guest bed she now called her own. It was a fine bed, but it was feeling less and less comfortable the longer she spent in it. She also hadn't mentioned that to Gil either.

The therapist at the hospital did say that some separation at first might create a healthy boundary for them.

She dragged herself out of bed, swinging her legs over the side and touching her toes down first. She kept expecting a soft, white shag carpet, but the guest room had hardwood floors and a thinner rug under the bed. Nonetheless, she stood to brave the rest of the apartment.

The smell was real--Gil was making breakfast. Or it was already made, perhaps. Thena poked her head out, surveying the area. It was still early, she didn't think he would be at work already, but he wasn't anywhere to be found either.

She slipped from the guest room, across the opening to the living room and foyer to the kitchen. Her plate was set out for her, on the counter with a steaming hot cup of coffee. Of course he even set out a proper place mat and everything.

Thena rose onto her toes to sit in the high kitchen stool. The stove was off and the coffee was being kept warm; if he wasn't already at work then he was getting ready and about to leave. Part of her was glad she could catch him before he left for the day.

It was one of those silly little things, but she really did enjoy getting to send him off before they spent the bulk of their day apart.

The man made great eggs. She happily cut into them with her fork, admiring the sheen of the red oil slipping off and around the pristine white and jiggly egg yolk. Before Gil, she hadn't bee addicted to chili oil. Now it seemed they put it on everything they ate.

The coffee was also perfect, of course. She looked around again. The solitude of eating alone was also beginning to wear on her. As much as she enjoyed eating in silence, she would take comfortably listening to Gil chewing over the sound of the fridge humming.

"Hey, you're up."

Thena looked over at him, eyes wide and eyebrows raising as high as they could go.

"Sorry hon, I was going to have breakfast with you," he mumbled as he puttered around, depositing a kiss on her cheek before moving to the fridge to retrieve his lunch. "But I remembered kind of late that we've got a big custom order coming in. I should get in a little early to get a head start on things."

Thena just watched numbly as he double checked that the stove was off while also pouring himself a cup of coffee. He really was in a rush, letting little droplets slosh onto the counter.

"Ah!" he hissed as some of it splashed on him. He wiped at it with just the corner of his towel. "I'm sorry I can't sit with you, hon, but after I'm done we can--Thena?"

She just stared.

"Sweetie, are you okay?"

Her eyes darted down and then up helpless. Her jaw was hanging open as if she were a teenager first discovering her own hormones. The splash of coffee aside, Gil wasn't even properly dried off from the shower, a few droplets escaping his hair and trailing down his skin.

The thick muscles he had glistened and jiggled, soft in some places and then sharply angled in others. His free hand was holding the towel around his hips since he hadn't grabbed the full size one but a midsize towel.

Now that she thought about it, she was quite sure she was always telling him that the big towels were on the bottom in the bathroom shelves (from smallest to biggest in descending order, of course). And now he was just a man, damp and half naked in his own kitchen. She could even see the dark hair collecting under his naval. She did try not to eye the towel too perversely.

"Shit!" Gil swore, just now remembering the circumstances of their situation. He pulled the towel more around his front and used his free hand for modesty's sake, pressing against the heavy cotton. "Sorry, hon, I wasn't thinking!"

Thena looked away graciously as her husband flustered as if he had committed some heinous crime. She wasn't sure what he had to be so embarrassed about. It was his home, and they were technically married. "It's okay, Gil."

"No, I'm sorry Thena, this isn't-" he sighed, reflexively moving to run his fingers through his hair before moving the hand to shield any potential exposure again. "I shouldn't-"

"It's fine," she repeated, feeling warmth rise in her face. Somewhere in her mind, the objective, factual knowledge that she and Gil were married connected with the feelings that she still harboured for him, whether her memories came back or not.

She knew he was attractive. She was so attracted to him that she had, in fact, married him. But until now she hadn't exactly had evidence of anything quite so...visceral. Her mind replayed the water slipping down his back, over his muscles. The way he had swiped at the coffee on his side and she'd gotten a peek of...something.

The elephant in the room, so to speak.

Gil cleared his throat, flushed quite red and shuffling backwards towards their bedroom. "Sorry, you finish your breakfast. I'll get dressed. We can talk about it later, if you want."

She just blinked at him, still captivated by the flex of his bare arms and the contrast of muscle and tummy under his thick pectorals. She wasn't fully gawping at him like a fish anymore but her mouth was still open. Her hand attempted to bring her fork back to her mouth, but all it did was float blindly in front of her until Gil disappeared from sight.

Only once he was gone did she realise what she had been doing. Poor Gil, of course he felt sheepish about it. She still didn't blame him for not thinking of it--he wasn't exposing himself to a stranger. But she did have to realise that she was indeed married to that.

It wasn't as if she hadn't considered it at all, of course--what their sex life had been like. The therapists and doctors had advised against intimacy until she felt ready and left it at that. Gil, the sweetheart that he was, hadn't brought up anything of the sort. The guest room was set up for her by the time she got home, her clothes in the closet and everything.

They had just barely become accustomed to a light kiss here and there. Public displays of affection still were not her strong suit. Affection in general, perhaps. She liked it, though--greeting him with a little kiss when he picked her up or sending him off to work with one.

Now all she could think about was that towel. She knew he was muscular. It was visible no matter his state of dress. But the muscles in his back, and his shoulders, and his arms. They were substantial; she felt as if she knew what it was like to hold them in her palms just by looking at them. What would it feel like to sink her nails into his back muscles...?

The clatter of her fork falling startled her. She rushed to pick it up, feeling embarrassed as if some unseen force were there to witness her lusting after the man she had already married. It was pointless to fantasize about things within her grasp.

Grasp.

"Thena?"

She nearly dropped the fork again but rushed to stand. A smile fixed itself on her face as she looked at Gil, now properly dressed for work with his hair at least somewhat brushed. "Hey."

"Hey," he uttered quietly, his whole body shrunken in on itself like a contrite child. He shuffled over to her, "sorry, again, for...you okay?"

She smiled more genuinely, dropping her fork on the counter again. Always so sweet, her husband. "Yes, Gil, there's nothing to fret over. I didn't see anything, if that's what concerns you."

That wasn't completely a lie, although maybe not the whole truth, either.

He blushed anyway, ruffling his freshly sorted hair. "Uh, well, I mean if you didn't--I should've realised."

Thena sighed through her nose, moving closer so she could stand on her toes and give him a little peck of a kiss. "I appreciate your concern, Gil. But I do not consider it a breach of my consent for you to walk around our home in whatever state you desire. Or need, I suppose, considering you're running late?"

The suggestion that he move on from the matter and resume his hurrying didn't work, though. He put his hand on her waist and gave her another soft - but still chaste - kiss. "This is more important."

She smiled, running her hands down his chest naturally as she lowered back to the heels of her feet. Her mind wandered to the image of said chest completely bare again. But she forced herself to remember the task at hand. "Consider it forgotten, if you like."

He finally seemed to relax a little as she cradled his hand between both of hers. "Okay, if you say so."

"I do," she confirmed for him before giving his hand a final pat. "Now, I believe you have to get to work?"

"Right, right," he sighed, kissing her one more time before dragging himself away. He grasped for his keys blindly. "I'll pick you up after I'm done?--groceries and then boba?"

She just nodded, waving back to him as he floated out the door. Gil always left like they were still in the midst of their honeymoon phase.

Thena looked back at her plate of remaining breakfast, then back at the door. She didn't feel she could focus on eating, after that. She wasn't sure if she would succeed in focusing on anything, if she were to be entirely honest with herself.

Really, though, she was married to a man like that, and she had no memory of it? It was a miracle she was still alive.

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softquietsteadylove · 5 days

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Okay I’m glad we can cry about the vow au together, because if Thena’s going to keep remembering things when her sweet and precious Gil makes her a treat I might just never stop asking for it 😭 would love to read more, whatever you think comes next i’m happy to read!!!

"Sweetie?"

Thena looked up from her pillow. She looked particularly miserable, which made sense; she had never done well when sick. "Hm?"

Gil stepped into the guest room with his tray in hand. He nudged the door closed before setting it down on the dresser, "how are you feeling, hon?"

Thena blinked her glassy green eyes at him, "I'm sorry to make you take care of me like this."

Gil just shook his head. She had no memory of him nursing her back to health when a flu took her down hard after their first trip together. Her first cold with him as a couple when she kept insisting he couldn't see her with her runny nose and blotchy fever skin. Even when she had some bad periods that could make her growly.

She thought of herself as a real lioness, but he couldn't help but think of a plush, ragdoll cat who kept hissing at him.

He leaned forward, kissing her clammy forehead. "I think your fever's broken, at least. Did you get a little rest?"

Thena just nodded, pulling up her knees under the covers so he could sit on the edge of the bed. "Did you apologise to Ajak for me?"

"Hey, come on, people get sick, it happens," he chuckled as he patted her knees. "I have some time off to use, and she understands. They can do without me for a few days."

"I don't know how true that is," she muttered as he retrieved the tray. She straightened her legs again so he could stand it up over her lap. "Your customers will be missing out on your perfect croissants."

He grinned, offering her the mug of tea first. "And my seasalt vanilla fours?"

Thena's smile turned soft and a little shy. He was elated, though--ever since their first date and their kiss, he had been excited to see how they would continue to progress their relationship.

"Here," he whispered, adjusting the platter he had brought with him. "I made you some homemade chicken soup, nothing too heavy. I boiled the chicken in the broth, like Hainanese chicken rice. I gave you a little side of rice if you wanna dip it in the broth, but don't force yourself. Some cucumbers, but they're not pickled because I don't think it's good for you if you're sick--I guess I don't really know."

Thena tilted her head at him, her hair rustling against one of the many pillows propping her up. She kept insisting she looked awful, but he thought she looked as beautiful as always. "Thank you."

He sighed a little, trying not to make it obvious that he was mourning a time when this would be natural for them. But he adjusted the little cilantro flower he included on her napkin, "in sickness and in health, right?"

Thena's expression changed, but she gave him one of those gorgeous smiles that used all her teeth and picked up her spoon, "I suppose you're right."

Gil looked around the room, standing to pick up the extra blanket she had picked off in her sleep, as well as some pajama changes. It was hard to tell how messy she could be at times based on the polished appearance of his wife, but he liked picking up after her (most of the time).

"Gil?"

He looked back at her as he folded up the blanket. She had her big sad kitten eyes on again. "What's up?"

"You're not going to sit with me?"

His face split into a grin, even if she seemed a little sheepish about it. He knew it wasn't something she would ask easily, and obviously she had kind of just let it slip. But he all but dropped the blanket and threw himself onto the bed again. "Of course I am."

Thena settled against the pillows again after he gave her knee a squeeze on his way to lying on his side to face her. "Did you eat?"

"I grazed while I was cooking," he excused easily. He'd had some rice and a few pieces of chicken, mostly concerned with getting the flavours right for Thena's weakened state.

Thena eyed him, nudging the dish of rice he had specifically described as optional, "I won't eat it all anyway."

That was true, she tended to eat less in terms of the starch of any dish. Gil chuckled, "okay."

Placated by him picking up the rice and using the chopsticks, she continued using the spoon to sip the broth. She was delicate about it. It reminded him of the first time they'd gotten ramen together--she'd held her hair back while taking delicate little bites the whole time. He'd found it unbearably cute while he'd guzzled his back in minutes. Of course he ordered another bowl so she wouldn't have to eat alone.

Thena's eyes watered a little, but he squinted. Was it just the general sickness, was it her fever coming back, was there too much ginger? She sniffled, putting the spoon down. "I know this taste."

Ah, his sweet wife. He put the rice down gently before reaching for her hand. "I make it for you every time you're sick. You know how to make it too."

"I do?" she asked, staring at him as if he'd suggested she knew rocket science. "Me?"

"Yes, you," he reached out to tap her nose, but she leaned away from him. "All you do is add the aromatics to the pot with the whole chicken, even you can do it."

"Hm," she remarked quietly, staring at the meal she couldn't believe she would be capable of replicating.

"I made it for you the first time you were sick when we were dating," he continued, picking up some cucumber for himself. "I surprised you with it, showed up at your doorstep--very romantic, y'know."

She gave him a look, definitely knowing that she - in the story - hadn't appreciated being ambushed.

"You told me I shouldn't have and that you looked awful, but I couldn't have been more in love with you," he sighed, fluttering his lashes at her. She rolled her eyes, but he could see her smiling just a tiny little bit. "I delivered this dish and we hung out a little. You told me I would get sick, I said I wouldn't, and you were totally right, I got sick the next day."

She tilted her head the other way and raised her eyebrows at him, unimpressed to say the least.

He shrugged though, still grinning. "But I didn't want to admit it, so I told you I was healthy as a horse and couldn't make our date that week because of a work emergency."

"Deceitful," she murmured, pursing her lips at it.

"Come on, just a harmless little lie, y'know," he pursed his lips right back at her, even hitting her with his own sad puppy eyes.

She looked back into the bowl and took a loud sip. He would take that as him being forgiven. "I remember you coming over."

"Really?" he sat up straighter.

She nodded, taking another, slower, quieter sip. "No one had ever done that for me before. I was so astounded. And the food was so good it made me want to cry."

"No crying," he whispered, keeping his eye on her now, watching for tears. Not that it wasn't a chef's dream to have people cry from their food, but this was different.

"Kari called me to ask how I was doing," she smiled more at the memory as it came to her. They were coming more often and at greater length. It was nothing if not encouraging. "I told her that this very sweet guy I was seeing brought me some homemade chicken rice. She practically slapped her phone in her hurry to tell me to 'lock it down'."

Gil made a face, stroking the hair on his chin, "she's wise."

Thena shook her head at him again, but he could tell she was falling for his charm all over again. "I suppose I followed her advice, didn't I?"

So much came to mind, but Gil leaned forward to kiss her forehead again, which continued to feel cooler to the touch, "I'm lucky you did."

Thena leaned into his affection. She had gotten more used to it as they continued to explore their relationship, and he really had the feeling that she was looking for more sometimes. He would save that for a time when she wasn't ill.

"You keep eating," he encouraged, moving the rice closer to her again in hopes of tempting her.

"But-"

"I'll get a bowl for myself and come right back," he promised, sealing it with a wink and everything. His wife gave him another look of feigned exasperation, but she was already waiting for his return, preciously clutching her rice to eat with him.

#Thenamesh Vow AU #yes I love writing sickfic #yes I am sick right now what's your point?#I'm so glad you're liking this au!!!!#please never stop asking for more of it #Gil excels at the in sickness and in health #obviously #but it's not just the big deals like brain seizures and hospital visits #it's also when she gets a common cold #Thena gets all grumpy and sour when she's sick #and Gil calls her his little umeboshi #he makes dishes that are gentle on the stomach but still nutritious #because the less time Thena spends being sick the better for both of them #Gil definitely thought it was really romantic of him that first time #meanwhile Thena is like fuck I look disgusting #meanwhile Kari is like dude this is like out of a romcom or something #Kari is out here like friends to lovers slowburn hurt/comfort 100k words #Thena: I don't know what that means

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softquietsteadylove · 6 days

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occasional posts from users

#comin' at you guys with occasional posts

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softquietsteadylove · 7 days

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Hello birdie 🖤✨

I've got something for the Life Interrupted AU.

Thena isn't feeling well lately and is considering to go back into this hellhole where she's getting drugged to unconsciousness. She's packing her stuff when Gil shows up. He's trying to talk it out of her.

(And I definitely didn't had this Idea because I'm stuck in one of those hellholes, lol)

✨🖤Hugs an Love🖤✨

"Going somewhere?"

Thena sighed, setting down one of her shirts and staring down at her bed. "I was thinking about it."

Gil walked further into her room, having just arrived. "Druig texted me. Really surprised me to hear from him, but he said you've been acting weird--wants me to 'talk to some sense into you'."

Thena let out a humourless chuckle. "I'm surprised he decided to entrust you with that task."

"Gotta say, I am too," Gil agreed quietly until he was standing behind her. "I have to agree--you seem a little anxious lately."

She had been nervous, jumpy, and Gil knew it. They hadn't been able to go out on a date in weeks because she felt on the verge of a panic attack at the thought of having to navigate crowds or risk running into someone. "Maybe...maybe I should consider-"

"Don't," he whispered, placing his hand gently over hers. Her bag was already half full. "Don't say you're going back to that place."

Thena squeezed her eyes shut, tears already burning the insides of them. "Where should I go, Gil?"

"Anywhere else," he concluded. He pulled her hand away from packing up as if she were sailing off into the horizon. He moved slowly and gently until he could sit on the chair in the corner of her room and look up at her. "Please, Thena, just talk to me."

When he was seated lower, she had no excuse not to look at him. But she stared down at his hands, holding hers so, so gently. "Druig and Makkari have been looking at places again."

Gil raised his brows. "That...that's good...right?"

It was. It was what she wanted. She wanted their lives to continue on after the ugliness of the last year. She wanted her brother to feel free to settle down and marry the love of his life. And he could do that without worrying about his sister, she was determined.

"He keeps asking me to see them," she admitted quietly, as if Druig had his ear pressed against the door and would be wounded by overhearing her. "He keeps picking rooms that he says can be mine--if I so choose."

"So," Gil prompted, giving her hands a little squeeze, "what's so bad about that?"

Thena shook her head, looking up around the ceiling of her room to keep her tears from falling. "I'm not some child he has to drag around with him. He should be choosing a home to suit him and his wife, not worrying about his burdensome sister."

"Come on," Gil whispered, his eyes drifting downward from the sheer weight of Thena's discouragement. "You know he doesn't think of you like that."

Thena sighed, pulling her hands from Gil's and plopping herself on the corner of her bed. She pressed them to her head, trying to keep them from shaking. "I know he doesn't. That is exactly the problem."

"Okay, so you don't want him worrying about you," Gil shrugged, turning in the chair to face her head on again.

Thena stared down at her knees. She wasn't wearing her work dress and stockings with a tight ponytail. But she couldn't bring herself to wear soft sweatpants anymore, opting for athleisure leggings and a cardigan at even her most comfortable.

"What else?"

She toyed with her fingernails. "I don't want to live here alone."

Gil nodded again, leaning back in the chair.

She hunched over herself more, despite her sore back. "It's not about the cost, it's...I can't be here by myself, thinking all these...things."

"Okay, so we'll find somewhere else for you," Gil leapt at the opportunity to suggest an alternative. He leaned forward again, even scooching toward the edge of the seat. "I'll help you look."

She smiled, although she still wasn't feeling the intent behind the action. "Druig offered the same. Even Makkari--but that's not the point."

Gil seemed to understand what she was getting at. And of course he did, it was Gil. He was sweet, and understanding, and he always seemed to know what she was trying to say, even if she didn't have the words. "You want to find a place for yourself."

She sighed, looking at her hands again. "I don't seem capable of anything these days."

Gil took her hands in his again, rubbing his thumb over her skin. "You know that's not true."

She wasn't as sure as he was. She never was--never had his confidence, or positivity. It was something she both envied and admired about him. She loved it about him. "Maybe-"

"No!"

She blinked, taken aback by his outburst. He was always so soft spoken, especially with her. She had never heard him so much as raise his voice. The only things he did loudly were laughing and sneezing.

"Maybe nothing!" he pressed, standing from the chair. "That place never did you any good. I don't think it does anyone any good! And I will not let you go back to that misery!"

Thena's eyes fluttered, her back straightening. Her heart began to squeeze at the sheer volume of things, but this was Gil--she was safe with him.

"Thena," he finally quieted again, kneeling in front of her. "You never have to go back to that place, okay? I don't care if you have a nervous breakdown--I'll take care of you. I'll take better care of you than they ever would in there. Just--just promise me you won't go back there because you're worried about burdening people."

She blinked, those tears she was trying to hold back finally falling. It was completely dark outside, her small bedside lamp offering minimal lighting. But it caught Gil's features in just such a way that made him seem so beautiful. "I don't want to go back there."

"Good," he nodded, turning her hand so he could press his lips to it.

"But," she gasped, her lip wobbling. She clung to him. "But what if I'm not me, anymore?"

"You're exactly who you need to be," he said without a hint of doubt in his voice. "You're Thena."

So completely unwavering, her Gilgamesh.

"You're my Thena," he repeated, softer this time, kissing the back of her other hand before pulling her up to stand with him. His hands slipped around waist to rest at her back. "That's all you need to be."

She wasn't sure who 'Thena' was, at times. At least, not as she knew herself before all this. Gil kept saying that the past year was a part of her, for better or worse. But she just wanted to leave it behind--to revert to the version of her that had existed before it all.

"Look," he whispered, still holding her so gently. "Maybe that's easy for me to say. I didn't know you before. But the Thena I know is pretty damn amazing."

She let another laugh, still not humoured in the least.

"She is," he chuckled, though, and he did mean it. He leaned closer, touching his forehead to hers. "She's this badass translator, works in a big, fancy office. She's actually pretty funny, if she's in a good mood. Kinda likes messing with me."

"I do not."

"Just a little," he contested, scrunching up his nose faintly. "But I think that side of her is cute. And she's tough--way tougher than she thinks she is. And she's an incredible sister, even when her brother is being a pain in our ass."

"Our?" she interrupted.

"Our," he confirmed, touching the tips of their noses together to silence her. "And I know he's just worried about you. That's why he keeps saying you can stay with them if you want. But I guess he doesn't really know it's stressing you out."

Thena sighed, dragged back into the depths of her problems like plunging into ice cold water. "How do I tell him?"

Gil skipped over that question, still busy holding her, almost swaying as his weight shifted from foot to foot. "So, this Thena--I mean, to me, she's the most incredible woman in the world."

"Gil," she sighed, trying to pull him from his reverent description of her.

But he nudged her head until he could kiss her lips, also gently. As gently as everything else about him. "She's the woman I love, plain and simple."

Oh, did she ever love him. She had gone from being someone who probably didn't really believe in love for herself at all to being head over heels for her sweet, gentle giant.

She sighed as she kissed him again, leaning up on her toes to loop her arms around his neck. Kissing Gil always made her feel more human--more grounded and real. It took away the buzzing in her head and replaced it with with a heavy and pleasant sedative that could spread through her veins.

Gil stayed close, his forehead against hers, lips still faintly puckered. "Better?"

"Hm," she sighed. She didn't need to explain herself--not to him. She ran her fingers gently through the hair at the back of his head. If only she never had to go to work, or take public transport, or go to house viewings where the realtor would look at her oddly. If only she could stay in Gil's arms every second of every day.

"Good," he sufficed to say, tapping his fingers against the back of her sweater. He moved his hand to her hip. "So, about this living situation-"

"Right," she sighed the heaviest she had yet (which was saying something).

"Hey," he nudged her gently, pulling her eyes up to him. "A unit in my building is going on the market for next month. It's the one above mine--sweet old guy is moving out to be closer to his grand kids."

Oh. Living that close to Gil--being neighbours?

"I can always ask him if he'd be open to a lease trade-off," Gil suggested, although he was unable to hide his excitement at the prospect in his smile. "What do you think?"

Being that close to Gil? Being his upstairs neighbour?

His smile wobbled faintly, turning sheepish as he looked away. "It's a little more modest than this place. But it's a one bedroom, and it's not a bad location. And-"

Thena stood on her toes, pressing her lips to his, even with a cliche 'mmwah' sound. He looked dazed after the firmer kiss, which made her smile genuinely for the first time that night. She leaned against him heavier, but he steadied her without a second thought. "I think that sounds perfect."

"Really?" he asked, beaming like a dog about to receive a treat with a wagging tail.

She took his cheeks in her hands, "it sounds wonderful, Gil."

"O-Okay," he laughed, sounding near hysteria. But he pulled her against his chest in his arms, even lifting her off the ground slightly as he spun them. "This'll be amazing, sweetie, I promise!"

He needed no promises. The thought of having him a mere flight of stairs away was already comforting, in a sense. And she had been to his flat plenty of times. He was right, it was in a good location, and it wasn't any further from her office than she was now, all things considered.

Gil set her on her feet once more. "I'll talk to him tonight."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," she advised gently. It wasn't often she was able to offer a calming voice of reason these days; it felt familiar, even soothing. She toyed with some some stray hairs of his. "I may have to apply, like everyone else."

"Peh," Gil waved in dismissal again (making her laugh, again). "The old guy loves me. And that's before I tell him some sob story about wanting my girlfriend to move in so we can be closer."

Thena blushed softly, toying with the hem of her cardigan. Sometimes she had to remind herself that Gil wasn't just 'someone she was seeing', and actually the man she had known for more than half a year and had been dating for more than half that time, now.

"It'll be great," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "We can carpool to work, I'll be right downstairs if you ever wanna talk--or cuddle."

"Gil," she admonished, but it came out as a light and air whisper as he kissed her cheek again, his five o'clock shadow against her skin.

He stopped nuzzling her just to look at her more solemnly. "You should tell Druig."

"It was your idea."

"Exactly," Gil made a face, shrinking somewhat. "He'll kill me."

Thena rolled her eyes, her spirits lifting by the moment. "It's not as if you're offering to shack up with me yourself."

He didn't laugh at her joke. He didn't even seem to realise it was a joke, just shrugged one shoulder. "I mean they're both only one bedroom units. Plus, I imagine you want some space for yourself for a little. Feel like you have some more control?"

Well, he was exactly right about that, as always. Although she hadn't expected his rebuttal to be that they would need a larger space if they were to live together. She just blinked, "precisely."

"So it's decided," he grinned again, and gave her another kiss for good measure. "I'll go talk to Karun, you talk to Druig. He really is worried about you."

"I know," she mumbled, feeling properly chastised. She unlinked her hands from behind his head and squeezed his forearms. "I'm sure he was desperate to call you."

"And I'm suggesting you move into my building instead of in with him?--he's gonna have my head."

Thena laughed genuinely for the first time that night. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from him."

Gil stared at her in a way that made her toes curl. He bent his head down to sneak into the crook of her neck under her jaw. "I know you will."

She shivered as he left a kiss on her pulse point.

But he left it at that, pulling away and standing to his full height again. It left her feeling chilly, needing to pull her cardigan tighter around herself. "Okay."

Thena nodded, letting him take her by the hand. She did have to talk to Druig--about everything. About moving and also about how she would be okay without him hovering over her shoulder. She would be okay without that hell hole and its medication and she would be okay even if she felt like this different version of herself, possibly forever.

Gil grasped the doorknob with his other hand, the door not fully closed and letting in just a sliver of light from the rest of the house. He held her other hand, giving it a squeeze. "Ready?"

She nodded, holding his hand tighter, just in case she needed it. But she smiled, "ready."

#Thenamesh Life Interrupted AU #I love this au!#and we love you Love!#Thena is feeling worse and worse about Druig moving out before proposing #he's all stressed about her staying with them #but stressed because she doesn't want him to stress #it's a lot going on #so Thena gets more withdrawn thinking about all this #and eventually Druig does the unthinkable #he texts his sister's boyfriend and tells him to get his ass down here and talk to her #they come out of her room #They're holding hands and Thena looks oh so besotted #Druig sits up from the couch holding Makkari like I already don't like this #Thena tells Druig listen she appreciates his concern and she'll come and visit all the time #but she's going to move into Gil's place #and Druig loses his everloving mind #he blows up about how it's too soon and they barely know each other and he doesn't trust Gil enough to let them shack up #and Thena lets him get it all out of his system before finishing saying: Gil's apartment........complex #Makkari: lol #Druig totally loses his steam and just goes oh...well I guess that's not so bad #because Thena knows how to break bad news to her little brother #Druig is still a little wary of it and he still tells Gil that if he ever thinks Thena is upset because of him #he's got a whole lot of hell comin' his way #but he's also a good brother and tells her he'll help her move and he's not going anywhere until she's settled #they haven't settled on a house yet anyway and he won't actually leave until Thena is settled #if she called and said I don't like it here Druig is like okay we're living in the townhouse forever #meanwhile Thena actually wants him to leave the nest so she and Gil can be cutesy flirty neighbours and carpool and have sleepovers

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softquietsteadylove · 9 days

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Hi! Can you please do the eternal/human au but with thena being human and gil as the eternal this time, please? Your stories are so good!

Thena somewhat glanced to her right as someone else also sat down at the museum bench. She was looking up at one of her favourite relics--an old tablet potentially depicting one of the earliest examples of The Epic of Gilgamesh. She sighed. "Is this really about you?"

He sighed, his hands in the pockets of his black bomber jacket. "It's not the real story. Just something Sprite made up to make me sound like a jerk."

Thena looked up at the tablet again. "The Tyrant King in one of humanity's earliest tales, but you go by Gil?"

He shrugged his massive shoulders. "It's easier than Gilgamesh."

Thena looked at him more properly. She was very familiar with the face of the apparently immortal man next to her. Of course, she had thought he was a very mortal, very human person, just like herself. She had thought he was sweet, if a little shy, and that he just had a special interest in the history of the ancient world.

A very human man who had asked her out, and she had said yes.

"Were you okay?" Gilgamesh asked her more quietly, even given the echously silent exhibit. "Did anything happen close to here?"

"No," she admitted just as secretively. She looked at her hands on her lap over her pencil skirt. "We felt some tremors, but I suppose you took care of things at the epicentre."

Gilgamesh squirmed in his seat.

She had been watching the news, knowing that he was closer to the centre of the city at the farmer's market. The footage was shaky, and the world was acclimating to strange and wild events more and more rapidly. But still, seeing some deviant beast running around London was certainly a shock.

Even more so when the news footage seemed to capture the blurry image of an incredibly strong looking man, literally punching said monster straight through the skull. His face was still a mystery, but he didn't have the average build, certainly. And Thena had known right away that it was Gil.

"Are you a wizard?"

"Pfft, no," he scoffed, waving his hand in the air to dismiss it. "We've seen those guys pop up all over the place, but I wouldn't call what we do 'magic' in any way."

"Then what do you call it?"

Her sharp question landed as intended, and he sighed again. He turned somewhat on the opposite side of the bench from her. She eyed him. "Cosmic Energy."

"So you're an alien?"

"Uh, I guess I don't have a better word for it," he made a face, finally pulling his hands out of his pockets to fidget. He scratched at the hair on his chin. "Eternals is what we're called, uh, officially--I guess. We've been on earth for..."

They both looked up at the tablet again, describing the strength and might of 'Gilgamesh' the tyrant.

He rolled his eyes, "I guess you know, give or take a thousand years."

Thena did look at him more now, as opposed to glaring at him from the corner of her eye. He looked truly contrite, and she knew that he wasn't particularly comfortable with little white lies. Apparently larger ones were more necessary though. "So when you said you could 'really picture yourself' in the battle of Troy, or the siege of Alexandria-"

"I mean we couldn't be everywhere at once," he excused for himself, his smile convincing neither of them. He gave it up rather quickly, sagging again. "But, uh, yeah."

They fell into silence, Gil in particular struggling for what to say next. Thena looked around the museum. She had always been so entrenched in history from all over the globe. The museum felt more like home than her cold and neglected one bedroom flat ever did. And when she had first thought Gil was quite like a walking historic encyclopedia - like a walking piece of history - perhaps she hadn't been so far off.

"So," she started in what she hoped wasn't too bitter a tone of voice, "why talk to me?"

Maybe it didn't work, because Gilgamesh certainly looked like she had screamed and slapped him across the face.

"Or do you make a habit of chatting up humans?" she added, and that part was more acerbic. This wasn't even about their relationship, or the lie of who he was at his core, or even his species.

"Thena," he pleaded, sounding like she had stabbed him through the heart. Would that even kill him?

But she did feel bad. Against her better judgement, she regretted that she had hurt his feelings. She huffed, mostly at herself, "I would think befriending humans would be dangerous for you."

"It can be."

She looked at the honest confession in time to see the sad slouch in his posture.

"We outlive basically everything, and we have to move pretty often, especially with wifi and phones and stuff, now. We don't usually get to really meet or get to know people anymore."

Gil had said Eternals, plural, and she had heard him discuss a few names like 'Sprite' or 'Kingo' before, implying he had some kind of kin or at least some of his own as friends. She didn't know these other Eternals, but knowing what of Gilgamesh she did, she had to imagine that it was hard for him.

Gil was sweet, and charismatic and gentle. And he seemed to genuinely love getting to hold the door open for people, or helping someone elderly with their bags or petting stray cats. He seemed to thrive most when he was surrounded by life, no matter how fragile or temporary it was--how mortal it was.

"I ended up here to keep my sister some company after," Gil slipped his hands back into his pockets, a sign of uncomfortability in both mortals and immortals, evidently. "She and her husband had a split, I guess you could say. I didn't want her to be alone, so I moved here a few years ago. It was just going to be for a decade or so, then maybe we'd go our separate ways again or maybe we'd move on somewhere else together."

Just a decade or so, he said.

"But then," he looked at her with a soft smile, and unfortunately it still made her heart skip. "I met you."

She forced herself to frown at that.

"I didn't mean to," he confessed, and she wasn't sure if that made it better or worse. "Sersi told me all about the museum here, and to see all the stuff people have gotten right or wrong over the years. She met some human, which I told her not to. I guess I can't really say anything about it now, though."

He truly did sound like a brother disapproving of his sister's boyfriend. And he truly didn't have any leg to stand on now, either. "Was it because of Sersi-"

"No, no," he shook his head and looked at her all soft eyed again. "It's not because of anything. It was...it was because of your eyes."

"My eyes?" she felt the need to repeat aloud. It sounded like a cheesy pickup line, or something from a tawdry romance novel. But she supposed that if Gilgamesh had heightened senses, perhaps he would be able to discern her eye colour from an unreasonable distance.

"I used to look out over the water all the time," he recounted, even turning to look at a painting on another wall. "My favourites were always really calm and green and sparkly."

Damn this man and his charming words.

He tilted his head back in her direction. "I was just gonna ask you some dumb question to chat a little and then leave. But then you got so passionate when I asked you the wrong thing on purpose."

She pursed her lips faintly. He had - deliberately? - asked her about the 'Minerva' statue they had, and where in Greece it had been made. It had immediately irked her that he had gotten the Roman name for her right, then the location also right, but in direct conflict with the other half of his question. Surely if he knew the name Minerva, he knew that was not what they called her in Greece--Athens, of all places!

Then he had asked her name, and she had to explain that Thena was not some nickname but her actual, legal name. The thought had charmed him and...and they kept talking from there.

He had picked just the right topic to get her to unload her entire master's degree of knowledge upon him, and he had eagerly listened to all of it. Most would flee partway through, but he had happily followed her around basically the whole floor as she recounted the many details and secrets and misinformation about her expertise.

And he had come back the next day for more.

"I loved hearing you talk about it," he whispered, moving a little closer now that he felt he could. "You were so passionate about it. I could really remember some of those times, and what I couldn't remember, I felt like I could imagine with how you described it."

"Thena, I just loved talking with you. I loved asking you silly questions, I loved you correcting me about stuff. I especially loved when we got interrupted that one time for your real job, and you offered me your card in case I had more questions."

He had pretended to have more questions. And they did actually end up texting that way. And then making plans that weren't just him showing up at her workplace. And then those plans became dates. They'd had five dinner dates and two lunches, and two coffees, although one of those had still been under the guise of their shared love of history.

"I wanted to get to know you more."

Even if he knew he would inevitably have to leave her life in a matter of months, if not years. It was a petty and bitter reaction, but maybe that was the truest way she felt about it; that he would have had to abandon her sooner than later. He thought those consequences were worth the risk, and she wasn't sure how to feel about it.

Because she didn't want to lose him, thinking about it now. And the fact that she now knew that she would have to no matter the future was a slap in the face of her own.

"No matter how soon you would have had to leave London for a small lifetime?" she accused, using the adrenaline in her system to drown out the pain she was feeling.

But Gil didn't turn away from her scathing demand. He looked at her with those eyes that she had always seen as holding more than he ever said within. He clasped his hands in front of him, resting on his knees. "After meeting you, I didn't know if I could."

Thena looked down at her lap again as well. It had been a few months since she'd met Gil. And if what he said was true, he hadn't intended on staying in London long, let alone permanently. She wasn't sure how long he had been here before meeting her, either. But Sersi's relationship with Dane was no more than a year old, by now.

"Sersi asked me," he laughed dryly. "She asked if I knew what I was getting myself into, which was rich, coming from her."

He sounded exactly like a protective brother.

"I said I totally had it under control," he laughed at himself, which was something she - foolishly - found so charming about him. "No worries, y'know, so I made a friend, so what? It would be good for me. Next thing I know, I bought my first phone just so I could text you."

She stared. "You didn't have a phone before?"

He waved his hand dismissively again, and maybe she could see why a few of his mannerisms really seemed more like that of an old man than a gentleman in his late forties at most. "Sersi's been trying to convince me. She's so addicted to hers it's ridiculous. She even made an instagram! I told her she would just have to delete it in a few years but-!"

Thena held back a laugh as he cut himself off. "Should I feel honoured, or even more betrayed?"

It had been half joking and half serious, but Gil took on that sad, wounded expression again. "You have every right to feel that way. But Thena, I swear on all the time I have left: I chose to stay, so I could be close to you. I wanted to spend whatever time we could have together...with you."

It was a humbling admission. She didn't quite want to imagine the heavier implications of that. The idea of Gil never aging while she slowly became an old woman beside him. Or did he have some kind of magic, or Cosmic Energy rather, that would help with that? It sounded like Sersi had accepted the consequences of her dalliance with a human.

Gil had asked her if she would want to go to dinner with Sersi and Dane as a couple. Although now all she could think of was the two Eternals smiling on as their humans chatted away about trivial human things.

"Thena, please," Gil slid closer again, taking her hand in his. "I know I sound insane, and I don't blame you if you say you want nothing to do with me after this. But I never lied when I told you liked you, or that I wanted to spend the rest of my days listening to you talk about South American architecture, or Grecian olive harvesting, or the Guptan Empire."

Thena squeezed her eyes shut, feeling tears in them. Gil swooped forward pulling her closer to him, always eager to comfort. He pressed his lips to her temple.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I never meant for you to get hurt."

She believed that. Because Gil would never be capable of wishing harm on her. He probably wasn't capable of really wishing it on anyone, except maybe Sersi's ex-husband. She wouldn't have believed him capable of causing harm either, until the news today.

"If I could trade the rest of my forever for one more day with you, I would."

Maybe that was easy to say for someone who really did have a forever. She looked at him, wild in the eyes.

"Sorry," he whispered, looking away from her. He gave her cheek another kiss before releasing her slowly. "I'll give you time to think. If...if you don't want to talk anymore, I'll understand. But if I don't hear from you in a few days, can I at least come check if you're okay?"

She nodded, completely without the words to ask him to stay. He took it though, nodding back and then walking towards the far exit of the museum floor. She could hear his steps the whole way, although her heart felt like it was pounding at the inside of her skull.

She had a lot to think about. Aliens and monsters and immortal Eternals who had been on Earth for thousands of years. Did this have anything to do with how half of the earth's population vanished in the blink of an eye those years ago? Did they also blip? Could they?

She had so much to think about, so much to worry about. And the only person she wanted to talk to about it all just left.

#Thenamesh AU #bestie I love it #I wasn't entirely sure how to approach it at first #reversals can take some delicacy y'know?#but Gil thrives so much on connection #and it's the one thing he can't afford to have in the modern world as an immortal?#then Sersi is like I found this guy...he's...human #Gil: obviously there were no other options but Sersi come on #she says just meet him #anyway Gil goes to the museum to stroll down memory lane #and meets this harsh and obstinate museum lady who looks like the statue of Athena but better #and he goes again #and again #and he worries she'll think he's stalking her #but she has such great insight and she loves history and she's pretty #and he swears he didn't mean to but he's done what he was never supposed to #he's attached #he's protective of her #so a Deviant shows up #and he immediately thinks #you're not getting anywhere near her

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softquietsteadylove · 14 days

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Could we get a little something something from My Kingdom for a Heart fic that’s on ao3? Idc if it’s fluff or angst I’ll literally take anything you give out bc it’s just that good!!

Sersi was spinning around the floor with Ikaris, her veil whirling around her, sparkling silver against her emerald green gown. She always had a certain joy to her, of course. But even Thena had not seen her beaming so fully in all their lives together. It was exactly the kind of free, unburdened smile she had always wished for her sister.

To marry without obligation was the best gift Thena could pass on to her sister, and that included abdicating the throne as the eldest and making Sersi the acting queen. Thena had some reservations about the marriage in question being to Ikaris, but she had to admit, he was not so villainous. Annoying, perhaps, but that was a lesser of evils.

He was her brother now, and while she felt she was truly understanding the petulance a brother could bring to her life, their families - and kingdoms - were becoming one. Unfortunately, he still liked to argue with some of the advice she had to offer (as the royal advisor). But Sersi was always quick to hear out her sister, and that usually managed to pull her new husband along with her.

"It is a beautiful ball, your Grace."

Much to her disappointment, it was not the one she was expecting, but rather some lord or another. She did not know why he was saying so to her. She had not planned it alone, nor was she truly participating in it, past being the one who had walked Sersi down the aisle to her groom. "It is."

"Congratulations, to you and to the happy couple."

"Indeed," she muttered. She was no longer the princess and regent, she was merely Sersi's second in line, and that came after her job as advisor, as far as Thena was concerned.

"You look splendid as well, of course."

He was wearing on her patience, of course.

"I should almost think it possible for you to steal the attention away from the bride herself."

"My Lord," Thena drawled, keeping her eyes on her sister, "I should think that you would rather not insult my dearest sister in the process of attempting to compliment me."

"I-I-" he stammered, "I would never-"

Thena moved away from him. She no longer held the power to send people away with the flick of her wrist--truly the only part of her position she truly mourned. The crowd cheered for the guests of honour, concluding another of many dances this evening. Thena smiled.

"Your Grace!"

Was tonight destined to be a gauntlet through which she was to battle?

"Congratulations on your sister's happy marriage, your Grace," another lord bowed to her formally at least. "The kingdom could not be happier for the Prince and his bride."

Sersi would make a wonderful queen. "I shall tell them."

"It does free you, does it not?" he continued, perhaps not catching onto her locked tight posture and cold eyes. "Without expectation to marry the Prince, you are more able to select a husband of your choosing. Perhaps even a love match?"

Thena looked at the brazen lord speaking to her without end. He was younger than she had expected, his hair sitting atop his head with as much arrogance as he exuded in his smile. "Do you have a matter that concerns you, my Lord?"

"Perhaps," he grinned at her, and it made her want to take a long step back from him. He held out his hand to her, "if you would do me the honour-"

"Forgive me, my Lord, but her Grace has other obligations."

Thena's eyes rose, and she failed to contain her pleasure at the sight of her rescuer. "Captain, if you would be so kind as to escort me."

"Of course, your Grace," he smiled back at her as a gentleman would. He even removed his leather glove before offering his hand to her. He stood between her and the man asking to dance with her, turning his back - unthinkably rude! - on him in the process.

"Thank you," Thena murmured as they made their escape, descending the steps closer to the thrones and skirting around the crowd. "I can no longer decline such invitations without good reason."

"I would think that not wanting to listen to him preen himself is reason enough."

Thena attempted to keep her laughter contained, but a faint puff of air escaped her. She held the skirt of her dress in the hand that was not perched in Gil's. "You have rescued me yet again, Captain."

"It is part of my job," he stated, although the royal advisor was not technically part of his obligations as royal guard. He winked at her, "Thena."

She smiled down at the lush carpet beneath their feet. If her hands were free they would be wringing around themselves again and again. The Captain continued to have such effect on her, and her poor, suffering heart. "I keep telling you, it is not."

"And I keep telling you: you will always be Princess, to me."

How was she to think clearly when she had such poetry over her shoulder, no less whispering in her ear?

"Would you like to?"

"To what?" she looked up at him.

He nodded his head towards where Ikaris was claiming another dance with his bride, even wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off the ground in their shared glee. "Dance?"

Her hand flinched in his, while the one holding her dress began squeezing it for her life. Her throat dried. "I'm afraid I have not nearly the grace my sister does, Captain."

"Come on," he whispered to her, even coming to a stop at a small gap in the crowd's observation of the bride and groom. "I thought we had a deal."

Thena's eyes darted up to him and then forward again. Her heart flitted and fluttered in her chest as she sighed, "Gil."

He stood straight, his hand behind his back and the other holding hers aloft. "It is a celebration, y'know. No one would think twice about you having a little fun at your own sister's wedding."

She could feel how warm he was next to her, even with his light chest plate over his formal uniform. Her fingers trembled faintly, but he held her steadily. "I suppose your gallantry should not go unrewarded."

She winced at herself, and her need to make the simple act of a dance something obligatory. Why could she not simply say that she did wish to dance with him?

Because that would be far too damning an admission, and far too revealing for one simple dance.

But Gilgamesh just smiled at her as he always did. He moved slowly, grasping her hand as he took the first step out from the edge of the crowd, "I'm honoured."

Thena forced herself to look up at him as he swept her onto the dance floor. It wasn't that moving with him was unfamiliar, or even awkward. It felt like when he had helped her from the wagon by lifting her delicately by the waist.

If anything, it felt too familiar, and perhaps even too...nice. He was warm, and gentle, and if he were not wearing the pauldron of his armour, she had half a mind to slip her hand up to his shoulder. His hand grasped hers out from them, the other on her back in a proper and appropriate position.

"So, have you thought about it?"

"Hm?" she blinked, betrayed by her mind wandering away from her actions and instead meandering along the subject of her dance partner.

"Marriage."

The royal advisor's cheeks took on a lively rouge as he spun them around with ease. This was not the first time they had discussed such a topic, either. And remembering the last time they had never failed to send her heart into a frenzy.

Somewhere behind them, Sersi also spun past amidst her dance with her husband. Her sister's giggling reached her ears, worsening Thena's feeling of fluster. Sersi knew very well that the subject of marriage - when it involved the Captain - always left her feeling stymied.

"I," Thena started and then paused immediately. Her mastery of language was slipping from her mind. Her eyes slid down his chestplate to the crest of the kingdom sitting right in the centre. Her hand twitched in his again, "I have...considered it."

At her own insistence, her marriage simply had to wait. As soon as she had abdicated, there was little time until Sersi's coronation and the wedding happening right on top of each other. And she and Gilgamesh were at their busiest when Sersi and Ikaris were.

There was no time to consider Gilgamesh's proposal of a proposal, as it were. And a man of his word, he had not brought it up amidst all the chaos of things. But he was asking now. As she had told him, he was asking if he could ask her again.

"And?" he prompted her gently--sweetly. He ducked his head closer to hers, moving closer in their dance to a proximity one could consider salacious. "If I were to ask you, would you say yes?"

Thena tried to keep her breathing even. She felt as if she were drowning in him, and she did not fully want to emerge from it. But she forced herself to keep her face from burying itself against his neck. "Your timing could be improved, Captain."

"Oh?" he chuckled, still in good spirits as she dodged his approach to marrying her yet again. "And how is that?"

Thena closed her eyes, trying to concentrate, and unable to do so while she thought people might be observing them acting so improperly. All she needed do was turn her head for her lips to graze his cheek or perhaps even his ear (indecent!). She gulped. "It is my sister's wedding day, Gil. This is no time for you to be asking for my hand."

"I daresay she would approve."

Sersi would be the first to jump for joy. She would also point right at Thena and say that she had said so long beforehand.

"I will not become engaged on the day of my sister's wedding," Thena resolved with a bit of a huff. "Have you no sense of propriety?"

On the contrary, it was mortifyingly she who was breaths away from pressing her forehead under his jaw just to feel the warmth of his skin.

"Forgive me, your Grace." She knew he was smirking--she just knew it. "Shall I ask again tomorrow, then?"

Thena's heart pounded. He hadn't asked in the exact words, but her whole body felt flush with warmth and thrill all the same. The warmth did not drain from her cheeks as she gripped his hand purposefully with her fingers. "I will be at the garden pond at first light. I expect you will not keep me waiting."

As she had done to him.

His hand squeezed hers, and he even dared to weave their fingers together (the absolute audacity). He tilted his head, disguising the way he touched his cheek to the top of her head, no longer weighed down by a golden circlet. "I wouldn't dream of it, Thena."

#Thenamesh AU #I loved this fic so thank you so much!!!#listen they're very busy #Thena is royal advisor and has to be attached to Ikaris and Sersi at all times #mostly Sersi but still #she's always advising them #in every meeting and plan #the coronation and proposal happen literally the same week #the wedding happens no more than three weeks later #it's old times shit's gotta happen fast #Ikaris and Sersi do tours of the kingdom in celebration #Thena travels with them and Gil guards them all #some might think it odd how the captain of the royal guard hovers around the advisor rather than his king and queen #some whisper about seeing his hand on the advisor's back to steady her #he stands aside when the king and queen get out of their carriage but he holds his hand out for the advisor to use when it's her turn #it's about the pining!!!!!#anyway Thena has been avoiding it because she doesn't know if she's ready #because there's no question that she's in love with Gil #she doesn't sleep at all that night #and she's so wound up she's pacing by the pond when he finally arrives

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softquietsteadylove · 16 days

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I’m glad you liked the idea!! The result was so perfect and sweet as usual. Here’s another if you’re interested/have muse! Words: curiousity, animals, whispering

Gil gulped, trying to focus on plating more appetizers as the guests mulled about. For the most part, they were scattered around the rest of the sprawling estate, but some of them had gravitated towards the kitchen naturally out of eagerness for the next round.

And they kept whispering.

He couldn't make out what they were saying, of course, but Gil knew when he was being whispered about. He had grown up as a husky but strong boy who loved cooking, he was no stranger to feeling like an animal in a zoo. But the scrutinising glares of a couple dozen millionaires were more than enough to put him on edge.

He dabbed at some sweat on his forehead and heard a giggle behind him. He was glad he had the steam and stove and various other heat sources to blame for the flush in his skin. Clearing his throat, he turned with the platter in hand. "More hors d'oeuvres--canapes with cavier and brie crostini with blackberry and prosciutto."

"How delightful!"

"Wherever did Thena find a specimen like you?"

"I simply must get the recipe to my own chef!"

Gil just smiled, setting down the platter for them to maul at will. He slipped backwards, eager for the refuge of the inner kitchen again. When Thena had described this as a 'monsters' ball' of a soiree, she wasn't kidding.

She had warned him that the guests were technically allowed wherever they wanted to be, including his own space, as much as she wanted to discourage it. There were also warnings about how rude they could be, even if the words were polite, as well as not to let any of them subtly try to poach him from her.

As if that were possible; he had no desire to work for anyone but Thena.

Only a few more hours and it was over. Even if there were still guests lingering, Thena had made it very clear that he could leave after 11. It was pretty sweet, all things considered. It wasn't uncommon for the chef to be stuck there catering to everyone's desires until guests had left, and then clean up after everything too.

"Sir, the food is being received splednidly!"

"Jesus!" Gil cursed, gripping the pocket of his chef's jacket over his heart as Karun - yet again - materialised out of thin air. He glared at him, "dude!"

Karun just chuckled, though, not minding the casual speech in the least. "The Madam is the envy of all present, thanks to you and your recipes, sir. I have heard only glowing reviews throughout the party."

Well, no chef disliked hearing that. And if the guests weren't going to compliment him so honestly, then at least he could hear it from someone he trusted. They hadn't said anything bad of course, but even when they were saying nice things, he really felt like he couldn't believe anything any of them were saying.

"The Madam knew, of course. I have never heard her praise anything so highly as your food!"

Sometimes Gil really wondered if Karun exaggerated Thena's words, at all. She was just so quiet, so hard to read. It was hard to imagine her going on at length about...well, anything. And yet Karun made it sound like it was something she gushed about.

"Where is Thena?" Gil asked, even looking around in hopes of catching a glimpse of her bright blonde hair. He wiped his hands on the towel tossed over his shoulder. "I haven't seen her since the doors opened."

She had stopped by before getting ready, while he was still preparing everything. She had seemed a little nervous, actually, hovering around his prep work as if to procrastinate putting on her fancy dress and doing her hair.

"Ah, the Madam has many guests to entertain," Karun lamented, although still with the same immovable smile on his face. He straightened his bow tie. "Although, she did mention fetching something from the wine cellar."

"Huh," Gil murmured, still wiping his hands, mostly to occupy them with something. He didn't have anything on the fire currently, although he had considered that he could use some sparkling just to float on top of the personal panna cottas. "Maybe I'll see if she needs a hand with anything."

Gil walked down the stairs to the fancy underground wine cellar with heavy steps. He just needed a second wind to get through the rest of the evening. If he could have a little snack and push out the desserts then he would have a clear board. There were dressed up wait staff walking around with drinks and trays of his food anyway.

Maybe Karun had planned it, but Gil turned the corner and found Thena. She was seated on one of the crates yet to be unpacked, probably full of bottles that cost more than his whole salary. She was hunched over a little plate of food with her legs crossed, the slit of her dress exposing the length of them, while also pooling unceremoniously on the floor with her heels. Her hair was still pinned tightly at the back of her head, although he was guessing that the sparkly clip sitting beside her had been in it until she got down here.

She still looked gorgeous, although he had to admit he was more fond of the way she looked first thing in the morning, enjoying one of his omelettes.

"Oh," she looked up, not rushing to polish her appearance again. She rearranged her dress somewhat, starting to slip her stocking feet back into her shoes. "I was-"

"Hey, it's okay," he rushed. He could only assume she had taken off the high heels because her feet were killing her. "I won't tell."

She smiled at him, thankful for his secrecy. She did indeed slip her feet back to the tile floor, holding her rations preciously. "Did you come to escape them as well?"

"Escape them?"

She glanced upward in the direction of her own party, "the animals."

Gil snorted. He had certainly thought of them as such, but he hadn't exactly thought Thena did too. At least, not so literally. "I thought you knew at least some of them."

But she looked downtrodden, bordering on miserable. Gil immediately thought of the times in his life when he felt like a shy little outcast, sitting alone at lunch or being excluded from playing with others. "I suppose I am acquainted with a few of them. But this is largely a networking event. It is my turn to host it, nothing more."

He didn't exactly know everything about Thena's super fancy lifestyle. Actually, he knew very little about it. But he was confident in saying that she didn't ask for any of it, let alone like it. "Really sounds like more of a pain in the ass, than anything."

He usually didn't swear in front of Thena (his boss). Well, he didn't always talk in front of her at all. But she smiled again, her finger playing with a sprig of green onion that had tumbled off a canape. "I would have to agree."

Given that this was the most he and Thena had ever exchanged in terms of words or conversation, Gil decided to push further. He abandoned the search for champagne in favour of leaning against a stack of crates facing her. He slipped his hands in his pockets, although he immediately wondered if it was coming off as 'trying too hard'. "Is there anyone here you like at all?"

She looked up, stared him dead in the eyes, and said, "you."

Gil blushed.

Thena looked down at her lap again. She didn't rush to correct her statement, but her fidgeting with her plate increased as she brought her knees closer to her chest. "Not that I make for good company."

"What?" he laughed, hoping she would follow suit. "I'd rather be down here with you than up there, anyway."

She didn't quite take it as the compliment he intended, but she did look up again. Her lip set in a firm line, "have they been pestering you? I did attempt to make it clear that you were to be left to your work."

They had circled him like sharks observing a wounded dolphin. "I haven't really noticed them."

Thena scowled down at her beet cured salmon rosette. "Not one of them is of the mind to brush elbows with their own staff. I knew that your food would entice them into playing nice, but I did hope they would have some decorum."

He definitely got the impression that, while happy to sing his praises here and now, working for them was probably a nightmare. He would much rather be here with Thena, hiding from her own guests like ne'er do wells under the bleachers.

Thena blinked as he stole the rosette right off her plate. "I beg your pardon."

He gave her a grin, chewing it thoroughly. It turned out well! "What?--you were just playing with it. Someone should enjoy my work."

Her lips tugged up again and he really noticed how the red colour made them look even fuller than usual. "I did not realise my secret stash would have to be shared."

Gil shrugged, leaning forward to steal something else. Despite her teasing reproach, she leaned back and offered her plate to help him select something. He grabbed the remaining half of a mini buratta with a disk of tomato gelee and air crisped basil. He'd never created such pretentious finger food in all his life, but that was exactly what the animals wanted, according to Thena.

"I took two of everything and came down here nearly an hour ago," she confessed, hanging her head in guilt. She finally picked up the blackberry from her crostini and ate it. "Mingling with them is simply beyond my threshold for suffering."

She said 'they're a bunch of assholes' so eloquently.

"I guess I don't blame you," Gil chuckled, taking the rest of the crostini she had left after claiming just the fruit from it. "It's your party, your house--if you wanna play hooky, then who cares."

"Play hooky?" she furrowed her brows at the expression.

He laughed again, which she seemed to take as a scathing mockery of her ignorance. His expression softened and he leaned off the crates.

Thena drew her shoulders up but ultimately made room for him on her crate as he sat down next to her. It was neither too small nor comfortably large. He managed not to touch butts with her, but there was nothing he could do about his shoulder brushing hers.

He glanced at her from his position of having to somewhat perch himself on the corner, "aren't you cold?"

Thena's cheeks took on the most charming shade of pink he'd ever seen in his life. Now that he was closer to her, he could see the faint tremor in her hands and shoulders. She looked down at her plate again, positively mortified. "Freezing."

Poor thing was so eager to leave her own party that she would rather freeze by herself in the wine cellar than mingle a little. Gil immediately wished he had something on under his chef's jacket (although that would only ever create more of a sweating problem).

Gil put his hand on hers, which really was startlingly cold to the touch. "If you don't wanna come up to the kitchen, I get it. Some of your guests do keep poking their heads in."

That certainly was enough to keep her rooted in place.

He gave her frigid hand a squeeze, "but I'll bring you something, okay? Something to warm you up in hiding."

Thena looked up at him as he stood, preparing to leave her again. Those big, dazzling green eyes of hers pleaded with him, "hurry back?"

He would let all of the desserts burn if he had to. He lingered at the door just to wave to her, "I'll grab more rations for us too."

The brightened expression on her face at the promise of his lengthened return was blinding. It was more than enough to convince him to set the desserts out all at once and whatever happened, happened. As far as he was concerned, the guest of honour was down here freezing her butt off, the least he could do was grab a cup of hot cocoa and his hoodie and some more snacks for her.

#Thenamesh Hamptons AU #poor Thena has negative social skills #of course she would rather hide in the basement than attend her own party #everyone attending is just some rich asshole anyway #so their families know each other so what #Karun knows she's hiding from everyeone #and he knows just the cure #so he goes into the kitchen and says oh hey I think I saw Thena going downstairs #Gil: great I just happened to need something down there totally unrelated #I love this prompt so thank you #Thena doesn't really want any of them talking to her sweet and funny chef #she finally gets the chance to talk to him and it's because she's having a terrible time #little does she know Gil is like this is my chance #he pulls everything out at once and tells the catering staff this is what everything is I'll be back whenever #if they ask for something I do not care #he comes back downstairs with a nice hot mug and puts sweater over her shoulders and presents more snacks and desserts for her #and Thena falls even more in love with him #I mean they have an appropriate and professional relationship #Karun isn't matchmaking at all

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softquietsteadylove · 22 days

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could we get some more zombie au?🙏 recently read all the parts to it and instantly fell in love!!

"Hey."

Gil looked up with a smile. The lights in the rest of the floor were off to save power, but he had some candles lit, perfectly illuminating the golden glow that always accompanied Thena. "Hey."

She tossed aside her clothes and laid her towel over their rack for drying clothes or whatever else they wanted. Everyone who had their own room had one. She sighed, "I might never get completely used to having a hot shower again."

Gil just chuckled. Thena was tough as nails of course, but that didn't mean she was immune to comfort and relaxation. She curled up naturally on the softness of their shared bed. He angled her more, naturally moving to braid her hair down her back. It was getting really long.

The bed was, in fact, two hospital beds pushed together. It was kind of Ajak to give them the room of course, and they hadn't wanted to take that for granted, especially being newcomers. But they had taken one look at the beds, spaced a clinical six feet apart, and immediately agreed. They pushed them together without a second thought, lowering the rails and even inching the mattresses together as much as they could.

They had to stick together out there, they reasoned; they weren't meant to maintain a sterile distance between them.

"Thanks," Thena sighed as she let him comb his fingers through the damp ends of her hair. "How was dinner duty?"

"It was good," he smiled to himself as he weaved the strands of blonde together. "It was just me on prep, but everyone seemed to like it. Did you eat on the road?"

She nodded, although he straightened her head again anyway. "Just regular trail mix and some sandwiches. It was fine, though."

Gil kept his thoughts to himself. It was one thing for Thena to be on every supply run they did (it seemed excessive to him). But going at night was something else entirely. But he had no right to complain. "I wish they'd let me pack you a lunch."

Thena let out the kind of laugh she only did with him. It was a soft, almost purring kind of sound as it escaped the back of her throat. "That wouldn't be very fair to everyone else, now would it?"

"Not my problem," he laughed as well, which made her laugh even more.

She turned slightly to look at him over her shoulder. "We want you on Ajak's good side, remember?"

"Hey, I am," he grinned. "I helped her move some medical supplies and she thanked me. Called me 'big guy' and everything."

"Hm."

"What?" he continued in their lighter, more jovial mood. It was easier to laugh and make jokes when they weren't keeping their ears open for looming threats. "I'm endearing myself to people--you keep saying I'm good at it."

"You are," she mused, and he could hear a peculiar note on the end of it. "I believe the brunette on kitchen duty with you finds you very endearing."

Gil once again kept his smile all to himself. Although he never would have imagined that he would get to live to see the day Thena was jealous. "And is that a problem?"

"Not if she minds herself, no." Thena paused a moment before adding, "had the gall to come right up to me and ask if the rumours that we're married are true."

Gil snorted a little, unable to completely keep his amusement under wraps. She whipped around to glare at him for finding it funny, undoing some of his work. "Sorry, sorry."

She gave him a withering glare before turning again, letting him resume his task of braiding her mane of blonde. "I told her she could ask you, if she was so concerned."

She had indeed not asked him anything, so he had to imagine that if those were the exact words Thena used, then they were pretty damn scary in the way she said them.

"Well, she hasn't asked me anything," he confirmed, and he didn't think he was imagining Thena's shoulders relaxing faintly. He paused right at the ends of her hair, ready to tie them together. "What should I tell her?"

Her shoulders tightened again, coming naturally as she hugged her knees tighter. "Tell her whatever you want."

How very vague of her; Gil tried to peek at her but she had herself angled in just the perfect way to avoid looking at him. But Thena never did like it when people would ask him to join their travelling groups out on the road. He didn't imagine she would like it here at the hospital any more than out there.

"I'll tell her that I'm not really looking for anything like that right now," he said without needing to be prompted. If he asked Thena if that was the answer she wanted to hear, she would deny it. But he was happy to voice things he thought were implicit anyway.

Like how he trusted her with his life, or how glad he was that they were still together. Or how if she caught wind of anything that seemed off about this place, that they would leave, no questions asked--together. He didn't need a hot shower or a working oven again; not nearly as much as he needed her, at least.

He cast a fond glance across the room to his cast iron skillet, still his weapon of choice should he ever need it again.

"Are you done?"

Why talk about feelings when they could just not? That was very Thena. He smiled and pushed the tight, damp braid over her shoulder, "how'd I do?"

Thena touched the ends of it fondly, secured with an elastic he'd rescued from the sleeve of an old jacket. "You are remarkably good at plaiting. Far better than I ever was."

Gil just sighed, easing back to his pillow as Thena slipped her legs under the covers with his. "It's harder to do behind your back."

"I suppose," she offered just for the sake of it, rolling onto her side so she could face him. She settled at first, then wiggled a little closer to him. "I think Kingo is worried you'll lose it if I come back with so much as a scratch on me."

Gil rolled his eyes. Not that he wouldn't, but he supposed it wasn't a great reputation to have in their peaceful newfound community. He ran his hand over her bare arm.

"Ikaris would never admit it," she continued, similarly placing her palms on his chest as they revelled in the warmth of simply being alive, together. "I think he's somewhat worried about it, too. At the very least, he's stopped arguing with me over every call I make."

Gil thought that should have been a given, honestly. Thena had far more experience than any of Ajak's scouts or tower guards. And he still had no faith in them to know Thena well enough to work to the best of her abilities out there. "I guess so long as he's not giving you any trouble."

He could hear her smiling, in a way. She moved even more until she could touch her forehead to the center of his chest. "There will be no more screaming in the cafeteria."

"I won't," he promised, some of his earlier humour returning to him as he ran his hand over her hair. "If he doesn't get in my face again."

Thena also found it humorous - he could tell - but pinched him in the side for it anyway.

"Okay, okay," he yawned, truly settling into the mattress. He lifted his arm from her waist, "candles."

She voiced her complaint about having to be the one to extinguish them, but did so and plopped back down heavily. He slipped his arm around her again and she secured it comfortably herself, as if challenging him to make her move again. "Light them on your side of the bed."

"But then I'd have to be the one to blow them out." He laughed as Thena gave him a little poke that felt more tickling than anything.

But, ultimately, she also settled into the mattress. The hospital was eerily dark--darker than sleeping in the forest ever was. He was pretty sure it put her more on edge sleeping in a darker, more confined space than sleeping in the open air.

But the bed was nice.

"Night," she whispered to him, happily snuggling into him.

Gone were the days when she would silently and shyly get up from her place opposite the fire to curl up closer to him in the night. Sometimes he kind of missed those times, but this was a far, far better alternative.

"Night," he whispered in return, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He didn't know how the hell she felt any insecurity when he slept like this with her every single night.

It wasn't just sharing the bed, or the room, or even the assumptions everyone had about them. He was happy to let people think they were married. They were partners anyway, in a sense. And it deterred at least some guys from hitting on her blatantly, whether he was around or not.

And whether she thought of them that way or not, as far as he was concerned, she was the only partner he had, and the only one he needed.

#Thenamesh Zombie AU #ahhh thank you so much!!!!!!#That's so sweet of you #and I always say I love this au #this is a soft little story beat #I hope you don't mind #I debated what to write #but I thought it was time for softness for them #these two are always getting put through so much #and I am lowkey obsessed #with them getting shown their own room #it's private and safe and secure #those curtains are still up so they can change #and the first thing these idiots do #is go this is weird #they push the beds together and just never speak of it #they go from sleeping back to back and occasionally spooning #to settling in together like a married couple #I still maintain that the rumour is only alive and well because neither of them will confirm nor deny it outright #Thena is in the showers and hears someone comment how that new kitchen guy is cute #nearly slips and cracks her head open #meanwhile Gil is like I'm not saying I'm a married man #but I need to bring my wife her lunch excuse me

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softquietsteadylove · 22 days

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Hey could I ask for a Thenamesh human au were Thena is raising her little sisters (Sersi and Sprite) after their parents die and Gilgamesh is her co-worker who finds her having a mini breakdown and comforts her? Kinda slow burn-ish and no smut if possible

"Sorry!"

Thena pressed even harder on her eyebrows, sure she would get bruises from it. Maybe then she might actually get medical clearance for time off. "It's fine."

"I didn't mean-"

"It's fine!" she snapped at him again, shifting to swipe at the corners of her eyes and wipe the tears onto her fingertips and then on the sleeves of her cardigan. "I was just...looking for something."

But all she heard was the door shutting gently.

Thena sighed, picking her head up and looking around the shelves. All that was in here was extra paper and printer ink. "Gil, I'm fine."

Gil was sweet, if a little too sweet. He went out of his way for people, which their firm really discouraged. But he was going into family law, which was easy to tell from the 'everything' about him.

"Yeah, I just, uh," she heard him shuffle around before finally turning to glare at him. Her glower was usually strong enough to scare away anyone else. He pointed at the shelf of toner. "Printer."

She closed her eyes, feeling the throbbing in her head from her coffee and the twitch in her eyes from her need for sleep. But they had a lot of contracts to examine, and Sersi was in the middle of the soccer season, which meant she didn't even get home until 6, which pushed dinner to 7 and that said nothing about homework and getting Sprite to bed at a decent hour.

"Um," Gilgamesh gulped, tugging at the suit he was wearing. It was standard attire for the firm, of course, but she always imagined he had a hard time finding suits to really fit him. Perhaps he needed shirts and Jackets in one fitting and trousers in a smaller one. "How was Sersi's game?"

She whipped her head up at him, and she must have looked ready for murder by the way he flinched. "What?"

He went stiff as a board, practically pressing his back to the door. "S-Sersi--your sister, you said she had a soccer game on friday. H-How did it go...if that's okay."

Right, friday; she had rushed home from work, still with half a day's work to complete, picked up Sprite, gotten her not to gripe all through grocery shopping, bundled her up for Sersi's game, which was a loss, and it was a hard loss, and Sersi got a few scrapes and bruises, so then they were both a little cranky for the start of the weekend, and of course that meant she didn't actually get any work done-

"Thena?"

She blinked, feeling as if she had gone somewhere else entirely. This was getting ridiculous. She just needed coffee, she reasoned. Even more coffee. She shook her head.

"Hey," he whispered, not moving from the door to let her out, despite her moving closer. "Are you okay? I know you're...I know you've got a lot on your plate."

A lot on her plate? She had that already with this job and the beginnings of her career. Her student debt alone would be more than a full plate.

That was before handling a joint funeral, and counselling for her sisters, and getting them back to school, and a full year of them not being themselves. And then, when they finally seem to be getting better, both of them start having the worst time with school in their lives.

Or maybe their mother was just better at dealing with it than Thena could say for herself. And while their father wasn't exactly her favourite person, let alone parent, her first year of filing her taxes with two dependants was enough for her to look into a decent accountant for this year.

"Listen, I know you've got this under control," Gil continued, visibly worried about saying the wrong thing. "I know you're tougher than I could ever imagine."

She really didn't know about that.

"But if you need--I mean, if you ever want a hand with anything, or even just logistics, or carpooling or something," he suggested, losing confidence with every new idea. His massive shoulders drooped and he gave her those big, sad puppy dog eyes that always got him the best desk and the best cases and the best lunch, "just let me know, y'know?"

Thena gulped. Heat rose up in her as the horror of her tears resurfaced. She was done crying. It was the middle of the work day. She didn't have time for this. This had never been an issue before.

Can we have lasagne?

Just that simple text from Sprite had set her off. Because Sprite loved lasagne--she loved their mother's lasagne. And for an entire year Sprite couldn't even stand hearing the word, let alone the sight of it. And to have her ask for it, when they all knew that Thena was somehow the worst cook of all three of them.

Gil blinked as Thena dropped her head, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her hand over her eyebrows again. His hands hovered around her, never crossing the last few inches of boundary she held.

Thena was just as shocked as she leaned froward and her forehead met something firm. But she couldn't choke it all back, a squeak escaping her as her tears dropped to the musty old storage closet carpet below.

"Hey," he whispered soothingly. Of course the bastard was great at comforting people too. Why wouldn't he be? Why wouldn't he be so completely perfect? "It'll be okay."

She usually hated when people spoke so certainly. Because what did they know? What assurance did they have? But Gil meant well. He only ever meant well. Her breathing slowed and she realised she was truly letting him embrace her. What an unfortunate turn this had taken. But he was warm, and he smelled nice. And it felt nice when he rubbed her back.

Gil let her pull away, not making a grand affair out of the whole thing. He brushed away a few more tears of hers, "you okay?"

She nodded. She was far, far from it. But she could probably get through the rest of the work day without humiliating herself further. Her throat felt dry as a bone. "Thank you."

Gil tilted his head at her. He did give off the first impression that he would be some meathead, into his own looks and loud and brash and hypermasculine. But he was kind, he was considerate of others and his good nature only made him more sensitive to those around him. "I mean it, Thena, if there's anything you need at all."

He was one of only a few who even knew about her sisters. She didn't really go around announcing her past, and she wasn't one for keeping precious personal keepsakes on her desk either. But Gil had once seen her phone light up with a notification and asked who the girls on her lockscreen were.

And as much as she could have told him to mind his own business - and he would have, knowing him - it seemed worse to ignore it. So she had told him about her sisters, and how she had basically acquired them as children, as far as the state was concerned.

The biggest advantage to Gilgamesh knowing about her duties outside the office was that he was her biggest defender whenever she couldn't make events outside of work. Of course a lot of deals happened out of the office as well as in, and being able to seal those deals came with the job. But Gil always had an excuse ready for her when she couldn't join them for drinks after work, or make a round of golf or two on sunday morning.

He smiled as she finally picked her head up. "There she is."

She chose to ignore that. She sniffled, dabbing at her eyes again. If anyone asked her if she was okay once she stepped out of this closet, she might commit an act worthy of termination. "Thanks."

"Any time," he shrugged. He still didn't leave. "I saw you get up from your desk. I thought-"

Silence came over him, perhaps at the admission that he had all but followed her here. Any other coworker and she would have her keys in her hand and a knife with his car's name on it. But only Gilgamesh could say something like that and have it be just as innocent as he meant it.

"Sorry," he concluded, having discouraged himself yet again. He blushed.

She truly was a bitch of epic proportions to inspire this level of fear from the sweetest man alive, she gathered. Usually that wasn't a problem, of course, but just this once: it was undeserved. "That's nice of you, Gil."

That seemed to surprise him even more than walking in on her crying in the closet.

She finally reached for the doorknob, and Gil nearly leapt out of her way. She headed back to her desk, with the same papers in hand as when she had first gone in. At least at her desk, she could take a breath. Her computer was still open on emails, she set the papers beside her.

Of course

She replied to Sprite, although if she got more texts she was just going to tell her not to text in class.

If her sister wanted lasagne, then she would find a way to make it happen. Affection was not her most polished skill, but love needed no polishing. If her baby sister wanted lasagne, she would have it.

If only she weren't a horrendously bad cook.

Sersi was decent, but she only ever let her help when Sersi herself seemed eager to do so, and that was usually on weekends. And Ajak was an excellent cook. Her handwritten recipes alone would not help Thena actually produce the promised product.

Thena picked up her phone again. She scrolled until she could select the contact in her phone. Perhaps it was silly to text him when his desk was in sight of hers. She was just in a closet with the man. But she selected his name and typed.

Can you make lasagne?

#Thenamesh AU #thank you for the ask sweetheart!#it's okay I only post smut if it's specifically asked for and it will always be tagged #this is a very sweet prompt #I love the idea of Thena doing her very best for these girls #at first of course she's like I do not know how to be a mother #but they don't need a mother they need their sister #so Thena #freshly out of law school and deep in debt goes yes I will take my sisters into my custody #she takes the first job she can at any firm that pays decently #she can never socialise outside of work because she's literally a single mother #not that she wants to socialise anyway but that's beside the point #meanwhile Gil is everyone's fav #he's sweet he's charming he's charismatic #and he goes and has a beer after work and he gets offered to help on a big contract and he's like #okay but I'd like Thena on it with me #they're like uh buddy you don't need the ice queen's help #he goes no but she did study divorce and custody law it kind of overlaps with my specialty sometimes #anyway lasagne!#Thena says this is my...friend #from work #Sersi and Sprite:#Sersi and Sprite: is this your boyfriend?#Thena: dO NOT!!!!!#but I mean come on #your sister brings home this super handsome and funny and sweet guy from work #and he takes off his suit jacket and rolls up his sleeves #and gets to work on your late mom's precious lasagne recipe?#they don't watch tv at all they're just spying on them all night

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softquietsteadylove · 23 days

Photo

Eternals.

#this is #Incredible #the colour work is amazing #it really looks like them #the musce definition is something else #but I love the bare arms #especially on my babies they look so good #especially #Thena #my beloved #looking sassy and beautiful #Eternals

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softquietsteadylove · 23 days

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Bugs being soft, bugs being soft

(happy new year! ♡)

#so something about me #I LOVE Hollow Knight #I replay it all the time #I'm obsessed with it #it's so good #and these two #oh my god #Isma and Ogrim #my Thenamesh if they were bugs #Ogrim guards Isma's final resting place with his LIFE #long after their city has fallen #and only with his crest can you enter her grove #and her final words are #Ogrim... there's no time...#like?!!!?!??!!?

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softquietsteadylove · 23 days

Text

#I love art like this #Quirrel and teh Knight #Ghost if you will #just having a little bench sit #Hollow Knight

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softquietsteadylove · 23 days

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I hope you’re doing well!! ❤️ I just wanted to share that I’ve been obsessed with how closely the Bodyguard track on Cowboy Carter aligns with the Body Guard AU! Just wanted to thank you for bringing that joy into my life ❤️❤️

Oh my gosh, this is incredible, you're so right bestie. I actually live that, and I'm so glad I could help you experience this joy! And now you've helped me experience it too ❤️🦜

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softquietsteadylove · 23 days

Note

Proposal AU

Thena takes care of a very exhausted Gil!

Something sweet and soft 🤭

Gil groaned, trying to turn his face away from the light.

"It's almost over."

He blinked, finding his nose buried in a head of blonde brighter than sunshine. He could have just nestled in further, which was damn tempting of course. But he groaned, adjusting in the...hammock?

"You know, you're actually quite lucky," Thena continued in a whisper. Her fingers ran through his hair. "Had I not joined you here, I'm sure your mother or sisters would have no trouble awakening you for what is actually our own party. But with me in here as well, everyone thinks we're too wrapped up in pre-marital snuggling to bother you."

"You're doing an awful lot of talking for someone determined to let me sleep."

She gave his cheek a poke. "I know very well you're awake. You stopped snoring."

"I do not snore," he grumbled, moving his head so she could pull away and look at him. He pouted.

"You snore a little," she broke it to him gently at least, poking his lip back into place. "But I'll forgive you because you're so exhausted."

He yawned completely reflexively, but he at least pressed it into the shoulder of her cardigan. "How long?"

"A couple of hours."

That scared him. He jolted, not that it did much in their hanging basket arrangement. "No."

Thena nodded, though, confirming the statement that had sent fear shooting through him. "Just over two hours, assuming I found you relatively close to when you fell asleep."

"Thena, no," he groaned again, attempting to drown himself in the fabric suspending them off the ground. "No, no, no--my mom worked her ass off for this party, I can't have been asleep for that long."

"Sh," Thena hushed him from those soft lips again. She was being awfully tender with him. "I told her that I was the one who lulled you into sleep. If anyone is to blame, it's me."

He whimpered, though. "I'm a bad son."

"On the contrary," she had the nerve to laugh at him when he was upset. "You are the son who cooked every morsel of food at this party. If you happened to spend most of it in a hammock with your own fiance, I can't imagine she would have anything to say about it."

Well, she had a point. He did cook all of the food. And Ajak was always telling him to try and relax - with Thena - more. He sighed again, unfolding his arms from around himself and resting one over the curve of Thena's waist. "Guess I can't argue with that."

"You haven't missed much," she informed him. "Ajak announced how pleased she was for us."

Gil snorted, pulling Thena closer to him as a breeze rocked the hammock faintly. "That wasn't what she said when I first told her. Nearly took my ear off demanding to know why I hadn't said anything until now."

"You have a lovely family, Gil."

He opened his eyes again to look at the woman in the hammock with him. Some of their relatives had arrived early for this party. They were distant, some more family friends than anything. But it was certainly an escalation to their little lie. They were having to do couple-y things more often. A 'love you' here, a 'missed you' there. A brush of his hand over her shoulder--that kind of thing. He smiled, "are you actually in here avoiding them?"

Thena didn't deny it, which was basically a confirmation. She slid her hands up his chest and nestled her head closer again, approaching a position to tuck it under his chin. "Your mother knows a staggering number of people."

Gil chuckled, tucking her against him so she wouldn't have to close the gap herself. She happily accepted his invitation, practically settling into him like a cat in a sunbeam. "Sorry I left you to handle them all yourself."

"I gave up rather quickly," she lamented. "Said I had to find you to ask you something for the wedding. It worked to help me avoid anyone for nigh on half an hour."

"We're both bad hosts."

"Indeed," Thena agreed, not seeming all that upset about it. She sighed, her hot breath hitting his throat. "I'll apologise to your mother later."

"I'm pretty sure you can do no wrong in her eyes," he assured her. He had just had a pretty solid nap, but it was way too comfortable to continue lying there with Thena to even think about trying to roll out of the swaying hammock. "You'll be her first daughter-in-law. To her only son, no less. An eldest son I'm pretty sure she was getting worried wouldn't be settling down at all."

"Hm."

"Hey," he called to her before she could slide down that slippery slope of regret. He rubbed small circles in her back, "don't worry about it."

She didn't say anything else, but one of her hands slipped around his side and to his back, clutching a fistful of his shirt. She pressed her face into his shoulder.

He sighed, ready to settle into sleep again, feeling the familiar position of Thena cuddled up to him. He was nearly there when he heard a grating voice getting closer and closer.

"Yoohoo!--lovebirds?"

Gil kept his eyes closed, not in the mood for his showboat cousin who probably wanted to make some dramatic speech about them or drag him up in front of everyone.

"Gil, mom's lookin' for you!"

Thena stirred but he cradled the back of her head with his hand and held the small of her back. "It's a trap."

She puffed out some air at his joke before whispering, "diabolical."

"Very," he whispered back, eyes still closed.

"Here they-oh!"

Gil resisted the urge to tell his brother - in every way that mattered - to fuck off and not wake his fiance. He held Thena firmly, determined to appear asleep.

"It's so sweet!"

"Let them rest, you two--Makkari, put the stick down!"

His youngest sister was no doubt about to poke him in the face with it. His sweet and elegant mother had raised a bunch of animals.

He only cracked his eyes open when he heard them padding away, complaining why he got to skip out on the party duties, like entertaining guests and cleaning up as things started coming to a close.

"We can't sleep in here all night, you know."

"Why not?" he grinned, immediately pulled back into the little world that was the high sides of the hammock bending around his weight. "It's comfy."

"I would hardly call this lumbar support," she argued, although he was pretty sure she wasn't that far from dozing off herself. "And what if it rains?"

"We're in the trees, it's fine," he laughed. They weren't exactly in the depths of the wooded area surrounding the house, but they were away from everything else enough that they weren't the easiest to find in here.

"Gil," she scolded, but made no attempt to get up, or even separate herself from him.

"Mom wouldn't let that happen," he reassured, although it made her go quiet again. "Fine, just a few more minutes."

"Five, not a second more."

"Deal," he smiled. She sounded like she did when they were at work. It felt so far away, they'd been here so long. Not that they didn't deserve the break. And Thena had even more paid time off than he did. He was pretty sure she never took a day off.

Unless she was sick. In which case he would rush home from work and cook up his most healing chicken soup and noodles for her.

Thena didn't stir as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. If anything, she nestled closer to him, "five minutes."

"Five minutes," he repeated, moving his lips down her cheek, closer to her lips. He didn't close the distance quite yet, but Thena didn't pull herself away either. And he didn't need the next five minutes to make his decision.

It was chaste, just the barest brushing of lips against lips. It was like a peck. Thena didn't make any sudden moves or any sounds at all. Only she could lie perfectly still and straight postured in a hammock. "Was that your attempt at bartering?"

He grinned, their heads still too close to really see each other, breath mixing and lips twitching to meet again. "Depends if it worked."

"No."

"Fine," he conceded, moving his hands to her cheeks. He gave her another little peck before she tucked herself into the crook of his neck again. This was just another couple-y thing to add to the list, apparently. Not that he minded.

#Thenamesh Proposal AU #always love coming back to this one #poor Gil #he's a hard working boi #he cooks and prepares all the food #he sets out appetizers and mini sandwiches and desserts and fancy cut fruit #then he makes it maybe ten minutes into people arriving #he says hi to everyone thanks them for coming #accepts their well wishes about his wedding to his beautiful fiance #which he agrees with #then he slithers off and falls into the hammock #a few minutes he thinks to himself #and he's out like a light #Thena notices right away that he's gone #she asks everyone who comes up to her if they've seen Gil #great excuse not to have to talk to anyone about anything #then she sees the hammock in the treeline #weighed down with a considerable body of mass in it #she knows it right away #she goes over and he looks so cute and restful that she doesn't want to wake him #she doesn't tell him that at first she's too shy to just jump in #she's worried about landing weird #but eventually she moves to the other side and lets herself fall in #like when scuba divers fall off the edge of a boat backwards #and Gil instantly rolls over to face her #as well as he can in a hammock #Thena is like Gil we have to go to bed and also I am going to tell your mother the truth #hes' like okay honey let's--WHAT?!!

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