Hi love!! How are you?
May i ask for another part of the human Thena/eternal Gil Au pretty please?, it's a very interesting concept. Thank you 🤍🩷
Thena froze. She completely froze. What the hell was that thing? It rose up out of the water like it was a demon, its skin and flesh crawling around on its wiry body. She squeaked, "G-Gil?"
The creature floated over to her, examining her curiously. It had a maw of teeth like she had never seen before. "Th...ee...na."
Why did it know her name? What kind of nightmare was this? She tried to run but her knees trembled as she scraped her boot back on the cobblestones. "G-Gil-"
The beast lurched closer, something like vines growing from its neck. "Gil...ga...mesh."
A new chill flooded through her. This thing--it couldn't possibly be the one Gil fought on the news, could it? Sure, they weren't going to parade around the corpse of a monster like that, but surely it would have been reported of something like this was still alive.
"Find," its breath puffed from its jaws like smoke, "Gilgamesh."
"Gil!" Thena got out before turning her face away from the beast. She didn't know why that was the only thing coming to mind, but she was prepared for his name to be her last breath.
"Don't move!"
Well, it wasn't Gil. But rather, Sersi leapt over the railing of the bridge above. She held out her hand--her completely empty, open palm. The thing took a swipe at her but she used her other hand to swipe back. As her finger left the stone cobbles below their feet, shards of glass left her fingertips.
The thing retreated, hissing at the glass in its eyes.
"Run!"
Now her legs worked. Thena followed Sersi down the canal, looking over her shoulder only once. "What is that thing?!"
"It's a long story!"
Maybe all Eternals were bad at communication. Thena followed up the ramp and back to the surface street, although she could barely hear over her heart in her ears. "Where's Gil?"
"He'll be here," Sersi breathed heavily, hands still held out. "He's on his way."
"Sersi," Thena pressed, moving closer to the woman who had her back to her (in an attempt to protect her). "Why did that thing know my name?"
"What?" the other woman fully turned around.
"It spoke, it knew my name, and Gil's," she scowled, more and more tired of being left in the dark.
"Thena," Sersi shook her head, "Deviants can't speak."
"This one can," she corrected, although it didn't last. Sersi took her hand, yanking her away again in a fell blown run. "What is it?"
"I don't know!" It was at least an honest answer. "Dane!"
Dane, undeniably human, was trying to direct the general populace away from the danger. He turned back to them, "Sersi, it's-!"
Thena stumbled as Sersi was picked up by that thing. Its body was already huge to begin with, but it was elevated up on its tentacle-like appendages. She picked herself up as Dane charged at it. "Wait!"
The beast opened its mouth. Just like its eyes, whatever comprised its insides had a sickly, ominous glow to it. It held Sersi by the neck, as if inhaling her air could rob her of her life.
"Let her go!"
Thena's ears popped as charging sound hit the air, followed by sheer impact. The thing went flying back into the water below. Gold particles floated in the air like dust. A second, lighter impact sounded, feet meeting concrete heavily. "Gil?"
"You okay?" he asked Sersi as they landed. She nodded, leaning on his shoulder as she rubbed her neck under her scarf.
"I'll be fine," Sersi assured him. If the powers weren't enough evidence, no human would be able to breathe, let alone speak after the way that thing had handled her. She gasped as Dane plowed into her, hugging her tight despite her brother's presence. She didn't mind it either, happily embracing him in return, "I'm okay, Dane."
Thena watched from a few paces away. Part of her imagined running to Gil the same way, but they hadn't actually spoken since their tense discussion at the museum two weeks ago. She had told him she needed time, and he had respected that, only checking on her well being after the attack, as he had asked to do.
Part of her was glad he had respected her boundary. The other part had been waiting for him to call or text all week.
Gil moved away from his sister and her boyfriend, happy not to watch their affections. He jogged over to her, his hands floating around but never actually landing. "Are you okay?"
She just nodded, her throat completely stiff and dry. That thing never emerged from the water, but she hardly thought that meant it was dead down there. "Gil, what-"
"I don't know," he answered immediately, also looking for the thing or any trace of it. But, not immediately seeing any signs, he focused on her again. And he did manage to bridge the gap and pull her into his arms. His hand rested on her hair, "I don't know, sweetheart."
She could just demand answer--real, proper answers. This was not only not the first time something like this had come up from his past life, but now it was involving her more directly. That thing had spoken her name like a walking nightmare.
Gil tightened his hold on her as she buried her face in his chest. "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner."
She could remember how she had screamed his name as if it were synonymous with 'help'. All she had thought in that moment was that surely he would come to save her. As if she were some cliched damsel in a work of fiction. It was laughable.
But Gil buried his nose in her hair, pressed his lips to her temple. "Are you hurt?"
She pulled away from him, shaking her head. "It said my name."
Gil wasn't nearly as shocked or appalled as Sersi had been. His face was grim. "It's the same one I fought before. It's different from the other ones we've faced in the past. It learns differently. They've never been able to speak before."
That had all kinds of horrific implications for the biology and evolution of such a creature. "It's the same one?"
He sighed heavily, guiding her away from the damage of everything as crowds started reemerging. He wrapped his arm around her. "It got away from me that time. But it stuck one of those vines in me--I think it got in my head."
That would explain its learning pattern with speech, and unfortunately, why it had known her name. It even seemed to have hunted her down out of recognition. She shivered.
"It's okay," Gil whispered to her, even pulling off his jacket and putting it around her shoulders, despite her having her own. "Nothing is going to happen to you, Thena."
As strong and inhuman as he was, it still sounded somewhat empty as a promise. She let him pull her off the main streets and aside, in front of an old, dimly lit laundromat.
She took him in, watching as he checked that no one was lingering or looking, able to catch them saying something incriminating. "Gil."
He knew what she was asking. He gave her his full attention, taking her hands in his. "Anything you wanna know--go for it."
There was a myriad of things. She looked down at their joined hands. "Why didn't you tell me it wasn't dead?"
"I wasn't sure either," he professed, and she believed it was honesty. "Even if I had my suspicions, I thought it was just scare you if you knew."
She frowned, "I may be human, but I'm not going to cower at the idea of some story."
Maybe that was putting on a brave face of sorts, though. Looking that thing in the eye had been the single worst experience of her life.
"I know," Gil conceded, though. He ran his thumb against the outer edge of hers. "I should give you more credit than that. But I honestly didn't know how to tell you--or anyone. Not even Sersi knew."
That was clear, at least. Sersi had looked completely aghast at the idea that the thing had spoken.
"I don't know if the rest of us know either," he leapt into the next leg of his honesty. "We don't exactly talk much."
She supposed she could understand that. Humans didn't necessarily excel at keeping in touch with their families either. "Perhaps you should try to talk, at least now that you've seen it again?"
He sighed heavily, but nodded.
She huffed more impatiently; she wasn't his mother, or some nagging girlfriend. She wouldn't be the sidelined love interest urging him to go do what he needed to while she waited indefinitely for him. "Gil, whatever that thing is-"
"It's a Deviant, the things we killed--we thought! The last one I fought was in the 17th century," he grumbled, although as soon as he gave her hands a squeeze he relaxed himself again. Did it take practice for him to learn not to squeeze too hard with humans, she wondered. "But that thing...I think maybe it has something to do with Ikaris."
She frowned, "Sersi's ex-husband?"
He glanced around, as if Sersi would catch him talking about it and give him hell for it (they really were siblings). "We haven't heard anything from him or Ajak, not even after the blip."
So, they were aware of the blip! And by the sounds of it, none of them had blipped. Now, she shad even more questions (she had blipped, mercifully, it sounded like).
She gulped. "What does that mean for you?"
He shook his head. He didn't know either. But he was still holding her hands. "I-I don't know. But, Thena-"
She leaned in, tilting her head up to kiss him. It wasn't their first kiss, by any means, but it felt just as significant.
When she leaned back, Gil had the most grave look she had ever seen on his face. "Tell me that wasn't a goodbye kiss."
She wasn't entirely sure, in the moment. But it was not, at the very least, a petty breakup kiss. She gave his hands a squeeze of her own before stepping back. "It's a 'I-trust-you'll-tell-me-more-when-you-know-more' kiss."
That made him brighten considerably, and she was frustratingly happy to see his smile return.
"Gil?" Sersi's voice floated over to them from around the corner. "I guess we need to talk."
He made a face, as if his sister needing him was more trivial than the impending doom they had just faced. He looked away from the corner and back at her with those big brown eyes of his. But she gave him a look. He rolled his eyes, "fine."
Sersi was waiting with Dane, also hand in hand with her human. "You know what we have to do."
"Unfortunately," he grumbled. Thena nudged him; her hand was also still clasped in his. "Let's get home first, try to catch our breath, okay?"
"Not a bad idea, I think," Dane spoke up surprisingly firmly. Gil had described him as someone rather nervous, but perhaps he had an underlying confidence to him when needed.
Thena smiled at the way he kept Sersi close to him. It didn't bother him in the least that his partner was immeasurably strong and fast in comparison, perhaps not even that she was immortal. Watching them walk ahead, they were just a couple whose date had been ruined.
Her last date with Gil had been dinner after work, talking about her day, asking him about the food and what he thought. He had mentioned her meeting his sister, and his sister's new boyfriend he wasn't totally sure about. It was unfortunate that these were the circumstances under which they were actually doing so.
"Hey," he whispered, leaning close to her as they walked a few paces behind. He averted his eyes as Sersi laid her head on Dane's shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she let out a breath. It looked inviting, although she wasn't sure if she and Gil were in that same place in their relationship. She wasn't sure what their relationship was anymore, entirely of her own doing.
Gil was the one to decide. He pulled his hand from hers, only so he could wrap his arm around her waist. She stumbled into him but he used the opportunity to press his lips to her forehead. "Whatever is about to come our way, I'm glad you're here with me, Thena."
She closed her eyes, relishing the small window of affection. She wasn't sure what was coming their way either. But she was here for it--she was probably a little too willing to face whatever was to come, all things considered. For someone who had told him she needed time, she had come very close to professing her love on what she had thought was her deathbed mere moments ago.
But she should probably decide if she was his girlfriend or not first. "I'm with you, Gil."
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