#Thena is going to realise she's in love with Gilgamesh if it's the last thing Ajak does

[softquietsteadylove]

Thena watches her gladiators while they train. And she certainly enjoys watching her champion while he trains 👀

Ajak smiled to one of their many advisors before they bounded off. She turned to Thena beside her, "do you remember a single word they said?"

"Do you?"

"Thena," Ajak frowned, although her daughter was not nearly as chastised by her tone as she might have liked. Thena turned her head faintly, looking out into the courtyard as they walked. "You cannot avoid them forever."

"Forgive me, Mother," Thena smiled tightly. Usually, she did her best to avoid royal duties all together. But she had made her mother the promise that, if she were allowed to stay by Gilgamesh's side while he recovered, that she would never deny her mother again.

A promise she still did not regret making, no matter how many meetings and banquets and diplomatic invitations she had to endure. Gilgamesh was alive and well, and she had kept her promise to her mother since.

"Speak of the devil."

Gilgamesh, former Champion and now Captain of the Guard, was training the new recruits. Newer, younger gladiators who would need to know how to handle themselves in the ring in the name of Queen and Country.

"He is a fine teacher."

Ajak eyed Thena beside her, not that her daughter was paying attention to anything but the man directing their new gladiators. She cleared her throat, "there are questions, my dear--about your marriage?"

"What about it?" Thena mumbled, head practically craned so she could watch Gilgamesh as he gave a lesson on wrestling, seeming about momentum and using an opponent's size against them.

Ajak huffed; Thena had developed somewhat of an impertinence about her since the Eros debacle. Ajak halted her steps, since Thena had come to such a natural halt herself. She tugged at Thena's dress, "about it happening, dearest. You are expected to choose someone now that you have all the power in the world to do so."

Thena continued to ignore her.

Ajak had been trying to get her daughter to consider marriage for years already. She was more than of-age, but the Queen also had vowed to never force Thena into something she truly did not want. And marriage seemed to be at the very top of that list. They were lucky she took the throne and had Thena when she was as young as she was. She had half expected to hand over the throne by now.

Thena tilted her head, admiring the Captain as he...worked.

Ajak sighed, shaking her head faintly. It was so plain to see, and yet Thena had not even mentioned a fondness for the Champion who fought for the freedom of her hand rather than the possession of it. Even Ajak could recognise the romance of such an action.

"You could choose him, if you wish."

Thena finally looked at her, torn from her revelry of watching a bunch of men - one man, rather - horse around. "Hm?"

Driven to distraction; Ajak nodded her head towards Gilgamesh, "I am sure he would find it most agreeable."

"H-" Thena blinked, her head moving between her mother and their chosen and promoted Captain of the gladiatorial forces. It happened a few more times, just for good measure, "G-Gilgamesh?"

Ajak laughed faintly, patting Thena's arm; she wasn't sure when her daughter had become so much taller than she. "Have you not even considered it, dear?"

Thena looked back at the Champion himself, who had his head thrown back in laughter with his troops. Her hands wrung in front of her, "I...I suppose not."

Horseshit. But Ajak held her tongue and tried a more gentle approach with her remarkably stubborn child-turned-grown-woman. "I would approve greatly. Not that I think that matters to you at all."

"Mother," Thena furrowed her brows at her as she patted her hands into submission. "Of course that would matter to me."

"Well," Ajak turned her eyes back to the Captain, who caught her eye this time. She offered a smile.

"Hup!"

Gilgamesh stood upright and dipped to bow to their queen and princess, the rest of his troops following suit.

Ajak moved into the sun of the courtyard, still holding Thena's hands and incidentally dragging her along. "Your training seems to be going well, Captain."

"Yes ma'am," Gil responded with a happy smile, despite speaking with the revered Queen Ajak herself. He looked at the recruits behind him, crossing his arms, "they have a ways to go, but I believe they will fight well for you."

"And you?" Thena asked eagerly, nearly cutting off the end of his words with her own, "are you healing well?"

Ajak nearly rolled her eyes; she had healed him herself, and it was weeks since he was able to leave a bed.

"I am," he smiled at her gently, though, his voice going as soft as a lily petal. "Thanks to you and your mother, my Lady."

Thena smiled.

Ajak took in a breath. This required more direct action, and for once, it seemed Thena was not in any mood for directness. She drew her shoulders up faintly and turned to her daughter, "Thena, I have another diplomatic meeting."

"Oh, yes," she agreed, per her promise. But her disappointment rang out from her like a gong. "We shall-"

"You can skip this one, dear," Ajak uttered quickly. This would need to happen fast. "It shall be brief, and nothing but politics. Perhaps the Captain would escort you inside for me?"

Gil startled but straightened his shoulders, "o-of course, my Lady!"

"Very well, then!" Ajak smiled at them before all but dropping Thena's hands from her arm and dashing away. She spared them a wave as she picked up the billowing white of her skirts to move as swiftly as possible. "You have my full faith, Captain."

Thena frowned at the odd statement from her mother, following her even more odd behaviour. "It is a walk; I would not think it required any strength of faith."

Gilgamesh shrugged, though, holding out his arm, bent at the elbow. "Still, it is escorting the royal princess. I'm honoured."

Thena smiled, indulging him as she settled her fingers delicately in the crook of his elbow. "Very well, then, Captain."

"Uh," a young voice cracked, "sir?"

Gil eyed his young bucks over his shoulder, "you can conduct yourself in my absence, right? I have important business with the Princess."

"Yes, sir!"

"Important business?" Thena murmured to him as they took their leave back into the shade.

He bent his head closer to her too, like children snickering about their teacher, "breaks are very important, my Lady."

The two laughed between themselves as he guided her back inside and out of the harsh daylight. Thena cleared her throat, moving her hand further from his bicep and more to his forearm. "How are you finding your new position, Gilgamesh?"

"The promotion was kind, my Lady," he smiled at her as they strolled at a leisurely pace through the open and breeze halls of the palace. "I've never been so rested."

"But do you like it?" Thena clarified, her eyes imploring the truth out of him. "Training the recruits?"

He chuckled, smiling at her more gently (if at all possible). "I love it, Thena. And I know it's because I needed time to heal after my fight."

It was a consideration most were not afforded, given the nature of their profession.

Thena sighed, eyeing his chest place in memory of the scars still there, "you should not have to fight after what you endured."

Gilgamesh shrugged, though, back to smiling blithely. "Part of the job, my Lady."

"Gil."

"Thena," he replied, laughing again. He patted the hand of hers on his arm with his other hand. "It was generous of your mother to promote me. I don't take it for granted."

"Yes," Thena agreed, warmth stealing into her cheeks. It was she who had suggested the promotion to get Gil out of the barracks and into a more comfortable position, both in work and life outside of it. "Mother is generous in spirit."

"You've had a lot of meetings since the tournament, huh?" Gil asked, more and more casual and comfortable the longer they walked together.

"Unfortunately," Thena sighed, also losing the polished edges she wore as Princess. She looked at Gil - just Gil - with a smile that was just Thena. "And they are all terribly boring."

Gil let out a laugh that echoed through the palace halls. Thena stared at it openly.

"Our advisors are demanding I select a spouse," she confided in him as they left the more open halls along the palace walls to the interior. "You would think Mother was abdicating tomorrow, based on their urgency."

"I'm sorry, Thena."

She looked at him in shock.

"I didn't mean to put that kind of pressure on you," Gil frowned in the softer light of the room. "It didn't occur to me that being free to choose would-"

"No."

He looked at her in shock this time.

"Don't ever apologise for that," she shook her head at him. "You...you have given me something no money in the world nor the crown itself could give me."

"Without you, I would be under the same expectation to marry, except that they would be chosen for me. If not selected by our advisors, then any challenging prince looking for a prize."

Gil frowned at the mention of Eros, even now that that particular thorn was removed from their sides. He gave her hand a squeeze, "I would never have let that happen, Thena."

She smiled faintly, her head tilting and her hair tumbling off her shoulder, "I know you wouldn't have. It is for that exact reason I will never have enough gratitude to gift you."

"Well, I don't know about that," Gil smiled at her, his lighter mood restored, "the fancy new bed I have in my palace room is pretty nice."

Thena did not manage to catch her laughter before it escaped, "Gil."

"Really, I mean it's nice, and the sheets!" Gil continued until Thena gave his arm a light shove with the back of her hand. It seemed to possess no force at all, and yet he looked at her as if it would rouse him from sleep. "Really, Thena, you've done more than enough. I'm the one who should be thanking you."

Thena just sighed as he brought her hand off his arm and up to his lips in a kiss. It was more gentle and reverent than any from a suitor could hope to achieve.

Ajak watched from behind one of many pillars offering her cover as she spied on the Gladiator who so possessed her daughter's heart.

"My Lady, we really should-"

Ajak shooed away the guard about to blow her cover. She really did have a meeting she had to go to. But this was far more important.

[softquietsteadylove]

Hiii!!

Can I request another part for the human Thena/eternal Gil Au but this time Thena sees Gil’s in action? You described his powers briefly yet so beautifully in the last part!

Thank you so much and please keep going I love to read your work!

The walk was quiet.

They had gathered at Sersi's flat to discuss what would have to happen from this point forward. Sersi and Gil - the Eternals - had whispered between themselves in the kitchen. Occasionally, they would glance out at their humans--herself and Mister Whitman.

Dane was still there, talking with Sersi. He lived close, and would also return when the rest of their plan was in motion. For now, all they could do was wait for the rest of the Eternals to arrive, and aside from one, that would take very real time to make happen.

Apparently, the only one who could fly was Ikaris.

Thena looked beside her. Gil had insisted that if she wasn't going to stay safely inside at Sersi's for an indeterminate amount of time, then he had to walk her home personally. And probably escort her back, now that she thought of it.

Gil's hand was warm around hers.

The first time he'd held her hand was after he had helped her out of a taxi she had taken to get to their second dinner date after work. In all her eagerness not to be late she had opted not to walk instead of just letting Gil know she would have to be ten minutes late at most. Because those ten minutes had seemed irrevocably important, at the time.

He had stood outside the restaurant, waiting for her like a gentleman. He paid her fare before she could protest and by the time she had the door open he was grasping her hand and helping her out. She had worn somewhat less comfortable shoes to work to have ones for their date. Gil had kissed her hand and complimented her.

He'd held her hand the rest of the way to their table, too. They talked all through dinner, then through the multiple desserts Gil had ordered so as to try as many as possible. They talked through coffee and then it eventually became clear that the restaurant was attempting to close, and they were the last patrons taking up their space. He'd held her hand when they walked home, too.

Gil felt her staring at him and turned his head. "You okay?"

It was a loaded question. She had survived her first real Deviant attack. It was possibly the first of many, if she intended on sticking around. Even if she didn't, that thing had known her name. It was doubtful she could be rid of the experience even if she did decide to abandon ship and try to forget she ever knew Gilgamesh.

And how could she do that? It would be simply impossible for her to forget the whirlwind love she had met not even a few months ago.

"Thena?"

She managed a smile for him, although it didn't seem to comfort him any. It was an unconvincing as she thought it was. She gave his hand a squeeze though, "I should be asking you that."

He scoffed, waving his other hand in front of him dismissively. "We've been fighting these things for ages."

She looked towards the river on the other side of the street. She might never look at it the same way again, she realised. "Not that one, though."

She heard Gil sigh through his nose before looking at him again. "No, I guess not."

Thena slowed their pace until they were stopped. It was late enough, plus all the chaos downtown left them the street to themselves. She faced Gil head on, taking both his hands in hers. "I realise you can't get nearly as hurt as I can. But I don't think anyone would be unaffected by facing a monster like that."

Gil's face turned somber. Melancholy didn't suit his cheerful features, but he stroked her hand with his thumb again. "I really am sorry, Thena."

"It's not your fault."

"But-" he argued and nearly tripped over his words to do so. "That-that...thing!--it knew you because of me. If I had known-"

"Gil-"

"I never would have let it live." His tone grew dark, and she really believed the anger behind it. She hadn't seen him mad much either, but his words were fierce as he grasped her hands. "I would have hunted it down and made sure it was dead."

"Gil," she attempted to soothe him. The concern was for her, but all she could think was that it didn't suit him to seem so unhappy. She liked seeing him smile and hearing him laugh more. She raised her hand to his cheek, "you may not get that luxury, you realise."

He put his hand over hers, turning his head so he could kiss her palm. "I've got nothing but time, Thena."

Her stomach twisted as the massive - truly infinite - gap between them was brought to the forefront of her mind again. It felt almost trivial; she had no business fretting over the status of her relationship while that beast still walked the earth. But she leaned closer. "Well, I don't."

Gil looked startled by what she said, but he leaned down to accept her kiss. She had seen his strength earlier tonight, but he was so incredibly gentle with her.

She tilted her head at him, his fingertips in her hair from holding her cheeks. "I want more time with you, Gil. So, we'll figure out a way to make that happen."

His eyes flickered for a moment, and she could almost swear she could see those little glowing specs of gold within his eyes. He leaned in and kissed her again. "I want eternity with you, Thena."

It was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her, and on probably the worst night of her life, too. But she grasped the edges of his brown leather jacket as they parted. If golden energy lived in his eyes then surely a painfully obvious love lived in hers. "Gil-"

"Thena!"

Gil pulled her behind him instantly. The spray from the river didn't quite reach them, but that thing landed heavily. Gil raised his fist. That funny compression of air happened, her ears felt the change and a sound like the air caving in on itself fell over them.

Gil didn't wait for that creature to come over to them. He didn't leave it room to escape, either. He held the vines emerging from its neck and landed his hit. It was like canon fire--if not by sound, then by impact.

Thena looked away, wind rushing purely from the force being exerted and traded through kinetic energy. Those gold flecks that looked like sparks floated by her again. She forced herself to look as Gil landed another two hits. "Gil!"

"You're not getting away this time!" he roared at his enemy, holding it with one hand. He didn't need both to do the damage he could. Sometimes his fist would raise and hold for just a second before coming down again, heavier than before.

Thena watched, seeing lines of gold tracing through the air as Gil moved. It was like a constellation moving, it was mesmerising, in a terrifying way. His fist would fly, sometimes double and triple layered with that energy. Then it would come down and that vacuum of sound would pop again.

The creature wrestled itself free from him, holding its disgusting claw hand over its own injuries.

Gil held his ground, not pursuing too far away from her but not retreating either. "I see what you are."

"Ay...jack...A-Jax...Ajak..." it was haunting to hear the thing speak. It sounded out words like it was learning them in real time. The maw of teeth it had shuffled around as it adapted to speech instead of primitive growls. "Ajak...pow...er...Ajak's...power!"

"Move!"

Gil could move quickly if he propelled himself with his own powers. He destroyed the cobblestones under his feet again as he launched himself at her. He scooped her up, narrowly avoiding the thing launching itself at them.

Thena shuddered, although it was Gil's body that made impact with the side of the building. She heard a crack, and she hoped it was the concrete and plaster instead of anything in Gil's body.

Gil held up his arm, keeping the thing at bay like a dog that was latching onto his forearm. He held it out as far as he could, but the thing's teeth were right there, its breath rustling her hair while she was tucked between Gil's defending arm and the safety of burying herself in his chest.

There wasn't much that he could do in this position. He was doing his best to protect her, but he couldn't make any advancement either.

Thena forced herself to look. That nightmare was right there, gnashing its teeth around the illusion of Gil's arm. His powers were absorbing the blow, but she had to wonder if there was a limit to his stamina.

"Thena?" Gil blinked as her hands moved.

She didn't know what she was doing. Maybe she was just making things harder for him. But she pushed Gil's arm with everything she had in her. Gil was the strong one, but maybe even he could use what little support her human arms could offer.

It was fascinating. It really felt like Gil's arm, but she could see the outline of his powers layered around him. It was humbling to witness something so powerful - so ageless - so close.

Gil wrapped his other arm around her waist. He leaned his shoulders forward and dug his feet in. "Hold onto me, sweetheart."

She squeezed her eyes shut as Gil spun them all. He had the strength, and it didn't take much to build momentum. They all moved as one, and on the second turn he threw the thing away.

Its massive, wiry body demolished the car it hit, sounding the alarm.

"Shit," he cursed, although his hold on her remained. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, although already upstairs lights in flats were being turned on. People would be out here and on their phones any second. "Gil, we should go."

"But that thing is-"

"You can kill it later," she hissed at him, already trying to usher him away from the street and down a darker alley. "You'll get another chance. But not if people see you and plaster your face everywhere!"

"I'm not letting that thing live," he growled through his teeth. But ultimately, he let her lead him away and into the shadows. "I can't let it find you again."

"Gil-"

Maybe all Eternals' powers had a sound to them. A high pitched rumbling sounded as a beam of light fired directly into the thing. Whichever Eternal that was, they certainly had no problems being found out by the modern age.

"Gil," Thena attempted to urge him away again, tugging at his jacket. But she also looked as the laser cut straight through the thing's neck. She moved closer to Gil as a figure floated down directly in view of their alley. It turned towards them.

"I'm surprised Gil," the man chuckled, "thought that thing would be easy pickin's for you."

"I was distracted," Gil scowled in his direction, keeping his hold on her all the while. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to help."

"I doubt that."

Thena looked between the two of them. She could only guess, but by context clues alone, she already knew the man was an Eternal, could fly, had laser eyes like some sort of comic book hero, and the accent was more anecdotal than anything. But still, she felt reasonably confident when she asked, "Ikaris?"

[softquietsteadylove]

Hiii darling, how are you?

I had a promt idea and i wanted to share it with you.

What about thenamesh being broken up 😈.

Like i know thats basically imposible because they can not be apart from each other for a long time ( but relationships are hard you know).

So they haven't seen each other in a very long time, and they completely over one another, they even dated other people, but both are currently single.

They are completely over each other, Gilgamesh is NOT constantly thinking about Thena's beautiful sunshine hair, or how smarth she was or her gorgeous long legs he could stare at all day long of course not, and is not like Thena everyday thinks about how charming Gilgamesh was, or how he could make her feel better just saying something dumb or how she got distracted just by looking at those big and strong arms of his, not at all they are soo over each other and they don't even wanna meet again.

But when they do see each other again it goes like this:

- Thena and Gil walking directly to each other whitout realising.

They make eyecontact and fully stop

They stare at each other intensely

Gil : Thena hello ! - dumb smile

Thena : Hello - small blush

The tension in the air can be cut with a butter knife

"Mamma mia" by ABBA starst playing in the background

And thats about it 😊, sorry for any mistakes english is not my first language, and thank you for sharing your works with us they are so beautiful, i love them all, they make my days better 🩷🤍.

"Come on, Gil, don't get all emo on us now!"

But he'd had enough--more than enough. He had only agreed to a night out with the boys because he had dodged them ten times for every one, and tonight was the eleventh hour. Even with all that, it wasn't enough to keep him in the pub with pounding music and the stink of smoke.

Thena hated the smell of smoke.

His friends would tell him not to think that way. For all the times he had sworn to them that he was over her, here he was thinking of her again?

But of course he was! Thinking about Thena was as natural to him as breathing, and the breakup had done nothing to change that. It still felt almost surreal sometimes, as if the last year and a half of his life was still in the haze of post-breakup blues. All the months spent moping around his apartment, the weeks after of being set up with blank face after blank face. He had even maintained a relationship eventually, only to have called her 'Thena' one time (entirely by accident).

He had omitted that part of the story to his friends when they asked 'what happened to what's-her-name?'.

Gil had tried the dating thing, but it was becoming clearer and clearer that it wasn't working for him. If it wasn't Thena, it wasn't for him. And that didn't bode well, considering they had parted ways with the stark promise that there would be no getting back together.

No regrets, they had said. He was going to put the hours into the kitchen that he needed to as the new head chef of a long established restaurant. Thena was going to focus her razor sharp intellect into pursuing her PHD while working at the museum. He had once called her the 'rock star' of the historical world. She hadn't appreciated it at the time.

For their shared declaration of no regrets, there were plenty. He had lamented to his friends how he hadn't expressed enough interest in Thena's work. He didn't watch the historical programs she liked to watch in bed; he fell asleep to them. Although in his defense, Thena never could get through a boxing match without checking a work email or swearing she was paying attention while she read something on her phone.

Thena was on the other side of town, in Sersi's old flat after she and Dane had decided to finally move in together. She had always done best with her own space, after all. Yet another regret; their half-assed compromise - which made neither of them happy - on how to use the second bedroom. Gil wanted a home gym and Thena wanted a home office. It ended up housing his exercise equipment cramped in with all the books she couldn't fit onto the living room shelves.

It was the truest compromise, in the sense that they were both left frustrated and unsatisfied by the results.

Really, it was them making old fights into new ones. He knew she liked having her own space. Anyone would, after growing up with an annoying twin brother like Ikaris their whole life, he could admit. But he hadn't really appreciated her bringing up that he was an only child as a reason for him not sympathising with her more.

It was little things, really. Little things that had just...piled up on them. Him kicking his shoes off hastily, forgetting that Thena had grown up in a preparatory school and liked everything arranged neatly. Her leaving her teabags piled up in the garbage instead of in the organic waste container he kept in the fridge, specifically because the kitchen was his domain and he didn't like unwanted smells hovering around.

Little things piling up; it was for the best, they had agreed.

And now, a year and a half later, here he was, outside a pub, in the snow. He checked his phone; the night was young, but his friends were enough pints in that maybe they wouldn't notice if he decided to just...leave. If they asked, he could say it was way later, they just weren't remembering it right.

He walked slowly, still staring at his phone. It was the blank, default phone background. He hadn't settled on a new one after needing to take down the picture of him and Thena on their trip to Australia. It wasn't any more pathetic than the rest of his life.

"Sorry," a soft voice uttered, scuffling feet in snow filling the air as they narrowly avoided one another.

Her eyes rose to meet his, still a sparkling green that contrasted the hair that was the colour of pure sunshine. She was dressed in all white, as she always was. He had always said it was her colour. "Hey."

The one word was like the cavalry call. Memories flowed through him. Some of the bad times. But the happy ones far, far outweighed them. There were so many happy ones it was a wonder they had ever decided they weren't worth the bad.

Thena was still the most beautiful woman Gil had ever seen. Her edges were so sharp, and yet she still possessed a softness--a fragility to her delicate frame. It was hard to tell under her long white coat if she looked different, but he remembered those long legs entwined with his in the hammock on their balcony. Her lips were still full and succulent like a berry.

"Hey." He smiled, and she smiled as well. There was a lightness to it that hadn't been there when she had left her key with him and closed the door behind her. "How are you?"

"Good," she answered plainly, as she always had. Her eyes darted down to the ground and she tucked some hair behind her ear, still a clear tell of when she was nervous. His heart skipped a beat as he caught a blush in her cheeks. "And you?"

"Yeah," he answered, not that it was much of an answer. He had yet to stop smiling, but she was still smiling too. "Restaurant's doing well--same old."

Thena nodded, some of her hair tumbling from her scarf wound loosely around her. "I read a review of it. Your praises were sung most eloquently."

She had such a poetry to her language. Some found it odd, but Gil had always admired her more elegant word choice in comparison to his easy and casual phrases. He had tried writing poetry, but he was no match for her simply describing how her day was.

"Yeah?" he grinned. The idea of her checking a review of his work was more than he could have hoped for. It felt like hearing that she had asked if he was seeing anyone.

"I'm not surprised," she stated more than confessed. "You have always been an excellent chef. I wouldn't have needed some culinary reporter to tell me that."

Emboldened by her olive branch, Gil stepped closer. "And how's the doctorate?"

Her pleased smile returned, her scarf even picking up in the wind and brushing the front of his army green jacket. She used to always put her hand on his chest for no good reason, whenever she wanted. "I'll be submitting by the end of this year. Nothing is signed yet, but I'm told things look promising."

His grin stretched wider. The word 'rock star' was on his tongue again but he inhaled, drawing up his shouldering instead of wrapping his arms around her and picking her up off the ground. "Hey, that's great! I mean, I knew you'd get it. You're way too good not to."

Thena's eyes drifted downward again. Her smile turned shaky and her hands went to the buttons of her coat. She swayed on the spot, as if unsure of which direction to lean. "Thanks, Gil."

The snow filled in the silence between them, Mamma Mia positively blaring from inside the pub. The flashing, coloured lights inside proved stronger than the tint of the windows, reflecting on the snow already fallen.

Thena broke the silence first. "I'm surprised you're out this late."

Once, that might have been a barb about how he always had to sleep early to get into the restaurant early (especially on nights when she had a work social at the museum). But that was years ago, and now it was a casual - if nervous - question asked in a playful tone.

Gil smiled. "Well, usually I wouldn't. But the guys have really started giving me a hard time about-"

He clamped his mouth shut, suddenly terrified of uttering the truth of his dismal life since her exit. Surely it was pathetic of him to tell his ex-girlfriend about how all he did was lie around watching the same five shows and living almost completely off of leftovers from work.

But Thena laughed. It was gentle, and light, and he still found it really cute. "So, you came out tonight just to appease them?"

Her laughter drew out his as well. His shoulders lowered and his hands shuffled around in his pockets. "Guess so."

Thena looked towards the dark glass of the windows. It took her a few minutes to build up to what she had to say. But rather than eagerly rush her, he waited, happy to admire her. "I have become even less social than before, if you can believe it."

"Wow," he commented outright, earning the mildest form of her glare possible. He chuckled, though. "I can't believe it."

She could have left it there if she wanted. But she kept holding her scarf at the ends, braving on. "It seems I've been a bit reclusive since..."

It was Thena to bridge the unspoken gap, utter those completely forbidden words. But in that way, it was also her extending her hand, asking him to take it.

Gil turned soft, as he always did with her. His voice lowered to nearly a whisper, like it would after she'd had a night terror and needed comforting. "I guess I have too."

She had closed the distance as much as she could. She needed more from him, going quiet again and staring into his chest.

Gil eagerly met her halfway, pulling his hands from his pockets and crushing her against him. It was just a hug, something friends could do (if she decided she would regret this, too). "I missed you."

But she slid her arms around him. She buried her nose in his jacket and he leaned over her, practically engulfing her in his arms. She inhaled, drinking in the scent of him.

"Sorry, I probably smell like fryer oil," he excused. She had always hated that smell.

She shook her head, still buried in him. "I missed it."

How was he not supposed to fall in love with her all over again?

"Hey," he said gently, only encouraging her to pull away enough to look at him. He brushed some hair from the crown of her head. "Would you wanna grab something? We could get a decaf...something--you still don't drink, right?"

Thena beamed as if he had asked her something so much more than just terrible coffee. But small things - like remembering that she didn't really enjoy drinking - always meant the most to her. "I'd love to."

Just hearing the word from her lips made his heart leap in joy. It remembered hearing that word so often from her. It wanted to hear it again.

"So, uh," Gil began, leading her away from the pub with her hand in his. Maybe it was too much to hold hands with someone he had just asked out, but Thena's hand held onto his just as firmly. "That 24 hour place is still open. I heard they have daily specials now."

"Sounds lovely." She hadn't become a conversationalist. But she held onto his hand, letting him go on about the pastries in the window and how it was under new ownership. He didn't mention how he couldn't even look at the place for the first two months after their breakup.

Gil looked at her but didn't stop walking as she leaned against him. "You okay? We don't have to go out, if you're tired. You can just come over and I can make you some tea."

She buried her face in his sleeve. "You think I'm the type to go home with you on the first night we've met?"

He paused for a second before letting out a laugh that would wake anyone out of a dead sleep. "Are you flirting with me?"

"You seem much more the flirtatious type."

Thena was happy to play coy about it, but he knew she was flirting because she was terrible at it when they'd first started dating. "Maybe I am."

"You could take a girl to dinner, first." It was light, witty banter, her favourite kind. She was relaxing more and more.

"How's tomorrow?"

He waited for her response, only able to look at the top of her head with her leaning on him. But it made him think of the beach in Australia when he had first told her he loved her. He had thought it plenty of times before, but that was the first time he had spoken the words. Maybe he would get the chance to say them again.

Thena adjusted their arms, linking them at the elbows, still revealing nothing of her expression as she said, "it's a date."