#Thena says oh y'know...

[softquietsteadylove]

love the Thenamesh 10 Things (I Hate About You) AU, can we have some more

"Lookin' for someone, sweetheart?"

She knew it was a mistake to come here. Thena rolled her eyes, "the person in question is not you, if that's what you're implying."

"Well, you look pretty far from home," yet another metal shop monkey leapt down from working on the back of a truck to approach her. "You must be here for something."

"Nothing with which I need your assistance," she barked at them, but the garage boys were far less intimidated by her hissing and snarling than usual prep boys. She curled in on herself more but held her shoulders straight, her purse on her shoulder and a hoodie clasped in her hands in front of her.

"No?" the first one circled in closer, like a jaguar circling its prey. "Try me, sweetheart."

"Kind offer," she snapped at him, leaning away from his imposing body language (and odour). "I'll pass."

"How 'bout me, then?"

"What about me, princess?"

"Do not call me that!" She moved forward to hiss at that one right in his face. The rest of them laughed. She had walked too willingly into the wolf den.

"She's fiery, boys!"

"I'll be going, since none of you can assist me," she huffed, ready to turn up her nose and walk out."

"Not so fast, sweetie pie," the first one slapped his hand over the door frame, blocking her exit. "What kinda hosts would we be if we didn't even offer the lady some refreshments?"

"I do not want anything the likes of you enjoy."

"Not even a beer?" he laughed right in her face, back to encroaching on her personal space. "Cig? How 'bout the roofie special?"

"Leave her alone."

Thena backed up until she hit something solid, hands steadying her at the arms. She looked up, unsurprised to see the lower jaw of a familiar face. "Gil?"

"Back the fuck up, all of you," he directed the rest of the boys in the shop, still holding Thena by the shoulders. "She's not here for you."

"So, this is Gil's little princess, huh?"

"Come on," he whispered to her, refusing to dignify the animals' howls with a response. He led her out of the darkened garage and into the sun, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she scowled, adjusting her purse on her shoulder as soon as they were in the sun again. "I cannot believe they are offered employment."

"Well, they're not really," Gil answered her unasked question. "The owner does employ you if you're good, but mostly the garage is open for you to do your own work, if you bring your own parts and stuff. That's why they all hang out there."

Thena tilted her head, eyeing him, "I didn't imagine that was the crowd you ran with."

"I don't," he scowled at even the implication of it. He eyed her in return, "what are you doing here, anyway?"

Her back straightened and she huffed, "looking for you."

"Okay," he walked closer to her, his hand at her back, guiding her further still from the shady garage, "but why, Princess?"

Thena gripped the hoodie in her hands, "to return what is yours, of course."

"Hm."

"What?" she snapped at him, but he didn't even reach for the hoodie of his in her hands. "You did state that I could keep it last we met. Now I'm returning it!--or have manners of even that level escaped you?"

But Gilgamesh didn't rise to any of her snapping or sniping. He looked her over again, as if he could read her like a completely open book. "No."

"No?" she balked. "N-No?!"

"No, that's not why you're here," he chuckled, resuming walking whether she was following him or not. "You wouldn't go this out of your way for that thing."

Thena gripped it tighter and trotted a few steps to catch up with him. "Oh, and you know me so very well!"

"I know you pretty well by now, your ladyship," he chuckled right in her face. His teeth looked fine--maybe he hadn't smoked for that long before they met. "And that is not something you would do just to return some stupid sweater."

Thena twisted it in her hands, and Gil really didn't seem to care. She shifted on her feet and he raised his eyebrows at her. "I need a ride."

"Whassit?" he held his hand to his ear and leaned forward (bastard). "Can't hear you!"

She huffed, feeling the sting of indignity in her cheeks, "my car is in the shop and Sersi is at Dane's, can I please have a ride?"

"Oh, I see," he snickered, enjoying the idea of her being indebted to him already. "Your Highness needs a ride from li'l ol' Gilgamesh, eh?"

"Never mind," she growled, tossing his hoodie at his stupid wide chest, "I'll walk."

"Hey!"

Gil caught the hoodie against him with one hand, grasping her by the waist with the other. His face lost the gleeful smile he'd had a minute ago. "You're not walking all the way home alone."

She glared at him, making a point of wrenching herself away from him, "you've no need for the veil of chivalry. It is broad daylight, I'm sure I'll be-"

"You're not, Thena," he repeated, moving into her space again.

She gave him her most withering glare, "I don't need you."

He met her icy stare with his own, "no, 'cause you don't need anyone, right Princess?"

She pulled herself away from him again, wrapping her arms around herself, "forget it."

"Thena," he called after her, but she kept walking. "Thena!"

She huffed at herself; she knew she shouldn't have come looking for him. Not this time, and not that time on the beach either. So, why did she keep doing it?

"Thena, please."

She turned, maybe shocked because she wasn't sure if she could remember hearing 'please' from that mouth of his before.

"Please," he repeated, entirely serious and holding his arm out for them to cross the street, "Thena."

She sighed, adjusting her purse again. "Fine."

Gil waited until she was beside him again to even start walking. He hold the balled up hoodie in his hand, "you can keep this, y'know--if you want."

She eyed the hoodie she had actually been wearing in the comfort of her room for the past several weeks. "It's yours."

"Consider it yours."

"What if I don't want it?"

"Too bad."

Thena let him lay the thing over her shoulders again, trying to tell herself it wasn't familiar or comforting or nice and warm. "If you insist."

[ask-dgs-221bbakerstreet]

heya everyone!! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ it's your favorite little sister from the future!

soooo polly left for khura'in again a few days ago, and now it's just me, daddy, and athena... (╥﹏╥) the service over there isn't that great, or so i hear, so it might be a while before apollo says anything again. but!!! i won't let that get me down, especially ever since hearing polly might actually be a distant relative of daddy's!

anyway, business has been reaaally slow lately, and i'm getting ready for university so i can't help out as much as i'd like.ヾ(`ヘ´)ﾉﾞ which is why i'm hanging out with athena today!! we haven't been able to spend time with eachother as much so i thought it would be nice to do that, and since she hasn't met you all yet, i thought she could introduce herself today!!

apparently, she's going to set something up for her big reveal! i'm not sure what it is, but i'm handing my laptop to her right now just to set it up!! ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ

- trucy ☆♪♡

......

Hmm...

This has got to work somehow...!

.......

...........?

!!!

Trucy, get over here! It actually worked!!!

!!!

Seriously...?!

I knew you could do it, Athena!

Aww! Thanks, Truce!

Bonjour!! I'm Athena Cykes, Attorney at Law! I work with Mr. Wright and Trucy, here at the Wright Anything Agency.

I'm also pretty good at analytical psychology, which I helped to implement in the courtroom!

You're not just pretty good, 'Thena! You're the best!

Well, you all already know me! Trucy Wright, magician extraordinaire, in the flesh!

We probably won't be using this method of communication much, since it took so much time to set up, but Athena wanted a big entrance so...

It was a fun few hours, though!

Hehehe, I couldn't help myself!

W-Well, anyway! I hope to talk to more of you soon, especially Miss Mikotoba! She really inspired me to become an attorney, among other things.

Cykes Out!

Get a grip, Athena!

Shut up, Widget! You're ruining my moment!

- Athena Cykes ☆

((athena 2d sprites!

i hope this wasn't too much, mod! i had a lot of fun making it, i probably won't do too much of this but athena just had to make a big entrance y'know!))

---

THIS IS INCREDIBLE!

I would love to see more of your technology, Thena!

I wonder, has future technology been adapted from ours? This seems quite like Daddy and I's projections.

O-Oh, I inspired you, Miss Cykes? That's so wonderful to hear...

It's wonderful to meet you, Athena Cykes! Everyone else says hello, too!

[valorandgold]

@devotionobsessed​ said:

Apollo was really unsure about this. Athena kept pushing him into doing it though and he at this point had no other choice. Box of pocky in one hand, and using the other to nervously scratch his burning cheeks.

He's never actually played the pocky game before, so Apollo was pretty sure he was going to screw this up.

"Umm... HEY JUNIPER!" Crap, wait maybe he should calm those chords of steel for one second. The more anxious he got, the louder they seemed to be though.

When he grabbed the girl's attention, his heart felt like it was going a mile a minute. "D....Do you wanna play the pocky game...? Y'know, where we both nip a side of a pocky and... Umm...." He swallows nervously, feeling a lump in his throat.

"We.... We.... try not to kiss or break the pocky I guess. I'm sure you wouldn't wanna play with me so I'll just be on my way haha." He was already ready to book it if he heard any kind of rejection.

“A-Aaah!” Juniper nearly jumped out of her skin when Apollo spoke, well, a bit too loud. In her opinion, his voice could be just as strong as he was, though he didn’t always seem to have full control over it all of the time. But despite being so startled, she didn’t mind, a deep blush appearing in her cheeks

“A-Ahh...h-hello Apollo. You, um, you startled me. B-But I am happy to see you!” She gave him the brightest smile she could muster, which, to be fair, left her positively beaming. Oh, if only he knew just how happy to see him she was...not that she would ever say so, of course.

“...Pocky game?” The brunette tilted her head. She knew what pocky sticks were, but she’d never known there was a game to it, though she had overheard Thena saying something about it being Pocky Day earlier. If he thought his heart was racing though, he had no idea just what that meant in comparison to how Juniper thought her own heart felt when he described the game to her.

“O-Oh...I-I, um...I never heard of that game...b-but...” She didn’t know what to say or even think in that moment. Did he want to do this with her? Did he want it to end up as a kiss? Was it a shy way of making that happen? Oh, but why would he ever want to kiss a girl like her? Where had this even come from? Even if it was Pocky Day, why would she be the one-...no, no, Junie, stop thinking so much and just start doing! I-It’s okay...if he really doesn’t want to kiss you he’ll just break the stick and it’ll be what it’ll be, right? A-And if he doesn’t...but if he doesn’t, what does that even mean? Oh gosh, I don’t even know if I can do this!

It took several moments of mustering some courage and she tried her best to not appear to nervous. ‘A-Ah...no, it’s fine I-...” She swallowed heavily. Why would her hands not stop shaking? “I-I’d be okay with trying it. I-It sounds like fun.” Oh Junie, what have you gotten yourself into now? Of course, things would have been even more complicated if she’d known this was being done with Athena’s encouragement.

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello! 🫣

I had this idea: thenamesh academic rivals?

Gil is a top student, mostly getting a mark of 100. but whenever Thena asks her rival what he got he always says a lower point (for example he says 97 and she got a 98) , hiding his exam behind his back 🫣

Thena glared at the chair next to hers as it was taken.

"Uh," Gilgamesh attempted - yet again - to strike up a casual conversation, "hey."

Thena tapped her papers on her desk, waiting for the professor to come in, as well as tell them how they would be conducting the labs with their students for the day. "I trust you've already looked up what your score for the mid-term was."

"What was yours?"

Thena clenched her teeth in her jaw. It didn't matter what she got, he would get just the same, if not better. She had worked her whole life to become a historical scholar, as was expected of her. And this guy always managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with her, seemingly without so much as blinking. "I achieved 98. I believe the two point demerit was due to my oversight in the essay section."

Gilgamesh merely nodded, offering a nervous kind of smile. "Ah, well, the essay parts are always the toughest."

She slid her eyes over to him. She didn't truly wish to know, but she also couldn't resist knowing. "And you?"

"Ninety..." he trailed off, as he always did when they were discussing their academic performance. She glared at him to finish, "seven?"

Thena smiled, although she did her best not to appear smug and unbecoming. "An admirable mark."

"Thanks," he laughed off, like it was nothing. Professor Stoss was a famously tough professor despite his young age, and getting any good mark from him was already a feat.

Thena did somewhat believe that the affability Gilgamesh possessed made people go easier on him. And even then, she had to concede that he was intelligent and competent in their field of study. It infuriated her.

She had the weight of the world on her in the expectation to perform. She was even a teaching assistant entirely to advance her studies and career. Otherwise, the interaction with other students was far too much for her own preference.

But Gilgamesh said he was good in historical studies merely because his mother had possessed a fondness for them. Thena devoted hours to studying and research and Gilgamesh worked part time at a diner close to the university. And yet he used to consistently beat her in every assignment and quiz and test.

Only in recent months did he seem to be coming just a single point under her, and even that was not enough. Thena had already heard from her own family how outstanding this no-name student was and how those in their field of work were asking about him.

"Did you...do anything this weekend?"

Thena looked over, somewhat astonished that he was still trying to make conversation with her.

He shrugged, tapping his fingers anxiously on the cover of his textbook. "I heard there was a fancy party for the TAs, I mean. I assumed you went."

Thena frowned. There was indeed an event for the faculty and their chosen assistants--those who showed promise enough to earn extra credits in teaching. She hadn't attended because she felt no need (nor did Phastos, in her defense). "I assumed you had gone."

"Oh, no," Gilgamesh smiled down at the desk. "I take the late shifts on weekends. They're long, but we don't get many people, so I can get studying or work done, y'know?"

Thena swallowed her words. She had all this envy for his natural skill, but his work was just as legitimate as hers. And he worked to pay his rent, living off campus, while she lived in a dorm for female academic leaders. Gilgamesh stole his time studying as opposed to building his entire life around it.

"You deserve to enjoy yourself a little."

She looked at him again, still frowning. "I beg your pardon?"

"S-Sorry." He went back to staring down at the tattered edges of his textbook. But she kept looking at him, waiting for him to elaborate. The silence worked, dragging his words out of him. "I just mean...you work really hard, right? You're always top of the class. You should be allowed to have some fun, sometimes."

She did work hard. She devoted every waking moment of her life to her studies, and the one person who continuously thwarted her attempts at perfection was the one to point it out?

It would be easier to be angry with him if he were dislikeable in any way. As it stood now, all she had to go on was that he always beat her in academic achievement, and so effortlessly at that. But even with that, she had to concede that he worked just as hard, if not harder than her for it! And it was infuriating!

"Sorry," he repeated, looking away from her glowering at him.

She sighed. "No, I'm sorry. It was an innocent question."

He looked at her, completely astonished. She would like to snap at him for thinking she couldn't even just apologise for being overly adversarial with him. But that would defeat the point. "Well, I know you don't really like small talk."

It was that she wasn't good at it. She angled herself in her chair, destroying her perfect posture to face him somewhat more properly. "Should you not have also...enjoyed yourself? When do you have time to socialise if you are either studying or working?"

"Well, I have friends I can see in my other classes," he shrugged.

Oh. Yes, of course. Thena felt her hackles raise again at the idea that she was so unfamiliar with the idea of having friends in any of their classes. But she was trying to be nicer to him.

"But," he offered another sheepish smile, bending closer to whisper like children trading a secret in grade school. "This class is my favourite."

Thena just stared at him. She supposed that made sense. He always said he had the same like of history and classics that his mother had. But the idea that she was included in the categorisation of his favourite anything; a warm feeling spread in her chest.

"The lovebirds are here already."

Students began filtering into the small lecture hall, facing them seated at the front of the room. The one who made the comment plunked down close to the door. Another one looked in their direction, "don't you two ever sleep in?"

They got jokes and insinuations that they were together all the time. Apparently, everyone could see some kind of brewing, invisible tension between the two of them. Thena always found it ridiculous.

"We don't-!"

The student startled, as did the rest of the room slowly taking their seats. The declaration was sharp, and loud--far louder than was needed for a room this size.

Thena felt warmth rush to her cheeks, first for the outburst, then the realisation that it seemed overeager to deny something that wasn't even said. She cleared her throat, turning towards the board (since she had shot to her feet in her denial). "Sit down and start copying."

The student body present groaned but obeyed. Gil was the far preferred teaching assistant because he didn't scare anyone, and even if they under-performed, he had kind encouragements as opposed to scathing condemnations.

"Guys, come on, you heard her."

Thena barely glanced over her shoulder. There was nothing new about their students complaining about her teaching methods. But Gil usually didn't take quite so stern a tone with them. Even in her defense.

He peeked at her with a smile, perhaps hoping to show that he was indeed her ally and not her enemy.

Thena whipped her head forward again. So long as they were pitted against each other in any setting, he was no friend of hers. No matter how winsome his smile was.

[softquietsteadylove]

heyyy 🫶🏼🫶🏼

can we have some more spicy ten things I hate abt you AU?? I really loved the last one!!! And can we also have Thena being vulnerable to Gil? I love your writing so so sooooo much 🫶🏼🫶🏼

—- Eternalfanatic (I forgot my account password lmao) 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

"Hey."

Thena furrowed her brows, determined to keep on kissing him as their hips moved together. She tangled her tongue with his, trying to dissuade him from interrupting things.

"Thena?"

She huffed, pulling away and bracing herself on his shoulders to glare at him. "You keep saying how much you enjoy our intimacy, yet you insist on interrupting it!"

Gil wore a sheepish expression, despite literally being buried inside of her. His fingers tapped on her bare back. "I do!"

"Then why," she growled, leaning forward and forcing him completely under her again. Not that she enjoyed the thought of his eyes having a full on feast of her naked body. But she enjoyed being on top--it gave her the control she so desperately needed, especially at times like this. She dug her nails into his shoulder, "are you?"

He sighed, glancing away as if they were having a light, normal conversation, and not in the middle of having sex. "Well...is something on your mind?"

"Now?!" she barked at him. Neither were close to the point of no return, obviously, but she wasn't exactly ready to call things off and have a little heart to heart, either. "You're asking this now!"

"Sorry," he whined faintly, holding her hips still as she tried to resume their pleasure. He gave her a distinctly concerned look. "I'm happy you came over and all. But I dunno--you seem kind of...angry."

She was.

"If you wanna angry fuck, then fine," Gil amended, holding her hips more firmly. "But I'm not some exercise bike you can use to blow off steam and then ignore."

Her brows raised. It was the first time he had expressed his qualms about their relationship so clearly. He had a right to, of course, and she knew he was right, too. She was using all the benefits of their closeness without offering any return on his emotional investment.

Gil made room for her as she lifted herself off of his completely erect hardness and flopped onto the bed beside him. "Y'know how they say 'don't go to bed angry'? Well, I'm pretty sure they would say don't have spite-sex, either."

She shook her head, staring up at his ceiling with her arms wrapped around herself futilely. "Sorry."

He shook his head as well, also staring up instead of at her. It did make things feel a little easier. "I'm sorry--I should have asked before we got into things."

In all fairness to Gil, she had positively pounced on him as soon as they were in his room. He wouldn't have had much time to voice his concerns before she was undoing his belt and asking if that box of condoms still had anything in it.

"So?" he prompted, slipping his hands under the covers and over the tent in his sheets. "What pissed you off?"

At the moment, he was at the very top of that list. But that also wasn't fair, and she knew what he was asking and how he meant it.

They had met at the party, as promised. And things had been fine. Sersi had found Dane immediately and Thena had happily left the young lovebirds to flirt and giggle through the evening. She and Gil were talking, relaxing a little out of the thick of the crowd. It had been fine.

"Ikaris," she began. Part of her almost wished the solitary statement would have been enough, but she knew it wasn't. She tugged his sheets up more firmly around her. "When I went to find the recycling."

Which there wasn't one, much to her frustration.

Gil nodded, both of them still flat on their backs. "What did he say?"

Thena gulped. Looking up at the white painted ceiling of Gil's room was easier. The spots hastily plastering over something exposed, the edge where ceiling met the brick walls. "He asked me what we were."

"Oh."

She sighed through her nose. She hadn't had much intention of telling him this. Truly, the desire to tell anyone at all any of this was completely absent. But she owed Gil this much. "I told him to fuck off and mind his own business."

Gil snorted.

But the story wasn't nearly so simple. "But he guessed we were together in at least some capacity. He asked...he asked if I was finally ready to get off my high horse and just fuck--in his own words."

Gil sat up partially, his face drawing in and suddenly radiating a righteous indignity on her behalf.

She reached over, pressing on his chest and making him resume looking up at the ceiling with her. It was the only way she was going to get through this.

"His pursuit of me...he did earnestly try to date me. At least, I thought it had been earnest," she dragged out of herself. It was her least favourite thing to remember of all her life, it wasn't coming out easy. "He had wanted to advance rather quickly. I told him I hadn't done anything with anyone and I doubted I was ready for it with him."

Gil waited through her heavy pause.

She sighed, "he laughed, and laughed, and laughed."

"I'll kill him."

She shrugged, "even that would be more attention than he deserves to be paid. I sent him away and he's thought derisively of me ever since. That's why my contempt for him runs deeper than simply him being a prick, and him thinking he has some right to my sister."

"Wow," Gil scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain, "I thought he was a creep but I didn't know he was a disgusting bastard."

Thena inhaled slowly, running her hands over the sheets. "Sersi doesn't even know. I've only told her that she is not to even so much as speak to him."

Gil had the wisdom not to offer his opinion on things, as least just yet. But he reached over under the sheets until he could grasp her hand.

She let him. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

She shook her head again, her hair a hopeless mess on Gil's pillow (and he only had one, so of course he saved it for her). "It's not fair to you."

He sat up, apparently - unfortunately - done with the anonymity of avoiding eye contact. He leaned on his knees, "I guess not."

She had been the one to state it, but his quick and firm agreement still made her stomach clench. "I-"

"But it's not fair to you either."

"Hm?" she blinked up at him. She expected some lecture but he leaned down again, stretching his body out against hers and scooping her waist into the grasp of his strong arm. She sighed as he kissed her.

"I hope I don't have to tell you I'm not like that asshole."

No, he didn't.

He pulled away, looking at her so tenderly that she wondered how she could ever muster the effort to be cold with him. "But I shouldn't have to tell you. You should just...feel it, or something."

He had his own eloquence, and she found it unwittingly charming.

"Thena," Gil frowned, holding her against him, both of them on their sides. "Were you ready--when you first came over, I mean? 'Cause if you weren't, I can't-"

She leaned in, kissing him again to divert the trajectory of that thought. "I came over, I initiated the kiss, I told you I was ready. Is that not enough?"

But he didn't rise to her bait. He stared at her like he would never see her again if he blinked. "I...I...I really like you, Thena."

It certainly wasn't what he had initially started saying, but it still made her freeze like a deer in headlights. Excitement and dread flooded through her in equal amounts.

"I'm not asking you to feel the same," he whispered, and she had to admire that he was strong enough to say that, while she was too afraid to even tell him she liked him in the first place. "But I'd rather you know. And it has nothing to do with, uh, this. I liked you before. I liked you as soon as I saw you glaring at me at the theatre beside Sersi."

She rolled her eyes, because there was no way that was true.

"So, even if you don't wanna hang out anymore, or come over like this," Gil trailed off into a mumble, his eyes drifting downward. "Then, that's okay. But I'll still like you--unless you tell me not to, I guess."

She smiled--even laughed. There was just something so earnest and sweet and charming about this delinquent. She kissed him again, just for the enjoyment of it. It was actually rather dangerous, how much she liked kissing him.

Gil laid his head down again. She really needed to get him another pillow (such a boy thing, to have only one). "Sorry, but I guess I'm glad I interrupted."

She supposed it was out of concern for her. Although there was still a faint ache within her, and the insides of her thighs were quite sticky. "Was angry sex so bad?"

He grinned, satisfied that she seemed in better spirits. He ran his hands over her back again, "not that it's bad. But I prefer making love."

Thena let him lure her into making out again. It was a great excuse not to look at him as he expounded such romantic nonsense. "I've never met a boy who called it that."

"Well, I'd call myself a young man, at best," he protested with a faint pout (before kissing her again). "And I think it's only fitting, if I'm gonna worship you like the princess you are."

She didn't have a clever comeback for that, gasping as he latched onto her neck. "Do you still have that condom on?"

"Yeah, but let me do something."

She half expected him to pick up the firm and nearly frenzied pace she'd had before. To roll them over and start absolutely ravaging her. But all he did was move her onto her back and lie himself over her. He stayed close, his head always hovering within kissing distance.

"This okay?" he whispered as he pushed into her again, much more slowly and gently this time. "If I wanna get romantic with the girl I like?"

It was so juvenile, so trivial sounding. And yet when he said it, her heart and her brain screamed in joy. She never felt so elated, despite her fighting against this very thing.

"Gil," she gasped, her hands on his chest as he thrusted slowly but steadily. They had actually never been in this specific position before. It felt intimate, even fore the act of physical relations. Her legs splayed out on either side of him, but her foot was pressed to his calf muscle, as if scared he would slither away from her. Her hands were on his warm skin, she could feel his rapid heartbeat.

"Thena," he moaned as he picked up speed.

Looking into his eyes was too much. She didn't know where he ended and she began. She was being too vocal and the longer she looked into his eyes the more red spread through her cheeks and down her neck. She clung to him. "Fuck, Gil."

"Thena," he groaned again, panting and grunting and meeting her lips in hasty, open kisses.

"Gil, please," she whimpered, her voice thin and high like the last note on a violin. She didn't want to, but she slung to him desperately. "Please, please come with me."

"I'm there, I'm so there," he confirmed. Neither of them had the stamina of seasoned experts, but she felt so much more acutely than usual every movement and breath he took.

Making unfathomable sounds while rutting her naked body together with a boy she liked: she was no princess. She was just Thena, and she was unfortunately quite in love with the boy in bed with her.

And the boy was quite a fine man, she purred as she felt him come first, within the condom, his muscles twitching as he held himself over her. He stayed close but made an effort not to put his full weight on her.

She accepted it eagerly, lifting her hips as she came around him. Her thighs gripped either sides of him, soft flesh to soft flesh. She had no control over her body, or her voice, although he helped absorb some of the sounds of her ecstasy directly against his waiting lips.

They laid like that, both catching their breath. Gil moved first, but her legs tightened around him, unwilling to part with him just yet, even in his softened state.

"You feel good?" he asked aloud (needlessly). He kissed her cheek.

"Hm," she purred, still languishing in the feeling of his skin against hers. She ran her hands over the sheen on his skin and the hair there, fine as it was. "Don't make me move yet."

"Okay," he chuckled, kissing her forehead and only moving enough to lie himself down not quite on top of her. "Whatever her ladyship wants."

It was a teasing nickname, but she didn't even have it in her to scold him for it.

"Does this mean you'll stay?" he whispered, the light touch of his fingertips on her cheek tempting her deeper into sleep.

"Hm, I shouldn't," she sighed, curling against him on her side, even as her energy left her. That was all she got out on the matter. It was simply too tempting to remain all snuggled up with him. He certainly had no complaints, even as she felt him moving around to clean up or some such.

If he wanted to be her boyfriend, then he could be her boyfriend. And that meant letting her sleep as long as she wanted.

[softquietsteadylove]

Gil makes friends with an unusual Pokémon and this one decides very stubbornly he wants to be his partner Pokémon to someone who never really fought a battle.

Gil has no idea what to do and asks Thena for help

Snap!

Gil looked down, dread filling him from the neck down. Under his boot was a very nice leek stalk. And a very nice, very sturdy, plucked leek could only mean one thing. He looked up, "uh..."

"Farfetch'd!"

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" Gil held up his hands as the furious Wild Duck pokemon stormed out of the pondside grass and towards him. "I didn't mean to!"

"Far-Farfetch'd!" Well, of course he hadn't meant to, but what was done, was done!

"I know, I'm sorry, really!" Gil continued to plead, even holding up the snapped leek. "I would never-!"

The ruffled bird pokemon continued to glare at him, the marking of its 'unibrow' making it look even more severe. It snatched back the two halves of the leek from him in a huff. "Farf!"

"I really am sorry," Gil repeated, sadder this time as he watched the Farfetch'd look at its beloved leek forlornly. He removed his hat and pressed it to his chest. "I can help you find another one."

"Far?"

"I will," Gil nodded, already resolute to help no matter what duties he was putting off by doing so. "I'm a pokemon ranger. I took an oath to help any and every pokemon that needs my help."

The pokemon looked skeptical at best. It even crossed its wings at him in a look of pure disbelief, "Far-Farfetched."

"Well," Gil ruffled his hair in the face of the pokemon's skepticism. "No--but if you tell me what you're looking for, at least I can help you look twice as fast, right?"

Farfetch'd continue to glare at him, mostly, but he could see the expression on its face lightening. It slapped its webbed feet on the grass a little more firmly, "Farfetch'd?"

"I won't leave until I make this right," Gil vowed to the small avian pokemon, holding up his hand like he did on his first day of initiation.

Farfetch'd did not seem moved by his solemnity, but it did shrug its wings before tucking its broken leek under one of them. "Far!"

"Yes, sir," Gil chuckled. He wasn't used to such a non-confrontational - at least with humans - pokemon being so bossy. But the obstinate little duck reminded him of someone. "So, uh, I know the basic height and shape, but what else should I know?"

"Far!" he squawked back at him as he began rooting through the lower grasses as Gil searched the higher stalks. "Far-Farfetch'd-Far."

"Right," Gil murmured, directing his attention to the colours of the stalks of choice, as well as the thickness of them. This would be Farfetch'd's primary mode of protection, after all. Even if Farfetch'd mostly only confronted other Farfetch'd, he would still need to defend himself.

"Farfetch'd?"

Gil looked up and over, although Farfetch'd was entirely focused on the task at hand. He just wasn't used to making small talk with a wild pokemon. "Uh, y-yeah, I have a, uh, family...of sorts."

"Farfetched?"

Gil blushed faintly, batting some taller water grass out of his way. "I don't know if I'd say a hatchling, but we have a...we have a Teddiursa. I rescued him and he imprinted on Thena, so-"

"Far?"

"Yes!" Gil huffed, feeling agitated by the bird's overly direct line of questioning. He really tried not to let pokemon get him on the 'mate' topic, though. "She has a house up at the top of the mountain."

"Far," the little pokemon mused aloud, tapping the bottom of its beak. Only very strong trainers and pokemon chose to live so high up and in the open.

"Yeah, she is tough," he chuckled. "I think you'd like her."

"Fetch'd," he looked back over at Gil, still with no leek suiting his fine tastes. "Far-Farfetch'd."

Gil laughed, picking one with potential, "nah, I'm the lucky one. I love my job, but they also make it nice to go home to someone, y'know?"

"Far." Farfetched looked down at the grass beneath its feet, even the feathers at the top of its head sinking lower.

"Oh," Gil uttered gently, taking in the suddenly more melancholy Farfetch'd. Sure, not everyone in every colony managed to find a nestmate, but he couldn't imagine what it was like to be the only one without that feeling of having a family. "Hey."

Farfetched look up at Gil, letting him pat the top of his head, feathers and all. He sighed.

"Listen," Gil smiled down at the little guy. "I know it's hard to really devote yourself to taking care of everyone else. It takes a lot out of you, right?"

"Far," the pokemon reluctantly agreed, the weight of his responsibilities to the flock weighing on his wings.

"But you're doing great work, right? I bet your colony has been really safe all these years with you," Gil attempted to encourage him. "You may not have hatchlings of your own, but you've helped keep all of them safe."

"Far?"

"Really," he smiled, taking a seat next to the reticent duck. "That's kind of what it feels like to be a ranger, y'know?"

"Farfetch'd?" it tilted its head at him, also seating itself properly.

"Well," Gil shrugged, ruffling his hair under his hat. "Being a ranger is a tough job. And I'm not saying rangers never think 'oh, this would be so much easier if I had my own pokemon'. I'm lucky I have a Dragonite I hatched from an egg, but a lot of rangers don't have pokemon who are really bonded to them like that. We don't believe in it."

"Farfetch'd?"

Gil sighed, tugging at the collar of his vest. "Pokemon are amazing creatures, and we're lucky to share our world together. I don't wanna force any pokemon to be bound to me, in a pokeball or otherwise. Even Dragonite--I hatched him, but he doesn't have a pokeball. If he didn't wanna stick around, or be a ranger, he didn't have to be. He chose that life."

"Farfetch'd!" the bird pokemon squawked, starry-eyed at the idea of a pokemon having such a designated and impressive job.

"Yeah, he's the best," Gil laughed in agreement. "And now our little Teddi is a ranger too! Well, a ranger in training. He's still a Mama's cub when he gets home."

"Fa-fa-far," Farfetched chuckled into its wing.

"Don't tell him I said that! If you ever meet him," Gil rushed to amend. Teddiursa felt very strongly about being babied these days.

"Farfetch'd," the bird agreed, nodding and raising a solemn wing as a promise.

"Thanks," Gil sighed. He looked at Farfetch'd again. "So listen, I get it. It's hard to devote your life to the service of others like that. But you're doing good work, and I'm sure your colony really appreciates it."

"Far," Farfetch'd hummed, tapping its beak again. He looked up at Gil, something about his expression shifting.

"I really admire you, and all the work you've done," Gil tipped his hat to the pokemon.

"Farfetch'd!"

"Huh?" Gil blinked at the sudden demand. But Farfetch'd jumped back onto its feet, flapping his wings, repeating the request to see his life as a ranger--to meet his family! "I-I don't-"

"Far-Farfetch'd!" he repeated. He wanted to see what it was like to be a colony protector of a different kind! He wanted to see life outside the grasslands! And he wanted to know more about this ranger.

"I don't really, y'know," Gil paused. He had just described how he didn't really have a partner pokemon, and Dragonite and Teddiursa somewhat fit into that category for him. But he didn't think it was an invitation.

"Farfetch'd," the bird pokemon stood tall, though. "Far-Farfetch'd."

Gil looked at the stubborn pokemon. He had to admit, he did make him think somewhat of Thena and how hard headed she could be sometimes. Farfetch'd was a pokemon who was used to being a diligent protector and caretaker. He would probably fit right in with them. Gil sighed.

"Far?"

"I don't have pokeballs," he held his hands up. "But if you wanna just come and...see the ranger centre--I guess that's fine. Don't get ahead of yourself, okay? I'm not...catching you, or anything."

"Fa-fa-far-fetch'd!" he laughed in the face of his reluctance.

Gil rolled his eyes; a pokemon laughing at him would fit right in with Thena's pokemon just fine. "Okay, let's go I guess."

"Farfetch'd!!!"

"Right, s-sorry," Gil nearly tripped. He had almost forget they had to find him a replacement leek first.

[softquietsteadylove]

Thena decides to do something nice for him, a sweet little gesture. Like making a snack (like sandwich or something) after he comes back from shopping with his mother all day for preparation of their wedding?

For the proposal AU

"Okay!" Gil huffed as he set down all the bags his mother had bought in the few hours they had spent out shopping (although it had felt like an eternity). "That's everything."

"Thank you, honey," Ajak smiled, patting his arm as he leaned up and stretched his shoulders. "I know you must be tired after letting me drag you around all day."

He did agree, but he smiled and bent down so his mother could kiss his cheek, "it's okay, Mom, I don't mind."

"Hey!"

"Ugh," Gil greeted his siblings - and cousin - less warmly. "You guys are so loud."

"Speak for yourself," Sersi jabbed her brother in the arm. "You're plenty loud! Plus, Mum told us she was out with you."

Show us the goods! Makkari bounded down the stairs two at a time, much to her brother and mother's worry.

"Hey," Gil shooed them both away from the bags at his feet, "not everything is for you, y'know. I don't even know half of what's in here."

"Oh, look at these," Ajak smiled, though, eagerly showing her daughters what she had unearthed at the various decor and furniture stores they had visited one town over.

Kingo sauntered down the stairs last, giving Gil a pat on the shoulder. "You really made it all day?"

"Somehow," Gil shrugged, letting how tired he was show on his face. It wasn't even that he minded shopping with his mother, but not only did he still not know what they had shopped for, but he was also exhausted from hauling around said unknown things, loading the car, the heat etc.

"All of you, make yourselves useful," Ajak commanded her children. "Gil already unloaded the car for us, the least you can do is do the rest of the work for him."

Sersi and Makkari immediately picked up the bags that had any sign of fabric in them, either articles of clothing or something for the tables. "Oh, these are lovely!"

"Aren't they?" Ajak beamed, following them up with a few bags in her own hand. She looked down at the bend of the staircase landing, "Gil, honey, show Kingo where I want that other stuff?"

"Sure," he called up after them as they disappeared. He looked at Kingo, who looked about as eager as he was; he sighed. "Back porch."

Kingo nodded, picking up as many of the bags as he could carry, "this stuff's heavy! What's even in here?"

Gil shrugged, picking up one and slinging it over his shoulder, despite the promise that he would not be required for anything else today. "I dunno--tealight holders, and centrepieces and...napkin rings? Whatever she thought we still needed, dude."

Kingo dropped the bags off in the sun room, pulling out the various accoutrements. "Weddings sure do take a lot of...things."

"That's what I keep saying," Gil lamented as he set down his bag, although he happily stepped away and let Kingo unload the contents for him. "But Mom keeps coming up with stuff and I don't really know enough to say why we don't need it, just that we...don't."

Kingo picked at the edge of one of the candle holders shaped like flowers of some sort, "I mean, you and Thena want something pretty simple, right?"

"Uh," Gil shifted. He never was good at lying to Kingo (or in general), "yeah. All this just...isn't our style."

"I mean," Kingo set the crystal decoration down, adjusting it in the sunlight, "it is pretty."

Gil watched it cast light around the room, thinking about how Thena's eyes could have a little gold in them in the right light. "Pretty."

Kingo looked at him, "I mean, I know T keeps telling Ajak not to go to all the trouble. But is she disliking what's going on?"

Gil shrugged. Thena seemed just as tired as he was, in many ways. But in other ways, he could tell she was liking being around his family. He knew that she was unused to family to this degree of closeness. But she didn't seem to dislike any of what Ajak was actively doing.

"Sersi and Kari are having a lot of fun with their sister-to-be."

Gil blushed faintly. All they could talk about was how excited they were, and how much they loved Thena, and how they could always tell he liked her when he told them about her as a work friend.

"Maybe she'll like it once it's all," Kingo waved his hand vaguely at the various decorations, soon to be arranged properly, "put together."

"Maybe," Gil mumbled, slipping his hands in his pockets. "I don't think she's paid much attention to wedding stuff before, uh-"

"Before you started talking about it?"

Gil squirmed. Kingo had such a know-it-all tone sometimes, he could swear he was just testing his nerves sometimes. Gil shrugged, "yeah, I guess so. And even then, we just...I don't know."

"Hey, it's okay man," Kingo shrugged, as if he hadn't asked Gil some of the most pressing questions he had received yet. "Not everyone is into the whole wedding scene."

Yes, and it definitely wasn't because they were total frauds. Gil had somehow just barely dodged the question of how he had proposed to Thena, thus far. He mostly offered the lame excuse of 'it just sort of happened' to suffice for now.

"I guess," Gil tried to wrestle off his tongue, "I just worry it's overwhelming her, sometimes."

Kingo nodded sagely, "this family can be...overwhelming."

That was the easiest way to say it at least.

"Hey," Gil frowned, "where is Thena, actually?"

Kingo gave him a much warmer smile, pointing, "she's been in the kitchen for, like, twenty minutes."

Gil knew that didn't necessarily mean disaster. But he did rush a little to get there. She was no master chef, that was to say. What pans she did own all had completely scorched bottoms.

"Gil?"

He slid into the kitchen, at least finding no immediate source of danger. Actually, there weren't even dishes in the sink. "Uh, hey."

"Hey," she blinked, still taken aback by his entrance, "are you okay?"

"Fine," he mumbled, trying not to seem like he was actively checking for signs of a fire. He smiled, "what're you up to?"

"Oh, well," Thena dried off her hands, looking a little...sheepish? "I heard you were out with Ajak all day getting wedding decor."

Since arriving, he had risen at the incredibly early hour the rest of his family did, although always saving a plate of breakfast for when Thena rolled out of bed later. He would text her if he was out doing something, for her to check at her leisure.

"Yeah," he chuckled, relaxing now that his panic was subsiding. "Every time I think we must have everything we need by now, Mom thinks of something else she wants to get."

Thena looked down at the kitchen island, her gentle smile melting away, "she's gone to so much trouble for it."

"Hey," Gil said gently, moving closer to her. And he thought he was feeling guilty about all this. "I keep telling her we don't need all this. I think she's just having fun with it, now."

Thena sighed, leaning into him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Your family is so sweet. I feel as if I'm taking advantage."

"I don't know," Gil smiled. First of all, if anyone was taking advantage, it was him. And second of all, "Mom's pretty damn excited to have you here. I haven't seen her this excited to have the rest of the family over in forever. I keep reminding her my dad's coming and she hasn't even broken anything in a fit of rage."

Thena gave him a look, but at least she was smiling again. She tugged at his jacket before moving away, fully pulling it off of him, "what about you? You must be tired."

"I guess," he sighed, spinning to let her put his jacket over her arm while he sat on a bar stool. "Long day, but it could be worse."

"Your mother does call you the perfect son for a reason," Thena teased, squeezing his - very sore - shoulder.

"Aw, she's just sappy," Gil excused, as if he wasn't just as sentimental as his mother. He groaned, "I should start dinner."

"Just sit for a little first, Gil." She said it more firmly than he was expecting her to. He looked up at her beside him, "you're doing so much already."

"I guess," he sighed heavily, already thinking about whether to have a snack or just graze on his ingredients until dinner was ready. He didn't even know what was in the fridge, he had so much on his mind.

"Eat."

Just like he would make for himself at home, a sandwich slid in front of him. It was sourdough (which he baked, obviously), piled high with both pastrami and spicy salami, thin cut tomato, cheddar and gouda cheese, lettuce, banana peppers, spicy mayo and grainy mustard. It was perfect.

"And eat the salad. I'm sure all you've had today is half your mother's iced coffee and a croissant."

He hid his guilty smile as he inspected the sandwich, even cut diagonally like he liked. He turned the plate, admiring the fresh salad. Thena could put together a nice salad--it didn't require any heat, and so long as it didn't involve broccoli, she would actually eat the vegetables in it.

This was what she was doing?

"What?" she frowned at the look on his face, "what's wrong?"

He shook his head, smiling at the sandwich and even more at her. "It's...beautiful."

Thena made a face, nothing short of amused, "Gil, it's a sandwich. I've seen you make it at your place enough times already, and you should have a real meal for yourself before you worry about making one for everyone else--again."

He wasn't getting through to her. He smiled, pulling her hand into his and linking their fingers together, "thanks, Thena. It's perfect."

"Well," she started and stopped, as if her breath caught in the middle of it. She cleared her throat, looking away from him and their linked hands, "you sit and, um, enjoy. I'll...ask if your mother needs help with anything."

"'Kay," he sighed, letting her go forlornly as if she were leaving for the week and not just going upstairs. He let her hand slip away from his, keeping contact with her for as long as possible.

She gave him one last fluttery, fleeting smile as she left him to his snack, choosing to busy herself elsewhere.

Gil picked up one of the halves, going for the thinnest point of the diagonal to start, just the way she knew he liked to have his sandwiches. It really was perfect, and not just considering Thena could barely be trusted to make a grilled cheese for herself.

It was easily the best thing Gil had ever eaten.

[softquietsteadylove]

How about protective Gil in the Doctor AU? 👀

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaby will you come pick us up peas?

Gil smiles at the text again as he parks and walks up to the bar. Thena agreed to go out with Ajak and some of the other nurses from the ER for someone's birthday. Usually she's too tired and cranky to really keep up with the voracity of the nursing staff, but she really gave it a try tonight.

He walks into the bar, giving the bartender a wave and pointing towards the back. At this point, it's mostly the hardcore crowd left, the young ones having left for trendier or cheaper locations.

"Gil!"

"Hi ladies," he chuckles as the gaggle of nurses celebrates his mere arrival. "I got the distress call."

"It's so sweet of you to pick us up," Ajak stands and flits over to him. She's obviously buzzed, but everyone else seems borderline blackout. It's really a testament to her tolerance. She hiccups and pats his arm, "we said 'let's get an uber' and Thena said no, I have someone better."

Gil blushes.

"She said Gil'll come riiiiiiight over," Ajak continues to coo at him, "her knight in shining harmour."

"That's me," he smiles obligingly, letting Ajak giggle over it. He looks at the two other nurses who lasted this long, lying on the table and ready for bed. "Where's Thena?"

Ajak furrows her brows, physically counting the other two at the table. She looks at Gil with a pout.

"I'll find her."

Gil walks briskly, looking for any spot of blonde in the bar he can see. If Ajak is buzzed then it's likely Thena is as drunk as the other two. She doesn't really have a tolerance anymore, and usually she would have called it quits long ago.

He turns a corner and risks hanging around the bathrooms, listening for her. He pulls out his phone.

"Lookin' for someone, handsome?"

"Girlfriend," he says point blank, sending the woman off. He holds his phone away from his ear so he can hear Thena's ringing. He sighs, rolling his eyes, switching tactics.

The familiar beep of her buzzer is much easier to hear.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's my pager," a voice growls/slurs from off in the corner. "S'for the hosp'al."

"Right, you're like a nurse, right?"

Gil follows the fractured conversation to probably the deepest, darkest corner of the bar. Thena is trying to walk back into the more lit end of the corridor, but the guy next to her keeps pulling her back into the shadows with him.

"Hey!"

The guy looks back at Gil, not too concerned with his very concerning behaviour. He's done this before. "Hey man, I'm just takin' the lady home."

"Oh really?" Gil glares at him.

"Yeah, she's had one too many, so," he shrugs.

"So," Gil comes right up to him, "you were just gonna...take advantage of her when she's too drunk to consent--is that it?"

The guy rolls his eyes at Gil (the fucking nerve). "Come on, dude, don't be that prick."

"Baby!"

The guy turns a comical shade of white as Thena finally gives up on trying to read what was paged to her and throws her arms around Gil's neck. She snuggles into him gleefully. "Uh-"

"Hey hon," Gil speaks softly against her temple. She really is drunk, although at least she's more conscious than the two nurses in Ajak's care. He wraps his arm around her waist, "sorry I'm late."

Thena giggles, looking up at him with glassy eyes. "I knew you'd come and get us."

"Shit," the stranger curses. He tries to move but Gil is in his way. "Look, she didn't mention a boyfriend."

"Did so," Thena whines, "I said my husb'n is pickin' ussup."

"Sweetie, stay right here, okay?" Gil kisses her cheek and helps her lean against the counter outside the bathrooms. Once she's stable he grabs the guy by the shirt and pushes them backwards into bathroom. "We're gonna chat."

"Look, this is-"

Gil winds up and punches the guy full force. "You don't say a fuckin' word."

He can't anymore, his lip is cut and he's barely conscious after one punch.

Gil marches him all the way to the back wall, throwing him against it. "Y'know what I should do with scum like you?"

The guy sputters and coughs on the blood in his mouth. His tooth tumbles out, "y-you can't-"

"Oh, I can," Gil snarls at him, shaking him by the shirt to knock his head against the back of the wall. "I'm not doctor, so as far as I'm concerned, I don't have any reason not to beat you to death in here."

The guy pisses.

Gil huffs, tossing him down and stepping away. He likes these shoes. "I'm gonna let the staff know you're in here. And if you ever show your face around my wife ever again, I'll finish what I started in here."

Thena is still leaning outside, waiting for him. She looks up with the same enthusiasm, as if registering he's here for the first time. "Baby!"

Gil smiles, pulling her into his arms and inhaling the scent of her hair. "You're too beautiful for your own good, sweetheart. I'm gonna have to keep a better eye on you."

"Okay," she sighs, happy to agree to it while she snuggled into the front of his hoodie. "Can we go home?"

"Of course, baby," he kisses her forehead and lets her lean heavily on him as he walks back into the main bar. He waves to Ajak, "I got her!"

"Let's move out, team!" Ajak declares, although she has to pinch the other two nurses to rouse them. That being said, once they're awake, they do shoot to their feet with frightening speed and stability.

"Hey," Gil waves to the bartender again. "There's a guy in the bathroom, someone beat him up pretty badly. I heard he spiked someone's drink, though. You should probably keep an eye out if he tries to come in again."

The bartender accepts it at face value. Gil has been in here enough as a medic for other barflies that he doesn't get questioned about it. That asshole will never be allowed in here again.

Thena looks at Gil, all of her brain power going into putting two and two together, "did...did you beat him up?"

Gil laughs; she's cute when she's tipsy. "Don't tell anyone."

She sighs and slumps against him again, "I won't."

They hit the open air and immediately a few of them are walking straighter. Gil unlocks the car from a distance, "doors are open, ladies. Back's free, but-"

"Don't worry," Ajak laughs, herding the other two across the street, "we'll leave the front for your lady love!"

Gil shakes his head; they're really not as out and official as Ajak makes it seem. He looks at Thena beside him, though, "you okay, honey?"

Thena really thinks about the answer. "Hm...missed you."

Gil smiles, kissing her forehead again, "I missed you too, love. Did you have a good time, at least?"

Thena nods, her steps getting smaller and slower, "it was nice. But they're tooooooooo much for me."

"I think they're too much for me too," he concedes. He loops Thena's arm around his neck and sweeps her up into his hold, carrying her the rest of the way. "It's okay. We'll get you home and in bed and I'll make you a nice hangover cure tomorrow."

"'Kay," Thena happily presses her face into his shoulder. "You're good at bein' a husb'n."

Gil kisses her forehead again, "I've been your husband for a while now--I hope I'm good at it."

[softquietsteadylove]

What about Thena was the one visiting Gil in the gym and then she saw him having a sparring with someone, maybe the sparring got a little personal and then she started worrying about him.

Gil shook his head, blinking after yet another hit.

"Why so distracted, Gil?" Ikaris asked with a frown, shaking out his own gloves as they circled each other. "I'm startin' to think you're letting me get these in for free."

Gil rolled his eyes. Ikaris was only this chatty when he was trying to blow off some steam. He guessed that was why he'd dropped by in the first place. "Y'know, some of us have day jobs. I've been at this all day, ass hole."

"Come on," Ikaris scoffed as Gil finally pulled his gloves up again. He immediately got his fists up, giving him a few taps, glove to glove. "The Gil I remember could go all day in the ring."

"The Gil you remember was twenty-something," Gil growled back. Ikaris was on break from the pro circuit, and obviously feeling restless about it, looking for a fight to exercise some of his excess energy. "He could go all day 'cause he had nothing better to do."

Ikaris threw a haymaker, followed by a swift uppercut. Gil blocked both easily. As much as his technique and reactions weren't what they used to be when he was still pro, he was still as strong as ever. "Oh, so you do now, is what you're saying."

"Shut up," Gil grumbled, throwing a few punches of his own, as much as his heart wasn't really in it.

"What's got the ol' grizzly bear finally on somethin' else?" Ikaris chortled, having entirely too much fun roughing Gil up for his own amusement.

"You come here to spar or did you just want a therapy session?"

Ikaris threw a suckerpunch straight down the centre, nailing Gil in the teeth.

Gil swiped his tongue around his mouth and walked over to his corner, spitting the blood into his empty water bottle. "That's what I thought."

"Y'know, I was talkin' to one of those gals from across the hall on my way in." Gil felt his blood run cold. "Real cutie--maybe you should chat up the other one some time."

Gil's mind flashed to the idea of Ikaris, leaning against the wall, chatting up Thena--his lovely Thena. Ikaris was always a real heartthrob of the league, always had fans, always had admirers. Gil felt his blood rushing in his ears.

"I think she liked m-" Ikaris stumbled back as Gil laid into him. That was the guy who was the strongest in their weight class by far--maybe the strongest in their league at the time. He held his gloves up. "Shit, Gil!"

Gil only saw red, focused entirely on the thought of Ikaris flirting with his girlfriend mere minutes before coming in here and challenging him to a 'friendly match'. He gripped Ikaris' hair, pulling his head up. "You leave Thena out of this."

Ikaris grunted. "Who the fuck's Thena?"

"Huh?"

Ikaris pried one of his eyes open, sure to swell terribly by the time they were done. "Name's Sersi."

Oh. He...he had been talking to Sersi. Which made sense, since Thena was probably still in the studio practising, while Sersi was the one who usually left on time with the rest of the class.

Ikaris blinked his good eye at him. "Gil, man, I don't know what you're on about. But I haven't even met the other one. If you're-"

Gil dropped Ikaris, unceremoniously at that. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and pulling his gloves off. That was more than enough for today.

Ikaris grumbled as Gil helped him off the floor of the ring. "I didn't come here expressly to piss you off, believe it or not."

"Sorry, sorry," Gil murmured, helping Ikaris through the ropes and joining him on the bench. "Got a little...in my head."

Ikaris spat a little more blood into his own water bottle and raised a brow at Gil. "I saw the other one in the studio--blonde little thing? You and her...?"

Gil blushed, pulling out fresh water bottles for the both of them. "Something like that."

"I certainly hope it's more than 'something like that', Gilgamesh."

"Thena!" he blinked, looking up as she walked in with her usual lovely smile on her face. He stood, rushing over to her. "When did you come in?"

"I saw little of your fight, actually," she confessed to him. "I just peeked in to see what you were doing, and then I was worried about distracting you."

Gil fidgeted, guiding her by the shoulders further away from Ikaris' curious gaze. "That's okay. I'm sorry you had to see us going at it like idiots, though."

Thena smiled though, "I have seen plenty of fights backstage myself. I am no stranger to conflict."

Gil nodded. He didn't want to imagine what kind of damage ballerinas could do, if they all had the muscle strength and stamina that Thena had.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, raising a hand ever so delicately to the scuffs around where his headgear had been.

Gil chuckled, letting her take a feel for herself with her silky soft hands, actually glad for how cold they felt for once. "I'll be fine. Ikaris is an old friend from my pro days."

Thena glanced over Gil's shoulder briefly, nodding her head to the bloodied gentleman on the bench. She raised a brow at Gil, "that was what constitutes a friendly match?"

"Well," Gil shrugged, but left it at that, with no desire to admit that he'd completely lost it in a fit of jealousy. He took her hands in his. "You done for the day?"

She smiled up at him, nodding and letting him hold her hands, his warmth taking over the cold that she always seemed to have. "What about you?"

Ikaris stood from the bench, reaching for his bag and walking - more or less - in the direction of the changing rooms. "Don't let me keep you. Gil, I'll take y'out for a pint after my next match, aye?"

"Sure, man," Gil waved, actually grateful for Ikaris' miraculous moment of social awareness enough to excuse himself. He winced as Ikaris bumped into the wall next to the door a little, though.

Thena squeezed Gil's hand. "Perhaps I should tell Sersi your friend may be in need of a ride back to his hotel."

Gil chuckled. So, she had witnessed Ikaris chatting up Sersi, and perhaps the feeling was mutual between them. He felt as relieved as he did silly for worrying. "I think that's just what he needs. But what about us?"

"Us?" Thena gave him a coy smile. "Well, I thought we had plans for dinner at mine."

Gil leaned forward, pressing his face into her soft shoulder, inhaling her perfume. "That sounds perfect."