#Thenamesh Bodyguard AU

[softquietsteadylove]

For the bodyguard AU:

A crazy Fan attacks Thena with a knife on stage. Luckily Gil is there to protect her👀

The crowd was roaring with enthusiasm for her performance. She was coming off the high of a few straight shows that had gone well. The audience was feeling excited, and it had even spread to Thena, penetrating her pessimistic shell.

Thena waved to them as they applauded her efforts. She swallowed, feeling the fatigue in her vocal cords after the full set she had performed. Nothing like a full concert, but evident none the less. She backed up from the microphone.

"Athena! Athena, you're my goddess!"

Gil looked out from backstage, trying to find where the voice had come from.

Thena also scanned the crowd, but couldn't find anyone who might have been able to be heard so above and beyond everyone else. She tried not to let it show on her face.

"Athena, I love you!"

She looked closer to the front, wondering who possessed that voice. It was male, deep, rough. Everyone close to the barricades seemed to be younger fans jumping and waving.

"Athena, be mine!"

Her chest rose and fell more quickly. This was becoming more of a situation by the second, but she couldn't pinpoint the source. She took a few more steps back, her hand subconsciously reaching behind her for a comforting presence.

Gil emerged from backstage to meet her halfway. Usually his code of conduct - per the label's insistence - was to be present but not seen. But this was an exception, "come on."

"I said you're mine, you bitch!"

Gil pulled Thena behind him, holding out his arms and making his surface area replace Thena's tiny frame behind him. He searched the crowd for himself, with eyes trained to detect problems like this.

Security dove for the man, but he must have had training in something. Because all they did was provide him with a staircase of bodies he could use to launch himself onto the stage.

"Athena!"

Gil's eyes focused in on the knife in his hand. There were worse weapons to face, but the best one to disarm was none. He held out his hand, "put it down!"

The assailant charged at them, fuelled by either delusion or a more powerful, more tangible substance. He came in swinging, "she's mine!"

Thena curled up behind Gil, not able to do much else in the given situation.

Gil moved only as close as needed to grab the assailant's hands by the wrists. So long as he could overpower him, he could keep the threat minimal. "Don't even think about it!"

Gil was stronger than the freak jumping impossible distances up onto the stage. He raised their hands above their heads, not leaving much room to get stabbed in the crosshairs. "Let it go!"

Bodies in yellow and black polo shirts came rushing out; better late than never, at least. The venue security rushed the assailant, enough of them piling on the threat that it didn't matter what was in his system, he went down hard.

The knife clattered away across the stage. The crowd screamed.

Gil didn't wait to see what would become of the animal, or deliver any last words. He turned around, pulling Thena into his arms and rushing her off stage, "come on."

Thena clung to him.

"Move, move, out of the way!" Gil barked at anyone who so much as came near them. This was his job, this was his protectee, his client: this was Thena. "Make some room!"

He led them straight through the backstage and out of the building. He wasn't making any stops in any dressing rooms, Kingo would bring them anything they had left behind. His priority now was getting Thena alone and safe with him.

She followed him silently, clinging to him.

Gil held his jacket up and in front of her face as they made their way to the car waiting for them. As always, no matter how they tried, there were still fans clambering to get a glimpse of the Goddess of War in her human form. "Back up!"

Thena climbed into the SUV, immediately sliding over in the backseat so Gil could slide in after her, no need to go around to the other door. He jumped in, nearly cracking his head on the frame in his haste. He slammed it closed and leaned forward, "drive!"

The ride service didn't ask questions.

Gil put the divider up immediately, looking over at Thena, "hey."

"I'm okay," she exhaled, with only some trembling in it. She pushed her hair out of her face.

"Thena," he repeated, moving until their legs were squished together on the hard and uncomfortable leather seats. "Look at me."

"I'm okay, she repeated before he held her cheeks, guiding her gently to meet his eyes. Her face crumbled.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, pulling her into his shoulder as he rubbed her back. No matter how expected or calculated a risk it was, it was still someone threatening her safety and life. He never blamed her for feeling rattled by the actions of those obsessed with her persona.

Thena shook her head against him, still pressing her eyes into his suit jacket. She was dismissing herself.

"Hey, no one would blame you," he said gently, holding the trembling songstress. "He came at you with a knife, Thena. It never should have happened."

She let out a breath, even more shuddery than the last. "You shouldn't have to keep doing this."

Protecting her? "Thena, it's my job to do this. I'm certainly not gonna let you fight these creeps by yourself."

"I mean it!" she lifted her head, pursing her lips in that stubborn way she had.

He brushed away some of her tears, careful of the eye makeup she had on that was admirably still in place. "I do too, Thena. I'm not going to let anyone get away with shit like that."

Thena pulled back, brushing more of her tears off his lapel and clearing her throat, which any vocalist usually did their best to avoid doing. She sniffled, "this seems to keep happening."

Gil let her fuss over him, if it made her feel better about it, "a couple times in a year is a pretty bad streak."

Thena looked at him in the dim light of the back of the limo. "I know you're saying it's not a big deal, but I've watched you had to fight a few too many psychos for my liking. And I still haven't forgotten when that mob of Eros' little fan-children mobbed you."

Gil chuckled, "that was a pretty bizarre fight to have."

"I wouldn't call it a fight," Thena grumbled but sat back again with a sigh. She flicked some hair over her shoulder, "at least the show was good. Although I'm sure Kingo is already bursting a blood vessel over the coverage of that attack."

"It was pretty open to see that the guy was nuts," Gil shrugged, already reaching into his suit jacket for both their phones. "Limo's taking us straight home. Do you want delivery?"

She looked up from her phone as he handed it to her, giving him the saddest, greenest eyes, like a kitten in the rain. She nodded.

How could he ever say no to that? He opened the app, "mood?"

"Surprise me," she sighed, looking down at her phone to check what Kingo was saying.

"Okay," Gil chuckled, already knowing to order her a comforting bowl of ramen with some dumplings on the side. He claimed one of her hands with his, even though it hindered her texting greatly.

She did visibly have trouble texting Kingo back with only her left thumb and a phone wider than her slim hand's width. But she gave him a squeeze back, grateful for the comfort.

[eternalowl]

Fuck all my other drafts I’m gonna start a Thenamesh Hitman’s Bodyguard AU

[softquietsteadylove]

Hiiii!! I love these rare moments when Thena successfully cooks/bakes something for Gil! So how about she make something for him and it turns out good??

I think it would fit for the Bodyguard AU. If you think it would fit into another AU better please do it!

"Thena?"

Gil walked into the apartment, smelling...quite a few things, really. First and foremost, he could smell the evidence of something burning, which was his main concern.

Thena had told him not to bring food with him when he came over today. Apparently she was 'trying something'. He was pretty sure he had never seen her so much as attempt to use her fancy penthouse kitchen, so he wasn't entirely sure what she was 'trying'.

But she sounded excited, and that alone made him agree to it.

"What, uh," he blinked, on the verge of laughing when he arrived a true disaster in her stunning kitchen. There were bowls and failed attempts still in pans strewn everywhere. That was that weird burnt smell. He smirked, "is going on here?"

"Gil!" Thena emerged from behind the countertop with a bright smile. Her hair was pulled back and there was evidence of stuff all over her flawless skin. But she seemed positively elated to see him. "I'm so glad you're here!"

It was such a simple statement, but it really made his heart start flip-flopping around in his chest with glee. He shirked off his bomber jacket and laid it over the back of one of the counter chairs. "Is this what you've been up to?"

"Okay," she sighed, turning back to the stove.

It was going to take hours to get this place looking presentable again.

"I remember you telling me that you hum in the kitchen because your grandmother would," she narrated as she stirred the pot of...something. "Aren't some of your favourite recipes from her?"

"Uh, yeah," Gil blinked as Thena offered him sparing and fleeting looks over her shoulder as she tasted her creation. He had mentioned it, ever so briefly in passing. He didn't think she had remembered it.

"Well, my grandmother also made me most of my meals in childhood."

Gil blinked; Thena had never brought up her family before. Not much was known about them, and certainly she had never even so much as mentioned them.

"She was quite a good cook, or perhaps everyone else in my family was just so bad that she was the lesser of evils," Thena continued to talk as she added the very last dash of salt to the pot before turning off the burner. "She used to make us a soup called Ukha."

Gil had read about it--Russian or maybe Slavic in origin? It was a fish stew. He raised his brow, "fish?"

"I know," she sighed, finally turning to him and tossing away her hand towel. She tilted her head, "I knew you would catch that."

He chuckled, holding up his hands in surrender, "I'm just saying--you always have some complaint when I make fish for you."

"Because I used to eat Ukha all the time!" she huffed, rolling her eyes. He had never seen this particular light in her eyes, before. But it was quite similar to when she was particularly pleased with her latest performance.

It was pride.

Gil inhaled reflexively as she pushed the bowl in front of him. It was a semi-clear broth, probably a seafood stock, although it didn't smell super fishy. There were large, uneven chunks of carrots and potatoes and onions, and some very whole herbs that probably could have been ground up finer.

It was beautiful.

"You said you were still a little bit stuffy after being sick," she murmured more sheepishly now, toying with the apron she had on over her clothes (an apron he had bought her, since of course she didn't own one before). "I know you like soup--and it's rather hard to mess up broth. So, I thought... "

"It's great!"

Thena sighed at him, "you haven't even tasted it!"

He didn't care. It looked beautiful, and the hopeful eagerness on Thena's face said a thousand words. He picked the bowl up and took a deep, loud slurp.

"Gil!"

He made a nice loud 'ahh' sound too, as if he had taken a deep swig of beer after a hard day. But really...it wasn't bad. It was maybe a little over-seasoned, too many flavours battling it out for dominance. Even after her last dash of salt it could probably use more. He would guess that some of the larger veg pieces might be a little under done in texture.

But none of that mattered because it was the best thing he had ever eaten. "It's not bad."

"Really?"

He smiled, genuinely eager to offer his praise of the simple white fish stew. "I bet your grandma would be proud."

Thena blinked, her eyes going glassy. She sniffled, turning back to the pot for herself. "Well, I wanted to do something for you. Especially since I meant to, and then..."

She was referring to when she came over to his place to take care of him while he was sick and then fell asleep on his bed. He had eventually gotten up and made some miso soup for the both of them, much to Thena's embarrassment and frustration.

"Come on," he chuckled, taking a more civilised spoonful of soup. Actually, it was pretty good on his second taste of it. She had actually cooked the fish just right, which was probably the hardest part of things.

"Hm," she mused, taking only a few spoonfuls for herself in a small tasting bowl. "I suppose I've made much worse."

"It's good," he assuaged, although she still seemed to be ignoring his open praise of it. He tilted his head to try and get a better look at her, "careful, Thena."

She tilted her head at him as well.

"You'll get me hooked on this stuff. Then I'll be asking you to make it for me all the time."

She rolled her eyes at him, now more flustered over his warm reception of her first successful meal attempt. "You will not."

"Why not?" he shrugged, taking another spoonful and chewing the fish. It was actually nice and soft, almost...buttery? His eyes dashed over to the counters again and he spied one of the pans with what was definitely burned butter crusted onto the bottom. That was the smell; she had taken a few tries to get the fish butter basted before adding it to the soup. It was a nice touch, though.

"How are you feeling, by the way?" she peeked up at him, still somewhat shy from his open adoration.

He sniffed the soup again, letting its heavy dill and tarragon scent push through his sinuses. "Much better, now."

[softquietsteadylove]

Just Thena watching Gil work whenever he doesn’t look at her and noticing all the sweet things about him.

For the bodyguard one! A little analysis from Thenas view

"We're coming down the walkway now. I need all hands up."

Thena kept her eyes on Gil as they prepared to exit the show venue and make their way back to their ride. He was communicating with the rest of the venue security so they could be ready for people rushing the barricades, maybe even reaching out.

Gil didn't look back, eyes on his job as always. But his hand reached out behind him. He even wiggled his fingers slightly, "ready?"

Thena smiled, coming up behind him and slipping her hand into his, fingers interlocking together. "Ready."

Gil rolled his shoulders, his whole form seeming to become broader as he prepared for the journey. "Just stay close."

Thena was completely tucked into his back as she followed him out to the uber. Most would follow more loosely, wave and smile, maybe stop for a picture if there was time.

She wasn't most. And those who came to see her forgave her for that. They forgave her many anxieties and flaws and habits. She all but hid behind Gil's back and under his elbow as he led her through the parted sea. She did manage a little wave from behind his arm.

The crowd screamed their adoration.

Gil chuckled in front of her, only audible over the screams because she could feel his talking through his ribs. "You're feeling outgoing tonight."

She gripped the side of his suit jacket. She was feeling bold from within the safety of his protection. "Maybe."

Gil opened the door to the SUV and ushered her inside, holding her hand as she stepped up into the high vehicle. He spoke into his earpiece again, "we're up and out."

Thena sighed as he shut the car door for her as well, muting the roar of the crowd outside. She watched through the tinted windows as he made his way around the car and to the other side. Once he was inside and seated next to her, she truly relaxed.

Gil let out a groan, loosening his tie and pulling his earpiece out, "what a night."

"Hm," Thena hummed in faint agreement, eyeing him as he undid his suit jacket as well. She was not the only one finally able to relax now that they were away from the crowds. "Successful, I think."

"I'd say so," he gave her a lazy grin before leaning forward in his seat to grip the headrest of the driver in front. "Still on for our deal?"

Gil always paid a premium rate for the ride service to be completely private, no cameras or footage of any kind, and to take them through a drivethru of their choosing.

He looked over at her, "still want burgers?"

She nodded eagerly, desperate for something hearty and that would definitely put her right to sleep after eating it too. She started combing her fingers through her hair as they changed route, Gil muttering their order to the driver and handing over cash for as anonymous a transaction as possible.

He leaned back into his seat once he was satisfied his instructions would be followed. He ran a hand through his hair on one side and wordlessly extended the other hand towards her.

She smiled, unclipping her various accessories and jewels to give to him. He always did this for her, slipping them into his pocket to keep them from suffering her fidgety hands.

Gil slipped her jewellery into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out two phones--one for him and one for her. "How you feelin'?"

"Hm," she sighed again, the adrenaline leaving her and quickly being replaced with exhaustion. "Positively, I think."

He smiled at her too, taking the time to actually look at her despite the hundred and one things that were part of his job even now that the show was over. "That's pretty good, for you."

He knew how negative she could be in her own opinions of herself. He looked down at his phone, probably letting Kingo know that they were on their way home without incident. Tomorrow, if not the next day, they would have a meeting about the reception of this show as well as the next planned one.

Thena settled into her seat again, although she got the chance to admire Gil on his side of the car. She was buckled in properly to her seat, but Gil was somewhat seated between the other window seat and the middle hump. It wasn't that he didn't believe in seat belts (he did, very strongly in fact). But he knew that she liked him a little bit closer, just in case she reached out for him for whatever reason.

Gil was busy doing any number of things, working away so she could have the charmed, royal treatment she was used to--being driven around, food bought for her, escorted everywhere like a princess. If she was feeling whiny enough, Gil would even carry her.

He often carried her.

And maybe she would feel bad or embarrassed about it, if he weren't so damn sweet. He never complained, never told her she was too much, or being a diva. He always excused that she was tired, that she was exhausted and her social battery was way too small for the world of performing. He forgave everything the fans did and more.

He was handsome.

She wasn't ignorant to it. It was just that she didn't always have time to really admire it when they were dashing from one place to another. But in these moment, when it was - more or less - just the two of them, she could. The streetlights passing outside gave him a very nice silhouette, and by the end of the night he had a little scruff coming in already.

Thena scooted closer to Gil and closer to the tinted window as they pulled up to the drive thru--less chance of being seen and recognised.

Gil allowed it, even wrapping his arm around her and moving her as close to the shadows as possible. The driver did their part, speaking plainly and handing over the cash for the order. Thena had her face pressed into Gil's shoulder, just in case.

It was a good thing he smelled nice.

Once pulled away, the driver handed the bag back to them, still not speaking directly to them (as per the agreement). Gil opened up the bag and pulled out a fry, holding it up for her.

She gleefully took the limp shoestring fry between her teeth, munching on it. They could just eat it in the car, but she liked it most when she could enjoy it in the comfort of her penthouse with him.

Gil kept feeding her fries, probably from his order so she could still have all of hers when they got home, too. "Good?"

She nodded, giving him a smile despite her mouthful of potato. He grinned back. He had a beautiful smile.

In no time at all, they were back at hers. Well, they were on the street behind the garage of her building. They simply used too many ubers to let people drop them off actually at the front door of the building. Even without knowing which unit was hers, the risk was too high.

"Thanks," Gil nodded to the driver as he got out first. He walked over and opened her door again, "ready?"

Thena smiled, slipping out of the car with Gil's hand to support her yet again. He even held her waist in the short distance of her butt leaving the car seat and her heels touching the street. "Thanks."

Gil shut the car door and held her as the uber left them in the somewhat approximate location for dropoff. He always waited until they were completely out of sight before leading her into the parking garage. "Okay, lets get you home."

Thena just sighed, leaning into him.

He peeked down at her, "you want a lift?"

"No, it's okay," she mumbled, looking down at the bag of their food in her arms sheepishly. "I can walk."

"I know you can," he chuckled, his hand still at her waist as their voices echoed in the garage. "I'm asking if you want a lift."

Thena stopped and pouted faintly. He knew how weak she was to that. And these heels were killing her. She looked up at him.

He grinned; he knew she would agree the second he asked it. "C'mere, you."

Thena laughed faintly as he swept her up into his arms bridal style. She was starting to worry that she was carried by him more often than she actually walked in his presence. She held onto the food, "are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," he assured with a smile, carrying her like it was nothing. He even had the fob to the doors around his wrist so he barely had to move her to get the door open for them. "You keep that food safe."

Thena was long over being embarrassed about being seen on the building security cameras being carried by Gil like a princess. "I keep telling you, you don't have to."

"I know," he shrugged as he stepped into the elevator with her. He leaned so she could press the button for the top floor for them. "I keep telling you that I don't mind."

He was too sweet.

Thena settled in for the long - if admittedly quick - lift ride. She laid her head on his shoulder, listening to the hum of the machinery and the crinkling of their bag in her hands. "You're too good to me."

"It's my job to be good to you."

"You know, it actually isn't," she laughed so faintly it was nearly whispering. "It's your job to protect me, but you certainly don't have to be as sweet to me as you are."

Gil got the look on his face he got when he was trying to laugh off being shy. He shook his head, "call it earning my bonus, then."

Thena rolled her eyes and snuck in a peck to his cheek. "Always going above and beyond for the job."

Gil looked up so she wouldn't see him blushing, but his ears were pink (cute). "Something like that."

[softquietsteadylove]

LEzz do zum angst, I am missing the bodyguard au I think we all are. So what if Thena have a concert but when she is about to do her intro the staffs behind started panicking and that is because Gil had some incident. The producer didn't want Thena to know just for the show to go on but Thena had already noticed, she wanted to ask Gil what's wrong but he wasn't there and it's very unusual. She started worrying so she asked some staff what is going on at first the staff denies everything but Thena managed to let the her talk. And when she knew, no more concerts where tf is my husband. But the producer keeps on denying too and won't tell her know where he is which made her more angry and you decide what'll happen next.

THANK YOU!

"Gil?"

Thena went from person to person, asking each and every one of them where Gil was. It was so strange for her to not be able to find him. She wasn't sure when exactly he had disappeared from her side. But she could recall asking him if he could simply find her a little snack before the show, and then...

"Have you seen Gil?" she asked another stage hand, now that all of her own core team was devoted to setting up the equipment on stage. They looked at her. "Gilgamesh--my body guard? I asked him to find something for me to eat and I haven't seen him since."

"Uh," the two stage hands working on the curtains looked at each other, "I'm sure he's around, Athena. I wouldn't worry about it."

She nodded at them, although her lips had a certain purse to them. What was that look about?

She moved on to the stage managers next. Usually she wouldn't bother the people hard at work to make her show happen, but finding Gil was far more important to her. "Excuse me?"

One of the assistant stage managers held her finger up to her as she barked instructions into the head piece she was wearing. Thena looked down at her feet until she finally covered her mic and looked at her.

"I'm sorry," Thena sighed, "I'm just looking for my security."

The young woman pointed to the many yellow shirts mulling around the back stage.

Thena sighed again, this time a little more petulantly. "No, I mean Gil, my personal security guard?"

She nodded, looking around her a little before muttering something into her mic again behind her hand. "I'll have someone look for him. Won't be long."

Thena nodded, although the assistant stage manager immediately trotted away from her. But Thena moved even further backstage. She wasn't receiving the answers she needed, let alone the help. Where was he?

"Athena, you shouldn't be up and around," one of the event managers nearly ran up to her as soon as she reached the depths of the lower backstage.

She frowned, "I can't find Gil."

"Who?"

Her anger increased (doubled, maybe). "Gilgamesh, my personal security. I quite literally don't go anywhere without him, so I don't know how you could be unfamiliar with him."

"Oh, yes!" He snapped his fingers now that he could picture, if nothing else, the vague memory of a person attached to Thena upon her arrival. "Yes, yes--he, uh, he was around not long ago."

"Yes, that's why I'm looking for him, " she insisted, and he started to display the same nervous energy everyone else she had asked thus far possessed. She stepped closer, "it's very important I find him."

"I'm sure he's just distracted, Athena." First mistake: Gil would never be distracted while he was on the job. While she needed him! "I'll find out where he is and tell you personally."

Second mistake: she hated talking to people.

"It's almost time to start, though," he looked down at his watch and reached out with the intention of turning her around and marching her back to the stage. "You go take your place, I'm sure he'll be there."

"But-"

"The event security will be there, anyway."

"Excuse me-" Thena flinched away every time he tried to touch her.

"You won't even notice he's gone!"

"Enough!" Thena clenched her fists, determined not to let them visibly shake as she put her foot down. She glared at the pushy manager, "where is he?"

"Athena-"

"If not Gil, then Kingo," she snapped. "Find me someone who will give me some answers!"

He looked at her with exasperation.

She crossed her arms right back at him, "or no show."

He looked like he had expected her response, to a degree. He fidgeted and ran a hand through his hair. He looked at her before pulling his phone out and sending off either a few texts, or one very long one.

She eyed him, "I'll take that as a yes."

He cleared his throat, standing aside for her to continue backstage.

She gave him a look - unhelpful ass - before continuing on, even trotting despite already being in her show heels. "Gil?"

"Thena," Kingo emerged from the greenroom, still holding onto the doorknob to it. He put his other hand on his hip, "the show is starting in ten minutes."

"Kingo," she held her dear friend's gaze, her jaw set, "let me see him."

"T, you have to relax," Kingo attempted to soothe her. "A lot has gone into this show."

"Which I am prepared to throw away," she stated outright, much to Kingo's frustration and the horror of everyone else present. "If you do not let me see Gil, right now."

He sighed; he definitely expected this reaction from her. "T, you have to promise me you'll stay calm, okay?"

Thena huffed and grabbed Kingo's dress shirt, just so she could toss him away from the door. "Gil!"

He was lying on the couch in there, a paramedic kneeling next to him and packing up. He looked up just in time to keep her from running over, "please, don't jostle him."

"What happened?!"

"From what I understand," the paramedic began as they zipped up their bag. "A piece of equipment was swung around and hit him in the head. He lost consciousness briefly, which requires a medic be called by default."

"Is he okay?" she asked quietly, her lip wobbling as she looked down at Gil lying there with a cold compress on his forehead.

"He doesn't seem to have any lasting neurological symptoms, although as soon as he's able to walk we have to recommend he goes to a hospital just to be sure. He has a small lesion on the back of his head, so we advise some mild antiseptic for that twice a day."

Thena nodded, hoping she seemed in control instead of a wobbly little fawn. "Thank you for your help. I'll stay with him."

The paramedic nodded to her now that their job was done. Kingo came back in, lingering by the door. "T-"

"You weren't going to tell me?" she glared at him as she perched herself on the end of the couch by his knees. She leaned over to touch his cheek as lightly as humanly possible.

"Thena, the show must go on."

She shook her head. She knew she was being difficult; she knew she was getting a reputation for being needy and a diva to work with. But she didn't much care. Her hand drifted to Gil's temple, watching him carefully for any reaction to her touch.

"Thena, you have to go out there," Kingo approached, his hands on his hips again. "This show has a lot invested in it."

"Kingo," she pleaded, her hand pressing on Gil's chest.

"I know you're worried about him, but you can't stay here," Kingo continued, sounding like a chastising father rather than her manager. "What are you gonna do?--just sit here and hold him?"

She pouted at him, "I could just to spite you."

Kingo sighed, "T, please."

"Kingo, nothing matters more to me than Gil," she reasserted, ignoring how weighty a statement that was (and the look on Kingo's face). "I'll pay each of the investors what they're owed personally. Bankrupt me if need be. But how can I go out there if Gil is-"

"Fine," he rumbled, needing to clear his throat as he awakened with a groan, "I'm just fine."

"Gil, don't move," she whispered, holding his cheeks as he tried to move his head. His face contorted until she ran her thumbs over the apples of his cheeks. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Uh," he blinked up at the ceiling as Thena turned his compress over, helping to soothe his swelling. He sighed, "I was looking for a vending machine."

"Oh Gil," she sniffled, "I'm so sorry."

"Hey," he whispered, his hand laying over hers on his jaw, "that's not your fault. The venue idiots were the ones swinging around light stands."

Thena ran her finger down the edge of his jaw, "they'll never work again after I'm done here."

"Thena," Kingo leaned down to look up at her from Gil's vantage. "I'll sit with Gil. I swear, I won't let him out of my sight. But-"

She frowned, "Kingo."

"Hey," Gil whispered to her again, and she looked at him again in an instant. He turned his head just enough to kiss the hand of hers closest to his lips. "You go--get out there and knock 'em dead. I'm just going to be lying around down here."

"Gil," she practically whined at him. But he looked at her in a very practised and familiar way; she sighed. "I'll be worried about you the whole time."

"You're allowed to worry," he chuckled, and the cold in her chest alleviated at the sound of it. "But you're not allowed to cancel a show when it's already started."

"Thena, please," Kingo attempted one more time.

She gave him somewhat of an annoyed glare before leaning forward to kiss Gil's forehead. "You are the worst."

"You don't mean that," he grinned as she stood and forced herself to stand away from him.

"No, but still," she huffed at them both as she headed for the door. She looked at Kingo, "I mean it, if he so much as flinches-"

"Thena, I promise, we'll be fine," Kingo patted Gil's shoulder. "Now, go!"

She looked at Gil, who nodded. She gave him one last look with those wide green eyes before finally taking her leave. She would do the show, like he told her. But she wasn't going to be happy about it!

[softquietsteadylove]

Hi! Really enjoyed the bodyguard AU! Would you do one where Gil is sick and home and Thena visits him after a little show?

Would be really cool thanks ❤️👀

Gil shuddered as he turned over in his bed. He blinked, wondering if he was really awake of if this was some sort of dream.

"Hey."

"Hey," he rasped, although his throat was even more dry from sleep, and his coughing hadn't helped. He attempted to sit up, although she had to help him with it. "What are you doing in here? I told you I was sick."

"And I told you I'd bring you some things," Thena sighed as she even plumped his pillows around his head for him.

He shook his head, blinking at her with eyes that felt like they were on fire just being open. At least she was nice to look at. "What if you get sick? Kingo will kill me."

"I won't let him," Thena cooed, running her hand over his forehead and then through his hair. "You're still feverish."

Gil let his head drift to his bedside table. He had to squint a little at the lights of the clock. "I think I took something for it around 3."

"Then you're long overdue," Thena declared as she rustled around the bag of things she'd brought with her.

Gil smiled as she pulled out an aloe drink and a bottle of fever and sinus focused painkillers. She had gone to the Korean grocer he'd told her he preferred just a block away from his building. "You have any trouble getting in?"

She shook her head, even opening both bottles for him before handing over the drink and one blue tablet. "There might have been some paps around, but a hat and some sunglasses and a mask pretty much did the trick."

"You should be wearing a mask now," Gil grumbled, still not wanting to give her whatever he had come down with after their last trip.

Thena shrugged though, comfortable on her perch at the edge of his bed. "I'm not worried about whatever you have. I never seem to give you my colds, I doubt I can get yours."

That reasoning wasn't entirely right but he didn't have the brain power to correct it.

"Besides," Thena tilted her head, brushing her nice cool hand over his feverish skin again. "You always take care of me when I'm sick. I'm only doing what you would do for me."

That wasn't fair; he would do anything if it was for her.

Thena took the drink from him and capped it, setting it on the nightstand. "Are you feeling any better from this morning?"

"A little," he nodded, although the margin was slim. He picked his head up, "how was the show?"

"Uneventful," she smiled; uneventful meant that nothing had gone wrong, and that was how Thena liked her shows to go.

Gil frowned, "how was the venue security?"

She laughed gently, and it was so soft and lovely it made him feel a little better. "They were perfectly sufficient, Gil."

"Perfect and sufficient don't go together, Thena," he pointed out with an unmoved scowl.

"Yes, you're right," she conceded, pursing her lips at him in good humour as she pulled his blankets up again. She moved from her spot on the edge to grab his spare pillow and shimmy it under his knees. "You're what perfect security is, and they're sufficient."

"That just means they did their jobs, sweet'art," Gil mumbled as he let her jostle him somewhat in an attempt to make him more comfortable. "It's the bare minimum."

"Things went well, Gil," she promised with some finality to it. She ran her fingers through his hair again. "You don't have to worry about me. You just have to rest so you can get better again."

So he wouldn't have to leave her in anyone else's hands again.

Thena smiled, moving to the other side of his bed and crawling over to sit on top of the comforter. "Kingo sent me some of the stuff he recorded for promotions or social media--or something."

"Thena," Gil sighed as she pulled out her phone and leaned on his shoulder, "I'm all sweaty-"

"Here," she smiled, pushing the far end of her phone into his hand while she held the other. "I took your advice and asked the wardrobe at the venue to add that stuff to my shoes that would keep me from slipping."

He nodded; the last thing they needed was her slipping on the stairs and spraining her knee again. He smiled; the video was from backstage, but the performance did seem to be going well. The crowd was engaged and supportive, and that meant Thena could get out of her head and genuinely perform.

Thena turned her head away but failed to put her hand in front of her mouth for a massive yawn.

Gil, despite his aches and fever and cold sweat and stuffy nose, was on alert immediately. "You're tired--you should get some sleep, Thena. I know you're still jet lagged from the trip, but-"

"It's fine," she sighed, laying her head on his shoulder as she continued to show him videos of the concert. "Kingo wanted to show you how things went. Apparently you were quite insistent about things before tonight?"

"Guilty," he chuckled. He had definitely gotten on Kingo's last nerve by texting him from bed about all the little things he usually did for Thena before and after a show to ensure maximum comfort for her.

"It's okay," she mumbled, nearly whispering as her eyes started to droop and she melted into his side. "We can survive one night without you."

"Thena," Gil nudged her, but she was fading fast, slumping down beside him, on top of the comforter and without his spare pillow under her head.

"But I don't wanna do more shows without you, either," she sufficed to sigh as she settled on his bed out of sheer exhaustion.

Gil sighed; he didn't know if he had the strength to carry her to the couch in his current state. He supposed at least she wasn't in bed with him--with his clammy sheets and sweaty pillow. He didn't even want to think about what he smelled like.

Thena whined as he tried to resituate her, taking his knees-pillow and putting it under her head again. He reached to the end of the bed - with a good amount of effort - and managed to sort his spare blanket over her. She would be spread out like a starfish soon enough, anyway.

But for now, she was cuddled right up to him, forehead pressed to his arm and her hand on his wrist. She pulled at him a little, not that he thought she was conscious enough for it to be for a real reason.

"You stay down there," he smiled, turning out his bedside lamp again and settling against the pillows she had arranged for him. Maybe he would be able to breathe through his nose better if he slept like this anyway. He pushed some hair away from her face, "away from my germs."

Thena let out a sigh, settling on slipping her hand into his, "I like your germs."

[softquietsteadylove]

Hear me out sweetheart! I had this idea and needed to write it as a prompt to you! For the bodyguard au:

Thena has a collaboration with another male singer for an event. She writes a song and because of their tight schedule they can’t really practice it for now. So one evening she ask Gil if he would sing it with her so she can see if two voices are in harmony in this song. And of course she wants to take the advantage to hear him singing with her because he sings very rarely.

A soft intimate moment with them.

"Gil, can you help me with something?"

Anything. Gil slurped up the last of his current bite of udon and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Yeah, what's up?"

Thena smiled at him from her spot on the couch. She had already finished her smaller portion for herself, only excusing herself from the counter with Gil to check her phone.

They had made somewhat of a habit of spending their meals together. It just made sense, seeing how often Gil was either picking her up in the morning to escort her to work or escorting her home from it. They had simply evolved from him sending her off with fast food takeout to bringing it up and eating with her.

It wasn't weird.

"Well, that was Ikaris," Thena murmured. He wasn't her favourite artist to collaborate with, but they were on somewhat friendly terms (mostly due to his relationship with Sersi, but still). "He can't make the rehearsal we had scheduled for this week, but I wanted to make sure the harmonies were right before we went any further with this piece for the event."

Gil leaned against the back of the couch, over her shoulder. He wasn't exactly a musician, but he had learned to read the very basics of music--enough that he could imagine roughly what a song would sound like when it came to Thena singing it. "Let me hear some?"

Gil sighed as Thena's voice fluttered out the first few notes. It was soft and golden as honey. He smiled as she turned to him.

"Well?"

"It sounds good," he shrugged. "You know what he sounds like when he sings."

Thena stood and walked around the couch and next to him again, though. "I know what you sound like when you sing."

Gil blushed. "By spying on me."

"In my kitchen," she countered easily, matching his playful tone. "Just sing this next part for me? It's just like what you heard me do."

Gil sighed. He attempted to give her a stern look, folding his arms and tapping his thumb against the opposite bicep, bare in his light t-shirt.

But Thena made her eyes go wide, pouting her lip at him, "please?"

Gil shook his head, mostly at himself. He was only becoming worse and worse at saying no to her. He took the sheet music from her, blushing as he looked over the words first.

Thena kept quiet, not wanting to do anything to spook him. But her eyes sparkled as he sang out the gentle first few bars to her--for her. It was heavenly, like being wrapped up in those arms of his after a long, tiring day. She sighed.

Gil looked at her, raising a brow. "Was this just so I would sing to you?"

Thena let out a laugh. "If I were that in need, I would just ask."

Gil handed the sheet music back to her, "you seem awfully convinced I'd say yes."

They both knew he would.

Thena shrugged with a little smile as she picked up her pen, making a few little notes on the page. "Perhaps I want to be serenaded from time to time. One can get tired of singing."

"That sounds like blasphemy, coming from a Goddess."

Thena was about to make a playful retort back at him, but blinked, looking up from her sheets to find him right there. She could smell the dashi and sweet soy broth on his breath.

"Sing it again," he encouraged, his finger toying with the edge of the paper in her hands.

Thena took in a breath - just a little on the shaky side - to do so. When she began the first verse again, Gil's voice joined hers. They melded and blended flawlessly, bending and flowing around each other. It reached her ears the same way a sunset would reach her eyes or Gil's food would reach her tongue.

It was perfection.

Despite knowing the rest of the song - her own song - she stopped at the first verse with him, still staring. She knew that he could sing. She was rather fond of his singing. But to sing with him was...perhaps she was feeling a little strongly about it as a singer herself. But it felt...it felt a little too intimate--a little too romantic.

She blushed.

Gil let her retreat back into herself, clutching at the paper after their brief duet. He stood up again, leaning against the back of the couch. "Sounds good to me."

Thena cleared her throat, which she had always been trained not to do without the proper technique. "Sounds better than Ikaris, certainly."

Gil let out a full bodied laugh, crossing his arms over his chest and resting his hip against the couch. "You gonna write that in your studio notes?"

Thena finally looked at him again, raising a brow the way one could expect from the Goddess Athena. ""Don't tempt me."

[softquietsteadylove]

For the thenamesh bodyguard AU.

Thena is invited to an very important event with other artist and decides to take her bodyguard Gil as her plus one. Both of them looking absolutely stunning (you can make matching colors or something). 2 Guys are flirting with er shamelessly and making her quite uncomfortable. Gil is protecting her and keeps her close. Sweet and soft moments between them!

Would be awesome:)

"Athena, who are you with tonight?"

Thena ignored the various questions screamed at her - and the rest of those on the red carpet - by the crowd of spectators and reporters. She held the skirt of her dress in one hand with the other looped so she could hold onto the inside of Gil's elbow.

Gil was looking everywhere, eyeing people passing by them, taking careful steps, frowning despite the incessant shouts for him to smile. He wasn't used to attending these things as a guest and not specifically as security.

But Thena had asked him to escort her as her date instead of as her bodyguard, and how could he say no to that? They both knew he wasn't going to.

"Athena, you previously said you didn't see the need for dates to events!--are you recanting that statement?"

"Athena, why the switch from bodyguard to plus-one?"

"Athena, are you officially on the market?"

Gil rolled his eyes at the questions. He didn't have to pretend to be pleasant with the paparazzi. He didn't have a professional reputation to uphold.

Thena laughed beside him, leaning her head down so her lips wouldn't get read by the crowd. "You would think that you attending with me would mean I'm not available."

"You'd think," Gil huffed, moving his arm to wrap around her side as the red carpet came to halt. Too many in front of them were stopping for pictures, forcing everyone behind them to do so as well.

Thena posed in the ways she had been taught, angling herself, tilting her head up, holding her hand flat to show off the jewellery that had been chosen for her. But she wasn't looking at the cameras.

Gil looked over, catching her looking at him. He chuckled, "what?"

"Nothing," she denied, not that it did anything to convince him. She joined him in the light laughter, "you look good."

Gil tugged at the fancy white suit that had been picked for him to match Thena's flowing white gown. "Kingo knows what he's doing, I'll give him that."

Thena looked around them, although it would look like she was looking at maybe a few of the cameras snapping at them. "I see a certain someone isn't in attendance."

"His official reason is that he's touring," Gil muttered to her. "Although...part of our agreement with his management may have been...that he's not allowed within a certain distance of you unless it's for a contracted appearance."

Thena shook her head, though, raising her brows at him. "I think he's just nervous about facing you for the first time since you gave him a proper thrashing."

"As he should be," Gil shrugged. If that sleazy head of hair felt wary of him then he was happy to let him, so long as it meant that he would give Thena some space.

"Athena!"

Gil felt immediately how Thena pressed closer to him. His hold on her tightened reflexively, as if by instinct. He recognised the two coming towards them as entertainment reporters. One of them was fine, but the other could be a little...forward.

"Athena, you look stunning, as always. And who is this with you?"

"This is Gil," she introduced simply, but with a dazzling smile. Gil was all she needed to say--no addendum or descriptions necessary.

"Now this," the forward one gasped, grinning at them both, "is a man's man. Is he here as security?--and can I borrow him for myself?"

Gil remained blank faced through the polite - painfully fake - laughter at the terrible joke.

But Thena ran her hand down the front of his suit jacket lapel, even dipping her fingers inside of it. "I'm afraid not, boys. Gil is mine quite literally, tonight."

"And on that note," Gil finally spoke up, fishing her hand out of his jacket from his chest, just to pull it up to his lips. "We should keep it moving."

The reporters were left in the lurch, looking at each other at the abandonment of their interview with one of the biggest names present that night.

Gil didn't care that he was interrupting them. He looked at Thena as he guided them along, "you didn't want to talk to them anyway, did you?"

"How could you tell?" she purred, letting out a velvety laugh as he guided her by the waist into the safety of the theatre and away from the buzzards and their cameras and microphones. "See?--I told you there could be no one better to bring with me tonight."

Gil undid his suit jacket now that they were no long being photographed incessantly. He felt like he could breathe again.

Thena's eyes dashed down as he undid a few shirt buttons, too. He really didn't like having to wear anything too tight around his neck.

"I just know you the best," he smiled at her. He held out his arm again, but Thena moved around it, settling herself against his side. And who was he to argue with the Goddess Athena and what she wanted?

[softquietsteadylove]

Hey I've seen this idea on TikTok that would really fit for Bodyguard AU, where Gilgamesh is working out and Thena's watching while reading a book or something. And then Gil just pointed out that her book is turned upside down😂

Gil glanced over to the side between lifts. "Done?"

Thena just smiled and nodded, wiping herself down with a light towel. She had finished her interminable three full hours of cardio, between the stairmaster and the treadmill.

"I'm almost finished," Gil grunted, pushing the bar with its massive weights up again.

"Don't rush for my sake, I'll have a seat," Thena smiled, indeed sitting herself down on the bench beside him and pulling out her phone.

Gil let out a chuckle before another benchpress, "you're not gonna spot me?"

Thena gave him a look, not that he could turn his head at the moment. "What do you think I would be able to do? That whole bar looks like it weighs twice what I do."

"Probably almost three times," he grunted again, sweat trailing off his forehead.

"Hm," Thena offered quietly. She held her phone up, but eyed him beside her. She had never seen him up close and personal, like this. Even when he was working, he wore suits, or at least more than a sleeveless workout shirt and shorts.

Gil lifted the bar again, his arms rippling from the movement. Every angle of them was even sharper with use and his pre-workout supplements.

Thena's eyes drifted down his arms and to his chest, rising with every breath. His shirt, even being the light, sweat-wicking material it was, was clinging to his chest. His pecks were clearly defined, and his top abs contributed to the barrel shape of his top half. There was a little bit of tummy that melded into his flanks from this view. He claimed it was from his days of drinking like a fish after boxing matches in his youth.

Even his leg muscles twitched, since his core was so engaged in his current workout. He definitely didn't skip leg day--she had never seen it, but the evidence was right there.

Gil let out a groan as he pushed the bar up one last time and onto its holder. His arms flopped down beside him as he panted.

Thena watched his adam's apple bob. She looked back at her phone, although she couldn't remember what she was going to look at on it.

"You ready for tonight?" he asked in the middle of trying to catch his breath.

Thena nodded, definitely not watching the beads of sweat run over the lines in his muscles in a way that almost made her jealous. "It's nice of the label to put us up in a hotel this nice, I suppose."

It was just a guest appearance in Ikaris' currently running concert tour. They were only in the UK for three days, tops. That was what brought them to the hotel gym (closed to other guests, per their request). Flying would take it out of them the rest of the week, so best to get a workout in while they could.

"I mean," Gil dragged himself up, swiping his towel over his face first. "I think it's the least they can do, if Ikaris is going to drag you all the way over here for half a song."

Thena laughed. They had been home - at her place - just a few days ago when Gil told her about Kingo's call. She had agreed, because why wouldn't she? Plus she would get to see Sersi while she was visiting. "I suppose I agree with that."

Gil rested the towel around his shoulders--around his neck, really. It wasn't nearly big enough for those massive shoulders of his. "Ready to go?"

She nodded, still clutching her phone as he stood from the bench. Her eyes skittered down his front, his shirt rumpling and revealing a hint of skin, the faint dark of some hair trailing under his bellybutton, and just the top of the waistband of his underwear. She rushed her eyes down. "Are we clear?"

"I'll check," he smiled, picking up his bag. He walked past her slowly, pausing on the other side of her.

Thena looked up at him curiously when he reached down for her phone, its screen still dark.

Gil said nothing, picking it up and then flipping it over, "upside down, Sweetheart."

Thena accepted her phone back from him, avoiding looking at the reflection of her flushed face. She stood to follow him silently, wallowing in her embarrassment over being caught.

Gil didn't say anything, because of course he didn't. He checked the hallway to make sure it was empty before they made their way to the stairwell. It was a long walk back to the luxury suite, but they were less likely to run into people. He turned back to her with a grin, "all clear."

"Great, more stairs," Thena muttered as she followed him out.

At least it would give her an excuse as to why she was so red in the face.

[softquietsteadylove]

How about the 5+1 times thing? :D

5 times Gil protected Thena and one time She protected him

Up to you wich AU :)

It was his job to protect Thena. Technically speaking, it was his job to keep her safe and at an appropriate distance from anyone who could be a threat to her or any event tied to her or the label's reputation.

That was how his contract phrased it, at least. But his job was to protect Thena; that was how Gil phrased it.

And he took that job very seriously--always had. And there were different ways he protected her than just being her bodyguard, like most thought.

He could protect her image.

It was early on in his time working for her. They were at some awards show, and neither he nor Thena wanted to be there. But it was part of her job, which made it part of his, too. At least he didn't really have to talk to anyone, he could admit. Thena was forced to socialise with the odd interviewer or contact in the industry, much to her chagrin.

"Are you okay?" he frowned as Thena made the same pinched expression he'd seen a few times now. She kept rolling her shoulders in a way he'd never really seen her do before.

She scrunched up her mouth, obviously debating whether or not to tell him what she was thinking. They were still somewhat new to each other, after all. But she nodded him closer.

"I have to fix my dress, but these goddamn cameras are going to see every move I make."

Gil wasn't too proud to admit he blushed (just a little). He was...aware of how attractive Thena was--beautiful, really. That was part of her job, after all, and he wasn't breaching contract just by noticing that. But he didn't think of her in that way. She was a client, and also the boss of him, even if the label was technically in charge of them both.

Thena huffed quietly to herself, rolling her shoulders again.

"Here," Gil whispered, guiding her off to the side as a few other stars walked along the carpet ahead of them. He moved her in front of him, which was technically behind him, as far as the cameras were concerned. "Just hide behind me."

Thena gave him a questioning look for it, but he put his hands on his hips under his suit jacket, creating a curtain of sorts for her to fix the sparkly and skin tight dress she was wearing. He glanced over his shoulder too, just so she could have as much privacy as possible.

"Thanks," she whispered as she fidgeted with the bust of the dress. Or did whatever she had to do, because Gil was mortified at the thought of even looking at her in the moment.

He could protect her peace of mind.

"Thena, it'll be fine."

"Hey," Gil walked over to them, slipping his phone back in his pocket. Thena was on the defensive, arms crossed and angling herself somewhat away from the rest of the management team. "What's going on?"

Kingo held out a hand at her, "she just gets nervous about transportation sometimes."

Gil wondered what exactly was missing between the way Thena was acting and Kingo's vague statement. He looked at Thena, trusting that she would tell him more specifically what she needed and what had to happen to make it better. "What's wrong with what we've got?"

Thena shrugged, "nothing."

Kingo sighed, "Thena-"

Gil moved in front of her, which he could tell irked her manager/stylist greatly. But he focused on the singer folded in on herself. He nodded his head, asking her to speak in not so many words.

Thena squirmed and pursed her lips, like a kid who didn't want to go home yet. Or maybe wanted to go home right this minute. "The limo has to park on the main street. If we walk to it, there will be fans, and paparazzi, and-"

"And you can ignore them," Kingo suggested with a shrug of his shoulders.

But Gil held a hand out to him, which irked him even further. But he wasn't Gil's client (his priority), Thena was. "She's had a long day, man. And you know how they can get after a performance."

"Well, what do you suggest?"

Gil tilted his head, looking at Thena, who was both being very stubborn and trying not to make a big deal out of it. But her battery was completely empty, that much was certain. She looked ready to drop, and she probably was going to ask if they could go get greasy burgers or cheap tacos or something anyway.

"I've got an idea."

"What?" Kingo asked, but continued to go ignored by the bodyguard. He huffed, leaning past his massive shoulders to peek at Thena. "Just get home safe, and text me when you do, okay?"

She nodded, waving him and the rest of the team away. She looked at Gil, on his phone. "What did you think of?"

"You're hungry, right?" he asked her with a smirk. It stretched into a full grin when she perked up like a flower in the sunlight. "Ubers will take you through the drive-thru if they don't have another ride waiting."

That was one of the first instances of what had since become a tradition for them.

He could protect her physically.

He had done so plenty of times, obviously. He would always remember the first time that not only was he on the job, but rather when Thena actively sought him out for protection.

She wasn't even out as Athena: Goddess of Song. She was just out as Thena, with Makkari and Sersi. They were also in the music industry, of course, so it wasn't as if they could go around completely anonymous. But at the very least, they weren't at a music event, they weren't at a concert--they were just three friends out for drinks.

Thena had asked if he could be on call for the night, for when they had to get to and from different locations. He had easily agreed, not just because it was part of the job, but also because it was Thena; she would be socially exhausted by the third bar anyway. If anything, he was prepared to pick them up and get them all drive-thru on the way back to Thena's penthouse.

But Thena called him from the bathroom of the second bar. Apparently someone in there had recognised her and was being pretty aggressive about getting a photo - and her number - and meeting her friends. Without a proper escape route, she had called him.

And Gil arrived ready for a fight. The nerve of some creeps in this part of town astounded him. He easily found the guy, leaning against the wall outside the bathrooms, just as Thena had assumed he would be. Didn't the club have any security of their own?!

"Hey brother, I'm just waiting for my girlfriend t-"

Gil gave him a swift crack in the jaw, his fist sending the guy to the floor in the blink of an eye. He shook out his fist afterward, although his knuckles were well conditioned for impact. "Prick."

He knocked on the door, leaning his ear close, "Thena? It's me. Are you-"

She pushed the door open, nearly pushing it right into him. But she rushed right to him, her forehead pressed to his chest at the earliest opportunity. "Thank you."

Gil heard her loud and clear despite the head-rattling music from the dance floor. He folded his arms around her, knowing that no matter how much she didn't want to show it, that it was one of her worst nightmares to find herself in a situation like that. He pressed his cheek to her hair, "it's okay. I've got you."

He could even protect her from herself--in a way.

"Thena," he called her name for the umpteenth time, watching her pace the floor of her dressing room so consistently he was worried the rug would go bald. "It will be fine."

She wasn't listening to him. She wasn't listening to anything but whatever her head was screaming at her. And it was never kind things, Gil had come to learn.

She was picking at the cuticles around her press-on manicure, since she couldn't chew the fake nails. If she were sitting her knee would be bouncing a mile a minute. In not time at all she would start muttering aloud to herself.

"Thena," he tried again. He had been trying since he got her in the car, though. There was almost no winding her down from this point before a performance. Almost.

Thena grumbled as he planted himself directly in the path of her pacing. She tried to move around him but he trapped her in his arms against him. She huffed. "This is a little over the line, no?"

"So file a complaint," he chuckled, still holding her to his chest. He took a few deep breaths, deliberately letting his chest expand and contract against her.

Despite her attempt to remain cranky, she slowly fell into the same rhythm, her heartbeat slowing and her breathing becoming more even and more in sync with his.

"That's it," he whispered, running a hand over her hair. There was nothing he could say to comfort her in these moments. They would be as good as empty words to her anyway. The only thing that mattered to Thena were results. But to get the results she wanted, she had to be in the right mindset to perform in the first place. "You'll be great."

Thena sighed, dropping her head to his chin with a slight bonk. She would be burying her face right in his shirt if not for her full face of makeup. "You don't know that."

"You've got a pretty good track record so far," Gil shrugged. He didn't have to argue with her with false promises; Thena believed in results, and her popularity spoke for itself. "I'll be here waiting."

But his favourite part of the job was actually the part that was taking care of her. It wasn't actively protecting her from anything--maybe protecting her from burnout.

But it was things like carrying her after a long day in ridiculously tall heels when she was exhausted. It was knowing exactly what her order was at every fast food place in town, or coming over to make her breakfast when he knew she was sleeping until two in the afternoon after a performance. It was buying her medicine when she was sick; it was even running regular old errands for her.

He had come to like tucking her in when she was asleep and already snoring by the time he got her in bed (he had never told her she snored, just a little). He liked running hot baths for her so she could have a soak while he made a nice nutritious dinner for them (fast food was only for after performances). He liked that he spent more time at her place than his, these days.

He liked protecting her from the job.

Gil frowned as Thena's phone buzzed on the coffee table. She was in the shower, losing track of time as she sang to herself with the help of the steam stretching out her vocal chords. "Hello?"

"Gil?--I called Thena."

"Yeah, and I'm answering," Gil set down his breakfast burrito and got up for his own phone, left by the stove. "It's her day off--what's going on?"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry."

If he were really sorry then why was he calling?

"The label got a call from Ikaris' management team. Remember that piece she recorded with him?"

"Yeah," Gil murmured. He knew the piece personally--he had helped Thena rehearse it in this very spot.

"They want her to make a guest appearance at one of his shows he's doing on his tour--over in the UK."

Usually artists would just contact each other personally and let management figure out the details for them once they were or weren't in agreement over it. But then again, Thena and Ikaris weren't exactly friends. Friends through Sersi, and perhaps frenemies with a playful rivalry between them. But it made sense that Ikaris knew better than to slide into Thena's DMs. Not that she would know what that meant.

"We can talk about it tomorrow."

"Gil, come on, I wouldn't be calling if they weren't expecting an answer today."

"So tell them she's sick, or she's on vocal rest or some shit," Gil argued. He could hear Kingo getting frustrated with him. It wasn't that they experienced friction that often, and they were both part of Thena's team, and her friends. Gil considered Kingo his friend.

But if it was between Kingo or Thena, obviously he chose Thena.

"Gil-"

"Kingo," Gil pressed, his voice softening as he heard the faint fluttering of Thena's voice. She had left the door cracked; her trust in him was incalculable. "She's exhausted from the show this weekend. She really needs today to just...chill, okay? I promise first thing tomorrow, I'll get her on a call with his label. But today is all hers."

Kingo sighed loudly - dramatically - into his end of the phone. "You're a little too good at your job, you know that?"

Gil smiled to himself, "I take that as a compliment."

"I'm sure you do, Gil. Fine, I'll tell them she's on doctor ordered silence. Just make sure to bring it up in the email so it doesn't sound like uncorroborated bullshit."

"Will do," Gil promised before the call ended. He swiped the notification of it away. It was still in the phone's logged calls, but Thena never looked at that anyway. He set her phone down again, resuming his task of finishing his burrito.

"Who was that?"

Gil smiled, licking his lips as he finished up his last bite. "Just Kingo--nothing that can't wait until tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" she tilted her head, but she hadn't knotted up at the mere mention of work.

She had come a long way since he had first started working for her. "I'm sure."

She could even protect him.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

Gil was being visibly mauled by a horde of fans. They were mostly young, all significantly smaller than him, most of them appearing female. And of course Gil wasn't in the habit of fighting children.

"All of you!" Thena barked at them, storming over without a second thought to her initial desire to find their ride and go right home. "Get off him!"

Gil groaned as Thena pulled him from the grips of the crowd previously shaking and clawing at him. He even had a few scratches on his face.

"What the hell happened here?" she asked him, although the crowd around them was still rioting at them. She backed up with Gil tucked against her side.

"They're fans of Eros'," he sighed heavily, leaning against her. At least, he was until she moved him behind her. "Thena?"

"Get the hell away from him!" she bellowed, knowing exactly how to shout at them loudly and with a sustainable strength in her voice. "I cannot believe you would attack him like this!"

"He deserves it!"

"He punched Eros right in the face!"

"You should've had him fired!"

Thena's back raised, her shoulders tensing. She took a step forward, ready to get in a screaming match with a child.

"Thena, come on," Gil held her hand in his. He was spent from defending himself (which meant letting them tear a strip off of him and not fighting back at all). "Leave them be."

Thena all but growled at the gaggle of little monsters glaring at them. She had no concern what they thought of her. "You should be ashamed of yourselves for attacking an innocent man."

"He's the one who attacked an innocent man!"

"Come on," Gil urged Thena again, before she could argue that Eros was the instigator, which would be a pretty clear and direct breach of their agreement with his team to keep the whole thing quiet. "Just ignore them."

Thena did finally turn away from his assailants. She raised a hand to his face, brushing over a slightly swollen cheek, "what did they do to you?"

"Please," he chuckled, brushing off literally being mauled by a riot. "They're just a bunch of kids."

"If that's his most devoted fanbase, it does nothing to increase my confidence in Eros' character as a person," Thena scoffed.

"This will all blow over soon," Gil murmured, not that he was entirely sure that was true. He looked back at the crowd still booing him as they walked back to the car waiting for them. He walked closer to Thena, pulling her ahead of him--which was technically behind him to them.

Thena reached behind her, finding his hand naturally and slipping her fingers against his. "I'm sorry."

He gave her hand a squeeze in return, smiling despite the soreness of his swollen lip. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Still," she whispered, pulling him to walk beside her properly. She squeezed his hand even harder, "are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," he promised her, smiling genuinely despite his little scratches and scrapes. She frowned at him, openly doubting him. But he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "I'm sure."

[softquietsteadylove]

I have to be honest tho I really loved it when Eros got punched by Gil. It was pretty satisfying ngl.

But what if Eros decides to sue Gil? To take his revenge on him? What if the agency decides to fire Gil? We all know Thena would not let that happen but they need proof and more witnesses.

Give us the angst and drama Darling!

"You what?!"

"Thena, the label can't sustain this kind of heat," one of the executive producers from the studio said a little too plainly. "Eros is demanding Gil be dropped from our services, in addition to a couple other stipulations of the lawsuit."

"I can't believe you're even entertaining it!" Thena fumed, gripping the edge of the table as she glared at them sitting across from her. "He put his hands on me--tried to force me to kiss him!"

"We know," the pressed, holding up their hands and eager to tell her to keep her voice down despite the privacy of the conference room.

"You don't seem to," she growled, looking from the board of morons to the end, where Gil was seated a very specific distance away from her. "Gil, you can't be thinking about agreeing to this."

He winced.

"Gil?"

He looked up at her, grimacing further at the wobble of her lower lip and the glittering of those viridian eyes of hers. He sighed, "Thena, Eros can sue us all into the ground if he wants."

"No, he can't!"

"Thena, be reasonable," the executives were back to talking (unfortunately). "Eros has unlimited resources, a terrible temper, a chokehold on the general populace--he hasn't left us much of a choice!"

"Except for countersuing him for literal harassment?" she turned back to them, this time slamming her hands onto the table as she shot to her feet.

The team of asswipes across from her looked between themselves, "we...we don't have the evidence."

"What do you mean you don't have the evidence?! Plenty of people were there!"

"All the video we've found thus far is of Eros after he was hit."

All eyes turned to Gil, who shrugged. He was quite literally only present to be fired but he offered a remorseless pursing of his lips. He had no 'sorry's to offer.

"Then ask for the security footage," Thena huffed, sitting down again but not by any means calmer about the whole affair.

"We did," asshat #3 leaned forward, "but there's no clear angle on you and him in the corner."

"Only of him flying off to the side-"

"After the hit," Gil finished for them with a roll of his eyes. "Look, I-"

"We suggest you be quiet."

Thena's eyes shot to them like lightning, "do not speak to him that way."

"Thena-"

"Just let me talk to her," Gil raised his voice at the people who were technically trying not to be his bosses any longer. He held out his hands on the conference table in her direction. His fingers flexed in subconsciously, "please."

"Gil," Thena uttered his name as a plea, moving over to him and gripping his jacket, also realising that it was his black water-resistant bomber jacket instead of a suit jacket. He wasn't dressed for work. She shook her head, "you're really going to let them fire you?"

"Thena," he sighed, rubbing her arms up and down as she held onto him. "This could really hurt the label--could hurt your reputation. It's better if we let him have his way on this one, I think."

"You can't be serious," Thena glared up at him.

But he only smiled at her, pushing some hair behind her ear (despite and maybe forgetting about their audience). "Hey, I'll be fine. You-"

"I'm not accepting anyone else as a bodyguard, Gil."

"Thena," he drawled out in the way he always did when she was being stubborn. "I'll find someone you'll like-"

"No," she insisted, uncaring of the executives rolling their eyes or muttering 'brat' under their breath. She held onto Gil tighter, "they won't be you."

"It doesn't have to be me-"

"Yes, it does!" Thena tugged at his jacket, pulling him closer and refusing to let go. "They let me hire you! I chose you because you were the only one I could trust! You're the only one I can have with me! I...I can't do this without you."

"Thena," he sighed, pulling her only as close as he could stand with their room of an audience present. He wasn't opposed to holding her, but it certainly wouldn't be for those pricks to witness. Her forehead collided with his collarbone as he rested his hand over her hair. "You'll be okay."

Thena sniffled, her tears dropping down between them and onto his white t-shirt. "Please, Gil...I don't want to do this without you."

"I know." And he did know--Thena wanted no part of the fame that came with her level of talent. If she could have had a body double lipsync for her she probably would have done that. She was just too beautiful to not make into an icon.

Thena pulled her head up, "you won't really leave me, will you?"

"Believe me," he pleaded, giving her fingers in his hand a gentle squeeze. It was just a few days ago he'd held this hand in her apartment, at her counter, kissing her fingers as he fed her breakfast. "I don't want to."

Thena looked at him--stared at him. Her eyes ran over his face over and over and over again, searching for something. She turned back to the board of executives, her hair flying out behind her and nearly whipping Gil in the face from the suddenness of her movement. "Fine--fire him."

"Wh-" Gil's jaw dropped.

"But," Thena glared at them, "I have every right to hire my own assistants. Personal assistants don't have to be approved by the label at all, they're mine to contract as needed."

"Thena, you can't be serious."

"Technically, Gil's main contractor isn't the label," Thena shrugged, as if it were just that simple. "It's me. So, really, if you want to fire him, you need to consult with me before you do."

All five dickheads across from her sighed loudly. "Why are you being so difficult about this?"

Thena looked down to her hands clasped in her lap. They were shaking terribly, but she held her ground. "Someone once told me that when you care about something, you protect it. It's the most natural thing in the world."

The executives were unmoved by her little anecdote, but Gil sat up in his chair straighter.

"So," she stared down their bosses - her bosses - as she straightened her posture, "you can pry Gil away from my cold, dead hands."

The executives resumed muttering to themselves again when the doors burst open.

"We got it!"

"Kingo?" Thena startled at his sudden entrance.

"We found the footage of Eros getting handsy," Kingo waved his phone around before sliding it across the conference table. "I already sent it to legal to review, by the way."

Thena looked up at her friend and manager as he leaned on the back of her chair. "How-"

"Makkari's little gremlin," Kingo chuckled, patting Thena's shoulder. For all his cavalier attitude and beaming smile portrayed, he knew how hard this would be on the both of them. "He was lurking around in the shadows and just happened to catch a glimpse of Eros before the hit happened."

The executives shook their heads at the footage, "this...this could ruin him."

"It could indeed," Kingo stood up again, straightening out his very fashionable purple blazer. "And, seeing as how you have the video evidence, I'm sure you wouldn't take it lightly that someone under the label was put in a vulnerable position and then almost forced into silence about it."

The executives bristled at all the right words being used to make their guilt feel palpable in the air of the room. "O-Of course, not."

"Of course." Kingo let his smile drop, putting his hand on Thena's shoulder again. "We want Thena to know that she's both supported and protected by the label, don't we?"

The executives knew that they were beat, clearly, squirming as they were. "We'll contact legal, find a way to proceed with Eros' team. I'm sure you're aware that a circumstance of the settlement will be that this footage never see the light of day."

Kingo held his hands up in surrender, "keep the phone--delete it for yourselves if you want."

The executive swiped up his phone, eager to do just that on their way out.

Kingo waited until they were out of the room before leaning against the table with a sigh, "someone has to teach those crusty old bastards what the cloud is."

"Kingo, how did you find it?" Thena shook her head at the sudden development. "How did Druig know?"

"Well," he pretended to examine his nails in a rare display of modesty. "I may have let it slip to Makkari that Eros was making a stink about 'something'. And that gremlin of hers has eyes everywhere. I knew if he didn't have footage of it then one of his followers would."

"Is that footage really never going to see the light of day?" Gil asked with a scowl, coming over to Thena's side again now that he was free to do so.

"We'll have to uphold our end of the deal," Kingo broke the news to them. "They'll probably reach out to Druig for the video originals, too. It's kind of out of our hands by then."

Gil squeezed Thena's shoulder silently, and her hand responded by coming up to give his a pat. Kingo pretended not to see any of it.

"But if someone else has a completely different angle of video, also capturing Eros being a creep," Kingo shrugged. "And they were never aware of the lawsuit because it was settled before it ever went public, and they were a completely uninvolved third party--well, then..."

Thena smiled up at Kingo, giving him a friendly little nudge, which was the most affectionate she could be (with exception to Gil).

Kingo leaned down, just barely pressing his cheek to Thena's hair, "he's not going to get away with this, T. Mark my words, that fucker's going to pay for what he did."

Gil sighed as Kingo straightened his immaculate suit again before heading out the way the executives did, no doubt to pursue - annoy - them about the matter.

Thena smiled as Gil finally managed to pull her into his arms comfortably. She inhaled, pressing her cheek to his chest. "I can't believe you were going to let them fire you."

"Sorry," he chuckled, combing his fingers through her silken hair. "I didn't think I had a choice in the matter."

Thena pulled back just to glare at him, "well, I do. And I choose you."

Gil's heart swelled in his chest, which also swelled against Thena's palm.

Thena blinked, seeming to absorb what exactly she had just said and scramble to take it back. "T-That is--not that-"

Gil just beamed at her as her fluster increased and the loveliest rouge rose in her pale cheeks. He didn't actually see her flustered much (she was pretty good at hiding it). "No, no, go on."

Thena gave up on her defense, knowing damn well she didn't have one anyway. She pressed her face into his chest again, "can we go home yet, or what?"

"Okay," he smiled down at his stubborn Goddess of War, snuggled into his arms. "Whatever you want."

Thena tightened her hold on him for another second, "just...you."

[softquietsteadylove]

Helloooo! For the bodyguard AU because it’s a very interesting AU!

A few minutes before the show ends Gil goes away to get the car ready. In the meantime the show ends and Thena slips down the last 4 steps from the stairs because it’s gotten wet and nobody noticed it. But she absolutely refuses to get carried from anyone but Gil. And when he comes back and sees the situation he worriedly hurries to her.

It had been raining all day.

Thena always felt bad when the weather for a concert was terrible. She couldn't just cancel a show because of a little drizzle, but she hated imagining people standing around in the cold and the rain to see her, either. She rarely did shows outside for this very reason.

But today was just a few songs, slotted among plenty of other artists. And the rain did shift a few times, sometimes increasing to torrential levels and sometimes dying down to a fine mist in the air.

Either way it was miserable, and Gil couldn't wait to get somewhere warm and dry--get Thena somewhere warm and dry. He nodded to the driver to wait for them as he headed back into the stage structure built for the venue.

"Athena, please, just let us help!"

Gil rushed over, already prepared for the worst. He shoved a few people out of the way, finding Thena seated on the steps off the stage stubbornly, crossing her arms and turning her nose up at those around her. "Thena?"

"Oh thank goodness," a production assistant sighed as Gil pushed his way to the front of the little crowd. "She refuses to let anyone come near her."

"Is that a problem?!" Thena snarled at them. "He's my personal security!"

Gil sighed, kneeling down in front of her. If she was being this cranky and snappy with people, something really did happen. He looked at her and her outstretched leg. He ran a finger over her shin, "you fall?"

Thena's leg flinched as he reached her swollen ankle. "The steps were wet, but I couldn't see it on the black."

Gil nodded, unstrapping her heel and slipping it off as delicately as he would try to unfurl a rose. He held her eyes, "does it hurt?"

"A little," she answered him honestly--more honestly than she had been with anyone else present. She whimpered as he tested her knee.

"Okay," Gil frowned, laying her leg down again. "Might be a sprain."

A stage security guard hovered around them, "I offered to get her to the first aid tent, but-"

"It's okay," Gil offered casually, knowing that Thena had probably hissed and scratched at him like a feral cat at any attempts to come near her. "I've got her."

For all the screaming and acid and vitriol she'd had with the stage hands after her fall, she was calm and almost eager when Gil moved closer. She reached out her arms, looping them around his neck in a very familiar move as he scooped her up into his embrace.

"Y'okay?" he whispered to her as he adjusted his hold.

Thena nodded, burying her face in his neck as he made his way to their ride. She was tired, she was rained-on, she was cranky (embarrassed), and in no mood to be around anyone anymore. "Can we just go home?"

"Fine, but I'm calling Kingo," Gil chuckled as she groaned into the collar of his shirt. "You're getting that leg looked at, Thena."

"It's fine," she whined, only loud enough for him to hear.

"Oh, so I don't need to carry you, then?" he asked with a grin. She kept quiet, tightening her arms around his neck. He tightened his hold on her, assuring her he wasn't about to make her walk any time soon. "That's what I thought."

"It's not my ankle, it's my knee," she finally admitted.

"Smashed it right off the step?" Gil guessed, and received a deep sigh in response.

Thena let him set her in the vehicle, waiting for him to come around and sit beside her as he usually did. It took a him a few minutes, but when he did return, it was with towels.

"Poor thing," he grinned at her as their ride finally started making its way back to her end of town. He scooched over on the leather seats to her, throwing a towel first around her shoulders and then over her hair.

"Thanks," Thena mumbled as he moved the towel around, drying her hair for her both gently and clumsily. "You have to carry me around a lot, don't you..."

"Hm?" Gil tilted his head, peeking at her under the fluffy white hood the towel created for her.

Thena looked down at her hands supporting her on the seat, her thumbs twiddling together anxiously. "It's not exactly in your job description."

Well, no, it wasn't. In fact, his job was to protect her and her space--maintain it, even. It was not actually typical for a bodyguard to have to be so physical with their client, even with the amendments to his new contract about what constituted 'protecting' the client.

Thena pulled the towel back, visibly blushing against the grey backdrop out the windows. "I'm sorry you've gotten so used to it."

Gil blinked. He hadn't expected that. Not that it was out of character for Thena to be worrying about things, but he hadn't thought anything of it. Yes, he had started forgoing the trouble of trying to manoeuvre her at times. And yes, maybe they were both a little too used to - a little too comfortable with - him carrying her bridal style. And yes, maybe it could be considered wildly unprofessional in more than a few ways. And yes, maybe since the whole Eros lawsuit they'd gotten even more comfortable with each other (somehow).

"I don't mind."

Thena looked at up him with a miserable purse to her lips. "You shouldn't have to, though."

Gil shrugged, moving to start braiding her hair over her shoulder. Since they were going to give up on being professional with each other, why not?--at least just in this moment. "Makes my life easier."

"Gil, I'm serious."

"So am I," he smiled, laughing faintly as he said it. She still didn't look convinced. "Look, I've never found myself carrying around my other clients like princesses, I admit it."

Thena stayed quiet, although he couldn't help but think that she looked a little pleased to hear that.

"But my job is to keep you safe, and keeping you close makes it easier to keep you safe," he continued gently, twisting her hair off at the end. "I like it--I like that you've come to trust me so much, Thena."

She tilted her head, admiring the braiding he'd done. "I suppose I hadn't thought of it like that."

"And even if I weren't used to carrying you, you're not going anywhere on that knee anyway."

"Gil!"

[softquietsteadylove]

How about this for Thena bodyguard AU. Fan gets on stage and tries to get to Thena ( to hug her or something) and Gil jumps into action.

The tour was going pretty well, so far. It hadn't been Thena's idea, but it was going well all the same.

Gil knew it was taking a lot out of her. Between being on the road all the time, and the hours they were making, and the constantly being live, she was exhausted. But he always made a point of telling her it went well, of assuring her that she was doing great.

And he took extra care with her offstage.

Obviously he wasn't allowed on stage with her, as much as she would probably like it if he were. But he lingered just offstage in the wings, as usual. There were other security guards at the edges of the stage and in the crowds of course.

But Thena always wanted Gil as close as possible, and something about that really warmed his heart.

Gil was always watching, never once distracted by what was going on around her. He would watch from where he could, move across the massive stage and change angles when necessary. Anything to keep her in his sights.

The show was about three hours in length. It was a full repertoire of Thena's stuff, plus a few extras added for the tour. She would stumble backstage after the whole thing, exhausted and ready to curl up in a ball.

Gil would keep her close as she raced to the solitude of her provided dressing room and then back to the tour bus to rest. One night - after entertaining multiple encores - she had been bold enough to ask him to carry her. Which, of course, he had.

Another song finished, and they were nearing the finale. He could see her steps drifting more and a sheen of sweat making her platinum blonde hair stick to her skin. She looked magnificent.

"Athena, I love you!"

It happened quickly. The guards on the floor were apparently otherwise occupied. That must have been it, Gil thought, because otherwise he was going to have a word with them about how to do their fucking jobs.

Thena rushed back from the edge of the stage, where a fan was clambering up like a zombie in a horror movie. People were already screaming at the upset, and the floor security was trying to mount the stage in pursuit.

But Gil was closer. Gil was faster. Without question, protecting Thena mattered more to Gil.

Thena gasped as Gil appeared from the side of the stage, throwing himself at the intruding presence, both of them rolling away from her. "Gil!"

The kid stopped rolling after the first few. But in reflex, he had kicked Gil off of him, sending her bodyguard into the pit in front of the stage. Fans were screaming, people were in a panic, stage managers were scrambling to recover from the upset.

"Gil!" Thena screamed, dropping her handheld mic and running to where he'd fallen.

"Thena, I'm fine," he called out, already picking himself up. The last thing they needed was her trying to climb down in here with him. "It's just a fall."

"Oh my god," Thena shook her head, waving her hands for the stadium security to come and assist him. "We're going to get you out, Gil."

It was a hell of a fall, and he'd been through it as a security guard before. He picked himself up, although his shoulder was for sure fucked in some way or another. He sighed, wondering if it was enough for him to have to call someone in as a replacement.

Thena wouldn't like it, but his priority was her protection, even if he was no longer the best man for the job.

"Easy," two security guards on either side of him muttered as they pulled him up and walked him towards the stairs. The lights shut off and the house lights came on, signalling the end of the night for everyone involved.

"Where the hell were you?"

"Gil!" Thena rushed forward, having already abandoned her fancy heels and just in her bare feet. He was going to have to lecture her about how she could cut her feet that way.

"Hey," he greeted softly, putting a hand on her back as she threw her arms around him.

"Whoa there, little lady," the other security guards attempted to reach for her.

Gil shrugged them both off and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. They were the fuckers whose fault this was--no way in hell they were touching her. "Let's go."

"Gil, are you okay?" Thena frowned, letting him lean on her as heavily as he needed on their way backstage.

"Pulled something, I think, but I don't think it's an emergency," he sighed as she helped him hobble back. "I'll get off my feet for the rest of the night and I'm sure I'll be better in no time."

"Gil, you should let the onsite medics look at you," Thena frowned.

"We have our own medical team, they can look at me back on the bus," he grunted as she helped him up the small side steps. "Let's get you somewhere safe, first."

"You can worry about yourself a little bit, you know," she gave him a look he usually saw her reserve for Kingo when he was on her nerves, or Ikaris when she had to be around him to hang out with Sersi.

"I'm fine, I-ah!" Gil grunted as she gripped his shoulder with a defiant glare. "Okay, I'll get it looked at. I just...I need to know you're safe first, Thena."

Thena pulled him into the wings, where the rest of their team were already waiting at the ready. She let some of his other security guards take his weight off her shoulders, calls already being made and assistants ready to run out to 24/7 pharmacies in the area.

Gil sighed as he got loaded into a golf cart, which he had to admit, was nicer than walking at the moment. A stage manager climbed into the front, but - to his pleasant surprise - Thena climbed in next to him.

"I've made you promise not to leave my side before," she murmured as she pulled him to lean against her at a comfortable angle, one of her arms around him and the other helping to keep his sore shoulder in a relaxed position. "Now, it's my turn."

[softquietsteadylove]

Hey! Did you know that Don Lee actually released a song for an advertisement? It’s called B.D.T and his voice ist super nice in this song :D

You know it would be funny if Gil has actually a nice singing voice that he is not aware of and Thena discovers it coincidentally.

For Thenamesh Bodyguard AU:

he is softly singing for himself while preparing for work when Thena hears him and stands at the door without him noticing him and is suprised!

Thena inhaled as she woke gently. She was tangled up in her sheets, as she always was. Her limbs were spread out and she was looking up at the ceiling. Memories of last night's awards - and then after party debacle - came back to her.

Gil had taken her home.

She was always exhausted after awards or show nights, and something about Gil always lulled her into a state of sleep when she was alone with him. He just made her feel more at ease than anyone else.

Thena dragged herself out of bed, finding herself still dressed from last night, because of course she was. Kingo would kill her for sleeping in her beautiful and expensive piece of couture (especially since she slept like a bird fallen from the sky). But also of course Gil wouldn't have undressed her. He was probably embarrassed just to take her shoes off for her.

She dropped the dress to the floor, leaving it where it fell and moving to pull on a much more comfortable set of pyjamas and fluffy robe. The dress was already in a sorry state, it couldn't suffer any more on her floor than it could being slept in. She would pay for it in full and apologise to its maker.

"Gil?" Thena poked her head out of her bedroom, hearing humming and the gentle sounds of cooking coming from her kitchen. She tiptoed out into her flat.

Gil was at the stove, moving around a few different pots and pans at once. He was a gifted cook, which she only learned recently in their time together. She had mentioned she was craving good jjajangmyeon and asked if he had any recommendations. He didn't--he had simply made some at home and brought it over.

It was the best food she'd ever eaten.

Thena leaned against the doorway separating the foyer/living room/kitchen from the depths of the flat. Gil was in his own little world, stirring miso soup and frying eggs and fluffing rice and plenty else. He was humming, breaking into full - but still gentle - singing every few seconds.

He had a surprisingly lovely voice, soft, right in his speaking register. It was smooth, although the lower he went the more roughness his voice attained. He had good breath support, even a healthy vibrato just at the end of some of his notes.

Thena didn't recognise the tune, but she didn't want to interrupt to ask.

Gil was halfway through plating when he jumped, catching a ghost hovering by the far wall. "Jesus, Thena--how long have you been there?"

"Sorry," she smiled, drifting over with her robe swaying around her legs. "I didn't want to stop you."

"Oh," he sufficed to say, blushing faintly at being caught.

"How did I not know you could sing?" she shook her head at him with a bit of a squint in her eyes.

"I don't know if I'd say that," he chuckled, setting out breakfast for them both (knowing Thena didn't like being watched while she was trying to eat). "Especially to a famous singer."

"It's nice," she corrected gently, watching as he set out their side dishes for them. The scent of jasmine rice and barley tea washed over her, settling her typically unruly stomach.

"My grandmother used to listen to old radio songs while she cooked," Gil shrugged as he pulled up a seat next to her at the kitchen counter elevation. "Guess it was in my head."

Thena inhaled all the intermingling smells deeply before picking up her chopsticks. "This looks amazing, Gil."

He kept his eyes on her, measuring how much of an appetite she had based on the size of her bites. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she smiled at him before shovelling in a massive bite of rice. "Honestly--I know it'll be a messy affair to deal with. But I'm not traumatised."

Gil frowned, obviously ready to argue that she had every right to feel shaken by what he had witnessed last night. Perhaps it was how he felt about it personally--as a man with strength to spare, Gil was always nervous about people feeling unnecessarily intimidated by him. Even as her security, he was careful about being gentle with her.

He would never invade someone's space the way he had watched Eros do with her last night.

Thena set down her bowl and looked over at Gil, setting her hand on his. "I'm okay, Gil."

He stared at her hand, smaller and thinner than his, but with long, elegant fingers made for the world of music. He turned his hand over to clasp her fingers in his. "I was worried--looking over, seeing him...on you, like that."

Thena just nodded. She was taking things lightly because she had the luxury of knowing she had Gil's protection. But she couldn't imagine the stress it put on him.

Gil pulled his eyes up to her, finding her looking at him with a curious expression on her face. He didn't know exactly what it was, and he was pretty damn familiar with every expression Thena had. "What?"

"Hm?"

"What?" he chuckled, his hand still holding hers.

"I didn't say anything," Thena laughed gently as well, the sound of it and the city outside and fridge's ice maker filling her flat around them.

Gil shook his head. He could ask her about it later. He left his left hand around hers, using his right to cut his egg in half and scoop up it along with some rice. "Here."

"I have my own," Thena laughed as he moved the bite atop his chopsticks closer and closer.

"Thena," he grinned at her as her fluster increased. She accepted the bite, leaning forward for it and scraping her teeth down his chopsticks. "Good."

She raised a brow at him, and he knew she was about to start talking with her mouth full. "You're lucky your food's so good."

"Very," he agreed for the sake of it, cutting up a piece of flaky mackerel for her next. She shook her head. "Yes, Thena."

She pouted at him; fish wasn't her favourite, no matter how much her personal trainer tried to convince her to try it.

Gil gave her hand in his a squeeze, pulling it up and just hovering his lips around it, "one bite."

Thena blinked, accepting the bite as Gil touched his lips just above her manicured nails. She didn't even taste the pan fried fish, took focused on the more pleasant sensation. "Not bad."

"Want another?" Gil asked, although she shook her head immediately. "Fine, have some omelette."

Gil continued feeding her through the morning, ignoring Kingo's texts, ignoring that it was his day off and he technically was under no obligation to be by Thena's side. He ignored the fact that he literally had no food at all in his fridge at his own apartment.

He continued to feed Thena, one bite at a time, both of them talking and laughing lightly as he did. She fed him the occasional bite off her plate. Their hands remained linked between them, no matter how impractical.

[softquietsteadylove]

For the Singer/Bodyguard AU, what about Gil was injured protecting Thena in her tour and Thena was taking care of her, suddenly Gil asked if she could sing for him? I can really imagine him falling asleep in the middle of the song and Thena secretly kissing him🫣

"Oh, Gil," Thena sighed, sitting herself next to Gil, who was laid in one of the many beds on the tour bus.

After the incident that was having to intercept a fan charging the stage and ending up falling into the pit, Gil was on painkillers and bed rest for the night with a pulled shoulder and twisted ankle. Nothing that would put him out of commission for the rest of the tour, but enough that Thena hadn't left his side for a moment.

The rest of the crew was divided up into making sure no one approached the tour bus, getting food, breaking down what of the stage and equipment had to go with them, and etc.

"Stop making that face."

Thena opened her eyes - interrupting her misery - just to glare down at him. "What face?"

"That face," Gil looked up at her, turning his head while the rest of him felt loosey-goosey. "That's your worrying face."

"I don't have a worrying face."

"You do, it's that one," Gil pointed out, and it did ultimately get a laugh out of her, however weak. "You get that face when you're preparing for a live performance, or when you have to do an interview, or when you have to go to some party."

"You make it sound as if I do nothing but worry all the time," Thena frowned down at him (as she pulled the blankets higher up).

"Well, not all the time," Gil sighed as she adjusted his pillows for him too. He nestled into them with a contented smile.

Thena's face hovered somewhere between a contented frown or an unhappy smile.

"It's my job, you know."

"Your job is to keep me at a distance," she whispered, wilting on her perch on the edge of the bed. "Not to get hurt doing so."

"My job is to protect you, Thena." Gil pulled his good arm out from the blanket, although she tried to stop it as he did. But he let her take his hand, just so he could thread their fingers together. He caught her eye, hoping she would really listen to him through all those voices in her head. "My job is to keep you safe, and I'd do anything to accomplish it."

"Gil," Thena started.

But he shook his head, "no arguments. I'm in charge, and I say that tonight was a good night."

Thena pursed her lips, trailing her eyes from the shoulder he couldn't lift above his head to the ankle he had limped back on. "I disagree."

Gil took in her pinched lip and the little knot between her brows. He shuffled on the bed again. "Sing something for me?"

"What?"

"I'm-" Gil paused to yawn in the middle of his sentence, "beat. You're already here--sing something for me? Just a little something?"

"Like what?" Thena laughed, although her hand wandered up to brush over his cheek.

Gil let his eyes drift closed with the picture of her looking at him like that in his mind. "Just whatever you sing when we're in the car, or when you're brushing your hair."

Thena smiled. Gil was drifting off to sleep, or at the very least doing a pretty good job of pretending he was. She never thought of it when she sang lightly throughout her daily life. But of course Gil would notice. He probably noticed it was usually the same song, too.

She hadn't released it, yet. She might never, really. It was just a light little tune that had come to her one night while in the limo with him. It was back when they had just started working together, and they were just talking about nothing at all.

He had held out a hand without a second thought. She hadn't understood at first but he offered a gentle smile, "your jewellery. You're dying to take it off, right? I'll hold onto it for you."

It was such a simple little thing. Her ears were both double pierced, but any other ear cuffs or third piercings were just for show. And she didn't wear much jewellery herself because the clasps just irritated her skin.

She had just stared, pulling off the ear cuffs, the extravagant - excessive - golden necklace, the bracelets--all of it. She handed them over to Gil, who slipped them all into his inside pocket.

"Kingo can blame me for them being tangled," he excused, already knowing she would be worried about it.

And ever since then, she had been humming her sweet little tune to herself whenever her mind strayed to her head of security.

"I spy, with my little tired eye, tiny as a firefly... "

Thena ran her fingers through his hair, singing the light tune as his breathing evened out. It wouldn't have surprised her if he had been faking being tired enough to sleep just to put her at ease. But soon a light snore came from him.

It was hard to sing when she was smiling so much.

The short song ended, but Thena remained leaning over him. He must have been truly exhausted to drift off just like that. Not that she wasn't, herself--they were all exhausted from touring. But Gil especially didn't get the rest he deserved, she was sure.

Thena tilted her head at him, tucking some hair behind her ear. He looked sweet, lying there with his face totally relaxed. She didn't get to see it that way often. He could look so serious when they were working, but she also knew it to be laughing and smiling just as often.

She liked his laugh. She liked his smile.

Thena leaned over, touching her lips to his. Just on a whim--just an idea that popped into her head. Just...the littlest of little kisses.

She liked it.

"You guys okay in here?"

Thena rushed to stand up, whacking her head off the roof of the bus bed on her way. "Shit!"

"Thena?"

"H-Hey," she smiled as the rest of the crew filed onto the bus with their spoils. She held her hands behind her back, walking towards the end of the bus with her bed and its curtain. "Find everything okay?"

"Yeah--hopefully the next stop has more open at this time of night."

Thena just nodded, hoping the faintness of the bus lights would hide the burning in her cheeks.

[softquietsteadylove]

ohh hiii! i liked the Thenamesh bodyguard au very much. would you do another prompt? would love to read more of them! maybe with a hint of protection from Gil? I'm sure you will write something good^^

"The Goddess Athena!"

The crowd cheered, loudly and gleefully, clapping and screaming as Thena waved to them on her way off stage. Only once away from prying eyes did she speed up to more of a gallop.

Gil smiled as Thena trotted over, eagerly slipping into the robe held out for her by stage hands and stylists, all hovering close in case the Goddess needed anything. "That went well."

"As well as I could ask," she muttered, as she secured the robe around her - over the too-light and breezy dress she'd worn for her set - and accepted a bottle of water.

Gil chuckled as she shooed away the many hands trying to fix her hair and offer congratulations. He fell in step with her as they made their way back to her greenroom. "Come on, I know you've been nervous about it."

Thena offered a small smile, "I'm always nervous when it comes to going live."

He really didn't know why--he had heard her live, and it was incredible. "It's over now, at least. And I already have a car waiting for us. You don't have to stick around for the end of the show."

"Are you sure?" she looked at him curiously.

She was genuinely asking, of course. She had far too much going on to recall everything on the schedule made for her by managers and publicists and PR and the like. She trusted Gil completely to know what they were doing and when and where.

And he took that trust in him to heart. "I told 'em you have somewhere else you have to be."

Thena licked her lips after a deep swig of water, "where?"

Gil let his elbow nudge her gently as he adjusted his jacket, "home."

Those were her favourite words to hear, and it was obvious. Thena grinned at him, "what would I do without you?"

"Not make it on time for your meetings, that's for damn sure," he laughed, happily enduring the light slap on the arm he received for the joke.

"Oh my god, Athena!"

Thena froze, her whole body locking up with her arms held tight to her chest. There was some fan - or someone - standing at her greenroom door, obviously having been waiting for her.

Gil stepped in front of her, "who the hell are you? Who let you back here?"

But the fan was blabbering on and on and on, already a messy tangle of words and admiration and compliments.

"Hey!" Gil barked, holding his hand out when they took even the slightest step forward. His other hand reached backward, making sure Thena was safely hidden behind him. "You come any closer, I'm gonna have to call you an ambulance."

"Sorry! Sorry-"

They were a relative of the host's, having been promised they could meet the famous and anticipated guest of honour, Goddess Athena. Of course, that promise had probably been made in hopes they could be cool about it and not freak out like they had just done.

"Look," Gil glared at them, pushing forward and moving them aside as needed so Thena was still safely behind him. "I don't care if you're the kid of the fucking label CEO, you don't just come and camp out in front of people's rooms."

"I-I'm sorry, I just wanted to-"

Gil gave them a last little shove as he pulled the door closed, walking backwards into the room to keep his eyes on the situation. He locked the door, only now turning to look at Thena. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, although he could tell by the purse of her lips that she wasn't happy. Not that it wasn't understandable, but he knew Thena, and he could see the way she was still locked up stiff and clamped around herself. She was shaken by the incident, beyond just the annoyance it was.

"Hey," Gil said softly, pulling her to him and holding her. It probably wasn't part of his job to give her comforting hugs, actually. But it was his job to protect her, and as far as he was concerned, this was part of it. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head against his chest, although she didn't emerge from it either.

"I'm right here," he promised her. He wasn't sure why such a simple statement of fact always worked to reassure her, but it did. "What do you wanna do?"

He was asking what her next move was: stay in here and wait until the coast was clear, or let him plow a path for her to make it to the car waiting for them?

"Go home," she sighed, knowing it required her to potentially emerge from the locked room and face another stranger.

"Okay," Gil said lightly, letting go of her slowly as she pulled away. She dragged her feet back to the rack of clothes arranged just for her.

Thena smiled as Gil not only turned around, but practically pressed his face to the door as she retrieved the clothes she was wearing before she put on her gauzy little Goddess Athena costume dress. He was always like that when she had to change and he was in the room. It was gentlemanly and cute and entirely too sweet.

"Gil?"

"Yeah?" he asked, although he was staring hard at the wood grain of the door in front of him.

"Can we get take out on our way?"

"Sure we can," he smiled, happy to at least hear her voice lighter and looser. "I'll ask the service to hit the drivethru for us."

Thena came up behind him again. While he had been protecting her, she had been nestled right into his back, clinging to him. It wasn't that the dress was particularly revealing or anything, but it didn't have to be for her to feel vulnerable in just it and the little terrycloth robe she'd been wearing. But with the warmth from Gil's back in hand, she always managed to feel a little safer.

Gil turned just his head as he felt her lean her head against his back on his shoulder. She was a lot shorter than him when she wasn't wearing heels. She could appear really tall at times, with her lithe figure, usually wearing heels of some kind. But she was actually quite a cute little thing. "Thena?"

"What would I do without you?"