#although Thena thinks it's so ridiculous

[softquietsteadylove]

How about them going ice skating? Gil is pretending he can’t ice skate so Thena helps him and guides him but then Thena challenges him to skate alone but with every challenge there is an award right? So he says something like if I can skate to the other side without help or falling I get a kiss. And she agrees fully believing he can’t so he surprises her how naturally he can skate. Some fluff and humor :D

you choose wich AU it should be. The Thenamesh receptionist AU or the Thenamesh Ice Queen/ Tyrant King AU :)

Gil inhaled the cool, crisp air of the outdoor rink. There were other people skating, light chatter, the scent of zamboni fluid and hot cocoa in the air. It was perfect!

Thena gasped as Gil fell forward and flat on his face. She made her way back to him in her pristine white figure skates. "Are you okay?"

"Ugh," he groaned as she helped him pick himself up (which was never going to be an easy task in any form of skate). "Fine, just tripped over a chip in the ice or something."

The Ice Queen smiled, though. Maybe it was the light snow dancing in the breeze, or maybe it was the twinkling lights everywhere. But she took his hands in hers, gloves on gloves, and started skating backwards gently. "Just hold onto me."

Gil happily followed suit, moving at her pace, careful of his movements. How could he say no to that?

And sure, he didn't really need her help--not like this, at least. But who was he to say no to his Princess?--his Queen, rather.

Gil shuffled along, not really having to fake any clumsy movements when all he was really trying to do was stay as close to Thena as possible. She had a natural grace to her, as always, guiding him around the rink with his hands in hers. "Why haven't we done this before?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," he shrugged, smiling at the stunning woman with her blond hair floating around her and the faux-fur collar of her coat on her cheek. "You are the Ice Queen, after all."

Thena rolled her eyes. "How did you become so respected when your jokes are so terrible?"

"Couldn't tell you, Sweetheart," he chuckled, happy to let his girlfriend lead him around. "When did you learn to skate?"

"When I was young," she shrugged, still moving blithely without a care to those who may be behind her as she led Gil by the hand. Everyone made room for them, anyway, between the intimidating beauty of Thena and the sheer size of him behind her.

Gil stared at her, though, eager just to keep holding her hands and hear her talk more. "Did you do it seriously?"

"No, it was just one of the many activities I was supposed to do," Thena mused. She didn't have to explain further, and they both knew Gil already knew what she was talking about when she brought it up.

Just like Gil came from a long line of people in the business, Thena's family also was the foundation upon which her current empire was founded.

"What else did you do?" he asked, hoping to hear more as he followed her around and around.

"I suppose the things everyone at boarding school did," she sufficed before looking up at him again. "Think you can handle it?"

"Handle what?"

Thena let go of his hands, turning away from him and leaving him standing on the half line. "You seem to be doing fine. See if you can reach the far wall and back without me."

Oh, it was a challenge. She hadn't even noticed that he didn't really need her help not falling. Well, if she asked, he would tell her that he had fallen for her a long time ago, and then she would roll her eyes, and pretend she didn't think it was funny, but she'd have that cute smile on-

"Gil!"

"Hm?" he blinked, returning his attention to the woman even shorter than him than normal in their skates. He tilted his head at her, "what do I get if I do?"

"Bribery, really?" she raised a brow at him.

"Come on, Princess, number one rule of business," he chuckled, leaning closer to her, "nothing comes for free."

"Fine," she sighed, leaning away from him primly. "What do you want?"

"A kiss."

"Just a kiss?" she raised her brow at him and he nodded as if she were promising him riches beyond belief. She shook her head at him, "fine, one kiss--go."

Gil took off like a shot, able to propel himself rapidly with the muscles he had. He made it there and back in record time, skidding to a halt just beside her so he didn't get ice shavings on her.

Thena stared at him, her jaw bobbing. "Wh-"

"Sorry, baby," he chuckled, coming right up to her and rubbing her arms with his hands, "but I can skate fine. I really did trip on something when we first got here, but you were the one who started leading me around."

"But-"

"And I wasn't going to say no to holding your hands," Gil shrugged innocently, perfectly accepting of it as she slapped his arm hard enough for onlookers to seem concerned. "Now, I believe I have a reward to collect."

"You are unbelievable."

"Hey, a deal's a deal, Ice," he grinned down at her, although he soon leaned down to be in a better position for kissing. "Business is business."

Thena's lips twisted as she leaned up and in slowly, and not steadily. Her eyes darted away a few times and Gil was delighted to see a soft and pretty blush in her cheeks. His Ice Queen had a shy side to her when it came to the smallest of affections.

Gil closed his eyes, always in bliss as Thena touched her lips to his. She pulled back, satisfied with the deal. But she didn't go far, and that was all the sign Gil needed to lean in, asking for another one.

Thena let him wrap his arms around her, her hands sneaking into his open coat and onto his chest as she leaned up for him. They parted again, her needing to breathe just a little more heavily than before. Gil pressed his nose to her cheek, their eyelashes brushing each other's skin as they hovered still entangled.

Gil smiled at her, letting her pull away just enough for him to get to see those killer green eyes again.

Thena did her best to feign some disapproval, "what did I tell you about kissing in public?"

"Hey, this was my prize to collect," he smiled at her, kissing her cheek, "no conditions apply."

Thena shook her head at him again, although she clearly wasn't exasperated enough to pull away as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Fine; pleasure doing business."

"Oh," he winked at her, "pleasure's all mine, Ice."

"Insufferable man."

"Excuse me," he chuckled, taking her hand in his and now the one to pull her into his pace, "but you still owe me a date, Ice. So I guess you'll just have to suffer through it."

[claptrap-stan]

Dining Disaster

Janey comes home to find Athena (attempting) cooking a meal, and remembers exactly why she always does the cooking herself. The source will take you to AO3, if that’s what you prefer!

Janey froze in the hallway as the front door swung shut behind her. She knew it was Athena’s evening off, of course, so she supposed she shouldn’t be too worried, but still…

The distinct smell of burning wasn’t comforting.

She shuffled all her shopping onto one arm before continuing forward towards the kitchen. Athena was competent adult. Athena would know how to put out a fire. Athena would not let their house burn down.

It didn’t really explain the source of the burning in the first place.

She braced herself as she pushed the kitchen door open with her free hand, expecting to see smoke, or maybe scorch marks – the signs of some kind of fight? Of a weapons mishap?

Instead, the room looked like a much less violent bomb had gone off.

The sink was full of pots and pans and plastic bowls. The sides were lined with fruit and vegetables and empty packaging. Flour coated one side of a raised cabinet and the surrounding surface. Thin brown fluid spread across the surface and dripped onto the floor. There were patches on the opposite wall of what seemed to be some kind of mushy food. Faint tendrils of smoke still drifted around the room despite the open windows.

In the midst of it all, Athena stood facing the stove like she was in the eye of a hurricane.

Janey was so surprised that she let one of the shopping bags slide out her grasp.

The ensuing thud brought her out of her reverie and simultaneously prompted Athena to spin around, looking surprised and defensive. She was wearing a casual t-shirt, a rare enough sight, but it was sporting way more stains than the blonde remembered.

“Janey-“

“Sorry!” Janey ducked down to scoop the bag up.

“What-“

“Don’t worry, there’s nothing fragile in it.” She straightened up to look at Athena properly, trying to ignore the mess as best she could. Her fiancé was still looking at her in confusion, as if she were the one to just walk into this sight. “What?”

“You’re home early,” noted Athena. “I wasn’t expecting you for another hour or so.”

“Yeah, I… I closed the shop early because I didn’t have much work to do.” Janey hesitated a second before carefully placing her bags onto the only clean spot on the sideboard.

“Quiet day?”

“Uh, yeah. ‘Thena, sweetie-“ Janey gave up trying to think of a tactile way to approach it. “What happened in here?”

Athena glanced around, seeming to take it all in for the first time. “I cooked,” she said bluntly after a second. “Actually, I’m cooking. It was meant to be a surprise, but you’re home early.”

Well. She definitely was surprised. And also flattered, but that didn’t outweigh her mild horror. “Oh.” She paused. “That smell-“

“It’s the food.” Athena turned back to the pan. “I’m making stew.”

“Babe-“ Janey bit her lip. She didn’t want to sound ungrateful. Really, she found it almost ridiculously adorable that Athena was trying to cook. If the kitchen looked any less disastrous, she probably would’ve used it as an excuse to drag her fiancé upstairs before insisting they order takeout. As it was, the mess took priority. Unfortunately. “What, uh- what… what went wrong here?”

“Nothing much,” said Athena, nonchalantly, as if she didn’t clearly have egg on her shoulder. “Some of the original attempts didn’t cooperate, so I tossed them into the sink.”

“And the… everything else?” Janey specifically eyed the flour on the wall.

“Collateral.” Athena tilted her head. “Is something wrong? Because I’ll clean up the mess when I’m done cooking. It won’t take me long.”

Janey guessed her fiancé was vastly underestimating the damage here, but she decided not to mention it. Instead, she gave what she hoped was a gentle smile and tried not to come off as too negative. “No, no, of course nothing’s wrong. It’s just that… you don’t usual cook, is all.”

“Exactly. I figured you could use the break.”

“Aw.” Janey couldn’t help but move forward and press a quick kiss to her fiancé’s cheek. “That’s so sweet. But you know, I don’t mind cooking for you.”

Athena smiled at her. “You deserve the break,” she assured her, squeezing her hand and turning slightly to the stew, which looked more like a congealed mess to Janey. Did you even put flour in stew?

“Hey, ‘Thena, what recipe did you use for this?” She asked after a second, side-eying it.

Athena stirred it as she answered. “I was trained as an assassin by Atlas from childhood,” she said, in a tone that suggested Janey should’ve known better than to ask. “I think I can handle making a stew on my own.”

Oh, no. “Uh-huh,” said Janey, instead, biting the inside of her cheek. Maybe it wouldn’t taste so bad? Maybe, by some miracle, it’d be fine? Maybe-

“Do you want to try some?” Athena scooped some of the ‘stew’ onto her spoon and held it towards her.

Janey tried to think of a single way to say no without implying it would taste bad.

She failed.

“Sure,” she said finally, trying to keep the reluctance out of her voice. Her fiancé’s pleased expression almost made it worth it – almost. She placed her hand on top of Athena’s to steady the spoon and tried not to wrinkle her nose at the smell – somewhere between burnt coal and a slag heap – as she brought it to her lips.

She took the smallest possible mouthful and still nearly gagged, but she managed to suppress it. One time, Janey had landed face first in a skag nest and had gotten a mouthful of stuff she still didn’t want to think about.

Somehow, this tasted worse.

Her fiancé was watching her expectantly, and she swallowed hard before forcing a grin. “It tastes great,” she lied, and Athena smiled in a way that made her heart lift.

“Good,” she said, placing the spoon back in the pan. “I want this to be a treat for you. You’re always doing the housework around here.”

“Aw.” There’s a reason for that. “But you don’t have-“

“You said that,” interrupted Athena, rolling her eyes. “What’s the point of me having the day off if I can’t spoil you, though?”

“Babe-“ Janey couldn’t help but smile for real this time. Sure, the meal was disgusting, but still, she appreciated the effort. Especially if she managed to get out of eating it. She didn’t say that, though, instead wrapping her hand around her fiancé’s elbow and tugging her into a kiss. It was meant to be quick, a soft thank you before she moved on to trying to figure out what to do with the mess, but it didn’t quite work out like that.

She wasn’t entirely sure what happened. One moment they were standing at the stove, the next her fiancé was pushed against the counter with the sink, their bodies pressed together, one of Janey’s hands around her neck and the other one against the side for balance. Athena’s fingers looped through Janey’s belt, using it to tug her closer as she arched into her. Janey moved her free hand to Athena’s waist, brushing up the bottom of the t-shirt and sliding her fingers against the bare strip of skin there, feeling Athena tug her harder at the contact and smiling. If she could just-

The sudden woosh less than a foot away interrupted them.

Both of them turned to look. For a few seconds, Janey couldn’t register what she was looking at – pan, bright light, smoke-

Then Athena swore and pushed her out of the way, scrambling forward to grab the pan off the stove. Fire. Now there was fire.

“Careful-“ Janey winced as her fiancé grabbed the pan, although Athena didn’t react. “It’ll be hot-“

“I have a high pain tolerance,” said Athena, before smoothly manoeuvring around her while holding the flaming pan in front of her. She shoved it under the tap and turned it on as high a pressure as she could, and Janey, finally coming to her senses, quickly turned off the stove top.

For a few seconds, the only sound was the hiss of steam.

Finally, Athena turned the tap off and turned to face her, still holding the pan. She opened her mouth, but clearly couldn’t think of anything to say, and after a second she closed it again.

“So,” said Janey, glancing at the remains of their ‘meal’ – not that it could’ve gotten much worse. “Takeout tonight?”

[softquietsteadylove]

Gil has a sexy water shooting in boxers and a white dress shirt 😏

"This is dumb."

"Come on," Thena smiled as Gil fussed with his 'wardrobe', "you know how these shoots are."

"I wish I didn't," he grumbled, visibly embarrassed.

"Stop it," Thena laughed faintly. She had seen him plenty of times like this--shy and flustered at the wardrobe picked for him. "You look good. And that is the whole point of this."

"I still don't know whose big idea it was to even nominate me," he practically pouted as the lighting for the set was finalised."

"It's based on general consensus, Gilgamesh," she chided him, tugging at the front of his shirt for him one last time. "And Sprite says there has been a bit of a resurgence for you online as of late."

Gil had stumbled into a nomination for sexiest man of the year (or alive, or whatever they were calling it these days). And he wasn't overly pleased with it, especially when he found out that he had won. And furthermore, that they wanted to do a sexy photo shoot for the occasion.

He had initially wanted to decline, but his manager practically frothed at the mouth at the idea. One did not simply decline the title, nor the publicity that came with it.

King had said, verbatim, "go on and slut it up, big guy", so...that was helpful.

"Okay," Gil gulped, stiffly walking towards the set.

He had fussed and fussed, saying that plenty of options were just not him, or they wouldn't be believable that it was something he did regularly. At first he had suggested they just follow him around at the gym for the interview.

But the editor had gotten a tip off that Gil was a great cook.

Thena watched from the sidelines as they directed him. He was wearing a white button up shirt, and absolutely nothing else. Well, a pair of black boxer-briefs. Gil had said he looked completely ridiculous. Thena had told him not to argue with the producers.

He did look sexy.

Gil slouched over to the stove, grasping the handle of the pan just to really sell that he was doing some casual and lazy home cooking (in his underwear). "Y'know, I can't help but feel it's kinda dangerous to advertise this. Cooking without protection can-"

"Okay, big guy," the photographer murmured, obviously not listening to him. "Tug those sleeves up a little more?"

He did have great forearms.

"And," they adjusted the lens, "lean back a little, like you're talking with someone behind you?"

Gil was still terribly stiff. For all his acting prowess, photo shoots were not something into which his talent could translate naturally. He was too shy, too uncomfortable showing off his body.

"Think about who you're making these eggs for!"

Gil looked at the spatula in his other hand, "you really wouldn't need this just to scramble some eggs."

The producer sighed, rubbing their forehead. "Okay, let's try...something else."

"Gladly," Gil sighed, dropping himself from the unnatural pose.

"You!"

Thena blinked as she found a finger pointed at her, "me?"

The producer nodded, wagging a finger until she came closer to the set, "you came with him."

Yes, Gil had both been mortified at the idea of her seeing him like this, but also too shy to come all by himself for what could have been anything from a sports shoot to a total fanservice scene.

"What about her?" She was grasped by the shoulders to indicate to Gil that she could be the subject. "We put her at the other side of the island, out of frame, you just talk to her for a little. Think you can do that?"

Gil sighed at the grating and patronising tone. But he understood that his discomfort was primarily the cause of it. He looked at her, "are you okay with this?"

"It's not a problem," she answered, mostly for Gil's sake. Although she was all but shoved into the seat by the producer who obviously thought this would be quick and easy.

"Okay," Gil sighed as he resumed his place in the best lighting for the shot. "So, uh-"

"Well, you're right, you wouldn't use that thing to scramble eggs."

Gil did glance over his shoulder partially at her, pretending to make the vague gestures of cooking.

"You always just use chopsticks when I watch you," she tilted her head, although saying that was possibly more incriminating than she intended it to be. She just meant that he cooked a lot when he was over at her house (a lot).

"I mean, it's not like it's bad for making eggs," he shrugged, moving the spatula as stirring something around in his empty pan. "But it kinda cuts through them rather than keeps them airy and fluffy."

Thena smiled, happy just to watch him loosen up somewhat. "You could be making pancakes, I suppose."

"Huh," Gil mused, examining his pan at the suggestion. "I wouldn't really recommend a stainless steel nonstick for it, but I guess it's not impossible."

"You make delicious pancakes."

Thena continued to chat with him lightly and causally. It did actually seem to help him loosen up and forget about the cameras and the lights and the lack of pants on him. He would turn towards her every once in a while and then go back to staring at his imaginary dish.

"I think we got it!"

Gil blinked, "really?"

"Yep," the photographer declared happily, with the producer nodding enthusiastically in relief. "We're all good."

"Oh, uh," Gil set the pan and spatula down on the set stove and stepped back, "great."

Thena smiled at him; he was immediately back to being self-conscious and shy. She stood from her seat, "come on."

Gil started tugging at the shirt immediately, rolling down the sleeves to keep his hands busy. "Thank god, let's get outta here."

"Get some pants on, you mean?" she couldn't resist a little tease, which made him turn scarlet right to his ears. "Oh, come on, Gil. Your backside looked quite fantastic, I thought."

"Thanks," he snarked, eagerly heading right for the changing room to put his normal clothes back on. He looked over his shoulder before disappearing completely, "should I be concerned about you looking when I'm cooking at home, now?"

She shrugged with a faint grin, "what would you prefer I look at?"

Gil never did come up with a reply, retreating from her flirting.

She also needed to recover, actually. He did look good in the shirt and underwear they had selected for him. And while it wouldn't show up on the page, she had actually seen that it wasn't specially lined just for the shoot. She hadn't seen everything but she felt that she had seen...enough.

She twisted her hair over her shoulder, running her fingers through it, although making sure that the tips of her ears were covered.

[softquietsteadylove]

Heyyy you did a hockey player x figure skater au like a while back and i was wondering if u were ever gonna do more of it bc i loved it and thought it was so good

"Acceptable."

Thena kept her expression even, although she found herself letting more and more of her feelings leak into it as of late. That wasn't good, but she wasn't sure what had caused it, let alone how to stop.

"We're done. I will see you next week."

"Yes, Father," Thena murmured as her coach left, walking away from the ice without a glance back at her. Which she was used to, of course.

She skated to the other side of the rink instead, slipping on her blade guards and then all but running up the stands to sit and tear her skates off. She was rushing to get off the ice a lot more than she used to as well, too.

Not that it had to do with Gilgamesh.

He was...nice--sweet, even. They had spoken a few more times since he had caught her after a rough practice. He was easy to talk to, and he - for some reason - seemed to think the same of her. He was quite funny, actually, and he had kept his promise; he still brought extra power bars for her.

It didn't matter if it was before practice or after, he would come over to her and offer her a protein bar, they would sit and chat for a bit. Then they would part ways until the next time they could talk.

She liked talking with Gil. It was the most pleasant part of any of her practice days. Which was easy to manage in comparison to her father's coaching, but still. Gil always had a way of making her feel better before a practice, and especially better after a bad one. She would tell him about figure skating, he would tell her about hockey. It was nice.

"Hey!"

"Hey," she smiled back more quietly as he came over to her. His bag wasn't slung over his shoulder, and he didn't have his jersey on yet. Perhaps he had dropped them off in the changing room already.

"How was practice?" he asked as he took his usual seat next to her. He let his feet rest on the back of the row below them. He wasn't even wearing hockey pants, just regular jeans.

"It was fine," Thena murmured as he pulled out her snack from his pocket. She accepted it gently from him, feeling that it was warm. "Father was his usual self. But I suppose my ankles aren't as sore as they sometimes are."

"That's not bad, right?" he grinned at her, tearing open his own power bar with his teeth.

"Right," she murmured, opening hers more gently and taking a bite. "Hm."

"You like it, right?" he grinned at her, so warm and open and charming about it. "I thought you might; it's caramel hot chocolate flavoured--apparently."

"It's good," she murmured, taking another bite. "Do you like chocolate?"

"I've always loved chocolate," Gil said with his mouth full, just barely intelligible. He gulped it down, "although lately I've been appreciating plain vanilla more and more. Getting older, maybe."

Thena laughed softly, the sound and her breath floating around them in the chilled air. "Yes, the curse of age, is it?"

"Exactly!" he laughed as well. He leaned back on his palms, "chocolate's your fave, right?"

"I suppose so," Thena admitted quietly, not sure what she would have to be shy about. It was just a flavour. "Perhaps it's just that I was denied it so often in my youth that now I'm infatuated with it."

Gil shrugged his ridiculously wide shoulders. His t-shirt sleeves weren't loose around his arms at all. "I mean, that's fair. But you don't necessarily need a reason to like something, I think. You can just like it because it makes you happy."

"Hm," Thena mused, smilng at him as she took another bite. They were getting smaller and smaller, even knowing that Ajak would be waiting for her. "I don't think I've considered it."

"Well," Gil pushed off his palms and instead leaned on his knees. "What else makes you happy?"

What made her happy? What a direct and yet difficult question. Did she even know the answer to something like that? "I like...skating."

Did she, though?

"Okay," Gil said gently, scooching a little closer to her. "What else?"

What else? A discipline like figure skating demanded everything from her. It required her to live and breathe it. Sometimes she thought she skated more than she was even in school. But what did she do outside of the rink?

Thena toyed with her wrapper in her hands. "What do you like?"

"Baking," Gil answered, so blithely and immediately. "I got into it a few years ago and now I do it all the time."

"Baking?" She hadn't expected that.

"Yeah," he offered a bashful chuckle. Thena was about to rush out her admiration--the there was no need to be embarrassed of it. But he shrugged, "some of the guys on the team made fun of me for it. But they sure changed their tune when they tried my cupcakes."

Thena giggled. She could imagine the loud and rowdy team of brutes quieting at the thought of rich and delicious chocolate cupcakes being offered by their even bigger goalie.

"Would you," he cleared his throat, a cute flush settling in his cheeks, "would you wanna try some?"

"Your baking?" she echoed, and he nodded. That funny clenching in her belly happened again and her knees knocked together. "I-I would love to, Gil."

"Yeah?" he beamed, looking like a dog with an eagerly wagging tail.

"O-Of course," Thena blinked, back to toying with the silvery wrapper in her hands. "I'm not really supposed to, according to my father..."

Gil's face fell.

Thena inhaled, setting her shoulders, "but...but it would make me happy."

Gil gave her a different kind of smile. It was still bright, and warm, but it seemed a little more...assured. Like he had been given an answer to a question. And he really liked the answer. "Good--I'll make a whole batch for you, then."

"Oh!" Thena nearly squeaked, and then rushed to correct herself. "I don't-"

Gil let out a loud laugh, but she never felt laughed at when Gil did it. "It's okay, Thena. I mean, I will make you some cupcakes. But you can keep them in the fridge, and they'll stay good for longer than you'd think. You and your mom can share 'em."

Thena smiled, more relieved than she realised she would be to know he wasn't put off by the strict rules of her life. "Okay."

Gil looked down at her bag as her phone lit up from within it. "Quittin' time?"

"It's my alarm," Thena offered a rueful smile. Funnily enough, Ajak never, ever interrupted her and Gil after the first time she had found them talking (and made her little joke). But that didn't mean it was a goal of Thena's to keep her mother waiting.

Gil stood as Thena did, "I'll walk you out."

Thena blinked as they started making their way down the bleachers and towards the door.

"What?" Gil asked as he walked beside her, hands in his pockets.

Thena looked in the direction of the changing rooms, which they walked right past. "What about practice?"

"Oh," Gil shrugged one of his shoulders with a sheepish smile, "practice actually got cancelled for today."

"Wh-" Thena blinked as they came to a halt in front of the main doors.

Gil gave her a soft, honest smile, pulling his hands out of his pockets. "I just...wanted to hang out with you."

Thena felt that funny, fluttering feeling again, warmth rushing into her cheeks. She blinked down at the floor between them, trying to come up with something - anything! - to say. "I-I, uhm, y-you-"

Gil looked out the window and waved, presumably to Ajak. "I'll see you next week?"

Thena just nodded, dreading to think that he could see her turning pink from the neck up.

"I'll bring those cupcakes," he promised, tilting his head down to try and look at her.

"Okay," she just barely squeaked out as she pushed through the doors, rushing out into the air and hoping it would soothe the burning of her cheeks.

[softquietsteadylove]

What about 'You doesn't believe in love not until you met someone' trope? I'd love to see Gilgamesh as that someone who doesn't believe in love and Thena being the someone that made him believe in love (I've read the mob boss x secretary au and I loved it, I just loved the idea of everything turning around this time).

Gil doesn't really believe in love. Not that he doesn't believe it exists at all--that would be ridiculous. But he's not sure he really believes it's for him.

He might have considered himself a romantic at some point in his life. He's always liked cooking, some other kind of artsy things. He might have once imagined he'd be a great cook, maybe have someone special with whom to share his talents and ideas.

But, well...life. It happens, it stretches out, it gets in the way of things and ideas once imagined. Like when he learns that his father is actually a piece of garbage who only thinks of his wife and own children as tokens in his business pursuits. Or when his sister's husband up and leaves without a word to any of them.

Things like that might have led Gil to believe that love isn't what he once he thought.

But Gil is fine with the idea that he's going to be alone. He likes people just fine, he still gets out enough, still talks to people at his job with the bakery. And the early mornings are soothing, just him and the bread and the ovens. Sometimes he makes himself some eggs.

He just doesn't think love is for him.

"Y'ever considered givin' it a chance, though?" Druig asks him one day during his apprenticeship. He's ready to start baking himself any day now, but he's dragging his feet about it. Gil thinks it's because there's some girl he likes who comes in close to closing time everyday, and if he has to start getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning then he'll be done before she comes in.

"Not you too," Gil grumbles, slipping the croissants away to proof before he throws them in the ovens for tomorrow.

"What can I say?" Druig shrugs in his own measly defense. "It's that time'a year."

Yes, and Gil does not need reminding of it. It's already awful that the bakery walls have little heart decorations and all the icing on the cakes is pink and there are sprinkles and it all makes him sick.

"Brighten up, mate," Druig nudges him a little more gently on his way to the walk-in. "You'll scare away the public at this rate."

Gil sighs. Maybe he has a point. Maybe he's starting to become a real prick about it. Maybe he's let it be such a part of him for so long that he's just stubbornly making it a part of his life at this point.

He just doesn't think love is for him.

"Hello?"

Gil goes out to the front, surprised to see not just Druig's 'beautiful, beautiful Makkari' but another woman as well. He raises his brows at both of them. The taller one - with hair like powdered sugar - just stares right back at him. He looks at Makkari. Druig?

She blushes but nods. Gil holds up the counter for her to go back and visit with him, but she looks at her friend.

"I'll wait," Blondie says, although she doesn't sound entirely enthused about it. Maybe she's also had to suffer their insipid sweet talk and canoodling.

Makkari elbows her and tugs at her beige trench coat. She looks between them before giving Blondie a pointed look. Talk.

Bondie sighs but nods, letting Makkari scurry behind the counter and to go giggle with Druig in the back.

"You, uh," Gil closes the counter again and tugs at his apron, "want something?"

She meets his eye. She isn't even actively glaring, she just has eyes so intense he feels like the air pressure around him has changed. They're a beautiful colour, he has to admit. "Do you have anything not valentine's day themed?"

"Mm," Gil purses his lips and rubs at the hair on his chin. He knows for a fact that all of the pastries on display are specifically valentine's themed. He looks up at the shelves behind him. "You like brown bread?"

She smiles, and he has to admit it's a nice smile. "Thanks for trying."

"I'm not really the one responsible for," he gestures to the pastry case full to the brim with white and pink and red and sprinkles, "this. I don't blame you."

"I suppose it's unavoidable," she concedes, unfolding her stiff posture and drifting closer to the brightly lit case. Her eyes travel over the display. "Is it so much to ask it be confined to the day itself? I might even be able to tolerate it if it were one day instead of two solid weeks."

"Hey, I agree," Gil snorts, leaning on the top of the counter lazily. It's not exactly a shining example of customer service, but he has a feeling she won't complain. "But you know what people are like about this stuff."

"Indeed." She finishes her examination of the sweets and looks up again. Her eyes dash to the back hall, but Makkari is still back there with her own sweet. She looks at Gil again, "Thena, by the way."

"What, like the goddess of war?" he asks, and is met with only the most serious of nods. It kind of suits her, though, he thinks. His eyes travel over her.

"Exactly so," she raises a brow, as if to ask him if he has a problem with her name being what it is.

"It's quite a name," he comments neutrally. "But mine's Gilgamesh, so I can't really talk any shit."

"I suppose not," she tilts her head at him. "You're not how I imagined."

"And how's that?" he asks, slumping against the counter again. He might as well talk to her while Druig and Makkari are having their little moment.

"Kari described her little gremlin back there," Thena nods her head in their general direction. "And his coworker--a big guy, she said. Thinks he's intimidating but has a heart of gold?"

"Well, I could still have a heart of gold, you don't know."

"Do you?"

"No, but you don't know that."

Thena lets out a laugh, and it's a nice laugh, he has to admit. "You know, I bet it's pretty golden."

"You think?" he frowns. He certainly doesn't think he presents as some gentle giant. If anything, maybe he goes out of his way to be as unfriendly as his job with allow. It keeps him from having to talk to people more than necessary.

Thena keeps smiling at him, though, and it does something to him. He likes it. "I think you make a good show of having a tough outside. But I'm willing to bet that you're quite the softie."

That's rich, coming from a woman who looks like a sunbeam in human form. He turns his frown into a scowl, "what makes you say that?"

She raises a brow at him again, and his stupid little heart starts arguing with his big dumb brain. "You've been letting Makkari come in for weeks now, always close to when you're trying to close, always letting her distract Druig while you shut things down by yourself?"

Gil is shocked. Sure, everything she's said is technically correct. But...well, just because he doesn't think love is for him, doesn't mean he would get in the way of Druig's chance at happiness.

Thena leans against the counter, getting up on her toes to lean closer to him. "She's going to ask him out today. I'm here for moral support."

Gil is still shocked. What feels like a lifetime of declaring that romance is overrated, and this woman sees right through him after knowing him for ten minutes.

"I'm not sure why I agreed to it," Thena sighs, although her smile still hasn't left. If anything, it grows wider and brighter. It's one hell of a smile. "Maybe I have some romanticism left in me."

Maybe love is for him.