#Gil is like okay baby I'll miss you

[softquietsteadylove]

Gil surprised her with a matching look? She has a white nice dress and he shows up in a white suit? Would be a cool partner look =)

"Madame?"

Thena offered a tight smile as she picked up a glass of champagne off of a passing tray. "Merci."

She hadn't really wanted to come all the way here for this function, but it was insisted upon not only by her French diamond contact, but the entirety of his diamond house family. It was to seal their business, as well as act as a gesture of good will for future deals.

Karun told her she had to go, and Kingo doubled down, even telling her that she should 'lead him on a little more' for the sake of business. She attempted to ignore that.

She was an engaged woman.

She had told Gil she had to attend a meeting in France. But she knew that he was no fan of the monsieur with whom she had conducted business. In all fairness, she supposed she wouldn't be thrilled if he had to conduct business with the Little Heiress again. But she was here for tonight and then she could return home.

"Madame Glasse?"

She smiled as her business associate sat down adjacent to her. At least if she was seated or holding something, he didn't feel the need to kiss her hand. "It's a lovely soiree."

"You seem very," the gentleman looked around the sparkling ballroom, "isolated."

Thena inhaled, looking down at her don perignon. "Forgive me, monsieur, I have never been the life of the party."

"Ah," he offered a smile, adjusting the gold button of his beautiful blue suit. "You accepted my offer, but I think perhaps your heart is not here with us."

Her heart was in a penthouse apartment with a certain Tyrant King, who had probably fallen asleep on the couch in front of the Food Network. She should have just asked him to come with her, risk that he would start a fight be damned.

"Madame, would you grant me the privilege of speaking my mind with you?"

She gave him the faintest expression of surprise before nodding. Perhaps he wasn't as much of a dumb blonde - the irony of which did not escape her - as she had suspected.

"I admit I am quite taken with you," he expressed openly, leaning on the arm of his chair that was closer to her. He did have that sad, puppy-love expression on, too. "Positively enchante, truly."

Thena merely waited for him to go on.

"But as much as you did not tell me," his eyes drifted down, and to her hands, safely folded over her crossed legs. "You do not withhold your heart from me out of modesty, non?"

Thena adjusted her lace around her arms and in the crooks of her elbows. She didn't bother taking her ring off for the night. "Would that affect our business if I told you that you're right?"

He chuckled, although she could already see his disappointment. "But of course not. I am a gentleman, Madame Glasse, and I will honour our business just as you have. And I do have some brain under these looks."

Thena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew it was in good humour, but few men were allowed to get away with cocky humour like that with her. One man in particular.

"I realise I am pursuing a woman who has already made her match," he sighed, leaning back again. His eyes flicked down, "it's a beautiful ring, cheri. They are small, but I can tell the quality of them is impeccable."

Thena smiled. The little diamonds in her ring, creating joints where the bands could meet in their weave, were indeed perfect in every way. "But of course; I am the diamond queen, after all."

"Indeed," her associate agreed, also plucking a glass of champagne for himself. He gave her a smile, "I am grateful that you came. But if you wish to leave, I will not hold it against you."

Oh, how she ached to be at home, in the arms of her Tyrant. But even with a private plane, the journey home was no quick hop across the pond.

"She should stay for a dance, at least."

"Gil!"

"Hey Princess," he greeted gently, despite her insistence that he not call her that in public. He bent over the arm of the chair, capturing her hand smoothly and pulling it up to his lips. "Miss me?"

He was like a knight in shining armour, and while she had never seen him in a white suit before, she didn't dislike it on him. She raised a brow, "new?"

"Like it?" he grinned as he pulled her to her feet, leading her closer to the dance floor. "I had my tailor whip it up just to surprise you."

Thena shook her head at him, her feet moving automatically as he led her until they could sway together, his hands holding hers and at her back. "When did you get here?"

"Not long ago, actually," he made a more sheepish face. "I got on a place a few hours after yours, after I picked up this number."

She smiled, running her hand over the lapel. "Did you want to match me so badly?"

"Well," he smiled as well, his eyes soft and reflecting the chandelier above them. "Can't let my wife show up to a fancy ball unaccompanied, can I?"

She refused to let him know how much she liked it when he called her his wife. "I did, though, didn't I?"

"Okay, so I was a little late," he huffed, rolling his eyes in good nature. He spun her around before pulling her closer, "I wasn't invited."

Thena stole a glance to the edge of the room, where her associate was excusing himself from the room entirely. "Last I checked, he was not in your good graces."

Gil shrugged, and her hand moved with the bounce of his massive shoulder as he did. "Just don't laugh at his jokes, Ice. Then we've got no problem."

She did not believe that. But perhaps she was too intoxicated by the warmth of him and the champagne she'd had. He pulled her nearly flush with him and she resisted the urge to lay her head on his chest.

"Sorry I'm late, baby," he whispered, sneaking a kiss to her temple while they were able to go unobserved. Or at least, unremarked upon, as far as this branch of society was concerned. They weren't exactly law abiding citizens, but this territory of Thena's was more about business than about brutality.

"You're forgiven," she sighed as she let him numb her overstimulated senses, "this time."

"This time?" he chuckled, and his chest bounced against hers from it.

"Just this time," she purred, running her hands over the front of his fine, white suit. "And this?"

Gil didn't even glance down as she tapped at the royal blue pocket square that screamed against the colour of the rest of his outfit. "Maybe a little bit of a challenge to French-y."

"So territorial," she murmured. She had to be careful not to sound like she enjoyed his territorial side; it would only encourage him.

Gilgamesh pulled her hand up his chest until he could kiss her fingertips, tapping against her ring as he did. "I think I have a right to be territorial about my own wife."

"We are not married."

"Yet," he nearly cut her off to insert. He smiled at her, still swaying them loosely to the beat of the band, "not yet. Anytime, any place, Ice."

"Hm," she sighed, the exhaustion of the business and the travel and the whole of the last few weeks weighing on her. She leaned against him heavier and he allowed it, holding her as much as she liked. "Not tonight."

"Fine," he chuckled, kissing her cheek this time. He stayed close, his nose dangerously near 'nuzzling' territory. "Wanna go home?"

"You just got here," she nearly groaned at the thought.

"Okay, so we get a room, spend a little time here before we go back?" he suggested. "We can take a long weekend in Paris, what do you think?"

She did not care what they did, so long as she didn't have to let go of him.

[fritextramole]

a hidden gem, my own goldmine

part 1 of a Vanessa Abrams playlist - best heard in order

tracklist and quotes under the cut

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised ~ Gil Scott-Heron

The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal The revolution will not get rid of the nubs The revolution will not make you look five pounds thinner Because the revolution will not be televised, brother

Chain Gang ~ Sam Cooke

Can't you hear them singing I'm going home one of these days

The Rebel Girl ~ Hazel Dickens

There are blue blood queens and princesses Who have charms made of diamonds and pearl But the only and thoroughbred lady Is the Rebel Girl

The Mesopotamians ~ They Might Be Giants

In Mesopotamia (No one's ever seen us) The kingdom where we secretly reign (And no one's ever heard of our band) The land where we invisibly rule As the Mesopotamians

Myriad Harbour ~ The New Pornographers

(Ah, who cares, you always end up in the city) Stranded at Bleecker and Broadway Looking for something to do

Which Side Are You On? ~ Work O’ The Weavers

Which side are you on, boys? Which side are you on?

Thus Always To Tyrants ~ The Oh Hellos

Over hill, over dale, through the valley and vale Do not weep, do not wail, I am coming home to you Every tomb, every sea, spit the bones from your teeth Let the ransomed be free as the revel meets the day Let the valleys awake, let them rattle and shake

Twenty Five Miles ~ Edwin Starr

Now I'll be so glad to see my baby And hold her in my arms one more time, huh Now when I kiss her lips, I turn a back over flip And I forget about these feet of mine I got to keep on walking, hey

THE FRIEND SPACE ~ Ryan Woods

I really hope I don’t throw it away But you couldn’t imagine the way I feel And now I can’t see why You wouldn’t wanna be my baby I got all you need

Comin’ Down ~ Jackie Shane

What's wrong with me? I said it's a simple fact I don't believe you're ever comin' back

Even The Losers ~ Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Well, it was nearly summer we sat on your roof Yeah, we smoked cigarettes and we stared at the moon And I showed you stars you never could see Babe, it couldn't have been that easy to forget about me

Sylvias Mother ~ The Refreshments

Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's packin' She's gonna be leavin' today Sylvia's mother says Sylvia is marrying A fella down Galveston way

Hot & Heavy ~ Lucy Dacus

When I went away it was the only option Couldn't trust myself to proceed with caution The most that I could give to you is nothing at all The best that I could offer was to miss your calls

I Can’t Stand the Rain ~ Ann Peebles

I know you got some sweet memory But like the wind, ah, you ain't got nothing to say

Radio, Radio ~ Elvis Costello & The Attractions

They say you better listen to the voice of reason But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason So you had better do as you are told You better listen to the radio I wanna bite the hand that feeds me

Stairway to Heaven ~ Led Zeppelin

There's a lady who's sure All that glitters is gold And she's buying a stairway to heaven When she gets there she knows If the stores are all closed With a word she can get what she came for

Solidarity Forever ~ Pete Seeger, The Song Swappers

We can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn That the union makes us strong

American Idiot ~ Green Day

Welcome to a new kind of tension All across the alien nation Where everything isn't meant to be okay In television dreams of tomorrow

9 to 5 ~ Dolly Parton

There's a better life And you think about it, don't you? It's a rich man's game No matter what they call it And you spend your life Putting money in his wallet

Stop! In The Name Of Love ~ The Supremes

I watch you walk down the street Knowing your other love you'll meet But this time before you run to her Leaving me alone and hurt (Think it over) After I've been good to you

5AM ~ Amber Run

We run into a dark room And we spasm to the sounds Of a copy of Morrissey Or the blues of the Deep South

Val Kilmer ~ Bowling For Soup

So when you walk down that red carpet I hope you trip and fall I hope someone squirts you with a water gun A super soaker filled with pee

There’s A Ghost In My House ~ R. Dean Taylor

I can't hide (Ghost in my house) From the ghost of your love that's inside You're still such a part of me (Ghost in my house) Still so deep in the heart of me (Ghost in my house)

[karasbroken]

Y'all can zero-note these Sex Shop AU posts, it's all right. I'm tough. You'll get it someday. And I have been writing for both my WIPs this week, so be proud of me. The Leviathan is at 23,000 words, the still tentatively named Bite the Dust is almost to 5k. Bit by bit.

This snippet is from after Gilina signed her and John up for a couple's kink exploration session with a pro-domme, only to bail once she realized the domme in question was Aeryn Sonne, disgraced former RAAF pilot, responsible for ending the career of Gilina's mentor. Tim Valorek. (Okay, I admit that sounds really silly.) This is in the parking lot after, where John is confused, but relieved, he was not in a great headspace for trying out floggers anyway because he's dealing with panic attacks while driving. Hmm, this is starting to sound complicated, I'll just dump the excerpt now.

(Nothing spicy besides a kiss, but content warning for auto accident, and related flashbacks.)

“I'm so sorry about this. Let me give you a ride to your car, at least.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” he reminded her, pinning her against the car with his body so he could lean in for another kiss. “Just a wild coincidence. We're going to laugh about this later.” She looked like she wanted to argue with him, so he kissed Gilina again to keep her quiet. “A little walk will clear my head though. So just head home, okay? Call my cell phone when you get there?” He couldn't let her drop him off. She'd see that he'd lied about parking a couple blocks away.

“Fine. But if you keep up with this ‘ring me when you get home’ crap, I'm going to start calling you ‘daddy,’” she teased, pushing at John until he let her up so she could unlock the car door.

“God no, please. That is one kink I definitely do not have,” John groaned. He really didn't need any more reminders that he was almost a decade older than Gilina. He hadn’t been trying to be paternal. But since the accident, it helped him sleep to know she’d made it home safe. Time to get ahold of himself. “Don’t worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow, anyway, b-- Gil.” He caught himself just in time, and made a mental note to also remove ‘baby’ from his list of endearments. “I’m coming over to the lab to do another test of those heat sensors.” 

“That sounds like a line.”

“Maybe it will be. Hope it works.” He stole one more kiss before she got inside, then carefully closed the door for her. Gilina gave him a little wave before pulling out of the parking lot with enough acceleration to make her tires squeal and John sigh.

It was going to be another long walk back to his car. Consulting his map, he thought he’d save a couple minutes cutting through the building, so he went back inside. The mobile repair shop was closed now, so only The Leviathan’s doors were open. He toyed with the idea of going in, to apologize, explain, say something to Aaron, or at least to Jan, about the abruptly canceled appointment. But he couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t make the situation worse. “Sorry, my girlfriend doesn’t want the guy that ruined her mentor’s career to show us how to use a flogger,” wasn’t exactly subtle. Keeping her fee was going to have to be apology enough. John was going to need to make that up to Gil. He knew the dominatrix hadn’t been cheap, especially not on a corporal’s salary.

John continued on, down the short hall leading out to Crown. The street was busy, popular with people avoiding the nearby toll road, and a lot of businesses in this stretch of road were still open. After one more quick look at the map, John had just started to head down the sidewalk when a car that had been parked at the curb pulled out into traffic right as a delivery truck going far too fast for a downtown street, blazed past. The delivery driver tried to avoid the car, but still smashed into the driver’s side before veering into the other lane, barely missing clipping an oncoming car. The crash of metal and blaring horns hit John like a stick to the head, painful and all-encompassing.

----

“Crichton,” a voice came from nearby, almost angry, barely audible over the rush of blood in his ears. “Crichton, get out of the street.” Was he in the street?

Hands grabbed the back of his coat and pulled. John thought he should struggle, or at least protest, but he was too busy fighting the surge of nausea. The grip dragged him until his shoe hit the curb. He would have fallen, but the hands wouldn’t let him, yanking up on his coat until he managed to gather his feet under him and step up onto the sidewalk. 

“Chelsea, ring triple-oh,” the same angry voice said, as John was abruptly released.

“Is everyone all right? What’s the matter with him?” A higher pitched voice, more broadly Australian, familiar and coming closer, startled John into awareness with the same question. It was happening again. At least he wasn’t in a car, because the gray fog had returned to the edge of his vision, and the concrete under his feet seemed to be tipping, slipping--

“Nothing,” answered the stern, lower pitched voice, almost a growl. The hands came back, well, one hand, gripping his upper arm so tightly that even through his coat it hurt. But now he couldn’t fall, it wouldn’t allow that. The pain was rhythmic, squeezing, fingers poking deep, then easing. Slower, far slower than his heart or his breathing. “Jan is checking over the woman in the car that got hit. She got the worst of it. The truck was like a tank, the car just bounced off.” The person talking, the owner of the hand holding him, pulled him a couple steps farther from the curb.

“But he doesn't--”

“I saw blood, Chi. Go back inside and ring triple-zero!”

John flinched at the crack of their raised voice, almost in his ear. There was the impression of movement, the sound of feet running. He wanted to move, but the hand didn’t allow it. He should be doing something. He had first aid training, he should be helping. But all he could do was stand there, listening to the repeated honking of offended car alarms, the prickle of pain coming and going in the same rhythm. John was aware of a growing crowd on the sidewalk with them, and across the street, clustering around the other car. He could hear the frightened cries of someone nearby, in pain, but he couldn’t make himself look. There was another voice woven in, softer, soothing, reassuring the injured girl. John tried to listen to it, but it was drowned out by the blaring horns and sirens, first distant, then coming closer. The grip on his arm eased and released just as the police cars and ambulances turned onto their street.

Sirens, oscillating too quickly, wrong, different from the screaming wail of police back home. The buzz of Australian ambulances like angry cartoon hornets, louder and louder until it was all he could hear. Rain coming down, but he couldn’t feel it hit his skin, just the wet, the cold, the light refracting in the blinding headlights until everything was rainbows and screaming. That was from a woman, with the bad luck to be passing by. Another victim, staring and crying and clutching her head at the blood, dark pools on the sidewalk and twitching limbs, and John could only stand and stare.

[welp-back-on-my-bs]

TW: mentions of abuse, mentions of suicide, grief, and ✨️turama✨️

Morgan was sitting in their room at Obsidian palace, quietly drawing. When they heard a knock on their door.

"This is Rodric... may I come in...?"

Morgan froze up for a moment before shaking it off. 'He won't hurt you...'

"Okay- please keep the door open though-" They replied, trying to stay strong, but coice slightly shakeing.

The hooded man entered, "Thank you for allowing me in..."

Morgan nodded. A painful silence shared between them.

.

.

.

"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you before when-"

"It's not your fault- I'm not that memorable... especially then..." They chuckled softly.

"... I want to make it up to you, so I asked Lord Gilbert to take you to your families burial site..."

Morgan finally looked over to the cloaked man, shock evident on their face. "... you... know where..."

"Yes, and I'm allowed to take you there. I just have to do some extra work when we return."

Morgan thought for a moment in silence before speaking up. "How far is it...?"

"Just a few hours, we will be back before midnight-"

They let out a sigh of relief "o-ok... please... take me there... but... let me get changed first..."

Rodric bowed before leaving and closing the door.

Morgan was shaking, laying their head into their desk, whimpering a bit and softky crying. They were terrified. For no reason, they knew, but they were terrified.

It took them a few minutes before they managed to calm down and dawn an all black outfit. They looked in the mirror and chucked softly "I look so... differnt from the Viola they knew..."

There was another knock on their door, so they awnserd to see Gilbert, who was pouting a bit. "I just missed you crying, didn't I?"

"Yeah- sorry Gil"

Gilbert hummed and held Morgan close. "Do you need me to come with you?"

"Are you trying to skip out on work?"

"Maybe," he smiled and bit Morgan's nose.

"Don't get too jealious while I'm gone"

"I'm already jealious at the mere thought of you being with anyone else, my dear"

"Well, you have my wings, I can't fly away"

Gilbert smirked and kissed Morgan. They kissed him back.

After a minute, the two parted lips before,

"O-oh- hi Rodric-" Morgan shyly stammered out when they realized Rodric was there. Their face went red and hid into Gilberts chest.

"The carrage is ready when you are"

Morgan nodded, kissed Gilberts cheek goodbye, and left with Rodric.

~

"Thank you for taking me here, Rodric..."

Rodric nodded. "Of course, my lord. I'll stay here until you return alright"

Morgan nodded and walked into the graveyard. They silently looked through the rows and rows of graves.

Until...

Ellen and Raymus Fox.

Morgan knelt at their graves, fingers tracing the lettering craved into the stone. They could hardly believe it. They were actually... gone... forever...

They sobbed softly and placed dark pink and dark red roses at their grave. Just sitting there crying for a bit before, starting to talk to them. They told them everything that had happened. Their marriage, them running away, their new life, how things have been recently.

"I hope... you're proud of what your daughter has become..." They softly whispered, something within them knew that. They were, and they couldn't help but smile and cry.

"I love you both..." They whispered, kissed the headstone before getting up to leave.

That's when they were suddenly slapped.

"You bitch! Why have you returned?! You killed my persious baby boy!"

Morgan looked at the woman. And knew exactly who she was. Julia Ripley. Their ex mother in law...

"How dare you show your face here after what you have done! You are no empress! You're nothing!"

They couldn't help but laugh softly, a last thread of sanity snapping for a moment.

"No wonder your son what such a peice of shit... if he had a mother like you to model after. Did your husband rape you?- Did he torture you every day until you tried to kill yourself? Or did you do that to him? Is that why he left you to be a solder? Working for the emporor must have been better than going home to a bitch of a wife and a bastard of a son." Morgan looked cold, dead, scary. Nothing like they normally did. The woman was quick to storm off.

Morgan sighed and headed back to the caridge when they saw Robert.

"Oh- heh... sorry you had to see that... that was..." They tripped over their words, not knowing what to do or say to make things right again.

"That was quite amazing, actually." He then chuckled a bit. "I'm sure you would've made even the old Emporor terrified of you with just your words."

That genuinely shocked them, but then they laughed. "well- I would definitely have a lot of words for him if he were still alive."

They both smiled at each other before heading back to Obsidian palace.

[koolkat9]

@bluudpop you have inspired me to expand on the human au with these tags though I diverge from them quite a bit...

GILBERT AND LUDWIG

Okay! Starting with Gil. Actually I don't think he's divorced or was ever married. He had Ludwig young like 16/17 either because he was pressured into sex by his girlfriend or because he was having a religious crisis and he had sex as a way to try to break free from the church.

Anyway, the girl ends up pregnant and her parents are not happy. Gil's dad (Germania) is also not happy, but he at least realizes that there is no changing this so he makes sure his son is involved through the pregnancy. The girl's parents are hard on her and as much as Gil tries to make his house a safe space for her, as soon as the baby is born, she dumps the baby on Gilbert and makes a run for it.

Luckily Gilbert has the support of his dad through it all. Until his dad suddenly passes away when Gilbert is 20 and little Ludwig is only 3/4. Gil no longer has that safety net. It's just him and Ludwig and now he's completely responsible for Ludwig's well being. Not to mention he's mourning his father who was that figure always there for him (Gil's mom died before he was 3).

Very lost and with a pile of money from his dad, he moves to a small town, opens up a mechanic shop. He finds out there is a parent support group at the recreation center and decides to go. It also has a daycare type thing while the parents talk so it would be good to get Ludwig socializing since that has been a struggle.

ARTHUR, ALFRED AND MATTHEW (AND FRANCIS)

I've been actually wait for an au where Fr//Uk divorces and Arthur is put the position of being the primary caregiver. Anyway, Arthur actually was married, but he's currently getting divorced from Francis. They had adopted the twins together, but it just added strain on their already strained relationship and they both knew that it was in the best interest of the kids that they separate. But it's hard on Arthur because he really loved Francis, they were together since highschool, spend college together. Now he's alone and he starts being the primary caregiver to the twins as Francis becomes more and more distant. Francis sees the kids yes, but they become more like an uncle/aunt.

One five year old child is a handful and two feels impossible. He's at least lucky Matthew is a well behaved child. Quiet, keeps to himself, has some issues with some of his clothing (sensitive to texture) and socially he seems to struggle, but otherwise never causes any fuss. Al on the other hand his bouncing off the walls, with a nose for trouble, consuming all of Arthur's time. Arthur is missing how Matthew is struggling and Matt feels kind of cast off to the side.

And Arthur is not doing mentally well. His mental health has rarely ever been good, but the divorce and parental stress has sent him spiraling. Oh. I just had a bad but juicy idea. Arthur having an issue with alcohol and gets blackout drunk with the twins around. Alastair catches wind of it and is absolutely pissed. But Dylan steps in, gives Arthur the ultimatum of getting help for his alcoholism or they'll take the kids. Of course Arthur chooses to get help (reluctantly, but still, those kids mean the world to him). Alastair doesn't trust him and basically moves in and helps him with the boys.

Dylan finds the parent support group and encourages Arthur to go. Arthur doesn't want to, but Dylan convinces him some way. And that's how Arthur ends up at the support group with Gil.

I want to add more parents but I don't know who...Feel free to suggest more parents because these are like the only two family units I have a lot of thoughts about.

I'll talk more about the kids in another post

[lonelydarlings]

I'll Be Seeing You pt. 2

Druig x Eternal!Reader

Inspired by “I’ll be Seeing You” by Billie Holiday.

After 2000 years, Druig thinks the spark of love between you two is gone. He’s surprised that when he sees you to find out he’s dead wrong.

Like Sprite, Reader also is a storyteller but she has the gift of music. Her songs are what brings music to the world and Druig loves that shit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay folks, this one got away from me just a little but I hope you all enjoy it! I honestly have no idea where this is going AHHH. Also sorry if the timeline is all goofy ive only seen Eternals 30 a few times and im still trying to piece it all together

Tags: soft!druig, sersi x ikarus, mentions of a wedding, fluffy ending

Part One Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine

“That was a beautiful song tonight, Y/N. Truly moving.” Kingo said as you and your fellow Eternals made your way back to the Domo.

“Thank you, Kingo.” You smiled up at him as you made your way to your central gathering place.

“Arishem would be so proud of the beautiful music you’re bringing to this world.” Ajak mused, placing a motherly hand on your cheek. You blushed thanking her with a small smile.

“Yes, Y/N. It’s truly wonderful what you do. You could put Sprite to shame with your voice.” Gillgamesh teased, poking the girl in the side as he crossed the room.

“Not funny, Gil.” The redhead said, crossing her arms.

“I agree, not funny. Sprite’s gifts are amazing, and they bring joy. She tells our stories and brings hope to the future of these people. Even if she does stretch the truth just a little bit.” You smiled, throwing your arm around Sprite’s shoulder, giving her a small squeeze. You knew it was hard on her. Everyone always treated her like a child even though she was so much more than that.

“At least someone has my back. What do you think, Ikarus?” The girl asked, trying to hide the giddiness in her voice.

“I… well, I think your powers are equally special. You’re both telling your own stories in a way. Maybe you two should team up one night. Give us a real show.” Ikarus said, taking his place by Sersi’s side.

“That’s actually a lovely idea. Sprite, would you like to do that one day?” You asked.

“Sure. That probably wouldn’t be too awful.” She giggled playfully and squeezed your hand.

“Fair enough,” you laughed, making your way across the room.

“Sorry I missed the show tonight. Must have been a good one from these glowing reviews.” Phastos said, eyes and hands busy at work on his next invention.

“You should be, it was beautiful.” You heard a voice come from behind you. Turning around, you spotted Druig and Makkari standing in the doorway of the lab. You hadn’t heard the duo slip in. You blushed again, turning around to make yourself busy with a random piece of metal on the table.

“I’m truly impressed with this one, Y/N. I believe it might be my new favorite.” Druig said, taking a seat beside you. In all these years, he never really commented on your songs so this took you a bit by surprise.

“Thanks, Dru.” You said softly.

“Anytime, my love.” He said, a cocky grin breaking across his face.

“Uh, did we miss something?” Phastos asked, giving you two an incredulous look.

“Oh, you mean their little “I like you but won’t say it” dance? No.” Kingo said, using air quotes around the statement. A blush rose to Druig’s face now, causing yours to deepen even more.

“Leave them alone, Kingo.” Thena said, knocking him in the back of the head as she passed by.

“Ow, Thena. Rude.” Kingo said, pulling a face.

“Don’t be a baby.” Makkari signed, a smile plastered on her face as she came to stand beside you. “Don’t listen to Kingo, you know how he is.” She signed, smiling.

“Alright everyone, settle down. I have news from Arishem.” Ajak said, taking her place in the middle of the room. Phastos quickly finished his project and gave the older woman the floor. “We’ve been asked to relocate. Babylon is free of Deviants and has become the largest and safest city on the planet. Our work here is done. We’ve been tasked to reposition ourselves to the Gupta Empire. Their people need our help in continuing their growth. We will leave at first light. Phastos, prepare the Domo for the trip please.”

“You know I will.” Phastos said, clapping his hands together.

Your leader took turns reminding everyone of their duties and instructed all on expectation for the next part of the journey.

“Does anyone have anything else to say before we end our meeting?” Ajak asked, gesturing in your and Druigs’ direction.

“Actually, I have something.” Sersi spoke up, taking Ikarus by the hand.

You thought your heart would beat out of your chest. You cast a look at Druig who shot a wink in your direction. What was that about?

“Yes, Sersi?” Ajak motioned for the raven-haired woman to take the floor. Each pair of eyes in the room watched as the two lovers moved into the center of the room.

“Ikarus and I have decided to get married. We want to have the ceremony as soon as possible.” Sersi smiled as Ikarus wrapped his arms around her.

Squeals of joy and congratulations erupted from every corner of the room. You made your way from your spot beside Druig and over to your friend. You were so happy that Sersi had found someone who she could see spending the rest of her days with. Ikarus was a perfect fit and you couldn’t be happier for the both of them. You wrapped the taller woman in a tight hug.

“Congratulations, boss.” Kingo said, clapping his hand on Ikarus’ shoulder, pulling him in for a quick embrace.

“Yeah, congrats.” Sprite said, trying to mask the sour look coming onto her face.

“I’m so happy for the both of you!” You said, happy tears welling in your eyes. “You truly are the perfect fit for one another.

“Yes, these two are truly two halves of one whole.” Ajak said, taking Ikarus and Sersi’s hands in both of hers. “There will be a wonderous wedding, as soon as we are settled in. I’m sure our new friends will be more than happy to accommodate.”

“Yeah, and if not Druig can always make them.” Gillgamesh joked, bringing laughter throughout the room.

“Yeah, sure.” Druig said, his tone even. Turning back, you could see he wanted to say more but chose not to. Something was bubbling up behind those steel blue eyes. You made a mental note to ask him about it later. Right now wasn’t the time, it was Sersi and Ikarus’ spotlight and you couldn’t take away from that. The night commenced on in celebration. Drinks and toasts were had and made on into the evening. Eventually, Ajak took her place in the middle again.

“My Eternals, as fun as this has been, we all need rest. Let us make our way to our own rooms. We have all the time in the world to celebrate. Goodnight to you all. I expect to see you early in the morning.” Everyone said their final goodbyes for the evening, slowly trickling behind Ajak and into their own rooms.

“Goodnight, everyone. Sersi,” You paused as you passed your friend, “I really am so proud for you both.” You said, giving your friend another tight squeeze. “And Ikarus,” you paused, laying your hand on the man’s arm. He turned to look at you, a knowing smile pressed onto his face. “I know I’m not the fighting type but if you hurt her, I’ll absolutely and totally end your existence. Don’t forget it.” You punctuated your statement with a poke to his chest as you both laughed.

“I would never do that, Y/N.” he smiled, laying his hand on top of yours.

“You better not or you’ll get this!” You mimicked punches to his stomach and face playfully.

“Yeah, sure.” He said, rolling his eyes with another laugh and Sersi lightly slapped his chest with a grin.

“You won’t have to, Y/N/N. If he does, I’ll do it myself.” Another laugh came from the three of you. You truly were so happy to see this union. You knew they needed each other.

“Goodnight, my dears.” you gestured to the remaining few.

Echoes of goodnights followed you out the door. As you were rounding the corner, a hand fell on your wrist.

“Y/N, wait.” Sersi was behind you, her thin frame leaning into the arched doorway.

“Yes, my blushing bride?” You two giggled like young girls.

“I was wondering, would you sing at our wedding? It wouldn’t be right if you didn’t. Maybe something not as sad as the one tonight?” She said, laughing a little bit.

“Of course, I will!” You smiled brightly. “I promise, it’ll be a song of love. True love.” You said, squeezing her hand. You turned to walk away but she stopped you again.

“Y/N?”

“Yes?” you asked, a curious smile across your face.

“What’s up with you and Druig? I mean I know you two flirt but tonight seemed different. Did something happen?” She asked, an air of excitement around her.

“I mean, we were talking before I sang but there’s nothing different about that. Why, do you know something I don’t?” you asked, and incredulous smile playing on your lips.

“Well, that’s the thing. The song was about seeing a lover again someday. Did one of you finally confess?” She asked, voice lowered.

Of course she would ask that. Sersi knew all your secrets, even the ones you so desperately tried to hide from everyone including yourself. She had known from the very beginning that something special was blooming between you and Druig and many times had encouraged you to move into unknown territory with the quiet man. She was your closest confidant, your safe place to confess all.

“No, Sersi. Nothing happened. I don’t know where the songs come from, you know that. They just happen. It wasn’t any sort of message to him. That’s just not how my power works.” That was a lie and you knew it. So did Sersi but she let it slide. She knew that you would be true to both her and you in your own time.

“Okay. If anything does change, you know you can tell me.” The woman took your hand in hers and squeezed.

“Thank you.” You squeezed back. “Now, I really have to go to bed. We’ve had quite the eventful evening after all.” You let her hand go and slowly turned, giving her one last wave.

“Goodnight, Y/N.” She called after you.

“Goodnight!”

You made your way to your sleeping quarters, still running over the question Sersi had asked you earlier. Druig never had commented on your music, that was true. His words still rang in your ears like a sweet symphony. Stepping into the soft lighting of the room, you closed the door behind you and made your way to your bed, shedding your armor as you went. Folding it and placing it on your table, you pulled your sleeping tunic over your head. Tonight had been exciting indeed. A wedding, a new adventure, a compliment from the man who made you week at the knees. There was no way you would be able to sleep. You decided to put on some music. Phastos had made you something special for nights like this. He had called it a gramophone. It was a device that would be considered top of the line centuries from now and with his help he had even shown you how to put your music onto it. He said he had bigger plans for it but for now you could test it out and give him pointers on how to improve it down the line. Any human to see it now would surely think it was some devious device, so it was a secret to you and your fellow Eternals. You had cried when Phastos had presented it to you, pulling him into a rib crushing hug. Crossing to the shelf on the far side of the room, you picked up a wax roll and placed it onto the needle. Soft crackles filled the air as a slow song began to bubble from the device. You danced slowly around the room, musing about your evening. Your body began to glow as the music took you over, your powers sinking into the small area. You were lost in your own world when a small knock came at your door, breaking you from your revere. Crossing to the door, the knock came again. Suspecting it was Kingo telling you to turn it down, you were surprised when you opened the door to see two blue eyes staring back at you.

“Druig, um, hi. I’m sorry, was I being too loud? I can turn it off, I just couldn’t sleep.” You were blushing again, realizing he had also changed into comfier clothes, his large biceps on full display without his bulky armor.

“No, m’lady. I just heard the music and thought I would say hi since you were awake.” The man grinned at you from his place in the doorway.

“Oh,” you smiled,” Would you like to come in? I’m testing out the gramophone. Would you like to have a listen with me?” You gestured to the side and Druig followed your direction, pausing to let his eyes linger on you for a beat too long.

Gods, help me. If I was capable of heart failure I would probably die right now.

Druig walked casually into the room, his hands placed behind his back. You closed the door slowly, turning to rest your back against it. He had never come to you in the night, much less been inside of your room. Druig made a slow turn, surveying the room with inquisitive eyes. Finally landing his gaze upon you, he stepped in your direction.

“Is this your music?” He asked, slowly closing the space between you.

“Yes,” you breathed, “Phastos helped me put it on wax cylinders. That way I can practice my powers even when I’m alone.”

Druig came to a stop mere feet from you, surveying your form slowly.

“I wasn’t lying earlier, that song tonight was beautiful. You, your powers, all of it. Absolutely stunning.” Druig paused, licking his lips. He took another step closer, waiting for you to stop him. Slowly, he brought a hand from behind his back

“Darling,” his accent thick and present, “you wouldn’t mind sharing a dance with me, would you?” his hand extending toward you.

“A dance?” you asked, voice shaking slightly. “Sure.” You took his hand.

He pulled you into the middle of the room, placing a hand on your hip. You rested your other hand on his shoulder and closed the rest of the distance between the two of you. You began to sway to the beat, smiling when he would do a little spin every now and then. You couldn’t get over how beautiful he was this close up. His blue eyes pierced into your own y/e/c ones, the soft lighting of the room dancing across his face.

“Would you sing for me, my moon, just a little bit?” he asked, eyes glancing down to your lips for a beat. My moon. That was new.

“For you, Druig, I would do anything.” You smiled again as you let your powers fill you up. The same song from earlier in the night began to drift softly from your lips. Druig drew you closer, laying your head on his chest. He hummed along with you, seeming to have memorized every bit of the earlier performance. When you finally sang the last few words, you looked up at him again.

“How was that?” you asked, a flirtatious grin on your face.

“Wonderous.” He said cupping your cheek. Thinking the moment would end, you were taken over when he pulled you closer, planting a kiss on your lips. You melted into him, letting the sensation of the closeness engulf you. His lips were soft and plush against your own, moving in perfect sync. Was this what you had been waiting so long for? Why had he not acted sooner? What was changing? When he pulled away, you almost whined at the loss of his touch. Looking into his eyes, you smiled brightly.

“What was that?” you asked, placing your hands on his chest.

“That was, well. That was something I should have done 300 years ago.” He connected his forehead to your own, inhaling deeply the scent of you.

“All this time, why didn’t you ever say anything? And why now?” You asked, looking up at the taller man.

“I don’t know and I’m sorry I’ve waited this long. I do know that my feelings are true though. I like you very much.” He said, a true smile spreading across his pale face.

“I like you very much too, Dru.” You giggled back.

“So, what does this mean for us then, eh?” He asked, leaning back so he could see you properly.

“Well,” you paused, a faux look of deep contemplation on your face. “We could keep this a secret and continue our “little dance” as Kingo put it. Or,” you paused again, wrapping your arms around his neck. “We could finally tell everyone we came clean.” Druig laughed at that.

“For some reason I feel like you want to keep this a secret. Why, you ashamed of me?” Druig pulled a face of fake hurt, only to laugh when you slapped his chest playfully.

“No, Druig. I would never be ashmed of you. I just think right now with the wedding coming up and our move to a new place, maybe we need to just keep it between us. Besides, it’s kind of fun that you snuck into my room in the dead of night.” You pulled him into another kiss, this one more passionate than the other. Druig smiled into you, holding you tight to him.

“Whatever you want, my beautiful, beautiful Y/N.”

This was not what Druig wanted, no. He wanted to be loud and proud that he could finally call you his girl. He had wanted it for so long, why should he have to wait. He knew you were right though. After the wedding and everyone was settled in. Then, he could make his true feelings known. Sersi and Ikarus weren’t the only ones in love. He hoped the next wedding would include you as the bride

[addictedtostorytelling]

3x09 makes me laugh, Grissom goes on a date (presumably because he's trying to prove he's ok with Sara dating someone else), has to leave the date early, and promptly spends the next three days flirting with Sara. Oh babe, you tried 😅

hi, anon!

agreed! it's absolutely hilarious.

it's like

gil grissom: oh, sara is dating someone else, you say? a beefcake paramedic her own age, even? haha, that's fine. i mean, it's 100% cool. i'm cool with it. so cool. cool as a cucumber, that's me. i mean, why wouldn't i be cool? i'm her supervisor. it's not like i'm madly in love with her or anything. it's not like the thought of her in the arms of another man is slowly driving me insane from jealousy, haha! (excuse me while i listen to some pagliacci on blast and brood a bit.) i'm so, so, so, so, so, ever so fine with this—and you can tell that i'm fine with this because i'm even going on a date with someone else who is NOT sara! a date that i am very invested in™ and that i obviously care about a lot. i mean, would i date someone else if i was hung up on sara? phht, no! of course i would not! that's how you can tell how incredibly okay i am with this whole "sara is dating an adonis and is probably going to marry him and have his babies" thing. now, if you excuse me, i have to go get ready for my date with, um... whatever her name is. right.

*one half of a date later*

also gil grissom: well, sorry, woman whose name i am already in the process of actively forgetting as i am standing up to leave this restaurant! but i have to go on another date—er, i mean, work a homicide case with my girlfriend—er, uh, with my colleague—and it's a very "serious business" thing because, you know, murder, and i am definitely not going to spend the whole time flirting and having constant eye sex with her and completely failing at personal space as a concept when i'm near her and just saying stupidly romantic things to her out of nowhere even though she has another boyfriend about how i need her and i don't need anything else but her, as all the while i keep going out of my way to be funny and charming so that i'm sure to win her affections over and steal her back from that meathead paramedic boyfriend of hers. this is not just all an elaborate excuse to see if maybe there's still some hope that sara still wants to be with me AT ALL! because, i mean, why would it be? this is just a normal criminal investigation! there are no ulterior motives and certainly no romantic and/or sexual feelings involved whatsoever! i am certainly not trying to win sara back to me after the recent rough patch we've been through! i am for sure not interested in gauging where i stand with her to see if i still have a chance to win her in the end! that kind of behavior on my part would be absolutely unhinged, right? haha, i can't even imagine! because, i mean, if i were to act like that, it would suggest that i am in love with sara and that i want her back and that i can't function unless i know that she reciprocates my feelings, which would be just so crazy. that's not at all me. i mean, yes, i'll admit that i've been missing her lately. i'll give you that! and, okay, so maybe i can't wait to spend three days just wooing the hell out of her all the fuck over green valley! and, all right, you got me: the mere thought of spending time with her is enough to make me noticeably happier than i've been in months because she's so beautiful and wonderful and perfect and just being around her lifts me up! and—! i'm sorry, what was i saying? anyway, in the words of nikki sixx, i've gotta go date my wife. so, uh, enjoy your salad, i guess.

#an effort was made

[softquietsteadylove]

I’m here to say I’m happy you’re back and hopefully feeling better! I have a little prompt, nothing extensive but I’m missing TMTL au lately and would love to see some sweet family time 🥹

"Happy Valentine Mum!"

"Thank you, Darling," Thena laughed, receiving her ever-growing-six-year-old in her arms and accepting his loving embrace. She nuzzled his temple, kissing as he laughed. "How was your valentine's day?"

"We made cards!" Druig exclaimed far too loudly for the front hall of their little house. He held out a red heart, cut with jagged edged scissors to give it a pointy edge.

"That's," Thena paused, examining the glittery glue dripping from it, "lovely."

"This is all the blood," Druig pointed out. "'Cuz yer heart's beatin' in your body, so it'd be gross when you pull it out."

Thena smiled at the cute and grotesque gesture. Unfortunately, it was very 'Druig' of him to think of something like that. "That's very thoughtful of you, Darling. Did you exchange cards with your friends?"

Druig nodded dutifully, although the only friend he really held any fondness for was Makkari. "Everyone gave out cards. Some of 'em had candy!"

Thena was very aware that the tradition was to attach a cheap piece of sweet confection to each equally cheap card. She hadn't particularly wanted to participate in that tradition, and when she asked Druig if that was okay his only response was that he just wanted the candy for himself anyway.

"Did you eat it all already?"

"No, Mum," her sweet little angel replied, shining his big blue eyes at her. Thena just stared at him. He sighed, "I ate half of 'em. But I shared with Kari!"

She supposed she could be thankful that he had been honest with her. He relaxed his posture as she smoothed down his hair, "that's very nice that you shared with her, Darling. Did you make her a card?"

Druig nodded again. He had indeed made a card just for his best - and in many ways only - friend, unlike the garbage he had given everyone else out of obligation (his mother's words, not his!). "I drew a cheetah, and it said 'you're even faster than this!' on it!"

Thena pressed a kiss to the top of Druig's head before standing again, "that's lovely, Darling."

"I made one for Miss Ajak too," he continued as she helped him out of his laced up boots. "But I didn't know what to say so I just wrote 'Valentine' on it."

"I'm sure she'll think that's very sweet," Thena assured him.

"Kari made you one too!"

Thena blinked as the card was shoved in her face. Luckily it wasn't as sharply pointed as her son's. It was also a violent shade of red, but at least it wasn't dripping with viscera.

Her student had drawn some butterflies around the edges, and then a picture of a little ballerina with dark braids, and a taller ballerina with yellow hair. A charming couple of arrows pointed out who was whom, in case Thena needed help identifying them. Her eyes watered.

"You like it?"

Thena sniffled, kissing Druig's forehead, "tell her I absolutely love it, Darling. I'll put it right up next to yours above my desk, hm?"

"'Kay," Druig shrugged, no longer concerned with it. "Mister Dad has something for you too."

And with that, Druig was more interested with the promise of the living room and probably turning on the tv before he was told not to.

Thena tilted her head as Gil finally came through the front door as well, shuffling in with a bundle of something behind his back. "Oh, he does, does he?"

"I told him to come in first, help warm you up," he chuckled, letting her lean against his chest as she got up on her toes to kiss him. "Hey."

"Hey," she greeted, although it came out as more of a sigh. She stepped back, letting him in away from the door. "How were classes?"

"Well, valentine's isn't really a day when you get things done," he chuckled, fidgeting and kicking off his shoes. "Too much chocolate, too many questions. You mostly make crafts, and cards, and try to discourage asking where babies come from."

"I see," Thena pressed her lips together to try and resist laughing. She kept trying to see what was behind him, but he was holding it up high enough to that his broad shoulders did quite a fine job of keeping it from her. "Gil?"

"Okay, okay," he chuckled, leaning in for one more kiss before pulling out a full bouquet of roses, varying in colour from sheer white to pink to deep red. "Uh, I didn't know if you would really want to do anything, but-"

Thena swiped the flowers from him, burying her nose in their scent. It wasn't that she was a huge flowers lover, nor did she dislike them. But she couldn't remember a time when she received a bouquet that wasn't for work purposes.

"Okay, good to know," Gil smiled, putting his hand on her shoulder as she admired them. "Happy valentine's, Angel."

Thena happily leaned in to let him kiss her cheek, still starry eyed from receiving her gift. "Gil, they're beautiful!"

"Second only to you," the charmer corrected as he pried one of her hands away from them.

"Don't tell me you had these with you all day," she blinked at the idea of him trying to navigate the teacher's lounge with them.

"No, I scheduled a pickup for them this afternoon, but I ordered them basically at the start of february," he laughed, pulling her down the front hall and out of the view of the living room. "In case you did want to do something...I wanted it to be special."

Thena melted into the kiss as he held both her cheeks to tip her head just so. She held the flowers out, unwilling to let them get squished as Gil held her waist against him. She moaned quietly, savouring the real, proper kiss stolen even while Druig was in the house.

"So?" Gil pulled away with eager eyes, "how'd I do?"

"It's by far the best gift I've gotten for this particular occasion," she stated factually before burying her nose in her roses again.

"Sorry hon, but that's not a very high bar," Gil snorted, moving back to his work satchel. "And there's more where those came from, but that'll be for, uh, tonight."

Thena buried her blushing in the flowers as well. "I could have asked Ajak to have the kids over."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Gil whispered, "it's a school night anyway. We'll keep it lowkey."

Thena nodded, accepting another little kiss.

"Besides," he winked at her, "I got you another present. I don't know what you were thinking of."

"Hush," she attempted to chide her very jovial partner as he moved into the living room. She followed immediately scooping the tv remote out of Druig's hands.

"Hey!" he whined.

"One hour, and if it's now then it's not before bed," she dictated firmly.

"Yes, Mum," Druig grumbled obediently, although he made himself completely dead weight in Gil's grasp as he was moved from off the floor - as close to the tv as he could get - to the couch with them.

"Come on, buddy, don't you wanna tell Mum about what we did today?" Gil attempted to encourage the boy to sociallise just a little.

"You're gonna tell her anyway," Druig shrugged, in both a humorous and precocious statement. He looked down at his outstretched feet, with his socks with sharks on the bottoms. "Did you give Mum the butterflies?"

"Butterflies?" Thena asked with a faint frown.

Gil shook his head, assuring her that no winged insects would be part of her gift. "Uh, what butterflies, kiddo?"

"You said you were gettin' something for Mum. I thought it'd be butterflies," Druig elaborated, but not to the betterment of either adult's understanding. He looked up at Gil. "Mum once told Miss Ajak that you gave her butterflies--I thought you were gonna get s'more."

Gil looked up at Thena, who closed her eyes and looked up at the ceiling as the embarrassment washed over her. Not that Gil didn't know that in a general sense, but she didn't need such a clear example to be given.

Gil just chuckled, "not this time, buddy. I was getting flowers for Mum."

"Okay," Druig shrugged, looking at his mother now. "What's for dinner?"

She smiled down at her son, preferring that over looking her lover in the eye after that particular fact was revealed. "Delivery."

"Pizza?!"

Thena just sighed and nodded, Druig already holding out a grabby little paw for her phone to select what he liked. She looked up at Gil sheepishly, "my gift to you was that I wouldn't do the cooking, but you wouldn't have to either."

"Sounds good to me," he grinned, leaning over to kiss her above Druig's head. Although when he pulled away, he stayed closely hovering, "I give you butterflies, huh?"

Thena huffed, looking away as her embarrassment worsened.

"For what it's worth," he scooched closer, jostling Druig slightly between them just so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders, "you give me butterflies, too."

[softquietsteadylove]

Let’s do some soft moment between them?

Thena sees how stressed Gil is and decides to do some things for him, like ordering dinner, sorting and taking care of little stuff and more!

"Hey hon," Gil calls as he drags himself through the door. He sets his bag down heavily but tries to pull himself together. Thena got off her shift six hours ago, and he doesn't want to ruin her evening with his shit day.

It's all part of the job, right?

"Hey!"

He grunts faintly as Thena comes running down the front hall and throws herself into his arms. He's not complaining, though, happily burying his nose in her hair and holding her against his chest.

She pulls away, only to hold his cheeks in her hands and kiss him properly. "I missed you."

Obviously she knows he's had a hard shift, but it still makes him all warm and fuzzy inside for her to kiss him like that and lavish him with attention and sweet words. "I missed you too."

Thena walks them further into her apartment, trading little kisses with him as they walk, like they're lovesick teenagers, which she always said she found obnoxious. "You go sit, I'll bring dinner over."

"You cooked?" he chuckles, but obeys her instruction.

"I'm trying to help you relax, not poison you."

He lets out a long laugh on his way to her nice comfy sectional. He doesn't lie down, though. If he does that, he's just going to fall asleep in an instant.

"I ordered your favourites," she calls from the kitchen in the same happy tone.

Gil raises a brow at it, lounging back on the couch. "What's got you so giddy?"

"Just," he heard some clinking of cuttlery and plates and stuff. "Happy you're back!"

Gil sits up a little straighter as she comes over with two dishes for them. He cooks for them as often as he can, but she's ordered Chinese--something he's unlikely to make for them at home anyway. She sits next to him with a smile. "Honey, really."

Thena sighs, having been seen through. She wilts into the couch as well, "okay, okay. I tried, didn't I?"

He chuckles, pulling her into him and leaving the food for now. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but like I asked, what's the occasion?"

Thena tilts her head at him, hair down for once in the comfort of her own home. "You seemed more than a little bummed when I headed out, and that was before you had the last few hours to go. I thought, maybe, you'd want the treatment when you got home."

He grins, and not just because her apartment is 'home' for both of them. He wraps his arms around her waist, reclining so she can sit between his legs on the couch. "I already get the treatment, coming home to you."

Thena laughs off his sweet talk, as she always does. Because she doesn't know just how much he means it. Coming home to her beautiful smile and dry tone and reluctance to laugh at his dumb jokes?--that's all he needs.

"Well," she sighs, tracing along the lines of his sweater. "I know you had a long day, and I know you like getting all cuddly, so..."

He could cry. She was doing this for him? Even though she always says that she hates acting like young kids in puppy love. He kisses her forehead, combing his fingers through her hair leisurely. "No complaints from me, baby. But I gotta say, touchy-feely isn't exactly your love language."

"But it is yours," she insists, still on this thing about easing the stresses of his day. "And I know you like, uh, boyfriend-y stuff like this."

She's always been reluctant to really use that word. And he's never pushed her, happy to be her work-husband, even with their relationship rather private from their coworkers. He doesn't have to be her boyfriend to know that she's his. And he is most definitely hers, mind-body-and-soul.

Gil touches the tip of his nose to hers before kissing her. It's soft, in the way they don't have time for in the middle of the work day. "You know you're the best, right?"

It appeals to the ego in her - the Doctor ego - and she grins, pleased with herself. "Well, it never hurts to hear it again."

"You're," another kiss, "the", another, "best."

Thena practically purrs in his arms, getting nice and comfy in his lap as he lavishes her with attention. She can act tough and independent all she likes, he knows she's not above a nice cuddle every now and then. And he wasn't the only one who had a long day at work.

"So, is this really all because you thought I had a rough day?"

"Well," Thena pauses.

He nudges her, pressing his lips to her temple.

She snuggles a little more into his chest. "I saw you watching that couple in the waiting room being all gross together. You seemed a little - I don't know - envious."

He chuckles again. She wouldn't have said anything on her own, but she is the type who would notice him noticing something like that and think about what to do about it on her own. "So, you're letting me feel like a real boyfriend, tonight?"

Her sheepishness returns and even a little colour in her perfect cheeks. "You're already my husband. But if you want to be my boyfriend, too-"

He gets impatient and kisses her in the middle of her sweet little declaration. He can't resist, he just loves this woman so much. It really helps drown out the long work day, the relentless pace of it, the merciless nature of both their jobs.

"See?" she laughs between kisses. "You love this sappy stuff!"

"Guilty," he admits completely. "Good thing I have such a sappy girlfriend."

"Sappy?!"

He pouts his lips and makes his best puppy eyes at her, "just for me?"

His girlfriend is a real sucker for this face, and it doesn't take her long to crumble before it, "fine. Just for you, and just here, and just sometimes."

"Okay fine," he smiles, burying his nose in her hair. They honestly might not get to the food until it's a little cold, at this rate, but he's fine with that. He inhales, feeling the slight weight of her against his chest and stomach and the curve of her ribs against arm.

"So," Thena also sighs, relishing his warmth, "you wanna eat this dinner I ordered, or what?"

"In a minute, hon," he mumbles. He's not really lying down, but he might just fall asleep like this anyway.

[softquietsteadylove]

@theshipper47 had this lovely idea and I had to ask you!

tyrant king/Ice Queen AU or secretary AU:

Gil is in prison and Thena needs to get him out 👀

Gil sits down heavily into the seat, hunching himself to lean against the counter as the guards watch them all. He picks up the phone receiver, "hey."

"Hey, Baby."

Gil smiles. Thena has never been one to go crazy with petnames or cutesy couple behaviour. But since he was apprehended by the Korean authorities on their way back to London, she hasn't missed an opportunity to make it clear that she's his partner. "They set a bail number, yet?"

Thena keeps the smile on her face. They're both sure that the guards know at least some of what they're saying in English, so they haven't taken any chances. "Not yet, Yeobo. I keep asking them, though."

What she means is they still don't have any evidence to convict him on anything serious, they just don't want him to slip out of their fingers again.

Gil sighs. He's tried telling her to go home without him--maybe try to make some progress from the English side of things. Even having him expedited from imprisonment in Korea to the UK would be an improvement. They're a little easier to bribe, he thinks.

"Hey," Thena gives him a softer smile this time, tilting her head in the way he thinks is really cute. She presses her hand to the reinforced glass between them, "I miss you."

He presses his hand as close to hers on the glass as possible. "Fuck I miss you, Naekkeo. Sleeping here fucking sucks."

She purses her lips, "I'm sure it's miserable. And just to be clear, sleeping at the airport hotel without you isn't what I'd call enjoyable."

He chuckles. That's more like his Thena--who would normally have a little bit of a tough time expressing how much she misses him, especially around other people. "I'll be with you soon, Gongjunim. If-"

"When," she corrects him freely, and has been doing so everyday when she's allowed to come and see him like this. She raises her brows, "they find out who is framing you for all this."

Gil grins at her. Thena worked for him long enough--she knows who to call, who to trust and who not to. She knows how to fake documents and which ones need to be legit. Hell, she worked for him so long he's still surprised she wasn't brought up in the 'embezzling' charges they had gotten him on.

But that just means that whoever blew the whistle on him was on a personal vendetta, not really out to destroy his 'shipping' business.

Apparently whoever it was didn't know - and still doesn't - what a force of nature his Thena is.

"My poor husband," Thena sighs both loudly and sweetly, putting an extra sweet note into her voice. She flutters her lashes and lets her hair slide off her shoulders, revealing just a little bit of cleavage under her cardigan. "Stuck in this awful place."

Gil raises an eyebrow, leaning closer in a somewhat vane attempt to block the guards' view of her. "Uh, baby?"

But she gives him another smile and taps the glass. It's morse code.

I'm going to pay one of them to give you something for me.

The little minx--his clever snowfox, more like. He snorts, forgoing the coded message and simply drawing a big heart on his side of the glass with his finger. "I know, it's awful. Wait for me?"

She tilts her head at him, "I won't be waiting long, since you'll be with me in no time."

He smiles. She hasn't wavered in that belief even once while visiting him. Even when he's attempted to bring up the flat back home, or his office he still owns here, or any of the other domestic stuff. She won't let him even imply that he won't be back by her side as soon as his trial happens. "Okay, fine, you won't be waiting long. But still...?"

Thena gives him a look he recognises from their earlier days of knowing each other. There's a lot happening behind those eyes of hers. But she would look at him like this sometimes when she was contemplating asking about his business meetings, or that time she had his favourite sundubu delivered to the office when he was sick.

Eventually, her debate with herself ends. It's not denial driving her, rather the drive and belief in whatever she's planning that will get him out of here. She'll do whatever she has to--he believes it too, looking at her.

Thena draws a much smaller, but just as earnest heart on her side of the glass. "I would wait for you until the world burned down around me."

Gil grins, bringing up his hand again to let their fingers press against the glass, as if he could touch the tip of his pointer to hers. It'll have to do. "I promise it won't be that long."

Thena slips her hand away and draws her facade over herself again, clearing her throat and shrugging away any real emotion she had let bleed through. "Indeed--I'm going to go have a meeting with some old associates of yours. I believe they'll hear me out. We had a lovely chat over some tea last we spoke."

Ah, yes, the juniors he had met with whose faces Thena had smashed with a tea tray. They probably would hear Thena out, even if it was just because enemies of Gil's were also enemies of theirs.

"Tell 'em to be on their best behaviour," Gil chuckles. He snarls at the guard waving at him to wrap it up. He sighs, "I gotta go, Princess."

"It's okay," Thena whispers back, her eyes already glassy at having to watch him get led away in handcuffs again. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you, Naekkeo."

"I love you too," she promises, watching as he sets the receiver down, as does she. They hold each other's eyes until he's physically pulled from his seat to be marched back to his cell.

Thena undoes an extra button on her cardigan and stands, making a weepy show of picking up her designer purse.

"Ma'am, if you'll follow me."

Ah, so sweet and innocent seeming. She smiles at the guard--young, probably looking to rise in the ranks. And if he can't do that, then maybe he'll take a payoff from a rich inmate's wife. "Oh, how sweet of you."

She bats her eyelashes at the guard, making light conversation until she's almost out of the building. She looks at the young man without the crocodile tears in her eyes, "here."

He blinks as she slips an old nokia phone and pair of wired earbuds into his hand.

"You give that to him for me and this," she enunciates, slipping a thick stack of won into his pocket, "will be doubled by tomorrow. Can you do that for me?"

The young man gulps, but he doesn't hesitate to accept it, "yes, ma'am."

"Good boy," Thena purrs, watching the poor boy blush as she leaves the same way she came, surrendering her bag to be checked again. Not that anything will be amiss (the money was in the lining of the fake purse and the phone was nestled into her bra). "I'm sure my husband will remember your kindness when all this nasty business is over."