#Thenamesh Amnesia AU

[softquietsteadylove]

4th

He felt more guilty about it and was more eager to leave her alone but it was Thena who felt familiar and comfortable with him. She came to the shop the next day but it was closed, Gilgamesh was just watching her, hiding somewhere and debating himself if he'll go out and see her...and he did. She was happy to see him and she ordered the same thing that she orders everytime. After that he realized that she needs him, she has no one in her life but him. So he decided to stay for her thinking that it won't be bad to be a baddass gangster pretending to be a sweet coffee shop owner.

I'm sorry it has 4 parts😭 thank you so much!!!! I owe you my life, really.

Gil looks up as he hears a knock on the front window. He isn't open yet, and he's ready to tell whomever that. Then he sees who it is, walking over to open the door with a smile, "Thena."

"Hi," she smiles back, stepping in demurely as he opens the door just for her and then locks it again. "Sorry to come in early."

He shakes his head, sliding his trays of pastries into the case lengthwise, "for you?--come in anytime."

Thena shifts on her feet, toying with the strap of her purse. She looks just like she did when he first met her for the second time. "I just...I wanted to tell you I had a lovely time, last night."

His heart swells in his chest.

He's had this idea that he shouldn't have anything to do with her. It's too dangerous, he wants to protect her etc. And those things are true. But then he thinks about the lost look on her face, the first time she ordered a cappuccino off him (and every time after). He thinks about how he bought online masterclasses on baking and barista-ing so he could run a proper cafe, just so Thena would have a place that makes it just how she likes.

He thinks about how he doesn't seem entirely able to go on with his life if she's not in it.

He didn't think she remembered anything about the crash, he has to admit. But he still doesn't know if her memories will actually come back or not. And if they don't...he doesn't think he cares. He'll take care of her, make sure she's safe. He'll be whatever she needs him to be.

Thena tilts her head as he slides the pastry case door closed and walks over to her. Her eyes flutter as he steps right into her space and just barely touches his lips to her cheek.

"I did too," he says easily, and it's entirely true. It was the first date he'd wanted to have with her nearly a year ago now, after all. And she'll remember this one.

Thena looks down at the white heels on her feet. "If you're free, this weekend maybe-"

"Sounds great!"

Thena lets out a laugh, watching him as he continues to set up for business, "I haven't told you what it is, yet!"

"Doesn't matter," he excuses easily, and walks over to lean against the counter. She leans closer too. "Anything with you is perfect to me."

"Do you say that to all your customers?" she smirks at him, and it reminds him of Thena the museum tour guide.

He could easily tell her that none of his customers are as pretty as her, because they're not. "Y'know, I think you'd be surprised to find that I don't talk to any of my customers as much as I talk to you."

He sees Thena's eyes drift down to his lips, and his eyes do the same. He's thought about this--he's thought about it countless times before. He's also worried about what to do when the opportunity finally did arise.

He still worries about Thena. He still worries about if he can really settle into being a cafe owner after the life he's had. But most of all, he wonders if he can really say he has any right to be with her when he's caused the greatest trauma of her life.

Thena leans up, touching her lips to his gently.

Gil kisses her back. He holds her cheek and tilts his head into it, because he's wanted to kiss her for more than a year. He has loved her for more than a year now, no matter how unfair that is. He has things to tell her, things to make up for. But he'll be there for it all.

Gil threads their fingers together as they pull out of the kiss. He looks into those green eyes, same as they were when he first met her - both times - and knows that he can't walk away from her. He tried and failed once already. And he doesn't intend on abandoning her again.

"Well," Thena murmurs, eyes drifting away from his with a nervous but pleased smile on those lips. "I should let you open for the day."

"Just before you do," Gil says softly, opening up the counter to pull her over to their little table. He pulls her chair out for her and everything, sitting across from her like he's done plenty of times before.

Thena furrows her brows as he sits down heavily, frowning. "Gil?"

"You were honest with me last night," he whispers, pulling her hands into his, "and now I want to do the same. The truth is...there's a reason I knew it was your birthday, Bookworm."

[softquietsteadylove]

3rd...

But the plan is just to see her from afar, not to talk to her or have any forms of communication with her. But it was her who went in to her favorite shop to order something and he had no choice, he didn't hire any crews to take her order. He stumbled when Thena walked to him like nothing, it felt like meeting her for the first time. She asked that maybe they had a list of what she orders in that shop because she doesn't remember it anymore. And that's how Gilgamesh knew that she has an amnesia because of the incident.

It scared the shit out of him, seeing her...just there. He almost wondered if she was a ghost (an angel, maybe). But she just stood there, tilting her head at him behind the counter.

"Can I...do you have a menu?"

No, he didn't. He didn't even know how to make half the shit they used to make. He hadn't bothered to learn. He'd bought the building just to see her again, then he was going to gut the building and sell it.

"S-Sorry," he mumbled, putting his feet on the floor and standing up. He walked over to lean against the counter closest to her. "New menu isn't, uh, ready yet."

"Oh," she nibbled on her lip, toying with her purse strap. She seemed so unsure and anxious.

"You okay?" he asked before he could really stop himself (he really had no self-control at all when it came to this woman).

"I," she paused, her eyes sinking down between them. "I had a regular order here but...I can't seem to remember it."

Gil tilted his head at her. She hadn't seemed to recognise him when she walked in. At first he thought maybe it was because she had heard that the accident was targeted--that maybe she hated him now. But then why come in here? "Can't remember it?"

She sighed. "I...I was in an accident. They said that lapses in memory is...normal."

Amnesia: she couldn't remember it. He didn't know how much she could remember, but it didn't seem to include him. And it hurt almost as much as not seeing any recognition in her eyes when she walked in.

"Cappuccino?" he suggested on a whim. The memory of her leaned over that little white mug, hands clasped around it, hair fluttering around her was too strong. Too vivid. "Maybe?"

Thena smiled, small and hesitant as it was. "That sounds lovely."

Great. He didn't know how to make those.

"Uh," he stuttered again, and he briefly thought that if his boys could see him they'd piss their pants laughing. But he offered Thena a smile, gesturing to the table he'd left in the window. "Have a seat. You might have to be a little patient with me."

"Believe me, I have had no choice but to develop a propensity for patience."

That was his little bookworm. He peeked at her through and over the pastry case regularly as he looked up a video of how to make a cappuccino with the fancy espresso machine he'd kept. It turned out fine, although he couldn't make the pretty design on top. But eventually - after eight long minutes - he got it made and brought it to her.

He watched her take a sip, as if his whole life were riding on that one sip.

She smiled. She smiled and she looked just like she did before, just for a second. She turned to him, with that bright smile showing off her teeth. "It's perfect!"

She was perfect--is perfect.

"Y'know what?--wait right here." He had just made her drink, of course she would be there. But Gil still ran to the back, pulling out the pie he'd practised making while at the shop by himself. He cut out a slice, bringing it on the fanciest plate he'd kept with a cute little dessert fork and a little dollop of whipped cream.

"What's that?" she asked, having seen him coming from the window.

"Today's special," he smiled, setting it down in front of her gently. He could do this much, he resolved. He could give her a nice new memory of the place, unattached to him as Gilgamesh. He was just...some barista, who was slow at his job and made blueberry pies.

Thena took a bite and started glowing from the inside. She looked just as excited as she had when she had told him all about early models of Athenian legal systems. She looked like his Thena.

"It's amazing!" she exclaimed, turning those sparkling green eyes on him that made him feel like she'd shot him right through the heart.

"Oh," he breathed out a nervous laugh. He hadn't even tried it himself, having only thought of bringing her something to pull that frown off her beautiful face. "Good!--I'm glad it turned out."

"You haven't had any?" she asked, immediately pushing the plate over on the tiny table, as if it were a natural reflex. She even put her fork down, turning the plate so it faced him. "Try it."

He will never know why he did end up sitting down across from her. He was supposed to be keeping his distance. He was supposed to be letting her move on with her life. But instead he was sitting down with her, again, and eating desserts and talking and laughing, again.

Thena tilted her head at him as he took at bite of his hard work. "What's your name?"

He nearly choked on the bite he was chewing, but she naturally offered him a sip of her cappuccino to wash it down. She didn't seem to realise how natural it was for her to do it. Certainly she didn't seem to wonder why it seemed like something she had done a million times before.

"Gil," he answered after a long minute of debating whether or not to lie to her. He could have, of course, but...but he couldn't--of course he couldn't. "You?"

She smiled at him again, and goddammit if he didn't fall in love with her all over again. "Thena."

[softquietsteadylove]

Hiiii!!! Maybe it's not too late to add this idea of mine to the Amnesia trope, it has three parts.

I think it may connect to the last one you posted (when Gil went to her place and she had the time of the month), so Thena just suddenly felt comfortable and told him why she had the 'memory loss' but the only thing she remembers is that she was calling someone and then suddenly there was something collided through her car, she also remembered someone talking and carrying her before she completely passed out. Gil, felt guilty and he suddenly told Thena that he has some emergency to the shop.

"That was great," Gil comments lightly as they get into her place after dinner. It really was a nice dinner, and the restaurant was as pleasant as he's read about. He has been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to go, after all.

"It was," Thena smiles gently as she hangs up her coat and sets her purse on the counter. "Did you want some tea?--or coffee?"

Gil smiles. He should really go--especially if he's going to prepare the daily special for tomorrow morning. But he walks a little further into her apartment, hands in his trouser pockets, "I guess a cup of tea wouldn't hurt."

Thena offers another fleeting smile before disappearing into her kitchen.

Gil walks slowly from the front hall to the couch. It isn't far, but it's hard to notice that her walls are eerily barren. There are no photos, no little trinkets or home decor at all. There's a singular hook for her keys, a plate on the kitchen cutout ledge where he can see some junk mail and spare change.

Her living room is sparse as well. Plain white furniture--lovely but as blank as it can get. It's a little mysterious in aesthetic, like the woman making their tea.

Gil smiles as she comes in with two petite mugs for them. She sets them both on the coffee table and he takes a seat on the other end of her loveseat. "Nice place."

She looks around her living room as well, as if also needing to familiarise herself with it. "I didn't move in so long ago. I guess it doesn't quite feel like home yet."

Gil just nods. "It can take a while to settle in to a place enough for it to feel like that, I guess."

"I suppose so."

Gil takes a sip of his tea. Thena does the same. She isn't the chattiest person in the world, and the last thing he wants to do is push her about anything.

Over dinner, he asked if they did anything for her birthday at work. She told him that no one seemed to know. And it makes sense for her--she never really made any effort to tell people when it is. Apparently her friends Kingo and Sersi gave her their well wishes and promised that if she would like to do something, they will be all too willing.

They sound like nice people.

"I'm not sure where I lived before."

Gil attempts not to look startled by the statement, but clearly it didn't work all that well.

Thena nods, despite not having anything verbally to confirm. "I...I have this memory gap. True and genuine amnesia, my doctors told me."

"I, uh, didn't know that was a real thing," Gil says cautiously, at a loss to do anything else.

But Thena is understanding, maybe even expecting the bewildered response. "They didn't tell me much when I awoke in the hospital. Just that there had been an accident, and that by the time I was awake, I couldn't remember well into last year."

"I'm sorry."

Thena shakes her head. "I don't even know what happened or caused it. And they've told me not to rush things or go looking for answers that could only put stress on me. I suppose they told me to leave well enough alone and go on with my life."

"That," Gil gulps, setting his tea down, "doesn't sound easy."

"I'm sorry," she whispers, setting her mug down as well. "I'm afraid it's not very pleasant news, but it is something I thought you should...know about me."

Gil angles himself towards her, even scooching an inch closer on the couch. "What...do you remember anything from before?"

But Thena shrugs, looking down at her hands on her lap, over her soft white dress. "I just barely remember moving to the city, starting work at the museum, meeting Sersi and Kingo within my first week. Then...pieces."

"Pieces?"

Thena frowns, her hands tightening.

"I'm sorry," Gil rushes out, leaning over to place a hand over hers. He gives them just the smallest of squeezes, hoping to reassure her, "I didn't mean to bring up something upsetting."

Thena looks at him, though, smiling again. "I'm afraid I'm a bit too comfortable around you for my own good."

Gil blinks, looking like she shot him right through the heart.

"I remember driving somewhere," she murmurs, picking up her tea again for something to do with her hands. "Someone was in the car with me, I think. But I have no idea who it would be. Then--nothing. I suppose the next memory I have is being carried, but I assume that was by the first responders pulling me from my car."

"Must be."

"I'm sorry," Thena apologises again. "I...this isn't exactly first date talk, is it?"

"N-No! I mean," Gil fumbles, wanting nothing more than to get that frown off her face. "It's a big part of your life now, right? Whether you get your memories back or not...I'm glad you told me."

It's easy to see that she doesn't quite believe him about that, but she at least attempts to smile again. "You're sweet."

"Hey, uh," Gil takes her tea from her hands, setting it down for her and clasping his hands around hers again. "I have to get back to the bakery. Y'know, to prep the...breads."

She nods.

"But," he pauses, his heart in his throat. She waits patiently, but he lowers their hands down between them again, his thumb rubbing gently against her pale silken skin. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?--at the shop?"

"I," she pauses, her hands growing heavy in his. He doesn't let them slip away, though, just holding them tighter.

"I'll see you tomorrow." It appears he's decided. "I'll see you tomorrow, like always. And I'll have something special for you, like always. Deal?"

She sighs, feigning some exasperation it would seem. But she softens, her eyes going warm and letting her hands tighten around his as well, "deal."

[softquietsteadylove]

2nd part for amnesia trope

So for Gil's POV. So what I was thinking is he was a gangster and he is somehow to blame for Thena's memory loss, it was because his enemies targeted her and got involved in a car crash. He left her in the hospital (but of course he paid everything and sends flower everyday) because he thinks that she's no good and she's in danger everytime she's with him. But he still knows how Thena is doing and where she is so when he knew she was finally discharged he started and somehow pretended to be a shop owner (he bought Thena's favorite coffee shop) so he could see her everyday.

He can remember it clear as day: the worst day of his life.

Just like how Thena remembered it, he was in the car with her.

He ended up at the museum to get some information on a competitor. He didn't know who he was meeting or what they looked like--part of the whole confidentiality of being an informant.

So, he hadn't blinked twice when a gorgeous blonde walked up to him and asked if he was lost. He had stated he was looking for some information on the Trojan Horse.

He was looking for information on someone within his gang who he suspected was acting as a double agent, he meant. She thought he meant the literal Trojan Horse, which apparently was a specialty of her major in Greek History.

She had given him a full tour of their exhibit about ancient Greece. He never did catch his informant, instead letting himself be dragged around the museum by this blonde lady excitedly telling him about intricacies of Greek politics in war times. And he never interrupted to tell her about the misunderstanding.

She was so excited to tell him about everything, and he was excited to be around her when she was so cute, even if she was a nerdy bookworm.

She was Thena, they got to eventually. She had just started working at the museum. He asked if she was a tour guide and she outright laughed at the suggestion. She wasn't a people person, by her own declaration. She worked as a researcher, with a friend of hers. Her other friend was in charge of the tours. He thought she was plenty personable, but apparently he got the special treatment that day.

He hadn't meant to get attached. He hadn't meant to see her again at all. He couldn't afford such things. But he ran into her on her way home from work one night, stopping by a cafe he frequented for its pastries. He had a bit of a quiet love for baking and proper pattiseries. Thena also loved pastries, he came to learn.

She frequented the shop, having tried everything from their canales to their mont blancs, to their dacquoises--she knew even more than him. He asked if she baked at all for herself and she laughed at him again (he really wasn't used to people being brave enough to laugh around him, in his line of work). She said she was no baker at all, just an admirer.

An admirer--that was what he was becoming, much to his own dread.

He returned to the coffee shop. Not to see her, but because he wanted to try these amazing pastries Thena had raved about. And he just so happened to run into her there--a few times, actually. One saturday morning he ran into her without the time crunch of having to be at the museum.

Before he could stop himself, he ended up blurting out, "care to join me?"

She did. She sat down across from him, hands clasped around a cappuccino mug, eyeing the little gateau on his plate.

He handed her a fork, and they shared the few bites the tiny serving offered. Even now, he can barely remember what it tasted like; he was far too distracted by the beautiful smile on Thena's face.

They started running into each other more...strategically. They both knew exactly what they were doing, but also didn't bring it up. He had his own reasons for not wanting to get too involved with the beautiful blonde. She seemed to think he was being coy, or maybe even shy.

He was a ruthless gangster. He wasn't shy--isn't shy.

He asked her to dinner. And then dessert--he asked her if there were any other places in the city that had a dessert to compare to their usual place. She said that she wouldn't know, having not lived there as long as he had. So he invited her to find out.

He should have known better.

She was driving them, because then he could put the directions into her phone gps for her. They were talking about what place to try for dinner. And then a truck t-boned them, knocking them straight off the road.

Thena was barely conscious by the time they stopped rolling. Gil was able to rip his seat belt off of him, cutting through hers with his knife once he was free. She was in and out of consciousness the whole time, dead weight in his arms. But even as she started slipping away, he just held her tighter.

Gil pulled her from the wreck, carrying her away from it in case her car had been tampered with as insurance. It was a standard move in the business, and if she had been targeted because of him, he guessed that his enemies would stop at nothing. Surely they wouldn't draw the line at cutting her gas line after deciding to try and kill an innocent woman.

Thena was rushed to Eternal Mercy Hospital, found leaned against a tree after first responders were called to the scene. They were informed by a passing witness that he had seen the truck that came out of nowhere and wrecked her car--that he had seen the woman pull herself from the wreck and drag herself away as he called the ambulance.

The witness left no name.

But it was the same anonymous caller who made sure that any treatment Thena needed was paid for in full--that she had the very best care possible and that there were always fresh flowers by her bedside as she recovered.

The hospital had no obligation to ask further into it, and Gil was grateful. Supposedly they couldn't tell him how she was doing because he wasn't her family or emergency contact, but whatever. The bastards who had pulled her hit and run were long taken care of, he had made sure of it.

He also made sure that he would never be connected to Thena again.

It was for the best, he said. He couldn't be so selfish as to endanger her for his own happiness. They were lucky she wasn't seriously injured this time, but he wouldn't take the chance of her getting hurt again.

The closest he came was to let himself see her again--literally see, just witness from across the street. Just to say goodbye, in a sense, he told himself. Just for a little closure before he let go of the only woman he had ever loved.

He bought the coffee shop--their coffee shop. He bought it as it was, fired all the staff and just...sat there. He practised his own pastry recipes for his own entertainment, but he definitely wasn't operating a functional cafe. He just wanted to see her walking down the street, on the way to museum.

Just one last time, he kept telling himself.

Then she walked right in.

[softquietsteadylove]

Hey so I saw this article somewhere it went viral years ago and I think it still is. It is about a girl that lost her memories and fell in love with the same boyfriend she had before she lost her memories, so basically she fell in love with her boyfriend twice.

It's giving Thena and Gilgamesh maybe you could write something about it ><

Thena smiles as she arrives at the familiar street corner with the familiar bakery and its familiar comfort. She just moved to the apartment complex down the street from it, and yet as soon as she saw it, she had a feeling she knew this place.

And she would give anything for that feeling, these days.

Memory loss, they told her. Real, actual amnesia; she thought that was just in the movies and stuff. But apparently it's possible, and she has a gap in her memories seeming to go back as far as last year. She didn't know where she worked, where she lived.

She knows she's Thena, that she works at a museum, that she doesn't have any family for them to call. And...that's about it. It was later on that she learned that she had moved to town less than a year ago. She has a few friends at work who were happy to help her relearn such important things.

The doctors recommended letting things come naturally to her--to not go looking too deliberately for things. Something about putting strain on her mind. Sersi and Kingo were quick to agree with that.

"Thena?"

"Gil," she smiles as soon as she steps into the shop. It's really become a highlight of her day to come in here.

He steps out of the back, looking the same as he always does. He has dark hair, thick and full and almost fluffy at the top of his head. He has a lovely fullness to his cheeks and some traces of facial hair around his lips. He looks more like he could be a boxer or a body builder as opposed to the mild tempered baker he is.

And the way he smiles at her; Thena toys with the strap of her purse as he comes over to lean on the counter closest to her.

"What brings you in today?" he asks, as if she doesn't come in at least once a week for a taste of his pastries. Usually she just has whatever he's put out as a daily special, but she's open to his recommendations.

"I got off work a little early," she answers with a smile of her own, already sitting herself down at one of the few tables in the place. "Thought I'd treat myself to one of your wonderful confections."

"Hm, I think I could help with that," he chuckles, already moving to the door of the pastry case. "How was work today?"

"Mm, the usual," Thena muses, happy watch as Gil plates whatever it is he has for her, laughing as she hears a can of whipped cream. "I'm really getting the special treatment today."

"Well, you don't always get off work early, right?" Gil chuckles as he brings over the plate, and two forks. He sits across from her. "My very special Mont Blanc."

Thena eyes the confection, all fine strings wound together into a mountain peak with cream at the top. She's sure she's smiling like an idiot, but she doesn't much care as she takes just some of the cream at first. "And what's so special about it?"

"Find out," Gil nods his head at it, holding the other fork for himself but waiting for her to get her first taste of it.

"Hm," Thena sighs, digging into the dessert. She isn't sure how, but she knows what mont blanc is. The chestnut paste is familiar and soft on her tongue. She licks her lips. "Vanilla?"

"Good taste," Gil winks at her as he finally takes a bite for himself. "I've been trying to find ways to work vanilla into a lot of my stuff, recently."

"Oh?" Thena asks before taking another eager bite. She looks at him, but he has this expression on his face that makes butterflies spring to life in her. She rushes her eyes away again.

"Guess I was just," Gil pauses, letting his eyes tear themselves away from her slowly, "inspired."

"You know," Thena murmurs, having debated whether or not to bring this up at all. But she's come this far (and left work early to do it, too). "Today is actually my birthday."

"You don't say."

He doesn't sound all that surprised. Thena looks at Gil again, whose expression has gone unreadable. She tilts her head at him, "have I ever told you this before?"

"You must've," he shrugs, putting on his usual bright smile for her. "Well, you've had some dessert already. What else are you going to do for your special day?"

Coming here is the only treat she had thought to get for herself, really. Truly, she hadn't been able to think of anything else she wanted to do than come and have some of Gil's pastries, see Gil, talk to Gil...think about how to ask Gil out without feeling weird about it.

"I suppose I haven't thought about it," Thena mumbles, dragging her fork through the powdered sugar on the plate.

Gil sets his fork down, leaning his elbows onto the edge of the table. He raises an eyebrow at her, and she briefly wonders if anyone has ever told him he looks kind of sexy like that. "Well, you did mention something about your birthday being around now. And you also mentioned...that you were thinking about trying out that new Italian place."

She did? "Which place?"

"I guess it's not that new anymore," Gil muses, his head turned to look out the window as he says it. "Opened a little less than a year ago now. But still--would you like to try it out?"

How did this turn into him asking her out? Not that she's complaining, but she went to all the trouble of working up her nerve. Thena swipes some powdered sugar onto her finger and pops it between her lips. "Do you...like Italian?"

He grins at her, his eyes so much more expressive than his secretive little smiles. "Love it."

"Okay," Thena nods. The butterflies are back. "Well, um, I-"

"How about you go home and get ready, I'll close this place up," he pats the table, looking so sure of himself, "meet you here at 7?"

Thena tilts her head at him again. Sometimes Gil feels so familiar to her it's painful, and then times like this, he still manages to surprise her. "How did you know?"

"Know what?" he asks, picking up her plate and walking back to the counter with it.

"How did you know it was my birthday? And that I wanted Italian?"

Gil sets the plate down, leaning on the counter to look back at her. She could swear she's seen him do that before--look at her like that before. "Just...call it a feeling."