#Thenamesh Zombie AU

[softquietsteadylove]

Only FIVE prompts left??? We can’t have that! (Unless you want a break then we absolutely can have that) BUT here’s another words prompt just in case you want more! I may be back with an AU specific prompt as well 👀 words are: luck, train, discovery

"You two, take the back cars, bring back anything useful."

Thena said nothing, all but rolling her eyes at the order. But she moved in the direction of the back of the train, pulling Gil with her by the hand.

He was less eager to argue with Ikaris, but he chuckled as Thena kept a close pace with him. "Bit bossy, huh?"

"He thrives off of ordering people around, I believe," she muttered, although she didn't let go of his hand, even as they walked. "At least with you here, he's not barking as much."

To say that he was not a fan of Ikaris would be an understatement, but Gil was quietly happy that the group leader seemed to give him a little more wariness than the others. He didn't think of himself as a fighter, by any means, but if that prick thought he could get away with being a bully, then Gil was happy to get in his face again.

The sun hit the top of Thena's head, reflecting off of it in a blinding way. But the sun was a good thing--it meant they had good visibility and that most of those things would be stumbling around idly rather than riled up.

"Feels kinda nostalgic, right?" he chuckled as they arrived at the back two cars. "Remember that time we spent on the Amtrack line?"

"Of course," she smiled, watching as he pried the sliding door open for them. That was the main reason he had been asked along on this scavenging trip--and that it was probably going to be lucrative, and the more they could carry at once, the better.

"Nice and quiet place to sleep, at least for a few nights," he reminisced. He groaned as he got the door open, but as soon as he did, Thena slid in front of him, knives up and at the ready.

He remembered their time on the train most fondly because it was the first time Thena had quietly and shyly settled herself beside him to sleep. It was his most treasured memory, even if she didn't know he had it.

She kept her knives up, tapping the metal tips against the walls and overhead rails, just to test if anything was lying in wait. "Rear?"

Gil looked behind them, but it seemed pretty clear. He looked around again, his eyes dashing down to another - completely different - rear before he blushed and cleared his throat. "Looks good."

"Okay," she murmured, reaching the front of the car. She looked through the window of it, catching Kingo in the next car forward. He waved; Gil waved back, while Thena gave him a very stiff not. "Let's start checking."

If there was anything worth taking, it was probably already gone. But things got lost and forgotten in the panic of fleeing. Anything that was left had the potential to have at least a few good things left. A toiletries bag inside a suitcase, some snacks that had been stashed away. Even just the clothes were an asset.

"What do you think it's like for them?" Gil asked, mostly for the sake of talking. He glanced at the end of the car, "scavenging like this even though they've never been out in it?"

Thena eyed the direction of his gaze but returned to methodically digging through bags. "Every time we do this, I see them hesitate. I think there's still a sense that the people who owned these wouldn't want them dug through, or something."

Gil nodded. He understood it, sure--the sympathy he could have for all these people who hadn't been lucky enough to survive what he had. But he agreed with Thena that they didn't have the luxury of thinking like that every time they needed supplies. The things shuffling around in their bodies now had no need for the shreds of their human lives anymore.

He blinked as something was tossed at him. Thena didn't even look up, still digging through things and separating them into piles. But he shook out the little bundle, pleased by the light material of the green plaid shirt. "Yeah?"

"It'll be lighter than the one you have now," she muttered.

He was indeed still wearing a flannel over his t-shirt. It was just something he could wear around the hospital, on kitchen duty or whatever. But he had to admit, out here and under the sun, he was starting to sweat a little.

Thena tilted her head at him as he pulled his darker green one off and pulled on the lighter one. "Hm."

He let her move over to him, rolling the sleeves up to his elbow for herself. He probably would have anyway, but he didn't mind if she wanted to do it. "What do you think?"

She looked up at him, smiling more than she had since they left this morning. "It's a nice colour for you."

"Don't I have to turn it over and, like, request it or something?" he asked as he adjusted the collar of it. He didn't know all the ins and outs of it, but Thena had told him about the system they had for inventory.

From what he understood, everything came back to the hospital, and if someone found something they wanted to keep, they were at the top of the list for it once it had been accounted for. Supposedly it caused less petty theft and argument over resources.

Thena shrugged, though, tying his old shirt around her waist. "Ikaris kept a hat last time and Kingo found a jacket he liked that he was never going to turn over. It's not stated, but if you find it and you're willing to fight for it, no one will argue."

He wasn't sure if that really applied to him - a temporary grunt worker - but he didn't argue. The shirt was already nice and cool on his skin. "Anything I should keep an eye on? Is there anything we aren't keeping?"

"Everything is good to have, but we also can't carry every single thing we find. Divide everything into sections and the priorities will be half from lighter things, half from heavier and outerwear. Shoes and undergarments are a must, but dresses and skirts and suits we can leave."

Things that were less useful weren't a priority. Choice was great, but fashion wasn't a burden for them to bear for those back at the hospital.

Although, Gil watched Thena retrieve another suitcase, if he happened to see something he thought she would like, he wasn't above squirrelling it away for her.

"Oh."

"What?" he leaned over from his sorting to look at her new find. It was a hard shell suitcase, but there weren't any clothes in it at all. It seemed to contain souvenirs or home decorations. Photo frames were in there, although the glass had broken from being tossed and abandoned in the scuffle of things.

"You don't see this often," she sighed. It was never pleasant to have to truly toss away someone's life in your findings. She sifted through things delicately, mindful of the little shards of glass.

"Careful," he couldn't resist muttering over her shoulder. He got a look for it, but he shrugged. He reached in for himself, pulling out a little dragon figurine. "Jade--supposed to be good vibes."

Thena pulled out a broken handheld fan, as well some beautiful painted - and broken - porcelain. "I can see why it was left behind, but it's amazing they even bothered to pack it in the first place."

It was probably evidence of an early phase of evacuation. One where people were still being promised safe havens and places to reestablish themselves.

"Hey," he grinned, fishing out another artifact. He held it delicately, noting the crack already running down the face of it. "This looks just like the one that used to be on the counter in my old restaurant."

The lucky cat's smile was in tact, despite everything. Its paws were held aloft and the gold detailing of it still shone under the dirt and dust.

"Here," Thena handed him the little red pillow that went with the decoration.

Gil held the thing in his palms. It was nostalgic in a completely different way, reminiscent of a totally different time in his life. But something about looking down at the little face was like seeing an old friend. "I used to say hi to him before every shift."

Thena smiled. "I'm sure you were great friends."

He turned sheepish; it was a little silly, and most didn't enjoy remembering the before times, as it were. No use mourning something so irreparably lost. "Wish we could take you with us, little guy."

Thena watched as he set the little cat, on its pillow, back into the suitcase.

"No room for non-essentials," he excused before standing and dusting off his knees. "I'll clear this back one."

"Careful," Thena responded reflexively. He gave her the same look she had given him but she just shrugged.

He snorted and grinned at her; she was cute, for a huge hypocrite. He slid the door between the cars open, holding onto his skillet. It even felt like old times to be holding it again, ready to swing it at any potential threats.

Ikaris and Kingo kept trying to give him guns and he kept saying no; he didn't know how to handle one anyway, and he was better with short range force than long range accuracy. Thena had her knives and the speed and grace of a gymnast, and he had a cast iron skillet and upper body strength. It had gotten them this far.

He looked back as Thena joined him, her backpack already zipped up with a bulging top. She nodded, "your shirt's in here, too."

They went back to work, sorting through bags. Thena was mostly silent, but she didn't mind when he brought up light conversation either. It really felt like when they were on the road, just the two of them, half a lifetime ago.

"Oi, you two," Ikaris poked his head in, "finished?"

"Yes," Thena responded concisely. "Load up the car, we'll be there."

Ikaris merely nodded. They were a similar brand of efficient but unfriendly, in a funny kind of way. Kingo at least gave them a thumbs up as he followed. How those two found themselves being friends was beyond Gil.

"Ready?" she asked him much more gently, holding out her hand.

He accepted it, standing with a groan again. "Maybe I'm going soft--not used to being out here like this."

She gifted him with one of her adorable little laughs. "I didn't think you missed prying open doors for me."

He shrugged though, rolling his shoulders as he followed her out. "Kitchen duty isn't nearly as much of a workout. Maybe I should start squatting the potatoes, just to stay in shape."

Her eyes flicked over him just for a second, "you're plenty in shape."

He blushed again, trying not to congratulate himself in his head over a silly little nothing compliment.

"Bags in back," Ikaris directed, mostly for Gil's sake.

He tossed his bag in freely, although he and the other two looked as Thena set hers down and took out a bundle before zipping it again.

She looked Ikaris dead in the eye, practically demanding he start a fight over it. "Gil's shirt he came with today."

He and Kingo looked over, noticing for the first time that indeed the shirt he was wearing was not what he had arrived in. But the stubborn Scot nodded, "fine."

Thena clutched the balled up shirt to her and tossed the backpack in with the other bags now full of supplies.

"Man, that was a good haul," Kingo declared loudly, stretching before he hopped in front. "I even found some shampoo!"

That was indeed a good find, and probably would be high on the request list. Gil had his hand on the door when he felt a hand on his arm. "What's up?"

Thena gave him a sheepish smile and tugged at the shirt bundle. Wrapped up inside was a little peek of a white, porcelain ear. She covered it again, clear that this was not the time to celebrate their find.

Gil grinned though, as if his face would split apart. Of course she had kept it for him. Because Thena was much more sweet and sentimental than anyone here knew. He pulled the door open, holding his hand out, "after you."

Ikaris and Kingo both rolled their eyes in front.

Gil held Thena's hand as she climbed into the backseat. He leaned forward, brushing his lips against her cheek as she passed, "you're the best."

They settled in the seats, leaving the middle one unoccupied despite no one bothering with seat belts anymore. Gil leaned his elbow against the door, tilting his head so he wouldn't get caught making eyes at Thena. The jackasses in the front would just make fun of him anyway.

"You okay, T?" Kingo asked, looking in the rear view mirror. "You look a little sunburned."

Gil looked over, indeed catching a pinkness in her cheeks that wasn't usually there. His heart skipped.

She cleared her throat, obviously not a fan of getting called out. "I don't usually get this much sun."

Ikaris started the SUV, "sign out a hat next time."

And that was that. They were on their way back to the hospital. Ikaris was maybe not as much of an asshole as he could have been. Kingo seemed nice the more Gil got to see of him. He peeked over at Thena again, still holding his balled up shirt on her lap, concealing her very sweet gift to him.

Now he had to come on another scavenging trip to find something she would like.

[softquietsteadylove]

Hi! I have a request about Zombi au👀 how about when they settled into the new place they meet up with druig and Makkari and they we're just all getting along in the instant and one time they having lunch conversation Makkari suddenly tell how Ikaris roughly handled thena on the supply run when Gil is still pass out and then Gil is not happy about it that thena needed to calm him down before he could kill the guy and assure him she already handled it. Thankyou ❣️❣️❣️

"Hey, you."

"Hey," Thena looked up as Gil circled behind her, his hand drifting over her shoulder as he sat down with a tray of food. "How's cooking duty?"

"Getting there," Gil answered simply. "I don't have the best inventory yet, but there haven't been any complaints."

"I'll say, this shite is better 'an anythin' we've had yet!"

"Gil, this is Druig," Thena introduced, only after Druig had taken the liberty of complimenting the food and then loudly shovelling in another bite. "He also worked here under Ajak in the beginning of things. He worked in psychiatry apparently, but he also is quite good with agriculture."

Gil smiled at the man eating like he had been famished for days, and then at the woman who gave him a cheeky kind of wave and smirk. "Uh, hey."

"Makkari," Thena smiled, putting down her fork and raising her hands. "She's deaf, but she's their top runner. She can cross the entire city in two hours, apparently."

"Whoa, that seems," Gil furrowed his brows, but Makkari grinned, signing something back to Thena. He would have to ask her to teach him during their off hours.

"She was a track champion, she says," Thena smiled, translating in real time as Makkari's hands flew at lightning speed. "She could have gone national if she hadn't been disqualified."

"Disqualified," Gil looked at them both, but Makkari didn't seem particularly bitter about it. She lifted her arms and made bunny ears with her opposite hands, a few times even.

Thena laughed, shaking her head as well as she lifted her fork for another bite, "stealing."

Makkari practically rolled right out of the cafeteria seat in her laughter at Gil's face.

"Extra food," Druig clarified, relieving Thena of translation duty. "Don't worry, she won't nick any of your valuables."

Makkari gave him a wink and a shrug.

"She won't," Thena raised her eyes at the woman across from her (across from Druig, really, but in her eye line). "Because she likes you."

Gil smiled sheepishly, picking at the meal he himself had prepared. "That's what everyone says when they're hungry."

Thena nudged him gently, under the table and away from the eyes of their new comrades. "You know very well that's not true."

He finally took a bite of food, looking around at those whom Thena had befriended in her short time here and without him. She didn't usually end up talking to people, let alone liking them. "How was the run today?"

"It was okay," she smiled, eyes searching him for a deeper worry under his light tone. "Makkari and I went into some higher hotel rooms close by--I told them about the mini-fridge trick."

"I can't believe we never considered 'em," Druig said with only half a mouth full this time, "all this time."

"Thena's smart like that," Gil praised freely and openly, looking at the woman beside him instead of eating his bean salad. Not that she noticed.

It could have gone better.

Thena did look up at Makkari but didn't bother speaking up, resuming eating instead.

Gil frowned at her, "what?"

"It's nothing," she shrugged, reaching for her bottle of water.

Makkari looked at Gil, it did go well, until a certain someone started arguing with Thena over whether to take the stairwells or use a dumbwaiter system in the elevator shafts to get the supplies down.

Gil leaned behind Thena, asking Druig with his eyes to please translate for him.

Druig looked at Makkari, and then at Thena, who must have given him a hell of an expression. He swallowed his massive bite slowly. "Uh, well, it was mostly smooth sailin', apparently. Nothin' to worry about, big fella."

Gil frowned, though. He put his fork down and slid his tray away from him, only so he could slide Thena's tray away from her. She stared at the table, as if trying to figure out what had happened to her meal. She turned and looked at him the way she would look at the devil himself. "Thena?"

She just glared at him, lips pursed (cutely). "It was nothing."

He slid her tray even further away from her. He knew there wasn't much that could break the iron will of the Goddess of War. But withholding her food - so long as it was made by him, which was kind of sweet - was the one way. "Thena, what happened?"

She eyed the tray, knowing he would not make getting it back easy. A faint huff escaped her as she tossed her fork down, "Ikaris and I got into it, nothing worth dragging up again."

"What do you mean," Gil said quietly and evenly, his hands already tightening around the edges of her tray, "got into it?"

"Blondie here is cocky, that's what she means."

"Ikaris, not now," she turned in her seat, all too prepared to bark at him about minding his own business. "It's water under the bridge."

He glared her down, though, crossing his leanly muscled arms at her in his navy t-shirt. "I said we should use a dumbwaiter to get the food up and down. But GI Jane here said it would be better to carry the shit all 'emselves down seventeen fuckin' flights of stairs."

"You can't rely on the cables in elevator shafts anymore!"

"Okay, okay," Kingo patted Ikaris' shoulder beside him, "don't wanna go starting this again."

Gil stood. "What happened?"

"Uh," Kingo looked around, as if he would find a glowing door that would help him escape another scuffle.

"What," Gil repeated, having no problem standing nose to nose with the obstinate guard, "happened?"

Ikaris looked down at Thena, who was still seated, determined not to rise to his bait (as Gil was). He scoffed, "she's savvy out there, but she's got wee arms to be doin' heavy liftin', no? I got my hand around her whole bicep."

Gil tilted his head faintly, trying to absorb what Ikaris was saying. He had held Thena's arm? He had held her by the arm? He had gripped her by the arm? He had fit his entire hand around Thena's slim upper arm?

"If she bruises it's only 'cause she has as much meat on those bones as a pigeon."

Gil grabbed Ikaris by the front of his shirt, backing him up into the seats behind them. Ikaris' knees bent, making him grab the edge of the table behind him. Gil leaned over him heavier. "Don't you ever touch her!"

"Gil!" Thena rose, eager to intervene as others in the cafeteria started gasping and whispering.

"Don't ever put your hands on her!" Gil roared in the guy's face. He didn't care. He didn't care that he was making a scene or making a powerful enemy. He didn't care if he got kicked out for this. "If anything - anything - ever happens to her out there I will kill you!"

"Easy!" Kingo yelled, trying to pry the much larger, much stronger Gil away.

"Come on!" Druig growled, also trying to drag Gil away from Ikaris.

"I mean it!" Gil barked at him, "if anything ever happens to her it's your head!"

"Gilgamesh!" Thena moved between them, pushing against his chest as Kingo and Druig attempted to pull him by the arms. She pressed her fingers into the divet between his pectoral muscles. "Stop it!"

He was out of steam, anyway. But he was still glaring at Ikaris as he picked himself up, huffing and glaring, obviously ready to go on if he was let go. Gil was all but panting, light headed from the adrenaline rushing through him. He couldn't help it. All he felt was rage looking at this bastard.

"Gil," Thena attempted, raising her hand to his cheek and forcing him to look at her, "hey."

He blinked, the edges of his vision expanding again.

"Look at me," she whispered, her thumb against his cheek, "I'm right here."

She was right here, unharmed.

"I'm fine," she assured him, making him look at her instead of over her head at the man he was frankly ready to beat to death.

Gil carefully raised his hands. He knew everyone was watching him. They had seen him lose it twice now, if not more, considering how long he was out of it during his recovery. They probably thought he was some monster of a man.

But he ran his hands over Thena's arms gently, as if just touching her would make the bruising that asshole was talking about appear before his very eyes. Her skin was so soft. "Y-Yeah?"

She nodded, still holding him, grounding his senses in her instead of his rapid heartbeat and boiling blood. "Yeah."

Gil let go of a long breath, letting the rest of his energy leave him. He was exhausted, and he was still on dinner and cleanup duty for the night. "Okay."

Thena smiled, satisfied that he was feeling calmer about the whole thing. She let him pull her closer until she was tucked against his chest, which he would argue was the safest place in the world for her. She pressed her cheek against his clavicle and the collar of his t-shirt under his unbuttoned flannel. "It's okay, Gil."

Druig stepped away from him tentatively, hands still at the ready, "all right, then."

"Come on," Kingo patted Ikaris as he picked himself up. He looked at Thena and Gil, neither apologising nor condemning them. "Let's go."

Ikaris did give them one last glare before storming off.

Gil watched him go. He didn't like that guy, no matter how nice Sersi was. But once he was far away enough, he resumed burying his nose in Thena's hair. "Sorry."

She rubbed his back, as if soothing him after a nightmare, "you're okay."

"What is going on in here?!"

Thena pulled away, looking up at Gil with wide eyes. He was not to say a word.

"S-Sorry," Druig stood as Ajak made her way over. "Me'n Ikaris...y'know."

Ajak gave him a look, but the fact that she so readily believed him really spoke to how well the guard got along with most here in the hospital colony. "How many times, Druig?"

"Aye aye," he nodded, like a teenager getting scolded after curfew. He sat himself back down, "won't make a peep, mother dearest."

Ajak just rolled her eyes at him, despite what she claimed to be a very strict rule about in-fighting. She looked at Gil, leaning against Thena's shoulders. "Everything okay?"

She most definitely knew that it was Gilgamesh involved in the fight, not Druig.

Gil smiled, hiding his fists in his armpits, "great!"

"Hm," she pinched her lips together, at him and then at Thena, "I trust the matter was resolved?"

Thena just nodded, but Ajak seemed to accept the silent promise to her that the fighting was at least done for now.

"Right," the doctor sighed before rushing away to her next fire that needed squashing, her white coat flaring behind her.

Thena looked up at him. "That was too close for comfort, wouldn't you say?"

Speak for yourself, that was the most fun I've had all week!

Thena just glared at the petty thief and friend across from her.

He sighed, sitting down with her and trying to ignore the stares focused on them. He slide their trays over again, half pushing his into her space for her to take what she liked from him. "Sorry."

Thena nudged Druig's shoulder faintly as she picked up her fork again, neither looking at each other, "thanks."

"Nothin'," Druig shrugged, also not looking as he resumed eating his corn (while Makkari resumed stealing bites of his canned fruit).

"You sure I can't come with you?" Gil asked her gently, no longer having any appetite. He hovered closer to her than necessary, even running the back of his knuckles up and down her bare arm. "I'm no 'you', but I'd be better than that guy."

Makkari nodded eagerly.

"That's for Ajak to decide," Thena said gently to dissuade him from his overprotective argument. "And besides, who would make these delicious meals then?"

He sighed. She was appealing to the chef in him, but he would rather crawl through filth with her than serve a hundred strangers his best three course meal. "Come on."

"Not to pick sides, but T's right, big guy," Druig piped up, again with his mouth full. T? "I ain't eaten like this in a dog's age, and I bet the rest of 'em here'll get how invaluable you are right quick."

No one else here talked like that.

"I can handle myself," Thena assured him more quietly. She even let him pull her knee so her thigh could rest against his. "You don't think I would let him grab me and not nail him right in the nuts, do you?"

Gil chuckled. No, of course she had gotten in a shot directly to his biggest weakness. That was the Goddess of War he knew (and loved). Thena leaned in gently as he pressed a kiss to her hair, "of course not."

[softquietsteadylove]

Hiii, I was just wondering if you can make another stories of zombie au for the Thenamesh I really miss it, I have some idea of them being trap with a horde of zombie all around them they think that there's no way out of the situation and they saying good bye to each other or something like that before rescue has arrived or something again hahaha, just a suggestion thank you.

Thena pressed her hands to her ears as the banging increased in volume. She should have double checked the perimeter. She should have banged on some of these shipping containers and made sure they weren't full of these things. She should have been more careful, and then she and Gil wouldn't be in this mess.

She opened her eyes, seeing the aged and dirty flannel Gil was wearing. His arms were around her, protecting her as best he could in this hopeless a situation.

Sweet, perfect Gil. The best thing she could have found in the end of the world. The best thing she had ever found at all, maybe.

"I'm sorry, Thena."

She pulled away, looking at him in the dim light - just barely more than pitch black - of what small holes were rusting the corners of the shipping containers away. She blinked and shook her head, as if she hadn't understood the words he was saying at all.

"I'm so sorry," he repeated, practically whimpering, his chest heaving with panic. He blinked and she caught the sparkle of tears in his eyes. "I-I should have checked better, h-helped y-"

"No," she shook her head. No, Gil was at fault for nothing, and she would throw herself to those things outside before she let him believe he was. "No, Gil, you-"

"I shouldn't have-" he choked, pulling her tight against him again as their doom pounded on the rickety outside of their haven. "We should have just gone around. You wouldn't-"

Thena tried to find the words to argue with him. He wasn't making any sense. "No, Gil!"

"You would've made it," he blinked at her, his tears slipping down the apples of his cheeks. She wished she could have heard him laugh more. "You could make it if you weren't dragging me around with you."

"No!" she barked at him, not that it mattered how much sound she made now. If they were going to die in here, then whatever had kept her from saying this before didn't matter, right?

"You," she gulped, looking at him for all she was worth. This was what she wanted to see when and if she died. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Gil."

His tears built up again, "but-"

"No buts," she shook her head, forcing him to look at her and pass the words from her lips directly to him. "I am so glad...I am so lucky you found me by accident in that old sports store. Because I have been more sane in this time with you than I ever was in the real world."

"You are so sweet, and so kind, and in a time when you don't have to be," she laughed. Because she was never sweet like him, end of the world or not. But then she found him, and he did things like pick wild berries for her, and stand guard when it was her turn to bathe, and hold up heavy doors while she looted supplies for them.

"Never think you are anything less," she urged--demanded of him. She leaned in, pressing her forehead to his, and then her lips to his lips. "You are the very best thing left in this awful world."

Gil kissed her back, desperate and heartfelt. "Th-Thena, I-I-"

She bit her lip. She was crying too, now. She nodded, but she wanted to say it. If she could never say anything else, she had to be able to say this, right?--in these last moments, this last chance to tell him just how much he meant to her?

How much she loved him?

"Gil, I lo-"

They both flinched. What sounded like a gunshot sounded outside the shipping container serving as their shelter. It wasn't though--it was the backfire from a motorcycle driving down the other side of the road.

Gil held her, their chests moving wildly in the stress of it all. They clung to each other, but the pounding on the outside of the metal decreased, slowly but surely ebbing away. Gil dared to look up from the top of her head. He whispered, "they're following it."

It would have only passed for a few seconds, but it was just enough to draw the attention of those things. With any luck, they would go dormant again once the stimulation was over.

Thena peeked out from his chest. It was true, the dull and lifeless palms slapping against metal was growing quieter. She looked up at him.

They would live.

Gil let out a faint gasp, pressing a laugh of pure relief and hysteria into her hair.

Thena pressed her tears into the t-shirt under his flannel. She liked how he smelled. Under any other smells that clung to him during their travels, he smelled like a house. He smelled like coming home after a long day.

They waited until it was completely silent outside. Opening the door to the thing would probably wake them again, but with any luck it would be a manageable number. Nothing like earlier, at least.

Thena pulled out her knives, walking in front of Gil, as she always did. "Ready?"

"Ready," he said more surely than he usually did, standing beside her with his trusty iron skillet in hand.

She smiled at him--her trusty partner in all this hell around them.

"Hey," he whispered, looking down at her, barely more than a silhouette in the faint light. "What were you going to say?"

"Hm?"

"Before," he glanced back at the far corner where they had pressed themselves in their earlier terror. "What were you going to tell me?"

Thena blinked, a different kind of terror flooding through her. She tightened her grip on her knives. Maybe she could use the adrenaline to move quicker. "I'll...tell you later."

Gil couldn't see the warmth burning in her cheeks.

"Okay," he accepted easily, because he was Gil. He raised his skillet in his hand like a baseball bat, "I'll tell you mine too."

Thena smiled. She wondered what he would tell her come the time. And what would she make up so she didn't have to tell him that she was in love with him? "Deal."

[softquietsteadylove]

Helloooo!! ✨🖤

I thought about something for the Zombie AU.

After Thena dragged Gil to the hospital they (Ajak and Sersi maybe) discovered Gil had an infection or something and he's out like a light for a few weeks, recovering. Meanwhile Thena insist to sit by his side but Ajak(?) insists that she has to recover too. Thena is dehydrated, starving and weak. One day she collapses and after they took care of her, they tied her to a bed so she finally can recover.

Hugs and Love ✨🖤

She had carried Gil all the way here to the hospital. People came out to help them, carried him in for her. She didn't have the strength to go after him.

When she had first woken up, she had managed to find her way to Gil's side again. An infection, they said--a rusty little cut on his finger or something trivial that she should have known about sooner. Supposedly he would pull through just fine, but she couldn't be as sure as they were.

Then she had collapsed.

"Please," Thena gulped, her throat still dry as a bone, "please, just let me see him."

The doctor kept working around her, checking on this and that.

"Please," Thena rasped again, determined to get them to listen to her if her vocal cords bled dry. "I have to see Gil."

"What you have to do is rest."

Thena pried her eyes more open. It wasn't the shorter doctor who seemed to be in charge of this place. This one was taller, younger--she was obviously also a doctor, but maybe worked for the other one. "What's your name?"

The doctor glared at her, walking a little more into the light that was shining down on Thena (despite the rest they so clearly believed she needed). "You want names now?"

Thena shrugged.

The doctor put her chart of whatever down and looked at her. "Do you remember how you got here?"

"You mean," Thena lifted her wrist--as much as she could, of course, with her wrists and ankles restrained. "Here?"

"What do you remember?"

Thena sighed, swallowing again. She raised her brows as the doctor came forward with a bottle of water, tipping it up for her to take a few well controlled sips. "Thank you."

She capped it again, nodding in a silent promise to offer more when she had her answers.

Thena cleared her throat and tugged faintly at the restraints again. They had a fair amount of slack on them, so they couldn't have thought she was that dangerous. "I...I remember getting Gil here. He'd had a fever for a week already, and I knew I had to get him where people were."

"He was severely dehydrated when you got in, had one hell of a fever and needed antibiotics for an infection," the doctor listed off. "You're lucky I worked in pharmacology. We got him what he needed, you know. He'll pull through."

That didn't do her any goddamn good if she couldn't see him with her own eyes.

"You collapsed."

Thena looked at the doctor again, who looked pissed at her, if anything. She shrugged again, "being out there isn't easy. It's-"

"You gave all your water to him--your food too, I imagine," Doctor Sassy hypothesized (correctly). She looked at Thena again, "you were just as exhausted as he was. You're restrained because you kept getting up to go see him and I found you collapsed in the hallway."

She couldn't sleep. She had been trying, and Doctor Crabby was right, she was exhausted. But unconsciousness only lasted so long, and when she was awake, she couldn't think of anything but Gil's well-being.

"I often couldn't sleep," Thena began, staring up at the hospital ceiling while offering what she could to Doctor Pissy, "out on the road. Gil and I...we found each other by accident. But we could stick together. I got used to having him around."

Doctor Stink-Eye actually softened at that, maybe able to relate to some part of it. She tilted her head at her, coming a little closer, "you can't relax without him here."

Thena didn't exactly confirm it--seemed like damning information to give these people she didn't entirely trust. She tilted her head on her pillow as the doctor came into the light. She had gentle eyes. "We had only each other out there."

Doctor Doe-Eyes nodded, offering a sympathetic little twitch of her lips. She had beauty marks. "My husband is part of the team who goes out for perimeter checks and supply runs, here. I worry about him out there. I can't imagine what it's like."

If she had to hazard a guess, Thena had to assume it was the tall and gruff sounding one with the accent she remembered from when Gil was carried inside.

"We mean no harm, truly," she tried to get through to Thena, leaning further over the bed. "I know it seems excessive, but staying stationary, having this many people here...it's a big risk when we take in new people. Even if they're seeking help."

Thena supposed she might understand that. Outsiders all had the same instinct for survival that people living with a certain amount of security simply didn't have. Or it wasn't as sharpened, at least. And they would have to be wary of those using the hospital's good will as a weakness and way to infiltrate their populace. "That's why I'm tied up?"

Doctor Huffy frowned and gave one of the restraints a tug. "No, you're tied up because I couldn't trust you not to get up and walk back to your husband in this state."

"He's not," Thena started and then stopped, coughing again. Her throat was still raw from going so long without water, only to then scream at the top of her lungs for help.

"Okay, okay," Doctor Softie soothed, tilting up more water for her. "Either way, I couldn't have you wandering around unattended. Ajak frowns upon it, for good reason."

Ajak must have been the shorter doctor Thena remembered on the other side of her when she was dragged in after Gil.

Thena swallowed more precious water before looking at the doctor. more awake, more hydrated, her eyes were clearer--the doctor was around her age, maybe a little younger. "What's your name?"

"Sersi." It was a very lovely name, for a lovely woman. "And you're Thena."

She bristled.

But Sersi gave her a more smug look, tipping her chin up, "Gil has awoken, you know--a few times."

Thena felt her eyes widen, a manic energy rushing through her veins, "he...and you didn't tell-!"

Sersi leaned away just enough, given the restraints. She pursed her lips, "it was never for very long, and he was still nearly delirious with fever."

Thena eyed the woman. Sersi may not have been out in the world like she was, but she obviously wasn't naive in any way. "So, why tell me?"

"I know your name because that's all he could say," Sersi raised her brows at her. "He would wake for a few minutes at a time, and yet we wouldn't even know his name was Gil if you hadn't said it. All he could get out was 'Thena', and 'where is Thena?', and 'I need to get back to her'. It's rather sweet, actually."

Thena laid (collapsed) against the pillow again, blinking as her tears collected in her eyelashes like morning dew on leaves. She could hear his voice in her head now, the sweet, gentle giant. She certainly wouldn't let anything stop her from trying to find him. Well, nothing but some leather restraints, that was to say.

"Nearly threw Kingo across the room in his hysteria," Sersi continued to mumble. "We had to use a sedative on him."

Thena squirmed. "He's not really a fighter--truly. He just...forgets how strong he really is sometimes. He didn't mean any harm."

Sersi smiled at her, maybe amused by her apologising for Gil's actions. "Ajak wants you separated, and for good reason."

Thena waited eagerly for the metaphorical 'but' to follow.

"But I might be able to convince her to let me move you into his room," Sersi didn't so much as promise but postulated. But she had to admit that the self-assured smirk on her face suited Doctor Snippy. "If you think you can behave."

Thena nodded eagerly, all but forgetting about her bound limbs, "anything."

Doctor Sersi nodded, getting ready to leave Thena for the rest of her nightly duties. She picked up the water bottle for one last offering, "can you tell me...?"

Thena merely waited. She had promised anything in exchange for seeing Gil again, as much as this didn't seem to be part of those conditions.

"He's not your husband," she concluded, even though Thena never actually verbalised her denial of it. "So then...what are you? If I may--I mean, what is he to you?"

Thena looked at Sersi. She could just tell her that this didn't seem like pertinent information for her to have, as their doctor. But she sighed, "everything. Gil is absolutely everything to me."

Sersi offered solemnity, tipping up the water for her, "I suppose you have no choice out-"

"No." Thena was almost as surprised as Sersi when she cut her off in the middle of speaking. But she continued, "it's not just that. He...Gil is good. Everything about him is right when the rest of the world is wrong. He's the best thing left in it, now, and I...I just want to protect that."

"I was an auditor, Sersi," she professed, the words all but spilling out of her like a broken water line. She sounded like Gil. "I worked a boring office job, had no life outside of it, didn't think of calling a single person when everything happened. I never did anything to put any good out into the world. But I can keep Gil in it."

Either she was astonished by Thena's speech, or she heard ones just like it all the time; either way, Sersi smiled. "Just a little longer, Thena. I promise, I'll do everything in my power to help you see him again."

Thena laid back, looking up at the ceiling again. Waiting was easier said than done, but she didn't have much of a choice in the matter either. She did feel remotely better, having a potential ally in Doctor Sersi. She closed her eyes, hoping that next time she opened them, that she could see Gil.

[softquietsteadylove]

Ohh you have to continue the zombie au!! Them finally meeting sersi and co will be amazing :D

"Welcome, Gilgamesh."

He frowned at those around him. He hadn't given them his name. Usually it was Thena who was deeply distrustful of anyone they came across, but he was happy to take up that mantle in her absence.

That was the worst part about this place, that he had yet to see Thena.

He had woken up in a fit over it, but they had told him - promised him - that he would see her if he kept himself calm. They returned his clothes to him, washed and everything.

"We take in all those who need help," the short doctor, Ajak he had learned, said beside him. The cafeteria was surprisingly bustling with people. "That was how you came to us."

They had told him that Thena had arrived with him on her back, which he couldn't help but doubt. Not that she would do it, but Thena was half his weight at most, and they didn't exactly have food or water to spare, last he remembered.

The last solid memory he did have was of feeling feverish, dragging his feet as they continued towards the next city. He must have been really lagging, because Thena did something they never did, which was commandeer a car.

He could remember being in the backseat, and he could remember Thena's voice whispering sweet things, his head in her lap, her tipping water up to his lips.

All the more reason for him to be wary of these people until he could see Thena for himself. He looked around the place, "I don't see her."

They sighed. He had been a broken record since getting on his feet, but he felt he had good reason to be. The other doctor patted his shoulder, although he flinched away from her. "Thena is just getting back."

"Back?" he frowned and turned. Sersi, the younger, taller doctor, and a third guy in a white coat named Phastos all stepped back from him. They were the only ones he'd met so far. "Where was she?"

"She joined some of our scouts on a run," Phastos attempted to be a voice of reason. "Some of the supplies we needed were for you, so she volunteered to go with them."

He wasn't exactly placated by the news. "So you sent her out there with people she doesn't even know? Are they really gonna watch her back out there? What if they can't protect her?!"

"Gil, please," Sersi joined in the effort to soothe him. "It's a simple run to the closest facility outside the hospital. We've been here a long time--since the beginning, really. We've already sectioned off half the city as safe territory."

Gil huffed. With Phastos behind him and the docs in front, he felt a bit like a caged animal. He looked around the bustling cafeteria again, "fine. When will they be back?"

"It should be any time now," Sersi promised before turning and trotting off.

"Sersi's husband is part of the field team," Ajak supplied in her absence, leading them closer to the rest of the populace. The people already there eyed them and kept their distance, but they didn't exactly pull out pitch forks and torches at the sight of him. "We have some very good people here with us."

Gil watched as Doctor Sersi trotted over to the door, her wavy black ponytail bouncing behind her. She must have seen they were coming, because she ran at the door and launched herself into someone's arms before they were even in the room.

A man walked in with her attached to him, tall and broad shouldered. Gil couldn't hear them, but he had an inkling that he was one of the men who had dragged him inside when Thena no longer could. The other one walked in past the married couple, not even glancing at them.

Finally, far behind the other two, a ghost of a figure hurried into the room and immediately split off and away from everyone. Despite the promise of food, she steered clear of the line for it, pushing a blonde ponytail off her shoulder and pulling off her backpack.

Her clothes had also been washed, and the jacket she was wearing seemed to be new, maybe as a form of protection. But that was definitely his Thena prowling away from the thick of the crowd.

"Thena!"

Heads turned and people jumped out of the way of the huge stranger sprinting across the room. Some of them yelped, as if he were a train barrelling forward on its tracks. But he could only see Thena.

"Gil!" she barely got out before he swallowed her up, his arms snaking around her and his massive form folding over her. Her knees bent in response but he held her close, swinging her around in his arms.

"Thena! You're okay!" he sobbed, openly at that. For all his reluctance to cooperate with their hosts thus far he let himself weep with joy as he finally felt Thena's light frame in his embrace again. She still smelled like fresh air, and she was warm, and she was kind of bony, but soft in the places it mattered. "I-I thought-!"

"Sh, Gil, I'm here," she cooed, running her fingers through his hair as he blubbered over her like a baby. She let him lean his weight on her, his face buried between her neck and her shoulder, their legs stumbling, "it's okay, just breathe."

"I told you--they're too committed to each other, they won't-"

"Ikaris, hush."

"Are we just gonna watch them make out, or...?"

"Give them some space," Ajak urged the rest of her team. Gil pulled his head up to see her waving them back, her back turned to them. She didn't have the distrust in him and Thena that he had with her. "can you blame them?"

"Gil," Thena called to him, pulling his attention back to her. She put her hand to his cheek, her eyes scrubbing over him, "are you okay?"

He nodded, leaning into her touch, "I'm okay. Wh-What about you? I woke up and a-and you-"

"Sorry," Sersi leaned over to offer her apologies, "I voted to move you into the same room, but I got outnumbered."

"We weren't sure what to make of you," the other man who came in alongside Sersi's husband shrugged. "And then you freaked out when she wasn't there, so-"

"So," Gil made a face, "you decided that keeping us apart longer would fix that?"

Ajak laughed, although the guy clearly didn't appreciate it. He huffed, putting his hands on his hips, "hey, big guy, I'm the funny one here, got it?"

"Okay," Ajak spoke to those crowded around them en masse again, "let's let the lovebirds have a bite to eat and settle themselves. We can discuss what happens from here on afterward."

What did she mean by that? But Gil looked down as Thena slipped her hand into his. He was going to have to ignore that 'lovebirds' comment for now too, huh?

"Come on," Thena pulled him by the hand, keeping their fingers intertwined, "you must be starving."

"Well, yeah, but-" he looked around, still feeling on edge in the completely new environment. It was being around people - living people - that had him so on edge.

"I'll tell you everything that's happened," Thena promised him, "after you eat."

He just sighed, looking at her like she was the sun and he'd been underground for years. He would do anything if it meant he didn't have to let go of her hand yet, "fine."

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello! I would like to make a request. Since I really liked your 5+1 things may I request another one? You can choose the AU :)

Five times Gil hid an injury from Thena, and one time he couldn’t hide anymore.

Would be awesome! And thank you for writing so many Thenamesh ones! ❤️

Little accidents were bound to happen, even in the end of the world.

"Gil?"

Gil startled, rushing to hide his little cut in his finger. He felt embarrassed.

Thena was such a badass, and she already had all the knowledge and skill needed to survive in what remained of the world. She didn't really need him. He was pretty sure she didn't really want him either.

"How is the food coming?" she asked quietly, in the same cool and even tone she said everything else. He was lucky, though--without her he would probably still be trying and failing to find a safe little spot for himself in a mall somewhere.

"It's good," he rushed to smile at her, pressing his palm closed, "nothing's spoiled."

Thena made somewhat of a face he was pretty sure was relief. But he would have to get better at reading her tiny little micro-expressions. "That is good news."

He had guessed right! He laughed, "finally, some good fuckin' food."

She didn't laugh at that, just offered a solemn agreement. Maybe it made sense that her meme knowledge before the end of everything wasn't a top priority.

Gil snuck his finger into his mouth to lick the blood clean. He had to be careful, sure there was something to be said about even the smallest amount of blood being a risk to have in the open.

But he was strong.

That was a big part of what he had going for him in a world like this, and he knew it. He wasn't a survivalist, he wasn't even a camping kind of guy. He wasn't brave and he certainly wasn't a fighter. But he was strong.

Gil pulled and pulled at the boards nailed over the doorway. Thena was on the other side of the office building looking for the odd supply. She had a very good mind for how to find supplies that people would forget about, like water in hotel mini fridges and snacks in office vending machines.

Thena was smart, and cunning, and she was a hell of a fighter.

Gil pulled at the wood more, trying not to verbalise his strain. The stairwell would be better for them to get back down and out than the crumbled elevator shaft they had used to get in.

"Gil?" Thena arrived, leaning over him, "are you okay?"

He chuckled, ignoring the muscle in his shoulder he definitely pulled getting the stupid boards ripped away from their escape. "I got it."

She smiled, though, and he felt a little repaid for his efforts already. She slipped away the little bags of candy into her pockets and helped him up, "I told you that you could."

Gil covered up how it wrenched his muscles for her to pull him up by his left arm. He chuckled, "you're always right, huh?"

"You don't have to go that far," she answered, although he was pretty sure she was humoured by his statement.

Gil followed Thena into the stairwell, hoping there were no more boards to pull off. Maybe he would suggest just kicking in the next ones they found.

And he liked helping Thena.

She wasn't used to letting someone help her out the way he was. She preferred to handle things herself. He was trying to convince her to rely on him a little more, but that didn't mean she had adapted to it overnight.

"Careful!" Gil called up to her as she moved from one branch of the tree to another. She looked down at him just to give him a very unamused glare. He sighed, "okay, okay."

It wasn't like she was stories off the ground, she was trying to get some low hanging apples out of a gnarled old tree.

Still, Gil couldn't help but feel nervous any time she was up off the ground that high, whether it be scaling the shelves of a supermarket or climbing a tree for sour little wild apples.

"Thena, really," Gil frowned, watching her stretch out her arm for a particularly plump and red one further down. It did look good--maybe it would even taste better than disgusting. But it wasn't worth her getting hurt. "Just leave it."

"I can get it," she grumbled, less down at him and more just to herself. She inched out into the branch a little more, like a cat testing its luck.

"Thena, please," Gil walked closer, positioning himself as directly under her as possible. "It's not-!"

Thena yelped as the branch snapped clean off under the weight she was putting into her hands in front of her. She tumbled forward, out of the tree and straight into Gil.

Gil grunted as a bundle of bones toppled over and into every soft part he had to offer. Thena was lithe and delicate, with the grace of a predator. But man, it felt like she was all elbows at the moment.

"Gil!" Thena exclaimed, scrambling to rid him of her body weight (as if she didn't weigh as much as a couple of grapes). She crawled off of him and leaned over to inspect the damage, "are you okay?!"

Everything hurt. "I'm fine."

"Gil, really," she frowned, that worry knot between her eyebrows forming like a storm cloud.

"Really Thena," he laughed. He would probably looked like he had been jabbed with a blunt object. "I'm fine."

"I'm so sorry," she practically whimpered. The only thing that made her feel worse than actually needing his help was when it did more harm than good.

"Thena, honestly, I'm okay," he promised her. It wasn't so much of a lie--they were pretty mild injuries, all told. A few bruises, maybe his back would be a little sore.

She had just barely managed to not knee him in the balls, so he considered that escaping unscathed.

Some were actually kind of a big deal.

They had run into other people travelling again, and again, the exchange hadn't been...friendly in nature.

At least they hadn't split up this time, as per Gil's insistence. He knew having him with her slowed Thena down but he couldn't stomach the thought of arriving to her as a hostage again.

They had come out of the fight alive, but he was keenly aware of a cut on the underside of his bicep. It was a very tender area, and the muscle kept stuttering the more he agitated it.

There was nothing that would help that but time, though. He was actually lucky she hadn't noticed it as of yet. And he planned to keep it that way, specifically for her peace of mind.

Thena always ended up drowning in guilt when something happened to him while they were on the road. She seemed to have developed this protectiveness over him that - while he utterly adored it - he didn't always agree with.

It wasn't her job to protect him. They were...partners. Or something.

So he kept walking with her silently as they tried to put the fight out of their minds. Thena wasn't a talker anyway, and at least this injury wasn't making him limp or breathe weird. That one she had sniffed out a mile away.

"Hey."

Thena looked up, curious but maybe a little charmed as he held his hand out to her--the injured one. She slid her hand into his gently and silently, walking through the nothing around them.

It wasn't the first time they'd gone hand in hand, and it wouldn't be the last. And it actually felt kind of nice to have his arm stretched out.

"You were right," she said barely louder than a whisper, "about not splitting up."

He had his own protectiveness about the woman with him, whether she knew it or not. He still wasn't a fighter, but he was capable of more than a few punches if it came down to her life. "We work best together, I think."

She smiled at him, although he could tell she was still deep in thought over it all, "I think you're right."

Gil tightened his hand around her, drifting a little closer. His arm was back to being a little cramped against his side, but he just wanted to be closer to her.

And some of them were just too small to bother mentioning.

Gil pulled his hand back with a hiss, immediately popping his finger in his mouth. He had been reaching back as far as he could to see what might be hiding in the back shelves. Shelves he didn't realise were rusted and jagged all over.

He sighed, returning with nothing to show for all his rooting around except a scraped finger he would not be telling her about. "Find anything?"

"Not much," Thena commiserated with him, producing the singular can of olives she had found under some of the restaurant's old equipment. "I imagine there's a reason these are still here."

Gil winced; he hated olives. "Might not be worth the trouble."

Thena nodded, both of them looking around the once operational kitchen. Supply runs being a bust was always a hard loss.

Gil looked around them too. It was different enough from his old one, but it was still a restaurant kitchen. "Looks so familiar, in a funny way."

Thena looked at him with those bright green eyes of hers.

He chuckled, rubbing his pricked fingertip against the others. "Never thought I'd get to be in one again."

Thena smiled gently. He talked about his past life more than she ever did (which was never). But she always seemed to like it when he did. "I bet you made food I'd kill for, now."

"I don't know about that, but it was definitely worth more than 14.95."

Thena laughed, and did he ever love that sound. It made the entire world around them seem a little less bad. She tilted her head at him in a distinctly cute way. Her ponytail sure was getting long. "I'm sure it was priceless, even back in those days."

He blushed.

"I wish I could have-" Thena cut herself off. There was no sense talking in those terms of 'could have' or 'would have' or 'wished'. There was only now, and tomorrow. She shook her head, smiling at him again, "we'll have to find some decent ingredients for you at some point. You can really show me what you're made of."

He would make her the grandest feast of her life someday, if he had to search every last corner of the earth.

But he couldn't hide them all.

Thena trudged along at a snail's pace. She didn't have much of a choice, completely without a better way of moving Gil within the confines of the city.

When he had first shown signs of his fever, she had at least been able to get him in a car and drive for the longer stretches of highway. She could keep him in there, let him rest, recover what of his strength he could.

She wasn't a doctor, but she knew he had a hell of a fever, couldn't eat or drink much, not that she had much to spare for him. But at least if he had a fever, he was alive. And if he was alive, then he wasn't one of those things.

"Shit," she cursed, lurching and landing against one of the walls along the street. She lowered her center of gravity and adjusted Gil on her back. Poor guy's hands were bound in front of her with his feet dragging on the ground as she used all of her strength just to pull him a block and a half.

The hospital was in sight, at least.

Never had Thena wished more to stumble upon someone--anyone. One of those groups of people who always seemed to be floating around and who would happily take in a strong, decent guy like Gil.

They wouldn't want her, and they never did. But that wouldn't matter; she would leave Gil with them to live his life the way he was supposed to--with good people, happy and healthy.

Thena blinked as new tears rose in her eyes. She couldn't afford the dehydration. She would have to get on the road again before nightfall.

"Stop!"

"Please!" she called out, her voice raw from giving Gil all the water she had to spare. She coughed as she dragged him up to the gates of the parking lot, where they had sectioned off an area for safe passage. "Please, help him!"

The two in the watch tower looked at one another.

Thena coughed some more and stumbled as her knees finally gave out under her. She held Gil's hand in front of her, "please! You don't have to take me! B-But him--he's not bit, he's just sick! You have to help him, please!"

Her vision was fading. She was at the end of her rope.

"Get out there! Help them!"

Thena nearly collapsed as the weight of Gil left her back. She watched as best she could as the two keeping watch pulled him into the hospital, away from her. "G-Gil!"

It was barely more than a squeak.

Thena swayed, catching herself on her palms. She was exhausted, and everything hurt. It had been hurting for days, since she started carrying Gil small distances at a time. But she could live with that if it meant getting Gil the help he needed.

If she had to carry on by herself then so be it.

"Sersi, help me get her upright."

Thena tried to keep her eyes open as she was manhandled. They were helping her inside, like they had done with Gil. No stretchers to spare, huh?

"I can't believe she carried him here from that wasteland."

She would have carried Gil across what remained of the world.

[softquietsteadylove]

Gil is hurt when he protected her from a group of bandits(?) and in a quiet soft moment sees Thena crying for the first time because of him.

I think it would be interesting to read it for the zombie au I think?

"No sudden moves, big guy."

Gil held up his hands, setting his skillet down nice and slow as the knife pressed into Thena's cheek, two men holding each of her arms. He tried to breathe, feeling a cold sweat collect on his brow. "Just...take it easy."

"Oh, this is will be plenty easy."

Thena all but growled at him as the thug ran a finger over her cheek. She snarled at him from under his hand clapped over her mouth. He gave her a slap.

"Hey!"

"I said easy," he pointed the knife at Gil and then brought it back to Thena. "Or wifey here gets the full treatment."

"Look," Gil grunted, his stomach turning at whatever the 'full treatment' would mean to guys like this. "Whatever you want, okay?--supplies, weapons, you name it. But let her go."

"You're timid for a big guy, y'know that?" he got chuckled at, all of them sharing in the amusement. "Relax. You hand over what you brought with you, we'll send you on your merry way."

Thena thrashed at them again, making sure to express her displeasure.

"Although," the one with the knife pulled it away again, just for the insidious pleasure of tilting Thena's chin up to him, "I'd be even more convinced with a little kiss."

"Get down!" Gil threw the skillet almost blindly, hoping that his aim wouldn't let him down this one, incredibly crucial time. It didn't, luckily, and the metal made a loud and pretty damaging sounding 'clang!' as it hit the assailant's skull. "Thena!"

She dropped to the ground, pulling her captors into each other. Her hands gripped the knives they had on their belts, pulling herself up and taking them with her in one smooth move. "Gil!"

Gil reached out for her. She grabbed his cast iron skillet for him on her way. He crouched over her as the bullets started flying. "Go!"

They ran, clean out of the store and not even slowing to check their surroundings as they rushed back outside the building. Thena pulled Gil down behind one of the few cars still remaining, both of them panting for breath.

He winced as a few shots rang through the air. He looked over at Thena, who leaned close to the ground to see under the car. "They're not following us. Not worth it, I imagine."

Gil breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't made for all this. He missed the days of stir frying and dishes and even cleaning the hood fan.

"We should go."

Gil followed Thena's lead, like always. They walked steadily into the treeline, mostly to put distance between themselves and that gang of thugs in case they decided to come after them.

"Here."

Gil let out a sigh, dropping his pack to the ground and all but collapsing onto the forest floor. The adrenaline rush of a fight - let alone with living people - never failed to take it out of him.

"Let me see."

"Huh?" he blinked, finding Thena kneeling down beside him with a hardened look in her eye.

"Gil," she said more gently, and he saw the worried draw of her sandy coloured eyebrows. "You're not walking right, you're breathing unevenly--let me see it."

He should have known she would guess it. Not that he had intentionally hidden it from her either, but they had more important things to worry about, like getting away from the main highway. "Thena, really, it's-"

"Gilgamesh."

"Okay, okay," he murmured at the use of his full name. It wasn't like she never called him that. He just preferred it when she could call him Gil. It made him feel...closer to her, or something.

Thena frowned as he winced, trying to pull his shirt up. She sat herself next to him, pulling the shirt up and away from his side for herself. He flinched as her cold fingers made contact. "You got shot?"

"Well," he peeked around their hands and down at himself. "Not really--they grazed me, I guess. It hurts a little, but it's nothing I'd freak out over."

She glared at him, "you are still bleeding."

"Yeah, but just a little."

Thena gave the inside of his wrist a pinch. "Were you not going to bring this up at all?"

Gil shrugged, blushing faintly as Thena ran her hand over his ribs and his flank muscles, which expanded and contracted with his quickened breathing. "I was...going to find the right time."

Thena gave him an irritated huff before dragging her bag over to them to clean his wound. "And you call me reckless."

"You're pretty reckless."

"I," she pressed some alcohol to the burn and its bleeding, glaring through his whining, "have never hid an injury from you."

Well, that was because Thena didn't get injured: simple problems get simple solutions. Gil groaned as she finally took the stinging cloth away and pressed some cotton to it. "Well, you tell me a good time for me to take off my shirt and-"

"Gil."

Uh-oh. Gil froze. And then he panicked, watching Thena's eyes go glassy and sparkly. She blinked, but the tears weren't the kind she could will away, and soon she was crying. He didn't think he would ever see Thena cry.

"I'm serious," she sniffled, sounding so unlike her usual self. She pressed her palms into her knees, fists clenched tight. Her shoulders hitched as she tried to breathe through her tears. "Y-You got hurt because of me."

"That's not-!"

"It is," she argued, swiping away her tears with both hands only for more to come streaming down her cheeks. "It was m-my idea to split up. And th-they knew you'd come for me--t-to prot-tect me."

Of course he would, though. Of course he would come back for Thena--nothing mattered more to him. "Thena-"

"You do so much," she whispered, finally moving her hands so she could take his in them, holding it with a certain desperation. "I don't know where I would be without you, Gil. So...I can't bear the thought of you getting hurt because of me."

"Hey."

He couldn't imagine what possessed him to do it; he raised a hand to her cheek, brushing his thumb across her tear tracks. She leaned into his touch, ever so slightly--almost reluctantly. It only encouraged him.

"Thena, I have no regrets about protecting you, ever," he asserted, shaking his head as he said it. "And I know you'd do the same for me--it was just my turn today."

She seemed far from satisfied with that argument.

"Do you remember what you said to me the first time you let me join you?--when we left that sporting goods place forever ago?" Gil didn't wait for her to answer, pulling her so he could press her hand to his chest. "You have my back, I have yours."

"Partner," she finished for him, blinking away the last of her tears at the title she had gifted him when they first decided to brave the world together.

"Today I had your back," he sighed. Maybe he could blame it on how tired he felt all of a sudden; Gil pulled her in, holding her against him, just for this moment. "That's all."

"Fine."

Gil chuckled at the very 'Thena' response. He blinked as he felt her hands squirming around, but he felt her wind the gauze around him and tie it off in a little knot. He pulled back to look at her, "did you get hurt at all?"

She shook her head, tugging his shirt back down and resting her hand on his chest again, "thanks to you."

[softquietsteadylove]

Helloooo.

We haven’t read from the zombie au for a while!

Thena and Gil were traveling a while now and decide to take a break in an abandoned farm. They are exhausted, especially Gil because the fight before was pretty rough on them (zombies were a bit too strong for Thena).Later she walks into the room with some stuff to cook, calling for Gil only to find him leaned against a wall visible exhausted and sleeping.

Let’s do some very sweet and soft moments between them.

Thena picked through the remains of the farmhouse's cupboards. Most were abandoned, as expected. But if she had learned anything in her time with Gil, it was that she really didn't know what cans of mundane food could be made delicious.

She didn't know how she had gotten so lucky.

Gil was an incredible find in the current state of the world. Not even just in terms of the skills he had, but to find someone who wasn't just...some psycho?--a rare find indeed.

And Gil was not only not bad, but rather sweet--charming even. He was really funny, although he seemed surprised every time he said something that made her laugh. She didn't know how, because he was hysterical. And he was gallant! He had a chivalry to him that Thena couldn't remember seeing since...maybe ever.

She had never met anyone like Gil before.

So, he was sweet, he was funny, he was great company, especially since Thena was so silent she worried she might go insane because she would sooner that than start talking to herself. But Gil was somehow still personable after all of this.

Other people noticed it, too. Anyone they came across - who also wasn't just some psycho - always asked him to join them and their people. Sometimes it was just one or two people, and sometimes it was a pretty sizable group. And always, he turned them down.

Thena was always more than a little relieved when he did. She didn't mesh well with people. But with Gil...it was much more natural. And the fact that he could cook was just the icing on the cake.

Thena made the quick trip from the farmhouse to the barn they had secured a few hours prior. They'd had to clear out a massive horde from inside of it, some of them really massive from the skylight having let in rainwater. Gil had done the heavy lifting, of course. He was a little overprotective at times, but Thena gave him the benefit of the doubt. He was just worrisome like that--almost a bit of a fraidy cat. She wasn't surprised he would insist on handling the bigger ones for her.

"There wasn't exactly a feast left in there," Thena murmured as she locked the door to the barn behind her. At least they were right, and the smell was already improved from when they'd first opened the doors. She rummaged through the bundle of cans she did find. "But there are three different kinds of beans, and I found your favourite: cranberry-Gil?"

The man in question was leaned up against one of the support pillars, out like a light. He was sleeping so heavily she was glad she always insisted on setting perimeter traps before they set down anywhere. He was snoring.

Thena set down her finds gently on the wooden floor, kneeling down to peek at his sleeping face. It was completely relaxed in his dozing, his mouth slightly open. There was something kind of beautiful about his face, sometimes.

Look, she wasn't ignorant, okay? She was aware that Gil had a certain...stature. She had noticed that her companion for the aftertimes was built like a built like a bear but soft like a teddy.

Once or twice - a few times at most! - she had been too unnerved by their surroundings to sleep, and had cuddled up to Gil. He was warm! And something about him calmed the part of her that was always alert--always alarmed. But she always tried to wake up before him and put some distance between them.

If he didn't bring it up, then it never happened.

"Oh, Gil," Thena smiled at him as he let out another soft snore. She retrieved his bag and pulled out two blankets, folding up one around the side of the pillar for herself. Even while used to sleeping on the ground, a wood floor would feel very different.

Once seated on her little pillow, Thena draped the other blanket around Gil and guided him down gently. She pulled until his head met her lap, letting him settle against her comfortably.

As if able to sense immediately that his neck wasn't cramped in an awkward position, he sighed. He shimmied a little, adjusting to his position against her.

Thena watched him smile in his sleep, running her fingers through his hair. It was feathery soft, dark with just a few greys starting at his hairline. She would have to ask him how to cut it for him come the time.

"Anything out there?"

Thena smiled, still running her hand through his hair. "No, you sleep."

"Okay," he sighed blissfully, "I'll take next watch."

They were both asleep within the hour.

[softquietsteadylove]

Hi love your works!

I love the Thenamesh zombie au and would like to ask for a prompt! Would love to read some Gil and Thena fighting action against a small group of zombies and towards the last zombies Gil is protecting Thena against a zombie too heavy and strong for her. Some cute fluff at the end maybe?:)

"You need a hand?" Gil called upward, anxiously watching as Thena scaled the higher up shelves for the remaining goods there.

"I got it," she called back down to him, pushing over cans of soup and bottles of water forgotten in the initial rush and panic.

Gil just sighed, collecting up what she sent down and putting it in the cart they'd commandeered. Thena never asked for his help with anything, and hardly ever even accepted it when he offered. Not that it surprised him. It was just part of being so badass, he supposed.

"I think that's it for this aisle," Thena leaned over to at least look at him. She looked around them, "doesn't seem to be much else worthwhile."

"Okay," Gil murmured, hoping that meant she would just come back down to the ground with him. It made him nervous, watching her jump around on the flimsy metal shelves, no matter how little she was. "Do you-"

Thena was already jumping from the shelf to the column, gripping the sides of it and then jumping down the rest of the way. She landed with a huff.

"Right," Gil sighed. He supposed there were worse things than having an amazing, cool, deadly - beautiful - woman by his side in the apocalypse. "We got some pretty good stuff, at least."

Thena examined the cart, tilting her head this way and that at the cans. "I can see why split pea soup was what was left."

"Hey, it's not so bad," he chuckled, taking the can from her hand. "If I find some maple syrup, this stuff will become your favourite meal."

"I doubt that," she at least laughed with him as they headed towards the exit again.

"Maybe I'll hold onto it until we're in farm land again," Gil mused as he walked the cart slowly and carefully--as quietly as possible. "This stuff goes great with bacon."

"I remember bacon," Thena smiled, whether she was reminiscing about the food or something else.

"Should we check the medical stuff?" Gil suggested as they arrived at the main stretch of aisles again. "See if there's anything left worth taking?"

Thena nodded, taking up her knife from her thigh, "meet you back here in fifteen."

"Make it ten," he corrected with a very particular sneer. But it made her laugh as she trotted off in the other direction. Gil left the cart where it was, drifting to the clothes close to the abandoned registers to see if there was anything they might want to take with them.

Not that there was much left, but he tilted his head at a white sweater that looked pretty clean. It was probably large enough that it would be a full on dress over Thena, but maybe she could wear it over her other stuff when it got colder.

"Gil!"

He ran. He ran as fast as he could, already reaching for the handheld axe he'd picked up a few stops ago (his trusty iron skillet was still strapped to his backpack). If Thena was calling for him, then she really, really needed help.

It was a security guard, probably long dormant and awakened by their rummaging around. It was massive, its lurching body leaning over Thena. Her back was on the ground, with only her legs being strong and long enough to keep it off of her.

"Gil, help!"

"I got 'im!" Gilgamesh slid over to her, sliding the handle of the axe against the thing's neck and pulling back. "How's this thing so heavy?!"

Thena laid on the ground, panting after her exhausting battle against the monster as well as gravity itself. "I wish I knew."

Gil twisted his back, tossing the thing aside and wrenching the head off its shoulders in the process. He stepped back, making a face as he eagerly schlupped the remains of it off of him. He dropped the axe, wiping his hands on his pants before pulling Thena up. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she muttered, although he had a feeling her pride was far more wounded than anything. "I should have been more alert."

"Hey, with the noise we made on the way in, I was sure we were alone too," Gil frowned as she dusted herself off. He kept his eyes on her. Thena wasn't often on the receiving end of anything she couldn't handle, and encounters like this didn't necessarily get easier with time.

Thena inhaled before turning around and pushing her face into his chest and throwing her arms around him. "Thanks for saving me."

Gil wrapped his arms around her delicate little waist, pressing his cheek against the top of her head. She never needed to thank him, especially for protecting her. He would do anything for it--for her. He gave her hip a squeeze, "any time."

Thena pulled back, smiling at him like he was the sun itself. It made his heart feel funny inside his chest. Her eyes travelled down, "sorry. I guess he made a bit of a mess out of us."

"Hm," Gil also glanced down at them, splattered with security guard neck fluids. He smiled though, "I think I have an answer to that."

"Oh?" she voiced her curiosity as they headed back to their cart hand in hand.

"You know," Gil frowned, and Thena seemed to anticipate what he was going to say. "It's not the end of the world if you need my help once in a while."

She sighed, obviously having know that was what he was getting at. She shrugged, "I'm just...used to taking care of things myself."

"Well," Gil corrected, giving her hand a squeeze, "you're not by yourself anymore. So, maybe it's not the worst thing in the world if you learn to lean on me a little more?"

Thena raised a brow at him in good humour. "Oh, so I should rely more on the big, strong man with me?"

Gil blushed, "okay, okay, I didn't say that."

"No, no," she continued through her laughter, "by all means. Tell me more about how you can help little old me."

Gil sighed. He should have known she would get a kick out of his suggestion to depend on him more. But she was laughing, and that sound was his greatest weakness in the world. "Fine, yes, chivalry is dead. Now will you just put this on?"

Gil crossed his arms, turning around so Thena could change out of her messed up tanktop and into the light sweater. He also needed to change his shirt, but he didn't dare open his eyes while Thena was changing. Knowing her, she wouldn't even be offended--just tease him for trying to be a gentleman about it.

"This is nice, Gil."

It did look nice. She looked nice--it looked nice on her. They looked nice together. It...she...pretty.

Thena blinked at whatever expression he had on, tugging at the hem of the oversized sweater that just brushed the end of her white cargo shorts. She rolled the sleeves of it up to her elbows, avoiding his eyes as her cheeks turned pink. "What do you think?"

Gil smiled, taking her hand again to bring her with him to the men's section, "it looks good on you."

Her smile was soft, almost kind of shy. She gave his hand a squeeze, "now, to find something for my big, strong man to wear?"

He rolled his eyes. He was never going to hear the end of this.

[softquietsteadylove]

We need another thenamesh zombie AU prompt!:D some action where both of them impress each other with their skills killing zombies but they also notice how well they fight together

Gil clipped his backpack closed and settled it on his back. Neither he nor Thena had spoken a word in...well, it was a long time for him.

Thena was really nice; not just anyone would have let him join them in their attempt to leave the safety of the mall and hit the road. Not just anyone would have let him live after he'd stumbled into their trap. She'd even let him stay the night as she packed up and prepared for the trip.

She was really nice, she just wasn't a talker.

Gil was--always had been. But he was trying to resist the urge to crack the occasional joke here or there. He didn't think she would appreciate it.

The first time they'd met she had told him 'no funny business' if she let him out of her trap. He had asked: "what about semi-formal business?'. He still didn't know if she had laughed at that or not, but he liked to imagine she did.

"Ready?" she asked, pausing over his shoulder with her own bag of supplies packed. She had two...machetes? Maybe they were just long knives--he really didn't have the knowledge about weapons necessary to identify them. But she seemed plenty capable with them.

"Ready," he smiled, standing to join her. He gripped the handle of his cast iron skillet in his hand. "How long has it been for you?"

"Hm?" she looked at him.

"Since you've been out in it?" Gil asked quietly. He kept an eye on her, trying to see if there was any indication that she was nervous about it or scared in any way. Not that he would expect that from the stoic woman beside him. "I'm a little nervous."

Thena looked up at him, her brows raising fractionally in surprise.

Gil shrugged, gripping his skillet close. "I guess I'm not much of a fighter."

Thena turned her head to inspect him. Her eyes were sharp and critical, and he just realised they were a really pretty green colour.

"Okay," Gil blew out a breath as they arrived at the outer door leading to the parking lot. They were still close to the edge of town, and maybe things wouldn't be too bad.

Thena settled her shoulders, twirling the blades in her hands. He supposed that made sense for that to be her psych up routine. She wasn't a talk-to-herself kind of woman.

"Just come out swinging behind me."

She was a force of nature--like a Goddess of War. Gil watched as Thena led the charge, taking down zombies left and right as soon as she was in the open air. She used those long knives like a pro.

Gil followed, not wanting to be completely left in the dust. But man, she was incredible. He had never really seen her in action, but he could see why she had been perfectly fine on her own all this time.

Thena turned to check on him as soon as there was a sign of thinning in the herd. It was an expression of concern for him, which was sweet. But she didn't have to worry.

Gil had his eyes squeezed closed with every hit, but he didn't have to be so worried. Every contact he made with that skillet of his took a zombie's head clean off.

Those muscles weren't just for show.

"Get down!"

Gil didn't know why, but he did it without question. If Thena was telling him to do it, then he would do it. He ducked down holding his arms over his head. After a second, he peeked up, spotting the body of a zombie with one of her knives lodged in it. She had thrown it to cover for him. "Thanks for the--Thena, behind you!"

She turned, holding out the blade of her remaining knife. But the thing had a security vest on, not as fragile and easily deterred as the rest of them. She grunted as it walked against her mindlessly.

"Hold it steady," Gil grunted as he braced himself behind her, at least preventing her from being pushed back further. He reached around her, surprised at how small she seemed now that they were close. "I've got the blade. You hold the handle and we can both get it through him, I bet."

"On three." Thena let Gil's hand move over hers, sliding it out from under it so she could grip the handle properly. "One-"

"Two," Gil inhaled, gripping the handle with her. "Three!"

Both of them turned their heads as they pulled at the handle, Gil's other hand helping to push the blade through the security guard.

"Ha!" Gil laughed, still leaning against her back, still holding the handle of the knife with his hand over hers. "We did it!"

"Shush!"

"Sorry, sorry," Gil rolled his lips closed, looking around to see what he had drawn towards them with his celebration. But they seemed to have broken through the last of those remaining in the area. He smiled at her, whispering this time, "we did it!"

Thena let out the faintest of laughs. But it was definitely a laugh, and she was definitely smiling. She looked down, "thanks for the assist."

Gil cleared his throat, letting go of her hands and stepping away from her again. "Y-You're the expert. You saved me too."

Thena went quiet again as Gil walked back to where he had been, pulling out her other knife and picking up his skillet again. She smiled at him as he handed her weapon back to her, "we make a good team."

He certainly thought so. But he gave her a sheepish smile, brushing off his trusty skillet, "I'm just glad I could lend a hand."

"Don't sell yourself short," she advised, and it was the most words he'd heard her say at once, at this point. "You're good."

Gil blushed, trying to tell himself not to feel flustered by the way she said it. She was just a...travelling companion. A very platonic, very pretty, very dangerous travelling companion.

[softquietsteadylove]

Thenamesh 18+ List

An external masterlist for all the spicy entries from various AUs or canon.

Thenamesh 18+

(this is my primary tag for spice of any kind, varying in degrees of explicitness; this will have plenty of tag crossover, but if it’s tagged 18+, it will be here)

Pt 2

Thenamesh Doctor AU - Time Well Spent // Thenamesh Spy AU - Friendly Match // Thenamesh Ballerina/Boxer AU - Beast with Two Backs // Thenamesh Mermaid AU - Part of Your World // Thenamesh Proposal AU - Of the Night // Thenamesh 10 Things AU - On Her Terms // Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU - Hard Deals // Thenamesh Life Interrupted AU - Sanctuary // Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU - Posession // Ballerina/Boxer AU - Asserting Dominance // Thenamesh Runaway Bride AU - Home Again pt 2 // Thenamesh 10 Things AU - Mine // Thenamesh 10 Things AU - Like and Love // Ice Queen/Tyrant King - Good // Thenamesh Addams Family AU - Romance

Pt 1

Runaway Bride AU - New // Spy AU - Relief // Receptionist AU - Best Served Cold // Thenamesh 10 Things AU - Young Love // Unwrapping // Ballerina/Boxer AU - Holding Back // Ballerina/Boxer AU - Life Imitates Art // Receptionist AU - Above the Table // Thenamesh 10 Things AU - To Have and To Hold // Runaway Bride AU - Anniversary Night // Worshipping // Receptionist AU - Under the Table // Mermaid AU - Yearning // Doctor AU - On Break // Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU - Lovers’ Quarrel // Ballerina/Boxer AU - Morning Stretching // Doctor AU - Up Close and Personal // Mermaid AU - Feeling pt 2  // Mermaid AU - Expressing pt 1 // Receptionist AU - Free // Tension // Teach Me to Love - Quiet Night In // Memory Lane // Doctor AU - Revisiting // Doctor AU - Interrupted // Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU - Engaged // Teach Me to Love Again // Pokemon AU - 5+1 Interruptions // Spy AU - Eyes Elsewhere // Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU - Frisky // Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU - Tied // Home Turf // Temptation in Babylon // Ballerina/Boxer AU - Locker Room // Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU - Reconciliation // Receptionist AU - Back in the Office // Ballerina/Boxer AU - Dressing Room // Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU - Resolution // Receptionist AU - London // Something Old Something New AU // Zombie AU - Campfire // Survived

[softquietsteadylove]

Masterlist Pt. 2

Please use this link for updates as of May 08, 2024.

Thenamesh Bodyguard AU

Harmony

Thenamesh Ghost Files AU

Haunted

Thenamesh Spy AU

Friendly Match(18+)

Thenamesh Proposal AU

Of the Night(18+) // In the Heat

Thenamesh Doctor AU

Time Well Spent(18+) // Into the Spotlight

Thenamesh Marriage Contract AU

(Thena's father makes a deal for his life that she will marry the gangster to whom he is indebted, but perhaps Gilgamesh isn't the worst husband--he might even be quite a good one)

// Dinner at Home

Thenamesh Human AU

Nightmare Walking

Thenamesh Life Interrupted AU

Sanctuary (18+)

Thenamesh Ballerina/Boxer AU

Wandering Eyes // Beast with Two Backs(18+) // Dance With the Devil // Asserting Dominance(18+) // [Wandering Eyes]

Thenamesh Heracles AU

(Gilgamesh finds himself the subject of a young boy's admiration while they're in Athens, as does Thena, although she claims to have no affections for the child)

Young Trouble // Refuge of the Gods

Thenamesh Rus AU

Spring

Thenamesh Runaway Bride AU

Home Again pt2(18+) // The Chase pt 1

Thenamesh Hamptons AU

Fresh Picked

Thenamesh Eternal/Human AU

(Gil has lived as an Eternal on Earth for thousands of years, but now he has started dating Thena, a human who works at the museum, unaware she's found herself with a piece of history)

Defense // Attack // Eternal and Human

Thenamesh Mermaid AU

Part of Your World(18+) // Under the Sea // Slippery Slope // Mate Troubles

Thenamesh Breakup AU

(Gil and Thena broke up, fully expecting to never regret moving out of their shared apartment, only to run into each other and discover that maybe their feelings are more than what they thought)

Memory Lane // Love Again // Mamma Mia

Thenamesh Dressage AU

Going the Distance // Leaping Hurdles

Thenamesh Gladiator AU

Moonlit

Thenamesh Tomb Raider AU

Escape

Thenamesh pokemon AU

PSN Heal

Thenamesh Wildfire AU

Struck // Comfort pt 2 // Cleared pt 1

Thenamesh Zombie AU

Lucky

Thenamesh 10 Things (I Hate About You) AU

On Her Terms(18+) // Mine(18+) // Like and Love(18+)

Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU

Hard Deals(18+) // Muzh // Posession(18+) // Business Casual // Good(18+) // [Business Casual]

Thenamesh Family Law AU

(Thena has custody of her younger sisters after their parents' deaths, which she is determined to handle completely alone, although Gil - who works at the same law firm - is even more determined to help)

Terms and Conditions // Surprise Witness // Approaching the Bench // Competence // Family Dinner // Supporting Arguments

Thenamesh Circus AU

And Tears pt 2 // Blood, Sweat pt // Stolen

Thenamesh Addams Family AU

Romance(18+)

Thenamesh AU

SpyxSpy // Speak Now // Kidnapped // Happy Anniversary // Nightmare Scenario pt 2 // Worst Case pt 1 // Placid // Fairy Tales // A Quiet Place AU

Jack and Thenamesh

Fireworks

Thenamesh

Explosive // Vigil // Revelry

[softquietsteadylove]

what about some spicy thenamesh zombie AU around a campfire?

Gil blinked as a familiar weight collided with his shoulder. They'd been doing this a lot, lately. They didn't talk about it, certainly didn't bring it up once the sun was up. But Thena had made somewhat of a habit of falling asleep against him. And he had happily made a habit of pulling her closer and cuddling against her through the night.

He looked down, mostly catching the blond top of her head from his current angle. They'd been walking for who knew how long. They were both bone tired, taking turns dozing off and then jumping awake in alarm.

That was most of why he'd suggested stopping and resting properly; because he knew the second she sat down that she would be asleep.

It was cute when she tried to act like she could stay awake forever and then curl up next to him within five minutes.

Not that he could afford to be thinking those things.

But of course she was cute. Thena was surprisingly cute, the more he got to know her and see all the little parts of her she liked to think were hidden away.

She had a cute laugh--kind of light and bubbly, compared to how serious she was. Her smile showed off all her teeth, but it suited her. She liked sweets, that much was obvious. And as much as anyone in the current world would trade just about anything for a single piece of chocolate, he always tried extra hard to find something for her when they were scavenging.

The way her eyes lit up was always worth it.

He knew how pathetic he sounded. He didn't think he could help it, though. It wasn't possible to be ignorant to the fact that Thena was very, very beautiful--like stupidly beautiful. A little bit painful, really.

He tried not to--he really, really tried. But sometimes he would notice sway of her hips when she was walking with more purpose than usual. When they found a change of clothes and how she actually seemed most at home in a light dress (the mobility wasn't a problem for her or her deadliness). When he made something she really liked and she would let out this quiet little moan, almost like a purr.

Gil shifted on the log bench, technically just an old tree that was already falling and he'd helped get down to the ground. Thena was light against his shoulder, and he could smell the scent of rain from earlier on her.

"Gil," she sighed in her sleep, gripping his shirt in her fists to keep him from escaping with her precious source of warmth.

Gil blushed. He shifted again. This was getting dangerous.

He didn't like it, okay?--thinking of her...like this. He didn't like feeling like a skittish teenager, worried about how he was going to react to the smallest thing. Obviously they had more important things to worry about on a daily basis, so he was just...backed up. That was it. It was making his head cloudy, that was all.

What didn't help was that every little thing Thena did drove him closer to the point of insanity.

It had rained earlier. They hadn't exactly tried to avoid it. Thena ran her fingers through her hair, essentially taking it as a free shower. The water had plastered her clothes to her body, fabric clinging to skin with a desperation Gil was starting to feel in his core.

He'd caught a glimpse of her bra through her shirt and it had ruined him.

Gil let out a strained sigh. He felt himself twitch. He tried to think of other things. He thought about recipes, thing he would likely never make again, and things that he still could. It was silly, and he would never admit it, but he always savoured the chance the go through grocery stores or independent little places. Because then he could make her a new food he thought she would like, and he would get to see that smile she had that he knew was just for him-

Thena stirred as she felt his arm wrap around her waist. She was the light sleeper of the two of them. Her face pinched, "Gil."

What hearing his name out of her lips did to him.

"Gil!"

He startled as she shot up to stand--tried to. She ended up pushing him backwards off the log. But he was still holding her, and she fell with him. His arm curled in reflexively. She landed on his chest.

Gil blinked, his back on the ground. Thena looked down at him, orienting herself after waking in such a state. Her hair was still just a little damp at the ends, and fuller and fluffier than normal. She was back lit by the glow of the fire. She was so beautiful.

Thena stared down at him, settling back on her haunches when she realised there was no imminent danger. She was straddling him, seated in his lap. "Are you okay?"

"Are you?" he asked back, immediately and reflexively. His hands were on her arms. Her hands were on his chest. She wiggled and he went bright red to the tips of his ears. "Thena-"

"I'm fine, you're the one who fell," she frowned, looking over to see if she had somehow hurt him. She tilted her head this way and this.

Every little movement made Gil shiver. "Thena-"

"Gil, are you okay?" her brows knitted with worry, seeing the colour in his face. She raised one hand off his chest to test if he'd developed a fever.

Gil caught her hand. It was all over. "Sweetheart, you gotta get off."

"What are you-" Thena rocked back again, only now feeling what exactly had him so flustered. She blinked a few times. "Gil-"

"Sorry, sorry," he grumbled, looking away and feeling utterly humiliated as his cock poked against the curve of her ass. "I told you-!"

Thena didn't get up. She pressed against it, slowly and gently, as if testing something.

"Thena," he groaned. What was she doing to him? She did it again. Did she think this was funny? He gritted his teeth, moving his hands to grip her hips into being still, "Thena!"

A gasp. Just a simple little gasp. A perfectly natural reaction. He looked up at her, trying not to breathe so hard. She was breathing a little harder too, though. And now that he was looking at her, it seemed that she was also a little flushed.

This was way too dangerous.

Having her close was doing things to his brain. Seeing her blush was making him want to do...things. He had to get out of this situation.

Thena pushed back some hair and leaned forward, kissing him. She sighed as soon as their lips met, melting against him. He moaned against her, his fingers coming up to run through that hair of hers.

"Thena," he groaned, sounding truly in agonising pain. "Baby, I can't...this...we..."

What was he even saying?

Thena pulled away, looking at him splayed beneath her. She had that predatory look in her eye that was both beautiful and so fucking sexy. Her pupils were blown wide, making that special green of her eyes look darker. "You don't want this?"

He had never wanted anything more. "Do you?"

It was enough of an answer for her. She leaned forward, kissing him again, pressing herself closer this time. His hands went from her hair down her back. He pinched the clasp of her bra, trying to remind himself that he couldn't rip and tear it off of her, as much as he wanted to.

Thena wiggled against him again, teasing him relentlessly. She ground her hips against his. She liked having him at her mercy.

Gil panted as she pulled away, pulling off her bra and her shirt over her head. They were rushed, almost frantic about it, four hands fumbling to get zippers down and out of the way. Thena pulled him out, her hand soft and warm against him as he hit the open air. "Holy fuck."

Thena bit her lip, hovering above him. "Length isn't always exaggerated, hm?"

He blushed again.

Thena moaned as she sank down on him without delay. She took him into her easily, more than wet enough. She started at her own pace, moving his hands for him. One came up to her breast, the other went to her hip again.

He held her gently, caught between watching her in all her glory and squeezing his eyes shut at the ecstasy of it. He matched her pace, following her lead. "Thena."

"Harder." She moved against him more urgently, digging her nails into his shoulder. He squeezed just a little more and she whimpered, "fuck me."

Oh shit. Gil felt more than he thought. Something between his brain and his body snapped. He gripped her hips, pulling her down against him more sharply than he ever would have before.

"Gil!" she gasped as he started to thrust up against her. "Yes!"

"Fuck, Thena," he moaned, desperate to her his name again in that voice of hers. She rolled her hips in a change of pace. He took advantage to reach up to her breasts, kneading roughly and scraping his thumbs against her nipples.

"Gil," she moaned again, speeding faster towards the edge. "That's it, harder, more."

He would give her anything.

Gil grunted as he moved, pulling them both to the climax they desperately needed. He was close. He moved a hand between her legs, clumsy and fumbling. But it seemed to work as Thena's hips bucked against his touch. "Shit, you gotta come with me."

Thena let out a moan, her head rolling to the side as her hands scraped down the front of his body. "Fuck!"

Gil saw white as she clamped down around him, her orgasm washing over him from her. He let out some kind of sound as he came literal seconds after, shooting into her with all the release of months of built up tension.

Thena collapsed onto him, panting for breath, nestled into his neck and purring after her release. Gil mumbled as he tried to regain his senses. His hands trailed over her bare back at first before firmly pressing his palms to her skin. She got cold easily, as much as she didn't want to admit it.

Thena wiggled against him again, this time to slither up and kiss him.

He kissed her back for all he was worth. He stared at her, looking at him with stars in her eyes, a blissful smile on her face. He pushed some hair back, "Thena, I-"

"That was-"

They both stopped short. She laughed first, then him, and once they started they couldn't stop. She shook against him, trembling from the laughter, from the sex, from their position. He held her tight, feeling lighter than he could ever remember feeling.

He looked at her again, grinning, "you were saying?"

"You go first."

"I'm not going first," he shook his head. He would just say something stupid. Like tell her he loved her.

"Fine," she laughed, tracing her finger over his chest. Her eyes dropped down and a smile curved on her lips just so. "That was...I...it was nice."

There was something very reassuring about the idea of her being as flustered as he was. He wrapped an arm around her waist and did his best to sit up, at least partially. He raised a brow at her, "just nice?--that's all I get?"

To his delight, she blushed just enough for him to see even in the dark. "Well, what exactly were you looking for?"

He shook his head, kissing her again. She responded freely, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. His chest stung ever so faintly from her nails dragging over him, but he would happily wear the scratch marks with pride. Maybe he would even give her a little bit of a hard time over them.

What exactly were you looking for?

Her: he had been looking for her.

[softquietsteadylove]

Thenamesh Zombie apocalypse AU! Bonus point if it involves a train! P.S. you are awesome and all your fics are sublime!

His first thought had been: where the fuck did she find hair dye?

Then he realised that of course she hadn't, no one had, no one had the time or the water to spare for something like that. And she didn't have dark roots growing out. Her hair was just...like that.

It was beautiful.

Gil blushed, forcing himself to face straight ahead again as they continued their trek across the country.

In what direction?--who knew. To what end?--who cared? Why?--because they had to do something during the literal end of the world.

He'd happened upon her entirely by mistake. She was holed up in the remains of a hunting supply store. It was a great base of operations, of course. But all good things had an end, and she was nearing the end of her resources when he'd stumbled into her trap--literally.

But she had let him down from her giant rabbit snare and they'd left together, silently grateful for a human presence beside them again.

Thena didn't talk much. Gil always thought he talked a little too much. It made for...an adjustment. But if she ever got tired of his blathering, she never really let on to it. She just let him talk and talk and talk, rarely responding to anything. It was rare she made any indication that she was listening.

But he had made her laugh once, and he was borderline obsessed with making it happen again.

Thena was the best with weapons. Give her something sharp and she could down a whole herd single handed. She had grace, speed, the instinct to kill. Gil didn't know what she did before but he would have believed she was an olympian fencer or something.

He was a line cook at a Korean restaurant.

But he was strong, good with his hands. And he could make food that was more than decrepit old beans from a can. And in this world, that was a pretty marketable skill. Thena always thanked him for making their food. He thought it went without saying that he was happy to.

"I was a terrible cook. I'm sure that hasn't improved."

He laughed, losing a precious mouthful of food as he did, too.

But Thena laughed at the sight of it, managing to hold her food in with a hand held in front of her mouth.

That was laugh number two! And another of only a few indications that she at least didn't hate his company. Sometimes he would catch himself thinking she even liked it. But he didn't want to get too ahead of himself in that regard. He couldn't assume anything with her, and he really couldn't afford to lose the only ally he'd managed to find in all this.

He was a big guy, it was no secret. And he'd had offers to join people before. They both had, and sometimes while they were together. Sometimes the offer was just for him, which he would eagerly decline. He always declined, of course, but those offers really bugged the shit out of him...

Thena didn't trust people. She didn't like people. And people knew it. She told him that if he wanted to go then he could. But she would never get much further than turning around partially before looking at him to see what he would do.

And he didn't think he was imagining it when he would see her wanting him to stay in those green eyes of hers.

Gil sighed as he sat down in the train seat, old and musty as it was. It was soft, and it was enclosed: double win. "How fucking long is this highway?"

Thena smiled, "it's a cross-country highway, Gil. It goes across the country."

Gil snorted, waving his hand in the air. "Length's gotta be exaggerated. Guys always exaggerate how long it is."

Thena let out a loud laugh before slapping her hand over her mouth. She looked around, alarmed at the possibility that she might have given away their haven.

Gil was too busy staring at her like she was an angel come to earth. He sat up in his seat, reaching out to her. "Hey, it's okay. We cleared the place, right? Made a shit ton of noise on our way in--no way anything else is here."

Thena unwound slowly. But she did ultimately unwind--just enough. She looked at his outreached hand but he slipped it back to rub the back of his neck. She nodded at him. "You're right."

"Why don't you try and get some rest?" he suggested gently. Thena had a protectiveness to her that he adored. But she still needed sleep.

"Hm," she sighed, settling into the seat across from him, setting down her supplies but keeping the knife strapped to her thigh on. It never left her side. "You should too."

He was way ahead of her, his eyes already heavy as he drifted off. She looked so beautiful, even in this hellhole. Not that he could tell her that.

He woke in the middle of the night. He didn't jolt awake, his eyes opened. He felt something next to him, and his senses were on high alert instantly. But then he felt the softness of it--the warmth. Then he felt the breath against his skin. And then he dared to just peek at it as best he could without moving.

Thena settled herself next to him tentatively--almost shyly. She was obviously trying not to wake him. But her fatigue was just as real as his, and she nestled herself against his arm and the side of him, curled up in a ball--a bony little ball.

Gil waited a long time before shifting, wrapping his arm around her waist and letting her head roll onto his chest in her sleep. He would be tired tomorrow, and she might even be mad at him for it. But he was going to let himself enjoy it, just for the time being.

It wasn't like he was going to be getting any sleep, anyway; his heart was beating too damn fast.

[dalhia28]

Thank you so much @softquietsteadylove 😊 this is so sweet Thena and Gil are everything ❣️

Hi! I have a request about Zombi au👀 how about when they settled into the new place they meet up with druig and Makkari and they we're just all getting along in the instant and one time they having lunch conversation Makkari suddenly tell how Ikaris roughly handled thena on the supply run when Gil is still pass out and then Gil is not happy about it that thena needed to calm him down before he could kill the guy and assure him she already handled it. Thankyou ❣️❣️❣️

"Hey, you."

"Hey," Thena looked up as Gil circled behind her, his hand drifting over her shoulder as he sat down with a tray of food. "How's cooking duty?"

"Getting there," Gil answered simply. "I don't have the best inventory yet, but there haven't been any complaints."

"I'll say, this shite is better 'an anythin' we've had yet!"

"Gil, this is Druig," Thena introduced, only after Druig had taken the liberty of complimenting the food and then loudly shovelling in another bite. "He also worked here under Ajak in the beginning of things. He worked in psychiatry apparently, but he also is quite good with agriculture."

Gil smiled at the man eating like he had been famished for days, and then at the woman who gave him a cheeky kind of wave and smirk. "Uh, hey."

"Makkari," Thena smiled, putting down her fork and raising her hands. "She's deaf, but she's their top runner. She can cross the entire city in two hours, apparently."

"Whoa, that seems," Gil furrowed his brows, but Makkari grinned, signing something back to Thena. He would have to ask her to teach him during their off hours.

"She was a track champion, she says," Thena smiled, translating in real time as Makkari's hands flew at lightning speed. "She could have gone national if she hadn't been disqualified."

"Disqualified," Gil looked at them both, but Makkari didn't seem particularly bitter about it. She lifted her arms and made bunny ears with her opposite hands, a few times even.

Thena laughed, shaking her head as well as she lifted her fork for another bite, "stealing."

Makkari practically rolled right out of the cafeteria seat in her laughter at Gil's face.

"Extra food," Druig clarified, relieving Thena of translation duty. "Don't worry, she won't nick any of your valuables."

Makkari gave him a wink and a shrug.

"She won't," Thena raised her eyes at the woman across from her (across from Druig, really, but in her eye line). "Because she likes you."

Gil smiled sheepishly, picking at the meal he himself had prepared. "That's what everyone says when they're hungry."

Thena nudged him gently, under the table and away from the eyes of their new comrades. "You know very well that's not true."

He finally took a bite of food, looking around at those whom Thena had befriended in her short time here and without him. She didn't usually end up talking to people, let alone liking them. "How was the run today?"

"It was okay," she smiled, eyes searching him for a deeper worry under his light tone. "Makkari and I went into some higher hotel rooms close by--I told them about the mini-fridge trick."

"I can't believe we never considered 'em," Druig said with only half a mouth full this time, "all this time."

"Thena's smart like that," Gil praised freely and openly, looking at the woman beside him instead of eating his bean salad. Not that she noticed.

It could have gone better.

Thena did look up at Makkari but didn't bother speaking up, resuming eating instead.

Gil frowned at her, "what?"

"It's nothing," she shrugged, reaching for her bottle of water.

Makkari looked at Gil, it did go well, until a certain someone started arguing with Thena over whether to take the stairwells or use a dumbwaiter system in the elevator shafts to get the supplies down.

Gil leaned behind Thena, asking Druig with his eyes to please translate for him.

Druig looked at Makkari, and then at Thena, who must have given him a hell of an expression. He swallowed his massive bite slowly. "Uh, well, it was mostly smooth sailin', apparently. Nothin' to worry about, big fella."

Gil frowned, though. He put his fork down and slid his tray away from him, only so he could slide Thena's tray away from her. She stared at the table, as if trying to figure out what had happened to her meal. She turned and looked at him the way she would look at the devil himself. "Thena?"

She just glared at him, lips pursed (cutely). "It was nothing."

He slid her tray even further away from her. He knew there wasn't much that could break the iron will of the Goddess of War. But withholding her food - so long as it was made by him, which was kind of sweet - was the one way. "Thena, what happened?"

She eyed the tray, knowing he would not make getting it back easy. A faint huff escaped her as she tossed her fork down, "Ikaris and I got into it, nothing worth dragging up again."

"What do you mean," Gil said quietly and evenly, his hands already tightening around the edges of her tray, "got into it?"

"Blondie here is cocky, that's what she means."

"Ikaris, not now," she turned in her seat, all too prepared to bark at him about minding his own business. "It's water under the bridge."

He glared her down, though, crossing his leanly muscled arms at her in his navy t-shirt. "I said we should use a dumbwaiter to get the food up and down. But GI Jane here said it would be better to carry the shit all 'emselves down seventeen fuckin' flights of stairs."

"You can't rely on the cables in elevator shafts anymore!"

"Okay, okay," Kingo patted Ikaris' shoulder beside him, "don't wanna go starting this again."

Gil stood. "What happened?"

"Uh," Kingo looked around, as if he would find a glowing door that would help him escape another scuffle.

"What," Gil repeated, having no problem standing nose to nose with the obstinate guard, "happened?"

Ikaris looked down at Thena, who was still seated, determined not to rise to his bait (as Gil was). He scoffed, "she's savvy out there, but she's got wee arms to be doin' heavy liftin', no? I got my hand around her whole bicep."

Gil tilted his head faintly, trying to absorb what Ikaris was saying. He had held Thena's arm? He had held her by the arm? He had gripped her by the arm? He had fit his entire hand around Thena's slim upper arm?

"If she bruises it's only 'cause she has as much meat on those bones as a pigeon."

Gil grabbed Ikaris by the front of his shirt, backing him up into the seats behind them. Ikaris' knees bent, making him grab the edge of the table behind him. Gil leaned over him heavier. "Don't you ever touch her!"

"Gil!" Thena rose, eager to intervene as others in the cafeteria started gasping and whispering.

"Don't ever put your hands on her!" Gil roared in the guy's face. He didn't care. He didn't care that he was making a scene or making a powerful enemy. He didn't care if he got kicked out for this. "If anything - anything - ever happens to her out there I will kill you!"

"Easy!" Kingo yelled, trying to pry the much larger, much stronger Gil away.

"Come on!" Druig growled, also trying to drag Gil away from Ikaris.

"I mean it!" Gil barked at him, "if anything ever happens to her it's your head!"

"Gilgamesh!" Thena moved between them, pushing against his chest as Kingo and Druig attempted to pull him by the arms. She pressed her fingers into the divet between his pectoral muscles. "Stop it!"

He was out of steam, anyway. But he was still glaring at Ikaris as he picked himself up, huffing and glaring, obviously ready to go on if he was let go. Gil was all but panting, light headed from the adrenaline rushing through him. He couldn't help it. All he felt was rage looking at this bastard.

"Gil," Thena attempted, raising her hand to his cheek and forcing him to look at her, "hey."

He blinked, the edges of his vision expanding again.

"Look at me," she whispered, her thumb against his cheek, "I'm right here."

She was right here, unharmed.

"I'm fine," she assured him, making him look at her instead of over her head at the man he was frankly ready to beat to death.

Gil carefully raised his hands. He knew everyone was watching him. They had seen him lose it twice now, if not more, considering how long he was out of it during his recovery. They probably thought he was some monster of a man.

But he ran his hands over Thena's arms gently, as if just touching her would make the bruising that asshole was talking about appear before his very eyes. Her skin was so soft. "Y-Yeah?"

She nodded, still holding him, grounding his senses in her instead of his rapid heartbeat and boiling blood. "Yeah."

Gil let go of a long breath, letting the rest of his energy leave him. He was exhausted, and he was still on dinner and cleanup duty for the night. "Okay."

Thena smiled, satisfied that he was feeling calmer about the whole thing. She let him pull her closer until she was tucked against his chest, which he would argue was the safest place in the world for her. She pressed her cheek against his clavicle and the collar of his t-shirt under his unbuttoned flannel. "It's okay, Gil."

Druig stepped away from him tentatively, hands still at the ready, "all right, then."

"Come on," Kingo patted Ikaris as he picked himself up. He looked at Thena and Gil, neither apologising nor condemning them. "Let's go."

Ikaris did give them one last glare before storming off.

Gil watched him go. He didn't like that guy, no matter how nice Sersi was. But once he was far away enough, he resumed burying his nose in Thena's hair. "Sorry."

She rubbed his back, as if soothing him after a nightmare, "you're okay."

"What is going on in here?!"

Thena pulled away, looking up at Gil with wide eyes. He was not to say a word.

"S-Sorry," Druig stood as Ajak made her way over. "Me'n Ikaris...y'know."

Ajak gave him a look, but the fact that she so readily believed him really spoke to how well the guard got along with most here in the hospital colony. "How many times, Druig?"

"Aye aye," he nodded, like a teenager getting scolded after curfew. He sat himself back down, "won't make a peep, mother dearest."

Ajak just rolled her eyes at him, despite what she claimed to be a very strict rule about in-fighting. She looked at Gil, leaning against Thena's shoulders. "Everything okay?"

She most definitely knew that it was Gilgamesh involved in the fight, not Druig.

Gil smiled, hiding his fists in his armpits, "great!"

"Hm," she pinched her lips together, at him and then at Thena, "I trust the matter was resolved?"

Thena just nodded, but Ajak seemed to accept the silent promise to her that the fighting was at least done for now.

"Right," the doctor sighed before rushing away to her next fire that needed squashing, her white coat flaring behind her.

Thena looked up at him. "That was too close for comfort, wouldn't you say?"

Speak for yourself, that was the most fun I've had all week!

Thena just glared at the petty thief and friend across from her.

He sighed, sitting down with her and trying to ignore the stares focused on them. He slide their trays over again, half pushing his into her space for her to take what she liked from him. "Sorry."

Thena nudged Druig's shoulder faintly as she picked up her fork again, neither looking at each other, "thanks."

"Nothin'," Druig shrugged, also not looking as he resumed eating his corn (while Makkari resumed stealing bites of his canned fruit).

"You sure I can't come with you?" Gil asked her gently, no longer having any appetite. He hovered closer to her than necessary, even running the back of his knuckles up and down her bare arm. "I'm no 'you', but I'd be better than that guy."

Makkari nodded eagerly.

"That's for Ajak to decide," Thena said gently to dissuade him from his overprotective argument. "And besides, who would make these delicious meals then?"

He sighed. She was appealing to the chef in him, but he would rather crawl through filth with her than serve a hundred strangers his best three course meal. "Come on."

"Not to pick sides, but T's right, big guy," Druig piped up, again with his mouth full. T? "I ain't eaten like this in a dog's age, and I bet the rest of 'em here'll get how invaluable you are right quick."

No one else here talked like that.

"I can handle myself," Thena assured him more quietly. She even let him pull her knee so her thigh could rest against his. "You don't think I would let him grab me and not nail him right in the nuts, do you?"

Gil chuckled. No, of course she had gotten in a shot directly to his biggest weakness. That was the Goddess of War he knew (and loved). Thena leaned in gently as he pressed a kiss to her hair, "of course not."