#and obviously Thena was checking out Gil all night

[softquietsteadylove]

Some soft moment for thenamesh Actor AU? Love this AU and would love to read more about them ❤️

"Fucking finally!"

Gil chuckled as Thena threw herself onto her couch as soon as they were inside. He looked around the dimly lit living room, with its massive ceiling opening up to the rest of the house. "Is Sprite..."

"Asleep," Thena grumbled right into the couch cushions, before lifting her head to peek, "hopefully. Or she's playing some game with her headphones on."

Gil sat himself on the couch more properly, although he was just as tired as she was after a night of awards and clapping and smiling. Even socialising at the afterparty, since it was so important for the networking of their careers.

At least he had been given a different outfit for the afterparty--he didn't think he would have survived a long night in that ultra thin and light shirt he had worn for the red carpet before the awards.

Even if he had caught Thena checking him out multiple times.

Thena turned herself over, mussing her carefully curled hair, rumpling her carefully selected dress. She looked so much more human when she was relaxed. "Are you hungry?"

"Starved," he answered readily, at which Thena beamed. He had no doubt she was famished, especially with how little she always ate at awards nights. Whenever they were together at these things she would end up asking him to finish hers for her so she wouldn't appear rude.

After the third time doing so, he made an effort to eat slower. He would take notice of what her favourite part of the meal was and save it. When she inevitably asked him to finish her meal, he would pick up his plate - with only her favourite part of the dish left - and swap it with hers.

Thena didn't even stand, letting herself roll off the couch without any of her usual veil of elegance and delicacy. It was cute. "Let's see."

Gil stood from the couch and stretched. He had already removed his tie in the car home, now shirking off his suit jacket and even untucking the dress shirt he was wearing.

Thena opened the double doors to her positively massive fridge.

Gil leaned over her shoulder, "slim pickings, huh?"

She sighed, "I'm not exactly a chef--you know that."

Gil positioned himself behind her, opening the doors up even further until her fingers had to stretch to touch the doors. He nudged the back of her head with his chin, "I'm sure I could whip us up something."

Thena gave him a gentle and affectionate bop in the chin in return. "Make something?--I was going to pull out a block of cheese and trade one knife between the two of us on the floor."

Gil laughed, and Thena laughed with him. He felt the cool skin of her bare shoulders brush against his chest. "Why are we on the floor?"

"Because that's usually just my state of mind when it's time for cheese straight from the fridge."

Gil wrapped his arm around her, lifting her up and moving her away from the cool of the fridge. "You got instant noodles?"

"Do I have-" Thena rolled her eyes instead of answering the question, opening up one of the cupboards to an entire stash of cup ramen. "Sprite's main source of carbohydrates, you mean?"

"Perfect," Gil grinned, receiving two cups from Thena, as well as pulling out some green onion, a jar of chili oil and a few eggs. "This is exactly what I'd make for myself when I was a starving student, or even when I was just starting out in the biz."

Thena sighed, sitting herself at the counter as she watched him position himself at her beautiful stovetop built right into the kitchen island. Her house came with such a beautiful kitchen just for her to never use it.

Gil got the chili oil into the pan, heating it high and fast so their eggs could crisp at the edges slightly. He kept his eyes on his ingredients, not wanting to discourage Thena from her staring.

She had been eyeing him all night, and he wasn't exactly opposed.

"If we were at your house, what would you be 'whipping up', then?"

Gil chuckled, cracking in two of the four eggs he pulled out. "Well, if I were alone I guess I'd say I would just order in. But since I have a guest to impress-"

Thena rolled her eyes (but he could see her smiling).

"Maybe I'd make some quick pasta," he shrugged, turning off the kettle of boiling water and filling their cups. "Rigatoni, make some quick rose sauce in a pan. If I have sausages in the fridge, I can even fry those up for a quick meat sauce."

Thena inhaled as if she could smell it just from its description. "Why the hell did we come back to mine, then?"

They both laughed again. Gil added the spice and veggie packs to both cups, and then cracked in the other eggs straight into the broth, stirring them vigorously. "This is the trick to really making them feel luxurious."

Thena watched with hungry eyes - literally - as he topped each cup with the chili oil egg and green onions set aside. She beamed as he slid the cup towards her. "Thank you, Chef."

Gil blushed, "okay, come on."

Thena was the only one who called him that, even as a joke. And even then, he wasn't exactly opposed to that either.

"Good?" he asked between pretty big bites. He had seen Thena both eat delicately, and eat like a ravenous monster (not that she would appreciate that description).

Thena slurped back her bite, despite the hot oiled egg and the boiling hot broth. She gave him an emphatic nod, cheeks puffed until she gulped loudly.

Gil shook his head; there should be rules about being so cute. She was already the most beautiful woman in the world, did she have to be adorable too?

Thena licked her lips as she picked up another bite of egg, "Gil it's-"

He laughed faintly as she cut herself off, unable to resist her next bite for even a second. He leaned over the counter, reaching forward, "hey."

Thena blinked, allowing him to swipe his thumb over the corner of her lip, catching the bit of egg yolk that had escaped. Her lip budged ever so slightly as their eyes met. "Thanks."

Gil just nodded, completely unconsciously moving his thumb up to his own mouth to lick.

"Hey!"

Both actors turned as Sprite plunked down the stairs. She had a pair of over-ear headphones sitting around her neck, her hair completely ruffled from them. "Who said you could get into those?!"

Thena rose from her seat immediately, glaring at her small sister, "excuse me?"

Gil watched Sprite rear back, like an animal coming to realise it was no match for its predator.

"Uh," Sprite cleared her throat, sidestepping her sister and moving to Gil's side of the island instead, "how was the awards ceremony?"

"Boring," he shrugged, watching as Thena let go of her ire to return to her late night snack. He looked down at Sprite, "want one?"

"Hell yeah!"

Gil retrieved another two eggs as Sprite got herself a cup of ramen. She tossed it onto the counter before moving to sit beside Thena, who refused her a bite since she would be getting her own momentarily.

"I saw the red carpet looks online already," Sprite leaned her chin into her palm, elbow on the counter. "You guys were a hit."

"Kingo does good work," Gil smiled as he poured just slightly less chili oil for Sprite's egg.

"You in particular," Sprite snickered. "Everyone's super thirsty for you after that shirt you had on."

"Everyone's what?"

Sprite snuck her eyes over to her sister, "but you already knew that, huh?"

[softquietsteadylove]

ok not sure if my last ask went through bc i got an error message (thanks so much tumblr) but i am here to say you FLAWLESSLY executed circus AU, like gave everything i could have ever wanted in that little fic so now i'm sorry to say i'm just gonna have to keep asking for more!! specifically, what happened to angus!

"Come on, boy! Come on, you can do it!"

Thena walked into the ring, left intact just this once between shows due to the short window between the saturday night show and the sunday matinee.

"Good boy!"

She stepped further out of the shadows, her feet completely silent as she moved forward. The place was dark except for a few oil lamps set up around the ring as Gilgamesh led Angus around with just a regular rope around his neck.

Angus cantered around within the circle. He was obviously still healing, a little more slow than he used to be. But he was on his feet--even the injured one. He knickered quietly.

"Atta boy, Angus," Gil cheered for him as he observed the progress of his healing injury.

They had been holding their breath.

She and Gil had, that was to say. No one else cared nearly as much, except maybe Kro, who was eagerly waiting to inflict some punishment on the innocent creature for costing him even a penny in profits.

Angus slowed his pace, bobbing his head as he caught sight of her.

"Mi--Thena!"

Thena walked right over to them, linen nightdress and light robe be damned. She picked up pace until she could embrace Angus' snout, pressing her forehead to it, "look at you."

Angus' tail swished, relishing in the warmth of arguably his favourite person in the world.

She pulled back, still holding the horse's massive head by his chops, smiling at him and leaning to be more in the view of his massive eye, "I knew you could do it."

Angus nodded, in a way.

She turned to Gilgamesh, who had put an appropriate and respectful distance between them since her arrival. He looked younger in the faint light of the lamps. "That means you too."

Gil managed a soft smile dripping with modesty, "it's all Angus, really. Even I had my doubts, but..."

But here he was, up before dawn to help him practice being on his leg? Yes, he certainly was.

Thena ran her hand down Angus' mane over his neck, "like you said, he's young. He's too young and too strong to let Kro put him out of his misery so early."

Gil never offered his agreement too eagerly when she spoke of her husband. Too much to say within too few words, maybe. "Well, hopefully today's show will go well, and we can put this all behind us."

"Indeed," Thena smiled, catching Gil crossing his fingers behind his back. "Truly, Gil, we both owe you more than words can say."

He gave her a somewhat curious look, as if to ask what she could possibly be doing thanking him for something--as if he didn't do so much for her with his mere presence. "Least I can do, Miss."

Thena looked back at Angus. She liked it when he called her Thena. It was sometimes the only time when she was actually able to hear her own name spoken aloud. "On the contrary, this was above and beyond, even for you."

He blushed, and he looked truly sweet when he did. "Anything, Thena."

She looked at him, finding him looking back at her this time. He had such nice and warm eyes.

"Anytime."

Truly, he had such an amazing heart, this sweet and humble man. She had known that from his occupation, of course, but the more she got to know Gilgamesh himself, the more she found herself enchanted with all there was to him.

Her eyes darted down to his lips for just a second.

He didn't catch her. No one ever caught her when she did that. But she was no spring chicken, and she knew very well that her desire to keep him around was no childish flight of fantasy. No, her life was far to coldly rooted in reality for that.

But she far preferred to have him just out of reach than not have him at all.

Gil looked over his shoulder. He was always checking his surroundings whenever they found themselves alone.

He was looking for Kro. All things considered, she probably could exercise more caution than she did. After all, it wouldn't be her whom would have hell to pay, but Gilgamesh. Her mind did reel, sometimes, to think of her husband turning a corner and seeing...something.

She wasn't sure what he would see if that day ever came, but she knew enough to say he would not like it.

"You should rest," she whispered, petting Angus' soft nose again.

Gil knew that it was meant for him anyway. "As should you, y'know."

She smiled directly between Angus' eyes, "sleep often eludes me."

"Thena-"

She turned to Gil, determined not to let herself pull on that thread. There would be no going back if she let herself get up to the knees in him. "You'll need your sleep, Gilgamesh. Kro will have you up as soon as he wakes, demanding to see how Angus performs."

Angus shuffled in place a the mention of his worst nightmare.

Thena turned and comforted her poor steed once again, "I'm sorry."

Gil nodded, putting his hand on the swell of Angus' muscled cheek. "Right, then, but only if you find some rest as well, Thena. You need it more than anyone here."

Exhaustion truly never left her. It was in bed with her far more than her own husband, that was for certain.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," she conceded, more so that he would find some sleep than anything. She inhaled, pressing her forehead to Angus' once more. "Knock him dead."

Angus nodded more certainly this time.

Thena smiled, kissing his nose gently. "And you."

Gil startled but held still as she pressed an equally chaste kiss to his cheek.

She walked past him, not willing to dwell on it, nor able to afford to. She did wave at him over her shoulder, "goodnight, Gil."

He blinked at her, stunned rabbit in a trap, "uh, n-night, Thena."

She turned again as a smile came over her; such a sweet man. She simply couldn't resist expressing the depths of her gratitude somehow. And in some ways, the kiss was better than throwing her arms around him in some way. Because then, what if he had put his arms around her in return?

If he ever did that, there would be no going back, for her.