#who he has to call his girlfriend

[acowardinmordor]

Fucked up thought as I do material spec: transmasc Eddie Munson who gets bullied and called a guy because of how he dresses and acts (transphobic so bad they looped back to what Eddie wants on accident) dating Steve post S2, who knows and supports him, but still has to misgender his bf in public until they can get out of Hawkins. Eddie fails again, they get in a fight about whether they should leave, and aren’t broken up, but aren’t really together as S3 starts. So when Eddie visits Scoops, Steve is so happy to see him that he calls him Eddie and he/him in public, just like the bullies, and can’t explain to Robin, who is absolutely pissed that Steve is treating her Eddie like that.

[dollypopup]

hm. idk, maybe the reason Luke Newton isn't announcing new projects or posting any Bridgerton content is because some of you demons treated him like hot trash instead of a creative that you wanted more work from and he decided fuck it, this isn't worth the stress. you know, like a lot of creatives who get mistreated do?

like this is a man who went from couch surfing in a friend's house and bartending to make ends meet, deciding that the Bridgerton audition was the last one he'd do before he quit, to suddenly being recognized on the street because that last audition propelled him to star in a global show where fans who have zero media comprehension blamed him for his character's actions and literally stalked him at any hotel he happens to stay at. he went from being a dude doing musical theatre and shopping at thrift stores and recording random songs with friends and posting silly memes on Twitter to being harassed on his only social media page and his friends insulted and his partners bullied by his supposed 'fans' and anything he posts being so microanalyzed that he can't do a damn thing without someone coming out the woodwork screaming about how he's the WORST and won't he think of the FANS!?

like damn he can't have a girlfriend without being harassed, he can't travel without being harassed, he can't like or not like social media posts without being harassed, he can't post a fucking MEME without being harassed, he can't take a vacation or cut his hair or hold someone's hand or just live his life without being blamed for some bullshit or another. but yeah, okay, 'when will Luke Newton come back?' as if it isn't your fault he's AWOL now

[whos-hotter-jjba]

Hottest JJBA Outfit Bracket - Round 3 Match 2

[smokbeast]

poe thoughts and scribbles for my aching soul

[softquietsteadylove]

I have an idea for the family law au, what if Thena has a medical emergency (up to you what kind) and Gil comforts and helps to take care of her?

"Gil!"

"Oh, uh," he looked away from the nurse going through her charts, "that's her, actually."

"You know we can't let just anyone in here, sir."

But Sersi trotted over to them, swinging her arms tightly beside her. She turned her big, sad eyes on the nurse, "I called him. Please, we need help."

The woman sighed and rolled her eyes, but it was three in the morning and she waved them along.

"Thank you," Gil murmured, joining Sersi in her trip back down the hall. "Hey, are you okay?"

She nodded, continuing her anxious little tip-toeing that made it seem like she was looking for the washroom. "Thena isn't happy that we called you. But we didn't know what else to do. Just be warned."

He didn't have any trouble imagining the Thena he knew - the Ice Queen of the office - being too proud to call for help in a situation like this. "Sprite kind of told me what happened over the phone but I don't know if I have all the details."

Sersi sighed, coming to a halt and her shoulders sagging (deeply). She toyed with the ends of her oversized green flannel. "It's our fault."

"Hey," Gil corrected immediately and without hesitation, "that's not true."

"It is," she squeaked, sniffling through the tears she was trying to keep at bay. "We were too scared. We heard a noise and asked her to look downstairs."

"And she slipped?" he guessed, which made Sersi squeeze around herself tighter again. He gave her shoulder a squeeze, leaning down slightly. "Sersi, it's an accident. It's no one's fault, okay?"

She hiccuped quietly.

"I'm gonna say the same thing to Sprite too," he continued as he moved closer to the room again. Sersi positioned herself at the door.

"Thena?" Sersi knocked gently and cracked the door just slightly at first. "Gil's here."

"Come in, Sersi." The words weren't harsh, but the tone certainly was that of the Ice Queen of the office.

Gil didn't envy the girls as he closed the door behind him. Thena was obviously having a terrible time, propped up in her hospital bed, a large, uneven bow at the neck of her hospital gown, Sprite miserably leaning against the railing of the bed like a wounded puppy.

She looked up at him, pale and with a little purple at the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry, Gil."

"Don't be," he excused just as easily as he had with Sersi. He seated himself next to the bed, while Sersi moved to the opposite side to join her other sister. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I broke my arm."

The girls winced, and he watched Thena physically reel in her sharp tone and cutting words. She visibly softened herself, looking at her younger sisters on her other side (her injured side).

"It's okay, the doctor said it's a minor fracture at worst, I'll be fine in a month."

Gil was willing to bet they had been told six weeks, if not longer, and she was doing her best to sugar coat things for the tearful girls. He leaned forward, making an effort to catch Sprite's eye. "You did the right thing, calling me, kid. It was the right call."

Sprite manged to lift her head enough to look at him. Despite the bluer colour than Thena's, they certainly had similar eyes. "Thanks, Gil."

Thena looked back at him, able to do little more than swivel her head and leave her arm cushioned in the temporary sling they had offered. "I'm sorry to bother you, I know it's an unholy time of night."

"Oh, that's okay," he shook his head, "I was up anyway."

"You were-" Thena shook her head faintly. "Why would-!"

Gil blinked, watching as Thena's face shifted through a couple different emotions. Usually he had to try pretty hard to read what she was thinking. But he watched as she outwardly went from confused, to horrified, to maybe even embarrassed. Without any makeup, he could see how pale she really was, and the natural blush in her cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry, we shouldn't have--I'll apologise to, uhm, whomever..." Thena trailed off, shifting herself in the bed needlessly, even risking moving her arm to do it.

Sprite and Sersi adjusted her pillows for her, trying to keep her from the need to move at all.

"You don't have to apologise," Gil frowned, just as confused. "Really, I don't mind. I mean, even if I was asleep, I would have come in a heartbeat."

Thena seemed to know even less how to respond to that. And the kids were just as confused about all of it. She cleared her throat, tilting her head in such a way that seemed like maybe she was just stretching her neck. He leaned closer so she could whisper, "I meant if I should apologise to your...date--I-I will."

"Oh!" Gil squawked, and way too loudly for a hospital at night. He shot back into his chair, ducking his head down as if someone would come into the room and shush him. "N-No, no, really, it's nothing like that!"

"Like what?" Sprite voiced first, although by now Sersi had caught on to at least something along the lines of it.

"Uh," Gil searched for the words, trying not to seem so embarrassed over what was, in actuality, nothing. He cleared his throat, "I-I just mean, you didn't wake me up. I've been working on this special recipe I've been wanting to try. It needs to be basted every three hours for a whole day, and I can't do it while I'm at work, so I try stuff like this overnight and set an alarm for myself."

"Dude, that's psycho," Sprite informed him, and was able to escape the consequences because her oldest sister couldn't reach her to pinch her arm. She corrected her statement, "I mean, uh, cool."

"How often do you cook through the night?" Thena frowned at him.

"Well, not often, and usually I would try it on the weekend, but it was on sale, and I wanted to get it at its freshest , so," he shrugged. Despite the nature of the misunderstanding, he had to chuckle a little. "I'll bring some over for you to try."

"Gil, you really don't-" Thena was in the middle of shaking her head to tell him he didn't have to do anything else.

But he did; he grinned. "I do, though. I mean, you at least need a ride home. That's why I was called, I believe."

Thena practically growled at being reminded of why they were all here together at such a terrible hour in the first place.

"And there's no way you can cook with one arm," he continued, gesturing as he did. "Even if you can type with your non-dominant hand, I wouldn't recommend trying to get in to work while it's still too fresh."

Thena huffed, throwing her head back against her pillow. "Fine, fine, yes, knight in shining armour, do assist us helpless maidens."

The girls snickered at their sister's attitude. But Gil stood and leaned into Thena's upward point of view. "Thena, I know you're more than capable. But maybe, if there's any time for me to help, it would be now?"

Maybe it was the exhaustion, or maybe it was the weird hospital lights, but he could swear her eyes looked a little glassy. "You've done more than enough already."

He did not agree. But he kept that to himself, resisting the urge to sort out her mussed locks of blonde for her. "I don't think of it as enough, or less than or more than. There's just what you can do, y'know? And I can, so I want to."

Maybe that was too reductive. Sprite didn't even look like she had followed what he had said. But Sersi seemed to, and had that excited look on her face as she was gazing at Thena, awaiting her response.

Thena furrowed her brows at him, creating that little knot between her eyebrows he thought was kind of cute. "Okay, counsellor, stop grandstanding."

He chuckled. She thought he made such corny jokes, but she was the one who told lawyer jokes like an old dad at a barbecue. "The defense rests?"

She didn't really laugh, but she kind of puffed out of her nose in a way that seemed amused. And she was smiling. "Fine, but at least sleep a little before you tell the office that they'll be free of me for at least two weeks."

Two weeks off for a six week injury--some would think it unreasonable, but only Thena would look at that ratio and think it was being indulgent.

"Uh, you mean I'll get us some coffee while you're waiting for that cast. Then I'll take us all home and get started on some food for you to keep microwave ready."

"Gil," she scolded him.

"That sound good, girls?" he prompted his two best allies in this argument. He could feel Thena glaring at him extra coldly.

"Yeah Thena, let Gil help," Sprite pleaded first, pinching the blanket thrown over her legs. "He has to drive us home anyway. And you're always telling us delivery fees are too expensive."

"They are," she managed to growl out even amidst her personal conflict. "Fine, but you two are going right to bed when we get home, because tomorrow is school again."

"Bro!" Sprite voiced (loudly).

"Shush," Thena silenced her with one pointed finger. "You're not the one with the broken arm, you don't need any more missed days this semester."

"Why do you get two weeks off?" Sprite grumbled lastly before slumping against the bed railing again. Although, Gil observed, she was still holding onto the blanket as a gesture of comfort. Sprite's huffing and puffing was, in its own funny way, her attempt to seem unfazed by all this.

"Because I can work from home," Thena proclaimed whether that was entirely true or not. "You can't. School tomorrow."

"But," Sersi broached as the true mediator of the three. She leaned on Sprite's shoulders, batting her eyelashes at Thena. "Breakfast sandwiches? Gil can drive us."

Thena gave Sersi a much dryer look. "Don't volunteer people to do things for you, Sersi."

"I don't know what's open right now, but maybe by the time we get all signed out," he offered, glancing at his watch. "But hey, if you guys wanna see what's in the vending machine, I won't stop you."

Thena sighed as the girls accepted his kind cash offering, waving at her on their way in promise to bring her something. She tilted her head on the pillow at him again, "what have you done?"

He leaned closer again, "I sent them away so you can tell me how you're really doing."

"My arm fucking hurts."

He chuckled again, although this time he did pull her blanket up again and at least get some hair out of his way of seeing her properly. "Did they give you enough meds?"

She made a face, and he recognised some true discomfort there. "I didn't want to ask for more while the girls were here."

"Well, that's why I'm here, isn't it?" he smiled, pressing the handy little button hanging right there for a nurse's assistance. "Don't worry about them, Thena. I'll take care of them and I'll get you all home, okay?"

She sighed, really closing her eyes since his arrival, despite her own exhaustion. "I still wish they hadn't have called you like this. But...thank you, Gil."

He would carry her if he really had to. But instead he said, "any time."

"If they get a bunch of sugar from the vending machine, don't tell me I didn't warn you," she mumbled.

"I'll take responsibility for it," he promised as he pulled his jacket off, settling in to be with them until release. "Do you want another blanket or anything too?"

"Ask if the girls can have some? We ran out of the house with whatever we could throw on in a few seconds."

"I will," he promised her, slipping her hand under the blanket and patting her arm.

[itz-pandora]

Huh. If my life was a quote, it'd be "one of those sad ones with a deceptively happy tune"

[hauntingblue]

Jayce telling vi she won't make it on her own.... okay mr. projector...

[pumpkinrootbeer]

Hi gay people in my phone I'm thinking about how Lip has lines like "like my life isn't a complete fucking waste" and "I don't know how to be with myself" and "how am I supposed to make it?". And him struggling with the death of his friend, and him struggling with everything with Karen, and him getting raped by his girlfriend, and him getting sexually assaulted multiple times in the show. there being lines about how alcoholism isn't his problem it's the other stuff going on with him. The sudden, violent snippets we see of Lip's childhood trauma snap back up to the surface while he fails to cope with them. how he is always in the caretaking role.

just, how every time he's at his lowest, we never see his family find out about it. they don't know what Mandy did to Karen. What Mandy did to him. They don't know the insane dynamics between Lip and both his professors. Or when he got black out drunk and broke into a house. They never knew he was put in jail because they never answered his phone call. Or that time Lip was homeless and sleeping on the L. Him getting drunk and getting beat up to cope with everything. We see him barely functioning again and again and again. the show says says all of this and then goes "he needs to get out of his way 😘🫶💫" as the final parting words on his character.

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

based on your asks responses & characterization of yuuta this is what i’ve gathered — yuuta is like that one high school senior who looked at the new coming freshman’s & just adopted them on the spot. there’s no out. now his friends sees the kid & adopted them too. it’s a family now. a very young, close in age family. (i was yuuta in this situation 😔 i was use to be megumi in this situation but i carried the tradition out. as i should. high school & middle school was wild.)

YUUJI THOUGH. we will probably never see him in your sea glass garden au but your asks is killing me. like his one sided beef with yuuta? he’s just like me fr. i too would fight over megumi if it comes down to it.

i just know yuuji thought that yuuta & megumi was a thing at first cause of the whole “his boy thing”. i know he screamed into a pillow about it. i know he went to gojo to ask for permission to court megumi & gojo was flabbergasted at such a medieval act so he had yuuji do the dumbest shit to get his blessing (ha).

i just know nanami is sighing at the idea of his son yuuji being a jealous little brat because of his other son yuuta. i just know yuuta was so confused until he witnessed yuuji & megumi awkward ass flirting. i know he acts like a little shit to get on yuuji (& sukuna) nerves.

you know what. this is my jujutsu kaisen. this is my sorcery fight. gege who? i only know you. PLS TAKE THE PEN FROM GEGE.

Yuuta is absolutely that senior who adopted that new student and made a little family. That is His Kohai now okay megumi is their collectively raised flour sack baby and they will kill for him.

Yuuji came back to life finally met the second years had just leveled up with his cursed energy and gained a new dad got his old friends back he was so so ready to go live his best life and then his new self appointed brother opened his mouth and started rhapsodizing about some impossibly beautiful and perfect man named okkotsu yuuta and yuuji is absolutely whacked in the face a la rubber squeaky hammer that there’s some gorgeous son of a bitch out there already living his best life.

His death sentence was overturned. He’s so powerful that he can save everyone if he wants. He is the legally adopted child of Nanami Kento. The curse attached to him 1) actually liked him and 2) moved the fuck on which some people (Sukuna) could take a few notes on.

Fushiguro Megumi is his boy.

This could not have devastated him more thoroughly. Even his newly acquired self appointed brother thinks okkotsu yuuta is the perfect man, which he manages to express at length in between warnings from the second years that Yuuta’s going to fly back from Africa purely for the sake of kicking his fucking ass for touching His Boy, which yuuji simply cannot handle.

Yuuji lowkey had a new lease on life and thought “hey! Fushiguro tried to kill someone with an elephant for me! Maybe I have a shot and he’ll let me hold his hand!” and then there’s god’s perfect man off in Africa who’s enticing megumi away from movie marathons with his fucking FaceTime calls right when yuujis almost hyped himself up enough to try the yawning arm stretch thing.

He spends at least three weeks trying to figure out if Megumi’s His Boy because they’re in a long distance relationship and it only ends because maki starts finding it more annoying than funny and establishes that it is not in fact a romantic arrangement. She thinks. (Okay it’s still kind of funny.)

Yuuji resorted to a terrible wikihow on how to get someone to date you and it insisted ��get their parents approval” was his in and gojo could NOT have been more of an asshole about it. Nanami had to intervene to get it to stop. He is very tired and very confused. Why are you so upset about okkotsu he’s a lovely young man why is this making you more upset

Of course if yuuji ever found out that megumi became Yuuta’s boy after Yuuta personally restarted his heart he’d instantly understand why everyone acts like Yuuta’s the best thing since sliced bread. He is that amazing.

Yuuta and Megumi are completely oblivious to all of this.

Gege pls call me I just want to help gege pls

[coquelicoq]

i refuse to feel responsible if my friend's relationship ends up being a bad idea even though there was a period of time in which he would have broken up with her if i had told him to and i didn't. because that is too much power to have in someone else's relationship. he needs to make his own decisions and if they turn out to be mistakes that is not on me.

[weallpartyatybcpatricksfuneral]

new pfp! who’s the new guy?

ASH <3 my bloody beloved loser from the evil dead franchise. he's just like ybcpatrick because he's stupid and silly and covered in blood and tortured by demons except ash's demons are REAL and OUT TO GET HIM

[star-mum]

Okay OP nation I have some (maybe controversial) statements about the Straw Hats and I need y’all to listEN FIRST OKAY- HEAR ME OUT

Boyfriend: Zoro and Franky

Husband: Usopp and Sanji

Girlfriend: Nami

Wife: Robin

Luffy: Aroace king

[schnitzelsemmerl]

My OCs as incorrect quotes bc that's all i could think about:

Adaliz, to Varisa: you're my significant other, mon cherie.

Varisa: love you! :3

Adaliz, to Aelia: you're my bestie.

Aelia: naturally!

Adaliz: and my favourite bitch.

Aelia: (high five) whatever you say!

Adaliz, to May: you too.

May: (fingerguns)

Adaliz, to Mika: you're my son.

Mika: yes maam

Adaliz, to Johnathan: nat, you're gay.

Johnathan: fuck you

[glsneeg-enthusiast]

guys ☹️

[redhotarsenic]

Man imagine whining because I called you a moron when you’re in fact being a moron

[softquietsteadylove]

Hi love!! How are you?

May i ask for another part of the human Thena/eternal Gil Au pretty please?, it's a very interesting concept. Thank you 🤍🩷

Thena froze. She completely froze. What the hell was that thing? It rose up out of the water like it was a demon, its skin and flesh crawling around on its wiry body. She squeaked, "G-Gil?"

The creature floated over to her, examining her curiously. It had a maw of teeth like she had never seen before. "Th...ee...na."

Why did it know her name? What kind of nightmare was this? She tried to run but her knees trembled as she scraped her boot back on the cobblestones. "G-Gil-"

The beast lurched closer, something like vines growing from its neck. "Gil...ga...mesh."

A new chill flooded through her. This thing--it couldn't possibly be the one Gil fought on the news, could it? Sure, they weren't going to parade around the corpse of a monster like that, but surely it would have been reported of something like this was still alive.

"Find," its breath puffed from its jaws like smoke, "Gilgamesh."

"Gil!" Thena got out before turning her face away from the beast. She didn't know why that was the only thing coming to mind, but she was prepared for his name to be her last breath.

"Don't move!"

Well, it wasn't Gil. But rather, Sersi leapt over the railing of the bridge above. She held out her hand--her completely empty, open palm. The thing took a swipe at her but she used her other hand to swipe back. As her finger left the stone cobbles below their feet, shards of glass left her fingertips.

The thing retreated, hissing at the glass in its eyes.

"Run!"

Now her legs worked. Thena followed Sersi down the canal, looking over her shoulder only once. "What is that thing?!"

"It's a long story!"

Maybe all Eternals were bad at communication. Thena followed up the ramp and back to the surface street, although she could barely hear over her heart in her ears. "Where's Gil?"

"He'll be here," Sersi breathed heavily, hands still held out. "He's on his way."

"Sersi," Thena pressed, moving closer to the woman who had her back to her (in an attempt to protect her). "Why did that thing know my name?"

"What?" the other woman fully turned around.

"It spoke, it knew my name, and Gil's," she scowled, more and more tired of being left in the dark.

"Thena," Sersi shook her head, "Deviants can't speak."

"This one can," she corrected, although it didn't last. Sersi took her hand, yanking her away again in a fell blown run. "What is it?"

"I don't know!" It was at least an honest answer. "Dane!"

Dane, undeniably human, was trying to direct the general populace away from the danger. He turned back to them, "Sersi, it's-!"

Thena stumbled as Sersi was picked up by that thing. Its body was already huge to begin with, but it was elevated up on its tentacle-like appendages. She picked herself up as Dane charged at it. "Wait!"

The beast opened its mouth. Just like its eyes, whatever comprised its insides had a sickly, ominous glow to it. It held Sersi by the neck, as if inhaling her air could rob her of her life.

"Let her go!"

Thena's ears popped as charging sound hit the air, followed by sheer impact. The thing went flying back into the water below. Gold particles floated in the air like dust. A second, lighter impact sounded, feet meeting concrete heavily. "Gil?"

"You okay?" he asked Sersi as they landed. She nodded, leaning on his shoulder as she rubbed her neck under her scarf.

"I'll be fine," Sersi assured him. If the powers weren't enough evidence, no human would be able to breathe, let alone speak after the way that thing had handled her. She gasped as Dane plowed into her, hugging her tight despite her brother's presence. She didn't mind it either, happily embracing him in return, "I'm okay, Dane."

Thena watched from a few paces away. Part of her imagined running to Gil the same way, but they hadn't actually spoken since their tense discussion at the museum two weeks ago. She had told him she needed time, and he had respected that, only checking on her well being after the attack, as he had asked to do.

Part of her was glad he had respected her boundary. The other part had been waiting for him to call or text all week.

Gil moved away from his sister and her boyfriend, happy not to watch their affections. He jogged over to her, his hands floating around but never actually landing. "Are you okay?"

She just nodded, her throat completely stiff and dry. That thing never emerged from the water, but she hardly thought that meant it was dead down there. "Gil, what-"

"I don't know," he answered immediately, also looking for the thing or any trace of it. But, not immediately seeing any signs, he focused on her again. And he did manage to bridge the gap and pull her into his arms. His hand rested on her hair, "I don't know, sweetheart."

She could just demand answer--real, proper answers. This was not only not the first time something like this had come up from his past life, but now it was involving her more directly. That thing had spoken her name like a walking nightmare.

Gil tightened his hold on her as she buried her face in his chest. "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner."

She could remember how she had screamed his name as if it were synonymous with 'help'. All she had thought in that moment was that surely he would come to save her. As if she were some cliched damsel in a work of fiction. It was laughable.

But Gil buried his nose in her hair, pressed his lips to her temple. "Are you hurt?"

She pulled away from him, shaking her head. "It said my name."

Gil wasn't nearly as shocked or appalled as Sersi had been. His face was grim. "It's the same one I fought before. It's different from the other ones we've faced in the past. It learns differently. They've never been able to speak before."

That had all kinds of horrific implications for the biology and evolution of such a creature. "It's the same one?"

He sighed heavily, guiding her away from the damage of everything as crowds started reemerging. He wrapped his arm around her. "It got away from me that time. But it stuck one of those vines in me--I think it got in my head."

That would explain its learning pattern with speech, and unfortunately, why it had known her name. It even seemed to have hunted her down out of recognition. She shivered.

"It's okay," Gil whispered to her, even pulling off his jacket and putting it around her shoulders, despite her having her own. "Nothing is going to happen to you, Thena."

As strong and inhuman as he was, it still sounded somewhat empty as a promise. She let him pull her off the main streets and aside, in front of an old, dimly lit laundromat.

She took him in, watching as he checked that no one was lingering or looking, able to catch them saying something incriminating. "Gil."

He knew what she was asking. He gave her his full attention, taking her hands in his. "Anything you wanna know--go for it."

There was a myriad of things. She looked down at their joined hands. "Why didn't you tell me it wasn't dead?"

"I wasn't sure either," he professed, and she believed it was honesty. "Even if I had my suspicions, I thought it was just scare you if you knew."

She frowned, "I may be human, but I'm not going to cower at the idea of some story."

Maybe that was putting on a brave face of sorts, though. Looking that thing in the eye had been the single worst experience of her life.

"I know," Gil conceded, though. He ran his thumb against the outer edge of hers. "I should give you more credit than that. But I honestly didn't know how to tell you--or anyone. Not even Sersi knew."

That was clear, at least. Sersi had looked completely aghast at the idea that the thing had spoken.

"I don't know if the rest of us know either," he leapt into the next leg of his honesty. "We don't exactly talk much."

She supposed she could understand that. Humans didn't necessarily excel at keeping in touch with their families either. "Perhaps you should try to talk, at least now that you've seen it again?"

He sighed heavily, but nodded.

She huffed more impatiently; she wasn't his mother, or some nagging girlfriend. She wouldn't be the sidelined love interest urging him to go do what he needed to while she waited indefinitely for him. "Gil, whatever that thing is-"

"It's a Deviant, the things we killed--we thought! The last one I fought was in the 17th century," he grumbled, although as soon as he gave her hands a squeeze he relaxed himself again. Did it take practice for him to learn not to squeeze too hard with humans, she wondered. "But that thing...I think maybe it has something to do with Ikaris."

She frowned, "Sersi's ex-husband?"

He glanced around, as if Sersi would catch him talking about it and give him hell for it (they really were siblings). "We haven't heard anything from him or Ajak, not even after the blip."

So, they were aware of the blip! And by the sounds of it, none of them had blipped. Now, she shad even more questions (she had blipped, mercifully, it sounded like).

She gulped. "What does that mean for you?"

He shook his head. He didn't know either. But he was still holding her hands. "I-I don't know. But, Thena-"

She leaned in, tilting her head up to kiss him. It wasn't their first kiss, by any means, but it felt just as significant.

When she leaned back, Gil had the most grave look she had ever seen on his face. "Tell me that wasn't a goodbye kiss."

She wasn't entirely sure, in the moment. But it was not, at the very least, a petty breakup kiss. She gave his hands a squeeze of her own before stepping back. "It's a 'I-trust-you'll-tell-me-more-when-you-know-more' kiss."

That made him brighten considerably, and she was frustratingly happy to see his smile return.

"Gil?" Sersi's voice floated over to them from around the corner. "I guess we need to talk."

He made a face, as if his sister needing him was more trivial than the impending doom they had just faced. He looked away from the corner and back at her with those big brown eyes of his. But she gave him a look. He rolled his eyes, "fine."

Sersi was waiting with Dane, also hand in hand with her human. "You know what we have to do."

"Unfortunately," he grumbled. Thena nudged him; her hand was also still clasped in his. "Let's get home first, try to catch our breath, okay?"

"Not a bad idea, I think," Dane spoke up surprisingly firmly. Gil had described him as someone rather nervous, but perhaps he had an underlying confidence to him when needed.

Thena smiled at the way he kept Sersi close to him. It didn't bother him in the least that his partner was immeasurably strong and fast in comparison, perhaps not even that she was immortal. Watching them walk ahead, they were just a couple whose date had been ruined.

Her last date with Gil had been dinner after work, talking about her day, asking him about the food and what he thought. He had mentioned her meeting his sister, and his sister's new boyfriend he wasn't totally sure about. It was unfortunate that these were the circumstances under which they were actually doing so.

"Hey," he whispered, leaning close to her as they walked a few paces behind. He averted his eyes as Sersi laid her head on Dane's shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she let out a breath. It looked inviting, although she wasn't sure if she and Gil were in that same place in their relationship. She wasn't sure what their relationship was anymore, entirely of her own doing.

Gil was the one to decide. He pulled his hand from hers, only so he could wrap his arm around her waist. She stumbled into him but he used the opportunity to press his lips to her forehead. "Whatever is about to come our way, I'm glad you're here with me, Thena."

She closed her eyes, relishing the small window of affection. She wasn't sure what was coming their way either. But she was here for it--she was probably a little too willing to face whatever was to come, all things considered. For someone who had told him she needed time, she had come very close to professing her love on what she had thought was her deathbed mere moments ago.

But she should probably decide if she was his girlfriend or not first. "I'm with you, Gil."