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The Riptide Pirates—now including Aurora—gradually hunker down in Finn's library for tonight's rest. The night following the court case and fight with elder Odelath is a slow one, though.
And, with the insanity of the day, rest doesn't come all too easy.
Chip finds Gillion in the process of removing his armor in a quiet secluded corner, slowly, due to only having one hand to do it with, wincing as he goes. Pretzel helps wherever she can, undoing simple buckles and latches, but mostly offering support in the emotional sense, giving him soft burbles and trills in encouragement.
"Hey." Gillion pauses briefly as Chip speaks, then goes back to struggling with his armor. "How are you doing?"
One buckle seems to be giving him a little extra trouble. He tugs at it a few times in frustration, then gives up with a sigh, fins drooping. "Bad."
Sitting on the library bench all hunched like that, he kinda looks like a little kid in time-out. Well, a super battle-worn little kid, anyway.
Not wanting to leave his friend only half-comfy, Chip steps forward and helps undo the last few buckles, easing the breastplate away from Gillion's bruised and heavily scarred torso.
"Wanna talk about it?" he asks.
Gillion's gaze doesn't lift from where it sits on the floor. "It's… nothing new. Just more 'Oh Gods, what have I done'." He takes an uneasy breath. "You know how it is. I'd just be repeating myself."
"Oh. Well, that's still a lot to carry with you, Gill. New or not. And listen, I seriously don't mind if you repeat yourself. You're good. Repeat away."
"Thanks." The corners of Gillion's mouth quirk up a bit, although the smile doesn't reach his eyes. "Honestly I think I'd rather talk about literally anything else."
"How… about…" Chip considers his next words carefully, debating with himself how forward he wants to be. This is probably the wrong time to revisit their kiss in the Black Sea, right? But if Gillion doesn't want to talk about the obvious, then maybe something a little ridiculous and inappropriate is exactly what's needed. "…Me? We could talk about me," Chip suggests lamely.
He sits down beside Gillion, making sure that Pretzel has time to get out of the way, and he watches her swim off, presumably to go bully the axolotls or something. Trying to lighten the mood, he flexes his muscles a little. "Check it out, I'm skin and bones now. And meat, and blood and stuff. Not just… bones and bones."
Gillion turns his head, still lowered, watching Chip's hands as he drums absently on his knees. He reaches out with his one remaining hand, as if to check. To be absolutely sure. His fingertips ghost over Chip's knuckles, his metal pinky, and gently squeezes the soft flesh between thumb and forefinger. "Yeah." His smile widens a bit, looking a little less forced.
As Gillion's attention trails slowly up Chip's arm, awed at the life he finds, Chip himself marvels at how much Gillion has changed. This amazing, unstoppable hero. Once a truth-telling, law-following, evil-vanquishing champion of his people, now… something else. A little more mischievous. A little more… hell, a lot more quiet. Subdued. But also sillier, somehow. Someone who is self-aware enough to be an active participant in a joke. The kind of guy who steals an orb from the people who he used to look up to above all else, just because he wanted to.
Chip can't tell if this feeling in his chest is guilt over leading Gillion down such a painful, traumatizing path… pride over seeing him become such a dedicated pirate captain… or just the surreal pounding behind his ribs from the new heart he now carries with him.
Gillion's hand reaches for his chest now, hesitating just a moment to make brief eye contact, before settling his palm over bare skin, decorated with odd, sinuous black markings. Also, inadvertently grabbing his pec, which Chip tries not to read too much into, even though a slight flush creeps up his neck at the sensation.
…
Gillion lets out a satisfied sigh, tinged with delicate relief, as he feels Chip's heart beating double-time in his chest, where once, not too long ago, there had been nothing at all. A rapid yet steady drumbeat under his hand, assuring him that he hasn't lost his friend. That Chip is here, alive, and isn't going anywhere just yet.
He tilts his head, marveling at the sheer speed of it. That can't possibly be comfortable. "How does it feel? You know, with the…"
"Fast," Chip answers immediately, widening his eyes for emphasis. "Really fuckin' fast. It's like I'm freaking out all the time, even though I'm just sitting here." He pauses for a moment. "Better than nothing, though. Gotta say. Can you believe it was Niklaus who did that?"
Gillion huffs in amusement. "Not really." He removes his hand from Chip's chest, internally mourning the loss of warmth. Chip has always felt so warm. Except, of course, for that excruciatingly long period where he wasn't. At least it's over now.
"Yeah, so weird, right? But honestly I'm just glad you guys don't have to worry about me being dead anymore," Chip says. "And, uh… speaking of me not being dead…"
Gillion raises his face to look at Chip's, watching the awkwardness flutter over his features.
"We still haven't really… talked. About what happened before we went in the hole."
His fins perk up with surprised curiosity. That's a very good point. They haven't talked about it. And Gillion is beyond relieved that Chip isn't still hung up on being rejected, because it really is something he'd like to revisit now that Chip has actual lips and isn't just a gummy half-rotten skeleton. He really would like to try kissing him again, it just hasn't been on his mind due to how little time he's had to concern himself with anything other than the crushing weight of what he did in the hole.
In one instant, he broke his oath, betrayed his people, doomed the whole world... for Chip.
In the end, it never even crossed his mind that he was choosing between sea or land, because the prophecy that's ruled his entire existence—any version of it, really—never accounted for the fact that he'd choose the bastard pirate who sits by his side.
"When you kissed me," Gillion says, pushing away thoughts of guilt and shame in favor of the love that led him to make that effortless decision in the first place. "And I rejected you because you were gross and dead and totally lipless. That is the thing you're referring to, right?"
Chip grimaces. "Yup, that's the one." He absently fiddles with one of the trinkets hanging off of his belt, averting his gaze. "I'm, uh… better now, obviously. Not so… gross and dead. And, like, I know there are bigger things to worry about than that, but… I'd really like to, you know, circle back to that at some point, maybe. That is, if you still…"
Gillion interrupts his shy mumbling to reach out and feel his heartbeat again, insides fluttering with warmth and joy at the evidence of Chip's renewed life, so easily within his reach. He gazes an intently at the freckled, tattooed skin under his fingers, the tiny, visible bounce his heartbeat gives. He listens to the faint sound of it pumping away, happy to just exist in this comfortable state of contact, without having to be reminded of how close he'd come to losing Chip entirely.
But Chip seems more startled than before, staring down at Gillion's hand with wide eyes.
"What, was once not enough for you, or are you just feeling me up this time?" Chip asks breathlessly.
Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump. "Just… reminding myself that it was worth it," Gillion utters, memorizing the beat like one would a song, hoping desperately that he never forgets it. "…And also feeling you up a little," he adds mischievously, smirking. He gives Chip's pec a little squeeze, and Chip starts to laugh.
It isn't a particularly noisy laugh, just a warm, tender thing. An acknowledgement of how weird and new and exciting this is. There's so much to appreciate, Gillion thinks. And he wants to take his time and do just that.
Eventually, Chip's giggles die down, and he asks, "Hey, Gill?"
"Mh?" Gillion raises his head, only to discover one of the softest looks Chip has ever given him, dark eyes shining in the low light, face faintly illuminated by the natural bioluminescence of Gillion's stripes.
"Thanks."
"What, for feeling up your tits?" Gillion jokes, feeling a little overwhelmed by Chip's open affection towards him.
Chip starts laughing again. "No!" He shakes his head. "No, for… for saving Arlin. For saving me. I was fading fast. Forgetting… who I was. I don't know what I woulda done if I'd lost him, but… but you…" His brows furrow. "I never could've asked you to do what you did for me. But you did, and I'm…" Chip shakes his head again, freeing himself of whatever awkwardness has been holding him back from simply saying, "Thank you, Gill. Really."
Gillion recalls the way Chip had seemed beforehand. Most of the time, it had been hard to notice, since he hid it well. But in moments where he wasn't keeping up the charade of normalcy, he had seemed so… numb. Distant. So lost to himself that it gradually became painfully clear that he was only pretending to be himself.
But now he's back, and more himself than ever. Practically glowing with a refreshed sense of purpose. Alive, excited, and no longer an extension of the father he'd set out to save. Chip had only just started to become his own man by the time he died, but now that man has been given a second chance, and he's thriving.
Even though it went against everything he's ever known or believed, and could very well lead to the end of Mana as they know it, Gillion knows with complete certainty that if given the chance to do it again, he'd choose Chip every single time. Although it pains him to betray his people, who he still loves despite the pain they've cause him, he can't find it in himself to regret saving Chip.
Slowly, cautiously, Gillion leans closer to Chip's face, eyes lowering to those handsome, living lips that have been mentioned, his gaze only ever flickering away to check for confirmation. He pauses when he sees Chip's hesitation.
"Gill…?"
"I wanna kiss you," Gillion tells him, hand sliding around to the back of Chip's neck, stumpy arm resting carefully on his shoulder.
Chip gives him a cute, bewildered smile. "Yeah? Could've said so the first time, y'know. Before you fucking… laid one on me outta nowhere."
Gillion laughs, remembering their first kiss and what a hilarious mess it had been. "Jay was drowning, you were sobbing, I didn't know what else to—I panicked! You know I did," he protests lightheartedly.
Chip's hands find their way to Gillion's back, even though he's still playing it cool. "Yeah, well, just saying it doesn't hurt to give a guy a heads up, is all."
"Alright, fine," Gillion chuckles. "Chip?"
"Yeah, Gill?"
"Heads up."
…
Although the warning definitely helps Chip from being completely caught off guard like their first attempt at something like this, he still lets out a muffled grunt of surprise as Gillion's lips press against his.
It isn't quite the dramatic crash of mouths like their other kisses, nor is it as world-shattering as the first. Probably because he'd had time to anticipate it so it didn't end up as another 'Boom, best kiss of your life, good luck processing that later!' situtation. But although that first kiss would have turned his legs to jelly if they hadn't already been made of stone, this one is… well, it's them. Chip and Gillion. Fish and Chips. It isn't a panicked decision made in the heat of the moment, or an embarrassingly awkward attempt at kissing as a last-ditch 'we might die tomorrow' declaration of love… this one is a kiss shared and enjoyed by them both in equal measure.
Gillion's lips are soft, moist, and salty, just like Chip remembers, although that might just be a byproduct of them kissing underwater. Delicate and firm, pressing against his before halfway retreating, then surging forward to do it again. Like the gentle push and pull of waves on the shore, or the lapping of the sea on the sides of the Albatross, and Chip smiles against the tide, pulling him closer.
With anyone else, Chip would feel kind of embarrassed about how few people he's kissed. The practice he's had has been extremely minimal, and never with someone he liked this much. But Gillion clearly hasn't had much experience either, so they're kinda just figuring this shit out together as a team, which, while still definitely still a little awkward, is a lot more comfortable and fun than it would have been otherwise.
As they continue to kiss, their knees knock together, and hands start to wander. Chip skates his hands up and down Gillion's back, feeling his muscular flesh through the soft material of his sleeveless top, and Gillion plays with Chip's hair for a little before once again settling his palm over Chip's left pec. Only, unlike the other two times, it starts to feel a lot more like groping than just feeling his heartbeat, and a stuttery exhale leaves Chip's lungs as he tries not to laugh at the tingly, tickly sensation of Gillion's palm on his nipple.
"Oh, that's my tit again," Chip giggles into Gillion's mouth as Gill seems to notice right where he's ticklish. Teasing the spot again, he smiles a little as Chip squirms and starts to breathe a little more heavily.
When Gillion's hand switches over to the other pec and he breaks from the kiss entirely to watch Chip's reaction, Chip mumbles out, "You know, I never took you for the type to… I dunno, be into… this."
He isn't sure what exactly he means by 'this'. Kissing, groping, romance in general… all of the above, maybe?
"Well, your tits are very nice," Gillion says plainly, pressing a kiss right over Chip's heart, lingering for a moment, lips ghosting over the skin.
"Thanks, man. Means a lot." Chip leans back on his hands, feigning nonchalance, but gasps as Gillion follows him to kiss his neck a little more sensually. It takes him a significant amount of effort to focus hard enough to keep making complete sentences. "But, uh… Like, where would you say your line is? 'Cause I don't wanna assume just because you grabbed my tits that you'd wanna, I dunno…" The connection between his brain and his mouth is abruptly severed, and an embarrassing little groan of pleasure escapes him when Gillion sucks at the skin under his ear.
At this point, Gillion has migrated from sitting beside him to straddling his thigh, deeply intent on whatever this is that he's doing to Chip's neck.
Eventually, though, he seems to realize that Chip asked him a question, and he sits back on Chip's leg in order to think. "Hm… Let's say… On a scale of one to one hundred, one being absolutely nothing and one hundred being Dark Puckered Hole…" A beat of silence is allowed for both of them to cringe with disgust over old people sex. "…My comfort level comes in at around the twenty-to-thirty range. Ish."
Chip stares at him for a moment, panting, neck feeling all tingly and warm, before his trembling arms give way and he collapses onto his back. "Gotcha."
"I'll keep you updated," Gillion promises, situating himself on top of Chip and beginning to lean down, supporting himself on his elbows.
"Awesome." Chip grins, and happily captures Gillion's mouth again once he's leaned into range, wrapping his arms around his waist.
Kissing Gillion is… comfortable. Safe. And also a little terrifying when it deepens and Gillion's shark-teeth start to graze Chip's tongue. But it's nice. He knows Gill isn't gonna hurt him, and vice versa. After the crazy tension of the day, it's beyond comforting just to be with him like this, kissing and laughing and enacting little pleasures on one another.
It's all going so well, though, that the forces of fate decide to intervene, and they're brought out of their silly, sloppy stupor when Gillion suddenly hisses and pulls away, clutching his injured arm to his chest, eyes screwed shut.
Chip immediately sits up as well, hesitantly reaching out. "Oh! Shit, you okay?"
"Fine," Gillion grits out, fins flattened against his head with pain. He sits there stiffly for a moment, breathing carefully in and out, before resting his head against Chip's shoulder with a strained, shuddering whine.
"Shh, it's okay," Chip tries to comfort him, wrapping his arms around the whimpering champion. "I got you, Gill, you're good."
Another, much more dramatized and doubtful groan leaves Gillion's throat as he collapses into Chip's embrace. "Noo, Chip, I'm not. I'm not good," he laments.
"What the fuck?"
Chip jolts to attention as he spots their unexpected audience of Jay, with Pretzel swimming by her shoulder and Aurora right behind her. "Jay! It's, uh, not what it looks like! I was just—"
"I leave you guys alone for five minutes, and this is what you get up to?" she asks, dumbfounded, eyebrow raised. Pretzel burbles indignantly with crossed tentacles.
Gillion, for all his worries, seems much less alarmed at Jay's arrival than Chip is. If anything, he seems to perk up immediately as he sits back again on Chip's lap in order to look at her. "Don't worry, Jay! Chip and I were just fulfilling a promise we made to each other in the Black Sea."
A confused smile flickers across her face. "To, what, make out with each other?"
Gillion stares at her for a moment, then grins bashfully. "…Yeah."
"There's a little more to it than that, but… yeah, pretty much," Chip agrees, head retreating into his shoulders. Then, awkwardly, "Hi, Aurora."
Aurora raises a hand in a bewildered little half-wave, eyes wide, blue cheeks flushed a funny shade of orange. "Hello."
"Do you, uh… need something?"
"Just wanted to make sure you guys were okay, I couldn't find you, and Pretzel seemed really worried about something," Jay replies, still blinking like she can't quite process the sight of Gillion sitting in Chip's lap. To be fair, Chip is still pretty surprised by it himself. "…But I'm starting to think Pretzel was just feeling ignored, and now I guess I've found my answer."
With eyes as wide as saucers, Aurora takes out her notebook and starts jotting something down with intense focus, which is a little concerning.
"Yup, we-we're good," Chip says, voice cracking. So, so good. He clears his throat. "Is that all, or…?"
Jay rolls her eyes. "Okay, I'll just fuck off, I guess."
"Wha—? Hey, come on, I didn't mean—"
She cracks a playful smile. "I'm fucking with you. Goodnight, dumbasses, don't stay up all night."
"Goodnight, Jay!" Gillion exclaims, just as Chip mutters, "'Night, Jay. We won't."
As Jay swims off, and Aurora gives them one last flustered glance before following, Chip turns to Gillion, holds his gaze for a beat, then bursts into laughter, and Gillion is quick to follow him.