#grumpyxsunshine is a delicate balance

[softquietsteadylove]

You get so many specific prompts, so I thought maybe it might be fun to send you a prompt with just a few words so you can write ANYTHING you want for them, in any au or in canon! (And obviously if muse doesn’t strike feel free to skip lol but if you like this i’ll keep sending them!) words for this one: sunshine, gratitude, eyes

"Hey."

Gil smiles as she finds her place next to him. They're not on watch, he just would rather be out here than on Ajak's mission to socialise with the humans. "Hey, Sunshine."

She laughs, because she thinks it's funny that he calls her these things. Like it's a sweet joke, just between the two of them. He calls her that because it suits her--describes her. "Admiring the view?"

Honestly, the planet is...dull. Not that Sersi wouldn't have a whole dissertation with which to correct him on that. But he hasn't yet seen enough of it to think it's this truly marvellous place. "I like the water."

"Hm," Thena muses beside him, also taking in the shades of green and blue below them. The scent of the salt travels upward and the breeze of it rustles her hair. "There is something calming about it."

Gil isn't sure if he would describe it as calming. He always looks down at the waves crashing into a cliff as a tumultuous and violent thing. He thinks they should fear and respect the sea, but keep their distance. "You think?"

But Thena nods, soaking in its majesty. "The humans have claimed the earth they need, plots of land and spaces for their settlements. But no one owns the sea."

No, that is true. The waters of this planet are unencumbered, threatening to swallow up the landmasses by domination but always receding as per the moon's orders.

Thena bumps his hip with hers.

He chuckles, "what?"

She tilts her head, and it is unfair for someone so deadly to be so charming. "You're ruminating."

"I am not," he laughs off, but she's caught him fair and square.

"Share your thoughts," she prompts him, pursing her lips as a playfulness comes over her, "oh great tyrant king, Gilgamesh."

He rolls his eyes and huffs at her poking fun. As if her joy is not his joy also. "We shouldn't take the ocean lightly. It's dangerous, no matter how calm the beach waves might look at times."

"I'm not taking it lightly," she replies easily, and he gets the sense that she's heard and understood all the thoughts in his head. "I see it for what it is--the force behind it."

They both look out into the bay, where the gentle lapping of waves against the shore gives way to the rough and choppy texture of endless depth. Those waters will see plenty of Deviant carcasses, too deep for the humans to ever find.

"But I accept that along with this part," she moves her head in the other direction, nodding to where Sersi is showing a human family how to cast a net. The young ones giggle with glee and their joy makes the Elemental Eternal glow from within. "They are both part of the sea. I think that only adds to its beauty."

Beauty, Gilgamesh thinks, is not so simple a thing. He struggles to describe things as beautiful. A sunrise or a sunset merely exists, the sea is the colour it is because of the sediment in the water, the sky changes per the hour sometimes.

But he sees the light shining off Thena's eyes, constricting her pupils and bringing out the green colour of them. The darker rim around the iris, the jade colours swirling more calmly. That, he thinks, is beauty.

"Gil?" Thena asks, pulling him from his silence.

He smiles, because she's good at making him smile. "I guess I see what you mean."

"I for one am thankful for the cooling breeze the water offers," she states more clearly and lightly, moving away from the contemplative. She inhales as another wave crashes below and causes an updraft.

Gil unfolds his arms so he can move some of her hair off her shoulder and away from tickling her face needlessly. She looks at him and he withdraws, exhausted from the affection. "I don't have to be thankful to a body of water."

Thena laughs, and it's a very cute laugh for a Goddess of War. "There must be something for which you're thankful."

Her. It's always her. If she knew the degree to which he focused his thoughts on her surely she would recoil.

"Hm?" she prods, sliding closer until he can feel her much smaller arm against his thicker one. Their shoulder plates clink together and she celebrates getting a laugh out of him. "Anything?"

He looks at her unabashedly now. If he could tell her that she is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen, he would. Far more than any of their travels to this planet, far more than any natural phenomenon here now, he would. "I guess there is something."

"Something?"

"Someone," he amends quickly, and it seems to make his point. She smiles down at the water below, something like shyness coming over her.

Her hands clasp behind her back, "I'm sure they're thankful for you, too."

He snorts, "I don't know about that."

"Well," Thena angles herself towards him before rising onto her toes, "I am."

Gilgamesh lets her bend to press her lips to his cheek. He does it passively, letting her delicate hands balance her against his shoulder and his elbow. He leans ever so slightly for her, but that's it. He doesn't want to encourage this. He'll lose all sense, if he does.

"Shall we?" she prompts him, turning in the direction of their own.

"Fine," he grunts, but follows her like she has him on a leash. His steps are heavy and slow behind her light and graceful ones. If something were to approach from behind, let it face him first before so much as getting a glimpse of her.

"You should tell Ajak you are warming to the planet," Thena suggests lightly. "She seems quite bewitched by it. To say nothing of Sersi."

Gilgamesh has to constantly stop himself from telling Ikaris that he will never fully capture Sersi's heart away from this planet and the people residing here.

"We have much of it to see," she looks over her shoulder at him. "Perhaps somewhere you would like more."

He thinks all of this planet will look the same--feel the same. He shrugs.

Thena doesn't take offense to his lack of contribution. She looks forward again, "Ajak says we will abandon the ship entirely the more humans perceive us."

Gil doesn't entirely trust Ajak. He thinks she means well, but he also thinks that there are times when she doesn't tell them all she knows.

"I know you will miss our refuge away from them."

Gil uncrosses his arms, moving more deliberately to walk beside his partner. "So long as they don't ask me to join in any dancing, then fine."

Thena laughs, letting him capture her hand in his. "I'll defend you from such trials."

Then he has no qualms, no matter where they go, or how long they stay on this blue and green marble. If she is with him, then he can face anything.

#Thenamesh Reverse AU #thank you for the ask sweetheart! #I love this idea!!! #and I did love this au so I'm happy to get to explore it more honestly #grumpyxsunshine is a delicate balance #when I tell you I have been obsessed with finding a way to get him to call her Sunshine #this one fits perfectly #Gil thinks he's so tough and unbothered #Thena: *walks into a room* #Gil: hey Sunshine light of my life #but on the outside he's all >: [ #everyone knows #they're like someone go tell Gil that it's time for dinner #no one wants to do it #they only ever wait for Thena #eventually this Gil also finds that he likes cooking #but stars above don't wander into his kitchen uninvited #if you're not Thena you're gonna get scary kitchen dad telling you not to touch anything #and if you are Thena #you'll get invited to taste and then sent away with snacks