Chapter Text
A small grin spread across Chip’s face as he subtly glanced over at Gillion. The Triton was watching intently, his gaze focused as he rocked back and forth, listening to Chip strum the strings of his guitar.
His ears twitched and flicked back and forth and Chip noticed his tongue poking out between his lips. His eyes were wide as he listened to the song that Chip played, smiling softly. The Albatross rocked back and forth causing the two of them to sway in a gentle rhythm. Gillion’s tail flicked back and forth, the end of it thumping against the mattress.
Chip leaned against the bedpost of his cot, pulling his leg up to rest the body of the guitar over his knee as he reached over in a relatively comfortable (but not for long) position. His fingers plucked the strings as he found himself humming along to the familiar song. The old, dented guitar sang its tune as Chip was merely the one to help it along. Like a crank to a music box, Chip played the merry tune with just as much care as he had the dozens of other times he had played this song.
His fingertips ached with how long he had been playing and each time he held a chord they screamed at him. When he shifted positions to spread across the fretboard, the sting of his hands worsened. Calluses that he had developed years ago helped with the pain, but not enough for Chip to not feel it. It didn’t deter him at all.
A soft melody, reminiscent of when Chip was younger filled the air the longer that Chip played. It settled across their sleeping quarters in a calming aura and Gillion practically soaked up the song. His shoulders were relaxed and he seemed calm for the first time in however long. It was rare to see Gillion so settled and relaxed, usually he would be up and about, doing stuff around the ship or training above deck.
But whenever Chip brought out his guitar, he stopped near dead in his tracks to listen. A quietness would settle over him as he would calm down some to sit with Chip to listen. Gillion loved music, especially the songs that Chip played on his guitar. And Chip had no complaints about playing for Gillion as much as he wanted.
He would play until his fingers bled if it meant that Gillion would smile. Not that he ever needed to play for that long.
Gillion drummed his fingers over his lap, tilting his head to the side as he focused. A small blue blush spread across his cheeks and he hummed so quietly that Chip was barely able to hear him.
It was rare to hear Gillion’s singing voice since it wasn’t an activity that he participated in often. Chip figured that if Gillion knew more songs than he did, he probably would sing more often. But Gillion didn’t know that many songs, he knew a few hymns in primordial and a lullaby in some language that Chip wasn’t familiar with. His voice was beautiful in either language.
Gillion would always preach about undersea music whenever the topic was brought up, but when questioned about it, he knew very little about the subject. Not that either Chip or Jay faulted him for it. His upbringing did not seem very music-oriented, to say the least. So Chip had even fewer complaints about playing for Gillion if he enjoyed it.
Chip leaned his head back, strumming a final chord as the song finished. He chewed on the inside of his mouth and looked over at Gillion to see how he would react. The Triton pulled himself from his stupor, blinking and looking at Chip with an excited look in his eyes. His sharp, pointed teeth poked out from behind his lips when he smiled and Chip’s heart nearly skipped a beat.
“Again,” Gillion barely whispered, a pleading tone in his voice. And Chip couldn’t help but smile.
“Again?” he asked with a small chuckle, placing his palm over the strings to stop the muddled notes from continuing to ring, “you don’t want to hear any other songs?”
“I want to hear that one, just one more time,” Gillion insisted like he hasn’t been saying the same thing for the past twenty minutes. Chip pretended to think over his offer for a few seconds, bringing a hand up to his face to rub his chin. He made it look like he was truly thinking hard about playing the song again for Gillion. Just long enough for Gillion to scrunch up his face, a small hint of worry filling his expression.
“Alright…” Chip finally said, pressing his lips into a thin line, raising one eyebrow at Gillion who managed to blush even darker, “if you say so.”
He brought his hand to the base of the neck, plucking the notes of the intro as Gillion grinned excitedly. His ears flicked and twitched with the slow beginning and his tail wagged back and forth. His fins dragged with the weight of the air, fanning out around his face.
Chip continued to hum to the tune of the song, looking up from his hands to watch Gillion’s reaction. The fall, the rising notes, and the chorus, and how Gillion seemed to react the same way each time like it was the first time he had ever heard the song. Chip thought it was adorable the way that he acted.
His fingers were sore and his chords were getting sloppier, but neither of them cared too much. Gillion leaned his chin in his hands, eyes darting back and forth with child-like wonder.
The sound of waves pushing against the side of the Albatross mixed with the chords of Chip’s song as the two of them sat together. Gillion listened carefully, humming along with a bit more confidence than the last time that Chip had played it.
Chip had a small feeling that it wouldn’t be the last time that Gillion asked him to play that song today. But until Gillion got tired of the song, he would keep playing it with no complaint. A small grin spread across Chip’s face and he let out a slow exhale.