Work Text:
It was a quiet night. The sky was painted black, with white specks of stars littering the blanket of darkness like paint flicked onto a dark canvas. The moon was bright and full, with no clouds to obscure the beauty it held. The waters were calm, only making the albatross sway back and forth gently with soft creaks every now and then.
Two figures stood on the main deck of the ship, chatting lightly as they leaned against the wooden railing of the ship they called their own. The human's gaze was locked on the moon as he spoke, his hat placed gently on the deck beside his feet. The shorter Triton, however, had his gaze on the human watching him as he spoke. The moon illuminated his face; all of his features and the Triton couldn't help but stare.
"This night is... magnificent." Chip chuckled, dragging Gillion back into the conversation they were having. He felt his smile grow as he softly chuckled as well glancing up at the sky shining with stars.
"Yeah.." he said, his voice soft and more gentle than it usually was. His gaze fell from the stars after a moment, going back to Chip only to realize he was now looking at him. The moonlight seemed to shine on Chip, almost like he was on a beautiful stage with a spotlight on him. Gillion took in every single detail. Chips brown eyes that reminded Gillion of mud and trees; his dumb smile that always seemed to be contagious; his, now long, brown hair that seemed to sit at the perfect length.
everything
Gillion felt a faintly familiar feeling in his chest. He felt as if his heart started to beat a bit faster than it was before, like it had when he was scared or had trained far too much. He felt a burning inside, but not a bad burn. It didn't hurt; it felt good. A good burning erupting from his chest that seemed to blossom over his face and to his ears lightly. A burning that felt fuzzy and tingly instead of painful and evil. Another gentle light seemed to softly illuminate just a bit more as the coral on his head seemed to glow faintly. He watched as Chip's eyes seemed to slightly widen, but in an amazed way, as he gasped.
"Your coral can glow?" Chip asked, his smile only seeming to grow as he turned his attention completely to him. Gillion suddenly felt nervous; a deep spark in his heart that only grew. He let out a quiet laugh; it felt forced and even sounded nervous.
"Well- yeah, it can..but, uhm, only sometimes." He said, feeling his heart beating a million times faster in his chest. His hands stopped fidgeting with each other, and he blindly grasped onto the railing next to him. The warm, tingly feeling seemed to spread throughout his whole body, and he felt it grow deeper on his face. Gillion could only assume that Chip noticed because his expression shifted to a confused one.
Before the human could open his mouth to say anything, Gillion removed his hand from the railing and cleared his throat as he pointed towards the captain's quarters with a nervous chuckle.
"I'm going to go—uh, sleep," he said quickly as he started to back away and turn to head to their sleeping quarters. He heard Chip call his name for a moment, and before he could say anything else, he sped up. "Goodnight, Chip!" He called to the human, he didn't hear any footsteps behind him, so he assumed Chip didn't follow. He walked down the stairs quietly and cleared his throat gently as he tried to rub his face, rub away the warm feeling spreading through his body.
"Hey, Gill." He heard the familiar voice of his other co-captain. He moved his hands away from his face as he looked over to Jay, who was sitting on her cot. Gillion smiled faintly and rubbed the back of his neck slightly. The nervous, warm, fuzzy feeling seemed to die down after he left the presence of Chip.
"Hey, Jay." He responded, looking down for a moment as he tried to figure out what had happened. Jay glanced over at him again, and seemed to study him before raising an eyebrow.
"Everything alright, Gill?" She asked as she put the quill and paper she had down. Gillion looked over at Jay again, and he swallowed thickly for a moment. Jay scooted over and patted the spot next to her. The triton walked over and sat down next to the tall woman. Gillion stayed silent for a moment before looking at Jay again.
"I think something is wrong with me.." The Triton said as he started to fidget with his hands gently. Gillion had felt this feeling around Chip before, but it couldn't be Chip. It had to be something wrong with him. Before Jay could open her mouth to ask what, he spoke again. "Sometimes, whenever I'm near Chip, I get this really warm and tingly feeling inside my chest. My heart always seems to beat faster, and my coral starts to glow." He frowned, and he glanced over at Jay, who had a bit of an amused smile on her face. She shook her head, and chuckled.
"Gill, nothing is wrong with you." She reassured him, placing a hand against his shoulder. She chuckled to herself and pulled her hand away. "You're in love with Chip." She told him. Gillion paused as the words ran through his head again. He felt that fuzzy feeling come back as the warmth bloomed across his face. He was in love with Chip. Gillion started to rack his brain for all the times he had felt this way around Chip. His thoughts were always all about Chip and how amazing he was. Chip had always been complimenting him at the time. Oh, gods, he really was in love with Chip.
"I'm in love with Chip.." he repeated as he looked down at the ground with slightly wide eyes. His face warm. He cleared his throat and breathed in. "I have to tell him." He said, about to stand before Jay spoke up, snickering.
"I think you already did." She said, and Gillion glanced up to see Chip frozen as he had been making his way down the stairs. Gillion's face seemed to burn even more as his mouth hung open for a second. He cleared his throat and stumbled up.
"Chip! I uh.." he hesitated for a moment before he shook his head to himself and stepped forward over to Chip. He watched Chip start to walk down the stairs again and walk over to him. Gillion stared at him for a moment, taking in every detail he could. He could feel the feeling start to grow even more, burning inside of his chest. He took a deep breath for a moment. "I—" before Gillion could continue, Chip cut him off.
"Gill, holy shit. ", Chip said, eyes slightly wide. Gillion couldn't glance over his expression and figure out exactly what he was feeling. "I love you too.." he suddenly said, all of his attention once again on Gillion. Gillion froze for a moment, processing what Chip had told him. He suddenly felt slightly giddy as his tail seemed to start to almost wag behind him. He felt slightly rough hands cup his cheeks, and Chip stared at him in awe. "Can I kiss you, Gillion Tidestrider?" he asked.
"Yes..!" Gillion said, immediately closing his mouth when he realized how happy that sounded. He heard Chip lightly laugh and saw him laugh. Then, Chip slowly leaned in, and Gillion couldn't help but lean in as well to meet him halfway. Gillion could feel Chip's lips on his own, no longer a faint feeling from so long ago. The kiss was soft, gentle. Everything Gillion hadn't even known he'd been longing for for so long.
He felt Chip separate their lips, his fingers lightly playing with the loose strands of hair falling from Gillion's man bun. Gillion stared at the man in front of him, the man who seemed to bring him so much happiness. His tail was now actually wagging behind him, and his coral seemed to be glowing brighter than ever. Chip's smile was wide, and he could now make out the crimson dusting his cheeks and the tips of his ears.
"Gillion Tidestrider, loves me.." Chip said with a light chuckle. "The handsome, talented, stunning Gillion is in love with me.." he said, sighing contentedly. Gillion tilted his head for a moment, seeming confused.
"Why would I not be in love with you, Chip?" Gillion asked as he studied Chip's expression. "You're beautiful, funny, caring, and so handsome.." Gillion could say so much more, but that's just what came to his mind first. Chip seemed to stare at him for a moment, a deeper blush seemingly covering his face. He smiled more softly and shook his head as he lightly laughed.
"There's a reason why I love you." Chip sighed softly as he pecked Gillion on the lips. "You're so kind, and you speak whatever you think is true." He hummed, rubbing his thumb against Gillion's cheek, which he couldn't help but lean into. Chip stepped closer to Gillion and leaned his head against his forehead. Gillion let his eyes close as he smiled and leaned into it very gently.
He was in love with Chip.
And Chip was in love with him.