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Gillion’s laugh. It’s Chip’s favorite sound. Gillion is laughing and blushing as Chip spins him, then as he grabs his hips and attempts to pick him up.
Chip groans. “Gods, I forgot I was weak.”
The tavern is lively, upbeat music playing from a small band and people dancing in the area clear of tables. Chip spots Jay eyeing a waitress while blushing, and makes a mental note to himself to tease her later.
Chip takes Gillion’s hand again and wiggles his eyebrows, making Gillion laugh. Gillion takes Chip’s waist and picks him up, spinning them both around. Chip trips over his feet, but Gillion turns it into a dip and then pulls him close. Gillion kisses Chip on the forehead then twirls him. Chip blushes, and mutters something about it being from the alcohol when Gillion asks. Gillion kisses him again, this time on the lips.
“This is fun!” Gillion shouts, drawing stares while he picks Chip up again.
Chip laughs. “Yeah!”
“I’ve never danced like this before!” Gillion’s tail wags violently as he sways with Chip.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Chip grins.
“It is!”
Gillion continues to dance with Chip, smiling and laughing. Chip mirrors his uncoordinated steps, making eye contact with Jay for a second. They both stick their tongues out at each other, then keep dancing with their partners. Chip laughs as Gillion trips over his tail, catching him and pulling him back up with some effort. Gillion blushes and then smirks, picking Chip up. Chip hooks his legs around Gillion’s waist, leaning back and putting his arms in the air as Gillion twirls.
“Woo!” Chip yells, laughing.
“Woo!” Gillion mimics, setting him down so they can continue to dance.
Chip takes Gillion’s hands again, then looks over to the rest of their crew. He freezes. A little pink triton with a frogtopus clip in her hair glares back at him, crossing her arms. Chip’s eyes widen.
He clears his throat. “U-Uh, I… I gotta go to the bathroom,” Chip says awkwardly.
Gillion nods. “Go do that, I will talk to Finn!”
Chip watches as Gillion turns and wanders over to his grandfather, then turns and looks back at Pretzel with dread. He smiles, but she keeps her scowl.
Oh gods, Chip thinks, grimacing as he strides over to Gillion’s daughter.
“Yes, Pretzel? What do you-”
Chip is cut off by Pretzel jabbing Chip in the belly with her finger. He groans in pain and clutches his stomach.
Pretzel puts her hands on her hips. “You’re dancing with Papa.”
“ Was ,” Chip mutters.
“Why?” Pretzel stares him down.
Chip feels weirdly intimidated by this nine year old. “Because… we’re in love?”
“I don’t like it.”
“Well, Pretz, I-”
“You can’t call me ‘Pretz’, only my family and friends.”
“But… you let Jay…” Chip’s heart shatters slightly, but he keeps grinning. “Well, your Papa likes me a lot. So he asked me to dance. You can talk to Gill about that.”
“I know that Papa likes you. He told me. But you haven’t proven yourself yet.” Pretzel glares impossibly harder.
“And…” Chip’s smile turns sheepish. “...how does one do that?”
Pretzel stops glaring, switching her expression to completely deadpan. She shrugs.
“Pretzel, that’s not helpful-”
Pretzel just shrugs again and sips her apple juice.
Chip sighs. “Okay…”
The next day, Chip gives Gillion an enthusiastic “Good morning, Gill!” and a small kiss on the cheek.
He looks over to Gillion’s side, and Pretzel just shakes her head. Gillion blushes and kisses him back, ruffling his hair.
“Good morning, Chip!” he chirps, his tail wagging.
Gillion scoops up a giggling Pretzel and kisses her on the nose, then strides across the deck towards the kitchen for breakfast.
Chip sighs. What do I need to do ? He buries his face in his hands and groans.
Jay lays her hand on his shoulder. “What?”
Chip removes his hands from his face and looks tiredly at Jay. “Pretzel’s not happy with me.”
“Oh.” Jay gazes at him sympathetically, then says, “Good luck.” She heads off to breakfast.
“What?” Chip yells after her. “No advice? Like, at all ?”
He sighs, then runs to the kitchen. When Chip sees Gillion again, he headbutts him lightly and smiles.
“Hello,” Gillion whispers.
“Hey,” Chip whispers back. He quickly kisses him on the ear.
“Get a room, lovebirds,” Earl snaps, handing them plates of eggs and potatoes.
Chip looks over at Pretzel. She glares back. Chip widens his eyes, holds his hands up in a placating gesture and goes back to his food, grumbling.
Chip finds Pretzel drawing next. She sits in the sun after breakfast, kicking her feet and doodling with crayons. She has her tongue poking through her lips, and when she sees Chip walking towards her, she hides the drawing under her belly.
“Whatcha drawin’?” Chip asks, sitting down in front of Pretzel.
“Something,” Pretzel responds, frowning.
Chip sighs. “You’re just like your father…”
“I don’t like men like my father,” Pretzel comments.
Chip blinks. “Oh. Good for you.”
Pretzel just nods, starting a new drawing.
“Have… you told Gill…?”
“Oh, yes, he knows. I told him a year ago.”
“You just love expressing your dislike for me, huh?” Chip mutters.
“Also Jay knows.”
Chip sighs. “I figured.”
“And Queen.”
“Well, Queen has an amazing gaydar. Did they figure it out altoself?”
“Mhm. And Drey.”
“ Drey ?”
“And Ollie, ‘cause she’s my best friend, and Gryffon, and Finn, and Earl-”
“ What ?”
“Yeah.” Pretzel smiles. “You’re the last one I told.”
Chip’s heart shatters into a billion pieces. “Yep. Got it.”
Pretzel giggles.
Chip sighs. “Did I earn your approval?”
“Nope. You just kissed him a few times.”
“Yeah, lovers do that-”
“Anyone can kiss Papa. Jay kisses Papa. That isn’t special.”
“Yes, it is, I’m his boyfr-”
Pretzel goes back to drawing, not listening to anything Chip says.
Around midday, the Riptide Pirates go out shopping. Jay hoists a giggling Pretzel onto her shoulders and then descends the ladder of the ship. Chip follows close behind, his arm linked with Gillion’s.
They walk through All-Port, Pretzel occasionally glancing back at Chip and Gillion. When Chip makes eye contact with her, she scowls.
They enter a shop with trinkets lining the walls, and Gillion’s tail wags while he looks at a selection of necklaces made from seaglass. An old halfling woman behind the counter talks to him while he points out the different colors. Chip makes a mental note that Gillion marvels the most at the turquoise. He nods, then looks over to Pretzel. She sits on Jay’s shoulders, looking at frogtopus plushies.
Chip nods again. She’s distracted.
Chip pauses, realizing how weird it sounds to need his boyfriend’s daughter to be distracted in order to give him a gift. He snorts in amusement and pulls out a few coins, coming up to the counter while Gillion wanders to the other side of the shop. The old woman smiles knowingly and takes his coins, counts his change, then nods. Chip smiles at her and takes the turquoise necklace, slipping it into his pocket.
“Pretzel, you pick something out,” Chip hears Jay whisper.
Pretzel doesn’t speak, but Chip, without looking, knows she picks up a pink frogtopus plushie.
Gillion comes up to Chip and ruffles his hair. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Chip responds, smiling. “How are you? I haven’t talked to you much today.”
“I am alright, thank you!” Gillion looks around, then quickly kisses Chip on the cheek. “How have you been?”
“A lot better since you did that,” Chip mutters, his smile growing wider and his cheeks flushing a bit.
“Were you doing badly before?”
“No. Just better with Gillion kisses.”
Gillion’s tail starts to wag.
“Oh, while we’re talking, by the way,” Chip whispers, “do you know how to make Pretzel… not mad at someone…?”
“Is she mad at you?” Gillion raises an eyebrow.
“Not… mad at me… just protective. Of you.”
Gillion smiles. “How sweet of her!”
“Not for me,” Chip mumbles.
“Has she given you the ‘approval’ talk yet?” Gillion smiles.
“You know about the approval talk.” Chip sighs.
“Yes, of course I do.” Gillion brushes a piece of hair out of Chip’s face. “She gave it to Edyn’s girlfriend.”
Chip squints at him. “Does… being queer like… run in the family…?”
Gillion blinks. “What?”
“You, Edyn, Pretzel…?”
“Oh, she finally told you!” Gillion smiles.
“So you knew she didn’t tell me?”
“Yes.”
“Rhetorical question, bud…”
With Pretzel playing with her new plushie and Jay holding bags of groceries, they all walk back to the ship. Gillion hums a little tune, occasionally ruffling Chip’s hair.
Chip grabs his hand and smiles. “I have something for you,” he says.
He pulls the necklace out of his pocket and presents it to Gillion, bowing in traditional triton courting fashion.
Gillion’s tail wags as he takes the necklace, holding it close to his chest. He asks, grinning, “And the occasion is…?”
“There isn’t one. Just ‘cause I love you.” Chip kisses Gillion quickly before taking his hand and walking with him.
Pretzel nods slowly, beginning to smile. Chip grins at her, but then she just glares and raises an eyebrow. Chip sighs and keeps walking with Gillion.
Pretzel doesn’t seem to get any happier with Chip.
He just sighs every time he sees Pretzel glaring at him, not knowing what to do anymore. And he’s doing a lot of sighing. All throughout the day, Chip has been talking to Gillion, telling him jokes and little stories, occasionally glancing at Pretzel. She always frowns when she sees this.
Night falls, and Chip still hasn’t figured out what Pretzel wants from him.
Chip, making eye contact with Gillion’s daughter, takes Gillion’s hand.
“Dance with me?” Chip asks, smiling.
Gillion nods, smiles, and puts a hand on his waist. Chip shoots a quizzical glance at Pretzel. She glares and seems to be studying the situation, taking mental notes. Chip sighs and kisses Gillion on the cheek, dancing with him and occasionally glancing back at Pretzel. She switches to drawing after a while.
Eventually, Gillion looks at the sky and stops dancing. He smiles and kisses Chip on the forehead.
“This was lovely, Chip,” he whispers, “but it is my turn to make dinner.”
Chip glances over at Pretzel. She looks up.
“I’ll do it,” Chip says, smiling.
“You will?” Gillion looks ecstatic. “Do you mind if I suggest something?”
Chip grins. “Just egg fried rice is not a good dinner.”
“You know me too well.”
Chip kisses Gillion on the cheek and hooks their arms together. Chip, even as he’s giggling and walking into the kitchen with his lover, can feel Pretzel glaring.
After dinner, Chip approaches her. Pretzel, if anything, seems angrier at him.
“Come on, Pretzel, what do you want from me?” Chip sighs.
Pretzel scowls. “I want you to love Papa like he deserves.”
“I have been, Pretzel! I have been!”
“You think you have,” Pretzel mumbles. “But since you think that, it’s not good enough. He always deserves more than everyone’s best.”
Chip sighs. “And how do I do that?”
Pretzel shrugs and stays silent. Chip scoffs and throws his hands up in the air, turning around and walking away.
“I give up!” he shouts.
Chip storms down to the captains’ quarters and flops on his bed. Gillion sits up.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, standing and striding over to Chip’s cot.
“Nothing…” Chip mutters.
Gillion bends down and kisses Chip on the forehead. “Nothing?”
“Yeah, ‘t’s not a big deal…”
“It’s a big enough deal to make you upset.”
“It’s fine, really, Gill.”
Gillion nods. “Let me put Pretzel down for bed, then would you like to stargaze with me?”
“Yeah.” Chip smiles. “That sounds nice.”
Gillion quietly creeps up the ladder. Chip follows him. Gillion strides across the deck and picks up Pretzel. He spins her around once, and she giggles and yawns. Chip lays down on the deck and waits for Gillion to put Pretzel to sleep.
He sighs, looking up at the stars. He hears the deck creak next to him, then feels Gillion’s cold hand slip its way into his. Chip smiles and looks over. Gillion smiles back.
“I love the stars,” Gillion whispers.
“Me, too.” Chip sighs contently.
“You were the one who taught me about them.”
“Yeah. I remember.”
“You showed me the constellations, and I didn’t see them at first. But… the first time we held hands while stargazing… I finally saw Ursa Major.” Gillion grins and squeezes Chip’s hand.
Chip scoffs. “That’s so cheesy.”
“Maybe. But it’s true.”
“Really?”
The only sounds are the waves lapping the ship and the deck slowly creaking. The only light is from the moon, stars, and Gillion’s markings. Chip closes his eyes.
“Yes. You pointed it out when we met. And I saw it when I was looking at you.” Gillion smiles softly.
“You know…” Chip yawns. “The stars remind me of you.”
“Why?” Gillion chuckles. “Because we’re always stargazing together?”
“That, too,” Chip laughs. “But no, it’s because they glow, just like your markings. And they’re always there at night, like you’re always there for me. And… well, they’re really pretty.”
Gillion’s cheeks flush. “...The stars remind me of you for that reason as well.”
Chip yawns again.
“You sound tired,” Gillion mumbles, nuzzling into Chip’s neck. “We should sleep.”
“Not yet…”
“Yes yet,” Gillion giggles. “You’ve yawned twice in three minutes.”
“That’s a normal amount of yawning.”
“No it is not.” Gillion snorts. “I am going to bed. Come cuddle when you are ready.”
Chip smiles. “Maybe I will.”
Gillion stands up and pulls Chip to his feet. “I love you.”
Chip blushes and grins wider. “Love you, too.”
Gillion kisses him, then turns to head down to the captains’ quarters.
Chip feels a tug on his sleeve. He looks down and sees Pretzel.
He yawns. “Pretzel, you’re supposed to be asleep-”
Pretzel hands him a piece of paper. Chip flips it over, reading the messy handwriting at the top and bottom.
Pretzel seal of approval… Welcom to the famly Dad.
Chip smiles. “Welcome” and “family” are spelled wrong. All Pretzel’s ‘E’s are backwards. A drawing of them all holding hands rests in the middle. Chip notices that he’s holding hands with Pretzel. He presses his mouth into a line so he doesn’t cry.
“Pretzel-”
“Call me ‘Pretz’.” Pretzel grins and rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet.
Chip takes a deep breath and grins. “Okay, then, Pretz. What did I need to do?”
“You needed to love Papa genuinely ,” Pretzel says.
“You could have told me that!”
“Yeah, but then you would be doing it for me , not him .” Pretzel puts her hands on her hips. “You kept looking at me when you were trying to make me happy. And you weren’t focused on loving Papa. As soon as you quit trying to impress me , it was genuine.”
Chip sighs and ruffles Pretzel’s hair. “You’re so wize.”
“That’s what my other dad says too.” Pretzel takes Chip’s hand and yawns.
Chip leads her downstairs and helps her down the ladder. He lifts her up and puts her in bed, pulling the blankets over her and kissing her on the forehead.
“Goodnight,” Pretzel whispers.
“Goodnight,” Chip whispers back, waving.
He sighs and then looks over to his own bed where Gillion is fast asleep. Chip smiles, then creeps over. He crawls on top of Gillion and then kisses his collarbone. Gillion stirs.
“I can feel your smile,” he mumbles. Gillion smiles himself.
“I’m just happy,” Chip sighs.
“Why?”
“It’s…” Chip yawns, then looks over at Pretzel. “It’s nice being a father.”