Chapter Text
Gideon wasn’t a smart man, not blessed with a quick tongue like Kremy, nor knowledgeable in history and arcana like Frost, or even skilled in conjuration and healing like Gricko, and yet Gideon knew enough to survive and that’s what mattered to him.
“Don’t ask questions, you don’t need to know the answers.”
“Never speak without a need. We don’t keep you around for your thoughts.”
The train had left him more or less… empty. He did what he was told; move this, punch him, kill her. He did it well, exceptionally so, and in doing so, he survived. This new life he’d found, however, had created new and interesting dilemmas that he’d never had to worry about before. Questions that begged an answer he wasn’t sure that he was ready to ask.
“Heya Gid, you’ve been real quiet over there. Hope Frosty hasn’t got your tongue.” Kremy spoke softly enough that he didn’t jar him from his thoughts, no, Kremy knew him better than that. He turned to the reptilian man, face split in his signature toothy grin, only his eyes relaying concern beneath their glittering humor.
“If I were taking tongues I’m not sure Gideon’s would be the first on the list,” Frost grumbled from behind them as he walked beside Hootsie, listening to Gricko ramble on about his “darling girl” as he’d done a thousand times in the past.
“You know me Kremy, nothing special knockin’ around up here.” Gideon shrugged, pointing comically at his head as he leveled a smirk at Kremy, “more of a Hrrng, urgg, rahh kind of guy myself,” he punctuated each intonation with a pose that showed off his more than ample muscles, finishing with a cocky snap and wink at in the direction of his friend who snorted heartily and clapped him on the shoulder.
“Yea, and I guess we like you just the same that way.” Mischief sparkled in his golden eyes, his hand still clasped on Gideon’s shoulder. It sat cool against the fire genasi’s warm skin, and if the skin beneath it flared with additional heat, Gideon could blame it easily on the lack of physical contact he’d become adjusted to before he came to be a part of his new little family.
“You just like to have someone who’s ready to throw down for you.” Gideon shrugged the cool hand off of his shoulder, hearing the tips of his hair sparking and hissing as the ends caught a low flame, the only physical indicator of his emotional state aside from the, hopefully imperceptible, flush of red in his already crimson cheeks.
“You know it ain’t like that Gid! You could put away your punchin’ arms tomorrow and we’d still like ya just as well! But… well don’t because those punchin’ arms have saved the lot of us more times than we can count and… well who knows what we’d do without ‘em.” Kremy adjusted the deep purple hat on his head, running a scaly palm across the back of his neck in what, if Gideon didn’t know any better, looked to be embarrassment.
“Yeah yeah yeah, we all love Gideon and his big meaty, punch-y arms.” Gricko called from behind them, clearly bored with the ‘entertainment’ in front of him as he and Frost walked side by side.
“I would guess not as much as Kremy though.” Gideon could hear the characteristic sarcasm in Frost’s voice though felt that it was ill-suited to the conversation, as if he were working on the same assumption as many people they’d come across, speaking as though Kremy felt anything more for Gideon than a rich man might feel for his guard dog. Gideon knew his place, he always had.
“You’re here for me, boy, you keep me safe, you kill who I tell you, and you get to keep yourself. For now, your body, thoughts, hopes, and dreams are all yours; you belong to me, to the train, but as long as you can be a good little dog, you get to keep all those boring, inconsequential things that mortals like you hold so dear to them. So do as I say, wear your chains like a good dog and you get to keep… well… You!” he shook his head at the memory, fingering the edges of the manacles that had kept him bound to that gods forsaken train, not noticing the flash of concern that had settled itself deep in Kremy’s eyes.
“I mean it Gid. We’re all glad that you’re here,” Kremy, whose feeling towards deep emotion ran on the same cool side as his blood, reached his hand out once more, licking his thumb and forefinger as he pinched out a few candle-sized flames that had set themselves alight in the soft brown and caramel of Gideon’s hair.
Gideon chuckled at the irony of the action, leaning his head into the touch for but a fraction of a second before responding. “I know Kremy. I’m glad I’m here too.” The manacles on his wrists no longer held the same meaning, he was no longer tied to any one place, but he knew that Kremy may as well hold them both in that light green hand, might as well have chained Gideon to the belt around his waist and stored the key inside his hat, as there was no place in Avantris that Gideon would be found without Kremy nearby.
He chuckled at the irony, Kremy’s hands in his hair, snuffing out the same fires he’d created just moments ago. “Thank you.” He said, patting out the flames that lingered, catching Kremy’s hand in his for a brief moment before lowering it to the alligator’s side and leaving it to hang near the fine fabric of Kremy’s well-tailored suit. Kremy’s eyes widened nearly imperceptibly as he stuttered out, “Ah, anytime Gid… didn’t want you setting the trees ablaze walkin’ around smolderin’ like that…”
A poorly disguised snicker floated up to them, followed by a quick grunt that had to have been caused by a sharp goblin elbow to a tabaxi ribcage, Frost cleared his throat “Ah yes, thank you for considering the foliage and danger to the environment due to Gideon’s… disposition.” Frost clearly had more to say, gesturing to the admittedly sparse flora around them, but another jab from Gricko and a sharp nip from Hootsie seemed to consume whatever words he had been about to say, “The last thing we want is for the locals in the next town to blame us for the destruction of such a… beautiful forest.” Hootsie chittered and cooed a laugh at this but Frost remained silent as the tips of Gideon’s hair flared up once again, the flush in his cheeks returning.
“E-Exactly! How would it look for us to just turn up, fresh out of a wildfire with a fire genasi? They’d never trust us and we need them to trust us if we’re gonna con ‘em out of anything valuable! I’m just looking out for our best interest!”
Gideon snorted, taking a moment to enjoy the way his friend stuttered wondering if it was possible for Kremy to look embarrassed in the way that most expected. Could the man blush with cold blood? Gideon wouldn’t have known if it weren't for the way he picked at his already perfectly tailored suit and fiddled with the chain of his watch.
“Sounds like a mighty fine thing to keep in mind. I’ll be sure not to walk into any dry tree branches since it’s such a concern.” Gideon smiled as the man beside him relaxed. Big feelings, small feelings, it didn’t matter to him as long as Kremy never asked him to leave.