Work Text:
Chip extended two knuckles to knock lightly on the door. “Gil? You alright in there?”
The muffled sounds of crying stopped, replaced by the slight sound of bedsheets shuffling. There was a prolonged silence as Gillion didn't respond, interrupted only by an occasional sniffle.
“Hey, unless you say something, I’m coming in, alright?” Chip tried to keep his voice gentle, softly rapping his knuckles against the door once more. He heard a sharp intake of breath, and a cough, but no response. Taking a deep breath himself, he cautiously entered the room.
His eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark room, as none of the candles were lit. Gillion sat at the edge of his bed, facing away from the door, curled in on himself tightly hugging a pillow. At that moment, the usually larger-than-life muscular man seemed so small. As the door creaked open, he turned his head to look, eyes still wet and puffy from tears.
“S- Sorry.” Gillion’s voice bubbled out, clearly strained and not sounding quite right. As Chip took in the situation, his eyes widened. If he was right, things were more serious than he expected. “Jay?” he called out into the rest of the ship, anticipating needing backup.
As he stood in the doorway with his head turned, Gillion choked out, “Don’ leave. Please.”
Chip froze, praying Jay heard him, then rushed over to sit on the bed next to Gil. Gil looked away again, burying his head in the pillow. “‘M sorry,” he said, muffled.
“Hey, it’s okay, you’re not in any trouble. Are you alright? What happened?” Chip shifted a bit closer, trying to be a comforting presence without breaching too far into his personal space.
Gil mumbled, “Nigh’mare.”
“Aw, sh- shhhhoot.” Chip caught himself, narrowly avoiding swearing in case his assumption was correct (which he was leaning more and more towards believing it was.) “Well no kidding, bud, those nightmares are rough. I get it. But we’re gonna get you help, alright? It’s gonna be all better soon.”
Gil looked up at him, eyes wide and sparkling. Chip couldn’t quite place if the look was hopeful or distrusting.
“Hey. I promise. Alright?”
Gil nodded, eyes still wide, face growing serious.
“Gil, is it alright if I touch you?” He desperately wanted to comfort the small co-captain, but didn’t know how he’d feel about touch in his current state.
Gillion still just stared up at him, brow furrowing slightly in confusion. He didn’t respond verbally, but at least seemed to be calmer and a bit happier now. In lieu of words, Gillion moved a bit closer to Chip, which he took as an invitation. Chip wrapped an arm around Gil, gently rubbing his thumb over Gil’s hand. Gillion quickly leaned into the touch, turning around and tightly wrapping his arms around Chip’s chest.
“Woa-” Chip muttered, caught off guard, having momentarily forgotten just how strong he was.
“S’rry,” Gil mumbled, loosening his grip. Chip quickly wrapped his arms around Gil, squeezing him back.
“Hey, no, you’re alright. You can keep hugging me. You just surprised me is all.” He rested his head on top of Gillion’s, hoping to make him feel even more secure and protected. Gil gave a soft ‘mmh’ as he leaned back into the hug, nestling up into Chip’s chest.
“Awh, you’re just a little guy, aren’t you?” Chip finally felt confident enough to test the waters.
Gil froze, tensing back up a bit. Chip was quick to console him, bringing one of his arms around to start running his fingers through Gil’s hair.. “Shh, no, you’re okay. You’re allowed to go small when you need to, remember?”
“But- I gotta be big. ‘N strong.” Gil hadn’t fully moved, still speaking directly into Chip’s shirt.
“Nope. Not here. Not right now. You don’t have to be anything while you’re with us. We’ll love you no matter what, okay? We’ll always be here for you.”
At this moment, the door creaked open again. Chip cringed as the light from the hallway spilled in, having grown used to the dim room. Gil burrowed further into his jacket. Jay’s voice came from the doorway, almost jarringly loud. “Hey Chip, what’s up? Why’d you- oh shit.” The last part came out hushed as she took in the situation.
“Great timing, Jay,” Chip responded, making a point to keep his voice a bit lower. “Could you go to my room and grab Bubba for me?” Sensing her confusion, he motioned at Gil and mouthed, “He’s small.”
Recognition flashed across her face and she nodded. “Wow, really? Are you sure? That’s a pretty high honor. I know how special Bubba is.” She spoke, purposefully hamming it up a bit to get Gil excited.
It worked. He bolted upright, looking at Chip with big eyes. “Wha? Who’s Bubba?”
“She’s a very special lovey, and I think she’s gonna help you feel better. She comforted me when I was little. Back when I was on the Midnight Rose ship. I used to snuggle with her every night, and I think she’s got enough love in her to help you feel better too.
Gil grinned up at Chip wide eyed.
“Here she comes now!” Chip said excitedly as Jay returned carrying the small stuffed rabbit. She was a bit ragged and worn from love, even missing an eye, but Gil was undeterred from furiously making grabby hands at her. Jay handed her off to him, smiling sweetly. “There you go, little guppy,” Jay said, “Take good care of her, will you?”
Gil nodded seriously, holding her tightly and yet with care. Chip reached over to grab the pillow Gill was still clinging to, hoping to get it out of his way. “Here, let me take this, I’m sure she’ll give you more comfort.”
Gil nodded absently, now laser focused on feeling the texture of her matted faux fur between his thumb and forefinger. He raised her to his mouth to give her a kiss on the forehead, then kept her there as he seemed to enjoy the feel of the fabric against his chin. Chip had to turn to share a look with Jay, the both of them needing to revel in the cuteness of the moment.
“Well, buddy, it’s getting kind of late for someone so little,” Chip started, “Do you think maybe now that you’ve got Bubba here to protect you you’d wanna try and go back to sleep? I can stay with you too.”
Gillion shook his head furiously, brow furrowing.
“Hey, hey, that’s alright. We can stay up. Like a sleepover!”
Jay offered, “Do you wanna draw?” to which he nodded. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”
Seeing him frown as she left the room again, Chip quickly drew his attention back with more stories from the Midnight Rose. When she returned with a pencil and paper, he immediately became engrossed in furiously scribbling an image of some sort.
Now that he was calmed down and refocused, the other two were able to quietly talk amongst themselves.
“So, is he doing okay? What happened?” Jay asked. “He doesn’t usually drop like this.”
“Poor guy had a Kuba Kinta nightmare.” He bounced his knee, making Gil, who was now sitting in his lap, giggle. “Those things are no joke. I wish he’d said something sooner. I’ve been trying to check in on him but he always just says that he’s fine.”
Jay shook her head. “I mean, it can’t be easy. At least he's doing better right now.”
“I’ll talk to him in the morning.”
Jay nodded. “Just don’t hound him too much.” At this moment, she noticed that he had begun sucking on one of Bubba’s ears. “Hey, get that out of your mouth-”
“Nah, leave it.” Chip interrupted. “Far from the first time that ear’s been sucked on. She can handle it.”
Chuckling, Jay asked, “How come I never get Bubba when I’m little?”
“Jay.” Chip deadpanned. The two laughed quietly.
“Right, right, not the time.”
At some point, Chip had fallen asleep, as he found himself waking up in a tangle of blankets and limbs. As he got his bearings, he realized there was only one other set of limbs in the bed: Jay’s.
Cautiously, he left the captains’ quarters (careful not to wake Jay) and hesitantly walked out onto the deck. As he breathed in the cool morning air, he saw the other captain up against the ship’s railing, staring out at the sea.
“Gil?” he said quietly, hoping not to startle him.
Gillion looked over, expression not quite readable. “Oh, ‘morning, Chip.”
“Morning. How are you doing?” Chip found himself a spot next to Gil, resting both arms against the railing.
“Well, I managed to fall back asleep without any more nightmares, so...”
“...Do you wanna talk about it?”
“...Not really. Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
The two were silent for a bit, save for the sounds of the waves rhythmically splashing against the sides of the ship.
“Thank you.” Gil said.
Chip raised an eyebrow, inviting Gil to keep talking.
“It’s… hard. Opening up to you guys about everything. But I’m working on it. I promise. So, I guess, thank you for taking care of me. And being so patient.”
“Sure thing, man. Always.”
Gil looked down at Bubba, who had seemingly been in his hand the whole time. “Well, you can have your rabbit back now.”
Chip tilted his head, watching the way Gillion’s thumb still instinctively worried at her fur. “Why don’t you hang onto her for a little longer?”
He moved to hold her in front of himself with both hands, still treating her with gentle finesse. He smiled. “Thanks.”