#Jack and Thenamesh again

[softquietsteadylove]

Let’s do some Christmas stuff! You choose wich AU! A snowball fight :D

"It's snowing!"

Jack's declaration of excitement had woken the entire house as soon as he was up. He was bouncing with excitement over the powdery snowfall all through coffee/cocoa, and breakfast, and presents.

Until Phastos was finally - finally - ready to let everyone outside.

The Genius Eternal yawned as he dragged himself to watch his son from the covered porch. He smiled as he felt his husband come up beside him, laying his head on his shoulder.

"Which number Christmas is this?" Ben asked softly.

"Jack's 11th Christmas, technically," Phastos answered easily as he rubbed Ben's shoulder, "that's all that matters."

"Baba, come on!" Jack waved to his fathers, but they both held out their mugs of coffee as their excuse not to roll around in the snow, at least just yet. Jack rolled his eyes at them. "Uncle Gil?--Aunt Thena?"

Thena, who had been avoiding the snow very purposefully, shot out the back door. Snow was not her favourite weather, and she actually didn't adapt to cold very well for an ageless being of Cosmic Energy. It made her sluggish.

But the Warrior Eternal flew into the backyard at Jack's beckoning, landing in deep - up to her knees - and sliding next to him. She smiled at Jack's excitement, who never tired of the displays of their inhuman strength and speed. "What are we doing?"

He held up a fist sized collection of snow, "build a snowman with me?"

Gil emerged only a few minutes later, with his own coat thrown on and Thena's draped over his arm. He cleared his throat loudly (aggressively). "Ahem!"

Jack blinked over at Uncle Gil, only now realising that Thena didn't have her gloves or scarf on, having leapt out to join in him in only the long sweater dress she had been wearing since that morning. "Aunt Thena, you'll get cold!"

"Eternals can't get cold," she stated rather factually as Jack started pulling off his mittens to try and offer them to her.

"That's not true," Gil corrected freely as he walked into the backyard with them. "Especially about Aunt Thena."

Thena sighed, sounding an awful lot like Jack. But Gil held her coat open for her with an expectant eyebrow raised. She let go of the snowball now rolled as high as Jack's shoulders, and slipped into it. She turned, letting him button it up for her. "Being around Phastos for so long has made you nervous."

"You," he corrected with a kiss to her nose, "running around in the snow makes me nervous."

Thena let him pull off his scarf and loop it around her hair, although she smiled as he used it as an excuse to pull her into a kiss. She sighed, eyes glittering as she watched a few snow flakes get caught in his dark hair. "Lucky I have you to warm me up, then."

"Uncle Gil, can you help us get the head on?"

"Sure can, buddy," Gil chuckled, releasing his hold on Thena to help Jack with the second, smaller snowball.

Jack watched his uncle pick up the snow barehanded. But he had also watched Uncle Gil pull stuff out of the oven without ovenmitts, so maybe he was the one exception to that rule, even among Eternals.

"Just two?" Phastos called out to them from the porch, "it's gotta be three pieces, Gil! C'mon, I'd expect you to know that!"

"We live in Australia!"

Ben hid himself behind his husband as he saw Thena's hand go up. Right in his assumption, he heard the snowball make contact with Phastos. "Oof, that sounded intense, Habibi. Are you okay?"

Thena merely looked at her brother, holding another densely packed snowball in her hand. "Shall you be a Fighter today, brother?"

"Oh, you are so in for it," the Genius Eternal chuckled. He pulled some snow to his hand with his powers, using them to shape it into the most perfect of spheres before launching it.

Gil caught it in his fist before it could reach her, the snow exploding back into powder as soon as it was in proximity to his Cosmic Energy, "nice try!"

"Jack, help your Dad!" Phastos cried out as he dove behind the barbecue for cover.

"Every man for himself!" Jack screamed out in a laugh as Aunt Thena menacingly approached him with a loose handful of snow.

"There's no escape, Jack!" Gil laughed as he caught their nephew, who was prepared for the capture and tossed a snowball at him. "Sneak attack!"

Jack scrambled up the back porch to his father's side. "Alliance?"

"Alliance," Phastos nodded seriously at his son, peeking out to look at the backyard. "They're gonna be hard to fight."

"We can do it," Jack said as his other father crouched down in their huddle as well. "Uncle Gil will get distracted by Aunt Thena soon and then we can get 'im."

"I believe our time is now," Ben chuckled, pointing around the barbecue's covering.

"Gil!" Thena laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist, spinning them around with snow at their feet. It almost looked like they were still in the snowball fight, but it quickly devolved into him dipping her down in his arms to kiss her amidst their little dance.

"Now, Jack, now!" Phastos whispered, handing Jack a perfectly crafted snowball.

"I don't wanna hit Aunt Thena!"

"Let your father throw it," Ben chuckled, ruffling his son's hat.

Phastos had no trouble taking aim at his sister. But of course, there was no getting a sneak attack in on the Warrior Eternal. Phastos sighed as she let her shield materialise to block their kiss.

Gil pulled them upright again, staring at Thena as the snow fell gently into her already sparkling hair. He stared into her eyes, catching his reflection in them. "I almost forgot how beautiful you are in the snow."

Thena blushed softly, leaning into his touch as he held her cheeks in his hands, "almost?"

"I could never," he whispered before pulling her into another kiss.

Thena sighed against his lips, reaching inside his coat to wrap her arms around him.

Gil's lips gave her an extra little bump as the snowball collided with the back of his head. He brushed it off, of course, turning around to glare at his brother (who was being abandoned by his husband and child, knowing what was to come).

Thena, already crafting the densest snowball yet, relented as Gil held his hand out. "Don't crush it."

"I won't," he laughed, holding it just so and letting his Cosmic Energy build up behind his hand instead of in his palm. Ben held Jack a good distance away, both of them laughing in preparation for what was to come.

"Now, Gil," Phastos held his hands out, moving away from his precious barbecue so it wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. "Let's just...talk this through."

But Gilgamesh was already laughing. "No one interrupts me when I'm kissing my wife!"

The snowball flew, faster than any pitch any human professional could make. The ball of snow hit Phastos like a brick, tossing his sturdy body into the side of the house and then down to the powdery snow below.

Ben laughed. "Darling, are you okay?"

"Fine," Phastos grumbled in return. It had been a long time since he'd trained or sparred with any of his relatives. How could he forget the punch Gil packed in whatever he did? And this was Gil, joking around and having a good time. If Thena decided she wanted to get serious... "I yield!"

Thena had been preparing an attack of her own when she heard his admission of defeat. She sighed, knowing it would only be dishonourable to attack him now. She dropped her tightly packed snowball - half of it pure ice - to the ground, "fine."

"Dad!" Jack ran over to his father to help him up. "That was so cool!"

Gil wrapped his arm around Thena's waist again, all of them slowly heading back inside after their little battle. "You get it out of your system?"

"Hm," Thena mused. Gil wasn't asking if she had burned off her energy; he was asking if she was going to try and get revenge on Phastos later for the snowball he'd thrown. "Maybe."

Gil kissed her cheek, "Ben and I will be cooking dinner in the kitchen. Just don't do anything to damage the house."

"Of course," she murmured, letting her husband nuzzle his cold nose into the hollow of her cheek. He took her coat right off of her, as well as the scarf that had, at one time, been Phastos'. She pulled Jack's hat off his head for him.

"Aunt Thena, come on, you can show me how to use my new sword game!" Jack beamed at her, pulling her to the tv where Ben was hooking up the motion sensors necessary for it.

Phastos smiled as his son excitedly booted up his new game. Thena looked ever serious as the Warrior Eternal, but Jack could have no one better to show him how to stand and how to move without hurting himself. As much as it was in her nature, it was a nice change to see her smiling as she instructed.

"Cute, isn't it?" Gil chuckled beside his brother before setting his stockpot full of ingredients. "Be careful, though."

"Huh?"

"Thena hasn't forgotten you nailing me in the back of the head with that snowball," Gil advised as he started sharpening the knives and Ben pulled the turkey out of its salt brine. "She's still gonna get you for that."

"Oh, come on, you already got me," Phastos sighed, although he knew it was true. His sister was the Warrior Eternal, and she did not forgive any transgression against the Strongest Eternal.

"Yeah," Gil snorted, "but she didn't."

"I'm sure Thena's more mature than that," Phastos said loudly, as if that alone would keep him safe.

Thena listened from where she was watching Jack play his new game. She grinned as she heard Phastos scream at the top of his lungs. He could assume about her maturity all he wanted, but she had put snow in his slippers, in the sleeves of his house robe, even inside his news paper, all in the name of her husband.

#I'm bumping this up in the queue #because it's mistlefoe season #happy holidays everyone #I hope you're taking care of yourselves #Jack and Thenamesh again #because we're here for good vibes today everyone #but is Gil still going to flirt with his wife? #of course! #Thenamesh #always has time to flirt #whether they've been married for hundreds of years at this point or not #And if anyone #has the audacity to throw snow at Gilgamesh #they are going to get to know why Thena is called the Goddess of War #especially if he's their brother #I mean she's already taken his scarf from him #Jack gets to see his dad actually acting like siblings with them #and Phastos gets to see them acting like a family with his son #everybody wins

[softquietsteadylove]

Hi can you write a full on pregnancy journey between thenamesh and the eternals find out about it as well and gilgamesh is helping thena through giving birth

By all odds, Eternals cannot reproduce. It's not in their physical makeup--they're not organic beings. But there are timelines, and universes, and powers beyond mortality. The Elemental Eternal is proof of that. With her evolution comes exceptions.

She doesn't turn the Illusionist Eternal human, she returns life to the Strongest. And with his renewed life, came an unprecedented circumstance.

The Warrior Eternal became pregnant.

Without Ajak's guidance, they only had so much insight. Phastos performed every scan and test, Druig assessed what he could at the subconscious level, Sprite even tried constructing an early image of the fetus in a sort of ultrasound. Kingo proclaimed to have knowledge from playing a doctor - once - but was denied acknowledgement.

But none of them knew how to bring an immortal life into the world--or if it would, in fact, be immortal at all.

Sersi had brought her sister's dearest love back to life, forsaking even her own loved one. Thena, upon hearing the news of her new role in life, had grasped Sersi's hand. The Alchemist was confused until she saw the tears in her sister's eyes, whispering, "I'm sorry, I know how much you wanted this."

Sersi burst into tears, wrapping her arms around Thena's shoulders. She had always dreamed of transmuting life in its rawest sense. In this way, she somewhat felt that she had.

So, with the family of Eternals with only themselves, they embarked on raising this new form of 'life'.

Sersi was the only one who even remotely knew what to expect. She told what she knew, did further research. Phastos and Makkari concentrated on reading every material the human world - and beyond - had to offer. Druig was quietly attentive, never admitting to concern but always hovering nearby and commenting on if Thena or the budding consciousness she was harbouring desired something.

Gilgamesh was beside himself.

For all the years upon centuries upon millennia he had spent by Thena's side, they had never had to consider this a possibility for them. And while he usually had the typical minutia to worry about - Thena's general well being, health, Mahd Wy'ry - he now had a whole other set of problems.

He was beside her every second, reluctant to so much as look away from her and their child. Everyone told him he was being excessive, including Thena herself. But he refused to leave her again. He promised her as much, anyway. He stayed close, made sure they both knew he was there.

He cooked nutritious meals, made sure they got their rest. He was a little more insistent with his brothers and sisters than they were used to. Either he was asking Phastos and Makkari for what they had read about pregnancy or he was asking Druig how the baby 'felt'.

He asked Sprite for illusion 'ultrasounds' so often that she eventually stopped obliging him, saying that unless Thena asked, she was no longer their ultrasound machine.

Sersi threw herself into tending to Thena, and their child to whom she would be a second mother if anything happened to Thena. Sersi attempted to forbid her from saying such things, but Thena said that she had heard of such practices before, and if it had to be anyone, it could be no one but Sersi.

Phastos had complained that he had an actual child, and that Jack was even fond of Thena (for some reason) and vice versa! Thena said that yes, she was very fond of Jack too. But he and Ben would have their hands full with their human child, no less whatever immortal creature she spawned (her own words).

"Are you sure about this?" she could remember Gilgamesh asking her about halfway through. It was nowhere near the normal number of months for a human gestation, but they had to assume that their advanced cell strength and regeneration was translating into the growth of the baby.

"It is far too late to ask that," she answered, her hands on her stomach, swollen to accommodate their child.

"I mean," he shifted, taking hold of her hand next to the bed she nearly constantly occupied. Although she denied it, she had to all but be on bed rest, supplying the baby with not only her Cosmic Energy but much of her physical energy as well. "We don't have any experience in this--none of us. Are we sure we can get through this?"

Thena looked up at the ceiling, seriously considering the reality of their situation, and the question related. She patted her stomach, a subconscious motion she had taken on in the last two weeks. "Yes."

Gilgamesh chuckled, kissing her hand, "that easy, huh?"

"Hm," she smiled, relishing the small but heavy affection. "It will in no way be easy. But we can do this, is what I'm saying."

He sighed, tilting his head at her, "you'll be doing the hard part. I can be here as much as I can, but there's nothing I can do for the pain of what you'll go through."

None of them had any concept of what it would mean to give birth.

Thena let him moved the back of her hand to his cheek, always cooler to the cheek than his warmer skin. "I have no fear."

"I know you don't," he lamented more than complimented, "but maybe, just this once-"

"Gilgamesh," she said softly, pulling his eyes to hers. Her still and unwavering eyes, "I do not fear this. I will endure anything to bring this being to life."

Gil's eyes watered, "I don't want you to have to."

"Be that as it may," she soothed, moving her palm to his cheek, "I choose to allow this life shelter within me, and I have already decided that it is this life that takes precedence now--over my own, over anything else."

He shook his head, "Thena-"

"I'm sorry."

He blinked through his tears, although Thena's always became glassy.

"I have experienced living without you," she admitted, her throat tight with the difficulty of such words, "no matter how brief. I know that I am asking something unbearable of you."

Gilgamesh buried his burning eyes within the warmth of her palm.

"But the young one comes first, before all else," she insisted. She brushed his tears away and forced his eyes back to hers, "swear to me."

He nodded, unable to say it just yet. To speak such an unthinkable thing was too much for him. He had only just died and come back to life within the same twelve months. And now life threatened to both give him the greatest gift and take away his greatest treasure?

"I will be with you," she promised, rubbing her belly with her free hand again, "in a way."

That was the last they had spoken of the potential worst possibility.

The birth was hard. It took all their resources to keep everyone calm, let alone actually help with the process. Makkari and Sersi did their best, Sprite insisting that she couldn't possibly stomach the reality of what was happening. She could be heard whispering to Kingo the fear that they would lose Thena this time.

Phastos kept an eye on Thena's health, although the actual act of birth had taken more strength from the Warrior Eternal than they ever could have anticipated. All the equipment at their disposal was just barely keeping her conscious as her body prepared to, in a way, deliver its own form of Celestial.

"Thena, come on, just stay with me," Gilgamesh would whisper, his lips always close to her skin, her hair, something. He held her hand, which would have broken with her efforts were it not for his exoskeleton.

She stared upward, delirious from her efforts, her pulse thready and her skin covered in a cold sweat. "When?"

"Almost there, Thena," Sersi promised on her sister's other side, dabbing her flushed skin, "I promise, just a little more."

Makkari waved, it's time!

"Come on, Thena, one more deep breath," Sersi pleaded, squeezing her shoulders as Makkari got into position.

"Almost there," Gil whispered to her, "then you can hold our baby."

Thena's pupils widened. The baby.

A shrill cry broke the air. Breath was held as Makkari held the tiny life, washing it off and wrapping it up as Sersi had told her. There was no 'cord', like Sersi had told her, but she watched as a golden thread of energy dissolved into the air. She tilted her head.

There's no belly button, Makkari shrugged, as if that were all that significant a detail. But other than that, she's beautiful.

Sersi's eyes lit, "she?"

Makkari shrugged again but smiled as she handed the baby over to Sersi first, I guess--looks an awful lot like Thena not to be.

Sersi blinked through her tears; it was true, the little bundle looked like a tiny Thena, even with wisps of the same sun glow hair.

"Sersi," Thena struggled just to lift her arms, "please."

"Here," she whispered, leaning down carefully and depositing the baby into Thena's arms and over her lap. "Look at her, Thena, she's perfect."

"Perfect," Gilgamesh whispered, gazing upon a child of his own. He had always gotten along with human kids, maybe even gotten attached to a select few, like Jack, or Odin's little pup once upon a time. But this--this was entirely different.

"Oh," Thena blinked, her voice unmistakably melted and sweet. She smiled, "she has your eyes."

Indeed, the little one blinked and had massive, warm brown eyes, like the Strongest Eternal himself. She looked up at Thena, and then over at her father, who only dissolved further.

"Hello little one," Gilgamesh whispered, as if even his voice would be too much for his new treasure to bear. He offered his finger to her itty-bitty hand.

She was already capable of a strong grip.

"She incredible," Sersi whispered to her sister, pressing her lips to Thena's hair. "What will you name her?"

Thena gazed at her child.

Makkari and Phastos also looked over amidst the work of making sure Thena was stable and going to fetch the others.

"Olympia has always been home in our minds," Thena spoke gently, "even though there is no such thing. And yet when I say it, I still think of home--the same feeling I get when I think of Australia."

Gilgamesh leaned over, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"There shall be an Olympia," Thena declared, her eyes meeting that of her child, already so wise. "You shall be the meaning of home now, little one."

"Olympia!" Sersi gasped.

Thena looked up at her, "you are crying even more than Gilgamesh."

"So?" Sersi sniffled, barely able to see through her tears at all.

Thena let Gilgamesh take Olympia from her arms, just enough for her to recline in the bed more. "Let them in, they should meet her."

"Oi Sis!--you-"

Gil glared at the doorway, "keep your voice down."

Druig clapped his jaw shut, his teeth clacking loudly.

Kingo chuckled, for once, the most tactful of their chaotic little family. He strode in, Sprite clinging to him nervously. He smiled at Thena, "you made it."

She smiled back at her most opposite but undeniably dear brother. "You did too."

Gilgamesh tilted the bundle in his arms, although he obviously wouldn't be letting anyone else try holding her just yet. "This is Olympia."

Kingo smiled still, as if having anticipated the name that was preinstalled in all their heads. "She's beautiful, you guys."

"Gilgamesh," Thena spoke up from the bed, but he shook his head, already knowing what she was going to ask of him. He turned away, leaning over his bundle of joy. She let out a faint laugh as Kingo made his way to her bedside, "you'll have to hold her later."

He allowed the selfishness, "I think he's earned the right to hog her for a little."

"Oi sis," Druig greeted all the same, although in a whisper as he scurried over to her other wide with Makkari and Sersi. "How you doin'?"

She was still smiling, elated to be on the other side of her trauma, no matter how beautiful. She let her brother pat her shoulder, "I have experienced worse...I think."

Druig snorted, "well, for what it's worth, I've never considered you tougher."

Thena looked over to where Gilgamesh was protectively huddling over Olympia, protecting her from her own Uncles and Aunts. She puffed through her nose faintly, "if you can get close enough, take a look at her. See what she's thinking."

Druig regarded the baby curiously. Even after heading a commune for two hundred years, he had never met a baby quite like this. He waved his hand vaguely in her direction.

Warmth

Makkari rubbed his back as he swiped at his eyes. Different, huh?

He nodded, slinging his arm lazily around her shoulders. They deserve this.

Makkari watched as Gilgamesh returned to Thena's side, still refusing to let Kingo and Phastos so much as tickle Olympia's cheeks. They do.

"Come on," Sprite grumbled, choosing instead to go over to Thena's side instead of crowding the baby and baby holder.

Thena looked at her youngest - most tentative - sister. "So?--what do you think?"

Sprite pursed her lips petulantly. She eyed Olympia, and her crowd of admirers. She tilted her head, "she's prettier than I imagined."

Thena took neither offense nor humour, but smiled. "You can meet her when you're ready."

And she did. Sprite warmed to the little life, just as she did to rejoining Kingo and even the human Karun instead of the isolation of secrecy.

Kingo and Phastos easily became the most eager to dote on their new little Eternal, although Gilgamesh insisted that he be the only apple of her eye. Druig managed to sneak into her good graces, with Thena's help getting past Gilgamesh's defenses.

Gilgamesh still barely leaves her side, even months after her birth. Despite her short gestation, she seems to age according to the Earth's rotation, as far as Phastos can test.

"Ajak would have loved you," Thena whispers down to the child sleeping in her arms. Whenever she lacks sleep, she does this--walks the halls of the Domo with Olympia for comfort. Her grey robes swish around her as she takes a seat in the awakening chamber. "She would still be crying even now, I'm sure."

Olympia sleeps as soundly as her father does. Apparently this is odd for a baby, which Thena doesn't think makes sense; they need sleep, so why would they be unable to achieve it?

Thena looks up at the looming statue of Arishem. "He has done me no kindnesses. If anything, he has cursed me in many ways."

Olympia doesn't mind. She has no awareness of her mother's ailment, and with the presence of their family to help, she will never witness the uglier consequences either.

Thena smiles down at the little one, though, "but I have you. And I will endure any curse for that."

She looks up at Arishem again. "Not that he had any part in that. If anyone game me you, besides your father, it is in fact godmother Sersi."

Olympia remains unbothered.

Thena presses a kiss to her tiny head, growing more white-blonde hair by the day. "You will learn in time. I will make sure you know of Ajak. And that you never know of Ikaris."

She dislikes even uttering his name in her child's presence.

Not that Olympia minds that either.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?"

She smiles as Gilgamesh rounds the corner, his grey robes also swaying in the ambient air of the ship. "I wanted to walk."

He comes over to her, checking on their little sunburst and then her. "Come back to bed. I'll hold her if want to look at her while you fall asleep."

She lays her head against his shoulder, "perfect."

#Thenamesh AU #in an alternate universe #this is what Sersi does with the remainder of the unimind energy #and we never speak of Ikaris #also as always #thanks to my girl Dalhia28 #who wrote the original pregnancy fic for these two #I don't usually write pregnancy fics #even just in general #but this fic was asked for very personally #by a very sweet follower #so I'm happy to oblige #I hope you like it! #I actually quite like how this turned out #I did think about the potential names and such #let's just say I already had this idea #and it just fits I think #everyone is obsessed with the baby of course #Phastos and Kingo are both like I am the big brother I am her favourite uncle #just kidding it's Druig #Thena even lets him hold her #Makkari isn't allowed until she's older because they're worried she'll get to excited and vibrate too much for her little bones #Sprite doesn't want to hold her but she does like putting on little illusion puppet shows for her #Gil is o b s e s s e d of course #they're always holding her #Phastos is like I designed and made the perfect bassinet and crib and bed for her #I'm getting a little insulted #Thenamesh Olympia AU

[softquietsteadylove]

We need more Thena and jack stories!

Let’s say thenamesh and jacks family go to a big amusement park when suddenly 4 giant deviants attack.

Let there be action and a little drama!

"Do you want some ice cream, Aunt Thena?"

She smiled, prying her eyes open and looking down at the kindest hearted human in all the galaxy. "You should be enjoying it, no?"

Jack twisted his little lips and turned the heaping dish of ice cream around in his hand a few times. "Hm, I think it'll be too much for me to eat by myself."

Thena smiled. She had heard loud and clear the urging by Jack to get the three scoop cup, despite his father's insistence that it would be too much for young Jack. He had asked for the three scoops with the intent on sharing. She leaned and pressed her lips to his hair, "thank you, Jack."

The boy blushed, offering the dish to her.

Thena picked up the spoon and took a delicate bite of the strawberry scoop. "Are you having fun?"

"Yeah, lots of fun," he mused idly, swinging his feet off the edge of the bench upon which she had been seated for the last hour. He squinted as the light filtering through the tree over them shifted and changed. "Are you?"

This amusement park was a nightmare designed specifically to be her own personal hell.

Jack had insisted she and Gil come with them, though. Jack always wanted them to be included when they went on family outings, and it was endearing to no end. So Thena endured car rides and school functions and the general crowding of city life for her nephew.

He had let her decline to actually go on rides, though. She had found this bench for herself in the shade, close enough to see them but far enough that she wasn't in the depths of the crowds.

"I am," she smiled, and he pursed his lips at her (in the way that she often did). It made her laugh, ruffling his hair again, "so long as you are."

"Well, okay," Jack accepted, taking a scoop of chocolate for himself while she had more strawberry. "I'm glad Uncle Gil is having fun."

Uncle Gil was currently on a ride with Ben which consisted of going through a completely dark section of tunnel on a rickety metal boat at unacceptable speeds.

"I believe he is quite enjoying the experience," Thena smiled even more. She wasn't sure how else poor Gilgamesh was supposed to experience the thrill of a theme park, so she was happy to be part of that for him as well.

"I've tried going on that ride before," Jack said quietly, looking at his black and purple sneakers. "Baba loves it, but it's too dark for me, and I think it makes Dad carsick."

Phastos was better than Thena when it came to automobiles, but it seemed that the accelerated speed and jerky turns of the rides also reduced him to a motionsick mess.

"Then we can enjoy our ice cream together," she suggested gently. If Jack was going to be melancholy for even a moment of his day of fun, she would not have it.

"'Kay!" he beamed up at her, with his teeth becoming less gappy as time went on. According to Phastos, he was in the process of losing all his small teeth and growing new ones.

What amazing processes the human body could endure.

Thena looked around the park. People were mulling around along the concrete pathways. The sun was beaming, but there was at least a breeze to rustle the trees and people's hair. For as little as she had experienced major metropolitan areas, this was by far the most bustling. There were people everywhere, several children crying as loud as they could, the sounds of machinery, of people screaming in joy. It was a lot to process.

She looked around. Something didn't seem right. It was just something at the edge of her mind, but it didn't feel like the beginning of an episode. Although, even then, she needed to have eyes on Gilgamesh. "Where are your fathers?"

Jack watched her looking around, swivelling her head like a bird of prey. "Uh, Dad said he was gonna look up places to eat after we leave. And the ride Baba went on with Uncle Gil is that way."

Thena followed the point of jack's finger to a line of people no more than a kilometre away. She stood sharply, holding their cup of ice cream, "they should be done by now."

Jack scrambled to his feet to join her. He was no longer so young that he was willing to hold hands just for the sake of it. But he was used to the nervousness that existed in her at times. He reached up, tugging at the sleeve of her white dress. "Aunt Thena, are you okay?"

She inhaled. She could feel something in the air. Something familiar, but also distant in her mind. And her Cosmic Energy was crackling inside of her. "Jack, I think something is coming."

"Like," he huddled somewhat closer to her, "bad guys?"

"Possibly," she murmured. She was thinking more along the lines of a horrific creature designed to look like a beast and a nightmare rolled into one. But she gave Jack's hand a gentle squeeze, "nothing will happen to you, Jack."

He looked up at her with wide eyes, "are you gonna fight them?"

"If I must." She would do what was necessary to protect the humans here, most of all, this human child.

"W-What about Uncle Gil, and Dad?" Jack continued, tugging at her sleeve more to dissuade her from seeking them out. "They'll fight whatever it is. You could let them handle it."

Thena stopped in her hurried steps, looking down at the worrisome boy beside her. "Jack?"

His little lip tightened, both of his hands attempting to anchor her wrist where she stood. "Don't go."

Thena's heart ached. In all her years on the planet, she had no experience to compare with this one. She had never felt the desire to turn away from the fight like she did now, just because Jack asked it of her.

Jack squeezed his eyes shut as she knelt down in front of him, kissing his forehead on the way.

She collected his tiny hands between hers. He would grow up so fast, his hands probably becoming larger than her own in no time. He would become a fine young man, then a grown man, just like his fathers. But that could only happen if she used every breath in her lungs to protect him. "I do not wish to leave you, Jack. But I will let the planet split apart at the seams before any harm shall come to you."

Before he could dissuade her further with his big teary eyes and wobbly lip, she turned away, looking through the crowds. A human would have no hope of seeing from their distance, but she picked out the head of her husband in an instant.

He looked their way, already frowning. He knew as well.

Thena scooped Jack up under her arm and jumped. If she moved fast enough she could probably remain undetected. It was a mere matter of dropping Jack at the feet of his father so she and Gil could deal with the danger at hand. "Do not leave your father's side!"

They were gone in a flash. If there were people recording their surroundings, they would look like blurs of motion. And the world was growing increasingly used to happenings like this.

"I thought they were gone," Gil voiced beside her as they ran towards the outer edge of the park.

"I cannot say I'm surprised by anything, at this point in time," she lamented as they skidded to a halt before leaping over the outer fence. The threat was still far enough away that those inside weren't panicked yet. They may be yet able to stop them within the parking lot.

"You two are show offs."

Thena offered no comment to her snarky brother, already summoning her blades to her hands. The bracelets around her wrists tightened around her skin. "You should be with Ben and Jack."

Phastos huffed at her, his rings floating around them with a gentle tinkling of metal. "They're fine. And I am not leaving you two to handle these things alone."

"How many are there?" Gil asked him, needing no further preparation than clenching his fists.

"Looks like four," Phastos looked at the palm of his hand. "And they're big."

"Then we will have to stop them here," Thena declared. She looked at her hands, reminding herself why she was holding weapons in the first place. No matter what, she could not leave this post. What was behind them was far too precious to risk.

"Hey," Gil whispered to her, touching the back of his fist to hers. Their Cosmic Energy sparked and fizzled at the contact. "You're not alone here, okay? Just stay close to me."

She looked at her husband, trying not to think of the last time they had been in combat. She nodded.

"You two take those ones!"

Phastos faced down the two larger ones prowling closer. They looked crocodillian, massive maws of teeth and scuttling legs at their sides. He thrust his fists forward, leashing them together with lassos of energy.

"Gil!"

He didn't need to be asked, grasping her by the waist and launching her up into the air. The flying ones were always the most troublesome. And this one would be capable of flying over the fences and walls and plucking those inside like ripened berries.

Thena grabbed onto its foot, already enough to shifts its balance. She reached up, climbing up its form until she could strike out, driving her blade through the membrane of its wing.

The winged beast roared as they plummeted, crashing to the ground again. Its body was met with the frame of several cars below. Thena tumbled off and away, rolling a few times before scraping her feet against the pavement. She wished she had the durable boots of her armour, but she was in sandals and a light sundress.

"Y'okay, T?!" Phastos called out from holding the other two at bay, with Gil grasping the tusks of the third one.

She didn't bother answering. They would know she was fine by that. It was if she called out them that would mark cause for alarm. She pulled up her blades again, sticking one straight through the underside of the Deviant's 'beak' and through its head. "One down."

Phastos did what he did best - one of several things, to his credit - sending an electrical current through the creatures tethered to him. They writhed in agony. "Finish 'em off!"

Gil tossed away the tusked one's positively mammoth body just to turn around and deliver a bone shattering punch to one of them. It was easy to tell it was effective when the Deviant's eyes exited the cranial cavity.

Thena leapt over the other one, easily landing with her blade pointed down, driving it in similar to how she had taken down the winged one. She was not going to waste time on these things. They were interfering with Jack's fun day. "That one."

Gil shook out his fist after killing one of the reptilian ones, only to look at the tusked one again, which was dragging its front feet to signal being ready to charge. "You ready, baby?"

Thena grinned. She had almost forgotten what a thrill the hunt could be. The battle thrummed through her veins as she took her stance beside her lover. "Always."

Gil focused his energy into his feet, driving them into the concrete and refusing to budge as he caught the elephantine Deviant by the tusks again. "All yours!"

Thena jumped onto one of the tusks as her launching point, twisting and leaping over its head to the back of it. There was quite a hump there, and clearly it was built to b e durable. But she wasn't going to hack at it blindly (who was she, Ikaris?).

The Deviant bellowed as she found the softness where its neck and head connected, and pierced. The creature reared up on its hind legs in one last ditch effort to rid itself of her.

Thena leapt off, flipping over a few times before landing. She'd had her feet out to land, but she found herself in her husband's arms. She blinked at him.

He smiled at her, "one of your sandals is torn, hon. Don't wanna ruin them before we get home."

She laughed; what a sweet Eternal her husband was. She nuzzled and then kissed his cheek as dust and wind rushed around them, signalling the fall of the largest Deviant.

"Seriously?" Phastos rolled his eyes at them, cleaning off his glasses with his shirt collar. "Can we go?"

Indeed, they had to go. New castors were arriving, crowds building. If they wanted even a semblance of a chance of escaping, it had to be now.

Thena sighed, "where is Sprite when you need her."

"C'mon," Phastos motioned to them to follow him, taking a roundabout route closest to the emerging crowds. They could blend in and pretend to be early spectators.

Gil laid his light jacket over her shoulders, "you feel okay?"

Thena looked down at the bracelets around her wrists. Her powers were in check and her mind was clear. She nodded, letting him kiss her cheek as they melded back into the human masses.

"Aunt Thena!"

She blinked, receiving a bundle of human youth hurtling at her. She patted his shoulders, "you should not have run off from your father, Jack."

"Are you okay?!"

She melted; how could she not, in the face of those big puppy eyes? She sighed, letting him cling to her after she had disappeared from his side so suddenly. They continued back into the depths of the park, Ben mere steps behind his son. "I am."

Ben put his hands on his hips as his husband also rejoined them. "Should I expect alligators if we ever go to Six Flags?"

Phastos rubbed his husband's back as they walked towards the other end of the park. "You know we can't go there, babe."

"Why not?" Thena asked with Jack still clinging to her as Gil patted his head to reassure him.

"It's all water," Phastos sufficed to say, and she had to agree. They all sank like stones (them and their semi-inorganic bodies, and all).

"Aunt Thena, will you come to Six Flags if we go?"

This boy--her one weakness! She sighed, "of course."

#Jack and Thenamesh #some action! #Jack making sure Aunt Thena is having an okay time #he brings her ice cream the sweet boy #meanwhile Thena is in hell #listening to screaming kids and in the heat of the sun and already motion sick from the car ride over #but Jack wants to go so she sits and watches #all the other moms sitting and watching are like which one is yours? #she finally looks at them and says that she is thousands of years older than all of them #they're flabbergasted but at least they're not talking to her anymore #Phastos loses it on her but it's not like anyone believes her she protests while rolling her eyes #Ben says oh honey it's fine let Thena have some fun #Gil gets back from the ride #baby it was so fun! #he's soaking wet on either side of him #but he's having fun that's all that matters #Thena takes his damp jacket from him and kisses him #if he wants to walk around in a damp white t-shirt she's not going to stop him #they watch it on the news when they get home #there are only some blurry shots of them from a distance #Phastos tells them they got lucky #Thena does not care #she looks at him after they had a deadly battle like #Thena: why do you not have strawberry ice cream? #Phastos: T we battled aliens today can you have priorities? #Thena: my priority is why there's no good fucking food here #For all I talk about how Kingo and Druig are great brothers #Thena and Phastos are actually peak brother and sister #Phastos: when are you gonna leave my house? #Thena: when you stop being ugly did you order the pizza?

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello!!!

I miss cute interactions between Jack and Thenamesh!! Would you write something sweet? Jacks birthday party for example. So he can introduce his cool aunt and uncle to his friends. And Phastos totally disliking it?

THAAANK YOUUUUUU

"You must stop sulking, Habibi," Ben chuckled as he patted his husband's shoulder. He emptied another bag of pretzel sticks into a bowl.

"What ever happened to having a secret identity, hm?" Phastos huffed as he peeked out from the kitchen and into the living room. "He's in there telling them that his 'superpowered' relatives are gonna lift the freakin' car for them."

"He's exaggerating," Ben excused for his son, as well as maybe hoped that if he said it then it might be true. "I'm sure they know that."

Phastos just sighed as Jack's friends oohed and awed at Gil and his muscles as three of them hung off one of his arms. "He has to at least make it look like it takes effort."

"They're children," Ben shrugged, offering Phastos some pretzel sticks, "and look at him."

"Baby," Phastos turned to his husband, "if you start checking out my own brother, I swear to-"

"Could you blame him?"

Ben just laughed, while Phastos nearly jumped a foot in the air. He put his hand on his chest, "Thena!"

The Warrior Eternal merely looked at her brother, enjoying her newest favourite American snack: cheese puffs. "The children are enjoying themselves."

Jack had eagerly asked Uncle Gil and Aunt Thena if they would be around for his birthday party. They agreed, of course, although Gil may or may not have whispered in Jack's ear that Aunt Thena wasn't really one for crowds. Jack, being a very sweet and considerate boy to his favourite Aunt, told her that she didn't have to hang out with them the whole time.

She had emerged to greet them and then for cake, solely to oblige her dear nephew. She smiled, "kids love Gil."

Ben smiled at the look on the surprisingly gentle hearted woman's face.

Phastos shook his head at her, "that look on your face makes me long for the days of Kievan-Rus."

Thena punched her brother right in the side.

"Aunt Thena!"

Thena shoved her bowl of cheese puffs into Phastos's hands (who was both already holding the pretzel sticks and also still winded from her punch). She smiled at Jack, leaning down to him, "are you enjoying your party, Jack?"

"Come on, everyone wants to see Uncle Gil lift you up!"

Thena let Jack pull her along into the living room with everyone else. She eyed the children among them, "hello."

"Miss Thena, is it true you picked up Jimmy and his friends on Halloween?"

She tilted her head at the question, as if she hadn't even understood the words. She looked at Gil.

"Remember the kid who took Jack's candy?" he asked, which immediately sparked some recognition in her. "Yeah, the one you picked up from the back of his jacket."

Thena nodded, indeed remembering that incident. She looked at the child who asked the question, as well as the others crowded around them for the answer. "We work out together."

"I told you they're cool!" Jack hollered, to which his friends also cheered their agreement. He looked up at them, "Aunt Thena, will you lift me up?--please?!"

Gil nodded, "sure thing, bud. Just not like she lifted up Jimmy, or you could get hurt, okay?"

Thena looked at Gil, and then down at her precious little nephew. Humans were so delicate already, and children were a whole other story. She sighed, "very well."

Jack and his friends all whooped and hollered as Thena lifted him right up off the ground like it was nothing, holding him under the armpits like a baby, or a pet.

"Enough," she smiled as she set him down again, making sure he was unharmed from having his body weight held from just two points.

"Me next!"

"No, me!"

"Me!"

"No," she stared the kids down without hesitation. They all just laughed, unbothered by the dry response. "Only Jack."

"Okay, okay," Gil laughed, ready to intercede for the sake of his wife. He came up behind her bending down and scooping her up on his shoulder without a care in the world. "Aunt Thena is off limits now."

"Uncle Gil!" Jack laughed. His friends all admired his display of strength.

Luckily the living room had a higher ceiling than the dining room and kitchen. Thena leaned over slightly anyway, her hand on Gil's opposite shoulder and her hair swaying against the back of his neck.

Phastos sighed, left with just the pretzels and the cheese puffs, "unbelievable."

#Jack and Thenamesh #Poor Phastos #stuck here with his lovebird siblings #his own husband checking out his brother #and his sister on a mission to scare him into mortality #Thena was willing to endure the party for Jack's sake #but she would be lying if she said she wasn't relieved when he told her that she didn't have to stay for the whole thing #she's been hiding in the basement watching the fish in the fish tank #she knows how to work the tv #she would rather watch the goldfish #Gil keeps her on his shoulder just for fun #and then also none of the kids can bother her too much

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello! I found my way here after I've been reading the entire AO3 storage of Thenamesh fanfiction. First of all, i love you fanfictions, thank you for writing them.

I came across the reunion fic where Eros brings Ajak and Gilgamesh back from the world forge as a wedding present for Sersi. I would like to ask you to continue this one. I'm a sucker for reunions and happy endings. Thenamesh deserves a happy ending. Can't wait for Eternals 2.

And O M G, Auntie Thena and Jack are so sweet they give me diabetes. I mean she's dancing with him SHSFSGSHFSSGSGSHSH

Everything is a muddled mess of sounds and colours and smells. But it's okay, because she can push through the mess. She can feel his heartbeat, hear his breathing next to her ear. The only colour she can see is the colour of his shirt, in which her face is buried. All she can smell is him, somehow nice and comforting and familiar despite this being, in many ways, not her Gilgamesh.

But he is. He is, though--Gilgamesh could only ever be hers, in any form, in any timeline, in any universe.

On any planet.

"Hey," he whispers against her hair as they way absently to the music.

"Hm?" she asks, although not yet bringing herself to tear away from him.

Gil understands her better than to demand it, too. He knows she's listening. "Remember the last time we danced at a wedding like this?"

"At Sersi's last wedding," Thena sighs from within his embrace. "You asked me to dance."

"You're a great dancer."

"Only with you," she answers easily, and he wraps his arms around her, spinning her in his arms in agreement. She presses her breathy - watery - laugh into his chest. "I remember."

"You were unhappy all day."

"I was not unhappy," Thena shakes her head, even though they're arguing for the fun of it. "I could never be unhappy with you."

Gil holds her hands in his and spins her around. "And you used to call me a sappy romantic."

But Thena keeps her eyes on him, keeps him in her sights like her life depends on it. "I suppose I'm feeling sentimental."

Gilgamesh pulls her against him again, swaying them, holding her hand in his as firm as their embrace but as gentle as her featherlight heart against his chest. "We made a bet on who we thought would get married next."

Thena sighs against him, opening her eyes to catch Druig and Makkari watching them from the edge of the room. They've been on edge since the appearance of Eros, and even now that he's gone, the pair are still hovering along the perimeter. They're feeling protective of her, which she thinks is endearing for siblings she considers younger than her. "I'm still convinced they've gotten married in some way and just aren't telling us."

"Maybe they don't think they have to," Gilgamesh offers softly, running his hands over her back. They come to a stop slowly and absently, as if they had been letting the breeze take them. "I believe you said something to that affect."

"I should have said yes sooner."

His eyes soften as she buries herself in him again, trying to envelop herself with every fibre of his being. He secures his arms around her, but she nuzzles in closer. He kisses the top of her head. "I don't mind."

Thena's voice is thin and hazy again, her tears making themselves known again. "I thought we had time."

"We do now," he promises. He can do nothing to erase what she has endured in his absence, nor can he undo decisions they never made because of how their lives unfolded. But he can promise her now, and he can promise her his future.

Thena pulls her head up to look at him, those green eyes glittering like the seas they used to watch over. They flutter closed again as he kisses her.

"You have always been my wife," he promises her. There's no lie in it--as far as either of them is concerned, they have been bound together for thousands and thousands of years. "I don't need anyone to tell me that."

Thena relishes in his affection, letting it be a balm for her broken and aching heart.

Gil, as he always has, senses her pain and seeks to ease it. "So, you're open to it now, is what you're saying?"

"In an instant," she whispers to him, closing her fists around his shirt sleeves.

Gil starts swaying them again, dancing with a renewed excitement. His eyes catch Sersi watching them before she hides her curiosity behind her new husband. "I guess we should wait until at least tomorrow."

Thena laughs a little more easily this time. "I suppose it is considered rude to take someone's wedding night for your own."

"Tomorrow, then," he concludes. Phastos is watching them as well, with a man by his side and the boy Gil has come to learn is his son. He has to get to know the boy--the only child to whom he has ever seen Thena let herself become attached.

"The house is just as we left it."

Home: their home in Australia. Gil can immediately picture every detail of it in his head. He doesn't tell her how relieved he is that he can. But he remembers every detail, from the way his apron was hung up by the fridge, to how he remembers thinking that they hadn't made the bed before leaving with the rest of their family.

He aches for their bed.

Thena runs her fingers through his hair as he buries his face in the crook of her neck.

"Does it have to be tomorrow?"

"Gilgamesh."

She feels him smile against her skin where her shoulder meets her clavicle. He presses the bend of his lips to it, "yes, dear."

#A soft little #Thenamesh AU #because they deserve a soft reunion #I WILL lie down on the ground and cry #no one understands how emotional I will be #but this is what they deserve #I've been trying to think of what this most feels like #and for what it's worth #there is a chapter in #Hope Springs Eternal #about Sersi and Ikaris' wedding and how I think these two spent the day #that's actually what they're referencing when they're talking #and I always did really love that chapter #so...if you know youknow

[softquietsteadylove]

Hi :) I read all of your prompts here and I really love them all! So I was thinking how about and hospital Thenamesh AU? You choose if both are doctors or one of them being a doc and the other one a patient!

Pretty sure you will write something great!

"Just look at them."

"You mean look at Gil."

"I bet when he does CPR their bones are just shattered."

Thena huffs, slapping down the tablet with her charts (that is exactly why they have shock absorbent cases). "Are you going to actually help with the incoming patients?--or would you prefer to stand around them and watch them save lives instead of participating?"

The various interns and a few nurses scurry to cover up their open appraisal of their colleagues. "S-Sorry, Doctor."

Thena just rolls her eyes at them. It's a phenomenon in the ER that the EMTs and paramedics are the desired dating pool for anyone looking. And unfortunately for Thena, her emergency room is the hub for such dating pools. "Tell me what we've got."

"Kid fell off his bike, has a pretty nasty lesion from it," she gets briefed, receiving the necessary information. "He'll live, but we told him to prepare himself mentally to get stitched up."

Thena looks up at Gil as he gives her the lowdown on her patient. Gil is such a softie at heart, and he absolutely has a weakness for kids. She smiles, "did you tell him he was coming to see the scariest trauma specialist in town?"

"Nope, but I did tell him my very good friend Thena would take extra good care of him," Gil beams right in the face of her cynicism and snark with upturned eyes and full cheeks. He leans down to whisper, "especially since one his dads has been panicking the whole way here?"

"I see," Thena nods with a sigh. She's not the best at dealing with those accompanying her patients; she's not exactly known for her bedside manner. "You've talked to them?"

"Tried," Gil shrugs, still walking with her as the young man gets taken down the hall and transferred from his stretcher to a proper bed. "You know how parents can be."

"Yes, I certainly do," Thena mutters, speaking quietly and quickly with Gil as she prepares to deal with her least favourite part of her job. She pulls on a pair of gloves, "but usually your charm is more effective at subduing them before they reach me."

"Maybe I'm losing my touch."

"I doubt it," she gives him a coy little smirk as she sits on her stool and wheels it over to the boy. "Hello, Jack. My name is Thena, I'll be stitching you up tonight."

The kid sniffles a little but nods, putting on a much braver face than one of his fathers.

"Where did that nice paramedic go?" the panicky one asks, his glasses moving on his face as he looks around.

"Gil has to brief the nurse's station on their run and release their equipment so it can be restocked for the next one," Thena answers straightforward as she starts her most basic examination of both Jack and his injury. "How did this happen, hm?"

"Riding around with those hooligans, that's how!"

"Dad," Jack sighs up at his anxious father. He looks at Thena again, "we were taking turns going down the big hill by the old library. I guess I hit a rock or something, and..."

"You know," Thena looks at Jack with the smile Gil tells her is more effective than she thinks it is, "it's a good thing you were wearing a helmet when this happened. Or I'd be stitching up...all this-"

Jack laughs away the rest of his tears as Thena motions to the general vicinity of his head.

"Okay," Thena looks at Jack as she picks up her scissors, "are you ready?"

Jack looks at his parents and their held hands before nodding.

"Sorry," Thena mutters as she cuts his pants at the knee.

"I never liked those jeans anyway."

"Phastos, please," one husband says to the other, who physically zips his lips.

Thena lets out a faint laugh as she knots her line and takes her sutures in hand. "Did Gil tell you about how things work?"

Jack nods, watching her with her hooked needle anxiously.

"Gil told me that he already applied the topical anaesthetic," Thena explains, although she remembers after the fact that she needs to use more everyday terminology. "The numbing cream is going to help with the pain, okay?"

"Okay."

"How's...this?" Thena asks, applying some very light pressure on the cleaned wound's edges.

Jack squirms, "it kind of stings a little, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be."

"It's okay to be scared," Thena says as she makes the first bite and anchors her monofillament. "But this is just going to ensure that your scrape here heals properly."

"Jack, how we doin'?" Gil asks as he rejoins them, leaning over Thena's shoulder as she works. "See?--didn't I tell you she's the coolest doctor in the place?"

"She's pretty cool," Jack concedes, less tense as he looks at Gil instead of at Thena sewing up his shin.

"Gilgamesh, I am trying to work," she says in a light tone, since they both know she could complete Jack's suturing with her eyes closed.

"It's been a quiet night," he shrugs, winking at Jack, who laughs. He looks at his fathers again, one of whom seems to appreciate his sense of humour (the other one is just trying to breathe). "Don't worry, Doctor Thena here is the best at what she does. I trust her with my life."

"Don't let him fool you," Thena murmurs as she throws her next knot, "most of the people I get in here already have the benefit of his care before they even see me. I quite literally couldn't do my job without him."

"Aw, honey," Gil jokes, blushing and pushing his hands into the pockets he's thrown on over his uniform. "You're embarrassing me in front of the patient."

"Was he like this in the ambulance?" Thena peeks up at Jack, who is still laughing at their interaction. She shakes her head, already done with her work. "He's all charming on the way here and then people get scared of me--makes me look bad."

"Come on," he nudges her with his fist within his hoodie pocket. The parents startle a little at the thought of him jostling her when she has a needle in their child's skin. But they also notice in this moment that she's already done and handing her needle back for disposal. "You couldn't look bad if you tried."

Thena rolls her eyes, although she's smiling--she can feel it. It really hurts her reputation of being the 'scary' ER doctor. She looks at Jack, "guess what?"

"What?"

Thena holds up her hands, pulling off her gloves and throwing them away. "I've been done for five minutes already."

"Oh," Jack blinks down at his stitched up leg. He can barely even tell what happened, "whoa."

Gil nods at Jack and rests his pocket on Thena's shoulder, which she swats away gently, "best in the biz."

"Thank you, Doctor," the less nervous father expresses with a winsome smile, gripping his son's shoulder. "You've both made this a much more bearable experience for us."

"That's what he's for."

"That's why she's the best."

Gil and Thena both look at each other for the contrasting statements, although they share the same sentiment, in a way.

"I'll get your paperwork done and then I do believe you can head home," Thena smiles as she stands, her ponytail swinging as she does. She nods at the calmer husband, "your husband deserves to take it easy the rest of the night, I think."

The father smiles at her, "as does yours!"

Thena blushes. She honest-to-god blushes, her hands flailing around in front of her as she tries to form the words. "N-No, h-he's not--we're-"

"If only," Gil just laughs, heading back to the nurse's station with Thena's charts in hand (which he's really not supposed to be doing, but everyone knows that Thena and Gil kind of play it fast and loose with how much he's really allowed to hang around at her side).

#tw stitches #tw needles #Thenamesh AU #Thenamesh Doctor AU #I watched a whole ass video about how to suture for this #it's on wired on youtube if you're interested #we're going to pretend that I know what is and is not a hipaa violation #I'm Canadian #and I don't think I actually have that much of an American audience #anyway #I know my options were doctor/doctor or doctor/patient #and I thought about it #but then I found out that paramedics and EMTs #are the real heartthrobs in that context #and Gil would be a great emergency responder #he's friendly and kind and gentle #but can definitely lift a grown person with one arm #not that Thena has noticed #no certainly not #she definitely doesn't think her work husband is fucking sexy #just kidding #she doesn't even know he's her work husband #meanwhile Gil is like #my work wife is the prettiest Doctor in the whole world

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello, I'm a big fan of Thenamesh and your work. Your stories are so good I'm literally devouring them. A few days ago i had one of those so called "shower thoughts". A scenario where Thena is obsessive and acts like a dog defending it's territory. (It's Gilgamesh of course. He came back after the Emergence, back from the dead like I've read it in so many fanfictions.)

And the Family tries to deal with it but Thena acts so weird and possessive that they're so afraid and don't even want to go near her or Gilgamesh. I tried to write it but it doesn't work. Lack of inspiration. So i wanted to share it with you. If you want you can use it for a OneShot or a Story on AO3.

Ps: you may know me as "Hornysse", sneaking around in the comments of your stories on AO3

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you."

"Shit, really?" Kingo looked over his shoulder to Sersi and Sprite and then towards the kitchen again. "But I'm hungry."

Sersi gave him a tight smile. "If you're feeling brave, then go for it."

No one was brave enough to risk the wrath of the Goddess of War.

It wasn't that they couldn't understand it. Since returning from the World Forge, loved ones in hand, everyone was feeling fragile. They'd been through an ordeal, it wasn't something they denied.

But maybe it surprised them how Thena in particular had been since getting Gilgamesh back. Which was that she had taken up a level of territorial that was bordering on possessive. She didn't leave his side, didn't let others near him, barely let them near her unless absolutely necessary. And the lack of contact made it even harder than normal to talk with the stoic Eternal.

Gilgamesh was still healing, still regaining his footing in his second round of life. He wasn't in any condition to try and wrangle his fiercest protector. But if Gilgamesh couldn't do it, it really left the question of who could. And the family had yet to find a real answer to that.

"We can't let her go on like this," Druig spoke up from his place beside Makkari, nodding his head in the direction of the kitchen. Gilgamesh was relearning how to cook for himself first, and his trusty guardian Goddess was by his side, of course. "S'not good for her."

"Would you like to try and talk to her, then?" Sersi gave him a somewhat reproachful look. He clammed up, as she had expected him to. "You're right. But if you have any ideas on what to do about it, then I'm sure we'd love to hear it."

"Can't we just let her," Sprite shrugged her shoulders, rustling her growing auburn hair, "get it out of her system?"

Will she? Makkari asked, looking into the kitchen from her angle. Gil was at the table, taking sips of whatever he'd made. Thena was prowling around behind him, waiting to pounce on whomever would dare to disturb them. Get it out of her system?

"It might get worse before it gets better," Phastos suggested as he returned from his nightly chat with Jack and Ben. "She's got a lot of feelings to sort through--having him back. And that was never a strong suit of hers."

The rest of the family quieted. Phastos was right. It was easy to forget that Thena had a certain fragility under that shell of hers. It wasn't just Mahd Wy'ry, or what they'd all been through together.

Thena and Gil had always been inseparable, since the moment they'd awakened. The first day they ever spent on the planet, each of them could recall the two warriors together, hand in hand, all smiles and camaraderie before they'd established it with anyone else. And that didn't change at all in their thousands of years on the planet together.

They had built a house--an entire life their family had only been able to get a glimpse of in passing.

"I'll talk to her," Druig declared, but was pushed back down into his seat by Kingo.

"Let me try," he said quietly, giving Druig a much softer pat on the shoulder. He raised his hand and waved his fingers by his temple. "She probably doesn't want you rooting around either of their heads."

Druig scoffed at the suggestion that he would, but let Kingo bite the bullet.

Gil looked up as Kingo walked in, smiling. "Hey, Kingo--there's soup, if you want some."

Kingo kept his eyes on Thena, who was measuring exactly how close he could get before he was too close. When he hit that line she leaned off the counter behind Gil and uncrossed her arms. Kingo stilled, keeping his hands in his pockets as a sign of good will. "I'm good, but thanks, buddy."

"Suit yourself," Gil continued on, all but unaware of the tension around him.

"T, how are you feeling?" Kingo asked more directly, watching his sister closely. She really was on high alert, muscles tensed and palms probably burning hot from the energy under her skin.

"Fine."

"Really?" Kingo asks, sliding his foot forward another inch. Thena leaned forward, gripping the back of Gil's chair in one hand. The other remained free. "'Cause we were talking and, uh, we think you seem kinda stressed."

Gilgamesh abandoned his next spoonful of soup and looked up at her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she repeated, keeping her eyes on Kingo as if they were about to start a standoff any second. "Finish your soup."

Gil furrowed his brows, finally - just now - noticing how tightly wound she was. "Thena?"

"I know you're worried about him, T," Kingo pulled his hands out of his pockets slowly, raising them with his fingers splayed and his palms turned towards her. "But we're family, okay? You can relax, you know that."

It was a bold claim for him to say it so factually. Thena was practically growling at him.

Gilgamesh looked between the two Fighters. Kingo didn't move a muscle. Thena was still tense behind him. Gil pushed his seat back, with none of the fear that Kingo - and apparently the rest of the family - had about spooking the Warrior Eternal.

Thena watched Gil's every move, as if looking for a crack that would make him shatter in the air before her eyes.

"Hey," he said softly as he stood, moving so he could take her vision away from Kingo completely. His hand raised up to hers gently, and the golden glow of her temper waned. "What's wrong?"

Thena's eyes searched over him, looking at every little tiny detail. But she also looked far away, like she was experiencing everything in a dream.

Gil caught her eyes drifting to Kingo, who was trying to slide out of the room again without incident. He tilted her chin back to him. "Just you and me."

Thena's placid mask slipped, just enough for him to see how the words struck a painful and familiar chord with her.

"You've been taking care of me since I woke up," he attempted a smile, trying to bring hers out with it. But she wasn't there yet, so he slid their fingers together. It anchored her to him further, encouragingly. "Now talk to me."

Thena's lip twitched. It didn't even manage to full on wobble, but the walls were coming down, they could both feel it. Her other hand trembled its way up to his cheek, touching him as if she would shatter him. "You're here."

"I'm here." He was patient, letting her dictate their course and decide their pace. He would wait as long as he had to.

"You weren't, though."

"I know," he nodded, and his eyes drifted down in an apology of sorts. He had always been so attuned to her; their hearts shared the same rhythm. But there was now part of her that he had never experienced. Part of her had now experienced what it was like to lose him--to live without him. And while he wanted to ease her pain, he wasn't sure he was strong enough to experience it for himself.

"And," Thena continued, her voice starting to unravel. Her throat went tight and tears sprang to her wide, green eyes. She started to shake, but Gil's hands encircled both of hers. Her breath came in short puffs. "What if you're not again."

"But I'm here."

"What if I blink and you're not," she whispered, her hand pressing against his cheek more firmly. "What if I turn my back and you're gone again?"

"But I'm right here."

"What if none of this is real?"

It was the question everyone hated thinking. Thena wasn't cured of Mahd Wy'ry just because they had escaped--just because Gilgamesh was back. Her mind was still wounded from their lifetimes upon lifetimes of memories.

"What if you're not real," she sniffed, her tears running down her cheeks purely because she was too filled up to keep them in anymore.

"But I am." He repeated it again and again, whispering it to her as he wiped her tears off her cheeks and gripped her hands when they started to pulse gold again.

Thena shook her head as he held her cheeks, her chest jumping as she tried to breathe. "My entire world...in the blink of an eye."

"I know," he nodded before pressing their foreheads together. "But Earth is safe, because of y-"

"Not Earth."

Gilgamesh closed his eyes as her head tipped up and she hovered there, neither too close nor too far. He could feel her breath on his lips, and he was sure she could feel the same.

"You," she whispered, and it was a question, an answer, a plea, a promise, a vow--so many things she had never gotten to say the first time around. "I can't do it again. I won't--I won't make it-"

"You don't have to," he rushed out, making his own promise to her. They could both feel how fragile that was as soon as it hit the air. "I...I know I broke that promise before. But...never again. I'm right here, Thena. You and me."

Thena inhaled, breathing in the words he'd said as a promise when they ended up in Australia. She had begged and screamed for him to leave--to not resign himself to her and her burdens and her sickness and her violence. But he had stayed - could never have considered leaving - and said it was them. "You and me."

"You and me," he smiled again, and this time he did get just the slightest hint of a smile from her. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to the corner of hers, where the hint of her smile promised more in the future. And he had ever intention of actually seeing out this Eternity to its fullest. "There she is."

She pulled away to look at him, his thumb swiping away the last of her drying tears.

"My Thena," he smiled softly, drinking in the sight of her.

It was such a simple title, but the way her hands gripped his made him want to keep using it, over and over.

She let out her breath slowly and gently as he kissed her cheek with a sense of finality to it. And she uncoiled herself, as much as she was capable in the moment. "They're scared of me."

"Well, you can be pretty scary when you're cranky."

"I am not cranky."

"You can be," he chuckled, feeling more energized just for the easy and familiar rhythm of their exchange. "As much as I appreciate having your protection, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Not with them."

Thena sighed. "I know. But-"

Gil pulled her into his arms more completely, leaning back on the table as he held her and she laid her head on his chest. "I'm all yours. I'm right here."

Two simple little promises, and they screamed his understanding of her very soul. He understood her protectiveness, knew what was driving her to possession. He couldn't fix what had already been done, but he could offer what he could to comfort her in the aftermath. "It'll get easier. It'll get further away. But I'm right here, right now. Nothing is going to shatter that."

Thena unwound a little more in his embrace, breathing out a long held breath. "Fine. They can have some soup."

Gilgamesh just chuckled, relishing the way she buried her face in his chest as he did, as if unable to get enough of it. "You'll let them in the kitchen?--with us?"

Thena nodded silently against him, having been fully satiated by his embrace. "But I'm staying close."

Gil grinned against her soft plume of blonde. "You think I have a problem with that?"

#Thenamesh #Thena #Gilgamesh #Eternals #I hope it's something like what you imagined #thank you so much! #you always have such kind and encouraging words for me #I hope you like it! #Thenamesh AU

[softquietsteadylove]

I love your stories so much. How do you feel about thenamesh baby stories? Also, what about Thena and Gil taking Jack to a fair/arcade and one of them winning a prize for the other?

"Almost!"

Jack huffed at the game, taunting him with the still-moving targets. "Man, this is bogus."

"I don't know if that's a curse word or not, but don't say it around your dad," Gil patted Jack's head from behind him. "I don't care if you say it, but I know he'll blame me if he hears it."

"Wanna try again, little man?" the stall worker asked, holding out a hand.

"Naw, I still won't win anything," Jack sighed, mimicking Gil and sliding his hands into his jacket pockets.

"I will win whatever he desires."

"Five tickets for three shots! What'd'ya say, Missie?"

Gil almost laughed at the stark difference between the carnival worker's slang and Thena's staunch attitude. He touched her elbow with the back of his hand, "go easy on him, Sweetheart."

"Darling, please," she hummed with a smile, and he already knew that look in her eye. "It is only a game."

"I don't know, Aunt Thena," Jack murmured, ignorant to Gilgamesh's worries about Thena and her lack of restraint. "Dad says these games are always rigged."

"Hey, if the lady wants to play, I say let 'er take 'er shot!"

"Indeed." Thena nodded, and Gil held back his laughter as best he could as he handed over the tickets for her round. She eyed the moving targets. "Which yield the best rewards?"

"Uh-"

Jack pointed, fully accustomed to his aunt's peculiarly old-fashioned speech. "The ones in the back row, with the red hearts for targets. They're worth triple points. If you get one it's worth one of the small prizes by itself, and all three get you the top shelf stuff."

"I see," she nodded, taking Jack's advice gravely serious. She looked at him, "which object do you desire?"

"Hm," Jack pressed a hand to his chin. His eyes travelled over the rows of prizes. "I guess the soccer ball might be cool."

"Then you will have it." She was frighteningly resolute.

"Remember," Gil called to her mildly, but still very much present, "honey. Don't get carried away."

Thena smirked. She picked up the darts, immediately handling them like a pro. She was a seasoned expert in any form of weapon, after all. It was easy for her to discern the weight and balance of the objects.

The attendant's jaw dropped as the dart sailed through the air. It struck the duck in the heart, so deep the tip of the needle - as old as it was - stuck out the back. "W-Wh-Who the hell-"

"My nephew's prize," she cut him off, glaring at him until the ball was in Jack's hands. She turned to the boy, "anything else?"

"Mm, I'm good," he shrugged, already toying with the ball in his hands. He was grinning from ear to ear, though. "You should win something for you and Uncle Gil."

"Yeah, Sweetie," Gil chuckled, leaving the background to step up beside her again. She naturally leaned closer, nestling her shoulder against his. "Win something for me."

She wasn't even looking this time, and still, the dart landed dead on.

"Show off," Gil grinned, so close he could nuzzle her cheek with the tip of his nose. "I told you to go easy. You need more restraint."

"You love me without it."

"Of course I do."

"Gross," Jack whined, rolling his eyes at his uncle and aunt. "If I wanted to witness something like this I would've hung out with Dad and Baba."

"Last shot, baby," Gil chuckled. The attendant was already blown away, and Thena did exercise some restraint (she could have thrown the ordinary dart so hard the entire target would be torn clean off). He tipped her chin backwards to him.

"No fuckin' way-"

Thena smiled against Gil's lips, easily making the bullseye shot yet again, even with her eyes closed in the kiss. They pulled apart only to laugh. "What do you want?"

"Mm," Gil hummed, wrapping both arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "That cute white cat."

"Of course," Thena rolled her eyes at him, absolutely dripping with affection. She pointed, "I want the bear."

The attendant retrieved them, too stunned to speak.

Thena accepted the plush rewards. "You shouldn't use profanity in the presence of children."

"Aunt Thena-"

"His father blames us for it," she sufficed to say before leaving with Gil and Jack in tow. She ran her fingers against the bear's brown fur.

"They're cute, right?" Gil grinned, holding his own prize with affection. Thena said nothing, but when he swiped for the bear she dodged his reach, holding it closer to her other side.

"Jack," Thena called out, and the boy stopped tossing the ball as they walked to look at her. "What else would you like to play?"

He smiled. For all her saying that she didn't understand any of the games at the fair, as soon as he said he wanted to go she all but dragged Uncle Gil out the door behind her. "I don't know, I guess. But I think Uncle Gil should play that hammer game."

"Hammer game?"

"It's to test your strength," Jack laughed. "I wanna see him blow it up!"

"Well, I don't think it would blow up," Thena mused, looking at her lover with a raised brow. "He has more restraint than that."

"Hey," he nudged her, "maybe it's my turn to show off."

#Also! #to answer your question #I love a parental Thenamesh vibe #even though I don't think the Eternals would be able to have biological kids #and I was adopted #so I believe very strongly that blood has nothing to do with family #I don't have any plans for a Thenamesh kid right now #but I guess that's part of what makes #Jack and Thenamesh #stories so popular

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello Darling!

would love to read more Babysitter Thenamesh but with some action? Them doing something fun but something goes wrong and Gil protecting Jack? Impressing both Thena and Jack and Gil making sure that Jack is fine afterwards? some sweet stuff?

"Why does it have to be canines?"

But Jack was already off and running around, observing the dog breeds around them as he found a good distance for ball throwing.

"Well, it's not like it's cats," Gil shrugged in consolation as he easily reached out and caught Jack's softball throw in his hand. He tossed it back, careful of both his throwing force and Jack's little human body. "You know how much Jack loves dogs."

"Yes, I am aware," Thena lamented, looking around them at the various animals running around with their owners. "I don't know what help he expects me to be--I also don't want him to have one."

"Yeah, but you'll still help him convince Phastos to get him one," Gil chuckled, sneaking an arm around her in between throws. "All he has to do is look at you with those eyes."

Thena huffed, "it is unbearably effective."

"I know the feeling," Gil sympathised, tossing the ball a little farther this time. Thena looked at him curiously but he nuzzled the tip of her nose with his. "I'm a sucker for your eyes, too."

"Uncle Gil, pay attention!"

Thena reached out and caught the ball this time, although it drew just a little too much attention. She let Gil toss it back, "don't underestimate us, Jack!"

"Sorry, Aunt Thena!"

Gil tossed the ball back again, but as Jack backed up to catch it, a dog ran in behind him. He felt Thena coil in his arms but held her to his side, "easy, Sweetheart. It's just a dog."

Jack startled as he toppled over the dog, fairly large in size and not taking nicely to the collision, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Thena was in front of him instantly, even after Gil reminded her that they were trying to seem human. She held her hand out, not at all startled by the animal bearing its teeth at them, "Jack, stay behind me."

"Aunt Thena," he pleaded, obeying his Aunt but clinging to her coat, attempting to pull her back and away from danger with him.

She had no intention of fighting an animal, but if she had to call up her shield at the very least, she would. Nothing was coming near her nephew while she stood.

"Hey!"

Gil slid in between them, holding his own hand out with just the hint of a glow to it. His powers were more capable of subtlety than Thena's. To any onlookers, he just looked like a man protecting his family. "Watch it!"

The dog barked and snapped and snarled at them. It leaned forward on its front paws, drool dripping down from its teeth.

Gil held the animal's eyes, feeling Thena's hand on his arm behind him, "don't even think about it."

Gilgamesh could easily bear the dog biting into his forearm. In all honesty, the dog wasn't even close to breaking his skin, and not just because of the leather jacket he was wearing. He let the poor mutt sink its teeth into him, staring it down, "you had enough?"

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

The owners rushed over, desperately pulling their dog off of Gil and clipping its leash onto the already agitated animal.

Thena just glared at them, holding Jack's shoulders protectively.

"It's not his fault," Jack mumbled from the safety of his Aunt's embrace, "I tripped over him while we were playing catch. I'm sure I just scared him."

"Don't worry about it," Gil rushed to defuse the whole affair, waving off the owners' worries. "Really--everyone's fine."

Thena held her tongue, diverting her frustrations with the strangers to checking on Jack, "are you sure you're unharmed?"

"Really, Aunt Thena, I'm okay," he nodded as she tilted her head to check for the slightest scuff or scrape. "Uncle Gil, are you okay?"

"Ah, I'm fine," he laughed, ruffling Jack's hair and wrapping his arm around Thena again. "Don't you worry about me, kid. That poor dog's the one who had to try and sink its teeth into the toughest Eternal around."

"The toughest?" Thena raised a brow at him with a smirk.

"Okay, the thickest."

Jack laughed, collecting up his ball and glove, more than ready to head home after that incident. Perhaps he would hold off on asking his fathers for a dog, just for now.

Thena leaned into Gil's side, leaning up to whisper, "the thickest, hm?"

"W-Well," Gil laughed, blushing as his wife slid her hands over his chest.

"Oh, fear not, Love," she purred against his cheek, "I am not arguing that."

Jack turned back to his Uncle and Aunt, who were giving him that smile that meant that they had been kissing just before he turned around. But he was used to it.

#Jack and Thenamesh #Phastos would never in a million years let Jack get a dog #I really solidly believe he would have a no pet policy #and he blames Thena #who had brought lizards in to live with them for years and years #back in the day #also Thena pls #which I say as if I didn't write that dialogue