Fool’s Gold

by Tigers1o1

Summary:

Part of him really just wanted to melt into the floor and stop existing, that way he didn’t have to deal with this issue at all. But alas, he can not.

Alright, let’s run through this one more time, really pin down the problem so that a solution is more obvious.

OR:

The James family gets an invite to a fancy event, and Chip, desperate for a plus one (to show up his sister), turns to his roommate, Gillion.

It’s just as stupid as literally every other fake dating au but I’m actually so excited so

Notes:

*rides in on a bright pink scooter, wearing sunglasses and shittily playing a trumpet* WHAT IS UP

IT WAS MY PARTNERS BIRTHDAY A FEW DAYS AGO AND I WROTE THIS FOR THEM (beloved I’m so sorry it’s late but you won’t let me say I anything but about myself >:( )

AnywhO-

There shouldn’t be any warning for the first chapter

Enjoy, starved fnc fans

Update: I made a Spotify playlist so if you wanna listen to that while you read, you can find it here

Chapter 1: Often discounted and disregarded,

Chip’s face was starting to hurt from where it was shoved into the couch. One arm dangled uselessly over the side, while the other was curled up awkwardly underneath him. That was starting to hurt too. He groaned, completely at a loss on what to do. 

 

Because of course Lizzie already had a plus one, and of course Jay “Chip’s only friend since the first grade” Ferin was an absolute traitor to both his honour and the James twins’ rivalry. 

 

This is why best friends and sisters shouldn't be allowed to hook up, in Chip’s own opinion. Or be way too flirtatious. Or whatever the fuck was going on between the two of them. Listen, alright, Chip saw them get drunk at a party together one time and now all of the sudden, Jay is Lizzie’s plus one to this stupid gala thingy instead of Chip’s. 

 

So much for the “if neither of us are married by the time we’re thirty, lets just marry each other,” proposition the two of them made in middle school. Chip’s idea, of course. Actually, thinking back on it, Chip can’t remember Jay ever actually agreeing to that. Something about him being stinky when clearly , she’s the stinkier of the two. 

 

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to think of literally any options.

 

Speaking of stink- surely it was the couch- actually… Maybe he did need a shower. Whatever, future Chip problem.

 

Part of him really just wanted to melt into the floor and stop existing, that way he didn’t have to deal with this issue at all. But alas, he can not. 

 

Alright, let’s run through this one more time, really pin down the problem so that a solution is more obvious. 

 

One: Arlin was invited to some fancy Gala thing, hosted by one of his old college friends. The guy was stinky rich, and was celebrating something or another. Chip only really paid attention to the fact that the James twins were invited as well, with a plus one for each. 

 

Two: Lizzie, Chip’s lovely (read: awful) twin (by adoption, not blood, thank every god out there), piped up that she already had a plus one. Chip, ever the perfect brother, pointed out that he did as well. Because he couldn’t let her make him look underprepared. 

 

Three: He did not, in fact, have a plus one. That’s alright, he’ll just ask his bestie friend of literal decades, Jay.

 

Four: It turns out that Jay is an absolute traitor and Chip will never speak to her again. Probably. See, cause here’s the thing, Lizzie and Jay have had this weird thing going on between them since junior year of high school that Chip has never wanted to know anything about because gross . But apparently, they got drunk together once, and the thing came to a head, and now Jay is Lizzie’s plus one. 

 

Five: That leaves Chip, plus-one-less and miserable because his sister is going to have some disgustingly sweet romantic getaway with her highschool crush, while Chip sits in the background after making an utter buffoon of himself in front of both his sister and longtime best friend. 

 

Pathetic. 

 

Hence the reason he is face down on his shitty college dorm couch. He racked his brain for a single semblance of an idea and came up empty. 

 

Chip didn’t really have other friends to ask. His entire social circle consisted of Jay and the freshman they ‘adopted’ when he asked them for directions to his next class. He wasn’t about to ask if Ollie wanted to come to a fancy gala, though. There’d probably be booze, and Ollie was like- 12 or some shit (not really, but he might as well be). 

 

Who did that leave Chip with? No one. And you may be thinking, ‘ Hey, Chip, why not just go without a plus one and take the opportunity to just relax by yourself and get in some good me-time? ’ and while that’s a perfectly reasonable thought, there’s one flaw. 

 

Lizzie is going with a potential romantic partner. Who happens to be Chip’s best friend. 

 

And Chip is nothing if not a petty bastard. He needs to find a way to one up his sister. It’s tradition. And the added sting of Jay’s betrayal only serves to make revenge that much sweeter. Is revenge the right word for this situation? Absolutely not, but Chip’s a theatre major for a reason. 

 

That being said, Chip had no solution. 

 

Distantly, he recognized the sound of the dorm door opening, unique in its squeak. There were a few moments of someone shuffling, and then silence. 

 

“Chip?” 

 

His response was a groan. 

 

Chip peeked towards the door where one Gillion Tidestrider stood, his silhouette haloed by the light in the hallway. He sat up suddenly. “Gillion, you’re a genius.” He scrambled off the couch, nearly falling in the process and ran up to his roomate. 

 

They weren’t exactly friends, but they were friendly. It came with the territory of being roommates. They put up with each other’s strange habits and said only a few words to each other daily.    

 

But that might have to change very suddenly. 

 

Gillion was clearly very confused as he stood in the door, unsure what was happening. Chip grinned, clapping once and pointing towards his roommate. “You! You’re a little fishy genius, you know that? Anyone ever told you? Doesn’t matter, because they’re absolutely correct.”

 

Gilion’s expression only got somehow more befuddled. “Thank you?”

 

“You are absolutely welcome, my glorious friend.” Chip’s smile only grew. “Alright, here’s the deal. My best friend is a traitor and my sister cannot have this win, so I will be one upping her, as per the great James Twins’ war, and you are exactly what is going to give me this win, understand?” He nodded vigorously. 

 

“I do not follow, no.” Gillion said slowly. “You speak very quickly.”

 

Chip let out a breath and took a few steps back in order to pace in front of Gillion. “Okay, okay. Here. My sister and I got invited to some fancy gathering. Rich host, fancy clothes, a free flight to a great vacation spot, right? “ He turns on his heel abruptly to punctuate the sentence and begins walking the other direction. “See, and my sister invited my best friend to be her plus one because they have this weird unspoken romantic tension between them. That being said, I need a date to this gala, in order to show up both my sister and traitor of a best friend.” 

 

Gillion nodded slowly, shutting the door behind him. “Okay? I believe I am following. And how does this pertain to my apparent genius?”

 

Chip stopped his pacing and turned to Gillion with what he had been told was his award winning smile. “Because, you, my friend, are going to be my date to the gala.”

 

One of Gillion’s eyebrows rose. “You are asking me out? Chip, I had no idea that you had any interest-”

 

“What? No, no no no nono. In the most respectful way, no.” Chip cut him off, his smile dropping. “Well- I mean? Sort of? Not- Okay, here. You-” He points to Gill. “Come with me-” he points to himself. “-to this gala thing. We both get to dress up and eat fancy food and overall have a great time, while sticking it to my sister that I’m not complteley incompetent. But the issue is that she’s bringing a possible romantic partner. So, what I’m thinking is that we tell everyone that we’re dating. That way I don’t have to go alone and Lizzie doesn’t get to rub it in my face that she has a partner and that I don’t even have very many friends, let alone someone who is interested in me.”

 

Gillion was squinting now, his eyebrows furrowed. “So you want to lie to your sister and best friend?” 

 

Chip is hit suddenly with the knowledge that there is nothing Gillion hates more than lying. And maybe generally evil people. It had been mentioned once when Chip lied about some small thing and Gillion had come back very upset. How he had forgotten this, he wasn’t sure. 

 

“Well- not really lying? More like- pretending! Or acting. “ Chip nods. 

 

“With the intent to deceive?”

 

Chip has really backed himself into a corner now, huh? Maybe this is the part where he actually goes through with that whole idea of sinking into the ground and ceasing to exist. “Not- I mean I guess it’s sort of like that, yeah. But it’s nothing that’ll hurt them, right? And they don’t even have to know that it was a lie. We can pretend to be in a relationship on the trip, and then when we get back, pretend to break up and everything can go back to the way it was before. Just- please. My sister and Jay are the only people- besides my dad- that have really been there and meant anything to me for basically my entire life, so the fact that they’re just off and doing stuff without me-”

 

“You feel left behind.” Gillion says, his expression suddenly very solemn. 

 

“A little. But also I just really want to not look sad and alone in front of my sister because she will tease me relentlessly about it. The trip’s going to be miserable if I have to put up with her and Jay without anyone to back me up. Besides- free food, an excuse to dress up, and a break from college stuff for the time being? What’s not to love?” Chip said, diverting the conversation before it went down a path of his insecurity really fast. He really didn’t want to get into how he felt less than his sister basically his entire life. He also didn’t want to get into how tiny his social circle was. 

 

His insecurities would remain buried next to his heart, and one day, he’d die. 

 

Gillion left his bag by the door to move over to the couch. “So let me get this straight. You want to pretend to engage in a romantic relationship with me, in order to prove to your sister and friend that you can also find a date to this event.”

 

Chip nods. “Yes, exactly. You’ll pretend to be my boyfriend so that I don’t have to be alone and my sister won't be so insufferable.”

“Right. And then after this event, we will pretend to break up so that we only lie for a little while.” Gillion said. 

 

Chip nodded again. “Yeah. Well, I just- I know you don’t like lying but I am begging you. It’s just for a little bit. If you want, we can even get in a pretend fight at the end of the trip over something, and you can totally slap me if that will make you feel better. And that can be what leads to our fake breakup.”

 

The triton sat back on the couch for a moment. “So, I would get a break from college, a free vacation, and permission to slap you, all in exchange for pretending to be your romantic partner for a few days?” 

 

Chip nods. “Yep.” He pops the ‘p’ and smiles. “Obviously we’d go over boundaries and whatnot. We’ll pretend to be in a relationship, but if any physical affection makes you uncomfortable, then we’ll stay away from that. And it’s only 5 days.”

 

Gillion sighed. “Okay.”

 

Chip’s eyes widened and he took a step back. “Wait- really? You’ll actually- Cause I’m going to be honest, after I started explaining it, I was starting to expect a no.” 

 

A slight frown appeared on Gillion’s face and he got somewhat of a distant look. “My reasons for accepting your proposition are my own. Even if I typically do not like to lie, I will do this for you.”

 

Chip’s curiosity piqued at Gillion’s sudden darkened mood, but he decided to leave it. He wouldn’t push, especially considering that this was already a huge favour. A spark of excitement turned into a rush of emotion as he realised that he’d navigated his way out of the issue with the finesse of a professional. 

 

This was going to be wonderful. 

 

—

 

This was going to be a disaster. 

 

The plane ride alone was the most awkward few hours of Chip’s entire life. Lizzie had looked mildly surprised, which Chip took as a win. Jay looked completely bewildered, which was also a win. And Arlin had passed out almost immediately. How that man sleeps on a plane is a secret that Chip will never understand. 

 

But it did leave the four of them to their own devices. 

 

Jay put on headphones and worked on some essay for a good portion of the plane ride, only glancing at Chip a few times before a look of confusion and a bit of hurt came into her eyes and she looked away. Lizzie only asked a few questions, clearly just getting to know Gillion a bit, before she also ended up getting out her laptop. 

 

Chip had also learned that Lizzie and Gill shared a friend, some guy named Caspian. That was sort of weird to hear about. 

 

The awkwardness didn’t even come from any of the interactions. Truth be told, the plane ride was incredibly normal. The awkwardness mostly came from Chip himself. 

 

He was being a little bit dramatic, yes, but he was nervous about having to actually pretend to be in a relationship, especially considering he’d never actually been in one before. They’d gone over boundaries, things like nicknames and physical affection, and it had actually been a relatively casual conversation. 

 

Landing and going to the hotel would present the beginning of the awkwardness. Chip would have to start actually acting on the rules they set, like holding Gillion’s hand and calling him nicknames. Which was, like, totally strange. 

 

The two of them had barely spoken before two days ago, and now they were holding hands and pretending to be in love. Totally, incredibly, unmeasurably strange. 

 

Chip wasn’t the type of person to have a ton of friends to begin with, let alone going from being near strangers to pretending to be in a relationship. Maybe it was also the fact that he wasn’t very used to the idea of any physical affection. Sure, Arlin would ruffle his hair, and Lizzie would punch him in the arm, but that was just about it. Jay had never been very physically affectionate, something about being more of a gift giving and words of affirmation person. 

 

When they actually got to the hotel and had stood in the lobby together while Arlin got the room keys, Jay and Lizzie had chatted together quietly, leaving the other two to just stand there awkwardly. It turned out that when GIllion was in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar people, he tended to cling to whatever familiarity there was. In this case, it happened to be Chip. 

 

And also a small pink stuffed octopus that was named Pretzel. That was also new. Add it to the very small list of things Chip knew about Gillion. Which, if he’s thinking about it, should really be a lot more, considering that they’re supposed to be dating. 

 

They got the keys to three separate rooms and headed up. The rooms were split up exactly how one would expect, leaving Chip to watch Jay and Lizzie’s door shut while he turned to his roommate. 

 

He held up the key, Arlin having already disappeared into his room. “Shall we?” Gillion’s only response was to blink and nod, his expression clearing up to that of something braver. Chip quirked a small smile and opened their door. 

 

Standard hotel room, Chip deduced. Maybe a little bit bigger than your average place. Nothing particularly special about it. Tan walls, a shuttered window, grey drapes and a plain white bedspread. 

 

He always wondered why hotels had white bedspreads instead of literally any other colour. He’d seen red once, and maybe grey, but they tended to be white. Wouldn’t that just stain easier? He shivered, not wanting to think about hotel room stains. 

 

Gillion hummed beside him, taking in the room for himself. “It seems there is only one bed.”

 

A million memes immediately crammed into his head, about cringey fanfictions and stupid coincidences. Come to think of it, fake dating was a fanfiction trope too, right? What had his life come to. 

 

The singular bed did make sense, though. Jay and Lizzie probably got one bed too. “It's fine.” Chip dropped his things on the floor beside the bed. “It’s a big bed. We’ll both fit.” It won’t be weird at all, he reasoned, but didn’t say aloud. 

 

Gillion gave him a look that said it very well could be weird, before clearing his expression and nodding. “If you are not uncomfortable, then neither am I.” He smiled at Chip, and he realised two things at once. 

 

One: He hadn’t ever actually seen Gillion smile. Not because he didn’t smile often- well, Chip wouldn’t know- but because they just hadn't spent that much time together. He supposed that Gillion must have smiled at some point before, but he just hadn’t noticed. And why would he? They had an unspoken agreement to not pay that much attention to each other.

 

And two: He really wished that he had paid more attention to Gillion’s smile. And when he smiled, and why. He suddenly found himself wishing that this wasn’t the first time he’d properly seen this sight, as well as hoping that he’d see the smile more often. He even let himself hope that he would be the reason for more smiles. 

 

Platonically, obviously. Gillion just had a nice smile, okay? As someone who is quite literally studying how to smile in a way that is seen as attractive- along with the many other things that acting entails- he can admit that Gillion’s smile is very nice.

 

Chip returned the smile, albeit a bit awkwardly. “You too, buddy.” He then turned to the bed, readying himself to do the one thing tradition asked of a new hotel room. He facepanted into the cold bedspread. The bed dipped next to him as Gillion sat. A quick peek told Chip that the other was looking at him, an eyebrow raised in amusement. And his little smile was still there. 

 

Gillion pulled the little octopus plush a bit closer to him, seeming reluctant to set it down. “I have come to realise that we do not know that much about each other. Perhaps we should use this time to amend that?” 

 

Chip sat up, a bit surprised that Gillion brought it up first. “Yeah, sure. How do you wanna do this? We could just tell each other our whole life story, or like- play a game?”

 

“A game?” Gillion asked, tilting his head. “What sort of game?”

 

“Like, uh-” Chip thought for a moment. “Like two truths and a lie, or 20 questions.”

 

Gillion glanced down at his plush again. “I have never heard of these games. Perhaps it is an Oversea thing?”

 

Chip shrugged. He had no idea what sort of cultural differences there were between the Oversea and Undersea, let alone what games were popular in the Undersea. Gillion must have grown up there, Chip realised. Obviously, it made sense, but it wasn’t ever something that he’d actively thought about or wondered. It was another one of those unspoken things between them. Of course, Chip knew that he was roommates with the only Triton on campus, but it just wasn’t something that you would typically bring up in casual conversation. 

 

“That’s alright. I can teach you. Two truths and a lie is fairly simple-” He started explaining the rules of each game, while Gillion listened very intently. 20 Questions ended up being the choice, after a round of Two Truths had ended with GIllion struggling to lie at all. He would produce his truths easily, and then stutter and stumble over a lie, his ears fins pinning back and the ones on his arms spiking up. 

 

Turns out that he really had a thing against lying, which made his accepting of the offer all that more intriguing. Chip said nothing of it, though. GIllion would tell him if it was deemed important. 

 

The game started off with regular questions. Favourite colours, foods, and animals all shared. At some point, Chip pulled out his phone to come up with more questions. It turns out that there’s another version of 20 questions that Chip’s family had always just called the animal game. Something about picking an object (or animal, in the James’ case) and making everyone else ask yes or no questions until they got it. He’d only found that mildly interesting, before moving onto questions that were actually helpful in this situation.

 

“Alright, let’s see. Hmm. Oh, what’s your favourite memory?” Chip asked, completely laying on his back with his phone held up above him. 

 

Gillion took a moment to think on it, emotions that Chip couldn’t name flashing before his eyes. He looked down at the octopus again, still sitting in his lap. “Getting Pretzel. My sister gave her to me when I was sent to- a private school of sorts. My family wouldn't be allowed to visit, and my sister did not want me to be lonely, so she made Pretzel for me.”

 

Chip didn’t know how exactly that could be classified as a happy memory, or why it was his favourite, but he didn’t pry. “Pretzel is really important to you, huh?” Gillion nodded, his eyes still far away, probably reliving the memory. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

 

Gillion’s eyes cleared as he looked at where Chip’s head was, almost to the foot of the bed. “Yes. Her name is Edyn. She is very dear to me.”

 

“Older or younger?”

 

“Older.” GIllion said with a small nod. “A few years. She is not much like your sister, though.” 

 

Chip laughed, his phone coming down to rest on his chest before he painfully dropped it on his face. “No, I couldn’t imagine anyone like Lizzie being your sister.” This earned him a small smile from Gill. “It's your turn.”

 

“Oh.” Gillion took a deep breath and then let himself fall onto the mattress next to Chip. “What is the weirdest nickname you’ve ever been given?” His voice was a bit quiet, fitting the overall vibe. 

 

Chip started laughing, quieter this time, something closer to a giggle. “Chibo.”

 

Gillion turned to him, holding back a laugh and a question clearly in his eyes. “Chibo?” He asked, unbelieving. 

 

Chip nodded, his hair flopping around and a smile completely taking over his face. “Technically,  I came up with it, but it stuck because of Jay. In middle school, she had this weird little phase where she really wanted to learn how to play soccer, probably just to kick my ass in yet another thing, but the team she signed up for needed one more player. Being her best friend, she all but forced me to sign up. Here’s the thing, though: I am not actively inclined at all. I tried aerial silks one time and it was fun until I almost died. Anyway, as a little middle schooler, I figured that if I signed up as something that wasn’t my name, I wouldn’t have to play.”

 

Gillion smothered a laugh. “So, you signed up as Chibo?”

 

He nodded. “The worst part is that I still had to play, but the team all called me Chibo. Then it just stuck even after soccer, courtesy of one Jay Ferin.”

 

“Well then, it is nice to meet you, Chibo.” Gillion said, sticking out his hand for a handshake. 

 

Chip groaned but shook his hand regardless. “Not you too.”

 

The game continued, and Chip began to build on his list of things he knew about his roommate turned fake boyfriend. 

 

He hated lying and anyone who lies. Most of his expression came from his eyebrows and ear fins, but Chip had yet to figure out how to read the latter. Pretzel was his most prized possession. He had an older sister named Edyn. He grew up in the Undersea. He went to a private school for most of his life and the mention of it made him uncomfortable. He gets anxious in new places. His favourite colour is blue. His favourite food is some kind of sweet that was only a thing in the Undersea- Chip had never heard of it. His favourite season was fall. He liked to wear dresses but Oversea peoples’ reaction scared him out of it. He has one friend named Caspian and otherwise sticks to himself. He doesn’t mind physical affection, but was also unused to it. He loved to give gifts. His fins were sensitive to temperature and texture. When he was a kid, he wanted to be a knight. He studies politics now, but doesn’t seem all that invested. He took a stage combat class once and loved it more than any other class combined. 

 

And he has one of the best smiles that Chip has ever seen. 

Chapter 2: Beautiful in its own right,

Summary:

Lizzie’s voice was a lot softer than it usually was. “You’re both stubborn fucking dumbasses that- no actually that’s it. You’re both just too stubborn to get over yourself and approach the other to ask why they’re upset.”

Chip sighed and slid against the wall until he sat on the floor, his elbows resting on his knees. “Yeah, okay, I’ll talk to her.”

Lizzie sat down in front of him, crossing her legs. It hit Chip then, the full realness of everything. Here his sister was, sitting in front of him at 5 am, wearing baggy red pyjamas and asking him to get over himself and actually talk to his best friend.

Notes:

CHAPTER TWO IS HERE BABEYYYYYY

*does a funny little jig* okay like, highkey, it’s not really turning out how I originally envisioned it, but i actually do really like how it’s turning out. It honestly feels a little bit more natural to me than half of the other fake dating AUs. This chapter also focuses more on Chip and Jay, if I’m honest lmao.

It’s also twice as long as the first chapter. I think the rest of the chapters are going to be about the same as this one though, so get used to it

No content warnings! If I missed something, let me know :D

After their game of 20 questions, the whole group decided to go out to dinner together. They chose some little diner with good reviews and a building that looked like it was fashionable 40 years ago. 

 

That had been… interesting. Sitting close enough to someone to feel their body heat wasn’t bad, but Chip certainly wasn’t used to it. Their thighs were brushing and their elbows bumped into each other and it was overall a little bit weird. It wasn’t bad though, and that was the craziest part. Chip had expected it all to be weird and awkward, especially since he wasn’t used to this sort of thing, but it wasn’t at all. Maybe for a few brief moments, but after getting to know each other for a few hours, and knowing where the boundaries were, it was completely comfortable. 

 

If Chip hadn’t known better, he definitely would have believed their act, especially when Gillion said that he didn’t like the pickles that came with his burger and Chip stole them without so much as a word. And when Arlin’s questions started meandering down the path of Gillion’s private school, Chip changed the conversation topic smoothly as soon as Gillion’s ear fin twitched. 

 

It was almost natural. 

 

The only brief awkward moments that included their supposed relationship were when Lizzie or Arlin made a joke that would sit in awkward silence for a moment and then be brushed off. In fact, the most awkward part of the whole dinner had nothing to do with Chip and Gillion. The most awkward part was Jay and Chip dancing around each other, avoiding eye contact and doing everything in their power not to have to exchange words. 

 

Chip was hurt by her betrayal and Jay obviously had some sort of emotions, but Chip couldn’t quite read them. That almost hurt worse than the fact that they weren’t speaking. He could deal with Jay not speaking to him out of anger or shame or whatever it might be, but the fact that he was losing his ability to read her emotions, after knowing her for years, cut deeper than any cruel words or sharpened knife could hope for. 

 

He’d always been the James twin known for reading people. Knowing how someone felt was practically second nature, especially when it was someone as close to him as Jay. But now, there was an emotion behind her eyes that he felt cut off from. It could be anger, it could be hurt, it could be shame, it could be jealousy. He had no idea. He couldn’t even decide what she had to be mad about, considering that she’s the one who chose Lizzie after all of this time. 

 

Even talking to Lizzie was easier than talking to Jay. In fact, talking to Lizzie was the exact same as it always had been. They bantered and kicked each other under the table, same as any other day. To be fair, it was a lot easier to talk to someone when they were willing to respond. 

 

Every once in a while, though, Lizzie would catch Jay’s sombre glance to Chip, and her mood would darken a bit, too. 

 

Chip honestly felt bad for Arlin. Jay was practically his daughter after all of these years, too. He didn’t even know why they were fighting or where any of the tension was coming from. He felt bad for Gillion too. Gillion had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Chip dragged him into his family drama. 

 

He pushed the thought out of his head. If Gillion wanted to stay home, he could have. He could have just told Chip that he was an idiot and left it at that, but for some reason, Gillion chose to be here. Sure, he could feel bad for his new found friend, but at the end of the day, Gillion did choose to be here. 

 

The thought had ended up opening a whole can of worms in Chip’s head that had his spacing out in the middle of the conversation. He’d only been pulled out of it when Gillion nudged him and asked softly if there was anything wrong with the plate of fries he’d been staring at. Lizzie just teased him for thinking too hard about something, and the conversation moved on. It wasn’t too long later that they packed up, paid, and left to go back to the hotel. 

 

They split up to their respective rooms, all tired from the day of travel. 

 

And they went to sleep. 

 

Which was a little bit awkward, but it wasn’t that bad. It certainly would have been more awkward if they had to keep up the act and like- cuddle or something. Instead, they just got ready for bed and slept on their respective sides. Chip hadn’t really been able to sleep until later into the night, after Gillion was already breathing deeply and the moon showed through the cracks in the drapes. 

 

He could blame it on the loud aircon, or the slightly uncomfortable blankets, or the inherent strangeness of sleeping in a bed with someone else. Sure, he and Lizzie sometimes fell asleep together as kids, and Jay would crash at his place every once in a while. But those times were never quite the same as this. 

 

He supposed that he could categorise the whole trip so far as strange.

 

Or maybe he couldn’t sleep because of all of the left over thoughts that rattled around in his head after dinner. 

 

At some point, he did end up falling asleep. Only to be woken the next morning by Lizzie shaking him and motioning for him to stay quiet. Gillion hadn’t been woken up and it only briefly crossed Chip’s mind to wonder how she actually got in here.

 

She pulled him out into the hallway, leaving the door slightly open. The hall itself was dark, only a few sparse lights illuminating the walls. Moonlight from a window spilled onto the floor below Chip’s feet.

 

“What time even is it?” Chip asked, rubbing an eye and glaring slightly at Lizzie. 

 

“5,” she said simply. “Look, we’re probably not going to get a chance today to sit down and have a little heart to heart, but I refuse to let whatever is happening between you and Jay continue. I don’t want to let the rest of the trip be awkward because of you two fucking idiots.” 

 

Chip shuffled his feet and leaned against the wall. “Wow, thanks. 5am and I’m already an idiot. Love you too, sis.” 

 

She just glared at him. “So what’s wrong? Why are you two dancing around each other and refusing to even make eye contact? Last I knew, she was crashing at your place  because she was too lazy to go home after hanging out. What happened?” 

 

Chip sighed. “Why is this even your issue?” 

 

She smacked the side of his head lightly. “Because I’m your sister, stupid. And I’m legally obligated to step in when you all of the sudden stop talking to your only friend of thirteen years.” 

 

“Okay, for one, she’s not my only friend. For two, it’s not your obligation to do shit.” Chip pointed out. 

 

Lizzie raised an eyebrow. “It is when you’re my brother and she’s one of my best friends. I know you guys too well, and I can see how this is hurting both of you. You love each other but you’re both too damn prideful to come out and say what’s upsetting you.” 

 

He groaned quietly and let his head fall back and hit the wall with a small thump. “I’m not even the one who-“

 

“It doesn’t matter!” Lizzie whisper-shouted. “It doesn’t matter who started it or who’s fault it is. Frankly, Jay is too upset with you to even try saying anything, so no matter who’s fault it is, I need you to talk to her. We both know Jay, she’s fucking stubborn. You are too, but you could at least try to talk it out, right?” 

 

Chip sighed. “It’s not quite that simple. I don’t even know what Jay had to be up-“ 

 

Lizzie gave him a very pointed look. “Oh really? You have no idea?” Chip only shook his head with a look that said, ‘what do you want from me?’ His sister sighed and crossed her arms. “Try your boyfriend in there. Y’know, the one that came out of nowhere? Look, we’re all happy for you, but we had basically no idea that he existed or that you were even interested in dating before now. Jay’s been your best friend for how long? Of course she’d be hurt to learn that you went and fell in love or whatever and didn’t tell her any of it.” 

 

The realisation dawned on Chip very quickly, as if a very complicated maths problem had suddenly clicked. Look, okay, he knew that he wasn’t the smartest guy, but sometimes he didn’t realize how utterly fucking stupid he could be. Not all of the time, but every once in a while, his idiocy really shone through. He bit the inside of his cheek. “Yeah, okay, that makes sense. I’m mad at her too, though.” 

 

“And she doesn’t know why.” Lizzie said, her voice a lot softer than it usually was. “You’re both stubborn fucking dumbasses that- no actually that’s it. You’re both just too stubborn to get over yourself and approach the other to ask why they’re upset.” 

 

Chip sighed and slid against the wall until he sat on the floor, his elbows resting on his knees. “Yeah, okay, I’ll talk to her.” 

 

Lizzie sat down in front of him, crossing her legs. It hit Chip then, the full realness of everything. Here his sister was, sitting in front of him at 5 am, wearing baggy red pyjamas and asking him to get over himself and actually talk to his best friend. 

 

“Thank you.” 

 

Chip smiled and moved his legs to mirror her crossed position. She smiled fondly at him, and Chip remembered how much he did love Lizzie, even when she was waking him up at ungodly hours to call him a dumbass. 

 

“So,” Lizzie started, disturbing the silent, coldish air slightly. “Tell me about your boyfriend, because I’m in a similar boat as Jay. Only difference is that my boat is called confusion, where hers is hurt.” 

 

Chip laughed quietly, keeping his eyes down on the floor so that she wouldn’t see the tiny amount of anxiety that crept into his mind. “I dunno- he’s, he’s something, I guess. It’s pretty new. Y’know that one vine,” he said, pausing to glance up at her, “‘oh my god they were roommates’?”

 

Lizzie smiled. “That’s why his name sounded familiar. I think you mentioned him briefly when you first moved into the dorms. Something about your roommate being unfairly built.” 

 

Trying not to wake anyone up, Chip slapped a hand over his mouth in an attempt to smother the sound of him choking on his own spit. “I said that???” 

 

Smothering her own laughter, his sister nodded, mirth in her eyes. “At the time, I thought you were just jealous, but I guess the slight blush you had wasn’t from that.” 

 

Chip reached out to smack her arm in retaliation. “Okay, but was I wrong? I don’t think I was wrong. Have you seen how strong he is?” Chip only stopped for a second to acknowledge that it was true, and that he did admire it. Platonically, he told himself. Acknowledging and admiring someone’s strength didn’t inherently mean anything, but in this case, it did work in his favour. 

 

Lizzie raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know how much I want to know about how strong he is. Or your experience with that strength.” She held back a snort at Chip’s initial shock at the implications of the statement. 

 

“That’s not- no- I told you that this was a newer thing-“ he said tensely, embarrassment clawing in his chest and squeezing his lungs.  

 

He refused to acknowledge the way his stomach did something at the thought of Gillion using that strength on him to, say, push him against a wall or something. Nope. Absolutely not going there. 

 

Realistically, he knew that he shouldn’t be reacting like this. If they were dating, jokes like these wouldn’t be that awkward. But they’re not dating, so Chip has no reasonable explanation for why he would be so embarrassed about something like that. Were it anyone else, Chip would have just laughed it off or seemed completely uninterested. But for some reason, Gillion made him act slightly differently. Maybe it was because it was Lizzie who was poking fun, or maybe the fake relationship was going to his head, despite the relative casualness of their actions so far. 

 

Maybe he was just a better actor than he thought. So much so, in fact, that he believed his own performance. 

 

Lizzie was completely failing at hiding a grin. “That’s adorable. Who knew that the way to embarrass Chip James was to tease him about his new boyfriend.” 

 

“I’m not embarrassed.” He said, hoping to any deity out there that his cheeks weren’t red. 

 

“Your ears are red.” 

 

Fuck. Curse Lizzie and her knowledge of Chip’s tells. 

 

“Yeah- well- you-“ He scrambled for a comeback to take the pressure off of him and focus the conversation on Lizzie instead. Lizzie raised an eyebrow, waiting. “Well, at least it didn’t take me 4 years to ask him out.” 

 

Lizzie snorted. “No, that’s fair.”

 

“Turns out that we’re both bad at talking to Jay, huh? You can’t ask her out to save your life, and I’m too stubborn to ask what’s wrong.” Chip pointed out. Jay may be the twins’ best friend, but communication really wasn’t their strong point. 

 

Lizzie rolls her eyes and stands, offering a hand to help Chip up. “We should go back to sleep. I’m going to convince Arlin to let us go shopping after breakfast today. If all goes to plan, he’s going to stay here and do whatever he does in his free time, while the four of us can hang out.” 

 

Chip took her hand, pulling himself up. “And did you schedule a time for me to talk to Jay, too?” 

 

She glared slightly. “No. I just want to go shopping and get to know Gillion a bit without Arlin there, interrogating him.” 

 

He put his hands up in surrender. “It was a joke! I’ll figure out when to talk to her, promise. You can’t interrogate him either, though.” 

 

“We’ll see.” And with that, Lizzie turned down the hall towards her room and left Chip standing there. 

 

Chip sighed and turned to his door, which had been left slightly ajar so that he could get back in. He stepped in quietly, grateful that the hinges didn’t creak. He slowly walked back into the room, careful to be quiet. 

 

“Chip?” A voice called out quietly. “Is everything alright?” Gillion sat up, rubbing his eyes. 

 

Chip sighed. He hadn’t wanted to wake the other. “Yeah, everything’s good. Go back to sleep.” 

 

“What were you doing out in the hall?” Gillion asked, looking up at Chip. Tiny slivers of moonlight found their way through the drapes, casting a soft glow on the triton’s face. For a moment, Chip almost thought he could see a faint glow of freckles dusting pretty cheeks. 

 

Chip sat on his side of the bed, the cool mattress dipping under his weight. “Nothing important. Lizzie couldn’t sleep and wanted to talk for a second.” The white lie rolled off his tongue easily. He had nothing in particular to lie about, but he just found that he didn’t want to explain the whole situation to Gillion, who just nodded. 

 

He laid down, but Gillion remained seated for a minute. 

 

“Chip?” 

 

The voice was somehow quieter than it had been moments before. Something about Gillion’s tone seemed hesitant. Scared, even. 

 

He turned to face his roommate, who just stared down at the plush in his hands. “What’s up?” 

 

Gillion took a few seconds to mull over whatever thoughts seemed to be running through his mind. Pretzel was in his lap again, and if Chip didn’t know better, he’d have thought she was communicating with Gillion telepathically or something. 

 

“I-“ he cut himself off. “Nevermind. It is of no consequence.” 

 

Chip raised an eyebrow. “Nah, dude, what is it?” 

 

Gillion shook his head. “It does not matter.” 

 

“If it’s making you think so hard, then I think it probably matters.” He pointed out, still watching Gillion’s silhouette. 

 

He shuffled, pushing sheets off of his crossed legs and holding Pretzel ever closer. “It is just- it is- I had an uncomfortable dream.” 

 

“Oh?” Chip raised an eyebrow. 

 

Gillion’s grimaced, looking away from Chip’s direction. “Not- I do not know how to explain. It was not a nightmare, but it- it upset me greatly.” 

 

Chip nodded slowly. He could understand that. Sometimes dreams really sucked. “Do you wanna talk about it or-?”

 

“No- no. I do not think that would be beneficial.” Gillion shook his head, his hair falling out of the loose bun it had been put in.”I do- I just-“ he sighed, clearly frustrated over something. 

 

“Do you want a hug?” Chip found himself asking. He didn’t know where the question even came from, or why he went to that before anything else. Internally, he cursed himself. A hug seemed so stupid in the shadow of something like a bad dream. How would that help at all? Especially from someone who Gillion hadn’t even known for very long. 

 

His train of thought was cut off by Gillion nodding. 

 

“Please.” He said, his voice quiet and broken. A part of Chip almost broke with him. He had no idea what the dream could have been about, but if it was enough to shake Gillion up that much, he was more than happy to make an attempt at comfort. 

 

Chip scooted back a little bit, so that he could lean against the headboard, and opened his arms. The invitation was accepted as Gillion turned to him and crawled over to lay on top of Chip. 

 

He let his arms fall around the other’s shoulders, while Gillion’s hands came up to clutch at Chip’s shirt. 

 

Gillion’s must have fallen back to sleep like that, because he hadn’t moved when Chip feel asleep. And when they woke up a few hours later, their limbs were still tangled. 

 

They’d decidedly not talked about that, but Chip couldn’t help the thought that he hadn’t particularly minded waking up with Gillion wrapped around him. He also couldn’t help but notice that it was some of the best sleep he’d gotten in a while. 

 

So what, he’s a cuddler. Sue him. 

 

—

 

“Oooooh my god. Chip, just pick one. It’s not that hard. You don’t even have to buy it, that’s the best part.”

 

“It’s the whole point, actually.” Jay pointed out from somewhere behind a clothes rack. 

 

“Exactly.” Lizzie said, jabbing a finger into Chip’s bicep. “It literally doesn’t matter. Just pick something so that we can all look stupid for 5 minutes.” 

 

Chip glared at her briefly before turning back to another clothing rack that hosted a variety of god-awful printed shirts. Button up shirts did not need to have that many colours- and were those toasters? Who needed a shirt with toasters on it? 

 

Lizzie stood next to him, arms crossed and foot tapping the ground. She’d already picked something out, an ugly green sweater dress that she had draped over her arms. 

 

“This is a stupid tradition.” Chip grumbled. Because of course the James’ had to have the worst traditions ever. Whenever they went shopping for fun, it was an unspoken rule to go to some stuffy department store, find some of the ugliest clothes known to mankind, and try it on. 

 

For fun. 

 

Chip disagreed with his sister’s definition of fun. 

 

A glance over his shoulder told him that Gillion was enjoying himself, though, so he supposed it wasn’t all bad. Said Triton had actually jumped on the idea of ugly clothes, picking out at least 3 outfits, and then retiring to the skirt section to hold some up to his waist and swish them around as if he were trying them on. 

 

Chip refused to call it cute. 

 

Lizzie sighed dramatically, pulling him back to the issue at hand. “Why don’t you just go with this garish one.” She pointed to a button up with sequins sewed to it with shiny thread. The sequins themselves shown with shades of red and silver. 

 

“Since when is red my colour?” Chip said, pulling on the end of the sleeve to get a better look. 

 

“It’s not.” Jay said flatly.

 

“Thanks.” 

 

He didn’t know how or when or why, but Jay had actually started talking to him again. Not nearly as often or with as much emotion as usual, but it was something. 

 

A grape branch, or whatever 

 

Gillion piped up suddenly, pulling Chip’s attention away from Jay’s retreating figure. “You should try on the one with the blue corduroy. Then, you would match this skirt that I found.” He smiled, all innocence and hopefulness. He held up a deep blue skirt, also made of corduroy. The skirt was floor length and was sewn with gold thread. It shimmered slightly in the light, and it didn’t really match the shirt too well- a denim colored thing with a frog embroidered on the breast pocket. 

 

“Fine. I’ll try this on, but only if you try the skirt on.” Chip said, sticking his hand across the little aisle between the sections. Gillion grinned and shook his hand. 

 

“A deal, then.”

 

Lizzie watched them with a mixed expression. “You guys are gross.” She said, turning away to flip through a few poet’s shirts. Chip could sense the amusement in her expression and words, but Gillion cocked his head with a furrowed brow. 

 

Jay called out to Lizzie from a few sections over, holding up a dress and beckoning her over. The distance between the couples allowed for Gillion to glance in Chip’s direction, the look on his face showing how he wanted to say something but was hesitant. 

 

“What’s up?” Chip prompted, having come to learn that GIllion sometimes had an easier time speaking when prompted. 

 

The Triton took a second of silence before asking, “What exactly is she referring to as ‘gross’?” His voice was quiet, and he’d cast his eyes down to the skirt in his hands. He seemed anxious, his ears pushed back, and his claws poking at the stitching in the skirt. 

 

Chip hummed. He glanced at Gillion, reading his expression, before stopping and saying, “Oh. She didn’t mean it. She was joking. What she was referring to as gross though, was just that we’re going to match outfits. Usually, when a couple does that, it’s seen as overly sweet and therefore, gross.” He went back to sorting through the frog shirts to find one in his size.

 

Gillion made an affirmative sound. “So one could say that to match with your partner is ‘disgustingly sweet’.” 

 

Chip nodded. “Yeah, exactly.” 

 

He looked up again to see Gillion mirror his nod. “So the comment wasn’t directed toward my wish to wear the skirt?”

 

Chip’s eyebrows furrowed and he was about to brush it off with a comment about how Lizzie didn’t mind that kind of stuff, but something stopped him. Gillion still stared at the skirt in his hands, seemingly having forgotten about the other clothes draped over his arms. His tail swayed anxiously, while his eyes were a swirl of emotion, something dark shadowing his expression. 

 

Chip had to reach over and tug the skirt out of Gillion’s hands. “You’re going to rip the seam,” he said, carefully separating claws from the threads they’d started to dig at. “Lizzie wasn’t calling you or your want to wear a skirt gross. She doesn’t mind that kind of stuff. Actually, I think I vaguely remember her mentioning that your friend, Caspian, wore a skirt to a party once. She said he looked good in it and that was about it.” The skirt was draped over Chip’s arm now, and Gillion hadn’t let go of him, both hands gripping one of the brunette’s. Chip laid his free hand over Gillion’s, making a sort of sandwich with their hands. 

 

“I don’t know what people have said to you in the past,” he continued. “But, you won’t be judged here. If anything, Jay and Lizzie are both more likely to find out who judged you and beat them up, than be the one who judges you.”

 

Gillion hummed. “What about you?”

 

Chip grinned. “Well, that depends. How athletic are the people who judged you? I could probably take them in a fight, but I need to know my odds first.”

 

A snort cut him off. Gillion had a wide smile that reached his eyes now, and Chip couldn’t help but mirror it. “Was it not you who mentioned your lack of athletic ability?”

 

He nodded. “No, it was, but that was just the truth. However, I am a slippery boy. I’m, like, weirdly fast, too. I’ll dodge them before they even have the chance to hit me back.” He grinned as a little cartoon version of himself appeared in his head, running around an opponent to confuse them before giving them a wedgie. The little Chip did a little victory dance and, distracted by his win, got smacked. He chose not to share this little scene, instead pushing it out of his mind. He squeezed Gillion’s hands once, getting a squeeze in return. “Nah, I’d never judge you for something like that. Choice in food, though? Maybe. The only people who don’t like pickles are untrustworthy.”

 

Gillion tilted his head. “You do not trust me?” Something glimmered in his eyes, almost like hurt.

 

Chip backtracked quickly. He was so used to teasing Jay that he had forgotten that other people would take that sort of thing literally. “No, no- Gill, it’s a joke. Of course I trust you. Maybe not to do your dishes, but hey-”

 

The hurt cleared itself quickly as Gillion scowled, this time more queued in on the teasing aspect of his comment. “I always do my dishes. You are the one who left a bowl in the sink for two weeks. It started to look more like a science experiment than-”

 

Chip laughed lightly, trying to cover what Gillion was saying despite no one else being around to hear. He looked around for his sister quickly before dropping Gillion’s hands and cutting him off, “Oh, what’s that? I think Lizzie needs me.” He darted off in the direction of his sister. He heard Gillion laugh behind him and start to follow.

 

He let happiness settle in his chest as he weaved through racks of clothing.

 

Lizzie, seemingly hearing his arrival in the fancier section, turned to Chip and held out a suit. She raised her eyebrows expectantly when he didn’t say anything. 

 

“Lizzie, your fashion taste is that of a blind badger.” He said simply before turning to a rack, pretending to peruse the slacks. She smacked his arm with her empty hand and glared at him. 

 

“You're the worst.” Lizzie continued holding the suit out. He elected to ignore her. “Chip! What do you think, and don’t insult me again.”

 

He looked up, holding back a small laugh. The suit was alright. He honestly didn’t know the difference between most suits, they all sort of looked the exact same. “Who’s it for?” he asked, reaching out to tug on the sleeve slightly. 

 

“You.”

 

Chip scrunched his nose. “You know how much I hate suits. They’re s-”

 

“Stuffy and uncomfortable. Yeah, yeah. But this one looks nice. Besides, Arlin is way too much of an enabler, so I’m the one who’s going to have to wrangle you into looking halfway presentable for the Gala.” Lizzie said, holding the suit up to Chip’s chest, forcing him to take it. “Just trust me on this one, okay?”

 

Chip rolled his eyes and draped it over his arm, forgetting about the skirt that he still held. At some point, he got bored and started annoying Lizzie and Gillion, still unsure about where he stood with Jay. Lizzie swatted him away quickly, in typical LIzzie fashion. Gillion actually didn’t seem to mind his chatter nearly as much as though, which was- sort of awesome, actually. It was kind of hard for Chip to find someone who’d actually listen to him talk for minutes at a time without either getting annoyed or just tuning him out. He ended up talking about all sorts of stupid shit, and Gillion just went along with it, listening and inputting in places, even laughing every once in a while. 

 

He talked about his classes, told stories from years ago, even ranted about this obscure DnD podcast, Simply Continue to Tumble, for a minute, and how he really related to a character named Crisp. Gillion mentioned that he’d have to give it a listen. He actually found that Gillion was a really great person to talk to and vowed to himself to keep up a friendship with him after the whole fake relationship thing ended. Gillion made for a very good friend, which made his friendship with only one other person somewhat confusing.

 

At some point, Lizzie finally decided that it was time for them to go try on all of their clothes- horrid ones included. Chip had the least amount of clothes to try on, so he watched their bags while everyone else changed, and then he’d go last. Gillion offered to sit with him, but the Triton had somehow accumulated what seemed to be half of the store. Chip had just handed over the skirt he’d accidentally held onto and ushered him into a stall. 

 

The first few rounds of clothes were about the same as any other shopping trip. Some stuff didn’t fit or didn’t look that great. A few things fit, and were added to the pile to buy or weeded out based on price or actual interest. Chip was somewhat bored, but he ended up finding a bunch of short animated videos on YouTube that were entertaining enough. 

 

Lizzie had found a red leather jacket that Chip was actually a little bit jealous of. It fit her as if it’d been made for her, and she’d decided to get it before even coming out to show her brother. He could tell that it would quickly become a staple part of her outfits. The group she hung out with would love it, and when Jay came out to see, her face had gone almost as red as the jacket itself, so he supposed that was all the validation Lizzie needed. 

 

The girls were both in the middle of changing when Gillion stepped out in a tux a few minutes later, fiddling with a tie that hadn’t actually been tied. “I don’t know how these things work.” He said, staring down at the piece of fabric. “We don’t have many of them in the Undersea.”

 

The tie itself was a pretty turquoise without any sort of pattern or design. It complimented Gillion’s eyes.

 

Chip let out a breath that he hadn’t known he’d been holding. He blinked a few times and willed his cheeks not to turn any colours as he stepped closer to the other. A strange little part of him wanted to show GIllion how to tie it- they weren’t hard to tie, just confusing to someone who didn’t know- but he stopped his hands from going to take the tie out of Gilllion’s hands. Some kind of emotion swirled inside of him that he couldn’t put a finger on it but something- there was something- he struggled to think. It was something like affection, he thought. Warmth curled through his chest as he reached up to straighten out the suit a little, letting the small urge to simply touch be satisfied. “You look nice.” He said, surprising himself. 

 

“Oh,” Gillion said, looking up at Chip. “Thank you.”

 

“Yeah,” Chip said before clearing his throat. “Yeah. You look really nice.” He cursed himself slightly for sounding like a broken record, but Gillion didn’t seem to mind, evident in his small smile. Chip’s heart was speeding up and his cheeks were definitely a few shades redder than usual. He couldn’t decide why exactly the suit was having that effect on him, or if it was even the suit itself. Has Gillion always looked that nice? His hair was tied back in a loose little ponytail, and he was pulling at his sleeves. Chip supposed that the messy little ponytail was endearing in a silly sort of way, but he couldn’t remember taking notice of it earlier. 

 

Lizzie decided that it was the perfect time to come out and coo at them. “You guys are adorable. Gillion, you should definitely get that, but go change again before you give your boyfriend a heart attack.” She was back in her regular clothes, all of the ones she’d tried on in various piles. 

 

His heart did a funny thing when Lizzie used the word boyfriend. Sure, it wasn’t real, but the idea that for now, Gillion was his boyfriend- it was a little strange. Chip had never had a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend, for that matter. So the idea that Gillion was his, even if only for a little bit, was enough to make his heart skip a little. 

 

In general, Chip told himself. The idea of a boyfriend in general made his heart skip, not Gillion in specific. 

 

He refused to go down the same path as all of those stupid fanfictions. Actually, now that he thinks about it, there was definitely a fake dating au that was posted under the Crisp tag from that DnD podcast. Maybe he’d give it a read. 

 

Yknow, to learn what not to do if one wants to stay completely platonic with their fake partner.

 

Because it was definitely the suit that made his heart do funny things. Maybe he just liked guys in suits, or something. Who’s to say?

 

Chip did mentally thank Lizzie as Gillion backed into his stall, though. He probably would have said something really stupid had Lizzie not come out. His sister set the smaller pile down next to where Chip had been sitting, the red jacket on top, and then left to return the clothes that she wouldn’t be getting. 

 

When Lizzie came back, Chip made it a point that he didn’t look through her clothes at all. Why would she even suggest that he do such a thing to his beloved sister? Go through her things? Never. (He absolutely did.) Lizzie just rolled her eyes and sat next to him, waiting for Jay to be done before Chip was allowed to start his own rounds of changing and trying on clothes. Something about keeping Lizzie company and getting completely brushed off when he pointed out that he hadn’t had any company.

 

Gillion eventually came out with the corduroy skirt, and Chip had told him to get it. Not only did it look very nice on him, but Chip could tell that he liked it by the way he smiled softly and swished it around his legs as he showed it off to the twins. His ears were pulled back slightly, but in a different way than they did when he was uncomfortable. This time, his fins almost gave off the impression that he was more bashful than anything else, happy with the article of clothing. 

 

Chip absolutely thought that his excitement was cute, but refused to say anything. He wouldn’t let Lizzie make a mockery of him the way she had so many times before. It was all playful sibling banter, but still.

 

When Chip started trying things on, everyone laughed at the ridiculous outfit- the one that supposedly matched Gillion’s skirt- and then bullied him into getting the suit that Lizzie had made him try on. He’d actually spent a little while standing in front of the mirror in the suit before showing the rest of the group. He briefly wondered if Gillion had chosen to get the suit he had tried on, before pushing the thought away.

 

The suit was indeed stuffy and uncomfortable, but he had to admit that it did look nice. Which had Lizzie smirking triumphantly and Jay saying a few more words to him than she had all day.

 

Gillion had less to say about the suit than the other two, choosing to stay a bit quieter and watching while the other two made him do turns and fixed wrinkles in the fabric. Chip tried really hard not to be sad about that, after he had such a reaction to Gillion’s suit, but ultimately failed. Not enough for it to matter- it just stung a little, was all. 

 

He didn’t even notice the way Gillion’s face turned a few shades darker blue. 

 

They finished up and paid for their new clothes, which mostly consisted of maybe three items per person. Chip couldn’t help but notice that Gillion had chosen not to get the suit. He let it go pretty quickly. It was entirely possible that Gillion already had a nice suit like that, or that he hadn’t liked the way it fit. Before he started to mourn the idea of not seeing Gillion in a suit again, he remembered that they were literally here to go to a fancy gala in a few days. Maybe Gillion had a suit for that, or something. 

 

A few minutes into their resumed wandering around the mall, Lizzie gave Chip a very pointed look, before turning to Gillion and started going on about how she thought it was cool that he liked skirts. She pointed out that she had seen a dress shop on the way into the mall, and then took it upon herself to drag Gillion away from the other two. Jay offered to go with as well, but Lizzie brushed her off, saying that she wanted to spend some time getting to know Gillion without Chip making heart eyes at him. Chip had very much denied that statement.

 

“You guys should go get some milkshakes. Gillion and I will catch up in a little bit.” Lizzie had then grabbed Gillion’s wrist and pulled him away. 

 

Ah. So this was Lizzie's way of saying that Chip had waited long enough, and that now he had to, in her words, stop being a dumbass and talk with Jay about emotions or whatever. 

 

He and Jay meandered towards the food court awkwardly. Neither of them said anything and the air was tense. “So,” he started, completely unsure how to approach this. “Should I go first or do you want to?” Jay raised an eyebrow, clearly confused about what he meant. “Cause- well, I just- we’re both really bad at like- talking to each other. When we’re upset. I just-“ he took a deep breath. “Look, okay, I miss my best friend. I’m upset with you and I know you’re upset with me, and I just- I don’t want to be upset at each other anymore.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking anywhere but at Jay. “Can we just, fix this?”

 

Jay sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Okay, I’ll admit that I miss you too.” 

 

Chip smiled a little to himself. Something lighthearted began taking the place of whatever dark and heavy feeling had made its home in his chest. “Yeah?” 

 

“Yeah, dumbass.” She let out a breath that sounded a bit like a laugh. It was significantly less tense, but there was still a sort of dampness. “You go first, though.” Jay glanced away. He could understand that. Jay, while being the smartest out of literally anyone Chip had ever met, struggled to actually talk about what went on in her own head.

 

He nodded. “Alright, okay. I am upset with you because- I just, I was hurt when you accepted Lizzie’s invitation. When you decided to be her plus one. I know that you guys have your whole weird thing that’s going on- which I don’t want to know anything about, by the way, please spare me the details. It’s just that we’re supposed to be best friends and you didn’t even let me know that you wouldn’t be my plus one. You just sort of accepted without hesitation, and it felt like you kind of forgot to say anything to me. I dunno, it feels kinda stupid now that I’m saying it out loud.” 

 

Jay slowed to a stop, making Chip look at her and stop as well. “It’s not stupid. I can understand why you felt that way. I know you don’t want the details, but I guess Lizzie and I both could have been a bit more- we could have actually explained what all was going on between us, because you’re right, you are my best friend and best friends are supposed to talk about girls or whatever. I’m sorry I didn’t let you know. I figured that Lizzie would tell you or something.” She shrugged. 

 

Chip just stood there for a second, sort of unsure what to say. “Thanks- I- I appreciate that. I guess- I dunno. Lizzie basically bragged about having a plus one, but didn’t actually say who, so I jumped to say that I did too. I guess I was sort of counting on you, but then you weren’t there. Which is like, fine. I get it, you make your own decisions.” He said, his voice still filled with a strange sort of hesitation. Something hot spread through him. Something like embarrassment, or anger. Not at Jay, necessarily, but he felt stupid. 

 

Maybe he was just overreacting to the whole thing and it honestly wasn’t that big of a deal in the first place. He’d always been the sort of person to act on emotion before actually thinking things through and it had gotten him into stupid situations many times before. Maybe this time was just like that. Maybe he was too terrified of being alone that he’d drag everyone else down with him before just accepting it. Before he had time to start second guessing dragging Gillion into this whole thing, Jay poked his arm lightly. 

 

“Hey,” she said. “You’re allowed to have your emotions. You were upset because you were counting on your friend, and she wasn’t there. That’s understandable. But it’s not the only thing you’re upset about, is it? I know you well enough to know that there’s something deeper than that.” 

 

Chip made a frustrated sound. “Yeah, I just- I dunno how to- eugh.” He ran a hand down his face. “It’s complicated.” He felt like there were so many emotions and words just below his skin, begging to be let out and put into the world, but they were just a tangled mess of half formed sentences and unnamable feelings. He felt like he was a tangled knot, and didn’t know exactly where to start or how to actually explain well enough for his emotions to be understood by himself, let alone by anyone else.

 

“Well,” Jay said, looking down at her watch. “Considering everything Gillion tried on at the last place, I think we probably have plenty of time to chat. Let’s start with everything going on in your head, and then we’ll talk about me, yeah? You’ve got the talking stick. Metaphorically.” 

 

He laughed quietly. “Yeah, alright. I guess it’s just that- well, I’m happy for you. You and Lizzie. You guys are finally acting on whatever emotions have been there for years, and I’m happy that you’re happy.” He trailed off a bit, looking at the shops around them. It was the truth. He was happy that the two most important people in his life were actually making room for their own happiness, even if that meant they could be forgetting about him.

 

“But?” Jay prompted. 

 

“But I can’t help the feeling that- that I’m not important anymore. I can’t help feeling like you guys are leaving me behind and I’m just going to end up alone again.” Chip said, letting out a deep breath. “I get that romantic love is completely different from platonic or familial, and I know that you guys won’t stop loving me just because you love each other- that’s not how love works- but it’s still scary.”

 

“Well,” Jay started after a moment of silence. “For one, you’ll never not have Arlin anymore. He won’t ever let you be completely alone again.” She ran a hand through her hair. “And for two- I’m not going anywhere. You’re a bastard, sure, but I don’t think I would have it in me to leave you behind. And Lizzie’s your sister, she won’t go anywhere either. At least not before winning the war between you two, and everyone knows that there will never be one true victor.” 

 

Chip laughed. He let her words sink in all of the way, refusing to let his traitorous brain take the words and dissect them for some hidden meaning or lie. “Yeah, okay. That’s fair. I just- I don’t know, I guess it’s a fear I always have, and with you two- doing whatever, and then us not talking to each other- it got worse. Felt like it was more likely to come true, or something.” 

 

She reached out to mess with his hair. “I get it. We’re both scared of that. Turns out we’re both idiots, though. Because I won’t ever leave you, and you’re just as scared of me leaving as I am of you leaving.” 

 

“Is that-?” Chip started but cut himself off. He wondered if that was part of why Jay was upset, but Lizzie hadn’t mentioned anything about Jay being scared of being left alone. 

 

Jay nodded a little. “Sort of. It’s part of it. You just- this whole thing with Gillion- I’m happy that you’re finally getting out there, but I had no idea. I didn’t talk to you about Lizzie- which I now see is a little hypocritical of me, but I’m getting there. You at least had some idea of the things going on between us, though. This relationship with your roommate completely came out of the blue for me. I mean- I had no idea you were even interested in him.” She sighed. “I guess I’m just a bit hurt that you didn’t tell me about it. Made me wonder if maybe I wasn’t as important to you as you are to me.” 

 

Chip blinked. He hadn’t realised how deep it went. Sure, Lizzie had pointed out the major issue earlier that morning, but he hadn’t even thought to put together how similar their issues were. 

 

“Of course you’re important to me.” 

 

“Then why didn’t you tell me?” She met his eyes then, and he was able to read the emotions behind them again. There was sadness and anger and hurt. “Why didn’t you even mention having a crush on your roommate?”

 

Chip broke eye contact to stare down at his feet. He made a split second decision then. “You want the whole truth?” Jay nodded but said nothing. “Gillion and I aren’t dating. That’s why I didn't tell you about him. It’s not real. Lizzie said she already had a plus one, and I didn’t want to look like I had less friends, so I said I had one too. But then you decided to go with Lizzie-“ 

 

“So you asked your roommate to be your boyfriend for a week so that you didn’t look like an idiot?” Jay stared at him. 

 

“Okay, when you put it like that- yeah, it sounds stupid. That's exactly it, though. And I also- look, you guys were going to have a great romantic getaway to a fancy event, while I couldn’t even find a plus one. How pathetic is that? And it definitely wouldn’t have helped the whole ‘being afraid of getting left behind’ thing.” Something close to anger made him defensive of the decision. It wasn’t just his pride that he’d wanted to protect. Sure, he could admit that the whole fake dating deal might have been going a little bit far, and that maybe it had been a bad idea, but at that moment, he didn’t want to look like any more of an idiot than he already was. 

 

The anger fizzled out when he met Jay’s eyes again and saw nothing but softness. And maybe a little sadness. That actually took Chip completely by surprise, to have his anger met with the opposite.

 

“You’re not pathetic.” Jay said, as if it were the most important thing she’d ever said. He could feel the weight behind her words, and almost imagined them as a rock that he could hold. He thought about letting the words ground him.  “You’re really scared of being alone, huh?” Chip nodded. She reached out again, this time to grab his arm and pull him in for a hug. They sat there for a little while before Chip felt like he was going to start crying. 

 

“So, are we good? Because I really missed talking to you.” Chip asked, putting his hand out. “Friends?”

 

Jay didn’t take his hand. “On two conditions.” Chip raised his eyebrows but didn’t move his hand. “We actually talk to each other when we have issues like this, for one. And for two, we don’t leave each other behind.” 

 

Chip grinned. “Deal.” 

 

She took his hand and they shook. “Milkshakes?” Jay asked, still holding his hand. At his nod, she pulled him to the direction of the food court. 

 

Chip decided that he had really missed Jay, and getting milkshakes to make up for everything was totally worth it. Especially when Lizzie and Gillion came back a little later- after Chip had sworn Jay to secrecy about the fake relationship- with a few more bags and some sort of new energy between the two. They seemed more comfortable around each other, and  Lizzie kept glancing between the two of them, something about her posture seeming knowing. Gillion, on the other hand, seemed just the same as always, if not a little more energetic and happy. 

 

By the time they got back to the hotel, Chip had substantially added to the list of things he knew about Gillion, and had returned completely to normal with Jay. 

 

He’d consider the day an absolute success, even when Lizzie continued to tease him about his reaction to Gillion’s suit. 

 

Maybe the trip would be a lot more fun than he was expecting. 

Notes:

There it is folks. I hope you liked it :3

I honestly didn’t plan on devoting that much screen time to Jay, since this is about fish and chips, but Lizzie fucking forced her way into the story and demanded justice for Jay so here we are. I’m not unhappy with it.

I’m very excited for the next chapter though, I think it’s probably going to be my favorite so make sure you’re subscribed to be emailed when that comes out :D

Chapter 3: Perhaps more Precious than Gold,

Summary:

Arlin chuckled under his breath before saying, “Alright, it’s settled then. We’ll head to the arcade, where we will play at least one game of laser tag, courtesy of one Ms. Jay Ferin, and then we can head to the beach. Sounds good?” Everyone nodded.

Chip shoved the muffin into his mouth, taking a larger bite than necessary.

Today sounded fun.

Notes:

Y’all this one’s a fucking DOOZY

For one, the word count continues to grow with each chapter. At this point I can’t even imagine what chap 4 is gonna end up at. This one is 11.7k. It’s also completely my favorite chapter, but it was hArd to edit idk it was weird. That’s why it took an extra day lol.

Speaking of: the whole “Tuesday” thing wasn’t planned but it sorta ended up being the schedule. The issue is that I haven’t even started the next chapter but I know it’s going to be the hardest to write to I might need more time on that one. Just a heads up lol

ALSO!!!!!! THIS CHAPTER OFFICIALLY MARKS THIS FIC AS THE LONGEST IVE EVER WRITTEN WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

No trigger warnings :3 (lemme know if I missed something tho)

The next day, Chip was miraculously allowed to sleep in. He was, of course, the last one to wake up, which made stumbling down to the lobby to find his family and boyfriend chatting together a little strange but alas, he’s too tired for this. Gillion had left a note in neat little writing, letting him know that they were down having breakfast, and to join them when he felt up to it. It was signed with a little smiley face. Chip definitely did not spend upwards of 5 minutes staring at the note. To be fair, he was way too tired to comprehend any words on the first try, and then after reading and understanding the message, he just stared at the note for a minute, tracing over the neat letters with his eyes. The little smiley face was rather endearing. 

 

When he did eventually make it down to the lobby and find his family, he sat down in the empty seat next to Gillion and rested his head on the table. That earned him a snort from Lizzie, an eye roll from Jay (that he couldn’t see, but he could hear it), and a cup of coffee that slid into his peripheral vision. He sat up and took it, thanking Gillion in more of a mumble than any comprehensible words. The triton seemed to get the message though, smiling brightly. 

 

What did he have to be so chipper about?

 

Lizzie started laughing, while Gillion blinked at him, surprised. “It is a good morning, is it not?”

 

Oh. He’d said that out loud. “It’s morning, for sure.”

 

Jay seemed to also be holding back laughter. “It's almost closer to noon, actually.”

 

He sent a glare toward her and then glanced at a clock on the wall. 11:15. Huh. “You know what, Jay?” He paused to down some of the coffee. “Get me another coffee before we talk.” 

 

Arlin was smiling to himself, shaking his head slightly. Chip felt something like guilt go through him at the sight of his dad. 

 

It hadn’t been intentional, obviously, but he hadn’t been spending much time with him recently. He loved his dad, it was just that between college and moving into dorms, he didn’t have a ton of time to spend with anyone. He suddenly missed the days where they’d go out after school once a month to get ice cream, just the two of them. When was the last time they’d gotten ice cream?

 

“Is everything okay?” Gillion asked quietly. 

 

Chip hummed and then waved him off, taking a sip of coffee. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.”

 

Gillion nodded, still watching him. “Did you not sleep well?”

 

Chip smiled and set his coffee down. “Nah, I slept fine. Just not much of a morning person.” HIs eyelids were heavy, and he could tell that it’d be another half hour at least before he was fully awake, regardless of the coffee in his hands. Speaking of- Gillion had gotten it perfectly correct. He couldn’t remember ever telling him how he liked his coffee, but maybe he was just predictable, or maybe Jay told him. Jay liked to tease him about how much sugar Chip liked. 

 

Gillion nodded, and then seemed to space out a little, thinking about something. Maybe he was thinking about how they cuddled for a few hours the night before last. Chip definitely was. It wasn’t even that he slept badly last night, it was just that when they’d fallen asleep cuddling, he had somehow slept better than he ever had. To even sleep good sort of paled in comparison. 

 

Maybe it was his sleepy thoughts of their little cuddle session, or maybe it was just how sluggishly his brain seemed to be working, whatever it was, it didn’t matter. Something made him look at the gap between them and decide that it was exactly close enough not to be uncomfortable if he put his head on Gillion’s shoulder. As he did exactly that, he let himself close his eyes for a moment. Gillion tensed for half of a second, not expecting the movement, before he relaxed again. Chip could feel him look down and to the side a little, towards Chip.

 

“Hi.” The word was quiet, an air of amusement behind it. Something stupid and silly in the back of his sleep-addled mind made him feel incredibly special in that moment. To Chip, it was almost like that word was the pinnacle of every important thing ever said. To have it said to him and only him- something warm glowed in his chest. 

 

Chip smiled. “Hi,” he whispered back. For just a moment, the world was still and nothing else mattered. it was just their little moment, their little bubble. For that moment, there was nothing but quiet ‘hi’s and the feeling of being oh so important. He never thought that such a small word could make him feel so much. 

 

Something incredibly giddy kicked up deep inside of him and he resisted the urge to laugh. He really didn’t want to unpack how much he liked leaning on Gillion. He was far too tired to think about how, theoretically, they were just friends who honestly barely knew each other, and how physical affection like this really shouldn’t make him this happy. 

 

He felt a cheek rest against the top of his head and he decided to banish all thoughts that he considered to be too complex. If that happened to be all of them, then he was all too happy to just sit there, all warmth and thoughtlessness. 

 

He swears that he tried not to fall asleep, but when he was startled by a coo, he couldn’t tell if he had actually been entirely awake for the past few moments. He cracked an eye open to see Lizzie grinning at him. He flipped her off in response, closing his eyes again. Gillion had lifted his head again and started talking to Jay or Arlin. Chip was too tired to decide who, and definitely not there enough to actually decipher the words being said. 

 

Briefly, he really hoped that Lizzie didn’t have her phone out to take a picture of them right now. He cursed how well he knew her when his phone buzzed in his back pocket. There was no reason for anyone to be texting him right now, unless to send him pictures that could probably be used as blackmail, knowing his sister.

 

“Chip?” He heard Gillion ask. He hummed in response. “We were just discussing plans for today. Is there anything in particular that you’d like to add to the agenda?”

 

Chip sighed internally, taking a second to process the words. Gillion spoke so formally, and for why? “Mmmm. Pool.” He said simply. 

 

“You’d like to go to the pool?” Gillion asked, to which Chip nodded. “We could always go to the beach, it’s not that far from here.”

 

Chip thought about that for a minute. Mostly, he just wanted to go swimming at least once, it didn't matter much exactly where. Now that he thought about it, though, Gillion might be more comfortable with the ocean than a sterilised pool. “Beach.” He felt his hair move slightly when Gillion let out a little huff that sounded more like a laugh than anything else. 

 

“Would you like more coffee?” The offer sounded really tempting, it did, however, Chip was slightly more inclined to just stay like this for a while longer. He shook his head. He had to give Gillion some credit, he was behaving exactly how Chip would imagine a very good boyfriend would. “What about breakfast? You haven’t eaten yet.” Yep. Ten points to Gryffindor, Gillion was the best boyfriend Chip had ever had. 

 

Because there was no way Gillion was anything but a Gryffindor. Actually, no, he was a Hufflepuff. He thinks he vaguely remembers Gillion calling himself a ‘hero of the deep’ at some point, which is definitely a Gryffindor thing to say, but he seemed to care about people far too much to not be a Hufflepuff. Whatever, it didn’t matter. 

 

Although, Gillion the Gryffindor did have a funny little alliterative thing going on. 

 

Jay was definitely a Ravenclaw. No doubt about it. And that’s not just because of the stupid bird thing. 

 

Lizzie was a Slytherin. 

 

Why was he thinking about this again? Oh, right, Gillion was somehow the perfect boyfriend even though they weren’t actually dating. 

 

“Chip?” Gillion drew out the vowel in his name, turning it almost into a sing-song sort of thing. “Do you need to eat?”

 

Chip sighed. He opened his mouth to respond, and say that he was fine, but his stomach took it upon itself to growl at that moment. “Yeah, alright.” He sat up slowly, missing the warmth that came from Gillion. That was actually sort of interesting, considering that Tritons ran a bit colder than most humans, because of some sciencey shit that Professor Tidestrider tried explaining in some marine biology class. Something about lower temperatures and the regulation of body heat.  That guy was weird. 

 

Wait.

 

Chip turned to Gillion suddenly. “Are you related to Professor Tidestrider?” He asked, squinting at his roommate. 

 

Gillion blinked. “Finn is my grandfather, yes.”

 

“Dude, what the fuck” Chip whispered to himself quietly, letting out a long breath as he did. He had no idea how he hadn’t already put that together. 

 

“Is that the marine bio professor that never stops going on about that crawfish?” Lizzie piped up. “All of his lectures felt like a trip.”

 

Gillion groaned. “Yes. The elusive crawfish.” He shivered. “I have been told about it extensively on one too many occasions.”

 

Chip pointed at nothing in particular. “Don’t forget the fucking- what were they? Cumsharks? He spent an entire class just talking about that once. I couldn’t decide if it was a real thing, or if he was just high off his ass.”

 

That at least got a laugh out of Gillion. “No one knows.” He took a sip of his orange juice and then started getting up from his seat. 

 

Chip stared in confusion. “Where are you going?”

 

A smile made itself known of Gillion’s face, amusement written all over his expression and the way his ear fins were perked up slightly. “We are going to get you food.” He offered Chip his hand, which he took. He actually almost fell as he tried to stand, tripping over his own feet, but Gillion caught him. 

 

He flipped Lizzie off with his free hand after she chuckled at him, letting Gillion lead him over to the counter where there were muffins, coffee, toast, cereal, and whatever was in a few hotplates. As Chip served himself some bacon and a lemon poppyseed muffin, Gillion told him what the consensus on the day’s agenda had been. There was a garden that Jay wanted to see, and then Arlin had suggested that they go to a little arcade after that. They had all decided that Chip’s suggestion to go to the beach would be saved for last, no matter what they chose, and when Chip asked why, Gillion pointed out that it would be much easier to shower after swimming if they could just come back to the hotel and not worry about any other plans. He also mentioned how beautiful the ocean could be when the sun set over it. 

 

Chip couldn’t help but scowl and point out that if they run out of time, his suggestion would be the one they skipped. As a response, Gillion had just smiled at him. 

 

“There is no such thing as running out of time when it comes to the sea.” Chip didn’t exactly know what that meant, but the smile that he was given was just as pretty as it always was.

 

When they returned to the table, the other three were still talking about plans. 

 

“If we play at least one game of laser tag at the arcade, then I’m fine,” Jay was saying. LIzzie laughed, while Arlin put his hands up in surrender.

 

“I just don’t know if we’ll have enough time to do everything, and I’m worried about Chip and his strange need to go swimming whenever we go on a vacation,” Arlin said. Chip scoffed as he set his plate down. 

 

“Swimming is nice. Who doesn’t love splashing around in the water?” Chip said. Heturned to Gillion. “Right, Gill?”

 

Gillion nodded, a grin on his face. “Agreed. Swimming is a wonderful way to relax and enjoy yourself. Although, I fear that I may be a biassed example.” 

 

Chip waved his hand towards him in a dismissing gesture. “Of course not. Your love of the sea is appreciated and taken into account. You are a valued member of this group.” He grinned, and caught Arlin shaking his head, smiling in a fond way. It was the sort of thing Arlin did a lot, and Chip had decided that it was something that came with being a fond dad.

 

Arlin chuckled under his breath before saying, “Alright, it’s settled then. We’ll skip the garden this time and instead head to the arcade, where we will play at least one game of laser tag, courtesy of one Ms. Jay Ferin, and then we can head to the beach. Sounds good?” Everyone nodded. 

 

Chip shoved the muffin into his mouth, taking a larger bite than necessary. 

 

Today sounded fun. 

 

–

 

After everyone got ready, the group started the short walk to an arcade just down the street. On the way, there was a little street that had been closed to traffic and filled with little tents and tables showing off products. None of them had particularly complained when they veered off their path to check out the little market. 

 

Some stalls had fresh fruits, or clothing items, or jewellery. 

 

Gillion kept pointing out little shiny trinkets, and pretty pieces of sea glass. At one of the little booths, there were a few necklaces with little bits of sea glass wrapped in wire. The Triton had lingered there for a moment longer than the other stalls, watching the way light refracted through one of the necklaces. The one that caught his eye was a brighter, turquoise piece that had silver wire wrapped around it twice in a diagonal pattern. The wire then stopped at the front, curling into a little spiral. 

 

When Gillion moved on to the next stall, which boasted fresh oranges, Chip stayed to ask about the price of the necklace. It was hardly expensive, an artist clearly underselling themself, so Chip bought it. As he tucked the little necklace into his pocket and finished up the transaction, the person at the stall had said something that would echo in his mind for the next few hours. 

 

“I can see it in your eyes.” She paused as she tucked the cash he’d given her away. She was a halfling, short and old. Her grey hair was piled up on his head in a bun and she smiled softly at him. “I’ve been around long enough to recognize when someone really loves someone else. Cherish him.”

 

Chip had stood there for a second, unsure what to say. He’d decided on a simple thank you and a smile before turning to catch up with Gillion. 

 

The words themselves weren’t honestly all that surprising. Chip had heard of old people saying stuff like that to couples, but it sort of threw him off. Were they that good of actors to convince even a stranger, or did she just not look close enough? Or maybe she said that to most people. 

 

Who knows. The words refused to leave his mind, though. He couldn’t decide if it was because of the tone  and the seeming importance behind the words- like they were something vital to the future- or if they held some truth. 

 

He was starting to wonder if the funny little things his stomach did were some indicator of deeper feelings. Pushing the thoughts aside, he promised to himself that he wouldn’t turn into some cringey fanfic point of view. The trip’s agenda did not include catching feelings. 

 

And if he did, he just wouldn’t act on them after all of this was over. He'd just stomp them out and never think about it again. Plain and simple. 

 

And then he’d seen Gillion smile brightly and point to a little pink octopus that swam around in a tank. She wasn’t for sale, but Gillion still watched her swim around for a few minutes, positively captivated. Chip could tell that he thought of Pretzel, the little stuffed octopus that he held dear. 

 

Looking at Gillion was hard when he was happy and smiling. The thought of going back to how it had been before, when they didn’t talk very often, stung a little. After everything was over, Chiphoped they didn’t go back to that. 

 

Eventually, they resumed their walk to the arcade. The sun had passed its high point, sometime in the early afternoon. Lizzie pulled Chip off to the side for a second, out of earshot of the others. 

 

The rest of the group walked on, unaware of the twins’ disappearance. 

 

“I have a proposition for you,” Lizzie said. There was a familiar glint in her eye, one that Chip recognized to be the sign of an idea that was probably a little bit reckless. He’d already agreed before she explained. Lizzie’s reckless ideas were always fun. “You mentioned something about this being a romantic getaway for Jay and I, right? See but the thing is that it hasn’t been very romantic so far. Not that I’m complaining, it has been nice, but there’s been nothing outwardly couple-y, y’know?”

 

“Okay?” Chip drew out the first syllable, not entirely sure where she was going with this or why it involved him. 

 

Lizzie grinned. “And you haven’t been super couple-y with Gillion either- which, I know it’s new, so you guys might not be to that stage of comfortability yet, but- I had an idea. We make it a competition. Really do things in typical James Twins fashion, y’know?”

 

Chips eyebrows were raised and he tried to hold back a laugh. “So, what, you want to see who can be more outwardly obnoxious about their partner? Who can be more disgustingly sweet?” Lizzie nodded. “Okay, for one, Jay is going to kill you and I can’t imagine either of them not dying of embarrassment. But that leads me to my second point: absolutely, I am so in. What’s the winner get?”

 

His sister cackled and stuck out her hand to shake his. “$20?”

 

He grinned and took her hand. “Deal.”

 

They moved to catch up with the group, excitement running through Chip’s veins. Look, he may not actually be dating Gillion, and his feelings might be confusing, but flirting was fun regardless of who it was with. Plus, if he got $20 out of it, then who was he to say no? He also really liked the idea of flustering Gillion, considering he’d never seen that before. He wondered for a moment what it would take to succeed in that endeavour.

 

They pushed the doors open, letting the cool air escape and tug at their hair. Nostalgia flooded Chip’s system as soon as they entered the arcade. It was one of those funny fusion arcade things that had video games, a jungle gym for kids, and laser tag. The epicentre of fun, if you asked him. The carpets were patterned with the bright coloured squiggles, broken up by random shapes and dots, and it smelled like junk food from the little concession stand in the corner of the building. 

 

While they waited in line, Chip kissed Gillion on the cheek, which earned him a baffled look. Chip had smiled and told him to just go with it, to which Gillion nodded slightly and went back to looking at the sign that hung above the counter. 

 

Again came the curiosity of getting a flustered response out of the other. 

 

Arlin paid, much to everyone else’s objection. They spent some time playing the games, laughing and cheering each other on. Arlin completely wiped the floor with everyone in air hockey, but Gillion had made quite the valiant effort. They’d spent at least half an hour at skee-ball, Chip wanting to rematch Jay no matter how many times she beat his scores. Lizzie consistently won anything that had to do with throwing things- whether that was basketball or the strange clown teeth knockout game. 

 

At some point, after amassing a few hundred tickets between them, they decided to go check out the prizes. Chip ended up with a few handfuls of tootsie rolls, cheap rings, a whoopee cushion, and a stupid little paper pirate hat. He tried to put the pirate hat on Gillion, but his coral got in the way and his reaction was just to scowl, while Chip laughed. Instead of functioning like a regular hat, it sat atop one of the coral branches, looking like it was floating. It was held there by the little elastic string that went under Gillion’s chin. 

 

Chip had practically begged for a picture, which Gillion had given into pretty quickly. The picture ended up being this stupid little slightly blurry selfie, lighting up Chip’s shit-eating grin and Gillion’s amused smile. He’d stared at the picture for a few seconds after taking it, deciding that it was both the stupidest and most wonderful picture he’d ever taken. 

 

Lizzie ended up getting a little jelly sticky hand that she kept smacking Chip with, and Jay got a little squirt gun that she threatened them with, despite it being completely empty. When Gillion pointed that out, she just got this scary little smile and reminded them of the plan to go to the beach later. It turned out that Jay and Gillion got along really well, which Chip hadn’t been expecting, but he was actually really happy about it. They teased each other and cheered each other on in the games, just like any regular friends. 

 

Chip thought briefly about how, when they got back to campus, he’d have to introduce Gillion to Ollie. He imagined what it would be like to have Gillion join their little friend group. Thinking about eating lunches together and hanging out in the dorm- all four of them piled together in the tiny living room and studying together- made him realise that he desperately wanted that. 

 

He wanted to talk to Gillion about his stupid classes, and tease him with Jay, and maybe their tiny kitchen could be put to use in order to try learning to cook together. He let these little scenarios run through his mind, getting increasingly attached to each one. The thought of just hanging out was enough to make Chip smile. 

 

And then he’d get smacked again by Lizzie’s toy sticky hand. And he would shove the thoughts aside, instead focusing on explaining how horrible of an invention those stupid toys were. They were fun for the first two minutes, annoying for the next ten, and then they’d be thrown away because they’d collected a frankly alarming amount of hair and dirt. All points in Chip’s small ramble that had LIzzie groaning, and Gillion listening intently. It was sort of cute how Gillion would listen to just about anything Chip was saying, no matter how stupid. 

 

After choosing all of their shitty, typical arcade prizes and filling their pockets with candy, they went over to the wall that was home to the entrance of the laser tag arena. As soon as they got over there, Arlin asked what everyone wanted to eat. They made a failed attempt to get him to stay and play with them, countered by the fact that it was very hard to play teams with an odd number of people, and a free for all was never as fun. So Chip watched his dad walk away and cursed at one more opportunity to hang out that was no longer an option. He sighed and turned to the group. 

 

“How are we going to team, then?” He asked. His words were met by varying degrees of confusion. 

 

Lizzie had her eyebrow raised. “Isn’t it obvious?” He couldn’t fault her, honestly, because it completely was. Any regular group of people would just play couples against each other. Most often, that would probably have the best results, considering it’s fun to strategize with your partner and prove who the best couple was. There was an issue with that logic though, at least for this group. 

 

Chip pointed at her. “See, you would think that, but I refuse to let the two reigning champions at laser tag team together. Lizzie, you’re scary when it comes to this game, and Jay, I didn’t start calling you ‘Sureshot’ in 8th grade for no reason. Gillion, I’m sure you're great at playing this game, but no one has ever beaten them, especially not when put on a team together.” He put his hand on Gillion’s shoulder and nodded. “So sorry, but I refuse to hand them this win.”

 

The girls laughed, while Gillion watched with amusement, his brow furrowed ever so slightly in a way that told Chip how he was slightly confused. That was fair enough, honestly. Most people didn’t take a game like this very seriously, and considering Gillion’s general and literal fish-out-of-water reaction to a lot of things, he wouldn’t be surprised if Gillion had never played something like this. 

 

“I want Gillion, then.” Lizzie said, nudging him with her elbow. “He looks capable.”

 

Chip narrowed his eyes at her, having moved his arm to wrap around Gillion’s shoulders, leaning on him. “See, I would say that it’s because you think I’m shit at this game, but that means I get Jay, and honestly, I’m a-okay with my odds there.” Jay snorted. They moved to the room where the vests hung, already huddling with their respective partners and deciding on vest colours. 

 

Jay and Chip went with blue, while the other two chose red, probably Lizzie’s decision. The employee had explained the rules, but Gillion had been the only one to listen, everyone else already thinking up strategies. As soon as the door to the arena opened, Lizzie led Gillion away. 

 

The room was darkened and foggy, and they were given 2 minutes to find a starting place and figure out strategy. Jay led the way towards a corner of the room that was fairly well protected. “Alright, we’re going to need a strategy if we want to take Lizzie out. Gillion is a wild card here, so we need to be careful of him until we can get a read on how good he is.” Chip nodded, getting a serious expression on his face. When it came to laser tag, the James family was incredibly competitive, and that extended to Jay. 

 

Her uncle, Drey, had been considered the Sureshot before her, back when he and Arlin were in highschool. It was tradition to take laser tag way more seriously than most other people would.

 

“What are you thinking in terms of strategy?” Chip asked. They were crouched low, avoiding the holes in the walls that could make them easy targets once the game actually started. “You could always head up to the upper level, get an advantage, and just snipe them.” He’d only actually played in a few arenas that had a second level, usually accessed by a small ramp that would give shooters an easy shot, but the ones that did always made for wonderful battles. 

 

Shaking her head, Jay said, “Lizzie will definitely be expecting that. The good thing is that you’re a bit better in close quarters.” She sat in silence for a minute, thinking. “Alright, I have an idea. Lizzie will definitely expect to split up, and knowing her, she’ll probably split up too. She’s probably going to send Gillion in on his own, while she hunts me down. That being said, I have an idea.” She then launched into an overview of her plan and the followup plans. 

 

They set out as soon as the countdown told them that the game began, with Chip leading and Jay following behind, some distance between them. The idea was to hunt the other team down, but trick them into thinking that Chip was alone, so that they wouldn’t expect Jay’s shots from afar. 

 

The carpeted floor quieted his footsteps as he wandered the arena, on guard for someone wearing a red vest. Somewhere, a fog machine was making the air hazy. Neon lights and lasers would cut through the fog ever once in a while, keeping Chip always on his guard. Stalking through the maze-like walls, CHip’s heart sped up and he grinned. There was something in the air when it came to laser tag. The haziness wasn’t just to serve the ambiance, it was packed with so much excitement and nostalgia that it was impossible not to love it. 

 

It wasn’t long before he found Gillion, crouched behind a barrier, waiting for someone. He was looking around a corner, every muscle in his body tense and ready for someone to show up. Luckily, he was looking away from Chip, allowing him to duck behind a wall before Gillion saw him. He stood there, pressing himself against the wall for a moment, wondering exactly how to approach this. As per the plan outline, Chip would have to distract Gillion while Jay waited for an opportunity to shoot him from afar. 

 

Obviously, he could just try to shoot him, but that would make it a little harder for Jay to shoot him when he was moving. 

 

There was an obvious solution that came up, but he wasn’t sure exactly how to get GIllion’s attention long enough to kiss him without being shot on the spot. Sure, Jay was the only one watching and she knew that their relationship wasn’t real, but GIllion didn’t know that she knew. It was confusing, but the goal was to distract and that would certainly serve its purpose. 

 

Both luckily and unluckily, it seemed that Gillion had seen him after all. Having spaced out trying to think about how to approach the other, Chip accidentally let his guard down and let Gillion get close. He had circled around, and was now standing across from Chip in the small space, his gun pointing towards the sensor on Chip’s chest. 

 

When he realised the position that he’d been put in, his eyes widened and his heart sped up. “Gill, you-”

 

Gillion shushed him, taking a few steps closer. “Lizzie is watching. She expects me to distract you.” Chip’s eyebrows furrowed, no longer as worried about Gillion shooting him. The thought that their plans were the same briefly crossed his mind, but it had no weight in comparison to the words Gillion was saying. “I am going to kiss you, now. Tell me no if you are uncomfortable.”

 

Chip’s mind blanked. Sure, it was exactly what he’d been planning to tell Gillion, but the full idea of them kissing hadn’t fully dawned on him until that point. They’d talked about it in their boundary conversation, how they might be expected to kiss at some point during the trip. They had agreed to it, but they were both somewhat hesitant, so it was agreed that they would kiss should a situation arise where it was deemed necessary, but they wouldn’t make it nearly as causal a thing as holding hands or just being generally physically close. 

 

Chip had honestly sort of hoped that they wouldn’t have to think about that. He wasn’t against it, or anything- it was just that he hadn’t kissed many people.

 

“Tell me no, Chip.” Gillion said as he was closing the distance between them slowly. 

 

He should have. He really should have said no. He should have said no and shot Gillion with the laser gun right then. It would have been an easy shot, he was standing right there and his guard was down. It would have been the perfect opportunity to shoot him, get the points, and then run. The thoughts rattled around his head. He told himself to say no, begged for the word to come out of his mouth, but it didn't.

 

Something stopped him from saying no. Something refused to let him stop this moment. 

 

Maybe he was weak. Maybe there was something in the way that Gillion was looking at him, or maybe it was the knowledge that both Lizzie and Jay were expecting them to distract each other. 

 

Maybe he really wanted to kiss Gillion. 

 

His heart had seemingly restarted, pausing its erratic thumping for a second before starting up again, even faster. The air around them was warm and smelled in that funny way that laser tag arenas usually do, but just under that, he could smell the sea. Gillion smelt like salt and something sweet, and as the distance between them shrank, Chip couldn’t think of anything but letting all of his senses be filled with the other. 

 

Looking at Gillion, there was something in his eyes that looked like he wanted Chip to deny him this, but then they were soft and filled with something intoxicating, too. He had let the hand holding his gun fall to his side, and Chip once again thought about taking advantage of this and shooting him, but the thought was very quickly shoved aside. 

 

The moment of hesitation only lasted a second, but it still hung in the air, suspended and not ready for the fall. Then, Chip felt something snap in his chest- or maybe it was more like a click- and his resolve crumbled as he took his own initiative to close the ever shrinking distance between them 

 

This wasn’t his first kiss, but it definitely was the only one he’d ever had that was quite like this. EVer other kiss in his life had been short and not filled with much emotion. They had been the products of dares and shitty games of spin the bottle. This was everything that those kisses weren’t. He’d never been kissed like this before. 

 

It started off slow as Gillion rested his hands on Chip’s hips, pushing him into the wall and leaving very little room between the two of them. Chip’s gun dangled at his side from when he’d let go of it at some point, bumping into the wall and hanging uselessly by the cord that tethered it to his vest. His hands travelled up and found a place to grab onto the other’s vest, attempting to pull him ever closer. 

 

Chip felt Gillion’s other hand slip under his shirt and up to touch his lower back. His hands were cool and slightly damp but not to a point of uncomfortability. He was completely overwhelming, but only in all of the best ways. His smell and his touch and his taste were all that Chip knew at that moment, but it was nice to get lost in it. 

 

It wasn’t fuelled by heat or lust, the way that some past kisses had been. He couldn’t even tell exactly what fueled it, because at some point, he’d completely forgotten about the fake boyfriend deal, or the fact that this was technically an act. At some point, the only thing that kept him there, kissing Gillion, was the utter wonderfulness of it all and the need to simply be close to Gillion. 

 

He wanted to be as close to Gillion as physically possible, but not in a way that could be implied as sexual. It was the want for intimacy and vulnerability that didn’t have anything to do with sex. It was the need to be close, to touch and show affection and try explaining all of the funny little emotions that had taken hold of his heart without actually saying a single word.

 

The kiss became messy as they grew closer and more unaware of the rest of the world, but it was still warm and soft. If he had to compare it to something, he would almost compare it to being on the sea in a little boat, the sun shining brightly and time becoming fuzzy around the edges as days blurred together and the only emotion he could feel was joy and contentedness at the endless stretch of ocean. He could stay there for hours, if he was allowed, with the smell and the sounds and the taste of the sea. It was a wonderful feeling, one that he could very easily get lost in and addicted to if he wasn’t careful. 

 

Gillion pulled away for a second to breathe, but he didn't go far. Their noses bumped as ragged breaths mingled. Pressed against the wall, completely engulfed in the sense of Gillion, and his eyes half open, Chip had a moment to think that maybe he was a little deeper into this than he had originally intended. Maybe this was one of the best moments of his life.

 

Vaguely, he thought that he heard the sound of someone being shot, their vest buzzing as it turned white and waited to be revived. Chip got half of a second, before Gillion whispered, “Sorry.” He could feel warm breath from the word, and then his own vest was buzzing and flashing white, Gillion’s gun aimed at him. While Chip had dropped his own gun, it seemed that Gillion had more of a mind about him, and kept holding it. 

 

Just as quickly as he’d snuck up on Chip, Gillion was gone, leaving him feeling strangely cold. He stood there for a moment, gears turning in his head. His thoughts returned to the plan that Gillion had mentioned. Lizzie had wanted Chip distracted. She had probably expected them to stay fairly close together, and wanted to find Jay without worrying about Chip sneaking up and ambushing her.

 

His vest came back to life, glowing a soft blue. Alright, it was time for plan B. 

 

After Jay was supposed to shoot GIllion, they were going to try to back the other two into a corner, where Chip would stay near and shoot them whenever he was given the opportunity, and Jay would watch his back from the second level and shoot anyone that Chip missed or who was about to shoot him. 

 

That part of their plan actually did manage to be successful, but Gillion was a lot better at this than anyone had really been expecting, so he’d gotten a few shots off at Chip before somehow sneaking around to find Jay. 

 

The round ended right after he had found her and she’d reacted quick enough to shoot him, letting out a laugh as soon as the round ended. Chip and Lizzie had practically danced around each other, and in all honesty, she had probably gotten a few more shots than he had, but it was still one of the best games he’d played. 

 

Makeout session included. Even if it had sort of clouded his mind for the rest of the game. 

 

And even if that was what had made for the blue team’s defeat. Red had won by only a few points, with Lizzie coming in the lead, Jay close behind her. Chip, of course, came in last, but not nearly by as much as he was originally expecting. 

 

They all had done pretty well, but Lizzie was actively boasting when they came out of the room that held the vests. They found Arlin at a table, waiting for them and their slices of pizza. Arlin had laughed with them as they recounted epic tales of their battle, bravely fought. They all decided to leave the makeout part out of the story, for Arlin’s sake, but Chip did glare at Lizzie everytime she looked at him with a smug and knowing look. 

 

He still wasn’t entirely sure that his cheeks had gone back to their regular shade. Maybe they’d be stuck being slightly pink for the rest of his life. Granted, that wasn’t helped by the way Gillion was leaned so close to him at the table, or the way that they were sharing a cup of coke. Chip, still determined to get that $20, had also kissed Gillion on the cheek a few times, which had continued to confuse the other, but he’d brushed it off pretty quickly. He’d actually begun catching onto the extra physical affection, and had started holding Chip’s hand whenever it was free. 

 

It was utterly, disgustingly sweet. It made Chip’s heart flutter in funny ways, and all he could think about was that kiss. 

 

He also really, really wanted to see Gillion flustered, the more time that went on. Even during their kiss, he hadn’t seemed flustered at all. He’d seemed completely collected. 

 

Which was totally unfair, by the way. 

 

Gillion and the kiss ran circles around his thoughts, until he remembered that old lady’s words from the market earlier, and the necklace that still sat in his pocket. He hadn’t decided when to give it to him until after they’d already walked back to the hotel to get their swimming suits as the sun sank ever lower. As they walked to the beach, loose t-shirts over their swim clothes, Gillion watched the waves with a fond smile. Chip walked next to him, the rest of their party up ahead. He couldn’t help the thought that the other was beautiful, outlined by the sinking sun and the view of the ocean. 

 

Chip slowed to a stop, reaching out to stop Gillion too, as the others continued walking. 

 

They were standing on a sidewalk that ran along the beach, raised slightly to keep the sand contained. 

 

Gillion looked at him, confusion written in his expression. “I have something for you,” Chip said simply, and that expression quickly morphed into something closer to surprise. 

 

“Something for me?” He asked. His ear fin twitched, not uncomfortable, but an indicator that he hadn’t expected this. He almost looked a little as if he felt bad.

 

Chip nodded. “Don’t worry, it’s little. You don’t- you don’t have to worry about it, or anything.” He pulled out the necklace and held it out to Gillion. The sun’s dying light caught the sea glass in a way that made it shine, and the silver wire glimmered under the streetlamp that they stood beneath. Gillion reached out to it hesitantly. “I just- I saw you looking at it, this morning. It’s really pretty, so I figured that- that maybe you’d like to have it?”

 

The Triton took the necklace carefully. “Why?”

 

Chip’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

 

“Why did you get this for me? I have not given you anything. We do not even know each other very well. You have no reason to give me this.” Gillion’s word struck something deep within Chip’s chest.

 

“I got it because you looked like you wanted it. And you’re my- I care about you.” He had backtracked quickly. He wasn’t even entirely sure what he was about to say. Boyfriend? Not really. Friend? That somehow felt inadequate. Roommate? That certainly didn’t encapsulate the amount of emotion that stirred beneath his ribcage. “Sure, we haven’t actually known each other that long, but I- I don’t have a ton of friends, or people that I’m close with in general, so- I don’t know.  It’s stupid, I guess.”  Chip shuffled, looking down at his shoes anxiously. He didn’t expect Gillion to be completely over the moon about it, but he hadn’t really expected…. This either.

 

Gillion stared down at the piece of sea glass for a while, tracing his finger over the wire. “I suppose- Overseas gift giving culture may be different from that of the Undersea.”

 

Chip looked up, watching GIllion turn the glass over in his hands. He hadn’t even thought about that. His shoulders dropped, and he picked at his nails. “Will you tell me about it, then? I don’t- I didn’t mean to like- I didn’t mean to offend you or make you uncomfortable or anything.”

 

Gillion took a breath and held the necklace a little closer before looking up at Chip and nodding. “Let us continue walking, though, before the rest of our group gets too far ahead.” Chip nodded and they began walking again. It took a few seconds before Gillion started talking again. “In the Undersea, gift giving is typically reserved for those who are very, very close. Oftentimes, to be given a gift is a part of the way that we say goodbye to each other, when we know it will be a long time before seeing each other again. It is- it is why Edyn gave me Pretzel. We have always been very close, but when I was to be sent away, we knew that we would not see each other for a long while.”

 

Chip nodded. “So you give the ones you love the most gifts when you won’t see them, so they have something that reminds you of them?”

 

“Precisely,” Gillion said. “To give someone a gift is almost like giving someone a piece of yourself, so that they are not alone while you are apart.”

 

There was a slight breeze that tugged at their hair and chilled their skin. The rest of the group was up ahead, still walking and laughing, no idea about the conversation that was taking place behind them. “Would- would you like me to explain Oversea culture around gifts?” Gillion nodded, but didn’t say anything, still holding the necklace very close. “Well, for one, gift giving isn’t exclusive to the ones you love. You can get gifts for friends, or family, or even coworkers. Really, you could give anyone a gift if you wanted to. 

 

“There’s a lot of different reasons for it, too. Maybe they’ve been having a rough time, so you give them something to cheer them up, or maybe you just want to let a friend know that you care about them. It sorta depends on the person and the situation.” Chip said, staring at the path in front of them. 

 

Gillion nodded slowly. “And the occasion for this gift is- ?” He paused, waiting for Chip to finish the statement. 

 

“Well, I care about you, for one. And I guess, I just- I like getting things for people. I guess- I don’t know a lot about your past, but I’ve picked up on the fact that you probably weren’t allowed to have very many nice things- but maybe I’m totally reading it wrong, I have no idea. I guess I just- you deserve to have nice things. You deserve to have pretty little things that make you happy, and I noticed how you stared at that for a while longer than anything else and decided that I’d get it for you.” Chip said, his words rushed and his voice strained. It was sort of hard to explain why exactly he had the urge to cover the people he held close in shiny little things, especially when those little shiny things made the person happy at the same time. 

 

A silence passed while Gillion processed the words. “Oh,” He said simply. “Thank you.” He said, his voice quiet and almost scared. 

 

Chip cleared his throat. “Would you- do you want me to help you put it on?”

 

Gillion shook his head quickly. “No, no.” The reaction shot a painful streak of hurt though Chip as he tried not to flinch. Did he not like it after all? “The metal has not been polished to protect it. The salt water will make it rust.”

 

Oh. 

 

Chip’s nose did the funny little thing that it does when he’s holding back tears, and he took a deep breath. So Gillion did like it, enough to want to protect it from the elements so that it’ll last longer. 

 

“In fact,” Gillion turned to look at Chip. “Will you keep it until we get back to the hotel? I have nowhere to put it while we swim, and I would hate to lose it.” He held it out to Chip, seemingly taking a lot of effort not to snatch it back and hold it close like he had been a few moments earlier?

 

“Are you sure? You really seem to want to keep it.” Chip let himself smile, equal parts happiness at Gillion’s antics and smugness. 

 

He hesitated. “I do like it, very much. And as much as I would like to keep it with me, I would be very upset to lose it. I trust you to protect this precious thing more than I trust myself to.”

 

Precious thing . 

 

The tears tried coming back. As much as Chip loved to give gifts, people didn’t typically appreciate his gifts this much. His heart squeezed as he took the necklace back, tucking it carefully back into its place in his pocket.

 

Gillion seemed a little sad to part with it, but the expression schooled itself quickly. Lizzie, Jay and Arlin had left the sidewalk, seemingly finding a place on the beach where they wanted to leave their things while they swam. 

 

The two walked faster to catch up, and when they got there, Lizzie gave them a suspicious look before focusing back on her things. The sun hung low in the sky, but they still probably had about an hour before it set fully and then another hour before it was dark enough that they would leave. 

 

They had set up near one of those piers that was more just a pile of rocks in a line, instead of being made of wooden planks. Once they had shed their t-shirts, or in Gillion’s case, a large hoodie, Jay started hunting for shells, and Lizzie went straight for the water.

 

Gillion started towards the pier, seemingly intending to climb it. Chip followed, kicking off his shorts. “I don’t know how safe those things are,” He called out, but Gillion just smiled when Chip caught up with him and began to climb on top of the rocks. He held out his hand when Chip hesitated. 

 

“Come on. It will be alright.” His hand hovered there, waiting for Chip to take it. His smile was soft, but confidence laced his words. “I’d like to show you something.” 

 

Chip took a deep breath and then grabbed Gillion’s hand, using it to balance himself as he climbed up. They carefully made their way farther out, the sun slowly sinking more. Chip couldn’t help but wonder what sort of thing Gillion would have to show him at the end of the wave breaker. When they made it to the end, Gillion turned back to Chip, still smiling in a content sort of way. 

 

“Can I kiss you again?”

 

Chip’s stomach did a little flip at the thought, but he furrowed his eyebrows, confused. “But we’re too far away for them to be able to tell-”

 

GIllion laughed, cutting him off. “No, not for the fake dating act. I want to show you something.” That only served to confuse Chip further, but then Gillion’s eyes filled with something that he didn’t know how to say no to. He stepped closer, reaching for Chip’s hands. “Trust me.” 

 

He did. At this point, Chip thought that he might trust Gillion with anything. So, he nodded. And Gillion stepped closer, letting go of his hands in favour of reaching to carefully hold his cheeks. 

 

This kiss was a lot shorter than the other. There seemed to be less emotion behind it, but it still took his breath away. Deep inside of his chest, he felt something funny happen. It wasn't the sensation that he’d grow used to, of his heart speeding up or seeming to skip a beat. Instead, it was like something cool had been breathed into his lungs and shivers went down his spine. Gillion pulled away, smiling. 

 

Then, he began climbing down off of the pier and into the sea. He paused to look up at Chip. “Come on.” 

 

So Chip started climbing down next to him. The water was freezing, as ocean water tended to be, but then Gillion reached out and put a hand on his arm, and warmth spread throughout him. 

 

That was new. 

 

“You are not as good at handling the low temperatures as I am.” Gillion said, taking his hand away while the heat remained. “Tell me if you get cold again.” Chip nodded, confused, as they pushed away from the rocks. 

 

Gillion took his hand once more. “Come on. I think you’ll like this. Don’t be afraid.” His smile was there again, and Chip felt himself nod once more. He trusted Gillion. 

 

Then, the Triton began to let himself sink, pulling Chip down as well. He took a deep breath before they went down, but as the surface grew farther away, Gillion looked up and laughed a little. He shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about breathing down here. There is a small amount of magic that still exists within my kind, I’ve made it so that you can breathe the water with me, for the time being. That is also why you are warm.” 

 

Oh. That’s why he’d kissed him. 

 

Chip had heard of a few races that still had traces of magic within them, though it wasn’t very common and the magic that was left over from a time very long ago wasn’t very strong. It was honestly incredibly impressive that Gillion could even do this. 

 

Hesitantly, Chip let out the breath he had taken, Gillion watched him with nothing but support in his eyes. 

 

“It is okay to be scared, but I promise you that nothing will happen.” Gillion said. Chip hadn’t noticed the first time he’d spoken, but the water muffled his words and did something funny to his voice. 

 

When his chest started to squeeze from lack of oxygen, he closed his eyes and took a little breath. Water flooded his lungs, but it only served to relieve the pressure. He didn’t start choking, or pass out, or whatever else happens when you drown. 

 

He pushed the water back out of his lungs and took another breath, experimenting with the new sensation. It was strange how thick it felt to breathe in, but he supposed that it made sense. Gillion’s smile had grown and he looked almost proud of Chip. 

 

He squeezed his hand lightly. “Tell me if it starts to get hard to breathe again, or if you get cold.” They continued to sink. 

 

Chip hummed quietly, testing out how his voice sounded. “Hello.” He whispered, finding his own voice somewhat muffled as well. It almost seemed more contained within him, and he heard himself more through his own skull than through the water. 

 

Gillion’s grin turned into a goofy thing. “Hello.” 

 

Chip looked away, a small scowl on his face and his cheeks turning red. The hand that clasped his squeezed once more as they continued slowly sinking. He finally had the thought to look around at the sea that surrounded them. 

 

The water around them was a little bit hazy, and getting darker. It turned out that he hadn’t been seeing things the night that they cuddled, and Gillion’s freckles really did glow, along with a few markings on his arms and chest. In the distance, away from the beach, he could see where the bottom of the ocean gave out, a continental shelf. 

 

Beneath them, slowly growing closer, was a large deposit of shells and rocks. Most of the shells were empty and fragmented, having washed onto the beach to be eaten by birds and then swept back out and left here. The rocks were smooth from years of being polished by the sea. 

 

Gillion touched the rocky floor before Chip, pulling him down the rest of the way. “It is much easier to find shells here,” Gillion said, his hair floating around him in a sort of halo, covering parts of the coral crown. He seemed a lot more relaxed than usual, shedding a tension that Chip hadn’t even realised was there. “I like to listen to the water, too. It is quiet, but sometimes you can hear the whales singing, or just the way the ocean sounds as it moves.”

 

Chip smiled. “It’s nice. Part of the reason that I love the ocean is the sound of the waves.” He looked around, the surface far above and the water that surrounded them. “Not that you can hear that down here, but it’s nice.” 

 

A nod and a smile was the only response he got before Gillion pushed off from the floor just enough to float. He swam around for a moment, his eyes half closed and expression completely content. 

 

Chip watched as he moved through the water, rolling and dipping closer to the ground just to come back up and summersault. He looked like he was playing, or maybe dancing. Either way, Chip decided to let him have the moment to himself as something on the ground caught his eye.

 

A stark white shell, contrasting with the tans and greys around it, shifted slightly in the current. Chip carefully swam a few feet over to it and picked it up gently. It was halved and empty, its other half seemingly having broken off and gotten lost to the waves. The outer side was ridged and spiky, with a few darker speckles near the edge, while the inside was smooth and tinted a soft pink. 

 

“That’s a very pretty cockle shell,” Gillion said from where he floated just over Chip’s shoulder, startling him slightly. He reached for the shell gently, like he was asking to hold it rather than just taking it. Chip let him have it. He flipped it over in his hands, running his fingers along the ridges and then held it between them, showing off its side. “Cockle shells are bivalved, which means that they have two halves, in contrast to shells like conches that are just one. Usually, when a cockle is still intact, when you turn it to the side like this, it looks like a heart.”

 

Chip hummed, reaching up to the shell. “Sad that it’s not intact, then.”

 

The Triton nodded, letting Chip take it back. “It’s incredibly rare to find bivalves that have not been broken apart after they’ve died.” Chip could feel Gillion’s gaze as he looked at the shell some more. “What is your favourite kind of shell?”

 

Chip shrugged and looked up to meet Gillion’s eyes. “I’ve never really thought about it. I guess this one’s pretty cool, though. Don't these ones usually have the funny little triangles?”

 

Gillion’s hair floated around him as he shook his head, a small smile pulling at his lips. “Those are scallops. And the funny little triangles are called auricles.”

 

“Oh.” Chip considered the rocks and shells around them, wondering what other types of shells there were. “What’s your favourite, then?”

 

Gillion tilted his head, thinking. “I like most shells. Although, I would have to name whelks as my favourite.”

 

“I don’t know that one.” Chip realised that he knew very little about shells, or the animals that live inside of them. The shell in his hands had a bit of weight, and was about the size of his palm. He wondered where its other half was, and how long it had been apart from it. 

 

Gillion’s face lit up. “Then let us find one, so that you can see.” He grabbed Chip’s hand and tugged him along, swimming faster than the human could ever hope to. 

 

He held onto his cockle shell tightly, so that it wouldn’t fall. “Woah. Dude, I don’t even know what to look for.” He scanned the shells and rocks, looking for something that stood out to him. Gillion had slowed down now and was also searching. 

 

“They are univalve, so they are the long, spiral looking ones. Typically, they open to the right, but sometimes, the animal inside gets confused and makes their shell backwards. Those are called left-handed shells.” Gillion said, talking quickly, but not so fast that Chip couldn’t understand. “They are like conches, only skinnier, and with less spikes.”

 

Oh. That made more sense than ‘univalve’. He definitely knew which ones were conches. He searched with the other, looking for anything that vaguely resembled a conch. A memory surfaced, where he and his family played on the beach. This had to have been a bit more than 10 years ago. He remembered Arlin finding an intact conch shell and calling the twins over to look at it. 

 

Chip had begged to take it home, but there was a small crab living inside, and Arlin explained that the shell was the crab’s home, and that they couldn’t take it away. At the time, it hadn’t made much sense. The crab hadn’t made the shell, so why did it live there? Why couldn’t the crab just find another home?

 

He thought he understood better, now, looking at Gillion. He understood more about how sometimes a found home was better than the one you originally had. He supposed that he was sort of like that crab, who found a home with Arlin after living in foster for so long. Maybe Gillion was sort of like that crab too, finding a home in the Oversea when he was born down here. 

 

He wondered why Gillion had ever left, especially as he watched him carefully looking through shells and looking more relaxed than he ever had. 

 

A glance towards the surface told him that the sun was nearly setting, soft yellow light shining through the waves. He slowly swam over to Gillion. “Hey, the sun’s going to set soon. Did you want to watch that?”

 

Gillion paused his search to look up at the surface. “Oh. Yes, I would like that. I didn’t find a whelk, though,” He said, disappointment crossing his face. He started kicking towards the top before stopping, looking at something on the ground. Confusion flashed on his face, quickly followed by surprise, and then he broke into a smile. 

 

Following his gaze, Chip saw something peeking through a bit of sand, bright white and stark in the low light. He watched as the other swam over and picked it up, flipping it over in his hand before holding it out. 

 

It was a near perfect match to the one in Chip’s own hand. 

 

He smiled as Gillion swam closer, carefully taking the hand that held the shell and putting the two halves together, and then turning the shell, so that the heart stared up at Chip. 

 

He looked up at Gillion, expecting to see him looking at the shells as well, but his stomach flipped when he saw soft blue eyes watching him. Cool hands still held his, keeping the shells together, and their faces were close, maybe just as close as they had been in the laser tag arena. 

 

The urge to kiss him made itself known, and Chip quickly tried shoving it back down. He really should have realised before then, maybe yesterday when they were shopping, or today at the arcade. Maybe he should have realised when the old lady had told him what he should have known. Hell, he should have realised when he and Gillion were making out earlier.  It didn’t matter, though, because he shouldn’t have put off recognizing this until now.

 

Because at that moment, with the quiet lighting and soft look in Gillion’s eyes, Chip was forced to admit how much of a fool he’d been to believe that he’d make it through this while keeping their relationship platonic. 

 

He was forced to admit how much he’d fallen for the man in front of him. 

 

Gillion twitched his tail enough to float ever so slightly up, and for half a second, Chip expected him to continue swimming to the surface, until he felt cool lips pressing against his forehead, only to vanish a second later. 

 

He’d taken the other half of the shell again, but continued holding one of Chip’s hands, pulling him up through the water. As they neared the surface, pink light cut through the water, illuminating Gillion’s silhouette. It almost reminded him of the way he’d been standing in their door just before Chip had proposed this whole plan. This time, the contrast between Gillion and the light was not so strong, though, and Chip could actually make out most of the details of his figure, the markings on his arms and the colour of his hair. 

 

Maybe it was a metaphor for something. 

 

They broke the surface of the water together, and Chip took a deep breath of air. It was strange, after breathing water for the past little bit, but it certainly wasn’t unwelcome. It was , however, very cold. 

 

Chip started shivering almost immediately, unconsciously drawing closer to Gillion. When he noticed, warmth radiated from where they were still holding hands. 

 

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were cold?” He asked, scowling slightly. Chip stopped shivering as the magical warmth soaked into his bones. 

 

He smiled. “Wasn’t cold, until just now.”

 

Gillion snorted softly, turning back towards the shore to start swimming. The sun had begun setting, painting the sky in pinks, and the water in oranges. He let go of Chip, then, to focus more on swimming, and Chip couldn’t help but miss the contact. 

 

They swam back slowly together, the waves calmer out here. As soon as the waves started growing in height and spreading out, Gillion ducked under the water, and Chip followed suit. He found that he could still breathe the water fine, and Gillion was waiting just below the surface, his hand out. 

 

“The waves start getting higher from here, and it is a bit more difficult to swim.” He explained as Chip took his hand. The both still held their shells tightly, afraid of dropping them and having them be washed away. 

 

When they started swimming again, Chip found that it was a lot easier when he was being half dragged by a much stronger swimmer. At some point, his legs got tired so he just stopped kicking. He let Gillion, who’d glanced back to make sure he was okay, pull him along. It gave him a lot of time to think about the feelings that squirmed around in his chest. 

 

They weren’t exactly uncomfortable feelings, but they weren’t exactly expected either. He had no idea where this would put them in terms of ‘ending the fake relationship’. Which was an entire can of worms all by itself. Tomorrow was the gala, which meant that they’d fake a fight and Gillion would slap him, and they’d fake break up. 

 

The whole thing kind of fucking sucked, the more that he thought about it. Gillion and Lizzie had started becoming friendlier, and Arlin really seemed to like him. Even Jay had taken a liking to him, despite her knowing about the whole fake relationship thing. And Chip-

 

Well. He’d already told himself that he’d continue to be friends with Gillion regardless, but the idea of just being friends seemed a little harder every time that he was on the receiving end of one of those pretty, pretty smiles. 

 

He didn’t want to be just friends. Especially after the past three days. 

 

He was such a fucking idiot. Laughing quietly, he thought about how this had really been a horrible idea from the get-go. 

 

Gillion slowed down and looked back. “What is so funny?” There was a shine in his eyes, and his head tilted the way it always was when he was adorably curious. 

 

Chip just smiled, thinking about how much he liked the expressions that Gillion would make. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

With a hesitant nod, they kept swimming. 

 

They made it back to the beach, and Jay had come over to ask where they’d been. When they showed her the shells, her eyes lit up, and she glanced at Chip. She must have seen something in his expression, because her own melted into something knowing. 

 

They gathered on the beach to watch the sun set fully and talk about where to eat dinner. Gillion sat next to Chip, and he let himself lean his head on the triton for the second time that day. This time, though, Chip could feel the tiny kiss that Gillion planted in his hair. He wasn’t even sure that anyone else had seen it. 

 

Leaving not long after sunset, everyone had decided that they wanted Chinese food and to go to bed. As they walked back to their hotel, they stopped at a little takeout place that smelled wonderful, and got food to take back. They laughed and talked as they walked, and Chip decided, with the smell of fried rice coming from the bag that he held, that today was definitely his favourite so far.

 

Unfortunately, it would probably stay that way. He expected that tomorrow would be long and stuffy, and with the impending fight, he wasn’t looking forward to it in the slightest.

 

He pushed those thoughts away, instead choosing to relive the day over and over, and wish that it never had to end. Lizzie slipped him a $20 bill as they walked, and he took it without complaint. There was no way that the girls had won the deal after the makeout session during laser tag. It wasn’t even all that public, considering that the other two were busy shooting each other, but it was definitely enough PDA to win the $20. Plus all of them holding hands and kissing each other on the cheek.

 

Maybe he’d buy something for Gillion with it. 

 

As the sky darkened and the hotel came into view, Chip once more thought about the list of things he knew about Gillion, and happily added a few more things. 

 

He loved the sound of the sea. He was fascinated by shells, and absolutely full of fun little facts. There was magic that ran through his veins, and he wasn’t opposed to sharing it with Chip. He liked fried rice, and shiny jewellery. He saw gift giving in a different light than Chip, but that didn’t stop him from calling that necklace precious. He was a wonderful kisser, and wasn’t afraid to initiate it.

 

And he had completely stolen Chip’s heart. 

 

Notes:

WOOOO

Also I’d like to shoutout anyone who caught the reference that the laser tag scene was. Yes that was a reference, yes to that 2016 fic from that fandom, no you weren’t imagining things. (If you do know where that came from, PLEASE leave a comment bc you are my favorite and I would like to tell you that)

Anyway, uh- I have a lot to say about this chapter but I’m honestly just gonna shut up lmao but I’m really happy with it :3

Thank you for making it this far and supporting the fic! It’s honestly given me so much motivation to actually get this far which is surprising bc I dOnt write long fics. Ever. So thank you :3

Chapter 4: Unless you really were gold all along,

Summary:

“In fact, you’re- you’re fool’s gold. Y’know that?” Gillion’s expression morphed into something very confused. Chip continued, “Not- not because you don’t have as much worth as the real thing. No. You’re fool’s gold because you really are gold. You shine brighter than anything else, and you’re certainly too beautiful for this world.” He let himself get lost in this metaphor that he was weaving, smiling in equal parts bitterness and amusement at his own words. “And yet- everyone has overlooked you for a very long time. You’re real gold. And I’m the fool that wishes you could be his.”

There it was.

Notes:

Y’all I feel like I got hit by a fucking tRUCK

I am so sorry that this chapter took *checks watch* over a month to complete. Shit kinda hit the fan in terms of my personal/family life and school’s been kicking my ass so here we are. I also struggled to write this chapter (I completely rewrote half of it at one point bc I was unhappy with it) so that didn’t help but yknow. I’m actually still kind of unhappy with it but I’ve decided that it’s good enough and that I don’t want to think about this chapter anymore

WE’RE HERE ITS DONE OH MY GODDDDD

Hope you enjoy :3

CWs for this chapter!!!!!!!!!
-Mention of falling from a cliff (as a metaphor, no reference to suic!de but pls stay safe anyway)
-General fighting ig? The boys get really angry and start saying things they shouldn’t that’s fs
-implied dissociation, it’s not explicit but yknow ✨
Stay safe lovelies <3

Chip was starting to think this whole thing had been a horrible idea. No, actually, he had decided that a while ago, but it really hit him now. He stood in the mirror, dressed in his suit with a tie hanging around his neck, untied. Gillion was in the bathroom, getting ready on his own. 

 

That morning hadn’t been particularly eventful, consisting of the five of them getting breakfast down in the lobby again and making idle conversation about the gala later that day. Chip couldn’t help but refer to the day as the day of reckoning in his head. Was he being dramatic? Yeah, absolutely, it was Chip after all, but the idea of what lay ahead was just a lot. 

 

Obviously, today had been on the horizon for the past week or so, ever since the invitations arrived in the mail, and time had slowly been running out. It was one of those moments where you don’t realise how much time has passed until all of the sudden, something pops up and you realise how soon it really is. That being said, he desperately wished that he could have just a little extra time. Just one more day before the clusterfuck that would take place. 

 

He just wanted one extra day to fully enjoy the company that was his fake boyfriend. He ached for a little more time in which they could continue pretending and Chip could write off his real, actual feelings as acting for the ruse they’d created. He wanted one more day to lean on Gillion and feel cool lips press against his forehead and cheeks and hair. He wanted to keep feeling the weight of someone else’s hand in his own, and eyes always gazing softly at him. He wanted to keep making out in laser tag arenas and kissing on the beach and falling asleep on top of each other. 

 

It almost felt like he was mourning something that wasn’t gone just yet, but the idea of it was still dampened by the knowledge that it would end today. There wouldn’t be anymore forehead kisses or hands to hold. He’d just be back to his typical social world of a few friends and nothing more than that. 

 

He tugged at his suit, trying to keep a frown off his face. He so desperately wanted more time, but on the other hand, it was a strange feeling to know that everything was still just an act to Gillion. He selfishly wanted to keep pretending because he wasn’t sure it was even pretend anymore, but to Gillion, it was. There had never been strings attached for him, and he’d probably go back to being just friends rather easily. 

 

Gillion didn’t seem like the type to catch on when someone was interested in him, and after the past few days, anything Chip could do would probably come off as nothing more than comfortable affection.  Because at the end of all of this, everything that happened will have meant nothing. All of the kisses and the hand holding and the falling asleep on each other. 

 

Just as it had many times, his mind wandered back to their first night here, when Gillion had a bad dream. Chip wondered what it had been about, not for the first time. Ideas lazily floated through his mind, maybe the dream had been about  the Undersea, or something to do with Gillion’s sister. He thought about how they had cuddled and fallen asleep afterwards. That hadn’t been an act, but it didn’t mean that it meant something. Maybe that sort of thing was more common in the Undersea. Maybe Gillion just saw it as Chip being a good friend. 

 

He pushed the memory away. He liked it, and he wanted to keep it pristine and untouched by the part of him that liked to take things and tear them apart in inspection, the part of him that overthought and crippled with anxiety. He tucked it neatly in a place next to his heart, selfishly keeping it there and wishing he could go back. 

 

Better yet, he wished that their whole act had been real. He wished that the stories they told at that diner were true, about how they had started going out and fallen for each other. 

 

He let himself imagine it for a minute, how it would have been if this was real. He imagined being back in their dorm weeks ago, Gillion in the kitchen, doing something, while Chip piped up that they should hang out more often. He imagined hanging out after that, getting to know Gillion over weeks instead of days, dragging him to a party, grabbing coffee, watching movies on the couch. And then he imagined the feeling of falling in love back then. He imagined dancing in their kitchen and smiling at each other and going out on a proper date. He imagined getting the invitation and inviting Gillion as his boyfriend, not as his fake one. 

 

He imagined cuddling on the plane and making out when they got to the hotel. He imagined cuddling at night. He imagined calling Gillion pet names and encouraging him to buy more skirts and telling him that he loved him. He imagined how Gillion would smile in reaction, all soft eyes and pulling Chip close. 

 

A knock made him flinch out of his thoughts. He left the mirror, passing the bathroom door and hearing Gillion moving around inside. Chip reached the door, pulling it open to see Arlin on the other side, dressed in his own suit. He motioned for Chip to follow.

 

“How are you feeling about tonight?” Arlin asked as they moved down the hall. When Chip didn’t say anything, confused, he clarified, “The gala. I know that you don’t really like this sort of thing.”

 

Chip smiled, letting out a small laugh. “Yeah. Stuffy suits and stuffier people. Small talk sucks and they never have half decent food, but I think it’ll be alright.” Something inside of him screamed that it wouldn’t be alright, that nothing would be alright, that he was going to combust at the thought of fighting with Gillion. 

 

His dad raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I think that’s the only time you’ve passed up an opportunity to complain about something like this.”

 

Something close to a snort escaped him. “What can I say, I’ve matured.” That got a laugh out of Arlin. They stopped at the far end of the hall, where the wall opened up and a bannister took its place, creating a sort of balcony that overlooked the lobby. 

 

Arlin leaned against it, looking down. “Lizzie told me about your little escapade in the laser tag arena, so I don’t know if I’d call you mature.”

 

Taken aback, Chip sputtered. “She told you?” He could feel his cheeks growing red while his ears got hot. “That little-”

 

Eyebrows raised, Arlin made an interrupting sound. “You know the rule about calling your sister names.” 

 

Chip smiled. When they were younger, if one of them called the other a name, they had to say three nice things about the other. Chip had to say, they got really creative with compliments, some being borderline sarcastic and passive aggressive. He leaned next to Arlin, his back to the lobby while Arlin had his forearms on the bannister. “I can’t believe she told you.”

 

“Of course she did,” He said. “She’s your sister. She’ll take any opportunity to make fun of you. Besides, I’m glad she told me, actually.” That startled Chip, his eyes widening. Why would he care if his son was making out with someone in the middle of laser tag? Luckily, he didn’t have to ask for Arlin to continue explaining. “I know you, Chip, and I know that you don’t fall for people very easily. Genuinely, that is. I know all about your flirting with girls at college, but I also know that you like to put on that charismatic mask, right?”

 

He didn’t exactly know where Arlin was going with this. He was right, of course, because dads tended to be. Chip couldn’t remember a time when he actually, genuinely, had a crush on someone. There had been a girl in one of his classes in high school that he kind of liked, but it was nothing like how he felt about Gillion. 

 

Arlin didn’t seem to notice Chip’s thinking, though. “That’s why this whole Gillion business confuses me a little bit. You didn’t tell any of us about him, and all of the sudden, you’re dating your roommate. I would have thought it was an act, if not for the way I see you look at him.”

 

Wait what?

 

“I know that you and Jay already talked about how she felt left out from your friendship, and it’s all worked out and good now, but I was still sort of lost. I just never would have thought that you’d fall in love either that quickly or keep it hidden from everyone for however long.” Arlin glanced over and Chip met his eyes. “I’m just a bit confused, that's all.”

 

Chip nodded slowly. “It was- it was pretty fast.” And he couldn’t help the thought that it wasn’t a lie at all. He thought back to the little scenarios he’d let himself imagine barely five minutes ago. “I wasn’t really expecting it either, if I’m honest. We barely even spoke, and then all of the sudden we were actually talking and getting to know each other and- I don’t really know exactly when or how it happened, but I-”

 

Arlin nodded, knowing. “You love him a lot, huh?” Chip hesitated, hearing the word ‘love’ out loud was a bit different from just imagining it. He mirrored the other’s nod, his eyes downcast. “That’s why I was glad Lizzie told me about your little makeout session.” Arlin laughed quietly. “What a weird thing to hear your dad say, sorry. Anyway, it let me know that you actually do like him. I was worried that this was one of those things where you pretend to date, but that’s not- I’m not worried about that anymore, is what I’m trying to say.”

 

Words didn’t come to him. How do you respond to something like that? ‘Actually, yeah it is all fake but it’s less fake now because it turns out that I actually do love him but there’s no way he feels the same because this was supposed to all be platonic’? Absolutely not. He took a deep breath. Maybe he could learn from his mistake with this whole thing, the fact that no one saw it coming, and build up to the fight tonight. “I don’t know, I guess I am kind of worried about tonight, actually.” 

 

He was a drama major, after all. Every story needs a rising action before the climax. 

 

Arlin glanced at him, worry written all over his face. “Why? Is it something with Gillion- '' Chip nodded, playing up the part a bit by looking down, something sad and almost scared in his expression.  Arlin stood up straight, pushing off from the bannister. “Why? You guys seem so- I don’t know. He seems really good for you.”

 

“I don’t know if I’m good for him, though.” The words left his mouth before he had a chance to properly think about them, and they struck a chord deep within him, resonating through his bones painfully. It was true, after all, wasn’t it? They got to know each other because of a stupid lie that Gillion should have said no to. “I just- I’m a lot, and I know that, and this whole thing happened really fast and- I don’t know how well he handles this sort of thing. He’s never told me about any previous relationships, and it’s not hard to guess that this is new to him. I feel like- Like maybe this was too much for him?”

 

A familiar expression greeted him, soft eyes and worry in the way eyebrows creased. “Hey, no- none of that, Chip. You’re not ‘too much’. And sure, maybe it’s going a little faster than he’s comfortable with, but that’s when you talk to him. I know it’s what everybody says, but communication is really what makes or breaks a relationship. Talk to him, son.”

 

Chip sighed. “I know, I know. I just- something is telling me that something is going to go wrong tonight.” 

 

“You love him, right?” Chip nodded. “RIght, so no matter what happens, I think you can fix it. Like I said, I know you, Chip. I’ve known you since you were three years old and didn’t know how to count to ten yet. I’ve been able to watch you grow up, and see all of the times that you really put your mind to something.” Arlin put his hands on Chip’s shoulders, looking at him directly. “When you're passionate about something- when you love something, there’s nothing that can stop you. Even if something happens tonight, you’ll be okay. Things go wrong, it’s a part of life. What matters is that you work to fix it.”

 

He hadn’t exactly been looking for this kind of reaction, but part of him was comforted regardless. Arlin pulled him in for a hug and he realised that tears had welled up in his eyes. He clutched the back of his dad’s shirt tightly. They stood there for a minute, while Chip was completely wrapped up in his own thoughts. He thought about how sound Arlin’s advice was for every situation except for this one. He couldn’t talk his way out of this one, and to ask GIllion out when they got home might just confuse him. Even worse, if he did ask Gill out and he might get rejected, which usually wouldn’t be a big deal, but they were roommates, of course it would be awkward. And to spoil the friendship they’d crafted felt worse than anything else Chip could think of right now. 

 

At the end of the day, the very least that Chip wanted was to have Gillion in his life, whether that was as a friend or a boyfriend. Of course, he’d love to be able to actually call the other his, without any acting, but it didn’t seem all that likely. 

 

He buried his face in his dad’s shoulder, letting his shirt soak up the few tears that did manage to escape. After a few seconds, he faintly heard his name called from down the hall. He lifted his head and glanced over, seeing Gillion poking his head out of their room. 

 

Arlin pulled away and smiled. “It looks like he needs something. Don’t worry about tonight, okay? Just try to enjoy it.”

 

Chip nodded. “Thank you.” He left his dad standing there, making his way back down the hall to where Gillion was waiting. 

 

“Is everything alright?” Gillion asked as Chip neared. 

 

He nodded again. “Yeah, we’re good. What’s up?” Gillion frowned and stepped out of the doorway, letting Chip see the dress he was wearing. 

 

Gillion stared at him, his ears pressed back a little and eyebrows creased. “You have been crying. What’s wrong?”

 

Chip, on the other hand, only half processed the words. He was too busy taking in the way Gillion had put up his hair into a little bun and curled the bangs that fell out of it and in front of his ears. There was a hair pin that glittered at him, but the angle made it difficult to actually see what the pin was. His dress was floor length and made of a sort of mesh material that looked soft. The bodice wrapped around his torso, and the sleeves, big puffy things that had a slit in them, hung off his shoulders. The whole dress was a gorgeous grey blue that faded into a lighter shade towards the bottom, almost in a mimic of Gillion’s hair. 

 

Chip had stopped, still a few feet away from their room, a little bit shocked. “Holy shit.” He whispered to himself. 

 

The other tilted his head and followed Chip’s gaze to his dress. “Is- is that a good thing, or-?”

 

Chip took a few steps forward, bringing his hand up to touch Gillion’s arm lightly. “Yeah. You-” He felt like his heart had stopped, and all of his thoughts were reduced to how gorgeous his roommate was. It was a jumbled mess of half formed sentences and emotions, mainly consisting of how absolutely beautiful he was, and how much Chip had fallen for him. “You look- You’re gorgeous.”

 

He felt like his breath had been quite literally caught in his throat as Gillion smiled softly and looked down, a darker blue colouring his cheeks. “You think so?”

 

“Of course,” He said, his own words sounding absolute and unhesitant to his own ears. He smiled. “I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful.” His voice was soft, and he could pinpoint his own emotions within them. 

 

Gillion’s cheeks were a dark blue now, and he had one arm up, holding the top part of the dress in place. “Thank you. I- I need some assistance. With the zipper.”

 

Chip’s eyes widened slightly as he came out of the strange sort of stupor he’d been in. “Oh. Yeah, let me help.” He ushered Gillion inside of the room and then motioned for him to turn around. He zipped the dress up the rest of the way and Gillion let out a breath. 

 

From a closer look at the dress, he could see delicate lace that had been sewn around the waistline and up the bodice. Attached in some places were tiny little pearls that caught the light. “Thank you,” Gillion said as he turned around again. “I want to wear the necklace that you gave me, if that is alright?”

 

Chip smiled. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

 

The Triton shrugged. “Your customs surrounding gift giving are a lot more casual than my own, so I wasn’t sure if there were specific circumstances in which it was acceptable to wear a gift like this.”

 

“Oh, no. It’s yours, so you wear it whenever you want.” Chip smiled.

 

Gillion moved to where said necklace had been left on a bedside table. He picked it up carefully. “It would break more easily if I wore it always.” 

 

And oh , if that didn’t do funny little things to Chip’s heart. When he’d returned the necklace the night before, Gillion had sat on their bed in his pyjamas for a few minutes, just staring at it and watching the light refract through it as it moved. It made all of the fuzzy feelings in his ribcage squirm at the thought of how much Gillion liked the necklace. 

 

He moved over to the bed, sitting down as he fiddled with his tie- which he now realised matched Gillion’s stormy grey dress. For a brief moment, he wondered if it was intentional or just a funny little coincidence like the shells. 

 

Speaking of, the two halves of the shell sat next to where the necklace had been. He glanced at them before reaching to pick them up, slotting them together to make the heart that Gillion had shown him. He thought about the kiss Gillion pressed to his forehead when they were beneath the waves, little distance between them and shells in hand. It was a small and simple thing, but it made waves inside of Chip’s own heart as he tried to understand it. 

 

Maybe it was another cultural thing, he thought briefly, staring down at the brilliant white shell. 

 

“Will you help?”

 

Chip looked up to see Gillion struggling with the necklace. He put the shells aside, standing up to take it gently. Gillion reached up to hold his hair out of the way while he clasped the chain to itself. He had the urge to hug him, then. He discarded any rational thoughts in favour of wrapping his arms around Gillion’s waist, resting his chin on the other's shoulder. 

 

“Chip?” Gillion asked, his arms coming up to hold Chip’s. “Are you sure that everything is well?”

 

“Thank you,” Chip whispered, letting his eyes close. “Thank you for the past few days, Gill. Really, I- I appreciate it.”

 

Gillion stood in silence for a minute, his shoulders somewhat tense. “You didn’t answer my question.”

 

Letting go of him, Chip smiled as Gillion turned around. “I’m fine, Gill. I just don’t know how ready I am for this. Not much of a fancy event person, y’know?” His phone buzzed, the screen lighting up to show a message from his sister. The host of the event, an old highschool friend of Arlin’s, would send a car to pick them up in about half an hour. After relaying that information to his roommate, the previous conversation was forgotten about, and Gillion went back into the bathroom to pick up the things he’d left on the counter.  

 

Chip stood there on his own for a second and then glanced to where he’d left the shells. They lay together on the bed, having fallen away from each other slightly. He took them both in hand, pocketting the one he knew to be his, and left the other one on the bedside table. 

 

Taking note of the weight in his pocket and turning back to the mirror, Chip hoped that tonight wouldn’t be as bad as he was expecting. 

 

–

 

The host- whose name, Chip had learned, was Beau Rose- must be really good at whatever it was he did. Not only did he have enough money to rent out a ballroom this big, but there was catering and fancy alcohol. He was really bad at deciding how many people were here, but there were a lot.  

 

Beau had actually been at the door, greeting people and welcoming everyone. He and Arlin spoke fondly, recounting times from long ago. He’d also recognized Jay as a Ferin almost immediately, which had been a little bit terrifying, but was cleared up when he mentioned Drey. The younger four of the group were invited to go inside and enjoy the food and drink, while Arlin stayed to chat with his old friend. 

 

Jay and Chip had booked it straight for the food table, leaving Gillion and Lizzie to watch after them, both with amused smiles. There were all sorts of fun little snacks scattered around the table, ranging from cheese and crackers, to little baked things that looked delicious, and little skewered meat cubes. It absolutely looked exactly how Chip had imagined a fancy event like this, with white tablecloths and bright light streaming through grand windows. 

 

There was champagne too. Honestly, it was probably a horrible idea- scratch that, it was absolutely a horrible idea. And yet, Chip still made his way over to the little table that held the flutes of alcohol. 

 

He watched the glasses for a moment, tracking the rising bubbles with his eyes. He decided that he owed it to himself to loosen up a little bit before the night inevitably went down the drain. As he took a sip, he tried very hard not to think about the impending fight. It would be acting, of course, but acting had put him into this place to begin with, with his heart doing funny things every time Gillion smiled, so who’s to say that a fake fight would help. 

 

Or, he tried rationalising, maybe a fake fight would help. Maybe it would be enough to convince him that whatever feelings had developed were temporary. Maybe after pretending to fight tonight, everything will go back to normal. Minus the whole “not talking to each other ever” thing. 

 

Taking another sip, Chip glanced over to where Gillion and Lizzie had found a table and were chatting together. His heart clenched as he watched Gillion laugh, the hair around his face framing it beautifully. It wasn’t a bad thing, if anything, it was nice to be able to watch from a distance and not worry about putting on some kind of act- either that he’d already been in love for a while or that it was strictly platonic. He realised then that he was sort of walking a funny line between the relationship they are pretending to be in and the platonic roommates that they actually were. 

 

“Uh oh.” Jay had wandered over and she made a face, raising her eyebrows and smirking slightly. “I know that face.” 

 

Chip scoffed. “What face? I’m not making a face.”

 

Grabbing a glass of her own, Jay laughed. “You so are. It’s the ‘I am hopelessly in love’ face.” She took a sip. “What happened to ‘It’s not real’? I don’t think most people make that face at their fake boyfriends.”

 

“Well, maybe I’m a better actor than you thought.” Chip stared down at the bubbling glass in his hands. “Maybe I’m a better actor than I thought, too.” In his chest, he felt something dark grey spread. The strange, vaguely melancholic feeling had been a small seed all day, but now it tried to spread its roots towards his lungs. He wanted to say that he didn’t know why he felt like this, but that would be a lie. He supposed that he was already going through the stages of their fake breakup. 

 

Jay took a deep breath, catching onto his mood. “Chip…” She trailed off. “I take it that your heart didn’t want to follow your plan to stay platonic?” Chip wanted to open his mouth and let everything pour out, how he wanted for their relationship to be real, and how he knew Gillion couldn’t feel the same, and how stupid he felt for letting his own plan go awry after telling himself that it wouldn’t.  Instead, he took another sip and nodded. “So you’re like- actually in love with him now?” 

 

He nodded again. “There’s no way he returns the feelings, though.”

 

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Is that a self depreciation thing, or a-”

 

“No.” He cut her off. “It’s a ‘Gillion is one of the best people I’ve ever met and he deserves the whole world’ kind of thing. I don’t think it’s because he could do better than me- even though he could- it’s mostly just-” He paused, taking a deep breath to reset his thoughts. “I want him to be happy and I don’t think I’m the one who would do that. He just- doesn’t seem interested. In anyone, for that matter. More of the lone wolf- Fish?”

 

Jay laughed quietly. “How do you know, though? How do you know that you couldn’t be the one to make him happy.”

 

He took another, much larger sip. “Because I’m me. And he’s him.”

 

She smacked his arm lightly. “You are the vaguest person on the planet.”

 

Smiling, he could feel the alcohol making its way into his system. “I dunno. I just- Well, for one, he doesn’t like liars. Lying might as well be my default setting. I don’t know what made him decide to do this whole fake relationship thing, but I get the feeling that it’s a special occasion. A one-time lie, something made him do it. For two, the Undersea is incredibly important to him. It’s an integral part of who he is, and I would be holding him back from that. I can’t live underwater, and I think he wants to go back, so it just wouldn’t work out. Besides, he’s caring and loyal and perfect, and I’m just not.”

 

“So it is a self depreciation thing. Just a little.” 

 

“How could it not be?” He sighed and leaned against an empty table. “Look at him. He’s- he’s everything .”

 

Jay didn’t look over, instead choosing to continue watching Chip. “We both know that you and I see something very different when we look at him. To you, he is everything. To me, he’s a new friend, one that my best friend is helpless about. To me, he’s the guy who would probably feel the same, if you gave him some time and didn’t overwhelm him.”

 

Gillion was watching Lizzie intently now, as she shared some kind of story. He had a smile on his face, and the light from the window cast a soft glow, outlining him slightly. “What makes you say that?”

 

She moved to lean next to him, following his gaze to look at the pair as well. “Well, I’ve noticed a few things. Things that you’re probably too oblivious to notice.”

 

He laughed. “Great. And tell me, what sort of things have you noticed?”

 

“I’ve noticed how he looks at you, when he thinks no one else is watching. He looks at you like you’re something precious, Chip. And when you’re talking away to me or Lizzie, and you’re holding his hand, he gets this soft look in his eyes and his cheeks go a little bit darker blue than they usually are.” She paused to take a sip of her champagne. “And I saw you guys, far out on that wave breaker. It was almost too far for me to even see and I would have missed it if I wasn’t looking close, but he kissed you, right?” He nodded. “Why do you think he’d do that?”

 

He drank the rest of his glass. “Well, that kiss was actually some funky triton magic that made me be able to breathe underwater for a few minutes. It didn’t mean anything. And maybe he wasn’t looking at me, or maybe he was thinking about something else completely and happened to be looking in my general direction. And there’s no way he was blushing. It was probably the light, or something.”

 

“The necklace he’s wearing tonight. You gave it to him, didn’t you?” Jay asked and Chip nodded. “He really seems to like it, Chip.”

 

“Maybe he just appreciates it. Besides, gift-giving culture is different in the Undersea.” Chip pointed out. “Apparently only people who are close give each other gifts. And usually it’s a goodbye thing.”

 

She turned to him, something unbelieving in her eyes. “You're kidding me, right? How does that go against the idea that he might like you at all?” Before he could open his mouth to refute, she was talking again, “You’re an idiot. Really think about that for a second. People who are close give each other gifts, which means that it’s going to be appreciated if you’re given a gift from someone you love, as opposed to someone who’s just sort of a friend to you. And the goodbye thing- obviously it wasn’t meant this way, but Gillion’s brain is hardwired to understand that this is your way of saying that you won’t be seeing each other for a while. Sure, you’ll see each other all the time at home, but maybe he interpreted it as the way you won’t be acting as close as you have been anymore.”

 

“But that’s- I explained to him why I was giving it to him, and it wasn’t anything like that.” Chip said, his brows furrowing. The first part of her argument did make sense though. Why would Gillion treasure something like that so much if it was just from his roommate that he didn’t talk to very often?

 

Jay nodded. “I know that, but that’s just how he sees gifts. It would be a really easy connection to draw. Think of it like symbolism in a book, not everyone will interpret it the same way, and most people won't even see that it’s symbolism. But to him, that necklace is a symbol that you’re not going to be as close anymore. After this is over and you go back to how it was before, that might as well be a goodbye.”

 

Part of Chip really just wanted to shrug it off again and pretend that it couldn’t be true, but he struggled to. A small, traitorous part of him really wanted it to be true. He wanted to imagine what it might be like to be inside Gillion’s brain, sifting through each of the little memories they’d shared like sand, searching for the little gems that told him how Gllion felt. More than likely, though, he probably didn’t feel very deeply about any of these little moments. If Chip were to search for emeralds, all he would find is dull quartz. What Jay had seen must have been a trick of the light, because there wasn’t- it wasn’t possible for Chip to be loved by someone like Gillion.

 

“Look, I'm not asking you to accept that he might have feelings for you, and I’m certainly not asking that you go propose to him right now,” Jay said, bringing him back out of his thoughts. “I’m just pointing out that maybe you could give him a chance to express how he feels before you automatically assume that he won’t ever feel the same way. Just- give him some time. He seems like the type to get overwhelmed by this sort of thing easily, and that includes the stuff in his own head.”

 

Chip let the words sink in, before he quietly agreed. “Okay. I can give him time. But I- I’m still afraid.”

 

Jay looked at him, her expression becoming a little more worried. “What are you afraid of?”

 

“I’m afraid of-” He cut himself off, sighing. “Our plan was to fake a fight tonight, so that we could pretend to break up and not worry about you guys asking me about him, or anything. It was kind of stupid, but y’know.” Setting his glass on the table, he eyed the others, but decided against it for the time being. “I’m afraid of the fight. It won’t be real, obviously but it will still suck. And I’m afraid of our relationship going back to how it was before, now that I have feelings. I think I’m just as afraid of the idea of him rejecting me, as I am of him feeling the same, though.”

 

A laugh made him look at Jay. “Dude, that’s so normal. Why do you think it took Lizzie and I so long to go out? We didn’t ask the other out because we were afraid of both options.” She took a sip. “And yeah, your plan to pretend to break up was a horrible one, and I can really see your drama major showing through. You could have just told us that you broke up a few days after getting home. It’s not like we would have been annoying about it.”

 

Chip was about to respond, but a band had been in the process of bringing their things out, and decided now to begin to play. It was a slow song, but the two of them were close enough that it would have been a bit hard to talk over the music so Jay pointed to the table where Gillion and Lizzie sat, before taking Chip’s wrist and dragging him over. 

 

Not before he grabbed another glass of champagne. 

 

They got to the table, and Jay let go to sit next to Lizzie. Chip moved around the table to sit next to Gillion. The triton glanced up, catching Chip’s eye with a small smile. He could almost see what Jay was talking about, how Gillion supposedly looks at him like something precious. Because, deep in Gillion’s eyes, he saw something that looked the same as how he looked at the necklace, like he was looking at something that needed to be treasured. 

 

It was another one of those silly little moments that made him feel stupidly important. Just like yesterday morning, when he’d leaned on Gillion and they’d shared a pair of ‘hi’s’ that somehow made Chip feel like the only person on the planet. He felt wanted, and he felt important. 

 

But then Gillion looked away as Lizzie started back up with another story and the spell was broken. 

 

Chip stared down at the champagne in his glass, swirling it around idly. He would take sips occasionally, but mostly, his mind was somewhere else. The little moments they shared were relived, and he wondered about the future. He tried to imagine just being friends, what that might look like. He was greeted by the image he’d thought of a few days ago, with him, Gillion, Jay and Ollie all piled in their living room, trying to do homework. 

 

He briefly thought about how asking Gillion out would go. He imagined grabbing coffee together and walking through the campus, chatting idly. It probably wouldn’t be any sort of perfect moment, but Chip would probably ask if Gillion wanted to go out sometime, on something like a date. He could imagine the confused look that he’d be given, and maybe they’d end up talking about this trip. 

 

It was really hard to try to imagine this conversation when he didn’t know how Gillion thought. Sure, he could take a guess at how Gillion might react, but at the end of the day, they still didn’t know very much about each other. And then he started thinking about all of the things he did know about Gillion, the little list that he’d created and filed away in his head. 

 

At this point, the list seemed pretty long, but it mostly consisted of small things that didn’t have to do with how he would react to things, or how he felt. 

 

He let himself get sidetracked, working his way through the list and remembering each of the little moving parts that made up his roommate. With each item on the list, he found himself almost falling in love all over again. Things like how much he adored Pretzel and how full of full facts about sea shells, he found completely adorable. He was in love with how much GIllion liked skirts, and in love with how expressive he was as soon as you learned to understand the language his fins had of their very own. 

 

He wondered suddenly what his fins would say when they fought today. 

 

He hadn’t even realised the sudden darkening of his expression or the way he stopped swirling his glass. Then, Gillion was looking at him, worry written all over his face, a hand on Chip’s arm. It was the contact that had startled him out of his thoughts. 

 

“Are you okay?’ And there it was again, that look of something precious in electric blue eyes. “You have been acting strange all day.” His voice was soft, low enough for the other two to continue on with their conversation without noticing. 

 

Chip smiled and took another drink of champagne, almost finishing it. “I’m fine, Gill. Promise.” He glanced around, curious as to what all the other guests were doing. 

 

Most of them were sitting at tables, chatting idly. A few were dancing in a space that was clear of tables, near the band. He could see Arlin in the corner, still laughing with Beau. There was a little girl who had Beau’s eyes running around, probably his daughter. 

 

“I do not believe you.” Gillion pulled him back to the conversation. He was still looking at Chip, worry and a spark of anger in his voice. He glanced at the girls and then lowered his voice some more, making sure that only Chip could hear. “I am aware that we did not speak before a few days ago, but if you are upset, you may talk to me. And if there is a way for me to comfort you, then I would be more than happy to.”

 

Turning to Gillion, Chip just looked at him for a long moment, searching his eyes and reading the emotions that flickered just beneath the surface. Concern was written all over the way his eyebrows creased a little and his fins looked tense, but below that, there was a lot more. Most of the emotions in Gillion’s eyes were incomprehensible, but they were still visible, and Chip wished more than anything that he could understand the thoughts and feelings in his friend’s head. 

 

“I’m not- upset. I’m fine, really.” Chip downed the small amount of champagne that was left in his glass. A glance to Gillion told him that the other did not believe him in the slightest. The lighting of the room and the framing of Gillion’s face caught Chip off guard for a moment. Images of Gillion wearing the dress, and being almost haloed by the soft light flashed before his eyes and overlaid with the sight before him. “You’re really fucking pretty, y’know that?” He didn’t exactly expect the words, but as soon as they were spoken, Chip wasn’t surprised. He didn’t take it back either. 

 

He would have expected Gillion’s expression to morph into something surprised or maybe happy. Instead, his lips thinned and something in his eyes darkened. “You continue to avoid my question.”

 

That did surprise Chip. “Dude, calm down. I told you, I’m fine.”

 

“You are not. Something is upsetting you, I can see it. I only wish to help, Chip.” Gillion’s voice was soft, but it still triggered something within Chip that felt like a caged animal. 

 

There wasn’t anything Gillion could do. Besides, nothing was exactly wrong, it was more just a sense of dread. Obviously they didn’t have to fight, and that would probably help with Chip’s overall feelings of dread, but he was more so just dreading the moment they went back to being just friends, and the only way to avoid that would be to actually ask Gillion out. That was stressful, though, for reasons that had already been considered and overthought. 

 

He was terrified of the future, and while this was a pretty regular feeling for Chip, the magnitude of his feelings for Gillion only made it that much worse. 

 

“It’s nothing you can help with.” Chip glared at his glass, somehow almost wishing that it would refill itself, even though he was already feeling the effects of the liquid, his voice slurring a tiny bit and his thoughts getting away from him. 

 

Gillion was still staring him down, something almost angry in his expression. “There is always a way that a friend can help.”

 

Chip resisted the urge to laugh, thinking about how Gillion could make him feel better, could look at him like he’s precious and tell him that he loves him but in a true and meaningful way that wasn’t just acting. But at the same time, it was Gillion that made him feel this dull, grey feeling in his chest. It wasn’t his fault outright, of course, but he was sort of the root of the issue. Him and the way he made Chip’s heart do funny things. 

 

“Stop,” he said lightly, with no true weight behind the word. “Stop being all selfless and perfect. Stop caring so much about how other people feel.”

 

Gillion’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why? Why should I stop?” His voice hinted at anger, but other conflicting emotions were there too. 

 

Leaning his head back to peek out of the corner of his eye at the other, Chip replied,”Because it’s too much. It’s too much for me to handle, when you’re as beautiful as you are, and yet you don’t even seem to see it. I can’t handle it when you disregard your own emotions to make sure that I’m okay. I can’t handle how selfless and caring you are.”  He smiled, taking a breath. “And I can’t stand the way you look at me. Because you look at me with such depth, with so much emotion. You look at me like I’m worth something- like I’m worth everything.” 

 

Breaking eye contact, Gillion looked down and thought for a moment. “You seem to think very highly of me.” He said nothing of the last part of Chip’s statement.

 

This time, he couldn’t contain the laugh that escaped. “Of course I do, Gill. Who would look at you, get to know you for even the short amount of time I have and not see someone amazing?” He let the memories of the past few days wash over him, basking in the leftover happiness that the moments brought him. “In fact, you’re- you’re fool’s gold. Y’know that?” 

 

All of the emotion drained from Gillion’s face, quickly replaced simply by confusion. Before he could open his mouth and ask more, though, Chip continued, “Not- not because you don’t have as much worth as the real thing. No. You’re fool’s gold because you really are gold. You shine brighter than anything else, and you’re certainly too beautiful for this world.” He let himself get lost in this metaphor that he was weaving, smiling in equal parts bitterness and amusement at his own words. “And yet- everyone has overlooked you for a very long time. You’re real gold. And I’m the fool that wishes you could be his.” There it was. 

 

It felt a little like taking a leap off a cliff; no way back, the sight of the ground far below, an imminent plunge and yet, for just a moment, there was only stillness and the feeling of adrenaline.  A moment passed, and then another, each hanging in a funny sort of balance. Chip couldn’t decide where the next would lead. Maybe he’d fall.

 

Maybe he’d fly.

 

He glanced back to see widened eyes and a bare, emotionless expression. And then began the rushing descent towards impact.

 

“You have had too much to drink.” 

 

To fall, then. 

 

Chip hadn’t expected this, of course. However, it didn’t particularly surprise him. In some way, he had expected it, just not in this format. He’d expected to be turned down, he’d expected the hardening of eyes and cold words.

 

It really was a bit like falling. The past few days had been climbing up the cliff, and now here he was, plummeting off the side. The whole time, he’d been focusing so much on the initial leap, telling Gillion how he felt, and he’d forgotten to expect the long descent. He knew that he’d fall, but he didn’t know for how long or where he’d end up afterwards. He thought about that now. 

 

He wanted to continue having Gillion in his life, obviously, but he wondered what the path from here to there would be. He had no idea. 

 

The other stood up then, grabbing Chip’s wrist and pulling him up as well. He couldn’t help but notice that Gillion was still so gentle with him despite the angry expression. He was led outside, passing people who gave them funny looks but turned away, minding their own business. 

 

The sky had darkened by now, and there was a small chill in the air that slightly pierced even through his suit jacket. “Why did you bring me out here?” Chip asked when Gillion let go of him and turned around, stopping between a wall and a lamp post. 

 

“So that we may properly discuss this without someone of your family hearing,” Gillion said, watching him with a dark expression.

 

Chip took a deep breath. “So this is about-“ 

 

“This is about you being selfish.” Gillion cut him off, something close to hostility in his voice. “I may not have known you for very long, but if the past few days have taught me anything, it is that you are a selfish, arrogant, self centred man. The only person you ever think of is yourself, and the emotions of others have never even occurred to you.” 

 

With a shaking voice and a determined face, Gillion stared at him, something seething and intense just below his skin, like boiling water. Chip tried very hard not to flinch at the poisonous words and expressions directed at him, but he didn’t know how successful he was in that. These words weren’t new. He’d heard them many times, from the tongues of many people and in the context of many different situations. 

 

That didn’t stop the pain that seeped through him because of them. He hated it so much, but he knew that the words were true. He knew that he was selfish, but maybe that’s why he took the words and chewed them up in his tooth-filled heart, spitting them back out in defence. 

 

“All I did was call you pretty- how does that have to do with anything?” Because he couldn’t deny it. No matter how much the words hurt, he could not deny the truth of his own selfishness. 

 

“Because it is all just a lie!” Gillion yelled, his eyes filled with and and his eyebrows furrowed. “Because that is all this is, is it not? This- this whole weekend has been nothing more than a lie so that you could look good in front of your family.” He jabbed a finger in Chip’s direction. “Because you like to chase validation in any way that you possibly can, even if it means lying to everyone in the process and not taking note of how much people do care about you.” 

 

Gillion laughed then, but it was filled with something venomous. “You are so wrapped up in all of your lies and desperation for attention that you completely forget to look beyond yourself, at the people who could gladly give you attention regardless. You cannot look past yourself, because you are too self-absorbed and oblivious. You are nothing more than a self absorbed liar.” Pure anger filled Gillion’s voice, and Chip was almost scared. He had never seen Gillion like this. 

 

And it was only paired by the painful, painful words. 

 

He let the words soak in for a minute, trying to decide how this connected to his calling Gillion pretty. This was just about the opposite of what Chip had expected the reaction to such a compliment to be. He’d expected that Gillion wouldn’t return the feelings, but he hadn’t expected such a volatile reaction. 

 

Of course, everything being said was true. His only defence was to direct the attention away from himself, no matter how it proved Gillion’s words. “Oh, I’m the liar? Sure, I came up with this plan, but you’re the one who agreed to it. You’re the one who made it happen. You could have said no. You could have told me that it was a stupid idea and walked away right then and I would have just accepted it.” He felt the anger spark up in his own chest. He was a cornered animal, and while he was terrified, the only way he knew to protect himself was to lash out in response. “But you didn’t. You accepted my deal. You lied to them just as much as I did.”

 

“So I did. But you mean much more to them than I ever did or ever will. Your lies will hurt them much more than mine ever will.” Gillion pointed out, crossing his arms. 

 

Chip laughed, a short, sharp thing. It rang in his ears for a moment. “But this isn’t about them, is it? This is about you. I called you pretty and you responded by calling me a self absorbed liar.”

 

A huff was his response, warm breath making a tiny plume of mist. “In simplified terms, yes.”

 

“Why are you so upset that I called you pretty? That I compared you to gold?” Chip asked, something like anger in his voice. 

 

Gillion made a sound of frustration. “I have already told you. It upset me because it is a lie. You do not mean the things you say, and it is cruel for you to lie about such things to anyone. And then to say things about wishing that I was yours- Do you simply mean to upset me?” He took a deep, measured breath. “Do you enjoy hurting people? Does it make you feel better about yourself?” 

 

“Are you-“ Chip scoffed, anger bubbling in his chest. “Are you fucking kidding me? Is that what you think of me? Gods, I didn’t know you hated me so much. Why the hell did you ever accept my offer if it was just going to lead to you calling me a self centred liar?” 

 

Rage and pain swirled together within him to make a heated mess of emotion. Maybe he never should have even said anything, considering it led to this. Maybe he should have just left the feeling to rot away in his chest, abandoned and shoved down, never to see the light of day. But of course, that didn’t happen. Of course he had to air his feelings, and now here they are. 

 

Maybe he’s ruined a chance at even keeping up a friendship with Gillion. Then again, did he really want one if Gillion hated him so much? 

 

Obviously their relationship had been a lie, but had everything else been one too? 

 

Everything Jay had seen, all of the little forehead kisses that no one else knew about, the joy over the necklace, needing a hug after that bad dream- had it all been a lie? 

 

If it had, Gillion was a far better actor than Chip had ever imagined. And for someone who hated liars, he seemed to do his own fair share of acting. 

 

“Maybe I needed something desperately enough to stoop down to your level.” Gillion said, his expression ever darkening. 

 

Chip let out a harsh laugh. “And what could possibly make you do the one thing you hate the most?” 

 

The other took another deep breath, and the unhinged anger in his eyes became something more measured and controlled. “If you must know, I am running away. My taking you up on your offer was nothing more than cowardice on my part. And of my own mother nonetheless.” He growled slightly, and Chip raised his eyebrows. 

 

“The hell did your mom do to make you so desperate to get away?” The anger inside his subsided in small amounts, but the stinging pain from Gillion’s words still remained. 

 

The glare that Chip received was so full of poison that it could probably wilt a few flowers. “You have no right asking me that after lying to me so harshly.”

 

Chip considered his words for half a second. “Now- hold on, wait just a minute. Weren’t you lying this whole time too? Obviously, you hate my guts, right? Usually, you don’t go sea shell hunting with someone you hate.” Confusion grew within him rapidly. Why did this all have to be so confusing? For someone so adept at recognizing lies, Chip couldn’t get a read on Gillion’s honesty. 

 

“Because I don’t hate you, and that makes it all the worse.” He turned around then, and started to walk off. Stopping a few feet down the sidewalk, he stopped to turn slightly and pull something out of a pocket in his dress. He tossed whatever it was to Chip and then continued down the street, presumably heading back to the hotel, considering there wasn’t really any other place to go. 

 

Looking down at the object Chip had barely managed to catch, he saw the other half of the stark white shell. Its other half weighed in his pocket, and he stared at it for a long moment. When he looked back into the street, Gillion had disappeared. 

 

He sighed and leaded up against the wall, sliding down it slowly after a moment.  The chill from the brick pressed into his suit, and the unevenness of the wall hurt in a few places, but he couldn’t find that he cared. 

 

The emotions inside in his chest started to swallow him, like a dark, angry sea that tosses and churns with a storm. He could picture the dark waters as they tug at him, pulling him under over and over, until his arms are too weak to fight to the surface anymore, and his vision darkens as the ocean takes him for herself. Loneliness is an emotion that sucks him into a deep well of pain and doesn’t let him back out. 

 

More than anything, he wishes that he could just rewind a few minutes and stop himself from spilling words about fool’s gold and beauty. He wishes they were still inside, watching people spin and dance with the band, laughing and drinking. He wishes that he had taken Gillion’s hand and pulled him onto the dance floor, instead of saying the things he did. 

 

Hell, he wishes he was a better communicator. Maybe he wouldn’t be in this mess if he knew how to talk to people without lying, every sentence that came from him is an unstable thing built on a rotting foundation. 

 

That’s why he lied so often, after all. His own worm-eaten insecurities made him desperate for the validation of someone else because even decayed wood is warm when the sun shines on it. He laughed quietly at himself. How could he have thought that someone as bright as gold would listen to something so rotted as him? 

 

“Chip?” He turned to see Jay walking towards him, worry written all over her features and Lizzie following not far behind. She sped up when he looked up at her. She must have seen something in his face that she felt the need to soothe. Coming to a stop next to him, she kneeled, her navy blue dress pooling on the ground around her. “What happened?” 

 

He didn’t realise he’d been crying until she gently reached up to wipe a tear off his cheek. “I don’t- I don’t even know.” He set his eyes back on the shell in his hands, trying not to start crying again. “I think it’s safe to say that Gillion hates me, though.” 

 

“You’re a fucking idiot if that genuinely what you believe.” 

 

“Lizzie!” Jay turned to her quickly, a scowl on her face. 

 

Lizzie shrugged, gathering her red dress to sit next to Jay. “It’s true. I know you didn’t get a lot of time to talk to him, but the chat he and I had at the mall was- Well, let me just say with confidence that he doesn’t hate you.” She had the nonchalant tone hat she always does, but then she looked at him. Her eyes had this funny way of communicating the severity of the things she was saying, and the next thing she said had a lot of weight, if he was understanding her expression correctly, “Quite the opposite, actually.” 

 

Chip sighed, and something broke in his chest. “It was a lie, Lizzie. This whole stupid relationship thing, it wasn’t real.” 

 

“I know.” 

 

Snapping his head up, Lizzie looked just mildly disappointed. She continued, “Gillion is a horrible liar when directly confronted about it. That conversation was a really great one, I have to say. He spilled almost immediately, and then we just kinda talked. After our conversation that morning, I had a feeling that something was up.” 

 

Chip’s thoughts were going a mile a minute. Nothing made sense anymore and part of him just wanted to curl up into a little ball and stop existing entirely. Jay had known because he told her, Lizzie had figured it out, Gillion maybe hated him, Arlin was probably completely out of the loop. This whole trip had been going so well- and now it’s just a giant mess. 

 

Lizzie was still talking, “it’s not really my place to talk about everything in that conversation, but I think that a conversation with Gillion would be a really, really good idea. A calm one, where you don’t get defensive, and you both have the space to talk about your feelings and be vulnerable.” 

 

Nodding along, Jay replied, “Nothing ever happens if communication doesn’t.” 

 

“Arlin said basically the same thing earlier.” Chip chuckled quietly. “Where is he?” 

 

The girls exchanged a look. “He saw you two leave, and how upset Gillion looked. I guess he was worried, so he sent the two of us out here,” Jay explained. 

 

Lizzie nodded and continued, “I sent him a text that you were alone out here, so he’s going to go look for Gillion.” She handed him her phone, open to the conversation with their dad. The last text Arlin sent was only a few minutes ago, explaining that as long as the girls were there for Chip, someone needed to be there for Gillion. 

 

He smiled, happy to know that Gillion wouldn’t be alone. Their fight still hurt, open wounds still bleeding in his heart, but he did still care about Gillion. He couldn’t imagine being alone after a fight like that, in an unfamiliar city, with whatever was going on in his family life. 

 

“Can we go find him too?” Chip asked, his voice weak. 

 

Lizzie took her phone back gently, shaking her head. “Let dad handle it. Gillion probably just needs to cool off for a little while. I know that you just want to help, but I don’t think that you can, right now.” 

 

Jay started to stand up, offering a hand to Chip to help him up. “Come on, let’s go get some hot chocolate.” Lizzie stood up as well, brushing herself off. 

 

Taking both of their hands in hers, Jay led them down the street, opposite to where Gillion had gone. They walked for a little while, the city sounds surrounding them. Lizzie and Jay chatted idly, the subject shifting from the gala to college work to a cafe across the street that they could get breakfast at before going to the airport tomorrow. Chip only halfway listened, clutching the shell in one hand and holding Jay’s with the other. 

 

He stared at it with a small frown. When Gillion tossed it, he couldn’t have been sure that Chip would catch it, and had he not caught it, the fragile shell would have shattered on the pavement. Maybe Gillion had wanted it to shatter.

 

Or, a small, traitorous part of him whispered, maybe Gillion did have confidence in him and that he would catch it. 

 

Maybe all of this was just as confusing for Gillion, and that’s why he reacted the way he did. He stopped himself from spiralling down the path that would make him sit there and wonder, imagining what might be going through Gillion’s head. It would only serve to confuse him worse, and emotionally drain him. 

 

The best way to go about it would be just talking to Gillion. 

 

Suddenly, he remembered Arlin’s words from that morning, and how he’d thought that they wouldn’t actually be helpful in this situation. To think that he was afraid of fake fighting with Gillion, and yet here they were, having actually fought. 

 

He thought about the whole situation, fully realising how complicated and unordinary it had become. At that moment, Chip understood how deep this went, and how much he wanted to fix it. The situation was so much more than just a surface level argument over a fake relationship. 

 

Time started to blur, and Chip wasn’t sure he was completely conscious as Jay pulled him into a coffee house and ordered 5 hot chocolates. At some point, he was handed two of them, one for him and one for Gillion, while Jay took hers and Lizzie carried the one for Arlin. 

 

The cardboard cups were warm in his hands, and they served to pull him back to the present a little, especially when Jay had gently taken the shell to hand him the cups. The trio slowly walked back to the hotel, sipping their hot chocolates. Lizzie must have gotten a text from Arlin that Gillion was okay now, because Chip couldn’t imagine that the girls would be taking him back to Gillion if he still wasn’t ready to see him. 

 

Chip slowly became more and more alert as they got closer to the hotel, something buzzing under his skin. He couldn’t decide if the feeling was anxiety, excitement, or something else. It couldn’t completely be excitement, he knew, because part of him feared Gillion’s reaction to seeing him again. On the other hand, a small part of him couldn’t help being happy to see Gillion, no matter the circumstances. 

 

When they reached the top of the stairs to the second floor, Chip spotted Arlin standing just outside the door to his and Gillion’s room. He reached for his drink and thanked the girls quietly before turning to Chip. 

 

“Hey, if you’re not ready to talk to him tonight, you can sleep in the spare bed in my room.” Arlin placed a hand on Chip’s shoulder, watching him with concern in his eyes. 

 

Chip shook his head. “No, it’s- I’ll be okay.” He smiled, though he wasn’t sure if it reached his eyes.

 

“We’ll be out here if you need us,” Lizzie chimed in, giving him a little nod. 

 

Taking a deep breath, Chip pushed open the door, careful not to spill the drinks. Gill sat on the bed, his back to the door. He’d pulled his hair out of the bun. Starting to walk closer, Chip looked out the window. 

 

“Hey,” he said quietly. 

 

Gillion inhaled sharply, and Chip almost took it as a sign to leave, until he started taking, “Chip, I-“

 

Chip cut him off, handing him the full cup of hot chocolate. “Hot chocolate?” 

 

“Oh.” He took the cup carefully, their fingers brushing slightly. 

 

“Can I sit?” Chip gestured to the spot next to Gillion, and then sat when he received a nod. 

 

They sat in silence for a moment, each taking a drink of their hot chocolate. “Thank you,” Gillion said, his voice the most hesitant Chip had ever heard it. They didn’t look at each other, both choosing to look everywhere else, unsure where the boundary was. 

 

“You should thank Jay.” The words were a little colder than he’d meant. 

 

Another moment of silence passed, and Chip felt it eat away at his stomach, adding to the pit that had been forming since that morning. The sweetness of his drink both seemed to help a little and also made him vaguely nauseous. It was a strange feeling. 

 

“Chip, I want to apologise. I said some incredibly hurtful things to you, and I regret it immensely. You do not deserve to be told those things.” Gillion took a deep breath. He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but hesitated, shutting it once more and nodding. 

 

Chip watched him carefully, not making eye contact. “You were right, though. This isn’t the first time someone has tried to tell me that I’m selfish or a liar, and I really doubt that it’ll be the last.” He’d come to terms with it a long time ago, that most people would see him as a liar, it didn’t bother him so much anymore. 

 

It did when that person was Gillion, though. 

 

Gillion’s head raised to look at him, the first time since he’d come into the room. “I suppose. You do lie and act a lot, but that’s not all you are. You’re a lot more than just a liar. To lie and to be selfish are not your only characteristics. You have other, more honourable ones.”

 

And yet, that selfish part of him wanted Gillion to say it. “Oh yeah? Like what?” He grinned, trying to play it off a joke no matter how much his heart screamed that he wanted Gillion to have a very similar list to his own about all of the little moving parts that make up his roommate. 

 

“You’re fiercely competitive, for one. It is the reason that all of this started, after all. It is very easy for you to make a friend out of anyone, and repair a friendship no matter the consequence that separated you. You are much more observant and careful than you let on. You act very sure of yourself, but fall apart when no one is watching. You do want to do the right thing, at the end of the day. Sometimes you are simply misguided in how to get there.” Gillion said, his words unhesitant and said with such a steady voice that Chip couldn’t imagine arguing. It was the most confident he’d sounded since the fight. “You act self centred sometimes, but if one were to look closer, it is simply because you need to be reassured often. You care about the way people see you because you are insecure.”

 

An ounce of offence made him start to refute, “Hey-”

 

Gillion cut him off. “You needn’t be, though.” He was silent for a minute, thinking over his words. “Just because you can be selfish, and you lie sometimes, it does not give me the right to say horrible things. I know that you do not want to hurt me, I know that you do care. I just- I was upset. It is no excuse, but it is an explanation.” 

 

Silence surrounded them once more as he stopped talking. Chip considered the words, turning them over and over, examining their meanings and trying to find anything off. He didn’t find anything, but there was something that continued to tug at the back of his mind. He thought about how violently Gillion had reacted, and found himself only wanting to know more about why. 

 

“Can I ask why you reacted the way you did? I know- I know you already said it’s because you thought I was lying, but can you just- can you explain now that we’re not angry anymore?” Chip moved his gaze to his feet as he fiddled with his half-full cup. 

 

Gillion modded. “I was- I am afraid that you were simply lying to me again. You are an actor, and I know that, so I am afraid that you do not mean the words you say. Besides, you were drinking, so you were more likely to say things that you do not mean. I am afraid that you do not mean that I am as pretty as you say, or that you do not actually-“ he seemed almost afraid to say it. “Care for me in that way.” 

 

Chip’s eyebrows furrowed as he tried to work through the words. “What if I did mean it, though?”

 

“Then you are lying to yourself as well, and that is the greatest transgression one can commit.”

 

A spark of anger flared up in his chest but he squashed it down and kept his voice soft. “Why does it have to be a lie? Why can’t it just be the truth?”

 

Gillion smiled, his eyes softening. “Because you are an actor, Chip,” he repeated. “You may have many other characteristics, but the truth of the matter is that you do lie, and it is difficult for me to take any of your words as truth. I do not even know if you know how to speak the truth.” 

 

Chip sighed. “You’re right. But being a liar also means that I can recognize a lie better than I can recognize my own face, and to say that I don’t feel something for you, or that I never want to speak to you again- those- Those are lies.” He watched a car pass by on the street below, tracing the lights with his eyes. “Maybe I don’t know how to speak the truth, but what I said earlier- about you being gold- isn’t a lie. Maybe it’s something in between, I don’t know. But- Just because you don’t want something to be true, doesn’t mean that you get to call it a lie.”

Gillion was staring at his feet now, his voice soft. “I don’t want it to be untrue.” Chip wanted to pick those words apart and wonder exactly what they meant, but Gillion continued speaking, “You know, earlier, I said that you have many people who care for you. In fact, Lizzie has told me many times that if I directly or indirectly hurt you, she will make many unfortunate circumstances befall me.” He creased his eyebrows. “Her imagery was very- descriptive.” 

 

Trying not to laugh, Chip covered his mouth. “Yeah, that- That’s Lizzie, for you.” 

 

“She loves you.” Chip smiled at the words, letting his hand drop back to his hot chocolate. He knew. For all their rivalry, the twins loved each other a lot. The next words out of Gillion’s mouth were almost so quiet that Chip barely even heard them. “They all love you, and I think I may too.”

 

“Y- What?”

 

“DIfferently, of course. They love you like a brother and a son. They love you like a family. I- I think I love you like- well, like what we were pretending to be.” Gillion’s cheeks were tinged a very dark blue, and Chip had a hard time believing that it was because of the temperature in the room. 

 

I think I love you.

 

He wouldn't be surprised if his own cheeks were coloured. Not knowing what to say, Chip just scooted a little closer so that their arms were touching and he was almost leaning on the other. 

 

Gillion sucked in a breath. “I am afraid.” The words seemed almost painful, like they had to be forced out. 

 

“That’s okay,” Chip whispered. “I think I am too.”

 

Silence permeated the air for a while, as his thoughts wandered for a little while. He wondered how exactly he made it here, and where they’d go now. He entertained the idea of being in a real relationship, imagining what it would be like to fall asleep next to Gillion every night and holding hands and going on dates. The idea that they might go back to never speaking to each other again out of sheer awkwardness, also pushed its way into his mind. The thought that had circled his mind like a broken record, about wanting Gillion to stay in his life, repeated over and over. It was the only truly cohesive thought. The rest of his mind consisted of jumbled emotions and strange, mashed up sentence fragments. 

 

“I’ve never-” Gillion’s voice brought him back to reality. “I have never really been- romantically inclined with someone.”

 

Chip smiled at the wording, and how absolutely Gillion it was. “That’s okay,” he repeated. 

 

Emotions seemed to be clashing and wearing at him, his eyes far off and expression somewhat troubled. “I don’t- I don’t know how to really- We were acting like we were in a relationship, yes but-”

 

“Gill, out of everyone else, I would be the one person to know about how sometimes acting is easier than the real thing.” His smile became a full, genuine thing. “It’s okay, I promise. You don’t have to know how to navigate this sort of thing, and you definitely don’t have to do it alone. I think that’s like- the whole point. We’ll figure it out, okay?”

 

Gillion nodded softly. “Okay.” He took another few drinks, seemingly working through his emotions. “Does this- does this mean that we are-“ his words died off, as if he were afraid to say it. 

 

“Do you want to be?” Chip looked at him, really looked at him. His eyes traced the little curls that draped across his shoulders now that the bun had been pulled out, and then he watched emotions rapid fire across Gillion’s face as he worried at his lower lip. His eyes had a sort of tiredness to them, and Chip realised how nice sleep sounded after today. 

 

Fiddling with his cup, Gillion thought about it for a long moment. “I think that I would like that, but can we-“ he took a breath. “Can we start over? And- and go a little slower this time?” Chip was met with electric blue eyes for the first time in nearly an hour and he smiled. 

 

“Of course. Of course we can start over.” An idea made itself known in his head, and most of his reservations were gone at this point, so he stood up and set his empty cup on the bedside table. Gillion watched quizzically as Chip knelt down in front of him. “Gillion Tidestrider, will you give me the honour of buying you a coffee?” 

 

Gillion snorted, the first truly happy sound he’d heard all day. “Only if you do not make a fool of yourself again.” 

 

“Well, I guess- I guess I’m not really a fool anymore, since you’re just gold and for some reason have decided to give me a shot.” He grinned, happy to callback to his little metaphor. Gillion, on the other hand, rolled his eyes with a small smile. 

 

“We shall see if you remain a fool or not. Perhaps it is simply your destiny, Chibo.” He grinned, clearly very happy with himself. There was something teasing in his eye, and giddiness found its way into Chip’s heart. 

 

Although- “What’s that supposed to mean, exactly?” 

 

Gillion’s grin only grew and there was a little glint in his eye that Chip both loved and didn’t trust. “You are a silly, silly man, Chip. You thought yourself a fool for hoping that I might return your affections, but really, you were a fool for thinking that I would not.” 

 

Thinking through his words, Chip rose from his place on the floor to sit back down next to Gillion. 

 

“I would have thought that my feelings were apparent.” Gillion’s voice was soft again, and a small smile graced his lips. “Especially when you consider how I have wanted to get to know you for so long.” 

 

“Seriously? How come you never said anything?”

 

Gillion shrugged, a shy expression on his face. “I suppose I was afraid.” Chip nodded, that was fair. A glance to Gillion told him how the other was deep in thought, his eyes very far away and his grip on the cup loose. After a few moments, he said, “If we are to be romantically inclined, I suppose there is something you should know.” He took a deep breath, making Chip ever so slightly nervous. “I am not- I have no sexual intentions ever. I have no interest or inclination to things of that sort in the slightest.”

 

“Oh.” Chip let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. He nodded. “Asexual. Okay.”

 

Gillion looked somewhat surprised. “There is a word for it?”

 

Looking at Gillion out of the corner of his eye, Chip wondered if that too, was a cultural thing. Maybe a linguistic thing, since they might speak another language in the Undersea. “Yeah, there’s all kinds of words for that sort of thing.”

 

Gillion was watching him, so Chip turned his head and smiled, but that only seemed to confuse him worse. “You do not- You have nothing to say about it? Usually, people- I do not know, they-” He made a frustrated sound as the words seemed to escape him.

 

“Their reactions are usually different?” Gillion nodded, and Chip shrugged. “I’d imagine so, but it’s not that big of a deal for me.” He glanced outside once more, taking in the sight below him and wondering how people in the past might have reacted to make Gillion so afraid of voicing it. “You’re you, and that’s what matters. Thank you for telling me, though. I know it can be scary.”

 

A hum sounded from beside him, as Gillion mulled over the words. “Asexual,” he whispered to himself, testing the word out. “Do you have a label such as this?”

 

Thinking about it for a second, Chip realised that he’d never considered it. “Not really. I guess I haven’t thought about it too much. Obviously I’m not straight, but the amount of girls I’ve kissed would argue that I’m not gay either.” He had never seen labels like that as particularly important. Why did it matter what word described the kinds of people he would date? He understood that other people found comfort in such labels, though. 

 

A soft knock sounded at the door and Arlin poked his head in. “Everything alright again?” Chip smiled at his dad, grateful for a parent who cares so much. Gillion nodded, and  Arlin gave a relieved look. “Okay, good. The girls are going to head to bed, and I’m getting pretty tired too. If you need anything though-” He gave a pointed look to Chip. “I can stay up for a little bit longer.”

 

Still smiling, Chip shook his head. “We’ll be alright. Go to bed.” Arlin nodded and waved slightly as a goodnight. He came in a little farther to leave something on the table before exiting the room to shut the door and leave the two. “We might want to go to bed soon too,” Chip said. Gillion nodded, his own exhaustion evident in his expression. 

 

He stood up, reaching for his empty cup to throw away. As he passed the other, he noticed that Gillion fiddled with the necklace absentmindedly. A smile tugged at his lips involuntarily and giddiness ran through his blood. 

 

Getting ready for bed, Chip glanced up to Gillion every once in a while. The Triton hadn’t moved, seeming content to stare out the window and think about whatever was going on in his head. His own thoughts started distracting him at some point. Thinking about the boundaries they had set at the beginning of the trip, he wondered where they were at with that now that it was real. 

 

And then that thought hit him really hard, but only in the best way. It was real now. They’d be able to hold hands and kiss each other on the cheek and it would actually mean something. 

 

A hand reached out and caught his wrist as he walked past the foot of the bed. Gillion had stretched out slightly to grab him, making eye contact with a very serious expression. 

 

“Thank you.” The words held immense weight, but Chip didn’t really understand why. He smiled, but his expression must have given away his confusion, as Gillion continued, “For everything. I appreciate your willingness to listen to me with an open mind. You have been a very good friend to me this past week, and our relationship will only grow because you- you care. And I thank you.” 

 

“For caring?” Chip asked, his smile faltering. When he received a nod, his smile dropped away entirely. “Gillion, any half decent person would listen to and care about you. Besides- I do care about you. A lot.”

 

Gillion smiled, although it was something much more bitter. “I suppose I have yet to meet very many ‘half decent’ people. I do hope that you consider yourself more than half decent, though, as I consider you so much more than that.” 

 

And how do you respond to that? Chip had never been very good at receiving compliments, let alone from someone he cares so much about. “Thank you,” was all that came out, though his voice was squeaky and off sounding. He cleared his throat as Gillion let go of his wrist. He sort of missed the cool fingers pressed against his skin. “You should get ready for bed.” 

 

Gillion nodded and began standing up, before pausing. “I have a question.” 

 

“Shoot.” Chip moved around the bed to his side, pulling away the blanket. 

 

“Can we- on the first day here, we fell asleep holding each other. I was simply wondering if perhaps-“ Gillion’s cheeks were dark and he looked anywhere but Chip. 

 

Climbing into bed, Chip smiled. “You want to cuddle again?” 

 

Somehow, his cheeks grew ever darker. “Yes. If that is alright, it is just that- I slept very well and-“ 

 

Letting out a quiet laugh, Chip nodded. “It was nice, I know. We can cuddle again, dude, I don’t mind. If anything, that’s kind of a thing that couples do.” 

 

His stomach swirled at the word ‘couples’. The idea that they were together hadn’t fully sunk in just yet, and it made his heart speed up. Gillion also had a small smile on his face as he moved around the room to grab his pyjamas. 

 

“Is it a common form of affection? To cuddle ?” The last word was said with a kind of hesitance that told Chip that it was new to Gillion. 

 

Chip answered his question and they continued to chat, the conversation moving onto something else. As Gillion took off his shirt to change, Chip couldn’t help but stare a little. After their conversation surrounding sexuality earlier, any thoughts of that were basically banished, but sex aside, Gillion was unfairly gorgeous. His muscles were defined in a way that no other politics major could even dream of. 

 

He had a little smile as he talked and Chip adored it. He adored the way Gillion could ramble about certain things for a very long time, and the way his hair looked when it was pulled up into a messy ponytail and the way he sheepishly climbed into bed next to Chip. 

 

Opening his arms, Chip invited Gillion to lay down practically on top of him, the same position as a few nights prior. They fell into a silence as Gillion pressed his ear to Chip’s chest, seemingly fat off in his thoughts. 

 

“Chip?” His voice was small and quiet in the now darkened room. Chip hummed in lieu of a proper response. “If-“ he took a breath. “If we are dating, does that make you my boyfriend?” 

 

His stomach flipped unexpectedly. “Yeah. Yeah, it does.” The thought that he was Gillion’s boyfriend - and that Gillion was his- raced through his mind over and over, wearing down a track for it to continue looping. He smiled as he felt his heart speed up a bit. 

 

Gillion laughed quietly, more of a small snort than anything else. “Your heart is beating very fast.” Oh. He forgot that Gillion could hear that. “Is this a good thing or-“ 

 

“Absolutely. Absolutely a wonderful, amazing thing.” 

 

There was a soft thump sound, and it took a few seconds as well as a second thump for Chip to realise it was Gillion’s tail making that sound against the bed. His face was buried into Chip’s chest, only pressing into it further with each second. 

 

Failing to bite back a smile, Chip said, “Does that happen often?” 

 

Gillion shook his head, his nose squashed into a position that must be uncomfortable. “Only when I am unbelievably happy.” The words were muffled and hard to hear, but they made such warmth bloom in Chip’s chest. 

 

It only lasted a moment, though. A thought made him lose his smile and the warmth became cold. “Are you not happy often?” His words were quiet, but he knew that Gillion heard because his tail stilled. 

 

He felt Gillion take a deep breath. “It- it is hard to be happy when you are raised as I was.” He pressed ever so slightly more into Chip. 

 

Chip considered how little he knew about Gillion’s past. There was a private school of sorts, and he didn’t speak to his family for a time. Gillion had only mentioned his mother during the arguement, but it was implied that he couldn’t speak to them when he couldn’t speak to his sister. “Do you want to talk about it? 

 

He shifted in a sort of half shrug. “I was born in the Undersea, which is not hard to guess. My parents’ marriage was arranged, so they did not care much for each other nor my elder sister and I. They are noble citizens, and my mother comes from a long history of Tidestriders who filled a role in the order of things. The Tidestrider name has been long revered as the name of heroes and champions. Of course, we have no need for folk heroes in the current times, so the role of Champion is more ornamental than anything else. I was to be assigned this role.” 

 

Chip could feel the vibrations of Gillion’s voice, which lacked most emotion it usually held, and his words felt almost robotic, as if they were scripted. “On my 8th birthday, my parents prepared to send me to- I called it an academy earlier, and it was sort of like that. They handed my care over to the Elders. This is when Edyn gifted my dearest Pretzel to me.” He paused again, fiddling with Chip’s sleeve. 

 

Remembering suddenly how fidgety and almost upset Gillion got at dinner on the first night when he mentioned his education, Chip said, “If you don’t want to talk about this, we don’t have to-“ but Gillion was already shaking his head, effectively stopping Chip’s sentence. His fingers were wrapped in fabric now as he tugged slightly.

 

He took a breath, and continued, “It is alright. I was taught and trained in the Palace. The subjects were extensive in things like politics and history, and my training often included combat- traditionally expected of Champions- and lessons in regal formality. The combat was the only part of it that I excelled in. My- education was incredibly rigorous, and the Elders expected much from me.” He took a steadying breath as his fingers stilled ever so slightly. “I stayed there until I turned 20. An ambassador from the Oversea visited, and told me about their work. After finding it all incredibly fascinating, I approached the Elders to see if we had an ambassador of our own. We did, but they would be retiring soon, so I suggested that I might take an apprenticeship with them, to become the next Undersea Ambassador.

 

“The Elders- they did not take kindly to that. They had trained me for 12 years to be a symbol and beacon of light, A friendly face for the government. They were insulted that I wished to throw away their teachings for a different placement entirely.” Gillion seemed almost lost in thought, reliving memories and thinking through emotions from years ago. “They decided that should I wish to reject my status as Champion, I should reject my place in the Undersea entirely. They wished to strip me of my last name as well, but they had no power over that, much to their chagrin.” He smiled softly. “They banished me from my home, forcing me to come up here. Luckily, my grandfather, who you know as Professor Tidestrider, resides up here, and offered to take me in.” 

 

Chip nodded. “So you go to school here because you’re his grandkid.” Gillion mirrored his nod. “Why are you studying politics still, then? You’ve got so many options and you don’t seem to like your classes that much.” He laughed quietly, thinking about all the times Gillion would enter their dorm looking frustrated or upset after class. 

 

Gillion’s voice had something almost forlorn in it. “I suppose it is because that is all I have ever known.” 

 

Fear of the unknown wasn’t exactly uncommon, Chip knew. “Is that why you’re afraid of this? You’ve never been in a relationship before, so it’s new territory, right?” Gillion nodded, staring off into the distance. 

 

“I was taught that as the Champion, my responsibilities lied with the people. I was not allowed to even think about engaging in a romantic relationship, as it would distract me from my destiny.” Something in his voice made Chip incredibly sad. 

 

No wonder Gillion was so afraid of being in a relationship. He’d never really had anyone to care for him beyond his sister for a few years, and for most of his life, he’d been told never to have romantic interest in anyone. 

 

He supposed that to accept and acknowledge his feelings for Chip probably felt like a confirmation that he’d been abandoned once more by the people who were supposed to care. There would be no repercussions for a romantic relationship up here, when he probably would have been punished were he still the Champion. It was confirmation to Gillion’s new place in the world, one that he didn’t seem to like so much. 

 

Chip moved to wrap his arms more fully around Gillion’s waist.  “Hey, if- if it helps at all, I’m really proud of you.” Gillion pulled up a little to look at Chip and they made eye contact. There was something there, just below the surface that Chip couldn’t quite read. Something sad and scared and maybe desperate. “I can’t imagine how hard leaving your home would be, especially in those conditions. This is all new territory, no one could blame you for chasing anything that’s the slightest bit familiar.”

 

He took a deep breath. “You’re brave, Gill. And I’m proud of you for being open about your feelings to me, even if you’re terrified. I’m a little bit terrified too.” 

 

A little tear escaped Gillion’s eye, and his expression crumpled a little as he gave into the emotions that swirled inside of his eyes. He dropped his forehead onto Chip’s chest, still holding himself up slightly with his arms. “I do not feel very brave.”

 

“That’s okay. You don’t have to feel anything, you’re allowed to feel however you need to.” The words were simple, but they made Gillion sort of ragdoll against him, letting his muscles relax from holding him up. “I think right now, though, you should feel tired.” 

 

Gillion laughed a little and nodded. “I am,” he whispered. 

 

“Good.” Chip shifted slightly and pulled the blanket farther up. “Go to sleep.” 

 

Taking a deep breath, Gillion seemed to begin doing exactly that. “Goodnight, Chip.” The words were mumbled and halfway muffled, making them somewhat hard to understand, but Chip smiled regardless. 

 

“Goodnight.” 

 

Not too much longer later, Gillion’s breathing evened out and Chip safely assumed he was asleep. 

 

He thought about everything he knew about the other now, how much he had learned just today. At this point, he imagined that his little file folder was bursting a little where it shuts, and soon, he’d need a whole cabinet drawer just for his knowledge surrounding his boyfriend.

 

His boyfriend . 

 

He supposed that with everything he learned about Gillion, and each recounting of the things he knew, he forgot to pay attention to the things he learned about himself. He’d been so attentive to what made Gillion happy that he forgot to realise how immeasurably happy Gillion made him, and how the word “boyfriend” made his stomach flip. 

 

He figured that maybe he should start taking note of those things too, about what made him tick. Maybe if he had, he would have realised that he was a lot more than just a self absorbed liar. Maybe he would have understood and believed what Gillion said about him being fiercely competitive and passionate about his relationships. 

 

Making a list of all the little facts about himself, Chip fell asleep. Somewhere between noting the kind of coffee he liked and his favourite flower, his thoughts slowed and he fell asleep without even realising. 

Notes:

*lies in a puddle of my own tears*
wOOOOO

Alright so that was a rollercoaster and a half lol hope you enjoyed

Next up is the very last chapter D: I will say tho, I’m kind of glad bc I can feel myself running out of steam for this fic. Anyway hopefully the next chapter will be posted next week on Tuesday, like the schedule was supposed to be :3

Chapter 5: And I was a fool, hoping you’d be mine

Summary:

His boyfriend.

He giggled quietly, still unused to the term.

Gillion shifted beneath him and asked, “What is so funny?”

“Oh, nothing.” He hummed as he snuggled ever closer, enjoying the extra body heat. “I’m still not used to the fact that you’re my boyfriend.” Peeking up, Chip saw an amused smile lighting up Gillion’s face. He may be a little biassed, but the adorable smile Gillion was giving him was honestly worth everything,

Notes:

Holy shit???? HOLY SHIT??????

GUYS ITS REAL I FINISHED A MULTICHAP FIC, ON VALENTINES DAY AAAAAA it’s done and I could not be happier.

As customary of me, I’d like to say a few words to all of you. ONE) I love every single person who clicked on this fic. I don’t care who you are, I love you /p. You say the words “it’s just as dumb as every other fake dating au, but trust me” and you DID so you’re the real winners here. TWO) this fic has changed so wildly dudes. First, it was going to be like maybe 4K words of just the gala bc the idea was spawned from my wanting to write “gillion goes to a gala in a dress <3” and now here we are :D THREE) I really hope you guys feel that the conclusion is satisfactory and that you’re happy with it :3 I also hope that you have enjoyed this story enough to bookmark it to come back and read it again sometime (if you’re back, reading again already, hello!!)

Thank you so much for all of your support on this fic too. I’m notoriously bad at finishing multichap fics bc the motivation leaves me, but you guys really did pull me through and gave me the motivation to finish, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

Enjoy!! And happy Valentine’s day!!

The last day of the trip had been completely uneventful. Their flight was later in the day, so Chip took that time to sleep in, while latching onto Gillion to make sure he couldn’t leave. His boyfriend hadn’t struggled that much, giving into the sleepy cuddles quite easily as Chip wrapped each of his limbs around him. 

 

Jay brought coffee up to their room, giving Chip a look that very much said, ‘I told you so’ when she saw them still wrapped around each other. After she left, Gillion had carefully extracted himself to grab a cup of coffee, shifting to lean against the headboard and scroll through his phone. Chip just wiggled closer though, taking joy in the fond smile he got in return as he resumed the cuddles. 

 

It wasn’t entirely better. There were still some things both of them needed to work on; namely, being more open about their feelings and not lying as much, but it was certainly a start and much better than where they had been after the fight. Chip hid his face in Gillion’s shoulder, wishing that the morning never had to end. They wouldn’t have to go home and face college again and Gillion could keep hiding from his mom. 

 

Granted, Chip did want to talk about that. A part of him tried saying that it wasn’t his business at all, but another part of him was seriously so curious. And to be completely fair, it sort of was his business now. Not only is it the reason that Gillion actually accepted the proposal- leading to the events of the trip- but they were dating now, and the issue seemed to be taking up a lot of Gillion’s thoughts. Now that Chip somewhat knew about the situation- which was to say that he knew hardly anything but y’know- Gillion had started being somewhat more open about how stressed he was. 

 

Chip supposed that the ending of their trip and the looming return to the real world probably didn’t help alleviate any of that stress. 

 

Honestly, Chip wanted to know more about Gillion’s mom and all of the issues surrounding her because he wanted to make sure that Gillion didn’t feel alone. Knowing what it felt like to be alone in the face of this kind of decision, he wanted Gillion to have all of the support he could possibly provide.  He just wanted to comfort his boyfriend and help him work through it. 

 

He giggled quietly, still unused to the term.

 

Gillion shifted beneath him and asked, “What is so funny?”

 

“Oh, nothing.” He hummed as he snuggled ever closer, enjoying the extra body heat. “I’m still not used to the fact that you’re my boyfriend .” He couldn’t help the second giggle that escaped him. Peeking up, Chip saw an amused smile lighting up Gillion’s face. He may be a little biassed, but the adorable smile Gillion was giving him was honestly worth everything,

 

“Your antics are very sweet. I, too, struggle to comprehend the fact that this is real.” Chip revelled in the little signs that showed how happy and relaxed Gillion was, but did take note of the small amount of tension still held in his eyebrows, his jaw, his shoulders. It was entirely too easy to miss but Chip found that he now knew how to read the tension and the smile that was so genuine despite it. 

 

The tension made him want to confront the issue. Changing the subject, Chip drew out the first syllable, “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

 

Gillion took a deep breath that Chip felt under him. “I do not- I don’t know. I suppose I am just worried about- about my mother.” Chip hummed, pressing his cheek into the other’s chest. Seemingly appreciative, Gillion squeezed his shoulder a little. 

 

A silent exchange of words that didn’t need to be said in order to be understood. Chip was here for him, and wouldn’t go anywhere. 

 

“Do you wanna tell me why she scares you?” He kept his voice soft, as if trying not to spook a scared animal. He wanted to know, wanted to support the other, but didn’t want to pressure him into talking about anything if he didn’t want to share. “If you don’t want to-“

 

Interrupting Chip, Gillion laughed quietly. “No, it is quite alright. I- I told you last night, how I was banished.” His voice cracked. “From the Undersea.” In lieu of a response, Chip just nodded. “A week and a half ago, my mother sent me a letter. It is the first attempt at communication she has made since signing my care over to the Elders. She-“ Feeling how Gillion’s voice caught in his throat, Chip sat up slightly. He stared at the other, his concern leaking into the way his lips thinned and eyebrows pinched. “She wishes that I return to the Undersea.”

 

Raising his eyebrows in shock, he said, “You- she- Are you going to?” He couldn’t keep the emotions from his voice. So many thoughts ran through his head all at once. If he did return, what would that mean for their brand new relationship? Obviously, Chip wanted Gillion to make whatever choice would make him happiest, and if that meant letting him go after so little time-

 

He supposed that it would be for the best, but it would still hurt. If the past few days had shown him anything, it was that he really didn’t want to lose Gillion. Falling in love with someone after only truly getting to know someone for a few days definitely wasn’t the most normal experience for Chip, and now that he had the other, he didn’t really want to let him go.

 

“No. Yes? I do not know.” He sighed. Chip could hear the breath move through his lungs, a hollow sound. “I think- I think I was going to. I didn't open her letter for so many days, and then-“ Shutting his mouth, he steeled himself. “I opened the letter. I miss the Undersea but she wants to try to redeem me with the Elders so that I might have my position as Champion back. I miss the Undersea, it was my home for so many years of my life that I don’t think it would be possible for me to not miss it.  However, being Champion is not something I would like, now that I’ve been free of the title for a while. I wanted more time to think about it, so when you asked me to come, I said yes, so that I wouldn’t have to make the decision so soon. 

 

“I think that I had decided to go, until your sister and I talked at the mall. She forced me to confront my feelings for you.” Gillion stared at the ceiling, refusing to make eye contact. A tiny frown pulled at his lips, and Chip watched him closely, looking for the tells of Gillion’s emotions. 

 

Chip just stared for a moment, processing. Thoughts of Gillion leaving, and an empty dorm filled his mind. And then he paused. “Wait- feelings at the mall? You’ve had feelings, like real feelings for me since then?” He laughed a little. And here he was, thinking that he was the one that had fallen in love much faster than he knew possible. 

 

Cheeks flushing a dark blue, Gillion nodded. “Before that, even.” His voice was incredibly quiet. “I believe I was infatuated with you for- for months, honestly. I just refused to admit it, or do anything about it because-“ he cut himself off, his expression darkening. 

 

“You didn’t feel like you were allowed to. And if you did act on those feelings, you would be making your new place in the world feel even more real.” Chip whispered, sadness creeping into him. 

 

Gillion nodded. “But your sister confronted me. She forced me to realise my feelings. After that- I struggled to convince myself that I would go.” He paused. “After the fight- I decided that it would be easier on everyone if I just left. If I went back home, you could forget about me, and I wouldn’t be allowed to think about my feelings for you anymore.”

 

Thinking back on it now, a lot of that made sense, this whole trip had been an emotional rollercoaster for everyone involved. Except maybe Arlin, he seemed the most relaxed of them all. 

 

“And then Arlin came to talk to me. He calmed me down, and told me how much I meant to you. How worried you had been that morning. He inadvertently made me reconsider my leaving for the Undersea. And now, now that we are-“ he smiled, shy and giddy. “ Boyfriends , I do not wish to leave.”

 

Nodding, Chip settled back down onto Gillion’s chest, his arms tired from holding him up. “That’s okay, if you don't want to leave, then just tell her that. And if you do- well, I’ll miss you, but I’ll support you too. We’ll just have to- I dunno, visit on weekends or call at night or something.”

 

Gillion sucked in a breath. “No- if- If I were to go back, we would not be allowed to contact each other. I would never see you again.”

 

“Oh, okay, well, that’s less than ideal. I still support you, though. Either way.”

 

“Even if I have to leave you forever?”

 

Chip took a very deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut to keep sad thoughts away. “I would support you, yes. But it would also break my heart.” He realised all at once that while their relationship was still new and they’d only properly known each other for a few days, he could no longer imagine a Gillion-less world. The thought of going back to a world where he didn’t know Gillion sounded like torture. “As long as it made you happy, I wouldn’t be able to object.”

 

He could feel as Gillion’s breath stuttered, probably as he tried withholding tears. “Leaving you could never make me happy.”

 

“Then don’t go.”

 

“But I miss the Undersea, and this is my only chance to ever go back.” His boyfriend had wrapped his arms around Chip, squeezing him slightly. 

 

Taking a deep breath, Chip thought over all of the possibilities that were open to Gillion. He could stay here and continue their relationship, keep going to school, build a life up here, or he could return to the life he was forced out of. Granted, Gillion didn’t seem all too happy with being Champion, if he tried changing paths. Which brought up a new question, “if you could go back to the Undersea, but didn’t have to be the Champion, what would that look like?”

 

The words made Gillion pause. “I- I suppose I have not thought about it.” He fell silent, presumably thinking about it. Chip wondered what the Undersea was like, in the meantime, while listening to Gillion’s breath. He wondered what kind of buildings were down there, and what the culture was like. Gillion’s heartbeat quietly under his ear filled him with a sense of safety and security in knowing that Gillion was real and alive beneath him. “If I were not Champion, there would be no rules against being romantically involved, so I think I’d like to take you with me. Perhaps I could show you around and teach you about my home.” 

 

Warmth blossomed in his chest at the fact that Gillion wanted to share the experience of going back to his home with Chip. “That sounds nice.”

 

Gillion sighed. “It is too bad that it is not plausible. I would only be allowed to return under the guise of being Champion.”

 

Thinking for a moment, Chip then said, “Well, it’s a good thing you don’t have to think about it at this second then, yeah? We’ve still go the whole day before we get home, and even then, did she specify when she needs an answer?” 

 

“A few days from now, she is going to call me. That is when she wants an answer.” Chip felt Gillion’s chest expand with a breath and then stil for a moment before exhaling. “I think that I will speak with my Grandfather when we get home, though I do not know how happy he will be.” 

 

Staying silent, Chip wondered how Professor Tidestrider’s relationship to the rest of the Tidestrider family was. He found himself wanting to learn more about Gilion’s family. When Gillion didn’t elaborate anymore, Chip said, “That’s probably a good idea. If you need anything-“ he shifted slightly. “Let me know, okay?” 

 

He could hear the small breath that Gillion let out as he smiled. He just hoped that Gillion wouldn’t stress too much until they actually got back home. 

 

–

 

Arriving at the airport and actually returning to their dorms had been a whole ordeal. Arlin said goodbye at the airport, leaving the four college kids to wait for their ride. Chip left that up to everyone else, way too tired to give any input whatsoever. He set his luggage on the floor and leaned most of his body weight on Gillion, who was short but still held up under Chip. 

 

The car that pulled up for them after another half hour was driven by someone Chip had definitely seen at some party or another, but couldn’t actually name. 

 

“Caspian!” Lizzie grinned. Ah, the famed Caspian. Gillion was grinning too, his arm wrapped around the taller’s waist while Chip’s own arm was draped around his shoulders and his cheek rested awkwardly on his head, avoiding the coral crown. It wasn’t very comfortable but Chip dealt with it anyway. 

 

Lizzie called shotgun, leaving Jay, Gillion and Chip to squeeze into the back of the old Cadillac. It was a nice car, Chip had to admit, and probably ancient, too. At least 50 years, but still in really good condition. 

 

He shrugged it off. He didn’t know a ton about cars, but it was a pretty one. The colour, a light blue, reminded him of the ocean. It must have reminded Caspian of the same, considering it was his home. Chip supposed that it might bring the Genasi some comfort. 

 

The group- mostly Lizzie, Caspian, and Gillion- chatted idly as they drove back to the campus. When they did finally stop in front of the building where Chip and Gillion’s dorm was located, Caspian addressed the group as a whole, “Lizzie, Gillion, will you step out of the car for a moment, I wish to have a chat with my newest friends.”

 

The statement sent a shock of anxiety through Chip. What could Caspian want to talk to him and Jay about? Without the other two in the car, for that matter. Lizzie and Gillion sent each other confused- and was that worry?- looks, before laughing it off and stepping out to open the trunk in order to retrieve luggage. Chip could hear their voices muffled through the car doors, as they laughed about something. Besides the muffled voices, silence filled the car. 

 

“What’s up, Caspian?” Jay asked, a smile that Chip knew to be forced on her face. He sat back slightly, more than happy to let Jay take over, considering she had interacted with the other man more than he had. Jay knew most of Lizzie’s friends, meeting them at parties and whatnot. 

 

Caspian turned around in the seat, a light smile on his face, but something serious in his eyes. Resting his elbow on the shoulder of his chair, he said, “I suppose I just wished to have a few words with those dating my best friends.” Looking pointedly at Jay, he continued, “Lizzie is my best friend. I’ve known her for many, many years, and anyone who even thinks about hurting her will absolutely regret their actions. Lizzie is a very capable person but my loyalty to her is unwavering. I trust you, though, Jay. Of everyone, I think you are the best for her, and I expect you to continue to be the best.”

 

Jay’s shoulders dropped as she relaxed. Smiling, she said, ”Thank you, Caspian. I appreciate that.”

 

Meanwhile, Chip was trying to sit still. He could tell what was coming next, and while he didn’t see it as a bad thing- quite the opposite, actually- he just wasn’t sure how to handle himself in this situation.

 

Nodding at Jay, Caspian then turned to him. “Now you. I don’t know you very well, Chip, but Gillion has told me a lot. Especially over the past few days. That being said, Gillion is one of the best, most noble people I know. But he’s gullible too, and if you even dare thinking about taking advantage of that, you will find yourself in a living nightmare.” His smile completely opposed his words. “If he ever expresses disappointment in your relationship, there will be hell to pay because he deserves only the absolute best after the things he’s been through.” 

 

Chip sat in silence for a moment, absorbing the words with wide eyes. 

 

“That was a lot more aggressive than my threat,” Jay pointed out.

 

Caspian nodded without breaking eye contact. “That’s because I know you, and Lizzie can take care of herself. On the other hand, I don’t know Chip, and Gillion is tough but he’s easy to hurt without realising.” His expression softened. “He does have high standards, though. And I trust him, so I do trust you, Chip. Just don’t disappoint.” 

 

Chip nodded. “Honestly- you have every right to make my life miserable if I hurt him. He does deserve the best, and if I am not that, then you have every reason to make sure I never hurt him again. He deserves the world, I just hope that I can give it to him.” 

 

Caspian’s smile grew at that. “Good man.” He opened the door and started getting out, signalling to the others that the conversation was over and they were no longer being held hostage. Which is a little how Chip felt in that moment. 

 

His words rang true, though. Gillion was the best person he’d ever met and if he hurt that person, then he deserved whatever consequence was headed his way. 

 

To be fair- he kind of already hurt Gillion, but it was okay now! It was better than before, even. And he promised to himself that he would never, ever make Gillion feel that way again. It didn’t matter the circumstances or the choices that led to it, if Gillion ever got hurt by Chip again- Well, he didn’t know what he’d do, but he’d know that whatever consequences he had coming were deserved. To be completely honest, he wasn’t even sure he was good enough for Gillion to begin with. 

 

The fight had done a lot of damage to both of them, and while they had fixed it, Chip regretted that it had to happen at all. If he weren’t so bad at communicating, and had seen the clues of Gillion’s own feelings- well, it would have been a lot more smooth sailing. He sighed. What’s done is done, he supposed. He would make sure to work on being a better communicator, though. 

 

Stepping out of the car, he found that Gillion was already standing ready with his own suitcase next to him, and Chip’s duffel bag over his shoulder. He had a little smile on his face as he watched Chip, but there was something in his eyes that Chip couldn’t quite figure out the meaning of. He reached out to take his bag from the other, and then turned to the rest of them. 

 

Lizzie was the first to speak, “Gillion suggested that we all go get coffee sometime.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Caspian said, “No offence, friends, but I’d rather not be the 5th wheel.” 

 

“C’mon, Caspian, please?” Lizzie pouted, an expression that Chip had grown entirely too familiar with. “We can go to the PortHole. You love that place.” 

 

Caspian laughed, throwing a fond look to his friend. “No, Lizzie, you love that place.” He crossed his arms, leaning against the trunk of his car. 

 

Sighing, Lizzie abandoned the pouty look. Chip was actually kind of surprised that it didn’t work on Caspian, considering how well it worked on anyone that wasn’t Chip. Even Arlin gave into it more often than not. “Okay, fair. But you have to admit that their coffee is the best.” 

 

The two continued to banter back and forth about whether they should all get coffee or not. Chip, on the other hand, completely tuned them out as he resumed his lean on Gillion from the airport. He thought about the events of the past few days, and how much has happened and changed. Thinking about where he’d been a week ago sent a strange feeling through him. 

 

Not only had he been mad at Jay,- for reasons that he now realised were entirely childish and honestly probably could have been avoided entirely- he’d also been entirely convinced that the trip would be miserable. At the time, he couldn’t even say that he knew his roommate well, which was honestly a shame. Had he known that Gillion was this wonderful of a person, he would have gotten to know him much sooner. 

 

An image of yesterday appeared in his mind suddenly. Standing in front of the mirror, he’d imagined a world where they had gotten to know each other earlier, and he’d taken Gillion out on proper dates and whatnot before the trip. Originally, the imaginings were born of a sadness that they weren’t together, but now- Chip was almost happy that it happened the way it did. Of course, he would have loved more time to get to know Gillion, and he’d always mourn the time they could have been spending together. Sure, the past few days were a whirlwind of emotions and fighting and falling in love and hiding and lying, but at the end of the day, a bittersweet part of him knew that it was the only way Chip could actually imagine it actually playing out. 

 

They could have gotten to know each other and fallen in love earlier, but Chip had never been particularly good at expressing his emotions, so even if he had fallen in love earlier, who’s to say that he would have said something? Would he have actually asked Gillion out, or let his love fester for a long time before anything ever came to fruition? Come to think of it, he’d thought Gillion didn’t return the feelings just yesterday, when there were so many clues that could have clearly told him the opposite. Had the circumstance been more normal, it would only be easier to overlook requited feelings. 

 

A new, funny world appeared in his head. In this world, they did get to know each other earlier, and Chip did fall in love earlier, but he never asked Gillion out. Until, of course, the trip. He imagined needing a plus one- after Lizzie asked Jay- and turning to his roommate and crush. He imagined making the same proposal as a fake date, and then having the trip unfold very similarly. 

 

A thought struck him then, about Gillion’s acceptance of the offer. Gillion had apparently been infatuated with Chip for a while, so did that have to do with the accepted proposal? Obviously, the situation with his mom was the largest driving factor, as he’d told Chip already, but maybe it was slightly more than that. Maybe Chip offered, and Gillion wanted to see what a relationship with him would look like. 

 

Maybe Gillion saw the trip almost as a free trial to be with Chip, no strings attached. 

 

The idea of it made him laugh to himself quietly.  Gillion glanced towards him quizzically, and Chip brushed it off, saying he’d explain later. He let his thoughts wander again, reliving moments from the trip, and imagining how the next few weeks would play out now that they were together. 

 

Caspian had turned off the car at some point, considering how they all got talking about one thing or another. Chip took a seat on the curb as he got lost in his memories, separating slightly from the group to be alone amidst his thoughts. 

 

He would have loved to join the conversation, but he just didn’t feel like it today. Whether it was lack of energy or just being in a weird mood, Chip didn’t know, but he was happy to just sit and space out for a while. The curb was hardly a foot away from the rest of the group, so he didn’t even feel left out or anything. 

 

Not that he would. He watched them for a moment, happiness blooming in his own chest as they laughed together. 

 

At some point, he pulled out his phone and started going through pictures that he’d taken over the trip. There weren’t very many, and most of them had actually been taken by Lizzie or Jay and sent to him. He’d taken a picture of the necklace that now hung around Gillion’s neck, and another showed off all four of them getting milkshakes at the mall. One that Lizzie sent, also taken at the mall, showed him in the suit that Lizzie forced him to try on, a silly look on his face as he made fun of it. Noticing that it was a live video, he clicked on it, watching as Lizzie’s shaky camera picked up his silly grin, and then the camera panned ever so slightly, evidently not on purpose, catching Gillion’s expression. 

 

Chip hadn’t noticed Gillion’s reaction while they were at the mall. If anything, he remembered feeling slightly sour at the lack of reaction. But this picture, specifically a few frames that were hidden unless you watched it live, showed off that reaction perfectly. The look on Gillion’s face was pure awe, and his face was definitely a little darker blue than it usually was. The frames were a little blurry and hard to see, but he could clearly see something that looked like love in Gillion’s eyes. 

 

It made his heart twinge in the best way possible. 

 

He left that picture to scroll through the others. He noticed that in most of them, Gillion was looking at Chip with a soft, fond look. In some of them, the affection was a little clearer than others. He paused for longer on the one from the arcade. The picture had been quickly deemed one of his favourites; sporting Chip’s own mischievous grin, Gillion’s amused smile, and a silly little paper pirate hat that got stuck in the Triton’s coral crown. Looking closely at the picture, he realised that Gillion wasn’t even looking at the camera. Bright blue eyes were trained on Chip, once again looking soft and full of love. 

 

How Chip had missed this originally, he wasn’t sure. 

 

He exited the picture, his eye catching on another that Lizzie had taken. It was from the morning of the third day, when he’d fallen asleep on Gillion’s shoulder. The expression that Gillion had was one of pure contentment. On the other hand, Chip looked very cosy. It was honestly a wonderful picture, and while it had sort of been for the act in the moment, the emotions within the image were entirely too real to have actually been acting. In a split second, Chip decided to set it as his home screen wallpaper, replacing the picture of him and Jay as kids. He was a little sad to see the picture of Jay go, her big blue eyes laughing up at him from a moment years ago. To make up for it, he found a picture of all five of them at the arcade to set as his lock screen. 

 

Looking back at all of the pictures from the trip together, he noticed all the ones from the beach, showing off shells that they’d found and pictures of the sunset. In one, he noticed the wave breaker that Gillion had led him out onto. Clicking on it, he zoomed in slightly. Lizzie had taken this picture, and as he looked closer, he saw where the two of them stood atop the rocks. At first, he’d mistaken it for the moment after one of them entered the water, seeing only one figure. The single figure that he saw turned out to be two when he realised exactly which moment this picture captured. 

 

Because of course his sister just happened to snap a picture as Gillion kissed him in the distance. She probably hadn’t even noticed, but leave it to her to do something like that even by accident. 

 

Sighing, he let his phone screen go dark. If one were to ignore the fight from last night, the trip seemed basically perfect. From an outside perspective- one that didn’t know about the fake dating thing- their trip was picturesque. A beautiful trip that couldn’t have gone better. It was filled with fun days, and a revived friendship, and falling in love, and spending time together.

 

He once more thought about how he was almost happy that it all happened the way it did, even if that included that fight.

 

Sensing that the others were getting ready to leave, Chip tuned back into the conversation. Caspian was talking about having somewhere to be later, and Jay expressed how tired she was. They said their goodbyes, before the two girls stepped into the car, Lizzie taking the front seat once again. 

 

Caspian hung back for a moment to smile and nod towards Gillion before offering a hand to Chip. Pulling him up, Caspian said, “Take care of him.” Moving to hold Chip’s hand with both of his, Caspian smiled. “You’ll give him the world, I know it.” The words were quiet enough that Gillion couldn’t hear, especially as he was distracted grabbing the suitcase. 

 

Stepping away, Caspian addressed both of them, “We’ll plan something, okay?” Gillion smiled at him and nodded in response. 

 

Grabbing his own bag, Chip followed Gillion as the Cadillac drove away, leaving a sense of stillness and calm behind. The trip had been fun, and he almost couldn’t believe that it was over, but as soon as they entered their dorm, the energy seeped from him. While the past few days were certainly ones that Chip would remember and cherish for a long time, they had also been a rollercoaster of emotions that he still needed to recover from. Especially the fight last night. And then getting together last night. 

 

Man, last night was a lot. 

 

Chip wanted nothing more than to crash for the next foreseeable future. He left his bag by the door as he shut it with his foot. Gillion watched in amusement as he shuffled to the couch and fell over onto it, letting out a deep breath. Every muscle in his body relaxed as he sank into the shitty couch. 

 

He realised very suddenly how familiar this position was. Last time, though, he was miserable because he didn’t have a date for the trip. This time, he was simply exhausted. He did have a date to things now, though, so he’d absolutely consider this a win. 

 

Not just a win. The best thing ever, actually. Turning his head, he saw as Gillion came closer. The other kneeled down in front of the couch, a quiet smile on his face and something soft in his eyes. “Hi,’ he said, his voice quiet and happy. There he goes again, kicking up something in Chip’s chest, making him feel like the most important person in the world with a simple, two-letter word. 

 

“Hi.”

 

He decided then, that he enjoyed the feeling of being important to someone. Maybe it wasn’t even a decision that he made at the moment. It was honestly probably just in his nature, but he wasn’t used to being important- being needed. 

 

“Do you think there’s enough room for two?” Gillion asked the question with genuine and pure curiosity, free of any sort of flirting that Chip would have expected from anyone else. He kind of enjoyed that about the other, how genuine he was, and how he had no ulterior motives. Chip smiled and wiggled around, moving to lay on his back and make as much room as possible. 

 

Holding his arms out in an open invitation, he said, “We can make room.” Gillion’s smile brightened, and he climbed onto the couch. It was a little awkward, and they adjusted for a bit, trying to get into a position in which they’d both be comfortable. They ended up less on top of each other and more pressed against each other, their arms circling each other’s waists. Their foreheads pressed together and their legs were tangled. They spent a moment in silence, just taking in the presence of someone they loved. 

 

Chip took a deep breath, focusing on the way the smell of their dorm- of home- mixed with the smell of Gillion. 

 

He opened his eyes as Gillion started talking softly, “if you were to tell me a few days ago about where I would be now, I would believe you to be crazy.” Chip snorted at the words, sure that a few days ago, he probably would have had a very similar reaction. “I couldn’t be happier, though.”

 

Finding nothing to say that appropriately responded to Gillion’s emotions in a way that adequately described his emotions, Chip just said, “Same.”

 

Gillion laughed quietly. “A man of many words.”

 

Shrugging, Chip grinned. “Why say more when you've already said everything that needs to be said?” He pondered for a moment. “Except maybe how pretty you are. You didn't mention that, but I think it’s definitely something that needs to be said.”

 

As his face flushed, Gillion tucked his head into Chip’s neck, hiding. He realised only a moment later that he’d actually achieved the goal of seeing Gillion flustered. Chip hugged him close and was filled with such a powerful emotion that he wasn't sure he’d be able to describe it if he tried. No amount of language and beautiful words and poetic verses could ever really convey how full his chest felt with something. 

 

“I love you.” The words came falling from his lips before he had the chance to think about them. Gillion’s breath hitched and Chip worried for a moment that he’d done something wrong. “Sorry-“ he started backtracking before he lost Gillion. “-I didn’t mean to- If that was too fast, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, or scare you or-“

 

Gillion cut him off as he started to ramble. “It’s okay.” He pressed his face slightly harder into Chip’s neck. Breath ghosted over his throat as Gillion whispered, “I think I love you too.” There was a moment of hesitation, where Chip’s heart stopped, and everything slowed. He couldn’t help but compare it to the moment that he’d admitted his feelings yesterday. 

 

Gods, that was only yesterday. It felt like ages.

 

This time, though, he’d fly. And Gillion would be right there next to him to make sure he didn’t fall. They'd soar together as the sun warmed them both, and happiness filled their chests. 

 

And then Gillion was talking again, banishing every thought that Chip had, because he couldn’t help but listen to every word the other said. “I have never been in love, but if there was ever a name for how I feel, I believe it would be that.”

 

“The songs don’t do it justice.”

 

Gillion smiled. “No, they don’t. Nothing ever will.”

 

And they stayed like that for a while, talking quietly and wondering at how they ever lived without this warmth in their chests. 

 

—

 

Gillion’s voice rang out from the kitchen. The few days after the trip passed in a comfortable kind of bliss, and they’d slowly grown more confident in their affections. Chip mourned the fact that they hadn’t really kissed since the trip, but he’d promised himself to give Gillion time. 

 

Of course, the bliss of their little bubble could only last so long before a sharp ringtone pulled Gillion away and put a sour expression on his face. 

 

“Yes, mother. I understand the lengths to which you have gone, but my decision is made.” Chip heard Gillion sigh as he fell silent, presumably listening to whatever the other speaker was saying. “Of course I miss-“ He cut himself off. 

 

Chip wandered into the living room, taking a seat on the couch to idly listen. He wanted to make sure that he was there for Gillion when he needed him, and a part of him was obviously curious. If anything, he needed to know. Whether or not Gillion would end up going back to the Undersea was something that Chip knew was a personal thing, and Gillion would need to make the decision on his own. That being said, he still needed to make sure he could support the other in whatever decision he made. 

 

“Mother, you need to stop-“ Gillion made a sound of frustration as he was cut off once more. “My decision has been made. No- Stop.” He growled slightly. “ Listen to me .” Something dark entered his voice as he said the words, anger and frustration combining to make something intimidating. “I am happy here. I have made a decision, and I appreciate your efforts, but I do not wish to return.”

 

The silence that followed was loud and long, and Chip started to worry about what was being said. Glancing over, he saw Gillion leaning on the counter from over it. Their floor plan was kind of funny, with the way a counter separated the kitchen from the living room, leaving a sort of window through which Chip watched Gillion’s expressions.

 

Finally, Gillion spoke. 

 

“You have no jurisdiction over my choice.” There was a pause as Gillion’s mother said something. “You are not my mother. You have never been my mother. You gave birth to me out of necessity- out of duty. And even then, you signed away your rights to me when I was 8. As far as legality goes, the Elders are my guardians and you have no control over me.” The words were full of so much hostility that Chip was a little scared. He’d never heard Gillion so cold and angry. Even when they fought, there wasn’t so much poison in his words. “You never cared about me, so do not start pretending to, just to get your way.

 

“I was unhappy as the champion. I was given a purpose, yes, but for a very long time I longed for the ability to experience new things. I experience these things now and I can tell you with certainty that if I were to return now, I would never be happy.” He shifted to lean more heavily on his forearm and elbow. Lifting his free hand to rub at his temple, his lips pressed into a thin line. “They would never allow me to return were it not for my position as Champion and you know it.” 

 

Gillion’s hand dropped and he seemed to smother a noise of anger. “Don’t even try, mother. I know that you will simply hold it over me. Besides-“ he took a deep breath. “I like it up here. I do not need the Undersea to feel whole. I’m happy here.” 

 

Wondering if the silence meant Gillion’s mother was responding, or if she was silent as well, Chip glanced once more over to the other. Their eyes met and Gillion didn’t look away, instead meeting him with an intensity. 

 

“Even then, mother, I have a life here. I have a love here. There is someone I refuse to leave.” Oh. Oh. The words did funny things to his heart as Gillion smiled softly, a smile reserved only for him and not the other on the phone. “Yes,” he said in response to a question Chip wished he could hear. “No, he can’t join me.”

 

Breaking eye contact, Gillion looked down. “I know.” He sighed, his voice much softer and sadder sounding than it was only a few moments prior. “I know,” he repeated. Chip wondered what exactly was being said now. He figured they were talking about him, but other than that, Chip could only guess at what Gillion’s mother was saying. “I do. I believe he is worth it.” His voice hitched for just a moment, and Chip tracked his hand as it wiped away a tear before it had the chance to form. 

 

Standing, Chip made his way around the counter to rest his hand on Gillion’s shoulder. The Triton straightened up and turned to Chip slightly, pushing away from the counter. He clutched the phone tightly as he said, “I know that the Undersea is my home, but it does not have to be.” He smiled, something bittersweet tainting it, as his words came out shaky. Looking up to meet Chip’s eyes once more, he said, “I don’t need the sea as long as I have him. He’s home enough for me.” 

 

Something inside Chip shattered at the words. It was the most confusing thing in the world because as upset as he was at the fact that in a way, he was holding Gillion back from the Undersea, he was also completely overjoyed at the fact that Gillion could name him as his home. His heart soared at the implications that it meant he was just as vital as the sea to the Triton, if not more. 

 

Despite the phone that Gillion still held to his ear, Chip hugged him tightly, feeling the other’s free arm wrapping around him to hold him just as close. 

 

“Thank you.” The words were whispered into his hair, as he tucked his head under Gillion’s, the height difference making it slightly awkward but it didn’t matter. Chip couldn’t tell if the words were meant for him or the woman on the phone, but a part of him got the feeling that it was for both of them. “Goodbye, mother.” Gillion paused, and then hummed in affirmation before slowly lowering the phone to wrap Chip in a full hug. 

 

They stood there together for a while, time getting lost to the both of them. Silence enveloped them and Chip couldn’t find that he minded. 

 

“So, you’re staying?” He asked eventually, his voice cracking from the emotion within him. Gillion’s only response was to nod and press a soft kiss into Chip’s hair. “And- and you meant it? The part about me being home?” 

 

He could feel Gillion smile and exhale. “Of course. For a long while, I thought that I was lost because I no longer had the Elders to guide me or the familiar pull of the sea. It turns out that I wasn’t lost, I was just looking for something else.”

 

You. A new home. Somewhere to be happy. All went unsaid, but Chip got the message anyway as he hugged Gillion ever closer. 

 

“And you found it?” 

 

A nod. “I found you.”

I found fools gold.

At first, I believed you to be fools gold. Not because you’re worth less than the real thing or because only a fool could love you. You’re fools gold because you really are gold, too beautiful for this world and the filthy rich hands that want to hold you. And I was a fool for thinking that you could be mine. But it turns out you thought the same. So really, we’re both just as much fools as we are gold. 

Notes:

*confetti and ice cream for everyone, unless you’re lactose intolerant, in which case, I have an assortment of candy* Guys we did it!! A few quick things:

-if you made it this far, I’d say it’s safe to assume you like my writing at least a little. If that’s the case, you should totally subscribe on my page, that way you get email updates whenever I post :D
-I have a new multichap that I’ve just started posting! It’s a cyberpunk esque universe, where Chip is a street artist and Gillion is an investigator. I’ve put a lot of heart and soul into that au and it might end up being longer than fools gold, so I really love it if you checked that out (click me!)
-fun fact: that moment where Chip was going through the pictures was originally supposed to be right after the fight, and it would be the moment that chip realised that Gillion reciprocated the feelings :3

 

As always Leave a comment if you enjoyed and if you ever want to come back and reread it, I’d suggest bookmarking this fic :3 Thank you again for all your support!

Notes:

I hope y’all liked it :3

If you dID, you should totally subscribe so you get email updates when I post the next few chapters. Also you could like leave a comment, I feed of off those

Again, beloved, I’m so sorry this is late ;~;

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 3 of of fish and chip and bird (Just Roll With It Podcast)
• Part 2 of 1 of 1 star