Chapter Text
"my gods, Gill, you need to be more careful."
the taste of bitterness and blood was harsh on Gillions tongue, scrunching his nose occasionally in disgust and pain. his vision blurred, just barely catching glimpses of Chip kneeling in front of him, and he groaned in response to the statement.
"i'm serious, Gillion. you could have died out there.." as Chip gently rubbed his dirt-caked face with a damp rag, Gillions eyes peaked open to stare at him, frown apparent on his face.
"you and... Jay were in troubl- mM ow- i-i.. i could not just... just sit on the side and-" Gill inhaled sharply as Chip lifted his armor carefully off of his chest to reveal a deep stab wound going into his lower stomach, bleeding quite generously onto his clothing.
Chip cursed under his breath and prayed that Jay was nearly finished healing all the other civilians who had gotten caught in the crossfire.
a giant scorpion was the last thing they were expecting when they arrived on the island for a pitstop, simply wanting to restock on fruits for Earl and snacks for the rest of the crew. their plans had obviously been cut short when Gillion had sensed "a great evil within the vicinity" and that they had to "conquer the evil and free the people of this island!". Chip wasn't necessarily surprised that Gill had rushed into battle with not a thought put into it.
as their fight with the beast came to a close, it made a last hopeless move and impaled Gillion with it's stinger before loosing consciousness and succumbing to defeat. Jay moved away to care for the poor civilians who may had lost their homes as the scorpion stumbled around from the attacks, leaving Chip to drag Gillion to the nearest tavern he could find- the Sunlight Inn.
the two got stares and people murmured as they walked by, perhaps about saving them from the scorpion, or because of the nearly unconscious fish man he carried with him, he didn't really care.
paying for a room and heaving Gill up a flight of stairs lead them to their room, where Chip had set up in the bathroom to see what he could do for his friends wounds.
Gillions eyes felt heavy and he wanted nothing more then to sleep, but everytime he shut his eyes, Chip would shake him and worry he was dead. and Gill hated making Chip feel bad. so he held his eyes open for as long as he could muster.
Gill held down an arm to support his body as he leaned over to the side, spitting out strings of blood into the bucket placed beside him by Chip. he squeezed his eyes shut as he slumped back against the tub keeping him upright, letting Chip fidget with the hem of the shirt he wore.
"uh... Gill?" the only thing he got in response was a pained hum, at least acknowledging his presence. "i'm gonna have to take your shirt off to wrap you up... at least until Jay can come and heal you. but we can't let this bleed freely, alright bud?"
another weak groan made Chip sigh as he brought his hands up to cup Gillions cheeks, watching as his eyelashes fluttered at the touch.
"hey, i know it hurts, but you gotta say yes or no. i don't know what to do unless you stay awake, ok?"
Gillion pried his eyes open a bit, frowning and eyebrows furrowed, and swallowed thickly, whining as he breathed in before he opened his mouth. "Chip..."
he blinked a few times to clear his vision a bit, allowing a small smile to spread across his face as he stared at his crewmate.
"has anyone... ever told you how pretty your- your eyes are..." his sentence drifted off as he was hit with another wave of pain, whimpering and reaching for Chips shirt to grasp onto.
the brunette shuffled closer to let Gill hold onto him, his face flushing a bright pink before he responded. "i- well, uh, no- that's not important. i need to take your shirt off, Gillion."
without letting Gillion respond with something like 'well they are beautiful', he reached down and flipped out the dagger strapped to his belt, immediately faltering at the face Gillion made as he flinched. "sorry.."
he brought the dagger down to the bottom of Gills shirt, looking up to see him watching with lidded eyes. his hesitant- and solemn- nod of approval was enough for Chip to gently cut into his shirt, away from his body in fear of stabbing the poor triton in front of him.
he knew trying to pull the shirt up and over Gillions head would only cause him more pain, and there was already a hole in it from the scorpion, so there was really no saving it at that point.
he finished cutting a line up the shirt and set his dagger on the floor beside him, looking at Gill expectantly. the triton stared back, inhaling sharply at the breeze that now hit his chest and stomach.
the two stared at each other before Chip finally realized he had his wounded best friend sitting in front of him in pain, wincing everytime he breathed.
Chip didn't think the scorpion had hit anything vital, but he really couldn't be to sure. he wasn't a doctor, and the Grandberry Pirates had agreed to meet them on the next island, so he couldn't count on Rudith, their apothecary, to assist him.
"can you sit up? it'll hurt, but i need to wrap it up and..." he paused, biting his bottom lip out of stress after letting out a heavy sigh. he tapped his fingers softly against Gillions thigh, eyes darting around the quickly darkening room.
the orange glow outisde the window suggested it was around sunset, and Chip wasn't sure if he'd be able to find Jay without having to strap Gillion to the bed to keep him from following.
they would have to reunite in the morning, he just hoped his other crewmate had found a place to stay, or gone back to the boat and explained what had happened to Earl and Oliver.
Chips silence worried Gillion, and he slipped his wet hand over the warmer, softer hand on his thigh before scooching back a bit in an attempt to sit up.
the pain dotted the tritons vision and his head pounded, but with Chips attention back on him, he successfully sat mere inches away from the tub that had been supporting him.
the movement allowed Chip to slip the rest of Gillions shirt off and onto the floor, and he turned to rummage through his sack for bandages.
it took all of the tritons willpower and strength to not crumple back against the tub, watching Chip wrap bandages around his torso. Gillion shivered everytime his friends hand skimmed his skin, his heart skipping a few beats when he'd looked up at Gill to make sure he was comfortable.
Chip finished, tucking the end of the gauze in to secure it. he leaned back and watched as Gillion stared down at this stomach, running his hands along some of the seams of the gauze before letting out a heavy sigh.
"'m sorry, Chip... you... you did not have to-" the triton gasped as a wave of nausea and pain hit him, stopping mid sentence and groaning as he shut his eyes.
the brunette moved to hold the bucket in front of Gillion, frowning as his friend gripped it tightly, curling over it as he let out heaving breathes.
Chip rubbed his back in circular, soothing movements, his free hand holding the bucket stable.
"hey, no, you don't get to apologize for getting stabbed by some big ass poisonous bug. i'm helping you because i want to, you're my crewmate and best friend, i'm not just gonna let you bleed out and die. i love ya to death, Gill, and you're not dying on my watch."
after a few beats of silence, he spoke again.
"most of the bleeding has stopped, but, uh, the poison will probably be in your system for... at least a little while longer. think you can stand? the bed's probably more comfortable then the floor, so..."
Gillion allowed Chip to ramble as he helped him to his feet, wincing every so often when he twisted the wrong way. he was still in pain, he still felt nauseous, but at least he wouldn't bleed all over Chip and the bed.
it took all of Gillions strength to stay awake before he slumped down onto the bed, letting Chip remove the rest of his armor. the bed wasn't the best thing in the world, it was admittedly very stiff and uncomfortable, but they supposed it was better then a wooden floor. the sheets were soft, and as he burried himself under the covers, he felt Chip sink in next to him.
"how do you feel?" Chip mumbled while getting himself comfortable, turning to face Gillion.
the triton stayed silent for a second, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the darkness as Chip blew out the light. he felt tired, and weak, and ready to pass out before he remembered he had yet to answer Chip aloud.
"i feel... tired." Gill shifted his eyes to look at Chip, watching his chest rise and fall with every breath he took. his eyes were droopy and begging for sleep, but Gill couldn't find it in him to look away from the calm, comforting figure beside him.
"not feeling nauseous at all? does your stomach hurt, should i go find Jay? i should have found someone to heal you- i doubt i did a good job at making sure you don't diE-"
his voice beginning to crack near the end, Chip felt Gillion shift beside him as he rambled on. wet hands found themselves grabbing onto much warmer ones, and Gill began running his thumbs over Chips knuckles.
"i am okay, Chip. i believe you did an excellent job at taking care of me."
Chip knew Gillion didn't understand human affection. he knew Gill was unaware of what his gaze did to Chip when they caught each other's attention, or how flustered he got at Gillions straightforward, oblivious flirting.
and on nights like these- where Chip could stare at the triton for hours on end, where Gillion would be so harmlessly himself- Chip wondered if Gillion knew what he was doing to him.
he was so effortlessly beautiful to Chip.
Gillion was fierce, never backing down from a fight, confident in himself and his abilities. admittedly, Chip was a little jealous.
the darkened room concealed Chips heavy blush as the two sat under the warm covers, the sound of each others steady breathing surrounding them.
"Chip? do you mind if i make a request?" Gillion spoke softly, his hands still interlocked with Chips as the latter hummed in response.
"would you... um." he paused, and Chip watched faintly as his fins pressed back against his head and he shrunk in on himself a bit.
"would you mind... holding me?"
the question caught Chip off guard, opening his mouth with raised eyebrows before shutting it again.
eventually, he got over his gay panic and scooted closer to Gillion. "of course i don't mind, Gill."
being mindful of his wounds, Chip wrapped his arms around the tritons torso and eased them both back into comfortable positions.
Gillion sank down into the bed, letting out a heavy sigh, and carefully snaked his arm against Chips stomach. he played with the seams on his friends shirt, running his fingers softly over the material, and felt Chip shiver under him.
"are you cold, Chip?" Gillion furrowed his eyebrows and moved his chin up to hold Chips gaze for a bit.
"hm? uh- n-no, not really. why do you ask? are you cold?"
"you shivered." Gillion simply nudged his head into the crook of Chips neck, his hand moving to loosely hang off his shoulder.
Chip swallowed thickly at the tritons movements, taking a deep breath to calm his gay nerves.
Gillion sighed contently as he felt Chip move his hand from his waist to his head, leaning into the feeling of the rogue running his fingers through his hair.
the pair sat there in silence, Gillion occasionally humming in satisfaction whenever Chip would scratch his head or scoot closer to get more comfortable.
a light drizzle had started outside, rain pattering gently against the window a few feet away from them. Gillion pulled himself closer to Chips side, if that was even possible at this point, breathing softly against his neck.
"mm... you're warm..." the triton murmured, his hand bunched up in the fabric of Chips cotton shirt.
Chip barely had enough time to react to the statement before the hand on his shirt loosened, and Gillion drifted off to sleep.
Chips eyes darted to the man cuddled against his side, his face burried in the rogues neck as he continued to stroke Gills hair, letting out a conent sigh and closing his eyes.
"Gods, you're beautiful."