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Gillion had been fascinated by the wide sky of stars from the second he breached the surface of his home. He decided it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen very quickly. In fact, it could very well be the most beautiful thing he would ever see in his life. The capitol on the Undersea was a sight that stole your breath and made you marvel at the wonder of it, but that could be described and made art of, but this?
No canvas could ever really capture the beauty of the place that had always been above his home. When he looked out towards the horizon, he could see how the sky almost seemed to hug the sea. Because of the darkness of the world, the line of the horizon was a little hard to see, almost making the sky and sea blend into each other in this hug.
“Bllrp!” Pretzel poked his neck softly, tilting her head and widening her eyes. She expressed her own amazement to him through her funny little frogtopus movements.
Gillion smiled at her before turning back to the sky, letting his body float upwards and drift on the sea. Pretzel chirped and crawled onto his chest, where she curled and fell asleep. He too, was tired from the journey, but no exhaustion could pull him away from the new and glorious sight before him.
The stars twinkled down at him; each so individual, and yet so interconnected and uncountable. It reminded him a little of the lights he could see when he looked out across his city from his bedroom window, each a marker of life and yet together they all almost seemed to be one giant, living thing- the city itself.
The stars were like a community.
Squinting, he picked out a few of the larger stars, and wondered at their names. He’d read textbooks, of course, but any reading on the world above his own was sparse and didn’t seem to matter as much as the problems at home. Granted, he had wondered a few times why he wasn’t taught more about the land he may one day drown. He wondered what kind of people lived there, and what their culture was. Did they believe in the same gods? What of their politics? What of their stories of love, life, and death?
He supposed he'd have the opportunity to learn first hand, now. It didn’t bring any sense of comfort, instead drawing out a long, sad sigh from him. Pretzel shifted quietly, but didn’t wake.
Pushing the thoughts of his circumstance away, he engaged himself once more in studying the sky. He traced lines through the sky with his eyes, conjuring up images of jellyfish and crabs. One of the images looked suspiciously like Pretzel’s face, grinning mischievously. He wondered what sort of constellations the people up here had thought of. The tides tugged on his hair and pulled him in innumerable and nameless directions, but Gillion let them. He cared more for the sky than he did his destination. He didn’t even really have one, considering he never really studied the geography of the land.
Letting out a small and breathy laugh, he realised that at this moment, he was not striding these tides, as his last name would suggest. No, he was simply floating.
Gillion Tidedrifter.
He snorted, and then began wondering if he even deserved his last name. Being dishonorably banished from the Undersea typically meant being stripped of your family name as well, but Gillion still had his. Perhaps the Elders expected something to come of it. The hopeful part of him wished that maybe they’d let him keep it, so that he could one day return and take back his place as Champion.
A smaller, darker part of him wondered if they let him keep it as a reminder of the legacy that he had failed to live up to.
The stars felt a little like that legacy. Far, far above him, and the most beautiful thing he knew. He reached out, his hand blocking a few of the sars out, and still so very far from even grazing them
He stared at the outline of his hand for a moment. Maybe the way the stars were being blocked was a metaphor for how he had reached to live up to his destiny. Letting his arm fall back to his side, he frowned. He had only wanted to live up to his destiny, but maybe he made the beauty of it diminish in his efforts.
He imagined what it might be like to be up there, among the stars. He imagined a darkened world where the stars glimmered in a path under his feet, and cities and castles were built out of starlight. He imagined the beautiful dresses and robes made from the very fabric of the universe. He imagined gorgeous people and glamourous parties.
He imagined what the whole universe looked like. And then what Mana looked like, far below. He imagined the image of a lone triton, floating alone in the middle of the ocean, lost and uncertain of his future.
He thought about how small he must look in the midst of everything else. Wondering where the closest life was, he tried recalling a map of the oversea in his mind. He knew that most of the land here consisted of scattered islands, which meant the probability of there being a close one that he could actually find was rather low. Remembering the diagrams of ships that he’d looked over with the Navy of this world, he wondered if there was perhaps a ship nearby. He let himself imagine who was on it, and if they would take him aboard.
Then, he wondered what he’d do. This surely had to be his destiny, considering destiny could not change, but- what did destiny have in mind for him now?
And it was surely destiny that brought a little boat floating by a few hours later. And it was surely destiny when a pretty human reached out his hand.
Gillion felt destiny guide his hand up to take the human’s. And the rest? Not history, not yet, but surely destiny.
—
Still enraptured by the stars, Gillion liked to stare up at them each night. Especially considering what he knew about his Goddess now. The brilliant moon beamed down at him, and he remembered the very first night up here.
He remembered the absence of the moon- the absence of his goddess. At the time, he knew nothing of the phases of the guiding light in the sky, but now, he wondered if it was some kind of omen that he’d been sent up here without the oversight of his Goddess.
The stars sparkled above him, and he sought out the image he’d seen on the first night- Pretzel’s smirking face. He knew better now of the constellations after a very informative night of laying on the deck with Chip.
Oh, Chip . How fond Gillion had grown of his co-captain, even in the few long months they had known each other. Fond to a point of unnameable feelings that filled Gillion with something warm and undeniably happy.
“Gill!” Chip’s voice rang out over the desk, making Gillion smile. He turned from his place next to the rail of the ship. Chip was making his way towards the other from the hatch that led below deck. “How’s the watch?”
As Chip came to stand next to him, Gillion inspected his beloved with a small smile. “All is well, Chip. I was just thinking of the night I met you.”
This made Chip smile and get a little glint in his eye. “And was it a good memory?”
Gillion was used to Chip’s ways of getting attention, and he wasn’t going to stop going along with it now. “Of course. Any memory with you is a good one.”
That made Chip pause for a moment. “Even when we fought?’
Nodding, Gillion’s expression softened. “Of course. Because it was quite obvious to me that you cared. And we did not stay mad at each other for very long.”
Chip hummed and leaned against the railing with his forearms. “Guess that’s fair.”
The night descended into silence once again. Taking the opportunity to watch Chip, Gillion noticed a small smattering of freckles on the human’s cheeks. Somehow, he’d missed the detail each and every time he’d looked at the other before this moment.
“You have freckles.” Chip turned back to Gillion at the words, abandoning whatever far off point he’d been staring at.
“I do?”
Nodding, Gillion reached up to hold his cheeks gently, brushing a thumb across the freckles. Faint, sure, but still there nonetheless.
“Huh.” Chip’s voice was soft, not disturbing the quietude that surrounded them. “Maybe it’s ‘cause we’re back in the southern sea, there’s more sun.”
“I do not remember you having freckles before.” Gillion said, mapping out each little speck in his mind.
The human's face morphed into a cheeky grin. “Maybe you weren’t looking hard enough.”
Gillion let out a laugh. “Perhaps not.” In the middle of his counting Chip’s freckles, he came to the revelation that they were quite similar to the stars. “You have your very own, personal stars,” he whispered, hearing the amazement in his own voice.
Pulling away slightly, Chip let out an unabashed laugh. “I guess that’s one way to put it,” he said between laughs. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone compare freckles to the stars”
Humming, Gillion continued to inspect each freckle. That one there looked a little like a heart. “I see no reason they would not. After all, stars make up the universe, and I suppose that you are a little like the whole universe.”
Chip looked away, his cheeks turning a vivid red. The blush only served to make the freckles more visible.
“To me, at least,” Gillion continued, a pinch of worry at the idea that he made Chip uncomfortable.
Huffing, Chip mumbled, “You can’t just say stuff like that.”
Eyes widening, Gillion said, “I cannot? Chip, I apologise. I did not mean to-“
“No, no. It’s fine- I just-“ Chip coughed awkwardly. “I dunno how to respond to that kind of stuff.”
Something like shock swam through him. “Compliments?” A shrug was the only response he got. He tried not to think about the implications of that, of how Chip must not have gotten enough. He hummed, trying to find the words he was looking for. “It is true, though. You needn’t respond but please do know that you are as the universe to me. You’re as beautiful as endless.” Chip only curled in on himself slightly more, so Gillion took his chin carefully guiding him back to make eye contact. “I see you and I melt a little bit. I feel a little small in comparison to you- but it is not a bad thing.
“I see you. And it is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.” He thought back again, to the night he breached the surface. He thought about how small he felt in comparison to the stars, to the legacy that he was supposed to live up to. The stars certainly meant something different to him now. No longer were they the destiny he had to meet, but rather the love he had found in this strong-willed human. And he no longer felt like the small, lost triton that stared up at the sky.
In fact, now, he felt like the sea that the sky hugged.
They always speak of the Moon and the Sun as lovers, but they never mention the sea and the sky. How closely they hold one another, inseparable and intimate. During the day, the sky reflects the sea’s beautiful hue, and at night, the sea glitters in response to the stars far above.
Chip’s eyes were half-lidded, content and a little bit embarrassed. “That’s a lot of talk for someone as pretty as you.” Gillion could hear the way he hesitated slightly, unable to come up with a comeback that was quite as good as the words prior.
Feeling himself smile, Gillion responded, “Yes, but I have no stars on my cheeks.”
“You have them in your eyes, though.”
“Only for you.”
Chip huffed again, clearly not coming up with anything to respond with. He could flirt, but he didn’t know how to respond when someone else flirted with him, and this is a fact that Gillion had come to enjoy immensely. “Gods, you’re- youuuu-“ He drew out the last syllable trying to think of something as he squinted at him. His nose scrunched in the little way that amused Gillion to no end and he sighed, giving up. “You’re helpless. That’s what.”
Gillion snorted, reaching out to pull Chip close again, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his cheek on the other’s shoulder. Arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders, and a freckled cheek rested against his head.
“How long do you think it would take if I attempted to kiss every one of your freckles?” Gillion asked. He felt the arms encircling him tighten.
He could practically sense the embarrassment that radiated off of Chip in waves “A really, really long time. So you definitely shouldn’t try.”
Gillion smiled into Chip’s shirt. “Why should I not? We have all night, as I am the last to take a watch.”
“Nooooooooooooooo.” Chip groaned. “Why are you being so extra sappy today? Did you get yourself into the love potion or something?”
“I need no potion to say things such as this. Maybe it is simply because you are extra pretty today.” Gillion chuckled as he felt Chip take a deep breath.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, pretty boy.” He could hear the fondness in Chip’s tone, and he knew that he was loved just as much in return, as he was in love. After a moment of silence, Chip said, “Y’know, if I’m the universe, then it must mean a lot to be the universe’s favourite.”
“Well, the universe refuses to let me kiss every one of his freckles, so it is not the privileged life that one would imagine.” Gillion pulled away slightly to see Chip’s face, his arms still wrapped around the other’s waist. “In every other aspect, it is certainly a great honour.”
Chip rolled his eyes and leaned in to kiss him, which he returned happily. The kiss was short and sweet, and left Gillion with a smile as his heart kicked up. No matter how many times they had conversations like these or cuddled, Gillion’s heart still leapt when they kissed, his tails swaying happily. They were never quite like the kiss on desire island, but they were all beautiful nonetheless, and he was happy for each and every one of them.
After all, prior to breaching the surface, Gillion had never truly believed that he would be allowed to have a relationship such as this. He never thought he’d find Chip. Granted, he hadn’t known his love to be Chip at the time, but the notion remains.
And then one night, he was introduced to the beauty of the stars and he thought that it would be the most beautiful thing he’d ever see. It was the quickest he’d ever proven himself wrong, when he saw Chip only a few hours later.
And he sees him now, with his freckles that reflect the stars and eyes filled with such love and depth that Gillion feels he’ll combust. He sees him now, with scars adorning his features and stories behind his every move.
Gillion sees Chip now, and knows that he’ll never love anything more, and yet at the same time, only ever fall more and more in love with Chip with each freckle and scar.