Chapter Text
Chip was used to waking up early. He didn’t enjoy it, but if he wanted to keep his job, he had no choice. Especially on the days he was opening the shop. Which was almost every day. So he essentially had no choice. Ever. Except his days off, but his body clock had absolutely fucked him in the sleeping in department. If he was lucky, he’d wake up at 9am.
Earlier starts weren’t all that bad. He was guaranteed a beautiful sunrise view on his way to work. And he preferred morning showers, they never failed to wake him up. It was almost better than coffee. Almost.
If he wanted a morning shower, he had to wake up super early. Like, 6am. Which probably doesn’t sound that bad, but it’s early for Chip, okay!
Anyways, that wasn’t the point. The point was, he was squeaky clean, drinking his homemade mochaccino in the kitchen. Well, it was more like a hot chocolate with a shot of coffee. Listen, Chip didn’t have to like coffee to drink it. Caffeine was caffeine, and energy drinks made him too jittery. And they tasted like ass.
Standing with only a towel wrapped around his waist, he heard a murmuring at the door. He listened to the giggles and metallic struggles, followed by a knock.
With a sigh, he opened the door. It wasn’t often Caspian arrived home this wasted, but Chip was no stranger to this. He was sure the Genasi would be able to figure out the lock on his own, and listening to him struggle was funny, but Caspian would offer him this courtesy when their roles were reversed. Plus, he was already awake.
What he didn’t expect was an equally sloshed Gillion. With their arms slung over each other’s shoulders, they stumbled in, past a stunned Chip.
“Thank you, Chip,” Caspian muttered, manically waving his hand in some drunken form of gratitude. He almost lost his balance. Both Undersea men laughed.
“CHIP!” Gillion yelled, gesturing his free arm for Chip to join in their huddle.
Chip chuckled in discomfort, closing the front door.
“Gillion, what are you doing here?” He wasn’t upset, just surprised.
“Caspibin said I…” Both men laughed. “ Caspian, not Caspiban.”’
“We are friends!” Caspian announced a little too loudly for Chip’s liking. At least Lizzie was a heavy sleeper.
“Okay, okay…” Chip suddenly realised he was shirtless and crossed his arms. “You, uh, should like, go to bed or something.”
Gillion leaned Caspian against the kitchen island, letting him go. He placed Pretzel carefully next to Caspian and slowly approached Chip with a look of curiosity. “You’re wet.”
“I had a shower.” Chip was glad they were both too drunk to register him blushing.
“What?” His face was blank. He took a step closer, Chip could smell the salt and alcohol on his breath. His cheeks were dusted with a lavender blush, his eyeliner running, threatening to drip past his cheek. It took all of Chip’s control to not wipe the droplet away.
“A shower, it’s where I clean,” Chip was struggling with his words. Even more so when Gillion ran his fingers through Chip’s hair. It was a shock initially, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It felt nice.
He unconsciously leaned into the touch, closing his eyes. He let out a contented hum, he was still too tired to resist.
“You smell nice. What is it?”
“2 in 1 anti-dandruff shampoo,” Chip responded quietly, scared Gillion would stop. It had been so long since he felt this calm.
“I don’t know what that is,” Gillion responded with a whisper, like it was a secret. A moment shared between only the two of them, as if the whole rest of the world had faded away.
“It’s for hair.”
“I like your hair.” A finger curled around one of his locks.
Chip chuckled, opening his eyes. “I can tell.”
Gillion was looking at him, but not in his eyes.
Chip wasn’t exactly muscular, but he wasn’t scrawny either. He never went to the gym, but he had a fast metabolism. All the heavy lifting he did gave his muscles some definition, enough that he was confident in his body. And Gillion was looking at it.
Chip recrossed his arms. Sure, he got checked out sometimes, but this time felt different. He wasn’t being looked down upon. There was no lust in Gil’s gaze, only admiration, curiosity. He didn’t feel like an object, something to be ogled at. He didn’t feel like some specimen under a microscope to be studied. Chip felt like a person, an equal. Somehow, that was scarier than being viewed as a piece of meat.
Gillion took a step back. His cheeks darkened to a deeper purple as he looked down, shamefully. “I-I’m sorry.”
“No, Gil, it’s okay–”
“I’ve had too many squirties, goodnight.” He made his way back to Caspian, casting one last apologetic glance Chip’s way before they disappeared into the bathroom.
~~~
Today’s opening hour felt immensely longer than usual. He was overwhelmed with panic, replaying every moment from the morning. Mulling it over. Maybe he misinterpreted everything. Maybe the Undersea is different about that stuff.
He’d been making steady progress with Gillion, slowly getting to know. He’d hate to think he somehow ruined whatever relationship they did have. Did he take advantage of Gillion’s drunken state? It’s not like anything really happened . But it all rubbed him the wrong way regardless.
Gods, what was taking Jay so long? She usually had “drama tingle”, she seemed to miraculously appear whenever something happened to Chip. Not today, apparently.
As soon as their door’s bell jingled, he pounced. “Jay, what the hell took you so long! I need to talk to you, you’ll never believe–”
He cut himself off when he didn’t see Jay’s slender frame, but rather her Uncle’s hulking one.
“Good morning to you, too,” Drey chuckled, closing the door. “Jay’s sick, says she got food poisoning or something.”
“Oh. Is she okay?”
His hearty laugh calmed any nerves left in Chip’s body. “She’ll be fine. Prob’ly just drank too much last night.”
Chip let out a chuckle. “She’s not the only one…”
“What’d you get up to last night?”
“No, not me. Uh, Gillion, actually.” Chip was hesitant to tell him anything. Not because he didn’t trust Drey, exactly the opposite. Gods forbid the man thought any less of him. “It’s embarrassing, I don’t want to–.”
“You went drinking with Gillion?” Drey’s voice swelled with pride. He gave Chip a slightly too strong pat on the back. His prosthetic arms made it difficult for the man to know his own strength. “Attaboy. About time you tried a squirty–”
“No, no. I didn’t– He just showed up at my house.”
His demeanour changed completely. “Did he follow you home? Do I need to–?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. Him and Caspian are friends, I think?” Chip sighed, leaning against the front counter. “This is why I don’t wanna talk about it, you always jump to conclusions.”
“I’m just trying to look out for, kid,” Drey said, standing closer to Chip. “I’ll stop talking, promise.”
Chip gave him a nod. “Well, I’d just had a shower, right–”
“You were naked ?”
“ No , I was wearing a towel! You said you wouldn’t–”
“I’m sorry, please continue.” Drey did a zipping his lips gesture.
“Right, so Gil and Caspian came home. They were completely fucked–” Chip remembered he was talking to his manager. “I mean drunk, completely drunk. Anyways, Gillion started touching my hair and looking at me and…”
He covered his face with his hands.
“You don’t have to tell me anything,” Drey said, offering a comforting pat on the back.
“I don’t know what to do.” His voice was muffled, his hands dragging their way down his face.
“When he comes in, you can talk to him. I’ll be right here with you, okay?”
Gillion didn’t stop by the shop that day.