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Of course the one night Chip had convinced his co-captains to let him not take watch was the same exact night as the worst storm they’ve seen in months. He hasn’t slept in almost 72 hours, and it looks like it’ll be another 24 until he can. For the past few nights there’s been one emergency after another; Ollie’s strangely intense nightmare forcing the two of them to stay up together, multiple encounters with various tax collecting sea creatures, and Chip’s general issues with falling and staying asleep. That last one wasn’t really an emergency for the rest of the crew, but it definitely felt like one to Chip.
Chip had been pretty careful to not let his co-captains on that he hadn’t slept. Knowing them, they probably would’ve forced him to sleep as soon as they found out which would mess up the whole established sleep schedule he had going on! And totally not make him feel a monumental amount of guilt for not pulling his weight. …Totally.
Today though, the sheer need to sleep overpowered every self sacrificing bone in his body, so, he spent a considerable amount of the day trying to persuade some poor crewmate to take his watch. In the end he traded some of his rations to Gryffon for him to do it and he agreed only under the condition that Queen stayed up with him. Queen didn’t need any convincing, said something about how practicing at night was more productive anyway.
At this point Chip was having trouble focusing on anything other than how badly he needed to sleep. By the power of his bandana and pure luck, he was able to just barely get through the day without being noticed. Then the sky turned dark, and the sea was rough with nervous tension.
“Looks like rain!” Gill announced suddenly from somewhere behind where Chip was leaning on the railing, causing him to jump.
“Yeah,” Chip sighed, “it does.”
Chip has come a long way with rain and storms at sea and all the other things that resemble that night from his childhood. He used to hardly be able to be on deck during a storm, locking himself up in the storage room and tearing his hair out. Something changed recently, though, something in him clicked and now the last thing he wants to do is hide. The only way to calm his raging nerves is to be in control of the ship throughout the whole storm. Other people can be on deck, but he has to be at the helm, fighting the wind and waters for command of his ship. What happened years ago he will never let happen to the people he loves again.
So of course there would be a storm tonight. What looks to be a bad one, too. Soon, both Jay and Gill were standing on either side of Chip, assessing the incoming weather.
“So I guess you’re staying up tonight then, Chip?” Jay turned her head slightly as she spoke, not pulling her eyes fully from the horizon.
“Yup.” Chip said, not looking over at her, trying his best to sound like he was functioning normally.
“I’ll stay up with you Chip! We can defeat this storm together!” Gill was almost definitely just using that as an excuse to have fun in the rain.
“Gill, volume, please..” Chip said while turning to take his place at the helm, a headache setting in.
“Oh,” Gill responded at a significantly lower volume, “my apologies.”
Chip didn’t bother responding with anything more than a grunt as he walked away from the railing. He could hardly keep his hands from visibly shaking as he climbed up towards his new spot for the next couple hours. As he turned to settle behind the wheel, something caught the corner of his eye. Or, was that some one ? Chip flinched and whipped his head around to get a better look, and saw… nothing. Nothing? What jus-
“Chip?” He forgot both Jay and Gill were there as she interrupted Chip’s train of thought, “What was that, you okay?”
“Oh, yeah, sorry, it was-” Chip cut himself off, seeing the same smudge just outside of his vision and turning so quickly it made him feel woozy. There was still, just, nothing.
“Chip?” Gill started to ask, “Are you sur-”
“I’m fine.” Chip snapped, grabbing the wheel with both hands and leaving the look shared between his co-captains unnoticed. Jay muttered some excuse about making sure things were secure below deck and quickly tugged Gill along with her. Chip barely noticed they left.
It was starting to drizzle now, the water hissing slightly against his flame tattoos. Thunder rumbled somewhere over the horizon and it only made Chip’s anxiety worse. He had been doing so much better learning to keep himself calm and level headed during bad weather, but now it feels like all of that work has been thrown out the window and he’s just a scared kid again. Chip’s stomach twisted and his knees almost buckled under the pain.
The rain was coming down intensely and it was getting harder for Chip to get a full breath in. It felt like drowning. Logically there wasn’t enough rain for that to even be possible, but all logic had left Chip’s brain a while ago.
The door to the lower decks swung open and smacked against the wall, overpowering the sound of rain and sea for a moment.
“Gill!” Jay shouted over the wind, “I really don’t think that’s the best way to go about this!” Gill stomped up the stairs, twitching with each lightning strike, and with an expression made up of equal parts determination and concern.
Chip did not notice any of this exchange, focusing completely on staying upright and not passing out. Then, there was a gentle hand on his shoulder and Chip jumped so hard he was slipping on the slick deck.
“Hey! It’s just me, it’s okay.” Gillion spoke softly as he held Chip up by both shoulders now, leaning to force him into making eye contact.
“What…,” Chip blinked and tried to shake the shock off, “Gill? It’s a storm, I gotta… I have to stay up.”
“You don’t sound good, Chip.” Gill stated plainly, searching Chip’s face for the cause of his slurred speech and steadily worsening posture. “Oh, wait.” Gill muttered and reached up to tug Chip’s bandana off his head. Suddenly, it was extremely clear why he was acting this way.
“Chip...” Gill moved both of his hands to cup Chip’s face, taking a closer look at the awful state he was in, “Chip, gods, how long have you been awake? The curse isn’t back, is it?” He questioned almost apprehensively.
“What? No, Gill, I’ve just, I’m fine, just had,” Chip paused to make a weak attempt to take his bandana back, “just had more im-important stuff.”
“More important than getting enough sleep?” Gill asked incredulously. “How can you expect to accomplish your destiny without getting proper rest?” Before Chip had the chance to defend himself, the rain started pouring harder, punctuated by roaring thunder.
Chip yelped, trying to twist around and get his hands back on the wheel, only just now noticing Jay had taken control of the ship. She just sighed and shook her head.
“Let’s go below deck, okay?” Gill asked, beginning to guide them back towards the stairs.
“Gill, I ca- Gill, it’s- Gill, it’s a storm.” Chip argued, struggling to talk and fight back against leaving.
“Jay can handle it, guppy, let’s sleep, alright?” Gill was completely supporting Chip’s weight and they stumbled towards the door, Gill’s natural clumsiness and Chip’s impaired state not at all helping navigate the slick flooring.
“But- she- motion sick?” Chip was no longer resisting Gill’s guidance, but still struggling to stay anywhere near calm.
Gill just turned his head towards Chip, continuing towards the door but looking at him directly in the eyes. There was no question in his expression, they were done discussing it. Chip turned away and although he never actually answered his question, he was silent after that, accepting his fate.
Chip hadn’t noticed how sopping wet he was until they were out of the rain and below deck. He dripped all over the floors and his clothes stuck uncomfortably to his skin. His teeth chattered and he was shaking so hard, he felt like he was vibrating.
“Humans should not stay wet, right? The cold is bad for you, you can.. Catch it? Hm…” Gill thought out loud, still guiding the two of them deeper in the belly of the ship towards the quarters the three of them shared. Chip just nodded his head vaguely.
Gill ended up bringing them to the bathroom and setting Chip down on the stool in the corner. Chip looked around slowly, like he wasn’t totally sure where he was.
“Just, stay here for a second.” Gill said as he rushed out, but he was barely able to take one step away before Chip’s hands were grabbing weakly at his arms. “I know, I will be back, Chibo, right back. I swear it.” Gill said while stepping back towards Chip and pulling his hands off of him. He waited until Chip nodded shakily before turning to leave again, not missing the sniffle from Chip as he stepped out.
There went nothing again as Chip was alone feeling the storm worsen. The water hit against the side of the boat, attempting to claw its way in. The walls were closing in and pressing down on Chip. They squeezed his lungs and Chip was going to pass out. He couldn’t get a full breath in, his hands buzzed numbly, and the edges of his vision were starting to go dark, and why hasn’t Gill come back yet, and didn’t he promise tha-
“ Chip , hey, come back to me, I’m here.” Gill interrupted Chip’s panic with soft words and grounding pressure on his arms, “Breath with me, guppy, remember?” Gill guided Chip’s hands to rest on his chest, right above his heart and lungs. Gill began to take deliberately deep and slow breaths, humming words of encouragement as Chip coughed and struggled to control his own breathing.
“You’re doing great, Chip. As soon as we dry you off, we can go to sleep. How does that sound?” Gill asked while cleaning off his face as delicately as he could manage. Chip just nodded again, his ability to speak suddenly leaving him. Gill knew that when stuff like this happened Chip wasn’t able to communicate in the way he usually did. They had eventually figured out a way for him to be able to answer questions still.
“Okay, you need to change clothes, so grab this hand if you want me to help you, or grab this one if you want to do it yourself.” Gill explained slowly and gestured to each option. Chip wanted help. He wasn't sure if he could even stand on his own, so pulling off wet clothes was completely outside of his ability.
Gill nodded and smiled softly at Chip while reaching for a towel. He gently patted his face and neck. Then, he tried to squeeze as much water out of Chip’s hair as he could. He continued gently drying and helping him change into dry clothes until he was only his hair was still slightly damp.
“All done! Slumber awaits now.” Gill said gathering up Chip’s wet clothes and the now wet towel to throw into the tub, he’ll deal with that tomorrow. Without needing to ask him to, Gill was lifting Chip up out of the stool, holding him up by the backs of his thighs while Chip slung his arms lazily around his neck and leaned his head onto his shoulder. Gill carried Chip with ease, bringing him to his cot in their quarters.
“You’ll stay, ri-ght?” Chip spoke quietly. The words still clunky in his mouth, like his voice wasn’t fully back yet.
“Of course, as long as you want me there.” Chip felt more than heard Gill’s voice as it rumbled in his chest.
Gill set Chip down on the cot, letting him get his bearings before climbing in next to him.
“Night, Gill,” Chip whispered as they both laid down, facing each other. Gill opened his arms and Chip instantly crushed himself against Gill’s chest.
“Goodnight, Chip,” Gill murmured as he wrapped his arms around Chip, leaving one hand pressed against his lower back and running the other gently through his hair. They both leaned into each other, relaxing finally after the stressful evening. Chip’s tattoos moved sluggishly and Gill purred softly, letting out a few clicks on occasion, too. Gill leaned and rested his head against the top of Chip’s. He smelled like smoke, and sea, and a bit of vanilla and musk, but most importantly, he smelled like his favorite person, his best friend, his sunbeam, his Chip.
Chip nestled further into Gill, squeezing a little tighter. A part of him wanted to stay awake to revel in the experience of being so close to Gill and of letting himself be vulnerable and protected for once. As soon as he fully relaxed, though, Chip was completely asleep and gone from this world. He could barely put up a fight, his eyelids felt like they were made of lead and with Gill caressing his hair like that, he didn’t stand a chance.
After a while of listening to Chip’s snoring, Gill was asleep as well. He didn’t mean to fall asleep so fast, but being this close to Chip always seemed to have that effect on him. When Jay came back down, soaked to the bone and exhausted, she could only shake her head at the state of her co-captains and turn into the bathroom to finally get ready to sleep, too.