(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

A few days later

Gil hums happily as he bounds down the road, one hand white-knuckled around his surprise for Hyades. It had taken him months to get the details down, but he'd finally done it. He'd even gotten T's help to get it shiny like Uma's.

It could have waited until tomorrow, but he wasn't confident enough to give her something in front of T and Carlos. T wouldn't say anything- but he didn't want Carlos telling Mal anything more than he was already going to know. It was going to be weird working with the enemy.

Uma wasn't thrilled by the idea of the four of them working together in the first place- but couldn't deny how much better weapons would help them in the end.

Gil shakes his head. That was tomorrow's problem. His grin splits his face. Tonight was all about giving Deez a gift that showed her she belonged with them.

Uma was gonna be so happy when she saw the seashell around Deez's neck. He was excited to see her reaction. He hadn't liked keeping something from Uma- But T had convinced him this one time it would be okay.

He liked the idea of surprising both of them. His steps speed up in excitement. He hoped Deez would like it. His humming picks back up as his worry about tomorrow dissipated.

He stops in surprise when he sees the girl he'd been searching for heading in his direction. "OH! DEEZ! DEEZ!" He cries out in his excitement, nearly stumbling over himself in his swiftness. "Deez!" He starts bounding up to her. His knuckles around the gift tightening.

"Gil!" Hyades smiles, though she shifts to hide a hand behind her back.

"I was just looking for you!" Gil beams at her, going to hug her before he pauses. "You okay?" He asks in concern. It wasn't like Hyades to hide something from him. "Are you hurt?"

"Yeah- Wait, no!" Hyades shakes her head, "I'm not hurt. I was just surprised to see you. I was just going to the beach to wait for tomorrow." She smiles as she tucks her hair behind her ear with her free hand.

"Oh." Gil sighs in relief. "The beach sounds nice." He grins at her. The beach would be the best place to give her the gift anyway, right? "Can I come."

"I'd like that." Hyades nods, "I mean, I was looking for you too, so I'm glad I ran into you before you got to the temple."

"Really?" He asks, his eyes widening. "What for? Did you make more apple tarts?" He grins happily as he slowly starts circling her playfully, trying to look behind her back.

Hyades grins as she takes small steps to keep facing him, "I wish." She shifts, "But Pain and Panic promised that they'd bring some to the beach later, so I can bake while we work."

Gil's eyes light up. "Then let's go to the beach. He grabs her free hand with his and starts pulling her to the beach. "Would hate to miss them." He teases her. His earlier curiosity simmering out at the thought of the pastries.

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When they finally arrive at the beach, Gil looks around hopefully. A pout forms on his lips when he doesn't see the imps.

"I'm sure they'll be here before it gets dark." Hyades chuckles softly, "They don't like letting me stay out here with nothing to eat."

Gil smiles, "Good, I'm glad." He leads them to her hidden driftwood hideout. They pause at the entrance when they see the large mounds of rebar, swords, knives, silverware and whatever else Jay, Harry, and T had been able to collect over the last week.

"I guess they weren't kidding about gathering all the metal they could find." Hyades chuckles dryly as she looks around her hideout. "This is going to take us forever to go through." She pouts.

"Yeah, Harry's hasn't been this excited for anything since you came back to us..." Gil admits, grinning when he suddenly remembers why he'd come in the first place.

Hyades drops her eyes, though she doesn't try to take her hand out of his.

Gil shrugs, "What matters is you're back now." He grins at her and tenderly tips her head back with his fist cupping her gift. "And I needed you to know-" He turns away, a blush burning his ears, "How much you mean to me-" He shakes his head. "Well, not just me. Us really. Uma and Harry are always in much better moods when you're around... I just wanted to give you something that would show you how much you mean to us..." He drops his hand from her face and steps back. His fingers finally uncurling around the wood with an ache.

Hyades blinks up at him, "You got me something?" The corners of her lips slowly curl.

"No." Gil shakes his head. "I made it." He holds out the lacquered wooden shell with a matching shiny thread to keep her from losing it. His eyes drop to his feet. "S'not much... But hoped it might remind you who yer real family is when you were alone..."

"Oh, my gods." Hyades breath hitches as she reaches out to touch her fingers to the shiny, smooth surface, "You made this? Wow. Gil, this is beautiful." Her eyes mist as she stares at it in his palm. "It looks just like Uma's."

A hesitant smile lights Gil's face. "It took me a while since I couldn't do the detail work til Uma was sleeping." He explains, as his smile widens. "I wanted to surprise you." He studies her. His confidence growing when he sees the way her face lights up at the faux shell. "Sorry, it took so long, I wanted to have it ready by the time you got to the ship..." He admits with a frown before it twists into a warm smile. "But you beat me to the punch."

"You shouldn't apologize for your art." Hyades absently scolds, her voice gentled by obvious unshed emotion, "And technically you beat you to the punch." She giggles.

"So you like it?" Gil asks hopefully.

"Duh." Hyades giggles again, "It's beautiful."

He lets out a soft sigh, "Awesome." He walks behind her, ignoring her sudden shifting of hands. Not that he wasn't curious, but all he could think about was getting the necklace on her, where it belonged. He gently places it around her neck, holding it in place with one hand. The other softly pushes away her hair. A smile lights up his face as he secures the knot, doubling it just to make sure it wouldn't be able to slip free.

Hyades picks up the slight weight, still warm from Gil's hand and stares at it. A tear escapes the corner of her eye as she turns to look up at Gil, "Thank you. I promise I'll be more careful with my fire." She runs her thumb over the smooth surface.

"I can always make you another one." Gil shrugs, "I just wanted to make sure you had something to remind you of us whenever you felt alone... I want you to know that we got you. That we are family, even if ya can't be with us all the time. That we care about and love you, even when you're avoiding us, or just hiding out doing your own thing." He looks to the waves. "I don't think you realize how much we've come to think of you as one of us through the years... And I just want you to have a constant reminder- that if you ever need us- We have your back, every time, without question." He continues, voice raw with emotions.

Hyades stares at him, her eyes watering as she rolls her lips nervously. Before either realizes what's happening she throws herself at him, wrapping one arm around him as she clutches the other to her chest. She shakes her head back and forth, unable to stem the tears. She just holds onto him, trying to muffle the sounds she was making. Like a laughing sob, or something else just as opposed.

Gil startles at the suddenness of the hug but swiftly eases into it. His arms wrapping around her securely as he presses her against him protectively. His eyes burn when he realizes his gift did what he'd hoped it would, and she clearly appreciated it. It made his chest constrict. "I meant it. Every word. You are a part of our family, even if you can't be with us right now... We get it. We just hope one day you understand how much you mean to us."

"I know you mean it," Hyades' breath hitches again as she finally pulls back enough to look up, "it's what's making me so happy."

Gil smiles down at her. It melted his heart to hear those words coming from her. His lips press a soft kiss to the crown of her head. "Good. All we ever wanted was for you to be happy..." He picks her up so she can nuzzle into the crook of her neck easier. The cold pressing against his chest piqued his curiosity, but not enough to end the hug.

"Thank you." She whispers against his shoulder.

"Anything for family." He assures her just as softly, peppering gentle kisses against her hair like Uma did when one of them was feeling upset.

Hyades laughs as he sets her back on her feet before she looks down at the cloth-covered rectangle in her hands, "So uh..." She wipes at her eyes with the back of one hand, "funny story."

Gil grins at her as he helps wipe away the remaining tears. "I like those."

"Um..." She rolls her lips together nervously before she holds the cloth-covered package out to him.

Gil tilts his head to the side. That was weird, Hyades was rarely so anxious. He reaches out to take the package from her. His hands gently as he flips it over carefully looking for the opening. His thumb slips over the cloth's hem to flip it open.

"I uh, made you something too," Hyades admits with a blush as one hand grips the shell around her neck.

His eyes widen as he stares down at the glass instrument in his hands. It was way nicer than his old one. The glass was thick and heavy, with seashells decorating the clear hand grip. He smiles, his eyes burning as he drops the cloth and brings it up to his lips, experimenting with it. He plays a note from each pipe, amazed by how clear the notes where. His beam nearly breaks his face, as he lowers it and looks back to Deez. "I- I-" He shakes his head before he crouches and puts the flute on the ground carefully.

"I noticed you weren't playing the flute anymore," Hyades shifts, tucking her hair back behind her ear as she fills the silence, "and T told me something happened to your old one, but I missed hearing you play so I thought maybe you'd like to try something new-"

He lets out a belly laugh that rumbles deeply in his chest. He grabs her, pulling her to him tightly before he starts spinning her around happily. He excitedly presses his lips against hers in a stolen kiss, like he'd do with Harry or Uma. "It's amazing." He crushes her to his chest. "I missed my music. Oh wow Deez, I love it." He adds with another belly-busting laugh of joy. "You're the best!" He nuzzles into her lovingly. "I've never had anything so nice before." He gently releases her before he rushes back to the flute.

"I hope it sounds right." Hyades grins, pressing the pads of her fingers to her lips before she continues, "I got a book from Yensid to help me figure out how to make it. And it also took me forever, because I really wanted to make it right for you... To thank you..." Her cheeks continue to burn, "I'm glad you like it."

Gil beams at her, blowing through the pipes again. "It sounds perfect to me." He plays a few more notes. "Like a harmonica and flute smashed together or something."

Hyades grins, "That's what I thought too. I was afraid to make a long one like the one you had before, so when I saw this..." She shrugs, "It's called a pan flute. And apparently, they're popular in Olympus." She sits in the sand, one hand still gripping the shell as she watches Gil.

"A pan flute?" Gil murmurs. "I really like it." He smiles at her. "It's different. Like you." He raises the flute back to his lips, playing a soothing melody as he walks back over to Hyades. His tune only pauses as he takes a break to sit beside her before it picks right back up.

The two sit together, watching the waves crash against the shore as Gil continues to play another melody just as lulling as the last.

His song only stops when he realizes Hyades had leaned against him and wasn't moving. He looks down to find she'd fallen asleep against his side, just under his elbow as he played. With a smile, he tucks away the flute into his cargo pocket before scooping her in his arms. He was content to let her sleep as he took her home; to the ship.

He protectively cradles her, pressing her head to his chest as he scans for any sign of trouble. Today was one of those great days where he felt like a real man.

Notes:

It's so Fluffy, I'mma die!

Seriously though, who's been looking forward to this exchange? Both Deez and Gil spent a helluva lotta time making gifts for one another. Did it live up to your expectations? Did it make you squee with delight? Did you like how they reacted to their gifts? Would you have reacted like Deez, or like Gil after receiving such a heartfelt gift? We wanna know... Or on the other hand to that, did you feel like this chapter fell short after all that build up? We'd love to know!

Seriously guys, help us entertain you! The more you critique the better we get!

With much love and appreciation,

Dark and Twisted