Reviews :

ThoreLB : Oh true! What a coincidence xD

BanannaSammich : Oh absolutely! That's not too much to ask at all :D I've been meaning to do updated pix of everyone, show height differences and such. I appreciate you being sensitive towards my schooling and such, the sketchdump might come out a little bit slower than usual but I'm happy to do it as a huge thank you to my lovely readers :)

Burgie : You're right! And yes, it's very beautiful. It's probably one of my oldest locations, aside from Vanilla Lake. I need to properly paint a solid representation of Honeydew Ridge, it's a very beautiful, haunting cliffside. Lots of green, lots of crisp white snow.


*Chapter 100*

High on the cliffside of Honeydew's gorgeous, snowy ridge, the sky silently flit flakes of snow onto the cabin aglow with yellow warmth. The kitchen and dining area was extremely lively with full conversation, the smell of dinner in the oven and on the stove sapped the room with goodness, everyone was dressed in cozy sweats, hoodies and thick socks, the ultimate vat of a perfect, lazy winter vacation. Tessa tossed her hair up and stood with her mother at the stove, Tessa silently stirred one of the pots nearby as Vanellope and Koko began to cutely bicker with one another, though as the table of men, across the way, suddenly erupted into hard, joyous laughter, the cabin was filled to the brim with easiness. As Tessa smiled and tossed her gaze to the group of lovely men, she suddenly frowned and now took fervent note that Gideon wasn't present. Tessa stiffened and gingerly gripped her mother's arm.

"Mom, do you know where Gideon went?" Tessa whispered nervously, although she knew Gideon was inside the building, her rush of words translated to wondering how long he had been gone and hopeful someone had recently taken attendance; she sagged as Vanellope bobbed a loving nod in her direction and continued the chopping she was doing on the teakwood cutting board before her.

"He told me like two minutes ago that he was gunna go change his bandage, he's probably in his room," Vanellope lovingly assured, to which Tessa sighed with relief, though her feet now began to press towards his corridor to see if Gideon potentially needed help.

With pure silence, she eased out of the grippy wall of love she had previously been cemented to and now hovered down the darkened hallway that lead to everyone's currently vacant bedrooms. Tessa eyed Gideon's bedroom, his door was gaped open, and though his room was blackened, there was a beam of light that pierced his bed, alongside the wall it was shared with, to signify that he was inside his bathroom with the light on. As Tessa silently sagged into his room, she inhaled a breath to call out to Gideon and declare her helpful presence, though she snapped her jaw shut as she heard a familiar voice; Mara's sweet, giggly little voice filled the air of Gideon's bathroom, it echoed about the marbled space, it was clear Gideon was on a call with her, on speakerphone. Tessa sharply furrowed her brow in full confusion and silently pressed closer to his cracked bathroom door and now felt her heart squeeze as another womanly voice was heard, alongside Mara's.

"Giddy, careful, CAREFUL!" Kepa stabbed, both her and Mara erupted into a loud fit of cute giggling; as Tessa ever so carefully peered into the crack of Gideon's slightly gaped bathroom door, she caught a solid eyeful of what was going on. Gideon was stood over his bathroom sink with all of the supplies Kepa had cutely gifted him, his phone was propped up and he was on a video call with Kepa and Mara, and though his phone screen couldn't be seen, Tessa held her breath and hovered in the security of her secret hiding spot. Gideon barked a happy laugh and firmly gestured his arms outwards in playful frustration, he wore his lazy sweats and a dark grey t-shirt with his right sleeve tightly rolled up his muscular, injured arm. Now with the bandage undone, Tessa sharply grit her teeth as she had a full visual of the gash Callum had delivered, a long, mean wound that was so tidily stitched, Kepa's handiwork. Through Mara's familiar giggling and Kepa's unfamiliar, lovely little voice so full of charming sass, she heaved a hard sigh into the receiver as Gideon grinned into the screen of his phone, securely propped up against the bathroom's counter and mirror, "For User's sake, Gideon, you're making me so nervous. DON'T TOUCH IT!"

"Kepa I kinda have to!" Gideon sharply complained, he so cutely laughed alongside Kepa's and Mara's insanely infectious giggling, Tessa raised her eyebrows and peered hard at Gideon's face in his big mirror; she could swear she had never seen such a wide grin come flying off of the edges of his handsome face, "I'm doing my best, c'mon, just walk me through it."

"Okay, first, go get the cheese whizz," Mara staggered hard laughter, to which her and Kepa now wildly giggled; Gideon sagged and looked off in playful detest, a face that only Ralph could properly emulate, it matched their father to an absolute T.

"You two enjoying your girl's night?" Gideon muttered with an incredibly annoyed smile, though with Kepa's and Mara's adorable notions of girly giggles and stammer of words, Tessa cupped her hands to her chest and did whatever she could to get her brain to capture the whole of this tender moment.

"We are! Mara painted my claws, lookie!" Kepa chirped, with the way Gideon narrowed his gaze and leaned deeper into the counter, so to see his screen better, Gideon bobbed a sweet nod of approval as Kepa cutely carried on, "Now I can gouge your eyes out in style."

"Brilliant, I can't wait," Gideon urged through a nervous chuckle.

"We laid on the beach all day, I'm jealous that Kepa doesn't burn or anything," Mara muttered, Gideon cocked an eyebrow and shook his head.

"Yeah, you have a lot of advantages over us human-gamers, there, chickie," Gideon sweetly mumbled, Kepa laughed as her and Mara bickered for a moment.

"Oh, shit! Speaking of the beach, I think I left my towel out there," Mara stabbed in annoyance as it was audibly obvious that she had grunted to a stand and began to rush away.

"Why did you do that?" Gideon wondered in a lilt of playful offense, Mara could be heard calling across the vast space, in which it was clear Kepa was now the one solely on their video call.

"I left it to dry but the tide might come up!" Mara's small voice now was almost inaudible as she quickly vanished out of the lighthouse's back doors.

"I tried to warn her, believe me," Kepa muttered, though as the two had a moment alone, Tessa felt as if it were divine timing that she were suddenly sagged in such a raw, intimate side of Gideon; not only had she not met Kepa yet, she was now getting a secretive front row seat to a tender moment between the two that she knew she likely should dismiss herself from, though with the way Gideon picked up his phone and sagged his elbows to the counter in a bit more of an intimate snug, Tessa bit her lip and now couldn't help but stay and patiently, painfully observe through the squeeze of her abundantly proud feelings she had towards her baby brother. Kepa's voice softened from girly, bratty giggling to a touch of raspy, womanly care, it was in this raw instance did Tessa now fully understand just why it was easy for Gideon to be dug in so deep, "Y'doin' okay, there, Gid? The lighthouse misses you."

"I miss you... But yeah, I'm doing great, actually, and I'm glad Mara came to hang out with you," Gideon's deep voice hushed, it was absolutely clear that both beings had separate, secret routines with each other now, different decibels of tender, secretive romance, Gideon's handsome smile broadened as he narrowed his gaze in witty cheek, "Who's idea was it to video call me?"

"It absolutely wasn't my idea," Kepa muttered cutely, Gideon choked a happy laugh and looked down in shy renewal, though Kepa heaved a shaky little sigh, alongside a whispery giggle, "Okay, it was my idea. I promise I won't make a habit of it."

"I might forget how to tend to my wound and need your instructions via video call," Gideon mumbled in playful regret, to which it was audibly clear that Kepa was grinning, "You might as well make a habit of it, my babe."

"Have you eaten?" Kepa so sweetly wondered, though with the gooey, doughy look of a blushed glow on Gideon's handsome face, Tessa was now wholly positive that this show of tender romance, the patient exchange of pet names, the easy doting they paid to each other was now almost entirely brand new due to just how sweetly flustered they acted over it, like dewy, sacred innocence shedding in a full bloom of much-desired, loving maturity.

"I'm about to, I just wanted to change the bandage before it got too late and I was too tired to do it," Gideon stated through a heavy sigh as he stood to correction and looked about the salves he had in front of him.

"Just CAREFULLY clean with warm water, use those two salves I gave you first, love, the ones that are labelled accordingly," Kepa's soothing voice instructed as Gideon cutely organized his materials and bobbed an assured nod. His glinting, handsome golden eyes peered back to his screen in a sweep of loving delight as Kepa so cutely carried on through a shy giggle, "Just don't mess with the stitches, dude, I know your big fingers makes it hard to do so anyways, but just leave it all be."

"Then just bandage it like you do after all of that?" Gideon angled his phone to show his gash, and as Tessa got a clearer view of it, she bit her lip in dread and now felt her brain wash cold in full, protective rage; the sheer idea of her little cousin causing such a wound to her baby brother had her heart beginning to race in full protectiveness, though the fact that Gideon had chosen a special someone to so thoroughly make sure he was okay had Tessa feeling a sweep of camaraderie with Kepa, even without knowing her just yet.

"Yeah, Giddy, surely there's someone there with smaller fingers that can help you," Kepa's gentle, concerned voice so daintily ushered to Gideon, her worry was palpable, furthering the notion that she truly believed that Gideon wasn't programmed for Sugar Rush; such a notion made Tessa's heart ache.

"Yeah, I could ask my brother in law," Gideon mumbled in low, shy dismissal that was laden with a loving smile, "Don't worry, I'm just fine."

"Thanks for the laugh earlier, it was great to see Novus finally be put in his place via snowballs," Kepa cutely eased a sighing giggle, Gideon leaned back down to the counter and looked as if he was due to tending to his wound, though now that him and Kepa had a moment alone, it was further obvious that he was due to soaking it all up prior to such a chore.

"He told me to tell you hi, by the way, sorry I forgot," Gideon hissed through a long exhale, his eyes dart about the patiently waiting salves before he returned his loving gaze to his phone's screen. He hesitated for a moment and so warmly carried on, his tone was laden with the hugest dollop of tender, gentlemanly care, such a brand new peel to Gideon's many layers that Tessa was shocked to now be witness to, "I know I already said it, but that hoodie is really adorable on you. The ear cut-outs are really clever, on the brand-maker's part."

"I know, truly! The best hoodie ever, I need to ask Mara where she got it. My ears can breathe," Kepa's cute voice lilted in girly, youthful glee, though she settled and returned to her loving, womanly disposition, "Thank you, Giddy."

"Anything," Gideon huffed with a long-blink of dizzy love the two were drowning in, to which Kepa quipped him a cute remark of a minor inside notion of a joke they shared.

"Unlimited," Kepa lilted, causing a wide grin to spring from Gideon's handsome, blushing face.

"Alright, Keps, I'm gunna get this fixed and then I gotta go eat dinner," Gideon's deep voice pressed, he took a firm stand and inhaled a long, deep breath as he finally assessed the salves in preparation, "I'll text you before I go to sleep, okay? Tell Mara hi and bye and all that fun stuff."

"I will, hopefully the ocean didn't swallow her," Kepa muttered through a snort of a giggle, to which Gideon choked a laugh and grinned.

"Fingers crossed that it did," Gideon darkly muttered, though he scrunched and eased a cheeky grin as Kepa gasped in full offense.

"Take that back, Gideon! I'm telling," Kepa yelled as Mara's presence could be heard returning.

"What happened now?!" Mara's much further away voice clipped the audio, to which Gideon scrunched his shoulders and stifled laughter.

"C'mere Mara. Gideon, why don't you tell her what you just told me, it was SO KIND," Kepa yelled as all three friends began to loudly laugh with one another, though Gideon could hardly squeeze out words.

"I said Mara's the best and I love her, bye!" Gideon chimed with a dorky grin and a waggle of his bigger fingers, though just as both girls erupted into loud, giggling protest, Gideon choked a laugh and hung up on both girls.

Tessa flinched and now did everything she could to not totally erupt into loud laughter, at the chaos, and with such a sink of silence upon her and Gideon, she held her breath and silently began to back-step out of Gideon's room. Upon reaching his door, she felt a sting of mild jealousy fall over her, another continued show of shared fervor between her and Zed, the idea that the two were mildly jealous of Lash and Mara's ability to just hang out with Kepa whenever they please, a being Gideon skillfully kept hidden away from the palace. Tessa felt the itch, she suddenly could understand Callum's stance, however drastic and unnecessary his actions towards said feelings were; the feeling of now turning around and feeling like the being that had been tailing you, the being that had been so diligently sidewinding in her shadow had now quickly turned away and found other beings to load his infectious soul with. Tessa eased out of Gideon's room and felt a wiggle of the uncomfortable truth that Gideon was ever so slowly slipping away. She scuffed her heels to a stop and quickly realized something; he had confided in her the night prior, he had very secretly let her and Zed into this secluded shared space, she turned back into Gideon's room and knew this was Gideon's way of allowing Tessa's foot in the door, and with such a rare honor, she wondered if she could possibly see deeper into his fragile, concealed heart, here in this raw moment.

"Gid?" Tessa called in tender nonchalance at the gape of his bedroom door, Gideon's shadow, in the glint of his bathroom lighting, shifted in alertness.

"Yeah?" Gideon returned, to which Tessa scuffed her feet to a halt and fingered her lip.

"You doing okay?" Tessa cautiously wondered.

"Oh, yeah I'm just changing my bandage really fast, you can come in," Gideon stated in an easy show of nonchalance, to which Tessa pressed to his bathroom door and dared to peak inside.

"Oh, okay, I was nervous that you ran off, I noticed that you were missing," Tessa said warmly as her beautiful hazel eyes peeked into Gideon's bright bathroom.

Gideon bobbed a nod, exhaled a long breath and sagged his much bigger shoulders and broad, lightly sculpted chest. His bigger fingers gently picked up and tinkered the beautifully encased salves Kepa had given him, and with their eyes diverted to his supplies, they both slowly revisited each other's eyes as Tessa made herself a little more present in Gideon's bathroom. Although not expecting company, Tessa was delighted to see Gideon slowly move into the routine of preparing to clean and tend to his wound, and with his reach, Tessa now got a front row seat to his gash. She clenched her teeth and felt anger course her, heartbroken that Gideon's and Callum's relationship had come to such drastic depths, she lulled her eyes closed and was grateful Lash was the one to hand Callum his ass; lest it be her, the whole palace would've caught fire.

"Surely it hurts still," Tessa whispered, Gideon raised his eyebrows and held his arm out, so to inspect his stitched gash.

"Yeah... When it's bandaged, it's fine unless I bump it or squeeze it against my body too tightly, but un-bandaged like this and it sucks," Gideon's deep voice so gently explained, his eyes pierced hers with intensity, "I actually might need your help with the final wrap, if you wouldn't mind?"

"No, I don't mind at all," Tessa stated with a lilt of warm welcome as she stood closer and prepared to be of service, though as Gideon began to follow Kepa's instructions and so gingerly put the slaves on his wound, he tightly grit his teeth and grimaced. Tessa shook her head in still dumbfounded surprise and smiled, "Gid, I'm still shocked that you actually sat and let Kepa stitch you, needle and all."

"It... SUCKED," Gideon chuffed a shaky little laugh as he cleaned off the excess, followed the next steps and cutely gestured down to her salves, "I don't know exactly what she's given me, here, but... They feel so good and really helps soothe it all."

"She sounds like she's a pretty interesting being to be involved with," Tessa prod with a raise of her eyebrows, she gently took one of Kepa's salve bottles and smelled its contents, "I'm grateful she's taken such great care of you... Would it be too much, too soon, if you could tell her that I say thank you for taking care of my baby brother?"

Gideon finished with his chore, held his breath and shyly looked down to the salves on the counter before him. In the cautious reach to grab the bandage wrap, so to give to Tessa and help aid her through this next step, he finally breathed a long sigh through his nose and allowed his gentle eyes to aimlessly scan the countertop in contemplation to Tessa's genuine question. Tessa finally scoffed a giggle of certainty and stood patient with Gideon.

"So, she truly, genuinely, has NO clue any of us exist," Tessa mumbled, she tried not to show too much soreness over it.

"She thinks Mara is my cousin," Gideon's deep voice croaked in regret.

"You are that woman's great uncle," Tessa stabbed a giggle and shook her head, "Her and Beaux outwardly call you 'uncle Gideon'... Has that not ever slipped out?"

"No, Mara's been really good about it, I'm pretty grateful," Gideon sighed; the more this topic was aired, the more Gideon began to feel haunted by it. He aimlessly peered to his powered down phone and frowned, "I'm taking this painfully slow. I just was on a video call with Kepa and Mara and I made clear to Kepa that I had a brother in law... Insinuating that I had at least one sibling."

"It's okay, Gideon, I understand taking things at your own pace, you seem to have a pretty strong sense of self, in this aspect," Tessa stated as Gideon kindly handed her the bandage, and without speaking on it, Gideon held out his much bigger, muscular arm and held still while Tessa cautiously began to wrap his wound; he winced a few times, though Tessa did what she could to be careful, "I really don't know what I'm gunna say to Callum... And, Oliver and crew usually sit with him at lunch."

"They don't owe me anything, they can keep associating with Callum if they want," Gideon muttered darkly, he narrowed his gaze and shook his head in a draw of still-brewing frustration, "Tessa, don't let me be in the same room as that guy... I really reserved myself the other night. I may be no match for dad, but I had half a mind to barrel past you and put Callum to sleep."

"I could tell," Tessa mumbled; as much as she wanted to also give Gideon a show of arms and truly exclaim that she was a force to be reckoned with, she was well aware Gideon's sheer size and strength would likely take her out. Although she had Zed's cunning smarts and was a glitch master, alongside her mother, she lulled her eyes closed in sweet, easy defeat and knew Gideon's pent up rage would crown him the victor, through and through, "I don't know what to tell you, Gideon. Callum is your cousin, he's Penny's littlest brother, she's at my right hand. It's inevitable that you'll bump into him."

"Well, then it's not gunna be pretty," Gideon darkly huffed, Tessa could tell he was getting frustrated, so she stopped mid-wrap and rested her right hand to the center of Gideon's sternum, right over the beautiful lighthouse charm she had gifted him on his first birthday.

"Gideon Fox," Tessa's motherly voice so easily soothed; usually when someone paired Gideon's middle name to his first, in a sentence, it was out of frustration, though Tessa made sure to deliver said noble name with a lilt of finalized assurance, a swathe of easiness she could tell Gideon's fiery soul needed, "Relax... Take a deep breath for me."

Gideon peered into her eyes with the switch and allowed her still demeanor to grip onto his, and with such, both beings sucked in deep breaths, held it for a few counts, and released. With said release, Tessa nodded and continued to wrap Gideon's arm, he visibly sagged.

"You don't need to worry, you've been through enough, and I am on your side. Although sure, it's inevitable you will likely bump into him, I'll make sure it won't be often," Tessa assured tenderly, "You're already aware that Lash gave him a VERY stern talking-to, so... You should probably thank him when we return home... Or, text him. Which ever you feel."

"I guess a part of me is frustrated it wasn't Oliver, or dad or something," Gideon muttered, he shook his head and peered tight into Tessa's eyes; although not here to insult her, he dared to carry on, "Or, even Zed? I don't know... Where were all of them?"

"To cover Zed, Zed was en-route to pulling Callum aside and Lash literally beat him to it within seconds," Tessa corrected as she finished Gideon's bandage and gently made sure it was all secured and ironed out. She stood back and crossed her arms as she continued, "The second Oliver heard, you should've seen his face... He was PISSED."

"He was?" Gideon softened, Tessa bugged her eyes and looked off.

"Look, that guy is a huge softy, but... Like you, like all of us wrecklings," Tessa side-eyed Gideon from her much shorter stance and gave him a sly, adorable smile, "We ALL got a dormant volcano at our cores... Toss too many rocks in, shake the ground too much, we're bound to explode with dad's wrecking abilities."

"I guess dad sort of endured the situation as it happened," Gideon sighed, he nervously eyed his bathroom door and figured the two had been gone for too long, now, "I've been trying to avoid Oliver all day, but... He's been so kind to me, keeps giving me these friendly side-hugs... I don't know how to feel."

"Bud, he loves you. I get your reasoning to be wary, but he's literally your big brother, and I know for a fact that he is wanting to reconcile," Tessa huffed, she shook her head and grimaced, "There's quite a bit that happened with Oliver, while you were growing up, that no one really expanded on or told you about. Does it excuse his behavior towards you? No, but... Methinks you should hear him out and really clear the air with him, once and for all."

"I guess so," Gideon huffed through a long, tired sigh.

"We're gunna sit around the bonfire out back, later tonight, for s'mores," Tessa stated with a lilt of uplift as she nudged Gideon's uninjured arm, "You should sit next to Oliver, see what unfolds."

"I'll think about it," Gideon assured in soft defeat, and though his brain guffawed a notion of detest and proudly came to the conclusion that he'd likely worm his way into a spot near either Nox, Tessa or Vanellope, Gideon sighed and knew the guilt would eat him alive.

"C'mon, dinner's almost done, let's go set up together," Tessa encouraged as they both began to leave his bathroom, and as Gideon tidied the salves, grabbed his phone and turned the bathroom light off, he felt his core sag in defeat, defeat over the idea that forgiving Oliver and really forging a new, healthy friendship with his siblings would take work he was uncertain he was responsible or mentally stable enough for; nonetheless, he pressed on, understanding that discomfort often brought about positive change.


A/N : Alright guys! Chapter 100! Review or PM me your sketchdump requests for ANY chapter between 50-100! Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with :D Chapter 100! We did it! Woohoo! I love these milestones