#* prompto / a short shot away from emptiness.

[starscourged]

oh look tags

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book One: Gold (Prompto x Reader) Chapter XXIII

After rounding the corner of the hallway outside the room, Prompto spots an imperial trooper at the other end of another hallway. Thanks to Ardyn, the boy was armed with his pistol and a small blade. Hiding behind cover, he inhaled and exhaled before poking his head out and firing round after round at the soldier. It took more bullets than he thought it would to kill the enemy.

With the soldier now dead, Prompto proceeded down the hallway and walked through another pair of sliding metal doors. Upon proceeding through the doors, he finds windows to his left overlooking a large, open room filled with many dormant magitek troopers. He shuddered at the sight. "Shit... Was he telling the truth about this place?"

Backing away from the windows, he shook his head and focused on finding (Y/n). Walking through more metal doors, he came across another adversary. "I can't let them find me," he whispered to himself after taking cover. When he was ready, he stalked up behind the enemy and performed a stealth attack. He killed the soldier from behind and stole their submachine gun. With his newly acquired weapon, he headed down the hallway.

As he came across a stairwell leading up, Prompto quickly dove behind the wall when two soldiers were making their way down. He grabbed his new gun and checked the clip. Seeing it was fully loaded, he emerged from his hiding spot and shot at the two soldiers.

After dealing with them, the blonde sprinted up the stairwell. Turning left at the top, he ran into more soldiers. Like with previous encounters, he easily disposed of them before proceeding forth. He tried to pep himself up to prepare for whatever lies ahead. "I can do this."

"I know you can," a kind voice giggled.

Prompto's eyes widen when recognizing the voice. Running down to the end of the hallway, he looked down the right path to see (Y/n) standing there. Tears of relief welled up in his eyes, but they never fell. "(Y-Y/n)...! Oh, Six, I'm so glad..." The moment he took a step towards her, she spun around and ran away. He gasped and quickly took chase. "W-Wait, (Y/n)! Stop!"

He followed her around corners until he was forced to dive behind cover when he ran into a large group of soldiers. He tried to fire the submachine gun, but the clip was empty. Tossing the weapon aside, he grabbed his pistol and fired at the energy tank located behind the adversaries. He ducked back down at the explosion erupted in the hallway, killing all the soldiers in one go.

Once all became quiet, Prompto searched for (Y/n). He found her standing at the end of the hallway in front of another set of metal doors. He ran down the hall as she turned to enter the next room. Her body phased through the doors, but he hadn't witnessed it due to grabbing another submachine gun off one of the weapon racks. He continued to follow her and entered a large room with storage containers. Four dormant magitek axemen stood in the center of the room while imperial soldiers prowled around.

Prompto snuck over to another rack of weapons and located a sniper rifle. Switching out the submachine for the new weapon, he ducked behind a stack of storage containers. He watched the soldiers' movements until he had their paths memorized. Leaning out from his hiding spot, he took aim with the sniper and eliminated the imperial troopers one by one. Lowering the gun, he sighed in relief. However, it was short-lived.

A floating metal orb, known as a defense node, detects him. Prompto stumbles back in shock as the automated voice he heard earlier spoke out. "Target detected. Eliminate immediately. Commence elimination of compromised unit."

The four dormant magitek axemen at the center of the room begin to move as other additional magiteks and imperial troopers marched into the room. Seeing he was going to need more firepower, Prompto searched the room for more weapons. He came across a bazooka, which he didn't hesitate to claim as his own. He waited for the enemies to swarm him in a mass horde before firing a single missile. He watched with a satisfied smirk as the explosion took out half of their numbers. It even caused the defense node to explode. He repeated the process a second and third time, but only one magitek axeman survived all three missiles.

Grabbing the small blade, Prompto rushed at the enemy and swung at it. He chopped off one of its arms before decapitating it. When it was dead, he huffed out a sigh and glanced down at the blade. "Man, (Y/n) and Noct make using a sword look easy..." Sheathing the weapon, he heard nothing but silence. There were no other enemies within the vicinity. He looked around the room and couldn't find the spectral image of his beloved. He saw another hallway connected to the large room. It was the only other way for him to go. "Can't keep leaving everything to (Y/n). I've gotta find my way out."

Making his way out of the large room, Prompto travels a short way down a hall and passes through some sliding doors. He exited the facility and saw he was on a snowy cliffside overlooking a mountain range. Walking towards the snowy pathway wrapped around the cliffside, he saw the familiar ghostly apparition of (Y/n). Her back was turned to him, her gaze focused on the beautiful scenery.

Carefully, Prompto trudged through the snow towards her. He feared she would run away from him again. When he was close enough, he reached a hand out to touch her, but it passed through her body. "Dammit..." He gritted his teeth. "Another illusion..."

The girl turned to him, smiling sweetly. She didn't say anything as she tried to touch him. Prompto already knew neither one of them could touch each other, but he didn't move. Instead, he fruitlessly tried to grab her outstretched hand. Sorrowful tears pooled in his eyes. "I'm not leaving this place without you, (Y/n). Wait for me. I'll find you, I promise. If I have to kill every soldier and MT to find you, I will. I'll turn this whole place upside down just to get you back." He admired her smile one last time before her body vanished. Unconsciously, he reached out to grab her again, his fist clenching tightly when there was nothing to touch. "Even if you were an illusion created by my mind, you could've stayed a little longer..." He weakly chuckled.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Prompto pushed on. He headed down the path and entered another portion of the facility. He wanders through the halls until stopping in what appears to be a workplace lounge area. On the bench, a piece of paper caught his attention. Picking it up, he read it. It was information regarding the barcodes. He exhaled a shaky breath, his hand trembling. "We... We've all got the same barcodes."

Lowering the page, his attention was drawn to another document. There were tons of red markings and the word "failure" written everywhere. Because of the markings, he couldn't make out the barcode number or any information in regards to the specimen mentioned on the page. Putting the page down, he noticed another stack of papers with the same red markings and "failure" written across them. The sheer amount of paper he found with the same markings was astounding. "Guess something didn't go as planned..."

Deciding to not loiter any longer, Prompto attempts to exit the room. As he stepped towards the metal doors, they slid open and he was greeted by a magitek axeman crackling with leaking energy. The MT swings its weapon at Prompto, but he manages to catch it by its haft. It sent him to the floor with the MT on top of him. The sharpshooter promptly grabs his pistol and shoots it, causing its physical deterioration to reach critical. The magitek trooper breaks down and dies while Prompto gets back to his feet.

The all-too-familiar computerized voice that was haunting him spoke up. "Target detected. Eliminate immediately."

"I can't take this anymore," Prompto huffed out in annoyance. "I need to find (Y/n) quick..."

As he proceeds down the next hall, the automated voice speaks once again. "Commence elimination of compromised unit."

Prompto enters another large open room similar to the one he passed through before his exit onto the snowy cliffside. He makes his way through the room, killing any and all enemies that dared stand in his way. When all the adversaries were dead, he wandered over to a circular passageway. It was sealed by metallic petals that originate from along the perimeter of the circle and meet in the center. A small control panel similar to the one he activated after waking up earlier sits beside the entrance to the passageway.

Prompto looks down at his barcode, grits his teeth, and places his wrist over the control panel. The panel lights up green and the metal petals retract, allowing him through. He inhaled shakily and muttered, "Lucky me." Walking down the stairwell, he couldn't help but speak his horrid inner thoughts. "What the hell am I?"

After making his way down the newly opened passageway, Prompto enters a room containing several large glass cylinders, each holding a human figure resembling him. He gasped in horror at the sight. His heart was racing with fear. "How could he do that? Who... What am I?"

Walking past the glass cylinders, he heads up the stairs at the back of the room. There, he finds himself looking through glass into another room filled with more glass cylinders containing figures that resemble him. On the floor were the bodies of some MTs, seemingly dead while a few others stand dormant along the perimeter of the room. Prompto snuck behind the desks when he thought he spotted two figures on the other side of the glass. "Is somebody in there?"

Getting a closer look, Prompto recognizes Ardyn but not the other man. Calming his racing heart, he snuck up to the glass. "Deep breaths..." With his body lowered to the ground, he peered into the room and eavesdropped on the men's conversation.

Ardyn paced back and forth behind Verstael. "My friend, do you recall the children who were stolen from this facility?"

"The two those Lucians absconded with?" The armor-cladded man scoffed.

"Precisely."

"How could I possibly forget? Out of all the copies of my (Y/n), they stole the only successful one."

Prompto couldn't believe what he was hearing. (Y/n) was a copy, but a copy of who? He continued to listen.

"I thought you might like to see the fine young man and woman they've become these twenty odd years later. I did desire to hand over your precious (Y/n) first, but she absconded and her current location is unknown. However, I do have another surprise. As my second thanks for bringing your pets to Insomnia, I've brought the boy to you." Ardyn suddenly turns toward the glass where Prompto is watching from and addresses him. "The time has come to meet your maker. Any questions for daddy dearest? Father and son! Oh, how I love bringing families together. You will also learn the true nature of your darling guardian."

Prompto stood up, shaking his head in denial. "No... It's not true. You're wrong, dammit!" He darts through a doorway at the end of the room and enters another lounge area. "I don't care what he says. This place will never be my home or (Y/n)'s. Our "home" is in Lucis—not here."

Prompto storms into the room where he saw Ardyn and Verstael with his weapon raised. The chancellor was missing, leaving only Verstael. His back was turned towards the boy as he spoke. "What's the matter? Have you never seen a man turn before?" Verstael turns to face Prompto, revealing the right side of his face is becoming daemonified. "If those Lucians hadn't intervened, you could have turned, too, and my dear (Y/n) would be standing by my side like she once did."

"Why us?" Prompto asked.

"Because you were cloned from this genius' genes, born of my own flesh and blood. You are but one of millions created to serve our great empire in the magitek infantry."

"Created...to serve you?"

"Yes—and now you've finally come home to Niflheim, my son. And so has my precious (Y/n). She is by far my grandest creation. A perfect copy of a once mighty guardian, my guardian! A spirit bound to serve me and the empire. It took years to get her body and mind correct. Failure after failure..."

Prompto fires his gun into the air. "Shut up!" He was becoming enraged and couldn't hold his emotions back any longer. He hangs his head, his gun still pointed aloft for a moment before letting it hang by his side. "You're wrong... (Y/n) and I are Lucians!"

Tears begin to trail down Prompto's face. "I am not one of your experiments and neither is (Y/n)!"

Verstael begins slowly walking towards Prompto, revealing the gemstone bracelet around his wrist. "Not anymore. Now, you're nothing but a failure. I ought to return you whence you came, especially for stealing my (Y/n). You stole her from me. She's mine!"

"She doesn't belong to you! She doesn't belong to anyone!" Prompto growled. He raised his pistol to shoot Verstael, but gaped in shock when a sword impales him in the back. He lowered his gun when hearing the voice of the person he desperately wanted to see.

"Consider this payback for stabbing me in the back all those years ago, you bastard," (Y/n) seethed, yanking the sword out of Verstael's body.

The old man managed to turn around and face his guardian. He reached out and placed a hand on her cheek. "With your help, my ascension to divinity is now all but complete," he chuckled darkly. He stared into her gold-slitted eyes, placing his other hand on the crook of her neck and digging his nails into her flesh. "Soon, neither the Kings of Lucis nor the gods themselves will be able to challenge my reign and you will be mine!"

Prompto doesn't hesitate. He raises his gun and fires. A cloud of dark smoke emerges from where Prompto's shot pierces Verstael's back. The man groans, his hands releasing (Y/n). He falls onto the floor with a 'thud'. The girl was taken aback at his action. The marksman looks down at Verstael in shock for a moment before dropping his gun and falling to his knees.

After a moment of silence, Ardyn's voice can be heard gasping in faux horror over the loudspeaker. "Look what you've done. You've gone homicidal—no, patricidal!"

Prompto shook his head. "No..."

"You lose your friends and murder your family. Now you've no one left! Not even (Y/n), who will surely leave you in the very end." The chancellor begins laughing.

"Shut up!" Prompto wailed at the top of his lungs. He begins beating the floor with each time he repeats himself. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

(Y/n) closed the distance between her and Prompto. She sat on her knees in front of him, cupping his cheeks in her palms and lifting his head. "Look at me, Prompto." Once she saw his cerulean eyes were focused on her gold ones, she stroked her thumbs across his cheeks. "Don't listen to anything Ardyn says. Just focus on me, okay? I won't leave you alone. Not now, not ever."

With slightly shaky limbs, Prompto pushed himself up to his knees and threw his arms around her. He held her close, inhaling her scent. "You're real..."

She hooked her arms around his torso. "I'm right here, Prom."

Just then, the automated voice heard throughout the facility up to now begins speaking once again. "Vital functions decreasing. Plasmodium index activity increasing." Prompto lifts his head from (Y/n)'s shoulder and looks over at Verstael's body to see that it has now completely discorporated into the dark smoke that was rising from it, leaving empty clothing behind. The gemstone bracelet that once was around his wrist now laid on top of the pile of clothes. "Daemonification complete. Initiating transfer to Unit XDA-1002: Immortalis."

The dark smoke from Verstael enters the machinery at the center of the room. The lighting in the room turns red as the machinery begins to move. The room itself begins to shake. Prompto and (Y/n) pull away from each other and look around in confusion.

Out of the blue, the roof caves in about twenty feet from them, the body of an iron giant having fallen through from somewhere above. Aranea stands atop the daemon's body, her lance in hand and impaling it. She noticed the two and glanced between them. "You two always play hard to get like this?" She hops down from the daemon's corpse and walks towards the couple.

(Y/n) stood up with a smirk on her face. "Never expected to find you here, Aranea."

The ex-mercenary grinned back at the younger girl. "I can be full of surprises just like you can, firefly." She then saw the boy hasn't budged. "C'mon, Blondie. On your feet!"

Prompto doesn't move, his heart still suffering from the turmoil caused by Verstael's words. While Aranea strolled over to a countertop and analyzed a blueprint spread out on top of it, (Y/n) helped Prompto to his feet.

"So this is that new model they're working on," the woman mumbled. Prompto and (Y/n) walked over to her and saw the blueprint she was examining. The ex-mercenary turned her gaze to the guardian. "You know anything about this, firefly?"

"Sorry, but I don't. It's been...years since I left the empire," she confessed, gripping her arm tightly and sinking her nails into her skin. She could feel Prompto's gaze on her and she couldn't bring herself to look at him. He now knew the truth about himself and her. "But if Verstael created it, we better be extremely careful. That man... His mind was twisted and distorted. I don't even know where to begin when his experiments took a sinister turn..."

"Doesn't matter, anyway."

Then, the facility's automated voice speaks again. "Targets detected. Capture and retrieve immediately."

Aranea conjures her lance in preparation for battle as the dormant magitek troopers along the wall awaken and several ice bomb daemons appear.

"Commence capture and retrieval of compromised units."

The silver-haired woman rushes ahead to clear the way. (Y/n) was behind her, but Prompto hung back. He ran over to the pile of clothes left behind by Verstael and grabbed the gemstone bracelet before joining the two women down the hall.

The trio soon finds themselves on a platform overlooking a cargo bay. A snowmobile sits below by an exit out of the facility. As they were swarmed by daemons and imperial forces, the gates were beginning to close.

"We don't have time to mess around with these guys," (Y/n) said, slicing through a soldier.

"There's only one way down and it's blocked," Aranea stated, impaling a snaga.

The (h/c)-haired girl smirked. "I see two." She backed up and transformed. She used her tails to keep the enemies at bay.

Prompto already knew what she was planning to do and hopped on to her back. "Aranea!" He shouted.

The ex-mercenary turned around to see the fox waiting for her. She climbed onto her back behind the blonde and held on tight as the beast leapt over the railing. (Y/n) jumped from rack to rack until they safely arrived at the snowmobile.

Aranea and Prompto slid off the fox's back as she reverted to her human form. The older woman shoves a map against the marksman's chest. Without sparing him a glance, she walked over to the approaching enemies. "Head there—I'll catch up later."

Prompto takes the map, but he was reluctant to leave Aranea behind. "But what about you?"

She conjures her lance as she's confronted by an ice bomb and a snaga. Even more daemons were spawning. "I said I'll catch up."

"But what if y—"

"Just go!"

"Let's go, Prompto," (Y/n) said.

With a troubled expression, the boy hops on the snowmobile. The guardian mounts the vehicle, sitting behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he started the snowmobile.

Feeling the warmth of her body against his back, Prompto felt his resolve harden. "Hold on tight, (Y/n)."

"Try not to drive too crazy," she laughed.

With a small smirk, he cackled. "No promises."

Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || Masterlist

[fallintosanity]

#3!!!

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

(This is from an idea I started working on back in *checks notes* March of 2018, apparently, jeez. It’s not so much the set-up I’m lacking as the “where to go from here”, which alas is the usual problem I run into when writing.)

Noctis hated his Crownsguard bodyguards. 

More accurately, he hated that he had to have them, that he had to be followed everywhere by armed guards, hated that he couldn’t just decide to go places on a whim like Prompto did. Hated the way the other kids in the arcade eyed the Guard nervously, hated how their very presence kept Noctis from blending into the crowd the way he wanted, so badly, to do.

So he ignored them as best he could, tried to act as though they didn’t exist. It wasn’t difficult - they were as discreet as they could be, with their guns and earpieces and black pants and jackets that weren’t technically a uniform but were obviously not casual civilian clothes either. They stayed on the edges of the room where they could see the whole place at one, and sometimes Noctis almost managed to forget they were there. 

Today was one of those days. The arcade had just gotten a new co-op shooter, and Noctis and Prompto had waited in line for nearly an hour for their turn to play. Now, with a royal treasury’s worth of play credits, he and Prompto had torn through the early levels and had gathered an impressive audience. None of them seemed to realize that he was the Crown Prince of Lucis; they yelled and cheered and jeered him and Prompto both as they mowed through enemy mooks and made their way to what Noctis suspected was the game’s final boss.

Prompto was a better shot than Noctis, so Noct let him focus on shooting down the tricky incoming missiles and instead trained his light gun on the boss. It was a system they’d developed within a month or so of starting to play together: Noct aggro’ing the boss, his foot light and fast on the dodge pedal, while Prompto dealt with the annoying, hard-to-hit minions and missiles. It worked for them now, too - within a couple of minutes the boss exploded in a colorful burst of digital flame. 

As the final cutscene played and Noct and Prompto entered their initials at the top of the high score list, the crowd pressed closer, calling congratulations and praise. Not for the first time that day, Noctis regretted his decision to wear jeans instead of shorts; it was only early July but Lucis occasionally liked to remind its citizens that it was, in fact, primarily a desert country. The arcade had air conditioning, but the press of bodies around them was too thick for the cooler air to get through. 

Prompto, who also wore jeans but had cut the sleeves off his t-shirt, didn’t look any more comfortable than Noctis felt. He grabbed Noct by the wrist and tugged him through the crowd toward the vending machines. “I’m dying of thirst here,” he said, with an overdramatic swoon. 

Noctis laughed and jostled him. “You’re just saying that so I’ll buy the drinks.” 

“Well yeah,” Prompto agreed cheerfully as they fetched up against the vending machine. “You owe me from last week!”

“Hah, I forgot about that,” Noctis said. He fished in his pocket for his credit card and tapped it against the machine’s reader, keying in the codes for a couple of sodas. 

“I know you did,” Prompto said, grinning. “That’s why I’m reminding you.” He retrieved the sodas from the slot in the side and handed one to Noct, then took a swig from his own. “Oh man, that hits the spot!” 

Noct had just opened his own can when he noticed the Crownsguard approaching them from the side. It was probably one of the newer recruits; Noctis didn’t recognize the man’s face but he did recognize the black clothes, the earpiece, the close-cropped dark hair. The man looked nervous for a moment under Noct’s scrutiny, then swallowed and raised his chin. “I’m sorry, Highness,” he said, “but something’s come up. We need to leave now.” 

Something cold knotted in Noctis’s gut. “What’s wrong?” he asked. He spotted a second Guard nearby, his back to Noctis as he surveyed the room. The first Guard started walking toward the arcade’s entrance, not quite herding Noctis and Prompto along in front of him. 

“Nothing,” the Guard said, and smiled, though his expression was tense. Prompto stared at him, blue eyes wide, his normal smile faded to unease. The Crownsguard continued, “We simply wish to be overly cautious.” 

“Where are we going?” Prompto asked nervously. They’d reached the arcade entrance, the second Guardsman falling behind to watch their exit while a third materialized on the sidewalk and fell into step next to Prompto. Noctis didn’t recognize either of them. Just his luck to be stuck with a bunch of complete greenhorns so worried about being assigned to babysit the Crown Prince that they’d pull him out of the arcade as a precautionary measure. 

“It’ll just be a quick ride around the block,” the Guard promised. “While we make sure everything’s all right.” He pointed to a sleek black Crownsguard van sitting at the curb. 

The third Guard took a few quick steps to get ahead of them and pulled open the van’s side door. As Noct made to climb in, the man plucked his half-forgotten soda can from his fingers so he could buckle his seat belt, then did the same to Prompto. When they were both settled in the van’s middle row, he handed them their drinks back with a reassuring smile. “It won’t take long,” he said. “Sorry for the fuss. We just want to make sure our prince is safe.” 

Noctis waved a hand dismissively, trying not to let his annoyance show. They were just doing their jobs, as much as he might hate it, and honestly it was kind of nice to get out of the crowded, overheated arcade and sit in the relative quiet of the air-conditioned van. The Guard settled into the bench seat behind them, while the other two climbed into the front seats. The engine purred to life and the van pulled smoothly away from the curb. 

Noctis downed his soda, tilting his head back to let the air conditioning run over the skin of his neck. Beside him, Prompto slouched in his seat, fiddling with his own can before reluctantly taking a sip. Noctis elbowed him in the side. “Sorry about this,” he said, trying to make his voice light. He tried to be normal around Prompto - loved that, for the most part, he could be normal around Prompto - but the crown had a way of screwing that up. “Being the prince isn’t all fun and high scores.” 

Prompto shrugged one shoulder, still twisting the can in his hands. He took another sip with the air of working up to saying something, but his mouth twisted and he leaned against Noctis’s shoulder instead, turning his head to bury his face against Noct’s neck. Noctis blinked - it wasn’t as though they hadn’t ever leaned on each other like this, but usually on Noct’s couch where there wasn’t anyone around to see. And while Noctis generally didn’t count the Crownsguard as “anyone”, he knew Prompto did. 

Then Prompto whispered in Noctis’s ear, “So uh, maybe I’m just being paranoid or something, but, um. Are you sure these guys are the guards who came with us to the arcade?” 

Noctis opened his mouth to say something, to dismiss Prompto’s worry, to promise him it was fine - but the words didn’t come out. Cold nausea swirled suddenly in his gut. He hadn’t recognized the guards, and while he saw unfamiliar Crownsguard around the palace all the time, it was incredibly rare for his own Guard to get a single new face, much less three at once. Noctis glanced out the window, his stomach sinking as he realized they’d already driven far away from the arcade, out of the bustling downtown and into an ominously empty district of industrial warehouses. 

No.

Noctis wracked his brain, trying to remember the last time he’d seen his Crownsguard before the man had approached them at the vending machine. But he’d been ignoring the Guard the way he always did, and honestly couldn’t have said if they even made it into the arcade hours ago. And he definitely had no idea which of his usual roster had been with them - it wasn’t as though he paid them enough attention to notice who was whom. 

No…!

“Noct—” Prompto whispered, his fingers tightening around Noct’s wrist. Noct looked down; he hadn’t felt Prompto grab him, but Prompto’s fingers were wrapped around his wrist and his empty soda can was gone, fallen to the floor, and now that Noct had lowered his head it was suddenly hard to lift it again. Prompto was slipping too, his head falling from Noctis’s shoulder as he slumped down into Noct’s lap. 

NO!

Noctis tried to reach for his phone, tried to open his mouth to yell, tried to reach for the magic of his bloodline. But his muscles were slow, his body heavy and unresponsive, and the last thing he remembered was collapsing forward around Prompto’s unconscious body.

[alternatewarning]

Chaotic Elegance - Whumptober 2020 Fic

Entry Number 7 and 10 for Whumptober 2020: Carrying and Blood Loss/Trail of Blood

Title: Chaotic Elegance Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Pairing: Hints of Gladio/Prompto Rating: M Trigger Warnings: Gore, Major Character Death Summary: In an effort to protect Noctis during a heated battle, Prompto is badly injured. "Out of medical supplies and potions, the group races against a ticking clock to get him back to town.

Cross posted to Ao3

Most of the time the four of them fought in some chaotic sense of a formation.  Gladio would run in front, his sword easily taking down anything small or unprepared for the human behemoth.  Noctis would warp over to whatever enemy looked like it was the most likely to become a hassle and daggers would come flying after him, Ignis close behind.  With significantly less training than the other three, Prompto would follow behind, throwing off shots at any and every enemy that got close enough to aim at.  It wasn’t that structured in any way shape or form, but worked.  Rarely were they in each other’s way for more than a second, often turning a run-in to a two-pronged attack.  But sometimes things didn’t go as planned, even with such a thin hint of a plan to begin with.

It started when their toe-to-toe battle with an entire platoon of Magitek infantry was interrupted by a pack of elder coeurls who were much more intent on Noctis and his retainers than any of the ax-wielding magitek.  There were so many enemies to avoid that the entire battle was starting to become a hazy cluster, thunder streaking down from the sky as the cats seemed particularly interested in turning Noctis into their dinner.

“Noct, look out!”  Gladio’s warning wasn’t fast enough.  One of the larger black and white monsters was charing at the prince with it’s fanged mouth open wide.  Noctis’s back was to the creature as he was sidestepping the heavy swing of a trooper, twisting in the direction of the cat.  In a move so quick that he almost seemed to warp, Prompto was in front of the cat, gun aimed to fire.  While he managed to move fast enough his bullet didn’t down the monster, only wound it, and it didn’t present the attack.

The elder coeurl snapped its jaw, the predator catching all of Prompto’s shoulder in one bite.  It leaped back, mouth still clamped around the gunman, dragging him with her.  He stumbled to the ground, his right arm trapped in her maws.  Two more of her pack suddenly appeared, drawn in by their trapped prey.  Before any of the others could get to him, the monsters were already on top of him, claws and fangs tearing into skin.  The blond managed to get off a few shots, trying to at least maim the one holding him but everything was a blur of lightning, fur, and pain.

Prompto’s body quickly vanished under their assault, the giant creatures accidentally hiding the fact that he had been downed by their large size.  Eventually his grunts and ‘get off!’s warped into screams as they continued their attack.  It was enough to draw the attention of the others and the pack quickly scattered once one of them was killed by a combination of a lance thrown into its side and a greatsword rending it in two.  As the other two dodged away to be chased down by Noctis and Gladio, Ignis rushed to Prompto’s side.

The boy’s shoulder had been gouged by the coeurl’s fangs, clear teeth marks pierced into his clothing.  His chest looked like it had been nearly ripped open, claw marks tearing flesh and spattering the ground with blood that now tracked bloody paw prints away from the scene.  There were other, smaller wounds, like a few cuts to his face and more bite marks in his leg, but Ignis was much more worried about his chest.  He reached into the armiger only to find their healing items empty.  No potions, nothing at all.  He was out of healing magic himself, as well.

“You two need to wrap this up, and fast.  We are out of curatives and Prompto needs healing immediately.”  There was no time to focus on if they heard him or not.  Since his shirt had already been torn to shreds Ignis ripped it off, deftly tearing the fabric into strips.  He needed to focus on wrapping as many of the wounds as he could.  There was already a pool of blood below the blond and he was strangely quiet.  Still awake, at some point he had reached out and grabbed Ignis’s with a pale, white-knucked grip, but he seemed to be focusing so hard on breathing he didn’t have the spare thought to scream.

“Hold still, Prompto, this will hurt but it needs to be done.”  Ignis started to wrap what he could, praying to the Six that it was enough.  There were still sounds of battle all around him but he needed to focus on this and only this.  The shoulder wound was deep but not lethal, his leg was much more shallow so for now it would have to go ignored.  He started to wrap the chest, his gloves already slick with blood.

“Iggy…”

“Shh, you will be alright.  Just hold on a little longer.  We will head back to town once Noct and Gladio are done.”  He wanted to look Prompto in the eyes and promise him he would make it but he wasn’t in the habit of lying to the dying.  

By the time he was out of shredded shirt to use as wrapping it was obvious the Prompto was starting to fade.  There was a loud crack of fire erupting not too far away from Ignis’s back which was hopefully the last of the fighting.

“Iggy…I don’t feel so good.”  Just as the advisor was starting to lift him from the ground Gladio landed hard on his knees next to them.  Wordlessly he lifted the shivering boy into his arms, cradling the blond to his chest like a precious treasure.  He looked even paler than normal, his skin bleached against Gladio’s chest.

“Noctis, we are leaving now.”  The prince warped next to them after slicing the head off the last of the troopers.  His blue eyes went wide once he realized that the blood all over Prompto, and now Ignis as well, was his.

“Prom!  S---.  We have to hurry!”  He turned and ran, nearly tripping over himself as he started towards the nearest down.  Gladio followed behind him, one arm wrapped around Prompto’s back and the other under his knees.  The gunman was mumbling and shivering, fading in and out as they ran.  Ignis followed up the rear, trying to swallow the bile in his throat once he realized that even if he couldn’t see the other two, he could have easily followed the trail of blood.  Something was still bleeding badly enough that it was dripping down Gladio’s leg and leaving half formed bloody shoe prints in the dirt.

At first it seemed odd that Nocits ran ahead instead of trying to stay neck in neck with his Shield to guard his friend.  But it was obvious soon enough.  Ahead of the pack, his utter panic was enough to help him carve through any monsters that even appeared in his line of sight.  This left Gladio free reign to just run.  It was a single-minded focus that pushed all of them harder than their lungs could take.

Gladio hated how cold Prompto felt against him.  And how still.  Normally he was always moving, looking around, talking, fidgeting, on his phone, something.  He was never still for more than a millisecond, to the point that the Shield was a little shocked he could take a steady picture.  But now he was still as death.  At some point he’d wrapped a hand into Gladio’s shirt but even that felt weak, as if a gust of wind would pull him away.

“Hey blondie, hang in there.  We’re almost to safety.”  

“Gotta hang on…’s a rough ride, big guy.”  There were lights in the distance, the familiar artificial shine of an outpost.  It wouldn’t have the best medical facilities but there would be something.  Just as they were getting close there was a familiar, pained groan as the ground suddenly opened up into a flickering pool of darkness.  A gigantic iron hand slowly reached out, grabbing the ground like a ledge.  An Iron Gaint.  And not just one of them.

“Gadio, keep going.  We will take care of things here.”  Before the two daemons had even finished pulling themselves from the abyss, a series of daggers were launched towards them as Ignis yelled the orders over their cries.

“But Iggy-”

“Go!  Noct and I can handle this.”  The prince was already no more than a streak of blue was he threw his sword and warped into one of the daemon’s hands, causing it to try and swat him away like an annoying fly.  With a deep grumble Gladio continued to run, shifting the limp body in his arms ever so slightly.  At some point during that short exchange Prompto had closed his eyes and now he was worse than just still, he was completely limp.  The lights came close and closer until finally he was within their aura of safety.  The outpost had a small hotel with a half-sleep man at reception.  But he suddenly jerked awake with the sound of a behemoth coming through, throwing open a door for Gladio to rush in.  The man was gone in an instant, yelling over his shoulder that he was going to grab potions and whatever else he could.

With a gentleness to rival his rising panic, Gladio slowly lowered the younger man onto one of the beds.  His head lolled to the side, limbs landing where he was placed.  The wraps that had been his shirt had already soaked through, everything now a messy, dirty shade of red.  Against the light grey of the bedspread Prompto looked like a porcelain doll, his skin too pale to have ever been alive, his freckles standing out like black specks across his face.  He wasn’t breathing.  The innkeeper returned with a handful of vials and the Shield quickly grabbed the first, shattering it over the shredded remains of his chest.  He watched, listening for a gasp, a breath.  But nothing.  No change.  He was still limp and pale, lifeless.

“Prompto...come on.”  He reached out for another and again broke the bottle over the worst of the wounds.  And again nothing changed.  Gladio’s stomach leaped into his throat, closing off his air.  They hadn’t gotten here fast enough.  He hadn’t gotten here fast enough.  Slowly he took one of the other’s small hands in his own.  There was no pulse against his wrist, nothing.  Just a bloody shell all devoid of its sunshine.

[a-world-in-grey]

Take My Breath au - Altissia I

-Axis shows up in the morning just as they’re about to leave, dressed in plain clothes and looking like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.

-Sola glares at him anyway, and at a grinning Pelna sitting in the drivers seat of the truck. She turns her glare on Iris and Gladio when they greet their older brother far too cheerfully, and on Ignis because she knows exactly who called her Glaives to tell them their departure, thank you very much.

-Cid simply cackles when Sola tells Axis to get on the Six-cursed boat before they leave him behind. Noctis is very carefully not laughing, but she can feel his amusement anyway. Sola decides Prompto is her new favorite.

-A decision that lasts all of five seconds before Prompto demands group photos. Though Sola admits the shot of her holding Axis in a headlock while Gladio loses his shit is a good one.

-Axis updates everyone on the situation, and Sola rolls her eyes when Axis shamelessly admits that yes, the Glaives cheerfully disregarded her orders not to research the scourge from the very beginning. 

-Axis also gives Sola hell for not wearing the Clan braid even after Gilgamesh cut through it. He produces a replacement braid when Sola points out that her hair is too short, and Sola levels another glare in Ignis’ direction. 

-Only, no, turns out it’s Noctis who tattled, not Ignis, and her brother tells Sola that he’s not an idiot. He knows she stopped wearing the braid in order to protect her Clan by making herself an Outsider. If Sola doesn’t want her Clan to be Kinslayers, then she’s not allowed to die. Sola does not get to give up either. 

-Sola glares at the floor to avoid Noctis’ knowing look. Axis touches her shoulder and tells her that the burden of Kinslaying is a choice. Not one lightly made, but it is a choice all the same, made to protect the Clan. He swore himself as Sola’s Shield, swore to protect her and hers, including from herself if necessary. Sola says that Axis has a family. They need him. Axis counters that his wife understands, and his children, when they are older, will also understand. He is not leaving them alone. The Clan will look after them.

-Sola cries. Noctis hugs her on one side, Axis on the other, Prompto squirming in on a third and Gladio wrapping massive arms around all of them. Noctis tells Sola that she’s always protecting him. Let them protect her too. Sola sobs and calls them idiots. Axis chuckles silently and says that they’re her idiots though.

-The rest of the boat ride is long and uneventful, and Sola and Axis break out the various games the Glaives play during deployment to keep Prompto and the others from going stir crazy from boredom. Arriving in Altissia is a relief, because Gladio looks about two seconds from dumping Prompto overboard and Sola’s not far behind him.

-Noctis wants to immediately find Luna and heal Sola, but Sola advises against it. Ignis backs Sola, reasoning that they have no information on the local area, and they should take care not to bring Niflheim to the Oracle's doorstep. Sola tells Noctis that she can wait until after the Revelation from the Hydraean. A few more days won't make a difference. Noctis frowns, not convinced, but doesn't argue. 

-The Chocobros head off to the Maahgo to gather information. Uncle Wesk runs the place and is the local tipster. If anyone can give them a report on the local news, he can. Meanwhile, Axis and Sola split off from them to scout out Altissia, given that they are far more stealthy than the others and two people are far less conspicuous than four or six. They make note of Nif numbers and pick up the gossip on the street. And note some very familiar faces.

-Sola’s fingers twitch with the desire to murder Ravus and Caligo, but a hand on her shoulder from Axis helps quell the urge. And he’s right - they can’t afford to create a scene right now. But now that they know who the Nif commanders present are, well, they can plan.

-Sola and Axis make for the Maahgo, and report to Noctis. Noctis tells Sola of the requested meeting with Camelia Claustra, and informs them that he’ll be taking Gladio and Sola along. Sola advises Noctis to instead take Ignis. He has far more political acumen than Sola does, and taking along his Hand instead of his Sword will provide a far better implication to Camelia. One less militant.

-Ignis tilts his head thoughtfully but Weskham actually speaks up, telling Noctis that Camelia won’t appreciate the slight to her hospitality. Noctis counters that Accordo is a vassal of Niflheim, and it would be stupid to expect her to protect the head of state of an enemy country. Hospitality or no.

-Noctis eyes Sola and asks what she plans to do while he's meeting with the First Secretary. Sola affects an innocent look. Noctis isn't fooled, and he says that he knows her. So spill, because he'd rather not be blindsided by whatever mischief she's getting up to. Sola pouts at her little brother, even as the others snort at her in amusement.

-Regardless, Sola tells Noctis that it's highly likely the High Chancellor is in town, given his tendency to stick his nose into everything related to Noctis. The man has a disturbing obsession with him. Camelia has proven most obstinate towards the Empire. Sola doubts Noctis will be accosted while meeting with her. Which will irritate Ardyn something fierce no doubt.

-Gladiolus says that Sola plans to play bait. Sola waves her hand and says that Ardyn sought her out at both Galdin Quay and in Lestallum. If she finds a discreet spot to linger, Arydn will show up or Sola will eat her glaive. Sola wants Ardyn where she can keep track of him.

-Ignis asks what Sola will do if Ardyn shows up with MTs. Sola meets Ignis' concerned gaze with a half-lidded stare, and says that if Ardyn brings MTs, he'd better bring an army of them. She doesn't think he will - starting a fight in Altissia's streets will not endear the Empire to the locals. Noctis tells Sola to bring Prompto with her and Axis anyway. Sola and Axis eye Prompto speculatively. 

-Sola and Axis spend the rest of the day dragging Prompto around to give him a crash course on stealth. Well, Axis is giving him the crash course, Sola is providing a target for Prompto to practice on as well as distraction for anyone who might be watching. By the time night falls, Prompto is good enough that he won't immediately give away where he and Axis are hiding, and Sola's found a spot to linger in.

-And sure enough, sitting in one of the cafes overlooking a canal, Sola is unsurprised when-

-"Such a beautiful night on the water. It would be a waste to spend it alone."

-"High Chancellor." Sola greets.

-"Your Highness." Ardyn slips into the chair across from her with a charming smile, before raising a brow at the bottle of wine and empty wineglass sitting on the table. "Expecting company?” 

-"Consider it an invitation." Sola cradles her own glass - her second. She's been waiting for some time now. "One of the local vintages I prefer, on rare occasion." 

-There's silence as Ardyn pours himself a glass. It's surprisingly comfortable for two enemies. Sola lets herself enjoy it. She might not get to enjoy all that many more. 

-"Well now, that's a concerning frown," Ardyn says, "What troubles you?"

-Sola eyes him. Really. He has to ask? "I have a list. Would you like it alphabetically or chronologically?"

-Her deadpan tone draws a laugh. "Perhaps the reason behind your invitation then. In the interest of saving time."

-Fair. Sola has enough problems to keep her up all night if she lets them. And well, Sola does have a reason for drawing Ardyn out, beyond what she told the others. "In Lestallum, you knew I was Scourge-infected," Sola says, choosing her words with care, "How?"

-"It's a long-held interest of mine." Ardyn replies. "In Niflheim we call it the Vanishing Sickness."

-"With how its victims turn into daemons, I can see why," Sola says. She swirls her wine and ignores the suddenly sharp look from Ardyn, though she catalogues the reaction for later, "Given your expertise, what do you think I will become?" 

-If she succumbs to the Scourge, that is. But that's not something the High Chancellor needs to know.

-Ardyn hums thoughtfully. "Were you of meager ability and will, I would guess some form of Ronin, or perhaps an Arachne." He chuckles at the face Sola pulls. "I doubt you'll turn into something so simple. No. A woman of your caliber? Nothing short of magnificently unique.”

-And incredibly dangerous, Sola surmises. She takes a deep breath. It won't happen. They'll find a cure - and if they don't, Gladio and Axis will do what is necessary. 

-"I am surprised you haven't sought Lady Lunafreya's help."

-Sola snorts. "Please, High Chancellor, give Secretary Claustra more credit than that. Denying you access to the Oracle and her chosen escort is one thing. Directly aiding Niflheim's enemies?" She slants him a wry look. "There's a difference between bold and stupid." 

-There's a delicate pulse of magic. Axis - the echo of her own sun-fire-fury unfurling like a cloak - using a stealth spell. Her cue to make her way back to the Maahgo, now that Noctis is safely back from the Minister's mansion. Sola takes her leave, already planning how to lose the two Nif agents tailing her.

-She leaves Ardyn with the bill.

[copper-wasp]

Noctis Lucis Caelum x Reader: Kisses (Part 4/?)

From an ongoing series of short one-shots regarding kissing our favorite pretty boy quartet.

Also posted to AO3

Rated: T

Words: 2091

The water felt great on your feet as they dangled from the dock. You leaned back on your hands, closing your eyes to the fading sun as it began its descent below the horizon. It was warm on your cheeks, it’s light having brought out your freckles from basking in it all day. It was your last night here before you had to drive back to Insomnia and continue with your duties.

Gladio and Prom were huddled around the campfire, while Iggy and Iris prepped the s’mores. Noct was walking toward you, two bottles of beer in his hands. He handed one to you, having already removed the cap, and you clicked the bottle against his before taking a long sip.

“You look comfortable,” he commented, sitting cross legged next to you.

“I could probably stay here forever if you let me,” you replied, setting the bottle on the worn wood.

He chuckled, “I don’t think any of us can afford that luxury... but it is pretty nice out here, away from the city.”

“It is,” you agreed, running your finger over the condensation forming on the bottle.

“Hey, thanks for coming with us this weekend. I know the Marshal keeps you busy most of the time.”

You chuckled, taking another sip. “Yeah, he does, but honestly I wouldn’t have it any other way. Idle hands are the devil’s playthings, after all.”

“Oh jeez, now you sound like Ignis.”

“Is that a bad thing?” you asked, cocking your head to the side as you looked at him.

“I can barely handle one Iggy. I think I’d die if there were two,” he replied with a laugh. “I’m sorry we haven’t had much time together, you know, to hang out,” he added, running a hand through his hair.

You pulled your feet out of the water, tucking your knees to your chest and wrapping your arms around yourself. “It’s all right, I know how popular you are,” you replied, looking down at the surface of the water, watching the little ripples your feet left as they exited widen until they merged with the rest of the calm water.

You could see Noct looking at you in your periphery as he absentmindedly brought the bottle up to his lips.

“It’s not polite to stare, Highness,” you said sarcastically, turning to smirk at him. You thought he’d look away, but he kept his gaze on you, deep blues looking right into your eyes.

“What if I can’t help but stare at beautiful things?” he replied softly, moving himself incrementally closer to you. You opened and closed your mouth pathetically, trying to come up with some sort of comeback, a witty remark to deflect his attention elsewhere. He couldn’t know how you felt about him, could he? It was wholly inappropriate, a member of the Crownsguard lusting over the Prince, especially as you were three years older than him. But every time he’d look at you, or brush his fingers against yours when you handed him something, or smile and nod at you in passing, your stomach did a little backflip, always failing to stick the landing.

You thought about just sliding into the lake and letting yourself drown, but decided quickly that that may be a touch extreme (not to mention that you knew how to swim...). You were pulled out of your self-deprecation when you felt his fingertips ghost over your cheek; they were too soft and too warm, and now hurling yourself into the lake was looking even more tempting. His lips were centimeters away from yours when you heard Iris call out to you.

“Noct! Hey, [Y/N]! S’mores are ready for the fire!” she said, and you scrambled to your feet, power walking off of the pier and onto the soft grass. Luckily Iris has been standing too far away to see what had almost happened, and you breathed a guilty sigh of relief.

Listen, self. You cannot, and I repeat, cannot kiss the Prince; you can’t! Is that clear? you thought, claiming the empty seat between Gladio and Prom around the fire. You furrowed your brows, actively averting your gaze when Noctis rejoined the group.

“You okay?” Prompto asked, handing you a marshmallow already gored on a skewer.

“Fine, yeah. Just tired from all this doing nothing,” you remarked, grinning at him.

“Nothing is my favorite thing to do,” Gladio interjected, lowering his book to catch your eye. You chuckled at him, thrusting your marshmallow directly into the flames. The only acceptable way to roast a marshmallow was to make sure that baby was charred on the outside, making it gooey and delicious in the center.

Iggy, horror-struck at your treatment of the marshmallow, argued with you for a solid three minutes about how you were just burning it and there was no way it tasted better than his perfectly golden brown one, until Prom agreed with you, brandishing his own blackened ‘mallow before lovingly sandwiching it between the chocolate and graham crackers. Then Gladio agreed with Iggy and the whole thing started again. Iris wisely kept her opinion to herself, even when her brother tried to goad her into taking his side. Noct, on the other hand, wasn’t even bothering with the fire, literally just shoving marshmallows into his mouth ‘raw.’

Like a telepath, he managed to catch your eye every time your gaze meandered over to him, and you were glad that the orange glow of the fire was enough to camouflage your pinked cheeks.

After eating far too many s’mores, and unable to keep sitting there as if your body wasn’t screaming to be held by Noctis as he pressed kiss after kiss on your lips, you lamely excused yourself to the cabin to try to fall asleep.

After quieting your heart, you closed your eyes tight, eventually falling into a dreamless sleep.

It probably wasn’t the best idea to go to bed at 8:30 in the evening, as you fell out of sleep a couple hours later. Holding your wrist over your head, you saw the glow of the hands on your watch resting on 12:47. Groaning, you switched positions, then switched again, and once more for good measure before giving up and extracting yourself from the bed.

You crept to the front door as quietly as you could, only stubbing your toe once on the coffee table, cursing under your breath, before gently twisting the handle and stepping out into the night. Some of the daytime heat had dissipated, but it was still balmy and pleasant.

You wandered back over to the pier after grabbing a lantern from around the fire, sitting down on the edge and dipping your feet into the water once again. The moon was bright, casting a glow on the placid surface and you took a deep breath, still faintly smelling the burning wood from the campfire.

You leaned back on the dock, trying to find as comfortable a position as you could on the hard planks, your eyes darting around the night sky, playing connect the dots with the stars.

You heard soft footsteps from behind you on the pier, knowing immediately who it was.

“Good evening, Highness,” you said, sitting up, but not looking at him. “Or I guess I should say good morning?”

Noctis sat next to you, his shoulder bumping against yours as he tucked his legs underneath him. “You know you don’t have to call me that, right? My name is just fine,” he replied.

“I know, but I have to remind myself who you are,” you said softly, tilting your head back to look up at the sky once more.

“Is that why you practically ran away from me earlier?”

“Shit, you really get right to the point, don’t you?” you sighed, pulling your feet out of the water and shaking them to try to get as much liquid off as you could.

“That’s not exactly answering my question, [Y/N].”

You glanced over at him, the lantern illuminating his striking features. You could see his hair was a mess, though, sticking up even more than usual at odd angles. The Prince must not be a calm sleeper.

“Yes, Noctis,” you replied, voice heavy with annoyance, wanting to bail on this entire conversation. “You’re the goddamn Crown Prince. I cannot kiss the Crown Prince. I can’t. I just can’t, okay?” You ran a hand through your hair, hating that there were angry tears pricking at the corners of your eyes.

“There’s nothing stopping us....” he said quietly, trying to take your hand, but you pulled it away, a sardonic laugh escaping your lips.

“Except my job, and my age, and oh, you know, you being the Prince.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” he said flatly, trying to get you to look at him. “I like you, I know you like me, why won’t you just let me kiss you?”

“Gods, Noct, of course I want that. I am always thinking about you... but we just can’t,” you said, your tone softening.

“I don’t care about what’s expected of me, okay?” he said, finally able to grab your flailing hand, quickly pressing your palm against his chest, right over his rapidly beating heart. “All I care about is how being around you makes me feel.”

You could feel your resolve crumbling. Your brain was frantically trying to mortar that brick wall back together, but your heart was a bulldozer.

“Noctis-“ you whispered, but were quickly silenced by his lips on yours. He brought his hands up to your cheeks, kissing you desperately, uncoordinated as he claimed your mouth with his. You slid the hand that was on his chest up to his neck, feeling his heartbeat even stronger there. Your other hand you hooked over his shoulder, bunching his shirt into your fist.

Once he felt your hands on him, he angled your head to press even closer to your lips, pouring every ounce of himself into it. Completely in sync, your tongues met, swirling around one another in tandem. You moaned softly into his mouth and he swallowed it, greedily drinking down all of your noises. He moved his hands to your waist, pulling you as closely to him as he could from your awkward sitting positions, lips not leaving yours for a single second.

You draped your arms around his neck, pulling back to suck in a breath before finding his lips again. You kissed for an embarrassingly long time, and when you parted, you were lightheaded and completely out of breath from his sweet oral torture.

“Oh, Noct,” you breathed, still as close to him as you could be. “Now I’m never going to be able to fall back asleep,” you finished, laughing softly.

You felt him caress his hands up your back, a shiver shooting down your spine. “Well, we’ve got this whole lake to ourselves... wanna go skinny dipping?”

You grinned, pressing a soft kiss to his soft lips. “That’s very inappropriate to be asking your bodyguard, Highness,” you teased, emphasizing the last word as you untangled yourself from his grasp. Standing up and facing away, you grabbed at the hem of your tank top, pulling it up and over your head in one fluid motion, exposing your naked back to him. You heard him choke on his spit, coughing a few times to try to clear his throat. Next went your shorts and underwear, pushed swiftly down over your hips, giving Noctis the full, unobstructed view of your backside. You stepped out of them, hearing him curse, followed by some scrabbling as he rushed to stand.

Looking at him over your shoulder, you saw him half way through tearing off his own shirt, his lithe, muscled stomach accented by the moonlight.

You elegantly dove into the water, squealing a little when you broke the surface, the temperature being a little colder than you expected. You looked back up at the pier, getting just a little glimpse of Noct’s naked form before he joined you, his cannonball splashing some water on your face.

He surfaced and immediately swam over to you, his hands finding your waist under the water. He pulled you close, humming satisfactorily as your breasts came into contact with his chest. He claimed your mouth in another intense kiss, feeling like his hands were touching and caressing every inch of your skin.

You brushed his dripping hair back off his forehead, kissing his temple as he held you in his embrace, both of your feet kicking to keep you above water.

Thank you for reading!!

Find me on:

AO3: copper_wasp

Twitter: copper_wasp_

[gladio-to-meet-you]

Nervous Wreck (ft the Chocobros)

This one really could've gone either way but I'm not 100% comfortable with NSFW works yet, so I stayed SFW c:

This one is formatted a bit differently, I wanted to try this out, so let me know how y'all like it???

~~

You knew he appreciated you being completely honest about things that bothered you, so you could address the issues together. But you had been putting off a particular conversation since you two had gotten together almost six months ago. The only thing you had said on the topic was that you didn't want to rush into anything and you were assured things would proceed at a pace you controlled...

Ignis

You had insisted on celebrating your six month anniversary together and he was the one that insisted on making dinner. You arrived at his apartment on time and he let you in, telling you to make yourself comfortable before he disappeared back into the kitchen. You opted to take your shoes off and hang up your jacket before following after him. "Hey, Iggy?" You questioned softly ss you poured two glasses of wine from the bottle on the table.

When he hummed in response, you passed over the second glass before taking a sip to give yourself a moment to savor it and not rush into your reason for getting his attention. "Darling? Is there something you want to talk about?" You made an affirming sound and he informed you dinner would be ready in a minute so it could be discussed while you both ate. You made sure to let him know dinner was fantastic before you launched into your speech, starting off with a "I probably should've brought this up sooner but..." You went on to explain that you were actually still a virgin and that's why you had wanted to take things slow. You knew your face was flushed from a combination of embarrassment and the wine you had drank.

He let you finish speaking and reached over to encompass your hand in his. "That is totally understandable and there is no reason to feel ashamed!" He started out, smiling that smile he reserved only for you. It was so soft and loving it made you melt. He went on to say that he would wait until you were ready and there would be absolutely no rushing about it.

Prompto

Your celebration had been pretty laid back, but had included a few couple selfies so you both had physical reminders. You had eaten at your favorite restaurant and had taken a walk in the park afterwards, hand in hand. Your joined hands swung lazily between you two as you walked aimlessly, not needing to talk to fill the silence.

"Hey, Prom? Can I tell you something? I haven't told anyone else this before..." You were hesitant and your voice reflected it, but you weren't about to back down. Prompto gave your hand a reassuring squeeze and nodded, maintaining eye contact just long enough to make sure you saw his nod. "I...haven't slept with anyone before. I wasn't comfortable enough to do so with my exes and they all managed to make me feel ashamed about it."

You guys had stopped walking as you started speaking and you heard him draw in a slow breath before releasing it. He turned to face you completely, making sure he held both of your hands tightly. "They did what? Give me their names and they won't have a word to say about you again." Anger made his voice shake and it took you a moment to realize it wasn't aimed at you. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with not having sex with your partner! The fact that they shamed you over that proves how much they didn't deserve you." He proceeded to cover your faces in little kisses until you were giggling at his actions.

Noctis

You had both agreed to keep the date pretty simple. You ended up eating at his place and walking to the arcade he would frequent with Prompto when both were free. You were amazed when you saw how many high scores he held! In the time spent there, you tried your hardest to beat at least one of your boyfriend's scores and fell short each time.

You guys opted to walk back, Gladio hovering just close enough to intervene should someone attempt anything but far enough away to where you didn't feel like he would eavesdrop - not that you believed the Shield would do that in the first place. "Noct, you remember when I said earlier there was something I wanted to talk about?" You squeezed his hand involuntarily at the thought of bringing this up but you knew it had to be done, he deserved to know.

"Hm? What do you - oh, yeah, now I do! What is it?" He directed his attention as you walked, letting go of your hand to drape his arm around your shoulders so you were closer to him. "W-Well, I've...never done it with someone before. I didn't like my exes enough and I was told it should be with someone special." You rambled quietly, face turning red the more you said. He stopped so he could look down at you, cooing softly at your face, before he started moving again. "Don't worry babe, that's not something to be ashamed about okay? I love you for you, as you are, no matter what." He pecked the top of your head, squeezing your shoulder.

Gladio

Despite his looks and any previous partners he had had before you, he was taking things at a snail's pace for you. He wouldn't even make out with you unless you were the one initiating it. That way you were comfortable with whatever you guys did or didn't do. It did get a bit frustrating at times, but you understood why he was insistent on it being that way.

You guys had eaten at a family diner and made your way to a small bar you both knew wouldn't be crowded. You wanted a drink or three for liquid courage and he was fine with keeping an eye on you so you didn't get blackout drunk like you did sometimes. After the third shot, you turned to him, nibbling on your bottom lip. "Gladdy, babe? I have a confession to make and it's not a...bad one," you said suddenly, surprising him since you both had been enveloped in a comfortable silence.

He turned to look at you, directing his full attention to you. "I know the bar isn't busy, but are you fine with saying it here?" He looked concerned but smiled at you when you nodded. His smile had butterflies errupting in your stomach and you fiddled with the empty glass for a moment to gather your thoughts. "I haven't been completely honest with you. I told you at the beginning that I wanted to take it slow, which was true..." You took a breath and finished in a rush, explaining that you hadn't been with anyone like that before, that you had broken up or been dumped when you realized your part boyfriends had all just wanted sex.

"Oh. Really? That's a bit surprising, but I don't think it's anything to be concerned about. In fact, it doesn't change how I view you or feel about you!" He promised, his brows had started off raised but as he finished speaking he leaned forward and placed a kiss on your forehead, thanking you for feeling comfortable enough to share that with him.

[stephic-writings]

Pietà -- Ravus Nox Fleuret x Noctis Lucis Caelum

So I had a couple of folks asking me (AKA giving me an excuse) to write more -- one about Daemon!Ravus and one about RavNoct. So here! You get this from me, which I’m actually kinda proud of despite having kind of abstract thoughts while writing it. But that’s what makes it pretty fun nevertheless~

Enjoy the read! New goal/mission this year: write more cool stuff! So help a brotha out and shoot me some writing prompts, inspiration, words of appreciation, etc. c:

WARNINGS: Character Death, Angst Ships: Ravus Nox Fleuret/Noctis Lucis Caelum Word Count: 3394

Read on AO3 too!

It was a nightmare that came to life. The metal corridors of such a hopeless place. Escape impossible. Noctis didn’t know how long he had walked – no, ran – to escape the horrors of the twisted corpses and shambles that had pursued him. He didn’t know how long it had been since he had been cast into the depths of hell here. It was only becoming a blur with his sanity depleting in a timeless wormhole.

The only thing that was made clear was how the one bit of hope Noctis had in escaping this place was found as a lifeless corpse. Elegant white stained by crimson and black. Weapon still fastened in his dismembered hand and ready to fight off the darkness, only to inevitably succumb to it. Noctis hoped it was only a ruse, shaking the commander, pleading with him. But it was a lost cause. His blood was still warm, and yet his body was so cold.

Noctis couldn’t forget how peaceful Ravus looked.

The image burned itself in his mind, but Noctis had to push it aside. There was only so long he could remain in the keep’s barracks for safety. Eventually, he would have to run. He would have to fight off the monsters, without the aid of his friends and allies. Noctis let out a breath, clutching the sword left behind by the fallen commander until his knuckles turned white through the blood on his skin.

At least Ravus would be there in spirit, helping Noctis fight his way free.

The prince struggled his way through the floors of the keep, pushing his way towards the elevator to take him up to the elevated floors above. There must be some sort of command center around here. Maybe even a switch that would allow him to use his powers again. Anything would be better than sitting here and joining Ravus in the afterlife.

Even if that did sound like a good idea.

Noctis rested against the elevator’s walls, closing his eyes for only a mere moment before the doors parted. Not even a chance to catch his breath. He pushed himself from his place and advanced, pacing himself slowly and wearily. No sign of any immediate dangers. And unlike the other floors, the area seemed undisturbed. A red trail lead from the elevator towards a large cage-like form before him. It felt odd walking on top of something besides metal as Noctis followed along the path. It felt almost welcoming as Noctis pushed aside the two massive doors and saw before him a ballroom caged off from the metalworks of the keep.

Until his gaze fell upon the white-clad figure sitting atop the throne.

“Ravus…?” Noctis’s eyes widened, body carrying him halfway there before halting abruptly. No. That can’t be him. He was dead. Noctis couldn’t forget such a sight. But he was there, eyes closed as if in a slumber.

He looked so peaceful, in sleep as he did in death.

It stung to recall just how serene of an expression Ravus had, then and now. But whatever this was, it was just an illusion. Noctis knew this as he advanced closer to the sleeping commander. It was as if nothing happened to him, a perfect recollection of Ravus that Noctis had remembered of him in the commander’s final moments. Only there was no blood. No injuries. There was only solace in the commander’s appearance as Noctis listened to the soft breathing that eased the tension in Noctis’s body.

If he closed his eyes too, then it would be as if nothing happened. Just the sound of rest between two souls. No images of the metal labyrinth. Only a darkness that would bring comfort and make him forget it all. It was a tempting thought.

At last, you have arrived, Noctis.

Noctis’s eyes shot open in amidst his daze. His hands shook as he readied himself with his sword. No sight of anyone else – nothing to be alarmed of. That is, until Noctis looked back to the throne, noticing the empty place once again. The anxiety his felt in his predicament worn him out. His mind was playing tricks on him, and the lack of true sleep only contributed more to it. Seeing things, hearing things, feeling things he shouldn’t be able to sense. It was an awful feeling…

You need your rest, Noctis. Recover yourself.

“Yeah… I probably should.” His eyes fixed themselves onto the throne. Feet dragged themselves forward, fingers unable to secure his sword anymore until it clattered to the ground. Noctis brushed his fingers over the throne’s velvet cushion. The world softened from a mere stroke of comfort that such a resting place could offer. Already Noctis’s vision blurred, ready to submit to slumber before Noctis could even sit.

Yet it still nagged in Noctis’s mind that it still wasn’t time for him to rest. Gladiolus and Ignis were probably still searching for him, and Prompto was somewhere within the keep too. But no matter how much he searched, there was no sign of reuniting with them. And with his current condition, Noctis could barely take a few more steps without feeling like he would collapse. He nearly did as he backed away from the throne with hesitation.

“I have to find the others first…”

After you rest. You have fought so hard. Regain your strength, Noctis. I will watch over you.

Noctis didn’t recall the sensation of arms wrapping themselves around his waist, beckoning him upright and guiding him towards the throne. And yet, he allowed his body to be led. He leaned against the arm of the throne as weary eyes watched the doors as they closed and sealed themselves from intruders once more. Now he was able to rest in the protection of the untainted ballroom. That’s good… Perhaps now a moment of reprieve was attainable.

The prince abided and lowered himself into his seat. Splendor overwhelmed him, washing away whatever strain and anxiety he had before and replaced it with serenity. He was finally able to have a moment to himself as his body slumped back further. Noctis’s eyes fluttered in and out of focus as he felt something stroke his hair. Feather-like and comforting as they brushed Noctis’s hair from his eyes like a small breeze. He couldn’t help but feel as if he was being embraced with warmth, at last able to close his eyes as the words whispered in his mind again with a heat burning against his neck.

I will watch over you.

“Yeah… I’ll see you in my dreams, Ravus.”

The commander smiled against Noctis’s neck and held him tighter. “Sleep well, my king.”

--

“Come on! We mustn’t lose him this time!”

“Wait up, Iggy. We can’t afford to get split up again.”

Gladiolus and Prompto pursued Ignis as the trio ran through the corridors. Despite his disability, Ignis was eager to go, pushing through the corridors with no fear or weariness. They too had all been trapped in the labyrinth, but they were able to reunite once again. Prompto had been saved by Gladiolus and Ignis, but their party was still short their most valuable member. The pursuit after the prince only proved to be more tedious in a maze of steel and iron. But Ignis always did have a keen sense in finding Noctis. And despite his blindness, it took no more than a clang of metal to alert Ignis and quickly dash towards the noise. Foolish perhaps, but if Ignis sensed it was the prince, he may be right.

They had nothing to lose. Except for their friend, that is.

The elevator rose up, and it didn’t take another beat before the group pushed their way out and ran up to the large metal doors that blocked their path. Odd that there would be such an ornate door in such a hellish place. If this is where their adventure lead, then they would see to just what laid beyond.

“Prompto, open the door!”

“G-Got it!”

The blond stammered but held the code on his wrist up. Despite his insecurity over noting it to Ignis and Gladiolus, there was no time for hesitation. Noctis was more important – the glue that held their group together. Just because he was ‘the enemy,’ Prompto wouldn’t allow himself to forsake Noctis just because he refused to open the paths for the others. So, he quickly scanned the code and unsealed the door’s lock. Attempted to before he ultimately resorted to summoning his pistol and blasting the security panel.

Gladiolus moved into action by pushing the massive doors aside. He was the first to rush into the room, being the shield for Ignis and Prompto, but being the first to get to Noctis’s side as his bodyguard. He already felt as if he failed for his lack of protection. He got separated from the prince – an unforgivable act even if the two argued previously. He regretted everything he said to Noctis. He regretted blaming Noctis for Ignis’s pain, for telling him his mourning was for nothing. Because knowing that Noctis was alone in this hell, fearing the death of the prince… Gladiolus began to see just where Noctis’s grief stemmed from. He needed to see Noctis safe – to apologize. To protect his king before the daemons that swarmed the keep.

And to protect Noctis from the daemon that sat upon the throne.

Darkness dripped from the figure in the throne, pooling around and running along the floor towards the trio that entered. The snow-white attire and features of what was once a man was stained and tattered. His flesh was cracked with the same dark liquid spilling from his face and eyes, falling more as it slowly turned towards the trio and rasped.

“Noct!”

Triggered by the name, the daemon held the prince tighter and let out an ear-shattered shriek. The prince remained unphased by such noise, captured in a trance of slumber as the demon held the sleeping prince in his lap. The monster hissed, rising with the prince in its arms with its voice twisted and shrill.

“What the hell is that…?!” Gladiolus summoned his sword, shielding Ignis and Prompto in a defensive stance as the daemon towered before them. Whatever it was, it wasn’t human anymore. “Whatever it is, it needs to die…!”

“Gladio, wait!” Prompto gripped Gladiolus’s arm, his eyes widened in shock as he pointed. “Look.”

The bodyguard’s eyes narrowed as the demon lowered the prince into the throne. What was this? Did it just caress Noctis’s face? Compassionate in its actions, it was shocking to see. The daemon turned itself back to the others, a menacing snarl coming from it as it reached to its side. It drew a monstrous black weapon from its side, reminiscent of a blade that lashed out its corruption across the red and gold ballroom. Gladiolus readied his shield the moment the daemon dashed forward. It was barely a blink of an eye before the daemon was in Gladiolus’s face, dripping across Gladiolus’s shield and face before the bodyguard threw the daemon back.

‘Watch… Over… Him…

He is mine…!’

Gladiolus roared to the gunner. “Prompto! Get Iggy out of here!”

Prompto followed his commands, guiding out Ignis just as the daemon recovered and lashed at Gladiolus again. Slow his swings were, but the brutality of each strike nearly knocked Gladiolus around. Gladiolus grunted at the first blade’s strike, but then blocked at the second, sliding back against the wall before recuperating to block the reemergence of the monster with its blade. Damn… This thing was strong. Whatever they had faced before was child’s play compared to this daemon. But for some reason, it didn’t attack Noctis. Was it under Ardyn’s control? Why keep Noctis alive like that?

‘No other… Noctis…!’

Gladiolus surveyed the monster as best as he could before throwing it back again, stumbling away to regain his breath. There must be a weakness. Was it that pulsing thing on its chest? Its legs? Anything would work, because there was only so much evading Gladiolus could do against a fast and powerful daemon. His eyes continued to search, but he did notice something. Amongst the dripping black liquid was a familiar emblem across the remnants of the monster’s attire. Gold, silver, and violet. Gladiolus’s eyes widened at the revelation.

The Tenebraen coat of arms.

It made more sense now as Gladiolus looked again. The white uniform was barely recognizable anymore. Sword was melted into that twisted black form. There was hardly a face through the cracks and deformities on the monster’s face, but was it…?

The monster didn’t let Gladiolus have a moment more of rest before it dashed forward again. And as it swung its blade up, Gladiolus readied himself to block again before he roared back. “Ravus!”

Too close for comfort, the blade had stopped mere inches from Gladiolus’s face. A silence settled, too quiet for the conflict that had stirred just seconds prior. The daemon let out a rasp of a breath, stepping closer and pressing its corrupt blade against the shield’s neck. A thin train of blood crept down Gladiolus’s flesh. Crimson. A painful color that the daemon seemed to recall as it hissed by Gladiolus’s face.

Gladiolus didn’t get to counter the sharp strike to his chest that knocked him far. His sword clamored to the ground as he struck the metal caging of the ballroom’s walls. He took a knee to recollect his breath, blood being vomited to the ground as he wheezed. A powerful strike, but not enough to keep Gladiolus down for long. The king’s shield rose again, summoning his weapon back to hand as he readied for the defensive.

The daemon, however, had lost its interest. It began to stagger back towards the throne, its blade falling to the ground as the black ooze began to drip from its form. A vile path was left – skin shed until eventually it revealed its true form. A stained and torn coat that wouldn’t be considered white anymore. Skin pale as snow itself and silver hair with a lost sheen. And with a sorrowful expression, dark and corruption still in its eyes, it watched the sleeping form before falling to its knees before the king.

“Ravus…”

Gladiolus watched the monster transform, slowly following the trail towards the man’s side. His greatsword shattered from reality, a rain glimmering around Gladiolus. It was only when Ravus turned towards Gladiolus that the shield recognized the daemonic look in his eyes. White still black and his gaze shifting between a glowing violet to their once normal blue color. Ravus was no longer the man he once was. It was a harrowing realization.

“I had only wished to fulfill her wish.” The commander’s hands shook as he reached up, taking the king’s hand into his black claw-like own. “She wished for his safety and well-being, and thus, I swore to see to it. I cannot break her promise. I cannot lose him.”

“Neither can we, Ravus.” Gladiolus reached out and rested his hand atop Ravus’s shoulder. “But Noct’s got a job to do – one that’ll save everyone. Even if it’s a hard one.”

“No!” Ravus lashed out at Gladiolus, gripping his arm and causing the black corruption to grapple the shield’s arm. It threatened to go further and injure him even more, were it not for Ravus’s restraint. “It was this task – this Astral forsaken prophecy – that got my sister killed. And it will result in more suffering. The one thing she wishes to protect in this world – that I wish to protect… That is something I refuse to let be abused any longer!”

Gladiolus grit his teeth, reaching up and trying to pry some room between Ravus’s hostile grasp. “I know, Ravus. We don’t want to let Noct get hurt any more either. But that’s why he can’t stay here with you. You won’t hurt him, but think about him, dammit!”

“It is only about him!” Ravus threw Gladiolus down onto the ground with enough force to shatter the tiles beneath. The darkness only began to grow over Ravus’s arm and face again, twisting into a more daemonic horned form as he snarled. He squeezed tighter and tighter, an attempt to drown out the grunts of pain coming from the other man. “I will be his guardian and protector. I will not let that monster get his hands on him, nor will I let you take him from me-!”

“Ravus.”

Those weren’t the words of the bodyguard pleading with him as he expected. Ravus’s eyes widened as he slowly turned towards the soft voice, meeting the blue eyes of the king that watched. Not with fear, not with anger… With pity it was. The fact that he was awake was enough for Ravus to retract his arm. He staggered forward towards the king, kneeling before him as his black claw reached up towards the king’s face.

“You… Need your rest, Noctis.”

“I know… But so do you, Ravus.” Noctis allowed Ravus’s hand to caress his cheek, his own hand reaching up and resting on top of it. He didn’t allow himself to be frightened of the daemon before him, even if he wanted to be. Ravus didn’t need to be feared. “You’re fighting hard, aren’t you? With the daemons inside of you, with the grief that you’re feeling… Does it hurt to fight so hard…?”

The daemon shook its head. “My pain has no significance. All that matters are your desires, my king.”

“That’s not true, Ravus. You matter too.” Noctis took Ravus’s claw away, holding onto his hands as he looked at the heterochromatic gaze before him. “That’s why I want you to rest.”

“But I swore to protect you. It was my vow to her and my vow to you.”

“I know… But you can’t protect me when you’re so weary.” Noctis gave a soft smile, reaching up and brushing aside Ravus’s hair. "You have fought so hard. You deserve the chance to finally close your eyes.”

The daemon rasped, hanging its gaze as it gripped tighter onto Noctis’s hands. The king winced as he felt blood being drawn. But Noctis guided Ravus’s head down onto his lap, gingerly running his fingers over the commander’s hair as the darkness began to dissipate. There was the commander that Noctis recognized, staring onward with a worn expression as he gripped tighter to Noctis’s hand.

“Have I truly fought hard as you say, Noctis?”

“Yeah. You have.”

“…Will she forgive me for not protecting you?”

“I know she will, Ravus. You’ve already protected me this far, and I know you’ll keep on protecting me later.” Noctis slowly raised his hand from Ravus’s hair. “Go ahead and rest, okay? I will watch over you.”

Ravus gave a slow nod, closing his eyes slowly as black tears fell from his eyes. “Alright… I will see you in my dreams.”

Noctis flexed his hand, manifesting a dagger into it as he whispered. “Sleep well, Ravus…”

The king had to close his own eyes as he brought the blade across the commander’s throat, allowing the darkness to ooze from the injury and spill at the foot of the throne. It was a quiet end, a silence settling within the room as if the air had vanished from it. Noctis felt the blade disappear from his hand like feathers brushing across his skin into the atmosphere. And yet, he sat there, shaking fingers curled into the white locks. His breath was raspy, his eyes finally opening as he looked up towards the ballroom’s caged ceiling as the crystals floated to the sky.

“Noct…?”

“I’m okay… He doesn’t have to fight anymore.” Noctis turned his sorrowful eyes towards Gladiolus. “He can finally rest.”

Gladiolus gave a small nod, his eyes only able to look at the commander’s body for a moment before having to turn away. It was an act of mercy that ended the tragic man’s suffering, but it still didn’t feel any better. He couldn’t imagine how Noctis really felt. He moved and guided Noctis up to his feet, catching Ravus in his other arm and setting the commander atop of the throne. Shielding Noctis with his arms, he looked back one last time at the commander.

It was comforting seeing Ravus look so peaceful in his eternal slumber.

[blind-royal-guardian]

A New Path-Chapter 4 “Help Me, Mama Ignis”

That came out louder than he intended it to, but no matter... here was the man he had worried was dead only a few minutes ago, standing before him. Scared face, with a few new scratches, tinted shades to avoid some stares, and full uniform. And other then his wrist in a cast he looked no worse for ware. Of course there were two faces he didn’t recognize with him, CrownsGuard uniforms but these guys had to work for the council. No one could look that stuck up and not be apart of the council in someway.

 “To the gods you’re alive!” Prompto spoke up from his seat.

 “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Ignis asked resting both his hands on his cane. He didn’t need it technically, Not any more that was. He had mastered hearing where people were and listening to his surroundings to make a somewhat visual map in his head. But here, apparently that wasn’t happening thanks to dumb and dumber who were following him around. And their inabilities to keep talking or make the slightest nose so he wouldn’t lose them in the echoes of the marble halls.

 “You know we went to your place after you wouldn’t answer calls. What’s the Deal moving without telling us?” Gladio asked moving to his feet.

 “Moving? I didn’t…” Ignis let out a sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose under his shades. A habit he only did when he was irritated beyond words, or attempting to come up with the words to express his annoyance. “How much is missing?”

 Prompto had a look of confusion cross his face at the question, wait wouldn’t he know? “Your whole flat was cleared out, That’s why we assumed something Bad happened.”

 “Yeah, it’s as clean as if you never lived there.” Gladio said with a nod looking from Ignis to Prompto and back.

 Talcott gave a confused yet questioning look, looking between them all; why would Ignis’s things go missing without him knowing?

 Ignis turned his head to the nearest parasite guard that was following him since he exited his castle quarters in the early hours of the morning. “Answer this question, or are you not at liberty to say this as well?”

 “I’m sorry sir.” One of the guards spoke up unmoving from an at ease stance.

 Prompto eyed the two guards, their stances said they were on escort duty. He knew this because only once was he ever assigned the rather monotonous task. Possibly they were assigned because of Iggys lack of sight? There were quite a few people that came and went from this building, and he could just imagine how disorientation it would be with the echoes of the stone floors and walls.

 Prompto couldn’t stop the noise that came out of him when he went to stand up. Sweet Chocobos his leg exploded! He flopped back down on the bench like he’d been shot attempting to breath his stomach back into his body from the sudden wave of nauseousness. He was quite sure if Talcott hadn’t reached out behind him he would have flipped off the back of the bench, just from the recoil of the sudden earth shattering nerve pain that ripped through his leg.

 “What Ever was that?” Ignis asked having never heard a sound quite to that level before but he was most certain it was prompto’s voice. “Prompto was that you?”

 “Yes it was, blondie thought it was a good idea to climb the stairs with his busted knee without his brace.” Gladio informed seeing as Prompto lacked an ability to speak at the moment.

 Ignis shook his head turning to the two guards. “Be useful and go fetch ice packs and a few stress bandages from the medical office.” The guards went to protest leaving their keep but they were met with a challenging voice.” That is not a request it’s an Order.”

 “Sir, we’re…” The one speaking stumbled on his words as he was interrupted.

 “I Don’t Bloody Fucking Care, Now Go!”

 Gladio watched the two guards exchange looks before going to do what was asked of them.

 Ignis’s cane vanished as he rubbed his face in pure agitation, he was on his last wits with the two tagalongs. He had suffered from their added stress the last two days nonstop. Ignis turned back to Prompto before kneeling down before him. “We need to remove this boot, so i can find out how much damage you have unnecessarily done to yourself. And Talcott i sense you are still here.”

 “Yeah I ran into these two outside.” The Boy answered.

 Prompto was half sitting sideways making him pretty much eye level with Ignis as he spoke. “He’s the reason... I made it this far.” He confessed breathing through his teeth.

 “That was kind of a one man job you sent the two guards on.” Gladio informed moving to aid Talcott in making sure Prompto didn’t fall off the bench as Ignis’s fingers carefully worked all of the belts free on the crownsguard issued boot on prompto’s foot.

 “Be Riddance of them both, they have been under my feet for two days now. If i walk into one of them again I will not be held liable for my actions.” Though agitation was clear on his voice his hands told a different story staying level and gentle to not cause more pain. “Now I ask why you would even attempted the act of walking up stairs with your knee in this condition? You’ll be Lucky it ever mends properly now.”

 Mesmerized by Ignis’s skills at knowing exactly where everything was without seeing it and also how he worked with a cast wrist with such precision, Prompto almost missed the question directed at him. “Oh, uh well… we were headed here to find you since it’s unlike you to not answer your phone or messages. And after we stopped at your place and found it… empty, we kind of headed here. ”

 “My Apologies, yet you have told me that already.” Ignis informed working the laces out so that he could simply peel the boot away from Prompto’s knee. “What would possess you to climb three flights of stairs in your condition when you could have simply let Gladio relay the information?”

 ‘Because i had to see you in person since the last time i saw you we both kind of looked like horror movie rejects on death's door. And i thought you might have died because of Iris saying something in the car and here i thought I wouldn’t be seeing you or talking to you ever again.’ He thought in his head trying to find words to answer and not make anything weird or awkward...yeah mostly not awkward. “Second Hand information is nice and all, but I kind of needed to you know...See you in person. The Stairs thing wasn’t exactly thought through though.” Prompto rubbed the back of his neck one of the many nerves habits he had. “OK, I did know it would be hell but...Yeah. I didn’t think it would be this bad, I’m sorry.”

 Ignis shook his head with a sigh, “Whatever shall I do with you Argentum.” Satisfied he had taken the laces down far enough he motioned where Talcott’s voice had come from. “Talcott if you wouldn’t mind assisting me for a moment, I need your eyes and set of working hands for this part.”

 “Wait, hold on a moment.” Prompto’s mild panic was stopped by Galdio’s large hand on his chest, pulling him against his legs.

 “Just try and relax Prompto,” Ignis said calmly before explaining to talcott what he wanted him to do.

 His voice may have been soothing to the ears but with his intentions to help left Prompto off balance. Not that he didn’t trust Ignis but he also didn’t want to feel the level of pain again. He was quite certain he’d pass out this time, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. His thoughts stopped abruptly when he felt Ignis’s hand on his thigh for a moment. All he caught as his eyes and mind focused back on the two before him was ignis’s hand moving away and talcott nodding. Wait?... wait.. Was all his brain thought as ignis moved aside so Talcott could keep his instructed job as painless as possible.

 “I uh,” His voice stopped as his eyes traveled to his other leg and to Ignis’s hand on his opposite thigh.

 “Focus here,” Ignis informed giving a squeeze to cause the gunman to switch thought patterns in his mind. Ignis knew Prompto was easy to distract it was just keeping his focus away as Talcott rolled his pants leg off his injured knee.

 He felt like a deer in the headlights, he wanted to do as told but his head was screaming two things at once. One was movement near his bad knee the second was Ignis Scientias’ hand, was mere inches from his junk. He caught something mumbled through his fog of focusing on what he was to told... All thoughts were cut short as Ignis leaned toward him before an angry bolt of fire shot through his bad leg again. He at least had a conscious thought not to wrap his arms around Iggy, remembering his injuries as Glaido moved his hand from between them. Prompto caught the front of Ignis’s jacket before he buried his face into the Strategist shoulder as the pain rendered him mute.

 “Breath Prompto.” Ignis informed letting go of the poor man's leg, since he had a death grip on the front of his jacket and had only taken one hissed breath in.

 Oh yeah he probably needed to do that, he took a ragged breath but didn’t lift his head from where it was. He needed a moment, like a million of them. They Might as well summoned one of his guns and just straight up shot him right in the knee cap.

 “I’m so sorry Prompto, but your knee is swelled.” Talcott informed feeling horrible for causing one of his idols so much pain.

 Ignis reached over, since it didn't seem like Prompto was going to let go of him anytime soon. Letting his long fingers trace over the agitated joint he frowned at the condition it was in. Swelled as Talcott had stated and blazing hot from the damage being done to it. “You are most likely going to put yourself on a list for surgery if you keep this up.”

 Prompto’s only thought was Ignis’s hand was cold, and for probing around his knee it hadn’t caused it to hurt any worse than it was. Which he was more than thankful for since he wasn’t sure how much more he could take.

 “Once we wrap your injury, I’ll have you carried to my quarters so you can rest with your leg elevated.” Ignis wasn’t going to let Prompto do anymore damage to himself, even if that meant being called ‘mama Ignis‘ again.

[dawnstrap]

what holiday / celebration do they enjoy most? ( can be your own, fictional developed one or a 'real life’ one ). what's their sleep schedule like? how often do they interact with their family? do they drink at all? what scars do they have, what are the stories behind them? what do they do when they're nervous? what is the UGLIEST piece of clothing in their closet?

headcanon 041. (mash up)

ok first things first i’m sorry this is SO fuckin late… SECOND THING… I’M SUCH A RAMBLER… I’M GONNA DO MY BEST NOT TO MAKE THIS SUPER FUCKING LONG… GONNA TRY TO… SHUT UP… ON THINGS… TRY… try. here we go. i’ll do my best…

what holiday / celebration do they enjoy most ?

i think he really enjoys the new year ! insomnia is definitely japan - centric (i did some research but sorry if i get anything wrong, feel free to correct me!), so i think he really enjoyed the food and all the meanings behind them. he liked it because his parents were home, and they’d always offer him a bit of money. they stayed and they cooked and shared a meal with him and it was always a fresh beginning. something new, something to look forward to, a hope for a new change and a reflection of the year passed. i don’t think he got too involved in family gatherings, since his parents really didn’t have or think much about extended family – prompto never knew them too well, but he definitely appreciated a home - cooked meal and the feeling of being accompanied, even loved. 

what’s their sleep schedule like ? 

oh goodness, i really think prompto’s sleep schedule is all over the place, but i don’t think he sleeps very much. he’s someone who can run on a little bit of sleep and still be fine (though sometimes it can make him a little irritable and a little more anxious if he gets less than usual). he has anxiety and i also headcanon him with insomnia, so he’s often kept awake at night whether it be relaxed or in his thoughts. he gets to sleep late (though probably earlier than noct) and wakes up early. he definitely likes his mornings.

how often do they interact with their family ?

even growing up, they were never really around. he didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye, and after the fall of insomnia, i’m sure he regretted it. not that he did it on purpose, the fact was a bit inevitable, but he was often left alone in the empty apartment. his parents were always working and came home super late, to the point where prompto had already tucked himself in and turned his lights off.

do they drink at all ? (alcohol cw)

nahh, not in his main verse. maybe in the 10 years that noct goes missing he will time to time but only with other company. i can see gladio pressuring him for a shot of whiskey, but prompto is like. absolutely disgusted. his face scrunches up and he Almost spits it out but he doesn’t… also i think he’s definitely a lightweight. it hits him early and it hits him hard.

what scars do they have & what are the stories behind them ? (bullying cw) (self harm cw)

he definitely has the scar horizontally over his nose and vertically over his left eyebrow. those are due to the incidence that occurs between episode prompto and when he’s found by the gang. i have a complex headcanon that i still need to write about the proper story behind them so i’m gonna leave that one kinda blank for now. he’s really clumsy so i can definitely say he has a few scars from he was little (falling over in the wrong places, tripping on things and landing in Unfortunate ways) so he probably has a few minor ones on his hands and knees. you can’t really see them. i think he has a large one under the bandana he keeps tied around his arm on his upper bicep. he was definitely bullied in school as a kid, so i headcanon it definitely came out of the malicious intent of someone trying to hurt him. he’s embarrassed of its origins so he likes to keep it covered. i also think he’d have mild scarring due to the burn he pressed to his wrist in his dlc. i know aranea used a potion which healed the skin and made it less prominent but i don’t think the scar went away. also he has more minor ones around his upper arms, shoulders, and back due to battle.

what do they do when they’re nervous ?

prompto has so many nervous ticks tbh, like he kicks his feet, taps his feet, taps his fingers, taps them against his face, bites the insides of his cheeks, gets a little shaky and short of breath, rambles, over-exaggerates, sees either the best or worst outcome of a situation, grits his teeth, clenches his jaw, whistles, tightens his fingers, wiggles his toes, pulls at his clothes, moves his hands, shifts his legs, moves his feet, etc… some of these are due to excess energy and hyper activity so they’ll occur in usual settings as well, but they’re things that get a bit amplified and unsettling when he’s nervous and uncomfortable.

what is the ugliest piece of clothing in their closet ?

god i don’t know i genuinely think prompto has kind of a tacky fashion sense and it’s like my favorite thing, but he probably has some goofy jacket that even he won’t wear. it was probably a gift he received once, and probably made up of red yellow and blue colors (think primary). i don’t wanna get TOO descriptive because i respect everyone’s style n i don’t wanna offend anyone but i do think he’d weirdly rock it… if he did it right… but he’s way too embarrassed and it stands out too much for him to be comfortable enough with that attention.

[saphscribes]

What Matters Is The 90% [Ignis & Reader]

A pick-me-up sickfic for my dear @vashiane, because I’m predictable enough for people to know my writing patterns for now. Surprise! Feel better, cupcake.

Tagging: @wolfgoddess77​ @sedge-butt @marianne-dash-wood @me-yasato @alecair @toranyx @paopusunshine @noxhighwind @notsoartistic @bleucommelhiver @elloquench @ultimoogle @kidolegend@rhysspeaces  

“Back at it again with the adventures, are we?”

Trust Ignis Scientia to be the one to adopt a literal six-second Internet video and make it sound nothing short of scolding. Or patronizing. One day words would function correctly and you’d be able to pick one like papers out of a fishbowl, but today was not that day. Couldn’t be, when your mind was a haze and you couldn’t breathe out of one side of your nose.

It was tragic enough that you could barely taste whatever you could manage—a handful of saltines, some ginger ale, a slice or two of buttered toast—but those were easier to stomach than the I-told-you-so, face-in-palm gesture he carried as he loomed over your bedside. And that was an easier pill to swallow than the disappointed, almost defeated sigh that he heaved as he took a seat and unscrewed the top of a Coleman-brand thermos container.

Trust Gladio to get only the best equipment.

“I suppose you should be lucky that a cold is all you’ve got, in the face of all those daemons. All this research of yours is going to get the better of you someday,” he murmured. You could barely hear it from under a mountain of blankets—which was already paradoxical, when your cheeks were burning and the rest of you felt nothing but chills—but at least it had the sense to sound concerned.

But you smiled, weakly sitting up and propped against pillows, and rasped, “You say that like it hasn’t already.”

You hadn’t admitted to anything, you concluded; you couldn’t be held accountable for anything when you were delirious. Or, as Prompto would probably call it, “down with the sickness.” You didn’t even know he knew that song, but in retrospect, you probably shouldn’t have been surprised.

Ignis fixed you with a quiet, steady look that he must have faced countless others with, a countless number of times. Eyes just barely narrowed, one thin brow raised, a flicker of a warning as he poured out just enough soup and extended the cup to you. It was the kind of look that suggested, advised rather than threatened, that your quips weren’t going to fly with him, or get you out of anything.

“Drink,” was all he said, and you had nothing in you to do the contrary. Not when he was watching you so pointedly, with all the silent conviction that told you he wasn’t budging until that cup was empty. Or at least until you took what he considered a few substantial sips.

If you could trust Ignis to turn a joke video in his favor, then you could certainly trust him to turn vegetables and chickatrice stock into something palatable. Something that didn’t reek of illness and bland remedy. (Maybe it was the celery. He always knew just the right amount to use—but then, how did he carry himself if not with the precision of Insomnia’s surgeons?)

The closest thing to a beam spread across his lips and reached all the way up to his eyes once you drank deeply enough for his liking, and he got to his feet, idly pacing the length of your room and tracing delicate fingers across worn spines of textbooks and leather-bound journals. “Sometimes I wonder about you and all this work you do,” he said, something particularly unnameable in his tone. Maybe it was concern. Maybe it was something that endeared him to you. It was hard to tell with Ignis, sometimes.

“You know I could say the same about you.” It was easier to talk now that some of the broth had soothed your throat, even with a noodle stuck underneath your tongue.

Ignis didn’t turn fully, only inclined his head just so, so that you could tell he was carrying a dialogue instead of letting your words careen down shoulder blades. “I’ll thank you to remember that one of us is obliged to carry out their duties.”

“Just because I don’t have royal orders doesn’t mean I don’t have to do this.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“I’ve got it under control, Ignis.”

“Clearly not,” he spat, “but far be it from me to uphold an argument with the ill.”

You could have shot something back—something with the vitriol and color of far be it from you to let people be their own people, for once—but a cough stopped you before the words could make it to your lips, racked your body until you were doubled over and the contents of your cup threatened to spill over onto your comforter. Almost immediately, Ignis’s expression softened, and he turned on his heel, coaxing the cup from your hands and setting it beside the container as he took up a seat on the edge of your bed.

“Apologies,” he said, just loud enough to carry over to you and settle there. “Merely meant to say that your life has more potential than for you to chase after danger of this caliber.”

“I know,” you told him. “That’s all you ever mean.”

In the silence, Ignis reached forward to take one of your hands in both of his. You couldn’t tell which was more foreign: the comfort, or the feel of wearing leather and thumb tips against the spaces between your knuckles. The squeeze of his hands, or the way his lashes lowered in an uncharacteristic vulnerability that only ever seemed to come alive after a snap, in the presence of another more so than in a group. “I’m afraid I’ll never understand why you feel the need to go after all those monstrosities. Are the horrors of the world so appealing to you more than the beauties of it?”

A breath through the mouth wasn’t nearly enough to gather your thoughts in the moment, but it would have to do. “It’s just something I feel like I need to do. Is that really so hard for you to accept?” A pause. “I figured… that was something you’d be able to understand, of all people.”

It took Ignis a while to answer you, your hand still in his. As though, for once, he needed the time to speak so carefully, because the right thing to say at the right moment wasn’t coming to him on a whim. “Our paths are different, yours and mine. You said so yourself.” His pause seemed to match yours. “And yet I can’t help wondering if you’re of the opinion that your legacy may prove more meaningful than your existence.”

You didn’t say anything.

Ignis inhaled, soft but sharp; he didn’t seem to be gathering his own thoughts, but yours. “Ah,” was all he said at first, barely audible despite the space between you, despite how he still connected to you. You weren’t sure if it was something he was scolding you about, or something that resonated with him, in some recess he’d never shown you or anyone else. “I suppose convincing you otherwise is a lost cause.”

You coughed again, through clenched teeth and into your elbow. “Something like that.”

He only let go of you to pour you another cup of soup, hot where the dregs were an almost sickly lukewarm. “Nothing left but to pray it’s only temporary, then.”

You laughed, bitterly. “Good luck with that.”

In the silence that followed, broken only by your own labored breathing, Ignis shifted just a touch closer, thumbing over the wrinkle and the heat in your forehead like the touch was enough to draw the illness away. There was that smile again, barely there in every bit of his expression except for his eyes. “I think you’ll find that luck is something I’ve hardly ever needed.”

[enby-prompto]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum Characters: Prompto Argentum, Gladiolus Amicitia Additional Tags: Post Cartanica, Past Violence, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Canon Compliant, chapter 10, the heart of a king, Gladio Knows He Did Something Wrong, Post Altissa, POV Third Person Limited, POV Prompto Argentum, For Catharsis Summary:

The train kept steaming on ahead, endlessly and without pause, away from Accordo, away from Lucis, closer to Tenebrae, and ever more toward their final destination: Gralea. It was now that the low and consistent rumble of the engine and tight walls became oppressive, as if the tracks before them came to an inevitable but abrupt end and he was helpless to stop it. If anyone had cared to ask Prompto, he just might have replied that they may as well be heading straight for a cliff.

But he couldn’t say that, not when Gladio and Noct had finally stopped fighting.

Prompto tried to ignore the growing ache in his jaw.

Written for @kaciart 

Edited by @chocobutt-trash

Read on Archive or Under the Cut

Prompto couldn’t help but notice the way his body gently swayed in time with the train car, right to left and back. It hadn't even been an hour since they had left Cartanica, and already the trip into the Royal Tomb felt like a lifetime away.

He had chosen to watch the sunset in the dining car. Its inappropriately early rays bounced off the chrome lining in the seats and window panes, casting odd patches of intensely strong light, and he had sat there, not hungry, content to watch the ebb and flow of the his fellow passengers, crossing the pools of light carelessly, casting even stranger shadows along the wall. The light faded as quickly as it appeared.

It would have been nice to snap a few shots, but no one would available to share the evidence with later. Noctis had coasted straight off to sleep shortly after they had departed, Gladio had stomped off somewhere, and well, there was Iggy, but… his spirits snagged before they could rise, and fell as fast as the encroaching night spanning above the train. What good was it taking photos of a trip you didn’t want to remember?

But they had found the next Royal Tomb, together. Even with Iggy in his current state, they had proved that they could still function, and as a team. Prompto should have been psyched, but even as he peered up at where his emotions were supposed to be functioning, they hung low overhead. Ever since they had departed Altissa, the weight in his chest grew with time and distance; growing dread coursed through his veins and kept him from sleep.

Their trip, the world, everything, was off kilter. Somewhere along the way, everything had gone so wrong. Prompto couldn't shake the feeling that they were running late; they had taken a wrong turn and only had to double back. He could almost remember the wedding as it should have happened, echoing in his mind like a phantom limb, the shots he would have taken, the way he wanted his suit to fit. His brain rewriting the way the world fell away when they had finally found Noctis and … not …

Guess he’d never get to meet Lady Lunafreya now.

Prompto sucked in air too quickly, his own thoughts winding him. Pushing aside the thought threatening to choke him, he noted how the warm lamplight in the cabin was such a weak substitute for the earlier sun. Most everyone had cleared out at that point, leaving him with only a few folks lingering in the back booths. Even the kitchen had closed. The chef, if you could call him that, followed the last group out.

And still, the train kept steaming on ahead, endlessly and without pause, away from Accordo, away from Lucis, closer to Tenebrae, and ever more toward their final destination: Gralea. It was now that the low and consistent rumble of the engine and tight walls became oppressive, as if the tracks before them came to an inevitable but abrupt end and he was helpless to stop it. If anyone had cared to ask Prompto, he just might have replied that they may as well be heading straight for a cliff.

But he couldn’t say that, not when Gladio and Noct had finally stopped fighting.

Prompto tried to ignore the growing ache in his jaw. As the light outside finally faded, he caught his reflection in the window beside him. It was jarring. The face that peered back at him seemed to have aged a few years in as many months. Sad satisfaction washed over him as he noted his weight, he really had lost more than intended; his cheekbones sunken, the corners of his eyes redder than usual, bags accompanying them. If it weren’t for the fact he looked like crap, a younger version of himself would be jealous.

Just under the skin, over the origin of that ache, gentle purple had arisen in a shape that Prompto tried to ignore. Fingerprints. His heart fell.

How long had that been there? Had the others seen? It couldn’t have been there long, right? They would have said something.

They would have, right?

His gaze fell to his hands, uselessly grasping at each other on the table, glad that the worse side was the one facing glass. He ignored the tug in his guts, willing himself numb while the memory of his same hands running over tattooed skin, bodies close, and the sensation of a broad hand cradling his head so tenderly morphed into one that shoved him so hard he spun and crashed against an armrest in the narrow aisle.

Prompto huffed and grit his teeth, disturbing the relative quiet of the train car, unwilling to follow that train of thought any further.

Not that it would be the first time. He, of course, had been smacked in the face after running straight for a cactuar, who thought it would be funny to use the Shield’s shield as a springboard. As the big guy had turned, Prompto went flying face first into his fist. Honest mistake. He wore that shiner for about a week, which had felt about twice as long due to the endless teasing.

But that had been then, on a sunny day in Duscae. Prompto frowned. The bruise was going to stay for about as long. Maybe he would swap vests, the higher collar of his other outfit might be enough to distract from the blemish. Maybe. He could just ignore it, or pass it off as battle damage, but…

The rest of his body ached then, back and knees stinging from use just enough to derail his train of thought. Cartanica was the first real run as a group since they had left Lucis, and a few residual dings from that Malboro reminded him that he had to be better now, more efficient.

It was then the car door opened, and even without looking, he could spy tattooed shoulders and familiar stance.

Gladio.

He hung back for some reason; Prompto, unwilling to meet his gaze, took to studying his hands and desperately hoping the bruising couldn’t be seen from where he was standing.

It wasn't like he was angry… he just, didn't know what to say. They got to the tomb. Iggy made the choice to stay. They were all good. Prompto couldn't bring himself to think of anything else worth mentioning. Nonetheless, Gladiolus stepped forward, stopping next to Prompto’s booth.

“Where’s Iggy?”

Prompto had to speak, before an awkward silence could descend.

The taller man placed a hand on the back of the booth opposite, eyeing the empty counter instead of the figure before him.

“With Noct.” The Shield’s tone was even, which for some reason surprised Prompto. Still, he kept his gaze turned downward, side-eyeing the way Gladio’s reflection caught the light.

“Can I sit?”

Shit.

“Uh… Yeah, sure. ‘Course!”

Prompto scooted over to make space as the other moved to sit opposite.

The tattooed man stopped short, shooting back a confused look.

“No, it’s uh, it’s - we’re all good,” the blond twisted his mouth into a smile, moving back to the center of the bench and forcing himself to meet the other’s eyes, landing on his collarbone instead. Close enough. Gladio didn’t sit down.

Shit.

Prompto blinked at him, fake smile plastered on with old glue, slowly peeling away upon realizing that from where the Shield was standing he could catch an ample glance at the gunner’s jawline and the mark that was there.

Shit shit shit shit.

He choked in staccato.

“I, uh, we did great today! I’m… um, really glad that we - that everything worked out…” Prompto turned away not long after he began talking, as if he was suddenly very interested in what lay outside the window. Which was now in complete darkness, leaving nothing but his reflection.

The big guy sat down beside him, arm draping around the back of the bench and taking up the remaining space in the booth. While Prompto wanted to relax into the constant warmth Gladio seemed to put out, he felt trapped, pressed up against a rock and a hard place. Well, a Shield and a hard place.

Shit.

He didn’t want to do this right now.

What was there to say?

They all did great together.

Everything was okay.

Prompto’s hands grasped each other again, and he prayed to whatever remaining gods were around for the exchange to be over. But silence stretched on for several moments, and it was enough to drive him to shoot over a curious glance to his companion, who was respectively staring a hole into the seat before him.

Good gods, did he look tired. Of course, spending a day picking off beasts and daemons would wear anyone out, but Prompto hadn’t seen the other man look that tired since, well, since… the Fall.

Apparently, Prompto hadn’t been the only one run ragged by the past few months, and suddenly the blond felt like an idiot for not seeing it before. They had both been covering for Iggy and Noct for so long, and as they grew closer to their final destination, it was only becoming more and more apparent.

Gladio wasn’t angry, he was scared.

Prompto bit his lip and looked away again, trying to quell the gnawing in his gut.

“Listen,” Gladio rumbled, shifting his gaze opposite the blond. Prompto turned his head in response, but found himself studying the window panes again instead of looking anywhere near his companion. He could hear a deep inhale.

“Prompto, I-” The train lurched to the side, throwing them just slightly off balance. Gladio brought his other hand to the table to steady himself, and Prompto knocked back into the taller man’s arm. Unwittingly, their gazes met.

Prompto wanted to melt, the warm brown eyes upon him shining in the lamplight. The hard, piercing glower that the blond had been expecting was actually so… soft, yet unyielding. He had seen this look before, after they had taken in a hurt chocobo and Gladio had to carry it back to Wiz’s. The whole way back, it cried. While the Shield had put up a strong front for the first half of the trip, by the time they had returned, the big guy could hardly pull himself away, murmuring “Oh, no… Shhh, it’s going to be okay. You’re gonna be alright. Shhhh…” Prompto could so clearly hear the words despite the hushed tone, and had swooned. That was the moment he realized he wanted to trust Gladio with his life.

They were okay. Everything was fine.

Just as Prompto felt himself leaning in, Gladio brought a gentle touch to his ear, eyes narrowing on the bruising. Suddenly, it was far too cramped, and Prompto’s breath hitched.

It was then blue eyes blinked away to the tattooed arm on at the table, and it took all that he had to contain a cringe.

Gladio, to his credit, looked stricken and withdrew.

“Prompto, I-” he tried again, only to be cut off.

“It’s fine! I guess I just knocked into a rock fighting that Malboro!”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s okay! We’re all-”

“Cut the crap, Prompto!” Gladio brought his fist down onto the table, grabbing the attention of the last remaining passenger in the car, who left in short order. It was then he seemed to remember himself, and sighed pointedly. When he looked back to Prompto, he must have noticed his eyes welling with tears, because his face fell yet again. Shame streaked his features as he looked away.

“I know what I did.”

“I know… but…” Prompto tried, blinking away moisture, desperately reaching for his ability to restore his mask. Gladio caught his gaze dead on again, eyes puffy and stained with irritation as he ran a hand over the surface of the table.

“I'm sorry.”

Those two words were barely mouthed, but they broke the gunman, and a sob escaped his chest. Gladio watched the blond deteriorate, eyes bright, usual veil of stoicism torn to shreds.

“It’s not okay,” Prompto gasped, wishing he could curl up into nothing. Gladio shook his head, pained and repentant expression all too real.

“It’s like… you didn’t even see me,” Prompto’s voice broke, tears falling down his cheeks, “None of this is okay.” He pulled away from the other, denial fading away like sunlight. A dejected Gladio moved to stand. The train car grew colder as the man peeled away, and Prompto reached out before he could stop himself. He caught a hand, desperately coming to grasp the other’s last three fingers.

Gladio froze. Prompto inhaled deeply, grip unfailing.

They both looked, not at each other, but their hands. A broad palm slowly turned to meet the anxious grip around his fingers, intertwining assurance.

Gladio returned to his seat, stretching an arm around Prompto’s shoulders and pulling him in. Breathing a long held sigh, the blond let the warmth of his partner wash away the tension in his shoulders. In the dim lamplight, Prompto eyed the veins in his hands, knuckles white as he gripped hard enough to hide how his hands wanted to shake. Very softly, he swore he heard a gentle “shh” from the other, before his grip was returned in kind. With an even inhale, Prompto leaned until temple met collarbone. He could feel a cheekbone pressed against the top of his head.

Minutes stretched on as they sat in silence, nothing to hold onto but the other.

The train barreled on, an encroaching snow storm invisible in the night.

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book Two: Famine (Prompto x Reader) Chapter Eight

"How're we supposed to break this thing?" Prompto asked Aranea, who was stalking around the cage.

"By using brute force." The ex-mercenary conjured her lance and jammed it into the bottom of the cage. She put all her weight into breaking the mechanism projecting the barrier. When her lance didn't even create a scratch, she clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Damn..."

"Stand back," (Y/n) feebly said as she slowly climbed to her feet. "I'm going to try magic again."

"You're just gonna end up fried again," Aranea retorts. "You better leave this to us."

Famine shook her head. "No. Let me try again."

"(Y/n), you can't!" Prompto protested, placing his hands on the barrier.

Aranea grabbed ahold of the boy and dragged him away from the prison. He tried to break free from the woman's grasp, but she kept a strong hold on him.

Once (Y/n) saw they were a safe distance away, she held up both hands and laid them against the barrier. "Astrals, please let this work." The moment the cage detected the building mana in her body, it shocked her. She gritted her teeth in pain, pushing through it and desperately tapping into her magic. She managed to use a powerful electrical wave before she felt her heart stop. Her body collapsed just as the electrical current discharged and short-circuited the high-tech prison.

The barriers deactivated and Prompto swiftly dashed into the cage. He fell to his knees beside (Y/n)'s body and gathered her into his arms. When he noticed she wasn't breathing, his breath hitched in his throat. He placed a hand against her cheek, brushing aside a few golden strands.

Suddenly, the Horseman inhaled sharply and her eyes flew wide open. One of her hands shot out and desperately grasped the air as if she was looking for something. Prompto grabbed her hand and held it against his chest. "(Y/n), just breathe. I'm right here."

She inhaled and exhaled deeply before her breathing returned to normal. "Never been electrocuted to death before... Damn, that was painful..."

Prompto lowered his head with a relieved sigh, nudging his nose against her cheek. "Thank the Six... That never gets easier."

"I'll say," (Y/n) laughed. "What's the point in being immortal if you can die for a short amount of time and still experience all the pain?"

"You're only one who could casually talk about death."

"Yeah, well, it's part of the job description."

The facility's automated voice speaks again, silencing the two.

Target detected. Capture and retrieve immediately.

Arena grips her lance in preparation for battle. The dormant magitek troopers along the wall of the room awaken. Several Ice Bomb daemons also appear.

Commence capture and retrieval of compromised unit.

"That doesn't sound good," (Y/n) murmurs. Prompto continues to hold her in his arms as he helps her to her feet. She reluctantly broke the embrace and summoned her blade. "Time to take 'em down."

"Let's do this." Aranea rushes ahead to clear the way. Following her out of the room and down a hall, Prompto and (Y/n) find themselves on a platform overlooking a cargo bay. A snowmobile sits below by an exit out of the facility.

The Horseman's eyes become slitted when she sees the exit slowly beginning to close. "We don't have a lot of time. Better make this quick."

"I couldn't agree more," Aranea said, readying her lance as the platform becomes swarmed by Snaga and Alberich daemons. Aranea and (Y/n) work together to help Prompto get past the enemies. Once the assailants were dealt with, they made a beeline to the cargo bay and the awaiting snowmobile.

Moving down the staircase at the end of the platform, the trio still have to get past a cargo bay filled with magitek troopers wielding guns. A MA Veles magitek armor and any remaining daemons were amongst the adversaries awaiting them.

They ran through the throng of enemies, avoiding the ones they could in order to reach the exit in time. When they reach the snowmobile, Aranea shoves a map against Prompto's chest. "Head there-We'll catch up later." She glanced towards (Y/n). "Gonna need your help, Horseman."

"Gotcha." (Y/n) raised her sword, launching an enormous fireball at the approaching adversaries.

Prompto takes the map and glanced between the two women. "But what about you both?"

Aranea conjures her lance as she's confronted by an Ice Bomb and a Snaga. "I said we'll catch up."

"But what if y-"

"Just go!"

(Y/n) looked over her shoulder, smiling at him. "We'll be fine, Prompto. Be careful out there."

Prompto nodded with a quivering lip, reluctant to leave her behind. He hopped on the snowmobile and started the vehicle. He took off down the tunnel, leaving (Y/n) and Aranea behind to deal with the daemons and magitek troopers.

"Let's show these bastards how it's done," Aranea smirks.

"Bet I can slay more of them," (Y/n) grins smugly.

"Making bets, huh? I like you already."

The two swung their weapons as they leapt into the horde of daemons and magiteks. Famine charged her sword with lightning and released it. A wave of lightning pulsated through the enemies, paralyzing many. Then, she switched elements and used fire to kill all the daemons and machines that had been affected by the shockwave. She glanced around at the numerous of bodies before they vanished. "Completely forgot to start counting."

To her left, Aranea had taken down the remaining magiteks while the stronger daemons remained. "Stubborn, aren't they?"

"They're strong, but they won't last long." The Horseman sliced down a small group of daemons before moving on to the ones lagging behind.

"Let's take 'em out!" The ex-mercenary shouted. She outstretched her hand and (Y/n) took it. With her strength, Aranea gave Famine a boost with her lance. She jumped into the air, casted a powerful ice spell with her blade, and froze all the enemies in the area. The older woman used her lance to shatter all the daemons, killing them instantly with a single blow.

(Y/n) nimbly landed beside Aranea, admiring their work before the bodies disappeared. "How many did you get?"

"Lost count," she confesses. "You?"

"Forgot to start counting," Famine admits. "Seems that was the last of them."

Aranea searched the cargo bay for another snowmobile, but couldn't find one. "We'll need to find a way to Decratom Haven."

"I know someone who could help." (Y/n) placed her fingers in her mouth and whistled. Out of thin air, her black and white steed-Limos-appeared in front of them. The horse neighed and nudged her muzzle into Famine's cheek. She laughed at the ticklish sensation and scratched the side of her neck. "Good girl. You ready for a trip through the snow?"

Limos nodded her head and allowed (Y/n) to mount her. She guided the horse over to Aranea, who was baffled and amazed at seeing the horse suddenly appear before her very eyes. She offered the woman a hand and she accepted it. With a strong tug, Famine was able to hoist Aranea onto Limos' back. She dug her heels into the steed's sides and she took off down the tunnel.

"How're we gonna get through the doors?" Aranea questioned, seeing the exit was sealed.

"With a little magic." (Y/n) held out her hand and created a large fireball. She hurled it towards the metal doors and watched as the flames ate through it, creating a hole large enough for them to pass through.

Limos jumped through the hole and exited the facility. She neighed jubilantly before running full-speed ahead down the mountainside. She kicked up snow as she jumped over may obstacles in the way. While threading her fingers through her horse's mane, (Y/n) stared up at the darkening sky. "Light is losing against the dark. If this continues, all of Eos will be shrouded in darkness very soon."

"With the Oracle dead, there's no one left to fight off the Starscourge," Aranea commented. "We better get used to the darkness."

"Let's just hope there's another way to fight it."

<-----------<<<<<<<<<<

After nightfall at Decratom Haven, Prompto waits for Aranea and (Y/n) by the campfire. In his hand was an open can of food. He takes a few bites before chuckling weakly. "Almost as good as what Iggy used to make." He sets the can down and glances around the empty haven. "Well, at least it's quiet for a change."

A moment of silence passes before he pulls the sleeve of his jacket up to reveal the barcode on the back of his wrist. He grunts and grits his teeth, then begins frantically trying to scratch the barcode away, trying to purge it from his skin. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. "Dammit!"

He looks into the fire, reaches down, and picks up a burning stick. He looks down at the barcode and begins lowering the stick toward it. He holds the burning wood above his barcode and begins breathing heavily. He fought internally and decided to burn the brand.

Before he could press the wood against his skin, fingers wound around his wrist and prevented him from burning himself. "What were you planning to do, Prompto?" A stern yet gentle voice chided him.

The boy glanced up and met (Y/n)'s scolding gaze. "(Y/n), I..." He hangs his head, unable to answer.

"Don't tell me you thought that would work," Aranea stated. The blonde looks up at her as she took a few steps towards the campfire. ""Prompto," right?"

The ex-mercenary sits down beside (Y/n), who took the stick out of the boy's hand and tossed it back into the fire before sitting down and tucking her knees underneath her.

"You could at least look happy to see us," Aranea scoffed, trying to lighten the damp atmosphere.

(Y/n) silently moves her hand from his wrist to his hand, entwining her fingers with his gloved ones. Prompto just looks down, saying nothing to either of them.

"I ran into your buddies in Tenebrae," the older woman stated, catching the marksman's attention. "You've got 'em worried sick. They even asked about your little girlfriend."

Prompto looks back down, ashamed at what he was. (Y/n) sighed through her nose and placed her other hand on top of his, encasing it between both hers. "I can't imagine what you're feeling right now, but you must know the others care deeply about you."

Aranea nodded in agreement. "She's right. You gonna go see 'em or what?"

After a brief moment of silence, Prompto finally speaks. "I... I can't." The two women stare at him as he goes silent for another moment before continuing. "I can't. I'm not like them. I was born here-in Niflheim. All this time and I've never told them. And that's not even the worst part. I wasn't born into a happy family. I was made-created in some laboratory. The entire reason I exist is to make Noct and all of them miserable. How could I possibly see them? They'd never accept the real me."

The older woman smiles. "You spent all that time driving around together and you still don't know what kinda guys they really are. In case you forgot, your princely pal and I weren't always on such friendly terms. But you know what? He put all that aside and asked me to make sure you were safe."

"He did?" Prompto raised his head slightly.

"Think he'd do that for someone who "makes him miserable"?"

(Y/n) couldn't help but smile. "I may have joined your group late, but I saw how close the two of you were along with Gladio and Ignis. Trust me, I've had my fair share of misery and I can tell you're not a source of misery."

The sharpshooter's mood seemed to become slightly upbeat after hearing (Y/n)'s soothing words. He wanted to ask about the guys and wondered if they were safe. "Is everybody okay?"

"All things considered, I guess. Sounds like they've been through a lot since you left, but they're still dead set on getting to the capital," Aranea answered.

"Hope they make it."

"They'd have a better shot with you two around." She eyed both Prompto and Famine.

Curious as to all they talked about during their rendezvous, Prompto asked her another question. "Did they say anything else about me?"

"Not that I can recall."

"Right..."

"His Highness was so worried about you he could barely speak, but don't worry-I whipped him into shape."

"So... he doesn't hate me after all."

(Y/n) felt her heart breaking at how far he has knocked down his own self-esteem and his bond with his friends. She had so much she wanted to say to him-wanting to scold him, comfort him, cheer him up-but she had no idea where to start.

Aranea slowly gets to her feet, eyes locked onto Prompto's hunched over form. "Look-I can tell you want to get back together with them. So why not let them know?"

She begins walking away when the boy speaks up. "You think they'd let me back? After all this?" She stops and turns back toward him. After a brief silence, Prompto speaks again. "And even if they did let me back, I'd probably cause them nothing but trouble. I don't know how I could live with myself..."

The Horseman couldn't stand listening to him anymore. She grabbed his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "What you learned in that facility should have nothing to do with how you've lived your life up to this very point. You claim you're a "thing" when you're really the one and only Prompto Argentum. I saw all those copies in the lab, but none of them were you because there's only one of you. You worry about what others think and never what you think. You've been trying to please others for so long you've forgotten about yourself completely."

(Y/n) inhaled deeply before continuing. "For once in your life, think about yourself and forget what anyone else thinks of you. You're Prompto Argentum, for Etro's sake! You're a cute, funny, and an amazing person and there's no one else like you. You're also the boy I've fallen in love with."

Her words left him speechless. His bottom lip quivered as tears built up in his eyes. They cascaded down his cheek one by one as he could no longer hold them all at bay. He threw his arms around her, burying his head against her chest. He cried, holding her close. (Y/n) smiled peacefully, wrapping her arms around his head and cradling it gently against her chest as he cried. The two fell over on their sides, arms still locked around one another.

Aranea couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face. "I'm going after that new model in the morning. You're in good hands, kid." With that, she leaves.

Once Prompto had finished crying tears of joy, he immediately fell asleep. (Y/n) kisses the top of his head, threading her fingers through his soft locks. "Goodnight, Prompto."

[lucianhuntress]

Be My Valentine: Nyx - Reader

I know this is a bit late, but here is the fifth and last part of this miniseries of drabbles! I chose the characters specifically to match my discord crew’s hells, I know you love Nyx and need more content for him, @bleucommelhiver. So here is some for you and this also escalated just a bit. Sorry, not sorry. Also don’t you dare accusing me of having any personal enjoyment in this matter.

Tagging my love-deserving-discord squad here: @glaive-eve, @bleucommelhiver, @promptoastandbutter, @singlebecauseofthechocobros& @owldearest. Love you all! ♡

Read others: Noctis ♡ Ravus ♡ Prompto ♡ Ignis ♡ Nyx ♡ Libertus This one is NSFW-ish!

Happy late valentine’s day everyone! Hopefully this will bring some joy to your life!

Valentine’s day.

You check your phone for the umpteenth time and sigh heavily.

An hour had already passed and you had already ditched the idea of actually having a splendid date on a valentine's day evening. So you moved from the reserved table for two to sit in front of a bar counter.

Refill after refill. You groan in defeat as the bartender pours you another shot of throat warming liquid into your glass. He doesn't seem to be concerned; he is interested in the money you literally throw at him from pouring you some more.

You put your phone away and take a sip.

“Now that's not an appropriate way to spend a valentine's day.” You hear an amused chuckle not far from you and you glance under your brows at the person talking to you.

A man with brown hair, short from sides, small braids and beads here and there, blue eyes glimmering from amusement, ominous looking tattoos on his neck and cheek. He is wearing the Kingsglaive garbs — that much you know about Insomnia’s elite soldiers.

“What's it to you?” you ask, irritation leaking from your words and last thing you need on a valentine's day is someone offering you their pity.

If it had been any other day, you would gladly give in to his wicked smile — but that determination is slowly slipping through your fingers as you examine the male glaive a bit longer.

“Getting drunk isn't going to make things any better, that's all I can say.”

You squint your eyes and see him pouring whiskey into an empty glass. “Aren't you one to talk?” you scoff, but a tiny smile spreads across your face.

“Yeah− my date left before I got here. I came straight from work because I was made to stay a bit longer…” he lets out a heavy sigh and takes a sip from his glass.

“Haven't you heard of a phone before?” you ask from him and lean your chin against your palm. The booze purrs in your system contently.

He flashes an apologetic grin at you, “can't really make phone calls during my shift.”

“Oh?” your voice suddenly gains a seductive undertone thanks to the alcohol you have been downing for the most of the evening. “So tell me, what is an appropriate way to spend a valentine’s day?”

The glaive shrugs, but continues to smile. “Hmm… maybe eat a dinner first, then have a couple of drinks. Eat some dessert,” he explains as he takes a seat next to you.

“Dessert? I like that,” you coo at him with a seductive smile on your lips and you see his gaze drop on them. You feel flattered to have that kind of attention. “Then what?”

“Go for a nice walk. Maybe steal a kiss,” he says slowly. He is leaning in steadily, waiting if you don’t want him that close — but you won’t push him away or back down.

“Just a kiss?” you ask him with a barely audible exhale that shivers from anticipation.

“What’s your name?” he asks quietly.

You are about to answer him, but he pauses you in the middle by softly placing his lips on yours. He gives you a tender kiss and you can feel him smirking into it.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” the glaive chuckles as he pulls away, beaming triumphantly. You feel your cheeks heating up. Is it the alcohol or the man? “I couldn’t catch your name before. Mind repeating it?”

With a giggle, you answer him. The bartender rolls his eyes to the roof on the other side of the bar counter and mutters: “get a room you two.”

“How about you?” you ask him?

“Nyx Ulric,” he answers, “want to ditch this place?”

“Sure.”

After a short walk around the city with buzzing minds and hearts you two end up making out in an elevator, heading up to the 11th floor where your apartment resides.

He pushes you against the cool metallic wall and hoists your other leg which you wrap around his waist while your tongues dance and fight for dominance. Deep, delighted sighs and moans escape in the empty elevator as long as the ride lasts.

The elevator arrives to the correct floor and lets out a happy chime to notify you two. Nyx reluctantly breaks the kiss and holds your hand as you make it to the corridor. You fumble with your keys and both of you chuckle from anticipation.

As the door finally closes after you enter the apartment, Nyx pushes you against the wall once again. His hands roam all over your body, while yours appreciate his chest — eventually working all the way down to feel out his rear. He smirks into the kiss and you sigh, when he carefully caresses your sensitive area over the layer of fabric.

“Let’s take this to the bedroom?” he suggests and you nod eagerly.

The next morning arrives and you open your eyes to see the bright sunlight peeking through a gap between the curtains in your bedroom. Last night still blurry in your mind, you shift you turn around to see the glaive sleeping next to you. Naked.

Your body feels heavy, but content and seeing him still there makes a your lips tug themselves into a tiny smile.

Nyx’s eyes flutter slowly open and for a moment he looks slightly abashed — but then his mouth curls into an exhausted grin. “Morning,” he lets out a raspy mumble.

“Morning,” you answer weakly and stare into his blue, sleepy eyes.

His hand wanders under the sheets to grab your waist and he pulls you closer to him. You let out a pleased sigh and a shiver runs across your body. His gentle touch wakes up more memories in hazy mind and it sends another hot pulse to your core.

Nyx nuzzles his nose into your ear and neck, while his hand keeps exploring your naked body even further. “You know… We kinda fucked up our valentine’s day.”

“Yeah, literally fucked up,” you giggle.

“Then let me treat you a real dinner tonight,” he whispers into your ear, sending another shiver down your back. He grazes your earlobe gently with his teeth.

“Mmm… if we make it out of the bed that is,” you purr with a wicked smile.

“Hm? Someone’s greedy,” he mumbles.

“You owe me more than a dinner,” you turn your head to face him completely and he kisses you. Again and again. Plans of dinner being pushed further into the evening.

[gladiolus-mamacitia]

found.

Ignis Scientia x F!Reader

| Warning: Blood, Character Death | 1,625 Words | 

Music: 

-When It’s Cold  -Think About You 

Ignis gazed around the campsite as the others began packing their belongings, taking note that their party was a member short. He eventually spotted you some ways away, facing away and sat atop one of the many grassy hills of the Duscae plains. The faint strum of a ukulele could also be heard coming from your direction, making the Strategist smile to himself. He made his way over to you, adjusting his glasses as he looked out over the view you were distracting yourself with once he stood behind you. It was after a few moments that you sensed a presence behind you and your strumming abruptly stopped, lifting your head up to smile at Ignis. 

“Already packing up?” 

“Yes, and we were hoping you could perhaps lend a hand.”

You shook your head and went back to playing the stringed instrument, humming softly to the tune before responding.  “Mmm….. it’s still pretty early, can’t we just relax a bit? I’m sure Noct would be grateful to have the extra time to wake up. Sleepy head, that one.” 

“You’re simply encouraging his terrible habits,” he chuckled, hesitantly taking a seat beside you, “but… I suppose we can spare a few moments.” 

The both of you sat there a while longer, Ignis intently listening to the melody your had been composing for the past few days. You enjoyed moments like these, being alone with Ignis. Back at the campsite, Gladio caught sight of you relaxing in the morning sun alongside each other. 

Prompto whined, “What’s the hold up? Did we lose someone? Oh-”  The blond’s brows rose as he followed Gladio’s gaze towards the hill, seeing the two of you lost amongst yourselves.  

“I’d say they’ve more so found one another,” the Shield smirked, crossing his arms. 

“How long’s this been going on for?” Noct stepped forward to join Prom and Gladio as they looked on, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

“I’d say since the beginning of our journey,” Prompto said as he readied his camera and began creeping his way towards the hill, the shutter of the lens the only give away of his presence as he got closer and closer. 

Noctis was about to shout to his friend when Gladio clamped a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. 

“Leave him, I’m sure Iggy will love the shots.” 

Ragged breathes filled the cold corridors as you staggered down the hall, a hand pressed firmly to your side to conceal the wound so deep it left a trail of blood behind you. A sinister chuckle echoed from afar, willing your feet to move faster and away from the man that had spent the past few days tormenting you. You needed to get away, but with the way your vision blurred at the edges, you weren’t sure that was entirely possible. 

Alone and injured, you stumbled down a flight of stairs and entered what seemed like prison cells; some empty, some containing nothing but clothing scattered on the floor. You made your way deeper and deeper into the series of iron bars on either side of you until your knees finally buckled and sent you tumbling towards the floor. A cry of pain escaped you, the fall making your wound burn even more and split farther open. You dragged yourself to the side, doing your best to sit up against the wall. How did it come to this? You hardly even remembered how you ended up in this facility in the first place. One moment you were sitting beside Ignis on the train to Tenebrae, the next you awoke in this facility that you were certain was in Gralea. 

Ignis, anyone, please… help me. 

Your efforts to lift yourself once more were futile, your body losing all strength that now struggled to support your weight. The figure of your assailant loomed over you, fear clouding your sense as you lay nearly motionless below the Chancellor, broken and bleeding. 

“Do not worry, dearest. It’s only a matter of time.” 

The white chocobo in front of you cawed and happily trotted in place as you ran your hand affectionately over the feathers on the top of its head, leaning closer to nuzzle your face. You laughed, carefully wrapping your arms around its neck in attempt to give it a hug. 

“I could be wrong, but you may just be it’s favorite person.” 

You turned around, grinning at Ignis as he made his way over to you with a smile of his own. 

“Well, yeah, that’s what I was kinda hoping for.” You paused, looking at the giant bird and then back at Iggy. “You should buy me a chocobo.” 

“I beg your pardon?” 

“Pleeeeease?” You pouted, “If you love me then you’d totally buy me a chocobo, Iggy.” 

The pout turned back into a grin when his face turned a couple shades red, a giggle escaping you. He adjusted his glasses, doing his best to refrain from meeting your gaze- and failing. 

“That’s quite the bold statement, Y/N.” A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he spoke. 

There was no mistaking the relationship that you and Ignis had at this point, but the poor man always seemed to stutter when you said something so adorable. Accompanied with those pleading eyes of yours… 

How Ignis wished he could gaze into those beautiful eyes of yours once more. Him, Noctis, and Gladio had managed to find Prompto just in time to save his life. He could not say the same for you, however. Hearing Gladio shout your name made his heart skip a beat, the unmistakable scent of blood wafting from the direction the others now ushered him towards. The Shield gasped in surprise as Ignis pushed past him- as if his eyesight was still there- and knelt to scoop you into his arms. 

“Y/N, my darling, please talk to me…!” 

The feel of leather brushing against your cheek stirred you enough to open your eyes and see the man above you. Your bloodied lips twitched into a weak smile, your prayers answered. 

“Iggy…. you found m-me.” 

“Yes, Y/N, I found you. Stay with me, it’s going to be alright. Gladio, give me-” 

The Shield’s voice was barely above a whisper, but could be heard from a mile away. 

“We’re all out.” 

Ignis shook his head, holding you closer and tighter. No, this couldn’t be possible. Here you were, in his arms yet so far from his reach. 

Noct turned away, trying to conceal the seething rage that contorted his features. Prompto looked around, peering into the cells nearby, “No, there’s gotta…” 

The world seemed to grow silent, yet the only thing Ignis could hear was your labored breathing and your gravely voice. 

“Iggy, are…. y-you still gonna get m-me that chocobo…?” 

Your body felt so cold, despite being held against Ignis’s warmth. The lights above seemed to get brighter, willing you to close your eyes as you reached up to brush your bloodied fingers against his cheek. He gripped your hand, leaning his cheek into your palm. His soft chuckle made you smile even more, the pain that had been consuming you slowly fading away and replaced with a numbness that felt more like vibrations. 

“Yes, my love, I’m still getting you a chocobo.” 

The fan of your warm breath against his face was beginning to feel weaker and weaker with each passing moment. You didn’t have much time.

“Ignis..?”

“Yes, Y/N?” 

Moving the hand that caressed his cheek to trace along the scars of his left eye, there was no mistaking the feeling of tears spilling down his marred cheek.

“… you found me, s-so don’t cry…. don’t… “ 

Ignis let out a soft sob, leaning down to press his forehead against yours, your arm going slack and hitting the cold floor below. 

“Y/N….!” Your name left him like a broken record, over and over until his voice became hoarse. A gentle shake to the shoulder made him lift his head as tears dripped down onto your pale, lifeless cheeks. 

“Ignis, we’ve got incoming and we can’t take her with us, “ Gladio said. 

Ignis wanted to protest, shout and plead to stay at your side, but he knew that wasn’t possible. Not when they were so close to the crystal. He slowly loosened his hold on you, settling you back down and resting your hands across your bloodied stomach. Ignis stood, taking a few deep breaths before turning and nodding to his brothers.

Even as he trekked farther and farther away from your unmoving body, Ignis could not deny the pull of his heart back to you. 

“You seem to play that song quite religiously, Y/N.” 

“Well, yeah. I’m writing it, I wanna make sure that it’s perfect!” 

The five of you sat around the campfire, the crackle of flames and the strum of your worn ukulele filling the air. Noct and Prompto were invested in a game of King’s Knight as Ignis and Gladio listened contently to the music you composed.

“Lots of strumming, not a lot of singing,” Gladio commented. 

“Well, the lyrics are kinda personal. I’ll sing it when it’s done.” 

Ignis couldn’t help the smirk that tugged at his lips, adjusting his glasses and gazing at his glove as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. 

“I’ve taken notice that you play the same keys for about ten sets and then alternate between four sets of two before you pause and repeat the pattern. From my calculations, I’d say that it is indeed done.” 

A blush crept across your face as you stared wide eyed at the man that you had actually written the song for, seeing no way to avoid playing the full song without scrutiny. You huffed and checked the tuning on your ukulele before swallowing your fear and looking at Ignis. 

“That’s quite the bold statement, Scientia. But fine.” 

[ifritini]

Hey Kink! I loved your shy Noct. Would you consider a Gladio and female reader where they don’t get on at all, however they’re really just hiding the fact they are in love, queue happy ending! Who doesn’t like a happy ending?!?! Looking reading more of your work :)

P h e w sorry this took like 5 years, I originally intended for like a 500 word dabble but uh something apparently went wrong along the way. Got carried away so here 5k or so words for your enjoyment. God damn the longest thing I ever wrote for ffxv and it’s Gladio x Reader

With a flick of your wrist and command of will, your sword disappeared in a flash of blue glimmers. Finally, you could let out a sigh, letting the adrenaline rush out of you just as quickly as it kicked in. Staring down at your rather large hunt, a rather persistent Gianttoad, you concluded the day an official success.You joined in with Prompto’s joyful fanfares over your victory before following close behind to look over your spoils of victory.

Ignis was already staring down the beast, finding excuses to passionately figure out exactly how and what he was planning to treat you all with. Several times his finger pat against the cheek You couldn’t help but crack a smile the moment the advisor snapped his fingers after a few moments before snapping his fingers.

“That’s it!” his body was quick to perk up to his voice, “I’ve come up with a new recipe!”

That was all he had to say before he promptly called forth his daggers and carefully got to neatly cutting out an unnecessarily large slab of meat from the poor toad’s leg. Gladiolus quickly joined his side, instead taking a massive swing to cut it right off. Ignis looked torn for a moment, opening and closing his mouth searching for an appropriate reaction.

“Ah, thank you, Gladio.” He finally said.

“Nice! We’re gonna feast tonight!” Prompto cheered, rubbing his hands together.

“This wasn’t such a tough one. Shoulda asked for more work.”

“Nah.” Noctis said, managing a half-smile in his voice, “I’m pretty beat. Wanna hit by a motel?” The prince already started heading to the Regalia, making it clear his was more of an order than a suggestion.

The suggestion of a comfortable bed had most of your party let out an agreeing grunt.

“Saw a camping spot just near by. That’d spare us some travel.”

Out of all the group Ignis seemed to be the one to take the suggestion to heart well. “He is ri-”

“Hey, we deserve those beds.” Prompto cut the advisor off before the poor man could even get his reasoning out. “And we can spend our hard earned cash sooner! Win win!”

“Yeah, we all fought hard!” You added. While spending your just rewards this quickly wasn’t something you really agreed with, your passion for soft beds and warm blankets did.

“Some of us did.” A pause to glare at the prince who was entirely oblivious, then quickly shot to you, “While some still trip over their own feet.” he continued, almost too bluntly, “You almost cost yourself big time.”

Of course, how silly of you to think to get a compliment from this living boulder. Astrals forbid you do something right in his eyes. Still, even when expected it hurt you inside. “Cheers, Gladio.” you retorted, sticking out your tongue. “I suggest you follow your own advice and work on that shitty attitude of yours.”

“Hey, I keep us in check, make sure none of you are slacking off and keep your heads on those pretty little shoulders. I’m doing my job perfectly here.” With that he hauled the slab of meat over his shoulder without any effort.

You made sure he caught you rolling your eyes before walking off to join the other boys by the Regalia. The previous exchange was enough to put you off conversation for a while, so you simply excused yourself and slipped into the backseat of the regalia settling down in the middle. The others were mercifully oblivious to your sudden mood swing, or at the very most chose to not inquire you about it. The last thing everyone needed was a good day ruined with an argument between you and a stubborn mule.

You let your body slide down the seat as you stared off into space. Soon with the slab of that night’s dinner safely wrapped up in the trunk, everyone else joined you inside the Regalia and Ignis announced your next destination: the last motel you drive by. Night was looming over making the roads far too risky to drive back where you previously picked off.

Once on the road for the rest of the journey you decided to follow suite with Noctis and sink further down into your seat between the two men and nap out the rest of the short journey. While you feigned exhaustion, deep inside you just wanted the hurt from Gladiolus’ previous gentle criticisms.

There was never a good word about you to come from him. Endless criticisms, seemingly empty with their worth all but gone after you heard them a couple dozen times. Other than a few harsh comments your way, he never really said anything else unless some rare occasion where the both of you showed common human decency.

There were the occasional pangs of guilt playing at your heart when the group shared their quiet moments. When the two of you had those few hours with civil exchanges and Gladiolus showed that kind heart it always made your mind double think your hatred towards him. As much as you hated to admit it, Gladiolus had his charms even without taking his looks into account. He cared deeply for the prince he swore to protect in his own way, whether taking a blow for him or telling him to straighten up.

It was that devotion that drew you so to the shield. You wouldn’t dare ever say it out loud, but you admired him for it. A shame those thoughts were suppressed down to the deepest corners of your mind in favour to always keep his cold attitude towards you at the forefront. Gladiolus wasn’t allowed a single respective thought when he gave you shit in return. Or at least you tried to not give him any credit when you held some control over your often traitorous thoughts.

With one last disgruntled sigh, you let sleep take you.

● ● ●

The wake up call was a poke from Prompto leaning over his seat without a care in the world as he called your name excitedly a few times. “Y/N! We’re here! You too Noct!” He made a valiant attempt to reach out and give the prince the same treatment, only to have his efforts scolded when he leaned a bit too close to Ignis.

“If you wish for us to make it, I suggest sitting back down.” Ignis articulated each word to give the boy a clear picture of the glare he couldn’t turn to give. Without so much as a sorry Prompto was sat back down tenser than marble itself.

You barely made sense of the scene unraveling before you. The grogginess took over your mind entirely for a few moments leaving the world around you nothing but incoherent sounds stringed together with words you could barely recall and rendering your vision a blurry mess.

“M’ up.” You grumbled, forcing those cogs in your mind to start turning. A few uncoordinated hand movements and you sat back up straight, reaching out to cling onto anything as an anchor to reality. Your mind settled for the thighs of the men opposite of both your sides. You earned a yelp from Noctis as the heel of your palm pressed down to support your entire weight, and a soft “Hm?” from Gladiolus.

“Sorry.” Logically the only acceptable gesture was to gently pat his thigh. Considering it a genius solution to the problem at the time, you praised your brain for a job well done and smiled.

“Use Gladio next time.” Noctis grumbled, attempting to come out of his own little post-nap high.

A bodily shudder shot through your body at the thought. “Don’t wanna get lectured for it.” you replied. A silly move considering the man in question was close enough to leave your bodies pressing against each other.

Thankfully all you could hear out of him was a mom’s disappointed sigh.

Your mind was finally back to peak performance once Ignis took a turn to a motel’s parking lot. Naturally Prompto was the first one out, already swinging the door open before the advisor got a chance to fully park to the side.

“Yeah! Let’s go!” He cheered slamming the door behind him.

“Wait for us!” With as little grace as possible you climbed over Gladiolus before he got the chance to open the door and hopped out. You could only care to hear a disgruntled ‘Hey, hey’ before entirely ignoring him in favour of winning the race with the blonde. You watched as he sprinted for the reception, scaring the poor old man behind the glass by appearing seemingly out of nowhere. According to him you took an apparent abysmal amount of time, enough for him to reach out for his camera and snap a picture of you making it to the checkpoint and taking purchase against a pillar.

“Better luck next time, Y/N!” he laughed, lowering his camera to reveal his grin.

“I’ll win…  Eventually.” You squinted at him, but your eyes betrayed the smile your lips were masking away with a pout.

Prompto replied with an innocent wink. He turned down to admire his new picture before raising the camera back up to take a few snaps at the rest of the three finally catching up.

Noctis took his time dragging his feet across the floor, eyes half lidded and limbs effortlessly hanging at his sides flopping like a ragdoll with each movement. At this rate the poor boy will sleep through dinner. Ignis and Gladiolus followed behind, both their hands busy

“Some help would be nice.” Gladiolus grunted. He clearly barely struggled with the weight, but watching him attempt to lift a slab of toad leg in one arm, and three bags in the other did bring you great joy. Cruel, perhaps but amusing nonetheless.

“Sorry.” you reply meekly. You turned your back to him hoping to hide smile on your face. He gave you another of his displeased grunts, thankfully not following up with anything else.

“Uh…” Noctis’ hand sluggishly reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet and stared at the prices listed before him. There was that unmistakable look of absolute agony in his eyes as he dared to steal a peek inside his wallet, followed with him scrunching up his nose in disgust. “…One room, please. Double beds.”

Once he slid over the money the receptionist obliged and in return passed him the keys. He dangled them from his index, mindlessly spinning them through the loop as he searched for your designated room. All four of you followed behind, Prompto almost entirely lost to the world of his camera flashing through his recent pictures, Ignis lost in thought no doubt thinking about his new masterpiece, and Gladiolus lifting a Gianttoad’s leg like it’s nothing.

A last second thought you were grateful for pulling yourself out of, lest unsavoury thoughts plague your mind fueling your self loathing fueled solely by each individual positive thought you had of this living rectangle.

Once Noctis turned the key and kicked down the door, for the few seconds it took him to sprint to the bed you could have sworn you have never seen him more alive. You watched in awe as he abruptly stopped at the edge of the bed, preformed a perfect pirouette and proceeded to collapse face first on the bed. This was the happiest man alive.

You all made yourselves at home, Prompto claiming the same bed as Noctis sitting to the side at the edge of the bed letting his focus fully dedicate himself to the camera. Every few moments he’d disrupt the prince’s rest showing off various masterpieces. Ignis had Gladiolus leave the meat on the kitchenette counter then shuffle through his bags in search of his utensils ready to start cooking without settling down first. The other flopped down on the couch, dropping the rest of the bag to the side. He opted for reading in silence leaving you with the second bed as your little hub.

You flopped down, stretching all libs across the mattress while you still got the chance to hog it. It was almost painful as your tired muscles finally got to loosen up the knots built up throughout your battles.

“I’m gonna go for a walk.” you announced through strained words as you sat up. Every inch of your body was crying in agony upon losing the comfort of the bed. Despite its pleas to lay back down and simply accept the beatings of miserable thoughts you were back on your feet. A renewed pain and fresh air where no one could see you cry sounded far more attractive than dealing with unnecessary prodding from four other (or rather three plus not so gentle reminders of your alleged weakness).

“Huh?” Gladiolus managed to pull his attention away from the book, looking up just in time to accidentally meet your gaze, “Where you headed?”

“Outside.” You replied, quickly turning your eyes to anywhere but the man. Somehow you managed to feel that rare moment where any pettiness towards him subsided, those where you see a glimpse of a tenderness playing across the usually hardened features. Not that you would admit just how your heart fluttered each those times you catch him during those rare occasions = or more appropriately denied ever happened and ignored in favour for the grudges your mind would forever remind your heart. Sadly for once those were pushed aside as your heart beat hard in your chest as the feeling of eyes on your form persisted for a few moments longer.

You dared to quickly peak back up before setting off. Nose buried back into the book, what else did you expect? With the confidence of a baby chocobo you strode to the door, almost going as far to proclaim your so called confidence by kicking down the door. Instead of drawing any more unnecessary attention from your grand theatrics attempting to act normal, you pushed down the handle as any inconspicuous woman would.

“Y/N, could you-”

“Don’t worry Iggy I’ll just be a few minutes, okay bye.” without letting the man finish you slipped out, welcoming the cool night air against your cheeks.

You only heard a few murmurs from behind the door, sadly too muffled for you to catch any coherent words. Not that you cared with the temporary freedom to clear those pesky thoughts out with each inhale of fresh air. Now this as living the dream. If you had to lower your standards for a good time, then so be it as the price of genuine enjoyment. The terrace offered chairs paired with coffee tables to enjoy watered down motel coffees or typical plastic breakfasts, but instead you stepped down from the terrace to instead enjoy the befallen night to its fullest.

Now that the threat of demons was next to nothing, the various compound lights shining down over the lot as well as street lights stretching out across the road you could finally allow your guard to drop for once. The motel also came with another benefit - that of being tucked away in the middle of nowhere, leaving it eerily peaceful. Soft chirping of insects accompanied by trees softly rustling in the breeze served as your only white noise. Distracting but pleasant.

The sight above of a sky free of a city’s lights was all the more rewarding. Countless stars littered across the dark blue untouched by clouds. Sadly only the moon barely showed itself, cast out nigh entirely by darkness. Still, you indulged with whatever life so kindly gave to you. You tilted your head skywards with a relieved sigh, letting any doubt or worry leave as you exhaled through flared nostrils. Now with the newfound peace to both body and mind, the urge to cry subsided and instead a smile dared to spread across your lips.

You were so wrapped up with your little world of tranquility you never heard a door close behind you, nor the footsteps drawing closer till a shoulder not so gently brushed against yours.

“Best you snap out of it, don’t want you out here all night.”

You closed your eyes. A single gruff voice you could only ever compare to the likeness of sandpaper rubbing away at your nerves and all that giddiness ran off and hid back behind a couch to the looming presence of that meat mountain.

“Chill I just want a breather.” you snapped back.

“Fine, catch a cold then. Not my problem.” He grunted, voice near breaking through a facade of apathy to match your hostility.

“Will be when I sneeze on you.” your words were a joke, but that didn’t stop you from letting them come out as a genuine threat, “What are you doing out here anyway?”

Whatever it seemed he was up to was ignored for a moment as he stared down at you. There were no discernible hits written across his features, save for eyebrows slightly raised. You could only guess whether he was marveling at your admittedly silly threat or perhaps ignoring it entirely. “A job in your stead. Again.” He replied. The neglect in your voice managed to hurt you again, moreso that you had no idea what job you had so apparently neglected.

“Iggy was going to ask you to grab food outta the Regalia.” he continued after prolonged silence. With another sigh you could tell just how displeased he was with your confusion, “He was going to ask you.Before he got the door shut on his face.”

Your eyes lit up, albeit rather than from realisation instead came hurt from the continued cold treatment you were receiving. “I thought he was gonna warm me dinner’s ready soon or something.” You frowned, trying your damn best to keep your voice strong. However you failed, failing to keep up whatever confidence remained leaving your words falter with uncertainty.

This was precisely what you were trying to avoid. You swallowed hard, a desperate attempt to keep the weeks of bottled up frustrations at the man. Puffing out your chest and standing up straight, almost standing up on your toes to make yourself seem intimidating despite tears slowly welling up in your eyes. No matter how you tried to run from festering emotions, they always caught up and you always paid the consequences.

As subtle as you tried to sniffle,it came out obnoxiously loud to your heightened senses. The tears proved to be a far harder nuisance to combat against, threatening to well up at the corners of both eyes the deeper you dwelled into your thoughts. You watched Gladiolus turn his back to you returning back to his original goal with long strides. As if it would achieve you something, your eyes focused on him, glaring.

You dared not blink fearing it’d finally coax tears to fall. Your vision only grew blurry the longer you stared, despite the dryness slowly settling in leaving you in pain. Once Gladiolus finished hauling two shopping bags out of the trunk and locked the door shut he turned back to the motel room, seemingly ignoring your presence entirely no matter how deep were the holes you stared through his soul. As his body grew closer there was nothing you could read from him once more. There was something behind those amber eyes, well hidden and undecipherable to you.

“Hey!” You called out. The break in your voice sounded so pitiful you cursed yourself for it. Slowly you turned around to face him. He stopped once more just behind you and reluctantly turned to look down on you. You felt yourself physically wince at brows furrowed in annoyance, eyes still preserving their unreadable emotion.A myriad of your own emotions glazed over your features: hurt, anger, a million questions you wanted to ask that all boiled down to one word.

Why?

You dejectedly stared up at Gladiolus.The words were sitting at the tip of your tongue, but your voice cowered away. Your mind was rendered entirely oblivious to the shifting features of the larger man going from a previously hard glare to worry. He shifted awkwardly, raising a free hand out but froze the very same moment you felt a tear roll down your cheek. Your breath hitched to your attempt to garner even a shred of will.

“What is your problem?” You finally managed to choke out, a bit too self-aware just how broken up your voice rang through your own ears. “Why do you hate me?” You were ready for the lecture, called weak, maybe even worthless, good for nothing, a burden. Before your own thoughts would grant you mercy, the tears already started flowing down with no sign of stopping. This trip was supposed to be a life changing experience and give you some happy memories to forever hold in your heart.

Instead you got these good for nothing bitter moments to forever cling onto. The more of those parasitic memories popped up, faster they would tear through all others leaving you in that pit of miseries. How you tried to like Gladiolus, since the moment of your belated meeting with the boys. You thought you kicked off well joking around about this and that, making conversation even in the dullest of moments.

Then came the cold shoulder. Criticisms of you that came out more like nitpicks than anything of use, if not just cruel. Whatever message he tried to send came out pretty clear. You were not good enough for anything. Of course you would fight back with your own bitter retorts coiling the tension between you two to a near breaking point. Perhaps if your mind wouldn’t have clung onto the past memories this would be far less painless.

Silence.

“Asshole!” you gritted your teeth, hoping to bite down your broken tone pitch. With no more control over anything, not even yourself, you hung your head down. You crossed your arms feeling nothing more than like a child throwing a tantrum. You were better off distracting yourself with a countdown to the inevitable lecture, further dragging whatever resolve you had through the mud.

Through the haze your mind barely registered a thumb brushed against your cheek, wiping away the tears staining your complexion. The warm feeling of a hand cupping your cheek almost had you shuddering. Thankfully your heart couldn’t have its way and you jerked your head away rather than leaning into the touch. You heard the rustle of plastic bags and tins clutter against the ground, followed by two arms wrapping themselves around your body. For just a moment you were too shocked for tears. Once his warm body pressed against you, enveloping in such a weirdly comforting heat nigh foreign to your senses, your shoulders violently shook once more in tandem with pitiful sobs.

“Why do you have to treat me like shit?!” a weakened fist hit against his arm in a show of anger, earning not even a flinch out of him.

“Didn’t want you to be a distraction.” Gladiolus merely mumbled out his horrible excuse. Yet there was something akin to heartbreak veiled behind those words.

You broke away from the embrace, shoving him away. He stepped back out of courtesy rather than just by your strength alone, one arm still remained stretched out in a meek offer of comfort. You weren’t sure whether you wanted to yell at him for such a shitty excuse or laugh in his face for genuinely thinking that would suddenly excuse everything he had ever done to wound you. Your expression said it all, lip curled up into a snarl and furrowed brows.

“I couldn’t let some feeling get in the way of my work.” he said matter-of-factly.

“Feelings, eh?” you couldn’t help the bitter laugh that followed, “Good to know I’m the one worthy of hate after all your stupid hook-ups.”

Gladiolus returned back to that stern glare built up from before. “One night stands are different than love.”

Your mind went through some twisted version of grief, clinging onto disbelief for the longest few seconds of your life. Your features relaxed for a moment, letting his words sink in, followed by your eyes opening wide in disbelief and shock once more rendering your tears to stop in their trail. You then frowned, ready to call him out on bullshit.

“Are you done with the theatrics.”

The frown deepened. You wiped away the tears with your sweater and squinted up at Gladiolus with newfound vigor to yell at him back in your spirit. You couldn’t for the life of you come to terms with the confession, if you could even call it one. “You think hate is a better option?” You swore the spiteful voice behind you words was not truly your own.

An affirmative grunt. This time it was him turning amber hues away from your being in favour for a street lamp. “Thought.” He corrected you.

“You decided to give me hell ‘cause you can’t deal with emotions?”

“I can deal with my emotions just fine, Y/N.” his hand dropped back down to his side not before giving the tense muscles a little shake. “But a shield who’s too busy distracted by someone else is useless to the king.”

“You make me regret any past love I felt towards you, Gladio.” you snapped, pointing your index up at him followed by a vicious little poke against his chest, “And still feel. You have no idea how badly I want to hate you and your stupid, scared mug.”

Take that, dumbass you thought as he mirrored your previous different stages of denial as his eyes shot back to focus on you once more. He put up his own little show for you, imitating a fish as his mouth repeatedly opened and closed as any coherent thought failed him. Those amber hues however spoke every word he failed to form through his lips. Genuine, happy surprise read clear through.The conflict slowly settled in after the initial shock died down.

The aura between the two of you grew tense, leaving only the option to defuse it or let the ticking bomb continue before the inevitable meltdown. For a moment it seemed the both of you were defensive, you more so than him through clenched fists and strained jaw. So when you heard a single chuckle leave him he was met with a confused tilt of your head.

“Damn.” you once more narrowed your eyes upon practically hearing the smirk in his voice, “Seems we’re both fucked then. What were you thinking falling in love with me?”

“Nothing, clearly.” you replied flatly, and he replied by comically clutching his chest with an ‘oof’ “How’re you gonna give Iris the news I seduced you out of doing your job properly?”

“How ‘bout I show her instead?” Gladiolus closed in any space between the two of you. You were granted a mere second to think of a comeback before he rendered you silent, pressing his lips against yours. The breath was practically knocked out from your lungs, The thought to resist only flashed through your thoughts for a brief moment, before indulging in the surprisingly chaste kiss, deepening it as you pushed yourself up on your toes.

You pressed both palms against Gladiolus’ broad chest before balling the leather of his jacket in your fists pulling him closer. The rumble in his chest as he hummed contently was heaven to your touch spurring you further into your high. His hands found themselves clinging to your waist, following suite to bring you impossibly closer.

“Hey Gladio! We need to eat! Hurry up will ya?!” Noctis’ voice called from the door, unphased from the little scene playing out before him. The both of you froze in the spot, eyes opening in panic to stare at each other expecting some laughter, maybe even overly theatrical belching noises you wouldn’t put past the prince. A faint ‘Done’ followed instead, and silence once more befell between the two of you.

You pulled away in tandem, not quite sure where to place yourself in the chaos that unravelled in the past few minutes. Gladiolus seemed to feel the latter, a lopsided grin looking much like a satisfied cat. You could at least praise the Astrals for making this quiet moment between the two of you nothing awkward or unbearable.

“That’s my queue, babe.” Gladiolus was the first to speak up. The sudden pet name brought a flush of red to your cheeks, “You comin’?” Despite the smug grin tugging at the corner of his lips, amber hues glinted as they betrayed a genuine relief. It took a while before actions followed words and he pulled away feeling generous enough to pat away at any crinkles in the fabric of your hoodie.

“I, uh,” you cleared your throat trying to recollect scattered thoughts into something coherent, “Gimme a bit to think.” Your voice came out an embarrassing squeak, body still unable to recover. It was nothing more than a poor attempt at an excuse to cool down, lest the others see your face painted entirely red. No doubt a certain blonde would prod you with questions the moment he saw you, especially if Noctis decided to tattle on about what he witnessed.

He hummed in reply. “Might just drop these bags off and join you. We got some catching up to do.”

The implications had your face entirely morph into a tomato. As a retort you slapped his shoulder. “If you think I’m not angry at you anymore, think again asshole. You’ve got months of apologising to do.”

“I’ll think of something.” He shot you a sly wink, evading all other quips quickly picking up the shopping bags and jogging back to the room. He never shut the door behind him, making the promise weigh down on your shoulders. Pleasantly, for once.

Admittedly you wanted to yell at him for the emotional turmoil that was the road trip, but you couldn’t find the heart. The rational thoughts were overpowered by the happy flutters in your chest finally happy to feel something that wouldn’t have you crying underneath blankets in the dead of night. Allowing your thoughts to go through without any restrictions, you wondered if Gladiolus would have you crying in more different scenarios.