#*Cries in raccoon-is-insecure-even-if-content-with-this*

[moonraccoon-exe]

For @gladnisweek , Day 2

Prompt: “OMG, so drunk…”

Warnings: Mentions of attempt of the attempt itself of sexual assault.

You can also find this on AO3 here.

(Tried and failed to come up with a title, so just have the story, dammit.)

 Usually, by that time of the night Gladiolus would already be asleep.

Even more that day, he had so many more reasons to put himself in bed and ignore the rest of the world until the following morning. Despite what others could think of him, he did not enjoy staying up until too late. He was a grown man, mature enough to difference when it was fine to party and stay up late, and when he needed to follow his schedules as they were set, even the non-official and personal ones. He had to wake up as early as usual for his morning run before work and diverse lessons at the Citadel, that night was not to party or stay up late even if he wanted. Which he did not; that day he had had a particularly rough and extra heavy training with the Marshal and finished wrecking himself training the prince, who, for his bad luck for once, had been particularly energetic. And that meeting that lasted an hour past the work shift, plus all the after duties…

Gladio was wrecked and, gods, there was nothing he wanted more than his bed as soon as he left the Citadel. It was his father’s turn to keep the night watch nearby the king’s chambers, so he had to take the oh so boring duty of driving back home as tired as he was. Sincerely, all that he had wanted was to go straight to his bed. He did stop to say hello to Iris and help her a bit with her homework. As exhausted, he still thought it rude to deny dinner when the house butler had already prepared it. Even just the action of chewing was tiring and Gladio only wanted a comfy mattress with warm and cozy blankets and his bunch of pillows and not see anyone else until the next morning, which he planned to do when he reached his room and collapsed in bed.

He had gotten a few hours of sleep…that were interrupted by his phone.

He had set it on silence because he did not want anybody to interrupt his sleep, but the thing could still buzz. It kept buzzing and buzzing, at first entirely ignored and the sound drowned under Gladio’s own snoring, but it buzzed for so long it shut the man up, and eventually woke him up.

The young Shield groaned out of complete exasperation, long and low, and turned to see the hour in the digital clock. One in the morning. Absolutely fucking fantastic.

He groaned louder, gripping at his own hair. What kind of stupid, fucking asshole was phoning him at this hour precisely that night!?

Acknowledging it could be related to his duties in some way, Gladio felt forced to not ignore the damn phone. Frowning and snorting like an angered beast, Gladio reached for his phone, only able to open one eye while the other was strongly shut, and he looked at the screen.

Fifteen missed calls, and five messages.

All from Ignis.

Gladio softened out of seeing it was a close friend and not some random idiot Glaive or attendant. But, more than anything, the anger was entirely replaced with concern; it was not new to see Ignis was awake at such an hour (did the man ever sleep at all?), but…the quantity of missed calls and messages. From Ignis. Ignis “I don’t want to be a bother to anyone” Scientia, spamming him. It was something rather new. Still, he assumed that had it been something particularly dangerous or if Ignis was majorly injured, he would have activated his Alert signal instead of phoning him.

Ignis messaging and looking for him at one in the morning. Curious and a bit worried, Gladio opened the messages.

11:30 pm: Gladiolus? Apologies, are you awake?

12:08 am: I don’t mean to sound needy, but if you could pick up the phone…

12:39 am: Gladio?

12:45 am: I believe you must be asleep by now, I had hoped you had taken a bit before going to bed. If you are awake and just ignoring for whatever reason, please do pick up the phone. It’s important. 

1:02 am: I don’t know who else I could contact. I don’t mean to be a bother. Please tell me you’re awake.

Gladio squinted the eyes and sat up, a bit more worried by now. It did not sound particularly urgent, but this was coming from Ignis. Considering who had written this, it did feel rather worrying.

‘Hey, Iggy. ‘m sorry for taking so long. Are you okay?’

It did not take even a minute. Which Gladio was not sure if was more or less worrying.

- Until now, yes. Thank Shiva you answered.

- Hey, Igs, it’s fine. What’s the matter?

- Gladio, I am so drunk.  

…well, that…that was very new. Not that Ignis never got drunk, he had his moments every now and then when he was among people he trusted intimately, Gladio himself included. Ignis had also gotten drunk when Gladio was not present, that was not new. But for Ignis to start phoning and messaging him just for that, it was a bit odd. He never drank if there was not a designed driver, nor alone, so he should have no reasons to phone him.

- lol - So whatcha want me to do?

- Gladio, it was not the plan. - It’s not the normal kind of drunk. - I believe somebody adulterated my drink.

Gladio needed no other message.

He basically propelled himself out of his bed, leaving his safe haven of pillows and blankets, and searched in the dark for his shoes, clumsily but successfully putting them on. He grabbed his green jacket and put it on as he walked out of his room and down the hallway, straight to the stairs. By the time he reached the living room area he heard noises from upstairs, and Jared appeared there, holding the railing and staring at Gladio with sleepy and confused, altered eyes. He had asked if there was anything he needed, but Gladio gently denied him and told him he would go pick up a friend, and asked the butler to go back to bed. A bit startled, Jared obeyed and only looked above his shoulder to watch the young Amicitia exit and lock the door behind himself.

While Gladio reached and started the car, he messaged Ignis again.

Okay, can you tell me where you are or is it better if you send me your location?  

Ignis did not type anything. He sent the location map straight away. Gladio stared at it with a frown; what the hell was Ignis doing at a local bar? They had work the following day, unless Ignis had been given a free day or something. And who was he with? Had he gone alone?

Gladio decided to leave the questions for another moment, set the phone’s map as he had no idea how to get there, and typed out a quick message while getting on the road.

- You stay where you are, Ig. Don’t you dare move from that spot. 

-I don’t mean to be a bother, Gladio. If you could come or send anyone, I believe that would be wise.

-Already on my way.

-Be careful.

Such an Ignis thing to do, even when drunk, to wish Gladiolus a safe drive while Ignis himself was in greater risk. Gladio did not even reply, and only cursed under his breath while he kept driving trying to go as fast as possible without speeding past the limits. The least he wanted was having to stop for a chat with cops when his best friend and crush was drunk, drugged against his will, and who knows with who-the-fuck doing or trying who-knows-fucking-what to or against him. What had led Ignis to that situation? The man was the smartest creature Gladiolus had ever known and the smartest in possibly centuries, it was not much his style to end up in this kind of situation.

It was a fifteen-minute drive from his home, not as close as Gladio may have wished and it felt like an eternity. His phone had not buzzed since that last message, but he had sincerely hoped Ignis would not be the selfless creature he was that worried on not distracting Gladio at the wheel and could just send a fucking message to know he was at least in a position where he could do that. Gladio parked a bit too quickly and in one movement, which left the car as an inconvenient obstacle for others, but it was not like there were many cars at that hour outside or like he would take long. He did not plan to.

The guard had tried to stop him, had glanced at him from head to toe maybe examining Gladio’s pajama clothing, but Gladio insisted, had brain enough to stop before he started a fight, and then explained ‘a friend was waiting for him inside’, which made the guard move aside and let him in. That, or his looks. Maybe earning that scar was working for some purpose, he could scare others and open his path through when needed.

He entered and stopped at the entrance to get a look of all the place without letting anyone exit without him noticing. So many ladies and gentlemen, but where was he?

Gladio thought maybe searching in the bathroom. He thought that maybe Ignis had escaped from his attacker, whether he knew them or not, by going into the bathroom to message and phone Gladio. The gods damn, the Shield kept cursing under his breath, feeling guilt eating him out; if only he had not been a lazy scumbag that preferred to sleep, if only he had answered at the first call…

He continued glancing around in his way to the bathroom but did not spot any familiar face. Putting all his hopes that Ignis was in the bathroom and that he had not been forced outside, Gladio took in a subtle but deep breath and opened the door.

His heart almost dropped when the pair of blazing green eyes found him.

“Gladio!” Ignis, down on a knee nearby a corner, had looked up when the door opened and he was looking at Gladio with what the Shield could swear was…fear. Ignis, scared. That was new, too. And absolutely heartbreaking. The man stood up and hurried towards Gladio, who hurried towards him as well but could not stop staring, and got to analyze Ignis in only a few seconds; his hair looked a bit messed, and he was entirely pale, so pale it was a bit sickening. His eyes looked rounded by black and a hint of red, as if he had bawled his eyes out except it was not the case. They reached each other and the adviser threw his arms around him, holding tight onto him like longtime friends that meet after years. Gladio hugged him back firmly, wrapping his arms around that slender but strong waist and pressing his palms flat on his back. He felt one of Ignis’ hands on his head and the other around his shoulders. He was trembling lightly. “Thank the Six, I was starting to panic…”

“I am so sorry I took so long to answer the damn phone” Gladio apologized and squeezed his friend a bit tighter. “It’s fine, Iggy, let’s get you out of here” they broke apart and Gladio hurried on reaching a hand up to hold his friend’s chin gently, making him look up at him. “How are you?”

“Astrals” Ignis sighed, “I am so drunk” he stared away and Gladio let him. “I feel terrible, I…made it worse than it was, I…” the man stopped, passing a hand through his hair and looking concerned. “…when I realized that he had put something in my drink, I…tried phoning you, but…it is not your fault, what was I thinking coming here so late and thinking you were awake?” Ignis continued digressing for a moment before he said anything important again. “I was insecure about leaving this place with him; if I was as bad already, the hit of air on my face would worsen it and I…” he shook the head and his hands went to grip at Gladio’s arms. “…I had taken the bathroom as excuse too many times and he insisted we left, so…all that I thought to not leave was…I-I told him I still wanted some drinks and I…” by that point, Ignis lowered the head and looked like he was at the edge of tears. He breathed in a choked sob and closed the eyes. “Gladio, this is my fault, I drank when I was already drunk as excuse to not leave and I kept drinking and now I’m drunk and drugged against my will and I am a terrible person and this is my fault…”

Astrals, Ignis was in a terrible drunken state. When drunk he tended to get pretty dramatic, but this was already more than Gladio was used to witness. The Shield stared at him some moments, feeling more guilt about not coming earlier, and seeing Ignis start to cry in front of him.

“Come now, Iggy, it’s not on you” Gladio comforted him and put his hands on Ignis as well, but the man continued silently crying and whispering things on how this was his own fault. “Who did this to you?”

“…you are going to be mad at me” Ignis murmured after a small pause, hands moving to his own eyes to rub them while he shyly cried. Gladio did not need to insist. “…I-I was given the day free tomorrow, a-and…Cultro asked me to early celebrate my birthday and said ‘Why don’t we have a drink tonight?’ and I…felt…obliged and I did not want to be rude, and I just followed him and I know you’ve told me to get away of him, and I do so- but I was…I-I don’t know…” Ignis sniffled and lowered the head even more. “…he did not seem to have any bad intentions…” 

As soon as he heard the name Gladio’s expression changed. When Ignis finished talking, it all made sense and the young Shield sighed in controlled anger and looked away.

“That son of a bitch….” He murmured, but assumed it was not the time to speak about Ignis’ stubborn and toxic suitor that the two had been pushing away. For too long by now, Gladio realized. “I’m gonna have a real good conversation with him sometime soon, and now you’re not going to stop me.”

“I won’t” Ignis sniffled again, still refusing to look up at him. “I thought he was only stubborn. I mean, he’s a Glaive, I did not think he would dare…”

Betray Ignis’ trust, take him to a bar, adulterate his drink with the Lucii know what, drag him out of the bar somewhere else, take advantage of his barely conscious state and then…

The mere thought gave Gladio shivers. He shook the head to get rid of it, but he still wondered how sick somebody had to be to do that sort of thing. How sick somebody had to be to care only on Ignis’ body and claim it as a prize even when his mind was lost and switched off. How sick somebody had to be that he, after realizing Ignis was no fragile princess and could beat the heck out of him in self-defense, decided to best knock him off his senses to have a huge and unfair advantage. Gladio decided he would make Cultro understand what the fucking meaning of ‘No’ was. He had harassed Ignis enough, this was far beyond the limits of what Gladio would tolerate.

“That’s fine, Iggy” Gladio murmured to him, softly. “It’s not your fault. You trusted and were betrayed.”

Ignis only nodded very weakly after a pause, head still lowered. Gladio felt the hundredth pinch of guilt that night and, moved, he reached close to hug Ignis again. The younger man was a bit startled but did not return the hug nor was he given time before Gladio broke apart again and wrapped an arm around the adviser’s shoulders, whispering a ‘Let’s go’ before he started guiding Ignis towards the door. Ignis was not one to lose balance while walking when drunk, so the fact that the man was going very slow and stumbling only did but worry him; not only was Ignis terribly drunk, he was also drugged. He was still pale and sweated coldly. Thank the Astrals he had not fallen unconscious or something as bad.

Gladio helped him out of the bathroom, taking Ignis’ pace, and looked around. He had not seen the Glaive when he entered, and there was no sign of him anywhere this second time. The Shield assumed the most simple and usual; as soon as Cultro saw him nearby, he fled away like a pathetic thing. Gladio internally growled and remembered to remember that Cultro had also abandoned Ignis when in this terrible state just to save his own ass.

Eventually, Gladio managed to take Ignis out of the bar. When the air hit him the adviser hesitated and stumbled, so Gladio’s first reaction was to pick him up in arms. With how poisonous the Glaive was and how much hatred he felt towards Gladio, he would not be surprised if the man appeared out of the blue and attacked him, knowing Gladio would not attack or defend himself if that put Ignis to risk in some way and taking advantage of that fact. Gladio kept Ignis half-hugged and leaned down to scoop him up from the floor. All that the adviser did was to offer a little groan of surprise and hid the face in the crook of Gladio’s neck, as if embarrassed. The Shield hurried to his dad’s car and unlocked it, putting Ignis down only for a moment to open the backdoors for him, before helping him inside and closing the door after him.

When Gladio started the engine, he looked back at Ignis and told him he was safe now and that he should get some rest. The adviser, still looking rather terrified (though it was possibly mostly out of feeling terrible rather than scared at all), had gently denied him, and proceeded to go on a rant of how this was his fault, how inappropriate it would be to lie down in the car, about how horrible he was by ‘touching the magnificent Lord Clarus’ car with my drunken, disgusting ass’ and other matters while Gladio started the engine and drove away of the bar. He slowed down and stopped only for a moment to reach for Ignis, put a hand to his mouth, make a gesture asking for silence and gently pushed him down on the seats. Inevitably, Ignis fell asleep in less than a minute after Gladio started driving again. From time to time he glanced at the rearview mirror to stare at Ignis, see if he was less pale or had stopped sweating coldly, or just to see him. There was something incredibly sweet and reassuring about seeing him there, terribly drunk and asleep in the backseats. It was like a reminder that his friend and crush was safe and sound, peacefully asleep, and not in the Six know where with the Astrals know who.

Gladio did not drive him to Ignis’ place or mister Scientia’s. Who knew if the man was in his house (as he used to spend most at the Citadel, as first attendant to the king), and he did not dare nor want to leave Ignis alone in such a state. So, as simple, he drove to his own house with no hesitation. The ride was quiet in many ways; despite the nocturnal life of Insomnia, there were almost no other cars driving around, almost no people in the streets, and Ignis was peacefully asleep. After the fifteen-minute drive, Gladio parked and opened the backdoor to pick Ignis outside, but he found the man had curled nearby the other door. Gladio rounded the car and opened the other door, just to find Ignis had moved to curl nearby the first.

Turned out that Ignis was not asleep; he had woken up and refused to get out of the car.

“I am a piece of unworthy garbage with no value” Ignis was explaining while Gladio tried to talk him into coming out of the car. “What sort of strategist am I? I cannot look at you to the eyes. Leave me alone.”

Despite the terrible and sad things Ignis was saying, Gladio could not help a little smile and chuckle. A drunken, extra dramatic Ignis was rare, sad, and a bit amusing to see. He behaved like a stubborn child, a sad man amplifying his problem to dramatic levels, and a bit like an adorable if a bit scared puppy. Gladio ended up trying to crawl into the backseats to drag Ignis outside, just to be received by yelped-out dramatic ‘No’s and some attempts of kicks to the face, so he changed strategy and tried opening the door Ignis was closest to, but the man kept moving from one to the other while Gladio ran around the car trying to be faster than him. In the end, and as Ignis’ mind was not clear enough to function as brilliantly as it normally did, Gladio ended up tricking him and being able to drag him out of the car. When the fight was clearly lost, Ignis stopped complaining and dropped his dead weight on Gladio for the Shield to carry him piggyback into the house.

They were received by Jared, but Gladio again asked him to get some sleep and that he would get in charge of things. The man was not as young as he used to be and Gladio did not want to bother him like a spoiled brat. Jared still offered to arrange the guest’s room while Gladio prepared some tea for his friend, which the young Shield accepted.

Gladio tried to have Ignis sit on the sofa and not move; Ignis tended to get as anxious as dramatic when drunk, so catching him was a good sport whenever the adviser had too many cups. He insisted on walking in circles, going places, all as he talked things usually about blaming himself for something. The Shield, exhausted but not calm until Ignis was attended, prepared him a good and healthy tea to help clean his stomach, chased Ignis when the man tried leaving the house, and put him back on the sofa. He stayed awake and sat nearby while Ignis quietly sipped from the tea, slow and making long pauses to randomly sob once as if he had been furiously crying all the time, or to stare at the tea like it was a shiny pebble that he could not understand.

It was an hour before Ignis finished his cup. Before really bringing him to the guest’s room, Gladio guided and helped Ignis into the bathroom when the man threw up. Gladio took his glasses from him so he would not accidentally drop them and kept the palm soft and flat on Ignis’ back, drawing slow and gentle circles on it while the adviser dry heaved, threw up, or just breathed heavily while holding to the toilet. That was the first time it happened to him; the drama and anxiety were normal to different levels, but Ignis had never before thrown up out of drinking.

…which, needless to say, triggered him into another terrible drama. Ignis’ dramas were dramatic on their own because he either cried or just laid somewhere on the floor, stubborn and refusing to get up, and just murmuring awful things about himself.

Gladio spent yet another half-an-hour sat in the bathroom with Ignis thrown on his side in a corner calling himself all sort of disgusting names in mumbles, before the Shield could just not allow this to continue, laughed softly both sad and amused, and scooped Ignis up from the floor.

The adviser comically (to Gladio, at least) tried to smack him, but started crying as soon as his hand touched Gladio’s shoulder, and he dropped his dead weight on him again. Gladio did laugh this time and only murmured a low ‘Oh, Iggy’, before bringing him to the kitchen. He offered Ignis water to clean his mouth and a few mint candies for the breath, which the adviser accepted. It was after gods-know-how-long that Ignis was done over cleaning his mouth and eating the candies that he accepted the offer of a bed. Even though the adviser was showing less troubles with walking, Gladio preferred to not take any risks and asked Ignis if it was fine if he carried him once more. Ignis offered no complaints. Indeed, he did not even answer. He just put the arms around Gladio’s neck and dropped himself as if saying ‘Whatever, not like I care anymore’.

With yet another low laugh, Gladio picked him as he could (what with how much Ignis was enjoying on dropping dead weight on him) and made his way upstairs and through the hallways. Thankfully, Iris had not opened her door so she must have been dead asleep. Gladio took Ignis to the guest room, clean and looking comfy. The Shield did not bother on turning on the lights to not put Ignis down; he went straight to the bed and sat Ignis there. The adviser insisted on not making eye contact with him, looking terribly ashamed of himself. So terrible and so much he refused to “deserve any of your kindness” that Gladio himself had to undress him to his underwear and dress him again in some comfy and warm pajamas. Ignis only either dropped a tear or two, or mumbled about how Gladio “should drop him in the trashcan” and about how much of a “disgusting visitor” he was in the “Amicitia palace”. The last word made Gladio laugh while he was taking Ignis’ socks off and putting warm and clean ones on instead. Not like Ignis’ were dirtied, Gladio only wanted him to feel extra cozy.

Ignis either did not notice or did not care nor did it find startling that Gladio fully changed him. Once Gladio was done, he pulled down the sheets except on the spot Ignis was sat on, and waited for the adviser to lie down. Which did not happen, of course.

“Iggy” Gladio laughed. “Just lie there, it’s very late. You have to sleep.”

“I am unworthy, Gladio” Ignis said in a thread of a voice, still refusing to make eye contact and looking terribly sad. “I have shown to own close to no value. Why should I sleep?”

“Iggy, that doesn’t make sense” Gladio laughed softly and lowly, sitting down at Ignis’ side. “You have value. Now lie there and sleep.”

“I don’t” Ignis closed the eyes and lowered the head. “I have been raised with only two sole purposes in life. Two. Twenty…almost twenty-one years being raised to turn into the prince’s wise adviser and the most sharp-eyed strategist of Eos” Ignis opened the eyes again and looked down at himself as if analyzing his body. “And this is how it’s worked. Tricked into a bar by a toxic suitor, drugged without noticing, and having to phone my...” he gestured at Gladio with his hands and scanned him with the eyes as if not finding the words to describe him, and getting upset because of that “..knight in shining armor so he can rescue me and carry me in arms because all that I could do when I saw the dragon was cry.”

Gladio raised the eyebrows at the ‘my knight’ part, and laughed. He felt his face become red and he stared away, still laughing, but Ignis was still serious and sad.

“I am supposed to see people’s intentions from the very first sight I have of them. I’ve been followed by him for about a year now and…this was so obvious, yet I did not see it” Ignis lamented, teeth clenching as if angered. “And, okay, we can let that go and excuse it behind how I blindly trusted an ally. Which makes me a pathetic excuse of a strategist and adviser anyway, because you do not blindly trust anyone, not even yourself. But let’s suppose in some level of the universe it’s acceptable” Gladio smiled, amused and just stared warmly at Ignis as he continued. “But then I did not notice when he put…the…whatever he put in my drink. I did not see it. It happened under my nose, it had to happen while I was looking, I basically had my eye at an inch from the glass, Gladio” Ignis dropped the hands and stared up with teary eyes like this was a tragedy. “And I did not see it. I did not see it, Gladio, do you know what that means?”

Gladio, still smiling, raised an eyebrow at him and shook the head softly.

“That means that I am the worst, most awful, most terrible, less sharp-eyed strategist that has ever breathed in this or any other universe” Ignis put his hands to his face and dropped the head again, sobbing but Gladio was not sure if he really was crying or if this was his ‘drunk-drama-crying’. “I could not see somebody altering my drink right in front of my eyes, how do you expect me to- I cannot- I have the poorest- no, the entire opposite to sharp-eye, I have a…blunt eye.”

Gladio laughed quietly again. He was sure that was not the concept Ignis was looking for, but he let him be. Ignis sighed and shook the head.

“I have no value anymore, Gladio” he lamented. “I don’t deserve such a thing like sleep.”

“Ignis, control yourself” Gladio knew he should be concerned, but he could not help a little laugh. The adviser kept the head down, silent and completely down in the dumps. The Shield smiled like a mother would do to her son after he just lost an important competition. His voice. “Hey. Iggy. Come on, look at me” but the adviser refused to do so, quietly. Whenever Gladio tried to grab him, Ignis weakly got rid of his grasp and kept the head down. “Come now, Iggy.”

“I do not deserve to be called the prince’s adviser, or royal strategist” Ignis murmured, a hand moving up so he cleaned his own nose. “I don’t deserve this treatment. I don’t deserve to be in a bed in the Amicitia palace. This holds…too much honor, and I am a poor excuse of a strategist…” he sighed. “…and I’m drunk.”

Gladio smiled a bit amused that drunken-Ignis still thought this was a palace, but he made no comment about that.

“Hey, Iggy, don’t say that stuff” he said softly, moving so he was sitting closer to his friend. “You are a wonderful strategist, and the best adviser Noctis could have ever wished for” he saw the strategist move the eyes in his direction for a moment. “Even the greatest and the smartest make a mistake from time to time. And what do you make out of mistakes?”

“…I quit my job?”

“You learn, you sack of chips!” Gladio said with a tiny warm laugh. He brought his legs up to the bed so he was sitting on it leg-crossed like Ignis, in front of him. “This doesn’t take any value from you; on the opposite, learning from it will give you even more” by that point Gladio was almost murmuring. He waited a moment and then saw Ignis’ eyes moving up, head staying down, to make eye contact. He smiled at the poor drunken adviser. “Don’t be so dramatic, Iggy. It’s okay. You’re wonderful and you know it.”

There was a long pause after that. Ignis lowered the eyes again, and after another pause he nodded. He moved a hand up again to rub at one of his eyes as if to stop it from crying before he even started.

“…you are so good to me, Gladiolus” Ignis murmured. “…too good. Even if I’m not too bad, I don’t know if I deserve this treatment from you” Gladio’s smile grew smaller and his eyebrows furrowed again; he thought he had already controlled this, but Ignis found a new thing to be sad about. The Shield listened to him in silence. “You woke up in the middle of the night just to answer my call, do what this weakling could not, go all the way across the entire city, took me out of there and you let me sleep in your car, and then you gave me tea and a warm blanket, and then you took my glasses so I wouldn’t drop them when I…” he paused to breathe shakily. “And then you gave me an entire room with my own bed, and I’m just…so touched, Gladio, you just saved my ass. Probably very literally” by that point Ignis cleaned his other eye. The comment had been serious, but Ignis, while not taking it as joke, did not seem to see the real weight of it. “You did not have enough with only saving me out of there, you…you’re doing all this for me, you’re pampering me, this is not necessary, I-I could- I only needed to be taken out, not all this wonderful, marvelous pampering, I should-”

While Ignis started speaking about how he should leave, Gladio hurried a series of quick ‘No’s, and softly reached close to pull Ignis back on the bed and not let him stand up. The young Shield grinned a little amused again, but the gaze remained warm. While he was saying it was fine, Ignis teared up again.

“…see, you’re even taking time to convince this…unworthy sack of chips” Gladio could not help a little laugh at that, “to stay because you still want to give me more of this treatment. It’s like…I don’t know, midnight and you’re awake just to…” Ignis stopped there and looked up at Gladio with big eyes at the time he dramatically gasped and put both hands to his mouth. Gladio blinked at him, tiredly but still attentive. “…Gladio. Gladio…Astrals…Gladio” the young Shield smiled at the multiple calls of his name, but said nothing. “…Gladio, you…you do have work tomorrow…”

“Iggy, don’t mind that” Gladio said while shaking his head softly. As Ignis opened the mouth to complain, he continued to not let him. “Really. Listen, it’s nothing. If I’m awake it’s because I want to.”

Ignis still took a long while just staring at him with wide eyes and the hands close to his mouth. It seemed like the comment only made him tear up even more.

“I don’t deserve this” Ignis dramatically whispered to him, and after a little laugh Gladio got a bit closer.

“Listen, it’s hilarious and everything, but stop saying that” he murmured to Ignis with a bright smile and warm eyes. He paused and reached to hold both of his friend’s arms before continuing. “You do. You deserve this and more. And I don’t care if you’re a good or bad strategist or adviser, you’re my friend, and I care about you. You’re a precious part of my life, sleep can’t compare to your wellbeing. Staying up late is absolutely nothing if that means you’re safe. Okay?” Gladio raised the eyebrows at him at the question, expecting an answer but Ignis only gave him that brokenhearted and almost surprised look. The Shield caressed his arms and did not break eye contact. “No matter the circumstances or what I’m doing, you need help, you call me. I’ll be there. Okay?” when he waited for an answer and received none, he continued. “You’re a wonderful person with the biggest and kindest heart that I know, you’re funny, you’re empathetic and understanding, and you’re incredibly selfless. You do deserve this, and far much more, if by ‘this’ you mean proper care, a bed, and a friend.”

There was a long pause yet again. Gladio did not let go of Ignis’ arms during the even longer pause. After he did, Ignis’ eyes teared up even more. The adviser closed them and stared away, swallowed and waited a bit more before nodding, at first slow and hesitant, and then a little more confident. Gladio whispered a soft ‘Okay’ and they fell in silence once more, until Ignis looked up at him. He raised a hand and pointed at Gladio, and opened the mouth to say something but finger and jaw just trembled for a couple times before he got to say anything.

“You are the opposite to Cultro, you know” Ignis told him and lowered the finger. “You’re kind. You’ve always been so kind to me, and you know what really means caring about someone” Ignis moved a hand up to dramatically clean his teary eyes once more. “You’ve always been so good to me…” after he cleaned his eyes and dropped the hand, he sniffled and made eye contact with Gladio again. “So good to me…”

Once said that, Ignis started moving. Gladio thought he was readjusting himself to sit differently or to finally lie down, but the adviser moved closer to him, on his knees, and rested his hands on Gladio’s strong shoulders. Ignis gently and slowly started dropping himself on the Shield, and wrapped his arms around Gladio’s neck. He leaned closer, eyes fixed on the Shield’s mouth before closing them. Gladio stared at him eye widened and taken off guard.

And, as soon as his crush since-he-was-sixteen leaned close to kiss him, Gladio put a hand up so that Ignis kissed his palm instead.

The adviser opened the eyes when he did not recognize the texture of lips and pulled apart, staring down at Gladio’s hand. The Shield was smiling warmly with a little hint of sadness, and put the hand down. Ignis stared at it still for long seconds, then back up at Gladio, with a look on his face that almost passed as terror. Ignis unwrapped his arms from Gladio’s neck and his hands returned to the Shield’s shoulders, and he stared at Gladio in silence and fear.

“…you don’t want to kiss me” Ignis murmured, took his hands away with shyness, and stared away. “You don’t- Astrals, I know, I should have-…I didn’t ask you for permission, I-I’m…this is exactly what you saved me from and…” he seemed very troubled and a little anxious. “I-I guess- I had understood- that perhaps you could have developed romantic feelings for me, and I thought- and I assumed a second ago that maybe…and I thought perhaps…” Ignis passed a hand through his already messed hair, sighing. “…you don’t want to kiss me.”

“No, I do” Gladio told him, moving a hand up to hold Ignis’ arm again. The adviser stared at the grip and tried making eye contact, but broke it immediately. The Shield smiled, and felt his face burning. “I’ve…always guessed you had realized by this point, I mean…you have a sharp eye” Ignis move the eyes up and tilted the head as if saying ‘well, I guess’, not catching it was a joke besides a statement. “So if you’re admitting you already knew, I guess it’s stupid to keep it in” Gladio sighed as if in defeat and stared away, blushing harder. “I…do want to kiss you. I like you, that way.”

“But then why didn’t you let me?” Ignis asked him. “I- no, I know. It’s because I didn’t ask permission, isn’t it?”

“It’s not that” Gladio smiled and shook the head. “To get a kiss from Ignis Scientia? Gods, you always have my permission” Ignis gave him a confused look. Gladio smiled warmly at him. “But…listen, you handle your emotions very poorly in this state” Gladio explained and, while expecting a complaint, Ignis only sighed and his chin quivered as if accepting it. “You say and do a lot of things you don’t mean. You amplify your reactions. You’re grateful for the treatment that I’m giving you, but you amplify it to the point you want to thank me with a kiss” Gladio stopped for a moment to see if Ignis was following. “But you don’t mean to. Your drunken persona is forcing you to do this” he paused yet again. Ignis was looking at him with almost naïve eyes, and Gladio lowered the voice to a murmur. “I want that kiss. But if I accept it, I am, in some way, taking advantage of you. Wasn’t this why Cultro got you in this state, so that he could do this?” Gladio gave him a tiny smile. “I ain’t doing that.”

Ignis did but stare at him with the same expression than before. Gladio tried to keep eye contact with him, and waited for anything that Ignis had to say. The adviser’s lower lip quivered and his eyes watered again, and Gladio feared he had touched another string.

“…I-I almost kissed you without your consent” Ignis whispered, “and you’re worrying about mine” after that, the adviser let out a choked tiny sob and started rubbing at his eyes again. “My gods, Gladio…you’re husband material.”

The young Shield opened the eyes wide and raised the eyebrows almost midway to his forehead. Well, this was new. Gladio could not help but to furiously blush and laugh, staring away and shaking the head. Drunken Ignis was either a sad case or a hilarious one. Gladio tried to see the compliment behind that; if Ignis amplified the things he was thinking and feeling while drunk, then Gladio could assume that what he had just said could mean ‘I could or not have a little crush on you too’. The idea made him feel a thousand of flowers blooming inside his stomach, lighting up his spirit, but he tried to not keep expectations up. He wished, though. Wished that drunken Ignis could have exaggerated, but was not lying. He really wanted his feelings to be reciprocate…but it was not the moment to talk that.

“Astrals above…” Ignis whimpered quietly. Gladio looked back up at him and found the adviser pressing his palms to his eyes. “I’m hating myself so much right now, because…” he paused to let go of his face and breathe. “I’ll remember. I’ll remember everything that I’ve done and said tonight, and I can’t stop me” Gladio grinned and shook the head, laughing once more. Ignis did not find the fun in that and only stared at him like this was the worst moment of his life. “When this fades, I’ll remember I- oh my Six, I called you ‘my knight in shining armor’, that’s so pathetic…” Ignis whimpered again and, finally, after what had felt like an eternity that was enjoyable to endure, the man dropped backwards until his head met the pillow, but rolled onto his back to hide his face in it. Gladio heard him whimpering again, like a puppy. “And then I tried to kiss you, and then I called you Husband Material, and I’ll remember, the gods damn me, why can’t I- why do-“ Ignis stopped talking to dramatically sob into his pillow like a kid in tantrum. Gladio continued laughing lowly. “I cannot look at you to the eyes, Gladiolus. I won’t. You can’t make me.”

“Hey, I’m not forcing you” Gladio said with a little laugh and stood up from the bed. When he felt the movement, Ignis gasped and pulled himself up, looking over his shoulder, and then hurried himself up on his knees on the bed when he saw Gladio was standing up to leave. Ignis reached for him and grabbed him by an arm with both hands. Gladio gave him a puzzled look. “Anything else you need, Ig?”

“Why are you leaving me?” Ignis asked him at the edge of tears again. “Do you find me disgusting?”

“Ignis, come on” Gladio laughed, turned around and rested a knee on the bed. “I find you to be adorable and stupidly handsome” the Shield smiled. “I’m just leaving because you need to sleep.”

“Sle-” Ignis interrupted himself by gasping and again putting a hand to his mouth before letting go. “Sleep! Sleeping is cruxial” Gladio laughed and gave a low ‘yes, it is’. “And I’m keeping you from sleep. Oh no. Oh, gods, no. I am horrible. I am a terrible- what are you still doing here, Gladio? You should go to bed, I’ve kept you awake for so long, it must be like midnight” Ignis sounded so sincerely panicked that Gladio sat down on the bed again and held his arms, not helping a smile out of Ignis’ terrible measure of time. Ignis grabbed his arms as well and looked at him like this was a life-or-death issue. “Gladio, go to sleep. What are you waiting for?”

“For you to do it first.”

Ignis stared at him for a couple seconds. His next reaction made Gladio laugh again; Ignis let go of him and basically threw himself back down, and shut the eyes in a very miserable attempt of acting like he was asleep. The Shield waited there, grinning and staring at Ignis, just for curiosity to see what the adviser would do next. He saw Ignis opening an eye and looking his way, then shutting it again when he found Gladio staring. The Shield laughed a little more.

“…I’m asleep now” Ignis murmured, and it did not sound like he was playing at all. Ignis was serious, and it only made Gladio laugh more. “Go. You have work tomorrow.”

“Promise you won’t try to sneak out of my house in the middle of the night?” Gladio asked him warmly. Ignis opened the eye again and looked at him for a moment, and then he nodded. The Shield smiled. “Good. Don’t worry about sleeping until late. I’ll leave instructions with Jared so he prepares breakfast for you, alright?”

Ignis seemed to want to argue that, but Gladio raised an eyebrow at him. Apparently turning a little kid when drunk, Ignis shut the mouth again and only nodded, giving him naïve eyes.

“Alright. Now try to get some sleep, okay?” Gladio told him as softly as before. Ignis, once more, nodded. “We can talk about knights in shining armor and husband material tomorrow. I’d like that, and I think so will you.”

Ignis seemed to have gotten the joke, but, instead of laughing, he just tried to kick Gladio weakly, and proceeded to bury the face in the pillow. The Shield smiled and laughed lowly. He stood up from the bed and got closer to Ignis. He leaned down and caressed the adviser’s hair. And, gathering all the courage he could manage to find within himself, he leaned down even more, hesitated and pulled away for a moment, but then got closer again to press a little kiss to Ignis’ head. Tiny. But caring, and loving. And sincere.

“I’m sorry I took so long to answer the phone” he whispered to the adviser. “And I’m sorry that asshole tried to do something as wrong to you. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything like that happen again.”

Ignis did not answer. His body untensed while and after Gladio spoke to him. The Shield continued caressing his hair in an attempt of somehow helping him to fall asleep. Ignis rolled onto his side and looked up at him without taking the head off the pillow. His eyes looked big and exhausted and still pretty much drugged, but they were sincere and innocent. They kept eye contact for a long while, before the adviser offered a little and tired smile. Gladio replied with one of his own and continued caressing his hair.

“…thank you, Gladio” Ignis murmured to him and his smile widened a little. “You’re…always so good to me…”

It was very, drastically quick how Ignis drifted into sleep. As drugged, drunken and with his normal lack of sleep hours, it did not surprise Gladio. One moment Ignis was looking at him, the next he was blinking heavily, his eyelids started fluttering, and in less than four minutes the guy had already fallen asleep. The Shield did not stop caressing his hair all the while, running his fingers through the brown locks and enjoying of the sensation of his fingertips against that scalp. He waited until he was sure Ignis was asleep; eyes softly closed, breath calm and heavy, and confirmed it when he took his hand away and the man did not react. Gladio smiled a last time at him, and bent down to give him another kiss to the head. It felt a little wrong, since he was not his boyfriend or anything, but after such an unexpected way of confessing, he could not help himself. Gladio was just so happy to have him there, absolutely safe, and happy. All that he wanted was for Ignis to stay that way forever.

Gladio picked Ignis’ legs to get the sheets from under them, laid him again and covered him. The adviser, in his sleep, grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it closer, making himself comfortable, letting out a little sigh. Gladio smiled at the sight.

He could have gone straight to bed, but he still took a few more moments for other things that he considered important. He secretly stole Ignis’ wristwatch; he took his phone and switched off all the alarms, just to end up turning the entire device off, so nothing and no one would wake him up. He made sure there were no clocks in the room that could have a set alarm or just a ticking sound (Ignis was an early sleeper in his normal state, and Gladio would not risk having him wake up too soon due to his over-developed senses). He made sure to go to the bathroom and cleaned Ignis’ glasses, leaving them on the bedside table for him to find in the morning. The Shield still had to travel to the kitchen to look for some medicine for the next day migraine and consequences, and brought it to Ignis’ room along two glasses of water, placing them nearby the spectacles.

He gave a last glance at Ignis, and found him still asleep in the same position. Ignis had never been one to move too much in his sleep, and his drunken persona did not seem to disagree with that. Gladio smiled, got closer and caressed his hair a little more, and his smile widened when Ignis offered no reaction. Dead asleep, just as Gladio wanted him. He could not help but smile even more and lower the gaze when he remembered about the silly but pretty things Ignis had said about him. It had been small and dumb comments, but Gladio liked to believe that there was more in the subtext of the things Ignis called him. He would ask him in the morning, or whenever they could conversate again.

Gladio left to his own room, fighting the urge to get under the sheets at Ignis’ side. He sat down at the bed with a heavily sleepy sigh and looked at the hour. Almost four in the morning. He considered moving away his morning run, and that would leave him with…three hours of sleep.

Eh. Could be much worse.

He lied down and thought he would fall asleep immediately. Gladio was exhausted and wrecked like hell, but he still took long to fall asleep as lost in his thoughts as he was, and the more he imagined the conversation he hoped he could have with Ignis in some hours and the more he thought about Ignis calling him ‘his knight’ and ‘husband material’ and how he offered no complaints to talking about it in the morning, the more he grew hopes that his feelings were reciprocate, and the less Gladio wanted to sleep.

Suddenly, sleepless, exhausted and wrecked, morning could not come too soon.

[donttouchmeimwriting]

Argo ch. 3

Friday the 13th - Friendship/Romance - Jason Voorhees/OC M/M ship

2983 words, 3rd person POV

I'm just as surprised as you are that I'm cranking these out so fast. Thanks, NaNoWriMo!

Cross-posting on FFN under PyroTheWereCat

...

...

Saturday dragged so sluggishly for Jason as he waited impatiently to visit Lijah again. He spent the day stalking the outskirts of the camp, trying to watch Lijah as he worked. He was fascinated by Lijah's effect on others; it was clearly shown that it wasn't just Jason who was compelled to change behavior simply by listening to him. The kids loved him, and he was popular with the other counselors as well. Jason caught himself daydreaming a few too many times of being one of them and being able to spend the day with Lijah out in the open like they could.

During one of these moments, Jason stared off across the surface of the lake, the sunlight sparkling across the ripples in the water. He wondered what would have happened over a decade ago if Lijah had been at the camp with him...would the other kids have been enraptured by his presence and listened to him then? Would Jason and Lijah have become friends as quickly as children as they had as adults? Or was it their personal experiences that drew them together now and they were all the better for it?

"Enjoying the view?"

Jason spun to face the speaker, relieved it was only Lijah. Lijah laughed at his reaction and looked out across the lake to see what Jason was seeing.

"It is gorgeous out here, isn't it?" he sighed, his expression dreamy, "I've worked at a few different camps over the years but I think Crystal Lake is my favorite."

Jason's heart still pounded in his chest, despite the surprise having worn off. Why was he so nervous to stand here next to Lijah like this? Did the others feel this way around him too?

"Oh, hey!" Lijah said suddenly, pointing down at the nearest dock where two campers and another counselor stood, "That's Terry and Kira over there with Julie. Kira was bullying Terry since day one of camp, saying she looked ratty and pushing her down - you know, stupid kid insults like that. Terry didn't want to be a tattletale, so she wouldn't say who was picking on her, even though we all knew. The director has a rule that we can't interfere unless the kids come forward so we were stuck for a little while. The other counselors and I came up with a detective game to make Kira realize she was doing something wrong and hurtful and she came forward on her own yesterday to admit it. She's been doing great today at making up with Terry and I think they'll be friends really soon. It's so cool what a little positive reinforcement can do."

Lijah crossed his arms over his chest and gazed proudly out at the two kids, but Jason couldn't stop staring at Lijah. What was it he was feeling right now? Impressed at his ability to handle bullies in a way that the counselors when he was a child never could, certainly, but what else? What was it about Lijah that made Jason want to throw his machete in the lake and never hurt anyone again?

"What's up?" Lijah asked, noticing Jason staring at him, "Did I say something wrong?"

Jason shook his head, but could not tear his eyes away. Lijah had his hair tied back today, pulling it off of his neck and away from his face. There was sweat around his hairline, sticking strands of hair to him in tiny swirls and lines. His freckles were more pronounced in the daylight, and his tanned skin almost glowed, even in the shade of the trees. To Jason, this view was much more appealing than the lake.

"Alrighty then," Lijah said, shrugging it off, "Anyway, I just wanted to say hi since I saw you hanging around up here, but I gotta get back to my group. I'm seeing you tonight, right?"

Jason nodded fervently, excited by every second he got to spend with Lijah. Lijah smiled broadly and waved as he set off back to the camp.

"See you later, Jase!" he called.

Jason gave a small wave back, his stomach full of butterflies. He decided he didn't care why he was feeling this way or what it was about Lijah he liked so much. He felt immeasurably and inexplicably happy for the first time in a long time and he didn't want to overthink it. After all, wasn't that what his mother wanted for him?

-------------------------------------------------

Jason returned to cabin 5 that evening a little earlier than planned. The sun had set, but the sky was still relatively light and the camp was winding down from the day. Jason looked through the bedroom window, but Lijah was not in there yet. He tested the window to see if it was unlocked, and to his luck, it was. He checked his surroundings to ensure no one would see him struggle to squeeze through the narrow opening. It was embarrassing enough that Lijah had to see it last night. The coast was clear, so Jason pushed himself into the bedroom, nearly getting stuck in the process. Once inside, he straightened up and closed the window so bugs would not get in. It struck him as he looked around that he was in Lijah's private room alone.

A little snooping couldn't hurt, right? Jason allowed his eagerness to drive his actions as he explored Lijah's room. He first looked in the dresser drawers to see what other clothes Lijah had besides his work shirts and shorts. From the brief snoop, it seemed that Lijah liked light, muted colors and pants with deep pockets. He also seemed to be a fan of chunky bracelets and wristbands, probably to camouflage and support his delicate wrists.

From there, Jason moved to the books on top of the dresser. Adventure novels, a couple college textbooks in the subjects Lijah had specified as his course of study, some notebooks, including the one Jason had used to communicate with last night, and one romance, all paperbacks that looked well used. Curious about the romance novel, Jason flipped through the pages. Mother never had these kinds of books at home, so he wasn't sure what to expect. His eyes fell upon a passage that described a kiss between the heroine and her strapping, yet emotionally manipulative love interest:

"...her cerulean orbs meeting his stormy grey ones in a passionate stare before their lips collided in a kiss so fiery, so full of desire, it would warm the hardened coals of even Wyatt's darkened heart. Charlie swooned into his massive arms, surrendering herself to his rough touch. Wyatt growled into the kiss, his stubble scratchy against her smooth face, but not unbearable. He gripped the back of her neck possessively, but Charlie knew it was part of his insecurity in that he never wanted to let her go. Funny, she thought before the intensity of the kiss forced her mind to become a blank slate of ecstasy, He won't talk about his abandonment issues, but I can feel them here in his kiss..."

Jason set the book down, frowning. Did Lijah really see himself in this Wyatt character? It didn't seem right, but it probably wasn't important. Jason turned instead to the notebooks, but they were mostly blank aside from sparse doodles, camp schedules, and Jason's shaky handwriting. He put the notebooks back where they were and opened the door to the rest of the cabin.

Across from this door was the door to the bathroom, but Jason didn't need that at the moment, so he ignored it and proceeded left down a short hallway to the living area. The hallway opened up to a tiny kitchen and dinette on the right and an ancient, faded couch with a rickety coffee table and an old antenna TV and VCR atop it. This area was not as bright and full of Lijah's personality as the bedroom was, but Jason figured that was to be expected. His own bedroom at home was a reflection of what few interests and hobbies he had. The bedroom was a sanctuary for the individual, and held a piece of their soul. At least, that's what a bedroom should be. Mother had told Jason all about the filthy, lecherous activities young people would get up to in bedrooms. Only a married couple should share a bed, she had told him. It was a sin otherwise.

Feeling slightly hungry, Jason made for the short refrigerator, needing to squat down to see its contents. A couple sandwiches wrapped in plastic occupied one shelf with a handful of apples on the lower shelf, some cans of soda on the door. Jason reached for one of each, hoping to finish them before Lijah returned to avoid accidentally showing him his face. He brought the food to the couch and sat down, his weight causing the seat to sink lower than it was meant to. He removed his mask and devoured the sandwich and apple as quickly as he could, feeling somewhat like a ravenous raccoon. He cracked open the soda can and chugged it, realizing too late that it was a bad idea to drink a carbonated beverage so fast. Bubbles surged up through his nose and he sputtered, covering his face so he did not spray soda everywhere. He coughed and gagged, but the feeling soon went away. He made a mental note to drink anything bubbly as slow as possible, but preferred the idea of never having soda again. It was too sweet for him anyway.

Finished with the meal, Jason located a small trash can at one end of the kitchen and disposed of the remains. He pulled his mask back on just as he heard the front door to the cabin open. He tensed, preparing for a fight, but it was Lijah, alone, who gave a start upon seeing Jason's towering figure in his living room.

"Oh gosh, you got me again!" he cried out, laughing nervously, "You're here early."

Jason nodded once and watched as Lijah locked up and set down the pack he was carrying near the door.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, a tiredness in his voice that worried Jason. Would he be able to stay up tonight? Did he stay up too late last night? Jason shook his head and pointed to the refrigerator, silently telling Lijah he had found the food. Lijah yawned.

"Oh, good," he said, shuffling towards the bedroom, "Sorry, I'm a little worn out from today. We can still hang out, but I might crash a little earlier than last night if that's okay."

Jason nodded and followed him. Lijah turned to the dresser and tilted his head at the stack of books.

"You checked out the romance novel?" he asked, disbelief in his voice, "Huh, didn't see that one coming. It's not very good, but it was free, so I figured why not, y'know?"

So Lijah didn't choose that book for the plot, Jason realized. That made much more sense. Lijah opened the drawers and retrieved a stack of clothes, brushing by Jason to head to the bathroom.

"You can relax in the bedroom if you want for about fifteen minutes while I shower," he said, stifling another yawn, "I'll try to get my bedtime routine done quick so we have some time together."

Jason had no problem with waiting for him to prepare for bed. He was happy just to be in the same building with him and not anxiously wonder where he was like before. Jason sat on the edge of the bed, having grabbed the notebook and pencil he'd used yesterday in preparation for the conversation he would be having tonight. He heard the shower turn on in the bathroom, and an unwelcome thought of what Lijah looked like in there sprung into Jason's mind. Startled by this, Jason shook himself. What was he thinking? His mother's warning about college aged young adults surfaced and he wondered, horrified, if these thoughts would consume his brain like the counselors he'd killed or if he could fight them and keep his head clear and pure. What would happen to him if he couldn't get rid of them?

Jason struggled with this fear until the sound of the water stopped and he heard Lijah moving around in the bathroom. He squeezed the edges of the notebook to ground himself. What would Mother say if she knew what he was thinking about? Realistically, she would probably forbid him from coming back here and have him read Bible passages until the thoughts went away. Mother knew what was best for Jason.

Lijah entered the room once he was done in the bathroom, his hair still damp and his cheeks slightly flushed from the steam. He wore a loose fitting navy blue t-shirt with an unfamiliar logo on the chest and green plaid boxers. He brought with him a wonderful, clean scent of shampoo and mint flavored toothpaste. Jason wrote on a fresh page of the notebook,

"feel better?"

Lijah hummed in agreement, stretching his arms over his head until his shoulders softly popped.

"Nothing like a hot shower to take the day off and get you ready for bed," he said, climbing up onto the mattress next to Jason, "How's your day been?"

Jason thought about it, but didn't want to be too honest that he had pretty much just been waiting all day for this meeting. He wrote,

"did alot of walking. liked what u said about the bully. ur really good with kids."

Lijah waved him off modestly.

"Aw, that wasn't just me," he replied sheepishly, "I can't take all the credit. All of us counselors worked together on that. They're a good group of people. I'm glad I got the chance to work with them."

Jason tilted his head to one side, his interest piqued by this statement. So all the counselors were good, not just Lijah? Would Jason even need to kill anyone this year, or had the nightmare of wicked counselors finally ended? He wondered what his life would become if he didn't come here to kill every summer. It would probably be much like last year, quiet and content with his mother, having everything they needed and just going day to day, living the life she built for them. But Jason knew he couldn't live that life now. He wanted his life to include his new friend, and he wasn't sure how he could do that, with Lijah going back to college at the end of the summer and moving into an apartment somewhere probably far away.

Lijah tilted his head to mirror Jason and catch his attention.

"What's on your mind, big guy?" he asked. Jason considered his next few words and decided to avoid the topic. He wrote,

"u said u had a sister rite? tell me about her?"

Lijah's entire face lit up with a huge smile and his joy was so infectious, Jason couldn't resist matching the expression.

"Phoebe!" he exclaimed, "She's the best little sister anyone could hope for. We're thirteen years apart, so I'm pretty protective of her, and it was really hard for me to go away to college and leave her behind. I call home once a week and send her letters every month of cool stuff I've learned or seen. She likes bugs and dolls and dinosaurs. Our parents won't let her see Jurassic Park though - that's a scary movie about dinosaurs - but I think she can handle it. She's a tough kid. Definitely way tougher than I was at her age. I used to get beat up in school for being, uh, different."

Jason felt a surge of protectiveness for Lijah, though he didn't know who had hurt him. How could anyone even want to hurt someone like Lijah? He curled his fingers into the bedspread, fists shaking with anger. Lijah noticed and addressed it,

"Hey, it was years ago; don't worry about it! Besides, I'm a lover, not a fighter. I'd rather solve my problems with communication than violence."

Jason nodded and forced himself to relax. What was he going to do anyway? Find the bullies and kill them even though they probably haven't been anywhere near Lijah in years? Stupid. Jason tried to explain his thoughts by writing,

"sorry bullies make me real mad. i got bullied to."

Lijah offered a sympathetic look. He moved a hand towards Jason, but rethought the action and stopped, biting his lip.

"I bet they wouldn't mess with you now though!" he said instead, trying to look at the bright side, "I bet they'd take one look at how tall and muscular you got and run away. The machete helps too."

Jason grimaced under the mask. That probably wouldn't be the only reason they ran away...Still, Lijah meant well and he couldn't blame him for trying. It was more effort than anyone had put in before, and that was worth something.

-------------------------------------------------

The conversation continued for a short while, but Lijah soon began nodding off. In one of their quiet moments, Jason looked over and saw Lijah slumped on his pillows, sound asleep. Jason sighed and took that as his cue to leave. He rose from the bed and set down the notebook on the dresser. He looked back at Lijah, bemused by his awkwardly scrunched limbs and his face pressed unflatteringly into the pillows, before turning off the light and leaving through the window to let him sleep.

It was moments like these that Jason was beginning to dislike his heightened energy levels during night time. It worked great for serial killing, but not so much for spending time with a friend. But he was beginning to have a hope and some confidence that things would work out and that he and Lijah would find some sort of rhythm together.