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fortheloveofeos · 5 years ago

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The Vanguard - Chapter 7

Happy Holiday Season, y’all. I’ve been doing some writing that I’ve forgotten to post. I’ve got a few things up my sleeve I hope to have up over the season. Hopefully, the girls will be back in full force along with a new story that I intended to be one chapter per Chocobro but probably will be longer because my brain takes off sometimes.

Get ready for angst and backstory.

XXX

Eirwen had been silent since the incident several hours before. Gladio had steered her away from the training area of the Citadel and into the back garden in hopes the quiet and seclusion would give her some peace. For hours he had watched her pace, absently trailing fingers over the stone walls and leaving a trail of ice behind her. Finally unable to watch her self loath any longer, Gladio had dared to speak and ask her where she wanted to go. Her answer had been a vague “anywhere that’s not here” before he had handed her his extra helmet and they sped off through the busy streets of Insomnia. She had followed him almost blindly until she heard him rattle his keys as he opened the door to his apartment - conveniently across the street from the building Prince Noctis had recently taken up residence.

The apartment was entirely decorated in dark leathers, navy blue, and dark wood. Photos of scenic mountain views and pictures of his family were scattered along the walls. “This is...impressive,” Eirwen paused as she caught sight of the floor to ceiling custom shelves that housed an incredible number of books - most bound in hardbacks with titles covering subjects ranging from history to culture to largest number of war and strategy books she had ever seen outside of that section in the Citadel library. She also noted the fair number of fiction books scattered throughout and couldn’t help but see that more than one seemed to be romance novels. Trailing her finger over their spines, she was shocked to see how immaculate the collection was - no creases or signs or weather and absolutely not dust to be seen.

Keys clattered somewhere behind her as Gladio deposited them into the bowl by the door and removed his heavy boots. “Bit of a hoarder when it comes to books. Coffee or tea?”

Pulling an old leather-bound tomb from the shelf, Eirwen scanned the pages of a guerilla warfare strategy written in Ancient Lucien. “Milk?”

“Coconut.”

Nodding, Eirwen carefully thumbed through the yellowing pages. “Coffee, then.” Various sounds of cabinets opening and shutting and then of a brewing coffee pot filtered around her as she scanned the old runes advising on the importance of partners and scouting teams.

Minutes late, Gladio handed her a steaming cup of fresh coffee that was just the right shade of dark caramel. He took up residence on the couch beside her, careful not to touch her but remaining close enough that she might know he meant to offer her comfort if she needed it.

Looking at her now, Eirwen looked nothing like the ice goddess she had appeared to be earlier in the day. Currently, her skin was flushed pink from worry and the heat of the coffee, her blue eyes bright with something akin to anger but without such force. She had tucked her legs under herself and curled into the corner of the couch as if trying to take up a strategic position to protect herself. Gladio had never witnessed such power before today - not even when King Regis had renewed the power that held up the wall protecting the city of Insomnia. It was incredible to think that any mortal could wield such power.

Exhaling, Eirwen closed the book with a sense of finality and caught the slight jump from Gladio out of the corner of her eye. Rubbing at her forehead, she forced herself to speak evenly. “You’re scared of me now?” She hoped she hadn’t sounded angry when Gladio was the only person who seemed willing and eager to listen to things from her perspective without jumping in and trying to give her advice. He was her partner in battle.

“Scared of you?” Gladio readjusted himself so that he more easily faced her but did his best to appear relaxed as he reclined his arms across the back and sipped his cooling coffee. “I’m not afraid of you, snowflake. I’m worried for you. There’s a big difference.”

A humorless laugh escaped her. Leaning forward, she twisted the length of her pale locks between her fingers and focused on controlling her emotions so as not to turn the Shield-in-Training’s apartment into a meat locker. “Don’t worry about me. I’m always ready for battle.” In fact, punching something sounded like a wonderful idea at the moment.

Finishing his coffee, Gladio deposited the cup onto the coffee table before making a show of giving her his full attention. “I’m not doubting your training and abilities - a few rounds with you on the training mats has proven you’re more than capable in that department. What happened earlier between you and Amira has me worried. I felt...whatever that was that you pushed out at her. I watched her freeze over. I saw your expression when you pulled yourself back out.” He didn’t ask her to explain, nor did he demand answers or promises that she wouldn’t do the same to him.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Gladio. I can’t explain it. It happened once, years ago. Amira…” trailing off, Eirwen raked her hands through her hair in frustration as if hoping to pull the words from her head. “It was like she

me when I was completely broken - or at least patched me back together. I wanted to try to do the same for her but I couldn’t find it, I couldn’t find what hurt her.” Tears of frustration threatened to spill from her eyes and she angrily wiped at them. “I couldn’t do the same for her. What good is this power if I can’t even protect the people I care about.” Forcing herself up from the couch, she marched over to the large window looking down on the busy streets below and pressed her forehead against the cool glass hoping to calm herself down. “She’s the only family I have.”

Silence rang out through the apartment. Distant sirens and the sounds of city life filtered between the two warriors to break up the deafening quiet. Gladio, for all his reading and knowledge in how to handle emotional trauma when related to combat, loss, and injury, was at a complete loss. Another not so well kept secret of the Twins: bad family relations. To his knowledge, Eirwen had none to speak of. In the file Cor had given him in preparation for his first mission with her, she was listed as a ward of the Citadel until she had become of legal age. Gladio, on the other hand, was fortunate enough to have an actual family.

“You don’t have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. I’ve got your back now, Eirwen - on and off the battlefield.” Gladio walked past her to the kitchen to put away the dirty dishes as he spoke, hoping not to make her feel pressured or closed in. “People care about you.” He had seen the way Crowe, Libertus, Pelna, and Nyx were with her and it was clear they had forged a bond that was deeper than camaraderie or friendship.

Across town and shaking from over exertion and residual tingles of forced magic, Amira leaned against the window from her perch. Purple lightning cracked in the distance each time her fingers twitched. It had been hours since the incident and she could still feel the sorrow in her heart left by Eirwen just before their connection snapped. The bone deep chill had left her almost as soon as it had arrived but now she felt oddly warm in a way that reminded her of post fever.

Nyx had been kind enough to make her a pot of gunpowder tea, piping hot and slightly bitter. She also vaguely noticed that he had switched on the radio to a low jazz to fill the ringing silence of her mind. He moved with familiarity and confidence in her home and she couldn’t help feeling both grateful and annoyed at the same time.

“You don’t need to stay.” She hated how quiet and weak her voice sounded but she felt the need to at least offer him a way out of the current situation. Other than Eirwen, she wasn’t really accustomed to anyone trying to take care of her even after her injury.

“And you don’t need to catch the flu pressed against the window, princess.” Nyx chuckled at the obscene hand motion Amira quickly shot his way and was relieved to see she seemed to be clawing her way back out of herself. “I’m not going anywhere until we figure this out.” When Amira opened her mouth to argue, he was quick to stop her and refocus her attention on the larger goal in hopes of getting her to face the current issue. “We’ll be called back into the field any day now and since you’ve been cleared, I need to know you’re in the right headspace.” If he couldn’t get her to consider the issue as a work-related problem, he would have no hope of getting her to open up about personal issues.

Nodding, Amira worried the warm mug between her fingers. “I told you, I felt something snap. I’ve never felt her so far away - not when we’re separated by thousands of miles.” Assuring her that the connection could be fixed, Nyx urged her to continue. “Whatever she was looking for...something seemed to break her heart.”

“I’m sure she’s just worried about you. The two of you have always had each other -” Nyx stopped short as his phone vibrated in his pocket. The only people that had his number were Glaives and other work associates and the only time it rang was due to some work related issue. Fishing it out from the pocket of his jeans, he was surprised to see Pelna’s name lighting up the screen. “Report,” he offered by way of greeting.

Amira watched and Nyx’s eyes narrowed slightly and his stubbled jaw clenched. Though Pelna couldn’t see him, he nodded several times and made agreeable noises to urge him to continue. After a few moments, Nyx ended the call and ran a hand over his suddenly weary face. This time, it was Amira who was concerned by the sudden quiet. “Seems we have a bit of work to do.”

“Pelna cracked the firewall and found some sort of list he immediately sent to Cor - who informed him that several emissaries from the Empire are planning a visit to attend the Foreign Relations Gala in a few days.” A crease had taken up residence on Nyx’s forehead as he repeatedly ran the conversation through his mind.

Shocked, Amira was silent for a moment as she processed the information. “They’re not planning a confrontation in front of a room of international dignitaries. Could they have realized that I copied that file?”

“There’s no way they’re that stupid. They’re up to something, though. Pelna also reported increased military activity at the northern border - encampments, patrol, the works.” Sighing, he leaned back against the counter and studied Amira closely. “Looks like the vacation is over.” He paused momentarily hoping to choose his next words correctly. “You’re not going to...like what I have in mind.”

Sighing, Amira pulled herself up from the window and stood to face her partner. “I rarely do,” she reassured him.

XXX

Unlike her Twin, Amira had grown up in what anyone on the outside looking in would consider a perfect home. Malcolm and Nadia Everet were the storybook couple - Malcolm hailed from one of the richest, self-made families in all Lucis while Nadia, coming from old Lucian nobility, had been raised as if she herself were next in line to the throne. When the two had married nearly three decades earlier, neither bride or groom had ever laid eyes on the other prior to meeting at the altar and both had approached the scenario as if it were a business transaction to further themselves and their families. When Amira had been born, she had instantly become the new bargaining chip for her parents and had been ushered through years of etiquette classes, ballroom dance lessons, advanced tutoring, fashion and beauty seminars, and all the formal parties her parents could drag her to. Amira had grinned and curtsied through it all, praying to the Six for a way out.

Things had remained tortuously the same until her fifteenth birthday. For years, she had begged her parents to allow her to train with her paternal uncle and member of the Royal Kingsguard, Declan - her justification being that she should know how to defend herself should her pedigree ever put her in harm’s way. Finally, after much pressure from her uncle, her parents had relented and allowed her to train two days a week for a few hours in place of the cardio workout her personal trainer had devised for her. Immediately, she had fallen in love with the raw violence and unstructured chaos that came from physical combat and had shown real promise for someone so young. Her uncle worked with her continuously had been able to nearly ensure her a position within the guard after her college graduation, even going so far as to go against her parent’s wishes for her by involving King Regis himself. She couldn’t have found anything more removed from her original life if she had tried - or at least she had thought until her training accident had sealed her fate.

Uncomfortable falling back into bad memories, Amira kept fidgeting in her seat and pulling at the garment she had hoped she would never wear. The couture gown had been stashed away in its original box since her parents had sent it to her over a year ago in hopes of enticing her back into the spotlight her family thrived in. The saving grace was that the dress was at least mostly black. Made of the highest quality black satin and an overlay of organza, the floor length gown possessed a custom fitted corset with an off-the-shoulder sweetheart neckline that dipped between her breasts exposing a bit more skin than she felt entirely comfortable with. The draped split sleeves fell beyond her wrists, perfectly displaying the tattoo of delicate roses twisting and blooming down her arm, and a careful slit ran up the long skirt to her mid thigh on one side. Hand embroidered gold applique leaves and vines decorated the bodice and skirts while the sleeves and trims were encrusted with shimmering gold glass beads. She had paired the dress with a pair of black designer pumps with a scarlet bottom adorned with a criss-crossing straps that buckled just above the ankle and glittering gold and diamond drop earrings. She’d had to buy new makeup as she had avoided wearing it as much as possible in recent years and had opted for a heavy-handed winged eyeliner and a dark plum lipstick.

“If you pull continue to pull at the dress, you’re going to end up ripping it before we get to the gala.”

Sighing, Amira arched a perfectly filled in brow at her uncle Declan who was comfortably dressed in his usual Guard uniform of black slacks and dress shirt. He’d only added a jacket and patent leather shoes to his daily ensemble. “You know how much I hate this. I thought by becoming a Glaive I could wipe my hands of all this.” Contempt leaked into her words as she studied her black and gold manicure.

Chuckling, Declan straightened his jacket and offered his niece a knowing grin. His salt and pepper hair mixed with the warm gold of his eyes had always made him so much more inviting than her father. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to walk in heels already? I thought we raised you better than that.”

Immediately, Amira flipped him off with her glittering gold-tipped finger and flipped her half pinned up hair over one shoulder. “Please. We both know I came out of the womb wearing a pair of six inch pumps.” Thankfully, the sleek black vehicle came to a stop and the back door was opened by a smirking hero. “Don’t start with me tonight,” Amira warned Nyx as she slid across the leather seats and carefully out onto the sidewalk before the Citadel.

Flashing lights erupted from either side of her. As if flipping a switch, Amira smiled for the photographers pushed back her shoulders until she felt the familiar ache beginning in her spine. Declan was quick to take up her elbow as he too paused to allow the paparazzi a moment to capture his image. As the two moved forward towards the grand entrance, Nyx moved to her other side as if to shield her from the cameras. Speaking quickly, Nyx spoke just loud enough for the two Everets to hear him. “Many of the foreign dignitaries have already arrived but no one has spotted anyone from the Empire yet. The others are posted up inside and I will be positioned to see the entire ballroom.” Holding out a gloved hand to Amira, Nyx offered her nearly perfectly clear earpiece. “Pelna just finished these this morning. Don’t worry about it not picking up your voice if you speak quietly, it’s been calibrated to your voice specifically.”

Declan ushered Amira through the glass door before heading to the elevator and pressing the correct floor. “I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but your parents are here and they would like to speak with you. Try not to get blood on the dress.”

Groaning, Amira thumped her head back against the onyx wall of the elevator during her brief moment of normalcy. Tonight, she was once again Amira Everet, heir to the Everet fortune and darling daughter of Malcolm and Nadia. Of course, they had not been briefed on the plan the Vanguard and the Kingsguard were to execute. To them, their daughter was finally coming to her senses. “Six, I am going to need an entire bottle of champagne.” She could already feel the headache beginning to bloom in her temple.

#ffxv #ff15 #final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15 #Gladio amacitia #gladio x oc #nyx ulric #nyx ulric x oc #the vanguard #twins #the twins #Eirwen Lupus #Amira Everet #pelna khara #crowe altius #libertus ostium

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iamthechocobabe · 7 years ago

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Don’t Look At Me-GladioXReader Drabble

Every time his hands wandered, you flinched. Every time he ran over something undesirable, the rolls in your hips, the flab on your back, the one pimple on your elbow, your shoulders would hunch and you could feel yourself beginning to close off. Gladio sensed this, but if there was one thing he wasn’t super good at, it was enthusing self-confidence. When Gladio had asked what was wrong that first night and you admitted to him you were self-conscious about how you looked, he just seemed confused.

“That’s crazy, babe, you’re hot,”

Words to live by, but you still had a hard time believing him. It took forever for you to get comfortable enough to take that step into the bedroom (and he was perfectly patient and waited to make sure you were absolutely ready; you had to give the guy credit) and when you were finally ready, you had insisted on doing the deed with the lights off. Gladio didn’t seem at all bothered by this, as he just wanted to make you comfortable. And it was...okay, who are you kidding, it was fucking fantastic. The neighbors still talk about it.

But after awhile...it was clear Gladio was looking for something more. You would always shrink away from his touch when he tried to explore you in the dark or guide his rough and calloused fingers away from your more sensitive areas to rest on your shoulders or on your arms, always away from his aimed goals of your chest, stomach, hips and ass. But he wouldn’t push you into doing anything uncomfortable, he would only ask you once and when you said no, he would drop it. But he would always at least ask first.

Which is why it was so shocking when you saw a soft yellow glow light up the room behind your eyelids. You had been so distracted by Gladio’s gentle massage of your one shoulder as he prepared to enter you that you didn’t even notice the sudden light change-but you did and your eyes immediately popped open to see a pair of amber eyes slowly and carefully making their way up and down your body.

Every limb in your body stiffened. Every second after you realized Gladio could see you was like an agonizing death-or torture. Whichever was worse. Gladio only looked up when he noticed your breaths were out of control, your chest going up and down in a rapid rate as you felt pure panic seeping into every nerve in your body.

When he reached out to touch you, most likely to try and help you calm down, you could practically feel a tightly wound cord inside of you snap. Anger and fear blinding you, you couldn’t even register your actions as you shoved Gladio away as hard as you possibly could, kicking him in the stomach in anger before tearing out of the bed and barely managing to grab an afghan out of a chair before hurling yourself into the bathroom.

The doorjamb actually cracked a bit when you slammed the door and if you weren’t in the midst of a panic attack, you probably would have admired your own strength. But you couldn’t really focus on anything except controlling your own breathing as you twisted the lock on the door knob and slid into a sobbing heap against the door with the loosely woven fabric of the blanket wrapped tightly around you. Your thoughts were jumbled pieces of a jig saw puzzle, bits of logical/illogical reasoning tangling together in one giant mess as your brain felt like it was full to explode.

In the midst of your loud sobbing and messy breathing, it was probably a miracle that you heard the gentle footsteps outside of your door. Somewhere in your jumbled thoughts, you assumed Gladio would leave because he wouldn’t know what to say to you when you were freaking out. No knock came, no desperate wondering what he did wrong was asked. The only sound you heard was Gladio sitting down beside the door and leaning his back against the wall, whispering encouraging words to help get your breathing back to normal.

When you finally could breathe and compose yourself, Gladio’s words came muffled through the door. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. It was just some stupid impulse-I did it without thinking it through and...I should have known better. I’m so, so sorry,”

Making a noise that’s a mix between a giggle and a sob, you wipe your eyes and shake your head. “No, Gladio, it’s not you, it’s me, it’s my own fucked up problems,”

“It doesn’t matter-you’re obviously not there yet and I shouldn’t have tried to push you,”

“It’s not that big of a deal,”

“It is, though,” There was a slight pause before you heard him shuffling around a bit. “Can I come in?”

You weren’t sure if you wanted Gladio to see you like this, but he seemed so sincere in his apology that you had a hard time finding a reason to stay angry at him. Making sure the weaves in the blanket around you were constrained enough so that nothing showed, you stood up and twisted the lock again, giving Gladio time to stand up so he could enter the bathroom. When you saw him, you couldn’t contain your shocked expression at how red his eyes were and how miserable he looked.

“Gladio?” You ask softly and his only response is a somewhat bitter chuckle.

Gladio ran one of his hands through his hair, his eyes squinted in concentration before facing you once again. “I’m not good with words-people I’ve trained have always commented how I always tend to point out the faults versus pointing out the positives. Even Noctis gets bothered by my constant negativity sometimes,”

“You’re not-” You tried to argue, but Gladio just held his hand up.

“Let me finish,” he took a deep breath and continued. “I need to say this-you are the strongest, bravest and most beautiful person I’ve ever met. The fact that someone as amazing as you even glanced down at me is a true miracle. I thank the Gods every day that I get to be with someone as great as you. And if you ever feel comfortable enough to show me everything you have to offer, I want you to know that I’ll spend the entire time making you forget every bad comment someone has made towards you and let you know exactly how wrong they are,”

When his speech was over, Gladio looked at you hesitantly, his eyes wary of your reaction. And while his speech was impressive, you noted that it lacked a certain...finesse. “You really are bad at this,” you mentioned, snickering a little.

The tension in the room shattered immediately at your comment, both of you now airy and light from relief as you both giggled softly to each other. Gladio smirked back at you, his gaze going back to his regular confident self. “That’s why you love me though, right?”

Rolling your eyes, you sidle up to him and lay your hand on his shoulder, letting him wrap you up in his strong and warm gaze.

“One of the reasons, anyway,”

#ffxv #ffxv drabbles #gladio #gladiolus #gladiolus amacitia #here's some cutsey shit to lighten your day #or make you hurl in disgust at my lack of efforts #i'm really quite tired

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