#I swear I wish I didn’t have to bring up daemon so much but he exists to show the hypocracy of everyone else

[lhazar]

Im rewatching right now and Aemond isn’t even wrong to try and get Helena to join him on dragonback. The Greens know about the dragonseeds claiming more dragons—Ulf literally rubbed it in kings landing face, riding silver wing above the city. Aemond knows he’s going to go up against an unwinnable match that’s going to kill him. He’s right to be upset and riled up and trying to get help from his family, but it’s framed like he’s totally lost his mind and out of line for doing so? They have him grabbing at Helena and fighting with his mother and they don’t even seem concerned about the six dragons the other side has now that are fully capable of burning them and all their allies to ashes. But Alicent is upset about the burnt smallfolk like Aemond is doing crimes against humanity because it’s his new passion in life, instead of because They’re At War and Daemon isn’t co-signing the slaughter and rape of women and children in the riverlands. Innocents who would be their people!! But the greens get no reaction to that at all? Are you kidding me? The writers want to demonize Aemond and team green so bad it makes them stupid. I actually can’t stand anyone crying about the smallfolk anymore, like any of them actually care to begin with

[starogeorgina]

Twin flames

Warning: Swearing, age gap

Pairing: Daemon Targaryen × Targaryen OC

1.01

Notes: Viserys and Alicent’s children have been aged up to be aged 20+

Tears trickle down your face as you try to stifle a sob with the sleeve of your dress. The satin material covering your wrists appears darker than the rest due to your dampening it by wiping your eyes. If you weren’t in the library, you would have ripped the sapphire dress to shreds. Like most of your clothing, your husband had it specially made to match the gem in his eye, rubbing salt on the wound that was your sham marriage.

It was moments like these that you wished time could stop, at least for a few moments, to fully decompress the events that had taken place within the last twenty-four hours.

The previous night, you’d laid awake waiting for Aemond to return from riding on Vhagar, and when he eventually did, he couldn’t bring himself to look at you. It was a telltale sign he’d been with his whore; not that you cared much about who he stuck his cock into; it was simply because you had an agreement that on his part he’d failed to keep.

“You’re never going to put a babe in me, are you?”

His silence was the answer he was too much of a coward to say out loud. Not having a child after four years of marriage made you a failure in the eyes of your family, not that your mother would ever believe it was due to your brother not wanting to consummate the marriage; of course the problem must have lay with you. There were many nights you thought about going to your other brother's chamber, you knew Aegon wouldn’t refuse to fuck you. The following morning, things got worse. Your uncle Daemon arrived from Dragonstone to visit his brother, your father, King Visery, and his mere presence had put Aemond in a more foul mood than normal. A lord from some house you’d never heard of before was stupid enough to question Rhaenyra’s son's heritage in front of the rogue prince, resulting in his being fed to Caraxes.

It was bittersweet seeing your uncle being so overprotective of your eldest sister and her sons when your own husband was most likely making you the butt of his own jokes.

Deciding you needed a distraction from thinking about the Lord being burned alive, your mother's shaming, and your husband's rejection, you survey the dusty books until you find one of your favorite historical books. 𝒜𝑒𝑔𝑜𝓃 𝐼'𝓈 𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝒞𝑜𝓃𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓉. Sighing, you go to the chair in the darkest part of the library and begin to read.

—

“Isn’t it a bit late for reading Adele?”

Getting a fright, you almost leap from the chair. One hand rests on your racing heart while the other grips the book tightly. Frowning, you look over your shoulder to see your uncle staring down at you with an unreadable expression on his face. Still startled, you only manage to speak one word, “what?”

“Is it not Adele?”

Of course, he didn’t even know your name. You look back down at your book and say, “No, it is not.”

“I’m just jesting with you,” Daemon says, coming to the other side of the chair. He crouches down so he is level with you. “I’m very aware of who you are, Princess Adela. I’ve heard many things about you over the years; the tales of your beauty have not been exaggerated.”

You keep your head lowered so he’s unable to see the blush spreading across your cheeks. “Thank you.”

A few moments of silence pass before the prince speaks again. “You’ve been crying,” he says, “do you wish to share your troubles with me?”

“Troubles aren’t something I share so freely, uncle.”

Suddenly he cups your face gently, and his thumb brushes your bottom lip from the left to the right, only stopping when it reaches the corner of your lip, gently touching the scar that runs down to the bottom of your chin. “It is wise to keep your own counsel, but tell me, what fate awaited the fool who dared lay a hand on you?”

You shudder at the memory. A phantom pain forms in the scar on your face and the hidden one on your forearm. You had heard many stories about your uncle's adventures in life, your favorite being the battle of the stepstones, so naturally you felt embarrassed to admit it was your own brother who hurt you by accident during a stupid argument.

You clear your throat. “You were right, uncle; it is rather late for reading. I bid you goodnight.”

“Would you like me to escort you back to your chambers?”

“No, but thank you for the offer. Perhaps I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You leave the library feeling slightly flushed and head towards your bedchamber, hoping the knights and servants who surveyed the halls didn’t see how red your cheeks were. Daemon was more handsome than you remembered, and although he had only touched your face to get a better look at your scar, goosebumps still prickled across your body.

You need to find yourself another distraction before you let your mind wander too far.

—

𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘤����𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯; 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥.

𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥; 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.

𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘈𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘋𝘢𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘺𝘳𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱.

𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘯𝘵.

𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘢, 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘺𝘳𝘢’𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘈𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 ��𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘖𝘭𝘥𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤; 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘈𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴.

“𝘔𝘺 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦!” 𝘈 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘢𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥. “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨.”

“𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴,” 𝘋𝘢𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘴. 𝘗𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘴? 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥? 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸.

𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺. 𝘋𝘢𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦; 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘸𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴; 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘋𝘢𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭. 𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘤 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥.

“𝘚𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸, 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦.”

𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴. “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.”

“𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.”

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢’𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦'𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, “𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱. 𝘖𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.”

[vsenyatargaryen]

Temptation

Daemon Targaryen x Female Reader​

Summary: You’re the only one keeping your house and family standing, but a certain Prince has you willing to risk it all

Warnings: daemon is a warning, swearing, arranged marriage, smut, choking, mentions d3ath

WC; 2.4k

Prompt request: “I really don’t care, you look hot and I’m trying not to fuck you senseless right now” and “you look so good with my hands wrapped around your neck” please and thank you! 💖 @aralezinspace​

With a deep breath, you ran your hands down the front of your gown and tried to compose yourself before the large wooden doors opened to the council. Attending these meetings would usually be the duty of your father, but he was indisposed. After one too many drinks and a night in a pleasure house, you weren’t surprised. 

He wasn’t fit to be a father, a husband or a Lord. Everyone knew the truth behind your fathers excuses for his absence. They knew he was both an embarrassment and a burden to you.

If it wasn’t for you maintaining your families alliance with the Targaryens, your house would have been  in disarray long ago. Every man in the council knew it, too. Some saw you as just a naive woman in over your head, others, like Otto Hightower, saw you as a threat to his agenda. 

Most of the seats were already taken when you arrived, with the exception of the four at the far end, which usually occupied the King, his hand, your father, and the prince Daemon - on the rare occasions he decided to show up. You doubted he would show his face today. He had the city watch to keep him occupied and women to warm his bed. 

After politely greeting the other lords, you took your fathers seat next to Lyonel Strong.

“I’m sorry to hear your father is unwell,” the Lord said with a sympathetic look. 

“I’m not,” Daemon Targaryen interrupted as he entered the room in his golden cloak and armour. His helmet was held under his arm and there was blood smeared on his cheek. There was also some dried blood in strands of his long silver hair, gods know what he's being doing in the city, but his presence still ignited a sudden warmth in you. 

As much as you wished to deny it, your body was forever betraying you around the Targaryen. When it came to Daemon, you often felt like a moth drawn to a flame. It wasn’t lost on you how badly you could get burnt by this dragon.

“I would much rather see your face, my Lady. It makes these fucking meetings more bearable,” the prince continued, giving you a cocky grin as he took his place in the seat next to you. 

There were quiet murmurs from some of the other Lords as you averted your eyes from his gaze. As if you needed any more unwanted attention drawn towards you.  

Thankfully it didn’t take long for the rest of the council to become distracted by their own conversation again. 

“You really have no shame, do you?” You whispered as you turned to glare at Daemon. “What about your lady wife?”

 He leaned in close to your ear, his warm breath fanning against your skin as he replied, “I really don’t care. You look beautiful and I’m trying not to fuck you senseless right now. I’m sure these cunts would enjoy watching how well you take my cock.” 

You wanted the ground to swallow you whole, his words sending an undeniable heat through your body as you quickly turned your face away from him, pressing your legs together. 

The quicker this meeting was over, the better.

Only when the doors opened to reveal the King and Otto did Daemon sit back, a wicked smirk still on his lips. 

The council meeting was a dull one. Mostly the Lords just argued between themselves over trivial matters, until the King intervened. 

“That brings me to the next matter,” he looked over at you. “I understand your father was going to visit the Vale.” Viserys’ words earned an exaggerated eye roll from Daemon, which you were too preoccupied to notice. The King had caught you off guard with his statement. 

“My apologies. I wasn’t aware, your Grace,” you admitted, your distaste for your father only growing. 

“He was meant to be meeting with Ser Gerold Royce, to discuss your betrothal.”

You felt your heart sink in your chest. It hadn’t been long since your last husband, a man much older than yourself, had passed. Now it seemed the wheel had been spun in your disfavour again.

 “Who the fuck is Gerold Royce?” Daemon scoffed, interrupting your thoughts.

Viserys let out a tired sigh and rubbed at his temple while Otto gave the prince a deadpan look. “Your Lady wife’s uncle,” he reminded him. “It is of no surprise that you don’t remember him. You’ve not been seen in the Vale or at Runestone for quite some time.”

“I think my bronze bitch is happier for my absence,” Daemon replied.

You cleared your throat, feeling the tension in the room rise. “I shall go to the Vale in my fathers place, your Grace,” you said.

Daemon glanced at you with mischief in his eyes. “I'll accompany you, my Lady,” he offered. 

He hated the Vale. Despised his wife. You could never quite figure out what went on in his sordid mind, but you knew it wouldn’t be anything good. What in the seven hells was he playing at?

Before you could politely decline, Otto spoke up, looking between the two of you with narrowed eyes. “That won’t be necessary.”

And not for the first time, you were aware that the hand of the King had suspicions about the true nature of your relationship with Daemon. Though he never had any proof that you and Daemon were more familiar with each other's pleasures than most, you knew he always sought out some way to catch you out. To have you shamed and disowned by your house. 

“I am the commander of the city watch, is it not my duty to keep our people safe? Especially a highborn Lady,” Daemon stated. 

Viserys raised his hand, stopping Otto as he was about to argue back.

 He turned his attention to his brother. “That is a fine idea, Daemon. It will give you a chance to reacquaint yourself with Lady Rhea Royce.”

Then the King offered you a tired smile, “you may take whichever spare carriage you wish, and send Ser Gerold Royce my regards.” 

~~~~~

After a  few days on the road had passed, you were in desperate need for a bed to sleep on and some time away from Daemon. The carriage was comfortable and spacious enough, but it was still too much of a temptation, having him sit opposite you in his red and black doublet with that smug smirk. 

Otto Hightower had been the one to arrange your carriage, so no doubt the footman accompanying you had been paid off as one of his little spies. You couldn’t afford to lose your nerve now. 

You requested to stop at the next inn. With Daemon in his hooded cloak in hopes to gain less attention, the pair of you made your way inside, where you were looking forward to a settled sleep. 

The room was a far cry from your own back home, but it was enough to rest in. And hopefully quiet your thoughts about the rogue prince for a few hours. 

Just as you were about to drift off to sleep, there was a brisk knock on your door. You had a fair idea who was standing on the other side.

With a frustrated sigh, you forced yourself up and walked over to open it. 

“Daemon- “ 

The prince stepped inside without hesitation, taking your face in his hands as he led you backwards and kicked the door closed behind him. You couldn’t fight the pull between you when his lips met yours, linking your fingers at the back of his neck and kissing him back with heated need. It seemed to consume you, this fire  - this passion you never seem to feel with anyone else.Why did it have to be him you lust for?

“Fuck-” you whined when he broke away from the kiss to suck at your pulse point, the backs of your legs hitting the bed. “Dae- we can’t- can’t do this here.” There was little conviction to your words, but this momentary anxiety about Otto’s spy catching you both was enough to dull the lust just enough.

He paused, lifting his head up to look at you, lilac eyes near black with his pupils blown. “Why not?”

“You know as well as I do that the footman is one of Otto’s spies.”

“So?” Daemon rolled his eyes. “Forget about that fucking leech.”

“I can’t.” You glared at him, pushing his chest away from you. “It is fine for you, with your whores and lickspittle in the city,” you snapped.  “You can do what you want with no repercussions, but Otto Hightower means to have me disinherited once he gets the proof he needs. My house will be in ruin, while you’ll just move onto the next woman, mayhaps even a princess. You’ll be onto your next little schem-”

Your outburst was cut short by Daemon’s hands grabbing your throat as he pinned you down on the bed, bringing his face mere inches from your own. You instinctively tried to fight against him, grabbing his arms as you felt the sudden restriction of airflow. The mix of anger and lust in his lilac eyes was a dangerous combination. 

“Mind your fucking tongue,” Daemon warned, his fingers flexing around your neck as he roughly placed a leg in between yours, his thigh pressing against your cunt.

“No repercussions,” he cruelly mocked you. “I have suffered repercussions, ñuha riña (my lady).”

You whimpered with ragged breath as he moved his thigh against you, the pressure against your clit and through your drenched folds igniting a hot wave of pleasure, you wanted that bliss, needed it, but with him pinning you down - you had no control in chasing it. You had no control of anything, least of all him.

Daemon gave you a sly grin. “Hm. You look so good with my hands wrapped around your neck.”

He kept moving his thigh against you, the thin material of your nightgown not nearly enough to protect you from his onslaught. You knew it wouldn’t take long for you to lose any restraint you had left.

“I can feel how wet you are for me,” he purred, barely easing his hold on you. You knew he was telling the truth, you could feel the dampness on his breeches between your thighs. No matter how many times the cautious part of your mind told you this attraction was a bad idea, the rest of your mind and your body would always betray you.  

“You really are just a desperate little whore playing the part of a lady.”

His rough voice and words tipped you over the edge completely. Your eyes rolled back and your fingers dug into his sleeves when you came, gasping for air as he let go of your neck. 

“That’s it.” Daemon smirked, abruptly standing up to discard his breeches and doublet. 

Even in your breathless haze, you got an opportunity to admire his naked figure, scars patterned across his pale skin. His cock was long and hard, leaking at the reddened tip and making your mouth water in anticipation. You were so enamoured by him, you hadn’t noticed the small dagger he’d taken out of his belt until he knelt back on the bed, reaching for the neckline of your nightgown and tearing down the middle with his dagger, freeing your breasts and exposing you fully to him.

“Fuck!” your voice was hoarse as you cried out. 

Daemon chuckled and carelessly tossed the weapon on the floor before settling himself over you and guiding his cock inside your cunt.

“Seven hells-” you choked out at the familiar stretch, still sensitive from your first release. Gods, he always felt so perfect. Your fingers ached as you clenched your fists between the sheets, urging yourself to keep quiet.

“I want to hear you,” Daemon said as he cradled your cheek in one of his hands, the other holding your hip tightly. “I want everyone to hear what a whore you truly are. You do not need to worry about that worthless cunt’s little spy.”

You bit your lip as he began to roll his hips, his cock reaching deep. You weren’t sure if dying from pleasure was a real thing, but with the rogue prince, it always felt like a possibility.

All self restraint soon left you when Daemon’s thrusts quickened, the moans and wet sounds between you nothing but sinful. He really did know you like no other, knew your body like no other. But you weren’t fool enough to believe the same was true of you. He had many more whores to tend to him than you ever had. 

“Fuck, please- please-” you whined, your hands moving to grab his shoulders, desperate to have him close. You were completely lost in him, lost in this bliss. “Don’t stop.”

“Dōrī “(never) he spoke against your ear, voice strained as his own release ebbed closer. You didn’t understand what he’d said in his mother tongue, but the language always sounded hypnotic. 

With a few more thrusts and a guttural growl, Daemon came hard, his cock pulsing inside you as you felt his warm release filling you. It didn’t take much more for you to cum, too, crying out as the waves of bliss rushed through. 

There was a moment of quiet as you laid in his arms and caught your breath back, forgetting about the Vale and your upcoming betrothal.

“Still the finest cunt in the realm.” Daemon smirked when he eventually removed himself from you and stood up to stretch.

You rolled your eyes, shuffling to cover yourself up with the bedsheet and settle back against the pillows. “I’m sure you'll have no trouble finding another once I’m married to Ser Gerold Royce. Goodnight, Prince,” you said to him before letting out a quiet yawn and closing your eyes. 

“Sleep well, ñuha riña (my lady)” you heard Daemon say.

And on that rare occasion, you did.

~~~~~~~

Despite the dread you felt as you left the inn and walked over to the carriage where Daemon and the footman were already waiting at first light, the familiar ache in your body from your night with the prince was a comforting memory; something you’d keep hold of, as you often did after your times together - never knowing when it would be the last.

“How much further to the Vale?” you asked the footman as he opened the carriage door for you.

He glanced between you and Daemon with an almost sympathetic look. “You didn’t get the message?”

“What message?” Daemon questioned.

“I’m sorry, my Prince, my Lady. Lady Rhea and Ser Gerold Royce died in an accident.”

[gay-dorito-dust]

I just loved it and I loved the way you wrote caraxes, having said that can I ask for a sequel where daemon takes the baby for a ride for the first time, please?

A/n: you ask I deliver…kinda. This fic was more ‘Daemon and reader being parents’ the anything else. Oops. 🦦

“Are you certain that you must take our son flying?” You asked your husband as you both watched Rhaenar play with Caraxes who was being extremely carful as to not cause harm to your son. “It is of Targaryen tradition,” Daemond started, “I was a little younger then Rhaenar is now when I first took to the skies by mine and Viserys’ father.” He stopped shortly after saying his brothers name, it had been a brief period of time since his passing; Whilst everyone in the seven kingdoms easily moved on, Daemon on the other hand was still mourning the loss of a brother rather then a king, silently regretting all the squabbles they’ve had and regretting not being there for him as he got worse. Yet the one thing Daemon regretted above all was not being able to protect his brother from those that now sit upon his throne, tarnishing his legacy.

You grabbed his hand, squeezing it in silent solidarity to the man who had welcomed you into the family even from upon his death bed. Rhaenar was too young to remember his first encounter with his uncle so when it was time to put him to sleep, you and Daemon would tell stories of Viserys in hopes of keeping his memory alive through some vicinity. Daemon gave your hand a tight squeeze before clearing his throat. “Now it is my turn to do the same for my children in hopes that one day they’ll keep the tradition alive, so that their children may pass it on long after the death of house Targaryen.” You signed heavily, knowing there was no wining this argument as it was custom for a child born of the Targaryen name to take to the skies at a young age.

You didn’t wish to cut off a vital part of your sons’ family heritage just because you were worried if something terrible should happen and you weren’t able to protect him. Though under Daemon’s supervision, if anything out of the ordinary should occur he would be sure to send Rhaenar straight to you before leaving to conduct his search. “Fine, you may take our son flying,” Daemon’s smile grew wide, “but you must, I can’t emphasis this enough, must make sure he is safe at all times. Or I swear to the Seven, I’ll personally see to it that you visit the stranger if I find one hair follicle out of place. Do I make myself clear?” You threatened, pulling the prince close by your clasped hands so that you were a mere breaths width away from one another.

Daemon couldn’t help but let his smile grow wider, this was a side of you that he hasn’t seen in an age. Whilst he was glad that fire was still burning brightly within you even after settling down, the grip you had on his hand was beginning to hurt when he didn’t answer you faster then you’d like. “Yes my dear, crystal clear.” He replied, bringing your hand up to his lips so he could press a kiss against the back of it. You smiled at him before pressing a soft kiss to his lips, “good, now go before I change my mind at the last second.” Daemon laughed as you gently shove him towards the door, pretending to lean backwards against you as a means of intentionally tampering with you efforts of being rid of him. “Daemon!” You exclaimed, smiling widely at what he was doing, finding his childish side to still be entertaining even after so long. “Do you want to take your son out flying or not?”

Daemon made a face as though he was in deep thought. “Depends, are you going to be joining us?” He batted just pretty eyelashes at you. “As much as that would please you my prince, I’m afraid I must take care of Rhaenar’s freshly hatched dragon.” You intentionally reframed from calling the dragon by the name you chose as a surprise. You had felt the name fit the dragon quite well, even more so with the fact that when King Viserys died, Viserys the dragon hatched. You didn’t normally believe in coincidences, you liked to think that despite his avoidance of dragon ridding and dragons in general, Viserys still wished to being able to watch over his family no matter what form he might take. Daemon didn’t wish to voice his disappointment, wanting this day to be something you, him and your son to share and look back on fondly but understood that the baby dragon required a lot of attention.

Daemon sighed and moved his head so he could press a kiss to your head, “as you wish my love, just make sure to keep your eye to the skies.” You agreed to his request, giving him a final shove out of your shared chambers before moving to the window that overlooked the courtyard. “Don’t do anything stupid.” You whispered under your breath, watching as Daemon practically glided his way to Rhaenar and Caraxes, who had long stopped playing once noticing his presence. “Daddy!” Rhaenar cried, smiling wide at the sight of his father. “How’s my brave little dragon rider? Feeling nervous for your first flight?” Daemon asked, picking him up into his arms and pressing a kiss against his head. Rhaenar ignored his question, looking over his father’s shoulder in hopes of seeing you but frowned when he couldn’t before looking back at Daemon, “is mommy not coming?” Daemon had to steel himself in being the bearer of bad news but before a word pass his lips, you entered the courtyard, baby dragon cuddled across your shoulders and neck.

The rouge prince have you a look and you responded in kind with a smug smirk before looking at your beautiful baby boy. You reached a hand to gently stroke Rhaenar’s cheek before pinching it gently, causing him to squeal. “You didn’t think I would miss out on seeing you take flight did you?” Caraxes purred at your presence as he wandered over to you, nuzzling his snout against the top of your head before repeating the gesture to the baby dragon on your shoulders. “Sure would’ve nice if I was informed beforehand that you would be seeing us off my love.” Daemon said as he nudged you with his arm. You furrowed your brows playfully, “oh, was I supposed to do that? Apologies my prince. You know how much of a fan I am for dramatics.” You stated, nudging him with your arm this time. “I’m very well aware, my dear, very well aware.” Daemon said as he pressed a kiss to your lips.

“Ew!” Rhaenar cried as Caraxes covered the young boys’ eyes with the top of his tail, removing it only when you and Daemon had pulled away, staring at you both, unamused. To Caraxes it felt as though you both were still that lovesick duo so painfully unaware of the feelings you held for one another. Sure it was gross seeing his rider and his favourite human suck face but at least it meant that you both were still unequivocally in love with one another. Daemon looked at his son with a mischievous grin, “oh I’m sorry is someone feeling left out?” He asked before looking to you, “I believe someone is feeling left out, wouldn’t you say so my love?” You chuckled lightly, “yes my dear, I believe someone is feeling a little left out? Shall we change that?” Daemon pursed his lips in thought before smiling, “yes I believe we should.” So without another word you and Daemon smothered your child in kisses, smiling whenever he squealed in delight as he tried pushing you both away.

“Mommy, Daddy, stop! I just want to fly on Caraxes now!” He cried between fits of laughter. You obeyed his wish and pulled away as Daemon adjusted his hold on the young boy. “A little impatient are we? You take more and more after your mother you do.” You smack Daemon on the shoulder, “I’d say he takes after you more.” You rebutted before gesturing to Caraxes who was beginning to get impatient, “come on, he’s dying to stretch his wings.” Caraxes agreed with your observation by flaring open his wings to their fullest. “Alright, alright, we’re coming, prentice some patience.” Daemon said as he wandered over to his dragon, helping his son position himself correctly, making sure Rhaenar’s back was firmly pressed against his front so he could protect him should he somehow slip off the saddle.

“Be carful!” You cried up to them. “We will mama!” Rhaenar cried in response. “We’ll be back before you know it.” Daemon said as he ushered Caraxes into flight and as the dragon took off Rhaenar cried in excitement as he saw how quickly it took for Caraxes to be above the cloud line. Daemon looked down at his son as he beamed back up at him, “daddy we’re so high up!” Daemon chuckled in response, “yes we are very high up, you’re right Rhaenar but this isn’t even the fun part.” Rhaenar’s eyes light up at this, “what’s the fun part daddy?” Daemon looked below briefly to see a body of water below, ‘perfect’ he thought. “Daddy needs you to hand on tightly, we’re about to go into a dive.” He said, crossing his arms over his son as Caraxes began to swoop downwards at an angle that made both father and son lurch forward for the reigns. “When I say pull up, we pull up, ready?” Daemon told Rhaenar who gave him a determined look. “Ready!”

Daemon waited when Caraxes was just about to head straight for the water before placing Rhaenar’s hand over the reigns with his on-top of them as he said over the whipping wind, “pull up!” The father-son duo pulled at the reigns with all their might in the nick of time as Caraxes skimmed across the body of water, the tip of his talon grazing the surface. “This is fun!” Rhaenar cried as he watched his blurry reflection stare up at him alongside Daemon, who couldn’t help but wish you were there with them. “You enjoying your first flight so far?” He asked, already knowing the answer. “Yeah! I wanna be a dragon rider just like you when I grow up daddy!” Rhaenar cried, already hooked on the gift that was dragon flight. Daemon smiled down at his son with pride, “whatever you end up becoming, just know that I’ll always be proud in calling you my son.” He told the young lad, “now let’s get you home before your mother gets worried.”

[aemmaemond]

come my sweetheart, let our blood mingle | Aemond x Fem!OC | Chapter 1

Pairing: Aemond x Fem!OC Rating: 18+ Word count: 2,548 words Warnings: Incest, slowburn, death, angst, child abuse, unhealthy family dynamics, unhealthy relationship dynamics, smut, possessive behaviour, yandere!OC Summary:

Rhaenyra would bear a third bastard, but this time, their crown would not be one of black, but one of white.

Aemma Velaryon is seen as Laenor Velaryon's only true child, but little does anyone else know, that she too is a bastard, same as her brothers. But, her existence seems to only bring pain to those closest around her. Will she finally be able to find the love she so desperately craves? Read on Ao3.

Daemon knew from the moment he saw Aemma that she was his.  

Her age, after all, lined up perfectly to the last time he had seen Rhaenyra. A singular moment of lust, giving into a love that could not yet be realized. He was gone before morning, leaving to Pentos with his lady wife, unknowingly leaving behind a babe. He had assumed that once he had heard word of the child’s birth, she was another bastard.  

He didn’t realize she was his bastard. 

The child was even more Valyrian than he, hair and eyelashes as white as snow. To look into her eyes was like looking into a mirror – she was more his child than Rhaena and Baela ever were by looks alone, and the glare she had given them upon their first meeting showed that her spirit was a match for his.  

“It is nice to meet you, Uncle.” She had said, without any hint of gladness in her voice. “Mother has spoken of you oh so much.” Already at eight she had learned the art of false niceties, yet she had not yet learned to hide her distaste. It made him wonder what exactly Rhaenyra had said to their daughter to make him dislike him so.  

He supposed he’d have to ask her. 

- 

“If looks could kill, I’d already be dead and buried.” Daemon chuckled, walking with Rhaenyra along the dunes of Driftmark, away from all the mourners who grieved the loss of his late lady wife. Finally, they were able to talk together alone, making up for time lost. 

“You don’t suppose she somehow knows, and thus holds some resentment?” Rhaenyra questioned, looking thoughtful. “She’s usually quite pleasant. To hear Corlys and Rhaenys speak of her, she is utterly peerless. Perfect, without even the most minute of flaws.”  

“It’s highly unlikely she could figure it out with just a glance.” Daemon shrugged, though he also appeared thoughtful. “Though then again, I could immediately tell.” 

“Oh please, it isn’t that obvious. Not like Jace and Luke.” 

“Not to others, but to me, it is.” Daemon stopped where he stood, suddenly taking Rhaenyra’s hands. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

His question was akin to stabbing Rhaenyra’s heart with a dagger, and she would pull her hands away, not wishing to look at him. “And how would I do that? By letter, where it could be easily intercepted? Go to Pentos myself, away from mine duty and husband? Furthermore, it was you who left me that night. Do you know how it felt to finally have her in my arms? It was agony, worse than the labour by tenfold at least.” 

Daemon would take her hands once more, his grip unyielding this time. “If I had known...” 

“I couldn’t even look at her, Daemon.” Her voice was strained, and hot tears were beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. “I sent her to Driftmark at the earliest opportunity. I couldn’t stand it. At least in appearance, she looked to be Laenor’s. None could find fault in her, none save for me.” 

Daemon would close his eyes, angry with himself, angry with her, angry at the world. But he’d force himself to soften, looking upon Rhaenyra with as gentle of a look as he could muster. “I won’t leave this time. I swear it.” 

- 

“You can’t make me go!” 

It took three guards to subdue the princess, with how hard she was kicking and flailing. Even then, it was a struggle for them, knowing that once they took her outside, things would only grow more difficult – the frenzied cries of Siren were testament to that.  

“Aemma, please. It is time to return home-” Rhaenyra pleaded. 

“Driftmark is my home!” 

The words pained Rhaenyra to hear, but she could not find fault with them. Driftmark was the only home that Aemma ever knew, and yet she was being pulled away from it against her will. Daemon watched on, unamused, leaning against the wall. The child was far too willful, and far too like him. Rhaenyra was losing control over the situation – he'd have to step in. 

He’d take a step forward, his face cold and uncaring, and he would lean downwards to face the squirming child. 

“Your mother, your future Queen, has given you an order.” He said, staring deep into her eyes. "You will not be the first Princess to be dragged kicking and screaming away from what she calls her home, and you will not be the last. Come quietly with dignity or be forced to in shame.” 

Aemma would stop squirming for a moment, but not out of compliance or of fear. She matched the intensity of his gaze, full of hate and anger. “You aren’t my father. You have no power over me.” Every word she said was deliberately chosen, spoken with the correct enunciation in High Valyrian. And Daemon knew in that moment that Aemma knew her true parentage. 

With a single gesture, the guards would let go of Aemma, who stood her ground, even at half Daemon’s size. The air was tense, and Rhaenyra stepped forward to try and intervene, but Daemon would gesture to her as well to step back. “What I am to you has no relevance to the fact that I can easily drag you by your hair to a ship to Dragonstone.” He said, responding in the same tongue she had used. 

“Siren would stop you. I’d get her to burn you alive-” 

“Then I shall gag you as well and have Caraxes and Syrax subdue the beast if she tries to fight back.” The way Aemma’s eyes narrowed let Daemon know that he had won. “Or you can ride her there yourself. You do not need to smile, you can scowl and cry and swear all you like. All you need to do is do it .”  

Rhaenyra would look between her child and Daemon, worried. She knew that Aemma had never been spoken to like that before, and it hurt her heart to see. She had almost tried to intervene again to ask Daemon to be kinder, but Aemma turned her head to the side, conceding defeat. 

“Fine.” She spat, this time in the common tongue.  

This time, the young princess thought, would be the only time Daemon was allowed to win.  

- 

When Aegon was born, the whole of Dragonstone celebrated for a week straight.  

Candles burned within every hall of the castle, making the usually dreary place seem homey and inviting. Aemma felt she might choke, so stifling was the sense of joy upon the island. Every person there was gleeful, congratulating her mother and father on the birth of their first boy. A most precious and auspicious son, one deserving of a powerful and foreboding name, Aegon.  

Aemma hated the creature the first time she laid her eyes upon it. 

The babe was soon a month old, and to hear her mother speak of him, he was a secret genius, some kind of prodigy. Aemma did not understand how this thing, who only slept and ate and shit, could have any kind of smarts at all. More pleased than her was Daemon, excited for the birth of his first true son. When Rhaenyra did not hold him, Daemon did, whispering to him in High Valyrian all his hopes and aspirations. 

It made Aemma grind her teeth together in frustration any time she heard them coo to him. No one else shared her hate, not even Joff who had been the baby up until this point. He would look over the edge of the cradle, down at the beast, offering to protect him from any monsters. It made Aemma scoff, as her younger brother still wet the bed in the night whenever he had a nightmare. Jacaerys and Lucerys were just as bad, often fighting with one another over who would get to hold him. If Aemma was handed it, she would let it drop to the floor like a sack of wheat.  

By the third month, Aemma’s anger burned so hot she wondered how she did not spontaneously combust into flame. Just a single mention of the name of the monster would sour her mood for the rest of the day, and to hear his cry would make her tear her nails with her teeth until they bled. Her Septa would admonish her and bandage the fingers, but Aemma would rip them off, back to her biting. Rhaenyra had set her aside, pleading with her daughter to just tell her what was wrong, but Aemma could no longer look her mother in the eye.  

The fourth month was when she could no longer take it. The monster had been put down for a nap, her parents were off elsewhere, doing something she did not care about. She walked into their room, hiding her hands behind her back, looking at the wet nurse who had been so diligently looking after it. The woman, who was plump and had a voice like a squealing pig. She looked at the cradle, cooing as if bewitched. 

Aemma made her presence known with a cough, and the woman jumped slightly, startled. “M-my princess, the prince is just going down to nap. I-if you would so kind as to...” 

“Mother asked to see you, she said it is urgent.” Aemma said sweetly, her hands behind her back.  

“I shouldn’t leave the prince alone-” 

“I can watch him.” Aemma offered the woman a smile. Though initially hesitant, the woman would quickly bow her head and run out of the room, leaving Aemma alone with her quarry. Looking behind her back to see that she was gone, Aemma would go to her parents’ bed and take a pillow, bringing it to the cradle.  

It was the first time she had gotten a good look at it. Like her, its hair was silver. It squirmed in its rest, perhaps sensing danger somehow, and she would watch as it opened its eyes to see a dark purple, near black hue. At first, it did nothing, but then it began to cry. Aemma panicked, dropping the pillow to the floor, but she would quickly pick it up and put it over the babe’s face, pressing down and... 

“What the fuck are you doing?” 

A hand grabbed her roughly, pulling her away. The pillow would roll off Aegon, and he would cry even louder than before. Aemma would turn to see Daemon, more furious than she had ever seen him in his life, and he would use his free hand to slap her across the face – the first time he had ever struck her.  

Rhaenyra was not far behind him, entering the room in a rush, picking up her babe and holding him to her chest, shushing him. She looked at Daemon and Aemma, concerned and confused. She had not seen what Aemma was attempting to do. 

“I didn’t do anything!” Aemma cried, trying desperately to pull away from him.  

“Daemon what is going on-” Rhaenyra would stop as her husband glared at her, the anger in his gaze shocking her to silence and inaction as he began to pull Aemma down the hallway. 

“Let go of me!” Aemma screamed, clawing at his arm that held her like a vice, finding his strength to be completely unyielding. 

Daemon did not let her go, and he did not loosen his grip until they went to her room. He roughly pulled her inside, practically throwing her to her bed, locking the door behind them. Aemma immediately went onto the offense once he let her go, running to him, hitting what part of him that she could, but it was akin to punching a wall. He let her hit him for a few moments, his anger rising, before eventually he had enough. He would grab her roughly, bringing her back to her bed, and pushing her face down into the covers. But unlike how she had treated Aegon, he allowed her the chance to breathe, with her face to the side. 

“Do you want to know how agonizing suffocation is? Your lungs burning, begging for air. The way your body begins to panic, trying to fight for breath?” He hissed. “You should know how it feels before you condemn my son, your brother, to such cruelty.”  

Even though it was useless, Aemma would still fight back, but not for her life, merely for control. “Do it!” 

Daemon did not intend for things to go this far, but something inside of him snapped. No longer would he allow his daughter that precious chance for air, as he roughly moved her head, pressing it down hard. He would rationalize it as a necessary lesson, to a child who did not know right from wrong, who needed to know of pain, who needed to know what it felt like to struggle for one’s life, but anger had blinded him. For a few brief moments, he had done it with malicious intent, and once he had realized that, he let go of her.  

Immediately, Aemma would be back on the attack, her tiny hands attempting to claw at his face. There was no sense of panic, no sense of fear – just anger, just an all-consuming anger and hatred that made his blood run cold.  

“Kill me! If you hate me so much then just kill me!” Daemon would stare at her in shocked silence, taking both her wrists in one hand, incapacitating her one more time.  

“If you don’t, I’ll kill you first. Me and Siren will kill you. She’s bigger than Caraxes, she could do it easy. We could kill you and Mother and Jace-” 

Where had she learned such hate? 

“-And Luke and Joff and Baela and Rhaena and the stupid beast you all love more than me-” 

There was a fresh red mark on her neck from his hand... when had he... 

“-And when that’s done, I’ll die too. I’ll kill myself, so that your stupid legacy dies as well-” 

He hadn’t pushed her down on the bed at all. He had choked her with his own hand. 

“-Everything you ever wanted will be killed by me. I’ll destroy everything, every last thing that you ever wanted-” 

She hadn’t even looked shocked or scared. She just accepted it as her fate. 

“-Everything will be dead, dead, dead all because of me. All because of the stupid, unwanted, unloved...” 

Daemon pulled her into a tight hug, one hand upon her back, the other at the back of her head. At first, she tried to fight it and pull away, screaming, but Daemon only held her tighter. Tears formed in his eyes as he listened to his daughter scream, those screams eventually dying down into desperate sobs, as her tiny hands clung to the back of his jacket, not trying to push him away but instead pull him closer.  

Daemon did not know how long they sat there like that, but he held her until she wore herself out, falling asleep within his embrace. But even then, he would not let her go, wanting to make up for lost time and lost love. 

There was a lot that needed to be made up for.  

[feathersandfoxtails]

Pass Back Through the Heart, Chapter Eleven

Pairing: Lee Scoresby/reader Rating: EXPLICIT (18+ ONLY) Warnings for this chapter: sex Words: 3.5K Summary: As Lee heals, you grow closer

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also on AO3

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The first night you stay in bed with Lee, but the next you make yourself a space on the floor next to him. As he watches you put down the blankets, you can see him beginning to pout. Instead of being annoyed, it just makes you amused, which you try to hide.

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor, you know.”

“I worry about bumping your wounds at night. This will give us both a little bit of space.”

He grumbles as you go into the bathroom to change. When you return he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for you to help him. He can’t move very far without leaning on you for support, so you escort him to the bathroom.

As you take his arm from your shoulders, he says, “You know, I could use some help in there…”

You point your finger at him. “Don’t push your luck, cowboy.”

He chuckles and closes the bathroom door.

That night you awaken to the sound of Lee groaning. You kneel on the bed and put the back of your hand on his forehead, checking for a fever.

“Do you need something more for the pain?” He nods and you find more of the ground up root Kalluk left for him. After you mix it with water, he drinks it and settles back down.

“I sleep better with you up here.”

You roll your eyes. “You’re a giant baby.”

Turning his head, he gives you a pleading look. You hate that you’re a sucker for those doe eyes. So you climb in next to him, wrapping an arm around his torso. When you look up at him a moment later, you swear he has a smug smile on his lips.

The next morning after you’ve had breakfast with Lee, you pull on your boots to check in with your new friends.

“What am I supposed to do all day?” Lee mopes on the bed.

“I left you a stack of books within reach.”

“Can’t I go outside with you? I can’t stand being cooped up in here all day!”

“You have to heal, Lee. Which means not moving around and tearing your stitches.”

Hester chimes in, “Listen to her; she’s trying to do what’s best for you even if you don’t care.”

“You never can take my side, can you, rabbit?”

“If you get out of that bed I’ll walk as far away from you as I can and then you’ll wish you’d stayed in bed.”

Lee crosses his arms and sticks out his bottom lip.

“I’ll come back for lunch!” you call as you and your daemon step out the door.

Immediately you have to squint your eyes against the blinding brightness of the sun bouncing off the snow. The village is about as bustling as it ever gets, with people starting their days off. Most of the people you see nod or smile at you as you pass. You’re starting to recognize faces even if you haven’t learned their names yet. A small child runs past you, but stops and stares at you. You give them a small wave, but their eyes get wide and they run off.

You spend the morning sorting and grinding herbs with Kalluk. Once she shows you what to do, she doesn’t talk much. Which suits you just fine—you find the silence of working in the same room comforting. Later you chop wood and then help mend a roof. The community has welcomed you and Lee and being able to feel like you are repaying them puts your mind at ease. The house you’re staying in is reserved for guests, so you’re thankful to not feel like you’re imposing too much.

After the first two days your fear that the Magisterium will burst through the clouds in airships subsides. You start to think that either they couldn’t find you or they didn’t try. If they’ve decided you and Lee are not worth pursuing, it would make both of your lives much easier. But you know you’ll probably be looking over your shoulder for a long time.

The days pass slowly with you trying to earn your keep in the village and Lee recuperating in bed. After a few days Lee is better able to move around on his own but not walk very far. Since he’s going a little stir crazy, you find some small tasks for him. One day you bring him strips of leather to braid into ropes, which it turns out he’s very good at.

“Years of ranch work in Texas.” He goes on to tell you stories from his younger days back home which have you laughing and cringing at various points. As you ask him questions, you notice he skirts around anything to do with his family. You drop that subject as you can guess his early home life was probably a lot like your own, which would explain how you both ended up far from home and always on the move.

Tonight he’s been sitting at the table for quite a while, so you order him back to bed. Though he complains as usual, he follows your instructions. When you bring a candle for the bedside table, he quietly says, “There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

His voice sounds too serious and it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. “Okay.” You pull the chair up next to the bed.

“I do remember a little bit after I was shot.”

“What do you remember?”

He looks down at his lap and puts his hand on Hester. “You picked her up.”

At the memory, you feel the blood drain from your face. “I’m so, so sorry, Lee. I didn’t have a choice.”

“No, I know. It felt—”

“I know how it felt—that man who grabbed my daemon, it felt like absolute shit. I didn’t want to do that to you, I promise.”

“I told you someone had touched Hester before and how awful it felt.”

“I know; I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t completely necessary, I promise.”

“It didn’t feel like that.”

You blink rapidly. “What… what do you mean?”

“It was… different.”

You shake your head. “I don’t understand.”

“It didn’t hurt, not like before.” He takes a deep breath before finally looking at you. “When you held her, it was like you were holding me. You were holding me— keeping me safe. But it also felt… incredible.”

You can’t seem to form words or even thoughts. The only thing that comes out is, “But why?”

“I think because it was you. If it was anyone else, even if they were trying to help us, it wouldn’t have been the same.”

“I don’t—”

He swiftly grabs your hand and brings it to his chest. “Will you do it again?”

You snatch your hand back, disgust creeping through you at the request. All your life you had been taught never to touch another person’s daemon. You had only done so out of necessity to save Hester and by extension Lee. Everything feels wrong about this; how can Lee ask you such a thing?

But then Hester looks up at you and for a moment you find yourself dazzled by her eyes. Though her fur is plainly colored, her eyes are the most unusual gold-brown color with flecks of green. They are the color of the sun’s reflection on a lake or the ground right after a snowmelt. You’ve always thought she is beautiful, but never before had you allowed yourself to just stare into those eyes. The only other eyes that have ever captivated you so belong to her human.

“It’s okay,” Hester tells you. She inches closer to you.

You look to your own daemon, who has crawled into your lap. He burrows under your arm and nods to you. Lee slowly moves your hand towards Hester, letting it hover above her head. She flattens her ears against her head and closes her eyes. As you gulp, you take over and bring your hand down to her.

As soon as you touch her, Lee lets out a moan. You try to take your hand away, but Lee’s hand is still covering yours, keeping it in place. Looking at his face, you expect agony. But instead he looks… euphoric. Ever so slowly, you let your fingers scratch the top of Hester’s head. Her fur is both soft and wiry. Lee just gazes at you, his eyes glassy and a smile on his face.

In your lap, your daemon comes out from under your arm and makes his way onto the bed between you and Lee. Lee takes his hand from yours and moves it towards your daemon.

“NO!” You grab your daemon and hold him against you before Lee can touch him.

Lee seems to come out of his trance. “I’m sorry! I thought… I won’t. I won’t unless you ask me to, I promise.”

“What the fuck just happened?” You’re on the verge of tears, not understanding any of this.

“I love you.” He seems to blurt it out. With wide eyes, you just stare at him. “That’s why it’s different, I think. Because of how I feel about you.”

“Lee…”

“I’ve never stopped loving you. And I still have never loved anyone else. Because you stole my heart, angel. And you still have it. Always. I know I fucked up and I know you hate me for it. But I just needed to tell you. Because I almost lost my chance to.”

Lee drops his head to his chest and squeezes his eyes shut. As you stand up, your daemon hops to the floor and Hester follows him. You see a tear fall into Lee’s lap and that solidifies your decision. You put one knee on the bed, then swing your other leg over Lee’s lap so you’re sitting on him. When he looks up at you in surprise, his striking brown eyes are wet.

You take his face in your hands. “When I thought I might have lost you… I knew in that moment that I still love you, too. As much as I tried to deny it every single day, I can’t anymore.”

Before he can reply, you kiss him.

After dinner and dessert, you found yourself walking along the empty street with him. He was silent, but shooting you a goofy grin.

You took his hand. “You checked in anywhere yet?”

He nodded. “Got a little room up the road.”

“Fancy sharing it?”

His grin got even wider. “Suppose we could, seeing as how we’re engaged and all.”

You laughed and leaned against him. Suddenly he stopped walking and put his hands on your hips, pulling you to him. Your hands automatically went to his shoulders just as he leaned in and kissed you. He wasted no time getting his tongue in your mouth and you matched his enthusiasm.

You caught your breath a moment and asked, “How far is that room?”

He kissed you once more, then grabbed your hand and pulled you with him as he walked as fast as he could. Your daemons bounded in front of the both of you, leading the way. The hotel was thankfully close and Lee didn’t break his stride as he burst through the front door. Some heads turned your way as you gleefully let yourself be led upstairs.

As soon as the door to the room was shut, your hands and mouths were all over each other. Lee sucked on your neck as you helped him undo his buttons. You licked the crest of his ear as he tore at your belt. Soon you crashed onto the bed together, half undressed. Finally you stopped kissing him long enough to wriggle out of your shirt and bra. Without pause, he took one nipple in his mouth, eliciting low moans from you. He pinched the other one and you tried to grind your hips against him to find some friction. He just chuckled at your efforts.

You both still had your underwear on, but you reached down with your foot and rubbed at his bulge with your toes. The sharp intake of breath from him encouraged you to continue. Then he tore himself away from your breasts and kissed a line down your torso. At your belly button, he put his thumbs in the waistband of your underwear and you lifted your hips to help them down.

As soon as your underwear hit the ground, Lee’s tongue was on your clit and you were in heaven. Soon his fingers joined in, caressing your folds and teasing your opening. You were wiggling desperately, wanting more. Lee gave a soft laugh against you; the extra breath was divine. Then he slowly put a finger inside you, which you were so wet and ready for. He sucked your clit and hooked his finger up inside you. In moments you were on the edge, panting and clenching the sheets.

“That’s it, gorgeous,” Lee purred at you. His voice only added to your build and in a moment your pussy was convulsing on his finger and you were crying out his name. Before you had even come down, Lee was pulling off his underwear and positioning himself over you. You gasped as he entered you, delighting in the stretch from him.

Giving you barely a moment to adjust, he started thrusting into you. You raised your hips a little, seeking the perfect angle. You couldn’t quite find it, but his movements were delicious nonetheless.

But all through dinner you had pictured tonight in your head, and this wasn’t what you wanted to do to him. So you pushed his chest until he stopped, giving you a questioning look. You smiled. “I wanna ride you, cowboy.”

His confusion turned to excitement as he pulled out of you. As soon as he was sitting with his back against the headboard, you climbed on top of him. You slid easily onto him and started bobbing up and down. He cupped your breasts and just watched you, mesmerized. Leaning back a little, you braced yourself on his thighs and he held your waist to steady you. You let your head tilt back and concentrated on everything you were feeling, not caring if he was enjoying himself or not. But as soon as you looked at him again, you knew it was good for him, too.

You couldn’t hold that position for long, so you sat back up. Lee met you there, wrapping his arms behind you and slamming his chest against yours. He took over the driving of the movement then, pounding up into you until you were breathless.

You were close again and just whined, “Leeeeee…”

“I’m gonna come… do you want me to pull out?”

You were so close. “Nooooo…”

“Can I come inside you?” His voice was shaking.

“Yesssss… fuck yes. Don’t stop…” Then your rapture overtook you and you trembled in his arms.

He followed you a moment later, sucking on your collarbone to stifle his cries of pleasure. When he came to his senses again, he gently kissed the red spot. “Sorry… that might leave a mark.”

“Worth it.” You winked at him.

After you both cleaned up, he spooned you in the bed. As he left tiny kisses along your shoulders, you asked, “How long are you in town for?”

“At least a week.”

“Hmm…. I think I could stay that long.”

He held you a little tighter. “Might need some backup again. And I wouldn’t mind having a roommate if you’d like to stay…”

He fell asleep before you and you listened to his tiny wheezing and felt his breath on the back of your neck. You smiled, thinking, This is going to be an interesting week.

As your lips meet for the first time in such a long while, it feels as if no time at all has passed. There is no timidity in your kiss—just a satiation of the hunger for each other you’ve had since being starved of the other. You kiss him slow and deep and he meets you there, pulling you in close against him. Nothing else matters in the world except the taste of him on your tongue.

But then that is not enough—you need to be closer. Pulling away from him causes him to whimper, but you merely lean back and tug your shirt off. At this sight, Lee looks like he’s about to cry again. As you kiss him again, you take off your bra and then move his hand to your breast. Your skin is on fire where it meets his, but it’s a beautiful burn.

Needing even more, you help him take off his shirt and he winces as it goes over his injured shoulder. You kiss the top of his shoulder, then continue to his neck. He hasn’t shaved in over a week and his short beard is soft against your cheek. Turning his head, he captures your mouth again. Pressing your chest against his only satisfies you for a moment and then you want more still.

Quickly you stand next to the bed, shedding your pants. Lee has his unbuttoned, and you help him take them off. You take just a moment to appreciate the beauty that is Lee Scoresby naked and he does the same to you. With a smile, you return to his lap and to his kiss.

When you stop for a breath, he holds your face and tells you, “I’ll never ever leave you again, I promise.”

“Shh… I know.”

“I swear I’ll keep that promise, always.”

“I know, my love, I know.”

As you kiss him again, his hands move down to your waist, his calloused fingers raking against your smooth skin. Reaching down between your legs, you hold up his erection and position yourself above him. Slowly you sink down his length, Lee moaning the whole time. You’d been with other men since him, but none ever felt as if he was made for you like Lee does.

Resting your hands on his shoulders, careful of his wound, you lay your forehead against his. With a measured, unhurriedly pace, you move your hips. Your bodies remember each other, drawn together again in the duet only you have sung together. Everything in this moment simply feels right and that this is where you should be.

Moving a little faster, the spark inside you spreads and grows. Lee’s face shows only awe; his entire being purely worshipping you.

“Lee, I love you. I’ll always love you.”

He pants, “I love you. Only you. Always you.”

The wildfire inside sweeps through you and you feel Lee chase his own bliss, hips bucking under you. You watch as his face crumples and he empties himself into you. He opens his eyes and you can’t stop yourself from taking ownership of his mouth all over again. You’ve found paradise once more and this time you won’t let anything drag you away.

You stay on his lap, kissing him until he’s soft inside you. Then you just stare into each other’s eyes and smile, no words being needed now. When you hear your daemons cooing together on the floor, you roll off him to his uninjured side and snuggle up under his arm.

He kisses the top of your head. “Thank you.” You give him a quizzical look. “For forgiving me. For loving me.”

You kiss him again, then turn to your daemon. He climbs onto the bed next to you and you bring him to your lap. Gently you take Lee’s hand and bring it closer. He holds his breath and stretches out his fingers.

The moment he comes in contact with your daemon, you realize what he was trying to tell you before. There is no pain like you’ve felt before. All you can feel is his love for you flowing from his fingertips to your daemon to you. Your whole being tingles with this new sensation and you wish it would never end.

He looks at you, concern knotted on his brow. You see he’s worried about hurting you, but you know he would never. Hester hops onto the bed and sits on Lee’s thighs. Without taking your gaze from Lee, you stretch out your hand to her. She nuzzles her face into your palm and Lee’s face relaxes. The four of you stay like this the rest of the evening.

Later, after Lee is asleep, you whisper to your daemon, “You always knew I still loved him, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but I knew you needed to get there yourself.”

“What happens now?”

“The two of you need to decide that.”

As you fall asleep, you think about how Lee may have been right years ago—one of you will need to sacrifice your job and your lifestyle for you to be together.

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Tagging: @sunflowersturn @phoenixofthevalley @serpentstyles

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Let me know if you would like to be added to the taglist!

Thanks for reading! 💜

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Chapter Twelve

[e-vasong]

hi!! I just wanted to ask about the daemon AU--do you have a headcanon abt when their daemons would settle? or did they just settle after puberty? Did 5's daemon settle before or after the apocolypse?

AH!! this is such a good question.  I’m gonna put a cut after this first bit, though, because I took a simple question and accidentally...wrote a 2k thing that kinda straddles the line between answering your question and being a freeform fic? whoops.

Okay.  So I think all the kids probably settle a little later than normal for most people.  It’s been a while since I read the books, but I recall that most daemons, though not all, settle towards the start of puberty.  I headcanon that trauma is one of the things that can push that process back, and all the Hargreeves kids have that in abundance.  Not to mention that I don’t think isolating your kids from a normal childhood and forcing them into a vigilante lifestyle is exactly helpful for their development.

Luther settles first, a day after their thirteenth birthday.  It happens without much fanfare, while they’re resting at home after a mission.  There’s not much a golden retriever can do on a mission that another animal can’t do just as well or better, and Reginald really emphasizes the utility of their daemons above all else.  But sometimes Luther likes to let Amalthea turn into big, soft things when their dad isn’t looking.  He likes them, even if Diego mocks him relentlessly for it.  And that afternoon Amalthea plops down on his chest and turns into a golden retriever, licking at his chin to comfort him after the verbal excoriation their father had given them after the mission had gone wrong at every possible turn.  It’s a miracle none of them were hurt.  That scares Luther more than anything else.  How close he’d come to failing and getting someone killed.  And they don’t even realize that she’s settled until like an hour later when they’re headed downstairs and Amalthea tries to shift back into a form that their father will find dignified and just...can’t.

Klaus settles next much to everyone’s surprise.  It happens a few months after Luther.  Their father has them locked in the crypt again, and it’s particularly bad tonight.  Klaus can see them everywhere, tearing at his clothes, clawing at his skin, and he can barely breathe.  They go after Cassandra just as eagerly as they do him, but she’s harder to catch.  Suddenly she’s a falcon, an ermine, a rat scuttling through a new hole in the wall that their father must have missed.  And then she’s outside.  Twelve, thirteen feet away maybe, and it pulls at the connection between them, almost to the point of being painful.  Hurts enough to gear Klaus out of his catatonic haze and get him to push through the throng of ghosts just to get a couple feet closer to her.  And then Cassandra is a cicada, fluttering up to the lock.  And then she’s a raccoon, clawing futilely at it with those deft, clever fingers, but unable to work it open without anything to jimmy the lock open with.  Yet she’s also trapped by their bond, unable to venture and look for something to use.  And so she tries to shift back to rat, to get back inside, and just.  Doesn’t.  Can’t.  So Klaus stills his breathing long enough to stumble over to the door of the crypt, pressing his back flat against it and trying to still his breathing.  Cassandra curls up in a small ball in front of the door.  And they stay like that all night, until their father comes to let them out in the morning.

Allison, Diego, and Vanya all settle pretty close together, towards the end of their thirteenth year and the start of their fourteenth.

Allison settles on a mission.  She’s so busy rumoring a bad guy into killing his friends that she doesn’t notice the one behind her until Diego drops to the ground with a muffled cry of pain.  She makes a noise, a hoarse-sounding scream of shock and surprise.  But she’s well-trained enough to wrestle her gut reaction under control quickly.  She whips around, a rumor already on her lips, but before she can say anything Alexander is there.  A flash of muted gold and black, not hulking but still larger than she expects.  He jumps, first onto a table.  The spring inside a loaded gun.  Fifty pounds of coiled muscle and snarling rage.  Then he leaps again, surprisingly agile.  There’s a flash of canine, long and sharp.  The man dies with a gurgle, and when Alexander pads over to Diego’s injured body, licking at their brother’s face with concern, Allison sees that those white teeth are bloody and red.

Diego settles during one of their sneak-outs.  They’re walking along the pier, eating fish tacos they bought from a vendor nearby.  Ben is reading as they walk, flipping pages idly.  He’s not paying attention to where they’re going, though Luther keeps trying to get him to put the book down.  But then Diego had told Luther to lay the fuck off, and that had turned into a whole thing, and Ben’s still reading his book.  If Five were here, there wouldn’t be any concern about it.  He’d had that sort of quiet, watchful way about him, where you knew that even if he wasn’t actively stopping you from doing something, he was still keeping an eye out to make sure it didn’t kill you.  If Five were here, he’d have made them take Vanya.  If Five were here...

But he isn’t.  He’s probably off somewhere, living happily away from their father and from them.  Asshole.  It’s an uncharitable thought, and Guinevere would bite him for it if he said it out loud, but Diego is so caught up in his anger that he doesn’t see Ben walk into the pole until its too late.  

Ben swears, hands flying to his face automatically.  Klaus bursts into hysterical laughter.  Allison’s gasps, putting a hand to her mouth.  Ben’s book tumbles out of his hands and into the water, and Guinevere--also laughing--follows it, turning small and furry as she does.  She doesn’t catch it before it gets soaked, but she gets the book in her teeth and paddles over to a small ladder that drops down off the dock.  Ben turns to thank her, but Diego is too distracted to catch what he says.  Diego just settled, he’s pretty sure.  He can feel it in his bones.  He’d kind of been hoping for something that would prove once and for all that he’s better than Luther, but frankly their father isn’t going to be any more pleased with otter than golden retriever.  That’s kind of a bummer.  But when he kneels down to let Guinevere scramble up his arm and around his neck, he can’t really bring himself to care.  She’s Gwen, and he’s Diego, and if their father has anything to say about it?  Well then.  He can go fuck himself.

Vanya settles that winter.  She’s playing her violin in the living room.  Ben is sitting nearby.  They aren’t hanging out, not exactly.  None of her siblings really hang out with her, not since Five, but Ben maybe comes the closest.  Calliope usually takes the form of a cat, winding around Vanya’s ankles as she plays.  She used to turn into a capuchin sometimes, to flip the pages of Vanya’s music, but Io has more or less soured Vanya on monkey daemons these days.  But still.  Things are nice, and today they are in a particularly good mood.  Ben’s company is comforting; it’s nice not to be alone; and Vanya hasn’t missed a single note.  So today, Calliope flutters up onto her shoulder and sings along with her.  And she never changes back.  And when Vanya shyly shows her to their family later, Reginald sniffs, disdainful, having barely spared them a flicker of a glance.  Just a songbird, he says dismissively.  And that is that.

(And later, years and years later, Leonard peers into the veil of Vanya’s hair.

“Is that your daemon?” he asks affably.  He looks unbothered by the way Vanya cringes.  His orb weaver is crawling up the sleeve of his shirt, looking almost like a toy or a strange decorative pin.

“Yeah,” Vanya says.  Cal is a bundle of fluffed-up feathers nestled in the crook of Vanya’s neck.  She huddles in closer at the sight of Leonard’s attention.

“What is she?” Leonard asks, then holds his hands up apologetically.  “I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Just a songbird.”

“Just a songbird?” Leonard echoes.  He leans in closer.  “Hey, she’s a...great tit, right?  I’ve read about those.”

“Oh?” Vanya asks, bracing herself for whatever is going to come next.  Leonard is a nice guy; she’s sure he means well.  It doesn’t mean that what he says next isn’t going to hurt.

“Yeah,” Leonard smiles at her.  “You’re right.  They are songbirds.  But they’re more than that.”

Vanya pauses, lifts a hand to her hair uncertainly.  She hadn’t expected that.  “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m surprised your family didn’t ever say anything to you, I have to admit.  They are songbirds, Vanya.  But they’re hunters too,” Harold says.  There’s wonder in his eyes, and when Vanya looks up to meet his gaze, he just smiles.)

Ben, like Luther, settles without much fuss.  Once a week, since they turned ten, they’ve had a designated time to try out new forms for their daemon.  Their father brings out books on zoology.  Gives them specimen after specimen to try.  Ben isn’t quite sure that this is how it’s supposed to work.  All accepted science suggests that settling is half a physical affair and half a mental one.  It’s not just about finding the right shape, it's about state of mind as well.  Amalthea is a golden retriever, but if she had tried that form when Luther was eight, Ben doubts that she would have settled.  But their father doesn’t much seem to care, nor does he seem to understand.  Then again, Io and their father have a dynamic that Ben doesn’t quite get either.  They seem less like human and daemon and more like warden and prison guard.  But maybe that’s just Ben projecting.

Melpomene takes to their father’s training with more courage than Ben does.  His stomach hurts; he wishes that he could go back to bed. This is worse now.  All the others have settled, and Ben’s been doing this part of their training alone for almost a year.  But Mel is braver than Ben is, and she takes the lead.  So they go down the list, while their father watches with those piercing eyes.  Io is perched on the desk, lips drawing back from his teeth whenever Ben so much as twitches a muscle in the wrong direction.

Mel turns into a large octopus.  A cassowary.  A vulture, a great Philippine Eagle, a Sumatran rhino, a spectacled caiman.

And then she stops.  Tries to shift again.

“I’m stuck,” Mel declares, sounding just as surprised as Ben feels.  Their father’s back straightens, and it’s the nearest thing he’s ever given Ben to pride.  He peers over his spectacles.  Nods.

“This is acceptable,” their father says, like there’s any other option.  It’s not like Ben can do anything about it, but he holds his tongue and stares at the floor again.  A predator.  A scary one, not like Guinevere or Amalthea.  Even Alexander is cuddly.  Crocodilians, though, people hate.  This isn’t how Ben wanted his settling to go.  He hadn’t wanted their father to be right.

Ben’s stomach twists.  He feels something nudge against the inner lining of his gut, like it’s trying to escape, and ignores it.

“Dismissed, Number Six,” their father says, and when Ben turns to go his eyes feel wet.

And Five...Ugh.  I’m debating how much of this I want to share, because I actually have this scene written elsewhere?  But Five settles last.  Five settles last by no small margin, not just chronologically, but by age as well.  Five settles late even among other late bloomers.  He settles when he’s eighteen.  Approximately.  It’s hard to keep track of days in the Apocalypse; Five is good with numbers and has a great memory, but it’s been five years by this point and the days are starting to blur, even for him.  The lateness of his settling comes from a combination of trauma, a lack of socialization, and the fact that he is desperately trying to avoid it.  He and Dolores keep a list of forms that they know are safe, forms that she’s taken again and again and hasn’t settled in yet.  

Because in the Apocalypse, an unsettled daemon is an incredible asset.  She can be a hawk, fluttering up to a roof to scout for places to salvage.  A wolf, sniffing out supplies.  An elephant, moving rubble and bricks so they can turn what remains of the library’s atrium into a makeshift shelter.  And a bear, warm and hardy.  That form’s kept Five from freezing to death for the past several winters.  But the thing about nature is that it always finds a way.  They can only fight it for so long.  And one night Five wakes up, and Dolores is a snake, and she can’t shift out.  She’s cold, too.  The night temperatures are too much for her now.  

I’m sorry, I’m sorry, she says to Five, almost frantic with it.

It’s fine, he tells her as she curls up under his jacket, soaking up the warmth radiating from his chest.  You’re beautiful.  It sounds like a lie.  It kind of feels like one too, even though he means it. 

This should be a wonderful thing.  It would have been, under almost any other circumstances. 

They do make it, of course.  We know that.  Five is clever and he is determined and he has no choice but to survive.  He will accept no other outcome, and he’s right in that.  They suffer, but they live.  They win and they get back to their family.  

In the moment, though, they are just a seventeen-year-old boy and his daemon, entirely alone in a world that doesn’t care whether they live or die, and it mainly feels like a death sentence.

(BUT THEN ALSO THEY ALL REUNITE WHEN FIVE TIME TRAVELS BACK AND BEN COMES BACK TO LIFE SOMEHOW AND LEARNS SELF LOVE AND THEY ALL RECOVER FROM THEIR TRAUMA TOGETHER YEE HAW)

[icharchivist]

Okay so done with Ardyn and Ignis’s dlcs, meaning i am done with the game for good! what a ride! what a blast! i had so much fun with everything, i don’t have anything i’m disappointed about so DLKJFDF a good ride for me.

Starting with Ignis, i really liked his DLC. 

The first part, which mostly just talks about how he got his eyes injury, was very fun to play through. Compared to how much i struggled with Gladio and Prompto that was a blast to play through ahah. I liked the gameplay and i liked being back in Altissia.

It was nice also to see Ravus’s actual turn around in game, since his whole part in the main game was... all over the place. So it was nice to see his actual motivations being laid out, and his teaming up with Ignis was pretty neat, they worked out well with one another, both as Guardians, and working as parallel to one another, with Ignis wanting (originally) for Noctis to see his goal through while Ravus wanted his sister to be freed, and in the end after Luna’s death, Ignis joining Ravus in not wanting to lose Noctis just to “his duty and fate”

The way Ignis got blind had me yelling. Putting on the ring of Lucii to try to protect Noctis, a ring that famously burn off anyone who tries to use it and isn’t of royal blood. Lowkey wondering if it works in a “truth from FMA” way where the people who ended up burnt by the ring all lost part of themselves that were important to them. Nyx wanted to live as a hero and he had to die as one. Ravus was the arm of revenge for his family and he lost his arm to it. Ignis was the analyser, the one who looked after Noctis and looked for his future, and his eyes were burnt. Like a way to prevent them all from even fighting destiny again. 

Anyway the whole canon complient part was so fucking sad and the goodbyes with Ignis and Noctis had me cry so hard i couldn’t look at the screen anymore. It was so sad and intense to me my heart is still broken.

So jumping on the fixit future just afterward, well, to me was kind of healing lmao. The whole thing, how Ignis even manage to win protecting Noctis, doesn’t really make any sense but it doesn’t have to, it’s just a happy ending that was sorely needed after all this mess, for me at least. 

It also made me cry to see Noctis’s resolve being that he would not let himself be separated from his friends. Makes me wonder if it has to do with the fact the alternative timeline pretty much therefore prevents the train incident from happening, meaning Noctis didn’t hurt Prompto, and didn’t have to play Ardyn’s mindgames about Prompto back then. Regis and Luna’s death were symbols of stuff Noctis couldn’t have protected. But hurting Prompto was Noctis ealizing that he would be harming his friends if he tried to end Ardyn. With the way Ignis’s ep goes, Ignis is another “stuff Noctis couldn’t have protected” so instead of fearing hurting his friends he’s more dedicated than ever to not let them go this time. Kinda liking this.

The alternative ending wasn’t as detailled as i expected (i swEAR i thought i’ve seen something about Luna surviving which?? i didn’t see at all so??) so i’m kinda happy with it? The gist of it is just “even if Noctis spent ten years into the Crystals his friends stayed together (which they didn’t in the ten years in canon) and once they were reunited they never let go of one another again”. I’m fine with that!! v good with that!! and i’m just happy Ignis can feel like he protected Noctis to the end, like he was meant to do. He’s so happy at the end i am tearing up just thinking about it.

so i really liked episode Ignis personally.  The alternative ending is just that, an alternative ending if we want to indulge in it and i’m happy with it, meanwhile the rest of the episode was pretty good to me. 

my only problem with the DLCs (and that is all of them) is also kinda just, the reason they had to exist, is that well. Honestly i’m not against dlcs and all but those were really scenes that would have benefited from being clearer in game. Not knowing how Ignis’s injuried himself really didn’t sit right with me, not knowing where Gladio was gone to was bothering me. Prompto’s ep itself wasn’t something i expected, wasn’t a gap i thought needed to be filled, but they filled it with more clarification about the magiteks in a way that i think is sooo much more impactful than just the game. 

I guess what i mean is that, they are filling holes that were in the games that bothered me, and on one hand i’m thrilled to have complete stories that specifically addresses them, on the other, i just kinda wish i didn’t have to wait until the end of the game to have those answers. 

Ardyn’s dlc has a huge lore dump at first which, imo, should have been clearer in the game too, but as it is i like how it’s done in the Ardyn’s dlc. In the end it just really gives the feelings the dlcs are course correcting DLKFJDLKJFD

ANYWAY Ardyn’s DLC. It was a blast to play through, the whole game itself was pretty fun. I really wanted to explore Insomnia (i also really want to explore the royal palace  but well that won’t be...), so even if it was by fucking around and finding out, it was hella fun.

Plotwise i am glad it makes Ardyn’s motivations very clear and in the end well, Ardyn is a really tragic figure and i’m really sad for him even if i remain angry at everything he has done. It’s just, what other choices did he have when he was doomed from the start?

It was sad to see how nice of a guy he was, how he just wanted to heal and help people, only for the gods and his brother to betray him. Somnus is such an ass bc of that lol. Originally i wondered if the recalling at the begining was Ardyn being an unreliable narrator but the final fight with Somnus confirm that Somnus did betray Ardyn because he was jealous of him, and even if he grew as a leader to see the horror of the daemons, he still fucked his brother’s life up for all of this man.

As for the Gods... wow major, major fuck you. The starscrouges is a Gods’s thing and they had a family line try to “fix it” and they made Ardyn the hero to fix it..... and then the moment he did, they made him the bad guy, refused him salvation, just so in the future the Lucii line will be able to end properly once the Chosen King will clean Ardyn. The Gods really set both Ardyn and the Lucii to fail to start with. The Gods wanted more for the “Chosen King” to have a painful sacrifice than they wanted to clean Ardyn’s up and Ardyn was just a tool in all of that, not allowed to fight his fate. No wonder he ended up embracing it and did the worst he could with what he was given.

That does bring home how much technically Ardyn won,  he got all he wanted. He destroyed the world that forsaken him, he spited the Gods ‘till the end, he ended the Lucis family line, and he finally was allowed to die. The Gods also got what they wanted since they WANTED Ardyn to spread darkness onto the world to set up their champion. That fucking blows.  The Gods are the real bad guys there. Noctis deserved better so i welcome Ignis’s dlc even more.

so yeah i’m leaving Ardyn’s dlc extremely bitter against the Gods and how they didn’t leave neither Ardyn nor Noctis a choice in all of this. They had their plan from the start and just expected them to play their parts. 

fucking tragic.

but with all of that i’m done with FF15 and i loved it. I had a blast. It was fun to play through, the gameplay was so fun and fantastic, i love the four guys with so much love that just thinking about them makes me want to cry. I like the original ending, in a “i love to suffer” way, and i love the alternative ending in a “now some healing” way. I liked what all the dlcs brought to the story, and i’m glad i played through all of this. 

I think it’ll take me some time to think about replaying the game and if i do i’ll probably try to ignore chap 8 and onward lmao. But i’m really glad i gave it a chance in the end. 

eff u Peten for making it happen though it’s all your fault. 

so yeah, i had tons of fun that’s for sure!

[siren1song]

In Which Jo Loves Content Creators

I’m in a mushy mood. This means it’s time to snipe people with my love for their work and affection for them as people. (People I don’t know that well/talk to regularly won’t be as personal as people as I’ve made good friends with! All to avoid making anyone uncomfortable <3)

I’m going to start with @sleepless-in-starbucks, because of course I’m starting with Lia. I know I’ve made a literal collaboration post with Max about how much I love them and their work, but Also how can I not mention once again how sweet and funny they are? I vowed that one day, I would rick roll them, they don’t believe I can, but I will, one day. Also they’re really good at comforting people??? And let me scream about some of my favorite fics/tropes to them. I also really enjoy talking to them about stuff I’m working. Listen. Lia is great, okay?

Speaking of @max-is-tired did you know they’re an incredibly sweet datemate who’s super considerate and easy to talk to and gosh I love them a whole lot? Not to mention their writing and ideas are phenomenal!!!! Max is so big brained!!!!! I will never stop expressing my love for them ever.

Oh, oh, oh!!!! @thechildoflightning is also really super sweet!! I became a huge fan of their writing through their daemon prinxiety au!! And my love of their work just kept expanding as I read the jksf verse they’ve worked so hard on! Their research is expansive!! And did you know they’re really cute when they info dump? I asked them to tell me about the bird facts the other day because I wanted to hear their info dumping and it was really cool information!!! I learned a lot about a really cool bird!!

(This is going to get long... time for a cut!)

Another segue! You know who else I’ve learned a lot from? @lilfellasblog who is so cool? And kind???? And smart? Sometimes, I’ll ask them questions in a joking way and then I’ll end up learning something and wow! That’s so cool! And they don’t mind simplifying things for me when I ask! And their fic, Healing Broken Wings? An actual masterpiece, though if you check it out I recommend reading tags thoroughly. And if you have questions about a tag, ask them! They’re so willing to elaborate to make sure you’re able to stay safe!!! They care more about your safety than your readership!!!!! And that’s so awesome! I love Lil so much! A great friend and an amazing writer!

A friend I don’t really talk to nearly as much as the others but who I still care about a whole lot is @illogicallyinclined. They say they can’t write, but bullet fics are a Valid Form of Writing, and also their art? Stunning? They’re the reason I started appreciating Logan a whole lot more than I used to, and their hockey au  is really good (and Jam Packed with Logan Angst if you’re into that.) They’re also hilarious to talk to. I have chatted about Virgil and Logan being huge ass meme’s with them on multiple occasions.

Someone I’ve only recently started talking to is @sign-from-god-complex who’s actually really cool? I was talking to him about my love for fandom content creators before I decided to make this post and of course I had to include him? I’m literally going to be bingeing his writing as soon as I finish this Love and Appreciation post because it’s amazing! I can’t believe I haven’t read more of his work before! A travesty, honestly!!! And oh my God his music is good? Literally the whole reason I joined his server and started talking to Lo in the first place was because he was really nice when I asked him how downloading music worked because I’ve only ever done that onto an MP3 (I know, I’m old) and even then I had to have help because I’m not adept with technology. A great singer and writer!

Now for people I’ve never talked to personally but really want to show my appreciation for... Goodness, there’s so many?

I’m gonna start this section with @princeanxious who’s writing, art, and ideas in general are amazing? Have you seen his coma au? Heart wrenching. His Lost Guardian au? Beautiful world building! His punk lo/pastel dee au? Adorable oh my goodness I can’t get enough!! I tried to talk to him once, but I kind of got scared I was bothering him, but he seems really nice!!!!

Did I mention soulmate au’s earlier? I did. You know who writes really cool and great soulmate aus? @not-so-innocent-bi-sander and MAN is their writing great! Have you read their vampire soulmate au? That was so cute??? I loved Logan’s internal conflict with changing Patton and Roman, gosh? And they have such interesting au ideas too? Like I have actually never heard the concept of Lockets before, and it was such a fascinating idea for a soulmate au? I mean, obviously they have other fics that aren’t soulmate aus, like their prinxiety fic Overcoming a Legacy? Stunning, I am pretty sure I stayed up really late reading that one.

Speaking of fics that made me stay up late (so many segue’s) @impatentpending ‘s fic Powerless had me up from 5:30 pm when I started reading it to 2:30 am when Max finally woke up and distracted me long enough to make me shower and go to bed cause I had work in the morning. Do I regret it? No. Powerless is a stunning fic with an amazing concept. I can’t tell you how excited I was to read a fic where Virgil willingly took on a villain role to protect his loved ones. And also I’m going to physically fight Missy, she can catch these hands. I can’t really give much else on the rest of her fics, because I tend to avoid anything that might not end happy (I’m five chapters away from finishing Powerless, and I’m only just now getting skeptical they might not get their happy ending so count me scared) but I have no doubt everything she’s written is just as good, if not better since this fic was finished in 2018? Wow.

Another fic that had me up super late was @lovelylogans gilmore girls au where you lead, i will follow. Don’t be fooled by the eleven chapters, that fic is over 100k words but God is it so worth it to read every single one. You don’t even need to be familiar with the show the au is based on, it’s amazing either way. The characters, the plot, the romance, all absolutely stunning. I will personally fight Patton’s mom. And the rest of her fics! Wow!!! Stunning, amazing, wonderful, beautiful, I’m running out of adjectives. I loved their princess bride bullet fic a whole lot, that was fun.

If you ever see me gushing about mermaid aus, please know that @voidsides au is Probably my favorite take on it. The prinxiety! The sassy virgil!!! The Logan being so done with Roman’s shit. Literally the one comic with Logan interaction I could practically see “Roman I swear to god if you don’t stop flirting with the fish I’m going to push you into the water” in his words. He didn’t say it, but man he was definitely thinking it.

Oh man, I can’t forget to mention the person who got me into g/t-slash-borrower sides @infinimay cause his content? Amazing, really. I found him when someone I follow reblogged one of his halloween fics and I fell in love and proceeded to binge the rest of their writing. Amazing, really. I really love the giant hermit virgil and hiker logan ones a lot. There’s more that I definitely love a whole lot as well, but I can’t currently match content with titles right now and if I go through I’ll get caught up and forget to come back to this post, but just know I love

Another giant/tiny writer I really love who I fell in love because of his amazingly written alien au- @delimeful WIBAR is currently one of my fic obsessions and I might reread it soon because it’s so good? I love the world building and how he’s written the characters so much. The rest of his work is Also Great? The fic where Virgil turns into a dragon when stressed? Amazing I can’t wait for it to continue.

@tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors You got me so in love with laoft I think about it often. Scary Virgil?? Changeling Logan???? Witch Roman???? Gifted Patton????? I want to cry I love them so much. And God, May! May Gage is a disaster of a woman but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love her. I just. I love this au so much and it’s gotten me to love fae lore so much like I used to. I want to reread this au now, crap. Wait I need to read Lo’s stuff first. Double crap.

Oh man. speaking of writer’s who keep bringing up fae and reminding me how much I love them, @lefaystrent I hope you know your parental shenanigans on my dash bring me life. I didn’t know carbonated milk existed until last night. Kind of wish I was still ignorant on that particular topic. Either way, your fae virgil fic? Amazing. I got so super excited every time I saw an update, and that epilogue? A beautiful ending, if you ask me.

@stillebesat I start screaming in excitement, reading your Interview fic. When I found it, I became so in love with the fic I had a really hard time reading anything else and I frequently checked your blog looking for an update. I am so in love with it, and honestly there’s lots of questions I have about it but if I ask all of them this post will be even LONGER and it’s so massive already.

@today-only-happens-once You’re writing is amazing. So many of your fics are so stunning?? I fell in love reading The Only Exception. Still need to go through your masterlist thoroughly, but man everything I’ve read from you so far is so well written and takes my entire heart.

This post wouldn’t be complete without @notalwaysthevillian who actually got me to start shipping Logince with her fic Shattering Stereotypes. And then there’s of course her tangled prinxiety au??? Which I actually really gotta finish but what I’ve read of it? Amazing. 

Oh crap. If void has my favorite artistic mermaid au, @teacupfulofstarshine has my favorite written au. LDAD is a stunning fic and I would die for it. And also her recent atla au fic? I was screaming over it. Also also her moxiety dad au series she did for halloween had my entire heart. Every installment of that series had me so incredibly soft I probably could have cried.

And finally, @randomslasher I really love your writing. Your fic, Starved was one of the first I read in the fandom and I adored every single word. I haven’t actually had the chance to really sit down and binge any of your work that I could find, but I plan on fixing that soon. It’s also?? Really nice to see an older fander! As someone in their twenties and constantly seeing how young everyone is, it’s comforting knowing I’m not the only one!

That’s everyone I wasn’t scared of bothering! Everyone who I wanted to shower in my love for their work (and affection for the people I talk to!) This isn’t really in any particular order, beyond me separating the people I talk to from the people I don’t. This post is massive, but I hope everyone enjoys my appreciation for their content!

[ifritini]

So the prompt was from a conversation that basically went “wait video games are real in FFXV that means I can play my favourite games haha nice” which devolved “haha the lads reacting to you falling for vidy game characters” and going with it. Basically I took a shitpost prompt and ran with it. 

Noctis Lucis Caelum

He is OFFENDED the moment you either say it casually or let it slip. After all he's the one who suggested playing the game together to spend time together, only for you to proclaim your love for one of the characters. To think you'd fall for someone that's not him and admit to it just like that? Preposterous. 

In his mind he knows it's all fictional and you truly love him. His heart however? It knows a thing or two about jealousy from even one offhand comment about your new fave video game spouse. There are of course doubts here and there over just how much you truly love him but he tries to ignore them. Success varies depending on his current peace of mind. As best as he tries to keep this jealousy up under wraps, it's hard for Noctis to not subconsciously pout over it. 

He knows you love him more than that person on the television screen but sometimes knowing for himself isn't enough and you telling him that your love for him is far greater if not entirely incomparable to that of a fictional character. He knows it's petty and childish, but he will be smug about it. Perhaps even a "Take that!" directed at them. 

Takes up to teasing you over it. "Oh look, there's your Prince not as charming as me." whenever they appear on screen. No, the pillow to the face won't shut him up no matter how many times you throw it at him. 

Prompto Argentum

He is distraught. Shaken. His own chocobae betraying him like this, in his own home no less. He is quickly reduced into a mess faster than you can add onto your passing comment; "Man I think I'm falling for this character.". He believes his entire love life career has ended then and there. Prompto has been trying to play the game of love and he just got a fatality. 

He's known jealousy towards characters before, wishing he was as cool or as smart as them in the past but now he's found a new type: your affection for them. He puffs out his chest and attempts to be ten times cooler ten times braver and ten times more badass than his newfound rival and it's hard for him to be subtle about it. 

Prompto does need to be told that it's only a passing fictional crush and your love for him outshines the crush for this character, and always will. Sure they're neat but he's the whole cake with a cherry on top.

Apologises weeks later for his crisis because he progressed further in the game and fell in love with a separate character and understands precisely how you feel. You two bond over your fictional crushes and holding their hands while lounging on Prompto's couch holding each other's hands. 

Gladiolus Amicitia

He is indifferent. Partially indifferent. The other part is mildly offended he now has competition he can't square up with face to face. Can this character hold you in their arms? Give you kisses? Take you on long hikes? No? Then what's the point of loving them when he's right there ready to do all that and more. 

He can't say much though. He plays a ton of fighting games (and mostly got good at them to wipe the floor with Noctis whenever they played against each other) and Astrals know how many times he's felt a little swoon over either lady or man who could snap his spine in half with no effort. Not to count the same crushes with the same standards from the plethora of books he's read. To protest your crush would make him a hypocrite and Gladiolus most certainly isn't one. 

Not to say he doesn't slip in "Bet they can't love you as much as I do." and bringing you closer without a warning and smothering you with all the love only he can give. Nope, not jealousy. Not one bit. "You realise I love you more right?" you ask and he just beams like he heard it for the first time again. 

Much like Noctis he will relentlessly tease you over this. No you can't shut him up. No he won't stop. No shoving a pillow in his face won't work like with Noctis and he'll dodge it. But Astrals forbid you find out about his own pile of fictional crushes because it works wonders as a counterattack. 

Ignis Scientia 

Mostly confused over literal pixels managing to get your affection. Not that he blames you considering his schedule offers little free time but he can't help but find himself… Thinking. The day he admits this "thinking" is his cover up for sulking is the day he will die. A small, horrible little thought wonders if you're finally falling out of love with him. Again, he won't blame you due to his work. 

As silly as it is Ignis admits he feels jealousy. To himself only of course. He would rather die than let anyone else know that some fictional person has his heart in a twist over you. Him being so in control over his emotions is his triumph, but after it's been eating away at him after a while it becomes his downfall. 

"Did you really think I'd legitimately choose anyone over you?" comes your response after he finally decides to open up what's causing his most recent fowl mood. He knows it's silly. He assumes you know he knows it's silly. Yet hearing those words has him beaming. Hiding the self assured smug smile becomes harder with each passing second. 

Won't tease you as bad as Noctis and Gladio, but does make a passing comment every now and then. Though instead of teasing you over your crush, it's more in the ilk of "A shame they're not there to hold you like I am." 

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret 

She is FLOORED. What do you mean you love them? And what is she? A worm to you? She will be pouting about this and she will be miffed you can't take her seriously when she looks cute doing anything, including pouting. A shame she is very much so guilty of the same thing. You distinctly remember her talking about some muscle bound sword wielding girl in a television show a day before and how dreamy she was, and a week before about some ditzy male character in a book she found cute. She won't win this. 

Jealous? Absolutely. Does she try to hide it? Yes and the keyword is try. You easily tell what's up when she's frowning at the television and that character appears. She'll have her few attempts at denying anything but finally caves in and admits that she does in fact envy your feelings for a bunch of pixels no matter how small the affection. 

Knows she shouldn't need reassuring that you love her most but that doesn't stop her from revelling it when you confess your undying love. You can tell by the slight puffing up of her chest that she feels a GREAT sense of victory over this. 

It's just back and forth teasing and both your fictional crushes turn into a battlefield. It's all a game who can get the other flustered worse and sadly there are no winners when you both end up a mess. It's all good, and the scores are always settled by cuddles right after the battle is fought. 

Ravus Nox Fleuret 

Frankly he is offended. Granted you cannot tell by his disgruntled look that seems to be ever prevalent no matter his current internal turmoil. He is right there in the flesh and you're fawning over pixels? He just doesn't get it and refuses to. Immediately takes the leap to conclusions and assumes you truly don't love this mess of a man anymore. Laments over his continuous loss and begins coming to terms with his fate of being unloved. 

Tries not to be passive aggressive over it but it turns out it’s something easier said than done. Somehow he manages to perfectly convey it without any words - just glaring an impressive amount of daggers at the television screen. Hasn’t felt this jealous since that time before he could even muster up the courage to confess to you and he found out some random Niflheim soldier was chatting you up. At least then his competition was tangible. How was he to prove himself over some funky colours on the screen? 

The cat’s finally out of the bag and your suspicions are confirmed when he makes his first ever direct remark: “What’s so great about them anyways.”. His tone absolutely takes you aback; he sounds like a sibling who received a second less worth of attention from a parent. Ravus has to get affirmation that you do in fact love him a whole lot more. Ravus will revel in this little fun fact - or would smug be a better word? 

Cannot tease you without feeling jealousy creeping up and he absolutely hates himself for it. And so instead you get little offhand comments such as “Let them best me in a duel and we will see who wins your hand in marriage.” No varying levels of exasperation in your sigh will deter him, he will refuse to relent. 

Ardyn Lucis Caelum

For the most part he is confused. Didn’t really think someone could catch a bad case of the feelings for a fictional character but sometimes it’s best some questions go unanswered. Jealousy? In my Ardyn? It’s… less likely than you think. He knows for a FACT whoever this person is on the screen cannot even begin to compare to what he has. Perhaps their one redeeming factor is not being a walking talking daemon parade and being able to not sting in sunlight but that’s not enough to outshine this package. 

Doesn’t stop him from making a big show out of it all. He sees the chance to dramatically drape himself over your lap, lamenting how his one love has been snatched away by this stranger. The antics cannot and will not end. 

Doesn’t really need confirmation that you do in fact love him more, but appreciates it when you say it nonetheless. That’s simply proving him right and the only thing he loves more than being right is you. The second bonus is more smugness to throw around. “Oh I pity that poor soul, never knowing what true love feels like. Unlike me, of course.”. 

And a pity for you, because he’s found a new weaponised way to tease you with. A whole ten miles farther than Noctis or Gladio could ever wish for, you’d swear he’s writing you some sort of self insert fanfiction on the spot. The pros? He seems to be putting quite a lot of effort into it. The cons? He’s doing it specifically just to fluster you, alongside the things he decides to come up with to achieve that goal. 

Aranea Highwind 

Her confidence has not wavered since she found out. Or rather, it hasn’t wavered that much. Psh, of course you still love her. Right?  Right? Good thing that inner turmoil is kept under wraps. She’d much rather an Astral strike her down where she stands rather than have to admit she has beef with a fictional character you just so happened to take a liking to. 

Gets all in a little jealous twist wondering exactly what she’s missing. What does that pixelated rando have that she doesn’t? A physical body for one and that leaves her ever so slightly questioning her lover capabilities. Has she failed? Is this how it ends? You somehow ride off into the sunset with this character somehow materialised? What a life to live and this shall be her legacy. 

Her act gets thrown off and while normally concerning, this time you’re grateful so you can pinpoint just what’s on her mind. She may huff all she wants but there’s not much one can do caught red handed. Logically she knows she doesn’t need that affirmation but emotionally? By the Astrals does she wanna hear it. “You do realise… I love you more right…?” Damn right you do. Her confidence has reached astronomical new levels. 

There is no grandiose teasing but there is a few smug comments. Her goto is looking at the screen and tutting; “A shame they’ll never be me, huh babe?”. Absolutely takes is as a competition and knows she can win every battle by simply stating that she can do it ten times better, and will do it now given the chance. 

[caelestis-aurumxv]

FFXV’s One-shot: ‘When you save them’ Ignis Ver.

               The cold pierced the leather of your jacket, you could notice how your body was trembling just like your companions, and every time you said a word you could see how their breaths were visible in the cold of the cave. Talcott had heard the rumor that behind the waterfall there was a mausoleum and that was the reason why they were now inside Greyshire Glacial Grotto, hoping to find some king’s grave, while the ice-covered walls and rocks caused a feeling uncomfortable in you.

—I’m not good in the caverns, I always get lost…—Noctis muttered.

—Well, king… you’ll have to get lost later—Gladio said, watching as a pair of flans appeared in front of you.

—That’s why I hate dark places—Prompto sighed, taking distance to star shooting.

—_______, a spell—Ignis ordered, taking your shoulder.

—As you wish, Iggy—you replied, casting an ice spell over the fan, who began to slowly immobilize.

—Ah, easier than taking a bottle away from a baby—Gladio clicked his tongue, fanning his greatsword and breaking the figures of flans in front of them.

—I didn’t even sweat—Noctis said with a shrug.

—With this cold, I don’t think you will…—Ignis commented with a small smile on her face.

—We’re in an ice cave, with slippery shoes…—Prompto murmured.

               And as soon as Prompto recitef those words, the king of Insomnia slipped on a kind of ice slip, screaming for a while and the falling flat on his face.

—Damn!—Gladio said—Noct, answer!

—Guys, I need help down here!—Noctis shouted.

—Come on—Ignis gave the order, to which you and the other boys threw themselves down the hill, facing a place full of little Imps who were attacking the King.

—I’m sorry, we’re late—Prompto said, kneeling and shooting directly at a pair of Imps that now surrounded them.

—We didn’t think you were going to need us, majesty—Gladio said laughing, hitting three Imps with his greatsword and lifting them through the air.

—They’re like little elves…—you said, spinning with your javelin now in your hands and beating a couple of Imps.

—Only these are not good, or lucky—Ignis replied, taking the rod of your javelin, handing you one of his daggers with a quick movement—Use it, it will be easier.

               You ducked and giving a boost you could attack a couple of imps in your path, it was easier to use the daggers that the javelin. Certainly the spear was used to nail objects that didn’t move so much, you couldn’t do much damage with it to small daemons, which are more agile.

—And see you later, little one—Noctis said, sticking his sword against an imp who eventually vanished some time later.

—Well… Where are we going now?—You asked looking at the king of Insomnia, who started looking everywhere.

—…Just keep going down—Noctis sighed, seeing that his options were reduced to the descent of ice.

—Be careful, Noct—Prompto told his friend.

—Prompto is right, we don’t know what to expect below…—Ignis said, adjusting his glasses again.

—I have a question…—Prompto turned to see the boy with glassed.

—I grab them while we go down—the boy replied even before the gunman could ask.

—I understand, it makes sense—the blond boy nodded.

—There you go!—Noctis said, pushing Prompto with a punch on the back, which in to two second descended down the slide.

—That was childish, Noct—Ignis commented.

—He’ll be fine…—Noctis smiled confidently at his friend, until he heard a scream.

—A SPIDER!—Prompto shrieked a few feet below.

—Crap, let’s go…. We’re coming, Prompto!—you exclaimed, throwing yourself with your friend down the slope.

And so the minutes passed inside the cave, fighting against the different demons that appeared in the cave, sometimes the king of Insomnia went through places they had already walked, so Ignis decided to go to the front of the team, looking at the details. As new enemies progressed correctly, they appeared, so that was something positive and clear; they were on the right track.

—How long does it take to get there?—Prompto complained.

—Well, there’s a kind of open field there…—Noctis muttered, throwing a potion over his shoulder.

—I think I don’t feel the blows because of the cold…—Gladio said with a confident smile, walking behind the king of Insomnia.

—Noct, back off…—you whispered, feeling something approaching.

—Watch out…—Ignis muttered as everyone slowly stopped.

—There is the door!—Prompto exclaimed, stepping forward and the shadows formed on the floor.

—Prompto, I’ll hit you one day…—you sighed, bringing your hand to your face.

—Mindflayers and Imps… Well, it could be worse—Gladio shrugged.

—Sure, unless they appear more—Ignis fixed his glasses and his two daggers appeared in his hands—Do you need to borrow one of them?

—I’m fine, I can stick the spear to the octopus faces…—you answered, referring to the Mindflayers.

               Prompto rolled with somersaults, falling on his knee and thus being able to shoot the devils surrounding the group of guardians of the crown. Ignis attacked the little devils with daggers, freezing them and the electrocuting them. Noctis disappeared between flashes and gave critical blows to the Mindflayer to which you nailed and raised so that Gladio later struck them down with his greatsword causing more damage.

—Everything under control… —Ignis said confidently, crossing his arms.

               And as fast as the boy could blink, three more Mindflayer appeared.

—I didn’t expect that….—Noctis clicked his tongue and one of the Mindflayer surrounded him with his tentacles.

—Noct!—Ignis and Gladio shouted at the same time.

—Gyaaaah!—Prompto was also in the same situation at the time, trying to get away and just getting his feet moving.

—Aaaaaaah!—The third Mindflayer was busy with you, surrounded you with his tentacle blanket, trapping you inside where there were many suckers.

—Quick, Iggy!—Gladio ordered the boy in glasses, running on the Mindflayer who held the King of Insomnia in prison and attacking him with a direction blow of the tip of his Greatsword on his face.

—Ah, it was disgusting…—Noctis said falling flat on the floor, releasing a potion to rehabilitate.

—I have Prompto too!—Gladio exclaimed, getting a critical blow down on the back of the second demon with octopus limbs.

—I DON’T WANT TO ENTER THERE EVER AGAIN!—Prompto shrieked, rolling on the floor.

—ATTACK, IDIOT!—Gladio said punching his partner’s neck.

—Are you all right?—Ignis took your wrist, freeing you from the third Mindflayer by using  his daggers to cut his limbs.

—That was disgusting…—You murmured with a shiver in your body, you looked up at Ignis and watched as the boy received a dark spell from behind that led him to fall down on the ground—Iggy!

—Umh, ah… Where am I?—The boy dropped his glasses and you saw the glass shatter against the floor.

—I-Iggy…—You murmured, making a face.

—I can’t control my body well…—the boy said, he had been attacked with a black ball that caused confusion.

—Boys…! Watch out!—You yelled at the others, not leaving Ignis, looking in your pocket for some antidote to break the container on it.

—GAAAAH!—Prompto jumped to avoid the black ball that attacked Noctis.

—Damn it, what I needed…Confusion—the King of Insomnia walked in circles.

—AGH!—Gladio exclaimed, directly attacking one of the three Mindflayers, but this one to defend himself swam in the air and caught the big guy inside his veins and suckers.

—GLADDY!—Prompto exclaimed, the began firing repeatedly at the demon.

—________, I-I don’t see very well—Ignis said a little confused, taking your hand.

—I will bring it to you, you will only attack it when I say it… Understand?—You said taking your friend’s arm, which nodded.

—Be careful—Ignis said, feeling your physical presence move away.

—Hey! Majesty!—Prompto threw an antidote to Noctis.

—Thank you… Agh!—And as soon as the boy thanked him, he saw himself again being caught by a Mindflayers in his suckers.

—It’s almost tragicomic…—Gladio clicked his tongue, but a Mindflayer from behind attacked him leaving the big man confused—Guys, I don’t see very well.

—Prompto, save Noct!—You exclaimed, casting a spell of fire against the Mindflayer that had attacked Gladio, who writhed in the air.

—Tsk…They could disappear at a good time—the blond boy murmured, pointing at the head of the Mindflayers—Aaaaaaagh, it is useless!—the Mindflayers were right in front of Ignis.

—Prompto, you…!—You exclaimed suddenly, changing the direction of your heel, jumping now in the direction of where Ignis was—Iggy…!

—_______ Should I attack now?—Ignis asked, using fire in his daggers, managing to bury these in the body of the Mindflayer that writhed and began to face after having struggled a little.

—Iggy, watch out!—Prompto exclaimed when he saw one of the Mindflayer trap him inside his suckers.

—I’ve had enough…—You said falling in the middle of the two Mindflayer, nailing your javelin with certainty in the forehead of the second Mindflayer.

—Here…—Prompto murmured breaking the container of an antidote over Gladio.

—Ah, what happened?—Gladio asked, watching as the Mindflayer freed Noctis who fell unconscious to the ground—Noct…!

               The boy of big body was too dizzy to still stabilize, so his body fell face down again. Prompto rejoined quickly and went to his friend’s rescue, firing shots at the Mindflayer that still had Ignis trapped.

—Iggy, hold on..!—You exclaimed, using a fire spell on the javelin you had, eventually burning the Mindflayer the previously held Noctis prisoner.

               And with a great display you ended up using fire spells with both hands, when you pierced the octopus’ skull with fire you heard how his figure began to disappear. You noticed how the weight agility the rod of your weapon and in two second you stuck in the middle of the two eyes of the last Mindflayer.

—_________, you’re amazing —Prompto sighed, spending another potion on the king of Insomnia who was now breathing normally again.

—I swear, I… I hate being sucked!—Noctis exclaimed.

—HA! Don’t lie—Gladio said with a loud laugh.

—HAHAHAHA!—Prompto laughed.

               You breath between cut, your hair covering your eyes and Ignis’s body further, you had to move forward to check his situation. You crawled on the ice, scratching your knees with the cold surface and took the boy’s body in your arms, lifting the boy’s upper part and thus leaning it against you.

—Iggy…?—You called for the boy, sorting his hair to the side, those octopuses had left the boy hurt as to his level of magic.

—I’m sorry…I was totally useless—the boy murmured, opening his eyes and letting you see the glow of his green eyes,

—What do you say?—you shook your head when you asked that question—You killed one yourself.

—But I was a hindrance without glasses…—The boy brought one of his hands to his eyes, rubbing these—Oh, my hair is messy.

—…I like it that way—you confessed with a smile, noticing how the boy was blushing a little.

—Hey…! Do you remember what we came for?—Noctis asked with a mischievous smile on his face.

—At least, I deserve a thank you—You said in your defense, noticing how Gladio approached to help Ignis to stand up.

—Thank you very much, _________—the four boys said in unison.

—Well, let’s go to that grave…—You smiled, rejoining with your group of friends, expectant as Noctis took the key, placed it inside the lock carefully, the usual sound appeared and the door opened.

               After getting the Sword of the Wanderer, his way started up again, leaving the cave without worrying that some new enemy was going to attack. That was the benefit of killing all the enemies when you entered a cave, when you left you could walk quietly… The only one who still could not walk quietly was Ignis, who was clutching your hand all the way, so he won’t fall of stumble. The boy commented that when he arrived at Lestalleum, he would look for a pair of new glasses, but a certain part of you didn’t want the group cook not to retrieve his glasses, not for now.

—And we’re already outside…—Gladio said stretching his arms.

—It’s very cold…—Prompto shook, faking chills.

—The ice is still in your body, it will pass—Ignis muttered, taking your hand tightly.

—Sure, Iggy doesn’t feel cold because __________ takes his hand, who isn’t warm in that way—Prompto shrugged.

—The old gimmick of the glasses, Iggy!—Gladio said with a laugh at what Noctis and Prompto also laughed.

—Guys, stop it…—you murmured looking at Ignis who was now a little flushed.

—Calm down, leave them, they’re jealous…—the cook murmured, approaching to your face and leaving a kiss on your cheek—Thank you for saving me…

—How did you know my face was there?—You asked in a disbelieving tone.

—I don’t see so badly, in the light—the boy said, letting go of your hand.

               And at that moment the boy began to walk with the other in front of you, some insecurity appeared inside you when saw Ignis walking without glasses, but you saw the boys could accompany him, the others were next to him, nothing bad would happen.

               Ignis stopped in his walk, waiting for the boys to continue walking and turned to see you with a small smile on his face, you had to recognize that he looked quite attractive with his hair down.

—What’s up?—You asked, approaching the boy and taking place new to him.

—I think I could ‘have a blurred view’ for another time…—confessed the boy and took your hand, causing you to blush.

               And so they made way to the Regalia, to fill themselves with potions, food, a little restful sleep. Ah yes, also a good shower after having something viscous in his arms and hair, who knows god what it is.

[starogeorgina]

Broken bonds

Paring: Ser Harwin Strong/ OC

Warnings: Swearing, character death

1.07

You were surprised to find Alicent waiting for you just outside the dragon pit when you returned to the keep. She has a furious expression on her face. You were glad Harwin insisted on travelling back to the keep by boat instead of dragon back. “Queen Alicent,” you curtsied. You didn’t particularly like her, but you always gave her respect as Queen. “What is wrong?”

“What is wrong? You’ve been gone for months! The king has been beside himself with worry since you returned to Dragonstone.”

“Worrying my father is the last thing I wish to do, but It didn’t seem right to leave Dragonstone so soon after what happened, your Grace. Good men died while protecting our dragons; the least I could do is stand by them.”

Your father's council had declared Arthur Weststar a lone madman; neither you nor Daemon believed this, but with Otto whispering in the king's ear, it was hard to convince him otherwise. Since then, Otto had been fired from the hand of the king, and Lord Lyonel Strong had replaced him. You had remained on Dragonstone, only arriving back on the morning the celebrations for Rhaenyra’s wedding began.

Alicent’s eyes start to become glossy. “I understand wanting to remain loyal to those who protect you.”

You felt bad for her; Alicent was just a young girl, just as you were, forced her into marrying someone before she was ready. You sympathised with how lonely it can feel, and in a way, she’s now lost her father. You clasp your hand over hers and say, “I’m loyal to House Targaryen, and that includes you and my siblings.”

She gulps down and quietly says, “Thank you, princess; your kind words mean a great deal to me. But I must tell you there have been troubling tales surrounding why you returned to Dragonstone.”

Your face heats up. “Forgive me your grace, but I’m unaware of what you’re talking about.”

“Apparently you have been fucking Daemon.”

Disgust is the only word you can think of to describe how you feel after hearing those words. Ew. You loved your uncle very much, but not once had the thought of even kissing him crossed your mind. “I can assure you that is nothing more than a venomous lie. I admire and respect my uncle, but there is nothing further from the truth.”

“I believe you,” she says, clearing her throat. “Have you spoken much to Rhaenyra recently?”

“We have been exchanging ravens, mainly talking about our dragons or her wedding. I do believe Laenor Velaryon is an excellent match.”

Alicent remains quiet for a moment, and when she finally speaks, she asks, “When was the last time you spoke to Daemon?”

“He left Dragonstrone a couple of weeks ago.”

“Did he tell you where he was going?” Alicent’s knuckles were turning white from gripping the fabric on her sleeves so tightly.

“No,” you confirm. “My uncle just told me he was leaving; that is all.”

“Very well, I think it’s best we start to prepare for the celebrations.”

You bow your head. Alicent turns on her heels and leaves, with two knights close behind her. Something about the conversation that just transpired didn’t sit right; although she was asking about you and Daemon, you had a feeling it was more about your sister.

—

“Sister!” Rhaenyra says excitedly as you enter her quarters.

Skilled handmaidens delicately place small sparkling rubies in her hair, which was braided in an elaborate up-do. It blended beautifully with her white gown with gold embellishments. If this was her outfit for the welcome feast, you could only imagine how magical she’ll look on her actual wedding day.

“You look beautiful.”

Her face lights up. “Thank you. I know you have a selection of gowns, but I had the seamstress make one for you especially.”

One of her handmaidens brings forward a black gown made of silk with a vibrant red cloak that has dragons sown into it. The gown has a v-neck with long sleeves that have gold embroidery at the cuffs.

You reach out and your fingers glide along the smooth fabric, tears springing to your eyes when you let go. “It’s stunning, thank you.”

Seeing your eyes start to well up, your sister orders everyone else to leave the room. “Vaella, what is wrong?”

“I just wish our mother was here; she’d be so proud of you.”

“Don’t,” Rhaenyra begins to fan at her face, “you’ll make me cry, and this is supposed to be a happy day. So let’s change the subject while you get dressed.”

“I’ll ask the handmaidens to come back.”

“I will help you get dressed so that it’s just us two, and we can catch up.”

By the time your gown was on and fitted properly, Rhaenyra had filled you in on Daemon leaving her at a brothel, her sleeping with Ser Criston Cole, and the arrangement made between her and Ser Laenor. Truth be told, you were jealous that she was married to someone so understanding; even if she and Laenor didn’t love each other in a romantic sense, you had a strong feeling they would still have an incredible friendship.

“What about you, sister? Was there any other reason why you remained in Dragonstone for six weeks, aside from avoiding Thomas, of course?”

You chewed on your bottom lip. You weren’t sure how Rhaenyra would take your confession; she might think you were being foolish. “I stayed because I wanted to be happy; of course I missed you and my father, but being on the island I felt at peace, and I was even happier because I had Harwin by my side.”

She raises her brows. “Your sworn protector, Ser Harwin Strong?”

You nod.

“I guess we both have a thing for fine knights.”

You look up at your sister and smile as she stands behind you and begins brushing your hair. “I love him, Rhaenyra, in a way that I’ve never loved anyone before.”

“Does he feel the same way?”

“I think so; we haven’t said the actual words to each other because once we do, everything changes.”

She kisses the crown of your head and says, “Then I believe you made the right choice by staying in Dragonstone.”

—

It amazed you how many houses had turned up just for the feast before the official wedding celebrations began. You are seated between Lord Lyonel Strong and your uncle Daemon, who had turned up fashionably late. You were desperate to know what plans he had set in motion for Ely's house, but now wasn’t the time to ask.

Anger simmered beneath the surface of your skin. Queen Alicent had made a mockery of your house by arriving late and wearing a gown the same shade of green as the Hightowers beacon that glows when Oldtown calls its banners to war. It was an insult to the Targaryen name.

From your chair, you look over at Ser Harwin. It was hard for you to stay away from him, but it was best not to be seen as inseparable while at court. But as the night progresses, you can't take your eyes off him. He may be sitting beside his brother not far from you, but you can't shake the gnawing in your gut that if you look away for one second, he'll evaporate into thin air.

You had a sense something bad was going to happen for a while, but your dreams were vague and hard to piece together.

Beside you, Daemon arches his back, and his spine cracks. “Care to dance, niece?”

You accept his hand and follow his lead to the dance floor. You notice his gaze is on Lady Laena as he twirls you around. “She’s pretty.”

“So is her brother.”

The next song that plays is one that requires you to change partners. You dance with a few different lords, and just as the song ends, Harwin takes your hand in his. He holds onto it tightly while placing his other hand on your lower back as slower-paced music begins to fill the room.

“I trust your journey back was well.”

You fall into his voice as he tells you of his travels back to the keep. Harwin once told you he was terrified of drowning, which is why he usually avoided open water unless absolutely necessary. His laugh pulls you from your fixated trance. “It seems fairly safe compared to travelling on dragon back.”

“Don’t tell me you’re scared of Varos.”

He pulls you in closer and quietly says, “No, but my feelings for his rider do.”

Deep down, you knew this thing between you would never last when you returned to the keep, not unless something changed. You didn't want to confess your true feelings to him just yet; you wanted to at least wait until the wedding celebrations were over before you could figure out how to make it work.

You nearly jump out of your skin when you feel a hand come down on your shoulder. “Might I cut in?”

You grimace upon seeing Thomas standing beside you. You had managed to avoid him so far. You fight the urge to smirk, thinking how pissed he must be that Rhaenyra requested he not dine at the top table with the rest of your family.

Not being able to refuse him, Harwin nods and says, “Lord Thomas, princess.”

You feel as if bugs are crawling beneath your skin when you take Thomas’s hand in yours to dance. His tone is biting as he says, “I know what he means to you, Vaella, but you are my wife, not his.”

“Ah yes, your wife, who will one day be a pawn in your game and produce a male heir just for you to try and usurp her sister with.”

Thomas seems unfazed that you knew about his plan. He says nothing and tilts his head back to where Ser Joffrey Lonmouth and Ser Criston Cole are talking. “I’ve just had a conversation with Joffrey; it appears he had a lot of information about your sister and her sworn protector.” Thomas grips your face tightly; he forces a smile so onlookers would think it was just a tender moment between man and wife. His voice is dark and threatening. “I guess being a whore runs in the family.”

“Better to be a whore than a Lannister.”

He smirks, “It’s such a shame what happened to Ser Harwin; not to worry though, I’ll do better next time.”

“Next time?”

“Next time, I’ll hire someone better than a fucking Weststar to carry out a simple task.”

You spit in his face, “Traitors cunt.”

Before Thomas can reply, a sharp scream pierces the room, and all hell breaks loose. He lets go of you to see what is going on; you see a flash of short silver hair. At the same time, a knight of the king's guard grabs hold of you and escorts you to the table where your father is standing up, watching as chaos erupts in the centre of the great hall as the lord and ladies, who were dancing moments prior, push and shove each other, many of them falling to the ground.

Your eyes scan the hall, looking for any sign of Rhaenyra. She had disappeared into the crowd of frightened people. “Where’s my sister?” You ask one of the knights, “Rhaenyra! Rhaenyra!”

A horrified shriek fills the room, but it’s from the opposite direction of where the main gathering is. Your father gripped your shoulder tightly; he was afraid. He looks to the knights standing behind the table and says, “Go find my daughter!”

“There! The princess is over there!” Alicent says, pointing at Rhaenyra, that she was backing away from something. When she lets out a loud scream, you push your way through the crowd to get to her, ignoring the calls for you to come back.

Just as you’re about to reach her, an arm reaches around your waist, holding you back. Harwin pulls you back. “Trust me, princess, you don’t want to see what’s down there.”

“What’s happened?”

“Ser Joffrey Lonmouth is dead,” he says, clearing his throat. “So is Thomas Lannister; he’s been killed.”

“Killed? How?”

“He was stabbed multiple times.”

You step back from Harwin to look at Rhaenyra and see your uncle comforting her. You and Daemon lock eyes, and the small nod he gives you is confirmation that he’s the one who killed Thomas.

A sickening knot twisted in your gut.

You turn to the side and vomit after experiencing a sudden pain in your stomach and wave of nausea. You hated Thomas, but the reality of what you had set in motion sank in. Rhaenyra rushes to your side, rubbing your back with one hand and holding your hair back with another. When you look up, Daemon is gone.

It was just another secret for you to keep.

—

The chill of the night's air bites at your exposed hands as you sit beneath the godswood, looking up at the sky and tracing the stars with your eyes. After the chaos during the feast, your father thought it was best for Rhaenyra and Laenor to marry as soon as possible, which they did in a small ceremony with just family present.

“Princess, I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I was worried when you hadn’t returned to your chamber.” Harwin says as he marches towards you that when you don’t reply, he kneels at your level, reaching for your hand. “Vaella, at some point we need to talk about what has been going on. I know a lot has happened tonight, but I want you to know that I love you, and I’ll remain by your side no matter what happens next.”

You sigh, “I love you too.”

“Then why can’t you look me in the eye?”

“I need to see a maester.” Looking back, you should have realised that things had changed much sooner than now. You lower your head to look at Harwin as tears roll down your cheeks. “I think I’m pregnant.”

[thedarkrose17]

Chapters: 10/? Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum, Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia Characters: Prompto Argentum, Noctis Lucis Caelum, Gladiolus Amicitia, Ignis Scientia Additional Tags: Mutual Pining, Eventual Relationships, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Bisexual Prompto Argentum, Gay Noctis Lucis Caelum, Asexual Noctis Lucis Caelum

New chapter~ as usual either read on the link or under the cut

Everything seemed ok when they'd been returning late at night from a hunt, until an Iron Giant formed.

Prompto summons his gun and fires. Looking at the daemon like he's seen a ghost. His fingers tremble on his gun and upon closer inspection, Noctis can see his boyfriend is tearing up.

Noctis decides at that point to grab him and warp to safety. Clearly something's not right. He's never reacted like this before.

Prompto vomits inches away from Noctis' boots after the warp which Noctis quickly avoids. His boyfriend throwing up due to warping isn't a concern. He's experienced nausea due to warping in the past. Hell Noctis threw up on himself and Gladio's shoes the first time he tried warping.

Noctis rubs his back as Gladio and Ignis head over. They look concerned, Gladio mouthing "Is he sick?" to which Noctis mouths back "No. Warp sickness." to which Gladio grimaces and Ignis looks a little sorry for Prompto.

Noctis then turns his attention back to his boyfriend, muttering to him just loud enough for Ignis and Gladio to hear.

"We're gonna fix these nightmares. Together. I swear."

* * *

A couple of days after, Noctis gets sick.

It's food poisoning and honestly it's a miracle how none of the others got it. Ignis can't pinpoint which diner caused this or what meal. They'd been to a few.

Noctis has a temperature and shivers whenever he's in the bedroom despite being bundled up in blankets with a cool washcloth on his head. He almost looks younger than he is like this.

When he's not deciding to live in the bathroom for a few hours or napping in the bed, the prince mutters about cramps and everything aching which Ignis keeps explaining that everything aches due to said prince being generally unwell.

He's paler than usual but slowly improving over the coming days. Still for some reason Prompto uncharacteristically doesn't handle it well. Normally he'd feel bad for Noctis yes but he's never shut down.

Gladio practically having to carry the blonde away from Noctis just so he won't get sick. Prompto honestly doesn't even put up a fight, doesn't even speak. It's easily wrote on his face how stressed out he is. He's normally good at masking these things but the blonde just looks extremely stressed and exhausted.

He finally speaks when they head into the bathroom.

"...Where's my baby?"

"With Cor...I don't think you should see him like this." Gladio says, earning a confused look from Prompto. "You look five seconds from a panic attack."

Prompto chuckles, (It sounds forced in Gladio's opinion) before resting a hand against his face and sighing.

"...I'm a mess." he confesses, making Gladio sigh.

"Somethin's not right." he replies and Prompto hums in agreement.

"I know...I'm sorry."

"Ain't got nothing to apologise for." Gladio says, raising a brow. "It's not your fault."

Prompto sighs and runs his fingers through his hair before resting his head in his hands.

"I feel like I'm going crazy…" he mutters quietly.

"If it's any comfort, you wouldn't know if you went crazy." Gladio replies.

"Ah...Great…Real comforting."

"I'm serious." Gladio replies. "You're sane."

Prompto shifts positions and hugs his knees, going quiet for a few moments as he blankly stares off.

"You ever had a nightmare that feels real...So real it feels like deja vu?" he mutters so quietly Gladio has to strain to hear him.

"...No why?"

"I...I keep having the same nightmare...It's too often to be a coincidence now...Either I'm going nuts or anxiety is fucking with me...Or I don't know." he glances over at Gladio, looking stressed.

Gladio looks back at him. He's dealt with his little sister having nightmares in the past but nothing to the point where she was like Prompto has been over the past few weeks

Prompto sighs and carefully pushes himself up off the bathroom floor. He goes to turn on the sink to splash water on his face but Gladio stops him, grabbing his wrist.

"Wanna talk about it more?" he asks and Prompto shakes his head.

"...Maybe later...I'm gonna go hang out with dad and my little sunbeam."

"Ok. Make sure you take a nap too. You look exhausted."

Gladio manages to make him smile with that so he'll call that a little victory for now. A bigger victory would be Noctis getting better quicker and him bringing back Prompto's smile.

"Starting to sound like Ignis." Prompto replies.

Gladio snorts and ruffles his hair. "Nah he's too soft on you two. I'm more the dad friend."

"Honestly I'd say big brother friend. Kind of a dick at times but willing to fist fight anyone who hurt us on the nearest parking lot."

Gladio laughs and jabs him softly in the arm.

"Little shit." he mutters fondly. He won't deny it though.

* * * Prompto naps in Cor's room next door, Cor sighs and switches to holding Solis with one arm before running a hand through Prompto's hair.

Part of him wishes he could somehow fight whatever is happening in his son's head just so he didn't have to see him so exhausted and stressed.

Solis makes grabby hands for his dad so Cor decides to move the baby closer to Prompto. Said baby then proceeds to pat Prompto's hair almost like he's trying to comfort him but honestly it's probably due to the fact he's happy to see Prompto like always.

He squeals and Cor quietly hushes him hoping not to wake up Prompto. He hopes that maybe he's too exhausted to even dream just so that nightmares won't plague him.

* * * Prompto's been staying in his dad's room with the baby for a couple of days, just so he can try and sleep better and so Solis doesn't get sick from Noctis.

He'll text Gladio soon to ask if Noctis is feeling any better. Hopefully he's not annoyed by the fact Prompto's been avoiding explaining his nightmare.

Prompto lies on the floor with Solis, planting kisses on Solis' face much to the baby's delight.

Solis squeals happily at every kiss until Prompto's phone kweh's loudly, startling him. He whines and the blonde carefully picks him up, rubbing his back as he grabs his phone.

"It's ok buddy." he mutters to the baby over and over as he unlocks his phone. He beams when the notification says Noctis' contact name: 'Prince of garbage'

"Daddy's texting." he tells Solis as he opens the text.

'Miss you. Both of you.'

Prompto smiles tiredly and repositions Solis in his arms before deciding to video chat Noctis. It'll be easier to speak like this.

"Heyas." he says, before glancing at Solis who's staring at Noctis on the phone screen. The baby shrieks and flails excitedly which makes Prompto laugh. "Yeah it's daddy!" he coos to him making Noctis smile.

"Missed you too Sol." Noctis says, warm smile on his face. He looks healthier thankfully.

"You feeling ok today?" Prompto asks, trying to stop Solis from touching the screen. "Don't touch that pumpkin, it'll end the call."

Solis pats the screen and Noctis witnesses the view change from their faces to his boyfriend's pants and back to his boys faces.

Prompto blushes a little and smiles a little embarrassed. Noctis thinks it's endearing if he's being honest.

"Sorry, Solis knocked the phone out of my hand." the blonde says, glancing down at the baby in his other arm, said baby coos and goes to touch the screen again.

"What? You don't want to talk to your old man?" Noctis ask, smile on his face.

"Dude don't call yourself old. We're only 20." Prompto mutters. "Besides Sol's missed his daddy, he just wants to pat your face. Ain't that right buddy?"

Solis squeals causing Prompto to smile and Noctis to laugh before the duo slip into a comfortable silence for a few seconds.

"I'm feeling good." Noctis speaks up. Finally answering Prompto's question. "Not sick anymore."

Prompto cheers, planting a kiss on Solis' head the moment the baby whines about the cheering. Solis rewards him with a gentle heel to the rib which Prompto gasps at.

"Did you kick me?" he asks the infant who drools and sticks his own fist in his mouth.

Noctis watches them fondly before speaking up again.

"You feeling ok?"

"...Still having nightmares." the blonde admits which makes Noctis deflate. "B-But I'm ok! I've been sleeping through them."

"...You want to try Carbuncle again?"

"I'd feel bad taking him from the baby." Prompto admits. "I-I can handle it."

Noctis doesn't sound too sure. He's tempted to visit Prompto's dreams with Carbuncle to try and combat this.

"Sooo...How's things?" Prompto asks, changing the subject. He doesn't want to drag the mood down.

"...I've been wearing the same thing for a week." Noctis admits, looking embarrassed.

"Gross." Prompto whines.

Noctis huffs. "I've been too bad to deal with it until now."

Prompto grimaces and sighs. "I'd hug you but-"

"Honestly wouldn't recommend it yet. Wait until after I've changed and showered."

Prompto hugs the phone to his chest, he hears Noctis' confusion muffled against him and it's only when he pulls the phone back into view does he see an utterly adorable confused Noctis.

"I mean I can't hug you yet so I'll hug video chat you."

Noctis snorts and smiles at him.

"Astrals you're such a dork."

"Hey!" Prompto laughs only to wince moments later.

"You ok?" Noctis asks, concern in his voice.

"Yeah just...Stomach hurts." Prompto replies.

"Take your medicine then." Noctis says, still concerned.

"I did...It's not working." Prompto admits, looking flustered.

Noctis feels bad for him. "Come back to the room. Lie down next to me."

Prompto looks horrified at the suggestion.

"I'll shower and change." he adds.

"You sure it's ok?" Prompto asks.

"We're dating, it's fine. Do you want anything else?"

"Just for the medicine to kick in." the blonde replies.

"Give it time." Noctis replies.

Prompto whines and mutters something Noctis barely understands.

"...Stomach."

"Mmh?"

"I just need to rub my stomach...Maybe it'll help until the meds work." the blonde admits.

"I'll do it if you want." Noctis replies noticing the blonde turn scarlet.

"I-I...If you're sure it's ok."

"I want my boyfriend to be comfortable. It's fine Prom." Noctis smiles at him and smiles more when Prompto bites his lip to try and stop a massive grin spreading across his face.

"I like hearing you call me your boyfriend." he admits before burying his head against Solis.

Solis stares at Noctis and makes grabby hands at the phone,wanting to be picked up by him.

He coos and makes little noises at the phone before patting Prompto's freckled arm.

"Hey." he mutters to the baby who squeals before flailing against Prompto. He laughs a little before speaking up again. "You should probably head over before he gets more excited."

Prompto plants a kiss on Solis' head and agrees, wishing Noctis a quick goodbye before ending the video chat.

Cor looks over at his son, raising a brow.

"When did you start dating?"

Prompto laughs nervously.

"A week ago." he admits with a blush. "Please don't do the protective dad talk."

"Don't need to." Cor replies causing Prompto sigh in relief. "I doubt he'll hurt you. If he does then he'll regret it immediately."

Prompto squeaks and Solis stares at him looking surprised his papa made such a noise.

"Don't commit regicide please."

* * * Prompto heads to the hotel room next door, baby in tow.

He tries to reposition Solis in his hold while said baby pats the door, giggling to himself.

"You're too cute for your own good." he mutters to his son, who shrieks and slaps his little hands harder on the door. "Don't do that, you'll hurt your hands sunbeam."

Solis startles seconds later as Gladio opens the door.

"Were you hitting the door kid?" he asks fondly.

"He really wants to get in. You missed Gladdy?" Prompto glances at the baby, who flails excitedly moments later with a happy shriek.

Gladio for once lets the nickname slide for Prompto and laughs. Usually only Iris is allowed to call him such but seeing Solis so excited is worth it.

He steps aside to let them in, Solis squealing at the sight of Ignis which brings a chuckle out of the man.

"He's excited to be back it seems." Ignis comments.

"He was slapping the door to get in Iggy, kid's more than excited." Gladio replies making Ignis smile.

Prompto groans a little and heads over to his and Noctis' bed, relieved at the fact that the sheets are fresh and cool when he carefully lies down with the baby.

Both older men look over in concern.

"Everything alright?" Ignis asks.

"Stomach." Prompto replies, the two understanding immediately.

"Did you-"

"Yeah, not kicked in yet."

"Good luck." Gladio says with a wince.

Solis pats Prompto's chest which is a welcomed distraction so he leaves his baby to his own devices, occasionally rubbing his back as he does.

* * * He almost drifts off at some point but is startled into alertness when Solis shrieks excitedly. Opening an eye reveals Noctis, carefully lying next to him in some pjs.

"Where you asleep?" Noctis asks with a wince, gently running a hand through Solis' fluffy blonde baby hair.

"Almost...I think?" Prompto carefully scoots closer to him with the baby. Said baby proceeds to pat Noctis' face and squeal at him, he can't blame Solis for missing Noctis, he has too.

Noctis carefully takes the baby from Prompto,resting his chin against Solis' head gently.

"Don't sniff the soybean." Prompto mutters with a smile.

Noctis looks scandalized hearing their son being called soybean. He figured there wouldn't be anymore bean related names for their little ray of sunshine.

"I'm not." he replies with a pout. He is. "What's he-"

"Fruit. It's his shampoo." Prompto interrupts, soft sleepy smile on his face.

Noctis repositions Solis in his arms,bringing the baby boy close to his face. Solis takes this as a chance to grab some of his father's dark locks.

"Don't eat it." Noctis mutters as he stops the baby from putting his hair in his mouth. Noctis receives a whine in response which prompts him to kiss the infant's cheek.

Prompto smiles at the duo before they fall into a comfortable silence.

* * * Prompto drifts off fairly soon after, Noctis' free arm draped around his stomach, warm on his skin.

Noctis glances over before deciding to join him. He needs to talk to Carbuncle to see if maybe the creature can get him into Prompto's dreams.

He wants to fix this, help his boyfriend out and if he can't do that in reality, then maybe it's time to take the battle into the dream world.

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book One: Death (Noctis x Reader) Chapter Ten

Smelling the rot of a familiar monster, (Y/n) followed the scent without care. She jumped from her cover and ran in the direction the odor was strongest. "Hey, (Y/n)!" Noctis shouted from behind the crates before running after her.

"H-Hey, Noct! (Y/n)!" Prompto bellowed. The three remaining boys dashed after the two just as they reached a door and tried to open it. Luckily, the searchlights hadn't spotted them as they used the shadows to their advantage. 

Noctis and (Y/n) were able to open the door with brute force. On the other side was a staircase that led downwards. Death stood at the top of the steps, looking down to the dimly-lit basement below. Taking the first step down, the Horseman slowly descended the stairs with the prince close behind. Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis arrived just as the two made it to the bottom of the stairs. "Wait up, guys!" Prompto wailed as he rushed down the stairs alongside his other two friends.

Once at the bottom, the three found Noctis and (Y/n) staring through a window. On the other side of the glass was a large, sturdy cage. Inside the steel prison was the source of the putrid smell. "A Wendigo..." Death murmured. "They caught one."

"Why the hell would they want to catch one of these things?" Noctis asked, glaring at the monster that was trying to escape its prison.

Ignis spotted a pile of papers on a nearby desk and he sorted through them. On the bottom sat a page with a picture of the Wendigo and what they plan to do with the other worldly creature. "The empire plots to manipulate the monster and place it under their command."

"There's no way the empire could achieve such a feat. Monsters from the Inner Sanctum cannot be controlled. If they could, the Daemon King would've not needed the Four Horsemen and the seal would still be intact," (Y/n) exasperated, crossing her arms while grimacing at the trapped Wendigo. She wandered over to the glass separating them from the monster and summoned her scythe. Before Death proceeded with her obligation, she faced the boys. "You four continue to search for the Regalia. I'll deal with the Wendigo."

"Understood," Ignis nodded.

"Regroup with us once you're done," Noctis added.

(Y/n) nodded and proceeded to smash the window with her blade. Glass shards cascaded to the ground as the boys left the basement in search of the car. Vaulting through the opening she made, the Horseman landed in the adjacent room and her nostrils were assaulted by the horrid odor. She winced slightly at the sudden attack to her nose as she slowly approached the monster. The Wendigo spotted her and its red eyes flashed with bloodlust. It used its thin, lanky arms to reach through the bars and attack, but (Y/n) was too far for it to reach her. She sighed at the disgusting sight, circling the imprisoned creature as it desperately tried to reach her.

"I swear-you putrid things get more disgusting the more I look at you," she groaned. Raising her scythe, she swung it down in a brisk motion and chopped off the Wendigo's arms. It cried out as blood spurted from the missing appendages, but it was unhindered by the pain of the fresh wounds. Now with its arms no longer an obstacle, (Y/n) walked up to the bars while dragging her scythe across the cement floor. The monster lashed out, trying to stick its muzzle through the bars and bite into her flesh. Blood dripped from its mouth as it growled and howled at Death.

Despised at the pathetic sight, the Horseman raised her blade and brought it down on the Wendigo's muzzle. Alas, it wasn't the monster's entire head and wouldn't kill it. Close as she could get to the cage without touching the creature herself, (Y/n) placed her scythe on the back of its neck through the bars. "When you're dead, there'll only be two left. Then, I'll be granted access back to the Inner Sanctum." Slowly, she pushed the sharp, bloodied blade into its neck. Even though the Wendigo was missing part of its face, it still tried to bite her.

As the blade sunk deeper and deeper into the rotten flesh, the creature gradually was silenced. Then, its head tumbles off as she yanks the scythe out of the Wendigo's flesh. She quickly moved away from the cage to avoid being drenched in blood and dispelled her scythe. "Better catch up with the others." The moment she dashed out the basement, the monster's body vanished with only a pool of blood left behind.

Back outside, (Y/n) felt a strange energy as she looked up to the sky. Her eyes widened at the sight of seeing Ramuh above, clutching something or someone in his hand. She wondered why the god was here and could only think the others had encountered trouble while she dealt with the Wendigo. Remembering what they had told her before she left to hunt down the Wendigo near Whiz's, she figured Noctis had summoned the god.

Before Death could react, the Fulgurian smote all those who opposed with his lightning. (Y/n) felt the static of the attack as the wave of electricity washed over the entire fort. The searchlights shattered and the men operating them were killed in a heartbeat. By the intensity of the blast, she knew the undead army was also slain by the attack. After releasing what he had in his grasp, Ramuh vanished.

(Y/n) ran in the direction the god had concentrated his attack, hoping to find the others. When she arrived, no one was in sight-not even a single imperial. The Horseman decided to search for the car and hoped she would find it along with the boys. She ran up a set of stairs that led to the ramparts of the stronghold. With a better view, she could spot the rising sun in the distance and couldn't believe how much time had passed since they infiltrated the fort.

On the ramparts of Aracheole Stronghold, (Y/n) scanned the area and spotted the familiar back car and her companions. Running, she wished Noctis would use the summoning orb, but when she saw a person she didn't recognize approaching them, she's glad he didn't.

Death watched as the stranger sauntered over to the boys with a blade resting at his side. She ran as fast as she could, hoping she could intervene before anyone got hurt. Her (e/c) eyes narrowed when the man raised his sword and pointed it at Noctis' throat. Then, Gladio moves to get between them. The platinum blonde-haired stranger repositions his blade with its edge now along the shield's throat. Ignis starts to move toward the man, but he stopped the advisor by raising his left hand. (Y/n) could see his mouth moving, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. "This does not look good..."

The girl was closing in and was only a few yards away when the blonde assailant grabbed Noctis by throat and shoved him backwards. Gladio intervened and stood in front of the prince. The man slowly raises his sword above his head, then brings it down fiercely. The shield briefly blocks it with his own sword before the adversary parries the weapon away and slams the pommel of his sword into Gladio's chest, sending him flying into the side of the Regalia. Prompto runs to check on Gladio while Noctis gets between the two.

(Y/n) jumped from the ramparts, landing directly in between Noctis and the man. She offered a seemingly innocent smile as the stranger was shocked at her sudden appearance. "Is there a problem?"

The man only responded by raising his blade and swinging it down to strike (Y/n). Noctis was about to come to her aid, but he stopped when he saw the girl grab the blade in her hand. The adversary's heterochromia eyes widened at the sight of Death's tight grip on the sharp blade. Blood dripped between her fingers and down her arm as she lowered the blade with a grimace. "How rude. I asked a simple question and you answer with force."

The blade then disintegrated, the ashes falling to the ground. The stranger couldn't believe the sight as he stared at the pile of ash by his feet. "You..." He muttered. (Y/n) opened her hand and everyone watched as her torn flesh mended. Not even a scar was left from the blade.

Before the man could snap, Ardyn suddenly appears out of nowhere and saunters over with an eerie smile. "I'd say that's far enough. A hand, Highness?" The chancellor eyed Noctis closely, awaiting his reply.

"Not from you," Noctis hissed from behind (Y/n).

"Oh, but I'm here to help."

"And how is that?" Ignis inquired as he and Prompto helped Gladio to his feet.

"By taking the army away," Ardyn nonchalantly responds.

"You expect us to believe that?" The shield growled.

"When next we meet, it'll be across the seas. Just so happens we have business of our own with the tutelary deity. Don't we?" The chancellor continues to smile as he waved goodbye. "Fare thee well, Your Majesty, and safe travels."

As the two men walked away, the one with blonde hair glanced at (Y/n) once more before disappearing out of sight. She sneered at him before facing the others. Prompto's eyes were still glued in the direction the men disappeared. "You guys know that guy?"

"Ravus Nox Fleuret, first son of Tenebrae... and elder brother to Lady Lunafreya," Ignis answered.

"Let's get the hell outta here," Noctis scowled.

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

Arriving back in Lestallum with the Regalia back in their grasp, the boys and (Y/n) headed to the Leville. Inside, they learned of what happened in their absence from Gladio's younger sister, Iris. A little boy was crying beside her and the Horseman couldn't stand the sight. Remembering his name was Talcott, she walked over to him. She kneeled in front of him and placed a hand on his head, patting it gently. No words escaped from her lips as the little boy lowered his hands from his eyes and met (Y/n)'s comforting gaze. Talcott didn't care who she was and jumped into her arms, crying his eyes out. The girl knew he needed the comfort and wrapped her arms around his body, rested her head atop his. "I'm sorry about your grandfather."

Talcott continued to cry as (Y/n) picked up the boy in her arms. He clung to her for dear life as he cried into her shoulder. Iris told her where his room was and went up the stairs. When she disappeared, the young Amicitia questioned Noctis. "Who is she, Noct? I don't remember seeing her when you first came to Lestallum."

The prince glanced at Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis. "Should we tell her?"

"I don't see any reason why not to. Hell, she might not believe us, anyway," the older Amicitia responded.

Deciding to tell Iris who (Y/n) was, Noctis told her the truth and every little detail that would help her believe the girl truly was one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. By the look on Iris' face, Noctis knew she believed every word. Having to sit down to keep herself from fainting, she placed her head in her hands. When she realized Talcott was alone with Death, she shot up out of her seat. "Talcott!"

"Whoa, calm down," Gladio said, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. "He's in good hands."

"Yeah. (Y/n) would never hurt him," Noctis added.

"That's a relief," Iris sighed. She looked up and saw the exhaustion on their faces. "Guess I better let you guys rest. I'm gonna head to the market and buy a few things."

"See you later, Iris," Prompto said as she left the hotel.

"I'll secure us a room," Ignis stated, walking to the front desk.

"Does this mean we get the whole day off?" The sharpshooter asked excitedly.

"You know it," Noctis replied.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Fic: Nocturne (16/30) - Ao3 Link

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Pairings: Mostly Gen (variety later to come)

Summary: In which Cor Leonis loses his temper, accidentally acquires a kid, and tries to single-handedly dismantle the Lucian immigration system – and that’s before he and his lawyers find out about this Prophecy business. If the Astrals think Cor’s going to let his kid’s best friend die without a fight, they’ve gotten the wrong cheetah ‘taur.

(a young adult novel set in @kickingshoes’ ‘taur AU)

—————————————————————————————— ——————————————————————————————

Cyrella's driving with the kids today, Luna in the front seat and Noctis and Ignis in the back since neither Gladio nor Prompto were feeling well enough to make the trip. Personally, Cyrella's glad for it: fewer kids means fewer targets to keep watch over, in her mind.

Poor little Ignis, though - he's an old ‘taur in a child's body, that one, and he's been distressed ever since the doctors decided against letting the other two kids come.

Maybe it's just that Gladio's not coming.

Cyrella might not be the romantic that her husband is, or that her son is turning into, but she's not blind to the adorable elementary school crush her son has on Ignis Scientia, or the rather bemusedly oblivious-to-his-own-feelings one that Ignis has back on Gladio.

She hopes that baby Iris will take more after her own no-nonsense sort of approach to romance. Look at her and Clarus, after all: they met in a bar fight, she put him in his place and convinced him to swap to her side of the fight, and then she observed both that their fighting styles were fantastically compatible and that he possessed a very attractive set of shoulders and an equally stunning set of hindquarters, and, with that settled, she decided she'd marry him one day.

Oh, sure, he insisted on mailing her cactus flowers and roses for months with notes about how the combination of prickly spines and beautiful petals reminded him of her, which she found very charming, yes, but the decision was entirely practical.

At least Gladio and Ignis are a little less tooth-rottingly sweet than little Noctis and Prompto, who hold hands everywhere and proclaim at a moment's notice that they're going to get married themselves. Aulea is already entertaining herself by planning the ceremony.

Of course, the second Cyrella gets the children all seated, the stupid car starts making a disturbing clicking noise the second she turns it on.

Annoying, yes, but it doesn't seem to be impeding the engine from turning on, and that's most of what Cyrella cares about.

She starts backing out of the garage, but doesn't get more than a few seconds of driving in before she's interrupted.

"Oh! Hold up! Stop the car!" Luna exclaims. "Turn it off again; I know what's wrong!"

And up and back out of the car she goes, popping open the trunk and fiddling around in there for a moment before she ducks under the car entirely.

"Something you learned from Cindy?" Cyrella asks dryly, resigning herself to an existence surrounded by adorable childhood romances and at least one lesbian love triangle.

At least her life isn't boring.

"Yes," Luna says, emerging from underneath the car. She's a bit greasy now, but luckily she's wearing one of Scientia's old college jumpers over her pretty frock and the stains are not drastic enough for Cyrella to feel like she needs to make her go change. A bit of grease and dirt is good for someone of Luna's age, anyway.

Cyrella does note that Luna keeps exchanging meaningful glances with Ignis instead of blushing and spluttering the way she usually does whenever Cindy is brought up. "I've fixed it as best as I can for now," she says. "The way the engine was going originally, with that sound, the car would've broken down halfway to Hammerhead. As it is, we should make it to Hammerhead, no problem, but after that I'm not sure..."

"I'm sure we can swap out cars there," Cyrella says dismissively. Cid always keeps a few extra cars in the back; she'll take one of those. Cid will agree. Cid usually agrees when she asks him for things, even if he usually mutters something about marrying giants and swords longer than he is tall. Whatever; it's not her fault that he's short. "Say, have you heard from that Galahdian girl, Crowe, recently?"

Ah, there's the spluttering she expected.

Cyrella finally gets the car out of the garage and drives happily onwards, smiling as Ignis and Noctis take up the banner of teasing, and thinks to herself that just maybe, her husband has a point with how amusing these childhood romances are.

Libertus kind of wishes Nyx and Hemera were here.

Don't get him wrong – he's glad to get a chance to do some work outside the shadow of the Hero Twins! He loves them like his own blood, he does, as much as he loves that Crowe kid he's all but adopted and been adopted in turn by her parents, but damn if it don't sometimes get old with them all but cartwheeling into combat and coming out smelling like roses having saved another half-dozen lives or whatnot. Not to mention all the crazy shit they lead him into if he's not watching himself carefully – all good, useful missions in the end, but also generally crazier than coeurl gone cuckoo, by and large.

So he's not necessarily upset about getting a mission of his own, y'know?

It's just – maybe not this mission.

There's the kids, for one thing – Prince Noctis, who's going to save the world, and little Iggy, who saved Libertus' own furry hindquarters and can't stop calling him Li-bear-tus no matter how serious the situation and who's ten times smarter than Libertus is ever gonna be – and Libertus just plain old isn't great with kids. He swears too much, which at least has the benefit of making them laugh even if he's pretty sure Mrs. Amicitia is going to murder him and leave his body in a ditch somewhere if he doesn't stop. He can't help it - he just gets really nervous because he doesn't know how to deal with them. Whenever there are kids, Libertus strongly prefers having people around him who actually know what they're doing.

Which he guesses he has. After all, there’s the Marshal and the Shield and the Shield's wife who probably ought to be called the Sword based on the big-ass greatsword she usually has strapped to her back; they all have kids, so clearly they’ve got to be half-decent at keeping an eye on them. It's not even his job to be watching the kids! It just makes him nervous, having them around; that's all.

There’s the fact that they’re (secretly) on a mission to go find Ramuh and demand that he cooperate in some sort of Covenant which he may or may not be into, and Libertus might not be the most religiously observant guy on Eos but he still feels like that’s a bad idea – and if he didn’t, the storm would’ve made him think twice.

Oh yes.

And then there's the storm.

Now, Libertus is Galahdian, born and bred, so don't get him wrong, he's not afraid of no storm. Compared to the yearly hurricanes he's used to, especially the big ones like old Gordo that hit the year he was born and every ten years since, this endless rain and lightning and thunder is nothing.

Sure, he's never been knee-deep in muck and mud quite like this, with the sky blacked out and no ocean anywhere in sight and daemons capable of coming from all around in every direction, right in the middle of a big giant looming forest that somehow feels so much bigger and older and more menacing than the jungles of Galahd. He's never had to hear the howling of wild creatures coming from every direction, so loud that it's actually competing with the sound of the wind. He's never had to drive down paved streets so slick with water that it's like they're considering becoming rivers because there's no ocean for the water to drain away into.

He's used to seeing lightning coming in from the ocean horizon right before it rolls in and hits you, giving you at least a few seconds warning to go find shelter; he's never willingly gone out right in the center of a storm the way he's doing right now, walking into a bunch of flammable trees like an absolute moron, with the rain coming down so hard it leaves bruises the whole time.

He's also never had to try to mount a goddamn Chocobo that don't want no bear on its back just as much as Libertus don't want to be on it, since apparently they're traveling into the center of the forest by Chocobo whether they like it or not.

He's very firmly in the 'not' camp, himself.

"Do you require assistance, Li-bear-tus?" a very familiar voice asks.

Sure enough, it's little Iggy the egghead, and unlike Libertus, he's sitting just fine on his Chocobo, all curled up and dignified just like in the instruction manuals.

"I'm fine," Libertus grunts, then reconsiders. He likes Iggy plenty; he might be a kid, but he's one smart cookie. "Actually, no. I can't get my balance on this damn bird."

"Well, you're a bear," Iggy says. "You have a good center of balance, unlike some of us – you don't need to try to sit side-saddle. I would suggest trying to settle straight down on the saddle, lying on your belly the way you would for a motorcycle, with your legs hanging down on either side."

Libertus tries it, and sure enough it works a lot better than the elegant sprawl all the cats are doing. "Thanks, kid."

"My pleasure," Iggy says. "You'll be one of the ones helping guard us, right?"

"I'm actually just assigned to be look-out," Libertus explains. "I'm bringing up the back, just off on the right wing –"

"That's fine," Iggy says brightly. "We'll ride over and find you once we get going; that'll be far more interesting than listening to the adults complain about visibility."

"What? No, wait, you don't –"

"Oh, I know we don't have to. We want to. See you later!"

Iggy clicks his hooves and somehow that works to get his Chocobo moving, and Libertus can't figure out the equivalent fast enough to catch up with the kid long enough to explain that they're supposed to be in the center of the pack for their own protection, damnit.

"Oh, Lord of the Storm," Libertus moans, rubbing his eyes. This is a disaster – they're going to come find him right on the edge of the group, and then they'll refuse to leave, and then they're all going to get attacked by daemons, and die, and it'll all be Libertus' fault...he’s gotta do something to stop this. "Hey, Pelna!"

Pelna, a canidaetaur refugee from Niflheim and brand-new Kingsglaive member who somehow manages to be even younger than Nyx and Hemera and twice as cocky, which up until he'd arrived Libertus had thought would be impossible, turns to blink at him. Or maybe he's blinking the rain out of his eyes. Whatever, either way, he's listening.

"Can we swap positions?" Libertus asks urgently. "You're leading the right flank, yeah? Advance position? The storm's got all this muck up, and one look-out post's as good as another, innit?"

"Except for the part where the front lead is expected to see fighting and the back isn't," Pelna points out with a slight grin, but then he shrugs. They've all had plenty of opportunities to get in the thick of it for fighting recently. "Any reason for wanting the swap?"

"Looks like the route's going to take us around the lake – swamp – body of water, whatever – and the only thing worse than wading next to a pond in a storm is being the heaviest guy around wading after everyone's had a chance to rip up the earth with their paws to make it easier for you to sink." This is true, even if Libertus had already mostly resigned himself to it.

He can't tell Pelna that he's trying to get away from some kids because he gets itchy when he has too much responsibility over anyone under the age of reason. That would just be embarrassing.

Pelna sniggers. "Yeah, good point. I don't mind swapping this time, if next time you let me swap with you when I want the better position. Should we clear it with the Captain?"

"Why?" Libertus asks with a shrug. "You know he doesn't care who does what as long as everyone knows where they are and what they're doing at crunch time; that's why we're all trained as all-around fighters. And you know how he's always going on and on about how they don't give us enough Kingsglaive to make allowances for personal comfort..."

"You mean right after he's complained that we don't get treated as good as the mostly Insomnia-born Crownsguard, and right before he starts implying that they think we're expendable and disposable pieces that can be swapped out at will?" Pelna jokes. He's been in the Glaive long enough to be familiar with their Captain's occasional diatribe. "Sure, I know. He usually throws in a few compliments about how flexible and multipurpose we are in there, too – but, you know, he doesn't like it when you swap once something's already started..."

"Would you really consider us to have 'started'?" Libertus asks, looking around him pointedly. Everyone's still struggling with their Chocobos or their clothing or their bags or something. Nobody’s exactly what anyone would call battle-ready.

Pelna laughs again. "Yeah, point. Sure. See you on the other side."

Then he, too, clicks his Chocobo into motion and is off like the wind. Damn, Libertus really needs to figure out how to get his own bird moving like that.

Maybe not exactly like that. A slower version would be much more his speed.

Well, at least he can comfort himself with the knowledge that he's avoided the problem of lagging behind and losing the kitlings.

"How," he says flatly two hours later, two adorable children beaming up at him from atop their Chocobos and under their little ponchos, umbrellas having been rendered useless by the wind. "I'm not even..."

"We checked there first," Iggy says, wincing a little as a giant roll of thunder comes in. "And Pelna said you'd be here, so we came here."

"I don't think you should be this far forward," Libertus protests. "At least at the old position, you were lagging behind, but this is out front – it could be dangerous –"

Thunder rumbles again.

"It's fine," Noctis says soothingly. "We asked the Marshal, and he said sure."

"Does he even know where I'm located – wait. The Marshal is Crownsguard. He doesn't even have authority over my position! That's why Captain Drautos came along, so he could supervise everything personally!"

"Yes, but Cor is the one ultimately in charge of guarding us," Noctis says, clearly unconcerned. "And he said we should go up front."

Another flash of lightning, and more thunder almost immediately. They're near the center of the storm, now.

Libertus frowns. That doesn't sound right - the Marshal is a terrifying figure who is highly unorthodox, but even he's not so unorthodox as to send the kids he's suppose to protect to the front line.

Unless...

"Did he send you to come to visit me?" he asks slowly, something niggling at the back of his mind. The Marshal is as famous for his bursts of intuition as he is for his battle strategy. "Or did he say go to the front?"

"No, he just said 'go to the front'," Iggy says, but he's starting to frown as well, seeing Libertus frown. "Why?"

Thunder again –

No.

Libertus is Galahd-born.

He knows thunder: he was born in the storm. The sound of thunder lulled him to sleep as a kit.

That?

That is not thunder.

That's the sound of a bomb.

"We're under attack!" Libertus roars, his voice barely audible over the heightened storm, but strong enough to make it through to the next few bedraggled-looking Kingsglaive, whose heads rise up in alarm as they turn in the direction he's pointing – back towards the main convoy, an attack from behind where they hadn't been expecting one.

Shit, that's not far from Libertus' old position – Pelna's there! He needs to get there –

No. He needs to protect the kids.

"You need to get away from the fighting," Libertus tells the kids, who suddenly look scared and far, far too young. He leaps off of his Chocobo and lets it run free, then turns to help the kids off of their own before the Chocobos can start panicking and running off with them, though their Chocobos end up standing there placidly and pecking at the nearby trees. Maybe he really did get the nerviest one of the whole bunch like he'd been suspecting. "At least you're in the front, not the back where the fighting's happening –"

They were in the back, though, before. They'd gone over to the back to hang out with Libertus and they only came up here to the front because – oh, thank Leviathan's many-ridged fins that he swapped with Pelna at the last minute, or else the kids would be in the center of the fighting right now.

"Wasn't that where you were supposed to be?" Noctis asks, eyes wide.

Libertus is about to agree, assuming that Noctis is expressing relief that they're not there and Libertus isn't there and therefore relatively safe, as these things go, when Ignis speaks, his eyes equally wide but his face far more despairing.

"Someone knew," he says with horror.

"What?" Libertus asks, attention pulled away from the battle – unwise, he knows – by the tone in Iggy's voice.

"You're the only grown-up here that we'd want to hang out with, other than Gladio's Mom and Dad and Cor and they were being boring," Iggy says woodenly. "You're the obvious choice for us to go spend time with. Someone figured out where you'd be, and knew that we'd probably come to see you. And then they set up the attack so that it'd come to where you were supposed to be..."

"You're being paranoid," Libertus says, but his heart isn't in it. It's certainly possible – if the Niffs figured out a way to spy on them, if there's a traitor - it's not like his friendship-by-proxy with the kitlings isn't pretty well known, a subject for plenty of teasing in the Kingsglaive – it's possible –

Well, it doesn’t matter. Figuring out what happened and how is way above Libertus' paygrade. Right now, his job is straightforward: normally, he’d go into battle to support his friends in the Kingsglaive, but that’s clearly the wrong thing to do now. He needs to stay with Noctis and Iggy. Protecting them is the highest priority –

Libertus sees the shine of metal in the middle of the field shining bright as it reflected the next crack of lightning.

Glauca!

Oh shit.

Shit, shit, shit. General Glauca himself here in person, despite the fact that he knows that Cor is here – that means they must know about them, somehow; that means the Niffs are clearly here to get the kids – and if they do have a spy, then they’ll know the kids are with him, and it won’t take long for them to figure out that he swapped with Pelna – and then –

"They think you'll be next to me," Libertus suddenly says. "That's what you think, Iggy?"

"I'm sure of it," Iggy says.

Iggy's smarter than Libertus will ever be, for all that he's so much younger. Libertus is going to have to trust him on this.

“Okay,” he says, looking at the kids. “They think you’ll be next to me. So I’m going to go west, to the outskirt of the forest, and I’m gonna take your Chocobos –” Thank Ramuh’s feathery ass, they picked ones with distinctive colors. “– so that they think you’re with me and come my way, after me instead of after you, okay?”

They both look at him, wide-eyed.

“That means you’re going to be on your own,” Libertus says. He doesn’t like the idea, leaving kids on their own like this, but if he can keep Glauca distracted and far away from the kids, even for a little bit longer while someone manages to get out a call for back-up from the reserve units that were trailing behind them, it’ll be worth it. Glauca is a monster – he wouldn’t hesitate in attacking children, not for a minute. Their only hope will be to keep ahead of him. “You go into the forest, and go to the ground – or into a tree, whatever – just keep away, okay? Keep away from everyone, except for the Shield or his wife and the Marshal, okay?”

If there's a spy, then those are the only people he knows for sure must be safe; they've been friends with the King for years.

The kids both nod.

They're so brave.

“Good luck,” Libertus says, grabbing the reins of the two kids’ Chocobos – he doesn’t care about his own, but it's come back through the brush and seems inclined to follow him anyway. Whatever, that'll help with the illusion, and the low visibility due to the storm will only make it harder for anyone to know the truth. “See you on the other side.”

And off he goes.

Ignis and Noctis stumble through the dark forest, the storm above their heads, the leaves barely blocking them from the pouring rain.

“We should find somewhere to stop,” Ignis says through chattering teeth. He bundled up well for this trip, but the combination of fear and increasing wetness is not conductive to a nice, warm, happy child. Not to mention the fact that his glasses are covered in raindrops, which he hates. “Noct, do you think…?”

He trails off. Noctis is definitely moving in a particular direction, whereas Ignis was under the impression that they were simply moving away. Ignis hurries to catch up.

“Where are we going?” he asks.

“The right way,” Noctis says, his eyes fixed in the distance. “Can’t you hear him?”

“Who?”

Noctis points.

Ignis looks, squinting.

“Is that - Umbra?” he yelps. Why would one of the Oracle's Messengers be here? He thought they'd remained back in Insomnia. “What – is Luna around?”

“No, she’s back with the others,” Noctis says. “She tried to summon Ramuh for us when the fighting started, but Umbra says that she says there wasn't any need: with the storm, he already knows we’re here. But it’s okay; Umbra knows the way and we should follow him.”

“The way to what?”

“The runestone,” Noctis says.

“And what,” Ignis says, maybe a little testily, “in the name of Ramuh’s pinfeathers are runestones, exactly?!”

Noctis actually stops moving for a second. “Uh,” he says. “I – I’m not actually sure.”

Ignis crosses his arms and scowls at his friend.

"What?" Noctis says defensively. "Umbra's a Messenger. We can listen to him!"

"The fact that someone – even an adult, or a Messenger, or anything – says something, doesn't mean you have to listen to them, Noct!" Ignis exclaims. "You're the Prince! Plenty of people will try to tell you things, and it's up to you to figure out what you think about what they're saying. You're eight already. Hasn't school taught you anything? Look before you leap!"

Noctis looks appropriately abashed. "That's a good point," he says. He reaches out and takes Ignis' hand in his. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Iggy."

Ignis sniffs, somewhat appeased. "Probably be rude to everyone you meet, most likely."

"You and your etiquette," Noctis teases, but then looks after Umbra's waiting form. "I do think we should follow Umbra now, though."

"All right," Ignis says. "I'm wasn’t saying we shouldn't. I just wanted you to think first, that's all."

Noctis smiles. "I've thought about it, I've thought about it. Let's go already." He tugs gently on Ignis' hand.

And so they go deeper into the forest, following Umbra's swiftly receding form. Ignis' hooves sink unpleasantly into the increasingly muddy ground, and Noctis' paws are only a little better for this sort of mucky travelling, but they force themselves to continue even as the trees get bigger and bigger and the storm darker and darker, the flashes of lightning and ensuing thunder more and more constant.

"Aren't storms supposed to move on or something?" Noctis grumbles as they reach a clearing.

Ignis tugs on his hand sharply, his eyes fixed elsewhere.

Noctis looks at him.

"Look around you," Ignis says. "And up."

Noctis looks.

Ignis sees the confusion on his face, and he also sees the moment that Noctis sees them in the trees.

Birds.

Corvids of every sort, ravens and crows and more, crowding every branch, black feathers and beady black eyes fixed right on where Noctis and Ignis are standing.

The Eyes of Ramuh.

The Wings of Ramuh.

"Now," Ignis murmurs, noticing that Umbra has disappeared entirely, "is the time for etiquette."

Noctis gives the slightest hint of a nod, and steps forward. "Greetings," he says to them as formally as he can. "My name is Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prince of Lucis and Chosen of the Prophecy of Bahamut, and I'm looking for the runestone of Ramuh so that I can obtain his blessing and complete a Covenant with him – and the Prophecy may be completed. Would you please show me the way?"

One of the ravens hops out of his tree and flies silently to the ground before them. It lowers its head, wings spread, almost like a bow – both Ignis and Noctis automatically bow back – and then turns and hops off further into the forest.

They follow.

Ignis glances behind them as they go up a hill and sees a flash of silver metal.

Silver metal, moving – General Glauca!

He squeezes Noctis' hand. "We're being followed," he murmurs. "We need to go faster."

Noctis nods and they speed up, the raven leading them moving faster as well. It seems to be moderating its speed to theirs.

Still, they're just kids, with short legs and the tendency to tire quickly, and they end up slowing down again because that's better than running and having to stop to rest. Still, knowing that General Glauca is chasing them is pretty good incentive to keep going.

And then just when Ignis is sure that they'll have to stop and rest, no matter what, they reach another small clearing, this time against a cliff face, and at the end of the clearing there is the weirdest rock Ignis has ever seen.

Ramuh's temples are trees struck by lightning; everyone knows that. This is a rock in the shape of a tree, tendrils reaching upwards, and it's glowing faintly.

"I think this is the runestone," Noctis says. "Carved by lightning strikes."

Ignis nods. He means to let go of Noctis' hand, to let his Prince go ahead alone to his destiny, but Noctis clings on tighter and shoots him a beseeching look, and Ignis just can't let him go by himself.

So they move forward together, clinging to each other.

They're almost at the tree when someone calls out Noctis' name.

They turn, and it's Captain Drautos, still some distance away from them, panting a little like he's been running after them. "Prince Noctis," he repeats. "There you are – I've been looking for you! You have to come with me. The Niflheim forces are too strong, too many. We have no choice but to retreat."

"But if we retreat, we won't have another chance until next year!" Noctis exclaims.

"Your parents would rather wait a year if it means that you'll be alive," Drautos says, and steps forward into the clearing, the silvery spots on his hyena hindquarters shining wetly in the rain. "Come with me, Prince Noctis. I'll see you home safe."

Ignis takes a half-step towards him, but Noctis doesn't, and Ignis looks back at his friend, whose expression has gone set with determination. Ignis takes back the half-step, moving back to stand at Noctis' side.

"Thank you, Captain Drautos," Noctis says, his voice clear and strong. He's made his decision, Ignis can tell; he’s not just blindly listening to what people tell him to do, just like Ignis advised him. Ignis feels a surge of pride: Noctis is going to be a great king, one day. "But I'm going to call on the runestone first."

And he turns and reaches out a hand to the rock-tree, both his hand and the tree glowing, even as Drautos exclaims something rendered inaudible by a sudden crash of thunder.

And then the birds start screeching.

Ignis steps closer to Noctis automatically, his eyes going wide as the birds leap from the trees into the air – dozens of them, hundreds of them, thousands of them – and suddenly the storm-darkened sky is even darker with all of those black-winged bodies, so close together that they're indistinguishable from each other.

It takes a second for Ignis' eyes to adjust scale: it's only when Ramuh – because it is Ramuh, the Fulgarian himself, the 'taur whose body is made of the Stymphalian Birds, all of those birds coming together to metamorphose into a single figure: his mighty torso, swathed with robes, his long beard and sharp black eyes, his gigantic staff – starts to reach his hand down to them that Ignis suddenly sees him there.

The rock-tree has stopped glowing, as has Noctis; Noctis is staring up at the Astral and clinging to Ignis, and that's probably why Ramuh scoops them both up in his surprisingly firm and corporeal fist, lifting them up into the sky.

Ignis, looking down, can see Drautos staring up at them in shock for a long moment before running back towards the fighting, the quickly scattering MTs and a small group of Kingsglaive that were congregating in the area near the clearing, both heading in the direction that Ignis and Noctis had previously been - the two groups aren't fighting, so they must not have seen each other yet in the dark forest - and then Ramuh lifts up his staff with his other hand and throws it like a spear down at the runestone.

It strikes like a bolt of lightning.

The flash is so bright, Ignis has to slap his hands over his eyes, right over his glasses, and by the time it finally fades and he can see again, they're not above the battlefield. They're somewhere totally different. No, that's not quite right, they're still hovering in the sky above a lot of marshy wetlands and dark forests, they're still under the same giant storm as before, so they couldn't have gone too far, but at the same time Ignis doesn't see any of their forces anywhere - no Kingsglaive, no Crownsguard, not even any MTs.

Ramuh puts them down in front of a cave.

"Thank you!" Noctis shouts up at the Astral as he straightens up again, but Ramuh doesn't respond – he just dissolves back into those thousands and thousands of birds that all start flying off in different directions.

"What do we do now?" Ignis asks. "Into the cave?"

"Yeah," Noctis says. "I think – I think there might be something in there that I'm supposed to see."

[atropaazraelle]

Gladnis, 6. Why haven't you kissed me yet?

The World of Ruin. That was the whisper on the streets, the colloquialism that had sprung up to refer to their here and now, the encroaching darkness, the maddening beasts, the multiplying daemons. The World of Ruin.

It sounded like something soiled and sullied, like the whole world as one had been tainted by the Scourge. All they had known and loved had been ruined. The world was slowly being destroyed before their eyes.

Ignis remembered the sunlight, and the grass, and leaves on trees, and the sight of a herd of Spiracorns galloping across the road in front of the car. He remembered the lights of Altissian nights, and the sea breeze, and he remembered the sillhouettes of the Catoblepas against the sunset at the Slough.

He hadn’t seen the world come to ruin. But he’d felt it. He’d felt the ruin and the taint creep in. He’d felt it in the chasm that had opened up between all of them.

Himself and Prompto.

Himself and Gladio.

It hadn’t been for lack of trying. They’d sworn to stick together and keep the world safe while they found Noct, while they waited for Noct. But the Darkness had swallowed first the day, and then the smiles, and then the familiarity.

Once he and Gladio had shared a bed, made fervent love as quietly as they could so the hotel’s thin walls didn’t give them away. They’d swapped kisses and promises in the light of a campfire. They’d made idle plans for a better future when Noct was King, arguing with smiles on their faces about decorating, and how much kitchenware was too much.

His blindness had been the first wedge driven between them, but it hadn’t lasted, or he hadn’t thought it had. They’d argued, and barely spoken, and Ignis had known that Gladio couldn’t bring himself to look at him from the way he always sounded as if he was speaking to the table, or across Ignis’s shoulder.

But it had got better. Gladio had made promises and apologies on their way to Tenebrae, swearing to Ignis that he’d never let anything come between them again. That no matter what, he had Ignis’s back. That he’d always be there.

It had started small. Trips away to this outpost or that, long escorts of supplies, or refugees that had kept Gladio away for days, and then weeks, while Ignis taught himself to fight again.

Prompto was the same. He spent three months helping safely transport Wiz’s chocobos. When he’d returned to Lestallum Ignis had been investigating the royal tomb on Ravotogh, and Gladio had been at Meldacio.

They became ships that passed in the night.

Gladio and Ignis and Prompto shared an apartment in Lestallum but they were almost never there at the same time. They left voice messages, Gladio having taken ownership of some of the salvaged radio equipment from a military base early on so that they could leave each other notes, or just let each other know when they’d been, and when they might be back. Those messages had become more and more cursory as time had worn on. Prompto’s bright, bubbly, “Hi, guys!” greeting had faded to him just telling them when and where he’d be. Gladio’s messages had got briefer, containing only the fact, and fewer well wishes.

When Ignis had returned to the apartment he’d expected it to be empty. It always was. It always had been.

“Iggy.”

Hearing Gladio’s nickname for him sent a shiver of familiarity and nostalgia down Ignis’s spine. “You’re home,” he said, superfluously in his surprise.

“Yeah,” Gladio answered. He sounded as thrown by finding someone else in the apartment at the same time as himself as Ignis felt. “Got back yesterday.”

Ignis smiled at him, and then found himself unsure of what to say. It felt like talking to a stranger, but this was Gladio, a man he’d once sworn to love.

“You look good,” Gladio said, into Ignis’s silence, and Ignis mentally kicked himself for letting it hang as it had. “You changed your hair.”

Ignis felt his mouth fall open, to tell Gladio it was hardly new, but then he realised that it had been so long since he’d last seen Gladio that Gladio had never seen his new hairstyle. “Yes,” he said, “it’s easier to style in the mornings this way.”

“You could just wear it down,” Gladio said, and there was a lilt in his tone that sugested he knew how ridiculous that suggestion was to Ignis. It was as if he was teasing, and Ignis felt his heart jump giddily.

Gladio still had that effect on him.

“I thought you knew me?” Ignis asked, with a similar teasing lilt. Gladio’s laughter rippled down his spine and settled in his gut. It had been so long since he’d heard it that he’d forgotten how much he missed it.

“Some things never change,” Gladio said, and if Ignis listened he could hear the smile.

“So why haven’t you kissed me yet?” Ignis asked.

“You still want me to?”

If Ignis didn’t live with his eyes closed behind his glasses, he’d have closed his eyes at that question, at the fact Gladio even had to ask that question. “Yes.”

Gladio’s strides were long, and quick, his boots thudding against the floor as he crossed them room. Ignis felt his face caught between two hands, fingers curling into the hair at the back of his head, and then Gladio’s mouth was there, against his own. It was urgent to begin with, his lips pressing hard against Ignis’s.

It softened when Ignis coiled his arm around Gladio’s waist and sank his other hand into his hair. He opened his mouth against Gladio’s, letting him in, letting him take and claim, and clear away the months of distance. Gladio’s fingers sank down, one settling against the side of his neck, the other finding his shoulder, slipping down under his arm, sliding around and up his back to tug Ignis as close as Gladio could into himself. Ignis felt enveloped in warmth, and he relaxed into Gladio’s body.

When Gladio pulled his mouth away it was to settle his forehead against Ignis’s, his breath gusting hot against Ignis’s mouth. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“So have I,” Ignis whispered, before tilting his head to find Gladio’s mouth again.