#I’ve been drawing so much but like finishing none of it ungh

[maligned-kitty]

Bunch of doodles and WIPs !1 I’ll make a separate post for the sketches if / when they get finished ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ

[moonraccoon-exe]

*whispering* Pst Moon! Write the first time Gladnis brotherhood thing. Yes, I read your tags (#^.^#)

FRIEND, I FINISHED IT AAAAAAH.

This is all for you, dear DreamIggy you wonderful human being, because of the motivation and because you’re such a good person.HAVE IT with all my love (」°ロ°)」

I also saw your entry @latte-cosmico, thank you for the motivation, it’s also for you!!! I didn’t answer on yours because you mentioned a headcanon list and UNGH, I’m so gonna write that, so we get TWO things, hgdkgdfmgh.

 It’s super long (unless you’re reading that Beauty and the Beast AU, then this is a joke, you can handle this fine ;D) so it’s okay for whoever that doesn’t want to read it.

But just know, it’s Brotherhood Gladnis first-time-oral fluffy smut, so it’s your choice whether to miss it or not.

This is like 10k of mere Brotherhood Gladnis being playful, awkward, shy, adorable and sexual together, and I LOVED writing it.

Brotherhood Gladnis is my most fragile weakness hgnhngnnnnngggg

This was inspired and triggered and based in this gorgeous gem of kaciart’s Gladnis drawing.❤

I hope you enjoy, whoever is reading!

It would bea lie to say Gladio was not excited, but it was also true that he was a bitnervous.

He remindedhimself, ironically, of his own boyfriend; thinking things too much. Theproblem with his boyfriend was that the overloaded-with-work seventeen-year-oldadviser-to-be was always thinking things too much, on everything. Ever sincechildhood, Gladio was constantly trying to convince him to stop that, sometimeshelped distracting him so he could stop the overthinking, tried making himunderstand sometimes one simply had to go with the flow and natural rhythm ofthings.

Walkingwith Ignis at his side, a hand holding both their bags above one of hisshoulders and the other softly wrapped around the younger male’s one, Gladiokept three quarters of his attention on their conversation and the rest onmentally telling himself that this was the same, one of those situations whereoverthinking was unnecessary, reminding his own brain that he was always the one with the ‘take it easy’ philosophy,and that this would be fine so long he took his own bloody advice.

It was likepresenting a speech to the council or to the king; planning and talking it waseasy, if only a little nervous, until it was the realmoment for it. Then, the nervousness could rocket up far beyond the moon.

Gladio felteven more nervous than during the very same moment Ignis unexpectedly asked himfor this. An entire conversation of procrastination and some shy stutteringlater, Ignis, arms tightly wrapped around Gladio and face furiously hiding inthe Shield’s chest, had muttered some simple words.

‘I wantto…return the favor? Try it myself…’

It tooksome moments while Gladio understood, trying not to get too distracted with howcute Ignis behaved when entirely flustered, before it hit him like a brick tothe head; return the favor, try it himself, Ignis could only mean one thing, ifGladio linked the words to the events a few days prior to that moment.

Igniswanted to return the favor and try it himself.

Or, in morevulgar but simpler words, Ignis wanted to try giving his first blowjob.

The Astralsdamn, Ignis had offered to give Gladio a blowjob.Face buried in hands, buried in Gladio’s chest, but he had offered it himselfnonetheless. It was not new, that neither of them suggested exploring a littlemore into the sexual aspect of their relationship, but this felt like quite astep. Ignis had not shown himself too interested, until Gladio, and Gladio hadrefused sexual approach with others due to not feeling mature or preparedenough for the responsibility, he, too, until Ignis. Being each other’s first,of course there was curiosity.

Gladio wasgrateful that Ignis was as responsible and mature as he had always been,because he understood how things worked; slow, step by step, instead of wantingto try to imitate those videos online. First one thing, then the other,not force anything, explore little by little because it was unexploredterritory. One had to be cautious, and so they had been so far. They did notstart any physical intimacy until a year after becoming boyfriends, bothbecause none had felt well prepared, and they had been so content with being ableto cuddle and kiss each other that the idea of sex had literally not crossedtheir heads.

And when itdid, it was just as both wanted; at the correct pace, nothing too rushed,nothing forced, and allowing themselves to explore together. It started withnaturality, a kiss that turned into an unexpected make-out at Gladio’s house,that eventually led to both of them talking about it and figuring the paceinstead of trying to romanticize the things in novels and movies. It wasawkward, of course, but much more natural and comfortable (and much moresuccessful and healthy) than just taking things out ofpants and shoving them places without the proper care or knowledge of it.

Make-outsessions that eventually led to hand-jobs, that eventually led to some dry-humpingas foreplay or companion for it. And, of course, the first time that any tried giving oral.

Despite hislooks and popularity among both women and men, Gladio did not have much sexualexperience, and he was not a master of any of this. Eighteen, he considered,was still rather young; he had no troubles being inexpert and enjoyed learning.So this passion for learning new things led him to, once Ignis agreed to it,try giving a proper first oral.

“Guide me,please?” Gladio had said after he had given a few kisses here and there toIgnis’ hardening member, looking up at his boyfriend, whom Gladio swore turnedred enough to pass as a moogle’s pompom.

“How? I’venever received one before…”

“Just…tellme what feels good. Okay?” Gladio had asked, and ended up making Ignis promisehe would tell him what and where it felt good no matterthe circumstances.

Gladio wassure there were a few things that felt good on him but Ignis kept quiet toeither “not sound vulgar” or, more likely, to “not bother Gladio, what if thatwhat felt so good to me felt bad to him or could have evenbeen harmful? No, best to keep it secret, I don’t want to bother or trouble orhurt Gladio; quiet is not the same than lying.” That sounded a lot likesomething that would go through Ignis’ head.

That waswhat kept Gladio so nervous; Ignis had sworn that he wanted to try both forGladio but also for himself (’can’t a guy selfishly desire to eat dickwithout making it seem like he’s doing it for the counterpart?’ hehad said), but he still feared that Ignis would push himself too far. Both hadagreed to not do anything the other would not want, to do things always withconsent, but Gladio still feared that Ignis could sometimes act out ofselflessness; thinking Gladio may grow bored or exhausted of him if he did notgo further into their unexplored map, and hence forcing himself to act like heagreed to something he truly did not wish, only for Gladio’s happiness and pleasure.And, the worst part, Gladio would blindly trust in him, and would not evennotice Ignis had lied.

Gladio knewhim since childhood and could read some of his unsaid things, but the Six damn,Ignis was raised as a strategist, good luck trying to figure when he was lying.

The leastthat Gladio wanted was for Ignis to push himself too far and end up damaged inany sense, and the emotional side of sexual consent was as important as thephysical act itself.

One day hisselflessness was going to kill him or worse.

Or it couldhave him gagging and throwing up and being an emotional mess because he was notprepared for this and ended up traumatized with the experience.

Still, andvery thankfully, that did not appear to be the case. Despite the normal nervousness,Ignis seemed to be rather calm, and firm on it. He wanted to try, and Gladio would make sure that he learned and explored without havingto push himself too far.

It was nosecret that they sometimes spent the while at the Amicitia home all on theirown. Attendants were not there 24/7, and so was not Clarus, nor Iris. Bothteenagers had spent days there, only a few of the most recent ones using alittle of the time to explore their sexuality, most only to spend a comfortableand calm while together after school or a date.

It seemedlike any other day.He let Ignis in like any other day, walked in himself,closed the door, but felt the tension different than those of other days, andhe hated it, because for more that he insisted to himself to calm and to seethis as naturally as possible, he continued to feel flustered and tense andnervous like a preteen about to receive his first peck on the lips from theflaming cheerleader of school; stupidly excited over something as simple.

They ate,spent the while together, stuck to routine like nothing out of the ordinary.The natural flow of things had Ignis lying his head on Gladio’s lap when theywere chatting at the sofa; overthinking brought him to sit back up after a fewminutes. And, truth be told, Gladio was thankful he did; feeling bad and stupidfor it, having Ignis’ head there, even if as innocently, had inevitablyreminded him of what else they would be doing sometimebefore that night, and he feared that any bulge in his pants would betray him,poke at the back of Ignis’ head, ruin everything. He was scared of making Ignisthink that all that he thought about was the sex because it really, really wasnot everything, but the Astrals bless, he could not stop his body and that partof his mind to be so eager about it because holy gods, Ignis had offered to give him oral that day and Ignis wouldgive him oral that day and he was excited.

Still,scared of accidentally hurting Ignis’ feelings, Gladio decided to not bring itup and let Ignis take control of the pace. It still took a while, as if thoughIgnis himself was scared of bringing the conversation up first.

It was notuntil some kissing, sat there at the couch, that Ignis felt decided enough togive the first step into it. Ignis had approached to kiss him. By nature, they stayed there a little longer than expected, but none rejected it. With ahand on Gladio’s cheek, Ignis opened the mouth at the same time Gladio did, nowords or gestures required, only coincidence of synchronicity, to deepen thekiss. Tongues poked out, more shyly than usual, and into each other’s mouth.Ignis’ hand, a bit shy as well, slid down the Shield’s face and reached for hisneck. Eyes closed and breaths becoming a little heavier, both breathed intoeach other’s mouth, moved only to adjust the angle of their faces, and lettheir tongues continue their duties, at the time Ignis’ hand lowered and movedto land on Gladio’s shoulder, sensing the strong muscle underneath.

A littleembarrassed by the immediate reaction of his body, Ignis mentally confirmed tohimself that he really, really was enjoying a lot of Gladio’s physicalprogress; back at age sixteen his body was already more outstanding than othershis age, and all he was doing was to become even stronger, taller, every timemore stunning, bigger, a dominant weight. A bit embarrassed because he had noidea he found bulkiness to be a turn-on but also very content that Gladio,besides a wonderful heart, happened to have such a beautiful physic, Ignissmiled lightly mid-kiss and let his hand travel a little more onto the other’schest. Gladio’s breath trembled between kisses, and Ignis realized the waythis was going.

Slowingdown on the kiss until he felt it prudent to break apart, Ignis separated fromhim and let his hand go up again to caress Gladio’s face again, making sure tohave eye contact despite the nervousness and shyness.

“…can we goto your room?”

Gladio,cheeks slightly red, gave him a pair of shy eyes and nodded, mute. Ignis smiledlightly; despite his looks and usual cheekiness, Gladio tended to turnincredibly shy and flustered during moments of intimacy. It made Ignis feel alittle more loved than usual; such an involuntary reaction made him feel likeGladio cared enough about and for him, and considered the situation intimateenough. To be allowed into his intimacy, to be given the first times ofdifferent events in Gladio’s life…that was incredibly beautiful.

Both stoodup from the couch, and Gladio reached to hold his hand. He smiled at Ignis,still a little shyly, before guiding him across the living room and towards thestairs. Even though it was highly unlikely for anyone to come through the dooruntil night, both enjoyed much more of the intimacy of Gladio’s room ratherthan using the living room. A bed was always more comfortable than a couch, andin the extremely rare case that anyone did appear at the house, they would havemore time to successfully dissimulate.

Once in hisroom, door closed, they stood in front of each other and retook their kissing,giving more weight to the sensuality than the shyness, even though it was stillpresent. Sensing Gladio a little shy, Ignis, not stopping his mouth’s movementsagainst Gladio’s, reached for the Shield’s wrists, softly taking them andgently guiding his arms around the adviser’s waist. Gladio hugged him as he wassilently requested, and deepened the kiss at the time he felt Ignis’ arms goingaround his neck. Even though he was only a year younger, Ignis had to stand intip-toes and Gladio still had to lean down a little to properly kiss. He adoredit, and allowed some cuteness to pinch his heart among the sensuality of thekiss.

Gladio endedup sat nearby the edge of his bed, with Ignis straddling him, the knees at thesides of his thighs, while still kissing. Hands roamed places, breaths becameheavier and mouths more stubborn with each kiss, with every caress of theirtongues. Despite shyness still there, both gave in to the flow of therising heat, caressing faces and hairs, shoulders and arms, backs and chests,Gladio’s big hands adoring the sensation of his boyfriend’s slender back, evenif through his sweater. He knew Ignis was too shy to make any new move whenfully naked (‘too exposed, makes it awkward’, he used to say), so he did notask him to take anything off, and did not do it himself. Instead,he focused in the kiss, enjoying of Ignis’ tongue, and not helping to realize howwell hydrated his mouth was.

Ignis kissedhim as good as he was receiving, and their throats started trapping a few moansat times. Gladio’s hands slowly and eventually started moving down, untilthey passed the small of his back and reached for his butt. Ignis exhaledtremblingly into his mouth, and whispered a very quiet ‘Yes’ that was more anencouraging agreement than a reaction of pleasure, some sort of ‘You can dothat; I enjoy’. He caressed Ignis’ cheeks for a moment, going with the settledpace, not breaking and only deepening the kiss.

It lastedfor a couple moments more, heating up the moment, before they broke from the kiss,eventually, giving a few pecks to each other before coming to a real halt,opening their eyes. Gladio looked up at him, a bit worriedly, despite the heavy breath.

“Are yousure about it?” he asked in a murmur, and he saw his boyfriend smile and nod.Ignis reached closer to peck at his lips again, before he moved back to get offthe bed and his boyfriend, and standing in front of him. Ignis had started togo down when Gladio stopped him a bit too quickly, reached for one of hispillows, and offered it to his boyfriend. Despite the younger teen’s littlecomplaints and small laugh denying it, Gladio did not seem to be satisfieduntil he accepted it, and so Ignis was left with no option. He put it on thefloor right beneath him, so that when he would go down his knees would rest onit and not the floor.

Ignis movedclose to his boyfriend again, cupping his face in his hands and leaned down tokiss him, now that he was taller in their position, with Gladio sat at the edgeof his bed and him standing in front of him. Their lips caressed each other,slipped and caught each other over and over, with the tips of the tonguespoking here and there between kisses, before he let go.

“You sure?”Gladio asked him still with those eyes that gleamed with worry, and Ignis couldnot help to widen a smile and exhale a little chuckle, resting his forehead toGladio’s and letting his hands move down to the Shield’s strong chest.

“You’reasking too much” Ignis whispered to him, his palms very slowly moving ontoGladio’s chest, teasing the torso a bit before he would get to his goal. “Youworry for me?”

“Of courseI do” Gladio whispered back, arms wrapping around Ignis’ slender, stillteen-like waist. “I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable withjust because of me or anything.”

Ignisoffered a wider smile, and leaned closer to kiss him again, this time a littlesofter and more innocently compared to the previous sensuality.

“Worry not”Ignis whispered against his lips. “I want this, and I’m ready.”

Breakingapart and giving it time enough to smile at Gladio and for the Shield to smileback at him, Ignis calmly went down on his knees. He smiled when he felt thepillow underneath his knees, the adorable if silly detail from Gladio’s worry.

Kneltbetween Gladio’s legs, Ignis stared at the bulge in his boyfriend’s pants, andcontained a sigh in his chest. Gladio’s heart drummed loudly in his ears and hefelt his face burning, excited and nervous, aroused and a bit shy, staring asIgnis caressed his belly down to his crotch with a hand, before taking hisbelt.

Nervous atthe sight, Gladio moved a hand up to caress Ignis’ hair, trying not to mess itup, in a sweet gesture that made Ignis smile and look up at him.

“Just…don’tpush yourself past what you’re comfortable with, okay?” Gladio told him andgave a shy smile. “Only…only reach…where you can, no need to go all theway…alright?”

Instead ofsaying something, Ignis moved up, pulling his spine up, his lower back archingwith the motion, and kissed Gladio. The Shield kissed back, a littletremblingly. The kiss deepened once more, and asmall moan echoed in Gladio’s throat. As they kissed, Ignis’ hands startedundoing his belt without needing to see, being careful, until he succeeded.

“I know” hebreathed against Gladio’s mouth, smiling. He kissed the Shield again, wet lipscaressing, already a little achy from the make-out. He broke the kiss butkept the mouth against Gladio’s, feeling his own face red, but not helping thelittle smile, “stop worrying.”

Gladio didnot reply for a moment, only stayed quiet while Ignis gave him a last kissbefore lowering himself again, Gladio moving his hands to his own sides to restthem on the bed for support. While Ignis focused on the button and zipper ofGladio’s pants, the young Shield smiled; that was new, Ignis telling him tostop worrying. It was always the other way around.

Soonenough, after palming him a little through his underwear while Gladio breathedand moaned quietly in response, Ignis released his boyfriend’s cock from anyclothing, and held it upright with a hand. Gladio bit his lower lip, staring.Ignis stared at his length as if studying it, hand distractedly stroking it. A little later, Ignis chuckledand shook the head very lightly.

“…I don’tknow what I just got myself into” he said and continued before Gladio could askanything; “I start to doubt whether it’s good or bad that you are…so greatlyendowed, Gladio” Ignis looked up at him again. “Makes the task a little hardfor a first timer, are you aware?”

Gladioresponded with a little laugh.

“It’s fine,you don’t have-”

“But I want” Ignis insisted, hand stroking Gladio a little harderthis time, and whether it was to give emphasis to his words or to shut theShield up, Gladio did not know, but both worked. “I’ll never improve if I neverstart.”

“Got apoint there.”

Ignisside-smiled at him, before breaking eye contact again to focus on Gladio’scock, standing proudly and needy. It was quite a sight; Ignis had alwaysassumed before the first time he saw it that Gladio was well endowed, but this was ridiculous. For a moment, hewondered if Gladio still had some inches to grow or if he was already in adultheight. The idea made Ignis burn red in the face and take in a breath to calmhimself and come back to the present. His hand continued to stroke him, wantingto bring it to full hardening instead of that happening unexpectedly in hismouth, and his imagination, the previous make-out, Gladio’s cock throbbing inhis hand, and the mere idea of what he was about to do made him more and morearoused, using his other hand to palm himself through his pants.

None saidanything while Ignis continued with this for a moment, before he reachedcloser, a little hesitant like a pre-teen about to give a first kiss; wantingto, but pulling back a bit. He closed softly the eyes and pressed a small kissto the shaft of Gladio’s cock. When he did, Gladio released a trembling exhalehe had been holding, and stayed quiet, only staring. He kept his hands at hissides, fearing that if he caressed Ignis’ hair too much the younger male wouldmisunderstand and think Gladio was implicitly asking to go further.

A bit moreconfident, Ignis moved to give another kiss to the other side of the cock’sbody, holding the base with his fist, and using it to stroke whenever he brokeapart. He gave a couple more kisses across it, finishing with a particularlylong one given to the head, which had Gladio letting out a quiet moan. Heseemed to think for a second, before he let go of his own crotch and startedtaking his glasses off. Before he could put them anywhere, he saw Gladio’s handappearing in front of him, so he looked up at the Shield, as if questioning.

Gladio’scheeks burned a little brighter when they made eye contact, but he smiled,nonetheless, and gave the shrug of a shoulder as if saying ‘I get it, I thoughtI could help?’. Ignis smiled back and gave him his folded glasses, beforereturning to his task, stroking Gladio and reaching to unbutton and unzip hisown pants, to release himself at least a little not to be achingly trapped, whatwith how hard he had grown himself.

The Shieldput the glasses aside, on the bed, where the pillow had been, and looked backdown at Ignis, resisting the impulse to stroke through his light-brown hair.

Ignis foundit a bit awkward; Gladio was just sat there, staring. The idea was a littleamusing, but he did not want to voice it aloud not to discomfort Gladio or makehim think Ignis would rather have him not staring. The idea of Gladio watchinghim was…sort of motivating.

Theadviser-to-be removed his fringe for a moment, even though it returned to itsplace. He did not fight it. He continued stroking Gladio in all moment, not tolet it loose, and decided it would be good to start experimenting a littlemore. Trying to imitate the way Gladio had handled it some days ago, Ignisdecided to not just eat the entire thing at once, and, instead, to both buildup his courage and to make it enjoyable for Gladio, Ignis decided to lick.

He pressedhis tongue nearby the base, a little shyly, but not wanting the shyness to pullhim back. Pressing it as wide as he could, he moved up slowly all along theshaft and reached the head. Gladio shivered as Ignis licked him, and let out alittle moan, less shy than the first he had given back when Ignis was kissinghis cock. Motivated and wishing for Gladio to feel as good as possible, Ignisreached close and repeated, on the other side.

Ignis wasfocusing on his task while also paying attention to the reactions of Gladio’sbody and the sounds he made, trying to figure what had been good, and testingif he was closer to some particularly good spot. He continued to lick long andslow, travelling all across the member with his tongue, trying to do more thanjust straight lines upwards and sometimes pressing wet kisses here and there.

Gladio’sbreath was heavy and slow, every exhale was trembling, and his fingers had duginto the sheets of his bed. To be a first time, Ignis was letting himself gopretty well, and he was not doing a bad job. He imagined if Ignis was imaginingthis was like kissing lips during a make-out, except adding all that licking,instead of overthinking on the title of ‘first oral I ever give’. For a moment,Gladio wondered if Ignis had…if he could have…maybe…practiced with something.It sounded bit like an Ignis thing to do; practice a newthing before really doing the real thing. The thought had the young Shieldshiver again, not helping to his arousal.

Igniscontinued to kiss and lick him, a little faster. At some point of it a littlemoan echoed in his throat, and his free hand, the one not holding Gladio’s base,moved from the Shield’s thigh back down to palm again at his own erection, stilltrapped in his underwear, and getting worse. At first he had not known what toexpect, but truth was that whether it was due to Gladio’s little moans andconstant shivers of arousal that felt like approval, Gladio’s pleasure itself,that Ignis was the cause of it, or only the mere act of it, Ignis was enjoyingvery greatly with this. For a moment he hated that they had not gotten to thismuch earlier, but he also regretted nothing.

It was somemoments later that he decided to try the ’real’ thing, andmoved slightly away. When he did, as he had been mid-kiss, there was a thinthread of saliva connecting his mouth and Gladio’s cock. When it broke, Ignis’first instinct was to move a hand up to clean his chin and lips, and his cheeksburned bright red.

“Apologies.”

“No, no”Gladio rushed almost interrupting. “It’s great. I mean- I mean, that it’swell…lubricated.”

“Ah” wasall that Ignis replied, burning a little brighter, and making eye contact onlyfor a moment before both went shy and broke it. Ignis found it a little funny,but again said nothing, using the hand on Gladio’s base to stroke him a littlemore, feeling how wet he had managed to get it, and hoping it could make it alittle easier. He noticed Gladio’s tip was helping with pre-cum that alreadycovered the head.

He took afew moments more, before reaching close again, and he gave a kiss to the headof the cock, mouth opened, to wet it and taste it. Gladio shivered again inresponse, and put a hand to the side of Ignis’ head as if to call hisattention, so the light-brown haired looked up at him.

“Uhm…yougonna…try?” Gladio asked as if insecure on how to put the words. Ignis smiledup at him and nodded. “Alright…” he sighed. “Just…be careful.”

Ignischuckled in response, but said nothing. Gladio let go of his face and returnedhis hand to the edge of the bed, and adjusted himself a little. He hadforgotten to ask Ignis where he should…aim when he would come, but could notformulate the question before his boyfriend was already putting him in hismouth. Gladio thought about calling his attention again, but feared to killIgnis’ mood, what with how many times he had interrupted the entire thing eversince the make-out.

Theadviser-to-be only took the head in his mouth as if in another kiss, lingered alittle there, and pulled back. He was breathing heavy as well, and seemedfocused in his task, remembering a few of the tips he read on the internet forthis. He licked his own lips almost in reflex, before he reached close againand took the tip of Gladio’s cock into his mouth, and slid down a littlefurther.

It was abit awkward, keeping the mouth so widely open. He felt a little ridiculous, thejaw as far away from its usual place, but there was no other way to do this. Hedid not want to accidentally harm Gladio with his teeth, and it was not likethe dick was small or even average. His reflex movement asked himto shut the mouth but he could not just do that with a cock in his mouth. Hestayed still some moments before pulling back up, making sure to press histongue to the skin in his way. He breathed when his mouth was empty again, andtook only a second before putting it back inside, his hand stroking at the basebefore staying still. Closing the eyes as if to focus, Ignis decided to firstreach down instead of worrying too much on what to do with the tongue, and sohe started sliding down, very slowly, and trying to stay as calm for his throatnot to close and have him gagging too soon.

He wantedto go all the way down. Not in his first, of course, but he wanted, one day in a future, tobe able to take all of Gladio in his mouth. He wanted Gladio to feel good, hewanted Gladio to have a great sex partner, he wanted Gladio to feel incredible.And, only now that he was moving down on him, Ignis realized that he too feltgood just with doing this, and wanted more. One day, when they were a bitolder, he would be able to take all of him just fine. Maybe Gladio then couldgrip at his hair and move his head as he pleased. He adored, loved that Gladiowent soft on him, but he was also a little excited at the idea of masteringthings a little better so they could, from time to time, also be a littlerougher sometime in the future.

Ignisstopped again after another inch to remember to breathe, and opened the eyes,but found it awkward so he closed them again and tried to continue, making surefor his teeth to not get in the way. He heard Gladio groan when he startedmoving down again, louder than other times, and felt his cock twitch inside hismouth. It felt like approval and it aroused him, had him smiling and relaxing alittle. He felt very full, a bit too full, and could not understand how hishand was still gripping at the base and he did not feel it anywhere nearby hislips. Either Gladio was bigger when taken in the mouth, or Ignis had gone apoor few inches and was already a little overwhelmed.

A bitfrightened in a silly way at the idea, he started moving down again, his pridenot allowing him to get away to find he had managed only an inch or two inside.He continued for a moment, and even though he felt it with some anticipation,he still continued a little before he gagged. He made a sloppy sound as hequickly but carefully got away, stared to a side and coughed a little,controlling his gag reflex as best as possible.

“Y-youokay, Iggy?” Gladio asked worriedly, a shaking hand reaching for Ignis’ face.The adviser-to-be, curiously, laughed a little, and looked up at Gladio withteary eyes and a smile.

“I’m sorry”he apologized, “I think that’s as much as I can take…”

“Th-that’sfine, Iggy” Gladio smiled at him, and watched Ignis clean his own teary eyes. “ No need to go further if you can’t.Ididn’t think you could go as far down, it was…it was great…”

“Were youunderestimating my skills?” Ignis asked casually to lighten the mood, andGladio laughed a little in response. Ignis smiled up at him, happy to see that,despite the awkward bits here and there, it was going just as any other thingthey had gotten to so far; as relaxed, with so much trust, so naturally. Thealmost casual air made him a little more comfortable, and he decided to go backdown again.

HoldingGladio with a hand all the time, Ignis kissed and licked a little more as if togain some more confidence, before taking him in his mouth again. Now that itwas explored territory and that he had measured how far down he could go, Ignisstarted moving with less fear. He used his tongue here and there and moved down,taking Gladio in again, and moved back up.

“Use yourtongue a little more” Gladio suggested in a murmur and Ignis nodded, gratefulfor the advice. Astrals, he thanked his first sexual partner was Gladio, sopatient and understanding, and who was exploring all this for the first timelike himself; anyone else could have said nothing and just expect him to do agood job, and there was nothing that made him more anxious than that, theexpectation. Better to be advised where to go than be thrown in the road alone.Even though it was a crazy comparison, he understood his role as adviser alittle better.

Ignis tookhim in mouth and did as told, twirling the tongue, having it caress all ofGladio’s cock as it could reach. When Ignis moved up, he again remembered aboutGladio’s take on him and imitated, sucking on his way up. Gladio moaned inresponse and moved a little in his place. Taking that as approval, Ignis smiledand kissed the tip before taking him in his mouth once more.

Hoping hewas doing it right, Ignis decided to start bobbing the head, up and down, notforgetting about using his tongue. Gladio groaned in response at the firstconstant movements of his head, and Ignis heard a little ‘Yes’ escaping him.

Hecontinued to bob the head, making himself salivate to spread it with his tongueas it moved on Gladio’s cock. It felt hot, and heavy, and too thick in hismouth, but Ignis did not find major troubles on it, and was enjoying greatly,and hoped Gladio was feeling a thousand times better. He kept an even rhythm,not too fast, and not too slow. He still was not picking the best grip of thisand needed to not rush, still figuring how to adjust to it perfectly fine.Gladio offered no complaints; on the opposite, all that he did was to breatheshakily and ocassionally moan.

Ignis gotaway for a moment to properly breathe, and, as aroused as he was, it was areflex when he started jerking Gladio off as soon as his mouth got away. Helooked up to see Gladio move the head lightly back, whispering another ‘Yes’and bucking very lightly the hips. Ignis himself felt his own body jerking thehips, and he hated his stupid shirt and sweater and how unnecessarily hot hefelt in them, but he did nothing to pull them off his body. He continued tojerk Gladio for a moment before putting his lips around him again, a little tooexcitedly.

He pulledaway again after a few sloppy sounds he made while moving down, and triedapologizing for them, but Gladio reassured him they were not gross, and, whilehe did not say it, Ignis hoped that the sounds were, on the opposite,enjoyable. Again, he took Gladio in his mouth and started sliding down, alittle faster than before, making sure to open his mouth as good and wide aspossible, and starting to swallow him further than he had been doing, until hereached the same spot where he had marked his limits. He stayed there, half ofGladio’s cock in his mouth, and licked all on it as best as he could, nothelping little moans to get trapped in his throat.

Astrals,this was amazing. It was a bit awkward and it was not likereceiving one, but Ignis was enjoying greatly of this, and could not understandhow they had been so nervous in the way home and before Ignis had taken him like this.

“Six, Iggy”he heard Gladio moan out breathlessly, and he felt the Shield’s big handlanding on his head, fingers getting lost in among his hair. “You’re fantastic at this…”

Ignis couldnot reply because, well, he had a cock in his mouth. But the words motivated him very greatly, and, to make it a thousand times better, Gladio’shand in his hair felt incredible. He had hoped Gladio would do that, and nowthat he did it felt incredibly motivating. Gladio was enjoying of this, andsoftly caressed through his hair. Content with the approval, Ignis moved backup, sucking in the way, but did not let go of Gladio’s member before going backdown again.

“Gods, yes,Iggy…” Gladio moaned again. “Fuck, you’re amazing…”

Gladio’sheavy breath and little phrases of compliments here and there accompanied theminutes as Ignis bobbed the head, gaining confidence with each movement. Hefelt that palming himself was a bit selfish and that it distracted him frombeing fully focused in only Gladio, so he stopped and used his free hand to geta hold of Gladio’s hips for support, the other still holding the base of hisboyfriend’s cock while his lips, curled around it, moved all along its body.

Eventually,Gladio’s words quieted as Ignis got a grip of the situation and could catch afaster pace. There was a swear word from time to time from the Shield, andevery time he sounded more and more breathless and more and more aroused, whichdid but motivate Ignis into moving faster, into twirling the tongue better,into sucking better. Pre-cum was escaping Gladio by loads, and it made Igniswonder for a moment if it was not that Gladio had already come, but his cockstayed as hard for longer, so he continued.

At somepoint, he moved down a bit slower than he was already doing, to stay there atthe limit of how much he could take, and have his tongue lick the shaft slow andgood. Apparently, he hit a particularly soft spot, because Gladio bucked thehips upwards, and Ignis gagged again. He pulled back and let go, coughing.

“I-I’m sosorry!” Gladio yelped out while his boyfriend continued coughing and trying tocontain his gag reflex. “I’m so sorry, Iggy, I-I didn’t mean-!”

Ignis moveda hand up asking him for silence, but he continued to cough a little and movethe jaw and tongue to get rid of the nausea. Gladio stayed quiet only a momentbefore he retook his paranoid apologizing, and the mess continued before Ignisstopped coughing, smiling and not helping a small chuckle.

“I didn’tmean to, Iggy” Gladio apologized, “it was…a reflex.”

“I willtake it as a compliment” Ignis replied with an amused smile, hand returning toGladio’s cock to continue stroking it. The Shield took a moment before smlingand exhaling to calm down. Still, he moved a hand for it to caress Ignis’cheek.

“You okay?”

“Yes” Ignisreplied. “Are you? I haven’t caused any harm, have I?”

“Oh, you’vecaused everything but harm” Gladio smiled at him, and Ignis smiled back, cheekstainting red from the compliment. “You’re doing amazing, Iggy. I’m not surewhether to think this isn’t the first time you give one or if you’ve practicedwith something.”

“That shallremain as secret information” Ignis said with a playful wink, and Gladiolaughed. Ignis smiled, still stroking him; he liked how they could still jokeand be playful during this sort of intimacy. It made it a little more real, andeasier to go through. Almost like remembering this was the same Gladio thanevery day, playful, silly, cuddly Gladio, and was not expecting him to be a godof oral. No expectation made it much easier and enjoyable.

“Do youwanna continue or do we stop here?”

“Of courseI want” Ignis replied almost as if offended. “I cannot just leave you likethis.”

“I didn’tmean-” Gladio stopped to chuckle. “I mean, there’s other ways.”

“You’re notstopping me from sucking this a little more, Gladiolus” Ignis said and,inevitably, it sent Gladio into laughter, at how deadly serious Ignis made suchvulgar words sound. “I will never learn if I don’t study properly.”

“Howstudious” Gladio said teasingly with a smirk.

“Number oneof my class” Ignis smiled at him for a moment before his expression turned tothoughtfulness. “No, wait…that sounds bad in this context…”

Gladioburst laughing again. Ignis joined with a smile that turned into achuckle, eyes back on Gladio’s member and hand still moving along it.

“Alright,then” Gladio said a little lower, done with joking but still smiling. “Just,I’m really close. I’ll…warn you when I think I’ll come.”

“Alright”Ignis said with a little nod, hand moving faster on Gladio’s member, and eyesfocusing on it again. Gladio caressed his hair a little and passed a lock of itbehind Ignis’ ear, watching his boyfriend round the head of his cock with hislips and stay there some moments.

Ignis soonretook his earlier movements as he had explored and learned, testing to see ifhe remembered, if he had understood, and if he had managed to catch some skillfor it. Thank the Astrals, he did not feel as horribly full as the first timehe put it in his mouth; of course, it was still as thick and big, but it did not feel as overwhelming. It was like it was more enjoyable each time he swallowedhalf of his boyfriend.

The earlierlittle conversation had distracted him and he had forgotten how painfully hardhe was himself, still not released from his underwear. He palmed himself only afew times, before putting his attention full back on Gladio. He had adored thesounds the Shield was making and wanted to look for them again, so he tried hisbest on retaking the blowjob as it had been flowing.

“Shit,Iggy…” Gladio breathed out while Ignis slowly moved the head up and down onhim. “Your mouth…it’s so hot in there…”

Seen asIgnis had seemed to untense a little when he did it, Gladio did not fear whenhe put his hand to the top of Ignis’ hair, caressing and hiding thefingers among the light brown locks. He did not grip because he did not wantIgnis to either misunderstand and force himself, or to be in pain, and he onlycontinued to caress through his hair, whispering a small ‘Yes’ here and a‘Gods’ there while his boyfriend moved along his shaft, head coming up and downat a rhythmical pace, hand stroking at the base, and tongue doing wonders.

That Igniswas no master of this, of course not. But it was his first time, and it was notbad, either. Gladio was enjoying greatly, and that Ignis seemed to like it toowas great. It seemed like caressing his hair was also some sort of motivationfor his boyfriend, so Gladio continued to do it, head moving back and eyesclosing, adoring the sensation, every lick on the shaft, every suck on the tip,how hot and wet Ignis’ mouth was.

Ignisquietly continued for a couple minutes more, pulling away every now and then toget a proper breath before going back down without a word or hesitation.Eventually, he started catching the same pace than before, faster than before,and all of his mouth seemed to team up, sucking him harder, tongue caressingfaster, lips drawing further. Gladio started trembling and his breath wentheavier. He moaned with more frequency, hissed sometimes, muttered a word or twoof pleasure or encouragement, until he had to let go of Ignis’ head andreturned it to the edge of the bed, gripping it to contain himself from buckingthe hips. It took quite an effort, and his moaning became louder whileresisting the urge of thrusting upwards into Ignis’ mouth.

“I-Ignis…”Gladio called after a particularly loud moan, opening the eyes and staring atthe way Ignis’ head moved on him, unstoppable, fast enough for their firsttime. “I-Iggy…I’m going to come…”

He made sureto warn him with time enough, and he was sure it was not a murmur, but Ignisdid not pull away, as if completely ignoring him. Gladio stared athim bob the head, leaned back slightly, enough to watch Ignis’ lips when hepulled up, his oh so gorgeous, so soft, so warm, so beautiful, stunning lipswrapped around his cock, and he felt the tension quickly build up and rushingdown his belly. Gods, Ignis had the hair turned a mess, no glasses, and he wassucking at his cock greatly and so deliciously great.

“Iggy…” hecalled again, hand returning to his boyfriend’s hair, pressure a little harder,but Ignis ignored him again and continued with the movements, only pulling awayfor a moment to obscenely lick at the head before putting it back in his mouthand sliding down once again. “I-Iggy, I’m going to come!”

Hehesitated whether to pull Ignis from his hair or not, because he was at theedge, only contained due to his own effort, but his soft side did not want tobe rough on the seventeen year old, so he did not pull him away. Gladio triedto warn him again, but when he opened the mouth the only thing that made itpast it was a curse, followed by a louder and long moan, head going back andshoulders shrugging, both hands holding to Ignis’ head, and his load spillinginto the younger male’s mouth.

It did nothelp that Ignis kept his dick in his mouth all through his orgasm, tonguepressed to it, and Gladio lost himself to orgasm for some seconds, stillgroaning and holding Ignis’ head. With another groan, Gladio let go of it andhis hands returned to the bed, head dropping forwards again. It was only then,a few seconds after having released to the very last drop he had, that Ignispulled back, freed his mouth, looked away, and started coughing.

Gladio puta hand to his forehead, and his orgasm was refraining a little of the shockbecause…the Six damn…Ignis had swallowed it all.

The advisercoughed only a little, not compared to how bad it had been when Gladioaccidentally had him gagging, before using the tip of his sleeve to clean hislips. His expression was that of slight disgust, but also satisfaction. Hecontinued cleaning himself and Gladio recovered senses fully again, handsalmost instinctively reaching for Ignis’ cheeks, almost worriedly.

“My Gods,Ignis, you didn’t have-” Gladio used a hand to caress through his fringe,pulling it back as if to comb it like a vampire, and letting go to cup hisface again. “You didn’t have…to swallow, Iggy, that’s- I’m sorry.”

“You did warn me” Ignis said and managed a smile, and, for somereason, he looked rather tired, hands distractedly putting Gladio’s cock back in his clothes. “I chose to do it. I wished to…test, to say itsome way” he side-smiled up at Gladio, playfully. “How will I learn if I nevertry?”

Gladio onlygave a laugh. He offered a hand to Ignis, who happily accepted it and usedit as support to stand back up on his feet. When he did, Gladio pulled himcloser and wrapped his arms around Ignis’ hips, putting the head up gesturingfor a kiss. Ignis wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck and was leaningdown to kiss him, but he stopped before it and asked Gladio if he really wantedto do that after Ignis had just swallowed. The Shield gave him a silly blink, thenshrugged and asked ‘A peck, maybe?’, which Ignis joyfully complied.

They peckedeach other’s lips for a while, before Gladio gently pulled them apart andstared down at the bulge still present in Ignis’ underwear.

“My, Icannot leave you like this.”

“That was apoor impression of my accent.”

“I nailedit” Gladio said with a grin, and his hands reached to take a gentle grip of hiships, pulling him closer to Gladio at the time he too moved back on the bed.When he spoke again, it was back to a low and sensual almost-murmur. “You comehere. I want to make you feel real good.”

Ignis offeredno complaints, and climbed onto the bed with Gladio, straddling him again eventhough now they were not at the edge of the bed, but rather comfortably satproperly on it. He caressed through Gladio’s undercut hairstyle, before cuppinghis face and reaching down to pamper his face with kisses, while Gladio’s handsroamed up from underneath both sweater and shirt to caress his torso a little,teasing for a moment before reaching their real target at his crotch.

Gladiocaressed it from over the clothing for a moment, and then squeezed it. Ignisreacted with a moan, stopping the kisses and holding to Gladio’s shoulders forsupport. Gladio squeezed again and made a comment on how hard Ignis was, andhow much he deserved to have an orgasm as good as the one he gave Gladio. A fewsqueezes and palming later, Gladio pulled Ignis’ cock from its hideout and letit stand free and needy only for a moment before taking it in his fist. Soon,he started stroking it, relatively fast. Ignis trembledlightly and rested the forehead to Gladio’s, closing the eyes. Gladio kept hisopen and stared at his boyfriend’s face, his incredible lips and the way theyparted and moved lightly with every breath he took, his pretty birthmarks,every inch of him, wanting to see his expression through his pleasure.

Apparently,Ignis had not been too far from his own orgasm, and it took only some momentsinto Gladio’s hand-job before Ignis was shallowly thrusting his hips into it.Gladio took the gesture and Ignis’ little moans as encouragement and startedpumping harder and faster, seeking for a quick release, and Ignis did not seemto complain; it was like he wanted it to be over soon, or he would combust. SoGladio complied, looking to make it quick. No wonder Ignis was at the edge bythat point; he had blown Gladio while mostly not touching himself, so,unattended, of course his cock would be needy and sensitive.

Gladiocontinued jerking him off fast and quick, stopping for only half a secondsometimes when he squeezed nearby the tip, as he was learning that Ignis likedit. Whenever he did, Ignis either bucked his hips or moved the head back,letting out a quiet but aroused ‘Yes’ each time.

“W-wait…Gladio”Ignis recalled, eyes still shut tight and Gladio still stroking him. “I-I’mgoing to…stain our clothes…”

For amoment, Gladio thought about having Ignis come only on him, maybe fromunderneath his shirt, but he was struck by a different idea he liked better. Helet go of Ignis’ cock only for a moment, and asked him in a breath to turnaround. Ignis obeyed, pressing the back to the Shield’s chest and, as aroused,also pressing the butt to Gladio’s crotch. Gladio was not hard anymore, butAstrals, did it feel fantastic. Gladio took his cock once again and continued jerkinghim, harder than before. A little startled, Ignis moaned and his hands lookedfor support, one holding to the forearm of the arm Gladio was hugging him with,and the other moving back to be able to hold onto the arm of the one he wasusing.

Gladio closedthe eyes and tried not to get hard again, because, Astrals, he could totally gohard again. Ignis’ butt on his crotch, the angelical and sexual moans he wasletting out, and Ignis’ slender waist in his arms, dammit. Gladio adored it,adored Ignis’ physic; he was a guy in good conditions for his age, and whilegetting stronger thanks to his training at Crownsguard, he was still in ateenage body. Slender, beautiful, small. Gladio could wrap his arm entirelyaround that beautiful waist, and he adored it. Ignis, smaller than him, soslender, feeling so small in comparison, it drove him crazy. And even though itwas cuter than sexier, Gladio adored him in his always classy if slightly nerdyclothing, the dumb sweater, the gods dammit.

He breathedheavily against Ignis’ neck and softly bit at it, not enough to leave a markbut enough to be felt. Ignis was specially sensible there, so thereaction was immediate; his eyelids fluttered, a long moan escaped him, and hethrew the head back onto Gladio’s shoulder, while the Shield still furiouslyjerked him off. One of Ignis’ hands flew up to find Gladio’s hair, caressingthrough it, and the adviser started moaning more frequently and in a slightlyhigher pitch, hips jerking forwards.

Adoring thesensation of his butt riding on Gladio’s crotch, despite their clothing,Gladio’s teeth still on his neck, and the absolutely wonderful hand-job, Ignisarched the back and moaned louder than before, and finally spilled his own loadinto Gladio’s fist and onto the sheets of the bed. Ignis lost the voice butkept the mouth open while riding his orgasm (and Gladio’s lap), and Gladio continued jerking himthrough it, squeezing sometimes to push the last of the drops out of him.

He switchedto gently caress his softening cock when Ignis finally started relaxing on him.It took only a few more moments before Ignis was loose in his arms, head restedto his shoulder and heavy breath trying to recover composure. Gladio smiledsoftly and cleaned his hand onto the sheets (they were dirtied already,anyway), to use it so he could properly hug Ignis with both arms, mouth pressing little kissesto the adviser’s neck and shoulder.

Ignis saidnothing, but after a few moments recovering himself, he pulled slightly away,put a hand to Gladio’s jaw to make him turn, and he reached for another peck onthe lips.

“Thiswas…gratifying” Ignis told him in a murmur after pulling away.

“Gratifying?It was amazing” Gladio said, and Ignis pulled away againto turn around, while putting himself back in his underwear. “Best first blowjob ever!”

“Oh, soyou’ve had other first blowjobs?”

“Don’t godrama on me.”

Ignisreplied with a laugh, moving back, avoiding the cum on the bed. Gladio moved aswell, and once he made sure they were not in its way, he turned to Ignis andbasically threw himself against the adviser, tackling him among laughter andcomplaints, and squeeze-hugging him while Ignis complained and ordered him tolet go, thing that, of course, Gladio did not do.

They stayedthrown on the bed together, hugged. Gladio kept the arms tightly around hisboyfriend, head pressed to Ignis’ chest, while the adviser caressed his hairand nape. It was a good half-an-hour in absolute silence, embraced and snuggledcomfortably on the bed. None needed of conversation to have a good time together,and Ignis was pretty convinced that that was a very good sign for theirrelationship.

He wasstill toying with Gladio’s hair when he heard the Shield-to-be talking.

“I stillfeel a little bad I came in your mouth” Gladio said and Ignis could not help alittle smile and blush. Gods, adrenaline and ecstasy passed, it made him feel alittle vulgar. “I mean, you chose to do it, but you can’t choose the flavor”this made Ignis laugh again. “It probably tasted like hell. ‘m sorry, Iggy.”

“It’s notEbony, of course” Ignis said as if analyzing, raising the eyebrows. “But it’snot necessarily bad. I could get used.”

“Really?”

Ignislaughed lowly again, more content than properly amused.

“Why not?”he said. “I do wish to repeat this, and I do wish to get better at it” Ignisburied his face in Gladio’s hair to press a kiss to the top of his head. “Andwhen learning how to give a good blowjob there’s inevitably some cum asconsequence” Gladio laughed. “Spitting sounds gross, and rumors have itswallowing is, what is it called? ‘Sexy’.”

“You’resexy enough just being yourself.”

“Now,aren’t you the smooth talker?”

“Whatever,Iggy” the adviser laughed softly in return. “You and your pretty body and yourpretty eyes are sexy enough. But swallowing was kinda hot.You don’t need to if you don’t want, though.”

“Too late,you said you enjoy, I’ll do it again.”

“You know,we should probably stop the sex talk” Gladio said from his chest and looked upat Ignis , who broke apart enough to be able to stare down and make eye contactwith his love. “I think there’s pastries in the fridge. Wanna go grabsomething?”

“Why shouldwe stop the sex talk?” Ignis asked him. “We always talk about our sexuality, norefrains, don’t tell me that the fact that I swallowed has inhibited you.”

“It’s notthat, Iggy” Gladio said and his forehead returned to its place against Ignis’chest, arms still hugged to the adviser’s hips.

“Then whyshould we stop the talk?”

“Because”Gladio again looked up at him, “I am young and apparently very horny, and allthis talk could get me ready for a round two.”

There was asmall pause between the two. Ignis blinked a few times, and Gladio only waitedfor his answer.

“…and doyou not want that?” Ignis asked him with a tiny smile and an exaggerated, fakedinnocent expression. Gladio stared at him, at first believing what Ignis wasimplicitly offering, but soon caught it was but a joke and stared at Ignis with a glancethat said ‘Ha ha, you’re so funny’, at which Ignis just contained a laugh.Gladio rolled his eyes at him and started sitting up.

“Let’s justgo grab pastries, mister Sass and Jokes.”

“No!” Ignischanted out unnecessarily dramatic, the vowel trembling like faked distress ora ghost, and he too sat up, only to throw the arms around Gladio’s neck frombehind, catching him a bit off guard and stopping him in place. “I just literally gave my first blowjob ever, I feel likestaying here and be cuddled.”

“Andpraised?” Gladio offered, covering one of Ignis’ hand with one of his own andturning to look from above his shoulder.

“Well, I did a majestic job, I believe” Ignis said and Gladiolaughed again, turning not to give his back to his boyfriend, who spoke as hemoved. “I deserve the praise.”

“Yes, youdo” Gladio replied and took him in arms again, letting themselves fall on theirsides to lie again on the bed. This time, Gladio adjusted themselves so hecould switch the earlier position, in a way in which Ignis could rest his headto Gladio’s chest and so Gladio could bury the head in Ignis’ hair and kiss thetop of his head over and over, hugging him close and dear. “Okay, then. We stayand cuddle.”

“Wonderful”Ignis said and snuggled closer to Gladio, head nuzzling against the Shield’sstrong chest, and eyes closing.

Gladiostared down at him and continued cuddling him, and found it unnecessary tocontinue talking. The praise talk had been a joke, but he would still make sureto praise Ignis a little later. Speaking in those moments felt unnecessary, anobstacle, almost like a sin. Their moments of silence were entirely precious;there was not a single second of discomfort or awkwardness. It was like theywere resting on a cloud of their own little bubble, where nothing else but each other existed, except the bubble was noise-fragile and would collapse atthe first word.

So he saidnothing. Relaxed, in peace, and satisfied, but, more than anything, so deeplyand happily in love with the most stunning mind, the prettiest body, and themost beautiful heart, all three belonging to only one person, the one in hisarms, Gladio smiled and closed the eyes, adoring everything, adoring to be ableto only hold Ignis against him and caress his messed hair and his firm back.

Ignis saidnothing either, because, just like the previous silence they had shared momentsearlier, he found their silences to be precious, entirely comfortable, a gem. Agood sign for their relationship.

Contentwith himself and how good things had gone, Ignis sighed softly and stayed therein the safe place of Gladio’s arms, happy that his boyfriend was such an excellent partnerin all aspects, and happy to go through unexplored territory hand in hand withhim.

Turns out,the unexplored territory was full of wonderful things, and Ignis would notprefer walking it with anybody else. Gladio, and only Gladio.

And, hewished, Gladio and only Gladio for the rest of his life.  

[juju-on-that-yeet]

When Evil Rears its Head: Chapter 14 - Reunion

fuccin finally amirite

At long last, it’s okay.

Read below or on AO3!

Amy’s the one who notices Mark start to rouse himself with back-of-the-throat mumbles and fluttery eyelids, and all the emotions that surge up in her make her frozen for a long moment. Once she can think again, she feels joy heating her up from the inside out.

“Doc, he’s waking up!” she calls, unable to keep the happy laughter out of her voice.

Dr. Iplier dashes in from the next room, having opted to let Amy see Mark alone. He comes at the right moment to see Mark’s time, finally, rise back up by years, decades, back to what it was before Peevils hurt him. His sigh of relief is so loud it’s almost a sob. Still, he keeps composed as he draws near Mark’s bedside, and as Mark opens his eyes all the way.

“Mark, are you okay?” Amy asks, excited and anxious, “Can you hear me?”

“Ungh,” Mark mutters, blinking slow.

“Give him a minute, he’s been out for a while” says Dr. Iplier, checking the various monitors around Mark for abnormalities. Luckily, there are none. “Actually, do you think you could track down Google? Mark’ll probably be coherent when you get back.”

“I guess,” Amy says, deflating a little, “What about Dark?”

“He’ll figure out Mark’s awake soon enough,” Dr. Iplier says, “His aura can tell that sort of thing.”

Amy nods, and reluctantly heads out to find Googleplier, but not before giving Mark’s hand a squeeze.

She peeks in on Oliver’s room before she leaves the clinic, half-wondering if he, and everyone else, might already be alive again. He clearly isn’t, and Amy figures Mark must have to bring him back with intention. But Oliver has at least stopped flickering, and Amy’s heart feels ever-lighter.

She almost runs to the control room, so filled with excitement and happiness that the smile on her face feels permanent. She finds Google messing with some sort of project. Or, at least, perhaps he was a minute ago, but he’s now staring down at Plus and Chrome, who, like Oliver, have stopped shifting in and out of being. Google looks up at Amy when he sees her come in, sees the look on her face, and understands immediately.

“Mark’s awake,” Amy tells him anyway, breathless.

Amy practically sees the tension roll off his body. She’s leading him at first, but before long his stride overtakes hers, and it’s how Amy knows just how relieved he is.

When she walks back into Mark’s room, she finds Darkiplier already there, standing off in the corner of the room but looking at Mark with a benign sort of intensity. Dr. Iplier, meanwhile, is peering into Mark’s eyes with an ophthalmoscope, with Mark trying not to squint at the bright light.

“How are you feeling?” Dr. Iplier asks him, moving from one eye to other.

“Shitty,” Mark answers, voice tired and warped from having gone so long without speaking but happy to be speaking again all the same.

“You look it,” Google says without missing a beat.

“Yeah, yeah,” Mark mutters at him, but there’s no venom in it. As Dr. Iplier pulls the ophthalmoscope away, Mark turns to look at Google. He quickly catches sight of Amy as well, and his eyes soften as he looks at her. “Hey, you,” he says, smiling.

Amy thinks that she could know every word in every language and still not be able to describe how seeing that goofy grin makes her feel.

“‘Hey, you’ yourself,” she says as she approaches his bedside, reaching for his hand. Mark takes it in his and squeezes, and that’s when it really, truly sinks in for Amy that he’s back, that he’s okay, that he’s going to be okay; when she holds his hand and he holds back.

She lets her head drop onto his shoulder, one of the only places on him without a bandage.

“I missed you,” she whispers, voice edged with tears.

“Hey, hey,” Mark murmurs, taking the hand not holding Amy’s and using it to stroke her hair, “It’s okay, I’m okay. I know that whole thing must’ve been scary, but I’m alright now, you don’t have to cry.”

“I know,” Amy answers, voice muffled in Mark’s shoulder, “But I might anyway.”

“And people call me a crybaby,” Mark chuckles, pressing a kiss into her hair.

“I hate to interrupt,” Dark suddenly intrudes, “But now that you’re awake, Mark, I believe there’s something that needs to be done.”

Mark stares at him, not angry, but annoyed in a tired, sympathetic sort of way. He hasn’t forgotten what happened, even after everything. He remembers when Dark tried to stop Peevils in Wilford’s room. He was there when Yandere was killed. He knows better than almost anyone how much Dark fears loss. He finds it hard to muster up anything but sympathy for the being who, until now, has wanted to kill him. Dark turns away from Mark’s stare, cracking his neck to mask how uncomfortable he feels under Mark’s understanding gaze.

“Dark does have a point,” Google admits, “The others aren’t flickering anymore, but they’re still dead.” He looks at Mark. “You have to bring them back.”

Amy lifts her head from Mark’s shoulder, and Mark looks at her as he considers Google’s words. His brow furrows as he thinks.

“How?” he asks. “I’ve never had to bring an ego…back from the dead before.”

“Well,” Dr. Iplier says, “As far as I know, you simply have to want them to come back. All you really need to do is think about it. You’re the one who made them,” Dr. Iplier reminds him, “And they still have the fans, so now that you’re able to want them back they should come back.”

“So, just…think about it?” Mark asks.

“Yep,” Dr. Iplier answers, “I’m a doctor, I know what’s best.”

“I know, Doc,” Mark chuckles. He looks back at Amy again, clearly somewhat nervous.

“You’ve got this, Mark,” she says, smiling softly.

Mark returns it with a gentle grin of his own, and does as Dr. Iplier suggested. He thinks. He thinks about watching Peevils kill them with his own hands, and remembers what she told him.

Your hand held the gun, and your finger pulled the trigger. It doesn’t matter who held the reins.

But Mark knows that he holds the reins now. And he wants the egos back.

He’s concentrating so hard he doesn’t hear the footsteps, but he does hear Google turn around and Dr. Iplier gasp.

Mark remembers that Oliver had three bullets in his chest the last time he saw him. Now, the android is standing in the doorway to his room, with a look on his face like he knows what it means that he’s alive, smile brighter than Mark has ever seen it.

“Oliver,” Google breathes, eyes so wide they might fall out.

“Hi, Blue,” Oliver says, voice soft.

In the next moment, he’s being crushed in Google’s embrace.

“You’re alive,” he whispers, like his voice might break if he tries to speak any louder, “You’re alright.”

“Yeah,” Oliver murmurs, wrapping his arms around his older brother, “Yeah, I’m alright. It’s okay, Google, I’m here.”

“You’re here,” Google repeats, as if he hardly believes it. “Oliver, I missed you,” he goes on, sounding very close to tears.

“Shush,” Oliver says gently, “Everything’s okay, Google. I mean, if I’m here—” His eyes light up. “Plus and Chrome are okay, too!” He pulls away from the hug, practically bouncing with excitement. “Come on, we gotta go find them!”

“I doubt they’ve gone anywhere, Oliver,” Google replies, but there’s a smile on his face regardless. He casts a single, thankful, backwards glance at Mark as Oliver practically yanks him out of the room.

“It worked,” Mark gasps, still shell-shocked.

“I told you you had it,” Amy says, running a hand through Mark’s already-messy hair.

At that moment, the two of them along with Dr. Iplier hear the distinctive sound of Dark teleporting away. Sure enough, when they look at the corner of the room, he’s gone.

“Rude,” says Mark, without any real anger.

“We can’t really blame him,” Dr. Iplier points out, “No doubt there’s people he wants to check on.”

“What about you?” Amy asks him. She’s been to Ego Inc. enough times to know of one person in particular that Dr. Iplier deeply cares about.

“Oh, well,” Dr. Iplier stammers, “Yes, but, I have to keep an eye on Mark, don’t I?”

“I’ll be the judge of that!” says Mark, “And I say I’ll be fine while you’re gone.”

“Mark, I’m the doctor here—” Dr. Iplier starts.

“Yeah, yeah, you know best,” Mark finishes, “I’m the one who gave you that catchphrase. But I’m not gonna let you miss out on seeing people you care about.” He gives a gentle smile. “Go on, Doc, I’ll be fine.”

“And if anything does happen,” Amy says, “I’ll let you know right away.”

Dr. Iplier sighs thoughtfully, and looks at Mark’s time. It’s perfectly steady, going down second by second as it should, projecting a long life.

“Alright,” Dr. Iplier relents, “I’ll hold you to that, Amy. See you in a bit.” There’s gratefulness in his eyes as he leaves the room, and Amy and Mark give him little waves goodbye.

The two are then left alone.

“How have you been holding up?” Mark asks Amy, “Doc said it’s been three days.”

“About as well as you’d expect,” Amy answers, “Considering your clock was acting really strange, according to Dr. Iplier.”

“Yeah, he told me that before you came in,” Mark says. He shakes his head. “This whole thing is just…so beyond me. I didn’t know half the stuff I know about figments before this happened.” He looks down at himself, as his hands. “Maybe I did know and just didn’t want to think about it. All those figments, all those people, whose lives are basically in my hands.” He shudders, remembering what Peevils made him do. “It’s…a lot.”

“I bet,” Amy murmurs, taking one of Mark’s hands in her own.

“Dr. Iplier said Google and Dark killed Peevils, and that she’s in Dark’s void now,” Mark goes on, “But now what? What if she escapes? She can’t just be killed, she has to be forgotten. How do you make someone forget something?”

“Actually, I had an idea the other day,” Amy says, “That you could pretty much distract the fans by making videos about your egos. Like a whole series; everybody gets a video.”

“Woof,” Mark says, “That’s a lot of videos. But the fans would love it, ‘specially if I drop hints beforehand. They go nuts for that.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Amy says, “Obviously we can’t just tell them to stop making content about Peevils, but we can definitely give them other things to make content about.” Mark grins. “What?” Amy asks, smiling a little.

“My girlfriend’s a genius~,” Mark says, sing-song. Amy laughs, and Mark laughs too, and the two lean forward towards each other, bumping foreheads.

“Hey,” Mark says, “I’ve been wanting to ask…Someone’s been watching Chica, right?”

“Of course,” Amy answers, unable to keep from laughing a little, “Ethan’s taking care of her.”

“Oh,” Mark says, subdued, “So the others know what happened.”

“Yeah,” Amy replies, “Sean and Signe do, too, but we haven’t said anything one way or the other to the fans. We weren’t really sure if, well…” She doesn’t finish. It hurts to think about, even with Mark sitting before her, perfectly alive.

“Hey, hey,” Mark murmurs, kissing Amy’s cheek, “It’s okay now. You don’t have to worry about that anymore.” He pauses. “We should probably let the others know.”

“Yeah, we should,” Amy says, but makes no move to grab her phone.

Mark seems to understand, without words being spoken, that Amy wants him to herself for a little while. As Amy scoots closer, tucking her head into his shoulder, Mark decides he’s happy to oblige.

Meanwhile, floor by floor, once-lost figments come together with those they missed.

~~~

Yandereplier wakes up on the floor of the dojo, a little dazed as the heavy hardness of death slowly falls away. He hears someone else sit up a few feet away, and looks over to see Bim. Yandere wonders what he missed as Bim looks around himself before his eyes meet Yandere’s.

“Yan, you’re okay!” He exclaims. He looks down at himself, patting his head, his chest, his arms. “I’m okay! We’re okay, that means…” His face splits into a smile. “…I did it. I did it. I got Peevils out of Mark, Mark is okay, everyone…” He suddenly stands. “Ollie and Wil and the Jims, they’re all okay, everyone’s okay, I did it, I can’t believe I did it!” He dashes out of the room, half-laughing, as Yandere looks on.

Yandere grabs his katana from off the floor beside him (there’s a small burst of anger in his chest as he remembers why it’s there) and sheathes it, thinking to himself. No doubt Bim has gone to see all the people he’s been missing, and Yandere thinks he should, too. Relief breaks in his chest as it sinks in that he’s alive, that Wilford and Chrome must also be alive.

Surely Dark is alive by now, as well.

Yandere’s surprised by the stew of conflicting feelings that thought brings up. Happiness and relief, sure, but also anxiety, making something bittersweet. Yandere remembers the sound of Dark crying out just before Yandere died, but he also remembers the things Peevils said to him.

He doesn’t keep you around because he cares, he keeps you around because you’re useful.

You know what he said? “He’s convenient, that’s all.”

He already knows how you feel about him, so if he cares about you, then why hasn’t he said anything?

Yandere isn’t sure how much of her words he can trust, but then again, she did have a point. Dark is Dark, after all; he’s cruel and sadistic, powerful and power-hungry, those traits are what drew Yandere to him in the first place. Would Dark really string Yandere along for his own benefit? Is every pleasant moment between them contrived? Is there truly no hope for Yandere’s love to be returned?

He's terrified to realize that he doesn’t know.

It’s not as if he’d never thought about those things before, either. Yandere’s always had a nagging voice in the back of his head, one to tell him that he will never be good enough for Dark, that Dark, in turn, is too good for someone like Yandere. It flares up to remind Yandere that it could all be a farce, that it probably is one, because why would Dark ever love him? What would someone so powerful and self-assured ever need Yandere for? Aside from helping out with boring chores. Which Yandere does, and is happy to do; at least when these thoughts aren’t circulating in his mind.

For god’s sake, Yandere should be happy right now, he should be overjoyed. He’s alive, Wilford is alive, Chrome is alive, everything Peevils did has been undone, everything is back to normal again, everything is okay. He knows all that, and yet that nagging voice in his mind, joined now with Peevils’s, is keeping his head out of the clouds.

But it’s as if the universe can hear his thoughts, for in the next moment there’s the sound of moving air and the dojo gets colder. Yandere jumps up and find Dark standing not six feet away from him, with a look on his face that even Yandere, for all the expressions he’s seen on Dark, cannot decipher. He swallows his earlier doubts as he smiles at Dark.

“Yami-san, it’s good to see you again~!” he exclaims, and it’s true; for all his worried thoughts it’s a relief to see Dark in front of him.

Yandere’s heart almost stops when Dark smiles. It’s but the slightest curve in his lips, the tiniest lift in the corner of his mouth, but it’s a smile all the same.

“You as well, Yandere,” Dark says, with a softness in his voice that Yandere hardly ever hears from him.

If Dark were only smiling or only speaking kindly, Yandere would be able to handle it. But both at once is, in his opinion, downright unfair.

“Ah, um, arigatou,” Yandere stammers, flustered. His hand instinctively rises to his face to try and hide his blush. Not that it helps; Dark has already noticed, if the low chuckle that comes out of his throat is any indication. The sound only makes Yandere blush harder. He thinks his face must be as red as his hair by now.

Embarrassing. He has you wrapped around his finger and he knows it. What makes you think he could ever actually want you?

Ah, there it is. That skeptical voice in his head, spurred on by Peevils’s words. Apparently Dark’s appearance isn’t enough to push it away. At the very least, it forces Yandere to compose himself, allowing him to steady his expression and take his hand away from his face as the blush there dies down. Dark seems to notice the sudden change, but when he speaks, he doesn’t comment on it.

“Are you alright, then?” he instead asks, “Death is always…unpleasant, after all.”

“Oh, I’m fine!” Yandere says, heart fluttering at Dark’s concern, “I’ve died before, it’s not that bad.”

(It was different this time. This time was almost permanent. The thought that Yandere might’ve stopped existing at any moment was horrifying, and it pervaded every second of those three days he was dead. But how could he possibly bother Dark with that?)

“Mm,” Dark says, accepting Yandere’s answer. He pauses, figuring out what he wants to say next. “I’m…sorry I wasn’t fast enough before.” He looks away. “Myself and the others could have stopped Peevils from killing you had I gotten us here sooner.”

“Yami-san…” Yandere murmurs. His heart hammers ever harder. “I—I’m fine now, it doesn’t matter.”

Dark sighs, but he’s smiling again as he looks back at Yandere.

“You’re so forgiving,” he says, “No matter what I do or don’t do, you’re always so forgiving.”

Yandere is too surprised by the compliment to even thank Dark as his cheeks turn red again.

“You’re very clever, too,” Dark continues, stepping forward towards Yandere, “You’ve managed to make me fond of you through sheer persistence.” He stops walking when he’s right in front of Yandere. The smile drops from Dark’s expression as he goes on. “I’m sorry it took you almost dying completely for me to realize it.”

“Yami-san?” Yandere whispers, barely audible. Dark can’t be saying what Yandere thinks he’s saying, can he?

Dark lifts his hand and gently takes Yandere’s chin, and Yandere’s breath hitches. He stares up at Dark with wide eyes and strawberry cheeks. Dark’s gaze is cool as ever, but there’s something kind there just below the surface, just behind his eyes. They stay like that for a moment, and Yandere, lovestruck as he is, feels those nagging thoughts begin to return. But they don’t get far.

Dark lifts Yandere’s chin, his other arms curls around Yandere’s waist, and he kisses him, impossibly soft and gentle.

Just like that, every doubt Yandere’s ever had melts away, along with almost everything else. For a long moment he can’t even think at all, too stunned to even close his eyes. When he can think, he thinks he’s going to pass out, or explode, or die on the spot. Possibly all three, in that order.

But he’s not frozen for long as love warms him up from the inside out. His eyes drift closed, he wraps his arms around Dark, and he presses himself up against him as he kisses back, fierce and longing. Dark’s hand moves from Yandere’s chin, brushing across his cheek to the back of his head, tangling fingers through his hair. Dark kisses him harder, tongue hungrily slipping inside Yandere’s mouth. Yandere matches his intensity, his own tongue moving against Dark’s as he brings his hands to Dark’s face, feeling his stubble beneath his fingers. Dark sighs, and Yandere moans, and Yandere feels more complete and whole than he had when he first found Ego Inc and realized it was where he belonged. Neither of them notice cherry blossom petals start to fall through the air around them, gently floating in from nowhere.

Dark pulls away first, if only to let Yandere breathe, but the two hold onto each other still, panting. Yandere has a dusting of pink across his cheeks, stars in his eyes, and flower petals floating around him, and Dark doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything so beautiful.

“Yami-san,” Yandere gasps, unable to say anything else. He’s too lovestruck to be embarrassed about the way his hands remain on Dark’s cheeks or the sound he made earlier when Dark deepened the kiss. Dark doesn’t seem to be embarrassed either, if the warmth in his eyes and the loose smile on his lips are anything to go by.

“You don’t…” Dark begins, again carefully choosing words, “…you don’t have to use that honorific for me anymore if you don’t want to.”

In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a very big deal; at least, it shouldn’t be. Dark probably doesn’t know how significant honorifics are in Japanese, he probably doesn’t know how much a person trusts someone else when they decide they don’t want an honorific anymore. Even if he does know, it probably doesn’t matter; honorifics aren’t quite the same in English, it’d make more sense for Dark not to want an honorific on his name.

And yet, despite all that, this is the moment that Yandere’s brain decides to get emotional. Tears come on too fast for him to stop, and he takes his hands away from Dark’s face to scrub at his eyes.

“I’m not upset,” he says quickly, even as emotion warps his voice. But it’s true. Yandere isn’t upset; he’s the happiest he’s ever been.

Dark huffs, a small noise that wants to be a chuckle but isn’t quite there, as he gently takes Yandere’s wrists and pulls his hands away from his face.

“I know,” he murmurs, but hugs Yandere anyway, one hand anchoring him close and the other stroking his hair, trying to soothe.

Yandere hugs back, burying his face in Dark’s shoulder, sniffling.

“I’m really happy,” Yandere says, voice wet.

“I know,” Dark repeats, a smile in his voice, “There’s a lot to be happy about right now, isn’t there?”

“Yeah,” Yandere sniffles. “Hey, speaking of that,” he says as a thought occurs to him, “What happened to Peevils anyway? Bim was here, he said something about getting her out of Mark…”

“That he did,” Dark replies, pulling away a little to look at Yandere as he speaks to him. “Google killed her after that, and I’m going to be keeping her in my void until she fades.”

“That’s where she is?” Yandere asks. His tears stop as his eyes flash. “Can you take me to her so I can kill her?”

“No,” Dark answers immediately, “Besides, she hasn’t woken up from Google killing her yet.”

“After she wakes up then?” Yandere persists, “Please?”

“No,” Dark repeats.

“But Yami, I really want to kill her.” He tilts his head, and the strange glint in his eyes reveals itself as bloodlust, but his voice stays as high-pitched and innocent as ever. “I want to tear her into pieces for everything she did. Doesn’t she deserve it, Yami?” Yandere’s lips spread into a wide grin. “I just want to make her suffer.”

Perhaps, Dark concedes, he was wrong before. This is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

“…Maybe,” he relents, “But not until she’s weaker, so you’ll need to be patient.”

Yandere’s crazed expression drops immediately to be replaced with a pout.

“Baka,” Yandere mutters, light and teasing.

Well, this isn’t the most beautiful thing Dark’s ever seen, but it’s definitely the cutest.

“Will you be less mad at me,” Dark says, “If I took you with me to Wilford’s studio? I was planning to go there after this, and I’m sure you want to see Wilford, too.”

“Hai!” Yandere answers, face lighting up in a happy grin. “I’m not actually mad at you,” he adds.

“Yandere,” Dark says, smiling in return, “I know.”

Yandere blushes for what feels like the hundredth time, but his smile remains as Dark teleports them out of the dojo.

~~~

The Jims wake up beside each other on the floor of their closet, and for a long moment they’re too astonished to do anything but stare at each other, each amazed to see bright, living eyes staring back.

Then the dam bursts, and they practically fling themselves into each other’s arms, sobbing with joy.

“God, Jim, y-you’re alive, you’re alive,” gasps Weather Jim, clinging to News Jim’s shirt like he’s afraid he’ll disappear.

“You’re alive,” News Jims whispers shakily, one hand threading through Weather Jim’s hair and the other cupping the back of his neck, drawing him as close as possible, “Jim, I-I kept trying to m-make you feel better before but I, God, I w-was so scared, I thought—”

“I thought, t-too,” Weather Jim sniffles, not wanting News Jim to have to say it and himself not wanting to hear it, “And I knew y-you were scared, who wouldn’t be? But we’re alive.” He pulls away to look at News Jim, offering a wide smile even with tears still streaming down his cheeks. “We’re alive, h-holy fuck, we’re alive.”

News Jim almost laughs, but he kisses Weather Jim instead, hands moving to his cheeks the way they did the last time he kissed him, when they both thought it would be the last time. The kiss is short, though, as they’re each too out of breath from crying, and even after they break apart they go back to sobbing into each other’s shirts.

It’s News Jim who hears running footsteps come into their room, and looks up in time to see Bim rush in. Their eyes meet, and Bim practically melts with relief.

“You guys are okay,” he breathes, before running to them and wrapping an arm around each of them.

Weather Jim notices him now, too, and he and News Jim are quick to reach out and pull Bim into their hug. The three stay like that for several minutes, squeezing each other tight and crying into each other’s shoulders, relishing how warm and alive each of them are, rejoicing in their own existence. Eventually, the tears peter off, and Weather Jim is the first to speak.

“What even happened, anyway?” he asks, “How are we alive?”

“I got Peevils out of Mark with my powers,” Bim answers, and even after having cried so much he manages to puff up with pride. “And Mark must’ve brought us all back.”

“Wait, “us”?” News Jim asks, pulling away from the group hug enough to stare at Bim in shock. “You mean Peevils killed you, too?”

“Yeah,” Bim admits, “I…honestly wasn’t sure I’d gotten Mark out, to be honest. She must have gotten me at the last second before my powers pushed her out; otherwise, well…” He shakes his head. “Whatever. We’re okay. We’re all okay. That’s what matters.”

There’s a pause.

“Hey, this’d make a hell of a story, huh, Jim?” asks Weather Jim, laughing a little.

“Heh, yeah, I guess so,” News Jim replies, unable to help his grin, “I bet Wilford’ll be interviewing everyone in the building before too long.”

“Oh, geez, Wil!” Bim cries, jumping to his feet, “Peevils got him, too, I gotta go see him!”

“We’ll come with you,” both Jims accidentally say at the same time as they stand up. They immediately turn to give each other a confused look.

“That keeps happening,” Weather Jim says, and Bim snorts.

Now that he has company, Bim doesn’t feel the need to run like before, and instead walks alongside the Jims as they leave their room, traveling down the hall and to the stairs towards the third floor, happy to listen to their chatter, happy to get to hear it again.

~~~

When Plus wakes up, he only has a second and a half to remember what happened to him before he hears Chrome gasp from a few feet away. He turns to look at him and sees Chrome’s eyes shining; not with the bright red glow they get when he’s angry, but with tears about to be shed. It occurs to him that it’s been ages since the last time he saw Chrome cry.

“Chrome, it’s alright,” Plus murmurs, moving over to him. He knows Chrome isn’t always one for hugs, so he settles for reassuringly grabbing his shoulder.

Chrome nods, lips pressed together like he doesn’t trust himself enough to speak without sobbing. He leans forward and lets his head drop onto Plus’s shoulder, and Plus takes that as permission to wrap his arm around Chrome in a loose hug. He can feel him trembling ever so slightly.

“It’s alright,” he repeats, voice soft, “I’m here, don’t cry.”

“I’m not gonna cry,” Chrome mutters, shaky and quiet yet managing a touch of annoyance.

It’s then that they hear familiar voices coming from outside the control room.

“Ed, you’re okay!”

“Sure I am, ain’t no one can take down ol’ Ed Edgar Adoptallot that easy!”

“Yes, they can, and Peevils almost did, because you’re a colossal idiot.”

“Hey, I was only tryin’ to help!”

Google and Ed start bickering as Oliver walks into the control room, shaking his head but with a grin on his lips. His eyes light up at the sight of Plus and Chrome.

“Guys!” he cries, running to them. Plus and Chrome stand to meet him, accepting Oliver’s hug with open arms. “I’m so glad you’re both okay,” he murmurs into his brothers’ shoulders.

“Yeah,” Plus responds, hugging Oliver tight, “We’re okay.”

“We’re all okay,” Chrome adds, sounding as if he’s speaking to himself more than to Oliver.

That’s when Google comes in after parting with Ed, and he doesn’t expect to be so surprised by the sight of Plus and Chrome, but he’s blindsided by the fact that they’re both alive, and he can see from here that Plus’s wrist isn’t damaged anymore, and Oliver’s there, too, all three of his baby brothers who he missed so much are back like nothing ever went wrong, like Peevils never killed them, like there were never any bullet holes in their skin, like Google never failed to protect them, they’re alive and whole and right there—

Before Google knows it, he’s crossed the room and has his arms around all three of his brothers, holding them close to him. Plus and Chrome are each a little surprised, but Oliver already seems to understand. Regardless, they each hug Google back, forming a tight circle of tangled arms and gentle hands.

“I missed all of you,” Google murmurs, “I missed all of you so much. The odds were so high that I’d never see any of you again.”

“Aw, Google,” Oliver whispers, using his spot at the center of the group hug to squeeze Google tight, “We’re here now, it’s okay.”

“Whatever fucking bullshit Peevils planned—” Chrome almost growls, “—didn’t work, we’re fine.”

“The statistics of the past don’t matter,” Plus says, “You’re seeing us all now, aren’t you?”

The three younger androids continue to murmur to Google, who closes his eyes and focuses on the sounds of his brothers’ voices, the feel of their t-shirts and the mechanical warmth of their skin, and before long tears start to leak out from his closed eyes. The others notice immediately.

“Google, you’re crying!” Plus gasps, and Google almost laughs.

“Astute observation,” he quips, though his voice is wavering and quiet.

“You’ve literally never cried, ever,” Chrome puts in, “Maybe you’re malfunctioning.”

“He is not malfunctioning!” Oliver yells, “He’s just happy, that’s all.”

“It is highly out of character for Google to cry, though,” Plus muses.

Oliver, Plus, and Chrome devolve into bickering as Google lets out a breathy, watery chuckle, holding the three of them ever tighter.

~~~

Once Dark teleports himself and Yandere into Wilford’s studio, Yandere darts ahead to look for Wilford. Dark doesn’t begrudge him that, though, knowing full well how close the two of them are. He looks around more calmly, finding that Wilford isn’t where he died. It doesn’t take long for him and Yandere to hear him and locate him in his bedroom, lamenting at the black burn mark on the ceiling and bits of shrapnel around the room that used to be his bazooka.

“I can’t believe this, I barely even got to use that thing,” he gripes to himself.

Dark rolls his eyes from the doorway, and Yandere dashes forward.

“Wil!” he cries, gearing up for the biggest tackle-hug he’s ever given.

Wilford turns just in time to catch an armful of clingy, crying Yandere, and laughs as he holds him, momentum swinging them both around.

“Come on now, kiddo,” Wilford chides playfully, “You know no one can get the jump on old Wilford Warfstache!”

“Peevils did,” Dark points out, “You’re lucky you aren’t still dead.”

“Oh, don’t get all sentimental on me now, Darky,” Wilford says sarcastically. He looks down at Yandere, still holding onto Wilford tight and sobbing into his shoulder. “That goes for you too, Yandy,” he says more gently.

“You w-were almost gone f-forever,” Yandere whimpers, “I’m so happy y-you’re okay, onii-san.”

“You and me both,” Wilford admits, squeezing Yandere tight, “But I’m still here, aren’t I? There’s no need to cry.”

Yandere nods but sniffles, so Wilford holds him for a few moments longer, letting the younger ego calm down. Dark remains standing in the doorway, and it’s for this reason that when Yandere finally stops crying and whispers something in Wilford’s ear, Dark can’t hear it. But he can guess as much what it is when Wilford turns his gaze to him, eyes surprised and brow furrowed.

“Really,” Wilford says, pulling away from Yandere and approaching Dark.

“Onii-saaaaaaan,” Yandere whines, already knowing where this is going.

“Otoutooooooo,” Wilford replies with a slight grin, perfectly mimicking Yandere’s tone.

Yandere pouts put doesn’t say anything more as Wilford comes to a stop before Dark, barely inches away from him. Dark resists the equal urges to lean back or roll his eyes at the oddly serious face Wilford is making.

“So,” Wilford starts, “You and Yandere, huh?”

“Yes,” Dark says, “What of it?”

Yandere’s cheeks start to turn red.

“Well, Dark,” Wilford begins, “We’ve been friends a long time, you and I, and I’d say I know you quite well.”

“And?” Dark questions.

“It is for that reason precisely,” Wilford answers, “That I don’t trust you with Yan one bit.”

Dark’s lip curls in a sneer, and Yandere groans in embarrassment, covering his red face with is hands.

“Are you serious, Wilford?” Dark asks.

“Never been more serious in my life!” Wilford insists, “Now, don’t get me wrong, Dark: I like you, we’re friends, we’ve always been friends and I wouldn’t change it for anything.” A knife poofs into his hand. “But if you aren’t good to Yandy, I won’t hesitate to give you a tickle with this bad boy here.” He waggles the knife. “You get it?”

“…I get it,” Dark says through gritted teeth.

“You’re so embarrassing, onii-san,” Yandere mutters from behind his hands.

“Hey, I’m just making sure Darky, you know,” Wilford makes a vague gesture, “Understands what’s happening here.”

“Wilford,” Dark growls, losing patience, “This is completely unnecessary. I do not have any ill intentions in getting into a relationship with Yandere.”

Yandere peeks out from between his fingers at that, a happy gleam in his eyes.

“Pinky promise?” Wilford asks, holding up his pinky finger.

Dark almost sighs. This is foolish.

“Pinky promise,” he mutters anyway, locking his own pinky finger with Wilford’s for a moment. Wilford nods, seemingly satisfied.

“Alright then,” he says, “I’ll hold you to it, Darky.”

“I’m sure,” Dark replies, glad to be done with the conversation.

There’s a pause as Wilford sighs, no doubt thinking about his cause of death, and what might’ve come after.

“How bad did it get?” he asks.

“By the end of it,” Dark answers, “There were only a few of us left.”

Wilford curses. Yandere, no longer blushing, steps closer to Wilford, like he hopes his presence alone can comfort him.

“Sheesh,” Wilford mutters, “What ended up happening?”

“Bim pulled Peevils out of Mark,” Dark explains, “Google killed her, and I put her in my void.”

“Bim helped save the day, huh?” Wilford asks, expression lighting up immediately, “That kid’s got more in him than I thought.”

Dark is about to ask if Wilford even listened to the rest of his explanation when he hears the sound of a door opening, following by running footsteps. He, Wilford, and Yandere turn to see Bim, there as if he knew he’d been mentioned, with the Jims trailing behind.

“Wil!” Bim shouts, running forward and hugging Wilford, tears already back in his eyes.

“Hey, Trimmer,” Wilford says, hugging back, “What’s this I hear about you getting Peevils out of Mark?”

“Heh, yeah,” Bim replies, pride in his voice, “I used my powers to pull her out.” He winces. “She did still kill me, though.”

“You better believe I’m interviewing you about this later,” Wilford laughs, letting Bim go, “That story’s too good to pass up!” Bim laughs, too.

“Sounds great!” he says, grinning wide.

The Jims continue to hang back, too intimidated by both Dark and Yandere to approach Wilford, and they settle for standing beside each other and smiling at Bim and Wilford’ happiness, smiling at the fact that they’re both alive.

“You know,” Wilford says to Bim, “You ought to let Oliver know about your little act of heroism.” He winks. “I bet it’d impress him.”

“Wil,” Bim mutters quietly, embarrassed, but smiling at the thought of Oliver.

“I mean it!” Wilford insists, “If that doesn’t get his attention, nothing will.” He grabs Bim’s shoulders and turns him around, clapping him on the back to move him forward. “Now go out there and make it happen!”

“Geez, Wil,” Bim says, half-laughing at the absurdity, “If it means so much to you, sure.” He pauses, looking over his shoulder at Wilford. “I’m really glad you’re okay, you know. I put together what happened after I knocked, and I—”

“Oh, pish-posh,” Wilford says, but his smile is softer, “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” Bim answers, giving his own smile, “Yeah.”

He waves goodbye as he leaves the studio with the Jims in tow.

“Ever the wingman today, aren’t you, Wilford?” Dark muses when Bim and the Jims are out of sight.

“What can I say?” Wilford replies with a grin, “Wilford knows what’s best.”

“Wil,” Yandere puts in, “Stop stealing Ishi-san’s catchphrase! You already have your own.”

“Eh, that’s a minor detail,” Wilford says, waving off the comment. He pauses. “Speaking of me knowing what’s best, don’t you have a Google to check on, too?”

“Hai, that’s right,” Yandere says, thinking. He gets caught up in the moment easily on normal days, and in a strange situation like the one he’s in now, he’s practically dependent on others to change the subject for him. “Are you both coming with me?” he asks Wilford and Dark.

“Go on ahead,” Dark tells him, “We’ll catch up.”

Even Wilford notices how different Dark’s voice sounds as he speaks to Yandere. Yandere, for his part, turns the slightest bit pink and gives a tiny wave, too smiley and flustered for a proper goodbye. He practically skips away, and Dark has to suppress a chuckle.

There’s a pause that Wilford breaks.

“I meant what I said about Yan before,” he says.

“I know,” Dark replies, “So did I.”

“How’d that happen so suddenly, anyway?” Wilford asks, “After all this time? Here I was thinking you weren’t even capable of love.”

“As long as we’re being honest,” Dark growls, “Watching someone die in front of you rather puts your feelings into perspective.”

There’s another pause as Wilford mulls Dark’s words over, clearly not having expected such a response. Dark supposes, though, that he can’t really blame Wilford. It’s been too long, Wilford’s too far gone to remember the pieces that make up Dark. Dark can forget too, sometimes, when things are peaceful. When things are peaceful, he can feel like his own being, and not like a horrendous amalgamation of two withered souls and a hungry spirit trapped under a crackling human shell. But since Peevils began her reign of terror the dissonant voices within him had gotten ever louder, and reached their loudest when Peevils killed Yandere. Dark knows that it’s reasonable for Wilford to assume Dark can’t love, though, considering he doesn’t remember those voices so well anymore, he’s forgotten that the two people whose fragments remain in Dark loved so fiercely it got them both in trouble, even if in different ways. Dark hadn’t even wanted to admit he could love until now, perhaps due to those fragments, along with the entity that sucked up any good they once had.

But Dark isn’t so stubborn that he won’t take a second chance, even if there’s an opportunity for it to blow up in his face.

Even if the monster under his shell is still hungry for souls.

“This happened because I…have gotten complacent,” Dark sighs, “We all have.” He pauses. “I’ll be holding a meeting soon. We need to make sure nothing like this can happen again.”

“Hey, Dark,” Wilford says, putting a hand on Dark’s shoulder, “What happened was bad, but it’s over with.” He grins. “Why not enjoy that for a bit?”

And that’s why Dark needs Wilford around; for all the headaches and problems he causes there’s no glass half-full better to match Dark’s glass half-empty. No one better to remind Dark to let the past be, live in the present, and embrace the future, even with all its uncertainty. No one better to remind Dark that sometimes, just sometimes, it’s okay to let go and be happy.

“I suppose,” Dark answers Wilford, the sigh in his voice failing to hide his smile.

~~~

Across the hall, the Googles finally emerge from the control room to find Bim and the Jims coming to meet them. Oliver’s face lights up to see Bim, and even Google can’t help but smile. It’s a relief to see him again, a relief that Bim gets to see his sacrifice through.

“It’s so good to see you guys again!” Bim says as he approaches. The Jims nod their agreement.

“You, too!” Oliver exclaims, arms already out for a hug.

There’s no hesitation when Bim and Oliver embrace; they both remember too well the last time they saw each other, they both remember too clearly the tears and the motor oil, and it grounds them both to be so close. Meanwhile, the Jims go to Plus, their second-favorite Google after Oliver, and Google himself watches, no longer crying but with circuits alight with happiness.

Mere moments later, a yelp and a thud snap everyone’s gazes to where Chrome stands. Or rather, stood, as Yandere’s tackle-hug has gracelessly sent them both sprawling, leaving Yandere clutching onto a surprised and grumpy Chrome.

“Get off me!” Chrome yells, “You trying to get me killed again??”

“I missed you, Aka-kun,” Yandere sniffles, overcome to be seeing his friend alive again.

Chrome sighs at that and sits up, curling one arm around Yandere. The hold is awkward and a little too loose as Chrome is poor at giving comfort, but it’s enough for Yandere, who continues hugging Chrome tight, whimpering into his shoulder.

“Hey, quit crying,” Chrome mutters without any real harshness, “I’m fine.”

The others smile or chuckle before looking back to each other, letting Chrome and Yandere have their own moment.

“Gosh, it’s…” Bim says, speaking to Oliver, “It’s really just so good to see you again, Ollie.”

“Yeah,” Oliver replies, “I’m glad to be okay, and I’m glad you’re okay, too.”

“Well, actually,” Bim starts, but stops at the shocked look on Oliver’s face.

“You mean she got you, too??” Oliver asks, eyebrows drawing down in concern.

“Yeah, but!” Bim says quickly, already puffing up with pride, “I helped defeat her! I got her out of Mark.” He deflates somewhat. “I don’t know what happened after that, though.”

“I killed her,” Google puts in. Oliver looks over his shoulder at him as he continues. “She’s in Dark’s void now, still dead, most likely.”

“Woah,” Oliver and Bim say at the same time. They both laugh at that, and Google almost rolls his eyes but manages to hold back.

“That could not have happened without Bim, though,” Google admits, looking right at him, “Thank you.”

As proud as Bim is of what he’s done, he still finds himself flustered at Google’s compliment.

“Oh, geez, I mean…” he stammers, and Oliver lets out a soft giggle. Bim can feel his cheeks starting to heat up, but he can’t help it; Oliver’s laughter is his favorite sound in the world.

“That’s incredible, Bim,” Oliver says, eyes shining with awe and joy, “I have to thank you, too.” He shyly ducks his head. “It’s because of you that we’re all still here.”

“Google’s the one who killed Peevils, Oliver,” butts in Chrome, who is no longer on the floor but standing next to Google, Yandere on his other side.

“Judging from Google’s explanation of events,” says Plus, “Bim’s actions were significant, but they were not the only actions that got us where we are now.”

“Whatever,” Oliver says, rolling his eyes. Bim can tell he’s not really annoyed, though, especially since he’s back to smiling in the next moment. And Bim so loves Oliver’s smile. “Still, thank you for everything,” Oliver continues, “You’re at least part of the reason we’re okay.”

“I’m, um, glad it all worked out,” Bim replies, still very much flustered. Ordinarily he’d be able to hide it, but after all the excitement he’s been through lately he finds doing so impossible. He’s flustered, and just plain happy, seeing Oliver in front of him, completely alive and okay, smiling and laughing, sweet and cute and perfect as ever—

Suddenly, Bim is kissing him, and Oliver is too astonished to react before Bim pulls away just as quickly.

“Oh shit, I wasn’t, I didn’t,” Bim stammers helplessly. Why the hell did he do that? He can’t just kiss someone like that, especially not now, especially not Oliver. The other egos around them are just as shocked at Bim as he is. Chrome and Plus, however, quickly become angry; eyes beginning to blaze red and green and feet advancing a step forward. They only make it a step, though, before Google holds out his arms across each of their chests, preventing them from continuing on. Google remembers the conversation he had with Bim a few days ago, after all, and he wants to see what Oliver does before he makes any judgements.

For a long moment, Oliver still doesn’t react. It’s as if his internal systems are buffering, scrambling just as hard as Bim to figure out what just happened and why. Bim, meanwhile, is sure he’s just ruined everything.

“God, I’m sorry,” he rambles, unable to look Oliver in the eyes any longer, “That was, I just, I shouldn’t have—”

He’s cut off when Oliver kisses him, arms reaching out and hugging him close.

Bim hadn’t thought that Oliver’s amazing hugs could get any tighter or warmer, but he’s proven wrong the moment he’s in Oliver’s embrace. His heart swells, and he almost laughs, but he holds it in, kissing Oliver back instead, wrapping his own arms around him. Oliver feels something similar, a deep warmth in his core, and he realizes just how much he wants this, that maybe he’s wanted this all along. The kiss between the pair deepens, fingers tangle in hair or grasp at shirts, and the two practically forget where they are.

“For fuck’s sake,” Chrome mutters, “Can’t they get a room?”

“But isn’t it sweet, Aka-kun?” asks Yandere, ever the romantic, looking happily at Bim and Oliver.

“It’s…something,” says Plus, not quite as perturbed as Chrome but rather close to it.

“You owe me five dollars,” Weather Jim says to News Jim with a cheeky grin.

“I was so sure Oliver would make the first move,” News Jim says, shaking his head, “Either way, though, I’m glad one of us was proven right within this century.”

Google doesn’t say anything at all. He’s not enthused to watch the make-out happening in front of him, but he’s happy for Oliver, so he can put aside his revulsion for a moment. Or two. Or three. Or many.

Alright, this is getting ridiculous.

When Oliver and Bim finally break apart, their lips are red and their eyes are bright.

“Oh, wow,” Bim gasps.

“Yeah,” Oliver replies, giggling breathlessly. “Does, um,” he continues, nervously scratching the back of his head, “Does this mean we’re…together?”

“If you want it to, yeah,” Bim answers, smiling and still hopelessly lovestruck.

“Then, I guess…” Oliver says, gently smiling in return, “…I guess we’re a thing, then.”

Bim thinks he might explode, but Oliver hugs him again, and his arms feel like the only thing keeping Bim in one piece. Bim hugs back, letting his head rest on Oliver’s shoulder, relishing in their closeness. Meanwhile, the others look on with expressions ranging from secondhand joy to borderline disgust. Plus and Chrome look at each other, and then look right at Bim with perfectly blank expressions, glowing eyes, and a slight tilt of their heads. The message is clear: If you break our brother’s heart, we’ll make you regret it.

Bim’s happy mood falters somewhat, until Google notices his brothers’ threatening gazes and elbows them both in the ribs. Again, the message is clear: Chill out, Bim is harmless, let Oliver have this.

Plus and Chrome grumble incomprehensibly, but make no protest as Yandere and the Jims hold back giggles. Google looks at Bim, then, with a strange, almost expectant expression on his face. Another soundless statement: I’m trusting you to be good to him. Prove me right.

Bim nods, smile back on his face, and hugs Oliver tighter.

~~~

The first thing Silver Shepherd notices when he wakes up is that his mask is over his face. It takes him a moment to remember why that’s something worth observing.

He tries to put what happened out of his mind as he gets up, surveying the area around him. Tries to forget what Peevils showed him as he takes in what remains of the elevator and brushes dust off his cape. But it’s always hardest to forget the things one makes oneself forget, so Silver doesn’t forget. Even as he climbs the stairs to leave the basement, he doesn’t forget.

Surely, there’s no need for a hero right now, anyway. Silver knows that if he’s alive, then everyone else Peevils killed must be, too. He wonders for a moment how bad it got. He wonders what he might’ve stopped had he been able to defeat Peevils. He only wonders for a moment, though, brushing the thoughts away like rubble off his suit.

It doesn’t matter. None of it matters.

Silver decides he might as well make his way back to his floor, see if Ed or King or around. At the very least, checking on them might make himself feel a little better. Obviously he can’t use the elevator, so he takes the stairs up to the next floor. He remembers that Peevils lives there, too, or is it “lived,” now? He isn’t sure. He realizes he doesn’t have a clue where she is. He knows she must have been stopped by someone, but what if she’s still on the loose? Ordinarily a thought like that would make him jump into action, send him scouring the building until he can find and root out the evil. But right now, after everything, he can’t muster up the energy.

Silver isn’t prepared for what he sees when he reaches the second floor. Granted, he wasn’t sure what he was going to see, but it certainly wasn’t the bodies of several dead, rotting squirrels. It certainly wasn’t Ed, standing some feet apart from them, looking more serious and solemn than Silver has ever seen him. It certainly wasn’t King kneeling on the ground, sobbing, hands hovering over the tiny bodies like he wants to scoop them up and cradle them but can’t bring himself to. Silver doesn’t blame him for not being able to touch them; he feels sick just looking at the poor things, he can’t imagine touching them. There’s other squirrels around, living ones, rubbing against King and trying to comfort him, but it doesn’t seem to be working. Silver knows how much King loves his subjects and how much it tears him up when they die, whether it’s from old age or disease or predators.

It seems Silver wasn’t the only person who’s lost something important.

Ed notices Silver standing there first. He opens his mouth and closes it again, clearly unsure of what to say. Silver wonders if the way he feels is showing on his face, through his mask. Maybe it is. Ed, on the other hand, is stoic, much different from his normal loud and boisterous self. He’s never been good at managing serious situations. Neither has King, come to think of it. Between the three of them, Silver realizes, he’s always been the best at that. Maybe the look Ed is giving him is reflective of that; it’s hard to tell with his sunglasses. Maybe his expression is expectance. Maybe he expects Silver to do something about this, to help King in some way, but Silver’s never felt less sure of himself than he does now.

Well, Silver can handle a bad situation. He can give comfort. It’s not all that heroic, but it’s something.

He approaches King and kneels down next to him.

“Hey,” he says.

“Oh, hi, Silver,” King answers, wiping away tears, “D-didn’t see you get here.”

“I’ve only been here for a minute,” Silver reassures him. He pauses. “I’m sorry.”

King almost laughs, but the sound is more like a sob than anything else.

“Ah, yeah,” he manages, “This is…this is really bad.” He shakes his head. “I f-feel like I should be happier, you know? I mean, Peevils killed me, using Mark! I could’ve been g-gone forever! But I’m not. B-but they…” He looks down at the dead squirrels. “Fuck, I only l-let her kill me to protect them, she s-said she wouldn’t hurt them!!”

He covers his face with his hands and bawls ever harder, and Silver can’t help but feel like he made it worse. He curls an arm around King’s shoulders, loose enough to push away from but tight enough to be grounding. King leans into the hold even as he cries, and Silver takes it as permission to make his hold tighter.

“It’s okay that you’re sad,” Silver says softly, “You love your subjects; it’d be weird if you weren’t.” He squeezes King’s shoulders. “Yeah, you’re alive, and maybe knowing that can help you feel better, but something bad still happened, so it’s not bad that you’re upset.” He offers a gentle smile. “Happiness will come eventually, there’s no need to force it.”

“Geez, how’d you get so smart?” King sniffles, but he’s smiling now, too. “It just…it’s so strange. This whole thing with Peevils.”

“No kidding,” Silver adds.

“But, I mean, it is good that we’re okay,” King admits, “It’s way better than good, actually. But it’s just…easier to be sad, I guess.”

No kidding, Silver thinks.

“That’s okay, you at least have perspective,” Silver says, “You can be sad for a while, and after some time has passed, you can think about the good things and help yourself feel better.”

“Yeah,” King whispers, “Yeah.” He looks at Silver with perfect sincerity. “Thank you, Silver.”

“Of course,” Silver answers with a big grin, “It’s…it’s what I do.”

They stay like that for a while, quiet and next to each other, as King lets himself feel without remorse. But the talked seemed to help; he’s much calmer now, isn’t crying so hard. It had been hard for Silver to get his last words to King out, but he supposes they’re true. He’d always thought that being a hero meant besting an adversary, but that wasn’t always true, was it? Sometimes the villain is a tree that a cat gets stuck in, a housefire sprung up from a faulty plug, or something else that can’t be fought. Death can’t be fought. Sadness can’t be fought. The loss of one’s identity can’t be fought. But it can be endured, and it can be helped along. It can be felt, and it can pass. And maybe people need help to be able to feel those things.

Maybe there’s a place for a villain-less hero after all.

Silver still isn’t sure. He still keenly remembers how he felt when Peevils unmasked him. In the meantime, he decides, perhaps he can take his own advice.

~~~

Bing wakes up on the floor of Bop’s recording studio, and he’s only barely sat up when something slams into him from behind.

“Bing! Bing, you’re okay, you’re okay,” cries Bop, wrapping arms tight around Bing’s middle.

Bing stays still for a long moment, placing his hand over Bop’s, processing the situation as Bop joyfully rambles. He remembers confronting Peevils, remembers trying to lie about where Bop was and her seeing right through it, remembers their fight, remembers his fear, remembers his sunglasses getting knocked off his head, remembers the gun, the flash—

Apparently that’s all there is to remember, since Bing can’t recall anything further. Everything had happened so strangely, so quickly, and he’d been so single-minded, hadn’t he? Practically everything he’d done, he’d done for Bop. He’d coaxed him out of his panic attack, stayed by him, and at least tried to protect him, even if he’d failed. Bop is happy, now; laughing into Bing’s shoulders, amazed that his friend is alive. Amazed that he himself is alive. Bing realizes then that Bop must’ve died, too, and he really thinks about it. He really thinks about everything. He usually tries not to really think, because it only ever makes him upset. It feels better to think about something else, someone else, and stay in the moment with them. It feels better to think about Bop, and it works out, because Bop needs someone to be thinking about him, being such a fragile, nervous soul. Does focusing on Bop erase the feeling of fear for one’s own self? Of sadness for one’s own self? Not really, Bing realizes. But once he starts really thinking, he can’t stop, and the feelings that he pushed down for Bop come rushing back up.

He turns in Bop’s arms to face him, and the look on his face must speak volumes, because Bop’s laughter gets cut off by a gasp at the sight of it. Bing’s shades are still on the ground; he has nothing to hide behind now.

“Oh, Bing,” Bop murmurs, as sweet and gentle as ever, and that’s all it takes.

Bing grabs onto Bop and buries his face in his shoulder. Bing’s chest heaves with ragged, ugly sobs as his emotions overtake him. Bop holds him tight and whispers calming words, trying to soothe him.

“It’s okay, Bing, it’s okay,” Bop tells him, rubbing his back, “We’re safe now, don’t cry…”

Bing can’t answer for tears as he trembles in Bop’s arms; if anything, he only cries harder. He tries to draw comfort from Bop being there, from his arms around him and his voice in his ear, but there’s too much in his mind, too many awful feelings converging and swarming. He can’t find grounding. Before long, though, Bop seems to sense it, and decides to try something different.

“Hey, Bing,” he murmurs, “I know what to do. Just listen to my voice, alright?”

Bing manages to nod into Bop’s shoulder, and Bop smiles. He clears his throat.

He begins to sing.

“They were sitting, they were sitting on the strawberry swing...Every moment was so precious…”

Bing lets out a wet laugh, more out of surprise than anything else. He remembers that song, how could he not? He cries still, but Bop certainly has his attention now. He does so love Bop’s singing.

“They were sitting, they were talking on the strawberry swing…Everybody was for fighting, wouldn’t wanna waste a thing…”

Bop begins to rock in place as he sings, his movement mimicking the gentle ambling tone of the song. Bing finds himself moving his head across Bop’s shoulder into the crook of his neck, and he wonders if he shouldn’t, but now he can feel Bop’s jaw move as he smiles, so he decides it must be okay. He’s still crying, but his tears are beginning to run out of steam.

“Cold, cold water, bring me ‘round, now my feet won’t touch the ground…”

Bing sighs into Bop’s neck, and Bop giggles a little at the tickling breath, squeezing Bing tighter. Bing feels the sadness and fear inside him washing away with every note Bop sings.

“Cold, cold water, what ya say?”

It’s almost criminal, Bing thinks, how nice and just plain right it feels to be here; sitting on Bop’s lap, wrapped up in his arms, listening to his melodious voice weave into his ears.

“When it’s such…”

“…it’s such a perfect day,” Bing says, finishing the chorus just as Bop did before. They both pause as the song sinks in.

“Are you okay?” Bop asks, a note of concern in his voice.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Bing answers, lifting his head to look at Bop, “Thanks, man, that…yeah.” Bing can’t help but feel a little awkward, now that the song is over.

“Sure,” Bop says, offering a shy smile, “What are friends for?”

Bop says that a lot. So does Bing. They’ve both been saying that quite a bit, lately, and it’s now that Bing wonders why. What are they so afraid of? Bing knows what he’s afraid of, at least, now that he’s gone and let himself think about things. He can’t speak for Bop, doesn’t know if Bop’s words about them being friends are in earnest. But Bing is still in Bop’s lap, and their faces are so close together, and it would be so easy to just lean forward…

It happens like slow motion, or maybe Bing is just moving that slowly. He watches Bop’s face change as he gets closer, as Bop realizes what’s happening. But he doesn’t pull away or turn his head, and their lips meet like they were always meant to. The kiss is soft and short, and when Bing pulls away, Bop’s cheeks are red, his eyes are wide, and his mouth is a perfect circle.

“Oh,” he says.

Bing can’t help but laugh a little at his expression, and Bop can’t help but smile a little at Bing’s laugh.

“Don’t make fun of me, you goof,” Bop chides without any heat, leaning forward to let his forehead rest against Bing’s.

“I’m not, dude,” Bing assures him, cupping Bop’s face in his hands, feeling the warmth of Bop’s blush beneath his fingers.

When Bing kisses Bop again, he can feel Bop smile against his lips.

~~~

The Host wakes, sitting up in the chair he died in, and remembers his last words.

“The Host pushes everything, all of his strength, all of his fortitude, into this: Peevils will not win. No matter what she does, she is doomed to fail. Someone or something will destroy her. She will not win. S-she will not win. She…she—”

The Host hadn’t known, of course, what Peevils might’ve been planning. But even in those scant moments he’d known it must have been something. He’d known trying to stop her bullet would’ve been useless, so he’d done one better, even if it’d almost killed him before Peevils herself did. Really, though, he has no way of knowing whether his words truly had any effect, or if Peevils was defeated without his help. But the Host is alive, and thus, he knows his words were true in the end regardless.

He wonders how long it’s been, and what everyone else is doing. He wonders how far Peevils was able to go before being stopped. The fact that he’s still in his library and not in the clinic suggests that he wasn’t the only one she killed. Perhaps she even killed Dr. Iplier. The Host’s heart thrums at the thought, but he calms it quickly. After all, if Host is alive now, so is Dr. Iplier, even if Peevils did kill him. A similarly unproductive thought that Host can’t help but think is that he should’ve seen this coming. At the very least, he should have followed up more on his misgivings about Peevils, feelings he’d had from the beginning. He wasn’t the only one, but those who were willing to trust her outnumbered those who weren’t, and the Host had simply let it drop, finding it too difficult and thankless to push it. He shakes his head. He can’t let himself think about that any longer. It’s difficult for him to let things go, to rest wild thoughts or move on from a regretted decision. Perhaps it’s because he’s a writer, who hoards plot threads and characters like dragons hoard gold, even if he doesn’t have the power over them that he used to. Or perhaps it’s just him.

On that thought, Host stands and begins to walk towards the front of the library. He talks to himself on the way, trying to let his narration fill the gaps in his knowledge.

“The Host makes his way through the library, still wondering about what happened after he was killed. Unfortunately, he seems unable to glean any new information by narration alone.” Host frowns, annoyed. “The Host opts to leave the library and find someone else, so he can learn what happened. He knows that Darkiplier is likely to know a lot about the situation, since Peevils could not have killed him for long, even with Mark.” Host frowns deeper. “The Host does not have any wish to communicate with Dark unless it is absolutely necessary, and right now it is not. He will speak to someone else.” He perks up as he reaches the library’s doors and something new seeps into his words. “Footsteps can be heard coming towards the library. They sound as if the person is speed-walking and trying not to run, though they want to. They’re quite eager to reach the library; there is someone they are desperately seeking.” Though Host’s narration is choosing now to play the pronoun game, the Host thinks he knows who is coming.

Sure enough, the doors open, and Dr. Iplier is standing before him. The Host can tell by the quiet flap of his coat as it sways back with the doctor’s sudden stop, and the hitched gasp he makes. Host can’t see the look of shock on his face, but he knows it must be there.

“Host,” Dr. Iplier says, a little breathless.

“Doctor,” Host replies, arms turned palms-out at his sides, a silent invitation.

Dr. Iplier takes it, and in the next moment Host feels Dr. Iplier come up against him in a hug, and Host closes his own arms around him in turn. Host feels the air stir as Dr. Iplier moves his head, feels the slight puff of the doctor’s breath against his lips. It’s something he always does; a signal, a pause just long enough for Host to say “no” or turn away. He wouldn’t dream of doing that now, though, so Dr. Iplier kisses Host, and his lips feel like home. The kiss is sweet and gentle and full of longing, and after a moment Dr. Iplier kisses deeper, needier, and Host reciprocates without hesitation. He wonders, again, how long exactly he’s been dead.

Host feels more than hears the tiny sob that comes up at the back of Dr. Iplier’s throat. It forces him to pull away, but only for a moment to breathe back in before he kisses Host again. It happens again, though, this time the sob is a little louder, a little stronger, but Dr. Iplier keeps going back to kissing Host every time, even as the isolated sobs turn into true tears.

“It’s alright now, my dear,” Host whispers between Dr. Iplier’s feverish kisses, “We’re both alive, I’m not going anywhere.”

It’s then that the dam bursts, and Dr. Iplier begins to weep, burying his face in Host’s neck and clinging to him, squeezing a handful of his coat in each trembling fist. Host holds him just as tight, one hand carding though his hair. He murmurs sweet nothings into the doctor’s ear between pressing kisses into his hair.

“Host, god, y-you don’t know h-how bad it got,” Dr. Iplier sobs.

“Doctor—” Host starts, but he’s quickly cut off.

“We almost l-lost everything,” Dr. Iplier goes on, “Peevils k-killed so many people, s-she almost killed Mark…”

“Do—” Host tries again, to no avail.

“Everyone was dying a-and I, I c-couldn’t stop it, I couldn’t—” Dr. Iplier takes a shuddering breath in. “I almost couldn’t save Mark, w-what kind of a fucking doctor a-am I—”

“Edward,” Host cuts in, voice firm but kind, “Calm.”

“I—” Dr. Iplier begins.

“Hush,” Host murmurs, “Be calm, my dear.”

The two remain clinging to each other for a while longer, Dr. Iplier using Host’s arms and soothing words as anchors, bringing him back from regret and guilt. Host waits to speak again until the doctor’s sobs have quieted and his trembling has subsided.

“Do you feel better, love?” Host asks.

“I…yes,” Dr. Iplier sighs into Host’s shoulder.

“I know you feel guilty,” Host says, “But there’s no need to. I gather from what you’ve said that Mark was injured and that you were able to heal him, is that true?” He pauses as he feels Dr. Iplier nod against him. “You saved us, Edward. You saved me. You have nothing to feel bad about.”

“Ah, well, thank you,” Dr. Iplier stammers, a little embarrassed but smiling, before pulling away enough to look at Host’s face. Host chuckles.

“Of course, love,” He replies.

When Dr. Iplier speaks next, Host feels his breath on his lips.

“Isaac, I missed you,” he whispers, “I love you so much.”

“And I love you, Edward,” Host murmurs, closing the short distance between their lips with a kiss.