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ifritini · 5 years

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

Noctis Lucis Caelum

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

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

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

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

Prompto Argentum

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

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

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

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

Gladiolus Amicitia

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

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

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

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

Ignis Scientia

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

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

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

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

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

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

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

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

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

Ravus Nox Fleuret

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

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

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

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

Ardyn Lucis Caelum

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

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

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

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

Aranea Highwind

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

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

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

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

#noctis x reader #prompto x reader #gladiolus x reader #ignis x reader #lunafreya x reader #ravus x reader #ardyn x reader #aranea x reader #final fantasy xv #ffxv #noctis lucis caelum #prompto argentum #gladiolous amicitia #ignis scientia #lunafreya nox fleuret #ravus nox fleuret #ardyn lucis caelum #aranea highwind

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ifritini · 5 years

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of love: Noctis Lucis Caelum

// I wanna do one of these for all the chocobros and the Niflheim squad, starting with the prince of course :> A nice little fill in to quickly type up while working on other unfinished wips left in my docs. //

This is a soft, gentle love. You could even say a tired one given this Prince’s rather lazy habits. But this isn’t the tired where your heart feels empty and soul drained of all vitality when around him, both sapped of all joy and enthusiasm. There are no half hearted Hellos or I love yous exchanged, no quick touches quickly recoiled with a faint grimace. Instead it is limbs tangled together amidst the blankets and eyelids getting heavier with each spoken word as you try to fight through the heavy mist of sleep. There is still joy, but it's quiet shared among quiet whispers only the pillows are privy to.

There is also playfulness with this king-to-be. The thought of a strict life with no leeway sounds dreary, ideal for neither him or his lover. When his duties have drained him of most his energy, leaving only little to spend on pleasantries, Noctis turns to video games. He is ever grateful for their existence, giving you both a chance to spend time by playing together playing either coop or competitive. If it was a truly long and grueling day Noctis is more than happy to pass the controller to you and watch you play as you both chat away about your days. If you’re not up for that, he is happy to simply watch you with utmost adoration as you carry on your daily tasks or sit down to work at a hobby of yours.

In the eyes of the citizens he keeps affection tame in public. There is a hand held here and there with chaste kisses exchanged on the rare odd occasion alongside a hug but never more. He’d rather spare you the trouble of being on the forefront of some tacky tabloid all because some sleazeball thought a kiss that lasted a second too long was too risque. In the comfort of his own home however you are promoted to the prince’s royal pillow. Doesn’t matter if it’s your thigh, stomach, or chest, you’re automatically his biggest comfort and he will cling onto you moments before dozing off for a quick nap. Noctis adores receiving physical affection, and especially those that include running your fingers through his hair or gently running your nails against exposed skin.

Though he has his periods of silence. The world is a dreary place and his heart feels like it’s weighing his whole body down. During those times getting out of bed feels impossible. To reach out for his phone and and interact with people feels like another impossible task. It leaves him watching his phone light up on the bedside table while fading in and out of consciousness not really wanting to sleep, but at the same time feeling it is the only mercy for him. Invading his space during this brief episode is ill advised, often leading to bitter and half-hearted affirmations that he is okay, now get out and leave him be. Though he never raises his voice or means any malicious intent the guilt would always come back to haunt him the moment his thoughts clear up.

What he truly wants during these trying times is space to be on his own and a brief moment to breath. Trust him, his heart doesn’t love you any less. The moment he regains his bearings he will quickly reach out again, both apologising for this radio silence and thanking you for understanding preferably face to face. The sight of you after being pestered by dark thoughts brings him comfort none can compare to. Only minutes after hearing your voice again Noctis will be ready to take on the world once more at his own pace and be thankful to have you at his side.

#noctis lucis caelum #noctis x reader #ffxv #final fantasy xv

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ifritini · 5 years

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so I remembered the email I had for this account just in time for my writing mood to pipe up again out of nowhere

#sub.txt #wig but okay

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ifritini · 6 years

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Ardyn x Reader

No one asked for this except my sorry sick ass who caught whatever this is from a friend (after stealing some of her sunny d). Asked smbd else to choose between Ignis, Ravus, Luna, or Ardyn and here we are with spicy trash man. Note: A solid 5% of this fic stems from a very nice thought of ‘what if Ardyn has but a small fragment of his former healing powers? Why not incorporate that to a drabble when my brain can barely form coherent thoughts

Words: drabbe 1693

With every move came a backlash from your muscles, punishing you with your illness pricking your flesh with a myriad of tiny needles. On top of that your voice was almost all but gone, accompanied by a sore throat making it only harder to voice your discomfort. Only primal grunts and vague gestures would get you by, but even those were spared for desperate situations lest you coil back in agony from hyper sensitive muscles.

You groaned turning your head to the side. The glass of water stared tauntingly back at your dejected hues, with an equally full jug just behind serving as an additional reminder to your beloved previous words. ‘Drink lots and rest, dear. We wouldn’t want you bedridden all week, now would we?’. Ardyn spoke to you in such a surprisingly soft voice, one so different from his usual theatrics of words drawn from honey that enticed you in the first place. He even treated you to a gentle kiss against your forehead before leaving in a rush. For a moment you felt relief, energy flowing back through your body in an instant and numbing out those previously tender muscles.

Sadly a few minutes after being left in your lonesome you were left with a disaster of a body riddled with germs to keep you (un)pleasant company. At least you made it to the sofa before your body gave up under your own weight.

With a snort - or rather a grunt you swore came out of a dying animal rather than yourself, you turned your body the opposite way staring at the sofa pillows, burrowing back under the covers. Like hell I will, you thought, ignoring the little hint of guilt already welling up at the pit of your stomach. Of course Ardyn only meant well, but the sensation of fire running down your throat from such a mundane task as drinking a simple glass of water was not what one would consider ‘well’.

Several times you closed your eyes, further using either blanket or a second pillow over your face to block out any stray light the blinds failed to block out. Whether poorly timed coughing fits jolting you from the brink of sleep or a horrible discomfort overtaking your entire being no attempt to fall back to slumber seemed to work. Several times you considered wasting the day to watching whatever channel piqued your interest on your lovers millennium old television, and maybe part of your boredom afflicted misery would subside… If the remote wasn’t left carelessly lying on the stand a few feet away. Of course you weren’t being lazy, simply too pained to bother moving.

Hours drag on like days as you twiddled your thumbs undercovers till you picked up on keys jamming through the keyhole, turning the lock to open. With whatever energy you had left, you turned to your back as quickly as possible and sat up with an undignified grunt.

“W-lc-m- h-m-.” You called out in a pathetic whisper, most words lost to your throat protesting in agony the moment you saw Ardyn’s figure appear ‘round the corner.

The pity in his eyes after taking one good look at your arms barely raised above your head in a greeting, trailing from the tip of your fingers to your weary face was nigh comedic. Your hands flopped back down, one unfortunately banging against the table on the way down earning a hiss from you. The asshole had the gaul to chuckle at your misfortune, earning him the best glare you could muster up through half-lidded eyes

“My, my, seems you’ve gotten worse Y/N.”

“I’ll cough on you, smartass.” you strained your voice, hoping your frown conveyed your threat rather than warp your features into the stiffness slowly sinking into your back.

“Biting the hand that feeds you?” He tutted, walking over raising a hand to display a bulky paper bag it was clutching, “Most unwise of you, dear.”

Medicine.

You were quick to soften up on him, dropping any frown (or smile for that matter) down to the neutral face of discomfort. He of course thought it was a fantastic idea to toss you the bag rather than hand it over, earning a second chuckle at your delayed reaction finally registering it was thrown your way just after it resided on your lap. With an equal amount of enthusiasm you opened the bag and peered inside. You were greeted with a variety of syrups, some for coughs others as simple soothers, for flus, just about anything.

You looked back up at your lover already halfway through ridding himself of the coat, unnecessary two scarves, and ridiculous amount of other layers and discarded everything on the couch opposite from you before finally he was left with but a shirt. He carelessly kicked off his shoes to the side and finally walked over to the sofa, taking a seat where you once laid before you could catch up with his intentions.

“H-y…” a grumble left you instead of an actual, human language. “-S my spot…”

“Oh, how rude of me. Here I thought I could treat you a far more exquisite pillow.” his voice mimicked insincere hurt, further letting you picture the smirk plastered on his lips. “If you insist on cold feathers, then your wish is my-”

You swung your hand back as you caught on the cushion beneath you sinking down as he shifted his weight, ready to stand up. You aimlessly reached out to slap Ardyn against his thigh. Your impressive show of strength was displayed by a simple pat. “St-y.”

This time he sank down into the sofa, getting comfortable on your request time time with no intent on leaving your side any time soon. You turned back to the bag before you, rummaging in to take out what you deemed best - cough syrup. You gently placed the bag down on the table mindful of the glass bottles clustered inside. The box for your medicine was however chucked to the side with little care leaving you with the elixir of life. Or something close to it.

Without reading any manuals you assumed a single bottle cap would be enough every… Three times a day. Yeah, that was reasonable enough. Without a second thought (and ignoring the gaze you felt against your back as Ardyn undoubtedly stared inquisitively at you), you popped the cap open and filled it to the bring and drank it all down. The horrible taste hit you almost immediately, earning a violent cough out of you.

“Tastes… l-ke ass…” your nose scrunched up as the taste mercilessly lingered on your tongue.

“The price to pay, dear. I would rather have you take the effective horribly tasting medicine.

“-S if th- t-st-” you were abruptly interrupted by a coughing fit. Fortunately no intelligent speech was lost.

You heard a sigh from Ardyn, almost audibly voicing an eyeroll. “Come here.” he ordered not before placing a hand against your shoulder urging you to lay back down with a tug. You didn’t need to hear the order twice to flop back down, this time having your lover’s thigh substitute a pillow. “Close your eyes.”

If past experiences - from the past few hours no less were any give away the feat would bring little, but you obliged to his words, fully letting your muscles relax and body sink into the couch. You felt fingers gently entwine with your hair, eerily gentle to avoid pulling at any knots in their way as he proceeded to caress you.

“E’rythn huuurts.” you whispered through strained breaths. Only hushing yourself let words come out more or less pain-free, leaving your throat in mild irritation. Sadly the both of you damn well knew a little setback like this won’t stop the string of complaints.

“Then drink water.” he replied, voice flat. “And perhaps next time don’t nick off with bottles other sick people drank from.” There it was, the smugness playing back behind Ardyn’s words. The bastard knew your body was too weak to muster up even a gentle slap against his shoulder, abusing his power for snark while he still could.

Instead of voicing your annoyance this time, you started out with a fake cough in his direction, but it quickly morphed into a genuine fit. Not truly wanting your horrible fate to befall on the poor Chancellor you turned to your side, covering your mouth over with your hands for extra measure.

“Ah, you do care!” his voice was nigh a sing-song, almost enough to have you believing he was genuinely touched from something so silly.

A grunt in response.

No, that didn’t convey your complaint as well as words would. “I’m g-nna slap y- l-ter.”

“Then I suggest resting if you so wish to ‘slap me later’, Y/N.” he mused, leaning back into the pillows behind. “And drink up, as suggested earlier.”

Another grunt only this time showing defiance. No matter the cost, you refuse to endure the pain of swallowing down even a sip of water. You turned your body to your side, facing away from your lover rather than being greeted with a faceful of fabric. You felt the hand brushing through your hair still for a moment, allowing you to get comfortable as needed. You finally stopped shifting around in one spot, letting all tention escape your body along with a single sigh. Once you closed your eyes, nuzzling down against his thigh the petting resumed.

The last you cared to hear out of Ardyn was a content hum, sounding more like a rumble from his chest from your closeness. You were sure he was speaking to you, judging by distant murmurs your mind refused to pick up on. The wisdom of the ever great Chancellor were lost to you, as your mind mercifully decided to embrace sleep. Though through the nearing haze you felt that previous discomfort in your muscles fade away. It still lingered on, but you would happily take even the smallest of victories.

“Rest well, dear.” his last words sounded distant to your ears and your mind finally went blank to the clutches of sleep.

#ardyn x reader #ardyn izunia #ardyn lucis caelum #final fantasy xv #ffxv #cheers salty for proofreading this i barely had a single intelligent thought wriitng this #neither can i think of a title cheers lads

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ifritini · 6 years

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

● ● ●

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Y/N, could you-”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why?

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

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

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

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

Silence.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Are you done with the theatrics.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#gladiolus amicitia #gladio x reader #gladiolus x reader #final fantasy xv #ffxv #genuinely sorry this took me so long askjsjdf #i am the dreg of humanity #Anonymous

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