iwillshieldhim | The World We Fought For [for fieryknowledge]

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The World We Fought For [for fieryknowledge]

It was oddly calm in those last moments, a peace that came over him as he fought purely on muscle memory against the massive giant trying to smash him. Somewhere behind him, he could hear Prompto, not just the sound of gun fire, but it sounded like he was screaming, over and over, as he fought. Wordless angry shouts that if he had the time to think, to care beyond second to second of just surviving, would have torn him apart. The sound of pain, of loss, of anger. He'd lost track of Ignis, always so silent, and he feared the worst. He tried to look anyway, find his love in the chaos. Make sure he was still-

Second to second, he shouldn't have looked away. The giant found its opening as Gladio's eyes scanned the wreckage, trying to spot Ignis in all of it. The fear in his heart settled when he spotted the other, still up, still fighting, even as the massive blade slammed under his guard and sent him flying to hit the ground hard. A spike of pain screamed in his shoulder, but he barely noticed.

They had turned their back on Noct to let him die, walking forward to their fates knowing they would do the same. All they had to do was hold on long enough, just long enough to let him truly become the Chosen King. Gladio had accepted what would come, and while he thought Ignis knew, in a way, he was content with this. He had protected Noct until the end. Ignis might still live.

The giant raised its blade, and try as he might, Gladio couldn't get his own blade to lift. It wouldn't be possible on that broken shoulder. He stared up at his death, then let out a breath. ...I kept my promise.

I love you, Iggy.

Let there be light.

It came across the skies like a needle thrust into the heart of the darkness itself, a shaft of light so brilliant and golden that it hurt the eyes. The giants roar hurt almost as much, stabbing into his head until he was forced to close his eyes.

unconscious

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There was part of him that wanted to pull away from those comforting fingers, but there was always that part of him that wanted to lean in and bask in that subtle affection he offered. Since being blinded, Ignis had turned into a tactile person out of necessity, but the long night had given him plenty of reasons to shy away from affection since he had learned that it likely wouldn't last.

This time, he let himself lean in before he turned his head and ghosted a brief kiss to those gentle fingers in silent gratitude. If it was for letting him rest so long or simply being there when he awakened, he gave no clue.

"... did I dream the sun?"

Was it real or not real? He'd dreamed about it before. Hells, they probably all had at one time or another.

"No. It's brilliant and beautiful as it ever was. ...Maybe even more so." The idea of Ignis pulling away from his touch hadn't even entered his mind; it would have killed another part of him. Gladio looked across the bed at three of the four people he cared for most in this world and sighed quietly. "Prompto and Noct haven't shown any signs of waking up, yet. How are you feeling?"

He could only hope the potion did everything it needed to do. He wouldn't tell Ignis he'd used half of one on the advisor to make sure that everything, internal and external, would heal properly.

He wasn't too surprised at that. They were all past the point of exhaustion at best. The fight they'd taken on had been one to give their all to, so it was no real shock that they were finally trying to rest like they'd needed to for years. His hand moved to find Noctis again, sighing when the touch brought no reaction from their king.

"Stiff. Vaguely sore. You?"

There was a grunted 'same', because he wasn't going to admit to anything else. Really, he needed to sleep something fierce, but he would only when he knew there would be one of the other two to guard. It wasn't like when they were camping, when it was just the tent in the middle of no where and the safety of the haven around. They had no idea what was coming next, and they were all injured. Or, in Noct's case... honestly, he wasn't sure what was going on with their King.

"Want to stay in bed, or go out and see the sun?" There was a hint of amusement in Gladio's voice, as tired as it was. The idea of Ignis Scientia long in bed after the sun had rose.

... was Gladio teasing him? That tone hinted at it and for a moment, it was enough to pull a wry smile to Ignis' lips. It hit him that he wasn't really wearing a lot of clothes since they'd mostly been ruined thanks to having to get cleaned up, but he didn't let it stop him from stretching slowly, subtly testing his body's reaction to motion and wincing when it was still stiff enough to tug at healing muscles and fresh scars. A few moments later and he was standing up, a hand low to trace along the mended thigh before he murmured his gratitude to Gladio.

"I honestly thought I'd dreamed it. We can't let it go to waste, now can we?"

He was... trying. Trying to get above his pain and confusion and disillusion and be the partner Ignis needed right now and the Shield Noct was going to need. As Ignis got up, he didn't offer a hand, instead letting Ignis find his balance and watched as that beautiful body stretched itself out. The wince didn't surprise him; until the scars settled, they would be tight, and undoubtedly the muscles would remain stiff until Ignis got himself up and moving.

"No problem." Not dismissive, but making it quiet and easy. He didn't want to make a big deal out of what they were forced to do to each other to make sure they healed right. The sling was necessary but it felt so awkward, leaving his arm tucked up to his chest and the weight of it on the good shoulder.

"That's why I was sitting by the window. I figured if I took my eyes off it, I'd find out I was still asleep somewhere." Or dead. The more likely option. "...Found you guys some robes and some other stuff you might be able to fit into. Noct's 'bout the same size his father was, and Prompto's smaller than him, but you and I are stuck." A thick bit of cloth was touched to Ignis' fingers after Gladio grabbed said robe.

Gladio always tried and that was why Ignis never turned him away even when he knew he'd leave again. Maybe now, in the light of a new day, he could find a reason to stay. If it were simply because Noct needed his Shield now more than ever, then so be it. Ignis could live with that.

His fingers closed on the offered robe without hesitation as he absently noted the thick weave of the cloth and he found himself idly wondering what all Gladio had found. It'd been years since he'd had a reason to ponder clothing choices and the idea of perhaps having to do that again in the near future was almost amusing to him. Once the robe was settled around his frame, he tipped his head toward where he'd last heard Gladio's voice, a faint smile curling his lips.

"Do I look regal or like a child playing dress-up?"

There was a brief silence, then, "if I just answer 'yes', will I still get that look?" That was definitely a joke, Gladio's tone lighter even if not truly playful yet. Really, it did look a little silly as Ignis was taller than the Caelum family so it was a bit on the short side, but Ignis always looked like Royalty. "I got some slippers to go with it?"

He's helping, Ignis. Really he is.

"If it helps, I'm wearing pretty much the same thing except I look stupid instead of either option."

Before the long night, he would've laughed. Now, he huffed what could've been a soft chuckle but it was nothing like it'd been in the past. Maybe in time, he could find that part of himself again, but for now, things were still so off-kilter.

Still, that little smile never faded away.

"I doubt that. You've always looked good."

"This robe comes above my knees and to my elbows. I look silly." Gladio came over and nudged their shoulders gently together. "Silly or not... come on."

His fingers slid down and tangled with Ignis'. He wanted to watch as Ignis felt the sun on his skin, even if he couldn't see it. Or... could he? He knew there was some ability to see light, however weak it might be. Whichever it was, Ignis deserved to be in it. They all needed to be; it wouldn't feel right until they all stood side by side in it.

This would be a good start, though.

So together they walked towards the nearest exit Gladio could remember, their footsteps echoing so loudly in the empty Citadel. "...it's strange," he said quietly, not wanting to raise a louder echo. "There's not nearly as much dust as I would have imagined."

He could protest and say he didn't need to be led, but he knew this wasn't that. Even in their roughest spots, there was always a sense of ease between them. Years of partnership and love would do that.

His fingers tightened on Gladio's as they walked, his thumb idly sweeping along the ridge of Gladio's. There was comfort in that contact and it was something that Ignis was so glad for. This hadn't been their destiny and they both knew it, but maybe this could be the start of something better. Only time would tell.

"Less to clean up, then. Have you contacted Cor and Iris yet?"

It wasn't at all about being led; it was entirely about wanting to hold hands. Not that Gladio would ever say that but... that was what this was. Just quiet, simple affection they haven't gotten a chance to have in a long time.

His hand tightened in return, a single gentle squeeze. The future... he didn't know what to do with the future, not yet. It was all mixed together and confusing and until Noct woke up, it felt like the future was just this cliff with inky blackness and Gladio didn't dare step forward into it without all of them.

"I sent them a text. No response, yet." He needed them both here. Cor for his help, Iris because he never felt like she was safe until she was in his arms again.

"I'm sure they're fine. They're both extremely capable people."

The really were. Iris had become a popular and cunning hunter during the long night and Cor... well, Cor was Cor. Maybe not so immortal, but damned hard to kill. He understood Gladio's need to have Iris close by if possible, but he also knew that the world itself must be in chaos. Who knows how long it'll take her to contact him back.

Hopefully, he wouldn't have to wait too long.

Ignis smelled the fresh air before he felt the sun. It smelled of summer and happier memories and just the scent made him stop for a moment, his head slowly turning as if to try and figure out where they were.

"... it smells like Leide. Right around Hammerhead. All dry and dusty."

Gladio looked out towards the mess, and he wasn't entirely surprised on Ignis' choice of words. It had rained the night before, but now it had already burnt away in the light of the first new day in ten years. All that was left was the devastation in every direction, as far as he could see, but none of the blood or gore. It had also burnt away.

"...it's bad," Gladio said softly, thinking how to even describe what he was seeing to Ignis who would never be able to. He frowned, then after a few moments of silence, continued. "Do you remember that movie we all watched, with the zombies and the few survivors left?" The end of the world, all fun and games and Prompto screaming because he was a wuss, but it had been a fun movie at the time. Popcorn and teasing and a long Friday night. "...It looks like that."

"Does that make us the survivors or the zombies?"

He meant it to be funny, but in the end, it was a bit of a legitimate question. still, for the ruin around them, he sighed and tipped his face into the brilliant light of the sun above them. For the first time in years, he felt warm and almost clean and Gladio was there at his side... This was a new meaning to bliss. Slowly, he pulled in another lungful of that dry air and let his 'good' eye crack open.

He'd long since lost the dark glasses he'd used to protect his eyes from public sight (he knew it disturbed everyone to see those scars), but he knew Gladio wouldn't say anything or mind. There was no true vision there, just a sense of light and dark and yes, the light was enough for him to take in.

"... do you want to stay and try to rebuild?"

"Yes." Because both were true, in their way. Both survivor and zombie. The remnants of something that was supposed to be dead; people believed Regis and Noctis were both dead and there was no King. Yet they had survived the long night. Survivors.

Then they stood there in the brilliant afternoon sunshine, the heat of it like a presence against their skin, It was the most glorious feeling Gladio had felt in years, his head tilted back up to the sun they had fought for. Also, damn it Ignis, he liked scars.

But that question. Gladio didn't answer immediately, even though he knew the answer as soon as it left Ignis' lips. His duty was still there, and in the end, that had always been the most important thing in his life. Not that people wouldn't blame him if he wanted to put it aside, he had done more than most Shields would do in their lives, but... it was who he was.

"...I want whatever Noct wants."

It would've been his answer as well. They'd followed him through hell and it seemed that they'd continue to follow him as long as he would have them... if he ever woke up.

Sighing, he reached up to push his loose hair away from his face before he let his eye close again.

"It'll probably take time for everyone to figure out if they want to come back and travel this way. Hammerhead will see them before we will and even then, I doubt they'll believe this place will ever be livable again."

"With effort, with time, it could be. Small, at first, but... I doubt there's any place out there that hasn't been touched by the night. Otherwise... otherwise..." He scratched his chin, thinking, then finally admitted, "Lestallum will end up being the new capitol, I guess, because it's the biggest town not mostly destroyed." Altissia.. that was another whole problem place, but it had the likelihood of rebuilding itself as well. No one's really been there in a long time, because people just didn't come in and out of there.

None of them had ever gone back, that was for certain.

The thought of Lestallum being made anything important pulled a soft snort from Ignis. He'd spent a lot of time there during the long night, especially when the three of them separated for longer periods of time and had a choice few words for the leaders there. He knew he wasn't being kind and he knew that times had been hard for everyone that lived in the perpetual dark, but... no.

"Lestallum's been buckling under its own weight and populace for five years now and there's little room to grow. It would make a poor capitol."

"Then people are going to have to work to put this place back together. Clean out the rubble, use it to rebuild. People will do it, because if they put in the work, they'll become the new center of the town. Make their own homes, you know? ...Going back to basics of life, huh?" The corner of his mouth lifted, but it was a little bit sad.

Then his eyes turned towards where his father's home would be. "...We have somewhere we could check out that's not the Citadel to hide out for a while, but I don't know if it's still standing."

"Truly, a city for the people."

There was no need for Ignis to ask where Gladio meant. He already knew. It wouldn't be easy for him, either. That much was certain. His hand tightened in silent support even as he let himself lean against Gladio's familiar frame.

"Of course. That's your choice, though. I know it won't be an easy thing for you to do."

"...Should it be one with a King, though? Or... should there be something else? Just a council making decisions with no figure head? All depends... I guess on if Noct really wants to be King or not." With the silent because he was never meant to be hanging in the air.

"I want to. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't know." Because it was his home, and he still had to know.

"Noctis never wanted to be King in the first place."

Harsh as it might sound, it was true. In the end, he went to face his destiny and none of them expected him to make it. There were hard decisions to make in the upcoming days and weeks, but now wasn't the time for that. The mind could work out the intricacies of such things once the body had a bit of a chance to rest and recover.

"... well then. Whenever you're ready. I'll be with you the whole way."

There it was, flat out in the open. It was harsh, but it was true, and Gladio found himself nodding in agreement. Noctis had given the Six everything they had wanted, up to and including his own life. Did they really expect him to take on the burden of being King, now? Or was it ultimately his choice?

"...I wanna give him that choice," Gladio said quietly, his face still up to the sun with closed eyes. "He's had shit for choices in his life so far. If he wants to get the hell out of here and never return, I'll be there with him. If he wants to pretend he's someone else entirely and live out his life, so be it. But he needs that choice, this time. He deserves it."

Whenever you're ready. That... might be a little while, though. Ready was so different than willing.

"He deserves far more than that."

Memories of happier days flickered in the back of Ignis mind. Around a campfire, laughing as Ignis chided them all for their language even though he was trying to keep his own muffled. Nights spent sitting under the stars. Gutting reminders of Altissia's beauty before-

They'd been children playing at life.

"In all truth, I'm not sure'll know what to do with that choice."

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