iwillshieldhim | What Stalks in the Night [for fieryknowledge]

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What Stalks in the Night [for fieryknowledge]

The day had started out like any other. The pinging of Ignis' phone alarm. The snuggle of Prompto because that kid turned out to be a snuggler at night and always tried to hide it in the morning. The grumbling from Noct. Breakfast. Clean up. Deciding what to do.

Today turned out to be a day for a hunt. Good. Gladio itched for a fight today and a hunt mean a fight and gil, even if the latter was the more necessary right now. Those damn energy drinks for Noct to turn into potions were annoyingly expensive; thank the Six they were popular enough to be absolutely everywhere even if the blasted things were pricey.

The hunt itself proved to be surprisingly elusive, though. Most of the afternoon was spent in just trying to track down the beast, perched on the backs of their chocobos with maps pulled out and a lot of cursing because this place proved to be a bit of a maze of canyons cut into the rock. Eventually, they found it, though, and Gladio had to admit... this wasn't going to be easy.

It was almost like a giant scorpion, except it had paws and a sort-of-face like a lion and it was furred. The tipster had called it a Chimera; Gladio called it ugly. By the end of the long, damn difficult fight, he had called it several far less appropriate names. It had managed to put the hurt on all of them, but only Gladio had taken a blow from its glowing tail, stabbing right into the muscle of his left arm. One of those expensive potions had taken care of that, or so they thought, and they had gone back to camp stinking, exhausted, and ready to just get some food in their stomachs and pass out.

But as they finally saw camp in the distance, Gladio was surprised at how the heat of the day was clinging to him because he felt even more sticky-sweaty under the leather. Fuck. Last thing he needed right now was to have to air-dry his fatigues, but he probably wasn't going to have a choice.

Little did he know.

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There was silence. The silences between them had long ago stopped being uncomfortable, but this was a true throwback. Ignis clearly looked anxious and try as he might, there was no way to hide that he was wary.

"... no. No contagious. While you were under the effects of the venom, you became violent. More animal than man. You were actually chained to that bed until recently since we had no idea how you'd react if and when you came to."

Silence returned. Gladio let out a slow breath and seemed to deflate. "Did I hurt someone?" Because Ignis looked wary of him and it just screamed that he had, which tore down into the very depths of his soul. "I did, didn't I?" His fingers clench in his lap before his eyes close.

"I... hells."

"Nothing that couldn't be healed."

Best to leave it at that. As far as he was concerned, Gladio didn't need to know what happened if he didn't remember it on his own. It was clear that he was already bothered by the idea of hurting someone. If he learned what had really happened, Ignis worried about how his guilt would affect him.

"What matters now is that you're back and on the road to recovery. Noctis has been worried."

"Who was it?" As if Gladio was going to just let it hang that quickly. He wasn't sure, in the end, who it felt worse that he might have hurt. Unless they ran into some stranger out there, it almost certainly was one of them. Hearing that Noct had been worried was a mixture of something warm in his heart - Noct might have been his charge but he was even more so like his little brother and family so hearing that Noct had been worried about him was reassuring in its own way - and guilt because Noct didn't need anything more on his plate.

If it had been Noct, that felt like the worst possible scenario, for a Shield to hurt his King. Prompto wouldn't have been able to put up nearly the defense the other two could have and would have, in Gladio's opinion, gotten it the worst. Ignis could more than defend himself, but this was his oldest friend and the idea of hurting him just left him sick to the pit of his stomach. All of it felt like a betrayal, in his right mind or not. "Promise I'm not gonna leap out of this bed and get you," Gladio murmured, thinking Ignis was still unknowing if he would. "I don't even think I could lift a kitten in this state."

"Does it matter?"

It was an honest question and the quickest response Ignis had had since Gladio had awakened. The wariness was easing bit by bit, but that was simply thanks to his Ignis' will. If that lasted remained to be seen. Still, despite his question, he knew that Gladio would keep asking, keep wondering and it wouldn't do for him to find out from someone else.

"It was me."

Gladio's eyes closed and he let out a slow breath. That was why Ignis wouldn't come any closer, wasn't it? He'd... He'd attacked Ignis, like some kind of monster. So he nodded, because saying 'sorry' wasn't going to do a damn thing and Ignis... Ignis was fucking afraid of him. "You don't have to stay in here."

He finished off the last of the glass and it felt like it took up all of his energy just to manage this conversation. Ignis was afraid of him. Just how badly had he hurt his friend?

"... I think I do, actually."

If it was for his sake or Gladio's, he gave no clue. Hells, he wasn't even sure at the moment. All he knew was that they were both hurting and he wanted to try and ease that if he could. It wouldn't be easy, but he hated the nauseous feeling that teased at the back of his throat when he thought about Gladio's hands on him. They'd trained together for years. Seen each other handle some very major things in their life. This shouldn't be the end of it.

... then why was he still afraid?

Slowly, Ignis pushed away from the wall, stepping closer. It was a slow process and there was no way to miss the tension in his body, but he would do what he needed to. This wasn't something he could allow to fracture their friendship or their team. Their family.

"Cor has secured the rooms for us for a few more days. I think we should take advantage of that while we can. We both still need to recover a bit, I think."

It was one of his worst fears, to accidentally hurt someone he cared about, and to see one of his brothers, his best friend, be hurting like that, afraid of him, went right to his core. Even as he sat there, though, he knew he couldn't just sit there and hurt. Ignis.. Ignis was clearly suffering with it, too.

"Whatever you feel you need to do, Iggy. Just... tell me if you need something from me. Can't do anything right now other than maybe pass back out." Trying to keep it lighter and failing, his normal ease deserting him entirely.

He didn't have to see that guilt on Gladio's face. The air was thick with it, almost palpable between them. The last thing he wanted was for Gladio to think it was his fault, so he made a point to actually sit there on the bed with him, his thin frame perched on the edge and for a moment, he actually let himself look at his friend.

It wasn't easy, but he did it.

"That might not be a bad idea for now. You still need rest. The venom took a lot out of you. I'll see about taking care of dinner when you wake back up. I think we could all use something a little indulgent right about now."

Gladio's gaze came up when Ignis came close, taking in the tension in the lines of the other's body. Ignis had been his closest friend since they had been young, a found partnership in 'raising' Noct together as they had, bodyguard and tutor, friends, brothers, family. There was an understanding between them that he had with no one else because they understood what the other was going through. The effort. The way that they needed to be handled, how Noct did.

There hadn't been this sort of tension between them since that first less-than-good 'meeting', but this felt a thousand times worse.

"You know it's bad because I'm not even hungry," Gladio tried to joke, to ease off some of the tension, but he was pretty sure it failed.

It hadn't failed completely. Not if the wan smile Ignis shot him was an indicator. If it'd been anyone else but one of his closest friends, he wouldn't even be making an effort to try but Gladio had been there, part of his life, for far too long to allow something like this between them. He wasn't sure how he would manage to get past what had happened, but he had to find a way.

"I suppose I should be doubly prepared, then. After all, if you're not hungry now, you'll likely be ravenous later."

It got the faintest laugh from Gladio on that. "Probably. Might be able to eat my weight in something at that point." Though even as he said that, his stomach churned again and he swallowed down the faint taste of bile. He wanted to.. to what? Apologize again? Somehow make it right? The formre was pointless and the latter impossible. All he could do was sit there, slowly sinking into his pillows and fighting off exhaustion, and watch his best friend try to fight fear. Fear of him.

"S'mean Prompto took care of Noct?" As that realization came to him.

"I'm a good cook, but I'm not that good. Between you and Cor and everyone else, you'd all wear me out."

For a moment, he almost sounded like his usual self. It might be the moment between them, a sign of the usual banter that had helped ease him, but when Gladio asked about Noctis and Prompto, he turned serious again. Prompto had been such a help but Noctis... he hated that the young man had withdrawn so much, even though he could understand why.

That withdrawal hurt Ignis to no end, but that was something else to worry about another day. After all, Ignis knew how his prince was.

"... he did. Kept him safe and in place until Cor could locate them since we were both out of commission."

He wasn't blind to those changes, either of them. Had to go and mess it up, didn't he, but what was done was done. So instead, he tried to ease it back towards 'better' with no idea of how Noct had been acting and how little his attempt would mean in the face of it. He'd have a few words to say to Noct if he knew, but Noct... Noct could be tough, at best, when it came to his emotions. Somewhere between unreadable and unpredictable, and it'd gotten worse the older he got.

Everything that happened before and during his time in Tenebrae really had changed everything, specially what Ignis had told him Noct was like when he was younger.

"Guess that means we owe Prompto. First time he's had to take that kind of responsibility on on his own." There was definitely a hint of being proud about that in Gladio's voice, something he didn't show too often to the blond.

"He did well. Still is, in fact. He's been trying his best to keep everyone positive as best he can. It... hasn't been easy."

Gladio wasn't the only one was proud of Prompto. Ignis hadn't told the blond, but he would once things had settled a bit more and their 'company' had left them on their own. Hopefully Cor had realized what had been going on with the younger members of their merry little band and had acted accordingly since Prompto deserved all the praise he could get.

"... I shouldn't stay too long. You still need rest."

"I can sleep forever," Gladio half-joked, but it honestly felt like he could at this point. "Kind of enjoy getting the chance to be awake and talk and not be completely out of the loop." His fingers crept up to where the chimera had stung him, feeling bandages wrapped around him. However, he also was well aware this might have been Ignis trying to back himself out. "If you want to go, go ahead."

Though... "Mind grabbing one of my books for me? Right at the bottom-back of my pack." At least he could read until he passed out. It wouldn't take long.

It was just as much concern for Gladio as it was a way for him to get back to his own space and try to get some more sleep of his own. He hadn't exactly had the most restful sleep as of late, after all. For a moment, he almost chided Gladio when he noticed he was fiddling with the bandages, but he kept quiet about it. As long as the bigger man wouldn't try and undo them, then Ignis wouldn't mention it.

"Of course. I'll get you some more water as well. Anything else?"

He wouldn't try to undo them... for now, but that wasn't likely to hold on forever. Gladio didn't do well with bandages or letting things heal fully, though he tried on the latter. Gladio shook his head to the question. "Nah. If you find me acceptable for human company," dry joke, there, "you could let them know I'm okay? Don't want the kids worrying about me any more than they have to." Already had been.

"And... try to get some rest yourself, Iggy?"

That just drew a low, dry chuckle from the adviser. Rest was the last thing Ignis was worried about. In fact, if he could avoid it, he would. In a way, it helped to see that Gladio was more himself. Maybe that would help ease the memories of being stalked by the big man. He'd been more animal than anything else then, so seeing him like this, trying to joke, fiddling with his injuries... it was all just pure Gladio.

"Do I look that bad?"

"I get the feeling we both look pretty rough," Gladio said, more jokingly. It was good to hear that chuckle from Ignis, something almost like normal. "I know if I look like even a quarter of what I feel like, I probably look like shit." He looked sallow, his hair bedraggled and sweat-soaked and a sheen on his skin. A few good meals, some rest, and a hot shower would cure it all along with time. "You always look good though. Not fair." He brought up a hand to rub it across his face, hating to feel how weak that gesture felt.

"You look good once you consider everything that happened."

And he did. Ignis wasn't one to lie. Gladio might look ill, but it was an improvement over how he'd looked when they weren't sure if he'd wake up at all. Sure, he wasn't his usual charming, handsome self, but that would chance as he got better. Ignis was sure of it.

Not so long ago, even Ignis wasn't exactly immune to Gladio's charms but now, when his friend openly complimented him, there was no amused huff and no flush to dust along pale cheeks. Instead, he paused, green eyes staring over at him before his gaze dropped away. After a moment, he blinked as if remembering something then got himself up to go find Gladio the book he'd wanted.

"... well. I'm sure we'll both be back to normal soon enough."

The difference was obvious and it tore through Gladio worse than anything. His fingers slid back through his hair and he nodded, giving Ignis that respect. "...hope so." Quiet, nodding, because what more could he do?

He'd attacked one of his friends.

They'd never trust him again, he was certain of it. He wasn't so sure he deserved to be, even if it wasn't his fault. Shouldn't he have been strong enough to conquer it? He was supposed to be the strong one among them...

He sighed quietly, rubbing that hand over his face.

If either of them were actually thinking and not just reacting, then Ignis might remind him that there were various forms of strength. There'd been no weakness in succumbing to the venom and while Ignis knew that, he couldn't give that knowledge words. Not when his throat tightened up every time he looked at Gladio.

He hated it. Gladio was his closest friend. He should be able to turn to him and tell him that he was afraid and he wasn't sure how he could get past it, but he couldn't. Instead, he watched him with tired eyes for a long moment, then padded closer to hand him the book he'd snagged out of his bag.

"... we'll be alright. Won't we?"

Will they.

Gladio reached out and took the book, looking up to Ignis and trying to see his old friend in those familiar green eyes, but it felt like someone new was looking out from them. He had to believe, for both of their sakes, didn't he, even if it was a total lie?

"Yeah." The lie fell from his lips, but he couldn't tell if Ignis was doing the same or not. "Yeah, we will. Thanks." Gesturing a little with the book to indicate what he was thanking Ignis for. "Probably won't last more than a page or two."

The sight of amber eyes gave him pause. There was a hazy memory of crimson eyes staring down at him, not that rich amber. Not the same as the eyes that he'd seen approval or dismay in. Not the same eyes that tried to search his.

Ignis knew the lie for what it was, but he was grateful that Gladio had tried. Part of him wanted to linger, to test things on this tenuous new ground between them but he knew that Gladio was tired and truly, so was he. Maybe the world would look better in the light of a new day. He could go and tell the others that Gladio would be alright in time and once they'd had a couple of days to rest up, they could be back on their way.

"I'll make sure to check on you in a little while. I'm sure Noctis and Prompto will want to come see you as soon as possible. You'll probably need to get some sleep before that happens since we both know how exuberant Prompto can be."

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