#it really had heart even if it shoulda used 500% more brain | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

polarurchin · 2 years

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Here’s a 3k fic of Uni going batshit crazy on a bunch of fools messing with Bepo.

italics used for dialogue

The island the Hearts were docked at was supposed to be safe, a paradise island on the grand line that offered refuge from the hostile seas and the even unfriendlier crews that sailed it. Law even said so himself before authorizing each group to go off on their own alloted shoretime.

Uni had chosen Bepo to be his companion for this venture, the ever lovable navigator accepting so readily when he had heard about the specialized navigational equipment the far side of the island had offered.

That was looking to be a very poor decision on Uni's part as each second passed where he helplessly watched the polar bear mink be dragged off like some felled beast to be sold to the highest bidder. He was left behind however, deemed with snide remarks that the Surgeon of death wouldn't miss his pet polar bear, but that taking one of his crewmen would.

The fools didn't know how wrong they were. How they were already dead with each breath they stole. Calling for help was useless at this point seeing as his transponder snail had been destroyed. The distance to cross back over to the Tang was too far by the time something terrible would happen to Bepo and so Uni was left with one option. He'd be the one to rescue the navigator and make those lousy bastards regret ever slighting the Hearts.

Getting out of his bindings was easy enough, rubbing it up against particularly rough foliage eventually made the rope give way and his arms were released. With that and the rope binding his legs swiftly to follow, Uni was immediately tracing where the group of slavers had gone off to, his haki expanding to the max to pinpoint their current location.

Oddly enough despite the pressing situation, Uni is able to keep his cool, remaining emotionless despite the animalistic rage bubbling beneath the surface. That rage would be best saved for when he caught up to the group but not now, not when he is trying his utmost effort to stalk them as a predator would an inferior competitor for resources. It was only natural after all that this group's time was limited. It didn't even phase him that there was a woman among them, just that she and everyone of them were now bodies to be evaluated and discarded.

They might have been the slightest bit intelligent to have gotten rid of his bo-staff. But feeling through his innermost pockets he found all of his syringes filled with powerful sedatives still intact. Digging further down and towards his waist he would linger at the hilt of his twin daggers, his secondary weapon of choice he'd come to pick up in his time with the Hearts.

Letting a cruel smirk come unbidden beneath his bandana, Uni continued on with each stride bringing him closer to taking Bepo back home. He did not linger on any scenario of what could be happening to the mink for the possibility of letting that screw with his focus. He'd let that roll over in the aftermath, for now, bloody retribution was in order.

—

"Whatd'ya think we'll get for this big fellow ey Arlo?"

" Beats me, so long as it beats that pitiful bounty of is'. A Beasty like this shoulda gone for more than a measly 500 beri methinks, at least more for each part bwahaha!"

A feminine voice pipes up after a resounding smack echoes off the cave walls.

" We're not selling it for parts you dumbass! The plan was to auction it off. Minks go for high prices in these parts."

It. It. IT. That word bounced around in Uni's brain almost hypnotically as he crept around each nook and cranny nearest the edge of the encampment. It was rudimentary at best, tents were set up, various food products tossed about. What really struck him and had his blood stirring strongly once more was the large cage set up in the back where Bepo had been stripped of his boiler suit and shackled to the floor of the cage preventing any real means of standing up let alone sitting up. Like a mere beast instead of a sentient being, a sickeningly all too familiar situation Uni had been through time and time again and here Bepo was being treated with such inhumanity.

Uni never really had much hope in humans to begin with beyond the select few in his life he would remain loyal to until he died. These living refuses were hardly considered as such, surely more bestial than the mink they had captured for selfish desires. But as for the brutality Uni had in mind for these deserving souls? Absolutely monstrous if it didn't feel so right.

Plan set in motion and daggers in hand, Uni waited for an opportune moment to strike. Luckily enough for him, he didn't so much as have to get the proverbial rocks rolling as one of the two males stood up with a lurch and a pop as he stretched out his back.

" I'm gon' take a quick piss, save some of them snaps wouldja Rhi?"

" Shoulda gotten your own then, I ain't the one spending all my cash on whores n' strippers."

" Fuck ya too."

Uni hunched down even lower at hearing heavy footfalls make their way towards him and thinking fast, he ducked further into the darkness, his haki making it virtually impossible to run into the walls and make more noise than was intentional.

With eyes blown wide and pupils near eclipsing his irises, Uni watched with bated breath as the man came within sight, unknowing of the threat lurking further from the safety of the campfire's light. Daring to make a move he purposefully caused rubble to fall as he tucked himself away again, the daggers now being clutched under whitening knuckles.

" The fuck was that?" Pausing Midway to his fly, the thug peers into the darkness with eyes narrowed trying to unsuccessfully catch the movement in his peripheral. Curiosity peaked, the fool takes the bait and thinking to himself that it must be some kinda cave critter that wandered in and would be good for cooking up, fell right into his own demise.

Strong unyielding arms shoot out of the darkness to loop around the man's neck and take him down. Before so much as a shout can escape his lips, a dagger slices across his jugular, blood spurting freely from the cut as Uni sinks to the cave floor cradling his head in his lap. Cold steel eyes watch on as the life leaves his victims and feeling unsatisfied with the lack of suffering reaches over and digs the untainted blade into his sternum before sharply slicing downwards as far as he can reach.

Guts spill out of the gaping wound pulled open by a blood soaked glove and with one last empty gasp, the terrified man is gone, his wide fearful gaze his final expression. He makes an unsatisfied sound when the buzzing in his mind stops and he hears movement. Seems the time for stealth has ended.

Carelessly dropping the man's skull to the red tinted earth, Uni stands up to casually brush at his stained boiler suit when the other two arrive. Frankly he feels insulted at this point with the lack of challenge. Now it's become clear that the only reason he and Bepo lost the first time was due to their guards being down and the drop their enemies got on them.

" Shit, shit shit! I thought you said this guy was a non threat! He didn't have a bounty last time I checked."

" Y-yeah I-"

" How presumptuous of you to assume that just because a man lacks a bounty that he is any less capable of ending your miserable lives hm? Did you really think Trafalgar Law is the only capable fighter?"

What a strange sensation this was, he could get fucking high on it, this sense of power and control… No wonder Cap'n was so arrogant all the time, he had a pretty damn good reason to be. And here with these blubbering miserable excuses for criminals, Uni felt divine.

Not letting them open their mouths to respond he surges forwards, catching the woman off guard but not the other man 'Arlo'. He was a tad quicker and that's what saved him from his blade. Reaching into his holster for his gun, he was hasty in drawing it to shoot. That's one point off, and to think there might have been something worth praising. The woman struggled within his grip only to go slack as her brains were accidentally blown out by her own partner. One who hastily scrambled back out into the main chamber of the cave where at least better lighting would give him a chance. Or rather, he thought so.

Stepping out into the fire lit section of the cave and looking like a damn massacre on two legs, Uni's eyes widened upon hearing a gasp coming from the cage stationed in the back. That cost him as he only dodged the bullet aimed for his skull at the last second, wincing at the sensation of his cheek being grazed open as his bandana flew to the side upon impact.

" Bepo don't look, please."

A sound of protest was made before Uni heard the shuffling of chains. One quick glance that way and he could make out the form of one mink covering his eyes and ears with his sizeable paws. Almost smiling at the sight, Uni recovers and focused on his opponent who has yet to land a single one of his shots as Uni only got closer.

" Fuck, what the hell do you want?"

There was nothing in the world this trash could give him that would make him let up his pursuit but he decided to humor him anyways.

" If you let Bepo go, maybe I'll settle with breaking your legs. No, maybe arms too. Wouldn't want those organs of yours going to waste."

" You're fucking crazy."

"And you're insane for having screwed with the Surgeon of Death's crew. Bepo is our navigator and really, you should be fucking grateful It's me dealing with your pathetic ass rather than him. You'd be begging for death by the time Law's through with you and even then he won't give you the mercy of death."

That was a fact. Uni honestly felt despite all the carnage of today and the agony he was going to be putting this man through, Law was still by far the worst hence the generation he is now a part of and rightfully so. No small time slavers were going to come between him and his crew and getting rid of these punks now would be doing everyone a favor. However, there was something that felt off that he planned to clear up with the frantic man before him and that interrogation process might as well start now.

Finally getting in close, Uni knocks the pistol out of the guys hands, stepping in closer to get a leg around one of the others and using momentum to flip him head over heels right over his knee. Not letting his opponent scrabble for purchase to lift himself up, Uni pins him to the cave floor shoving his head harshly against the sharp rocks beneath and ignoring the cries of pain at the rough treatment.

" I am curious about something though, there's no way there's only you and those other two working together yeah? Got somebody off shore waitin' on ya?"

" F-fuck off!"

CRACK! "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!"

" Wrong answer. That's one finger down, wanna try again?"

This time the man only sniffles into the dirt causing Uni to bare his sharp teeth and press further, breaking more fingers on the hand he's gotten a hold of. Bones give way so easily beneath the pressure of his hands, making him wanting to test even sturdier bones… Well he'll probably indulge himself once he got what he could squeeze out of the man and that answer could not come soon enough.

Once squeeze of those broken digits and it was all over.

" F-fine Y-you win! Captain Rory is the man you're lookin' for, we was just some hired help. Nothing personal."

With his free hand, Uni pats the guys cheek which flinches at the contact

" Good boy. Since you did such an amazing job. I'll let you go."

Awww, what a precious little smile. Too bad that wasn't gonna last long. Letting that buzzing emptiness cloud his mind, Uni takes the same arm he'd been toying with at the elbow and with a greater deal of effort than before, snaps the bone in half.

Screams of agony pierce the air as Uni numbs himself to any pleads and begs for mercy. Only finding himself briefly annoyed by all the noise as he turns to force fingers into the man's mouth before leveraging his grip in a way that made breaking his jaw easier.

Yanking downwards hard, the mandible comes loose from its socket, hanging limply against the throat as blood comes gurgling out of his ruined mouth. Satisfied, he keeps going until every limb is shattered under his anger driven strength. He is sure too that this 'Captain' will face a similar fate soon enough.

No more sounds now as the cave quiets to an eerie din of crickets and fire crackles. Dropping the last mangled limb and finally taking mercy on his victim, Uni snaps the man's neck in a clean break before making his way to the cage where Bepo was still holding tight to his face now scrunched from the thick scent of viscera and carnage.

“ You can look now Bepo it’s fine.”

Beady black eyes shine up at him from the minks prone position. It is only as he stands this close to the cage that he really notices how dirty Bepo’s fur has gotten, a nightmare to untangle all of that fur once they get back to the Tang for sure but a task he’d be very willing to help the navigator out with especially after all of this was said and done.

“ The woman has the key I think. I saw her in between passing out and waking up on the way here.”

His voice was hoarse. Not too great in Uni’s book, definitely going to want to insist Law has a look over the mink once he gets here and he was bound to teleport to the cave the second he hears what happened to one of his closest friends. Nodding once in understanding, Uni reluctantly steps away to start searching bodies. Luckily he doesn’t have to do that for long as the woman's corpse did indeed hold the key in a back pocket of her jeans. Coming back to Bepo he ignores the creepy death stare from the man he just ripped the jaw out of, that gaping bloody mouth bound to put anyone who stumbles upon this massacre into hysterics.

He is quick to unlock the heavy door keeping him from the bear and once he’s in, is even faster to get to work unshackling the caged mink. Sitting up right away, Bepo massages his wrists where the harsh metal had dug in through even his thick fur to rub the black skin raw. Noticing this, Uni grabs a paw to inspect him, clucking his tongue in irritation at the damage these scumbags had managed to cause his nakama.

Looking over every inch of Bepo he is stopped abruptly by a heavy paw landing on his shoulder.

“ I said it’s alright Uni, all we need now is to call Captain and then you and me can have a date with some shaved ice okay?”

“ I suppose so.”

He still sounds unsatisfied, disappointed that he didn’t take things further with each of them and the fact that he was robbed a kill by the final man he got to take his time breaking down into a sniveling mess.

Wanting to preoccupy himself on anything else but the blood and gore coating his face, boiler suit, and hands, Uni busies himself by raiding the small encampment of anything of value he and Bepo can return with as well as a transponder he can use to call the ship.

Ruffling through one bag while Bepo tries to find something decent enough to cover himself with, Uni is pleased to find one functional transponder tucked away in a chest within one of the three tents scattered about the cave. He thinks of the one number he has had nailed into his mind since day one of officially becoming a Heart pirate and with a few purpurururu’s, the line connects and a particularly pissed expression of a certain first mate appears.

“ Who the hell is this?”

“ It’s Uni, Penguin. Where’s Law at?”

“ Uni! What the fuck have you and Bepo been up to?”

“ That’s a bit of a story I’m gonna have to tell ya after I take a nice long hot shower Pen, but first things first, notify Law and we should be getting things squared up shortly.”

“Alright alright! Jeez, keep your secrets why don’t ya. Fine, but be prepared to be dealing with one hell of a grump in a few seconds, Law wasn’t too happy when hearing that you two haven’t shown up a minute after everyone else did… Frankly you're lucky I’ll be taking some of the brunt of it you jackass, wait there and don’t move a muscle or else.”

The call abruptly ends and releasing a deep sigh, Uni collapses back on his hands. It is not 30 seconds later and a familiar blue glow lights up the entire cave and it is only then that he lets a smile turn his lips, lecture incoming be damned.

#:drabble:#blood tw #gore tw #violence tw #Also wrote Uni using daggers instead of his staff as depicted that one time on Zou #Very nice change up I'd love to use more often

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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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