Chapter Text
In the end, Crowe didn't end up calling Cindy; She slept all through the night, and through most of the morning, apparently, because it was the midday sun that woke her up. Assuming the clock on the desk opposite her was right of course. A desk- No, that wasn't right, Crowe's room didn't have a desk, and the mattress she was laying on was much stiffer than hers. She'd gone all out after saving for a while, and her and Pelna had gone out and bought the softest, most comfortable mattress they could find. He frequently stumbled into her apartment after his night shifts, despite living only a few minutes away, and so she'd brought him along so there'd be no complaints when he flopped on top of her at 2 am.
She shot up, pain coursed through her torso, and she lay back down again. Blinked a couple times, and shook her head. Pulling back the pale blue covers - hers were an earthy green, another sign this wasn't her room - she saw a lump under her shirt (dirty now, what a shame) and pulled it up, looking at the gauze taped to her side, where it hurt most. Why did it hurt again? She sighed, resting her head against the backboard of the bed, and let her thoughts drift to the last days events.
Nyx, Luche and Tredd had fought in the briefing room, after the official announcements of the Niflheim-Lucis Treaty. Drautos had called her in, given her an order straight from the King, "Covertly meet with Princess Lunafreya of Tenebrae, and escort her to Accordo, where the royal wedding is to be held." She'd had barely any time to prepare, a fact that frustrated both her and the Captain, but the treaty hadn't been expected, and there simply wasn't time to plan. The King believed that Lady Lunafreya was in some sort of imminent danger, and trusted Crowe to look after her. It had made Crowe smile a little, knowing the King thought that highly of her. She might not like the man as much as Nyx, but she certainly didn't feel the way Libertus did, and she appreciated what he'd done for her and the other Glaives, even though they might not.
Right. She'd gotten her orders, spent the day doing some rushed preparations and Nyx and Libertus had seen her off. Pelna had been busy, which sucked. The driver had dropped her off, and she'd spotted a suspicious van. Her memory began to waver a little here, and she frowned. She remembered Luche's smug, horrid sneer, the one he always wore when he won a bet, or game of warp tag, the one she'd always thought was disgusting. She remembered hurting- a lot, and she cursed under her breath. Blackness, then a voice calling out to her. It was a woman's voice; sweet, calming, and it filled Crowe's mind. A flash of gold and green, green eyes, like gems staring at her. Tinted with concern, for her. They made her feel...safe, in a way.
Crowe sat up again, slowly this time, and rolled her shoulders back, stretching as best she could. She idly gazed around the room, looking at all the posters, and recognized some of them. In the background, she could hear cars, close by, and people talking. Another glance at the clock and she swung her legs out of the bed. It wasn't like she could go anywhere far injured like this, but she didn't like sitting still. Made her feel restless. She didn't find much difficulty in walking, but breathing was rather painful. There was a door in the corner of the room, and she opened it. It led into a bathroom, and she breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing a mirror. Stepping forward, she pushed her hair out of her face to better survey her condition.
Her tanned skin was paler than normal, and she grimaced. Dark brown hair was knotted and messy, but somehow her hairband was still in, and she fumbled with it, trying to pull it out. It yanked on knots, and a small clump of hair was twisted around it when she finally removed it. Down, her hair looked worse, she thought, but it wasn't catching on itself as much anymore. She pulled up her shirt once more, and gently prodded her rib cage until she found her mark. Bruised, not broken, she noted graciously, and the gauze held firm, a faint smudge of red on it. The bullet can't have pierced anything serious then, else she'd be coughing up her blood- That's right! Luche'd shot her. Prick. Her bare shoulders sagged, and she lamented the loss of her jacket. Nyx had picked it out for her name day two years ago, and it was probably her favourite. Ruined now, stained with mud and blood and sporting a messy hole. Her shirt too, was a mess, and she'd seen the state of her boots, by the bed. Everything about this whole damn situation was a mess. Her hand instinctively went to run through her hair, but it snagged almost right away and she sighed again.
She used the sink beneath the mirror to wash the grime off her face, and headed back into the bedroom. Her phone lay beside her boots, not dead yet, but close.
A few texts from Nyx, some in english and some not, all worried. She rolled her eyes, but smiled, and went to answer them.
Hero 20:32 - you'd better be okay.
Hero 20:32 - if you're not well enough after the treaty's signed, me and lib are gonna come get you.
Hero 20:34 - nu te las acolo atunci când nifii preiau.
Hero 20:45 - la naiba, crowe. doar...rămâi în siguranță.
Hero 21:23 - i know you hate hearing it from lib but you're like a sister to me too.
Hero 21:26 - keep me updated
Cioară 11:46 - im alive
Cioară 11:46 - bruised rib, bullet wound. probs wont make it for treaty. you stay there and do your job, nyx.
Cioară 11:47 - you've got a duty as a glaive.
Cioară 11:47 - don't trust the glaive. luche is a traitor.
A door slammed open, and Crowe nearly dropped her phone. It took that opportunity to die, and she groaned. Putting it down, she pulled the bed cover back up, in an attempt to neaten it, and left her phone there. Treading towards the door, she poked her head out. An old man was shuffling around in a small kitchen area. The door must've creaked, because he turned to face her right away.
"You're up, then." His voice was gruff, but it didn't sound rude, and she vaguely recognised it from the night before.
"Uh, yeah." She opened the door fully, and stepped out, eyes roaming the living space before her. "Thanks. For last night." The man grunted, and she assumed that meant his acknowledgement. His gaze was fixed on her, and she shifted uncomfortably under his watch.
"Yer shirt's filthy. Jeans too. Go borrow something'a Cindy's, it'll probably fit."
"Would that be alright?" Was Cindy the blonde woman from last night? A lovely name for a lovely lady, she thought absently. The man grunted again, head lolling forwards, and he began working again. Shrugging, she retreated back into the room.
There was a dresser by the foot of the bed, and she went through the drawers until she found what she needed. It didn't feel right, really, to go through the woman's things, but the old man had been right, she was covered in filth. Looking into the drawer holding shirts, she was a little astounded by Cindy's confidence, a lot of those were rather...small. Not Crowe's style, though she wasn't picky. She found a t-shirt, towards the bottom, a faded yellow, and carefully pulled it out. Pulling off her own shirt, she was reminded she'd slept wearing her bra, probably another reason her chest ached. She groaned, and pulled on Cindy's shirt, folding hers and placing it beside her blank phone. Her jeans stuck as she shucked them, and she grimaced. A light pair of knee shorts caught her eye and she took those.
The clothes had an odd scent, oil, but also a hint of something else. Vanilla maybe? Pelna's room always smelt of the stuff, so it was easy to recognise, and she found the smell comforting. A myriad of caps sat atop the dresser, and she pulled one onto her head, shoving her hair up into it. She wasn't about to take the woman's shoes too, so she yanked on her muddied boots and headed out.
When she emerged, the man was gone, and not wanting to linger in a home that wasn't hers, she stepped outside, into the sun. Her eyes shut immediately, and she had to squint for a long while before her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. She seemed to be to the side of a garage-type building, and followed the sounds of people onto the road. There was a small van selling weapons in front of what was indeed a garage. She took a quick glance into it, some fancy looking car inside, and found her bike propped up in a corner. It didn't look too scratched up, thankfully. It was hers, not one of the Glaive rentals, and she'd put a lot of work into it. Sentimental value too, she'd taken her girlfriends from Insomnia out on it, and they'd always loved it. Not that she'd had one in a few years; what with Niflheim closing in on Lucis she'd not really had the time. Shame really. Not that she didn't enjoy it when the boys stayed over, or when Pelna fell into bed beside her, but...they weren't girls. She couldn't get off with them.
Taking a further walk, she saw two buildings, a diner and a shop, with gas pumps in front of it. A loud, excited voice came from inside the shop, and if she'd paid it any mind, she would have recognised it, but instead, she headed towards the diner, Takka's, hoping to find Cindy. There were a few people in the booths, and a bald man in an apron (presumably Takka) was stood at the counter, scribbling away at a piece of paper.
"Hey, excuse me?" She greeted him, and internally winced when her voice came out too harsh. The man jumped up, startled, and she waved her hands in apology. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."
"Oh, uh, it's fine. What can I do for you?" Crowe saw his eyes wander to her clothes, and his face heated up. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what he thought.
"I was hoping to find Cindy." It sounded more like a question than she meant it to, and she readjusted the hat on her head. "Don't quite know my way around the outpost. Hammerhead, right?" Takka (was that Takka? She had no idea. Probably.) nodded, eyes widening with realisation, of something, she didn't know what.
"Yup. Cindy's probably in the garage, workin' on that fancy car that pulled up a while back. Real nice, too." Crowe moved to thank him when he spoke again. "She does this kinda thing a lot, leavin' a girl to work, don't worry 'bout it too much."
There was a beat of silence. Oh. Cindy's clothes, her messy appearance, seeking the woman out-
"No!" As smooth as Crowe liked to think she was, at heart she was a helpess gay, like it or not, and her face flushed dark. "That's- That's not it, we aren't- I got shot." She forced her mouth shut before she could speak anymore, and Takka blinked. She nodded her thanks, face burning, and rushed out of the diner, and right into somebody's chest. "Sorry!" She pulled back, as did the man.
"Apologies-" They glanced at each other again. "Crowe?"
"Ignis!" She grinned upon seeing the bespectacled man, and he sighed with what seemed like relief. His eyes ran over her though, meticulous, and hands flew to her shoulders.
"I heard from Nyx that you'd been injured, are you alright?" Seeing Ignis fret like this rather amused her. The Crownsguard and the Kingsglaive had training sessions together at least once month, and Libertus had forged a friendly(?) rivalry with Gladiolus Amicitia. While they tussled, Nyx would keep track of the fight, or sneak off with the Prince and his friend, and Crowe and Ignis would watch from the sidelines, both the voice of reason for their groups. They'd found magic in common, and Crowe often helped the younger man with crafting and using spells. Not that she didn't get along with Amicitia (though there was a particular incident that had left him sore), or the Marshall's boy, Prompto, but Ignis was the only one she'd properly call a friend, and befriending the Prince? No way- Leave that (and more) to Nyx, she didn't want to cause trouble. Her and Ignis took coffee together when they had free time. As far as she knew, she was the only one who sought out their group outside of training, but she didn't want to know what Nyx, Prompto and Noct got up to after work, they were mushy enough during training, so who knows when they saw each other.
"Still around, aren't I?" She gently pried Ignis' hands off her shoulders, smiling reassuringly. "Glaives don't go down that easy."
"I sure hope not." A deep rumble of a laugh came from behind Ignis, and she turned to face the speaker.
"What? Afraid you'd have to step up and get your hands dirty, Amicitia?"
Gladiolus smirked, arms folded, and leant forwards, down to her. "Who else is gonna steal all the cute girls?" She rolled her eyes, and shoved his face away. "What are you doin' out here, besides getting beat up?"
Gladio and Ignis were safe, she decided. They both had relatives on the Council, who definitely knew of her mission, if not Ignis' uncle, Clarus certainly did.
"I was on assignment, had to go to Tenebrae, but don't think I can make it in the time I was supposed to, so now I'm just waiting on the wounds to heal and I'll probably head back to Insomnia." Ignis and Gladio shared a look, and Ignis turned back to her.
"It wouldn't be regarding the Princess, would it?" She shifted now, arms crossing.
"Yeah, actually. Why?"
"Word is she flew into Insomnia with the Niflheim officials for the treaty signing." Crowe frowned, face scrunching up. That couldn't be right. She thought, but perhaps because she'd not made it to Tenebrae in time; Did Drautos know?
She groaned, shoulders sagging. "Fuck knows what I'm supposed to do then."
Luche had stopped her from reaching Tenebrae, with the intent to kill her. That'd let the Niffs have Lunafreya, so he was probably working with them. But there was no way he, or they, could've known she was going there. It had been a classified mission, the Council, Drautos and herself were the only ones who knew the details of the mission. She was almost certain he couldn't have spied on any of them either, the Council meeting rooms were incredibly heavily guarded, and she and Drautos weren't fools. They'd have known.
Something definitely wasn't right in the Glaive, she only hoped her boys would be alright.
"Oh, right! Heard your car crashed or something?" She asked, deciding to change the subject, not wanting to dampen the mood any further.
"Yeah, something like that. Engine failed on the way here, so we had to push it here most of the way."
"Bet the Prince loved that. First day out and the car's down. What's his game plan?"
"Cindy's taking a look at it while we do some hunts to pay for it."
"Leide's easy pickings, monster-wise, but I wouldn't take any daemon hunts just yet." The way Ignis and Gladio acted it was almost hard to remember how much younger than her they were, and that they'd not seen half as much carnage. "Giants spawn around here and you wanna get yourself used to a real fight first. Marshall's kid hasn't seen one before and Prince hasn't fought in one."
"We're not kids." Gladio said, in a tone that completely contradicted the statement.
"No, but you're inexperienced. Daemons don't fight like people do- And you're trained to fight people, not daemons." She knocked his shoulder a few times. "Respect your elders."
"Aren't you like thirty? You're not that much older than Gladio." A much younger voice chimed in.
"And what are you, five?" She turned to face the Prince, having finally left the shop, Prompto behind him. "Learn your limits, and learn your enemies."
Gladio huffed, a smile on his face. "And I suppose you're the wise old witch, huh?"
She laughed, and stepped away, grinning. "Go do your hunts, those cars are expensive." Noctis' face fell, eliciting more laughter from Crowe as she headed towards the garage, calling her goodbyes. Speaking to familiar faces had definitely helped her mood, eased at least a few of her anxieties. There were still some people she knew she could trust, outside the city.
There was a small radio in the garage, playing a familiar song, it was one Pelna and Nyx both liked, they'd always be playing it whenever she was over. Something about rain? She'd never learnt the words. It broadened the smile on her face all the same.
She called a greeting out over the music, but it went unheard. Walking around the car, she found a discarded hat laying on the floor, and a pair of white boots, and tanned thighs sticking out from under the car. She swallowed a lump in her throat, and pulled her eyes away.
"Hello?" The legs raised up, and Cindy pushed herself out from underneath the car (wasn't that one of the Regalias? How hadn't she noticed it before?), sitting up on the the rolling board. Her eyes lit up upon seeing Crowe, and a smile found it's way onto her face. There was a smudge of oil on her cheek, and Crowe resisted the urge to wipe it off.
"Well now, look who's awake! Good to see ya up and around!" She stood now, extending a gloved hand to Crowe, and the brunette took it. Cindy hauled her up, and they shook afterwards. "Now I don't know how much you remember'a last night-"
"Not as much as I'd like to."
"But my name's Cindy. Cindy Aurum. An' the old man is Cid. We run this here garage." Crowe's head bobbed up and down in a half-hearted nod. Cindy was gorgeous. Curly, golden blonde hair, glass green eyes and a button nose? Dumnezeu...
"I'm Crowe Altius. Kingsglaive." Cindy nodded, smile never leaving her cheeks. "Thanks for last night- Seriously. Don't know if I'd have made it without you and your old man's help. If there's anything I can do to repay you-"
"Don't worry 'bout it, sweetheart. I ain't gonna charge ya for gettin' shot at." God, what an angel. "All I want's to see you recover. Certainly was a sight an' a half, seeing you rock up on that ole bike, bloody and bruised. Nearly gave a girl a heart attack."
"I can't imagine it happens often, yeah."
"More than ya might think, actually, though it's usually a daemon wound, not a gunshot." A dry laugh fell past Crowe's lips. Yeah, didn't she know it. A dry breeze blew through the outpost, and she shuddered against the soft fabric of Cindy's t-shirt. Oh, right!
"Thanks for letting me borrow your stuff. Mine's all...dirty." Cindy winked, and Crowe just about melted there, a grin forming on her face.
"Not a thing. Looks good on ya!" Cindy wiped her hands on her shorts, wiping off some stray oil, and placed a hand on Crowe's shoulder. "I don't suppose you've eaten anything, have ya?"
"Hah. Nah, I wanted to thank the two of you first. Don't suppose there's a card machine around here? I was gonna crack out my gil at Galdin, but-"
"Sweetheart you ain't going nowhere until you're all healed up." Crowe grimaced. Cindy was right, but Crowe wasn't sure if she still had a job to do, and what would happen if the Princess had been waiting for her, and she never showed up? The mission had been important, what if she'd was supposed to stop the Princess from being taken to Lucis? Then she'd already failed. Drautos probably thought she was dead, though she'd no idea whether Luche was in cahoots with him or not, and she didn't want to disappoint the King. Of course, she also knew it'd be foolish for her to move around too much in this state, let alone fight the Niffs, or daemons she might come across escorting the Princess to Accordo. She probably couldn't steal the Princess away from the Crown City either, if it was public knowledge now. She just had to hope things would work out without her. Not a fun thought. "Come on, you haven't eaten yet right? Let's get you somethin' warm, my treat, then I'll show you the point. Got one in the shop for Insomnian folks, like the Prince."
Cindy's warm hand on her shoulder was so inviting, Crowe couldn't help but nod. And Gods, she was hungry. She'd eaten before she left Insomnia, but that was probably a solid 22 hours ago, maybe more. "Alright, but you've gotta let me pay you back somehow. Don't like being indebted." Cindy's eyes rolled upwards, but the smile didn't drop an inch.
"If it'll soothe your mind, alright. You know anything about cooking, or mechanics?"
"Mechanics is more Libertus' thing..." Crowe trailed off for a moment. "I mean, I know my way around a bike, but probably not the types you get out here. I cook for the guys back in Insomnia though- Galahdian street vendors never get it right, so they all lug themselves into my place and we cook together." We, meant her and Luche. Who, when he wasn't being a traitorous backstabbing, slimy, arrogant son a bitch, was actually a fantastic cook. Nyx had tried to help once. And he did. By paying for a new kitchen after he set hers on fire. That had been a fun night.
"Then you can give Takka a hand until you're good to go, and we'll call it even, alright?" Cooking wouldn't be too taxing, she thought, and so she smiled.
"Deal." Cindy's hand moved along her back until her arm was slung around the older woman, and she led them out of the garage.
"Now Takka's a real sweetheart, really."
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.