Work Text:
Traditions
“You cannot be serious.” Her voice hisses, escaping the kitchen and immediately grabbing his attention. His brow furrows as he knocks the snow off his shoes and gently closes the door behind him. Pyrna, her ever faithful dog, watches him from where she lays in the doorway to the kitchen and gives a slow wag of her tail.
He shucks off his outer coat and leaves it tossed over the back of the couch on his way to the kitchen. She’ll chastise him later, he’s sure, but he doesn't feel like taking the time to hang it up at the moment. He can still hear snippets of words and the frustrated tone of her voice makes it impossible to do much of anything besides find out what has her upset. Instead, he joins Pyrna at the entry of the kitchen, curious. He leans against the doorway, arms crossing as he listens.
She's so engaged in what she's doing and the conversation that she doesn't even notice him.
“Please, can you not put this to the side for one evening?” Anger seeps into her tone now, her words clipped and short. There are a rare few who have the audacity to bring Lunafreya to anger, and that helps to shorten the list of who could be on the other end of the line.
When the Oracle gets angry it's a quiet thing. Sharp and cold, like ice, like the Glacian that guarded her in her youth. He can count on his hand the amount of times he's seen it since he's known her, but each time it's enough to remind one that she has been a mouth piece for gods and is powerful yet in her own right.
“No, I will not. You are being absurd and childish.” She huffs, turning to the stove to check on one of the many pots she has filled. The apron she has over her white sweater-dress is a right mess, covered in smudges from where she has used it to wipe her hands as she’s went. How she's managed to keep the rest of herself immaculate he can't guess. Even her hair is still perfectly done in her favorite style, not a hair out of place.
“This farce of a grudge has went on long enough, Ravus. You promised you would be in attendance.” Ah, and there it is. Her secret weapon against that ass of a brother. That last sentence turned pleading, the anger melting from her voice in a way that he is familiar with from experience. She is not down right begging(because the Oracle does not beg), but something in her voice raises any and every guilt that you have ever had about not upholding your word, of not seeing her often enough, or of forgetting to call. All in a way that makes it obvious she will be disappointed .
And for a woman who has rarely asked for anything for herself, it makes it twice as difficult to tell her no when she does.
He sees her smile, a mischievous twitch of her lips as she turns back just long enough to grab a spoon, and finally sees him in the doorway. He knows that look and he can't help but grin out right.
Oh, she knows what she’s doing. She'll feign innocence, but he's seen her manage to twist an entire group of old politicians to her will with a few words and a heavy glare. She grew up learning there are easier ways to get what you want than force. But then, Ravus should have known better by now.
It takes less than a minute for her brother to crack. Her voice returns to a much more polite and happy tone. She gives her thanks, expresses her excitement, and confirms his time of arrival with all the ease of having gotten exactly what she planned.
He imagines Ravus is grumpily pouting on the other end of the line, his voice probably filled with resignation. He seriously wonders if the old commander even expected anything else from this conversation, or if this is just some ingrained ritual between the siblings at this point.
It brings back bittersweet memories and a little bit of envy that still twists his heart after all these years. He'd give anything for his sister to be in the other end of the phone nagging him into visiting for the holidays. He can't help but look at Luna and hope that damn brother of hers knows how lucky he is.
Glacian knows he still wonders at his own luck when wakes every morning.
He leaves his spot in the doorway to wrap his arms around her waist as she sets the phone onto the counter. She leans into him, her back against his chest, even as she continues to stir to keep the food from burning.
"Your brother still going on about that nonsense?" He asks, placing a kiss to the side of her head.
"When he isn't going on about nonsense of some sort, I shall have cause for concern." She scoffs. He chuckles in response, inwardly agreeing. It doesn't help, he thinks, that Noctis seems to take great joy in baiting the elder Fleuret.
"Did you finish everything outside?" She asks him, turning her head against his chest to look up at him.
" 'Course. Wouldn't be in here otherwise." He teases, grinning.
She hums and turns back to the stove. "That's good. Ignis sent a message just before Ravus called saying they were on the way."
"How long we got, you think?"
"A half hour or so I would presume." She turns a couple of the burners dow to a lower setting, enough to keep it warm but not likely to burn.
She's been so excited for this day that he has a hard time not indulging her every whim. Even when the damn weather dumped a last minute snow that covered the ground and all the pretty decorations she had placed outside their home. A pout and a hopeful question as to if he could uncover the lights and clear their drive in preparation, and out he went to shovel snow for the last several hours.
Granted, he has a hard time telling her no most days, let alone on a day she's planning some big party.
The beginnings of a new tradition, she hoped, of all of their friends joining them for the winter festivities to celebrate the solstice. Their little make shift family all in one place for at least one day out of the year.
She turns in his arms, spoon discarded to the counter, to twine her arms around his neck. She reaches up and gives him a light peck to the lips, blue eyes sparkling. "Thank you."
"No problem, princess."
The title is more endearment than subservient after all this time and he loves the way she lights up when she hears it. She smiles and leans up to kiss him again.
He pulls her closer to him, meeting her lips eagerly with his own. One hand snakes up to cradle her head, letting him deepen the kiss. She responds with her hands twisting into his hair, tugging him closer still.
He steps back, away from the stove, and twists so that she leans with her back against the counter. His other hand skims down from her waist, trailing down her thigh. He barely has to grip his fingers to her skin before she's thrown her leg around his waist.
Warmth seeps through him as he parts for air, trailing kisses down her neck and back up. All the cold he'd felt while outside had melted away in her arms. Instead, he feels her touch like fire igniting in his veins. Her hands trail under his shirt, nails lightly scratching at skin, and he lets out a groan.
"Nyx…" her voice whispers against his skin and he swears. He wants her, with a fervor that never seems quite go away and he thinks a half hour isn't nearly enough time to worship her as he likes.
The door slams open, Pyrna letting out a bark. Nyx tenses, immediately on high alert and one hand reaching for a dagger that isn't there.
"Damn! It's colder than Shiva's tits out there!" A familiar voice cuts in and Nyx breathes out a frustrated sigh, head flopping onto Lunafreya's shoulder while she giggles.
"Libertus, man, you gotta learn to knock." He yells out as Luna lowers her leg and kisses his cheek. She nudges him gently and he goes, greeting their first arrivals with a frown.
The man grins like he knows exactly what he just interrupted and Crowe smacks him in the back of the head. He gives a mumbled 'ow', shifting the case of drinks in his arms.
"I told him!" She huffs and closes the door behind her as they move into the living room. "Sorry, we expected the roads to be worse than they were."
"It's fine." He admits, laughing. Nothing he can't continue later, anyway.
By the time he's put away the drinks and been chastised into hanging up everyone's coats, the door is opening again with other arrivals. Noctis sweeps in with a nod in his direction and a hug for Luna, with Ignis not far behind. Prompto and Gladio come in carrying what looks like a hoard of boxes to which, when asked, the young king shrugs.
"Wanted to get some gifts for everyone and got a bit carried away."
"A bit?" Nyx laughs, one brow raised as he looks at the pile.
Noctis looks a bit sheepish but just shakes his head with a grin, prompting some good natured teasing from Gladio and Libertus about his spending habits.
Ravus is the last to arrive, but he does nothing more than throw a glare at Noct's head before greeting his sister and finding a seat.
Ignis helps Luna with bringing everything out to the dining room table, Prompto already using his trusty camera to snag memories for later, while Ravus tries to feign indifference in a conversation between his fellow glaives and the shield. It's an odd mix of people, all from different backgrounds but…. All of them belong here, he thinks.
And when Lunafreya smiles at him from across the table before calling them all in to eat, he once again wonders at how lucky he's managed to be when so many things went to shit.
This is their family now. And he wouldn't have it any other way.