Chapter Text
Spring was always an interesting time of the year for Ignis. Typically it consisted of working at the Citadel, of course, and spending his lunch breaks outside watching birds and all the creatures spring brought anew. He enjoyed watching the new leaves on the trees twisting outwards to greet the warming sun, their small buds freckling the eager branches. And of course he liked to watch the people.
Ever since he was little, the interactions between people fascinated him. Kids playing, parents chasing, old men walking dogs. They all had their interesting social cues and patterns. Most interesting were the couples. Specifically young, new couples blooming like the fruit trees in the parks. In the spring it was always new couples.
Ignis always wondered how it was that humans, despite their want to control and tame nature, separate themselves from it, always fell back into conforming to her whims. But that thought had never changed the fact that, just once, Ignis had wanted to try it for himself.
The opportunity hadn't really presented itself until just after high school, what with his busy schedule and awkward social graces. He was still busy, maybe busier than ever, but as his body matured and his confidence increased so too did his options.
Looking out at another couple walking hand in hand he smiled, sitting comfortably at the cafe corner with a drink in hand, another coffee and empty seat waiting patiently across from him. Of course he'd picked someone just as busy as he was, hence the waiting, but it was part of what made them such a good fit. For three months it had been nothing short of divine.
"Sorry I'm late." Gladio huffed, coming to a skidded halt in front of Ignis's table, his chest heaving up and down as if he'd just run a marathon.
"There was no rush, I already ordered the coffees." Ignis nudged Gladio's drink slightly. Really, they both knew time was always limited, but it wasn't worth killing oneself over. Ignis smirked, playfully. "Though it's not a bad image you're presenting. I don't mind at all."
"Oh, hush you. The Prince was, well you know." Gladio grinned, pulling his chair out and sitting down in it. "So,what's new?"
"Having a little free time for a change." Ignis knew the same wasn't true for Gladio, who was only using precious break time between tasks to meet with him. "Meetings were canceled today and I don't have to be at Noct's apartment for another three hours."
"That is unusual. After this, we have a training session. And in three hours I'll be free. Funny, ain't it? Our free time seems to run opposite." The paper cup moved to Gladio's lips, and a content sigh escaped. Gladio's shoulders dropped as he melted into the chair. "Gods, you do know good coffee."
"Of course I do. How else would I survive all the long, boring hours in the Council chamber?" Ignis tipped his head and watched Gladio's posture, his expression, and especially his lips. "It's a shame evenings are so difficult."
Gladio mirrored Ignis's gesture, his fingers moving to play with the lid of his drink. "It really is." Gladio rose an eyebrow, licking his lips. "I am free tonight. When do you put sleeping beauty to bed?"
"If things go as planned I can leave around 20-21… if his friend Prompto pops in it will undoubtedly be closer to midnight…" Ignis's expression fell just a hint, but it was okay. Free time was always a bargaining session in their lines of work. He found himself chewing on his bottom lip and quickly took a sip to hide the fact.
Gladio hummed, bringing the cup to his lips. "I'll leave the door unlocked. You know where my place is."
.…
Everyone knew where the Amicitias lived. Darkness had long fallen and a cold chill had started clinging to the air. Ignis had come in by foot and stood at the corner trying to get a glimpse of Gladio's window to know if he was still awake.
The last thing he wanted to do was wake anybody. The Amicitias were a brash group, and Gladio's father in particular always made him nervous.
Ignis's excuse was already planned, and as such Jared gave no complaints when he entered, though he remained quiet in case the others were sleeping. As promised, Gladio's door was unlocked, though the lights were off.
"Iggy?" Gladio shifted in his bed, voice wrapped in sleep. There was a lot of shifting as he sat up, stretching covers falling to his waist. "What time is it?"
Ignis shrugged, the gesture lost to the darkness as he closed the door behind him. "Not sure. Close to midnight? Would you like me to let you sleep?"
"No." Gladio moved over on the overly large bed to make even more room for the other man. "Stay."
Gladio was funny when he was half asleep, his sentences even shorter and less wordy. Somehow it was endearing. Ignis moved to the closest side of the bed, slow enough that he would not jerk the other man rudely into awareness. "Alright. If you insist."
"I do." And as soon as Ignis was close enough, he wrapped his arm around him and pulled him close.
Ignis's hands ran across Gladio's bare chest, trying to test for himself just how awake the other man really was. "I'm sorry it's so late. But I have an early morning and I don't think I'll be able to stay up otherwise."
"We can be quick," Gladio purred, arching into Ignis's touch. His eyes closed, letting Ignis do as Ignis pleased.
"Making me do all the work. Typical." Ignis's hands wandered down as he moved toward the bottom of the bed, tugging down the sheets as he went. "But if this doesn't wake you up, nothing will."
"You like it." Gladio gruffed, his hands wrapping into Ignis's hair. He was already wearing nothing, and between the cool air and Ignis's got breath a shiver ran down his body.
"You like it more." Came the obvious response. Though Ignis couldn't deny the truth in it.
….
At sunrise there was a knock at Gladio's bedroom door. Four hefty raps followed by an expectant silence. When the future shield didn't answer four more raps broke the silence.
"Gladiolus, get your ass out of bed and come to breakfast. We have to leave in thirty."
Gladio grumbled and rolled out of bed and caught on his feet before looking towards the door. "Down in a sec, dad."
The short response was followed by Gladio quickly dressing and heading downstairs to the dining room. Breakfast was already at the table, and if Gladio had been a little more awake, he would have seen the irritation rolling off his father.
Instead, Gladio grabbed the hot cup of coffee and started shovelling food into his mouth.
The elder Amicitia had long finished his own breakfast and was dressed in his Crownsguard blacks. He stared at his son for a long moment before he spoke. "Gladio, Jared told me about the Scientia boy coming by last night. Apparently it's not the first time. This needs to stop."
"No." Gladio spoke clearly, looking up and meeting his father's gaze. No hesitation. No fear. "I'm old enough to make my own decisions. He's welcome here."
"Every decision you make you must first think about three things." Clarus uncrossed his arms, looking at the younger man with all the seriousness of a Shield. He did not have the time to beat around the bush, and as such he kept his eyes firmly on his son. "First, your Crown, second, the people, and third, family. Should any decision you make be a detriment to any of these things, it is a bad decision. I'm not telling you that you shouldn't get along with this boy. I'm telling you that this pairing is a bad decision. You are at the age when you need to be thinking about the future of this family and your ability to produce an heir."
"My decision detriments none of that." Gladio took a sip of coffee, not breaking contact with his father for even a second. "My relationship benefits the Crown, doesn't affect the people and ya know what. It shouldn't be on me to produce an heir. Iris is just as capable as anyone to have a kid.”
"She's fourteen." Clarus grumbled, his steely blue eyes narrowing. "We are looking at needing an heir much sooner than anticipated. The Prince will be getting married soon, six years younger than his father. Within two years of his marriage he is likely to have produced his own heir, and it's best for the Shield to be older than the new Prince. I am five years older than Regis and you are three years older than Noctis. It is likely a prince or princess will be born within the next five years. That leaves us with little time. It's important that this trend continues."
“Why?” Gladio looked down at his food, no longer hungry. He huffed, and downed the remainder of his drink. He stabbed his sausage, knowing that Noctis wasn’t exactly looking forward to his own wedding, either. “Fine. I can produce you an heir without marrying anyone. Watch me.”
.…
As it turned out, the reason Gladio had been rudely pulled out of bed at such an early hour without his morning workout was to catch a train. When they pulled up to the station the King and Prince Noctis were already waiting. A small group of Crownsguard, Councilmen and civilians had also gathered, with only a handful of minutes to spare. The train was already at the station, bags were loaded. All that remained was the passengers, and of course the King and Prince were going nowhere without their Shields.
The Royal Family had bought out an entire train car for their own use, though it was still an unusual choice in mode of transportation. Normally such an outing would be done in a caravan of black cars, but Clarus had mentioned in passing that the point was not to raise flags or draw unwanted attention. They were traveling moderately under the radar.
Gladio got onto the train ahead of everyone else, finding a place to sit, where no one would bother him while he cooled off, his conversation with his father still picking at the edges off his mind.
The others boarded slowly, and the car filled up, though not to an uncomfortable capacity. There was room for everyone to sit, and for a few minutes Gladio was left alone.
"Did you hear the news?" Ignis sat down across from the Shield, a hint of sadness that could only be seen in his eyes.
"No?" Gladio perked up, worry clearly upon his face seeing his boyfriend’s expression. He knew Ignis well enough to know when he was not right. "You don't look good. Did you sleep last night?"
Ignis shook his head. "Unfortunately, by the time I got home and turned on my phone, I didn't have much time to sleep as it was… and then hearing about the explosion and funeral, well…" only a breath as he paused and looked back into the other booths, spotting the Prince and his father a ways down. "Noctis isn't much better. When I went to pick him up this morning he was out so cold that I practically had to dress and feed him myself. Prompto was still asleep on the floor when we left."
"Funeral?" Gladio sat up and uncrossed his arms. His eyes dated from Ignis to everyone else in the car. The somber expressions and sudden trip. It made sense.
Gladio's attention returned to Ignis. "Who died?"
Ignis laced his fingers on the particleboard tabletop and sighed deeply. "The entire 252nd Crownsguard. They were a small patrol on the outskirts of Lestallum sent out to investigate ongoing outages suspected of tampering… they were killed in a generator explosion late last night. Turns out the culprits were a band of imps, rare as that is…. The hunters are controlling the situation, now." Finally his eyes shifted up to meet Gladio's, his attention seeming to have centered. "If you hadn't even heard it, yet, something else must me bothering you."
Gladio was quiet for a moment, staring out the window with a huff. "Yeah. It's been a morning. Just something my dad said. Not sure what's got him trying to be all fatherly this morning. Didn't get my run so ... Just got a lot of energy and no where to put it."
"Oh. Alright." Ignis said a bit regretfully, knowing there was no way he could help the large man with that particular problem. He averted his eyes. "Maybe once we land, then. There's not exactly a lot of room to run in here."
"Nope." Gladio sighed, tossing his arms back on the edge of the booth he took up its entirety. "But I'm sure we'll be busy as soon as we get to where we're going."
"Did you… know anyone in the 252nd?" Ignis's fingers started to twiddle, his eyes slowly wandering back. He knew the real reason he'd wanted to sit by Gladio was that he felt less sad when he was around, but it wasn't going to stop him from talking about it.
"I trained with a lot a them. I train with most a the Crownsguard though. Wasn't one of them a girl? Yeah. I think I remember that lot." Gladio noticed the way Ignis fidgitted, leaning back over the table. "You knew one of them? I'm sorry, Iggy."
"Yes. The woman in the patrol was named Caron, we were in the same class in high school and graduated around the same time from the Crownsguard, as well. We were relatively close, enough that I had gotten a letter from her last week." Ignis hadn't meant to make it sound so personal, as it felt very uncomfortable out in the open. "These things happen. Hopefully we will be able to bring peace to their families. It was very kind of the King to drop everything so suddenly for them."
“The Crownsguard are vital to the stability of the kingdom, and what little of that we have ...” Gladio sighed. “I am sure he’s more than happy to. Wonder why there were daemons there? Some fucking freak accident for sure. Imps. Ya know Iggy, you need to talk or ... ya know ... I’m here.”
"I'm fine." Ignis lifted his head. "It's just a shame. But at least these people will get a proper sendoff."
….
By midday the train came to a stop at a dusty station a few miles from the walls of Lestallum. The Royal party and accompanying civilians, the family and friends of the deceased, were the only people who disembarked. Shortly after the train continued on its way, leaving the group alone on the platform.
The funeral was not to be a traditional one. Since very little had been found of the soldiers in question that hadn’t been eaten or blown to smithereens, they had opted to instead erect a memorial stone near the site.
The actual funeral was a small ordeal, and after Regis himself pulled the stone from his Armiger. Those who had known the deceased spoke only briefly. The air was stale, and as everyone returned back to the station to wait for the next train, Prince Noctis placed a beautiful floral arrangement next to the stone, not saying a word.
Ignis, on the other hand, was stopped by two people who had been at the train station upon their arrival. The young woman held a small child in her arms as she spoke. “Mr Scientia?”
Confusion was a relatively brief flash across the young Advisor’s face, and as the others passed on their way to the waiting platform he stepped aside. One of the women was a Crownsguard officer, which could only mean she was one of the ten that had come from other posts to fill in for the personnel that had been lost. As the train arrived he motioned for one of the others, making sure they would not set back without him.
“Yes? I’m afraid I don’t have much time to speak, but what is it I can do for you?”
“It seems that young lady Caron left a small child behind. According to the birth certificate, he is yours.”
The bright green eyes of the six month old looked up and tilted his head at Ignis. “Dada?”
Visibly the blond man flinched, and he looked wide eyed from the child to the Officer. “There must be some sort of mistake, I’m--”
Sighing, it seemed an answer the female officer had quite expected. “His mother did not have any surviving family or this would have passed to them. The information was under a notarized nondisclosure, at the mother’s request. But you were also listed in the emergency clause, so it is still valid. Testing for confirmation has already been completed. If you do not wish to care for the child you may file for adoption at your leisure, but until that point the child is legally under you care.”
Ignis couldn’t speak. Didn’t know what to say. After a long moment of tension his shoulders fell. “She never told me about this…damnit.”
The young woman holding the child gave an apologetic smile, not forcing Ignis to take the child from her arms. “Caron told us all a lot about you. She didn’t want you to know because she didn’t want to burden you. She knew you were happy in your career, with your new boyfriend. She didn’t want to damage any of that. She was perfectly capable and willing to take care of Asher on her own, and she never blamed you for anything.”
The pieces were falling into place and Ignis could do nothing but straighten his posture and lift his chin. “Is that so. It was only one time, and there was protection…”
The officer sighed and nodded. “That’s all it takes. And she was pretty certain why it failed. But that’s not the point. He needs a parent, and you are all he has. The paperwork, including his file have all been remotely uploaded to your station at the Citadel and...well, Mr. Scientia, we know you’ll do fine.”
“And it has to be now?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
The fact he hadn’t been told had his Uncle’s stink all over it. Conceding, Ignis held out his arms. He was fairly certain this was going to change everything, and he had no choice in the matter.
“Alright…”
….
“So,” Gladio looked at the small child asleep on the bench next to Ignis. He had fallen asleep after about twenty minutes of movement, and seemed to be staying that way. The silence that had spread on the train was thick and even those uninvolved seemed unwilling to break the silence. Perhaps it was part of Gladio’s paranoia, or it was from the wake they had just attended, either way, the awkwardness was a taste in the air.
“Asher?” Gladio looked up at Ignis, a frown thick on his lips. “And they are sure he’s yours? Like don’t get me wrong, Ignis. I just-”
There was another pause as Gladio tried to find the proper words for what he was trying to say. “Aren’t you gay?”
Eyes stayed on his knees as Ignis breathed deeply. Since he had accepted the child his heart had started racing and thudding in his throat and he didn’t know how to make it stop. “Yes. That has never been a question. It’s-- a slightly odd story that involves two friends and a girl who didn’t want to go to the edges of the world among the worst of the worst as a virgin. She knew my preferences and well… that meant I was safe. I only did it the once, and only because we were friends…”
A stick had lodged itself in Ignis’s throat and he wasn’t sure if he was going to cry or vomit. It was a miracle Gladio was even talking to him.
Gladio was silent as he watched Ignis’s expression. With every fiber of his being, he believed him, but it was still a hard pill to swallow. Had this been on his own father’s mind this morning? Gladio suppressed a growl at the thought, and chanced a look behind him. Noctis made eye contact with him from beside his father, causing Clarus to also look directly at Gladio. His face was stalwart, unmoving and untelling.
“We’ll figure it out. Kay?” It wasn’t easy to say, and Gladio was certain that this would not count as him producing his own heir, but he couldn’t just leave, right?
Ignis didn’t really think there was much to be figured out. There were a limited amount of paths that this could take. Most of them made his guts knot. Ignis reached over to the child and gently twirled fingers through the soft mass of dark brown hair on his head. “I will understand if you want to be free of this. I cannot take it against you. You did not sign up for this.” Neither of them did. The difference was that Gladio had an easy way out.
“This isn’t fair Ignis.” The last three months, they had been so blissful. Ignis had treated Gladio in ways no woman could. He needed little, and gave him everything. Gladio had tried his hardest to return that, and even now was feeling had hadn’t done well enough. “I need to try. How hard can it be?”
“I-I don’t actually know. I’m going to have to stop by the library to obtain some books.” Ignis felt another waver in his voice and shoved it back, reaching for the meager bag of supplies that Caron’s friend had given him when he had finally accepted baby Asher. “I will probably have to buy more supplies as well and-- unfortunately I don’t know what babies eat or what kind of toys and clothes they need…”
Another wave of nausea hit and Ignis clutched his shirt. He wasn’t sure he could handle this.
"We'll figure it out when we get home. Just-there's nothing you can do right now." Gladio wasn't sure how to feel or what the say, his eyes moving to the table.
....
Ignis had invited Gladio over that night to help him, and while Ignis had been given a several day work break, Gladio still had work. But he promised to be over as soon as he was able.
The Prince had gone to bed around 22:00 and he'd been drunk. Gladio had indulged the boy after their stressful day, and as he stumbled down the block, he realized he'd probably had a bit much himself.
Ignis was only a short walk from the Prince, and even drunk, the Shield could find his way. There were a few hard knocks on the door as Gladio steadied himself on the doorframe.
All the lights in the apartment were on when Ignis answered the door. Initially he'd felt a surge of relief, but when he looked Gladio up and down that immediately fell away. The Shield looked disheveled, his cheeks were flush and he smelled like a bar. Not that he himself looked much better, but he knew what he'd been up to and it had nothing to do with liquor.
"Gladio? Are you alright?"
“Yeah. I’m fine. ‘Sit a bad time?” Gladio straightened, and ran his hands down his front as if it would smooth away the drunk. He cleared his throat, and tried to put on his best ‘casual’ smile. “Prince just passed out. So. If you still want me?”
"Come in." Perhaps Gladio wouldn't be much help, but Ignis needed anything he could get. Once Gladio had passed the threshold Ignis shut the door behind him and locked it.
Ignis's house had never been anything impressive. His walls, carpets and countertops all came in stock colors. His kitchen was too small for two people and every cabinet in the house was the same make. There were no paintings or decorations on the walls and his living room consisted of three pieces of furniture, a single reclining chair, a lamp and a bookshelf, which instead of books held paperwork and files. It was the living space of a single man who was never home.
When they stepped inside Ignis's chair and lamp had been pushed to the wall and was replaced with long, slender cardboard boxes and plastic sacks. One of the boxes was open and it's contents spread everywhere. Some kind of build it yourself furniture.
Little Asher was strapped into a stroller and watched them as they entered, silently. An unopened bottle of cheap wine sat on his kitchen counter.
"I'd say you could make yourself at home but there's not a lot of space to move about at the current moment." Ignis gestured to the mess, not sure what to do with himself.
“Let me help.” Gladio cleared his throat, and did his best ‘sober’ walk. “I’ma expert at putting furniture together. Just watch.” He managed to not fall over in the process, and went to sit in the only space his large person would fit on the floor near the, whatever it was. “So, whatcha making?”
"A crib… he needs somewhere to sleep and he almost rolled off my bed once…" Ignis eyed the cheap, painted wood strewn about. "The rest of it can wait until tomorrow…" he located the instructions, vague primitive pictures that did little to explain exactly what was expected of the assembler.
For a while, only noises passed between them to communicate. Gladio seemed to be able to function properly, and only a few times stumbled over himself in an attempt to help his boyfriend. Soon, the cheap wooden structure was assembled, and they both had a mildly pleased look on their faces. “See. Wasn’t so hard.”
"You are, in all regards, a lifesaver." As if on cue a sharp cry erupted through the room, followed by a series of sobs.
Gladio stood, still wobbly on his feet. “I got it Iggs.” He moved quicker than he should to the child, and unbuckled him. It was a fluid motion and everything happened so quickly. As Gladio lifted up, from under the child's armpits, Asher burped, and fluid cascaded from Gladio’s leather pants up to his black tanktop.
Gladio blinked at the child for a moment, before his own stomach reacted to the smell. “Oh gods.” Gladio replaced Asher as he himself made a beeline for Ignis’s bathroom, magically managing to not trip on his way. The moment his body was in place, he mimicked the child, straight into the toilet.
After freaking out Ignis consulted the stack of books toppling over next to his chair, worried he was going to have to rush to the hospital. When it turned out it was a normal occurrence, Ignis breathed a sigh of relief. He lifted Asher from his seat and into his arms, soothing the baby as he went to check on Gladio.
Asher was back to being quiet, other than small bubbling noises of discontent. "Gladio? Is there something I can do to help?"
“Nope.” Gladio removed his hands from the sides of the toilet, and sat back onto the cool tile. “I overdid it.” Gladio looked down at his clothing, regardless of the freely throbbing headache, he knew that if he didn’t clean his pants, they were going to stain.
“I gotta clean these.” Without a second of hesitation, Gladio was stripping, and even though he was still off balanced, he successfully managed.
Feeling useless was not normal for Ignis and he fidgeted in place, which strangely seemed to calm baby Asher.
"A-are you sure? I'm good with fabrics."
Gladio steadied himself on the sink. "Yeah maybe." He was feeling worse by the second, his body only now realizing he'd skipped dinner.
"You should take better care of yourself." With one arm Ignis helped steady Gladio, then started collecting his soiled clothing off the floor. Drunken Gladio was not much different than a child, himself. "You have work in the morning, you need food and sleep…"
"Yeah. Or just sleep." Gladio sighed. Letting Ignis move him as the child cooed at him and tugged his long hair. "I guess I'll crash on the couch? I can't really leave here butt naked, can I?"
"I don't have a couch…" Ignis glanced away, leading the way despite both arms being full. His home wasn't set up for visitors, really. Especially not of Gladio's size. "There's a chair, but… you can have the bed if you need it. I'm sorry I don't have a change of clothes."
"Right." In his drunken addled mind he'd forgotten. "Floors fine. Your beds too small. I'll be fine. Promise."
"Then just let me find you some blankets and pillows." Ignis left Gladio leaning against the wall and Asher in the newly built crib. The crib was yet to have the mattress put in, but as Asher attempted to climb the bars, it was clear he was not yet ready for sleep. Instead he focused his big green eyes on Gladio and started to giggle.
A few minutes later Ignis returned with a comforter, obviously from his bed, and a single pillow. He didn't have much, but he needed to make sure Gladio was as comfortable as possible and was willing to do anything to keep him happy.
Though he wasn't going to admit he was terrified that Gladio was going to leave him.
"That baby's staring at me. Like. Ya know. One of those old creepy paintings." Gladio quirked his eyebrow at the child, which was greeted by Asher squealing and bubbling some noises from his mouth.
"His eyes are moving it's not an optical illusion." Though Asher did seem rather transfixed on Gladio. Ignis didn't see it as a concern and instead laid out the bedding on the open space on the floor, right beside the recently built crib. "And maybe he likes you. Is that so hard to believe?"
“Never met a baby that liked me.” Gladio scrunched his face at the kid, and again, the same squealing came from him. “Baby’s are so weird.”
As soon as the ‘bed’ was made up, Gladio made to lie down. His eyes sagging as he felt the world close in on him. “Night Iggs.”
"Goodnight." Ignis dimmed the lights, though he didn't head to bed. First he was intent on cleaning off Gladio's clothes and hanging them to dry. Then he had to properly set up the crib with a mattress and bedding and get Asher to sleep before heading off, himself.
Hopefully he had time to sleep before morning.
....
When the sun finally came up, Gladio was not around. The clothing was removed from the bathroom, and Asher was sleeping peacefully in his bed. The comforter was folded and the pillow lay on top with a note.
‘Didn’t want to wake you. Asher was fussy all night. I put him to bed. Hope you finally got some sleep. ~ Gladio’
Ignis stared at the note for a long while before sighing and going to make breakfast. For Asher--Ignis wasn't hungry. The two, maybe three hours of sleep he'd gotten seemed to be doing him more harm than good and he still had a whole list of things to build and errands to run.
He pulled out the vegetables and meats he'd need from his fridge and then stopped to send a text before he got chopping and blending.
While a bar was not exactly a conventional place for a lunch meetup, Ignis confirmed he'd be there. He was familiar with the place, being a popular Crownsguard hangout only blocks from the Citadel. On the bright side, that meant he could check Asher into the Citadel daycare and get a break for an hour or two as well.
….
The bar was relatively silent and there seemed to be only one patron. Gladio sat at the bar in the same outfit that he had worn the night before. There was a glass in his hand as his shoulders slumped forward and his head was bowed. The one lone bar keep continued to look at Gladio, worry etched on her face.
The image was not what Ignis had expected. Without its usual patrons the bar seemed lonely, desolate and depressing. Not exactly the best feeling when he knew they were both already dealing with a great level of stress.
With a long breath Ignis took the seat next to his boyfriend and tilted his head to look at him. "What's good here?"
Gladio swallowed hard, taking the beer on his hand to his lips. "Don't think I've ever eaten here. Honestly. But I didn't suggest here for food." There was a rock sitting in his stomach that didn't want to dislodge and tears burning at the edges of his eyes.
"I know I said I'd help ya figure out this kid thing-" Gladio stopped feeling his throat close as he spoke. The alcohol was the only thing pushing him through. "My dad wants me to get married and have a kid. This heir things really hitting him hard right now. I-"
"I suppose that's what it's like in old families that put a lot of stock in bloodlines. My family has never been as strict about breeding as yours…" though neither were they exactly present in his life, so there was that. Ignis placed a hand on Gladio's shoulder, trying to gauge what the somber man was trying to say. "With all of this and the fact it looks like you didn't have time to go home before work this morning….you have time to think about heirs. I can help you."
"I-" Gladio felt like he was drowning. How could he be so nice when Gladio was trying to break up with him? He downed his beer and waved the bar keep over. "Another."
"I gotta cut you off." The bar keep placed her hands on her hip, looking to Ignis for help. "I can get you water or food, but no one should be that drunk before noon."
Ignis turned to Gladio and tented his brow. "You were drinking last night, how many have you had?"
"Last night? No. Me and Noctis just had a handle at his place." Gladio sighed, looking down at his hands. "I didn't think I'd been here that long."
"You were here this morning, got really drunk with the night shift Crownsguard and came back about an hour or two ago." The bar keep shook her head as she poured out a glass of water. "I was about ready to call someone to come get him, to be frank."
That would have ended poorly. The first person on that list would have been Clarus. "Gladio, why in the name of the Six and their mothers are you destroying yourself with alcohol? You have work! Just because your father has these irritating expectations you’re making irresponsible choices."
"I'm breaking up with you." Gladio let his head fall into his hands as tears stormed out from their place in waiting. "It's not you. I just-" shifting, he pulled out a paper shoved into his jacket, letting Ignis read the words as he sobbed.
Ignis had never felt a pain like this before. It spread from his chest, his throat and his gut. His hands shook as he lifted the newspaper and spotted the personal ad.
Gladiolus Amicitia seeks mother for child. Terms to be discussed. Terms include 9 months prenatal care and compensation for breast milk and two months post birth care. Contact Clarus Amicitia for more information.
And afterwards, drunk Gladio had actually put his father's personal cell number on the ad.
The ad only made it worse. Ignis dropped the paper on the bar and pulled his hands back and onto his lap. None of it made any logical sense, even for a drunk man. His lips quivered and he stared at his knees. “Gladio… why would you? If it’s not me… and it’s not your father pushing you then is it Asher? Do you want me to get rid of him?”
Gladio stood, the bar stool crashing from the force of it. He also felt his stomach churn at that very moment, and tossed his hand on the bar. “Iggy, you can’t.” The world spun for a moment, as he stood up again. “I will be right back.” And for the second time in less than twenty four hours, Gladio was rushing to the bathroom.
It felt like hours that he was heaving into the toilet, and somewhere in the middle, his phone buzzed, but he couldn’t have cared as each time his body heaved, he felt his head throb. This had to be what it felt like to die.
Finally, Gladio returned to the bar only to find Ignis was nowhere to be found. Defeated, he sat down at the bar, looking to Shelly or Sharron or whoever. “I am no longer as drunk. Can I have a beer?”
“You know I can’t do that, kid. Sorry. He was cute.” The bartender pushed a glass of water across the bar, as well as package of crackers. “Hey, the only place to go from the bottom is up, ya hear?”
Gladio stood, not even bothering with the water or crackers. “Thanks” And he turned and headed out of the bar, not listening to her pleads to let her call him a cab. That last place he wanted to go was home.
His feet took him to yet another bar, and by the time he arrived, his head was throbbing and his guts were twisted. He sat down at the bar, head hung low as he waited for the bartender. “Shot a whiskey.”
Just then Gladio heard a ping and the man behind the bar lifted a tablet connected to the underside of the bar. “Mm, Gladiolus Amicitia? Sorry bro, can’t do it. A bulletin just went out. No bar in Insomnia can serve you right now, Clarus Amicitia issued a stop service. Until he lifts it there’s nothing I can do. Bars, liquor stores. You might wanna find another way to dull the edge, brother.”
Gladio let his head hit the bar for a moment before he stood up abruptly. His head spun and he almost felt like he was going to vomit again, but he had nothing left to expel. “You’re gonna call him, ain't ya?” But he didn’t wait for an answer, as he left. He had no idea where he was, but he knew that if his father knew he’d been drinking, it was only a matter of time.