Still Falling For You | Gladiolus Amicitia

Chapter 9

Gladiolus and Zahra decided to spend the night outside. He had grabbed a quilt and they lay together under the stars. It felt like they were whole again. Zahra was wrapped up in his arms and she felt like she was completely engulfed by him. He had always been a lot bigger than her but he was even more bigger than her now. But that only meant there was more of him to love. She felt safe in his arms, using his chest as a solid pillow and listening to his strong heart beating just for her. He lightly scratched her head, which had always been her comfort thing and after all this time, he began to find it comforting as well. He loved the way she would purr and nuzzle into his chest.

“My kitten,” he said quietly.
She giggled, lifting her head and resting her chin on his chest. “I’m not a kitten anymore.”
He put his free arm behind his head and smiled at her. “Hm, true. I’d say you’re a lioness now.”
“I like the sound of that,” she smiled. “So, I guess that would make you my alpha.”
“I suppose so.” He stroked a strand of her hair back from her face that had blown forward from the gentle breeze before slowly scratching the back of her head again. “I’m still treating you as my beautiful kitten. But I’ll treat you as my lioness whenever it comes down to it.”

It was amazing how after all that time, the natural heat hadn’t dissipated between them. It had only grown stronger along with the love they shared. Her hand rested on his chest as their eyes stayed locked onto each other. She softly rubbed his hard pecks with her fingertips, feeling his tough skin.

“Do you always show off your body like this?” she asked. She noticed how he had his shirt open.
“Not always but it’s convenient,” he told her before smirking. “Why? You jealous someone might look?”
“No,” she denied instantly. “I actually quite like it. But! If I see anyone checking you out, my lioness side will be coming out. Just a little forewarning.”
“I won’t complain about that,” he said.
“Good.” She laid her head back down on his chest and closed her eyes. “Because you’re mine.”
He smiled. “I know.”

***

The next morning, the fire had dwindled out leaving just a light trail of smoke. Ignis was the first to wake up as always and made his way out of the tent to find Zahra wrapped up in Gladiolus' arms. Her face was nuzzled into his chest as his head was gently resting above hers. Their legs were tangled together and the way they slept really was a symbol of how much they needed each other. Prompto soon walked out of the tent as well and couldn’t help but grin at the couple sleeping on the ground.

“Aw, who knew Gladio was so cuddly like that,” Prompto cooed.
“Speak quietly. We don’t want to disturb the lovebirds,” Ignis spoke quietly as he began to pack up the camping equipment.
“Right,” Prompto whispered as he helped pack everything together.

A few minutes later, Noctis appeared from the tent and looked at everyone as he rubbed his eyes. He was still half asleep, stretching his arms out to get rid of the tiredness. After he flopped his arms down, he breathed out.

“I thought you guys had left me,” he said. “Usually Gladio wakes me up but clearly he's busy.”
Prompto crouched down next to the sleeping couple. “He almost looks kinda sweet when he’s sleeping. Don’t ya think?”
“In my mind I’ve already slain you three times,” Gladiolus' deep voice came all of a sudden.
Prompto quickly stood and stumbled back in surprise. “G-Gladio! I didn’t realise you woke up,” he stuttered with a nervous laugh.
“How am I supposed to sleep when you’re talking in my ear?” the big man sighed.
Straight after, Zahra began to stir and slowly opened her eyes. “What time is it?” she grumbled tiredly.
“Time to get up and start moving,” Ignis replied.

Upon hearing Ignis' voice, Zahra jumped out of Gladiolus' arms to see that the others were all awake and looking in her direction. She stood up, followed by Gladiolus, and blushed deeply as she sorted herself out.