Dinner at Churrobo for the first time, was absolutely horrible. You couldn't taste anything as you forced your food down. Having rejected Vern's offer to close the restaurant early for the evening, he had given the group the function room at the back of Churrobo for some privacy. Churrobo shut so soon was bound to be taken as a declaration Vern was siding with you or Trent. The latter at present was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself, while the rest of the Royal Retinue were having a hushed discussion amongst themselves at the table next to you. You knew Noctis and his retainers had their hearts in the right place, however, there was no way in hell you were dragging them in any further than they were already. You insisted Regis that you would handle Phoenix Reborn without any assistance from the Royal Military. Why in all of Eos would you encourage for his son, the Royal Heir to the throne, to join in? Pushing the remainder of your food away, you frowned when you saw Gladio push it back towards you.
"Finish it," Gladio instructed, nodding his head to your half-finished plate.
"Hardly have the appetite right now," You really didn't.
"I'm well aware of that. I'm also aware that you haven't eaten anything today," Gladio pointed out, nodding his head towards your plate once again.
You sighed, picking up your fork and toying with a carrot. "I guess you're not gonna stop nagging me until it's all gone huh?"
"Yup," Gladio replied, glancing behind you quickly. "Iris, you too!" Great, we're both getting scolded.
"Are you really doing this right now Oniichan?" You heard Iris grumble behind you. The skid of chair legs on the floor and the shuffle of boots could be heard behind you. A plate holding the same food as yours was placed next to you, also half-eaten. Still sitting opposite you, Gladio pushed out the chair next to you under the table with his foot, and nudged his head towards it, most likely telling Iris to sit down. "Baka-oniichan," Iris mumbled after taking a seat. Gladio rolled his eyes and huffed as if daring her to repeat what she said. Definitely being the responsible older brother now. Normally you would have laughed at such a stereotypical exchange between siblings, but now was hardly the time.
Mia Joarde was currently missing and her phone was switched off, broken or missing. Trent explained he only went to see the local weapons dealer, wanting to upgrade his weaponry and collect information about Arielle. Instead of joining him, Mia opted to spend the afternoon at the market. When Trent had run into Ignis, Prompto, and Noctis near market, having a late lunch, he became uneasy when they reported they hadn't seen Mia at all. After doing two laps of the entire market and not seeing his wife once, he bolted back to the Leville in hopes that she had decided to relax in their room while waiting, while the others finished their food. Hard to believe Mia would disappear without a trace. By the time Ignis had come to collect you and Gladio, Trent, the guys and Iris had scoured the entire of Lestallum, even asking the plant workers if Mia had randomly volunteered to work for the day. Sheer panic took over when all of them came empty-handed and shaking their heads. You didn't know what to say or do, so remained silent as you racked your brain for any hint to why or how Mia would go missing. Besides Gladio pushing you to finish your food, the lack of leads amongst other things was beyond frustrating and made you feel unsettled.
"I don't get it!" Prompto ruffling his hair and completely messing it up in frustration was a perfect summarization of the atmosphere in the room. "How did this even happen?!"
"Perhaps now would be a good time to explain why you two are so determined to disband Phoenix Reborn," Ignis suggested. You turned towards the Royal Advisor, noticing his body was turned to you, yet his eyes were concentrating on something behind you. Seeing as Noctis and Prompto were sitting next to him, your wild guess would be the frantic Mr. Joarde. Locking eyes with Ignis, you heard Trent's pacing come to a halt.
"Disband?" The concern in Trent's voice with only just one word sent shivers up your spine. As always Ignis.
"I wouldn't say disband per se. The Phoenix Hunters were all about restoring the affected communities. Although it has been decades since the Wall was erected, that doesn't mean they don't need help when beasts run amok or threaten innocents and their livelihood," You explained, "I just want to know what's gotten into them to shift their focus and become 'Phoenix Reborn',"
"It's like they've gone rogue," Prompto commented, looking up at the ceiling in thought.
"Hold on a second!" Noctis didn't sound very happy. "What does my father hope to achieve by sending one person to take on an entire rebellion group?" Oh boy...
You sighed, biting the inside of your cheek, "The sudden shift from community-based activities to old school 'turf' domination is something that concerns His Majesty,"
"Should the Royal family really concern themselves with matters outside the wall?" Trent asked coming up behind you, placing a hand on your left shoulder, and squeezing it a few times. Odd...
"Although Insomnia is the last remaining of Lucis under the Royal Family's rule, that doesn't necessarily mean they have no care for the outer regions," Ignis reasoned with the tiniest hint of hostility in his voice, increasing your concerns. I wonder if... Hell, I hope we're both wrong.
You faked a tired sigh, reaching your arms up in the air, pretending to stretch. Trent removed his hand and a step back from you to give you room. Gladio raised a curious eyebrow, your favorite handsome smirk forming on his face when you leaned your chin on your hand, giving your best flirtatious smile. You bit your bottom lip teasingly, gesturing your free hand for him to lean closer to you. Don't worry big guy, you're going to enjoy what I'm about to do. Gladio humored you, leaning forward and placing one of his big hands over your free hand, and resting it down on the table, next to your plate.
"You know. I did my best with dinner Gladio," You flirted, perhaps a little too exaggeratedly, "Don't you think I get dessert too?" Gladio had most definitely caught on. You had learned that whenever the corner of Gladio's lips twitched in amusement, it was usually him trying his best to hold back his laughter. You could see from the corner of your eye Noctis was awkwardly looking elsewhere, a slight pink tinge on his cheeks. Prompto's eyes were wide as his head whipped from between you and Gladio multiple times. Iris was silent, her eye twitching while Ignis adjusted his glasses, the sly smile on his face disappearing when he looked back up.
"Oh? What kind of dessert did you want, sweetheart?" Gladio asked, drumming his fingers on the back of your palm lightly.
"How about the kind that leaves me breathless?" You replied. Gladio wriggled his eyebrows suggestively as his face inched slowly closer to your face. Wanting to be a little dramatic for fun, you pushed your plate to Iris' side of the table, grabbing the back of Gladio's neck and smashing your lips to his. Threading your fingers in his hair, Gladio let out a satisfied grunt as you deepened the kiss. The little make-out session lasted for a good 5 or so minutes before Trent cleared his throat loudly behind you. You slowed the kiss, loosening your grip on the shield, seeing his reluctance to stop. You trailed your hand slowly from the back of Gladio's neck with a feather-light touch against his neck, placing a small, quick kiss on the corner of his mouth before pulling back. Staring into his brown eyes and smiling to yourself when you saw the same warmth that had you falling fast for the striking shield.
"Thanks for dessert," You breathed, "Definitely the kind that leaves me breathless,"
Gladio chucked, turning his head to kiss your palm. "A special dessert reserved for only you sweetheart," Although Gladio was playing along with your little charade, you could hear his sincerity in each word. Trent cleared his throat loudly again, placing his other hand on your shoulder again.
"This is going to be a thing isn't it?" Iris grumbled.
"But isn't this what you wanted?" You sighed innocently, receiving an annoyed huff from Iris.
"While I'm glad this doesn't seem like a fling. It's just... kinda... weird seeing my brother kiss my childhood best friend," Iris mumbled.
Sorry, Iris. But this is just the beginning.
YOU ARE READING
Undecided
FanfictionWhen you've had your fair share of the opposite sex, surely that means you'll figure out exactly what it is you want in a partner right? Now 32-years-old, Gladiolus Amicitia is not showing any signs of settling down, much to his younger sister's di...
