Renovating the Heart (FFXV)

XL) Twelve Times

Rue couldn't tell how long it was before she heard the office door open again. The tears had long dried up as she came to terms with Ignis's realization of her weakness. It was only a matter of time before Rayne told her she would never be good enough. Speak of the devil... She turned to see the blonde standing in the doorway, peering into the office. Her brow furrowed and she cocked her head to the side.

"Where's Ignis?"

"In a meeting." Rue raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

"Well, I was going to rant to him, but I guess I'll have to rant to you." Rayne sighed and closed the door before heading over and sitting on the edge of Ignis's desk. For once, she looked preoccupied with something other than fighting, training, or Gladio.

"About?"

"This is normal, right?" Rayne blurted. "Doubting during an engagement, I mean." Rue relaxed immediately, finally feeling as though she had the upper hand. For once, she knew better. Rayne rambled on nervously, toying with the end of her ponytail. "Because, like, I actually really do love Gladio and we could totally spend the rest of our lives together—I think—but it's just the whole house thing."

"House thing?" Rue repeated, eyebrow raised. 

"Yeah." Rayne huffed, swinging her feet. "He's Amicitia and I'm Callen. I already told him my only condition is that I keep my last name, and he's okay with that. But that means I'll have to have kids to continue the lines, as in more than one, and I don't want kids ever." She rolled her eyes, slumping forward and picking at a hole in her uniform. "And he really wants kids for more than politics' sake."

"That's tough," Rue sighed, leaning back in her seat. "But I get where you're coming from." Rayne glanced up at her.

"You... were married, weren't you?"

"Yeah, well, I was eighteen and stupid," Rue huffed, rolling her eyes. "It didn't help that I was hopelessly in love with the guy and pregnant with his child." Rayne cringed.

"Ouch."

"But I can't say I had the same problem because we didn't have houses and he didn't give a #$%^ whether we had kids or not. Frankly, he didn't give a #$%^ about anything but having fun." Rue sighed, offering a smile. "You guys are lucky that you have something real, y'know. Casper and I were a creation of my fantasy world."

"That's... #$%^&." Rayne shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's changed me a lot." Rue scoffed. "Which is a good thing, trust me. As for the kid thing... You can adopt, can't you? I'm sure there're plenty of kids looking for homes after the Darkness."

"Gladio's weird about that," Rayne huffed, rolling her eyes. "Says that the line has to be his blood or it stops at him."

"Surrogate?"

"That weirds me out," she admitted. "I don't know. I don't think it's worth ruining a relationship over, but I also don't think I can keep putting it off until I hit menopause or whatever. Maybe I can sneak off and get my tubes tied." Rue frowned, but she was stifling a laugh. "But... then he'd probably get sick of me and run off with another woman who's willing to give him a little less trouble," she muttered, continuing to tug at the holes in her clothes.

"Why do you say that?"

"Have you seen the guy? Why in the #$%^ does he have any interest in me?" she demanded, gesturing up and down the length of her body. "I'm built like a man with a bubble butt and I have zero personality unless I'm drunk."