Guardian Angel
Briiiing! Briiiing!
Rolling over, Gladio fumbled with the phone as he swiped the screen to silence the device. After a couple of futile attempts the alarm was turned off. Sighing, he stared at the screen from which a pair of hazel eyes stared back. Brown curls framed her tanned face. He smiled as he studied her freckles. A knot tightened in his stomach, regretting he was not able to spend his final night with his wife yet he found comfort in knowing the lights of Lestallum would protect her from the daemons.
Sitting up, Gladio stretched his arms up. His muscles rippled throughout his chiseled arms, back, and torso. Twisting his neck, loud cracks popped from between his joints. Then he leaned over and switched on the little lamp on the nightstand. Brown eyes squinted until they readjusted to the change in brightness. For a few moments he stared at the kingsglaive uniform hanging over the closet door. While he felt a sense of honor in fulfilling his role as Noct's shield, sorrow still filled his eyes. The sight of the uniform blurred into a black smear. Blinking, he allowed the tears to fall down his cheeks, moistening his beard. Placing his hands over his face, he rubbed the sleep and sadness out of his eyes and stood up to get dressed.
Knock, knock!
A groan rumbled out of his throat as he bee-lined for the door. Even though he was only dressed in his boxers, he felt no shame in pulling the door wide open regardless of whom may be on the other side. In this case, a well-groomed Ignis already dressed in his uniform.
"Not wasting any time, are ya?"
"Not by choice," Ignis admitted. "I awoke early and was unable to fall back asleep. I decided lying in bed was counterproductive. I figured it would give me a chance to double check our supplies before we head out? Take your time. From what I could gather, Prompto is not quite up yet either."
"And Noct?"
"He's is awake and dressed. Apparently his training for the last ten years taught him to be an early riser."
Gladio snickered slightly under his breath. He sure was going to miss the master of sass. Tears welled up again as he sniffled back snot that threatened to fall.
"Everything alright?" Ignis's tone was cautious yet concerned. Having always been highly perceptive of other's feelings, Ignis didn't need to see one's face to know their emotions.
"It's nothing," Gladio lied. Not like it mattered as Ignis already was pushing himself past the wall of muscle. Finding a chair in the small room, Ignis sat down.
Huffing out a defeated sigh, Gladio gently shut the door and proceeded to pull the uniform off the hangar. Several minutes of silence passed as Gladio dressed himself. The air grew tense as Gladio waited for Ignis to say something yet he wordlessly sat and watched him, figuratively speaking. Was Ignis waiting for him to open up or was he going to start the conversation? If he wanted to initiate the discussion, then why hadn't he by now? The mental torment was more than he could bear. Gladio was about to retrieve the jacket but paused and stared at the fabric.
"She's…she's pregnant."
As the quiet stillness persisted, Gladio second guessed whether Ignis heard him mumble out the news. Gladio turned slightly and spied Ignis with his hands clasped together with his index fingers extended and pressing firmly against his lips. It was almost as if he could see the wheels turning in his friend's head. Ignis being at a loss for words was a rare sight.
"How far along is she?"
"W-we…just found out…l-last week." Gladio's normally assertive voice quivered. A suffocating dread descended on the room. Shallows breaths threatened to break into sobs.
"You know, Gladio, there is no shame if you want to be by Dahlia's side…"
"No," Galdio cut him off. "I'm not going back to Insomnia just to be by Noct's side. I'm not just the King's Shield. This is about my family too. If anything was to go wrong and Noct doesn't fulfill the prophecy…well, I couldn't live with that. He has to bring the light back so my child can live in a world where dawn will rise and daemons will not plague the night. I owe it to them."
"Understood," Ignis simply replied. No other words were needed. They all knew the road that lay ahead of them. Deep down each of them somehow knew this would be their final journey. Ignis stood to take his leave and attend to their final preparations. As he reached the door, Gladio's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Don't tell Noct about this. Last thing I need is for him to try to talk me out of going."
"Of course," he reassured Gladio and then exited the room.
Left alone, Gladio finally slipped the long jacket on and buttoned it up. Picking up a brush, he worked the knots out of his hair before tying it neatly into a ponytail. Once complete he stared at his reflection. He then picked up a silver chain with a locket dangling from it. Opening it up, he placed a small, folded note next to the picture of him. The note simply stated "please return to" with Dahlia's address under it. Closing the locket, he latched the necklace around his neck and slipped it under his jacket.
I regret that you will never know me, but know that Daddy will watch over you…always.