*Thank you again for everyone who reviewed Shed Some Light on Things. By multiple requests here's the Gladio/Ignis relationship genesis story. Contains some pretty vivid nightmares that are meant to be disturbing. Also contains hurt/comfort, angst, fluff, and some smut later. Takes place in the AU universe four years prior to SSLOT.

** As of right now we aren't exactly sure what caused Ignis to go blind as far as what we've been told in the game. So I'm just making educated guesses here. We might find out more later with DLC, but for now I'm using what we have.

ANYTHING TO HELP YOU SLEEP

CHAPTER 1

"Noct! Prompto is headed your way," shouted Ignis into the communicator as Prompto rocketed away on the stolen Nif cruiser.

"What about you guys?" Noctis responded.

"We'll wait below." Ignis deflected one of Leviathan's water spawn away from a group of fleeing civilians. "There's only room for two." Prompto and Noct could be heard over the communicators as he and Gladio shielded the crowd as best they could.

"Noct! Jump!"

"What!?"

"No time for questions!"

A water spawn crashed through a section of the crowd out of Ignis and Gladio's reach. Most of the citizens were knocked into the raging torrent of the harbor as others were smashed to the ground. Another spawn passed overhead, clipping one of the smaller Niflheim carriers. Its engine sputtered and it slowly began to descend to the ground. Its red power core looming down like an angry eye.

Ignis followed its path down to a crowded street of people. There was nothing he could do as it fell. First it tore through the terracotta roofs and stucco facades like they were pressed sugar before crushing at least a dozen people into the cobble stone.

The screams were deafening.

On top of it all he heard the wail of a child. Ignis caught sight of the young girl and took off in a sprint. The girl was desperately pulling on a bloodied arm protruding from the rubble and screaming for her mother.

Gladio yelled from the other end of the street. "Ignis! Stop! It's going to bl-"

Ignis never even heard the sound of the explosion as the ship erupted, sending shrapnel in all directions, tearing the little girl to pieces as well as the injured crowd around it.

It was the last thing Ignis ever saw.

The marble floor of his new quarters rose up to meet him while the vision of carnage still lingered behind his ravaged eyes. He was shivering cold, but absolutely covered in sweat. The metallic taste of blood coated his mouth from biting his tongue. His eyes burned from crying and his throat was raw from screaming. This was torturous.

It had been just about two years since the incident that took his sight, but these night terrors had begun tormenting him ever since he got his own quarters at the Citadel. Up until just recently he had been staying in one of the lower quarters in the building while the upper parts were under repair. The crews had worked day and night on the repairs so there was always some sort of humming, banging, or drilling going on in the background. Before that, during the dark ages when he was roaming the land hunting daemons, he was always on alert to the hisses and growls of potential monsters nearby. Even while he slept.

Now that the repairs were done it was silence. Utter and complete silence.

After the first night terror last week Ignis had tried playing music or white noise in the background while he'd slept. When that failed he spent a night in one of the quarters on a lower level to see if perhaps it was the room that was bothering him. It wasn't that either. His own personal daemons kept their hooks in him like a tenacious incubus.

It had been six nights since Ignis had gotten more than a few hours of broken sleep, and it was driving him mad.

Shakily he stood up and reached for the shirt and slippers he kept on the oversized recliner next to his bed. Maybe a drink would help. He counted the twelve paces to his door before reaching out to open it. Listening to the corridor he didn't hear any other foot traffic in the newly refurbished hallway, indicating that it must have been the middle of the night. He hung a right and headed toward the small kitchen that was on this floor. He remembered feeling a large bottle of vodka in one of the cabinets.

It was probably not the most quality liquor in the building, but at this moment he would do anything to blot out the lingering images. The hangover would be worth it.

One finger on the wall to his right he traced the fine wallpaper before it ended. He turned right again and continued to trace a digit along the wall. One doorway, two, three, four, go around the statue, five, six, hang a left. His hand touched the stainless steel of the kitchen door and swung it open. He was a few steps into the room when he heard the refrigerator door close. Someone else was in here. "Hello?" he called hoarsely.

"What are you doing up so late?" said Gladio.

"Nightmares." He put a hand on the steel counter top to stabilize himself. The lack of sleep was taking a toll on him. "You?"

"Midnight snack." There was a pause as Gladio finished whatever he was chewing on. "You alright, Iggy? You're looking pretty rough around the edges."

Ignis really didn't have the energy to lie. "No… No I'm not. I haven't slept well in nearly a week."

Gladio hummed. "Yeah, strange room, strange smells. Mine still stinks of paint and grout."

"I don't think it's that… Could you get me the bottle of vodka in the liquor cabinet please?"

Gladio made a disgusted sound. "You don't want to drink that stuff. It's so bottom shelf I wouldn't use it to disinfect a wound, let alone drink it."

"At the moment I really don't care."

Gladio sighed, but then Ignis heard the sound of the cabinet open and the clink of a glass. Gladio poured and screwed the cap back on before placing the glass on the table in front of Ignis. "Bottoms up. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Ignis made the mistake of taking a whiff of it. He grimaced, but tilted his head back before he could change his mind. His throat clenched to reject the profane liquid, but Ignis forced it down. He put the glass back down on the table and tried not to vomit. "If I ever try and drink that again, punch me in the face."

"Told you so."

Ignis' stomach churned as it began to reject the cheap liquor. He swallowed hard. "Get me to the sink."

Gladio guided his shoulder across the room and soon the vodka was coming back up again along with what remained of Ignis' dinner. While Ignis hunched over the rim of the sink Gladio turned on the water to rinse it out before retreating back to the fridge.

Forehead pressed to the metal counter Ignis felt a little better despite the burning in his throat. At least he'd forgotten about his nightmares for a moment. He heard the clink of ice cubes in a glass and soon he felt the chilled item tap his shoulder. "Drink this," said Gladio. He sipped the ginger ale, washing away the flavor of vomit and vodka.

"Thank you." Well… there goes that idea.

"Come on, let's get you back to your room," said Gladio as he placed a hand on Ignis' back. Ignis just nodded and let the larger man guide him.

He heard Gladio flip on the end table light as they entered. Ignis never used it for obvious reasons, but the people who put the furniture in his room must have expected some use of it.

Exhausted, he kicked his slippers off and slid back into his blankets, now cold from his absence. When he was settled he expected to hear the footsteps of Gladio exiting the room, but instead he heard the sound of a body falling into the recliner next to his bed. "Gladio?"

"If you're having nightmares I'll stick around for a little bit till you're out." The sound of Gladio turning his phone on chirped quietly. "I downloaded a book last week that I've been meaning to read anyway."

Ignis was touched. Somehow having the shield nearby gave him some comfort. "This is going to sound silly, but could you read aloud for a bit? I haven't been able to get too many books in braille yet."

"Sure," said Gladio. A moment later he began, "The story so far: In the beginning the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move…"

Even though he would have loved to sleep later, Ignis' internal clock was a precarious bitch. It was probably around five in the morning if he had to guess.

He could hear light snoring from a few feet behind him. For the briefest moment he thought he was in a hotel room from years ago, when all four of them would cram into one room to save Gil at the outposts. Waking up was usually jarring, but today it was only the slightest bit of confusion before he realized he was in his own bed.

Gladio was still there. He'd slept in the recliner all night. Ignis made a mental note to thank the shield when he woke up. But in the meantime Ignis had his routine to start.

Sliding out of bed Ignis pulled his comforter off and laid it over Gladio to the best of his ability without disturbing him. Gladio shifted slightly, but continued sleeping. Ignis was envious of his ability to sleep through just about anything.

Moving to the other side of the room Ignis centered himself and started his yoga routine.

When Gladio awoke the shower in the ensuite was just being turned off. He lifted his head, but was greeted with an uncomfortable kink in the muscles just below the base of his skull. Rubbing it fruitlessly he sat up and noticed he was under Ignis' comforter. Slowly he stood up, not wanting to aggravate his neck any further, and draped the blanket back over the mattress.

Early morning light was filling the room since Ignis never needed to draw his curtains. Gladio took the moment to admire the collection of books Ignis had flanking the tall windows of his room. A small pang of sadness tugged at him knowing that Ignis would have to replace nearly all of them with versions he could read.

He turned and headed toward the bedroom door, but found the ensuite door open as he walked by. Ignis stood in the steamy room, a towel wrapped around his waist as he shaved. "Morning, Gladio," he said.

"Morning Iggs." He rubbed his neck again.

"You alright?"

"Stiff neck. That chair was not built for the likes of me to nod off in it."

Ignis put his razor down and wiped off one hand on his towel. "May I?"

It had been a while since Ignis needed to heal him, but he leaned forward none the less and said, "Sure. Why not?"

Ignis laid a hand over Gladio's neck as the magic tingled its way through his skin. It started off cold, but soon became warm to relax the tense muscles. Gladio looked up at Ignis' face while he worked. The star shaped scar that encased Ignis' entire left eye and stretched to the temple was still rather intense to look at so closely, even if Gladio had a fair share of his own. Still, he remembered what that wound looked like fresh. What it looked like when Gladio ran over to his unconscious body after the blast. What it looked like when he was sure Ignis was dead. What it looked like through the haze of tears.

"Thank you, by the way," said Ignis, pulling Gladio back from his own thoughts. "For staying last night. I actually got a few good hours in." Ignis let go of Gladio's neck.

He tilted his head a few different directions experimentally, finding the pain gone and his range of motion returned. "Who needs potions with you around," he said. "No problem regarding staying here. Any time." Neck healed, Gladio took the moment to let his eyes roam the strategist's mostly bare torso. Despite the scars he was still very appealing to look at, even if Gladio would never admit it aloud. He'd been admiring Ignis since they met as teenagers, but he knew the Kings advisor would never have him. Ignis was too dedicated to his job to have time for anything else. So was Gladio, especially back then. Besides, Gladio wouldn't even know how to approach the topic with Ignis. He'd never admitted to others, or really even himself, that he found guys just as attractive as the women he occasionally dated.

"Everything alright?" asked Ignis.

Gladio cleared his throat. "Yeah," he said. "I'm going to go get some breakfast. You good?"

Ignis nodded. "Yes. Thank you again."

X~X~X

I don't think this will become the monster my last fic was, but I think these two certainly deserve their own little story. Don't you?

Reviews are always appreciated and are a fantastic motivator for the next chapter. Ya'll know me :3 I'm such a review whore.