Amicitia Manor : 3:16pm : 158 days

You found yourself standing in front of Gladio's front door waiting for someone to answer. He told you to get ready at his house because there was a specific driver that would be taking you to your destination. It all sounded so exclusive. What were you in for? Whatever it was, it started at 6:00 and you could not be late.

In your arms you held your wrapped up dress, shoes, and make up. No change in jewelry. You never interchanged that.

Twisting your body, you used your elbow to ring the doorbell. Someone needed to answer quick! The weight of this gown was too much.

The door opened and there stood Jared. "Hello. Welcome back."

"Let me take that." He smiled as his hands reached out for your belongings. You were relieved he did too. "I will take this to the guest room. Gladiolus is in his room if you wanted to speak with him."

"Thank you." You grinned with a nod and made your way up the steps.

Upon reaching his door, you gave a light knock. No answer. He wasn't sleep; you knew that for sure. Probably in the bathroom then.

You opened the door and peeked your head inside. "Gladio?"

You heard the shower running, but he didn't answer. Good, this was the perfect time to snoop around in his room. You walked all the way in and closed the door behind you.

His room was really nice actually. Much like the guest room, but grander. Why did he need a hanging chandelier in his room? It was beyond you.

You sneakily tip toed to the end table by his bedside and opened it as inconspicuously as possible. The shower was still on, so you were in the clear. You pulled the wooden drawer open and got the jackpot on your first try.

He totally came off as the type of guy to have nudey mags in his possession, and it was nice to confirm that.

You looked over your shoulder and cracked open the magazine. What was this naughty boy looking at on those dreadfully lonely nights? Your eyes amplified as you looked. Every page was so much dirtier than the previous! Well alright then!

Just as you were getting ready to put it back, you felt arms wrap around your abdomen and pull you up off the floor.

"Doubt you're looking at that for creative purposes!" Gladio growled as he playfully tossed you onto the bed.

"On the contrary, I'm sure you do very creative things with it." You chuckled at your own joke.

"Oh you think that's funny?" His hand reached for your upper thigh and gave it a firm squeeze.

"No!" You put a foot on his chest to try to back him away. "Your towel is gonna fall! Stop!" You laughed as you squirmed around.

"You like looking through my stuff?" His hands clasped to your wrists and pinned them back on the bed.

"Yeah. I really liked the page with the sex swing. I can tell you did too you freak." You rose a smug eyebrow at him.

He hovered over you and leaned in to kiss your neck. He trailed lower and lower until he reached your sternum. His hands released from your wrists and grasped at the bottom of your shirt. He pulled it up and a shrill gasp caught you.

You never revealed yourself to anyone, yet here you were in your black see-through bra and garter belt coming up to your waist. Your chest so obviously rose and fell as he looked at you.

"I saw those panties you left at my house. I'd say you're just as freaky as I am." His lips kissed between your cleavage.

You placed your hand delicately on the back of his head as a gesture for him to keep doing what he was doing. His lips moved to the top of your left breast. He gave a tender kiss and began to suck your soft skin.

"Gladio." You grunted, "No hickies. I have to look like a lady in my dress."

He lifted his head and looked into your eyes, "How much skin are you planning on showing?"

"Don't get jealous. You'll see. But that reminds me. I should probably be getting ready right now."

Long lived that fun. There always seemed to be something getting in the way of you two having a good time. As much as you wanted him to service your body, it wasn't the right time.

You put your hand on his chest and guided him away so you could raise from the bed.

"Sorry I got your dick hard for no reason. You might wanna hop back in that shower." You sassily whipped your hair in his direction and made for the door.

"You think you're so cute huh?" He bit his lip and gave a firm smack to your bottom.

You squealed and scurried faster to the door. "You said it, not me."

Yes, it was best that you didn't spend anymore time in there. You needed to get ready and he was so distracting. Tying your hair up, you entered the guest room and closed the door behind you.

Jared had your belongings nicely laid out on the bed. You grabbed your box of makeup and walked over to the bathroom. It wouldn't take you very long for your hair and make up. You kept it simple. Not too heavy on the eyes, red lips, and a slicked back version of your natural hair.

You stripped out of the clothes you came in and looked at yourself in the mirror. You had to admit it, you looked damn good in this black lace lingerie. The bra, the garter belt, and the panties. As sexy as it was, you'd have to take off the garter belt. It would only get in the way of your gown.

You walked back into the room and unzipped the long garment bag. Your dress was long and black. Flowing mermaid cut with an off shoulder neckline. With the high split coming up your right leg, you were ready to go. Well at least after you slipped on your black heels.

While you still had no idea where you were going, you just hoped you weren't overdressed. Gaudy was the least thing you wanted to be.

A knock on the door sounded and you walked over to open it. It was Gladio equally dressed to the nines.

"Too much?" You grit your teeth.

"No, no... you look beautiful." The man sized you up.

"Thank you handsome." You smiled and reached up to press down the collar of his tuxedo.

Now as you stood next to him you felt really overdressed. You were seriously hoping you two didn't stick out like a sore thumb.

"Where are we going?" Your eyes looked innocently curious into his.

"Just a royal event. Now come on. We can't be late." Gladiolus grabbed you by the hand and led you downstairs before you could even think to back out.

.

Downtown : 5:55pm : 158 days

You sat in the back of a posh stretch limousine seriously trying to figure out what the hell a 'royal event' meant.

Your pink nails tap against the black clutch in your hands. You were starting to get anxious thinking about where you were going.

"Hey." Gladio put a hand on your thigh. "Don't be nervous." He offered that same hand and you laced yours to his.

"It would be nice to know what I'm nervous about."

He need not answer any questions now. The limo stopped and you heard the roars of a loud crowd. You tightened your hand to his as you wondered what was going on. He gave you a soft kiss on your forehead to calm your nerves.

The limousine door opened, and you saw infinite flashes of white. It startled you, but there was no more taking refuge in the vehicle. Gladio pulled you along as he exited, and all you saw was bright camera flashes. It was blinding.

Public royal events garnered so much publicity. This is why most of them took place in secret. You had to admit it though, you felt like a true celebrity. Not that many of the pictures were aimed your way, but still, you hammed it up. So much for being nervous.

The pictures weren't long lived however. Gladio was quick to guide you inside the building for the main event. It was sickeningly grand, and it was only a lobby. Plush suede red couches, a large hand made crystal chandelier overhead, and a floor to ceiling waterfall fountain posted on the entire back wall.

There was a service desk right at the front. The woman behind the counter smiled, "Hello. Name please."

Gladio was quick to reply, "Amicitia plus one. Gladiolus."

"Thank you Mister Amicitia. Please enter the glass double doors to my right."

Again he tugged you along and the two of you entered the door. There was a person to guide you to your designated area. A long hallway of elevators was all this was. The man walked to the door second to the last on the left and took you all the way up.

Once the doors opened again you found yourselves on the top floor. Glamorous, extravagant, breathtaking. All words that were too underwhelming to explain this setting. It was things like this that made you wonder why you never allowed Noct to take you to one of these royal events. Your eyes couldn't even keep up with all the sights to be had.

"Gladio." You spoke under your breath as your hand clasped tighter to his. "So this is what the other side is living like."

He didn't say anything, but lead you to your designated table. You were in a sizable dining room with lights dimmed on the descending booth tables and shined brightly on a stage as its main focus. It looked a lot like an opera room. What kind of show would you be watching? Comedy? Singing? You wondered.

There was a mixer of people dressed all fancy and mingling at their tables. At the sight of them you sort of felt like you were now under dressed. Out of place was more the feeling. It was like you just didn't belong.

Gladio released your hand and allowed to slide into the booth first. Your eyes paced around, and you caught a glimpse of something you never thought you'd see in person. Not in this life.

"I-is that... Is that the... king?" Your jaw dropped and were for the first time in your life star struck.

You'd seen him in pictures and on television, but never in person. Of course you probably could have met him through Noctis, but that was something you were trying to avoid in the first place.

Your hand reached for the glass of water on the table and took a large gulp. It was dizzying being in a room with these people. Regis was sort of like a myth to you, and you couldn't keep your eyes off of him. Maybe you were staring too hard, but you couldn't help yourself.

"You're drooling babe." The tall man laughed.

"Sorry." Your eyes directed back onto him as you wiped the corners of your mouth. "I just have never seen, well, any of this before."

Suddenly you felt not so out of place, because not too far from the king was his son. You wouldn't say anything to him however. This was you and Gladio's date night. It was something you wanted to enjoy with him. You snuggled up to the man and hoped he wouldn't deny you. He never did, but you didn't know if he'd change his tune since he was around the royals.

He gave you a light kiss on the forehead and wrapped an arm around your waist. Oh yes, being snuggled in public by the man you... liked, a lot. It was a good feeling.

Your eyes still secretly remained on Regis as you waited for whatever was going to happen to happen. There was a tablet on the table, and Gladio used his free hand to pick it up and scroll through the menu with you.

You looked up at him, "You gonna let me pay this time?"

"Of course not." He scoffed, "It's all comped, and even if it wasn't you know I wouldn't."

Your eyes slightly rolled at his words, but not for too long. They went back to the menu and you didn't know what to order.

"I don't know what any of this is Gladio." You whispered to him secretly embarrassed.

"You trust me?" He rose an eyebrow.

What was he working up to here? Was he going to try to get you to eat some weird food?

"Sure." You said skeptically as your eyes still gazed at him.

He placed the order, and you had no honest clue what it was. Seemed as though you'd find out when it arrived.

Your curious eyes directed upwards as the already dimmed lights darkened even more. Whatever the show was, it was getting ready to begin and you were sort of excited. The curtain rose and there was an elaborate set behind it. Made you feel like the greenlands of Duscae were truly on that stage. You flinched a little as the orchestra in the orchestra pit began to play. You didn't even notice them before, but now it seemed so obvious.

Dancers entered stage left and stage right. You should have known it would be something classy like this. Your head leaned lazily against Gladio's shoulder, and he pulled you in even closer. You put a hand on his thigh and just kept it there. No massaging or movement, just perfect placement. Man you wished you were at home, but then again, if you were you'd have to follow through on all the non-verbal promises you were making to him.

Time seemed relative in this moment. You weren't relishing this event, or even the performance in front of you. You were enjoying the company of the man beside you. The only thing to snap you out of this was the heavenly scent of food being set down before you. It looked so mouth watering.

Creamy bisque and Carp of the Diem; appetizing. You straightened up and picked up a spoon for the soup. Dipping it in you took a sip and accidentally slipped out a deep moan. Luckily the orchestra was loud enough to drown it out, still, Gladio was always keen to these things. He adoringly watched as you continued to ingest the soup.

"What?" You dabbed your face with a napkin.

"Careful with that soup." Gladio leaned in closer to your ear, "It's a well known aphrodisiac."

Your eyes widened from his words, "Ooh, you are bad."

Sure he tells you this now after you ate like 70 percent of the bowl. You knew you should have ordered something for yourself, because it wasn't taking long for this food to kick in. You found yourself leaning back into him as he finished the rest of the soup. Your hand stroking from the top of his knee all the way to his upper thigh. You couldn't do this here, no. You were at a royal event, and in public.

Still, something wasn't stopping you this time. You hand ran up a bit further until you were right on his crotch. Your eyelids lowered and you explored him. What the hell was this man packing anyway? You rubbed up and down over his dress pants, and you could feel him getting a bit hard. That's where he stopped you.

His hand grabbed your wrist and pulled you away. "Not here."

PDA was all fine and dandy, but not when his father and the king were literally just a few feet away. Yes, this was something worth the wait, and you supposed you would. Even if the aphrodisiac wore off by the end of the night, which it inevitably would, that wouldn't hinder the plans you had for him later on.

You continued the rest of the evening watching the show like a good girl, and actually it was really nice. This was another one for the ol' memory bank. A well deserved standing ovation was given to the performers by the end, and lights went back to its normal self. As fun as this was, you were ready to get out of here.

Gladio scooted out of his seat first and you shortly followed. However, instead of going up and toward the exit, he was going down where his father and the king were. Oh no, you were really hoping that he wasn't trying to have you talk to either of them. Please no!

By the skin of your teeth you were saved only by Clarus meeting you two halfway. That was a much better result than having to say anything to Regis.

Gladiolus smiled at his dad, "This is my girlfriend."

"We met. Though at the time I do believe that this was only your friend." The king's sworn shield rose his eyebrows at you.

You didn't even know how to react to that comment. Well, it looked like it was time for you to take the candid route again.

"Pffft, titles. Friend. Boyfriend. It's all the same thing." You extended a hand for a handshake, "Good to see you again by the way. They say to look at a person's father to know how their son will age. Good to know that after a certain point your son will just cease to age completely."

Gladio looked at you with a somewhat surprised face. Shocked even that you were speaking so casually with his father.

"Actually they say to look at the mother's." Clarus corrected you.

You paused for a moment with your eyes slightly amplified, "I mean, that's neither here nor there."

Again you felt on top of the world as you pulled a chuckle from the man. There was no greater feeling than making a seemingly stoic person laugh.

"You two have a good night." Clarus looked at his son and back at you.

.

Home : 9:59 : 158 days

You found yourself now adjacent to your front door, and more than that, you found yourself at a crossroads. You could let Gladio in and cross that line you'd never crossed before. Or, you could cut it here and save it for another day. Not everything had to happen at once, so you knew what you would do.

You turned the key in the lock, but not open the door yet. "I will let you in because I had fun tonight. However, we will only watch t.v."

Your eyebrow raised as you opened the door and revealed to him your house. Your words didn't seem to phase him. He knew what kind of tease he was dealing with. You flicked on the light and pointed over at the couch.

"Have at it." You began to walk down the hallway without giving him any kind of tour. "Turn to whatever you'd like. I'm going to get out of this dress."

You stepped into your room and pulled a plain shirt and shorts from your closet. As wonderful as you looked in this dress, it was time to take it off. You slipped it off and stood there in your black lace lingerie. No doubt it did the trick tonight at making you feel hot.

Just as you reached for your shorts, you felt Gladio's hands come up behind you and cup your breasts. His warm lips gave a kiss to the crook of your neck and you couldn't help but recoil.

"You were just gonna leave me alone in the living room?" He whispered in your ear, and your arms wrapped around his neck.

You pulled him down so his ear was now at your lips. "Put your hands on me." You bit his lobe and spoke through your teeth, "Lower."

Your request was his demand. His hands made sure to savor all of your curves as he did. His hands stayed at your waist as he lowered himself. Dropping tender kisses down your back, you shivered from the newness of this notion. As he reached your lower back, he stopped.

"What is this?" You felt his thumb rub over the tattoo on your ass.

Oh no. This is not what you needed to be explaining right now. "It says... Good Vibes in an ancient language."

You were internally sweating and hoping he wouldn't question it further. To ensure he didn't, you quickly turned around to face him. Your hands placed over his as he held your waist once again.

Gladio gave a kiss to your stomach as his fingers pulled down on the waistline of your panties.

"Wait." You held his wrists. "I just... I'm a little nervous. I don't wanna go all the way."

Yes you wanted to touch him, and for him to touch you, but you weren't ready for sex. Not yet. That didn't mean there weren't other options you couldn't explore.

"I just wanna make you feel good." He responded with a nod.

His hands gently guided you back on your bed. Your back hit the mattress and your power was now relinquished to the man before you.

He slid your panties down your legs just before spreading them. You felt so vulnerable; so exposed.

"Still trust me?" He confirmed with you.

"Always." You looked at the man before leaning back on your mattress and closing your eyes again.

You could feel his heat closing in on your most intimate space. The breath of him against your skin, and then his lips against yours. He went right in leading with his tongue; mixing your wetness with his. Tasting every part of you, and you clenching onto the blankets for dear life. His tongue traced its way up to your clitoris and that was when the breathy moan slipped from your throat.

What did you go and do that for? The sound of it just made the man want to go a little rougher with you. Although he was a dominant man, he would be gentle until you worked your way up to his pace. His tongue continued on your clit, flicking it around and making your back arch off the bed. It wasn't until he took the bud in his mouth and gave a nice suck that you reached for his hair.

"Gladiolus!" You yelled out.

The heel of your shoe came up and slightly dug into his left shoulder.

He knew he was doing something right by that sound. You never called him 'Gladiolus' unless it was something serious. He was too skilled and you were a mere amateur. You were on the brink of a long overdue orgasm, and it was worth the wait. You were becoming immune to the sound of your own moans as the only sense you were in tune with now was touch.

"I'm gonna..." You didn't finish your words; you couldn't.

His technique didn't slow down any, and he knew you were just moments away. You wanted that euphoric feeling consume you already. Not only for your sake, but Gladio's as well. If you pulled any harder on his hair you'd be ripping it out.

"I'm..." Even less words were expressed now.

You could feel it coming. Right on the edge and...

Suddenly your body froze. Everything stopped as you heard the front door open. No, this was not happening. Not now! Why did things in your life always happen to turn out this way?

Hurriedly you scooted away from the man and ran to your closet. You quickly put on a robe and kicked off your heels.

You looked at Gladio with wide eyes. "You gotta go, now. Just use one of the windows."

What the hell was this? What happened in between the time of him getting ready to give you the best orgasm of your life and now?

"I know you're home. I can smell your lingering perfume." A raspy voice sounded from the living room.

"C-coming." You nervously shouted as you made your way down the hallway.

"Bring the boy too." The person growled sharply.

Shit! This was not happening! This was just a bad dream that you would shortly wake up from.

Gladio wasn't afraid to meet this person. It was your freaking out that truly had him on edge. He walked from your bedroom to the living room and saw the person standing there covered in black garbs. Their daffodil eyes judging his every step.

Honestly, you'd just rather be dead. That seemed like a much better fate than this.

"Clarus' boy?" The person started. Without waiting for an answer, they pointed to the door. "Get out."

You inhaled sharply from their words, but it could have gone worse.

"Let me tell you something boy." The person pulled back the black material from their face and revealed the scars that lay beneath.

A woman, with scars everywhere, but the most prominent were the ones that trailed from the corners of her mouth down to who knows where.

"If I catch you in this house, near this house, or even looking at this house again I will take your head clean off and personally deliver it to your father."

Well, now it got worse. Yes, actually it got a lot worse. You just wanted to vomit.

Gladio could see your eyes tearing up. You didn't want this to escalate, and it was the only reason he wouldn't rebuttal. Simply he did this; lifted your chin gave you a kiss in front of the woman and smiled.

"Good night baby doll."

He closed the door behind him and you felt your heart weigh down with heaviness.

"Why?" You frowned as the tears welled in your eyes.

"Why what?" The woman replied. "I told you not to open Pandora's box, yet you insisted on clawing at its door. You should be asking yourself why. Why are you so selfish as to use these people when you know damn well you will never see them again? Using them for comfort until the time comes that you must leave. Why that?"

Her words only made you cry harder. Harsh, but true. You were using everyone for comfort, but there was something she was wrong about.

"I will see them again." You sniffled. "All of them; including my boyfriend Gladiolus Amicitia that you just kicked out."

A smile befell the woman; minute. "Well then, show me how you're going to survive. Let's get training."