A/N: Prompt-fill for a guest.

Summary: In which Reina pouts a lot, Noct gets thrown (and deserves it), Regis goes full derp when he gets worried, and Clarus is suitably exasperated. GladRei if you squint, I guess.

March, 754:

"I've been banished."

Noctis blinked at his sister as he stood in the doorway to his apartment. He hadn't expected to find her outside his door at all that evening, but the conversation starter threw his brain for a loop. Not that he was unaccustomed to conversations that began without greetings or preamble where his twin was concerned. Just that she had never claimed to have been banished, before.

"Uh."

"Father kicked me out."

That made, if possible, less sense.

"Uh…"

"Noct! You playin' this round or not? Because I'm gonna start and just kick the shit out of you."

Noctis turned and glanced over his shoulder when Gladio shouted at him from inside. Then he turned back and looked at his twin and her bodyguard, hoping that she would make more sense if he tried again.

"Uh…." Noct raised his voice but couldn't think of any words to say.

"Who is it, anyway?" Gladio shouted.

Noct didn't respond. Reina was staring at him, looking overall grumpy but not crushed, which implied that her words were at least half exaggeration. Probably their dad had, with all good intent, shooed Reina away so that either he could have a moment to himself or so that she could. Or both. Probably both.

Gladio, evidently tired of waiting for a response that wasn't going to come while Noct's brain was stalling, poked his head around the corner.

"Oh. Hey, Reina."

"Hi Gladio," Reina said. She was pouting.

"So… uh… what?" Noctis asked without elaboration. She knew what he was talking about. What was the point of wasting words?

Reina huffed and folded her arms over her chest. "He just kicked me out, okay? Astrals. Can I come inside or something? Or are you going to make me stand here all evening?"

In fact, Noctis was right in his surmise that his sister was being more than a little melodramatic. They both knew full well that the king was never going to kick his daughter out of the Citadel, even if she turned fifty and was still living with her father. More accurately, what he had said was:

"Go outside, Reina. You have done more than enough work today."

To which she had responded, puzzled: "Just… outside?"

She might well have just wandered aimlessly around the gardens for an hour if he hadn't clarified, but he didn't do so before smiling in that way that suggested he was laughing at her.

"No, my dear. Outside. Into the real world, where you might engage with real people." He explained it with an air of unending patience and just a touch of teasing: like he was hinting that he thought she was missing something inside her head.

"This is the real world, Father," she drawled. She knew what he wanted, by that point. She just didn't want to do it.

"The fake world, then," he supplied. "To speak with your fake friends or your fake brother."

She pulled a face at him. "I'm not sure if I should be insulted that you think my friends are fake."

"Reina."

"But I know you've met my brother."

"Reina."

"Father."

"Desist with your stalling. Go out and take the night off."

She might have told him that, given a night to do with what she pleased, going out on the town wasn't really her first choice, but she never had been any good at disobeying him.

"Yes, Father," she sighed, demurred.

"Take a crownsguard with you, please."

"Yes, Father."

And so she had come to stand outside her twin's apartment, hoping to find him alone so they could sprawl on the couch and make fun of each other for a few hours before she was allowed to return home. Instead she found him with Gladio. And he wanted to go out.

"Sushi," Noctis said.

It was a declaration more than a suggestion. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, steering her back down the hallway in the direction she had come.

"Come on, Gladio!" He called over his shoulder.

"What about the game?" Gladio asked.

"Never mind the game. I want sushi," Noctis responded.

So they had sushi. And Noctis did an extraordinary job of prodding his sister out of her pout without appearing to try. By the time they were through eating, Reina had forgotten she was supposed to be irked. She even let Noct drape one arm over her shoulders and mess up her hair with minimal glaring.

They walked down the dark street, the prince and princess and their two crownsguards. The restaurant was close enough to Noctis' apartment that driving—or calling Ignis to drive them, as was usually the case—seemed unnecessary.

"When you get back," Noct said, "Tell Dad I want a bonus for babysitting you."

Reina shoved him off at that. "A bonus what? You already have unlimited pocket money!"

"I do not! I work a part time job like a respectable citizen of Insomnia. Unlike some people around here." He caught her head in the crook of his arm and drilled his knuckle against her scalp.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you, Noct…." Gladio said.

"Right," Reina growled, grabbing his hand. "I just work two full time jobs and don't get paid."

With one hand on his and the other grasping his shirt behind his shoulder, she threw her hip into his and tipped forward, tossing him onto the pavement.

Noctis groaned.

"Told you," Gladio stopped walking, folding his hands over his chest to look down at Noct. "She's been working on that one for weeks."

Reina flashed Gladio a smile and combed her fingers through her hair, trying to get her ruined hair to lay flat once more. It didn't do much good. Noctis had done a number on her half-up ponytail. Then again, she had done a number on Noct, so it all evened out.

She left her brother whining on the sidewalk as movement from down the street caught her eye. It wasn't so late that there was no one else on the streets, nor were they in a deserted part of the city, but something about the man who stumbled out of the alleyway a few yards away caught her attention. Was he… injured? Or just drunk? Or both?

"Remind me to stop picking fights with you," Noctis grumbled as he finally hauled himself to his feet, rubbing his back.

"Stop picking fights with me," Reina said, pulling her eyes away from the unknown man to glance at her brother, instead.

"Never," said Noct.

" 'Scuse me…" The man from down the street approached with the same stumbling gait that he had exited the alley. The cloud of stench that followed him answered one question: he was certainly drunk. "Y'all knowin' how ta get ta Crus Treat…. Crux Treat from here?"

Crux Treat? Reina glanced at her brother, trying to keep a straight face.

"Uh… Crux Street?" Noctis said, glancing at Reina. Only the quiver of his lips gave away that he was, also, trying not to laugh. He gave an answer admirably, all the same, pointing down the street in the direction the drunk had come from. "Yeah—it's down that way. Take a right at the signal and keep going for a couple blocks."

He wasn't listening anymore, but he was still staring at Noct.

"Hey… you're the prince…." His words were slow and he squinted down at Noct, as if he didn't quite trust his swirling vision.

"Uh… yeah…" Noct admitted reluctantly.

"Y'know… it'syer dad's fault I'm outofa job…" He swayed on the spot, jabbing a finger toward Noct.

"Watch it," Gladio growled, stepping forward as Noct stepped back.

The drunk appeared not to notice. He took a sideways step around Gladio, and then a couple more, as if he was having trouble staying upright.

"C'mon, buy me a drink," the drunk said, holding a hand out toward Noct.

"I can't," Noctis said. The amusement was gone from his face. In its place was something more like nervousness.

"Get out of here," Reina snapped, stepping in between her brother and the drunk. "No one's going to buy you a drink, but if you stick around we'll get you thrown in a cell to sleep it off."

He didn't seem to hear he—or even really see her. His eyes remained fixed on Noct, over her shoulder. "You owe me a drink!" He shouted, lunging forward.

She wasn't sure where the knife had come from. It hadn't been in his hands when he was reaching for Noctis, she felt sure, but it certainly was, now. It was just a little pin knife, but a knife was a knife.

She took a step back, running into Noct and pushing him away as she raised one arm to ward off the blow. She needn't have bothered. Gladio was there, a solid wall between the pair of them and the drunk before the strike fell. Reina couldn't see around him. He was over a foot taller than her and twice as wide across the shoulders. But she heard the grunt of discomfort as he caught the other man's wrist and pushed him away.

The drunk stumbled, falling off his feet and landing in the street. The knife was in Gladio's hand. Blood dripped from the tip.

"Gladio?" Reina stepped around him, glancing from the fallen attacker up to her brother's Shield.

"Get outta here," Gladio growled at the other man, who was already struggling to do just that.

"You're just gonna let him go?" Noct asked, shocked, as they watched the drunk climb to his feet, trip, fall on his face, and try again, all the while making slow progress away from them.

"He's harmless," Gladio shrugged, folding the blade and tucking it into his pocket as he turned toward them.

There was a long, bloody line painted on his face, from his hairline above his left eye, all the way down to his jaw. It was a miracle it hadn't hit his eye. As it was, the blade must have passed just a fraction of an inch away.

"Harmless?" Reina cried, grabbing Gladio's chin and twisting his face down to get a closer look at. "Harmless means unable to do harm. What does that look like to you?!"

"Ow," said Gladio.

"Gods, Gladio…" Noctis breathed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Gladio said, though he held his head very still and at the exact awkward angle that Reina had pulled it to.

She continued to hold his chin in place as she inspected the wound. It looked surprisingly clean-cut. The blade had been sharp. That was something good, at least; it would heal up neatly with help, but it was hard to see with all the blood.

"You have a potion?" Noctis asked over her shoulder.

"Not even anything I can make one out of," Reina admitted reluctantly.

They could get back to Noct's apartment easily enough, but she wanted to stop the bleeding. She released Gladio's chin and he stood up straight once more. She wriggled out of her shrug and folded it up, reaching up to press the soft material against his bleeding face.

"Reina! That's white!" He objected, taking a step back.

"Thank you for that brilliant observation," Reina drawled, glaring up at him. She followed him, grabbing his chin once again and pulling him to her level. "Stop moving."

"Ow."

"Don't be such a baby."

She dabbed at the blood that dripped down his neck and soaked up what pooled around the cut, applying gentle pressure with absolute focus. Gladio didn't move again. She probably should have been more concerned about the crimson stains that streaked her bolero, but just then she wasn't.

When his face was mostly clean and the flow of blood had slowed, Reina released him and handed off the ruined clothing. "Hold that to it. I'll fix it up when we get back."

"Yes, Highness," Gladio said, and she couldn't decide if he was making fun of her or if she had actually cowed him with her brisk treatment.

They walked in comparative silence the rest of the way to Noctis' apartment. Usually Noct would have laughed at Gladio for being bullied by Reina, but she suspected he was worried, himself. That, and he felt guilty for having put his friend in danger. He would get over it—they all knew it was Gladio's job to step into danger for Noct—but for now he would fret silently.

They only earned a few odd looks over the blood on their way into the building before they were safely shut up inside Noct's apartment.

"Sit," Reina ordered Gladio, pointing to the couch as she passed on her way to raid Noctis' bathroom.

She sent silent thanks to Ignis for having cleaned recently as she set about gathering some suitable supplies: a clean washcloth and a bowl of warm water, and, in lieu of anything suitable to make a salve out of, a can of soda.

When she returned to the living room, Gladio was sitting obediently on the couch, still holding the shrug to one side of his face. Reina kicked off her shoes, set her supplies down on the table, and climbed onto the arm of the couch beside him.

"Let me see," she said.

He handed her the shrug and she set it aside for the moment. Probably it was past the point of no return, but she couldn't bring herself to care that much. She took Gladio's chin in her hand, turning his face gently so she could get a better look at the cut.

It was remarkably clean, though it was going to leave a scar no matter what she did.

"Close your eye," she requested.

He did as she asked. It looked like that drunk had gotten closer than she had thought at first: the red line traced down his eyelid, as well.

"You are unbelievably lucky," Reina said, reproachful—as if it was his fault that this whole thing had happened. She knew she shouldn't have been cross with him, but surely he could have done something without sticking his face in first?

Gladio didn't respond. She reached for the can of soda and rolled it between her palms, grasping her magic and letting it twist up inside the beverage. It wasn't her prefered medium to work with—different materials produced slightly different results, for better or for worse—but it was what Noct had on hand.

When she was satisfied with the enchantment, she cracked the can open and handed it to him. Gladio drank without being prompted and Reina reached for the bowl of water. She drenched her washcloth, setting the bowl in her lap, and set about cleaning up what remained of the blood on his face.

By the time she was through, Gladio was clean of blood and her potion had begun to do its work.

"I think that's quite enough of a break for one night," Reina sighed, climbing to her feet to dump the bowl, heedless of the red-tinged water she had spilled on her own clothes.

"Dad's gonna have a fit," Noctis said, dropping onto the couch beside Gladio.

"Maybe he won't send me out, anymore," Reina said, suddenly bright.

Noctis laughed. "You know. Most kids get upset about overprotective parents."

"I'm not 'most kids'," Reina said.

"We know," Gladio and Noct said at once, before shooting each other sideways grins.

Reina huffed and shook her head. Boys. Protect them from drunks and patch up their cuts and they still make fun of you.

When he had given his daughter the night off—or, more accurately, forced her to take the night off—Regis had expected that she would be back in an hour or two, after having taken dinner with either Noctis or her friends in town. The fact was, and they both knew it, she was exceptionally poor at staying away.

So when over two hours had passed and Reina was still out, Regis found himself tapping his fingers on his desk and staring out the window, wondering.

"Perhaps they took in a movie," Clarus suggested, as if guessing his thoughts.

Regis looked up. His Shield knew him too well for the good of either of them.

He sighed. "Of course. It is hardly late."

She was probably just having fun. That was what he had wanted, after all, wasn't it?

This is stupid, he thought, pulling his eyes from the window and looking back at the papers in front of him. Everyone was always teasing her about not leaving his side and there he was, fretting over her few-hour absence when he had been the one to tell her to leave.

He forced himself to work until the clock chimed again and drew his eyes away once more. Three hours.

"Perhaps I have upset her," he thought aloud. "I should not have been so harsh, this evening."

"Regis," Clarus said with poorly-concealed exasperation. "You could forbid her from having friends, declare that she can only eat green beans from this day forth, and behead her stuffed chocobo right in front of her and that child would still forgive you."

Regis met his friend's gaze, unconvinced. While it was true that Reina would have done most anything for him, the sticking point was when he wanted her to not do something for him.

"She is not upset with you," Clarus reiterated.

Regis dropped his gaze back to the papers. Across his desk, Clarus resumed his work as well. It only lasted a few minutes.

"What if—"

"If something had happened then her guard would have contacted Cor, and we already would have heard," Clarus said, before Regis even had a chance to finish the thought.

Regis shut his mouth with a snap.

"If you do not get this finished, I will tell her how unproductive you are when she takes the night off," Clarus threatened.

Regis dropped his gaze again, hearing his friend heave a sigh before the only sound in the study, once more, was the ticking of the clock and the scratching of pen on paper.

It was nearing on three and a half hours when Clarus' phone rang. He glanced at the screen, which displayed a picture of his son, before answering.

"Gladiolus."

The king tapped his pen against his paper, not paying attention to anything in particular as he waited. He could hear Gladio's voice on the speaker, but he couldn't tell what the boy was saying. Likely nothing that concerned him.

At least, he wasn't paying attention until Clarus responded.

"And everyone is safe?"

It was the sort of question one only asked when everyone hadn't been safe in the first place.

"No, I trust your judgement; you must do as you see fit. But would you please ensure that Princess Reina returns safely to the Citadel? His Majesty is being intolerable." Clarus shot Regis a reproving glare.

Regis might have returned it, if he hadn't been so worried. Reina was with Gladio, which meant she had gone to see Noct, and they had encountered a situation in which Clarus needed to ask if everyone was safe? Just what sort of trouble had he sent his children into?

"Thank you, Gladio. Good night. I will see you at home."

Clarus hung up and set his phone down on Regis' desk, looking up at the king with a long-suffering look.

"Well?" Regis asked.

"It seems your children and my son had an unsavory encounter with a drunken man on their way back from dinner. Everyone is fine," he added the last hastily.

An unsavory encounter with a drunken man? What did that even mean?

Regis gave up on work. Clarus gave up about badgering him. The king paced his study and eventually his Shield excused himself for the night, intending to return home and see to his own son. It wasn't much longer after that that Regis had to wait.

A knock came to the door and, at Regis' word, Reina entered.

If Clarus hadn't already assured him that everyone was fine….

"Reina, my dear! Welcome h—is that blood?!"

Reina stopped dead in the doorway, looking down at the front of her dress. It was streaked with red, but that was nothing to the crimson-brown that stained the bolero shrug she held. She grimaced, perhaps having not realized just what she looked like before then.

"It's not mine, Father," she said quickly.

"Are you sure?"

Is she sure? What sort of question is that, you old fool?!

"Father," Reina put her fist on her hip and looked reproachfully up at him. "I think I should know."

"Yes, I suppose you should…" he admitted sheepishly.

"It's Gladio's," Reina waved a dismissive hand. "Anyway, I'm going to go shower and change. I'll see you in the morning?"

Regis blinked at his daughter, taken aback. She was mad at him.

"You… do not intend to tell me what happened?" He ventured.

Reina raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh. I thought Clarus told you."

"Hardly more than you have," Regis said.

"It's not as exciting as it looks," she said with a smile. "Are you ready to go upstairs? I can tell you on the walk."

"I am long since ready to give up on that mess," Regis said, pointing his cane to the papers strewn across his desk. "I would be pleased to accompany you up."

So they walked. And on the way she told him of her evening and the peculiar encounter they had on the streets. He didn't much like the sound of any of it, but he was placated by having her back home. And Noctis, it seemed from the sound of things, was no worse for the wear, either.

"Well. Full glad am I that Gladio was there," Regis said as they reached her door.

"I would have kept us safe if Gladio didn't put his fat face in the way, first."

Regis couldn't help himself. He laughed. There was something comical about little Reina, standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, looking so indignant. He hastened to explain his amusement, however, as the annoyance on her face only deepened at his laughter.

"I have little doubt, my dear, that you will always keep your brother safe. Still, I will admit to being selfishly grateful that it was Gladiolus' 'fat face' that was in the way and not yours." He brushed her cheek with his thumb and smiled down at her.

Little Reina. Perhaps he shouldn't have thought of her as little, anymore—she was nearly nineteen—but he couldn't help it. She would always be his little princess.

Reina beamed back up at him. Her whole face brightened when she smiled like that; it made him wonder if he wasn't wrong about her being upset, after all.

"You're right. He'll look much better with the scar. Goodnight, Father." She leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek, which he welcomed, then turned to open her bedroom door.

Nineteen years and he still had no idea what she was thinking, sometimes.

A furrow formed on his brow.

"Reina—"

"Father?"

"Are you cross with me?"

Her eyes widened in clear surprise. It was enough of an answer without the accompanying words. "Of course not, Father! Why would you think that?"

"You seem in a hurry to be rid of me," he admitted. It sounded a lot more foolish out loud than it did in his head.

"Oh! I thought you wanted the night to yourself. You were the one who sent me away, after all." She stood with her hand on the half-open door to her room, still clutching the bloody shrug to her chest and looking no less surprised than she had at first.

She really had no concept of what it meant to take time for herself, did she?

"What I wanted was for you to have the night to yourself," Regis said, looking down his nose at her severely. However hard he tried to teach it, that was one lesson she couldn't seem to grasp. Even now she gave a shrug, as if she would have been just as content to have spent the past four hours working. Then again, perhaps it hadn't been the best night. "Which, of course, you are still free to do. But if you do not wish to… I should be happy for your company."

Her wide-eyed look split into another smile. "Of course I would rather be with you, Father!"

She paused, glancing down at her dress, "But I'm covered in blood."

Regis smiled gently down at her. "Then I will permit you to remedy that. And in the meantime I will await your arrival with bated breath," he teased, leaning down to kiss her hair.

Reina stuck her tongue out at him as he turned to walk toward his room.

"Do not force me to wait!" He called over his shoulder at her.

"If you hurry me I'll get blood all over your room!"

Regis chuckled, shaking his head as he rounded the corner. His children were safe, no one was mad at him, and all was right with the world. Except perhaps Clarus, who had left in a state of overwhelming exasperation. That, though, would doubtless fade overnight. Then again, Regis never had finished those letters.

Gods, he hoped Clarus didn't tell Reina everything, as he had threatened.