—

"Seriously, you can beat it." Gladio made a shooing motion with the hand that wasn't keeping Loqi from falling off of his shoulder and flopping onto the ground. "Go do something productive or fun or whatever you kids do these days. I got this."

Prompto snorted as he finished opening Loqi's door and stepping aside so Gladio could maneuver in past him. "Think I've probably outgrown that age group by now, buddy. I am a hard-working adult, don't you know?"

"…Nah." Gladio shrugged his shoulder to position Loqi better as he got him closer to the bed. "Sorry. You'll always be a kid to me."

"Dude. You have less than four years on me."

"Doesn't matter. You're stuck that way in my head."

"No matter how badass I get? Uuuugh."

Gladio tossed Prompto an unapologetic grin as the younger man jogged back out the door.

…Six, this was nice. The last however many hours may have been chaotic to say the least, but the fact still remained that they had a friend back from the dead.

Maybe it wouldn't be forever, or even for long, but for now… at least for now all of their group was alive.

Gladio hadn't had something this positive happen to him in a long damn time. Even if he had a depressed and slightly drunk dwarf to pep talk and a ton of stressful crap to deal with, it was actually a pretty great night.

…Honestly, he was being a bit of an ass for being so annoyed at having to care for Loqi. Maybe more than a bit. Gladio had a shit ton of stress and he didn't have to deal with co-leading a city, running a trade route, or practically raising three adult children.

Gladio sighed. He was going to help. Not out of obligation. Not even for the sake of the city. He was going to help because Loqi was someone in need and it was the right thing to do.

…Yeah, trying to sell himself sappy thoughts wasn't making him want to do it any more than before.

Gladio sighed as he deposited Loqi on what he assumed was his bed. Loqi grunted in discontent, seeming only just conscious.

"Hey, if you don't wanna get hauled around, don't need to get hauled around," Gladio said.

"I never asked you to help me," Loqi murmured bitterly, though it was easy to tell that there was no real heat behind his words.

"Maybe not verbally, but you sure are emotionally broadcasting."

Loqi mumbled a profanity at him in reply, and Gladio scowled.

Okay. He honestly had no idea how to get through to Loqi at all. Aranea was different. He got her. He barely knew Loqi.

Gladio set about prying Loqi's boots off while he was thinking on it.

But… there was a knock at the door before he'd even set the second boot down.

Now who could that be? None of the clones would knock on their own room, would they?

Gladio tossed the boot aside, crossing the room quickly and cracking it open just enough to avoid letting too much light in.

…Okay. Ravus. Also unexpected.

The elder Fleuret looked weary, and given the already forming bruise on his face, it wasn't hard to guess why.

"The hell are you doing here?" Gladio asked.

Ravus held up a hand. "Well, if you care to refrain from hitting me, I did come with the intention of aiding Loqi."

Gladio snorted. "Yeah, I bet. Couple of partners in crime, aren't you?"

Ravus rolled his eyes. Hard. "I haven't the time for your emotionally-fueled response to my entirely correct decision."

And he said he didn't want to be hit…

Gladio clenched his jaw for a moment before shifting the topic. "How'd you even hear about Loqi that fast?"

"Sikozu, obviously. She watches her patrons." Ravus shifted his weight. "I was in the back of the bar – she saw you leaving and regaled me with an imitation of the events."

So that was where he'd staked out. Sneaky asshole. They'd checked the bar, but not the back, and Sikozu had told them she hadn't seen him. They really were a pair with their lies…

"Right. And you decided to come help." Gladio raised an eyebrow. Ravus was not a people person. Ravus was the exact opposite of a people person. He didn't take care of feelings and wellness.

"I did," Ravus said firmly. "Thus, I will be taking your place so you may return to whatever plans you may have had."

Gladio's eyebrow climbed higher. "I don't like Loqi. You've never liked him."

Ravus' eye twitched. "My tolerance level of him has been amended much over time. Now, are you going to let me in, or do you intend on locking me out?"

Oh, how tempting it was to slam the door and lock it in his face. The reaction would be priceless.

"Fine," Gladio groused instead, pulling the door further open and stepping just enough out of the way that Ravus could enter.

"Thank you," Ravus said, brushing past him without an ounce of actual gratitude in his tone. "You may leave."

After the effort he'd spent into talking himself into pep talking Loqi, now he was being dismissed just like that? By the world's least empathetic leader?

"And what are you gonna do?" Gladio demanded. "Bitch slap him with your mechanical arm and tell him to shape up?"

Ravus paused halfway to the bed, turning his head to hit Gladio with a look of utter befuddlement.

…Okay, yeah, that one had been a little out there even for him. Worth it, though.

Ravus kept staring at him. Gladio was pretty sure he'd just broken the man's brain.

Gladio cleared his throat. "Right. Guess I'm leaving, then."

"Please do." Ravus resumed his course.

Gladio shook his head. He still felt like he should stay after all of his mental pushing of himself, but he supposed it was better this way. Ravus did know Loqi better. Apparently well enough that they'd been in cahoots about Ignis' survival. Maybe Ravus would have an easier time getting through to him.

Worked for Gladio. Now he just had the other two stubborn idiots to worry about.

He wondered what they were up to.

"Just hold still," Aranea grumbled.

"I am trying," Ignis said softly back. He knew she was trying to help, but it was still just difficult to relax under the touch of someone else.

Especially his neck.

Especially when someone had a blade at his neck, even if it was Aranea.

On one hand, he wanted lean into the soft touch of her callused fingers. On the other hand, the recent memory of being strangled and the sheer foreignness of human contact was making it very hard for him to relax.

"I know. But you are definitely going to have a couple of scratches here. I've cut you twice already."

"Better than what I could do myself at the moment," Ignis said, trying to limit his facial movement at the same time. However many cuts he got, it would be worth it to get the bloody forest off his face. His beard had served him well in the wild, but he wanted to be himself again, and he didn't quite trust his own hands yet. So here he stood, trusting Aranea to run the razor over his skin instead.

He swallowed at her close proximity.

If he could just bloody relax.

"Okay. All done," she said with a final swipe, withdrawing the razor and handing him a towel with her free hand.

"Thank you," he said earnestly, wiping his jaw. He could feel the sting of those few small cuts, but he also relished the feeling of the smooth skin.

Aranea smiled softly. "I kind of dug the rugged protector look. But this is much more you."

"Being more myself is all I want." Ignis tossed the towel to the side, feeling with his hand instead.

Oh, yes. So much better.

"Well, you're off to a good start." She reached up to ruffle his shaggier hair. "But I'd say there's still a few steps to go. Trust me with a pair of scissors?"

He reached up to catch her hand, chuckling as he brought it down so he could press a kiss against her knuckles. "I would trust you with anything."

He still had much to do. Many apologies to make. To Gladio… To Prompto… To Evan… To all of the others.

But that was after he got himself in order.

Right now, he got to add Aranea to the list of people who didn't hate him, and that was something he was going to relish.

"You're obnoxiously difficult to be mad at, you know that?" Aranea said.

He chuckled again, though this time it was more forced. "Let us hope the others feel the same."

"Well, let's get to things and find out. It's not gonna do any good to keep putting it off."

She was quite right there. "I'm not putting it off. I just wish to confront things on my own terms this time."

Too much of his life these last few years had been out of his control.

No longer.

—