Chapter 3
Dim Lanterns
It was the evening of the wedding ceremony.
Though on paper they were already married, somehow the thought of it was still so daunting, overwhelming, to think of standing there in the cathedral and having an officiant wed them in front of the city entire, the world entire, for everyone to watch him standing there at the side of a man whose face he couldn't even see.
The day prior had been uneventful; Ignis had locked himself in his office, and then had gone straight home and locked himself away there as well. If he was expected to spend time with their guests, then no one had informed him of that and therefore Ignis happily hid himself away.
On his way out of the Citadel, in his daze he had passed Cor's office, and heard raised voices. Ignis wasn't the sort to eavesdrop, and the only reason he stopped then beside Cor's door was because he heard his own name uttered.
Cor was shouting, which was most unusual, for Cor like Ignis was always composed.
"—I do understand, but now is the time to voice concerns and attempt to sway them!"
"I cannot! The papers have already been signed."
Regis' voice.
"You won't even try? For gods' sake! Have you no concerns? The women are not so much older, but we know nothing of this man! I've fought against him for twenty years, so I know at least that he must be close to my age, if not yours! He could even be older yet! What do we know of him? You'll send an eighteen-year-old child beyond our sight in such circumstances? Where we will have no control, no legal right to step in, what if something happens to—"
"Don't you think I've already thought of this? I did my best to persuade them to leave all three of them here! Do you think I didn't have concerns, as well? Is that truly what you think of me? I did what I could, and it wasn't enough. The terms were nonnegotiable. I had no choice. And neither does he. Shall I risk provoking war again, by refusing to let Ignis leave after I've already signed him away? Would you have thousands more die, upon the break of the treaty? I am sorry, but—"
"Stop. Enough. I cannot— Gladiolus and Ignis have long been the closest things I'll ever have to children. Gladiolus has a father; Ignis does not. I've assigned myself that role, and I will continue to uphold it, always and through whatever circumstance. Say what you will to me, and know that I understand the consequences, and that I understand why we have done it. But know also that I... As a guardian, never will I quietly absolve this council of responsibility, if something happens."
"...very well. But know that I love him as a son, as well. And know, too, that your name also resides on that parchment."
Silence.
Ignis lowered his eyes, inhaled, and carried on. He would perform his duty, whatever it may have been, for the sake of the greater good, as Regis expected him to. As the world expected him to.
He went home, and went straight to bed. Didn't eat. Couldn't. Far too sick to bother. Counting down the hours as he had been until dawn.
It came as it always did, far too soon.
Ignis had spent the morning in a room in the Citadel, being dressed by four separate officials, who yanked and pulled him and polished him up. Every time they looped a notch, Ignis felt the noose tightening.
And now here he was at the setting of the sun, once more beside Noctis and Gladiolus, the three of them dressed in royal raiment and standing in the grand cathedral. The high collar of the blue garb was stifling, all the braided loops and buttons suffocating him, though it was likely that even had he been nude Ignis still wouldn't have been able to breathe. Ignis had left his glasses behind at home, because his slightly blurry vision made it easier to imagine that this entire ordeal was just a passing dream.
Just a nightmare, that would soon end.
Lucis stood in blue. The Empire was dressed in red.
Only Lady Lunafreya wore white, mingled with black, and her dress was a very striking contrast to the red and black of the Commodore's military uniform. The Emperor and Chancellor were in full raiment as well, red to Regis' blue and black, and Glauca, naturally, was ever in armor.
Couldn't they have allowed an exception to their law, just for the wedding?
Ignis felt ridiculous, standing next to that wielded monstrosity. Noctis and Lady Lunafreya looked perfectly normal there, side by side. The only ones who didn't look so bizarre. Gladiolus, unused to dressing formally, was fidgeting and twisting and shifting, and looked exceedingly uncomfortable next to his bride, who ignored him entirely and seemed bored. They weren't so normal together, no, but they were still miles above Ignis and his betrothed, because at least the others were visible and in reach.
Glauca's red Imperial sash at his waist was the only color upon him.
The rest was just grey, and Ignis was feeling rather grey as well.
The cathedral was packed, the lanterns and candles all lit, and the church was covered top to bottom in flowers. Red roses and blue sylleblossoms, the colors of either land, and it was beautiful, Ignis knew it was, but it felt so grim despite the glitz. Everything was bright, colorful, blue and red together, and yet it all seemed so dim in Ignis' sight. The flowers were dull, the colors muted, monochrome and sepia, and even the lanterns lit up above them seemed dim and behind some veil.
Crimson and cobalt, yet Ignis only saw watered-down rust and slate.
Just stumbling along in the mist.
The officiant was speaking, as Regis and the Emperor stood behind him, and Ignis stared very blankly off at nothing, seeing and hearing but failing to truly comprehend.
No Cor in that moment to place a hand on his back for courage, for Cor was standing off to the side, arms crossed over his chest and jaw very clenched.
Ignis was very grateful for his numbness, for he didn't jump or flinch when suddenly metal fingers had reached out and grabbed his hand, at the officiant's command. Not as cold as he had expected, but every bit as overwhelming.
Three officials came forward, each of them holding a woven lasso, as everything else in red and blue, and all six of them bowed their heads as the lassos were thrown over their necks. Binding them together, as if were, and Ignis could only thank the Six above that in royal ceremonies it was forbidden to kiss the spouse.
How would he ever be able to, with Glauca behind that metal shell?
The lassos were removed, and it was time to go. They marched in line, Noctis and Lady Lunafreya at the front, Gladiolus and the Commodore behind, Ignis and the General leading up the back. Walking down the long aisle, as petals and rice were thrown into the air.
As Ignis walked, he glanced over, and saw beyond the pews a blurry Cor walking along with him, ever the silent sentinel, always guarding from afar. Their gazes met, and Ignis knew that his eyes must have been screaming, 'Help me.'
Cor's crinkled brow, as Cor's pale eyes in turn mournfully expressed, 'I can't.'
Cor walked along with him until they reached the doors of the cathedral, and then Ignis squinted in the sudden burst of orange sunlight.
A car was waiting below; the others were already gone.
Was it worse to stand in the cathedral with Glauca or worse to be in the backseat of a car with him? Hard to say, as Glauca took up the majority of the space and had to duck his head a bit to even fit. Ignis leaned into his door, perhaps subconsciously attempting to create as much space between them as possible.
Ignis glanced out of the window as the car pulled out, and saw Cor standing before the cathedral, brow low and lips pursed, as blue and red petals yet floated down around him on the breeze. Cor hadn't dressed in blue—he had worn all black, as if to a funeral, and certainly looked bereft then, as he stood in the flurry of petals and watched the car pulling out.
This time, Cor couldn't help him.
The ride to the Citadel was far too short.
They were escorted to what was surely the suite Glauca had been given for the duration of his stay, as no doubt right now Noctis and Gladiolus were also here in their various rooms. The door was opened for them, they strode through as Ignis tried so hard to keep his chin held high, and then, with the click of the door behind them, they were alone for the first time.
Inwardly, Ignis shuddered.
Glauca stood still for a moment, and then walked over slowly to the large window, which overlooked the city. The setting sun was hidden by the skyscrapers, and the bright moon hung then on high.
Now what?
Ignis dreaded it, for this was his ceremonial wedding night. He was expected to perform some other duty now, was he not? The consummation, as it was.
Fear.
A long stillness, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, Glauca spoke for the first time.
That awful, garbled, terrifying voice; truly like the growl of one of the ancient daemons of legend.
"You are as of now no longer a foreign diplomat. The laws of both nations state that we are now married. Therefore, behind closed doors, I feel I am allowed to be out of uniform without breaking any protocol."
A rush of Ignis' heart, as it was suddenly clear that Glauca was intending to remove his Magitek armor at last.
Exposing himself.
Ignis held his breath.
Slowly, the Magitek armor retreated. Melted away, almost, in a rather eerie fashion, sliding off as if it were ink running in the rain. The boots were the first to dissolve, and then the legs, followed by the torso. The shoulders, then, and, finally, the helmet.
For the first time, Glauca was out of armor.
He stood there for a long while, back to Ignis and staring off out of the window at the moon. Ignis stood ever still, reluctant to come over because he was yet afraid to see Glauca's face. He observed his back instead, and took him in as well he could.
Black boots and leather slacks, a grey undershirt with a red Imperial crest on the back. Tall and very broad. Not as tall as Gladio, Cor's height perhaps, but certainly the man had the widest shoulders Ignis had yet to see. Clearly very powerful, as one would have expected. Muscular, rather hefty. On the back of his neck and his visible forearms, Ignis spied scars here and there. Auburn hair, very short and yet somehow very messy, sticking up and out. Large hands. At a glance, then, nothing abnormal about him.
Silence.
Glauca inhaled then, deeply, seemed to be steeling himself, and then very slowly he turned around.
Face to face, at very long last, with his husband.
Somehow, he wasn't exactly what Ignis expected, and in this instance that was actually a good thing. He had been envisioning some very frightening, very snarled, very intimidating, very harsh-looking man, someone who had people darting to the other side of the street to avoid him. Something perhaps not even quite human, because the overwhelming armor made it easy to think of Glauca as a monster more than a human being, some ancient daemon hidden away behind a metal visage.
That wasn't the case.
Glauca was just a man, after all, and a rather ordinary looking one.
Not at all what Ignis had anticipated, and he was grateful for that. Middle-aged, around Cor's generation, perhaps in his early forties, and not at all hard on the eyes. A rather square face, scars coating it, so many of them, very heavy stubble. Low, broad cheeks. Their eyes locked, and Ignis could see how very pale those irises were. Grey. A piercing stare, like Cor's, but unlike Cor, Glauca's eyes were actually somewhat expressive. Not cold and unreadable. Glauca seemed to lack a bit of the malice Ignis had expected, and although his mask was hard and stern, it wasn't harsh. It was very odd, but if Ignis hadn't known who the man was and had put him next to Clarus or Cor, he perhaps would have found Glauca the least intimidating, despite his size and scars.
Calm and composed, cool, giving off nothing at all.
An impasse, as they stared at each other and seemed to be taking the other in.
After a very long and somewhat uncomfortable silence, it was Glauca who broke the standoff to suddenly say, so quietly, "You're very different than what I had anticipated."
Likewise, but Ignis didn't say that because he was very distracted by Glauca's voice.
If the face hadn't been what Ignis had expected, then the voice was miles out of bounds, coming from an entirely different galaxy. Had never in a thousand years expected such a voice from such a man, but perhaps that was only because the sound of the warped tones from the armor had been so terrifying, and therefore any normal voice was utterly bizarre.
Yes, maybe, but all the same Glauca's voice was soft and breathy, very gentle and very calm. Soothing, even, though such a word was hard to attach to the reputation of Glauca as a whole.
Glauca continued to study him, and then very abruptly turned once more so that his back was to Ignis and he was once more staring off at the moon.
A softer yet whisper.
"You'll be expected to remain here the entire night through. Take the bed. I will not be joining you."
With that, Glauca suddenly walked over to the balcony, and Ignis watched him go with fascination because it was the first time hearing the General's boots hit the floor without that awful metal clunking. A stride not so different than Gladiolus', heavy and purposeful. Brash. Not as graceful as Cor's gait.
Just a normal man, walking.
Hard to comprehend, somehow, everything about the man, because he looked so entirely different than anything Ignis had been imagining.
Glauca walked out onto the balcony, shut the door behind him, sat down at the patio table, and stayed there. Not once did he come back in, the long, cold night through.
On his wedding night, Ignis stared up at the ceiling in a bed that was not his own, as his husband sat out on the balcony and watched the moon.
Two strangers, swept up into the wind as much as those petals in their national colors had been. Ignis' blue petal, freefalling with no control. Glauca's red petal, metal, crashing to earth and helpless as to which direction it could go.
Drifting aimlessly.
Ignis didn't sleep, and neither did Glauca.