Return of the Sister

It had been a few weeks since Gladio moved into Ella's room and she loved that he was in bed with her. She had just got off her night shift from her job and she was coming home at midnight. When she walked through the front door, she noticed that something seemed off. One of the back windows was opened slightly and she knew she closed it before heading to work. The guys wouldn't leave the windows open at night because they knew she had a thing about wild animals or strangers coming into her house. Also, the kitchen light was on, which meant someone was in there. Inching over to the coat closet, she opened the door and pulled out a handgun she kept just in case she couldn't access her shotgun. Keeping her steps quiet and precise, she walked into the kitchen and turned her gun on whoever was in there.

Good thing she didn't take the safety off yet, because the person standing in the kitchen was none other than her spirited little sister, Freya. The young red head dropped what she was holding and put her hands up, looking like a deer in the headlights. Ella immediately put the gun down and set on the kitchen counter.

"Freya?" she whispered, making sure she woke no one up. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, sis," said Freya, looking a bit scared. "I just got here a few minutes ago. I didn't have my key and the back window was unlocked. Why did you almost shoot me?"

"I thought you were a burglar," answered Ella apologetically. "I didn't see your car. That means you must have parked in the back."

"Sorry for scaring you like that," said Freya, blushing as red as her hair. "I didn't mean to. I was about to go to bed but I got hungry and decided to poke through your pantry. By the way, why do you have so much food? Is this a half-way house now?"

"I have some new roommates," replied Ella, not knowing how to explain it to her. "Two of them are staying in your old room. They're married. Another couple is staying in my old room. I renovated the loft into sleeping quarters for two others."

"Then I'll just sleep in your bed," said the younger woman, not knowing there was already an occupant in there.

"Freya," said Ella, keeping her voice quiet, "there's already someone in there. He originally slept in the loft but we're in a relationship so he's in my bed."

"Oh, my God," gasped Freya, eyes wide. "You actually have a boyfriend. The world is going to end." The drama in her voice made Ella roll her eyes.

"Honestly, Freya," scoffed Ella, giving off a defensive aura, "you act like I was going to be a spinster all my life. I've done it before. When I started living here on my own, I had a one night stand or two. I've just never been in a committed relationship until he came along."

Freya smirked. "I know all about sexual relationships. I may be four years younger than you, but I've done it many times at college."

Ella playfully put her hands over her ears and shook her head. "La-la-la-la!" she said childishly. "I don't wanna hear my little sister talking about this."

Freya started laughing and she grabbed Ella into a tight hug. "I've missed you, sis," she said, smiling. "It feels like it's been forever since we last saw each other."

"Come on," said Ella, taking Freya by the hand after they hugged. "I'll chase Gladio out of my bed so you can sleep there."

"No, Ella," said Freya, shaking her head. "I'll take the couch. Let your boyfriend sleep there. It's fine."

"Hey, no sister of mine is sleeping on the couch," reproved Ella, giving her the warning pointer finger. "Besides, there is a spare bed in the loft slash room. He can stay there."

"He won't like waking up like this," warned Freya, giving her a look.

"He'll get over it," said Ella with a careless wave of her hand. "He'll probably think it was a dream."

Freya and Ella both giggled and they walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to where Freya's room was.

…

When they opened the door, the hall light shined in to reveal Gladio sprawled out on Ella's bed, snoring. One of his long, strong arms was hanging off the bed and the covers were falling off of his body. The girls tried not to laugh when they looked at Gladio and tiptoed over to the bed. Ella leaned towards him and spoke softly in his ear.

"Gladio," she said in a gentle voice, "my sister is here. I need you to move back to your old room."

Her voice made him stir and he groaned, shifting to lay on his other side. Smiling, Ella shook Gladio's arm until he woke up. The large man got up on his stomach and he stared at Ella with sleep-blurred eyes, as if he was not seeing her. To coax him out, Ella pressed a kiss to his forehead and pulled his arm to get him out of bed. Gladio stumbled out of the bed, as if drunk, and allowed Ella to lead him back to the room where Ignis was. She opened the door to Ignis's room and eased Gladio onto the spare bed where the taller man used to sleep. As soon as he hit the pillow, he was out again. He didn't even bother to pull the covers over himself.

…

The next morning, Ella opened her eyes and saw that Freya was still asleep with her back facing her. Smiling, Ella got up and stroked a strand of hair out of Freya's face. She pulled on a robe and walked out into the family room to see Ignis and Gladio sitting on the couch, looking a bit miffed. She gave them a smile but they looked too perturbed.

"Is there a reason I woke up in Ignis's room?" asked Gladio, sounding a bit nervous. "Babe, did I hold you too tight the night before?"

Sometimes, Gladio would hold on to Ella too tight, resulting in bruises, and she would banish him to Ignis's room. They would make up in bed and all would be forgiven, but that had nothing to do with this.

"Gladdy," she said sweetly, sitting down on the couch with him, "my little sister showed up last night and there was nowhere else she could sleep. Noct and Luna occupy her old room, remember?"

"Oh, right," replied Gladio, looking a bit abashed. "I forgot. So, where's your sis?"

"She's still asleep," answered Ella, taking Gladio's hand in her own. "She came in from Sac State late. Sacramento is about two or three hours from here."

"Ah, yes," said Ignis, nodding, "I remember hearing you talk about her. Wasn't she majoring in veterinary? What's she doing here?"

"I'll ask her when she wakes up," replied Ella, smiling. "Right now, let's just let her sleep."

"How did you sleep?" asked Gladio, curious on how his woman slept without him.

"Well, it wasn't my strong Gladio," answered Ella, smiling, "but I was okay. How did you sleep?"

"It was cold without you," said Gladio, frowning a bit. "Hopefully, we can sort out the sleeping arrangements soon."

Ella let out a laugh in agreement and nodded. "Let's get breakfast ready. We need to have food on the table before everyone else wakes up. Will you help me out, Ignis?"

The man in the glasses looked a bit insulted. "No," he said, shaking his head, "I will cook and you will help me."

Instead of arguing, Ella just shrugged her shoulders. "Either or," she remarked, walking into the kitchen with Ignis.

When they walked in, Ella saw Freya getting out some eggs, intending to make some, and they walked up to her. Ignis knew where she was because he could smell the scent of her hair. He felt up Freya's arms until he found her shoulders and she turned around to see a man with glasses staring at her but not seeing her.

"Excuse me, miss," he said in that husky voice that Freya could feel in her core. "I'm going to cook breakfast. Can you please step aside so that I may?"

"Uh, sure," stammered Freya, finding her voice. "S-sorry…" She stepped aside, letting Ignis have access to the cooking utensils.

She inched back to Ella to whisper in her ear. "Where did you get this one?" she asked quietly. "And why does he have to be hot?"

They heard Ignis chuckle and both realized that he could hear them. "Just because I can't see you," he said humorously, "doesn't mean I'm deaf too."

Freya's face turned bright red and she shrank back in embarrassment. Ella couldn't help but laugh because she had never seen her sister like that before. Then again, Ignis had a way of seeing through everything.

"Let me help, Ignis," said Ella, moving to assist him.

Freya awkwardly bit her bottom lip and left the kitchen to go to the living room. When she got there, she saw Gladio watching TV. There was another guy with him. He had light blond hair and blue eyes. Freya noticed that the blondie was attractive but he reminded her of a puppy.

"Oh, hey, Freya," said Gladio, standing up to introduce himself. "I'm Gladiolus, your sister's boyfriend. Nice to meet you."

When Freya shook his hand, she felt like her whole shoulder was going to come out of its socket and his grip was firm. She studied the man in front of her and noticed that he was very handsome and strong. He was also very tall and his amber eyes were piercing. He was rugged and tanned with a cool tattoo spanning his arms. They looked good on him too, she noted.

"Well, you know I'm Freya," she said, giving him a smile. "It's nice to meet you. So nice to meet you. I'm so glad that Ella has someone. I always thought she would never fall in love."

Gladio smiled. "Well, I'm lucky to have her," he said fondly about her.

"Yeah, she's tamed the beast," said blondie, smirking at the tatted man.

"You wanna run that by me again?" Gladio's voice deepened to a threatening growl, letting go of Freya's hand to glare at the blond guy.

Blondie's grin widened. "You know what I said," he said teasingly. "I'm Prompto, by the way. Prompto Argentum. Nice to meet you. Ella told us good things about you."

Freya blushed, looking pleased. She could tell this would be the beginning of a great friendship.

…

Gladio was having a problem. Ever since Freya showed up, he was getting less time with Ella. He barely slept in her bed anymore since Freya was sleeping in that bed. Ella was working on making some additions to the house to make more room for everyone but they had to do it with the government's permission, which Gladio thought was bullshit. He didn't know how much he could take of Ignis bolting up in the middle of the shouting "That's it! I've come up with a new recipe!" anymore. He wanted to marry Ella but he didn't know how to go about it.

…

A few months later during winter, Freya and Ignis became great friends and made plans on helping Gladio propose to Ella. Freya told Ignis that their parents divorced when Ella was sixteen and it messed her up real good. She also told Ignis that Ella didn't really stay in long term relationships because she had walls around her heart that protected her. But they also kept out the love that she could give with abandon.

"How come she has been with Gladio this long if that's how she feels?" asked Ignis once Freya told the story.

"You see, Ella doesn't feel pressured because there's no big step that she sees in making," replied Freya. "She doesn't see a future in marriage. A few times when we were younger, she said 'what's the point of getting married if it never lasts'. She only saw it as a heartbreak."

Ignis nodded in understanding. "I see," he murmured, placing a hand to his chin. "How do you think Ella would react if Gladio proposed to her?"

"She'd probably have an anxiety attack," answered Freya honestly. "There's no doubt she loves Gladio. I've seen the way they are around each other. I think she wants to, in her heart of hearts, marry him but her fear outweighs her love. However, Gladio has proven again and again that he would never hurt or leave her."

"Does Gladio know about this?" asked Ignis, wondering about his friend.

"Judging by how he's acting around her," said Freya, "he doesn't. She probably didn't share it with him. That's the thing about her. She hates pity."

Ignis understood that. When he went blind, he was determined to not be pitied. He was so determined that he learned how to do everything again as quickly as possible. Monica taught him how to cook again and Cor taught him how to fight again. He learned how to read again with books that were made for blind people and basically got his life back. He coped with the blindness and pushed through it. He never wanted to be pitied, not once.

"Ignis?" Freya's voice got his attention again. "Are you okay? You zoned out a bit there."

"I'm fine, Freya," he said quietly, thinking back to the times he had difficulty sleeping because of the blindness. His brain couldn't differentiate when it was time to sleep because he was seeing black all the time.

"Is it about your eyes?" asked Freya, trying not to overstep. "What happened to them anyways?"

Ignis had to think back to when he was attacked during the Leviathan ceremony. "I was evacuating people from Altissia," he started, "and I was attacked by the soldiers from the Empire. It happened so fast. I threw my knives at them and they shot magic at me at the same time. The scarred eye that you can see was a result of them using my knives against me. The magic knocked them back and, as you say, the lights went out in that eye. The magic damaged my other eye and ever since, I haven't been able to see."

"Oh…" said Freya, feeling ashamed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I don't want you to relive horrible memories."

Ignis gave her a gentle smile. "It's alright, Freya," he said, reaching out to pat her hand. "It's made me stronger."

"Have you ever tried surgery?" asked Freya, curious once again. "I mean, in your world, surely there was some cure to blindness."

"Because I was blinded by magic, nothing can cure my vision," replied Ignis. "With help from Monica and Cor, I can see shapes and shadows when the light is good, but I will never fully see again."

"I see," remarked Freya, feeling awkward.

"However," said Ignis, lips quirking in a smile, "in my mind's eye, I can see you just as Ella described you. Middling in height, slender, fair-skinned, red-haired, cinnamon-colored eyes, beautiful."

Freya blushed as red as her hair and she bowed her head bashfully. "Stop," she said, placing a hand to her cheek, "you're making me blush."

Ignis's smile grew. "Good," he replied, placing a hand on her heated skin. "I wanted you to. If beauty were time, my dear, you'd be eternity."

Freya let out a little choked sound and she bit her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing nervously. She had been flirted with at college, but none of them made her feel the way Ignis did. She couldn't deny that he was attractive. His voice did things to her that he would never know. He was an excellent cook and a gentleman. She loved his hair and how he commanded respect in every word he said. His confidence and intelligence were very attractive and, to her, such a turn on.

"Am I making you uncomfortable, love?" he asked in the deep voice of his that she could feel in her core.

"N-no," she lied, her voice high in pitch.

A throaty chuckle came from Ignis as he stroked her cheek with his gentle fingers. "I may be blind, darling," he murmured, "but I'm not stupid. You're nervous. Your breathing has become quick, your skin is hot, and I can smell something…musky in the air."

Shit! Freya thought, knowing he was referring to her arousal at his touch. She heard that blindness could heighten senses, except sight, but she thought that was a myth. With his sense of smell, he could smell her arousal no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"Oh, dammit," she muttered, flushing harder than before. "Sorry, Ignis."

Ignis laughed, breaking the tension. "It's okay, Freya," he said, waving his hands carelessly. "I understand."

Before Ignis could say anything more, Freya launched herself at him and pressed her mouth to his, running her hands through his dark blonde hair. Ignis was surprised because he couldn't see that coming but he returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his hand on the small of her back. After a few seconds of the embrace, Ignis pulled back and stroked Freya's red face.

"That was nice," remarked Freya breathlessly, smiling at him.

"I concur," replied Ignis, brushing his lips against her cheek. "We should do it more often.

Freya's smile grew at that implication and she wrapped her arms around Ignis's waist. "I'd like that," she said softly.

Ignis chuckled and kissed her on the mouth again, feeling his heart flutter with a new feeling that he had never felt before. He didn't know if it was love but it felt pretty damned close and he liked it. He wanted to be with Freya because she made him feel alive and made him laugh. Even with his blindness, she loved him and he loved her. That was all there was to it. There was no logic in denying it, and so they wouldn't.