rookshire | Ashes to ashes, mountains will always need to be climbed

Ashes to ashes, mountains will always need to be climbed

Who: most everyone I think
Where: In the City and In the main hall
When: June 6-8 (waxing crescent and first day of half)
What: They've been in trouble on the hydration front. Time to fix that.
Warnings: none for now?

Ignis and Noctis were going to be heading into the city with a few others to help them collect canisters to store water in. Ardyn and Prompto would remain behind at the hospital to unload water stored in the armiger.

Beyond that people are free to pop in on either side to help with the water storage efforts.

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[This is what he'd been expecting every time he talked to Noctis. This is what he'd been berating himself for over and over again. This was the blame he knew he deserved...

From the wrong person and for all the wrong reasons.

At first Gladio flinches back, Ardyn's words striking a little too close to home. Fear of rejection? Of course. He'd had his position handed to him on a silver platter and he'd spent his entirely life desperately trying to be worthy of that title. It's why he'd faced Gilgamesh in the first place.

A title he now longer bore, officially dismissed from his duty to the Crown. Sacrificing all he'd fought his whole life for because of love. And now here was Ardyn throwing it back in his face.

A flinch that turns into a scowl, equal parts hurt and furious.]

You're the ones that keep telling me not to push and the one fucking thing I respect your boundaries on you call me a coward for?

[It takes him a moment to look away, to force his breath to even out and blink away tears. It takes every ounce of self control he has not to shout or cry or any other of a dozen explosive reactions but to instead stay put and grind out words.]

I have talked to Noct and I am continuously talking to Noct but you're not the only one that needs fucking time, you self centered ass.

He dismissed me. What part of that don't you get, Ardyn? I can't use his magic. I don't deserve that kind of trust from him and I've been trying to earn that trust from you for ages.

[It's a losing battle, swallowing hard, trying to keep going like there aren't tears in his eyes regardless of how pissed he is at Ardyn's callousness.]

I am a traitor. Too in love with you and Iggy to protect him and too devoted to him to deserve you. There's no way this goes without me betraying someone.

'Not pushing' and 'asking a simple question' aren't the same thing. I'm not made of porcelain and neither am I a feral daemon just yet; just asking how I felt about the idea of giving you the Armiger wouldn't have broken me or gotten you killed.

[Deep breath, slow exhale. He'd had a far easier time keeping the scourge in check as a human, but now when anger was practically his sole nature...it was so much more difficult. Even with the frustration restrained and his voice as even as possible, corruption still crept along his skin and up his throat.]

You're a damned fool, is what you are. For that matter, so am I. As is everyone else involved in this disaster. You're an idiot, I'm too broken to know what I'm meant to do, Noctis is unfortunately right to be even a fraction as infuriated as he is--honestly, I think Ignis and Prompto are the only sane people in this whole building.

...I know that no matter how this unfolds, someone's liable to be miserable. And I'm trying to actually give a damn about what an unmitigated disaster this is, but it's nigh impossible when that comes with the prerequisite of both understanding and caring about the first thing to do with mortal sentiment.

I can't...do this, Gladiolus. I simply can't, and no matter how much of an effort I make it's going to keep coming back to this.

Ardyn... Yeah it's a shit situation just like we always knew it would be but its a sacrifice we're willing to make to keep you in our lives and at our sides. You don't have to understand why or empathize with it or anything just acknowledge that it's what we want and what we're going to do.

[He sighs heavily, runs a hand through his hair, completely fucks up the braid Ignis had done for him last night and just yanks the tie out to loosen it all so he can shove his hand through it in annoyance.]

We might end up here a thousand more times but that doesn't make it worthless, babe. [Firm and unrepentant this time. Accept his terms of endearment just this once, you know he does it for a godsdamned reason.] It's what makes it worthwhile because it might be fucked up and hurtful but we're talking and that alone is getting somewhere. We wouldn't have had this conversation even a few months ago. So we might come back and have it again next week or next month or, fuck, tomorrow but I don't care.

I'd rather have this fight a million times than give you up. So yeah, Noct is pissed and upset as he has every right to be and yeah you're an ass sometimes but so am I and the only way to work through it is to talk about it. We might have this conversation again but I'm also going to rehash the same shit with Noct again and again until he can get it too. It's what you do when you care about people. You stick around through the hard shit and find ways to compromise until you can make it work.

If that makes me a stubborn idiot? [Stubborn enough to shimmy closer despite the annoyance radiating off Ardyn and lean in in a clear request for a hug.] So be it.

[Ardyn didn’t accept so much as he simply gave out and crumpled against Gladio—feverish, unsteady, and in no state to do much else.]

...I’ve been tolerating it the best I can. ‘Care’ is a bit of a strong word for me...but I don’t hate Ignis and perhaps I hate you slightly less. That’s the only compromise I can readily offer.

[Ardyn slumps against him and Gladio is right there to wrap an arm around him, trying to keep him comfortable and supporting him as much as he can.]

And that's fine... but I care about you.

[A gentle squeeze, a low rumble of warning as he bumps his forehead gently against Ardyn's head, a light nuzzle.]

Which means, because I care, I want to help.

You’re a fool with terrible taste and worse judgement.

[Ardyn coughed into his hand again, a broken-off attempt at a laugh.]

Don’t tell him. I really will kill you if he finds out how dire it actually seems. Say to me that you won’t, and I’ll lend you my power.

We knew that.

[That part was established a long time ago, Ardyn. But he does nod, voice soft and as reassuring as he can be.]

I'll just tell him the truth. It was the only way for you to get me to shut up and stop fussing.

[He doesn't like lying, especially to Ignis, but if he phrases it casually enough he's confident Ignis won't go looking for a lie. That's the best he can offer.]

...true enough. You can even tell him I didn’t complain for an hour first.

[That time he managed a brief laugh, resting a hand on Gladio’s arm. It took a few tries, like a lighter that couldn’t quite catch flame—but after a moment the familiar spark of magic lit up between them—the same as Noctis’, and yet somehow just subtly different.]

Nah, just half an hour.

[A brief chuckle, amused despite his concern. He does suck in a breath when the magic flickers to life between them, though, something that feels so familiar and yet so different. It's been so long since he's had the magic at hand like this. Almost the entire time on the island and even though it was there he'd locked it down, muffled and ignored when there was no King to accompany it.

He rubs his fingertips together, a weak and unstable little crackle of electricity sparking but even for as unsteady as things are because of the moon phase it's sad. He's never been good at the magic, not like Ignis.]

Thank you, Ardyn.

Don’t ruin the moment by being sentimental, I can probably still punch you.

[ That actually makes him snort-laugh, the kind where stifling the laugh just does not work. ]

I'm always sentimental. Jerk.

You should know better by now. I despise sentiment and avoid it wherever possible. It’s simple logic to avoid making the same mistake twice.

[ardyn, pls.]

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Ashes to ashes, mountains will always need to be climbed

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