Gladio does, in fact, have a face (and a nose, mouth, eyes, and a body that’s just as human as Noctis is), but considering that most of the time it’s being used to glower, Noctis thinks he prefers Gladio as a shield.
They are compatible, just as King Regis and the Weapons Master predicted, but not - all of the time. Even as Noctis stretches his way into fifteen, stumbling tall and awkward like a spiracorn finding its feet, Gladio’s shield is too cumbersome to wield. Gladio’s human form is built like a wall, all six foot six inches of it, and his eyes are the amber fire and his back is embraced by the eagle that decorates his shield. He is, in every way possible, Noctis’ Sworn Shield, which means he’s as stubborn as hell and hits like a truck.
He can be funny, too, in a casual sort of way as though making other people laugh comes naturally to him. People revolve around him; he’s friendly with everybody. He’s one of those people who remembers pointless tidbits of information and keeps a calendar of birthdays in his head, and Noctis hates that he has to earn Gladio’s smile when everybody else seems to get it for free.
Noctis respects Gladio just as much as he wants to warp over and smash his stupid smug smile from his stupid gorgeous face. Except he can’t, because warping is impossible and Gladio would probably punch him in the same way he once punched the paparazzi for yanking Noctis’ coat - which had been amazing, yeah, but definitely hadn’t helped Noctis get over his silly crush.
What’s worse is that he’s not just crushing on Gladio; he’s completely enchanted by another Daemon Weapon too. Ignis has been something of a constant even in Noctis’ early life, a little shadow behind the councilmen and occasionally a fellow student under a tutor’s watchful eye. Noctis has always known that Ignis is a Weapon, but he had never thought much of it until after he was introduced to Gladio and was thrust head-first into the responsibilities and life of a Meister. It is only once Noctis attends the local school and realises that noble children across the city - those more likely to be born as a Meister or Weapon, those taught how to adapt to this dangerous lifestyle - are beginning to bond with one another, that he wonders who Ignis was paired with.
It takes a few months for Noctis to pluck up the courage and ask - months during which he stalks Ignis so badly that Gladio eventually hauls him down to the Crownsguard barracks and dumps him onto a Kingsglaive-in-training by the name of Nyx with instructions not to return him until he can sneak around properly, please, he’s an embarrassment. Noctis has to wonder if all Weapons in the citadel know each other, for Nyx laughs when Gladio explains that Ignis is the unlucky target of Noctis’ infatuation; Noctis protest that he isn’t infatuated with anybody (debatable), but Nyx simply clamps him on the shoulder with a smile.
“Ignis is pretty mean with a pair of daggers,” he explains, winking at the mortified Prince. “If your stealth is as bad as Gladio says it is, you’re lucky not to have lost your nose.”
Noctis shakes Nyx’s hand away, unsettled by the fact that somebody can be as touchy-feely as Gladio, but grudgingly accepting the training. Nyx takes it in stride, maintaining a respectable distance after that, and while the weeks that follow not only boost Noctis’ confidence about approaching Ignis as well as teaching him valuable survival skills, it does leave him wishing that Nyx, too, would agree to bond as one of his Weapons.
“I can’t. Kingsglaive-in-training, remember? You’ll have your own Kingsglaive one day - and hey, if I live that long, then I’ll be sworn to you too,” Nyx says.
That does little to reassure Noctis. “You sure?”
“Sorry kiddo,” Nyx says, the apology genuine and the nickname an apparent compromise to Noctis’ reservations about touch. It’s not that Noctis doesn’t mind Gladio or Nyx being physically affectionate, not really, it’s just something he’s not used to. He’s never told Gladio overwise because Noctis handles him all of the time when he’s a shield, so it’s only fair, really. Nyx is different because they’re Nyx (and not, as Noctis had assumed, a he); they aren’t bonded to Noctis or even technically in his service, and their refusal to bond stings more than Noctis thought it would.
Ignis, on the other hand, turns out not to be partnered with anybody. When asked why not, he adopts a quiet that has Noctis squirming where he stands, a blush crawling up his neck as Ignis considers him over the thick frames of his glasses.
“We could bond,” Noctis blurts, still an awkward teenager no matter how adept he is at sneaking out of the citadel now. (Gladio will come to regret Noctis’ improved stealth - teenage and difficult to track is a combination that spells trouble, but Nyx will get a kick out of it).
“Are you certain?” Ignis asks, clutching a clipboard as though he might whack Noctis with it at any second. Noctis wonders if this means that Meisters hounding Weapons to bond with them is something that does happen, and not merely behaviour that his father warned him from doing.
More carefully now, he continues: “I want to - but only if you want to. We’re probably compatible, right? What’s your form? As long as you’re not a shield, I think we’re gonna be good.”
“I am a lance,” Ignis replies, looking faintly bemused, and Noctis almost punches the air.
Almost, because he realises that Ignis is evading the crucial question. “Err, wait - does that mean you want to give it a go?”
Ignis inclines his head, more like a hawk than a puppy. “I would not be opposed to giving it a go, as you put it, no,” he replies, only to mirror Noctis’ earlier blush at the Prince’s blank look. “I apologise, I did not mean - I mean, yes, Your Highness. I would be honoured to partner with you.”
Ignis smiles, and this is the moment that Noctis realises he’s fucked.
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timeasmymeasure
[FILL] Re: Any pairing or gen, the bros are Noct's weapons (2/?)
Date: 2017-02-15 06:53 pm (UTC)They are compatible, just as King Regis and the Weapons Master predicted, but not - all of the time. Even as Noctis stretches his way into fifteen, stumbling tall and awkward like a spiracorn finding its feet, Gladio’s shield is too cumbersome to wield. Gladio’s human form is built like a wall, all six foot six inches of it, and his eyes are the amber fire and his back is embraced by the eagle that decorates his shield. He is, in every way possible, Noctis’ Sworn Shield, which means he’s as stubborn as hell and hits like a truck.
He can be funny, too, in a casual sort of way as though making other people laugh comes naturally to him. People revolve around him; he’s friendly with everybody. He’s one of those people who remembers pointless tidbits of information and keeps a calendar of birthdays in his head, and Noctis hates that he has to earn Gladio’s smile when everybody else seems to get it for free.
Noctis respects Gladio just as much as he wants to warp over and smash his stupid smug smile from his stupid gorgeous face. Except he can’t, because warping is impossible and Gladio would probably punch him in the same way he once punched the paparazzi for yanking Noctis’ coat - which had been amazing, yeah, but definitely hadn’t helped Noctis get over his silly crush.
What’s worse is that he’s not just crushing on Gladio; he’s completely enchanted by another Daemon Weapon too. Ignis has been something of a constant even in Noctis’ early life, a little shadow behind the councilmen and occasionally a fellow student under a tutor’s watchful eye. Noctis has always known that Ignis is a Weapon, but he had never thought much of it until after he was introduced to Gladio and was thrust head-first into the responsibilities and life of a Meister. It is only once Noctis attends the local school and realises that noble children across the city - those more likely to be born as a Meister or Weapon, those taught how to adapt to this dangerous lifestyle - are beginning to bond with one another, that he wonders who Ignis was paired with.
It takes a few months for Noctis to pluck up the courage and ask - months during which he stalks Ignis so badly that Gladio eventually hauls him down to the Crownsguard barracks and dumps him onto a Kingsglaive-in-training by the name of Nyx with instructions not to return him until he can sneak around properly, please, he’s an embarrassment. Noctis has to wonder if all Weapons in the citadel know each other, for Nyx laughs when Gladio explains that Ignis is the unlucky target of Noctis’ infatuation; Noctis protest that he isn’t infatuated with anybody (debatable), but Nyx simply clamps him on the shoulder with a smile.
“Ignis is pretty mean with a pair of daggers,” he explains, winking at the mortified Prince. “If your stealth is as bad as Gladio says it is, you’re lucky not to have lost your nose.”
Noctis shakes Nyx’s hand away, unsettled by the fact that somebody can be as touchy-feely as Gladio, but grudgingly accepting the training. Nyx takes it in stride, maintaining a respectable distance after that, and while the weeks that follow not only boost Noctis’ confidence about approaching Ignis as well as teaching him valuable survival skills, it does leave him wishing that Nyx, too, would agree to bond as one of his Weapons.
“I can’t. Kingsglaive-in-training, remember? You’ll have your own Kingsglaive one day - and hey, if I live that long, then I’ll be sworn to you too,” Nyx says.
That does little to reassure Noctis. “You sure?”
“Sorry kiddo,” Nyx says, the apology genuine and the nickname an apparent compromise to Noctis’ reservations about touch. It’s not that Noctis doesn’t mind Gladio or Nyx being physically affectionate, not really, it’s just something he’s not used to. He’s never told Gladio overwise because Noctis handles him all of the time when he’s a shield, so it’s only fair, really. Nyx is different because they’re Nyx (and not, as Noctis had assumed, a he); they aren’t bonded to Noctis or even technically in his service, and their refusal to bond stings more than Noctis thought it would.
Ignis, on the other hand, turns out not to be partnered with anybody. When asked why not, he adopts a quiet that has Noctis squirming where he stands, a blush crawling up his neck as Ignis considers him over the thick frames of his glasses.
“We could bond,” Noctis blurts, still an awkward teenager no matter how adept he is at sneaking out of the citadel now. (Gladio will come to regret Noctis’ improved stealth - teenage and difficult to track is a combination that spells trouble, but Nyx will get a kick out of it).
“Are you certain?” Ignis asks, clutching a clipboard as though he might whack Noctis with it at any second. Noctis wonders if this means that Meisters hounding Weapons to bond with them is something that does happen, and not merely behaviour that his father warned him from doing.
More carefully now, he continues: “I want to - but only if you want to. We’re probably compatible, right? What’s your form? As long as you’re not a shield, I think we’re gonna be good.”
“I am a lance,” Ignis replies, looking faintly bemused, and Noctis almost punches the air.
Almost, because he realises that Ignis is evading the crucial question. “Err, wait - does that mean you want to give it a go?”
Ignis inclines his head, more like a hawk than a puppy. “I would not be opposed to giving it a go, as you put it, no,” he replies, only to mirror Noctis’ earlier blush at the Prince’s blank look. “I apologise, I did not mean - I mean, yes, Your Highness. I would be honoured to partner with you.”
Ignis smiles, and this is the moment that Noctis realises he’s fucked.
-xv-