Chapter Text
“You’re sure that you don’t mind?” Iris Amicitia inquired with an attenuate frown as she propped an elbow atop the old, timeworm railing that enclosed the modest front porch of the only house occupying Cape Caem. Nestling her chin into the palm of her hand, she glanced down the bridge of her nose at you before pushing out a sigh through her nostrils when you didn’t answer right away. “(Y/N)...” she whined, right foot catching the planks with a creak of protest as she stomped in apprehension and unease.
“Yes, Iris… I’m sure that I don’t mind. Okay?” From your seated position on the porch’s timbered stairs, you turned your head and craned your chin to meet the girl’s troubled gaze. Her dark eyes housed more than just a worry for your opinion — they also housed a subtle, lingering sense of disappointment alongside an apology that she didn’t need to vocalize for you to understand.
She felt bad about changing the plans.
After everything that had happened — Niflheim’s invasion of the Crown City, citizens fleeing the clutch of the Imperial Army and migrating to Lestallum to seek refuge, Jared Hester’s death at the hands of General Caligo and the extemporized decision to further avoid bloodshed by fleeing to the Cape Caem outpost — it was, without a shadow of a doubt, safe to say that a brief recess from the calamity was in order. Though Cape Caem was calm and relaxing with it’s salty mists and constant sunshine, you and Iris wanted a taste of something… more. You wanted more sunshine, more salty mists. You wanted seagulls, you wanted fish. You wanted to curl your painted toes into warm, white mounds of shoreline sand and you wanted to bask on a beach towel beneath the blazing, garish Eos sun until the palm trees cast evening shadows across your skin.
You wanted to go to Galdin Quay.
You and Iris hadn’t been since you were kids, but at this point in time, it seemed like the only place in Eos that offered the kind of escape that you were looking for. Between the two of you, you had enough gil to stay at The Quayside Cradle for two nights and then the beachside rental caravan for another two nights — not to mention plenty of risotto, steamed crab and cooked fish at the diner throughout.
It was the perfect getaway. It was a deserved getaway — more so for Iris than it was for you. She’d suffered at the hands of the Imperial Army far more than you had, and you wanted nothing more than to relieve that suffering with something that would, undoubtedly, cheer her up. Based on the conversations and the planning that the two of you indulged in, she was cheered. In fact, she couldn’t have been more excited about the trip. She’d even gone so far as to make a day-to-day itinerary to ensure that everything about Galdin Quay was taken advantage of, and that couldn’t have thrilled you any more than it already had.
This was going to be perfect!
It wasn’t until the night before departure, however, that your plans had changed. Just as you’d finished packing and securing your travel bags, Iris had come to your bedroom wearing an expression of only the utmost guilt. After an unsettling amount of averted gazes, shifting weight and saddened sighs, she’d finally declared that it wouldn’t just be the two of you vacationing out to Galdin Quay in the morning.
“Gladio’s coming with us,” she had said. “Gladio, and… well, the others. I’ve invited them all along. They’re picking us up in the morning, and we’re riding with them down to Galdin.”
You weren’t as upset at the announcement as you’d have liked to be. Though this vacation was crafted for the sole purpose of making Iris happy, you couldn’t truly say that the additional party members would act against that. Iris was always cheerful in the company of her older brother, though Noctis… No amount of spoiling would surpass the elation that she felt when she was around the Crown Prince of Lucis. You may have been her best friend, but Noctis Caelum was… well, Noctis Caelum. You’d had your sneaking suspicions that the only reason she’d extended the invitation to them was in hopes of him coming along, though even so, you had no real room to complain. If that’s what Iris wanted to do, then that’s what would happen. It did, however, disappoint you a little bit — it had been planned, originally, as a girl’s getaway. Now, with four males being added to the equation, there was no telling how off-course the itinerary would go.
Would you even get to spend time with Iris? Would this vacation still be just as fun as you’d intended for it to be with the others there?
Despite this disappointment, however, you’d assured Iris that you didn’t mind the addition. A vacation was a vacation, wasn’t it? There were still plenty of ways for you to enjoy yourself, even it it was by yourself. Even if she’d dedicated most of her time clinging to the Prince’s arm, you could still follow the itinerary.
Couldn’t you?
It had appeared, of course, that a good night’s sleep hadn’t done Iris any good as far as assurances went. As the two of you waited outside of the house in Cape Caem the following morning, she wanted — no, needed — more than just a “I don’t mind” from you in order to put her mind at ease.
“You keep saying that, but —"
“I promise that I don’t mind!” You pledged, adding just the right amount of emphasis and assertion to your tone to seem convincing. “Really. I don’t. We can still do everything that we planned to do with them there. Who knows…” you trailed off, the humbling purr of an engine nearing the peninsula from somewhere in the distance. “It may even be more fun with them there. More people, more entertainment. Right?”
“Right!” Came the younger Amicitia from the porch, all worry and uncertainty in her tone of voice instantaneously replaced with excitement, warmth and complete relief. “I was hoping that you’d see it that way! Maybe they’ll even pitch in for staying at the Cradle for all four nights rather than just our planned two… Because, I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to stay in that rental caravan…”
You couldn’t help but grin. The fact that you were — seemingly — on board with Iris’s change of plans had really upped her spirit. In truth, you really should give it the benefit of the doubt… It wasn’t the most awful of plans, after all. If you were to think positively on the situation, it was probably for the best… Though you and Iris had been practically inseparable since childhood, there were still instances, though rare, where frequent, continual doses of one another had a tendency of making you disfavor the other’s company. If something like that were to happen out in Galdin Quay, it’d undoubtedly soil the vacation and likely end it earlier than anticipated. With the guys, however, the risk wasn’t nearly as great.
Perhaps this method was safer...
“Oh!” The brunette suddenly exclaimed from your right, and judging by the dainty thumps against the porch’s creaking wood, she was jumping to get a better view of the humming engine that now settled into the parking lot at the base of Cape Caem’s declivitous hill. “They’re here! C’mon, let’s go!”
Bending to scoop up her two beach bags, Iris hoisted both of them onto her shoulders before leaping from the porch’s steps and landing clumsily in the sandy walkway. “You shouldn’t have packed your entire wardrobe,” you playfully scolded, rising from your position on the porch’s lower stair before hoisting your own two bags onto your shoulders.
“I didn’t,” she grunted, adjusting her straps accordingly until the weight of them were comfortably distributed and she no longer wobbled or hunched when she walked. “I just…” another grunt, “... packed the bare necessities…”
“Which, in Iris speak, is… what? Everything?” You teased, quickening your pace only briefly until the two of you trudged down the sabulous hill side-by-side — each of your sandals quickly filling with granular sand and wedging uncomfortably between your toes as you fought to maintain proper posture.
By the time the guys and the Regalia — Gods, the Regalia — came into view, Prompto — dressed in a pair of sea-blue swim trunks, a white halter-top and a pair of beige beach sandals of his own — quickly lunged from his lounged position against the car’s passenger door and rushed straight for you and Iris.
“Whoa, whoa! Hey!” He called out, right hand immediately going for one of the bags on your shoulders before curling his fingers around the strap and hoisting it down your arm. “What all — Etro, what all did you pack? It feels like there's nothing but rocks in here!”
“It’s not rocks!" You countered. "It’s… beachwear. Clothes, towels, shoes, toiletries. Enough for five days.”
“Girl’s got to pack what a girl’s got to pack,” Iris chimed in, hoisting her own bags from her shoulders and handing them off to Gladio — who’d quickly left his position against the Regalia, as well, to assist in collecting luggage.
“We’ll be lucky to fit these in the trunk…” he muttered, the deep, resonating rumble of his voice snaring your attention and drawing your gaze to the inked wings that sleeved both of his flexing arms as he effortlessly carried Iris’s bags towards the back of the Regalia. Much to your surprise, he wasn’t shirtless — rather, he was clad in his own pair of crimson-red swim trunks accompanied with a black halter-top and black sandals.
“Yeah, well,” came Prompto, taking your second bag from you before pulling his mouth back in the usual, puckish schoolboy grin before carrying both totes back to the Regalia. “We’ll make ‘em fit. Even if we have to hold them.”
Over in the Northeast end of the parking lot, Prince Noctis and Ignis were standing side-by-side in front of the truckside shop — perusing its contents and chatting idly with the attendant. As to be expected, the Prince was clad in all black from head-to-toe — black shorts, black halter top and black sandals while Ignis sported something a little more… bright, in shades of forest green and off-white. They both looked ready for the beach, though Noctis’s usual and customary posture and facial expression said otherwise.
At that moment, he’d turned his head — glacial blues peering through stray locks of raven-black to meet your curious stare. Even from across the parking lot, you could tell that they were unblinking — the stark contrast of them against his hair solid and steady as they held your gaze for several long, drawn-out moments before Iris suddenly exclaimed from your side.
“Hey, Noctis!”
He blinked then, angling his head a fraction to catch Iris’s bright, joyful gaze as she waved an arm back and forth in greeting. The corner of his mouth lifted, and stiffly, he untucked one of his hands from his crossed arms and held up several splayed fingers in a stationary wave. By that time, Ignis had generously paid the attendant for their purchase, and after fitting everything inside of a single brown paper bag, the two had turned their backs to the roadside shop and casually made their way back toward everyone else.
“They have a shop in Galdin, y’know,” Prompto pointed out, his body bent and forearms stretched across the luggage lining the trunk of the Regalia and using his upper-body to press down in an attempt to securely fit everything. The boys only brought a grand total of four bags — one belonging to each — though with the addition of you and Iris’s, it was a… near-impossible fit, though the golden-haired sharpshooter was dedicated to making it work.
“If you hadn’t paid any mind, Prompto, you’d know that the shop in Galdin is considerably more expensive than the one here in Caem,” Ignis countered, pushing his spectacles further up the bridge of his nose with one hand while the other cradled the paperbag of supplies. “I, unlike you, am fond of saving gil anywhere that I can. Given that we’ll likely be spending a great deal of it throughout the course of the week, it’s best that we take the initiative of saving pre-arrival.”
“Good thinking, Iggy.” Taking several long, solid strides around the parked Regalia, whose trunk was still open with a still-struggling Prompto, Gladio generously took the bag of supplies from Ignis’s grasp. “We’ll have to put these on the floorboard,” he said. “There’s no more room in the trunk, and —”
“— and we have two additional passengers that likely won’t fit, either.” Ignis affirmed, the pale green of his eyes squinting against the morning sunlight to coolly regard you and Iris.
“I can fit in the middle,” she said, a hand shooting skyward as if to say 'pick me! ’
A sense of unease quickly clutched at your nerves. If there wasn’t any room left in the Regalia for you, how were you supposed to ride with them? There was a chocobo-rental machine in Caem, and if push came to shove, you could easily rent one for the —
“She’ll fit,” Gladio husked, the rich amber of his eyes clearing the parking lot to catch your worried gaze. “She can sit on my lap, if she has to. The drive isn’t that far… An hour, at most. With the top down, there’ll be plenty of room. Don’t worry.”
An entirely new sense of unease came over you. You’d known Gladio for as long as you’d known Iris — it wasn’t as if the thought of sitting on his lap disturbed you. In fact, it was the complete opposite. It was the thought of sitting on his lap for an hour that disturbed you, positioning yourself just right in order to use the back dash of the Regalia as leverage with every dip, curve and turn of the steep, southern Eos roads.
Great.
“There! Done!” Triumphantly, Prompto grasped the Regalia’s trunk lid with both hands before closing it smoothly — the luggage within securely and successfully tucked into the hollow crevice. “We’re good to go, baby!”
“Excellent. Let us be on with it, then. We have quite the scenic drive ahead of us.” Ignis declared, crossing the crunchy gravel of the parking lot to the driver’s seat. Prompto, after dusting off the palms of his hands, corned the back end of the car in a sprint to head for the passenger seat while Noctis, Iris and Gladio settled comfortably into their usual positions in the backseat. Even with all three of them seated side-by-side, the fit was snug… Even with sitting on Gladio’s lap, your legs would tangle uncomfortably with everyone else’s...
Not like you had much choice in the matter.
With a soft clear of your throat, you approached the side of the vehicle and stood beside the open suicide-door and Gladio’s right arm lifted and outstretched in invitation. “We’ll make it work, (Y/N),” he assured, waving for you with his hand. “If it’s gets too uncomfortable, there’s a few rest areas on the way. If we need to, we can stop and stretch our legs.”
“I think I’ll be fine! It’s not that far of a drive, after all.”
Swallowing hard, you reached forward — right hand on the headrest of Prompto’s seat and left hand on the torrid swell of Gladio’s shoulder. With timed, careful movements of your arms and legs, you’d managed to climb your way into the backseat and, after several position adjustments, you finally took to settling yourself atop Gladio’s lap. All too quickly, you came to find that there was absolutely no room for your feet… The combination of Noctis, Iris and Gladio’s legs filling the space had left you no other choice but to stretch your own across the laps of both Iris and Noctis.
Oh, God, I’m practically sitting on everyone…
Iris didn’t seem to mind. Her petite stature wedged between Gladio and Noctis had practically melted her into the Regalia and the weight of your calves rested on nothing but air, though Noctis… It was hard to tell whether he minded or not. Only your feet — clad in cute beach sandals — rested in his lap, though not once did he take an interest in it. Once settling yourself, he’d shifted in his seat — pushing out of a sigh (of disbelief? ) before propping an elbow onto the Regalia’s door panel and dropping his chin into his palm to take in the scenery of Cape Caem’s parking lot. Beneath your ankles, however, he felt stiff… Like he was afraid to just relax and risk the full pressure of your feet against his thigh.
The moment that Ignis turned over the Regalia and accelerated out of the parking lot, you froze — body yielding against the sway of the car so as to not rock against Gladio. Immediately, he had taken notice — his brute stature rocking with the tremors of a deep, hearty chuckle as the salty breeze of the ocean began to affectionately sift through everyone’s hair as Ignis picked up speed. “Relaaax, (Y/N). The ride’ll be uncomfortable if you stay tense the entire time… Take it easy. You aren’t bothering anyone.”
Pushing out a breath that you didn’t know you were holding, you relaxed, sinking into the muscles of Gladio beneath you as the car disappeared into the tunnel just east of Cape Caem. Darkness enveloped the six of you before beams of gold whizzed past, the lights that lined the tunnel's ceiling providing just enough light to soothe any possible unease with the presence of daemons.
Inhaling deeply through your nose, you closed your eyes — the sounds of spinning tires against the blacktop filling your ears along with the distant rumble of the Regalia reverberating off of the tunnel walls. It was… pleasant; relaxing. The smell of salt wasn’t as potent the further you drove away from Caem, but the damp, earthen musk that lingered in the tunnel was just as refreshing. Upon your exhale, you slowly opened your eyes…
… to the Crown Prince looking right at you.
Beneath the dark, swaying curtains of his wind-tousled hair, the cold, frigid blue of those bright irises shone through. His expression was blank — just as blank as it had been back in the parking lot — though rather than chalking it up to an accidental glance, he didn’t look away…
Once your eyes had caught his, he held them.
And so did you.