Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Leaving Lestallum had come suddenly: whisked away upon the next leg of their journey, Gladio regretted not being able to give Iris a head's up at all, never mind a proper goodbye. Worse, he felt guilty he hadn't even the time to feel that regret until their group had split up at Coernix and Gladio's attention was finally solely away from Noctis. 

He couldn't risk a phone call, given Ardyn’s potential of eavesdropping - Gladio had the distinct feeling he didn't want Ardyn even guessing at his sister's existence - so the first thing Gladio did upon settling into his chair outside the caravan was to shoot Iris a text, apologising for the sudden departure and letting her know they were all ok.

She'd replied immediately, characteristically light-hearted (given it had only been a few hours, she hadn't even suspected they'd left), but not without a subtle dig at how they couldn't be ok with Noct's headaches being what they were. Gladio smiled to himself before replying they were actually on a lead to fix that problem right now - though he didn't give any details - and that seemed to be enough to satisfy his little sister’s worry. They exchanged a couple more easygoing texts after that before saying bye, and by the time Gladio had relaxed and pulled a book out of the Armiger to help pass the time while Ignis cooked, Noctis and Prompto had returned from their trip to the mart. 

Gladio didn't have much opportunity to focus on his own book, however, once he realised Noctis' intentions to read through the book Gladio had gifted him. Chatting with Iris had left Gladio with a calming buzz, but that didn't prevent him from surreptitiously watching Noctis' reactions to the material - he was pleased the younger man had taken his advice on board and was seriously studying up on secondary presentations, but Gladio was also quietly nervous to see what exactly Noctis' subsequent choices would be: exactly how far was Noctis prepared to go, with Gladio, when it came to hiding his omega gender?

When Noctis' cheeks became visibly flushed and his eyes lost their focus (all intensely fizzing lemonade scents aside), Gladio knew his Prince well enough to know the information which had been hinted at in the car had been found and was currently being digested - now was the time to gently coax Noctis back to the present, before he got too flustered to think straight and stop himself from thinking rationally on the matter at all. 

“Hey, you ok, Noct?” Gladio gently tipped the textbook downwards, out of Noctis' direct line of sight. 

“Y- yeah,” Noctis stuttered breathlessly, azure eyes meeting Gladio's amber in a half-lidded daze. He blinked hurriedly (heart-wrenchingly adorably) before sheepishly looking away again, “Maybe I should give the studying a rest, huh.”

Gladio had to really wrestle with himself to remain relaxed - especially with Prompto sitting just opposite - and stop himself from reaching out and cupping Noctis' cheek in one hand, from softly caressing that flushed skin with his thumb. 

“Prolly a good idea,” Prompto smiled gently - giving Gladio the moment he needed to steady himself, allowing him to pull his lips into a smile of his own. 

“You manage to find what you were looking for though?” Gladio carefully probed, leaning back in his chair to physically move himself away from the desire to reach up and touch Noctis. 

“Mm,” Noctis closed his eyes with a sigh, possibly disappointed at what he'd just learnt. “We’ve still got our talk together later, right?” he cracked open one eye to peer at Gladio, looking somewhat resigned through his embarrassment. “I er... I think I figured out some stuff.”

“Yeah,” Gladio couldn't help smiling deeper, inwardly berating himself for still finding Noctis cute despite its inappropriateness - even worse, for a spark in his chest igniting at the prospect of what Noctis might suggest during their private talk. “Next chance we get,” he nodded, hoping he could keep up the professional mask no matter what things may be thrown his way, whenever that might be.

The opportunity for their conversation came sooner than expected, with Ardyn conveniently stating he'd be out of the way for a full hour. Noctis was last to hit the shower, giving Gladio the chance to create the perfect opening: he didn't have the nerve to outright tell Ignis and Prompto to give he and Noctis space - wasn't sure if he even had the nerve yet to bring up the matter directly with the man himself - so settled on planting the seed in Iggy's mind that their group could do with a more detailed supplies run before they headed for the Disc anew… If Ignis decided to visit the mart, and took Prompto with him, then Gladio would take that as a sign not to wuss out and to get the conversation with Noctis over and done with. 

Ignis not only reassured Gladio he'd already had it in mind to go back - he was well aware while buying breakfast ingredients a return trip was necessary, mainly for energy drinks and the like for Noctis to create healing items from - but that it'd be appreciated if Gladio could keep an eye on Noctis until he and Prompto returned. 

So that settled things.

It gave Gladio the duration of Noctis' shower to try and settle his feelings, too… Which turned out to be even more difficult than anticipated.

At least Gladio could rely on the fact their respective stations meant Noctis was always the one who had the right to resolve any major decisions: Gladio could subtly bring it up - mention the fact they now had a ‘breather’ together - then let himself ramble until either Noctis stopped him or time ran out and they were forced to regroup with the others again.

“Hey,” Noctis finally interrupted Gladio's monologue, his voice deeper than usual and making Gladio's spine tingle. “Ardyn’s not what I wanna talk about right now.”

Gladio looked across, unsure if he felt more relieved or nervous, and met Noctis' gaze; a similar faintly anxious expression looked back at him - teasingly cute, a touch of pink to Noctis’ cheeks hinting at what was possibly to come - and Gladio felt his insides soften at the reminder of how much he loved this man. The accompanying lemon scent - popping bubbles, deliciously sweet - was a confirmation of Noctis’ embarrassment, meaning Gladio probably needed to pull himself together if he was going to get through this without Noctis realising Gladio's true feelings and becoming uncomfortable as a result.

“Yeah, I know,” Gladio murmured, quietly quashing his flailing emotions. “Whenever you're ready, I'm ready to listen,” he stated, reaffirming out loud his role as the King's Shield (and not as a hapless fool in love). 

Surprisingly, Noctis came straight out with saying he’d read the chapter on scent marking. Without much prodding on Gladio's part, Noctis continued to explain his thoughts on the matter in a fairly pragmatic manner. If it weren't for the sherbet lemon fizzing around them, Gladio may not have noticed the extent of Noctis' discomfort at all - it just went to show how his liege really didn't see Gladio as a potential love interest, to be able to articulate his thoughts so easily. Any embarrassment was purely because they were talking about sexual things themselves, rather than because said things were to be done with Gladio in particular. 

“It's my job to protect you - to do whatever it takes,” Gladio muttered, more to himself as a way of berating his heart, while forcing himself to move closer into Noctis’ personal space - forcing himself to acknowledge he shouldn't have any secret hopes. “I’m not ashamed of it, so you shouldn't be either; we both know it's all just meaningless,” he added, the pain of his own words cutting sweetly into his chest like the piercing trill of a songbird's note: too high and too sharp to be pleasant, even though Gladio knew it should've been a comfort.

Their conversation somehow continued to flow naturally - with Gladio forcing a nonchalance and brashness befitting of his reputation (and his associated motto, ‘it's just sex’) - the only stumbling block being Noctis’ admission that, despite the two of them doing the same things to each other being his main saving grace, he couldn't help feeling discouraged knowing everything was actually for his sake only.

“You can at least go along with pretending what we have is mutual, can't you?” Noctis asked, his lemonade delicately sparkling with a saccharine glow, setting the back of Gladio's neck alight with pleasurable tingles.

“Mutual, huh?” Gladio whispered, subtly breathing that fragrance in, carefully twisting his palm and lacing their fingers together, unable to help shamelessly holding Noctis' hand properly. “Yeah, I can pretend that,” he imagined Noctis to be alluding to feelings which mirrored his own, rather than the reason behind their sexual intimacy being necessary. “No problem.”

Astrals, he was such an idiot: he would be better off just getting rid of his one-sided feelings altogether instead of allowing himself such stupid fantasies of a mutual love. Noctis had already made it abundantly clear, multiple times, he had zero interest in Gladio in that way - and to say such a thing as an omega, with irregular heats which were a danger to their group's journey, when any simpleton could see that the easiest answer to their predicament would be for Gladio (not only as an alpha but as the king's Shield) to bond him… Well, that just spoke volumes in Noctis' aversion to Gladio in a romantic sense: he couldn't bring himself to entertain the possibility even as a hypothetical. 

Gladio supposed this was what had Noctis acting so testily just before they'd left Lestallum: he must've seen something in the textbook when flicking through it in the hotel room that morning and realised that this whole sex scenting business could've been done at the same time as Gladio helping him out with his heat; if Gladio had cum beside Noctis that night, it would've effectively killed two birds with one stone and reduced the need for the two of them to be intimate by the count of one. It was no surprise Noctis had been annoyed then - it just proved how much he didn't want to be in this situation with Gladio.

“We'll start with the usual, yeah?” Gladio stated while internally sighing, wrenching his mask of detachment back on and gently guiding Noctis into a one-armed embrace. “I'm not gonna just jump into it,” he finally allowed his pinewood - which had been battling to escape with every whiff of sweet citrus - to carefully seep into the room.

Honestly, he needed to stop thinking so hard: sure, he needed to treat sex scenting Noctis as something methodical rather than romantic, but that didn't mean he couldn't allow himself to enjoy the moment. It was ‘just sex’ after all. It shouldn't need to be such a big deal.

Noctis clearly wanted to ensure it wasn't; there wasn't any room for misunderstandings.

“You're mine,” Gladio murmured into his liege's ear, letting his alpha instincts flood through him and envelop the younger man in his possessiveness; Noctis arched his back with a satisfying hitch of breath, muffled by the action of biting his lip - the image was so impossibly sexy, Gladio couldn't help but grab Noctis closer by the ass, simultaneously adjusting their hands to cover both their arousals.

This was the second time he'd be jerking the love of his life off and the first he'd be able to experience feeling Noctis touching him, too. What else could he do, to keep his sanity, but let himself go and enjoy it? To switch off his brain and go with the flow, keeping only the barest sliver of rationality to ensure he didn't say anything stupid to give himself away. 

As his pinewood billowed stronger and Noctis became ever more pliant in Gladio's arms - with the exception of his hand, slipping around Gladio’s length, and clenching harder in time with the breathless whimpers which gasped into Gladio's ear - Gladio tried to be grateful for their current situation, to take it at face value. At least this time he didn't need to guiltily slink off to the bathroom to climax but, on the contrary, Noctis needed (‘wanted’ wasn't quite the right word, even if Gladio wished it so) Gladio to do so in front of him.

Pinewood and sherbet harmonised as a sparkling mist surrounding them, adding to the ethereal feeling of what they were doing: it felt so amazing, Gladio could scarcely believe it to be real. With Noctis' face buried in Gladio's chest, but his moans and whimpers loud enough to be clearly heard despite it, Gladio didn't even bother holding back his own voice; Gladio's deep timbre lifted Noctis’ hedonistic murmurs beautifully while blending perfectly with every titillating whimper.

Noctis came first, his whole body tensing and shuddering in Gladio's arms, his head tipping back as he silently mouthed for air in a breathless gasp; his thumb swept across Gladio's tip as his fingers curled tighter and, combined with the feeling of Noctis' pulsing in Gladio's palm, Gladio followed only a few seconds later with his orgasm. He grunted through gritted teeth as he pumped Noctis to completion, relishing in the euphoria of their combined heat splattering over both their stomachs. 

Gladio's whole body was awash in what felt like a golden afterglow, like the light which limned a forest canopy at the break of dawn; he wished he could stay, with Noctis still clinging to him - one hand clawing Gladio's back and the other wrapped around his cock - for longer… But Gladiolus Amicitia was a professional. He knew that wasn't the sensible option, even if his heart cried out in protest when Gladio gently prised the two of them apart, and his insides convulsed in dry nausea when his mouth came up with the stupid jock line of, “That should be a pretty good starting point. Whaddaya think?”

Noctis' reply, “Not bad for a quick breather,” as Gladio carefully slid him onto the bed was almost like a punch to the gut: Noctis was actually smirking, nonchalant as anything despite the flush to his cheeks, and his calm tone was a stark reminder to Gladio that Noctis would never see him as a potential love interest - for all the years Gladio had known the man, he was confident that when Noctis fell in love he would most certainly become shy around that person. 

Imagining it was effortless: watching Noctis finally reunite with Lady Lunafreya before their wedding, seeing him force himself to stand tall while a pretty blush crept up his cheeks, hearing his voice softly murmur her compliments as he unintentionally dipped his gaze–

It wasn't a vision Gladio particularly wanted to see, especially at a time like this, but it was a good reminder of his role in Noctis' life: he was merely Noctis' Shield - his job was to keep the King safe - and all other distractions aside, the original goal of this road trip was to deliver Noctis to his bride-to-be. Even if they were on a different mission right now, nothing had been said about calling off the wedding: the rumours were that the Oracle was alive, travelling through Lucis - likely still towards Altissia - and somewhere in the back of his mind, Gladio knew that was still their group's destination too.

Gladio found himself scoffing - to dislodge any disappointment from trying to wheedle its way into his chest - and lapsed into his duty of exiting the room as swiftly as possible: one, because that was the right thing to do and two, because seeing Noctis blissed out on a bed meant Gladio's lower half was quickly becoming aroused again - even though his brain was screaming at him to stop being such an idiot. 

Fortunately, Gladio had been quick in pulling off his top and covering his front with it, meaning he could make it to the bathroom without exposing his erection. Even more fortunate, it didn't take him long at all to cum for the second time (didn't give Noctis the chance to become suspicious while he waited for Gladio to bring him a towel) with the feeling of Noctis’ hand and the sound of his moans fresh in Gladio's mind: it was a small solace, given he'd only just mentally celebrated moments before about how he wouldn't need to guiltily jerk himself off in the bathroom this time. 

At least Gladio had an impeccable poker face when it came to his feelings towards Noctis and his acting as a stereotypical playboy was unshakable. They still had a long journey ahead of them: Gladio couldn't be the one to ruin things when their current set-up seemed to be working so well… Friends with benefits. Fuck buddies without the fucking. All Gladio needed to do was keep up the indifferent pretence: treat Noctis the same as always, including the flippant physical jostling. 

Now that Noctis' omega scent was hidden, that should make things even easier than before - it would be just like old times, like all the years so far Gladio had held his secret love. Going by the average time needed to release pheromones before the owner began to become uncomfortable - and by the intensity of the sex scenting just carried out - Gladio guessed he wouldn't be smelling that tantalising citrus again until well after night fell: seeing as Ignis had blocked Prompto's pheromones the afternoon before and were still going strong with no issues, they were a good enough marker to use as any.

Noctis couldn't be relied upon to remember he needed to release his pheromones before they built up too much, but Gladio would remind him; he set a mental alarm for just after sunset (it wouldn't harm to be precautious just in case, Noctis’ unpredictability being what it was), unless there were any earlier signs of heading towards a heat: raised body temperature, abnormally flushed cheeks, dizziness, etc. etc.

At least Noctis' heats were one less thing to worry about for now.

Chapter Text

“Doesn't get much worse than this,” Gladio growled, fully supporting Noctis' whole body weight now; he had his arms wrapped around the younger man's shoulders and waist, pulling him close so their chests were flush - despite the heat of the Crater making it difficult to breathe, Gladio could still clearly feel Noctis' skin burning where it touched his own.

It didn't make sense - they should have had hours left; the sun had barely just set - but there was no doubt about it: Noctis was falling into another heat.

“Gladio, please,” Noctis whined, deep and breathless, panting shallowly as his fingers dug into Gladio's back and he pressed his sweat-slicked forehead against Gladio's chest.

This was the worst possible situation: the ground was literally erupting around them, with no clear path out to safety, and Noctis was struggling to stay lucid - escaping was difficult enough without Noctis' consciousness being compromised too.

“Noct–” Gladio grit his teeth, willing his body not to react to the teasing omega scent, mentally flailing to keep himself grounded within the onslaught of fizzing lemon he hadn't realised he'd been desperately craving until now.

“The Empire!” Ignis’ exasperated voice broke through Gladio's concentration. “Now?!”

He forced his head upwards, away from staring at the source of his torture, and his eyes fell upon the reason for Ignis' exclamation: an Imperial dropship was descending directly towards their small group of four. As if that wasn't surprising enough - Gladio's whole body unintentionally tensing in surprise - the rear hatch opened to reveal a sight which sent a cold shiver racing up Gladio’s spine:

Ardyn.

What was he doing here? No, that wasn't important–

Ardyn couldn't be allowed to see Noctis, a beta, in a state so obviously reminiscent - because that's exactly what it was - of an omega’s heat.

Panicking, with no other immediate option, Gladio did the only thing he could think of to hide it: without warning, he grabbed the back of Noctis’ head and face-planted his King straight into the centre of his chest - no matter what, he needed to cover Noctis' dazed expression. 

“Fancy meeting you here!” Ardyn called - leaning forward theatrically, sarcastic as ever - just as the hatch’s lower door came into contact with the ground.

Gladio bit back the impulse to growl, focusing instead on pushing out his alpha scent to smother the bubbling lemonade spilling from Noctis' trembling figure.

“It occurs to me I never formally introduced myself,” Ardyn continued blithely - unaware of how Noctis curled deeper into Gladio's chest and how Gladio was struggling not to react to his liege's hot breath ghosting over naked skin.

“Izunia,” Ardyn almost smirked, spreading his open palm over his chest in a display of mock deference. “Ardyn Izunia.”

“Imperial Chancellor Izunia?” Ignis retorted, taking a step to move himself into the fore of their group.

“At your service and, more importantly, to your aid,” Ardyn spread both arms wide, centred in the dropship's open hatch; it would have been the archetypal image of salvation, if not for the fact it was Ardyn - guileful and disingenuous in his accompanying smile - who was the one offering the help.

Gladio pulled Noctis closer, instinctively blanketing the omega in pinewood and musk, while his eyes darted to Ignis: as the group’s tactician, especially with Noct out of sorts, Iggy was the one to defer to for the best course of action.

“I guarantee your safe passage,” Ardyn not quite scoffed, clearly sensing the hesitation. “Though you're always welcome to take your chances down there.”

Ignis frowned at Gladio, his eyes showing he was mentally speeding through their options and calculating pros against cons. Gladio glanced back over to Ardyn, who had now smugly folded his arms.

“Buried among the rubble, is it?” Ardyn nodded his head, just as another spurt of lava erupted through the rock directly behind Gladio.

“Dying here is not an option,” Ignis finally grit out to Gladio, his shoulders slumping in resignation even as his jaw clenched in anger. “We have no choice,” he sighed, full of vexation.

“We can't march on board with Noct in this state either,” Gladio’s arms constricted slightly as his pinewood prickled stronger, valiantly ignoring the way the omega shuddered against his chest. “Ardyn's gonna notice.”

Ignis held Gladio's gaze in silence for a few beats - a look of both hesitant questioning and of reluctant confirmation, searching for the encouragement that what was being suggested was correct - and, without any words, Gladio knew what was expected of him: because, as Gladio had admitted to Ignis, he'd already done it to Noctis before. 

“What else can we do?” Prompto - innocently oblivious to everything - latched onto Ignis' arm in distress.

“We're both alphas,” Ignis’ expression darkened, ignoring his fiancé to address Gladio. “I can help if need be–”

“No, I've got it,” Gladio shook his head. “There's no sense in you dirtying your hands, too,” Gladio said out loud the pragmatic reason; he buried deep within him the jealousy which hated the idea of another alpha coming anywhere near ‘his’ omega. 

“Wait, what?” Prompto seemed to have finally caught up with the conversation, his eyes going wide while he shook Ignis by the arm. “You don't mean–”

“Please, Prompto,” Ignis snapped, pulling his arm from the blonde’s grasp. “We don't have time for this: look at the whole situation!”

“I am,” bitter strawberries permeated the heat and smoke, Prompto clearly taken aback by Ignis’ actions. “I don't want us doing anything we might regret,” his eyes narrowed again, angry and confused.

“To do that, we'd need a chance to live long enough to regret it,” Ignis - arguably sharper than necessary - bit back.

It was rare for Ignis and Prompto to fight, rarer still for Ignis to say anything openly hurtful to the blonde, but Gladio pointedly ignored the brewing drama. Ignis was right - Prompto's feelings on the matter aside - they didn't have a choice: better Noctis being subdued to sleep than for Ardyn to see him in the full throes of a heat in the making.

Gladio needed to concentrate. He needed to push out his pheromones - thicker, fuller, heavier - weigh Noctis down with nothing except the desire to sleep. 

“C’mon, Noct, just relax…” Gladio murmured, positioning his lips by Noctis' ear and trying harder to smother any citrus with cinnamon.

He squeezed the younger man tighter, grateful to hear Ignis was playing his part to keep Ardyn distracted by calling out, “We accept your aid, Chancellor!” and a glance upwards showed him Ignis had taken Prompto's hand and was already leading the blonde up the ramp.

“That's it,” Gladio hummed softly, looking back down at Noctis and readjusting him into a more comfortable hold. “You just take it easy, Princess,” Gladio leant to whisper against his liege's brow, “and let us handle the hard stuff for a bit.”

Gladio's lips ghosted mere millimetres from Noctis' forehead; it was commendable how he didn't give in to the sudden urge to gently seal his promise with a kiss.

Standing tall once more, Gladio squared his shoulders and hurried up the Empire's ramp to respite: out of the frying pan but hopefully not straight into the fire.

Noctis was completely gone - eyes shut and body limp with sleep - though his shallow breaths still showed the distressed state he was in; Gladio hoped it could be passed off as simple exhaustion rather than having Ardyn become suspicious of its true nature.

Upon entering the dropship, Gladio chose to make a beeline straight for the corner closest to the hatch they'd just come in by and settled onto the floor, his back to the wall and Noctis still in his arms, in the textbook manner of bodyguard protocol. A quick scan of the interior confirmed Ardyn was the only other person around, aside from their group, and the holding bay was empty - no immediate threats present - unless there were MTs somehow hidden in the wooden crates stacked in the opposite corner.

All in all, Gladio felt he could allow himself to relax a little for now: Ignis would deal with Ardyn and their destination. Gladio's sole responsibility was to just concentrate on Noctis' comfort.

Looking down, Gladio cradled Noctis better in his lap (the guy was too goddamn light for a grown man, for Gladio to be able to manhandle him so easily; Gladio made a mental note to jig some muscle training into their schedule, because Noct could sure use it if he wasn't going to get swept away by all the running around and fighting which was sure to come, based on all the Royal Arm hunting and Astral meeting so far) and let out another subtle wave of pinewood, mixed in with some calming pheromones for good measure: he needed to ensure Noctis slept through this whole flight - didn't have a chance for Ardyn to speak to him at all - and the tension radiating from the other two members of their party wasn't doing a thing to help Gladio focus on that. 

Ignis had wandered into the centre of the space, still maintaining Ardyn's attention with conversation, and Prompto had decided to stay stuck to Noctis - as originally planned, to pass Noctis’ pheromones off as his own. The other omega was clearly worried about Noctis' wellbeing and was failing miserably at hiding any wary looks he shot Gladio's way - occasionally reaching out to pet Noctis' hair, gently sweeping it aside every time Noctis moved and his fringe flopped over his eyes - but Gladio didn't have the capacity to engage with the blonde with his mind full of keeping Noctis subdued.

Despite his flushed cheeks and sweat-slicked brow (or maybe because of it?), Noctis looked even more delectable than ever in Gladio's arms. The constantly fizzing lemonade, intoxicatingly sweet, did nothing to dissuade his attractiveness - although, its presence being so similar to whenever Noct was uncomfortable from embarrassment was useful: a constant reminder not to give in to any untoward desires, to keep Gladio from doing anything stupid.

Last time, in Lestallum, Gladio had subdued Noctis to sleep and the omega had awoken completely unaware of the fact. This time, however, Gladio couldn't be sure how things would go: for one, Noctis' heats were getting stronger and secondly, this one was likely progressed further than the time before. In addition, Gladio had let himself cum beside Noctis immediately after subduing him - even if Noctis hadn't released anything himself, there was a possibility Gladio's alpha markers could have still had an effect. Crucially, there was no chance Gladio was capable of doing anything similar now.

In other words, Gladio had no clue what state Noctis would be in when he woke up - if he'd be back to normal or if he'd still need his heat taken care of. Judging by the enduring sparkling sherbet, however, there was a good chance Noctis wasn't going to be completely calm again. Fortunately, they'd already discussed Noct being comfortable with whatever Gladio might need to do to help him out, but still. Gladio could only hope his liege would keep sleeping for as long as possible - and give Gladio as much time as possible to get his heart settled, to wrench his indifferent mask on and prevent himself from getting carried away.

“Speaking of,” Ardyn’s voice broke Gladio from his thoughts, surprising him with how unexpectedly close it was. “How is Our Majesty? Not feeling well?” Ardyn tutted, aggravatingly fake in his concern, and Gladio frowned while resolutely looking down: he could already feel his blood boiling just from the question and knew seeing Ardyn's accompanying face would do more harm than good to Gladio's mood.

“Something like that,” Gladio retorted carefully, wrapping his arm a little tighter around Noctis' shoulders and letting out another pulse of intense pine. “We did just meet with a literal god after all,” he grunted, not trying to hide any signs of annoyance.

“Indeed,” Ardyn’s voice dripped with inappropriate amusement. “I suppose it's little surprise for our Prince to feel so drained.”

Gladio didn't respond, but almost wished he had if it had prevented Ardyn from scoffing to himself and sighing: “My apologies, our King. Forgive me for continually forgetting his rightful title - change always takes some getting used to, doesn't it.”

Thankfully, Ardyn turned away on his heel rather than say anything more - Gladio's confrontational tone and warning scent were probably to thank for that, even if Ignis would likely berate Gladio for them - and Gladio allowed burnt sandalwood to chase Ardyn's shadow rather than let his presence linger any longer. 

“I know he's saving us, but he's such a jerk,” Prompto muttered under his breath, having retrieved a towel at some point and was now reaching over to dab the sweat from Noctis’ brow. 

Gladio briefly wondered if he should reply - because Prompto was obviously angry at him along with Ignis - but a quick glance at the blonde's face confirmed that he didn't need to: if anything, Prompto's muttered words felt like they were directed at Gladio, too. As a fellow omega, Prompto must have taken Noctis’ subduing to heart - and he was doing everything in his power not to allow himself to cry (Gladio recognised the frustration in his eyes) from the unfairness of their secondary genders’ reality.

With nothing else to do except wait for the dropship to drop them off at their next destination, Gladio internally sighed while pushing out his cinnamon pine. Admittedly, he didn't like having anyone else so physically close to Noctis, even if that other person was only an omega and Prompto at that, but Gladio felt the least he could do for the guy was ignore that alpha instinct to push him away; Prompto was obviously hurting and giving him a reason to hurt more was not what Gladio wanted. Prompto wasn't just Noctis’ friend but Gladio's too, after all.

At least Noctis was able to rest some through all this drama…

Because when he awoke, Gladio had no doubt the drama was just going to multiply.

Chapter Text

For all Ardyn's untrustworthiness, at least he was good to his word of delivering their party to a spot as close as possible to the haven beside Alstor Slough. Once landed, Prompto led the way, preemptively lighting up the route with a Starshell: its flare doubled up both as a light to see by and a ward against daemons. Somehow - even with Noctis being carried by Gladio - they made it to safety within a few minutes and without any surprise ambushes. 

“It's relatively early,” Ignis strode into the centre of the haven, his features lit up from below by the soothing blue glow, “but I think an early night would be for the best.”

“Sooner we get the tent pitched, the better,” Gladio agreed, one-handedly summoning a camp chair and carefully sliding a still-sleeping Noctis into it. Nobody mentioned lighting a fire since the Duscaen region was warm enough without one, especially for Noctis with his currently raised temperature - besides which, the moon alongside the runes' light was enough to see by.

Prompto hovered nearby as Gladio ensured Noctis was comfortable, his presence making it clear that he was still worried about the other omega even if he wasn't saying anything outright. 

“Think ya can keep an eye on Noct while I get cracking?” Gladio asked: a poor attempt at peacemaking - because Gladio couldn't honestly say he thought his actions, subduing Noct just now, were wrong - but a subtle olive branch nonetheless, putting Prompto in charge of Noctis' care.

“Yeah, sure,” Prompto replied flatly, pulling out a chair of his own and positioning it right next to his best friend's. “Sure would be useful if I could help calm him with my pheromones too, but…” He didn't finish his sentence, instead momentarily pursing his lips and clenching his fists upon Noctis' armrest - his eyes resolutely locked upon Noctis’ sleeping face - before summoning a towel and (presumably cold) water bottle, busying himself with making the material damp.

Gladio cocked an eyebrow - surely, Ignis' marking should have worn off enough by now for Prompto to release his scent at will; just like in the car on the way to the Disc, in fact even more time had passed - but before Gladio could comment, Ignis summoned the tent in an attention-grabbing burst of crystals. 

“You lead and I'll follow,” Ignis held up a tent pole for Gladio to take. “I'll consider dinner options once we're done: something quick and easy, I should think.”

It wasn't even the central pole, Gladio noticed with fondness (it was always interesting to find an area where Ignis didn't excel) and, striding over, relieved Ignis of it with a half-smile. 

“Make it delicious and that sounds like an ad for Cup Noodles,” Gladio couldn't help smirking.

Ignis neither agreed with nor dismissed the idea, shrugging his shoulders with a non-committal sigh but an air of faint amusement.

The two of them worked efficiently in relative silence, Gladio finishing off hammering the last of the pegs as Ignis laid out the sleeping bags inside. 

It was perfect timing for Noctis to choose that moment to stir, his citrus scent steadily rising like the bubbles in a freshly opened soda bottle, as a pained whimper escaped his lips.

“You're gonna let him wake up now, right?” Prompto frowned, gently removing the folded damp towel from Noctis’ brow, his question almost challenging in its intonation.

Gladio knew better than to try and be flippant with his reply. 

“Yeah, should be safe now,” Gladio kept his voice level, void of any possibly misunderstood emotion, while subtly reiterating why Noct had to be subdued in the first place. “Let's see how he's feeling,” he nodded, keeping his distance so Prompto could be the first to Noctis’ aid, if any aid was necessary.

Ignis stayed silent, coming up to stand behind Gladio.

“Noct?” Prompto gently probed, placing a hand on his best friend’s arm. “How're you doing, buddy?”

Eyes still clamped shut, Noctis rolled in his seat towards Prompto, letting out a pained gasp and fizz of sherbet. Prompto tentatively reached up to press the back of his hand against Noctis' forehead. 

“He's still burning up pretty bad, and his scent…” Prompto’s expression darkened. “I don't think he's gonna get past this heat without help.”

Gladio held back the urge to dive in and scoop Noctis up in his arms, knowing some tact was needed with Prompto so on edge right now. 

“Do you wanna try using your pheromones on him?” Gladio offered, even though his natural instinct was to get Noct the hell away from anyone else and let his alpha characteristics deal with Noctis' heat himself. “Might work this time, you never know.”

Prompto's frown deepened as his eyes, for some reason, began to well up. 

“Yeah, guess we'll never know,” Prompto breathed, suddenly standing up and glaring at Gladio–

Actually, it felt more like he was glaring at Gladio to keep his gaze from slipping to behind him… Prompto was still that intent on avoiding Ignis, even though Gladio was the one who'd done the subduing?

“You should take him into the tent,” Prompto blinked rapidly before looking away, clenching his fists by his side. 

Gladio couldn't help but pity Prompto, despite Gladio's adamancy that there had been no other choice - he and Ignis had decided to subdue Noctis out of duty; it was no different to Gladio being sexually intimate with Noctis out of duty: it didn't need to be such a big deal, but Prompto was clearly hurt by it.

Prompto was obviously projecting - Noct had said he trusted Gladio to do whatever was necessary when it came to his heats, so surely this was just an extension of that - but it wasn't Prompto's fault he didn't have a proper grasp on his emotions. Gladio had no doubt Prompto understood all this too - that protecting Noct came first, whatever difficult decisions needed to be made - and it was Prompto’s guilt over feeling upset in the first place which was making him feel even worse: a downward spiralling cycle of bad emotions.

In any case…

“No, you and Iggy head inside,” Gladio shook his head while stepping forward to place a hand on Noctis' shoulder; the omega immediately shuddered and curled into Gladio's touch as another wave of sparkling citrus escaped. “I'll take Noct down to the edge of the haven and help him out there - think he'd prefer that.”

“You think he'd prefer doing it outdoors?” Prompto blurted out, his no-filter reactions unaffected by whatever complex emotions he was currently battling. 

Gladio cracked a dry smile, bending down to lift Noctis over his shoulder, straightening up again with his hands linked beneath Noctis' ass.

“I think Noct’d prefer whatever gave him the most privacy… and not having his scent flooding our shared sleeping space more than necessary,” Gladio clarified, already turning to face the path down the rocks. “Even with everything else, you know Noct’s comfort is important to me,” he muttered, not entirely sure if the statement - although true - was sensible to say or not right now.

“...I'll prepare sandwiches for dinner,” Ignis finally spoke, clearly doing his part to try and give Prompto as much space as he desired by distancing himself from the conversation too; it was reassuring to see he trusted Gladio enough to do that. “I can do that easily enough inside the tent.”

“Thanks, Iggy,” Gladio gruffed, pausing in his step but without turning around; the unspoken meaning of his words translated to appreciation for the other alpha's calmness and understanding, too. “We'll be back in a bit.”

Picking his way carefully down the side of the haven and round to its border, Gladio found an appropriate spot to prop Noctis up on one of the smoother boulders clustered at its base. They were close enough to still be within the safety of the hallowed ground’s protection but far enough to be both out of sight and earshot of their other two companions.

Noctis shifted on the rocks, a disgruntled moan accompanying furrowed eyebrows and a steady flow of candied lemons.

“Noct, you awake?” Gladio asked, cupping the omega's cheek in one hand as he kept the younger man's body steady with the other.

Noctis’ mouth opened a little wider but he didn't reply; his frown etched deeper and he let out another breathless moan, followed by audibly shallow panting.

“Sshh, it's ok,” Gladio soothed, his fingers constricting slightly around Noctis' upper arm; now they were alone, Noctis' citrus suddenly seemed even more enticing than before. “I've got ya, Noct. I'm here.”

Concentrating on remaining relaxed, Gladio let his scent flow out and blanket Noctis in cinnamon-pine; whatever the next steps were about to be - however ready Gladio's heart was for it or not - he knew that his alpha pheromones were what Noctis was craving and what the omega thought he needed most right now. Gladio needed to try his best to keep a level head and let out his calming scent.

Encouragingly, Noctis seemed to respond well: his limbs became noticeably less tense and the rate of his breathing hitched then slowed. He still seemed to be in pain, however, which drove a stake of pain through Gladio's chest at the sight.

“Can you open your eyes?” Gladio asked, slowly lifting his hand from Noctis' face and studying his expression closely.

Even though they'd had ‘the talk’ and Noctis had confirmed that Gladio could do whatever was necessary to help him through any uncontrollable heats, Gladio still didn't feel right having Noctis look as if he wasn't fully consenting - it almost felt like he was taking advantage of Noct in his sleep. Previously, Noctis had been climbing all over Gladio - deliriously, rather than being conscious of his actions, granted - but even though Gladio knew Noctis wasn't doing it out of his own accord, it had still felt like a two-way thing.

On top of which, the two of them had only just jerked each other off that morning. Gladio hadn't expected to need to do anything similar again so soon - he wasn't prepared for their arrangement to come as often as this.

Licking his lips (unwittingly ridiculously sexy), Noctis’ eyebrows angled deeper as he arched his back in discomfort - failing to reply to any of Gladio's questions.

“Please, Noct,” Gladio looked on helplessly, his scent unintentionally wavering. “It's bad enough I gotta do this without you looking so out of it, too.”

Bad enough he had to be the one to force Noctis into sexual intimacy when the man was already betrothed and held no romantic feelings whatsoever for Gladio.

A spritz of sweet lemon puffed into the air between them, jolting Gladio from his momentary self-pity.

“Gladio…?” Noctis finally croaked, a sudden tsunami of lemonade spilling out with the word.

“That's right,” Gladio murmured with relief, his palm coming down gently upon Noctis' forehead. “You know it's me at least…”

A stupid sense of satisfaction knocked at Gladio's insides, at the fact that Noctis wasn't reacting to any old alpha's scent but maybe was becoming more solely attuned to him. A stupid possessive alpha instinct.

“Gladio…” Noctis whined, tilting his neck to better meet Gladio's touch. “Please…” he trembled, the word repeatedly tumbling from his lips now the spell of muteness had been broken. “Please, please, please–”

With another burst of citrus, Noctis twisted to grasp Gladio's hand beneath his own, squeezing hard while writhing in agony. It wasn't enjoyable in any sense, to see Noctis in such discomfort, but a part of Gladio relaxed nonetheless: having Noctis behave this way was familiar and definitely easier to deal with - which was funny, because the first time Noctis had accosted him, Gladio had panicked and desperately wished it to never happen again.

“I know, I've got ya,” Gladio took a moment to steady his heart, leaning closer so Noctis could reach up and grab him with both hands, allowing Noctis to wrap his arms around Gladio's shoulders. “Good to hear ya talking again.”

“Ugh, just–” Noctis shook his head, visibly uncomfortable. “Help me,” he squeezed Gladio even tighter, a sharp lemonade bubbling up to push Gladio’s pinewood back.

“I know, I know,” Gladio murmured, burying his face in Noctis' neck, quietly breathing in the omega scent and convincing himself he wasn't about to lose himself to it: he was stronger than that. “Just try and relax again now, Princess,” Gladio muttered, psyching himself up for what he knew he needed to do next.

First, he needed to take full control again: it was no good having that delectable sherbet overpowering Gladio's own scent. Exhaling slowly, Gladio pushed out a heavy flood of rich pine, laced with both calming pheromones and sex markers.

Noctis’ whole body went slack, with a soft gasp - the hint of a whimper teasing Gladio's ears where it entered.

Gladio released another wave of similar pheromones; no more stalling: he was ready now - the next thing was to get Noctis into a more comfortable position. Contrary to what he'd thought when first getting here, having Noctis sitting on a rock probably wasn't a great idea.

“Come up here for me,” Gladio murmured, guiding Noctis into opening his legs and hooking one of them around Gladio's waist. Then, cupping Noctis’ ass with both hands, he lifted the omega straight into the air; Noctis instinctively dug his knees into Gladio's midriff, wrapping both legs around so his heels crossed at Gladio's back.

Gently yet firmly, beneath another wave of heavy sandalwood pine, Gladio manoeuvred the two of them so that he was the one sitting and Noctis was straddling his lap. The omega was still panting breathlessly, his raised temperature even more obvious in this position with his sweat-slicked body pressed up against Gladio's front.

Noctis’ arousal was also noticeably more obvious, prodding Gladio's bare stomach through Noctis’ pants.

Gladio had thought he was ready, but maybe a few extra moments to calm down wouldn't go amiss after all. 

“Don't want ya hurting yourself now,” Gladio explained the reason behind their change in position - that it was for Noctis’ comfort, not because Gladio wanted them pressed up together like this. “Glad it's not raining at least,” he forced a laugh, hoping it sounded nonchalant, commenting on the fact they were outdoors because he couldn't think of what else to ramble about. 

At the same time, Gladio buried his nose against Noctis' neck, trying to convince himself again that his willpower was infinitely stronger than that sweet omega scent; his hands idly massaged circles into Noctis’ ass, the motion somehow helping Gladio to focus.

Noctis growled irritably, writhing forwards away from Gladio's grasp but closer to his chest, bucking his hips so he was rutting his length - hard and hot against Gladio's skin, even through the material which separated them - sending electric-fire shooting from Gladio's stomach straight down into his crotch in an explosion of tantalising tingles.

“I've got ya, Noct,” Gladio breathed, knowing he couldn't delay things any longer - whatever happened would happen, he just needed to make sure he didn't take things too far; like that night in Lestallum, allowing Noct to cum while surrounded by Gladio's scent should be enough to do the trick: there was no need for Gladio to cum in front of him, too. There was no need for Gladio to take advantage of the situation: marking Noctis with his sex scent was not the goal this time.

Before he could dwell on his thoughts any longer - the moral ambiguity of his duty versus his desire - Gladio brought his hands to Noctis’ front and deftly unzipped the younger man's fly.

“Gladio–!” Noctis gasped, his body tensing in surprise as Gladio - mechanically, he hoped - took Noctis in his hand and began stroking up to a steady rhythm.

“We'll get ya through this quickly, don't worry,” Gladio grunted, trying not to let his eyes linger on his actions - on how perfectly Noctis both looked and felt filling Gladio's palm - and concentrating on taking deep breaths rather than let himself become even more aware of his own growing ache, pulsing in a heavy pleasurable throb between his legs. 

Noctis' eyes were half-shut again now, visibly rolled back in his skull, as he bit his lower lip to keep from whimpering even louder. The sight made Gladio want to kiss him - to replace the sharp pain with love and warmth - but Gladio wasn't stupid enough to give in to that desire. Kissing was intimate: it was unnecessary and impossible to explain away as mere duty of care.

“Gladio, Gladio, Gladio–” Noctis’ fingers clawed into Gladio's muscles wherever they could grasp before he came, “Gladio!” - his whole body trembled weakly, opposite to the strength by which he called his Shield’s name upon climax.

“That's it,” Gladio murmured, forcing himself to loosen his grip around Noctis' cock - forcing himself to snap out of the daze of watching Noctis' cum dribble over Gladio's hand, stomach, soak into Noct’s shirt–

“Nngh!” Noctis' sudden cry broke through Gladio's thoughts like a hammer to a pane of glass. Unexpectedly, the omega pulled himself closer - in a sudden burst of energy - grinding his ass directly over Gladio's already swollen cock while rubbing his forehead insistently into Gladio's.

“Don't stop,” Noctis whined, his voice tugging at Gladio's heart in its desperation. “Gladio, please,” he sounded close to tears, his own length still noticeably hard pressed up against Gladio's front, his head dropping lower so their lips were almost touching–

Gladio felt like he was about to lose his mind, his hand frozen beneath a layer of already drying cum. Noctis’ cum.

“Let me–” Noctis' breath ghosted over Gladio's lips, teasing him with their mouths’ proximity, reminding him of how much he wished he could close that distance and just kiss the man. “You promised it'd be mutual,” Noctis’ voice cracked in a near-sob. “You have to–”

“Fuck,” Gladio swore, almost wanting to sob himself from having to knock Noctis to the side with his own forehead before their mouths could meet. “Thought my scent might be enough to give you the pheromones you need,” Gladio said out loud - not only as an explanation for Noctis but to remind himself of what they were supposed to be doing: of how it was just duty, not because of a mutual love - and leant away from Noctis to free up some space between them.

Ignoring the drying liquid covering his hand, Gladio fumbled to unzip himself; the sooner they got this over with, the better. Gladio was struggling more than he thought with keeping himself from getting carried away.

“Sorry, Noct,” Gladio apologised, painfully aware of how dazed Noctis was - how Noct was only begging to be with him because of the pain from his heat - hurriedly pulling Noctis closer again in his lap and taking both their erections together in his already dirtied hand.

Noctis melted bonelessly at the contact, becoming ever more pliant the faster Gladio's strokes became. With the heat from the region combined with that radiating from Noctis' body, it didn't take long for the two of theirs sweat to add to the lubrication from Noctis' cum: the pressure along with the warmth and the way Gladio's hand slid fluidly up and down, the way he could feel both their lengths throb and pulse with pleasure… It was too much for Gladio to remain calm any longer.

Noctis threw his head back and moaned, the sound a blissful song in Gladio's ears, turning him on even more than Gladio knew was possible. Noctis bucked his hips into Gladio's grasp, writhing and whimpering, on the verge of ecstasy–

It was impossible for Gladio to contain himself any longer.

“Noct,” Gladio gasped Noctis’ name through gritted teeth, breathless from exertion as he jerked his wrist faster, harder, the rhythm becoming more erratic the louder Gladio's grunts became: “Noct, fuck, Noct– You feel so– Fuck–”

This was so wrong. If Noctis knew the impure desires which riddled Gladio's mind, if he knew how much Gladio enjoyed having to help Noctis out in this way… ‘Fuck’ was the only way Gladio could sum it all up, really.

“Unnnghh Gladio–” Noctis’ body tensed before spasming in an uncontrollable shudder, his second release erupting into Gladio's hand as a hot series of weak jets.

The feeling was all Gladio needed to tip him over the edge too, his own orgasm overwhelming in its rapture: he couldn't help but stare, half-lidded, at how his ejaculation shot high enough to stain Noctis' chest, only vaguely acknowledging the warmth which splattered across his own - a slight tilt forwards of Noctis' head, and Gladio's cum would have hit him on the chin, dangerously close to Noctis' open panting mouth.

“...Fuck,” Gladio whispered, nothing else appropriate coming to mind.

Blinking quickly, to shift his brain back to where it should have been - away from any lecherous desires or crushing feelings of guilt - Gladio finally let his eyes roam up to Noctis' face. At the sight, he let out an unintended sigh of relief: Noctis was unconscious again, the second round (along with Gladio's sex pheromones) must have been enough to cure him of his heat.

Carefully and meticulously (using the time to empty his mind back to a blank slate), Gladio cleaned the two of them up - the boulder a convenient support for Noctis once more - and changed Noctis into a fresh shirt. Then, trying to keep Noctis' slumber as undisturbed as possible, carried his exhausted liege back up to the tent at the top of the haven.

Ignis and Prompto were inside, as agreed, but strangely enough were still distant from each other; Gladio thought the two of them would have used the opportunity to talk things through and be back to their usual selves by now. Instead, Prompto was curled up in his sleeping bag against one wall of the tent, his back to the inside, and Ignis was sitting on the opposite side, head down and hands laced together upon his knees.

“Hey,” Gladio greeted, the tension in the atmosphere strong enough to make even him feel uncomfortable.

“How's Noct?” Ignis immediately looked up, expression awash with concern; Prompto's body noticeably twitched, but he didn't say anything to show he was actively listening.

“He'll be fine,” Gladio grunted, bending over to gently lay Noctis down in the sleeping space beside Prompto; it was still best to keep the two omegas close together for now, both in helping calm Noctis' state and for the sake of Prompto's feelings. “Just needs to sleep the rest of it off.”

Ignis hummed in approval. There was a lull of silence as Gladio made himself comfortable in the gap between Ignis and Noctis.

“I've gotta let ya know though,” Gladio wondered how best to word his concern, “it wasn't as easy this time round…”

“How do you mean?” Ignis raised an eyebrow, waiting for Gladio to elaborate.

Gladio sighed through his nose before continuing, the implication of what he needed to say still not fully settled in his own mind.

“He needed more than just my scent this time…” Gladio began slowly, then hurriedly added, “Don't worry, we had a proper talk yesterday– this morning. Noct’s fine with whatever it is I did–”

“It's fine,” Ignis interrupted. “I don't require the details.”

“...Yeah,” Gladio let out a humourless laugh, grateful for Ignis' pragmatism. “The point is, I think his heats are getting stronger still - unless it was just some kinda reaction to the Archaean, all those glowing lights around 'em both.”

“Possibly,” Ignis mused, one hand coming up to his chin. “It's difficult to tell for now, but something worth keeping an eye on.”

“Exactly,” Gladio agreed, turning back to look at Noctis' now peacefully sleeping face. A sweet citrus still lilted around him, although greatly weakened - it didn't make the scent any less delicious, however.

Was this the limit of Noctis' pheromonal strength or was there still more to come? Would simply jerking off together be enough next time or would even more be required of Gladio to help Noctis get through his next heat? If they ended up needing an audience with another Astral?

“Noct is well and truly out, but won't you eat something before sleeping?” Ignis asked, his hand raised to show he was ready to pull something out from the Armiger.

“Yeah, guess I should,” Gladio nodded, moving to stand up again while accepting the sandwich Ignis handed him. “I'll take it outside - don't wanna make crumbs in the tent.”

“As you wish,” a gentle smile pulled at Ignis' lips: Gladio recognised it as the one bordering upon Ignis' politically polite smile; there was definitely more going on between he and Prompto than Gladio fully realised.

Not making crumbs was a poor excuse: in actuality, Gladio felt like he needed some more fresh air - away from that tantalising lemonade - and to clear his head a bit more before turning in for the night.

“Don't wait up,” Gladio half smirked - purposefully returning Ignis' attempt at normality - stooping down to exit the tent, leaving his three companions inside.