#chasing suns

Cam did as Raine instructed, reading from the recipe book while simultaneously gathering ingredients from the pantry. The Sunday afternoon was off to a lazy start for the two friends, a day best suited for PJ’s and wine past it’s prime, an already open bottle that was in the back of Raine’s refrigerator their beverage of choice. Soon after arriving, Cam complained of her relentless sweet tooth and raided her friend’s cupboards for something to nosh on.

“Good luck finding anything,” Raine looked on with a chuckle as the petite woman pulled out random boxes and canned goods from the shelves. “We aren’t due to get groceries for another week or so.”

Cam’s shoulders slumped in defeat and she stood, downing the last of her wine in a large gulp that hurt her throat going down. “Shoot, had a hankering for something chocolatey…”

A recipe book set atop the microwave oven caught her eye. “Say…this looks promising.”

“You, a baker?” Raine cocked an eyebrow, absently picking at split ends from the tail of her braid, dusted blue where her hair grew out to it’s natural shade. “Hadn’t thought you to be the type. Plus I’ll never forget you like your casserole err, well-done.”

“Oh shut up,” Cam muttered, though couldn’t hide the sheepish grin that came with it. She recalled her recent attempt at mimicking one of Raine’s grandmother’s dinner recipes and unintentionally added her own flare by charring the dish to a blackened crisp. Since then she couldn’t turn on the oven without smelling the obliterated aftermath, even after a deep-clean. “Just because I have tendencies to…stray from the directions doesn’t mean I don’t like the process.”

Raine grinned and pulled some mixing bowls from above the stove. “Flip to the bookmarked page, there’s a recipe for fudge brownies that I’ve been dying to try.”

And so one batch of brownies, a dozen chocolate lava cakes and a fresh bottle of wine later, they got started on their final endeavour: chocolate cupcakes with a ganache coating. Suffice to say, they didn’t fool around when it came to cravings. Raine combined the ingredients with a hand mixer as Cam melted some chocolate on the stove, stirring a pot until the mixture was thick and silky. They filled the cupcake pans and put them in the oven, set the timer and flopped on the couch to peruse Netflix while they waited.

Nothing grabbed them, so they checked out a documentary on sea creatures, mostly because they seemed fascinating and the music was relaxing. Cam lounged on one end of the sofa and Raine took the opposite end, their feet tangling together unintentionally. But then it became a playful kicking match, limbs flying in every direction as they jabbed each other with their feet. Cam was determined to win and climbed on top of Raine, pinning her arms down as her ribs ached from laughter.

They stopped to catch their breaths just then, and the reality of the situation abruptly caused Cam to flush red; Raine donned matching blushes, her neck and decolletage going a shade of crimson. They stared at eachother, panting, feeling a strange shift in the air as friendship danced near a question mark-

Ding!

The oven timer startled them, interrupting the silence abruptly. They scrambled off the sofa and into the kitchen where Cam pulled the cakes from the oven, tossing the mit on the counter when she was done. “Now to set the timer and wait for them to cool. Should probably tidy up a bit in the meantime, huh?”

Raine nodded and reached across from her to the pot of cooled ganache, dipping a finger in it and bringing it to her mouth before it could drip on her shirt but shoot, a small drop fell to the corner of her lips. “Ah, dammit…”

In the second before Raine could wipe up the evidence, Cam’s mind delved to a place where friendship skirted a fine line. A place where she’d never imagined herself with her best friend, a place where only few had occupied, where very intimate occurrences and suggestive looks and touches existed. They overtook her thoughts, and in that moment Cam was wanting.

More than the dozens of chocolate baked goods on the counters next to them, Cam wanted that single spot of chocolate on Raine’s lips. She’d sooner toss their hard work in the trash than deny herself that small, sweet escape.

And so summoning a gargantuan amount braveness no doubt supplied in part from the liquid courage in her belly, Cam reached for Raine’s lips, swiping the stray spot of ganache and licked it from her fingertip. She studied Raine as she made her move, half expecting her to either laugh it off and the other half anticipating a snarky comment about how she should get her own.

So it left little room to expect what Raine did instead. Her brown eyes glazed over, lidded, entirely sultry and soft but with a spark in them that blossomed a peculiar warmth in Cam’s abdomen. Before Cam was aware of her actions, she’d dunked her finger in the ganache and swiped it across her bottom lip, a couple drops of her delicious invitation trailing down her narrow neck.

Raine knew what to do. She didn’t hesitate, slowness not in her fiery nature as she threw herself at Cam, mouths smashing against mouths and her tongue swiping across Cam’s bottom lip with hunger that wasn’t limited to a chocolate craving. She pressed into her friend against the counter top, a blazing heat erupting below her skin as she felt Cam’s softness and curves meld against hers. After any trace of chocolate was removed from her mouth, Raine dragged her tongue down Cam’s throat to clean the leftovers that pooled in the dip near her collar bone, her hands running down Cam’s sides and into her belt loops, pulling her hips against hers.

“Mmh, o-oh my gosh,” Cam breathed as Raine peppered kisses against her facial scars before moving south, pulling the collar of her cotton tshirt down with it until it wouldn’t stretch any further, where she tugged the hem up and over Cam’s head. Cam got a surge of self-consciousness, her arms wrapping around her front and curling into herself a bit, but Raine eased her out of it by lowering to her knees and pressing feather light kisses to the skin below her belly button. Boldness overtook the slight shyness in her and Cam tugged Raine up by her braid and back into a heady kiss, full of tongue, her hands unbuttoning the airy sleep-shirt that shrouded her figure. Raine’s bra peeked out and Cam salivated at the shelves of her breasts, two ample mounds that required her mouth’s attention, stat.

Being shorter than Raine a few inches, Cam had easy access to her chest. She dragged her tongue near the cups of her bra, flicking against the seam until she pulled them down to free her pert breasts, nipples pebbling with both arousal and exposure to air. Cam affixed her mouth to one as her hand skimmed the band of Raine’s pajamas, easy access permitted by the elastic band and, well, Cam wasn’t entirely surprised to find she went commando that day.

She would have hesitated to delve into Raine’s sex, but Raine wasn’t having it today; A sharp jolt of her pelvis had Cam parting her folds and wetting her digits, a familiar sensation of heat and slick as she rolled Raine’s nipple between her teeth. A low moan and expletive tumbled from her lips in response and she bucked against Cam’s hand, riding her against rigid fingers that grazed her entrance with each swipe. Raine pressed against Cam and into the counter top, a hard line against her tailbone but too lost in pleasuring her to care.

Though already delicious enough Cam thought Raine needed a little something extra. Parting from her breasts she used her free hand to pour ganache down the woman’s front, just enough for her mouth to manage. She kept her hand in Raine’s pants as she lowered and started lapping up the chocolate sauce, dipping in her navel before working her way up to her glazed chest. Raine’s hands combed through her curls as she pressed her tongue in flat swipes over the planes of chocolate-cloaked flesh, removing the evidence while pressing slow circles into Raine’s clit.

But Raine was eager for a turn; she eased Cam out of her PJ’s and backed off of her, settled on her knees and without a moment to spare, yanked Cam’s pants down underwear and all. Before Cam could react, her legs were parted and Raine was between them, her nose pressing against her pubic bone before her tongue met wetness.

It was an out of body experience for Cam as Raine knew just the moves to send shockwaves of pleasure up her spine, causing her hips to jut forward and shrouding more of Raine’s face beneath her core, her eyes lidded in concentration, working at unravelling the brunette above her. Cam’s fingers wove into Raine’s hair, pulling strands from her braid free and massaging her scalp as her head nodded with each fevered assault of her mouth, sucking, biting, all of the above on Cam’s slit. Keeping one hand knotted in Raine’s braid, Cam kept the spare to her mouth where she bit the fleshy pad of her hand to keep focus, keep grounded and not topple over when her center of gravity gave out, because soon enough, it would.

And sooner than she’d anticipated, as her thighs started quivering on either side of Raine’s face. The blue-haired beauty employed the use of her fingers to ebb Cam on, pumping two digits in and out of her essence, hungrily lapping up the excess fluids that came forth with her finger-fuck. Her other hand snaked around Cam’s hips and gave a firm grip on her considerable backside, nails pressing crescents into her skin. Cam was a whimpering mess of unfulfilled breaths and whimpered moans, and oh how easily Raine’s name tumbled from her lips on each increased pressure wave from below, each plateau surpassed with the stages of nearing climax. When Raine added a curl to her motions and sucked hard on her clit, the finish line was in sight.

Cam threw her head back and rose to her toes with her orgasm, a throaty FUCK breaking mid-word and her brain glassed over, feeling nothing but nirvana and Raine’s tongue coaxing her come straight from the source. It lasted both entirely too long and not long enough, feet planting back on solid ground as she joined reality once more. Raine rose, wiped her chin and gave Cam a hell of a grin.

But of course Cam had to taste test herself still fresh in Raine’s mouth and she did, kisses of appreciation and curiosity that tasted of her familiar tang, fresh with her most recent climax against a sweetness that could only be Raine herself. Cam rolled her bottom lip between her teeth before uttering a command against her mouth; “Floor. Now.”

Raine was a good girl for once in her life and obeyed without hesitation, laying down as Cam hovered over her, pressing fast kisses down her bare and sticky chest, remnants of ganache flavouring her skin, until she reached the band of her pajamas. Aiming to mimic Raine’s eager motions Cam pulled her pants down her hips and thighs, giddy at how quickly they gave from her form and tugged them off around her ankles, and Raine was spread-eagle and bare for her, glistening and ready. Best to not hesitate.

Cam dove in, the wet sounds loud and unabashed as she began drinking in Raine’s taste and nectar, familiar earthiness akin to her own yet entirely different at the same time. Raine’s clit engorged in Cam’s mouth and her hips lifted from the floor, legs crisscrossing around Cam’s head as she moaned her name. Her tongue swiped pressured flicks against her hood before delving down and between her folds deeper than before, tongue-fucking Raine for all her mouth could offer as her thumb pressed hard on her bundle of nerve endings.

It was getting Raine just where she needed to go; iridescent fluid flowed quicker from her as she neared release, grinding into Cam’s face without restraint as her hands scratched the brunette’s scalp, guiding her head closer to her though there was no space left to clear, needing her closer, needing her deeper. Her walls spassed and tightened and Cam’s tongue felt the resistance, so instead she replaced it with her fingers, not holding back, thrusting into her as far as flesh would give. Her mouth gorged on her clit and soon enough, Raine was ascending.

The tide came crashing in and Raine came hard around Cam’s fingers, her pulse tangible as she rode out her orgasm in waves that faded out with each crest, until a pleasant heat flooded her core. Cam rose and gave her a heady kiss, the fresh essence of her coated on her full lips, her tongue drenched. Cam parted from her mouth and they shared sheepish grins before going for another. They certainly knew how to make the most of a few minutes.

And shit, their timing was impeccable. Not a moment too soon, the oven timer went off with a DING!

DING!

DING-

Cam’s eyes flew open.

It took her a moment to recognize familiar surroundings; her cellphone on the nightstand, a bottle of Asprin nearby, the small nightlight plugged into the outlet near the bedroom door…

And her husband’s arm draped over her hip, pressing into her soulmate marking.

It was a dream.

Though the only logical way to ever partake in something like that with her best friend, and being happily married to the literal love of her life, a part of her felt slightly unfulfilled that it wasn’t real. Still, she barely had time to dwell on it as sleep reclaimed her moments after rousing from slumber.

Luck would have it that Cam and Raine previously arranged a double-date the following day, at the friend’s favourite coffee shop. Cam and Gladio sat in the booth across from Raine and Ignis, making the most of another day in darkness, a break from the grim atmosphere that was constant at Hunter HQ. The conversation lulled for a brief moment and Cam decided it would be humorous (in only hers and Raine’s brand of humor) that she share the previous night’s dream details. “So, heh, had a dream last night.”

Ignis unfortunately expressed keen interest right off the bat. “Oh, care to share?”

Gulping, Cam decided to swallow her pride and just say it, going for boldness. “Actually, Iggy, it involved your wife between my legs.”

A flourish of reactions as Gladio nearly choked on his muffin, Ignis’s coffee dribbled with a sputter and Raine’s eyebrows shot skyward. “NO SHIT?!” Raine sounded entirely too excited for public eye and a few wary patrons turned to give her a sideways glare. “That’s awesome!”

Ignis and Gladio repeated her last word simultaneously. “Awesome?”

“Hell yes,” Raine replied, stirring the foam of her latte. “Cam’s hot stuff, got an ass for days. I’d tap that.”

It was Cam’s turn to raise an eyebrow though a coy wink followed suit. “Back at ‘cha, hot stuff. What even are husbands, right?”

Despite Ignis being blind, he and Gladio shared a strained look of perplexed concern. “So, we don’t leave you two alone to your own devices then.”

“Perhaps,” Cam responded, “Though recently I have had the biggest craving for chocolate…”

Raine beamed, mischievous undertones to her smile as she lifted the coffee cup to her lips. “I have just the recipe for that.”

She drove Greyson’s truck, of whom she was eternally thankful for considering he also offered to turn in their hunts for payment since she was temporarily banned from collecting bounties. Cam explained the process to Iris, who listened attentively with eagerness to get started. She fidgeted with her seatbelt en route to the Coernix bypass. “Thanks again, Cam. I really mean it, if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, just name it.”

Cam nodded, the gist of a smile on her chapped lips. “Don’t thank me yet, gotta kill something first. Also um,” she looked away from the road for a moment and gave the girl an earnest look, “maybe let’s keep this between us until you’ve developed your skillset. I know your brother will be less than ecstatic that I’m doing this...”

“You didn’t tell him?” an air of concern toned Iris’s voice as they pulled over to the side of the road at their destination, the hunt a short trek away from the pavement. “I thought you guys were...I-I mean-”

“Oh, no no,” Cam shook her head a little faster than she’d intended. “We’ll approach him once you’ve already got a killcount going, hard for him to deny you once you’ve already proven your worth.” 

“Good idea.”

They hopped out of the truck and Cam came around to Iris’s side, but not before stopping to grab something in the back cab. “I have something for you.” 

She presented the teenager with two handguns, the very same ones she’d began hunting with. Iris turned them back and forth in her hands, testing the weight of them, her face a jumble of emotions. Cam explained, “These were mine, before Gladio moved me up to swords. It’s not much, but it will kill stuff and that’s what we need to do for now, at least until you can afford to-”

Iris set the guns on the hood of the truck and pulled Cam into a sudden, unexpected and wordless hug, overcome with gratitude. Cam sighed, returning the gesture. After she showed Iris how to tighten the holsters around her belt, Cam shrugged her swords into place behind her back and they headed into the fray.

The bounty was on a small gang of hobgoblins, something slightly more intermediate than Cam had hoped to offer on a first-timer hunt as they could hit hard; she’d have to ensure they couldn’t get a blow in otherwise things would go south, and fast. She pondered about sparring later down the road and surmised it would be required, remarking that the majority of her quick reflexes were honed through duelling. First Iris had to gather enough gil to get some armor, before moving onto close-quarters combat with melee weapons. Cam could sense the deja-vu with her own progress, but she thought it better to stick with what she knew.

They followed the ungroomed path down the hillside, carving through the overgrown brush and rerouting themselves at impassable areas. “Feels good to get out of the city,” Iris spoke from behind Cam, who was following the map on her phone, “like I can finally breathe or something. It’s so crowded there, even on the best of days.”

“I know the feeling,” Cam replied, keeping her voice low so as to not draw attention to themselves, “Like your thoughts aren’t even your own there, huh?”

“Yes, exactly!” Iris checked behind them periodically. “Like I barely have room to breathe some days. Out here, at least I can move without feeling like I’m about to bump into someone…” 

Just as Cam stepped out from around a large boulder her eyes landed on a swatch of purple-grey skin and she stepped back, certain they hadn’t spotted her. She held a hand up to halt Iris, instead motioning her to slowly peek around the side and get a closer look at them. “There’s three, maybe four total. That’s a lot of fists, fists that will easily knock you out cold with one hit.” She turned back, narrowing her eyes at the brunette. “I have a plan, but how confident are you in your aiming abilities, would you say?”

Iris pursed her lips, considering. “A bit, but not much.” 

At least she’s being honest, Cam thought. “Okay, don’t worry, it comes with experience. For now try to aim at their limbs. Avoid shots to their torsos, all that muscle will just eat your bullets. If you can manage head shots they’ll drop like flies.” In a slinking motion Cam reached back and unsheathed both swords, eliciting a hushed woah from Iris. She glanced around the corner once more, plotting her plan of attack before turning back. “Okay, I’ll head in to get them started. Can probably take one out with a couple quick blows myself, but I’ll need you to start firing as soon as you can get a good line of sight on ‘em. Feel free to start with just one, too, if both guns are overwhelming,” Cam nodded. “Ready?”

Iris gave a brave nod in return, flicking the safety off the gun in her grasp. “Ready.”

With that, Cam all but leaped from behind the rock and the hobgoblins reacted in surprise, animalistic growls as they beat their chests with massive bludgeoning fists. Sure enough Cam could detect a wide opening for one of the daemons and made quick work of it, arms windmilling through the air as she launched herself into a devastating whirlwind attack. Her blades sliced at it’s flesh like a hot knife through butter, the skin ripping to expose planes of flayed muscles, it’s anguished yelps only pushed her bloodlust into overdrive, and with one fell swoop she separated it’s right arm from it’s body. The enemy swayed and dropped, blackened-purple daemon blood spurting in all directions as it bled out, staying down for good.

Cam swivelled just in time to dodge a fist, countering with a well timed blow to the back of the daemon’s neck, the edge of her sword almost getting lodged in between the links of its spinal column. Just then she heard a gunshot ring out, and the hobgoblin occupying her blade fell limp, the telltale black hole that blossomed on its temple the culprit. Beginner’s luck, Cam thought and grinned, though it was short-lived as a hobgoblin unsurprisingly barrelled towards Iris, who had begun running around the perimeter of the action. Good girl, Cam thought, keep moving…

Cam had another near miss that moment, one of the daemons catching her off guard and trying to swipe her legs out from below her. Dammit, where was her honed composure and focus all of a sudden? She reeled back, her elbow connected with it’s jaw, giving with the force of impact and going slack. It howled in pain but attempted to swing at her once more, just glancing Cam’s wrist and causing her blade to slip from her grasp. It flung through the air with a boomerang effect before smacking into a tree. 

She was down a weapon, and there were two daemons left. Iris was firing at one of them, though missing or just grazing for the most part due to the distance and the fact that she was moving. But then the petite girl did something that gave Cam a surge of pride: she withdrew the second gun from its holster, jammed the safety off, and started firing at both enemies at once.

One dropped, still reeling in it’s death throes but Cam ignored it, chasing after the last one until she was in range to attack. She slashed at it’s back, causing it to slow and whip around just in time for her sword to slash its neck. It swayed drunkenly before dropping at her feet, dead. 

“Excellent!” Cam breathed, catching her breath. “All clear.”

Iris panted as well, but movement caught her eye and she approached the last hobgoblin that wasn’t quite dead yet, thrashing around in agony. “Not yet!”

She swung her leg up and with a cleaving slam brought her boot down on it’s face.

  “That was AWESOME!” Iris was positively beaming on the drive back to HQ. “I feel like I could take on an Astral!”

Cam snickered. “Let’s save that one for another day. But you did great, girl. For your first time, you really stood your ground.” She offered her a supportive grin, a rare teeth-baring one, and Iris all but jumped out of her skin with adrenaline-fuelled glee.

“So, when’s the next one?” she asked eagerly as the truck entered the tunnel. “I really like bashing daemon heads in.”

“I don’t see why we can’t get another one out before the day is done,” Cam checked the time, surmising she could grab a blue hunt or two for them to quickly scrape off the docket and earn the girl some extra gil. Oddly though, she was feeling rather beat after that green level hunt, something she hadn’t felt since her earlier training days…

Passing it off as a long day of repetitively sharpening blades, she pulled out of the tunnel and into hunter HQ. The blood puddle at the entrance had dried, the behemoth corpse now gone as several hunters had driven up and around the rock shelf earlier in the day to tow the body a few miles away. 

As she found a spot to park, Cam asked, “Have you ever been here before?”

“Just once,” Iris replied, checking her face in the visor mirror for any spots of blood. She was surprisingly clean for just having committed daemoncide. “I came here with Gladio...right after Noctis went into the crystal.” 

“Oh,” Cam coughed, the prince’s -no, king’s name causing ripe goosebumps to pepper her skin. Gladio had told her many moons ago of his relation to the Lucis family, how his family was responsible to act as the shield of the king, how the scar over his left eye was caused by a bully attacking him and he came between them...She’d asked him to share more about their travels together but he brushed it off, said he “wasn’t ready” to revisit the good times so soon, that he’d need to hold onto them for when he truly lost hope that light would never be restored to Eos… 

Cam slinked out of the vehicle and Iris followed, unbuckling the holsters from her belt loops and setting it on the back of the truck. They spotted Greyson chatting with someone near the western guard post and he waved them down, meeting them halfway. “So,” He hummed, adjusting his bandana around his neck. “How’d it go?” 

“She’ll be a certified hunter in no time,” Cam replied, much to Iris’s delight as she held back a laugh. She handed Greyson the completed hunt flyer and pulled her phone out to send him the kill shots so he could collect their bounty. “We’ll stick with guns for a bit, as my first trainer did with me,” she continued, nodding at the husky man, “but if you want we can switch to something pointy and sharp later on.”

“That’s what I’m looking forward to,” Iris replied, and Cam could swear she puffed her chest out a bit. It was inspiring. “Eventually, I want to have a greatsword, like my big brother.” Cam’s eyebrows bounced a bit. “Wow, ambition girl. I can respect that-”

“IRIS?!” 

Cam’s heart leaped up her throat as Gladio’s voice bellowed from behind them, echoing off the natural stone walls of HQ. Her and Iris turned simultaneously to find Gladio, coated in a layer of sweat, blood and something mucus-like, hands balled into tight fists as he approached. He looked ripe to kill whatever he’d already offed previously. “Why are you here??”

Iris shrunk her shoulders, her mouth opening to respond but the words wouldn’t come. She looked at Cam for help, at a complete loss for words. Gladio’s eyes fixated onto her as well; her soulmate marking indicated so, the outline tingling slightly. 

Cam considered herself an honest person. She’d barely told anything above a fib before and thought herself not great at being dishonest. It always left a bad taste on her mouth at just the thought of bending the truth, yet in the two seconds it took for her to reply to Gladio, her soulmate and one of only a couple people left in the world she could trust…”She needed to get out of the city, so I brought her here to visit you.”

She lied. 

Iris followed suit like a well thought-out plan they’d discussed. “Yeah, I missed you big bro. Plus I had to see what the commotion was about over this behemoth-”

“Dammit, Iris,” Gladio growled, “It’s not safe here for you-”

“It’s not safe anywhere, Gladdy!” Iris’s shrill yelp in response cut the air around them, people staring. “When will you get that? One of these days something bad is going to happen and you won’t be there to protect me-” 

Gladio turned on his heel and walked away from them, calling over his shoulder. “I’ll drive you back to Lestallum myself. Cam, we’ll talk about this when I get back.”

Cam’s brain was throbbing. Why did she have to complicate things… She offered an apologetic look to the younger girl. “Sorry, Iris. I-I don’t know why-” 

“No, thank you for covering my butt,” Iris replied as they trudged behind the messy man, steam almost radiating from him as he made for his Jeep, passing the hunt posting board on the way. Iris’s eyes lit up at the sight, and she trailed behind to get a look at it. “Woah...There’s so many…” she mumbled to herself.

When Gladio reached his vehicle and noticed Iris was still behind, he turned around and found her stopped in her tracks, fixated on the hunt postings. His teeth mashed together. “Iris, what the hell?”

She jolted and ran over. “Sorry! I saw something…”

Without another remark, Gladio backed out of the parking spot and drove off into the darkness of the tunnel. Cam watched his taillights dim as his Jeep faded into the distance.

She wanted to throw up, the lie she’d told had burned her tongue like a fresh cup of Ebony. She regretted it immensely, but at least now she had time to plan her next move, determine when the best time to take Iris out would be. He’d texted her about his new patrolling gig, conveniently provided her with a schedule, suggesting they could spend time together or go on a drive when he wasn’t on duty. She liked the idea very much, though realized now just how thinly stretched her time would be…

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, an incoming text message. She pulled it out and opened it. It was from Prompto: So I see you outside without a beer in your hand. Come inside and I’ll change that. 

Cam’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion, before she realized she was standing just outside the bar. She peered into the window and sure enough, a familiar chocobo-butt hairstyle was visible in the dim bar lighting. He flicked his hand in a casual wave to her and she returned the gesture.

He’d have to be honest with her; That there was someone else, that he felt their relationship well was running dry, that Cam was actually there the majority of the time and he needed something more than the odd shag now and then. Call it maturing, call it side effects of Astral interference. Gladio was ready for more, ready to inject purpose back into his life. Seeing Ignis and his soulmate Raine with their doting son together only fueled that desire, one he’d all but given up on after that day in the Lestallum market when he’d let her get away. 

He couldn’t do that again.

Steph didn’t want that life, for reasons from her past that he was well aware of. Back when she first told him he could easily say fuck it to aspirations; he needed a distraction, a getaway, a sentimental touch to counter the pain. Something to make him forget. Something to make him feel. But now they didn’t mesh and she went against his grain. He couldn’t make her happy. She couldn’t make him happy.

But Cam could…

Dave nodded at him and approached, a question in his tired expression. “Everything alright?” 

Gladio grunted. “Is what it is. Need something?”

“Actually, yeah. The Marshal’s looking to up patrols near the city, in light of recent events.” Dave pulled a folded and heavily creased map of Lucian roads and highways from his back pocket, pointing out areas traced in red marker. “These are the routes, if you’re up for it. Decent pay, just long hours. We’ve got Stevens on this route but we can’t send him out alone…” 

There was a slight air of desperation in Dave’s voice, Gladio could detect it and he frowned; they needed the help, he knew no one else was accepting this patrol because of the sheer quantity of daemons that lingered on the city outskirts, waiting with hopes that the power would go out...He’d seen it firsthand once as a fill-in on a patrol many moons ago. Being in his nature to help those who needed it, Gladio nodded. “Alright, I’ll take care of it.”

Dave all but breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, much appreciated. I’ll text you a digital scan with GPS coordinates-”

 Carmine locks of hair demanded attention from Gladio’s peripherals. “Thanks, sorry, gotta run.” He left Dave and jogged towards Steph, calling her name as she was opening the door to her vehicle.

When he reached her she paused, one foot in and the other still on solid ground. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes?”

Frosty, apathetic; she must have still held insult from his blatant disregard for her from earlier that evening, before the behemoth battle. Gladio tried his best to be approachable. “Got a minute? Would really like to talk to you about some things.” 

Steph’s expression didn’t waiver, an almost blank canvas devoid of emotion. “Does it look like I have time? I’m heading out, can it wait?”

“It’s kind of important,” Gladio replied, taking a step away from her, the ice in her words almost tangible. “How long will you be gone?”

“One, maybe two days.”

 His hands balled into tight fists. “You sure you don’t have time, for me?”

A heavy sigh deflated her lungs and she rolled tired eyes his way, ire in her voice. “I’m already behind schedule with that asshole showing up,” - she gestured to the dead behemoth overhead - “and Hammerhead is waiting on this gil ration to pay for a shipment of MREs. Any later than I already am and my job’s on the line. Unless you’re fine being the reason I get fired-”

Without warning Gladio pounded a fist against the hood of Steph’s car, exasperation getting the better of him as he narrowed his eyes at her and stormed off.

Steph watched him walk away in the rear view mirror and tutted, closing the car door before driving through the bloodied tunnel entrance and out of HQ. Once under the cover of the tunnel, she dialed a memorized number, two short rings and a familiar voice answered. They were anticipating her call. “So? You have good news, I trust.”

 “Negative,” Steph replied, “the behemoth was barely a distraction for them, it was felled far too quickly for me to access everything required. They only have dibs on what happened in the armory, though, but it’s only a matter of time before they make any connections.”

 “Fair enough,” the voice while not displeased responded in a mixed tone. “So long as you are not held accountable for any of the discrepancies they happen upon, we’re good.”

 “They’re none the wiser, have their sights on the new girl and she’s gotten the blame for it. Though that initiate could rat me out, still....”

The voice on the other line chuckled low, dark. “Another loose end to tie up, my dear?”

 Steph smirked as she accelerated out of the tunnel. “It would seem so.”

Cam’s new job was, in a word, unextraordinary.

She took a break from sharpening the stack of dull blades, leaning on the booth’s counter and watching the same two veteran hunters bicker over their kill count for the second time today. They’d been on hunts and back again in the time she’d stood in one spot, tending to the near endless pile of knives, daggers and swords that needed refinement, repetitive mundane work that bored her senseless. Sure, perhaps she’d enjoy the lackluster task several weeks ago, but today? She felt restless, the body of a fighter restricted to confined quarters. 

The phone call from the night before was back on her mind. Iris had called and asked Cam if she would be willing to do something her own brother would not: train her. She wanted to become a hunter, and help make a difference. Though Cam initially denied it flat-out, saying it wasn’t the right time, but Iris said something that had her reconsidering: “When will it be the right time for me, then? When the power finally gives and the city is taken over by daemons, and I’m backed into an alley? I have no one else, Cam. Gladio barely visits anymore because they have him so busy there, and the Crownsguard members are constantly on call. I’m all alone, Cam...I need to be able to watch my back.” 

In all regards she was right; there eventually would come a time in her life when she’d need to know how to defend herself, be it a disaster in Lestallum or otherwise. Her age did nothing to phase Cam as it did with Gladio, if anything it made her more ripe to train so she could get a head start. 

And the fact that she too, was alone in this...to say it struck a chord in her was an understatement.

Gladio would not be okay with it. Period. She had to be willing to compromise whatever kind of relationship was germinating between them for the sake of training the seventeen year old girl. Perhaps her approach could sway his favour, if she laid out the reasons and proved she knew what she was doing, maybe throwing in some compliments to her trainer and saying she learnt from the best might help...It was futile. He wouldn’t be thrilled at the idea. There had to be a way, though...

A truck sped through HQ, much faster than considered appropriate given the fact there were people walking about the area. It slammed on the brakes and skid into park near where the two veteran hunters were seated by the food vendor. An older hunter got out, already in hysterics and the two bickering veterans rushed to his aid, asking what was wrong and trying to shake some sense into him as he was a mess. The man was weeping, red faced and hunched over, and though a fair distance from her Cam could tell he was trembling. “M-my boy, they got my boy…”

In his hands he clutched a hooded sweatshirt, unmistakably child sized and coated in reddish-pink blotches.

Anguished fury swelled in Cam’s heart at the sight. Without hesitation, without a plan, Cam pulled out her phone and called Iris. She didn’t have to wait long for her to pick up.

“I’ll train you on one condition,” she breathed, the memory of Nolan’s last night alive pulled from the recesses of her mind.

Her mind was a flurry of activity though she’d hoped for a moment’s relaxation under the hot stream of water. A malicious part of her was ecstatic to have such incriminating evidence against Steph, almost thrilled at the opportunity to take her down a peg. One part of her within reason knew it was wrong to interfere, that it wasn’t her place to break the two of them up. Was there a guideline, or a set of rules to follow when the person of interest was your soulmate? Should one just approach them, lift their shirt up to reveal the exact same sized, shaped, pigmented and placed marking as they did? What was the protocol on that?

...What was the protocol when you were basically a widow...

Perhaps she’d request chatting with Ignis on the matter, ‘for a friend,’ of course. Last thing she needed was Gladio finding out and making everything awkward between them...

He had to tell her.

Peeling the last strip of paper label from his beer bottle, eyes strained from the low lighting of the bar, Gladio weighed the options at hand. Telling Cam he knew she was his soulmate would involve breaking things off with Steph…

Or would it? He’d been going about this all wrong, acting on the pretense that telling her they were soulmates somehow guaranteed her love and affection. He frowned. Just the idea of being turned down by Cam was like a jab to the ribs. Their time spent together was about to wind down, this he knew; her training had wrapped up much, much sooner than he’d anticipated, almost to the point his pride took a hit, so their daily excursions for sparring would be no more...Fuck, she was a quick learner....

“Dude, you look like you’re thinking way too hard for a Friday night,” Prompto quipped, downing the rest of his beer and wiping the head foam from his lips. “Darts?”

Gladio waved him off without looking up. “I’ll pass. I uhh, need to think about some things.”

“Like?”

“Stuff.”

“Come on, man,” Prompto sat back down in the booth. “Talk to me. Something's been bothering you lately. I know it, Iggy knows it.” He leaned back and relaxed his head against his hands. “You and Steph on the rocks?”

Hesitantly, Gladio raised his head. “How’d you know?”

“Well for one thing you spend every waking moment with Cam,” Prompto started counting things off with his fingers as he went on, “You really only talk about her or what you guys killed that day. Let’s see...Oh! And you’re always looking at Cam, too. The only time I ever see you around Steph anymore is when you’re leaving the barracks together or after she’s finished giving you a quickie behind the clinic.” He shuddered at the memory of Gladio caught zipping his fly, Steph trailing behind wiping a thumb against her irritated lips. “You guys used to be inseparable.”

“Yeah, well, she has to actually be around in the first place,” Gladio’s voice carried a curt tone. All the while they’d dated she would go off and ‘do her thing’ for a while, though said while often stretched over several days at a time, and when she returned she’d speak barely a sentence or two about it. Though something he’d known early on in their relationship, her absences were becoming much more frequent, and for longer durations of time. She never missed him, or at least she never said so whenever she returned. She’d scratch his itch that night then sleep facing the opposite direction. It was enough to create a chink in even the most weathered of armors.

It was a no brainer.

Gladio pulled out his phone, cycled through his contacts until he found his soulmate’s name, and typed a quick message. His sun flared up in all the right ways as he hit ‘Send’.

Hey, I know it’s late and it’s been a crazy day, but are you free tonight? Got something I need to tell you. We can meet at our usual spot. Let me know.

Steph glowered at the message, poised to biff the cellphone against the locker room wall but she exhaled hard, cooling her jets. Without hesitation she deleted the message, before opening the gallery folder and deleting the last eight photos taken, removing the evidence. She’d known Cam would follow her little breadcrumb trail and take the bait like a starving guppy. Everything was falling into place.

She placed the phone back the way she found it and left the locker room before the owner of it spotted her.

Cam scrunched her hair with a towel as she dried off, contemplating how best to go about spilling the beans to Gladio. It was practically eating at her, gnawing at the bit. Was now a better time than later? Probably not; still, there was no harm in trying. They could chat over a drink; lord knows she could use one right now…

She got dressed in clean casual clothes, happy to be out of her spent armor for the evening and dropped her things off at her bunk.

Gladio wasn’t at the bar. Neither were Prompto or Greyson, or anyone worthwhile for that matter. She ducked back outside and scanned the area for familiar faces, pulling the sleeves of her hoodie down with the chill in the evening air. Regardless she’d thought it was a good night to go for a drive at least, some quiet time before tomorrow when they’d have to figure out how to go about disposing the massive behemoth corpse overlooking HQ.

Wherever he was, Cam decided to leave an offer open to meet up with him. If they talked tonight, great; If not tonight, there was always the rest of their lives, right?

She found his number in her phone and sent a short text before fishing Greyson’s spare truck key from her jeans. She called him and let him know she was heading out for a bit with it, just as a fat drop of rain hit her on the forehead.

Hey Gladio, swung by the bar but you weren’t around. Thought I’d let you know I’m going for a drive to our spot, near Lestallum where you trained me. If you’re up for a chat, I’ll be there. Hope to see you.

He frowned, confused by the message. Earlier he’d asked her to meet up with him but the phrasing seemed off, as if she didn’t get the memo. Perhaps she didn’t, he concluded as he slid his phone in his back pocket, the scattered raindrops that peppered his leather jacket increasing in size and amount as a downpour started. It was cool against his tired skin and he leaned back against the railing of the overlook, the city of Lesatallum bright and booming as usual.

Steph would need to understand. He’d attempted plotting the conversation between them, how they were already in a bad spot, that he didn’t feel appreciated as a person and only as arm candy or a good lay. A security blanket, almost; someone to just be there whenever you need it, to help you through a difficult time and offer comfort regardless of how they felt. It wasn’t that he didn’t mind supporting her, but what’s the point of a relationship if they’re only going to use you for their own benefit, something to build them up on demand without regard for their wants and needs as a human being…

...Cam…

It took little effort on his part to start thinking of her, nearing second-nature status. How many times had he dreamt of her face, clear as day though he’d seen her just that one time in the market square of Lestallum, two years prior? Or when Ignis was lucky enough to marry the love of his life, assigned to him by the Astrals, how annoying was it for his friend to put up with his side comments about how he ‘should have gone back to her’ or ‘just said hi,’ the sun on his hip always sparking at any given moment that reminded him of her…

Two years...That mystery soulmate from the marketplace had destroyed him. He didn’t know her name or where she lived. All he knew was her face and her marking.

Steph made for a fantastic distraction, though. Sure at first and for the most part it had been all about the sex, all about getting her out of his head, because by now she’d be dead or far away from this hellhole. Feelings followed after, but only long after, when he had only Iris; naturally he needed to find someone in the darkness.

Until the sun itself showed up at hunter HQ…

The sound of a car door opening and closing pulled him from his thoughts and he looked over his shoulder. Speak of the devil…

Cam stood just outside the truck, pulling her hood over her head though already fast approaching soaked status. “Hey!” she called to him. “Aren’t you cold?”

Gladio was shellshocked. She was positively shining before him in the darkness, a light no one had ever given off for him. He couldn’t help it; He leaped back over the barrier of the overlook, long strides towards Cam, each one like walking on coals; difficult but the quicker you move the closer you get to the prize at the finish line.

He reached her and she backed against the truck, eyes alive with bewilderment. “H-hi,” she croaked, her pupils flicking from his eyes, his scar, his lips, his eyes-

Gladio rested his forearms against the truck on either side of her head, holding her between them as if protecting the last match in a monsoon. Her name fell from his lips in a breath, before he leaned down and pressed them against hers.

Every nerve ending in Cam’s body singed, licked by flames and captivated her soul in a fire that could brighten all of Lucis had it escaped. Gladio’s mouth was hot with a blaze all his own and the rain only sweetened his essence. Her hands ran up his chest beneath his jacket, smoothing over his pecs to lock together behind his neck, the air coming and going in her lungs at a ragged pace. He was messed up as well; the slightest quiver in his bottom lip, which Cam eased with a gentle roll between her teeth before soothing the action with a gentle suck. An airy groan escaped his throat; she almost fainted.

Though the truck exterior was cold and already soaking her backside Cam braced herself against it, lost in Gladio’s world and desperate to deny rescue. Not like he’d let her leave anyhow; When she’d pull back to end the kiss, telling him she needed to show him something, he’d mumble against her mouth “it can wait,” his hands coaxing her back for more. He was fastly becoming the best thing that ever happened to her. That the stars had mapped a course just for them made her smile against his full lips.

As if hearing an unsung praise, his hand ghosted down her side to rest at her hip...right over the sun shaped marking etched in her skin since birth and before.

The sound of Gladio’s phone ringing jolted them from their trances, and he pulled away though Cam could tell he’d no sooner be back on her the moment he was free. He frowned, never taking his eyes off hers as he answered the call. “What.”

Cam shifted awkwardly as she waited, watching him, calming her pulse to a steady beat. When his eyebrows knit, she offered him a puzzled look.

“I’ll head back as soon as possible.”

Gladio answered Cam’s question before she asked it. “But that, is not normal sized.”

“W-what the damn hell?!” Prompto cried and whipped his head around the driver’s side headrest, lilac eyes like saucers. “Holy crap, that thing is massive!”

“They aren’t normally that big?” Cam asked, unable to take her eyes off the monster. She’d heard multiple accounts of them before from both Nolan and other hunters, but had never seen a live one before now.

Greyson came to a crawling speed to get a better look. “Fuck...Gotta be what, double-no, triple the size of a normal one?”

“‘Bout that,” Gladio was affixed to it, lips parted in awe. “Get the Marshal on the phone, things close enough to HQ for comfort.”

While Prompto dialed Cor, the truck curved around a turn that brought the vehicle closer to the beast. The ground shook with it’s steps. Cam gulped. Where the hell had it come from?

“Yeah, biggest one we’ve ever seen!” Prompto craned his head to the side to keep an eye on it. “...No even bigger than that one, that was a shrimp compared to-”

In a movement that sent shivers up their spines, the behemoth’s head snapped towards them. It crouched, licked its chops, then leaped in their direction.

“FUCK!” Cam and Gladio said in unison.

“Oh you’ve got to be KIDDING ME,” Greyson cried flooring the accelerator, the tires screeching against the pavement as the truck jarred forward, gaining momentum at a much slower pace than they’d wished for. “She can’t take this kinda stress, full load and all these RPMS? Gonna blow the engine!”

The behemoth was almost in full gallop, eyes locked on it’s target, trees swaying at the tremors, its giant paws raking up patches of dead turf and sod.

“We don’t have a choice!” Cam tried to keep her voice normal but the anxiousness in her tone was apparent. “At least make it to the tunnel, I don’t think it will fit through…”

Gladio grabbed the phone from Prompto, who’d gone silent from shock. “Marshal, we got a problem. Thing’s on our tails,” he paused to grab the frame of the truck, Greyson careening it around a turn so fast the passenger’s side front tire left pavement, “might follow us back to HQ, let the others know we’re gonna need backup and a fuckton of firepower.”

He waited for Cor’s response, gave an “Okay,” and hung up. “They’re readying for a fight. Spearguns are being pulled from storage.”

“Christ,” Greyson coughed. “Okay! There’s the tunnel. Almost there-”

The engine went dead, an empty whirring sound as the rotations slowed.

“NO NO NO NO DAMMIT FUCK-” He cranked the ignition but only the strained torquing sound whined through. The truck was slowing down, the pounding of the ground getting more violent by the second.

Cam had her hand on the door handle, stuck trying to decide whether or not to abandon ship when Gladio grabbed her arm. “Don’t even think about it,” He growled. “You jump out that thing will trample you. At least in here you have a chance.”

Her hand fell from the latch, her savior spoken. Words unsaid seemed to transmit between them, Gladio’s hand still holding onto her arm, his expression a combination of fear and uncertainty. The windshield and windows of the truck vibrated from the behemoth’s canter, the truck coasting along at a gradually reducing speed. The tunnel was straight ahead. They may make it, with a little luck…

Instead of attacking the vehicle, the behemoth did something entirely unexpected. Mere yards from the back hatch, it leaped through the air up and over the truck all together, landing on top of the tunnel above.

The ground shook hard from the impact, the truck still puttering along, Greyson pumping the gas and turning the key over and over. Eventually nothing would give and it rolled to a complete stop, several dozen feet into the tunnel.

The headlights died and the four of them delved into complete darkness.

Above them the tunnel rocked from the behemoth’s footsteps, bits of rock and debris from the walls raining down on the roof of the truck. Everyone exhaled a sigh of relief.

Greyson turned on his phone’s flashlight. “Gonna pop the hood, Cindy said this could happen and showed me a few tricks.”

He got out and rounded the front, the tremors dying down. “That thing’s heading straight for HQ…” Prompto trailed off,

Gladio pulled out his phone and made a call to the Marshal. “Got a problem. Thing’s definitely heading for HQ. It’s jumped the tunnel.”

It was so quiet Cam could hear Cor on the other end: “Where are you?”

“Stuck in the tunnel. Truck’s toast.”

“Let’s not say that just yet,” Greyson had hopped back in the driver’s seat, tried the ignition, nothing. Tried a second time and the truck groaned and heaved, before finally revving up and the engine was back to life. “Alright, good to go,” he announced, flinging his seatbelt on.

“Damn Greyson, got the magic touch man,” Prompto cheered, buckling in as well. The truck took off as fast as Greyson could get the engine to perform, thankfully passing the strongest rumbles from overhead. The behemoth was behind them, and it seemed to have slowed down, perhaps uncertain what to do next. Either that, or it was waiting for them to reappear.

The light at the end of the tunnel started to grey out the darkness, and when they pulled up into the entrance of the headquarters Cam gasped.

Six giant spearguns, each the size of railcars with three on each side of the road were rolled up on carts that looked almost medieval in construction. They were angled up towards the spaces in between the rock shelf above, poised to deal death from below. “Cor doesn’t fuck around when shit hits the fan, does he?” Cam muttered, already unbuckling.

Greyson pulled the truck behind the armory and the four of them got out, joining the group of hunters near the spearguns. Dave was assigning people to man them while another group was getting the rundown on how to reload it. Cor greeted the group as they approached. “One of the snipers spotted it, approximately a mile away give or take.”

“Can we take it out with just these?” Greyson motioned to the weapons craning overhead.

The Marshal frowned. “Hard to say, a behemoth this size hasn’t been on record yet.” He crossed his arms. “Just have to give it what we can, no room for error. If you have the opportunity to strike, seize it.”

“Got it,” Gladio nodded, before turning to Cam. “Let’s keep off-”

Steph slammed into Gladio from behind, her ivory arms attempting to wrap around his bulky form. “Gladdy, where the hell have you been?”

Cam backed away, her soulmate marking almost repelling from the red haired vixen. Steph threw her a look of contempt, her icy eyes narrowing. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Cam smirked. “Right here.”

Gladio was thankful Steph couldn’t see the massive grin that pulled his lips at her response. “We had to stay at the Leville, truck broke down.”

“You could’ve texted me at least.” Again her eyes shot towards Cam. “I was...worried.”

Gladio shrugged out of her hold, sighing. “Look, we’ll talk about it later, now’s definitely not the time-”

On que, the ground shook below their feet. The hunters manning the spearguns tensed, lining up the weapons in anticipation.

“Fine, whatever.” Steph blew him off, stalking away to some place Cam could care less about. Though it did color her curious that Gladio hadn’t contacted her at all to tell her of their holdup…

Over a hand radio, someone buzzed through to Dave. “In our sights, four-hundred yards.” A pause, then: “It’s sprinting!”

The beast was heading for them, and fast. Cam and Gladio joined the front line, weapons at the ready. The ground made Cam’s knees jut and almost give out from underneath her, but she squatted slightly to counter the shakes. As the earth quaking grew stronger the racks of weapons at the nearby vendor toppled over, clanging loudly as they spilled. Overhead, the nearby rock shelf groaned, dust and pebbles falling free.

“THERE!” one of the gunners up top shouted, and everyone tensed. Then…

It slowed, taking calculated steps towards the edge of the tunnel roof. Cam could see the tips of its horns; goosebumps pocked her skin.

The moment she caught sight of its glowing yellow eyes, the Marshal gave the command; “Fire!”

Six torpedoing spears shot skywards, arcing perfectly over the crest of the tunnel and striking their mark, the behemoth recoiling and letting out a pained roar that popped Cam’s eardrums. The gunners up top fired automatic weapons at it, red dots blossoming on it’s musclebound flesh. The beast swiped at them, trying to reach them from their positions nearby.

The spearguns were locked and loaded for another round and they awaited Cor’s orders. A pause, then “Fire!”

The spears cut through the air with lethal grace, though one of them missed their target and veered off bouncing on the rock wall. The beast was staggering, but there was life still in its fierce eyes...

Cam had to take action; a surge of adrenaline at the sight of the beast’s blood fired her up. She sprinted towards the rock wall, uncertain if her idea would actually bear fruit, but then her hand caught a ledge that held her weight and right above it, another jagged piece for her to pull up onto.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Dave yelled.

Cam pulled up to another edge, her foot finding a landing, one after the other as if she were a born climber though she hadn’t scaled rock walls a moment in her life…

She made it three-quarters the way up when she caught sight of someone below her. Gladio. “You’re fucking insane, I hope you know that!” He yelled up at her, pulling himself up the shelf.

“You’re the one following me!” Cam shouted, just as her hands gripped the upper ledge, hoisting herself up and over.

The beast was at best twenty yards away from her. Cam held her breath, backing away from the ledge so Gladio could climb up. He summoned his greatsword, panting. “What kind of plan do you have in mind exactly?”

Cam unsheathed her swords. “We need to disable it. I’m thinking the eyes. If it can't see us, it’s as good as dead.”

Gladio scoffed at her. “How the hell are we going to pull that off?!”

The behemoth sniffed the air, it’s pained groans like thunder around them. Catching wind of something, it’s head snapped in their direction, the two of them in it’s sights, locked on. They would be an easy kill.

Cam stared back into the eyes of the beast.

“Watch me.”