#highshield

The ringing of a phone made the two look up, watching Gladio pulling the device from his pocket as he had been standing by the window - leaning against the wall and watching them with a serene smile on his face. His eyebrow arched when he saw the caller ID, and picked it up immediately.

"Yeah, what's up Iggy?" He rumbled curiously, shooting Alexius a smile and waved at the little boy. Alexius giggled in delight and hid his face against his mama's chest. Aranea smiled amused as her fingers played with his silver wavy hair. Her adorable precious boy.

Gladio became as quiet and still as a statue, his focus fully on whatever Ignis Scientia told his friend. Aranea narrowed her eyes with concern as she watched him. Weird tingles spreading through her torso.

"Yeah, I'm on my way right now." He hung up and became like a human tornado through the small apartment they rented in Lestallum, a feverish light in his eyes.

"Gladio, what's going on?" she asked as she put Alexius on her hip and stood up, following him into the bedroom as the little boy chomped down on one of her ponytails. Watching his dad as curiously as his mother did. Gladio threw clothes into a duffle bag, before turning around and cupping her cheek softly.

"Noctis is back."

The words were like a punch to her gut. Her widening startled as she looked up in the eyes her son had. Gladio's eyes. Her hands tightened as she for a moment didn't know what to feel, or think. Let alone say. Then she snapped into action, nodding firmly.

"I'll pack Alex's things," she told Gladio calmly and moved away. But his hand on her arm stopped her. She arched her eyebrow at Gladio. The smile on her lips almost mocking with an edge of danger. "Don't you dare tell me we are staying behind, Gladiolus Amicitia. Don't even dare."

"Aranea....." he sighed, shaking his head with a laugh as he seemed to relaxed when she glared at him, not going to waver from her spot. Alexius mewled confused but beamed when Gladio picked the little boy up so his mum could pack their things. The large man knowing better than to argue with his small but lethal wife.

Araena's heart beat rapidly, her hands becoming a bit clammy as she packed a duffle bag rapidly. Getting ready as fast as possible as they had no time to waste.

The King had returned.

// Hammerhead //

Noctis stared at the little boy who looked shyly at him from Aranea's neck. Trying to wrap his head around the fact that Gladio and Aranea were parents. Gladio with Aranea. He had thought maybe she would get together with Ignis. Or that Prompto would finally win over Cindy and have a little one with her. But no, it was Gladio with one of the toughest and scariest women he had even met.

"How?" he managed to get out, Gladio laughing as he swung his arm around his friend's shoulders. Aranea smiling amused as well. “You…a father? With Aranea Highwind?”

"That's a story for when we have tucked the little one in....but I'll gladly tell you, my friend. By the way, it is Aranea Amicitia." The choking sound Noctis made caused them all to laugh hearty.

// Years Before //

She looked back at the last few months, wondering how things could have gotten where they were right now. It was almost beyond belief. After their first time together, they started to hang our regularly. Quickies behind buildings in outposts. Snog parties in one of their cars. Just...moments together. Mostly just sexual, physical, not much emotions involved. Scratching each other's itches. Then...she slowly started to learn his body language.

How he liked her nails on his back. Or when she collared his throat. When he had to wrestle with her to get her under him. How he liked meat the most with his noodles. Or the little furrow he got between his brows when he was particularly invested in a story he read.

He seemed to pick up on her tell-tale signs as well. When she was tired and would get a bit of a vacant look in her eyes. The way she would come undone if he did that thing with his fingers and tongue. The way her eyes lit up when she saw star fruit or a kitten.

As time progressed, she started to find his clothes in her drawer. Or a few of his books on her shelf. A growing stock of Cup Noodles. Or a new little clay ornament added to her silly collection. Just small apparently insignificant things.

Then he was just there. Every day. Falling asleep next to her, with his arms always finding a way to get around her and hold her close. Just there.

They never talked about it. Never said it out loud. But she wasn't stupid. He had moved in with her and done so in a hella sneaky way. Little bit at the time so she wouldn't feel pressured or cornered. It felt natural and right. Her...their apartment started to become the meeting point for his friends as well. Ignis and Prompto dropping by from time to time. And it all went smoothly. Too smoothly.

And today the other shoe had dropped. Happiness and joy were never permanent fixtures in her life. She knew something would go wrong. Something would happen that would shatter the little good she has created in her life. And her relationship with Gladio was good. A precious flower that they had nurtured. But so damn delicate. She kept expecting for him to walk out. Find himself a little sweet housewife instead of a dangerous hunter. That he didn't have to worry about if she was coming home after a hunt - and oh boy have they had some fights about that....and incredibly hot angry and make-up sex.

The pregnancy test glared at her. Mocked her. Laughed at her. The little plus telling her that she wasn't alone anymore. Literally. Something even more delicate than her relationship growing inside of her. And it terrified her. She was a hard woman. A warrior. Never had she imagined herself to be a mother. But she would become one now.

What worried her most would be Gladio's reaction to the news. He was an Amicitia, practically blue blood right there. Surely he would want to continue his bloodline, but not with some mercenary-gone-hunter woman who knew nothing of her lineage. Dumped on the steps of an orphanage hours after she has been born.

"Babe?" The knock on the bathroom door startled her. Blinking rapidly and washing her face clean as she tried to get her emotions in order. "Babe, you okay?"

No. She wasn't okay. Cursing herself for her oversight. Knowing precisely the time she must have gotten pregnant. A few weeks back, she had gotten the stomach flu and spend a lot of her time hunched over the porcelain throne. Gladio had been so sweet though. Holding her hair back, rubbing her back. Gone out to the market for fresh ingredients for soup. Just been this sweet teddy bear rarely anyone saw. Her pill must have weakened then. She should have told him to use a condom. It was too late now.

"One sec," she called out to him, feeling his presence radiating through the door. Pocketing the test and drying her face, she took a deep breath. You could do this, Aranea. Opening the door, she looked up in the worried face of her...boyfriend...no that sounded too juvenile. Her partner. Yes. That was what he was. But for how long?

He cupped her face carefully in his hands, the rough callouses almost soothingly against her softer skin. His amber eyes moving over her face as if he tried to figure out what bothered her. "Stomach flu coming for a round two?" He rumbled, and she couldn't help but smile at him. He always tried to make her smile. With him, she was always softer. Less prickly.

"Gladio...I..." she exhaled as she looked away, trying to figure out how to tell him. He didn't push or prod, just giving her the time to figure out what she wanted to tell him. One of the many things she loved about him. Loved. Her heart squeezed with that word. She had tried to lie to herself for so long, but she couldn't any longer. Somehow, she had fallen for this big scarred teddy bear.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. His heat seeping into her cooler body. She loved to just curl up on top of him like a cat on a heated pillow. His fingers combed through her silly silver hair, a soothing rumble coming from his chest. "Whatever is bothering you, Aranea, we will get through it."

"I'm pregnant," she blurted out. Just like that. Blunt as always. She sucked in a breathe when he felt him freeze. Not looking at him when he pulled back, his stare so intense as anxiety - something she didn't feel often - coursed through her.

He stood there for what felt like hours. Not saying anything. Her eyes starting to burn a bit. Then he sunk down on his knees, and she could see the absolutely delighted look on his face. His hands moving to touch her still flat belly, and he stared at it as if it was the answer to all his prayers. "You sure?"

"Without a doubt." The tests were 99.9% accurate. And she had been experiencing other symptoms: odd cravings, emotional outbursts, and stronger sense of smell.

He looked up at her before pressing his lips against her stomach so gently. All the anxiety started to leech out of her as she moved her hands into that thick dark hair of his. Holding him close to her as she could breathe again. He wasn't mad or against the baby. He wanted just as much as she did. Even though it was far from planned. Far from expected.

"I love you, Aranea." Well that wasn't expected either. She started laughing as he smiled back up at her, his hands resting possessively on her behind, squeezing softly.

"I love you too, you big brute."

/// Hammerhead ///

Aranea watched Alexius babble softly to his aunt Iris, the young woman chuckling amused and ruffling her nephew's hair. The poor lass had rushed as fast as she could back to Hammerhead when she got the news Noctis was back. But she had missed him by half an hour, he and his retinue having set out for Insomnia already. Aranea had hugged her as Iris whispered how she wanted them to all come back alive. And she hoped too. So much.

But seeing what Noctis had told them all. That he had to die for the Starscourge to go away. For Ardyn to be finally defeated. The chances seemed to be small. Small...but not impossible.

She smiled to herself at the stunned look Gladio had when she had handed him the Mega Phoenix Down she had saved all those years for a true emergency. Handing him a Mega Elixir as well.

"Bahamut said he had to die so the Scourge can be destroyed."

"But Bahamut said nothing against bringing him back alive."

He had laughed surprised at that, kissed her deeply before thanking her. Finding loopholes was always one of her strongest suits.

"Mama? When will Papa be back?" Alexius crawled onto her lap as they sat on the roof of the restaurant. Staring in to the direction of the ruins of Insomnia. Iris leaned against her, and she wrapped her arms around them both. Protective and refusing to give into her worries and fears.

"Soon little one. Papa will be whining for noodles when he's back," she joked, trying to keep their spirits up. Time had started to become so slow. Hours. A day. It felt like eternity as they waited for any news. Any sign that they were alright. Alive.

She had wanted to come with them, but she knew she couldn't. She had Alexius to worry about, and she wasn't part of the retinue. This was their battle. And all she could do was wait for them.

"I want noodles too." She and Iris chuckled at Alexius' deadpan comment. Aranea pressing a soft kiss on his forehead. Then, something caught their eyes. Something...at the horizon. Colours changing. A hint of purple...flowing into red...orange...and then almost a yellow white.

"The sun," Iris’ voice sounded fragile as she held onto Aranea's hand so tightly. Knowing what that meant. Noctis had fulfilled his destiny. But was he alive? Were they all alive? Alexius babbled excitedly as he for the first time saw the sun, Aranea putting sunglasses on his face to protect him from the sharp light. Even she and Iris but them on as their eyes weren't used to the sun anymore after ten years of darkness.

Her heart jumped when her phone finally buzzed, unlocking the screen quickly to see who texted her. Hoping it so much to be Gladio. Of course others would text her to celebrate the return of the sun. But there was only one person she truly wanted to hear from.