fieryknowledge | (no subject)

Ignis stops but is still tense under him. Gladio gets a clawed hand into the scruff of his fur and holds on, but his free hand runs through soft golden fur across his shoulders, down his back.

"Come back to me, my Iggy."

Gladio isn't going to hurt him, but he foes have to trust him. This is 't somethibg they both have ever had to deal with, the growing pains of a late blooming were- But Gladio does know how to be Ignis' rock in the storm, if nothing else.

"Come on, babe. You know I'd never hurt you."

Edited 2018-03-24 02:01 (UTC)

A few sweeps of Gladio's hand and the growling died off, but he remained tense. The adrenaline of the chase was draining away, leaving Ignis' mind wound tight while his body let itself wear out under Gladio's dominating presence. His muscles were still knotted up from his quickly aborted attempt to run and while part of him wanted to relax under Gladio's stroking hand, part of him remained on edge and just as unable to come down as he sometimes did as a human.

It is working, slowly but surely. Gladio sighed and continues to rub his fingers through his fur.

"My mate... Come on Iggy. Listen to my voice; let me calm you down."

He considers it his job to, after all. After all, he cared about and loved Ignis deeply. He releases the scruff of his neck, but is ready to grab him again if he bolts.

Wiry muscled tensed up again when he felt Gladio's hand loosen up on his neck, but he remained where he was. The voice was now soothing and one he knew well, but there was still an edge to him. His mind was locked in on something and for Ignis, that could be a good thing, or a bad thing. Growling again, he shook as if to try and dislodge Gladio's stroking hand from his fur even though he clearly wasn't about to try and run again. Not when he knew that Gladio had him outmatched.

This time.

Gladio lets his mind dig for a way to gelp his mate. And he finds it in his usual way, despite Ignis' new status as a were. He leans in and presses a kiss to the top of his head, both hands stroking through fur now.

"You're too tense, let me help? I want you to feel good, Iggy, and you know I can help with that."

He rumbles out, without words and low in his tone calling for his mate, asking him to trust him, to give to him. He presses his scent out against him, trying to either soothe him into changing back or at least giving him to control.

That tone struck something deep inside Ignis, his instincts wanting to answer that and when Gladio's rich scent washed over him, there was no way he could resist. It took some effort and longer than he would've wanted, but after a few long moments, Ignis had managed to settle back into his human skin. He lay under Gladio, the fine lines of his body still a bit tense, but it was already a good deal better than it'd been before.

Gladio is so glad when Ignis seems to listen to him, through he knows it isn't over yet, not by a longshot. Even as he turns back to human, brilliant and beautiful Gladio's large, paw like hands continue to move over him steadily.

Back in his human skin is good, but Gladio hadn't been prepared for the sight of all his marks still all over Ignis' fair skin. His breath hitches briefly as his fingers slide down to the bruises on the man's thighs, gently pressing into them, even as he leans his warm, heavy weight against the man's back for him to sink into.

"Oh gorgeous, I'm so sorry. Were you afraid of me? You don't have to be. I'll never hurt you unless it's to make you feel good."

He has changed back to mostly human as well, considering his need to concentrate on talking. Mostly in the face, but all of it, even caught in the middle of a shidt, is familiar and Gladio, everything Ignis already knows.

The pressure on his still bruised thighs made him tense up again, a soft hiss of protest escaping his lips. He was just now starting to get his breath back after his headlong run and subsequent tumble with Gladio so the sound was a bit softer than usual. He would've moved away but Gladio's weight settled heavy atop him before he could even think of it.

A new hint of something slipped into Ignis' scent then, something wary and maybe a trickle of instinctive fear buried in there as well and he had no idea he was even giving that off.

"I would hardly call that making me feel good."

At that hiss he catches what he is doing and pulls his hand away immediately. Gladio might make mistakes, but he is quick to fix them when he can.

"You're right, I got caught up in how beautiful you look wearing my marks." He admits, and moves off of the other. He helps Ignis sit up properly, even reaches over to snag his sweatpants that had been lying next to the fire from where they shidted, keeping them nice and warm. He hands them over to his lover and finishes shifting back himself, unconcerned about being nude.

"Are you okay, Iggy?"

Instead of taking the offered sweats, Ignis shifted back, away from Gladio's hand. The motion wasn't made with intent, just instinct. While Gladio wasn't concerned with being nude, Ignis shuffled around until he managed to curl up, effectively covering himself up. The whole while, he kept his gaze low, away from Gladio.

"What did you do to me? Earlier, with your voice."

Gladio actually does look a little upset at how Ignis inches away from him, but does his best to hide it from the man. This is all new to Ignis, and it is happening so fast that it has to be scary.

"I just... you know, exerted my dominance over you. Its a pack thing. I was worried you were gonna get hurt if you ran away from me again, and I couldn't let that happen to you."

Iggy may have seen it from Regis or Claus when a meeting was getting heated once or twice before, but it was unlikely to have affected him so much back then.

Ignis hadn't noticed Regis or mostly Clarus using it, though it wouldn't shock him. During heated 'discussions', both were known to raise their voice and oddly enough, things seemed to clear up once it happened. Now he knew the how and why of it and it disturbed him. It disturbed him enough that he climbed to his feet and padded off into the tent, settling himself in the security of his nest without even realizing that he'd done it seeking comfort.

Gladio waits only a few minutes before following his lover, cleaning up the campsite and making sure the fire was out before he entered after him. Slow, making sure his lover can hear him so he doesn't startle further.

Oh, he heard him. He heard every movement Gladio made even when he was outside the tent. It was as if his senses were finely tuned when it came to his partner. When Gladio came into the tent, Ignis shifted a bit in the nest, tucking himself in a little more even as he turned his gaze toward the bigger man.

"... I'm asking you not to do that to me again. Taking charge for pleasure is one thing, but that... you took away my choice, Gladio. I understand why, but... it's unnerving to know that someone I've loved for so long could do that to me so easily."

Gladio has shed his form all the way to human by the time he enters, and moves ro sit across from his lover. In reach, if he so wished.

He listens, he really does. Ignis can always count on that, even if it is something they disagree on.

"Alright Iggy, I can do that. You know I'm gonna always pick you first." Doesn't mean he won't make mistakes in the end, but they will be honest over everything else.

Mistakes were more than acceptable. They were expected. After all, how did someone learn properly? Hells, Ignis had made some major mistakes earlier when he let his instincts get the better of him and don't think he didn't know that. That was partly why his mood was so off right then. Ignis didn't like making such glaring mistakes.

He knew that Gladio had settled in reach but he kept his hands tucked away, one around the edge of a blanket and the other in his lap, loose and open. Some of the tension had eased out of him by now, but that wariness remained.

"... thank you."

He smiles gently at him, before letting out a brief noise- he forgot he left somethibg outside their tent- and quickly returns with their cooler to put against the wall. Before that, howeverx, he breaks into the six pack of Ebony they brought and hands it over, still on the right side of cold for Ignis.

"Anytime, Iggy. I love you, so I'm always gonna do what's right for us, you know?"

Finally he stretches out into the nest of blankets himself, content to be close by. Ignis knows his side is always open to curl up against when he is done needing his space to himself.

The Ebony was taken with a quiet murmur of gratitude, his fingers brushing against Gladio's briefly before he tucked into it. Coffee while his nerves were still on edge usually wouldn't be a good idea, but it rarely affects his nerves anymore. He's just had that much of it in his life. Instead of making him jittery, it's something that he's used to, so it helped to settle his mood a bit more.

He still kept his distance from Gladio, though.

A bit later and he turned to settle deeper into the nest, clearly worn out. It'd been a bit of a hectic day and while Ignis was used to working long hours, he seemed to wear out quicker as of late. He was sure that was partly due to the recent changes he'd been going through and he hoped they'd settle down soon. He couldn't be like this forever, after all.

Gladio stays with him in a only slightly awkward silence, his tablet in hand opened to a book of his he has had a hankering to read. He would normally get lost in it, but he spends his time stealing glances over at his mate near the end of every chaoter, checking on him.

Finally he seems ready to sleep though, and before Gladio turns his off he does lean over a little into Ignis' space, catching his hand into his.

"Sleep well, okay babe? I know this is a lot all at once, and I know it is hard, but I promise that I'm here for you."

There was a pause when Gladio's hand closed over his, but a moment later, there was a squeeze back and this time, Ignis didn't let go. It was a silent invitation to join him. Ignis could hold a grudge if he wanted, but at the moment, he wasn't in the mood. Not when everything in his world had gone sideways and the support was wanted.

"I'm starting to think I'm not cut out for this."

"Babe, it's been less than a week."

Gladio says, with a chuckle and moving to come closer, he settles warm and safe over him, keeping that hand in Ignis' own.

"You've learned about a whole different life, dealt with all of your normal job things on top of that, and your changes are kind of crazy. I'd say you are doing fucking great right about now."

There was a soft hum from Ignis at the praise, even if he inwardly disagreed. It was common knowledge that Ignis hated not being good at something he has to do. That was why he worked so hard when he first started to learn how to handle weapons. Having Gladio there to help, both then and now, was a gift and he knew it.

Sighing, he tucked himself in against Gladio, biting back a yawn.

"I can do better."

"You can, it just takes a little time, love."

He leans in to kiss his lover before settling next to him, wolf part of him satisfied that he has made his mate content. One arm slips around his waist, and he settles in happily to sleep after their hard run.

The rest of their time off passes in a bit of a blur of sex, hormones and the rich mingled scents of himself and his mate. He'd managed to learn to hunt and was on track to be just as quietly deadly as a wolf as he was a human and they both knew he was just as fast. If anything, Ignis had always been a quick learner and there was no exception with this new part of his life.

They won't discuss that one nasty tumble into the bush, though. He felt like he'd never live that one down.

The following weeks went by quickly. Once they got back, life resumed for both of them and Ignis had to learn new ways to balance everything. In some ways, Insomnia was even more distracting now that sounds and scents were much more enhanced for Ignis now. For a few days, he'd find himself pausing in the middle of a conversation, his head slowly panning as he found himself trying to figure out a new scent or realize that he was hearing birds that he'd never heard before.

Everyone took that distraction with good humor and patience once word got around that Ignis was a 'late bloomer'.

Right around the full moon, things seemed to change. Council members started to linger closer to him than before and Clarus took him aside to quietly caution him about how some weres took the full moon. He was fine with everything save his own growing nerves until he was damn near cornered by one of the younger Crownguard during a spar. A low, soft growl was all the warning he got before the other man burrowed his face against Ignis' neck, taking a long, slow sniff before Ignis kicked him off and damn near gutted him for it.

The rest of the day had left him on edge, enough so that Regis and Noctis both had told him to go home early. After all, they both knew what was going on. A hour later and Ignis was unlocking the door to his apartment, still vaguely disgruntled.

Their trip goes well- Gladio teaches Ignis what he knows and his mate absorbs it like a sponge. Although they do spend many hours completly engrossed in each other, their tent turned into a den of sex and debauchery between naps. It was a wonderful time and really a good way for Ignis to get use to the basics he would be dealing with. As a late bloomer, it can show up hard and fast, bur rhis helps.

When they head back home the two of them are happy, new limits learned and boundaries set that Gladio intends to keep. Sleeping back in their apartment that first nice is nice, and he feels really good about where all of this is leading to.

As the full mood draws closer, Gladio starts to notice things that bother him. People standing closer in Ignis' personal space, lingering looks that make his lips curl up, ready to growl. He isn't the only one who notices, and on the days when he is standing guard in a meeting, the sheer annoyance radiating off of him tends to curb most of that behavior.

But he cant always be there, nor is Ignis someone who needs to be protected like a fragile doll. They talk about it and agree that as long as nobody touches, Ignis can't risk his position on the council with any angry outbursts from either of them.

The afternoon before the full moon is when things get a little too out of hand. Gladio nearly marches down to the medical bay to further fuck up said mentioned Crownsguard when he is intercepted by his father and Cor. They assure him that they will handle it and send him off back home, with a reminder to wither stay home or join the pack before the full moon rose tonight.

When he enters the apartment, probaply about an hour after Ignis has, he has calmed down. Somewhat. Being at home- close to their den- makes him much happier, espcially when he can smell Ignis nearby.

"Everything okay, Iggy?" He calls as he enters, shoes coming off before he pads past the entranceway.