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nightcoeurlulric: Come on, just help me out with this.
altius: no
ostium: ya i gotta side with crowe here buddy its a little weird
ulric: How is it weird?
ostium: she wasn't a glaive that long and it was like fifteen years ago now
altius: the fact that ur hanging out with her bc of her kids is weird
ulric: OK again it's not just because of her kids, it's because her kids became friends with the prince, and blonde shortstack nearly got himself killed by pneumonia because his parents are neglectful dicks and Six help me he's grown on me, okay? Anyone that can get the dear prince to -smile- on a regular basis is a good person in my book but damn if he doesn't need protecting from himself. Plus I see Rox at the Citadel all the time. It's not like we're suddenly talking again after fifteen years. Also is it so wrong for me to want friends that aren't you two chucklefucks?
ostium: wow rude nyx. when was the last time before this whole thing with the kid?
ulric: ...
altius: exactly
ulric: The Citadel is a big place! And how often am I even IN the city?
altius: ur digging urself a helluva hole here nyx.
ulric: Crowe please just answer the question.
altius: ... fine
altius: u owe me so many beers
altius: better not let her take up all ur time
ulric: Deal. Answer?
altius: ditch the plushie, way too high school second date. the wine is fine. u should kno im mad at myself. i wanted u to make an ass of urself so i could laugh at u later
ostium: don't bury him yet, Crowe. he might still fuck it up.
ulric: With friends like these, is it any wonder I'd rather hang out with a single mom and a bunch of teenagers?
altius: fuk u
ulric: Love you too, Crowe.
Nyx huffed out an exaggerated, bemused sigh and tucked his phone away, placing down the goofy novelty chocobo plush he'd been staring at for entirely too long. His friends certainly knew how to turn a single innocent question of 'is a plushie and some wine too weird for a "thank you for letting me crash on your floor" gift?' into an ordeal, but at least Crowe had finally given him an answer he could use.
It had been almost a month since that rainy night where he had helped bring a very sick, bruised and grieving Prompto Argentum to the house of Rox Pickheart, former Kingsglaive turned single adopted mom and subsequently wound up in an impromptu sleepover with her, her daughters, the prince of Lucis, his retainer and his shield. He'd been meaning to get her something in thanks for her efforts to give the boy a safe place and letting all those people crash on her living room floor, but of course missions and other obligations kept him from doing so until now.
His fellow Glaives were already giving him shit about it, teasing him about a 'crush' like he was a teenager himself. Crowe was slightly more abrasive about the whole thing but the second Libertius uttered the word "jealous" he got a rough punch to his shoulder that he was complaining about for days after. Nyx knew neither Crowe nor himself felt that way about each other, they were closer to family than anything romantic, but jealousy came in many forms and it was entirely possible she silently feared losing what little time she got to spend with him outside of work.
Of course he had no idea if there was anything between him and Rox, nor did he want to make a fool of himself by assuming, or bringing something as 'high school second date' (as Crowe had put it) as a plushie for a thank you. There had been something of a spark between them back during her Glaive days but they had never perused it, still being relatively new inductees into the recently established group of refugee-based royal guards and somewhat uncertain if they should or shouldn't.
Her eventual decision to leave to raise the child she had helped rescue from a half-broken, barely functioning Nifelhiem base years back had turned it into a lost opportunity and admittedly Nyx had always been stuck on the 'what if' even though he still saw her infrequently due to her retaining a civilian job at the Citadel. For all his tenacity it was the one thing in his life he'd been hesitant about attempting to pursue, and now that she had adopted another child from a family that had failed her and the years had dragged on he simply wound up putting it to the back of his mind.
Until he heard her name again from the prince, and fell into a laughing fit that the boy's lanky overly energetic sunshine best friend had in turn befriended the youngest Pickheart daughter while walking back to an overly long meeting at the Citadel one day. Things kept weirdly falling into place from there as Noctis in turn got close to the older daughter and the four were regularly hanging out as a result.
Getting put on the frantic group call from Noctis that night where he begged Nyx to grab a few Glaives to search the city for a lost and potentially injured Prompto was unexpected, as was the resulting sleepover after they found him, but getting to talk with Rox at length later that night had been a breath of fresh air in a life that had become more about keeping the empire out of Insomnia than it had been about protecting the King, his son and the people of Lucis directly.
Which was what led him to her home in the quiet, shady residential district of mid town, feeling admittedly a bit grubby in his tight black teeshirt and faded black jeans but knowing there was little he could do about it as he'd already gone and knocked on the door.
It creaked open not to Rox but to Rinka, her eldest, who immediately rose an eyebrow at the person standing on the other side. She looked not exactly dressed up but definitely dressed to go out.
"... whatever it is, I didn't do it. This time," she blurted out. Nyx met her comment with a teasing smirk, folding his arms over his chest with one hand still holding the neck of the wine bottle.
"'This time'? Should I be worried about other times, Miss Pickheart?"
"... depends on if I can get Noct to get me a good lawyer or not."
"He probably could."
Both of them stared at each other for a moment before laughter bubbled out from them. She shook her head and patted him on the upper arm.
"You know I'm joking. Probably," she said, stepping around him but keeping the door open so he could come in. "Mom! Mr. Ulric is here! And I'm heading out!"
Mr. Ulric. Six, that makes me sound old...
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Rinka called as she bounded down the steps to the connecting street.
"That doesn't narrow it down!" Nyx called back as he entered the house, quietly shutting the door behind him. "Sorry for barging in..."
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