Bless Me

By: Strange and Intoxicating -rsa-

Kink Meme Prompt: Gladio's strength is proportional to how much skin he shows. The bros are in a pinch (maybe they're being cornered by daemons or something and a massive boulder is blocking the exit?) and all seems lost... until Gladio rips his pants off and saves the day.

Author Notes: I am slowly going through all of my kink meme prompt promises, haha.

Bless Me

If Gladio looked back on it, he would have readily admitted that he had never wanted the others to know about his secret. It wasn't that he was humiliated by it, per se, but it was more of... well, an uncomfortable admittance. He could imagine what the conversation would have gone like, and knew that it would end in him becoming the butt of their jokes... Literally and figuratively.

But, unfortunately for Gladio, Eos had other plans. In particular, plans involving a very, very angry God.

Titan.

It would have been nothing short of a God to bring Gladio pummeling forward, his sword striking through air. He could feel the sweat and blood making his grip weak, the cut across his back stinging. His shirt was already in tatters, but... he knew for a fact that it wouldn't have been enough.

When his father had taught him all of the secrets of the Amicitia family, this one... this one had been the one he wanted to hear the least. Even after having the family tattoo emblazoned upon his shoulders, even after he had accepted the Crystal's magic... Gladio really, really didn't want to do this.

But. Well.

Titan.

"I can't keep this up, Noct!"

Gladio drove his sword into the ground as he dodged a punch from the angered Archaean, using the blade as both a shield for Noctis's head and for purchase along the steep incline. It clanged hard enough to make his teeth shake, but he held firm. They needed to get to solid, stable ground. If he was going to do this... he needed to have some space.

Well... a lot of space.

And preferably some cover for after. Because, well... There was a lot of him that his friend didn't need to have branded into their brains.

"What do we do now?" Noctis yelled as the dust settled.

Quickly scanning the rocky ledge, Gladio saw it—just below them was enough space for what he was going to do. Maybe twenty, thirty meters drop. It would suck, but what else was new?

"You're gunna fly! Ready?"

"Seriously?"

"Dead serious."

Gladio ripped out the sword and grabbed hold of Noctis by the back of his shirt. He threw Noct down, watching as the blue of warping sent him careening toward the solid ground. Noct managed to hit the ground with a loud thunk, but considering the expletives Gladio was at least sure that Noctis was still alive.

Other shouts entered the fray just then, and Gladio winced as he watched Prompto and Ignis charge forward, knives and guns sparking through the air.

Just how was he going to explain this?

"Gladio—we need you!"

No time, no time at all for second thoughts and other options. The entire point of Amicitia secrets was to protect the Caelum line, and he wasn't going to be able to do that if Noct's brains were knocked across the ground like butter in a frying pan.

No second-thoughts, no other options.

Gladio rushed down the rest of the mountain, avoiding the flying fists and jutting crags. He skid down, not caring about his pants...There were more important things to be worrying about.

Like, for example, taking them off.

"What in the heavens are you doing?" Ignis yelled through the maelstrom of Titan's screams, clangs of swords, and something making a high-pitched sound that made Gladio's head spin. He couldn't tell what it was. He was pretty sure he didn't want to know.

Gladio tossed his sword down into the red dirt and quickly fumbled for the laces of his shoes. He was able to toe both off as he pulled open the button on his leather pants, hearing the zipper crunch. Fuck. Not like there was time to deal with it. Ignis could fix it later—

The Shield pulled the rest of the zipper down as hard as he could, sashaying the leather down his legs. The ground below him gave a monstrous tremble; it was only good training and being able to balance on one foot that allowed Gladio to pull his pants completely off. There wasn't enough time to properly tie his boots, but he did give them a good, tight yank.

"The fuck—Gladio?!" Noctis screamed as he warped next to the other man. "The fuck?" His voice broke.

"Can't explain, not now—" Gladio pulled up the sword from the ground, swinging it over his shoulder. The shreds of his shirt caught on the pommel and he ripped it off, letting the tattered remains fall like snow.

"You're in your damn underwear—"

"You think I don't know?" he bit back.

He ran forward to fight against Titan, allowing himself to breathe the thick, dry air. He had to cover his face and jump back when the Archaean went for him, but blessedly he was able to escape unscathed.

Dodging, flipping, twisting—Gladio ignored the head building up under his feet and the smell of burning rubber. He could tell the bottom soles of his shoes were liquefying between his toes but he pressed forward.

What would his father have said if he could have seen Gladio now, running about with nothing but untied boots and a pair of baby blue boxer briefs?

Fuck... how about his own friends?

But the power of the Amicitia family ran through him and the more skin exposed, the stronger he became. He just hoped it would be enough...

When Titan punched a hole in the ground where Noct had warped from just in a split second before, Gladio realized that no—it wasn't going to be enough.

"Wh—Gladio! Wait! No!" Prompto sounded like he was about to faint. Gladio couldn't stop himself from turning his head toward the other man, noticing the gun dangling in his hand and jaw nearly touching the floor. "No!"

It was too late, and Gladio only managed to catch his underwear landing with a plop on Prompto's head as he once more joined the battle, allowing his body to fully embrace his power.

And his butt-ass nakedness.

It was amazing the strength added to his swing, enough to send Titan roaring backward long enough for Ignis to concoct a plan involving well-timed magical spells.

Gladio had felled a god in nothing but his boots, dick and balls flopping in the breeze.

Click.

"Hehehe..."

Prompto gulped as Gladio turned toward him, blue underwear still dangling from the blond's head like a crown. The camera in his hands was stark contrast to how ghostly pale he looked without most the blood in his face.

"That better not have been what I think it was—"

BONUS

"It doesn't get much worse than this!"

Gladio was pretty sure his public hair was all but on fire as the hot lava bubbled up from the mountain. Despite this, it was the sleek black Niflheim ship before them that made this entire situation even more... even more…

"Fancy meeting you here! It occurs to me I never formally introduced myself. Izunia. Ardyn Izunia."

A stone dropped in Gladio's stomach as the red-haired man looked over him, eyes trailing from his face and down, down, down…

"And it seems someone is rather happy I arrived."

Gladio resisted the urge to shuffle, instead only hoisting his sword a bit up high.

"I assure you safe passage... and perhaps a pair of trousers."

The lava. That was why Gladio's face was on fire... He was sure of it.

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