bakerstreet | Sentinels and Guides;

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Sentinels and Guides;

Sentinels and Guides Shipping Meme
A Sentinel!AU Meme

There are special people in the world: Sentinels--whose five senses are incredibly enhanced, sometimes to the point of overwhelming and who can easily lose themselves in fugue states--and Guides, the empaths with the ability to ground a Sentinel and focus them. Meant to be the protectors of the Guides, for every Sentinel there exists a guide that is their perfect match. In some universes, when matches are made, a Sentinel and Guide form a soulbond to fill the feeling of emptiness.

How easy was it for you to find yours? How are Sentinels and Guides treated in your universe? Or maybe you're one of the normal, unremarkable people. Do you fear Sentinels and Guides? Despise them?

Rules
1) Post with your character/canon in the subject header.
2a) Choose whether your character is a Sentinel or a Guide
or
2b) If you don't know or don't care, just leave it blank!
3) Information about Sentinels and Guides can be found here and here. Information on 'The Sentinel' which this meme comes from can be found here.

4) All the tagging! Have fun 8D

Prompts
oo1. The Meeting:
How did you meet? Was it at an event organized specifically for finding your other half? By accident? Did you follow a mystical calling to them? Some other way?

oo2. The Bonding:
Do Sentinels and Guides in your universe soulbond? How does it go down? Is there a ceremony or do you just retreat to the bedroom?

oo3. Rejection:
Sometimes Sentinels or Guides propose a match but it's just not perfect. You don't feel the pull or maybe you think there is someone better or maybe you're already claimed. Maybe you were claimed and someone better came along?

oo4. Protection:
Sentinels are meant to protect Guides, any Guides, but it's even worse when they feel their Guide is in danger. They go feral; blind to anything but stopping and killing whoever threatened their Guide or the bond. Maybe someone attacked your Guide or you haven't bonded yet and you feel threatened or maybe you're the one doing the threatening. Whatever the reason, Sentinels in a feral state are dangerous and only their Guides can stop them.

oo5. Lost:
Sentinels often lose themselves in their senses. Either you're a Sentinel who has lost themselves or a Guide that has stumbled on one or a friend trying to draw them out. Unbonded Sentinels will find it hard to escape without a Guide. Or maybe you're bonded already which means you just need yours to come home.

006. Persecution:
Sometimes normal people or the government fear the power of Guides and Sentinels. Guides are empaths, feeling the emotions and sometimes passing thoughts of others and it can make people feel violated. Sentinels often have enhanced strength, which can make them dangerous. So they scorn them, hurt them or in the case of governments, regulate them.

oo7. Death:
Unbonded Sentinels and Guides eventually lose themselves to the empty cavern inside them. Torn apart from the inside by the feeling of something missing. Breaking the soulbond of a Sentinel and Guide is agonizing and horrifying, leading quickly to death for the remaining partner.

oo8. Old-School:
Guides used to be treated on the same level as slaves. Unable to work unless their Sentinel said. Not allowed out on their own. They used to wear collars and couldn't own land or inherit money. Maybe the old ways haven't completely fallen out of style.

oo9. Unbonded:
Nothing is worse than being an unbonded Guide or Sentinel. Always looking for your other half to fill that empty feeling but you probably have friends that aren't your match or who are trying to set you up with someone. Maybe you're skeptical about the whole love at first sight thing and haven't been looking.

o10. Wildcard: Some mish-mash of the above or anything else you can come up with!

Image from weheartit / original meme by

imadeamistake

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With the removal of Prompto's hand and influence, John can feel his own emotions pouring back in like a black tide. He tries to focus on the other Guide's words, but is momentarily lost in the confusion and panic of the control over his emotions being pulled away. Is this what Sentinels feel every time? No. Probably not. They're built for this. Maybe it's akin to what Gladio had felt with John's trick, though.

"Mm..." John balls his hands into fists a few times and gets a handle on himself. He'd asked for that. And there had been nothing untoward about it. There could be, though. There very much could be. "Right." The word is distracted as John blinks a few times. "Sorry, just a minute. Just... that's really weird feeling. Sorry." It's half a moment more before John can shove the rampant paranoia about another Guide being able to influence him back into a box inside his head. That gets shoved somewhere to dark parts of his brain that John tries very hard to ignore most of the time.

"Okay." Just focus on the moment, deal with figuring out a way to shut down Prompto's powers on him in a bit. "Let's focus on what you can do and forget about what other Guides do, all right, Prompto? Everyone learns differently. We all take different paths. And not every Guide is the same." He gestures between himself at the lad.

Ignis, seeming to accept that John isn't going to snap and attack Prompto, shifts his gaze down again, but have his attention is on the other men in the room, just listening.

"I can't do what you just did. I very much doubt I'll be able to. It's extraordinary. We can work on your range abilities later. For now, let's talk about pheromones. When you use them, is it something you're consciously doing? Or does it just sort of happen, whether you mean it to or not?"

Prompto can feel it. John certainly doesn't intend it, but that close, with his attention turning back to the other Guide, Prompto sits there almost uncomfortably as John's paranoid and confusion and panic all float across him and leave him tight-lipped, his stomach on the verge of being sour. He... isn't going to do that again to another Guide, and that resolve shows in the tightening of his fist in his lap, the subtle way he seems to turn away from John. It's all too easy to see how in the wrong hands, something like what Prompto can do could not only be downright terrifying, but abused by the Guide himself or by another.

"Sorry." Asked for or not, Prompto still finds himself saying it. He always tries to play it off, and he's not even conscious of words leaving his mouth as he does exactly what comes instinctively to protect himself, playing it off. "Guess I don't know my own strength, huh?" The grin almost seems real.

The faint trickle of pheromones that comes with it, because he's just shy of panicking himself? That's quite real and it makes the grin seem that much more real. However, if John can pick that up or not is entirely questionable.

"I dunno if I can do what you can do, either," because that zoning trick had been amazing to witness. "But I can do the pheromone thing mostly consciously!" That he sounds a bit more sure of, complete with a sharp nod. "Sometimes a whole lot, trying to keep this group calm." With two very dominant alphas, no real surprise there. "...Sometimes it still happens whether or not I mean it but it's mostly consciously?"

He does scent it. It's a great deal more subtle than a Sentinel's scent, but John's had to work on parsing multiple scents before, being on alert for any hint that another person is a Guide or a Sentinel. But he lets it pass for now. He's aware of it and that's good enough. It also alerts him to the fact that Prompto is putting on an act as much as he is.

John tries to be encouraging. "Okay, that's good. We can definitely work with all that. How about meditation? Have you done any of that to help learn to regulate your body?" He doesn't do much of it these days, but he'd had to figure it out on his own when he'd been a kid... or with Harry's help. "It's the first step to projecting your abilities beyond what you can touch. I can walk you through some exercises for this first time, and then we can try a few things with Noct for our next lesson, if that works for you."

"I, uh, don't know if I'm the meditating type?" Prompto's voice is a suggestion but not a Suggestion, just pointing out what is super obvious with any time spent around him. "I can't even sit still in class, never mind trying to meditate." He laughs a little, downplaying that, but even as he sits there his leg is bouncing to a beat of its own. "So if that's how you achieve the whole distance thing, I might be screwed before we even start." He doesn't sound upset about it, though his Sentinel would have said otherwise.

"But," and he sounds more sincere about this part, looking into John's eyes with determination, "I'll give it a shot, if that's the way to do it. Whatever you say, I'll try, Captain." He really has no idea how the military itself works, or about titles or anything like that, but it comes easy off the tongue so he doesn't think twice on it.

"Just John's all right, Prompto." He offers the lad a tight smile. He's trying to be better than he was at dinner. For Gladio. This group is going to be the one he's with for the foreseeable future. Forcing himself out of his comfort zone is going to need to happen at some point. It's probably going to be happening a lot with Prompto in order to train him as John would prefer to. Because he'll be asking Prompto to use his powers on him again. And that's a terrifying prospect.

But that's something to look to in the future.

"If you can't sit still, that's fine to start. When I say meditating, I mean more just focusing your mind. I started having to figure all of this out when I was a little kid. Wasn't much for sitting, crossing my legs, and chanting 'ohm.' We'll work with what you have. You like tapping your foot like that, right?

"Can you focus on it? Set yourself a beat and breathe in for seven taps and out for seven." John moves to sit down next to the other Guide... though he unconsciously puts himself at the far end of the sofa from Prompto. "We'll do it together for about ten minutes. That's all. While you're doing that, try to stay aware of your breathing. Keep the rhythm steady. Those are the only two things you need to think about. Don't apologize if you mess up at any point, just restart. There's nothing wrong with mucking it up. There's no test at the end of this. No one's grading you. It's just practice."

Prompto hadn't been serious at all in his use of 'Captain', something John will eventually come to realize as while the other two do occasionally use Noct's official titles, Prompto doesn't unless it's in the form of teasing. So he only grins at the comment about using John's first name and nods, listening with interest even if his nerves are still telling him this is a terrible idea. He's got no idea what John can or can't really do, but it's something more than that. Something about how John acts that makes him uneasy.

John's so much better than him. They're going to rely on the better Guide, now, his anxiety whispers to him. Noct will expect him to be better, more like John, right? He's gotta learn, and quick.

...His nervous habit is what John wants him to meditate to? Prompto looks a bit dubious, but he tries it out. Okay, nice and steady, right? At first, thanks to his nerves, it's way too quick and he has trouble with it, but he starts to slow things down. John might be able to spot the apology he mouths silently despite John's words. Just.. practice. Just try, he tells himself, several times. His foot eventually starts to slow down, and with it, his breathing.

John just lets him go, keeping an eye on Prompto, the rise and fall of his chest. The doctor matches it as best can, even when the other Guide is going too fast at the start. Prompto gets to set the pace. This is his meditation period. And really, he expects there's going to be a few hiccups at the beginning. He'd be more surprised if Prompto were able to do this straight out. And probably more intimidated by the lad, really. He has enough power without being a veritable brainwave leech for skills.

Ten minutes pass with just Prompto's tapping and the quiet shuffle of Ignis' papers. the bespectacled man looks up at the other pair now and again, mildly impressed with Prompto's efforts and the fact that John's actually getting him to do that in any sort of effective manner. Ignis is very aware that trying to teach the younger Guide is often an exercise in patience. However willing or well-meaning, Prompto can be a handful.

John glances down to check his watch and takes a deeper breath, reaching out to touch Prompto's shoulder lightly. "That's good, Prompto. That's really good. You feel relaxed, right? Hold onto that." And the doctor lets his hand drop away. "This is the place you'll want to go when you get ready to project your abilities. Clear mind. Focused."

It's clear Prompto loses the path several times, but he does try for all of his inability to focus. He does keep pulling himself back to the exercise, even if it means him taking a deep breath and a physical resettle in place as if telling himself stop, focus! It was so hard to keep himself focused on just breathing when his mind kept worrying again and again and again what it meant to have another Guide in their group, then feeling guilty because John seems like such a nice guy and having a doctor with them would be really, really nice. Ignis is completely right on trying to teach him, but John's trying to teach Prompto patience on top of it and... well, good luck.

Honestly he's mostly grateful when John touches his shoulder and tells him it's time to stop. He masks those concerns with a sigh of relief and a grin. "Yeah, definitely." Not. "Hoping that it doesn't always take ten minutes to get here or I might be a little late to the show when Noct needs help." His tone was joking, almost excited. He knew how to fake this and fake this well, getting past not one but two Alphas sometimes on it. "But I'll keep trying! Gotta learn to zen." He mimicked the old fashion meditation pose, completely with an 'ooohm' before laughing.

When inside he knows he's overwhelmed.

If this is how Prompto is with just ten minutes, John's not sure how he's going to manage any of the more advanced exercises he has in mind. But it's the effort that matters right now. He'll offer encouragement before correction. It's not like John would have any idea how to do what the other Guide does straight out. And this isn't exactly a skill John's ever taught anyone. Basic military training? Sure. How to fire a gun? Absolutely. Anything to do with being a Guide? Not a bit of it.

"It gets easier with practice," John offers with another tight smile. "Reckon if you've been doing all right with out it, you could just keep on without it, mind. No need for you to learn my skills. You know that, right, Prompto?" Just so no one is being set up for disappointment if this just isn't something the lad can learn. "We're a team now, right? Good to have some overlap in skills, but complementary is just fine, as well."

He leans in conspiratorially. "And believe you me, I don't wanna be interchangeable to those Sentinels. No offense, but I think I prefer Gladio." Noct's the sort of young Sentinel he would probably had had to use his trick on once or twice to get across the point that he's not someone to be pushed around.

"It'd be nice to be a better Guide for everyone, you know?" Prompto flashes a quick smile. This is the kind of person who doesn't want to let anyone down, but he's been managing with two Alphas so far the best he can. "But, yeah, I can see what you mean. The whole overlap versus complementary thing." Still, it doesn't stop him with fidgeting with his thumbnail, not even looking down at it.

But the whispered lean in makes his brows lift before he laughs a little, keeping his voice soft. "No offense taken. Gladio's... a lot. Noct doesn't Rage like he does." John hadn't even seen the depths of one of Gladio's rages, only a brief skim of the surface. "It's like he and Noct feed off each other, sometimes, but maybe that's because he's Noct's Shield?"

Then an idea flashes across Prompto's mind and congrats on your first Prompto-selfie. The kid is almost mind-numbingly quick with it, phone out, unlocked, and a picture snapped because John even knows it's happening. ~~How else does Prompto take selfies with monsters and crazy shit going on in combat??~~

"Wha...?" Prompto is now in possession of a selfie that features an extremely confused-looking John Watson. "What did you just... is that a camera phone?" The thread of the earlier conversation is going to be lost for a moment. John is still something of a luddite when it comes to personal technology. If it wasn't a weapon or a medical device, it didn't matter terribly much to him to keep up with it.

But now he has Harry's old phone and it's a fancy smartphone thing that he doesn't have much of an idea what to do with. He doesn't have anyone to talk to... except that now he does. "Oh, bloody hell, don't but that on Facebook or Instagram or anything. At least don't tag my name. My big sister's a bloody stalker."

Prompto looks at the selfie he got and laughs, his eyes bright as he shows it to John. "Yeah, of course it is!" With a tone of 'duh' hanging around somewhere because what phone isn't a camera, too!? "Aw, don't worry. I got told a long time ago what I can and can't put up on my instagram." He pulls up his instagram and turns it so John could see.

It turns out that Prompto is a very, very good shot (at least with his camera). The images of landscapes, people (not the four of them outside of himself), of animals... they're some damn good shots. Still, he grins and looks to John with bright eyes. "If you want, I can share you on the rest of my photos! It's linked between our phones so we can see all of that."

It's some very nice photography and reminds him of some of Bill's work. The nurse had had a keen eye out for shots out in Afghanistan. John still looks through his instagram when he wants to beat himself up about not being where his brothers need him to be. Not that that matters now. He has a Sentinel... and that's supposed to give him more of a purpose. It does give him more of a purpose, but that doesn't stop the longing for what he had.

But Prompto is saying something else. John looks up.

"Share them?" He pulls out his own phone and it's very nice, a Nokia N97, which slides up to reveal a mini-keyboard. The doctor holds it out to Prompto, and if the lad is keen eyed, he might notice the engraving on it. 'Harry Watson - from Clara XXX' It's also rather scratched up. "I dunno how to really use this for anything apart from texting and surfing the Internet. How d'you link things?"

Edited 2017-06-13 15:28 (UTC)

...John. It's the future. Keyboard phones are old. Still, Prompto takes it and blinks at the keyboard when he finds it, turning it over. "Man, this is ancient stuff!" before nudging John to unlock it. After that, he starts going through the settings to try and hook John into their private photostream.

"So uh, who's Harry?" He looks down at the phone, working and thinking, then suggests, "brother?" John would have said if he was a dad, right? Kinda new for someone older than John to have so another 'Watson'... brother makes sense? Right...?

It isn't long before he beams and offers it back. "There you go! All set!"

John balks slightly at having his phone called ancient. Harry had bought it new... but she'd always enjoyed retro things. "Sister. Harriet." He's distracted as he watches Prompto work with the phone, flipping through menus and settings far faster than anything John's been able to manage. "Clara's her wife." A pause. "Ex-wife. They split up a couple of months ago." Harry had stated 'irreconcilable differences,' which to John said that she'd gotten tired of Clara's attempts to get her into counseling for her alcoholism.

It's not his business, really... "I liked Clara. She was nice. She is nice." Not like she's dead. He supposes he could keep in touch, but John's going to be honest with himself. He won't.

When he's handed his phone back, John checks the time. They've spent all of 10 minutes practicing and another 20 messing about with his phone and chattering. "Right. I'm, um... I told Gladio we'd keep the first lesson to 45 minutes. Don't want to overwhelm you all in one go." And he wants to go and cuddle with his Sentinel, really, but that would be embarrassing to admit. "For the last 15 minutes, I'd like to see if... maybe it's stupid. I dunno." Prompto may be able to sense some of John's uncertainty. I dunno if it's true or it's just from stories or whatever, but I read a book about the history of Sentinels and Guides once. It talked about how some Guides used to be able to link up their abilities to enhance them.

"I mean, I dunno how it'd work, but it might be good if we try a few different things, right? I'll try to teach you what I can do. You can try to teach me what you can do. And we we can try something new together, see if we can..." John gestures vaguely. "I've just never really had another Guide I could trust to try something like that with."

A part of him still doesn't trust Prompto all that much, especially with what the lad can do, but John's willing to force himself outside his comfort zone a bit more. At least with the other Guide. He really does seem like a good kid.

"Oh! ...Oh!" Okay he gets it now. So that's why John has the phone, right? Because of the divorce? Least that would be Prompto's guess. His foot bounces unconsciously, but with the 'practice' seemingly behind them, he's in better spirits. Until John says the rest.

He has... no idea how to teach someone to do what he does. He has no idea how he even does what he does! Still, John's going out of his way to try and teach him so he should do his best in return. "N-Not stupid. No way. It's just stuff we can use to help each other. I've... never had another Guide I could trust, either. So I feel you." His flashed smile attempts to be encouraging, then an idea pops into his head.

"Oh! Maybe... You think your power would work through me? Like, if your-" His fingers wiggle in the air, "-thing could work through me, it could affect more people, right?" There's a pause, clearly with Prompto having more questions. "Can.. can I ask you something?"

And without even a pause, clearly too nervous, he spits out, "where you gay before Gladio?"

He's going to reassure the lad again. He's going to make an effort to smile and stroke his ego in the hopes it will bolster and encourage him, but then Prompto asks a question so far to the side John's left reeling again.

"I'm not gay," is returned immediately, perhaps a touch defensively. It's something he's had to put up with for most of his life thanks to Harry and children being unkind. He'd dealt with questions on his own sexuality when she came out. John does, However realize how that might sound and dials back the denial. This really isn't Prompto's business in the slightest, but...

"I've had... I mean, prefer women, but I've been with a couple of blokes before."

Edited 2017-06-15 13:07 (UTC)

"Oh, uh, sorry!" Prompto goes a little defensive himself at John's response, but finds himself tripping over his verbal feet in the process. "Sorry- I just meant that like, if you- liked guys before- you know what never mind." His face is rapidly turning red as he sits there, his fingers tightening before he stands up. "Maybe- we could try more of this tomorrow?" He flashes a smile, but it's weak.

Why had he asked at all!? It had been really, really stupid and really rude. It just- he's never gotten a chance to ask anyone at all and it's something that's stuck with him since he'd met Noct. He hadn't really looked at guys until there had been Noct, standing in front of him, and then... everything changed, so late in his life compared to everyone else. Everyone else figured out what they are so much younger and it left him really confused then, and sometimes still does.

He stands up quickly, looking over to Ignis with a sort of pleading look as he can feel his stomach tightening up.

John's not usually so embarrassed, but it's a bit of a blindside and now Prompto does have him wondering where he had just been sort of... ignoring it. It's not as though he's never been turned on by another man, but they're rare enough for John to not really consider it. And he would probably never have gone down on another bloke if it weren't Gladio.

The fact that Prompto's even asking something like that is probably indication that he thinks becoming a Guide might well have changed his sexuality. That's a disturbing thought. Or, well, becoming a Bonded Guide. But Prompto had awakened very late from the sound of it.

"Yeah, um... tomorrow." John stands up, as well. He should say something else. "Look, uh... Prompto. I've had a lot longer to come to... to deal with... I mean, it's not really about sex with a Sentinel. I mean it can be, but it's not... attraction doesn't..." God, he's not prepared to have this conversation. He's not prepared to really even think about this. "Whatever you feel like you are, Noct probably didn't change much, just broadened the options, okay?"

That's about all the reassurance John's going to be able to offer, and he's thinking about his own rationalizations now. More than ever, a part of him wants to dominate Gladio now, just to prove to himself he can and would enjoy it. He's not just going to be a good little Guide and lie back. He doesn't suppose Gladio would really want that, anyway. He seemed to like the idea of a bit of a fight. John thinks he'd picked that up, anyway. Maybe it's wishful thinking.

Ignis clears his throat before John and Prompto can stand there awkwardly for too much longer. "Prompto, would you go and fetch Noct for me? There are some documents I'd like to have him read over before tomorrow. I expect you'll also want to retire early after the day you've had, John." His eyes are keen and knowing on the pair of Guides for a moment.

"Yeah, sure," John says, moving toward the entry to the balcony where Gladio should be waiting. "I'll just... good meeting you both. Talk to you in the morning." He doesn't run, but he beats a somewhat hasty retreat.

Edited 2017-06-20 20:27 (UTC)

"...Y-Yeah. I'll get him." Prompto looks to John, something in his expression that's hard to define, and considering he's worn every other emotion right open on his sleeve until this point, it's hard to say what it is. But when John leaves, his first choice is to go to Ignis instead and just puts his forehead against the taller man's shoulder. "Can I just take back the last hour or so and not stick my foot in my mouth?" he mutters unhappily.

Gladio, though, looks to his Guide as the other comes through, then back out. He's no longer leaning over the edge but tucked up on one of the comfortable lounge chairs, watching the city from their high view point. "Didn't feel like that went terribly well." Not going to mince words, not with what he could feel through their bond while John had been working with Prompto. "You okay?" His eyes are dark in the night, but his concern does come through even if his voice is rough.

Ignis glances at the Guide and shrugs the shoulder Prompto isn't leaning against. "He's trying very hard to impress you. I wouldn't worry. You have more in common than you might believe. You'll recall what it is to be brand new, to find a place to slot yourself into an established dynamic, one with people you might consider well above your station." The way he says that seems to indicate Ignis doesn't put much stock in Prompto's consideration about station. "He's finding his feet. It will just take time. It would do to try some mindfulness exercises... mind."

Out on the balcony, John shoves his hands into his pockets. "Fine. Went as well as it could do. I've never taught another Guide how to do what I do." That's clearly all Gladio means, and it's really the only thing John's going to talk about for the moment. "It's just the first lesson. I dunno. He'll get better, probably. I need to, as well." Who's ever heard of another Guide who can affect non-Sentinels? John's more agitated than he thought he would be between that and Prompto's questioning toward the end.

The doctor has been unconsciously pacing and comes to a halt in front of the Sentinel. "You up for another round in the room, then?" John isn't entirely sure what he's feeling right now, so he just reflects something he hopes is neutral enough at Gladio, rather than the jumble that's rolling around in his head.

"I don't need to be impressed!" Prompto whines quietly, then gives up entirely and nudges until he can be closer. "...I just want him to feel okay with us but he's giving me a headache with how tense he is. How can anyone still be that tense after-" Flush. "You know. What he and Gladio were doing." Is this how Ignis and Gladio felt when he became friends with Noct? Like he was taking Noct away from them? He doesn't like it.

"Oh yeah, real fine." He can tell it isn't 'fine', but he doesn't want to push too hard on John's first night with them. John's agitation feels like being too close to a nest of bees and Gladio finds himself rubbing the bridge of his nose.

The question still manages to catch him by surprise, making Gladio look over with a raised brow. "You want another round?" That he's against that idea, no he meant it when he said he wanted to take John, but John... doesn't exactly seem in the mood.

Ignis sighs and resigns himself to setting aside his paperwork for the moment so that he can shift his arm and sling it around Prompto's waist in a casual gesture of affection. "Were you tense after your first time? One may be very relaxed around an individual and guarded and worried around a crowd. I've looked up our good doctor." With his free hand, Ignis pulls out his mobile phone. "And a good doctor and man, indeed. A somewhat spotty history in financial matters, though."

Don't ask how Ignis finds these things out, Prompto. "I would hazard to guess the luxury of this place has him agitated as much as any of us. He does not seem the sort to accumulate debts of a more personal nature lightly. Which is likely why he's offered to teach you. Balancing the ledger... and currying favor with you, Noctis, Gladio, and myself in the process."

Meanwhile, John senses the surprise and takes a step forward so that he can reach down and grasp Gladio's chin. John is and isn't in the mood, which probably isn't fair to Gladio on an emotional level. But for the moment, it's something he can do. And doing something is far preferable to not doing something just in this moment. "Yeah, I want another. Provided you're still good for it." John runs his thumb over the Sentinel's lower lip. "Don't want to push you too far." It's teasing, trying to get himself more in the mood for something playful and fun, rather than something rough and needy.

Prompto can guess how Ignis found out; he's just going to totally ignore it because it still freaks him out a little bit. "It just- takes everything in me not to try and calm him down. I can tell he's freaked out by me but it's instinct, you know!?" The difference is that John knows. Most people it happens without his conscious thought, trying to calm them down or put them at ease around him, the same thing he had unintentionally done to all of them the first time they met after his and Noct's, uh, union.

"Maybe I could talk to him about when I got brought in? He looks pretty much angry or terrified to really talk to me though-- and here I want to go- OH!" Prompto picks his head up and looks to Ignis with bright eyes, his interest impossible to resist. "Maybe I could get him to go to that gun range??" Yeah guns had some weird issues here but Lady Lunafreya had made sure one of the non-public ranges were available for him to use. They hadn't even asked; she just knew. (Prompto thinks she's incredible.)

The grab to his chin is such a dominant gesture that for a moment, Gladio's pupils expand, nostrils flaring, and there's the faintest shift of his neck like he's going to toss his chin out of John's hand, but at the last moment he remains still, looking up into the doctor's eyes and wondering what he has planned. Yeah, as if he isn't one to relax by getting off, but he's the one not sure if he's pushing John too far or not.

"...no such thing," Gladio says pointedly, his teeth briefly catching John's thumb.

"I think, perhaps, that's might well work," Ignis says, raising his brows lightly and flipping over to Facebook. He shows Prompto a picture of John in desert camo fatigues posing with a semi-automatic rifle and grinning like mad. He appears to be at an on-base firing range as there are targets in the distance. "Most of the photographs I can find of his service have him posing with a gun. You should talk to Noct about the necessity of your presence at the talks tomorrow."

Ignis pockets his phone once more and looks up at Prompto, his lips quirking up in a small, knowing smile. "Time and the patience to hold back on using your abilities likely will endear him to you as much as your shared firearms experience." He reaches up to grasp Prompto's shoulder and pull him down for a chaste, but soothing kiss. "If you could actually see to raising Noct from the dead, that would be appreciated."

The teeth get him significantly more in the mood. Gladio will be able to feel the flare of arousal. John keeps hold for a long moment, staring down at Gladio and cataloging the look of him like this. Yeah. That's good. That definitely still does it for him. It's only a moment later that the Guide is withdrawing his hand motioning for the Sentinel to rise and follow.

If John had his way, he'd be backing Gladio into the room while kissing him, but their relative heights would make that moderately challenging when he's already worn down from the day, and they need to pass through a relatively public area in the penthouse to get to the bedroom. As it is, he just leads the way, only flicking a glance over and seeing Ignis pull Prompto down close. It doesn't entirely register as a kiss given that John just doesn't think that would happen with Prompto's Sentinel around. But he'll reconsider it later, perhaps.

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