Confessions: Epilogue

[gaiages]

Confessions: Epilogue
Fic Table of Contents

Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV
The boys are late to helping Gemna.

I couldn't resist having Gemna tease the boys :)

Other links: Tumblr | AO3

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"Where in the seven hells are they?"

Gemna grumbles into the pot she's stirring as she keeps looking at the front door. Those two were supposed to be here ages ago! Damned lazy—

The Bangaa sighs, quickly losing his angry bluster. She knew that their line of work was dangerous, and that being late would be better than them never showing at all. 

Then again… Gemna dispels the darker thoughts by aggressively stirring the pot. …Gale wasn't even on a job yesterday, was he? And Laurent sent word that his job finished early. So they should be fine… But…

Her thoughts are interrupted by the door softly opening and the two walking in. Gemna lets out a frustrated sigh as she turns to them.

Gale meets her angry glare with a wide grin. "Good morning, Gemna! I pray we're not late?"

"Not late? It's well past noon, you lazy dolts—"

"There's no need to be angry! We're here now, right? Laurent just needed some rest after yesterday's job."

Gemna's gaze flicks to the dark-haired Viera, who had taken to cleaning a table and decidedly not making eye contact with either of them. She quickly returns her attention to Gale. "And what about you? I recall you did a whole lot of nothing—"

"Well, I can't leave him to fend for himself in the kitchen, can I?" Gale's amused look doesn't waver when Gemna narrows her eyes. "I would still like to return to an apartment after today."

If Laurent heard Gale's comments, he did not attempt to refute them, focusing intently on cleaning a stubborn spot on a table instead. …I need to teach Gale how to lie better. Gemna doesn't respond, instead looking between the two with a neutral expression. Laurent's being quiet—quieter than usual, that is—and Gale… he's being loud enough for the both of them—hold on.

Gemna stares at the light-haired Viera, looking him up and down a few times. Gale didn't look outwardly different—he was always careful to maintain his appearance, but as she looked at the long pants and high-collared shirt, she couldn't help but think something was off.

Eventually, Gale's expression falters as she continues staring. "...Gemna, what is it—"

"Why are you wearing that?"

Gale blinks a few times. Gemna knows full well that Gale thinks it's a trap, but he apparently can't think of a properly deflective response. "I didn't really think much of what to wear, given we were out of time…"

"Hm." Gemna replies with a short grunt as she walks closer to Gale. "I find that hard to believe—you're not shy about showing skin, but you're dressed in so many layers I fear you'll faint in the heat. What are you hiding?"

"I-I…" Gale was clearly caught off balance by the comment, but huffs in mock anger after a moment. "What, I can't wear something new? It's comfortable, and—"

"—good for covering love marks up."

Somewhere behind Gemna, Laurent lets out a soft, dejected sigh. Hmph, they should have known better than to try and hide this from me…

With that, Gemna bursts into laughter. "Well, it's about godsdamn time." The Bangaa returns her attention to the pot. "Next time, Gale, cover any marks up with makeup… it's far less conspicuous."

She continues to chuckle and looks over to Gale out of the side of her eye, wondering what his next excuse would be. To her surprise, however, he simply crosses his arms and huffs. "Yes, well, if there weren't so many—"

The screech of a table moving across the floor cuts him off. "Gale, do you have to—"

Gemna turns to Laurent, who, red from anger and embarrassment, had clearly had enough of the conversation. "Oh, so you can speak. I thought you'd forgotten how." She gestures to the table. "You better not have scratched my floor."

"What—I—hells…" Laurent begins cursing as he moves the table, and he and Gale look at the dark mark on the floor that the table leg left. The discussion of how to fix it quickly turns to bickering, and Gemna can't help but smile to herself.

Today will be fun, that's for sure.

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