literature

Worshipping Stars (Gaius x Noble!Reader)

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There it was again.

Gaius cracked open one green eye as he heard the unmistakable sound of leaves crackling underfoot, growing fainter and fainter as the culprit moved away. He slowly sat up, groggily, raking a hand through his hair as he squinted at the entrance to his tent. Although it was still night time, the full moon shone brightly above the camp, straining through the white canvas above him. Its silver light made it easy for people to navigate around, which came in handy for those on perimeter patrol duty.

Or, if it was a certain lady entering the training grounds in secret again.

Smirking, despite himself, Gaius slipped out of his bed and quickly dressed. He was good at doing this with very little light- being a thief, you tended to work during the nocturnal hours and tended to outstay your welcome rather quickly, hence it was good to make sure you could always get out as fast as possible. Although Gaius had to admit that he had grown pretty fond of this ragtag group that formed Prince Chrom's personal army, some habits from his earlier days still stuck. Admittedly, he had not tried very hard to shed it- it was a useful skill, after all.

With cat-like steps, Gaius sheathed his sword and left the tent, following the path he had heard his quarry tread earlier. It was pretty out, he had to admit, the stars glittering above him like crushed glass. The edges of the sky were tinged with an orange-yellow, hinting at the approach of the dawn. He pulled a lollipop from one of his many pockets, popping it into his mouth with relish. The sweet and sour tang of cherry burst on his tongue and he nearly groaned with pleasure.

As he walked, his ears pricked, he picked up the sound of metal hitting wood and, amused, followed the noise until he finally found you.

In a loose-fitting tunic and leather breeches, you were holding a javelin in a slightly shaking hand. More javelins were scattered about the area, some of them embedded in the chests of straw dummies that hung from the trees, others on the ground. You inhaled slowly and threw the spear, hitting the practice dummy, but missing the chest and hitting it somewhere in its shoulder. Swearing in a decidedly unladylike fashion, you sighed and went to grab another weapon. He was sure you would have bitten your tongue if you knew anybody was out to hear you.

Gaius observed you for a little while, holding his lollipop between his teeth. When you had first joined Chrom’s army, he wasn’t entirely sure what to make of you- there were plenty of nobles in the army that had started to slowly, but surely, alter his perceptions of the upper class. Chrom, Lissa, Maribelle, Sumia, even Virion wasn’t so bad once you got used to him. He’d heard a rumour that you had joined out of a desperate bid to get out of an arranged marriage, which accounted for your sudden arrival and why you were a little behind everyone else in terms of battle experience. However, that never stopped you from riding into the fray from atop your Palomino, nervous but determined to do your part.

Automatically, Gaius’ eyes wandered down to your side. You had missed training this afternoon, thanks to an enemy arrow that had slipped through a small gap in your armour and pierced beneath your ribcage, necessitating a stay in the healer’s tent overnight, but apparently, Doctor’s orders hadn’t sat well with you.

Typical, I guess, Gaius thought to himself, shaking his head in exasperation. Nobles just don’t like being told ‘no’.

Suddenly, as you prepared to throw yet another javelin, you suddenly let out a hiss of pain and dropped to one knee, your hand snaking down to your side, tracing the bandages. You bit down hard on your lip, brow furrowed in obvious pain. Before Gaius knew what he was doing, he surged out of the tree line and made his way towards you.

“Hey.”

“Gaius?” you looked up, bewildered, glancing around as though you expected the rest of the army to pop out of the bushes. “What the- what are you doing out here?”

“Could ask you the same question, Cupcake,” he replied, suppressing a smirk as your expression shifted to one of mild embarrassment, a dusting of pink lighting up your cheeks as you frowned.

Though it was simply a habit of Gaius’ to bestow people with little nicknames, he had to admit he always got a particular thrill out of using yours- you always got so adorably flustered, and it amused him to see you break out of your aloof façade. He had to admit that, despite your simplistic clothes, you cut a lovely figure in the moonlight. The way the light highlighted your bone structure, the sway of your hair, the way you held yourself…

“Well, I missed training today,” you shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. “I didn’t want to fall behind.”

“Seems a little of an extreme to go to, especially with your stitches,” Gaius pointed out, calmly, approaching you. “You don’t wanna tear ‘em out again.”

“I’m fine,” you said, curtly.

Ah, the ice-queen voice. A sure sign that you were getting irritated but, as your breeding dictated, trying to reign it in.

You bent down to pick up another spear, but despite the light being less than ideal, Gaius could still see your hand shaking slightly. Caught between concern and exasperation, Gaius approached you and suddenly wrapped his hands around you, pinioning your arms to your sides. You straightened up with a surprised yelp, shooting a surprised glare over your shoulder, Gaius green eyes locking with your own.

"Gaius, let go of me!"

"Nothin' doing, Cupcake," replied the redhead, in his easygoing drawl. "Not until you tell me what's eating you."

For someone so laid-back, Gaius was surprisingly stubborn when he wanted to be. You wanted to groan in frustration, but admittedly, it was quite nice having him pulling you to him like this, even if he likely wasn’t intending the gesture to seem flirtatious. Despite that, you felt your face getting hot and bit down on the inside of your cheek. You couldn’t help it- even though you knew that you were from completely different worlds, you had a bit of a thing about Gaius. He was as forbidden to you as those candies he was always eating, yet you couldn’t stop yourself from watching him from across the campsite or looking out for him in the midst of a battle. Yet you had no idea how he saw you- he was always a little flirty towards the ladies, yet he had a slight watchfulness to him too, it made it rather difficult to tell what he was thinking sometimes. It was a source of endless confusion to you.

“I-“

Gently, he turned you around so that you were facing him. You looked down at your feet, trying to summon the right thing to say, the words tangling up in your throat.

“C’mon. Tell me why.”

“Because I want to do this right! I can’t stand not being able to do anything, always trailing after all of you. I have to get stronger…because otherwise, I’ll…I’ll never be anything more than what I was born with. My fate will be always out of my own hands. And I’ll never be worthy of anyone…”

You bit your lip.

“I’ll never be worthy of you.”

An expectant silence fell, with only the chirruping of insects for company. Gaius stared at you for what felt long a long time. The sun was beginning its slow ascend upwards, a peach-coloured light creeping across the forest floor.

Gaius started to laugh. He laughed and laughed until he was bent double, hands resting on his thighs. He nearly had tears streaming from his eyes. Not worthy of him! Here you were, a member of one of the oldest Ylissean families, and you didn't think you were worthy of him?

"Gaius?"

You stared at him blankly, watching him laugh as though your confession was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. For a few seconds, all you could do in response is stand there in a stunned silence. Then, just you began to get offended at his blatant mockery; Gaius finally composed himself, perhaps sensing that your patience was wearing thin. He straightened up, grinning at you (and you were amazed to see he'd managed to keep his ubiquitous lollipop in his mouth even after laughing so much).

"Cupcake, you are the sweetest."

You rolled your eyes at the terrible pun, but before you could call him out on it, Gaius moved towards and, flicking the lollipop from his lips, he cupped the back of your head and pressed his mouth to yours, overwhelming you with the taste of cherries.

For a moment, all you could do was stand there, a muffled gasp escaping your lips. His grip was secure and you couldn’t resist the sweet taste of his mouth- you had never known a man with such a craving for sugar, yet right now, you certainly weren’t complaining. His hand wandered down your side, tracing the dip of your waist and the swell of your hip with skillful fingers. You leant against him, drawn in by the comforting heat of his body and his pleasant touch.

When you finally parted, your face was bright pink and you had the strong urge to sit down for a while, when Gaius’ voice broke you out of your stupor, his gaze affectionate as he combed his fingers through your loose hair.

“You weren’t brought up for any of this,” Gaius said, waving a hand as though that gesture in itself encompassed ‘all this’, “So stop beating yourself up for not being where you want to be after only a few months of trying. You’ve come a helluva long way from where you were before- give yourself some credit, already.”

“For a thief, you can be very softhearted,” you teased him, to which he laughed softly, the sound seeming to light you up from the inside.

“Maybe you just bring that out in me.” He replied, leaning in so your foreheads were touching. Flicking his gaze towards the horizon, which was growing ever-brighter, he looked down at you, “Is your side still hurting?”

“…Maybe a little bit,” you confessed, sensing that Gaius would likely be able to spot some sort of tell if you tried lying. A smirk flickered across Gaius’ lips.

“Maybe I can kiss it better for you.”

“Gaius!” you shouted, scandalised, but you couldn’t really find it in you to protest too much.

Laughing, the thief bent at the knees and hauled you over his shoulder, making you drop the javelin in your hands with a clatter. You let out a distinctly undignified squawk, terrified he was going to drop you and equally terrified that someone would come out and see you in this undignified position, both.

“C’mon , I think we can still sneak a few more hours shut-eye before we’ve gotta be up,” Gaius said, managing your weight with ease as he strolled from the training grounds. “It’s no fun being in the infirmary by yourself, though, so I’ll keep you company. Sound good to you, Cupcake?”

“I must insist you stop calling me that,” you told Gaius, even though secretly, you were getting rather used to the peculiar pet name he’d bestowed on you. “It’s not very dignified.”

“No, but it suits you.”

Before you could ask him exactly how you were anything like a cupcake, Gaius was pushing back the folds of the infirmary tent and carefully setting you down on one of the nicer bunks. He scanned your bandages, but they were still white and he couldn’t see any telltale drops of red.

“It looks okay,” he pronounced, rubbing the back of his head, aware that his medical expertise was rather lacking, “I guess you managed not to tear the stitches.”

You smirked slightly.

“Well, I haven’t been sneaking out to do extra training for nothing, you know.”

Gaius snickered slightly, perching on the edge of the bunk, another lollipop perched in his mouth. You wondered where he kept those things.

“You sneaky minx,” he teased.

You smiled at him and rested your hand on his, feeling the exhaustion that had been hovering over you for hours finally falling, almost physically weighing down your limbs. You must have been outside for longer than you’d realised- you hadn’t even noticed the sun was starting to rise until Gaius distracted you.

“Hey, Gaius?”

“Mmm?”

“…I’m glad you came outside and saw me,” you yawned, moving up a little so he could sit more comfortably beside you.

“Me too,” he replied, winding a strand of your hair around his finger, watching as your eyes started to close, despite your best efforts to keep them open. He thought of you standing there, surrounded by moonlight and standing beneath a canopy of stars. “You’re really something, you know.”

You offered him a sleepy smile in reply, no doubt thinking that he was teasing you, albeit lightly, but in truth, his words were wholly honest. Grinning slightly, Gaius bent down so you were nearly nose to nose.

“Sweet dreams, Cupcake.”

You were about to say something back, but the inexorable pull of sleep swallowed up your words as you felt yourself falling away, registering the tang of sugar as Gaius pecked you on the lips once more, before even that faded away. Gaius, smiling slightly, pulled the blanket up to your shoulders, watching as your expression softened and breathing steadied, before settling on top of the covers beside you, watching as the dawn and the stars mingled together into the morning light.
Fun fact: Did you know that my first Fire Emblem was written nearly a year ago? And it was a Gaius fic? How weird is that? XD

Apologies that the title has a tenuous grasp on the story at best - the plot was originally a little different, then I changed it at the last minute and the working title no longer made sense. Plus I really liked this one and wanted to use it. Haha.

Image found here > [www.pinterest.com/pin/41039058…
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As sweet as the candy Gaius loves!