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Sep 5, 2023

Drunken Mistakes and Realizations.

Pairing: Hancock Fitzgerald x OFC.

Word Count: 4,165.

Also on AO3.

This is combined with the original prompt that @toomanywols sent me not terribly long ago, since it takes place the very next morning. It starts under the cut. Pleas enjoy!

“Drinking your sorrows away isn’t healthy, my friend.”

Aisling’s ears sprang up at the sound of Hancock’s voice and she gazed over her shoulder at him.

“What the hells are y’doing here?”

“Ah, Tataru sent word that you may be in a delicate mood following Thancred’s visit and bade me to check on you.”

“I’m fine.”

“Well, I beg to differ, seeing as your speech is slurred. Just how much saké have you had ?”

“Not ‘nough to put up with your badgering.”

Hancock released a heavy sigh and pushed a hand through his hair.

“I’m not badgering you, Aisling. I am simply worried about you. I can tell when someone’s had too much to drink and you clearly have.”

She glared at him and opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, he snatched the ochoko from her hand and gulped the saké down himself.

“ Hey ! What was that for?”

“As I told you,” Hancock replied, taking a seat next to her, “you’ve had too much already.”

“Yer an asshole,” she grumbled.

“If I'm an asshole for worrying about your liver, so be it.”

Aisling glared at him for several more moments before finally huffing in indignation and turning her attention away from him, folding her arms across the table and resting her chin against them. Hancock watched her silently, choosing his next works carefully as to not aggravate her any further.

“So, do you want to talk about what’s bothering you? There’s a chance that it may help you clear your head and ultimately feel better.”

“What’s it to you?”

A small frown crossed Hancock’s face and he slid his glasses off, resting them on the table.

“You being my bodyguard on our expeditions to Mount Rokkon aside, I would like to think that if we aren’t friends at this point, that we’re at least acquaintances. And, like I said before, I happen to be worried about you. I didn’t take you for one to drink until you passed out when upset. I took you more for the punching walls type.”

His attempt at humor caused Aisling to face him, the tiniest traces of a smile on her lips. “I’ll have to remember that the next time you piss me off.”

Hancock chuckled quietly. “Considering that I happen to like my handsome visage, mayhaps I shouldn’t have said anything,” he said jokingly before lightly resting a hand on her shoulder. “But in all seriousness, mind telling me what’s wrong?”

Aisling gave a defeated sigh before lifting her head off her arms and resting it on his shoulder, causing his heart to leap into his throat. Oh. He had been expecting her to tell him off, not this . He gulped quietly and somewhat awkwardly wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a small squeeze. He could only hope that she was too intoxicated to notice his bright red cheeks or the fact that his arm was trembling.

“Thancred came by earlier and said that we had to talk,” she mumbled, nestling into Hancock’s shoulder.

“Go on,” he urged her gently, barely able to hear his own voice over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears.

“He told me that he had fallen in love and started a relationship with the Warrior of Light,” she whispered, her voice wavering.

“Would I be correct in assuming that you had feelings for him?”

“Yeah, I have. For quite a while now.”

“I see,” Hancock said quietly, trying to ignore the jealousy gnawing at his insides. “If you don’t mind me asking, what stopped you from telling him sooner?”

“We had a falling out after the death of a good friend. It was exacerbated when I developed feelings for Tsuyu.”

“If you can forgive my bluntness, then why would you expect a relationship with him now? Expecting him to wait for you while you tried pursuing somebody else is frankly selfish and a bit naive.”

Aisling was silent for a long moment before sighing.

“I ‘spose you have a point,” she mumbled.

“Don’t I usually?”

“Your cockiness is both undeniably frustrating and extremely attractive.”

Hancock blinked in surprise, caught off guard by her comment. Before he could think of a retort, Aisling had leaned up to press her lips against his. His heart skipped a beat at the sensation of her lips and a shudder went down his spine. How long had he been wanting this? Far longer than he was willing to admit, that was for sure. However, it was only the briefest moment before his logic reminded him that she was drunk and that this was wrong .

So Hancock therefore placed a hand against Aisling’s shoulder and gently pushed her away, causing her to pout at him.

“What’s wrong? Isn’t this something that you want?”

“Just because I want it doesn’t change the fact that it’s wrong , Aisling. I would much prefer it if you were kissing me because you wanted a relationship with me, not simply because you happen to be drunk and I happen to be here. Because as much as the Lover knows that I want to be with you, I would very much not like to be a second choice because you can’t have the one you want.”

Aisling looked surprised at Hancock’s words before burying her head into her hands, her ear pressed against her head.

“I’m sorry! You’re right. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Her incessant babbling coaxed a light chuckle from Hancock and he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Of course you weren’t thinking, Ais. You’re drunk. So there are no hard feelings, I promise you. How about we get back to the inn, so you can get some rest?”

Aisling nodded her head and gave him a wobbly smile. “As long as you promise to help me back there.”

Hancock looked surprised for a moment before smiling. “That can be arranged,” he told her, reaching for his glasses and sliding them on.

“Thank you, Hancock,” Aisling said as he helped her stand up. “You’re a good friend.”

A loud laugh escaped his throat in response as he wrapped an arm securely around her shoulders. “I would remind you to tell me that when you’re sober, but I nonetheless appreciate the sentiment. Though, do try not to puke on my kimono. I am quite partial to it.”

__________

The next day, Hanock left the Ruby Bazaar offices in the early afternoon to make his way to the markets. He was worried about how much Aisling had had to drink the night before and wanted to personally check up on her. Mayhap he would buy some lunch for himself and split it with her if she was feeling well enough to eat. If he was being honest with himself, he was still flabbergasted over her drunken actions. While the logical portion of his brain understood she had acted the way she did because of the sake, a small part hoped that she was acting upon some unbeknownst feelings for him.

Hanock let loose a humorless chuckle at the thought of Aisling having feelings for him of all people and shook his head at himself. As far as he knew, she still saw him as an overly cocky and rather shady merchant. He knew that she did not like Lolorito one bit after the events of the bloody banquet and could only assume that her views of him were adversely affected as a result. Which, if his suspicions about her past were true, hurt him deeply.

But he also knew full well that he had no one to blame but himself, since he had abandoned her in favor of Lolorito all those years ago. He briefly wondered how things might have been different between them had he not left before pushing the thought away. There was no way of changing the past, so there was no use pondering about what could have been. Besides, he couldn’t even be completely sure that she really was his old friend. It could merely be someone who resembled her and he was being uncharacteristically nostalgic.

Alright, Hancock , he told himself sternly. That’s quite enough ruminating for now. He had matters to tend to, like getting some lunch and making sure that Aisling hadn’t managed to choke on her vomit during the night. Therefore he settled on some food from a restaurant he was partial to before journeying to the Bokairo Inn. Upon arriving at his destination, he gave a nod to the innkeep and made his way to the room Aisling was staying in. When he was in front of her door, he sucked in a breath before calling out softly.

“It’s Hancock. Are you alive in there, my friend?”

There was a long enough period of silence to make him begin to fear the worst before Aisling finally responded.

“Come on in!”

Hancock released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and slid the door open, stepping inside. He found Aisling sitting cross-legged on the tatami, wearing a pajama top that was a little too short and cropped sweatpants. His eyes lingered momentarily on her just visible navel and he instinctively swallowed, feeling his cheeks warm. He then mentally scolded himself for his dirty gaze and averted his eyes, raising a hand in greeting.

“Good afternoon! It gladdens me to see you looking so well. I must admit I was worried about you.”

Aisling gave him a cheeky grin in response. “While it’s kinda cute that you were worried, I know full well how to deal with hangovers. I can outdrink most of the Scions, I’ll have you know.”

Hancock blinked in surprise, though he frankly wasn’t quite sure if it was because she found his concern cute or her claim about drinking. His surprise must have been obvious, since she laughed.

“You clearly were not expecting that .”

“No, I can’t say that I was. You have a special talent for surprising me, it would seem.”

“That’s only because you’re just so damn easy to surprise,” Aisling replied, giving him a wink.

Blushing the slightest bit, Hancock looked away from her sheepishly. He had a feeling this woman would ultimately be the death of him, though not that he actually cared . After a few moments, he returned his attention to her and cleared his throat.

“I brought some lunch over for myself. Though there is more than enough here to share, if you’d like?”

It was Aisling’s turn to look briefly surprised, but then she smiled at him.

“That sounds great! Thank you!”

Hancock returned her smile and began dishing out the food. She watched him wordlessly for a couple moments before reaching out to presumably help him, causing her knuckles to lightly brush against his. He flinched at the unforeseen contact and jerked his hand away, feeling a shiver go down his spine. His eyes frantically darted to Aisling only to notice a soft pink hue cross her cheeks, which did nothing for his rattled nerves. He shut his eyes and took several deep breaths to calm himself, feeling his skin tingling from the brief contact. He hadn’t the slightest clue why Aisling would be flustered, but he did know that now wasn’t really the time for him to make sense of it.

Once he had regained his composure, Hancock returned his attention to Aisling and held up a dismissive hand.

“Oh, there is no need to help, my friend! I should hope that I can at least dish out some food without the assistance of a battle-hardened Scion such as yourself,” he said hurriedly.

“That seems fair enough,” Aisling said, shrugging. “After all, I do need to do all the work while we’re on the mountain.”

Hancock playfully scoffed at her comment before realization dawned on him, causing him to tilt his head at her.

“Ah, yes! My apologies for not asking sooner, but how are you holding up?”

Aisling shrugged again, her ears twitching the slightest bit. “I’m still hurt, but I think I’ll be okay. Thank you, by the way, for checking on me both last night and today. It means a lot.”

“I believe that Tataru is the one you should be thanking, as it was she who clued me in on the situation. But, nevertheless. I consider you a friend, so it was the least I could do.”

“I stand by what I said last night. As infuriating as you can be at times, it turns out you are a pretty good friend.”

For what seemed like the upteempth time, Hancock felt himself blush from Aisling’s comment. Yes, this woman would definitely be the death of him. He cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to mask it with a cough, and then motioned toward the food.

“Shall we eat before the food gets any colder?”

His attempt at changing the subject didn’t go unnoticed by Aisling, who grinned at him.

“While that’s not a bad idea, you should know that your habit of changing the subject whenever you’re flustered is incredibly obvious.”

Hancock’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by her before he could.

“Less chit chat! You wanted to eat, remember?”

He was only capable of bobbing his head in an idiotic nod before all but shoveling food into his mouth, coaxing a guffaw from Aisling. The pair then drifted into a comfortable silence and Hancock eventually slowed his pace so he could actually enjoy his food. It wasn’t until the food was finished and everything cleaned up that Aisling spoke.

“You mentioned after one of our excursions to Mount Rokkon that your lot in life hasn’t been a good one. If you don’t mind me prying, what exactly did you mean by that?”

Hancock, caught off guard by the question, blinked a few times before pushing a hand through his hair and sighing. He then slid his glasses off so he could idly fiddle with the temples.

“My parents abandoned me when I was terribly young,” he started quietly, eliciting a gasp from Aisling, though he paid it no mind and continued. “I spent most of my childhood eking out a living by reselling antique books on the backstreets of Ul’dah. Chairman Lolorito eventually took notice of my intelligence and took me under his wing. I don’t know where I would be today if not for him.”

As he finished, Hancock brought his attention to Aisling, who was focused on him intently. She gave a small smile as she caught his gaze.

“Sorry. If I knew Lolorito had helped you turn your life around, I may have held my tongue when finding out you worked for him.”

But Hancock chuckled lightly and shook his head. “That’s water under the bridge at this point. Besides, I can only imagine how traumatic the events of the bloody banquet must have been to witness. Which is to say that I understand your contempt toward him.”

Aisling looked briefly surprised by this, but then her expression turned somber.

“I understand, you know.”

“Understand what?”

“Growing up without parents. My childhood village caught on fire when I was five summers old. My entire family died, and I,” she paused to begin unwrapping the dressing from one of her hands, “was burned badly.”

She then held her palm out toward Hancock, allowing him to see the scarring on her palm. He felt his heart skip a beat the second he saw it. Though it had faded somewhat with the passage of time, it was unmistakable.

“That scar,” he said. “It’s not your only one from that incident, is it?”

Aisling’s ears twitched from surprise before her eyes narrowed slightly. “No, my other hand, lower legs and feet are also scarred. But, how could…”

Her voice trailed off as realization seemed to dawn on her. “Wait…I had a friend in Ul’dah. He was an impoverished boy and since Godbert Manderville had taken me in, we didn’t spend all our time together, but he always comforted me after the other kids made fun of my scars.”

Hancock reached out and lightly took her hand into his larger ones, tenderly brushing his thumbs against the scarring.

“And he told you that the other kids were being mean because they didn’t understand and not to pay them any mind, correct?”

Aisling’s eyes grew wide at this, tears welling up in them. “You can’t be…”

“I am indeed,” Hancock replied, his voice scarcely above a whisper. “I thought it was you from the moment I saw you, but I couldn’t be entirely sure until you showed me your scar.”

“By the grace of Thal,” she whispered, her voice cracking.

Before he could say anything, Aisling tackled him with enough force to knock him onto his back and wrapped his arms around him tightly. She then buried her head into the hollow of his neck and let loose a muffled sob.

“I thought I did something wrong when you suddenly vanished,” she mumbled.

Hancock slid his arms around Aisling and buried his nose into her hair, sucking in a deep breath.

“Nonsense,” he told her, feeling a tear slide down his own cheek. “I assure you that you never did anything wrong and I cannot apologize enough. I should have said something, anything, before leaving with Lolorito and I didn’t. Looking back on it now, I was scared of hurting your feelings. You were the most important person to me and I didn’t want to see you upset.”

But she shook her head and pulled away from his chest so she could instead touch her forehead to his.

“You don’t need to apologize. We’re together now and that’s all that matters. You were able to find a much better life and I’m so incredibly happy that you did. And look how far you’ve come! You’ve become an incredibly powerful merchant and have made your own wealth. As much as I hate Lolorito, I must say I’m impressed.”

Hancock let loose a dry chuckle and cupped her cheeks in his hands, brushing away her tears with his thumbs.

“Look at me? Look at you. You didn’t let your past trauma define you and you grew into quite the incredible woman. You’re a Scion of the Seventh Dawn, for fuck’s sake. You helped save the entire star.”

Aisling brushed the tip of her nose ever so slightly against his before giving him a sheepish smile.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but getting past my trauma took a really long time,” she said, releasing her embrace so she could show him the burn scars on her right arm, stopping at her elbow.

Hancock gasped quietly at the sight and hesitantly reached out to trace his fingertips against them.

“How did this happen?”

“When I was helping the Warrior of Light try to stop the Amalj’aa from summoning Ifrit. One of them used fire magic and my childhood trauma caused me to freeze up, only being able to throw an arm up to shield my face. I left the fight to get medical attention and spent a good length of time healing, both physically and emotionally.”

Humming lightly in response, Hancock lowered his face to her arm and softly touched his lips to the scars. He then flicked his eyes to hers, feeling his own cheeks warm when he noticed the blush visible on her face.

“Hancock?”

At the whispered sound of his name, Hancock snapped back to reality and hastily pulled back, feeling his heart pounding.

“Apologies! I did not intend to overstep any boundaries.”

But Aisling shook her head and reached up to touch his cheek gently.

“I don’t think you could overstep any boundaries,” she told him.

“Not even when you catch me ogling your bosom?”

“Okay, let’s not push it.”

Hancock laughed and nuzzled against her hand, his lips curling into a gentle smile.

“I hadn’t realized how much I’ve missed you,” he said quietly.

“Same. I never thought I’d see you again. If I would have known it was you sooner…”

It was Hancock’s turn to shake his head and he placed a finger to her lips.

“Oh, shush. You had no way of knowing. I also could have spoken up sooner, but I didn’t want to embarrass myself if I was mistaken. So pray do not place the blame on yourself for not realizing it sooner, my dear.”

He blinked in surprise as he finished speaking, realizing only after what he had called her. He let loose a sheepish chuckle, once again feeling his cheeks grow hot.

“Oh gods, that just slipped out. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t…please say you aren’t offended.”

Hancock’s fumbling attempt at an apology must have amused Aisling, since she laughed. She then climbed into his lap, catching him completely off guard and just about making his heart stop.

“Relax, silly. You didn’t offend me at all. Hells, if I’m being honest,” she paused to nestle her head into his chest, “I think I can get used to hearing you call me that.”

He gulped quietly and more than a little awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, hoping that she couldn’t feel his heart racing.

“I shall be sure to remember that,” he said hurriedly, his voice trembling.

Aisling smiled and nudged her head against his chin. “Good! I’m holding you to that, I hope you know.”

Hancock nuzzled his chin against her hair, absently tracing his fingertips against a laceration scar on her left bicep. He made a mental note to ask her about it later before releasing a heavy sigh.

“As much as I would prefer to stay here with you for the rest of the afternoon, I’m afraid that I must return to work. I fear both my colleagues and potential clients are like to worry if I linger here any longer.”

“Oh. I see.”

“I’m sorry,” he told her, trying to mask his own disappointment. “I promise to return the moment I am free. We do have a mountain to explore, afterall.”

“You better,” Aisling grumbled as she climbed out of his lap.

A quiet chuckle escaped Hancock’s throat. “You have my word.”

He then pulled himself to his feet and held out a hand so he could help Aisling up, which she gladly accepted. Once he had helped her stand, he hesitated for a brief moment before raising their hands to his face so he could lightly press his lips against the back of hers.

“Try to get yourself some rest this afternoon,” he told her.

Aisling only nodded her head quickly, a pink hue visible on her cheeks. This coaxed a small chuckle from Hancock and he gave her hand a tiny squeeze. Not ready to say goodbye yet, he reached up with his other hand to lightly trace his fingertips against one of her cheek stripes. His lips curled into the faintest traces of a smirk as he felt her skin grow warmer beneath his touch. To think he could fluster her so easily…

This was the first time in recent memory that Hancock was disinclined to work. He’d be lying to himself if he said he wouldn’t sooner laze the afternoon away with Aisling by his side, catching up on lost time. And as long as he was being honest with himself, having her in his lap had felt right . But, he also knew better than to anger his clients by making them wait for him, especially for something as trivial as a personal matter. Not to mention the hot water he’d be in if word of his tardiness reached Chairman Lolorito.

So at long last, he released another heavy sigh and reluctantly released his hold on her hand. He allowed his other hand, however, to linger on her cheek.

“I really do need to leave now,” he said. “I hope you understand.”

Aisling gave Hancock a smile. “Of course! Can’t keep the big bad merchant from his job.”

Hancock scoffed at her comment as he slid his glasses back on, but he felt her lips upon his cheek before he could think up a witty retort. His heart shuttered and he felt himself blush to the tips of his ears. He gaped at her stupidly from over his shoulder, causing her to giggle lightly.

“Good luck with your merchant stuff,” she told him, giving him a cheeky grin.

He was only capable of nodding quickly and giving a small wave before rushing out of the room so fast that it was a miracle he didn’t trip over his own feet in his haste. Once he was back outside, Hancock reached up with a trembling hand to lightly touch the spot on his cheek Aisling’s lips had been. He then inhaled shakily to settle his nerves before setting forth toward the Ruby Bazaar, quietly thanking the Twelve for this miraculous reunion.

Now if only he could regain enough composure to actually focus on his tasks at hand.

#ffxiv #ffxivwriting #hancock fitzgerald x ofc #hancock x aisling #hancock fitzgerald #aisling epocan #my writing #can you tell i really love them?#they are my little guys #please perceive them

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