[Noctis winces, having no difficulty recalling his immediate confusion over Gladio's reach for his hand.]
I didn't mean to do that.
[He's not entirely sure if that's better or worse, if an intended response would be preferable over an instinctive flinch. He's not scared of Gladio, though maybe for a while he had been. Until they worked their way through the swamp in Cartanica he'd honestly begun to wonder if Gladio would help him out of danger like usual when they wound up in a fight. That worry had been unfounded - Gladio was committed to his duty no matter how he might've felt about his 'king' - but he couldn't deny that he'd felt it.
He shifts a bit in his seat, fingers twining in his lap again. If they're doing this now... he should probably be honest about it.]
You're not the only one who's felt like that. I couldn't keep it up the way you could, though... probably why we clashed the way we did. You called me out on everywhere I was failing.
[And perhaps why Gladio's words stung so badly back then. Healthy or not, the Shield was succeeding where the king could not. He'd felt pathetic, and the insults flung his way had rung true.]
I'm... glad you got the chance to open up like that. Keep it up, okay? It's not... bad. [A little surreal, different, but not bad.] Still working on that one, on my end. We're not our dads... we don't have to be the same kind of king and Shield that they were.
no subject
I didn't mean to do that.
[He's not entirely sure if that's better or worse, if an intended response would be preferable over an instinctive flinch. He's not scared of Gladio, though maybe for a while he had been. Until they worked their way through the swamp in Cartanica he'd honestly begun to wonder if Gladio would help him out of danger like usual when they wound up in a fight. That worry had been unfounded - Gladio was committed to his duty no matter how he might've felt about his 'king' - but he couldn't deny that he'd felt it.
He shifts a bit in his seat, fingers twining in his lap again. If they're doing this now... he should probably be honest about it.]
You're not the only one who's felt like that. I couldn't keep it up the way you could, though... probably why we clashed the way we did. You called me out on everywhere I was failing.
[And perhaps why Gladio's words stung so badly back then. Healthy or not, the Shield was succeeding where the king could not. He'd felt pathetic, and the insults flung his way had rung true.]
I'm... glad you got the chance to open up like that. Keep it up, okay? It's not... bad. [A little surreal, different, but not bad.] Still working on that one, on my end. We're not our dads... we don't have to be the same kind of king and Shield that they were.