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[He smiled when Noct leaned against him, he didn't move, didn't want to in case Noct realised what he was doing and pulled away. No. It was good like this. It felt... better, like this.

But he was quiet then, waiting for Noct to find his words, and then he listened once they were spoken. And because Gladio knew they deserved it, he was quiet a little longer to consider them.]

I'm... what I am, Noct. I get that. Born and raised to be your Shield. It didn't leave room for much else. But away from Eos... I've had to learn who I am when I'm not being that. It's tough, workin out who you are. And I still don't know.

What I do know, is I'll always be your Shield. Do I think you need one? No. You've been here how long without me, and you're still kicking. You're strong, Noct. A Shield you don't need. But I'm here anyway, if you ever feel like you do.

[He paused, gathered up some more of his thoughts, and then gave a low laugh.]

I was asking, yeah. I miss you, dumbass. Not havin you guys around is damn weird. And I hate it.

...I get that. Believe me.

[He's felt it for months, both before and after the long sleep that brought him to the timeline he's at now. A life away from Eos was an extended version of how it felt to leave the capital, before everything went to hell- fewer expectations for how he behaved or what he did, time to explore a little, live under the radar, hardly anyone bowing or calling him by title instead of by name. He didn't have to be the crown prince or the Chosen of the gods or His Highness, he was just Noctis. Noct, to some he allowed. They were all in the same boat, he and Gladio and Ignis, raised in the Citadel and surrounded by duty, weighed down by the inevitable future. This place is weird and uncertain but it still offers what he's come to consider as a chance for something else, a civilian life on borrowed time. Just for a little while.

Gladio's words are a surprise while at the same time they aren't; they're more gentle than he's used to, and it causes him to lift his eyes, lips quirking into a half-smile.]

Who's the dumbass? We've been right here.

[And Gladio needed time away from them. He does get it. It isn't anyone's fault that he's wanted to make repairs to the unsteady bond between them that had broken in his heart after Altissia, to prove that he's trying not to be a coward anymore, to put others before his own grief, to overcome his childish flaws. It isn't anyone's fault that the two of them have ended up with completely opposite problems.

The smile fades as he hesitates again, fingers idly twisting together. The scarring from the ring still glares back at him on one finger, spiderweb burns reminding him of how little time there is to wait on uncertainty.]

I'm not- [-that strong. But even saying that sounds too weak.] ...Even if I didn't need a Shield, I still want mine.

[He's not royalty here, and Gladio doesn't have to. That added and undeserved pressure is why it's so difficult to say out loud. But Gladio being here, even just being nearby... he hadn't let himself realize very often how deeply he'd felt the man's absence in his life. They don't always get along but Gladio's still his friend, and Gladio's still safe.]

You're not... what? Strong? You kiddin me? You're tougher than you give yourself credit for, Noct.

[He smiled and shifted a little so he could pull his arm free and hook it around him, hugging him to his side. He gave him a little shake too.]

You're strong. But I'm here for you when you can't be.

The good thing about being as big as me, easy to lean on. [He was trying for teasing, but his words were no less true. If Noct needed him, he'd be there. It's all he really wanted. To be needed. To have a place. Back home he knew where that was without having to ask. But here, away from their world, he was uncertain. For once needing reassurance, he just wasn't sure how to go about asking for it.]

[It's strange to reconcile these words with the ones that have been bouncing around in the back of his mind since the train to Cartanica. For Gladio to think of him as strong, to say it out loud like he believes it, to reach out and hold him like this (the way he'd reached out before, to take his hand, when Noct had been too stunned to react better). How is it that in two universes Gladio had taken two different trains and ended up with two different perspectives on how their journey had ended? It was surreal, and Noctis is quiet for a long moment.

He... likes this. A lot better. Or is that cowardly and self-indulgent, too? He wants to do right by them, by the world.

Torn as he is, he still doesn't pull away this time, doesn't want to. He closes his eyes briefly and lets his body tilt oh-so-subtly into it, hand lifting to rest over Gladio's wrist, not quite holding that arm around his shoulders to keep it there, but... acknowledging its presence, while still offering Gladio the freedom to pull away when he wants to. He'd asked for space, Noctis refuses to cling like a child. But this is... you know. Nice.]

You just want me to compliment your pillow pecs or something, don't you.

Don't need to. [There was a touch of smugness in his voice now.] I've been told I'm a 'teddy bear' and good to cuddle.

... Okay, sure, she was a kid, but she was a smart kid and I trust her judgment.

[Be self-indulgent, Noct. Nothing wrong with being selfish. But wanting a hug from a friend isn't cowardly in the least. For Gladio it isn't. It's comforting. When Noct didn't pull away, when his hand came up to hold his like that, it felt like home.

Maybe they hadn't been this way back there, but Noct and the others were his only real connections to Eos, to where he was born. Being near them reminded him of that. And while it made him homesick on occasion... Pyra's words came back to haunt him. Home was where his friends were, where his family was. And while he couldn't be with his flesh and blood family, he'd learned that family was what you made of it.]

You can shower me with compliments if you want. [He grinned.] I'm generous like that.

Edited 2021-01-14 02:23 (UTC)

[Noctis exhales a huff of laughter at that, brief but loud enough to be heard. That feels good, too- to smile and laugh in Gladio's presence again, unafraid of being caught for straying from the mission, getting distracted or something. Almost like balm on a wound, that little step towards normalcy that he'd been desperately craving. So maybe Gladio still likes him, wants him around. Doesn't hate or resent him for failures he hasn't witnessed yet. It's a gift, and he'll take it gladly.]

You wish. I haven't decided if I missed you enough to do that.

[Liar. If compliments were the way to keep people close to him, he'd recruit Pyra to help him come up with a million of them.]

[A laugh. He was racking up the points now. Though he hadn't had a winner yet. No belly laughs. Prompto had come close, so he'd work on him a bit more at some point, but he'd take these little laughs. They all added up.]

So if I go out and come back in, think you'll miss me enough then? How'd you measure that exactly?

[He was grinning as he tilted his head, trying to catch Noct's eye.]

Hey, Noct?

Undetermined.

[It's a pretty good step for Noctis, at least; he's not as prone to loud laughter the way Gladio or Prompto might be, such laughs are exceedingly rare in the best of times and moreso than usual these days, since the Crystal. Still, it's a solid sign that they're headed in the right direction.

Noctis shifts enough to lift up, noticing Gladio seeking him out, and when their eyes meet this time he's not wary like before, more neutral and expectant.]

Yeah?

[He waited, waited for Noct to notice, and then smiled when he did.]

Four months is a long time, y'know. Things can change a lot. People too.

I'm not the same guy from Eos. I mean, I am, I'm still Gladio. But I'm trying. Trying to be better. Someone you guys can rely on.

So for starters... I won't be bangin on your door at the asscrack of dawn demanding you train with me. [He smiled wider.] I'll let you know where I am. If you want to join me, you're welcome. Always like the company.

[Four months is a long time. Isn't that about the stretch of time between the start and end of their journey? A lot had changed then, too. Here as well- from the moment he'd arrived to the turning of the first new year had included so many new experiences. Getting to know his father, Ardyn, even the Founder King. Meeting the first Oracle, having Luna back for a while. Meeting Pyra, and many of the new friends from home he's come to care for. It's both alarming and incredible how much can change in less than half a year.

All of that is enough to get him to nod, smiling faintly. Yeah, he believes it. And it shows in how Gladio's acting.]

You are different. [Not enough to be unrecognizable- Gladio is Gladio, the core of him is there. It feels like someone's ground down on the sharp edges, leaving him a little wearier, but softer.] I guess I can get up once in a while. The sunrise isn't bad here.

[And he wouldn't mind training with Gladio again. It's been far too long, and no one else really knows how to push him the way Gladio can.]

Screw that. I've gotten used to sleeping in. [He grinned. Okay, not a total lie. He would still get up at 5 and he had started to go out on runs again now he was able. But he was also just as capable of turning around and going back to sleep. Maybe it wasn't the same on his own, but it had become a habit he'd learned to enjoy.

After breakfast though. If it's somethin you want, you can join me whenever.

[Because he would work out with or without Noct. He had no end of people who had offered to do that with him, or spar, but there were only three people he would directly seek out. One of them was at his side right now.

And he seemed to have accepted that difference in him. For that he was grateful. It was all he'd wanted really.]

Thank god. That's a concession I wasn't too keen to make.

[Somewhere in the universe Cor is facepalming about doing strenuous physical activity after eating, but screw it, Noct did his time. Ten years back home and then months here training with the Marshal... not to mention putting all that practice into real fights. He's doing okay. (He's... strong! In a fight! There, he'll say it. The rest he's still working on.)]

Maybe tell me the night before, though... so I remember to wake up. I might even be able to show you a few new tricks.

[Thing was, Gladio didn't always eat breakfast. That was just a time of day for him, but he figured it would be a more attractive time for Noct.]

How about this... I'll tell you times and days, and you show up when you want?

[He kind of hoped, giving Noct the choice, maybe he'd start small and show up maybe once a week, but maybe he'd try for more, since it was on his own terms? That was Gladio's hope. But if not it was fine. Once a week was better than forcing Noct into doing something he wasn't happy with.

He'd tried that tactic and it hadn't worked as well as he'd wanted.]

[It is indeed a more attractive time. Being in the city hasn't done his sleep schedule much good, and he doesn't always sleep well, unfortunately. Mornings are precious, and the fact that he's not getting dragged out of bed at 6AM like usual is amazing. "After breakfast" is vague, but he's known Gladio long enough to make reasonable assumptions about what that could mean.]

Huh... yeah, sure. I can do that. You've got a sword here, right?

[Actually come to think of it, he hasn't checked the armory since before Gladio's arrival. He'd hesitated to touch it until he fully recovered, to avoid accidentally triggering another incident (just in case, because Pyra said it would be safe but just in case), so if anyone had added weapons to it or moved anything in or out, he wouldn't have noticed.]

[Gladio considered the question, and then held out his free hand. When he closed his fist it was to close around the handle of the sword he had just summoned... He looked amused when he realised just what sword that was.]

Cor's sword... Guess I've got one here at least.

[The katana was long, the blade ornate, it was pretty to look at and he wasn't entirely sure he liked using it because of it's sentimental value. But he would.]

I've a tiny dagger at home too.

[There's a brief bit of tension that flares up in Noct's body language as the armory is accessed, but it fades after a few seconds as he recognizes that nothing happened. It felt normal, just like it always does. Seems as if it really is okay now.

Settling back against the couch, he smirks faintly at the addition.]

Trying to imagine you using a little dagger in a fight...

[Would it even be visible in those big hands?]

[With the arm around Noct's shoulders, he felt that tension... and it was only then that he realised what he was doing. He remembered what Pyra had told him. Noct had yet to actually say anything on the matter, but Gladio could have cursed himself.

It was the first time he'd tried to access the armiger for any reason. And he couldn't even apologise, since he wasn't supposed to know.

He let the sword go back and freed his arm when Noct sat himself back. He chuckled, nodded and held his hands about six inches apart.]

This big. Small, but well made. Might be good in an emergency. But in a fight?

[No, a small dagger would not help him much at all.]

[If it helps any, once the moment passes Noctis offers no indication that it was a problem; the sword returning to the armory garners no such reaction. He doesn't resist when Gladio pulls his arm back, but he doesn't move from his spot, either.]

Doesn't ring any bells. Where'd you get a dagger?

[Sounds more like something Ignis might carry. Though Gladio is also Mr. Survivalist, so having a pocket knife makes sense.]

Era.

[Grinning, Gladio leaned back as well, relaxing against the back of the sofa, he stretched his legs out in front of him.]

Met her a few days back. Crashed into her, actually. She did her best to gore me with her horns and castrate me with her tail.

That explains the selfie. [At least Gladio knows who the recipient was now?] She didn't tell me about the horn thrashing. Must've really made an impression.

[He'd only gotten Era's side of things, so he's kind of curious about what Gladio thinks now.]

[He groaned and tipped his head back, eyes closing.]

Can't believe she sent you that thing...

Yeah, bruises lasted a few days. Any harder she might'll done actual damage. [Or if he'd been lacking in a little less muscle.]

Good thing you're a tank.

[Meatshields are built to take the damage!]

Sounds as if she likes you though, so that's cool.

Hah yeah, yeah it is.

Think we worked out our differences though. [He tilted his head to look over at Noct.]

She's why I came here.

[Noct's brows furrow at that. Era hadn't mentioned anything.]

She was...?

She got it in my head I should talk to you guys.

Just had to work up the courage.

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