Noctis Lucis Caelum (veggiehater) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-01-15 19:17:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: gladio amicitia, ₴ inactive: noctis lucis caelum (2) |
Log: Noctis & Gladio
They'd managed to fit a futon and a chair inside. A little table and there was still room in the corner to rig in a wood burning stove - also on Gladio's list. It'd be nice for the warmth and they could cook up whatever Noct caught in the lake. For now though they'd made a lot of headway just getting the little bit of furniture over and set up.
"And you were giving me shit about the throw pillows," Gladio teased Noct as he tossed one of them into the corner of the futon. Alright, he wasn't some home decor guru, but he thought he did well enough in helping to pick out a few things to make the space come together.
Noct couldn’t decide if he was proud or embarrassed about the cabin. On the one hand, it was very simple and small. He got the feeling Toph would give it an unflattering nickname just like she’d given him. On the other, he’d built something. Him. The guy usually too lazy to build a stack of pancakes, let alone a cabin.
And Gladio looked annoyingly good in it too. Comfortable. Like it wasn’t just a pile of rocks with a nice view.
“I’m still giving you shit about the pillows.” He grabbed a second pillow out of Gladio’s hands and sprawling out on the couch with one foot up. “I just might change it to we need more.” The sun was setting outside the wide windows, gleaming off the nearby pond. Noct softly smiled. “You did a good job picking the view though.”
"I'm sure we can arrange more pillows," Gladio said as he gave Noct an amused grin. And alright, maybe his gaze lingered a bit on Noctis sprawled out on the couch. Hell of a view indeed. Maybe he'd gotten a little used to being able to the past couple days with Noctis - hopefully - unaware of it. "Find some nice blankets, make you a good little napping spot," he added.
Gladio lifted the leg Noctis had sprawled over the futon, sat and dropped it onto his lap. There was a chair he could have sat in he supposed. But he'd also gotten a bit used to being in Noct's personal space lately. It was nice. He dropped one arm on the back of the futon, the other laid lightly over Noctis' leg.
Noctis losing his sight, thankfully temporary, had brought up a lot of errant thoughts. Things he hadn't really fully processed from nearly two years before when Ignis had been injured. From those awful days of tension and constant snapping at each other. His thumb tapped lightly against Noct's leg as he got lost in it.
He let out a slow breath and looked at Noct. "Hey - so…" a brief pause. "You losing your sight like that, it - uh - made me think a lot. About when it happened to Ignis." He stilled his hand against Noctis' leg.
"That wasn't your fault, Noctis. None of that was your fault," he said fiercely, gaze locked on Noctis. "I shouldn't have said otherwise, back then. I was angry and - fuck - Noctis I was scared and I should have had your damn back but instead I made shit harder on you, on all of us. And I'm sorry for that."
There was a lot to unpack there. Noctis first had to get his hammering heart to settle down as he ended up with his leg in Gladio’s lap. It was the perfect distraction really. The image of them napping together in this room had started to form, all soft and dangerously appealing, and the hand on his leg was making all of Noct’s nerve-endings light up, so Gladio’s confession hit him square between the eyes. He felt winded and it showed in his wide-eyed and blinking stare.
“I--Gods, Gladio. Give a guy a warning before you knock him on his ass.” Noct dropped his gaze, needing just that brief respite from the force of Gladio’s gaze. “You didn’t...say anything I wasn’t already saying inside my head?” His eyes shifted back to Gladio’s face, softer now. Vulnerable. “But I won’t lie and say it didn’t hurt more hearing it from you. Just...It was Ignis. I got it, you know?”
His eyes closed for a brief second. He’d been missing Ignis a lot this week; it was impossible not to think about him as he stumbled blindly around Gladio’s apartment. “Still,” he murmured, “Thank you.”
His lips tightened into a line as Noctis said it had hurt to hear, that he himself had been saying the same things in his head. It wasn't surprising, but it was still a gut punch to hear it. Gladio knew, even as it was all going down, that he had fucked up handling the situation. By the time he'd really figured it out, got his own head on straight - well, Noct was gone. He'd lost his chance.
"It was Ignis," he agreed, gave Noctis' leg a little squeeze with his hand. "But you were still you. You deserved better than the way I handled everything." A statement that really, Gladio knew he could apply to a few things over the years. "Us moving forward after what happened with Ignis, the mess that was Altissia in general? As our king, I knew that was your responsibility, and I should have helped you figure that out and what moving forward would look like. What happened, was not your fault," a fact that he figured beared repeating. "I realized the difference between those too late."
He looked back at Noctis. "I know I can be a pushy asshole," he admitted, shrugged a little. "I'm working on it." He paused briefly, shot Noctis a wry smirk. "Feel free to remind me of that if I fall into old habits."
Instinctively, Noctis covered Gladio’s hand on his leg with his own. It sent a silly little zing up his spine, just touching like this, just talking like this, and he squeezed extra tightly for a second.
“Gladio, I...need you to understand that I couldn’t have gotten through all of that if you hadn’t been there. Pushy asshole or not…,” he smirked, “...your stubbornness, your strength...” He was having a hard time putting all the mess of emotions in his heart to words. Not that he’d ever been good at that. He rubbed his free hand over the back of his neck and chewed on his lip.
“I’d have wallowed in my own misery and put the whole world at risk if it weren’t for you guys. So. You know.” He gave a tiny shrug, unconsciously stroking his thumb across Gladio’s wrist. “I’ll promise to tell you if you’re being a pushy asshole if you promise to still tell me when I need to get my head out of my ass.”
Gladio glanced down to Noctis' hand on his own, a warmth spreading there. It was… nice. It wasn't as though Gladio had ever shyed away from invading Noct's personal space. But this was - different. More intimate than the playful shoulder bumps, the hair ruffles and the other casual touches he gave Noctis. It was a thought that had his head spinning a little, despite the serious nature of the conversation they were currently having.
He was quiet as Noctis spoke, giving him space to get the words out. He knew the struggle it was for Noctis. For all of them really. For all they had been told to remain at each other's sides the entirety of their lives, no one had ever thought to teach them how to make that function. How to navigate such a close relationship.
He flipped his hand up under Noctis', laced their fingers together and gave Noct's hand a squeeze in return. There was a soft smile at the wording of the proposal put forth. For all Noctis had a way of pushing every single one of Gladio's buttons (and quite a few in a way that he'd classify as anything but bad) there was no one else he'd rather have with him.
"Deal," he said, and gave Noctis' hand a little shake with a teasing grin. Though he didn't make a move to let go after said handshake. "I've got your back, Noct. Always." And he hoped it came through, that always meant just that. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to. Even here - worlds away from the duties and roles that had defined their lives.
It was a good thing Noct had practiced how to concentrate around Gladio’s disarming presence years ago. Otherwise, he’d probably have made a real ass of himself, gaping at their linked hands. Instead, he rolled his eyes and ‘shook’ Gladio’s hand back.
“I know. I’ve never doubted it,” he said, too serious, before his expression twisted into a more mischievous one. “Even if that one time you ran off to get new scars did make me - briefly - wonder if you were thinking about early retirement…,” he teased. It was easier to joke about that now. In the moment, seeing Gladio’s wounds, he’d only been angry and worried, and he’d hidden behind snide comments to cover it.
A king couldn’t exactly tell his Shield to stop putting his life at risk.
But things were different now, weren’t they? Noct’s cheeky smirk faded and he pulled their entwined hands a little closer to his stomach. “I...I want to be there for you too, you know? We’re a team.”
Gladio just smirked a little as Noctis brought up his encounter with Gilgamesh. He knew it had been a pretty boneheaded move, spurred by his own bruised ego. Still though, he didn't necessarily regret it. Gladio hadn't half assed a thing in his life. His training, his duty, even the tattoo that spanned the entirety of his back. Taking on Gilgamesh was just another aspect of that.
"Hey, chicks dig scars," he joked lightly. Not that that had ever been a reason for what he had done. And while he might joke about it, it was just that. A joke. If anything he'd been quick to shut down anyone who fell into the sentiment, or worse, tried to touch them over the years. It felt wrong, just like when anyone would linger touch too long on the lines of his tattoo - parts of himself that weren't really his anymore, instead tied up in devotion to someone else. Something he tried not to think on too much.
"I know," he assured Noct, the smirk fading into a warm smile. He let his gaze drift over the little cabin. "And you have been - here for me," he added, looking back to Noctis. "Things back home were getting pretty heavy, then showing up here?" he shrugged a little. "I wouldn't have gotten through the past couple months as easy as I did without you."
Noct huffed. “Right. Cause obviously you needed the extra help with the chicks.”
As reluctant as he was to let go, he felt like he was ten seconds away from having to answer for why he was still holding on to Gladio’s hand so he released him and reached up to lock his fingers together behind his head, sprawling out further across Gladio’s lap. It wasn’t precisely less obvious but it wasn’t entirely out of his norm either.
He hoped it would at last help him not think about everyone at home, still suffering. Still in the dark. It didn’t work completely, but it was still nice.
“Is this gonna be the junky little cabin for getting things off our chests now? If that’s the case,” he peered around the room, “we’re going to need a liquor cabinet. And maybe some sparring gloves.”
He moved his hand back to rest light on Noct's leg when he let go of it. It was probably dumb he thought, but he immediately missed the connection, and if Noctis hadn't tucked his hands behind his head, Gladio probably would have reached for it again. However, it was still nice enough, Noctis all but sprawled over him and the whole thing felt a certain kind of cozy he'd started liking probably too much. But it was easy, too easy maybe, to forget about certain things being so far from home. To let slide the lectures he'd been given over the years of "appropriate" behaviour and his place.
"Okay first off," he started, gave Noctis a smile. "Nothing 'junky' about this cabin - you did a great job," said with a little poke to Noct's side.
"But yeah, a liquor cabinet isn't a bad idea," he agreed with a sly grin. "I promise to try to reign in my serious talks though," he assured. "Just drinks - and naps?" he raised a brow at Noctis sprawled out at that last one. A bit of a teasing tone to the words but he propped his own legs up on the table and leaned back heavily on the couch, more than willing to partake himself.
“Just drinks and naps.” Noct smiled helplessly and gave a slow nod. This place was really, really dangerous. Apparently, what he’d really done a great job of was setting himself up for frequent glimpses at a domestic life with Gladio. Now if only he felt bad about that.