Gladio might have missed it really had he not gone back to grab his keys from the bedside table. As it was he did and he spotted it. A small, unassuming, wrapped package sitting there where he knew it hadn't been earlier that day. A picture perfect wrapping job, the paper a black with deep purple accents and perfectly curled silver ribbon. Paper befitting a present for a future King. A card in a black envelope underneath.
Gladio reached for it and picked it up gently, turned it over and knew exactly what it was the moment he did so. A present he had spent so many hours worrying over only to not give in the end. Noctis written on the front of the envelope in silver pen in his penmanship.
There was a small smile, it was bittersweet to see this now. Things were so much different between him and Noct now than they had been back then.
And Gladio, well, he figured it was about time Noctis got this particular gift.
He found Noct on the back deck and kept the present behind his back and he walked up. "Hey, got you a little something," he said as he walked over. "I know it's a couple days early but… it's kind of not at the same time," he added as he handed Noct the wrapped present.
Noctis wasn't really thinking about his birthday. He rarely did. Some years he didn't even remember it at all until one of them said something or Prompto crashed into him with a full body hug. The one time his birthday had felt noteworthy was his first year in Vallo with just him and Gladio. It had been the first time he'd spent one without Ignis since he was about six and he felt like he was both cheating fate to have a birthday and missing half of his heart as well. Now they were all together and he was content to forget it again.
"Huh? Oh." Noct sat up in his chair, tucking his headphones down around his neck. Soft blues music could be heard from them until he pressed a button on his phone. "That's a really weird thing to say, you know that right?" He smiled loosely and shook the box by his ear like a brat. It rattled a little, like something was moving inside. He had the grace to look apologetic. "Uh. Hope it's not fragile."
Gladio just laughed as Noctis immediately took to shaking the box. "I know better than to hand you fine crystal without a warning," he answered with a cheeky grin, a teasing tone in the words.
He took a seat on the chair beside Noct. "I got it for you, years ago," he began to explain. "Never did give it though," a little shrug at that. "Seems Vallo thought I should, seeing as it showed up on the nightstand."
Gladio could still vividly remember agonizing over the present, second guessing himself and then letting his Dad's views on what was proper get the better of him. The wording in the card worked over a few times in his mind before he had settled on a simple Happy Birthday, Princess. Maybe you can show me how to play this sometime. An attempt to get on common ground when things between them had felt so at odds.
Flashing a relieved grin, Noct leaned into Gladio's side and opened the card. The Noct this gift had been for likely would have rolled his eyes at the nickname and not been nearly as careful with the card as this Noct was, but he'd grown. He was aware of Gladio's beautifully thoughtful side and he appreciated the existence of a card at all. He brushed his fingers over the handwriting, thinking of a gruff teenager writing the words. His smile was small but pleased.
As he opened the gift itself, he grinned wider at the old game inside, and then he frowned.
"Why didn't you give this to me then?" Noct turned in his seat to search Gladio's face. "It's good. It's great. I would've loved it." A thought crossed his mind and his frown deepened. "Was I being an asshole?"
There was a grin of his own as he watched Noctis open the gift, glad to see it brought a smile to Noct's face even now.
It had been years but Gladio's memory on this was thankfully not too fuzzy to be able to fill in the blanks Noctis was asking for. He shook his head a little. "Nah, you weren't. Or at least nothing worse than our usual back then." There was a little shrug at that. "I remember I went back and forth a few times, I wanted to give you something you'd like - not some gift based on tradition, given at those awful formal birthday things you had to have."
He let his hand settle on Noct's thigh, gave it a little squeeze. "We butted heads that day though that I was going to give it to you, talked myself out of it, and by the time I realized I was being an idiot about it - you already had that game."
"Oh…" Noct covered Gladio's hand with his own and stroked upwards along his wrist. He didn't like thinking too much about when they had been at odds, but he vaguely remembered a fight around his birthday and part of the reason it happened made him huff a little laugh. "I was going to say that bums me out but I think, I'm pretty sure the birthday you're talking about, I picked a fight because you showed up to the gym in shorts and I was having a mental bitch fit about it."
He smiled bashfully and lifted Gladio's hand to kiss his palm. "Thank you. For trying but also for the shorts," he joked affectionately. It was easy to lean into Gladio's side then and go boneless with the comfort of where their relationship was now.
"See if you had just owned up to me in shorts short circuiting your brain we could have saved a lot of trouble," Gladio said with a wink and a teasing grin. He knew it was hardly that simple of course, but it was fun to tease now that things had worked out.
"You're welcome," he replied and turned his hand in Noct's to give it a squeeze. "I know we didn't always have the easiest time with each other, but I'm proud of how far we've come - together."
It hadn't been a perfect journey by any means. But all the mess, the imperfections, and moments they were less than proud of made up who they were. It was theirs, and it was part of a history that brought them to this point.
"And hey, the offer to show me how to play that game still stands," he added with an affectionate grin. "Better late than never, right?"
Even engaged, Noct felt his face heat up and his ears get hot. He'd have sooner thrown himself down the Citadel stairs than admit anything so damning as his attraction to Gladio back then. It all felt a bit ridiculous now, but he laughed and elbowed Gladio in the side before tucking his head into the space between Gladio's broad shoulder and thick neck. He was stupidly fond of this spot.
"All the bad just makes the good that much better, right?" They'd struggled and suffered, butted heads and did things they regretted, but they were stronger for it now. "Love you, big guy." He paused and looked down at the video game for a moment before smirking mischievously. "I even love you enough to play this ancient video game and not take it easy on you at all."
Gladio shifted his head a little to be able to place a soft kiss to the top of Noct's hair as his arms moved around him. If Noctis was stupidly fond of that spot, well, Gladio was also stupidly fond of Noctis being in that spot.
"And it's very good" he replied with a warm laugh, his arm tightening around Noctis for a moment. "I love you too," a pause. "Even if you're about to kick my ass in some ancient video game," was added with another laugh. While Gladio was usually one to never admit defeat he knew well enough by now his skills at the video games Noctis and Prompto excelled at were passable at best.
"We'll hook it up in a bit," he mumbled into the top of Noct's head, "kind of just want to sit here for a while first." Indulge in the lazy moments they could now have, away from all the duty and responsibilities their lives back home demanded of them.
Noct coiled his arms around Gladio more fully and tugged him backwards to stretch out in the lounger chair. He shifted from smug to octopus like it was his day job.
"You don't have to twist my arm," he murmured, pleased and already sounding a little sleepy in his comfort level. "I could stay right here with you all day."