ɢʟᴀᴅɪᴏʟᴜs ᴀᴍɪᴄɪᴛɪᴀ (ex_cupnoods206) wrote in valloic, @ 2020-11-28 15:27:00 |
|
|||
Well someone's gotta keep you grounded, Princess ↪
He used the key to the apartment they’d “given” him and left the door open behind him. Just in case he needed to flee and fast. All of this felt like a very strange trap. A distraction from what he needed to be doing. Or the weirdest crystal-induced dream ever. He wasn’t sure which one he preferred. On the one hand, if they were right about home being in some kind of limbo, he could buy himself a little time here to get stronger. To make sure he didn’t fail. On the other hand, they were down two and then some.
He opened a cabinet in the kitchen. Then the fridge. Everything was predictably empty but a small part of him had hoped Ignis had beat him here and shoved a bunch of vegetables inside. He closed the fridge with a loud exhale and moved to the sink to splash water on his face.
“If there’s a spy camera in here or traps or something, could you just let me sleep for a few minutes before you try to kill me,” he mumbled towards the ceiling. “I don’t think that’s asking too much.”
Time to decompress wasn't something Gladio generally gave himself. At least lately. The motto instead was more just keep going and when you hit a wall, still keep going. He was sure maybe in a week or so this might all hit him and knock him down a few pegs - but he hadn't gotten there yet. Instead he focused on the things he could do, the things in a situation so ridiculously outside of his control that he did have control over.
Checking out the apartment. Checking in on the network that had been pointed out to him. Checking in on the girl who'd arrived within minutes of him. And Noctis.
Because the day wasn't fucking weird enough already.
Even though Noctis had given the correct word back, even though it sounded like him as they exchanged messages, Gladio still had trouble actually making that leap. Surreality beyond surreal.
So he kept going. Hit up a drug store, hit up the noodle place that had been suggested and headed back to the apartment. It was only about twenty minutes but it was enough and his eyes even with the sunglasses he'd been given had a pretty good sting to them as he came back out of the sun. He figured it would take a couple days to get used to.
Gladio dropped the bag of nail polish and lipstick with Marceline and then went to Noctis' apartment with the bag from the noodle house in hand. He frowned a little at the open door, and while he lived in a constant state of "guard up" now it was just that much more as he stepped into the apartment. He quietly closed the door behind him and hearing movement in the kitchen headed that way with surprisingly light footsteps.
He wasn't sure what he was expecting really. But somehow Noctis standing in the middle of the kitchen talking to himself felt… too easy. Like some weird and cruel joke and gods he was probably going to wake up in medical with some brain injury and this all just a strange, strange dream brought on by the guilt and ache of missing Noctis that had weighed in him for nearly two years now.
One year, ten months, three weeks, and 4 days.
Not that he kept count or anything.
"If you're going to get murdered, at least have some food first," he said, voice a bit rough and he moved to set the bag on the counter. "Door was open," he added with a shrug.
It probably didn’t say much that Noct was so easily snuck up on my a guy so large, but he was tired so that had to count for something. He jumped a little at the familiar rumble of Gladio’s voice and wiped water from his face as he turned. Gladio sounded like how he always sounded when emotions were involved and they didn’t have time for them. Only they had nothing but time here, right? Noct frowned for a brief second but then managed an off-kilter smile.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to need to make a speedy exit.” He moved closer, seemingly towards the food, but also so he could get a better look at Gladio. The last time he’d seen him, he’d been fighting under overwhelming odds. It was clear some time had passed, just looking at him. But Noct still couldn’t quite believe his brief time in the crystal had equaled two years of uncertainty for his friends. He only realized he’d been quietly staring for a little too long when his stomach let out an audible growl.
“Okay, okay, jeez.” He put a hand over his belly. “I was going to try and check the place over first. Is there anything portable in there?”
It was surreal. Beyond so even. Not a day had gone by that Gladio's thoughts hadn't strayed to Noctis, but seeing him there now? It was a lot. He gave Noctis a glance over, habit still, making sure he was in one piece - nothing broken, nothing bleeding. Just - Noctis. Not much different than that last glance they'd been given before he disappeared into a crystal. He realized he had probably quickly fallen into staring territory but only dropped his gaze when Noctis' stomach let out a rumble.
Gladio's lips pressed into a tight smile at it and he rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. "Fortune cookies?" he offered. It was noodle bowls though, not exactly a walking and eating meal.
He glanced up, Noctis right there and without really much thought to it other than this whole thing still feeling not exactly real, he lifted a hand and dropped it on Noctis' shoulder. A little surprised to find a solid body under the touch and before he really let himself think too much on it, Gladio stepped in and closed the distance between them and wrapped Noctis up in a hug. It wasn't exactly rare for Gladio to invade Noctis' personal space - a fist bump, a hand on his shoulder, ruffling his hair in the mornings - but this was a little different. Grip tight as though if he let go even a little Noctis might just up and disappear again.
It was brief though, and Gladio cleared his throat as he let go and stepped back. "Uh - you start eating," he started, "I'll do a walk through," he added and didn't give Noctis much of a chance to protest otherwise before he moved out of the kitchen to check out the rest of the apartment.
Gladio’s hand Noct’s shoulder was normal enough that he just kept reaching into the bag for a fortune cookie. But being reeled into a hug got his attention. He huffed in surprise and instinctively arched up onto his toes to make sure he didn’t end up with his face mashed into Gladio’s chest. Their height difference had been murder on him as a teenager.
Not that pressing his face into the juncture between Gladio’s shoulder and neck was any less dizzying. He started to close his eyes, to quietly sink into this feeling, but it ended just as abruptly as it started.
“I—“ Noctis had a forgotten cookie in his hand and he blinked wide blue eyes at Gladio’s departing back. “Hey wait a second! This is my weird free apartment.” Quickly scrambling for two more cookies, he juggled them into his pocket to follow after Gladio. In the spirit of their friendship, and a mutual awkwardness about feelings, Noct did not comment on the hug. But for once, he really, really wanted to. “Does yours look like this?”
Gladio paused as he heard Noctis clambering after him. He wasn't entirely surprised by it, but there went his excuse to take a few minutes to… what? He wondered. Over analyze the last minute and a half? Wasn't like he'd never hugged Noctis before.
He pushed past it, nodded a little at the question and headed into the bedroom at the end of the hall. "Pretty much?" he answered. "I think the layout in mine is reversed though." Which made sense. Most apartment buildings were generally variations on the same few layouts. He'd already done a good sweep of his own and found nothing out of sorts - other than the general situation at least - he doubted there'd be anything to find in Noctis'. But it never hurt to check.
"You steal all the cookies?" he asked, an attempt at a wry smile but it fell a little flat. He stepped into the bedroom and with practiced motions started to do a sweep through, checking the closet, drawers, and usual places for a bug or other such device.
“What, I need the calories.” Noct tore open the first cookie and snapped it in half in response to Gladio’s question. He should probably have been helping to search the rooms but Gladio was better at it anyway. And okay, he was a little lazy. He pulled the fortune out of the cookie and leaned against the bedroom door frame.
“The time is right to make new friends,” Noct read. His expression soured and he crumpled the paper up. “I can’t even appreciate how good a burn that is without Specs and Prompto around.” He moved into the room and plopped down onto the bed, crunching on half of a cookie. “Do you think it’s a good idea for us to stay here? Separately?”
Gladio huffed a little at the fortune from the cookie. "Well maybe they'll show up and you can hit them with it then," though he wasn't holding his breath. Or really giving it much thought either. It was honestly hard enough to just wrap his head around that he and Noctis were there in the first place. Maybe in a few days he'd start to think more about the others showing up but right then he was firmly focused on the task of making sure Noct's apartment was safe.
"Though there's plenty of people here from what I can tell to get going on that advice." Too many of which apparently already knew them. Or some version of them. However the fuck all that worked.
He finished sweeping the room and looked to Noctis on the bed and felt a rush of deja vu. Too many nights spent in small hotel rooms where he'd flop down just like that. Time that back then seemed like it would last forever and left him feeling raw and uncertain when it was gone. He was struck with the urge to just - plop down next to Noctis, but figured somehow that probably wasn't the best idea right then.
Instead he sunk to sit on the edge. "Hand me one of those," he said as he held out a hand for a cookie. He shrugged a little at the question. "You lived alone in Insomnia," he pointed out. He had half a mind really to force himself into Noctis' space here but didn't want to invade it. "I'm down the hall, I don't think there's any huge risk in the apartments at least. From what I can gather." The whole situation itself was another story but Gladio highly doubted this was some ploy to take them all out.
"But I can -" he paused, "if you want I can hang out here for a while. If you want to try to sleep for a bit, make sure nothing's gonna try anything," he added, harking back to Noctis' earlier request of a few minutes of sleep before getting murdered.
“So bossy.” Noctis rolled his eyes and leaned back on his elbows so he could dig out a wrapped cookie to drop it into Gladio’s hand. “This isn’t Insomnia. But I guess if you’re just down the hall...it’s no big deal.”
He didn’t want to sound like he couldn’t manage just fine on his own. He scowled at the thought, even. But the chance to get a little sleep and keep Gladio close was hard to refuse. Really, stupidly hard, what the hell. The only thing that helped him do it was knowing that Gladio needed sleep of his own.
Noct groaned and rolled to his feet. “Let’s just eat, okay? If I fall asleep in my noodles, then you can make sure I don’t drown.”
Gladio gave Noctis a smirk at the bossy comment and took the cookie. "Well someone's gotta keep you grounded, Princess." It was a brief quip, but the most normal Gladio had felt in nearly two years.
"No, it's not," he agreed as he unwrapped the cookie. The thought that maybe he should insist on staying in Noctis' apartment hit him again, but he pushed past it. It had always been such a delicate balancing act with Noctis, between letting him have freedoms where he could and hovering where he had to. And truthfully, Gladio didn't trust himself not to do the latter to a terrible degree if he didn't have another apartment to be sent back to. He knew he was likely to give into the paranoia of Noctis vanishing again and doing something probably creepy like standing guard outside his door while he slept.
"I doubt we were brought here for anything nefarious though," a short pause, "besides, my sleep schedule is shit and I'd hate to keep you from getting your beauty sleep," he added with another smirk.
He got to his feet as Noctis did. "No drowning, got it." He popped the fortune cookie into his mouth as they moved back to the kitchen. He unfolded the paper and huffed a bit of a laugh. "The greatest love is self-love," he read out loud. "Damn, pretty racy for a fortune cookie."
“Can’t believe you’re worried about keeping me grounded when we’re in bizarro land.” Noctis flicked the wadded up fortune in his hand at Gladio’s face and gave a satisfied smirk when it plinked off his chiseled jawline. The teasing helped quiet some of Noct’s anxiety. Gladio had a way of doing that. Sometimes it was with shouted words and sometimes it was just like this - Gladio being solid and reliable and acting like everything would work out eventually. Noct needed to believe it.
He followed Gladio into the kitchen so closely that he bumped into him, distracted by the self-love joke.
“Gross,” he grumbled, giving Gladio a half-hearted shove. Hopping up onto the counter, he fished out chopsticks and a container of noodles. He needed to get the combined thought of Gladio and self-love out of his head pronto. Jamming his mouth full of noodles seemed like the right track.
“Thanks” came out muffled. But his stare was grateful. “For--” Coming over, being here, being you. “--The food,” he finished lamely.
He gave a little bit of a bump back at the shove and grabbed his food to take up a spot at one of the stools at the island. He popped the lid off and took a moment to take in the fragrance of the noodle bowl. Fresh and still pretty hot despite the little detour. And miles above the meals he'd been having of late. He fought the urge to follow Noctis and just shove his mouth full of the food, instead opting to take a big, but still reasonable, bite.
Gladio glanced up as Noctis started talking, or mumbling really. While the lack of manners that once might expect from someone in Noctis' position might throw some people, it was a comfort in a weird way to Gladio. He'd long since realized that Noctis like this, all pretense and guards (well most guards at least) down was something only a very small handful tended to see. Noctis the person instead of Noctis the Crown Prince. And while food was what was said, Gladio knew well enough to know what else was wrapped up in that.
He smiled, for a brief moment forgetting the near two years between them and all that held. "Yeah, you're welcome, Noct." For the food. For being there. For being them.