The hunt they'd taken for Galdin hadn't exactly been that hard. At the very least not even close to some of the more difficult hunts they'd been on. But it'd been a decent enough way to pass an afternoon and hey they got money for it. Which was always nice. The dinner offered on top of the bounty? Well, that was just an added perk.
Galdin Quay was nice. He'd always thought so. But it was a different sort of nice then. Gladio had dressed up somewhat - this wasn't just hitting up some noodle place or some taco place on a whim like most of their dinners out usually were afterall - a black button up shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbow and the first few buttons left undone, a nice pair of black pants. Tried his best to tame his hair and cleaned up the scruff a little. The sort of getting ready he realized after it was all said and done was very much date getting ready territory.
A thought that only got louder as they settled into their table. Table, not the counter for a quick bite with two other people like they had always done before. No, just them. A cozy little table in the back with candles, a bottle of red wine and everything.
And it really wasn't helping with the feelings he'd harboured for Noctis, the ones that had been so much easier to ignore, or at least quiet for a variety of reasons, when their duties and roles were a far more prominent part of their lives.
"You - uh - know what you want yet?" he asked, an easy sort of question to break the silence as they went over the menus left for them.
Noctis was staring very hard at his menu. He’d known, as the events of the day played out and they were offered dinner at the restaurant, that he was going to end up in a precarious place. He’d seen Gladio in nice clothes enough times to know what he was in for and that was before he had the haunting knowledge that some version of himself got to be with some version of Gladio. Probably here, just like this, for all he knew.
That hadn’t stopped him from dressing up a little too. At least, he wasn’t wearing a t-shirt. He’d picked a black leather jacket instead, and put it over a thin sweater so dark purple it was nearly black too. Were dark jeans an upgrade over cargo capris? These were the kinds of dumb questions he’d been forced to ask himself earlier.
“Uhhh…” He cleared his throat and lowered the menu. Yup, Gladio still looked annoyingly good. Damn it. “That depends. Do you think they’d ever give us work again if I ordered the most expensive thing on the menu? I haven’t had lobster in forever.”
Anything was an upgrade over capri cargos. Even though Noctis somehow managed to pull them off. But then Gladio figured Noctis could wear a damn garbage bag and still look good. The somewhat dressier look though was nice. Well, all of this was nice if he was honest. Even with the sort of anxious hum just under his skin.
Gladio laughed a little at that.. "Maybe?" He nudged Noct's foot under the table with his as he smirked. "Might not come with dinner next time though," he answered, his tone light.
He glanced down at the menu again, a tilapia and rice dish catching his eye. "You should get it though," he offered as he looked back at Noctis. "Doubt you'll get better lobster than you will here," he pointed out.
“I doubt we’ll get more than one of these anyway,” Noct shrugged. “Unless they get something really big attacking them.” He glanced out the back of the open building beyond Gladio, where the restaurant became a dock. There hadn’t been anything especially large to fight here yet, but that could change any second.
The last time he’d fought over water, terrible things had happened. He shoved that thought into a corner of his mind. He didn’t want to ruin this. Whatever this even was. He should really figure that out soon--
“Well aren’t you two a handsome picture. Much better than when you were in here after your scuffle. What can I get for you?” the waiter asked.
“Uhhhh…” Noct flushed and scrambled to get one last peek at the menu. “Um, please don’t judge me. I’m getting the lobster.” he pointed at the menu to confirm which dish he was ordering.
The waiter laughed. His name tag said “Eadric”. “Excellent choice! What about you, big guy?”
"It's all him," Gladio said smoothly at the handsome pair remark, his attention to Noctis to gauge the reaction. Like Noctis he wasn't entirely sure what this all was, the little shifts in their relationship since they'd gotten here, the knowledge that some versions of themselves had apparently been involved… it was harder and harder to put things into neat little boxes anymore. Easy though, especially in the current moment, to poke the bear so to say. To push at the boundaries that usually existed between them.
That Noctis, an actual Prince, looked down right sheepish ordering the lobster was endearing. Gladio chuckled softly at the exchange and looked to Eadric. "The tilapia please," he answered and handed his menu back after Eadric jotted down the orders and reached for them.
Gladio reached for the wine bottle and poured them each a glass as Eadric left with their orders. "You know, I keep half expecting Dino to pop over and send us on some gemstone hunt," he said with a bit of a laugh. It somehow felt like both yesterday and a lifetime ago that they were all here together, the four of them, chasing leads and hunts and trying to stay off the Empire's radar.
“Shut up. I know you have a mirror in your apartment,” Noctis laughed, his already flushed face feeling stupidly hotter. At least he resisted fanning himself. He’d never come back from that.
Propping his head up on his hand, he smiled softly at the memory of something that didn’t make him feel anxious or needy. Dino was a character. A friend too, by now, but a character.
“He’d probably love Vallo,” Noct laughed. “New gossip, new and wild connections to make.” He reached for one of the glasses of wine and took a swig to steady his nerves. It didn’t work but both of his hands were full, so that counted for something. He blew out a breath. “Is this...okay? Us being here? Like this? I know you, uh…” He rubbed at the back of his neck. He’d been avoiding this topic for months and even now, he was vague about it. “You said you read back on the network, when we first got here.”
Gladio was about to comment on how there were probably some crazy stones out in the forest too that Dino would love, but then suddenly Noct was taking a fairly healthy drink from his glass and changing the conversation. Not just changing the conversation, but changing it to that.
And really, it was a good thing Gladio had long since learned how to decipher Noctis.
The vagueness of the words painted a pretty clear picture to him. A subject that, well, was tricky. For numerous reasons. Gladio knew better than to turn the question around on Noctis, to ask if it was okay with him. He knew it was rare for Noctis to be able to have a genuine conversation with people, at least it had been back home. One that wouldn't be someone merely following his lead.
"Yeah, I read back. But - uh- this is okay," he confirmed instead. Gladio had known for some time that his feelings towards Noctis were - more - than what they should be. Then what was appropriate for their lives back home. They were feelings he struggled with and mostly tried to ignore on his better days in favour of being a good Shield. To see an older version of himself having given into all that? It had been a lot to reconcile with. Gladio wasn't sure he even fully had. A weird mix of surprise, curiosity… jealousy.
He had a feeling the answer, but wanted to know for sure before they continued down this path of conversation they were apparently on. One they should have probably had a while ago if he was honest. "Did you? Read back?" he asked and took a drink himself.
Relief was brief with how quickly Gladio turned the question back around on him. Noctis kept rubbing at the back of his neck for a moment before he finally took a deep breath and dropped his hands to the table.
“I did. It was...kind of like watching a dream play out?” He didn’t say he’d had that dream, but it felt like he’d said it. He pulled his water glass closer to spin it between his hands. As ridiculous as it was, he kind of wished the food they’d only just ordered was already here. But he didn’t like to think of himself as a coward, so he raised his eyes to Gladio’s ruggedly attractive face.
“They seemed happy, though...right?” He asked, tentative and quiet. “Do you think things at home were the same as us or…?
Gladio watched as Noctis fidgeted and worked through what he wanted to say. The tentativeness in his words was not lost on Gladio, or the uncertainty that seemed to radiate off Noctis. For all the world expected Noctis to be put together and confident, there was still just a person there. One that stumbled and felt lost. Gladio knew he wasn't always the best at balancing those things. In himself, in Noctis. That he sometimes had expectations of Noctis that were too much or unfair, that he was stubborn and sometimes felt like everyone else needed to handle things the way he himself would handle them. He knew that they weren't always the best at seeing eye to eye, or treating the situations they were in with the care required. That sometimes it was easier to just… yell for a bit and move on because there wasn't even really a clear path in front of them to take.
But this? Gladio could see the path. He knew what Noctis was really asking under the hesitation and the tentativeness. The question that really, they had been dancing around for a while now. And he knew more than anything that the worst possible thing he could do right then was meet Noctis' hesitation with his own.
He reached across the table and gently took the glass from Noctis' hand. He laced his fingers through Noct's and gave a little squeeze.
"A decade, or whatever it was, is a long time, Noct," he said, but it wasn't dismissive. "I can't speak for everything that may or may not have been the same, or how they got where they got," he paused for a moment, fully aware that for all the little shifts and changes they'd had since they'd gotten here this was so much more. This would fundamentally change things in a way they couldn't take back, and he was surprised how okay with that he was. "I know why though," he said as he held Noct's gaze. "And that's the same - for me. At home, here.." he trailed off, gave Noctis a bit of a sheepish smile. "I know exactly why some other version of me was more than happy to be with you."
There was a moment, right at the beginning of every warp, where Noct felt both exhilaration and fear. Warping was a part of him. It gave him joy. But every jump was taking the risk that he’d overestimated his energy and would end up in stasis on the other side, exposed and vulnerable.
Gladio taking his hand felt just like that.
“I’ve tried not to let myself think about this at home,” Noct admitted. A smile flashed bright across his face like lightning. It only faded because he bottled it. “It wasn’t an option for a lot of reasons and after what happened to Luna, I just…” He shrugged, emotion catching in his throat. The thought didn’t need to be finished, really. “Even if stopping the end of the world hadn’t been in the picture, you’re still my Shield. You’re about as off-limits as anyone can get, Gladio.”
He brushed his thumb across Gladio’s skin where their hands were still clasped and watched him across the table. “I tried not to think about it, but you’re you and I’m only human.”
He squeezed Noct's hand gently at the mention of Luna. He knew that was a loss that would always weigh heavy on him, that no matter the time and space between the guilt, the grief, would probably always be there. And while Gladio hadn't known Lunafreya the way Noctis had, he knew they had both deserved so much better than the hands dealt to them.
Off-limits though, he got that. Damn did he ever get that.
It was a feeling Gladio knew well. Knowing he shouldn't think of Noctis as anything more than his prince, his friend. Failing miserably most of the time. Shoving aside feelings and wants. Idly he half wondered if that was why they were always so quick to fight and argue. Just falling into any outlet they could find.
But it was different here, right? Wasn't that what everyone always said. Whatever rules existed in their homes didn't have to exist here.
He glanced down at their hands, a half smile half smirk crossing his face. "I'm not off-limits here," he pointed out - words light but his gaze nothing but heated as he looked back up at Noctis. "How long have you tried not to think about it?"
“Ugh, don’t smirk at me like that.” Noctis laughed, instantly flustered in a more comfortable way. He supposed it was a weight off his shoulders to talk about this, even if his nerves were still raw. He blamed that part all on Gladio and the fancy restaurant setting. If they’d been somewhere more private…
Well, that thought didn’t help the heat in his face.
“Gods, how long?” He pulled his sweater away from his neck and tucked his fingers under the fabric to rest against his collarbone. “You’re pretty much how I figured out I was into guys?” That strangely wasn’t embarrassing to admit. Probably because he suspected it was true for more people than just him. “It kicked up like ten notches during that freak snowstorm after I turned eighteen though.”
"Like what?" he teased Noct, though it was a light and amused, fond more than anything. And fully aware he was probably not helping in the blush factor. He didn't care. It was cute.
It felt at once strange and entirely right to suddenly be able to be so candid like this. As though knowing his feelings were returned and more than that, weren't something to keep locked away here, had torn down the guards he had put up for so long. He didn't have to quickly dart his gaze away when he found himself looking too long, didn't have to look at Noctis and pretend like he didn't want him. It wasn't as though he had never flirted with Noctis, he tried to do as such often thank you very much. But it was different to be able to let it come a little more honestly.
It was nice. And while he half wondered how terrible of them it would be to bail on their free dinner he also was in no rush.
While Noctis was probably right in his assessment that he wasn't alone in that, there was still a smug sort of look from Gladio at the confession. Which faded into a laugh as Noctis brought up the snowstorm. "Was it all the shoveling? That do it for you?" he said, winked, and took a drink from his wine glass.
Noctis ignored the like what and the smugness with an affectionate roll of his eyes, but that didn’t stop the heat from crawling up the back of his neck. He’d been snarking back at Gladio since he was a teenager, even with all of Gladio’s hotness as a distraction, but suddenly he was tripping over his usual defenses. He twisted his hand and started tracing the lines of Gladio’s palm with his index finger.
“Not that watching you shovel didn’t help but I’m sure you won’t be shocked to know that doing manual labor myself doesn’t actually turn me on.” Snorting a laugh, he dragged his gaze from Gladio’s palm to his face. He was glad the table wasn’t huge. He could rest his chin on his hand and still have a nice view of Galdin’s romantic lighting flickering through Gladio’s eyes. “It was actually...the first time I couldn’t easily escape when I was feeling, uh...affected? By you? I had to just deal with it. And I...had a lot of time to daydream.”
Noctis' finger tracing patterns on his palm was nice, warm little tingles left behind. "Daydream, hey?" he said, a raise of his brow and damn if that didn't stir a warmth in the pit of his stomach at the idea of Noctis' thoughts going to him like that. "I know what you mean though," he added, a little smile on his lips. "It was always harder to ignore when I couldn't escape for a while." The snowstorm, stuck inside, while he had fond memories of it, like he did of all things with Noctis, it had been hard too. "Affected is a good way of putting it," he added.
"It was around then for me," he said. "Around when you graduated high school, things started to - " he trailed off, shrugged a little "feel different?" Gladio could still remember the confusion of that, the struggle of how he'd look at Noctis and all these feelings and thoughts and wants just suddenly screamed at him and how damn guilty he'd started to feel because of it.
"I got real good at compartmentalizing it. The trip though - that was hard." The special kind of hell of living in the back pocket of the object of your affection with little to no time to decompress, add in the stress of losing their homes, the empire breathing down their back… that they butted heads more often than not wasn't really a surprise during that time. "You were always just - there. Drove me nuts," he admitted with a smile. "And then you were…" he paused, glanced down at Noct's hand on his and pressed his lips together tightly for a moment. "Gone. And that was a whole lot harder."
Noctis could feel himself nodding before he realized he was doing it. The trip had dialed their whole lives up to eleven. They’d lost everything and suddenly the mission wasn’t just a trip, it was staying alive long enough to save everyone. It had been long days and short nights, and all of them crammed into a tent or a camper or a single hotel room.
It had been them shouting and shoving at each other because talking about feelings had never been in their skill set. It was thrilling to be doing it now. And terrifying. Noctis slid his hand up from Gladio’s palm to his forearm and squeezed, wordlessly apologizing for the being “gone” part.
“You drove me nuts too. More than usual anyway,” he deadpanned. A smirk curled the corner of his mouth. “This is...this is nuts too, right? What are we doing, having this conversation in the middle of a swanky restaurant? I feel like I’m hallucinating.” He huffed a laugh, like it caught him by surprise, but he never stopped looking at Gladio. “Do you think they’d let us take our food to go?”
"Hopefully a good hallucination?" he offered with an amused smile. But he got it. After holding things back for so long, it felt a little strange to suddenly be so open. A good strange, but a little strange nonetheless.
At the suggestion he glanced up and spotted Eadric near the kitchen doors. He looked back to Noctis, smiled and lifted Noct's hand to brush his lips against Noctis' knuckles lightly. "Yeah, good idea. I'll be right back," he said and stood to walk over to their waiter.
It was a fairly quick conversation, an excuse given a tip handed off for the trouble, and Gladio headed back to the table. "All set," he told Noct as he reached for his jacket on the back of his chair. He'd just gotten his jacket on when Eadric came over with their food in a bag.
Eadric set the bag down. "So sorry to hear about your dog, hopefully he feels better soon!" the waiter exclaimed.
Gladio gave Noct a little wink when Eadric looked down to put the cork back into their wine and place it in the bag. "Thank you," he said to the waiter. "I'm sure he'll be fine," he assured as he picked up the bag. Eadric left them and Gladio looked to Noct. "Ready?"
Gladio could thank that hand kiss for how Noctis followed him across the room with his eyes. It wasn’t like he was afraid Gladio would up and disappear, but, well. Maybe he was a little afraid. This was all going way too well. Things never stayed good for him. People always got hurt.
He shook off that annoying maudlin thought as Gladio came back and stealthily rolled his eyes at the deception. Once Eadric was gone, Noct stood up and moved into Gladio’s space. The height difference had always been a thing for him but it was more so now with all this extra energy in the air.
“I can’t believe you put a curse on your dog just to get me alone,” he teased under his breath. To balance out the shithead smile that followed, he reached out and took the bag from Gladio. “I’ll take this. You can drive. Just uh…” He walked backwards a few steps, his gaze warm and nervous. “...Come get the keys out of my pocket.”
Gladio didn't dare acknowledge the nervous tinge to Noctis' expression. He'd found over the years that generally just pushing Noctis past it tended to work better. To challenge it instead of acknowledge. For most things at least. Somehow this didn't feel any different in that regard.
He raised a brow, a smirk on his lips as he closed the distance Noctis had put between them. He kept his gaze on Noctis as hooked an arm around Noct's back to keep him from walking back again. He took a moment, just to make sure he hadn't started stepping over any lines Noctis might want to keep. He knew this was - mostly - uncharted territory for Noctis. But then, it kind of was for himself too he figured. At least with someone he actually had real feelings for and not just a no strings fling.
Not getting an immediate back off sign, he slipped his other hand to Noct's hip, touch light as he snuck a finger into the pocket of his jeans, hooked around the key ring and pulled the keys out. His eyes stayed on Noctis the entire time, gaze heated. Keys in hand he didn't move though, his hand still lingered on Noctis's hip and it would be so easy to lean down and kiss him, the natural conclusion to the conversation they'd just had - but Gladio didn't. Instead there was a bit of a smirk, a challenging look on his face as he watched to see what Noctis would do next.
Well that plan had backfired in the most spectacular of ways. Noct nearly dropped their dinner when Gladio dipped his fingers into his pocket, even though he’d told him to fetch the keys himself. Gladio was still very close and looking at him like that and Noct let out a tiny, flustered laugh looking up at him.
“Oh, fuck it,” he mumbled, dumping their bag of food on the table next to them. The couple seated there squawked in alarm but Noct was in a warp mindset, target in his sights. No one but Gladio could stop him now. He wrapped his arms around Gladio’s neck and arched up on his toes to kiss him.
Gladio couldn't help but laugh at Noctis as their food was unceremoniously dumped, but it was cut off by the press of lips to his. His hand still on Noct's hip moved to splay against the small of his back and pulled him in closer, his other hand moving behind Noctis' neck. He was content to keep it light for a moment, but it wasn't long before the literal years of wanting to do just this caught up to him and he deepened the kiss. A twinge of desperation in it, like this might all just up and vanish without warning and this might be his only chance.
You only got one first kiss with someone after all, right? Better make it memorable. If wholly inappropriate for the setting and the couple whose dinner they'd just crashed. Though caring about either of those was the furthest thing from Gladio's mind at that moment.
He pulled back, after what was entirely too long of a kiss for such a public setting. His thumb brushed against Noct's cheek lightly and he grinned. "I've wanted to do that for a damn long time."
Noct’s brain felt like white static but all of his nerves were lit up. He was - maybe - clinging a little too long to Gladio’s neck, but in all fairness, he wasn’t sure his legs would hold him once he let go. Maybe it was dumb to get so wrapped up in one kiss, and in such a public spot, but it didn’t feel dumb. It felt like diving into a lake in the sweltering heat. It felt like a relief.
He finally dropped back to down with his heels to the ground, but his hands slid to Gladio’s chest and stayed there.
The man at the table next to them cleared his throat.
Noct was shockingly not beet red. He was grinning like a dumbass though. He reclaimed their bag and grabbed Gladio’s hand to drag him towards the door. “Me too. Let’s get the hell out of here so we can do it again.”
Gladio just flashed the man at the table a wry smile with a polite "apologies" and couldn't help but laugh a little as Noct dragged him away. Though that was more out of habit than anything. Gladio honestly couldn't care less about it though. Not when Noctis was grinning like that - carefree and happy - and not when he knew he had a hand in that. It was always so rare to see.
Gladio threaded their fingers together as they headed back to the car, which was - well, probably the first time he'd legitimately held hands with someone in a public place. As they came close to the car and slowed he used their joined hands to tug Noctis in close as he leaned against the passenger door of the Regalia. "This out of there enough?" he asked, a perk of his brow and a sly smile before he leaned down to kiss Noctis again, slipping his other arm around Noct's back.
He knew they should probably actually leave, and that all this could be better done in one of their apartments, on a couch. But there was something nice about this too. Enough to want to linger a few more moments before pulling back. "Well I think I did pretty good for myself from a free dinner," he teased lightly, a warm smile on his face. Not that he'd expected their night to take this turn. Hoped a little, dressed for it, but expected? Not so much. "Home?" he asked, as he moved to open the door for Noctis.
The fact that holding hands wasn’t either of their styles was not lost on Noctis. It made his idiotic smile a little soft around the edges and he nearly tripped over a curb on the way out to the car. But then Gladio was reeling him in and gods it was nice to press his palms to Gladio’s stomach and kiss that dangerous smile of his.
“Umm, yeah. Remind me to see Galdin a thank you card or something.” He laughed and gave Gladio a gentle shove towards the driver’s side. “Home…Yours just to be clear. I need to see Henry now you’ve put a target on his back.”