NOTE: So, I haven't been around these parts in a long time. I haven't written fanfiction publicly in FOREVER. However, I've been on a big Final Fantasy XV kick lately, and also in a pretty severe writer's block that involves my purely original stuff, so I'm hoping maybe I can shake it if I write some independent and publicly posted fanfic.
I do not have an editor, and I am on some amazing painkillers. So, while I will try to edit my own stuff, if things go crazy, that's why.
Well, that and I have a really insanely bad habit of not taking notes and keeping up with what I write.
This is going to be a trainwreck potentially, that's what I'm trying to say.
Some context about my interpretation of Insomnia: It's clear that, while most of Lucis is inspired by the United States in the central-to-west part of the country, Insomnia appears to be based on Japan (likely from the game's versus XIII days) with American influences thrown in, so that is why some things won't match in one direction or the other.
—
** 9 Years Ago **
It was amazing how much a difference it made when 15-year-old Gladiolus Amicitia started seeing his student and prince for what he truly was, and not for the stupid little shit he thought he was.
It'd been a year since the incident involving his sister. Since he lost his mind right in front of the King when Noctis said he took her outside and got them lost. Since Iris confessed Noctis saved her from her own childish antics in chasing a cat. Since Gladio decided that he should start giving the prince a fair crack, and not just assume he was a spoiled brat.
He'd gotten to know 13-year-old Ignis Scientia since then, too. Ignis provided invaluable insight to the kid's psyche. "Please understand that he changed after his coma," Ignis said shortly after Gladio approached him for the first time. He exuded maturity and wisdom well beyond his years, and showed just how well-schooled he was. "He was cheerful, kind. After his coma, he became sullen and quiet. Shy, even. Dare I say depressed. If he walks out from training with you, it's likely that he's nearing having his mind assault him in some way, and it's best to get to a place where he can calm down in solitude."
"Okay." Gladio could remember how he stared at the young steward, because none of that had sounded like the words of a (at the time of that conversation) 12-year-old. "So… how do I help keep him from not going in that direction?"
"Kindness and normalcy," Ignis had insisted. "In the training room, he's not a prince, he's your trainee. Treat him like one of your own."
"Really?"
Ignis nodded. "Nothing gets under his skin quicker than people who treat him poorly, or treat him too well. The prince in him will come out on the former, and the shy child on the latter."
"Man, you know him well."
"I've been with him since he was six. Of course I do," Ignis acknowledged, proud and yet coy in that pride.
A year in, and Gladio's relationship with Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum had begun to improve.
Clapping his hands so hard that the actual spark of the sound echoed across the massive training room within the Citadel. "You gotta throw it and envision yourself following it, Noct!" he shouted across the way.
"Shouldn't I have someone from the Kingsglaive teaching me this?" Noctis asked, nonplussed. "You can't even warp!"
"They got better things to do with their time than waste it on your ass. I've learned how it works for you, so just listen to what I'm saying!" He always tried to remember to treat Noctis like one of his own inside that room. He even started a slow burn regarding that treatment, by inviting him to watch when other young, junior Crownsguard were training with him. That way, Noctis could see the way they spoke to one another, so when he started talking that way with him, he'd know it was because he was being viewed as an equal.
Gladio actually didn't know if it'd work, but Ignis had said that Noctis was a lot brighter than he let on, and boy, was Ignis right. Once he stopped treating Noctis like a dumpster fire, Noctis started to loosen up around him and he was a legitimately talented and funny kid.
Noctis attempted to sling out the wood training dagger as Gladio directed, to envision following it in the blink of an eye. So preoccupied with the latter part of that, the wood piece shot out and across, narrowly missing Gladio, if not for his strafing to the side quickly. "Watch it!"
"Sorry!" Noctis sighed and slumped at the shoulders, looking at the floor.
Gladio pursed his lips at that, and grabbed the training dagger so he could take it with him as he approached the boy. "What's on your mind?"
"I know my dad was warping by the time he was nine," he huffed after making sure it was still only him and Gladio in the room.
"Your dad also didn't get a sword to the body at eight," Gladio reminded, handing the dagger over. "You were recovering for a long time after that." Hell, Noctis still was. The way he stretched out his back and rubbed his head on occasion said as much. "Calm down. Take a breath. Use your imagination. This is gonna become second nature like the phasing is. As a matter of fact, let's practice that for a little bit."
"I dunno, I don't know if I want to," Noctis said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm kinda tired."
"If you ever ended up in a fight, you wouldn't be allowed to take a nap in the middle of it. Work with me here, Noct. We'll do some exercises with your phasing, and give the warping a bit more of a try. After that, you can go take a nap. Okay?"
Noctis dropped his head back, giving an ugly sigh, but otherwise agreed with Gladio's plan.
Gladio headed over to the wooden, large sword that he used when practicing with Noctis, and trailed over to him. "Alright, so—"
"When do I get to use real weapons, anyway?" Noctis interrupted, unashamed.
A laugh escaped Gladio. "When you learn your different dodges with greater consistency, and how to warp. Not only warp, but how to warp strike. Warp striking will come with the mastery of warping."
"They really taught you all this without actually teaching you how to do it yourself?" Noctis inquired still.
"That's the difference between the Kingsglaive and the Crownsguard, Noct. Kingsglaive learn the same nifty stuff you do, but they all learn the same things and they have to wear the same uniforms. Crownsguard, we don't learn what you do, but we get to work based on the skills that suit us best, and we can wear fatigues that match our skills when we're not on guard duty here in the Citadel."
"Huh." Noctis squinted his eyes. "So… what makes me any different from Kingsglaive?"
"I know damn well King Regis has had that discussion with you."
"Yeah, you don't know anything. Answer me."
Had it been a year ago, Gladio would have lost his damn mind at that reply. It sounded so pretentious. But knowing what he did then, he was coming to realize that was just how Noctis was. He wasn't even trying to be a brat. He was just very frank. Ignis suspected that was how he forced himself to get over how shy he was, and anymore, Gladio was fine accepting that. He understood it wasn't Noctis being malicious, it was him being… Noctis.
"You can use magic, for one," Gladio said. He held up the sword. "Slow swings, just phase around them," he said as an aside.
"Okay."
As Gladio started to swing in on Noctis, moving considerably slower than in combat practice, but fast enough to keep Noctis guessing, he continued to speak. "Even though we and the Kingsglaive use magic, it's only because of you and your family that we can," he said, watching the way Noctis stepped around his swings as his body lit in shimmering blue each time. "And honestly, we can only use it on a case-by-case basis."
"What's that mean?"
"It means that you have to give us prepared spells for us. The Kingsglaive can just use the stuff. You can, too, though I'm supposed to teach you how to prepare external spells someday."
"…but you can't prepare them yourself."
"Nope."
"But… you're going to learn how to teach—"
"To teach you, you got it."
Noctis slid out by phasing to get some distance between him and the wooden sword. He level his gaze up at Gladio. "Why? Why waste the time? It's not stuff you can use personally, whenever you want, so…"
Gladio smirked. He placed the end of the practice sword against the ground and leaned against it. "Because, as your Shield, it's my duty to not only protect you, but to give you all the tools you can have to protect yourself," he said. "You might never have to use them, especially within the Wall of the Crown City, but who knows? The future could bring about anything. It's my job to make sure you're ready."
Finally, Noctis seemed to be satisfied with that answer. "Okay."
"Now!" Gladio raised the sword once more. "Again!"
—
** 8 Years Ago **
Cor Leonis was sifting through paperwork that he had delivered to him as he was walking the halls of the Citadel idly, trying to just move around a little after spending the entire morning to himself, at his desk. He was just about to pass the prince's training hall when a loud bang startled him out of his working haze. Looking at the doors, they slowly swung open as Noctis hit the ground, a wood dagger under him.
Staring at the boy, he asked, "Overestimated your warp there?"
"My soul is broken," Noctis said miserably, planting his face against the ground.
"Get up and try again!" Gladio bellowed from inside.
A smirk escaped the Marshal and he tucked the papers under an arm, as he swept in to help the 12-year-old prince to his feet. "You know, I heard the first time your father successfully warped, he nearly went out a window."
"Yeah, right," Noctis doubted as he leaned back to stretch out his back. "Thanks," he said about the help.
Cor nodded. "It's true, you know. Whenever one of you learns how to warp, it's apparently pretty amusing for anyone witnessing it. But that does remind me." He leaned into the room, where 16-year-old Gladio snapped up straight, squaring his shoulders. "Why don't you take him out to the training yard of the Kingsglaive?" he suggested. "There're fewer places he can have head-on collisions with—"
"Wow," Noctis interjected.
"—and they might have advice."
"That's a good idea, sir," Gladio agreed.
"Th-That's not… really… necessary," Noctis said, frowning as he looked between the two.
"It'll be fine," Cor replied to him patiently. As he'd been there since the day Noctis was born, he also knew how shy the boy actually was, despite his attempts to force himself to hide it. "They already know you're a little behind on learning it, and I've had a few come by to offer to work with you."
"Really?" The prince was genuinely surprised, but it wasn't clear as to which part surprised him: the Kingsglaive knowing he was behind, or that some offered to help train him.
"Really." Cor looked back in to Gladio while he pulled his phone. "I'll call down to let them know that you two are headed that way."
"Thank you, sir," Gladio said, bowing in salute to him.
It took some time to make the trip, because the Kingsglaive training yard wasn't actually part of the Citadel itself, but was in the same complex. A militaristic venue, it was rough and well-used, but only a handful of Glaives were present. Most were out in the field, Gladio advised as they stepped out to approach a couple of them; a man and a woman, both of whom looked no older than twenty-one years of age, who were waiting patiently for them.
When they were close enough, the two put their fists over their hearts and bowed, and Noctis held up his hands. "You don't… really need to do that, it's okay."
"He's pretty informal," Gladio assured the two.
They nodded, and the woman stepped forward to Noctis. "I'm Vita," she said. "This is Gavorio. We've been with the Kingsglaive for about five years, hasn't it been?" She spoke with an accent that was close to Ignis's, as did the man.
"Aye, just about," he agreed.
"We understand you've been trying to learn warping," Vita continued, smiling faintly to the boy. "Bloody troublesome when you're first trying to get it down, we know it all too well. First…" She whipped out a dagger from nowhere, phasing it into view as Noctis would be learning to do in the near future, once he mastered his other skills first. "None of that wood practice shite." She flipped it so she could grasp the blade and offer Noctis the hilt. "You can't convince yourself to warp if you're thinking in terms of practice."
"Wha—okay," Noctis said, baffled, and taking the dagger carefully.
"Now," Gavorio said as Vita moved out of the way. He bounced back by several yards and held open his arms. "Warp at me."
"What?!" Noctis exclaimed, eyes going wide. "You do know I have to throw this at you?!" It came out as a weird question and statement, a two-in-one unintentional from his surprise.
"Boy, if I can't evade a dagger coming my way, I don't deserve to be protecting you and yours," Gavario replied.
"Here, let's set some rules," Vita broke in, hopping over to about three feet in front of Gavario and using her foot to draw a line out in the dirt. "Warping and warp striking don't have to end in a collision with the enemy," she explained. "It can be used both to close the distance and to gain distance. It's offensive and defensive." She folded her arms over her chest. "I want you to view Gavario as a potentially hostile entity," she stipulated. "You're not here to do him harm should he prove to be friend and not foe, but you need to reach him quickly and startle him out of his trying to stay away from you."
Gladio was watching Noctis as Vita painted a vivid picture for him. The kid was funny when he was actually paying attention to someone or something, because it was near impossible to shake him out of his focus. Gladio suspected it came from years of multitudes of tutors having to strictly get him to focus on their every word.
So, while Noctis stared at Vita, absorbing all the details she was giving him, she continued painting that picture for him. "Once you reach him, he's going to attempt to swing a fist at you," Vita said. "This questionable man has just become an enemy. So you will then need to gain distance. Phase, and then warp back to your Shield for safety. Gladiolus, we'll look to you to help with this."
Gladio nodded firmly and looked at Noctis. "You got all that?" Noctis nodded, but looked nervous. "Hey. You're warping. You can do that. This is a control exercise. A real one. You need to catch that dagger before it hits him. Your dad's gonna be pissed as hell if you knife one of his Glaives."
"True." Noctis flustered a little and turned to pace back a bit.
"Nope, back to your spot, Highness!" Gavario ordered. "I've given you more than enough distance."
"I slammed into a set of doors this morning!" Noctis protested, stomping his feet as he went back to Gladio's side. "My targeting sucks!"
"It's going to be fine, your Highness," Vita soothed. "He is a man of question, and you want to approach him quickly before he can make his escape, but you're not wanting to hurt him," she repeated, her voice calm and insistent. "When you get in close, he attacks, and you learn he's an enemy. You phase away and then warp, returning to your Shield for cover. If you don't, he will strike you." Gladio frowned at that, and Vita just nodded knowingly to him. "This is the way we do it."
Gladio nodded slowly, but remained at the ready, just in case. He didn't like the idea of Noctis actually getting hit, but his phasing was on-point, so long as he reacted fast enough.
Noctis stood in silence, the way he bobbed his head telling Gladio that he was replaying the scenario in his head. Gladio didn't push him, and would have told off the Glaives if they tried to, which was a non-issue when he glanced over at them. He was just a kid, and it appeared they understood it, even though they were practicing with real force and weapons. They just needed to pray they didn't hurt him, because Gladio swore he'd lose his mind.
The moment came where Noctis spun in a circle, on his feel, and whipped the dagger out at Gavario. His body lit up in that shimmering blue as it did when he phased, and he was rushing forward to the line in the blink of an eye. Well, a little over it, but that was fine. He caught the dagger just before it could hit Gavario. The surprise was written on his face, but he didn't get much an opportunity to rejoice.
Gladio saw the major tell that Gavario gave before he swung his fist at Noctis, and smiled faintly. Frankly, if Noctis managed to get struck when the man cartoonishly reared his fist back behind him before swinging it in for a right hook, he kind of deserved what was going to happen.
Thankfully, that didn't happen. Instead, the boy's body burst in blue light again as he phased to the man's right, and his left, which was perfect. Phase in the direction from which the attack was incoming, Gladio always said. It was harder to stop forward momentum and correct it than it was to chase someone dodging in the same direction the attack was headed.
Noctis then spun and threw that dagger in Gladio's direction with far more confidence. Perhaps a bit ill founded, because when he warped back to Gladio's side, he did so by slamming into the ground and rolling past his trainer and Shield.
That left Noctis looking furious at himself. Gladio was about to praise him, but Vita and Gavario had it covered, clapping their gloved hands together. They weren't the only ones, the two realized, because a handful of other Kingsglaive who were still in the area had gotten word about the prince being there, and had stepped out to watch. No doubt, Noctis's late blooming in his skills had reached them, too. They were awfully nice about it, applauding as well.
"Look at you! You almost got it, Highness!" someone called from the six or seven standing at the edge of the training yard.
Noctis let out a rather bashful laugh and limped his way over to Gladio to stand by him. "Are they patronizing me?" he murmured in question.
"They clearly mean it," Gladio answered, grinning. "The only people outside of the Kingsglaive who can do what they do are the Lucii themselves. You're representative to them."
"I have no idea what you mean," Noctis said, waving a little nervously at the gathered group.
Vita and Gavario approached, and Gladio hoped they would at least put him to ease. He nudged Noctis to focus on them again as Vita leaned down, her hands on her knees. "So, how do you feel?" she asked with a soft smile.
"A little tired, but otherwise okay," Noctis replied.
Vita briefly glanced at Gladio, who just nodded to her. The exhaustion was understandable. Noctis was tapping into a way stronger power to fuel his abilities, while the Kingsglaive and the Crownsguard where handed theirs by Noctis's father. "Well, that's perfectly natural when first learning," Vita covered, smiling back to Noctis. "How long have you been training today?"
"Dunno," Noctis replied with a shrug.
"A few hours, now," Gladio answered.
"Ah. Well, normally, I'd have you do it again, but tell you what: You keep in mind what you just did today. If you find that you're still struggling by the time you start training again, have Gladiolus bring you back down to us," she encouraged kindly. "As a matter of fact, we have some Junior Glaives we're training all the time. I'll send Gladio the information, and you can always come down and train with them."
"Really?"
"Why not?" Gavario asked, amused. "We'll still have to tell them to wear kids' gloves with you, because we train hard down here, and I'm sure your father would like you back without a bunch of cuts, scrapes and bruises, but no formalities will be used otherwise, if you'd prefer. Maybe we can even teach your Shield here a thing or two." That prompted a smirk from Gladio. Friendly ribbing between the two branches was a given.
"Yeah, okay, I'll see what happens next time," Noctis agreed.
"Thank you, again," Gladio said as he patted Noctis on the shoulder and turned to guide him away. "Think you'll be able to repeat that again tomorrow?"
"I mean… I'll try, sure."
—
** 5 Years Ago **
"Holy shit! What the hell is wrong with you, Noct?!" Gladiolus Amicitia, age 19, screamed from across his backyard.
Between him and the Crown Prince Regent, powerful strikes of lightning shot down from a blustering spot in the sky. Judging from the shameless, wicked cackle that escaped 15-year-old Noctis, it was clear it was an intentional cast of a thunder spell, tossed up and lingering in the air.
"I am the god of all that is sparky!" Noctis screamed through his cackles.
"It's six in the goddamn morning!" Gladio shouted.
"Then stop dragging me out here and training me before school!" the prince shouted back.
Because, apparently, he hadn't yet proved his point to Gladio enough, he allowed the large, katana-like wood weapon to appear in his right hand. He spun and whipped it out towards Gladio, warping across where the beautiful, perfectly cut grass was being burned to death in chaotic spots. Gladio had been looking there instead of Noctis, and he learned his second lesson for the day when Noctis exited that warp with his feet in the air, so he could slam them into Gladio's chest and knock him back several feet.
Gladio grunted as he was knocked back, and he drew his own, much larger practice sword to block Noctis when he swept in to smack him upside the head with his practice katana.
"I hate mornings!" Noctis shouted. He spun around and attempted to strike Gladio with a backhanded slash, but Gladio was able to stop that, as well. "And I especially hate getting up two hours ahead of time—" He phased to the side to try to strike Gladio in the knee. "—just to be sore and dirty for the entire day!"
"If you made yourself available after school, this wouldn't be a problem!"
"Get me on the weekend!"
"You have Sundays off! Sundays!"
"Get me Saturday afternoon, we can have a sleepover and talk about boys!" Noctis barked, still doing his level best to hit Gladio somewhere. If he could, he would win the battle.
"No homo, am I right?!" Gladio grunted out, still expertly dodging and blocking Noctis's strikes. The boy was getting faster by the day, and Gladio was going to make sure to not waste the time he had left when he could do so without taking some sort of damage.
"If I say 'all the homo', will you back off?!"
"Maybe!"
"Homophobic!"
Finally, Gladio got an opening to parry Noctis's weapon right out of his hand, and then he slammed his flat hand into Noctis's chest, knocking him flat on his rear. Noctis groaned and rubbed his hips, looking up at Gladio as the end of Gladio's practice sword came up to his face. "What now?" he asked, huffing at him.
"I want Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday," Gladio advised firmly.
"Four days? Two back-to-back? Are you kidding me? I have homework to do, and I spend Fridays doing things around town," Noctis argued.
"We either schedule, or I start jumping you at random times to practice right then and there. Besides, we all know you're the worst about your homework."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Noctis pushed the large sword away from him and went to stand. "Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays," he decided. "I've trained with you nonstop every other day relentlessly for years. Gimme a break. Haven't I come a long way already?"
Gladio sighed. He checked the ground for a fire, before resting on his sword like it was a walking staff of some sort. "You have."
"So three days instead of every day, and after school instead of before. Except on Sunday, which we can do at like… noon. I sleep in on Sundays, but I should be up at noon."
After studying the determined prince, Gladio smirked a bit. "Are you taking debate classes or something?"
"No." Noctis lifted an eyebrow, and Gladio realized that was a silly question. Noctis would've been getting taught that sort of deal-making procedure since he was in his single digits still. "Is that good enough or what?"
"Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays," Gladio permitted. "But I reserve the right to use one of the other days to keep you on your toes." As Noctis let out an ugly, disgruntled sigh, Gladio continued in defense of himself. "Because I still answer to your dad. He wants you getting no less than four days with me."
"Ugh, fine. I really need to be going, though. My first class is like in forty-five minutes, and I dunno how I'm gonna get there this fast. I guess I can call Ignis—"
"He is not going to get here that fast. Come on, I'll drive you. He could use a break from your pompous ass anyway." Gladio gestured for Noctis to follow him, eliciting another long groan from Noctis.
"IFine/I. Just try not to kill me or anyone else on the way," the prince complained as he followed Gladio for his house. That wasn't even a statement rooted in anything Gladio had done in the past behind the wheel. Noctis was just obligated to be a jerk.
—
After dropping Noctis off at school, and watching as the boy seemed to shrink down as he started into the building, walling himself off from the attempts to speak to him that came from all sides, Gladio shook his head and proceeded on for the Citadel. He wasn't on-shift just yet, as his was tailored to align to when Noctis was about to get out from school for the day, but he wanted to do some personal training and clear his head of the fact that his father was going to lose his mind when he saw the scorch marks all over the backyard.
When he reached the training room he used with Noctis for so many years, he stopped in the doorway as he caught sight of Ignis Scientia, who was standing idly there, slowly flipping daggers in his hands as he was deep in thought. After Ignis didn't move for a bit otherwise, or let on to noticing him, Gladio knocked on one of the doors as he stepped in fully, which caused Ignis to jolt out of whatever daydream he was in and look over.
"Ah, Gladiolus, my apologies," he said, shaking his head clear.
"I told you, 'Gladio' is fine," Gladio reminded, amused. He busied himself with taking off his shoes at the shoe rack. "I dropped the prince off at school on my way here."
"Yes, I'd heard you'd dragged him out of bed rather early for morning training. Frankly, I'm surprised you were able to raise him," Ignis remarked thoughtfully.
"I grabbed him by the feet and dragged him out until he hit the floor. That sure as hell woke him up," Gladio said with a growing grin.
"You were careful with his head and back, I hope?"
"Nope." Gladio looked over to where the young steward looked like he just had someone confess a murder to him. "He's fine, Ignis. That boy is more durable than you think." When Ignis looked no less convinced, Gladio sighed and headed over to him, folding his arms once he got closer. "Seriously, he's like permanently just dead weight. He could be in a head-on collision on the highway and come out without a scratch, he's so limp-bodied when he sleeps."
"That is true, but that doesn't stop if his head or spine hit something poorly," Ignis argued.
"I know. But he needs to toughen up. What happens if he actually has to go out into battle one day?"
"I know, but he's still only fifteen." The minute after he said that, Ignis closed his eyes and sighed. "Then again, he's been trying to convince the king to allow him to move out of the Citadel."
"What the hell. Why?"
"He says he wants to be closer to school, but I imagine he just wants away from the pomp and circumstance of princely life and duty," Ignis replied.
"And your thoughts?"
"It'll make my job harder, but it'll also help him mature some. I do think he should be at least sixteen, however."
Gladio hummed in thought as Ignis left him to go to his gym bag at the side of the mat-covered portion of the floor. After giving it some thought, and allowing Ignis to wipe off with a towel and get some water, Gladio spoke up with, "I have an idea."
"Oh?" Ignis draped his towel over his shoulder and paced back over, idly rolling his water bottle from hand to hand. "Do tell."
"So, you think it could help Noctis grow up. I think it could, too. King Regis might not be keen on the idea, but if his Shield and his steward vouch for him, I bet the king would be more inclined to listen. So, we'll strike a deal with the prince: When he can prove he can protect himself against no fewer than five attackers using nothing but his body, I'll help vouch for him, provided he keeps his grades up and learns to make at least one kind of food, even if it's just eggs or something. That way we know he won't starve to death in between your visits."
Ignis thought about that for a minute, unreadable. He was probably trying to find every scenario in which that plan could go bad or well, during all stages of its completion. Whatever conclusion he came to, it was apparently good enough, because he nodded and looked at Gladio. "I think that'll be fair. He'll complain, to a point, but—"
"—he'll know he stands a better chance with us on his side than without us," Gladio finished, grinning. "Maybe he'll actually feel inspired to work."
Ignis chuckled and shrugged. "I guess we'll have to wait and see, hm?"
—
** 4 Years Ago **
"Damn, this is a nice apartment," Gladio found himself rambling out as he looked around the upscale apartment, seated about twenty minutes walking distance from Noctis's school. "No furniture?"
"Ignis is ordering some to be delivered in the next week," Noctis replied. "I told him that wasn't necessary, but he got like… triggered and said if I didn't have a desk or table to work at, how would I keep my grades up? I said I've never used a desk, I did all my shit on my bed, but…" He shrugged. "Moms, am I right?"
Gladio smirked and trailed off for the balcony. "Let him worry about you. It's his job," he said, always one t stand up for Ignis. "You made us copies of your key yet?"
"No, I forgot," Noctis said passively, shrugging.
Gladio looked back at Noctis with a flat expression. He held out his hand. "Key." Noctis groaned and pulled it from his pocket, slapping it into Gladio's hand when he was close enough. "You know Iggy and I said you had to give us a copy of your apartment key," he reminded. "That was part of the deal. I'll go get copies made. Cor wants one, too, just in case."
As his Shield started past him again, that time for the door, Noctis trotted after him. "What if I have a girl here one day? You can't just barge in on a guy gettin' some!"
The hysterical laugh that emitted from Gladio was drenched in doubt and amusement. "Yeah, you let me know when that day comes. You have the charm of a daemon."
"Well, according to people at school, who needs charm when you're the heir to the throne?" Noctis retaliated.
To Gladio, that was especially funny because he knew damn well Noctis didn't believe that himself, even though it was actually very sadly true. When he reached to and opened the front door, which led to a bright, finely designed hallway of the upper end skyrise building Noctis was set up in, he turned to look to Noctis. "Lock the door when I leave, and remember to not open it unless you recognize who's outside."
"I know," Noctis said, with all the indignation of a teenager who had been told that at least ten times previously. "Just… let yourself in when you get back. I'll be in my room, doing homework."
"Got it."
Gladio's trip was pretty fast, since the place to have copies made was literally across the street from the building, but he and Ignis knew Noctis would have no chance of doing it himself when they told him to get copies made. That was the only reason Gladio didn't ream him for being dumb, because it wasn't even that, it was just that Noctis was only driven to do something when he wanted something else, and Gladio had come to accept that fact. If he was older, that would be one thing, but there was no point when he was sixteen.
When he returned, he let himself in as promised and dropped Noctis's original key on the counter, before seeking out the master bedroom. While Noctis hadn't wanted anything more than a studio apartment, Ignis insisted that he should have at least two spare bedrooms. That in itself was such a fight, it went from stupid to hilarious pretty quick.
What wasn't funny was when Gladio peered into the master bedroom, and found Noctis just staring at an open schoolbook, clearly not reading it at all. He was just zoned out with a rather somber expression on his face, and slowly spinning a stylus to his tablet in a hand.
He barely even reacted when Gladio said, "Hey, I'm back."
"Hey."
Gladio watched as he started to actually started to read the book. Ignis called that mood Noctis's 'recharging period', and advised it was best to leave him be when he got that way, or else there would be hell to pay. Gladio didn't understand it but, again, Noctis was still a teenager, so he let it go. "I'm gonna head out, Noct. I'll get the door locked."
"'kay. 'night."
"'night." That boy was so confusing to his Shield, but it was still easier to go with the flow when it came to his quirks. The day would come that Gladio would start gladly checking him for his behavior, but Noctis would continue getting a pass until he at least became a legal adult. He had enough people tugging on him and trying to force him to behave ways that weren't natural to him, he didn't need Gladio doing it anymore than he needed Ignis doing it, as well.