sweetestsurrender

Gladio slowed the car down as they approached and found a good enough spot to park before he stopped and leaned forward a bit, arms folded across the wheel.

"Yeah, not bad. Quiet too. Doesn't look like many people come by here." Other than the area that was clearly designed as a camp ground there didn't seem to be much in the way of human traffic. Noct was right. It was perfect.

Noct nodded. "It's perfect for fishing." He shifted in his seat and then opened the door."Do you need help setting up or...?" He would help if needed but he really wanted to get fishing.

He gave it some thought, but in the end shook his head and lifted a hand from the wheel to wave Noct away.

"Go fish. I'll set us up. You catch our dinner." Besides, the tent would get set up faster if he did it himself. Then maybe he'd wander over and sit with Noct for a bit.

"You got it!" Noct grabbed his tackle box and headed to the shore. After baiting his hook, he casted his line and relaxed. This was definitely better than a keychain.

Gladio waited for Noct to get his shit together and head off before he climbed out of the car and did the same. Only instead of the waters edge, he made his way to the camp area.

Within 20 minutes a tent was set up. Along with seating and what would be a camp fire once night fell. Gladio didn't bother lighting it yet. What he did do, though, was grab two tans from a cooler before he wandered down to where Noct was and dropped himself down beside him. A can was offered.

"All set up. Caught anythin yet?"

Noct took the can with a smile and motioned at the small cooler next to him. "A few. Decent enough for a meal." Now it was time to try and catch a prize. Or not. It didn't really matter.

He peered over and nodded approvingly. Good enough for grilling, that was fine.

"You did good." Gladio carefully popped the tab of his can, doing his best not to make too much noise. Scaring the fish was a great way to get Noct to lose his cool.

Normally, maybe, but Noct was feeling too chill to mind a bit of noise. He opened his own can and sipped as he watched his line.

"Hey, Gladio?"

"Yeah?" Gladio tilted his head, showing he was listening, even if his eyes were on the lake before him.

Aside from the little lure bobbing, the water was amazingly still and calm.

"Thank you." Noct said softly. "Really. This means a lot to me." And it did. Even if it spawned from a dare over a Keychain.

"No sweat, kiddo. It's good to get away now an' again. Could do with some relaxation myself." He grinned and took a deep drink from his can... and regretted not just bringing the whole cooler over. But it'd be fine. One now, the rest later when the sun went down.

Noct offered a bashful smile and returned his eyes to the water. "I wish every day could be like this."

"Lazy." He teased, even as he stretched out his legs and dropped a hand behind himself, relaxing and being just as lazy as his comment.

"You'd get bored after a while. Doin nothing seems fun when you've so much to do. But as soon as you stop... You'll last a few days and then start to go mad with nothing to do." There were only so many fish Noct could catch, after all.

"Not that...I wish everyday could be this quiet." He could deal with being busy if he could just get the world to queit down.

"Ah." Gladio took another drink of his beer and looked thoughtfully up at the sky. "Yeah. Suppose the world could do with a little peace and quiet now and again."

"It's all so noisy." Noct grumbled. "So many voices, always pulling me in different directions." He sighed. "Not here, though."

Gladio was still gazing up at the sky contemplatively. He was quiet, but he'd heard Nocts words. He understood where he was coming from. So... maybe he could work with it?

"... How bout we make a deal?" He asked and finally moved his gaze from the clouds to Noct. "No more skipping training. And once a month we'll take a long weekend out and I'll take you anywhere you want." Sadly he didn't think he could get away with every week. But a weekend a month was doable.

Noct looked at Gladio for a moment before shifting his focus to his own hands. "I would like that. Could I..." He stopped himself before he finished his thought, berating himself for asking too much.

"Could you...?" No way was Gladio letting that slide. You couldn't start to ask a question and then just leave it alone or expect him not to demand an answer. Even if Gladio's tone was more curious than demanding. He was open to negotiation.

Noct bit his lip. This wasn't even something he had talked to Ignis about. "Could we have like a code or something I can use if...if the world gets too much?" It was hard to explain. He wasn't trying to get out of work, honestly, but sometimes the world was too much for him.

Gladio as quiet for a long moment. He watched Noct, brows knitting slightly. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and deep.

"... That bad, huh?" The tone was near gentle. They weren't 'on the job' right now. They were away from it all, a day of relaxing just the two of them. Gladio had already decided he would take it easy, on both himself and Noct. Without the pressure of obligation and duty, it was easier.

So part of him did understand. He just hadn't realised how bad it was.

"Alright. What code do you wanna use?" See? He was open. He was listening.

Noct blinked back tears, grateful Gladio was listening to him. "Maybe something I wouldn't normally say? Like...I need to go do calculus or something?"

He huffed a low laugh and nodded. Of all the things to choose...

"Can work with that. But..." He held up a finger. "You get to use it once a month. Anywhere, any time. Say the word and we stop what we're doing." Gladio thought for a second before nodding to himself. "That'll be our trigger to come away and do this. If you don't use the code it defaults to the end of the month. How's that sound?"

Noct nodded. He idly turned his reel. "Training isn't bad." He reassured. "It's all the stuff I have to do before I get there." When it was just Noct and Gladio, Ignis or Prompto, it was fine, but it felt like every person he had to deal with before that drained Noct of his energy little by little.

"Glad to hear I'm not the biggest contributor. But the point remains. Whatever it is, it stops... As much as I can do it anyway. There's gonna be times I won't be able to take you away immediately. But if you can hold on, as soon as there's a chance, I'll get you where you need to be."

Gladio took his job seriously. Yeah, Noct could be a brat. He could be lazy. He could drive him up the wall and down it again. He wished he'd apply himself more, pushed himself more, committed more. But Gladio also realised, if belatedly, he couldn't push Noct as hard as he wanted. Noct would give his best, Gladio couldn't expect more than that. The kid had so much potential. He'd be an amazing King one day and Gladio could see it with ease. But not if they burned him out. So if this was what it took to energise Noct again, so be it. He was willing to do whatever it took.

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