Turning Page

Chapter five

Weeks flew by and Gladio's newest mission hadn't progressed at all. The weeks slowly turned into months, bleeding into years and the efforts proved futile. Not only that, but with each new year came more responsibilities and problems. Clarus had kept Gladio as busy as possible without overworking him. By association, it also meant Ignis' workload increased with both his own and Noct's. The council members begrudgingly allowed the elf to sit in on meetings to take notes in the Prince's absence, he was not to interrupt or participate, merely sit, listen and write. The kid was younger and inhuman but still had more responsibilities than Gladio, which in itself was a blow to his steadily growing ego.

Nevertheless, Gladio felt they had a decent... Acquaintanceship, whereas he and Prompto had become fast friends. In fact, Prompto was just a friendly kid, even Noct was interested but hides behind his mask of indifference whenever the kid is around. Surprisingly, the pixie landed himself a job at the local tavern, he was only a busboy but it was something and the owner seemed nice enough, especially if he was willing to let a fae work at his place. Honest work for honest pay. Though it may not be the best job in the world, it gave Prompto money of his own so he could buy his own clothes and food.

The young shield was almost seventeen now, close to becoming a part of the crownsguard but still feeling conflicted. He isn't sure he actually wants to join the guard, knowing what it entails but if his father has any say, it'll happen. He still trained with Noct, Ignis and Prompto, some more than others of course but was also given guard duty as part of his responsibilities.

Gladio often felt older than he really was, physically and mentally. He was young but looked and acted like a middle-aged adult, well, maybe looked a mere year or two older. Through his excessive training he'd bulked up considerably, it'd look odd if he wasn't tall enough to match it, standing at a grand six foot so far. He practically towered over Noct and Prompto, a good six or seven inches taller for now, Ignis wasn't far behind him in height however. The elf stood at five foot ten, still lanky but sparring with Gladio had forced him to develop. The shield had actually walked in on him doing gymnastics at one point, both terrified and amazed.

More often than not these days, the pair of them would spar as stress relief. While Gladio may not have as much piled into his day, he had family duties to fulfil and Clarus had been pestering him about settling down in the next few years. Iris jumped on the bandwagon and asked if he actually had a girlfriend. Which he did not. He'd been too busy stealing the cakes Ignis would bake to notice anyone.

Right now, he was squashed into a cupboard, a plate of fresh tarts on his lap as he hid from the irritated elf. Noct had mentioned something he'd had tried a while back and Ignis made it his personal mission to recreate it, partly for Noct and partly for a distraction. The two of them had grown quite close over the years, and though he'd never admit it, Gladio was kinda jealous.

"Gladiolus, I swear to the Six, get out of the cupboard." Ignis demanded. He stood with his arms crossed, tapping his foot on the floor impatiently, waiting for the brute to reveal himself.

For a brief moment, Gladio considered it. "Nah. I kinda like it here, it's cosy." He called back, stifling his laughter at hearing Ignis' exasperated groan. "How 'bout we make a deal? I come out without touching the tarts; you don't kick my ass and make me some."

"No." Came the sharp reply. "If this is another misguided attempt at trying to make me smile, you're doing a very poor job of it, perhaps worse than the last time."

"Hey! I thought it was funny! Not my fault you can't take a joke..."

"Be that as it may, I have places to be and you-" Ignis started, startling Gladio when he pulled the door open. "- have a lesson with Clarus, if I'm not mistaken."