A/n: This is the prequel of their relationship in, 'If You Go Down, I Go Down With You'. I had this written, it is what really made me write the story I am working on. I just thought this would better explain how Gladio sees the whole thing and why he views it the way he does. Why it is all so important to him, why he cares so much and pushes himself so much to protect Noct. This moment right here is what did it for the big guy. [Also ten points if you catch the meme. Ha! ~kiz]

Warning: Slash-a-fucking-rino.

A/U Final Fantasy XV. GladiolusxNoctis. I don't own and I'm most surely not getting paid.

"Let's drink to memories we shared,
down one to all the hopes and cares.
Here's two for being unaware that you're gone,
because before too long you'll be a memory."
- One Man Drinking Games, Mayday Parade.

Noctis was laying on his back on top of a rock, looking up at the stars quietly, a beer in his hand and resting against his chest as he relaxed.

"Noct?" Came an anxious voice from behind him, back towards the tents and he raised up slightly seeing the outline of Gladiolus frame against the moonlight.

"Here," Noct waved, "bring another?" He added waving his beer slowly.

"Why are you alone? What are you thinking?"

"It's called relaxing," Noctis rolled his eyes exchanging his empty bottle for the fresh, cold one. "Why do you always sleep in my tent?" Noct asked and glanced over with a small smile.

Gladio blinked, taking the empty beer bottle and stepping back, "makes sense. I'm your shield."

"You don't think Prom or Ig could protect me if they needed to?"

"Of course they could." Gladio shrugged, trying to pull of a nonchalant attitude though it was very obviously fake by the way he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well," Noctis was smiling now and leaned forward slightly.

"It's my duty, Noct. Lay off." He finished his new beer, setting it down and when he did it clacked against another making Gladio look at the six on the ground, "are you drunk?" He asked the smaller man shaking his head.

Noct didn't answer the question, instead he asked another, "what are your duties, big guy?"

Gladio arched a brow, "what?" He bent down and looked at the other properly, studying his face.

"Y'know," Noct smiled, "what are all the duties of the shield?"

"You know my duties, Noct." He said and reached out towards him, "let me get you to bed."

Noctis wrapped his hand around Gladio's wrist, holding it, "is that one of your duties? Getting me to bed?" Gladio blushed, happy the night was hiding it and the prince gave his arm a tug as if asking him to come closer. Gladiolus took a slow step forward, quiet, "what about getting me into bed?" The intention was obvious. The two were adults, afterall, Noct knew what he was saying and it wasn't just the alcohol even though Gladio thought otherwise.

"You're drunk, Noct, let's go... You need to sleep."

"I need to eat," he smiled, "I'm a little hungry. How about you make me some noodles?"

"Alright," Gladio sighed and pulled him to his feet before he headed the very short distance to the camp, Noct followed. Gladio set to work boiling water, cooking up an egg and some fish he knew Noct loved - mostly because it was already filleted, he'd have to thank Ignis later. He glanced over at Noct when he heard the video game sounds and watched the man settling into a chair having pulled it closer to the fire.

Gladio finished cooking, and in a bowl he mixed it all together, before taking it over to the other, "alright, Noctis, here we go."

"Thanks," he shut his phone down and grabbed the bowl, leaning back, "join me." Gladio let out a quiet breath and pulled up a chair next to him, settling in. "Want some?"

"I could have made my own," the shield answered with a head shake.

Noctis smirked, "I don't mind sharing Glads," he offered the bowl, after taking another bite and Gladio avoided his look crossing his arms, "offer stands."

"Hm."

"So, go ahead, tell me more."

"Tell you more what?" Gladio studied him as he said that and shifted slightly, "what are you talking about, Noctis?"

"Oh, the duties. Getting me into bed and stuff like that."

Gladio's mouth popped open, which he quickly snapped shut and he looked at Noct with wide eyes, "what the fuck are you doing, Noct?"

"I thought it was obvious?" The prince shrugged and sat the bowl down, leaning towards Gladio, "what are you doing, Glads?"

He shifted in discomfort, glancing away from the other before he pushed to his feet, "stop."

Noctis nodded, "hey, I thought maybe the long looks meant something.." The shield let out a quiet gasp, his blush growing again, "here, just.. share with me?" Noct asked, "I can't eat this much and I don't want it to go to waste.

Gladio sat back down and took the bowl of noddles, and a small bite. From the corner of his eye seeing Noct's phone light up again. The silence drug on, Noct was playing his phone game and Gladio was pushing the food around in the bowl. Their eyes met after a moment and Noctis smiled, lightly, "I wasn't making fun of you."

Gladio nodded, staying quiet and Noct leaned forward towards him, "you're drunk." Gladio answered, and shook his head.

"Yeah, I might be," Noct nodded slowly and stood up, taking the one step that separated the two and he placed a hand on Gladio's shoulder giving him a nudge and setting him up straight. Gladiolus was quiet, staring up at Noctis, "I'm not that drunk though." The bigger man swallowed roughly and Noct slipped into his lap, straddling his legs.

Noctis smiled down at him, taking him by the chin and bending to press his lips to Gladio's. Gladio gasped into the kiss, his eyes fell shut and he tilted his head back letting Noct deepen it. The king ran his fingers through the others hair, giving it a soft and playful tug while they kissed, grinding against him as he settled into his lap, "touch me." Noctis breathed out against his lips, leaning back slightly.

And Gladiolus did, he wrapped his large hands around Noct's hips and pushed him down against his hips while letting his fingers slid down Noct's ass until he cupped it fully and hard earning a quiet moan from Noct. Gladio almost lost it at the sound Noct bad, the man was rocking back and forth Gladio's lap, their lips fighting against each others.

"Gods," Noct hissed out letting his fingers fall from Gladio's hair and gripping his shoulders, "you feel like heaven."

Gladio was flushed and looked up at the other through hooded eyes, "what are we doing?"

"Kissing, hopefully, or else I'm dreaming this again."

"Again?" Gladio whispered, cupping Noct's cheek and staring at his unfocused eyes. The pupils were dilated, and his eyes were scanning Gladio's face slowly.

"I want to feel you, Glads," Noct breathed out quietly and sat back on his lap slightly reaching down and grabbing his own shirt and pulling it over his head.

"Noct, we can't do this, I'm me... and you're you."

"No," Noct smirked, "I'm me and you're you."

"This isn't a joke!" Gladio hissed with a loud whisper.

"Fine," Noctis slumped in the lap of Gladio and dropped his shirt to the side of them, "tonight we're just us." He moved his hands down his body and unfastened his belt buckle, "I'm Noctis and you're Gladiolus and we're not the... king and the shield. We're just us."

The shield shook his head, watching the man before him as he shifted to his feet.

Noct was stripped down and naked, save his socks, and he smiled. "Your turn, big guy?"

He's drunk. He wouldn't want me any other time... Then right before Gladio's eyes Noct was gripping himself, stroking him, smiling through his drunken haze, letting out a quiet, soft, laugh that wrapped around Gladio like a safety net. The laugh he didn't get to hear often, or maybe he does want me. Gladio thought and reached out, pulling the man in closer before picking him up and carrying him.

Noct's clothing left in a pile on the rocks, forgotten, as the shield walked him back to their shared tent. He hurried in, pushing down his fears when Noct started kissing his neck, his cheek, his jaw. He laid him on the sleeping bag, before stepping back and undressing himself, almost as naked as Noctis.

Though it was unnoticed by the other man, who was reaching for Gladio and trying to grasp onto him, "I want you, Glads." He had whispered and brought the lumbering shield to his knees with a groan, there it was. Everything the man I had been wanting to hear for years, everything he had ever wanted in his whole life. All those other men were nothing, they were placeholders (and poor ones) for the king. His king.

He cuddled him close against his chest, dragging his lips down Noct's chest, his tongue sliding out to lap at one of the not-so-defined-muscles the man had on his stomach and tasting his sweat. It was hot out in the wilderness and they had been out for weeks after all. It was almost time to take a break, but Gladio didn't want to think about that right now. He wanted to think about the young man that was letting out a whine as Gladiolus kissed his body, he wanted to think about the young man that was arching his hips and practically purring as Gladio caressed his sides.

That was it, Noctis was his only thought. He kissed his hips, his sides, his pelvis and then his cock. And Noctis let him know how much he loved that with a quiet moan that slipped out a little loud. Gladio wrapped his mouth around his dick, and pushed down with a suck. "Oh, Glads," he breathed out sliding his fingers through the man's hair and giving him a push as he lifted his hips. He wanted to be buried in that mouth and Gladio was more than welcome to it.

He wrapped his tongue around Noct's length as he pulled back, flicking it out and dragging his tongue up the side to the head which he sucked on just the tip next.

"Gladio," Noct whined, "all of it."

Gladio found it extremely hot, he realized, as Noctis told him what he wanted. He hadn't ever had that before, most of the men he hooked up with looked at him and his size and instantly assumed he was the dominate type. Not that he couldn't do it, but there was something different about it he found he liked far more than he had realized. Noctis mewed in pleasure when Gladio pushed him all the way back in, bobbing his head up and down his hard, hot shaft and letting him be completely covered each time he got to the base.

The grip the king had on his hair became tight and a newfound strength took over the situation as he pushed Gladio right back down, right into place and his hips jerked forward; his cum filled his mouth. "Ah, fuck," Noct hissed out, relaxing back and stroking Gladio's hair. "So good."

Gladiolus slipped him out of his mouth, and glanced up towards Noctis watching him closely. Their eyes met and Noct smiled giving his head a tilt up, "you have the mouth of an angel," Noct whispered nuzzling against Gladio, kissing him on the lips.

Gladiolus chuckled and held the man close to him, "high praise."

Noct's smile grew and he kissed his neck, "I have more ways than that to praise you, baby," he whispered dragging his nails down Gladio's side towards his hip but the shield didn't want that. He wanted to remember this night as the night he helped his king, the night he took care of his king, not as anything else, because he had a feeling in the morning when Noct woke up things were going to be bad, he was scared he was going to lose everything.

"I'm tired," Gladio whispered softly, shutting his eyes. I shouldn't have done this, I shouldn't have let myself believe... this could happen.

Noct blinked looking up at him in question, "you...? Okay," he smiled, and kissed him on the lips, "you sure?"

"I am sure." Glad answered, kissing him back, "I think we should get some sleep, maybe tomorrow?"

"Maybe tomorrow, indeed." Noct agreed and cuddled right up against him, pulling the blanket around the two, "I'm glad this happened, Glads. I love you." Gladio nodded halfheartedly, holding him tightly. He could get up and move and clean up the fire and the clothes and the left over snack in a bit. He could enjoy this a little longer, hang on to his just a little bit more.

"I love you too."