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The Park: Saturday afternoon - A Walk with Gladio

Nell had started her beans and spice mix simmering early in the morning, ready for the final touches whenever she and Gladio were ready. She didn't know much about how this anniversary stuff actually worked and she wasn't sure what date would be considered the 'right' date.

Was it that walk in the woods when he'd first told her he liked her and it had taken her longer than maybe it would have taken a normal person to understand exactly what he meant by that? Or maybe when they first went out to dinner together. Or the time they went into the city for ice cream.

She had never thought particularly about picking an actual 'here is the official date' thing. But she figured this was her and Gladio. They were their own unique brand of people and they didn't need to be tied to a particular 'first'.

Unless he wanted to. She'd have to ask him about that.

Still, if she really thought about it, it all really started back that day after the fire when she'd slipped out of the clinic to go home and hadn't quite been able to make it. The day Gladio had found her and carried her home. That had really started things off.

That day had passed, but it had been just a year ago today that she'd been brave enough to have him over to dinner - just the two of them - to try her special meal. Why not combine the two?

So she'd gotten the dinner started, dressed in one of her lighter sets of skirty pants and tunic, left him a note that would let him know where to find her then settled in to wait for him on that bench.

[For that guy, though it's an open park if someone wanted to say hello before Gladio arrived.]

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Well, up until about a year ago, something like this would have been about the furthest thing from Gladio's mind. He never really was much of a relationship guy (or so he thought), and if he ever did end up settling down, he was pretty sure it'd be out of duty to his heritage (and he'd even had the AU kid to prove it). So, the actual date for all this didn't really seem that important (especially since he felt he'd be hard pressed to remember exactly when any of those first big moments happened, anyway). But it did feel pretty important to acknowledge it, all the same.

Especially in their own unique, unexpected, undoubtedly their own way.

Which meant trying to hold back too much of a grin as he approached the bench Nell was sitting on from behind, folding his arms on the back of it as he leaned forward and asked, "Hey, shouldn't you be in the clinic right now or something?"

That was probably not at all how it had gone back then, but it's not like they were going for an exact shot-by-shot recreation here. Just, as the kids (and Prompto) would put it, the general vibes of it.

If Steven hadn't asked her the other day, Nell wouldn't have thought much about it either. It was enough of a miracle that any of it had happened at all, dates and times didn't matter as much as the joy of having found each other.

But, having been reminded, she'd thought this would be fun.

So, she smiled up at Gladio and simply said, "I'm fine. Though I might just need to sleep here tonight."

Again, not how it had gone, but a version of it.

Which was way more interesting and fun, anyway.

The grin was a little harder to hold back this time.

"What? Just out here on this bench?"

"Yep." She smiled up at him. "Slept in lots worse places."

She tapped the bench. "See? Nice and comfy. And the weather's not bad."

"Mmm." That slight grunt was a dubious one. "It's nice now, maybe," he allowed, "but what if it rains overnight? Or worse, with how the weather is around here. You could wake up covered in marzipan or jello. And what about if the gremlins get you? Or the raccoons?"

Nell laughed and patted the spot next to her. "Maybe you should sit down and tell me all about it. Though I do have rum in my purse for the squirrels and the gremlins have always been good about giving me my space."

"Well, look at you," Gladio remarked, looking impressed, as he moved around from the back of the bench to drop into that seat next to her, and almost immediately leaning in to nudge his shoulder against hers. "Prepared for almost anything, huh?"

He took a moment to look around, as if considering this sleeping-on-the-bench proposal before turning a lift brow at Nell.

"Except me, I'll bet."

"You were sure as heck unexpected," Nell said fondly. "No two ways about that. Not sure anyone could expect all of what you'in has got to offer, least of all someone like me."

She nudged him back. "You're super special."

"Yeah," Gladio agreed, shameless grin tilting. "Tell me something I don't know."

And so much for that stubbornly carrying her home thing; it looked like Gladio was getting nice and cozy on tgat bench now, one arm stretching and settling over Nell's shoulders.

"And so are you."

There was time for the whole home thing, she promised, but this was wonderful right now.

Nell snuggled into him. "And we're back to how lucky we both are."

"Funny how that one keeps coming up, right?" Gladio noted, pulling her gently more into the snuggling, turning his head to give her a kiss on the tops of hers.

"Because it's so true," Nell said, happy to be pulled in. "I don't understand how I got to be so lucky. Just imagine all the things that had to go just right for us to be here."

"I don't know," Gladio had to admit, after a moment of doing just that, thinking back to all the steps and how everything did fall into place, and shaking his head a little. "Lotta things went wrong, too, though. Not with us," he amended quickly, "just...in general And then you start getting into things like...well, if it turned out alright, then could it have really gone that wrong? And sometimes things like that just aren't worth the headache you get from thinking about 'em too much."

Shocker, that his opinions on things like fate and luck and destiny were a little bit...complicated.

"But whatever it was that's making it work," he said, "I'm pretty glad for it."

"Nope," Nell said with a smile. "Best just to be happy."

She smiled up at him, then put a hand to her forehead. "Oh my, I'm thinking now that I will never make it home on my own and maybe all those gremlins and raccoons will bother me all night. Whatever shall I do?"

"Mmmm," Gladio hummed a little, quirking an eyebrow at the theatrics while valiantly attempting (and mostly failing) to keep the grin off his face as he looked at Nell. "That's a good question. Maybe you'll get lucky and some handsome guy'll show up in the nick of time to help you out. Oh."

No holding back that grin now, not even a little.

"Wait a sec."

Gladio moved, getting up off the bench, but he definitely wasn't doing so without also scooping Nell up to get her off the bench right along with him.

"He's already here."

Nell let out a small eep as he swept her up and grinned delightedly. "Why, Mr. Amicitia! How unexpected!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't think you're going to see me in my bedroom!"

A pause. "Unless you want to.,"

And now Gladio was going to show what a great actor he wasn't (granted, he wasn't exactly trying) in his attempts to feign shock and offense at the suggestion.

"Why, Ms. Ingrim," he said, "I was an esteemed member of the Kingsglaive, Shield to the King, and an Amicitia to boot. I wouldn't even think of it!"

He took a few steps forward toward the house.

"Seeing you in my bedroom," he said, now grinning, "on the other hand..."

"Oh, well, your bedroom," Nell said consideringly. "I suppose that would be fine. Though our bedroom would be even better. Dinner can wait "

And, technically, Gladio did still have his bedroom at the MHA apartment...unless Igs and Lils went and turned it into a spare wine cellar, or something.

"Our bedroom," Gladio agreed, as he continued along that way, "is clearly the best. And food always tastes better when you work up a good appetite."

But who knew what they'd run into there?

Nell laughed. "And we will certainly do that!"

She touched his face gently. "We always do."

That gentle touch got a gentler smile in response, and also a kiss, the kind that had Gladio halting in his steps toward their place so that he could really make it count.

Nell turned so that she could hold his face in both her hands as they kissed. "Love you, my Tall Man," she murmured.

"Love you, too, my Bossy Woman," Gladio murmured back with a grin. "Come on."

He adjusted her in his arms a little with a performative grunt,before resuming their trek across the park with a stride now determined for their destination.

"Let's get home and celebrate."

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The Park: Saturday afternoon - A Walk with Gladio

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