You know, that marked the second time his spiky-haired friend did that, brushing a hand casually through his hair like that. Something Gladio sometimes did, though not intentionally. The larger man paused, gave Cloud a calculating look, smirked, and - forgive him, Cloud - ruffled his hair.

He didn't need to put on a facade for Gladio. Still, he can't say he's not a little flattered and impressed, but Cloud had his respect and impressed the hell out of him when they fought side by side. The guy was no slacker, at all.

"Yeah. Yeah, you did." The tall bodyguard scoffed in amusement and glanced around the deserted lot aside from a few cars, then back to Cloud. "In that case..." Kneeling down, he quickly scooped the shorter man up onto his shoulder. He carried him inside like that and tossed him down playfully onto the waiting bed.