Work Text:
A gentle rain pattered against the windows, promising to develop into a really good rollicking thunderstorm. Gladio hovered in the kitchen, brewing his favorite tea, the chai he’d picked up on their last trip. He inhaled the steam as he took it back with him into the study.
Well, second bedroom, but he’d been lucky enough to get a space devoted entirely to his goals—as well as someone who actually believed he could reach them. It made him feel warm inside, even as he took a deep breath and uncapped his favorite fountain pen to get working.
The feel of unwinding the leather strings binding the journal was familiar and comforting, but the face of the blank, lined page inside of it was anything but. He took a breath again. Ready to dive in anytime. He just…
Needed to adjust the light. Gladio fiddled with the blinds, lit a candle, lit a small lamp, and sat back down.
Again, the blank page mocked him.
Okay, okay, no problem. He’d been here before. Just needed to switch up the medium, that’s all. This was an epic story, after all, closely tracking the Accordan Revolution, with a sweeping romance that was the perfect counterpart to the political intrigue.
Historical fiction, was what he was hoping his someday-agent would call it.
He popped open his laptop and looked at his meticulous outline. He’d made it in a fit of inspiration, and when Gladio felt stuck, he often found that just methodically moving through the outline did the trick.
Just like working out. Muscles and books - neither gets built in a day, right? Just one sentence, and then another.
His main character, Alev, had been rushing down a corridor when Gladio left off, so it’d be easy to pick back up. Right? Alev would just keep running, and then rip the door open to…
He buried his head in his hands. This was the problem. He didn’t know what was inside that fictional room. It needed to be something dramatic, and shocking. Something distracting enough to make Alev miss the obvious hints that the Vicereine was about to be murdered by her chief advisor.
Alev was historically a very sharp character, and it was one of the great disputed questions among historians why he’d missed all the clues leading up to it. One school of thought said he’d been in on it, while a warring faction claimed he’d been distracted. But by what, there was no agreement.
Gladio knew that whatever he picked would be criticized by rival theorists, but he also knew that since his book was technically fiction, it didn’t really matter in any important way.
His problem really was that he had no idea what came next.
Not as in, he couldn’t decide between too many good options. He literally had no ideas.
Gladio sighed, and shoved his hands into the front of his hair. He only stirred slightly at a scuffling at the door.
“It’s open.”
To his unfortunate bemusement, the noise continued despite his technical welcome. Gladio began to suspect it wasn't his beloved making those pitiful noises on the outside— especially since his partner had been quite engrossed in the latest episode of The Great Tenebraen Bake Off when Gladio had snuck off to his study.
The pitiful Mew! that followed only confirmed his suspicions, and with a regretful groan and longing stare at his—admittedly blank—page, he made his way over to the apparent barricade his youngest was apparently unable to conquer.
"Fall asleep on my keyboard again and I'm putting you back where we found you." He snarked in the direction of the grey cloud his partner was adamant was a kitten, as she brushed by him without a single thanks to begin sniffing with interest at the chair she'd forced him to vacate.
The seat of which she then proceeded to steal.
"Oh no you don't!" Gladio growled, striding over and cupping the fluffball in his palms before she could get truly comfortable. She hissed indignantly, the little brat she was, as Gladio moved fast to reclaim his seat before plonking the kitten down upon his lap.
He pointed in what he hoped was a stern finger in her direction. "If ya want to stay, then you have to abide by my rules, understand?"
The pressure she put into gnawing upon said finger was a good indication she didn't care.
Thinking back to his struggling plot-point, Gladio debated doing a self-insert of the blasted cat to act as the distraction to Alev; that would certainly be a plot twist for the ages.
"Why do I love you again?" He sighs, wincing as his attempt to detach the little gremlin was met with little more than a swat for his efforts.
Seeing as last he checked, Gladio was pretty sure the kitten couldn't speak basic English, he was startled when he suddenly received a response.
"Gladiolus, are you harassing our child again?" A sleepy voice came from behind, followed by the soft padding of footsteps as his study welcomed the addition of a new, familiar presence.
"She started it…." Gladio murmurs, heart filling with warmth when Ignis drapes himself across his shoulders. The cat finally detaches herself from his finger with a joyful trill, purring contently when Ignis reaches down to lazily pet her behind the ears.
As soft as the scene was, Gladio couldn't prevent the feeling of dread that was now spreading through his stomach, as now not only did he have a mischievous kitten to contend with but a sleepy, cuddly, Iggy to boot. Because as much as Gladio worshiped the ground his partner walked on, he was hyper aware of how clingy Ignis got after a week of work and no play—
Dear Shiva, he was never gonna finish this novel.
“Your next masterpiece still eludes you, I see…” Ignis spoke softly into his neck. There was a certain amount of commiseration in his tone that Gladio keenly recognized. So many times he’d wandered into the kitchen to see Ignis surrounded by every ingredient imaginable as he tried to figure out the perfect balance of flavors for his next dish.
Gladio sighed, “I just can’t figure out what comes next.” He wouldn’t have said it out loud, but he was a little jealous that Ignis could just throw in ingredients however he wanted until something came out right. The problem with a story was that whatever it was that he used could have a ripple effect on the rest of the narrative. In the best case scenario, it would be subtle enough to make sense unobtrusively and impactful enough to leave the reader with something new and thematically satisfying. But what was it?
“That is quite a conundrum.” Ignis hummed, “Have you thought about looking at a different angle?”
Gladio frowned, not wanting to instantly reject his love’s suggestion, but also feeling a little patronized in his grumpy mood. “How so? It’s pretty straightforward that the Vicereine was murdered by her advisor and Alev somehow didn’t notice until it was too late.”
“How was she murdered in the first place?”
“Bookshelf.”
“A bookshelf?”
“Yeah, tipped it over on her, I think he tried to make it look like an unfortunate accident, but it was way too big and solid for that to be possible.”
“And how certain is the fact that the advisor did it?”
“He took credit for it directly. Called it revenge for how the Viceroy snubbed his family by not marrying his sister like he’d promised. The advisor’s family fell out of prominence because of it, his sister was disgraced socially. He only stomached the position to keep her safe.”
“And this sister?”
“She was a servant of the house. She was ruled out immediately due to her small size however. There was no way she could have moved it on her own and while she had gone to the room once that night, it was to deliver the Vicereine her nightly wine.”
“I think you might have your in. What if it was the sister, but not the bookshelf?”
“You think he was covering for his sister?”
“Could be. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had done something reckless out of love for another.” Ignis said meaningfully, pressing a kiss to the shell of Gladio’s ear. Gladio may have had the reputation of being a loose cannon among most, but anyone who really knew them knew that Ignis was the real force of nature between the two of them.
Gladio chuckled as his mind began to follow the threads. Okay, yeah, maybe he could do something with this. He’d just jot down some notes while this was fresh in his mind… Or would have, if not for the sudden crack of thunder, followed by complete darkness.
A hopeless laugh was all Gladio could manage at that point. He relaxed a little into Ignis’ hold, moving minutely toward the kiss to his ear, and followed it up with a sigh.
“Normally I’d move this plotting party to a cafe, but Kaza’s isn’t open at this—”
A startlingly bright flash of lightning lit the apartment for a split second, outlining Ignis’ surprised face for a brief moment before another loud clap of thunder followed. Gladio barely had time to collect himself before there was a loud yowl, and he watched Komo disappear under the couch as the next lightning bolt flashed.
“Aw, poor girl. I’ll get you some tuna, all right?” He chuckled softly as he made his way to the kitchen, blinking a couple of times and trying to adjust to the dark.
Ignis came up behind him soundlessly. Or almost. Gladio’d developed quite the instinct for knowing just where he was at all time, so when a pair of hands rested lightly at his waist and a chin rested against his shoulder blade, he wasn’t surprised.
“In answer to the question you’re thinking at me so loud, yeah, I do spoil her. Guilty as charged.” He scraped tuna into the cat dish for a few moments and sighed. “I was just about to get started writing, too.”
He set the food on the floor without turning to look at Ignis. “You know I can hear when you do that thing with one eyebrow, right?”
Another sigh. “You’re right, though. I was probably gonna procrastinate all day and then tie myself in knots. You want to go for a walk instead?”
“You know I’d go anywhere with you, Gladiolus, but I’d prefer not to get entirely drenched in thirty seconds.”
Gladio laughed again. This plot really did have him stressed out. “Touché, handsome. Well, what do you suggest?”
"Well," Ignis started whilst finally moving into Gladio's direct line of sight. "A movie night is out of the question seeing as Leviathan has decreed us with no power."
"Aren't you observant?" Gladio teased as he pulled his partner back into his arms, chuckling at a retaliating pull on his long locks.
"Don't be cheeky, I'm being nice and rewarding you with my, might I say—"
"Like you'd let me stop you."
"-- fabulous company." Ignis pulled back to level what could only be described as a point Gladio's way, the bigger man's heart instantly melting.
"Well if you don't want my ideas, Komo and I shall take our leave." He sniffed, emerald eyes darting to the kitten that had seemingly appeared from nowhere.
" Mew!" Komo crowed happily, seemingly over the dramatic trauma of three minutes past. Once she spotted the plated tuna her little eyes even litup, making a beeline for it and paying no attention to the next clap! that filled the room.
"I wish my problems could be solved with tuna…." Gladio sighed, probably overdramatically but screw it, his well-laid plans of productivity had failed so spectacularly he felt like he had a right to sulk.
"Well, I'd cook you a steak, but-" Ignis motioned to the storm still hammering the quaking windows.
"They do say it's good for the brain," Gladio mumbled, leaving Ignis' side to go grab a glass of water. He lifted a second one in offer, declined with the shake of the head and a short yawn.
"So," Gladio said whilst waiting for the glass to fill. "Come up with any ideas yet?"
"As it stands, I'd have you know I do, actually, have quite the fun one."
"Oh yeah? Shoot," He said whilst taking a sip of water.
"Let's roleplay."
Gladio proceeded to choke on said water.
Komo glanced away briefly from her beloved tuna to stare his way, soon returning to her devouring after seemingly deciding his impending death wasn't an issue.
"Ignis—" Gladio rasped out between coughs. "Iggy, babe, I love you, but you can't just sneak that up on a guy!"
"Plus, uh," He nodded his head in Komo's direction, lowering his voice to a stage whisper. "I'd rather not in front of the cat."
" Purrrrrrrrrr! "
Gladio wanted to say he shrunk back only slightly when Ignis leveled him with his best I'm not mad, just disappointed stare.
"For the record, if we were to engage in that particular activity, Komo would be going to stay with your sister."
"That…..would be more preferable."
"Additionally," Ignis continued. "That wasn't the type of roleplay I had in mind?"
"Oh?"
Although the room was only faintly lit by the moonlight glow of the outside, Gladio could still clearly see the smirk that lights up Ignis's features.
Oh boy.
"What I meant, my dear Gladiolus, was that we each take the role of a character from your novel, and try to work our way through the scene you are struggling with."
Ignis lifted a slender finger to his chin in clear thought. "Imagine ourselves in their shoes, so to say." Uncertain eyes flicked his way. "What do you think?"
Gladio hummed thoughtfully. It wasn’t a terrible idea, actually. The night was certainly the proper setting with the foreboding storm. Hell, they could light a few candles for ‘authenticity.’ Sure, their apartment wasn’t exactly a lavish Altissian manor, but they could make it work.
“I mean, I’ll try anything at this point for my novel. But who’s who? We’ve got more than just two characters you know. We’ve got our handsome protagonist, Alev, the doomed Vicerene Dahlia, her advisor Morel, and his sister, Amanita.”
“Hmm, a little challenging,” Ignis hummed, “but I believe we’re both creative and versatile enough to handle a few character changes.”
Gladio just about choked on his water again. ”You sure this isn’t a kink thing?”
“Oh, hush,” Ignis dashed away the innuendo with a dismissive swipe of his hand. “Now, where should we start? Shall we set the scene?” In the dark, Gladio watched as Ignis drifted to one of the side tables in the hall and lit the candles that decorated it. Ignis often joked about how Gladio was prone to collecting candles for no apparent reason and then never ended up using them.
“Glad to know my candle hoard is finally coming in handy.” Gladio snickered with a hint of vindication.
He didn’t have to see Ignis’s face to know he was rolling his eyes affectionately. Together they carefully distributed them about their home. Mostly in the study, hall and living room. “Let’s hope the tuna keeps Komo occupied long enough to keep her from getting curious about them.” Ignis leaned against Gladio’s writing desk, bathed in the flickering candle glow. “Now, then, where would you like me?”
Gladio stifled a great number of feelings and suggestions that came to mind and cleared his throat. He was almost sure Ignis was messing with him on purpose. “Well,” He placed his water on the desk near Ignis, “it all depends on who you wanna be.”
“What scene shall we play out?” Ignis’s question alone was enough to make Gladio want to pull his hair out.
“I’ve been stuck on the same scene for ages now, Alev entering the room and missing the fact that a murder is or was about to happen.” Gladio sighed, “but now that you’ve brought up the sister, perhaps she’s the one who needs fleshing out…”
“I think we can do that. She would have brought the Vicerene her nightcap, correct?” Ignis asked, rising to his feet and bidding Gladio to sit down. So, he intended to be Miss Amanita.
Gladio took his seat as the Vicerene, glancing at his mostly empty cup of water. “Yeah, Lady Dahlia was known to be an avid drinker of fine wines.”
Ignis picked up a clearly handmade vase, a present from Iris when she’d been in grade school that Gladio had cherished since. He carefully held it from the base and the neck like a wine bottle. “Poisoned wine, a cliche, but sometimes the old tricks are the best tricks, I suppose.”
Gladio laughed. “Okay, but how would she have escaped notice? And where would she have gotten the poison from?” He looked up at Ignis and accepted the wine from him, doing his best to take a sip that looked dainty and royal.
“Thank you ever so much, my dear, trusted assistant who would never wish me any harm whatsoever.” Gladio affected a rich, cultured voice, typical of the Altissian upper crust. He set the glass down, deep in thought. “Wait. The Vicereine kept her special vintage in a room right off her study. That must be where she saw to it, unobserved!” He sat up and slapped his thighs. From the corner of his eye he saw Ignis smiling at him, fondly. Iggy always liked it when he got all lit up with creativity.
“The room he was in when it happened was right near the Vicereine’s quarters…” Gladio was still pondering, when Ignis offered a suggestion.
“Perhaps it was Amanita herself that Alev came upon!” Gladio was about to jump up and grab his notebook and pen, but Ignis was already holding them out to him, and he sat down to scribble as Ignis went to rummage around for a candle.
“Oh wow, yeah, she could have been in several states: all charged up in general, regretful, sobbing, vengeful—Alev would have gotten a show for sure.”
Ignis, seamlessly unobtrusive, perched on Gladio’s thigh, holding the candle close enough so he could start sketching out all the possibilities with little boxes around them.
“Which one do you like the best?” Ignis’ little smile as he leaned over the increasingly messy notebook page was so proud and contented, Gladio had to take a quick moment to smooch him. Ignis ruffled his hair with a short laugh. “Run those ideas down, love; I’ll be here.”
“I think she would have been distraught, actually.” Gladio tapped his lip with his pen. “She was always so very regretful about Dahlia’s death, and set up a memorial library in her name. It got called tasteless because she’d been killed by a bookshelf…or so people thought. But Amanita worked at that library until her death. I think she regretted it, and I think she’d have been sobbing or upset in some kind of way…a way that would completely explain Alev’s distraction!”
He sat back, putting a casual hand on Ignis’ waist. “But at some point Amanita talked to her brother. Morel knew enough to know to cover up his sister’s crime.” He took another sip of the wine, holding it thoughtfully in his mouth before swallowing. “Which means…Alev must have come upon Amanita after she’d already talked with her brother!” He started excitedly writing a quick outline for the timeline, then set the notebook and pen aside.
“You did it! I know where this chapter is going now, thank all the Astrals and Ramuh twice.” He laughed as a bolt of lightning illustrated the sharp planes of Ignis’ profile, and then smooched a couple of them, for good measure.
"Now now, I won't take all the credit," Ignis chuckled between kisses. "After all, that lovely little mind of yours was the one that thought up this entire world in the first place.
"Should I take offense to the 'little' part?" Gladio jokingly pouted, nosing his way into his partner's collarbone and letting a soft puff of air dance over it. Ignis shivered in a way Gladio would have described in his own novel as 'wantonly', but he knew nothing more was going to come of it considering the large yawn that proceeded to escape his partner's mouth.
"You don't have to stay up just for me, you know," Gladio purred, pulling Ignis closer to allow him to lean more comfortably into the embrace.
"It's hardly past nine, despite what you may think I can afford to take advantage of an evening to relax."
"Oh yeah, what happened to catching your show then?" Ignis looked puzzled for a mere moment, before it seemingly dawned on him he'd been participating in something before coming to Gladio's rescue.
"It was the quarter final, right? Thought you 'ere desperate to see if, Loqi wasn't it, rescued his chiffon cake from disaster." He personally wasn't an avid watcher of the show, tending to act as Ignis's living pillow whilst the man became engrossed, but he'd picked up enough that he understood the significance when Ignis excitedly relayed who got the coveted Weskham handshake that week. For his partner to willingly stop watching it was….. unusual to say the least, power cut notwithstanding.
"Ah, yes well." Ignis eventually responded. "As diverting as it was to see them attempt to incorporate Lucian tomatoes into a desert fit for royalty, it wasn't quite… the same this time around."
"Oh? In what way?"
"Well, for one thing there wasn't a kitten biting at my ankles begging to be cuddled, and second…" He trailed off, a light blush spreading across those sharp cheekbones Gladio loved to trace whilst his partner slept.
"Second…" Gladio prompted, already having an idea of the answer but enjoying watching his normally quite-reserved boyfriend squirm.
"It… just wasn't the same without your company, is all." Ignis finally finished, averting his eyes as though he'd just revealed his deepest, most scandalous secret.
"I was only in the other room, sweetheart, I hadn't gone far." He soothed, both slightly chuffed at how much he was missed, yet experiencing a twinge of guilt from the fact perhaps he hadn't been paying his partner enough time as of late.
"Y'know you're always welcome in 'ere, right? Even if it's just for a quick snuggle, you know I could never say no to you."
"I wouldn't wish to interrupt—"
"Ignis, tonight you literally saved my bacon by figuring out how to solve that poxy scheme, you're never an interruption in truth, more of a blessing."
"Listen," Gladio continued, glancing quickly at the pounding rain outside. "The storm doesn't look to be letting up anytime soon, which means no power and no access to my document. How about instead we grab the cat, the leftovers from the fridge, and have some not-quite midnight, midnight snacks in bed."
"... if you spill crumbs over the sheets I'm sleeping on the couch." But there was a soft smile painting the corners of Ignis’ mouth, indicating he'd already been won over.
"Deal, now then-"
*CRASH*
The pair wasted no time dashing to see what had caused the ruckus, though the culprit was all too obvious when a harried * MWROW * followed close behind.
“Komo!” Gladio said with no small amount of admonishment. Thank every Astral that she’d only knocked over a picture frame and not the still lit candle on the shelf. Gladio assessed the damage with a sigh. Thankfully the glass hadn’t cracked, but the frame was slightly dented. The picture itself was his real concern. Frames could be replaced, these memories could not.
The picture itself was a wonderful snapshot that Prompto had taken of them both years ago just before they’d finally become official, after what Noctis had dubbed ‘an absolute Godsdamned eternity.’
Ignis turned his attention to the puffed up kitten, still keyed up from the very scene she’d created. She looked more like the storm clouds outside than feline. “I swear, all she knows is mischief,” Ignis sighed, brushing a fond, if exasperated, hand over the poor kitten’s bottle-brushed tail. “I look forward to your future lap cat phase. I’ll admit, I forgot about kitten energy.”
“Everyone always does,” Gladio chuckled and blew out the candle before anything worse happened. “I guess that’s our reminder to make sure all the candles are out.” Ignis nodded in agreement. Thankfully their eyes had more or less gotten used to the darkness by now. Ignis quickly fished out their snacks from the fridge before too much of the cold could escape while Gladio did a final sweep of the apartment using his phone like a flashlight. He had plenty of battery and he was sure the power would be back by morning.
Gladio finished up before Ignis, and as such, took it upon himself to round up Komo while his lovely boyfriend brought their snacks to the room. Komo squirmed in his hands, clearly dissatisfied with the current turn of events. He knew she probably didn’t need to be brought into the room, she always clawed her way up their queen size bed and snuggled up to them whenever she pleased anyway. The tiny runs in the very expensive comforter that Ignis had spent far too much time and money picking out were all too indicative of her shenanigans.
“What’s on the menu tonight?” Gladio asked, not quite sure what Iggy had in his hands.
“Cold pizza and juice boxes.” Ignis said with the kind of aplomb saved for the most decadent of menus.
“A five-star spread if I’ve ever seen one.” Gladio laughed as he took the box of banora apple juice from him. He had to admit Prompto’s kid logic was right on this one, you’re never too old for juice boxes.
“Bon appetit.”
Gladio could hear the smile in his voice, even if it wasn’t readily visible in the darkness. Ignis set the pizza box on the bed between them and Gladio took his chances, grabbing whatever slice he happened to find. Hopefully it wasn’t from Iggy’s anchovy side.
"And they say romance is dead." Gladio murmured, munching into his slice, groaning with joy when sweet pineapple juice burst onto his tongue.
Ignis offered a sleepy hmmm in agreement, already deep into his own slice and gently batting away the paws of a curious Komo.
This was exactly what Gladio needed after the day he'd had, snuggled up on the bed next to his beloved as they both quietly crunched on their preferred slice. Outside the rain still tumbled down in buckets, thunder still prevalent but growing distant each minute that passed.
A part of Gladio wished he'd thought to grab his notebook on the way, the docile scene around him igniting sparks of latent creativity. A moment of calm within his book where Amanita was given the chance to rest and breathe, a night as stormy as this perhaps where her tasks became interrupted by the sudden downfall. Sat by a roaring fire with only the Vicereine for company, a small showcasing their strong bond to the reader before it was ripped apart in the cruelest way.
A touching scene, full of nothing but dialogue and flowery prose to lull the reader into a false sense of security but then find heartbreaking upon a second reading.
Predictable, yet at the same time perfect.
"You look like all your wishes just came true, love."
Gladio was startled from his brainstorm by the soft tones of his partner, Ignis was apparently already done with his meal and instead more focused on lulling Komo to sleep. In a rare sight the little gremlin was causing no chaos, utterly boneless in Ignis' lap and purring up a storm to rival the billowing one outside. Although they were gazing directly at one another, Ignis continued to caress her favourite spot behind the ears.
"Care to share with the crowd?" Ignis inquired, his half-hearted attempt at sounding stern ruined by Komo resting her petite head in the crook of his arm.
"Heh, nothing important," was what Gladio supplied. "Jus' came up with an idea for a new chapter. It's admittedly filler, but enough fluff and minor character building to hopefully more than make up for it."
"Well, if your readers are just as enthusiastic about the characters as you or I, then I can guarantee they will no doubt eat it up."
"One can only hope……" he murmured, suddenly stricken by the reminder that oh yeah, this book may be published and scrutinized by hundreds! Obviously that thought was always lurking the back of his mind each page, each sentence he wrote, but the closer they got to finishing the more real the eventuality started to become.
What if he wasn't as up to scratch to be a writer as he first thought?
Then what?
”None of that,” Ignis chastised gently, surprising Gladio once again. “It’s far too late and we are far too comfortable for you to start doubting yourself so loudly.”
“I hardly said a word,” Gladio grumbled, a little embarrassed that he was so easy to read, even in the darkness of their room. It was like a super power Ignis had, being able to key into his thoughts so well.
“You didn’t need to. My love, you are a wonderful writer.” Ignis’s voice was a low, soothing rumble. Clearly sleep was beckoning him. “There’s no sense in worrying yourself about something that’s still a work in progress. No first draft is perfect, no matter how much we wish it so.” He gave a cavernous yawn as he snuggled in closer, somehow not disturbing the cat in the process. “There’s always a first pancake.”
Gladio chuckled softly as he pulled their covers around him and settled into a comfortable spot. It was his sworn duty to eat the first pancake and cover up the evidence of any perceived mistakes Ignis may or may not have made when making breakfast, or any food, really. Waste not want not or whatever.
“First pancake, huh?” Ignis’s hair tickled his nose as he pressed a kiss to his crown.
Ignis hummed affirmatively, sighing like he’d sloughed off the weight of the world. Gladio cherished the knowledge that he was one of the few people Ignis ever truly relaxed around and vice versa. The ebb and flow of their relationship, their balance, he could write for the whole rest of his life and never properly describe it. For every silly worry and annoying writer’s block moment, Ignis had been there to right his course and help him through it.
He knew it would only be a matter of time before their places were swapped and Ignis would be the one leaning on him for advice and validation, and Gladio would be there to support him every step of the way. Ignis was right, as he often was. No use worrying any more tonight, tomorrow would be another day, one that they’d work through together.