runs_on_batteries | IC Inbox/ Interactions 2.0

Gladio was far too good of a person to want that. Tony didn't know what it was, but something had been wrong with Ignis. He supposed after this, they shouldn't really talk about him again. There was no point. He might push a little more on Gladio forgiving himself for upsetting his whiny, fickle friends but that topic had run it's course too.

The only thing that was left hanging was what the hell happened last night and did Gladio need to talk about it. Tony rubbed his face, sensing more than seeing his friend moving away. He'd meant that to be more of a joke with the bucket.

He lifted his head and watched Gladio. He meant to watch him as in see where he went and get a feel for his mood. Instead, he found himself appreciating how his jean hugged him and remembering what it felt to have one of those arms around him. He forced himself to look away. "Have you had anything to eat? I could make us something."

Gladio wasn't really paying attention to the eyes on him. His own gaze was on the hole where his door had been. Would the natives be able to fix it? He'd been told they were pretty handy...

"Huh? Uh... No. Haven't really eaten. The replicator is acting up again. Was just gonna wait till later and head to Affurgato's for dinner." Gladio glanced back at Tony and grinned. "If you think you can cook somethin go ahead. I won't stop you."

It was the most helpful thing he could think of to do. So at that answer, he pulled himself up and went into the kitchen to wash up. It was strange being in a new kitchen. The items that had been purchased or created weren't on the counters nor the drawings from his kids on the refrigerator. There was no elven crafted, annoyingly beautiful tart left out for all to share. He'd always felt lucky when he'd happened through the kitchen after one of those treats had yet to be devoured by the teenagers.

Instead, it was ordinary, modern, basic appliances and utensils. It was so normal, it made him uneasy. The fact there wasn't ten other people in the kitchen trying to make a meal was also new. At least that one, he welcomed. Others might have found the ingredient list limiting, but they didn't know what truly deprived was. Those fries last night had been heavenly. Basic cheese, basic meat, basic noodles, tomatoes and spices all added up to spaghetti to him.

Just as he put the pot on the stove to boil, he came back into the room. A towel was slung over his shoulder and he wiped his hands off on it. "Hey, are you also allergic to vegetables or can I actually give you an adult meal?"

When Tony went into the kitchen, Gladio jogged upstairs and finished what was doing. The mattress was dragged in. The legs of the beds tied together and then, because he was nice, he made the bed for Tony.

Once that was done he headed back down to consider what to do with the door. He supposed he could hang a blanket up there. He wondered if maybe he could wedge the dining table up against it. It was rectangular, it was just a ball ache to get it in there and have to move it again if they wanted to leave.

He was still stood there considering when Tony exited the kitchen. "Yeah, no vegetables are fine for me." Gladio half turned and grinned over his shoulder. "I'll pretty much eat anything. But ginger. Really hate that stuff now..."

"Still with the ginger? Haven't you ever heard of letting something go?" Tony teased with a grin. He actually couldn't care less if Gladio ever ate ginger again, but it was amusing to joke with him about it. He looked toward the wall and sighed at the hole. "Peter's web shooters would've been really handy about now."

As much as those had been a pain in the ass, temporarily closing something off was very helpful. "I can have Mark 85 stand there and guard the door holding and umbrella?"

"I tried. Can't stomach the stuff now." He'd had ginger and molasses cookies when he'd first showed up. They'd been fine but the ginger taste had ruined from from being great and had left him feeling a little unwell. "I blame you, just so you know."

"Don't worry about it." Gladio grinned and turned fully so he could go and so what he'd planned. He picked up the dining table and carried it over to the door. Turning it length-wise he managed to get it as wedged up against the frame as he could, which he hoped would keep most of the chocolate out. He hoped the cold too. "Should do it. For now."

Tony chuckled. "I'll take the hit," he relented, playfully accepting the blame. "I've been accused of much worse things. Just remind me if I ever fix you a stir fry and I'll leave the ginger out." Maybe. He might try to sneak it in just to test that theory but it might be a while since he didn't see any of those flavors on this replicator.

He went back to get the ingredients in a second pot for the meat sauce. He washed the knife and cutting board before going back to the replicator to get items for a salad. "I hope you like fries. We keep getting potatoes with every item I ask this silly thing to make. We're up to four of them," he called from the kitchen. Good thing potatoes kept relatively well.

He stepped back out with a purple potato in hand. He laughed when he saw what Gladio had done. "A bit caveman, but it'll work. Lettuce, onion, tomato, cucumber.. anything else you want in your salad?"

"It'll keep the weather out and that's what matters." Gladio turned when Tony left the kitchen again and gave the potato a strange look, but he'd been asked a question and now he needed to think. "That sounds good. More greens would work, if you can get em. Spinach and kale go great in salad."

At least in his. He liked a more robust salad, but since Tony was actually making a meal and this sounded like a side dish, he wouldn't complain. Then he grinned. "And I like fries. So keep those potatoes. We can do something with them tomorrow."

Tony nodded. Gladio and he were going to get along just fine as roommates. He'd been leery about putting too much stuff in the salad, but hearing Gladio really was good with them, he went back and added both spinach, kale, and then some chopped up broccoli. He put together a honey mustard vinaigrette too, though he would've preferred more spices in it.

"Just don't mash these or they'll turn gray," he warned about the purple potatoes. He assumed they were like the ones from his world, though you never really knew. He went back to work and before too long, the food was ready. It was far from the best dish he'd ever made, but with the ingredients available he thought it sure beat a lot of the options he'd had on the train.

He fixed up two plates and made it look as nice as he could before calling Gladio over. It wasn't a candlelight dinner or anything, but an effort had been made.

Now finding himself without much to do, Gladio went and sat himself down to watch. He was tempted to offer to help but the kitchen was a bit too small for the both of them to comfortably work in. "Do they still taste fine when gray?" Because that didn't bother him at all. Little butter, little salt, they'd still be mashed potato and that as fine by him.

Despite his best efforts Gladio had started to drift off a little. The smell of cooking, the sound of Tonu bustling about, there was a soothing quality to it. He didn't actually fall asleep, but his eyes were closed and he had relaxed. When he was called, he yawned and sat himself up before heading over to get his plate.

"Looks real good. I think you can stay." Gladio grinned and grabbed a fork and his plate. "Uh... tables outta commission. So couch dinner it'll have to be."

Tony paused as he chopped and tried to remember if he'd ever eaten it once it turned gray. "I don't know. I'm hoping once the replicator is back up and running we can get better potatoes for mashing. This kind makes nice chips and fries." He might have gone into the history of regular potatoes and purple, but when he glanced back, Gladio looked sleepy. He found himself smiling and leaving it alone.

Once they had their food and moved to the couch, he could relax. He chuckled at the joke that he could stay because of his cooking skills. "Now the true reason you wanted a roommate comes out." He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "I might have overreacted to Ignis earlier. Just a little."

"Damn, you caught me." Gladio grinned and dropped down into the love seat while Tony took the couch. Sure they could have sat together, but this way he didn't have to keep turning or sit awkward just to talk to the other man.

"Yeah, you think?" With his plate balanced in a hand he took his first bite with an appreciative sound. "... This is delicious." There as still that slight 'off' taste that marked the ingredients as synthetic rather than fresh, but that didn't stop it from tasting damn good.

It wasn't the train, they could have some space! It was really nice even if last night.. well, they weren't talking about last night. He was going to sleep in his own bed tonight and hopefully Gladio would forget that ever happened. Sure, it felt nice and the younger man would've been fun to fuck, but their friendship was the most important thing. As it was, he'd let Gladio keep his airtight seal (since, come on, he knew that guy hadn't been the bottom for either Noct or the puppy).

He nodded reluctantly. It took effort to keep his thoughts on their conversation. "Thank you," he smiled at the compliment. It tasted like he had used spam instead of real meat and the vegetables had a slightly.. he wasn't sure, almost plastic taste. It was like those bagged salads that had sat around too long. However, both were an upgrade to what he was used to. "Is this the only way to get food here? These replicators?"

Gladio wasn't talking about last night, because Tony had told him not to. It was literally one of the first things he'd said on climbing into his bed. Okay, so maybe it was 'tell anyone and you're dead', but he took that to mean 'we don't mention this ever'. He was trying to be considerate. If Tony even remembered. He'd been under the influence of a bear and those pills. Maybe he'd not quite slept it off and that was why he'd acted the way he had?

Of course that didn't explain why Gladio had acted the way he had. Why he'd kissed Tony back. Why it didn't actually bother him.

Though there was a little part of him that knew exactly why. But since they weren't discussing it...

"You can get upgrades to them. Better quality food, better variety. Other than that I think it's just Affurgato's where you can get food. The stuff you get in the replicators is all synthetic though." Gladio's lips twitched. "I'd been planning on growing food back on the train. Wonder if I can still do that here?"

Tony grinned, pleased Gladio caught on to exactly where his thoughts were leading. "Precisely. There's more than enough room on these lots, even if we need to put them on the roof, to make small gardens. Growing our own food has to taste better than this and may be healthier for us." Who knew what exactly was in this stuff?

"Back home I built a skyscraper with large floors that grew vegetables year round. They were given precise lighting and temperature and they grew among special artificial rocks and water that gave them exactly what they needed. It cut out the need for farmers using a particular field till it was zoid of all natural nutrients. We obviously wouldn't have that kind of resources here but even if we had a small greenhouse we could do something similar."

"There's communal areas we can use once the weather gets warmer. It's just getting hold of seeds to plant..." And Gladio would have to ask how people did that. Did they pray or something? "I know people have gotten things, gifts, from home. Not sure it's like how it was on the Voidtrecker. Might have to make offerings and pray to the gods." He laughed at that, though wasn't really against the idea. If it got him what he wanted then sure, he'd do the thing.

"Just a shame we don't have Glorfindel or Persephone to help things grow faster." They'd been so good at that. Gladio almost swore he'd seen things growing right in front of his eyes when they were both giving a plant attention. "But we could get something started, sure."

"Actually.. it's not just seeds," Tony began. "Along with the right conditions of the soil, some vegetables and fruits also require cross pollination." From there, the man went on a lengthy explanation on pollination and nutrients in the soil. It was at least a good six minutes of straight mansplaining. "We would need to introduce or find some native bees. Have you noticed if this place has insects or small birds like hummingbirds?"

He took another few bites. He agreed. This would be much easier with a little magic. "Do you think the Noct here would take to it like the one on the train? It could give you two something to repair your friendship over."

Edited 2021-02-19 01:27 (UTC)

Gladio... was only half listening really. Logic and reason went out of the window in places like this. Somehow people were growing flowers and if he could find out how they were doing that then they'd find out how to grow vegetables and fruits. It was just trial and error really. And probably a hefty dose of magic. And possibly some of the native's technology.

By the time Tony had wound down, Gladio had almost finished his meal.

"Can't say I've seen any wildlife other than the critters at the temples and people's pets. But I'll bet there's a way. Flowers are grown here so something is helping them. Or someone." And as for Noct, Gladio laughed. "Probably not. He's... 'not a florist or whatever'."

Someone might miss the classes he used to teach. He hadn't been doing them since his episode. Either that or he was just enjoying the sound of his own voice, which happened often too.

"Yeah, what's up with that? Why is my supposed goddess with Cinderella mice as her minions? Who the hell thought that was a good idea?" He was highly offended by this pairing! The last thing he wanted was to benefit a Powerpuff Girl.

He listened to Gladio's reaction about Noct with some surprise. The large man may have laughed, but what Tony heard was hurt. He moved his hand to rest briefly on Gladio's forearm and gave him a sympathetic pat. "We'll find a way to get you all on good terms again. I'm a dick, but I can also be charming, remember?"

Gladio smirked and lowered his head. No, he wouldn't laugh. But it was definitely funny. "Clearly someone up there thought you could benefit from a little purity in your life." And that was just funny as all hell. But he concentrated on finishing the last of his meal so he wouldn't choke himself laughing.

He didn't see the touch coming though. And despite himself it made him jump. And then he did laugh. Laugh and grin over at Tony. "Nothin to worry about. I can be patient when I want to be. Especially if there's something I want. But in this... I'm trying to make myself available. Noct, I hope, will come to me. I don't want to push him too hard and send him the other way."

Well Tony sure laughed at hearing he needed 'purity'. There was no way he was getting any purity back in his filthy old soul.

He smiled and drew his hand away. "Isn't the reason you two have issues in the first place because he wallows and doesn't act? You might not really want to wait until he comes to you. You could be waiting a really long time. What about inviting them over? We could cook or if this rain ever stops I could probably jerry rig a grill. You guys like card games, we could play poker."

"The problem is their view of me, Tony. I'm workin on it. But maybe when this weather clears up and the replicators aren't a mess we could to that." Inviting people over sounded like an idea. But Gladio also thought working on each one in turn was probably a better plan. Prompto didn't seem like a problem. He'd been easier to deal with. Hadn't treated him differently if he was honest. Though maybe that was more the fact Prompto hadn't seen him in years than any forgiveness on his part.

But Noct and Ignis... Those were the two that needed work. Noct more than the other.

"Need cards to play poker though. And paper is rarer than mithril here."

"How do you change their view of you other than show them you're not that guy? They have to see your actions and that'll be easy because you're lovable! You're like the Abominable Snowman after they find out he's ticklish."

He chuckled and got up to start cleaning up. "That never stopped me on the train. We just have to find the right substitute material. Have you noticed what is in abundance here?" He got the water going to do the dishes and found a container for the leftover food. "If I hadn't shot the door, we'd have that for scraps."

"That's exactly what I'm doing. Not forcing them to accept me. But I'll be there when they need me." It's all he could really do. He tried. He reached out when he could. Sometimes it was accepted, sometimes he'd watch as the shutters went down and he'd realised he'd tried too hard. "I have to earn their trust again. It wasn't me who hurt them, but the memory is stronger than that." He'd get there though. He would wait. Though for how long he wasn't too sure. Gladio liked to believe he could wait forever, but there was only so much he could take before he just... gave up.

When his plate was taken, Gladio frowned and got up too to follow. He was very tempted to grab Tony and physically lift him and move him out of the way. "You cooked. Clean up is on me." A pause. "Snow. An abundance of snow, scrap and now chocolate."

"Alright, but I think you can be too passive. We'll do it your way until I figure out how to grill and get some cards. Then we're having them over. They don't know it yet, but I'm still part of the family... or close to it," he said with more confidence than he really felt.

He stopped at Gladio's comment on the clean up. He turned around and looked ready to argue but instead he huffed out a laugh. "Alright, I know better than to try and fight you on this. Just know, you're still one ahead because you're letting me stay here."

With that he slipped past his friend and sat on one of the dining chairs. There was no table, so these had been pushed up against a wall on one side of the room. He pulled it out a bit so he could comfortably keep talking to Gladio but be out of the way. "Speaking of, are there any rules on how living areas are supposed to work? Like will there be others who end up staying here?"

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