runs_on_batteries | IC Inbox/ Interactions 2.0

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?"

"Until I'm sure I won't make things worse, passive is the way it's gotta be." He grinned and dropped a hand on Tony's shoulder for a moment. "You're family, Tony. They'll realise that sooner or later. Now move your ass."

He removed his hand and took his place at the sink once Tony had moved. "And what do you mean 'letting you stay'? We're roommates now. This is your place as much as mine." After rolling up his sleeves, Gladio got to work washing up. "Only people who get to live here are any we ask. Otherwise no, don't think there's rules. One house for each person I guess."

Tony gave Gladio a smile and then a quick laugh at the order. He was glad his friend understood without him having to say anything. He might have lost Ignis a month or so ago but he'd had a family out of the boys left behind plus his daughter Madoka. You never just marry the person, you marry the family. He felt that old familiar guilt that he hadn't gone along with the wedding like 'train' Ignis had wanted. He hated that title, but it worked well enough.

"Is there rent or a mortgage I should be expecting to pay with you then?" He asked, unsure how all of these things worked. It was only his second day here, so it was going to take some time. "I had an idea of how we can make the upstairs more appropriate for our use than four bedrooms. I liked what you did with making two beds into one, so I'll do that in another room. We should then select one of the other rooms for a library and then the other room as a work room."

"So far as I know, none of that." His lips twitched and then curved into a grin as he set a plate down to drip dry on the rack. "Way ahead of you. I set a bed up in one of the rooms. Even made it for you. Aren't I great?" As for the rest. "There's a little place in town, I think the idea was to make that a library. But you're welcome to make the other rooms into whatever you want. Knock a wall down and make one big workshop if you'd like." Gladio was pretty easygoing when it came to this. He didn't plan on spending most of his time indoors anyway. And once he was situated enough he wanted to get himself involved more. There was several people already who had expressed interest in training so his thoughts were leaning toward finding a space of his own where he could do that. Some had mentioned starting up a gym. It was a thought that was at the back of his mind as a viable option for the future. And a good way to earn some money.

Tony's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Wow, that is nice of you. You must be buttering me up for something," he joked. Either that or Gladio really wanted to keep him out of his space again. He wondered briefly if he should apologize for that or just continue to pretend it didn't happen. It had been really stupid and put his friendship on the line. It was best to just keep ignoring it and hope Gladio would just forget it.

However, he was surprised at the reaction about the library. "I thought you loved books." Did Gladio think he'd forgotten? He wanted to do something with the other rooms that supported both of their interests. With Gladio's size, he didn't think putting a gym upstairs was a good idea.

"I'm a nice guy, asshole." He grinned over his shoulder then turned back to his dishes. "Just wanna make you feel welcome here is all. Having a space of your own means somethin now." After so long being squashed together, a place where privacy was a precious commodity, he though Tony would appreciate having somewhere he could run off to if he needed peace.

"I do. Love books, I mean. But... that place, I think I'd prefer to build that up." He paused, frowning a little. "There was a kid here. Vianca. You'd have loved her. That place was her's. A cosy place with flowers and books. But she left recently. I think adding to that collection'd keep her memory alive here." Gladio glanced over his shoulder again, smile softer now. "Make sense?"

"Yeah we'll see," Tony bantered playfully back. The truth was, he was flattered. The gesture had been something Pepper or Ignis would've done and he missed things like that. He didn't know how to express that kind of gratitude, so it came out in jokes. He got up and made some tea and sighed when he got tea in a cup with a handful of raisins next to it. Well at least it wasn't a potato in the tea.

He frowned unsure why they were still talking about this other place, but then Gladio explained it. "Ahh, yes. That.. I didn't know. So, it's a library and a florist?" That was an odd combination, but if it was run by a kid it was rather sweet.

"More like a place to sit and read with flowers in it. But you can take books, so long as you bring em back. So as close to a library as we can get." He grinned. Much like the shelf of books in the corner back on the Voidtrecker, it was makeshift as can be, but this one was definitely built for comfort instead of practicality.

"I'll take you tomorrow if you want? Should show you around this place at some point." He grabbed a dish towel to start drying the dishes, falling quiet for a moment before he laughed. "Think you'd see more if you do that flying thing though."

"I see," Tony said thoughtfully. It sounded like the perfect place for Gladio to spend all his free time. That and the guy probably could use a massage. When was the last time that guy actually did anything relaxing?

"Hmm?" He heard something about flying. He definitely wasn't sitting there thinking about rubbing those hard muscles down with massage oil. Nope. "Yeah, flying. I did earlier.. um, you haven't used all the hot water with the dishes have you? I think I have some chocolate I'd like to get out of my hair before it gets too late."

Gladio was never truly relaxed, sadly. He'd come close, but never quite all the way. But it didn't matter much to him.

Once the dishes were dry, Gladio turned to lean back against the counter and smile. He dried his hands and nodded toward the stairs. "Have at it. Plenty of hot water. Should be clean towels up there too. And there might be some clean clothes in your room. It's not much, the fashion here is lackin since robots don't need clothes, but I did the best I could." Simple pants and shirts were good enough, right? Even a jacket. As well as an umbrella of his own. A nice, bright green umbrella.

Tony laughed and got up. It was amusing to think of these robots trying to figure out fashion. Still, he got that same feeling as before that Gladio was reminding him of home. He hadn't realized how much the younger man fussed over people. It was sweet.

As he headed for the stairs, he tossed back. "Are you my roommate or my wife? You keep this up and I might end up in your bed again."

Shit.

Just keep walking.

He hurried up the stairs faster than necessary and was in the bathroom staring at the mirror in seconds. Wow. He was a giant idiot. He'd left the door cracked open in case.. he wasn't sure what. In case it set Gladio off and he came up here angry or demanding answers? In case his friend came bursting in and wanted to make it with him right against the bathroom counter? Tony was a fool. He shook his head and stripped out of his clothes and got the water going.

Thankfully Gladio hadn't been lying about the hot water. The pressure and temperature were perfect. It only took a couple minutes before he was sudsy and temporarily putting his idiotic remark out of his mind. He looked down at the bathtub and promised himself he'd enjoy that the next day. How long had it been since he got to enjoy a bath? Years maybe..

Gladio had started to cross his arms over his chest when Tony laughed, his smile widened and he was about to say more when his friend decided to up the ante. His brows rose as he watched the older man scurry up the stairs like he was on fire.

He'd thought he was just being a good friend honestly. But he supposed he could see how his actions would look like something more if he wasn't used to it. Maybe Gladio needed to hold back some... It was just that he'd been out and remembered that Tony had asked about clothes. So he'd grabbed some. He needed a room so he'd set something up. It was all reasonable stuff to him...

Though that parting shot was something of a surprise.

Just for tonight, he'd said. Just this once. Was it just an offhand comment or did he actually...

No. No way. Gladio frowned and after a minute of being lost in thought, he shook his head and pushed away from the counter. There's no way that's what Tony wanted. Why would he? It was just this world, wasn't it? Just Tony feeling lonely. Just that idle flirtation that he'd always dabbled in. Gladio dismissed the thoughts and decided it was time to lay down and just try not to think.

And that would have gone amazingly well if, when he got to the top of the stairs he hadn't had to walk passed the bathroom. And if Tony hadn't forgotten to close the door. And if he hadn't have glanced that way...

Without meaning to, Gladio had stopped walking. His body had just frozen on the spot, his eyes on the shape beyond the crack in the door. It wasn't open much. The figure moved in and out of his line of sight. But what he saw... There was absolutely no doubt that Tony was an amazing looking man. Clothed or not, apparently. He remembered how that body had felt against his own. Warm, solid, soft in all the right places, not nearly as hard as he would have liked him to be.

... Gladio's eyes widened a bit and he made himself reach out and quietly close the door before he hurried his ass to his bedroom. That door was closed behind him before he dropped onto his bed and covered his face with his hands. No. No thoughts like that were bad. So bad. It couldn't happen, right? It was impossible. It was... not the first time thoughts like that had popped into his head. Idle thoughts, nothing he would ever have acted on. Gladio was sure he wasn't alone in that either. He'd wager that almost everyone Tony encountered wondered what it would be like to spend the night with the man. Was he all talk? Or did he have the skills to back up his flirtations? Maybe Gladio had a passing interest to find out, but with Tony engaged to Ignis and his own relationships, he would never have muddied the waters. They had been harmless thoughts. 'Look but don't touch'.

Only now he could touch. But did he dare? Could he...?

Tony had just gotten here. If they did do anything it would make things awkward. Gladio wasn't someone who liked to sleep around. Generally he slept with people he cared about. And he did care about Tony. Gladio just wasn't sure what that actually meant...

Tony was unaware anything had happened. If he'd known, he most likely would've given the younger man a better show. He no longer had that ugly scar on his chest thanks to healing he'd gotten on the train, so he had nothing to be self-conscious about.

He used the products Gladio had in the shower, pleased it was something better than the crap he'd been using. If he'd been told he'd get this kind of treatment to go be a porn star for a god, he might have come here willingly.

After drying off and borrowing a few other things without asking, he picked up his clothes and left the bathroom with a towel around his waist. He paused as he saw Gladio's door was closed. He was tempted to stop and actually thank him for the clothes, but he decided what he'd already done was good enough. Besides, he was going to find a way to treat his friend before the end of the week. He didn't know how yet, but he was sure he would figure it out.

Getting fresh underwear on and crawling into bed, he laid there in the silence. It was deafening. He strained to hear Gladio snore, but couldn't. At least not yet. He wished he could return to where he'd slept last night, but he couldn't- wouldn't- no couldn't was right.

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