runs_on_batteries | IC Inbox/ Interactions 2.0

Tony scowled and looked up at his friend, hurt on his face. "Look, I have no idea what is acceptable to call you. You hate all the nicknames I've come up with. You look like you want to roll your eyes when I call you terms of endearment. This isn't easy! Do you think I treat everyone like I treat you?" Could Gladio really not tell that he was special? Had Tony done such a horrible job at making love to him that he hadn't felt a thing?

He opened his hands, palms upright, feeling lost on how to give the other man what he wanted. "I'm sorry if you thought 'beautiful' was too cheesy or old-fashioned.. or whatever. But.. I really think you are."

Honestly... yes. He did. Everyone got nicknames. He was pretty sure 90% of the people Tony had slept with got some kind of endearments or special treatment to get them there. So no, Gladio didn't really feel like he was special in that regard. But they were friends, he knew that and he was grateful for that. He knew they were close. He knew they'd shared something...

Slowly he began to tap on the edge of the counter with both hands. Counting as he did so. Using it to help him focus his thoughts.

"My name's Gladio, Tony. Every nickname you give me sounds mocking or a joke I don't understand, you expect me to like that?" What the hell was a 'Tweetie Bird' anyway? "I'm not beautiful. Beauty is..." He sighed. In the eye of the beholder. He'd told people that before. Was he really allowed to tell Tony he couldn't say it, even if he knew it was a lie? "... I'm not. Good looking? Sure, I'll take it. But I don't see beauty when I look in a mirror."

Okay yes, Gladio was right about the endearments. Tony did call others some of those names, but he'd been more present and more loving. His heart had been in it.

Tony made a frustrated 'tsk' at being told that about the nicknames. "But-" He sighed. "You are!" He somehow kept from interrupting any further than those quick protests till the end.

"Okay so some of the nicknames I come up with are a joke. Some of them haven't been. I just.. I like being special and having my own name I get to call you. Everyone gets to call you Gladio. Your old boyfriends called you 'Gladdy', so I don't feel like I should use that one. Your friends here call you 'Big Guy'. So what do I get?" It was silly, but he liked special privileges!

The other part though was harder. "Why wouldn't you take it as a compliment that I do instead of make me feel bad for saying it at like one of the most vulnerable moments there is? You're just usually so.." He knew he was risking sounding like a pansy here again, but he'd deal with it. "You're usually very gentle with my emotions. I wasn't prepared for that is all."

Gladio just blinked. He wanted a special name to call him? Why?

"Only a few people call me 'Gladdy'. Iris. Prom. Noct. People I really care about are allowed to use that." He would have said Tony should use it too, but clearly that wasn't good enough. So Gladio was at a loss. If he wanted something special, something unique, why did he keep giving him nicknames that were so mocking?

As for the rest... He moved a hand from the counter to lightly rub at the back of his neck. He looked away. "Because I didn't take you seriously. And I was joking. But you got angry anyway. I thought it was..." Just sex. He'd thought that's all Tony had wanted from him. Not feelings, not tender moments or vulnerability, just sex. "... I don't know what you want from me."

Tony looked at him uncertain. "I'm not on the same level as they are, am I? Won't you have bittersweet feelings any time I call you that?" Well, mix in the fact that Tony had been getting frustrated and the names had started going downhill. Why Tony hadn't just explained this to Gladio earlier was anyone's guess.

His eyes widened in surprise and his gaze dropped away, embarrassed. Gladio had been just joking with him? It hadn't felt like one. Although, it did explain the confusion if Gladio didn't think he was speaking from the heart. He felt like a complete dumbass for missing that.

And there was that question again. It was deceptively simple.

"I'm not sure how to answer that," he admitted slowly. "I've lived my life as a very selfish man and in a lot of ways, I still do. I've been trying to do better." He hesitated to think about how to word this right. He finally looked up again, looking Gladio in the eye, trying to be as sincere as possible. "I could tell you what I want or what I wish, but neither are anywhere near as important to me as what you want and what you need. Do you know what those are?"

"Why would it?" Now he managed to look even more confused. The name wasn't 'special to them'. It was special to people who were close to him. And if anyone was on that level right now, he'd have thought it was Tony... But whether Tony felt the same way was another question. So he held his tongue and waited to hear the rest of what the man had to say before he answered his question.

Gladio... sighed heavily. He moved from the counter and took himself over to the table and pulled out a chair to sit opposite Tony.

"What I want and what I need are two different things... But right now I wanna be on equal footing." He leaned back in his chair and looked at Tony calmly, quietly. "... So all I need right now is to know one thing; was last night and this morning just a fuck, or did it mean something to you?"

Tony huffed with exasperation. "Why are you being so difficult about this? Is it so unusual to you that someone may care for you enough to ask how you feel instead of just assume and take you for granted? This is me, being as respectful as I know how to be, asking these things so I don't assume and do something that might hurt you. Because I don't want to do that. I want only good things and good feelings between us."

He watched as Gladio sat down, not really sure what was wrong with the answer he'd just given. "The fact that you can't tell just.. really sucks," Tony answered, using everything in him to keep from making a bigger fool of himself. "Gladio.. Gladdy.. you'd never be 'just a fuck' to me, you dumbass."

He didn't think he was being difficult at all. Guarded, sure. Because he had no idea what was going on. No idea what this was. Tony was saying all the right things now. But tomorrow? The day after? He'll be joking again, dismissing it, pretending things never happened, guarding his own words and feelings. Sometimes Gladio wondered if Tony thought he was too stupid to notice, or if he thought himself a better actor...

Gladio folded his arms on the table top and then propped his chin on one hand, frowning.

"Callin me my name isn't going to hurt me. Calling me a name others've called me won't hurt me. You've made an assumption on that, Stark. But... thanks, for asking." Since he clearly needed validation there Gladio would give it. But the rest... "I'm asking because I don't know. This isn't something we've done before. And we've never talked about this shit. So yeah, I'm damn well going to ask." And somehow it was reassuring to know that it wasn't just Tony needing to get off and it had meant something.

Why did Gladio think Tony had any idea what this was either? Some of the confusion was because it was confusing. They were one thing on the train, but here? They were something else and Gladio didn't need the mess that was Tony Stark on top of all of his own burdens. It seemed so selfish to want a man who was half his age and didn't have a fraction of the baggage the superhero carried. He wanted to do what was right here, right for Gladio.

Hearing that confirmed, Tony nodded and his lip curled upward. He had at least one thing he wanted and he could tell himself to be satisfied with that.

His smile faded away again and he listened to the explanation. He understood, even if it hurt. "You know.. I've only ever used 'darling' for two others- no, three, I forgot about Morgan- before. Pepper and Ignis. I can understand if you don't want to be called that but.. maybe you could tell me some you're okay with? Assuming we ever get swept up in the moment again? And just so you're aware, if you don't want me telling you so many sweet things during or after sex.. you could say them to me. You might not realize this, but I do love compliments." He was making a bit of a joke here, but not really. Since the topic had been broached, why not see if he could get some more information about what Gladio liked and didn't like?

"Look, if its something you do, don't let me stop you." Gladio might not agree with it, but he wasn't going to make Tony stop. He wouldn't be that kind of an asshole. He didn't want that moment of Tony slipping up and then apologising for being affectionate. It wasn't a big deal. Gladio's only real problem had come from being called 'beautiful'. He was big, hairy and scarred all to hell. Tony was insane to have picked that word to describe him. But arguing about it wouldn't do him any good. He didn't need assurance, he didn't need Tony to explain why Gladio was wrong and he was right.

He just looked at Tony then, he could see the joke, but knew it was true as well. The problem was, to Gladio, talking like that was for people in relationships. Sweet nothings, tender words, declarations of love... That wasn't what they were. But it looked like Tony wanted all the benefits of a relationship without being in one. And that just confused Gladio even more.

"Noted... But I never said I don't like sweet things, Tony." Just so they were clear on that point.

Gladio could be so damn frustrating. Tony wished he could just shake him sometimes. They could be dealing with cultural differences, generation differences, dialect, etc etc and the younger man seemed so stubborn about not giving Tony some words he actually approved of. Were there any he was okay with or would Tony try this again in a week and find out Gladio found the word he chose then equally stupid? Would he just cringe inwardly hearing it and not tell Tony or would he shoot him down like he had today?

Tony also missed what the problem with his questions because Gladio didn't vocalize his issue with it. Tony was smart, but he couldn't read minds. In fact, with emotions he was pretty stupid. Just ask Pepper about her twelve foot bunny plushie.

He had thought maybe there'd be some fun exchange over preferences in bed, but something in how Gladio answered made him feel like that wasn't welcome. He didn't know what that meant but he was hesitant to ask. His confidence had taken a beating this morning. "I'll remember that," he promised, though he doubted he'd be saying those if there was a next time. It was a shame. He couldn't remember the last time the sex had been that good.

"I think I might go down to Affurgato's. Can I pick you up anything while I'm out?"

He sighed and leaned back with a shake of his head. "No, nothing." And then he pulled himself up from his seat and went back to the counter to finish making his sandwich and his tea. Their conversation was over, he guessed, if Tony was leaving. So he'd make himself his food and his drink and take himself back to his room and... What?

Gladio just didn't know what they were doing. He didn't understand why this was so hard and why they kept misunderstanding each other. He had no experience with this. He'd never been in a relationship like this before. Especially since this wasn't a relationship.

He was getting a headache.

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