runs_on_batteries | IC Inbox/ Interactions 2.0

"Dammit to hell!" He roared as he stepped into the townhouse. He slammed the door so hard, the whole thing snapped off and went flying into the yard leaving a gaping hole. "Oh for fucksakes!" He rolled his eyes and let the helmet of his suit fall back.

"Gladio I just broke your house!" He hollered, unsure if his friend was even home or not. With a heavy sigh, he went and picked up the door and carried it effortlessly back. He examined the material of the wall to see how best to fix this. "Your friends are also douchebags and I think they might show up with pitchforks and torches in a couple hours to lynch me."

[ Ignis isn't impressed with this world right now, he's struggling to make something with the replicators broken and on top of that, his Ebony stash is gone. His argument with Tony hadn't helped his mood, nor did finding out that Era had wanted to cut herself out of the family. Noct's distressed by it all.

He's not in a good mood as he pulls a pot out the cupboard. He'd debated on just grabbing something from a cafe, but he doesn't run into the bears that are supposedly around... or Tony. They need space to cool off.

He doesn't understand why his train self fell for the man in the first place, things had started out fine between the pair, then it had gotten rather frustrating. Like he was talking to a brick wall. He recalls an argument that he had with Noctis once upon a time back, but that had been his fault, not understanding Noct's fear over losing his dad. He's not sure who's at fault here now. Both of them, if he had to guess.

He's in the middle of filing the pot with water when his phone goes off, making him jump and spilling the pot in the sink. Ignis groans, but he's thankful that it wasn't too much of a mess or that he hadn't gotten far with... whatever he was going to cook.

He rarely uses his phone for calls, he's called up Gladio twice... and that's it. So someone calling him is a surprise, back in the day on Eos it had been Noctis calling him, but here it could be anyone. He follows the sound of the phone going off, it's on the counter, not far and he answers it. ]

Ignis. [ Ignis keeps his tone even, not sure who's on the line...? ]

Gladio HAD been home and had been in the process of adding a second bed to one of the rooms to give Tony a makeshift double bed like his own. He had the frame in and the mattress halfway through the door when he heard the crash. As fortune would have it, he was trapped enough that he wasn't able to go running to find out who was breaking in, which gave Tony time to yell up at him. Gladio just sighed, rolled his eyes and shoved the mattress haphazardly into the bedroom. He'd deal with that later. This sounded more important.

As he walked down the stairs the gaping hole where his door used to be was the first thing he saw. The next, as he stepped down into the living room, was Tony in his suit and the broken pieces of his door.

"... Well I've no way of stopping them now you killed my door." He muttered dryly. Not amused at all. "The hell, Tony? Why're you breaking my house? What happened and why're they douchebags?"

Tony shot him a look that might have killed lesser beings. "I'm going to fix it," he practically growled. "Your friends. Why didn't you remind me Ignis was a complete lunatic who wants to write sonatas about Noct's asshole?"

The door frame was metal instead of a wooden frame, which made it much easier for him to fix. Unfortunately he'd need some concrete and maybe a few matching stone pieces to get the actual wall looking right again. He tried bending the door back into the right shape and after a loud screech, the door split into two pieces. He was about to lose his mind..

Might have killed a lesser being, but Gladio just raised a brow and dropped himself down in the love seat oposite Tony. He crossed his legs, resting his ankle on his knee and dropped a hand on top. The other he had his elbow on the arm of the chair and his cheek in his hand. He knew he shouldn't, but he was trying not to laugh.

"I thought you know?" He drawled, even though he didn't laugh it was thick in his voice. "Ignis'... talked a lot about Noct, huh?" Clearly. And clearly Tony had gone looking for the advisor, or had been unlucky to find him himself. Gladio had hoped he could have been there as a buffer for their first meeting. And he regretted that hadn't happened if this was the result.

Gladio opened his mouth to say something else when Tony just damn well shattered his door some more. He sighed. "Put it down before you turn it into sawdust."

You don't say 'Good afternoon' or 'Thank you for calling this is Ignis Scientia, how may I be of service?'? How disappointing.

[The familiar tone chuckled.]

Tony gave Gladio a very sour look and tossed the door. "Look, I get it. You four are on some big adventure that is terrible, horrible, everything sucks about it. Your rude, they're babies, boo hoo, people die. I get it. And I told him I get it. I said I heard this. Well, stop there for a second. Thank you for giving him the impression that 'train' Ignis was a horrible person who had no loyalty whatsoever and was nothing like the 'real' Ignis. You seem to have forgotten to mention to that dipshit that we had a daughter together- a daughter you and all your idiot friends loved! But she's in good company since I wasn't mentioned either. I'm glad I made such a huge impression on you."

With a growl of frustration, he aimed his hand at the door and straight up blasted it. He took a deep breath. "That's callous. You know I don't really mean that. It is important people you love got hurt and some people died. I'm not.. that's not my point. I don't understand why it was so important that he had to give me all the details I may have missed about your saga. It came out who I was to 'train' Ignis and all he asked was if I was dead or not in my world then off he went talking about your fucktard king again."

Oh no, Gladio who had been almost amused before, was slowly feeling very cold. He's started to slowly sit up. Anger simmered under the surface as he listened to Tony rage on. Slowly he began to tap on his ankle. Counting. Doing his best not to get up and punch the other man. His door was already a wreck he didn't need to demolish the rest of his damn house. But he was getting seriously pissed off. Even after the 'apology', Gladio was not feeling too forgiving.

But he took a slow, deep breath before he uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, arms draped across his knees. His gaze was steady but there was no hiding the fact that he wasn't happy.

"Lets start at the top, huh? Don't ever try and diminish the things that happened in my world, Stark. I'd never dream of doing that to you. Our worlds are different, you know that. But the pains the damn same. So you quit that now." A sigh. "As for Ignis... You see him through rose coloured glasses. My experience was he kept us at arms length. He pushed me and Prompto away at every turn. Noct less so. But me? Yeah. I never said he wasn't loyal. That man was loyal to a fault, but he was changed. His family wasn't us anymore. Maybe I didn't tell him about you, but I told others. I didn't tell this world's Iggy because I didn't know how he'd react to 'hey, you were engaged and had a teen daughter as well'. Don't know about you but that shit can be confusing if you've not lived through it." Like himself. Learning of the things he'd done. Being judged for those things. Sometimes it was better not to know. And no, he hadn't thought it was important for Ignis to know since it had no bearing on him. It wouldn't change anything.

[ That's a voice he wasn't expecting to hear, considering how they parted last time around. ]

Ah, Tony.

[ Have a surprised sounding Ignis answering back. He's moving back to the sink, grasping the phone in one hand and reaching for the pot for the other hand, shaking out the water that's leftover in there. He's using his hearing here to hear the drops. ]

What do I owe the pleasure of this call?

He held up a hand as he conceded the point, nodding at Gladio's angry words. He deserved that and he knew it had been wrong to say as he was saying it. Sometimes his mouth just ran away with him.

"I won't. You're right, I was wrong." Yes, he really did just say that freely. However, he folded his arms over his metal chest. "That's what makes things so complicated. I hadn't told anyone this but.." He looked out at remains of the door, basically just for something neutral to glare at. "I was about to break up with him and then he vanished. I hadn't stopped loving him.. it just.. There was something wrong with how he kept you three at arms length and I couldn't do anything about it. We argued about how he wouldn't get involved with the train and others all the time. The only ones he wanted anything to do with were Madoka and I."

He decided before he did something else stupid, he should get out of his suit. So he let it fall away. "But.. he wanted me to know the story so bad. I don't understand it. He'd figured out who I was to- yes, a different version of him- but.. I'm nothing to this man. He doesn't know anything about me and doesn't want to apparently. It makes sense but.. at least you're still someone to Prompto and Noct. I'm the guy who yelled at him at the cat cafe and didn't care about his 'how I got blind and I love my prince' story. Shit, he really talks about Noct a lot doesn't he? Did he always do that?"

[He didn't blame Ignis for being surprised. He'd really lost his shit the other day and only part of it had been warranted. He'd even be willing to take the larger share of the blame, though not all of it.]

I have something of yours and I was hoping I could stop by sometime and drop it off. Would you be willing to see me again? We can keep it brief if you'd like.

[And by yours, he means, a gift from Tony to Ignis.]

He'd take it. It was as close to an apology as he was ever likely to get. And for Tony Stark to admit he was wrong, it was a big deal. So Gladio nodded and let that slide. For now.

Though Tony's next words were something of a bombshell. Except... not completely. They had broken up once before and Gladio had stupidly tried to get involved. He'd thought things had gotten better but clearly they hadn't. And that made him feel bad. Maybe he shouldn't have tried to get involved like he had...?

"He was very... single-minded. Highly focused on certain things. And those things were you and Madoka. And Noct and his duty. Everything else fell to the wayside unless he needed us for something." Him. Him for something. He couldn't remember Ignis ever going to Prompto for anything and that had pissed the Shield off to no end.

"I can't speak for the Ignis here though. I guess he's got that hyper-focus too and needed to say something no matter what. But why that..." Gladio leaned back some, frowning. It was bad enough that when he'd showed up everyone seemed to know his name, they at least didn't seem to know the details of his world. He was shocked that Ignis would spill about that though... "Yeah, your Ignis talked about Noct a lot. He said some messed up things, Tony. Or did you forget how pissed off you where when you first met me?"

He came inside and sat down, finally calm enough to do so. He nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. He made it sound like he was a slave to this tyrant who didn't let him have a childhood or even consider another life. I thought the three of you were used him like your donkey and maid, not your brother."

He looked down at his hands and sighed. "But Gladio.. this Ignis said something fucked up too." He met his friend's gaze now. "It's something that was mentioned a few times back on the train but I didn't fully piece things together till now. Did he tell you about the version of you that hurts him by trying to send him away? They've got that all wrong and so do you."

"And you've spoken to Regis now. Does he seem like a tyrant to you?" Spend five minutes with the man and that answer would be as clear as day, Gladio thought. And he hoped that now Tony saw the truth for what it was. Maybe they had been forced into the lives they had, by circumstances or by lineage, but he knew none of them would change it for the world.

Slowly Gladio sat back. He didn't sigh this time, but he came close. "Yeah. They all told me." Of course they had. Just as Prom and Noct had back on the train. He'd already known. But they'd been quicker to forgive him there. Here...

"What've we gotten wrong, Stark?" He asked quietly, curious. What was he getting at?

"No, he doesn't. I just wish we could've.. I wish it would've gone differently." It was his mistake for approaching Ignis. "I know there was something wrong with him, but I would've given anything to help make it better for him. I sure hope Prompto can with this one."

Tony sat forward, wanting to somehow get the next thing he had to saw through that very thick skull of his dear friend. "You were right." Did he hear that? Did that compute? "You were right to want a blind person who couldn't fight to be somewhere safe instead of on a battlefield where he would've gotten hurt and possibly killed. He could've gotten someone else killed. It's not your fault he went blind and it sucks that he did. It sucks you had to be the one to say it. But someone had to and thank god at least one of his friends had the balls to do it. He had the audacity to tell me he questioned whether you had his back or the others. Do you see how messed up that is?"

Gladio's smile was slow, damn near gentle and infinitely sad as he listened to Tony. And when he was done, he shrugged. A single shoulder rose and then fell.

"I know I was right." Of course he did. He'd probably have said it again, he'd probably say the same thing now if the shit hit the fan and this world descended into chaos. "I know what he thinks. But he forgets my duty. Mine is to protect. And yeah, maybe that's Noct on paper, but I like to think it means I get to protect the people I love. My family. My friends."

"If I'd had time to train him I'd have been happy havin him at my side, blind or not. But... yeah. I think Iggy probably should have hung back. I can't imagine I'd have been able to fight fully if I had to worry about Noct losin his shit and Ignis gettin hurt because he can't see a monster sneaking up behind him." But why that put into question his loyalty, Gladio didn't know. To him it showed the most love he could. If he hadn't cared it wouldn't have mattered if he got hurt or not...

"The thing I regret. The thing I apologise for... is my temper. That's the thing that gets me. I could have just talked to them but I didn't." Emotions were high on all sides, from what he understood. He hadn't been immune to that. "If I get to choose, I'd do that differently. But I'd still want them to be safe... No matter what."

Tony watched Gladio's face confused and as he spoke, his expression shifted from confused to sad. He was relieved that the young man at least understood this much, but it hurt too to hear it didn't matter.

"You're in your twenties and you're in over your head. You were raised to be a fighter, not a diplomat. You might have mouthed off but your friends should've forgiven you and it's wrong that they hold it against you. You now and you then are not bad men. You're a good, loyal brother that they are lucky to have. And I let Ignis have the last say and I will let you have the last say some other time- like about the fact I fucked up your door and owe you money- but you can't here. I'm right and you just have to trust me."

... Alright, I'd assume you know where Gladio lives. I'm not far from there.

[ Have some... handwaved directions, Tony. ]

Gladio raised a brow, sadness becoming mild amusement. "Did I ever come across as someone who needed the last word? I know when I'm right and I know when I'm wrong. And I know who I can trust."

A low huff of a laugh and he leaned on the arm of the chair again, his head falling onto his hand. "I told you you're right, Stark. What more do you want from me?"

I certainly should. I live with him. I'll be there in a few.

[He disconnected with a brief laugh and within ten minutes, he walked up the path to Ignis' door. He took a breath and hoped this would go better than the last time. He raised his hand and knocked.

When the door opened, Tony was standing there with a sweet, but familiar cake in hand.]

A little bit of a smile curled the end of his lips but his eyes remained serious. "I need you to believe it. I know how important those boys are to you and if they've questioned your reliability even for a second, it must be killing you. They're wrong, not you. And now.. I'll get off your case."

He sighed and sat back. "I really didn't mean to break your door. Is there somewhere I can get some sheet metal until I can get a replacement? Also if we're done with you're issue can we get back to mine?"

[ He's happy to hear that honestly, that Gladio has someone else there with him. He knows that the Shield has been struggling lately.

Since Ebony is out of the question, he quickly finishes up in the kitchen and moves to the couch. He's been on that walk before so he knows how long it might take.

When he hears the knock, he's up on his feet, moving to answer the door. ]

Tony.

[ He steps aside and gestures from him to come inside and towards the shoe pile near the door. House rule sir. ]

... Is that what I think it is? [ He knows that smell. ]

"Right again. It does. It hurts. But all I can do is way for them to realise on their own." He could try and talk to them again, and again and again, he could lose his temper and rage until they realise how serious he was. But that would defeat the purpose. No, all he could really do was wait and hope for the best. He could show them, little-by-little that he could still be trusted. That whatever memories they had of him were wrong.

Or he'd just keep his hurt with him.

"There's workshops... And hey, you're the one who started this. I was happy being angry and telling you what a dick you were. But sure, tell me more about why you were angry enough to bust down the door of the only house I've ever owned." Gladio... very much sounded like he was trying not to laugh, but he was serious. He would have happily NOT had a conversation about himself if he could help it. He only had because Tony had brought it up in the first place.

[He steps in and... He opened his mouth to protest before thinking better of it. He sighed and found a spot to set the cake down to get his boots off.]

I hope so. It's still your favorite, isn't it? You wouldn't know this, but you and I got to know each other for the first time over an oversized plate of your 'mother and child rice bowl'. I thought the name was disgusting, but the flavor was excellent and you'd cooked for an army.

"Well I told Ignis that and I told him he owed you an apology." He'd tell Prompto and Noct too if and when he saw them. Even the big, muscular men have hearts and need some TLC.

Tony huffed at him for putting it that way. "I didn't permanently ruin it! Anyway, so what do I do about Ignis? Do I leave him alone or try to talk to him again or what? This is weird enough relationship crap, even I'm clueless about what to do next."

IC Inbox/ Interactions 2.0

Hugs: Nalom 16- shortly after speaking with Ignis

Feb. 18th [Voice - In-Person Later]

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