It didn't help that Tony knew. Somehow it made it worse! But Gladio... didn't really mind it so much. So long as Tony stopped equating them to female anatomy they would be just fine..

He went back to running his hand up and down Tony's back then, trying to think back to the conversation he'd had with him all those months ago.

"He was the one who gave me most of them, yeah. But he wasn't a reincarnation, Tony. He was the real deal. He'd never really died. He was... it's hard to explain." He sighed. "He was a test. It was his job to test the strength of the Royal Shields to find their worth, their strength. Not many survived. I did. But I never killed Gilgamesh. I don't think anyone really can." Like Ardyn.