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He'd started the day in a jacket, short-tee, long-tee, and jeans. By three in the afternoon, Tony had stripped down to his tank top, and even that had a sprinkling of sweat. For someone who had joked initially about hiring people to do everything, he was showing off that the toolbelt, thick work gloves, and sledgehammer he'd been carrying around weren't just for show.

Tony had a vision. He had an energy about him that hadn't been there in months. Tearing down walls, busting out old pipes and circuit boards, tearing up blocks of concrete, and shoveling out large buckets full of the sludge the chocolate rain had turned into. That was the current project anyway.

As his shovel scrapped along the current building's foundation, Tony lifted the load of chocolatey debris and carried it to the barrel they were using as a trash can. He paused, catching his breath and watching Gladio for a moment. "I just had a fun idea about the bathroom walls. You know how people are always writing stuff in public restrooms, like their names or curse words or whatever. What if we put up chalkboard paint so people could do that without ruining our dry wall?"

"All you'll get are a lot of dicks." Gladio called over after he paused in what he was doing to consider Tony's words.

He could see it now. With all the best intentions in the world, all anyone would use them for would be lewd drawings. At least in the men's bathroom. He had to imagine that women where a little more refined than that, but hey, he could be wrong there as well!

Gladio leaned against his own shovel and looked over at Tony. Unlike the older man, Gladio had just removed his shirt completely, there wasn't a single point to it. But like Tony, he'd been working just as hard to achieve his friends vision, working as directed and doing a fair bit of the heavy lifting. It was a good work out if nothing else.

Tony busted out laughing at that answer. He could see it too! This whole wall full of dicks. "So is that a yes?" He laughed a little harder before finally calming himself down.

He stretched his muscles, loving that he was getting to use them again. "Hey were you ever into my yoga classes?"

"Your idea, you're dealin with em." Gladuo shot back with a wide grin, amused by Tony's laughter. He seemed in good spirits which made him happy. Getting to work on a project like this really seemed to be something Tony had needed. And it was one Gladio could take part in too. Technology and the kind of brains needed to use it was far beyond anything Gladio could do. But this? Physical labour? That he could do and gladly.

"Can't say I was." He leaned off of his shovel for a second, head cocked in thought. "Can't say I did much back then, really. Spent most of my time with the plants."

Tony had to admit, as much as he loved his brainy, technology parts of a project, there was something so satisfying about twisting a gigantic bolt or breaking down a wall. You needed both in your life and this wonderful activity- a bar of all places- was fulfilling both of those. Besides, it wasn't so bad seeing Gladio doing his 'I'm Fabio the beefcake gladiator' routine.

"We should start doing that- you and I. It's a great way to work out and keep a handle on stress. It would be a good option instead of doing that morning run, at least for a while." He was still building back up to that. It wasn't necessarily even physically but mentally with running again. "And speaking of plants.. what were some of your favorites there at on the train?"

"You want me to do yoga? Yoga?" Him? Seriously? Gladio... really wanted to laugh. "I think I'll pass. But maybe you could start another class and get people intere... Hold up." He held up a hand as if he could actually hold back anything Tony was going to say, stalling him so he could think.

Gladio's eyes narrowed a little as he considered Tony, looking him up and down as if sizing him up. His lips twitched, trying hard not to smile and, in the end, failing miserably. "I've a better idea. Cor used to make me do something called 'kata'. Maybe I could teach you?"

Tony gave Gladio a sour look for that.

"I want you to stop doing that," Tony said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You dismiss my ideas frequently without considering them or asking me anything more about them. You just look like you want to laugh them off. I know you don't like trying anything new, but at least give me the respect of hearing me out first. I don't do that to you."

And because he was just too curious not too. "What's 'kata'?"

"I know where my strengths lie, Tony. I don't dismiss any idea with merit." He never had and he never would, but since he'd been called out, Gladio moved to set his shovel down and went and sat his ass down to give Tony his full attention.

"Tell me more about your yoga idea." He'd listen, he'd keep an open mind, but he also knew what his answer would be. Gladio hadn't taken part in those classes but he'd seen enough of them to know they hadn't been for him. He wasn't that damn flexible and there where better ways to humiliate himself than that.

Tony wanted to say no, because he could see that stubborn lift of Gladio's jaw but.. he also had some faith in his persuasive abilities.

"Yoga is about strength both physical and mental. It helped me when I was recovering.. what I told you about with Pyra several weeks back. I know what you are probably picturing since you said 'no' so fast. Those whacky people who can turn into a human pretzel, right? That's not what I'm talking about. I did it with Pepper and I did it every morning with Ignis. It's.."

Bonding. He realized where he was going with the argument a little too late. Hmm. He hadn't meant to travel in that direction. He rubbed his hand over his beard.

"What's kata?"

"Similar, but based on combat." Gladio replied. He'd listened and he'd sighed and followed it with a nod. "But fine, we can do that..."

It might not been the best of ideas to line him up as another 'notch on his yoga pole' but Gladio wasn't going to dwell on that. If it was something that made Tony happy, then he was willing. "... But if you try any of that pretzel stuff to embarrass me, I'm just straight up kicking your ass. Deal?"

"Oh, we have something called 'Tai Chi' that's a bit of both." Maybe that was some way they could compromise. He glanced around and since he didn't see anyone, he set his shovel down.

He gave Gladio a smirk and walked up to him, running his hands along his sweaty, dirty arms and around his shoulders. He pressed a kiss to his lips. "Just trust me, Gladdy. You know I've got your back too. I learned my lesson." He leaned back in and stole one more kiss.

"Tai Chi?" He didn't know that one, but a mix of both could definitely be more Gladio's speed. If Tony was willing to teach him.

He remained where he was, sitting on the half broken down wall, watching his friend approach with an amused look. Did he want to try here or something? Or... no, no Tony was just being Tony. And that was fine. Gladio smiled at the kiss and hooked an arm around the older man's waist, pulling him in closer. "I trust you." And he did. With his life. And maybe... Gladio leaned in and caught Tony's lips in another kiss, deeper, more demanding.

Tony pressed closer, finding himself incredibly turned on in a matter of seconds. It never failed with Gladio. His hand slipped into his hair and ran his nails lightly along his sweaty scalp. He had intended on leaning in for a quick nibble, but he never could pull away with so little. He moaned, a muffled, soft sound against Gladio's lips.

His mind raced through the property thinking of where would be the best place to hook up. His hand slipped down against a perfect chest and down to the most amazing abs. His fingers managed to touch Gladio's jeans before he realized he heard someone.

Gladio honestly didn't know how or why this kept happening and why they kept letting it. But he knew he would. Knew he would keep letting it happen now matter how much it hurt in the end, no matter how much each kiss or each touch chipped away a little at his heart. It was broken already, a few more cracks wouldn't hurt. But for the moment, those seconds, minutes or hours where he was with Tony, the cracks where harder to see.

So he chased that moan, let the kiss become heated as his hands dropped to grab his friends ass and pull him flush against his chest... just as he heard the same thing as Tony.

There was a part of him that wanted to say fuck it and carry on kissing the man. He wasn't ashamed. Another part wanted to just yell out and tell whoever it was to back off... But in the end he gave a low, breathless little laugh and moved his hands from Tony's ass to his hips and gently pushed him away. "... Wrong time and place. We'd be the talk of the town."

Tony wanted to know what was going on in the other man's heart. He normally wasn't the best at this and now it was even more confusing. There had to be more than just what he was feeling though, if Gladio kept kissing him back, right? He was afraid to commit to that conclusion and then be made a fool when he was wrong. However, how could he see any other reason when he was being so clearly desired?

Whoever had made that sound, Tony wanted their head on a platter. He loved it when Gladio got possessive and held him like that. However, there'd just be another person going by soon enough. They had too many helpers not to get caught and he didn't want to do that to the other man.

He nodded in agreement, reluctant to take that last step away. "Yeah, it is. Raincheck?" He asked, with a wink. He returned to his boom right as one of the young adults came down the steps to ask a question. Tony answered, but his gaze kept returning to Gladio till they went away.

As he scooped up another shovel full of sludge and carried it back to the waste bucket, he remarked, "We need to come up with some ground rules at the bar. If we let all of our friends drink and eat for free we'll never make any money. What if we make the agreement that we pick five people each who get the 'family discount'?"

Edited 2021-03-24 17:43 (UTC)

"Raincheck." Maybe. The mood was gone, whether it would come back or not, who knew? But he was definitely quieter now, just watching Tony deal with the questions before he finally pulled himself up to go back to work. Work was good for helping to shut off his brain. If he kept going, kept pushing himself, he'd be too tired to be able to do more than fall into bed tonight. No laying awake wondering...

"Think there'll be some overlap, but sure. Maybe certain days could be cheaper than others? Happy hour? Ladies night." Gladio grinned. "We'll make the money. Maybe we need to think about juices and stuff as well as the alcoholic drinks?"

Silly man, did he really think the mood would stay gone? Watching Gladio strut around here like that all day was a promise Tony was going to come to collect on. Besides, who didn't love morning sex?

Anyway..

"Cool, I get Pyra, Reggie, Prompto, Aerith, and..." He paused to think. He knows he's forgetting someone. "Mina's only 16, she's too young to even be at the bar." What could he say? The girl grew on him.

Gladio just looked over at Tony with a raised brow, waiting for a few seconds for him to readjust his choices. But when he didn't... "You get Prompto and Regis...?" While he was pretty sure Tony had just picked people he had yet to piss off, Gladio couldn't help feeling a little... unamused that the asshole had picked two of the five people from his world that he called family. But, he'd also said there would be overlap. And aside from the last two...

"Not sure I like this game." He decided and went back to shovelling up debris.

"But so long as we don't serve an underage kid alcohol I don't see why they can't go in the bar. That's why I said we should think about juices. Maybe soda's." They'll be selling food, after all. And have some games, if Tony got his way. People would want to come in and the money of a 16 year old was just as good as the money of a 60 year old.

Tony flashed him a grin, but paused when he saw the younger man was having a much different reaction to this conversation than he'd thought. He tilted his head a bit and frowned unsure what was going through his friend's mind.

He glanced toward the doorway where they been interrupted before, but decided he couldn't approach again like he wanted to. "Hey, I just thought our family was obvious so we should split them. If you only get five people you should get to have a couple friends, not just the people from back home. I'm not really 'claiming' them. We can call it our top ten instead. Regis, Pyra, Prompto, Noct, Ignis, and.. is Ardyn in the inner circle or not? I can't tell. He seems to be with Regis, but we've never talked about him- a different time though. I'm more interested in what's going on in that lovely, little head of yours."

He could see the reasoning behind juice and sodas for those under 18. He was onboard with the idea too... but maybe he liked Mina and would probably sneak her a few things here and there, but overall, she was paying.

"It's not important. But Ardyn should be included, yeah. Luna too. Suppose we should leave it at that. Bar named Insomnia, makes sense the people from Insomnia get discounts." He laughed a bit as he carried on shovelling... But he also knew hedging wouldn't fly too well with Tony. Knew he was moments from being called out. So he sighed, not looking over, just carrying on with his work.

"... I just realised that I've been keepin to myself since coming here is all." His pool of friends had narrowed considerably. From a dozen or more to... just the people who where near obligated to be his friend. Once the bar was finished, he knew he'd have to make more of an effort in this world. Closing himself off wasn't going to help anyone.

"So.. seven and employees? How very biblical of you." Tony teased lightly. When he got the inevitable weird look, he added, "Religious. It's.. an Earth thing."

Gladio knew him so well. He was just gearing up to question that remark when the other man explained. He watched his friend for a moment, with a sympathetic frown. "You've needed time to adjust. We lost a lot of people we were close to coming here. Seven people plus employees isn't that bad of a start. It's better than coming here and picking fights constantly with other people."

Definitely getting a weird look there. Another Earth thing that went over his head. Gladio was starting to wonder if that place was as crazy as it seemed.

"It's tough starting over again, huh?" He commented lightly, scooping up some rubble and chocolate and depositing it in the container he was using. It was almost full so he'd have to haul it out and get rid of it soon. "Least we don't have to rush here. Nothing forced. And..." He glanced over at Tony with a small half smile. "You did come here and pick fights, you dumbass."

What Earth wasn't allowed to have religious references? He had to learn about the stupid Leviathan and Titan from Ignis. Does he have any idea how ~~cutely~~ annoying that history lesson was?

"It is," he agreed and went back to shoveling. He wondered if he detected a note of depression in Gladio's voice. He didn't like that. He would have to think of some new tactics to use over the next couple weeks to make the man feel better.

He chuckled though when he was called out. "That's why I wouldn't recommend it. It's not nearly as fun as it looks."

"It's not. Don't know why you keep doing it." Though, in a way, Gladio knew. How often did Tony annoy him? The only difference was he'd known Tony longer than anyone else, save for Feanor. And they tolerated the annoying parts because the good parts... the good parts where really good.

"Wish you'd let more people realise what a good man you are." It wasn't something he'd push, Tony would do whatever Tony wanted to do. But Gladio also understood how much stress that put him under. They should have been taking the time to relax more.

"I'm not doing it on purpose," Tony grumbled, though that didn't even sound as convincing as he wanted it to.

He dumped his shovel load into the trash can and signaled mentally for Friday to send Mark 85 down to them to dump their buckets. "What's my incentive? If they think I'm an ass, they'll leave me alone. If they think I'm a 'good man', next thing I know I'm on a medical bed and they're blowing up my one and only sanctuary. Or they're idolizing me and I let them down. Or they're asking for advice or help and I end up becoming a monster. Or they never stop questioning every little thing I do and I'm so busy re-proving myself that I miss out on time spent on things that really matter. I'd rather just.. you know, be your friend. Maybe Pyra's. I think we should buy Prompto a puppy.."

For Gladio

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