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If only he knew Tony hated this also.

It was like the only time he could fully and truly be free was during sex. It was then that he could stop pretending he wasn't crazy for Gladio and could let a word or two slip in passion that he wouldn't be allowed with anywhere else. It'd be just like the first time they'd slept together when he'd felt the strength of their connection and Gladio hadn't thought it had meant anything at all. It had broken his heart to know he'd gotten that good at hiding it.

He was white knuckling it, like watching someone you were madly in love with marry a best friend. You might be super happy for them, but a part of your heart would be dying. All the while, he also had to believe Gladio either didn't know or was being kind to not shoot him down.

The bar. That was where he could put all his energy and created something positive that had nothing to do with their drama. At least, unless they were in a room together trying not to talk about sex.

He flashed Gladio an apologetic smile. "Right." He knew what he really did want though. "Guess, I just have you on the brain today. Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. I'm kinda irresistible." He joked, grinning widely at his friend. But then, before Tony could say anything, he pushed himself to his feet and dusted his hands off on his pant legs.

"How bout we call it quits today? Send the guys home. I'll make dinner. Or we can stop by Affurgato's if you wanna be lazy." Gladio was still smiling, a little hope in his voice, because he felt like a lazy rest of the day was exactly what they needed. Maybe he'd even persuade Tony to join him for a soak in the tub?

Tony laughed, nodding his agreement. He would never deny the man that title. Glancing around the room, he had the impulse he always did that if they held out a little longer they could get another chunk of the work done, but.. that was just the workaholic's siren's call.

"Alright." He pulled off his dusty work gloves and unhooked his heavy tool belt. He groaned as he stretched, setting it down. He wondered if he had the energy to go over to the hot springs tonight. He did have some hot oil. Would Gladio feel up to that tonight? Hmm.

"Too bad there's not a nice steak house here or seafood.." Meat. Basically any good, fresh, real meat. With a sigh, he came over and tucked his arm around Gladio's waist. "Did you know sometimes the gods around here just give people gifts? I heard they give people baskets with food from home- like we used to have to order back on the train."

There was no real need to put anything away, no one was likely to steal anything at all. He started moving toward Tony, then stopped when his friend joined him instead. Gladio smiled at the arm around him and would have lifted his own to drop around Tony's shoulders if he wasn't filthy.

"I'd heard they do that. Guess if we pray really hard maybe they'll give us something to?" And probably touch each other up. The gods liked that, right?

Tony was protective of his tools. So after, he set them down and turned his attention to Gladio, Friday finished packing them up. For them, the instant that belt was off, it was out of Tony's mind. He was fully focused on the large man standing in front of him instead.

"Is praying and scrubbing the same thing? I feel like I have at least three inches of grime on me," he joked, looking down at his arms. "And.. we can grab just any dinner at Affurgato that you'd like or we could pick up the ingredients I ordered for a special dinner I was already planning to make for you. My ingredients will keep till tomorrow if you want to cook, darling."

"You were plannin on cooking? Well don't let me stop you." He'd only offered because he hadn't realised there were plans. But if Tony wanted to cook then he was more than happy to let him.

"Is it somethin that needs attention? Or something we can shove in and get clean while it cooks?" Because, like Tony, he was covered in a layer of filth that he wanted to get off. A quick shower would be just as good as a soak in the tub if food was on the line.

Tony smiled at him. He hadn't said anything because he had been wanting to treat his roommate. "There's a baking time, so we'll make it work," he promised. "It won't be quite long enough though, so maybe we could compromise and do a quick shower to get the dirt and then soak this hard work off of us afterward."

He really loved the memory of the bath they'd shared and was eager for a repeat. In fact, there were a number of things they did that he'd like to keep repeating. "I didn't plan dessert though, so if you want that we'll have to get one of Affurgato's cakes."

Gladio got them walking after slipping an arm around Tony's waist as well, his hand resting lazily on the man's hip.

"I think, if I'm gettin a shower, I'll skip the bath. Maybe just chill on the couch?" Tomorrow he could get a bath. But tonight he wanted whatever meal Tony had wanted to prepare. By the sound of it it was something he'd given some thought to. And as for dessert... "Yeah, we'll stop by and pick something up."

And that's exactly what they did. They swung by Affurgato's and grabbed two slices of cake to go and headed on home, picking Tony's things up on the way. Gladio was good, he didn't ask any questions even though he was dying to know what Tony was planning on cooking. But he'd be surprised when it was done and he was sure to love it.

Once they got home, Gladio left Tony to his prep work and took his shower first. He didn't take long, just long enough to scrub himself clean and wash his hair. When he was out, he called down to Tony that the shower was free and headed to his room to dry and get changed.

Tony might have insisted more on that bath, but something about Gladio's arm going around him simply had the older man looking up at him with a warm smile. "Whatever you'd like." See? He didn't have to have it his way all the time. With how tired they often were after a full day at the work zone, they didn't need too much variety in the evening. Wherever they could hangout together and relax was the main criteria.

As they picked up his ingredients and the cake from Affurgato, Tony managed not to ruin the pleasant mood with jokes about making Gladio his dessert with a can of whipped cream. Really the only pseudo-naughty thing he did was kiss him breathless before letting his roommate go shower.

When Gladio came downstairs, Tony had peeled off his outer layer of clothes and given himself a very quick wipe down with a towel before getting into cooking. It was perfectly normal to cook in your briefs right?

There was a sauce pan simmering, kicking up the most delicious soy-garlic-mirin aroma. Something in the oven was also adding other meaty notes. Tony flashed Gladio a grin. "The chicken has twelve minutes left and this sauce needs stirred every few minutes. Will you have that covered while I clean up a bit more?"

Once Gladio left his room he found Tony hadn't yet come up. Curious, he headed downstairs to find his roommate in the kitchen in not much at all. Gladio probably should have been surprised, but he'd realised quite early on that nothing really surprised him about Tony. He just shook his head and wandered on over.

He'd opted for pyjama's. Dark green pants and a lighter green shirt, unopened, as was his way. His feet were bare and his hair pulled back in a damp ponytail. Strands of damp hair hung around his face that couldn't be contained by the hairtie. His clothes should have been black and dark gray. Just like his hair should have been brown. But even that was shades of green still. He really would be happy when these messed up colours went away.

"Twelve minutes. Go now and get washed up." Gladio reached passed Tony and took the spoon to take over starring the sauce.

Edited 2021-03-30 23:38 (UTC)

Tony had planned on coming up when he'd been called, but he'd gotten carried away. He was enjoying Gladio's rendition of the Green Man. After he quit getting migraines from the brightness of the white buildings, he'd enjoyed the spring weirdness a lot more. He didn't have much in the way of hair, but Gladio did and.. well, the man looked pretty!

He was as quick as he could be, given how filthy he was. It put him coming downstairs in vibrant purple sweatpants, pink socks, and yellow sleeveless shirt. He had no idea what this outfit's original color was but he hoped Gladio would be amused with it.

"Hey thanks, Gladdy," he said, giving the other man a quick kiss as he checked on everything. The chicken was done so he pulled that out and slowly started assembling their bowls. "I figured if I couldn't get you cup noodles then I owed you the next best thing."

While Tony was gone, Gladio dutifully remained where he was stirring the sauce. He did have a little taste, he couldn't help it, and it was pretty damn good. When Tony came back to take over, he grinned both at the kiss and his friends outfit. At least his own clothes where just green. A lot of people seemed to have gotten the rainbow treatment.

Gladio stepped back and pulled out one of the kitchen chairs to drop himself down into. "You don't owe me anything, Tony. But this is a nice surprise. And it smells amazing."

There was one common spice to this kind of dish that was notably left out, just because Tony's awesome like that.

He flashed Gladio a playful grin at the correction. "Hmm, well then you owe me now. How convenient." He chuckled and poured two glasses of rice wine. "We'll have to thank Wei tonight for this. He's the one who introduced me to this particular type of rice wine. Fortunately Affurgato had a couple extra that needed a good home now that he'd left the city."

He joined his roommate after serving them and turning off the stove. He raised his glass in a quick cheers for Wei before digging in.

Gladio just rolled his eyes. Sure, he owed Tony, if that's how he wanted to see it.

While the wine was poured, Gladio covered a yawn with his hand, and smiled hen Tony offered him a glass. The smile turned a little sad at the mention of Wuxian. He missed that guy. He'd not been around long at all... So he was more than happy to give his missing friend a brief toast before he took a sip of sake. It was really damn good.

After that it was just settling down to enjoy the meal Tony had prepared. And, he had to admit, it was even better than a Cup Noodle, though they still had a special place in his heart. There was just something about a homecooked meal that tasted even better. And Tony had a talent for it.

Tony laughed, humored by Gladio's expression. He wasn't being serious with any of this. He didn't care who owed who as long as they had what they needed and were both happy. Still, it was fun to play with the gentle giant.

As they moved from the dining table to the couch with their cake, Tony listened attentively to an amusing story about a family dinner made by Iris gone wrong and how they had to eat it anyway to keep her from crying.

"Sometimes Morgan liked to help with dinner too, but she preferred waiting till we were baking sweets. I usually let her but every once in a while- kind of like Iris there- it was just a little too complicated for her and you had to make a choice between doing the dish correctly or dealing with bruising her feelings. There's a reason why we ate spaghetti and like.. two other dishes for a month when she just turned four."

Another glass of sake in his hand and the cake on a small plate, Gladio headed over to the couch, laughing to himself at the memory. Iris had tried so hard, she'd told himself and Jared that they couldn't help her no matter what. The meal had been a special one, for their fathers birthday. Iris had been determined. And in the end she'd done her very best... And so had they to try and eat it. It had been awful and Iris knew it, but they'd ate it anyway and praised her.

The next time she tried she allowed them to help. It was a lesson learned and, luckily, she did get better over time.

It was as he was sitting down that Tony started to talk. Gladio took a sip of his drink before setting it down on the coffee table and sitting back to listen. Then he smiled. "That's cute. Just a shame when they have to grow up like that and try and take over the kitchen. They should stay little and sweet so we can dote on them forever."

It was easy to picture Gladio's little sister being so brave and independent. As a parent you both loved those moments and they broke your heart. As much as you want them to grow up, it's so hard to let go.

Tony went quiet for a few moments as he thought about that. His expression often bittersweet whenever he spoke of his family but, it warmed further now to a brighter grin. "She always will be that age to me." His gaze rose to meet Gladio. "I finally found a positive side!" It wasn't much, but hey, he'd take it! "Sorry, I don't mean to bring them up so much."

"Guess that's a dad's prerogative. She'll always be your little girl." And it was sweet. It was also reassuring to see Tony smile. It had Gladio a little on edge whenever the subject of Tony's family came up. He always looked so sad... or, worse, it sent him into a panic attack. Sometimes Gladio wondered if he should head these conversations off before they got started, but then that wouldn't have been fair to Tony.

So he was a bit surprised when the guy up and apologised.

Gladio blinked, a forkful of cake halfway to his lips. He laughed and set the fork down on his plate and reached over to gently pat Tony's knee. "You don't. If it's something you're comfortable talking about, you should talk about it."

Tony nodded. He was purposefully not thinking of what the other side of that statement was. The grief would come around some other time soon enough without him having to chase it.

He licked some frosting off his fork and gave his friend a lopsided, but grateful smile. "That's sweet of you, but you don't need to do that. I know it must be uncomfortable for you. Ignis hated it when I brought them up. Anytime I mentioned Pepper he said I was comparing them and imply where he was falling short." He sighed. It seemed rather ridiculous that anyone who knew Tony for longer than an hour would think he'd imply anything instead of outright say it. Sometimes, it was just nice to remember their stories.

Gladio had managed a few bites of his cake before Tony managed to annoy him. At least, it was more Ignis who had annoyed him than anything.

"The hell...?" He leaned forward and put his plate down on the coffee table so he could twist around and look at Tony, giving the man is full and complete attention. "You're comparing me to him, now. And that's annoying. Have I ever givin you any reason to think I didn't want you talking about Pepper or your kid?" He asked with an unhappy frown. Gladio didn't sound angry, even though he said he was. He sounded... a little hurt. Did Tony really think he was that insecure, that shallow that he'd resent him talking about someone he loved?

Tony's eyebrows rose in surprise when Gladio set his plate down and turned to face him. Unsure what he'd done, he followed suit and frowned as his roommate started talking.

His jaw dropped open as he sat there stunned. "I was trying to be considerate. I wasn't.. we haven't ever talked about it. The last person I was with besides Ignis, I was with for over ten years. So he's the only one I've had any recent experience dating or whatever. If you haven't noticed, I'm not that good at treating people well. I'm trying though.. with you. I thought I was being respectful."

The first several things that came to Gladio's mind right then he had to push aside. He had to resist pointing out to Tony that they weren't 'together'. They weren't a couple. There was no need for him to treat him right or respectfully. They were just friends, right? Weird friends, but they were friends...

"Tony..." He started carefully, calmly. "... I've noticed how you treat your friends and you treat them well. And as for me. I'm the kinda guy who'd expect you to be considerate and respectful to Pepper and your kid over anyone else. You were with her so long..." Gladio sighed. "My only problem, the only one, is when talking about them hurts you. Or sets of an attack. If you ever want to tell me about them, Tony, I'm here to listen."

They were.. something. True, he didn't know what. He knew what he couldn't call them but to say they were merely friends was also incomplete. Sometimes he wished Gladio would take the lead here and insist they be more than what Tony was allowing himself to offer. The other man hadn't and had accepted the terms given early on.

It was surprisingly liberating to hear Gladio didn't mind him talking about his past. The issue the Shield had was perfectly reasonable but sadly not one Tony could do a whole lot about. He set his plate on the coffee table next to Gladios and moved closer so he could curl against the larger man's side.

"I wish it didn't hurt too. Just when I think I've come to terms with it, something catches me off guard and knocks me down. It isn't helping that this mess with Era happened and I'm rationing the anxiety medicine I have left." He shook his head and sighed. He was so grateful Gladio was there and maybe he didn't really owe the younger man special dinners or treats, but it was the thank you he couldn't find words for.

"I realized when I was with Ignis that it was possible to love more than one person. It doesn't cheapen my love to Pepper to also love him. Some things are different and sometimes I want to talk about those memories but it was never to make him feel bad or judged. Remember when we were sharing all of our Earth holiday traditions? The idiot couldn't have been more jealous," he breathed a laugh. That young fool would always have a piece of his heart, but he was satisfied that chapter was closed.

He looked up at Gladio then. "How have you been feeling lately about your boys from the train?"

In truth, Gladio might have taken the lead. At any number of points over the last two months he could have shaken Tony and demanded to know what the fuck was going on... but he didn't. And the reason was plain and simple. Tony Stark. The reason he said nothing was because he had no idea what Tony wanted. Some days he thought it was him and sometimes he believed Tony was happy just being what they were. And then there were moments like this. His issues where so far reaching, Gladio knew he could handle them if he was given the opportunity to, but Tony needed to let him. The idiot bottled it all up. Kept them all hidden from him because of... what? He felt he wasn't worthy? He was damaged? He'd messed up with Ignis so he didn't deserve to be with anyone? It was all bullshit and one day Gladio vowed to tell Tony just that. But until that time came he would bide his time and wait, and deal with these little pieces and hints that he was given.

He was still and quiet as he watched his friend set his cake aside and slide on up to him.

It was an easy thing to curl his arm around Tony's shoulders, drawing him closer, keeping him tight to his side. Tony kept talking and, just like that, suddenly things became clearer to him. Ignis.. had been jealous. Clearly he had been, but it also explained so very much more about his behaviour. The way he had been so single minded about Tony, the way he had almost forgotten that he and Prompto had even existed in favour of Tony and his 'new life'. He'd been possessive and he'd been jealous in a way that made Gladio feel a little ill to realise.

Because he knew he could be like that. He knew he could be possessive. And he knew he could be jealous. But he also knew that it was not to the same dangerous levels as Ignis had been. Because clearly Ignis had been unable to control his emotions. Maybe because it was his first time actually being in a relationship? Maybe it was the ghost of Pepper that had sent Ignis into a tailspin. For whatever reason, Gladio was understanding some of his actions on the Train a little better now. They where still unforgivable, but at least he could make sense of them.

"... I miss them." He replied after a long moment. Gladio leaned back a bit and closed his eyes. "Some days a little less than others. Sometimes it hurts so much I can barely move." He hesitated... voice quieted. "It's grief I feel. I'll never see them again, Tony. The people here aren't them. If we ever return home, it won't be them either. They're gone. I'll always love them. But they were a dream I've woken up from."

Tony didn't understand how Gladio could handle his issues when they kept nearly drowning the man of iron. He was fighting to be as okay as he appeared not to fool his roommate but because he really wanted to be okay. Fake it till you make it? He was a mess and always had been. The few moments like this were when he succeeded in figuring out how to break through enough of his own mental obstacles to be real.

There was more to that jealousy. There had been suspicion of Tony's actions and constant reaffirming their commitment. There had been pressure from the start to barrel forward with the relationship at breakneck speed despite Tony voicing concerns he wasn't ready. There was a reason he'd reacted so strongly to the emotional manipulation he'd recognized in Era.

In light of all that, he was still here trying on some level to connect with Gladio.

Tony frowned sadly, knowing exactly what his friend was saying. He slipped his hand in a larger one and gently brought Gladio's knuckles to his lips. "I wish there was a way I could bring them back to you." If he could trade his place for even one of theirs so Gladio could have his dream back, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

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