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[From the feed, it's clear Tony's not the one holding the camera and as a dramatic contrast to his first message, he was smiling brightly with an excitement only a new project can bring. Aaah, spring.

Anyway, he's standing in the entertainment district with one of the old abandoned businesses behind him with a sledgehammer in his hands.]

Good morning Havenwall! For those who don't know me, I'm Tony Stark and that...., is Mr. Petunia.

[He points and the camera moves to include Gladio standing a few feet behind him with his trademark easy-going grin and a large industrial broom resting over one shoulder. He rolls his eyes and gives the camera a friendly wave and, when Tony isn't looking, flips the idiot off playfully.]

Just kidding, you dandelion, that's Gladio Amicitia!

We're here in front of what will be the new Insomnia 2.0 bar!

[Brief pause for effect.]

We're looking for some volunteers for helping us remodel this place and possibly, if you're hot and we actually can stand you, working here once it opens. Just think, the faster this bad boy gets ready, the faster we can drink and eat greasy bar food!

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"Why didn't your father challenge him? Clarus, right?" He'd been learning more about the older Shield from Regis. Tony looked up at Gladio, he seemed even more impressed than he'd sounded a moment ago. Of course, there was also a naughty little grin too. "You mean, you out lasted the 'Immortal'? I'm so going to have to brag to Reggie about that."

He wanted to ask more, but from how it sounded Gladio might not know the answers. "You're one of the strongest people I've ever met and I've met the strongest of my world. I hope that was the end of any doubting yourself."

"As the story goes, he refused because his duty was to remain at Regis' side. If he went in, who would be left to protect the King if he didn't come back out? His name was Clarus, yeah." He looked down at Tony and smiled a bit at that. "Cor got that name because he came out alive. He was only 15 I think. If he'd gone in at the age I was, maybe he would've beaten him? Who knows?"

Gladio was quiet for a moment then. The end of him doubting himself? Hardly. But it helped regain some of the confidence he'd lost after his fight with Ravus. "It proved to me that I was meant to be beside the Chosen King. And that's all that mattered at the time. I knew my place."

"Hmm. What do you think about him doing that?" Tony could've been spouting off his opinions or asking relentless questions of Gladio till he understood the situation completely, but he decided on a different approach tonight. He wanted to know what Gladio thought of his dad and his dad's actions. That was the part that mattered.

Tony sighed knowing that wasn't the same as what he'd just asked, but it was important. "I know it matters so much to you and your culture that you're there for your king. You know how I feel about both Noctis and Reggie too. But something like that should've told you about you as an individual as well. Gladdy, you're so strong and you're way more than just the Shield."

"It makes sense." Gladio replied. "I'd have felt the same way, but..." Now he sighed and closed his eyes. "There was a battle... and I lost. I took a knock to my confidence. I didn't think I was worthy enough to be Noct's Shield, so I needed to be sure. I took on the trail. Either I lost and proved I wasn't worthy or I won and there was no questions of who I was."

His eyes opened and he looked down at Tony with a warm, gentle smile. "I know I'm more than just a Shield. But I took on that trail for myself. To prove to myself more than anyone else."

Tony frowned as he listened sympathetically. He knew what it was like to lose a battle. There was the pain from whatever physical injuries dealt but the mental kind could be so much worse. For someone to take Gladio down, they must've been very powerful and could've prevented Tony from ever meeting this wonderful man.

When their eyes met, he smiled back, thinking about how grateful he was Gladio was there with him. "I understand. And I know I don't have a firm grasp of everything that entails or the history around it, but I'm proud of you."

"Means a lot to hear ya say that." And it did. His dad was gone. Cor had said he was proud of him. No one else. Not that he'd done it for praise, he would have gone his whole life without recounting the story if needs be. Gladio wasn't boasting. But knowing that someone out there was proud of him felt... good.

"Just listening to my story is good enough for me, you don't have to understand it all. It was just somethin I had to do at the time." And he was glad he'd gotten through it. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be where he was right then. And it was exactly where he wanted to be.

Tony stretched out his hand and traced Gladio's cheek with his thumb gently. Just like himself, Gladdy could fool much of the world he was invincible. There were many out there who would only see the muscles and forget the man with a heart and feelings underneath. He couldn't help but wonder how often Gladio's so called friends had told him things like that or were they among the fools?

"How often have you told your story?" He asked, a touch of concern to his voice. "This was after your father passed away, wasn't it? What about your mother?"

"I never got the chance to tell the guys about it. I wonder if I ever did... I think I might have, they seem to know about it." And the only way they could know is if he told them, Cor wouldn't have gone into detail. "I've talked about it once or twice here. Pyra and Ardyn mainly. Ardyn actually knew the guy. Gilgamesh was basically me. He trained Ardyn and his brother."

He's smile became a little sad then. "Mom passed when I was 8. My dad died when Insomnia fell."

Tony nodded at that. He was glad they knew about it and clearly they'd talked about it with this Gladio. He wrapped his arm around the large man as best he could from where he was laying on his chest. He was glad his roommate had told him too.

He was about to mention how strange Ardyn was, but he got distracted by Gladio next tidbit of personal history. "I'm sorry, Gladdy. Both of mine died when I was twenty-one. They were murdered.. by Bucky, actually. It's why things were always so weird between us, but in the end, I had to let it go. He was being mind-controlled and didn't know what he was doing. Still.. I had to see the footage and I don't know if I'll ever stop seeing it. How did your mother pass?"

"Never did like that guy much..." Gladio was never really sure why, but there had just been something about Bucky that had left him feeling unsettled. "I'm sorry, Tony. That you had to see that."

"... She got sick, not long after Iris was born. She just never got better. Eventually she fell asleep and... just never woke up again." He spoke in a low voice. His eyes had closed and the hand that had been rubbing Tony's back had stopped moving as he spoke. "She'd been a strong woman. Vibrant and full of life. Always smiling. Always laughing..."

"He was a dumbass and socially awkward, but he was a good guy underneath it all," Tony said with a sigh. He leaned forward and kissed Gladio's lips softly. He loved the man for being so supportive. "Seeing it is kind of a long story, but yeah, it sucked. It's one of the memories that haunt me but.. it helps I know you're around."

He went quiet as he listened to Gladio talk about his mother. He smiled a bit at the reverence he could hear in the younger man's voice. "She must've been a wonderful woman." He wondered what had killed her, but that wasn't important right now. It also wasn't his business, even if his scientific nature wanted the details. "My mother, Maria, wasn't strong. She did whatever Howard wanted and expected me to do the same. It was always frustrating how spineless she was. The most courageous thing she did was marry beneath her station despite her family's protests."

Tony sighed and ran a hand lightly through a lock of Gladio's hair. "That isn't to say I didn't love her though. I did and I miss her, but she was delicate and painfully proper. She liked buying decorating rooms, buying art, going to the see orchestras or ballets, and playing the grand piano in our mansion." All activities that rarely included or interested Tony. He was sometimes made to go along but.. he had regrets he hadn't said yes to the invitations more often.

"Maybe you'll tell me about it one day?" Gladio suggested quietly, after he was kissed. He wasn't sure how he helped but he wasn't about to argue with the man if he did. All he could hope was that he continued helping, in whatever way that was. If just 'being around' was what did it, then he'd be around.

"Yeah, she was. She was... as far as I know, she wasn't a fighter. She was everythin my dad wasn't. Gentle and sweet, but I think she could have thrown down if her family was on the line." His lips twitched at that, almost a smile. His eyes did open again when he felt Tony's fingers in his hair and he went quiet to listen to him. His mother sounded like most of the noble's from back home, people he'd never really had the time for really. Too busy with fancy thing and making an impression. But what about Tony? "She was good to you though, right?"

"I plan on telling you all of my stories and hearing all of your stories eventually," Tony assured him. As long as the gods of this world let him stay, he was going to be at Gladio's side faithfully. He couldn't foresee any reason that would be enough to break this bond between them- and he prayed he never would.

Tony found himself smiling again hearing about Gladio mother. He wondered how his life would've been different if Maria had been more like her. "What was her name?" He asked, admiring her already.

He sighed and shrugged. "I suppose. I think now looking back, they both did the best they knew how to do. She was kind and affectionate, but she wasn't the type to stand up for herself or for me. I was raised, though, by nannies, the boarding schools, and my family's butler named Edwin Jarvis. He was a good man, but he passed away shortly after my parents did. He was the one who had any time or patience for me. I wasn't an easy child to deal with."

Tony sighed again, but the story kept going. Now that he felt safe and had a captive audience, he couldn't stop. He didn't understand this impulse but then again, he wasn't trying to either. It was Gladio and Tony trusted that he'd be responsible with both the information and the vulnerability he was displaying. If that wasn't trust and love from Tony Stark, nothing was.

"My dad was cold, calculating, and never around. The happiest I'd ever seen him was when he sent me away to boarding school at seven. The son of a bitch was a genius though, both in technology and with industry. It was his brilliance that built Stark Industries that we've earned our fame and fortune from. It's by far the best and worst thing he ever did."

He nodded, happy with that. He'd liked to hear the stories, everything Tony wanted to tell him. He'd listen.

"Mom." Gladio answered with a grin. He'd been 8, he'd only known her as 'mom'. But yes, she did have a name. "Ixia. That was her name." He'd begun running his hand along Tony's back then, falling quiet once more to listen to his friend talk about his family.

He frowned. Sometimes he'd felt the same way about his own father. Cold. Unfeeling. But he'd learned there were reasons for that, it wasn't always how he'd been. Maybe it was the case here? Or maybe Tony's dad was a straight up asshole who should have been ashamed of himself? Gladio had no idea and couldn't really judge. But what he could do was lean up and press a warm kiss to Tony's lips. "... You turned out a better man than him, for what it's worth."

Tony busted out laughing at Gladio's answer about his mother. He'd needed that! They were talking about such a serious topic and that had been such a delightfully cheeky response. He pressed his face against the muscular chest, muffling his laughter. It didn't hide anything as his body was shaking and he was literally laying on the other man.

After a few moments, he quieted down enough to hear the rest of what Gladio had to say. He smiled when Gladio leaned up and kissed him. He closed his eyes briefly, letting those words go straight to his heart. It almost didn't make it through all his usual self-doubts that plagued his mind and self-worth, but the warmth in his chest proved its success.

He wanted to say how much he loved Gladio. He looked at his handsome face, caressed his cheek again, and tried to find the courage. The fear of losing what they had was just too strong. So he opted for the next best thing. "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

He'd not expected quite that reaction but it pleased him regardless. He smiled down at the man laughing against him. It had been needed, he thought. Break the doom and gloom feeling that had been slowly descending upon them. And he was right there for the kiss once Tony had calmed down, smiling into it before he dropped his head back against the arm of the couch.

"It's true. Now... give me a happier memory?" Gladio grinned and then winked playfully. "One without me in it, obviously."

"Hmm, well if it can't be with you.. then it'd be with Morgan," he reasoned, like this was a challenging puzzle to unravel. "And you have to give me one back, just so you know. And then I want your favorite one with me- but after you wait your turn."

He chuckled at his own ridiculousness.

"Rhodey was one of my closest friends back home. We were friends from when we were young. He was a decorated soldier, a colonel in the Air Force, and he flew as my side kick 'War Machine' until a nasty battle left him paralyzed.'

"Anyway, it had been a while since I'd seen him and I hadn't been expecting him to visit. Apparently he and Pepper had planned it as a surprise. Obviously, I didn't know and Morgan had gotten into Pepper's makeup. She was having so much fun with it, that I let her put that stuff on my face. Next thing I know I was opening my front door with these tiny little clips in my hair like pigtails, lipstick smeared all over, and who knows what all. I thought Rhodey was going to die on my welcome mat." He knew most people would never tell a story like that, but he was giggling again and wishing he had a picture to show Gladio.

Gladio didn't need a picture, he could imagine it and it made him laugh. It was easy to imagine Tony like that, knowing how he'd treated the kids on the Voidtrecker, he'd have done anything for them. And letting his own kid do his makeup seemed right up his street.

"Can't imagine that's the worst state he's seen you in." Gladio grinned. "Bet you looked pretty as a picture. A real Princess."

Tony continued to laugh and shook his head. "Not even close to it! He was there for all of my party years. He had to rescue me twice when some girl cuffed me to the bed and left with my clothes or hose me off after I'd drank too much and thrown up on everything including myself." He shook his head again. "The stupidity of youth." And desperate for his father's attention, but that was besides the point.

"The two worst ones were when I was rescued from been captured for three months by a terrorist group called the Ten Rings and then later when I was trapped in a spaceship without power for twenty days. I was rescued less than twelve hours shy of running out of oxygen." His arm went around Gladio a little tighter and sighed. "That's two of the nightmares that keep coming back." Pause. "I'm sorry, you said happy. I was supposed to be giving you happy memories."

"Youth? That was five years ago, admit it." Gladio grinned. He was being generous with five but assumed he wasn't doing any of that stuff with Pepper. Unless Pepper was the one to cuff him and leave him hanging. In that case he felt he could understand it. Sometimes Tony pissed him off that much too.

Gladio's own arm moved around Tony then, tightening to pull him closer. Yes, he'd said happy. He'd hoped for a lighter mood but something told him that maybe this was a thing Tony needed to talk about. Especially if it was something that caused him nightmares. "... You were trapped in space?" He asked as delicately as he could, doing his best to keep his tone even. It was touching on a fear of his own, one he'd never even realised he'd had until that first mission on the Voidtrecker.

Tony laughed and sat up enough that he could stick his tongue out at Gladio- since that's what mature people do. And yes, Pepper had been one once but she was smart enough to take his phone away before she left.

He wished he didn't need or want to share these stories with Gladio, but it was incredible how much needed to come out now that he was safe and loved. He knew Gladio's fear, so he had to be careful talking about this.

He nodded, "For a while. It was how the first battle with Thanos ended, the one we lost. He had this magical gauntlet that gave him practically limitless power. With it he made half my world's population disappear. After battling him on the small planet in middle of who-the-hell-knows-where with Peter and a few others, I watched as they faded away like they were made of smoke." He'd never fully recover from Peter evaporating into nothing in his arms.

"There was one other with me, a blue skinned alien girl who had gotten played by Thanos. We got a ship running and thought if we could travel far enough we'd reach somewhere we could send a distress signal or something. Instead, it ran out of power, then rations, and then we were waiting to die. It was a miracle, but just before the end we were saved."

"I was completely wrecked when I was rescued, both physically and mentally. Pepper and I got married by a chaplain while I was in the hospital because the big, grand wedding I'd wanted to give her suddenly didn't seem important anymore. We moved from my big fancy penthouse in the city to our cabin the woods and I stayed home with Morgan when she was born mainly because I couldn't do anything else. I could barely do that at first."

"I still remember what it felt like though to watch Peter fade or be that weak as I was on the ship. Steve and I got into a big argument shortly after I was rescued and I remember that a lot. The nightmares are usually about running out of air or Thanos finding us." He breathed a small laugh. "That's the kind of glamour they forget to tell you about when you sign up to be a superhero."

Gladio was quiet. Just listening. Listening and slowly rubbing a hand along Tony's back, just as he had been all along.

It was only when Tony was finished that Gladio stopped. And he only stopped so he could wrap his arms around the man and pull him into a tight hug. He wanted to wrap the rest of himself around him. Curl around him and shield him from all the pain and hurts of the world, and all the pains and hurts that had been done to Tony. But he knew he couldn't. All he could do was hold him in the here and now and hope that was enough.

"What I got from all of that... is you're a survivor, Tony. You've seen so much, been through so damn much, more than a person should. But you've survived. You can still smile and laugh and that's damn impressive." Because Gladio wasn't sure if he'd have been able to. Tony said he'd been wrecked, but Gladio... would have broken. He kept those thoughts to himself though. None of this was about him, after all. So what he did was lean in and press a soft, warm kiss to Tony's lips. "You're an impressive man. And I'm so sorry you've been through so much shit. But you ever have those nightmares... you come to me, alright? I'll help get rid of them."

Broken would've been a good word for it. There had been many times he felt that way. After everything he'd been through, messed up, and failed at, how could he be anything but broken? Being part energizer bunny was a curse as well as a blessing.

It had taken years to duct tape his life back to some semblance of what it used to be. The war came and then the train and now here. Whoever said you heal with time wasn't completely right. It's what you did in that time. Right here and now, he felt his soul healing by simply sharing his story.

When Gladio moved to kiss him, he lightly placed a hand over his roommate's heart. It was where his own heart was now even if the large man didn't know. "I already do," he promised with a warm smile. "That's why you should get a better bed or I should get a bell to ring and you come to mine."

"I'll get one eventually." Gladio chuckled lightly and moved one of his own hands to cover Tony's on his chest. They were just so busy that he hadn't really bothered with it. Half the time he ended up in Tony's bed anyway. Or crashing out on the couch.

"Just call if you need me, Tony. I'll be there." And he would. No questions asked. No hesitations. If Tony ever needed him, for anything, even just to hold him through the night, Gladio would do it. Like tonight. After this talk Gladio suspected Tony would need him tonight more than any other night.

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