revivalproject | [Open] A Glitter Pilot

WHO: Gladiolus Amicitia, Open
WHERE: The Glitter Food
WHAT: Exploration of the new ships
WHEN: December 4th to 11th
WARNINGS: N/A

I. A New Bridge | The Bridge

The space is a lot more expansive than what he'd known before, and Gladio smiles as he takes a stroll around the bridge. His fingers brush over display panels, run over seats, glide on slick metal.

"Nice," he says to himself as he sits down in one of the pilot chairs, stretching himself out like he owns the place. In a way he supposes he does, for now. Him and Keith, pilots together. Seems a good choice given how often they'd fought together while traveling, hunting, or just spent time together otherwise.

For now, though, he heard a noise indicating someone at the door to the bridge. Maybe they were with one of the datapoints that allowed access and the door would slide open to Gladio sitting there, grinning to himself. Or perhaps he gets the chance to go full on sci-fi TV show and press a key on the arm even as he says 'Enter'.

Listen, he wasn't a nerd in quite the way Noctis or Prompto were, but he was really enjoying this.

II. Something Like Camping | Forest Near The Beach

Does he have his own room here? Yes. Is Gladio likely to use it when he's going to stay with Noctis? No. Really, it just seems right when working with that knowledge to strip the bedding from the bed in the room he isn't going to use and head right into the forested area.

Not an hour later there he is, under a rope and cloth tent, stretched out on his back, book in hand, reading.

If he's going to be stuck here, he's going to catch up on what meager offering of books he can get. How strange he must look is of no concern to him, of course. This was just what he wanted to be doing.

III. There's No Drinks Here | 'The Deep End'

"What the hell?"

Gladio has been searching the place for fifteen minutes. This is clearly Cayde's bar, meant to be. But what is there? Nothing. Not even a red fruit drink dispenser.

"We're trapped on here for however long because the music makes it hard to leave, and there's not even any drinks?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"From what I understood from Steve and Billy, this wasn't something new to their experiences. Some worlds are just like that, mine included honestly. Though mostly only at night. And during the last decade."

So yes, gym was already on his list of things to do.

"We won't fail them again, Tony. And I wanted to thank you. I'm pretty sure the initial weapons you gave me for those boys helped save their lives. Perhaps those of others as well. You are helping."

It wasn't the threats that they were talking about, and Tony cut a sharp, warning look Gladio's way for taking the word of these kids that their every day was demon dogs and not the comfort of a society built to protect them from that. Give them a future. The kind of place Tony hadn't managed to build here. The expression rapidly crumbled at the reminder of the kind of future Tony was good at building, and he had to turn away, thankful that he had finally spotted a way into the pool and could strip down to the golden skin of his undersuit. He dropped his clothes carelessly as he went, leaving a trail behind him as he made straight for the water, talking all the while, "Yeah, great, I'll make one for each of them, make sure all of the kids are armed. The great thing about child-sized weapons, you don't need as much raw materials." His sunglasses clattered to the ground at the same moment that he dove.

Brave of Tony to assume Gladio was merely taking their words for it. He'd had very long discussions with Steve about all of this. And Billy about some of it. Sometimes, though, society falls through and doesn't save you from the bad things.

Sometimes the worst thing to do is to assume society will account for everything and properly protect children. There are always places, and ways, that it fails. Society is not flawless. And Gladio has seen that first hand.

"They're hardly children, Tony," Gladio says. "They've faced demons. Hargrove is... Dead. Maybe not in this second, but once he goes home. Sometimes the world you live in forces you to grow up early, and even if we want to protect them, we have to understand that part of that is giving them the tools to protect themselves when they are going to throw themselves into danger.

"Honestly, that's part of what sold me on the school the more I thought about it. It's about giving them what they need to succeed. And perhaps teaching them, giving the structure of school, will mean they don't choose to throw themselves at things. Maybe they'll feel like they can trust adults."

But Harrington is ninteen, so there's no chance they're going to get him to back down. And Hargrove is even worse.

"I want them to have a chance."

That should have been a convincing argument, and Tony took it with him into the pool to sit under the water where he drew his legs up close and could stare through the churn from his dive into the dark windows of the franchised Deep End as he reluctantly floated back up. He had wanted the kids to have a chance, too--one that some of them hadn't even been given back home. It just presumed a future that Tony couldn't build for them. The most it would do was let Tony play hero again, convince everyone that he was doing some good that he never actually had to pay out on.

When he surfaced, it was slowly like he didn't want to disturb the water and draw Gladio's attention, watching him at the edge of the pool defensively. "They already trust you," he pointed out.

Gladio finally slips into the water himself, moving happily into it and coming to sit near the shore. Not easy to swim and talk all at once.

"You think they don't trust you? YOu're a hero, Tony. And a very intelligent man. Someone who can be shown as why education is valuable. I hope you know that deserves respect.

They were supposed to be talking about Gladio's one poor argument, making Tony's face twist in irritation at the question, then sink down until only his eyes were still above the water at that hero word everyone was so generous with. Only Wesker had any empirical proof of what that actually meant, and he spit it out with well-earned derision. Tony didn't deserve anything else.

When he couldn't hold his breath much longer, he still kept his focus darting around the strange pool instead of on Gladio, treading easily where he was to try to drag back, "My point was, you've already earned their trust. I don't think they have, I don't know, destructive disregulation problems. We're not talking about high risk teens falling in with the bad crowd in need of a healthier outlet. Donnie and Robin and, you know, these kids, they get fixated on being useful, not sticking it to the man."

He doesn't know Robin, or even Donnie too much.

"I don't know, I think I'm going to end up being more of 'the man' than you are. But I still see you as a partner in this."

"Oh, well, if you're the man--I don't have that many housewife fantasies. Maybe a couple. Is that weird? It's probably weird," Tony mumbled.

"You just want an excuse to wear something frilly, don't you?" Gladio asks with a heartly laugh before moving deeper into the water. Maybe it's time for him to really swim too.

"Don't worry, we're going to make a great team."

[Open] A Glitter Pilot

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