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♥ Who: Gladio and OTA.
♥ Where: Everywhere.
♥ When: January 3rd.
♥ What: Gladio finding his feet and meeting the locals.
♥ Rating: PG-13

Another Strange Place:
[Gladio had been walking toward a small group of children, smiling as disarmingly as a man as large and seemingly intimidating as he could. The adults were nowhere to be seen, aside from some of the elderly. He'd hoped to gain some information. Anything, to help...

But between one step and the next... everything went dark. Not not a bad kind of dark. It felt... strange...

... When Gladio opened his eyes to see sky above him, white clouds, blue, clear sky... He turned his head slightly to see... nothing he expected. Instead of rustic houses, dirt paths, wooden fences and children at play, he saw white. White pillars and columns shaped like trees. Red and white ornaments. Strange looking birds. And he was laying down in the centre of it all.

He rose slowly, turned and dropped his legs over the edge of slab of carved stone he lay upon. When Gladio looked down he still wore the same clothes he'd been wearing (black leather pants, dark brown tunic, black cloak), so at least that hadn't changed. There was a sigh as he lifted a hand to scrub across his face.]

Damn train's done it again...

[Was this a side mission? Why had he been pulled away? And where was everyone else? When Gladio looked at his wrist he frowned, his SCA was gone. That didn't bode well. He was just contemplating calling out when a strange robot approached him... and that's where Gladio found out that he wasn't in Irivar anymore.

He was lead from the stone slab into another area to find more robots... he was handed a tablet, some local currency... and sent him on his way.

Gladio stepped out of the, what was it? He looked back and up. Temple... definitely a temple. He stepped out... and immediately sat himself down on the steps in the snow to try and work his head around what the hell he'd gotten himself into this time.]

A Teeny Tiny Fortune:
[Having noticed the strange booth, Gladio approached curiously. These robots were a strange thing, but so was the box that he was handed. He shook it as directed, a small, amused smile on his lips.

Then he was given a piece of paper.]

"The smallest things can bring the biggest rewards." Huh... good things in small packages, right? Thanks.

[Still looking very amused, Gladio shoved the paper in his pocket and turned to go.]

Stuck On You:
[Apparently he needed to look for a place to live. This was a big step up from a small room with a smaller bed shared between four people.

Gladio had taken his cloak off and had it wrapped over one hand. The laces of his leather tunic had been loosened and he was considering just taking that off as well, but figured near stripping in the middle of the street could be frowned upon.

He was so distracted by his surroundings that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. Gladio bumped into someone. Automatically he reached out to stop whoever he ran into from hitting the ground... except that never happened. Wait, why couldn't he let go?]

Sorry! You okay?

Taking Stock:
[He'd found his way to the centre of the city it seemed. He'd found a fountain, an interesting structure that Gladio stood for a while, just looking at. He moved around it slowly, looking at all angles, before he sat himself down on the edge.

He stretched his legs out in front of himself and sighed.

So far this place didn't seem to have anything in common with where he had been before... He was starting to get a sinking feeling.

It was cold, there was snow everywhere, but nothing that was going to bother him so much that he was rushing to get indoors. He'd spent so much time inside over the last few months, even the snow was welcome.]

Home Away From Home:
[Houses... Small houses bunched together... And he was supposed to find one.]

Right... so how the hell does this work?

[Gladio walked up the street, then down it again, before he stopped in front of a house that appeared to be vacant. The tablet thing claimed it was unoccupied, so he walked on in.

After having a look around, he laughed to himself and did what was necessary to become the new owner... and then dropped himself down on sofa. Well and truly done.]

Wildcard:
[If you have another idea for a prompt, have at it, I'll run with anything. Though if you'd like to contact me I can be found on plurk and discord:

JustAnotherUsername | Theo#4816 - poke me as needed![

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Gladio listened quietly, taking it all in, the only change in his expression was a slight confused frown when she looked away from him.

And then he hesitated. Just for a moment, before he reached out with his free hand, holding it out to her.

When he spoke, his tone was low, calm. A deep, soothing rumble.]

Did you do it deliberately? Was it maliciously put there to hurt Noct?

If the answers no... you don't have to apologise. Not to me.

[ Her answer is almost immediate, her eyes widening-- ] Wh--...No. Of course not. [ Never. Never in all her years she would do something on purpose to hurt him.

It's just time that something did, and she feels responsible because it had been hers.

....But she's been talked about this at length with others. It had been an accident. Neither Noctis nor she could have known it would injure him while it was stored within his armory. ]

[ But then she sees the hand he's reached out to her, and how his voice is not accusatory, but gentle.

He understands.

She feels a little sheepish, actually, when it occurs to her that perhaps she shouldn't have doubted that he would. Pyra smiles meagerly at him, blushing slightly. ]

It's my turn to say that you're good for my ego. [ More like, self-reassurance, but there's charm in repeating his words back to him. She takes his hand. ]

[When she put her hand in his, Gladio curled his fingers around it and gave it a gentle, affectonate squeeze, his smile widening to a grin.]

I can tell you care about him. Why? No idea. He's a brat. [He was teasing! Mostly.]

But I can tell you wouldn't deliberately hurt him.

So my question now is... this thing. It's taken care of? Can it be purified?

[ He'll find that her hand squeezes his in return. Her gaze is kind. ]

Mm. It's been fixed. Now he's just-- [ What had Regis said? ] He was bedridden for a few days, but now he's up and walking a bit.

[ ...There is a faint scar of where he had been wearing the ring, though. That. That is something that won't heal. But at least it is only a scar. ]

He was... really strong throughout the entire ordeal, though. And he remains strong, afterwards. [ Oh, she cares about him, definitely. She loves him through and through. ] I'm guessing he gets a bit of that strength from you.

[Gladio relaxed a bit, hearing that. He'd not even realised he'd tensed. But if Pyra said the item had been dealt with he'd trust and believe her. If it wasn't a threat then Gladio had nothing to worry about. Everything was in hand.

Noct had people around him who could shield him a million times better than he ever good, who loved him. And he was genuinely glad for that.]

Think he gets that from his dad. The King was a tough old guy. Kept his city protected down to the last.

Nocts always been strong. He just... needed to realise that for himself.

[ ...He understands Noctis, too. ] At this moment, he's probably not feeling all that strong. [ What with recovering and a brand new scar about his finger.

But what would make him feel better, she wonders...? Besides cake. ] Ah--

[ She glances at the sylleblossoms she still holds beneath her arm, and then to Gladio again. ] You can give him one of these yourself, if you'd like.

Probably not. But he'll get stronger.

One of...? [He'd noticed the basket but hadn't really paid attention to what was inside of it. Now he frowned.]

How... Wait. You said you could get things from home here? [It literally just clicked in his mind, the dots lined up, and Gladio felt like an idiot.]

[ Her best suggestion is giving Gladio a flower to give to Noctis. Yes, this will go over well--

At least, Pyra sincerely believes to think so.

She looks up at him, momentarily surprised at his surprise for not. putting two and two together. ] Erm. Yes.

Were you wishing for something of your world?

[He laughed, looking down at the flowers with a shake of his head. He shouldn't have been surprised. The last place he was at had a similar method of obtaining items... which left him feeling suspicious, but he pushed those thoughts aside.

His gaze moved to Pyra, and his smile held a touch of sadness.]

Only things I could want from there, I can't have.

But it's good information.

[ While she catches that saddened look in her eyes.... she shifts the sylleblossoms in the basket beneath her arm upward, as if to insist that he takes one. ] Besides some of the impossible things to have, you might be surprised with whatever little things you get.

[ She says this not to bring out more sorrow, but to be as reassuring as she can for him. That he's saying he can't, well. Surely, a little hope won't hurt. So: ]

...A heart that doesn't give up. [ Pyra continues, nodding to the sylleblossoms. That is their meaning, something she hadn't known. She'll give one to him. ] Allow me to give you a little piece of your home... for however long you've been away from it.

[ She hopes it helps, if even a little. ]

[He really didn't want to, if he was honest. He couldn't imagine what it was like for the others, how long they'd been away from home, he didn't dare try and guess their feelings on the matter. But he had battled with a homesickness that had driven him into a depression almost too deep. Too deep to have left on his own. He'd had help.

But the way Pyra was looking at him, so hopefully, fully expecting him to take a flower. So Gladio did. He took a blue flower from the basket and held it within his hand. It was so damn small and delicate looking in his large, rough palm, he almost put it back.

Almost.]

Thanks, Pyra. I uh... I appreciate it.

[ She shifts the flowers' basket beneath her arm, smiling quietly. If he's going to attend their house, he's going to see a whole bunch of these sylleblossoms in their garden, actually. ] You know...

[ And so, they continue their walk. ]

Prompto once told me what a home is. It's where... [ Prompto has apparently not stepped back upon Eos in years. What he has, who he has with him, it's all only here. To someone who has traveled so much, and endured so much, it makes sense that he would describe it as such: ] One feels safe. Safe, comfortable, and loved. [ Sylleblossoms, even if she's passed one to him, do not symbolize home itself. It's those within that home that do. Perhaps in his time in Havenwell, Gladio will find a sense of home again. ]

[He liked this woman, he did. So he really didn't want to be rude, because he knew she was just trying to help. Maybe on a normal day it would be a help. It'd be reassuring. But he also knew that he'd been beginning to feel that way in the last place he was... He'd began to feel like maybe it wasn't perfect, but it could be home.

And he was removed from that place too.

Gladio was doing his best to hold his shit together, when he was having to start all over again. It was never a great feeling.

So he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He'd throw her a bone, give her one of the many reasons that he felt the way he did.]

I've a little sister back home, Pyra. I've no idea if I'm a copy, or if I was just yanked from my world. My mom died when we were kids. My dad died protecting the King. I'm all she has. And if I'm not there, she's on her own... That kills me.

[ She stops walking, which means it's her turn to stop them both while they're still stuck together. Her eyes widen, her expression falling-- this. She's stepped to far with this one, then. What she had meant to be reassuring only brought up something painful. ] Ah... [ She whispers, ] You want her here with you.

[ A younger sister back home, with whom he wishes to see. Even if she told him that, apparently, given all the various points of time others have been taken from within the same world, some version of them still exists in their world, it might not help. It's this Gladio that misses her, that worries for her.

She pauses, gathering her thoughts. ] ...It's... complicated.

I think... you should have a chance of having-- ah, something of a home here. Just as Prompto described. [ Safe, comfortable, and loved. Looking at him, with that sort of expression he wears, feeling those ways is exactly what he needs. ] But your home. It's with her, too, isn't it?

Home... is where my family are. And right now my families split in three different places. Eos, the Trecker, and... here, maybe.

[Gladio still wasn't sure of the reception he'd have. Would they welcome him with open arms? Would they hold him at arms length? Would he even be needed here?]

I don't want her here. That's... selfish. But I miss her. And worry she's alright. I really hope I'm still there for her. Or the others are, and she's not alone.

[ "...and... here, maybe." If it would help him any at all, then she wants to help him in any way possible to make that "maybe" a "definitely".

Pyra's gaze softens. ]

You're a big brother in three different worlds. [ Of course he would worry. There's probably not a bone in his body that wouldn't.

Her voice drops to a whisper, as if it were to trespass her even asking-- ] How long... have you been away from Eos?

Hah, yeah, you could say that.

[He'd played Big Brother to several on the Trecker. It had made him feel better about Iris, though she was always at the back of his mind.

At Pyra's next question, he smiled.]

You'd think it was longer, but four months. Feels like four years though.

[ Four months. She inhales sharply.

It's still quite the amount of time to be away from home-- from someone he so deeply cares about, regardless if he's present as just a duplicate as himself while time marches on without fail in his own world or not. ] Gladio...

[ Four months. ]

[ Overcome, she almost moves to hug him. But-- it's a bit awkward while stuck, and she's also carrying flowers beneath her other arm. So instead, she'll do the next best thing, bringing one of her hands down to his, giving it a small squeeze. ]

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry you've been away for so long.

[ She gives him a small but well-meaning smile. ] If there's anything I can do for you, don't be afraid to let me know, alright?

Hey, could be worse.

[Ignis had been gone for several months longer than he had. And had gone weird as hell... They'd just not been able to connect like they had before. He was a little worried that might happen here. These strange worlds changed people. Would Noct and the others be the same? See him the same? Would he be too different for them to accept?

It was worrying.

Still, Gladio smiled, he pushed the worries deep down for now.]

You're doing it now. You're being kind. That's all I can ask for.

[ It certainly could be worse, or longer, yet to her it's his words-- "Feels like four years though"-- that concern her. So, she'll take it, that he thinks she's kind. She'll be as kind as she can be.

She takes a moment to think, then, of what it might be like to be in his shoes, coming from a different world into this one and meeting someone who may not remember. Somnus actually had been in the same situation before he vanished: he can come to this world from a different one, one in which she had been, and she hadn't remembered. He hadn't said a word about it to her, initially...

They continue walking together, still stuck. ]

You know... I'm glad I've gotten to finally meet you, Gladio. [ This who time, Noctis as been without him. She's happy to see someone who has had such influence in his life. ] I think, in some way, we were all waiting for you.

[When Pyra began walking, so did he. Not like he could really help it, since they were stuck, but he didn't resist it in any way.

He did laugh though, and then skipped over the first several replies that popped into his head.]

You wanted the complete set, huh?

[ She considers her reply, and then answers with a smile. ] I think-- mm. I think there was just something missing without you. [ Perhaps that's just her way of viewing their brotherhood. Perhaps it's just her assumption. Either way, she's glad he's here.

A bit more reflectively, she adds after a moment: ]

For Noct and Prompto, especially. [ The former hasn't seen him in a while. For Prompto, even longer. They deserve to be reunited in a place that might see them gone the next day, at least they have time together in a world where the Prophecy does not hang over their heads. ]

[Gladio would give her the benefit of the doubt and keep an open mind, as much as he could. But he hoped she was right. He kind of hoped that they missed him. That he'd be welcomed. He wasn't sure what he'd do if that didn't happen, if he was pushed away...

He'd gotten so used to being allowed to be open with the others. Gladio was afraid of who he'd become if that stopped.]

I look forward to seeing them again. I can't say I've missed them, I left them in another place. But it's always good to see them.

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