MHA #18; Wednesday Afternoon [11/09].

[sword_chocobro]

Having so much spare time on his hands was still something Gladio was getting used to, and there were times when it felt downright surreal, really. But he'd be lying if he said it wasn't kind of nice, every once in a while, to have a quiet afternoon where he could just sit and read and not have to worry about anything else. He'd even picked up a few new books and was finally getting the chance to dive into one that was vaguely topical to a conversation he'd had recently. Ignis was out getting stuff for dinner later, Goose was probably off in Ignis' room doing whatever goose things he did when Ignis went on a particularly independent streak, he had some tea, the apartment had come with a good sturdy armchair...

....and it was nice. He could almost get used it. He didn't particularly want to, all things considered, but it was a moment that made him think that, if he was going to be stuck somewhere, at least it was somewhere that afforded him certain creature comforts he'd been mostly denied for the past ten years.

Even if surreal really only seemed the tip of the iceberg there...

[[ some goose-related shenanigans are expected, but the post is very open! ]]

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[sword_chocobro]

Gladio grinned a little at that, placed a marker in his book and set it aside for later, and then got up from his chair, cocking his head toward the kitchen for Goose to follow.

"Alright, then, come on," he said. "Just don't let it spoil your appetite for later, or else he might be onto us."

[notagoose]

Goose nodded enthusiastically and ruffled his feathers to show he wouldn’t let it ruin his appetite and eagerly followed Gladio, letting out a few happy honks as he did.

[sword_chocobro]

"So, what do you think?" Gladio asked, a moment later, having opened up the glorious Cup Noodle^TM cupboard, leaning on the frame a little to appreciate its neatly organized and familiarly comforting packages awaiting him. "Shrimp? Vegetable? Beef?"

He thought about offering chicken, but that seemed a little insensitive in Goose's current state.

"Honk once, twice, or three times for which sounds good."

[notagoose]

Goose looked appreciatively at how organised everything was in the cupboard and nodded his approval, he considered his options carefully and then decided that he would like the shrimp Cup Noodle™ and honked once for the shrimp option.

[sword_chocobro]

"Good choice," Gladio said approvingly, grinning faintly and plucking out one of the shrimp ones for Goose, and a beef one for himself, then set them on the counter while going to put the kettle on. "You just hang tight. Shouldn't be too long."

[notagoose]

Goose waited as patiently as he could, but being patient was not his strong suit even after being a goose for the past week s as bd a half.

He waddled a bit closer to the counter to try and see what was happening and if that would make it go by any quicker.

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio huffed out a small laugh at that restless energy while opening the Cup Noodles^TM to get them prepped.

"You know," he said, "I'm sure Ignis would say something right now about how a watched pot....or kettle, in this case...never boils."

[notagoose]

Goose let out a honk at that, as close to laughter as he could get in his current form.

He did remember all those times Ignis had told him to be patient when he first started teaching him to cook, he was sure that it was easier to not watch a kettle boil but then as he remembered all those cooking lessons he went a little sad again, sighing as those memories of Ignis came flooding back…

[sword_chocobro]

That shift in goose-tone had Gladio sending down faintly sympathetic smile. "Yeah," he said, in agreement with that sigh in general. "Don't worry. I'm sure things'll get back to normal again soon."

He did take a moment to consider that he was currently making Cup Noodle^TM for a goose....

"As normal as they can be, anyway," he amended.

[notagoose]

Goose hoped so, he was enjoying spending this time with Ignis but he had definitely hoped that he would have been turned back into a human by now.

He nodded at that, ruffling his feathers and let out another sad honk and looked back in the direction of the door before turning back to the kitchen counter,

[sword_chocobro]

"I think," Gladio offered, tilting his head slightly, as the kettle started to whistle, and so he picked it up off the stove, turned the burner off, and went to pour the water into the cups, "the same about watched pots goes for watched doors, too, you know."

Plus, he was waiting on a blind man no doubt stubbornly fumbling his way through a grocery store refusing to ask for help, so....yeah. Definitely a much longer wait there than with the kettle.

[notagoose]

Goose managed to look a little sheepish at that and tried to not stare at the door, his attention firmly back on the kettle and the promise of trying some Cup Noodle ™.

[sword_chocobro]

And as Gladio waited for the noodles to cook, he considered this Goose-turned-goose in the kitchen, trying his best to be patient on both accounts, and with a small sigh, gave a soft, sympathetic smile.

"This has got to be pretty hard for you, too, huh?" he asked. "All this time, not really knowing what was going on, especially once Prompto and me show up, and then when Ignis finally does show up, this happens, and you can't even talk to the guy. That's rough, man."

[notagoose]

Goose nodded sadly, he knew based on his past experiences that turning into an animal was only matter of time. The timing could have been a bit better.

He let out another sad honk and ruffled his feathers again.

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio was pretty sure he was never going to be able to listen to a goose honking again without recalling just how melancholy the sound could truly be. "Yeah, well," he offered, "a little advice? Man to man....err, well, man to goose, I guess, but from someone who knows that guy probably better than anyone?"

The noodles now cooked from the water, Gladio stirred in the flavoring and the little freeze-dried vegetable packets and crouched down to set the cup down for Goose. Taking a moment to just consider him thoughtfully.

"He's going to probably need some space. Don't take it personally, it's just the way he is. We've all had a really rough time of it, these last ten years, but he got it probably worse than any of us."

Well, except Noctis, but Gladio felt that went without saying.

"He's been through a lot. And it might not seem like it sometimes, but he's going to be grateful to have you there for him. Just remember that, okay?

"Careful with that," he added, nodding now toward thr Cup NoddleTM, while pulling himself up to get his own. "It's pretty hot."

[notagoose]

Goose listened carefully to Gladio’s advice, giving a soft honk to show that he understood about Ignis needing space, he could give him space …he wanted to help as much he could…

Goose settled down to begin eating, waiting a few moments for it cool a bit and then he started to eat the Cup Noodle ™ and he’d only gotten a few mouthfuls in before he suddenly realised he was back to normal.

Well as normal as he got for Goose and he blinked a bit as he sat, fully naked on the floor, crouched over a cup of Cup Noodle ™.

“Huh,” he blinked, taking in the Cup Noodle ™ and then looking up at Gladio.

[sword_chocobro]

And Gladio, for his part, just sort of looked at Goose, took maybe a second to use this opportunity to confirm a very specific suspicion he may have had about him, nodded with an expression of approval, and then sighed.

Took at least one bite of his own Cup Noodle^TM before setting it aside again on the counter. "I'll get you some clothes," he said, giving Goose a pat on the shoulder as he passed by. "And I don't get to say this....ever, but at least try not to stretch them out too much, okay?"

[notagoose]

Goose looked a little sheepish as he stood up, which after being a goose for a week and a half took a bit of getting used to.

“Thank you,” he said a bit awkwardly, “I’ll um try not to stretch them too much,” he added.

[sword_chocobro]

"So, what do you think it was?" asked Gladio, when he came back and handed the clothes over. Hope you liked black pants and black tanktops, Goose, because that was sort of all he had. Well, that, and a Cup Noodle^TM tank top, but there was no way Gladio was forking that over, not even temporarily. "The heart-to-heart, or the Cup Noodle^TM? I'd definitely believe that the outstanding flavor and incomparable deliciousness of Cup Noodle^TM could bring anyone back any altered state."

[notagoose]

Goose actually didn’t mind, especially since he he lived in his black cowboy outfit so it was actually rather comforting to be wearing something similar until he could get back to his apartment.

Goose grinned as he began to put the clothes on, “I’m starting to think it was the Cup Noodle ™, maybe next time I should start eating that first?”

[sword_chocobro]

"Hopefully," said Gladio, drawn like a magnet back to his own delicious container of Cup Noodle^TM awaiting him in the kitchen, "it'll be a while before we need to test that theory out again, but, hey. Welcome back. Be sure to stretch out a little; I'm sure it's a little better when you actually turn into something that moves, but I always had the worst back problems right after I turned back from being a plant."

It also hadn't helped that, the last time, Ignis had tripped over him and broken his pot, which resulted in what he'd been told was a small but pretty distinct scar on his back, presumably from where the vase had cracked.

[notagoose]

“Thank you,” Goose grinned by and then paused, “i didn’t happen to eat any furniture while I was a goose did I?”

He didn’t remember doing that but maybe it was a thing when he turned into an animal, he ate furniture?

Then there was another pause, a head tilt and then, “you were a plant?”

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio lifted his eyebrows at Goose for a moment.

"I can't verify that you didn't eat any furniture," he admitted, "but I'm pretty sure I'd have heard about that from Specs if you did. And, yeah, twice now. Once for about a weekend when we were still here on the island, and once for a whole month back on Eos. Which, considering how time was moving for us compared to here, would have probably have been about a Fandom weekend."

[notagoose]

Goose’s eyes widened at that, “a whole month? A week and a half doesn’t seem so bad now,” he paused, “oh man I’m going to get the riot act read to me again for not checking in at home,” he realised.

[sword_chocobro]

"Even if you were a goose?" Gladio asked, a little surprised by that, because, man, people thought he was a hardass, but even he'd gladly make exceptions for being turned into an animal. "Iggy and I can definitely vouch for you, too, if you need it."

[notagoose]

Goose sighed, “last time I missed check in I was asleep for like a week, after I’d been a child for the weekend, my dad was not happy about that,” he admitted, “I may need to take you up on that, I don’t think he’d believe me that I was a goose for a week and a half,”

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio and his deeply furrowed brow regarded Goose for a good, long time.

"He...does know about this place, right?" he checked. "About the weird things that happens here?"

How long have you been here, Goose? But if his dad still didn't believe that a person...called Goose....would be a goose for...any amount of time...that....kind of put a lot of things about Goose into perspective for Gladio in that moment.

[notagoose]

“He’s starting to get a good idea now,” Goose admitted, “I think the turning into a goose thing might still be a bit hard for him to believe,”

He paused, “I’m still technically an active Galaxy Ranger, there would be a lot of people back home who would be happy to drag me in front of a court martial, for not following protocol, even if I was a goose for over a week,”