melodiesofeternity | Felix Natalis

Entry tags:

Felix Natalis

Who: Ravus, open
When: September 4th
Where: Yun'Ashia
What: It is Lunafreya's birthday, a day of remembrance.
Warnings/Notes: FFXV spoilers, mourning

Morning: FFXV House/The Temple of the Forgotten Heroes

Ravus wakes early, wanting to be on his way before his housemates wake. He leaves a quick handwritten note:

Out for the day- will return late. -R

It is not very informative, but at least he's not leaving without a word. He opens the door slowly, aiming for stealth, and stops in the garden for a moment before heading toward the Temple of the Forgotten Heroes. It seems like the best place for the quiet contemplation he's looking for.

At the temple, he leaves a single cut sylleblossom at the altar. He kneels, not praying, but remembering. He will not let Lunafreya become a forgotten hero. He's not sure how much time passes that way.

Afternoon: The Beaches of Yun'Ashia

The weather is cooling down, and the beach is not as crowded as it had been over the summer. It's a little cold for swimming, but pleasant for walking down the sandy shore.

Ravus walks down the beach to find a private spot, and uses his iMog slate to switch his job. His white jacket disappears, replaced by Summoner's robes. He raises his hands and calls down a Partial Summoning of Leviathan. Scaled coils materialize in the air above the waves. Ravus does not command the Eidolon to use her Tidal Blast. Instead, he just watches the serpent until his limited magic power falters and she begins to fade. Through the halting, untested connection between summoner and summoned, he senses confusion as Leviathan dematerializes.

Evening: Home Again

The sun is set before he finally returns home. A full day of light, he thinks, is a luxury Vaikunthans do not even realize they should treasure.

Ravus circles around the house to the garden, not ready to go inside just yet. Lit candles illuminate the carefully-tended plants there- likely Gladio's doing- and Ravus watches their wicks grow shorter. A measure of time, as well as a metaphor.

"Happy Birthday, Lunafreya. Please...find your way here..." He's not tearing up...absolutely not.

Wild Card: any time today

[Want to explore what the others are doing today? Here's a wild card prompt.]

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He stands beside his lover for hours uncounted before returning to the house. Once inside, Gladio reheats a simple soup and carries two bowls to the garden only to be caught unawares by Ravus coming inside to find him.

Setting both bowls down on the nearest flat surface, he quietly pulls Ravus into his arms and whispers into flaxen hair. "I will."

It's a simple promise, one Gladio seals with a delicate press of his lips to Ravus' forehead, and it allows Ravus the time he might need to gather himself enough to walk the short distance to their room. Gladio's plan had been for them to eat a light meal in the privacy of their shared space before holding his lover as they sleep (he's already pushed their beds together and borrowed a larger fitted sheet to ensure the beds don't separate).

"She means a lot to all of us... and more than that to you. The candles and seeds... the flower of innocence... it was the least I could do to honor her today. And to help us honor and remember her light every night we see the Moon Flowers."

He presses Ravus closer. "Come eat with me?"

It's as much a request as a plea - Gladio noticing Aster slowly slinking towards the still-steaming bowls and really not wanting their night to be interrupted by his kitten knocking over their dinner (or just sticking her entire face in one of the bowls).

Ravus follows Gladio back to their room, registering nothing of the short journey there. He could almost be sleepwalking. He sits on the edge of the beds, exhausted.

He doesn't know what to say. He is growing more accustomed to kindness from the Lucians, but sometimes it still catches him off guard, the ease with which they show affection. Is that the generosity of those who have never felt a lack for it?

"...she would like them." It feels woefully inadequate.

Ravus takes up the bowl mechanically, because Gladio has asked him to eat, not because he is hungry for it. He takes one spoonful, then another, tasting none of it.

He watches Ravus eat as though on autopilot, concern lining his face with every mechanical bite. So Gladio finishes his own bowl quickly, hunger hurrying his hand, and sets it aside before kneeling in front of Ravus.

"You don't have to keep eating if you aren't hungry. We can save the rest for later." Gladio's voice is soft and gentle just as his hands are when they wrap around Ravus' bowl, covering his boyfriend's hand along with the dish.

Love and tenderness radiate from his eyes as he looks up, trying to catch Ravus' gaze.

"Whatever you want - whatever you need - tell me. If it's within my power to give to you, I will." He'll do anything to take away the pained look in his lover's eyes. Anything at all. As long as it helps Ravus tonight.

Those Moon Flowers are the closest he can get to giving Ravus his sister back, alive and well and happy, and Gladio internally curses at the fact that he can't do more.

"I should eat," Ravus acknowledges, though he'll let Gladio take the bowl. He doesn't want it, but it's apathy, not revulsion.

He feels a surge of affection, looking down at Gladio kneeling before him. He should have been kinder to him, in the wake of Iris' disappearance. He should have done so much differently.

"Do not leave me." It's been weighing heavily on his mind lately. They are all growing stronger here, but even with the return of their fighting abilities, there is a chance that Gladio could fall, or simply disappear in the night. It has happened to others. Noctis' friend Shirogane had confirmed it at Noctis' party.

They could fall asleep together and Ravus could wake up alone, and the thought terrifies him. What he wants is a guarantee it won't happen to Gladiolus, but that isn't something Gladio can give him.

Gladio hasn't ever felt that Ravus treated him poorly or unkindly after Iris disappeared. Yea, it was hard dealing with the initial cold shoulder but running off like that and making Ravus worry more than warranted it, in Gladio's opinion.

The man stayed by his side and held him as he cried, and never called him weak for it. That means something to the Shield. So he'll do the same.

He will stay by Ravus' side and hold him if he's allowed. He will do his best to soothe any tears Ravus may shed. He'll do all that and more not just as repayment for Ravus being there for him, but also because he truly loves the man in front of him.

It's only been a few months since they arrived here and started this thing between them, but Gladio's fallen fast and hard. So Ravus' request hits him like a physical blow, making his heart clench, and he brings both his lover's hands to his lips (after setting the half-empty bowl to the side).

"M'not sure I can do anything about how some people just vanish from here..." Probably not the best opener but he keeps going nonetheless.

"But I can promise that nothing in or on this world will take me down. And if the damned Dream Width or whatever tries to disappear me, I will find my way back. I swear it."

He speaks the words with every ounce of love and conviction in his body, hoping that Ravus hears both and understands that Gladio means all of it. The urge to wrap Ravus in his arms is overwhelming, but he knows Ravus isn't huge on the hugging thing or on the affection thing unless he wants it.

So Gladio stays where he is, caressing Ravus' hands and occasionally pressing tender kisses to each of them. "What else, lo - Ravus? What else do you need?"

Ravus lets out a long breath. What else does he need? He needs his family back. He needs to not have come from a world that takes everything, and he needs reassurance he is never going to get that this world won't do the same. But in lieu of that...

"My slate. I want you to set it up so that it alerts me if yours ever goes dark. Can that be done?" Shiro had listed that as one of the signs that someone was gone for good- their name was greyed out on the mognet channel. At least if he knows, that will rid him of some of this uncertainty.

With a final kiss to Ravus' fingers, Gladio stands up with the intent to find the slate in question. "Where's your slate? I'll set that up now."

He looks around the room but doesn't see it on any shelf or dresser. So he holds out a hand for the device.

"It's not much harder than setting up any other alerts, really. Never thought of setting one up for this though." They should all set up such an alert for one another, if only to figure out if a disappeared person's slate is still active or if it's entirely offline. That might lead to a clue about whether or not they'll return.

"Where'd you get the idea?"

Ravus pulls his slate from his jacket, unlocks it, and hands it over.

"Noctis' pilot friend, Shirogane. He has lost someone as well, and told me his observations about those that have come back, and those that have not."

Knowing won't change anything -much like at home- but it can at least quell the pain of hoping in vain for a reunion that will never come.

"You can program yours the same way, if you wish it."

Gladio takes the unlocked slate and makes quick work of setting up the alert for if his name is ever greyed out. While pretending to still be setting it up, he opens a notepad app and writes a sweet love note.

He makes sure to save it with an abbreviated name (2RNFw<3) and hides the sticky on the last homescreen (damn, Ravus needs more apps if he's only using 2 of 5 available screens) before fully exiting out of everything and passing the iMog back to Ravus. "There you go. Now if my name is ever grey you'll hear a very annoying alarm and be able to yell at me one more time."

The joke will likely fall flat, but even if it only gets a mild lip-curl it will have been worth it. After taking a much shorter time on his own slate, Gladio puts his device away and gently cups Ravus' face. Soft eyes warmly regard his lover.

"I promise you - I'm not goin' anywhere." And before Ravus can pull away, Gladio leans down and softly kisses his forehead.

Gladiolus, please. At least half of the apps on those two pages are installed by Estoc. Like the messages Gladio sends to him through flowers, the text-speak note name is likely to sail right over his silver head. It will be at least a day before he stumbles across the note itself.

"Presumptuous to assume I will not keep yelling at you far longer than that." A flat retort for a flat joke. By the time the alarm sounds, it would be too late for any final words to one another, angry or tender.

He doesn't struggle against the kiss. If their time is limited, he should take advantage while he can. "Not willingly, I know."

...

"I will fight to remain as well." He could not have anticipated that he would consider these housing arrangements a home, not count any Lucians as treasured members of his family before he came here, but it is so. He does not wish to return to Eos, or to be anywhere else.

With his initial show of affection accepted, Gladio leans down again to capture Ravus' lips in a tender kiss. When he pulls away, he presses their foreheads together and wraps his arms around his lover's shoulders.

"No more talk of leaving." The subject is worrisome for both of them and Gladio knows Ravus suffered enough internal misery today. The rest of this night should be spent feeling, at the very least, loved and safe.

So he pushes it and kisses the tip of Ravus' nose before grabbing what's left of the soup. "Think you can finish this before we go to bed?"

Gladio plans to hold Ravus tonight, to press his chest to the man's back and his hand over the man's heart, to keep them in contact so that there's no point in the night when Ravus feels alone. But he really wants his boyfriend to at least finish eating.

Ravus is willing to change the topic. The thought of any more loss is exhausting.

He shakes his head at the cooling soup. "Leave it. I won't waste away in a single night."

The world feels less empty and harsh from within the circle of Gladio's arms, and since he's already vulnerable tonight, he'd rather just return to them and take what comfort he can.

"Will you be comfortable sleeping with your Magitek arm? Or d'you want me to put it to charge?" Gladio hasn't loosened his hold even a fraction, so his words are muffled against Ravus' hair.

He won't mind it if the arm stays on or if it's removed - all that matters is his boyfriend's comfort. Calloused fingers rub gentle circles into Ravus' shoulders and upper back as he waits for an answer.

Tonight he'll take care of Ravus in every way, from taking care of his prosthetic arm to undressing him to cuddling him through the night. At no point will he allow his lover to feel anything less than comforted.

"Promise you'll eat a good breakfast tomorrow?"

Ravus grunts a non-answer. He'll hate himself ~~more~~ in the morning if he tries to sleep with it attached, but he also doesn't want to move or let Gladio move. He rolls his shoulder under Gladio's fingers, already feeling the muscles tightening up in protest.

"I will eat tomorrow." If Ignis is the one cooking, he might even eat well.

He shifts, pushing back against Gladio as if he could burrow into that muscular chest and forget about the world.

Gladio huffs out a chuckle and gets to work separating the Magitek arm from his boyfriend's shoulder because he's not an idiot - no one would be comfortable sleeping with a prosthetic on. Especially one made of metal.

"M'not gonna get up to pop it on the charger, but let's at least get this off of you." He presses a kiss behind Ravus' ear.

"And then I'll hold you for as long as you'll let me." This point is emphasized by the tightened grip around Ravus' torso.

Hell, he'll hum a damn lullaby or whisper sweet words if that might help Ravus fall into a slumber that isn't plagued with nightmares or dreams of regrets. The day was difficult enough - let the night be easier.

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Felix Natalis

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