#raviolus

Snorting a bit and trying to play it off as a cough, Gladio turned his head to the side to try and catch a glance of his boyfriend.  “I think you’re safe, love,” Gladio tried to reassure, watching as the butterfly began to lazily make its way to a patch of flowers nearby.

“LIES!  Everytime you turn your back it comes for me!” Ravus grumbled, his eyes still narrowed at the small insect.  “I don’t like flutterby’s,” he mumbled and oh that was the most precious thing Gladio had ever heard.

“What did you call it?” Gladio asked, chuckling softly as Ravus finally stopped his glaring to look at him.

“A flutterby?  Like everyone else?” he said again and Gladio could’ve cooed at the sweetness of it.

“Butterfly.”

“That’s what I said!”

“No you didn’t.  Say it again.”

“Flutterby!”

“See?!”

“I said it just like you!”

“Butterfly!”

“Flutterb-.... Oh…,”

When recognition lit up Ravus’s expression followed by that adorable blush, Gladio finally couldn’t help himself.  Laughing softly he turned around and wrapped his arms around the flustered man.  Ravus instantly hid himself against his chest and shook his head.

Pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head, Gladio smiled all the more and soothed a hand over his back.  “Would it help if I said that was adorable?” he murmured, earning a little groan from his darling.

“No.  Makes it worse,” Ravus grumbled, causing Gladio to chuckle a bit more before pressing one last kiss to his head.  Stepping back he looked down at the shorter man, still noticing the blush that stayed over his nose and cheeks.

“Well I’m afraid you’ll have to deal with it… because it really was adorable.  But I have to go and grab some kindling for our fire tonight so I trust I can leave you to fend our territory from the… flutterbies?” he teased, earning him a little swat to his chest and making him laugh as he shied away.

Ravus, regardless of the blush, was smiling and shook his head.  “I’ll do my best.  But I make no promises you won’t find me in the car when you get back,” he warned and honestly, Gladio wasn’t sure he was joking.

“I mean… if they really are giving you that much trouble you can always come with me?” he offered, glancing behind Ravus and noticing a few more butterflies slowly drifting their way.  “I think they’re attracted to your shampoo.”

Turning to follow Gladio’s line of sight, Ravus noticed the incoming monsters and gasped, quickly scurrying to once more stand behind Gladio.  “Well what would you have me do?!  Roll around in a mudpit like some sort of ruffian?!” he growled.

Gladio put on a contemplative expression, soon feeling a little pinch to his side making him squawk and jump to the side with a loud laugh.  “O-okay!  Okahay!  I was only joking,” he said lightly, turning to look at the man.  “So do you want to come with me?  At least then I can protect you.”

It seemed that the prospect of staying behind with the flutterby troubles was more than Ravus could stand and after a moment he nodded.  “I’ll come along.  But I swear if I don’t start to see the magic of camping soon we are sleeping in the car with the air conditioning and the lack of creepy crawlies.”

“Fair enough,” Gladio conceded.  He knew it had taken moving heaven and hell to get Ravus to leave the comfort of their apartment to try and experience the fun and relaxation of the outdoors and he refused to give in just yet to showing him how good it could be.  “Come on then.  While we still have the light working with us,” he said softly, grabbing his gear pack from his camp chair and standing at the edge of the haven, waiting for Ravus to follow.

The white haired man bit his lip nervously, still looking slightly uncertain, but one quick glance to the impending butterflies easily sent him moving forward to follow Gladio into the surrounding woods.

As soon as they entered the forest Gladio couldn’t help taking in a deep breath.  There was something so soothing about the smell of the trees and ferns that just made him feel relaxed in a way the everyday humdrum of the city couldn’t.  He loved what they had in Insomnia.  He loved their bookstore and what they had built together, but sometimes it was nice to recharge in a setting like this. “Oh!  Look at this, Gladio!” Ravus murmured from behind him.  Pausing, Gladio turned around to find Ravus stepping off the path and glancing up into a tree.  It really was impressive.  The base of the tree was wide enough that he and Ravus combined wouldn’t be able to wrap their arms around it.  Moss and ivy intertwined with some of the roots that were bent up out of the earth and the light that filtered in from the canopy sent dappled green hues over everything below.

Trying to find out what it was that had drawn Ravus’ attention, Gladio tried to follow his line of sight and instantly spotted what had caught his eye.

The tree was flowering in anticipation of the fruits it would bear.  The flowers were a soft white with fluffy yellow centers that seemed to sparkle almost ethereally.  They grew in bunches and the scent that came from them was absolutely intoxicating.

“It’s a Duscaen Orange tree,” Gladio explained as he came to stand beside his partner.  “The flowers are used to make perfumes around the Eos and have medicinal purposes, but the best part is the fruit.  You can thank this tree for your morning glass of orange juice.”

Ravus gave a little hum of acknowledgement and turned to Gladio.  “While I highly doubt this particular tree has helped in my daily dose of vitamin c… I definitely appreciate it a bit more,” he said with a soft smile, turning back and moving closer to touch the trunk of the tree.  “And… I suppose I can also appreciate your proclivity for nature.  It’s… rather beautiful at times.  When it’s not trying to nest in your hair.”

Gladio snorted at that and shook his head, setting down his backpack and moving closer to the tree as well.  “I’m glad you’re starting to see it,” he said lightly, looking up at the monster of a tree and getting a mischievous little smile.  “But to really appreciate nature… you gotta really embrace it.  Become one with it, ya know?”

This time it was Ravus’ turn to snort in amusement.  “Is that so?  And how exactly do you do th-... Gladio?” Ravus glanced next to him where the man had been standing and found nothing but foliage.  “Gladio?  Gladiolus?”  Blossoms slowly began to drift down from the canopy, landing in Ravus’s hair and making him look up.  What he saw instantly made his eyes widen with fear.

“Gladiolus Amicitia get your arse back down here this instant!  Are you crazy?!” he shouted, watching as his titan of a boyfriend acted as some sort of jacked squirrel, climbing his way up the branches and sending even more petals raining down upon him.

Gladio chuckled and looked down at his sweetheart.  “Why don’t you come up here and join me?  The view is amazing and you really feel like you’re one with nature,” he called back down and could practically feel the glare he was being given.  Really it only served to make him laugh more and he shook his head.  “Alright, alright.  I’ll be right down.  Give me a sec.”

Ravus huffed as he watched Gladio shimmy back across the branch before sitting down on it halfway and then… he tipped back.

As soon as he saw his partner falling backwards, Ravus instantly shouted and rushed forward arms out ready to catch his behemoth of a partner.

“Gladiolus!  Look ou-mmmh!”

In an instant his words were paused by soft lips meeting his own, the arms he had extended to attempt to catch the man frozen in midair.

Gladio couldn’t help smiling against Ravus’s lips, leaning back a little where he hung upside down and giving him a roguish little smile.  “Everything okay, Ravus?” he asked softly, looking at the slightly dazed expression on his partners face, the soft blush of his cheeks and the way his arms still stretched out ahead of him.

That all changed in an instant.

“What is wrong with you?!  Are you crazy?!  Are you part squirrel?!?  You’re worse than the flutt-… butt-… fluttubberblies!” Ravus began to chide, obviously worked up from Gladio’s little display of bravado if his attempt to say butterflies again.

“How on Eos could I be worse than a fluttubberbly?” Gladio chuckled, watching as Ravus scowled and swatted at his chest making him laugh a little more.

“Incorrigible!  Absolutely incorrigib-!,” once more his words were cut off as Gladio leaned forward, just so, to capture his lips.  The smile on his face almost matched the pout on his partners.  However, it wasn’t long before the kiss was being reciprocated and Gladio happily lost himself in the moment, the scent of the orange blossoms making the moment all the sweeter.

Slowly, the kiss came to its end and Ravus helped to lower his hulking partner from the tree and back onto the ground where he belonged.

“I still can’t believe you did that,” Ravus murmured, the two of them already starting back on the trail to find a few pieces of kindling for the fire.

Gladio smiled softly, reaching over and wrapping an arm around his shoulders, drawing in the silver-haired man who easily followed.  “I promise I wasn’t trying to scare you, though seeing you rush to save me was really sweet,” he teased softly, making Ravus grumble and elbow him lightly even as he smiled.

“What can I say?  I’m chivalrous like that,” he teased back making Gladio’s own smile grow.

“Chilvary doesn’t have you running behind your significant other to escape bugs,” he teased and Ravus sputtered in indignation.

“Have you seen them?!  Monsters, Gladio.  MONSTERS!”

As Ravus began to list off all the qualities that made the butterflies beasts of the sky, Gladio couldn’t help the way his heart fluttered and his smile grew.