#idk man its like a songfic but with a poem

[aliatori]

FANFIC - mouthful of forevers

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV

Pairing: Gladiolus Amicitia/Cor Leonis

Summary: Cor finds a way to connect with a distant Gladio.

Rating: Mature

Notes: Inspired by the poem “Mouthful of Forevers” by Clementine von Radics

If the capacity for guilt hadn’t been burned out of Cor with all the ruthless precision of a life spent at war, he might feel a degree of guilt at how much he enjoys the peace and quiet with Gladio gone.

Objectively, it’s a beautiful day. Sun pours in through the window, streaming in behind one of the faded navy blue curtains that isn’t quite pushed back from the glass, the glittering surface of the lake visible beyond the thick row of reeds lining the shore. Picturesque and idyllic—exactly what he imagined all those years ago when he first dreamt of respite, exactly what he imagined when he and a broken, empty Gladio left Insomnia behind months ago.

Cor’s eyes drift down to the pine flooring of the cabin, following a liquid trail of dark brown stains from the front door to the kitchen, where a wounded Gladio had collapsed three days prior. Gladio has always read as easily as a open book, the pages lined with clear, bold print, but lately…

Lately, it’s as though Gladio is ripping the pages out of that book, consigning them one by one to various flames: the seductive, shimmering allure of recklessness; the pure, cleansing fire of anger; the guttering, smoldering embers of shame; the cold, biting intensity of loneliness. Most of all, Gladio has been surrendering to rage, a rage powerful enough to devour all other emotion and swallow it down to drown and die. Cor has been hoping—knowing full well how treacherous hope can be—Gladio will reduce himself to cinders and start to grow anew, will let the ashes of his sorrow enrich the soil of his new life.

He hasn’t.

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