uhmani | TDM #14

If the main hub and its features don't appeal to you, that's perfectly fine. This is the perfect time to configure your Digitized Technical Friend or your DTF status. A DTF is similar to a dæmon from His Dark Materials in that it is connected to and a reflection of a character's soul. These DTFs take shape accordingly and are projections similar to the NPCs. Think of them as your own personal Clippy except less annoying. Hopefully.

Once that's set-up, there are other locations of the main hub to investigate! You can visit the training grounds, music lounge, library, and onsen. Also, feel free to leave an offering for the deity of sleep (Hypnos) at his shrine! You can even visit The Peacekeeper themselves on the second floor. They're always happy to have visitors! They're also conveniently where you might place a complaint about that status of the main hub and its amenities. Even if you do complain, The Peacekeeper will encourage new inhabitants to set off and find their own place to live out in the simulation.

Granted, the housing market in the afterlife isn't exactly robust. It doesn't help that nearly every place you find has a leaky roof or broken window. No, unfortunately, that will need to be fixed the peaceful way. If you'd like more lighting or even cozier clothes, simulation inhabitants are reminded that 'peaceful interactions' are very important!

It might be a good idea to stick close to someone you know, for now, since even the smallest amounts of intimacy might see subtle changes occurring where they're staying. Perhaps that broken window is now fixed, the grime and dust seem a little less, or the floor doesn't creak quite as loud.

Larger changes, however, will only come after demonstrating more powerful peaceful interactions. If you want new hardwood floors or a fresh coat of paint on the walls, you're going to have to demonstrate how well you 'get along' with others against them first.

THE SEXY COMPENDIUM

Upon arrival to Amani, new inhabitants will be notified almost immediately of the sexy compendium that's uploaded to their DTF! This compendium lists all of the flora, fauna, unique geography, and miscellaneous items in Amani that might be worth looking at.

This database will update with seasonal highlights or places and items that might follow a theme! For example, the current theme is love for Valentine's Day and dragons for The Year of The Dragon!

While established inhabitants already know about all these things, it can't hurt to be reminded of what this simulated afterlife has to offer!

The Dragon Onsen

outdoor pool

dragon statue

blue tint

They suddenly look a lot more draconic than they did before.

Heart Jellies

jellyfish shaped like hearts

Wyverns

Taasunni Beach, and can range far into the Aditus Grasslands

Love Blossoms

gorgeous, pink flowers

pheromones

SEXY STAMP CARD

If you're wondering about these 'peaceful interactions' that keep being mentioned or what the kinks of the month are for... Here's your answer! Upon arrival, all characters will receive a digital copy of their very own sexy stamp card.

Sexy Stamp Card

Issued by: The Peacekeeper

1 2 3 4 ♡

6 7 8 9 ♡

❤

<div style="width:100%;padding:10px 10px 0;font-family:garamond, georgia, serif;font-size:20px;font-style:italic;letter-spacing:2px;text-align:left;">Sexy Stamp Card</div>
<div style="width:100%;padding:0 10px 10px;">Issued by: The Peacekeeper</div>

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<div style="max-width:300px;width:100%;margin:-10px auto 0;text-align:right;font-size:10px;"><a title="code credit!" href="http://10billionghosts.dreamwidth.org" style="text-decoration:none;color:#eee;">❤</a></div>

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Completing peaceful interactions (i.e. kinks) will reward characters with stamps that they can turn in for re-gains and many other things! While the example one here is the standard issued card by The Peacekeeper, players are more than welcome to customize it how they see fit. Have fun with it! NOTES

★ Feel free to check out the sexy compendium and also use whatever is listed there as you like! What's mentioned on the TDM are just suggestions and not only what's available! We want interested players to be able to make their own fun with what Amani has to offer and not feel limited to just the prompts provided here.

★ We are currently at 24/40 slots taken! Anyone wishing to claim a character must have an invite from someone currently in the game and follow the proper rules in place to be accepted into the community!

NAVIGATION

F.A.Q. ★ RULES ★ CHARACTER CLAIM ★ LOCATIONS ★ MAIN NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yeah, technically," Gladio acknowledges, pretending to study a hanging string of garlic. "The thing is, I've kind of been reserving that space for my boyfriend. Been waiting a long time for him to show up."

His arm, meanwhile, moves to slip loosely around Ignis' waist, a casual gesture of possessiveness. Just in case it wasn't obvious he's teasing Iggy back, the arm speaks loud and clear for him.

For the first time in what's probably been a very long while, considering the period of time Ignis is from... There's actually a quiet burst of laughter, muffled as Ignis turns his head to the side and hide it in his hand.

"Is that so?" he says after, the amusement impossible to hide in his voice despite his best efforts. A lemon, and a lime to match it, are picked up together after meeting his standards. "I suppose I won't be able to match up against someone like that. Still, it is somewhat unfortunate." He leans back slightly against that grip. "I had actually been planning to invite my boyfriend over to the meal I will be making at Noct's loft. All of his favorites, so long as I could find the ingredients."

Oh, that's going to be boosting Gladio's ego for the next week. He grins broadly, arm tightening around Iggy's waist. Nothing feels better than getting his too-serious boyfriend (including the more recent versions of him, who might be more teasing and sarcastic but aren't necessarily more prone to open mirth) to burst out laughing. He couldn't have asked for a better reaction.

"Lucky son of a bitch," he says, still grinning. "Well, if you can't find him...maybe I could take his place for the evening. And you could take my boyfriend's place in my apartment. Y'know, in the interim."

"Ah, so you would make a homewrecker of me," Ignis says, exhibiting an incredible ability to keep his face straight even while he says complete bullshit. But his hand still rises up, grazing across the arm wrapped tight at his middle, before returning to the grocery shopping.

"I expect the accommodations to be worth the mark on my reputation, then."

"Myself, too. But I think if my boyfriend could see how hot you are, he'd understand." Gladio smirks.

"As for the accommodations...if they fall short of your standards, we'll just have to rearrange things until they're acceptable." Now the conversation is starting to shift into something a little more directly honest. Gladio doesn't think Iggy would find any aspect of his apartment unacceptable, aside from perhaps the ratio of Cup Noodle to cabinet storage space, but if there is anything, he's more than prepared to change it around for Ignis, and he wants Iggy to know that. They'd spent enough time in each other's spaces prior to leaving Insomnia that each of them already had tweaked their places for the sake of having a regular overnight guest with predictable tastes, though Gladio supposes this Iggy might be early enough in their relationship that he might not have experienced that (or at least not the full extent of it) yet. Then with all the cohabiting that had taken place during the roadtrip and beyond...they've never officially lived together full-time in an established home before, but from Gladio's own breadth of lived experience in their relationship, he thinks they're well enough suited to each other for it to work out just fine.

Considering the brief way that Ignis's movements slow as he takes in that show of genuine sentiment, it's still very much a new experience for him, in more ways that one.

After all, even before the day that he ever officially met the little toddler that he'd dedicate his life to when he was barely out of the same age... It had always been very clear to Ignis that just about everything he was and ever would be would be in service to the prince. While it's perhaps not really occurred to him yet, it's truly fortunate that he took to some duties quite well, such as cooking, treating it as much as an enjoyable challenging hobby as much

Because otherwise... While he's always been considered as much as any person in a civilized society, there's still very little that is for him and himself alone.

Ignis doesn't regret this, not necessarily. He loves Noct, completely and utterly, even when they've so recently struggled and clashed with one another. If he were given a wish to go live his own life while ensuring Noctis was still safe and healthy, he doubts he'd take it. This is a life he wants, being by Noctis's side.

Yet just because he wants something doesn't mean it's all his heart actually wants. Doesn't mean it's lacking empty spots which, as it turns out, can't be filled by only just one person.

Gladio had filled that spot surprisingly well - or perhaps it had only been a surprise to Ignis, at an age where he was sometimes too lost in his own head to realize the obvious fact that maybe it was a hole that only someone like Gladio could fill. Two men completely dedicated to another, with roles and expectations that they put upon themselves almost as much as (if not more than) others around them. Would anyone else be able to understand their lives as much as they do?

And with this person... He'll ease up some of his own space, in consideration of what Ignis might want.

The feeling in his chest that's come with Gladio, soft and aching but warm, is one that Ignis thinks... he would like to keep for a long while yet, if he could.

"Well... If it's you, then I imagine there will be little to complain about." He says this without knowing the full extent of the Cup Noodle problem. Still, for now until that discovery is made, Ignis squeezes his own down over Gladio's. "Show it to me when we've finished shopping." Admittedly, the shopping might take a bit. All of these new ingredients have got him a little bit excited, and he wants to get some things that won't just be for tonight but rather later experimentation.

"Sure. I'd offer to let you do the cooking there, too, but if we're feeding Prom and Noct as well, it makes as much sense to make the food over at their place as it does having them come over to mine." A beat. "Ours."

Gladio has to admit, he likes the sound of that.

He behaves himself for a minute or so longer, letting Ignis go back to market perusal, before he speaks up again. "Hey, Iggy?"

"Well, it might not hurt to still stock our own fridge," Ignis says lightly, quietly appreciating the sound of things as much as Gladio does. It's not something he's yet to think about too deeply, but... Yes, he rather does like the sound of it.

By the time Gladio speaks up again, Ignis has already managed to get a decent haul going on that will no doubt at least double before they leave. "Yes, Gladio?"

"Give me that bag for a sec." And Gladio takes it from Ignis' hands, setting it down on the ground for a moment. Then he turns Ignis to face him, cups the other man's face in his hands, and kisses him like a sailor reuniting with his fiancee after having been at sea for years.

"What?" But it's not as though Ignis actually stops him, trusting in his boyfriend that he relinquishes the bag well enough. With his brain still mostly having been on the subject of what he'd make for dinner tonight, he's not quite as quick on the uptake on just what Gladio is looking for when he turns him around.

Not until he pulls him close, and their lips meet each other after what feels as though it's been far too long.

It was not too long ago when he last saw Gladio - hair shorn short, still clad in loose clothing. And yet the sheer longing in Gladio's kiss is impossible to stand against, to do anything but return. His hands brace against those sturdy arms for a moment, surprised, but they're in action soon enough. Go to find that long hair, so new to him, tangling in it and enjoying the feel of it there.

"Couldn't wait until we'd left the market, could you?" he says, breathless against Gladio's own lips when he has a moment to speak.

"Are you kidding?" Gladio murmurs, their breath mingling warm between their lips. "It's amazing how long I held off. You know how bad I've missed you? Even just stupid banter like this." One arm is around Ignis' waist now, the other hand still cupping Ignis' cheek. "Doesn't matter how far back you are. It's still you, and that's all I've been wanting."

He bumps their foreheads together, gazing into those beautiful eyes. Eyes that actually look back at him, see him. How long has it been since he's had that? A lot longer than a handful of months, that's for sure. Drinking in that alone...he could do it for the rest of the day.

Completely unaware of what awaits him in his future, Ignis actually manages a small smile, and those same green eyes shine with a quiet but warm fondness. With his hand right there, it's easy enough for Gladio to feel the way that his cheek warms beneath his palm. This is an Ignis who hasn't gotten used to such blatant adoration at all yet.

Not that he's necessarily complaining.

"Well. You'll have plenty of time to tell me how much you missed me." One of his hands slides out from Gladio's hair, down to lightly smacking at his shoulder. "And perhaps not so much in public."

Yes, he has gotten the idea of what kind of things are expected here.

That doesn't necessarily mean he's going to suck his boyfriend's tongue down his throat in public.

Gladio sighs, a touch over-dramatically, as he reluctantly loosens his hold on Ignis. He lingers holding that gorgeous green gaze, though, as he puts a socially acceptable amount of distance between them. (Barely.) "Social standards are a lot more lax here in Sex City, but I'm sure yours aren't," he remarks, not without fondness. He loves Iggy, decorum and all. It's one of the things he likes best about him, even, even if it's primarily in the context of teasing that sense of decorum or enticing him into letting it fall apart. He wouldn't be Iggy without it, so Gladio can hardly begrudge it.

"So what're you planning on making tonight?" he asks, to steer them into less sexy waters. (Not that Iggy really gave him a chance to get going, but he doesn't really mind. A lot easier to stop early than late.) Besides, the Six knows how much he's missed Iggy's cooking; he's interested in this subject, too. "Besides the pastries, of course."

There's no shot Iggy is going to hear that Noct has been without his cooking for months and won't whip up a new tasting of pastries. As far as Ignis' cooking goes, that's his specific thing with Noct, and Iggy is far too sensitive to Noct's desires to even wait for someone to think about telling him that Noct might have missed them. He's no doubt already inferred it and is making dinner plans accordingly.

"And are you planning on using any of these new fruits for them? They're obviously not gonna be what Noct remembers, but I wouldn't put it past you to try it just to see how they come out."

Social standards were always more lax for other people than for him, even before his own personal standards were taken into account. Really, nothing has changed on that front.

Besides the fact that everything between them has changed, although Ignis has to admit it's surprising how it doesn't feel as though things have changed. It's something he ruminates on even as he breaks contact with those deep warm eyes, trying to get himself back on track.

Facing Gladio makes this somewhat difficult, for an Ignis who hasn't had the time to acclimate to his own boyfriend's attractiveness before he started going around shirtless.

Groceries offer the perfect distraction, lowering the difficulty level exponentially. "Yours and Noct's favorites, as long as your tastes haven't changed too much." And he's hoping that's the case. Noct had still shown a disdain for vegetables, so he can't imagine he's gone in a completely different direction... "I don't know Prompto as well yet, from my own position, but I think I still know a little bit. A large well made salad should be somewhat pleasing, if nothing else."

And, although he doesn't say it, it's easier for him to sneak hidden veggies into the rest of Noct's food if he's being distracted by an enormous red herring. Especially if Ignis tries to convince him to try some of it.

Thus are the duties of a royal retainer.

"As for the pastries, even if the fruits are not exactly what was used for the original recipe, I may still find a use for them. If they ring any bell for Noctis, then it means I've gotten one more hint for the flavor profile of the dish." Every little bit counts! Although speaking of fruits... Hold on, he needs to grab his bag first. "Although I did actually pay a visit to the bakery before coming this way, and the owner there seemed to be somewhat helpful. He offered me some of his own stores from his orchard of a fruit I've never heard before."

"Oh, so you're making Cup Noodle?" Gladio takes care not to quite stand within Ignis' elbow range as he says this, grinning. "Seriously, though, if you want tips for Prom, I can give 'em to you. I had the benefit of traveling with him for a year; I know which dishes of yours he liked best."

Normally he'd chide Iggy a little for spoiling Noct, feeding him only the things he likes(usually meat or fish with no vegetables in sight); sure, Ignis tries to sneak a veggie in every now and then, or puts them on Noct's plate in a show of unwarranted optimism, but he hardly ever cracks the whip if the prince refuses outright. He lets Noct get away with too much, in Gladio's opinion. But, well, today...Gladio can understand the lenience. Besides, he expects that Iggy will at least start up his veggie attempts again soon enough.

"Honestly, Noct was so young when he had that pastry that I really wonder how reliable his memory on it even is." Gladio folds his arms over his prodigious chest. "You ever wonder if you're shooting for a target you can't hit because Noct doesn't really know what you're aiming for either?" This isn't really a serious objection - Gladio knows how much this pastry quest means to the both of them, and certainly isn't suggesting they give it up. He's more idly speculating as to whether there is a true right answer, or if Iggy should simply be searching for a dessert Noct loves in the current moment.

"Orchard, huh? I've seen one in town. Weirdest trees you've ever laid eyes on. I hadn't actually spotted any bearing fruit, though." He moves closer to Iggy. "Just how strange is the fruit?" Considering the flat fruit, Gladio's prepared for just about anything.

That's right, Gladio better take a step away. Ignis doesn't quite elbow him, but only because by the time he'd shifted his arm so that he didn't spill his groceries, he'd realized that his boyfriend had long stepped away. Doesn't get rid of the dead eyed stare of disappointment, however.

He'll remember you saying that, buddy.

But revenge is one of those dishes best served cold, so he leaves it, returning to his own bag. "What would be the point in wondering?" he asks, nudging aside some loaves of bread. "There's no doubt he had it, after all, and he has made indications on ways it could be different. Either one day my baking will finally click his memories into place... or he will have found some variation of what I have made to be preferable to those memories."

And Ignis, in his own quiet way, wouldn't mind either option.

Finally, he pulls out what he was looking for. "As for the fruit, it is apparently by far the least unusual thing here. From what the baker said, it is likely the tree which is far more strange on its own. Here." He holds out a simple purple apple.

Listen, Gladio absolutely has favorite foods that Iggy makes homemade that he can't get enough of. But he also knows his love of Cup Noodle is something of an in-joke with all of them, and something he and Iggy rib each other about - Iggy questioning Gladio's taste, Gladio getting his own back by teasing Iggy over what sometimes seems like a form of chef's jealousy. Of course he'd joke about Cup Noodle here.

Hopefully Iggy's revenge won't be actually making him a Cup Noodle, though. Gladio's missed Iggy's cooking as much as anyone else, Cup Noodle be damned.

"I guess I just don't want you striving for some unreachable goal," Gladio says, after a moment's consideration. "If all you're doing is trying to make something Noct likes the best, instead of trying to mimic some hyper-specific thing, then I feel like knowing that might take some pressure off you. Though it probably wouldn't make a lot of difference in the end. Whether his suggestions for changing up your recipe are based on memories or just how he'd like it to taste right now, you'd still be doing the exact same thing, huh?" He shrugs, relaxed; after all, he hadn't really been pushing any agenda here to begin with. "So you're probably right; there's no point in wondering. Guess I was just thinking out loud."

Gladio takes the apple from Ignis' hand, turning it from side to side. "Huh. Really does just look like a regular apple, except for the color. Did he tell you what color it is inside, or are we gonna have to wait for you to cut it up to find out? And does it taste like an apple?"

"I appreciate the consideration." And he does, really. No doubt it would do a lot more if this were actually something he and Noctis were struggling over, growing frustrated about, but... It's nothing nearly so bad.

If anything, Ignis thinks he likes it, and... Well. He suspects he can read into what Gladio isn't saying so obviously and, in that case, he suspects it's not only him who likes it.

Either way, he adds a few more things to the bag while Gladio inspects the apple, satisfied with the selection. He wants to experiment with so much even beyond what he'll make for the others. "It is, allegedly, the color of any other apple," he responds, recalling what the baker told him indepth. "Apparently, its taste is quite refreshing, so I'll be interested to see how it takes to being baked." Something so new... It'll be nice to experiment with it.

But for now, he's gotten the rest of what he needs - which does include some very large wrapped up meats and fish from a couple different stalls that he is just... sure trying to carry all on his own. "Now, let's go. Noct already gave me the key to his loft."

Because of course he did.

Edited 2024-02-22 23:58 (UTC)

Iggy, this is what you have a big strong boyfriend for. Gladio's been respectfully waiting for Iggy to indicate where and how he wants his help - a lesson he learned the hard way, not so long ago - but when he sees Ignis actually struggling to juggle all his purchases, he steps in and takes several of the bigger, more awkward parcels right out of his arms.

This is a younger Ignis, he reminds himself. The dynamics are...not quite the same. Telling Gladio when he wants his help - and when he doesn't - in explicit fashion is something that comes later. He might have to adjust his own behavior to be a little more intuitive, considering that.

He also takes the moment to tuck the apple back into one of Iggy's bags.

"Alright, let's go." The packages don't seem to be giving Gladio much trouble, but then again, very little that requires physical exertion does.

"Ah-" It's a bit like a kitten react to the sudden sniff of a dog right in its stupid big ear, what Ignis's expression does as Gladio suddenly takes some of the groceries off of his hands. There's the briefest flashes of a pinched brow, a downturned mouth... but then those ease away, and Ignis nods. "Right. Let's."

It takes a couple of minutes or so, enough time for them to pull out from the crowds of the marketplace and onto the main streets, for Ignis to speak up again.

"Thank you. I hadn't wanted to take advantage when my earlier manner had been... unbecoming."

"When your - what?" Gladio blinks bemusedly as he glances over at him. "What are you talking about? Anyway, how is it taking advantage of me to get help from your boyfriend carrying some groceries?"

Of course he's the only one thinking about things like this. "And I was your boyfriend insinuating negative things about you," he reminds him. "You've never given me any reason to doubt you, after all, not when it comes to our relationship."

Gladio shrugs. "You know what I was like before I was with you, and I wasn't exactly model boyfriend material then," he replies, shifting his hold on the packages slightly to get a better grip. "And at this stage in your life, you haven't been with me that long to know how solid our relationship is. Besides, we were half-joking at the time. I didn't take it as a fully serious accusation because it wasn't one, was it?"

He hesitates, glancing sidelong at Ignis. He doesn't want to damage Iggy's trust right after the man literally just praised Gladio for giving him no reason to doubt, but...at the same time, pretending there's been nothing going on while they're talking like this would feel a lot more like actively lying to Iggy than not clarifying what he'd said earlier that had...apparently managed to fly even under Ignis' hyper-sensitive radar. "I did say," he says, slowly, noting that Iggy's hands are currently full of groceries and deciding that may grant him some measure of safety, "that I've been sleeping alone pretty much the whole time. There's been one exception. But...I'd have never made any exceptions if you and I hadn't discussed it. Later on in our relationship than you are, though, I think, so...you might have to take my word for that one."

He takes a deep breath. "You mean everything to me, Iggy. I wouldn't risk messing up our relationship - or even want anything outside our relationship - for just anyone. But there's a couple people who mean a lot to both of us, people we've talked about our feelings for together, where...we kind of indicated to each other that if the circumstances were ever right, we'd go for it, and we'd be okay with that." Now comes the real hurdle, and no Amicitia has ever stared death in the eyes more directly. Not even his father, literally dying defending his own king. "Noct's one of them. And...the circumstances ended up right. He came to me, and that's the only way I think either of us would ever have considered it at all. You know I put my duty first as much as you do. But when it's something Noct wants...maybe some things are more important than our duty.

"I don't know if this is something that you're - at a point in your life where you can accept, when we never had the conversations I've had with older you, but that's where my head was at. For the record." And then Gladio lapses into an uneasy silence, waiting for whatever fallout might come.

Iggy probably won't just drop the bags to lunge at him. He'll bruise the fruit.

Frankly, back then, considering his remorse at how he got a little snappish at Gladio, Ignis had wondered if he were being too... much, in pondering about that kind of wording. He'd told himself that he would let himself rest, focus more on the present...

...And be sure to look into things in detail later on. He already planned to do so anyway; this wouldn't be much of an addition to the list.

Yet he has to reconsider that when he catches Gladio looking at him in such a way from the corner of his eye, and Ignis's own gaze narrows slowly. It's not a surprise that Gladio starts talking after, or that the subject matter is deserving of some caution. "Is that so," he says quietly when Gladio admits to discussing things already with the future version of himself that matches hiss own timeline.

His words are, notably, not a question, despite sounding as though they should be one.

Still. He does have to admit that all he can do is take Gladio's word on this. What does he know of his own future, of what an older version of himself would do? That kind of Ignis Scientia would have had so many more years to be alongside Gladio, to learn him inside and out, and be learned about in turn. Why wouldn't they speak more openly about such things, or find themselves stumbling into a love and affection for the same people? If it seems hard to imagine, well... It'd been hard for him to imagine having a relationship like this with Gladio at all, before it actually happened.

He'd told himself off for getting too aggravated too quickly when Gladio hadn't given him any reason to lose trust in him, no matter how quiet and subconscious it ended up being. He should maintain that lesson learned here, and -

"Noctis?"

The bag in his grip audibly makes a noise from the way his fingers curl into it. But Gladio has made the right gamble. Ignis doesn't drop his groceries, at least not yet. He also doesn't stop walking, if only because the whole of this conversation doesn't deserve to be had in such a public place.

This does mean Gladio getting to feel Ignis coming a good deal closer, their arms pressing against one another as his voice drops low and quiet in a way that simultaneously screams warning bells. "Just what circumstances would have Noctis come to you for a romance?"

That isn't something that just happens for no reason. Ignis has to admit his lack of experience in romance, unlike a certain other someone present, but he knows that much. Love at first sight is a fairy tale cliche, a trope they put in movies to get to the meat of the action. In real life, there is set up. There are signs something is clicking into place and fast approaching.

Or at least signs that someone is flirting.

Gladio Amicitia better give him a satisfying answer to this or else he'll make sure he's the last of his bloodline that has nothing to do with homosexuality-

That one actually stings, and Gladio winces, although not really from the venom in Ignis' voice. He expected to get in trouble for this, at least with an Ignis that comes from before they ever really dissected their mutual feelings for Noctis together. Before they had long talks about their feelings versus their duties, and how neither would ever consider flaunting those duties - or risking Noctis - simply for the sake of their own personal desires. The not-quite-spoken understanding in the way they'd talked about it that if it was a question of what Noct desired, as opposed to them, then their answers might be different. The spoken and implicit understanding that to both of them, what makes Noct happy is a hell of a lot more important than what makes them happy.

An older Ignis, who'd had these conversations with Gladio...he'd trust Gladio more here, certainly. Though even then, Gladio knows he'd have to...reassure him, at the very least, that it had been exactly the sort of scenario they'd both quietly fantasized about but never fully articulated, where it was something Noct wanted and therefore something the two of them could dare to allow themselves. That it hadn't just been his resolve and his steadfastness in his duty suddenly weakening. After all, Iggy when he's older is no less protective of Noct than he is at this younger age - no matter how much he might love and trust Gladio, he'd want to...make sure.

But this is...somehow worse than Ignis' anger, or the very real threat that he's about to get castrated by his own boyfriend. There's a level of...disgust, there. Disbelief, that Noct would ever look at him like that of his own accord.

If Gladio ever needed his confidence cut down to size, being asked in tones of pure ice by his own boyfriend why someone would ever look to him for romance does it in one stroke. Not the least of which is because, Gladio knows, Iggy is probably questioning right now why he ever did, either, with his opinion of Gladio clearly having bottomed out in a heartbeat.

Well...he can lick his wounds later, and he'll be damned lucky if he can limit them to just his feelings. For now, he has to deal with the job in front of him, no matter how messy or unpleasant it is. The only way out is through. So he sets his gaze straight ahead, keeps walking, and tries to focus only on finding the words he needs.

"What makes you think I know? I still don't get it myself. The guy who's always busting his ass, making him do things he hates, never cutting him slack even when he deserves it because the world can't afford it. And there's plenty of other ways I haven't been the best to him, either - fights we've gotten into you haven't even had the chance to see yet. He should resent me a lot more than he does. But...he's not the Noct you knew at your age, Iggy. He's grown a lot. He values both of us and the things we've tried to teach him a lot more than he used to - think he sees why we were doing those things more clearly now. That's part of it, I guess. But also, hell, maybe it's as simple as he doesn't have a whole lot of people he's ever been able to get close to in his life, and we're some of the most important relationships that he's got."

He turns his head to look down at Ignis. "But I didn't have the luxury to just stand around questioning why he feels the way he does. He told me how he felt, and I had to respond. Decide if I wanted to deny him yet another thing in his life - something that was in my power to give him, something I wanted to give him if it'd make him happy - or if I could actually, for once, let him have something he wants. I made my choice, and if you hate me for it I'll have to live with that. We might not agree on what was the best choice I could have made. But I won't let anyone say I made it because I wasn't putting Noct first, Iggy. Not even you. So if you're pissed at me because you think I'm trying to get away with something, or I'm not thinking about what's best for Noct, you'd better back up and give it another think. You can question my judgment all you want, but you've got even less place to question my devotion to Noct than my devotion to you."

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