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

Once he's finished, Noctis sighs quietly. This sort of thing isn't the most tiring use of his magic there is, but it does take its toll like everything else, so he takes just that one brief moment to rest before he opens his eyes again. And when he does...

...he's met with Ignis looking at him like that. It mirrors the feeling that's settled deep in Noct's heart, an instinctive sense for whose hands hold pieces of his power and how they almost feel like they could be a part of him, if he concentrates on it enough. Or, perhaps, that he is a part of them, giving pieces of himself over to the stewardship of their souls. Maybe that's why this feels so perfectly right with Ignis of all people.

That look, that smile, the tone in Iggy's voice, it all makes Noct's breath catch. How did he manage to go so long without Ignis? He honestly has no idea.

His hand still rests there above his retainer's heart as awe creeps into his gaze. "It's...by far the least I can do," he says softly. "I want to give you so much more. I want to make you as happy as you make me. I want..."

He shouldn't. He really shouldn't. Even with Gladio it was slightly shaky ground before they reached an understanding about their love coexisting with their duties. With Ignis...how could any kind of confession be anything but compromising? Unlike Gladio, Ignis has always seemed to seamlessly blend his duties with his feelings and often capitulates to what Noctis wants, in spirit if not to the letter. Would Ignis tell him if he didn't feel the same way? Or would he take up that role with a smile, too, simply because Noctis wanted it? He was nervous and worried about confessing to Gladio, but if Ignis takes this poorly, if they step back to keeping each other at arm's length again, Noctis doesn't think he could handle it.

But he may not get a better chance than this. He doesn't want to let this moment drift away from them only to lose it forever. If Noctis says nothing now, he may never say anything. And that seems unfair to Ignis, doesn't it? Keeping something like this a secret from the man who otherwise knows his heart inside and out?

...and what if Ignis vanishes from Amani just like Nyx did? Didn't Noctis tell the whole network he would work harder to be open with people he cared about and invite them to do the same, lest they lose the opportunity? If anyone deserves that effort from Noctis, it's Iggy.

Taking a deep breath and drawing himself up, he takes Ignis' hand with his own free one, just to hold it. "Listen...I'm going to say something, and I know how complicated it could make things. Trust me, I get it. That's why I need to make sure you understand that no matter what your answer is, I'll be fine. I don't want you to feel any kind of pressure. Forget for a minute what we are to each other, okay? Right now, I'm just Noct and you're just Ignis, and that's it. Got it?"

Just like that, the soft adoration is gone from Ignis's expression, and there's just a sharp and attentive quality to his gaze as he looks to Noctis. What Noct had been saying just a moment had been - interesting, a line of mental inquiry which he'd been in the middle of shooing away, but this is more important. If Noct actually feels strongly on something like this, is trying to speak to him seriously...

"Of course, Noct." Although what on earth could Noct want to tell him that he'd find complicated, and which would be pressuring? He supposes he'll find out. With how much Noctis has matured, after all, it could be anything. "What is it?"

A trickle of uncertainty seeps into Noctis' resolve when Ignis does that thing where he snaps immediately to Attentive Mode and says 'of course, Noct.' He doesn't want Ignis to feel like he can't or shouldn't say no, or like it's somehow an obligation regardless of his personal feelings. Maybe it's stupid to think Noctis, the guy who took Ignis for granted for basically his entire life, could be mature and sensitive enough to other people's feelings not to unwittingly abuse his station and Ignis' devotion to duty.

...but he has Gladio here to give him reality checks when he needs them, and Prompto to tell him when he's doing something right. Just because they're no longer on a life-threatening, world-saving journey, doesn't mean he can't still rely on all three of them to keep him on the right path just like he always has. With their help, he can do this.

"Well, I, uh..." Oh, come on, you can do better than that! Noctis clears his throat and tries again.

"...I don't ever want to be away from you like that again. And, like I said before, I've had a lot of time for introspection. Looking back on my victories, my mistakes, my relationships...everything I've done, and everything we've done together. Time to figure out my own feelings, too. And...lately I've had some life lessons in how important it is to get over myself and let people know what my feelings are before it's too late. So...that's what I'm doing."

In his mind, Noctis can practically hear Gladio telling him to spit it out, already.

"...I love you, Ignis."

The signs, to a normal person paying attention to the start of this particular topic, were all there.

Ignis Scientia hasn't been a normal person since he was age six watching his father start up a car and then tried to look up a library book on hotwiring vehicles just in case he needed to, for Noctis.

So this only serves to completely stun him for... perhaps the first time in his life, where the gears behind his eyes have clearly clicked and stuttered to a halt as he just stares. No doubt a part of him should be happy, but, well.

That would require the rest of his brain to be functioning enough to take all of this into consideration, to properly tap into the cortex which handles emotions. That's not quite happening. Frankly, if he were in a better state of mind to appreciate it, and this weren't an emotional climax that has been tormenting two men in different ways for years, Noctis could probably enjoy the rare sight of Ignis looking absolutely shellshocked.

"Me? I -" Actually speaking seems to help Ignis recover slightly. But only slightly. "May I... ask why?" He shakes his head slowly. "With my station as it were and my duties... I had thought you found it all burdensome."

...oh, shit.

That is really, really not the reaction Noctis was expecting. Even in the bad scenarios he'd considered, it would be Ignis letting him down gently with a kind but firm reminder that such feelings are not appropriate, or maybe getting offended at the presumption, or...something.

Not just staring blankly at him like he said he was from outer space.

Noctis opens his mouth to say...something, he doesn't even know what, before the staring goes on for too long, but Ignis beats him to it.

...right. There it is.

"Uh..." He lets go of Ignis' hand and drops the other one from his chest only to run it through his own hair, backing up a step. "I know, I know, duty comes first, I get it--" Wait, what was that last thing?

"Wait, burdensome? No! No, Ignis, I..." He sighs. Younger Noct's self-absorption and thoughtlessness strike again. "That...was never about you. I never felt like you were a burden. I just...ugh. Took it out on you because you were the only one with the patience to keep dealing with my bullshit. The burden was my station, my duties, all the expectations - and Dad's, too." His voice gets quieter as he glances down. "I would have given anything to see Dad happier, healthier. To give him a reprieve from everything - public opinion, the war, the pressure, the fucking Wall. But I knew that wasn't possible, and I knew deep down that I couldn't escape any of it forever. Even when I lashed out at you, I knew it wasn't your fault. And when I could pull my head out of my ass for five minutes, I was so, so grateful to have you. ...I still am. Always will be."

None of which actually answers the question, though, and Noctis folds his arms, still looking down. "As for why, I mean...you might as well ask me why fish swim and birds fly." He shrugs.

Wait. Wait. Noctis pulls his hands away and, even though Ignis knows that light has already sunken in so deep that is has penetrated far further than any bone, it still feels as though he has been left bereft. He can't help but step forward, just a bit, to follow after.

"...I thought that, even if it was never about me, I had still become representative of it," he admits softly. "With the way I was constantly reminding you of what was happening in politics, my insistent reminders to clean your room, numerous little things of that nature. I don't regret that. I thought it was for the best. But..."

A raise of his hand. A moment's hesitation. And then he finally reaches out, fingertips lightly touching upon Noct's crossed arms.

"I thought that, by doing so, I had ended up drawing a line between us. That even as we have been slowly adjusting with one another much more, you would still on some level always view me as something - separate. Like a teacher, or a guard. I would be content with that, if you were still able to be happy in some manner, or safe. Healthy. But it would still be an exchange made. That was what I assumed." Because his feelings on it always were what he'd have to give up first, just for Noct. And would it ever matter, so long as he could just continue being by Noct's side?

The hand presses a little more firmly, now, drifts to one of Noctis's hands. "...You're certain that you love me?"

Noctis blinks when Ignis takes that step after him, unsure what it means. He's unsure exactly what Ignis is trying to say, too. An exchange? Of what?

He shakes his head. "You were doing what my father asked you to do, for my sake. Even then, I knew that. That day when I actually got off my ass for once and tried to do all those things you reminded me to do...I didn't do it for duty, or because it was the right thing. I did it for you."

That light touch doesn't help much with clearing up what Ignis is getting at, but when it moves for Noct's hand, he unfolds his arms to let Iggy do whatever he wants with it, glancing down at the places where their fingers touch. The question, though, that gets Noctis' gaze snapping back up again with all the certainty in the world.

"Yeah, of course I am," he says, with no hesitation - at least, not for that. For what comes after, he does pause for a second. "But that's..."

There's a reason, Noctis thinks, that Ignis feels like he has to ask this. And Noct realizes: he's doing it again. Dumping everything he's had years to build up in his mind onto this younger Ignis with no regard for how overwhelmed he must be. And he really doesn't want to chase Iggy off again just to satisfy his selfish need for immediate gratification.

"You don't have to give me any kind of answer right now, or even soon, or - or ever, that's not why I'm telling you this. I just wanted to come clean before I lost the chance again, but I jumped the gun. I know you've got a ton to wrap your head around already, and there's still so much more you don't know yet, not to mention dealing with the Armiger...sorry. If you need more time to adjust, just say the word."

Ignis only has so long to marvel at that small strange and warm feeling, that Noct started doing things for him, before Noctis keeps talking, trying to recant in a way, and he has to sigh, just a bit. Just once.

"Noct," he says, patiently, fingers following the curve and knuckles of his prince's hand. "I want to give you an answer, right now. As myself, and nothing more. There is just something that you need to know, before I can say anything more."

And it's probably something that he should have said a long time ago, he supposes... Him or Gladio. No doubt that this was going to come up sooner than later, too, so it was just a question on which of them would say it. Ignis wasn't sure if it would be him. It's just how else could he live with himself if he responded any other way?

"This is not a refusal," he clarifies, because it seems that Noctis has still not entirely gotten good at reading people in the time since he's grown without Ignis witnessing it. "But you are romantically involved with Gladio as well, aren't you?"

Noctis may not always be great at reading people, but he sure knows that familiar sigh and patient tone. He's distracted for a moment glancing down at what Ignis is doing with his hand...that's new. But his eyes are on Iggy again as he goes on.

Something that Noctis needs to know? Right this minute? He chuckles in an attempt to make that feel less dire. "You always were good at saying really ominous things...sure, go for it."

This is not a refusal, but-- Yeah, nothing good can come after a starter like that, can it? But Noctis keeps listening, and...oh. Oh, shit.

"Oh, uh..." He winces just a little. "Y-yeah. I didn't really get a chance to get into any of that, um...earlier. But Gladio, he's...not the only one." Noctis' tone hovers somewhere between 'see, multiple romantic partners are totally valid!' and 'Six, what will Iggy think of me if he knows this...'.

"Well, Prompto and you never were quite subtle," Ignis responds, completely nonplussed. "And if there are others, then I will certainly meet them in time, I imagine."

Brandt is still going through the network history, this will happen sooner or later.

While Noctis is still blindsided by that first statement, Ignis simply continues on. "However, the others are not as relevant as Gladio is." Alright. This may be unpleasant. Yet as with many unpleasant jobs, someone has to do it. "That would be because... Gladio and I were dating."

There. That's the hard part out, and Ignis squeezes his hand down in brief reassurance. "Before I can give you any other answer... I thought you should know that much, first," he says quietly. "I wouldn't wish to lie to you on that, Noct."

Noctis blinks - but after a moment, he realizes it was silly to think Ignis might think less of him for dating both Prompto and Gladio, if he already knew about both. The rest does surprise him, though, Ignis just rolling with the idea that there could be others. And it's a good thing he's fine with leaving that for later, because now really doesn't seem like the right time to mention Ardyn.

Brandt can mind his own business, Noctis intends to tell Ignis these things himself!

All of that flees from Noctis' mind immediately when Ignis goes on. "Wait...what?" He frowns, multiple implications trying to vie for the thing that occurs to Noctis first. "Why didn't you tell me before? And - wait, you mean you were dating Gladio, even back then in Insomnia? What do you mean, you were dating him, what about now?"

A pause, as the question among those that's most important to Noctis really settles into place and makes the others take a backseat.

"Why...why didn't you tell me?" he repeats, quieter this time.

Ah.

And now, for a brief painful moment, Ignis regrets every getting into any kind of relationship with anyone at all.

Despite that, and despite what Gladio may have said about responsibility, he doesn't plan on letting the other man take on all of that himself at all. "When it first started... I thought you would find it unpleasant," he admits. "Thinking of me involved in romance, or sexual matters at all." There is a slip in there that admits that he and Gladio have gotten intimately involved. Ignis does not particularly expect it to stand out to Noct, especially since he keeps talking.

"In truth, for myself, it was still a rather new relationship. Only recently have I come to realize how indepth it truly is... and have to contend with how I could tell you such a thing as well.

"From what Gladio has told me of the future, his solution was to simply have us act as a couple in a natural way, and that you - and Prompto as well - would pick up on it naturally in turn. It seemed as though that didn't happen. In hindsight-" Foresight? "-perhaps this was the only outcome that would have happened. You and Prompto never seemed to realize on the signals you were sending one another, so perhaps this plan was a faulty one from the start. That is on me."

You know, a version of him that definitely agreed and went on a roadtrip - wait.

Ignis sighs. "I don't know what happens on this roadtrip that has been alluded to... But it's clear that it was impactful, and more important than anything. Even as time passed with no easy way to tell you of this... From what I understand, it slowly became the least important thing on our minds.

"All I can do... is apologize. I should have told you from the first date. That was my own mistake."

Noctis doesn't manage to refute that bit about finding Ignis in a romantic or sexual context 'unpleasant' before he continues, but his face clearly says it all.

He does almost interrupt when he he hears Gladio's 'solution.' He wants to say, Gladio probably never intended that to work to begin with and just used it as justification to appease Ignis. He wants to say a lot of things, but as he has been trying to teach himself to do, he bites his tongue to make himself think first. Especially once Ignis brings up the trip, and Noctis realizes how self-absorbed his initial reaction was. What would Gladio say? Get a grip. Stop drowning yourself in your own emotions and consider someone's viewpoint other than your own.

Right. Relationships are tricky things, the Noct of today knows that very well. This wasn't one of those things everyone was keeping from Noctis 'for his own good,' which he can't stand; this was a personal thing between Ignis and Gladio that they were discovering for themselves, and honestly, Noctis isn't sure he'd tell his own teenage self anything either. That guy was a moody little shit.

But on top of that, they all had important work to do every day, and Gladio probably didn't think it was a big enough deal to put on Noct's plate alongside everything else. And by the time it would have become clear during the trip that Noctis and Prompto weren't picking it up, that was true ten times over. Not like he and Prom told the other two anything about their own, uh, escapades, either. It paled in relevance compared to the reality of their situation and day-to-day concerns. And...well, there's more, but really this much is enough.

Noctis stands there looking pensive for a moment as these thoughts work themselves out in his mind, and then he shakes his head and squeezes Ignis' hand back in return. "Nah, don't be sorry. I get it. And I'm glad you and Gladio could find something that makes you both happy. I mean that." He gives Ignis a small smile of a kind Ignis has likely never seen on his face before - something genuinely satisfied, content, with just the barest hint of distance.

"As for the roadtrip..." The smile disappears and the pensiveness comes back. "That's something we are gonna need to talk about sooner or later. I can give you the bare-bones basics if you want, but beyond that, it's...a lot. Like, a lot a lot. So you can tell us when you're ready to hear the rest."

Ah. There's something almost... regal, about the way that Noctis looks at him, in that moment. It's a smile, yes, and it's so calm and understanding that it makes his heart ache, and yet, at the same time, it's separated from him in a way that he doesn't care for.

Ignis stores those reactions inside of his chest, to be tucked away for now until he can pull them out again at a later date, hold them to the light for better inspection. He has to deal with practical concerns, right now, and so only shakes his head in regards to this mystery roadtrip. "I have been advised to perhaps take some time to focus on one matter at a time," he says, smile briefly wry before it's gone again in the blink of an eye. "So... We can save that for another day."

They were talking about something else, after all, and... It is a personal matter which may indeed need to take priority. "But that is what I wished to tell you, so that you knew before making any choice or confession. So."

His hand, tightening there again, and this time not quite easing up.

"Knowing that now... Would you still make that confession, Noct?" Because if so, if he's truly accepted Ignis and Gladio's relationship having existed beforehand and still existing now...

Ignis knows he's going to have to make a choice of his own, very and immediately soon.

"Heh...it's a little late for one matter at a time, but yeah, let's not add to it."

Noctis refocuses on this, on them, just the two of them and the words Ignis is saying. He grips Noct's hand just a little tighter as if to emphasize his question, which makes Noctis' brows lift.

"Yeah, of course," he says, once again with no hesitation - indeed, he's not even sure why it's a question at all. "Nothing's going to make it any less true, and like I said...I told you because I thought you should know, and nothing's going to change my mind on that, either."

Even if Ignis doesn't love him this way. Noctis isn't sure what other reason his advisor might have for asking all these questions and circling some center that Noct can't see. But he meant it when he said he didn't want to make Ignis give him any answer in return, so hard as it may be to handle uncertainty or rejection, Noctis is beginning to loosen his grip on the fear that bringing this up to Ignis could ruin their relationship - personal or professional.

If there's any difference between the two at all with Ignis. Noctis isn't sure there is or ever was.

There is a part of him - the part that underwent so much training, so many lessons, knowledge pressed down again and again on what it means to be Noctis's retainer, his companion, his guard and secretary and everything else - that imagines he should perhaps draw a line here. That he should consider how things should be to make Noctis's life easier in the long run, and how his retainer being romantically entangled does the opposite.

But that isn't the rest of him. The him who grew up alongside Noct. The him who held him close from the first day he ever met him as a child, and decided his whole was already his. Who hugged him whenever he got upset he couldn't see his father, and bit through his own lip when he heard Noct was in an accident, and celebrated every single birthday of his together no matter anything else.

The him who looked at Noct as they grew into young men together, and had already settled into adoring quiet love that would give him the world, if he ever asked of it. Who'd been so relieved that Prompto came into Noct's life, because it looked as though finally someone could make him happy and it clearly hadn't been Ignis for quite some years.

Ignis closes his eyes for a moment. Gladio was right. If it's even remotely in his power to give...

Even as Noct starts to loosen his own grip, retreat in uncertainty, Ignis doesn't quite allow him. If anything, his own grip tightens to make up for the slack, pulling it right back again. Back and up, twisting Noct's hand until his wrist is bared to the sky.

Bared to Ignis's lips, brushing against and pressing down at the thin skin there.

"Thank you," he murmurs.

Once again, Ignis takes him by surprise with his reaction, only this time it's swung wildly in the opposite direction. He stares. A little shiver runs down his spine at the touch of those soft lips against the sensitive skin, the warm breath when Ignis speaks.

This moment seems to fly in the face of what Noctis thought Ignis was leading up to. It...feels like reciprocation. But if Noctis jumps the gun again, makes assumptions when he's not absolutely certain, it could make Ignis feel like an expectation, and he doesn't want that.

"Uh...what, exactly, are you thanking me for?"

Really, now. But then, Ignis supposes he has no room to judge. Only a half hour ago, and he would have denied that Noct would view him anything more than someone precious but purely platonic. He can't judge Noct for not seeing the signs he's giving.

"For the greatest gift you could have bestowed upon me," he murmurs, lips dragging gently along the arch of Noct's wrist, pressing down against his palm. "One I thought far out of my reach for a very long time." His hand adjusts, fingers weaving inbetween Noctis's to spread them out, arch them back. Expose them to the soft kisses he bestows upon each one.

"I could thank you a million times, Noct.. and it would not nearly be enough, for how precious those words are to me."

For all that Noctis has started to find and accept the romantic in himself, this - especially coming from Ignis - is far beyond what he was prepared for. His eyes flutter half-closed as those lips continue their deliberate work, but blink fully open again a moment later.

"...far out of your reach? Why would you think that?"

Noctis isn't sure exactly how to feel about Ignis' words. On the one hand, he's never liked feeling like people were putting him on some pedestal or acting like his attention was something inherently desirable to such a degree. On the other...

...on the other, this is Ignis, who never does anything by half-measures or for appearances alone. Who never panders or acts out of shallow motivations. When Ignis says this, he truly means it, and that's...well, it's a warm, fulfilling feeling, but it's also scary, in a way. Noctis wants them to be equals in this, he doesn't want to unwittingly take advantage of Iggy's unwavering dedication and high opinion of him. Then again, he knows Ignis does enjoy it and doesn't shy away from saying so if he thinks Noctis can do better at something, so maybe it will be okay. Maybe Noctis can learn to enjoy this, too.

So he tries to focus on the sensations instead, the way their fingers interlace, the joy bubbling up in his heart at the thought that Ignis really does feel the same way. Tries to put his worries out of his mind for once and just exist in the moment.

And when he does, he finds himself mesmerized by what Ignis is doing. Soft, slow, careful attention of a kind Noctis has never experienced before. The feeling of it is making his heart beat faster.

His free hand comes up to cup Ignis' cheek as he holds his gaze steady. "Then I've got to thank you, too. You don't know how...how much this means to me."

"I imagine not." Letting his fingers simply sink around Noct's, Ignis closes his eyes to absorb that soft warmth along his cheek. This is more than his wildest dreams could have ever foreseen. "Yet I will gladly welcome such a surprise."

Yet there's no point in just luxuriating in this moment forever. Opening his eyes, Ignis makes a faint huff of amusement. "As for what I meant... I see that you still have a little more work to do when it comes to paying attention to other people's words, Noct. Do you recall when I mentioned my concern of having drawn a line...?"

"Hey, I paid attention!" Noctis protests...even if he can't quite remember exactly what it is Ignis is referring to immediately. "You just...said a lot of stuff."

But he thinks back for a second past the pleasant semi-haze of the last two minutes or so. Right, yes.

"...yeah, I remember. Kinda funny, because I always thought there was no way you'd ever feel like that about the guy who acted like a total brat every time you tried to help him." It's mostly wry rather than sheepish or truly self-deprecating. (Mostly.)

Edited 2024-02-26 22:53 (UTC)

Mostly.

But even that isn't acceptable to Ignis, and he reaches up with his other hand to rest along Noct's, stepping even closer. "I've never once thought of you that way," he says quietly, almost an admonishment. "Even when I was frustrated by you." Another light huff. "That did not make it any easier to weather through, of course, but I would weather anything for you."

And he means that.

Noctis' eyes soften as he smiles gratefully. "Guess that makes two of us on all counts," he says, heartbeat speeding up just a little more as Ignis comes closer.

"Hey, Specs," he says quietly after a moment. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea what is going through your head, Noct," is the reply, said in that very frank and polite manner that Noctis is all too familiar with. The only thing that gives the game away is the slight smile that pulls at his lips.

"So it would seem that you will simply have to show me."

Now this is familiar ground. "No idea, huh? Guess I could do pretty much anything, then. Choices, choices..."

As if they don't both already know exactly where this is going.

"Ehhh, a nap is pretty impractical right now, so I suppose we'll have to settle for this." Noctis doesn't quite have the straight face Ignis does, but he's got 'insincerely disaffected' down pat - other than the faint smirk on his face, of course.

But when he draws Ignis down to finally, finally kiss him, it's so much gentler and more indulgent than their banter might suggest it would be. He's not the most patient guy in the world, but for Ignis? For both of them together, for something they've both wanted for so long?

He can take his time. He can savor this. He can try to show Ignis just how much this means to him, something he couldn't figure out how to explain with words. Noctis does better with actions, generally speaking, anyway.

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