MOOD WHIPLASH, but I lived through 6+ years of divorce hell, so I'm good with it only lasting two chapters in this fic. Back to the fluff!
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It's three weeks after Aranea Highwind departed for Gralea, the pizza delivery van is due to arrive at the apartment in thirty minutes, and Noctis Caelum is not helping matters by any stretch of the imagination.
"Noct," Ignis whispers. "We need to get the boys home in fifteen minutes."
Noctis sits back on his knees, looking up at Ignis in the dark of the Little Stars Nursery storage closet.
"We'll be fine," he says, and his lips twist in a smile as he swallows his lover down, pressing his tongue to the underside of Ignis' length as he goes.
Admittedly, this is a terrible idea. But the storage closet is out of the way, and they haven't had a night to themselves in weeks with Gladio and Prompto taking up the bed in the wake of Aranea's disastrous exit. And truly, Ignis can't help it, can he, when Noct gives him that look over his shoulder and...
"Oh," Ignis says, startled out of his thoughts as Noct hollows his cheeks on the way back up. "Noct, I--"
He reaches for him, and their fingers twine together at Ignis' sides. Noct is looking up at him, and there's reassurance there, tied up in the way his thumb traces over Ignis' knuckles, the hum of pleasure in his throat, the slight quirk of his lips. It's too much, and Ignis bites down on his cheek as he is pulled into a swift and powerful release. Noct stays there a moment longer, still gazing up at him, and slowly pulls away. He works his throat a little, and Ignis releases his hand to run warm fingers along his jaw.
"Alright, love?" he asks.
Noct pulls the hand still wrapped in his to his lips and kisses Ignis' knuckles. "Yeah," he says, softly. "We should go. Pizza'll be there any minute."
"Oh, you think?"
Noct grins, Ignis rolls his eyes, and the spell is broken. They hurriedly pull themselves together and try not to sneak out of the closet like unruly college students who just... had sex in a closet. Well. Ignis sighs and adjusts his collar, and can tell by Noct's sideways grin that his cheeks are turning pink again.
Luna, her cousin Stella, and her brother Ravus are all at the apartment when they get there, watching Gladio, Prompto, and their nursery school friends scream and chase each other in the backyard. Luna kisses Noct on the cheek and gives him a suspicious look regarding his ruffled hair, Stella whispers that she might have gone overboard with Gladio's birthday present, and Ravus looks exceedingly uncomfortable. That, Noct assures Ignis, is his normal state of being, and Ignis directs the man to his uncle, who shares that particular quality. The two of them end up spending most of their time in the kitchen, avoiding the children at all costs.
Gladio and Prompto wave hello to them for all of half a second before running back out to play.
"How very needed we are," Ignis says, dryly, and Noct snorts.
Gladio's bike is a glossy black with a shooting star decal and detachable training wheels, and Prompto bursts into tears within five minutes of watching Gladio pedal about the parking lot. Ignis picks up Prompto and gives him a speech on waiting your turn and you had a birthday just a few weeks ago, and Luna discreetly takes a picture.
Gladio has just made his twenty-third lap around the lot when a long, black limo pulls up to the drive.
"Oh, hell," Noct says.
President Caelum steps out of the car with a swarm of security guards. Noct and Ignis exchange helpless looks and go to meet him.
"What's this?" he says, when he sees Prompto's snot-covered mask of misery. "Something go wrong?"
"Gladio won't let me ride the bike," Prompto says. Regis nods sagely.
"Yes, I can see how that is a problem. May I?" He holds out his hands to Prompto, and Ignis looks to the boy. Prompto shrugs, so he hands him over.
"You're big!" he says. "How old did you say you were, again?"
"Four."
"Four! You're practically a man! Excuse me son," he says to Noct, by way of greeting, and tows Prompto over to Gladio, who is staring at them in abject shock.
"I believe the president of Lucis just kidnapped our child," Ignis says.
Noct hides a smile behind a fist as Prompto drags at Regis' hair, begging to be let down. "You know? I think he just did."
Regis can only stay for an hour, but he endears himself to the boys immediately. Part of it is the novelty of him being the President! but Noct admits to Ignis that he likes to think that part of it is just Regis, as well. His father also takes a moment to speak to Ignis, pulling him aside in the living room.
"Noctis said some very flattering things about you, back at the Citadel," Regis says. He sounds a little awkward, and Ignis recognizes it to be the same, slightly stilted way that Noct speaks when he's having a hard time getting his emotions across. The thought is comforting.
"Thank you, sir," he says. "I can only hope half of it is true."
Regis smiles, and claps a hand on his shoulder. "You should all visit the Citadel sometime," he says. "I know Noctis hates the fuss and bluster of it all, but..."
"I'll bring it up to him," Ignis promises, and Regis looks so pleased that Ignis' heart aches in sympathy.
Aranea does call Gladio that afternoon, with a brief pause for her and Ignis to exchange the most uncomfortable apology either of them have ever made, but Gladio is too thrilled by the appearance of the President to let it drag him down for long. Then Stella reveals her and Luna's joint gift, and Noct and Ignis know that the apartment may never recover from the events of the day.
Gladio picks up his new foam sword with all the reverence of Arthur claiming his birthright as king.
"Prompto gets one, too," Luna says, and Prompto grabs at the hilt of a smaller sword.
The boys look at each other.
"No fighting in the house!" Noct and Ignis cry in unison, but it is far too late.
---
That night, Ignis lies back on the bed as Noct runs idle fingers through his hair. Prompto is sleeping upside-down between them, and Gladio is draped diagonally across Noct's legs, still holding his new sword in his arms. In the distance, the fridge chugs away, stuffed full with leftover cake and too much pizza, and a twist of a paper banner drifts across the bedroom floor with a soft scraping sound.
"We did alright today," Noct whispers, and his smile is soft and unguarded, his eyelids slack with exhaustion. Ignis leans in to his touch and sighs. At Noct's feet, Gladio shifts, and the foam sword squeaks against the fabric of his pajamas.
"I believe we did," Ignis whispers back. Noct's fingers go still in his hair, and his eyelids flutter shut. Ignis watches him for a moment, and eases onto his back again.
Tomorrow, there will be work to do. They'll have to clean the apartment, prep lunches for the week, set up lesson plans and office work. Endless piles of laundry will need to be tackled, bruises and cuts mended, fights to break up and swords to eventually confiscate. There will be fallout from Aranea's deployment to handle, and the complex web of the Citadel to navigate. But right now, here in the dark with his family sprawled around him, he feels nothing but peace.
FILL 9/9 Re: Noctis/Ignis Noctis is a Pre-School teacher
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It's three weeks after Aranea Highwind departed for Gralea, the pizza delivery van is due to arrive at the apartment in thirty minutes, and Noctis Caelum is not helping matters by any stretch of the imagination.
"Noct," Ignis whispers. "We need to get the boys home in fifteen minutes."
Noctis sits back on his knees, looking up at Ignis in the dark of the Little Stars Nursery storage closet.
"We'll be fine," he says, and his lips twist in a smile as he swallows his lover down, pressing his tongue to the underside of Ignis' length as he goes.
Admittedly, this is a terrible idea. But the storage closet is out of the way, and they haven't had a night to themselves in weeks with Gladio and Prompto taking up the bed in the wake of Aranea's disastrous exit. And truly, Ignis can't help it, can he, when Noct gives him that look over his shoulder and...
"Oh," Ignis says, startled out of his thoughts as Noct hollows his cheeks on the way back up. "Noct, I--"
He reaches for him, and their fingers twine together at Ignis' sides. Noct is looking up at him, and there's reassurance there, tied up in the way his thumb traces over Ignis' knuckles, the hum of pleasure in his throat, the slight quirk of his lips. It's too much, and Ignis bites down on his cheek as he is pulled into a swift and powerful release. Noct stays there a moment longer, still gazing up at him, and slowly pulls away. He works his throat a little, and Ignis releases his hand to run warm fingers along his jaw.
"Alright, love?" he asks.
Noct pulls the hand still wrapped in his to his lips and kisses Ignis' knuckles. "Yeah," he says, softly. "We should go. Pizza'll be there any minute."
"Oh, you think?"
Noct grins, Ignis rolls his eyes, and the spell is broken. They hurriedly pull themselves together and try not to sneak out of the closet like unruly college students who just... had sex in a closet. Well. Ignis sighs and adjusts his collar, and can tell by Noct's sideways grin that his cheeks are turning pink again.
Luna, her cousin Stella, and her brother Ravus are all at the apartment when they get there, watching Gladio, Prompto, and their nursery school friends scream and chase each other in the backyard. Luna kisses Noct on the cheek and gives him a suspicious look regarding his ruffled hair, Stella whispers that she might have gone overboard with Gladio's birthday present, and Ravus looks exceedingly uncomfortable. That, Noct assures Ignis, is his normal state of being, and Ignis directs the man to his uncle, who shares that particular quality. The two of them end up spending most of their time in the kitchen, avoiding the children at all costs.
Gladio and Prompto wave hello to them for all of half a second before running back out to play.
"How very needed we are," Ignis says, dryly, and Noct snorts.
Gladio's bike is a glossy black with a shooting star decal and detachable training wheels, and Prompto bursts into tears within five minutes of watching Gladio pedal about the parking lot. Ignis picks up Prompto and gives him a speech on waiting your turn and you had a birthday just a few weeks ago, and Luna discreetly takes a picture.
Gladio has just made his twenty-third lap around the lot when a long, black limo pulls up to the drive.
"Oh, hell," Noct says.
President Caelum steps out of the car with a swarm of security guards. Noct and Ignis exchange helpless looks and go to meet him.
"What's this?" he says, when he sees Prompto's snot-covered mask of misery. "Something go wrong?"
"Gladio won't let me ride the bike," Prompto says. Regis nods sagely.
"Yes, I can see how that is a problem. May I?" He holds out his hands to Prompto, and Ignis looks to the boy. Prompto shrugs, so he hands him over.
"You're big!" he says. "How old did you say you were, again?"
"Four."
"Four! You're practically a man! Excuse me son," he says to Noct, by way of greeting, and tows Prompto over to Gladio, who is staring at them in abject shock.
"I believe the president of Lucis just kidnapped our child," Ignis says.
Noct hides a smile behind a fist as Prompto drags at Regis' hair, begging to be let down. "You know? I think he just did."
Regis can only stay for an hour, but he endears himself to the boys immediately. Part of it is the novelty of him being the President! but Noct admits to Ignis that he likes to think that part of it is just Regis, as well. His father also takes a moment to speak to Ignis, pulling him aside in the living room.
"Noctis said some very flattering things about you, back at the Citadel," Regis says. He sounds a little awkward, and Ignis recognizes it to be the same, slightly stilted way that Noct speaks when he's having a hard time getting his emotions across. The thought is comforting.
"Thank you, sir," he says. "I can only hope half of it is true."
Regis smiles, and claps a hand on his shoulder. "You should all visit the Citadel sometime," he says. "I know Noctis hates the fuss and bluster of it all, but..."
"I'll bring it up to him," Ignis promises, and Regis looks so pleased that Ignis' heart aches in sympathy.
Aranea does call Gladio that afternoon, with a brief pause for her and Ignis to exchange the most uncomfortable apology either of them have ever made, but Gladio is too thrilled by the appearance of the President to let it drag him down for long. Then Stella reveals her and Luna's joint gift, and Noct and Ignis know that the apartment may never recover from the events of the day.
Gladio picks up his new foam sword with all the reverence of Arthur claiming his birthright as king.
"Prompto gets one, too," Luna says, and Prompto grabs at the hilt of a smaller sword.
The boys look at each other.
"No fighting in the house!" Noct and Ignis cry in unison, but it is far too late.
---
That night, Ignis lies back on the bed as Noct runs idle fingers through his hair. Prompto is sleeping upside-down between them, and Gladio is draped diagonally across Noct's legs, still holding his new sword in his arms. In the distance, the fridge chugs away, stuffed full with leftover cake and too much pizza, and a twist of a paper banner drifts across the bedroom floor with a soft scraping sound.
"We did alright today," Noct whispers, and his smile is soft and unguarded, his eyelids slack with exhaustion. Ignis leans in to his touch and sighs. At Noct's feet, Gladio shifts, and the foam sword squeaks against the fabric of his pajamas.
"I believe we did," Ignis whispers back. Noct's fingers go still in his hair, and his eyelids flutter shut. Ignis watches him for a moment, and eases onto his back again.
Tomorrow, there will be work to do. They'll have to clean the apartment, prep lunches for the week, set up lesson plans and office work. Endless piles of laundry will need to be tackled, bruises and cuts mended, fights to break up and swords to eventually confiscate. There will be fallout from Aranea's deployment to handle, and the complex web of the Citadel to navigate. But right now, here in the dark with his family sprawled around him, he feels nothing but peace.
Ignis breathes out.