Even though he was on the move to wake Noctis, Ignis had still closed the door to the balcony with the softest hiss. Gladio had squeezed his hand and moved on, presumably to the bedroom where he’d be waiting for them. Ignis was left there, standing over a sleeping Noct who was oblivious to the man above’s heart practically pounding out of his chest.
He wasn’t worried, that would be absurd. It was obvious all of them had a great deal of love for each other, even without factoring in sharing a bed and sharing hopes, dreams, feelings. It had been all of that and more the last few months. The nights they’d lain awake, hands entwined, talking about everything, quietly and lovingly.
But now Ignis had to stop hovering before Noctis woke up alarmed, and so he moved silently as he knelt down next to the sofa. Gently, he pulled the video game controller from Noct’s limp hand and set it on the side table. With all of that successfully procrastinated, Ignis leaned in to place a gentle whisper of a kiss on Noct’s head, then down to his lips. He wasn’t fully pulled away when that whisper emerged as words, “I love you.”
Noct’s sleep habits were a long-running joke that used to make him self-conscious. He didn’t feel that way anymore. Not when it came to them, at least. Sure they might tease him for his mouth hanging open or his ability to sleep through the end of the world, but he felt safe in this apartment, with Gladio and Ignis out on the balcony acting like an old married couple. So when the inevitable wave of sleepiness hit mid-grind, Noct drifted off without worry.
It should’ve probably taken more effort to wake him, but the controller leaving his hand made a little frown crease between his brows. The unmistakable presence of Ignis wiped that away as fast as it came though. Noct hummed in the back of his throat and reached for Ignis, fingers tucking inside Ignis’s shirt on reflex. It was the words that finally pulled him the last few inches out of unconsciousness, even if the brush of lips against his made his mouth twitch with a smile.
“Uh…” Noct’s face flushed instantly and he buried it in Ignis’s throat. He spoke in a mumble, sleep rough and warm. “Didn’t catch that. Can you say it again?”
Ignis breathed out a quiet laugh against Noct and pressed in another kiss, this one just a little more firm, with less of a gentle purpose. He wasn’t sure if Noct was teasing him, or genuinely had missed it, but he knew this particular boyfriend’s tells and quirks, and couldn’t deny there were times they’d played rock, paper, scissors in order to see who got to wake him up in the morning.
These days they found far more fun ways to pull Noct to consciousness.
Either way, his answer was the same. “Certainly. I love you,” Ignis was still quiet and low, his voice never raising beyond what was necessary for Noct to hear him. This moment was just for them. The more shared moments would come later.
Noct didn’t expect it to be that easy, but he should have. Ignis had always been good at giving him what he needed. Sometimes even when he didn’t know he needed it. Sometimes when he didn’t want what he needed. He wanted this. It freaked him out how much he wanted this.
“You could’ve made me work harder for that,” he smiled, his cheeks still burning as he extracted himself from his hiding place. It took him a second to piece the words together but not without locking eyes and softly tracing Ignis’s clavicle under the edge of his shirt. “I love you too.” He whispered it like it was a secret. Then he lifted his free hand to rub the sleep from his face. “Should I be worried about getting woken up for this? Is there…a meteor or something…”
Ignis smiled, feeling warmed from Noct’s flushed cheeks. He felt a little bad for surprising him with the words, but not bad enough to want to take it back. They were important enough, and feelings that had been there for a long time. Sometimes pushed to the back, ignored, forgotten. Sometimes they were at the front of his mind, like everytime Noct leaned down to pet a stray animal, or when one made the choice to risk death for him.
It felt good to get it out. “That seems needlessly cruel.” He teased lightly, trying to stay a little casual despite his brain going through a war. “There’s no emergency, or even real need for you to get up if you’re comfortable.” Ignis pushed back a little of Noct’s hair, uncovering the beautiful blue eyes. “Gladio said it not long ago and I realized that it’s something I’ve held inside for so long, I didn’t want to wait another second. “
Noct smothered a laugh behind a smile. "So you were out there acting like an old married couple." He looked especially loose-limbed as he pushed himself up off the arm of the sofa and gave Ignis a tug at the collar. He embarrassingly preferred to kneel to them these days. It stirred complex feelings in his heart when they kneeled to him now. Not that they couldn't be overridden in a steamy enough circumstance, but in the moment now, the last thing Noct wanted was for Ignis to look dutiful.
"I could be more comfortable. Come up here, Iggy." He shoved a pillow to the side. Knowing Ignis had been out in the garden, likely prepping for dinner, Noct squinted one-eyed at him. "I know you probably have stuff to do but curl up with me for a bit first? I promise not to fall back asleep on you. I just...want to be close," he admitted quietly.
Ignis was easy enough to pull onto the couch. His lanky form was graceful as it settled in over Noct, an arm braced on the edge of a cushion. He could hold himself up so he didn’t crush Noct, but there was no fun in not doing a little crushing, at least. “I shouldn’t make myself too comfortable.” He said the words even as he made himself comfortable. It was difficult to tell Noct no when he had no such desire to, this was nice, the quiet comfort settling between them.
“I think,” Ignis’ hand went to Noct’s stomach and held fast. “The only thing on my to-do list is you.” He hoped Noct couldn’t see his face flush with that quiet joke. “Gladio will be waiting for us in the bedroom soon. But I don’t think he’s in a rush.”
"What?...Oh." Noct blushed and huffed out a laugh. He should probably have been more comfortable with the suggestive talk by now; he did like to think he was better at it over the network. At least until the keysmashing kicked in. It was hard to worry about being cool though when he had the perfect opportunity to octopus around Ignis and those three magic words bouncing around in his head. He pressed in as close as he could and kissed a path up Ignis's throat.
"I won't make him wait long." There was a steady and building warmth in his chest. He tried to leave the heat of it right underneath Ignis's jaw. "He said it to me after a bad dream, did I tell you that? If you guys keep telling me you love me right when I wake up, I'll probably be a lot less annoying in the mornings. I'm just saying."
“You didn’t,” Ignis was soft and amused, that smile playing at the corner of his lips as he saw Noct work through the teasing in his head. He enjoyed that, being one of the few that could inspire that kind of reaction from his boyfriend was still very, very, new, even after all these months. But there had been wrangling through emotions leading up to that. Feelings one wasn’t sure of, figuring out where he fit in…
It felt good to be comfortable on that end, finally. To have it be said with love and without hesitation. “If that’s all it takes, I’ll be happy to contribute to a more smooth transition to the morning.” Ignis could have let his hand wander to something a little more fun, but it felt more right to lace his fingers through Noct’s own instead. “I know I’ve said this before, but I feel very lucky, having you two like this.”
Noct huffed. A part of him regretted the joking suggestion but only because asking either of them to say I love you every day felt like expecting too much. Like making it a duty and not a choice. He stomped that feeling down under the warmth in his chest and focused on Ignis saying he’d be happy to do it. That he was lucky.
“Me too,” he mumbled. A year ago, he’d have left it at those two words because why try to string more together when they’ll just be awkward and inadequate? It was different now. He tried now. He lifted their joined hands to his mouth and kissed Ignis’s knuckles. “I feel very lucky too. Like it should be illegal. Like Bahamut should show up and say nuh uh, this is not allowed.” After a silent pause, Noct wrinkled his nose. “I probably shouldn’t have put that out into the universe but the point stands. I’m…I just really love you both so much.” He sighed and buried his face in Ignis’s shoulder.
Ignis was only annoyed that Noct beat him to the kissing hand move. He pulled their joined fingers to his own and mirrored the action, hopefully in a soothing way that would ease a little of the anxiety he felt seeping off of Noct in waves. A few years before and he would’ve had to bake something or simply wait it out with practical honesty. This was better.
“If he does, we’ll face him with the solid line that we have everything else we’ve stood up to. There’s nothing I wouldn’t face with you.” That held true before now and wasn’t going anywhere, though Ignis couldn’t ignore the fact that some of his courage came from knowing the Astrals owed Noctis one. Or two. Or three.
Ignis leaned back so Noct couldn’t hide in his shoulder any longer, and pushed back a few strands of the hair that covered his face. “I’m glad we can offer you something good that you deserve in this world, Noctis Lucis Caelum.”
There's nothing I wouldn't face with you. Noct felt short of breath in an instant. "Astrals," he muttered, rolling over to pin Ignis to the couch beneath him. Admittedly, he wasn't the heaviest weight but he was reasonably sure Ignis wouldn't toss him off. "You guys are more good than anyone deserves in any world, Specs."
He leaned over to kiss him, determined not to let go of his hand. There was an idea percolating in his lovesick brain - a test of his powers that he rarely risked because he lacked the confidence. He was feeling pretty damn confident right now. He felt like he could teleport a fucking building if he wanted.
"Iggy," he murmured against Ignis's lips, "hang on tight, okay?" With that warning, he manifested his engine blade from the armiger and launched it down the hall that led to their bedroom. Teleporting anybody but himself was tricky but he held onto Ignis with all the big dumb feelings in his heart.
"Oh. Uh-" Ignis caught onto what Noct's plan was the second before it happened, but instead of objecting heavily, he put his trust into Noctis and did as asked: held on tight.
It worked out in his favor as one arm wrapped around Noct's neck and the other stayed right where it was, fingers joined almost as tightly as their lips had been just moments before. They landed more gracefully than he expected, to be honest, skidding to a halt right outside their barely cracked bedroom door. With feet now suddenly on the ground, Ignis laughed against Noct's mouth, cutting off only to give him another kiss.
When he leaned away, he peeked into the bedroom with a smirk, "Honey, we're home."