WHO: Chocobros & a mimic WHAT: Mimic Kenny Crow takes a bite out of Iggy WHEN: During the mimic plot WARNINGS: A minor chomp but mostly tame STATUS: complete
It may have been a few days, but Noct was still carrying around a weirdness from the cat days. Nothing he could pin down, exactly. It wasn't like he was still knocking over glasses or chasing light beams. But every once in a while he'd hear a fly buzz and think for just a second, am I going to chase after that sound? Do I have claws again?
He was sure it would pass, but it was hardly the worst thing he'd ever experienced. If anything, he loved cats just a little bit more for it. He definitely appreciated the all day all night naptime vibe. And sitting in his boyfriend's laps whenever he felt like it. He'd like to be doing that right now, but Ignis was being difficult and he was pretty sure Gladio was smirking somewhere behind him.
"Are you sure you have to go to work?" he asked, kissing a path up Iggy's throat, barely exposed by the dip of his button-down collar. "Look at all this closet cleaning I've done." He gestured vaguely towards the stack of stuff sitting on the Kenny bench he'd dragged out of the hall closet and was planning to donate to some poor unfortunate thrift store. "Doesn't that get your motor revving?"
“Not when it’s like this, and stacked all on that dreadful bench,” Ignis deadpanned, but he didn’t quite talk himself into pulling away from Noctis. He could linger for a few extra minutes, at the very least, even if he wouldn’t let himself get dragged back to the bed.
Allegedly, anyway. Ignis had never had much willpower when it came to these two, and it was even worse now that Noctis could do things like climb on his lap and slowly unbutton his shirt without Ignis even realizing it until it was too late. But truly, this time, he had to hold firm.
“What all did you clean out, by the by?” He kept his response to a subtle touch, his gloved fingers grazing along Noct’s wrist and over his pulse point before he turned to the bench to look a little closer at what was pulled out. “If you go into graphic detail of your entire cleaning process, that might just do it.”
Gladio had ducked into the kitchen and came back with a cold can of ebony to hand off to Ignis. But watching Noctis doing his best to keep Ignis from leaving had Gladio leaning toward joining the effort instead of sending Ignis off with a kiss and his caffeine fix.
And yes, there was a bit of a smirk. Because there was Noctis, all but preening over his cleaning efforts - and Gladio had to wonder if this was still a little bit of cat behaviour left over, Noct looking as pleased as any feline who'd drop a dead mouse with a smug look how well I protected you expression.
"Half my wardrobe," he answered Ignis with an amused smile as he slipped an arm around Ignis' waist from behind, lending himself to the distraction effort by dropping his chin to Ignis' shoulder and turning a little to press a soft kiss to the side of his neck. "Or at least most of anything that has sleeves."
"It's not like you wear them," Noct countered, reaching around Ignis to dig his fingers playfully into Gladio's ribs. There were admittedly a few of his shirts in the pile, but the clothes were mostly things they didn't wear and would sooner replace than put back into rotation. Some had seen a battle or two and were on their way to being rags anyway.
"I just wanted to get rid of that bench, honestly," Noct said sheepishly. "It haunts my dreams sometimes. Do you think somebody would buy it?" He nudged them both towards the bench in question, only pulling away from Ignis enough to lazily dig one hand through the clutter stacked on top of it.
Getting double teamed was far more enjoyable when Ignis had the time to appreciate it, but even he could admit Gladio dropping a kiss to his neck from the opposite side was the equivalent of a nail in the coffin for him. His sigh was telling, but at least he had the ebony now to distract himself with.
“Well, at least it’s the ones with sleeves.” And nothing of his own that he could see, but Ignis was also the type to repair his clothes at the earliest sign of wear and tear. He did reluctantly pull himself from leaning a little against Gladio to follow Noctis over to the bench. “Perhaps they could paint it and put it in the park. I doubt anyone would be any wiser--” With his ebony in one hand, Ignis apparently made the grave mistake of reaching his free hand down to touch something next to Noct.
In the next instant, all he saw were teeth, large, sharp, dangerous, cropping out of the bench and about to make landfall (toothfall?) onto Noct’s arm. Ignis moved quickly and pulled him just out of range, marking himself as the closest target to the offending bench. It took less than a second for the teeth and tongue to grapple half of his body and pull him closer.
Like Ignis, Gladio moved quick. Their instincts honed over the years and as soon as Ignis had pulled Noctis away from the now very offending bench, Gladio stepped in front of Noctis, already drawing out a sword (a shorter one, given the tightness of the space).
"Ignis!" he half shouted out as the bench (and alright, maybe Noctis was onto something with the whole Kenny Crow is evil incarnate thing, or maybe this was just Vallo being Vallo but that was a question for after they dealt with it) chomped down on Ignis. Gladio pushed forward with his sword, lodging the blade into the bench. As he did he ducked down slightly, knowing Noctis was most likely only half a second from warping in over his head.
Noct was easily distracted by the pair of them, he knew this about himself. He’d accepted it. He would blame that fact – and the fact that they were in their home and it was a stupid Kenny bench - for how unprepared he was to be unceremoniously shoved out of harm’s way while Ignis got chomped on. There wasn’t enough room to warp without some risk, at least not with his engine blade. He moved instinctively anyway, mirroring Gladio, and pulled a spare dagger from the armiger instead, launching it at Kenny's head.
Whatever this thing was, it opened its maw and made a pained noise, only to chomp back down even more solidly. “Shit, Ignis!” Noct leapt up onto the bench’s arm and kicked at the creature’s head. At least, it seemed like its head. “What the Six? Has this thing been a hungry monster in the closet all these months??!” The thought was horrifying. But watching Ignis get nibbled on was worse.
Between Gladio’s blade and Noct’s head kick, that seemed to do at least part of the trick and Ignis was pulled free, dumped unceremoniously on the floor, bleeding out onto the hardwood. It wasn’t bad enough that he lost consciousness, but he did allow himself to get pulled free from the grapple and out of harm’s way.
Ignis propped himself up and put a hand on Gladio’s leg before deciding to peek down at the wound on his shoulder while they finished it off. “I do believe it consumed my ebony. Feel free to stab it again.” That, or the coffee had been flung across the hallway, both options were terrible in Ignis’ mind, and he scowled at the toothy creature. “I feel rather foolish now, being taken unawares by one of those things.”
Oh Gladio was definitely going to stab it again. And while he'd like to pretend like that was just good practice - make sure the thing attacking you was really dead - it was almost all fuck you energy as he stabbed his sword deep into the monster bench again with a grunt. Gave the blade a twist for good measure and then pulled it out and let it disappear back into the armiger.
He knelt down beside Ignis, reaching for a shirt that had fallen from the bench in its transformation and pressed it against Ignis' shoulder. "I don't think any of us were expecting that one," he assured Ignis.
"You might be onto something with the whole Kenny Crow is cursed thing though, Noct," he added as he glanced at Noctis - an attempt at a smirk on his face but mostly he just looked worried for Ignis.
Noct’s heart was slamming against his rib cage over a bench. Stupid. But it was Ignis and there was blood. He watched Gladio finish off the creature and then jumped down off the bench. “I really really don’t like being right about his one,” he grumbled at Gladio. His worried gaze shifted and he cradled Ignis’s injured shoulder with careful hands. The bite marks went through Ignis’s shirt. It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been but Noct still winced at the sight.
“You’re going to be late for work, Specs. Sit down.” He moved with the bossiness of a king who rarely got to use it these days, kicking a chair out from the dining room table and nudging Ignis towards it. “We need to take this off and it’s probably going to sting.” He tugged at the shirt, already reaching for the buttons. “Gladio, do you want to start stabbing the rest of our furniture or what?”
Ignis let himself be maneuvered easily enough, settling into the chair. He helped Noct unbutton his shirt, as well, with a sigh. “It seems you won after all, doesn’t it? I suppose we can add this shirt to the pile, it’s ruined.” Not only was it torn, but bloodstained as well. He could be thankful that they were home, at least, so he didn’t get as embarrassed when the shirt came off carefully and he was sitting there shirtless under their watchful gaze.
Just usually these days they were in a more comfortable position for that sort of thing.
“Please don’t actively stab the furniture. Perhaps just get a stick and do a little poking. Stay at range but don’t destroy it.” Ignis being bossy was nothing new, so he continued. “There’s a first aid kit in the cabinet above the refrigerator, you might have to get it for Noct.” Even with that jab, he leaned over to place a gentle kiss on Noct’s hand fussing at his shoulder. It helped prevent him from sucking in a hiss at the pain as it shot down his arm, but he couldn’t hide the wince. “You’re fine, I hope?”
"Not the way we wanted to win, Iggy," Gladio said, voice a bit gruff. It could have been worse. Way worse. They'd dealt with worse more times than he could count. But seeing Ignis there, injured, had his blood boiling, even if the reason for the injury was a motionless heap now.
"Don't worry, not planning on putting holes in all our furniture unless I have to," he assured Ignis as he leaned down and in to look in Ignis' eyes, checking for any changes in focus that might indicate something more than just the wounds on his arm, his hand gently feeling through Ignis' hair for any bumps on his head. Satisfied there wasn't anything pressing there he brushed his lips lightly against Ignis. Gladio dropped his hand to Noct's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze and then stood.
He set the ruined shirt down and stayed standing, on guard really. Which was a ridiculous notion given they were in their own damn apartment but even that didn't seem off limits for whatever this was. He'd take a walk through in a few minutes and start poking at everything, but wanted to stick close while Noctis cleaned Ignis up. Just in case.
Noct felt worse, getting a good look at the bite mark in Ignis's skin, and then infinitely better with Gladio taking up watch. This was still terrible, but he would always get a comfort boost from having his Shield on guard.
"Stay there, I have a kit in the armiger," he scowled. A quick flick of his wrist brought out a first aid kit in a flash of blue and then another called forth a soda charged with healing energy. "Are you sure you don't just want a curative?" He absolutely hated hearing that pained noise come out of Ignis. It made him very quick to offer the solution that might numb that pain quickly. Not always, unfortunately. Magic and Vallo were a complicated mix.
He crowded closer to Ignis's chair, one soothing hand on the opposite side of his neck. "Anyway, I'm fine. I just don't want to hurt you more," Noct whispered.
Ignis might not have been completely reassured that both of them were fine, as his eyes searched for injuries that they didn’t bring up, but when nothing was found he let himself get poked and prodded. And loved on.
Ignis chuckled against Gladio’s kiss, both pleased and embarrassed by the attention. These sort of things really weren’t unusual for them, but getting to pamper their lovers instead of just remaining aloof was still new enough that it made him flush happily at the attention rather than trying to brush them off.
His eyes drifted to the first aid kit and he made a pleased little hum. “Have you had that in there since Ancient Vallo?” Sometimes Noct’s attention to details surprised him, in a very good way. Having him dote as he was just added to the reasons why Ignis was two steps from telling work he couldn’t come in today. “Would it make you feel better if I took the curative? I’d have less of a reason to stay home from work, if I do that.”
Gladio gave Ignis a sly wink, a smirk on his lips. "It'd be our little secret," he teased lightly about the curative, no one else would need to know Ignis was magically feeling better than he should be. He was very much on Noct's side on that one, hating the wince on Ignis' face from the bite in his shoulder.
"Besides, I think we need to keep you for the rest of the day," he added. "For observation." Which would very much include lounging around and doing nothing, a rarity really. Usually injuries were shrugged off, patched up as best they could and forced to be ignored for the next fight headed their way. Gladio was fully prepared to take the complete opposite approach here.
Noct set the potion down on the table, letting his hair cover his face as he laid out the first aid kit next. “I’m always going to pick the option that gets you out of pain the fastest. But I also know how you are about us wasting curatives in nonemergency situations.” One potion would be an easy replacement – hardly any time and magic at all. But habits were habits for a reason and he tried to think more carefully about these things these days. To be more mature instead of jamming the potion into Ignis’s hand and demanding he drink it. He cupped the side of Ignis’s neck for a second instead.
“Gladio’s right about resting though, either way.” He squeezed his hand and then moved to the nearby kitchen sink to wash his hands. “How about I clean this up the old-fashioned way and then you decide?” Maturity fell aside long enough for him to frown childishly. “About using the curative not about resting. I’ll fight on the latter.”
The sigh Ignis gave in return was one they had both heard often. It was one of submission, of giving into their desires, and of doing as they asked. He wasn’t a difficult man, especially when it came to these two, but there were times he could hold his ground with the best of them.
But now, with both of them being concerned and loving, and admittedly with pain in his shoulder, Ignis gave in. He wouldn’t admit it was partly due to the fact that Noctis looked extremely attractive while being competent and nursing him, and Gladio stood there, concern on his face, muscles tense and being shown off. Ignis let his look linger. “Alright. You both win. Gladio, if you would be so kind as to get my phone, I’ll call in my replacement. Noctis, please feel free to do this the old-fashioned way.” He looked past Gladio and to the furniture behind him. “We’ll also need to check the furniture before making good on it. And all of the pillows.”
His eyes drifted down Gladio’s form. “Also you may wish to remove your pants just in case.”
Gladio could pinpoint the moment the look in Ignis' gaze shifted, when he decided to ultimately give in to play hooky for the day, even before the sigh fell from his lips. A well deserved hooky though in Gladio's mind, Ignis had just almost been eaten after all. And if that meant he and Noctis got something out of it too, well that was just icing on the cake.
His brow raised a little at Ignis' suggestion though, a wry grin playing across his lips. He kept Ignis gaze as he made a show of slowly unbuttoning his pants and pushing them past his hips, a grin as he stepped out of them and threw them at Noctis. "You're right, better safe than sorry," he joked lightly and leaned down to press a quick kiss to the top of Ignis and Noctis' heads in turn.
Phone and then furniture poking, he could do that. And if he strutted a little as he walked away to do so, well, it seemed the thing to do now that he wasn't wearing anything but a tank top and black boxer briefs. Besidies, he doubted there'd be any complaints.
Noct's face burned, but complaining definitely wasn't in the cards. He gave Gladio's departing backside an appreciative glance and got to work with laying out first aid supplies on the table. The wound on Ignis's shoulder still made his stomach churn, but the pair of them being a little ridiculous made his heart feel full anyway.
"If you get bitten on the ass," he called out, bending his head close to Ignis's shoulder to dab at it with antiseptic, "I'll be your nurse too."