Noctis Lucis Caelum (veggiehater) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-10-25 22:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ~plot: timeslip, ₴ inactive: ignis scientia (2), ₴ inactive: noctis lucis caelum (2) |
Log: Ignis & Noctis
He stopped in front of one larger shot on a bookshelf and traced his fingers across the young faces in the frame. It wasn't taken by Prompto and that thought was a sting he'd forgotten over the years. A small furry body rubbed against his ankle startling him.
"Aw, Bass. You're practically a kitten." Reaching down, he pulled the large cat up into his arms and kissed his head. His Bass was elderly and spent most of his days curled up in whatever lap was easiest. Noct murmured into his fur. "I wonder if this counts as cat-cheating. Are you going to give me the cold shoulder when I go back?"
“You’ll win him back in no time, I’m sure of it.” The quiet voice drifted from the doorway opposite where Noctis was standing, Ignis there in his sleep pants and tank top, hair delightfully mused. He’d also woken up alone, in the guest room, with a spotty memory and the weight of embarrassment still on his shoulders.
He’d been younger for several days, he knew that. The date on his phone gave him a more exact reading of that, and so did a few things here and there from the network. He still had more catching up to do, but had heard noise and opted to investigate, hoping to make apologies as needed.
Finding his boyfriend even older had been an unexpected surprise to go with it. He opted for taking the view in, from Noctis snuggling Bass, to the facial hair, to the expanded curve of Noct’s shoulders--
And then it hit him like a truck, a memory or a puzzle piece from the network clicking into place. Ignis stood up a little taller and glanced back, behind him. “We have a daughter.”
Ignis was easy on the eyes at any age, but Noct let himself appreciate this early twenties mussed from bed version for a long smirking moment. Eventually, he deposited Bass into his cat tree and swaggered closer to Ignis. Noct was a lot more comfortable in his skin these days. Being happily married to three beautiful men had a lot to do with that. But some of it was just the natural ease of having the time to be himself, without fate or obligation getting in the way.
"Uh, yeah, we do," he said. "I'm surprised you know that." He took another look around, trying to piece things together on which particular Vallo weirdness this was. There was a bottle of wine on the kitchen counter next to a set of keys and for some reason that was enough. It made Noct laugh. "Any chance you remember being teenaged for a bit and making the moves on Gladio?"
Ignis groaned, a heavy and annoyed thing. He only remembered part of that - it was impossible to not feel the weight of Gladio’s lips on his own, but that memory also was peppered with countless others less recent. Ignis still reached up to rub at his eyes under his glasses. “Unfortunately, yes. If we could never mention that again, I would appreciate it. I am much more composed these days.” Most days, anyway.
He glanced behind him again, eyeing the closed doors of the hallway. “I just mean she’s here, Noct. Or she was. I didn’t-- make the best showing of myself, I’m afraid.” Now he looked back at Noctis, taking in the view, and walking forward slowly, to meet in the middle. “The future is a good look on you, Majesty.”
Noct snickered and moved closer to meet Ignis halfway. "I forgot she was here as an adult on this round. She's only nine at home." His gaze flickered towards the hall, a soft smile on his face. It would be nice to get another sneak peek at his grown-up daughter. He both wanted her never to age and couldn't wait to see her grow all at once. "Shit. I just remembered she helped me parent trap you guys."
He laughed more fully now, eyes closed and head falling back. Poor teenaged Ignis and Gladio dealing with him missing them and feeling the high of a potential happily ever after all at once. The laughter ebbed and he rubbed his beard, where he knew it had some grey. "Glad you don't mind this look. All three of you just stay handsome. It's obnoxious." Noct smirked and reached to brush his fingertips along the edge of Ignis's scar. Thank the Six this visit wasn't when Iggy was still blind. Or worse, when they were all still bumbling around each other like idiots who didn't know how to take the life they wanted now that it was actually an option.
“Nine.” Ignis breathed out the age, as if that was somehow a little easier to believe than the twenty-something currently sleeping in their guest room. Noct might have been too busy laughing to see the full spectrum of wonder flash across his face, as if he still couldn’t quite believe it.
His younger self had too many issues and worries to sort out to truly appreciate it, he knew that even without a full range of memories. But Ignis now, an Ignis that had time to cope with his sexuality, and with his current relationship status, had a proud smirk creep up onto his face. “She cooked, if I remember hearing correctly. But I don’t know that I have you beat in terms of handsomeness, even if the idea of a parent trap is obnoxiously adorable to have been cooked up by you two.”
Noct's mouth twisted at the way Ignis said nine. Fatherhood wasn't easy, but it was wonderful. Way more enjoyable than he'd ever have thought, watching his dad try to save a country and raise a son. He knew a lot of the reason it was better for him was that he got to do it with three of the best men he'd ever known, though. He inched a little closer to Ignis.
"She cooked and she came up with half the idea honestly. I still only had half a clue what a romantic date even looked like." He'd argue he was a little better at that now, but that was mostly just trial and error. And time. "I do remember just...really wanting you guys to enjoy yourselves. I kept thinking about everything you still had to survive." It was a downer of a subject and he knew it. His chin dropped and his eyes caught on Iggy's ringless hand. Noct huffed. "You, on the other hand, have a lot more good than bad headed your way."
Ignis cleared his throat, his brain very easily getting right off topic and thinking about things that were overly inappropriate at this very moment. It was getting more and more difficult to keep a clear head as Noct got closer, and especially when he saw the glance down to his finger. A child likely meant marriage, even if he knew it wasn’t a requirement.
Even if he knew it wasn’t a requirement for raising a child together, Ignis couldn’t deny it was a craving that was slowly creeping up his spine.
“Does that mean you have a better idea of what a romantic date looks like now?” It could have been teasing, but it was also curious, and a little intrigued. “I’ve had it good for several months now, since March twenty-third. I imagine it can only get better from here.” His hand came up to reach out and touch Noct’s shirt, and to tug it a little. “May I kiss you? If it’s strange, you can tell me, there’s no pressure.”
Noct’s confidence had come along way from these days. There would probably always been an undercurrent of awkward dork in his personality, no matter how cool two of his husbands were - thank the Astrals for Prom, balancing things out – but he was utterly at ease with taking Ignis’s hand and pulling him in close. He coiled his other arm around Ignis’s back. “Specs, we’ve been together a long time. You can do more than kiss me, right here in the living room.”
His smile was a little embarrassed, but mostly heated and welcoming. He shifted Ignis’s hand to a dancing hold. “As for your question, I think so. You’re all different obviously. You like seeing me dressed up, so I try to always make sure there’s a suit clean for Iggy date nights.” He waltzed them a few slow steps and circled. “But that doesn’t mean we always go somewhere fancy. I took you on a stargazing date in full regalia once.” He snorted a little laugh. “That was one of my favorites.”
“Our child could emerge from her room at any point, we cannot do more than kissing right here in the living room, Majesty.” But there was a sweep of delight as Ignis was pulled into a dance. Not for the first time, no, but he felt the difference in Noct’s composure, as if his confidence had grown similarly to his age.
“I’m flattered, about the suit. And more than looking forward to what sounds like a lovely date.” It was still possibly a little difficult to adjust to the idea that this was permanent, that they had Noctis now, for good. It helped him push away those worries at the same speed as he was pulling Noctis in even closer to make good on that promise of a kiss. He had to dip down for it, but it always felt just right, as Ignis made his move.
With the blank spots in his memory over the last week, it felt like almost a lifetime since he’d last been able to put his lips on Noctis, and made the most of it.
"I mean, from what I hear she's not a child here, but point taken," Noct smirked, easing up on his feet to meet Ignis halfway. Unlike Ignis, he'd kissed all three of his husbands just this morning, but he would never tire of it. And there was something fun and just a smidge different about kissing this younger version. That didn't stop him from taking advantage of a decade of experience and knowing exactly what gets Iggy's motor running, though.
He ended up pinning Ignis against the kitchen island by the time he was willing to come up for air. Sparing a glance over his shoulder at the hallway, he turned back to Ignis with a shameless grin. "No heads peeking out yet. I definitely think we could've gotten away with more, but…" He stepped back a bit and gave a cheeky little bow. "...I'll respect your wishes."
With his thoughts pulled back to Viviana, he sobered and watched Ignis's face as he asked his question. "How are you taking the whole full family thing? I know it's a lot."
There Noct was, with his swagger and his facial hair and his complete and utter destruction of all of Ignis’ vital functions in less than five minutes. Shameless and all-knowing. Ignis hated it in very much the same way that he loved it. He was breathless and flushed, his hair mussed and looking less than perfect.
And could have very easily been convinced to be dragged off, with as soundly as he was under Noct’s thumb. “You are a villain.” There was no heat behind the accusation, in fact Ignis stood there, hand on the kitchen island, staring at Noctis like he was willing to devour him right there. It was unusual for him to feel less than composed, and Ignis brushed a hand down over his tank top, smoothing the invisible wrinkles out. Noct’s question caught him a little off-guard, and he looked up, surprised.
“I think--” He moved forward, back into Noct’s space. “That I am incredibly lucky to have been afforded a life with three magnificent men, a life that I never thought I would have. My younger self wasn’t in a position to think he had the right to any of this, but he has a great deal to learn. Vallo gave us a life I never thought I would have, and that only makes me look forward to the future even more, my love.”
Noct laughed, obviously pleased by the "insult" and the way Ignis looked wrecked already. The noise softened and was swallowed away as he watched Ignis crowd back in, though. He couldn't help the little bit of nerves that had fluttered up behind his ribs. Obviously everything worked out. He didn't question Ignis's love for him or their family, ever. But it was a lot to throw at a man who'd barely started a polyamorous relationship a few months prior. His shoulders relaxed at Ignis's words and he had to temper the wild smile that tried to take over his mouth.
"I'm glad. I mean...I know how good it is. And I know how good you think it is later. I don't know why I got nervous." He dropped his forehead to Ignis's shoulder and coiled his arms around him. "You're almost always better at processing the stuff this place throws at us." He turned his head so he could press his face into the crook of Ignis's neck. "And you're such a great dad, too," he mumbled into Ignis's skin. "Not that she doesn't make it way easier than she could've."
Ignis shifted his hand from Noct’s face down to his back, to curl against his lover with the softest of touches. His hand might have rubbed in a soothing way, but it was a thought in the back of his mind as new ones took over, flashes of how he imagined their future family to be. The camping trips, fishing trips, endless amounts of cooking and happiness. There was no questioning that he could settle into that with minimal issues in the future.
“On the outside, perhaps. I get the same set of worries and woes, I’ve just been trained to keep them contained.” It wasn’t a good thing, necessarily, which is why he’d often willingly take on that burden so Noct didn’t have to. But it just was. “But I promise you, it’s the easiest thing in the world to imagine such a future with you. With Gladio. With-- Prompto.” He stuttered at the last name, catching up to how that felt as well. “I haven’t questioned my love for you in years. I just merely worried it would be ripped from us.”
“No, I know.” Noct pressed closer in apology. “If you never worried, I’d worry about you,” he teased. He liked to think they were all such a strong unit these days that they caught each other effortlessly in those moments, but it wasn’t even a future thing. Here he was ten years in the past and still they didn’t need much in the way of adjusting to be on the same wavelength. He felt safe. Even if he also felt like he was missing a limb.
“Nothing takes any of us away by my time. In fact, we’re more whole than you are now. We can ask Vivi about hers, but…” The idea that his daughter had to deal with any of them being gone was instantly stressful so he blinked and pulled back. “It might be better not to know. We’ve already gotten more time here than I thought we’d ever get. Once Prom catches his lazy butt up, it’s…” The slightest blush heated his face and he turned his head towards the hall that Gladio and Vivi were at the end of. “…Time feels a little endless in the best way most days.”
Noct took a step away, clasping Ignis by the hand as he did. “Come on, I’m talking too much. Let’s wake up the big guy. I want to see if he blinks at this jewelry,” he added, flashing his ring finger.
Ignis squeezed Noct, not especially loving the thought process he went through there himself. It was still traumatic, the idea of him being pulled away from them, the flashes of what was to come, what had come. Sometimes he still had nightmares to that effect, and the idea that they stayed together here was something he would cling to with all of his might.
“I think I agree, it’s better not to dwell.” He was interested in seeing how Gladio was, though, given their date and his moderated hand holding that Ignis had insisted on when he was younger. Delicate, small steps. “If he’s still young, permit me to torment him just a little.” Ignis smirked, and pulled Noctis along without delay. “And if he’s older-- well. We might have some time before our daughter wakes.”