WHERE:Vallo: Disney - Dahlia Lounge WHEN:March 22nd, 2022 (Backdated - After This) WHAT:Prompto has one last person he needs to talk to before he yeets himself into a new chapter of his life. WARNINGS:None STATUS:Complete
There was a nervousness to Prompto, following his conversation with Gladio earlier that morning. Once he had decided that he needed to talk to Ignis, he had been uncharacteristically quiet during breakfast with everyone. But when they had started cleaning up to set the food carts back outside the suite, he had cornered Ignis when the others had been distracted and asked him if they could have lunch together, just the two of them.
From how easily the older man agreed, he knew that Gladio and/or Noctis had filled him in on what had gone down between him and the other two. Not that he minded. Prom was thankful for how easy it had been to arrange the lunch date. And it had been just as easy to beg off a group activities and disappear for the next hour or so. He would never deny how thankful he was for the guys to give him the space he needed to think everything over on his own terms. The hour spent alone had been full of the blond going from gift shop to gift shop, to find the perfect icebreaker for the conversation that he was about to have.
Going into this Disney trip, he had not expected to end up where he was now, emotionally or mentally, but so far he had no regrets about any of it. And given how much of a video game nerd he was, he couldn't help but compare the upcoming lunch date with Ignis as some kind of final boss fight. Except it was less terrifying in the important ways, but also more terrifying in others. But he had to trust what the other guys had been telling him and what his own gut was telling him too. That was the only way he was able to keep his nerves steadied, when he met up with the group again, mystery gift shop bag at his side.
When it was lunchtime finally, he didn't hesitate to grab Iggy's hand and pull him away from the others with a hasty, "Bye guys! See ya later!" He didn't even give himself time to overthink holding Iggy's hand, mostly because it felt pretty natural anyway. All he could think about was getting back to Animal Kingdom so that they could get to Dahlia Lounge for their lunch reservations and so he could finally talk to Iggy alone.
Ignis was thankful he had two decades of practice schooling his face from anything and everything. It had been coming in handy since Noct had burst out ’Prom kissed me!’ this morning while Ignis was still on his first cup of coffee. The details of that encounter came out, then Gladio’s, and Ignis was left with a quiet worry gnawing at the back of his head.
It wasn’t a jealousy thing, this was Prompto, he belonged with them just as much as they all did. If that was what he wanted. But in the back of Ignis’ mind, what if what Prompto wanted was not that at all? What if his interest began and ended with Noctis and Gladio only? Ignis certainly couldn’t blame him for that, and certainly wouldn’t object to that happiness.
He was quiet through the morning, but it was difficult to not have a good time at Disney, they’d come to discover. So even with his mind whirling away, the moments of laughter and fun were not diminished. His brain did a little hop as Prompto grabbed his hand and dragged him off, and Ignis shot a questioning glance back at the other two as they got farther away. “Prompto.” Ignis didn’t try to stop him, even as his voice hitched. “What do you have planned?”
What did he have planned? Honestly, Prompto wasn't even sure. In less than 24 hours, his worldview had been changed when it came to the three most important people in his life and it felt like he was scrambling to catch up and figure it out. Ignis was the final piece and the normally cool and collected man had Prompto lost at the sound of that hitch in his voice.
It was like permission had been granted of some kind, to let his mind wander toward possibilities he had never entertained before. So he squeezed the man's hand in what he hoped was a reassuring manner and looked up at him with a smile. "I promised you good food while we're here and I just…wanted to spend time with you." Biting his lip, he added, "And I think we need to talk about things." After a weighted pause…"About us."
Oh, that could mean a number of things, Ignis knew, but he also suspected Prompto wouldn’t have been holding his hand if it meant something terrible. Alone could have very easily felt like he was being let down instead of with the group, but Ignis tried to not let intrusive thoughts get the best of him when Prompto was promising him lunch.
Ignis squeezed back, and let his long legs carry him after Prompto to their destination. His speed might have picked up just a tad after that admission, but Ignis didn’t confirm. Instead, he let his eyes wander to the blond leading the way, and he lingered. “I think you’ll find me receptive to any conversation you’d like to have, Prompto.”
The smile he threw back at Ignis was brighter than any sunrise they had seen. “I was hoping you would say that. Because I plan to be very much in your life, but I want to make sure that you want that too.” He wouldn’t lie to himself or Iggy, it was a very real concern for him that Iggy might go along with whatever happened if he thought it made Noctis and Gladio happy.
But he didn’t delve into that as they finally made it to Dahlia Lounge and were shown to their table in the outside dining area. There were less people out there, which Prom was glad for because he didn’t want people to overhear them as he laid out his thoughts. The nervousness from earlier was gone though, with confidence returning to him as he thanked their waiter for the menus and water.
He waited until the waiter walked away with their drink orders, before putting aside his menu and looking at Iggy. His eyes narrowed. Iggy had always appreciated straightforwardness, so he had no problem saying, “You’re one of my best friends. And that will always come first. But I’ve made out with two of your boyfriends now and I…” he lost a little steam here, as he struggled to find the words. So he reached into the gift bag he had set aside and pulled out Iggy’s gift, offering it to him. “I want to be stuck with you too. I want to see what that future holds for us. All of us.”
Ignis couldn’t help the laugh that emerged when the backpack came out. It had a little leash, as Prompto had hinted at and Ignis had ultimately shied away from, even after an enthusiastic yes. In a way, he was thankful, as they were in public, and his face would have done wonderous things with color if it had been anything more than something cute and silly like this.
As it was, he still flushed a little. “Your question had made me picture something not quite so-- practical, you know.” He would have to show Prompto what he meant later, but not now, not when it might ruin the mood, the sweet and reverant mood that settled into Ignis’ stomach.
“I’m very glad to hear it, Prompto, that you’ve found you fit in well with us. I was always so sure of it with how you were with Noctis, and then-- well, we all looked at Gladio that way but still. The point stands. You’ve always been a part of us here,” he tapped his heart, “even when you weren’t here. You are ours for as long as you’ll have us, Prompto.”
It was a testament to how little practice Prompto had to Iggy’s more flirtatious side, that he didn’t even realize the man had been talking about those kinds of leashes earlier. He made the connection now though, causing his face to heat up as red as the hints of red on the backpack were. “Uh huh. A-yup. Definitely a line of questions I want to pursue later,” he said, a hint of a happy laugh lurking behind the words.
He practically melted though, when Iggy made it very clear that what went for Gladio and Noct, when for him too. Prom wished the table wasn’t between them at that moment, so he didn’t resist the urge to go over and hug the other man. “Well then,” he said instead, voice a little thick with emotion. “Good luck getting rid of me now.” The uncertainty of the last 12 hours was gone now, just like that. Why wouldn’t it be though? The four of them had been through hell and back, he trusted them to take them at their word.
“I have no wish to,” Ignis assured, delicate smile playing at the corner of his mouth. He was glad to see Prompto relax a little, and even more glad when they were touching and hugging. He had never been touch starved - it was impossible to be touch starved when you grew up with Noctis. But other people had always been-- well, out there. Relationships fairly nonexistent, and Ignis did well to keep himself at arm’s length as much as he could before everything. But he’d settled into the idea of physical displays of affection fairly easily, so long as it wasn’t anything too embarrassing where others could see.
When they parted, Ignis put a hand on Prompto’s cheek and caressed softly. “May I kiss you? If you’d rather wait, I understand, of course, but I’d like to.”
Wait? He knew that Iggy was being the kind and patient man he always was for them. But Prompto didn’t want to wait anymore than he already had. Once the gates to this had been opened, it had all flooded through like it had with Noctis and Gladio. So he shook his head and beamed at the other blond, leaning into his hand.
He was a sucker for any of them holding his face like this and he didn’t think he was going to get tired of it anytime soon. “I’d like that too,” he clarified, just in case it wasn’t obvious already. Prompto didn’t wait for Iggy to make the first move though, leaning forward and softly pressing his lips to the other’s.