Ignis and Aranea have decided to move in together. To Aranea’s shock, instead of an apartment, Ignis brings her on a tour of the very large (and very dilapidated) Cape Caem house. She soon learns why.
Sorry for that weird metallic noise in the background. It’s the armiger mode that is activated - - meaning this camera angle is actually Noct watching them (lol!)
She always thought that kissing in the rain was not only cheesy, but highly inconvenient. Being cold and soaking wet was hardly an appealing moment to passionately plant one on a lover.
But there was a moment when she hadn’t seen him for far too long. The longing had grown, the nights had gotten longer, his absence all the more appreciated. When she finally saw him walking toward her in the downpour, she didn’t care. She ran and jumped on him, kissing him in the rain.
Ignis had a way of bringing these moments out of Aranea Highwind.
A little drabble for @highspecsweek for Day One Prompt: Drinking Together. Not really happy with the story, but I wanted to get something out so apologies for spelling/grammar/OOCs. Here is an accompanying aesthetic board.
Summary: Aranea had a bad hunt and needs a drink, the years of darkness getting to her. Ignis runs into her and offers to keep her company. She accepts.
Fandom: Final Fantasy XV
Pairing: Ignis Scientia x Aranea Highwind
Rating: T+
Tags: Blood, hurt hunter, alcohol consumption, kissing, taking care of someone, lowering walls
She stared at the shelf and debated how wasted she wanted to get tonight. A girl deserved a drink after she had watched a sabertusk impale a hunter she had been working with and then had to drag his dying body back to Lestallum. With some miracle, she had found a Hi-Potion on her way to the car and managed to save him, but her armour was still covered with blood. Why bother going back to her little hole in the wall to clean up, and then have to leave again to find some liquor? No, better to just get it right now instead of making extra unnecessary trips.
"Fuck, why are there so many choices," she grumbled under her breathe before her ears twitched as she heard the soft ticking of a stick on the floor in a rhythmic way. Looking over her shoulder, her eyes widened when she saw a face she hadn't expected to see. Ignis Scientia. Her eyes flickered over his face. He had matured, sharper, rougher. The scar didn't look fresh anymore, having become a dark scarred brown colour. He had changed his glasses to dark specs. His hair had changed, having become darker, and he had dropped the cockatoo hair cut - thank the Astrals.
"Because one drink goes well with one dish, while another would be disastrous," he drawled amused as he stopped a few feet away from her. Still blind. It saddened her a bit, feeling kind of guilty that she had not been there to lend a hand. Even though, what could she have done against the Councillor? It didn’t lessen her guilt.
"All I am worried about is forgetting. Not worried about food." His nostrils flared, browns knitting together.
"Are you alright? I can smell blood on you." When was the last time someone had worried about her? Mentally shaking her head, she focused again on Ignis.
"I'm fine. It's not mine. Hunter who I teamed up with got badly hurt...well, you know how it goes," she explained calmly, and he nodded understanding. Stepping forward, he started taking measured steps along the shelf. His cologne tickled her senses, pine and something musky. Not a bad scent at all. It made something warm fill her stomach for a moment, cursing herself. Yeah, it had been a while since she had the chance to relax and find some companionship for the night.
"Rough trip," Ignis rumbled as he plucked a bottle with a clear fluid from the shelf, turning towards her. His milky eyes almost looking right at her. Why did it made her feel some odd things. Shaking her head, she made her way towards him and took the bottle he offered her. "This should help you achieve some relaxation and erase the memories for the evening."
"Having tried it yourself?" she asked him curiously, easily able to imagine he had some experiences he rather wanted to forget. Although he did not seem like the type to lose himself in a drink. Still looking as impeccable as he had the first time she met him. Wow...had it been four years already? A little smile appeared on his face as his hand held his cane easily.
"Gladio and I have tried it once or twice. It drinks easier when one has company." Aranea chuckled softly under her breathe as the indirect request to keep her company. She could appreciate it.
"Then I guess you are going to share a drink with me," she declared amused as she made her way to the counter, paid for it and returned to his side. The walk back to her apartment was nice, for some reason they fell into easy conversation. Inquiring how either of them had been. She learned that he had been relearning how to fight again, with the help of the Immortal and the Shield. But also, tried to make something of his life now that they had to wait for Noctis' return. Apparently having taken upon himself to cook in a soup kitchen two days a week. From what she could remember from his cooking, the people at the soup kitchen were more than lucky to have him on their staff.
She told him what she had been doing. Mostly hunting, but at times she moonlighted in bars as well for some extra gil and not having to kill something. Yes, she was a mercenary. Had been for years, but even she didn't like to always kill. Even she grew tired of it. It surprised her in a way that she enjoyed his company, truly. Thinking back to happier time. Remembering eating with the four of them, camping at some haven in the middle of nowhere. She had felt like this as well, as if she had found kindred spirits. It made her quiet for a long moment.
"Aranea, are you well?" Ignis asked her in that posh voice of his as he gently grabbed her arm. Even through his gloves, she felt tingles go through her body and warming her up in a way she had not expected. She stared at him, his unseeing eyes looking in her direct. Her hand gently covered his.
"Yes, Specs. It had just been a long day." His full lips quirked up, making her eyes drift to them. There was a little scar on them, but they still looked full and rather lovely. Mentally giving herself a slap. "Come inside." They arrived at her little apartment, and she let him in quickly. Turning on the lights. "Need me to help you navigate my house?"
He shook his head with a soft smile on his face. "Do not worry, Aranea. I will manage. Please, shower and relax." She wavered for a moment but didn't linger as she didn't wish to insult him by hovering too much. She would resent that herself if she had been in his position.
"Make yourself at home!" She called quickly to him as she made to her bathroom - placing, swiftly stripping off her armour and starting to get herself clean. Even washing her hair. After she had made herself squeaky clean, she cursed herself as she realised she hadn't grabbed any fresh clothes. Wrapping a towel around her body, she left the bathroom and crossed the living room. But what she saw, made her stop in her tracks. Ignis had put all kinds of snacks on her coffee table. Two glasses poured.
"Had a good shower?" Ignis asked friendly as he turned his head in her direction, for a moment Aranea pitied that he was blind. He wouldn't know she was naked. And oh she did love teasing men at times.
"Yes, I did. You did not have to do this, Ignis."
"I know, but you mentioned make myself at home..." He smirked a little bit, which made her laugh. He did have a point. She shook her head amused as she moved into her bedroom and pulled on a tank top with some boxers. Joining him a few moments later. "I raided your fridge...you do need to go shopping more....and tried my best."
She nudged him amused and smiled. "Best is more than enough. Thank you." She felt almost pampered. Picking up both of the glasses, she handed him one of them. "To not drinking alone."
He nodded as he clinked his glass carefully against hers. And that's how they started drinking the bottle empty. Somehow ending up feeding each other bites of food. Aranea started to relax, laughing softly and getting more and more comfortable around him. And getting more tipsy with each drink she consumed.
Placing down her glass, she turned towards Ignis. Her hand resting softly on his cheek. He didn't say anything, just turning into her direction. Handsome. Even with his scars, his green eyes having turned milky. He still looked dashing. With her tipsy mind, her walls had lowered, and her inhibitions gone. Leaning in, she pressed her lips against his. She could feel him freeze for a moment before he relaxed, his hand moving to her waist. Somehow, at some point, he had taken off his gloves. His bare skin, calloused and rough, touching her own bare skin - her tank top having ride up her body a little bit.
Her hand moved up his thigh, feeling the strength in his muscles and body. Her hand moving to his throat, resting there and stroking over his Adam's apple. She could taste the liquor on his tongue. A hint of ebony, mixed with the little tuna salad he had made. An odd mix, but it was delicious. Losing herself into the kiss, she pulled him closer as his hand moved to her behind. His long digits squeezing and shaping her firm flesh.
But when her hand moved to his crotch, he stopped her and pulled away slowly. "You're a lovely woman, Aranea. And I must admit, I have been thinking about this for a while...but we have had a lot to drink. And you had a rough night. I don't want you to regret this in the morning."
She looked kind of stunned at him. Not used to people really caring about things like that, but she should not be surprise. It was Ignis Scientia. Pressing a soft kiss against his forehead, her heart swelling. "Then I guess I am just going to do this." She rested her head on his lap, smiling as he laughed softly - his hand messing with her hair.
"Seems like an excellent idea, Miss Highwind," he drawled amused, and she nuzzled his thigh. Her eyes becoming heavy.
"Ignis?"
"Yes?"
"Can you stay...?" For a moment feeling vulnerable, but something, her instincts that had kept her alive for so long, trusted him. He was the most honourable man she had ever met.
"Gladly." His voice so soft and warm, his touch so gentle, that moments later, she lowered her guards fully and fell into a soft blissful sleep.
HighSpecs Week Day 4-Shopping/Illness: All The Things You Do To Me
Here’s my first shot at writing a pregnancy! Like seriously, along with Noct and Luna, Iggy and Ara would have some damn good looking kids. So what better way to write but for HighSpecs Week? I’ve written a couple pieces before on HighSpecs Babies, so go ahead and check out out my writing tag for them! This is set way after my Day 1 fic, btw. But anyways, on to the story!
Aranea tried to stretch out her back, but the kid inside her had other ideas as it gave her a swift kick to the ribs, causing her to flop back down on the bed with a huff. She gave a petulant glare to the mound that was her belly under the sheets as she resigned herself to a couple more minutes in bed. “Seriously, kid? I can’t do anything without you saying I can. Ugh…” Being 7 months pregnant was getting on her nerves, and she only knew that she was going to get bigger until the baby came out. She loved Ignis, she really did, but dammit, this kid he had put in her was not being all that loveable right now.
A violent sneeze and fit of coughing consumed her for a good ten minutes before she could breathe normally. It felt really shitty that on top of being hugely pregnant, she was sicker than a dog. Fumbling for the tissue box kept perpetually next to their bed, she loudly blew her nose followed by more coughs. Ignis had best hurry up with the meds and food…
Ignis let out a sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose and felt as if the situation could not get any bleaker. In addition to only being able to secure a few days’ worth of the medicine needed to combat Aranea’s cold, ingredients were in short supply due to the foraging groups running into a particularly nasty pack of daemons on the way back to Lestallum. They were awaiting repairs by the mechanic Cindy, who had taken his friends Prompto and Gladiolous, along with several other Hunters to the site of the crash to help get the much-needed supplies back to the city. He had just about volunteered himself to go along and help the rescue party, but was eventually forced to stay behind so he could care for Aranea in her sick condition. Grateful though he was that he could spend time with his wife, he would’ve liked the situation to be far different from what it was currently.
Ignis jest let out another huff and turned back to the grocer he had been haggling with. Worrying over the problem would not help solve it, so he went ahead with just dealing with it. Being blind made him no less perceptive in his dealings with the market vendors, and he was quickly able to figuratively spot the holes in the supplier’s arguments. Finally, he got the answers and food he had been looking for after negotiating back and forth, and set out to return home after being gone all morning. He gathered the meager items his trip to the markets had furnished and trudged his way back to the apartment, taking the well-memorized path along the streets. “Well, we’ll see how long this lasts…”
After finally reaching his doorstep and searching for his keys, Ignis shouldered the front door open and stumbled his way inside. “Ara! I’ve finally returned. So sorry for taking so long!” He managed to guide himself to their kitchen table and deposited his wares onto its surface. A quick rummage through the bags found the medicine for Aranea, and he made his way to their bedroom.
“Thank the Six, Specs. I was getting worried.” Ignis could hear the smile in her voice as he walked to her side of the bed and sat down beside her gently. Taking two of the pills, he placed them in her waiting hand heard her gulp them down with water from the glass she held. He placed it back on the table once she handed it to him, and was soon assaulted by her cuddling into his side. “You’re one heck of a lifesaver, you know that?”
“I do try, my love,” he chuckled, situating himself on the bed so she could fully curl into his broad chest. Ignis rubbed her back lovingly and it elicited a groan of comfort from his pregnant wife. “How have you been today, Ara?”
“Kinda shitty. Couldn’t seem to get out of bed today.” Her cough shook them both and he hugged her tight to comfort her. “Doesn’t help that the kid has been using me as kickboxing practice all damn morning.” In response, he moved to place a large hand over her swollen belly, feeling the little one give another sharp kick.
“I believe they get that from you.” A playful slap of his shoulder caused him to laugh and cheerfully kiss the top of her braided hair. “We’ll have our hands full with them, that’s for sure.”
Aranea hummed and placed a kiss on his neck. “Wish they’d hurry up and get here. This whole bedridden thing is driving me nuts…”
“Be patient, my love. You’ll be back to normal in no time.” Ignis gave her one last kiss on her forehead and gently removed himself from her embrace. “As for now, how does some soup sound?”
“Sounds lovely, Iggy. Hop to it.” Chuckling to himself, he made his way to their kitchen, his hand trailing along the wall like an old habit. Whenever his wife wanted something, she almost always got it, and he didn’t mind giving her what she wanted in the slightest.
Aranea watched as the handsome figure of her husband disappeared down the hallway and gave off a huge sigh. Man, not only had she landed a stud, he had some damn good cooking and fighting skills to boot. It must be the hormones raging through her, but she loved that she was carrying his kid. And more so than ever she wanted to be holding the little bugger in her arms. This motherhood thing might be the best thing that had ever happened to her. Well, besides Ignis, of course. As if reading her thoughts, the baby inside her pressed softly against her hand on her belly. “Yeah, yeah, kid, I love ya too.” Hardened badass that she was, Aranea always held a soft spot for romance and family, and she had to be the luckiest woman in the world to have found both.
Getting this fic out during the last day of highspecs week, even though this is the day 4 prompt that I wasn’t able to get in on time due to school, but better late than never, right?
Highspecs Week: Day 4 Illness / Shopping
Quick summary: Aranea takes care of a sick Ignis by making him some soup from a recipe in his notebook.
Word Count: 3454
“Aranea, I assure you that I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
Aranea scoffed, shoving his shoulders back down onto the bed. “You know as well as I do that you’re in no shape to go anywhere today, mister.”
“Yes, but I-”
“No buts. I’ll be back in a bit with some soup for you, so stay put.” He made no viable effort to go against her restraints, falling back against the mattress in defeat. She quietly let out a laugh, leaning down to press a kiss against his forehead. “I promise you that you’re in good hands, so let me take care of you today.”
“Fine, I’ll yield. I suppose a day's rest wouldn’t be so terrible.”
She grinned. “Good. I’ll be back in a flash.”
Aranea sighed, making her way out of their bedroom and out into the hallway. It was really unlike Ignis to suddenly get so dreadfully sick, even with how he keeps himself so pristinely kept. And the only valid reason as to why he’d went and got himself so freakishly sick was because he went and overworked himself. Again. She kept telling him time and time again to relax, take it easy, hell she even tried to tempt him with not all too subtle brushes of her hands against his thighs, or easing him into kissing the daylights out of him. But all her attempts at getting him to relax remained fruitless. He was being exceptionally more stubborn than usual.
She dragged a hand across her face, placing her hands against her waist as she made her way into the kitchen. Making soup shouldn’t be too hard, right? They’d only started living together for only a week now, and she wanted to at least make food for once. She absolutely loved Ignis’ cooking, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to do something herself. Especially with the condition that Ignis was in right about now.
“Now where does he keep that notebook of recipes?” Aranea quietly mumbled to herself, walking about the kitchen and looking in every drawer to find said notebook. Ignis carried that thing everywhere, even when he was out on his royal duties to the prince. He’d always tell her that there was always an opportunity to be had at any given moment, so he kept it handy.
Well, right now was a good opportunity as any. She just needed to find the damn thing. And just when she was about to give up her search, she noticed something poking out on the top of the fridge. Curious, she made her way over to it, gripping onto it and pulling it from the ledge to make the object come more into view and noticed that it was indeed the notebook she was searching for. She quickly opened the book and scanned over each page for the contents for a simple chicken soup recipe. Her fingers stopped, skimming over a page that was titled in black pen, “Chickatrice soup” she noticed that the contents called for, of course, chickatrice, wild onion, carrots, a leiden potato, and a bouillon cube for broth to set.
She scrunched her eyebrows together, leaning her back against the counter and titling her head to the side. “Seems easy enough? Might as well try it out.”
Aranea set the notebook open flatly onto the marble countertop, walking over to scavenge both the fridge and the cabinets for the ingredients. To her surprise, she managed to find each one of the required ingredients, which was a huge relief, save for one more leiden potato that she was missing, but would have to make due with what she had. She set the ingredients on the counter as well, eyeballing the recipe one more time before she even attempted to start. She knew exactly where Ignis kept the pots from watching him cook countless times and quickly took one out and set it on the stove for later.
Ignis made cooking seem like such a tireless effort, and here she was just trying to figure out where to start. She was still missing one more thing to make this cooking session official, and that was the apron that Ignis constantly adorned when he cooked. She often found it kinda adorable with the look of him in it, working so diligently. She also knew where exactly he kept that also, right alongside the full length cupboard secured on a hook. It was a simple grey and white checkered apron, but was still nice looking. She quickly took it off the rack, slipping it over her head, wrapping it around her waist and securing the loose strands by tieing it into a bow at the back.
With everything set and done, she let out a confident breath and rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
“Time to get to work.”
Everything was going according to plan so far. She set the stove to the appropriate temperature as the water boiled, popping in the bouillon cube and watching it simmer for the most part. As well as placing pieces of the chickatrice along with the chopped carrots into the now bubbling water. The onions burned at her eyes when she made an effort to skin and chop them accordingly. Now she knew why Ignis got so peeved when he said he hated cutting onions, and she would just quietly snicker at him from a distance at the way he was acting. She rolled her eyes at the obvious retaliation he would probably throw at her, telling her ‘I told you so’ with that teasing tone of his.
She threw the tear-jerking vegetable into the pot, watching as they disappeared amongst the bubbles and other portions of food. The potatoes were an entirely different ordeal. The amount of close calls she had with almost getting her finger caught by the blade of the potato peeler was far and few between. She managed to come out unscathed peeling them, but on the last few slices, Aranea nicked her finger the tiniest bit. She cursed under her breath, quickly running her finger under the tap and wrapping it in some paper towel for the time being. She had no time to run to the bathroom to grab a band-aid, besides, it wasn’t too much of a cut to warrant a band-aid.
With the last of the ingredients thrown into the pot, using her other hand to place the potatoes amongst the rest, she had a moment to herself to let the soup sit and simmer for some time. She looked down at her hand, still clinging the paper towel around her finger and slowly peeled it away. There was hardly even a scratch and it wasn’t bleeding anymore. She sighed, leaning against the counter once again and staring up at the clock on the wall.
The one thing that kept nagging at her in her mind was at the thought of if Ignis would like her cooking? Sure, she cooked a time or two before, but those were mostly lazy attempts of throwing a frozen dinner into the microwave, or using the stove to cook some mac and cheese, though nothing like this. And it wasn’t like she was cooking for Biggs or Wedge, she was cooking for her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who happened to be an excellent cook. What if she messed up? What if cutting her finger on that stupid knife fucked everything up? What if the water boiled over and the vegetables grew soggy and the chickatrice burned? What if, what if, what if?
Aranea shook the thoughts away with a swipe of her hand, steering herself back to the boiling pot at her side. Everything looked perfect. By her standards, at least. She grabbed a spoon from the cutlery drawer, stirring the contents of the soup in the pot together. The smell wafting up from the pot was making her salivate, and she wasn’t even the one who really needed it. She carefully scooped up some of the soup onto the spoon, tipping it forward just enough for her to sip some of it up. She’d seen Ignis do this a numerous amount of times during the few times she watched him cook. He’d add more spices or what not to whatever it was he was cooking if he wasn’t happy with the current result, which happened quite rarely.
Her eyes widened, pleasantly surprised with the taste dancing across her tongue. Shit. She brought a hand up to her mouth in disbelief. It tasted really freaking good for something so simple. Now the only thing left to do was to serve it to the head chef himself to gain the final verdict.
Aranea quickly grabbed a bowl and carefully poured the soup into it, making sure that she turned the burner off in the process. Steam billowing from the pot as well as the small bowl containing the soup. She was actually feeling giddy at the thought that she had made something good. She then carefully transferred the bowl onto a tray, holding it steadily in her grip as she made her way back towards the bedroom. It wasn’t as pretty as how Ignis would present his food, but she didn’t care about presentation, all she cared about was if he’d like it or not.
Once she made it back to the room, she stops in the doorway and watches as Ignis grabs at another tissue and blows harshly into it rather noisily. She breaths out another sigh with a sweet smile stretching across her face, as she slowly makes her way back into the room with the tray in hand, her feet softly padding across the wood flooring. Aranea carefully places the tray on her side of the bed, crawling on top of the sheets to sit a bit closer to him. Ignis’ attention snaps back to her, a couple of sniffles resounding from him.
“That was rather quick?” Ignis says in a nasally tone, his eyes peering down to look at the steaming bowl of soup displayed in front of him.
“Well, you happen to have really easy recipes in that book of yours. If it wasn’t for that, I would’ve just popped open a can of soup.” Aranea responded, fixing the creases in her pants to distract herself when she realized she was still wearing his apron. She hoped he wouldn’t notice, slightly embarrassed that she didn’t put it back in its place.
Ignis raised an eyebrow at her, clearly taking note of the fact that she was indeed wearing his apron, and it only made the colour against her cheeks to become somewhat of a permanent stain on her skin at the smile that pulled at the corners of his lips.
“Is that my apron? I never would’ve expected you to go all out like this, it’s rather darling on you.”
Aranea rolled her eyes, lightly slapping him on the shoulder and turning her gaze away from him to hide the continuing flush against her cheeks. “Oh, shut up and eat your soup already! I didn’t slave over it for nothing, you know!”
Ignis gave out a hearty chuckle at her reaction, the sound of his laughter warming her heart. Even in a weakened state, he still manages to say such things to make her feel like a young girl in love. He wordlessly nodded after his laughter had subsided, turning a bit in his spot to grab at the spoon and scoop up a generous amount, blowing on the serving for a couple of seconds before he brought the spoon up to his mouth and sipped it slowly. Aranea waited there in quiet anticipation, shuffling awkwardly in her spot and fiddling with the ends of the apron, eyes fixated on his still expression. There was a raise of his brows, lips parting in what she could only depict as shock, or maybe abstract disgust, she couldn’t really tell.
“So, how is it?”
He rose a finger up to gesture to her to give him a minute, placing his knuckle against his lips and watching as he finally swallowed. “It’s definitely far better than what I expected it to be. The flavours really coincide with each other perfectly.”
Aranea’s eyes widened for the second time that day. He liked it? He actually liked it? She was mentally preparing herself for the novel length critique that he always gave any dish, but he didn’t do anything like that. It was short and to the point, something that was making her question everything.
“You aren’t just saying that?”
“No, I believe I’m not. You should be proud. I can tell you put all of your heart into this dish, and for that, I’m thankful. And on the plus side, I got to sample some of your cooking for once, which is certainly delectable.”
Ignis drove his point home when he made the motion to take a couple more spoonfuls of the soup, a satisfied hum leaving his lips. It not only soothed his aching throat, but also warmed him completely with the thought of all the work she put into it.
“I…” She was choked up on what words to respond to him with, so instead, she simply smiled down at him and shyly brushed some of the loose strands of hair behind her ear. “I’m glad you like it.”
When a few silent moments passed, quietly watching as he devoured the entirety of the soup, until there wasn’t even a spec of food left in the bowl. He handed her back the bowl once he was finished, placing it on the side table and scooting a little closer to him.
“My compliments to the chef.” Ignis’ grin never fled from his face, as he reached a hand up to caress it lovingly against her cheek.
“Careful now, you might just make this newbie cook blush.” She said with a hint of playfulness to her tone, leaning into the warmth of his palm.
“I’m afraid it’s a little late for that, don’t you? There’s no mistaking that red hue that’s been colouring your cheeks this entire time, or did you not think I wouldn’t notice?” He rubbed the pad of his thumb against her skin for extra emphasis.
Aranea snorted, sliding her hand up to hover above the one against her cheek while the other rested flatly against his chest with a tug at his shirt towards her. Oh, he was good. “Smartass.”
Ignis chuckled softly once more as he leaned in the same time as her, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss. It was moments like these that tugged at Aranea’s heartstrings, to have someone she loved and adored more than anyone else in the world. She never would’ve thought in a million years that she’d ever feel so at peace with someone where she could completely lay down her defenses, let alone settle down with them in their home alongside them. She found an immense amount of comfort at the thought of having a place she could call home, or more a person she could call home. Ignis was the first, a living example of just how he made her feel. He filled her life with light and colour, when her outlook on life had remained bleak in the past due to her previous affiliations with Niflheim. And she couldn’t wait to see what other adventures life was going to throw at them.
Maybe one day they’d have more than two pairs of feet padding along from room to room in the future. A girl or a boy, their tiny little voices asking them to read them a bedtime story, finger paintings and praising them for a job well done by sticking their masterpieces to the fridge with magnetic coloured letters. Proud parents. Maybe even a dog who creates a ruckus every time they see a person in the window, muddy paws prints marking up the floor, or maybe a cat; who’s quiet and calm, nestling itself on couch cushions.
Sure it was thinking a little far ahead, but the dream was a nice sentiment.
Aranea was brought back to reality when he pulled away, Ignis gazing at her with a look of concern, which she quickly disregarded with another kiss to his lips.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. I don’t care if I get sick from kissing you, I just want you to feel relaxed.” Aranea gingerly rose a hand up to brush it against his cheek, letting her fingertips trace along the edges of his jawline. She really hoped that he’d somewhat felt better from the meal she prepared. Although, it was good to know that he wasn’t hacking a lung up like he was a day or two ago, barely managing to even drag himself from bed to the kitchen in one fell motion. Now it was only a stuffy nose, but it still made her worry nonetheless about how he treated his health sometimes.
“I don’t mind a day of pampering. It's been rather nice to be treated this way.” He noted, and she swore she could almost see a tinge of pink colour his cheeks at the notion.
“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Aranea asked, a smug grin pulling at her lips with a tilt of her head. “Do I have to start charging you for my services?”
Ignis’ grin instantly mirrored hers, albeit a little bit dignified, yet still remained ever tender. “If that charging fee is in love and affection, compliments, or kisses, I’ll be more than happy to abide.”
She snorted. “Cheesy, but I’ll take it for now.”
“Is my offer not sufficient enough?” He teased in that husky honeyed tone of his that made her weak in the knees.
Aranea tried her best to save face, but couldn’t keep the smile from appearing on her lips. She decided on hiding her face in his chest instead, curling herself up close to his body and hearing the sound of his heart beat just above her ear.
“I think your offer is more than sufficient enough… Maybe a little too good.” Aranea tried to muffle her words by burying her face a little more into his shirt, but it didn’t do much to conceal it with his well trained hearing.
“My, my, is the great Aranea Highwind at a loss? What a day this is.”
“Yeah, well, you aren’t any better, Ignis Scientia.”
There was silence for a single moment before they both burst out into light laughter. Ignis’ arms came around to hold her closer to him seconds later, the heat from his fingers lingering against her skin like a silent reassurance that he would always be there for her. His fingers trailed down from her shoulder, down the length of her arm before they found her hand, lacing them between hers.
“I’ll be sure to repay the favor in kind when you fall under the weather.”
“Oooh, could you make me those skewer things you made last week? I dunno if it’s good when you’re sick, but damn those were to die for.” Her mouth was practically already watering at the thought as her thumb absentmindedly rubbed circles against the back of his hand.
Ignis gave out a chuckle at her instant enthusiasm, leaning down to press a kiss to her hair. “Only the best for you, my love.”
This was it. This was home.
Aranea almost wanted that cold to come at her at full force, just so that she could spend a little more time with him. Watch him cook food, hear him crack a corny joke, or even tease her till the dawn rose. She wouldn’t mind. And it wasn’t like the world was going to shit around them either.
Everything was fine. Ignis was fine. She was fine.
She just couldn’t help the thoughts in the back of her mind that told her that he’d disappear without a trace, no longer able to hold her so tenderly like this.
The gentle squeeze Ignis gave her hand made her blink back to regain her state, with the gentle rise and fall of his chest soothing her.
“Everything alright?”
“Perfect. But can we… can we stay like this for a little longer?” Her voice was a lot quieter this time, softer, almost childlike in its innocence of the question.
“I was actually about to ask you the same question.”
“Whaddya know, great minds think alike, don’t they?”
“I suppose so. We do make quite the team, you and I.”
Aranea beamed, bringing their intertwined hands up to her lips and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “Yeah, yeah we do.”
Summary: Past experience told Ignis that telling his friends about his romantic interests was 100% a bad idea, but Aranea was starting to make it harder to keep this a secret.
