the longer the waiting the sweeter the kiss

[blindsider]

[ Honestly, a six-month anniversary isn't something he'd been thinking about celebrating until Noctis had brought it up (in... however a disastrous fashion). It's always seemed a little morbid to count what time they have together. But once the idea is in his head, he can't quite leave it alone.

He thinks first of taking Noctis out somewhere they can watch the stars. A nice callback, if there'd been something particularly interesting happening, but as it stands the idea doesn't weigh against the tradeoff of camping when he's hoping to... celebrate. Then clothing, perhaps, something tailored especially for him. Ignis likes the idea of a symbol of his affection that Noctis can wear in public, but when almost all of Noct's clothing is tailored especially for him and a full third of it chosen by Ignis anyway, it lacks significance.

It's not until he hears about a fellow student looking for assistance that he knows what it needs to be. He'd hoped for pure royal black, but when he'd arrived to have a look none of them had quite matched that description. In the end, the kitten he chooses is almost entirely black – the toes of her front left paw are white, making her look as if she's dipped it delicately into paint, and he thinks she's all the more charming for it. She's been with her mother long enough that she's past the helpless fluffball stage, bright and inquisitive and affectionate with him until she decides she's had enough and trots away haughtily, her little tail held completely upright, and lays down to take a nap.

She's perfect.

He tells Noctis he's going to come by to prepare a special meal, and he has every intention of doing so. He explains away the everyday nature of it by reasoning that this way they have the privacy to be as affectionate as they like, but when he's at the door he sends Noctis a text asking him to wait on the couch, with his eyes closed. He's almost certain any text he receives in response will have some accusation of kinkiness so he doesn't check, just carries in his first load; ingredients for dinner and the cheesecake he'd prepared ahead of time, craning to see if Noctis is following instructions. ]

Won't be long.

Comments

[linkstrike]

[ honestly, after the disaster of his first (accidental) attempt at an anniversary gift, noctis is almost determined to swear the whole thing off. ... but ignis is important to him, and it seems wrong not to... mark the occasion, somehow. to make a note of it, to try to express that importance with something tangible, some act or some present.

unfortunately, ignis isn't an easy man to shop for.

clothes are immediately out of the question -- ignis is at least a thousand times more fashionable than noctis could ever even dream of being, and the idea of presenting him with something tacky and unwanted is... embarrassing. cooking is also a no-go, for much the same reason. and he's never really been all that great with his hands, or talented enough in any area to consider making something. he skims store windows idly on his way home from school in the afternoons, but all the little glittering trinkets on offer just don't seem to be... enough, somehow. too impersonal, too easy.

luna is the only one in his confidence when it comes to this secret relationship, so he even tries turning to her for advice. but the response he gets isn't exactly the easy answer he was hoping for; she only tells him, in that sweet way that always makes it feel like her words are smiling warmly up from the paper, that he's the only one who can pick out the perfect gift. that if it feels right to him, it'll be perfect to ignis, because it'll be chosen from the heart. which is all well and good, really, except his heart isn't sending him anything remotely useful. how do you pick a gift that tells someone how much they mean to you? how much you love them?

in the end, he makes his choice, and... even down to the minute he gets ignis' text, he's still tempted to stuff it under a couch cushion and just forget the whole thing.

still. ]

You really should've given me the blindfold ahead of time, Specs. [ because he knows ignis would ignore a text, and can't be allowed to escape the requisite comment so easily. ] Thought you'd be the type to have your kinky stuff all planned out.