(no subject)

[blindsider]

[ He's done his research. There are the gondolas that are simply a means of transportation, shuttling people around as they go about their daily lives, and then there are... the other ones. They're ornately decorated, often bedecked with flowers, and the gondoliers will sing traditional Altissian folk songs as they row cash-flush tourists and lovestruck couples around. Tourist traps, twee and ridiculous.

Ignis wants nothing more than to ride one.

He could probably explain it away as an interest in the music (he had, in fact, developed something of a taste for it), but the truth of the matter is simple, and not something he's ashamed of. For as long as they've been together he and Noctis have never had the opportunity to feel like a normal couple. He wouldn't trade their time for anything in the world, and he's not sure things would have been much different had they not wooed in relative secrecy – given the freedom to do as he liked, Noctis would still probably prefer to stay at home – but there's something thrilling about this opportunity. The chance to walk hand-in-hand, to do the things that couples do without concern for propriety or reputation. Noct's relative obscurity here combined with the almost infamously relaxed attitude of the general public make so many things a possibility -

but first, the gondolas.

He seeks one out based on reputation, rowed by a man reported to have a leisurely pace, a wonderful voice, and an almost negligent regard for who is in his gondola or what they do so long as he gets paid. It's a short walk to the dock, and he extends a hand to Noctis without further explanation. ]

Indulge me.

Comments

[linkstrike]

[ ... well.

it's an interesting idea, even if he can't see ignis going through with it. the one time he tried introducing spanking as a part of foreplay, he spent the week afterwards apologizing at random. ]

... and if it was a challenge? [ he's forgotten what curiosity did to the cat. ]

[blindsider]

That would depend on how serious you were.

[ Which probably sounds like he's trying to weasel out of it, but: ]

I'm sure we could make do with neckties, but if you wanted something more effective I'd need to take a look around the local shops.

[linkstrike]

Hey, I'm game. Letting you have your way with me sounds like fun.

[ and then, with a playful nudge: ] As long as your way isn't just tying me up and making me watch the news and eat vegetables.

[blindsider]

Noct. I'm serious.

[ He is. Noctis can be very active on rare occasions, and that's wonderful, but Ignis also very much enjoys the occasions on which he's able to just take his pleasure in giving pleasure to Noctis - and there's a certain appeal to having him tied up and immobile, being able to draw that out past the point where Noct would normally be grabbing at him and insisting he get on with it. ]

I can promise no news or vegetables. [ That comes out with a smile, at least. ] What I can't promise is that I won't make you wait for your resolution.

[linkstrike]

[ ... that earns a nose wrinkle. he's terrible at waiting. ]

You're not gonna, uh... leave me overnight or something, right? I don't really wanna die of blue balls.

[blindsider]

[ This is a serious conversation and boundaries are important, but just the thought of that makes Ignis laugh. ]

Even I don't have the self-control to leave you all night. But I do like the idea of seeing you... desperate.

[linkstrike]

[ his interest is definitely piqued. honestly, he's perfectly comfortable with the idea of giving ignis control -- he trusts him implicitly, and ignis has never failed to take care of him, but. ]

Y'know, you're setting the bar for yourself pretty high.

[blindsider]

I always do.

[ He's smiling as he says it, but he's definitely not joking. And Noctis looks interested enough, which is... promising. ]

You do keep things interesting.

[linkstrike]

And I trust you.

[ with a little nudge of his foot against ignis' thigh. ]

You don't have to make me sign a stack of forms for stuff like this, y'know.

[ even if all the insistence on his comfort is endearing. ]

[blindsider]

No forms. But if I didn't check, I wouldn't deserve your trust.

[ It's quiet, but gentle and affectionate. He's done checking, playful enough now to run a ticklish finger up along Noct's side in retaliation for the nudge. ]

[linkstrike]

[ the tickle is enough to make him squirm away, breathing out something that's very nearly a choked laugh. ... and then ignis gets a pillow chucked at him as retribution. ]

Good. Because sexy form-signing? Not my kink.

[blindsider]

Shame. Why do you think I took this job?

[ Muffled, because he doesn't bother moving the pillow. ]

[linkstrike]

I always thought it was because I was a really cute toddler.

[ hooking his fingers over the top of his pillow, tugging it down just enough to make eye contact. ]

[blindsider]

Adorable.

[ He makes no move to shift the pillow. They're close enough for Noct to hear every word even if it's muffled, and he does have years of experience of hearing Ignis (or more accurately trying to tune him out, Ignis suspects) from being buried defiantly under the covers as Ignis tries to wake him, after all. ]

All big eyes and black hair and smiles sweet enough to make me do things I knew were a bad idea.

Some things never change.

[linkstrike]

[ it's stupid to be so pleased to hear that ignis thought he was a cute kid, but knowing something isn't enough to stop it from happening. and while he might be good enough to bite his cheek and stifle the smile, he betrays himself with the way his eyes narrow, almost like a pleased cat. ]

Yeah, but my bad ideas are always fun. [ which seems like a lovely sentiment to punctuate by climbing right into ignis' lap. ] Admit it.

[blindsider]

You have the best bad ideas of anyone I've ever known.

[ His hands go automatically to Noct's hips as he settles, thumbing gently over the contrast between soft skin and the rise of bone. Midnight jaunts along the soaring upper balconies of the Citadel, sneaking out unsupervised to explore the gardens and areas further afield as they got older, trips to raid the kitchens despite the fact that even if Noctis weren't the prince and therefore perfectly entitled to whatever he wanted from them, he had been cute enough to get whatever he wanted from the chefs with only a smile. And of course one very significant later decision to go after what he wanted in defiance of tradition and Ignis' better judgment. When he speaks again, it's more than tender enough to give him away. ]

And some very good ideas, too.

[linkstrike]

[ despite himself, he can't help but laugh, leaning down to steal a kiss right off ignis' mouth. ]

Did you just call yourself a good idea?

[blindsider]

I -

[ He didn't mean it like that! He presses his lips together for a moment, feeling himself turn pink at the suggestion. Well, in its simplest form... ]

I suppose I did. You have to admit there's a certain cunning to arranging things so the person most likely to want to steal you away for an afternoon in bed is also the person who manages your schedule.

[linkstrike]

It doesn't always work out as well as you think.

[ and there's an impish glint in his expression as he slides his hands up ignis' chest, only to pause long enough to tweak a nipple. ] The guy who does my schedule is a stickler.

[blindsider]

[ He sucks air as Noct's fingers find his nipple, close enough and warm enough with all this talk of tying him up fresh enough in Ignis' mind that it earns a little hum rather than the squawk he's usually give at being taken unawares. ]

I suspect you might be better at convincing him than you realise.

[linkstrike]

I've got my ways.

[ and that hum is encouragement, so. he lingers there, rolling the nipple between his thumb and forefinger until it pebbles up under his touch. ] Sitting on him seems to help.

[blindsider]

[ There's probably a snappy comeback for that, but it's escaping him at the moment. Instead he arches up into the touch, something that makes him laugh when he catches himself. ]

It helps that you tend to make giving in the more appealing option.

[linkstrike]

Sooo... that means more mornings in bed once I'm king, right? Since I'm so appealing.

[blindsider]

[ Cheeky. He skims his hands over Noct's thighs, simply to enjoy the feel of him. ]

Who am I, a humble chamberlain, to defy the word of the king?

[linkstrike]

[ okay, for as many years as ignis has spent bossing him around, that's enough to make him laugh. ]

Glad you've finally learned your place, humble chamberlain.