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[blindsider]

[ He'd thought, perhaps foolishly, that Noctis might want to stay in the Citadel after taking it back. Of course, he hadn't anticipated what awaited them in the throne room, and even without that additional horror it's easy to see how it might feel like too much so soon after everything. Instead, they're back in the small apartment Ignis has kept. It's a studio with only the bathroom walled off separate from everything else, but it has intact walls and roof, not to mention functioning plumbing and hot water, which outside of Lestallum qualifies it as luxury.

The bathroom is to small and poky for this, though, which- to Ignis, at least – feels like something of an occasion. He's prepared a large basin of hot water, and laid out towels and a washcloth. The tools he's laid out make it seem more formal too, although in honesty the long dark has meant that it's easier to come by things like bars of shaving soap and straight razors than canisters of foam and plastic-handled blades. Of course, the most important part of the process is currently sat in one of the few chairs in the place, watching Ignis with an expression that seems to verge on amusement. Ignis wraps a towel around Noct's shoulders, layering it in front of him to protect him from water and foam, and brushes his fingertips against one bearded cheek. ]

Are you sure? It's really rather handsome, you know.

Comments

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[ Oh. Well, that's a very tempting offer indeed, and it means Ignis stays stooped down to the level of Noct's face rather longer than he planned and takes another kiss as he finishes speaking.

And then, because despite all that's happened Ignis is still Ignis, he straightens with a sigh. ]

There'll be plenty of time for all that later. In any case, you've made me all nostalgic for how it feels to be kissed without being tickled, now. Off with it.

[ With that, he finally raises the brush to swirl foam over Noct's face. The beard is handsome on him, but it's also rather jarring, given that for ten years the image Ignis had held in his mind and his heart was of a young man who likely couldn't have grown a beard if he'd tried. ]

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[ the response is so ignis that it very nearly makes him laugh again -- but there's a very real risk of getting a mouthful of foam, so. it ends up as a (very unkingly) snort instead, and he wrinkles his nose against the tickle of bubbles on his skin. ]

... I'm still a little shocked that you never tried to shave Prompto.

[ shocked enough to merit the comment despite the foam. ]

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Never succeeded.

[ Prompto has come a long way since they first set out on their road trip, and he's earned every scrap of self-confidence that he's gained in the process and then some. Unfortunately, he has also apparently gained enough of said confidence to be aware that Ignis will not actually risk slashing his face as he squirms away. So the hideous goatee remains, and Ignis scowls very briefly at he finishes painting Noct's face with thick lather. ]

Perhaps seeing you clean-shaven will inspire him to follow suit.

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You think?

[ the swirl of the brush had felt nice against his skin, and he's sad to see it go. ... especially because now there's nothing to distract him from the tickle of bubbles under his nose, which is making a sneeze very likely. ]

Sounds like I have one hell of a barber, then.

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Only one way to find out, I suspect.

[ Which is as close as Ignis is going to get to admitting he's never shaved a face other than his own, because it doesn't seem quite the thing to bring up as he's dipping the blade of the straight razor in water and wiping it off on the towel. He shifts behind Noct, taps his shoulder gently to encourage him to lean back so that he can stroke the razor over his skin. It's a sure movement, his determination to make a good job of it outweighing any concerns he may have. ]

You should have seen Gladio. He's making three-quarters of Lestallum swoon every time he passes through now, but there was a very rough start to that new hairstyle of his.

[linkstrike]

[ and immediately, he leans back with absolute trust, closing his eyes and baring his throat. there's never any doubt in his mind when it comes to ignis' capabilities -- for as long as noctis has known him, ignis has never been content to do anything less than perfectly.

besides, if there's one person on eos he'd trust with a razor to his throat, it's ignis. without question. ]

I knew he didn't clean up like that on his own. Shoulda figured it was your handiwork.

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My work, perhaps, but the credit goes to the little girl who burst into tears when the first face to greet her off a train appeared to belong to an unusually muscular mountain hermit.

[ He can laugh at the story now, because Gladio had pulled himself together after that and the little girl in question is now mooning after Talcott and counting the (frighteningly few) birthdays until she can become a hunter. At the time she'd been yet another orphan, someone who'd already had enough terror in her life. Ignis had never seen Gladio look so ashamed of anything, and he hopes he never will again.

It's strange, but all of that seems so distant now. Now that Noctis is here, back with them, safe and warm under Ignis' hands. As he rinses the blade and makes another pass he's beginning to regret not taking Noct up on his earlier offer of skipping the shave. ]

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[ it's fortunate that ignis happens to be rinsing the blade, because it's impossible not to laugh at the story. he knows gladio well enough to know that there's a huge soft spot underneath his gruffness that must've taken it hard -- but still, it's way too easy to imagine him letting himself get unkempt enough to terrify small children. ]

Hopefully I passed the hermit test, at least. Imagine all my dignified ancestors rolling in their graves.

[ followed by a low hum as ignis passes the razor along his skin once more -- there's something soothing about this, intimate, that takes the edge off the jangle of nerves he hasn't been able to truly settle since waking up in a world of darkness. ]

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With flying colours.

[ That hum is an absolute treat, something that curls warmly into Ignis' chest as he keeps shaving. It's been so long, but it feels so familiar to be close like this. Not quite as if none of it ever happened - there's been too much suffering too widespread for that to ever be the case - but it's a reminder that they're finally at the end of it. It's a beautiful thought, and he's quiet for a beat, a soft smile on his face before he speaks again. ]

And in case you find the word of a man terribly in love with you to be unreliable, I've heard talk. I may have some competition.

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You don't.

[ because even if it was meant as a joke, the point is important enough that he feels as if he needs to make it perfectly clear. it's also why he opens his eyes again, looking up enough to be able to meet the other man's gaze. ] You're the only one I want, Specs.

All that time spent in the crystal, and the thing that kept me going was the thought of coming home to you. [ and then he smiles, soft and warm. ] There's no one out there who could compete with that.

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Ah.

[ It's full of emotion for such a small sound. Surprise at the force of the reaction, a little bit of fluster, and above all - deep and abiding love. He takes a moment to let the pad of his thumb brush over Noct's face, high on his cheek where it's free of foam and he'll feel nothing but Noctis. For all that they're upside-down and ten years older than he remembers, those eyes still have the power to knock the breath out of him, to make him want to lose himself in them. and he nearly does for a moment - but then he chuckles, and bends down to press a fleeting kiss on Noct's forehead. ]

Well. I suppose I can afford to be gracious and let them see a little more of this beautiful face, if that's the case.

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[ ah might come as a bit of an underwhelming response if it were anyone else -- but noctis knows ignis, and it's easy enough for him to hear all those emotions in the undercurrent. and if there was anything he missed? it's all there, plain as day, in the way that ignis looks down at him. ]

As considerate as he is handsome. [ teasing, but with a tone that still rings warm and sincere. ] I'm a lucky man.

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I don't think you know what you mean to us.

[ It's a quiet thing, murmured as he settles into the motions of shaving Noct - the sweep of the blade, gentle splash of water, wipe and repeat. The rhythm of it is soothing, something his hands repeat easily as he talks. ]

I hope you know what you mean to me, but to all of us. Your people. So much was lost, but knowing the sacrifice you were making and that you'd be back let people push through. It gave them a reason to work and to fight. To live.

They love you, Noct.

[ And he smiles again, a hint of a laugh in his voice as he continues. ]

Not quite as much as I love you, but still.