calcitrants | IC INBOX [ERKU]

[It was an exceedingly rare moment that McGillis Fareed would cuddle anyone for any reason but he treats Ignis to all the closeness that he can bear. While he couldn't summon armaments from thin air or wield a javelin with quite as much skill, he nevertheless was strong enough to keep him safe—even if he couldn't protect him from that terrible truth he would have to tell.

Eventually he settles with his head resting tenderly on Ignis' shoulder, his breath low and slow. Today his lion was a dragon and very content to nest with his chosen mate.]

Probably.

[McGillis mutters it against his skin, idly picking through his bangs.]

You smell like way too much wine. And awful whiskey.

[ mcgillis is smart, dangerous and strong enough to be a deadly force to be reckoned with in his own right, and it's a privilege to be someone that he wants to keep safe. ignis finds that he's just as protective, just as willing to strike at whomever who's foolish enough to hurt mcgillis on his watch.

he contemplates his own feelings on the matter, pleased at how he fits right in his strong, muscular arms, leaning up to nuzzle into his neck, his jaw, doting on his dragon. ]

You drank a lot of it the other time, you know. [ he's slowly unbuttoning mcgillis' shirt as he goes. he leans in close to hear the reassuring beat of his heart. ] Tell me more about you. I told you so much about me today.

[Oh, how he hates this question. Gaelio has asked it before—more than once—and he never knew what to say then either. So he struggles a little.]

I like birds.

[...well, that was pretty lame. Maybe he should elaborate on that.]

When I was young, I would watch them in the garden. I admired them for beautiful and how free they were. I would sketch them and catalogue them and one day my partner bought me an atlas and I obsessed over every page. When I arrived here, Prompto showed me a picture of a chocobo, and I...

[Breathing deep, overwhelmed by the memory as he recites it.]

I fell in love. Perhaps it was the first sign that I truly belonged here.

[ ignis listens, fascinated. it explains his great love for chocobos and avis, and he reaches up to touch his cheek briefly, curling his fingers in his hair to pet him. he knows how mcgillis likes affection, and takes to spoiling him.

the thought of a young mcgillis admiring birds is bittersweet, knowing his past and how brutal his childhood was, how he would be hurt until it didn't hurt anymore, a comment that still haunts him sometimes. ]

I'm glad Prompto shared that with you. I hope Avis and Ami adoring you are the other signs. And the friends you've made here...

[ he pauses. ] Are you a pilot, too?

[The touch to his face does settle him slightly. He leans into it, shutting his eyes.]

Mm. Perhaps the one edge I have over you, you impossibly perfect specimen.

[ he laughs softly, doting on him with gentle touches and affectionate little nuzzles. he wants to put mcgillis at ease, to learn more about him. ]

Your drawing skills, too, Mr Hotshot Pilot. And your gift for making riding in on a pink scooter look charming.

[ he hums, remembering something. ] Is the white mobile suit in the hangar yours?

[ ignis remembers seeing it in the hangar weeks back when he'd taken a tour from vidar, and he had been fascinated by the mobile suits and the pilots in the facility. and now that he knows his partner is vidar, that particular mobile suit beside his is likely... ]

Gundam Bael.

[This sort of talk was dangerous. Not because it made him angry, quite the opposite, but because he could never stifle his passion in regards to that shining white knight. It was beautiful, perfect in every way. His savior from a world of darkness, even if it was named after a demon. Even if it housed the forbidden soul of another human being.]

You should take care, Ignis. There are terrible truths in that hangar.

[He says as if that won't just encourage him.]

Gundam Bael.

[ he echoes, testing the name of it on his tongue -- ignis is not privy to any of the history, but he can tell just how important and crucial it is to mcgillis. he can see it in his eyes, and he tilts his head, even more interested and completely disregarding the warning. he wants to know just what it is that makes mcgillis light up with such purpose and passion. ]

What kinds of terrible truths?

[McGillis presses the pad of a finger to Ignis' mouth, smirking knowingly.]

Nice try. Not when I'm lounging in your arms, Ignis.

[Nice try, not today. But eventually, he was quite sure, now that Ignis' appetite had been whetted. And he was a ravenous man, almost ruthless, beneath that composed air. He could and would get that truth and would not be stopped—just halted temporarily. Just like his own terrible truth.]

Did you drag me in here for a nap? Or did your hands have other plans?

[He sees you trying that too. Deflect better, dude.]

[ ignis allows it; it's a heavy subject for another day, but mcgillis is right, he won't be letting that go. but he can wait -- this man's answers are worth waiting for.

not even stopping when caught, ignis makes sure he finishes unbuttoning before he serenely responds, giving the finger on his lips a little kiss. ]

Maybe I just don't like obstacles between your chest and I when we nap.

[ he means it, though. ignis intends to find solace in his arms right now, and find a way to distract himself from his own morose thoughts. his chest is doing a really good job of that. ]

Have you been working out more often?

I'm going to tell Noctis you're secretly a big softie.

[As if he doesn't already know. McGillis sheds his shirt with a put upon sigh, draws Ignis to his exposed chest and guides his fingers to that fragile spot—just over his heart. Monstrous nature or otherwise, it beats the same as any other man. Slow and relaxed as he smiles somewhat hazily.]

And maybe I have. I need to keep up with my dutiful instructor, after all.

[Weapons were awfully hard work. Especially the kind that weren't giant and golden.]

Noctis knows. This secret is just for you, too.

[ he's sliding his arm around him, a hand smoothing up his back as he rests his cheek on his chest, over his steadily beating heart.

proof that no matter what monstrous things mcgillis does, he's still human. ignis feels a pang of sadness when he remembers what mcgillis had said to him about his death, and he squeezes him tighter. ]

Stay. All day and through the night. I want you with me.

...I truly am sorry.

[For many things. For the lives lost, for the pain of his prince, for his own loss. But also because...]

I don't know how to love you. Truthfully, I'm not sure I ever learned at all.

[ ignis is quiet for a few moments, looking up at him. the words are bittersweet, making his heart ache.

he reaches up to cup his cheek then. oh, mcgillis. the sweet, tender man underneath that dangerous devil of one, someone who's lost, who has always had to fight and hurt others to survive. ]

But you do. And you have. All of these things you've done for me, with me, the exceptions you've made. [ has he not noticed? that he was so willing to be a listening ear, to make breakfast, that mcgillis has already opened himself to him knowing that he could be hurt but still trusting him anyway. ignis sees all these, and loves him for it. gods, he loves him, and he shouldn't. it won't end well. ]

What you've given me is enough. I will not press for more.

[No point arguing with the man over it. Maybe he hadn't been loved all his life, maybe it really was just youthful affairs and meaningless trysts, but he at least had known the love of his prince and embraced it. Gaelio was such a complicated matter he wasn't even sure what to call it anymore. Absent seemed the more appropriate term, for how far they had drifted apart.

But that was his fault and Ignis wouldn't understand that either. So McGillis just nods and lets it go; if Ignis wanted to love him, no one could stop him. Least of all McGillis himself.]

I will stay with you.

[All day and all night and some time after that.]

[ noctis is special, he always has been -- ignis has loved him before he even understood what it meant, and he would give his life for him without question, whether it's to let it burn up as the price for changing noctis' destiny, or to follow him to his death. but as it turns out, he has room to spare for mcgillis too, in whatever form it may take.

he frowns briefly at that response, and wonders. ]

McGillis. Talk to me. What are you thinking about?

[Good gods, this man was persistent. But McGillis was equally so and more than willing to resist.]

Tossing you on the back of my scooter and eloping to the nearest moon. It can fly, you know.

[ yes, well. bite him. ignis nudges him onto his back so that he can rest his chin on his chest, thus unceremoniously using him as a ridiculously gorgeous manpillow. skeptically: ]

Does that line work on people a lot, or are you trying this out for the first time?

[ remember when you said it to him before? he's doing it to you now, mcgillis. ]

So you don't want to marry me then?

[Deflection master right here. Although teasing Ignis was awfully fun, so he doesn't mind doing it for its own sake—or finding any excuse he can to hold him close, like now.]

You're terribly frustrating when you're deflecting. You do know that, right?

[ but ignis will allow it because it's fun to tease mcgillis right back, and he's smiling because the general can be witty when he wants to be. he presses a brief kiss over his heart, shaking his head with a soft smile. ]

Besides, I demand a lot from my husbands. I doubt you'd want that.

Well, naturally, you'd be one small part of a much bigger harem. And you'd all fight for my favor and I'd sit back and sip wine and watch.

[Is he joking? He must be joking... he's probably joking. He has to be joking, right?]

[ HE'S DEFINITELY JOKING. ignis just laughs, then leans over to press soft kisses over his chest, where he'd left those bruises and bites, a reminder of when he'd made him come just by playing with him here, here, and oh, here, too...

green eyes becoming more knowing, almost a little predatory. ]

Try again.

Uh...

[Don't show submission! Don't look in his eyes! You are the endgame antagonist, not this absurdly handsome hero with the super hot lips!]

I suppose we could switch roles on occasion. I might find such an arrangement amenable.

[...oops. Didn't last too long there.]

[ STOP BEING SO CUTE it's distracting. and it makes ignis want to lovingly bully you more, mr sexy endgame antagonist. ]

Maybe. But I might end up accidentally eliminating most of your harem when it's my turn.

[ ..."accidentally", he says. never try to compete with ignis scientia. ] And I feel like you might with mine, too.

[ never compete with mcgillis fareed, either. it's like trying to outswim a shark with bloody steaks strapped to your ankles. ]

...you are most definitely feeling better.

[Also the idea of Ignis beating up a bunch of other dudes to win his affections was kind of hot but he's not willing to entertain that idea right now so he just gingerly plucks his mouth a safe distance away and settles in to cuddle definitively for the next... however many hours. Schedules are vague here, since he already promised all day and all night.]

At least rest your eyes for a bit. Then we'll see about belated breakfast in bed.

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