Noctis Lucis Caelum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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childrenofbahamutlogs2025-02-01 06:49 pm
berriedmemories) wrote in childrenofbahamutlogs2025-02-01 06:49 pm
berriedmemories) wrote in childrenofbahamutlogs2025-02-01 06:49 pm
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The other thing he's thankful for is Ignis actually drinking his tea. It's not just the compliment that makes Thul purr in the back of his mind. The old doctor sharing his thoughts gives the mental equivalent of an approving nod watching his patient drink his medicine.
"I will take credit for that, thank you," Thul rumbles over their shared link. Ravus doesn't acknowledge the old man directly, but does sigh softly aloud. Metal claws come up to tap the side of his temple with an exasperated little one-two beat.
"Careful now, you'll give the old blue an even more inflated ego than he's already got. I can't take a simple walk without the compulsory need to stuff every pocket to the brim with herbs and flowers he never shuts his mouth about."
Ravus lets Thul settle back down, and sits in the quiet beside Ignis. Takes a few sips of his own tea. The warmth that pools in his chest and belly is a soothing heat he relishes in. Spring can't come soon enough, no matter how much he's used to the bitter cold of winter. It doesn't mean he's ever liked it.
At the question, Ravus glances sideways, and catches the look from Ignis. He blinks owlishly. Well...
He'd like to. He would. He'd like it more than he thinks he can reasonably explain, but there's the matter of his, well, his everything that makes him unsure of these emotions that roil about in the sea of his heart. There's also the matter of his protective nature urging him to keep watch. There's a fine line between his love and his desire to serve. Rather, the two blend in ways he finds hard to separate.
"Would you like me too?" He asks, letting his soft gaze linger on the way Ignis' hands wrap around the warm cup. "My thought was that if anyone should keep watch, it would be wisest to leave it to me. But... I suppose I would wake to nearly any threat before it became an issue just as well."
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Simply... bothered, as a man stumbling out of being a teenager, for having something shoved onto him out of his control in such a way.
He's older, now. A little wiser, he likes to think. And it helps, as well, that Sveargith has been relatively quiet since he's come back to this world. Reassuring and such when he first came back, for all that he was bewildered at such swift changes that seemed to happen in the blink of an eye, but not too demanding on information. Not just yet. Ignis has the feeling that, like any good bartender, he's waiting for the right moment.
Ignis will let him choose that, when he can. He wants to know what's going on just as much as him, and if the dragon might know after a bit of questioning, then he has no objections. And even if not... It's better to be on the same page.
That can be for another day. For now, he simply takes in Ravus's owlish little stare and smiles a touch. "Why on earth would I object?" he asks. The hands that Ravus is watching rub their fingers gently along the cup. "Certainly if I cared to do so, I would have done it when Prompto and Noctis were both trying to cajole you into bed." Alright, saying they were cajoling Ravus is giving them a bit too much credit. Rather, they both just crawled into the bed and were making puppy dog eyes at Ravus in hopes that he would join them all.
Ignis and Gladio both didn't expect Ravus to accept the offer, ridiculously awkward man that he is... but Ignis does have to admit that perhaps they were both waiting and watching in hopes that he would.
Well. He won't address things between them just yet, but... "There is not a man in that bed whom you do not love, is there?" he presses, light tone a balance between casual and gentle. "Then I do not see why you should hold yourself back from sharing the bed with them and myself as we all rest. I do appreciate your consideration, Ravus... but it is a duty that all of us are doing in one way or another. I promise that Gladio, Prompto, and myself are all prepared for it."
A slight shift in his position, and Ignis leans just a little closer to Ravus. "You need not do your duty alone," he murmurs to him, finger circling the rim of his cup. "And you may find some rest alongside us, always."
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But he doesn't dwell there. Not when Ignis leans near, and Ravus can't help but mirror him. Until he's brushed against him, and it's hardly the fire that warms him now. Why would Ignis object, indeed? When... When this feels so comfortable, when it could feel better. With all of them. Or rather, it's an if. Ravus assumes very little is for his benefit or something he is allowed to benefit from, even now. So he has to ask, and has to call Ignis on such statements. He's all too aware that the other man is far more clever than he, but Ravus is not going to let such things slide when he does catch them.
“You're right, of course. But you do realize you were in that bed too, do you not? I should not deny something so precious as love, and, in truth, I am finding that shouldering everything myself is far more lonesome than I can ever recall. Perhaps I am growing soft.” Ravus shakes his head, more aware now than he ever used to be that it's not something so easy as just slacking. There's a complicated web of emotions to tangle himself with these days, and one such thread he tugs at now.
“Regardless of cause, I should like you to rest, as I know very well the day you have had.” He lived it too, after all. But more importantly, “I would like to do so as well, with those that I love. Yourself included.”
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Instead, the blasted man goes and confesses to him.
For just a brief second, at the mention of him being in thee bed as well, Ignis wonders if Ravus properly understands what he's saying. Of course he goes on to prove that he very well does. Just as much as he surely knows what he's doing, leaning against Ignis's shoulder in turn like this. Ignis had known for a long time that Ravus possesses the heart of a romantic underneath all the ice that Niflheim had forced upon him... and he shows it off with aplomb with such sweet words. It's enough to make him stare, truly.
...A stare which promptly becomes somewhat playfully exasperated.
"Ravus, I would have liked to answer a confession with a full night's rest," he comments, even as he properly puts more of his weight against the other man's shoulder. "And perhaps while I was dressed just a touch more appropriately. Really, I may have you give you a proper demonstration of how to confess, and all the proper steps. A good first date. And I'd hoped to sleep tonight, rather than think on such things"
But he's laying his had against Ravus's shoulder, so he really doesn't sound upset at all.
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“A thousand pardons, dear Ignis,” he says, breathing out an amused sound, “as I am not so well-versed in the art. Clearly, I need an expert teacher to show me quite how it’s done. Though this also means you’ll have to permit me a second chance after I’ve had my lessons.”
The teasing aside, Ravus doesn’t regret it. Besides that, he’s had a feeling Ignis has known far longer than Ravus himself has. He’ll say as much after he tilts his head enough to feel the soft brush of Ignis’ hair against his cheek. It’d be a hard won fight not to fall asleep just like that, melted against him in the light of the fire, his heart near-full to bursting.
“You knew already though, I’m sure. Everyone else certainly saw through me as if I were no more opaque than glass. So while I apologize for plaguing your sleep further, try not to dwell on old news. I… I simply couldn’t keep holding onto it, not after you vanished like that.”
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Of course, the youth he was back then had no idea just how they truly met. It was a thing he wondered about quite a bit, honestly. If not for his pride, perhaps he would have asked at some point.
Well, now he's got a bit better than merely asking. Now he's lived through it himself, and seen even a touch into the future. Ignis knows exactly why this never went anywhere.
Why it might not ever, if he can't change their future.
Speaking of the future... He settles back against Ravus, staring into the flames. "...I wish I hadn't caused you all such distress. Hardly do I know just what made it pull me in particular, especially after all that time." This time may be more appropriate, considering the disparity in it between his perception and theirs, but... It doesn't really matter he supposes. "Still, I am here now. And hopefully, my luck is not so atrocious that whatever happened strikes twice."
They've already lost a few achingly familiar faces here, at least for their lot if not Ravus. His Majesty, and Cor following dutifully right after... They all miss those faces. He doesn't want to add to the number.
"We should finish our tea, and head back to bed. We will have to work to put you in properly, after all, lest the bed become unbalanced and break under the combined weight of you and Gladio both." No bed was made for the weight of those combined tits-
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“Well, said honest man could only provide what he knew. And given you were the first friend I’d had since I was a child, I was a touch ignorant to the way friendship might feel.” Someone, multiple someones, had to explain his own feelings to him, after all.
Ignis settles back against him, and Ravus relaxes with him. Despite that, he speaks of the uncertain phenomena, and Ravus senses the undercurrent of more there. He knows why, of course. Knows the future is a daunting, doomed outlook that they both know he’ll fight tooth and nail. But Ravus doesn’t press the subject. They’ve time enough to talk about it on a less eventful day. As long as Ignis’ gamble on his luck holds true, anyway.
“I find it hard to believe it was something you chose to do. And perhaps there’s no knowing exactly why the timing was so particular. But as you said, you’re here now, and that is what matters.” Ravus brings up his prosthetic arm, unfurling the claws as the bright blue bloom of a sylleblossom unwinds from between the digits.
“They come in many colors, you know. The vivid blue was meant to represent perseverance, an undying love and loyalty found in so many stories of Tenebraen knights and Oracles. A heart, unwilling to yield.” He then sheers the stem by hooking a claw, and offers the flower to Ignis. “So let an honest man be honest, and give you something more in accordance with my feelings. In proper Tenebraen tradition, this is my promise to you. You have me, whatever the future holds.”
With a vow properly made and sealed with a memento, Ravus carefully shifts his other arm out from beneath Ignis without too much jostling. He wraps it around the other’s shoulders to give a gentle squeeze before he takes up his cup of tea between metal talons to drink a good bit more of it.
“Provided, of course, that I do not break the bed and perish of embarrassment.” It's unfortunately quite possible.
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To see the proper living thing is a wholly different experience. All the moreso in this sort of lighting, where it seems so strangely ethereal in coordination with the flames.
And it is that beautiful ethereal thing that Ravus plucks from its stem, offered to him so simply with the purest of vows attached.
Ignis takes it as gently as he can, fingers brushing along Ravus's metal ones, and looks at it. At the way the shadows slide along its delicate petals, turns it to see every little bit of it. Then, he presses it to his lips, for but a moment.
"...What a terribly adept Prince Charming you are, once you've been given a second chance," he murmurs, before delicately placing the blossom to the side where it wont fall to the floor or be carelessly crushed. "And you needn't worry about breaking the bed. Gladio has it quite reinforced. The more pressing matter is all of us with our weight to one side, and flipping the silly thing up and over our heads. I will organize it well enough." But for that, he finishes his tea first, before rising to his feet. He won't bother to clean it out right now, simply first thing in the morning. That doesn't mean it won't be put away properly.
"I shan't let you fall to something as silly as that, Ravus."
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More so, he almost wishes he could feel through the wispy edges of that flower as Ignis brings it to his lips. His face heats as if he's the one pressed there, and Ravus feels his gaze turn away sheepishly.
"Yes, well," he starts, clearing his throat to hopefully bring some measure of surity to it. If it works, he can't tell, the buzz of his feelings in his hot blood distracting him. "I hate to squander something precious, let alone squander it twice."
Prince Charming... That's not the first time he's been called that. He's starting to wonder if it's more than culture shock and idle flattering.
When Ignis stands, Ravus follows him, and takes his cup. They're taken to the sink basin to be washed later, and he's quickly back at the other's side. He presses comfortably close, not quite leaning, but near enough like a loyal dog happy to be in contact with his person.
"I appreciate that. It wouldn't do to go out just as I've made such a promise. Unbecoming of a knight, really, to shirk duty for something as trivial as death by collapsing bedframe." He shrugs the opposite shoulder, and then glances toward the bedroom. "I'll leave the coordinating to you. I wouldn't rightly know where to even begin."
How does one arrange five full-grown adults into a single bed? And more than just that, where does the hierarchy come into play? The very idea is enough to make him uncomfortable with his doubts, but he will follow Ignis and his lead without complaint.
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It almost reminds Ignis of staying back in the cape. Of the peace that could only be brought about far away from busy streets, from cities. The main difference, really, is the lack of sea salt sunk into everything, or the reassuring passing light of the tower above them.
Once they are back in the room, door shut carefully behind them, Ignis sweeps his gaze over Ravus. "Well," he murmurs, voice so low as to not wake his lovers. "First things first. You shan't go to sleep while so heavily dress, Ravus. The arm alone shall add considerable weight to the bed. Disrobe to the bare essentials, and we shall maneuver you appropriately." A wry little smile crosses his lips.
"Rather uncouth of me to bed you before I have properly taken you on a date or gone through proper courtship, but I suppose this is the situation we find ourselves in."
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“I might consider all of this the bare essentials, you know,” he murmurs, except he’s already shrugging out of his coat. On a base level, he has no real attachment to his body, or how it’s seen by most. Really, it’s only when someone he has vested interest in makes comments like that, Ignis, that he ends up hesitating about undoing his belts. But they, and his pants, are heavy leather. So with a sigh, he slips out of them, too. Naturally, he wears modest underwear, so he’s not entirely nude, and toes off his boots as well. Thankfully, he’s also opted not to don the usually heavy plates of armor on his magitek prosthetic ever since his fae pact. The vines and flowers that sprout from every nook seem to appreciate the freedom to bloom as they please without them.
“Terribly ill-mannered of you,” he says in faux agreement, distracting himself from the thought of dates and courting, and maybe even one day baring himself to Ignis with intent instead of just sleeping arrangements. Thoughts he thoroughly attempts to fold away the same way he folds his coat and trousers, and sets them neatly aside. “But I suppose the circumstances make for exceptions.”
That said, he turns back to Ignis, awash in slivers of silvery light, his bulky body exposed save for his briefs, and a thin, low-cut shirt that does little to hide anything (least of all his tits), and is only meant to keep buckles and clasps from pinching his torso. Ravus makes a helpless gesture with his arms at his sides, and tries not to let the heat on his face bother him.
“As you like then?”
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But he will allow some measure of dignity for the other man. And, more importantly, there is a bed full of those he loves and must attend to.
He thinks Gladio still might be a touch awake, from when Ignis first left the bed, but he doesn't call his love out on it. Just leans over him, fingers gentle upon his shoulder and lips to his hair. Signs that he is still here, that he hasn't disappeared again. Even if Gladio had heard their steps downstairs, listened to whatever murmur of conversation still managed to leak up from the ceiling into the floorboards above... Ignis still wants him to know. He's not going anywhere.
Prompto and Noctis are a touch more entangled in sleep, and each other- perhaps the latter part especially helping in keeping them in the former. Ignis doesn't dare touch them too much, right off the bat, instead simply stroking Prompto's arm with a ghost of a touch as he looks over the space available.
It's not a lot, really. Frankly speaking, four men alone is really pushing it for a bed like this. Forget a bigger bed; they might need a bigger room flat out if they ever want to do this sort of thing more in the future. Still...
Well. He is a rather determined man, when it all comes down to it. With him making the invitation to Ravus, he'll make it happen.
Once the sound of cloth rustline and drawstrings ceases, Ignis finally looks back over to Ravus. Truly, in the lines of moonlight that fall through the window, he does make quite a divine sight, and Ignis smiles teasingly. "I quite like, yes, thank you." Straightening up from where he's been trying to adjust his boys, Ignis nods to the bed. Best not to dwell too long on the sinful curves Ravus has been gifted with; he's already embarrassed enough as it is.
"In order to make this arrangement work, I may need you to act as a bit of a cushion. Do you think that will work for you?"
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Theoretical existences aside, Ravus simply waits to be instructed, fondly watching the way Ignis so gently interacts with his mates. There's a softness to his gaze that he turns to Ignis when he's addressed. He's quiet a beat, before realizing he ought to answer properly. So to the question, he nods once, and then flicks his gaze to Noctis.
"Noctis has already taken to using me as one often enough. I do not mind." Said, for someone who simply doesn't mind, awfully fond. Equally fond, he continues as he shifts his gaze to the scrappy blond tangled with him. "Just as well, Prompto tends to clamber onto me at any opportunity. It will not be terribly different, I imagine."
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That will help make this a touch easier. But just a touch, considering the practicalities.
"Then over here - lay down as I move the boys." It is a bit of a handful, really, pulling Noctis close so that he is a bit more on top of Gladio, and then just physically lifting Prompto in turn... But there it is, a bit of room there on the bed on the other side. "Lay down quick, so I can get them onto you."
Which will indeed make Ravus an oversized body pillow, with two men cuddling up on him in different ways, but Ignis has to worry about how he will wiggle into place with Gladio, thank you.
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Running his real fingers through Noctis' hair at the nape of his neck, and his metal claws through Prompto's, Ravus feels a great warmth in his heart that bays any chill from the fading winter night. The panic of the day having been subsumed by the soft closeness of the people around him. It's... nice. Nicer than he ever really imagined it might be.
There will be enough uncertainty and hardship for the future, of that, Ravus has never doubted. But for now, he's quite content to watch Ignis wiggle himself into place with Gladio. Once he does, Ravus pauses his petting long enough to gently brush the back of his knuckles first against Gladio's shoulder, and then Ignis', as a quiet bid of goodnight, and unspoken thank you for letting him share this.