Transparency
Summary:
Unaware of this himself, Ignis was in dire need of help. At the time, his sacrifice to save Noct was without question, worth it. Yet, as he lay in the bed of a lonely rented hotel room in Altissia, he quickly began to lose perspective in the darkness engulfing him. Not until a kindred spirit comes to visit him, helping him the only way she knows how, does Ignis begin to find his way home again. Story takes place directly post-Episode Ignis.
Disclaimer: FFXV characters belong to Square Enix, not me!
Ignis' body was dead weight in Gladio's arms as he carried him up the stairs of the hotel. Currently, the hotel was at half-capacity, yet barely functioning as most of the citizens that fled the city didn't return after the battle. The Summoning and the subsequent invasion by the Empire had destroyed the majority of the once grand city. The boys all made it out alive, but barely. All of them, in some way, had suffered something significant. Noctis' condition was still unknown, and while Ignis had saved Noctis, the cost very well could have been his own life. Ardyn had escaped and Ravus was on the warpath, following his own tune. But, Luna made the biggest sacrifice of all. The Leviathan was the biggest bitch they'd encountered yet, making all of them question whether or not it was worth it to continue on with their journey.
Shell-shocked and in reverent silence, Prompto struggled to carry an unconscious Noctis up the stairs while Gladio swiftly brought Ignis into an empty room. Gladio tried to keep a tight lid on his emotions as he cared for his broken friends, laying Ignis down on the bed as gently as he could.
"You okay?" he asked quietly, masking his concern to appear as though everything was still in their control.
But Ignis just lay there, silent and unresponsive as he became lost in replaying recent events in his mind, trying to figure out what went wrong. He was growing angrier with himself by the minute for not being able to stop Ardyn while he literally had the ancient power of the Lucii in his hand. Still standing by the door, Prompto shifted Noctis' weight on his shoulder, struggling to keep him upright as he waited for Gladio's help. The prince was heavier than he looked.
"What were you thinking, Iggy?" Gladio asked a little more firmly this time, sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to get any kind of response out of Ignis. "You could've died using that ring."
Ignis slowly turned his head towards Gladio. It was as though Ignis was staring straight at him through the bandages in that disapproving way he always did when one of them was being particularly thoughtless.
"Have you already forgotten our promise to King Regis? I don't need to explain my actions to you… Shield," Ignis' voice was hoarse from battle as he berated Gladio. He touched the bandages on his face, feeling the evidence of his sacrifice. What sacrifice had Gladio made for the King? "As Crownsguard, we swore to protect Noct, and that's exactly what I did."
"That was supposed to be my sacrifice to give! Not yours, Iggy!" argued Gladio, abruptly sitting up from the bed as he let his frustration over the entire situation out on Ignis. He knew better than to argue against the logical one in the group, but he hated seeing the ones closest to him get hurt.
"This isn't a game, no one is trying to outperform you," Ignis attempted to argue before the other man scoffed at this rebuttal.
"Guys, please, stop it! I'm just glad we're all still alive," Prompto interjected, trying to help, but both men ignored him as they continued to bicker.
"If you can call this living… but it is as you once said, Gladio, 'we'll get the Prince to Altissia, even if it's the last thing we see.'" Resentfully, Ignis quoted his comrade. Gladio remembered his own words from the day they left the royal palace in Insomnia, filling him with bitterness as he realized it had become a reality for one of them.
Frustrated by the truth and Ignis' lack of cooperation, Gladio cleared the room with Prompto and Noctis in tow, slamming the door behind them as they left. The Shield knew Ignis was right, but couldn't face him anymore until his anger and fear abated. Prompto was more sympathetic towards Ignis, though he did not want the larger man's wrath unleashed on him too.
Releasing a heavy, pent-up sigh, Ignis lay in bed like a stone, his head swimming from the fatigue and his frustration with Gladio. He was long overdue for a rest, though he doubted it would be peaceful. Gladio and Prompto gave him no indication to Noctis' condition, worrying the blinded retainer more than he's ever been before. Ignis held his left hand in his right, massaging his still-burning fingers from when he bore the Ring of the Lucii during the fight against Ardyn. His hands were trembling slightly; the adrenaline that kept him going during the long battle was spent, working its way out of his body. Confronting the ancient Lucii had taken its toll. Ignis tried to push the dark, prophetic vision concerning Noctis from his mind, but the haunting images remained, burned like a brand into his memory. Ignis groaned as he tried to find a more comfortable position in bed, but it seems there was no such thing when your entire body ached.
Several uninterrupted minutes of silence passed, leaving Ignis trapped in his own downward spiral of self-doubt before the door to the outside world clicked open once again.
"Gladio… I don't want to hear it," groaned Ignis. He'd had enough lectures from the Shield, wishing in those moments he had lost his hearing instead.
"It's not Gladio," came an unexpected voice.
Ignis turned his head, angling closer to the sound of that sultry, feminine voice. He felt his heart rate spike at the surprise encounter. She was the last person Ignis expected to visit.
"Aranea? What are you doing here?"
The surprise was evident in his voice, earning a gentle chuckle from the woman in response. He wanted to feel happy or relief at her appearance, anything other than the feeling of incredible shame that suddenly overwhelmed him. To Ignis, it was one thing to be seen by your brothers in such a vulnerable state, but another thing entirely to be seen by a lady… particularly the lady he had a fondness for. Ashamed, he sat up in bed and turned away from her to hide his bandaged face. He looked a mess and he knew it, refusing for anyone to see him this way. He just wasn't ready yet.
Ignis listened to her long skirt sway and catch between her legs as she approached, quickly becoming more and more anxious by her arrival. Though, she didn't clink as she walked, he assumed (much to his relief) she wasn't wearing her usual sharp and intimidating battle armor. He felt the edge of the bed sink beneath her weight as she sat down, keeping her distance, but clearly wanting to be close.
"With all your smarts, and you still haven't figured it out?" She chuckled. "I came to see you."
Ignis felt his face grow hot. A part of him was relieved to hear it, but another, darker part of him just wanted her to leave.
"I heard what happened on the Imperial radio, but naturally, they didn't give any details. So, I came to Altissia… or what's left of it anyway, and ran into Gladio downstairs."
Ignis grumbled, expressing his displeasure over the mentioning of Gladio's name.
"He told me everything that happened… but I didn't believe him."
Ignis leaned forward in interest, yet he was hesitant to engage in a conversation so deep with this woman he barely knew. She'd spent time with them before, fighting alongside the boys in dungeons and against Imperial enemies while earning their trust, but this was different.
"Why didn't you believe him?" Ignis asked neutrally.
"Gladio spoke about you out of a place of pity. I despise pity parties. You knew gods-damn well what you were doing. And… I want you to know I admire you for what you did."
Ignis was stunned. He wasn't expecting this, not from the rogue Imperial huntress.
"So... you're not here to give me a lecture on why I shouldn't have done what I did?" He asked skeptically.
Aranea laughed.
"Dear Ignis, haven't you heard anything I've said? I came here because I wanted to see you."
He sat silently and still, mulling over her words, hung up on only one thing.
"I'm flattered, Aranea, but I'm afraid I'm no longer useful. I failed the crown. There's... no need for anyone to see me now."
Ignis' melancholy was nauseating. Aranea knew for a fact Ignis was made of sterner stuff and didn't like this pitiful shadow of the man he used to be. Most people needed real encouragement and nurturing to recover from trauma, others, she thought, like Ignis, just needed a good kick in the ass to remind them that everything was going to be fine.
Without warning, Aranea rose from the bed, jarring it slightly with the rapid alleviation of her weight. Ignis could hear her stomping closer, his body tensing up as he was cautiously unaware of what she was about to do.
Suddenly a hand came hard and fast into contact with his face once, then twice, as she slapped Ignis, absolutely not caring that she hit his injured cheek. Ignis gasped in surprise as his face burned from the harsh collision. He didn't like not being able to see things coming at him anymore.
"How dare you minimize your actions! It is not up to you to decide if you're still useful or not!" Her voice thundered as she spoke, sending genuine fear into Ignis's heart.
But Ignis said nothing, practically cowering beneath her. It made no difference who the scolding was coming from, Gladio, Prompto, Aranea, he just didn't want to hear it anymore.
"What makes you think that you failed?" She asked ardently, "Noctis is alive because of you!"
The change in tone of her voice caught him off guard, but Ignis remained tight lipped while his resolve began to crack. He knew exactly what she was doing, but had sunk deep enough into his self-made ocean of pity that it was hard to resurface without help.
Aranea wasn't going to wait for him to second-guess himself. Where had his iron resolve gone? The same resolve that brought him to use the Ring must have been buried deep beneath his surface, but she was hell-bent on bringing him back out of it, no matter what it took. She owed him that much. Aranea was confident she could say things, do things to Ignis that his brothers could not, and silently begged the Astrals her plan would work.
"You are not useless, Ignis Scientia!"
Aranea placed her palm across his reddening cheek as an act of apology, recoiling only slightly at her unexpected, soft touch. She cupped his chin with her hand, angling his damaged face up towards hers, and although he couldn't see her anymore, the message rang clear. "Your king's not done with you yet… and neither am I."
Her words lingered in the air like perfume. He tried to ignore them, but their presence had permeated the very air he was breathing.
Then, he felt the bed shift under additional weight just before he felt his body being moved and used like a marionette. Aranea roughly pushed Ignis onto his back and climbed to sit atop his hips, firmly planting herself just below his belt buckle. Caught completely off guard, Ignis raised his hands near his shoulders in passive defense and burned red with obvious discomfort.
Once fluent in reading body language, it made him one of the best bodyguards any Lucis King could ask for, but he had to see it in order to notice all the small nuances the body could make according to any given situation. Now, with his vision gone, he had no clue how to gain that invaluable skill back.
"Ignis," she whispered his name, reaching her hand down to caress his cheek again, though this time much gentler than before, "This isn't you, I know it. You're a hero… albeit a modest one."
Aranea was playing dirty, and he knew it. Taking advantage of Ignis' known fondness for her was the catalyst for what she was about to do next.
"There's nothing wrong with a little modesty…" Ignis quipped before clearing his throat suggestively. Tempted though he was, Ignis was still afraid to touch her. One at a time, Aranea pulled off her killer boots and tossed them to the floor, realizing the hazard they presented in bed. Ignis heard the heavy clatter echo loudly in the room and was suddenly grateful she removed them.
The weight and warmth of her body on him was distracting. The higher functions of his intellect were churning with theories, trying to figure out why she would use this tactic against him, while the rest of it just wanted to know what she felt like underneath all that leather. He couldn't come up with anything proper to say as he tried to suppress his own body's language from speaking to her.
Aranea remained entirely too close for his comfort as she began to unwrap the bandage over his eyes.
"What are you," Ignis began to ask in a panic, but she placed a single finger over his cracked lips to silence him. He felt the blood rise in his face under her touch, ashamed by his sudden desire for her to do whatever she wanted to with him. Ignis could've easily stopped her from revealing his injury if he really wanted to, but her power over him in that moment was unfathomable.
She finally removed the last of the fabric bandages, revealing his damaged face beneath. His left eye had suffered the worst of it, with unique and magical scarring that was sure to remain there. His once startlingly green irises that always reminded her of tropical seas were now cloudy and opaque. It broke her heart to see it, knowing that his life would forever be changed by the loss of his vision. She used a gentle touch as she caressed the less-damaged side of his face all the way down his neck, curiously fingering the skull pendant on his necklace that rested in the divot of his collarbone.
"Ignis, look at me," she said, commanding him like one of her soldiers.
But Ignis refused, closing his eyelids, choosing to remain trapped in his own self-pity.
She said it again, louder.
"I can't."
"Ignis, look for me" she ordered him again.
"I can't!" He yelled angrily, putting all his built-up frustration into his voice.
"Yes, you can!" Aranea yelled back just as loudly, grabbing his fist and raising it to her own cheek, holding it firmly in place. Any sudden contact with her was like an electric shock through his system. Immediately his fist unfolded, feeling the warmth of her face with his palm.
He should've known. It was so obvious, he felt stupid once he realized what she was trying to get him to do. Although he no longer had eyes that worked, he still had hands. He had survived the wrath of the Lucii and still possessed four other senses to navigate the world with.
Ignis could feel the curve of her face and the heat of her skin that was surely blushing pink. He could feel, even, the pulse points in her fingertips gently beating underneath her skin. It was amazing that he never noticed this much detail before.
"Now you understand," she said calmly and triumphantly, letting her hands fall away while his remained, searching deeper.
"Yes," he breathed.
"What do you see?" She asked, forcing him to use his brilliant mind to solve the situation.
"You."
"Do better than that, hero."
Ignis started to catch on, easing out of his protective shell. Hesitantly, he raised his other hand, adding the left one to the right as he touched her face, discovering new details he'd never allowed himself to notice when he had eyesight.
His thumbs crossed the planes of her cheeks until they met her nose, following the line down to her open lips, feeling the warmth of her breath brush his fingers like feathers. It was almost accidental that his thumb rubbed across her bottom lip, feeling the texture and its fullness. Ignis noticed her lips were dry and wanted so badly to change that.
"You knowingly made a sacrifice. Now, you've got to learn to live with it. I know you can do it, Ignis, better than anyone else I know," said Aranea, her mouth curving into a smile beneath his attentive fingers.
Inhaling deeply, he caught a scent. It must've been her, because it was the only thing he could smell after that. Her leather top smelled as forbidden as it felt as she helped him take it off, but he detected something else, floral notes… definitely orchids. From that moment on, whenever Ignis smelled orchids, he thought of Aranea.
"Go on, tell me what you see," she asked again, starting to undo the buttons on his tattered shirt.
Together, they had thrown caution to the wind, allowing the tension she provoked into being to bubble over and drive them. Ignis fully emerged out of his shell, delving into every last ounce of bravery he had left to answer her. His hands were his eyes, eagerly discovering every exposed inch of her as he tested this new method of reading body language. Her chest arched forward into his hands while her thighs squeezed tighter around his sides. Her body responded vividly to his touch and he didn't miss anything, down to the smallest of sighs. It was crystal clear to Ignis that she wanted him, though he could hardly believe that a woman of Aranea's caliber would ever want a man as broken as him.
"In addition to your arresting beauty, I see your strength," he said softly, testing his answers.
"And I see your weakness."
He felt her muscles tense under his fingers as she snapped her attention to his words, obviously wanting him to elaborate. She was the kind of woman that didn't like other people knowing she had a weakness. Yet, Ignis' damaged lips curved into a harmless smirk as he continued.
"I have always known you to put on a good show, somehow needing to prove how tough you are, even when you're not in battle," he felt her burning gaze on him as he spoke. "Though, I don't need vision to see that your strength comes from the same source as your weakness," his fingers climbed until they found the pulse point on her neck, feeling the increasing beat of her heart do exactly the thing he expected.
"Is that so?" she finally undid the last button, yanking his shirt open with aggressive flair and earning a throaty groan from the man willingly in her hold.
"At first, I thought it was your dangerous feminine wiles," he said, his confidence growing rapidly, squeezing her curvy hips and rotating his own to provoke just the right amount of tension. "But, then I realized it comes from somewhere else."
"Really? Where?" the slightest tremble in her voice almost gave her away.
His hands traveled north from her hips in favor of palming and caressing her breasts, leaving a hand over the left side of her chest to indicate her heart, drawing a shameless moan out of Aranea.
Suddenly Ignis sat up, clutching her body close with one arm wrapped around her waist, pinning their bare chests together. He smelled of the salty sea and gunpowder, turning Aranea on faster than Prompto could say yes to a Chocobo ride. Their noses were close enough to each other that Aranea could find every freckle on his face as he held them upright. He curved his head to the side, enraptured by her scent of orchids and brushed his lips against her ear as he answered.
"From your heart. You give help and love graciously even when no one asked for it," his voice was deep with gratitude intermixed with longing. "Thank you, Aranea."
She melted at his admission, feeling confident that her plan had worked… possibly a little too well. Aranea caught Ignis' turning face just in time to kiss him, beginning their descent into the fervorous affair. Hotly, they kissed each other, ready to let all pretense fall by the wayside. She was all too aware of Ignis rising to meet her need, just as she was ready to bring him home. Ignis may have lost his sight, but he was still a man who looked beyond the obvious. This was a side effect of her weakness that he fully intended to exploit, as she had just done with him.
"Ignis, I didn't come here for this," Aranea interjected as he sputtered to a halt.
"Would you rather stop?" he asked, only halfway believing her.
"Hell no," she admitted, drawing yet another smile from Ignis as he returned to kiss her.
Holding her tight and ignoring the residual pains throughout his body, Ignis flipped them over on the bed, pinning her beneath. He fumbled blindly with the fastenings of her overskirt and tight leather leggings, playfully swatting her hand away when she tried to help him. Ignis was rebuilding his confidence, convinced he could do this now that she had pointed out what he had clearly missed before.
Eventually, he found the right buckle to undo which brought all of it down with one good yank. Aranea helped remove the bunched up leggings from her ankles as Ignis shrugged out of his open shirt and went for his belt buckle, being far more familiar with his own equipment than hers.
Since Gladio and Prompto had rescued Noctis and himself from the scene of his undoing, Ignis hadn't even found the chance to begin testing these new limits. Brought straight to the hotel to recover, not even able to walk on his own two feet, Ignis' very soul remained trapped in the dark aftermath of using the Ring. The vision he witnessed still haunted him, and his body was in more pain than he could ever remember. His legendary hairdo had since fallen flat, dirty blonde bangs draped over his open, clouded eyes as Aranea watched him struggle. She knew it wasn't just his loss of vision that preyed on him. The turmoil was most apparent in his face as he tried to balance their lovemaking with an entirely new way to function.
"You're thinking too much," said Aranea, pushing his pants down over his backside impatiently.
Ignis groaned as she palmed and stroked his freed cock. If that didn't make him stop thinking, she thought, then nothing would. Aranea was determined to help him the only way she knew how.
"Do you trust me?" she asked him.
He hesitated despite already having an answer in mind. Yes, Ignis trusted her; she'd already proven herself trustworthy time and again. Still, with her hand wrapped around his cock it was difficult to concentrate, not just on the things he should be pushing from his mind, but answering her question.
"I do," he finally admitted through a groan, as she gripped him harder. Aranea lived for the tease, allowing Ignis to enjoy the pleasure twisting through him just a little bit longer. He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck as he found the source of the orchids, breathing her intoxicating scent in deep.
"Stand up," ordered Aranea, abandoning her ministrations and leaving him quite wanting.
But Ignis obeyed without a sound, removing himself from her warm embrace on the bed and standing, taking the opportunity to completely remove his slouching, wrinkled pants and shoes.
He heard her move from the bed, presumably also to stand, but Ignis felt awkward and exposed as he waited for further instructions. His body yearned to be touched again, despite feeling somewhat strung along.
His ears strained to hear anything, and though it was a decently sized hotel room, he couldn't detect anything. She was an expert huntress, after all.
"Do you still trust me?" She asked, somehow managing to have moved to the other side of the room in that brief moment apart.
Ignis made a satisfied sound, a low grumble that echoed in the room, "not a bit," he said, smiling. It was a game now.
Aranea's honeyed laughter was like music to his ears.
"Then come find me."
Her invitation was tempting, but full of trouble for Ignis. He was still not used to operating like this, feeling quite unprepared for the challenge. He stretched out his hands in front of him, reaching for anything that might obstruct his path to her. Slowly, he moved away from the bed, taking several steps toward where he last heard her before his shin bumped harshly into the coffee table in front of the couch.
"Where are you?" He asked, the discomfort apparent in his voice as he strained to listen for her again.
"I'm not going to make this easy for you."
The longer he listened, the sharper his hearing became. Ignis let go of the habit of trying to see and put all his effort into listening instead.
Gradually, he detected the sounds of slow breathing and fingers brushing against coarse fabric. He caught a whiff of the orchids again, turning eagerly in the direction it came from. Then he heard a giggle against the far wall, intently listening to the way the sound echoed into the high-ceiling. He even began to notice the way the air moved in the room against his bare skin.
His feet carried him towards the smell of the orchids, though it wasn't long before he bumped into something else, swearing as he felt more pain shoot up his already bruised shins. Ignis could only imagine what Aranea saw in him in that moment, naked and bumping into furniture as blind as a bat.
"You're getting warmer," teased Aranea, "use your head."
Ignis was getting frustrated, but he didn't dare show it. He reached out for something, anything to grab that he could use. His hands found a wall, covered in thickly pasted wallpaper, he noticed, and felt along the uneven wall as he walked. Eventually he found the door, and beyond that, a freestanding metal coat hanger. It wasn't until he found the coat hanger that the ingenious idea came to him. He summoned a lance from his Armiger, magic filtering off the weapon as he gripped it tight to use as a walking stick.
"Now you're using your head," she chimed from across the room. She must have been constantly moving in order to keep out of his reach. Ignis hated how he couldn't always hear her. It took some time for him to learn to navigate the room with the lance, accidentally lodging its sharp end into the wooden legs of furniture more than once.
"When I find you, Aranea, please don't let me skewer you."
"Oh, but that's what I'm hoping you'll do," her sultry voice teased him again.
Ignis chuckled deeply in his throat, taking satisfaction in the thought of skewering her with another, fleshier blade.
He held the lance low, sweeping it side to side in front of him, coming into contact with furniture placed throughout the room. He thought it terribly unsafe, walking around blind and naked with a razor sharp weapon, trying to figure out how to navigate again. The list of things that could go wrong echoed in his mind, but he had to force it out like white noise in order to concentrate.
"Where are you, huntress?"
Just then, he heard shallow breathing nearby and guessed she was only a few steps away. Dismissing the lance back into the ether it came from, Ignis reached for her with his own two hands instead. But, his shins slammed into one last damned table, causing him to groan angrily. Thoroughly done with the abuse from furniture, Ignis reached down for the table in front of him and thrust it on its side with an uproarious clatter. He didn't care about the things he broke, or the bill he was sure to receive from the hotel later, he only cared about one thing right now.
He was so close now he could feel the warmth of her breath on his hands, the scent of orchids in the air stronger than ever. Surely she was trying not to laugh at him, only a breath's distance away from him. Ignis reached out desperately, hoping he was right.
Before he could find purchase, Aranea's quick hands were on his shoulders, drawing him back into her for a kiss. Ignis' reward was sweet. Together they stumbled back into the wall, anything but gentle as Ignis pinned Aranea against its surface. Her hand found his cock again, stroking him back to full hardness and eliciting an unhinged moan from the man.
"Whatever you do, don't stop," begged Ignis breathlessly.
Aranea obliged him, wrapping one long leg around his waist while teasing his member with her entrance. All thoughts escaped Ignis' mind, focusing on the pleasure and finally responding as though there were no equations to be solved, no theories to ponder, and no self-pity to stew in; just raw, carnal desires to fulfill. His kisses turned into bites the longer Aranea teased him, as she revelled in the sounds this normally straight-laced tactician was making for her.
But suddenly Ignis pulled away, reaching down to pick her up by her thighs and hoisted her high on his chest. He easily held her legs in the crook of his arms while her breasts swayed near his head as she held onto his shoulders.
"Guide me to the bed, ma'am," he said firmly, head held high as though he were actually looking at her. There was a note of urgency in his voice, and she knew it was her fault, teasing him the way she did.
But, Aranea was beyond delighted by this demonstration of strength, both physical and emotional, and that he decided to take initiative this time. Ignis' attitude had made a complete turnaround from what it was when she first entered his room, perhaps all he needed was a little motivation.
Aranea guided him to the bed from her new favorite perch, verbally directing him where to step and avoid scattered broken porcelain from where he brazenly overturned the table. It was a challenge he set for himself and it thrilled her to watch him overcome this struggle. Ignis held on to her as he climbed onto the creaking bed, shifting under their combined weight.
"I don't know about you, but I'm impressed," said Aranea, dismounting from her perch and allowing Ignis to push her backwards into the pillows. His mouth curved into a half-smile, that kind of smug, debonair grin that exuded confidence. She would never admit it, but it took her breath away.
Taking her compliment to heart, Ignis captured her, worshipping her in all the ways she loved. All other thoughts than those of pleasuring the woman beneath him vanished, leaving him dedicated to his task, regardless of his newly acquired handicap. Aranea happily relinquished control, allowing him to continue rebuilding his wounded confidence however he pleased.
After a few moments, Aranea realized how easy it was becoming for Ignis to make love to her, acting as though he had never lost his vision. He had mapped her body in his mind, knowing just where to put his hands, his mouth, and best of all, his tongue.
Despite the weariness in his bones and the injury on his face, Ignis could not be stopped. He was wound so tight, begging Aranea without words to finally claim her. His lips crashed into hers, drawing her thighs up and around his slim waist, waiting for the torture to end, when Aranea reached down between them, guiding his cock in. Immediately Ignis sheathed himself in her, drawing out a beautiful chorus of breathy desire from them both.
Their joining was more than just a fuck, and beyond a mating ritual; it was a much needed healing. Both were reaching to satisfy the other, fulfilling unspoken promises as they healed invisible wounds. Ignis's body completely covered Aranea's protecting and fulfilling her, while she supported him from beneath, protecting his heart from the darkness. They experienced a rapid rise and fall, as graceful as a crescendo as they came, one right after the other.
Ignis's lips searched for hers, capturing an escaped moan as he thanked her again without actually needing to say it. He couldn't help but succumb to the sudden wave of exhaustion that overpowered him as he pulled out of her, collapsing in a graceless heap next to her. She wanted to say something to him, anything to confirm what they were feeling right now. But she chose to give in to the immense satisfaction of rest instead, cozying up next to him with her backside against his front, pulling the bedcovers up over them. Within minutes, the sun not long from rising, they were asleep.
"No, Gladdy, he needs his rest!" Prompto urged the Shield, trying his best to physically prevent the larger man from barreling down the hallway and into Ignis' room. "The last thing he needs is another lecture from you!"
Gladio turned on his younger companion, shooting him an aggravated look with his whiskey colored eyes.
"Please, Gladdy, it can wait!" Prompto begged him once more before the Shield had his hand on the doorknob and twisted it open.
Neither Prompto nor Gladio could believe their eyes when the door opened.
The room was bright with the morning sun, illuminating overturned furniture, broken lamps and debris strewn everywhere with clothing and boots discarded all across the floor. At first glance, it looked like the aftermath of a fight until their eyes turned to the bed, discovering its occupants facing the doorway, deep in sleep together. Ignis was in bed with Aranea Highwind.
"I'll be damned," whispered Gladio, simultaneously sounding impressed and a little jealous.
Ignis's face was tucked in Aranea's silver hair, completely unaware he was being watched. His arm was draped protectively over her side as they spooned. The two onlookers could only assume what had happened in there.
Gladio closed the door quietly, backing away as though he had provoked a sleeping beast.
"I told you he needed his rest," quipped Prompto, punching Gladio's arm playfully.
Aranea awoke first, feeling absolutely wonderful after their little nap. Still entwined with Ignis, she considered giving him the gift that was the entire reason for her being here, fully aware there was possibly a risk of him taking it the wrong way. She hoped it wouldn't backfire in her face, but she at least had to try.
Ignis began to stir not long after she did, stretching out his long legs behind her.
"I feel positively wrung out," Ignis teased, nuzzling his face into her neck and placing kisses down its length.
"Was I too hard on you?" She asked, nudging her backside into him, suggesting another session.
"Not at all," he readily admitted, grateful she hadn't run off while he was asleep.
"I've brought you something," Aranea confessed after a long period of silence as they enjoyed simply being in each other's cozy embrace.
Ignis felt the bed shift as she untangled her limbs from his, listening for the path of her feet as she retrieved something buried in her discarded clothing. He propped himself up on one elbow, listening intently.
When Aranea returned, she placed the flat case in his hands and encouraged him to open it. Whatever it was, the shape of it felt eerily familiar to Ignis' touch.
"I'm surprised you didn't make me get up and look for it," Ignis teased, fingers finding the edge of the case to pry it open.
Inside was exactly what Ignis expected as his fingers identified the item. A pair of spectacles rested inside the hardshell case, making his heart lurch at the memories of once needing such a thing to see. Now, he no longer needed them and it felt like a part of him would forever be missing. His knuckles turned white as he tightly gripped the case, trying his best not to express his disdain at the reminder. Just as Aranea feared, it brought him back into a swell of self-pity again.
"Don't you go back there, now," said Aranea firmly, practically watching him retreat and undoing all her good work. She took the item from his hands and unfolded the arms to slide gently onto his face. "They're not spectacles, Ignis. They're sunglasses that look just like your old ones. I thought it might help you...adjust."
Ignis hummed in his throat contemplatively, forcing himself to consider the gift with a new perspective. He had no idea they were tinted and was ashamed he didn't think to ask.
"But don't you dare hide behind them," she added as he hummed in response, feeling the edges of the glasses on his face as though nothing had changed. No, he wouldn't hide behind them.
"How do I look?" he asked.
Aranea took a moment to dwell on his appearance, very careful to choose her next words. The sunglasses did not hide nearly enough of the scarring over his left eye, but then again, she didn't want them to hide anything. The scars on his lip and the bridge of his nose were still very raw, as was the one on his right brow. The damage did nothing to take away from his handsome features though, merely added to it, in her opinion.
"You're still gorgeous, four-eyes. But now, you look as badass as Gladio,"
Wrestling with mixed feelings, Ignis scoffed at her attempts to compliment him, but he didn't forget what it felt like whenever she used her pet name for him.
"That bad, then?"
She slapped him again hard across the cheek before immediately kissing him, both punishing his lack of confidence and rewarding his selflessness. Some men didn't liked to be slapped. But Ignis knew it just came with Aranea's territory. He took the slap and the reward for what it was.
Yet, the shock of sweet reward immediately following the harsh chastisement jolted him into unexpected arousal. Ignis pulled the sunglasses from his face, searching for the case they came from. Aranea watched him curiously, wondering what he was thinking and why he wasn't responding the way she thought he would. His fingers found the case and returned the sunglasses, snapping the lid shut again.
"You're a hard woman to please, Aranea," he said, flipping the bed sheets back and revealing his arousal.
"Do you like the gift?" She asked, green eyes flicking down the length of his exposed, lean body. She felt her face flush as he loomed forward, clouded eyes boring into hers. Did he even know he was looking straight at her? What he could still do with those eyes?
"I will wear them from now on," his voice deepened with lust, reaching out to kiss her again.
Briefly, she bit his bottom lip, crawling over his lap and pushing him back into the pillows before she sank down onto his length.
"I will think of you and this night we spent together whenever I wear them," he added after a moment lost in the pleasure, hoping it would be enough for her.
After their second round and a glorious, hot shower together, Aranea finally had to leave. Her crew of Imperial runaways weren't going to want to stay in Altissia forever, not with the presence of Imperials and their MT's crawling all over the city. Ignis didn't want her to go, but he knew as long as he was still alive, he had his own duty to uphold.
"I would ask you to write me," Ignis started to say, helping her rebuckle her thick leather corset.
"But something tells me you don't want Gladio reading my letters to you."
"By the Six, never."
"Then how does a phone call every once in a while sound?" She asked, pulling his phone out of his pants pocket and adding her number to it.
"Delightful," said Ignis, accepting his phone back when she placed it in his hand.
Aranea finished getting dressed, even came over to help Ignis with his shirt buttons, but he was having none of it.
"I appreciate it, love, truly. But I've got to learn how to do this on my own… besides… dressing is the easy part. It's finding the right pieces that go together that'll be difficult. Heaven forbid I wear two different colored socks."
Aranea couldn't help but laugh. "You'll figure it out, I know it."
She reached for the glasses case resting on the nightstand, opened it and put the sunglasses in Ignis' hand. He touched the item for a moment, recognizing it, then placed them right back on the table. Goodbyes were not easy for Ignis, and he was sure Aranea despised them too. But that didn't stop him from drawing her back for one last kiss. She was pulled back into his chest like a dancer in a twirl, hands colliding with his chest and instantly reached up for his shoulders. Standing, Ignis was taller than her, even with her killer boots on. Their mouths had not yet grown tired of meeting, the taste of their encounters hard to forget. Ignis kept her close for a moment longer, just enough to thank her again for what she had done—was still doing—for him.
"I'll see you around, four-eyes," she said airily as she picked up her jacket from the couch.
"Farewell, love," he answered, beginning to button his shirt from the bottom up.
The door shut behind her with a click. Ignis thought he had never heard a more tragic and finite sound before. He pushed the welling sadness of his predicament down again and focused on the enormous task ahead, keeping her words in mind.
"Farewell," he repeated to himself as he finished the last button. He knew he would see her again soon.
Just as Ignis pulled on his recently laundered and pressed black jacket, there came a knock on his bedroom door. His heart lifted at the sound, thinking for only a split second it could be Aranea, come back for one more thing. But when he heard Prompto's voice, he knew that couldn't be true.
"Enter," said Ignis loud enough for the younger man to hear.
Prompto poked his head through the doorway, cautious of what he might find inside.
"Heeeeey Iggy," he said opening the door a little wider, confirming that he was the only one in the room now. "You good?"
"Yes, Prompto, I am well. Thank you."
"Did you get any rest?" He asked with an uncommonly curious tone.
Ignis picked up on the odd way Prompto asked him, furrowing his brow in suspicion. Could he have seen Aranea leave?
"Yes, I believe I got sufficient rest for the time being. Is Noct up yet?" Ignis decided to change the subject before Prompto could dig any further.
"Noct? Uh, I don't know yet," Prompto answered right before Gladio barged into the room. Ignis could detect the heavy cadence of his determined walk a mile away, and that was before he lost his vision.
"You wanna tell us what Commodore Highwind was doing in your bed?" Gladio wasted no time in getting to the point.
Prompto made a noise that resembled a squeal, making Ignis cringe on the inside. He thought he was going to get out clean.
"I will not. A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell," said Ignis firmly, pulling his gloves on, one at a time.
Prompto didn't bother to hide his snicker as Gladio hummed his disapproval. Ignis could practically see Gladio fold his arms across his chest as he made it clear how much he disapproved. When they saw that Ignis wasn't budging, they finally relented, but failed to mask their curiosity over the shiny, new item that was Ignis and Aranea.
"There's no need for that now, Gladio. There won't be any distractions going forward. Now, can someone please tell me how Noct is doing?" Ignis was becoming irritated. They were making a much bigger deal out of this than he had expected.
"He's slowly coming to. But, he doesn't know yet… about your eyes," said Gladio softly, completely dropping all former pretense now that their prince was the topic of discussion.
The air in the room shifted, the former tension between Gladio and Ignis was palpable once again, but something was about to give. Gladio stepped closer to Ignis, unfurling his arms and reached out for Ignis. He took his friends right hand in his, and held his arm tight.
"I'm sorry Iggy. I never should have questioned your actions. If there's anything I can do for you, just say the word."
Ignis hummed approvingly, gripping Gladio's hand tighter. He took the apology without holding any resentment, glad the air was finally cleared between them.
"May I talk to him?" Ignis asked.
Both Prompto and Gladio agreed, as the younger man helped guide Ignis towards the next room. On his way out, Ignis grabbed Aranea's gift and put them on, firmly reminding himself they weren't a crutch. Accustomed to the weight of spectacles resting on his nose and ears, Ignis felt some semblance of normalcy again. He realized Aranea's intuition was right. He would adjust and refused let anything stop him now.
