Birthday Wish

It was dark inside Takka's spacious diner except for some dim candlelight radiating from the booth in which Ignis and Iris sat. It was quite late in the evening and the two found themselves alone. They were thankful for the chance to enjoy each other's company.

"This is incredible," Iris said as she took another bite of chocolate cake, "I can't remember the last time I had chocolate."

"It was the least I could do for your birthday," Ignis said. He was quite happy that she liked it. He hadn't been able to find anything like a traditional gift for her despite his best efforts. She had done so much for him since Noctis' disappearance. She overcame his stubborn protests and helped him learn to cook again. She consistently volunteered to read to him—no matter how turgid or boring the text. But more than that, he found that he had become quite enchanted by her company. In short, he was falling in love and he'd only recently come to accept it.

Iris, for her part, couldn't recall the moment that she started to fall for the man sitting across from her. It was gradual at first. It was always easy for them to talk and even easier to work together. But the more time they spent together, the more she realized what she felt. His stoicism and strength of character were admirable, but it was his gentle, intelligent soul that had captured her heart. The two continued to enjoy their cake in silence. The quiet was never awkward for these two, so comfortable were they with one another.

"I do have one more surprise for you," Ignis revealed as he headed over to the counter. He produced a bottle from an icy bucket.

"Champagne?! Where did you find it?"

"Talcott, of course." She had to laugh—where was Talcott finding all of this stuff? Ignis wrapped a towel around the bottle and deftly uncorked it. The cork made a light "pop". He grabbed a couple of water glasses and headed back to their table.

"I'm sorry these aren't champagne flutes," he said as he placed a glass in front of Iris. He poured it with the precision and accuracy of a head waiter. Iris was very enamored of his culinary skills. He filled his own glass and returned to his seat.

"To your health, my dear Iris." She blushed a little at the toast—it still made her heart flutter when he said her name like that. The two lightly touched the glasses together and started to drink the surprisingly decent champagne.

"So," he began, "how does it feel to be 21?"

"It doesn't feel very different from 20, I hate to disappoint you."

"It's still a bit of a milestone."

"I suppose so…what did you do for your 21st birthday? I can only imagine what Gladio and Noctis would plan for you." Iris started to imagine all manner of scenarios involving night clubs, liquor and women. She didn't enjoy imagining it very much.

"Now it is I who must disappoint you—nothing particularly interesting happened; despite Gladio's best efforts." Ignis replied as he drank a little more champagne. "I've never understood recreational intoxication. The consequences are quite unpleasant." He did, however, understand why a person might want to drink excessively to forget about life. He had been tempted after his injury, but he didn't give in. He decided not to share that, but Iris was perceptive enough to notice his choice of words.

"So, that sounds like you've had a bit of experience," She ventured.

"A few times," he admitted. "At least one of those times was intentional."

"Intentional?" She was a bit incredulous. Wise, calm Ignis intentionally getting hammered? It was surprising to say the least.

"Being adviser to a king means knowing one's limits. I needed to know what mine were and I decided to find out." Iris was both impressed and a little disturbed. "Not to brag, but I'd say my tolerance is fairly high." He sipped a little more champagne. "The other times were entirely unintentional." He recalled one night where he unwisely agreed to participate in a drinking game designed by Prompto.

"So now I have to ask. Which of you guys is the worst lightweight?" Ignis was a bit taken aback that she would ask such a question, but he was amused.

"Hmm, definitely not me. Probably Prompto, but Noct isn't much better. Gladio, as you probably know, is an impressive drinker"

"I'm starting to realize why you always did the driving."

"Indeed." Iris could sense a slight change in mood. It occurred to her that they never got to celebrate Noctis' 21st birthday. And he would never be able to drive again. What was I thinking? She wanted to change the subject.

"All this talk about drinking makes me want another glass. How about you?" He nodded and she refilled their cups. The tart, cold champagne was refreshing.

"I hope I haven't encouraged you to test your limits," he said lightly. Iris laughed.

"No, I'd rather not be sick tomorrow morning…besides Cor would kill me if I showed up for training hungover. Can you imagine what he'd say?"

"He'd probably call you 'pathetic' or something equally demoralizing," Ignis had been on the receiving end of some of Cor's abuse before, "he'd also be scandalized to discover I encouraged you." Iris giggled a bit at his impression of Cor. The champagne was starting to go to her head a bit.

"I think he's a bit scandalized by us as it is," That much was true. Cor didn't like the idea of his protégé and another member of the Crownsguard being romantically involved. It complicated things in a way that Cor didn't like things to get complicated. Ignis picked up the bottle and poured another glass. Iris gestured for him to pour her a little bit more.

"This champagne is much better than it should be given its origin," Ignis said, "but still, I'd hoped to find you a more meaningful gift."

"Are you kidding? That unbelievable cake and this champagne are more than I could have hoped for." Iris was being sincere; she was having a great time. Ignis felt relieved to hear it. She went silent for a moment. "All this reminiscing about the past reminded me of something,"

"What's that?"

"I never got to attend a royal ball. I always dreamed of going to one. The beautiful dresses, the elegant dances…I'm sorry, that probably sounds really silly."

"It's not silly at all. I'm sorry you never got to attend one—a ball is one of the few enjoyable formal events." Ignis often forgot just how young Iris was when the darkness fell. She was only 15. In the space of a year she had lost her father, her king and any chance at a normal life. It pained him that she'd never had a simple pleasure like attending a ball. Then he had an idea. He stood up, slipped off his jacket and held out his hand.

"Would you like to dance?" Iris took his hand and stood up.

"I'd love to, but I don't know how." She almost whispered it. She was a bit embarrassed.

"It's very simple. I can show you." He gently guided her closer to him. "You'll have to forgive me for any mistakes."

"Believe me, I'll be making more mistakes and I'm not blind," he had to laugh at the brusque comment. Sometimes Iris was very much her brother's sister. Ignis found a simple waltz in his playlist (voice responsive AIs made his life much easier). It had a pleasant sound and a very clear ¾ tempo. He took her left hand and gently placed his right underneath her shoulder blade. She felt her pulse quicken a bit. She awkwardly placed her left hand on top of his right shoulder. He was so much taller—and she was even wearing heeled boots. Why am I so nervous?

"I'll lead—we'll try a simple box step pattern." She nodded. Whatever that means. Ignis moved forward, colliding directly into Iris.

"Oops, I guess I was supposed to move back," she observed with a laugh.

"Yes, well I should have told you. Let's take that from the top." He took the time to explain the basic box step to her. Their second attempt was much more successful. They stopped for a moment to have a little more champagne.

"So how terrible am I doing?" Iris asked with good humor.

"You are doing much better than my last student."

"Noctis?" She guessed.

"Yes. I've never been stepped on so many times in my life."

"Wait, you danced with him?"

"Well, how else was I going to teach him?" Ignis asked sincerely. Iris started to giggle at that.

"That must have been so adorable." She's definitely had a bit too much champagne. He thought.

"I promise you there was nothing adorable about it," Ignis said as he reached for her hand again. "Shall we dance?" The two glided along with the simple waltz. Iris was a quick study; you'd never have guessed she was a beginner. Ignis decided to complicate things a bit with a spin turn. It made Iris a bit dizzy—in a good way.

"You said you weren't very good at this," she said as they moved across the empty diner.

"I may have undersold my skill a little," he admitted. As the waltz drew to a close, he deftly lowered his partner into a dip—Iris' hair just barely brushed the floor. He gently drew her back towards him as the final notes played. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she might faint.

"This is like a fairy tale," she said dreamily as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Happy birthday, my love," he replied as he wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her long, romantic kiss.