Hello all! So in honor of Ignis Scientia's birthday, here is a one shot about... well, you'll see when you read it. I hope you enjoy! Also I am going through a head cold, so please forgive me for any mistakes and for posting this the day after.
Anyways, please have fun! I own nothing! Happy birthday, Iggy!
Birthday Wish
"It's tomorrow!" Prompto exclaimed as he looked over the many pictures he collected that day. They sat in the comfortable room of Jared's hotel/home, Ignis helping Jared with cleaning up after a delicious dinner and dessert.
His sudden exclamation caught the attention of all who were in the room. Noctis arched an eyebrow as he waited for an explanation.
"Iggy's birthday! It's tomorrow!" Prompto said excitedly. Noctis and Gladiolus looked at each other, not knowing that their friend's birthday was so close. Iris sat on the bed close to Noctis, looking at her brother with an amused smirk on her face.
"You two had no clue when his birthday was, did you?"
"Well... uh... n-not exactly..." Gladiolus admitted as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Noctis leaned back and crossed his arms.
"Wait. Prom, how'd you know it was his birthday tomorrow?"
"Huh? Oh, I asked him and he told me. He also told me you and Gladiolous birthdays, too." Prompto answered easily as he thought of something to do for their dear advisior friend. "So anyways, I was thinking we make him something. Like a cake?"
"A cake? Does that guy even believe in sugar?" Iris asked.
Noctis and Gladiolus shrugged. They'd never seen the spectacle-wearing man indulge in sugar the way the two younger ones usually did. Except for that damn Ebony he seemed to have endless supplies of...
"Well, he's gonna have to have a cake for his birthday, right? So what kind should we make him?"
The room fell silent in thought as they tried to determine what kind of cake Ignis would want to have for his birthday. Then Iris snapped her fingers and exclaimed, "Strawberry chocolate mousse cake!"
Gladiolus arched an eyebrow at his sister. "... what? Is that a thing?"
"Well, if you'd actually eat cake, you'd know, Big Bro. But I think Ignis would love that kind of cake for his special day!"
Noct was concerned about another thing... "None of us know how to cook like Specs does, though... and I'm kinda banned from baking..."
Prompto grinned, spreading his arms wide. "Don't worry, Noct! I'm pretty sure we can figure it out! We can ask Jared and Talcott to help us too and I think there's a cookbook in there too!"
Noct sighed and slumped in his seat. The thought of making Ignis's birthday a special one warmed his heart especially since he never knew how to pay him back for all he's done for him over the years, but baking... that just seemed like it was asking for trouble.
But for Ignis... well, he'd give it another go.
Febuary 7th
Ignis smiled slightly in his sleep as he burrowed deeper in his blankets. It was the rare occasion they visited Lestabellum for the sake of a mini-vacation before continuing on to Lady Lunafreya. If he were honest with himself, he was sad the trip was coming so close to an end, but he was proud of Noctis. He still had a lot of growing up to do, but he would grow into his father's shoes in his own time.
It was unusally quiet but given it was still early, he didn't expect anyone to be up, especially his king. He didn't have to rush to wake this time, so he savored his extra sleep time quite happily.
He thought he smelled something akin to smoke, but chalked it up to the many carts outside setting up outside his open window. Ignoring the smell, Ignis soon drifted back into sleep.
"Uhhh... this... this looks... wrong..."
Noctis somehow got roped into making the batter for the light mousse cake, and so far... well, he's seen better days in the kitchen, that's for sure. Gladiolus and Prompto were helping him make the cake; Iris, Jared and Talcott offered to pick up the candles and Ignis's present.
"Uhhh, maybe you should keep stirring? Or maybe not... I dunno, this book is kinda confusing me!" Prompto tried to look at the book but had it snatched by Gladiolus.
"Damn idiot. Do you know how to read a cookbook?"
"HEY! I do know how to read one!"
"GUYS." Noctis was getting quite annoyed. By now, he was almost completely coated in flour from head to waist, and wearing a frilly pink and white apron (courtesy of Iris and Jared) wasn't helping any.
"What's next?"
"Uhhhh..." Both shield and right hand man looked at the book, narrowing their eyes as they scanned the book for more directions.
"Ummm... did you butter the pan?"
Noctis stopped stirring. "Butter? I thought mousse was supposed to be put in the fridge?"
Prompto looked at Noctis with shock. Noctis shrugged and stopped stirring the chocolate-strawberry mixture, setting the bowl down. "Well... it didn't exactly become a MOUSSE... more like a... cake-brownie thing..."
The other two looked at the mix and then at the king. Noctis shrugged. "Well I tried to tell you I can't bake."
"Or follow directions..." Gladiolus mumbled as he reached for the butter. Prompto passed him the baking pan and Noctis passed him a irritated stare. Ignoring the king, Gladiolus buttered the pan and poured the crazy batter Noctis made in it.
"Now what?"
"Pop it in the oven and hope for the best."
So they did just that. As soon as the oven closed, Noctis went to clean up. At the same time, Talcott, Iris and Jared returned home, Talcott holding a meduim-sized package wrapped in black and sliver wrapping paper.
Prompto leaned back against the counter. "What's in the box, Tal?"
The young child giggled and bounded up to the blond, telling him about their shopping trip. Iris stepped to her brother.
"So how was the cake baking?"
"I'm pretty sure it's gonna come out pretty horrible, and I think Noct messed up the batter. It's in the oven now so it's kinda hit or miss after this. Prom's gonna ice the cake since I don't think Noct can do it right."
Iris stifled a giggle. "Yeah, that sounds about right."
"What did you get Iggy for his birthday?"
Iris winked. "A 24 pack of Ebnoy- Prompto mentioned that he was running low. Plus... a coupon for a lifetime supply of Ebony whereever he goes. He just has to show the slip to the cashier."
Gladiolus's eyes widened slightly before he nodded his approval, looking at Prompto and Talcott laughing and playing with the leftover flour, and Noctis returning back, grumbling about hating baking.
"You guys did good. Now we just wait for the crazy mess and the birthday boy to wake up."
Ignis was sure he wasn't dreaming now. Something was burning... something was burning!
Thinking someone was in danger, Ignis sat straight up, threw off the covers and slipped on his house slippers. He wasted no time in summoning his daggers and haphazardly throwing on his glasses.
A quick glance at the clock read 12:17pm. His green eyes widened. How had he slept that long and no one woke him?!
Bolting out of his room with speed that rivaled Prompto on a bad day, he bellowed, "Your Highness! Gladio! Prompto! What is that-?"
And froze at the threshold of the kitchen.
The cake looked... well, it was a mix between done and... WELL done. Noctis winced; he was pretty sure the cake was burnt.
Prompto had finished the light pink whipped topping and was taking his time icing the cake. The kitchen window and front door was open to let out the burning smell as Prompto worked on the cake- and of course, took snapshots of his friends coated in the stuff.
"Argh! I swear, kid, if I get one more drop of that crap on my face I'll wring ya neck!" Gladiolus growled as he wiped the pink icing off his face and nose. Noctis couldn't help the laugh as he watched the biggest of his group smear icing all over his face. He himself was coated in it- in his raven hair, on his face and cheeks, on his nose, everywhere.
"Your Highness! Gladio! Prompto! What is that-?"
Ignis rushed into the threshold of the kitchen, hair a flyaway mess, still in his pajamas, a dagger in one hand. He froze once he saw what was going on.
"What in the world?! What happened-"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY IGGY!" everyone screamed suddenly. Prompto and Noctis held out the half burnt cake, decorated quite beautifully, Ignis had to admit, with the words, 'Happy Birthday Specs'.
Ignis put away his dagger and stepped into the kitchen. "W-What is all this for?" he asked.
"It's ya birthday today... well, Prompto told us last night. And... well, we know you don't celebrate it much..."
"What the king means is that we ow ya a lot for everything you always doin' for us... and mostly for him." Gladiolus cut in, one arm tossed over his shoulder and a grin on his face. "So we thought we should return the favor. Although I can see why you banned the king from the kitchen-"
He stopped mid sentence when Noctis swiped him away, and Gladiolus leaned back, laughing. Prompto looked at them and joined in, and even Jared and Iris and Talcott laughed. Ignis was starstruck. He was surprised they remembered his birthday, and to do this for him...
"G-Guys..."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Ignis, who was struggling not to laugh and cry all at once. "T-Thank you... thank you all."
Smiling, Prompto put the cake down and dragged Ignis to them, ready to take a picture. Everyone came close together, Prompto holding the camera high enough so everyone could be in the photo.
"Ready everybody? One... two...three!"
A new photo snapped, a new memory made. Ignis was smashed between strong, large Gladiolus and a rather irritated but secretly smiling Noctis, laughing as his glasses were close to slipping off.
"So... who wants to try this crazy thing we call a cake?"
The cake was cut into eight and everyone took a slice. Ignis bit into it- and found it shockingly good, although it had small scents of burnt crumbs. He smiled around another bite.
"This... is surprisingly... edible, Noctis. Even with the burnt pieces mixed in." he added with a slight smirk. Everyone rolled their eyes when Noctis tried to argue him down. Gladiolus helped himself to the last slice, a smug smirk on his face.
"Noct, you messed up the WHOLE recipe. But if Iggy can eat it we did something right."
Talcott, who'd eaten half his cake- and had smeared most of the icing on his lips-said, "Hey! Prompto! Can we give Ignis his present now?"
"Actually, yeah. Let's give it to him. Then let's go out to eat. No kitchen work for you today, Iggy." Gladiolus said as he put down his cake and helped Talcott down from the counter. The child bounded up to him, smiling widely as he pushed the box to Ignis.
"I hope you like it!" he exclaimed. Ignis took the box and gave Talcott a thankful smile before he carefully and neatly opened the wrapper.
"Only you can open birthday gifts with such order, Specs." Noctis commented as Ignis set the now folded wrapping paper aside.
"And only you can find a way to burn easy to make dishes, Noct." Ignis replied without batting an eye.
"... that's cold, man."
Ignis's green eyes widened in surprise and shock as he gingerly held the 24 pack of Ebony in his hands. "I... I do not know what to say..." he almost whispered. Talcott handed him the small purple envelope.
"There's this, too!"
Ignis took the envelope and opened it. Prompto managed to catch a snapshot of Ignis nearly falling out of his seat when he saw what he was holding.
"T-This... this is too much... Y-Your Highness, I can't possibly-"
"Nope. This is your day, Specs. We didn't really know what to get you since you're usually... you know, to yourself. But we did notice you were running low on this stuff and, well.." Noctis crossed his arms and nodded to his friend's gift.
"Happy birthday, Specs. And thanks."
Ignis didn't say anything. Then he stood suddenly.
"Well, if you give me a moment, I'll get... properly dressed and we can go out for lunch." he said, holding his gifts close to him. "Thank you, truly."
"No problem, Specs."
Ignis headed back to his room and closed his door, hearing conversation and laughter through the door. A lone tear slid down his face as he looked out his window.
"I... I didn't know they remembered. They did that for me. I can never thank them enough..." he whispered as he sat his presents down. As he did, he noticed one last envelope slip from the box on Ebnoy. It was white and a bit wider than the other one he'd gotten. Ignis picked it up and opened it.
Inside was two photos. One was of the gang the day the left Cindy's garage after getting stranded. The other... was of Ignis fast asleep on his fold out chair, ever so graceful as always. On the back was a message.
'iggy...
I don't know how to thank you for being the mother figure I never had. Between you and Gladdy and Noct... you're family that I cherish and I will never let go. I hope you have a great 23rd birthday. Love ya!
Prompto'
Ignis chuckled and sat down, holding the two photos in his fingers. "I feel the same, Prompto. About all of you."
Ignis got dressed and placed the coupon and pictures safely in his bag before he fixed his hair and wiped his eyes. This was definitely a birthday to remember, he told himself. Maybe he'd do something special for Gladious's birthday since it was coming up next... feeding him wouldn't be hard, he mused.
"Come on, Specs! It's gettin' late and Noct is gettin' grouchy!"
"Am not!"
Ignis chuckled softly as he walked out of the room, adjusting his shirt and gloves. "Yes, yes, I'm coming."
Oh yes, Ignis mused to himself, as he was once again with the small family he'd come to tresure more than his own. This was a birthday to remember.
"Oh yeah... Iggy, where'd you wanna eat?"
"Well, there was this lovely restaurant that serves mostly vegetarian dishes I'd like to try-"
"Specs. Don't even THINK about it." Noctis warned his advisior.
"Allllllllright then! To the all you can eat restaurant it is then! Before Noct loses his mind over veggies!" Prompto cheered with Talcott as he pumped their fists in the air.
"Although he could use some veggies on his bones..." Gladiolus piped up.
Everyone laughed and cheered as the gang headed out in the Lestabellum sun to enjoy a great day of food and drink in celebration of a dear friend's special day.
END
And complete!
Yeah, I do apologize- I'm seriously not feeling it and this was supposed to be up yesterday, but... nope. That didn't happen. And I'm still sick. Dang... but happy birthday Iggy! Anyways, I hope you guys liked this piece, and PLEASE let me know if there's any errors or mix-ups-a sinus can really screw with you. :P
Until next time!