Aquarius
By: Strange and Intoxicating -rsa-
Author Notes: Just a soft, sweet thing.
Aquarius
"Ignis, tell me about the stars."
It's not a demand in so much that it is a request. It's a soft voice on a cool summer night's breeze, and Ignis is sure that if he wasn't tangled up in Noctis's limbs and their bedrolls he wouldn't have been able to hear it.
Ignis leans in closer, letting their chests touch. Noctis's heart patters against his chest, and Ignis allows himself to fall into the sensation of breath and heartbeat. It reminds him of when they were children, when Ignis was but a boy entrusted to teach Noctis about the stars.
Of course, it was never a job, not in the way many would think. It was a thing Ignis loved as a little boy and something he wanted so desperately to share with his friend. His first friend. His first kiss. His first lover.
It was different, back in Insomnia. The sky was harder to see. There was always the pinkish glow of the Wall, the pollution from all of the buildings refusing to let the constellations peek through.
But today is different. The sky is different and yet still so similar, and it is easy for Ignis to find his way through the stars.
"This one is Draco, the Dragon. He is the guardian of the doorway between mortality and immortality." Ignis laces his fingers with Noctis's, bringing his hand down for a kiss before bringing them up into the sky. He leans in closer to Noctis's body, turning both their heads up to the stars. He is slow in tracing the star, making sure that Noctis is watching. "There were golden apples of immortality; one bite, and one would live forever."
Noctis laughs. "That's so stupid. Which god would grant immortality?"
"A god of ancient Solheim, whose name was long lost to history."
"Talk about a bad idea. It would suck to live forever. How about that one?"
"That is Ophiuchus, the snake bearer. It is said that he once guarded a beautiful Oracle, and could breathe life into those who had passed on to the Beyond. You see the snake there?" Ignis traces along another line of stars, though he is far more enamored by the slight glow of Noctis's cheeks in the moonlight. "It is called Serpens."
Noctis turns in the blanket just enough for him to leave a kiss against Ignis's cheek. "Eh, sounds gross. Snakes aren't cool."
"Don't insult Serpens, lest you find one in your bed."
"Well, there's definitely one snake I don't mind in my bed."
Ignis rolls his eyes. "Oh, hush, you. Otherwise, I will have to shed these blankets and slither back into the tent and leave you to your lonesome."
Noctis groans. "Oh, Six. Iggy, please. No puns."
"If my prince requessssssssts," Ignis responds, though it is impossible to keep the hiss from his words.
Noctis groans a little louder and tries to pull back his hand, but Ignis only tightens his hold.
"There is also Corona Borealis. It is said that it is the crown of a princess, whose beauty was only surpassed by her wit. It is said her father granted her a labyrinth, in which virgins would be given to a hungry minotaur as a sacrifice."
Ignis feels Noctis's other hand caress at his thigh, inching close enough for Noctis to run his fingers through Ignis's curls. "Good thing we're not virgins. Don't need anything else trying to eat us."
He can't help but laugh at that. "Too true. But the princess did not give in, and would later save the virgins."
"Hm. They should have just fucked. The minotaur wouldn't have wanted them then."
But Ignis only continues, "She would later marry a god of wine and religious ecstasy, and her crown was given a special place in the stars on her wedding day."
Silence.
Perhaps Ignis didn't choose the right words, and of course... Weddings. They shouldn't talk about weddings. Not tonight, not when they're on borrowed time. Ignis doesn't want to spend the few last weeks they have together thinking about weddings. Instead, he thinks of this as a few weeks of traveling toward Altissia. When they get there... that's when Ignis can think about other things.
Noctis moves his hand through the sky, blissfully away from the crown.
"Where's my star?" Noctis asks, letting his fingers run through Ara and Scorpius.
"You mean your constellation? Here." Ignis directs his fingers in the other direction. "Virgo... the maiden."
Noctis snorts so hard Ignis thinks that Gladio in the tent next to them makes a noise. He can't be sure, but it certainly sounds like whoever is in the tent may have woken by their talk.
"You'll be the death of me," Ignis whispers, and it takes bringing his arms down to wrap around a shaking and laughing Noctis to calm him. "They won't be pleased if we wake them."
"Yeah, yeah," Noctis responds, but Ignis knows his words fall on deaf ears. It's all right, though. Gladio is welcome to scold Noctis in the morning or to come out of the tent and say it right then and there. "You were saying?"
"Before you rudely interrupted?" But Ignis continues on with his story, returning their hands to the sky. "As I was saying... Virgo. The second largest constellation in the night sky. Its brightest star is Spica. You see it there—yes."
"Why only the second largest?"
Ignis kisses the corner of Noctis's mouth. "Not everything must be about size."
He can see Noctis's wagging eyebrows, but he declines to comment.
"Where's yours, Iggy?"
"There's a reason we're out here tonight, Noct."
"Oh. I figured that you wanted a little alone time."
Ignis smiles. "I do. With you. There's something I wanted to tell you. It's about my star. Would you care to hear?"
Noctis nods, and Ignis slowly brings their hands down toward the lower horizon.
"There. The constellation Aquarius, the cupbearer. He was a beautiful human, whose beauty was seen and beloved by the gods. They pined for him, lusted for him, and their King looked upon his face and fell desperately in love." Ignis allows his thumb to trace the callus on Noctis's finger.
"He was taken from his land and brought to the home of the gods, in which their King promised immortality and a place forever in his arms."
Ignis closes his eyes. It always seemed so fitting that he was born as an Aquarius. Of course, he doesn't believe in the horoscopes or the pseudoscience, but he has spent his entire life with Noctis. Noctis, whose eyes shine like burning stars, whose skin holds the magic of the Crystal. He doesn't believe in fairytales and mythos, but he likes the idea of the stories.
"That... sounds kinda nice."
Ignis frowns. "There was one issue, one that neither the God King nor the cupbearer could escape."
"Oh?"
Ignis brings Noctis's hand down, tucking it into the blankets. "The Queen."
Noctis winces, and Ignis wishes they didn't have to have this conversation, but there are only so many miles between them and Altissia. Only so many moments before...
Before Ignis has to—
"You're not going anywhere."
"It's selfish."
Noctis starfishes his feet around Ignis's, holding him in place. It reminds him the way Noctis was when he was little, and Ignis wishes that they were children again, unburdened by forced marriages and crowns.
"I don't care, Iggy. I don't care if it's selfish."
"Noct, I don't want your future bride to loathe me—"
"Iggy, Ignis—listen to me. You're the one. You're it. I dunno what some stars in the sky say about cups or crowns or whatever. None of that matters to me." Noctis finally manages to get his hands up and they are in Ignis's hair, running across his scalp and pulling their mouths together. It's desperation that Ignis can feel across every nerve on his body, and it's silly how good it feels to have Noctis touching him.
"I'll be the King, then. And I choose you, Ignis. You get me?"
Ignis leans into that touch, loving the feel of Noctis's hands. Those hands... Ignis knows he shouldn't, but there is nothing more that he wants than for Noctis to run those fingers through his hair, to touch across his cheeks, to tickle down his hairline.
"It's always been you. I love you." Noctis kisses him and it's hard to focus on anything other than Noctis's lips on his skin.
"Your marriage—"
"Doesn't matter. If I have to get married, I want to get married to you."
Ignis knows that isn't how weddings and betrothals work, but Noctis says it with such conviction that Ignis believes him. They'll get married. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. Maybe it'll have to wait until peace settles upon Eos. But one day, Ignis knows, it'll happen. Even if it's just a promise made to one another under the stars.
"So... you believe I am the most handsome man you have laid eyes on?"
Noctis laughs. "Yeah. Especially during puberty. Can't forget the braces and bow ties."
They settle down again, and Ignis is careful to make sure he cradles Noctis's head in the perfect direction.
"Look there—where you see the largest star. Watch."
The silence is comfortable, though every few minutes Noctis rolls around next to him, adjusting himself. He whines once or twice, but Ignis silences him with a kiss.
"You see," Ignis finally admits as Noctis twists and turns, "there is one other thing my constellation is known for. At just around this timeー"
"Iggy, look!"
Noctis stares up in amazement as the sky is punctuated by shooting stars. They start just at the horizon and fly overhead, and Noctis stares up, transfixed. It's a sight that steals Ignis's breath away.
This isn't their first time watching shooting stars.
It won't be the last.
"The Delta Aquarids meteor shower."
"Shit, it's beautiful."
Ignis watches Noctis's face, at the crinkle under his eye when his eyebrows rise, at the way his top teeth press softly against his bottom lip, at how his nose flares when another meteor shoots across the sky, leaving a fiery tail against a backdrop of black.
He's beautiful.
"I agree."
Noctis snuggles in closer, letting his nose brush against Ignis's throat.
"Marry me?"
It's not a demand in so much that it is a request. It's a soft voice on a cool summer night's breeze, and Ignis is sure that if he wasn't tangled up in Noctis's limbs and their bedrolls he wouldn't have been able to hear it.
Ignis's breath catches in his voice, and all he can do is manage a soft, near indecipherable, "Yes."
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