*Getting a little warm in here… Thank you again to Goldslactuar and Cinnaminxie for fanart.
Midmorning light glowed softly through the frosted windows as Ignis awoke. There was a slight chill in the room since the fire had long gone out, but he was surprisingly warm. He took a deep breath and reached up to rub his eyes only to freeze mid reach.
His pillow had a heartbeat.
"Morning," said Gladio. Ignis looked up to see the shield idly reading his grandfather's journal.
Ignis lifted his head off the dark fabric and rubbed the transferred texture that he was certain was on the side of his face. "Apologies."
"What for?" Gladio said, handing Ignis his glasses. When he tore his eyes from the journal pages to look at the strategist he chuckled. "I've never seen you with bedhead before." Ignis quickly reached up and mussed with his hair as Gladio laughed more. "Don't sweat it, Iggs. It's a good look for you."
Ignis slid off the couch as heat unexpectedly crept to his face at the odd compliment. He cleared his throat and looked out the window. "Looks like it stopped snowing finally," he said in an attempt to change the subject.
Gladio hummed. "Yeah, about an hour ago. I hope you have some snow shovels here. Probably a good idea to clear as much as we can before it gets all hard packed."
Walking toward the front door Ignis rubbed his eyes, just now realizing he wasn't wearing his glasses. "I believe there's a shovel or two on the front por… oh goodness."
"What is it?" Gladio glanced up from the journal. Putting it aside he walked up to look out the door too. "Aw, hell." The snow was easily three feet deep and with the wind it had drifted hard, nearly burying one side of the truck. Gladio sighed. "Well, I'll make some breakfast if you want to find the shovels. We're gonna need the calories. How do you like your eggs?"
"Oh…um, scrambled. Thank you." Ignis looked around for his boots, but found his vision the slightest bit blurry, vexing him. "Have you seen my glasses?"
"Couch armrest," said Gladio from the kitchen.
A few moments later Ignis had found the shovels half buried on the side of the house. They were old and rusted, but at least they weren't the cheap plastic kind. They would need the extra quality today, of that Ignis was certain. The sun was shining brightly, the air was thick with moisture and the temperature hovered just above freezing. Gladio was astute in thinking they should clear it off the truck sooner than later. In these conditions the truck would be a sheet of ice before dark.
The snow had drifted heavily against the door and woodpile as well, so he took a few moments to clear off the wood and immediate area around the front door. Ignis propped the shovels against the woodpile and grabbed a few of the dryer logs, dusting the snow off his boots as best he could before walking back inside. Ignis inhaled deeply as he entered. The smell of coffee and cooking bacon permeated the room as sizzling sounds emanated from the small kitchen.
He kicked off his boots and walked toward the fireplace. "You work quickly," he said into the kitchen as he passed.
Gladio flipped a few strips of bacon over in the pan. "How do you like your coffee?"
"Black, please," said Ignis as he laid the logs down by the fire and began to crumple up some of the newspaper provided. A moment later he was blowing lightly into the kindling and soon the larger pieces of wood caught. For a moment his mind drifted while watching the fire consume the wood. It wasn't often you'd see someone with a real fireplace in Insomnia, even if it frequently did get cold. Gas or electric sure, but there was something classic about a real honest-to-gods-fire. It felt… sentimental.
"Eos to Iggy," said Gladio as he held a mug of coffee in Ignis' field of vision.
"Oh, thank you." He took the mug and blew on the contents.
"You had a thousand-yard-stare for a minute. You alright?"
Ignis nodded and stood up. "Yes, I'm fine. Just reminiscing is all."
Gladio took a sip of his own coffee and moaned lightly as he swallowed. "Thank the Astrals for coffee. I don't normally drink it, but I needed it after last night." He idly scratched the bandages on his forearm. Ignis would have to take a look at the wounds after they were done shoveling. He didn't want Gladio to re-open any wounds. "Anyway, breakfast is ready."
Together they sat down at the table big enough to accommodate six and ate. Gladio's plate was loaded up with double the amount of bacon and eggs Ignis' had, with hot sauce on it to boot. Ignis could only watch in awe as Gladio plowed through a good portion of it before Ignis had even finished two pieces of bacon. "How do you eat so much and not gain weight?" Ignis asked.
Gladio swallowed a mouthful of eggs. "I do gain weight. Right here." He flexed a bicep and chuckled. "Really though, I normally spend a good four hours a day in the gym or running, so five-thousand calories a day is pretty average. Not all of us can run on Ebony."
Ignis snapped off a piece of bacon in his mouth and admired the flexed arm longer than he intended to. "Clearly," he said, thankful that the shield didn't appear to notice him staring. "Thank you for breakfast by the way. It's rare that I'm not the one cooking it. Noctis tried once, but we needed to purchase new pans."
After Gladio finished off his coffee he stood up with his empty plate. "I'll take care of the dishes before we head outside. If you want to make it up to me, you can make some brownies this afternoon. I packed a box of mix and the rest of the ingredients."
Ignis smiled. "I think I can handle that."
A short while later they'd donned their extra layers, gloves, hats, and the like before heading back outside. By now the sun was high in the sky and the snow on the metal roof had already begun to melt. "Do you think we need to be concerned with more havocfangs?" Ignis asked.
Gladio shook his head as he begun to shovel a path to the truck. "No. I think we're good. Their packs are small and they're really territorial. Unless there's a lone male or omega wandering around I think we're good. Either way a solo havocfang probably won't attack if there are two of us." He paused for a moment. "Keep an eye out for coeurl though. They're lone hunters and snow doesn't bother them one bit."
Ignis began shoveling behind him, widening the path. "You seem to know a great deal about beasts."
The shield shrugged. "It helps to know the mannerisms of creatures that might try and kill you. Beasts are easy, people are a lot harder to figure out."
Amen to that, Ignis thought as they continued shoveling. Thankfully the snow was still mostly powder in the open areas, which made for quick clearing. The densely-packed ice against the truck was another thing entirely. Especially since they were being careful not to scratch the paint with the metal edges of their tools.
It took well over three hours before the area around the vehicle was cleared and they started on the path down the driveway. After about twenty minutes down the path Ignis sunk his shovel in the knee-high snow and leaned on the handle. "Gladio, stop for a moment. It might be more prudent to pay for a plow driver to come down the road. It's a good quarter mile until we reach just the edge of the property."
Gladio grumbled, "Yeah you're probably right. Maybe we'll just get lucky and it'll melt low enough that the truck can just go through it."
Removing his glasses, Ignis wiped them off on his shirt. "Hopefully it won't slide off the path into a ditch. That's the last thing we'll need." He was sweating from the exertion and in the cold, air his glasses were constantly fogging up. Eventually he gave up and just put them in his coat pocket and sipped it up for safe keeping. Just in time too, because at that moment a fist sized ball of snow collided with the side of his face.
Ignis shook his head and shivered as a chunk of ice made its way down his collar. "Gladio!" he chided as he turned toward the shield who was already making another snowball. This time he managed to dodge it as he bent down and made his own.
Shoveling forgotten, an intense snowball fight began. Unsurprisingly Ignis had the upper hand since he was faster and was much more keen to throwing his weapons, but when Gladio's made contact they packed a whollop. Ignis had taken shelter behind the truck while Gladio hid behind and un-split pile of wood to one side of the yard. Ignis poked his head out to get a view when another snowball came sailing out of nowhere and hit him in the shoulder. By now he was laughing, gasping for air, soaking wet, and loving every moment of it. Ignis couldn't remember when he last had this much fun.
He held one snowball in each hand as he crept the other way around the truck. He peeked around he bumper to see if Gladio was exposed, but instead he found the pile of wood abandoned. Ignis heard a light whistle behind him and turned to see Gladio holding a snowball the size of his head aloft before bringing it down on Ignis' back. Again, a good amount of it got down the back of his neck, sending another shiver through his body and a yelp of surprise. Gladio, of course, was laughing so hard his eyes were watering.
Ignis smiled wickedly and took the opportunity to shove Gladio as hard as he could, tumbling him back into the deep snow. Bending down Ignis began shoveling handfuls of snow at the shield as he tried to get up, being sure to get as much snow down his shirt as possible. Ignis yelped in surprise as Gladio grabbed his foot from beneath the snow and yanked his leg out from under him.
Now that both of them were utterly buried a grappling match ensued. It was hard for either of them to see through the powder as they blindly tossed snow and tried to keep the other down. At some point Gladio managed to grab Ignis' wrist and twisted him onto his back before grabbing the other. Pinning Ignis' hands to the sides of his head the larger man crawled on top of him and pinned his thighs down with his own. They were both breathing hard, their breaths clouding up between them as Gladio leaned down and said hoarsely, "I win."
Slowly the laughter faded as Ignis realized how close their faces were and the position they were in. Gladio's strong thighs had completely immobilized his legs, but was also pressing their lower bodies together. That combined with the look Gladio was giving him, Ignis could feel his face suddenly get hot despite the fact that he was covered in snow and soaked. Ignis glanced down from amber eyes to his lips and back up again. The shield appeared to read his mind and leaned in.
The sharp trill of a ringtone broke the silence.
Suddenly his hands were released and Gladio was fumbling in his jacket pocket for his phone. He pulled off one of his gloves with his teeth and swiped his screen. "Hello," he said as he stood up. Ignis suddenly feeling the cold in his absence. "Yeah we got hit with the blizzard." Gladio reached down and helped Ignis out of the snowbank before mouthing 'It's Princess'. "No, we're alright. We just finished shoveling out the truck and I think we're gonna call a plow for the driveway…yeah." Gladio strode over to the two abandoned shovels as he talked, retrieving them. "No, no you guys have fun… Yes, you do have to keep Libertus with you… I don't care if he's a drag… Yeah… I'll call you tomorrow. Behave. Kay, bye."
Gladio hung up and put his phone back in his pocket before looking at Ignis. "Noct called you first. You must have left your phone on the charger or something." He stuck the shovels upright in the edge of the path and dusted the snow off his jacket. "Well I'm soaked. I think we've earned a break. Don't you?"
Ignis swallowed hard. Gladio was being so casual. Perhaps I misread him, he thought disappointedly as he found his voice. "Yes, lets head inside."
After dusting off as much snow as they could, they stripped off their outer layers and hung them along with their boots near the fire to dry. They each excused themselves to their respective rooms to change into something dry. Gladio reemerged largely in the same outfit he had earlier. A black tank top and workout pants. Ignis came out of his room in a pair of trousers and white button up shirt. Gladio smirked at him when he saw him. "What's that face for?" said Ignis.
Gladio chuckled. "Princess was right, you are incapable of relaxing." Ignis must have made a face because Gladio laughed again. "You're in a cabin in the middle of the woods. You should be wearing either camouflage, overalls, or sweatpants. Those are your choices. You're dressed like you're on your way to a job interview."
Ignis crossed his arms. He was still a bit vexed and embarrassed at his own misunderstanding earlier. Blessedly the shield didn't seem to have noticed. "Well pardon me if we all don't look like we just rolled out of bed."
The shield shrugged indifferently and walked into the kitchen and began rummaging through the cabinet they'd stocked earlier. "You know what would cheer you up?"
Ignis lowered his arms and followed him into the kitchen. "What might that be?"
A tattooed arm emerged from behind the cabinet door holding an expensive looking bottle aloft. "Some bourbon, and some brownies. In that order."
Glancing at his watch, Ignis grimaced. "It's four in the afternoon. Bit early for libations, don't you think?"
Not listening, Gladio put the box of brownie mix on the counter and found two glasses tucked away in another cabinet. He poured an inch of liquid in each and handed one to Ignis. "Yes, but we're essentially on vacation. Back home this stuff never touches my lips unless it's a holiday or I've been babysitting his Highness all day. We're not driving anywhere and it doesn't look like I'm going to get any actual hunting in, so…" he clinked his glass into Ignis', "cheers."
Ignis huffed and took a sip. At least the liquor was of high quality, warming his chest instead of burning it. Maybe it would curtail his nerves. Gladio was remarkably observant, he had to have seen him lean in for a kiss in the snow. He was probably just pretending he hadn't to spare him some embarrassment.
Perhaps this whole trip was a mistake.
Instead of looking at Gladio, Ignis reached into the pantry and procured an apron along with some oil for the brownies. When he turned to get some eggs, he found the shield adding another log to the embers of the fire.
Normally Ignis would prefer to make deserts by scratch, but as it stood they were woefully low on ingredients based on what they'd packed for food. Either way he was sure Gladio would eat the store-bought mix without complaint. He was a fan of those gods awful noodles after all.
After finding a whisk and adding the wet ingredients to the dry he mixed them together thoroughly before suddenly realize that he might not have a pan to bake them in. He was looking through the cabinets when Gladio re-entered the kitchen. "Oh, you work quick," the shield said before he reached his arm out to dip a finger into the batter, but Ignis was too fast for him. Reaching out quickly, Ignis hooked the bowl with a finger and pulled it away, getting some batter on his own hand in the process. "Hey," Gladio complained, "I just wanna try some. The batter's my favorite part."
"It's unsanitary. Have you even washed your hands since we came inside?" Ignis said, his voice a bit harsher than he intended.
"Have you?" asked Gladio.
"Of course I have."
"Good," Gladio said before reaching down, grabbing Ignis' wrist, and putting his batter covered finger in his mouth. Ignis' heart leapt into his throat and he could feel it hammering in his ears as the shield worked his finger with his tongue for an instant before pulling his finger out with a pop. His face was now uncomfortably hot and there was no amount of alcohol that would have hidden the expression on his face. He imagined it looked a mixture of shock and arousal.
Gladio licked his lips as amber eyes looked at him expectantly. As if waiting for him to make the next step.
Ignis could barely move. He had to actively remind himself to breathe as functionality to his body slowly returned. He couldn't form words. He couldn't even move his mouth he was in such shock. The only thing he felt capable of doing was to stick his finger back into the batter and hold it out to Gladio, the excess batter dripping onto the kitchen floor.
Gladio maintained eye contact as he leaned in and took his finger in his mouth again. Ignis let out a breathless moan as the larger man's tongue traced along the length of his finger. The feeling shot right down Ignis' body and directly into his cock. Gladio really took his time, making sure every little bit of chocolate was gone before he slowly removed the finger. He paused again, waiting.
Something snapped inside Ignis as he leaned forward and crashed his lips against Gladio's, and bless the gods he responded in turn. No misunderstandings. No mixed signals. Just a flavor mixture of bourbon, chocolate, and something uniquely Gladio.
His back touched the countertop as Gladio pressed into him hungrily. His mouth eager as his tongue requested entry. Ignis granted it. Gladio's mouth was wet and welcoming as strong hands roamed freely around his torso. Breaking the kiss for an instant Ignis practically tore off his apron. Gladio pulled the button up shirt free of Ignis' trousers and bit his own lip as he traced strong fingers up his torso.
An instant later Gladio's lips were on his again and their bodies pressed together. Ignis could feel Gladio's arousal rubbing against his own and moaned desperately into the larger man's mouth. He'd fantasized about this during many a lonely night ever since he'd begun training with the shield years ago. He'd pictured these arms wrapped around him, his lips on him, and so much more.
Soon Gladio's mouth moved from his lips to his pulse. His tongue left a hot trail in its wake as Ignis raked his fingers through his hair. "Gladio…" he gasped, shamelessly grinding into the to the other man's arousal. "Bedroom. Now."
