Apartment : 12:23pm : 128 days
"It's your 20th mother fucking birthday! Cheers to having survived another year on this wretched planet!" You yelled as you entered Noct's apartment.
Surprisingly you were the last one to show up. You would have been on time, but you left the present at home. Of course the lone wolf in you went to grab it and come back on your own. That left you only a few minutes before you had to head back to school from your lunch break.
"You're such a dork!" Noctis laughed at your off the cuff birthday toast.
"Well, I do what I can." You smiled as you carried Ignis' gift to the coffee table.
"Thank you." The man graced you with a warm smile.
You saw that the other presents had been opened, and it honestly made you a little pouty. Didn't matter. It was just the fake gifts anyway. No one was dressed up at this point since school was still in session. You were really trying to set in the whole 'there will be no surprise party' thing.
"Alright, so I see you got some knives, some flatware, and..." You looked to see what Gladio bought the man.
Your eyes lit up as you saw he didn't buy him anything having to do with cooking. See, this is why you loved Gladio. He knew what he was doing.
"Ahh, some nice shirts. I dig it... However!" You held up your gift like it was a treasure to this world, "All of that stuff doesn't compare to my present."
"It's not a competition babe." Gladio stared at you with lowered lids.
You scoffed as you handed Ignis his present. "Yeah, maybe not to you."
The blond man took his gift, "Thank you very much. You didn't have t-"
"Iggy, shut up." You cut him off. "I know I didn't HAVE to do anything. But there's a difference between having to and wanting to. This I want to do."
You took a seat next to Gladio on the couch, smoothing back the skirt that was your school uniform as you did. The light in your eyes was pretentiously bright as you watched him open his present.
All you could think about was how happy he'd be at his party with his real gift later on. To be honest you were excited at the chance to dress up again.
The man opened his present and revealed the sunglasses. "Thank you. This is very thoughtful. I'm certain I'll find a use for these."
Like second nature you looked over the couch and flashed your tongue at Noct. It was at to say 'I told you so' in childish fashion.
"Stop it." Gladio growled at you in a low tone. His hand giving a light squeeze to your thigh.
Your legs retracted as you frowned at him, "Not fair." You finally looked back up at Ignis, "You're very welcome Iggy!"
Stretching your arms up as you stood from the couch, you yawned "Well this has been fun! But we have to head back to school. See ya boys. We'll have your birthday dinner later, okay? Just the 5 of us, so make sure you're all caught up with work and stuff!"
You pounced on Prompto's back as you all started to exit the apartment. "C'mon boys! Those books won't read themselves!"
His footing wobbled and he stumbled a bit before collecting his footing. Boy was a lot stronger than he looked.
He carried you out with a hand behind each knee and with that you were all off to class again.
Home : 6:00pm : 128 days
Nude lipstick, heavy eye, hair curled with much body and volume. Your long dress was black with a plunging neckline and a high split on each side. You knew Gladio was weak for your legs, so why not give him a show? As always you were quite stunning.
Your nude heels clicked as you walked out of the bathroom connected to your room. Benedict was at the sitters and you were ready for this party.
"Whooooa look at you!" Prompto waited for you on the couch, snapping a couple photos of you.
His blue eyes widened and he looked at you. There was a large grin on his face. He enjoyed seeing you dressed up because there was always a level of confidence that came with it.
"Thanks! You look very handsome yourself Prompt."
You walked over to your kitchen and poured yourself a glass of water. You were so nervous that this might not play out how you had hoped.
Noct and Gladio were playing decoy right now; taking Ignis to 'dinner' just as planned. You figured Ignis would sort of catch on, but if things went quick enough then he wouldn't get the chance.
"Alright Prompto, it's about that time. Our ride's outside." You tossed a pill in your mouth and downed it with water.
The blond boy stood from the couch, "You nervous or something?"
"No." You shook your head, "Just some birth control." You walked back to the living room and picked up your weighty gift bag.
His eyes amplified like the nosy boy he was, "So that's why you're dressed like this! You and Gladdy gonn-"
"Me and Gladdy are gonna enjoy Ignis' birthday." You cut off his words. "I've only been on it for a couple days. Takes longer than that to work, so sorry to ruin your fantasy of us."
You snickered as you poked fun of him. "Now come on. Let's go before our ride leaves us."
Taking the key out of your purse, you locked up and sped walked to the car. The bite of winter was still quite strong these days.
.
Downtown : 6:34pm : 128 days
As much as you'd like to take all the credit for this surprise party, you couldn't. It was everyone coming together, but ultimately it was you who enforced it all.
Where you stood now was a ballroom high up in one of the buildings. Top floor with an amazing view. There was a lovely balcony attached, and it was large enough to fit all the guests who would be here tonight, but it wasn't likely you'd go out. The weather was too cold.
Honestly Noctis paid for everything. Well, more so pulled some strings and Gladio extended the invitations. You couldn't wait to eat, and the smell of the food was so enticing.
From your seated position at one of the dining tables you pulled out your phone to send a group text. 'Hey, just got to the restaurant. See you guys soon!'
You decided to include Ignis in on that so it would seem more authentic. Prompto sent one immediately back.
'Be there in 20. Just left the house. Don't cut the cake without me!"
Like a proud parent, you looked to the boy beside you. "Nice touch." You whispered.
Still the group text was a message from Noct. 'Okay we're almost there.' He set another just to you. '5 minutes. Get ready.'
You stood up to speak to the whispering crowd. "Excuse me everyone. 5 minutes warning!"
The room quieted down as their attention turned to the door. This was totally not Ignis' style, but at this point certainly he knew you were good for making him do things he didn't always want to do.
Your eyes brightened as you saw Noctis step in first. Right behind him was Ignis and then Gladio.
Almost immediately you all stood up and gave the man a round of applause. No need in screaming happy birthday at him. You all knew what you were there for. Then again...
"Happy Birthday Iggy!" You yelled as you ran toward him.
You wrapped your arms around the man for a tight embrace before you looked up at him. "Were you surprised?"
He gave a light nod and smile. Yeah, he probably wasn't, but shit, you tried. You were all here now and it was time to party!
The music started and the chit chat ensued. This was going to be a fun night.
"Don't be shy." You nudged the birthday boy. "Go say hi to your guests, grab some food, and your cake should be out later."
"You're such a mom squirt." Noct chuckled at your itinerary.
"I know, but I just want things to be at least semi organized. " You pointed to the back wall, "Oh, and your presents are over there. You don't have to open them here, but you do have to open mine okay?"
You walked over to your boyfriend and gave him a quick peck. He pulled away hastily to take a look at you.
"Goddamn. Why do you do this to me?" He looked into your naughty eyes.
You blinked innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about, but thank you." Your arms wrapped around his neck as you pulled him down.
Your lips were right beside his ear, "Have you seen my panties Sweet Pea? Think I lost them." You backed away and gave a playful wink.
Walking back over to Prompto, you smiled, "Hey! Let's eat!"
Why were you like this? Always taunting him with your sex appeal. You swore one day he'd get fed up and just fuck you where you stood.
You sat at a table with Prompto and Noctis. Your food was served and hot. It smelled nothing short of amazing.
"I can't wait for cake!" Prompto excitedly shouted as he took a bite of his chicken.
"Mmm, same." You nodded, "It's gonna be really good. It should be brought out in like 20-30 minutes."
"I'm surprised you aren't jumping out of it." Noctis laughed.
"So inappropriate!" You shook your head.
As much as you made things about you at times, you also knew when not to be totally obnoxious. Noctis was kidding of course, but you just thought about how annoying you would be if you did that.
You were halfway through your dish when you realized Gladio was nowhere to be found. Where is he, you wondered? Standing up, you looked around and, bingo.
"Why is he sitting with them?" You slightly growled to the guys. "What, are they better conversationalists? Who are they anyway?"
Noct craned his neck to look in the direction you were. "The glaives? You haven't met them?"
You stood up from the table, "Guess I will now."
As you walked over to the table on the opposite side of the room you began to get nervous. Why? Because meeting new people was nerve racking at times? Because they were glaives? Probably a combination of both.
"Hey!" Gladio smiled and waved you over before you even reached him. He pointed to the man beside him, "I've introduced you to Nyx right?"
Your attention turned to the other man. He was quite handsome. You didn't know him, but one glance told you that he was definitely the type you could chug a beer and reminisce on good times with.
"You most certainly have not actually." Your hand extended to the man. "Good to meet you. I'm Gladio's girlfriend."
The black haired man smiled until he full on laughed. "So you're the one who told Clarus he aged like a fine wine."
Your hand released his and you frowned at Gladio, "I mean, in more or less words, yes. Why is that bad?"
Nyx shrugged, "Nah, but you got bigger balls than me."
Were people really that they intimidated by Clarus? Guess you could understand it. You were still pretty intimidated by him, but you figured it was best to be yourself. Had you not he probably wouldn't respect you as much.
Before you could reply, the lights dimmed and you knew what time it was. You searched frantically for Ignis until you found him. Hastily you made your way to his side.
Gladio watched as you pranced away. He had a proud smile on his face as you left. It was to say 'yeah that's all mine'. It was your personality that ultimately kept the man, but the fact that he found you so attractive was a true bonus.
The crowd of people gathered around as Ignis' cake was brought out. It was a large 3 layer black, white, and silver cake in the shape of gift boxes. It wasn't anything elaborate, but still something one would double take at.
You felt hands at your waist and a kiss on your forehead. You looked up to see Gladio staring down at you. He had that devious look in his eyes again as he pulled you to the back of the crowd.
It was both dim and crowded enough in the room that no one would notice this exchange. You felt his lips reclaim its place at your neck. He then moved to nibble at the top of your ear before speaking.
"Did you really think you could wear that dress with no consequences?"
You grinned with your royal blue polished finger between your teeth. Using your other hand to pull his neck down once more.
"I wore it specifically because I knew there would be no consequences." You planted a kiss on his stubbly cheek.
"Is that what you think?" He challenged you. His hand ran subtly up the right slit of your dress.
He wanted to see if you were telling the truth about having gone commando. You shivered as his cold hand glided against your hip.
You whispered once more, "Don't even think about it Sweet Pea. I'm still healing from last time."
Had he been rough with you days prior, you would not have been able to walk. Didn't mean you weren't sore though. Absolutely no sex for the next few days. He knew that, and you were going to tease him in the meantime. After that time was up however.. you'd have to, as they say, pay the piper.
"Aw dammit!" You snapped your fingers. "I missed the birthday song."
You were so busy talking to Gladio that you completely tuned out the birthday song. Snaking your way back up front, you watched the man of the hour blow out his candles and cut his cake. He seemed content. Not exactly happy, but not upset either.
Your tongue ran across your lips as you looked at the delicious, moist, white cake from the bottom tier. Perhaps you were staring at it a bit too hard.
Pieces of cake were cut, and you were back at your table with your favorite quartet. It was much more velvety and delicious than you even thought it would be.
"There was strawberry cake?!" Prompto eyeballed your slice.
"Yeah, it was in the top tier." You nodded.
"I want some." The young blond pouted.
"I'll give you some if you let me feed it to you like an airplane." You giggled at your totally serious suggestion.
"I would have it no other way." Prompto opened his mouth.
Cutting a slice with equal cake and icing, you held up your fork, "Here comes th-" You stopped short as you heard a slow song play.
Setting down your fork, you looked at Gladio. "Gladiolus, may I have this dance?"
Your boyfriend laughed, "You are all over the place, but of course. Come on Half-Pint."
"But what about my cake?" The blue-eyed boy poked his lip out.
"Just eat the rest of my piece." Your manicured hand slightly ruffled his hair.
Both you and Gladio made your way to the dance floor arm in arm. It reminded you of the Winter Formal. His hands were wrapped around you, and your head was to his chest.
"Baby?" You spoke in a low tone. "Can I paint your nails later?"
You felt the rumble in his chest as he laughed, "That is extremely random babe. Why?"
"Noctis won't let me paint his anymore and I already redid Prompto's." You swayed with the man.
"My job won't allow it. Why don't you just do your own?" His amber eyes looked down at you.
"Because I already did them. Fine. I won't paint your nails, but don't be surprised when I call you in the middle of the night complaining about it."
You felt his hand press against the back of your head; bordering on your neck. "Wouldn't be the first time."
This was so relaxing. You could fall asleep in his arms right here. Your eyelashes came together as you rested against him. His embrace was your safe place, and it always felt like that.
A few moments later you looked back to the table you were previously seated at. Ignis; the look on his face was not quite as content anymore. It was unlike the man to seem so spaced out. He still chatted with everyone, but he didn't seem all there.
You pulled away from Gladio, "Hey, mind if I dance with the birthday boy?"
The taller man shook his head, "Not at all. I'm gonna grab a bite anyway." He planted a tender kiss on your forehead once more.
Almost skipping your way back, you partially leaned over the table and extended your hand to Ignis. "Dance with me."
Your tone was on the border of both a question and demand. He looked up at you with green eyes of curiosity. Would he decline? It wasn't likely. Looking back on your entire friendship you couldn't name many things Ignis denied you of actually.
"Take my hand." You commanded this time, but at a soft volume.
His eyes remained on you as he placed his hand in your own. Weird; you don't remember ever touching Ignis' ungloved hand before. They were quite nice though.
A soft smile was painted on your face as you walked backwards to the dance floor again. "You look like you don't want to dance with me, yet you took my hand, so which is it Ignis?" Your eyebrow lifted.
"My apologies." He exhaled. "I would be delighted to share this dance with you."
Your lips pulled further as your teeth exposed a delightful smile now. "That's what I want to hear. Now you know how to dance don't you?"
He nodded as you stopped in the middle of the dance floor. Of course he knew how to dance. Surely it had to be a requirement for all the events he attended.
"Let's do it then." You guided his hands to your hips, and you placed yours atop his shoulders.
There was a respectable distance between the two of you. His head was tilted slightly down to keep an eye on you as well as his movements. The spectacles on his face slid down just a hair. You felt his hand lift from the left side of your waist, but before he could adjust them your hand was already on the frames.
"I gotcha." You pushed them back up. "Glasses can be such a pain. If you look anywhere but up they slide right off."
The two of you continued to sway. "So, tell me something Ignis Scientia."
You surely grabbed his attention by calling out his full name. "Yes?"
"What did you wish for? I mean when you blew out your candles. Don't bullshit me either and tell me that you didn't wish for anything." Your eyes shifted left and right. "I know they say if you tell someone what you wished for it won't come true, but that's a lie."
You smirked as you continued to dance along. "You have one hall pass. So don't worry. You can tell me."
The blond man stiffened a bit, "I'm afraid that my 'wish' doesn't hold any merit no matter who I tell."
"Ignis..." Your eye lashes rose as you looked him intensely in the eyes, "When we were at the botanical garden a few months ago I told you that you could use me as your confidant and that still holds weight... You can tell me anything. So talk to me."
"I just wish... that there was more time." There was a sadness in his eyes like you'd never seen before. Subtle, but melancholy.
His words hit you like 1000 knives. He was your friend, and one that you really respected. You always felt like he made more of an impact on you than you did on him, but you never put a lot of thought into how much you really affected his life. To hear him say he wished there was more time was a response too candid for you to even process.
You felt so selfish. The fault for his, yours, and everyone else's feelings rested on your shoulders alone. This was the Pandora's box your aunt spoke of; many complicated matters as the result of an unwise interference. You were regretting everything back to the moment when you first met Noctis. Stupid you just had to hop through his window that day.
Your hands lowered a bit on his shoulders, "Ignis, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't hav-"
"Don't apologize." He hastily replied. "My intent was never to make you feel dejected."
Your hands clenched against his jacket, "You didn't do anything. It's always my fault; we both know that. I wish I had more time too."
The two of you kept your voices down to prevent anyone from overhearing. This was not the way you envisioned his birthday going.. or any event you ever attended with the quartet thus far.
"Stop. Look at me." He lowered his voice, but heightened his sternness. "There is no blame to be placed here. This is your rite of passage; let no one interfere with that."
You pulled Ignis so that he was standing in front of Gladio's line of vision. He picked up on your moods very quickly. If he got even a hint of your grief he would come right over. Luckily he was sitting with the glaives again, so his attention was elsewhere. Even still, you needed to get it together and collect yourself before you sat down again..
"Don't stop dancing with me." You pleaded as your hands loosened their grip.
"I won't." Ignis nodded and the two of you continued to sway.
Back at the table sat a full Noctis and Prompto. The two were stuffed to capacity as they watched you and Ignis dance.
Prompto slumped back in his seat, "Those two have been dancing for a long time. It's been what like 30 minutes now?"
The prince kept his eyes on you. Seeing as he was your eldest friend, he was the only one who could pick up on your nervous ticks faster than Gladio.
"More like 25?" Noct glanced over at his small friend with a raised eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"
The young blond looked around before he spoke, checking to see if anyone was listening. "Do you think she still..."
"No." The raven haired boy shook his head. "She just trusts Ignis the most because they talk almost every day, but Gladio.." His eyes looked over at the man and back to you. "She loves him more than all of us."
It was a shame you weren't in on this conversation. That way you could confirm Noct's assessment. Though he did get one part wrong. You loved them equally, it was just that Gladio was the only one you desired to be intimate with.
"Twirl me!" You laughed as you continued to dance.
It was strange how much your mood had picked up once again. The longer you swayed, the more you were able to appreciate the situation at hand.
Ignis did as promised, and twirled you around. You twisted right back until you were in the man's arms once again. How could anyone be upset when they were dancing?
"I wanna give you your present." You laughed as your dance finally came to a close.
"I thought you already gave me my gift?" He tilted his head to the side.
"That's not like me at all, now is it Iggy? You should have known better." You spoke playfully as you made your way back to your seat.
You turned with your back to the table. "Now then, who's the most awesome, cool, amazing, fantastic, best friend you have?"
"Noctis!" Prompto yelled out.
Your hair whipped behind you as your eyes snapped to the blond boy. "Excuse me? This is between me and specs, okay?" You looked back at Ignis, "Anyway."
Leaning down by your seat, you reached under the table and pulled a mid-sized gift bag, "The answer to that question is me." You handed the bag over. "Happy 20th my friend."
He opened the bag and in it was a small box and a note attached. It read 'Just in case you're stuck on a remote island and can only bring one item.'
Ignis took a seat and opened the box. It was a care package as insinuated by the note. 5 small rare cans of Ebony from all around Eos, a blank notebook, calligraphy pen, a few bath bombs, different scented essential oils, and a lot of other snacks and goodies from Altissia.
To the man who had practically everything, you knew a gift like this would be something he'd enjoy. It was no 'guess and give' type of present. This could not be faked. Each item in the box was something he mentioned at one time or another. Having remembered what you could, you wrapped it up nicely in a box and handed it over. It wouldn't be the most expensive gift given tonight, but dammit if it wasn't the most thoughtful.
"You remembered me speaking of these items?" He looked over at you with an expression of shock.
It was nice to finally surprise the man in some way. You didn't expect to do so with your present, but hell, you were happy to catch him off guard in some way.
"Well, yeah. What, did you think when we were cooking that whole time all your words went in one ear and out the other? Do I look like Noctis to you?"
"What was that?!" The pouty prince sneered. "And why do you get to give your present early?"
"Fine, give him yours. I don't care." Your shoulders came up to shrug.
You took a seat once again at the table and Ignis sat beside you. "This gift is unbelievably generous. Thank you so much."
You spoke in a lowered tone so only he could hear you. "You gave me back a piece of my childhood, so I thought I should return the favor."
Honestly it was a coincidental timing that you gave him a present with items he mentioned from his youth. You said you were repaying him, but this was something you were going to despite him making the pie or not.
The night continued on, and it all went surprisingly well. Usually when you hung out with these boys something bad was bound to happen. Not this night. You got in another good dance in with Gladiolus, and all felt well in your world.
.
Apartment : 12:03am : 128 days
"You know Prompto still thinks there's something going on between you and Ignis." Noctis shook his head.
The two of you were in his bathroom cleaning your faces before bed. You sat on his counter top facing the mirror and rubbing lotion into your face. The prince stood a little bit behind you as he did the same with his headband pulling his hair back.
Both of you were in pajamas getting ready for bed. Besides Ignis, you always had at least 3 articles of clothing at each boy's home.
You laughed, "I'm sure us dancing around for 45 minutes didn't help either."
His eyes met yours in the mirror, "I thought it was 25."
"No, trust me. I was watching the clock. It was 45. But you know there isn't right?" You pursed your lips to the side as you continued to rub in the lotion.
"That's what I told him. Anyway, did Gladio see your tattoo yet?"
You turned around and looked at the boy, "Somehow I got him to believe it says Good Vibes in an ancient language. He saw it for like 3 seconds total, so he hasn't had time to question it."
You held the bottom hem of your black shorts. "Don't tell Prompto I showed you this… Or Gladio for that matter."
Lifting the shorts you showed the boy your tattoo. There was no harm done giving Noct a quick flash at your butt cheek. Trust, he wasn't looking at anything but the tattoo.
"It's backwards?" His eyes widened.
"Hell yeah! I just kinda cheated the system, but that's his name." You laughed as you fixed your shorts back.
The boy laughed alongside you, "You're such a sneak squirt."
"Well, you know me." Your laughing continued as you tied up your hair in a neater bun.
As you exited the bathroom, Noctis called out to you. "Hey."
"What's up Noct? You better not tell!" You pointed a stern finger at him.
"I won't. I was just going to say you made Ignis really happy tonight. It was nice to see."
"He acts like a tight ass, but I know he's just a big man child underneath it all."
The black haired boy shook his head, "No, he's actually a tight ass. So is Gladio actually. You just kinda came along a did that thing you do."
You cocked your head to the side. Gladio was a tight ass? Guess you could kind of see it, but he didn't really act that way around you. Thinking back it made sense why Noctis was hiding from him in the park when you first met. Interesting.
"What thing? Be myself?"
"Yeah." He turned off the bathroom light as the both of you exited, "Whelp, night squirt. See ya in the morning."
You walked to the guest bedroom with the boundless words Noctis left you with. Did you really change these boys in the time you knew them? You hoped it was at least for the better.
If you did in fact change them, you wondered how they would fair when you left. How much did you really affect their lives?