Leo couldn't stop pacing. And the more she thought about how much she was pacing, the worse it got. There was barely any room to pace in the tiny hotel bathroom, so she had to turn a lot. Finally, she turned back to the mirror and inspected herself for the fifth time with a frown.

Her hair was way too messy. She'd combed it, but the curls still stuck out in all directions, as if mocking her. She was half tempted to steal some of the many products on the counter. It was amazing that she was the only one in the group who didn't use an obscene amount of product in her hair. But she had no idea how to style hair, so it was better to leave it.

Leo's attention fell to her clothes next. All she really had were her normal clothes, but she kind of wished she had something fancier. Maybe a dress? She shuddered at the thought. The only time she'd ever worn dresses were for those occasional parties in the Crown City. It'd be too embarrassing to wear normally. But this wasn't a normal occasion, was it? Well, there was little she could do. She'd have to hope a V-neck and black jeans would be okay. These ones weren't even distressed. After shrugging on her jacket, she slapped her cheeks. "I can do this. It's just a date."

A date with Ignis.

What was she thinking? Part of her wanted to squeal, the other part scream. She was in way over her head. The last time she dated, it had ended miserably. She could barely remember the dates she and that asshole had went on. What if she screwed this up too? No. It was different with Ignis. It was terrible of her to compare the two of them, even though it was the only comparison she had to go by.

It took a leap of faith, but Leo opened the door. There was nothing dramatic waiting for her. She was the only one in the hotel at the moment, with the others doing various errands around the city. She steadied her breathing before leaving the room.

Ignis was waiting for her outside of the hotel. She didn't get why they couldn't just leave together, but he had something to do in the morning apparently. She supposed it felt like he was picking her up. She wondered what surprise he had planned for her.

Her nervousness piqued as he caught a glimpse of her. She grinned shyly and waved, met him at the doors. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting."

"Not for too long." Ignis held out a hand for her which she took with some trepidation. But Ignis smiled at her reassuringly and her worry eased. "You look lovely."

"Ah, thanks. You—you too!" She sounded like an idiot, but it was true. That light blue button-up fit really well on Ignis, accentuating his broad shoulders. "Where are we going?" she asked both to sate her curiosity and to divert her mind from the realisation of them holding hands in public. Still, she liked the feeling of her hand in his and anyone that minded could go shove off.

She hadn't realised that Ignis was describing a restaurant. "—and it has an exquisite view of the city. I'm sure you'll like it."

"Yeah, it sounds great!"

They talked all the way to the restaurant, about the city and their journey. It was comfortable. Normal. Leo had been terrified that things would change if they started a relationship, but she could still listen to Ignis nerding out about their schedule.

Her breath caught in her throat as she saw what must have been the restaurant. It was small, but elegantly decorated. Ignis led her to an outdoors table, with warm string lights. She couldn't help but blush when Ignis pulled out her chair for her. Why couldn't she keep her composure at the slightest of romantic gestures?

She distracted herself with the menu and noted that they were at a seafood place. He was right. This all sounded great. She opted for the braised swordfish, while Ignis chose something she couldn't pronounce. Their food arrived pretty quickly, and Leo dug in. "I gotta get Noct to catch one of these."

"May I try a bite?" Leo responded to his request by holding up a forkful to him. Ignis blinked in surprise but smirked and took the offered fish. Leo was overheating. She was sure of it. "I'll have to make this for you sometime."

"Y— yeah. I'd like that." Leo reddened further as Ignis held out his fork for her in return. She steeled herself and let him feed her. "It's good." She acknowledged, surprised by the citrus flavour of the shrimp.

Ignis beamed at her approval. She listened to his thoughts on the dishes and couldn't help but smile fondly as he deduced the ingredients that went into them. He really was brilliant, wasn't he? Why had she ever been worried? Sure, she wasn't pretty or feminine, but the way Ignis looked at her made Leo feel so... special that those things didn't even matter.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

Of fucking course.

Mortified, she turned to see Noct and Prompto walking up to their table. "Ooh, that looks good. What are you having Ignis?" Prompto said, slinging an arm around Leo's shoulder.

Noct took a swig from Leo's beer. "Meh. You have terrible taste, dude."

"I'm starving! We'll join you. Is that cool?" Prompto said.

Leo exchanged a look with Ignis, whose brow was twitching. She covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. "I don't think now's a good time." She finally said, looking at them.

They still looked clueless and confused as to why she'd say that. "Why not?" Noct asked.

"We're on a date." Ignis said coolly.

Noct only stared while Prompto's jaw dropped. Leo nodded, casting a quick glance to Ignis before back to the two of them. "A date? Like a date date?"

She loved Prompto but at this moment, she wished he would take the hint "Yup a date. As in, we're dating." She looked to Ignis with that admission, who blinked in surprise. Oh wow, she just said it, didn't she? Sure, they'd kissed, and they were on a date right now, but did that actually mean they were dating? Ignis's pleased smile answered that question for her and she felt herself redden further.

It finally seemed to click in Noct's head. "When the shit did this happen?" he exclaimed.

Ignis turned away from gazing at Leo to the ignorant Noct. He took her hand in his on top of the table and shot the Prince a pointed look. "Right now. Before you so rudely interrupted."

Noct opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it, colour rising in his cheeks. "Sorry. We'll leave you to it." Was all a similarly embarrassed looking Prompto said before dragging Noct away by the arm. Prompto ran back though almost immediately. "Can I take a picture?"

"Prompto!" Leo scowled at him and he raised his hands in surrender before running back to the bewildered Noct.

And they were gone. She didn't know who started, but soon both of them had dissolved into laughter. "I guess I don't need to worry about breaking it to them anymore." Leo wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

"I suppose Gladio too will know by the time we get back." Ignis chuckled, taking a sip of his wine.

"That bastard will be real smug about it, I bet." Leo groaned. At Ignis's questioning look, she explained how Gladio had caught on to her feelings a while ago, before she had even fully realised it. She didn't mention how Gladio had caught her saying Ignis's name in her sleep, as she feared she would die from embarrassment.

Dinner proceeded without further interruptions. By the time they'd paid the bill and departed, dusk had fallen. Upon spotting an ice cream vendor, Leo suggested they get some with new eagerness. They walked hand in hand back to the hotel, eating their respective cones and Leo felt like she was floating. Ignis and strawberry ice-cream had that effect on her.

"Ah," Ignis stopped her once they reached the hotel entrance. "You have ice cream on your mouth."

"Oops." It seemed she got a little too eager.

She moved to wipe it but Ignis stopped her. "Allow me." He leaned down, and when she didn't move away, pressed his lips to the corner of hers. Oh. She smiled and kissed him back. His eyes were soft when they separated. "Thank you for allowing me to take you out today."

"I should be the one thanking you, dummy." Leo smiled bashfully. "It was really nice."

Ignis adjusted his glasses with his free hand. "We'll have to do this again, then."

"I— I'd love that."

They were so taken with each other that they totally forgot about what was waiting for them in the hotel room. Noct and Prompto immediately surrounded them as they entered, throwing questions out before Prompto noticed that they were still holding hands and began to freak out over that.

"Give them some space, guys." Gladio said, grinning as smugly as Leo expected him to.

Ignis kissed Leo's hand before releasing it, a smirk present on his face. Prompto squealed at the act and Leo flushed. At least someone was enjoying this. "Go on, my dear. I can sate their curiosity for now."

Noct choked and Leo was sure she would faint from him calling her dear of all things. Still, she took the out and all but fled to the bathroom to shower first, grateful that Ignis had taken it upon himself to explain things. When she emerged in her pajamas, they seemed calmer, but she could tell that Noct and Prompto were still burning with curiosity.

She was in for a long night of explanations, wasn't she?