After a morning spent toting Prompto through the grocery store to collect everything he needed for his Thanksgiving dinner, Ignis has been cleaning—washing bedsheets and fluffing pillows—all day in anticipation of their guests' arrival, enlisting Prompto's assistance when he could. In spite of Prompto's infallible enthusiasm, he proved to be more of a liability than a help. Currently, Ignis had him taking pictures of every room in the house for no particular reason besides Ignis just wanted a few minutes to himself.
He took a seat on the bed in their guest room, where Clarus and Iris would sleep tonight, and pondered the events of the past few days. Aranea was panicking, and Gladio was panicking (though much more subtly), and somehow Ignis couldn't seem to bring himself to panic at all. A deep calm had set in since their trip to Disney World, and he intended to enjoy it for as long as he could, aware that the stresses of their upcoming court date would probably eventually ruin his peace of mind.
For now, life felt good. Preparations for his classes could wait until after the holiday weekend, Iris and Clarus would be arriving in a matter of hours, and Aranea had booked an exorbitantly-priced last-minute flight to help prepare them for the battle ahead. He smiled when he recalled their conversation.
"Does that mean you'll be staying for Thanksgiving?" Ignis asked.
"Ohhh, Thanksgiving. That explains why the flights were so freaking expensive."
"You weren't aware of the holiday weekend? Even as a Brit, I can hardly ignore America's favorite holiday."
"Haven't celebrated it in years, to be honest. Stupid holiday. Colonialist, patriarchal bullish—"
"I'm well aware," Ignis interrupted with a grin, "but I make an excellent stuffed turkey."
"Bet you do," she mused. "I'll make an exception, just this once."
"I do hope we'll see a lot of you in the future, and not just on holidays."
He really meant it. Ignis liked Aranea, and he knew the boys had become fond of her too.
"If everything works out, but if not…"
"It'll work out," Ignis assured her.
"You keep saying that, but you don't know what kinda men we're dealing with here. I've barely made a dent in my research. Everything's a lot more hush-hush than it used to be, and everyone's too afraid to speak out. Even with Ardyn's quote-unquote help—that sneaky, lying bast—"
"You really think he's betrayed us?"
"I've been calling him non-stop for four days, and all he's sent me back is a winky-face emoji, so yes. If I find out he's working with Dino, I swear to god," she mumbled.
Back in the present, Ignis got off the bed and smoothed the comforter again. He made his way down the stairs to find Prompto laying on his back with his neck strained backwards to peer through his upside-down camera.
"What're you doing?" Ignis asked.
Prompto sat up, his face reddened, no doubt from the rush of blood to his head from the absurd position. "Just tryin' some cool stuff," he said. "I'll show ya."
He flipped through his camera and Ignis sat cross-legged to observe the truly bizarre photos Prompto had been taking of their entryway.
"It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland," Ignis said. "We should watch it sometime. I think you'd like it."
"Mmkay," Prompto agreed. "When does Aunt Ara get here?"
"She'll be here in just a few hours," Ignis said, looking at his watch.
"And what about those other guys?" Prompto asked, no doubt referring to Gladio's family.
"Gladio's going to pick Noctis up from school, then go to the airport to get everyone else, including Aranea, his father Clarus, and his sister Iris," Ignis explained.
"I'm booored."
"I think I'm done with the cleaning now. How about we make some cookies for everyone to eat for dessert?"
Prompto brighted right up, popping onto his feet. "The ones with the frosting?!"
"But of course," Ignis agreed, following behind Prompto as he skipped to the kitchen.
They prepared the recipe together, and Ignis showed Prompto how to roll out the dough and use the cookie cutters in the shapes of hearts, stars, and gingerbread men (although Prompto appeared more interested in sneaking bites of dough than actually helping). Ignis was just thankful he managed to keep Prompto's fingers out of the icing long enough to finish up a full batch.
Ignis observed the final product, his meticulously decorated cookies with a perfect smattering of sprinkles and detailed piping, alongside Prompto's, piled with multi-colored icing and heaps of sprinkles.
Ignis thought about how much it might've bothered him months ago, to have half a batch of cookies "ruined" by indelicate hands, but now he eyed them with fondness. Surely someday Prompto would decorate cookies wonderfully, and he was sure that day would come too soon. He couldn't even believe how quickly the year had passed. Ignis knew he had to appreciate Prompto as he was now, bright and adventurous, full of spirit, curiosity and contagious joy.
"I think it's time for a taste test, don't you?" Ignis asked.
Prompto nodded enthusiastically and reached for one of Ignis's gingerbread men while Ignis reached for one of his, a misshapen star dripping with icing.
"Cheers," Ignis said, tapping his cookie into Prompto's and watching him erupt into a fit of giggles.
Ignis washed the dishes, and Prompto dried them, and then Ignis got to work on dinner, a baked garlic lemon salmon with a side of wild rice (and chicken nuggets for the boys).
As it was getting dark, they heard the garage door open, and Ignis felt a little jump of nerves. He wondered how Aranea was getting along with the Amicitias given her rather forceful personality.
He shouldn't have worried. Aranea walked through the door before even Gladio looking as confident and comfortable as if it were her own home, followed closely by Iris.
"And that's why nothing will change until we smash the patriarchy," Aranea finished.
"Amen," Iris said, before smiling at Ignis and throwing down her bag to pull him into a hug. "Great to see you. And this must be Prompto," she said, crouching to meet his height.
"Wanna see my birthmark?" Prompto asked, unfortunately his default greeting of late, as he lifted up his shirt to show her.
"Sorry," Ignis apologized to Iris, but she was grinning at Prompto as she presented a red mark on her forearm. "I've got a birthmark too!"
Prompto squinted at it, appraising it for a moment before pronouncing it pretty cool and insisting she see his toys.
"Hey Ig-man," Aranea said, putting a hand on his arm, "how ya holdin' up?"
"Surprisingly well."
"Good. I'm gonna pour myself some bourbon on the rocks and leave Ardyn another angry voicemail. It was a long flight."
Ignis grinned at her. "You know where to find it?"
"Course," she said, patting him on the back before grabbing the key for the liquor cabinet.
Clarus came through the doorway next, followed by Gladio and Noctis. His father-in-law pulled him into a tight hug. "Thanks for having us, Ignis. Gladio tells me you two have had you hands full for the past few months," he grinned, the wrinkles around his eyes prominent in his warm smile. He was getting older but still had that twinkle in his eye that made Ignis feel adored the way he imagined most children with loving parents might feel.
"We're happy to have you as well. It's always lovely to see you. And yes, the boys have certainly been giving us a run for our money."
"Speaking of, where's Prompto?"
"He's giving Iris a detailed presentation on all his toys. You won't want to miss it."
Clarus gave him another hug before disappearing in the direction Ignis had suggested, and Ignis grinned as he overheard a "well if it isn't the famous Prompto!"
The kitchen now empty of new guests, Ignis turned his attention to Noctis who was standing by the doorway to the living room where Clarus, Iris, and Prompto already were, looking like he wanted to join.
"Why don't you make an appearance?" Ignis encouraged.
"Can you come with me?" Noctis asked.
Ignis draped an arm around him and gave him a comforting squeeze before they joined the others.
It didn't take long for Noctis to warm up to his new relatives. Ignis was pleased to find Clarus and Iris equally drenching them both in attention despite Prompto's insistence on trying to steal the spotlight. When Ignis arrived to announce it was time for dinner, he walked into the living room to find Noctis attempting a magic trick for Clarus and Prompto making a tower of blocks with Iris.
Just as he was about to make his announcement, the doorbell rang. It was an odd occurrence on the night before Thanksgiving when usually things were conspicuously quiet, most families doing the exact same thing their household was doing now. Perhaps it was the Nox Fleurets needing to borrow a cup of sugar.
Ignis peered through the peephole in the door to find a most unexpected sight. He opened the door to Ardyn wearing his traditionally odd attire, including a long trench coat and frilly scarf despite the warm Florida weather.
"Sorry I'm late," Ardyn apologized.
"I'm surprised you're here at all," Ignis said, observing Ardyn for clues as the man took off his fedora and held it in his hands.
"You invited me, did you not?"
"We did," Ignis said, still not quite sure what to make of Ardyn's vague statements, but letting him into the house nonetheless.
Prompto came barreling up, wrapping his arms around Ardyn who patted him on the back with a fond smile. "Noctis, my dear," Ardyn said, and Ignis found Noctis standing by, clearly waiting for the invitation that Ardyn had just given so he could join in the hug too.
"Typical," Aranea said from somewhere behind them. "You better have a really good explanation for being here or I'm kicking you out myself."
"My darling," Ardyn smiled widely, "as a matter of fact, I do."