Ignis ushered Ardyn into the house, offering him a seat. Instead of taking it, the boys' uncle insisted on shaking hands with a puzzled and suspicious Iris and Clarus, before settling comfortably onto the couch. The man seemed positively aglow. Aranea downed her bourbon and sat her glass on the coffee table, folding her arms and waiting.
"So?" she asked.
"The past few days I've been busy making negotiations with my father's corporation."
"More like your corporation," Aranea mumbled.
"Not anymore," Ardyn grinned. "I've sold my shares in the company. Or rather, I've given them away."
"And the price?"
"To drop the lawsuit."
"And you have this in writing?" Aranea asked, unfailingly skeptical, even as Ignis felt his heart race, his breath catching in his throat.
"I had an independent lawyer look over everything—that's why I've been so remiss in contacting you, I'm afraid. Lots of tiresome paperwork."
Even as he couldn't help the smile on his face, Ignis found his incredible story difficult to believe. "It's really over? The adoption will go through as planned?"
Ardyn nodded. "I've taken care of every detail, at least as far as Dino is concerned."
"Then we owe you a great debt."
"A debt I beg you not to repay. I fear my life has been full of missteps, and for once, I've done something drastic which I have no cause to regret."
"Why didn't you just call?" Aranea deadpanned, entirely unimpressed to the point that Ignis felt she must've misunderstood the good news.
"I felt this added an interesting sense of drama, a great climax to the story, if you will."
"An air of mystery," Noctis explained, using a phrase Ardyn often employed when they discussed magic tricks.
"Precisely, my dear boy."
Noctis beamed with pride.
Aranea turned and retreated towards the backyard, no doubt for a cigarette. Ardyn's smile hesitated for only a moment before he accepted the attention of his nephews, Prompto dragging him along to show him the tower he and Iris had built, and Noctis trailing along behind them with a wide smile.
Ignis was glad they were distracted, because the second he saw Gladio's tear-streaked face, he was entirely hopeless. He allowed the tears to fall and held Gladio close.
"I can't believe it," Gladio whispered.
"Me either. It's incredible."
They turned their attention to Noctis and Prompto. Prompto was draped over Ardyn's back as he sat cross-legged on the floor, and Noctis was trying to carefully add a block to a very precarious-looking tower.
Clarus put his arms around Ignis and Gladio's shoulders, pulling them close. "I don't mean to be overly sentimental, but your mother," he choked, "would be very proud to see this. A son happily married to a wonderful man like Ignis, and now two grandsons…"
"Aw Dad," Gladio said, pulling him closer without removing his grip on Ignis. "You'll come back on their adoption day, right? Guess we should plan a party."
"Certainly. We'll need to call their case worker to set the date, and I'll—" Ignis began, his mind now working furiously on the plans they hadn't made just in case the adoption was delayed.
"No need to fuss about it now," Clarus interrupted. "Just enjoy it."
Aranea was quiet during dinner, which wasn't much of an inconvenience since everyone else had plenty to say. The mood in the air was festive and loud, and everyone seemed to be feeling it. Clarus even asked for a second glass of wine.
Afterwards, as the boys and Amicitias retired to the living room at Ignis's insistence, Ardyn offered to help with the dishes, and Aranea cleared the table.
"What are your plans now that you have no job with the Caelum Corporation?" Ignis asked.
"Oh well, I suppose I'll become a magician."
"How does one go about that?"
"I don't entirely know, but I have some savings that will buy me time. I'll confess I'm not above begging for change. Ara assures me I already have the perfect attire for a street performer."
Ignis grinned, taking a look at Ardyn's outrageously gaudy outfit.
"He could've done this from the beginning, you know," Aranea said, ignoring him completely in favor of looking at Ignis. "He could've saved us so much stress and effort, but he decided to swoop in at the last minute and take all the credit."
"Ara," Ignis urged gently. "There is always room for criticism, but I, for one, am grateful for a miracle, no matter the timing."
"Thank you, Ignis, but she's right, I fear. I shall alway be a bit of a disappointment to those who count on me, and timing has never been my strong suit. Are we quite done?" he asked, putting the last of the pans on the drying rack.
"Yes," Ignis nodded, and watched as he retreated into the other room.
"Ara, I think you really are too hard him," Ignis chided. "Think of his upbringing—the least loved of his siblings, never accepted by his father. As someone who grew up in a difficult household, I know what it's like to fend for oneself, to compensate for a lack of care and affection."
"Maybe…"
"Think of Aulea and what the loss of your parents did to her… I suppose what I mean to say is we all bear scars from our upbringing. Noctis and Prompto will too."
"Because of me," she sighed, resting her face in her palms as she leaned over the counter.
"I don't blame you, Ara, and nor does Gladio. You're part of our family now. It'll be official soon, and I have no wish to dwell on your past mistakes."
"Thanks, Iggy."
"Now if there was a certain gentleman who you felt like apologizing to…"
"Thanks, but I'm good," she said, retreating outside again.
She reappeared an hour later just when the boys had insisted Ardyn play a few songs on the piano. Though Ignis played himself, he'd been far too busy of late, and whereas for him it was a hobby, Ardyn had been classically trained from childhood.
"Ah, Aranea," Ardyn said, as if oblivious to her ire, "Won't you play a song with me?"
"I'm not that good."
"I beg to differ. As I recall, you always played beautifully, and you had a talent for improvisation, the likes of which I have never possessed."
"Fine," she conceded, sitting next to him on the bench.
As soon as they began to play, Prompto tried to wiggle himself on the bench (as he always did when Ignis played), but finding no room, he sat himself down right next to them on the floor and watched their feet instead.
They put on quite the performance, and it was sweet to observe the way Aranea slowly started to loosen up and even smile, elbowing Ardyn playfully when he tried to increase the tempo on her.
Ignis was curled up with Gladio and Noctis, all of them snuggled under a large blanket.
"Those two are getting together for sure. I'd bet on it," Gladio said.
"Of course you would, darling," Ignis teased.
Ardyn arrived in the kitchen the next morning wearing what looked like a fluffy woman's robe.
"What're you doing up so early?" Gladio asked.
"Aranea's a lamentably fussy sleeper," he explained with a wink, reaching for the coffee tureen.
It took Ignis a second to catch his meaning. "You really—" Ignis began, noting the comically ecstatic expression on Gladio's face.
Just then Aranea appeared in the kitchen.
"How'd you sleep last night?" Gladio teased, not even attempting subtlety.
"Bite me," she replied, pouring herself a cup of coffee before retreating to the backyard without so much as a glance at Ardyn.
"Harsh," Gladio said.
"I'm afraid that's Aranea at her morning best," Ardyn grinned. "I personally find her turns of phrase rather charming."
Aranea returned a few seconds later. "I'm still doing my expose on Caelum Corp, you know," she announced.
"I'd expect nothing less," Ardyn replied.
"Did you read the paper yet?" she asked.
"Your radiant beauty is the most magnificent morning entertainment I could ever require."
She ignored the compliment and handed it to him. "I don't usually read the local news section, but there's a profile on a street magician."
"Thank you," Ardyn said, apparently having lost his usual flair at the prospect of Aranea actually being nice to him.
"I thought you drank your coffee black," she observed.
"I felt such a grand evening warranted an equally grandiose morning."
She let out a little snort of laughter, "You're so lame."
He simply took her hand and tenderly kissed it, looking into her eyes all the while, before opening up the paper, leaving Aranea in a unique state of disbelief.
Ignis spent all day preparing his dinner with occasional help of the adults and the occasional distraction of two young boys who wear eager to sneak little scraps of whatever Ignis was making and asked constantly about when they would be permitted to eat one of Ignis's carefully crafted pies.
As they were setting the table, Gladio pulled him aside.
"So I guess your uncle's not coming?" he asked gently.
"No, I don't think so. He never returned my call."
"I'm sorry, Iggy. It was really nice of you to invite him."
"In a way, I'm relieved. I don't know how he would've fit in with everyone. It was probably silly to invite him after all these years apart."
"No, it's wasn't. He's your family."
"I used to believe that too, but I think what you and I have built is the kind of family I prefer."
Author's Note: I just posted 4 chapters at once, so you'll probably want to make sure you're caught up before you read this one :) Thanks for still reading!
Gladio kissed him and held him close. "Love you, Iggy. I think this is gonna be my favorite Thanksgiving. The first one with the boys, knowing we can adopt them, having my dad and sister here. Ara and Ardyn getting together?!"
"I should've known that would be the primary selling point for you," Ignis teased.
Gladio kissed him again, and they returned to the table to find everyone gathered around it. Noctis and Prompto were using their utensils as mock weapons in their play fight while Iris made sure they didn't hurt one another, Aranea was sitting next to Ardyn talking passionately about something while Ardyn watched her fondly, leaning his face on one fist. Clarus smiled at the two of them as they took their seats at the table.
Ignis ate quietly, observing the abundance all around him, and felt very grateful for his family.