"Tifa, I don't think it is a good idea for me to be in the kitchen. Ignis says I am a walking fire hazard," Noctis stated calmly as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. They were currently in the crown kitchen, after spending the morning planning out the surprise party for Prompto on Friday afternoon. Prompto had asked Tifa to make some of her famous strawberry mousse cake with chocolate dipped strawberries on top.
The only reason why Prompto even knew about said strawberry mousse cake was because Noctis had leftovers from her birthday in May. He had taken a slice and was instantly obsessed with the final product. So, when Noctis and Tifa asked the blonde what he wanted for his birthday for a gift, he made two very specific requests, a strawberry mousse cake from Tifa and one afternoon taking photos of Noctis to update their binder he had of Noctis over the years. It was a long-term project they were working on for his dad's 40th birthday.
"True, you are a hazard in the kitchen," Tifa giggled as she looked around and gathered her bearings of the place. "However, Ignis said you can follow basic directions and are very knowledgeable with the inner workings of the kitchen since you have spent every night in them since you were 14." She passed him a knowing look, fully aware of his love of midnight snacks and asking the chef to prepare the most amazing desserts behind Ignis' back. This caused the prince to turn a deep shade of red, "Who told you about that?" Laughing out loud, she just smiled, giving him the answer instantly.
"So, what else did you tell Ignis about?" he asked incredulously. He moved across the room to stand behind her, curious to know what exactly the two had talked about on their recent afternoon out. She smiled and opened a door that looked like a pantry only to reveal a refrigerator, "Oh, this and that. He expressed his concerns about you and I being together so soon after you brought me back to Lucis, his concerns over you and Cloud getting into a fist fight with you when I chose you over him. Ignis was worried I would change my mind, but I don't think he understands how much I adore you or appreciate you wanting to be there for me. You've tended to me in my mental despair, you have healed wounds after battles, made sure I was okay when I came here to Lucis, and even stood up for me when I felt unseen by Cloud for years. It really is something else to be treated like the center of the universe by a man."
Noctis felt himself smile as he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly and breathing in her scent. Jasmine, her scent was supremely calming. He could not get enough of her smell. Tifa, who was one to make friends with everyone due to her kind disposition, was also not afraid to kick ass if she needed to. She was a fully trained martial arts master and their adventures fighting for Cosmos only allowed the prince of Lucis to become instantly smitten by her talent. She was right, although, he had gotten into more than one fist fight with Cloud, causing both Lightning and Squall to intervene. She didn't know about their many fights but rather, just the one she witnessed.
"Noctis?" she said quietly. All he could do was hum in return, having closed his eyes and just took in the quiet space with her. "I need to get to work on the dessert. He will be coming by at six to pick it up. I want to be almost done with it by the time he gets here. So, can you grab the bowls and pans I need to make a small round cake? Rather than bask in my presence?" she said playfully. He smirked into her neck, giving it a small kiss before pulling away and grabbing what she needed. He also moved over to the oven and began to preheat it.
"So, what else do you need me to do?" he asked as he brought a set of mixing bowls over to the mixer and grabbed some parchment paper. "Well," she began as she brought over the ingredients from the fridge, "You could grab all the dry ingredients and then line the cake pans with parchment paper which would actually help me out with getting prep work out of the way. Then if you could boil a small pot of water so we can melt the chocolate in a bowl. The chocolate needs some cooling obviously, but this is a good starting point. Also, I am going to need you to take the stems off the strawberries and put them in the freezer while I work on the cake part. Frozen strawberries are easier to dip and set in my opinion." She looked at him as he nodded, following along with her instructions and trying to complete each task as she requested.
"So, what else did you two talk about?" Noctis found himself bringing the conversation back to Ignis' invitation out, as he put the parchment paper into the pan. "I am sure he had all kinds of things to say about us. After all, you have been in Lucis for six months, and we started dating a month into you being here. I am sure he has all kinds of words." He found himself feeling nervous talking to her about their conversation, but he also knew Ignis very well, he could mean well but be overbearing. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel that he was being babied when he chose her.
"Well," she started as she worked. "There was the primary concern of us dating after knowing each other for literally less than a month. He gets that I am beautiful and obviously a skilled warrior, but he does not understand why you chose me. To be honest, I am also curious about why you chose to have me as your girlfriend." Noctis snorted at her words, unable to hide the smirk, "Cause I knew Cloud could not keep you by ignoring you forever. Squall had warned him a few times, according to Light, that if he kept ignoring you and not accepting that he liked you then someone else would come through and sweep you off your feet. Did I pursue you knowing that? No, but I did see he liked you and yet somehow always kinda brushed you off. It was beyond obvious that he was in love with you, so what made him not pursue you as a romantic interest?" He turned his eyes to her, firm but curious.
Tifa blushed, knowing how he could be direct if he wanted to be, but also feeling that royal aura in his words, wise beyond his years. She had to admit, he made her heart race when he looked at her with his deep blue eyes. She instantly noticed the differences between the two of them, where Cloud was moody and closed off, Noctis was warm and open. They both had blue eyes but on opposite ends of the color palette, Cloud had eyes that were the color of the sky mixed with the mako of the planet where Noctis had deep blue eyes that reminded her of the night sky. They both had spiky hair, but Noctis was always wearing hair gel, she learned when he fell into the pool chasing Prompto over a photo he took of him yawning. Even now, the differences were there, Noctis never avoided eye contact with her, even if she said something that could make him blush, he never took his eyes off of her. "W-well," she stuttered, causing him to grin at her.
"Tifa?" he called to her gently while stopping what he was doing to step towards her. "Your face is red, could it be that you have something on your mind that you want to tell me?" He was smiling at her as she turned as red as a strawberry. "N-no," she stammered back quickly, knowing her body was heating up to him getting closer. 'Close the gap between us, please' she thought to herself. They may have been dating for two months but their make out sessions were getting steamier by the day, Noctis having quite the ability to make her swoon for him with just his kisses. She found herself often fantasizing about what else he could do to her. She was pulled out of her thoughts by his hands on her waist, pressing their foreheads together, his eyes staring into hers. "So," he continued lowly. "Was there something on your mind? Or am I to assume that you are running a fever?" She shook her head quickly, "No, I was just thinking about something I probably shouldn't have…" she trailed off coyly.
"Miss Lockhart are you having inappropriate thoughts about the Prince of Lucis?" he teased, pulling her into a kiss before she could answer him. Whenever their mouths connected, Tifa felt like she was being kissed by fire. He warmed her entire body with his kisses which caused her to stop working on the cake mix to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him completely into her. This caused him to smirk into their kiss, pulling her entire body into his own. "Tifa," he said breathlessly into her lips causing her to shudder physically at him. She moaned into the kiss, wanting to allow it to go further but the sound of the oven finishing its preheating, which caused her to pull away from him.
"Sorry but I really need this to be done," she said breathlessly. "Raincheck for after?" Noctis nodded, although he would have to regain his composure because lately Tifa had been doing things to him physically he was unable to voice aloud to her. He blushed and went back to the pans, working on the chocolate as she requested. After completing the task of mixing the dry and wet ingredients together, she poured the batter into the pans and placed it into the oven. She then turned the timer on and moved to where Noctis was in order to work on the chocolate. Noctis took the moment to grab the dishes and wash them, remaining silent as he watched her work from the corner of his eye.
'I wonder if we are hitting that point where we take things to the next level?' he pondered to himself. He knew he was physically attracted to Tifa and there was no denying that she was attracted to him as well. He finished washing the dishes to turn to see Tifa fully immersed in mixing the chocolate. "Well, the good news is that it is ready to dip, we just have to wait for the rest of the strawberries," she stated triumphantly. Noctis smiled at her, "Well I did put them in the freezer, but I don't know how long it will be before they are ready. We do have some leftovers if you want to experiment with the consistency of the strawberries when dipped in chocolate." She brought the stove to a low temperature, grabbed one of the strawberries out of the bowl Noctis left out and dipped it.
Noctis had no idea what possessed him to stare at her dipping it immediately but there was something inherently sexual in her actions, because she let it drip before putting the chocolate covered strawberry in her mouth, slowly biting into it as she closed her eyes doing so. Noctis felt the warm sensation he felt when he kissed her in the pit of his stomach again from watching her. 'When the hell did eating a strawberry end up being so fucking hot?' he thought to himself, as he felt himself biting his lower lip.
Tifa on the other hand was fully aware of what she was doing to the prince on the other side of the room. She wanted him to kiss her again but at the same time she was too shy to ask him for more than that as well, her countryside childhood showing more through the denial of asking. 'He makes me want so many things physically and I just don't think I can bring myself to ask him for any of it. My heart is racing just doing this because I can feel him staring,' she thought.
Noctis groaned as she finished the first strawberry and started licking her fingers slowly, making the prince groan at the visual. She finished and grabbed another, looked at him and smiled sweetly, "Want me to make you one? They are so good." Noctis felt his throat go dry and nodded, walking over to the beautiful woman who was making chocolate covered strawberries in his kitchen. "So, are you intentionally trying to turn me on or are you always seductively eating chocolate covered strawberries?" he questioned huskily when he got next to her. She looked at him curiously but smiled in return, "Say ah." She was bringing the strawberry to his lips, and he couldn't help but to give in to her teasing. He once again maintained eye contact with her as he bit into the sweet fruit, savoring the glossy look in her eyes as he ate the sweet. 'She is definitely doing it on purpose, there is no way in hell she is going to be doing this, and I am supposed to sit here and take it,' Noctis thought to himself. 'If she wants to play this game then I can do the same.'
He grabbed a hold of her wrist and finished the strawberry, taking the stem out of her hand and kissing her palm. Tifa found herself frozen by the sudden action but watched intensely as he kissed her inner wrist, right on the pulse, making her face turn red all over again, 'He picked up on what I wanted rather quickly.' His other hand had grabbed another strawberry, where he brought it up to her lips, slowly coaxing her to open her mouth while he fed her. She obliged as he had only, she was beet red through the whole thing. Noctis smiled as she finished it and he pulled her in slowly for a kiss, releasing her wrist and wrapping it around her waist. She once again moaned into their kiss, the juices of the strawberry and flavors of the chocolate mixing together as their tongues danced.
"Noctis," Tifa breathily started but was stopped by another strawberry, this time covered in chocolate. "Say ah princess," he huskily whispered, causing her to feel a warmth in not only the entirety of her body but also in her underwear. 'I think I am going to lose my mind to his teasing. I have never felt so on fire and at this point I am willing to do anything to get him to do more,' she thought to herself. He never took his eyes off of her, loving the reactions she was giving him and unsure of how much more his self-control would hold.
As she bit into the rest of the chocolate covered strawberry, he pulled her back in for another kiss, this time, sliding his tongue into her mouth and taking it out with his own. This very action had her come completely undone on restraint as she moaned into their kiss and ran her fingers through his hair, causing him to wrap his other hand around her and lean them against the countertop. The pressure between them was unbearable as they pulled apart breathlessly, eyes hooded and slightly glazed over with desire. "I…I need to make the mousse for the cake…" Tifa began but stopped when Noctis lifted her onto the countertop. "That can wait," he replied. "I would rather give you kisses instead." Tifa giggled and brought him back in for another kiss, "Well then, I am more than happy to oblige."