Work Text:
Gentle blue eyes stared intently at the figures in front of him. A tiny village was strewn about on the counter, white fluff laid out beneath them. Houses and shops stood in the back, still in their boxes, but the people and trees were laying about haphazardly as Prompto tried to decide how he wanted the village to look. He toyed with the trees and benches, trying to make a park first. Once he was happy with his little park he looked at the rest and frowned.
"I need more trees." Huffing, he dug through a box hoping he had forgotten some, Ignis voice reminded him.
"Prompto, you bought every box on the shelf, I think you'll have to make due." Crossing his arms, Prompto glared down at the trees, trying to will more into existence. When that failed he went through to see how many he could do without. Whining he sunk to his knees settling at eye level with his unmade village. Fluffy garland drapped around his shoulders as Ignis stood behind him, looking over at his work.
"Love, why don't you try setting up the buildings first? Build it like you would a real village and maybe inspiration will find you." Leaning down to press a kiss into Prompto's hair he was off again, there was still the rest of the house to prepare after all.
Sighing to himself, Prompto took his boyfriend's advice, clearing away the small pieces to start with the houses and shops. A candy shop next to the baker, of course, he thought. The houses were in the middle, so nothing was far away, he thought that was important. The firehouse was by the toy shop. Looking at his buildings, Prompto gave a satisfied nod. It was a good village, but what was a village without people. They were next, some held hands, walking through a perfect wonderland, some ran through the snow. A child pulled a sled, carrying what must be her favorite bear to stare into the toy shop. Another was making a snowman in front of the station. When one refused to stand he groaned and pressed it into the fake snow.
"Fine, you lay there and make snow angels." Behind him Ignis chuckled to himself, tying a bow to the banister. Next, there were the trees, some needed to go to the village, and as much as he already missed his little park, he had to admit the village looked much homier with them there. It was a worthy sacrifice.
With the leftover benches and trees, Prompto built his park. Placing them around each other, his brows raised and a grin spread, lighting up his face. Moving everything, he called to his boyfriend.
"Iggy! Iggy, look. If I," he moved the last tree into place, "move them like this, I have room for that ice rink I saw at the mall." Turning to face Ignis before he had even made his way over, Prompto looked up at Ignis through his lashes. It was a look he knew Ignis found how to resist.
Looking over Prompto's shoulder, Ignis let out a sigh. He could never understand his boyfriend's obsession with making small villages, but if it made him happy, it was hard to say no. Nodding his head, he had to catch the small blond as he launched himself into his arms, giggling.
At the mall Prompto was dragging Ignis, nearly running through the common ways to the little shop at the back of the building.
"Come on! We gotta hurry, Iggy!" Trying not to laugh at his boyfriend, Ignis pulled Prompto to him, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.
"Relax, Prompto. I'm sure it will still be there by the time we get there, no need to rush." Prompto blushed at the affection, he wasn't sure he would ever get used to public displays of affection, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy them. With a nod, he turned and slowed his pace to something almost reasonable.
Prompto gave a small sound of happiness as he stepped foot into the store. The front was a full display of villages and other figurines. Tables and shelves lined the walls and filled the room, leaving little more than a walkway to the back half of the store where the merchandise was held.
As Prompto fluttered about the displays, Ignis thought to remind him they had a goal in mind, but the way the colours danced across and lit up his face kept him to enraptured to find the words.
Eventually, the blond managed to find the skating rink he had wanted last time, but Ignis had held firm that it was much too large for the space he was using. It was nearly as large as a serving dish, a frozen pond that sung a quiet tune. Skaters glided along the frozen water with ease, as small lamps lit their way. On a bench sat an old man who looked to tell stories to anyone who would listen. It truly was a beautiful piece.
Watching the skaters Prompto gave a content sigh, eyes drifting to the skaters to the figures that hung around it. Nearly every figure was a couple in love, holding hands or sharing chaste kisses, the blond nearly swooned at the sight. At least until he realized something was missing.
“They’re all straight, Iggy.” The smile he had on from the second he walked through the door had fallen as he pouted at the small figures. Mostly people didn’t have much to say about someone not being straight so he forgot it wasn't something others saw has normal, or even just frequent enough to be in a tiny fake village. Feeling Ignis pressing into his back, looking over his shoulder, he leaned back, just a fraction.
“Hm, it’s a large shop, maybe we have simply missed them?” Ignis thought aloud, though he hardly believed the words himself. Gently guiding Prompto along to the back, they found the set they were looking for and much of his earlier enthusiasm returned. Talking with the cashier, who seemed nearly as interested in the rink as Prompto, they didn’t notice as Ignis looked around the store. Until two sets of eyes fell upon him.
As Ignis turned, he saw two sets of puppy dog eyes turned toward him. In an instant, he knew he was doomed. Leaving the store, he carried a box to make a shelf, and Prompto was nearly hidden behind his boxes of figures and houses. Ignis swears he will not be putting up the shelf, he still has the rest of the house to complete, Prompto can handle a shelf.
A week later Ignis has finally fixed the shelf that Prompto had tried to make, discovering many of the pieces never made it home with them. It took Prompto another three to get the placements the way he could live with, though Ignis would swear for the rest of the season figures were moving throughout the day.
Once it was finished Prompto stood back to admire his work. Each shelf was it’s own tiny village, though none of them were the same. Listening to his ice rink, Prompto hummed along as he looked over his villages, frowning slightly at the happy couples. They were lovely in their own right, but it just felt off. He had tried to set single figures together to look like the others. Two women walking together, or two men next to each other on the bench. They didn’t look convincing in his mind.
Warm arms wrapped around his middle, pulling him back to lean fully into Ignis’ chest and he let out a small laugh. As he made to wrap his hands around Ignis’ own, he saw a small box. Tilting his head up, and kissing his boyfriend’s chin he murmured, “What’s in the box?”
“You could always open it up and see.” Kissing Prompto’s forehead, he pressed the box into his hands. Carefully opening the box, he nearly dropped it once he saw what was inside. Taking the figure out as gently as he could, he turned it slowly in his hands. Two young men, walking hand in hand. The blond leaning against a brown hair bespectacled man.
Turning, Prompto wrapped his arms as tight as he could around Ignis, sniffling slightly. As he tried not to cry, Ignis gently carded his hand through Prompto’s hair.
“When you noticed there were no couples like us I went on a search for one. Unfortunately, I was left wanting. So I decided to order a creation just for us.” Pressing a kiss into soft hair, Ignis let himself rest there.
“It’s perfect, Ignis. Thank you.” Once Ignis was able to extract himself from Prompto, he gently urged him to place his newest figure. It sat on the counter, not in the village, but in the park by the rink. Hand in hand the two lovers watched as people danced across the ice. Maybe next year they would join in the fun.