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They sat, three abreast watching as Ignis paced up and down the haven. He could feel their eyes on him, it was pressurising and Ignis didn't like being pressured. Yes they had a time limit, yes they had to think of a plan, no he hadn’t come up with one yet. Here he was, Royal Strategist and Hand to the king and he couldn't figure out a damn plan to infiltrate a Niflheim base that had popped up in Cleigne.
"Well?" Noctis prompted, tired of waiting.
"Iggy?" Prompto pressed tentatively.
"Can't be that hard," Gladio gruffed, running a hand through his hair and winking at Ignis. "I say we just storm the front gates and give them a taste of Pain and Suffering," he grinned and flexed his muscles. Ignis pivoted around to hide his blush, did he have to be so openly brazen about his physique?
"Did you really name your arms pain and suffering?" Prompto asked with a slight tone of awe to his voice.
"They were named Des and Troy, but Specs made him change it," Noctis answered with a yawn.
"They're not called Pain and Suffering," Ignis said, trying not to lose his patience. His right eye twitched behind his glasses and he removed them to rub at it tiredly, before turning back around. Gladio was still flexing.
They'd been at it for a couple of hours. Well, Ignis had been at it a couple of hours. The others had just sat there and given unhelpful suggestions.
"So… what’s the plan, Iggy?"
"Yeah, what's taking so long?" Noctis added, leaning back in his Coleman's camp chair and pulling out his phone. "You've been thinking so long, I can harvest my Zell tree again."
Ignis snapped. "You think coming up with a plan that doesn't involve storming the gates and getting us all killed is easy? You do it. The floor is yours, your majesty," his tone turned mockingly towards the end, and he bowed uncaringly before throwing himself into a chair. Gladio looked at him worriedly, before reaching out and patting him sympathetically on the shoulder. The gesture made Ignis melt and he struggled to maintain composure. The other man was oblivious to how he made Ignis feel.
Noctis stood up. "So the plan is simple," he looked about ready to launch into an elaborate speech about the plan he'd been nurturing for the past hour or so. "Get help."
At first, Ignis thought he was talking literally. "The Marshal is busy in Meldacio, Monica and Dustin hardly need to be brought up from Caem for something as…"
"No Specs, that's the name of my plan. Get help."
Ignis watched as Prompto's eyes grew wide like saucers, at Gladio's amused glance towards them both, at Noctis' all-knowing smirk. Then he remembered a night in which he had been dragged to the movie theatre by the other three, despite his protestations that he had too much to do. Memories of a superhero movie with two brothers performing some awful strategy to infiltrate an aircraft hanger, a strategy that had a not-so-creative name. ' Get Help'
" No Noct," Ignis said tiredly at the same time Prompto said; "Yes Noct!"
"Gladio?" Noctis turned to his shield. "Deciding vote, yay or nay?"
Gladio looked down at Ignis with an apologetic look on his face. "You never know, it might work."
Noctis grinned. "It is simple enough; two people walk in through the front gate, one carrying the other. The one being carried is faking an injury. The carrier, claims they need help and when everyone is distracted throws the carry-ee into the fray where the fight can commence. The other two join the party and we complete the task, in and out, badda bing badda boom."
Ignis knew that he taught Noctis better than whatever that was that he just came up with, he knew that he didn't spend hours a day going over military tactics and strategy to be pushed aside for something out of a movie. Or pushed into something, he thought as Noctis was giving him a rather odd glance.
"So me and you then Noct?" Prompto asked, wriggling excitedly in his seat.
"Nah," that glance was back again and Ignis got the sense that things weren't going to end well.
"Noct…" Gladio warned, but to no avail, now he was grinning and Ignis sighed, resigned to his fate.
"Gladio and Ignis will do Get Help ." Prompto gasped dramatically. "Gladio will carry and throw Ignis into the fray, who will start off with his…" he narrowed his eyes. "Whatever it is that thing that you do with the daggers and the elements and the freakishly good aim…" Ignis hummed. "And then Prompto and I will have snuck around and taken them from behind."
Gladio leaned over, the closeness making Ignis both uncomfortable and comfortable at the same time. "You can say no," he whispered into Ignis' ear his beard tickling Ignis. "Better walk away to fight another day, then fight and lose and never walk again."
"It's the only plan we've had and as boorish as it may seem, it might actually work."
"Do you believe that?" Gladio looked sceptical.
"No," Ignis chuckled. "But Noct does, and that's what matters at this point."
Gladio chuckled with him and shook his head, giving him a squeeze on the shoulder. Why did he have to be so touchy-feely? "You're too soft on him."
Ignis just smiled, pushing down his true emotions before turning to Noctis who was talking excitedly about his plan to Prompto.
"Very well, we will try your ‘ master plan’ on one condition."
"You're going to make me eat vegetables aren't you?" Ignis just smiled and Noctis groaned, hands up in defeat. "Fine, no mushrooms, no carrots and certainly no beans, everything else is fair game."
~*~
The time of the infiltration was upon them. Noctis and Prompto were hiding, astral knows where, whilst Ignis and Gladio had met up to discuss one last time what was going to happen.
"You don't have to go through with this," Gladio reminded him.
"It's the sheer humiliation more than anything," Ignis replied stoically, that and he would be carried by the one man he'd had a crush on since he was old enough to crush.
"Well if it helps, it's all MT's in there… they're nothing but wires and circuits."
"Is it though?," Ignis murmured.
"Come on," Gladio stepped back and to the side of Ignis, an arm resting on the small of his back. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you have the satisfaction of having Prince Charmless eating vegetables."
Ignis nodded and leaned back into Gladio's arm, testing the support he had before jumping up slightly. Gladio, quickly placed his other arm underneath Ignis' knees, catching him before he fell. Cradled bridal style, Ignis buried his head in Gladio's chest, blushing as he felt the other man's chest rumble as he chuckled at Ignis' embarrassment.
"Comfy?" he heard Gladio ask, and Ignis could only nod. Silently cursing Noctis and his observations. He knew, there was no other reason as to why he would give this task to the two of them. He must know how much Ignis crushed on the man holding him, how much he had fantasised about being carried like this, about being held, being kissed.
Gladio started moving, shifting his hands slightly and it was almost everything Ignis had imagined. The feel of the Shield's arms, carrying him, supporting him, the smell of pine and old books on his shirt, mingling with his sweat. He inhaled deeply, wanting to capture this moment. Being thrown for the sake of a diversion didn't bother him, being held so intimately by the man he'd secretly wanted for the better part of five years did.
"Okay, I'm nearing the main gate," he muttered low enough that Ignis could still hear him. "You ready?" his hand squeezed Ignis' hip and Ignis blushed at the sensation. The touch, whilst platonic enough, was slowly short-circuiting his brain, he tried to push all thoughts and feelings aside, tried the focus on the mission, but the steady thump of Gladio's heart kept distracting him.
Gladio's pace quickened, and Ignis braved a look around, his hands up until now had been lying rather helplessly in his lap. He watched as Gladio glanced down as he jogged and then as he frowned. "Put your arms around my neck," he whispered. "It'll look more natural that way."
He had a point, it would, but Ignis couldn't help the blush as he raised his arms and linked them around the back of Gladio's head. Now he could feel the back of his hair, the little pulse that quickened when he placed his hand there. Ignis would have liked to have entertained the notion it was because he liked Ignis' hands being there. When in reality it was probably because he was jogging with extra weight in his hands.
"I'm going to kick the door open, screaming for help and then count to three. I'll tap out the counts on your knee so you can brace yourself for being thrown." Ignis nodded, it wouldn't give him a lot of time to take in his surroundings, but it would do.
With a grunt and a tighter grasp on Ignis, Gladio hefted a foot in the air, kicked open the door to the Imperial base and ran inside.
"Somebody help!! My boyfriend's hurt! I need help! Please!!" Ignis had been trying to get a good look at everything, tried to see everything with total clarity so he could plan his ambush, however Gladio's words knocked the breath right out of him. Boyfriend? He was so distracted by Gladio's admission that he missed the countdown, missed how many MT's they were actually up against. The next thing Ignis knew is that he was being shifted in Gladio's arms and then he was flying through the air, it was almost comical how he flailed when Gladio released him from his grip and sent him head first into a pile of MTs.
It hurt when he landed, metal robots filled with circuits, wiring and powered by only Niflheim knew what didn't make the best cushions. They were however on the floor and Ignis recovered first. He pushed the memory of Gladio calling him his boyfriend out of his mind and glanced around. Three MTs on his left, two on his right and five converging on Gladio. Summoning his trusty spell daggers he imbued them with fire and with a flick of his wrist sends them out towards the five he had around him, killing them instantly.
Re-summoning them he glanced over at Gladio, who had just finished taking out the five that had converged on him with a sweeping blow of his greatsword. Gladio winked, and jerked his head, indicating that there was something behind Ignis.
Ignis ducked and pivoted around, bringing one of his daggers up through the chest plate of yet another MT. A yell and a high-pitched yeah signified Noctis and Prompto arrival and the four of them made quick work in dispatching the rest of the base.
“Yeah! Operation Bust-a-Base complete!” Prompto sang out. High-fiving Noct as they glanced around at the carnage.
Ignis was cleaning his glasses, trying not to think of the events that had just unfolded. Not the successful mission, but the being called a boyfriend and the wink.
“You alright?” The very same person who had done both of those things asked, closer than expected causing Ignis to jump a little. Gladio chuckled. “It's not like you to be so distracted.”
Ignis made a non-comical noise and placed his glasses back on his nose. “Let’s report back to the Marshal before someone catches wind of what we’ve done,” he wasn’t ignoring Gladio, merely distancing himself until he could figure out what exactly Gladio had meant by calling him, his boyfriend.
Gladio grunted, “You’re the boss,” before waving his hand over at the other two who posing for a selfie. “Oi tweedles move out!” He smiled at Ignis before giving him another wink and a squeeze of the shoulder before jogging after Noctis and Prompto, leaving Ignis alone and severely confused.
~*~
Their lodgings for the evening was a Haven outside Old Lestallum, with food bought from Kenny’s. The takeout had been Ignis idea, he knew he wasn’t going to in the right frame of mind to cook, not with all the thoughts and emotions coursing through him. He’d always liked Gladio and was quite happy to watch from afar knowing that anything between them couldn’t and was very unlikely to actually happen. But now, with the being carried, and the winks and the subtle touches, and it wasn’t just today. The more Ignis thought about it the more he realised just how flirtatious Gladio was. Noctis and Prompto always teased him about the number of girls he spoke to, but Ignis has seen first hand how different the flirting was between the girls he met at outposts and Ignis himself. He was a lot more subtle with Ignis, more open and lot more touchy-feely. As loathe as he was to use that word out loud, there was no other way to describe.
They always say let your actions speak louder than your words, and at the moment, Gladio’s actions were screaming at Ignis that his feelings were being reciprocated. At least he hoped.
Then the doubt started to settle in, what if this was the oasis effect? His eyes supplying what his mind and heart wanted to see. He was lost in the desert, thirsty and alone, and Gladio was his oasis.
He needed to talk to Gladio, get everything out in the open and settled between them. Now that he had seen the flirting he couldn’t un-see. It might make things a bit awkward for a while if Ignis had been overthinking things, but if he was right it would be all worth it in the end.
That was another reason for the take-outs from Kenny’. The fast food seemed to make them all lethargic, more open to discussion. Prompto and Noctis would probably retire straight away, too tired to do anything but mash buttons on that video game they were so engrossed in.
Sure enough, it was barely even ten pm and the younger two retired themselves into a tent settled down for the night, leaving Gladio and Ignis alone. He glanced over at the elder, entranced by the way the moonlight illuminated him from behind and how the fire lit to cast a warm glow. He almost contemplated going into the tent to get Prompto's camera just to immortalise it. He had his phone, he supposed, but it wouldn't do the lighting justice.
"Like what you see?" Gladio teased peering over the top of his book.
Ignis glanced at him and wondered briefly if he could cover up the fact that he was staring so blatantly at him. "Yes," he said instead, and silently prided himself on the fact that he didn't blush and didn't look away. Merely held his gaze.
It was Gladio who blushed and looked away first. "Well damn…"
It was now or never. "Listen Gladio…"
"Is this about me calling you my boyfriend?" Gladio asked sheepishly, he folded over the corner of his current page (much to Ignis' absolute disgust) and tucked it away before reaching one hand behind his neck to scratch at it. Ignis only nodded. "Sorry about that, I er… thought it would sound more believable if we had some sort of connection other than work colleagues."
"Oh," Ignis didn't have the heart to even hide his disappointment. It was in his eyes, his tone of voice, his body language.
"Unless… er… you didn't mind it?" Gladio added, risking a glance at the same time Ignis looked up from where he'd been staring at his lap.
"Well I can't say I haven’t entertained the thought of calling you my boyfriend…" he said quietly, holding his gaze, seeing the way the flames reflecting in his amber eyes gave them a sort of honey glow, one that reminded him of autumnal leaves or even a well-browned pastry.
"Well damn," Gladio said again and this time he smiled. "That's a relief."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that…" Ignis honestly thought Gladio was going to turn him down, he was all geared up for hiding behind his mask once more and continuing on as they had, colleagues turned friends. "I'm sorry, a relief did you say?"
"Yeah," Gladio chuckled, first at Ignis' obliviousness and then out of embarrassment of what he wanted to say. "I er… have liked you Iggy, and I was kinda hoping you’d get the hint for years now, but you're always so difficult to read. It's quite infuriating if I'm being honest.
"I'm hard to read?" Ignis asked incredulously. "You've been so subtle with your flirting that you could dance in front of me wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and I wouldn't bat an eyelid."
"Do you want me to dance in front of you wearing nothing but a pair of boxers?"
"I…" Ignis stopped in his tracks, momentarily speechless at Gladio's question.
"Ha," Gladio rumbled. "The great advisor has been rendered speechless by the thought of me parading in my underwear." He stood and stretched, before walking around the fire to sit in the seat Prompto had vacated moments before. He grinned as he turned slightly. Now there wasn't a fire separating them, now it was just them, a mere centimetre apart. "So…"
"So…"
"So articulate as well," he teased.
"Are you going to tease me or are we going to address the behemoth in the room?"
"Hi, my name is Gladio and any letters can be addressed to me c/o Iris, Cape Caem."
Ignis rolled his eyes, a facepalm would probably have been more appropriate but he had a little bit more decorum than that.
"You are incorrigible," Ignis instead said.
"So I've been told," Gladio added with a wink. "Okay so, all joking aside, you like me?" Ignis nodded, "and I like you. So what's say we drop the tweedles off at Caem, get Iris to babysit and I take you out on the town?"
"Caem is not exactly what I would call a town."
"Don't worry about that," Gladio said with a grin. "What you need to worry about; is what you're going to wear. Something nice, with a jacket in case it gets cold and with comfortable shoes." Ignis opened his mouth to speak. "I'll pick you up at seven," he winked, stood up, stretched and walked towards the tent, before ducking inside once more leaving Ignis alone and slightly confused. Did he just walk away with the promise of a date with Gladiolus Amicitia?