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Ignis stood in front of Noctis’ door, a bottle of wine tucked under his arm while in his hands he held a pastry he had wanted to make with his boyfriend, but Noctis had said no and to just bring it instead. It wasn’t like him to say no to such a request, as both of their Moogletube channels were doing quite well as of late. Ignis would have thought that Noctis would be open to another collaboration with him, and when he tried to suggest it, he was shot down again. Rather than bother asking him about it, he left it alone and instead made the dessert at his place then took a taxi to Noctis’ place. Fishing for his keys in his pocket, he pulled them out and brought the key to Noctis’ place to the lock, and gave it a quick twist.
As soon as he opened the door, a billow of smoke made its way out to the hallway. His eyebrows raised up, he walked into the apartment trying not to panic as he found the cause of the plume. He could see Noctis in the kitchen, and whatever it was he was making, it was a futile attempt as it was literally on fire. Flames were shooting upwards, the entire living room hazy due to the trapped smoke.
Taking quick steps, he set both the wine and dessert down on the table, and grabbed the fire extinguisher next to the oven that he’d brought over after moving into his own place in Insomnia. He took aim at the flames, and began to douse them in the white foam that left the extinguisher. Once it was out, he set it on the counter, and took a look at his lover, who looked worse for wear.
“You really can’t cook, can you?” Ignis asked, as Noctis stood there looking utterly defeated. “Were you hoping to surprise me with dinner?”
“Yes.” He walked over to the window, and opened it, helping more of the smoke escape the room. “I don’t know why the flames weren’t going out. I thought turning the burner off would make it stop, but it didn’t.”
Walking back into the kitchen, he pulled Noctis into a hug, not at all bothered by the fact that he was covered in ash. “Well, whatever it was, I’m sure it was going to be delicious.”
“You’re too nice, Ignis. I just wasted so much money on food we didn’t get to eat.” Noctis exhaled a sigh, and clung tight to him. “You’re early.”
“Aren’t you lucky that I am?” He lowered his head, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “What were you trying to make?”
Noctis pushed his face up against his neck, which made him laugh. “I know you like crab, so I was trying to make crab dumplings for us to enjoy tonight.”
“My recipe?”
“I don’t know of any other.” The pressure against his neck brought another round of laughter out of him. “Don’t laugh at me. I tried.”
“I’m really surprised Prompto isn’t here filming your spectacular failure. This surely would have garnered at least fifty thousand hits.” Ignis couldn’t resist teasing him a little more, as Noctis kept both hands curled over the top of his shoulders. He felt him holding tight, his shoulder dropping to accommodate the weight as he brought both of his arms to be around his body.
“He’s out with Gladio tonight. He offered, once I told him my plans.” Noctis huffed. “But I told him I’d be fine. There was no way I was going to mess up if I followed your instructions step by step.” His boyfriend pulled away, and pointed to the phone that had his episode of ‘ANR’ where he was showing his audience how to make Tomalley-Filled Dumplings. “But he was right. Like you said, I failed spectacularly.”
The room was growing less smokey, as the evening breeze helped to speed along the process, drawing the smoke out of the apartment. Keeping an arm around him, he walked Noctis over to his couch, and sat down with him. “We all have our strengths, Noct. Your strength happens to be the opposite of what mine is, but that’s okay.” He turned to look at him, although Noctis was avoiding his gaze. “I brought us that dessert. We can eat that for dinner.”
“I wanted to do something nice for you, Ignis. Especially today.”
“Why? Because it’s Valentine’s?” Noctis nodded his head. “You always do something nice for me.” He glanced over at the kitchen, impressed by how unorganized the entire area where Noctis had been cooking looked. “How about we order some pizza, and we’ll call it even?”
“At least let me pay.” Noctis got up from the couch, and went back into the kitchen to retrieve his phone. “Man, it’s a wreck in here.”
“Do you want to know why the fire happened?” He followed him back in, and looked over his shoulder as Noctis ordered their usual from the mom and pop shop a few blocks away.
His lover groaned, and gave a dejected shake of his head. “What did I do wrong?”
“You used too much oil, and set the temperature too high.” Ignis grabbed a few paper towels, and began to wipe up the residue left behind from the fire extinguisher. “And, can I ask why you used oil? I’m fairly certain my recipe calls for you to steam the buns.”
“I thought it would go quicker if I used oil.”
Ignis laughed, and shook his head. “No, they would not go quicker. Oh, Noct. What am I going to do with you?” He picked up the pan, and shook his head. “You’re going to need a new pan.”
“So what else is new? How many is that now?” Noctis laid himself across the counter, looking very adorable even though he was trying to be pathetic. “Gods, I really can’t cook. It’s not your recipes. It’s me.”
“You really should have been recording.” He teased a little more, as he tossed the burnt pan into the trash. He could see Noctis wanting to smile, but was hiding it. “Promise me you’ll let me do the recipe with you again, and we’ll recreate what you did this evening.”
“No!” Noctis shook his head back and forth, a grimace on his lips.
“You know that it would be very popular with your subscribers.”
“Only if you do it with me.”
The phrase itself brought a smirk to his lips. “Why Mr. Night Sky Prince - what sort of video are you proposing we make? I thought we both decided that that wasn't something either of us were interested in sharing with the public.”
“Igniiiis.” A bright blush could be seen on Noctis’ cheeks, which caused him to laugh more. “I mean it - I’ll do it, if you purposefully let me fail. You can’t tell me not to use the oil.”
When it was put to him that way, Ignis took a moment to consider. “Then they’ll know that I’m setting you up to fail. Unless….” He tapped his finger against the counter, then went to the sink to grab the sponge to soap up the counter and stove. “Unless you disregard what I say. But then that means you’re going to leave yourself open to comments from your viewers.”
“Please. I already get those kinds of comments. ‘You idiot. Who let you into a kitchen?’ Or, my recent favorite is someone actually said to me ‘Let me send you money so you can hire yourself a chef.’”
“I suppose it’s a good thing we’re together.” Ignis pulled Noctis into his arms, and gave him a long hug. “I love cooking for you.”
“Just once, I would like to cook for you.” His arms tighten their hold around Noctis’ torso as he felt him hug him a little tighter. “One day I’ll show you. I’ll make one of your recipes, and then I’ll create my own and my channel will take off.”
Lowering his head, Ignis kissed him softly on the lips. “I would love for that to happen. Nothing would make me prouder to see you succeed in such a way.”
“Stoooop.”
A knock on the door pulled Noctis away from him. He went and grabbed the bottle of wine, and went into the kitchen to uncork it. Grabbing two glasses, he poured some wine for them, and walked back over to the couch where Noctis had returned with their pizza boxes that are now side by side on the coffee table.
“I really did want to surprise you tonight.” Noctis said, as Ignis handed him his glass of wine.
“You did, though.” He tapped his glass against his. “To new cooking ware.”
“Ha ha.”
“To a wonderful evening in,” Ignis leaned over, and rested his head on Noctis’ shoulder. “There is nowhere else I’d rather be this evening, than here with you, Noctis. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
He felt Noctis rest his head against his, which brought a smile to his lips. “I’m glad you’re here too, Ignis.” A kiss to his cheek brought a little heat to his cheeks. “Happy Valentine’s Day to you.” Another quick kiss was shared between the two of them. “Let’s eat some pizza? You want to pick a movie for us to watch?”
“I’d be delighted to.”