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"Wait, hold up." Gladio stared at Ignis, not even hiding the shock on his face. "What do you mean never?"
Ignis sat across him from the other motel bed—a luxury on these long days on the road.
"Never means never," said the adviser, as though to one who was being obtuse. "As in, not ever, or not at all."
His friend still looked at him wide-eyed. "How is that even possible?"
How they even got to this point in their conversation was difficult to say. One moment they were talking about Noctis and his penchant for taking on questionable hunts, and next thing Ignis knew, he and Gladio were reminiscing about their school days and… well, now this.
"It is perfectly possible," he said, primly and with his chin up, refusing to be embarrassed though he could feel the heat creeping up his cheeks. Thank the gods for dim motel lights. "I daresay it would even be more surprising were it the other way around. My duties are numerous, and they take priority over all things. Anyway, my nescience of the matter has never impeded my duties, nor do I expect it ever will."
"Yes, but--" because Gladio just could not let it go "--you have never even kissed?"
The flush, Ignis was sure, had certainly spread on his face. "Never. What about it?"
"Ignis, you--" Gladio looked at him like he was examining a completely new species. "Look, sorry, I'm just floored. You are really totally hot. I've once nearly got into a fight with a guy for something he said about you in the locker room, and I know the ladies talk about you, too."
An eyebrow rose at that. There was a lot to unpack there, Ignis thought, but the other just kept talking.
"Not even for like, practice?"
Ignis frowned. "Is that done?"
"Well, not ideally, but sure, yeah. Or I mean, you sorta like somebody and you guys… fool around? These things are just supposed to happen on their own, so I guess I never really thought about it." He suddenly looked up at Ignis. "Holy shit, you realize Noct is going to have his first kiss and marry before you get yours?"
Ignis huffed and threw up his hands. "Oh, for-- granted, it is not ideal, but it is what it is. Even were I to relive my teenage years, I do not see how things could have gone differently. Now," and because Ignis was feeling a bit petty, "unless you are volunteering, I must insist we cease with this conversation because I--"
"Well, I could?" said Gladio, cutting Ignis off. "Maybe I am."
Ignis had to stop at that. "Maybe you are what?"
"You know…" the Shield shrugged. "Volunteering."
For a moment, Ignis could only stare at him. Surely the man did not just say what Ignis thought he said? "Stop being silly, Gladio."
"I am never."
And as though to prove his point, Gladio even scooted so he was seated with both feet on the floor, directly across Ignis on the bed on his side of the motel room. He hunched over, leaning closer, and sitting like that there was but a foot of distance between them, knees almost touching. He even beckoned Ignis with a playful smile and a crooked finger. "C'mere."
"What?" Was he serious? Were kisses freely given this way? "Do you just offer kisses like this to whomever you think needs it?"
"Now who's being silly?" Gladio even rolled his eyes. "This is a special offer because it's you."
What that even meant, Ignis wasn't sure he knew. All he knew was that a friend-slash-colleague had just offered him to kiss him for… practice? To tick off a rite of passage one had missed in youth?
"You know I was only kidding earlier," he said, carefully and still suspicious.
Again, Gladio shrugged. "Even so, the offer stands. When else are you gonna do it?"
When indeed? Ignis could see no relationship in his near future, and truth be told, it was not as though he had never been curious. Relationships just never really seemed wise for him, not with his job and the lifestyle it came with. But now here Gladio was, seemingly about as experienced as Ignis expected. He was a good man and a good friend and Ignis trusted him with his life. He didn't seem like he would kiss and tell either, so at least that was something Ignis need not worry about.
Besides, one certainly could do much, much worse than a first kiss with Gladiolus Amicitia, Insomnia Quarterly's back to back #1 Hottest Man in Lucis. And Gladio made things look so easy. Even now, he was open and was just waiting for Ignis, with nothing but an expectant smile on his boyish face.
Ignis released a breath. The situation was ridiculous. Nevertheless, he found himself needing to take another fortifying inhale, and he leaned in, hoping he looked braver than he felt. His heart beat hard against his chest, his face feeling unbearably warm. He was grateful that Gladio either did not see it or did not call him out, the moment instead stretching slowly, the wall clock ticking the only thing breaking the silence.
"We can start simple, and up to you if you'd like to try for something more adventurous," said Gladio when Ignis' face was but a few centimeters from his.
"Kind of you," said Ignis, the sarcasm not quite up to his usual considering how nervous he felt. "And what exactly is an adventurous kiss?"
"You'll know it when you feel it," was the unhelpful answer he received, and Ignis had to sigh again.
The first touch of their lips was surprising, even though really it shouldn't have been. He expected it, but the intimacy of it, the heat and proximity of another and the press of something soft against the sensitive skin of his lips were a novel sensation regardless. Ignis could not help the deep intake of breath, the slight jump he made when Gladio lifted his chin up so their lips pressed just a bit more firmly.
Gladio relented easily enough, pulling back to give Ignis room to breathe and calm down. "Okay?" he asked. Ignis felt the other's eyes stray to his lips; self-consciously, he pressed them and bit nervously at his bottom lip.
"Fine, if a bit dismal for a first attempt," he said, which made Gladio laugh.
"Hey, you ain't done yet. Give it another shot," said the Shield.
That was as good an invitation as any, so Ignis nodded and leaned in again.
The second kiss lasted much longer. Gladio pressed their lips more firmly, his lips warm and soft against Ignis'. The light brush of his facial hair against Ignis' skin was not unpleasant, and gradually Ignis found himself leaning into him and to the heat radiating from the man. A hand reached up to cup the side of his head, fingers tickling his ears and the back of his nape, but Ignis was only momentarily distracted by this because then Gladio's mouth started moving, his lips closing around Ignis' lips—first the top, then slowly moving to the bottom one, then eventually sucking on it just a bit.
Gladio pulled back a bit after that, but he kept the proximity between them, not quite pulling away. It took Ignis a moment to realize that Gladio was waiting for him to do the same as he did, or at least try it out if he so wanted. When he closed the distance between their lips, he found Gladio's mouth pliant, lips slightly parted so Ignis could easily take one between his own. He tried sucking on Gladio's bottom lip, still not quite as confident in what he was doing, but the quiet noise Gladio made was electrifying.
The shock of it, in fact, surprised Ignis enough that he pulled away. His breaths had grown heavy, and he looked at Gladio perhaps a bit dazedly. His hands, he realized, were trembling on top of his knees, and he was perhaps shaking in other places, having not expected quite how potent kissing could be.
"Gladio, I--"
He was not sure what to say, exactly. Gladio seemed to wait, his eyes a smouldering amber only seemingly accentuated by the golden glow of the motel lamp. When Ignis wasn't more forthcoming, the other man slowly smiled, his thick lashes noticeable in the lazy way he blinked his eyes before slowly shaking his head at Ignis. A finger moved to his lips, a universal call for quiet, a reassurance for Ignis to need not speak.
And then they were leaning in again. There was something to be said about how Ignis' body seemed to anticipate it, for he met Gladio with perhaps a little more gusto than what he would have allowed himself to, had he been fully himself.
Ah, but well, Gladio knew what he was doing. There was no other explanation for it, for the way he could so easily pull Ignis in and steal his breath away. Gladio's hands wrapped carefully around Ignis', and when they met no resistance, Gladio coaxed them until they were on his shoulders, wrapping around his neck.
The kiss deepened after that. Ignis' lips parted with little convincing, and soon he knew the sensation of having Gladio's tongue in his mouth. Again, that familiar electric sensation shot down Ignis' body, and it came each time Gladio's tongue swiped at his mouth, as though he tasted something to his liking between Ignis' lips. He could not tell when it began, but slowly Ignis realized the noises they were making—the slick, naughty sounds of two people making out, the whimpers he could not seem to quell, and the deep, encouraging sounds given by Gladio.
Suddenly it all made sense, why people made such a big deal of it all. With his own fingers buried in Gladio's hair, Ignis knew what it meant to crave, sitting on the very edge of his bed, returning another man's kiss. He was hot and trembling in places he never even knew could be so affected, and it was gratifying, a unique kind of pleasure, when Gladio also began to groan into the kiss. It seemed like he was trying not to, but this only added to the appeal of it all.
How it happened, he did not quite know—perhaps he moved on his own, perhaps Gladio pulled him in—but next he realized, he was on the man's lap. Gladio's hands were a fiery brand on Ignis' waist and thighs, their kisses beginning to stray, moving beyond just lips. Gladio's licked at the line of Ignis' jaw, his teeth finding the sensitive edge of Ignis' ear before biting at the soft lobe. This time, Ignis could not help but cry out, head falling back, and his hips bucked up of their own accord and pressed deliciously up against Gladio.
It was either the volume of his own voice or the intensity of unexpected arousal that had Ignis scrambling out of Gladio's hold, just barely missing his own bed.
"I--"
He paused—cleared his throat. Conscious now, he lifted a hand to his lips, flushing at the wet patch on his chin born from—oh dear gods, he was making out with Gladio!
"Ignis--"
"That's--" he cut the other off, not sure if he was ready to hear whatever Gladio was supposed to say. "That's perhaps more than what was offered earlier on the table, and certainly more than I expected to happen. I apologize for getting carried away, Gladio."
"Hey, come on," said the other, "no need to apologize about that. It takes two to tango, and it wasn't like you did anything I didn't like."
Ignis flushed at the reminder of what exactly he did. "Even so, I believe that is enough for the evening, don't you think?" He could not quite meet Gladio's eyes. "Thank you for the… thorough lesson, Gladio."
Thank the gods they were both already ready for bed. Suddenly Ignis could not get under the covers fast enough, not quite trusting he was respectable under the thin material of the pyjama bottoms he wore. He barely heard Gladio's, "Anytime," before his head was falling on the pillows, ears burning and back turned to the other occupant of the room.
He heard Gladio sigh. He would have felt guilty, but the weight of embarrassment was really too much and kept him from speaking.
Soon he heard the sounds of Gladio turning in from the other bed just behind him. There was the click of the lamp, and their room was bathed in darkness.
The silence was unbearable. The ticking of the wall clock was both a blessing and a bane, counting every second that ticked by that they were Not Talking About It.
Right. So Ignis got his first kiss. A rather torrid one and with a friend, no less. Granted, Gladio offered, but it was not quite as clinical as Ignis perhaps expected—more pleasurable, in fact, for the both of them, it seemed. What exactly did it mean? Where did this leave them?
They should probably speak in the morning, to at least mitigate whatever awkwardness this would cause. Certainly Ignis owed Gladio a more thorough apology. He should have exercised more self-control.
"If you think any louder, Noct and Prom are gonna start banging down the door."
Ignis jumped at the unexpected comment. He did his best to school his voice when he said, "I do not know what you mean."
Against better judgment, he shifted and turned so that he was facing Gladio. There was just enough light coming from the windows to see Gladio. The man, he found, was already on his side under the covers, head propped up on one hand, watching Ignis. If he wasn't already flushed to capacity, the look Gladio was giving him would have turned Ignis red.
To Ignis' surprise though, it was Gladio who looked down from his gaze.
"Listen, your reaction earlier was perfectly normal," offered the older man. His eyebrows furrowed, and when next he looked at Ignis, he wore an expression of worry. "Look, I gotta ask: was that too much, earlier? I was not trying to take advantage or anything, but I admit I did get carried away. I'm sorry."
Ignis was surprised by the apology, and by the fact that Gladio truly did look genuinely worried. "I did not think you were taking advantage," he said, speaking honestly. "What happened was my fault as well. If anyone took advantage, it was I. Surely you did not mean for me to take so much--" Ignis flushed, unable to say it. "Surely, you did not mean for me to go so far."
"Yeah, but… it's not like I didn't like it."
And at that, Ignis could only blink at him.
"So I mean," Gladio kept on saying, "if you ever feel like you need more practice, and since you said you didn't hate it, I'm… I mean we can do that again if you like."
When it seemed like Ignis was not about to speak—how can he—Gladio cleared his throat.
"I just thought I should put it out there, you know? So that it's clear. Don't want you to misunderstand."
He liked it? He wanted to do it again? Ignis had to wonder what kind of twilight zone he had fallen into, because this was so far from what he had expected to happen in an evening.
Suddenly, he found himself laughing. It was good, the tension finally oozing out of him, replaced only with warmth even as he felt Gladio's confusion from the other side of the room.
"Hey, come on. I'm just saying."
"No, it's nothing," said Ignis, hiding a smile behind his hand. He shook his head. "I... will keep that in mind, Gladio."
"Yeah?" Gladio was grinning now.
"Sure."
"Great then!"
Ignis shook his head again, before he moved to turn his back once again to the other, a signal for them to wind down and sleep. It worked for the most part, the room falling quiet for maybe one minute before:
"Not that I'm excited or anything, but when d'you wanna?"
On the other bed, Ignis buried his laughter into his pillow.