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[indeferent]

INBOX text / voice / action Under the stars, at one with nature—what's not to like? code credit

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[indeferent]

So... You're saying people'll spend money to take me home and leave me in their bathrooms?

_{[ There's a vicious grin slipping into his own as he simultaneously leans in and brings his medallion closer to his face. ]}

Are you trying to say you think I smell good? 'Cause either way I think I'm flattered.

[soupreme]

I suppose I am.

What they would do to you in said bathrooms, however, is not something I wish to think about.

[Does Ignis know bathroom kink exists? Yes.

Does he want details? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

You do smell good. To a point. One can only go so without bathing before 'scent' becomes 'stink'.

[indeferent]

I'm more of a living room or bedroom kind of guy myself.

_{[ Ignis you know how cramped it gets in bathroom stalls you're six foot :( ]}

Does it count as a 'stink' if I'm potpourri?

[soupreme]

I would hope.

Potpourri can be overpowering if left for too long. However, it would take a significant amount of time for anyone to get tired of a pleasant scent.

[C'mon Gladio, the man-musk scent is great until you're going on four days without a shower because SOMEONE doesn't want to rest and bathe.]

Teasing aside... Happy birthday, Gladio. I consider myself privileged to have stood by your side another year.

1/2

[indeferent]

_{[ hey why the FUCK do his ears feel so warm? ]}

Y-You really think it's...?

_{[ How the turntables! ]}

2/2

[indeferent]

_{[ BIG SNIFF. Yeah, he's cool now. No getting flustered for this Shield. ]}

I should be the one saying that, Iggy. And if it's all the same, I... want you by my side for every single future one, too. Twenty-five, twenty-six... Even when I'm thirty. Forty. Fifties. All of 'em.

[soupreme]

Going through life without your best friends is no life at all. There's nothing I want more than for all of us to grow old together.

It's a shame I won't see you turn silver. You'll have to tell me how it comes in, so I can properly imagine an older, more distinguished you.

[indeferent]

H-Hey, don't wish that on me just yet! Dad was already starting to go grey after Regis became king!

_{[ He's too young for that!!!! He's only twenty thr-four! ]}

What if I dyed it, huh?

[soupreme]

Yes, and your father looked very mature and dignified in uniform.

[That's his very polite way of saying Clarus continued to turn heads well into his role as the King's Shield.]

Every man is more handsome when he ages gracefully, rather than attempting to cling to his youth. Hair dye won't stop time from marching forward, it will simply make you look like...

Do you remember the owner of that dive bar you loved to drag us to? The one who looked like he painted his hair black with shoe polish. It dripped down the back of his neck when it was hot.

[indeferent]

That's 'cause he was using that overpriced stuff from that pyramid scheme.

_{[ Yeah, he said it. ]}

I'd be fine if it started happening in my forties, but in my twenties? That's pretty young, don't you think?

[soupreme]

I don't know about you, but the last few months have felt like the equivalent of ten years with how much has... changed. Are we really so young still?

[It doesn't seem possible that Regis, Clarus, and Insomnia itself all fell in a single day. Even after the tragedy that was Altissia.]

I suppose you're right. In the scheme of things, twenty-four is only the first quarter of someone's life. You have plenty of time to become a distinguished gentleman.

That said, I will not change stance in regards to hair dye.

[indeferent]

Maybe I oughta put you between my knees so I can look for grey hairs on you.

_{[ Cue Gladio visibly aging thirty years in the span of five seconds. ]}

What if I went blond? Or red? Or... Purple. Man, I bet I'd be able to rock it.

_{[ Purple like a behemoth huehuehue- DON'T JINX IT, STUPID. ]}

Though that'd probably shatter any dreams of seeing me as the perfect gentleman, huh?

[soupreme]

Feel free. I have no doubt I've accumulated many, what with all the Cup Noodle I've been forced to consume.

Do not dye your hair purple. People will assume the only reason we're friends is because I'm blind, or that we aren't friends at all. Friends don't allow friends to dye their hair the colour of grape juice and children's popsicles.

It's such an offensively tacky colour.

[The oft reserved Ignis has MANY opinions in regards to appearance, and always has. It took years for him to even contemplate the act of spiking his hair, and another year to actually do it.]

I would be heartbroken. After everything I've sacrificed to ensure you're all fed, look your best, and are well-rested, that any of you would wound me in such a way, least of all you, my partner in ensuring the King's reign, whom I trust with my very life... I may never recover.

[indeferent]

Iggy. I dunno if you've forgotten, but you wear purple. Coeurl-print purple. If me dying my hair purple'd be tacky, what's that say about your fashion sense? B-Besides, I could do parts of it... Law's got pink-ish streaks in his and I haven't seen anyone give him grief for it.

_{[ Where'd he get dye in this world to do that??? Is it natural? That'd be weird, wouldn't it? ]}

Everyone knows grape popsicles are the best ones anyway. Grape and Randell's root beer. My hair is already brown anyway, so a little color couldn't hurt it!

_{[ Gladio. Gladio, think of Ignis. Think of Ignis. ]}

[soupreme]

My shirt isn't purple. It's mauve-- Law has pink hair?

[A pause, followed by a muffled exasperated noise.]

Do what you wish. It's not as if my opinion matters anymore.

[indeferent]

Yeah. Most of it is a reddish-brown but honest-to-Ramuh he's got pink in it. Cotton candy pink. It's actually not a bad look on him.

_{[ Now it's his turn to snort, and Ignis'll be able to see the stretch Gladio sags into with the quiet groan in his voice. ]}

It's always mattered, Iggy. Now, get down here so the birthday boy can take what he wants for it.

[soupreme]

Considering he came from a harsh world without the very basic of necessities made available to him, I think we can safely assume it's natural.

You clearly don't care for my preferences, and it's not as if I'll be able to see any changes you make, so it truly doesn't matter.

[And maybe that's half his resistance. Worrying about the boys changing from what he knows into different people while he's entirely unaware. The picture he has in his mind made more and more inaccurate.

For a man who was once obsessed with total clarity, to only have a fuzzy image of what Gladio looks like goes beyond a conservative nature.]

Where are you?

[indeferent]

Wonder who he gets it from, then?

Mn. Maybe I'll start wearing shirts with sleeves.

_{[ Now that's one hell of a joke. ]}

M'downstairs on the bed. Er... Noct's? Prompto's? I dunno. I quit trying to tell who's got which spot since we always wind up all over the place by morning. I didn't feel like sittin' up at the table, so...

[soupreme]

I'll believe your choice to cover up when chocobo can actually fly.

[Ignis makes his way from their rooftop patio, where they hang clothes on a line to dry, back inside and towards their bedroom. Stopping to remove his shoes at the door, because he would rather lose a toe than track mud onto their bedding.

Their one upgrade upon 'moving' to Kiichpan and into a house is their sleeping area. While small, they actually have proper bedrolls and blankets. A far cry from the hard ground beneath the tent floor.

Ignis reaches out to find the doorway and follows it down into a kneel, so he can safely crouch and crawl onto their combined bed/beds. Simply leaning over and dropping down is somewhat beyond his realm of comfort.

He remains still for a moment, listening for Gladio's breathing.]

You're in Noct's spot. Enjoy it while you can, birthday-man. He wouldn't allow it any other day.

[indeferent]

<sub>[ Gladio only laughs, his voice carrying up towards the roof. He's always been loud and it's never been any different whenever Ignis says something ridiculous like that. Chocobos? Flying? Perish the thought.

Once he picks up on the familiar footfalls belonging to Ignis, he shoves his medallion off to the side and sprawls out across the myriad blankets (and bear fur) that cover up the combined mattresses. He doesn't have to open his eyes to know Ignis is here, and as soon as he feels the beds shift under his weight... ]</sub>

As if he doesn't wind up in mine half the time.

_{[ One arm reaches to snake around Ignis's waist, and without missing a beat Gladio rolls himself over so he can bury his face into a thigh with a content sound in the back of his throat. Hair, please. ]}

C'mere.

[soupreme]

Yes, but you know how he is--

[What's Noct's is Noct's, and what's theirs is also Noct's. So maybe he's a little spoiled. Whose fault could that be? Certainly not Ignis, chief advisor and enabler to the King.

A startled noise as the Shield yanks him down onto the bed and mauls him affectionately. A somewhat ticklish man (especially in regards to the backs of his knees and thighs), he immediately flails in a less than graceful manner.

Gladio is lucky he's buried against Ignis's softer side, or he might have caught a sharp knee or pointy elbow.]

Gladio! Is your birthday wish to give me a heart-attack?

[indeferent]

Relax, you big baby.

<sub>[ There's a snort that he — to his credit — tries to stifle in the fabric of his pants, and after he lets Ignis squirm around for a few moments Gladio slowly relinquishes his hold so he can roll over properly and pillow his head onto his thighs. ...And you know what? Just for good measure, he's throwing an arm over his knees. Just to keep him there. That's all.

For once, he's thankful that Ignis can't see his face. It means Gladio doesn't have to worry about the light flush settling over his ears, nor does he have to worry about the way his brows pinch together in uncertainty. ]</sub>

Remember when allergy season knocked me on my ass back home? Not on the road, just... in the city itself. I couldn't sleep 'n I could barely breathe, but you wound up dragging me down into your lap like this on the couch and you...

_{[ He makes a motion with his hand then as if he realizes that Ignis can't see it, he wordlessly reaches up to bump it against his arm. ]}

You did that thing with my hair.

[soupreme]

Grabby old man.

[A huff, squirming until he's comfortable. Back pressed to the cushion-lined wall with Gladio's head resting heavy in his lap. Ignis can't see his face, but he can feel the weight and warmth of him just fine.

It's been a long time since they've relaxed like this. Quietly, closely, and just the two of them.]

I do remember, and seem to recall you acting like a big baby.

[His hand searches for the thick of Gladio's hair, and upon finding it, strokes his dark locks back from his scarred forehead and temple. Gently and repetitively. The same as he had for Noct when he was a child, Gladio when he was a teen, and Prompto whenever he's sick.

Ignis isn't the most physical of their small party, and what he lacks in rough-housing and games of grab-ass he makes up for with TLC.]

This thing?

[indeferent]

I'd grab your ass if I wasn't so sure I'd lose a hand.

<sub>[ But the sensation of gentle fingers brushing his hair back? That's nice. It's something he hasn't let himself take part in for... A long time if he thinks about it. A slow exhale slips past Gladio's lips, and after a few moments he turns his head to rub his cheek against a thigh with a content sound. This was good. Why didn't he ask for this more often, one may ask?

It's simple.

It isn't because he was ashamed to want it - Six, no. It was more... He didn't know how to ask for it without it coming out the wrong way. But today? He's got no excuse to not ask for it. Birthday boy and all that. ]</sub>

Mm... My hair wasn't as long back then, was it?

[soupreme]

It seems your sense of self-preservation has improved with age.

[Ignis doesn't have a problem with Gladio touching him, but he isn't the 'rowdy' sort. Never has been. Even as a child, he preferred to stay neat, tidy, and safely out of prodding distance. Very few boys have ever had the guts to pull Ignis's proverbial pig-tails, and Gladio is the only one to have ever gotten away with it.

Their relationship has always gone through phases. Simple. Complicated. Hot. Cold. Ignis doesn't know where they are right now, but in the moment... fingers carding through Shield's hair in near silence, wherever they are now feels alright.

He can't help his voice gentling with his touch, soft actions make him feel soft, and today he'll allow it. Nobody can judge him for pampering a loved one on his birthday.]

Not half as long. I could hardly twist it around my fingers. Now... it's quite long, isn't it? A couple inches since I last-- [He can't think about it.] is this your way of asking for a haircut?