Dishes clattered upon a stainless steel serving tray in the next room over—the dining room; shortly after a pair of black, shiny red-soled shoes strode pass, entering the kitchen before you. You stared solemnly into your favorite brew—a medium-bodied blend of Keemun and Ceylon black teas.

"Good evening Miss. Having a spot of high tea are we?" A prompt gesture from the man now in front of you.

"Hello there, Ignis." You say, your voice trailing at the end; he catches onto your glum expression as he sets the tray down, grabbing a tea cup to join you.

"What is the matter? Is your tea not to your liking?" A gloved hand reaches towards your cup, you gently shake your head as you manage to lock eyes with him. You lightly push his hand away as you take your last remaining sips; his stern face now puzzled at your actions, you flash him a coy smile to set his mind at ease.

You knew he were to leave tomorrow, your friend since childhood, the only one who knew how you truly felt. A tear welled in the corner of your left eye before the other, you managed to brush it away before it slipped down your (s/c) cheek.

Memories filled your mind of the times you two had together, they were all too simple and oh so few. Ignis's days were filled with receiving gifted education befitting a staff officer, becoming the advisor of Prince Noctis and the strategist for the royal family.

Luckily, you were able to sneak meetings occasionally, by laying out on the lush green grass of the courtyard whilst everyone else were asleep, so you hoped. You would lay and listen to the knowledge he shared as you watched the tiny crystalline dots twinkle above over the skyline of Insomnia; his words lulling you to sleep, you clung to his chest, basking in the warmth provided.

You never had the opportunity to confess your feelings for him, but deep inside you knew he understood and only hoped that he equally shared his own for you; he was just as aloof as he was formal.

The running of water broke you out of your daydreaming, with one fell swoop the cup that was once in your grasp sat at the bottom of the porcelain wash basin, becoming a vessel for water. Your eyes trailed up the tall, slender figure before you; you quickly pinned your (h/l) (h/c) locks into a tight bun, grabbing the bottle of dishwashing liquid and a sponge.

"I can wash my own dish, thank you." You bantered, pushing Ignis to the other side of the sink; his head whipped in your direction, his brow furrowed as he took the sponge from you.

"I mustn't allow you to wash your highness's dishes, it isn't your duty. Run along now, it's awfully late."

You huffed at his disapproval, the nerve of him treating you like a child.

"You must really like washing dishes?"

"I actually do enjoy it, to some degree. A sink full of unwashed dishes is unsettling. It's an exhibit of neglect, laziness and procrastination. The mere sight of it gnaws at me. This simple chore offers a semblance of control. With a little work I can, in a small way, improve the world around me. Though tedious, it's also oddly gratifying." Ignis declared tediously, as you rolled your eyes, you grabbed the towel to dry your hands, you also took the cup and dried it.

"Out!" His voice rose just a hair, you cupped your hands under the running faucet and doused him. You burst out in laughter as his eyes widened in fury behind those glasses of his, Ignis was too serious for his own good, you bet if you told him a side-splitting joke, he'd keep his composure and complain.

As you turn to run, a suds-ridden hand grabbed your right forearm, as you tugged to free yourself, Ignis slipped on the sopping wet floor. You came pummeling down right with him, you laughed at the water droplets that formed on his glasses from the fall. The sound of his throat clearing curbed your attention, it was then when you realized you had fallen in between his legs.

"I'm sorry, I-I'm so sorry!" You cried out, it only brought a faint smile to his face, to your bewilderment you wondered if you'd embarrassed yourself. You watched him as he reached up for the towel and dabbed the tip of your nose, a few suds were sporadically placed on your upper body.

"T-thank you." You managed to voice, a couple of strands falling into your face as you looked away bashfully. He tucked them behind your ear, a smile still plastered on his face. Your (e/c) eyes gazed into his glistening sea-green ones. Your eyes wandered down to his lips for a second, noticing his smile vanish as he motioned to help you off of him. You mustered the courage deep in your heart, the beat of it ringing in your ears, and kissed him. His lips never pressing back against yours, you clenched your eyes shut, afraid of seeing a disgusted look upon his face.

"I'm sorry, I haven't a clue what came over me. I-I..." Your voice choked with emotion, you fought back your tears as you placed your hands on his chest; gripping his purple and black patterned dress shirt, your knuckles turning white. He cupped your face in his hands, wiping the tears you shed with his thumbs; a pair of soft lips kissed at the corners of your lips, before placing one on your forehead. He held you in a loving embrace, forcing your mind to wander to those nights as children in the courtyard.

"I understand, I loved you then and I love you now, no matter what comes between us, we'll make a way."

Your lashes fluttered as he looked down upon you, your heart swelled at his words; unable to speak a relieved sigh was released as you clung to him, you kissed him uncontrollably, panting as you went.

"I believe we should get out of this muck before we catch a cold; shall we?" Ignis suggested as he asked for your hand, you heeded his advice and set off for something warmer.

"I could do with a bath, how about you Miss (y/n)?"

"Indubitably, I'm uncomfortably clammy!" You replied as you drug Ignis up several flights of stairs to your room. Once there, he ran a bath with the nicest of soaps and minerals for you; he turned as you undressed yourself before setting in the hot bath.

"You can turn around now."

"No, no, no, I must tend to myself now. Have a good rest of your evening." He answered before stepping away, you grabbed him by his wrist, gently tugging him in your direction. He looked back at you, keeping eye contact.

"Iggy, please. You have one night left here." You could see his brain processing the information like clockwork, he reluctantly loosened the tug on your hold by approaching you. He slowly undid each button meticulously, placing his neatly folded clothes in a pile by your messily strewn ones.

You scoot forward, allowing him to climb in behind you; shyly, you wash yourself as he does the same. Invading his personal space, you lean back on his chest, nuzzling into it as if you're tired. His lack of touching renders you hopeless, you look up at him and see that his glasses are shrouded over in fog. You chuckle at him and grab his glasses to help clean them off, you sat them back on his face as he thanks you.

"Good heavens, Miss (y/n); cover yourself!" Ignis retorted, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. You look at him bewildered, you are bathing together for one.

"Iggy, get ahold of yourself." Soap suds gliding down your body, exposing a bit of cleavage and your navel. You grab his hands and place them at your sides, you kiss his jawline and up to his ear. "Do me, Ignis."

His eyes widened behind the newly formed fog on his glasses, he wriggled his wrists out of your grasp and got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around his lower half.

"Wait, Iggy, I'm sorry. I just wanted to appeal to you, I-I want... you to stay, with me. Tonight, like when we were kids. Just you and I, it doesn't have to be where people can see us; I know that's not what you want."

Your words rattled through him as he winced at you from afar, his glasses in hand.

"I never not wanted us to be seen, (y/n). It was all because we were up late, out where we shouldn't; where we knew we'd be in trouble, you know that. When we were able to see each other for brief periods during the day, I wasn't allowed to talk to the others, nor look at a girl. I was to learn and perform my duties for my prince, and for the royal family; not for myself."

You placed on your robe and grabbed his hand; setting his clean glasses on, he looked down at you, towering over your dainty frame. You smiled up at him and placed your hands on his chest, with the palm of his right hand on the small of your back, his pink lips met yours. He lifted you in his arms and carried you over to an ottoman in front of your armoire, setting you down you showed him a black silk nightgown as he ventured towards his room for his own nightwear.

You fought back sleep as you awaited his return, the minerals in the bath worked a number on you; your skin was smooth and moisturized, not to mention it gave off a light and airy-sweet scent.

You strolled to your bed as you heard a light knock at your door, you groggily called after the guest to enter; it was Ignis.

"You're heading to bed I see, do you wish for me to tuck you in, (y/n)?"

You motioned for him to join you, he reluctantly clambered in, making sure you were comfortable and had enough room. You nuzzled into him once again, his left hand combing through your (h/c) semi-damp locks. You smiled up at him as he placed a kiss on your forehead, you kissed him back, teasing his lips with playful nips. You giggled as he took his time, kissing you down your jaw to just above your clavicle; the backs of his fingers brushing along the hem of your gown, you paused and locked eyes with him, your right leg gliding over his hip, lifting the gown so he could have full skin to skin contact.

His kisses become deep and erratic, you groan as your skin burns, longing for his touch; noticing his pajama shirt is halfway unbuttoned, you unfasten it fully to expose toned arms, chest, and abs. Undecided of what to touch first, your hands sweep across his chest and down his abs to circle back up to his arms. He does the same to you, slowly and delicately; the back of his left hand brushes against your spine, making you shudder on impact, he does the same to the backs of your thighs as you stifle back a moan.

You can feel the bulge in his pants begin to throb, you reach for the hem of his pants, when you feel him move your hand away.

"Miss please, let me, if you insist."

You nod, letting him take control; he lowers the straps of your gown and kisses your right shoulder, lightly sucking it as he moves over your clavicle and on to the next. His hands move to the perky ones below, gently cupping the duo in his palms, he gently rolled the tips of your nipples under his thumbs; igniting a fire in you that slowly stoked.

Reaching your breaking point, you remove his right hand, placing it on your lower abdomen, "Iggy, p-please." You plead, he kisses you deeply, letting his tongue dance around yours as you pull at his bottoms before removing your own. He positions himself at your entrance before retracting, "Miss, what about protection?"

You pull him into you before whispering into his ear, "I wouldn't mind a little Ignis Stupeo Scientia running around." He lifts up from you, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose as he strokes your cheek.

He lets you adjust to his size before beginning to thrust, you hold onto his shoulders as he intensely stares into your (e/c) eyes, occasionally kissing you in between long slow strokes. Ignis picked up pace, he huskily breathed as your hands swept through his light brown hair, your legs wrapped around his torso like a pretzel.

As his kisses trailed up your jaw, tickling your ear before reaching your cheek you cried out as you reached your climax; Ignis rode your wave of pleasure to his own, filling you with warmth. He laid beside you, eying the time as it was very late, past his usual bed hours, but for you, it was worth it.

As morning came, you eyed the naked man beside you, only his lower half garbed with black linen sheets; his ivory skin glistening in the sunlight. You brushed the back of your fingers over his back, admiring each rippling muscle, caressing the indention; following the length of his spine, admiring each and every blemish upon his youthful skin.

Your thoughts bounced back to your previous moments with him, reliving the passion you two shared; he declared that he loved you, and you loved him back just the same.

"Hmm, (y/n)?" Ignis asked just above a whisper, in response to your touch.

"Did I wake you?" You ask, feeling guilty of your actions.

"Don't worry about it, I shouldn't be lazing about anyways." He said, stretching in place, before placing his glasses on his face. "What time is it?"

You looked at the clock on your phone, "Fifteen past 6." You answered.

"How'd you sleep?" He asks, his right hand combing through his hair.

You gave a small complacent laugh as he watched in bewilderment, you'd always thought his hair made him resemble a Chocobo.

"Not as good as you."

His eyes lowered as he realized you'd heard him snore, he was so relaxed with you now as you were with him. Your eyes met as he gently stroked the side of your neck with the palm of his hand. You were now in his lap, your lips resided atop of his, his mouth parting slightly in a welcoming invitation; you lingered there motionless.

"What's the matter?" He questioned, blowing a bit of hot air across your lips.

You licked yours before continuing, "Nothing." You managed to answer, savoring his kisses as he traversed down your neck. His hands rested on your hips, cuffing the indentation of the dimples on your backside before the thumb of his right hand drew circles around your hip bone.

"Ebony, or cream and sugar?"