"You guys have stayed with me this whole time..."

He caught the emotion in Ignis' voice, and with a softened expression, he caught his lips as well.

"Only your bookcase, yes." Ignis agreed dryly. "Showing someone what you had hidden under your bed on a first date might have sent them running." Obviously he hadn't done so, but they were both more than aware that they had some measure of similar tastes.

The kiss was a good thing, soothing distraction from teasing and invitation for heat and intimacy. Combining a little bit of everything loved and cherished, hiding nothing. Nearly overwhelming in its own right, but it was long and soft and perfect.

The 'us' part definitely sent shivers down his spine. "The ring might leave an indent," he suggested quietly.

"I wouldn't say you became a Casanova." Ignis corrected a touch sharply, but he couldn't completely hide the lilt of amusement in his voice. "I started seeing you instead of the image you projected. That swept me off my feet. More or less at the same time you did so literally." He added dryly.

Gladio establishing what they weren't doing was helpful, certainly, but it didn't exactly clue him in on what the Shield wanted. Shedding some joke of a shirt that Ignis would have teased him about anyway wasn't much more of a clue, though it was greatly appreciated, and he took a breath to ask for clarification when--

He caught the emotion in Ignis' voice, and with a softened expression, he caught his lips as well.

Something in Ignis' gaze softened enormously at Gladio's words, going from combing through the other man's hair to cupping his cheek. He'd considered not expressing the thought which came to mind, but it seemed related. "Do you have any idea how surprised I was to find that you had a collection of romance novels? Some of the classics amongst them." Obviously there were some which very much wouldn't have been considered either romance or classics, but for the moment those weren't the focus. "How much that alone changed my perception of you..."

The answer to his fiance's question was an easy one. "It doesn't matter, as long as it fulfills us. And if you'd like something sweet... I believe that's easily done." Whatever they felt like at the moment was going to be perfect and then some.

"Nah." He shook his head, and along with that, whatever he may have been wearing that he'd passed off as a shirt. "Not today."

It felt much nicer to be chest to chest and skin to skin. He rolled over so he could rest without crushing Ignis under his weight and simply hold him close. A leg may or may not have crossed over him.

"It didn't take too long before just being in the same room with you didn't cause him obvious stress." Ignis continued teasing, though he wasn't completely sure when Prompto had stopped breaking out in a nervous sweat and had started becoming aware of Gladiolus in a slightly less intimidating way. Best not to think too hard on that, probably; or he could simply ask.

The hand winding its way back into Gladio's hair tensed for a light pull, but still didn't particularly hold him back or direct. Frankly he knew that a sharp tug or a sharper order would get his beast to fall into line, and that was fun... but there was more fun to be had. Things more important than fun, perhaps, his hold on his fiance's hair becoming a caress. "It matters more than I can say." And maybe that interrupts the heat of the moment a little, but he has full faith in Gladio to keep the arousal going.

"Mm, your gentle side is not particularly pointed toward the outside world, I suppose." To say the very least. "Though it was rather kind of you to come to a point when you weren't intimidating Prompto on purpose." Ignis teased, knowing there'd still been a side to the blond who's jump at his own shadow quite a while after determination to stay in Noct's life had set in.

While the eye roll was truly the only immediate reaction possible, Ignis made no attempt to correct either Gladio's actions or words. "I may consider more regular sparring, if you insist it might make a difference... but frankly I rather like not needing to rely solely on strength to subdue this beast of mine." Not that there were any moves made to do so then and there, merely arching his back in invitation and allowing his fiance to dig himself a little bit deeper.

"As if you ever did." Ignis was plenty strong, but no one was stronger than Gladio. The scariest thing about facing Ignis in combat was always his sharp mind. Gladio gave him another sloppy kiss and a nuzzle. "Sort of helps that your beast loves you, doesn't it?" He stilled for a moment, holding him close.

caretaker.

i'll  stay  until  you  fall  asleep.

you're  not  a  burden.  not  to  me.

you  don't  have  to  act  tough  with  me.

let  me  help.

if  you  need  to  cry,  i'll  look  the  other  way.

you  don't  have  to  talk.

let  me  handle  it,  just  for  a  minute.

rest,  i'll  watch  over  you.

i  don't  care  if  you  think  you're  fine.  i'm  staying.

deep  breaths.

just  lean  on  me.

you're  safe  now,  okay?  just  breathe.

i  know  it  hurts.  i'll  sit  here  as  long  as  it  takes.

i'm  not  leaving  until  i  know  you're  okay.

you  don't  need  to  hide.

let  me  take  care  of  you  this  time.

shh.  i'm  right  here.

you  don't  have  to  put  on  a  smile  for  me.

i  don't  think  less  of  you.

i'll  be  here  when  you  wake  up.

you're  allowed  to  lean  on  me.  that's  what  i'm  here  for.

you  don't  have  to  be  okay.

scoot  over,  i'm  not  letting  you  sleep  alone.

your  hair's  a  mess.  let  me  brush  it.

don't  apologize.

cared  for.

i'm  tired,  that's  all.

please  don't  go.

i  don't  know  what  i  need.

you  didn't  need  to  come.

you  shouldn't  have  to  see  me  like  this.

i  hate  feeling  like  this.

i  was  trying  to  push  through.  i  think  i  made  it  worse.

this  is  so  embarrassing.

can  you  just...  stay  a  little  longer?

i  didn't  think  anyone  would  notice...

i'm  not  safe  in  my  own  head  right  now.

why  are  you  being  so  gentle  with  me?

i  don't  want  you  to  fix  me.

today's  just...  one  of  the  harder  days.

i  didn't  know  i  needed  to  hear  that.

can  you  stay?  after  i  fall  asleep?

sorry.  i  didn't  mean  to  flinch.

i  don't  always  know  what's  going  to  help.

this  is  the  nicest  anyone’s  been  to  me  all  week.

i'm  sorry.  i  know  i'm  a  lot.

i  don't  even  know  why  i'm  crying...

i  think  i'm  broken.

you  didn't  have  to  do  all  this  for  me.

i  don't  want  to  be  a  burden.