Alcuin & Ignis
Jun. 19th, 2017 02:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
st_unningDate: May 5
NSFW
As inclined as he might have been to second-guess any number of things since opting to ask for Yasmeen’s help in his shopping endeavor, Ignis had never faltered on his determination to give Alcuin books. Which, most likely, said something. Genuine friendship, he hoped, if nothing else, and acknowledgement of their mutual preference for better literary material than ‘Twilight’. As well, the books themselves were rather nice, being hand-made in what Ignis saw as an old-fashioned way, pages literally sewn into their binding with care and skill.
He was sure that, in addition to being new reading material, Alcuin would appreciate the artistry involved.
Rather than offer the books to Alcuin at a neutral location, such as the spa or on one of his visits to the kitchens, Ignis brought the package to the younger man’s room. Neither of them would interrupt their ‘work day’ that way, and Alcuin wouldn’t have to haul the books anywhere to get them back to his space; they would already be there.
And if Alcuin happened not to be in, well – he would leave the books, or try again later. With a slight nod to himself, Ignis lifted a hand and rapped on Alcuin’s door.
Alcuin had ventured only briefly in the new world that appeared behind the doorway. He had only barely begun to begin thinking of the hotel as something that felt vaguely like home. He did not like being in another strange place.
When he opened the door and saw Ignis, he smiled widely. "Oh, it's good to see you," he said.
Ignis smiled, responding to the smile he heard in Alcuin’s voice. “I apologize for not calling ahead. But I was in the other world, and thought….” He offered the package wrapped in its paper and tied with string. Books, on a variety of topics from simple bedtime stories to history and philosophy. “For you.”
"I noticed your absence - " Alcuin said, but then stopped when he saw the package. "Oh, thank you!" he said, looking genuinely surprised. "I - " He decided he should open it before reacting more, and so he did, then looked up at Ignis when he saw what they were, his eyes going wide. "Books!"
“Yes. I remembered how thin the selection was, here.” So far, so positive. “I wasn’t sure which you’d like best, so I got a variety.” And it was best to be clear that these were truly a gift for Alcuin, rather than a gift given in hopes of hearing them read. That Alcuin’s preferences were the ones he’d tried to consult.
It was just so... unexpected, and thoughtful. And perfect. Alcuin set the books aside on the table next to the door, and then grabbed one of Ignis' hands. Then, finding himself full of affection, rose up and leaned in to kiss him, brushing their lips together tentatively.
Alcuin taking his hand wasn’t uncommon, though it was generally in the context of making sure he could follow somewhere, but the press of soft lips against his was entirely new. Entirely new, entirely welcome, and Ignis found himself responding, kissing back immediately and less tentatively, before any of his earlier worries about unknown territory could reassert himself. Simple desire, it seemed, was more than enough to override them.
It wasn't until he felt Ignis respond that Alcuin realized how much desire he felt. He kissed him back for a moment more, sliding a hand to his side.... and then, suddenly, pulled away.
"I - I should have asked your permission to do that," he said, finding himself a bit spooked despite knowing that Ignis had kissed him back.
It took more willpower than Ignis was entirely willing to admit to not to follow Alcuin and take another kiss as he pulled back, but he managed to restrain that impulse to a simple caress, fingertips along his cheek. “I give it retroactively.” The skin under his fingers was so… not doing a thing to reduce his desire to just go back to the kissing. “I’m… inclined to issue an invitation.”
Alcuin reached up and folded his hand over Ignis'. "Are... are you sure?"
"About that much, I am certain." Certain of everything, likely not. But certain enough of enough to reach out and slide his free hand around what he estimated was Alcuin's waist. "I admit that this is fairly unmapped territory for me, but you... I feel you're worth the risk of the unknown."
"Come inside," Alcuin said softly, stepping back and bringing Ignis with him. "Close the door."
Ignis stepped forward willingly, even though he had to use the hand previously at Alcuin’s waist to pull the door closed behind him. It clicked, neatly cutting off the hallway and outside without doing anything as embarrassing as accidentally slamming.
Alcuin had been here for months now, and (not counting that ill advised moment with Vax) had not so much as kissed someone. There was much he could say, but everything he might say left him uncertain and slightly nervous. So he wrapped his arms around Ignis' neck and kissed him again.
Thankfully the books were on a table and not in anyone's hands, or they'd have been dropped. Similar thanks were owed to Ignis opting out - as he often did - of using his cane. With Alcuin's arms around his neck, Ignis was free to re-slide one hand around Alcuin's waist, pulling him closer, and bury the other in his hair. It was more than long enough to do so, adding some additional and what felt like intimate detail to something he'd already known.
It felt good. It felt good to kiss someone just because he wanted to, and to feel wanted. Wanted beyond his body, even.
"Ignis..." Alcuin began when the kiss broke. "I am unsure of myself, and I am not accustomed to that." He thought it best to be honest. He still was not sure of what norms Ignis might prescribe to - should he seduce? Submit? Was there something else that came first?
It was comforting, in a way, to know that Alcuin had no more of a plan than he did - equal footing, so to speak. "Likewise. I have always endeavored to know the ground, have a plan. I have none." He bent the distance to press another quick kiss to Alcuin's mouth. "I imagine we'll both have to improvise."
"Do you want me?" Alcuin asked softly, and reached up to slide a hand onto Ignis' face, just below his sunglasses. "If so, you have me."
"I do want you." Gods, so much, even though it felt strange and wrong to admit anything like that out loud to another person. Especially the one he wanted. Ignis turned his head into the hand on his face, kissing the palm. "And you have me, if you want me."
"I must," Alcuin said, a smile in his voice. "After all, I haven't even stopped to look at the books yet." And he kissed him again, stalling for time as he decided how he should proceed. He had only ever had sex with people who were paying him for the pleasure, or... or Anafiel, whom he'd been desperately in love with for years. Alcuin was good with sex, but this was a particular kind of intimacy that was foreign to him.
Ignis laughed against Alcuin's mouth and let one of his hands trace the younger man's side. It was funny, in a way, that not looking at books was such convincing proof... and yet, Ignis was sure it was thoroughly Alcuin.
When the kiss broke again, Alcuin tentatively, slowly so that Ignis could stop him if he wanted to, reached to remove the sunglasses from his face.
Ignis wore the glasses largely out of habit, because he'd always worn glasses, and because people seemed slightly more relaxed around him when they didn't have green eyes not-looking at them whenever they tried to talk. Or rather, Ignis assumed they were still green; who knew, at this point? But he could at least be sure they were still in his head, and Alcuin wouldn't be faced with anything as horrific as empty sockets surrounded by scars.
...A terrible thing to consider, under the circumstances. Thank the gods he never pretended to have people skills. And, of course, that he could keep still and let Alcuin remove the shades without having to intervene.
Ignis had beautiful eyes. They were unfocused, not looking at Alcuin, which was a touch disconcerting, but he still appreciated seeing all of them. He reached up and brushed his fingers across the side of Ignis' face. "I have scars, too," he said softly.
He wanted to think they were leftovers from old accidents, these scars Alcuin mentioned, but doing so while touching the external sign of ruin by enemy fire did not encourage that thought. The association alone argued for inflicted injury, by someone intent on harm or death. "Where?" he murmured back, rather than pry into no doubt painful memories directly.
"On my torso," Alcuin said, voice quiet but not upset. "There are two... I seem young to have been run through with a sword twice in my life, hmm?" He took one of Ignis' hands, and brought it up to his face. "I want you to see me," he said. "With your hands. All of me."
These things rarely respect youth, was what Ignis didn't say. Even a general ballpark of Alcuin's age meant that he himself hadn't been much older at Altissia. But a comparison of scars and pain didn't seem like a solid way to go, and he'd be able to feel the scars for himself, anyway. "Yes. Please. I want to know you." He'd felt Alcuin's face before, but did so again, tracing jaw, lips, cheekbone, brow. For pleasure, this time, rather than strictly learning.
Alcuin remained still while Ignis touched his face. There was something so awfully erotic about it, and he felt his breath come a bit quicker. When his fingers found Alcuin's lips, Alcuin parted them for him, and tasted one finger with the tip of his tongue.
Gods, that was... unfair was the only word, but it was unfairness Ignis wanted more of. Or to try and return, as his free hand slid to Alcuin's back to trace his spine through clothing.
Alcuin sighed softly... and then, hardly even thinking about it, murmured, "Ignis... tell me what pleases you."
"Only if you do the same," he murmured back into Alcuin's ear, then pressed a kiss just below it. "I want to know you, remember?"
Alcuin thought it best not to remind Ignis that in the overall scheme of things he did not have a great deal of practice thinking about his own desires. He... could figure this out as they went.
He pulled back just enough to yank off his own shirt, and then moved back into Ignis' embrace. "I have a tattoo covering my back," he said quietly. "I don't know if you can feel it..."
"Let's find out." Alcuin hadn't seemed like the tattoo type, but he also hadn't seemed like the type who'd get run through with swords twice before. In fact, one of Ignis's hands passed over what felt decidedly like scar tissue, and he made a mental note to come back to that. In the interests of completeness.
It was tempting to just stroke Alcuin's back or use hands on skin to pull him closer, but Ignis had been serious when he'd agreed that yes, in fact, he did want to map Alcuin's entire body. So he was thorough, tracing muscles and skin, shoulderblades, what he could feel of ribs. The tattoo, if there was anything raised to be felt.
Alcuin's marque was important to him, which was why he'd wanted to know if Ignis could "see" it - but explanations for what it meant were for another time. His breath came a touch faster as Ignis began to touch him. "Should I lay down?" he asked him.
"Yes, I think that's a good idea." Take concerns about balance out of the entire thing, yes. The worst that could happen, really, was misjudging edges and falling off, but that was both not terrible and easily avoidable. Yes. But before Alcuin could move to do that or anything else, Ignis pulled him close for another kiss.
Alcuin kissed him back, feeling... warm, and wanted. When it broke, he took Ignis' hand and pulled him back towards the bed. He considered undressing entirely first, but then thought perhaps that would be too much, to start. He lay back on the bed and coaxed Ignis along with him.
It didn't take a lot of coaxing; the only reason Ignis hung back even briefly was to remove his own shirt. No, he hadn't been asked to, but... well, clothing could be put back on as needed, and he wanted to feel skin on skin even if it ended up being only for a moment.
With Alcuin on his back, it was a perfect opportunity to explore: shoulders, chest, sternum, belly. And with neither of them on their feet, Ignis allowed himself to explore with his mouth as well as his hands, trusting that if he did something Alcuin didn't want or enjoy, he'd mention it.
Besides the two scars - one cleanly healed, the other jagged and ugly - Alcuin's skin was flawless. He let out contented little sighs as Ignis touched him. "Am I pleasing?" he asked, a small smile in his voice.
The clean scar was less interesting than the jagged one - a clean scar might, after all, be a training accident or something of the kind. Jagged scars, as Ignis knew well, were left when someone or something wanted you dead. Ignis traced the jagged scar carefully, then pressed a kiss to it. "How could you not be?"
Alcuin reached up and drew his fingers along Ignis' chest. He was well formed, as expected. "You said that this was unmapped territory," he murmured. "Which part?" He felt he should know, so he could be careful, where appropriate.
Ignis sighed, very slightly, just an exhalation of breath. "I am not a complete novice, but that was... years ago, and most of what I learned is that I have nothing to offer." His attempts at relationships had, all few of them, seemingly only wanted to fix him, try and turn him into someone 'fun' and 'relaxed'. When no such transformation occurred and he remained a tightly-wound perfectionist who prioritized his service over his lover, that had been that. "It seemed insane to continually set myself up to fail, so I stopped. Fifteen years ago, give or take." In that light, inflicting himself upon Alcuin was something like a definition of insanity. Doing the same thing over again expecting a different result.
Alcuin was genuinely surprised at the fifteen years part. Was Ignis a bit older than he looked? But also... that was such a long time. And he was curious, but he also did not want to make Ignis feel more uncomfortable now by talking about it.
"You've offered me something," he said, voice soft.
"Have I?" That was a flattering thought, and Ignis moved back up Alcuin's body to kiss his mouth again. There was something intensely satisfying in not having to guess, in having a specific mental picture and map rather than a necessarily-vague presence.
"Yes," Alcuin said, and slid his fingers into Ignis' hair. It felt so good to be touched. "But - but we only have to do what you're comfortable with. I - I just want to be with you, whatever form that takes."
Ignis had to groan a little at the fingers in his hair. It had been a long time, indeed, since any fingers but his own had been in his hair, and that only for cleaning and styling. "I'm comfortable, just uncertain of...." He kissed Alcuin again, because moving and dislodging the other man's hand was not happening immediately. "Shall we trade, perhaps? Tell me something you want, I'll tell you something I want?" If they were lucky, they'd match up closely enough for mutual pleasure.
Alcuin considered this for a moment, and after failing to come up with something better, told the truth. "Would you believe me if I said that what I want most is to give you pleasure?" He continued to stroke his fingers lightly in his hair. "It is what I know best, and... for Elua, this is how we worship."
"I think it would be a bad sign if I stopped trusting you now." There genuinely was no reason to lie, so if what Alcuin wanted most was something familiar, that could be done. And there was something undeniably compelling about hearing him say 'I want to please you'. "What I want is your pleasure, though." He slid a hand down Alcuin's cheek, neck, and chest, enjoying the feel of warm skin. "I imagine nearly anything you do would please me, so... I give myself to your skills."
Alcuin smiled at him, and wished he could see it. He took Ignis' hand and brought it to his lips again, kissing his fingers. "Ignis... a small confession. You are only the second person that I have ever chosen entirely for myself. And I want very much to make use of the skills I have." He was confident in these, at least. He was a Servant of Naamah. He very much doubted that Ignis knew, in objective terms, the value of what he was being offered. Not that Alcuin wanted to think of it this way.
"But continue exploring, if you like," he added softly, dropping his hand. "I want you to see me."
Alcuin was right, Ignis didn't really comprehend what Servant of Naamah meant, even though he had the practical understanding of Alcuin's profession. But he understood, he thought, exactly what it meant to be only the second person chosen entirely personally. It was both humbling and challenging - a significant gift of trust and affection, of which he intended to be worthy. Or stay worthy. However that parsed.
Ignis slid his hand lower, to trace hipbones and rear, but changed course when cloth met his fingers. He should have remembered that Alcuin's pants were still there, but no matter. "These, then, are going to go."
"Yes, please," Alcuin murmured, and lifted his hips so that Ignis could easily pull them off. "I want you to see all of me. Do... you feel like you have a better image? I could tell you... hmmmm I'm very pale. My hair is nearly white."
"You are beautiful." No doubt he'd heard it before, from people who could actually see it, but Ignis didn't need to see Alcuin to know it. He needed to touch Alcuin for completely different reasons, and once his pants were gone (they were loose, with his help it only took a few seconds) Ignis indulged himself in learning the shape of Alcuin's hips, buttocks, and upper leg before letting himself wrap a hand around the other man's erection.
Alcuin gasped, a sound of pure pleasure. It had been so long...
"So are you," he finally whispered.
Under other circumstances, Ignis might have denied or turned aside the compliment, but in this one... it had been so long. And before the Inn he'd nearly forgotten what it felt like to want, much less have. What was important right this second was skin under his mouth and his hand moving on Alcuin's cock, to see if that delightful gasp might be repeated.
Alcuin squirmed slightly underneath him, hips rolling to encourage that lovely contact. "Ignis..." he sighed, and then gasped again as a jolt of pleasure went through him at the touch. "Be careful, it has been a while..." He had a great deal of self control, but if he did not exercise it he might spend himself quite quickly.
No pain-noise, no tension... good, that 'be careful' wasn't code for 'stop that'. Or if it was, it was complimentary. "You might have to distract me," he murmured. "I find I love the noises you make."
"Then I will make more for you," Alcuin said, a little breathless. "I... I like the way you explore." Had it truly been so long since Ignis had touched someone like this? Alcuin could hardly imagine. In Terre d'Ange, really only the Cassiline were celibate.
"Good." So good. Physically, decidedly so, and Ignis started to kiss and mouth down Alcuin's throat and chest, enjoying the liberty to do so. But apart from the physical, it was nothing short of amazing to be wanted, without apparent calculation or agenda apart from that.
Alcuin let out little sighs as Ignis continued to find new parts of his body. "I do not want to interrupt your exploration... but I want to touch you as well."
"Please do." Interrupt, touch him, anything. Anything Alcuin wanted. "I can pick up if I leave off."
"I can do more with my hands than just massage... lay down for a moment..." He put a hand on Ignis' chest and eased him back. "Is it okay if I take your trousers off?"
"Absolutely." Quite probably he should have removed them himself, but Ignis approved of Alcuin's caution. They were both on comparatively unknown territory, and being clear and careful was likely the best way.
Once Ignis was laying back on the bed, Alcuin started to bend his head to unzip his trousers with his teeth... but then stopped, and used his hands instead. "You know, I... typically pay a great deal of attention to how I look during sex," he said. "Making myself most appealing. This is... new."
"You're already most appealing." Ignis could understand, though. A performance aspect, a way to be a living fantasy perhaps. Wasted on a blind man either way, though. He reached out to run fingers through Alcuin's hair. "I'm not entirely sure how you could improve, regardless."
"So I turn you on anyway?" Alcuin murmured as he slowly slid his hand into Ignis' open trousers.
"Just by existing," Ignis agreed. Perhaps that was just the perception, after trying to keep his attraction to himself nearly since meeting Alcuin, but... it felt true enough. And good enough, since he couldn't stop his hips from rolling into Alcuin's slow hand even before anything technically happened.
Alcuin wrapped his fingers around Ignis' cock, grip light but sure. Just enough.
"Have you spared a thought for me?" he asked softly. To help bring to mind the things that Ignis might fantasize about. What he wanted.
"Several, though I tried not to." It had seemed like pointless torture to fantasize about an impossibility, after all. And disrespectful to Alcuin besides; surely he'd had enough of being an object to someone else. Ridiculous now, when what he was trying not to do now was moan and thrust into Alcuin's hand. "Your mouth especially. Since I knew...." How soft his lips were, from kisses on the cheek and being allowed to feel his face.
Alcuin leaned over him and kissed him, soft and sweet. Then he tilted his head and whispered, "Remember how I said I want to give you pleasure. Relax. Don't hold back." And before Ignis could respond he had moved down his body and wrapped his lips around his cock.
"Gods!" The sensation was so sudden and so exquisite that even if he'd wanted to hold back, the best Ignis could have done was what he did: take his hand out of Alcuin's hair to fist it in the sheets instead. Even if he hadn't limited his fantasies, the reality of Alcuin's mouth, especially after years of nothing at all, was almost unbelievably good.
Alcuin still had mixed feelings about his time in Naamah's service. Memories both good and bad, with the bad ones often outweighing. But he did know, regardless of how he had used it, that he had a great deal of skill that had been hard won. He knew how to please a man, and knew that he could. And he knew how to adapt, how to give someone what they wanted. To some extent to be what they wanted him to be - but that he knew was not required with Ignis. He just had to be himself.
He also very much wanted to do this for Ignis, wanted to make him feel this, especially after so long. He put the whole of his art into it but also ramped up slowly, wanting to allow them both to savor it.
Even with Alcuin’s deliberate slowness and obvious skill, even with a definite wish to enjoy the experience as long as possible, there was no way that Ignis was going to last long. It had been too long, and even if it hadn’t been… Alcuin was more than enough to make one impatient. Still, Ignis did as he’d been asked and didn’t hold back, letting the other man know in groans and nonsense noises how very pleased he was.
Alcuin loved the sounds Ignis was making. Loved glancing up and seeing the expression on his face. He quickened his pace a little then, used his other hand to carefully caress his balls, using his tongue with more purpose now. He wanted to make him fall apart. He'd told him to let go.
With the added stimulation, Ignis couldn’t have held back if he’d wanted to. He didn’t even have enough thought to be glad he’d twisted his hands in sheets instead of Alcuin’s hair before he was twisting them harder, arching nearly off the bed as he came.
Beautiful. Alcuin swallowed easily, and then waited a moment before carefully pulling away. He knew that Ignis could not see his smile, so he kissed his abdomen softly before saying, "I see you are well pleased, my - " He had to cut himself off, finding my lord nearly slipping from his tongue unbidden. So he only moved up his body and kissed his neck.
"Extremely so," Ignis managed to respond, then urged Alcuin up the rest of the way to kiss him on the mouth, equal parts sex and affection. "Your turn?"
"Mmmmm whatever you like," Alcuin murmured as the kiss broke. "Continue exploring my body, perhaps..."
"I can do that." With pleasure, which was the point. This time, when Ignis shifted to explore Alcuin with his hands and mouth, he wasn't just mapping planes and learning his shape, he was also listening and experimenting, looking for sensitive areas. Places on his lover's body that caused a reaction, either warning him to avoid it or make a note to do that again.
Alcuin was, as a general rule, responsive. At least, he had no reservations about it. As Ignis explored, he let out little sighs of contentment and pleasure and need. But he was also patient, and had no demands, either with his voice or his body language.
On the one hand, it was encouraging to think that there wasn’t much wrong he could do, but on the other, a lack of direction as to what would please Alcuin invited second-guessing. It was an invitation that Ignis put some effort into ignoring, in favor of simply making a decision.
Rather than returning to his initial slow handjob, Ignis returned Alcuin’s favor more directly and took the younger man’s cock in his own mouth.
"Ah, Elua!" Alcuin gasped, and lifted his hips slightly as he gripped at the sheets. It was... good. Someone who cared about his pleasure.
It had been a long time, but hopefully the combination of thoroughness and honest enthusiasm – it did, after all, feel genuinely good to take care of a lover again – was enough. Ignis kept track, as much as possible, of which movements of tongue and mouth seemed most effective, but for the most part he concentrated on trying to make Alcuin fall apart, as he had.
"Ignis..." Alcuin whispered in between whimpers of pleasure. "Oh, please..."
Ignis pulled off briefly to murmur, "Please what?" as encouragingly as he could before returning to the delightful task of coaxing those whimpers to continue. After a few seconds, though, he slid one hand in search of one of Alcuin's, to haul it to his head. Another point of contact, and he did like fingers in his hair....
Alcuin's fingers tightened instinctively in Ignis' hair. He may not have on his own; he had been on the receiving end in unpleasant ways before. But Ignis wanted this. "Please more," he whispered. "Don't stop..."
Ignis groaned, clear pleasure at the grip on his head – it was overwhelming in its own way, feeling the tugging on his hair, hearing Alcuin’s pleading, smelling and tasting him – and redoubled his efforts, trying to use suction and his tongue to the best effect he knew.
"Ah, Elua!" Alcuin gasped. "Ignis... oh, sweet... I... may I..." It wasn't as if he required instruction to come, but after years of cultivating that kind of control it was nearly force of habit.
Rather than answer verbally, Ignis slid hands up Alcuin’s thighs to squeeze his hips lightly in permission. Encouragement, even.
Alcuin gasped again, the grip in Ignis' hair tightening. And when he came, he cried out, voice sharp and sweet.
Ignis swallowed less easily than his lover had, but practice would no doubt make perfect if such was on the table. Even if not... he moved back up to kiss Alcuin's cheek and murmur, "Thank you."
Alcuin laughed breathlessly. "Oh... oh Ignis, thank you."
Ignis didn’t bother resisting the urge to trace the shape of Alcuin’s mouth when he laughed. “We could continue that forever, I think. So… you are welcome, any time.”
Alcuin urged Ignis onto his back, and then lay against him, tangling their legs together, resting his head against him. "I have snatched only the barest moments of happiness since I have come here. This... was more than a fleeting moment. More than I might have hoped to find. I hope you feel the same way." He felt a bit less lonely. And closer to Elua, closer to home, than he'd felt since coming here.
“I have been alone for most of the last ten years, and even before that, I’d… given up, I suppose. This,” he stroked Alcuin’s hair and kissed him again, “is something I never thought I’d have with anyone. ‘More than a fleeting moment’ is a good description.”
"Someone with a heart such as yours should never be lonely," Alcuin said softly. "And you... well. You know of my history. I am... I am glad that you are not bothered by it."
“I don’t know why I would be. I enjoy every aspect of your company as presented to me. And accepting some of a person, but not all, seems rude at the very least.” A definite betrayal, in most circumstances but especially in this one. “I would never want to hurt you like that.”
Alcuin reached up and stroked Ignis' hair lightly. "And you know that I come from a culture that treats love and sex somewhat differently than what I gather from the cultural norms here... if you have any questions or worries you can ask me. Or just... take this as it comes, and enjoy."
“No doubt I’ll worry about something at some point. A consequence of training since childhood to manage all the details of a prince’s life.” He’d loved Noct, it was a pleasure and an honor to look after him… but there had been a great many details to sweat. “But for now, taking things as they come and enjoying sounds… nice. Provided, of course, that continues to be what you want as well.”
"Good, yes," Alcuin agreed with a little sigh. "And I'd like to learn more about you. And your life, about the prince... as much as you might be comfortable telling me, of course."
"I doubt I have anything worth keeping secret." Ignis kissed Alcuin's hair, enjoying the unusual ease that seemed to be one of Alcuin's gifts to people in general. It was impossible to be really tense around the younger man without putting effort into it, and Ignis had no further reason to put in that effort. "The more recent stories are... sad, I would say, but I would be happy to share them any time."
"Mmmm okay," Alcuin murmured, and settled against him. "Sad stories for another time."
NSFW
As inclined as he might have been to second-guess any number of things since opting to ask for Yasmeen’s help in his shopping endeavor, Ignis had never faltered on his determination to give Alcuin books. Which, most likely, said something. Genuine friendship, he hoped, if nothing else, and acknowledgement of their mutual preference for better literary material than ‘Twilight’. As well, the books themselves were rather nice, being hand-made in what Ignis saw as an old-fashioned way, pages literally sewn into their binding with care and skill.
He was sure that, in addition to being new reading material, Alcuin would appreciate the artistry involved.
Rather than offer the books to Alcuin at a neutral location, such as the spa or on one of his visits to the kitchens, Ignis brought the package to the younger man’s room. Neither of them would interrupt their ‘work day’ that way, and Alcuin wouldn’t have to haul the books anywhere to get them back to his space; they would already be there.
And if Alcuin happened not to be in, well – he would leave the books, or try again later. With a slight nod to himself, Ignis lifted a hand and rapped on Alcuin’s door.
Alcuin had ventured only briefly in the new world that appeared behind the doorway. He had only barely begun to begin thinking of the hotel as something that felt vaguely like home. He did not like being in another strange place.
When he opened the door and saw Ignis, he smiled widely. "Oh, it's good to see you," he said.
Ignis smiled, responding to the smile he heard in Alcuin’s voice. “I apologize for not calling ahead. But I was in the other world, and thought….” He offered the package wrapped in its paper and tied with string. Books, on a variety of topics from simple bedtime stories to history and philosophy. “For you.”
"I noticed your absence - " Alcuin said, but then stopped when he saw the package. "Oh, thank you!" he said, looking genuinely surprised. "I - " He decided he should open it before reacting more, and so he did, then looked up at Ignis when he saw what they were, his eyes going wide. "Books!"
“Yes. I remembered how thin the selection was, here.” So far, so positive. “I wasn’t sure which you’d like best, so I got a variety.” And it was best to be clear that these were truly a gift for Alcuin, rather than a gift given in hopes of hearing them read. That Alcuin’s preferences were the ones he’d tried to consult.
It was just so... unexpected, and thoughtful. And perfect. Alcuin set the books aside on the table next to the door, and then grabbed one of Ignis' hands. Then, finding himself full of affection, rose up and leaned in to kiss him, brushing their lips together tentatively.
Alcuin taking his hand wasn’t uncommon, though it was generally in the context of making sure he could follow somewhere, but the press of soft lips against his was entirely new. Entirely new, entirely welcome, and Ignis found himself responding, kissing back immediately and less tentatively, before any of his earlier worries about unknown territory could reassert himself. Simple desire, it seemed, was more than enough to override them.
It wasn't until he felt Ignis respond that Alcuin realized how much desire he felt. He kissed him back for a moment more, sliding a hand to his side.... and then, suddenly, pulled away.
"I - I should have asked your permission to do that," he said, finding himself a bit spooked despite knowing that Ignis had kissed him back.
It took more willpower than Ignis was entirely willing to admit to not to follow Alcuin and take another kiss as he pulled back, but he managed to restrain that impulse to a simple caress, fingertips along his cheek. “I give it retroactively.” The skin under his fingers was so… not doing a thing to reduce his desire to just go back to the kissing. “I’m… inclined to issue an invitation.”
Alcuin reached up and folded his hand over Ignis'. "Are... are you sure?"
"About that much, I am certain." Certain of everything, likely not. But certain enough of enough to reach out and slide his free hand around what he estimated was Alcuin's waist. "I admit that this is fairly unmapped territory for me, but you... I feel you're worth the risk of the unknown."
"Come inside," Alcuin said softly, stepping back and bringing Ignis with him. "Close the door."
Ignis stepped forward willingly, even though he had to use the hand previously at Alcuin’s waist to pull the door closed behind him. It clicked, neatly cutting off the hallway and outside without doing anything as embarrassing as accidentally slamming.
Alcuin had been here for months now, and (not counting that ill advised moment with Vax) had not so much as kissed someone. There was much he could say, but everything he might say left him uncertain and slightly nervous. So he wrapped his arms around Ignis' neck and kissed him again.
Thankfully the books were on a table and not in anyone's hands, or they'd have been dropped. Similar thanks were owed to Ignis opting out - as he often did - of using his cane. With Alcuin's arms around his neck, Ignis was free to re-slide one hand around Alcuin's waist, pulling him closer, and bury the other in his hair. It was more than long enough to do so, adding some additional and what felt like intimate detail to something he'd already known.
It felt good. It felt good to kiss someone just because he wanted to, and to feel wanted. Wanted beyond his body, even.
"Ignis..." Alcuin began when the kiss broke. "I am unsure of myself, and I am not accustomed to that." He thought it best to be honest. He still was not sure of what norms Ignis might prescribe to - should he seduce? Submit? Was there something else that came first?
It was comforting, in a way, to know that Alcuin had no more of a plan than he did - equal footing, so to speak. "Likewise. I have always endeavored to know the ground, have a plan. I have none." He bent the distance to press another quick kiss to Alcuin's mouth. "I imagine we'll both have to improvise."
"Do you want me?" Alcuin asked softly, and reached up to slide a hand onto Ignis' face, just below his sunglasses. "If so, you have me."
"I do want you." Gods, so much, even though it felt strange and wrong to admit anything like that out loud to another person. Especially the one he wanted. Ignis turned his head into the hand on his face, kissing the palm. "And you have me, if you want me."
"I must," Alcuin said, a smile in his voice. "After all, I haven't even stopped to look at the books yet." And he kissed him again, stalling for time as he decided how he should proceed. He had only ever had sex with people who were paying him for the pleasure, or... or Anafiel, whom he'd been desperately in love with for years. Alcuin was good with sex, but this was a particular kind of intimacy that was foreign to him.
Ignis laughed against Alcuin's mouth and let one of his hands trace the younger man's side. It was funny, in a way, that not looking at books was such convincing proof... and yet, Ignis was sure it was thoroughly Alcuin.
When the kiss broke again, Alcuin tentatively, slowly so that Ignis could stop him if he wanted to, reached to remove the sunglasses from his face.
Ignis wore the glasses largely out of habit, because he'd always worn glasses, and because people seemed slightly more relaxed around him when they didn't have green eyes not-looking at them whenever they tried to talk. Or rather, Ignis assumed they were still green; who knew, at this point? But he could at least be sure they were still in his head, and Alcuin wouldn't be faced with anything as horrific as empty sockets surrounded by scars.
...A terrible thing to consider, under the circumstances. Thank the gods he never pretended to have people skills. And, of course, that he could keep still and let Alcuin remove the shades without having to intervene.
Ignis had beautiful eyes. They were unfocused, not looking at Alcuin, which was a touch disconcerting, but he still appreciated seeing all of them. He reached up and brushed his fingers across the side of Ignis' face. "I have scars, too," he said softly.
He wanted to think they were leftovers from old accidents, these scars Alcuin mentioned, but doing so while touching the external sign of ruin by enemy fire did not encourage that thought. The association alone argued for inflicted injury, by someone intent on harm or death. "Where?" he murmured back, rather than pry into no doubt painful memories directly.
"On my torso," Alcuin said, voice quiet but not upset. "There are two... I seem young to have been run through with a sword twice in my life, hmm?" He took one of Ignis' hands, and brought it up to his face. "I want you to see me," he said. "With your hands. All of me."
These things rarely respect youth, was what Ignis didn't say. Even a general ballpark of Alcuin's age meant that he himself hadn't been much older at Altissia. But a comparison of scars and pain didn't seem like a solid way to go, and he'd be able to feel the scars for himself, anyway. "Yes. Please. I want to know you." He'd felt Alcuin's face before, but did so again, tracing jaw, lips, cheekbone, brow. For pleasure, this time, rather than strictly learning.
Alcuin remained still while Ignis touched his face. There was something so awfully erotic about it, and he felt his breath come a bit quicker. When his fingers found Alcuin's lips, Alcuin parted them for him, and tasted one finger with the tip of his tongue.
Gods, that was... unfair was the only word, but it was unfairness Ignis wanted more of. Or to try and return, as his free hand slid to Alcuin's back to trace his spine through clothing.
Alcuin sighed softly... and then, hardly even thinking about it, murmured, "Ignis... tell me what pleases you."
"Only if you do the same," he murmured back into Alcuin's ear, then pressed a kiss just below it. "I want to know you, remember?"
Alcuin thought it best not to remind Ignis that in the overall scheme of things he did not have a great deal of practice thinking about his own desires. He... could figure this out as they went.
He pulled back just enough to yank off his own shirt, and then moved back into Ignis' embrace. "I have a tattoo covering my back," he said quietly. "I don't know if you can feel it..."
"Let's find out." Alcuin hadn't seemed like the tattoo type, but he also hadn't seemed like the type who'd get run through with swords twice before. In fact, one of Ignis's hands passed over what felt decidedly like scar tissue, and he made a mental note to come back to that. In the interests of completeness.
It was tempting to just stroke Alcuin's back or use hands on skin to pull him closer, but Ignis had been serious when he'd agreed that yes, in fact, he did want to map Alcuin's entire body. So he was thorough, tracing muscles and skin, shoulderblades, what he could feel of ribs. The tattoo, if there was anything raised to be felt.
Alcuin's marque was important to him, which was why he'd wanted to know if Ignis could "see" it - but explanations for what it meant were for another time. His breath came a touch faster as Ignis began to touch him. "Should I lay down?" he asked him.
"Yes, I think that's a good idea." Take concerns about balance out of the entire thing, yes. The worst that could happen, really, was misjudging edges and falling off, but that was both not terrible and easily avoidable. Yes. But before Alcuin could move to do that or anything else, Ignis pulled him close for another kiss.
Alcuin kissed him back, feeling... warm, and wanted. When it broke, he took Ignis' hand and pulled him back towards the bed. He considered undressing entirely first, but then thought perhaps that would be too much, to start. He lay back on the bed and coaxed Ignis along with him.
It didn't take a lot of coaxing; the only reason Ignis hung back even briefly was to remove his own shirt. No, he hadn't been asked to, but... well, clothing could be put back on as needed, and he wanted to feel skin on skin even if it ended up being only for a moment.
With Alcuin on his back, it was a perfect opportunity to explore: shoulders, chest, sternum, belly. And with neither of them on their feet, Ignis allowed himself to explore with his mouth as well as his hands, trusting that if he did something Alcuin didn't want or enjoy, he'd mention it.
Besides the two scars - one cleanly healed, the other jagged and ugly - Alcuin's skin was flawless. He let out contented little sighs as Ignis touched him. "Am I pleasing?" he asked, a small smile in his voice.
The clean scar was less interesting than the jagged one - a clean scar might, after all, be a training accident or something of the kind. Jagged scars, as Ignis knew well, were left when someone or something wanted you dead. Ignis traced the jagged scar carefully, then pressed a kiss to it. "How could you not be?"
Alcuin reached up and drew his fingers along Ignis' chest. He was well formed, as expected. "You said that this was unmapped territory," he murmured. "Which part?" He felt he should know, so he could be careful, where appropriate.
Ignis sighed, very slightly, just an exhalation of breath. "I am not a complete novice, but that was... years ago, and most of what I learned is that I have nothing to offer." His attempts at relationships had, all few of them, seemingly only wanted to fix him, try and turn him into someone 'fun' and 'relaxed'. When no such transformation occurred and he remained a tightly-wound perfectionist who prioritized his service over his lover, that had been that. "It seemed insane to continually set myself up to fail, so I stopped. Fifteen years ago, give or take." In that light, inflicting himself upon Alcuin was something like a definition of insanity. Doing the same thing over again expecting a different result.
Alcuin was genuinely surprised at the fifteen years part. Was Ignis a bit older than he looked? But also... that was such a long time. And he was curious, but he also did not want to make Ignis feel more uncomfortable now by talking about it.
"You've offered me something," he said, voice soft.
"Have I?" That was a flattering thought, and Ignis moved back up Alcuin's body to kiss his mouth again. There was something intensely satisfying in not having to guess, in having a specific mental picture and map rather than a necessarily-vague presence.
"Yes," Alcuin said, and slid his fingers into Ignis' hair. It felt so good to be touched. "But - but we only have to do what you're comfortable with. I - I just want to be with you, whatever form that takes."
Ignis had to groan a little at the fingers in his hair. It had been a long time, indeed, since any fingers but his own had been in his hair, and that only for cleaning and styling. "I'm comfortable, just uncertain of...." He kissed Alcuin again, because moving and dislodging the other man's hand was not happening immediately. "Shall we trade, perhaps? Tell me something you want, I'll tell you something I want?" If they were lucky, they'd match up closely enough for mutual pleasure.
Alcuin considered this for a moment, and after failing to come up with something better, told the truth. "Would you believe me if I said that what I want most is to give you pleasure?" He continued to stroke his fingers lightly in his hair. "It is what I know best, and... for Elua, this is how we worship."
"I think it would be a bad sign if I stopped trusting you now." There genuinely was no reason to lie, so if what Alcuin wanted most was something familiar, that could be done. And there was something undeniably compelling about hearing him say 'I want to please you'. "What I want is your pleasure, though." He slid a hand down Alcuin's cheek, neck, and chest, enjoying the feel of warm skin. "I imagine nearly anything you do would please me, so... I give myself to your skills."
Alcuin smiled at him, and wished he could see it. He took Ignis' hand and brought it to his lips again, kissing his fingers. "Ignis... a small confession. You are only the second person that I have ever chosen entirely for myself. And I want very much to make use of the skills I have." He was confident in these, at least. He was a Servant of Naamah. He very much doubted that Ignis knew, in objective terms, the value of what he was being offered. Not that Alcuin wanted to think of it this way.
"But continue exploring, if you like," he added softly, dropping his hand. "I want you to see me."
Alcuin was right, Ignis didn't really comprehend what Servant of Naamah meant, even though he had the practical understanding of Alcuin's profession. But he understood, he thought, exactly what it meant to be only the second person chosen entirely personally. It was both humbling and challenging - a significant gift of trust and affection, of which he intended to be worthy. Or stay worthy. However that parsed.
Ignis slid his hand lower, to trace hipbones and rear, but changed course when cloth met his fingers. He should have remembered that Alcuin's pants were still there, but no matter. "These, then, are going to go."
"Yes, please," Alcuin murmured, and lifted his hips so that Ignis could easily pull them off. "I want you to see all of me. Do... you feel like you have a better image? I could tell you... hmmmm I'm very pale. My hair is nearly white."
"You are beautiful." No doubt he'd heard it before, from people who could actually see it, but Ignis didn't need to see Alcuin to know it. He needed to touch Alcuin for completely different reasons, and once his pants were gone (they were loose, with his help it only took a few seconds) Ignis indulged himself in learning the shape of Alcuin's hips, buttocks, and upper leg before letting himself wrap a hand around the other man's erection.
Alcuin gasped, a sound of pure pleasure. It had been so long...
"So are you," he finally whispered.
Under other circumstances, Ignis might have denied or turned aside the compliment, but in this one... it had been so long. And before the Inn he'd nearly forgotten what it felt like to want, much less have. What was important right this second was skin under his mouth and his hand moving on Alcuin's cock, to see if that delightful gasp might be repeated.
Alcuin squirmed slightly underneath him, hips rolling to encourage that lovely contact. "Ignis..." he sighed, and then gasped again as a jolt of pleasure went through him at the touch. "Be careful, it has been a while..." He had a great deal of self control, but if he did not exercise it he might spend himself quite quickly.
No pain-noise, no tension... good, that 'be careful' wasn't code for 'stop that'. Or if it was, it was complimentary. "You might have to distract me," he murmured. "I find I love the noises you make."
"Then I will make more for you," Alcuin said, a little breathless. "I... I like the way you explore." Had it truly been so long since Ignis had touched someone like this? Alcuin could hardly imagine. In Terre d'Ange, really only the Cassiline were celibate.
"Good." So good. Physically, decidedly so, and Ignis started to kiss and mouth down Alcuin's throat and chest, enjoying the liberty to do so. But apart from the physical, it was nothing short of amazing to be wanted, without apparent calculation or agenda apart from that.
Alcuin let out little sighs as Ignis continued to find new parts of his body. "I do not want to interrupt your exploration... but I want to touch you as well."
"Please do." Interrupt, touch him, anything. Anything Alcuin wanted. "I can pick up if I leave off."
"I can do more with my hands than just massage... lay down for a moment..." He put a hand on Ignis' chest and eased him back. "Is it okay if I take your trousers off?"
"Absolutely." Quite probably he should have removed them himself, but Ignis approved of Alcuin's caution. They were both on comparatively unknown territory, and being clear and careful was likely the best way.
Once Ignis was laying back on the bed, Alcuin started to bend his head to unzip his trousers with his teeth... but then stopped, and used his hands instead. "You know, I... typically pay a great deal of attention to how I look during sex," he said. "Making myself most appealing. This is... new."
"You're already most appealing." Ignis could understand, though. A performance aspect, a way to be a living fantasy perhaps. Wasted on a blind man either way, though. He reached out to run fingers through Alcuin's hair. "I'm not entirely sure how you could improve, regardless."
"So I turn you on anyway?" Alcuin murmured as he slowly slid his hand into Ignis' open trousers.
"Just by existing," Ignis agreed. Perhaps that was just the perception, after trying to keep his attraction to himself nearly since meeting Alcuin, but... it felt true enough. And good enough, since he couldn't stop his hips from rolling into Alcuin's slow hand even before anything technically happened.
Alcuin wrapped his fingers around Ignis' cock, grip light but sure. Just enough.
"Have you spared a thought for me?" he asked softly. To help bring to mind the things that Ignis might fantasize about. What he wanted.
"Several, though I tried not to." It had seemed like pointless torture to fantasize about an impossibility, after all. And disrespectful to Alcuin besides; surely he'd had enough of being an object to someone else. Ridiculous now, when what he was trying not to do now was moan and thrust into Alcuin's hand. "Your mouth especially. Since I knew...." How soft his lips were, from kisses on the cheek and being allowed to feel his face.
Alcuin leaned over him and kissed him, soft and sweet. Then he tilted his head and whispered, "Remember how I said I want to give you pleasure. Relax. Don't hold back." And before Ignis could respond he had moved down his body and wrapped his lips around his cock.
"Gods!" The sensation was so sudden and so exquisite that even if he'd wanted to hold back, the best Ignis could have done was what he did: take his hand out of Alcuin's hair to fist it in the sheets instead. Even if he hadn't limited his fantasies, the reality of Alcuin's mouth, especially after years of nothing at all, was almost unbelievably good.
Alcuin still had mixed feelings about his time in Naamah's service. Memories both good and bad, with the bad ones often outweighing. But he did know, regardless of how he had used it, that he had a great deal of skill that had been hard won. He knew how to please a man, and knew that he could. And he knew how to adapt, how to give someone what they wanted. To some extent to be what they wanted him to be - but that he knew was not required with Ignis. He just had to be himself.
He also very much wanted to do this for Ignis, wanted to make him feel this, especially after so long. He put the whole of his art into it but also ramped up slowly, wanting to allow them both to savor it.
Even with Alcuin’s deliberate slowness and obvious skill, even with a definite wish to enjoy the experience as long as possible, there was no way that Ignis was going to last long. It had been too long, and even if it hadn’t been… Alcuin was more than enough to make one impatient. Still, Ignis did as he’d been asked and didn’t hold back, letting the other man know in groans and nonsense noises how very pleased he was.
Alcuin loved the sounds Ignis was making. Loved glancing up and seeing the expression on his face. He quickened his pace a little then, used his other hand to carefully caress his balls, using his tongue with more purpose now. He wanted to make him fall apart. He'd told him to let go.
With the added stimulation, Ignis couldn’t have held back if he’d wanted to. He didn’t even have enough thought to be glad he’d twisted his hands in sheets instead of Alcuin’s hair before he was twisting them harder, arching nearly off the bed as he came.
Beautiful. Alcuin swallowed easily, and then waited a moment before carefully pulling away. He knew that Ignis could not see his smile, so he kissed his abdomen softly before saying, "I see you are well pleased, my - " He had to cut himself off, finding my lord nearly slipping from his tongue unbidden. So he only moved up his body and kissed his neck.
"Extremely so," Ignis managed to respond, then urged Alcuin up the rest of the way to kiss him on the mouth, equal parts sex and affection. "Your turn?"
"Mmmmm whatever you like," Alcuin murmured as the kiss broke. "Continue exploring my body, perhaps..."
"I can do that." With pleasure, which was the point. This time, when Ignis shifted to explore Alcuin with his hands and mouth, he wasn't just mapping planes and learning his shape, he was also listening and experimenting, looking for sensitive areas. Places on his lover's body that caused a reaction, either warning him to avoid it or make a note to do that again.
Alcuin was, as a general rule, responsive. At least, he had no reservations about it. As Ignis explored, he let out little sighs of contentment and pleasure and need. But he was also patient, and had no demands, either with his voice or his body language.
On the one hand, it was encouraging to think that there wasn’t much wrong he could do, but on the other, a lack of direction as to what would please Alcuin invited second-guessing. It was an invitation that Ignis put some effort into ignoring, in favor of simply making a decision.
Rather than returning to his initial slow handjob, Ignis returned Alcuin’s favor more directly and took the younger man’s cock in his own mouth.
"Ah, Elua!" Alcuin gasped, and lifted his hips slightly as he gripped at the sheets. It was... good. Someone who cared about his pleasure.
It had been a long time, but hopefully the combination of thoroughness and honest enthusiasm – it did, after all, feel genuinely good to take care of a lover again – was enough. Ignis kept track, as much as possible, of which movements of tongue and mouth seemed most effective, but for the most part he concentrated on trying to make Alcuin fall apart, as he had.
"Ignis..." Alcuin whispered in between whimpers of pleasure. "Oh, please..."
Ignis pulled off briefly to murmur, "Please what?" as encouragingly as he could before returning to the delightful task of coaxing those whimpers to continue. After a few seconds, though, he slid one hand in search of one of Alcuin's, to haul it to his head. Another point of contact, and he did like fingers in his hair....
Alcuin's fingers tightened instinctively in Ignis' hair. He may not have on his own; he had been on the receiving end in unpleasant ways before. But Ignis wanted this. "Please more," he whispered. "Don't stop..."
Ignis groaned, clear pleasure at the grip on his head – it was overwhelming in its own way, feeling the tugging on his hair, hearing Alcuin’s pleading, smelling and tasting him – and redoubled his efforts, trying to use suction and his tongue to the best effect he knew.
"Ah, Elua!" Alcuin gasped. "Ignis... oh, sweet... I... may I..." It wasn't as if he required instruction to come, but after years of cultivating that kind of control it was nearly force of habit.
Rather than answer verbally, Ignis slid hands up Alcuin’s thighs to squeeze his hips lightly in permission. Encouragement, even.
Alcuin gasped again, the grip in Ignis' hair tightening. And when he came, he cried out, voice sharp and sweet.
Ignis swallowed less easily than his lover had, but practice would no doubt make perfect if such was on the table. Even if not... he moved back up to kiss Alcuin's cheek and murmur, "Thank you."
Alcuin laughed breathlessly. "Oh... oh Ignis, thank you."
Ignis didn’t bother resisting the urge to trace the shape of Alcuin’s mouth when he laughed. “We could continue that forever, I think. So… you are welcome, any time.”
Alcuin urged Ignis onto his back, and then lay against him, tangling their legs together, resting his head against him. "I have snatched only the barest moments of happiness since I have come here. This... was more than a fleeting moment. More than I might have hoped to find. I hope you feel the same way." He felt a bit less lonely. And closer to Elua, closer to home, than he'd felt since coming here.
“I have been alone for most of the last ten years, and even before that, I’d… given up, I suppose. This,” he stroked Alcuin’s hair and kissed him again, “is something I never thought I’d have with anyone. ‘More than a fleeting moment’ is a good description.”
"Someone with a heart such as yours should never be lonely," Alcuin said softly. "And you... well. You know of my history. I am... I am glad that you are not bothered by it."
“I don’t know why I would be. I enjoy every aspect of your company as presented to me. And accepting some of a person, but not all, seems rude at the very least.” A definite betrayal, in most circumstances but especially in this one. “I would never want to hurt you like that.”
Alcuin reached up and stroked Ignis' hair lightly. "And you know that I come from a culture that treats love and sex somewhat differently than what I gather from the cultural norms here... if you have any questions or worries you can ask me. Or just... take this as it comes, and enjoy."
“No doubt I’ll worry about something at some point. A consequence of training since childhood to manage all the details of a prince’s life.” He’d loved Noct, it was a pleasure and an honor to look after him… but there had been a great many details to sweat. “But for now, taking things as they come and enjoying sounds… nice. Provided, of course, that continues to be what you want as well.”
"Good, yes," Alcuin agreed with a little sigh. "And I'd like to learn more about you. And your life, about the prince... as much as you might be comfortable telling me, of course."
"I doubt I have anything worth keeping secret." Ignis kissed Alcuin's hair, enjoying the unusual ease that seemed to be one of Alcuin's gifts to people in general. It was impossible to be really tense around the younger man without putting effort into it, and Ignis had no further reason to put in that effort. "The more recent stories are... sad, I would say, but I would be happy to share them any time."
"Mmmm okay," Alcuin murmured, and settled against him. "Sad stories for another time."
