[ When Ignis goes back to their room, he will find a small parcel wrapped in brown paper and twine. It looks like someone with very little experience in wrapping gifts did it with all earnestness.
In it is a handmade "book" the size of a pack of playing cards but thicker, and on its handmade cover is someone who has little knowledge of craft but very determinedly went through with it anyway: 52 reasons why I love you.
Each page is designed and custom, each one lists down a reason why Noctis loves him, each page colorful and vibrant with scrap material and the occasional flat seashell. If he skims through it, he's bound to see reasons like: I love how you give me butterflies; I love how you're so incredibly smart; The way you kiss; Your incredible skill with knives.
The list goes on and on. On a few pages, there are photos of them -- taken by someone else; but they're at their most candid, and clearly Noctis has wrangled this, pasted the photos onto the little book, and even made craft frames for the photos.
See, Noctis even made a snug little pouch for it so Ignis can carry it anywhere with him if he wants to. Beside the gift, a scribbled note:
Sorry if it looks dumb. You make my days bright and you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm not good with words, but if you're sad or angry or down or whatever, read that book. I hope it reminds you of how important you are to me.
[It really shouldn't affect him as much as it does, this little gift of Noct's. It's apparent as soon as he looks at it just how much time and effort must've gone into assembling it — almost as much, perhaps, as trying to perfect a particular pastry just for the sake of seeing a loved one smile. The thoughtfulness is the same; each page is carefully constructed, however simple in form it might be, and as he flips through the pages, he finds himself quietly warming from the care and attention it offers to him.
They're not all obvious reasons; they're not all lovers' notions. Some of them are sweeter things, more specific things. Things that only someone who cares deeply about him would have observed and remarked on. This is a gift that only Noctis could have given him; it's a recognition that moves him more and more, with every page he turns.
But perhaps the best part of it all is what he discovers isn't included in the book — no talk of sacrifice, no words that invoke thoughts of duty or loyalty or even honor. It's all just for him, not for the role that he serves, and that's the part that makes him choke up a little, in the end.
He gets up, holding the book like it's something precious, and goes to find Noct.]
[ Noctis has been very careful never to mention anything about his duty, his loyalty or his work -- so much of his life has been about his loyalty and his position as chamberlain to the king. a great honour, no doubt, but that's not why Noctis treasures and loves him.
It's a collection of the tiniest things and every intimate observation he has of him, the freckles along his shoulder, the mole above the cleft of his ass, the gorgeous line of his jaw, his kindness and intelligence.
All of it has to do with him and not anyone else -- his charm is deliciously rousing, his wit and awkwardness making him even more perfect. Noctis is careful to detail his perceived flaws as something they truly are: desirable and loved.
Today is his day. Today, everything is about him.
Noctis, awkward and not about to witness all the schmoopy things that come from the gift he has given him, is lurking hopefully outside, petting Spot but hoping that Ignis doesn't think his gift too shabby after what Ignis had given him. ]
[Well, that's certainly an initial giveaway, isn't it, of just how well the gift had been received. Likewise is the way he wastes no time in crossing over to Noctis and slinging an arm around his waist to pull him in for a kiss.]
[ Noctis is relaxing into a smile when Ignis comes out and draws him in for a kiss, happily wrapping his arms around him. He opens up under his mouth, giving him a light squeeze. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
happy birthday.
In it is a handmade "book" the size of a pack of playing cards but thicker, and on its handmade cover is someone who has little knowledge of craft but very determinedly went through with it anyway: 52 reasons why I love you.
Each page is designed and custom, each one lists down a reason why Noctis loves him, each page colorful and vibrant with scrap material and the occasional flat seashell. If he skims through it, he's bound to see reasons like: I love how you give me butterflies; I love how you're so incredibly smart; The way you kiss; Your incredible skill with knives.
The list goes on and on. On a few pages, there are photos of them -- taken by someone else; but they're at their most candid, and clearly Noctis has wrangled this, pasted the photos onto the little book, and even made craft frames for the photos.
See, Noctis even made a snug little pouch for it so Ignis can carry it anywhere with him if he wants to. Beside the gift, a scribbled note:
Sorry if it looks dumb. You make my days bright and you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm not good with words, but if you're sad or angry or down or whatever, read that book. I hope it reminds you of how important you are to me.
Happy birthday, Ignis. I love you. ]
no subject
They're not all obvious reasons; they're not all lovers' notions. Some of them are sweeter things, more specific things. Things that only someone who cares deeply about him would have observed and remarked on. This is a gift that only Noctis could have given him; it's a recognition that moves him more and more, with every page he turns.
But perhaps the best part of it all is what he discovers isn't included in the book — no talk of sacrifice, no words that invoke thoughts of duty or loyalty or even honor. It's all just for him, not for the role that he serves, and that's the part that makes him choke up a little, in the end.
He gets up, holding the book like it's something precious, and goes to find Noct.]
no subject
It's a collection of the tiniest things and every intimate observation he has of him, the freckles along his shoulder, the mole above the cleft of his ass, the gorgeous line of his jaw, his kindness and intelligence.
All of it has to do with him and not anyone else -- his charm is deliciously rousing, his wit and awkwardness making him even more perfect. Noctis is careful to detail his perceived flaws as something they truly are: desirable and loved.
Today is his day. Today, everything is about him.
Noctis, awkward and not about to witness all the schmoopy things that come from the gift he has given him, is lurking hopefully outside, petting Spot but hoping that Ignis doesn't think his gift too shabby after what Ignis had given him. ]
Hey.
no subject
[Well, that's certainly an initial giveaway, isn't it, of just how well the gift had been received. Likewise is the way he wastes no time in crossing over to Noctis and slinging an arm around his waist to pull him in for a kiss.]
I found the gift.
no subject
[ Noctis is relaxing into a smile when Ignis comes out and draws him in for a kiss, happily wrapping his arms around him. He opens up under his mouth, giving him a light squeeze. ]
So you liked it, huh.