Hadriel IC Inbox

[claritatis]

"You've reached Ignis Scientia. Leave a message and I will endeavour to get back to you post-haste."

Comments

[claritatis]

Hm.

[The kiss has a smile pressed into it, the slightest chase when she draws away from him.]

I imagine it wasn't your intention to make me self-conscious.

[dedikated]

( She unwinds her hands from his to run her fingers through his hair instead, gently and ever-so-idly messing with the shape, scoffing a little at that.

No, it wasn't. But would that really be enough to make him self-conscious? )

Sure you've noticed things I do.

( A shrug. She's sure she has habits too. )

[claritatis]

Of course. [It's just the two of them, so he doesn't protest to the attention she gives to his hair, nor the way she sets several strands loose over his forehead. Noticed the things she does? He notices everything she does.]

What are you thinking about?

[He drops his hands to her thighs, moves them up to her hips and pulls her just that little bit closer.]

[dedikated]

( It's unfair to ask her what's on her mind and then move your hands there, Ignis. She's so easily driven to distraction by touches to her thighs and hips.

But she frowns, in that slightly pursed-lips way that someone who notices everything about her would know means she's trying to think how to word the things on her mind. )

You never initiate... ( Actually, maybe that isn't entirely true. ) If you do, it's just to get me off. ( Which isn't at all objectionable, but that's besides the point for the moment. )

Not a bad thing. Just... I've never known anyone not want more.

( She's not entirely sure if that explanation makes sense. People usually want more. She hears that from her friends' love lives, knows it from the myriad of times she's had to tell someone to go do their walk of shame already, and even in the few months she was with Sam, it was incredibly easy to sink into more.

It's a little strange to Kate, how happy he is to just have this and nothing else with her. )

[claritatis]

[In truth, he's never really thought about it before, but of course this might be something that bothers her. He brushes a curl of her hair back behind her ear and smiles gently, shaking his head.]

So, that's it? [Such a small thing, and yet... is it? He doesn't have anything to judge it against.]

You're beautiful, Kate, and everything I could possibly want. [Ignis is sure that she knows that, and he is sure she'll be embarrassed to hear him say it, but he has to make sure it's firmly in her mind.]

But I've never felt a need to satisfy myself in that way. It isn't you. I'm more than satisfied enough in being able to make you happy.

[dedikated]

( Is it that it bothers her, or simply that it's so far from the things she's known before that she can't help but notice it? Or just that well-guarded insecurity rearing its head because here, with him, she has so few left?

(Does she even have any left?)

It's dark enough that the red which flushes over her cheeks and down her nose might just be imperceptible. No matter how much it's proven again and again, hearing it said always leaves her just a little off kilter, just a little bit tempted to shove him away and drive them both to distraction.

But she doesn't. )

Oh. ( And that's strange too, because has she ever truly allowed anyone to just... do that? Make her happy? Letting them lie down and fall apart as she uses them for her own satisfaction isn't quite the same thing. ) Well.

( She leans in for one more kiss, and smiles against his lips. )

You do.

( Like this. Just like this. )

[claritatis]

[Speaking of things that he notices... Yes, he notices that she blushes when he pays her compliments. He notices that she will lightly punch him or shove him so she doesn't have to deal with what he said to her. He notices that, sometimes, she'll just start kissing him so he doesn't keep talking.

But he is grateful that she doesn't resort to those tactics now. That she's definitely listening.]

Good, then. [He replies softly, pressing another light kiss to her lips.] Because that's all I want, and if it ever changes, I want you to tell me.

[dedikated]

( If it changes, he'd be the first to notice anyway. Let's be honest here. Her fingers no longer mess with his hair, finding places on the sides of his face, tracing over smooth skin as she falls into more kisses. Not to let the conversation drop, or to distract him from other things, but simply because she wants to. )

I— ( kiss ) — love — ( kiss ) — you.

( It's not like the first time, half-driven by guilt, or the second, where it still tingled nervously in her gut. This comes out easily, as sure as she ever has been about anything. )

[claritatis]

I love you, too.

[He's meant that, every time he's said it, but it took some development of his feelings for him to realise that the first time the words came out of his mouth, it wasn't quite love. He had cared for her then, and deeply, but the real love of her came later.

It's what now swells gentle and warm beneath his heart and she kisses him, as he smiles at her and knows that he doesn't want anyone else.]

And you should know, you make me feel I'm the luckiest person here.

[dedikated]

( Those words trigger rolling eyes, a shove, and the unmistakable flush of colour across her cheeks intensifying into something deeper. It's always felt strange to hear that — not just from him, but that sentiment echoed by anyone, offering a reminder that she has value beyond her work — but it was easier to shrug off when she could file it away as a comment on physical skills or value.

It's impossible to do that given the conversation preceding it, and those words slide into a place deep in her heart shared by Faith calling her bestie and Glacius naming her warrior, sister.

Words she'll never truly feel like she's earned, but has been granted nonetheless.

Kate huffs out a sound of protest, butterflies in her stomach flitting in that same way they did before the beginning of all of this, when there was nothing but close quarters in kitchens and the looming threat of angry robots. )

Fuckin' hell.

( Gross, revolting, and so on. )

[claritatis]

[The moment she starts to react that way, he laughs. He could have predicted it before he even spoke, the way she shoves at him and swears, but responses like that are all part and parcel of just why he feels the way he does about her.

And he'll tell her over and over again, without any blushing on his part.]

I know, I know. [He says fondly, pulling her down for a light kiss.] I'm a terrible embarrassment.

[dedikated]

( Well, at least one of them can deal with emotions without wanting to squirm out of them. But she's a lot of better at it than she used to be, that even being at this place where she flushes and pushes him away is a damn sight better than shutting out the possibility entirely.

He kisses her and Kate doesn't pull back, leaning her forehead against his with the softest of playful smiles flitting across her face. )

... You're not so bad.

[claritatis]

Ah. The highest of compliments.

[He deals with his emotions in this aspect of his life with far more ease than in many others. With Kate, it's never been difficult to be open, to express warmth and fondness for her, and to lean into every affection and smile she bestows on him.

She's frustrating, stubborn, hotheaded, but so wonderful, and he wouldn't change a thing about her.]

You're not so bad, yourself.

[dedikated]

I know.

( Don't be sarcastic, Ignis. Gosh.

If there's anyone in this city who deserves the smiles she gives and the ease with which Kate shifts herself again, sitting in his lap with her legs stretched out and leaning her head back against his shoulder to look at the stars, it's him, for helping her latch on to some of the parts of herself Hadriel was starting to erode with its constant drama. Helping her find parts of herself, like the part that has her so easily relaxing against him, that she didn't even think she possessed.

Everything is quiet and still, and for once she doesn't feel the need to break that.

This is more than enough. )