Fandom to Route 1, Maine, Wednesday Afternoon

[deathsmajesty]

The problem with surprises was that there were so many finicky little details that one had to handle before the surprise proper could go off. This was, of course, made all the more difficult when the person being surprised was as perceptive as Ignis was. Fortunately, however, Liliana was just as inventive when she needed to be, wheedling the promise of tasty treats from him to reward her for her industrious cleaning up of her office, since she wouldn't be teaching next semester. And with Ignis busy in the kitchen and not offering assistance she absolutely did not want, that left her free to take her scheduled portal to Maine to handle the last of the paperwork that a car rental required (yes, Dean had said California, which meant she had immediately began looking at places on the East Coast) and lugging with her the extra-special surprise Summer had passed along yesterday, placed carefully in a cooler and, once the paperwork was handled, placed carefully behind the driver's seat, well within reaching distance for someone sitting in the passenger seat to grab.

After delivering instructions about exactly where she wished the car to be waiting and at what time, Liliana portaled home (and sent her steward to actually pack up her office, it had been a convenient excuse but actually it needed doing), and announced that she had changed her mind, it was too lovely a day to spend it cooped up inside an office, and that he should pack up his treats and come with her, for there was a lovely open-air market that she'd heard about and she wanted to visit it. Whether he was motivated by the pleasure of her company or the concern that she would buy every single thing that caught her eye, Ignis had readily agreed.

And so once more through a portal and back to Maine, though this time ending up in a small rest area right on the side of Route 1. Any questions Ignis voiced were met with a finger over his lips and a promise that soon, all would be made clear. Less than five minutes later, the first (or second, or even possibly third, considering Ignis, sigh) puzzle piece dropped in the sound of a car approaching them, engine purring softly beneath the hood. The driver pulled to a smooth stop directly in front of where they were standing, shut off the engine, and stepped out, leaving the key in the ignition and walking away without another word.

"My, isn't this convenient!" Liliana said, giving Ignis a bright smile. "Well, I suppose there's nothing to it but for us to continue on our way, hmm?"

Welcome, Ignis, to your perfect day.

[For the dreadfully modded gentleman and NFB for distance]

Comments

[deathsmajesty]

"There is, in fact, more than one," Liliana said, because she was a fool. "And as much as I would love to tell you some heroic story of how I kicked my way into Eos and demanded they give me cases of Ebony in tribute--" though the idea was tempting and, you know, at least worth trying "--Summer received a shipment of them and thought that I might appreciate the opportunity to be the one to give them to you."

LITTLE DID SHE KNOW, HOWEVER.

[chef_chocobro]

"A shipment?" Oh, and Liliana would indeed recognize that look on Ignis' face now, as he leaned forward with determination, his free hand drifting up to his chin and curling underneath it. It was an expression of singular focus, honed in on a target, with intrigue and eagerness to revel in the implications of what was currently being presented to him. Were it not for the glasses, were it not for the scorched damage that had left them dull and void, Liliana might have even seen a sparkling gleam in Ignis' eyes.

It was an expression interrupted only by a moment to lowered that curled hand under his chin enough to take another sip before continuing.

"Like the Jetty's. And the Tetsuo's. The leaks from Eos. They've finally paid off."

Yes, yes, yes, there was a whole world still locked to them, filled with all the people they'd ever known and loved outside of Fandom that they might still never get to see again, but the important thing was that he now had Ebony again.

[deathsmajesty]

Yet another reason it was better to have these reactions in front of Liliana than, say, Gladio or even Prompto: Liliana fully agreed with that sentiment. She also liked possessions better than (most) people.

"So it seems," Liliana said with a soft chuckle. "I don't know if they're going to be a regular thing or not, so best to assume that what we have is what we have, but I thought you might appreciate a day of splurging."

And, thinking nothing more about it, she reached for his can to try a sip for herself.

[chef_chocobro]

Without even thinking much of it himself, or even really consciously perceiving it, Ignis' hand moved away from Liliana's. His lips parted, drawing in a breath to form words, to suggest that she simply help herself to her own, but then that suggestion, the one that made him stiffen oh-so-lightly when it left her mouth, that this might not be a regular occurrence, that rationing might be in order, had his hand (and the can) moving back toward Liliana.

He smiled, though it was small and stiff, and he disliked the fact that he wasn't sure if it was out of concern for this momentary, unintentional gaffe or just for the idea of sharing.

Though, in his defense, it had been so very long...

"And what is a perfect day," he said, "without a little splurging. Although, I suppose, until we know for certain whether or not it can make the regular rotation in Summer's orders, we best not splurge too much..."

While his mind was already blazing through equations, figuring that if there were x amount of cans in a typical case, and he had y amount per day....or should he ration per week?...then he would likely need z number of cases to last him until Month...

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana sat back without taking the can and regarded him. "When I pictured this, there was a lot more, hmm. Spontaneous cheering and adulation, possibly even odes written to my overall wonderment," she noted.

And here he was. Doing math. Being Mr. Snatchy-snatchy.

Would Liliana snatch things away from Ignis? Of course, absolutely and without question. But she was a bad person.

"Are you..." She wasn't even sure what to ask. He clearly wanted the Ebony, but he didn't seem happy to get it.

[chef_chocobro]

There was a world of difference, thank you, between snatching and gently diverting, but when Liliana didn't even take the can after it was gently diverted back, Ignis began to understand the gravity of his mindless mistake. He drew in a breath as a new, potentially even more concerning math started to work its way through his head instead.

"I'm sorry, Liliana," he said, and his free hand fumbled for a moment in the space between them, searching for a cup holder in which to slip the can, for now, thus freeing both hands now to take hers, and his attention to divert back to her, as well as it could, with the aroma still lingering and just the knowledge of its presence there. But, oh, it tasted just as good as he remembered, it was practically divi--

No. No, he was focused on her now.

"I believe I've just still....processing it," he admitted. "I...never thought I would ever actually ever taste Ebony ever again. I'd tried...countless of Earth equivalents, and none of them can even hold a candle to--"

He cut himself off, before his words made way to rambling, or worse, odes to the wonderment that was Ebony, instead.

"It's honestly a bit difficult," he said, instead, "to believe that it's actually real. That I'm not about to just wake up in a sour mood because every bit of this entire excursion has just been some cruel dream." He smiled faintly, a hand now drifting softly for er cheek. "Wouldn't that be just my luck?"

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana reached up and placed her hand on his, and continued to regard him, though with a different kind of thoughtfulness now.

"Are your dreams so frequently cruel in that direction? Or your luck so bad in this past year?" she asked, a slight smile playing around her mouth. She tilted her head again, amusement fading. "Do you normally dream of things that...you wish were different?"

Gaia - and Ignis - knew Liliana had bad dreams on occasion, though hers were never of things she wished would be, but only those she wished would not.

Either way, that trio of questions were still kinder than the one she didn't ask: are you truly so attached to it because it is the best coffee you've ever had? Or was it simply the one thing you ever allowed for yourself to want?

[chef_chocobro]

"Not this past year," Ignis said, his smile instantly warming when her hand met his, his thumb still lightly brushing her cool cheek. "This past year has contained so much that exist well beyond what I'd have ever thought possible, even in dreams. And today yet another astonishing example."

But like her amusement, his smile faded, as well.

"But for the longest time," he said, "the only dreams I had were of things still to come. The true irony of my curse: I may have lost my natural vision, but I was given visions of a different kind, of things that would happen but things I could not change. There really hasn't been much else."

Which just may lean toward an answer to one of those unspoken questions.

But also, genuinely, no coffee he'd experienced yet could even compare.

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana unfastened her seatbelt, and, carefully, ever so carefully so as to not knock over the Ebony, crawled over the divider to straddle his lap. Not usually the reason (or the emotions) she did this for, but she was adaptable.

"It's not a dream," she promised him, leaning in not for a kiss, but to bite his lip. Look, pinching was for squares. "Even if it feels like one sometimes. This--everything about today, about me, it's real. And you're allowed to be this happy, even outside of your dreams."

She reached for the can and took a sip. Okay, she could admit it, it was damn good coffee.

But then leaned forward to kiss him for real this time, letting him taste the coffee on her lips, on her tongue, the way he so often preferred to taste the food he made for her.

[chef_chocobro]

The taste of her, mingled with the taste of Ebony, was almost too much to bear. Ignis' hands drifted up from where they'd rested on Liliana's hip to help steady her when she moved to straddle him and pulled her in closer so that he could drink from that intoxicating brew as deeply as possible. This, with the salty sea air in his lungs, his hair no doubt disheveled from the wind in it, and those words--you're allowed to be this happy--made his head swim. He clung to Liliana and her kisses like an anchor and realized that she wasn't the only one beholden to something. She, totally her daemons and sundry, he, to his past. And while she had to vanquish hers, all he really needed to do was just...let go.

Allow himself to be happy. In this gorgeous car with this stunningly magnificent woman who'd effortlessly claimed him from the very first word, who'd brought him a taste of something he'd thought long forgotten for good, taking his idea of a perfect day and showing him just how truly blind to the concept he'd been, how narrow his focus, because he couldn't truly fathom what to even do with that kind of happiness.

But he knew now.

Gods, did he know now.

"Mine," he whispered, on the exhale of a breath he had no choice but to take, and he wasted no time in returning to where they were.