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beomgyushighlights · 3 years

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Circus {H.K}

Day 1 (XII)

"all eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus"

in which the first words Nari's soulmate says to her are "free britney"

in which two idols find their soulmates in each other after thirteen days of little comments without knowing who the other was

-a short story soulmate au-

©beomgyushighlights 2021

do not translate or repost without permission

(can also be found on wattpad and ao3 under the same username)

master list

As the choreographer allows a break, the members of the band sit and cool down while the arguably most chaotic member sings Circus by Britney Spears quite loudly. The sound of footsteps running in the hall catches the attention of the band as someone yells, "FREE BRITNEY!" before they continue running down the hall.

Confused, Chang Nari looks around the room, her band mates equally confused before she realizes that those are the first words her soulmate says to her. She rushes to look outside the door into the hallway, unfortunately too late to see the culprit. Sighing, she walks back to her band mates and takes a sip of her water.

"What was that?" Eun asks. "My soulmate." She shrugs. Osamu spits his water out in shock. "What!?" All four members ask at the same time. "Free Britney." She says showing them her wrist. "H.K, 18, XII." Hyejin reads.

"Okay, your soulmate is eighteen, good you won't catch a case. Twelve months? Days? Minutes?" Yejun says. "Unless you keep track it's hard to tell. Mine said twelve and then the next minute it said eleven so that's how I kept track and found my soulmate twelve minutes after our concert." Osamu says.

"Duri is so amazing." Hyejin gushes over Osamu's soulmate. "Well it's been a minute and it hasn't changed so it's not minutes." Nari says. "Okay, back to practice." The choreographer says. Practice goes well and soon the band is going back to their dorm.

The bands dorm is five bedrooms so each member has their own and that proves convenient for when someone wants a guest over. Opening the door, Hyejin hears a loud meow and a hello. "Duri!" Eun yells, running to the kitchen where Duri is cooking for the band. "Nabi!" Nari yells, picking up the small kitten that ran to her.

Petting the four month old cat, Nari walks to the kitchen were everyone has gathered. "Hi, Duri!" She smiles at the older female. "Hi, Nari. Nabi was very talkative today." She smiles back. "She seems to get more and more talkative every day." Yejun says.

"She also gets more energetic each day." Hyejin says. "She's only a kitten, of course she's energetic." Nari defends. A knock on the door pulls their attention and Nari goes to open it as she's the closest. She looks out the peephole before she opens it. "Hello?" She says. "Hello, are you one of the members of H.O.N.E.Y?" He asks her.

"Yes, how can I help?" She asks. "I'm Kang Taehyun of Tomorrow x Together, we wanted to know if you guys have any time that we can meet and ask for advice? BTS recommended asking you guys for more advice if we need it." He says. "One moment." She smiles turning to face the kitchen.

"CAN SOMEONE BRING ME THE PLANNER AND A PEN AND ALSO GRAB NABI FROM ME!?" She yells. "YEAH." Eun yells back. Eun brings the planner and a pen and grabs Nabi from Nari's arms. "Okay, so, we are really busy training this week but we are available two Tuesdays from now, that's in twelve days." She says. Taehyun pulls out his phone and checks his calendar.

"We're free then, where do you want to meet?" He asks. "Just bring your band here, as long as no ones allergic to cats." She says. "None of us are, So two Tuesdays from now, here, what time?" He asks. "Two in the afternoon?" She asks. "That works, thank you." He says with a bow. "It's no problem." She smiles.

She closes the door an shoes back to the kitchen. "WE MADE IT!" She yells. "What!?" Yejun asks. "BTS recommended a newer band to us for advice." She smiles. "Ooh, what band?" Hyejin asks. "Tomorrow x Together." She answers, grabbing the pencil from next to the calendar. She finds the Tuesday that's planned and writes 'txt at 2pm'.

"Oh, oh, uhh, they have that song with morse code at the beginning that they debuted with, right?" Yejun asks Osamu. "Yeah, Crown." Osamu confirms. "They also have anti-romantic, which has a tiktok dance." Eun says. "I like Nap of a star." Hyejin says. "Two Tuesdays from now at 2pm?" Eun asks. "Yes, it's on the planner and the calendar, just like always." Nari confirms.

"Taehyun came to the door and introduced himself. He said that BTS recommended us if they needed more advice." She gushes. "You look up to them so much it's hilarious." Eun laughs. "They have over 47 million followers on instagram and they have like over 35 million monthly listeners on spotify. They have fans in probably every country, they have worked with Halsey and others, they have broken so many barriers in the Kpop world, and they have won countless awards. Why wouldn't I look up to them?" She asks.

"Your fan girl is showing, Nari." Duri laughs. "Oh well, it's not a secret I'm an army." She shrugs. Duri finishes cooking dinner and plates it for everyone before they sit and eat together. They share light conversation, just bonding as they usually do. "I'm thinking about getting a puppy." Nari says randomly after a few moments of silence.

"No you aren't." Eun says. "Yeah, I'm not. It's like that one time I said I was going to cut my hair short, I don't mean it I just said it because I thought about it." I shrug. "Do you wanna dye your hair tonight? I have leftover pink and with your black roots it'll look really good, we can just put it over the bleached part." Hyejin says. "Yes, as soon as we finish dinner that way I have time to shower and be well rested for tomorrow." She says.

After dinner, Osamu and Yejun do the dishes while Hyejin and Nari go to the bathroom and Eun goes and sits in the living room with Duri. Nari sets up her phone to do a live while Hyejin works on her hair. "Hello, hello." She waves as people start joining. "How's my day? My days been very good, we did a lot of practicing dances and then we came home and ate a nice dinner and now Hyejin is dying my hair." She says.

"What color? Pink." She answers. "I got an idea, you trust me right?" Hyejin asks her. "Yes, do whatever you want to my hair." She replies. "Favorite english word? Ricochet or maybe bodacious. I like to say words like ethereal and surreal as well though." She says.

"Something exciting that happened today? Well, today I had a fellow idol ask if their band could meet with our band and ask some advice because BTS recommended us for if they needed more advice. I was very honored." She answers.

"My bias in BTS? Not available because they're all kinda like older brothers to me." She says. "Favorite Kpop group? I like Twice and Red Velvet and Stray Kids and BTS and Blackpink and more." She answers. "What are the full names, pronouns, and ages of everyone in the band? Well, fun fact if you're ever struggling to remember one of our names just remember H.O.N.E.Y is our initials. In honey order it's Hyejin, Osamu, Nari, Eun, and Yejun. Age order it's Yejun, Osamu, Eun, Hyejin, Nari. Last names are Kim Yejun, Jeong Osamu, Lee Eun, Yun Hyejin, and Chang Nari." She answers.

"Oh I forgot to say ages and pronouns, Yejun is 25, Osamu is 25, Eun is 23, Hyejin is 20, and I'm 18. Yejun is non-binary so they/them, Osamu uses he/him, Eun is she/they, Hyejin is gender fluid so any pronouns, and I use she/her." She adds. "What ethnicity is Osamu? Half Korean half Japanese. His mom is from Japan and she moved here and met his dad." She answers.

"How many of us have found our soulmates? Just Osamu, however I believe I almost met my soulmate today because we were taking a water break and I was singing Circus by Britney Spears and someone ran past and said 'free Britney' which are the words on my wrist." She smiles. "Favorite Britney song? Probably Circus because it's really catchy." She answers.

"How was my english so good at our debut when I was only thirteen? My moms Australian and so that entire half of my family speaks English and from a young age she would make sure I could understand it. Also, my dad was moved to America for work when I was four and so we moved and lived there for eight years then we came back to South Korea when they moved him back and I became a trainee and we debuted a year later when Yejun and Osamu finished their military service." She answers.

"Are we ever going to take a break? We don't plan to, that's why BigHit had Yejun and Osamu complete their military service pre-debut." She answers. "Do I listen to the neighborhood? Yes, I like Cry Baby, Daddy Issues, and Sweater Weather." She says. "What are my soulmates initials? H.K. and we assume it's not the english way so it's surname, given name." She says.

"Why am I the main vocalist when I prefer rapping? I'm the main vocalist because I have the largest vocal range." She says. "Song that gets stuck in my head easily? A lot of them but Choke by I Dont Know How But They Found Me is stuck in my head right now." She answers. "Which band did BTS recommend us to? That's a secret but I can tell you that there's a K initial." She says.

"My soulmate? No, the K is his surname, not first." She smiles. "A question for Hyejin, soulmates initials and age?" Nari asks. "M.L. and 24." She answers. "Favorite Melanie Martinez song? High School Sweethearts." She answers. "Okay, you're hair is done. Let the dye sit for an hour and a half then wash it out." Hyejin tells her.

"Okay, hour and a half left on live. It's going to be in english now because I saw my moms in the chat and she said she likes the slight American accent I have." She says. "What collections do I have? I have a manga collection, Kpop album collection, Funko Pop collection, and a vinyl collection." She answers. "Favorite color? I like pastel purples, like lavender." She answers.

"Favorite Harry Styles song? From the Dining Table." She answers. She spends the rest of the time answering questions until her timer goes off. "Okay, I have to go shower and then I'll be going to bed so that I'm well rested for practice tomorrow. I love you all, bye!" She waves, ending the live.

#tomorrow x together #txt huening kai #txt yeonjun #txt beomgyu #txt soobin #txt taehyun #fanfic #bts mention #hueningkai fanfic #hueningkai

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antiloquist · 7 years

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Caffeinated Hearts

Hello, I’m back again with more self indulgent garbage!

Ignis Scientia/Reader, SFW, 5521 words. Reader’s gender is not specified and no pronouns are used for them.

When the little coffee shop you work at starts serving Ebony products, you start bringing in more customers, including a tall, exceptionally polite man who grabs your attention from the start.

Little do you know, he’s interested too.

Tagging my fellow Ignis lovers: @singergurl91 @hypaalicious @strikecommandher @thirdstreetcettin @misssarahdoll @themissimmortal @tehrevving @roses-and-oceans

Read on AO3 here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12922065

When your coffee shop, a little cozy place nestled in the heart of downtown Insomnia, started serving Ebony products, you expected it would bring in some new clientele. What you weren’t expecting, however, was for one of them to catch your eye.

He was tall and crisply dressed, with piercing green eyes and a stern resting expression that could probably melt stone. He’d caught your attention from the first time he’d walked in there, early on a Monday morning at the tail end of a rush. At first, you’d expected him to be just like many of the Citadel customers you waited on, impatient and condescending, but he took you by surprise.

He’d waited quietly in line for his turn, and when he’d gotten to the front, he’d greeted you with a polite smile that made his eyes light up. You’d been so shocked, actually, that it took you a solid few seconds to realize that you were supposed to answer the greeting he then offered. His voice was smooth, with a lovely accent you couldn’t quite place. If he noticed your little social slip-up, he never said anything. He simply ordered an Ebony and paid in cash. The name he gave was ‘Ignis’.

After he received his order, he swept out of the coffee shop as gracefully as he had entered. You couldn’t get his intense eyes or velvety voice out of your head for the rest of the day. Who was he? He carried himself with the air of someone important; it wouldn’t be out of the question if he were, considering you were located a mere block from the entrance to the Citadel.

You wondered if he would come back, bordering on hoping. Maybe it was strange, but… you wanted to know more about him.

And come back he did, around the same time every weekday. On the third day, you summoned the courage to strike up some small talk with him, leaving the cash register to you coworker as you moved to make his drink yourself. He did indeed work at the Citadel, though he wouldn’t specify where. He seemed more interested in hearing about you, honestly. You were surprised; most people took their coffee and left without a care as to who made it for them.

Before long, it had become a routine. Whenever Ignis came in in the morning, your coworkers somehow knew without saying to man the register after you took his drink order, leaving you to make it yourself while conversing with him. He was always polite, made for good conversation, and was utterly charming without even meaning to. After the second week of this, you couldn’t deny that maybe you had a bit of a crush on the mysterious Ignis.

A crush was all it was going to be, however. You knew you never had a chance with someone like him. He was elegant, graceful, like something out of a movie. Meanwhile, you were just some awkward barista, desperately searching for a purpose in life. There was no way he’d go for it, not to mention the world or trouble you’d be in if he complained. Just because he was nice didn’t mean he was interested.

The weeks passed, and you slowly learned more about Ignis. He was apparently a decent chef, for one thing. You had noticed him scribbling something down in a little notebook after ordering one of your to-go sandwiches; when you asked, he replied that it was his list of recipes, and that he found inspiration just about everywhere he went. You had had to practically bite your tongue to stop yourself from telling him that you definitely wouldn’t mind sampling something he made sometime.

In turn, he surprised you by remembering little details about you that you had told him here and there that you had fully expected him to forget. In contrast to so many other customers you saw on a daily basis, he seemed to remember that you were a person with your own thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Of course, other people noticed you noticing him. Mainly, it was your best friend there at the coffee shop, who had apparently made it her grand mission in life to see you and the mysterious Ignis together. She never had any shortage of advice for you whenever the two of you were on shift together.

“Just casually drop the fact that you’re single,” she said, turning to you as she cleaned the espresso machine in the middle of a lull. It was a Thursday morning, not long before it would be ‘time’ for Ignis to come in.

“How about I don’t do that?” you shot back.

Your friend rolled her eyes. “Live a little. Ask him if he’s seeing anyone!”

“Yeah, because that isn’t suspicious at all.” You could see it now; a one way ticket to being fired, or at the very least written up for harassing a customer.

“You’ll never know until you try.” She elbowed you in the side, shooting you a cheeky grin.

You shrugged. “Guess I’ll never know.” The bell on top of the door rang and you glanced up to see… Ignis. What uncanny timing, you thought.

Before you could greet him, however, you were interrupted by your manager, who told you to grab some cups and lids from the back. When you’d asked if she’d meant now, she insisted now. Oh well.

“Don’t worry, I got this,” your friend said, shooting you a wink that left you feeling less sure than you had before.

Of course, the damned things were in the top cabinet. You didn’t know whose idea it was to create cabinets so tall even the tallest people in the store had trouble reaching, but you were definitely inclined to disagree with their design choices.

It took you far too long to locate something sturdy enough to boost you up to the top shelf of the cabinet; as if that wasn’t terrible enough, you nearly lost your balance coming down. A hard fought battle, but you emerged victorious nonetheless. Hopefully you didn’t take so long that you missed Ignis.

Unfortunately, it seemed the Astrals were working against you, as you arrived back into the main area of the coffee shop just in time to see Ignis disappear out the front door. You had half a mind to call after him before you remembered that you were at work on the clock.

A giggle to your left caused you to turn your attention to your friend.

“Disappointed?” she teased.

“Shut it,” you said, shoving the box of cups and lids at her while you took over the cash register. She took the box, smile not leaving her face the entire time. The morning rush had yet to rear its ugly head, and you weren’t looking forward to when it did.

The devious grin on your friend’s face persevered between customers, and it was nearing lunch time when your resolve finally broke and you asked her what the hell she was so happy about.

“Nothing…” she replied. “Except for the fact that I totally helped you out with Mr. Tall, Refined and Handsome.”

Your stomach dropped. “... What did you do?” Part of you didn’t even want to know the answer, but you knew if you didn’t push the question, your friend would never fess up.

“So, I may have - don’t kill me, okay? - I may or may not have written your name and phone number on his cup before giving it to him.”

You glanced around you to make sure no customers were in earshot. “You did what?” You pressed a hand to your temples. “I’m dead. There’s no way around it. I’m just dead.” You weren’t even angry at her; you’d skipped mad and gone to mortified.

“Aww, don’t be like that,” your friend said, frown finally winning out against that damned smile. “To be honest, I don’t know if he even noticed. And if he’s mad, I’ll take the heat. I’m just sick of you staring at him like a lovesick puppy every time he comes in here.”

For a moment, all you could do was gape at her. “I-I do not-”

Your friend raised an eyebrow at you. “Hmm?”

“Yeah, I guess I kinda do…” you said, heat rising to your cheeks. “I mean, can you blame me?”

“Honestly? No. If I wasn’t already seeing someone…”

You pouted at her. “Hey, I saw him first.”

She winked. “Just kidding.”

The rest of the day was filled with clandestine peeks to your phone, waiting for a text, a call, anything. It was stupid, and you knew it was stupid, but you couldn’t help but… hope? You sighed; he probably never even saw it, or maybe he saw it and assumed it was your friend making a pass at him instead. For all you knew, it could have been something that happened to him twice a week from different people and he was sick of it.

Your thoughts were still swirling around in your head when you clocked off for the day and headed home. Around 6:30, you had finally gotten home and relaxed… and then your phone rang. You nearly tripped over the coffee table leaping across the room to get it from its perch charging next to the sofa.

The number wasn’t one you recognized, but the area code was downtown Insomnia. Could it be?... You took a deep breath and picked up the phone. Worst case scenario, it was a telemarketer or a robocall and you just hung up, but best case scenario…

You brought the phone up to your ear. “Hello?” you asked, trying to sound steady.

“Ah, hello.” The voice on the other end was unmistakable. “Am I correct in assuming this is the right number?”

“Ignis?” you could only ask, dumbfounded.

A light chuckle; even distorted through the phone it sounded lovely. “The one and only.”

“It’s uh... “ You weren’t sure if he would remember you. You all had nametags at the coffee shop, and he made it a point to refer to you all by name, but chances were you were a pretty insignificant part of his day. “I’m from the coffee shop down near the Citadel?” you offered.

“Yes, but of course. Your friend was quite insistent I call you.”

You groaned. “Oh, by the Six… I am so sorry about her. She’s got this weird notion in her head that putting friend’s numbers on customer’s cups is okay for some reason?”

A moment of silence. “I do hope I’m not bothering you,” he said, a hint of hesitation evident in his voice.

“No!” you exclaimed, perhaps a bit too quickly. “I’m… I’m glad you called. When she told me what she’d done I thought I was toast for sure.”

“Why so?”

You paused for a moment, unsure if you should say what was on your mind. “It’s just… I dunno, I figured it was kinda weird and that you might have complained. I didn’t ask her to do that, I swear. I-I mean, I definitely like talking to you, but I wasn’t gonna just up and… yeah.” You lost your momentum and sat, waiting for some kind of response.

“Your friend said something along the lines of you not being able to work up the courage yourself?” There was a bit of a teasing lilt to his voice, and you dared to hope through the wave of frustration at your friend; had she really told him that?

“She’s… not wrong,” you said, choosing your words carefully. “I-I’m sorry…”

Another soft chuckle; you desperately hoped he wasn’t laughing at you. “There’s nothing to apologize for. The reason I called was…” He cleared his throat. “I was wondering if perhaps I could take you to dinner sometime?”

It took a moment for his words to sink in. Was this a joke? A prank?

“I-I’d love to! Uh… I have Saturday off?”

“Saturday it is. I’m always quite busy, but I’m sure I’ll be allotted time for this.”

You raised an eyebrow, though he knew you couldn’t see it. What did that mean? What kind of crazy job did he have that had him working weekends even with the government? The weekends were when your shop was dead, because the Citadel was closed and all the employees were home.

“Sounds good. Uh, where are we going?”

A moment of silence; perhaps Ignis was thinking. “There’s a nice place a few blocks from your work. I’ll pick you up at 7?”

This was happening. It was actually, really happening; you were going on a date with the cute guy that plagued your idle thoughts. “Y-yeah! That works.” You rattled off your address to him so he knew where to go. “Um… I’ll see you then if I don’t see you at work?”

“Indeed.” There was a clatter on the other line, and another voice shouting. “Ah, I’m afraid I must be going. Be seeing you.”

“L-later,” you said eloquently.

The line clicked and you didn’t know if you wanted to flop onto your couch and squeal or call your best friend and tell her everything. Forget being mad; you wanted to proclaim your undying devotion for her for what she had done.

… She wasn’t ever going to let you hear the end of it, though.

You did indeed see Ignis again before Saturday. He was casual as ever, and honestly you preferred it that way. He didn’t seem like the type for spontaneous PDA, so you weren’t surprised in the slightest. And if he caught you elbowing your friend when she gave you a silly expression in the middle of his order, he didn’t say anything about it.

When Saturday finally came, you must have spent at least an hour agonizing over what to wear. Would dressing fancy make him think that you’re desperate? Would dressing casual come off as you not caring? In the end, you settled for something down the middle; fancy enough for a nice restaurant but casual enough that it didn’t look like you were going to a Citadel ball.

With the minutes ticking down to 7, you paced outside your front door. This was it, this was actually happening. Unless, of course, he decided to cancel or stood you up or something. You shook your head of the negative thoughts; he’d given no indication that he was the sort of person to do those sorts of things to someone, and you were damned if you were going to let your anxiety ruin a nice night out.

At approximately 7:01 PM, someone knocked on your door. You mentally steeled yourself for this, not even bothering to check the peephole before throwing open your door.

There Ignis stood in all of his casually elegant glory; it seemed he too had decided to go for somewhere down the middle line for attire tonight, and you were relieved that you two seemed to be on the same page. At the very least, you both looked okay enough for a decently fancy restaurant, you thought. A pinstriped button-up shirt adorned his lithe frame, paired with a nice pair of slacks and a light jacket. It was frustrating just how nice he looked standing in your doorway.

“Apologies for my tardiness,” he said crisply, checking the time on his phone. “I had prior matters to attend to.”

You blinked. “U-uh, you’re fine, really!” you said eloquently. “I wouldn’t call being a minute late anything to be sorry for.”

Ignis smiled softy. “Still, I said 7 and I am generally a man of my word. Do forgive me.”

“Okay, I guess I can let it go,” you teased, smiling when your jab get a genuine chuckle out of him. “Did you want to come in?”

“No, that’s quite alright. I’ve made reservations for us, and I don’t want to be late twice in the same night.” Though his words were serious, his tone of voice was light.

You grinned. “Perish the thought.”

Ignis offered you his arm as you closed and locked your apartment door behind you. “Shall we, then?” On anyone else, the gesture probably would have come off as silly or facetious, but Ignis had a sort of old-world charm about him that made it work.

“Let’s,” you said, taking his elbow and letting him show you where to go.

The walk was peaceful, the setting sun providing a warm atmosphere. Surprisingly, you found it just as easy to keep up conversation with Ignis as you did when you saw him at work.

“I hope your day off has treated you well?” he asked while the two of you waited for a walk signal to cross a busy intersection.

You nodded. “Yeah, good to not be up at the crack of dawn. Fridays are the worst, because everyone wants their coffee and for the day to be be over.”

“Endless coffee orders? I hope they haven’t bean a downer on your spirits.” You blinked at him for a second. Had he… just made a coffee pun? It caught you off-guard and all you could do was sputter out a laugh in response.

“That was terrible,” you said, though your grin betrayed how you really felt. Intelligent, gorgeous, and a sense of humor? Goodness, this man wasn’t real.

Any potential response from Ignis was cut short by his announcement that you’d arrived at your destination. You had to take a moment to not boggle at the place he’d brought you to. Of course, you’d seen it on your travels through downtown, but it had always seemed way too expensive for your budget. Were you underdressed? You subtly craned your head around to look at the other patrons through the restaurant’s glass windows; they were dressed a touch above what you generally wore on a day to day basis, but it looked like this place wasn’t Citadel Ballroom attire-worthy. Thank the Six for that, you thought.

Your grip on his arm subtly tightened as you entered the establishment, and Ignis answered the gesture with a gentle pat to your arm with his free hand.

The host greeted him with the sort of familiarity a semi-regular customer garnered; warmth, but not overt friendliness, especially not at a posh place like this.

“A reservation for two at 7:15,” Ignis said. “It should be under ‘Scientia’.”

You frowned. Scientia, Scientia… you’d heard that name somewhere. But where?

The host tapped at his register and brought you back from your thoughts by confirmed that there was indeed a reservation under that name. “Right this way, Mr. Scientia,” he said to Ignis, barely giving you more than a cursory glance before turning and leading you two into the restaurant with two menus in hand.

At least you didn’t feel horribly out of place… yet.

You took your seats and the host left you alone for the time being. Before the waiter came and took your order, you took the opportunity to look around. The decor was upscale, but not obnoxiously so. It was refined without being snooty… exactly you how you thought of Ignis. A glance up to the man seated at the other end of the relatively small table reminded you that yes, this was actually happening. You blushed and looked down at your menu, hoping to find something to suit your palate that wouldn’t bankrupt your date.

“You’re quiet,” Ignis remarked. It wasn’t a criticism, but rather an observation.

You fidgeted. “Guess I’m still a little nervous. This is a nice place. And also, I was wondering…”

“Ah,” was the response you got. Perhaps he was waiting for this.

“Your name… it sounds familiar? I dunno why, though.”

Ignis thought for a moment. “Perhaps you’ve seen it in a news article somewhere. I do occasionally get mentioned, being the crown prince’s Chamberlain-to-be, after all.”

You snapped your head up and looked at him, searching his face for any sign of a joke. “Wait, seriously?” you asked when he realized he wasn’t being facetious.

Ignis chuckled. “As serious as a heart attack, my dear.” He frowned slightly. “... perhaps I should have mentioned it beforehand.”

“N-no, it’s okay,” you said. “You probably didn’t want it known because…” You paused for a moment, trying to word your thoughts in a correct and coherent manner. “People pretend to like you to get things, don’t they?”

The slight widening of Ignis’s eyes told you you were right on the money. “Perhaps that has... happened in the past…” he murmured. You had a feeling he didn’t really want to talk about it.

“Well, that’s not fair to you at all!” you said. You then took a deep breath before your next statement. “I… I liked you even when you were just a regular customer.”

Ignis raised an eyebrow at you but said nothing. His silence prompted you to continue onwards.

“Y-you’re always super nice to all of us. Some people… they pretend we’re machines or something, just there to give them what they want.” You sighed, remembering a few of the far too many rude customers you had had over the course of your time working where you did. “You even remembered my name…”

“Is that… not a regular occurance?” Ignis asked, genuine surprise coloring his tone.

You shook your head. “I’m usually ‘hey, you!’ or ‘hey, cashier!’ on a good day,” you said, scowling.

“How dreadful,” Ignis replied.

You snorted. “Dreadful doesn’t even start to cut it,” you said. “One time - Gods, this was ridiculous - one time, this lady told me I was too stupid to even work at the fast food place down the street just because I wasn’t done with her heavily customized order in under a minute.” You chuckled at the memory; once the hurt had passed, you remembered it more as an occasion to roll your eyes over. Some people…

“That’s not fair to you at all,” Ignis shot back, echoing your statement from a moment earlier.

You smiled at him. “It’s… it’s really not, isn’t it?”

The waiter arrived and took your drink orders. Not knowing what was good on the menu, you simply opted to have a glass of whatever Ignis ordered; you trusted his judgment.

“It’s truly a shame that some people are absolutely barbaric,” Ignis said.

“It’s okay,” you said. “A lot of stuff makes it worth it. The pay’s pretty nice, the location’s good, and… some of the regulars are really cute.” You winked at him.

Ignis flushed slightly. “Come now, I’m nothing special…” he murmured, but he looked pleased with the compliment nonetheless.

“I mean it!” you exclaimed. “But I guess you know that, considering... “ You hid your face in your hands. “What did my friend even tell you, anyway?”

“She insisted I absolutely had to call you. Something about how she had to tell me because you never would.”

You blushed, drumming your fingers on the tabletop. “W-well, I… It wouldn’t be professional to ask a customer out while I’m on the clock, right?”

Ignis chuckled. “Your adherence to professionalism is admirable, but… I can’t help but find myself glad protocol was broken somewhat, if I may be so bold.”

“Yeah?” you asked.

“You say I’m one of the good things about your job. What’s not to say I enjoy seeing your smiling face first thing in the morning?”

You sputtered. “I-Ignis!” You clapped a hand to your mouth to muffle the nervous laughter that threatened to escape. “That’s… really sweet of you to say.”

“I speak the truth. I spend so much of my time entrenched in politics that I hardly have the stomach for empty compliments outside of work. Though you work customer service for a living, I find your cheer to be quite genuine.”

“That might be partly because of you,” you admitted. “But… there is something really nice about making someone’s day better however you can… there’s too much negativity in the world, yeah? Why add to it?”

Ignis nodded. “Indeed.”

The waiter arrived with your drink orders and took your food orders. You ordered what looked closest to what you generally enjoyed when you went out to eat, and Ignis ordered something completely different.

You sipped at your drink, a light airy wine that complimented the slowly warming weather in the city quite well. A few moments of oddly comfortable silence passed between you and Ignis.

“Is it… difficult, working for the royal family?” you finally asked. You wondered if questions about this kind of stuff irritated him, but you were honestly curious.

Ignis took a sip of his wine. “Hmm…” he thought. “I’ve held the same position since I was a boy, so I can’t really say there is anything to compare it against. It’s… busy, but I honestly don’t think I would trade it for anything.”

“Since you were a kid? Whoa…”

“Indeed,” Ignis said, nodding. “His Majesty wanted someone to guide His Highness, stand beside him as more than just an employee.”

You smiled. “That’s actually really sweet.”

“I would like to think this is a role I perform well… even if I still cannot get His Highness to eat his vegetables to this day…”

“Sounds like your average teenage boy to me,” you remarked, wondering a touch too late if perhaps what you had said was rude.

Ignis only sighed in response. “It is how he would prefer people see him as… It doesn’t stop me from hiding spinach in his meals, though.” He smirked softly, giving his sharp features a mischievous look to them. Ooh, you liked that.

Before you could respond, the waiter arrived with your food. Yours smelled divine, and whatever Ignis had ordered looked pretty appetizing too. You eagerly dug into your meal, though you took care to not look sloppy in front of your date.

A scratching noise brought your attention to the other side of the table. Ignis had a silver notebook in his hands and was writing something down. “I daresay I can recreate this…” he murmured.

You raised an eyebrow. “Just from tasting it?” you asked.

Ignis nodded. “A learned skill, perfected from many years of trial and error.”

“That’s pretty cool. You’re full of surprises, Ignis.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Ignis asked, a perplexed frown settling on his features.

You shook your head. “No, definitely not. Gosh…” you trailed off, drumming your fingers on the tabletop nervously. Would it be too forward to say what you were thinking? Ah, to hell with it, you thought; if he thought it was weird, his loss. “You’re cute, polite, charming, and you cook? Pinch me, I must be dreaming.”

Ignis laughed, a short genuine sound that made butterflies explode in your stomach. “You flatter me…” he said. At least he didn’t seem offended or creeped out?

“I… I mean it. I, ah, I really do like you, Ignis.”

“Well, I would hope so, since we are out on a date.”

A date. He himself had said it; this was definitely a date date then, not just some casual ambiguous outing between two people.

You smiled at him. “I guess I’m just nervous.”

“About what?”

“W-well, I…” you trailed off, wringing your hands under the table and trying to gather your thoughts. “I’m just worried I’m gonna say something dumb or you’re going to think I’m a huge weirdo or something.”

Ignis chuckled softly. “There’s no need to worry. On the contrary, I find you quite endearing.”

You took a bite of your meal to quell the urge to laugh nervously. You didn’t feel awkward with him, but you weren’t used to such… earnest praise. It was clear that Ignis was a man who said what he meant.

The rest of the evening flowed better than you could have ever hoped. Conversation came easy, and he seemed interested in all of the ‘customer horror stories’ you had to offer. He wasn’t able to offer many anecdotes in return (confidentiality reasons, he’d said) but he managed to paint an image of day to day life at the Citadel that was actually far less stuffy than you expected it to be.

When the bill came, Ignis took it and you let him; hopefully you could return the favor on a future date… if there would be one. You were having a good time, but you didn’t know if Ignis was as well or not.

The sudden chill of the night air broke you from your thoughts as you and Ignis left the restaurant. Though the weather was in it’s warming cycle, the nights could still be rather cold. You let out a noise of surprise at the sudden change of temperature and Ignis reacted immediately, shrugging his light jacket off and placing it around your shoulders.

“Oh, thank you…” you said, blushing. At least getting flustered was warming your face, you thought.

“Of course,” Ignis replied, charming smile lighting up his features once more. This man was a work of art, truly. Had the Astrals themselves chiseled him out of marble?

Ignis offered his arm once more, and you took it. Though the fabric of his button-up shirt, you could feel that his arm muscles were toned, solid. Did he work out? At first glance, he’d seemed to have a more ‘nerdy’ physique, but you were beginning to think he was stronger than he looked. It made sense; if he was in direct service of the royal family, it would make sense if he were trained in combat of some sort. Or maybe it just came from hefting pots and pans around. You chuckled at the mental image, and Ignis turned his head to look at you.

“What kinds of things do you cook?” you asked him, pulling the jacket tighter around you as the wind gusted slightly. It smelled like him; fancy cologne and something faintly musky.

“I have a variety of staples, but I tend to stay with what I know the people around me will enjoy most. For example, I myself am fond of light pastries, whereas His Highness generally enjoys more savory dishes.”

You grinned. “But still no vegetables.”

“Still no vegetables,” Ignis replied with a sigh, though the smile on his face made it clear he held the crown prince in high regard, distaste for vegetables notwithstanding. “Perhaps next time we can dine in, and I can show you what I’m capable of.”

Next time. Next time. He wanted a next time. Those words swirled around in your head and you had to resist the urge to jump up in glee. It was a moment before you realized he probably expected you to say something in response. “That sounds great,” you said, trying to sound eager but not overly enthusiastic; you didn’t want to freak him out by closing in so fast. No, you really liked Ignis, and you wanted to do this right.

Far too soon, you arrived at your apartment. You had half a mind to invite him in, but you had a feeling he would refuse, gentleman that he was. It was honestly… endearing, if you were being honest. Ignis had been nothing but perfectly courteous the whole time you’d known him, and for some reason that well-mannered exterior made your heart flutter like mad.

“Guess this is it,” you said, trying to find something to say that didn’t make you sound needy.

Ignis nodded. “I’ve had a lovely evening, and I do hope you feel the same.”

“Definitely,” you said, nodding enthusiastically.

“Until next time, my dear,” he said, picking up your hand in his and raising it to his lips to kiss it softly. Your heart hammered in your throat. Such an old-world gesture… and yet it worked for him.

He dropped your hand, reluctance twinging his features; at least you weren’t the only one who didn’t want this night to be over.

Before he could go, however, you gripped his arm, prompting him to turn back and face you. Screwing up all of your courage, you surged forward and kissed him sweetly on the cheek. When you pulled away, he was blushing. The sight of his flushed cheeks and surprised expression was absolutely breathtaking, and you had to stomp down the urge to cover him in more kisses.

“Ah, I…” For once, he seemed to be at a loss for words.

“Call me,” you said, winking at him and retreating inside.

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the door before you heard him turn and finally walk away. When you were certain he had gone, you let out a breath and slumped with your back against your front door.

You… you had definitely done that. At least he hadn’t seemed displeased? And he definitely wanted to see you again, right?

Well, if he suddenly stopped showing up at your work, you supposed you’d have an answer to that… But you had a good feeling about this. You were hopeful that this could really be something.

You were three steps into your living room before you realized you’d never given him back his jacket. Oh well. It was your jacket now.

(Customer anecdote actually happened to me, except I was bagging groceries instead of making coffee)

#ignis scientia #ffxv #final fantasy xv #fanfiction #reader insert

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