nascere | LET'S PLAY {open post}

I- thank you.

[ He's not quite sure if there's a dignified way for him to do this but by that point it doesn't really matter. He can smell the strawberry and doesn't bother to spare a moment to think about strange it is to be so aware of it. Instead, he delicately takes a bite of it and is relieved when it's neat enough and he doesn't have an unsightly mess down his chin. He's fastidious to a fault, though, and licks over his bottom lip, nodding.

Strawberries don't keep as long or as well, but he doesn't expect that they'll last that long. If there are extras,they can be preserved and stored in the Regalia. Good food that they don't have to prepare and don't get often -- that's enough to make the trip worthwhile. ]

A carton should work, if they're the rectangle ones. If they're square, we should get two. Have you tried one yet?

[ Ignis leans forward to take a delicate bite out of the plump strawberry, and in that moment everything else falls away: the hustle and bustle of the marketplace, the people moving past them, the others haggling with the vendor -- everything grinds to a muted halt when Ignis is all he sees.

It's sudden, inexplicable, how he's focused on the way those soft, full lips close around the fruit, and there is everything sensuous about the way the juice stains his lips red for the moment, and the pink flash of tongue as he licks them clean renders Noctis breathless.

Shit.

But then he's talking, and Noctis is barely cognizant of it, watching the way those words form but not registering the meaning of them, not when he's spellbound by that one impossibly alluring moment. ]

What? [ He asks distantly after a beat, staring at his lips, then at the half-eaten strawberry. ]

[ It is good. It's not often they get to treat themselves with fresh fruit unless they happen to find it foraging or manage to go somewhere warm enough, or that's on a trade route. Gently, Ignis shifts the bags until he can hold them on his shoulder and hates, hates that he has to grope blindly about to get any sort of semblance of where things are.

Noct is in front of him; he's always aware of the prince, habit as well as duty, so it's easy enough to reach out and place his hand on Noct's arm when he hesitates like that.

There's nothing off that he can tell. No threats in the marketplace, no increased footsteps or talking that would seem to indicate an issue which means that Noct was distracted by something not immediately obvious. Gently, Ignis squeezes his arm, worried. ]

I asked if you had sampled the fruit yet and what sort of containers they were in. Are you well?

No, I uh--

[ He fumbles, and winces. Smooth, so smooth; gaping like an idiot at his oldest and closest friend, who's sacrificed so much for his sake, and Noctis can't even get himself in order; sentiment he had thought he'd outgrown simmering under his skin, monopolizing his thoughts. He hasn't outgrown this. ] I haven't yet. They came in those square boxes, means I should get more?

[ At least, that's what Noctis thinks he said. He takes the last bite of the strawberry, and forces himself not to think of how that had touched his lips before. Unsuccessful. ] You have something on your lip -- [ A fingertip, gently brushing away the smudge of reddish-pink. ]

[ Nothing immediately wrong, then, which is a relief. Ignis raises an eyebrow but doesn't push for the time being. He sounds fine, just...flustered, if anything, which in itself raises questions but flustered isn't directly concerning so Ignis won't push right now. ]

Yes. Two should suffice. Any more than that and we may end up with too many to take with us.

[ At the mention of something on his lip, there's pressure, light and fleeting. He recognizes it as Noctis' finger and doesn't quite flinch back but the intimacy of the gesture is tied firmly with the faint burst of embarrassment. He's fastidious to a fault at times and hates the idea of being unkempt around Noct, but recognizes that he's at a disadvantage here. One more squeeze of Noct's arm and he forces himself back on track. ]

If we've paid, we can move onto the next items on the list. There shouldn't be much, but I did mean to ask about the state of your clothing. I realize in my -- condition, there's no easy way for me to check for parts that need mending. If we need to acquire additional clothing now would be the best time to do it.

[ That Ignis is somehow so worried about him is warming and embarrassing all at once-- Noctis likes to think that he's at least become older, no longer the young charge that needs looking after, no matter how overwhelmed he is. Also, nobody ever told you what to do when you wipe a smudge off the lip of someone you've only just realised you've never grown out of, and he surreptitiously licks it off his own finger, for once incredibly grateful that Ignis won't notice. ]

It's all right, Iggy. We'll just grab some clothes along the way.

[ Frankly, Noctis hasn't actually noticed the state of his clothes, and he pauses to do a quick inventory. ] You got anything you wanna pick up?

[ They'll need to start moving again so they don't hold up space in front of the stall they're no longer shopping at so Ignis carefully curls his hand back around Noct's arm and decidedly doesn't think about the muscle that's there. Gently, he leads them down - there's another series of stalls here that should, if he recalls correctly, have the items they need to finish out the list. ]

Unless clothing has suddenly started growing on trees, I think it's best we do our shopping in the city if you do need any.

[ His voice is terribly dry and just the faintest bit amused as they approach another stall; when he inhales, he smells flowers, which should mean they're near the meat vendor, over a stall or so. ]

Just the list. The impulse purchases won't set us back any significant amount so we do have some room.

Hey, you never know.

[ Noctis murmurs. He keeps closer than he should and pretends not to notice, but allows himself to be steered even though he's the one who's supposed to be doing the steering. Looking down at the list, he picks out the meats, and gently puts his hand over Ignis' and leads him to the meats.

Deciding to just hand the butcher the list instead of rattling what they need, Noctis eyes the wares absently, resisting the urge to look closer at all the offal on display. ]

How about this, we drop off the stuff after this, then head out to the city after?

[ They'll make a day of it, him and Ignis, and somehow he's looking forward to that. ] And just order in pizza for dinner later.

True enough.

[ The way things are going, it wouldn't be the strangest thing to see happen, especially after the insanity of the last few weeks.

He can't check the meat for proper cuts or pick and choose as he used to, so he simply trusts that whatever they get so long as it's the same thing, will work. Gladio can prepare meat easily enough and with some herbs and spices, putting it over rice or another item easy to make on the road means that this isn't something he needs to focus on too hard.

The offer isn't objectionable - if Noctis wants to spend the day out, then Ignis will accompany him. They both need to get out anyway and having a distraction is a welcome change, for once. The latter suggestion, though, gets Noct a look. It's not quite the same as when he could see, but the dubious look still performs well enough, he thinks, especially when it isn't as if he's going to say no. There will be spinach on it, though, as that's the least obtrusive vegetable that can go on there and Ignis will feel marginally less terrible about poor eating habits. ]

Contact Prompto and Gladio to confirm their usual order and we can place it while we're out in the city. Have you eaten today? Outside the fruit you sampled?

[ It's all cool, Iggy, the meat looks good. The butcher even shows it to Noctis, who nods -- although granted, the prince has never actually done much grocery shopping in his life, if you didn't count junk food runs at the nearby convenience store.

With a hum, he sends a text to them both before contemplating just what is best to tell Ignis. His appetite hasn't been the greatest of late, but that particular development is going to do nothing but make Ignis worry. ]

Yeah. [ He lies, and instead of elaborating (he's always terrible at it), he turns to the butcher to pay, hoping that the distraction will let this pass. Meat wrapped and packed, transaction concludes, he quickly changes the subject. ] So, last stops -- canned stuff and camping supplies? I think that's on the other side of the market.

Canned items and camping supplies.

[ Ignis repeats with a nod, touching fingertips to the edge of the stall to reorient himself as to where everything is. When he locates the corner, he faces the correct direction, not quite sure if Noctis meant for him to hang off of his arm the entire day. It was sweet, initially, but the market isn't so crowded that he needs help and reminding Noctis of what he's lacking isn't something he's particularly thrilled about.

Accepting help intermittently is better than becoming dependent, especially when they still need to keep moving forward; Ignis has a job to do, much as the idea of it makes his heart ache, he'll see it through. ]

It's close enough to the hotel; we can drop our items off and while there, we can check if you need any additional pieces of clothing or any items mended.

LET'S PLAY {open post}

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