( Regis may have never told Gladiolus what he told Ignis, may have never given him the speech about a king's duty to push on and never look back, but in a way, he never needed to. Gladiolus learned all he needed to know about that from watching his father at Regis' side. He's sure of himself because he has to be. He has to believe in himself and keep pushing onwards. It's what his father would do.
Those words aren't the simple yes or no he was waiting for, but in a way, they're much, much more than that. They're confirmation that these years of messing around haven't simply been Gladiolus hanging on to some impossibility, that he hasn't wasted time and energy that could have been put into a myriad of other things or people on one beautiful, intelligent, enigmatic adviser.
And, the more he thinks about it, when should he have ever expected Ignis to answer this question simply, rather than in this roundabout way?
His hand shifts, turns over and wraps tight around Ignis', threading fingers together when he leans over and brushes his free hand against the other man's cheek, his jaw, gently coaxing his face to turn so that Gladiolus can capture his lips in a soft, lingering kiss. )
no subject
Those words aren't the simple yes or no he was waiting for, but in a way, they're much, much more than that. They're confirmation that these years of messing around haven't simply been Gladiolus hanging on to some impossibility, that he hasn't wasted time and energy that could have been put into a myriad of other things or people on one beautiful, intelligent, enigmatic adviser.
And, the more he thinks about it, when should he have ever expected Ignis to answer this question simply, rather than in this roundabout way?
His hand shifts, turns over and wraps tight around Ignis', threading fingers together when he leans over and brushes his free hand against the other man's cheek, his jaw, gently coaxing his face to turn so that Gladiolus can capture his lips in a soft, lingering kiss. )