( They both are, in a way. She's adapting back to something she hasn't had for years, getting used to what they are now. Trying with the little things, the casual touches, idle, chaste kisses. Nothing she's really a natural at.
But no one ever got anywhere by staying still.
His smile is a wash of something warm and positive over her, another near forgotten sensation. A spark of something both comfortable and unsettling. )
Never had a problem with it before.
( It's the most shocking that she might want her... more-than-a-friend to stay over, right? )
[The smile doesn't leave his face but stays there as a soft, warm upwards tilt at the corners of his mouth. He rubs his thumb against the dip at the small of her back and leans down to kiss her forehead, pressing warmth to the coolness in her skin.
It's positively scandalous.]
So, you have me here. [His hold on her loosens, but certainly doesn't drop entirely.] What do you plan to do with me?
( Somehow, she thought not. Though who knows how long that will last, really, because the question asked after is one he could end up regretting if the cocky smirk that plays at the edges of Kate's mouth is any indication. )
Depends - ( Yep just let her take a quick, prospective glance at everything she has to work with. A glance which leads both eyes and lips to the curve of his jaw. ) What d'ya think about being tied up?
[He's getting used to the kinds of things she says at times like this, too. The smile doesn't shift off his face and nor does the idle up-and-down pressure of his thumb in the base of her spine cease. There is the smallest flicker of something not quite surprise as his eyes shift away from hers for a moment, then back.]
It isn't something I've ever spent much time considering in this context. [Other contexts, yes, but... none that he'd really like to go into while they're standing here.]
But... hm. I'd be open to experimentation, since it's you who's asking.
( Somehow, the answer she was hoping for was also not quite the one she expected. Brows raised and tone light with the implication of disbelief, Kate pulls back from his jaw and looks up.
The question's been danced around for a while, mostly because asking it carries the risk of pulling up worries she'd rather avoid. But maybe it should be asked. )
You even done anything before?
( Because starting with somewhat makeshift bondage would be... Well. )
[She hasn't asked, and while he's implied he's never stated it directly, because he has suspicions about why she hasn't yet raised the question.
But now she's asking, and he gives a small, honest shake of his head.]
I can't say I've ever found the time.
[Between studying, training, and chasing around after an errant young prince with far too many terrible habits to mention... Well, who has time for a love life in the middle of all that?]
( And this time it's the answer she expected but didn't really want. The stark reminder of the difference in their ages, something that can so easily be forgotten so much of the time. Kate sucks in a breath, the traces of amusement gone from her expression.
(That was a bad idea, she'd said a handful of days ago, when love's effects thrummed freshly through her veins. Maybe that was the right conclusion to draw.) )
Ah.
( How does a person deal with this, anyway? It hangs a weight on her chest, a responsibility which comes with the simple fact that she doesn't want to fuck things up here. Doesn't want to lose someone who all too quickly became a trusted friend and something more. )
And I was starting to warm up to the idea. [Ignis retorts in a tone that's almost playful. He may have no experience in the matters she's proposing, but he does trust her, and that gives her a great deal of leeway in making suggestions he'll not object to following along with.
He drops his hands from behind her back and tucks his glasses into the open collar of his shirt. Then, he takes both of her hands and runs his thumbs once across the backs of her knuckles.]
You don't need to look so concerned. Why don't we just... see where things go?
( But if she isn't overthinking things then who is she.
Her expression softens a little, loses some of the pensiveness that had wound its way through her eyes as her head tips to one side. She doesn't take her hands back but they don't curl around his either.
[He knows she overthinks - he sees it in her so easily now and he can almost see the thoughts running behind her eyes as she looks at him. Ignis isn't one to say he doesn't do the same thing, at times, but this has been one thing he hasn't laboured his thoughts over since the first time she kissed him.]
It's not my intention to make you uncomfortable. [Given what she just asked him, the words feel like they're coming from the wrong side of the scenario.] But there are some things that can't be changed.
( it's that same old nugget. The same problem she's had for years in a different wrapping:
Wanting to be happy is one thing. Knowing she should live her life is one thing. Doing so is another. And it's easy to hold onto his age as a reason to back out of it, to use the fact that she remembers herself at twenty two as a reason that twenty two is just too young-
But he isn't her. Not at all.
It's just the easiest excuse to grab onto. )
... I know.
( Her fingers curl around his as she answers. It's too late to pretend she doesn't feel something for him. Too late to go back to what they were before. )
- Don't want them to.
( Though that would be easier. More familiar. But for all the reasons she can find to try and stop this, a simple touch manages to be far more of a reason to continue.
[Ignis looks down at her; the way her eyes search his face for something he couldn't guess and how her lip catches between her teeth. She curls her fingers around his and he feels the relief of an anxiety he didn't realise he was holding.
They've gone too far with this to simply return to where they were without hurt on both sides, but he doesn't even want to consider trying. Strange, for a man who so often considers all options before doing anything.
Nothing about this has been something he could anticipate. It should make him uncomfortable. It should be placing itself in his mind as a problem to be solved and strategised but how does one plan for unpredictable feelings? It can't be done. The only thing to do is face them head-on.]
Then I suggest that you try not to think about it too much. [He tells her, leaning down and pressing another kiss to her lips.] And I shall endeavour to not make it obvious that I'm picking all of this up as I go.
( Kate pls have you met you. But there's a smile on her face as he pulls back, one that clearly reaches warm brown eyes as she pulls her hands from his and finds the collar of his shirt to pull him back in for another kiss, one that lasts for several heartbeats before she murmurs words against his lips. )
[Don't think much? Ignis would have a few things to say about that, in all honesty, but in the interests of not derailing a conversation which had felt on shaky ground until a few moments ago he keeps said things to himself.
She kisses him and he leans gently into it, one arm around her and the other hand brushing a loose wisp of hair back behind her ear. When she speaks, he smiles.]
See where things go.
[He takes her hand, moving a few steps into the apartment. No reason to leave her to take all the initiative.]
( Never at all that was everyone else's job. But for the moment it feels like it doesn't matter. The kisses, which don't stop for such a thing as moving , seem like a far more important use of her time.
Lips parting as her fingers curl tighter around his, her other hand still on his shirt for her own balance when she's walking backwards, stretching to reach his lips.
There's more than enough places for them to go in her small apartment, really. )
[He uses that willingness - no, that apparent need - to kiss him to take them both further into the apartment. His fingers clasp around the ones curled into his shirt, steps never too long to allow too much distance between them, and when he sits on the couch he pulls her gently into his lap.
There's the smallest hint of uncertainty around the edges of his smile as he looks up at her then, his fingertips drumming gently against the sides of her thighs.
( Here is certainly good, her thighs brushing his as she kneels against the couch, straddling his lap and using his shoulders to balance herself. A brief pause between kisses, long enough to get adjusted and thread her fingers through his hair before leaning in to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth, swiftly drawing a path to his jawline and earlobe with the barest graze of teeth.
No bondage tonight, and with the condoms among the casualties of the clinic, no sex for a while. But there are plenty of other ways to have fun, and this is the first night she's had to explore Ignis' body and figure out what makes him tick.
[As well as Ignis' hair stays up in the style he chooses, it falls easily under her fingers as they push through it. Her lips trail from his mouth, along his jaw, and he tips his head slightly to give her better access to the top of his jawline.
A soft sound escapes him - a swiftly indrawn breath - followed by something like the quietest of chuckles held in the back of his throat. His hands slide up the curve of her hips to her waist, fingers spreading across the small of her back to give him enough leverage to pull her closer.]
( Not yet, though the softest gasp can be felt against the shell of his ear as he pulls her closer, Kate's hands smoothing a path from his hair to the back of his neck, across his shoulders, thumbs pressing slow circles into each.
Each brush of her lips are slow, gentle things, like the whisper of strands of hair against skin. Such bare, subtle touches that they'd almost seem shy were it not for the way her hands continue to travel from shoulders to chest, finding the buttons of his shirt, or the slow rock of her hips against his, seeking out friction and something more. )
[He tries to keep his breathing even but it shakes as her attentions continue, each inhale and exhale alike holding a soft quiver to them as he does nothing at all to keep her from unbuttoning his shirt.
Unsure, at first, of what to do with his hands they stay on her hips for a little while before moving up to the warm skin beneath her top. He traces the line of her ribs down, then back up again, not so much shy as wholly exploratory. His glasses, previously hooked into his shirt, fall into his lap as the buttons are undone and he tosses them gently aside without ceremony, hearing them drop somewhere in the corner of the couch.
The most distracting aspect of the whole thing - more so than the lips on his jaw and neck and the fingers tripping over his chest - is the slow movement of her hips. It's almost maddening, and when he next draws her in to a kiss the gesture is firm, demanding, his fingers threading into her hair.]
( His hands elicit their own responses, her breath heavy against his skin as they trail along her back, pushing fabric out of the way. But the kisses don't stop until his glasses fall and Kate pulls back with a soft noise caught somewhere between laughter and surprise.
She probably should have remembered that would happen.
But there's no reason to stop, fingers tracing the lines of his bare chest, nails a light graze against skin before he pulls her into a kiss that almost seems to be a reaction to the way her hips grind down on him.
Ah.
A smile flickers across her lips as the pieces fall into place and Kate's fingernails dig into soft skin as she's pulled flush against him, the sensation of impatience, of a racing heart and heat flooding her body leading to her arms wrapping tight around his shoulders a moment later. Lips and teeth catch Ignis' lower lip for a brief moment, tugging slightly, the shift of her hips far less slow now. )
[Goosebumps rise in the wake of her fingers, a more pronounced shiver running through his body as her nails dig against his skin. He lets out a soft sound, a breathless 'ah--' in the moment before her lips meet his again, pressing up to the kiss as he holds her close against him.
One hand curls around the back of her waistband and he grips tightly to force the movement of her hips to slow but deepen, his own shifting up against her.
Everything has focused down to his heartbeat thudding against the inside of his chest, each unsteady breath between presses of lips and the warmth running from every point of contact of her skin on his own. When he pulls his head back from her it's with no small measure of reluctance and a soft gasp for air, a restless fire in his eyes when he looks at her.]
Y.. you are going to drive me insane.
[It comes out weaker than he'd like. His composure is entirely gone, and it's all because of her.]
( It's been all too long since Kate's been kissed or held like this, and longer still since she felt the heart-fluttering warmth and the need to be this close to another person, until fingers clutch at shoulders and each roll of hips drawing out quiet hisses and low groans. Fuck—
Patience can be forgotten for the moment, cast aside in favour of the shivers rolling down her spine and the remnants of a wash of relief that Kate hasn't had the time to properly consider. That they made it, alive and mostly unharmed. That they're finally out of the cave. It could have been so much worse, but here they are.
He pulls away to breathe and Kate takes in a breath of her own as her arms unwind from around him, hands finding the hem of her top and, in one swift movement, tugging it off and tossing it behind her. )
Just getting started.
( Her voice comes out in a breath, spoken against his lips before she captures them in a hard kiss, her fingers curled tight in the ends of his hair. )
[The softest single syllable of a laugh escapes from his lips before hers meet them again, a tingle running across his scalp from the grip in his hair, a heat everywhere else that feels like it's radiating from both of them all at once. He barely breaks from the kissing while he works himself out of his shirt, letting it fall behind him.]
I hoped you might say that...
[Ignis murmurs, kisses peppered between the words. He pulls her close again, closing the distance that had been created by them getting out of their clothes, fingernails digging lightly into her back and dragging slowly across her skin.
( A muffled groan melts against his mouth when fingernails skirt along bare, scarred skin, words forgotten in favour of shallow breaths and the continued movement of her hips down against him. Hands find their place against his sides, skimming across ribs as Kate's lips drag themselves away from Ignis', kisses that barely take her lips from his skin making a path from his lips back to his neck.
A brief graze of teeth against the curve of his jaw, the curious trail of fingertips from ribs to the lines of his chest, brushing a thumb against a nipple experimentally. It's a start, a learning curve for both of them, obvious in the way each touch seems to seek out a reaction of some kind. A gasp or a shudder, little signs of what makes him tick. )
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But no one ever got anywhere by staying still.
His smile is a wash of something warm and positive over her, another near forgotten sensation. A spark of something both comfortable and unsettling. )
Never had a problem with it before.
( It's the most shocking that she might want her... more-than-a-friend to stay over, right? )
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[The smile doesn't leave his face but stays there as a soft, warm upwards tilt at the corners of his mouth. He rubs his thumb against the dip at the small of her back and leans down to kiss her forehead, pressing warmth to the coolness in her skin.
It's positively scandalous.]
So, you have me here. [His hold on her loosens, but certainly doesn't drop entirely.] What do you plan to do with me?
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Depends - ( Yep just let her take a quick, prospective glance at everything she has to work with. A glance which leads both eyes and lips to the curve of his jaw. ) What d'ya think about being tied up?
( goddammit Katherine. )
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It isn't something I've ever spent much time considering in this context. [Other contexts, yes, but... none that he'd really like to go into while they're standing here.]
But... hm. I'd be open to experimentation, since it's you who's asking.
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( Somehow, the answer she was hoping for was also not quite the one she expected. Brows raised and tone light with the implication of disbelief, Kate pulls back from his jaw and looks up.
The question's been danced around for a while, mostly because asking it carries the risk of pulling up worries she'd rather avoid. But maybe it should be asked. )
You even done anything before?
( Because starting with somewhat makeshift bondage would be...
Well. )
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But now she's asking, and he gives a small, honest shake of his head.]
I can't say I've ever found the time.
[Between studying, training, and chasing around after an errant young prince with far too many terrible habits to mention... Well, who has time for a love life in the middle of all that?]
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(That was a bad idea, she'd said a handful of days ago, when love's effects thrummed freshly through her veins. Maybe that was the right conclusion to draw.) )
Ah.
( How does a person deal with this, anyway? It hangs a weight on her chest, a responsibility which comes with the simple fact that she doesn't want to fuck things up here. Doesn't want to lose someone who all too quickly became a trusted friend and something more. )
Prob'ly shouldn't start with bondage.
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He drops his hands from behind her back and tucks his glasses into the open collar of his shirt. Then, he takes both of her hands and runs his thumbs once across the backs of her knuckles.]
You don't need to look so concerned. Why don't we just... see where things go?
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Her expression softens a little, loses some of the pensiveness that had wound its way through her eyes as her head tips to one side. She doesn't take her hands back but they don't curl around his either.
Lord-- )
Forget how young you are sometimes.
( And she's not sure if that's a bad thing. )
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You wouldn't be the first.
[He knows she overthinks - he sees it in her so easily now and he can almost see the thoughts running behind her eyes as she looks at him. Ignis isn't one to say he doesn't do the same thing, at times, but this has been one thing he hasn't laboured his thoughts over since the first time she kissed him.]
It's not my intention to make you uncomfortable. [Given what she just asked him, the words feel like they're coming from the wrong side of the scenario.] But there are some things that can't be changed.
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Wanting to be happy is one thing. Knowing she should live her life is one thing.
Doing so is another. And it's easy to hold onto his age as a reason to back out of it, to use the fact that she remembers herself at twenty two as a reason that twenty two is just too young-
But he isn't her. Not at all.
It's just the easiest excuse to grab onto. )
... I know.
( Her fingers curl around his as she answers. It's too late to pretend she doesn't feel something for him. Too late to go back to what they were before. )
- Don't want them to.
( Though that would be easier. More familiar. But for all the reasons she can find to try and stop this, a simple touch manages to be far more of a reason to continue.
No one ever got anywhere by standing still. )
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They've gone too far with this to simply return to where they were without hurt on both sides, but he doesn't even want to consider trying. Strange, for a man who so often considers all options before doing anything.
Nothing about this has been something he could anticipate. It should make him uncomfortable. It should be placing itself in his mind as a problem to be solved and strategised but how does one plan for unpredictable feelings? It can't be done. The only thing to do is face them head-on.]
Then I suggest that you try not to think about it too much. [He tells her, leaning down and pressing another kiss to her lips.] And I shall endeavour to not make it obvious that I'm picking all of this up as I go.
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( Kate pls have you met you. But there's a smile on her face as he pulls back, one that clearly reaches warm brown eyes as she pulls her hands from his and finds the collar of his shirt to pull him back in for another kiss, one that lasts for several heartbeats before she murmurs words against his lips. )
See where things go, then?
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She kisses him and he leans gently into it, one arm around her and the other hand brushing a loose wisp of hair back behind her ear. When she speaks, he smiles.]
See where things go.
[He takes her hand, moving a few steps into the apartment. No reason to leave her to take all the initiative.]
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Lips parting as her fingers curl tighter around his, her other hand still on his shirt for her own balance when she's walking backwards, stretching to reach his lips.
There's more than enough places for them to go in her small apartment, really. )
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There's the smallest hint of uncertainty around the edges of his smile as he looks up at her then, his fingertips drumming gently against the sides of her thighs.
Here's good, for a start.]
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No bondage tonight, and with the condoms among the casualties of the clinic, no sex for a while. But there are plenty of other ways to have fun, and this is the first night she's had to explore Ignis' body and figure out what makes him tick.
That's plenty of fun. )
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A soft sound escapes him - a swiftly indrawn breath - followed by something like the quietest of chuckles held in the back of his throat. His hands slide up the curve of her hips to her waist, fingers spreading across the small of her back to give him enough leverage to pull her closer.]
... Don't stop.
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( Not yet, though the softest gasp can be felt against the shell of his ear as he pulls her closer, Kate's hands smoothing a path from his hair to the back of his neck, across his shoulders, thumbs pressing slow circles into each.
Each brush of her lips are slow, gentle things, like the whisper of strands of hair against skin. Such bare, subtle touches that they'd almost seem shy were it not for the way her hands continue to travel from shoulders to chest, finding the buttons of his shirt, or the slow rock of her hips against his, seeking out friction and something more. )
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Unsure, at first, of what to do with his hands they stay on her hips for a little while before moving up to the warm skin beneath her top. He traces the line of her ribs down, then back up again, not so much shy as wholly exploratory. His glasses, previously hooked into his shirt, fall into his lap as the buttons are undone and he tosses them gently aside without ceremony, hearing them drop somewhere in the corner of the couch.
The most distracting aspect of the whole thing - more so than the lips on his jaw and neck and the fingers tripping over his chest - is the slow movement of her hips. It's almost maddening, and when he next draws her in to a kiss the gesture is firm, demanding, his fingers threading into her hair.]
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She probably should have remembered that would happen.
But there's no reason to stop, fingers tracing the lines of his bare chest, nails a light graze against skin before he pulls her into a kiss that almost seems to be a reaction to the way her hips grind down on him.
Ah.
A smile flickers across her lips as the pieces fall into place and Kate's fingernails dig into soft skin as she's pulled flush against him, the sensation of impatience, of a racing heart and heat flooding her body leading to her arms wrapping tight around his shoulders a moment later. Lips and teeth catch Ignis' lower lip for a brief moment, tugging slightly, the shift of her hips far less slow now. )
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One hand curls around the back of her waistband and he grips tightly to force the movement of her hips to slow but deepen, his own shifting up against her.
Everything has focused down to his heartbeat thudding against the inside of his chest, each unsteady breath between presses of lips and the warmth running from every point of contact of her skin on his own. When he pulls his head back from her it's with no small measure of reluctance and a soft gasp for air, a restless fire in his eyes when he looks at her.]
Y.. you are going to drive me insane.
[It comes out weaker than he'd like. His composure is entirely gone, and it's all because of her.]
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Patience can be forgotten for the moment, cast aside in favour of the shivers rolling down her spine and the remnants of a wash of relief that Kate hasn't had the time to properly consider. That they made it, alive and mostly unharmed. That they're finally out of the cave. It could have been so much worse, but here they are.
He pulls away to breathe and Kate takes in a breath of her own as her arms unwind from around him, hands finding the hem of her top and, in one swift movement, tugging it off and tossing it behind her. )
Just getting started.
( Her voice comes out in a breath, spoken against his lips before she captures them in a hard kiss, her fingers curled tight in the ends of his hair. )
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I hoped you might say that...
[Ignis murmurs, kisses peppered between the words. He pulls her close again, closing the distance that had been created by them getting out of their clothes, fingernails digging lightly into her back and dragging slowly across her skin.
As it turns out, he's just getting started, too.]
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A brief graze of teeth against the curve of his jaw, the curious trail of fingertips from ribs to the lines of his chest, brushing a thumb against a nipple experimentally. It's a start, a learning curve for both of them, obvious in the way each touch seems to seek out a reaction of some kind. A gasp or a shudder, little signs of what makes him tick. )
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