fandomtownies | Luke's Diner; Tuesday [06/11].

After his usual initial task of considering what ingredients they had at the diner that morning that were particularly fresh or inspiring and setting to the task of making the specials, Ignis slipped behind the counter to prepare for the day. Naturally, he'd already had coffee even before tending to that, but not that it was finished, he went to pour himself his second cup of so many more...

But he didn't even get the mug to his lips before he paused, frowning, with his brow knitted with concern and irritation.

"Which one of you," he then demanded, "switched the coffee to decaf?"

There was a buzz about the kitchen, mixed between being astonished that he could tell without even drinking it and triumphant statements of 'I told you so, dude!'

"I honestly don't know what's more insulting," Ignis stated, with a small scoff, "the fact that you tried to give me decaf in the first place, or that some of you honestly didn't think I would notice."

The latter.

It was definitely the latter.

Today's Specials
Honey Mustard Chicken with Potatoes
Ginger Lime Melon Salad
Espresso and Toasted Almond Flan

Luke's is open!

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"Well hello, my dar--" Liliana's customary greeting as she sailed into Luke's was arrested by Ignis' expression. "Oh dear," she said, eyebrow raising. "Whatever happened here to give you that impression, my love?"

Something very dire, apparently.

Ignis sighed, setting down his (thankfully now caffeinated) mug with a shake of his head. "Decaf," he murmured, "is what happened."

Need he say anything more, Liliana?

"Oh no, my darling, I'm so sorry," Liliana said, sweeping to the counter and reaching for his hands. "What happened? Are you quite recovered?"

Did she have to murder somebody? Did she have to help cover up for Ignis murdering somebody? Darling, it was very easy, say the word and it would be done.

Maybe they could even reanimate the corpse and not even be down a staff member!

It was reassuring, though, knowing that Liliana could understand how dire this whole situation had been, or, at the very least, was willing to effectively pretend as much for his own sake. Ignis took her hands in his with a small squeeze.

"Someone earlier today," he explained, "--and, no, no one is fessing up, although I do have my suspicions--thought they could try to pull one over on me by switching the pots while I was finalizing the specials for the day. I'm sure they deeply regret the fact that they wrong....although at least someone has some sense to have known to bet that I would know immediately."

The staff at this diner really did have a serious betting problem.

There was some carefully hidden amusement there, it was true, but Liliana would be incandescent if somebody replaced something she wanted as a prank and could, from that lens at least, understand and sympathize. Empathy through an incredibly selfish lens was still empathy, after all!

We call that progress.

Liliana turned a withering glare upon whichever diner staff was closest, one that promised dire retribution if she ever found out they were involved. She was pretty sure Ignis wouldn't go in for mass punishment until the perpetrator confessed, but it was an option on the table, darling, just so you knew.

"Would a kiss help soothe the last of those ruffled feathers, love?"

Ah, but Ignis had to work with these potential perpetrators, and Liliana knew how he was about teamwork and solidarity. And, irritating as it was, it wasn't any worse than anything Gladio or Prompto or Noct might occasionally pull when out on the field, either.

Still. Just like those antics, this was not nearly as amusing or clever as they seemed tot think it was.

"A kiss," he stated, with a small roll of his neck and shoulders as if those ruffled feathers were practically a physical manifestation of his discomfort along his back, "would soothe a great many things right now, 'Iana."

So much so that he wasn't even going to let such a thing be postponed, leaning in to have that kiss now, please and thank you.

And, since he'd had such a miserable day, Liliana was going to make sure it was a good one, deep and long and lingering, one chill hand cupping his face before dragging a finger down his throat, the other splayed against his chest, palm directly over his heart like a silent command to beat just for her.

"You know, my 'Nys," she murmured against his mouth when the kiss drew to a close. "It's not every day I get to kiss you through your ill-temper." Her voice was rich with amusement.

And, wouldn't you know it, that heart did surge and beat that much faster, as if by her command, or, at the very least, the command of her touch, of her presence, of her absolute everything.

Tragically loyal, indeed, his own body betraying its natural rhythms at her hand, although you certainly wouldn't heart Ignis complaining abou tit, even if his lips weren't already occupied. A kiss like that might even make the decaf worth it.

(Might).

"Well, of course not," he murmured back, "what with me being the epitome of constant good cheer and sunny-side optimism that I relentlessly am..."

Plus, you know, the whole lifetime of learning to suppress sometimes even the most basic range of human emotions helped, too!

The important thing here is that she would never ask that of him. There was no reason for anybody to hurt themselves for decaf, not in general and especially not in their relationship.

Though she'd be a liar if she tried to say that feeling his heart beat faster at her touch didn't bring a curve of satisfaction to her lips.

"Of course," she agreed. "That was precisely what I was thinking when I said it. Honestly, your relentless chipperness does get a little grating after awhile, but I love you, so I endure." Because the trade agreements on smiling were definitely a product of capping production, not encouraging it. "Let me know if your displeasure lingers though, my darling," she said, dropping her voice into a soft purr. "I know of a truly spectacular way of alleviating it."

Rather suddenly, Ignis was finding himself far more bereft about this entire situation than he was just a moment ago.

"Mmm," he hummed in that thoughtful manner that suggested he was considering it carefully, and in that deeper tone to match her purr by making it nearly a growl, "it does seem to be quite the sticking point. I'm afraid I may be distressingly inconsolable."

That finger that had traced its way down his neck reversed course, sliding up the column of his throat to tip his chin up, Liliana leaning further across the counter as if to claim that newly revealed territory as her own as well, this time with lips and teeth.

Instead, though, she bypassed it entirely to murmur in his ear, "Then, you truly ought to let me try my hand - and, diverse other parts as well - at consoling you, no?"

Now, now, Ignis. The truly distressingly inconsolable surely didn't allow themselves to smirk like that. There might have been an effort to keep a thing like that in check, but, well, with how utterly beside himself he was over this whole ordeal, who could blame him for having his attention so firmly elsewhere?

"I certainly wouldn't hurt to try," he agreed, turning his head just enough so that he could drawl into her ear in kind, "no. And, if at first you don't succeed..."

"...Use your impressive work ethic as an example and continue my attempts?" Liliana suggested. "Perhaps changing up my approach a bit to see if that holds the key?"

She stepped back and held out a hand. "Shall we? I do believe the tenor of your very afternoon depends on it."

"Well, I was simply going to say 'try, try again'," said Ignis, taking that hand and leading Liliana with him along the counter until he could step out from behind, "but I do believe you've still captured the gist of it, yes."

And if this might take a while and delay his return from this extended lunch break, well, then, perhaps his coworkers should have thought of that before resorting to such needlessly distressing juvenile hijinks.

Luke's Diner; Tuesday [06/11].

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