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Gladio realized he had one of two choices to make. Time was not on his side and the longer he waited the worse it would get. This was supposed to be a peaceful night in with a movie and his boyfriend, not Ignis sitting on the couch working late.
Surreptitiously glancing to the side Gladio noted that Ignis hadn’t even looked up from his phone to see that the movie has started. How he played his next move would dictate the remainder of the weekend.
For once Ignis was blissfully unaware of his internal struggles. Wondering which option was better Gladio went through each scenario in his head.
First, there was the tried and true, cold shoulder method. Simply ignore Ignis and his inattentiveness until the other man noticed and felt bad about it. This was a rather manipulative road to take but Gladio knew Ignis would do his damnedest to make up for it later. So there was that perk.
The second method was also risky but Gladio was leaning toward it the longer they sat on the couch not watching the movie. This choice would put Gladio in the dog house, despite Ignis being the one at fault for being so addicted to work. However, thinking of how this second option would play out made Gladio’s lips pull up into a smirk. Maybe the ramifications weren’t so bad after all.
Taking a deep breath Gladio readied himself for battle, he’d made his choice. Deciding to use the one topic that always got Ignis’ attention as bait, Gladio began the game.
“Noct! What the hell are you doing here?” Gladio exclaimed while trying to remain serious.
Ignis, even with his face buried in his phone looked up right away. He must have been extremely focused to not even question how Noct had arrived without making a sound. Taking advantage of the brief distraction Gladio snatched the phone out of Ignis’ hand and quickly tucked it into his back pocket.
It was almost comical sitting there looking at Ignis’ confused face as he processed that Noct was in fact not present and that Gladio had effectively stolen his phone.
“Gladiolus, what is the meaning of this?” Ignis asked seriously finally turning his full and unwavering attention toward him.
“You were ignoring me, so I fixed things,” he replied with an innocent smile.
“I am – was working on something important. I’m afraid I’ll have to request that you give me my phone back.”
“You were working on our date night?!” Gladio gasped in mock offense. “Rude,” he added, borrowing from Noct’s playbook.
“I – it’s important and won’t take me long to finish up,” Ignis responded calmly, though Gladio could see the faint blush creeping up on his cheeks. His boyfriend knew he’d been caught and was trying to negotiate things in his favor.
“How important? Are we talking King Regis level or maybe you’re helping my dad or the Marshall with something?”
Ignis let out a controlled sigh and Gladio knew he was formulating a response to twist the truth. “If you must know it’s for the – the gala, so it does in fact relate to all three of the people you mentioned.”
“Oh, you mean the gala that is what, oh, two months away?” Gladio asked teasingly.
“Gladiolus, I am sorry I lost track of the time but we can start the movie soon, I promise,” Ignis offered placatingly as he held out his hand, no doubt for his phone.
“Um babe, the movies already started,” Gladio replied with a raised eyebrow.
“No – I – oh dear,” Ignis mumbled with a wince as he took in the movie playing in the background.
“So, as it stands, you can either forget about your phone and we can watch this movie together like two people do on a proper date, or you can fight me for it. Your choice,” he added with a grin.
Ignis’ serious demeanor came back in a flash, “This is quite important despite what you may think, I’d greatly appreciate my phone being returned.”
“Oh no, not this time babe, not unless you give me a really good, and I mean really good reason why I should hand over your phone.”
“I shouldn’t have to give you a reason dammit!” Ignis huffed. “I really need to complete one last thing, now hand it over.”
“So, the thing you were working on is time sensitive? As in must be handled tonight and not tomorrow?’ Gladio hedged hoping to catch Ignis in his trap.
He knew he was gaining the upper hand when Ignis faltered slightly, “Okay perhaps not that time-sensitive but I’d still like to –“
“Nope, not happening!” Gladio cut in.
“Gladiolus,” Ignis all but growled as he carefully pulled his glasses off and placed them on the coffee table, irritation bleeding off the man in waves.
“Look it, using my full name isn’t going to make me cave, no more work for tonight.”
“Well then you leave me no choice,” Ignis sighed before he exploded out of his seat and tackled Gladio into the seat cushions.
Gladio took all of two seconds to register Ignis’ hand skimming down his side toward his back pocket before he turned the tables. They spared quite often and Ignis was a good fighter, but Gladio knew his weakness, one that he never dared exploit while training.
Ignis’ one and only ticklish spot.
Moving quickly Gladio dug his fingers into Ignis’ hips and squeezed. The man squawked but didn’t back down. Deciding that Ignis had a death wish Gladio increased his efforts. Clawing at Ignis’ shirt he managed to get it untucked and found his target, virgin skin. The undignified squawk from earlier had morphed into more of a squeal as Gladio kept wiggling his fingers across Ignis’ hips.
Still, his stubborn boyfriend continued to try and excavate his phone from Gladio’s pocket, where it was quite firmly squished in between the sofa and his ass. Good luck with that endeavor, Gladio was going to win this round no matter what.
“Six, will you yield!” Gladio hollered batting away one of Ignis’ hands before tickling him again.
“Never!” Ignis huffed right before he vaulted into a handstand, using Gladio’s shoulders as the base, and flipped straight over his head to land on the arm of the couch.
Shocked by the acrobatic display Gladio almost moved to chase him but realized Ignis was trying to trick him. Thinking he’d give chase and expose his back pocket. “Hey, don’t break the couch,” he admonished with a smirk while staying in place.
Ignis shook his head and slowly got up, glaring daggers the entire time. “Gladiolus, this has gone on far enough, give – me – my – phone – back – now,” he enunciated with that perfect accent.
“Sure, come and get it,” Gladio smiled. “You don’t scare me, babe, so you feel free to do your worst.”
Ignis took this as an invite to tackle him a second time. Though, already being reclined on the couch meant Ignis’ pounce knocked the wind right outta him. Gasping for air Gladio nearly lost the upper hand when Ignis’ deftly reached around to get to his back pocket.
However, the maneuver was ill-timed and Gladio saw his opening appear like a gift from the gods. Grabbing Ignis’ outstretched arm he yanked, pulling him off balance. Then, in one swift motion, he pushed Ignis backward and twisted his body away.
Ignis had no footing, so he could only go along for the ride as Gladio roughly shoved him face first into the cushions. Wrenching the arm he had a hold of behind Ignis’ back it didn’t take long to capture the other arm. “Gotcha!” he shouted happily.
“Gladiolus!!” Ignis bellowed in response, the couch somewhat muffling his words. “Release me you heathen!” he added gruffly.
“Oh, you brought this upon yourself, now where was I?” he announced adjusting his grip to hold both of Ignis’ wrists in one hand.
“I will destroy you when I get free!” Ignis hissed.
The threat wasn’t exactly believable since Ignis had taken to writhing around, rather alluringly, in an attempt to break the hold. “Hey, cool your jets, I’ll give you one last chance to set things right, what do you say?” Gladio asked as he began looking for the perfect spot to dig his free hand into Ignis’ hip.
“I will -- never surrender,” Ignis huffed out a little breathlessly.
“I figured you’d say that,” Gladio hummed, and then proceeded to reduce his boyfriend to a teary-eyed laughing mess. Putting his full weight on Ignis’ thighs Gladio kept a firm unyielding grip on his wrists and focused his tickling efforts on the tender skin just under Ignis’ waistband.
It was amazing how one little spot could be so sensitive. Gladio didn’t let himself marvel too long, Ignis still hadn’t called uncle, but he suspected the man never would. Listening to Ignis laugh and curse his very existence shouldn’t have been so enjoyable but darn it, he’d been cast aside for some fucking gala.
Gladio knew when Ignis had reached his limit a few minutes later. The body beneath him went suddenly limp and Ignis was simply working to gather air into his lungs. Deciding to really send Ignis off the deep end he fished out the phone and laid it on Ignis’ ass before releasing his grip and standing up in a rush.
Bouncing on the balls of his feet he waited for Ignis to strike a third time, but as the minutes ticked by Ignis made no move to take his revenge.
“Babe, are you trying to kill me telepathically or something? What’s up?”
“You – I can’t – I’ll get you,” he panted.
“Oh but you don’t need to, your phone's right there, see,” Gladio teased with a wicked grin.
“I gathered – that – you fucking – heathen.”
“I hate to be that guy, but can you finish up with what you were doing so we can finally watch this movie?”
This elicited an immediate response from Ignis. He sprang up from the couch so fast his phone went flying and Gladio barely had time to brace for the impact. Ignis was off his game tonight, all Gladio had to do to stop this latest attack was wrap his arms around Ignis and hold him to his chest. Expecting Ignis to fight, he was a little surprised when the man in his arms merely sagged in defeat.
“I will destroy you another night Gladiolus Amicitia,” Ignis whispered. “This is not me yielding!” he added vehemently.
“I can live with that, but do you actually need to finish up what you were doing for work?”
“I will deny I ever said this, but no, I do not.”
“So, can we cuddle on the couch and watch a movie?”
Ignis merely nodded and let Gladio lead him back over to the couch. Retrieving Ignis’ abandoned phone from off the rug, he worked to get them both comfortably situated. Smirking when Ignis flinched as he went to massage his poor boyfriend’s shoulders, Gladio wisely kept his mouth shut.
His patience paid off when halfway through the movie Ignis rolled his head and looked up at Gladio with a smile, “Despite the horrors you inflicted upon me this evening, I wanted to say that I love you.”
“I love you more babe, and I only pick on you because I care.”
Ignis laughed but didn’t complain. “Perhaps later, when we retire for the night you will find a way to make me forget about obliterating you in training tomorrow.”
“I think I can come up with something,” Gladio offered with an eyebrow waggle. Seeing Ignis fully relaxed and happy was his goal all along. The man worked too much, so even if he had to risk Ignis’ wrath Gladio would always try to help him unwind.