aterat | One Fall And One Less Bear

"That would be alright, I can wrangle Ebony if she gives you too much trouble." He had a feeling his cat would be okay but he was always there to make sure Nida was alright. After all, this was his boyfriend's apartment and they were guests so he had to make sure his little black cat behaved even if the other man acted like an adorable cat Dad to her too.

"She never gives me trouble. I'm not the bundle of jealousy, am I?"

He knows without looking that Julia is on top of the low end fridge, and the peacock cat gives a delicate mewl in response.

"There's my good girl," he laughs as he lets Ignis go and starts to gather his things to cook for her first.

"No, and I don't want to see it." Not that Ignis is going to do or say anything to initiate that either. He couldn't help but smile at how rough Nida could appear at times and how bad ass the man was. But in private and with his cat the man was an absolute pushover.

But with being let go of, he started to finish getting dinner prepped and ready to cook

Nida was absolutely a pushover, and he didn't mind that at all.

"I don't think it's in my nature to be that jealous," Nida says, but he isn't certain.

Then again... He knew how ugly jealousy could get. Hard pass.

The words didn't sound certain, but Ignis wasn't going to address it as he finished preparing the sauce. The fish were up next and that was what was focused on. The pan was warming up to get to temperature and of course there was a little face demanding some of the fish.

Ebony got scraps and she happily munched on those as the advisor got to working on seasoning and side dishes.

Julia made an offended noise that was closer to a chirp than a meow, but Nida rolled his eyes.

"I'm dealing with yours, princess," he reminds the peacock cat as he takes the fish out and starts to cut it into quick, efficient filets. Apparently he could clean the fish, even if he couldn't cook it well.

"This is nice," Nida offered, his voice soft. He wants the guy to know that.

Julia's behaviour made Ignis smile as he got the fish in the pan. He could've baked it too which had been a thought, but he went for the pan instead. He added a bit of garlic and a small pinch of salt and looked in the refrigerator for that herbed butter he'd made the other day.

After finding it, he stood up and heard what Nida said. So there was a little bit of confusion in the green eyes as he looked over at the other man. "Dinner and feeding cats?"

"Yeah. All of that. But with you," Nida muses as he starts to cut the fish up into chunks which then get thrown into a bowl. That's going to get some light gravy and some veggies before being tossed.

Nida: maker of wet cat food.

The advisor's face turns slightly red and he keeps his gaze averted. Nida was..blossoming if Ignis wanted to phrase it correctly in his mind. It was astounding to see that this man just needed someone to..no not that word but maybe that word for another day. Someone to take care of him and be good to him. Yes those words would suffice for now.

So he turned back to Nida and smiled. "I'm finding more and more that you're quite the romantic."

There was absolute truth in that statement. He'd needed time at first to recover from his loss. BUt after that... He'd needed this from someone outside of his 'family'. Needed someone to believe in him and want him. And Ignis had given him so much.

"I'm really not good at being romantic," Nida insists. But the necklace and the statements. Yeah. He's managing it.

Green eyes slid over to look directly at Nida when he tried to say he wasn't romantic. There was a clear look of 'I don't believe you' both in that gaze and in his tone though there's a gentle smile in both too.

"If you say so darling."

Did he not? Nida considers Ignis for a moment, looking at him in clear confusion before he starts mixing up the fix with the other stuff. Only when it's all done does he split it up into one small bowl as he puts it up on the fridge for Julia. The rest went into the fridge before he started to clean his hands.

"You keep calling me that and I'll keep thinking you're smitten."

He's still standing at the stove cooking when he turns the heat down. Nida's words made him smile and he shook his head lightly as if pondering the word. "I suppose smitten is not a bad adjective to use."

Ignis still stood there and tried his best not to look pleased to hear it so he kept busy with the vegetable side dishes. Really it wasn't a bad thing to be called that. But he wasn't going to call anymore attention to it either so he started setting the table while keeping his gaze averted.

"My friends used to use 'twitterpated' for when I was, you know, head over heels for a guy."

And he didn't think they had been wrong either.

"So, if your hands are free, my flame, what about these apples?"

There was a smile that Nida couldn't see. "That's a rather adorable word for it." He hadn't heard that word before so it was new to him. But if it meant the same thing Ignis could live with it.

Turning to Nida now, he nodded. "We can certainly do them now and put dinner to the side or we can start them after dinner. The choice is up to you."

"Is there a better choice?" Nida asks, returning to Ignis's side and watching him seriously. "I don't want to ruin your dinner."

"I don't mind setting dinner aside but it will get cold and it will need reheated but it shouldn't take long." He looked over at the vegetables which would share the same fate, but it wouldn't be a problem. The herbed butter and the prepared sauce were there but they hadn't been added yet to the fish either.

"So this would be a good time as any to get started on your apples."

"You're sure?" Nida asks, and he actually feels excited about this. Learning from his brother was a chore. Learning from Ignis was going to be a delight.

"I know some simple rules of cooking. Like, I can grill things and still have them be edible. At Garden most of our teachings were about wilderness cooking and survival, so campfires with what wood and food you could find. It's not really good for things like ovens and THOUGHTFUL cooking."

"Yes." Ignis said. The other's face seemed to almost light up and it was hard to say no to an expression like that.

So he listened as Nida went on and smiled, thinking of Gladio and his wilderness things such as setting up the tent every night and making sure the fire stayed lit and stoked. "That's how I did a lot of my cooking for my traveling companions, but I had a Coleman stove which didn't need the fire."

And that was true, Ignis had purchased it before leaving because he'd had no idea how often they might get to eat on the road though obviously the journey took a lot longer than simply being able to hop aboard the ferry in Galdin Quay.

"Gas is so much more reliable," Nida admits. "And cooking on a campfire as I learned it was less about taste and more about sufficient calories."

Which meant stuff could taste like shit.

"And far more temperate for cooking." Ignis agreed easily. Really it was perfect for him to be able to control the temperature and be able to procure the ingredients needed with help from the lads of course. And of course he'd learned so much more from doing those silly errands for the vendors at the Lestallum open air market.

For now he grabbed a few apples and gave them to Nida along with a knife. "Now do you want to cook them whole or make slices and cook them that way?" Green eyes moved over to the cabinet though he physically stayed put. "I do have vanilla and cinnamon. I did purchase some ice cream as well so that can go on top along with some whipped cream."

"Oh, slices sounds lovely. Do I need to peel these?"

That would be easier to do before he cut things. And man, ice cream? His hero.

He nodded. "If you're doing slices then peeling would be required in that case." Turning, he grabbed the peeler for Nida in case he'd need it. And then Ignis turned to the book he'd seen from their trip at the Historium and showed what he was talking about.

Edited 2020-11-19 18:40 (UTC)

The picture has Nida staring in shock and delight.

"That's beautiful. There's no way I can make something that pretty."

This is impossible. But damn if he doesn't want to try.

"There's step by step directions as to how to layer them that way." Ignis replied reassuringly. He moved past Nida to get a pan to lay the slices in and had patted the man on his arm as another sort of reassurance.

Faith in Nida, Ignis had it.

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