Warmth and Safety

Chapter 6 Part 3

The cold water did nothing to focus his mind. Mari and Infero let him know he was basically on house arrest today. They needed to separate him from Daniella and get him to think about how he was going to tell her.

They’d given him until the end of next week.

His panic had kept him awake most of the night. His mind continued making up horrible nightmares. Seeing his brother in his room this morning, he half assumed he was still dreaming. Until he saw Mari.

She had let into him. Deceiving, lying, manipulating. Every horrible thing she could think of, she called him. He wasn’t trying to deceive her, and he definitely didn’t want to manipulate her. He’d been trying to be respectful.

If he didn’t talk to Daniella, then they would. He needed to figure out how to explain himself by the end of the week, without giving her the opportunity to leave. Something in him sank at that thought. Taking away that opportunity wasn’t fair, but he didn't want her to disappear.

He didn’t want to give her reason to leave. He needed to give her a reason to stay. Telling her she was his flame might work, but she might question why he’d kept that from her. If he told her he wasn’t sure at first, would she be confused? Or worse, if he told her he hadn’t wanted it to be true, would she agree? Would she not agree with his change of heart? Would she still want to distance herself and focus on Mari? Would she assume there was no natural attraction, resent him for being chosen for her for no good reason other than the fates said so?

He took a deep breath, trying to focus. The sound of the water made him remember her crying last night, and his chest hurt. He didn’t want to do that to her ever again.

…

She twirled in the new dress, about the thirtieth Mari had handed her to try on. Mari took another set of photos on her new phone.

“It looks good on you. If you ever come out with us at night, that’d be a good choice.” Infero reassured her.

“Oh, it’d be a great choice.” Mari chimed in. “I love it.”

Infero snorted, giving her a playful look of false annoyance.

“It’s a bit tight I think.” She said, but the attendant shook his head.

“That one is lovely even though it’s not as practical as you seem to prefer. It works well for your body shape.” He said, taking in the view.

Something about his gaze made her nervous. When Ignis looked at her that way, she’d felt great, but seeing the same look from someone else made her anxious for some reason.

The silky fabric pushed her body in ways she was unaccustomed to. Daniella never wore tight clothing, as it was not appropriate to fight or work in. Still, the rave reviews turned her hand.

“Okay, this one too then.” She nodded to Mari, who bounced in glee.

“Oh, I’m going to love seeing that one when we go out.” She declared.

Daniella bobbed her head nervously, before turning around to change into the next dress Mari had picked out for her. She could hear the quiet conversation outside her dressing room.

“So, are you three going out tonight?” The attendant asked.

“Maybe.” Infero asked. “We’ll have to see if my brother is feeling well.”

“Oh, is your brother her boyfriend then? She seemed single.”

“How does a woman seem single?” Infero asked, laughter in his tone.

Pulling the door open again, Daniella walked out in an emerald day dress. She felt much more comfortable in the loose maxi skirt.

“I love that one!” Mari said, bouncing and pulling her phone out again.

Infero turned his attention back to her and nodded in approval. Before he could say anything, the attendant spoke up again.

“If you like that, I have a few in a similar style that I think would look gorgeous on you. Good mobility too, and one style has pockets.” He added quickly.

“Oh yeah, Nells would love that.” Mari said excitedly.

He nodded, “I’ll be right back then with more style Ms. Nells.”

Infero watched the man while he left, before turning his attention back to her again. “It’s very pretty, but aren’t you a bit tired of trying on dresses?”

“I am.” She admitted. “There was only one more after this one, but-.”

“I’ll curate the ones he brings.” Mari said, “I think we just care about the pockets and the color anyways. Green looks good on you.” She danced, and twirled her finger around.

On queue, Daniella spun around so they could see the back of the dress. She could hear how excited her friend was.

Going into a shop hadn’t really seemed appealing to Daniella, and having been handed at least thirty other dresses at this point, she was about ready to go home. She had thought they would go to the open market and make a few quick purchases, but after buying their phones, Mari dragged her and Infero into a number of stores in that area. Her friend had never really gotten to shop for clothes for her, so Mari had been handing her clothes all day. She was hungry and tired, and she really hoped Mari would be in the mood for lunch after this last spree.

They had a number of bags, and she truly felt like she wouldn’t have to buy more clothes for the rest of her life. Pulling the last dress over her head, she stiffened when she heard Mari looking through the latest additions to her dressing room.

Stepping out, Mari stopped to look and dropped her mouth in mock shock. The attendant also took in the new dress with a great deal of focus on her legs. It was another dress that she felt was entirely too tight on her chest, with the dark crimson loose around her legs. It was entirely too short for her though, finishing several inches above her knees.

Infero cleared his throat, paying more attention to the attendant. “I think this is the last one. Dani is tired, aren’t you, Mari?”

Mari turned to the attendant again, “These are the same size as the other ones, right?

“Of course, it seems to fit her well.” He said, turning his attention between her and Infero.

“Awesome, when she’s done changing, she can make the final decisions.” Mari said, taking a quick picture of Daniella in the red dress.

Turning back into the dressing room, she overheard Infero turning to Mari and whispering, “My brother would kill us.”

“I think he’ll love it.”

…

Cutting up some vegetables, Ignis breathed deeply. He added more carrots to the stock over his stove. His brother had said they were going shopping, but they’d been gone all day. Hoping they’d come back for dinner, he’d sent his brother a text, asking where they were.

He checked his phone. “Shopping. Otw back.”

Part of him was still nervous, but he had decided he would be talking to her tonight over dinner. This way he could have Mari or Infero in case he couldn’t find the right way to answer a question. He’d already sent that text to his brother, who had replied with a cry laughing emoji. While he should be annoyed, he didn’t care if his brother was laughing at him, so long as he was going to help him.

“You should see some of my pics of Nells today.” Mari sang out as she entered the room, a number of bags in hand.

Ignis raised his eyebrow, but his brother shook his head, mouthed ‘no.’ Infero looked tired, toting a number of bags as well, and Daniella-.

His heart stopped. She was in a gorgeous red dress. The fabric complimented her skin, and he felt his breath stop in his throat when he noticed how short it was cut.

She moved towards her room, with her own set of bags. He realized for a split second that he should be concerned about how much money they had spent, until her back was to him, and he could see it was completely exposed. The fabric had one strap holding either side of the fabric on her chest, but otherwise, the back dropped up to the small of her back.

He could hear Mari laughing, but he couldn’t focus. His mind wandered from the dress she had on, to taking it off of her, to seeing her in his honor colors someday. The idea of seeing her in his colors by his side stopped his thoughts entirely. His mouth felt dry.

Having watched her disappear into the room, he tried to regain some of his consciousness. He pulled his gaze back to his brother, who was looking at him with a smirk on his face.

“So, what are you making her for dinner?” Mari teased.

“You said you’d be here.” Ignis looked at his brother, desperate for his help.

“No, I laughed at that. You need to do the talking on this one.” He said, flatly. “I think we’re going to spend our revenge money on steak. Mari was too concerned with spending Dani’s to really look at anything but their phones.”

“Phones?” Ignis asked, “You bought new phones.”

“Put them on a phone plan too. They didn’t have any phones.” He nodded his head to the doors, “She was just planning on using your landline if she needed to.”

Panic rushed through Ignis at the knowledge that she had been wandering around without a way to call him. He nodded, “Okay, that’s fine then.”

“Oh we know. Until she knows everything, we get to spend however much money we want. It's an important trust building exercise.” Mari said. “And I like the idea of steak. It was a favorite of mine at the palace.”

“Good plan then.” Infero looked at Ignis, “Enjoy whatever you’re making her.”

Daniella returned from her room. “You two are going out again?”

“Yeah, I haven’t gotten any real shopping done.” Mari laughed, “I figured you were probably tired since you had to try on so much.”

Daniella nodded. Ignis wanted to ask her if she wanted to go lay down until dinner was done, but she just grabbed some of the bags that Mari and Infero had left out and returned to her room again.

“There,” Mari said, walking towards the door again, “she’s too tired to really fight it out about your f**k up.”

Infero saluted his brother, before grabbing Mari’s waist and leading her back out of the apartment. He was alone again with Daniella. This time, the two of them had planned it on purpose.

Turning the stock to a lower temperature, he grabbed some of the bags his brother had brought in and headed to Daniella’s room. As he neared, she opened the door. He smiled at her, but could feel the breath knocked out of him seeing her up close in that dress.

She moved to the side and watched him set the bags down on her bed again.

“You seem to be feeling better.” She said, quietly.

“I am.” He said, “I made some decisions.”

Turning to look at her, he noticed she wasn’t looking at him.

“Daniella? Is everything alright?”

“I-.” She shook her head. “I’m confused.”

“Let’s talk then.” He said.

Guiding her by her waist, he pulled his hand back as he made contact with her skin. He could feel their pull of their bond, and he hoped she wouldn’t notice. It was harder for mortals to notice, but touching her for too long would tip her off before he could really explain himself.

He didn’t want that. He’d already waited too long.

“I think I should start with an apology.” He said.

“You apologize a lot.” She replied.

He laughed, nervous, “Yeah, I need to.”

Sitting her down at the bar, he returned to cooking.

“Why are you apologizing this time?” She asked.

“Well, I-.” He cleared his throat, “I didn’t trust you with the whole story yesterday. My brother confirmed a few things with our aunt and is allowed to seduce Mari so long as-.” He trailed off, trying to think of how exactly to explain the situation.

“So long as he sees the therapist you referred him to?” She finished.

“That is part of it. Well, not really.” He sighed, “Marisola is Infero’s matched flame. The fates will expect him to correct certain behaviors before he can marry her though. Until then, we talked and established that I don’t mind them seeing each other.”

“So, you’re fine with them having an affair in your home?” She asked, appalled.

His heart stopped. Of all the negative reactions he had expected, he hadn’t thought she’d be so direct again. “No, I don’t really think of it-.”

“Did your aunt revoke your engagement?” She asked, pointedly.

“Well, no. If he can’t do what she expects of him, then I have to marry Mari.” He shook his head, “That doesn’t really matter, I trust my brother.”

“But you’re still engaged. If he fails,-.”

“He won’t fail. He adores Mari.” Ignis interrupted.

“He failed Deaton.” She said.

Ignis froze. How much had they already told her?

“So, you are engaged to a woman, that you want to have an affair with your brother?” She repeated.

“Daniella, please let me explain.” He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. The fear of losing her was rising again.

He waited for her to respond. The silence cut through him, but eventually she nodded.

“My brother was Deaton’s second flame. And Deaton isn’t really-. The man has a few issues. Infero tried to help him, but Deaton’s influence on my brother was worse than my brother’s influence on him. He started going out drinking with him every night, Deaton would use his ability to fog his mind and mess with my brother’s memories. It wasn’t healthy, and the fates decided against it. Which is where Mari comes in, and this whole thing.”

He sighed, pulling the stock off the stove top. “The fates want us, both of us, to correct some of our behavior to earn our flames. So, my aunt involved you in this and has me engaged to Mari to encourage Infero to fight those habits.”

“Why am I involved?” She asked.

Pouring the stock over the meat in his dutch oven, he replaced the lid and put it back in the oven. His heart was beating in his chest.

“You’re here to correct my habits.” He said. Looking down at her again, his heart stopped. “Infero picked that, didn’t he?”

“Mari did, actually.” She said.

“Even Mari is against me on this then?” He laughed.

“What does that mean?” She asked, angry.

“It means I’m willing to respect your wishes. I’ll leave you alone as you asked me to yesterday. It’s not what I’m supposed to do, but I’ll do it.” He looked her over again. “You-.” He shook his head.

The annoyance in her voice rose again, “Can you make some sense? What are you supposed to do?”

You. He bit back the thought. Clearing his throat, he added. “My aunt said you would be rewarded for continuing to assist Mari. Should all things go well, I am that reward. I am supposed to want you.”

He quickly added, “But I’m willing to wait, until Infero can get engaged instead. I’m not forcing you into anything, Daniella.”

She laughed. Part of his ego dropped, but she added, “You never force anyone into anything.”

He laughed again, nerves dissipating a fraction. “According to your friend, I am. I wanted to wait to tell you ‘til it would be more comfortable for you, and she decided I was manipulating you away from me by not telling you I was never supposed to marry her.”

She was quiet for a moment. Finally she spoke, “Is this why you were sick this morning? Were you worried about not telling me?”

He cleared his throat. “That was part of it.”

“What was the other part?”

“I had a dream that you and-.” He shook his head. “I just had a dream of you with another man, and it didn’t feel great.”

“Because I’m what they’re using to correct your habits.”

“If I’m understanding things correctly, yes.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I spent most of last night and all of this morning trying to figure out what they are.”

She laughed again, this time her tone was light. He almost sighed in relief at the sound, until she said, “So should we be more worried about you correcting your habits then?”

He froze, still uncertain of the behaviors he had to correct. Quietly, he reassured her, “I’m working on finding them. I promise, I’ll correct them.”

“I was just joking, Ignis.” She teased, “I’m sure you’re working as hard as you can to flirt with me again.”

“Eventually, I might be able to do more than just flirt.” He said, looking at her again.

“Well, you can’t flirt yet. You might be fine with encouraging an affair, but I’m not comfortable with this.” She said, returning her voice to its firm tone.

“I understand.” He said. “Go change, Dani.”

She tilted her head, “Why?”

“Because they got that for you, so I’d want to take it off of you.” Ignis smiled at her while she blushed, “You might not be comfortable with this, but it seems like Mari definitely is.” He turned back to the food. “Go change. I’ll finish up dinner.”

He could hear her head to her room. He breathed a sigh of relief. He had told her what he had needed to. He might not have been very direct about it, but she knew this was orchestrated by the gods, Mari was meant for Infero, and he found her attractive.

He pulled the chicken out, drizzling what remained of the stock over it again. He started doling the veggies onto their plates. Hoping she would be in something a bit more comfortable when she returned, he started setting the bar for her.

After a few moments of finishing dinner prep, she opened the door and headed back to the bar. He took a moment to take in the sight. She had chosen red again, in a scooped neck for her tank top. Her jeans hugged her hips, covering her long, lean legs. He remembered the comment about her being part sss, and took in the full sight of her legs again.

Refocusing, he returned to the chicken. Determining it had rested enough, he began cutting into it.

He heard her sit back in her seat at his bar. “What part of the bird do you prefer?” He asked.

“Drumsticks, please.” She said, moving something behind him.

He plated her food and turned around. She was absolutely gorgeous leaning toward him. He set her plate down in front of her.

“You won’t have any problems driving me mad when Infero and Mari get engaged.” He reassured her. Quickly, he held his hands up, “I know. No more flirting.”

“Why did you say you only had a year left as a bachelor?” She asked.

Taken aback, his knife slipped into the fork he was using to hold the chicken down. He winced at the sound, but asked, “What?”

Her tone remained even, “Yesterday, in the elevator. If you knew you weren’t marrying her, why would you say that?”

He had thought this conversation was over. The pounding in his chest and head started again. “Well, I was joking with you. You’d already tried reminding me that I’m engaged.”

“So you made a joke about cheating with me during the course of your engagement?” She asked, turning to her food. “That was kind of hurtful, you know.”

“Is that what made you cry?” He asked. As he watched her freeze in her chair, he quickly added, “I never wanted to hurt you. I hope-.”

“Were you listening to me while I was in the shower?”

Blushing, he continued to try to control the pounding in his chest. “I didn’t mean to. I was doing laundry, and as I passed by, I heard-.” He sighed, “Listen, I never wanted to hurt you. I didn’t mean to hear it, but I-.”

“So were you really up all night because you didn't tell me or was it that? Were you just upset about making a girl cry?” She asked. “Or let me guess, that was part of it?”

He stopped, trying to think. The pounding in his head made it hard to think about anything.

“Well?” She asked.

“Stop.” He said. He took a deep breath in. “I knew before that I had hurt you. I was frustrated, and confused already, and I had wanted to tell you in the elevator, but then I-.” He trailed off again. He couldn’t think over the thumping in his head and chest.

“You what?”

“I didn’t want you to be more upset. I thought the idea of being used by the gods would upset you more than just letting Infero fix this and pursuing you then. And then I thought better of it, and then I thought that way again.” He sighed, sitting beside her, and holding her back to steady her in place. “I apologize. I didn’t trust I could control how you would handle the situation, and I-. Dani, I don’t want you to go.” He admitted.

He quickly began to add on, “I know I agreed to my aunt’s offer, and you can go to the palace if you want to, but I-. I don’t want you to. I want-.” He sighed, “I don’t know yet what I want, but I want you there for it, okay? And I was afraid that if you found out the engagement isn’t real, you may want to leave. And that means I might never see you again, and I hated that idea.” He took a breath.

“Ignis-.”

“I’m not-. Sorry, I’m not done. I liked playing with you in the elevator, and I liked the coffee you made me yesterday, and I liked the blush on your face when I flirted with you, okay? I like this- this dynamic we have. And I know I want more, and I saw in your eyes that you want more, but I-. I get that we can’t do more right now. And it hurt when you said you don’t even want this, and that I was confusing you, because I don't want to be confusing. I want you to know how badly I-.” His voice shook. He tried to get a grip of himself as quickly as he could.

When her hand touched his shoulder, he flinched. “Ignis, calm down.”

He nodded, looking at her. Concern laced her face. This was not ideal. He could feel his chest hurting again.

He caressed her face. Breathing slowly, he finished, “I can wait. It’s what I want you to know. I care about you, and I’m not actually promised to your friend, not in the minds of anyone else involved, Dani. And I can wait. Please, don’t leave me before I even get a chance.”

Her smile was gentle, as she rubbed his back. “Unless Mari tells me she doesn’t need me, I’m still here for the year. Does that make you feel any better?”

“I think I’d feel better if Delora told me we could skip this step and let Infero marry Mari.” He said, huffing out a forced laugh.

“Eat some food. You look-.” She trailed off.

“I look pretty bad.” He said, poking at the chicken breast with his fork, “I saw this morning.”

“Thought you said you were feeling better than this morning?”

“Well, in part.” He looked at her, “Can I ask you something?”

Continuing to slice at her carrots, she looked up at him, “I feel like it would be unfair after my interrogation earlier.”

“Is- I mean, do you think Infero is attractive?” He asked.

She snorted. “Is he who you were jealous of in your naughty dream?” She asked.

“Nightmare. You’re definitely not with him in my dreams.” He said, trying to lighten his own mood.

“He’s not really my type.” She reassured him. “I like them older, wiser.” She joked.

“Would you take them younger if they were still wiser?” He asked, smiling at her.

“You’re younger than Infero?”

“By a few hours, yeah.”

“Really?” She laughed, waving a piece of potato as she added, “You have such a mature air about you. When you aren’t on the brink of a panic attack, that is.”

“Yes, I suppose that was a bit out of character.” He straightened himself in his chair, fighting the pain in his chest still. The pounding in his head had at least subsided.

She began rubbing his back again, and something caught in his throat. Quietly, he reached around himself and grabbed her hand. Pulling her off of him, he turned to look at her. He hated the confused look on her face, but he needed this laid out for both of them.

“Dani, I need to know where our limits are in this relationship.”

“We-.”

“Last night,” He continued, “You told me to stop flirting with you. A few minutes ago you said you still wanted to treat this like I was engaged until Infero was engaged to Mari instead. I need to know what I can and can’t do, Dani. And touching me and flirting back with me, I can’t take much of that and not expect that I can keep testing those boundaries.”

She nodded, “I don’t mean anything by comforting you, I do it to everyone.”

“I know, but I need to draw a line there.” He said. “Don’t get me wrong, I like it when you touch me, but I want-.” He looked at her again. “I want more than what’s on the table right now, and I know you don’t mean anything by it, but I read into it that you’re comfortable with me. And I’ll want to take more if I’m too comfortable.”

…

He was her reward, huh? So, did they intend to force Ignis to marry her at the end of this year? He hadn’t really answered that question.

Then again, she hadn’t asked it directly. She had thought for a moment that he’d been talking about her in the elevator.

Blushing, she pushed the idea of marrying Ignis out of her mind. Especially after this evening. Something had changed in him, and one moment he’d been begging her to stay with him, and the next, she’d been coldly asked for her limits.

She knew he was trying, but she almost didn’t want him to. She almost wanted him to just skip the engagement part altogether. He’d suggested it, and she had preferred it that way.

If Infero didn’t marry Mari though, then she would have helped him cheat on her. She laid down in her bed, frustrated. When he’d grabbed her hand, her chest felt like it was going to explode. Every time he touched her tonight had been electric. The heat that normally surrounded him was off too. It had fully enveloped her the moment she had walked back into the apartment.

She shifted uncomfortably, wetness still sticky between her legs. He’d been insufferable tonight. From how he’d been looking at her, telling her to change, setting the limits.

His confession had made her feel pretty good until she remembered he was begging her to wait for a man she lived with, because he was currently engaged to her friend.

Closing her eyes, she tried to go to sleep.