Voicemail.

[chef_chocobro]

"You have reached the voicemail of Ingis Scientia. I am unavailable to take your call at this moment, but if you would please leave a message, I will assuredly get back to you as soon as possible."

**BEEEEEEP**

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Comments

[deathsmajesty]

"I'm terrified to know why you need to specify that," Liliana says with a small chuckle, leaning in to nip at his throat. "One last thing. I think I might need to spoil your gift early, since it does take some logistics. Will you be terribly disappointed to hear about it now, rather than on your birthday proper?"

[chef_chocobro]

"Terrifying," said Ignis, deep in his throat that he hoped she could feel, especially as his head tilted back like an invitation, "is precisely the word for it, as well..."

One might accuse him of exaggeration, but this birthday charcuterie had left such a lasting impact for so long that Ignis almost wished he had already been blind back then...

"And this may shock you to hear, my darling," he said, as his hand brushed slowly up her thing, "but when given the option between knowledge and a surprise, I will almost always prefer the former."

It might give him the opportunity, after all, to construct a convincing argument if whatever she was planning was altogether too much, if anything.

[deathsmajesty]

Well, he could try. It would be adorable.

"How do you feel about a trip to Argentina? And before you start protesting the cost, here are some of the amenities." She grinned, truly proud of herself for this. Phones were genuinely useful. In fact, she pulled out her phone to read off what had caught her notice. "Internationally acclaimed chef Francis Mallmann creates inspired regional dishes, showcasing Argentina's famous beef. From our gardens and the surrounding land, we proudly bring you a natural bounty of local, seasonal ingredients paired with exceptional Argentine wines. It's part of a working vineyard, and we can 'work side-by-side with world-renowned consulting winemaker Santiago Achaval and our expert team to make your custom small-batch wine.' And, of course, that's not counting the early morning coffee bar we can request to have brought to our private villa every day. Oh, and there are various activities like vineyard tours, fly-fishing, yoga, and horseback riding."

Said various activities were clearly an afterthought, but you know. They'd been included.

"What do you think, my darling? It feels worthwhile to me. And..." She lowered her voice to a sultry drawl. "I thought it might be efficient if we had the contractors start their work while we're gone."

[chef_chocobro]

There were a few points of interest there that Ignis could have latched onto: a wry remark about how he was surprised, that the words 'early' and 'morning' in such close proximity hadn't scared her off of the premise entirely; a staunch refusal for anything involving fishing, just to ensure that was crystal-clear; a simple admission that he did rather enjoy a good Argentine wine, and to be able to experience some straight from the source...

But that last part quieted all of them, and he had to grin.

"Ah," he said, "there's the hook."

And now both of his hands had found their way to Liliana's back, making it all the easier to draw her in closer and kiss her, a kiss to compliment her on weaving together such an excellent rebuttal to the arguments he didn't even voice, a kiss that became deeper and more complex the more he actually thought about just how good it actually was.

[deathsmajesty]

Scared her off? It was entirely possibly that it was a sign of her own possible [404 words not found] for him that she had requested it specifically. Because Ignis liked early mornings and loved coffee possibly more than anything else in life, and therefore, for his birthday, she could make it happen.

But mmm, it didn't seem like he was about to protest her idea, and they could discuss the actual logistics later. But the conversation seemed to be shifting in another, delightful direction, and...what had he said so long ago, that first morning in his kitchen?

I'd much rather devote my attention fully to one task at hand done to the full capacity of my ability.

"What do you say about taking this conversation upstairs, hmmm?" she murmured to him once the kiss broke - though it would be difficult for him to answer with her kissing him deeply back. But she had faith he could figure it out.