Atropa (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chlorhexidine) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fic_ception2018-05-06 04:02 pm
chlorhexidine) wrote in fic_ception2018-05-06 04:02 pm
Universe - Drink
“I don't know how to play this game,” Bert said, his voice quiet and nervous. Ignis didn't either, although he could hazard a guess. Nel's announcement was accompanied by Gladio shifting his bulk from his seat and making his way across the kitchen. He returned with a handful of shot glasses and a rather large bottle of what proclaimed itself to be sambuca.
“It's really simple,” Nel said, moving the coffee table and pulling chairs around. “Say something that you've never done that you think some of the rest of us might. When someone else says something they haven't done that you have, you have to take a shot.”
Ignis saw Levi roll his eyes out of the edge of his vision as he took a shot glass from Gladio, and then silently inspected the liquid within it. Gladio flashed Ignis a grin as he handed him a glass too. “Whoever takes the most shots is the loser,” he said, “or will be in the morning.”
Ignis wouldn't call his feeling apprehension so much as he would justified wariness. He could think of plenty of things he had done that the others likely hadn't, but things he had not? Those would require some thought.
Apache wore a calculating look that made Ignis nervous as she accepted her glass from Gladio. “Are any subjects off the table?” Ignis asked, addressing Nel.
Nel gave him a pretty smile in response. “The idea's to get to know each other, not to invade each other's privacy,” she said.
“Spot the virgin,” Yylfordt muttered, bending low to Annie's ear.
Annie cleared her throat, and Ignis could feel the heat creeping up his neck and cheeks. He willed it away, lifting his chin before he answered, “Or perhaps I'm familiar with a world of sexual proclivities beyond your limited imagining and wouldn't wish to shock you,” with as much clipped dignity as he could muster.
Gladio exploded in a guffaw, and to Ignis's left Levi gave a quiet snort that was as close to hysterical laughter as he'd ever heard him get. Apache fixed him with a wink and a grin before she turned to Yylfordt and said, “He's got you there.”
Nel was grinning brightly when she said, “We can make a drinking game out of that one later.”
Ignis gave the room one last look before he took his seat, his eyes catching Gladio's and his lingering grin one final time. The clear liquid in the glass beckoned Ignis's senses, and he brought it up to his nose to take a sniff. The slightly astringent smell of alcohol and liqourice hit his nostrils, leaving him wrinkling his nose. He was not looking forward to taking a mouthful of it.
“All right,” Nel said, once Gladio had taken his seat. “I'll start. Never have I ever,” she began, looking around the room at all of them before she declared, “smoked.”
Ignis kept his hand, and shot glass, at his lap. Across from him Apache gave an unhappy groan and lifted her glass to her lips, taking the first shot of the evening. She was joined by Yylfordt, and then, after a heavy sigh, Gladio.
“Really?” Nel asked.
“One cigarette,” Gladio said. “I think I smoked half of it before my dad caught me and kicked my ass.”
Apache gave a snort of laughter. “I started when I was twelve,” she said, giving an unconcerned shrug. “My mom kicked my ass, but it didn't stop me.”
Yylfordt ran his fingers through his hair as he gave his head a shake. “I wasn't that young,” he said, turning to Apache. “Tried quitting twice.”
Nel shook her head. “Okay,” she said, leaning forward to pass the bottle of sambuca over, “top yourselves back up.” She turned to her left, giving Bert a smile. “Your turn.”
Bert flushed, obviously uncomfortable with being put on the spot. Ignis saw him glance up, as if he was trying to draw courage, or perhaps inspiration, from the rest of them. He hesitated, and then settled on, “Done something that's exercise outside of school.”
“Nice,” Nel said, with a laugh, eyeing Gladio as he dutifully knocked back his shot of sambuca.
Ignis frowned down at his and braced himself before he lifted it to his lips. He couldn't swallow it neatly down in one gulp as the likes of Apache and Gladio had which only served to make the experience worse. It tasted strongly of anise, which wasn't, in itself, bad, but combined with the pungency and alcoholic burn it left Ignis wincing and coughing. He looked across the room through slightly watery eyes to see Annie giving her now empty glass a look as if it had personally offended her, and Yylfordt clutching his with a wince on his face. He glanced around at Levi to see him sitting resolutely holding his still full shot glass, and frowned.
“Go on,” Nel said, smiling at Annie.
Annie frowned, glancing up and across at Ignis, who momentarily shared her discomfort at being put on the spot. “Muay Thai,” she answered, before looking back down at her glass, and... was she going slightly pink?
Gladio gave a whistle. “Nice,” he said, “don't mess with you, then.” He turned his attention to Yylfordt. “What about you?”
Yylfordt gave a shrug. “Treadmill and weights,” he said. “I was doing army fitness before I figured university suited me better.”
Gladio gave a slow nod before he admitted, “I considered it. I've been fit all my life,” he added, with a casual shift of his huge shoulders. “Started Crossfit six months ago, but you need a decent coach for that or you'll wreck yourself.” Ignis saw the way his nose screwed up as Gladio said, “Gonna need to hunt around, here.”
For a second, for a long moment, Ignis thought he'd got away with having to explain himself, but then Apache looked across at him and gave a jerk of her head as she asked, “What about speccy?”
Ignis frowned, half at being put on the spot as he'd have preferred to avoid, and half at the nickname.
“Yeah, Iggy,” Gladio said, “what's yours?”
Ignis glanced up to find himself being stared at by every pair of eyes in the room and he sighed, letting his shoulders drop. He should get it out of the way, really. “Ballet,” he said, quietly, “until I was fourteen. Gymnastics since.”
He heard the titters and the snorts. “So you wore a tutu and walked on your toes?”
Ignis looked up sharply at Apache, but he could see the faint smirk at the corner of Levi's mouth too, as well as the bright, mocking grin on Yylfordt's. Nel just looked like she was re-evaluating him, Bert seemed embarrassed, and Annie seemed unconcerned. Gladio looked almost impressed.
“No,” Ignis said, “ballerinas dance en pointe and wear tutus, male dancers are expected to jump high, turn quickly, and lift ladies.” He glanced down at his empty glass and pushed his spectacles up his nose before he added, softly, “Although I did learn to dance en pointe when I was twelve.”
“Okay, we need to see this,” Nel said.
Ignis immediately regretted the clarification. “It's been a few years,” he said, “and I don't have appropriate footwear.” Or padding, or the build for en pointe work any more, he thought. He'd been lithe and long-limbed at the start of puberty, and his instructor had begun him with en pointe work because so few male dancers did it. He'd started to look silly as he grew taller and now, at eighteen, he was too heavy into the bargain.
“He just doesn't wanna embarrass himself,” Yylfordt said, grinning at Apache.
“Hey,” Gladio said, his eyebrows raised, “I bet a ballerina could kick your ass. That stuff hurts to do.”
“What, you do little twirls on your toes too?” Yylfordt retorted.
“My sister does,” Gladio replied, his voice firm and unshaken, “and she kicks like a mule.” Gladio looked back around at Ignis and the corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile that sent a little warmth through Ignis's face. “And he ain't lying about needing special shoes,” he said, looking at Ignis as he addressed the room. “Iris started en pointe work two months ago. You've gotta be good to even be allowed to try it. She had to have her feet x-rayed before they'd let her start.”
Ignis smiled, softly. “I only did it for a year,” he said, “then I started to get too tall.”
“My sister's a titch,” Gladio said, with a grin, “she'll probably be fine.”
Ignis laughed, softly, his cheeks warm, and then he sighed. He could probably hold it for a few seconds without hurting himself, so long as he didn't try to move. “I can stand that way,” he said, “just don't ask me to pirouette.”
Nel's face lit up in a grin, and even Annie looked interested. He wondered if she had any ballet experience, or if she was simply quietly along for the circus. Ignis slid his empty shot glass onto the table before bending down and unfastening his shoes. Pulling them off, he tucked them under his chair. He removed his socks too, leaving his toes bare, and then stood.
“Need a bar?” Gladio asked, holding out his arm, his face lit up by a grin.
Ignis favoured him with a soft smile and shook his head. “I'll be fine,” he answered, carefully positioning his feet in third position. It was amazing how easily things came back to you, sometimes; he still had the flexibility to have his heels touching his toes. From there it was a simple relevé past demi-pointe and into en pointe.
It hurt. He could feel his toenail being pressed into his toe, and the strain on the knuckles as he balanced and held his weight on two toes per foot. To do this properly required padding, and toe spacers, and a box in the shoes that helped spread the strain.
Nel started to clap, quickly followed by Bert, and to his left Ignis heard Levi give an impressed grunt. Ignis counted to four, and held on until five before he lowered himself gratefully. He was definitely far too heavy for that these days. “Now I'd like to see you do that,” he said, looking across as Yylfordt, and catching Apache in a glance too.
“Iris is gonna be stoked when I tell her there's a ballet dancer in my dorm,” Gladio said.
“Not any more,” Ignis said, sitting back down and retrieving his socks. “As I said, I stopped when I was fourteen.”
“How come?” Gladio asked.
Ignis opened his mouth to answer, and then hesitated. He didn't really want to explain that his family had ill been able to afford the tutor to begin with and that ballet had been another sacrifice along the path of his childhood, along with piano lessons. “At fourteen,” he said, “one either decides they're going to be a ballet dancer and take it seriously, or they're not. I was never good enough to join a company, so it seemed pointless to continue.”
“You don't have to be the best at something if you're having fun,” Gladio said.
Ignis bit the inside of his lip as he slid his shoes back on. “Perhaps you don't,” he said.
“All right then,” Ignis listened to Nel take charge once more. “Annie's turn.”
When Ignis sat back up his shot glass had been refilled for him, and he retrieved it with a glance at Gladio, who had his attention turned to Annie instead.
Annie looked almost as uncomfortable as Bert had, and her voice was low and passionless as she said, without looking anyone in the eyes, “Never have I ever had a boy or girlfriend.”
Ignis found his eyes moving over to Levi, who tilted his head back and rolled his eyes before slumping in his chair, his glass still resolutely full. Another one that Levi had never done, then. Ignis really would have to think of something that would catch him in its net.
Bert, unsurprisingly, flushed slightly pink and failed to bring his glass to his mouth. Nel, Gladio, Apache, and Yylfordt, again unsurprisingly, all drained their glasses.
“I still do,” Gladio said, reaching for the bottle of sambuca to top it back up already.
“I knew there was something between you two,” Yylfordt said, pointing between Gladio and Nel.
“What makes you think it's me?” Nel asked, sounding just indignant enough that it bordered on offensive.
“What's wrong with me?” Gladio asked, having clearly caught the offense.
Nel gave him a long, considering look up and down before she answered, “I'd make you shave.”
Gladio grinned and shook his head, bringing his free hand up to stroke over the short bristled at his jaw. “I don't shave for anyone.” He looked over at Yylfordt, “My girlfriend didn't come here, she got in at Oxford.”
Yylfordt wrinkled his nose. “I dumped mine before I came,” he said, with an idle shrug.
“Aren't you a class act,” Apache said, giving Yylfordt a look as if he'd passed wind and was now celebrating it. Ignis shook his head. He'd like to think that if he'd had a girlfriend, or boyfriend, before coming to university, that he'd have made an effort to keep the relationship going.
Yylfordt gave a careless shrug. “Better than stringing her along for months pretending we can make it work.”
Gladio scowled at him. “If you care enough, you'll make it work,” he said.
“Mine split up with me for the same reason,” Nel said, cutting into the argument. She gave Gladio a soft smile, “But he's going to university in America, so we won't see each other at all,” she added. “We're staying in touch.”
Ignis saw Gladio's shoulders shift as if he was fighting not to shrug. “That's different,” he said.
“Well,” Apache said, “I didn't have to dump anyone before I came here. I just had boyfriends in school.”
“My turn next, right?” Yylfordt asked. The bottle of sambuca made its way around again, its levels now significantly dented. Ignis doubted it would last many more rounds. “Never have I ever,” he began, “failed my driving test. I passed that thing first time,” he said, as if it was a point of pride.
Gladio gave a groan before he knocked back his drink yet again.
“Never took it,” Levi said, sounding bored.
“Neither have I,” Bert said, quietly.
Nel knocked back her drink. “I wore a low cut top and I still failed,” she said, before giving Apache a helpless smile. “The assessor was a woman.”
“I still haven't passed,” Apache said, draining her drink.
“You two?” Nel asked, looking between Annie and Ignis.
“I passed first time,” Annie said, quietly.
“Likewise,” Ignis said, giving Annie a soft smile. It seemed fruitless to have even undertaken the test without a car to drive. His parents had said they would place him on their insurance, but putting a newly qualified teenage male on one's insurance did awful things to the premiums, so they'd decided it would be a waste of time with Ignis going off to university soon. They'd also said he could have the car when they purchased another, but Ignis didn't expect that to actually happen, either.
Nel refilled her glass, and passed it on to Yylfordt. When it reached Gladio he tipped the last of the bottle's contents into his glass, and then placed the empty bottle down. “We're gonna need that other bottle,” he said, flashing Nel a grin.
“So it's me, right?” Apache asked. She didn't wait for confirmation, giving Yylfordt and then Gladio pointed looks before she declared, “Never have I ever had my cock sucked.”
“You don't have a cock,” Yylfordt pointed out, “that's cheating.”
“I do,” Apache replied, “it's battery operated and in my drawer. I can show you if you want?”
Ignis saw Bert's face going slowly more and more magenta. He shared his sentiments if he was honest. Ignis wouldn't be drinking for this round either, but hearing Apache so frankly discuss the electronic sex aid she kept in a room full of people made him uncomfortable.
Levi lifted his glass to his mouth and knocked it back swiftly, as if he'd done it a dozen times before. Ignis found himself looking at him in surprise. “It stands,” Levi said, “you just don't want to admit you never have.”
Gladio put his empty glass back on the table. “You have?” he asked, looking at Levi.
Levi gave Gladio the stone cold sober look of challenge he'd given Apache over the bottle cap. “Is that so hard to believe?”
Gladio shook his head. “You've just been sat there not drinking for so long I wasn't sure you were playing.”
“Maybe I'm just boring,” Levi said.
“As if he's had his cock sucked,” Yylfordt said, “look at him.”
Ignis shifted slightly uncomfortably in his seat, trying to hide the fact he hadn't drunk from his own glass. Perhaps he should? Would it be better for them to know he was so inexperienced, or to face questions and have to make up the answer? Would they believe him.
He glanced up and caught Bert's eye. Bert's glass was also resolutely full, and they shared an awkward smile across the table.
“Just because no one's sucked yours doesn't mean the rest of us can't get it,” Levi said, flatly.
Yylfordt lifted his glass to his mouth and drained it. “They have,” he said. “I had a girlfriend, remember. You haven't, so who the fuck sucked yours?”
“Ask your dad,” Levi replied.
Yylfordt's face began to colour. Not with embarrassment like Bert's, or at least not wholly so, but with a mix of infuriation and possibly alcohol fuelled aggression.
“All right,” Nel said, “time to grab the next bottle.”
Apache grinned, practically jumping up and moving across the kitchen to retrieve it. Ignis watched her go and to his mild dismay, saw another three bottles in the cupboard, although blessedly only one appeared to be sambuca. That was the one Apache retrieved, twisting the cap off as she made her way back across the room. She paused by Gladio, refilling his glass for him before she put the bottle down on the table, where Levi leaned forward and snatched it before Yylfordt could reach.
“Okay,” Gladio said, “me next. Never have I ever,” he said, and Ignis saw the flick of amber eyes in his direction, “cooked a meal.”
Ignis felt as if he was being singled out, and his toes curled inside his shoes before he dutifully raised his glass to his lips and took a drink. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself faced with a charming grin that had no right to win him over as much as it did.
He looked around at the rest of the group to see Levi topping his glass back up for a second time before he passed the bottle on directly to Nel. “You're going to have a hard time getting through this year if you can't cook,” she said, giving Gladio a flat look.
“I can cook,” Gladio defended. “Well, barbecue, but a burger isn't a meal, is it?”
“Not really,” Ignis agreed. He was heartened somewhat to see that the only people who weren't drinking were Yylfordt, which Ignis didn't find surprising, and Annie, which he did. “You've never cooked, Annie?” he asked.
“I've never had to,” she said. “I need to learn.”
“I'd be happy to help,” he offered.
“Yeah,” Apache said, rather more abrasively. Her accent seemed to be growing thicker, the Liverpudlian becoming undeniably strong as the evening, and drinks, wore on. “Don't think we're gonna look after you all year,” she said, pointing round at Annie, Yylfordt, and Gladio.
“I can help too,” Bert said, his cheeks pink as he turned to Annie and smiled at her, shyly. She blinked at him at first, and then gave a small nod that didn't bring her eyes back up to meet his.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Which makes it your go,” Gladio said, turning to Ignis and offering the bottle to him.
Ignis held his glass out, letting Gladio fill it for him once more as he thought. Levi had a few more drinks in him, but he still lagged behind the rest, and there was something Ignis knew he'd never done that Levi most certainly had.
“Never have I ever,” he began, “held a job.”
Levi narrowed his eyes at him, but Ignis wasn't sure if it was a warning that he'd get Ignis back, or silent praise for being sneaky and using what he already knew. Either way it brought a smile to Ignis's face, which spread further as everyone but Yylfordt drained their glasses.
“Weekends in a shop,” Nel said. “The things some customers do.” She shivered as if suppressing a horrible memory.
“I got fired for telling someone to fuck off,” Apache said. “I'd only been working two hours.”
“Mine was a paper round,” Bert said, quietly. “Does that count?”
Nel aww'd at him, which did nothing to help the flush creeping back up Bert's cheeks that never truly seemed to go away.
“It counts,” Ignis said.
“I work for my father in the summer,” Annie said.
“Same here,” Gladio said, “we own a farm. It's all hands when we're calving.”
Now, Ignis thought, Gladio's physique made a little more sense. He could picture him shifting hay bales in the summer, lifting them and moving them, probably without a shirt, skin growing tanned and muscles swelling with the exertion.
And that was quite enough of that line of thought. He cleared his throat and shifted in his chair, turning to Levi. “Last but not least,” he said.
Levi gave a murmur, but made no offer of where he'd worked, or what he'd done, and he gave no one the time to ask. The bottle was making its way back around the circle, already reaching Bert and Nel when Levi said, “Never have I ever known my father.”
Ignis felt the statement smack him in the gut, but Levi seemed utterly unconcerned by what he'd revealed. Ignis hadn't known about that; he'd never discussed family with Levi, and suddenly he wondered if he should.
Everyone lifted their drinks for that one, which seemed to be the result Levi had been going for.
“On that depressing note,” Nel said, glancing sideways at Levi and telling him, “thank you Captain Buzzkill,” to the result of Levi giving an unconcerned twitch of his eyebrow at her, “never have I ever padded my bra.”
“You've never fucking needed to,” Apache said, looking Nel up and down, “look at the size of them.”
Nel grinned back at Apache. Apache gave a huff before she brought her glass to her lips, and threw the contents down her neck in one smooth gulp.
Eyes turned to Annie then, who looked from Apache to Nel before she slowly raised her glass to her lips, and took the drink in one long sip. Her cheeks were pink, and it would have been easy to mistake it for the effect of the alcohol if it hadn't been the same pink she'd turned when first admitting to doing muay thai.
Next to Annie, Ignis saw Bert gulp. He was probably trying not to think about it, Ignis decided. He leaned further back in his chair when Nel leaned over him to refill Annie's drink for her, and then she said, “Your turn, Bert.”
Bert's face was bright red, and remained that way as he stammered out, “Never have I ever,” and again there was that look around the room for inspiration before he declared, “had a sibling.”
Ignis smiled. “Another only child, then,” he said.
“I've got two bitch sisters,” Apache said, knocking her drink back. “You can have them if you want them.”
“No thanks,” Yylfordt said, gesturing to the ceiling with his empty glass. “My twin bro lives upstairs, he's bad enough.”
“Well,” Gladio said, holding his glass out to be refilled again. Ignis could hear the slur creeping steadily into his words, “I love my sister, you must just suck as siblings.”
“No,” Apache argued, “they suck as siblings.”
“Annie?” Nel asked, smiling at her, “it's your turn.”
Annie looked down at her drink. Ignis if she was feeling a fraction bolder. They all seemed to be growing more talkative as the alcohol kicked in. No doubt that was the point, although if they continued on to another round after this some of them might be facing hospitalisation for alcohol poisoning.
“Never have I ever,” Annie said, her voice just that little bit more careful than was strictly necessary, “taken drugs.”
Gladio lowered his glass with a look of relief, and Ignis was pleased to see that Levi didn't budge, either.
Apache tossed her head back again before holding her glass forward. “Another!” she proclaimed, proudly.
Ignis felt disappointment creep up on him to see Nel take a drink. “What did you take?” she asked.
“Weed,” Apache answered. “You?”
Nel smiled, awkwardly. “Ecstasy,” she said.
“Oh man,” Yylfordt said, “old school.” He held his own empty glass up and took the bottle for a refill. “Mine's weed too,” he admitted. Out of the corner of his eye Ignis saw Gladio shake his head just slightly. “All right,” Yylfordt said, pushing on, “never have I ever,” he declared, looking around at all of them. Ignis felt Yylfordt's eyes linger on himself, and then Bert, before he smirked and said, “been a nerd.”
Ignis looked across at Bert, meeting his gaze. Clearly someone had settled on their assumptions about them already, and Ignis didn't see the point in arguing. He lifted his glass to Bert in silent toast before he downed his own drink. It seemed to go down easier than last time.
Bert was bright red in the face as he drank his own, and Ignis threw Yylfordt a defiant look. He was readying a similarly defiant remark, asking what was wrong with being intelligent and studying hard when he saw Gladio lowering his empty glass from his own mouth.
“Like fuck, bro,” Yylfordt said, to Gladio.
Gladio held one finger up while he swallowed, and then turned to Yylfordt. “Do you know how much studying it takes to get on a business course in this place? We've all come here because we're nerds, and if you're not already this place will make you one,” he said, “or you'll fail.”
Ignis felt a smile creep across his face. “Well said,” he said.
Gladio smiled, broadly. “Besides,” he said, “I read for fun. That's pretty nerdy.”
Ignis saw Bert squeezing his glass in his hand. He suspected, somehow, that Bert had a similar experience to himself when it came to being nerdy, one that Gladio, with his looks and confidence, was unlikely to have shared. Gladio wore 'nerd' like it was a badge of pride, but for himself, and likely for Bert, it had been a brand they'd been marked with at a young age. One that had ostracised them.
“My go,” Apache declared. Ignis took the bottle from Gladio and topped his glass back up. “Never have I ever,” she said, looking around at all of them with an evil, devious glint in her expression, “Been my mom's eldest.”
“I'm a twin,” Yylfordt said, holding one hand up.
“Who was born first?” Apache challenged.
Yylfordt opened his mouth to reply, and then decided to just tip his drink back into his mouth instead. Around the room, the rest of them were doing the same. Ignis, Levi, Nel, Annie, and Bert were all only children. The phrasing meant that Levi couldn't sit the round out on account of his absentee father and any potential offspring he may have around the country, either.
Gladio put his glass down heavily on the table, wavering slightly. “This is definitely going to have to be the last round,” he said.
“I think so,” Nel agreed. “Your question, and then two more, or are you wussing out now?” she asked, with a bright grin.
“I'll make it,” Gladio said, and sniffed. “I'll tough it out. Never have I ever,” he said, “backed down from a fight.”
Levi gave a small, satisfied huff, and topped his glass up again before leaving it resolutely on his lap. “Neither have I,” he said.
Ignis took the bottle from Levi, refilled his own glass, drank from it, and then refilled his glass again before he passed the bottle along. He could see the concentration in Gladio's face as he carefully poured another drink into his glass.
“I've never been in one,” Nel said, as the bottle continued to make its way around.
“I pulled out of a competition,” Annie said, as she refilled her glass again.
“I've never backed down,” Apache said. “Never lost, either.”
Yylfordt screwed up his nose. “I had to,” he said, “there were teachers watching.”
Bert, unsurprisingly, shared a quick glance with Ignis. Ignis gave a nod. They both knew why they'd backed down when it had come to it. There was no need to announce it.
“C'mon Iggy,” Gladio said, “hit us with it.”
Ignis looked around at the serried ranks of them. Bert was flushed, as was Annie. Yylfordt was draped in his chair. Nel's eyelids were heavy. Apache's movements had become large and exaggerated. Gladio seemed to be losing the fight to retain some semblance of sobriety. Ignis himself could no longer feel the tip of his nose, or taste the sambuca. Only Levi seemed completely unaffected. “Never have I ever,” he said, remembering the reaction when he'd first told this to Gladio and Nel, “been drunk, before today.”
“That's dirty,” Gladio said with a groan, picking his glass up and taking a drink. Ignis couldn't help but laugh, covering his mouth with the backs of his fingers.
“You do not play fair,” Nel agreed, taking a drink.
“That's the point,” Levi said, again failing to take a drink. No wonder he was so sober. How many had he had? Ignis had lost track.
Apache shot Ignis a thumbs up across the table as she knocked back another glass. Only Bert and Annie were unmoved, on that side of the circle.
“Last one,” Nel said, turning to Levi as Yylfordt refilled her glass for her. “Hit us with your best shot.”
Levi looked at her. “Whoever takes the most shots is the loser,” he said, “which compared to me is all of you.” He looked around, his eyes moving from Ignis to take in the state of Gladio, and Apache, the unco-ordinated movements of Yylfordt, and the alcohol flushes on Annie and Bert. “Never have I ever lost a drinking game.”
Groans erupted, and Ignis caught Levi's eye before he gave him a nod, and knocked back his last drink.
Nel slid the bottle, and the scant remains that wouldn't be more than a shot or two that lingered inside it, across to Levi. “Winner gets to finish the bottle,” she said.
Levi picked the bottle up, pressed it against his lips, and upended it into his mouth.
“It's really simple,” Nel said, moving the coffee table and pulling chairs around. “Say something that you've never done that you think some of the rest of us might. When someone else says something they haven't done that you have, you have to take a shot.”
Ignis saw Levi roll his eyes out of the edge of his vision as he took a shot glass from Gladio, and then silently inspected the liquid within it. Gladio flashed Ignis a grin as he handed him a glass too. “Whoever takes the most shots is the loser,” he said, “or will be in the morning.”
Ignis wouldn't call his feeling apprehension so much as he would justified wariness. He could think of plenty of things he had done that the others likely hadn't, but things he had not? Those would require some thought.
Apache wore a calculating look that made Ignis nervous as she accepted her glass from Gladio. “Are any subjects off the table?” Ignis asked, addressing Nel.
Nel gave him a pretty smile in response. “The idea's to get to know each other, not to invade each other's privacy,” she said.
“Spot the virgin,” Yylfordt muttered, bending low to Annie's ear.
Annie cleared her throat, and Ignis could feel the heat creeping up his neck and cheeks. He willed it away, lifting his chin before he answered, “Or perhaps I'm familiar with a world of sexual proclivities beyond your limited imagining and wouldn't wish to shock you,” with as much clipped dignity as he could muster.
Gladio exploded in a guffaw, and to Ignis's left Levi gave a quiet snort that was as close to hysterical laughter as he'd ever heard him get. Apache fixed him with a wink and a grin before she turned to Yylfordt and said, “He's got you there.”
Nel was grinning brightly when she said, “We can make a drinking game out of that one later.”
Ignis gave the room one last look before he took his seat, his eyes catching Gladio's and his lingering grin one final time. The clear liquid in the glass beckoned Ignis's senses, and he brought it up to his nose to take a sniff. The slightly astringent smell of alcohol and liqourice hit his nostrils, leaving him wrinkling his nose. He was not looking forward to taking a mouthful of it.
“All right,” Nel said, once Gladio had taken his seat. “I'll start. Never have I ever,” she began, looking around the room at all of them before she declared, “smoked.”
Ignis kept his hand, and shot glass, at his lap. Across from him Apache gave an unhappy groan and lifted her glass to her lips, taking the first shot of the evening. She was joined by Yylfordt, and then, after a heavy sigh, Gladio.
“Really?” Nel asked.
“One cigarette,” Gladio said. “I think I smoked half of it before my dad caught me and kicked my ass.”
Apache gave a snort of laughter. “I started when I was twelve,” she said, giving an unconcerned shrug. “My mom kicked my ass, but it didn't stop me.”
Yylfordt ran his fingers through his hair as he gave his head a shake. “I wasn't that young,” he said, turning to Apache. “Tried quitting twice.”
Nel shook her head. “Okay,” she said, leaning forward to pass the bottle of sambuca over, “top yourselves back up.” She turned to her left, giving Bert a smile. “Your turn.”
Bert flushed, obviously uncomfortable with being put on the spot. Ignis saw him glance up, as if he was trying to draw courage, or perhaps inspiration, from the rest of them. He hesitated, and then settled on, “Done something that's exercise outside of school.”
“Nice,” Nel said, with a laugh, eyeing Gladio as he dutifully knocked back his shot of sambuca.
Ignis frowned down at his and braced himself before he lifted it to his lips. He couldn't swallow it neatly down in one gulp as the likes of Apache and Gladio had which only served to make the experience worse. It tasted strongly of anise, which wasn't, in itself, bad, but combined with the pungency and alcoholic burn it left Ignis wincing and coughing. He looked across the room through slightly watery eyes to see Annie giving her now empty glass a look as if it had personally offended her, and Yylfordt clutching his with a wince on his face. He glanced around at Levi to see him sitting resolutely holding his still full shot glass, and frowned.
“Go on,” Nel said, smiling at Annie.
Annie frowned, glancing up and across at Ignis, who momentarily shared her discomfort at being put on the spot. “Muay Thai,” she answered, before looking back down at her glass, and... was she going slightly pink?
Gladio gave a whistle. “Nice,” he said, “don't mess with you, then.” He turned his attention to Yylfordt. “What about you?”
Yylfordt gave a shrug. “Treadmill and weights,” he said. “I was doing army fitness before I figured university suited me better.”
Gladio gave a slow nod before he admitted, “I considered it. I've been fit all my life,” he added, with a casual shift of his huge shoulders. “Started Crossfit six months ago, but you need a decent coach for that or you'll wreck yourself.” Ignis saw the way his nose screwed up as Gladio said, “Gonna need to hunt around, here.”
For a second, for a long moment, Ignis thought he'd got away with having to explain himself, but then Apache looked across at him and gave a jerk of her head as she asked, “What about speccy?”
Ignis frowned, half at being put on the spot as he'd have preferred to avoid, and half at the nickname.
“Yeah, Iggy,” Gladio said, “what's yours?”
Ignis glanced up to find himself being stared at by every pair of eyes in the room and he sighed, letting his shoulders drop. He should get it out of the way, really. “Ballet,” he said, quietly, “until I was fourteen. Gymnastics since.”
He heard the titters and the snorts. “So you wore a tutu and walked on your toes?”
Ignis looked up sharply at Apache, but he could see the faint smirk at the corner of Levi's mouth too, as well as the bright, mocking grin on Yylfordt's. Nel just looked like she was re-evaluating him, Bert seemed embarrassed, and Annie seemed unconcerned. Gladio looked almost impressed.
“No,” Ignis said, “ballerinas dance en pointe and wear tutus, male dancers are expected to jump high, turn quickly, and lift ladies.” He glanced down at his empty glass and pushed his spectacles up his nose before he added, softly, “Although I did learn to dance en pointe when I was twelve.”
“Okay, we need to see this,” Nel said.
Ignis immediately regretted the clarification. “It's been a few years,” he said, “and I don't have appropriate footwear.” Or padding, or the build for en pointe work any more, he thought. He'd been lithe and long-limbed at the start of puberty, and his instructor had begun him with en pointe work because so few male dancers did it. He'd started to look silly as he grew taller and now, at eighteen, he was too heavy into the bargain.
“He just doesn't wanna embarrass himself,” Yylfordt said, grinning at Apache.
“Hey,” Gladio said, his eyebrows raised, “I bet a ballerina could kick your ass. That stuff hurts to do.”
“What, you do little twirls on your toes too?” Yylfordt retorted.
“My sister does,” Gladio replied, his voice firm and unshaken, “and she kicks like a mule.” Gladio looked back around at Ignis and the corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile that sent a little warmth through Ignis's face. “And he ain't lying about needing special shoes,” he said, looking at Ignis as he addressed the room. “Iris started en pointe work two months ago. You've gotta be good to even be allowed to try it. She had to have her feet x-rayed before they'd let her start.”
Ignis smiled, softly. “I only did it for a year,” he said, “then I started to get too tall.”
“My sister's a titch,” Gladio said, with a grin, “she'll probably be fine.”
Ignis laughed, softly, his cheeks warm, and then he sighed. He could probably hold it for a few seconds without hurting himself, so long as he didn't try to move. “I can stand that way,” he said, “just don't ask me to pirouette.”
Nel's face lit up in a grin, and even Annie looked interested. He wondered if she had any ballet experience, or if she was simply quietly along for the circus. Ignis slid his empty shot glass onto the table before bending down and unfastening his shoes. Pulling them off, he tucked them under his chair. He removed his socks too, leaving his toes bare, and then stood.
“Need a bar?” Gladio asked, holding out his arm, his face lit up by a grin.
Ignis favoured him with a soft smile and shook his head. “I'll be fine,” he answered, carefully positioning his feet in third position. It was amazing how easily things came back to you, sometimes; he still had the flexibility to have his heels touching his toes. From there it was a simple relevé past demi-pointe and into en pointe.
It hurt. He could feel his toenail being pressed into his toe, and the strain on the knuckles as he balanced and held his weight on two toes per foot. To do this properly required padding, and toe spacers, and a box in the shoes that helped spread the strain.
Nel started to clap, quickly followed by Bert, and to his left Ignis heard Levi give an impressed grunt. Ignis counted to four, and held on until five before he lowered himself gratefully. He was definitely far too heavy for that these days. “Now I'd like to see you do that,” he said, looking across as Yylfordt, and catching Apache in a glance too.
“Iris is gonna be stoked when I tell her there's a ballet dancer in my dorm,” Gladio said.
“Not any more,” Ignis said, sitting back down and retrieving his socks. “As I said, I stopped when I was fourteen.”
“How come?” Gladio asked.
Ignis opened his mouth to answer, and then hesitated. He didn't really want to explain that his family had ill been able to afford the tutor to begin with and that ballet had been another sacrifice along the path of his childhood, along with piano lessons. “At fourteen,” he said, “one either decides they're going to be a ballet dancer and take it seriously, or they're not. I was never good enough to join a company, so it seemed pointless to continue.”
“You don't have to be the best at something if you're having fun,” Gladio said.
Ignis bit the inside of his lip as he slid his shoes back on. “Perhaps you don't,” he said.
“All right then,” Ignis listened to Nel take charge once more. “Annie's turn.”
When Ignis sat back up his shot glass had been refilled for him, and he retrieved it with a glance at Gladio, who had his attention turned to Annie instead.
Annie looked almost as uncomfortable as Bert had, and her voice was low and passionless as she said, without looking anyone in the eyes, “Never have I ever had a boy or girlfriend.”
Ignis found his eyes moving over to Levi, who tilted his head back and rolled his eyes before slumping in his chair, his glass still resolutely full. Another one that Levi had never done, then. Ignis really would have to think of something that would catch him in its net.
Bert, unsurprisingly, flushed slightly pink and failed to bring his glass to his mouth. Nel, Gladio, Apache, and Yylfordt, again unsurprisingly, all drained their glasses.
“I still do,” Gladio said, reaching for the bottle of sambuca to top it back up already.
“I knew there was something between you two,” Yylfordt said, pointing between Gladio and Nel.
“What makes you think it's me?” Nel asked, sounding just indignant enough that it bordered on offensive.
“What's wrong with me?” Gladio asked, having clearly caught the offense.
Nel gave him a long, considering look up and down before she answered, “I'd make you shave.”
Gladio grinned and shook his head, bringing his free hand up to stroke over the short bristled at his jaw. “I don't shave for anyone.” He looked over at Yylfordt, “My girlfriend didn't come here, she got in at Oxford.”
Yylfordt wrinkled his nose. “I dumped mine before I came,” he said, with an idle shrug.
“Aren't you a class act,” Apache said, giving Yylfordt a look as if he'd passed wind and was now celebrating it. Ignis shook his head. He'd like to think that if he'd had a girlfriend, or boyfriend, before coming to university, that he'd have made an effort to keep the relationship going.
Yylfordt gave a careless shrug. “Better than stringing her along for months pretending we can make it work.”
Gladio scowled at him. “If you care enough, you'll make it work,” he said.
“Mine split up with me for the same reason,” Nel said, cutting into the argument. She gave Gladio a soft smile, “But he's going to university in America, so we won't see each other at all,” she added. “We're staying in touch.”
Ignis saw Gladio's shoulders shift as if he was fighting not to shrug. “That's different,” he said.
“Well,” Apache said, “I didn't have to dump anyone before I came here. I just had boyfriends in school.”
“My turn next, right?” Yylfordt asked. The bottle of sambuca made its way around again, its levels now significantly dented. Ignis doubted it would last many more rounds. “Never have I ever,” he began, “failed my driving test. I passed that thing first time,” he said, as if it was a point of pride.
Gladio gave a groan before he knocked back his drink yet again.
“Never took it,” Levi said, sounding bored.
“Neither have I,” Bert said, quietly.
Nel knocked back her drink. “I wore a low cut top and I still failed,” she said, before giving Apache a helpless smile. “The assessor was a woman.”
“I still haven't passed,” Apache said, draining her drink.
“You two?” Nel asked, looking between Annie and Ignis.
“I passed first time,” Annie said, quietly.
“Likewise,” Ignis said, giving Annie a soft smile. It seemed fruitless to have even undertaken the test without a car to drive. His parents had said they would place him on their insurance, but putting a newly qualified teenage male on one's insurance did awful things to the premiums, so they'd decided it would be a waste of time with Ignis going off to university soon. They'd also said he could have the car when they purchased another, but Ignis didn't expect that to actually happen, either.
Nel refilled her glass, and passed it on to Yylfordt. When it reached Gladio he tipped the last of the bottle's contents into his glass, and then placed the empty bottle down. “We're gonna need that other bottle,” he said, flashing Nel a grin.
“So it's me, right?” Apache asked. She didn't wait for confirmation, giving Yylfordt and then Gladio pointed looks before she declared, “Never have I ever had my cock sucked.”
“You don't have a cock,” Yylfordt pointed out, “that's cheating.”
“I do,” Apache replied, “it's battery operated and in my drawer. I can show you if you want?”
Ignis saw Bert's face going slowly more and more magenta. He shared his sentiments if he was honest. Ignis wouldn't be drinking for this round either, but hearing Apache so frankly discuss the electronic sex aid she kept in a room full of people made him uncomfortable.
Levi lifted his glass to his mouth and knocked it back swiftly, as if he'd done it a dozen times before. Ignis found himself looking at him in surprise. “It stands,” Levi said, “you just don't want to admit you never have.”
Gladio put his empty glass back on the table. “You have?” he asked, looking at Levi.
Levi gave Gladio the stone cold sober look of challenge he'd given Apache over the bottle cap. “Is that so hard to believe?”
Gladio shook his head. “You've just been sat there not drinking for so long I wasn't sure you were playing.”
“Maybe I'm just boring,” Levi said.
“As if he's had his cock sucked,” Yylfordt said, “look at him.”
Ignis shifted slightly uncomfortably in his seat, trying to hide the fact he hadn't drunk from his own glass. Perhaps he should? Would it be better for them to know he was so inexperienced, or to face questions and have to make up the answer? Would they believe him.
He glanced up and caught Bert's eye. Bert's glass was also resolutely full, and they shared an awkward smile across the table.
“Just because no one's sucked yours doesn't mean the rest of us can't get it,” Levi said, flatly.
Yylfordt lifted his glass to his mouth and drained it. “They have,” he said. “I had a girlfriend, remember. You haven't, so who the fuck sucked yours?”
“Ask your dad,” Levi replied.
Yylfordt's face began to colour. Not with embarrassment like Bert's, or at least not wholly so, but with a mix of infuriation and possibly alcohol fuelled aggression.
“All right,” Nel said, “time to grab the next bottle.”
Apache grinned, practically jumping up and moving across the kitchen to retrieve it. Ignis watched her go and to his mild dismay, saw another three bottles in the cupboard, although blessedly only one appeared to be sambuca. That was the one Apache retrieved, twisting the cap off as she made her way back across the room. She paused by Gladio, refilling his glass for him before she put the bottle down on the table, where Levi leaned forward and snatched it before Yylfordt could reach.
“Okay,” Gladio said, “me next. Never have I ever,” he said, and Ignis saw the flick of amber eyes in his direction, “cooked a meal.”
Ignis felt as if he was being singled out, and his toes curled inside his shoes before he dutifully raised his glass to his lips and took a drink. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself faced with a charming grin that had no right to win him over as much as it did.
He looked around at the rest of the group to see Levi topping his glass back up for a second time before he passed the bottle on directly to Nel. “You're going to have a hard time getting through this year if you can't cook,” she said, giving Gladio a flat look.
“I can cook,” Gladio defended. “Well, barbecue, but a burger isn't a meal, is it?”
“Not really,” Ignis agreed. He was heartened somewhat to see that the only people who weren't drinking were Yylfordt, which Ignis didn't find surprising, and Annie, which he did. “You've never cooked, Annie?” he asked.
“I've never had to,” she said. “I need to learn.”
“I'd be happy to help,” he offered.
“Yeah,” Apache said, rather more abrasively. Her accent seemed to be growing thicker, the Liverpudlian becoming undeniably strong as the evening, and drinks, wore on. “Don't think we're gonna look after you all year,” she said, pointing round at Annie, Yylfordt, and Gladio.
“I can help too,” Bert said, his cheeks pink as he turned to Annie and smiled at her, shyly. She blinked at him at first, and then gave a small nod that didn't bring her eyes back up to meet his.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Which makes it your go,” Gladio said, turning to Ignis and offering the bottle to him.
Ignis held his glass out, letting Gladio fill it for him once more as he thought. Levi had a few more drinks in him, but he still lagged behind the rest, and there was something Ignis knew he'd never done that Levi most certainly had.
“Never have I ever,” he began, “held a job.”
Levi narrowed his eyes at him, but Ignis wasn't sure if it was a warning that he'd get Ignis back, or silent praise for being sneaky and using what he already knew. Either way it brought a smile to Ignis's face, which spread further as everyone but Yylfordt drained their glasses.
“Weekends in a shop,” Nel said. “The things some customers do.” She shivered as if suppressing a horrible memory.
“I got fired for telling someone to fuck off,” Apache said. “I'd only been working two hours.”
“Mine was a paper round,” Bert said, quietly. “Does that count?”
Nel aww'd at him, which did nothing to help the flush creeping back up Bert's cheeks that never truly seemed to go away.
“It counts,” Ignis said.
“I work for my father in the summer,” Annie said.
“Same here,” Gladio said, “we own a farm. It's all hands when we're calving.”
Now, Ignis thought, Gladio's physique made a little more sense. He could picture him shifting hay bales in the summer, lifting them and moving them, probably without a shirt, skin growing tanned and muscles swelling with the exertion.
And that was quite enough of that line of thought. He cleared his throat and shifted in his chair, turning to Levi. “Last but not least,” he said.
Levi gave a murmur, but made no offer of where he'd worked, or what he'd done, and he gave no one the time to ask. The bottle was making its way back around the circle, already reaching Bert and Nel when Levi said, “Never have I ever known my father.”
Ignis felt the statement smack him in the gut, but Levi seemed utterly unconcerned by what he'd revealed. Ignis hadn't known about that; he'd never discussed family with Levi, and suddenly he wondered if he should.
Everyone lifted their drinks for that one, which seemed to be the result Levi had been going for.
“On that depressing note,” Nel said, glancing sideways at Levi and telling him, “thank you Captain Buzzkill,” to the result of Levi giving an unconcerned twitch of his eyebrow at her, “never have I ever padded my bra.”
“You've never fucking needed to,” Apache said, looking Nel up and down, “look at the size of them.”
Nel grinned back at Apache. Apache gave a huff before she brought her glass to her lips, and threw the contents down her neck in one smooth gulp.
Eyes turned to Annie then, who looked from Apache to Nel before she slowly raised her glass to her lips, and took the drink in one long sip. Her cheeks were pink, and it would have been easy to mistake it for the effect of the alcohol if it hadn't been the same pink she'd turned when first admitting to doing muay thai.
Next to Annie, Ignis saw Bert gulp. He was probably trying not to think about it, Ignis decided. He leaned further back in his chair when Nel leaned over him to refill Annie's drink for her, and then she said, “Your turn, Bert.”
Bert's face was bright red, and remained that way as he stammered out, “Never have I ever,” and again there was that look around the room for inspiration before he declared, “had a sibling.”
Ignis smiled. “Another only child, then,” he said.
“I've got two bitch sisters,” Apache said, knocking her drink back. “You can have them if you want them.”
“No thanks,” Yylfordt said, gesturing to the ceiling with his empty glass. “My twin bro lives upstairs, he's bad enough.”
“Well,” Gladio said, holding his glass out to be refilled again. Ignis could hear the slur creeping steadily into his words, “I love my sister, you must just suck as siblings.”
“No,” Apache argued, “they suck as siblings.”
“Annie?” Nel asked, smiling at her, “it's your turn.”
Annie looked down at her drink. Ignis if she was feeling a fraction bolder. They all seemed to be growing more talkative as the alcohol kicked in. No doubt that was the point, although if they continued on to another round after this some of them might be facing hospitalisation for alcohol poisoning.
“Never have I ever,” Annie said, her voice just that little bit more careful than was strictly necessary, “taken drugs.”
Gladio lowered his glass with a look of relief, and Ignis was pleased to see that Levi didn't budge, either.
Apache tossed her head back again before holding her glass forward. “Another!” she proclaimed, proudly.
Ignis felt disappointment creep up on him to see Nel take a drink. “What did you take?” she asked.
“Weed,” Apache answered. “You?”
Nel smiled, awkwardly. “Ecstasy,” she said.
“Oh man,” Yylfordt said, “old school.” He held his own empty glass up and took the bottle for a refill. “Mine's weed too,” he admitted. Out of the corner of his eye Ignis saw Gladio shake his head just slightly. “All right,” Yylfordt said, pushing on, “never have I ever,” he declared, looking around at all of them. Ignis felt Yylfordt's eyes linger on himself, and then Bert, before he smirked and said, “been a nerd.”
Ignis looked across at Bert, meeting his gaze. Clearly someone had settled on their assumptions about them already, and Ignis didn't see the point in arguing. He lifted his glass to Bert in silent toast before he downed his own drink. It seemed to go down easier than last time.
Bert was bright red in the face as he drank his own, and Ignis threw Yylfordt a defiant look. He was readying a similarly defiant remark, asking what was wrong with being intelligent and studying hard when he saw Gladio lowering his empty glass from his own mouth.
“Like fuck, bro,” Yylfordt said, to Gladio.
Gladio held one finger up while he swallowed, and then turned to Yylfordt. “Do you know how much studying it takes to get on a business course in this place? We've all come here because we're nerds, and if you're not already this place will make you one,” he said, “or you'll fail.”
Ignis felt a smile creep across his face. “Well said,” he said.
Gladio smiled, broadly. “Besides,” he said, “I read for fun. That's pretty nerdy.”
Ignis saw Bert squeezing his glass in his hand. He suspected, somehow, that Bert had a similar experience to himself when it came to being nerdy, one that Gladio, with his looks and confidence, was unlikely to have shared. Gladio wore 'nerd' like it was a badge of pride, but for himself, and likely for Bert, it had been a brand they'd been marked with at a young age. One that had ostracised them.
“My go,” Apache declared. Ignis took the bottle from Gladio and topped his glass back up. “Never have I ever,” she said, looking around at all of them with an evil, devious glint in her expression, “Been my mom's eldest.”
“I'm a twin,” Yylfordt said, holding one hand up.
“Who was born first?” Apache challenged.
Yylfordt opened his mouth to reply, and then decided to just tip his drink back into his mouth instead. Around the room, the rest of them were doing the same. Ignis, Levi, Nel, Annie, and Bert were all only children. The phrasing meant that Levi couldn't sit the round out on account of his absentee father and any potential offspring he may have around the country, either.
Gladio put his glass down heavily on the table, wavering slightly. “This is definitely going to have to be the last round,” he said.
“I think so,” Nel agreed. “Your question, and then two more, or are you wussing out now?” she asked, with a bright grin.
“I'll make it,” Gladio said, and sniffed. “I'll tough it out. Never have I ever,” he said, “backed down from a fight.”
Levi gave a small, satisfied huff, and topped his glass up again before leaving it resolutely on his lap. “Neither have I,” he said.
Ignis took the bottle from Levi, refilled his own glass, drank from it, and then refilled his glass again before he passed the bottle along. He could see the concentration in Gladio's face as he carefully poured another drink into his glass.
“I've never been in one,” Nel said, as the bottle continued to make its way around.
“I pulled out of a competition,” Annie said, as she refilled her glass again.
“I've never backed down,” Apache said. “Never lost, either.”
Yylfordt screwed up his nose. “I had to,” he said, “there were teachers watching.”
Bert, unsurprisingly, shared a quick glance with Ignis. Ignis gave a nod. They both knew why they'd backed down when it had come to it. There was no need to announce it.
“C'mon Iggy,” Gladio said, “hit us with it.”
Ignis looked around at the serried ranks of them. Bert was flushed, as was Annie. Yylfordt was draped in his chair. Nel's eyelids were heavy. Apache's movements had become large and exaggerated. Gladio seemed to be losing the fight to retain some semblance of sobriety. Ignis himself could no longer feel the tip of his nose, or taste the sambuca. Only Levi seemed completely unaffected. “Never have I ever,” he said, remembering the reaction when he'd first told this to Gladio and Nel, “been drunk, before today.”
“That's dirty,” Gladio said with a groan, picking his glass up and taking a drink. Ignis couldn't help but laugh, covering his mouth with the backs of his fingers.
“You do not play fair,” Nel agreed, taking a drink.
“That's the point,” Levi said, again failing to take a drink. No wonder he was so sober. How many had he had? Ignis had lost track.
Apache shot Ignis a thumbs up across the table as she knocked back another glass. Only Bert and Annie were unmoved, on that side of the circle.
“Last one,” Nel said, turning to Levi as Yylfordt refilled her glass for her. “Hit us with your best shot.”
Levi looked at her. “Whoever takes the most shots is the loser,” he said, “which compared to me is all of you.” He looked around, his eyes moving from Ignis to take in the state of Gladio, and Apache, the unco-ordinated movements of Yylfordt, and the alcohol flushes on Annie and Bert. “Never have I ever lost a drinking game.”
Groans erupted, and Ignis caught Levi's eye before he gave him a nod, and knocked back his last drink.
Nel slid the bottle, and the scant remains that wouldn't be more than a shot or two that lingered inside it, across to Levi. “Winner gets to finish the bottle,” she said.
Levi picked the bottle up, pressed it against his lips, and upended it into his mouth.