IGNIS paused outside of the kitchen as he tried to get his heart rate to slow down again.  He hadn't quite planned for it to get that heated in there.  He had only intended on teasing you a bit like you had him at the pool.  But he hadn't taken into account of how his own body behaves from having you that close to him. 

For again he had had a hard time controlling himself after he caught that addictive scent from you.  He didn't understand why it turned him on so much.  It's not like it was something a little more sensual, it was just a neck.  Well, maybe not just a neck, for it was only your neck that he reacted like that with. 

He took a wavering breath as he tried to shake the thoughts out of his head.  But it was too late for part of himself, which was causing some major discomfort.  He reluctantly turned to face the wall as he adjusted himself to a more comfortable position.  He slightly groaned with the relief of the pressure. 

Then he stood there for a few minutes as he tried to finish bringing down his heart rate.  That was until he heard the clank of a dish from behind him.  The sound startled him and put him on edge.  He slowly turned around to face the table with his hand reach out and ready to summon his dagger if need be.

But when he looked at the table, all he saw was the bright eyes of Gina staring back at him from the table as she happily continued to eat her eggs.  She was sitting in the head seat that he knew you had set for his uncle.  He narrowed his eyes for a brief second as he looked back at her.  But then he relaxed and walked up to her.  He noticed that she was almost done and had done a good job of keeping the mess to only her plate.

"Are you ok?"  Gina asked with her big eyes as she stared up at him.

Ignis slightly smiled back at her. 

"I'm fine."  He said as he rubbed her head.  "You know, (y/n) hadn't set that seat up for you?  That was suppose to be for my uncle."

Gina stopped mid-bite at his words.  "This wasn't for me?"  She asked as she started to put her fork down.

"It's fine now."  He said with a gentle voice. 

"Just be sure to ask next time.  And try to not to make a mess."  He told her as he rubbed her head again before removing his hand.

Gina gave Ignis her big doe eyes as she nodded with a smile.  Ignis just smiled back. 

I know that (y/n) won't mind just changing out the utensils.  He thought as he watched her take a bite of egg.  Just as long as that's the only thing that needs to be cleaned up.

"I have to go talk to my uncle for a minute.  Just finish up then head out to play.  We'll take care of the dishes."  Ignis said to her as he walked towards the garden.

She nodded one more time at Ignis.  He nodded back then entered the garden so that he could search for his uncle.  She watched him walk of the door with a smile.  Then she turned back to her breakfast.  That was when she noticed the orange juice.......

It didn't take Ignis long to find his uncle.  For he was sitting in one of the chairs by a table, near the water fountain that was in the center of the garden.  He was silently writing in his black notebook that he kept in his coat pocket.  Ignis slightly smiled as he looked at him while approached him.  It had been his uncle who had gotten him in the habit of writing certain things down.

Ignis's book was mainly full of cooking tips and recipes.  But his uncles were usually full of battle strategies and mission details as he saw how they might play out.  His uncle had told him once that it helped him to make decisions on different situations based on what could happen.  It also gave him a chance to see  how it might play out before he actually put anyone in the field.  This was one of the main reasons that he was the head of the Intelligence Department. For under his guidance, the casulty rate had dropped drastically.

Korn looked up when he saw someone approaching him. 

"Ah.  Ignis."  He said with a smile. 

"Please join me while we wait."  Korn said as he gestured to the empty chair opposite of his, before returning to his writing.

Ignis didn't argue.  Instead Ignis took a seat in the chair.  He didn't sit back though.  Instead he sat up so that he wouldn't get his shirt dirty.  He wasn't  a big fan of getting dirt on his clothes, if he could avoid it.  In fact there had been a few times when he had gone a bit extreme on avoiding his clothing getting dirty.  It's not that he was afraid to get dirty, he just preferred to avoid it if possible.

"I take it Mr. Clifton is on his way home."  Korn asked as he continued writing in his book.

"Yes.  I suspect that he should be home by now, or at least close to it at this point."  Ignis said as he crossed his legs and placed both of his hands on his top knee.

"Good."  Korn replied. 

Then he sat there for a few minutes in silence as his pen scratched away.   Ignis sat there watching him as he tried to figure out the best way to bring up the questions that had been racing around in his head.  He knew that he had to be careful though, or he might give away to much.  The last thing that he needed was for his uncle to start asking questions about the relationship between you and Ignis. 

In fact, the idea of it made Ignis nervous enough. Since he himself wasn't even sure what was going on with the relationship. He knew that it was past the point of being just friends.  But how far past that point, he wasn't sure of.

"You know."  Ignis began.  "It was awfully considerate of Mr. Clifton to stop by here and do the test today.  I wasn't expecting to be tested until tomorrow, right before swim practice."

"It was indeed.  And I'm glad that he took up my request."  Korn said as he continued to write.

"I see."  Ignis returned.  "Well then that was very good planning on your part."

"Well, I didn't see the point of having you wait."  Korn replied.

"When did you ask him to come by?"  Ignis asked. 

He knew tell that he was starting to tread on thin ice with some of his questions.  But he just had to know.

"After the King gave the order to bring everyone back early from training."  Korn said. 

Then he paused with his writing and looked up at ignis.  "Why do you ask?  And why are you suddenly concerned about something so trivial."

"Well then it seems we have a very different definitions of trivial."  Ignis bluntly stated as he tried to keep his nerve.

Korn set down his pen as he turned his full attention towards his nephew.

"Are you suggesting something?" He returned with a bit of irritation in his voice.

"I'm not suggesting anything.  I'm just trying to figure out why you decided today, of all days to push for (y/n) and myself to start our new training sessions."  Ignis said as he tried to keep his voice calm. 

But this was proving to be difficult since he had never argued back or questioned anything that his uncle had done until now.

"I just told you."  Korn said as he was starting to get irritated with Ignis that he would question him.  "I didn't see the point in having either of you wait any longer."

"But don't you think that it might be too soon."  Ignis said as he clenched his hands together as his temper and nerves were starting to take over as he felt his hands start to shake.  "You didn't want to give her a break for one weekend,  or even one day?"

"I will train how I see fit."  Korn told Ignis with a stern voice. 

"And it is not your place to decide how that will be handled.  Do you understand me?"  Korn finished with a sharp tone.

Ignis sharply exhaled as he tried to keep his temper in check. 

"Understood.  Sir."  He bluntly replied as he stared hard back at his uncle.

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

During that same time frame..................

You had stood there for a few minutes after ignis had walked out with the pancake turner in your hand and the eggs still on the grill, as you stood there in the kitchen.  You could still feel the heat on your cheeks from Ignis' departing comment.

"You are as easy to read as a book when it comes to your emotions." He had said as he started to walked back towards the door. "Especially when you lowered your eyes on me earlier." He had finished before slipping out the door.

I was hoping that he hadn't seen that.  You thought as you tried to calm back down. 

But then you dropped your eyes as you turned the eggs over once before grabbing the plates from under the counter.  You then smiled and could still feel the sensation on your neck as you remembered the gentle kisses from him.  This was indeed going to be difficult.  For both of you. 

You set the plates on the counter then you put the eggs, sausage, and bacon into groups on the flat grill and turned the heat down to warm.  Then you turned around and put the first slices of bread into the toaster.  While that was cooking, you put the unused food back into the cooler and freezer. 

After the first set toast popped to show that it was finished, you put in the next ones.  Then you buttered the ones you pulled out and lightly sprinkle cinnamon on each slice and placed the first two on the first plate.  After that you started to assemble the food on each plate so that sausage and bacon were on the sides with the eggs in the middle.  Then as if added as an after thought, you put two slices of oranges on each plate before you put them on a large serving tray and covered them up with the silver plate covers so that they didn't get cold. 

After putting on all the plates, you finished off the tray with a hot kettle of Ebony coffee, a small bowl of sugar cubes, and a small creamer server.  Once everything was on the tray you looked down and smiled. 

Perfect. You thought then picked up the tray with both hands and carried it out of the kitchen.

When you turned around with the tray of food as you pushed the door open with your back, you came face to face with a small dilemma that you had not planned for.  For the chair at the head of the table that you had set for Ignis' uncle had been moved and the whole setting was shifted as if it was used. You sighed at first when you realized that it must have been Gina.  For there in the center was her almost cleaned plate of eggs. 

Then you noticed something that made your heart stop.  For right by the plate was a glass of orange juice that she had tried to pour herself, but had apparently missed part of it and had orange juice covering the rest of the clean dishes and the whole table top.  You deeply sighed as you looked at what had been your perfect breakfast setting.  For all it was now, was a perfect sea of orange juice that was covering every inch.

Well, we're not going to be able to eat in here at the moment.  You thought as your heart dropped.

At least not until I clean up this mess.  You thought as dropped your head but then you turned towards the garden.  Perhaps they wouldn't mind eating in the garden.  I don't want their food to get cold while I'm cleaning up the mess. 

So with a heavy heart you headed into the garden.  

You followed the path the led straight to the center of the garden from the dining room.  You were slightly relieved to see both Ignis and his uncle at a table already.  That was until you got close enough for you to see that they looked like they were in a slightly heated conversation.  You slowly approached hoping that you wouldn't further make his uncle mad for them having to eat somewhere other than the dining room.  The whole sight made you nervous since he didn't seem to please with the current conversation.

"I will train how I see fit."  Korn told Ignis with a stern.  "And it is not your place to decide how that will be handled.  Do you understand me?"  Korn finished with a sharp tone.

Ignis sharply exhaled as he tried to keep his temper in check.  "Understood.  Sir."  He bluntly replied as he stared hard back at his uncle.

You nervously stood there and watched the heated exchange.  You weren't one hundred percent sure about what they were arguing about.  But you had a general  idea.  You stood there for a few moments as the silence seemed to show the end of the conversation.  Then you cleared your throat as you tried to quietly get their attention.  But neither of them looked at you.

Great.  What the hell did I miss this time?  You thought as you stood there as you looked from one to the other. 

Well this is as good of a time as any.  You thought as you headed to the table.

"Please pardon the interruption, but breakfast is ready.  And I apologize for the inconvenience, but due to a slight set back, we will not be able to sit at the table just yet."  You said as you walked over to the table and set the tray down.  "But I didn't want your food to get cold so I brought it to you while it's still hot."  You said as you placed their plates in front of them.  Then you placed the coffee, sugar bowl and creamer server in front of Korn.  Lastly you set your plate down before tucking the tray under your arm.

"If you'll pardon me."  You said as you bowed to them before stepping back. 

"I'm return once the table has been cleaned."  You said then you turned on your heel as you started to head back to the dining room.

"(Y/n)?"  You heard Korn ask. 

You stopped and dropped your head before taking a deep breath. Then you turned back around to face him.

"Yes sir."  You said as you stared right at him.

"What do you mean the table isn't clean?"  Korn asked with a slightly curious tone.

"There's just a little spill."  You nervously answered. 

"Nothing more.  I'll be done cleaning it up before your done with your coffee."  You quickly said as you saw his eyes narrow at you.  Great impression (y/n).  Now he thinks that you're a klutz.

Ignis looked at you with a curious look.  Then his eyes widened for a brief moment. 

Gina!  He thought in horror. 

What did she do?  Ignis thought as he recalled that Gina had been sitting at the head chair. 

Ignis then looked back at you as he tried to read your expression.  But all he could get out of you was that you were nervous since you were clenching and unclenching your hands.  But you never broke eye contact with Korn as he stared right at you with a stern look.

"There is no such thing as a small spill."  He coldly said.  "Perhaps you should clean the entire dining room.  This way we can be sure that you clean it all up.  In fact, don't stop there.  I want you to clean the entire kitchen as well.  If you spilled in the dining room, I can only imagine what you did to the kitchen."

You dropped your gaze as felt your heart drop even further then it already was.  But you knew better then to say anything, otherwise he would just add more.  You had learned that lesson early from your mom and dad.  It was just better to take the punishment then to argue about it.  Even if you hadn't done anything wrong.

"And now for looking away from me as I'm talking to you.  You'll clean my office once your done down here."  He sharply said as watched your eyes drop.

You quickly raised you eyes up and stared at him again. 

What the hell?  I can't even look down?  You said as you started to glare at him. 

You could feel your temper starting to rise as you glared at his gray eyes.

"What are you still doing here?"  He louded said.  "Go.  Get to work.  Or do I need to reminded you, that you where the one who said that you would be done before I finished my coffee."  He said as he waved his hand at you as he dismissed you.

"Yes sir."  You coldly said as you slightly bowed again before turning back around and heading to the dining room.

Ignis quickly turned back to his uncle and was about to say something when Korn raised his hand to his nephew.  "Unless you feel like scrubbing the entire pool area, I suggest you keep your thoughts and words to yourself."

Ignis stopped in VB breath and closed his mouth again as he stared at his uncle. 

"This is her mistake and she will only learn to be prepared if she does the work herself.  Now eat your breakfast before it gets cold."  Korn said as he turned his attention to the plate in front of him.

Ignis dropped his gaze as he looked at the silver lid in front of him.  He had suddenly lost his appetite, but at the same time he didn't want to insult you by not eating.  So he reluctantly took the lid off of his plate.  He smiled to himself as looked impressed with the plate setting.  You never ceased to amaze him with the skills that you have learned through your family.  For he could see the love that they had all shared with you through your actions and work.  He set his lid back on the plate then looked back up at his uncle.

"Well she's not starting off very well is she."  Korn said as he shook his head while he put his lid back on his plate as well.  "She forgot the silverware and the orange juice."

"I can get it for us."  Ignis quietly said as he started to get up.  "After all, (y/n) is busy at the moment."

"No Ignis."  Korn said sternly.  "You will simply tell her to bring it here.  You are not to help in any way."

Ignis dropped his gaze as he slowly settled back down in his chair as he looked at the plates. 

Looks like he using the same sink or swim approach that I started off with.  Of course for me, I was too young to know what really needed to be done.  (Y/n) on the other hand knows a lot more about this then I did.  Ignis thought to himself as recalled how he first started his training.

'You know what."  Korn said as he suddenly stood up.  

"Tell her to bring it up to my office.  I can't be waiting around for her to figure out what she's suppose to be doing."  Korn said as he walked away and left his food untouched.

Ignis felt his own heart drop as he temper started to raise from the harsh words from his uncle.  He knew that his uncle was going to make this difficult.  But he hadn't realized how it looked from a outside perception.  Although now he knew why people would just stare at him when he was getting yelled at. 

They were all waiting to see what he was going to do.  Most of the time it was nothing but what he was told to do.  But when he was younger, there had been a few times where he had stood his ground.  Even thought it ended with him doing what was requested of him anyway.  That was how he learned that it was just easier to comply, oppose to argue about it.

Ignis sighed to himself as he stood up so that he could head over to dining room.  He figured he might as well follow his instructions.  After all, the path of least resistance was the easiest one.  That and he was curious as to what had happened.  But as he stood up he heard his uncle talking.

"Now you realize that there were a few things missing?"  Korn angrily said to you which caused you stop in your tracks after you had walked back into the garden with a tray that had the silverware, glasses and the remaining pitcher of orange juice. 

"Well your terrible timing and planning will cost you.  Bring up a fresh plate to my office.  I don't have time to waste while you fix this mess."  He harshly said. 

Then he walked right past you as he headed for the dining room so that he could exit the garden.

You stood there for a few minutes as you heart dropped as you felt the full blunt of those blows.  After he walked past, you dropped your head in defeat.  You hadn't even thought about the silverware and orange juice when you had carried the food out to the garden.  You had been too distracted with the mess that you were going to have to cleanup. 

It was even until after you had returned to the dining room and saw the mess, it dawned on you that they were missing a few essential items.  After all, you couldn't eat without silverware.  So you had quickly found some clean sets and had made sure that you also grabbed the orange juice.  You thought that you had been quick.  But apparently not fast enough.   It looked like you were going to have to really step up your game if you were to please him.

With your head still down you walked over to the table to collect the untouched food.  You noticed that Ignis was still standing there.  But you didn't acknowledge him.  You were afraid to say anything for fear that you would just break down.  So you just walked past him and went straight to the table to grab the dishes.

"(Y/n) I'm ...". Ignis started to say.

"Ignis please.  Don't....."  You quietly said without looking at him as you grabbed the dishes from the table and placed them on the tray.  Then without another word you turned back around with the full tray and walked back to the kitchen.

Ignis just stood there quietly as he watched you walk away.  He didn't like his uncle's approach to training when it came to others.  He was use to it.  But he was also family. 

It seemed to Ignis that sometimes Korn would forget that the other students were people too.  They might not have been related by blood, but some of them were close enough to be family.  He had hoped that his uncle was going to look at you that way. But it looked like that wasn't going to happen.  Ignis took a deep breath and slowly let it out as he slowly walked towards the dining room.

After exiting the garden, you had headed straight into the kitchen so that you could set the food tray back down on the counter.  Once you did, you left the tray there for a moment so that you could go out and clean up the rest of the mess on the table.  You had already wiped up the orange juice.  But it left a sticky film on the table itself.  So you grabbed a small bucket of hot soapy water and a wash cloth so that you could clean it better.  Then you headed through the door to clean up.

As you walked through the door, you saw Ignis walk back into the dining room and pause as you walked out of the door.  You glanced at him but then turned your attention back to the task at hand.

"If you give me minute I can have your food ready and clean place for you eat."  You quietly said as set the bucket down and grabbed the rag out of the water. 

"I just need to get the table cleaned first."  You continued as you wrung out the rag then turned and started wiping down the table.

"You shouldn't be cleaning up after Gina."  Ignis quietly said as he watched you.

"It doesn't matter who did it."  You said as you reached across the table so that you could get all of the surface. 

"The point is, is that I should have been prepared for her to make a mess the minute that I gave her that plate of eggs.  In fact, I should have kept a better eye on the food period while it was cooking in the kitchen.  I could have avoided the whole situation if I would have set the table long before I started cooking."  You said as you kept your eyes diverted from him as you wiped down rest of the table.

Ignis followed you with his eyes as he thought about what you said.  

She truly is serious about this.  He thought to himself as he watched you carefully wiping down each chair then push them back in.  

Then you stood back to make sure that you didn't miss a spot.  Ignis looked closely at the table and noticed a area right in the middle of the table that was still streaky.

"You missed a spot."  He pointed out.

You shot him a quick glance before looking harder at the table.  "Where?"

"It's right there in the middle."  He said as he nodded towards the table.

You couldn't see what he was talking about, so you started wiping down the center of the table.

"Not there."  He said as he watched you skip right over the spot.  

"It's right there."  He said as he came a bit closer to the table.

"Where?"  You asked as you frantically looked around again but couldn't seem to get it.

"Here."  Ignis said as he reached over and grabbed your hand that held the cloth.  

Then he had you reach over the table to the spot he had been trying to tell you about.  Then he used your hand to clean it.  You relaxed under his touch as he moved your body at his will.  For as he was helping you wipe that spot, he wrapped his other arm around you waist as he pulled you close to him.  Once the spot was clean, he released your hand as you both straightened up  and he wrapped that arm around you as well.

"This is what gets us into trouble you know."  You said as you placed your hands on his.

"I know.  But this time I just want to hold you and apologize."  Ignis said as he pulled you tight.

"For what?" You asked as you closed your eyes as you fell into the comfort of the embrace.

"I fear that my earlier confrontation with my uncle,z may have set up your last minute eating arrangements for failure."  He said as he dropped his head so that it was right by your ear.

"That had nothing to do with you."  You tried to reassure him.  "It was a shot in the dark that he would be willing to eat somewhere other than his preferred place.  And it was one that I was willing to take."

"But.."  Ignis started to say.

You sighed and slowly started to turn around which caused him to loosen up his grip.  Once you were facing him you put your arms around his neck as you looked right at him.  You smiled back at him as he gave you a sad look.  You then reached up and gave him a gentle kiss, which caused him to catch his breath.  He pulled you closer as he returned with a passionate kiss that he used to take over for his words.  When you pulled away, you were both left short of breath.

You looked at him as he tried to judge where you were going with that.  You smiled back at him and loosen your grip.  You could see him still trying to catch his breath.  You moved your hand to his chest and dropped your gaze to look at his shirt and you placed your hand over his heart.  You could feel his heart quickly pounded against his chest.

"How about I get your breakfast?"  You said as you raised your eyes to meet his.  "Then afterwards, you can go check on Noctis.  He should be awake by then."

He looked down at you and smiled.  Then he reached over and moved your hair behind your ear.  You could feel his heart rate decreasing as his fingers gently traced your ear.

"Alright."  He quietly said.

You nodded then gently pushed away from him.  Then you grabbed the bucket of soapy water and returned to the kitchen to once again cook breakfast for everyone.  Minus the unexpected visitors.

******Author Note******

Ever meet one of those people who are almost impossible to please?  I know that I have met my fair share of them.  But they don't make me quit.  In fact I think of it as a challenge.  I try to get to know them enough, so that I can.  They usually are the ones who teach me the most.  And for that, I'm grateful for the lessons that I have learned along the way.

Well I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.  I wanted to do one with Gina causing a bit of mischief for the reader.  But I didn't want her to be looked at as the bad guy.  After all she's only 9.

Well stay toned to see how she will learn to step up to the challenges that she will be facing while staying at the citadel.

Thanks for reading.  :)

*************************