Chapter Text
It had, Ignis reflected, been a successful day.
Noctis had been invited to tour the newly revamped children’s ward of Insomnia Hospital, and while he was sometimes awkward or uncomfortable with some of the public appearances he had to make as the prince, this one he agreed to right away.
“I know what it’s like,” he’d said to Ignis earlier that morning while trying to decide on a tie. “To be sick and away from home. If I can help just a bit…”
He trailed off with a shrug. Ignis remembered that time all too well, and completely understood why Noct would want to go. He’d handed Noct a simple black tie with the tiniest Lucian crest embroidered into it, his heart full.
The visit had gone extremely well. Noct had toured around the hospital with the doctors, asking about some of the new modifications to the ward that Ignis had researched for him, but he had also asked questions about the new procedures the hospital now provided that proved that he had done his own reading, and Ignis, trailing behind with the rest of Noctis' entourage and the press, had been incredibly impressed with how thorough he had been.
Later, Noct had met some of the children, and had done magic for them, real magic, pulling gifts out of the armoury (even though Ignis knew he would be paying for it in exhaustion later) just to make them laugh, and had read a Charlie the Chocobo story to the utterly enraptured group.
They had left the hospital with the children looking much happier, Noct looking quietly pleased with himself, and Ignis completely satisfied with how smoothly the event had gone.
Afterwards, Noct had met up with Prompto, and Ignis had agreed to join Gladio for a drink, and they had been having a perfectly nice evening until Ignis happened to glance up at the television over the bar.
The television was on silent, and had been showing some sporting event that Ignis had little interest in so he hadn’t been paying any particular attention to it, but it happened to show a news bulletin with a clip of Noct’s hospital visit. As Ignis watched, the camera went from focusing on Noct’s bent head as he read to the group to focusing on the room as a whole.
All the adults in the room; the doctors, nurses and journalists had been smiling. Gladio, standing next to Ignis in the room with his arms crossed, had been grinning.
Ignis, however, was staring directly at Noct, and he looked utterly enamoured. A tiny soft smile was playing on his lips as he watched the prince read, and his eyes were shining.
He looked like he was thinking exactly what he had been thinking at the time, which was simply gods, I love him so much, I can’t help it, and Ignis felt as exposed as if he had actually said those words aloud on the national news.
Gladio tracked his gaze to the television, and pulled a face at his expression on the screen.
“You’ve really got to cool it, Iggy,” he recommended, ordering them both another drink. “No wonder the gutter press is writing all those stories.”
“They see what they wish to,” Ignis said dismissively, ignoring the fact that they were in fact seeing exactly what was there.
“Sure,” Gladio replied, without any particular inflection, making Ignis wonder how much he had worked out, but the conversation moved on to other things and Ignis allowed himself to relax.
He did, when he got home and watched the news again, pour himself another large drink before going to bed.
It had still been a successful day, Ignis knew. He just had to be more careful.