Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

• It wasn’t until you tried talking strategy with him that you started to notice what the two meant when you and Ignis argued for a bit on how to compensate for Gladio’s absence one late afternoon while Noctis and Prompto went to take some pictures. 
  
  “Why do you look so mad when I bring him up? He’s not here and we need to rework how we fight and-!” 
  “You appear to be somewhat agitated with him not being here, (Y/N). Could it be that you miss him?”  
  
  
• The confused look on your face has the strategist internally screaming to himself. He hadn’t meant to let that question slip but now that it’s out there, he’s going to have to go with it until you’re willing to put it down to rest. Your reply surprised him though. 
  
  “Miss him? I’m FURIOUS at him. I-I’m going to kick his ass when he comes back!” 
  
  
• You proceeded to rant to Ignis your thoughts about how the shield of the group not being there makes it difficult to watch out for Noct, put you all in at a disadvantage when you want a hunt done quickly, and so on and so forth. 
  
  
• Specs watched you with wide eyes, at a loss for words and feeling silly for even having entertained the thought of you being distracted from your duty. 
  
  
• Once you finished your rather passionate rant, you realized just how quiet it was and how Noct’s advisor looked at you like you’ve spilled his Ebony into a river.  “... For the record, I don’t like him that way. He and I were supposed to be protecting Noctis and he just.. up and goes out of nowhere and-” 
  
  
• The soft and slow ascension of Ignis’ laugh struck you like lightning from Noct throwing them magics errywhere pls stop the sky and you can feel your face catch fire. You didn’t know exactly what you did or said, but it seemed to make him more relaxed and in turn it made you feel the same. 
  
  
• It took a few minutes until Ignis was able to speak without hiccuping and the first thing he did was apologize to you and explained that he thought you were angry that Gladio for leaving because you liked him. He was clearly wrong what with your choice words about the matter. The two of you decide to hold off on the strategy and just... talk. 
  
  
• It was rather odd for the two of you, Ignis always being busy that it left him with little social time and you were used to only talking with the three other guys more about things other than work.  “Gladio’s too overwhelming for me. Plus, I don’t really like his ‘tough love’ shtick with Noctis, no matter how well he means it.” 
  
  
• You and Ignis slipped into talk on the matter of significant others, as the topic seemed appropriate for the moment, but both of you realize that the thought of that NEVER really came up over the years. He was raised to be the royal advisor and you were a royal retainer whose top priorities were to serve and support the prince with your lives. Life beyond that was difficult to imagine with how much the two of you dedicated yourselves to the same person. 
  
  
• Ignis knew why he seemed like he’d never have such a person in his life, but was shocked when you said you felt the same way with yourself. You may have been the prince’s retainer, but you still had more freedom than he did. 
  
  
• You explained to him that although you may have been interested in other people like that, they either flat-out rejected you because of your incompetence as a retainer or they viewed you as a way in to the royals’ good graces. Not to mention your family pushed arranged marriages your way constantly until you begged Noctis to let you live in his home and away from them. 
  
  
• All in all, anything within that department left a horrible taste in your mouth, but...
  
  “It’d be nice though, to have something like that, I guess. Noct’s lucky that he and Luna know and love each other before the engagement. I’m a little... jealous of him to be honest.” 
  
  
• You laughed it off with a shake of your head and saw Ignis giving you this look that made you want to melt on the spot. You can spot some sympathy in those green eyes of his and something else you can’t put your finger on... 
  
  “I... hope you have something like that as well in the future, (Y/N). You deserve it.”
  
  
• The two of you watched each other, the arpeggio of your surroundings filled the silence, the sun sunk in the background with sky painted with ripples of faded orange that ebbed into darker hues, and a soft breeze tickled your skin... You swear that you’ve fallen asleep in the middle of talking and you’re dreaming. 
  
  
• You see Ignis about to say something when an echoing roar and the cracking sound of a gun sliced the atmosphere and caused the two of you to get up your feet, weapons at the ready once you reached where the sounds came from.
  
  
• Prompto and Noctis had run into a few Magnanirs and were relieved to see you and Ignis come in to help them out. Specs took care of the scolding while you attended to their wounds. When you made a comment on how the daemons seem to become bolder these days to Ignis, which he agreed to, Noctis gave the two of you a confused look. 
  
  “What are you two talking about? It’s dark out here.” 
  
  
• You didn’t even notice how late it had gotten until you finally looked up to see that the stars were out and- Oh wow... The stars out here shined brighter than in Insomnia and you were completely entranced by the sight of it. You heard a few clicks and proceeded to chase Prompto back to camp for taking candid pictures of you. 
  
  
• Your expression of pure amazement from the stars was adorable, but the sunshine boy was actually taking pictures of the adoring look Ignis sent your way without even knowing 
  
  
• Focus back on gathering mythril, the subject of your talk with Ignis doesn’t come up for a while but it does linger in your mind as well as his.
  
  
• You stayed in front of Noctis the entire time when you all ran into Ardyn. Again. You were not taking any chances, especially when the boys told you that he was the Chancellor of Niflheim after you reunited with them after the Disc. 
  
  
• The man commented on how different you seem from when he first saw you and even complimented you on your dedication to the prince. 
  
  “Well, if were not to count your lacking presence in Cauthess that is.” 
  
  
• You have never wanted to shoot anybody so badly in your life but held your tongue for Noctis’ sake. The help Ardyn gave you was... necessary for the situation you were in, but you absolutely HATED it. It was as if he just knew what the group needed. Could he see into the future or something? 
  
  
• Despite the fact that she was a high ranked officer in Niflheim’s army, Aranea was the type of person you wanted to watch your back in a fight. You weren’t sure who would win in a fight between her and Gladio, but there was no doubt in your mind that the shield would have his hands full. 
  
  
• You were on high alert the entire time you were in the ruins. With the lack of a shield, so you decided to take up the mantle on this one. The extra hand you had in the group looked more than capable to compensate for the missing member of the group. 
  
  
• You have a newfound respect for Gladio once you all finally get the mythril you needed. His job was difficult and you were beyond exhausted. It was no wonder that the eldest Amicitia took his training so seriously. Even with this new appreciation though, you still planned on kicking his ass for leaving. 
  
  
• On your way to Lestallum power plant in the Imperial ship, you give Prompto a weird look when he asked if you thought what Ignis said to Aranea when he helped her out was smooth. The strategist who sat beside you looked annoyed and told him that what he implied was not what he intended to come across as. This did not help.
  
  
• You didn’t have a clue about what they talked about. You had been too busy protecting Noctis to even pay attention to anything else besides your help being needed. So Noct decided to tell you what Prompto meant. 
  
  
• Ignis does NOT like this at all. He tried to stop the two from telling you but there was no use. It didn’t help that Prompto over exaggerated the story some and he wanted to throw them out of the ship immediately. The timing of this and the conversation on significant others went together too well, and the strategist thought you’d pick up on the supposed connection of the two. 
  
  
• It... hurt when you laughed and gave him a good-natured nudge, like a good friend would.The word didn’t feel right, it felt lacking in a sense. 
  
  "Odd place to be interested but if there’s anyone here who could charm a woman like her, these boys don’t stand a chance against you.” 
  
  
• No! It’s not like that! Please! is all he wanted to say, to scream, but when he saw how happy you were for him Ignis murmured a quiet “Thank you” added with one last refute of his supposed interest. He’s never wanted to deny anything so much nor cared much about anyone else’s thoughts aside from Noctis. Why was is that you-  ... Oh.  ... Oooooh. 
  
  
• In the meantime, you were genuinely glad that someone caught Ignis’ eye, regardless if something came out of it or not. The two of you may have dedicated your lives to Noctis, but his was at a level you could only hope to reach. Someone like Aranea would be perfect for him. She could take care of herself, protect her allies, command an army, be free to who she wanted to be...  She’s.... everything you’re not. 
  
  
• Your insecurities suddenly hit you full-force just hours away from the power plant and it left you so confused that you excused yourself to the restroom as quickly as possible. Ironically enough, the woman of the hour caught you in this moment and took you to a secluded area to help you out. 
  
  
• You expected a slap on the face since that seemed to be the one thing you remembered her doing in the ruins but she surprised you by asking if you were all right with the nicest tone anyone has ever given you. 
  
  
• Oh Six... She really was perfect. 
  
  
• You manage a somewhat coherent reply, that you simply weren’t feeling well and that flying wasn’t your thing. Aranea knew that this was bullshit, but remained patient with you. This wasn’t a battle, this was a person going through their problems. She sat down beside you and started to ask you about yourself. The conversation started rather slow at first, but you eventually relaxed enough to finally crack a small smile.
  
  “Four-eyes gave you a hard time back then? Huh, who would’ve thought.” 
  “Not as much as Noctis though. He sleeps like the dead.” 
  
  
• She called you a badass for sticking up for yourself when your family tried to force arranged marriages on you and for not giving up on your duty to the prince no matter how difficult it seemed. You tried to deny it, but she wasn’t having any of that.
  
  “You’re tough no matter what you say. The world could always use more people like you, (Y/N).” 
  
  
• The ship finally landed and you feel like you could take on the world after talking with Aranea. You felt more grounded, calmer even, after her reassuring words that your accomplishments were something to be proud of. 
  
  
• While waiting for Noctis and this mystery hunter to come back from the plant, Ignis quietly asked you how you were feeling since he noticed that you didn’t look well and didn’t join the group until the ship landed. You’ve seen all kinds of concerned faces he’s given Noctis and you, but this one felt... different. It was like your talk in camp all over again. 
  
  “I’m feeling great. Thanks for asking, Ignis.” 
  “Happy to hear that, (Y/N). I’m here for you if you ever need me.”
  
  
• Your chest warmed at that and you couldn’t help and smile back at him. From here on out, it should be smooth sailing to Altissia where you can finally watch one of your best friends finally get married. 
  
  
• But not without giving Gladio a piece of your mind first. New scars or not, you were ready to kick his ass at camp. 
  
  
• Cor is a little surprised to see Gladio with more bruises than when he last saw him. One look at you with Ignis standing between you and the shield was more than enough to give him an idea of what happened on their way back to Caem.