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Staring longingly at Prompto as the blonde leaned on the side of the boat to capture the picturesque scenery, Ignis wished that he could hold him close. Their tryst the previous night had lit something inside of him and now he was burning not just with lust, but with something more. He cared very deeply for all of his companions, but his soft spot for the little blonde photographer had grown immeasurably over the last week and he found he wanted to keep Prompto all to himself. Remembering what they had done the night before, he smiled and lost himself in his thoughts.
The look on Prompto’s face as Ignis tied him down. His gasps and moans as ice cubes made contact with his warm skin. The taste of him. The tightness of him as Ignis carefully pushed himself into the blonde.
Ignis’ reverie was broken by a small click and then a shout.
“Oh my gods, Gladio, look!” Noctis’ voice rang out over the steady roar of the engine. “I got it, the impossible! I got a picture of Ignis smiling!” he dashed back into the cabin of the boat, where Gladiolus was standing beside Cid.
“Huh, let’s see it then.” the King’s Shield said calmly, holding out a large hand for the camera.
Noctis obliged, giving the camera to his bodyguard and scooting to the side of him to point at the screen, saying “See it? See it? Clear as day!” he laughed.
“Well, shit.” Gladio shook his head, “Looks like even Iggy can have a moment of happiness. There truly is hope for us all.”
“Wonder what he was thinking about.” Noct scratched his head.
Turning his head into the cool breeze, Ignis dampened the heat that was threatening to turn his cheeks red. Now was not the time to be distracted. There was work to be done when they arrived, more fun could wait until afterwards.
Cid cut the engine and the boat cruised the last few feet into the dock. They had finally arrived in Altissia, their destination from the outset, where Noct was finally going to meet his beloved Lunafreya and wed her. All that stood in the way now was the Prince receiving the blessing of the Leviathan, the patron deity of the floating city, and he hoped it would be as simple as the task Ramuh had given to Noct, though he doubted it would happen that way.
Striding down the wharf, the five men arrived at the immigration booth with Noctis in the lead. Ignis had a moment of despair when the Prince was lost for an answer to why they were visiting and he was forced to make up a lie on the spot, making them out to be students of the culinary arts. He laughed internally at the thought of Noct actually studying cooking, remembering his few failed attempts at making anything more complex than Cup Noodles. Luckily for them, the man in the booth was none the wiser and allowed them entrance to the city.
The street was unusually busy, full of people that looked busy and crates fresh off the barges were stacked three high in most of the spare space.
“What’s going on here?” Noct asked.
“I’m afraid I have no idea, your majesty.” Ignis replied, straightening his glasses. “I’m afraid I’ve not been able to keep tabs on the latest news due to the Empire restricting communications. I shall make enquiries once we find suitable lodgings.”
Having made contact with King Regis’ old comrade in the city, the brothers made their way to the Leville Hotel on the waterfront just as the sun was hanging low in the sky, painting the clouds with pink streaks. Gentiana, Luna’s companion and a Messenger, met them at the hotel with Luna’s dog, Umbra. Noctis’ face lit up when he saw his four-legged friend, instantly kneeling and fussing the animal as he smiled happily. Ignis excused himself and went to speak to the concierge to book them into the hotel.
“Is the presidential suite free?” he enquired when the staff member asked him what sort of room he would like.
“Certainly, sir!” the man’s eyes lit up with the potential of having some high paying guests.
“We’ll take it. For the next three nights with the possibility of being longer.” Ignis said, adding in a quieter voice as he handed over a large sum of gil in cash, “And one of your more… budget rooms. Anything with a queensize bed or larger.”
The concierge almost swallowed his tongue seeing the small fortune Ignis handed over and busily made the arrangements. The hunting had been paying very well of late, especially now that their skills were all improving by leaps and bounds.
“Do you happen to know if there’s some sort of event happening nearby? The city seems rather busy.” he inquired as he took the room keys with a smile, taking a mental note of the room numbers before slipping the smaller, less ornate key into his jacket pocket with the dexterity of a stage magician.
“Yes, sir, it’s the Moogle Chocobo Carnival, of course! Festivities start the day after tomorrow.” the concierge beamed, “Three days of everybody’s favourite creatures!”
“Thank you.” Ignis nodded. So, there was to be a carnival. Maybe they would be able to enjoy it, if there was still time after they had concluded their business with Leviathan. Then again, there were many plans to finalise for the wedding. He returned to the group, mulling over the possibilities of letting the Prince and his friends have some time off.
“The presidential suite is ours for the next few days, gentlemen.” Ignis said, handing the keys to Noctis. “I thought it best you live up to your image, now that you are King.”
“Yeah…” Noct mumbled, looking at his feet, the death of his father still somehow both painful and abstract in his heart.
“Gentiana left?” Ignis asked, wanting to change the subject when he saw the look on his friend’s face.
Prompto looked around, eyes wide. “H-how does she do that? She was here a second ago!”
“She is a Messenger,” Gladiolus casually pointed out, “She’s not bound by the same rules as us mere mortals.”
“No matter,” said Ignis flatly, “We should retire to our suite. We have much to organise for the next few days.”
Returning quickly to his usual bubbly self, Prompto snatched the keys from Noctis and ran across the lobby, stopping at the foot of the stars to turn back to the group.
“First there gets first dibs on beds!” he yelled, startling the rest of the occupants in the otherwise peaceful lobby, then sprinted up the ornate staircase.
Gladio and Noct looked at each other for a moment before running after him, jostling for position on the stairs as Ignis sighed, his fingers holding the bridge of his long nose, then followed them at a rather more dignified pace.
Later that evening, the four men had been discussing their plan for Noctis to receive the blessing of the Hydrean for hours and everyone was exhausted.
“Please, Specs, can we just go to bed now? We’ve gone over everything so many times I think I’ll be dreaming in tactics tonight.” Noctis yawned, his deep blue eyes half shut.
“Very well, I suppose that will do for today. We can run through it briefly again in the morning.”
“Woohoo!” Prompto yelled as he fistpumped.
Noctis groaned as he collapsed backwards on the bed that he had been sitting up on. Gladio excused himself and went into the adjoining living room, stretching out his long form on one of the oversized sofas.
“I’m going to go for a walk,” Ignis said, shifting slightly in an uncharacteristic moment of nervousness. “The stars are said to be beautiful at this time of year.” With a glance to Prompto, who was engrossed in reviewing his photos of the day, he left hurriedly.
Ignis had made his way to the hotel roof and was staring up at the night sky as he often did. The light pollution here made it harder to see some of the less bright stars, but it was still easier than it was in Insomnia. It was pleasant and soothing to his soul to be able to see the stars without the need of a telescope and he breathed a contented sigh before he took out his phone and tapped out a message to Prompto.
‘Make some excuse and come up to the roof. I need to see you. X’
Sure enough, after a few minutes, the perpetually smiling face of Prompto appeared at the door.
“What’s up Specs?” he asked, stepping quickly over to Ignis and touching his arm.
Wordlessly, the older man stood up from where he had been leaning on the railing and took the young blonde’s face in his hands, kissing him hungrily. Prompto let out a muffled cry, startled for a moment before he melted at the other man’s assault, his hands finding their way to Ignis’ narrow waist and pulling him closer. He was rewarded with Ignis giving an appreciative moan deep in his chest as their tongues explored each other, the older man’s lips pressing desperately against his.
When they parted, Prompto was breathless as he licked his bottom lip slowly, then said, “I’m not complaining but woah dude, what’s come over you?”
“I, uh,” Ignis faltered a little, turning away from his lover, “I needed to do that before you got upset with me.”
“Why would I get upset with you?” Prompto’s face fell, his emotions always showing clearly.
“I found out why the city is so busy,” Ignis hesitated. “But you have to understand that we’re here for a reason, we have a duty to be done and it must come first.”
“I know, Noct and Luna and getting Leviathan’s blessing come first,” he chuckled, “I’m not that much of a scatterbrain, you know.”
Ignis turned and looked into Prompto’s innocent blue eyes, “Don’t hate me, but there’s going to be a carnival. The Moogle-Chocobo carnival to be exact.” He winced as he saw Prompto’s eyes light up at the mention of his beloved birds, “I’m afraid we won’t have time to attend. There’s too many things need to be done. I’m sorry.”
The blonde photographer was silent for a moment, looking out into the night sky before he sighed, reaching up to stroke Ignis’ cheek. “I’m not gonna fall out with you or get angry.” he said.
“You’re not upset?” Ignis whispered, his eyes glassy with threatened tears.
“Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but I understand.” giving a crooked grin, he stroked the chamberlain’s soft hair. “Duty comes first, always.”
“I love you, Prompto.” Ignis blurted, hugging the younger man to his chest as he closed his eyes and a single, hot tear fell from his eye.
“I love you, too, Iggy.” Prompto said, returning his embrace with a happy laugh. “But good luck telling Noct and Gladio they can’t play with the moogles.”