Chapter Text
“Hey, Specs!” Noctis said with a smirk as Ignis let himself into his apartment. “Guess who I’m having an affair with now?” he asked, waving a newspaper at him.
“Not Prompto again?” Ignis asked as he joined Noct in the kitchen, placing the bag of groceries down on the cabinet. “You’re going to break his heart one of these days.”
Ever since the prince had reached his teenage years some of the seedier tabloids - the ones who would rather invent a scandal than report that Noct had graduated top of his class and would soon be attending a prestigious university, for instance – had been determinedly inventing romances with almost anyone Noctis was spotted socialising with.
Prompto was the most common “partner” that the media paired Noct with, as they were often photographed together, usually with their heads close together and giggling about something (Ignis was relieved for Noctis’ sake that Prompto had learned to laugh off the rumours). Gladio was also a frequent contender for Noct’s boyfriend, usually due to his habit of ruffling Noct’s hair up in public, but he had also been paired off with Iris when the two of them had once been spotted eating ice-cream together, much to the annoyance of the Amicitia family, but at least they were used to the press as part of their association with the royal family.
It was only when the tabloids interrupted Noct discussing an assignment with a classmate (who Noct actually had something of a crush on) leading to her avoiding him, or interrupting a first date with another classmate, causing him to end the relationship with Noct before the milkshakes they had ordered had even arrived that the paparazzi was a problem.
Fortunately, this time Noct was smiling and not upset.
“Nah, not Prompto this week,” Noct said, grinning as he handed over the paper. Ignis unfurled the pages to discover, much to his shock, that the prince’s new lover was apparently himself.
He blinked in surprise, and Noct laughed at his expression, but Ignis could not quite share in his amusement as he studied the picture. It had been taken just a few days previously, Ignis judged from the outfit he was wearing. In the photo, Noct was holding his phone so Ignis could see the screen (he’d unlocked a five-star character in King’s Knight, if Ignis remembered correctly) but Ignis was not looking at the phone.
He was leaning over a little, ostensibly to see the phone, but he was looking at Noct’s face. Ignis was smiling slightly and his expression was fond and affectionate. He looked, quite honestly, like a man in love.
Which, of course, he was.
“How scandalous,” Ignis managed, and Noct laughed again, clearly not hearing the panic in his words.
“I know, shocking, right?” Noctis shook his head, still smirking. “At least it’s a nice photo.”
“They got something right for once,” Ignis agreed, trying to hide just how unexpectedly right the paparazzi had been this time, how close they had come to revealing his most closely guarded secret.
“Prompto would probably take a better one though,” he continued, and to that Ignis could agree wholeheartedly. “Do you think he’d like a new camera for his birthday?”
“I think he’s rather attached to the one he has,” Ignis replied, as he started to put the groceries away and to his relief, the conversation moved on, the photograph forgotten.
It wasn’t until he was leaving that he picked up the paper again. “Do you mind if I take this, Noct?” he asked, keeping his voice deliberately casual.
Noct gave him a funny look, but answered, “yeah, if you like.”
“I’m training with Gladio tonight, I’m sure it’ll amuse him,” Ignis explained, and Noct laughed again.
“I’m sure he’ll be jealous,” Noctis said. “See you tomorrow?”
“Of course,” Ignis replied as he left, the photo carefully removed and put in his wallet.
Ignis had always taken care to appear professional in public, even before his feelings for Noct had turned decidedly unprofessional. That was probably why the tabloids had never speculated about him before. He would just need to be more careful in the future, that was all, make sure his expression was guarded at all times.
The photograph in his wallet would serve as a reminder of that.
Besides, it was a nice picture, and Ignis had so few of the two of them together.