Chapter Text
It was part of their own secret code that they solidified years before. A way for them to talk privately in public and an outlet for Noctis, who had struggled since childhood to clearly convey his needs.
Strategic meeting, 3pm?
Fine by me, Ignis replied.
He arrived at the prince’s old room at 2:57 to find Noct already waiting. The room was rather sparse now that Noct moved out to the apartment—only a guest bed and a loveseat sofa remained. Noct looked so small and scared in the large, empty room, unable to meet Ignis’ gaze, but Ignis kept his composure regardless.
“How are you feeling, Noct?” he asked, shrugging off his suit jacket. It was far too formal for a personal meeting.
“ ‘m alright,” he replied, slumped across the arm of the couch. He must have been waiting for a while, Ignis surmised. Noct’s jacket was already slung over the back of the sofa and his dress shirt slightly unbuttoned. “The meeting with dad and his international relations team was rough. One of the guys really grilled me and I froze. Couldn’t think of an answer or anything.”
“Happens to the best of us, Noct,” he said, draping his arms over the back of the couch while he let himself relax next to Noctis. They sat in silence for a few moments and Ignis eventually shifted to run a comforting hand up and down Noctis’ back. “I’m sure you father is proud regardless.”
Noct said nothing more on the matter.
Instead, he shifted around to face Ignis. His arms wound around Ignis’ waist like it was where they belonged. He exhaled as he buried his face in Ignis’ chest, a soft groan slipping out of his throat. Some days, even simple tasks were just so tiring.
As always, Ignis understood the wordless request and began shifting the two of them around. In the end he reclined his head against a pillow at one end of the couch while Noctis curled up on top of him. Ignis’ arms encircled his shoulders and back and, with a gentle pressure, he began to squeeze. It was like a hug, but served a deeper purpose.
Noct’s move to an apartment out of the Citadel gave him so much of the freedom he was craving, but also meant that the comforts of home were not available on days he was stuck between meetings and dinners for hours upon hours. With no comfortable clothes to change in to and no weighted blanket to bring relief, he turned to Ignis.
Ignis’ steady pressure was nowhere near as comforting as the weighted blanket, but the embrace had its own perks.
The scent of Ignis’ cologne reminded Noct of their bed in the apartment, for example. The steady heartbeat and breathing under his ear were rhythmic and comforting, and this was one of the very few moments that Noct had to appreciate it.
Gradually, Ignis felt Noct relax into the pressure. Tension faded out of his back and his face softened. The stress of the meeting faded from his mind as he slipped into a light doze.
Ignis had some other engagement at 4, so inevitably they untangled. It was unfortunate, but that was always how it was—they stole short breaks from real life whenever they could. It was time to appreciate each other and time to process everything that they went through from day-to-day.
The redressed and straightened out each other’s collars in relative silence, the shared one more embrace and kiss before they parted ways and Ignis slipped out the door.
Til the next ‘strategic meeting’, Noct thought as he left. Which would hopefully be later that night. And perhaps with much fewer clothes.