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Ignis wipes away at the rainwater covering his glasses, carefully setting them on the table next to him before grabbing the towel one of the housekeepers had kindly given him. He then takes a cursory review of his appearance, mentally tallying the damage done. His coat managed to keep his clothes -- freshly pressed this morning -- mostly dry. His trousers are bit damp, but the dark coloring makes it practically unnoticeable. You’re meeting someone very important today, Ignis, you’ll want to make sure you look your best. His hair however, is a bit of a lost cause - and what prompted the volunteered towel in the first place.
Tilting forward, Ignis takes the towel to his hair, attempting to soak up as much of the water as possible in the few minutes he has.
It’s while he’s in this position that a young, messy haired boy stumbles upon an unaware Ignis, locking onto the gleaming metal of Ignis’ glasses resting on the table.
“Woah! Look!”
The bright laugh startles him and he drops his arms and straightens, finding big blue eyes magnified by the glasses on the little boy’s face. His glasses, Ignis realizes (with dawning horror).
“Oh! Umm, please. May I have my glasses back?” Ignis asks, feeling a bit off balanced - a bit breathless.
The boy stares at him for a beat, before removing them from his face and handing them over, smiling with a toothy grin which Ignis can’t help but return.
“Thank you…,” Ignis begins before a harried young woman comes running in, an exasperated, “Your Highness!” cutting off the rest of his sentence.
Oh...oh! Smiling blue eyes meet round green ones.
“Hullo!” The toothy grin returns. “I’m Noctis! You can call me Noct. Who’re you?”
Ignis manages to school his features into something less gaping, and offers a smile and small bow in return. “Ignis...Ignis Scientia. At your service.”
You’re meeting someone very important today, Ignis, you’ll want to make sure you look your best.
Who am I meeting today, uncle?
Why, you’re meeting the young prince.
~*~
“Ignis, dear, come pick out your glasses.”
A 6-year-old Ignis peers skeptically at the array of spectacles laid out before him on the table. He has seen only 2 other people at his school wearing them, one of them being his teacher. The other is a boy younger than him, with a small face and thick lenses, which made his eyes seem impossibly larger. The boy’s nervous disposition didn’t help the image and made Ignis wary around him. He didn’t want others to feel that way around him too.
“But mama, I’ll look silly wearing these!” he says instead.
His mother tuts softly before pulling him up onto the seat next to her, slipping a pair of wire-rimmed glasses onto his nose. “Honestly, love, you look very handsome. Your father wears glasses just like these. You don’t find him silly looking, do you?”
Ignis hadn’t thought to include his father in his initial people-who-wear-glasses pool. He shakes his head swiftly before turning to look in the mirror his mother had pulled in closer for him. His mother leans in and her face comes into focus over his left shoulder, a bright smile dimpling her cheeks. “How smart and handsome you look, my dear Ignis. I think these suit you very well. No one would dare call you silly.”
He feels his chest swell a bit and he smiles back as his mother. Maybe glasses won’t be so bad after all.
~*~
Ignis is 10 and a half when his Ceremony takes place. It should have coincided with his actual birthday, but for reasons he doesn’t like to dwell on, it was pushed 6 months out. There was packing, and moving plans, and everyone was just so busy with the funerals - plural -. It was for the best...
So Ignis is 10 and a half when he receives full responsibility and possession. His uncle is the one to hand Ignis’s Heart over to him. Proud and beaming, with tears in his eyes. Your mother and father would have been so proud.
Ignis had found a small unassuming wooden box his father once used to keep his favorite cuff links in and places half of his Heart in there. He keeps that box tucked up between his pillow and mattress, close by for when he sleeps at night. The other half - because why would he put his Heart into too many places where he risks losing it - he infuses into his glasses.
~*~
Ignis has his knees pulled up, arms wrapped around them and head resting on his self made pillow. He tries to stay as small and unassuming as possible, afraid the smallest movement will disrupt Noctis’ slumber.
It was barely a month since the terrible daemon attack. Barely a week since Noctis returned from Tenebrae. Barely a day since Ignis was allowed to finally see him. Barely a minute since he last checked to make sure that Noctis’ little chest was still moving, up and down.
Ignis checks the bedside table, making sure Carbuncle and Noctis’s skull pendant are still there. He thanks the Gods that those were unharmed in the attack.
A chirping noise on Ignis’s phone goes off, telling him it’s time for him to go. Untangling himself, he moves carefully towards the door.
“Iggy? That you?” A small voice whispers from the nest of quilts.
It takes Ignis four steps to make it back over to the bed, crouching down to look Noctis in the eye, taking a hold of his hand.
“Your Highness...Noct…,” Ignis manages behind a swiftly tightening throat. Seeing Noctis alive versus actually speaking to him are two vastly different things.
Noctis focuses his sleep bleared eyes on Ignis, giving his hand a slight squeeze. “Stay?”
He ends up being late to his afternoon tutoring session, but the lecturing he gets is well worth the extra few minutes he got with Noctis.
~*~
“What in the world are you doing down there?”
Ignis peers down at Noctis, who’s crouched at the opposite end of the bed, running his hand vigorously along the floor.
Noctis doesn’t even look up and moves further down the length of the bed, “My charms! I was checking them over and one fell. Please Iggy, you have to help me find it!”
He shakes his head, smiling, before moving over to Noctis’s side and placing a hand on his shoulder, stilling his frantic movements. “You won’t be able to find anything like that. Let me take a look.”
Half hidden in the shadows by the leg of the bed, Ignis finds the small skull charm. He gently takes it between his fingers, transferring it to his palm before presenting it to an anxious Noctis.
“There you are, Your Highness.”
“Iggy! You’re amazing!” Noctis takes it from him. Taking a quick peek to make sure his other charm is still there, he places it back into the black velvet pouch where it belongs, before closing it up. Nodding slightly to himself, he looks back up to Ignis, smiling. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Ignis holds open the door, motioning for Noctis to make his way through. “We must hurry. Your Ceremony is about to begin.”
Noctis grabs a hold of his hand as he walks past, “You’ll be there, right?”
A quick squeeze.
“Of course, Noct.”
~*~
He stares at a familiar skull dangling three inches from his face, going a bit cross-eyed to focus in on the necklace.
“Noct, what are you doing?” Ignis asks, a bit exasperated. He’s two chapters and an outline away from finishing his homework.
The necklace is pulled back from his face, only to be replaced by a pair of wide blue eyes. “Sorry Iggy. I just, I have a favor to ask.”
Ignis moves his textbook and notes to the side, motioning for him to take the seat opposite.
Noctis pulls the chair out before pushing himself in, overestimating a bit and knocking knees with Ignis.
Ignis can’t help but smile endearingly, the annoyance already gone. “What can I do for you, Noct?”
Looking up from adjusting his chair, Noctis gives Ignis a small smile, before pulling out the necklace again, laying it between them on the table. “I’d like you to hold on to this for me.”
Startled, Ignis gives Noctis a searching look, before focusing back on the single skull pendant centered on the necklace. “Is that not one of your…”
“Auricles? Yes,” Noctis cuts in, but provides no further explanation, sitting there with a serious expression on his face.
“So you would like me to hold onto this for you...for the day?” Ignis hedges, still unsure where Noctis is going with this request. It is not something that people go around doing lightly. Giving away one of their Auricles. If they do…
“No Iggy,” Noctis lets out a small laugh, shaking his head. “Not for the day. I need you to hold onto this for me for longer than that. You’re going to be my advisor, right? I mean, you are my advisor. That means I’m stuck with you.”
Ignis involuntarily flinches at that.
“No, not like that. It’s not a bad thing,” Noctis placates, seeing the frown. “I’m just saying. You’re much better at keeping track of things, keeping them safe. I’m always losing or misplacing them. And I don’t want to lose this .”
Ignis can concede to Noctis having issues with misplacing items, usually ending up being the one to find them for Noctis again. “But with it on a chain, you have your solution right there,” Ignis says, not trying to be argumentative. He just doesn’t think Noctis understands the full implication of giving away an Auricle.
“School doesn’t let me. And I already stick out enough as it is to try and get them to allow it. Please Iggy!” Noctis is doing that pitch-y whine now. He can never say no to that.
A soft sigh passes Ignis’s lips before he concedes.
“Alright, your Highness. I will guard this with my life,” he promises, reaching for the necklace to put it on.
“Jeez, Specs. No need to be so serious and formal about it. It’s just a piece of my Heart,” Noctis laughs, adding a gentle smile to show he means nothing cruel by it. “But thanks. I know you’ll keep it safe.”
Ignis doesn’t think Noctis means anything more by it, or even understands all the potential implications - he’s not even sure he knows them all, but he’s still pleased to see the level of trust Noctis places in him.
~*~
Their first real outing, not one of their covert trips up to the Citadel rooftops, is after Ignis received his first full week of official Crownsguard training. Noct, I will not be taking you out into the wild without some formal training to defend you. Albeit, he and Noctis had been training with Gladio for years, but only after his 15th birthday is he allowed access to real weapons - blunted though they are - versus the wooden mockups.
Ignis’s 15th birthday is also when he receives his driver’s license - an early exception for being the prince’s companion - which makes travel outside of Insomnia that much easier.
“How did you manage to pull this off, Specs?” Noctis stage whispers across to him, perched on the edge of the passenger seat.
Ignis manages a secretive smirk before schooling his features back into a blank expression. “Whatever do you mean, Highness? I am merely running an errand out to--,” he begins, before Noctis cuts him off with a wave of his hand.
“Yeah yeah, okay Ignis. Whatever. Don’t tell me your trade secrets. I get it.” Noctis is smiling though, so Ignis knows he’s not actually annoyed.
It isn’t until they’re a good few miles outside of Insomnia that he slows the car down a bit.
“Noctis, be a dear and hit that switch to the top left of you.”
It takes Noctis a second to find which button Ignis is referring to before the top on the car begins to lower. An audible gasps escapes him a beat later.
“No way! Okay, now you have to tell me how you managed to get one of the convertibles out,” Noctis says, looking around excitedly as more of the world is revealed to him.
He could almost hear Gladio’s voice, mocking him, You spoil the Princess, Iggy.
~*~
A loud thwack can be heard echoing off the dojo walls as he brings his polearm down upon his imaginary enemy, landing in a low crouch on the floor. A half second later and he’s pulling himself into a standing position, pointing his weapon over towards the entrance.
“You really shouldn’t be sneaking up on people like that. It’s considered rude.”
“I wasn’t sneakin’. I’ve been here for quite some time,” Gladiolus quips. Pushing himself off from the side of the door and moving further inside. “You just didn’t notice. Nice form by the way. Ever thought of taking up a sword?”
Ignis moves over to his gym bag, rummaging around for his water bottle. “You mean like your broadsword? I prefer my polearms and daggers, thanks. I’ll leave the heavy lifting to brutes like you.” He hides his smirk behind the bottle before taking a drink.
“Care to put your skills to the test then?” Gladio has taken off his hoodie and grabbed a practice sword from off the wall, moving through his warm-up routine. The beginning stages of his Shield’s tattoo, an Auricle gifted to him by his father for his 18th birthday, peeks through his tank top. Always liked the idea of carrying a piece on me permanently. Can’t lose it that way.
Ignis pulls off his own sweater, sufficiently warmed up from his morning routine, and moves over to the center of the room towards Gladio.
“Hey, why don’t you take that off? Don’t want it getting caught on something,” Gladio says, pointing at the small pendant secured by a chain around Ignis’s neck.
Looking down, Ignis gently fingers the small skull before letting it fall back to rest between his collar bones. “I really couldn’t. Do not worry, it will in no way impede my ability to wipe the floor with you.”
“Someone’s confident. All right then, Iggy. Let’s see you try.”
~*~
“Prom, stop pointing that thing in my face and help me with this!”
Ignis rounds the corner to find Noctis precariously balancing an armload of boxes with Prompto upside down on the couch. In Prompto’s hands is a camera Ignis has become quite familiar with, despite the short period of time in which Noctis and Prompto have officially declared themselves best friends. My first and favorite Auricle! Just look at all it can do! It doesn’t just contain a piece of my Heart. It’s also functional! He suspects that even though Prompto flaunts his around quite noticeably, he probably has other pieces hidden away. Although the well worn wristband hasn’t gone unnoticed.
He approaches the still struggling Noctis and grabs the topmost box, which had been partially obscuring Noctis’ vision.
“Require a bit of assistance, Your Highness?”
Noctis huffs a laugh before nodding his head over to Prompto. “Tell Prompto if he’s here only to sit on the couch and play with his camera, why even bother volunteering to help me pack?”
“Hey now! Someone needs to document this momentous journey!” Prompto reasoned, still reclined on the couch.
“We’re not even leaving yet,” Noctis sighs, handing over the rest of his boxes to Ignis before heading back to Prompto, continuing to needle him about his lack of helpfulness.
Ignis moves towards the already neatly stacked boxes near the doorway, ready for storage. Lost in his mental checklist, he misses a step, his foot catching on the landing, causing him to slip, and an involuntary gasp escapes his mouth.
Before he’s really able to process what’s happening, Ignis feels a slight shift in the air around him before a pair of arms grabs hold of him from around the waist, steadying him.
“Require a bit of assistance, Iggy?”
From this angle, Noctis’ impossibly blue eyes are practically level with his own.
An exuberant “ Smile!” is all the warning they get before a bright flash goes off.
“Prompto!”
~*~
Ignis would like to say that he had planned for this. In a 12-point font, two-page outline filed under his collections of In the Event of…
But who really plans to fall in love. Much less to the Prince of Lucis. It’s a laughable fairy-tale, and Ignis is no damsel in distress.
He softly runs his fingers along the bindings of the well-read astronomy book, one of the last gifts he received from his father. A quieting warmth emits gently from the worn pages as he leafs through them. Memories of late nights spent hidden under covers, reading by flashlight, learning the names to the constellations that call the night sky home.
Ignis hadn’t realized it at the time, but all the hours he had poured into the book, alone, and then later with an equally eager Noctis, caused a piece of his Heart to slip itself into and make a home within the pages of the book.
Here, Iggy. Pretty sure this belongs back with you. Forgot I had it for so long. Sorry I didn’t give it back to you sooner. Guess it’s a good thing we’re cleaning up around here, huh?
He hadn’t realized it at the time, but he realizes now.
~*~
The drive out to their favorite spot is filled with a contemplative silence. It takes them less than half an hour to reach their destination, with dusk beginning to set in when Ignis pulls to a stop, the runes appearing brighter against the haven.
Between the two of them, they have all their supplies - fluffy blankets stuffed in knapsacks full of treats - unloaded and a small fire going in the span of a few minutes.
After a quick, warming dinner of thermos-kept soup, they’re settled onto their pile of bedding, side by side and gazing up at the darkening sky.
“Thanks Iggy,” whispers Noctis, turning on his side to face Ignis. The premature stress lines have smoothed from around his eyes, the worry softened from his mouth. While everyone is excited to be leaving on their first real journey outside city walls, Ignis could tell that the journey is weighing heavily on Noctis’ mind.
He's happy to see the prince relax; even if he can only provide this short respite for Noctis.
“Noctis,” Ignis hesitates, fingering the charm around his neck. He has been contemplating this for some time now and it seems he has put this off for far too long.
Sitting up, he reaches back to carefully take off the chain as he says, “Now that you’re to be married to Lady Lunafreya, I believe it only appropriate that I return this to you.” Presenting the necklace to Noctis, he feels suddenly bare without the familiar weight of the skull.
“Ignis,” Noctis says, now crouched facing him, without making a move to take it back.
Ignis looks away and continues,“I would like to say, it has been an honor to have been a bearer of your Auricle for all these years.”
“Iggy,” Noctis turns his head back and smiles, slight exasperation in his voice. “You always did take these things so seriously. It’s only just a piece of my heart.”
“Noctis, I really don’t think you understand the magnitude of -”
“Ignis. No. Stop. I know,” Noctis says, looking up at him intently. “Do you remember, when I gave you this necklace to hold onto? I told you I gave it to you for safe keeping, because I didn’t want to lose it.”
He watches entranced as Noctis gently takes hold of the skull with his fingertips.
“Truth is, I had already “lost” it. I figured it would be appropriate that I give it to the person I lost it to.”
“”Noct…”
Noctis opens up the palm of his hand, taking the necklace and delicately clasping it around Ignis' neck.
“It’s always been yours, Ignis.”
He almost laughs at how he so easily missed this. A fairy-tale indeed. Ignis quickly grabs onto Noctis’ retreating hands, cradling them in his own before guiding them to rest against the skull. A warmth spreads through him where their fingers touch.
“I promise now, like I did then, to keep it safe. And to protect it with my life.”
Noctis smiles, gently untangling his right hand and inches closer to Ignis. He cups the side of Ignis’ face, caressing his thumb across cheek bone.
“Always,” Ignis whispers, before sealing his promise with a kiss.