Chapter Text
Noctis blinked his eyes open reluctantly. It was dark, so it must have been the middle of the night - if the sun was even threatening to rise, he would have been able to see the light through the fabric of the tent. If it was the middle of the night, why was he awake?
"Go back to sleep," Ignis whispered.
Ignis was sitting up beside him. His hair was all askew and his glasses were off and he looked like he had his arms wrapped around himself. He'd probably had a nightmare.
That's probably why Noctis was awake.
He could hear Prompto's soft snores and Gladio's long, smooth breathing. It was just him and Ignis.
Like hell he was just going to go back to sleep.
Noctis dragged himself up. Their bags and their bedding were dark lumps around them in the faint blue light of tent. The air outside his sleeping bag was cold, so he pulled a blanket around his arms. "'Sup."
"It's all right," Ignis said. "You should lie back down."
Noctis ignored him. He scooted over until his arm was touching Ignis'. He could feel Ignis shaking through the blanket. "It was a bad one, huh?"
"Nothing I can't handle. I'm well used to them by now." But Ignis turned into him, drawn to his human presence like a moth to light.
Noctis had a little experience with bad dreams. Some of it more recent than he’d like. Waking up and figuring out it wasn't real didn't magically make everything all right. The panic, the fear … they lingered.
He lay his head on Ignis' shoulder. "You know you can tell me about it if you want."
"I'd prefer not to dwell on it." Ignis' arms came up around him like he knew they would. Ignis pressed his mouth to the top of Noctis' head.
"Did it have me in it?"
"Yes," Ignis murmured into his hair. "The worst ones always do."
Noctis knew he was the source of ninety-nine percent of Ignis' daytime stress, so he always felt kind of bad for causing him problems when he was asleep too. But that was their lives.
"Don't worry, Specs, I'm not going anywhere." Noctis tried and failed to suppress a yawn. "Want me to read you something? Join you for a round of King's Knight?"
"We'll wake the others."
"They'll be fine. We'll be quiet."
"Perhaps ... we could just remain like this. For a moment."
Noctis nodded against the soft fabric of Ignis' pajamas. "S'long as you want."
The sounds of night, chirping bugs and gentle wind, were soothing. And Ignis was warm. Noctis must have kind of drifted off, because all of a sudden Ignis was slowly pulling away. "Thank you, Noct. I hope I haven't stolen too much of your rest."
"It's not stealing if I give it to you." He settled back into his sleeping bag, but when Ignis tried to do the same Noctis snagged his sleeve. He reeled Ignis in like a weak fish. "Sorry I can't stay awake. Just sleep on me."
Ignis made a soft 'mmm' sound that might have been skepticism. But he lay his head right beside Noctis’ shoulder, reached out his arm, and curled a hand over Noctis’ chest - right on top of his heart.
---------
They were camping in the Vesperpool. Again.
Noctis tried to suppress the urge to yawn. It wasn't as hot as Lestallum, but it was twice as muggy. Even King's Knight wasn't going to keep him awake for much longer. Prompto had shown everyone his photos and was now clicking through them silently for a fifth time. Probably trying some new filter on every single one. Gladio was reading. Ignis was doing the dishes.
Actually, Ignis was leaning against the cook station not doing the dishes. He was just standing there with his eyes closed. Then he stood up straighter and picked up a dirty bowl.
Noctis looked back at his phone. He was three-quarters of the way through a raid. He quit the game anyway. He scrolled through his apps. Hopefully he hadn't uninstalled the radio. He didn't use it much.
He hadn't. He levered himself out of the camp chair, stretching.
"Off to bed?" Ignis asked.
"Not yet," Noctis said. He moseyed over to where Ignis was working. "Take a break for a minute."
Ignis didn't even finish the fork he was holding. He set it down in the wash bin and dried his hands. "Is everything all right?"
"Yeah." Noctis jabbed his phone. It buffered for a second, then soft instrumental music filled the air. Mid-tempo. Perfect. "Just wondered if you wanted to dance."
Ignis looked at him with obvious surprise. They hadn't danced since ...
Since. (Since Noctis was practicing for his wedding.)
A smile eventually found its way to Ignis' eyes. "Certainly, if you're feeling up for it."
"Wouldn't have come over here if I wasn't," Noctis said.
Ignis put a hand on Noctis' shoulder, and Noctis put his hand on Ignis' waist. Ignis always let him lead. The rationale was that whenever Noctis had to dance for real, he'd be expected to. Ignis had taught him to dance for the ball they threw on his seventh birthday, and he'd practiced with him for every occasion since.
"Foxtrot?" Ignis suggested.
"Sure." Noctis stepped forward, and there they went. Long-short-short. Just follow the rhythm.
Noctis wasn't a great dancer by any means. He didn't really have Ignis’ grace. But he knew the basics by rote and could keep up with just about any music. Ignis had made sure of that.
"Woah, fellas," Prompto said. "When you're about to bust out the moves, warn a guy." His shutter was clicking furiously.
Apparently there were going to be awkward photos of him dancing to put up with. It was probably worth it. Ignis seemed happy as they glided across the haven, first one way and then the other. It had been a while since they'd done anything together, just the two of them.
Shopping for potions to keep themselves alive and haggling with tipsters over monster bounties didn't count.
The song ended, and Noctis let them drift to a stop. The DJ started jabbering about the background of the next piece or something equally non-musical.
"That was quite enjoyable," Ignis said. "A welcome interlude."
"What, you're quitting on me already?"
Ignis opened his mouth to reply. But the DJ was done and a new piece started. Uptempo. Syncopated. A spark of mischief glimmered in Ignis’ eyes.
"Well, if you wish to continue, we can turn this into a proper lesson."
"Specs ..."
Then Ignis shifted their grip, his other hand came to Noctis’ waist, and he pushed Noctis backwards into a fast quickstep. Noctis almost fell over. He stumbled - definitely not an approved movement - but managed to wrap his feet around how to do backward what he already knew how to do forward. The pace was punishing, but Ignis was smiling. Noctis was too, now that he thought about it.
Gladio laughed from somewhere over in the peanut gallery. "Always knew you'd make a great princess."
Noctis wanted to glare at him, but he kind of had to pay attention. "Can it or dance, big man."
"Is that some kind of challenge? What do you say, Prompto?"
"Umm ... hard pass, dude."
"Yes, leave it to the professionals," Ignis said. He steered Noctis confidently around the campfire, then again, and again, and when the music stopped he deposited Noctis safely back where they'd started. They were both breathing kind of hard. Noctis was pretty sure he had a dopey grin on his face, but he couldn't bring himself to care.
Ignis squeezed his side. "Excellent footwork, Your Majesty. Though there is some room for improvement."
"Well, I was kind of improvising," Noctis said.
"You did so with aplomb," Ignis allowed.
The next piece started. Slow. Three-four time. Noctis saw the recognition on Ignis' face. "Waltz," they said in unison.
They reversed their hold again. Noctis stepped forward with confidence. The waltz was entry-level. He knew it forward and backward.
Well, not literally backward. Luckily, Ignis seemed happy to follow this time.
The music was sedate, so Noctis led them in a small circle between the cook station and the camp chairs. It was ... nice. Personal.
"Thank you," Ignis said, "for thinking of this. I hadn't realized how much I missed it. It's such a small thing."
"Yeah," Noctis said. "I know what you mean. Thanks for doing it."
"Of course. Perhaps we might make it a regular occurrence. If you're amenable."
Noctis smiled. "Yeah, I could be amenable."
They danced closer and closer together. By the time the music wound down and their steps slowed to a stop, Ignis had his arm draped around the back of Noctis' neck. When the DJ started yakking, Noctis let his forehead rest on Ignis' collarbone. He was reluctant to move.
"Ignis. I really couldn't do this without you."
Ignis took their clasped hands and interlaced their fingers. "You honor me, Noctis. It is truly my privilege."
Noctis didn't know what to say to that. He'd never known what to say to stuff like that. So he just tightened his arm around Ignis' back and hoped that was enough.
The next song started. Tango. Noctis lunged for his phone. He didn't want Ignis getting any wild ideas.