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“His Majesty would have come. Instead of having to put up with me,” a wry joke, “you could have–”
“– had a whole retinue of people to come with me to get my wisdom teeth out?” Noct huddled down a little further in the chair, curling further over his phone. “Yeah, right. Bad enough as it is…”
It was with a frown that Ignis continued to inspect the prince next to him, the way he was too interested in the media he was scrolling through on his phone. He was nervous. Naturally. Who could go into surgery without some level of fear? Especially Noctis, so prone to injury and… complication his whole life. “I’m sorry, Noct,” he said quietly, reaching to fix his jacket. He was shivering. Ignis didn’t comment. “It’s just one of those things you have to go through sometimes, I’m afraid.”
“Leave it.” Noct squirmed, turning half out of his reach. “I’ll have to take it off in a minute anyway. And what are you talking about? You haven’t had yours out.”
“Me?” Ignis repeated, and affected an air of mock incredulity. Noct was grinning even before he continued. “Let them take my wisdom away from me? I think not.”
“Like I haven’t heard that one fifty times since we set this up,” Noct grumbled. “Gladio’s convinced I’ll be stupid and Prom just wants to take pictures of my dumb… impending chipmunk face.” He tipped his head back with a tiny groan. “Gods, I’m glad it’s you here, the other two wouldn’t let me live it do–”
“Noctis?” the nurse called, and Noct clamped his jaw shut again. “We’re ready for you.”
“Great…” He shoved his phone back in his pocket, and Ignis deposited his magazine back on the table. “Wait, are you coming?”
“Until the surgeon speaks with us, yes. Unless you’d rather me stay here?”
“No.” Noct shook his head. “No, that’s cool. Gotta make sure they don’t have anything weird planned or something, huh?”
Ignis hummed. “Something like that,” he said, and gently coaxed Noct back into the exam room. “You’ll be fine, Noct. I’m certain of it.”
“Yeah. Just sucks is all.”
“That it does.”
He didn’t know. He had never had surgery of any kind– he’d never even been put out, much to his relief. (Like Noct, he had been submitted to several different varieties of… post-dental extraction videos during the past week.) The closest he’d come to any major dental event was local anesthesia for a cavity or two, and outside of that, the worst thing he’d had happen to him was a broken arm when he was younger. He hadn’t needed surgery for it, but it had been bad enough on its own.
He’d always been a bit of a hypochondriac back in those days. Days spent thinking every sore throat meant his tonsils would need to be removed, that every stomachache was his appendix rupturing. He had learned early on how too much studying could be… disadvantageous. He’d grown out of that quickly enough… or perhaps not, he thought, watching Noctis settle into the dentist chair. He just worried more about Noct now than he did his own health.
“Alright. Let’s get that jacket off there. How long has it been since you’ve had anything to eat, Noctis?”
“Uh… had something at, like, ten or something.” Noct shrugged out of his jacket, frowning a little. “Last night.”
“Good. And when did you last have something to drink?”
“Same time. Went to bed afterwards.”
“Great. And you didn’t have anything in the middle of the night? Didn’t get up and have any water or anything?”
Noct shook his head, watching the nurse affix the blood pressure cuff around his arm. “Nah. Wasn’t supposed to, right?”
“That’s right. That’s great, Noctis. You did really well for us.”
Noct made a face, and Ignis had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop from smiling. He’d probably find it suffocating, too, to be treated like a child. But then that was their bedside manner, he was sure. Keeping everyone calm while getting the information they needed.
“And I see you brought your friend with you today.”
“Uh–h…” His voice faltered, eyes following the motion of the nurse sliding a strap across his thighs. “Yeah, that’s… Ignis.”
“A pleasure,” the nurse said, and then back at Noct, “this is just to make sure you don’t wiggle around while you’re asleep, Noctis. You’d be surprised how many people do, we had one nurse get a couple of broken ribs because someone moved around a little too much!”
“Oh…”
Ignis caught his gaze and gave him a reassuring smile; it was logical, really, meant for both Noctis’s and the doctor’s safety. Which… didn’t help at all, going by the uncomfortable look on Noctis’s face. A childhood of limited mobility and an ingrained dislike of being confined. Ignis wanted to go smooth the hair out of his face and remind him he need not suffer it for long, but the nurse was already moving on to slip Noctis’s hair back in a net and place the heart monitor electrodes on his chest.
“Alright. Now we’ll just put this here,” the nurse continued, spreading Noct’s jacket out over the top of him, “to keep you warm. Then we just need to put this over you, and we’ll be ready to go.”
“Sure…”
“There we go.” Noct shifted as the nurse placed the drape around him. “All set! The doctor will be in in just a moment to talk to you, and then we’ll get those teeth out for you. Alright?”
Noct made a noise in the general affirmative, and then the nurse left. Ignis watched as the prince only vaguely relaxed as she went. Then hummed, glanced about the room, and adopted an amused look to meet Noctis’s gaze.
“Well,” he said lightly.
“What?”
“Quite the headgear there.”
“Oh, thanks.” Noct shoved the hair net back slightly. “Gods, what kind of welcome is this. It’s freezing cold, they tie me down with this crap…” His hands fidgeted beneath the drape. “Prom said he had his wisdom teeth out when he was younger but he didn’t tell me about all of this.”
“It’ll be over before you know it.”
“Yeah, I know, but I’m still conscious now and trying not to, I dunno… panic.”
Ignis paused, and then “ahh. You spent the night looking up everything that could go wrong, haven’t you? Noct.”
“Like you haven’t!” He squirmed, hands seizing around the armrests. “You– you research everything, you know what could happen. Like, these–” he gestured towards his lower jaw– “those ones are, like, right on the nerve. And they’re impacted. And with my shitty luck–”
“Noct.”
“You know it’s true. When has anything ever gone my way?”
“‘We must never give up the fight. The minute we do that, we have lost.’”
Noct stopped, mouth still open like he was prepared to continue arguing. He looked at him for a moment and then laughed, the tension leaving his shoulders if only for that moment. “Are you quoting Assassin’s at me??”
Ignis smiled. Good. It was working. “Oh, was I?”
“I didn’t even think you paid attention to those games.”
“Of course I do, you enjoy them. And you play them at all ungodly hours when I’m at your apartment–”
“Oh, that’s bullshit, I hardly ever–”
Two successive knocks at the door, and the oral surgeon entered. There was another nurse behind him, and Noct fell silent again.
“All ready to go, Noctis?”
“Guess so.”
“And we’re going to get your wisdom teeth today, right?” He went over to the x-ray, marking off four on the screen. “These two, impacted. We’ll have to cut them out, but we’ll be careful. It’ll be fine. You’ll be swollen for a little while, a few days. And he’ll be groggy,” he said, addressing Ignis. “You’ll take him home and keep an eye on him?”
Ignis nodded. “Of course.”
“No driving, no work. He needs to take it easy. Bed rest for the first two days.”
“I’ll be sure to look after him. I’m quite used to it, in fact,” he added, sharing a glance with the prince.
Noct rolled his eyes, shuffling down in the chair.
“Very good. Alright, well, we’ll ask you to leave the room now so we can get Noctis prepped up for surgery.”
“Very well.” Ignis got back to his feet, smiling over at Noct faintly. “See you soon, Noct?”
“Yeah… don’t record me,” he added quickly.
He held up his hands. “I already promised.” That asides, he wouldn’t, anyway, and Noct knew that. “Take care of him, doctor.”
“We will, Ignis, don’t you worry.”
He couldn't linger, nor any more than Noct could put off the surgery himself. And yet…
No, he gave a tiny nod and headed to the door. “I'll be waiting, Noct.”
“See ya…”
The rough estimate was an hour to kill, so Ignis went back to the waiting room, plucked the same, outdated food magazine from the table, and sank back into his previously vacated chair. Only then did he sigh out loud, let his shoulders slump and allow his head to tip back against the wall.
Noct was right, of course. Meticulous research into the surgery, routine as it was. All the good and worst-case scenarios. After all, surgery was surgery. And Noct… did have slightly bad luck with his health.
He couldn't think that way. The same thing he had chastised Noct for in the first place, but… he couldn't help but worry. It was his job. Noct was his charge… and his best friend. And this was surgery. There were possible complications involved in every situation, and Noctis’s nervousness didn’t help to settle his own.
He wasn’t even the one having his wisdom teeth out, and he was ever the more nervous for it.
With another muffled sigh, he pulled out his phone.
[SENT] He's gone in, Your Majesty. They’ve told me it may take up to an hour.
If nothing else, he had been somewhat relieved to acquiesce to the king's demands for updates on whatever happened. Kindred spirits. Both of them worried only ever for Noctis.
[RECEIVED] very good. update me when he has finished?
[SENT] Of course. I'll send regular updates throughout the night.
[RECEIVED] will you take him home or to your apartment?
[SENT] Back to his own apartment, I believe. He should be more comfortable.
[RECEIVED] there will be someone awaiting if you need anything.
[SENT] Thank you, Your Majesty
[RECEIVED] thank you for looking after my son, ignis (Victory Hand )
He squinted only briefly at the small, yellow emoji tacked on at the end of the text. His Majesty was keen on such things. He found them funny, Ignis supposed, and it did serve to draw forth a small smile, as it were.
[RECEIVED] do relax, my boy, he will be fine
Now he truly couldn’t help but to laugh a little; so predictable was he that the very king of Lucis was telling him to relax regarding his own son’s surgery. Well, so it went. It was… nice to hear it from someone who wasn’t the one operating on Noct.
[SENT] I expect no less.
[SENT] Thank you again.
He let himself be pulled into the world of that old cooking magazine once again then, flicking through the worn pages with as much vested interest as he could dredge up. Mostly, he looked at the pictures, and thought about things he would make for Noct in the upcoming days. Preparation had already been well underway– he’d stocked up on Noctis’s favorite ice cream, several kinds of pudding and applesauce, and had plans for mashed potatoes and various kinds of broth soup. Fruit smoothies would also be good, as well as plenty of water… ice pops were in the freezer, even, so there was no lack of easily consumable foods available when they arrived home.
Noctis would no doubt get bored of the diet quite quickly, but then Ignis couldn’t say he could blame him. He would make it up to him, afterwards.
He was still turning through the same magazine when, approximately forty minutes later, the nurse came out to collect him.
“Mister Scientia?”
The magazine fell haphazard onto his lap as he glanced up, then he hurriedly tossed it aside as she gestured him back.
“Noctis is in recovery now. He’s still groggy, but he is awake. He won’t be able to talk much because of the gauze in his mouth, but you can go sit with him to help him feel more comfortable.”
“Thank you,” he breathed, and pretended it didn’t come out in a rush. “Did the surgery go well?”
“It did,” the nurse continued cheerfully. “He was a model patient, even.”
“If only he was the rest of the time,” he murmured, banter that would have lifted Noct’s spirits if only he were there to hear it. As it were, the nurse laughed, anyway, and guided him around a corner to the recovery room. “He’s just around here. You’ll have to stay for awhile longer, but you’ll be able to take him home soon.”
He nodded again, and pushed back the swell of trepidation to turn the corner. He’d seen Noct through various stages of his life, through the good and the bad– seen him through physical therapy and on pain medication so strong it had taken away the very vestiges of who Noct was. And he hated seeing him like that, hated being helpless to keep him tethered to the present and in his right mind. So Ignis was holding his breath as he went to greet him.
Noctis’s eyes were slow in flicking up to meet Ignis’s, and the nurse was right, he did look terribly groggy, but he still nodded slightly in greeting. Perhaps Ignis had worried for no reason on this front as well.
“Noct,” he greeted, pulling the chair up. “Are you alright?”
“... mhmm.” He nodded vaguely again, eyelids drooping low. Then they opened again, looked around slowly, and settled again on Ignis.
“Are you feeling anything?” Ignis asked. It would be a one-sided conversation, but speaking just to speak. And to let Noct know he was there. “Asides tired, of course.”
A tiny shake of his head, and Noct leaned back against the headrest again.
“Well, that’s good. The nurse says the surgery went well. You were a model patient.” He paused, and then continued. “Although… I do have a hard time believing that.”
Noctis raised his head again, flashing him a very watered down glare. Ah, so he was aware of his surroundings. Good.
“Well, it’s good to see you understand me,” Ignis joked. He leaned forward, allowing himself to brace his elbows on his knees. Gods, he was already tired, and it was only half past eleven. “If you’ll even remember this, I suppose.”
“– whil–” Noct mumbled.
A raised eyebrow, mirth bubbling up in his chest further. “Will you?”
Noct nodded, a little more forcefully. “Mmmph–” He raised a hand to his face, gingerly prodding at the gauze sticking out of his mouth.
“Now, now.” Ignis reached forward. “Don’t touch your mouth. You’ll be in for more pain if you do.”
Noct breathed out sharply through his nose, and his eyes roamed to Ignis’s hand, still holding onto his wrist.
“If I let go, are you going for the gauze again?”
He shook his head. “Judd heel hunny,” he slurred, shifting in the chair. He looked away from Ignis and around the room, squinting from what was probably pain or vertigo.
“Yes,” Ignis agreed, placing Noctis’s hand back on the armrest. “I imagine it does feel funny. You’re still okay otherwise?”
Another nod, and then Noct was clumsily tapping at his wrist. His head fell slightly to the side on the headrest.
“Twenty ‘til twelve.”
His eyebrows furrowed, and Noctis gestured uselessly with his hands.
“You were out quite a while.” The prince shook his head, and Ignis smiled faintly. “I assure you, Noct, you definitely were.”
Another puff of breath through his nose, and then Noct went back to staring at the ceiling. He almost looked like he was pouting… probably not too far from the mark, that.
He was still mostly chuckling at his own thoughts when the surgeon stepped into the recovery room. “How’re you doing back here, Noctis?”
Noct raised his head, giving a thumbs up.
“Waking up?”
Another nod.
“That’s good. Now, Ignis. The anesthesia will wear off in about an hour. He’ll want to start on pain medication as soon as it does… two ibuprofen, preferably, but if he needs something stronger, give us a call. This is his antibiotic–” he handed him a script– “you’ll need to get that filled as soon as possible. He needs to start it tonight. There’ll be pain and swelling, ice can help with that. Everything’s in here.” Another pamphlet, aptly titled post-extraction recovery. Ignis tucked the script into it and held onto it. “But if you two need anything, just let us know. Alright?”
“Yes. Thank you, doctor, truly.”
“It’s my pleasure.” He smiled, and gestured to someone around the corner. “The nurse’ll be back to change his gauze, and then we can get him discharged.”
“That sounds great,” he said, and looked back at Noct to give him an encouraging look as the nurse returned.
The gauze was a bloody thing, looking worse off than it probably was, but Noctis’s expression was almost comically disgusted as the nurse tossed them away. Ignis sat by and watched carefully, just in case, and then moved forward to offer his arm when Noct was allowed to stand.
“Slow and steady now,” he said quietly, taking Noctis’s elbow. “You’re alright?”
“Mhmmm…”
“We’ve got you,” the nurse supplied, and Ignis nodded at her that they were ready to go.
Getting him to the car was a lot less trouble than he’d expected; Noct went willingly, without stumbling. His eyes were locked on his feet and his progress was slow, but he slid into the passenger seat without protest.
“And you were so worried about being uncontrollable,” Ignis said gently, reaching across him to fasten the seatbelt. “Here you are, more compliant than usual. And quiet, even. What a blessing in disguise, this surgery.”
He gave him a certain finger at that, one that Ignis quickly maneuvered out of sight of anyone who might have been watching. “Noct.”
A tiny quirk of a smile from Noctis, and Ignis rolled his eyes fondly as he went to the driver’s side. Truly, all of their worry for naught. He was going to scold Gladio and Prompto for all of those videos of so-and-so after dentist later, mark his words.
The ride home was quiet. Noct surprisingly didn’t fall asleep, but propped his head on his hand with his elbow on the door. From the few side glances Ignis gave him at the stoplights, he still seemed more out of it than anything. It wasn’t a good look on him, really, too eerily similar to the days following the marilith attack. But at least it wasn’t worse. And this, unlike the so many scars Noct already had, would heal. A minor thing, in the scheme of things.
“Ready to head in, Noct?” he asked as he parked the car in the familiar spot, and Noct raised his head from his fist.
“Uh huh.”
“We’ll get that gauze changed once we’re inside. If you want to sleep, we’ll have to leave it out, though.”
Another nod.
“Do you think you’ll want to? Sleep it off some more?”
The garbled reply was clearly some attempt at actual conversation, and the pinched look of frustration that crossed Noct’s face afterwards made it clear he knew Ignis could tell absolutely nothing about what he was saying.
“Just a minute, Noct, it can wait. There’s no rush.”
Noct groaned. “Yed dere ish. Goss.”
Gross. That he could believe. “I’d imagine. Here.” He made sure Noct was braced against his side before unlocking the door, and gently ushered him inside. Noct clumsily kicked off his shoes and Ignis left his next to them, making a mental note to pick them up after he’d gotten Noct taken care of. And then the prince was making a beeline for the bathroom, fingers already clumsily reaching for the wads of gauze packed into his mouth.
As impatient as ever, it seemed. He hoped this wasn’t the beginning of the end for how easy a patient he had been. “Noct.”
“Gods,” Noctis croaked, depositing the bloody cotton in the trash. “Horrible. Tastes horrible,” he rasped, trying to lick his lips. “Can I–”
Ignis reached past him for a disposable cup, filling it halfway with cool water.
“Yeah… thanks,” he mumbled, carefully taking the cup.
“Just a moment.” Noctis’s weight was mostly leaning against him as it were, but he still kept one hand on his arm as he reached in the cabinet for the ibuprofen. “Take these with it, if you can. Get ahead of it before the pain starts, shall we?”
Noct nodded vaguely, and put the tablets on his tongue. Between the two of them holding onto the cup of water, they managed not to spill, and then Ignis was fluidly maneuvering him back into the hallway. “Bed or couch, Noct?”
“… couch,” he murmured. “Guess…”
“Right. I’ll put on the television and get you an ice pop? Would that help?”
Noctis’s lips curved into a tiny smile before he winced. “Popsicles? Didn’t know you bought ‘em.”
“Cherry, orange, grape, berry, and root beer,” he said, helping Noct onto the sofa. He grabbed a pillow to wedge against the armrest, and let Noct lean back against it. “Take your pick, Highness.”
“Uh… orange…?”
“Perfect choice.”
“You’re still messin’ with me.” It was a halfhearted complaint, as Noctis struggled to stretch his legs out on the couch. “Wow.”
Ignis chuckled as he tore open the box of ice pops. “Caught in the act,” he called, plucking an orange from the package. “However am I supposed to amuse his Highness otherwise?”
“Dunno.” He wasn’t smiling as he accepted the popsicle and paper towel, but there was something like amusement in his eyes. “Was I really out for that long?”
“Mhm.”
“Gods…” Perhaps the ice pop had been a mistake so soon. Noct could barely open his mouth to speak, let alone that. Ignis opened his own mouth to comment, but the prince was already carrying on. “Said I’d start getting sleepy… ‘n’ I did but… didn’t really feel super tired? Then they said they were done.” Orange dripped down onto his shirt, and Noct stared at it blankly. Ignis moved forward with another handful of paper towel. “Didn’t think I fell asleep at all.”
“A good thing you did,” Ignis said, blotting at the orange stain.
“Well, yeah.”
“And it was so much more effortless than you thought.”
“Yeah… really was.” He licked at his fingers and made a face. “Stupid Gladio and those stupid videos. I was so freaked… ugh, thish sucks.”
“If that’s hurting your jaw–”
“I just wanna taste shomething other than…” He waved vaguely. “This.”
“If you want something to drink…”
“No, it’s fine…” He nibbled at the end of the popsicle. “‘ll manage.”
“Alright…” Ignis frowned, leaning forward to pull the blanket from the back of the couch. “Will you go to sleep after this?”
“Dunno. Not too tired now.”
“The gauze’ll need to go back in,” he said, spreading the blanket over Noctis’s lap. “After you’ve finished what you want of that.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
“We’ll just take it easy for awhile, yes?” It was with a gentle ruffle to Noct’s hair that he said that, chuckling at the garbled noise of protest Noct made in reply.
The hardest part came afterwards, he supposed, when Noct had finished off the ice pop and stuffed the gauze back into his mouth and proceeded to nearly fall asleep while watching television. Not tired indeed, Ignis had thought, as he’d wrangled him off of the sofa and into his own bed. At least the prince was slightly more able to take the gauze out of his mouth again than he was to flop his own limbs onto his mattress properly. A small victory. Another propped up pillow and Ignis was tucking the blankets around him again. It was another small victory that he sighed only after he had closed the bedroom door behind himself.
It wasn’t even physically taxing, not in the way he’d thought it would be. But the worry– from one thing to the other, surgery to making certain Noct wasn’t doing anything that would inhibit the healing process. Add in the varying amount of work he was meant to be doing and this day was truly turning out to be a long one.
But there were reports waiting for him, and while Noctis was asleep he could handle them without much distraction. He’d still need to prepare something more substantial than flavored, frozen water for Noct to have later, provided he could eat or drink something, and also needed to check back in with the king before he could start to worry further.
It was with all of this in mind that Ignis ended up dozing on the sofa after accomplishing very little instead, certain he’d be awake well before Noct would. Best laid plans, however; one moment, he was blissfully dreamless and the next, someone was nudging his shoulder and Ignis was startling back to consciousness.
“Noct.” He felt for his glasses. Had he put them on the table? “What’s wrong?”
“Er… nothing, just– here.”
His spectacles were pressed into his hand, and Ignis clumsily pushed them on. Noctis's face swam into view, clouded in pain. Ignis propelled himself up, reaching out to steady him. “Noct. Sit down.” He looked woozy enough to pitch over.
He practically fell onto the couch as it was. “S–Sorry, didn't want to wake you, but… didn't know what time you gave me those pills… really hurts.” The last was an aside, muttered under his breath in a way that made Ignis’s heart clench. More pain, always endless pain…
“You're… not quite due yet,” he said, shifting his watch. “About forty minutes, I'm sorry to say. Your antibiotics, though– a moment, I sent a glaive to pick them up while you were asleep.”
“A–Alright…”
“And I'll get you an ice pack. You'll need to be vigilant on that these twenty-four hours to reduce the swelling.” He tore open the prescription, skimming the directions for usage. Two for the initial dose, taken with or without food. Good. “You think you can swallow these?”
“Mhmm…”
“Good,” he said aloud. “If you need other painkillers, Noct, you’ll need to let me know.” He offered the glass of water to him, and held out the two pills for him to take.
“Really don’t wanna be back on that if I can help it,” Noct mumbled, and took a careful sip of water. “Sucks.”
“I know. But if it gets to be too much.”
“Yeah…” Noctis eyed the pills disdainfully, and then hesitantly placed one on his tongue. Ignis turned away to give him some kind of privacy, and went to prepare an ice pack for once Noct had settled back in again.
“This all sucks,” the prince continued, once Ignis had reconvened to take the empty glass. “Thought, well…” He scrubbed the water from his chin. “‘s okay, right after, now it’s…”
“The anesthesia’s worn off.” He held out the bag of ice. “Against your jaw, gently. It’s going to be uncomfortable for awhile, but we’ll see what I can do to lessen that.”
An intake of breath and a tiny wince came as Noctis placed the ice against his jaw, and was followed by a groan as he leaned back into the couch. “Shit…”
“Just take it easy for awhile.” It was sound advice, if not… severely lacking. “Did you want the TV on?”
“Uh uh.” It was barely a mumble, and Noct didn’t open his eyes.
“You’re going to try to go back to sleep?”
He held up his hand in a general who knows motion, and again Ignis was again reminded how terribly helpless outside assistance was to these sorts of things. Noct had to heal, and there was little to be done asides make certain the prince take his medicine. Once he felt up to eating something, even if it was only some ice cream, that would be the next priority, but asides that… Ignis was once again left wringing his hands, unable to help, and gods if he hadn’t always hated that feeling. It was irksome at best and frustrating at worst, and he didn’t have a good target to direct that frustration to. Noct was the one in pain, after all– he couldn’t help it any more than Ignis couldn’t help not being able to help.
They were at an impasse, so it seemed, and it was only late afternoon.
“You really should try to sleep. It’ll speed up your recovery in the coming days.”
“Yeah, like I can have this on my face and sleep at the same time. Can’t sleep anywhere else except on my back cause my face hurts like hell so one or the other.”
“Ah… Perhaps I’ve a solution.”
“Mm?”
Ignis permitted a tiny smile. “How do you feel about cuddling, Noct?”
The laugh that followed was short and sharp, chased away with another groan as it likely flared the pain. But Noct had cracked an eye open to look at him, amusement writ obvious on his face. “The hell are you talkin’ about?”
He gestured to the couch in question. Noct waved him ahead and so Ignis went, folding himself at the opposite end to offer his arms. “Let me be your pillow, Noct.”
Noctis spluttered another laugh, even as the reproachment came a moment later. “Gods, stop making me laugh, Specs. Are you serious?”
“Oh, why not?” He settled more comfortably back into the cushions, and carefully took the bag of ice away from Noct. “You can snuggle in. I’ll be your hands.” He shook the ice slightly. “That way you can rest without having to worry about the ice.”
“You’re just trying to appeal my inherent laziness,” Noct joked, but he still shifted over nonetheless, settling himself between Ignis’s legs to slump back against his chest. “Gods, I’m so tired.”
“I know.” It was with great care that Ignis settled the ice bag against Noctis’s jaw, holding it there, gentle but firm. He trusted he would tell him if it hurt worse than it already did, but he also didn’t plan on allowing that to happen in the first place. “You need your rest. Surgery is surgery, even if extraction is considered minor.”
“This should be old hat by now, huh.” He yawned, and fumbled the blanket up over both of their laps. “Still managed to get knocked down by having teeth pulled…”
“It’s surgery,” Ignis stressed, pulling the blanket up to Noct’s chest. “It’s never going to be ‘old hat.’”
“This kinda stuff’s just common for me. Don’t pretend.”
An unwelcome reminder that was, well, honest. So he kept revisiting. “Fine, it’s never going to be easy, then,” he amended, and smoothed the blanket with his free hand. “How’s that?”
“Sounds about right,” Noct mumbled. He leaned his head back against Ignis’s chest, settling to get comfortable. Ignis’s lips were so very close to his hair. He breathed out, and watched the strands flutter with the puff of air. Noctis yawned, and scrunched down a bit more. “Gonna try to sleep again, then.”
“Right.” He patted his chest. “Do you want me to wake you when it’s time for more painkillers?”
“Yeah. If I even fall asleep.” But he was already yawning again, and falling asleep had never been a hardship for their prince.
Ignis smiled. “Right. Get your rest. I’m here if you need me.”
“Yeah, like you could go anywhere ‘til I do.”
Ignis stifled his laughter so that he didn’t disturb him, and shifted the bag of ice to the other side of Noctis’s face. “As if to imply I would, anyway.”
Noctis hummed, short and pleased. “Exactly…”
It wasn’t a full five minutes before the prince was out again, tucked up snugly against Ignis’s chest. So it had succeeded in its effect of being comforting… or perhaps Noct was simply that tired. Probably that. But, at the very least, it felt like he was helping– the ice numbing his own fingertips was a small price to pay for Noctis’s immediate comfort.
That asides, he was a warm presence against his body nonetheless. Noct had always been able to warm him in ways that no one else could manage. Perhaps, once he set the ice aside, he would resume his little cat nap as well. Just until Noct’s next dose of medication.
From his pocket, his phone gave two sharp bursts of vibration. Ignis nearly jolted off the sofa, and Noct shifted without waking up. He scrambled to pull it free before it could continue to vibrate and wake him.
[RECEIVED] i hope noct isn’t giving you any trouble?
Regis again– oh, but Ignis had missed a check-in with his impromptu drowsiness and Noctis’s resurgence of pain. A quick glance down at the prince still sleeping against his chest, and Ignis tapped out a quick, one-handed reply.
[SENT] Of course not, Your Majesty. Never that.