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Ignis stalked down the corridors of the Citadel as he tapped and scrolled away from his phone, scanning over his e-mails and appointments, and those of Noctis’s as well. In about twenty minutes, Noctis should be finished with his afternoon training session with Gladio, the last of the Prince’s appointments for the day, and Prompto had promised to come along and meet him in the training halls so that Ignis could give them a ride to the arcade. After a full day of tolerating meetings and gruelling tutoring sessions, Ignis figured Noctis deserved the break.
Trodding down the steps towards the courtyards, Ignis swiped a few emails into trash and flagged a few for follow up in succession with one hand—
“—I just dunno guys,” said a gruff familiar voice from somewhere in the courtyard, “I don’t really get ‘im.”
Ignis raised his head, and upon the familiar sight of the young Gladio Amicitia seated on a stone bench, sweat soaking through the front of his grey tank top, he jumped back and lined himself behind a stone column. In front of Gladio, Noctis lay flat on his back on the grass heaving heavy breaths, and beside him Prompto sat cross legged with tufts of grass between his fingers from where he tugged on them at his feet.
“Not like you ever gave it the chance,” muttered Noctis.
“Yeah, do you two really talk?” asked Prompto, “Like talk talk,” he added, when Gladio opened his mouth to instantly respond.
Gladio’s brow lined in thought. He raised his water bottle to his lips, and lowered it again. “Ignis”—the young man in question’s ears perked at the sound of his name—“he’s operating on a whole ‘nother level, sometimes it’s like he’s speakin’ another language.” Then he added, his voice dejected as he hung his head to look at his shoes, “He probably thinks I’m too dumb to get him.”
Ignis frowned. He tried often of course, to make conversation with Gladio whenever he got the chance, but it was hard to form sentences some days, when Gladio’s smile was as blinding as the sun itself. It was always easier to fall back into practiced formalities. They provided a comfortable distance, just until Ignis could get his feelings in order.
“That’s just Specs!” Noctis said with a swat of his hand, “He’s actually pretty funny.”
“It’s just not worth it man,” Gladio groaned, “I wouldn’t even know what to say. He studies and works so hard, I don’t think we’d have anything in common.”
Prompto glanced down at the Prince on the ground beside him, who met his gaze briefly.
“How would you know that?” asked Noctis.
Gladio rubbed the top of his buzzed head in frustration. “Ya don’t think I haven’t tried ?”
“We’re going in circles here big guy,” said Prompto.
“I’ve seen you around Specs Gladio, what you do barely counts as trying,” said Noctis with a smug laugh, one that grew louder when Prompto punched him in the shoulder. “You should’ve seen him last week, in front of the Citadel, he just kinda stared Iggy down—”
“ Shut up ,” said Gladio through gritted teeth, “Can you really blame me?”
“Whassat meant to mean?”
“I don’t know ,” groaned Gladio, “I just can’t keep a conversation goin’ with him. As soon as I see his face, I just— I just wanna run for it.”
Ignis’s frown sank deeper.
“Why?” Noctis prodded further.
“He’s so—” Gladio released another pained groan, and from Ignis’s hiding spot behind the column, he could see Gladio’s brow furrow deeply. “Have you ever seen someone so— so—”
“So what? ” A suppressed laugh was obvious in the sound of Noctis’s voice.
“—or when I can put up with his face, he opens his fuckin’ mouth and he starts talking ?’ Gladio dug the heel of his palm into one eye and then the other. “He sounds so— argh! Does he know he sounds like that? Sometimes I just wanna—” Gladio let out a frustrated growl and punched his fist into an open palm. “Do you get me?”
Prompto propped his chin up on one hand, and the back of his head angled down towards Noctis. “Didn’t you say Gladio graduated top of his class?”
“Isn't it funny ?” howled Noctis, his shoulders shaking as he laughed, cutting it short at a swift kick from Gladio. “ Ouch —! Hey!”
Gladio kicked his foot again for good measure. His shoulders slumped and he propped his cheek up in one hand. Tipping his water bottle back for another swig, Gladio shrugged his shoulders, but there was hardly any energy in the way they briefly nudged half-heartedly upwards. “I can’t even stand to be around him anymore.”
Slowly, all of Ignis’s anticipation and nerves dissipated, his heart sinking in his chest.
Noctis’s laugh climbed down to a tired sigh. He pushed himself up on his elbows, sitting up to exchange glances with Prompto, before levelling Gladio with a serious expression.
“Why don’t you just be honest with him?” said Noctis, clearing his throat. “Iggy’s the kinda guy that’d appreciate honesty rather than you just tip toeing around the issue.”
That pierced through Ignis's chest. Gladio has issues with me?
“Being in the same room as him is hard enough," said Gladio, "I don’t really wanna fuck up our own jobs even more by actually tellin’ him that— that— y’know—”
“How you really feel about him?” offered Prompto helpfully.
Gladio scoffed. “Yeah like I can just tell him that, and you think he’ll just be like what? ‘ Oh that’s good information I can file away and have hanging over our heads while we work together for the rest of our lives, thank you very much for revealing this to me?" Gladio said, in a clipped imitation of Ignis’s voice and accent that made Ignis grimace, down to the enunciated vowels.
Noctis and Prompto seemed to find it hilarious, with Prompto doubled over in laughter while Noctis clutched his stomach.
"So yeah nah, fuck that," Gladio continued while he ignored his friends' laughter, "I’d rather pretend I wanna be his friend for the rest of our lives than actually say anything about that— "
Where Ignis’s heart had raced all morning, in anticipation for the confession that Ignis had rehearsed time and time again earlier that day, and yesterday, and almost everyday before that since he had first come to terms with his feelings, it now thumped loud in his ears, searing with the pain of Gladio’s confession in his chest, as if a red hot poker had stabbed it right through the middle and severed it right in two.
Ignis had never expected his feelings to be returned. He’d always known Gladio was interested in men, but from what Ignis had seen and heard of Gladio’s partners, it was unlikely he’d fit into the mold that was Gladio’s type. Though it was easy to mistake his easy flirting as something more, Ignis was not naive—Gladio flirted with everyone . But instead of simmering in his own feelings, Ignis’s confession would be for him first and foremost, and after months of deliberation, he had concluded Gladio respected him enough to not let his inevitable rejection get between them.
Ignis had expected rejection. Indifference, maybe. But it didn’t even sound like Gladio liked him as a person .
Gladio was still talking but Ignis could not make out what he was saying, his ears instead repeating Gladio’s resigned conclusion over and over. Besides, Ignis had heard enough. He held his chest high, and let his feet carry him away in wide and quick strides, as far away from the courtyard as possible.
***
"Why’s it so hard for me to tell Iggy that I really like him?" said Gladio with an exasperated sigh. It was a question more for him than anyone else, one he’s been asking himself in front of the mirror since he had found out himself in middle school. Making new friends, chatting people up, flirting with ‘em, Gladio was a born people person. But something about Ignis made Gladio even forget how to be a person let alone a people one.
"You did it just then," said Prompto, "That wasn't so hard then was it?"
"Actually telling the guy's another thing entirely," said Gladio. With another sip of his drink, he looked down at Noctis, who seemed distracted by something, with his head craned over his shoulder. "What's up Noct?"
“Wasn’t that Iggy? I saw someone run off from over there. I tried to wave him over but I don't think he saw."
"Huh, figured he would've said hi," said Gladio. He took one end of his towel and wiped his face, before realisation shot down his stomach like a cement block. "Shit, do you think he heard?"
“I’m sure you’re fine,” Prompto reassured.
“Uh, I dunno, he bolted pretty quickly,” said Noctis, much to Prompto’s sharp elbow digging into his side. “If you ask me I’d only run like that if I heard something I shouldn’t have.”
“I— I should go after him.” Gladio bolted up from the bench, his water bottle clattering on the grass, having forgotten that it sat between his legs.
“Do you know where’s going?” asked Prompto.
“No, I was just gonna look for him—”
“Chill out for a second will you?" said Noctis, pulling his phone out of his pocket, "I have his calendar.”
***
A third cup of coffee for the day probably wasn’t the best remedy to a broken heart, but the country did not stop running for anybody’s lovelorn woes. Ignis would have to save that for home, once he’s gotten all his meetings out of the way, and for now, the caffeine can help him focus on anything but the hollow echo of Gladio’s words. Folders and laptop in his arms and a coffee cup in hand, Ignis fumbled with the door handle to the meeting room exit with his free hand, only for it to swing open with very little give after the slightest of pulls.
On the other side, stood the cause for the pre-emptively opening door, and for Ignis’s broken heart.
“Hey Iggy,” said Gladio. He stared dumbfounded down at Ignis for a few seconds, before a staffer behind Ignis called out a stern excuse me from behind where he stood in the doorway. With a small muttered apology, Gladio stood to the side and let Ignis head out of the room, and faced Gladio in the corridor.
“Fancy meeting you here,” said Gladio.
“I had a meeting,” said Ignis. His heart raced in his ears once more, and he dared cast a glare at his offending coffee cup. “Did you have business here?”
“You could say that,” said Gladio, “Walk with me?”’
“To where, exactly?”
Gladio shrugged. “Wherever you’re going.”
Too stunned to say anything else, Ignis couldn’t even protest when Gladio pulled out a few of his folders from Ignis’s arms for him to carry instead.
“How’s your morning?” asked Gladio.
“Good so far,” said Ignis. From the corner of his eye, it was difficult to see Gladio’s expression. It was almost impossible to figure out what was going on in that mind of his—which was often far more than what most people assumed of the young man. A hidden brilliance that drew Ignis to Gladio to begin with, but was now a hindrance.
Why was Gladio looking for him specifically?
Surely if this was about Noctis, Gladio would’ve broached the topic as soon as they had seen each other. He wouldn’t have put it off, choosing instead to walk in silence alongside Ignis, not once casting him any glances.
They reached Ignis’s office. That hadn’t really been Ignis’s destination, but the tension was too palpable, and Ignis needed answers—from one of the most stubborn men he’d ever known, no less—and an enclosed space he considered his domain was the perfect place to get them. Ignis crossed his arms and watched as Gladio carefully placed his folders on his desk, before stuffing his hands in his hoodie pockets while he faced Ignis. Not quite however, since his eyes were cast up to some corner of the ceiling.
“Well?” said Ignis, “Will you be telling me why you were looking for me? Or were you really just looking to ferry my belongings from one meeting room to another?”
Gladio gave off a quiet laugh. “You cut right to the chase don’t ya?”
“What is it you want?”
“Um, we saw you in the courtyard earlier.” Gladio blinked down at his feet. “Noct tried saying hi.”
“Oh. Apologies.” Ignis tried to swallow the lump suddenly lodged in his throat. His eyes flitted from the coffee cup on his desk then to the water bottle beside it, which were both unfortunately behind Gladio. “That’s all this was about?” Ignis managed to scoff. “Hurt that I didn’t say hi? I don’t know about you, but I’m a busy man Gladiolus.”
Gladio’s features sank. “So uh, did ya hear what we were talking about?”
There it is .
“I’m not in the habit of eavesdropping,” said Ignis. His ears merely caught wind of his name, and he inadvertently caught the rest. He turned to walk to his desk, but Gladio sidestepped to in front of Ignis, effectively blocking his path.
“That didn’t answer my question,” said Gladio, his voice oddly serious.
Frustrated with Gladio’s perplexing behaviour, Ignis finally said, “Fine. Are you asking me if I heard you tell Noctis and Prompto exactly how you felt about me?” Gladio’s expression contorted as if in pain, and Ignis only continued, “How my mere presence renders you unable to speak a single word to me, hm ? Is that what you’re asking about?”
“Look Iggy,” said Gladio, his shoulders slumping, and his serious expression now wiped away to helplessness, “I’ve been meaning to tell you—”
“To tell me. Yes, Gladiolus, please pray tell, and explain, what exactly I’ve done that’s wronged you.”
“What?” Gladio looked confused. “Wronged me?”
“Yes I know I can’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I accept that, but I’ve done nothing but be polite to you since we first started working together,” Ignis continued, and he was rambling, he could hear himself do so, but the caffeine and the nerves and the need to explain his hurt kept him going, “I just want to know what it is I’ve done that’s led you to dislike me so much,” he said, only just managing to catch the falter in his voice.
“Hang on,” said Gladio, “you think I hate you?”
“That’s what I heard.”
“That’s what you think you heard.” A grin was back on Gladio’s face, and Ignis did not like how self-satisfied it looked one bit.
“You can’t stand the sight of my face, or the sound of my voice, or even being in the same room as me,” Ignis spat out, jabbing a finger at Gladio’s chest at every point he listed, and it only infuriated him to see Gladio’s grin grow wider, “And you said so yourself you’d rather pretend to be friends with me rather than— rather than—”
“Tell you that I like you, doofus.”
All of a sudden Ignis was too close to that smug grin, the golden eyes looking down at him boring straight into his soul.
Taking a step back away from the man, Ignis ordered, “Say that again.”
“I really like you.” Gladio closed the gap between them, their faces separated by mere inches as he added, “ And you’re a doofus. Is that enough of an explanation for ya?”
Ignis's mind went blank. The truth that he made himself believe all afternoon—Gladio hated him, he didn't even want to be his friend—now overwritten with this new information that was even harder to grasp than that before.
"I can't stand seeing your face cus it's too cute, I can't keep up with you ‘cus I get tongue tied around ya, I hate the sound of your voice ‘cus it's such a huge turn on Iggy, and we don't need that in the middle of a work day—what else?" Gladio hummed in thought. Ignis's blush travelled down his neck and past down the collar of his shirt, but Gladio wasn't done with him. "Right, I can't stand being in the same room as you, ‘cus I've wanted to tell you I liked you for the longest time but I dunno if you felt the same way."
Leaning back on the desk to give Ignis space, Gladio crossed his arms, his gaze forlorn as he awaited Ignis’s answer. "So?" he asked. "You got anything to say to that?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Ignis.
Gladio shrugged. "I didn't wanna force my feelings on you."
"You wouldn't be forcing anything on me at all— No." Ignis tipped his chin down, just to avoid the heat of Gladio's gaze. "I've harboured feelings for you for a long time."
A grin lit up on Gladio's face. "The good kind right?" said Gladio with a chuckle.
"The good kind, yes. And I'm saying this now, coming from the highest authority, with absolutely no hearsay involved," said Ignis, finally looking up to meet the mirth in Gladio's eyes. He took a step forward, and grasped Gladio's hoodie by the front, tugging him own gently to meet his lips. When they separated, he smiled up at Gladio and his bemused expression and crimson filled cheeks, and Ignis added, "I'm fond of you too."