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Noctis barely makes it inside his apartment before he slumps against the foyer wall, not even remembering to take off his shoes. Ignis follows behind him, shutting the door and hanging his schoolbag on the hooks on the wall.
“Noct,” Ignis sighs, squatting. He unties Noct’s shoes and slips them off, slotting his hands under his prince’s limp form, standing.
Noctis immediately clings to Ignis, scrambling to get closer. He wraps his arms tight around his would-be advisor and nuzzles into the stiff pressed collar of his dress shirt in futile attempt to stop the tears. He feels Ignis sink into his couch, feels a blanket come on top of him, though he’d much rather be out of his itchy school uniform and in his favorite black cat kigurumi. But he’s in Ignis’ arms, and that’s enough for now.
“What’s wrong, Highness? You hardly spoke in the car. You know I’m always a listening ear.”
Noctis shrugs, sniffs—and then the tears come anyway, despite channeling every ounce of strength to hold them back. He sobs into Ignis’ neck, and then he feels bad about that, as if Ignis is going to get mad at him for getting his shirt wet.
Ignis, of course, does no such thing. He holds Noctis tighter, closer, as if he can physically squeeze out all of the hurt and the pain. Noctis digs blunt fingernails into Ignis’ back and just sobs, everything bleeding out of him. He feels drained. He feels sad , and he’s not sure why. The school day wasn’t even necessarily bad—he aced his oral presentation in science, got his literature essay back with only a couple of points off for awkward wording, and they had dumplings in the cafeteria for lunch. But, Prompto had been home sick, and that enough was enough dull all the other good things about the day.
Noctis isn’t emotional enough to simply cry over his friend’s absence, but it’s still a major blow, like icing on the depression cake.
“Prompto wasn’t at school,” Noctis finally mumbles, sniffing back a huge wad of snot and swallowing it. Ugh, gross .
“Oh? I’m sorry, Noct. What’s wrong with Prompto?”
“Sick.”
“Do we need to go visit him?”
Noctis blinks. He didn’t even think of that. “Uh...can we?”
“Once you finish your homework and regain composure, I’m not opposed. I can pick up supplies to cook him a nutritious dinner. We want him back to full health as soon as possible, yes?”
“Yeah,” Noctis breathes. His heart rate slows a bit, but his chest still feels tight. He hasn’t let go of his hold on Ignis, even though he’s sweating under the blanket.
“Is that all?” Ignis asks quietly. “I can’t imagine you botched your science project. Not after I stayed up all night helping you perfect everything.”
“No,” Noctis wavers. “S’fine, got an A .”
“Essay results?”
“Not a hundred, but still an A .”
“Was the cafeteria food not up to par?”
“Nah, they had dumplings.”
“One of your favorites.” Ignis pauses. “So no particular external factors, other than Prompto being absent, seem to the cause of your distress. Is it just...?”
“It’s all in my fuckin’ head,” Noctis mutters. “I don’t know why I’m crying. I feel so stupid...”
“Hush, love. None of that.” Ignis kisses Noctis on the head and sighs. “You are not stupid for feeling big things, even if you cannot name them explicitly, or understand them. The brain is an organ, no different than the heart or the liver.”
Noctis nods. Ignis has told him these things before, but he sometimes needs reminding.
“Would you call a person with a heart murmur ‘stupid’?”
“No.”
“Then such as it is with you. Crying is a normal, healthy, human emotion. And you are healthy and human.”
“You forgot ‘normal.’” Noctis smirks to himself, still buried against Ignis’ damp shirt. He feels Ignis tremble with light laughter, and he finally unwraps himself, wiping his eyes and lifting his head.
“There’s my Noct. Now. Would you like a snack while you work on your homework?”
Noctis sighs, heart and brain still heavy and upset. “I guess. I don’t really feel like doing homework, though.”
Ignis taps his chin. “Then perhaps we should head over to Prompto’s house now? You did take notes on today’s lessons, did you not? You can help him with missed work, and tackle yours in tandem.”
Noctis smiles, just a little, and digs his phone out of his pocket. “You’re a genius, Specs. I’ll call him now.”
“I’ll get some masks out of the bathroom. Make sure it’s all right.”
“I’m calling him now.” Noctis pushes Prompto’s contact icon, and swallows. “And Ignis...thanks. For always listening.”
Ignis smiles. “My ears are always open, Highness.”
There’s a click, and then a raspy voice answers; “Sup buddy?”
“Prom,” Noctis breathes, wiping his eyes. “Uh. I’ve got missed work, from today. If you want. Ignis was gonna bring me over so we could go over it together, and he was gonna cook for ya.”
“Man, that’s...you’re so great. I feel like shit, though. Are you sure you wanna come?”
“We’ve got masks. And I can bring some meds if you want...”
“I’d love you forever, man.”
Noctis grins wider, standing. “Okay. We’re headed over now.”
“I’ll shower real quick. Sorry if the house is a wreck.”
“We can help. Just take it easy.”
“Thanks Noct. I appre--” Prompto coughs, cutting himself off. “Sorry. I appreciate it. I’ll unlock the door for you.”
“We’ll be there. See ya.” Noctis hangs up, sighing, still feeling like the world is crashing down around him. But he’s going to see Prompto , and Ignis is walking towards him, making a list on his smartphone for soup ingredients from the corner store near Prompto’s house.
Things are heavy, but Noctis knows he’s got the best support system anyone could ask for. And he knows that helping Prompto will help bring him out of today’s funk, too.
“All ready to go?” Ignis asks.
“Yeah.” Noctis shuffles towards the door, slipping his shoes back on and grabbing the mask that Ignis hands him.
Ignis plucks his school back from the hook, digs the key from his pocket, and escorts his prince into the outside world once more.