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Monday
Karlabos swiped its gigantic tail across the ground and send three figures flying.
"Everyone, retreat!"
The advisors call rang out in the princes ears clear as day and even through the muddy haze of pain that spiraled up his back he was able to get to his feet and follow it to its source. His comrades had heeded the call in a similar manner. They all stood as a combined force by Ignis' side, feeling the healing sensations of his magic seeping into their bones where the ache of the tumble was being nursed.
"Thanks Iggy, that was a close one."
Gladio wiped his brow and shouldered his blade again, even if they stood a distance away from the enormous enemy it wouldn't stay oblivious to their gathering for much longer.
"Man my ass hurts, let's wipe the floor with this giant shrimp!"
Prompto reloaded his gun and made a gesture to take vengeful aim.
"I believe its a lobster, I might just include it in a new recipe." The last sentence spoken in a absolute dead pan, calm tone from behind them.
Noct, who had been catching his breath and only listened to his friends conversation with half an ear, already planning ahead their next approach, stopped to look back at Ignis.
Then burst out laughing.
Just as he had thought, the taller man had been repositioning his glasses on his nose after stating his dinner plans. Noct couldn't help it, the laughter wouldn't stop.
It was always those random moments that would send him flying into a fit of laughter thanks to Ignis.
"...Damn it Iggy." Gladio shook his head.
The small, oh so very small smile that crept to the cooks face was the only thing betraying his smugness at making his prince laugh in the middle of battle.
"Noct, please be serious, we're on the battlefield." The nonchalance in his tone only tickled the laughter out of him with more force before the hissing and stomping of Karlabos moved in their direction.
The prince wiped a hand across his face, trying his best to stifle the laughter in him while readying his blade to point at the monstrous fiend.
"Alright Iggy, you better cook us a 5 course lobster dinner after this."
The advisor stepped next to his prince, daggers in hand with the faintest of smiles.
"As you wish, your majesty."
Noctis wrote the warm feeling spreading inside his gut off as anticipation for an awesome meal, not at all related to the close proximity of the man that could paint a smile on his face even in such a situation.
Tuesday
“Noct, your shoulders.”
The quiet voice came from directly behind him and the young prince would've startled if it weren't for this being a common occurrence. He whipped his head around nonetheless, confusion etched into his features.
“Iggy, what are you- oh.”
The words playing back in his head suddenly had him realize the dull ache in his body, his stiff shoulders instantly loosening up their hold. A faint sigh escaped his nose when he relaxed his jaw.
The fond smile on the mans face, now in front of him, felt almost exactly like the warmth from the last rays of the sun dancing across his skin.
“It's time to set up camp, we've been out almost all day and the many close encounters we've suffered took a toll on us all. Don't worry."
A gloved hand landed on his now slouched shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. In a way he could imagine them massaging him all over his body with that intensity. That would probably feel really relaxing. The moment moved on with the taller man turning his back to his king to fetch the Regalia down the road.
The sounds of their other two companions faded into the pleasant hum around him of nature, night and life.
It left him starstruck and buzzing with his own thoughts.
Had he thought about Ignis touch this way before? When had a simple touch like this started to feel like electricity running up and down his limbs?
Was it wrong of him to imagine those hands around him, protective and close?!
Well, Noctis thought to himself standing alone on the sun kissed glowing rocks of the riverbank and fighting the flush from creeping into his face, I'm fucked.
Wednesday
Camp was quiet during the night.
Contrary to popular believe, none of the four men who were squashed together in the group tent were a snorer or a sleep walker.
Prompto just took a long time to settle himself down until his breathing got quiet, Gladio was pretty much out like a light the second his head hit the bedroll and Ignis would be quietly scribbling in his note book by the low light of a tiny solar charged lamp.
Noct was usually knocked out before anyone else but during their trip his sleep schedule had been messed up big time.
And so to his own surprise, he woke up at the asscrack of dawn after being the first one to fall into the tent the night before in an attempt to rid himself of anymore unwarranted thoughts.
Bleary eyed he slowly sat up, disoriented by the darkness and taut canvas surrounding him, dreams mixing strangely into what appeared to be reality. His gaze traveled from his blanket covered lap to the tents entrance expecting and not finding the bright rays of sunshine.
The tent was closed, no sunshine spilling in, no sounds of roaming friends outside the tent going about their morning routines.
Finally some conscious thoughts made their way to his tired brain and he looked around himself to see his whole entourage still fast asleep around him. Gladio had squeezed himself into the space on Nocts right side between the tent and him, Prompto was to his left, quietly snoozing in his twisted sleepy form.
As he looked further, his eyes landed on a sight he hadn't seen since his early childhood.
Next to Prompto on the far left side, was Ignis, fast asleep, glasses crooked on his nose and notebook lying open on his lap.
The pencil must've rolled away between the folds of many bedrolls and blankets, since it wasn't in either of his hands.
The small lamp Ignis used before bed seemed to have lost power and turned off, seeing as its user himself wouldn't have been able to.
There, in the quiet, Noctis sleep addled brain raked itself in trying to remember the last time he saw Ignis sleeping so peacefully.
Was it when they were children and Ignis had read to him the night before and fell asleep together with Noctis, in the time before he had grown into such a morning person?
Or was it when they were teenagers, building pillow forts and having slumber parties, Ignis falling asleep before Noct since his days had been more packed with duties, leaving him more tired?
Somehow during the entire duration of their trip so far, Noct hadn't seen Ignis asleep even once despite the whole group sharing bedrooms and a tent every single night. The short naps in the car could hardly count as sleep.
Noct sat there and let that realization wash over him. He didn't know what to make of it until Ignis stirred in his sleep, jostling the glasses balanced precariously on his nose.
The prince didn't stop his hands from reaching over Prompt's peaceful form and carefully sliding the specs off of Specs, folding and placing them next to the lamp. He did the same to the notebook, closing it with the pencil he had located by Ignis hip between the pages where the man must've nodded off.
A small sigh left him as he sat back, focusing the features of his companion in the semi darkness of the tent. Strands of his hair had come loose to dangle in his face, only moved by the slight up and down of his chest.
Sometimes it was easy to forget how close in age the two actually were, Ignis features were much more youthful when he was relaxed like this. Maybe the fact that he had always taken care of Noct had made him seem older in the princes mind. Right now he couldn't seem to grasp the concept of how much responsibility Ignis was handling at his age.
Yeah, like Noct was anyone to speak.
They all had been taking on much more than other people their age. But somehow Ignis was able to make it all look so effortless. At least most of the time.
Right now, seeing his advisor peacefully sleeping, for once carefree, it slotted a puzzle piece in his chest in its place.
It's what made Noct slowly extricate himself from the bundle of limbs and warm blankets without stirring any of his companions from their sleep, leaving the tent.
The dawn was barely peeking over the horizon, nothing but dark, illuminated stretch of sea and waves in sight.
The chill of the clear salty sea air rattled his sore bones and he felt the ache from his tumble of the days before, dulled and healing thanks to a certain someone once again. At the back of his head he was entertaining the thought of just crawling back into the warm tent but it was already too late for him to find any more sleep.
As he sat down on the edge of the haven overlooking the rise of the sun it seemed to fill him with his own light. The prince had probably never been up earlier than all his companions before, they would be in for quite the shock. He knew at least who would be up next with a certainty that pulled at the corners of his mouth. He moved to the kitchen equipment that was still out from last night to boil a pot of coffee. Once in a while, it wasn't so bad to be up bright and early.
Thursday
Ignis had the greenest eyes Noctis had ever seen. And it was starting to become a problem.
He knew that since they had both been children, since Noctis realized that people could have other eye colors besides brown and blue.
Back then, Ignis had suddenly felt entirely unreal, like something completely unique and new to his childish mind.
Noctis had learned by now, that green eyes were actually a common thing between other people, just not as common as blue or brown or even grey.
But that feeling had strangely persisted since then, even as it faded into a normal Ignis thing. Ignis was just special in that department, so what.
But besides all of that Noctis was only realizing now how vibrantly green those sharp eyes really were.
Most green eyes would melt into a brownish golden tone when hit by light, just a bit darker and muddier.
But not Ignis' eyes.
For whatever reason, Noctis was witness to the absolute insane play of light that revealed that fact to him.
Watching Ignis drive over these long periods of time has become normal to the sleepy prince.
And maybe the sun had hit Ignis eyes from the front illuminating the vibrant, untainted green in them.
And maybe Nocts jaw had dropped when that glowing gaze focused him from the rear view mirror before glancing off.
And maybe he had spent the entire last hour of their car ride hiding his burning red cheeks in his jacket while trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.
AND MAYBE he had tried to catch Ignis eyes again without trying to get noticed.
He felt like the worlds biggest fool.
It seemed like once again he realized just how incredibly unique Ignis was, just like back when they were kids.
The sun had settled itself below the horizon and when Noctis caught Ignis gaze this time it was just like usual. An inquiry to find a resting spot soon.
It was so very normal compared to before again that Noct couldn't suppress the shiver threatening to shake his whole body.
One thing was different.
Now, it seemed, any gaze Ignis would heft on him would make him drop his jaw in awe.
Sunday
There were few moments in his life where Noctis could allow himself to be utterly and completely honest to anyone. Being in the position that he is in it was the most natural thing to him to, not exactly lie, but to keep certain truths unmentioned in day to day life. It was a protection to himself as well as his associates.
In his late fathers and now his own political line of duty an unprompted truth or skeptical thought could mean disdain from their peers at best and war at the worst.
Politicians were touchy so it was natural as anything to Noctis to keep most of his true thoughts to himself so long as they only concerned himself. By his estimate its always 'If nobody asks, its not worth mentioning.'
As of recently this way of thinking has got him in some unexpected trouble. Not with any politicians yet, but with his very own entourage of guards, slash best friends. His advisor specifically seemed to be in a somewhat prickly mood as of late while the group had some down time in civilization.
Although prickly with Ignis just meant that his answers were spoken with more curt than usual, his eyes ever so slightly narrowed and set straight ahead instead of on Noctis.
All things considered it wouldn't seem like too drastic of a change to the untrained eye, maybe someone just stole this guys coffee.
But in this group of four it was plain to see that their calmest member must have something incredibly upsetting on his mind to stir his calm demeanor in such a way and it was not related to their quest. Otherwise Ignis would've shared his concerns in a heartbeat, Noctis knew.
This prince had been wrecking his brain about what it could possibly be that had upset Ignis. Neither Prompto nor Gladio were willing to admit to the raven haired man that they noticed the obvious change in character but their eyes told him enough. So it was upon him to determine where in the last week he had fucked up, because he was sure this started sometime during days were Noctis was busy with his own emotional crisis.
Awesome.
Noctis had ventured through the evening streets of Lestallum, not the slightest bit less crowded than during the day, as he pondered those loose strings of thoughts.
Gladio went to spend some time with Iris to catch up on sibling banter and Prompto had been enraptured by the Meteor Publishing's very own CEO waxing stories about magazines and photography.
Noct knew he was lost on the topic when the talk began to delve into perspective work and lenses and quietly excused himself from the conversation, now ending up on the outskirts of the city alone, leaning over the fence by the Coernix gas station, staring into the early but no less beautiful sunset.
He tried to remember if Ignis said he'd be somewhere specific when they parted ways at the hotel but can't seem to recall it. Was the man just enjoying some quiet time in their rooms? Out at the market and perusing the wares and ingredients? Walking around town and charming everyone who happened to walk past him?
All of them, very likely possibilities.
Noct hung his head over the fence in a defeated sigh.
Thinking back to the past week it should've been easy to pin point what could've set his advisor off, but given the many circumstances where Noct was acting reckless the possibilities where endless.
They had been driving down the coast to gather a few hunts for spare money and he'd swapped driving with Ignis in regular intervals as always, they took a nice photo for Promptos collection near a cliff overseeing a light tower and headed back to Lestallum.
Granted, he had embarrassed himself a few times during those days when he was distracted by...well, Ignis, but there was no way...
There was NO way....
A cold cord struck through Noctis heartstrings and he gripped the fence tight, trying not to hyperventilate and panic out in the open as he was.
He calmed his breathing like he was taught and turned his eyes towards the horizon again.
Did Ignis deduce from his behavior that he had a stupid, idiotic crush on him..?
Oh he was so fucked. If Ignis had found him out there was no way he could lie his way out of this one. That scrutinizing gaze was always able to pick apart his elaborate schemes or make him spill his thoughts.
He should just...avoid Ignis. Yes. That was the solution.
He just had to be subtle about it, so he wouldn't alarm everyone. All he had to do was pull back a little. No big deal.
As deep as he was in his thoughts, the prince decided to have a lie down back at the hotel. Help him settle his resolve.
If it wasn't for the chest he smashed into upon turning around.
"Sorry, wasn't looking-"
"Noct, are you-"
The two spoke over each other but just as quickly there was silence.
A car drove by, jostling both mans clothes and hair and Ignis had a millisecond exactly to become worried at the pure panic that etched itself into the princes features. After that it seemed wiped clean of any obvious emotion except indignity. The worry in the advisors gut skyrocketed.
"Ah sorry Iggy, I- You probably called for me and I didn't hear you."
Noct had pulled back significantly, putting almost a full meter of space between them as he clutched his folded arms, his tone going for humor.
Oh well, he thought, might as well try to act on this new plan to be normal around his friend.
Ignis silent gaze wandered over Noct, taking in his entire form as the subject of his scrutiny tried everything to not look him in the eyes.
It only made him notice every other charming part about Ignis.
Like the fact that he had shed the jacket of his uniform in the Lestallum heat, leaving his forearms exposed under his folded up sleeves. Or that the taller man hadn't bothered to restyle his hair that morning and let it hang loose in his face. It was am almost too relaxed look for Noctis who himself felt like a tightly winded spring coil ready to burst.
"Gladio mentioned something about 'brooding' i believe, so I felt the need to check on you."
The statement didn't betray the princes clear resolve to swindle his way out of the situation. He took a small breath and then brushed past his advisor who fell into step next to him.
"Gladio must be back in his big brother mode, I wish he would keep that strictly to Iris. Towns just been a bit much after being on the road the past days is all."
It wasn't a lie, but not the whole truth either.
"I suppose..."
The conversation, as so often between the two, fell off and they walked in a comfortable silence for a while.
Street after street, sometimes stopping to look at an especially peculiar building along their path.
It was easy to fall into that rhythm together. Noct leading the way without a particular destination but steering clear of most places too crowded for his taste, with Ignis lingering next to him, offering silent companionship.
He knew.
Of course he knew, there was no way that the most perceptive man in all of Eos could not sense it when his own charge started acting weird around him.
But strangely enough, neither of them would speak a word on it.
As they kept walking, the sun had sunken low and it got dark in the tight streets of Lestallum. Little blue lamps started to illuminate their paths and Noct thought it might be a good time to just head back to the hotel. He wasn't sure where he was walking anyway at this point, they'd been to all the attractions of the outskirt city.
They had emerged at the entrance to the Exineris power plant and sat on two lonely crates, only illuminated by a single blue lamp.
From their venture point they could see the giant shards of the meteor peeking out of the canyon where the power plant was.
Dark shards that pulsed with blue glimmering energy and the low hum of magic filled the air around here. It served to calm Noct for reasons he didn't like to dwell on, as always when it came to the inherited magic that filled his veins.
"Are we ready to talk then?"
The voice of his friend right next to him startled Noct out of his thoughts in the same way a crash landing would.
"I-"
"I'm sorry."
The dark haired mans head swung around to lock on Ignis' eyes for the first time all day. But he was looking at the ground, arms folded on his knees and his hands clasped together, just staring at the ground. Noct couldn't see his eyes behind the strands of dark blond and it made him nervous.
"What do you mean?"
"I believe my behavior around you as of late has been..." he straightened again, sighed.
"Less then Honorable. I thought myself able to keep me and these unwarranted emotions in check. I have dishonored my position as your advisor and your friend."
Noct could only stare in disbelief. Had he heard that right? Did he hear the man next to him actually say what he thinks he did?
"I can only hope for your forgiveness in upsetting you and to continue my work by your side, nothing about my personal feelings alters my devotion to my king and country and I will keep my distance if you-"
"Shut up."
That finally made the advisor look up and meet Nocts eyes. So green...and so full of worry and...and...regret.
No.
"What is it...you are confessing to me here."
Noct looked away again, to the power plant, the crate on the other side of the street, his hands, anything. His hands in turn had been fidgeting with the cord of his jacket, for how long already he couldn't say.
Another sigh behind him.
"If you wish for me to speak plainly, I will do so..."
It felt cruel. Beyond cruel even as Noct nodded his head swiftly.
Silence. Then...
"My feelings have...slipped away from my grasp and led me into crossing the boundaries of our friendship. I won't overstep anymore than that-"
He felt Ignis next to him get up and moving away from him.
"No wait!"
His hand acted faster than his brain because before he had even uttered the words and pressed them into the buzzing air surrounding them it had already found Ignis hand, pulling him back down.
The man, unprepared for the sudden motion, tumbled back onto the crate, half landing on his butt and half crashing together with the now frantic king.
"You're not supposed to keep your distance, I should! And its not You who's overstepping anything! If anything its..."
The heat of the moment slowly cooled from Nocts head and he realized with a start what he was actually saying in his rambling to try and set things right. His grip on Ignis arm was slowly loosening.
This was turning out to go far worse than he had anticipated, but from the moment where Ignis had started to say these utterly impossible things it felt as if a fog had clouded over his mind. Now he felt like the fog lead him towards a plunging cliff, matching the pit he felt in his stomach.
The silence that had swallowed the rest of his sentence was stretching languidly, almost making Noct feel as if he was floating.
He gulped as the oxygen drained from his lungs.
Until a hand slowly entered his field of vision to push the strands of hair from his eyes. The long fingers started to slowly and deliberately comb through his unruly mess of hair, picking out dust and just. Touching.
A shaky breath left the kings nose and his shoulders, shaking from adrenaline finally began to relax. He closed his eyes and let the familiar feeling wash over him.
He gulped and let go of Ignis arm.
"If anything, I'm the one who overstepped."
The young man softly brushed the hand away from his face and got up from his crate.
"Noct-"
"No. Please, let me try to...to put this in the right order."
The king came to a stop in front of Ignis making him look up into his starkly shadowed face, thanks to the blue lamp behind him. It almost created a sort of halo, and Ignis would've smiled at the irony of it. But as it is, the face cast in shadow wore a worried expression.
"I don't exactly know when I started to feel this way...about you. All I know is that none of these feelings were actually new. I only just started to notice them as what they truly were and it surprised me so much..."
Noctis glanced from his hands, to Ignis attentive face and then back to his hands, with heat creeping up his neck. Thank the Six that it was so dark around them.
"It just...flustered me. There, I said it."
"Noct, I...I don't think I follow..."
The attentiveness seemed to have made way for confusion.
Bewilderment was more fitting.
"I'm trying to say that I'm sorry for crushing on you like a school boy!"
At last, he had finally managed to press honesty out between his teeth. There was silence again and he glanced at Ignis.
The effect of that did not go unnoticed on the face of his friend.
"Noct, please...don't play games with me now."
Noctis watched as his advisor let his head fall into the hands in his lap, defeated.
Almost instinctively, he let his hands riffle through the uncombed dark blonde strands, surprising both of them.
"I couldn't help it Specs, you've been perfect from the second we met and I would hold any and everyone to your standard without even noticing. I...like you."
Noct plopped back down on the crate, now cradling his own face in his hands.
Hiding in the quiet, only the low hum and clonking of pipes near them filling his ears, he could almost pretend to be alone in the world. but he couldn't shake the comfortable presence next to him, even after all that has been said so far.
Until a hand landed on his lower back, slowly circling around to his waist and pulling him closer. Until he bumped into the warm, lean body of his companion. The comfort was so easy to fall into for Noctis, like it always had been.
"This confession must've been the most dramatic talk I've had to participate in. And I was present during the first negotiations with the Empire."
That tickled a laugh out of Noctis so light it almost felt like a whole mountain crumbled from his shoulders and heart.
He leaned more into Ignis sideways hug while rubbing his hands through his face, smiling in spite of himself.
"I guess we could've handled this... a bit better."
"Given our current circumstances I'm not about to blame either of us." Ignis sighed while squeezing Noct a bit closer.
"The collapse of the kingdom wasn't exactly on my mind when I imagined confessing my undying love to you, Noct. Not that I actually entertained the idea for longer than a few seconds before tonight."
Noct sighed, turning his face into the warm and welcoming chest offered to him. It was true, this was definitely not the best time for love confessions. Not only was his ass technically engaged to his childhood best friend, he was also supposed to save the world from all consuming darkness and lead a kingdom afterwards if things would go even slightly according to plan. Not to mention all the grieving that was still due.
All of that, he pushed it to the back of his mind as he climbed into the lap next to him, resting his head in the crook of Ignis neck, breathing in the scent of coffee and orchids. Hands came to rest around his back and he snuggled deeper into his advisor, who's slight gasp tickled another smile out of Noctis in spite of himself.
"Your undying love you say hm?"
"If you think I'm exaggerating, I can assure you I'm not."
Noct shook his head as he closed his eyes.
"No, no it's just...settling in. I've loved you for so long, its strange to actually have it out in the open for what it is."
"I..I understand."
Ignis sounded out of breath suddenly, making Noct lean back and look into the handsome face to find out what's wrong. Only to find a slight blush coating pale cheeks. It was fascinating. He also wouldn't lock eyes with Noct.
"Ignis?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
The blush grew deeper and Ignis looked around even more frantically. Ah. So that was the reason. Noct couldn't even hide his giddiness to see his stoic, capable and unshakable advisor in such a state. His hands found his face and turned it towards him, making him face him.
"Say it back?"
Green eyes. Oh those green eyes, so full of wonder and all the comfortable things he can remember from his childhood and early teenage years. They had always meant good things for him and this was not an exception.
"Your Majesty..."
Ignis smiled and shrugged, his eyes closing and enjoying the feeling of his face cradled in those calloused and war worn hands. The hands he had kissed better since they were children.
Then, it rattled our of him like a prayer.
"I love you."