Chapter Text
They really should have known better than to have gone after a daemon without knowing anything about it beforehand. Even Ignis, who is typically an endless source of information, insights and wisdom, had no idea what it was—and he usually had at least some knowledge about everything.
One minute, the tall six-foot, 22 year old Ignis had been calling out battle strategies, while analyzing their enemy to identify it's weaknesses. He'd skillfully been wielding magic, healing the others when necessary, while also showcasing an impressive display of agility with cartwheels, backflips, twists and slides during the battle. Ignis gracefully evaded all attacks from the mysterious daemon, resembling a blazing whirlwind as he fought relentlessly and fiercely—never faltering in his attack with his dual spelldaggers. Whenever the monster turned to attack him, Ignis would perform a somersault to create some space between them, and with remarkable precision, he expertly threw and kicked his daggers at his target, always hitting his mark—a testament to his exceptional and deadly accuracy. Seamlessly switching between his polearm and his twin daggers, which were bound by storm, frost or flame, Ignis focused on uncovering the weakness he eventually determined to be fire, maintaining his momentum throughout the battle.
When the monster was finally dead, thanks to Ignis, a bright purple light suddenly surrounded him.
The next minute, a tiny little boy, about 2 and half feet tall, with a mop of light brown hair and huge green eyes was in his place, and looking up at the other three men in fear. It was unquestionably Ignis. They would recognize those eyes anywhere. Even his glasses and his crownsguard trousers and shoes, silver gloves and coeurl print shirt had shrunken.
"What the f..." Noctis said, staring at baby Ignis in shock.
"Language," Gladio warned, like Ignis normally would, sending his greatsword back into the armiger and kneeling down so he was more at Ignis' level and wasn't towering over him. "Hey little guy."
Little Ignis whimpered and his bottom lip poked out and trembled and his eyes, which seemed to take up most of his face, filled with tears. The poor kid looked scared to death.
"Oh. Em. Gee. It's baby Iggy," Prompto squealed excitedly. "He's soooooo cute."
Gladio rolled his eyes. "Will you be quiet? Can't you see he's scared?" He shifted into 'big brother mode', and softened his voice and his expression like he was talking to Iris, and turned back to Ignis. "What's your name, little guy? How old are you?"
Ignis scrunched his shoulders up, looking adorably shy. "I three. My name Ignis. It mean fire." He placed his tiny hands over his mouth and giggled into his palms. "Fire pretty and can go whooooosh if it has right emen... enel... um.. el-e-ments."
Prompto squealed again. Noctis was still blinking in shock at seeing Ignis so tiny. Gladio was smiling fondly at the sweet little boy, who was enthusiastically explaining his name.
"Nice to meet you, Ignis," said Gladio. "I'm Gladiolus."
"Glad-i-o-lus," Ignis repeated slowly, his little face scrunched up in thought, his eyebrows meeting in the cutest frown. Then he gasped and his face lit up with delight as he clapped in excitement. "Pretty flower?"
Gladio's smile widened. Even at just 3 years of age, Ignis was incredibly intelligent. "That's right." He leaned in closer to Ignis as if he was about to tell him a secret. "I have a sister named after a flower too. She's called Iris."
Ignis' delighted expression never changed. "Wow." He looked up at Noctis and Prompto with his big innocent green eyes. "Are you pretty flowers?"
"Uh... No?" Noctis responded, sounding uncertain. "My name's Noctis. My friends call me Noct."
"Noct-is... Noctis..." Ignis repeated, placing his finger to his chin while one hand rested on his hip in his classic Ignis-thinking pose.
"It means..." Noctis started, but Ignis cut him off.
"Noooooo," Ignis protested, flapping his tiny hands. "Ignis guess."
They all heard a "AW!" Followed by a long, drawn-out series of squealing noises, and everyone looked up at Prompto with raised eyebrows.
"Dude, will you calm down?" Noctis said. "You sound like a 5 year old girl."
"I can't help it," Prompto said. "Baby Ignis calls himself by his name and his little hands... They're soooo tiny and cute. He's honestly the most adorable little thing I've ever seen in my whole entire life."
Ignis beamed at him and clasped his hands together and put them to his chest. "Gosh. Thank you."
"He says 'Gosh'. That's it guys, I'm gonna die from cuteness. I'm actually gonna keel over right now."
Gladio rolled his eyes again as Prompto continued fan-girling over the adorableness that was baby Ignis. He felt charmed by Ignis too, but he managed to school his features into a friendly smile and not the fond, smitten one that wanted to appear on his face. "Go ahead, little guy. What does Noctis mean?"
Ignis shook himself and looked away from Prompto, before adopting his 'thinking' pose again. "Noctis... Noct... Noct-ur-nal... That pretty word." Ignis looked up at Noctis. "Night?"
Noctis blinked in surprise that Ignis had gotten it right. "Yeah... Yes it means night." His mouth curved into a slight smile. "Probably why I like wearing black so much."
Ignis giggled and turned to Prompto.
"Do me! Do me!" said Prompto, who was bouncing up and down next to Noctis. "Do you know what my name means? It's Prompto."
"Prompto? Prompt..." Ignis flinched suddenly as he felt something lightly touch his head. Curious, he reached up and found a small wet spot in his hair, and extended his other arm and caught another droplet on his forearm. "Rain."
"Er... No. That's not what my name means," Prompto said in confusion.
"Nooooo. Rain in sky. Pluvia in um... caelum," Ignis told them, pointing upwards.
"Hey, that's my name too," Noctis told him with a smile, not seeming to notice or care as the rain picked up around them.
"Your name is Night Sky?" Ignis asked in awe. "That really pretty."
Prompto was staring at Ignis in amazement. "How many languages does Ignis know?"
"He's fluent in sign language and can read, write and speak quite a few others," Noctis told him, beaming with pride like a little brother showcasing Ignis' impressive skills, talents and accomplishments.
"How you know?" Ignis asked with a frown. "I new to learn signs. Look." He then proceeded to slowly sign, *Hello, my name is I-n-g... I-g-n-i-s* to the stunned men.
"Seriously, I knew Ignis was a genius, but... Wow," said Prompto, shaking his head.
"Is it normal for a three year old to be so smart?" Noctis asked. "I know Specs has always been gifted and was given a special education because of it. But at three?"
Gladio shook his head. "I sure as hell wasn't, but Ignis has always been the smartest guy I know."
"Me too. It's not fair that even as a baby, Ignis is still smarter than I am," Prompto whined half-heartedly, but then his face lit up when he looked back at the small toddler with the ridiculously big green eyes and his glasses and shrunken outfit. "But did you see how his cute tiny hands spelled... Whatever he spelled. That was so adorable."
"Gosh, you all so nice to Ignis," said the little boy. "Thank you very lots."
"You're welcome very... uh... lots, little guy," said Gladio, his smile widening as he reached over and gently ruffled Ignis' hair.
Ignis covered his mouth and giggled into his palms again.
Gladio stood up. "Right, we better get back to camp before it starts pis... er... really coming down. We have to give Dave a call, but most importantly we need to check Ignis for injuries, to make sure he's okay."
Prompto finally calmed down and started acting like the adult he actually was. "Come on Ignis. We've got our camp set up not too far from here."
"'Kay." Ignis took a step forward and stumbled over a loose stone and would've fallen if Noctis hadn't warped forward and caught him.
"I got you, Iggy," Noctis said, making sure Ignis was alright before letting him go. "Are you okay?"
"Yes. Apogulees..." Ignis shook his head. "I mean, Apl... Ap-o-log-ies."
"Why don't you say 'sorry'?" Prompto asked kindly.
Ignis pouted, his lower lip sticking out at least two centimetres from his face, and his eyes went big and round. "I did," he replied, his lip quivering and his eyes brimming with tears. "Is... Did Ignis do it wrong?"
Gladio lightly slapped Prompto's shoulder for making Ignis feel sad and making him think he'd done something wrong. "You didn't do anything wrong, little guy. He just meant why don't you say the word 'sorry', because it's easier."
Ignis' lower lip thankfully stopped trembling, making the three men breathe a sigh of relief. They didn't know what they would do or how they would cope if baby Ignis started crying. It would probably make them cry too.
"I like big words," Ignis told them, surprising no-one as he lifted his glasses and rubbed his left eye. When he settled them back, Ignis pointed at them and declared, "Like specatuls... I mean spec-ta-cles."
"What's your favourite word?" Noctis asked curiously.
"Ignis," the little boy answered immediately. "It fire."
"Hey, you can be our baby fireman," joked Prompto.
That sent Ignis into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. And after a few seconds, he let out what the others thought of as his trademark snort-laugh.
"Aw. He still does his cute little snort when he giggles," Gladio said with a fond laugh as he watched Ignis literally doubled over with laughter.
Prompto let out a squeak of excitement and quickly pulled his camera out to capture a few pictures of little Ignis giggling. It was such a heartwarming sight, especially since adult Ignis didn't like to laugh much because he always thought his habit of snorting when he did was 'unbecoming', 'embarrassing' and 'not an attractive sound'. Despite how many times the others told him they liked to hear him laugh and the noise he made was endearing and charming, Ignis just couldn't shake off those thoughts.
Tears of laughter were gathering in the corners of Ignis' eyes. He snorted loudly and wrapped his arms around his stomach, where the muscles spasmed with the force of his giggling.
Noctis swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat, his eyes never looking away from the joyful scene. It had been so long since he heard Ignis giggling.
When they were kids, it had been quite common to hear that high-pitched snort-giggle, but as they grew up, the sound became less frequent and eventually faded altogether. As a teenager and now an adult, Ignis would chuckle when amused, but that pure joy-filled giggle had become a rare treasure.
Hearing it now made Noctis' heart warm, and he felt his eyes blurring with tears, which he quickly blinked away, letting a few fall so he could wipe them from his cheeks. Noctis didn't want to miss a single second of seeing Ignis like this. To see Ignis so happy, completely at ease, with his guard fully down, meant the world to Noctis and the love swelling in his heart for his brother threatened to overwhelm him. Noctis would give anything to experience that joyful laughter from Ignis again and would do whatever it took to make it happen.
The rain was coming down harder when Ignis finally stopped giggling, and managed to stand upright again. His sparkling green eyes were shining brightly, his tiny nose was slightly scrunched, and his face was flushed with a deep red hue. His grin was so big and radiant that it was almost blinding. Ignis let out one final snort and placed his gloved hands over his nose and mouth as he looked shyly up at the men.
Gladio hadn't stopped smiling throughout Ignis' giggling fit. He didn't mind getting soaked at all; just hearing Ignis giggling like the carefree child he never had the chance to be was enough for him. It was the most wonderful sound Gladio had heard in a long time, and it quickly became his new favourite. He'd listen to it all day long if he could, but right now, they had to get going.
"Are you ready to go, little guy?" Gladio asked, extending his hand to Ignis, who was lifting his glasses up and wiping his eyes.
"Yes, big guy," Ignis said, nodding with a now serious expression. He took a moment to straighten his glasses, before reaching up to grasp two of Gladio's fingers.
Gladio leaned down so Ignis wouldn't have to reach too far for his hand, considering how tiny he was. His back might give him grief later, but that was a concern for future Gladio. Right now, he only cared about making sure Ignis felt happy and safe, enjoying the warmth of his tiny fingers wrapped around his.
Noctis and Prompto trailed behind them, watching as Ignis had to run as fast as his little legs could carry him to keep up with Gladio, even though Gladio was walking slowly, taking small, careful steps and leaning to the side.
The two men spoke quietly between them so the others didn't hear.
"I really don't think I'm gonna survive this version of Ignis," Prompto said, not taking his eyes off the little boy as he ran beside Gladio. "I don't wanna sound dramatic, but I would literally die for baby Iggy." He shrugged. "Honestly, I'd do the same for adult Ignis too; he's like a brother to me. But little Iggy is just so..." Prompto broke off and started making incoherent noises. "You get what I mean?"
"Er... kind of?" Noctis said, kicking a stone out of his path.
"I don't think I could ever say no to little Ignis," Prompto continued. "He just has to look at me with those huge puppy dog eyes of his, and I'd do whatever he wanted. I swear he's 90% eyes."
Noctis laughed fondly. "That's new. Ignis is usually 90% legs."
Prompto cackled loudly, causing Ignis and Gladio to stop and look back at them.
"Can you guys hurry up?" Gladio called. "I'd like to get back to camp before it gets dark."
"It's only like... almost two in the afternoon," Prompto said, checking the time. "We're not that slow."
"Yeah. If it's bothering you so much, I'll just call for the birds," Noctis said, taking out his whistle.
"Birdies?" Ignis asked, his eyes shining with excitement.
After blowing the whistle, four different coloured chocobos came running towards them, making their cheerful 'kweh' and squawking sounds.
Ignis' whole face lit up when the red chocobo approached him and crouched down. "Wow it pretty. What is it?" he asked, running his fingers through the soft red feathers.
"It's a bird," Noctis told him.
Ignis lowered his hand and turned to give Noctis the infamous look that the others had jokingly named Ignis' Ice-Queen Death Stare.
The three men instantly recognized the look and instinctively took a step back. Even as a tiny child, that look still instilled fear in grown men who had literally faced off against Daemons. Ignis' Icy Death Stare was even more terrifying than when Ignis was genuinely angry and got that fiery gleam in his eyes, which the others referred to as his Fiery Death Glare. In those moments, Ignis appeared to smolder and burn with rage—as if there were an actual fire blazing within him. However, it's Ignis' cold, intense, and unwavering Icy Stare that could send a chill through anyone and freeze them in their tracks.
"Wow. Ignis may have lost at least half his height, but That Look has not lost its iciness," Prompto said, staring down at Ignis as if he was worried he was about to die. "Holy Shit."
Ignis gasped at the language and placed his tiny hands on his hips, looking so much like adult Ignis right now. "That not pretty word."
Gladio was struggling not to smile as he felt his lips twitch upwards. "It's okay, little guy. When we get back to camp, we'll have Prompto stand in the corner," he said, kneeling down next to Ignis. "They're called chocobos. This lovely red one is yours and her name is Phoenix. Our... Uh... other friend... who's kinda like another brother to us, named her that because of her red feathers, which reminds him of the legendary bird of fire. And also, Phoenix goes with his name which also means 'fire'."
The Icy Death Stare melted and Ignis turned his attention back to his chocobo, who was gently nuzzling against his cheek and making 'kweh' noises as she fussed over him. It was as if Phoenix understood that the little boy in-front of her was her Ignis and she needed to make sure he was alright.
Ignis giggled as he ran his fingers through the thick, soft feathers. "Hello."
"Kweh!"
Gladio, Noctis and Prompto stood in the rain, watching the heartwarming reunion unfold. They knew how strong the bond between Ignis and his chocobo was, even when he wasn't his usual six foot, 22 year old self. Ignis had such a big heart and a fondness for the birds, even if he didn't always show it. Whenever he dismounted, Ignis would gently tell Phoenix that they would meet again, stroking under her chin, and every time they reunited she would fuss over Ignis and make sure he hadn't sustained any injuries since she last saw him.
Prompto always found it amusing whenever it was 'Mama' Ignis' turn to get 'mothered' and pampered by his feathered friend —whom Prompto affectionately called Mama Phoenix.
Once Phoenix was satisfied that Ignis was okay, she flapped her wings once and lowered herself closer to the ground, ready for her passenger.
"Come on, little guy," Gladio said, picking Ignis up and settling him into the bird's saddle. "There we go. Hold onto this for me." He placed the reins in Ignis' hands, wrapping his fingers around them gently. "She'll take good care of you."
Though Ignis looked a little nervous, he took the reins with a nod and watched as the three men mounted their own chocobos.
When they were ready, Gladio gently guided his purple bird, Lavender, alongside Phoenix. "Are we ready? Let Phoenix know it's time to go."
Ignis nodded with enthusiasm and gave a tiny tug. "Ignis ready, Phoenix." He looked up at Gladio with a smile. "I likes that name."
Gladio grinned back. "Thought you would." He reached over and affectionately ruffled Ignis' hair, before setting off at a slow pace beside the little boy.
Once again Noctis and Prompto followed closely behind on their blue and yellow chocobos.
Prompto suddenly shivered, making Noctis look over at him.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm just remembering when little Iggy gave you The Look," Prompto said, watching as Gladio moved his chocobo nearer to Ignis' and he wrapped his arm around the little boy like he was doing his best to shield Ignis from the rain. "It's ironic how the guy whose name literally means fire can give the iciest of stares. The first time Ignis gave me That Look, it scared the absolute hell out of me. I thought he was literally gonna murder me right there on the spot with one of his knives and make sure nobody could identify the remains."
Noctis laughed. "I know what you mean. Every time Specs gives me the Ice-Queen Death Stare, I swear it feels like the Glacian herself has entered the room. I can cope with my dad, Clarus and even Cor giving me their versions of the death glare, but Ignis' is terrifying."
Prompto nodded in agreement, then his whole face fell as something occurred to him. "Oh crap. I've just had a thought."
"Did it hurt?" Noctis joked, dodging when Prompto reached out to playfully smack his arm.
"No seriously. Will Ignis have access to the Armiger while he's like this?"
"Let's hope not," Noctis replied, "I really don't wanna deal with the worlds deadliest and most lethal three year old."
"Imagine if we armed baby Ignis with a knife or one of his daggers —he'd be like the most adorable little Tonberry. Tiny and cute but extremely dangerous, deadly and terrifying with a blade."
"Hey Princess, Blondie," a deep voice chimed in, breaking their conversation. "Stop the chit-chat and get a move on."
"Yeah," Ignis agreed.
"We're coming," said Prompto, "no need to get your feathers in a ruffle."
"KWEH!" Phoenix squawked loudly, flapping her wings and literally ruffling her feathers, which made Ignis cry out and then burst into giggles.
The three men didn't know how long Ignis was going to remain a child, but the one thing they did know: If anyone wanted to hurt him, they'd have to go through Noctis, Gladio, Prompto and Phoenix first.