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Noctis picked up the glass. Not long until somebody would fetch him. Possibly his father. Probably the glaive. He still didn’t feel like drinking anything, even though he knew he should, but he put the glass down once more onto the table right in front of him. Noctis held up his hand for a brief moment, and was almost disappointed that it wasn’t giving away how on edge he was actually feeling. It wasn’t as if that was surprising at all, yet he’d have thought that just before such an important event – the most important event of his life, mind – his body would finally realise the gravity of the situation. A sigh escaped his lips, and he picked up the glass once more.
His eyes locked onto the ocean outside of Insomnia, which he could see through the window, and he turned around to go the other side of the room, where the window offered a different view. He saw the connection between Insomnia and Leide and the numerous cars that drove over it, barely noticeable from the distance. Stifling as the building was, at least the view from the citadel was still something he hadn’t gotten used to, despite the many years he’d lived here.
He closed his eyes, thinking of the party after the ceremony, and then after that, he could finally take Ignis and the two of them would then get into the Regalia to get down to Galdin Quay to hop on a boat to Altissia. He didn’t look forward to the three diplomatic meetings Ignis had convinced him to attend during their honeymoon, but at least he’d promised to make it up afterwards, and Noctis very much looked forward to that. And in the second week, he and Ignis would head back to Lucis to meet up with Gladio and Prompto to continue their road trip through Duscae and rent some chocobos. That would be a welcome change.
Once more, Noctis picked up the glass and then lifted it up to take a sip, just as the door crashed open.
Noctis jerked involuntarily and let go of the glass accidentally. Luckily for him, his wedding suit was kept in traditional black, but the wet stains that had landed on his suit pants were visible.
‘It is about time, Noct, we-‘ he could hear his father start, who then trailed off as soon as he saw what had just happened.
‘Oh, Noct,’ his father said and strode over hurriedly to where Noctis still stood glued to the ground, not having moved an inch. Shit, just his luck, he thought while standing in a puddle of water, surrounded by his broken glass. And it wasn’t any glass, it had been a birthday present from Prompto, who’d bought it for him when he’d gone on his trip to Niflheim, his first trip alone. Just a dumb tourist souvenir that Noctis loved dearly. He’d been using it often enough that the print of the Niflheim flag was almost entirely washed off by now. Not that that mattered anymore now.
Noctis clutched his hands tightly and tried to focus on his breathing because his vision began to blur on the edges. Two familiar strong hands gripped his shoulders and pushed him to the right, where his legs connected with the couch, and he let himself fall backwards and onto it.
His father gave orders to people, probably some of the glaives, who were at the entrance of the room, but Noctis was unable to focus on them. He still looked down at the ruined pants of his suit. Fuck, he’d let Ignis down bad, hadn’t he? All the photographers would focus on now was his ruined outfit. It’d probably dry off weirdly, and then he’d be presented as the fool some of the state guests accused him of being.
But before he could get any more lost in his head, his father’s soft voice brought him back to reality.
‘Come on, son, stop fretting. I’m sure Ignis wants you to keep your black hair as long as possible. Don’t you agree?’
The only reaction he was able to give his father was a small, unenthused nod, which of course didn’t deter Regis from trying to cheer him up.
‘I’ve sent out Prompto to fetch a hairdryer, so that you’ll feel better in your suit pants.’
Noctis grimaced.
‘Can’t I just wear a different pair of pants?’ he asked, and even to his own ears he sounded whiny, not to say entirely miserable.
Regis let out a sigh and shook his head softly. ‘You know you can’t, unless you want to deal with an enraged Vivienne Westwood. I’m not sure you would be able to handle the public feud she’d start, and we both know that no matter what we do, our line of Lucii would have no chance of coming out on the other side of a war like that.’
How Noctis wished that the people in Lucis knew how dramatic his father could be when he wanted to. In moments like these, Noctis was unable to hold back a smile, even if he wanted to, and he embraced the comfort his father brought him.
‘You know you can be lucky that our family colour is black.’
Confusion hit him. What was his father on about, and why would he want to talk about that right this moment? Apparently, his father noticed that Noctis didn’t follow his train of thought, or rather, had no chance of following it at all, because he continued without being prompted to.
‘Your mother would have looked very fine in black. I did mourn her not being able to wear something black, but at the same time, I was very relieved that the tradition wasn’t reversed. Can you imagine me wearing white? I’d have become a laughing stock in all Lucis. Not a good start to my reign.’
‘You mean become more of a laughing stock than you already are?’ Noctis said, unable to hide the grin that formed on his face. He also took note of how the corners of his father’s mouth lifted and there was a spark starting to show in his eyes. It had been a long while since his father had last talked about his mother, and Noctis couldn’t deny that he was eager to hear more.
But unfortunately for him, right that moment, the door crashed open once more, and Noctis heard his best friend before he was able to see him. His blond hair was even more wind-swept than usual, and his face was bright red. The dark suit Prompto was wearing highlighted the contrast rather than hiding it, and Noctis lifted an eyebrow. He didn’t even have the time to have any more of a reaction before Prompto already burst out.
‘Heya, Noct. Brought you a hairdryer. Can save your suit now. Your Majesty.’
That was all Prompto managed to say. He handed over the packaging of a brand new hairdryer, which his father took before Noctis could react, clutched his chest and let himself fall down right then and there on the ground. Weirdo. Which was exactly the reason Noctis loved him. If his best wasn’t so weird, he probably wouldn’t fit in with his other few friends half as well as he did now.
Meanwhile, Regis had summoned a sword, which Prompto hadn’t even noticed, to open the seal before he pulled out the hairdryer and gestured for Noctis to get up and follow him. Plugging the device into the wall, his father pulled at the pants so that it would hopefully dry without too many wrinkles while Noctis stood still.
It took a few minutes,much longer than Noctis liked, but at least it gave Prompto the chance to properly catch his breath before they would return to the ceremony. Of course, his father noticed the more anxious and tense he got.
‘Noct, listen. Stop worrying too much. Statistically speaking, most of the weddings here in Insomnia start late because of some sort of accident or another. Nothing ever goes according to plan, and you and Ignis are the most important parts of this event. Nothing will start without you being present, so you don’t even have to worry about missing any part of this whole ordeal.’
Once more, Noctis closed his eyes and groaned.
Also once more, the door opened, but this time, it opened rather quietly, just as Noctis replied to his father.
‘If I had a choice, I’d rather miss this pompous stuff and just elope with Iggy. Too bad he’s too proper for that,’ Noctis said and groaned theatrically.
Then, he heard a chuckle come from somewhere to the left, and he didn’t have to look to hear that it came from Ignis. He’d heard that sound far too often throughout his life for that.
‘I’m afraid that‘s one of my greatest faults. Being too happy to oblige to royal protocol to be declared worthy to be by your side. How terrible of me indeed,’ he said while coming closer towards Noctis.
Right in front of him, he stopped. Ignis looked magnificent in white, Noctis thought, but couldn’t tear his gaze away from Ignis’ eyes, which looked right at him. It wasn’t the first time he got lost in them, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time.
Noctis felt gloved fingers cup his face, and then Ignis leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Noctis’ lips, which Noctis gladly reciprocated.
‘What took you so long?’ Ignis asked, once their lips parted.
‘Uh, took Prom a while to get here. Probably went to Tenebrae to borrow a hairdryer from Lady Lunafreya.’
‘Hey,’ Prompto shouted indignantly,but refused to meet either of their eyes, before he hesitantly continued, ‘I went to fetch mine, but I might’ve forgotten that I’d left my drier in my apartment across the city, which would’ve taken me way too long to get to. And then I wanted to ask Cor for one, but after I went to him I took one look at his hair and I realised that he probably wouldn’t own one. And after that I decided to ask Nyx, but before I could even open my mouth I was too intimidated to ask him in front of all the others. So in the end, I just went to the closest shop I could find and bought one there. But at least that way we knew it’d work!’
Ignis let out a chuckle, which he tried to hide behind his hand, but Noctis saw the crinkles forming around his eyes anyways, and he loved that he got to see them every day.
‘I suppose you’re right, Prompto. In the end everything went well, so let’s hope it’ll be the same for our ceremony, right?’ he asked, looking Noctis in his eyes.
‘Yes, as long as we have each other. Shall we?’ he asked and held out his hand for Ignis to take. With Ignis by his side, Noctis would go through hell and back if he had to. Thankfully, it would only be a ceremony with way too many paparazzi and state guests, so he supposed they’d be fine in the end.