Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/9490520.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Choose_Not_To_Use_Archive_Warnings, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Final_Fantasy_XV
  Relationship:
      Noctis_Lucis_Caelum/Ignis_Scientia
  Character:
      Ignis_Scientia, Noctis_Lucis_Caelum, Ardyn_Izunia, Ravus_Nox_Fleuret
  Additional Tags:
      Roleswap, Blind_Noctis, Niflheim!_Ignis, Noctis_starts_underage_but_gets
      older, Molestation, implied_rape
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-01-28 Updated: 2017-04-01 Chapters: 3/? Words: 22111
****** Discern ******
by ChildishSadism
Summary
     It is his duty to follow orders unquestionably, but he never thought
     he could find a reason to question them at all. When treason looks
     like the only answer he can find, Ignis isn't sure if he can push
     through with this. It is his pride that keeps him from falling into
     the same darkness as the people around him, and it is the burning
     feelings in his chest that reassure his decision.
     Anon-prompt <3
Notes
     Eeeeeeeyyyyyy! New fic and stuff, my guess is that it'll probably be
     like 4 chapters at most but who knows.
     Original prompt was:
     Another Igtis prompt(o)! Raised within Niflhiem, Ignis is Ardyn's
     butler and is put in charge of taking care of a captured prince
     Noctis. But, he hates how Ardyn treats Noctis. Eventually, Ignis
     decides to free Noctis and the two run away to Lucis together. (While
     impractical, I think it would be more interesting to have a
     blind!Iggy outsmart Ardyn. But it's up to you!)
     However I did change quite a few things, but I hope you guys enjoy
     still! Ignis is 22 at the beginning of this fic, and Noctis is 16,
     however that will change so don't panic and stuff.
     Sorry for my shitty mistakes and stuff!
     tumblr: https://demnocts.tumblr.com/ and my obsession and thirst for
     Noctis has no limits lmao
See the end of the work for more notes
***** Chapter 1 *****
A perfect soldier wasn't just someone with high combat skills. No, a perfect
soldier required versatility. They needed to be able to adapt to different
situations and to be able to react accordingly. It wasn't about who had the
most muscles, of who could aim best. It was about who could live the longest
without facing death even once. They needed to not just be intelligent but
clever as well. In the end a soldier was a tool, and a tool that only had one
use was disposable and replaceable.
 
Ignis was considered one of the best. Not only was he extremely smart and
clever but no one could deny his fighting skills when using a polearm or
daggers. He was a swift fighter, with no hesitation and careful, calculated
moves. He was deadly and a valuable asset to his general. In the six years
Ignis had been in the military, he was able to slowly climb his way up rank
after rank. He was irreplaceable because he wished to be so, no one bothered to
look at large idiots that couldn't think without mixing up their emotions, even
if they were strong. Ignis planned out things differently, and he was being
rewarded for all of it.
 
It was the main reason why he was so confused when he was told he was being
relocated. Ravus was the one to deliver the news, and he didn't look too happy
about losing him either. It somewhat made him feel better to know that his
general wasn't fully agreeing with his relocation, it meant that it wasn't
Ravus's decision at all. The general informed him he was going back to the
capital, and he was going to be assigned to a completely new duty, he was also
going to be under Ardyn Izunia's command, who just happened to be the
chancellor. He was one of the most important men in all Niflheim, not only was
he the right hand of the emperor but his contributions to magitek progress was
one of the main reasons why they were still in this war and were undefeated.
 
“You'll be a reflection of me when you are with him. I expect you to act
accordingly. My word is on the line here.” Ravus's words were still going
through his head. He was for sure not going to anything to dishonor his
general, but that would also depend on the assignment he was given.
 
If Ignis was to be honest, it was considered the promotion of a lifetime. Ardyn
hardly ever took in soldiers and only appeared in battle if it was highly
needed. The fact that he was asking Ravus to pick one of his best men meant
that he didn't just want anybody. Ravus's platoon was hand-picked by the
general himself, and they were considered elite soldiers that mostly deal with
special missions that required the utmost care.
 
Ignis still felt somewhat guilty for leaving the battlefield. It was odd going
back home when the rest of his team and his general were still at war. The
empty fields were slowly being replaced by small towns and crop fields. The
last time he was in the capital was four years ago, two years after his
training ended and he was shipped to battle. He didn't fight right away, of
course not, but just being in the field and seeing what war truly was, it was
already preparing him to face whatever came his way. The first month he worked
as a cook helper, and after that he was taken to his first battle. He could
still smell the thick scent of smoke and copper.
 
The ride back to the capital was uneventful, and the train was spacious enough
to allow him to be by himself. It was odd how he now had the luxury of
solitude, he was used to riding with at least twenty other people and there was
always the loud group and the quiet ones. Ignis much preferred the quiet
groups, but once in a while there was nothing wrong with a loud noise.
 
Ignis arrived to the capital by noon and a car along with a driver were already
waiting for him. The driver smiled and salute him out of respect before taking
his luggage and waiting for Ignis to get in the car. The drive to the citadel
was just as peaceful as the train ride, but now Ignis could people watch. He
couldn't help himself but to smile at how peaceful everyone looked. It was the
biggest reward for a soldier to go back home and see, first hand, the fruits of
their labor. The peace in the capital was all thanks to their efforts, and
people could run along with their daily lives. The children jumping and playing
near the parks, and the mothers rushing to pick them up if they fell, they
could do all of this in peace and without any worries thanks to their services.
 
The first thing Ignis noticed about the citadel though, was how massive it was
getting and there were still sections under construction. He couldn't remember
it being this tall, or so wide, but then again he was gone for four years. It
made complete sense that the city would grow. In all honestly it was getting
somewhat ridiculous. It wasn't like the citadel held many people, it was mostly
living quarters and offices that kept the country running. He highly doubted
they needed a building that could easily take one quarter of the city.
 
 
“This way.” The driver guided Ignis through the main door. He led him through
the long hallways and just before reaching the emperor's viewing room he took a
right. He was being taken to another wing, a different part of the citadel. He
was probably being taken to Ardyn's private wing, which made a lot of sense
given the fact that he was going to be working for him.
 
Ignis's thoughts were confirmed when the long hallway expanded into a large
room, it gave off the feeling of a foyer. The driver smiled at him and exited
the room, closing the doors behind him with a good luck. Ignis nodded at him as
a thank you and looked around the large room. Paintings were hanging from the
walls, if Ignis wasn't mistaken the paintings were of the gods themselves. The
ceiling had a large mural with opaque colors that reached the columns all
around the room and the main staircase. The dark colors and heavy wood gave the
room an eerie feel, it almost reminded Ignis of one of those temples he would
sometimes see around Tanebrae.
 
“Ah, the guest of honor! Welcome.”
 
Ignis turned to his right and bowed down right away with a formal salute. The
chancellor was standing with a smirk on his face and waving at him in an
informal kind of way. Odd, that was for sure but Ignis was used to the weirder
things than this. Plus Ardyn looked happy to see him so he doubt the chancellor
meant any type of disrespect. He was about to open his mouth to introduce
himself but Ardyn was already turning back to where he came from.
 
“I know who you are, Ignis. Ravus reassured me of your credentials and didn't
spare any details. He speaks very highly of you and was positive you were the
perfect candidate for this position.” Ardyn motioned for Ignis to follow, not
giving him even a second to think about it.
 
Ignis quickly caught up with Ardyn, walking only a couple of steps behind him.
He was going to have to thank Ravus once he saw him, if he ever did again. He
wasn't sure how long he was going to be back in the capital, but if the report
he read was right then his mission was going to be quite long. He wasn't sure
of what he was going to be doing, as the report only mentioned his relocation
and that the length of his mission was indeterminate.
 
“Now, I'm sure I don't have to remind you that this mission is very important.
I needed someone different, and when I spoke to Ravus I made my needs quite
clear. I didn't want a brute with no brain, or a fool that would shoot at first
sight. I needed someone competent, which oddly enough is hard to find nowadays
in the military...” Ardyn sighed, sounding disappointed and annoyed. “I also
needed someone that knows what discretion means. I hope you know it.”
 
Ignis was offended that the chancellor would even imply he was too incompetent
to know how some missions were meant to be a secret and nothing else. He had
been in several missions in which discretion was highly required for the
objective to be a success. He knew very well how to handle important
information, and most of all he wouldn't break under pressure. Ignis was aware
of his strength and weaknesses and keeping a secret was for sure something very
easy to accomplish.
 
“I can assure you chancellor, if I didn't know how to be discrete I wouldn't
have accepted this position.” Ignis nodded slowly. Even if he hadn't been given
much of a choice over his relocation, Ravus did make sure that Ignis was fully
willing to cooperate. It would only tamper the mission if Ignis was unwilling,
it could affect his thinking and reasoning. It was best to have a soldier
marching on his own, than being dragged by duty and nothing else.
 
“Fantastic! That puts my heart at ease Ignis...” The chancellor smiled, turning
to look at him. “Now, I must say that this mission not only requires discretion
but a lot more than that. I guess an explanation is fully needed. I couldn't
discuss anything with you in the report that was given to you. I didn't want to
risk anyone getting his hands on those papers. It would be an inconvenience.”
 
“I understand.” Ignis nodded slowly and began to wonder how much longer were
they going to walk. Ardyn was now taking them a flight of stairs and it didn't
look like the chancellor was going to stop any time soon.
 
“Wonderful, now, are you aware of what happened during the attack to Tenebrae?”
Ardyn glanced at him once again.
 
“I was in military training during that time, but the news reached us well. The
attack to Tenebrae was a victory that allowed the empire to take control over
Tenebrae's capital and soon the rest of the country, although the decision was
to keep Tenebrae under its own jurisdiction to avoid any future battles.
Captain Ravus joined the Niflheim army during this time, as a symbol of peace
from Tenebrae, he is the spokesperson in between the two countries and also the
one that keeps his country's loyalty on our side.”
 
“Yes, that's exactly how it goes, but the attack on Tenebrae had a different
reason. I am about to tell you the main objective for the attack, something
that is not written in any reports and was never released to anyone. The
emperor still keeps this under secret. Do you understand?” Ardyn stopped on his
tracks then.
 
Ignis looked at the metal, double doors in front of him. The hallway was dark
and with no windows but chandeliers on the ceiling kept it lighted up well
enough. Ignis wasn't sure how or why they needed to come here, and it was quite
confusing why the room was underground. If Ignis kept track of things properly,
and he usually did, the location of these doors was five floors in the
underground levels and they also passed several guards in the way here. The
hallway gave the feeling of a prison more than anything else.
 
“The mission behind the attack on Tenebrae was to capture and secure a target,”
Ardyn pulled out a key from within his coat. “The main goal was not to conquer
at all, it just became a bonus, if anything we were surprised with how
vulnerable Tenebrae was during our attack. Goes to show the mighty can fall the
fastest sometimes. We succeed nonetheless.” With a simple twist of the key
Ardyn was holding, the doors unlocked opened by themselves. The gears
connecting the doors to the walls were grinding and whining, showing how heavy
and thick the doors actually were.
 
Ignis looked around the room, it looked like a normal bedroom. It was massive,
no doubt about it but most rooms in the citadel were quite large. The room was
luxurious, the expensive furniture and decorations were very much like the
chancellor. Ignis was sure the room was designed by Ardyn and no one else,
after all he could be quite extravagant and this room pretty much had his
signature all over. The room was royal blue and black, with some silver here
and there, heavy decorations and paintings adorned the ceiling and walls, and
it reminded Ignis of the foyer except it wasn't red. It wasn't until Ignis was
done looking around the room that he noticed someone sleeping on the large bed,
buried underneath the blankets and pillows.
 
“I present to you, Noctis Lucis Caelum. The prince of Lucis and the price of
the attack on Tenebrae,” Ardyn smirked and walked further inside the room,
motioning for Ignis to follow along.
 
Ignis wasn't sure how to respond to this. The prince of Lucis, he was right
here in front of him? He was just at a loss of what to even think about this
sort of situation. But it did explain why they were still at war with the Lucis
kingdom, it also made sense as to why they were always so careful when
attacking them, still all of this was beyond him. The attack on Tenebrae was
six years ago, that meant the empire had the prince captive since then? If so,
why hadn't they done anything to end the war. The prince was not like any other
political captive, if what he knew was correct then he was the sole heir to the
throne and not to mention King Regis's most precious and important priority
above all else. It was no wonder they were struggling in the front lines with
so many kingsglaive, the numbers had multiplied tremendously during the past
few years.
 
“As you know, we have been at war with Lucis for quite some time now. We
outnumber them by a lot and our technology is for sure superior, but they have
something much bigger than that. The Lucis magic makes our numbers meaningless
and our technology laughable. As you are aware they control the crystal, which
creates the barrier we can't even dare to touch. The reason why we have lasted
this long is thanks to this little secret that we have.” Ardyn shrugged one of
his shoulders and turned to face Ignis with a smirk.
 
“Your new assignment is to guard the prince. You have to be aware though, you
are not only going to be protecting him from any intruders that might want to
rescue him, but also from anyone that tries to murder him, even if it is one of
our own. A few soldiers sometimes find about him, and their first instinct is
to kill him. We cannot allow that to happen at all. You'll be given a room in
my wing, you can feel welcome and are allowed to roam everywhere, except my
room. You can use the several kitchens that we have, the bathrooms, private
pools, gym and all of that. Yet, I must insist that you spend most of your time
with him,” Ardyn pointed towards the sleeping figure on the bed and turned once
more to walk towards the bed. “Not only is he the reason why Lucis hasn't
crushed us yet, but we also believe he holds the key to ending them once and
for all.”
 
Ignis furrowed his brows and sighed quietly. It was for sure a different
mission, something he wasn't totally comfortable with. He was used to fighting
or coming up with strategies. He was not one to take care of people, sure
during battles if there were people wounded and he was unharmed he'll help
without doubt. But that was until the medical team arrived and took over, it
was only a couple of days at most, sometimes even a few hours. It was
completely different from taking care of someone else full time, on top of that
taking care of a prisoner.
 
Ignis was out of his element, but he also wasn't one to back down from a
challenge. He also didn't have much of a choice. Ravus was the one that asked
him personally to do this. He couldn't let the general down, his name was on
the line and Ravus's position was pretty rough as it was with being a high
ranking general and also of Tanebrae royal blood. He also wasn't sure what
would happened if he said no. Ardyn spilled enough information to just let him
walk out without some sort of consequence. Ignis's hands were tied, there was
no way out of this one.
 
“Understood, is there some kind of schedule I must follow?” He might as well
get as much information as he could, or at least get some sort of feel to what
he was doing.
 
“No! Not at all, but you are more than welcome to make one if you wish. He
might take a little bit to get used to it though,” Ardyn smiled, crossing his
arms over his chest before rolling his eyes with a sigh. “I should probably
introduce you two, better get it over with now.”
 
Ignis nodded slowly and followed Ardyn towards the bed. He was more than
surprised when Ardyn's way of waking up the sleeping boy was by grabbing his
arm and jerking him awake. He heard a soft noise and Ignis slowly moved around
the chancellor, still keeping a couple of feet in between them as he did so.
 
The blankets were pooling around the sleeping form that was now sitting up.
Ignis looked over the prince, taking in his appearance. The boy's body was
slender, with long arms and skinny shoulders, but held some kind of grace to
him, something Ignis couldn't quite describe but he paid it no mind for now.
Thick, dark raven hair was framing a slim face with full lips, and it was then
that Ignis noticed his eyes. The prince's eyes were clouded and a light blue
color, more importantly there was a large scar that ran from the right side of
his face to the left. The scar was more prominent on the right side, and it got
slimmer as it reached the opposite side. It looked like the cut from a dagger
that slashed through his face. He could see a scar on the bridge of his nose,
which only confirmed his conclusion. He was blind. Noctis was blind, his eyes
were open but weren't looking at him, in fact they weren't looking at anything.
He was tilting his head towards Ignis and Ardyn's direction not saying a word.
 
“What happened to his eyes?” Ignis asked before he could stop himself.
 
“He tried to escape, and almost succeeded,” Ardyn chuckled, and looked at Ignis
with a pleasant smile.
 
Ignis couldn't help himself but to notice the sinister look that crossed
Ardyn's face, but it was quickly masked by his charming smile. It was there for
sure, but it vanished in the blink of an eye. It was still disturbing how he
just admitted to blinding the prince for trying to escape, as if was nothing at
all. Ignis couldn't even imagine what it must be like.
 
“But let's not talk about that, not when we have other things at hand. Like
introductions,” Ardyn grabbed Noctis's face, turning it to face Ignis. “Good
morning Noctis! Not that you know is morning but eh! Details. Let me introduce
you to your new guardian. Say hello to Ignis Scientia.”
 
The prince remained quiet, his head still tilting even when Ardyn was holding
it. Ignis decided to take the first step then, literally and figuratively. He
took a step closer to the bed and bowed his head even if Noctis couldn't see
him. “It is a pleasure to meet you, prince Noctis”
 
“Yeah, pleasure” Noctis mumbled quietly, his voice quiet. He pulled away from
Ardyn's hold then, not looking at all pleased when the chancellor began to
stroke his hair in return.
 
“Noctis, don't be rude. Ignis is very polite and respectful, I'm sure you two
are going to get along just fine.” Ardyn smiled, his fingers moving through the
thick strands of hair.
 
“Or he'll try to choke me while I'm asleep like the last one.” Noctis shrugged
one of his shoulders and pulled away from Ardyn's touches for the second time,
this time opting to hide underneath the blankets once more.
 
“Ah? Sleeping again already,” Ardyn mused. “Are your dreams that pleasant?”
 
“No, but they keep me from talking to you,” Noctis mumbled underneath the
blankets and the chancellor laughed at his words.
 
“He is a feisty little thing as you can see, please do have some patience with
him...” Ardyn stood up then, smirking at Ignis one last time as he moved
towards the door. “I for one have very little patience, right Noctis?”
 
The prince didn't reply, but Ignis could see the figure curling up tighter
underneath the blankets. Ignis wasn't stupid, he wasn't given this new position
if he was. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was probably the one to
cause the wounds on Noctis's eyes. It was a cruel thing to do, a drastic
measure for sure, but it did leave the prince defenseless and docile. Anywhere
could be a prison, if one didn't know where they were.
 
“My patience is quite high chancellor, do not worry.” Ignis firmly nodded and
twitched when Ardyn patted his shoulder.
 
“Fantastic. I'm sure we are all going to get along just fine.”
 
Even if the chancellor's words were reassuring, Ignis couldn't help himself but
to think of them as lies. The chancellor was lying, and it was now Ignis's
personal mission to figure out why.
 
 
 
 
 
The first week Ignis didn't do any sort of changes. He was merely observing and
trying to come up with a plan and a good schedule around his new
responsibility. Ignis ended up picking a room near the prince, just in case he
needed to rush to his room as fast as possible, also in case of any intruders.
He was glad to know he could at least still have some free time. Ignis would
wake up at the crack of dawn, when the sun was hardly raising and the prince
wouldn't wake up until near noon. Noctis's sleeping schedule was odd though,
sometimes he'll wake up at noon, while other times Ignis would be surprised to
see him already dressed and sitting on his bed.
 
Everything about the prince was honestly odd, something wasn't quite right at
all. It wasn't just his indifferent attitude but his actions. He would
undressed in front of Ignis without even giving him a warning, and walked
around the room completely naked while he looked for new clothes to wear. It
was something Ignis had to put a stop to right away! He asked Noctis to please
let him know when hew as going to undress so he could leave the room, or if he
could prepare his clothes first and then change in the bathroom, would be swell
too. Noctis however looked confused and somewhat annoyed at his request, but he
follow along with it anyways. Ignis didn't have to go through another one of
those incidents ever again. Thank the gods.
 
The prince was easy to startle too, even with his excellent hearing and ability
to follow along his movements, he would still twitch and flinch when Ignis got
too close. He would avoid close contact at all cost. Even if Ignis was just
trying to talk to him and get close to him, Noctis would always end up walking
away, or at least keeping some distance in between them. Sometimes he would
even walk around furniture just so Ignis couldn't quite get near him.
 
Noctis wouldn't speak much either, but when he did his words were defensive and
he kept his guard up at all times. It was something normal for Ignis since
after all the prince was a prisoner, still after six years you would think that
maybe he'll get tired of it. Six years were a long time, and Noctis's behavior
was still stubborn and extremely defensive, as if he was waiting to be
attacked. The only time his behavior seem to change was when Ardyn was present.
The only logical conclusion Ignis could come up with was the fact that Noctis
mentioned being attacked by previous guards before, which meant he just didn't
trust Ignis not to try to kill him.
 
Ignis also noticed how the prince was treated by the surrounding staff. Noctis
was only allowed to leave the room with him, and when they did the guards would
follow along with them. They'll taunt Noctis, and would get too close to his
personal space, but the prince remained quiet with his head held high and
ignoring them as if they were not there. Ignis had to interfere when one of the
guards decided to reach out for the prince though, he quickly stopped the hand
from touching Noctis's shoulder and twisted it with ease.
 
“It isn't your job to touch him.” Ignis shoved the offending guard away and
ignored how pissed he looked.
 
The cooks were cruel as well. Ignis first found out about this when he walked
in on Noctis eating food from a plate on the floor with his hands. He wasn't
given any kind of eating utensils and his food was always left somewhere
different in the room, which didn't make any sense when there was a perfectly
good table that could be put to use. The cook that brought his food was
purposely leaving it somewhere on the floor, making the prince's job to try to
find it by crawling around the room. If he walked he could step on it or kick
it onto the floor. But whenever Noctis was able to find it, he would sit on the
floor in between his legs and start eating with his hands, making sure it was
cold enough for him to touch before even attempting it.
 
Ignis made sure to let the cook know that from now on he was going to be
handling Noctis's meals himself, and if he had any sort of complain he could
redirect them to Ardyn himself. In the end no one voiced their complains.
 
Noctis didn't have a walking stick. If he ever lost his sense of direction he
would walk through the hallway by touching the wall next to him. He could
recognize what door was which just by touching it. It made Ignis curious as to
how long ago was he blinded. Noctis didn't act as if this was something new to
him, and the wounds on his face were fading to a color similar to the rest of
his skin. It was an old wound for sure, it had to be longer than two years at
least. Ignis wanted to ask, and was awfully curious about it but he had to
remind himself that this week was just for observing.
 
Ignis was somewhat concern of the lack of schedule the prince had to follow.
Noctis would mostly sleep all day and night, or wake up to read books with his
fingers. He would walk through the hallways and sit in one of the large living
rooms to listen to the radio but other than that he did almost nothing. He
avoided any type of social interaction with anyone around him, and for good
reason. Ignis would had done the same if the people around him treated him like
they treat Noctis. Even if Noctis was the son of their enemy, he was still a
guest in Niflheim, and he was still valuable to the chancellor and the emperor,
this kind of behavior was just not tolerated by Ignis at all. He pride himself
in being not easily pursued by personal feelings, and he couldn't feel any
hatred towards the prince at all. He was taken when he was a child, hardly
someone worthy of hating when he hadn't done anything against his country at
all.
 
It was only his first week here though, but he was already planning out
something quite different for his second one. Ignis smiled to himself as he
kept writing the prince's new schedule with precise handwriting. Next week was
going to be a whole new week, and he was for sure going to take the prince by
surprise. He only hoped it could be a good one.
 
 
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     HOOOLYYYY SHIIIIIT! This chapter is long. It almost killed me
     Jesus fuck send help, plz.
     Sorry for shitty mistakes, my mind melted trying to write this.
     Tumblr: https://demnocts.tumblr.com/ <3<3<3
Noctis almost fell off the bed when his bed sheets were roughly pulled off of
his body. He sat up right away, his head tilting from one side to the other. He
was groggy and blinking lazily, trying to figure out what the hell was
happening. Noctis had been peacefully sleeping and he was never interrupted
unless it was Ardyn, and usually the chancellor wouldn’t wake up him by pulling
off his blankets! It was something he was for sure not used to, but all he
wanted to do was to curl up on the bed and go to sleep again. He sighed loudly
and tried to reach for his blankets, but he couldn’t feel them anywhere around
him.
“Good morning, Noctis.”
Oh, it all made sense now. Noctis completely forgot about his new caretaker. He
groaned and flopped down back on the bed, hugging one of his pillows. He curled
up around it, closing his eyes stubbornly.
“I tried to wake you up normally, but it appears that normal methods are not
good enough for you.” Ignis chuckled at the stubborn teen. Noctis was reaching
out for another pillow but Ignis was faster and snatched it away from his
fingertips.
“What time is it?” Noctis mumbled, using his pillow to hide his face and muffle
Ignis’s voice.
“It is a quarter pass eight. Which means we are behind schedule already, so
chop chop! Time to get up and get ready.” Ignis walked over to one of the
dressers and looked through the different items of clothing until he was able
to find some that he considered good enough.
Ignis brought the clothes over to Noctis’s bed, and was surprised to see that
the prince was already sitting on the bed. He still looked like he was ready to
fall over and sleep again. Noctis’s head was bobbing and his eyes were blinking
slowly. Ignis was sure if he just pushed him on the bed the prince would pass
out right away again. He wasn’t going to allow that though, he placed Noctis’s
clothes next to him and gently tapped his knuckles against his shoulder.
“Go ahead and change, I’ll be back with breakfast.”
“You are seriously not going to do this every morning, are you?” Noctis tilted
his head towards him, and frowned, looking less than happy.
“I will. I prepared a schedule for us to follow from now on, there is no better
way to feel productive than to follow a steady routine.” Ignis was heading for
the door, ignoring how Noctis was mumbling something in between his lips.
Ignis checked his watch and sighed at how behind they were already. He honestly
never expected how challenging it would be to wake up the prince. He remember
Ardyn easily waking him up but that involved manhandling the prince, which
wouldn’t be a great start. If Noctis felt threaten then he’ll be less likely to
cooperate and he could become hostile towards Ignis. It was best to be safe
than sorry.
Ignis quickly moved through the corridors and only stopped by the kitchen to
get Noctis’s breakfast. The tray of food was ready to be picked up, and the
cook even offered him good luck. Ignis was confused by the cook’s words but
didn’t question them, it wasn’t like he was storming to the front lines. He was
just going to give the prince his breakfast, with that in mind Ignis made his
way to the underground levels. He was expecting Noctis to be dressed and ready
to go, but he wasn’t that lucky.
The room was empty? Ignis frowned and set the food down on the table. Noctis’s
clothes were still on the bed, untouched and very much ignored. It wasn’t like
the prince could get out, the door would lock automatically when closed.
However, that didn’t change the fact that the prince was nowhere in
sight...inside the room that is. Ignis rolled his eyes when he noticed the
missing blankets and pillows, there was no way. He quickly made his way towards
the bathroom and knocked on the door once, then twice. He tried his luck with
the door handle but it was locked.
“Noctis, we are not playing this game.” Ignis fixed his glasses in frustration,
not believing this was happening.
“Fuck your schedule.” A very sleepy voice screamed within the bathroom.
Oh, so this is how it was going to be? Alright, well, Ignis was fully prepared
for this. The prince will just have to wait and see.


 
The next morning Noctis found himself jumping off his bed and landing roughly
on the floor when Ignis used a spray bottle full of water to wake him up. The
cold water was sprayed on his face and it woke him up instantly, but it also
startled him and the quick movement made him fall off the bed with his blankets
all around him. Noctis groaned and dropped his head on the floor. He wasn’t
moving but he was fully awake. He growled like an upset cat when Ignis in
return sprayed more water on his head.
“Knock it off! I get it!” Noctis hissed loudly and quickly got to his feet. He
stomped over to the dresser. The prince touched his clothes, his glaring eyes
staring in front of him as he picked the clothes he wanted to wear.
Ignis watched the whole time, only turning around to look away from the prince
when he started undressing. Noctis was being extra loud, showing how upset he
was by stomping his feet and slamming the dresser drawer shut. He was at least
dressed on time this time, and Ignis took his victory.
Noctis turned around, dragging his feet to get his shoes until a spray of water
on his face stopped him. He gasped and narrowed his eyes, his head tilting
towards Ignis’s direction. “What the hell was that for!”
“Your shirt is on backwards.” Ignis pointed out. Did he need to spray water on
him to point it out? No, not at all, but the way Noctis would squeeze his eyes
and wrinkle his nose when he did so was pretty funny.
“Oh, my bad! How very rude of me, let me SEE what I can do about it...” The
prince pointed towards his eyes as he spoke before pulling off his shirt and
putting it on right. “Oh LOOK! I was able to fix it.”
Ignis stared at Noctis frustrated face and couldn’t help himself but to use the
spray bottle again. He wasn’t surprised at all when the prince opened up the
drawer again and started throwing the clothes inside at Ignis. It was well
worth it.
 
 
It was a brand new day when Ignis found himself unable to walk inside Noctis’s
room. It wasn’t because the key wasn’t working or the door was broken, but
because there was something quite heavy pushed against the door. He was only
able to open the door by a sliver, and it thankfully allowed him to see what
exactly was blocking the door. The dinning room table and large couch had been
pushed against the door, blocking the doorway. Noctis was laying down on the
couch, his blankets and pillows all around him creating the perfect little nest
for him to sleep in. Ignis was honestly amazed at how the hell was he able to
do this.
“How long did it take you to do this?” Ignis asked through the door.
“A couple of hours. I lost track when my leg started cramping.” Noctis answered
within the blankets, sounding so pleased with himself.
“If only you would put as much effort into waking up, as you do with making my
life harder than it has to be.” Ignis sighed, taking off his glasses to rub his
eyes.
“Could, but won’t.” Noctis’s smug little voice called out and then he was
curling up underneath his blankets. He was ready to go back to sleep.


 
Ignis was dealing with a child, there was absolutely no doubt about it. He left
the war for this, to take care of a mischievous child. Noctis was trying his
harder to be impossible to deal with . At least that’s how Ignis was seeing it
as. The prince would do everything in his power not to wake up when Ignis
needed him to. He would lock himself in the bathroom or hide underneath the
huge bed where Ignis couldn’t reach him. Well, this was of course after Ignis
made sure he wasn’t able to drag the furniture anymore.
It was infuriating trying to deal with Noctis. If Ignis wasn’t a patient man he
would had walked out of this assignment a long time ago. He was a trained
soldier, not a babysitter. He was used to dealing with very calculating
situations surrounded by a team that was willing to work with him, but Noctis
was anything but willing. It would be easier to just drop everything and let
the prince do whatever. It really would, it would for sure make his stay here a
lot better, specially because Ardyn didn’t care about what he did as long as he
kept an eye on Noctis.
Ignis just couldn’t bring himself to drop his original plan, it just didn’t
feel right, and even though Noctis was being a complete brat with him, he was
still acting a lot different than from the first week Ignis observed him. It
was true that Noctis was constantly going against his orders, but he was
conversing and interacting with him in a completely different way that he did
with the rest of the guards. Noctis just acted different, and even his bratty
attitude and stubborn nature was easy to understand. He was playing with Ignis
in his own way, and Ignis was thankful he was able to see this so quickly or
else he would had been in a terrible mood every day.
The days in which he was able to get Noctis out of his room, Ignis took his
little vengeance. He wasn’t by all means trying to be heartless, but he still
thought it was entertaining how Noctis was such a lazy cat. He would flop down
from one place to another and nap at all hours of the day. It was how Ignis
decided of a fitting punishment for the prince, exercise. The third floor had a
small gym and Ignis ended up dragging the prince over, even if Noctis whined
the whole time. He set up the exercise equipment and helped Noctis on top of
the treadmill. Noctis of course didn’t know what it was until Ignis turned it
on.
Ignis couldn’t deny that he was taking advantage of Noctis’s blindness to sort
out his punishments and quite honestly he did feel a bit guilty over it. But
Noctis’s face was priceless when the treadmill started moving and he had to
cling to the front of it, almost hugging it for dear life.
“Oh my god, you jerk face! This isn’t funny!” Noctis whined, listening to Ignis
trying to muffle his laugh behind his hand. In the end he did help Noctis set
himself up properly in the treadmill and promised the prince he would be free
to go as long as he worked out for at least an hour. Noctis seeing as he didn’t
have much of a choice he did what he was told and ended up collapsing on the
floor soon after. He was sweating non-stop, his shirt clinging to his slim form
and his messy hair was sticking to his cheeks and forehead.
“I-I’m dying.” Noctis said, panting and breathing heavily through his nose.
“No, you are not dying. You are actually moving, I think that’s quite the
opposite of dying.” Ignis took his victory and made it a point to bring Noctis
to the gym a couple of times during the week. It also seem to give the prince
more energy during the day, although after a few hours he would go back to
napping and being lazy again.
Exercising was a good way to not only keep the prince busy, but also fully wake
him up in the mornings. It was was now in Ignis's schedule as the first order
of business. After that was breakfast and then recreation time for the prince.
It wasn't like Noctis could do much, but Ignis did make sure to get him a few
more books in braille. He wanted to ask Noctis who taught him to read like
this, since no one truly cared much about the prince's living conditions in
here but he didn't want to pry. Maybe somewhere in the future he could ask him
this.
 
 
If Noctis wasn't reading books he was always listening to the radio. He seemed
to spend an awful lot of time listening to it, even if sometimes he did nothing
else but to close his eyes and curl up on the couch. Ignis would use this time
to read a book or sometimes he would try his own hand at writing a short story.
In reality he was just trying to distract himself, as it was awfully boring to
wait for the prince to have his fill. Maybe Ignis could acquire a radio for
Nocti's room, it would for sure keep him locked up and gave Ignis the freedom
to leave the palace.
“Are you satisfied yet? We could always do something else.” Ignis stood up from
his spot on the couch and stretched his arms above his head. He was tired of
sitting down.
“Yeah, sure. Turn on the TV, let's watch a movie.” Noctis response was so
fluent that Ignis found himself reaching for the remote before he stopped
himself and looked at the prince with a deadpanned expression.
“Very funny,” Ignis rolled his yes and dropped the remote on the couch. “Five
more minutes, alright?”
The silence that followed was odd, it wasn't tense or any of the like. Ignis
could almost feel dread, and he wasn't sure how it came to this. The way
Noctis's moods changed were unpredictable, but somehow he was able to drag
everyone around him. As if people were meant to rotate and move at his will,
depending in how he felt. It was probably the royal blood in him, although
Ignis wasn't sure if that was all there was to it.
“I just like waiting for the news.” Noctis voice was quiet. He kept his eyes
closed and his head rested against one of the large pillows on the couch.
“For what kind of news?” Ignis genuine curiosity was honest in his voice.
“News from home...where else?”
Ignis made it a point to let Noctis near the radio as often as their schedule
would allow it.


It was thanks to Ignis that the prince was now given proper eating utensils, or
at lest that's what Ignis was expecting when he was serving dinner. Ignis
wouldn't pay much attention to Noctis's food once the prince started eating,
but he noticed a knife was always missing for Noctis to be able to cut through
the meat or the tough food he was given. Honestly how incompetent could these
people be, it wasn't that difficult to give the prince a knife. Ignis was going
to be here with him to make sure it was returned.
“They keep forgetting to give you a knife? I'll have a talk with the cook, this
is the fifth time.” Ignis shook his head and watched as Noctis struggled to
break the pieces of meat into smaller pieces. In the end the prince gave up and
started using his hands.
“It's fine, I'm just glad they give me stuff now. Don't tell them anything, I
don't want them to take it out on me.” Noctis shrugged one of his shoulders and
took another bite of his meat. He licked his fingers clean and smiled at Ignis.
“If you insist, but they still shouldn't treat you like this.” Ignis sighed
quietly and took a seat on the large couch.
“They shouldn't but they do. Oh well, it doesn't matter.” Noctis shrugged his
shoulders uncaringly and finished the large piece of meat before using his fork
to eat the mashed potatoes.
It wasn't just the eating utensils that were bothering Ignis anymore. He
started to notice little things about Noctis as he ate his food. Sometimes the
prince would wrinkle his nose and make a face after tasting his food. At first
he just figured Noctis was a picky eater since he hated to eat vegetables, but
it was more than that. There were times when Noctis would take a bite of his
food before just shrugging his shoulders and saying he wasn't hungry, and it
was making Ignis suspicious.
It was one of those days. Noctis took a spoonful of his oatmeal before losing
complete interest, instead he started peeling the orange next to his plate.
Ignis raised one of his brows and walked over to the table, staring down at the
brown oatmeal before grabbing the spoon on the table.
“Don't do that.” Noctis warning came too late. Ignis was already taking a
spoonful of the oatmeal in his mouth and he found himself quickly coughing
against his hand. He turned his head and pulled a handkerchief from with in his
pocket to cough and spit out the foul food in his mouth. The oatmeal was
spoiled, the milk tasted disgusting and it was thick. The flavor was sticking
to the roof of his mouth and the odd texture was clinging to his tongue. It was
completely disgusting, and he was just amazed that Noctis did nothing but to
swallow the disgusting food before turning it away.
“It's rotten.” Ignis shook his head and quickly walked over to the bathroom to
rinse his mouth.
“I told you not to do it.” Noctis yelled at him from the table and continued to
keep his orange. Once it was peeled he split it in half and began to eat the
small wedges.
Ignis was back with a towel in his hands. He wiped the rest of the water off of
his mouth and dried his hands. “You forgot to mention it was expired.” Noctis
only shrugged his shoulders in response and popped another orange wedge in his
mouth.
“Are the meals all like this?” Ignis dropped the towel on the table and stared
down at the prince with a frown.
“Not all of them.” Noctis mumbled quietly and finished eating the rest of his
orange before reaching for his bottle of water to drink.
“Unbelievable.” Ignis sighed loudly and shook his head. Was there something he
didn't have to fix in this place? This was beyond ridiculous. It was starting
to seriously get in his nerves, plus it was making his job harder than it had
to be. He couldn't feed Noctis this, no one deserved to be fed something like
this, it could make him seriously ill. It could even kill him. Were the people
here so idiotic that they couldn't see that? If the prince died they were in
serious troubles. He was the barging chip that was keeping them from getting
overrun by kingsglaives.
“I'll start preparing your meals starting tomorrow. Please bear with it for
today.” Ignis nodded slowly and almost missed the smile on Noctis's lips.
Almost.
The preparation of food was not an easy task. It was quite complicated if one
wanted to achieve something good, and although everything was an upgrade from
what the prince had been fed Ignis didn't want to do a mediocre job. It was the
reason why he ended up looking at recipes online while watching Noctis run in
the treadmill. Some recipes were easy enough and didn't require that many
ingredients, but he was going to have to find recipes that had similar items.
Ignis didn't want to end up with a massive shopping list even if Ardyn was
going to be the one paying for everything.
Ignis went grocery shopping that night. He bought everything he needed and took
it to one of the kitchens that were unused. The fridge was empty and clean,
something he was thankful for and he also had a decent amount of cooking
equipment inside the cabinets. He wasn't going to be cooking anything for now,
but he did take his time looking through the kitchen while putting the
groceries away.
The next morning Noctis woke up to the smell of something heavenly. Ignis
didn't even struggle to wake him up. Noctis was able to wake up on his own just
by the smell of the food he was carrying. Ignis placed the plate on the table
and couldn't help himself but to smirk when he noticed Noctis already sitting
up on the bed with a curious look on his face. The prince's head was tilting
towards his direction and he was bluntly sniffing the air around him.
“As promised. I'll be preparing your meals from now on. I hope you find this of
your satisfaction.” Ignis watched as Noctis got off the bed and walked over to
where the table was.
The prince slowly touched the plate and reached for the fork with his
fingertips. He wasn't sure of what he was eating but he was cutting through the
soft food like nothing. It had a sweet smell to it. He could smell honey and
butter, just the smell already had his mouth watering and before he could stop
and think of what it was he was putting the soft breakfast in his mouth. It was
pancakes. He was eating pancakes. Noctis's eyes widened and before he knew it,
he was shoving the food in his mouth as fast as he could. It just tasted so
good. Everything about it tasted so good. He couldn't remember the last time he
was able to eat a meal like this. He wanted to stop and enjoy it but he also
wanted to just eat as much as he could right away. Almost as if he was afraid
it was going to be taken away from him.
“Slow down, you are going to choke.” Ignis hid a small laugh behind his hand
and watched as the prince devoured the food.
Noctis didn't slow though. He kept eating in the same way, but a wide smile was
spreading on his lips and his clouded eyes look more alive than ever. It was
hard for Ignis not to notice this. It was hard for him to ignore the smile on
Noctis's full lips and the way his face looked so relax. The crest that was
usually on his brows banished, giving him a youthful look. Ignis couldn't
recall ever seeing Noctis this happy, in fact he couldn't recall ever seeing
him smile. It was the first time in three weeks he was able to make the prince
smile. It truly suited him.


“Do you have any family?”
The question came out of the blue, and it took Ignis by surprise. Noctis
usually would never ask him any personal questions. “I used to, yes.”
“Oh, what happened?” Noctis closed the book he was holding and turned on his
chair to face Ignis.
“I come from a military family. Almost everyone in my family went to war or
died due to it. The rest died from old age. My uncle was my last relative and
he died a few years back just after I enrolled in the military.” It was just
Ignis now.
“Oh...you must hate me like the guards do, right?” Noctis shrugged one of his
shoulders, and leaned his head against the chair's back.
“I do not,” Ignis couldn't miss the surprised look on Noctis's face.
“Propaganda, military strategies, and the fear of the unknown is what makes
people hate the Lucis kingdom. You were taken as a child and became a political
hostage. Hardly someone that has earned my hate, to be honest.”
“War is about people protecting what they believe to be right, Noctis. I fight
for Niflheim because is my home, if I don't fight it will be taken. I might not
agree with everything we do, but that doesn't stop it from being my home. I
fight for the people that are innocent and unaware of the dangers at our
borders. I fight so people like them can have a future. I don't fight because I
hate the Lucis. I have never met them, well, not until now and I can't say I
hate you at all.”
Noctis nodded slowly and stood up. He walked over to the couch where Ignis was
sitting and flopped down next to him. He closed his eyes as if he was thinking
and hummed quietly. “You are not like the other people I met before. Well, in
here.”
“Well, I can assure you, there are more of us than them. Sometimes it is just
hard to believe it because of the environment you are forced to endure. But I
can promise you, not all of us are like them.” Ignis gently placed his hand on
one of Noctis's shoulders.
“I'll remember that, yeah.” Noctis chuckled quietly and smiled.
“Plus you were taken before you could even fight. I don't consider you a treat
since you weren't even trained to use the Lucis magic.” Ignis missed the way
Noctis's eyes flickered for a second but the prince only nodded his head in
response.
“Yeah, but...tomorrow, would it be okay to eat fish?” Noctis rubbed his lips
together at his request and tilted his head towards Ignis.
“Certainly, as long as you eat the salad that goes with it.” Ignis chuckled at
the loud groan that Noctis gave in response.
Ignis left the prince's room that night after Noctis fell asleep. He locked the
door behind him and left for the kitchen to prepare everything for tomorrow's
breakfast, lunch and dinner. He was still going to have to wake up early and go
buy fresh fish for dinner tomorrow, but it was only a small trip to the market.
It was always best to get fresh fish than frozen after all. Ignis finished in
the kitchen and left for his room, but not before making sure the guards were
in their corresponding posts. It was nothing new that they would slack off
during the night, and it was pretty normal since the one prisoner they were
supposed to be guarding was harmless.
During the night, Ignis dreamed of smoke and gunpowder. The loud noises buzzing
against his ears were making him dizzy, and the loud screams were blending in
with everything else. The high pitched noise that follow was making him ignore
everything else but his breathing. He could feel his heart beating against his
rib cage and he could smell and taste copper in the air. The wet dirt was
clinging to his body and he could see blood mixing with the rain. He kept
moving, his grip tight on his weapons. He had to keep moving and keep fighting,
even as he watched his own team being shot. Even as he watched as they were
being blown away by the Lucis's magic. He had to keep going. It as a victory
they couldn't afford to lose.
But in the mists of it all, he could hear a familiar voice screaming his name.
The voice was cracking and breaking, sounding so lost and out of place. Ignis
turned his body to look back, and standing there, in the middle of the
battlefield was no other than Noctis. The prince looked clean and flawless,
untouched by everything around him, but the danger was still there and Noctis
didn't know where he was going. The prince's bare feet were dragging him
through the mud, and his hands were reaching out in front of him, trying to
find anything, but he could only touch air. The clouded eyes were searching for
him and finding darkness.
Ignis needed to reach him. He needed to get near him before it was too late. He
ran towards the prince, ignoring the fire and the kingsglaives that were trying
to block his path. He ran as fast as he could and just before he could reach
Noctis's delicate hands, a blade was piercing through his chest. The long sword
was cutting through the flesh of Noctis's chest, leaving him his eyes wide as
blood began to crawl from within his mouth. The clouded eyes rolled back before
closing and Noctis's body fell, lifelessly. He was dead and Ignis couldn't do
anything else but to gather the stiff body in his arms.
Ignis took in a deep breath as he woke up from his nightmare. It was almost as
if he was remembering how to breathe. He quickly sat up on the bed and shook
his head. He looked around the room, finding comfort in the fact that
everything was as he left it. Ignis's heart was still beating far too quickly,
and cold sweat was clinging to his forehead, but everything seemed fine. He was
not in the battlefield anymore. He was back in the citadel, but thinking so
wasn't really helping him stop the trembling on his hands.
It was the reason why Ignis decided a walk was needed. He couldn't go back to
sleep now, he was too awake and it was only two in the morning. It was best if
he did a night round, maybe he would give the guards a good scare for slacking
off. It sounded entertaining enough, and with that in mind Ignis changed into a
pair of casual trousers and a white button up shirt. Hopefully after seeing
Noctis in his room he could go back to sleep with peace in mind.
Ignis left his room and made his way to the underground levels but frowned when
he noticed the guards were nowhere to be seen. Even as he went to the second
floor he couldn't find any guards, and the third floor didn't look any better.
Where the hell was everyone? He couldn't find any of them. He figured that
maybe they were on break but the break room was empty and they couldn't all
just leave at the same time. It didn't make sense. The ground floor was also
empty, or at least it looked like it. Ignis could hear noises not too far and
he was able to see light from down the hallway.
The door for one of the bathrooms was cracked open and Ignis could see the
light was coming from there. It was the bathroom near Noctis's bedroom and
thanks to that he was able to notice that the prince's bedroom door was open.
The guards had one of the keys but there was no reasons for them to go inside
Noctis's bedroom unless the prince specifically asked for help. Did something
happened to Noctis? Ignis found himself almost running towards the source of
light. He couldn't help the odd feeling in his stomach that was building up,
something was wrong, something was very wrong.
What greeted Ignis was unreal. He was almost sure he was still dreaming,
because he wasn't able to move his legs and was frozen in place. Noctis was on
the floor, his clothes missing. He was completely drenched in water, his hair
covering his closed eyes as it clung to his face. He was coughing water and
turning his head away from the bathroom hose that was being aimed at his face.
The hot water was making his skin red. He was trying to crawl away but a hand
on his hair pulled him back and held him in place.
“Hold him still.” The guard holding the hose hissed out.
“I'm trying, shut up.” Another guard growled back at him and kept his hold in
Noctis's hair.
“Come on prince, spread 'em.”
Noctis reacted by pulling his legs closer to his chest, keeping them tightly
shut. He rubbed his lips together and tried to push at the guard that was now
reaching for his ankle to try to pull his legs open. He kicked his legs, the
slippery, wet skin making it hard to get a hold of him.
“Why the fuck are you making such a big deal. I'm sure Izunia does this all the
fucking time, right?”
Noctis ignored the laughter that follow and instead kicked his legs harder
until two of the guards were pulling back with an amused look on their faces.
It wasn't like Noctis was aiming right to begin with. He couldn't see where
they were.
“Or that new guy? You are ignoring us now that you got him? What a heartless
bitch.” The guard aimed the bathroom hose at his face again, and Noctis quickly
turned his head. At first the pressure wasn't bothering him much, but after it
had been done over and over again it was starting to hurt a lot, specially when
the water was so hot it was steaming.
“Fuck off!” Noctis hissed loudly and slapped the hose away. A hand quickly
grabbed his wrist and pulled him across the floor. He kicked his legs and began
to struggle again but a pair of hands were holding his thighs and letting one
of the guards slip in between his legs.
“Don't worry, I'll make sure you enjoy this.” The voice was near his ear and
Noctis only growled in return and began to struggle again. He kicked his legs
and trashed around until the weight on top of him was being lifted.
Ignis pulled the guard off of Noctis by the back of his shirt. He yanked him
off with such force that the guard ended up choking with the collar of his
shirt. He shoved the man against one of the walls, the glare in his eyes
looking more deadly than his actions. The room was quiet now, none of the
guards were moving.
Ignis snatched one of the large towels and walked over to Noctis, reaching for
the prince. He hesitated when Noctis flinched and started backing away. He
wasn't aware that Ignis was here now. “Noctis, I need you to stay still so I
can give you this towel and get you back to your room.” Ignis voice was calm.
He was trying to hold back his rage.
Noctis sighed quietly in relief at the familiar voice and nodded his head
slowly. He let Ignis help him to his feet and then the warm towel was around
his wet body. Ignis kept an arm around his shoulders and guided him out of the
bathroom and into his bedroom. The door was locked behind them and Ignis was
already rushing to get Noctis in a warm proper bath.
“I can leave if you wish. I don't want to make you uncomfortable.” Ignis called
from within the bathroom, letting the water run until it was a nice
temperature.
“N-no...it's fine, you can stay.” Noctis followed Ignis's voice to the
bathroom, and he sat by the edge of the tub, waiting for the bath to be ready.
The silence that followed was awkward. Ignis wanted to ask what happened, he
wanted to ask many things but he also didn't want to know the answers. It just
felt like he hadn't been doing things right, that maybe he was too blind to see
how things truly were around here. He felt out of place, the citadel just felt
like a different world. One that wasn't too pleasant either.
“They have done this before...” Notics voice was the one cutting through the
thick silence. “Other guards as well. I know that's what you are thinking. It
has been like this for a while. So, don't blame yourself, okay?”
Ignis could only nod in response, even if Noctis couldn't see him. He finished
prepping the bath and let Noctis take his time. Ignis ended up taking a seat in
one of the couches, his head tilting back against the pillows. It was so
frustrating to be in a situation like this. He wasn't sure how to respond to
this at all. He could punish the guards, but in the end they could just take it
out on Noctis. He could also inform Ardyn about what happened, but what the
guards implied made him believe that nothing was going to be done. He was
stuck, and for the first time in a long time, he truly didn't know what to do.
He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out a solution.
The clock kept ticking and before he knew it an hour passed and Noctis was
still in the bathroom. Ignis stood up and went to check on the prince, only to
chuckle when Noctis sleeping face greeted him. At least one of them could find
peace. Ignis carefully picked up the prince and dried him up with a new, clean
towel. He carried Noctis over to the bed and went to get some clean clothes for
him to sleep on. Noctis's eyes were flickering open now, his thick eyelashes
hiding his eyes. He sluggishly helped Ignis get him dressed before dropping his
head on the bed and falling asleep right after. Ignis fingers gently brushed
Noctis's hair off of his face, and pulled the warm blankets over the sleeping
prince.
Ignis didn't leave Noctis's bedroom that night, instead he slept on the couch
and used one of the extra blankets and pillows.



Noctis wasn't left alone at night anymore. Ignis ended up making the prince's
bedroom his new sleeping quarters. He still had his own room and would leave
every morning to get ready for the day, but during the night he would sleep on
the couch. Noctis seemed to enjoy that, in fact it wasn't that difficult to
wake him up in the mornings anymore. He would also read his books out loud for
Ignis, every night Noctis's fingers would dance over the pages and he would
read the words out loud for him. He would read until he was too sleepy to keep
going and he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. Noctis would fall asleep with
the book in his heads and Ignis would tuck him in and put the book away, but
not before bookmarking the page they left on.
“You know...m-my...my bed is big enough. I mean...the couch is probably
uncomfortable.” Noctis's words were rushed and a dark blush was crawling over
his cheeks.
It was how Ignis ended up sharing a bed with Noctis. Even if he thought of it
inappropriate, he couldn't deny the fact that sleeping on the couch was hurting
his back. Noctis bed was a king size and the prince would end up curling up on
a corner all by himself. It was safe to sleep with him and if Noctis was giving
him permission, he wasn't going to bother the prince either.
Ignis was used to sharing a bed, when he was growing up with his cousins they
would all sleep together. They kept each other company and made the nights so
much better to get through. Later down the road Ignis ended up sharing a bed
with other soldiers as well. When you have to sleep on the floor or share a
bed, there was no fighting about whatever people slept together or not. You had
to learn to get over the fact that you were going to have to share your living
arrangements sometimes. Ignis was used to it.
Ignis was not used to a warm body pressing against his in the morning. He was
not used to raven hair resting against his neck and the smell of citrus. Ignis
was not used to this at all, but it became something normal. Noctis was never
awake to see that at night he would end up curling up against Ignis. But Ignis
would always wake up early in the morning to witness it. Noctis slim frame fit
perfectly against his, and his face ended up on Ignis's chest. The prince's
even breathing was relaxing and his soft noises stirred something insides
Ignis. Yet, he found it hard to pull away from Noctis every morning. Quite
frankly the prince's warm body clinging to Ignis's was well welcomed by him.
Even if Ignis himself didn't want to admit it.


It had been four months now. Ignis couldn't believe how quickly time seemed to
go by. He also couldn't believe how things changed so much. He never expected
to be able to accomplish this job so well, even less he couldn't believe he was
cooking new meals almost every single day. It had become a passion of his, one
that he wasn't even aware of until now. Noctis was also easier to take care of,
he wasn't as stubborn or rowdy anymore and went along with Ignis's schedule
without any issues. He would talk to Ignis for hours and read him books non-
stop. If anything what changed the most during the past four months was the
prince. He looked alive.
Today however, didn't feel right. Ignis woke up with Noctis curling up against
his side but something felt off. He left to take a shower and get dressed and
the whole time he couldn't help the odd nagging feeling that was bothering him.
It was the same type of feeling he would get in the battlefield when he was
able to sense that something bad was going to happen. Like when you know a trap
is waiting for you but you are not fully sure of where it is.
Ignis wasn't able to get rid of the odd feeling, even when he was cooking he
was still trying to find an explanation. It was probably just his nerves
playing tricks on him, specially because today there was a large festival in
the city and the vast majority of the guards in the citadel were out of duty,
and the ones that were on duty ended up being stationed near the festival. That
was the most logical explanation, it made sense. Ignis pushed the odd feeling
to the back of his head and finished making Noctis's breakfast.
The prince was already awake by the time Ignis brought his breakfast. He smiled
at Ignis and got dressed in the bathroom. Noctis's outfit was different today,
he opted for black capris and a black T-shirt, when usually he would wear
nothing but night clothes or loose sweatpants. He was also wearing shoes,
something else out of the ordinary but Ignis did not question it.
Noctis took his usual seat and ate his food slowly, enjoying every bite instead
of devouring the food like he usually would. “It's better than ever, Ignis.”
The prince smiled, but the smile wasn't reaching the clouded eyes. He looked
off, as if something was wrong.
“Is there something wrong?” Ignis gently placed one of his hands on Noctis's
shoulder and was surprised when the prince placed his own on top of his.
“No, not at all..I promise.” Noctis gave a firm nod and smiled at him one last
time. He took one last bite of his meal and was finished.
The odd feeling was back, and Ignis wanted it to stop. He tried to ignore it
again but instead got their things ready to head over to the small gym. Noctis
was walking around the room, his hands gently touching the furniture before he
sighed quietly and turned to join Ignis by the door.
“You know, I think you are the best.” Noctis chuckled and lightly shoved Ignis
with his shoulder.
“Oh, you think so? Or is that the sugar from your breakfast speaking?” Ignis
smirked and glanced over at Noctis.
“No, not at all...I...Thank you, for everything.” Noctis grinned this time and
Ignis had to stop in his tracks. It was the first time Noctis had done this,
and it was directed to him. The prince looked so happy, and in all
honestly...he looked beautiful like that. Something was growing in his chest,
but then that odd feeling was back, keeping the nice warmth from spreading
across his chest.
“You are very welcome, Noctis.” Ignis smiled and the two kept walking down the
hallway. The silenced that follow was comfortable and it gave Ignis room to
think about what just happened. The warm feeling in his chest was growing
bigger and bigger by the day, but he refused to admit what it was. He couldn't
admit it. He had to push these feelings far away, at least until he could
properly deal with them. He sighed quietly and looked over at Noctis, noticing
that the prince stopped walking and was staring down at the floor.
“I'm sorry.” Noctis voice was nothing but a whisper.
Ignis turned around, a frown on his face. He wasn't sure what Noctis was
talking about, there was nothing to be sorry for, or at least nothing yet. He
was about to open his mouth to ask Noctis what was wrong when a fading blue
light caught his eyes. Something around Noctis was glowing, and the prince
reached for it and snatched it in his hand before he threw it as far as he
could. Ignis tried to respond as quickly as he could but Noctis was already
warping away from his grasp.
Ignis was never told that the prince could even use the Lucis's magic. What the
hell was happening? Ignis hardly had the chance to answer his own question. He
was quickly chasing after Noctis wondering what he was throwing to keep
warping. It took Ignis a couple of seconds to notice what it was, but when he
did he narrowed his eyes. Noctis was using kitchen knives to activate his
warping abilities. He was quick as well, not wasting any second. It was
unbelievable that this was the same person that refused to run in the treadmill
for more than fifteen minutes.
Part of Ignis wanted to deny this. Deny the fact that Noctis was trying to run
away from him, but the reality was different. Even with Noctis's disability he
was moving through the hallways without any problems. He was quickly warping up
the stairs and leaving Ignis behind. It didn't matter if Noctis out run him,
the guards upstairs were going to stop him, there was no doubt about it. Yet,
Ignis found himself running faster, trying to catch up with the prince.
Noctis hand touched the wall as he ran, the only time he would remove it was
when he was throwing a knife in front of him to warp. He quickly touched the
wall right away, easily recognizing the dents and scratches on the rough
surface. He was close, he knew it. He could hear the guards just ahead of him.
He could hear them reaching for their guns and moving and he could sense them.
Noctis threw one of the knives in front of the guards and summoned another two
as he did so. He warped and just for a second he was able to sense everything
around him. For that one second he could see. He narrowed his eyes and used one
of the knives to stab the guard's thigh and quickly used the second one to cut
through his throat.
Noctis heard the second guard aiming his weapon at him and he quickly reacted
by throwing one of his knives towards him and warping right away. The prince
used the force of the momentum to kick the guard onto the floor and quickly
stab one of the blades through his throat as well. The second set of stairs was
now free. He had done it. The prince didn't have time to celebrate though, he
could hear Ignis catching up to him and he quickly summoned the knives back to
him before running. He had another two sets of guards to deal with. After that
he could run towards the kitchen and leave through the kitchen door. The
construction would be up ahead and he could blend in and hide then. The
festival would be crowded and people would make it easy for him to hide. Even
if he didn't know where to go after, as long as he was away from this god
forsaken place he didn't care. As long as he could use the Lucis's magic he
could feel enough to know where he was going. It was almost as if his ancestors
were guiding him.
Noctis attacked the second set of guards in a similar manner, except this time
he picked up the two fallen guns. The two weapons vanished in a bright light,
becoming see-through at first before dematerializing. Noctis moved to the third
set of stairs, but this time he summoned one of the guns and threw it towards
the guards. He warped right away and cocked the gun upwards before shooting the
guard right through his face. The gun was tossed towards the second guard and
as Noctis warped he aimed towards the figure he was able to feel on his left.
He shot the guard without remorse and vanished the weapons.
The last set of guards were in the main floor. Noctis was finally able to reach
the first floor and he could feel the clean air around him. He could breath it
in and it was pumping the blood rushing through his veins. He could feel his
heart beat against his chest, and the sweet promise of freedom was all the
motivation he needed.
The guards rushed when they noticed him. He could hear their foot steps and
their voices. Noctis smirked and aimed for the guard on the left first. He
warped with one of his knives and then summoned one of the guns to shoot him on
the face. The second guard was unlocking his gun but before he could aim Noctis
was warping in front of him and taking him down onto the floor. The prince
summoned two knives and without hesitation stabbed the guard in between his
ribs. He leaned in closer, his half lidded clouded eyes staring at nothing. He
tilted his head towards the guard, the same smirk on his face.
“Don't worry, I'll make sure you enjoy this.” Noctis's hands twisted the blades
inside the familiar guard before he yanked them out, splashing blood across the
white marble floor. The prince tilted his head, listening to the noises of the
guard choking on his own blood. The satisfaction setting in his body was
numbing him and he needed to move again. He threw the knife towards the kitchen
and warped right away. He was about to start running when a body collided with
his and tackled him onto the floor. He recognized this shape, it was Ignis. How
the hell was he able to catch up with him?
Noctis narrowed his eyes and summoned a knife, he threw it randomly, not
knowing where he was at the moment thanks to Ignis. The familiar flash of blue
let him know where he was and Noctis quickly ran through the main doors not
knowing where he was going now. He warped one last time, and saw the hallway
and large windows, but the hallway just kept going and going! This was bad,
this was very bad. The prince was about to turn and run back, wanting to follow
his original plan again. He wasn't even able to turn before Ignis was tackling
him again, except this time he did it with enough force for the two to break
through one of the windows. Noctis hissed loudly at the harsh impact, his body
tensing up and his hands moving on their own. He warped and noticed he was in
the courtyard. He was outside. He could feel rain falling on top of his head
and it just felt so good.
“Noctis!”
Ignis voice was so close, he was so close to him but Noctis couldn't stop now.
He heard the construction not too far and it made his plan still possible. He
only needed to go that way. He could make it. He could finally go home. The
prince threw one of his knives and warped, his feet feeling the cold and wet
grass. It was the first time he had been able to be outside. It was the first
time he was able to breath in the fresh air. In all of these years, he couldn't
remember how the rain felt on his hair until now. Yet, he could feel Ignis
right behind him. He could feel him reaching for him.
The sound of something piercing the air startled Noctis and forced Ignis to
pull away from him. The prince wasn't able to register what was happening until
an excruciating pain shot through his leg. Noctis fell on the ground right
away, a loud scream ripping through his throat. He reached down to touch
whatever had pierced through his calf. A large rod pierced through the flesh
and was sticking out. Noctis could do nothing but to reach down and pull the
damn thing out. He hissed loudly in pain, trying to fight off the second scream
that was trying to escape him.
“Ah? Where are you going, dear prince.” Ardyn's was unmistakable. He lowered
the large crossbow he was holding and reloaded it. He hummed quietly, his hand
easily slipping in the second sharp rod in the channel. The chancellor smirked
and moved towards the fallen prince, moving at a steady phase and like if there
was no rush.
Noctis whimpered and slowly got on his knees. Ardyn was here, he was here and
the panic building up in his stomach was making his brain shut down. He needed
to think, he needed to move. He crawled and dug his fingers on the grass. He
could heard footsteps and they were getting closer and closer. He needed to
move, even if his leg was bleeding, even if the pain was tensing his muscles in
a way that it was almost impossible to move. He needed to move. The prince
summoned another knife and threw it. He warped and as soon as his body touched
the ground a foot was slamming him down. Noctis hissed loudly in pain and tried
to turn to stab the the bastard that was keeping him in place but a familiar
chuckle had his eyes widening.
Ardyn gave the prince no time to react as he pointed the crossbow at him. He
gave Noctis one last snicker before pulling the trigger. The rod shot out
through the chamber right away and pierced through Noctis's shoulder, pinning
him to the ground.
The prince felt his throat burning as he screamed for the second time. This
time he was unable to move or reach for the piece of metal that was piercing
through his shoulder. He was panting heavily, breathing through his nose and
squeezing his eyes shut in pain. Everything was hurting, the pain on his legs
and now his shoulder were making him shut down. He couldn't do anything but lay
there. He tried to summon another knife, to try to warp away from Ardyn but a
foot was stomping on his hand. He was done.
Ignis walked to stand next to the two, his eyes looking from Noctis to Ardyn.
“Chancellor, I apologize. This is all my fault.” He bowed his head and sighed
in resignation.
“Oh no, don't worry Ignis. You were just about to catch him yourself. I just
decided he needed to learn his lesson more thoroughly.” As if to make his point
Ardyn's foot pushed harder against Noctis's hand until the sound of snapping
bones could be heard. “Someone that behaves like a rabid animal, should be
treated as so.”
Noctis bit down on his bottom lip, his eyes narrowing with nothing but blood
thirst. He pulled his hand free from underneath Ardyn and as he did so his
other hand was summoning a knife. He aimed for the chancellor, his strike quick
and ready to kill but a tight grip on his wrist intersected his strike. It was
Ignis. Ignis was twisting his arm behind his back and pushing him against the
floor with a knee on his back. He struggled and tried to fight it off, feeling
a bitter taste in his mouth that he didn't even know what it was. Why did he
feel like crying, why was his throat burning with anger. It was upsetting him
more than the chancellor shooting him twice.
“Thank you, Ignis,” Ardyn's voice dragged the thank you and he stared directly
at Noctis's eyes. He smirked, the victory evident in his voice. “Do not worry,
I will be taking care of him for now. Please go back and check if any of the
guards can be saved.”
Ignis hesitated for a second, he was looking up at Ardyn with a neutral
expression on his face, but his body wasn't willing to move just yet. He forced
himself to do what he as he is told, even if his hands linger over Noctis's
body a bit longer. Both of Ignis's legs felt far too heavy, and he couldn't
help himself but to look back as he walked away. Ardyn is pulling the damned
rod from within Noctis's shoulder, looking as uncaring as always. He grabbed
onto Noctis's good arm and forced him on his feet. The chancellor shrugged one
of his shoulders, saying something that Ignis can't quite hear and then he
started dragging Noctis away. The prince's right leg was not responding and he
is forced to limb until he is flat out being dragged by Ardyn.
Ignis can't look back anymore. He forces himself to look ahead. The rain was
pouring outside and water was getting in through the broken window. Ignis ended
up calling for back-up and and medical help before quickly checking the guards
in the first floor. One of them was for sure dead and Ignis could recognize him
as the soldier that tortured Noctis not too long ago before Ignis ended up
staying in the prince's room. Noctis had ripped his lungs open making him choke
with his own blood. What a terrible death.
The rest of the guards didn't look any better. They were killed quickly and
without hesitation, and every hit had been precised. Ignis didn't want to be
impressed but he was and what made everything harder to take was the fact that
this was all his fault. He realized this when he found one of the bloody knives
on the floor. The cook wasn't a liar, he had been doing his job. It was Noctis
the one that took all the knives before Ignis was able to see them. It happened
weeks ago, before Ignis started cooking. Noctis had been planing to escape
since then. In fact that was probably the only thing in the prince's mind every
day and Ignis had been foolish for thinking otherwise.


Ignis was given a week off from his duties. He was told this wasn't a
punishment at all, but he felt as if it was. He knew very well that his skills
were probably being questioned right now, and maybe they were looking for a
replacement. Ignis couldn't blame them, he got played by Noctis and there was
no taking it back. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to be upset but all he
could do was blame himself. It was his incompetent behavior that led to this.
It was his fault that six guards died and Noctis nearly escaped. It made
enjoying his week off almost impossible.
No one called Ignis while he was away, he wasn't sure if that was good or not
but he enjoyed not being bothered. It wasn't until the day before he was
allowed to return to the citadel that he got a short phone call from one of
Ardyn's secretaries. He was told his duties were the same as always, but he
needed to be more careful this time. He wasn't punished and he also wasn't told
about his incompetence. It was almost as if what happened was nothing but a
simple accident.
Ignis was back in Ardyn's wing and a new set of guards greeted him. The guards
didn't seem to have any knowledge of what happened a week ago, if anything they
looked happy for the promotion. Ignis could hear them talking among themselves,
and was able to catch a few words as he moved through the hallways. The walls
were now clean and no signs of blood could be seen, not like Ignis was
expecting the hallways to look the same but it was odd. When he was in the
front lines there was no cleaning crew, no one to hide what happened there, but
now. Now it felt as something was being hidden, when in reality it was normal
to clean up the remains of the dead. He also noticed something quite different.
The walls now had wallpaper on them, and the doors were changed for new ones,
the only thing that remained the same on the hallways was the floor.
The door for Noctis's room also changed. It looked heavier and thicker, but the
same key could still be used. Ignis got his key out and unlocked the door. The
familiar sound of gears forcing the door open felt somewhat relaxing. It was
something that he was just used to by now. What greet him on the other side
though, was something far from familiar. The room was completely different. The
furniture, the decor and the layout were not even slightly the same. It also
felt as if the room was bigger, but there was no way, or was there?
The room was still luxurious looking, there was no doubt about it, and the
colors were kept the same. But the furniture was completely different, even
Noctis's bed was a complete different shape. The room didn't feel familiar at
all, and it was somewhat upsetting for Ignis, even if he didn't know why. He
moved through the new layout and sighed in relief when he noticed the familiar
figure underneath the blankets. At least that hadn't changed.
Ignis gently shook Noctis's shoulder. It was time for him to wake up, their
schedule wasn't going to be affected by what happened. If Ignis let his
emotions get the best of him, then he wasn't going to be competent enough to
carry on his duty. A mistake was made and he wasn't going to let it happen
again. Not now or ever. He gave Noctis's shoulder one last shake before the
body underneath the blankets moved. Noctis weakly and slowly sat on the bed.
The blankets now pooling around his waist and letting Ignis see his body.
Ignis eyes widened at the bandages around Noctis's chest and the cast on his
right arm. The skin on his chest was bruised everywhere and his face didn't
look any better. The skin wasn't swollen anymore, but still looked a bit
rounder than it should. Noctis right eye was a nasty black color and he was
hardly able to open it, but Ignis could see how red his eye was. It was a good
thing the prince was already blind because a wound like this would had done the
job for sure.
“It's time for breakfast.” Ignis nodded slowly and turned to leave. He was
letting the cook prepare Noctis's breakfast today. He still needed to go
shopping for the week and didn't feel like looking through the massive pantry
in the kitchen just to make something quick.
The loud noise of someone falling had Ignis turning right away. He frowned and
walked around the bed to see Noctis on the floor with his hands moving in front
of him. The prince's eyes were wide and for the first time since he met him, he
looked blind. Noctis was slowly and carefully moving his hands around him,
trying to find support in front of him. He was able to touch the night table
and used it to get on his feet but then was almost tripping over the new carpet
near his bed. It was even more difficult for him to move with his wounded leg.
He was limping and dragging his leg, his hands in front of him.
Noctis was lost. He was panicking and breathing heavily through his nose. The
prince's wide eyes were giving away the fear he was trying to mask on his face.
But it was evident...he didn't know where he was going. He didn't know where he
was. He whimpered when he hit his wounded leg on a chair and then tried to
balance himself but he couldn't reach for anything...because he didn't know
where anything was. Noctis fell on the floor again. He didn't move for a couple
of minutes and when he did the prince did nothing but to sit on the floor. He
sat in between his legs, not being able to bend his leg because of the fresh
wound. Noctis face was facing the floor. He wasn't looking up and little by
little his shoulders started to shake.
Ignis could hear the soft whimpers coming from the prince. He could hear his
trembling sobs and it was building up something inside of him. He could do
nothing but to watch as Noctis started crying. The prince was hiding his face
with both of his hands, his whole body trembling with his tears. Ignis fought
the urge to reach out, to touch Noctis's shoulder and reassure him that
everything was going to be okay. He fought those feelings because he shouldn't
be having them to begin with. He needed to turn around and get out. He needed
to. But he couldn't.
Noctis body was bending over and he rested his head on the floor, his bangs
covering his face. The loud sobs were being muffled by the hands on his mouth,
but before he could help it he was screaming. The prince tilted his head back,
and screamed. The desperate filled noise ripping through his lungs and throat.
He couldn't be quiet anymore and the loud sobs and whimpers couldn't be ignored
anymore.
Noctis forced himself to stand up, his shaking legs dragging him as he hit and
tripped over furniture. He screamed in frustration and his hands dragged
everything onto the floor. He threw the chairs against the wall and his hands
wiped off all the decorations on top of the furniture. Glass was shattering and
Noctis didn't care if he was stepping on it. He kept going, rage and
frustration filling his actions. He wanted to do more. He needed to do more. He
kicked the cabinets and hissed in pure rage.
Ignis couldn't watch anymore. He moved faster than he ever had and before he
knew it his arms were around the prince. He was holding Noctis by his waist and
turning him around. He held the prince close to his body, pressing his chest
against his and holding him around his shoulders. Noctis struggled at first. He
pushed against Ignis and even pulled on his shirt until it was ripping. Until
Ignis chest was scratched from the violent outburst. Still, little by little
Noctis's body began to tremble again. He was crying against his chest, holding
tightly onto his shirt as his legs slowly gave up on him and he keeled down on
the floor. Noctis dragged Ignis along with him and he follow with no
hesitation. Ignis kept his hold on Noctis. Not letting go even for a second.
The prince cried against his chest, he shook his head and soon enough he was
hugging Ignis. He was holding tightly on his torso, with his face buried
against his chest. He couldn't stop shaking and the tears in his eyes were
clinging to his closed eyelashes. The quiet sobs coming from his trembling lips
were quiet but still there. Ignis arms tightened around the prince's shoulders
in return. He placed one of his hands on his head and gently ran his fingers
through the thick locks of raven hair. He leaned his chin on top of Noctis's
head, pulling him closer until he was sure their bodies couldn't press together
any further. The way Noctis was clinging to him was desperate and it was
causing something to twist in Ignis's gut. The tight feeling inside his chest
couldn't be ignored, but he couldn't put it into words. Not yet.
Noctis's weak voice broke through his thoughts. The prince's voice was so
hoarse and sore, it sounded like a whisper. “I-I'm...I-I don't know where I
am...I-I don't know where this is. I-ignis...I-I can't see.” The heartbreaking
sob that follow made Ignis hands tremble against Noctis's shoulders.
“I know, I'm sorry Noctis. I'm really sorry.” And Ignis couldn't help that his
voice cracked as well.


 
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Notes
     What's up people, hahaha how has it been for the last couple of hours
     since I uploaded a fic, except this time is an update? Good, awesome!
     Well here you go.
     Warnings: My grammar and shit
     Tumblr: https://demnocts.tumblr.com/ some and write noctis jizz to
     me, plz hahaha.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The loud screams were echoing in his ears. People were running all around him,
trying to get away from the fire that was slowly eating away the large garden.
Noctis looked around him, his eyes blinking slowly and having a hard time
focusing. He could feel the soft grass underneath his hands and he dug his
fingers against the soil. He needed to get up. Something was wrong. The prince
reached for the fallen wheel chair and tried to get back on it just for a pair
of arms to hook underneath his armpits. Noctis panicked at first, he struggled
until he looked back and saw the familiar face.
 
“Noctis!” Luna was dragging the boy across, not being strong enough to pick him
up by herself. She kept her arms tightly around Noctis's chest, and looked
around for a safe route. The fire was slowly taking over everything. and far in
the distance she could see king Regis fighting enemies and trying to make his
way across. She needed to get to him.
 
Noctis was still weak from his recovery, but he managed to slowly turn and get
on his feet. He held onto Luna's waist as the two walked carefully around the
fire. The soldiers fighting around them were ignoring them, or maybe they
hadn't been noticed yet. “W-where's dad?”
 
“King Regis is up ahead, h-he is fighting.” Luna nodded and pulled Noctis
behind some trees in an attempt to avoid the fallen corpses of soldiers.
 
“Fighting?” Noctis frowned and looked up at Luna. The smoke from the fire was
dirtying her white clothes and she had smudges of blood on her face. “What's
happening?”
 
“I-I don't know...but we are being attacked, Noctis.” Luna rubbed her lips
together, her eyes having a hard time seeing through the smoke, and breathing
was becoming difficult.
 
“What?” Noctis looked around him. The smoke was bringing tears to his eyes but
he couldn't look away. The unknowns soldiers were taking over everything. Why
would they attack? Didn't they know the oracle and the oracle to be where here?
What if they died, what if something happened to Luna's mother or Luna herself,
their world would be doomed until a new oracle was born and raised. It would
cause more harm than good. What was the point of all of this?
 
Even through the heat, Noctis' blood turned cold. He looked up at Luna, his
lips trembling. “Is it because of us?”
 
Luna didn't answer, she only closed her eyes and pulled Noctis closer as they
walked.
 
The fight in the background was growing bigger, new units were arriving and
Luna could see king Regis warping across the field. He was was looking for
them. Luna took a deep breath and pulled Noctis closer before waving one of her
arms. “King Regis!” She screamed and smiled when the king turned to face them.
Luna's steps became faster then, she could see king Regis warping and running
towards them, a relieved look on his face.
 
The sound of grinding gears filled the space around them, and Luna hardly had
time to jump out of the way before a large machine landed in front of them. She
screamed and fell back, her hands letting go of Noctis. The large mech used one
of it's large arms to push the king away, sending him flying back and forcing
Regis to warp against a tree to avoid the landing. Luna stood up and looked
around. Noctis was slowly and weakly getting to his feet, his legs trembling as
he did so, but he was determined to move towards her again.
 
Luna's eyes widened when she noticed soldiers running towards them. “Noctis!
Behind!” She yelled and quickly rushed to the prince's side, but a hard slap
across her face had her falling back against the grass. A strange man with
scarlet hair was now standing in between her and the prince. He smiled at her
and turned uncaring. Luna was forced to watch as he moved towards Noctis. The
prince hardly had any time to react before an arm was around his waist. He was
easily picked up and taken with little to no effort.
 
“No! Let him go!” Luna was on her feet faster than ever, she was running
towards Noctis, trying to reach for him but a hand was pushing her away again.
She was shoved onto the ground before a pair of amber eyes stared straight at
her. A large hand held her jaw and the tight hold was painful.
 
“Don't worry little oracle. You'll have him back after I'm done with him.”
Ardyn roughly let go of Luna's face and instead held tightly onto the
struggling prince in his arms.
 
Noctis was kicking and squirming against the tight hold. He was shaking his
head and pushing against Ardyn, trying to get free. He looked over at Luna, and
held back tears before looking around for his father. The MT and large mech
were keeping him far from them, yet they were so close. He could see him, he
could see the stress in his eyes as he tried to warp near them just for the
large mech to quickly hit him again. Noctis shook his head, watching as his
father fell on one of his knees with blood running down his face. “Dad!” Noctis
screamed and began to struggle harder, but a hand quickly covered his mouth and
the one holding his waist kept him in place.
 
Ardyn looked around one last time and walked towards the wave of MT behind him.
“Burn it.” The order caused the prince to shake his head and struggle even
further. He was kicking his legs, looking back as the row of MT aimed the flame
throwers in the direction of Luna and his father. He could only watch as Luna
fearfully tried to step back. The MT aimed and fired. Noctis screamed loudly ,
tears clouding his vision but he was able to see his father warping just in
time. King Regis picked up Luna and the two warped away just before the waves
of fire took over what was left around them.
 
“Magnificent choice king of Lucis,” Ardyn mockingly said. He smiled at the two
from the distance, the fire keeping them apart. He chuckled and then turned
around to leave in the airship waiting for them.
 
Noctis shook his head, looking around as the two boarded the airship. No, this
wasn't right. It couldn't be right. He screamed once more, his hands trying to
reach out for his father but it was too late. The fire couldn't let him see
through and the doors of the ship closed behind him, turning everything dark.
 
 
Noctis blinked slowly, feeling tears running down the side of his face. He was
waking up from what felt like such a long slumber. The dream was still fresh in
his mind, but the colors looked faded and he could hardly remember the faces in
there, with the exception of Ardyn's face. As much as he wished for him to be
the one the prince could forget, there was no way that was going to happen,
even after being blind for so long. He couldn't forget Ardyn's face. It was
imprinted in his memory, like a scar that wouldn't fade away with time no
matter what.
 
The sound of gears moving forced the prince to turn on his bed and bury his
face against his pillow. He faked being asleep, and listened around him. The
familiar footsteps walked around the soft carpet and the sound of a tray being
placed on top of a table made him relax. Noctis turned on his bed again, his
head hardly peeking from underneath the blankets.
 
“What's for breakfast?” Noctis mumbled quietly and moved to sit on the bed. He
yawned, stretching his arms over his head before rubbing his eyes with the palm
of his hand.
 
Ignis looked over at Noctis with a surprised look on his face, it was extremely
rare for the prince to wake up on his own, even less when it was this early. He
smiled nonetheless and walked over to the small radio on the night table. He
flipped the switch on and looked over at Noctis. The prince was still trying to
wake up and he was yawning with puffy eyes and a drowsy look.
 
It was odd how time always seemed to flow differently depending on the
situation. Ignis could remember the days in the battlefield, sometimes twelve
hours felt like a year and sometimes they felt like a minute. The flow of time
was still an enigma to him, but right now he couldn't help himself but to
chuckle quietly to himself. He couldn't believe two years had passed already.
It had been two years since he was assigned to taking care of Noctis, and the
motion finally crossed his mind as he looked down at the prince.
 
Noctis was changing, he was taller for sure and his body got rid of what was
left of his baby fat. He was still young and a brat, that was for sure, but he
wasn't just a child anymore. The prince's face was less around and his sharp
jawline was visible now, his eyes were still the same though, as soft as ever,
even when they weren't as big anymore. The bangs on his face were getting a bit
too long and needed a trim but it wasn't like it bothered Noctis at all. The
little bit of exercise he did with Ignis kept his body in shape, but there was
hardly any solid muscle in his body. It was mostly due to the fact that Ignis
wasn't allowed to give the prince a proper training regimen, they wanted him to
stay weak, not grow stronger. Noctis had proven to be a handful as it was,
training him more would just cause more issues.
 
It was not only the prince that was changing, Ignis felt that he was as well.
Not only because he was getting older but because his life had changed and now
it revolved around something completely different. Maybe peace was making him
weaker. The capital was as peaceful as ever, even if the reality was other. The
war was still happening and the Lucis kingdom was becoming ruthless. King Regis
was becoming impatient and as the war dragged on it was pretty evident. He
couldn't blame the man, how long had it been since the last time he saw his
son?
 
The majority of the Niflheim territory had already been conquered. The capital
and the territory just past the mountains was all that was left. It wouldn't be
long before they lost everything and Ignis still couldn't understand what they
were thinking. The emperor was still sending troops to fight, being stubborn
and hateful at this point. He was sending his people to die, there hadn't been
a victory on their side for a long time, even when Ignis was still fighting in
the front lines, nothing ever looked good. The few missions he was a part of
were always successful but that didn't win a war, it just bought them time.
 
Lucis now had Tenebrae as well, and Ravus left their side with that lost. Not
only did the lose a strong commander but the sea border as well. The war came
to them, something that was never expected to begin with, and all Niflheim had
left was hope that summer never came. The cold weather was the last protection
they had against the Lucis kingdom, but time was running short.
 
“Ignis?”
 
Noctis voice interrupted Ignis's thoughts. He shook his head and sighed
quietly. The radio in the background was already talking about what to do
during an attack and it only made everything feel even more real. “Apologies, I
got lost in thoughts,” Ignis nodded and watched as Noctis turned his head
towards the direction of the radio.
 
The prince frowned and reached over for Ignis. He held onto his arm, rubbing
his lips together with a small frown. “Would you be okay?”
 
The question was unexpected but Ignis replied by giving Noctis's hand a gently
squeeze. “Yes, I'll be fine, from the intel I had been able to get my hands on,
it doesn't sound like the Lucis is doing more harm than what it is expected
from war. They are keeping civilians unharmed and for that I am grateful.”
 
“Do you hate me? For what my father is doing?” Noctis's hand was trembling
against his hold and Ignis shook his head, a light chuckle leaving his lips.
 
“No, of course not.” I don't think I'll ever be able to hate you, was left
unsaid, but Ignis gently running his fingers through Noctis's hair was all the
confirmation the prince needed.
 
“Well, I think we wasted enough time. I hope your breakfast is still warm.”
 
Noctis smiled and got off the bed. He walked over to the table and pulled the
chair back to sit and eat his breakfast. Ignis watched him, his eyes following
the way Noctis was limping as he moved. After the injury from the chancellor
two years ago, the prince hadn't been able to regain his usual posture. It
didn't affect him much, but it was still hard not to notice. It was a good
thing that the prince by now knew his surroundings again. He would still
struggle once in a while but it was mostly due to the limping.
 
After breakfast Ignis took the prince to the gym and ran along side him on one
of the treadmills. Ignis picked up an exercise routine for himself, after
realizing how long he had been out of combat or regular military training.
Noctis as always was lazily running, not showing much interest or increasing
his running speed. Ignis had to be the one to reach over and push the buttons
until the prince was whining at him to stop. He didn't want to run a marathon,
he just wanted to get the exercise over with!
 
“Don't make it faster!” Noctis huffed quietly and held onto the bar in front of
him.
 
“Oh, I did that?” Ignis mused and ignored the glare Noctis was throwing his
way.
 
“I hope you break your glasses, then you'll be blinder than me,” Noctis
mumbled, his hand touching the menu in front of him until he was able to lower
the speed again.
 
“I'm positive that can be argued. Even without my glasses, I would still keep
my eyes on you.” Ignis chuckled and turned his attention back to the numbers on
the treadmill. He missed the way Noctis looked away and hid his face with one
of his hands. A light shade of red spreading through his cheeks.
 
After exercise came something that Ignis had been able to squeeze into their
schedule not too long after Noctis tried to escape two years ago. The prince
was a mess, depressed and with hardly any will to keep going, it had been a
rough patch that Ignis still couldn't believe Noctis was able to push through,
but it was probably because Ignis decided to teach the prince something new to
distract himself with.
 
Ignis grew up in a military family, for sure, but he also grew up in a family
that enjoyed expanding their horizons, and when he was a child he was taught
how to play the violin. He decided to teach Noctis, as a way to distract him
and allow him to express his feelings without the prince bursting into fits of
rage from feeling so powerless. The lessons were slow, and it took Noctis a few
months to get the basics, especially since Ignis also had to learn how to teach
someone that couldn't see what he was trying to explain. It eventually ended up
with Ignis showing Noctis how to play the violin by leading him the whole time.
 
At times, Ignis couldn't help himself but to wonder if Noctis was toying with
him, because he knew for sure what the prince could play and couldn't play by
now. Yet, Noctis would make mistakes here and there, just like he was doing
right now.
 
“Can you show me?” Ignis was asked with a timid voice. Noctis would avoid
facing him, his hands holding his instrument as he waited for Ignis to move
close to him.
 
Ignis would gently reached over and move Noctis' fingers along the strings,
reminding him which ones he needed to use. He would gently hold the hand
gripping the stick and make it move along the strings. Ignis always picked to
stand behind Noctis, finding it easier to show the prince how to properly play
like this. Noctis was easy to teach though, his body was always relaxed and he
would follow along with what Ignis did. Yet, not long after the first mistake
another one came, and Noctis was looking at him. A coy smile on his lips.
 
Sometimes the lessons had to be cut short.
 
Noctis favorite thing to do was still the same, listening to the radio, and as
of late he looked more excited when he did. The news of the Lucis kingdom were
of course something the prince couldn't help himself but to be thrilled about.
Ignis could understand this, even if he also felt dread from the news. The
tensing was spreading through the citadel. Everyone looked on edge and Ignis
made sure to avoid taking Noctis anywhere near the guards. He didn't want any
kind of incidents to happen.
 
“I want to see dad.” Noctis voice was quiet as he leaned his head against one
of the pillows. He turned his head towards Ignis, a small smile on his lips.
 
“I'm sure he wants nothing else either.” Ignis replied with a small nod, his
eyes on the book he was holding. He heard the prince standing up, but didn't
look up until Noctis sat next to him with his head leaning against Ignis'
shoulder.
 
Noctis buried his face against him, and held tightly onto Ignis's arm with a
soft noise. “I don't want anything bad to happen to you.”
 
“I'll be fine, I promise.” Ignis nodded slowly, and ignored the feeling that
was building up in his stomach. He wasn't naive, he knew exactly what the
prince had been doing as of late, but Ignis could only reply by acting like he
didn't notice. The feelings tightening his chest had to be kept under lock, and
he wasn't going to allow for anything to slip through.
 
Noctis quickly pulled away from him when someone came through the door. A royal
guard stood there, and saluted Ignis with a firm nod. “The chancellor is asking
for your presence,” The guard bowed his head and then turned to leave.
 
Ignis looked over at Noctis and the prince waved him off with a lazy sigh.
“I'll head back to my room, don't worry.”
 
Ignis raised a brow but didn't move, instead he crossed his arms over his
chest.
 
Noctis sighed loudly and then did the same. He crossed his arms over his chest
and stood up. “See? I'm moving, you stick in the mud,” The prince mumbled and
walked past Ignis to head to his room. Ignis didn't leave until he saw Noctis
going back inside his room and heard the gears locking themselves shut.
 
Ignis was hardly ever summoned by Ardyn. The chancellor had a very busy
schedule and only required for Ignis to give him a written report every month.
He would go over it with Ignis but the meeting usually wouldn't last longer
than thirty minutes. If anything the chancellor would spend more time with
Noctis whenever the prince was taken to the laboratory within the citadel. And
sometimes he would dismiss Ignis just to have some alone time with Noctis. By
the end of his visits Noctis always looked drained and his skin was extremely
pale. He wasn't sure what Ardyn was doing, but Noctis refused to talk about it.
 
Ardyn's office was located in the opposite wing. It was a large room filled
with old books that looked ready to fall apart. The office was messy but
interesting in it's own unique ways, because of all the ancient items Ardyn
kept around him. The place always had a very unique smell to it, not just
because of the smell of books but something else that Ignis couldn't quite put
his finger on. On top of that Ardyn always had quiet music playing in the
background, music that Ignis have never heard before.
 
This time though, it was different. Ignis frowned when he didn't hear music
near the office but instead a loud voice screaming through what he could only
guess was the speaker phone.
 
“They are closing in on our borders, that bastard Regis doesn't care anymore!”
It was the voice of the emperor, Ignis was sure of it.
 
“Yes, but we have been able to hold this long thanks to him. If we do what you
want, the key to weakening the Lucis magic might be gone for good.” Ardyn's
voice came next and Ignis found himself slowly and quietly moving towards the
door.
 
“We have held him this long! And no progress has been made, we cannot do
anything without the crystal and at this point we cannot take it. We are losing
chancellor. The MT are not being made fast enough to fight the army of Lucis.
Not anymore. The gods have forsaken us.”
 
“You are not thinking. Please, you have to understand, the Lucis kingdom will
fall but if you do what you are plotting, everything we worked for will be in
vain.”
 
“The kingdom falling be damned. I don't care about this anymore. I want to see
Regis twisting in agony before my city falls. I want to see him lose. I'll have
the head of his son delivered to him before feeding the deamons what is left of
his body. I want him to see his son suffer before we end him. I'll take any
victory I can chancellor. This is my decision.”
 
The long silence that followed was thick enough that Ignis was able to feel it.
He was even afraid his own breathing could be heard.
 
“Very well. I'll make it so, anything else?”
 
“Butcher his face, I don't want Regis having the satisfaction of even seeing
him again.”
 
The line went dead after that. Ignis quietly moved down the hallway and waited
a couple of minutes before his regular steps echoed through the hallway. He
composed himself, acting as if he hadn't just heard their conversation even if
his heart was beating against his chest and his hands were moist with sweat
underneath his gloves. He knocked on the door once and waited.
 
“Come in,” Ardyn's voice was as cheerful as ever. He smiled at Ignis and
stopped him from giving a formal salute. “No need Ignis, I think you have been
here long enough to feel the need to do this.”
 
Ignis just nodded slowly and stood in front of Ardyn's desk, ignoring the
amused look the chancellor was giving him. “You wanted to see me, chancellor?”
 
“Ah, yes. I got good news for you!” Ardyn stood up and pushed a piece of paper
towards the other side of his desk.
 
Ignis frowned and picked up the page. He read over it, his eyes moving over the
sentences as fast as he could before he shook his head and looked over at Ardyn
with a confused look on his face. “Relocation?”
 
“That's right, you are being moved to the front lines again. Unfortunately I do
not have the luxury to keep someone like you around anymore, especially for a
babysitting job. We need trained men with a very specific set of skills to keep
the Lucis kingdom from pushing our borders even further. You happen to be one
of them. You'll be leaving in two days, I suggest you pack lightly.” Ardyn
shrugged one of his shoulders, not looking at all bothered that he was going to
be losing the person that had been taking care of his prisoner this whole time.
 
Ignis on the other hand didn't know what to say, or even do. He couldn't think
clearly because all that he could think of was the conversation he heard not
even a few minutes ago. He wasn't being relocated because he was needed. He was
being relocated because soon enough, there was not going to be a prince for him
to take care of.
 
For the first time in many years, Ignis felt rage within his blood.
 
 
 
 
Noctis moved his fingers over the book on his lap. He was trying to read what
was in front of him but his mind kept drifting off. It started happening only a
couple of months ago, or maybe it had been happening for a long time now. But
he couldn't stop thinking about Ignis, even now that he was only gone for a
little bit, he couldn't stop thinking about what he was doing.
 
It was funny though, because he could remember how much he hated Ignis at some
point. He could remember the hatred and rage he felt towards him after his
escape attempted was stopped by him. He could remember damning his name over
and over as a whip cracked across his back just the day after he tried to
escape. He could remember his voice leaving him from screaming so much, until
his consciousness was hardly there and he was at the edge of passing out. He
blamed Ignis for all of this. It was his fault for stopping him, it was his
fault for letting Ardyn capture him again.
 
It was all Ignis fault.
 
At least that's what the prince told himself as he was punished and tortured.
As he was hurt and he felt pain spreading through his body. He hated everything
and everyone. He wanted this country to burn and to disappear, for his father
to set it a blaze. But then, after he was taken to his room again, after he was
blinded again. Ignis had been there. He hugged him, he calmed him. He stayed
with him and kept him safe. He helped him through everything, and not once did
he ever harmed him.
 
Noctis wanted to hate him like he had before. He wanted to feel the same rage
as he felt, but he couldn't. The madness would melt away every time he felt
Ignis' gloved hands touching his face. He couldn't be upset as Ignis kept him
safe from the guards and moved some of his things in his room to make sure
Noctis was never left alone. He couldn't bring himself to despite him when
Ignis started to teach him how to play the violin.
 
If anything, the more he tried to hate him, the more he became attached to him.
In this world that was dark to him, in a world in which he was nothing but a
tool. He was glad that someone was at least able to see him.
 
The prince tilted his head up when the gears of the door moving and he heard
rushed foot steps. He frowned, not recognizing them right away and quickly
moved back when a pair of hands reached for him.
 
“Noct, it's me.” Ignis' voice cut through the silence.
 
Noctis allowed himself to relax and he closed his eyes. Ignis' hands were
holding his face. He couldn't remember ever hearing Ignis' steps like this,
they were harsh and loud, almost like a stomp and he was moving so fast it was
hard for Noctis to recognize the noises he was making.
 
“Sorry, your footsteps...they were off, I couldn't recognize them,” Noctis
nodded slowly and closed the book on his lap. He frowned, Ignis' hands were
shaking against his face. He could feel his fingers twitching and his body
trembling. He could almost feel his fast heartbeat through his fingertips, even
through the leather. What was happening? He tilted his head, furrowing his
brows before placing one of his hands on top of Ignis'. “What's wrong?”
 
The hesitation was clear in the air and Noctis held onto Ignis' hands, waiting
for him to speak.
 
“I'm bring transferred, Noctis. I'm going to the front lines again.” Ignis
sighed quietly and his blood turned cold when Noctis' hand let go of his own.
The prince was frowning, shaking his head.
 
“T-transferring? But why? W-who? What's going to happen?” Noctis shook his
head, running his fingers through his hair as anxiety quickly began to consume
him. Ignis was leaving? If he was leaving then who was going to take care of
him? Was it going to be like it used to be? With the servants doing as they
pleased, with the cook throwing his food on the floor and with the guards
pulling him out his room and...and...no, this wasn't happening.
 
“Noctis, stop. You are going to hurt yourself.” Ignis stopped the prince from
pulling on his hair, although he was sure that Noctis wasn't even aware of what
he was doing it at the moment.
 
“Why?! Why are you leaving?” Noctis' voice cracked and he shook his head. He
ignore how his body was shaking and instead buried his face against his hands.
 
“Because...they are going to kill you.”
 
The words felt like bricks that were being dropped on top of the prince. He
couldn't hide his surprise. Noctis' clouded eyes were wide, and his blood
turned cold. Did he heard it right? Was he sure of what Ignis said...he was
going to die. They were going to kill him. After so many years, after going
through so much, he was going to be discarded like trash. He was going to be
killed by the people he hated.
 
Noctis stood up, his body moving weakly as he tried to process what he had just
been told. Death was something he had always known. It was part of the Lucis
kingdom, it was part of his bloodline, but this was different. He wasn't going
to die while protecting his kingdom, like his father was willing to do. He
wasn't going to die from using the power of the crystal, no. He was going to
die by Niflheim's hands. The same people that took him from his father, the
same people that locked him up, and the same people that blinded him. He was
going to die in the hands of the people that tortured him and raped him. The
people that destroyed the future his father had spoke about so many years ago.
 
He didn't want to die.
 
Noctis didn't want to die at all. He didn't want to be killed.
 
“The day after I was taken...”
 
Ignis looked up. He was staring at Noctis back as he spoke, watching his
shoulders tremble, just like they did two years ago when he broke down in front
of him.
 
“Ardyn brought me here. He looked me in the eye and said he was going to be the
last person I was ever going to see, and then I couldn't see anymore. He said
he hated my eyes, they reminded him of someone he would rather not see again. I
wasn't blinded because I was trying to escape. He did it because he wanted to.
He did it because he enjoyed it,” Noctis voice was cracking and his fists were
shaking on either side of him. “I wasn't beaten because I was bad. I wasn't
starved because I didn't want to eat. I wasn't raped because I wanted it. None
of it happened because of me! And I don't want to die. I don't want to die
here! I don't want to die at all! I don't want to, I never want to!” He was
screaming now. Noctis was shaking his head, his body weakly leaning against the
couch next to him.
 
“I-ignis...I don't want to die.” A broken sob came next.
 
Ignis quickly moved and held onto the prince before Noctis collapsed on his
knees. He held his face and leaned his forehead against the prince's. Noctis
was gripping his shirt, tears rolling down his eyes as he tried to look in his
direction.
 
“I don't want to die, I don't. I-I don't want to die and if I do, please. I
don't want to die here,” Noctis didn't even want to think of what they would do
before killing him. “Please, not here.”
 
The prince leaned his head on top of Ignis' shoulder, he buried his face
against there and gripped his shirt as tightly as he could. He was going to die
all alone, Ignis was going to leave. He was going to go and fight against his
kingdom and he was probably going to die. Noctis was going to be all alone
during the last few days of his life, and he was going to be alone before he
died.
 
“Ignis, p-please,” Noctis whimpered quietly, a small sob leaving his lips. He
tilted his head towards Ignis, his body moving on it's own. He couldn't stop
himself then, his trembling lips were moving closer and before he knew it he
was kissing Ignis. It was an odd feeling, tasting his tears along with Ignis'
lips, but it also felt right. He was moving closer, his hands resting on Ignis'
shoulders as he gained a bit of confidence to press further against him.
 
The warmth that spread through Noctis' body when Ignis kissed back was the only
thing that kept his tears from falling again. The twitchy, sad smile on his
lips was uplifting, even if he couldn't bring himself to express the joy that
was being overshadowed by his own fears. He let Ignis take command of the kiss,
and leaned in against him when his arms moved around his waist and pulled him
closer. The feeling of Ignis' leather gloves against his face was always so
comforting, even when fear was still making his body tremble.
 
The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but it felt as if the world around them
stopped for much longer. Ignis stared at the prince in front of him. There was
a blush on Noctis' cheeks and the now moist lips were smiling, but the smile
couldn't reach his eyes. It couldn't heal him and make him forget about what
was going to happen to him. None of it could...but Ignis. He could do
something.
 
“You are not going to die. I promise.”
 
 
Chapter End Notes
     idk like, I suck at writing romance guys. BUT I'M TRYING! Like
     seriously trying.
End Notes
     Well, there's that!
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