chosen king.

Noct starts with word of a train and Ignis already feels disconcerted, even if momentarily, given how everything stops in favor of having him comfortable on a chair. Thanks the stars it wasn’t that much of a walk, for his legs had started to ache from the constant aimless wandering. It makes him curse his current state, a brittle sword serves no one.

The chair however would come most in handy, not only as for momentary relief, but because if it wasn’t for it- Ignis would have definitely lost his balance at the news. He’s never been quick to anger, but he’s admittedly at his wits’ end, The chancellor, harming- 

Noctis, 

Tricking him into such an act, taunting him again. Prompto. That Prompto, at least. He could be badly wounded, could be fatally wounded. Gladio. Where was Gladio? Why wasn’t the shield at duty? What good is a ruptured party? and–

What was I doing? I would have been there. I could have been there. I could have stopped it, I could have brought us together, I could have protected them, I should have.

How did I not see it coming? How could I be so–

are you doing alright?

Ignis realized that he has become a liability to the entourage just as Noctis ponders about his well being, perhaps it was the prolonged silence, or the harsh set of his jaw. “Noct.

I am certainly not the one we should be fussing about in this conversation. My last memory is of Altissia, so either I cannot remember or whatever power brought us here did so at separate times- but you are wounded, and lied over the nature of your headache and the–" 

There’s a pang in his chest, searing pain that forces him to stop. A reminder of how much of a hypocrite he’s being by admonishing the prince for a lack of care of himself. What Ignis is not doing however, is placing blame on Noctis for the events in question. He can hear the sincerity in his voice. 

”…emotional turmoil you must be going through.“

❝ ...altissia? ❞

everything grinds to a halt, then. he stops tapping his foot. 

❝ what... what part of altissia? ❞

if ignis couldn’t remember any of it, noct’s just gone and barreled straight into telling him about things he doesn’t have any context for, and that would only overwhelm him, and — 

okay, he decides. calm down. you’re not the one that needs help, and freaking out isn’t going to do any good for either of us.

noctis knows he can’t stop his retainer from worrying about him, and it wouldn’t be fair to keep asking him not to. it’s something he would probably always do, even if things were perfectly normal. 

wishing ignis would take his own needs more seriously and not push himself so hard all the time doesn’t mean a whole lot coming from noct, though; not when he’d rather shut himself off from people than talk.

❝ listen, iggy, i promise i’m alright, ❞ he says, attempting to be at least somewhat reassuring. ❝ i wasn’t trying to lie. it’s not — i’m not hurt bad. there was no blood or anything. i already took something for it, and it’s feeling better. so... ❞

he wrings his hands for a second, and sighs.

Octavio hardly spent any time in the apartment he was “assigned.” He didn’t hate it. It was just…small. Cramped. He didn’t feel like he could really stretch his legs in such a tiny space. Never mind the fact that he should be used to this–his “room” on the ship was a fraction of the size. A bunk and some personal items. He never stayed there long, either.

Despite not spending much time there, the place was covered in evidence of his occupation. Numerous coffee mugs with the dregs of free coffee scattered about. Rumpled and askew cushions where he’d jumped up on the couch, getting excited about something on the television. A refrigerator full of energy drinks. A trash can full of empty energy drink cans.

Cans stacked in odd collections in strange places.

The coffee table.

The arm of the couch.

The kitchen counters.

Behind the couch.

Next to the television (which, notably, was mysteriously absent).

The middle of the floor.

Papers strewn about on the dining room table with scribbles of ideas–plans to cobble together mechanisms with the outdated and sluggish technology this place had.

All in all, the place was a mess, whether or not Noct tried to keep it clean. At the very least, Octavio went about every couple of days, normally in the middle of the night on some strange cleaning binge, and picked everything back up, only to destroy it again later.

Hearing the knock wrenched Octavio out of his thoughts, split between a game he’d just picked up earlier that day and his computer. He’d dragged the television into his room (temporarily, of course), so he could multi-task. Crouched in the chair, rather than sitting properly, he twisted about to look, then grinned.

❝ ¡Ah, si! I was starting to wonder if you actually existed. Maybe we just keep missing each other. ❞ He laughed, rugged and hoarse, though not muffled by his usual mask. The goggles were off, too, hanging loosely around his neck. He dropped into the chair properly, causing it to creak, and gestured towards empty space in his cluttered room.  ❝ You can come in if you want. I’m not really used to ‘privacy,’ anymore. ❞

now, noct is a natural-born complainer. he’s never shied away from bemoaning the heat or the cold outside or griping about having to eat his vegetables, but he’s got no room to complain about the state of the apartment — especially not when his cleanliness track record is much worse. so he keeps his mouth shut. this is the first time they’re meeting, after all, and leaving a bad impression by seeming uptight would be worse than going with the flow. 

the apartment itself isn’t something he can find fault in, either. it’s nice enough, and everything works the way it’s supposed to. for now, anyway. it’s a roof, and that’s what matters.

maybe he’ll take some of the cans out when he leaves again.

❝ yeah, maybe. seems like we’re both out a lot, huh? ❞

the fact that octavio is sitting at all seems out of place, and noct can tell that after having seen him for all of a minute. he takes a couple steps past the clutter and leans against the wall. 

noct knows sharing a lot of information about himself probably isn’t the most responsible thing to do, but finds it hard to envision the act of getting to know his roommate causing any sort of harm.

the concept of having a roommate isn’t exactly one noctis is familiar with. sure, he and the guys shared the tent and the hotel rooms on the road trip, but this is a little different.

his previous semi-permanent living situation had him in an apartment by himself, and while he enjoyed the freedom that came along with it, he wasn’t exactly good at managing his household. ignis would come over and manage it for him. 

sharing the space with someone else means noct can’t really afford to fall back into his old, messy habits, so he’s doing his best to be considerate. the only problem, he notices as he arrives back home one afternoon, is that his new roomie is about as disorganized as he is. and loud.

between the two of them, this apartment probably wouldn’t last long.

noctis decides that he ought to be nice and at least introduce himself, so he knocks on the open bedroom door before poking his head in.

Ignis has been taking the day for himself, or at least as much as that could entail in his eyes. Between several trips to the door and walking along the walls of the apartment trying to memorize its shape in an odd, intricate ritual, anyone might say he seems rather restless.

and he is, but it’s not something the man would admit out loud.

Leaving those details behind, the day has been nothing but beyond lovely, acquaintances and friends alike making their way over to his door bearing gifts and with the sound of smiles in their voices- it truly made the advisor feel welcome, and homely, even if they truly weren’t at Insomnia anymore.

He stays a tad too long in his own thoughts when there’s raps at the door, taking him away from a darker mindscape and onto the certain path of opening it. “Yes?”

Ignis knows there’s someone at the door, but can’t quite place his finger on who it is just yet- there’s a slight shuffle at the feet and the faintest smell of a fresh baked good, but other than that there is nothing he can go on from.

“How can I help you?”

the lapse before ignis reaches the door is just long enough for noct to start idly tapping away at his phone in an attempt to drive off some of his concern, but it turns out that he had nothing to worry about. ignis is home. that’s a huge relief.

❝ hey, iggy — just wanted to come by and hang out if you’ve got time. you know, since it’s your birthday and all. ❞

noct puts his phone safely back into his pocket, and shifts to hold the plate with both hands.

noct would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about going fishing. they’re on islands after all ― nothing but ocean around as far as someone on the shore can see, so who knows what you can catch from a pier or two — but then the news comes in that the water is haunted. like, for real haunted. he doesn’t know the specifics, not having been there and all, but it couldn’t hurt to steer clear for a while. maybe it’ll calm down.

with one outlet for distraction off the table, he’s only got one other tried and true option to get his mind of things.

noctis is excited to learn that the mainland is home to an impressive combination arcade-restaurant-bowling-alley, and makes a mental note to bring it up to prompto later. he’s probably already been, but it would be more fun to go together next time.

it takes a little bit of work to get the directions up on his phone, but it’s smooth going from there. he’s not trying to explore the whole building; once he’s through the door, he makes a beeline for the token exchange machine, getting just enough for a few continues at a sidescroller.

he must have spaced out pretty hard or something, because he doesn’t even realize the console and his seat are shaking until after he’s sat down. when he looks up he sees the reason why.

there is a really tall robot absolutely going to town on one of those dancing games. noct looks on in mild... disbelief? awe? as it hits every step with perfect timing, and holds onto the chair until the most intense part of the song is over.

hey!! this next week coming is going to be a little busy for me, but i do want to start branching out and throw a small starter call out there for anyone interested in interacting w/ noct!

even amidst all the stress and confusion rattling about in his head, noctis would be hard-pressed to forget one of his friends’ birthdays.

now, at first, he figures he could buy something small from the grocery store — there’s nothing wrong with that, right? his part-time sushi chef gig in high school didn’t exactly do much in the way of familiarizing him with the culinary arts. but, the more he thinks about it, the more a little part of him keeps going it would mean more if you tried to make something yourself!

and, yeah, that would be a nice gesture, but then he’d have to worry about nailing it. the last time he tried cooking something on his own, he’d nearly rendered a perfectly good pan unusable. after some time debating with himself in front of the store’s bakery display case, he retreats with a sigh into the aisle harboring all the baking ingredients and pulls out his phone to look at recipes.

there’s this one recipe in particular that ignis came up with years ago, but it would kind of ruin the surprise if noct called to ask him about it. he scrolls for ages trying to find something that’s close enough to the way he remembers it, gathers up the stuff he needs, and checks out.

actually baking the cake is its own struggle. he feels a little scatterbrained, and ends up checking the oven a little too many times, but tries to keep the kitchen mostly together for the sake of his roommate. he doesn’t want to leave a huge mess behind.

for someone that has absolutely no clue what he’s doing, he thinks it turned out pretty okay. the presentation isn’t as fancy as what ignis would normally do, but that’s fine. at least he didn’t burn it. about as satisfied as he’s going to be, noctis wraps the plate up in foil and starts making his way over to the apartment where ignis and prompto are roomed. he doesn’t really mind the walk.

There’s so many things Ignis wants to do, to say, but this isn’t the time. Part of him bangs at the back of his head, when will it come? and he has to remind himself, silently, as the prince puts the cane back in his grip that the right time might never come. 

Let us leave it at that.

Noct speaks with hesitation, different than his usual stammer “I have known you for longer than you can remember, I can tell that you are not giving me the full story.” as stern as he can manage, which given the nature of their reunion, isn’t much.

There’s one odd thing, however. Ignis does not remember going blind, he supposes it’s from an injury as he raced through Altissia- but he never did reach Noct, did he? The royal doesn’t seem fazed of his current state, has he seen him before?

“…Yes, of course.” He lets Noct lead him, as he thinks of his next question. 

noct can’t help but grumble a little bit at being caught. he’s rarely ever been able to successfully hide anything from ignis. maybe it was a little dumb to think he could just brush this one off.

❝ okay, okay. you got me. so, the train was under attack, right ― ❞ 

he interrupts himself for a sec, guiding ignis over to an outdoor cafe table and helping him settle into a chair. feeling the tiniest bit more at ease now that the possibility of a fall is out of the question, noctis occupies the chair across from him.

❝ you and gladio were trying to keep things together on the front end, and... well. it’s hard to explain, because i don’t know how he was able to make himself look like — ❞

he feels himself getting frustrated just thinking about it, watching the whole scenario play out in his head again. he sighs, thoroughly aggravated.

❝ after i blew up all the drop ships, ardyn tricked me into pushing prompto from the train, and then he knocked me out. i woke up here. and now you’re here, too. i think that’s just about it. ❞

noct jiggles his leg a bit, tapping out his anxious energy onto the concrete with his heel. 

[ ★ ] maybe a quick warning would’ve been nice, ‘cause prompto almost jumps straight out his seat as soon as it all clicks together. this is way too much to process at once!

“o-oh! that’s what you’re worried ‘bout? psh, hardly even remember it, dude.” his joke lacks the usual oomph, but he’s still making an attempt to lighten noct’s mood despite feeling like the world around him is spinning. it’s hard to see him so… perturbed, as iggy would probably say. with a flicker of a smile, he continues more reassuringly, “seriously though, it’s okay. he messed with… all of us. i get it.”

fidgety fingers toy at the bracelet covering his barcode, mind racing. honestly, it does hurt to think about what happened on the train. remembering how he thought he was gonna die… or that his best friend hated him… not to mention everything afterwards… well, let’s just say he prefers not to think about it at all, if possible. still, the last thing he wants to do is burden noct even further after just reuniting with him, so he pats his good pal on the back, swings up from the bench, and makes his best attempt at honing in on his sunny ‘tude!

“’sides, i didn’t make us bff bracelets in high school for nothing! i’m here for ya ‘til the end, noct. promise.” a pause. “yikes, especially now. welcome to your new island life, i guess.”

noct knows things probably aren’t as okay as prompto is trying to make them seem, but this isn’t a situation where he wants to push — especially not when both of them are just barely keeping it together.

❝ can’t stop me from being sorry, prompto, ❞ noct says, offering a hesitant, apologetic smile. ❝ i’m gonna try n’ figure out a way to make it up to you. ❞ he realizes how lame that probably sounds only after he’s said it. it’ll take some doing; this isn’t some school-era mistake that can be fixed with a trip to the arcade or spotting lunch for a couple days.

when prompto gets to his feet, noctis follows suit. he stretches his arms above his head until he feels a couple pops in his back, then exhales, exhausted. his headache is finally starting to ease off, and noct’s thankful for the small things.

❝ i’ll be here for you, too, okay? ❞ 

he’s determined to not let himself be fooled by the same trick twice.

❝ you’re getting in on it too, huh? ❞

JEALOUSY. does your muse get jealous in a relationship?

❝ no, why would i? ❞

he’s definitely not the jealous type, but he can’t help but feel just the tiniest bit envious when people receive romantic attention from someone he’s crushing on. will he say anything? no. and he’ll be happy no matter what that someone decides to do.

ODE. does your muse have a way with words?

❝ nope. never have. come on, you should know that already! ❞

noctis is notoriously bad at speaking his mind and expressing how he feels verbally. he’s not exactly about to serenade anyone or write poetry anytime soon.

YOURS. does your muse get protective easily?

❝ yeah, but… i’m not really the best at actually doing the protecting. i’d hate it if anything else happened to you guys. ❞

❝ this is getting a little out of hand, now. ❞

P & R answered here!

I answered here!

-

NAUGHTY. what is your muse like in bed?

❝ okay. really out of hand. ❞

take your best guess. (^:

CHOCOLATE. does your muse like chocolate?

❝ yeah. unless you’re allergic or something, i don’t see why you wouldn’t like chocolate. i’m picky with a lot of food, but chocolate isn’t one. ❞

if he absolutely had to rank them it would be milk chocolate > dark chocolate > white chocolate. but he’ll eat all three with no problem!

EMBRACE. does your muse like hugs? what are their hugs like?

❝ they’re alright, i guess. ❞

❝ man. give me a break, here. ❞

WEDDING. would your muse get married? why or why not?

❝ i — yeah, sure, i guess, but i’m not really thinking about that right now. not after… look, i’ve got a lot on my mind. ❞

noctis isn’t entertaining the idea at the moment. too much has happened. it would be something he’d look forward to if the situation were much, much different.

AFFECTION. how does your muse show affection?

❝ i guess just. hanging out with the people i like. listening to them. teasing and joking around, too. does that kind of stuff count? ❞

physical affection beyond high fives and fist bumps and all that usually isn’t noct’s thing, but he won’t shy away from the occasional hug or arm around the shoulder. if he were dating anyone, he’d have pda on the brain.

ROMANCE. is your muse a romantic or a cynic?

❝ a little bit of both. maybe a little more romantic than not. ‘s just that nerves stop you from saying anything or… thinking about it too long, you know? ❞

noct is a lot more of a romantic than he’d like to admit. he’s just not really equipped to talk about it or parse those feelings, so he tries to act like he’s too cool for that sort of thing.

PARTNER. what does your muse look for in a partner? looks/personality?

❝ i mean, if you don’t get along with someone, or you can’t understand the way someone is feeling, you’ll be miserable. so personality is way more important. that, and supporting each other. looks don’t really matter that much to me. ❞

❝ dude, seriously? ❞

he very suddenly feels like he’s been sitting through a particularly unlucky lightning round of truth or dare questions.

FLIRT. is your muse good at flirting? how do they flirt?

❝ i mean, i haven’t really done a whole lot of flirting… so anything i try would probably be something cheesy. and it would make me look kinda dumb if it didn’t land right, so. ❞

noct isn’t the best with his words, so he’s pretty convinced that any attempt to sound suave is doomed to end in him making a fool of himself. still, that doesn’t mean he won’t try if he’s feeling brave.

I LOVE YOU. does your muse find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

❝ it’s, uh. pretty hard. i want to, but it’s just… i don’t know. it’s a lot harder than people make it out to be. ❞

he’s always had difficulty just saying so outright, and it hasn’t gotten any easier. instead, he tries to show it in other ways. he’d hate for his friends to feel like he doesn’t appreciate everything they do.

SWEETHEART. did your muse have a childhood sweetheart?

❝ what? no! come on. ❞

several. (^:

HEART. is your muse slow or quick to give their heart away?

❝ i guess if it’s someone i click with right away, it would be fast. but that never really happens… it takes a while. ❞

The wait makes the blond worry, fearing that perhaps he’s been unlucky enough to come across some rude other- or that he may be wasting words to air at this point, it’s hard to tell. 

Ignis taps the tip of his cane again, and opens his mouth to speak when the sentence is stolen from him by an all too familiar voice. He could make it out anywhere, with years of listening. Anywhere, during a battle, during the fall of a city and now, somewhere else entirely. 

The surprise washes over him makes his heart sing and sting with the same strength that it makes his legs falter. He’s been standing for too long, and even if the white knuckled grip on the handle allows him some leverage, it’s the hands on his arms that steer him, convincing him that no, he is not delusional.

“Noct–” quiet, whispered.

Just as quickly, Ignis lets go of the cane, placing a fumbling hand on his shoulder, then quickly, at the side of his neck. Checking for pulse, for temperature– last time he knew of him, he was running as quickly as his legs could take him, dodging debris. 

“You are alright, thank goodness…”

hey, hey, i’m fine, he wants to say ― don’t worry about me for once, you need to focus on yourself ― but after everything that’s happened, noct knows it wouldn’t be right to keep pushing away people that just want to help. especially not ignis.

❝ i ― yeah, ❞ is all he manages to get out. once the impromptu checking-of-vitals is completed, noctis picks up the cane and puts it securely back in ignis’s grip. he seems kind of out of it, so noct keeps a hand on his arm in an attempt to help. it’s selfish to think so, but for a moment he’s glad ignis can’t see the look on his face as he tries to explain the situation away.

❝ it’s just a bump on the head, i’m pretty sure i’m not concussed or anything. i mean, i’m disoriented, but not because of... anyway. it’s okay. i’m fine. ❞

ignis is markedly less fine, and he wants to be more considerate of that. he can’t help but feel guilty.