nocts | Chapter ??: Winding Roads

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Chapter ??: Winding Roads

In these endless days of pain and haunting nights, Noctis wondered how he was so lucky to have Ignis by his side.

Usually, when Noctis complains about getting up early in the morning, it doesn't have a very specific reason except- it's too early for anyone to be up and his soul is still sleeping. His mind is awake but his body sluggish and still craving a nap. Which is why Ignis drives most of the time. Noct likes to fill in the sleeping gap with naps in the car.

Today, however, it is not because he's sleepy that he didn't want to get up. In fact, he was awake for hours now but kept his eyes closed and back turned to the rest of the guys in the tent.

The damn headaches are getting worse and he has no clue what to do about them. There is another painful throb when he hears soft shuffling in the corner of the tent- someone trying to be considerate and let him sleep for another few minutes- and Noctis bit his lip. He needs to put these under control before they interfere with the hunts and battles. The moment he made a complaint about them, it instantly turned Gladio's mood into annoyingly grumpy and Ignis became increasingly worried.

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Ignis sighs, barely noticeable. Gods, he loves this man, he admires him endlessly, but he also wishes he could take Gladio out behind a Coernix and slap some sense into his pointy, mulleted head. It's obvious that Noct will push himself to the edge, just to keep Gladio from riding his ass. ....In the unfun way.

He's the only one allowed to do it the fun way.

...At least until Noctis marries Lady Lunafreya.

"Of course I don't mind."

He will gladly drive Noctis anywhere on the planet. If Noct asked him to figure out a way to drive to Altissia, Ignis would do it.

"We'll need to make a brief stop in Hammerhead to pick up more supplies. You can wait in the car, if you wish."

Them not going would make the other two fuss around in very different ways and Noct can't deal with it right now. And sometimes, even Ignis' words don't reach them (especially Gladio- his skull is as thick as Disc of Cauthess).

Pushing onward is the only way to keep Noctis from overthinking about things. Like the marriage. He always had a feeling that he will end up marrying Lunafreya, but the feelings he had for her and the feelings he has for Ignis are two completely separate things.

"Thanks."

...in moments like these when he feels stuck, Noctis realizes that he doesn't thank Ignis enough for covering for him like this. He's halfway through the bowl- leave it to Ignis' cooking to always make him feel better.

"No. I should be fine by the time we arrive." Or at least presentable enough. He's prince, right? If he doesn't keep himself in check, Cid will whip him into shape, whether Noct asked for it or no.

The fact that Noct is eating eases a knot in Ignis' heart, and the slightest of smiles tilts up his lips. Hardly noticeable, unless one was looking closely.

"Of course."

It was always of course. Of course he'd follow Noct to this or that or the other place, of course he'd always cook for him, tidy up for him, plan his entire life if need be. Ignis has nothing but of course in his heart for Noct. In any and all things.

"I'm going to get more food into Gladio and Prompto. Take your time getting up. We have plenty of daylight ahead."

Getting Ignis to smile is always nice and if downing all the food he prepared then he will do it. Of course, it helps that he's preparing all the stuff Noct likes.

He gives Ignis a nod and returns to finish his bowl. If he didn't have this massive headache, he'd ask for seconds even. But he didn't want to make himself nauseous. Ignis is outside by the time Noct finishes up his food and he places the bowl close to the exit so he doesn't kick it while he moves around to get dressed.

There's a still a bit of a throb but it is more manageable than when he woke up earlier. Not in perfect health but something he can work with. With boots in one hand and bowl in other, dressed, Noct nudges the wing of the tent and steps out.

"Hey, Iggy. The bowl." Help a guy out, he needs to put boots on.

"Ah, just a moment."

He's up to his elbows in dishwater, having already broken down the Coleman grill and burner. He's scouring out the porridge pot in their collapsable basin. Still dripping wet from the forearms, Ignis goes to fetch the dish, only to be blocked by the massive form of Gladio.

"Too good to wash your own dish, Princess?" the Shield says, his voice just on the other side of good-natured teasing, and edging into genuine annoyance. Ignis huffs loudly, nudging past him and taking the proffered dish from Noctis' hand.

"Enough, Gladiolus."

"Ooooh, full name," sing-songs Prompto.

The tease gets a scowl out of Noctis in a blink of an eye. The headache doesn't prevent him to scowl. In fact- it enables him to give a rather badass, mean scowl. And the only thing he offers Gladio is grumpy, sleepy: "Shut up."

He might not be doing dishes, but he always helps with packing them. And fishing up a storm to put on the plates too!

...maybe fishing for a few hours could ease away the headache. That's a thought.

Then he pulls on the boots and ties them, finally stepping outside in the blaring sun. He's on the verge of groaning.

"Sun is too bright," he grumbles, rubbing at his face. And then giving Prompto playful nudge in the shoulder.

"No kidding!" says the blonde cheerfully, nudging Noct back. Gently, surprisingly enough. Prompto is surprisingly sensitive to emotional states, especially when it comes to Noct.

Gladio rolls his eyes at Noct and Ignis, with some ready quip on his tongue about how Ignis mothers the prince, but Ignis cuts him off before he can even start.

"We're heading to Hammerhead today, then to Liede to see if we can find that injured chocobo that Wiz told us about."

"Woo hoo!" yells Prompto, jumping up to his feet suddenly. "Shotgun!"

Wow, he must look like the deepest pit of hell if even Prompto can tell. Usually he's successful at keeping stuff behind a mask to not make his friends worry but apparently, today is not the day for that.

Noctis also sends a mental thank you to Ignis for interrupting Gladio. He's always up for going back and forth with his shield but not today.

"Yeah. Can't leave our bird friend injured for too long," Noct says. After a small "nudging session" with Prompto, he walks over to Ignis to help him out with packing the stuff up. Gladio will have to deal with the tent by himself. Hmpf.

Which Gladio does, after giving Noct one last up and down. He's starting to suspect as well, but isn't saying anything. Yet.

Shoulder to shoulder with Noctis, Ignis offers him another one of those rare, small smiles, and allows his wet hand to gently brush against the side of Noct's hand. A small attempt at both reassurance and flirtation.

"And perhaps we can find that fishing spot by the old industrial road outside Ins-...Hammerhead."

He's learned that mentioning the name of their ruined and conquered city could plunge the whole group into depression. So he's carefully editing it out, for all their sakes.

Gods, he just wants to grab Ignis' hand right now. The brush is indeed comforting and gets a twitch of a smile from Noct as well. For briefest of moments.

A fishing spot near Hammerhead... Right. The one close to Insomnia. Just the thought of his ruined city and being close to it makes Noct's stomach drop through the ground. But- Noctis still wants to go there. He places the washed (and now also dried) plates in the bag carefully, thinking about it.

"Thinking of grilling some Barramundi for dinner Specs?" he asks, zipping up the bag.

"Catch me one, and I'll grill it up for the halibut."

And now he's definitely suppressing a giant smirk, his lips almost puckering with his amusement. If there's one thing he absolutely loves, it's dropping a terrible stinker of an awful pun on Noct when he least expects it.

Anything to distract from the headache.

Noctis rolls his eyes at the pun but it is Prompto that actually has a louder complaint from the looks of it. And Gladio just snorts.

Ignis gets a bit of a nudge from Noct and a small smile:"I'm looking forward to the fish feast."

With packed plates, he has nothing else to do, but he's lingering around Ignis. For some reason, it's a habit he developed- whenever he's in any kind of pain, it was Ignis that fixed it.

"If you do well, we could fill our larder to the bream."

"Iggy!" groans Prompto, flapping a hand in his general direction. "That was awful!"

"Apologies, I didn't mean to make you flounder."

That one gets even Gladio to groan, and flip Ignis the finger. Success. Feeling far too smug for his own good, Ignis dumps the basin of tepid, filthy dishwater off the edge of the haven. (He's a stickler for buying biodegradable soap, so it'll just filter away and not leave a permanent mark.)

"Three puns in fifteen seconds," groans Prompto. "I think I might go throw myself into the Slough."

"You do realize you're just setting yourself up for further punishment, yes?"

"I will give you all the gil I have if you stop."

After the third one, the only thing Noct muttered was "Six help us..."

Ignis had outdone himself. This is a record no one will ever be able to match him at. And he's not sure whether it's funny, amazing or annoying. Perhaps it's all three. The sigh is somewhere between a groan and a chuckle.

"We should set up a pun jar," he offers with a small smirk. "Whenever pun is made, the person contributes to the jar."

Yeah, he's poking a bit of fun at you Specs, but all in good nature.

The wry smirk that graces his expression is matched by a pointedly raised eyebrow.

"And considering that I'm the one who's been appointed ad hoc treasurer on this little adventure, it wouldn't last all of thirty seconds."

Gladio snorts.

"He's got a point."

Ignis crosses his arms over his chest and cops a little bit of a triumphant pose, before winking cheekily at Noctis.

"Besides, we need every gil we can get our hands on for curatives."

Ah, there was the old stick up his ass making an appearance.

Ignis needs to stop looking so stupidly sexy when he smirks. Noct is having a hard time saying 'no' to him as it is. This is just unfair.

"Don't worry, we have enough saved up for them," Noct nods, rubbing back of his neck. They have been camping for the last few days and saved up a nice sum from the hunts they did. They should be fine even if they rent a motel room or trailer.

...motel room sounds like heaven because of the shower though. But- that comes later.

"Let's pack up and head out." Chocobo won't save itself. Also, he's craving that nap already in the back of the car. The headache is exhausting.

Getting all of them into the Regalia is like herding cats, and it's a good ten minutes later before they're actually on the road. Not for the first time does Ignis regret the seating arrangements. Yes, of course, Gladio next to Noct makes the most sense from a strategic standpoint. But he wants to hold Noct's hand while they drive, wants to pet his knee and stroke his thigh with lazy fingers.

Not that he ever would. Hands at ten and two, Scientia. Ahem.

They're about a mile down the road when Prompto reaches over and snaps on the radio. There's literally two seconds of music, rather loudly playing, before Ignis reaches over and snaps it back off, pinning the blond with a glare.

"Aheh, oops. Sorry, Iggy," says Prompto sheepishly. Well, if Prompto wasn't aware of Noct's headache before, he certainly is now.

If he were to sit next to Ignis, no sleeping ever would be achieved. There's a soft sigh as he settles in behind his advisor, slipping down a bit in his seat and catching a glimpse of Ignis' eye in the rearview mirror. Seriously, someone bless this man. He needs only good stuff in life to happen to him, not this... endless travel into the unknown.

Five minutes in and Noct already slips off into a light nap, his mind still focused on Ignis. And on gathering magic to heal up the headache. Yes, this will be fine. By the time they reach Hammerhead, he should be a bit better.

The music makes him open one eye for a second, but he closes it again and leans on the palm of his hand when Ignis turns it off again.

He glances in the rearview every so often, not just to check the traffic, but to keep an eye on Noct. Ah, of course, he's napping. Heh. Ignis rather suspects that Noctis would sleep through the end of the world.

The weather goes from the cool humidity of the Slough to the parched heat of Leide as they climb the canyon hill toward Longwythe. Prompto is the one to pull out the tube of chapstick, and offers it to Ignis without even thinking about it. He takes the balm with a small smile and a nod of thanks.

The Crow's Nest flies past them soon, and then they're on their way to Hammerhead. Clear skies, with the temperature rising.

As soon as heat settles in Noct is awake with a groan and mumbled complaint about it. Gladio just pokes his side as a warning and Noct almost literally hisses at him. It just makes his shield roll his eyes in amusement and turns Noctis fully awake.

They should be close to their destination soon enough, huh?

Noctis reaches into the cooler below the seat and opens cooled down Ebony then hands it over to Ignis.

"How much left?"

"Cheers," he says gratefully, taking the Ebony. Sometimes Noct could come across as lazy, or self-centered...but only to those who didn't know him well. Ignis knows the real man, how caring and considerate he is, and it all comes down to these little moments, handing over a coffee without being asked.

It makes Ignis feel a little warm wibble somewhere inside. Not that he'll ever admit it to the others.

"We should arrive in about fifteen minutes."

Prompto sighs dreamily, and Ignis groans internally to himself. Oh, Shiva's tits, here we go again with the Cindy worship....

He can't do much for Ignis- he can't cook, his cleaning abilities are suspicious at best, his tactics and plans a bit lackluster. So, this is something, a small task he gave himself when they set off- to keep the cooler always full with Ebony for Ignis. It's the least he can do.

The drink also always gets a smile out of Ignis so it makes it just another huge plus and reason to keep spare cans of coffee in there for him.

His eyes glance at Prompto and he snorts in amusement- you haven't seen the worst of it Ignis. You've never been on the receiving end of the gushing about Cindy.

"Does it ever rain in Leide?" Noct asks curiously, leaning on the seats between Prompto and Ignis.

"There's a monsoon season, yes," he answers as he pops the top of his can of Ebony. And he most pointedly does not mention the unseasonal rain that had hit the day after the Empire destroyed Insomnia.

"O. M. G.," says Prompto suddenly. "Do you think it's soon? Last time we were in Hammerhead Cindy said the roof of her apartment was leaking. Should we help her patch it up?"

It took all of Ignis' training to keep his eyes on the road, and not close them in sheer second-hand embarrassment. Gladio snorts and gently whaps the back of Prompto's head.

"An excuse to see her bedroom. Kinda pathetic there, Chocobutt."

"Hey!"

"We have enough on our plates without pretending we're carpenters and roofers as well," sighs Ignis, as they pass the strangely-shaped mountain outside Longwythe. "She is a grown woman in possession of a cell phone. She can contract her own employees, Prompto."

"....Yeah, I guess."

Ignis glances in the rearview, trying to meet Noct's eyes, and just barely not guffawing with laughter.

Noct is leaning on his hand now, propped up against the car door, eyebrows raised and wondering how did his friend manage to survive this long. He says nothing, though, since both Ignis and Gladio answered the questions for Noct's stead as well. There were moments where he thought to tell Prompto to just tell her and stop dancing around the topic but then- he probably shouldn't be the one to talk.

His eyes catch Ignis' in the rearview mirror and he smiles, ear to ear (he's not hiding how amused he is) and shrugs. 'Can't do anything about it- lovestruck airhead is lovestruck airhead'.

There's a stretch of silence for a few minutes before Noctis finally contributes.

"...Warping could be useful for roofers. In case they slip."

Gladio turns to look at him with raised eyebrows and Noct just shrugs again. What? It would be.

"....Are you suggesting the Crystal grant its powers for home repair?"

Now it's Noct's turn to be on the receiving end of an incredulous stare. And Ignis is trying to decide if he put something in the porridge that gave Noctis and Prompto some sort of weird status effect. Because what the actual hell, Noct?

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