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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"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?

"What I'm suggesting is," Noct leans forward again, head stuck between two seats and getting an amused grin from Prompto (because he knows Noct is going to say something ridiculous), "that I would be a mean roofer."

There's an 'oh my fucking god' from Gladio and Noct is secretly pleased with his announcement.

"Oh yes, of course. Shall we forego finding your ancestral weapons, then?"

Nobody quite does sarcasm quite the way that Ignis Scientia does sarcasm.

"Noctis Lucis Caelum CXIV, chosen of the Crystal and Light of the Star, has decided to take up trade. Sorry about that, let's head back to Lestallum. I'm sure one of the workers at the plant can give you a recommendation."

Prompto's losing his mind, giggling like a total fool.

"Oh, nothing like that." Apparently, Noct's too amused by Ignis' sarcasm not to respond to it in a very professional manner. And with complete seriousness.

"It would be Noctis Lucis Caelum CXIV, Chosen of the Crystal and Light of the Star and with impeccable roofing skills." By now even Gladio's laughing aloud and Noct is fighting his own giggles. "A King needs to be versatile in his skills, correct?" More like, versatile in combat skills, not roofing.

"One of the weapons is mace, right? It's going to help drive those nails into the roof splendidly," and that's Ignis' accent on the last word.

"That's not....tcch."

It's an impatient sort of sigh from behind a click of his teeth, because he can tell when he's being wound up. Prompto is still giggling like a maniac, only now it's pointed in Ignis' direction.

"You turn funny colors when you're embarrassed, Iggy," he says breathlessly.

"Yes, well, I'm only embarrassed when Noct cannot tell the difference between a morning star mace and a hammer. If he wants to be a roofer, using a spiked bludgeoning weapon isn't a grand idea."

Now even Noctis can't hold back the giggles and has to bury his face in the headrest in an attempt to control himself.

"I'm sorry Specs, I'm just joking, pff," okay maybe he should tone down with the teasing. He tries to, really, but it's unbearably cute when Ignis gets all riled up. Noct will make up to him for it later, that's a promise.

"...but it would be quicker."

This is where Gladio interferes because Noct needs to chill. The prince gets a light smack on the back of his neck and ends up being pulled into an "argument" with his shield.

Ignis winces as that gentle 'thwap' lands, and his distraction technique is immediately abandoned to zero in on Noct, eyes sharp in the rearview. But apparently the prince is relatively fine, as he and Gladio bicker about....whatever it is they love to bicker about, in any given situation.

He lets out a sigh of relief, just as Hammerhead comes into view. He carefully navigates the left, and then the immediate right, and there's a distant double-ring as the wheels of the Regalia bump over the sensor near the petrol pumps.

"Come, gentlemen," he says, cutting the engine. "Let's get our curatives and head out."

Gladio was aware of Noct's problem with the head from this morning, which is why the back of his neck received the smack, not his head. And the bickering- well, it's mostly harmless taunting. But nothing they didn't say to each other before so it is nothing to worry about.

Noct is just a sore loser, that's all.

The familiar sight of the petrol pumps gets a smile from Noct and he slips out of the car the moment Ignis parks them. Stretching his legs and all.

"Yeah, curatives." Noct hums and then calls Ignis over, "Let's shop." He will leave Prompto to gawk at Cindy since this is one of the rare opportunities he has.

Prompto hovers around Cindy's careful handling of the car, and Gladio makes a beeline to the weapons cart vendor. They're both thoroughly distracted.

So Ignis grabs his chance.

As he and Noct head for the doors of the shop, he suddenly changes course, grabbing Noct by the hand and deftly maneuvering him toward the back of the garage instead. It's quiet back here, nobody around, and a wall of tires and various large tools block them from the view of the front of the station.

"Come here," he murmurs, already leaning up with his back against the wall, hoping Noct will follow.

He wasn't surprised that the two got distracted so easily. But he was surprised that Ignis' and his course was switched at the last moment. Not that he complained (also the look on shop keeper's face was priceless).

A bit of stumbling until they reached the back and hidden spot (don't look at him like that, he got surprised) but eagerly just slips into Ignis' arms. He wanted to do it since this morning but his head wasn't in the right place.

He rests his forehead against Ignis' chest and takes a deep breath, hands wrapped around taller man's waist. "Sorry for teasing you so much," he mumbles, sneaking a look up. He's not mad, is he?

"It's all right. Don't tell, but I secretly love it."

He holds Noct closely, resting his chin on the top of his head. Gently. That's the upside of Noct being....diminutive. He fits perfectly against him, just like this. Ignis hums in satisfaction as they relax into each other.
He wishes he were brave enough to steal a kiss. An embrace like this could be explained away. A kiss would be harder.

"You seem like you're feeling better."

Perhaps as they get further from the Disc the headaches will lessen. One can only hope.

Good. Good. He's not angry. Also, Noct has no idea where all that stupid shit came from. Sometimes it just happens. Although, this time he did search for a way to distract himself from the headaches.

They could kiss, Noct doesn't give two fucks if anyone sees them. But for the sake of Ignis' heart and preventing an early stroke, Noct doesn't dare sneak one. Only a small, extremely quick peck on the jaw because it's there. Perfect.

"Mm. The headache had let up after the nap." And ever since they left Disc's vicinity. His silent for a bit, picking on Ignis' shirt, "...it's weird. Now that we're miles away from it, the headache turned into something like... numb?"

"It might sound stupid," he shakes his head, "but it feels as if it's calling me to 'come back'." Come back where though?

Ignis shivers as that little kiss lands, and his resolve breaks just enough to press a kiss in return to the crest of Noct's brow.

"Numb..." he murmurs, thoughtful. "Interesting. I'd avoid using that descriptor around Gladio, however. He might take it entirely the wrong way."

His fingers are gently roaming up and down Noct's back, just giving and taking comfort where he can.

"Back to Lestallum, perhaps. That is where they began, after all."

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this is beautiful XD

It really is XD

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omg that icon can I steal it too?