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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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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?
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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.
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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?
omg that icon can I steal it too?
"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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"Yeah," Noct agrees with a snort, but his thoughts of Gladio hassling him about it disappear with that kiss. He doesn't need any healing potions, just these small kisses from Ignis.
"I... don't know. Perhaps you're right. Whatever this is, it doesn't seem like its pleased that we left the vicinity of the Disc." Excuse you, headache, he has shit to do. Chocobos to see. Ignis to hug and kiss.
omg thank you :D
He doesn't want to think about it. He just wants to hold Noctis like this until he can't anymore. But he also knows that Cindy takes precisely seven and a half minutes to wash and fuel the Regalia, and that they've already wasted three of those minutes back here, snuggling. Prompto and Gladio will come looking soon, and they still need to buy curatives, otherwise suspicions will be aroused.
Which was not the sort of arousal he wanted in his life right now.
Reluctantly, he gives Noct one last squeeze, and one last peck to his forehead, before straightening up.
"Wish we had more time," he murmurs.
<3
And yet, as long as he has Ignis by his side, he's not afraid to hunt it down.
The recklessly brave prince looks around to make sure there's no one in the vicinity and then steals a short peck from Ignis. Who knows when he'll have next chance to do it.
"Once we find that chocobo, we could... rent a hotel room?" Noct raises his eyebrows in suggestion. "Or a trailer, I love sharing bed with you."
Sorry about that, work has been incredibly worky
"Hm. There's the hotel at Longwythe. We would just have to convince Gladio and Prompto to give us some privacy..."
He was fairly certain that Gladio suspected what their true relationship was. Prompto was either completely oblivious or pretending he was, which amounts to the same thing. It wasn't the usual SOP to get separate rooms, and that would call attention to it. Use the headaches as an excuse...?
same here, I'm being lit forced to learn a new language and I'm livid
"I believe it's your turn to room with me. There won't be complaints." Gladio demanded he roomed with Noct when there was that night hunt before and then Prompto asked for a night of King's Knight. So yes, it is Ignis' turn to share a room with him.
"You'll be nice to me right?" Noct asks with a smirk and wink and then disappears because he can hear Prompto calling for him.
oh lord. Uh, at least it'll look good on your resume after?
Ahem. Focus, Scientia.
Adjusting the front of his trousers as discreetly as possible, he follows Noct and Prompto at a respectable distance, forcing his mind out of the gutter and onto the matter at hand. The air conditioning of the store is a welcome relief, and he starts browsing the shelves for curatives and....
Oh.
A Phoenix Down.
He gnaws on his lower lip as he does the math in his head. Phoenix Downs are indescribably rare, so to find one here in Hammerhead beggars belief. He knows it's going to be prohibitively expensive, and might mean several nights camping instead of that lovely hotel room Noct wants.
But then again, if one of them falls in battle, this little orange feather could literally save their lives.
After another moment of waffling, he picks it up and moves to the counter to pay. He just hopes that the others don't notice that he's about to drop a thousand gil on one little feather.
I suppose. It's just I have no will to study anything in general .-. ah well
When Ignis comes into the store, Noct is in the middle of a debate with Prompto whether the mushroom flavor chips is good or no. The answer is always 'no'. Then Gladio joined in and demanded the biggest bag of noodle flavored chips and Noct just smacked it in his face. He got a noogie afterward.
"Hmm? A Phoenix Down, huh? Good thinking," Noct says, appearing out of nowhere after escaping Gladio and letting the behemoth now pester Prompto with a noogie.
I RETURN
He nods, knowing damn well that tonight, Noctis is going to pout endlessly because they can now only afford one hotel room. Hell, they may have to go camping outside of Hammerhead. A caravan might even be out of their reach.
But he'll be damned if he allows anything to happen to his comrades, just because he was too busy penny pinching for his own selfish wants.
"Is Cindy done with the car? We should get going."
WELCOME BACK
"Yup, she's done," Noctis says while flicking through some postcards idly. "Prompto is discussing engines with you," he nods towards the door where, indeed, flushed Prompto is trying to have a normal conversation with Cindy.
He gives Ignis a nudge and leaves the shop, "Let's go find that chocobo!" Pause. "Iggy, mind if I drive now?"
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Noct didn't seem to be suffering the effects of the headache anymore, but Ignis is a worry wart and can't help himself. He even tilts Noct's head back gently and examines his eyes. Pupils the normal size, no reddening...
"If you're feeling up to it, I don't mind riding for a bit."
Granted, he wouldn't get shotgun. Prompto had pointed out that shotgun belonged to the guy with the actual guns, and Ignis couldn't find it in himself to argue that logic.
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"I always ask when I can't, don't I?" he says a bit quieter, only for Ignis to hear. Like this morning, when he really was in a horrible state and head pounding like a war drum.
"I promise not to kiss the lamppost." Cheeky grin.
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"If you do, I won't be held responsible for any response you provoke. From Gladio."
And that right there is the direst threat of all. Ignis can lecture, but Gladio gets aggressive. Noct was cruising for a bruising, to put it mildly, if he drove recklessly.
"Come, then. Let's find this poor injured bird. Gladio! Prompto! We're ready!"
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Noct only jokes like this- there is no chance that he would ever get Regalia crashed beyond repair. The car means a lot to him.
But he just likes to poke fun with Ignis like this.
He nods at his friends as they all pile up in the car, Noct at the wheel this time. He starts the engine and drives out of the gas station and heads toward where Wiz told them the bird might be.
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"Proceed with caution," he says, as Noctis cuts the engine. "I suspect we may find more than an injured chocobo."
"Yeah, and if we do, we'll be ready for 'em," growled Gladio. Already itching for a fight.
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"Let's hurry," he says, jumping out of the car. If he were an injured chocobo, where would he be?
"We need to check deeper," he tells Ignis when the advisor gets out of the car. "Animals usually try to hide when they are hurting, right?"
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He pulled his daggers into his hands, a flash of sparkling blue accompanying the gesture, and saw Prompto and Gladio follow suit out of the corner of his eye. He let Noct take point, his three Crownsguard fanning out behind him.
Around behind the outbuilding, tucked in between a rock face and the remains of the harvester, there was a small, pathetic bundle of yellow feathers. It was chirping piteously, tiny and weak 'kweh!'s that sounded breathy and hollow.
"Ooh, jeez," says Prompto, lowering his gun. "Poor thing! Noct, ya gotta help it!"
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"Here you go, buddy."
After using the potion, the bird already looked ten times better and Noctis smiled. He stood up and stepped aside, not wanting to frighten the bird even further.
"Looking better."
The pics, Prom!