Chapter Text
Ignis considered himself a number of things that made him capable of doing his job: Confident. Calm. Deliberate. Consistent. Neat.
Usually he would also list Patient, but this evening one Mr. Ardyn Izunia had managed to remove almost all patience he had left in his physical being. Ignis was at the end of spending several days tied up in intense negotiations with the Aldercapt Corporation, led by Ardyn, and tonight they were, finally, signing the contract.
Ardyn would sign on behalf of Ravus Nox Fleuret, while Ignis signed on behalf of Noctis Lucis Caelum.
Whose engagement party was in precisely three nights. And there was still much to do to prepare for it.
But Ardyn had opted to spend the last hour reading the same contract they had agreed to that morning, slowly. He used a single finger to follow the words on each page, and would lick, actually lick, his fingers to flip to the next, and then flip back his terribly shaggy head of hair. Each time he did this, Ignis had to resist the urge to recoil in his seat.
“You seem anxious, Ignis.” Ardyn’s voice dripped with amusement as he lowered his hand to finally sign the paperwork. Ignis wished he could promptly remove that grin with a swift punch, and tried to hide the small smile as he imagined how that would play out. Violence wasn’t usually his style, but Ardyn had always had a way of bringing it out in him, even if just in whims.
“I have a flight back to Insomnia tonight, Mr. Izunia. Eager to head out.” He folded his hands in his lap, having already signed his name on the contract. He kept his eyes trained on Ardyn as the mediator slid the folder out from under his hands that still hovered over the paper.
“Ah, yes, how rude of me. I assume you have a lot to do, to help Noctis prepare for his nuptials? And the party of course?” He hummed, and Ignis did everything he could to hold his composure. To refer to Noctis so casually…
“As I’m sure you and yours must as well, since Lady Lunafreya is his betrothed.” Ignis stood and buttoned up his suit jacket, then briskly picked up his briefcase and small carry-on he had brought with him. He knew the reminder was pointless, but really he just wanted to get out of there, and remind Ardyn of where their attentions should be, instead of the usual petty war with words.
Ardyn snickered and also stood, placing his floppy hat, a stupid silly looking thing, on his head. “Ah yes, Ravus is fluttering about like it’s his own wedding he’s got to plan. I’ll let him handle it as far as I’m concerned -”
He tipped his hat. “-babysitting and arranging flowers isn’t my kind of thing.”
Ignis knew it was a dig at his own working relationship with Noctis, and his job in general, but he didn’t rise up to it. Instead he nodded his head in a farewell before turning towards the door. Three days of Ardyn was more time than he wanted to spend near the man in a year, and yet soon he would have to see him, multiple times, over the course of the engagement and wedding.
“Safe travels back to Niflheim,” Ignis let his voice rise just a tad as he got to the door, not bothering to turn around.
“I have no say in the matter,” Ardyn shouted to Ignis’s back as he passed through the door.
The heavy door shut behind him with a loud echo through the hallway.
“Die then,” Ignis muttered as he rushed forward to the escalator. He was only slightly serious.
He made his way through the tall building without interruption, texting to his assigned driver for the trip to assure he would be ready as he took the elevator down. He also sent word to Gladio and Noctis that he was on his way to the airport, business had concluded successfully, he was very exhausted, and had Noctis eaten dinner.
He breathed a sigh of relief to receive confirmation from his driver, and to see the sleek black car already in front of the building as he exited the glass doors. The air was shockingly cold, and he walked quickly instead of bothering to get his scarf and heavy coat out of his carry-on.
A stock young man with his hair pulled back in a low ponytail and who probably moonlit as a bouncer stood next to the car with the trunk open, his eyes focused on the dark sky above.
“Everything alright, Libertus?” Ignis handed his luggage over once attention had turned to him. Libertus wasn’t new to the company, but it was their first time working together. He found the man trustworthy, though a bit rough around the edges.
“Just looks like a bad storm is coming.” He sighed out and slammed the trunk shut. “Traffic leaving the airport will probably be a mess.”
“Apologies,” Ignis offered as he moved to the backseat door. “The sooner we get there, then hopefully the easier it will be for you.”
“Oh come on! You’re clearly on duty!” A shrill voice echoed out. Ignis held the door open but looked up in time to see a young man, clearly in distress. He was blond, dressed in torn jeans and a baggy shirt, with a large black hoodie hanging off one shoulder. He was attempting to pull a carry-on behind him that was on the verge of losing a wheel while chasing down a taxi. Or more accurately, yelling at a taxi.
Ignis narrowed his eyes - the boy looked vaguely familiar, and if he weren’t in a hurry maybe he would try to discern why. But as it stood he had a flight to catch. He got into the car as the first flurries of snow started to fall outside. Once Libertus started to drive, Ignis pulled out his phone to check the responses to his other messages.
Noctis: Did you find them????
Ignis let out a sigh.
Ignis: Yes of course I found the cakes.
Noctis: yiiiiiiiiiis
Ignis scowled at his phone. He had hoped that Noctis would eventually sound a bit more….mature...as time went on and he took over his father’s company. But it seemed he held on to his youth via texts with a startling death grip.
Ignis would never admit out loud that it was endearing.
Ignis : In return I expect you to have eaten dinner, including vegetables, tonight.
Noctis: i totally did yup
When Ignis went to his messages from Gladio, though, he saw exactly what he had predicted.
Gladiolus: He ordered pizza before I got to him, and by the time I showed up he had passed out with the box on his chest. Don’t worry, I’ll slip him some vitamins in his water.
Ignis clicked his tongue. He wondered how Lady Lunafreya would be at handling the bachelor lifestyle Noctis seemed to want to cling to.
Ignis tried not to think about how he had been the one to handle Noctis and all his quirks best, who understood his whims, and didn’t try to change him as a person but work within those boundaries to help him be the best he could be.
No, he wasn’t going to think about that, and about how that would all change once Noctis was married and had moved on.
Ignis: Thanks for your help. I know he’s a handful.
Gladiolus: Don’t worry about it. Just get home safe. And soon, please.
He set his phone down to avoid looking through emails to give himself a chance to breathe, and instead mentally plotted out his plan of attack once at the airport.
The truth was he hadn’t found the Tenebraen cakes, yet. But he knew there was a small bakery at the airport that always carried them, so he intended to pick them up there. It would be the easiest thing for him to do that day, so no reason to worry Noctis that he wouldn’t return with his favorite treats. And as long as traffic to the airport was moderate, he would make it just in time for boarding after picking up the cakes. And he would even have time to grab some coffee and perhaps solve a crossword or two while waiting for boarding.
His phone buzzed again in his hand.
Noctis : youre seriously the best thanks ily
Ignis: Of course, Noctis.
Ignis shifted in his seat and lowered the phone, lifting his hand to cover his mouth to hide his smile as he stared out the window and watched the snow whip around the car. He would cherish the little moments he had left.
Prompto fell back into one of the last free seats in the waiting area at his gate with a loud sigh of relief. He smiled nervously at some of the people around him who gave him a look, but really he didn’t care. He had managed to somehow not fuck up his promise.
In his hands he carefully cradled a small box filled with the specially requested Tenebraen cakes. He couldn’t believe that he had made it on time and managed to get the last of the cakes. If they had been out he wasn’t sure how he would have broken the news. He probably would have just not gone home, maybe camped out in the airport to make sure he didn’t leave until those cakes were in his possession. Or something like that.
And as much as he was bummed his flight had been delayed, at least it had meant he had more time to relax after running through the airport at top speed and nearly toppling three separate angry looking suits.
Grinning at himself, he pulled out his phone and held up the box, snapping a quick selfie that featured the box prominently. He checked the pic and chose a filter that hid the shadows under his eyes just enough. At least his glasses helped a bit too.
Prompto: I got them! See?
Noct: fyeah you did thanks prom! <3
Prompto bit his lip and lowered his phone right as a man - a suit - sat across from him, looking extremely irritated. Prompto offered a soft smile and a nod - they say just seeing someone smile helps ease someone’s tension. And in airports usually everyone needed that.
The man didn’t smile back. He basically did the opposite as he narrowed his eyes at Prompto. There was something familiar to him that Prompto couldn’t quite place, but he just sat back and smiled again when he realized the guy...was still looking at him.
“When did you get those?” The man asked in a low voice, with a hint of an accent Prompto couldn’t quite place, and still no smile.
“These?” Prompto looked down at his box of cakes. “Just before I got to the gate. Last ones too, that’s some good luck right? I couldn’t believe it.” He bounced a little in his seat.
The man’s gloved hands curled into fists. “How much?”
“Eh?” Prompto’s glasses slid down his nose a little and he fumbled to adjust them. “How much for what??” He tried not to squeak but he knew he failed.
“For those cakes. How much.” Grumpy Suit Man crossed one leg over the other and folded his hands in his lap. He looked like a dude ready to make an important deal, which confused Prompto even more. They were just cakes!
Okay, he knew they were more than just cakes because if he returned to Noct without them he wouldn’t hear the end of it for the rest of his life. And knowing that if he did bring them back, Noct would smile that stupid dorky smiled he loved so much...
Prompto couldn’t help let out a chuckle to hide the way his pulse raced. “Sorry dude, these aren’t for sale. I made a promise to someone I’d bring them back.”
The man straightened up even more somehow and adjusted his glasses. “Perhaps I can convince you - I’m willing to pay, name your price.”
Prompto furrowed his brows. Apparently Grumpy Suit Man was also loaded, but he was sure no amount of money would make up for disappointing Noct. “I’m good, dude.” Sure he could use the money. But not to lose the chance to make his best friend happy.
Grumpy Loaded Suit Man actually growled and looked away sharply . Prompto wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear it, but it was there. Prompto’s eyes widened and he clung to that precious box a little tighter, half expecting the man to jump him since he apparently wanted them so badly.
As he stared a bit more, he went back to that feeling from before of familiarity. Then the man pulled out a can of something from his small bag - Ebony, opening it and --
“Hey!” Prompto said probably a bit too loud for the small space between them judging by the looks he got once again. “Wait, I know you!”
The man turned sharply back to him, one eyebrow raised as he was about to take a sip of his drink.
“Ya! You work with N--”
“Good evening everyone,” a voice came on over the speakers around them. Prompto jumped in his seat, but looked towards the counter of their gate where a woman attendant spoke.
“Thank you for your patience. We will now begin boarding passengers with First and Business Class tickets.”
Across from him, the man collected his belongings and stood, then made his way to the line forming at the gate. Of course he had a fancy ticket. Especially if Prompto was right and he did work with Noct. Which he was 90% sure of. He would just have to figure it out when he got back to Insomnia. He thought his name was something like Iggy, but was worried that might just be a nickname from Noct.
He pulled out his phone to browse various social media sites while waiting for his group to be called up, looking for a distraction. That guy… got him nervous. And his own immediate reaction to the chance of not bringing those cakes home to Noct had been so intense. He had been a tad defensive and brushed the guy off, and he knew he could have been nicer, or maybe worked out a deal, somehow. But.
But deep down Prompto was afraid that his relationship...friendship...with Noct was going to change soon. He was going to be married, and have his own life to worry about. Prompto wasn’t sure where he fit in, anymore. He hardly knew Luna, didn’t even know if she liked him. He liked to think that his best friend wouldn’t change anything even when married, but it didn’t mean Prompto couldn’t be worried…
Things hadn’t changed when Noct had taken over his dad’s company, not really. Mostly. Sometimes he had to work late, but even then they would still just eat late night pizza and watch bad movies until falling asleep on the couch when they could.
Social media wasn’t helping. Prompto slipped his phone back into his pocket and pulled his hoodie up over his head.
Maybe after the engagement party, he would try to be a bit more honest with Noct. At least about his fears.
Not about everything, of course.
“Sir, I apologize for this inconvenience, but --”
“Inconvenience?” Ignis repeated and took his ticket back from the attendant. She looked exhausted, and while Ignis could relate, he also wanted things to just go as they should. It was that simple. “An inconvenience would be if I just had the wrong seat here, but sending me to Economy when I have a Business Class ticket is just a glaring error on the part of your company.”
The woman shifted her gaze to another attendant nearby, and Ignis realized he was making a scene. He pulled his shoulders back as she looked to him again. He couldn’t lose it and risk not being able to even board the plane.
“I apologize sir. All business class seats are booked and accounted for, we can certainly refund you the cost to make up for this mistake.”
Ignis would take care of this later, that much was certain. With a frustrated wave, he made his way back to his new seat, stuffed no doubt in a seat with zero personal space. He wasn’t the tallest, certainly Gladio would remind him, but his legs were long and one of the added benefits of Business Class was of course the leg room.
He just hoped he would sit next to quiet, smaller people. Who took up no space and didn’t make eye contact. This evening was certainly adding up to be one of his more frustrating in recent memory. Ardyn set him off on his bad mood, and then their car had been rear ended at a redlight. They were okay, but it took time of course to sort that out.
And then to top it all off, by the time he had made it to the airport, his flight had at least been delayed, but the bakery had been out of the cakes. They had ‘just been bought’.
Ignis had been ready to toss everything to the ground and give up. Instead, he had started calling up favors to folks who would be coming out to the engagement party. Surely he could somehow convince Noctis he needed to earn the cakes in order to delay…
Though it would be easier if that punk kid could just let him buy them off him.
I have to say…
Fuck.
He made his way, mumbling his row, 23, until he got to --
“Oh, hey again!”
He looked down at the much too cheery voice to see the young man from before, still holding on to his box of cakes.
And beside him, in the middle of the row, was an empty seat. And then at the window was another man, fast asleep and taking up as much space as he possibly could while doing so.
And it was Ignis’s seat. Of course it was.
He sucked in a breath of air. “It looks like that is my seat.” He spoke calmly, trying to maintain a level of politeness in the sea of people surrounding them. He tucked his carry-on into the overhead bin.
“Oh! Sure thing, sec.” The young man undid his seatbelt and navigated himself out of his seat to allow for Ignis to slide into the middle. For the briefest of moments, Ignis brushed up against his body as he moved into the row. He heard a muttered ‘sorry sorry’ but didn’t answer. He ignored the contact as he sat, too focused on what he had been condemned to for the next 10 hours.
It was all the kinds of horror that Ignis had been afraid of - upon sitting he noted how crunched into his seat he was, with his knees hitting the back of the seat in front of him. He slid his bag under the seat and put on his seatbelt, immediately closing his eyes to try to pretend none of this was happening.
And maybe to spend a little time to figure out how to swindle his new neighbor out of those cakes.
“Okay, I totally figured it out.” The man with the cakes spoke, clearly not understanding the universal language of ‘please don’t talk to me’ used by those who travel.
Ignis opened one eye and stared incredulously. The boy’s soft blue eyes were wide behind the thick rimmed glasses, and blond hair fell over his forehead. Looking over his outfit now, Ignis realized he was the same person who had been shouting at a taxi in front of Aldercapt.
“You work with Noct!” He exclaimed as he turned in his seat so he was facing Ignis, which was quite a feat considering the limited space.
“You know Noctis?” Ignis was hesitant to admit too much to a stranger.
“Ya, I’ve seen you around his apartment a few times. But usually I’m just playing video games in the living room while you guys do your uhm, business stuff, in the study.”
Ignis opened his other eye. He must have been really tired, because in that moment he didn’t remember there being someone else in the house when he went to see Noctis. He recalled the TV being on, but somehow there being another entire person there was removed from his memory. “Forgive me, I don’t recall.”
“Ah, it’s okay!” He waved a hand, and then stuck it out towards Ignis. “I’m Prompto!”
Ignis didn’t want to open the door for familiarity on this cramped flight. He wanted to have some peace and quiet before getting back to Insomnia, where he would have to spend every waking moment after that preparing for the party.
But there was also a side of him that, unless under the most extreme circumstances, forced him to be polite. So he reached out his hand and joined it with Prompto’s, giving it a solid shake.
“Ignis, pleasure.” He said and cleared his throat, pulling his hand away. He reached forward into the seat pocket to look for some sort of menu to determine what kind of terrible meal he would be subjected to on this flight.
“Ignis! That’s it! Noct uh, calls you Iggy though, right?”
“On occasion,” he grit his teeth, because no one but Noctis was ever allowed to use that nickname, “but my preference is Ignis.” He found a small pamphlet that seemed to list snack options, but no other food. He sat back, tapping the menu against his lap. This meant he would only get a choice between two options: mediocre and awful. Lovely.
“Oh sure, I get you. Totally cool. Sometimes Noct calls me Prom but if other people do it I’m like ‘whoa dude slow your roll’, right?”
“Quite,” Ignis found it took so much energy to keep up with Prompto. He closed his eyes again as the attendants began to do their safety instructions. If he were in business class, he would have received a hot towel already, his shoes would be slipped off and feet snuggled into a pair of slippers.
Instead as the plane took off, he was squeezed between a living breathing representation of chaotic energy, and a man with obscenely fake-tanned skin and silver hair who snored.
Ignis squeezed his eyes tight, repeating his mantra.
For Noctis.