Water Under the Bridge

Prologue

"Son of a bitch!" Gladiolus, the King's Shield to Noctis and bodyguard of the group, fell back and cursed. The hair on his muscular arms was singed from the sudden flare that came from the campfire. Noctis and Prompto looked up from their game of King's Knight on their phones, howling with laughter while Aranea rolled her eyes to the side of the now roaring fire.

"How did you not see that one coming? We told you not to use magic to start the fire, but did you listen? Noooooo." Noctis, the prince of Insomnia, ridiculed.

"I figured I was doing you guys a favor by getting the fire started quickly instead of doing it the old fashioned way with flint," he explained sheepishly, embarrassed that he messed up such a simple task. Camping was his specialty, so it was rare for him to screw up anything in that department.

"And, due to your selfless act, you've gone and burned your arm! Good job, buddy!" Prompto, a blonde, spritely man, and Noctis' best friend, cheered sarcastically as he pumped his fist in the air. Gladio growled and got to his feet, disappearing into the green tent behind him to retrieve his phone. Both boys giggled again and returned their attention back to their games, pointing to their screens and giving tips to one another on how to pass each level.

Aranea, still wearing her black leather fighting gear and her silver hair pulled into several little braids, got to her feet as well, dusting her hands off. She smoothly strolled over to Ignis, the fourth man of the team and royal advisor to Noctis, who was dutifully manning a campfire stove in the shadows. He was reading from his notebook and stirring a pot with great concentration. He hardly noticed when Aranea stood on her tiptoes, her chin barely resting on his shoulder. "What do you have going on over here?"

A smirk appeared on his lips and he turned his head slightly, looking at her out of the corner of his spectacled eyes and speaking with a distinct accent. "Packed Mushroom Stew. It's just something I thought up last week while we were traveling through Vesperpool."

She scrunched her face in disgust and backed off, shifting over to lean her lower back against the extended countertop of the stove. "Blegh. I hate mushrooms. Disgusting, gross, nasty things."

Ignis shrugged but continued to smile. "My apologies; I should have asked what everyone wanted before assuming. I'd hate to have a guest go hungry merely because she didn't approve of what I was cooking," he tapped the spoon on the edge of the pot and placed it in a holder to the side. "Do you have any requests?"

Aranea narrowed her eyes skeptically and then, without warning, plucked the notebook he was still holding from his hand. The act took him by surprise but he surrendered control of it. He watched her with interest as she flipped the pages, reading each recipe carefully. Her eyes fell on one in particular and she let out a hearty laugh, holding the page up to him with a pointer finger on the recipe. "Flame roasted toast? You're kidding, right?"

He sighed, faintly mortified. "If you'd pay attention, you'd see that the handwriting for that individual recipe is vastly unlike the others. I was only ten when I came up with and I knew I had to start somewhere," he made clear by pointing to the near-illegible childish handwriting, comparing it to his now-elegant and narrow penmanship.

"Ahhhh, I see," she laughed again, continuing to skim through the pages. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "This! Do you have the ingredients to make this?"

Ignis took the notebook back and nodded when she pointed to her choice. "Prairie Style Skewers? Yes, I believe I do. I know Gladio will be very excited as well to see these being made. They're one of his favorites. We recently came across some Anaks, so you're in luck. It shouldn't take too long to make, if you're alright with waiting?"

"Not like I have a choice, do I?"

"I'm afraid not," he turned back to the stove and moved the pot of stew to the back burner, a serious expression on his face. He knelt down and dug around in a cooler for the Anak meat that they'd obtained a few days earlier, as well as a spare Leiden pepper. He quickly got to work, chopping and cutting the ingredients with expert precision. He prepared the cubed meat with seasonings and paired them with the peppers on the skewers, continuing their conversation. "Nonetheless, it's the least I can do for our guest of the evening, especially with all the help you lent us defeating those daemons we encountered back there. I'm honestly not sure we would have survived without you."

She casually waved a hand in the air. "It's nothing, really. I figured I owed you as much, seeing as I was ordered by the Empire to kill you back at Fort Vaullerey and all."

Ignis nodded, pausing for a second to grab his Ebony coffee on the counter. He took a sip and placed the skewers in a pan on the already-hot stove. "Yes, but I seem to remember you saying something along the lines of 'not getting paid overtime' to continue your combat against us."

"Well, do you blame me? I mean, come on; my time is valuable, after all. Plus," she smirked devilishly at him, "I seem to remember you ready to kick my ass with those polearm moves of yours. I admit, I never thought I'd find someone whose techniques rivals my own, but you're pretty damn good."

"Comes with the territory of guarding the prince, I suppose," he replied humbly as he turned the skewers, checking to see that they were cooking evenly. "For all intents and purposes, I'd like to think we can put that battle behind us, wouldn't you? Water under the bridge?" he suggested, flashing her a charming smile. Something about the way he looked at her made her feel funny-almost in a way she'd never felt before. Her cheeks flushed red and she was forced to avert her gaze to the ground, suddenly finding her shoes and the dirt extremely fascinating.

She heard him chuckle. When she felt her cheeks return to their normal color, she dared to bring her face back up and saw Ignis was taking another sip of his coffee. "Hey, aren't you going to be wired drinking that stuff this late? I mean, it's already close to nine and that's like your third cup," she teased.

Ignis raised an eyebrow. "A bit judgmental, aren't we?" he quipped, putting his cup down and turning the skewers in the pan again. "To answer your question, no. I still manage to get to bed at a decent hour and I'll still be the first one up in the morning. For as long as I've been drinking this, a few cups of coffee have never disrupted my sleep."

"Ok then. If you say so," she crossed her arms across her chest, giving the impression that she didn't believe him.

As Ignis opened his mouth to argue, he was interrupted by loud whining. "Iggy!" Prompto called out from across camp. "When's dinner done? I'm so hungry!"

Noctis and Gladio-who was now sitting by the other two boys, joining them in a game of King's Knight-also chimed in their complaints about the wait. Aranea looked at Ignis who didn't seem the least bit annoyed at the demands. "Is this normal? Whining at you like a bunch of five-year-olds?"

"Very much so. I usually choose meals that don't take too long to make, otherwise, I have to deal with this," he tossed his head back in the direction of the three, earning a shy giggle from Aranea.

"Well, that's my fault. Sorry that I'm so picky and had you make a whole different meal on top of the one you were already in the middle of."

"It's no trouble at all," he reassured, downing the rest of his coffee and pulling the cooked skewers from the stove. He plated the skewers just right, handing a good portion of them to Aranea. As she reached for the plate, her hand brushed his and she felt herself go red again. They both locked eyes and smiled. "I hope you enjoy," he finally said, relinquishing the plate from his grip.

She was never the girl to get tongue-tied around any guy, but she found words hard to come by around Ignis. He was smart, charming, and incredibly good looking if she did say so herself. Her heart raced as she finally gave him an awkward smile. "Heh, I will," she managed to get out before walking away to eat the food he'd especially prepared for her, feeling his eyes on her the entire time.