Written for a prompt I got during a Secret Santa fic exchange. :)
Ignis didn't know how long he'd been standing there. Long enough that he'd started to develop a crick at the base of his neck from all the time he'd been looking up, but he kept looking. Observing. Studying.
Without breaking eye contact, he scribbled down another note in his book. He only looked away when he felt a presence beside him.
He expected to find Noctis or Prompto once more passing by him, but instead he was greeted by the sight of a child in an assassin's hoodie.
Ignis arched an eyebrow. "Might I help you?"
The child froze, and then ran off.
How odd.
Ignis returned his attention to the various men and women that were attempting the crossing above. Truly, it didn't look that difficult. A simple matter of keeping one's weight evenly distributed. Nothing he hadn't done before–
"You have got to be kidding me…"
Ignis swiveled around, instantly feeling the urge to cross his arms. He barely resisted.
Why him? Why her? Why, of all things, did he have to run into her here? …And why was she glaring at him?
"Aranea," he greeted, hoping his voice sounded composed.
Her arms were crossed, weight on one hip. "You cost me 50 gil."
"I beg your pardon?" Whatever was she talking about?
She sighed. "Biggs said he thought he saw you here, but I told him there was no way someone as stuck-up and proper as you was out here cosplaying."
Biggs? Ah, yes. One of the men that had been with her last they'd met.
Her eyes raked over him appraisingly. "Especially in that costume. Not that I'm complaining."
Losing his battle with self-control, Ignis crossed his arms, accidentally drawing on himself with his pen in the process before he clicked the point back into its sheath. "Ah… well, normally you'd be correct, but I was obligated to join the festivities alongside His Highness."
Aranea snorted. "Got dragged along?"
"Evidently." He wished she'd stop staring at him. "And you?" She was certainly not wearing one of the generic rental costumes. He vaguely recognized the outfit from when Noctis had played through the last Assassin's Creed game before the most recent one. One of the twin protagonists. Evelyn? Eva? Something along those lines. Her hair was even braided like the character. "What brings you here?"
He hoped she wasn't here for the Empire. They'd only just gotten rid of Loqi. Noct deserved some time of relaxation.
Aranea grinned. "Are you kidding? Leaps of faith? Sky crossings? You think I'd miss this?"
"Ahhh… A dragoon lure, I suppose."
"Something like that." She tilted her head. "You look like you might be a little lured yourself by the crossing."
Ignis hummed in acknowledgment. "I've been considering an attempt."
"You'll own it," she said as though it were a fact. "I've seen those acrobatics you pull off in combat."
"Oi! Lady A!"
They both turned to find one of Aranea's men a fair distance way. He grinned, rubbing his fingers together in a money gesture.
Aranea rolled her eyes. "Well, that's my cue. Good luck with finding your inner dragoon. See you around."
"Indeed." Ignis nodded his head with a slight smile, bidding her farewell.
To walk or not to walk.
To walk, he decided, closing his notebook. Most definitely.
While Lestallum wasn't by any means his favorite place of those they visited along their journey, Ignis had to admit the city was rather beautiful from above with the festival decorations lighting it up at night.
He adjusted his spectacles, observing the woman in front of him as she made her attempt at preforming the crossing. Although her balance was a tad off, he suspected she'd make it–
A familiar laugh from down below drew his attention, and he spotted Noct and Prompto jogging by. But he also spotted something else – a remaining, damaged MT that was staggering haphazardly through one of the alleyways.
Ignis pressed his lips together. At this rate, they'd intersect, destroying what little time of relaxation that Noct was having yet again.
Not if he had any say about it.
While Ignis may have been reluctant before, Noct had well earned a break.
Ignis excused himself from the small line, briskly making his way to another edge of the building. Too high up to jump straight to the ground from here. But not from the roof above the MT. Thoughts of the crossing abandoned, Ignis backed up, getting a better start before he leaped from the edge of the roof to the one nearby. He rolled upon impact, coming back up onto his feet as quickly as he could and heading for the fire escape.
He propelled himself over the railing, summoning a dagger to drive it into the MT from above. It died with little fanfare underneath him, dissolving into just the small heaps of metal with that chilling, shrill cry they always gave.
"What was that?"
"Dude, that… sounded like an MT…"
Ignis retreated into the alleyway, ducking around a corner as Noct and Prompto's voices drew near.
"Whoa! It was an MT!"
"Huh. Looks like it just died."
"But… who killed it?"
"Don't know. Don't care as long as it's not around to bother us anymore. Come on, we're close to the next clue!"
"Right-o!"
Ignis chucked. They'd never even known he was there. Wasn't he getting into the spirit of things? What was that line he'd heard from the games so many times while Noct was playing? We work in the dark to serve the light? Yes, that was it.
The was a faint thud from behind him.
"You know, for a second there, I almost thought you were chickening out on the crossing, but then you jumped of the roof instead, so I figured that probably wasn't the real story."
Ignis swiveled around, an arched eyebrow already on his face. "I'd be loath to send a lady away, but do you intend to follow me around all night?"
"Hah." Aranea's lips turned up teasingly. "Don't flatter yourself. I went up to do the crossing again myself, but I had to see what would cause a guy like you to jump off a roof."
"And was your curiosity sated?"
She shrugged. "Well enough."
"Then I'm happy I was able to oblige." He started walking. The crossing was waiting for him. "Now, if you don't mind, I believe I still have a task unfinished."
"Well, I'm not going to miss this now."
"I… all right, then." Ignis kept his face from twisting into something unpleasant. Not that he wanted her to go away, per se, but the way she was intruding without invitation was making him feel a tad uncomfortable and self-conscious.
Still, he kept those thoughts to himself as they returned to the rooftops. This time, there was no line, and Aranea prodded him forwards with a jab to his lower back. "Go on, then."
Ignis nearly jumped at the contact, as it had been to the part of his back left exposed by his current costume. He complied without further words, stepping out onto the narrow passage to the next roof. It wasn't as difficult as he'd anticipated to keep his balance centered, though his shoes clearly weren't actually meant for this sort of activity.
"Keep it up, Four-eyes," Aranea called when he was about halfway across.
And then there was screaming.
Ignis was across the rest of the way almost before he even realized it. If someone was screaming, he had no doubt there was another MT still about and causing trouble. He sprinted in the direction of the screaming.
It didn't take him long to realize there were footsteps behind him. Well, it appeared Aranea was going to follow him around all night.
Ignis reached the edge of the roof, squinting down into the alley to find a half-broken MT chasing a child that bore a somewhat noticeable resemblance to Noct.
Aranea slapped his shoulder. "This way – we can cut him off!"
And now he was following her. He had to wonder how much time she'd spent on the rooftops of this city to know where to go that quickly.
Adrenaline truly was remarkable – he'd given the crossing so much thought, and now he was being forced to race from one rooftop to another to keep up with Aranea and the MT.
"I'll get the kid!" Aranea yelled back to him, pulling her hood up. "And pull your hood up! You wanna tell the whole Empire this was your doing?"
She vaulted over a crate at the edge of the roof.
Bloody hell.
He'd seen her aerial fighting style before, of course, but it seemed a fair bit more alarming for her to jump off a multistory building. This building was much higher than the one he'd jumped from earlier.
Ignis slid to a stop at the edge, calling his dagger and sending it into the MT as a distraction as he took in the area below.
Ah, yes, the Levelle area. They were fortunate it was less crowded than usual.
The MT didn't even seem to notice the dagger sticking out of its neck.
Drat.
Ignis pulled his hood up before he dropped off the rooftop, catching on to a lower part of the building and pushing off of it. He summoned his lance midair, driving it through the MT's center as he took it to the ground. It dissolved beneath him, and he glanced over his shoulder to find Aranea guarding the child.
The child… who was looking positively gleeful rather than traumatized. "Whoa, real assassins!"
Aranea chuckled, turning to him and kneeling down. "That's right, kiddo. But keep it a secret, huh?" She pressed a finger to her lips.
The child nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, ma'am!"
"Good. Now off you go. Avoid the metal men the future, okay?"
"Okay!" He ran off, smile encompassing his entire face.
Aranea grinned at Ignis. "Nice job. I didn't know if you'd be able to keep up with me."
Ignis tugged his hood off, raising an eyebrow. "Were the hoods truly an identity veil, or were you simply giving that boy the illusion of two hooded heroes coming to his aid?"
Aranea chuckled. "No idea what you're talking about."
"Ah, yes, I'm certain you don't." That was a different side to her. He wouldn't have thought she'd be good with children given her usual, more brash tendencies.
"Hey, so you still got that notebook you were scribbling in?"
His notebook? "Of course." He produced the notebook from his pocket. "Why do you ask?"
She walked closer to him. "Can I see it?"
"I… don't see why not." Had she taken an interest in the dish he'd fixed when she'd camped with them?
She snatched the book away, taking his pen too and scribbling a number.
Oh.
Ignis cleared his throat. "Is that your phone number?"
"Just my number." She returned the book to him. "Not a promise or an IOU."
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Understood."
She winked and started strutting off. "Have a good night, Specs."
"So, you gonna take that walk or what?" Noctis asked, still borderline beaming over his success on the treasure hunt.
"As it were… I already did." Among other things.
"Why didn't you say something?" Noctis actually sounded disappointed that he'd missed it.
"Didn't want to distract with my sideshow of sorts. My apologies."
He'd rather enjoyed himself at this festival after all.