Beta read by: SinikkavonWolperting, istoleyourcheesecake and DragonRiderSayomi
This is the third place prize for my Tumblr 400 follower giveaway. Prize was a 3k fic of winner's choice as well as a sketch. Soon, I will be doing the 500 giveaway, so if anyone wishes to enter, it has not started yet. :D
Prompto glanced over as the adviser worked, chopping up the needed ingredients and getting all the necessary equipment ready and in place. With the other two off for a run, the blond was overcome with discomfort having been left alone with the other. What was he supposed to do, watch, or should he step in and lend a hand? He didn't want to get in the way, and he wasn't the best cook, but the thought of doing nothing while all the others were doing other things, it was making him anxious.
Chewing on his bottom lip, the gunner finally pushed himself out of his seat, but he more or less lingered around for a while, watching and observing. Every now and then, the brunet glanced in his direction, causing him to try and play it cool...like he wasn't standing around awkwardly. Seriously, the guy was so intimidating without even trying. They hadn't even been on the road for a whole day yet, and already he was struggling with socializing. Inside the city, he never spoke to the adviser often...looking back on it, that was probably a mistake.
It surely would have saved him from situations like this at the very least. Taking a deep breath, and reminding himself that Ignis was just another person, he strolled a little bit closer. It wasn't as if they were strangers or anything, and he was definitely overreacting to literally nothing. But, it couldn't be helped.
"Can I help you?" the gunner jolted at the incredulous tone, catching him off guard.
"Oh, uh…" he stammered, cheeks heating up as a hand drifted to the back of his neck. "I was just going to ask if you, ya know...needed any help?" he finally asked, voice only slightly trembling. This was the first time it was just the two of them alone. Most other times he at least had one of the others to save him and cut in should the air get too dense.
Ignis fell quiet for quite some time, and for a moment, Prompto took that as his cue to go sit back down. Clearly he was being a bother, and he desperately didn't wish to overstep his boundaries. Swinging his arms a bit, he went to turn around, but the clearing of the older man's throat pulled him to a halt.
"Actually, there is something you can do for me," he hummed lowly. He looked farther over his shoulder, over at the fire where a pot hovered over the licking flames. "That should be heated up enough by now, so if you wouldn't mind, I need it now and my hands are quite preoccupied."
The blond couldn't hide the pure joy that replaced his previous apprehension. It was almost like being approved. Ignis, the man so bent on doing things himself, actually asked him for assistance. Well, accepted his offer, but it was pretty much the same thing, right?
"On it!" he announced, spinning around on the ball of his foot.
"Careful with it," the brunet lazily warned without turning back around. He received a low response, one he could only assume was a word of acknowledgement. Finishing up the last of his chopping, Ignis set his knife aside and went to turn around to see how close Prompto was to getting back to him with that water. But, what he failed to realize, was the close proximity in which the gunner already was.
There was no saving it, there was no time to react aside from taking half a step back to avoid the initial splash of the collision.
"Dammit!" the brunet uncharacteristically blurted out when a few small droplets struck his arm. "Say something when you're behind me-!" he seethed, cutting himself off as he finally looked to the blond, the way he stood there, stunned, humiliated, and obviously pained. All at the same time. It didn't take much longer for his gaze to drift down a little more and see the stark redness that adorned both of Prompto's hands.
His face, though, was more petrified than anything, and he looked to the ground and then back to the adviser. "I-I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean to," he stammered, unsure where he should start. He didn't even bring attention to his hands, which Ignis knew had to have been torturous by now. Perhaps the adrenaline was still pumping strong enough for him to ignore it.
"It's alright," the brunet sighed. Clearly, he was still frustrated with the minor incident, but there was no need to stack insult upon injury. He ran a hand through his hair, his other motioning for the younger man to go have a seat. "Just...go sit down," he breathed out.
Not wanting to cause anymore of an inconvenience, Prompto did as he was asked without a word. Honestly, he wasn't sure how he should react right now...was Ignis mad? Of course he was, he had given the kid a simple task, one even he could carry out, and he still managed to screw it up. His eyes fell to the ground as he stepped over and sank into the closest seat, and not once did he glance back over. He wasn't sure he could, he didn't want to see the look of disappointment on the other's face.
'Why are you like this?' he asked himself as he allowed his head to hang low. Out of instincts, he went to place his head in his hands, but the moment they made contact, he instantly ripped them away and a hiss escaped from between clenched teeth. He held the both of them before him, and his eyes widened at the sight of them. Already, he could see where blisters were wanting to form. The light breeze alone was enough to feel like knives raking against his palms. He really did screw up big time.
Slowly, he lowered them to rest in his lap, and at that time, the quiet sounds of steps caused him to perk back up, but he still refrained from looking over. Not a word was spoken from either of them.
But, he couldn't keep it up for very long as the other man pulled up a chair to sit directly across from him...then scooted even closer, and it was getting more and more difficult not to look at the guy.
"Let me see your hands," Ignis requested, all harshness drained from the man's tone. A softer, more caring sound filled his request. Finally looking up, the blond found the other man sitting with a white box sitting in his lap, and he was quickly able to put two and two together. Reluctantly, the gunslinger revealed them both, palms up. The light and startled gasp that sounded from Ignis was almost instantaneous.
Without hesitation, the man got to work and popped the first aid kit open. "I apologize, but we don't have any potions left, and this isn't going to be pleasant…" he warned, an edge of what could only be described as sympathy in his tone. All Prompto could let out was a small whimper as his right hand was taken in the other's hold. But, it couldn't be helped. He wasn't even given a word of warning before the brunet poured a small amount of antiseptic into the palm. The initial sting of it caused a jolt to wrack the blond. It was almost enough to tear his hand away, but the grip on his wrist prevented that.
"Sorry, but I don't have a choice. I'll try to make this as quick as possible," the adviser promised.
The gunner simply nodded, too afraid to open his mouth at the moment. He wasn't sure he could form coherent words at the moment anyway. Surprisingly, the rest of the process went by relatively smoothly; Ignis had both hands cleaned and wrapped up in a matter of minutes.
"Thanks."
Prompto tentatively brought his hands back to rest in his lap. They still stung fiercely, but he was able to shove the worst of it to the back of his mind and ignore it for the time being. But, the slight change of his features didn't go unnoticed by the brunet. Without hesitation, Ignis dug a small bottle out of the kit and popped it open.
"Here, hold onto these, I'll get you some water," the adviser said, handing over a couple pain pills. Again, the blond nodded his head in acknowledgement. For the first time since all of this, he pried his attention off the ground long enough to glance at the other's back. This was just embarrassing, and his eyes drifted back to his hands.
Shortly after, the older man returned with the bottled water and even unscrewed the cap for him. Slowly, and cautiously, the gunner downed the medication, wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible. Expecting the man to get back to cooking, Prompto unintentionally let down his guard for only a fraction of a second, long enough for his features to falter and reveal just how much the discomfort was bothering him.
"How bad is it?" The question caught him by surprise and caused him to jolt slightly. His bright orbs flitted to the other and actually rested on him this time.
"It's fine," he lied, the answer coming out far too quickly.
Ignis lowered his brows skeptically and stared the younger man down with a look that spelled disbelief. "Really, how bad?" he asked again, making it quite clear he wasn't going to accept the subject being brushed off like that. "Or, if you don't want to answer that, did it splash anywhere else?" he questioned.
"No...just the hands," he chuckled humorlessly. "And, to answer you, it's really not that bad...just embarrassed," he added lower, almost inaudibly. "What about you? A-Are you alright? I didn't get you with it, did I!?" he asked, almost jumping to his feet in fear.
Quickly, Ignis raised both hands in order to calm the gunner down. "No...no, I'm quite alright," he assured.
Relieved, Prompto lowered himself back down with a heavy sigh. He wasn't sure why, but the idea of causing the man pain was absolutely terrifying and the last thing he'd ever want to do. "Good," he breathed out, closing his eyes. When he opened them once more, he had to stifle a small yelp to find the other basically leaning over him. His face...it was uncomfortably close and he felt the heat rise to his cheeks. "W-What are you doing!?" he stammered, voice a good octave or two higher than what it should be.
"Just making sure," Ignis replied flatly as he continued to scan the other over, checking thoroughly for any burns he may have missed. Fortunately, there were no more injuries to be found. For once, Prompto was telling the truth about his own well-being.
"You think I'm lying?" Prompto asked. Despite his words, he didn't sound too offended by the insinuation.
Still, a light gasp escaped when Ignis just shook his head in response. "Well, I guess it's to be expected," he shrugged, but left it at that. As Ignis looked over him the rest of the way, Prompto felt his face grow hotter by the second, especially when his hands moved to brush some blond strands out of the way to get a better look at his neck.
He swallowed nervously as a bead of sweat slithered down the side of his neck.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Fine!" Prompto blurted out, knowing that wasn't helping his case any. Instinctively, he pulled back just a tad, wanting, no, needing to put some distance between the two of them before he ended up having a heart attack. Speaking of, why the hell was his heart beating so damn fast? "I-I'm fine," he repeated, hoping desperately the man would buy it. Of course, that wasn't the case with this one.
"Am I making you nervous?" Ignis asked, curiously as a sly grin tugged at the corner of his lips. Prompto couldn't fathom what it was about this whole situation that was amusing the other so much.
He drew in a sharp breath when those piercing jades stabbed straight through him. "O-Of course not!" he stuttered, his lie instantly shining through. "Why would you be? I mean, I'm not nervous, there's nothing to be nervous about," he rambled, the words tumbled out quicker and quicker until, finally, a finger pressed against his lips, urging him to silence himself. The blond gulped as the touch was slowly pulled away.
"Hmm, I'm sure of that," Ignis replied arrogantly, single eyebrow raised. "Then tell me, why is your face so red? Or do you normally get so flustered for no reason?" the man pressed, and Prompto could have sworn his heart skipped a few pulses. The widening of his eyes must have been enough of an invitation for Ignis to lean in closer again. "Look at you, the closer I get...the more worked up you become," he observed.
What the hell was happening? What was the man doing? Was he teasing him? Did he think this was some kind of joke? The blond didn't have time to try and figure things out, those eyes, the man's presence...he hated to admit it, but it was captivating. "What are you doing?" he mouthed, but he wasn't sure if any sound actually came out or not. He had to assume it did based on the look on the other's face.
"It really is easy to get under your skin," Ignis whispered, right hand trailing to caress the side of the gunner's face. The action elicited a small shiver from the blond. "Don't act like I haven't noticed...the way you look at me, like a lost puppy in need of approval from its master," he muttered. And, if the gunner wasn't beet red before, he sure as hell was now. This had to be a dream, there was no way this was real, no way that Ignis was saying these things to him. Yeah, he admired the man...but admiring him in such a way… To be truthful, he wasn't denying the claim.
All he could do was awkwardly clear his throat and laugh nervously under his breath. On one end, he wondered where the other two were and when they were coming back to save him from such a problematic situation, while on the other end, he kind of hoped they'd be gone for quite a while longer.
"If we're being honest here, I think I may have taken a bit of an interest in you as well," the man breathed out, letting his hand fall away. "I still don't know what to think, but you're...intriguing, to say the least."
Finally, the man straightened up and stepped away. Prompto still just sat there...staring, unable to form words or coherent thoughts. Until now, he had never considered looking at the brunet in such away...but now? How was he supposed to see him in any other? "You mean…?" the younger man questioned, needing clarification on all this. He had to be sure he was hearing all this right, and deep down, he really prayed he was. It was weird, yeah, but it was something he couldn't explain.
"You know exactly what I mean," the adviser replied with a playful roll of his eyes. "And from the looks of things, I'd say the same thing could be said about yourself. I can see it, you aren't the most subtle there is." Then, for the first time that Prompto could remember, the man actually chuckled lowly. He had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing this right.
"Maybe…"
"There's no need to act so coy. It's just the two of us here, you can admit it. I promise, not a word will be uttered to the others. In fact, I'd prefer if that didn't happen." This was getting weirder, did Ignis...just admit to feeling something for him? For him, Prompto. That didn't make sense. Of all the people out there, what was it about him? There was nothing special, and surely there were much better choices.
The gunner had to take a deep breath to calm his nerves. I couldn't exactly say he was wrong. It would have explained a lot, anyway. Like why he always got so anxious whenever Ignis would get within a certain proximity of him. Why he always struggled to talk to him when he spoke with the other two with such ease. It made too much sense, and it was just strange.
"Yeah…" was all he could say though, his mouth going dry.
That's the moment Ignis let out an actual and genuine laugh. "I have a confession...I didn't really know any of that, but thanks for telling me," he said with a quick wink. Seeing the absolutely mortified expression on the other man's features, the adviser nodded towards his hands. "I bet they don't hurt so bad now though, do they?" he asked, knowing full well the pain had been forgotten in the midst of the heated conversation.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I really should get back to cooking, I've lost quite a bit of time, and the others are likely to return shortly." Just like that, the older man was acting as though he didn't just nearly seduce the blond...it was like nothing had ever happened.
Prompto was at a loss, he couldn't speak. So, was none of that true then? Was Ignis just trying to make him flustered for no reason, just for the sake of taking his mind off the burns? Well, it worked, but now there was a painful sting in the center of his chest.
"Ignis?" he asked, tone stifled and restrained.
Without an uttering, the said man glanced back over his shoulder to witness the hurt glimmer in the gunner's eyes. In fact, he didn't need to say anything for him to take the hint. "Don't worry, I meant every word of it. And no, my word still stands, the others won't hear a thing about this," he promised.
Prompto sank deeper into the chair… 'Way to give me a freaking heart attack,' he mouthed to himself as the blood started flowing once more. He was still sure that it all hadn't fully processed yet, the whole thing, the Ignis being rather fond of him, the feelings. All of it. It was new and unexplored. But he was sure there was plenty of time to panic about that later. For now the disbelief had to have its time to fully make its rounds. As he sat there, he gazed on as the other worked, watching the man in a new light.
He really was an interesting one.