"He's gonna know," Noct warned.
Ignis paused just short of entering the dining room, arms full with the two large paper sacks he'd brought from the grocery store. He'd gently nudged the door shut with his foot, so it was no wonder why they hadn't heard him come in. They being Noct and presumably Gladio and Prompto. Ignis hadn't known they would be here – Noct was alone when he'd left to grab a few things for their dinner.
How curious. Not that Ignis minded the others being there, but it was Wednesday. Wednesday had become Ignis and Noct's weekly 'hang out and do stupid stuff like normal people' – Noct's words, not Ignis' – night. So far it had only been the two of them on these evenings.
Why would Noct change that now?
"No, he's not," Gladio dismissed. "What, you think he counted them before he left?"
"…Dude. It's Ignis. Somehow, he will know," Prompto piped up.
"Oh, please. If he doesn't want the cookies he makes eaten, then he shouldn't make 'em so damn good and then leave them on the counter."
A small smirk pulled at Ignis' mouth, and he fell back further into the hallway, opening the door again with his elbow before kicking it shut again, louder.
…Was he truly doing this? Yes, it appeared he was. Goodness. Noct had been rubbing off on him.
"Iggy! Good, you're back," Noct called.
"Quite so. Sorry for the delay." Ignis finally moved into the dining room. "It appears some percentage of the population is still keen on using checks as a means of payment. Good evening, Gladio, Prompto."
Prompto groaned loudly. "Oh my gosh, the check people. I hated them when I was a cashier!"
Ignis set the groceries on the counter, then froze for a moment before swiveling around to directly face the cookies he'd left to cool. He sent Gladio a pointed glare. "Gladio, if you're going to partake of the dinner I intend to fix, then I'll not have you ruining your appetite with sweets ahead of time."
Prompto's eyes bulged.
Gladio's jaw slackened. "How the hell?"
Noct burst out laughing. "Told you. And I love how you managed to get that and not notice the rest of the room."
Ignis blinked, turning his attention to the decorations and boxes behind the three. "What's all this?"
Noctis rolled his eyes. "I swear… It's your birthday, dumbass." He grabbed one of the softer gifts from beside him and lobbed it at Ignis, hitting him in the chest and making him catch it.
Oh. Why so it was.
"You didn't even realize, did you?" Noct shook his head. "I don't get it. How can you memorize, like, twelve people's weekly schedules and forget your own birthday?"
Ignis blinked down at the gift, and then back up at the rest of the room. "I… you set up a birthday party for me?"
"Ehhh…" Prompto shrugged. "Birthday mini get-together? We knew you wouldn't want a lot of people around, soooo Noct thought the four of us could just, like, chill and do whatever."
"Yeah, we would have gotten you a cake, but we knew it would never be as good as yours, so we brought you the ingredients for one of your favorites instead." Gladio gestured to the far part of the counter where several things were stacked neatly.
"But we'll help make it at least!" Prompto chirped.
Ignis smiled softly. How thoughtful. To others, making him do the work might seem rude given that it was his birthday, but… well, they'd tried baking for him in the past, and this was a much-preferred alternative.
Things had improved so much over the last couple of months – far more than Ignis had expected. He and Noct were both doing well, making much better progress together than they ever could have alone. Their… episodes were less common now, Noct's hearing in his left ear had returned to normal, Ignis was able to bathe again without problems for the most part, and their studies regarding sign language were going rather quickly.
As for Prompto and Gladio… well, despite not knowing most of the problems Ignis and Noct had, they were still remarkably supportive, providing much-needed breaths of stable familiarity. Ignis could tell at first that they were trying their best to act normal before, but lately they'd fallen back to actually being normal once again.
Gladio was still more protective and cautious, but not smotheringly so. Ignis could just see the way he tensed more around strangers and out in public. Gladio was trained to be a guard. A shadow to his ward. He was doing his job, and doing it well.
Prompto, however… now that was where the truly visible changes were. At least Ignis had been able to straighten that mess up fairly quickly.
And so they were living on. Living on, one simple day at a time.
Once the cake was in the oven, Ignis was shooed onto the couch by the others to open gifts they'd gotten him. Ignis chuckled, settling onto the cushions. The TV was on, but only on the weather channel, and it was muted, leaving the other three as the only sources of buzzing activity around him.
Ignis watched their bantering fondly, pondering which gift to open first. He settled on the gift Noct had originally thrown at him and began meticulously picking at the tape.
Noct groaned loudly. "Specs, please, have mercy."
Ignis chuckled again and began ripping the paper off, not failing to notice how Noct's eyes lit up with mischief. Oh dear. Well, the package was too soft to contain any devious types of exploding confetti mechanism, so this had to be something else.
And indeed it was. A t-shirt. Ignis raised an eyebrow. Noct knew very well that he didn't wear t-shirts. What was this?
Ignis discarded the wrapping paper and flipped the shirt around, holding it up so he could read the cream letters that were emblazoned on the dark purple fabric.
"Oh, for Astrals' sake…" Ignis let go of the shirt, dropping his head into one hand as his shoulders shook with laughter. "You actually bought this?"
Noctis was laughing fairly loudly too. "Told you I would!"
Prompto grabbed the shirt. "What? What does it say– oh em gee, Noct, you did not…"
"You bet I did!"
Yes… yes, he most certainly had. Ignis was now the only owner of a shirt that read 'I got shot by the Immortal and all I got was this crappy shirt.'
"Noct, I…" Ignis paused. "…I am amused, but not entirely certain what it is I am to do with this."
Noct shrugged. "It was a joke, I have you a real present. Wear it on your off days?"
Gladio snorted. "He doesn't have off days."
"Point. Okay, wear it when you're home for the day. It looks cozier than a suit. Heck, wear it as pajamas. I don't care."
Ignis shook his head. "Thank you, Noct."
Noct smiled back, then signed something, smirking again.
Wait until you see what I have planned for Prompto's birthday.
Oh dear.
Gladio groaned. "Really? Do you have to do that while we're right here?"
A sly grin encompassed half of Noct's face, and then he started signing at a rapid-fire pace.
Gladio sighed. "Seriously?"
Ignis withheld yet another chuckle. Noct wasn't even saying anything – he was repeating the weather report that was currently on the TV.
Gladio looked to Prompto. "You gettin' any of this?"
Prompto blinked at Noct blankly. "Uhhh, nope. Not a word. He's going waaaaay too fast. Wait! I got that one! Gloomy!"
Gladio scowled. "I am not being gloomy, I was just asking!"
Ignis lost another battle with his laughter then, as did Noct.
Gladio only scowled more darkly. "Will you knock it off?"
Noct looked him straight in the eyes, then signed one word.
Never.
Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to get himself back under control. Astrals, he loved days like this. Days when they all could simply be who they were – most of their flaws and all – and have a good time.
Perhaps one day they wouldn't have to try and ignore the war that sat on their doorstep. Perhaps one day there would be true peace, and Noct would reign as a wise and beloved King for decades.
Until that day, these times would be their sanctuary, and Ignis would cherish every moment of them.
Ignis' phone chirped in his pocket – the different tone he used for only one person.
Yes… perhaps one day, the Wall would not keep them from the rest of the world.
