One Too Many

by Mrfart

You're an unstable film student with commitment issues, and Ignis was the first person you'd ever left a party with who didn't end up sharing your bed. Which was, you realized the more you got to know him, a real shame. (Self indulgent peacetime AU.)

14. Chapter Fourteen

Turning off the lights, you locked up the theater and joined Prompto underneath a nearby streetlamp. He was engrossed in his phone, nothing unusual aside from the way that each rush of his thumbs made your phone chime. You brought it out, sending him a flat glance that went unseen.

Prompto: guys cum 2 a trivia contest tmrw we need 4 ppl

Gladio: Not sure trivia's your strong suit shortcake

Prompto: hey :(

Noctis: no thanks

Prompto: aw cum on i need u

You elbowed him lightly. "Dude, you need to change the way you spell 'come' or I'm gonna keep thinking you're saying something else."

He snickered. "We need four people. There's a minimum for the teams."

With a shrug, you watched as the conversation continued —mostly between Prompto and Gladio— and said, "I'm sure we could find some people at the bar to join us."

He didn't look up as he asked, "You'd rather do that than have Iggy come?"

You hadn't talked about Ignis with Prompto since the hearing. There wasn't anything to talk about. After you'd spoken in the courtroom, Ignis had to get back to his office for work, and Prompto gave you a slight ragging before you left the Citadel together for your own job.

That was it.

Prompto: itll b fun !

You: Yeah, tequila bars are rad as hell. Hot food, hotter babes.

Prompto: hear that gladio hot babes

You: Yeah juicy. All kinds. Big brunette women. Small blond men. Whatever your type.

Prompto gave you a side glance, frowning at you in the yellow streetlights. You pretended not to notice.

Prompto: iggy she wants u 2 cum so bad shes just 2 shy to beg

You shoved him. "Astrals, you're a dickwad."

Ignis: She'd never beg. It's not in her nature.

You: Glad someone gets me.

Though… if the circumstances were right… Ignis might find himself surprised, you thought.

Prompto: will u cum tho?

You: Stop asking everyone to cum.

Gladio: nah I'm always down to cum

Prompto paused in his walk, and you had to stop, looking back at him with a snort. It took a little effort to pull him along. You were only a couple blocks from home and growing impatient.

Ignis: Sparing the nonsense, I would like to participate.

Gladio: yeah count me in

Prompto: noct?

Noctis: No

Prompto: but y ?

Noctis: Going to a bar with you four sounds like the worst time

You: Ouch. I thought we were friends your highness.

Noctis: We are but this is weird

Ignis: How so?

Prompto: ya! y is it weird 2 u?

Noctis: Just leave me out

Prompto: fine ur loss well have fun w/o u

He sighed just outside of your building. "I don't get why he doesn't wanna come. Usually he's up for anything."

You shrugged. "So you found the one thing he's not into. That's a good thing. It's not like you can do everything together forever. He's getting married soon."

A smile brightened his face. "Yeah, true."

You waved goodbye and smiled at the stupid conversation all over again. Ignis was going to come —not cum, unless things went well— and if you understood things well enough, this could almost, kinda be considered a date?

—

Covering the yellowed bruises with makeup and wearing something directly between sexy and modest, you waited with Prompto outside the bar. People were going in slowly off the street. Music emanated from the doorway, saucy and exciting. You checked your reflection in the compact for the third time since arriving. What were Gladio and Ignis even doing? You'd expected Ignis to be there before anyone.

The compact was suddenly taken from your hand, and you froze momentarily, watching as it traded between large hands. Gladio stood in front of you, eyeing it with interest.

"Whoa, Iggy, genuine gold?" He chuckled. "Leave it to you to not even half ass something that's fake."

Ignis took the token, offering it back to you. He wasn't smiling, but you noticed the slightest tint of pink on his face in the early evening sunlight. You took the compact and smiled, placing it into your bag and giving him a onceover.

He was, as always, overdressed. A suit jacket over a buttoned top. What was this, a business meeting? Without thinking about it, you reached up and unbuttoned the topmost button of his shirt. Then another and another until his collar bones were revealed.

"There," you said. "You still look like you're going to a meeting, but maybe a sexy one where you're trying to seduce your boss."

Prompto snickered, leading the way inside with Gladio not far behind. Ignis cleared his throat, but didn't make a move to change what you'd done. "After you."

You did an exaggerated curtsy that made him smile.

Red alert: this was, in fact, a date. That fact almost immediately made you feel anxious, but the way his hand touched the small of your back made excitement overtake your worries.

It would be fine, and if not, it wasn't like you'd promised each other the world. Bad dates happened and crushes fizzled out all the time.

—

It was a little awkward. You couldn't pinpoint why, only that it was. All of you decided to forgo the drinks until after the contest, to keep yourselves clear headed. So you sipped on water and waited for it to begin. You were already regretting the lack of alcohol.

The lively music energized you, a welcome background noise to your buzzing thoughts. Ignis was close, sitting next to you at the table. Your knee touched his every so often.

"How are you?" he asked, lowering his voice and looking specifically at you. Gladio rolled his eyes next to him as if he'd just been waiting for Ignis to start ignoring him for you any moment.

"Relieved, mostly." It was the first time you had an honest answer to a generic question that usually annoyed you. "I feel like… I can do anything, now. Maybe I'll book a trip to Accordo if I get drunk enough tonight." His knee bumped against yours. You smiled down into your water. How stupid. Since when did something that simple get to you? "Um, what about you?"

"My entire body aches from training earlier in the week, and I'm behind on my work." He smiled slightly. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

You snorted. "I think you need this night out as much as I do."

Gladio slapped a hand on Ignis' back, winking a Prompto. "Trust me, we all need it."

"Y-Y'know, we should have a drink for good luck," Prompto said, raising a hand to get the attention of a server. He seemed tense, more so than you were, which was a feat because you were nervous about all of this.

Ignis adjusted his glasses. "Terrible idea."

"Great!" you said at the same moment.

Gladio looked between you while Prompto ordered a round. You met Ignis' eyes and chewed lightly on your lower lip. It was just a small, momentary lapse in agreement. Okay, so maybe you and Ignis didn't exactly agree on many things. He seemed unbothered by your slight opposition so you decided not to waste time overthinking it.

The server placed small glasses and slices of lime on the table, and you looked away from Ignis to find the salt. One flick of your tongue on the back of your hand, just between your thumb and forefinger, you shook a little of it on that spot before passing it to Prompto. Then, you both did the salt-and-lime routine. It was sour against your tongue, which curled as you tasted the salt, took the shot, then bit the slice of lime.

You turned to Ignis, finding him watching you with a careful eye. Smiling —the lime in your mouth surely looked ridiculous— you nodded at the shot in front of him. Even Gladio had followed you and Prompto in the admittedly trashy way of enjoying the drink; Ignis couldn't be that big of a square to not play along.

Spitting the spent lime into your hand and tossing it onto the plate with Prompto and Gladio's, you asked, "Don't like tequila?" Maybe he couldn't handle it. A lot of people couldn't.

He surprised you by shrugging off his jacket, placing it on the back of his chair and calmly lifting his glass. "There is a protocol for drinking tequila properly." He rose the glass to eye level, swirling the liquid smoothly. Meeting your eyes, he took a drink and let it rest in his mouth for a moment before swallowing, as if tasting it were important. He swiped his tongue along his lip in a quick movement. "It's to be enjoyed slowly."

It was your turn to eye him carefully. The bar suddenly felt incredibly hot. "D-don't be so smarmy."

A smile teased at his lips. "I'm not."

You nudged his knee with your own. "You totally are."

When you looked at Prompto, it seemed like he was having his own private conversation with Gladio. You narrowed your eyes at him. "Hey, what's up?"

Prompto started, eyes wide. "Nothing."

Gladio chuffed out a small laugh. "Nice save, shortcake."

Your eyes went to Ignis. He shared a confused look with you. "What's going on?"

He shrugged, his shirt shifting just a little. You openly looked at what you could see of his chest and collar bones once you let the alcohol settle in your tummy. You wanted to hug him. Or kiss him. Or maybe just lean into him because he was such a good friend. You sighed softly, the alcohol calming your nerves a bit.

"They're a mystery to me as well," he said, looking at the others. "It may be best that we ignore them."

You grinned. Maybe. It was only one drink, but you were already feeling the familiar warmth that began in your chest. Yeah, best to ignore them and focus on Ignis. The holier than thou way he was drinking the tequila was kind of cute anyway.

—

You slammed the bell with a hand. "Garulessa!"

The contest runner was all smiles as he gave you yet another point. "Correct!"

Your team was crushing the competition. It was almost unfair. What you didn't know, Ignis knew, and vice versa. Gladio and Prompto answered less questions, but were usually right when they did. Okay, maybe there had been a brief period where you'd ring the bell and just giggle drunkenly instead of giving an answer. But the others had put a stop to that, keeping you from the bell until you calmed down.

"How'd you know that?" Gladio asked.

You shrugged. "My dad's a hunter."

It was true, but it held no bearing over your animal knowledge. You'd wanted to be a wildlife vet very briefly before college. You also knew a few things about anthropology, law, and psychology. Before film, you had no idea what you'd wanted to do. You just knew it had to be big. So you'd looked into and studied your every interest before deciding.

You'd had a lot of time on your hands and nowhere to go as a teenager who lived in the countryside.

Ignis rose a brow. "That's interesting."

The host was beginning another question. You waved Ignis off. "We'll talk about it another time. It's boring. Pay attention to the question."

He nodded, but kept watching you with interest for the rest of the evening. Not like that was anything knew. You were beginning to realize what it felt like for someone like him to have a crush on you.

Slightly intimidating, extremely flattering.

—

"It's Crepera," you said, glaring at Ignis.

He frowned at you. "No. I'm certain it's Optimus."

You shared a sharp look with him, your hand tangled with his over the bell at your table. "It's the Rogue. She was the only queen of Lucis; it's easy to remember. I can't believe you're against me."

To anyone else, it looked like he was holding your hand because he was sweet. His gloved hand almost covered yours entirely. He was keeping you from ringing the bell, but you knew your answer was right.

The contest runner looked around the bar expectantly. "Does no one have an answer?"

You reached for the bell with your free hand, but Ignis beat you to it. The chime caught the host's attention. Ignis hesitated for a moment, gaze lingering on you briefly. "Crepera Lucis Caelum."

"That's correct!" The contest runner gave your team another point on the board and began to announce the next round of questions.

Looking at Ignis, you wondered why he'd changed his mind at the last moment. Instead of asking, you gave him a small smirk. "Told you I was right."

He took a final drink of another shot —you'd lost count of how many rounds after a while— and gave you a soft glance. "I took a chance, and I'm impressed."

Gladio snorted, and you felt a small wave of embarrassment. Tugging your hand from Ignis', you lifted it to wave down a server.

"We need another round," you said, trying to will away the blush that was growing along your cheeks. "Extra strong and, uh, neat."

"I don't think that's the wisest decision," Ignis said once the server walked away.

"We'll be fine." You waved off his concern with a flippant hand. "You should try drinking it the fun way this time."

"Yeah, Iggy," Gladio prodded. "Do it the fun way."

He crossed his arms. "I'll not degrade myself to imbibe in such a crude manner."

You rolled your eyes, already licking your hand and applying salt as the server placed the drinks on the table. With a dead stare at Ignis, you repeated the salt-and-lime routine. He sipped from his glass, holding it delicately between his long fingers. It was ridiculous how he made even drinking elegant. You smiled, the lime wedge covering your teeth, and attempted to speak. Trying to ask if he thought your new lime teeth were sexy, you only said nonsense around the sour fruit.

A small laugh escaped him, and he covered his mouth with a hand, clearing his throat. Who cared if he was nearly your opposite when he looked at you like that?

Like you were the only reason he was even there.

—

Ignis' shoulder was the perfect perch for your chin. Your team had won the contest, and Prompto had went with Gladio to find out why the bar wasn't serving food.

He let you lean into him. Your breath hit his neck, and you were too drunk to be embarrassed about how strong it probably smelled of alcohol. He didn't seem to mind.

"I'm gonna get you to loosen up."

He turned his head, nose skimming yours. "I believe you've done enough for the both of us."

"I'm just getting started," you said. This fool had no idea what he'd gotten himself into with you. Bringing a hand to his chest, you trailed fingers up the soft fabric to the creamy skin exposed at his collar. His eyes flitted between yours before falling on something over your shoulder.

"Astrals, I can't believe this." He jumped a little, sitting up straighter. The motion pushed you away, and you jerked your hand back in response. Were you being too forward?

"Uh, I-I'm sorry," you stuttered. Ignis didn't seem the type to like public displays of affection. Were you more sober, you'd have stopped yourself.

"No," he said, peering past you. "Look."

You looked over your shoulder, startling at the sight that had surprised Ignis. Just beyond the bar, in a small hallway that led to the restrooms, Gladio had Prompto pressed against the wall. Their lips were locked, bodies close. One of Gladio's hands had gotten under Prompto's shirt, tugging it up enough that you could see the light stretch marks along the side of his stomach.

"We gotta stop this." You got up, but wavered a little.

Ignis stood and gripped your shoulder to steady you. "We shouldn't bother them."

"But Gladio's eating Prompto's face."

"They're consenting adults," Ignis reasoned. He let go of your shoulder to grip your hand instead. "Let's see about finding food elsewhere. We'll return shortly, and they'll have it out of their system."

You gave him a sour look, but followed him to the exit anyway. "Consent? They're both wasted."

"Hardly. Gladio is going easy tonight, and Prompto's been ordering virgin drinks made almost entirely of fruit juice." He stopped on the sidewalk just outside the entrance, looking down both ends of the street. "You and I have drank the most by far."

That was true. Although he went about it slower, you'd noticed that Ignis had subtly made it a point to match each of your drinks. Prompto and Gladio had stopped taking straight shots after the second round.

The bright images on the side of a food truck on the corner caught your eye. "Hey, that looks promising." You pulled him along the sidewalk toward it, weaving past people waiting to get inside the bar.

You both ordered gyros, and you sat on the curb with yours. Ignis hesitated before joining you. A small victory song played in your head. You were so getting him to loosen up. He was sitting on the dirty street corner with you, for Shiva's sake.

"Thanks for coming tonight." You wiped at the sauce dripping down your chin. "We wouldn't have won without you."

He seemed confused about how to eat the food without it being messy. The little line that formed between his brows as he furrowed them was cute. "Don't be silly. I'm quite surprised at how knowledgeable you are."

You snorted, not even offering to help him. "You thought I was dumb before?"

"Not at all." He took a bite of the gyro and the insides fell out of the bottom, splattering onto the ground. The sauce ran down his hands. Wide eyed, he looked down at the mess, then at you.

Holding back a laugh, you wiped the food off his cheek with a napkin. He stilled, eyes roaming your face. It was hard to keep the amusement reined in. You giggled at his expression. He put the remains of his food down, his gloves soaked in sauce.

"You're the one who needs the compact this time." You smiled at him, but he didn't smile back. "What?"

He remained quiet, green eyes dancing in the lamplight. It glinted off his glasses in a dim yellow. Your smile waned, and you looked away. He had to know how piercing his eyes were. Busying yourself, you unbuttoned his gloves and slid them off, one at a time. He let you without argument, taking the napkins you handed him to wipe his hands.

"These are ruined," you mumbled as you inspected his gloves. Had you done something wrong? His silence was beginning to bother you. "Something on your mind, Ignis?"

He took a deep breath, letting it go quietly. "I wish very much to kiss you."

That was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Gaze flicking up to him, your smile returned. Smaller this time. "Why don't you?"

His eyes kept you pinned. Too serious. "A fair number of reasons."

"Because we're in public and you're shy?" You poked him in the chest.

Finally, a smile threatened his lips. "Not so much shy as situationally conscious."

You giggled again, the lightheaded and dizzying effects of the alcohol urging you forward. You wanted to kiss him, too. His smile was so nice, and everything he said was perfect. In fact, you didn't think you could get your lips on his fast enough.

He stopped you centimeters from his face, hands coming to your cheeks. "We shouldn't."

Pouting at the familiarity of the situation, you leaned forward, but he stopped you again. "Why not?"

"We've both had too much to drink." His voice was gentle. "I'd rather wait until I'm sober."

You gripped his wrists, pulling away his hands by the shirt cuffs. "It's just a kiss. I'm not asking for sex. Don't be—" You looked down at his hands. One was bruised at the knuckles. It derailed your train of thought. "Is this from the, uh, punishment training?"

His fingers curled slightly in your hand, but he made no move to pull away. "No." Voice still gentle, it made you gaze up at him. He was looking away, something close to shame on his face. Such an open book, you thought. Drunk Ignis was a bit serious, but he'd never been so easy to read.

"What happened?" You ran fingers delicately over the bruised knuckles. "Why only your right one?"

He flexed his hand again. "I'd rather not say."

You were super curious, but didn't want to press. "Okay."

His gaze snapped to you, eyes not entirely focused. "What?"

With a shrug, you pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles. "If you don't wanna tell me, then don't. I hadn't planned to tell you about my bruises. Just—" You hiccuped, and wow, you hadn't done that since you'd first began drinking years ago. "Just be careful. You can tell me stuff when you're ready. Or whatever. I just, I care about you, and I don't want you to be hurt. I guess."

Words just kept falling out of your mouth. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you knew you'd be much more uncomfortable if you were sober. But you were both just above completely trashed. His serious face had returned. Ignis was so drunk and so serious.

Now, that was a movie title. So Drunk, So Serious. You could base it off of him. Kinda. An uptight noble who drinks and becomes super serious and maybe fights people like some kind of secret hero. Or wait. He could race cars? He was always wearing those driving gloves. Yes. Yes. But then that'd be promoting drinking and driving. You could put a disclaimer up when the film started to keep the critics at bay. The potential was endless. You really needed to write this down.

Your thoughts halted when he dropped his forehead to your shoulder. His back rocked slightly with quiet laughter. You froze, enjoying the feel of his breath against your collar. It was weird. How could you enjoy that?

"Do you always come up with absurd film ideas while intoxicated?" Oh. You'd been thinking out loud. You felt him snake an arm around you in a loose hold. Drunk Ignis was serious and touchy? A strange combination, but you liked it. Though, he didn't seem too serious now, his soft laughter against your skin dying into quiet breaths.

"My hand —the bruises— they're from, ah," he sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" You leaned into his hold, another hiccup making you feel silly. "You apologize too much."

He made no move to look at you, speaking into your collar. "I'd no intentions of interfering with your court hearing. When Mirum told me what had happened, she'd shown me the report. The photograph of your injured face…" His jaw tightened for a moment. "She gave me the choice to serve the court order to the man myself. I knew better than to accept, but I was furious. When I found him, he antagonized me by insulting you."

Realization struck you. "So you punched him."

"Yes. It had been gratifying at the time, but I've regretted it ever since."

"Wow." You tried to process the information, but it didn't sit well. Indignation rose up, and you wished you could look at his face if only to carry your point across as sternly as possible. "You're better than that, Ignis. I never asked you to defend me."

"I know. I can't fathom what overcame me to behave in such a way." Another sigh. "I could've had the bruises healed by now, but I've kept them around as a reminder of my foolishness."

Accepting that, you laughed quietly. "Thank you, though, for doing that. You're getting more and more out of control. I'm a bad influence."

He hummed in agreement. "You make me want to misbehave at times."

That made you grin. Ignis somehow held the full scope of attractiveness within one person. You found him sexy most days, sweet others, and right now, with his quiet, genuine statements, he was adorable. You wondered if maybe he was too drunk. Because he'd been leaning into you for a while, and he seemed to be making himself comfortable.

You patted his back encouragingly. "Let's go inside. I bet those idiots are done being gross now."

He inhaled deeply and righted himself, letting you go. Seeming much more like himself than he had just seconds before, he nodded. Not too drunk, then. That was a relief. No way had you wanted to drag him all the way home.

You stood up, pocketing his dirty gloves and tossing the remainder of your food. Then, in as fluid a motion your drunk ass could handle, you leaned down and kissed him once before taking off back toward the bar.

—

"Prompto, I fucked up."

"No. I fucked up." He shook his head slowly, words coming out in a grumble. "You kissed a guy you were on a date with because you were drunk. I made out with a guy I wasn't on a date with, totally sober."

You nursed the Bloody Mary in your hands. "I was trying to be cute. It was quick, and I scampered off. I looked back right before going inside, and what did I see?"

"It's not your fault he threw up." Prompto took the celery stick from your glass, taking a bite of it with a solid crunch. He was dripping tomato juice all over your damn couch cushions. You were too hungover to care. "There was so much of it, too. He chose to drink a ton. It's not your fault."

"Yeah, it is." Your tolerance for alcohol was dangerously high. Ignis shouldn't have tried to match you. Gladio had taken him home once you were able to get him out of the bar. "Wait." You furrowed your brows at him, but his eyes were closed. "You regret sucking face with Gladio?"

He shrugged and choked down another bite of celery. "Maybe. Kinda."

"Was it bad?"

He chewed, opened his eyes and looked at you thoughtfully. "Nah. It was great. Solid A plus."

You didn't see the problem, then. You'd suspected only recently that Prompto liked him, and Gladio seemed to at least enjoy shoving his tongue down Prompto's throat. "Looks like it got really heated last night. He was practically trying to undress you." A smile small grew on your face. "It was pretty trashy, though. Who makes out in the middle of a bar?"

He groaned. "Dude, let's not— no more talking about it." A finger pointed at you, he added, "And don't tell Noct."

"Why not?"

Closing his eyes again, he sighed. "I'm gonna pretend it never happened."

You thought that was really stupid, but who were you to stop him from making his own dumb choices? It wasn't like you didn't literally do the same thing to him for months. Drinking your hair of the dog liberally, you tried to multitask writing a good apology text to Ignis and organizing a schedule for the dance classes that worked for both you and Prompto.

"You know what I wanna do?"

You looked up from your phone, the apology not forthcoming. "What?"

"Waste one of my paychecks at the arcade today."

Leaning your head on his shoulder, you sighed. "Hell yeah." You hadn't forgotten about that flowering cactuar, and it was as good as yours.

—

The glass case was empty when you got there, and you beelined for the prize booth for an explanation. The attendant behind the counter shrugged. "Somebody won it the other day."

You gave them a severely disappointed look. "When will you get another one?"

They shrugged again. "Probably never. It was a limited edition."

Prompto nudged your side. "You could probably find one online, dude."

You pouted, leaving the counter to stare at the empty case. "It's not the same. Me and this cactuar… we had a connection. I danced for her, but she was won over by another."

He laughed a little, nudging you again. "C'mon, dude, I challenge you to a round of Street Fighter."

You stepped away from the case. "Why not Mortal Kombat?"

He grinned. "Why not both? I'm gonna win either way."

With a laugh, you pushed him. "Cocky. We'll see about that."

There was an underlying sense of dread that bit at you, but hanging out with this human embodiment of sunshine was the best way to fight the sadness you worried would return.

—

On the way home, you stopped at a pharmacy because Prompto needed something for his contacts. He blamed them for why he lost to you so many times.

"They're dry, and my eyes are blurry!" he said as you walked down an aisle. "We need a fair rematch later."

"Sure, Prom." It was short and sing-song, said as you walked past him toward the vitamin section. You were really bad at keeping up with daily doses of vitamins, but since your medicine cabinet had been raided, you decided you'd try to take up the habit again with the extra space you had now.

You'd also read about several that might help your little depression problem. Hell, maybe they would help with the anxiety, too, but you weren't asking for any miracles.

Every single one had colorful packaging that was encouraging, as if hinting at how much brighter life would be if you took them. You picked up one of each, thinking that, at the worst, they might be good placebos if you didn't think on it too hard.

—

Getting ready for work that evening, you hoped it wasn't too late to say something to Ignis. You hadn't heard from him all day, but it wasn't as if you'd been in a rush to talk about it yourself.

You: Hey. I'm sorry about what happened last night.

He didn't respond. You waited, working an entire shift with one hand in your pocket, checking your phone intermittently.

You waited, lying awake in bed, unable to sleep.

You waited, growing more and more anxious.

—

As much as you disliked the Citadel, you found yourself there a lot these days. You'd shown up under the pretense of tutoring Talcott because his regular instructor was ill. But Gladio, who'd been the one to ask you over, had made it apparent upon arrival that Talcott had been asking about you, and maybe you could just keep the kid occupied until lunch because everyone else was really busy.

Gladio met you on the first floor of the Citadel, handing you some kind of badge that would get you access to places like the grand library —hnnnnggffhhh yes — and anywhere else you may need to go while escorting the kid around.

"Who is Talcott to you, anyway?" You put on the badge, wondering why it had taken so long for someone to give you one of them. You'd been here so many times already.

"Butler's grandson," he answered, checking and rechecking his phone, for whatever reason. He'd said he was busy so he was probably counting the seconds he was wasting here with you.

You stared for a moment. "You have a butler." Because of course he did. Times like this reminded you of how remarkably removed your lives where from one another.

"Yep." He shrugged, not invested in the conversation. Slapping you on the shoulder, he set off to a different set of elevators. "Try to stay outta trouble."

You walked past the guards and stepped into an elevator that would take you up to the residential area. "No promises!"

—

"First things first," you said, excited because this was your first ever attempt at babysitting. You'd looked at a list online of important things to know when trying to keep a child happy and alive. "Are you allergic to anything?"

Talcott, who stood outside the Amicitia residence with a very polite smile, shook his head. "No."

"Good." You ticked that off your mental list, going over the rest quickly as a reminder. Keep him safe, keep him entertained, and probably the biggest challenge, don't swear. "What do you usually do around this time? Like what's your routine?"

He shrugged. "My tutor would be going over arithmetic, I guess."

You frowned a little. "That sounds gross. We're not doing that. You know it's summer, right?"

With a smile, he nodded and followed you down the corridor as you set off. "What are we doing?"

"We're going to the grand library. Does that sound okay?"

He nodded, seeming as excited as you were. You looked down at him for a moment before offering your hand. You were a Hand Holder and a Hugger, and you wondered if he was at the age that he would think himself Too Cool to hold someone's hand.

He wasn't. You were a little surprised that his hand wasn't sticky when he clasped it around yours, talking about paintings you passed and answering whatever questions you threw his way. You'd always thought all kids had sticky hands and dirty faces, but Talcott had neither.

He knew a lot about geography and history, and you thought it was cute how he would only refer to Noct as Prince Noctis even if it meant he said "Prince Noctis" three times in the same sentence.

You felt like he could be the one tutoring you.

—

Dreamily gazing about the massive library, you walked with Talcott through rows upon rows of books, touching every single one of them you could reach as you passed. Old books. New books. You didn't know where to start.

"What do you like to read?" you asked, watching Talcott cut across aisles toward someplace specific. You assumed he liked reading because he was so well spoken for such a little kid.

"Anything."

That wasn't helpful.

He stopped at the end of a bookshelf, looking back at you. "Gladio said you like obscure stuff."

What? That was a big word for such a small person. "I guess. Got anything obscure to show me?"

He grinned. "You bet."

—

With a dusty book between you, you and Talcott read an old fairytale about a chocobo maiden. The pages were delicate and the drawings were meticulous, and you wondered how ancient it was. The story was interesting and uncommon, and you were already mentally mapping out a screenplay based on the concept.

A chocobo maiden was a creature caught between being human and chocobo, able to switch between the forms anytime. The maiden could live forever if they never fall in love. In the tale, it meets a kind human, and the story abruptly ends, asking the reader what choice they think maiden will take.

"What do you think?"

You nodded. "I'm impressed, kid. It's pretty obscure."

He snickered, touching the sketch of the human and maiden facing each other on the page. "No, I mean the story. Do they fall in love?"

You shrugged. "Tell me your ending." He didn't need to know what you thought. You weren't going to ruin whatever magic he believed in with your negativity. Falling in love was bullshit, and if you were the maiden, you would spend eons as a chocobo alone in utter happiness.

As Talcott shared his thoughts, you turned the page to the next story in the book. A small slip of paper that had been caught in the binding lifted with a fwip, wafting through the air. Talcott caught it, going silent in the middle of a sentence to look at it.

You leaned, reading it over his shoulder.

Take a drink, have a rest. Surrounded in flora, you'll begin this quest.

The paper wasn't a part of the book, but the pages it was currently opened to seemed telling, related somehow. The left page held an image of a carbuncle, small, furry, and maybe a little sinister due to the aged lines of the sketch. The right simply said Find me.

You turned the page and noticed that a completely new fairytale began. So the carbuncle image and accompanying message were some strange standalone intermission between stories. You looked down at Talcott and met him with a grin. "I think we just started a mystery. What do you think it means?"

He looked at the paper a bit more. You thought the place mentioned in the riddle had to be someplace in the Citadel, but you didn't know the castle all that well. It was unbelievable in its massiveness, and you kept learning new things about it each time you visited.

"Flora means plants so maybe the gardens?" He looked at you uncertainly.

You rose a brow, your point proven. You'd no idea there were gardens until now. "That's awesome, Talcott. We could look for clues there."

He brightened at the praise, closing the book carefully before standing up. "I know where that is. Let's go."

—

Surrounded by rose and camellia bushes, you walked through the gardens with Talcott who kept referring to the riddle as you looked about for some sort of clue. There were hedges everywhere amongst the flowers and plants, and you felt with a certainty that it was a maze of some kind. Or at least you hoped.

Spilling through the high windowed ceilings, sunlight lit up different hues of green everywhere. Vines sprawling and hanging from different columns caught your eye, and you were becoming just a little distracted. This place was beautiful.

"Have a drink," Talcott read. "Maybe the fountain?"

You looked down at him, stopping for a second and coming back to the present. He was doing all the work; he didn't even need your help. "Lead the way."

The fountain wasn't deep into the gardens. Just past the entrance and through a few tall hedges, the space opened up into marbled floor and a fountain large enough that you could swim in it. The edge of the basin was perfect for sitting, and you noticed creepy faces carved into the center tower that went far above your head. Open mouthed as if screaming, each one seemed either horrified or angry.

You walked around it clockwise while Talcott took the other direction, meeting on the other side. The basin wasn't too deep, and the water was clear so you could see the coins shining from the bottom but not much else.

"Maybe we have to sit, and the clue could become obvious." You sat down, looking around for anything out of the ordinary. Nope. "See anything?"

Talcott, who'd sat further down the bend, shook his head. "No." He turned slightly and looked into the water. "Maybe we should drink it like the riddle said?"

"No," you said quickly, standing up and approaching him. This reminded you that, no matter how clever he was, Talcott was still just a kid. "Bad idea, bud. Let's not do that. Yuck."

He gave you a sheepish smile. "Yeah, okay."

You sat next to him, both of you giving the riddle one more read. You weren't coming up with anything. Maybe you were supposed to drink the water. Looking down at it, you frowned. No. Adventure be damned, you weren't doing that.

Something shiny glinted into your eyes for a second, catching your attention. One of the creepy faces on the base of the fountain had something in its mouth. Interesting…

You nudged Talcott, pointing at it. "Maybe that's something."

He nodded. "But how do we get it?"

Chewing on your lip, you considered the ankle-height water that separated you from the face. Then, you shrugged and kicked off your shoes. "Wait here."

So much colder than it looked, the water bit at your feet as you stepped in. You slid on the coins slightly in your walk over, but pried a small vial out of the face's mouth and returned to Talcott. Handing the vial to him, you climbed over the edge and sat next to him to let your feet dry.

It was a message in a bottle. He removed the tiny cork and shook out the rolled up paper into his free hand. You took the vial so he could unfurl the paper.

Bring your arm, tarry no longer. A touch of harm could make you stronger.

You didn't like this one. It was so vague, and the word harm couldn't be a good sign. But you were excited that it did end up being the next clue. You guys were doing amazing with this treasure hunt thing. You hadn't actually thought this would get beyond the initial riddle.

Talcott hummed, rereading it. You hummed along, both of you in a facsimile of deep thought. The best you could think of was the training room because clues, but you still didn't think you knew the Citadel well enough. Maybe there was an armory or maybe you were meant to go to the place where Glaives trained instead of Crownsguard.

"The training rooms?" you suggested, looking down at Talcott.

He nodded, then handed the paper to you, standing up and shifting his weight as he looked from you, then away, a hand touching the elbow of his other arm. "That's a good idea, but first… I have to go."

You stared at him, at the way he looked from the water flowing out of the fountain with mild distress. "Go where?"

He pointed vaguely in the direction you'd come from. "Um, I mean go."

Oh. You smiled a little, slow on the uptake that he would need bathroom breaks. Because duh. "Oh, fuck, of course you can go. I'll wait here." Your smile froze as his eyes widened a little, and you tried to backtrack on the swear. Don't tell anyone. It'll be our secret— nope, you couldn't say that to a kid. That would be much worse. You slapped a palm to your forehead. "Sorry for the language, Talcott."

He left for the bathroom with a giggle. "That's okay."

You peered at the riddle again, frowning at the scrawling script. Who could've done this, and who was it for? Carbuncles were mythical so what exactly were you even looking to find? As you considered these thoughts, you heard a voice, clear and familiar, coming from somewhere in the gardens.

"Why have you asked me here?"

Ignis. You tensed a little because the voice sounded close, but it originated from someplace beyond a nearby hedge so he must've been in the maze.

"I wanted to thank you for dinner last evening."

Mirum? You stood up, leaving your shoes by the fountain to plod quietly over to the hedge to eavesdrop. Ignis had taken Mirum to dinner last night? A small lump formed in your stomach. That must've been why he ignored your message; he was too busy wining and dining someone else.

Damn. Already? You'd known the date had ended messily, but still, Ignis was more fickle than you were if he was already moving on. You'd held on to a small bit of hope that he'd still be interested even after the streets were painted multicolor from his unfortunate sickness. The sickness you'd caused with your unwanted kiss.

"There's no need," Ignis said, sounding smooth. You pictured him touching a glove. Maybe even smirking. "That was in appreciation for being an invaluable source of support during the last year of planning."

Things went quiet for a bit, and you wondered what they were doing. Looking at each other awkwardly? Lovingly? Curiosity overflowed in you, and you stamped it down, backing away from the tall hedge to return to the fountain. You should just let the quiet babbling of the water drown out whatever was going on between them. You didn't need to hear it, didn't want to hear it.

As you put on your shoes, you heard Mirum speak again. It was playful, and that made you feel sick. What had they been doing in that moment of silence?

"Do you remember when we would have lunch here together before his highness proposed? We were much more leisurely then."

It sounded like Ignis was smiling when we responded. You'd heard that tone from him enough to know. "I recall taking lunch while you wasted time admiring the roses."

Shoes back on, you picked up the vial and papers, shoving them into a pocket. You'd go wait outside the bathroom for Talcott and get the hell out of there as soon as possible.

Mirum's reply was softer. "Do you remember the time you compared me to one?"

You paused in your walk a couple steps from the fountain, the words catching you off guard. Ignis had never compared you to a flower so she had something on you, there. You couldn't believe you'd fallen for his confession. It had seemed so genuine, the uncertainty that had been in his voice and the hesitant chuckle that had accompanied his words. Now you wondered if he'd been glad to do it over the phone. That way you wouldn't have to see it for the lie that it was.

"Mirum…" His voice was equally quiet, a murmur that made the sick feeling grow.

Fumbling into your bag, you walked toward the exit and pulled out the small pill organizer you'd thought to bring. It was the only way to get anything even remotely illegal past the guards who searched your bag every time you entered the Citadel. Not that you were taking anything illegal, really. It was only something to take off the edge of pain and keep you in a good mood for your adventure with Talcott.

Swallowing the pill dry, you smiled when you saw the boy returning. You brought out the second riddle and handed the slip of paper to him. "Lead the way."

He grinned and, to your dismay, walked past you, right into the maze of hedges.

You followed, asking, "It this really the way to get there?"

He nodded, not looking back. "It's faster. And more fun."

Ignis and Mirum's voices grew even closer, and dread made your stomach drop further. You couldn't face them. How dare Ignis. Had he only been playing with you because he felt bad for you? None of it made sense.

"If I had my coming out ball earlier, before everything…" Mirum sounded wistful. "Would you have attended?"

When you rounded a corner right after Talcott, you were able to catch Ignis' reaction for yourself. Discomfort and surprise. He was looking away from her, his arms crossed loosely across his chest. It wasn't what you'd expected. A frown pulled at his lips.

Talcott stopped, and you nearly bumped into his back. Their conversation interrupted, both of them looked at you. Ignis dropped his arms, straightening himself at the sight of you. His eyes went to Mirum for a second before he cleared his throat.

"I'm happy to see you, darling," he said, a small smile easing onto his face. It confused you, the emotion made stronger by the effects of the drug you'd just taken finally setting in. Ignis took a step toward you, then looked back at Mirum. "Please excuse me. It must've slipped my mind that she was visiting today."

Talcott looked up at you, apparently as confused by Ignis as you were. "He knew you were coming?" he whispered.

You shrugged, motioning to ignore the two nobles. "Let's keep going."

Talcott grabbed your sleeve, stopping you from passing him. Then, he looked at the other two adults and pulled you back a little to whisper more privately.

"We should recruit him."

You bent down, not sure you were hearing him well. "What, why? You mean to help us?"

He nodded and leaned to the side, peering at Ignis and Mirum again. You looked over your shoulder briefly, eyeing the way they'd gone quiet to watch you and Talcott whisper with each other.

"He has a card. A black card."

You had no idea what that meant, and he made a swiping motion as if that would help.

Ignis' voice interrupted your thoughts. "Is something the matter?"

You and Talcott both turned to him, a simultaneous, "No" coming out.

Looking between Ignis and Mirum again, you noticed how different the scene actually was from what you'd imagined. She was further away from him, hands clasped together behind her, face set in a gentle frown.

They hadn't been stealing away to be alone or to flirt with one another. At least, it didn't seem as if Ignis had any intention for that if he was trying to excuse himself to be with you and Talcott instead.

Realizing you'd majorly jumped to conclusions, you decided you'd save him. That was kind of your job in this two person team, anyway, right? Ignis' job was to just stand around and look pretty while you protected him from the wiles of other nobles, particularly this one.

"We were just looking for you, Iggy," you lied. "Talcott thought we might've been interrupting an important conversation so we were gonna wait."

Ignis' expression lit up just the slightest in appreciation. "Oh, not at all. I'd be happy to accompany you now."

Mirum frowned deeper, looking down as he walked away from her. While you followed Talcott, who had returned to navigating the maze, you sent her a small wave before rounding a corner. It was little consolation, you knew, but you weren't going to let yourself feel bad. Replaying what little you'd overheard of their conversation, you thought she must've missed her chance with Ignis already. Or they had a past that you knew nothing about.

Either way, you didn't care. He was kind of yours, at least for now.

You fought off the negative thoughts already creeping back, the intensity of which were made stronger by the high thrumming through you. You shouldn't have gotten so worked up over a few words, but you'd never been very good at keeping things like that in check. It wasn't your first downward spiral over nothing, and it probably wouldn't be your last.

You touched flowers and hanging vines on the occasional arching trellis as you followed Talcott through the maze of hedges. Ignis was half a step behind you, and when you felt him touch your arm, you slowed to look back.

"Thank you," he said, drawing his hand away. "I wasn't certain of how I was to remove myself from that situation."

You shrugged, facing forward to not lose sight of the kid ahead. "It's not for free. You gotta help us. Right, Talcott?"

"Yes!" He stopped near what looked like another exit to the gardens. So the hedges weren't so much a maze as they were just kind of a zigzagging array of convoluted lines if you were able to get out that quickly. Talcott offered another sheepish smile as you caught up to him. "I mean, if you don't mind, sir."

Ignis held the door while you and Talcott went inside. "What help are you asking of me?"

"We're going to the training rooms."

He frowned, looking from you to Talcott. "Why is that?"

You spoke up because the kid was looking at the riddle again as if Ignis' confusion was a sign that you were going to the wrong destination.

"We're looking for a carbuncle," you said, pulling the first riddle from your pocket. Ignis' confused gaze met yours, and he took the paper with a small bit of interest. "We found this in a book. It led us to the gardens where we found another clue."

Ignis read the riddle, then he looked at you, the corners of his mouth curving slightly with a smile. "You're hunting a carbuncle? This is rather intricate for what I suspect is merely an afternoon of childcare."

He was suggesting that you made this up to entertain Talcott, which was completely bizarre. Since when would you have the energy or care to do something like this? The fact that someone did this was still blowing your mind.

You shook your head. "We're seriously looking for a carbuncle, Iggy. Are you in or not? I heard we might need your black card or whatever."

He handed the slip of paper back to you. "Are you referring to my clearance level?"

You shrugged again. "I dunno. Talcott said it was important."

Ignis leveled his gaze at you. Then he convinced Talcott to hand over the second riddle, which made him raise a brow.

"These are rather simple rhymes." He gave you a side glance as if he still didn't buy that you weren't leading Talcott on some wild goose chase. "But I would say we are going in the right direction. It's not far, actually."

Talcott nodded as if appeased by Ignis' approval and sped up a little in excitement. He took the riddle back from Ignis, crumpling the paper slightly in his hand.

You gave Ignis your own side glance. "We?"

It was his turn to shrug. You liked the look of it, at how it stretched the fabric of his shirt against his chest, pulling taught for just a moment. "I suppose I'm curious as to what you'll discover, if anything. I also don't believe children or civilians are permitted in the area without being accompanied so Talcott was correct in that you'll need my clearance."

You nodded, eyes trailing to the paintings you passed rather than the man next to you. You felt the familiar bit of uncertainty that came with being near him. It curled in your stomach like a snake making itself comfortable.

Your first date not turning out so well seemed like a sign that you should quit while you were ahead. Now Ignis was acting stiff, and you wished you could take back the kiss you'd given him. He'd told you he hadn't wanted to do it while drunk. Then again, you'd never been the best at respecting his boundaries.

"Something on your mind?"

Torn from your thoughts, you looked at him. "Always."

Ignis looked forward, mouth turning down as if in thought. "May I—"

Talcott interrupted him with a whispered, "Sir!"

You were at a familiar bend in a corridor. Talcott peeked around the corner, holding a hand up to halt you. Humoring him, you stopped, grabbing Ignis' arm to stop him, too. He looked down at your hand touching him, but you were already letting go, standing next to Talcott with your back against the wall.

"Is there trouble ahead?"

Talcott hummed quietly. "Maybe. I can't tell."

Taking out the compact, you opened it and used the mirror to peer around the corner. An usher was standing outside the doors to the training rooms. Very strange… probably…

"Ignis," you whispered. He was looking at you strangely, but you ignored it, pointing toward the training rooms. "There's a guy there. Go distract him while we go inside."

He blinked. "Distract him."

You nodded. "Uh, yeah. That's what I said."

"Just how should I—"

"Shhh," you quieted him when he grew too loud. You stepped away from the wall to hold a hand over his mouth. Not touching, but enough to get the point across. You felt his breath tickle your fingers. "I dunno. Seduce him or something."

He seemed to like that idea even less than being used as a simple distraction. When you drew your hand away, his lips were pursed. "I'm not seducing him."

"I'll seduce him," Talcott whispered. "How do I do that? Is it a secret Crownsguard move?"

Ignis sighed quietly while you smiled. Talcott was the best, and you really wanted to find that carbuncle for him.

—

Seduction wasn't needed to get past the usher and into the training rooms, to your disappointment. Ignis just waved the man off like it was nothing, and you were in within moments, searching the place for clues. To your luck, the place was empty. The floors were scuffed everywhere and the air was off so you'd bet it had been recently used. Now it was completely silent and perfectly calm.

"How have you been?"

Bent down to search underneath one of the benches, you looked over to find Ignis in a similar position. It made you smile slightly, until your brain processed his question.

"You'd know if you hadn't ignored me," you murmured, standing upright. You could feel him watching you as you walked toward a suit of armor. It was massive, the shiny metal giving a clank when it shifted under your prodding touches.

"I wasn't ignoring you," Ignis said, coming your side. The words were quiet, but the room was so silent that it echoed a little.

You looked at him, hand paused in front of the armor. He reached up for it, but you drew away, crossing your arms. You weren't sure you could touch him right now. With the drug in your system, it would be too intense, you thought. Especially with the way your thoughts were continually going back to the conversation he'd been having when you'd shown up.

Maybe he hadn't been ignoring you on purpose because he was just too busy taking someone else out to dinner. You wanted to say something, but that would imply you cared. You never considered yourself a jealous person, and that wasn't going to change. You just didn't like that he was giving you more work. Of course Mirum would take it the wrong way if he was taking her out to dinner.

He frowned at your avoidance, eyes soft as he looked down at you. It seemed to take effort for him to speak, as if he didn't want to even say this much. "I'd tried to impress you during our date, but tequila has never sat well within me. I shouldn't have drank so heavily. I don't know how you survive carrying on in such a way."

"You build up a tolerance," you said, shrugging and walking toward a row of cases along a wall that housed weapons. You suspected it was locked, and you were right, fingers prying at the handles uselessly as your mind flooded with thoughts about Ignis trying to impress you. "If you're embarrassed, don't be. It was all my fault. Besides, that's what first dates are like, right? Impressing each other and—"

He reached past you, grasping a handle, hand over yours. The door to the case suddenly opened with a high pitched creak, and across the large room, Talcott looked your way with curiosity.

You waved at him. "Nothing yet." Then, you looked at Ignis who still had his hand resting over yours. It sent a chill up your arm. Gods, you needed a little distance here. Pulling your hand away, you peeked into the open case. "How'd you do that?"

"It'll only open for a Crownsguard." He sounded distracted. You hoped he was actually helping to look for the clue and not just hindering your adventure. Though, you wouldn't complain about him just sticking around. It wasn't like you didn't enjoy the view…

"Oh," you said, disappointed that there were no hidden notes, inside vials or otherwise, inside the case. "Magical nonsense. Cool."

You closed the door, grabbing his wrist and putting his hand on the handle of the next case to have him open it. He chuckled a little, pulling it open and letting you peer inside just as you had the first. It didn't go unnoticed that he was trusting you with something kind of dangerous here. He could probably get into trouble letting you have access to this stuff, however brief it was.

"Our first date was that day we ate burgers together," he said, apparently not wanting to end the earlier conversation so easily. "When you interrupted my work because your date went badly."

You closed the door, giving him a raised brow. "You consider that our first date?"

"I was a gentleman, was I not?" He seemed affronted, but you could tell it was in good humor. "I bought our meal and walked you to the station safely."

With a small laugh, you shook your head. "Y'know, that really weirded me out at the time. I thought you'd be the sweetest friend if I ever grew on you. Like, here's a guy who'll watch my back." It wasn't like you'd been wrong. You grinned at him, the words coming out easily because the trip had hit a peak. Your earlier anxieties were melting away. "Did you really consider that a date, though? Because I totally would've taken you home that night."

He looked away, opening another case for you. "In retrospect, yes, I think of it that way. It had been a pleasant surprise."

"Even though I interrupted your work?"

"When are you not?" He looked inside the case when he noticed you weren't moving. "It's happening right at this moment."

You scoffed, the grin on your face only growing. "I'm not making you be here."

"No," he said, sharing the smile a little. "But I'm not one to leave a person who so desperately needs me."

Prepared to tell him you didn't need him, like at all, you were interrupted by a loud, echoing "Ah-ha!" from Talcott. He stood near a suit of armor, pulling at the fingers of its glove. You left Ignis to see what he was doing.

With a little bit of your help, Talcott was able to remove a piece of folded paper from the curled hand of the armor. Excitedly, he unfolded it, and you read the newest riddle over his shoulder.

Stand and revel, release your worry. Make like a devil, sound and slurry.

You felt Ignis next to you, looking up to see him reading it as well. Talcott looked to each of you for suggestions, but you shrugged. You had no idea. It barely made sense. Ignis hummed lightly, a sound that hooked your interest because his own seemed to be piqued. You'd gotten him. He was in, the sucker.

"We could pay a visit to the music hall."

Talcott frowned. "I don't know where that is."

Ignis smiled gently at him, and you melted just a little when he took Talcott's hand. "Worry not. I'll lead the way."

When you were the last to leave the room, you told yourself it was to check out Ignis' butt and not to calm the warmth that radiated from your chest. Even though it was really a little bit of both.

—

A grand piano rested on a small dais that you almost tripped over on your way to the beautiful instrument. Fingers splaying across keys, you wished you knew how to play. You could do very simple lullabies that only required one hand, but not much else.

"Can you play anything?" you asked. It was an open question, not for anyone in particular, and when you looked up, you caught Talcott nodding. He seemed too focused on the search for a clue to specify just what he could play so you let it go.

Ignis lifted a violin carefully from its rest, peeking into one of the strange little holes on its front. You smiled, making yourself look away. He was into this treasure hunt. You couldn't believe it.

"Do you happen to play anything?" he asked.

Attention caught, you dropped a hand on the keys, a jarring sound ringing through the room.

Before you could answer, Ignis chuckled. "I suppose not."

Blowing a raspberry, you looked under the piano bench and moved on to another part of the room. "I suppose not," you mocked, voice quiet and thick with a fake royal accent.

"Pardon?"

You motioned toward the violin. "Tear it up, Iggy. I know you can play."

He put it back, shaking his head. "Be that as it may, we've a purpose here, and it isn't to dally with harmonics."

You'd only guessed he could, and now you wanted to see him play something so badly, the anticipation ate at you. "The carbuncle isn't going anywhere."

"It might!" Talcott interjected, poking his head up from looking inside the horn of a large gramophone.

You looked between him and Ignis, letting it go as they both went back to the search. Whatever. You'd get Ignis to play something for you one day. You had all the time in the world. You had—

Flipping through yellowed pages of old sheet music, a small slip of white caught your eye. You picked it up, reading it over rather than announcing that you'd found it.

Here before, now come back. It's where you'll find your favorite snack.

This was oddly specific, making you wonder who the hunt had been intended for originally. Because you doubted you'd been there before, wherever this was meant to take you. The high hitting you with a strong mellow feeling, the pill running its course, you couldn't entirely focus and brought the clue to the attention of the others so they could figure it out.

—

Squished inside a well stocked cupboard in the Citadel kitchens with a small child wasn't on your list of things to do today. Up until now, you'd thought that you'd done a pretty great job of babysitting. Then you'd been made to hide in what was basically a closet for flour and potatoes because the sous-chef came into the kitchens earlier than Ignis expected.

And the sous-chef didn't like Ignis very much.

She waved a wooden spoon around as she fussed at him for using all our ingredients, and the executive chef thinks you're so special but newsflash, you're not, and I didn't study in culinary school for years to be shown up by a stuffy royal adviser! The doors to the pantry were cracked open enough that you could see Ignis trying to talk it out with her.

You: Seduce her and we can escape.

When he checked his phone, the sous-chef made a swipe at him with the spoon. He deftly avoided it, reading your message with a frown. He put away his phone and shook his head. You pouted, knowing that shake of his head was meant for you.

Several minutes later, as Ignis walked circles around the counters, dodging the chef's attacks, both verbal and physical, your legs began to ache a little. You'd been walking all morning and standing in place like this with poor Talcott smushed to your side wasn't helping at all.

You: Dude, do something!

Ignis didn't even look at his phone, but seemed to understand the meaning behind the chiming from his pocket. He stopped fleeing, resting a hand on a bar. Oh, he was finally taking a stand. You watched intently as the chef halted, her glare honing in on him.

"Perhaps we should stop… pretending," he said, his voice surprisingly smooth.

"Pretending?" The chef's expression eased into confusion.

"Why, yes." He was velvety, and even though he wasn't aiming it your way, it was working on you. "If it pleases you, I would be honored to work this out over dinner."

The sous-chef slackened, her abrasive attitude becoming hesitant. Then, she narrowed her eyes. "Are you suggesting a cooking competition? Because I'm out of your league!" She swung the spoon around again, nearly smacking him in the head.

He back away, apparently giving up on the seduction. "I must say, you are quite persistent."

"I want you out!" Her glare was back, and her chef's hat was tilted on her head.

"Are you certain berating me is the best course of action?" He backed into an open shelf, the metal of it rattling the various contents it held. "Bernard requested I inform you of the shipment arriving downstairs. That's the only reason I'm here."

She gasped. "He told you before he told me?" She looked at the spoon sadly for a moment before sending Ignis one last glare. "You better be out of here when I get back, Scientia."

She stormed out of the kitchens, spoon in hand, and you tumbled out of the pantry, practically gasping for air. Talcott straightened out his plaid shirt, smiling up at you. He'd been particularly quiet during your time cornered in the pantry, and seeing him so cheerful was reassuring that he wouldn't return to the Amicitias with news that you'd kept him trapped in a closet for fifteen minutes.

You grasped his shoulders. "Talcott, I'll get you that carbuncle. I promise."

He laughed, shrugging off your hands. "This is so much fun. I wonder what will happen next."

Ignis rushed toward you in attempt to usher you out. "Let's not dawdle. Each second brings me closer to being blungeoned by a spoon."

Following him, your elbow knocked against a shelf painfully. A bag of flour dusted you softly, and you frowned at Ignis as if it were his fault. He began to pat the flour off you, then stopped to look over your shoulder at the shelf. Reaching past you, his chest pressed against you for a moment before he drew away with something in his hand.

He seemed confused by the slip of paper even though it looked just like all the others you'd found so far. Leaving the kitchens, he led you and Talcott down the corridor and around a corner before unfolding the paper and reading it with you.

Upon this place, honor is seated. Find me there, and I assure you'll be greeted.

The last place! You were ready to peep that carbuncle. Talcott grasped your hand, and you grinned down at him. Apparently, he was ready to be done, too.

Ignis didn't seem pleased by the riddle, touching his glasses and reading it again. "I believe this is suggesting we go to the throne room."

You nodded. "Cool, lets go."

Ignis shook his head. "I'm afraid it isn't so simple. His Majesty is in the throne room all morning."

The thought of meeting King Regis excited you further. But what would you say? Oh no, you couldn't meet King Regis while high. Even if it was beginning to wear off at this point. You gave Ignis a serious look. "There's not a meeting or something soon that'll draw him out?"

Ignis shook his head. "If there were a meeting, I wouldn't be roaming the Citadel with you."

You rose a brow. "You sure about that? I think you've turned into a real bad boy lately."

He gave you a flat look. "I'm only saying it will be difficult to find a good reason to arrive to the throne room, let alone search it in hopes of finding a mythical creature."

That was a good point, but you wouldn't be dissuaded. "We'll figure it out on the way. Maybe we'll get lucky and his majesty will be on a bathroom break."

He led the way reluctantly, looking at the paper intermittently as if it would change, and you wouldn't have to go to the throne room anymore.

—

Outside the large doors, your mind a revving engine of he's in there, just inside, the king, the actual king, you turned to Ignis nervously. "I have a suggestion."

He shook his head without looking at you, tucking the slip of paper into a pocket of his jacket. "I'm not seducing King Regis."

Well, you were fresh out of ideas. You looked at him expectantly because if he was going to shoot down your plan, he'd better have one of his own.

"I wish I had my notes on a particular issue," he lamented. "I do have cause to appear in his court, but it wouldn't explain why you and Talcott are present."

You let go of Talcott's hand to lift both of yours in a creeping motion. "He won't even know we're there if you distract him."

"He will know. As will his guards." Ignis sighed a little. "I'd rather not have to fetch you from a holding cell."

You crossed your arms. "So you're saying we have to stick back here?"

He nodded.

"But that's not fun. We came all this way."

Ignis gave you a long look. "I can't see a way around it."

You sighed, looking pointedly away. Talcott had been quiet during the entire exchange, and when you looked around for him, finding the large doors ajar, you realized he'd already gone into the throne room.

"Oh, shit." You dropped your arms, passing Ignis to go inside. Even though everything in the Citadel was grand, you were halted just beyond the doorway at the sight of the large, curving staircase at the end of the hall that led up to the throne. Talcott was halfway up, standing on a flattened expanse between stairs and speaking very pragmatically to King Regis, who nodded as if all of his carbuncle talk made sense.

You took a step forward, but stopped again when the few guards along the large room took notice of you. You felt Ignis at your side and looked at him for a sign of what to do. This was quickly stamping out the last bit of your high, anxiety building because, like hiding in a cupboard, you hadn't planned to face the king today.

Luckily, you didn't have to. Talcott ran down the stairs, just short of stumbling, with a large grin and something in his hand. Ignis bowed and ushered you both out before you got the chance to look at it. In the corridor, Talcott revealed that it was a small carbuncle totem.

"King Regis gave it to me," he said, eyes wide and smile breaking his face.

Ignis looked shocked, watching as Talcott moved the doll from hand to hand. "So there was a carbuncle to be found."

Talcott let you hold it, and the moment its smooth warmth touched your palm, you felt a flutter gently quake through you. Staring at it, you let out a shuttered breath. What the hell? Maybe the high hadn't gone entirely away.

Noticing the small change, Ignis brought a hand to your arm. "Are you alright?"

You looked up and nodded, not wanting to admit that you'd taken something. He would disapprove, and you'd probably have to hear about how irresponsible you were since you'd done it while babysitting.

"Y-yeah. Just realized I'm kinda hungry." The kitchens had smelled nice, and it was nearing lunchtime now. You handed the doll back to Talcott. "We did it, dude. Ready to go home?"

He nodded, placing it carefully into a pocket. When you took his hand, you met Ignis' eyes.

"Thanks for helping us." You weren't trying to be robotic, but you hadn't expected Ignis to stick around for this long so you weren't sure how to part ways. "We'll get out of your hair now."

With a small shake of his head, Ignis said, "If you've time, I have something I need speak with you about, as well as something to give you. It's in my office."

You looked down at Talcott, but he was too focused on peeking at the carbuncle doll in his pocket. Giving Ignis a small smile, you said, "Sure. I'll come up after dropping him off."

He must be trying to give your dress back. His expression was suddenly so serious, and you just knew the important something he needed to tell you was about the bad date. Maybe he'd changed his mind about his feelings for you. If he had, a tiny part of you was relieved because you weren't sure you were ready to just jump into dating one person.

You liked Ignis, but let's not get crazy here.

—

The room of assistants was bustling when you came in. Ignis' own assistant wasn't at her post so you went straight to the door of his office, ignoring the busyness around you. Immediately upon coming in, you were met with the woman holding a small, potted cactus. Standing behind his desk, his phone in hand, Ignis was looking at her with calm reserve.

"The message auto-corrected to the wrong word, Dulcis," he said. "It's my own fault. Don't fret."

"But I can go back down and get the right thing," she insisted.

He shook his head. "That's quite alright. You may leave it on my desk."

She put it down but made no move to leave. "Lord Ignis, if you want me to go get it before she gets here, I can be really quick."

Ignis placed his phone on the desk, looking past her to you. "It's a tad late for that, I'm afraid."

Dulcis turned around, wide eyes meeting yours. "Oh, darn."

When she left the room, closing the door behind her, you stood there awkwardly. Ignis motioned for you to take the seat in front of his desk, but you walked over to the window instead, the midday view of the city catching your attention. The sky was clear, and from here you could make out a park in the distance and a swimming pool on the roof of a building a few blocks away.

You weren't positive you wanted to hear the important things he wanted to say. Another apology was hiding somewhere within you because you weren't sure you could do this. The date had been bad, and you doubted he wanted to keep going when you were such different people.

His thoughts seemed in line with your own; he stood next to you, facing the window as he came out with it quietly. "I'd wanted to apologize for the way our evening ended."

You rolled your eyes. Of course he'd apologize. You were going to ban apologies from now on, along with niceties. Instead of spouting "how are you?" when you saw each other, you were going to do a cool high five that ended with smacking each other's butts. If either of you ever wanted to say sorry, you were going to thank one another instead for having the patience to put up with each other. You weren't sure he'd go for the first idea, but the second held a lot of promise.

"How about," you said, testing it out. "Instead of saying sorry, you just say… 'thanks for cleaning my face after I got sick' or something like that." You found him giving you a contemplative look as you continued, "And instead of apologizing, too, I'll just say 'thanks for suffering my drinking habits while trying to impress me' even though you really didn't need to."

His expression softened with a small smile, an encouraging sight. "That's a fine proposal. In that case, I want to thank you for coming all the way up here to find me barehanded. Dulcis brought the wrong item from my quarters due to an unfortunate erratum in my message."

How bad was it that it was the mention of "his quarters" that stuck in your mind? You were completely alone with him for the first time since he'd told you he liked you, and that fact wasn't one pushed to the back of your mind without extreme effort. If it were anyone else, you'd really be questioning why you were wasting time talking when he could be using his mouth for so much more.

You looked over your shoulder at his desk. It was a decent height. He'd only have to bend his knees a little. You'd have to throw everything off his desk first. You'd always wanted to do something like that, but you couldn't imagine him going for it. Maybe he'd take you to his quarters and— Nope. What were you doing?

Coughing a little, you met Ignis' gaze. "Cute cactus."

He nodded, his smile growing. But it was uncertain. "I asked you up here to request another chance. Another date but without our friends and the excessive drinking."

You blinked up at him, going a little slack. He actually wanted to go on another date. You weren't sure it was the best idea. Your idea of a date involved heavy partying. It was the only kind of date you'd ever been on. A part of you was afraid to find out that Ignis' idea of fun would bore you.

He'd probably want to sit in a cafe or something. You loved spending hours in cafes drinking coffee as much as the next intellectual, but the atmosphere predominantly made you feel like you should be studying. Lingering thoughts about essays and assignments weren't exactly what you'd like to have while on a date. Especially since you were on summer break.

"Can I think about it?"

He nodded again. "Of course."

You couldn't understand why you felt awkward about this. He'd just asked you out, but it was so irresolute. You were stuck somewhere between wanting to make out with him and wanting to crash through the window so you could hurl yourself down thirty three stories.

"Well, gotta get going," you said, backing away toward the door. The uncomfortable air was becoming unbearable. Maybe it was all on your side since Ignis seemed a little confused, but what was new?

In the room of assistants, you stopped just beyond Dulcis' desk. She looked at you, and it was like she knew that you were running away. Except, no. No, you weren't. Ignis didn't have the thing he wanted to give you so you didn't have a reason to even be there. He'd said what he needed to say, and that was that.

You stopped at the large doors, looking back to see Dulcis still watching you with mild confusion. You weren't running away.

With a sigh, you turned around and passed her desk again, barging back into Ignis' office. He was standing next to his desk, a frown on his face as he looked down at the tiny cactus. Without stopping, you walked to him, grabbed a suspender and pulled him down to meet you in a kiss. It wasn't graceful, and he let out a startled "oh" against your mouth that made you draw back.

You expected him to say something, to push you away as his eyes flicked from your face to your hand that was curled around his suspender. Instead, he kissed you, hands drawing you in at the waist, lips prying at yours. His glassed bumped your nose a little, and you almost laughed into it.

Your free hand went to his shirt, fingers attempting to snap the buttons undone. He stopped you, pulling back suddenly with a shake of his head. He cleared his throat, looking down at you for several seconds before letting you go and backing away. Your hands fell to your sides, a small, yet familiar, spark of disappointment nipping at you.

"Before I met you," he said, straightening himself out. "I only kissed as a prelude to passion."

You licked your lips, tasting the vague spice of whatever he'd had for lunch while waiting for you. "Why's this different?" You could do passion. Passion sounded amazing. You'd have some passion right there on his desk, right now. What was he waiting for?

He offered no answer, just a light flush of his cheeks and a return to his earnest expression. "Do think about that date."

You took that as your cue to leave, heading to the door once more. "I will."

You'd already made up your mind, though. Things had felt surreal for days now, and that had given you a bit of courage and confidence in the face of everything that was happening. But you were slowly beginning to remember that someone like Ignis didn't suit someone like you.

The lust was real, and you could definitely see yourself doing things with Ignis pretty often if he'd let you. Friends, yes. With benefits, if you were very patient and very lucky. Anything beyond that would never work.