Chapter 2

Two Flames

There weren't many people in this world that Titus truly and honestly cared about; scarcely a handful, in fact, and all of them from his forsaken homeland.

Well—almost all of them.

Only two rested in Insomnia :

Nyx and Cor.

Titus cared about those two men, because they reminded Titus so much of himself. Nyx, because Nyx was an immigrant that had fled war after feeling he owed Regis some duty, because Titus had been that way once, too, with the impression that he owed Regis some service for Regis having welcomed him in Insomnia after his home had fallen. Cor, because Cor was single-minded and unwavering, absolutely focused on duty, as hard on himself as he was on everyone else, holding himself to his own high standards, and Titus was just like that, too. Cor put others before himself, focused only on the end goal, let nothing shake him, and was the most remarkably fearless and honorable man that Titus had ever had the privilege of knowing.

Cor and Titus could have been twins, so alike in mannerisms and appearance that, indeed, both of them had been stopped many a time back in the old days and asked if they were brothers. In a sense they were, bound by honor and dedication rather than blood, and Titus cared about Cor, even more than Titus cared about Nyx.

And that was why it was so hard for Titus to accept all of these newfound revelations that had fallen atop him in the past four years.

Everything had turned upside down.

Two unnerving changes, and both of them caused unwittingly by the least offensive person in the Citadel entire—Ignis.

Naturally. Good and caring people had a way of complicating things.

First of all, Titus had been unable to swallow that Cor had lost focus, and had fallen in love. Secondly, Titus had been equally unable to swallow that the person Cor was in love with wasn't in love with Cor.

Ridiculous, in the grand scheme of things, but love truly did run the world, and only a fool would pretend that love was meaningless and had no effect on a man, when love could ruin even the most perfect of plans. Titus, with so many perfect plans to maintain, was very well aware of the dangers of love and avoided it accordingly.

Had assumed Cor was the same, but...

It had come out of nowhere.

Titus hadn't been involved in the beginning, no, but because Titus actually cared about Cor and called him friend and brother, it had come instantly to his attention. One day, sometime in the fall, something about Cor had caught Titus' eye. Nothing grand, nothing that would have been obvious to anyone that didn't identify so strongly with the man.

Just the way Cor had walked.

Titus had noticed a different gait, something amiss, and had observed, as was habit for him to, when someone of high importance shifted in any manner. It became apparent to Titus very quickly, the problem, and Titus had scoffed to himself.

The oldest story of all.

Titus had never once thought Cor a fool, until Titus had realized that day that Cor had fallen in love.

Cor the Immortal, in love. Strange, but true.

Was bad enough, perhaps, Cor letting himself fall in love when his duty required full awareness and focus, but when Titus realized who Cor had fallen in love with, he was utterly appalled.

For a moment, there, anyway.

Cor had fallen in love with Ignis.

Titus had to stalk Cor for about two weeks before he finally confirmed it, just because he was so ardently convinced he had made a mistake. Must have been mistaken. Simply couldn't be! But there was no mistake; Cor was in love, alright, and with the future Hand of the King.

Absurd.

Hard to stomach that the only man Titus could say he admired and deeply respected had been done in by a prissy teenager. Less than respectable. Titus looked at Cor, legend, hard, rough, stoic, dutiful, impervious, cold, fearless, and then Titus looked at Ignis, barely fourteen, airy, catty, studious, elegant, brilliant, prissy, prim, neat, eloquent, and he just...

Didn't get it.

Seeing Cor fall for Ignis was like watching a dragon bowing down to a swan.

Cor could barely open his mouth in conversation without sounding like he wanted to drown everyone around him, always seemed so bored, and Ignis fluttered about so breezily, hands waving so flamboyantly as he spoke, hip thrown out and smiling away as he flattered everyone around him.

Opposites attracted, sure, but this was a little much.

It was just strange, seeing Cor's eyes follow Ignis helplessly as Ignis sauntered down the hall, to see the pulse racing in Cor's neck, to see his pupils dilate and his lips purse, to see flight or fight in a man Titus truly thought was utterly fearless, impervious. But Cor looked frightened every time Ignis passed, that was for sure, and Titus was astounded by it. Looked like he had just seen one of the Six walk by him, and that was bizarre because Titus knew that Cor hadn't even been afraid when he had been Ignis' age and walked alone into that cavern.

To see the effect Ignis had on Cor.

It really was true, then; love could ruin the hardest man. If Titus had ever doubted it, then he suddenly had proof in the flesh.

Cor had been wrecked.

Titus paid far more attention to Ignis after that, because of course it was natural to be curious about what had snared the hardest man Titus had ever known. His only true friend had been done in, and so of course Titus gawked.

After the initial shock wore off, Titus could perhaps see where Cor's interest lied.

Ignis had shot up overnight it seemed, and Titus noticed suddenly how damn long Ignis' legs had gotten. Titus glanced at Cor, and spied him, from time to time, raking Ignis' legs up and down. Always snorted at that, realizing that the Marshal was a leg man. Well, every man had a weakness, and Ignis' pin missiles seemed to the Marshal's.

Funny.

Beyond the sinful legs, Ignis had gotten quite handsome. Had been such a plain, unremarkable child that Titus hadn't really been able to anticipate Ignis coming together that well. One could even say that Ignis was beautiful, and Cor certainly thought he was, for when Ignis swept by him Cor actually stopped breathing.

Ignis was graceful, poised, so elegant, always preened perfectly and so well-dressed. Snappy and stylish, and Titus would have been shocked if Cor even looked at his clothes before he threw them on, or if he really ever even combed his short hair. Certainly, after Ignis had come into puberty, Titus noticed that Cor started dressing a bit better. Actually shaved neatly, trimmed his beard, smoothed down his messy hair, shined his boots. Swore that Cor was wearing cologne now, too, and had ironed his shirts.

When Ignis was nearby, Cor's posture was impeccable, and that was shocking because Titus had always thought that Cor's posture was perfect, but Ignis had somehow straightened Cor up further.

Cor was a very macho man, very masculine, very rough, very dominant, no nonsense, and so Titus could understand at some level how he had fallen for Ignis, because Ignis was so caring, so warm, so airy, rather feminine in many ways, a very domestic type. Something Cor could have felt protective over.

Titus wondered how long it would be before Cor started courting Ignis.

The problem with it all, of course, was that Cor had fallen in love with Ignis when Ignis had been thirteen going on fourteen, and that was exceedingly inappropriate and also exceedingly illegal. To be perfectly honest, had it been any other man aside from Cor, Titus would have lost all respect and labeled him a predator. But Cor had the highest sense of duty of any man Titus knew, and well...

Cor had never looked at anyone until Ignis.

Titus had just assumed, with little other explanation, that perhaps Cor and Ignis had been destined for each other centuries ago in some Oracle's prophecy, because that was the only way Titus could rationalize it.

So Titus put aside the unease, reminded himself that Cor was a good man, settled his mind, and happily observed Cor fumbling about.

Cor had it bad, and it was, dare he say, cute.

Aside from Cor suddenly polishing up his physical appearance, Titus noticed other little mannerisms coming out. Cor was by default a gentleman, always had been, but suddenly Cor was opening car doors not just for Noctis but also for Ignis. If Ignis was going to the elevator, Cor would dart ahead and call it or make sure it didn't close. Cor would hold open office doors for Ignis if he was nearby, and if Ignis was carrying two briefcases full of papers, Cor would offer to carry one, if they were heading in the same direction.

Cor had always been an extremely precise and methodical man. Never spoke without constructing every word up in his head first, never made an action without having a backup plan for potential failure. Never faltered, never wavered, never hesitated. And yet now Cor suddenly fidgeted. He was less graceful, his actions less purposeful, and sometimes Cor jerked awkwardly, as if he had been intending to stride forward towards Ignis but had forced himself to a halt at the last second. Cor stumbled sometimes over his words now, clipped off the ends and rearranged sentences in odd ways.

Once, Cor and Titus had been conversing in Cor's office, over statistics and budgets and new students and the whatnot, and there had been a rap on the door. Cor hadn't even looked away from Titus when he had griped, 'Come in'. Didn't even give the intruder the time of day. Until the door opened, that was, and Ignis poked his head in. Titus watched with a high brow and leer as Cor actually inhaled quite sharply, jumped up to his feet, bowed his head, and said, far more politely, 'Come in.'

Ignis was just delivering a stack of papers, and Titus wasn't nosy enough to ask what they were, and didn't care anyway because the real interest was in how Cor's lips had pursed so tightly that they had disappeared, how his chin was tucked low and his pupils were so dilated you could have driven a truck through them. What was interesting was how Cor looked like he was a breath away from keeling over, and all because Ignis was standing there in front of him.

When Ignis bowed his head to them both and then left the office, Cor plopped back down in his desk chair, exhaled, and regained focus almost immediately, as if nothing had happened.

Ha.

Titus knew why Cor acted that way; because Cor was nervous around Ignis, and Cor just wasn't used to feeling nervous and didn't know how to handle it.

Goddamn adorable son of a bitch—it was disgusting, and Titus couldn't stop smiling. Well. In his head, anyway. Had a reputation to maintain.

Titus turned his eyes to Ignis, and saw pretty much the same thing. Ignis watched Cor coming and going, those razor eyes practically undressing Cor there in the hall, and when Cor turned to look at Ignis, Ignis actually physically flinched. Ignis didn't stumble over his words like Cor did, though. No, no, because when Cor was around chatty Ignis suddenly didn't talk at all. Clamped his jaw and gawked at Cor as if Ifrit had just set the city on fire again.

Cor watched Ignis, and Ignis watched Cor.

They each burned the other alive when one wasn't looking, only to snap their eyes away in order not to be caught when the other turned their head. They fumbled about each other gracelessly, awkwardly, each pining for the other and entirely oblivious that the feelings were reciprocated.

Titus wasn't going to intervene; not his place, and Cor probably would have decapitated him there in council had Titus attempted to shove them together. Titus instead watched from afar, and never once let Cor know that he knew. Titus respected Cor far too much to ever open his mouth, and was worried that doing so would make Cor panic.

Cor was also surely painfully aware of the repercussions of falling in love with someone as young as Ignis.

Titus didn't know how many people knew. As far he knew, he was the only one, because he had heard no gossip, and the council loved gossip far too much for them to ever keep something so scandalous to themselves.

So Titus waited and waited, but nothing ever seemed to happen. Titus assumed Cor was being responsible and waiting until Ignis was seventeen.

Even though it was pathetic, Titus was kinda rooting for the bastard, because Cor was the most remarkable man Titus had ever known, but at the same time Cor was also the loneliest. Felt for him, if only a little. He cared about Cor, and would have enjoyed seeing him happy.

Besides, a distracted Cor in the future could be...

...nah.

Didn't dwell on it, and silently hoped his friend could catch a break.

Ignis was getting older every day, was already so mature mentally, was of very sound mind, and so Titus just enjoyed the show and waited for word of the inevitable wedding.

But then things started changing.

Ignis was seventeen, far too soon, and Titus had gotten so used to Ignis stalking Cor with his razor eyes that it had taken Titus a very long time to realize that suddenly it was he himself being stalked by that piercing gaze. Huh. Odd. Maybe Titus had missed something along the way. Ignis was seventeen now, after all. Maybe Cor had made a move by now and Ignis was trying to see how many people knew about it, and naturally Titus would be the first.

Titus thought nothing of it.

But then Ignis kept on staring, and sometimes when Titus looked over Ignis didn't even bother looking away.

The gears in Titus' metal mind started grinding away, and Titus eventually settled on an explanation that made sense to him; Ignis had had little luck getting hopeless Cor to act first, knew Cor and Titus were friends, and was gathering up the nerve to pounce on Titus and get Titus to play matchmaker.

Ah! Yes. Must have been it!

Well, then. As a good friend, Titus was very willing to help.

Cor being distracted by Ignis may have also benefited Titus in the future, yes, but Titus truly did what he did then because of those sentiments he held for Cor.

For Cor's benefit, Titus tried to make himself a little more approachable. Ignis was scared of him, like everyone else, for both Titus and Cor looked quite like they would pull a weapon on anyone that dared speak to them out of turn. Likely why Ignis hadn't openly flirted with Cor when he seemed to chat up everyone else, and Titus wanted to help Cor out.

To Ignis, Cor really was a legend more than a man, and he must have been intimidated.

So when Ignis was staring, Titus loosened up, lowered his shoulders, tried to look a little more amicable and personable, smirked and smiled from time to time when appropriate, and Ignis seemed to loosen up, too.

Good.

Now Titus was just waiting for Ignis to gather up that last bit of resolve. Titus had already composed an excellent resume for Cor up in head, and planned on selling his friend to Ignis very well.

Titus waited and waited, and Ignis came around alright, but something was amiss. Ignis never once asked Titus about Cor. In fact, Ignis never asked Titus anything at all. Just bowed his head and ran eyes over every inch of Titus, and would then always murmur, so deeply, "Captain."

Titus was perplexed, verily, and then Ignis was smiling at him as he did everyone else. Confused, Titus would often look over his shoulder, sure that Ignis was smiling at someone else.

He never was.

Things became more and more bizarre.

Titus steadily realized that when Ignis spoke to him, softly, he would always throw out a hip and shift his weight frequently, drawing attention to his legs, and of course Titus always gazed a long glance down, because he was only a man and Ignis really did have phenomenal legs. And then Ignis began speaking with his hands, as he often did, moving about so elegantly, waving Titus off rather cattily. Titus also realized that his own posture had improved as much as Cor's lately, standing up tall and squaring out, puffing his chest. Ignis had a way of bringing out the ego in everyone, with that silver tongue, and Titus was as susceptible as anyone else.

Was Ignis flirting with him?

Seemed that way, and yet it had come out of nowhere so suddenly that perhaps Titus was still in shock.

Cor woulda murdered him, if he had seen Ignis swaying like that while extending his restless hand so close to Titus' chest. Sometimes, in more exuberant moments, Ignis' long fingers would actually brush, just so barely, against Titus' forearm. Titus splayed out every time, even if he didn't mean to.

Seemed Ignis had gotten over his infatuation with Cor, and Titus realized that making himself approachable on Cor's behalf had entirely backfired. Found himself in Ignis' sights, and was a little guilty about it, maybe, but his intentions at the beginning had been pure. Wasn't his fault Ignis had taken Titus' smiling the wrong way, and wasn't his fault now that he was being charmed by charming Ignis.

Like Cor, Titus was only a man.

It had been an unfortunate misunderstanding.

Titus just...wasn't exactly rushing to set Ignis straight, was all, because, at the risk of sounding as pathetic as Cor, the attention was kinda nice. Ego played powerfully to men, and Ignis certainly knew how to stroke Titus'.

Titus couldn't exactly stand here and say precisely how it had come to this.

One day he had been watching Cor trip over his own feet, and now suddenly Ignis was briefly biting his bottom lip as his eyes trailed over Titus' chest.

Ignis had a way of making Titus completely forget about Cor, because Ignis had gotten quite bold lately, and maybe Titus was just getting old and didn't understand kids these days, but when he was Ignis' age those actions sure as hell would have been considered courting. There were people that had gotten married with far less brazen flirtations than Ignis seemed to be tossing out lately.

Titus had stopped looking over his shoulders to see who Ignis was flirting with, because it finally dawned on him that Ignis was, indeed, flirting with him. Ignis never asked about Cor, because Ignis was interested in Titus, and made it very known.

To be fair to Ignis, though, that boldness was having the intended effect, because Titus had never really thought too much about Ignis until Ignis had started hammering Titus over the head. Saw him now, furiously so, and couldn't really look away.

Noticed something new about Ignis every day, it seemed, and saw more and more things to his liking.

Ignis' legs may have been Cor's favorite thing, but Titus noticed suddenly Ignis' eyes as well. Green and bright, sharp. Almond shaped. Intense. Could cut glass, Ignis, with his stare, and Titus found himself rather caught under it. Pretty eyes, although most people had pretty eyes. Ignis' eyes were helped out remarkably by the fact that the face they sat upon was so well-structured.

Ignis' hands, always gloved, were long and slender. Graceful. Titus couldn't help but imagine that his hands must have been quite soft, for he never removed the gloves during training. Hard not to think of Ignis' hands when Ignis was flinging them so close to Titus every time they spoke, tease that he was.

Fawn-colored hair, which suited Ignis so well, because beneath the wit and cattiness and bravery, Ignis truly was like a fawn. Gentle. Harmless. Pretty and calm and blending into the tall grass. Never seeking to cause trouble and never wanting to draw attention. Except Titus', that was.

Ignis' voice was deep, warm, rumbling, a very pleasant burst of thunder, rich, and his lilted accent made even Titus turn on his listening ears. Ignis' voice could have sank ships, and Titus could have very happily sat down and listened to Ignis read the index of an encyclopedia for hours on end over coffee and wouldn't consider the day a total waste.

Ignis' lips were heart-shaped, and Titus knew that because his eyes had started falling upon them every time he and Ignis spoke to each other. Ignis, sharp as he was, no doubt noticed, for now when they spoke Ignis frequently lifted his hands near his chin and cheeks, to draw more attention.

Titus stared hard.

By now, it seemed, Titus knew the location of every single visible freckle on Ignis' body.

...was about time to learn the location of the covered ones.

Ignis was the most oddly eye-catching wallflower Titus had ever known.

Titus had stayed as distant as possible as long as he could, yes, just for the sake of the only man he considered a friend, but it was very clear that Titus was the one Ignis was interested in, and that wasn't Titus' fault. And hell, to be quite frank, at his age Titus was pretty goddamn glad for the attention of a pretty teenager. What man wouldn't be?

Anyway, no one had been brave enough to flirt with Titus in years, so Ignis' gall was certainly refreshing.

Wasn't exactly subtle, Ignis, no, but perhaps Titus was such an odd target for someone like Ignis that no one ever really seemed to notice. Or so he hoped, anyway, because Ignis was barely legal and Titus had a pristine reputation.

Well...

Barely legal was still legal, morality aside. Titus had put aside his unease with Cor, and could only hope others would so the same for him.

Wasn't like he was the one flirting, after all, and it was quite impossible to resist the attention because he hadn't gotten any for so long. Titus made himself unapproachable for a reason, tried to remain distant and aloof and above the general populous, but damn if Ignis didn't seem to care.

Maybe Titus was a little lonely, at the end of the day, because he went out of his way to run into Ignis far more often.

Ignis seemed quite pleased indeed, and every time they passed each other in the hall, Ignis would saunter by, slowly and pointedly, turn his head to lock their gazes, and then would purr, in that very deep rumble, "Fancy seeing you here, Captain. A pleasure."

Titus would hold the gaze as long as he could, very purposefully strutting by, making a point to lower his own voice as much as he could and whisper, "The pleasure is all mine."

They passed as two stars drawn in by the other's gravity, time slowed, and then suddenly they had carried on down opposite paths as if nothing had happened.

Titus was so invested in Ignis that he had stopped thinking about Cor, had stopped thinking about how many bounds of friendship he was crossing, had stopped thinking about how much Cor would be hurt.

Thought only of Ignis, because Ignis had made it that way.

No one but Ignis would have ever had the sheer audacity to come right up to Titus and shamelessly flirt with him in front of the King, and Titus was honestly a sucker for that. Power was great, people admiring him was great, people fearing him was great, people avoiding him and revering him was great. But nothing came close to someone seeing him as just another normal man.

To be treated like anyone else; that was truly addicting.

Titus didn't want to be a legend; just wanted to be a man that had always tried his hardest and did what he thought was right for his homeland. A man, like any other. So Titus gave in, and let Ignis pull him into orbit, because Cor was still somewhere in another galaxy.

Cor had never grasped the concept that in order to be seen by Ignis, he would first have to make himself mortal.

Ignis looked at Titus and not Cor, and that wasn't Titus' fault. He didn't feel guilty. And he sure as hell wasn't going to set Ignis straight anymore.

But unlike Cor, Titus was not, under any circumstance, going to fall in love.

Ignis was going to be a pastime, and nothing more.

Cor had missed his chance.