A/N: A fair warning, this story is not your typical fairy tale retelling with fluffy romantic tropes of the one-true-love variety. Romance is on the back burner in this one. This story is also brought to you by a prompt off a dead kinkmeme and my fear of writing Ignis-so I put him to sleep :)
"Watch out!"
Noct warped towards a large moss-covered rock just in time to avoid the swipe of a mushussu's tail. The doglike creature covered in armored plates barked at the loss of its target before turning to pursue one of the others. Noct threw his sword towards a mandrake, warping after his weapon to strike the creature down. It let out a terrifying shriek as the prince brought his weight down, the blade piercing past its tough bark. The beast lashed out a quick swipe Noct dodged at the last second, leaving behind a translucent blue clone for its claws to dig into. Taking advantage of the creature's momentary confusion, Noct brought down his blade again, stunning the beast before flipping it onto its back and slashing at its belly.
Nearby, Prompto unleashed a hail of bullets on a mushussu's thick armor plates. Bullets ricochet in odd directions, forcing the others to take cover where they could.
"Prompto!" Gladio barked, putting his shield away once the onslaught of bullets stopped.
"Sorry!" Prompto's apology came just as quickly as he dodged a swipe of a mandrake's serpent tail.
Ignis summoned his lance and lunged forward, stabbing one of the mushussu in between its plates. It spat a wet guttural sound as Ignis drove it back, twisting his weapon before finally anchoring it down into the ground. The doglike creature writhed as it let out one last whimper before ceasing to move altogether. Gladio wasn't too far off as he swung his claymore around, having the time of his life as the force from his swings knocked the other mushussu flat on their backs to expose their vulnerable bellies.
Noct warped to each of the fallen enemies, striking each one with a devastating slash as they struggled and howled to right themselves. Prompto reared up from behind, performing his usual crack-shot tricks, shooting from under his leg, posing with his camera as he took a brief shot with a mushussu kicking up its legs.
"Get serious!" Gladio barked from his side of the fight as he swung his claymore down on a mandrake's tail. The beast shrieked and whipped around to swipe at the shield, but Ignis stopped it dead in its tracks as he pierced through its chest from behind with his polearm.
Prompto snapped a few shots of the duo. "Smile pretty for me!" to which Gladio rolled his eyes and Ignis posed, flashing a grin.
"Come now, live in the moment for a bit," Ignis said as he geared up to attack another mandrake.
"I'll pose for victory pictures after we make it out of here with all persons and limbs accounted for," Gladio grunted, fending off an attack from a mushussu.
"Yes, mum," Ignis teased. He pushed his glasses up before jumping into the air with his polearm.
"Smartass," Gladio snorted as he watched the man come back down to drive his spear back down into the earth to instantly pin and kill his target.
It didn't take long before they were down to one enemy-an injured mushussu with its long poison prongs prepped and ready to strike at whoever made an attempt to move. Thick blood oozed from its injuries as it took in labored breaths. Noct looked to Ignis for guidance, hoping for a signal, but the man simply held a hand up as he squared his jaw, studying the creature with an intense stare. Noct could end this quickly with a warp strike and the creature was practically dead by this point, losing blood with every labored pant it took. Noct knew he was fast enough and strong enough to take it out in one blow and so without much warning, he warped, throwing his sword towards the creature only to end up embedding said weapon in the tree behind it after misjudging the distance. The creature, startled by Noct's warping, shot his prongs, making the others dodge.
The mushussu in its panicked state began to thrash about in circles, roiling the earth and creating a thick cloud of dust and debris. Dislodging his weapon, Noct placed it back in the armiger, raising his hands up to shield his eyes from the flying dirt.
"Iggy!" Prompto's shout brought Noct's attention to Ignis being thrown into a thicket of greenery after a blow from the beast's tail.
Instinct overrode reason as Noct found himself warping towards his fallen comrade. Fervently shoving branches and leaves out the way, Noct came to Ignis, who lay unconscious on a bed of mushrooms. The area was misty and brought tears to Noct's eyes as he coughed. Ignis had disturbed the mushrooms into releasing their spores. Noct sneezed, the tingling sensation of the smog making the inside of his nose itch. He pulled the collar of his shirt up to his nose, bending down to check for a pulse. For a second a lump of actual fear formed in the middle of his throat, a lump he swallowed when he found a strong pulse.
Noct gingerly pulled Ignis into a sitting position, cursing when the movement only released more spores. He slung the man's arms over his shoulders and pushed with his knees to lift, grunting when his bad knee protested the dead weight.
Noct worked his way through the thicket, pushing past leaves and snagging branches to the other side where Prompto quickly jogged over the second they were out.
"You should've waited for his signal," Gladio grunted as he pulled his claymore free out of the creature's corpse. The weapon disappeared back into the armiger in a crystal flash.
"Think he's alright?" Prompto asked. He tested the back of his hand against the man's cheeks by lightly tapping him for a reaction. "He's out cold."
Ignis' hair was a mess. Pieces of random twigs and leaves were mixed into his sandy blond locks and his glasses were skewed, but thankfully not broken. Prompto reached out, gently taking them off before folding them and slipping them into the man's jacket pocket for safekeeping.
Noct popped his back and stretched once Gladio took Ignis off his back and slung the man over his hulking shoulder. He placed a hand on his hip to shift his weight off his bad knee.
"I'm sure he's fine," he said, trying not to sound too worried. "He'll wake up eventually."
"Cool, let's mosey out of here," Gladio said, patting Ignis' ass which earned a snort from Prompto. "Better let him sleep it off. We'll tease him about getting owned later."
The party left the woods of the Myrlwood forest without a second thought.
They reached the haven at dusk.
Gladio quickly pitched the tent first in order to give Ignis a proper place to rest. Prompto and Noct busied themselves getting the rest of the gear out of the car and setting up for dinner. Leaving Prompto to set up the stove and cooler, Noct ventured towards the tent and crawled inside. Gladio was their designated medic after battles since he was trained to treat muscle injuries and basic first aid so it was no surprise the man was giving Ignis a once over. Noct hovered close, leaning over the shield's shoulder as he watched intently for any change in Ignis' condition.
"Do you mind?" Gladio asked, rolling his shoulder away, wanting some breathing space.
Noct blinked, realizing he was close enough to smell Gladio's hair. He pulled back, but only by just a little. "Sorry."
Gladio shook his head and went back to work as his large hands hugged Ignis at his sides. He worked his way down towards his hips. Ignis looked peaceful as Gladio worked on his legs, feeling for any broken bones. Noct couldn't help but feel a bit helpless as he watched.
"I have a potion," he blurted, trying to sound helpful.
Gladio snorted as he removed Ignis' shoes and socks. "Already used one."
Noct nodded. "Right." He watched Gladio roll the man's ankles before feeling each foot for any irregularities.
"Alright, he's good," Gladio said, satisfied with his examination.
"Are you serious?"
Shouldn't Gladio be more thorough in his check up? Where were the bandages? The potions? The clipboard with notes about Ignis and a summary of injuries. Sure, that all sounded excessive now that he thought about it, but considering that Ignis was down for the count he thought Gladio would try a little harder and take it more seriously.
Gladio stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Uh, yeah?"
Noct scooted over to sit next to him. "Do you mind checking him again?"
"Seriously?"
"You didn't really check him much," Noct reasoned. "Just felt him up a bit."
"Yeah, I was checking for any broken bones. Fractured ribs are no joke," Gladio said. "He doesn't have any, so he's good."
When Gladio turned to move, Noct moved with him to block him.
"Humor me," he said, knowing he was testing Gladio's already thin patience. There was already a sheen of sweat on Gladio's brow from being in the stuffy tent this long.
Gladio sighed. "Fine." He went back to Ignis and started his check up again.
Gladio started at the top, gently moving Ignis' head around, slowly rolling his neck. He reached down to his hands and grabbed a wrist, feeling for a pulse on the inside of it.
"What are you doing?" Noct asked.
"I'm checking his blood pressure," Gladio answered, still staring at his watch.
"Should I keep count?"
"What do you think I'm doing right now?"
"Looking at your watch?" Noct answered unsure if it was a rhetorical question or not.
"I'm counting and doing math."
"Oh."
Noct remembered about the potion he wanted to break and reached over to the med kit to take one.
"I'm breaking a potion,"
"No wait until I-"
Noct broke the potion and watched the fluorescent green mist enveloped the advisor in a soft glow. Ignis drew a deep breath, the action making him and Gladio freeze in place as they waited for the man to wake up. But when Ignis continued to sleep, the duo deflated in disappointment.
Gladio glared at Noct before going back to find Ignis' pulse.
"Again?"
"I lost count," he grunted as he stared at his watch.
"You're pretty slow at this."
Gladio closed his eyes, inhaling sharply through his nose before he opened them and went back to counting. From there Noct made sure to help Gladio by being critical and dictating when he was being too rough or going too fast. At his insistence, they removed Ignis' shirt and pants and broke another potion over him. They watched the man deeply sigh again in his sleep without waking.
Gladio continued, his large hands roaming and groping over Ignis' naked chest and abs. Why did his hands have to linger like that? Especially his fingers, why did they have to brush so casually over his nipples? Noct wanted him to be as thorough as possible, but what he didn't want was to feel this weird curl of anxiety that settled in the pit of his stomach as he watched Gladio's hands dip lower. With a hand splayed on the abdomen, Gladio quickly pulled back the band of Ignis' boxers with the other to take a quick peek before giving the groin area a gentle squeeze before moving down to examine the rest of him. He examined his thighs, then the rest of his legs before settling at his feet.
"We're done here," Gladio said with a nod.
"Are you sure?"
"No broken bones or internal injuries that I can feel."
"Really?"
"Noct, at this rate I'll have to buy him dinner," Gladio snapped.
Noct frowned, sinking back onto the back of his heels. Gladio sighed, tired.
"Look, I'm not going to lie and say he's doing great. He's unconscious. We'd rather he wasn't."
Gladio glanced down at Ignis, who slept peacefully. "He might have a concussion, he might not. It's hard to tell with him like this. But he's breathing on his own, his pulse and blood pressure are normal. No internal injuries or signs of distress."
Noct stared at the slow rise and fall of Ignis' chest. Maybe he was overreacting. The man wasn't in any immediate danger and given how well Gladio examined him, he was doing alright.
"I swear to you, if it were serious I'd drive in the dead of night myself to get him help, but for now he's fine," Gladio added and looked at Noct. "The worst we can expect is him waking up with a mean hangover."
Noct nodded, still staring at Ignis. Gladio tilted his head, studying him until his lips slowly broke into a grin. Noct finally registered his gaze and shrunk a bit, feeling uncomfortable.
"What?" Noct crossed his arms over his chest. Gladio leered.
"What's got you so worked up?" the shield asked with a teasing grin. "You were fine before we got here and now you're mother-henning all of a sudden. It's not like you."
Noct knew he wasn't the worrying type, but guilt began to gnaw at his insides.
"It's my fault he got knocked out," he mumbled looking down at his hands. He picked at a small hole in his glove; Ignis would probably try to mend that later.
Gladio shrugged. "I don't think he blames you for it."
"How can he when he's unconscious," Noct said miserably.
Gladio snorted a laugh and leaned over to flick the end of Noct's nose. Noct glared at him.
"Don't beat yourself up too much." Gladio gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder. "We've all had our share of off days. Sulking about it isn't going to change anything so let it go."
Sulking wasn't going to make Ignis wake up any sooner either but when he did, Noct was going to apologize profusely. He'll promise to do better next time, promise him the world aside from eating his vegetables.
"Come on, it's too quiet outside which means Prompto's setting up the stove. You know how Iggy feels about leaving him unsupervised when he does it."
Noct sighed. It really was suspiciously quiet outside so there was reason to worry. He gave Ignis one last cursory glance over his shoulder as he followed Gladio out.
Prompto sat in one of the camping chairs, tapping his foot in tune to whatever song he was listening to on his phone with headphones. Gladio got their campfire started while Noct sat in one of the chairs to veg and play with his phone.
As time passed, they were each lost in their own world. Gladio eventually settled in with his book, quietly reading while Prompto went over his photos. Noct scrolled down an article, not really reading as pictures and words melted together. Every once in a while, his eyes flickered toward the tent where Ignis was sleeping.
Prompto eventually stood and moved his chair over, showing him the pictures of the day. Prompto was animated, laughing and making jokes at the awkward ones and humming to gauge whether he liked a certain picture or not. Noct nodded, adding a light comment or two to mask the fact that his attention was clearly elsewhere.
Gladio snapped his book shut, standing to stretch. "Can't wait around forever. Let's make some dinner," he said, rolling a kink out of his left shoulder.
Prompto quickly joined him by the cooler. "About time, I'm starving!" he said, popping it open and skimming over the ingredients Ignis most likely had prepped.
Noct took this chance to go back into the tent.
"Hey Specs, rise and shine," he announced loudly as he crawled inside. "Prompto's near the stove again."
Noct carefully slid alongside Ignis, resting on his side as he propped himself up on an elbow. He gave the man an experimental poke in the cheek. When nothing happened, Noct frowned, poking him again.
"I can keep this up, so if you want me to stop you should wake up," he advised as he continued to poke. Ignis continued on sleeping, seemingly unaware of Noct's prodding.
"Seriously? Iggy, wake up," he ordered, and then sat up to glare down at the man. All he got in response were some light snores. He felt ridiculous. Ignis didn't have to wake up if he didn't want to. He was probably tired and in so deep. Ignis was usually the first to rise and the last to go to bed. He was finally catching up on the sleep he never got to enjoy and there was Noct, being an asshole by poking him awake.
Noct found a small piece of twig in Ignis' hair and gently plucked it out before combing his fingers through it. It still felt soft and Noct wondered how exactly the man kept it perfectly coiffed without a generous amount of sticky hair product. He idly scraped his short nails over his scalp, massaging it and seeing movement under Ignis' eyelids as he did so. Was Ignis dreaming? Was he aware Noct was there? Was he enjoying this too much to wake up? He mused that maybe Ignis was taking advantage of this, thinking that Noct owed him since he was rarely at the receiving end of things. Noct let him sleep, drawing small circles over his scalp.
He noticed that Ignis looked like a different person while asleep. The worry lines on his forehead were gone and his features didn't have the hard stoic look of someone who had a million and twelve things on his mind. Without his glasses and with his face at rest, Ignis actually looked twenty-two and not like he was pushing thirty.
Noct swallowed a lump of guilt and felt it settle like a stone in his chest. He knew he was the reason Ignis worried so much. He was the reason Ignis was unconscious. Noct could very well be the root of his misery.
"How is he?"
Prompto revealed himself at the entrance of the tent. "You okay dude?" he asked, crawling inside.
Noct nodded. "Yeah." He looked back down at Ignis. "Iggy's still out."
Prompto hummed in disappointment. "I was hoping he'd be up by now."
"I tried waking him, but got nothing," Noct said.
"Guess he'll wake up while we eat dinner, which by the way, is ready. Gladio made noodles."
Sure enough, the smell of seasoning packets wafted into the tent. Hunger quickly began to unravel in his stomach. Noct could go eat now, but he could also wait for Ignis to wake up so that he wouldn't eat alone.
"Come on." Prompto gently nudged. "With any luck Iggy might wake up and crawl out to lecture us about eating garbage, though we do have a topping buffet going on from a bunch of leftovers, so it's not total garbage."
Hunger won out as Noct's mouth began to water at all the possibilities and topping combinations. But most of all, all the leftover meat he could potentially shove in his ramen without Ignis there to chide him for being gluttonous.
"No vegetables," he told Prompto as he began to crawl out towards the tent opening.
"Hear that Iggy?" Prompto called over. "Noct says he's putting all the vegetables in his cup of noodles."
They waited for a response because the promise of Noct eating his vegetables would wake even the dead.
"Damn, I was hoping that would do it."
"Shut up," Noct snorted, pushing the blond out of the way.
Dinner wasn't as banter filled as it usually was, but Prompto made an effort. Every once in a while, he'd ask Gladio questions about the novel he was reading which only earned him a few curt answers and grunts. Nothing got in between the man and his noodles, not even polite conversation. He eventually shifted focus to Noct, making jokes at his expense, but the prince failed to rise to the bait. Noct was focused between his meal and scrutinizing the tent, hoping for Ignis to emerge. Prompto sighed, giving up and focused on his dinner.
They ate in silence until they were done. Prompto volunteered to start cleaning up while Gladio went on to check on Ignis. Noct found himself automatically following the shield until he remembered how annoyed the man got at his micromanaging from before. He stayed back, opting to help Prompto clean and pack things up to avoid wild animals from scavenging around the haven.
It wasn't until they were done that Noct realized just how tight his body was with tension. His bad knee also began to hurt with a dull ache that probably needed some icing and a good rubdown. They spent the day doing hunts before coming across the royal tomb out of sheer luck and right after that they had the battle where Ignis went down. It had been an exhausting day and his body was finally crashing.
"Bed already?" Prompto asked as Noct made his way back from the car after getting his bag he'd forgotten. "Thought we could go a couple of rounds of Kings Knight before bed."
Noct saw he had the game up and running, the familiar battle music filling the air to compliment the sound of their crackling fire.
Noct yawned. "Yeah." He was tired, but also curious to see what Gladio was up to since he'd been taking an awful long time in the tent.
Prompto let him go without much protest, going to sit by the fire to play on his phone alone.
Noct went off to wash up, coming back changed and ready for bed when Gladio finally emerged from the tent. He peered in curiously to see that Ignis had been dressed down for bed in a shirt and some shorts.
"He's still asleep, but he should wake up by morning good as new," Gladio assured him, sensing his worry. "Just make sure you wake up on time," he said gently, poking him in the chest.
Noct rolled his eyes before going in for the evening.
A/N: I will try my best to stick with weekly or bi-weekly updates. I hope you enjoyed this and let me know what y'all think. Thanks for reading!
