Noct didn't know when her infatuation began with her advisor, but seeing him in her apartment when she got home from school gave her butterflies. She knew he was just doing what her father wanted, but it made her feel safer, and taken care of. She walked into her apartment followed by her best friend, Prom. She looked down and saw his shoes by the entrance and her heart skipped a beat. They both took their shoes off and let them next to his and walked further into the apartment. She looked him over while he was cooking.
"Hey, Ignis, Prom's over tonight." She told him and she and Prompto walked into the living room and plopped onto the couch.
"I wish you would have told me earlier, I've enough for two." He sighed. "Though I suppose that I could portion enough for three." He said, rubbing his chin.
"Sorry, Iggy, this was decided on the way out of school. I should have called." She apologized.
"It is alright Noct, just call me next time." He said and continued cooking. She pulled her phone out and texted Prompto, even though she was right there.
N: he probably hates me
P: I doubt it. If he hated you, he wouldn'tkeep helping you.
N:you're right. He's just so nice.P: and cuteN: he is, he wouldn't b interested in me though
P: you don't know thatN: sure I do, he's always annoyed with me.P: cause you don't listen. Prompto sent that and received a glare from Noct. "Hey, it's true." She said holding her hand up in mock surrender.
"Yeah, I need to work on that." She said softly, staring at Ignis back as he cooked. "I've never been in a relationship, so k have no idea how to go about flirting with him." Noct admitted to her best friend.
"We can work on that over the next week or so if you want." She smiled at her friend, "You can practice on me anytime you want." She said with a wink that caused them both to bust out laughing. Ignis turned around at the sound and smiled at the two of them having fun. He was glad that Noct had found a good friend like Prompto, a lot of the girls he saw at her school were the superficial kind. Only wanted to be Noct's friend because of her royalty status, but Prompto seemed to be interested in Noct, not the princess. He made three plates, evenly rationed out and set them on the table, along with the silverware.
"Dinner is ready your highness." He said and waited for them sit, getting them all glasses of water. He sat next to Noct, and across of Prompto. He waited until Noct took her first bite and giving him her approval.
"God, Ignis, this is fantastic." She said around a mouthful of food, fork still hovering near her mouth.
"While I'm glad that you're enjoying this meal, please don't talk with your mouth full." He smiled at her, causing her to get her butterflies in her stomach once again. She mock rolled her eyes and finished chewing her food. "Is it to your liking Prompto?" he asked as he began to eat.
"Is that even a question? Your cooking is amazing!" she said excitedly, stuffing her face. "If only my mom would cook like this." She laughed.
"I always end up halving my lunch with her, she loves your cooking Iggy. And so do I." Noct said and lightly blushed with the last sentence.
"Well, that is definitely good to hear. Maybe I could start packing an additional lunch for Prompto." He stated.
"You don't have to do that Ignis. I bring my own, yours is just a million times better." Prompto said laughing.
"I see. Well, I insist on sending a lunch with her majesty." Ignis said and got up from the table, collecting all of the plates and putting them in the sink.
Prompto nudged Noct, "Offer to help, and get really close to him." She whisper and used finger quotations, "on accident."
Noct blushed, but agreed and got up and walked over to the sink, standing next to Ignis, with barely any space between them. "Do you need any help, Ignis?" she asked him, leaning against his arm.
"If you would like." He said, grinning down at her, making her blush slightly. "You could clean the dishes while I prepare your lunch for tomorrow." He said and stepped away from her to grab items out of the fridge.
With his back to her, she looked at Prompto and smiled. "Prompto, how bout you come help." She chuckled.
"Be there in a jiffy, just gotta use the bathroom." She said and vanished.
"I guarantee she's just trying to get out of helping." Noct mumbled, but began to clean the dirty dishes. Ignis chuckled at her statement, making Noct smile.
She was halfway over when Prompto finally came to help.
"About time, princess." Noct said as she cleaned the pot that Ignis had used and then splashed Prompto with water.
"You're such a jerk, Noct." She pretended to be upset, but was smiling.
"You love me anyways." She said as they finished up the dishes.
"Duh, who else would put up with you." She said laughing. Prompto checked the time on her phone and gasped. "Crap, I gotta get home. It's getting late." Prompto said and went to grab her bag. She was intending to walk home, but Ignis stopped her.
"I'm almost done, if you would like a ride home." He said, finishing up the sandwiches he was preparing for their lunches tomorrow.
"That would be great!" she said and took a deep breath, "saves me from walking."
"Noct would you like to ride with us?" Ignis asked her as she sat back on the couch.
"Yeah sure." She said absentmindedly as she sent Prompto a text.
N: I don't want him to leave
P: you could always ask him to stay the night
N: perv, I just want to be around him all the time, he's so perfect
P: make a move tonight!
N: like what?
P: I don't know…
N:Helpful.
P: I know right
Ignis finished what he was doing and cleaned up his mess and looked at the two girls sitting on their phones and smiled. He wished he had met Noct under different circumstances. Like her not being royalty and him her advisor. He wished that he could just ask her on a date and receive no backlash for it. But there was nothing he could do. He asked and gathered a bag to put Prompto's lunch in. "Are you two ready?" he asked, breaking them away from their phones.
"Yep!" Prompto said and grabbed her schoolbag. They left the apartment, Ignis locking the door behind them and they set off to the parking garage where the Regalia was parked. He opened the door for both girls and got them into the car and then climbed into the driver's seat. Noct turned the radio on and played it low as they drove off. They sat in silence and she looked at her phone and received text from Prompto.
P: Did you forget your keys like I told you to do?N: Yeah..P: Good girl
She locked her screen and stared out the window as they drove in silence. Shortly later they arrived at Prompto's home. "Thanks for the ride Ignis, see ya tomorrow Noct." She said and hopped out of the car and went inside. They took off back towards Noct's apartment. She felt for her keys, even though she knew she didn't have them.
"Shit." She sighed. And put her head back on the headrest.
"What is wrong?" Ignis looked over, confused.
"I forgot my house keys." She mumbled, she heard Ignis chuckle.
"Well, it's a good thing that I have a spare." He said.
"Yeah, thank God." Noct agreed. They drove the rest of the way in silence and reached the apartment. They walked quietly up to her apartment and he unlocked the door for her. "Hey Ignis…" she started but trailed off, blushing.
"Yes, Noct?" he answered. Standing on the outside of her apartment. They stood in silence for a few heartbeats, and Noct shook her head.
"Uh. Nevermind. I'll see you tomorrow." She said and went to walk inside.
"Of course, if Prompto chooses to come over, please notify me, also make sure you lock the door." He said.
"Will do, goodnight Ignis." She and shut the door. She took a deep breath and headed into her bedroom, turning the lights off in the apartment. She changed into pajamas and laid in her bed. She plugged her phone onto the charger and texted Prompto.
N: I'm an idiot. She said and set her phone down waiting on a response.
P: What's wrong? She got back almost immediately.N: I chickened out. I had the perfect opportunity to kiss him and I chickened out. I just don't want to get rejected.P: aww Noct. I'm sure there will be other opportunities. Don't freak out, okay.N: I'm trying not to. I just get so nervous around him.
P: it'll be okay, we can practice your flirting tomorrow if you want.N: that might help. Thanks Prom.P: No prob, I gotchu girl.
Noct said goodnight and curled up in bed. She was nearly asleep when her phone went off. She looked over and saw a message from Ignis, her heart lept in her chest as she opened it.
I: Sorry for waking you, your highness, but it seems Prompto left her bag in the backseat of the Regalia. She "forgot" it, Noct thought to herself.
Instead of texting him back she sat up and called him. He answered on the second ring.
"Noct." He answered in acknowledgment.
"You can bring that bag over if you want. I can't sleep anyways." Which was true, her nightmares were keeping her awake most nights.
"Nighmares again?" he asked, she heard him grabbing his keys and shutting the door behind him.
"Yeah, it's always the same thing. I can't escape it." She nearly whispered. "You can just come in when you get here, I'll be in my room." She told him.
"I will be there shortly." He said and hung up. She sighed and clicked her phone off. She turned her lamp on and just sat in bed. Prompto was probably asleep by now. She sighed and laid back down, not sleeping, just staring off.
A little while later she heard Ignis unlock the door and come in. She heard him open the refrigerator and put Prompto's bag of lunch in there next to hers. She figured he would leave after that, but she was mistaken as he peeked his head into her room.
"Noct?" he whispered. And stood in the doorway.
"I'm still awake. You can come in." She whispered and stayed in the same spot. He walked over to her side of the bed and sat down next to her.
"Do you need to talk about it?" he asked softly. She nodded her head no, but there were tears threatening to fall. He rubbed her head softly to comfort her. "You can cry, I will be here. It's alright, Noct." He said softly to her as she began to sob. He propped her to where her head was in his lap and he ran his fingers through her hair while she cried. They sat like that for a while before she fell asleep in his lap. He looked down at her and sighed sadly
"I hope these nightmares went away. I'm sorry, Noct." He moved her head and laid her down on the pillow. He walked out of the room and pulled his phone out, hoping Gladio was still awake.
I: Gladio, are you still awake? He sent and sat on the couch while waiting on a response. About half an hour later his phone buzzed.G: Yup, decided to train late tonight. What's up?I: I'm at Noct's, she's having her nightmares again. She was good for a week, but they're back.G: Poor kid. Want me to come over? Help keep an eye on her?I: If you wish. I was thinking of making her those sweets from Tenebrae, but I'll need the ingredients for them.G: Gotcha, I'll be there in 15I: Thank you, Gladio.
Ignis set his phone down and went to check on Noct. He peeked his head in and saw that she was still passed out, just facing the other way.
He wished that he could take the nightmares away from her, but unfortunately there was nothing he could do.
He got all of the utensils out that he needed for the sweets, and some of the ingredients. The others he had at his own apartment. He heard the door gently knock and let Gladio in.
"She still asleep?" he asked as he brought his stuff in and took his shoes off, leaving them at entrance. Ignis nodded and they walked into the kitchen. "She's already been through so much. Poor kid." Gladio said and pulled out a book to read while Ignis left.
"Call if anything happens alright." Ignis said and headed for the door.
"I will. Don't worry." He said, Ignis nodded and walked out, locking the door behind him. Gladio took his book to the couch and laid down.
About half an hour later, he heard Noct scream from the bedroom and he dropped the book and ran in. Noct had fallen out of the bed and was sobbing. He crouched down and picked her up to put her back onto the bed. He pulled her into a hug and just comforted her as best he could, Ignis was always better at these things. She finally came to and blinked up at Gladio.
"Gladio?" she whispered, her voice hoarse from screaming."Where's Ignis?"
"Yeah, it's me kid, Ignis went to get some stuff, he'll be back soon." He said and rubbed her back. "Until then, you gotta deal with me." He smiked at her, making her giggle.
"Wanna go sit in the living room and watch some TV?" he asked her and she nodded. He knew not to ask about the nightmares, as it usually sent her into hysterics. He stood up and helped her stand and they both walked into the living room, she had her cover drapes around her. He turned the TV on and picked his book off the ground. He sat down and she sat next to him and watched tv while he read his book.
They sat in silence until Ignis unlocked the door and walked in with a bag of stuff. He kicked his shoes off and walked into the apartment, seeing Noct curled up against Gladio. "Did you have a nightmare again?" he asked her and walked into the kitchen.
"Yeah." She tried to say, but her voice was nearly gone. "Ignis, can I stay out of school tomorrow?" she croaked.
"What say you, Gladio?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I say let her, she never misses much, she deserves a skip day."
"Thanks guys." She whispered. "What are you making Ignis?" she asked and sat up.
"I was going to try to recreate those Tenebraen treats." He told her and pulled out the ingredients.
"Need any help?" she asked.
"No, you just relax, try to sleep if you can. But I'll understand if you wish not to." He said and began mixing the items. Gladio ad Noct talked for a bit before she began falling asleep on his chest. He smiled, hoping she would be able to sleep through the night this time.
"psst, should I take her into her room?" Gladio whispered loud enough for Ignis to hear. Ignis looked up and nodded. Gladio gently loved Noct off of him and picked her up, he carried her to her bedroom and laid her down. He gently tucked her in and pushed her hair out of her face"Maybe you'll able to sleep through the night, your big brothers here." He said softly and walked out, closing the door behind him. He walked out as Ignis put the pastries in the oven. "I hope she'll be able to sleep through the night." Gladio sighed.
"As do I. I wish there was something we could do about the nightmares." Ignis agreed. And walked over to sit on the couch. "As much as I complain about her sleeping late, she needs to try to sleep in tomorrow." He said. Gladio nodded ok agreement and walked to sit next to Ignis.
"I know what you mean. Maybe I can get Iris to come by after school tomorrow and they can hang out." He said, "What about Prompto, she can come over too." He said and pulled his book out and began reading.
"That works. I'll go get her number out of Noct's phone and send a message." Ignis told him and stood up to walk into Noct's bedroom. He found her phone plugged in, he picked it up and unlocked her phone. Her messages with Prompto still on the screen.