WHO: Ignis, Noctis and Gladio WHAT: Restoring something taken away. WHEN: June 4th afternoonish, post immediate magical ritual. WARNINGS: It’s pretty fluffy and light, all things considered. STATUS: Complete!
Noctis was not a patient person. Everyone had tried to instill this quality in him his entire life, but when someone could bend space and time to cross a battlefield in a blink, patience seemed like a lost cause. Besides, most of the time Noct had tried waiting for things he was promised, it led to a whole lot of terrible or years of wasted time.
So it wasn't really any wonder that he paced nearby as the magic ritual started. It was even less of a surprise that he ended up at Ignis's side not long after, holding his hand. He made sure to do it with the hand not wearing the ring, but as the ritual neared the end and it was his turn to reach out to the Kings of Lucis with Blue Sargent's hand on his shoulder, Noct switched his grip. He clutched Ignis's hand and brought it to his mouth as he called on his ancestors.
He'd made a joke about demanding their help, but in truth, all he did was beg. He pulled on all of his connection to the ring and on Blue's boosting and he begged. The people I love have lost enough. Please give this back to him. I'll pay the price eventually.
He didn't know for sure if it did anything or if it was just the ritual at work but the ring did seem to warm against Ignis's hand. His eyes shot open and he waited, sending one nervous glance to Gladio to steady his nerves.
Gladio liked to think he could be more patient than Noctis, and generally he would be right about that thought. But this was a particular thing he more than fell short on. But could he really be blamed?
He tried to stay out of the way as best as possible - magic really wasn't his forte - but with still keeping close to Ignis and Noct. He'd kept a hand on Noct's shoulder when he stopped the pacing, his other on Ignis'. He dropped his hands and stepped back a little only when Noctis started in on his part, not wanting to inadvertently cause any interference or mess anything up.
Despite what he hoped was a mostly cool exterior, he was a mess of nerves and anxious thoughts as Noctis started on his end of it. Keenly aware that as far as he'd seen, nothing good had really come from that damn ring. His gaze was locked on Ingis and Noctis, watching for any sign that something might go wrong, a visible sag of relief when Noctis opened his eyes. He stepped back in, dropped a hand back on Noctis' shoulder and reached for Ignis' free hand.
"Iggy?" he asked. His voice was quiet, and caught a little with anxiousness and anticipation, as he watched Ignis close.
Iggy heard Gladio’s voice, sharp and right near him. He had felt Noct’s presence, and the presence of everyone else involved. The magic users that were brilliant and giving, offering him a second chance, even if it didn’t work. It had meant a lot, and left a deep feeling of thanks in his chest.
But he didn’t open his eyes right away. What had been just-- shades of grey, of light, of the occasional movement in the darkness.. It had been his life for two years. He had learned to adjust, adapt, had come to terms with everything. Ignis was the tactical one and the practical one, he was a realist and knew the odds of this working - even with those brilliant minds - was not high.
It was still more than he'd had before, especially when one added Blue and Noctis into the equation. In a way, it wasn’t just for him - opening his eyes held the chance that he would be letting them all down, as well. Even if he had known they wouldn’t give up.
Another thing to be thankful for.
But it was Noct’s hand, and Gladio’s voice, that finally made him take that step of bravery. He opened his eyes, to the two of them, and immediately the air left him in a huff of relieved laughter. One hand reached up to tighten over Gladio’s own, and the other cupped Noct’s neck. “When was the last time you had a haircut?”
Noct had rested back against Gladio for a second, unconsciously reaching for the comforting weight of his Shield, but the second Iggy started to twitch his eyes open, Noct leaned back in. Eager. Anxious. There were undoubtedly still other people around. He was oblivious to that fact, thankfully. Which meant his dawning smile at realizing Ignis was seeing them wasn't hampered by self-consciousness. It was only bright and relieved.
"Wow," he laughed. "You weren't complaining when you had your hands in it this morning." A very small but very insistent part of Noct's brain was sure it couldn't be this easy. Surely an Astral would drop from the sky for them to fight. Surely, something was wrong. He let go of Ignis's hand but only to cup his cheek instead. "How does it feel? Be honest." He shot a look over his shoulder at Gladio. "Tell him to be honest, Gladio."
Gladio was only halfway aware of Nyx shuffling people out of the room, in the way that Gladio regardless of a situation remained at least half aware of the entire surroundings. He'd have to thank Nyx for that one later, hell they'd have a lot of people to thank later. But somehow he doubted anyone would be that pressed if they took a moment, or several, first.
He grinned, wide and easy as Ignis opened his eyes. The sound of Ignis' laugh - the sheer relief and joy in that moment - would stick with him forever, he knew that. A better memory to start to push back the one that had haunted him for so long now, those gods awful first moments when Ignis had come to in Altissia to nothing but darkness.
The grin quickly turned into a laugh though at Ignis' comment and Gladio did the quick math on it. "At least five months," he answered. For Noctis' hair at least. His was running on far longer than that now, the once shaved sides growing out. But clearly Ignis didn't really have any complaints.
He gave Ignis' hand a squeeze. Like Noctis there was the worry there that it couldn't be that easy. But while that worry did seep into his gaze as he kept it on Ignis there was also just warmth, joy… happiness for his friend who have given so much and now had gotten some of that back. "You good?" A pause, a bit of a cheeky smile, but the next words were a bit more serious, knowing that Ignis, like they all were guilty of, was one to say fine when sometimes it wasn't fine. "Be honest."
Ignis huffed out another laugh, but this one was far more embarrassed. His cheeks flushed, but he couldn’t shy away from it now with the two of them so close.
There was no complaint on his lips about that. So he was a little more vulnerable than he would have liked - at the moment, while he was able to take in Noct and Gladio, he wouldn’t have traded that for the world. Visually, seeing their changes over the time, was different. He’d only just really started giving himself leave to explore them with his hands, so to take in their eyes, their hair, each and every facet of their skin.
It was like a breath of fresh air brought directly to his lungs. As he heard Nyx usher people out of the room - Astrals he desperately needed to thank all of them. He would do that in a moment. It felt ridiculous to be this emotional over something he had got off lucky for.
“I feel thankful.” It was honest, though it probably wasn’t what they were looking for. “Everything is a bit bright, I’ll admit. But I imagine that’s just an adjustment that will take time. I may need to relocate my sunglasses.”
Noct squinted at Gladio. "Snitch."
It sounded more affectionate than accusatory. He did smooth a hand up the back of his neck to his too long hair anyway, but that too was short-lived. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to focus on anything but Ignis for more than a second right now.
"Oh, I--" The mention of sunglasses made him brighten and he did a slick little wrist flip. Sunglasses appeared in his hands with a flash of light, plucked from his armiger. "I kept thinking how Gladio said his first few weeks here in the sun were hard on his eyes so I stashed some, just in case." He held them out, only barely resisting to grab Ignis's hand with his other one to guide him to the glasses like he normally would have. His smile was softer now.
Gladio gave Noct a smug smirk at the snitch comment, followed up with a quick press of his lips to the top of Noctis' head.
He nodded at Ignis' reply. Thankful seemed like a good enough way to put it. And it was something Gladio could relate to a little, in his own way. He hadn't been in the dark the same way Ignis had, not even close. But he had been in a darkness before showing up here. An endless night that had weighed so heavily and it wasn't a surprise that his thoughts went back to his own first few days in the light.
He knew that it would take time for Ignis to adjust, but he and Noctis would be there. From the sunglasses that were offered, to making a mental note to make sure Ignis just took it easy for at least a few days while he settled back into seeing again. Gladio had made sure to stock the cupboard with painkillers, certain this was bound to trigger at least a few headaches, cold compresses at the ready in the freezer.
He reached a hand to cup the side of Ignis' face, thumb brushing over the scarring that remained still. Much like his own, Gladio didn't see them as anything that detracted from Ignis, rather just the physical proof of all they'd been through and what they were willing to give for the man they both loved. His gaze was oh so fond as he looked on Ignis, perhaps making up for the months he'd been looking at Ignis like that and Ignis couldn't see.
"I'm glad it worked," he said with a warm smile. Not that it would have changed anything about what or how he felt if it hadn't. "You deserve this, Iggy," he added, knowing all too well how often they tended to think otherwise when it came to getting good things for themselves.
Ignis huffed out another laugh - he’d missed getting to see Noct do that. Had they always stared at him so openly and earnestly? So full of love.
He reached out to gently take the sunglasses from Noct and slip them on. In a flash, he adjusted a little easier to the light and used that excuse to pull Noct in closer for a kiss. They hadn’t been doing this much in public yet, but Ignis didn’t make any second glances or double check if they were alone before just going for it.
Iggy was still out of breath a little when he pushed himself right into Gladio’s space for an exact replica of a kiss. It was another moment before he pulled away, flushed and attempting composure in a very Ignis way. “Thank you, both. For being with me on this journey, and not letting me back down.”
Noct was a little too stunned stupid to see the kiss coming, but he was quick to recover. This part all still felt new and a little like when he was learning how to control his elemancy. Could kissing Ignis in public end up with him set on fire? Not likely, but it damn sure still felt like it could. He looped his arms around both of their waists and rested his head against Gladio's chest.
"Well you know. I had a busy schedule but I figured I should squeeze you in," he smirked. He felt tired all of sudden and he hadn't done anything. All the adrenaline was leaving, he guessed. "I'm glad nothing crazy happened. I was ready to backhand an Astral if one decided to show up, but you know. There are better things we can do with your eyesight back." He didn't mean for that to sound dirty but his face heated traitorously anyway.
Gladio smiled watching Ignis draw Noctis in to kiss, hard not to get swept up in the happiness of the moment. And even if they'd been easing into being more affectionate in public, Gladio honestly wouldn't have even noticed an audience in that moment if they'd even had one as he lingered when Ignis pulled him in.
He laughed though when Ignis pulled back and the attempt to regain composure. It was always so rare to see Ignis as anything other than perfectly put together - and Gladio knew it was quite the sign of trust from Ignis that he let himself be seen as such around the two of them. Plus it was a good look in Ignis, flushed and a little flustered and happy.
"Of course, Iggy," he said easily and snuck another quick kiss. "Anytime."
He could feel the heat in Noct's face and Gladio chuckled lightly at the comment. "Better things hey?" he teased lightly and ducked his head to press a quick kiss to the top of Noctis' head. "Go say our initial thanks and head home before any of us get too far down that line of thinking?" he suggested, mostly joking about the last part.
Fondness was evident on his face with Noct’s threat - Ignis had no doubt his king would follow through with that, backhanding an Astral. If anyone could or would do it, it was Noctis. His King, his confidant. Almost as equally important now, he could watch the two of them and that warm feeling in his stomach bloomed across his face. It was more now, all-encompassing and wholeheartedly welcome.
“Yes, yes.” To Gladio’s suggestion, but also to Noctis, as an aside, because now that the idea was put into more carnal thoughts, it wasn’t going anywhere. “I feel a little shameless even agreeing to that right now but--”
For a long time now, Ignis hadn’t been the first to stand, to lead, to pull others with him. He’d been lead, hand on another’s arm for that stability. Now he could do it himself, and he did, with gusto. Sharp, purposeful movements with a pleased smile on his face. “I’d like to give a million thanks, so that should pace us for an acceptable amount of time passes for disappearances.” Ignis wrapped a warm hand around Gladio’s forearm, assuming he would pull Noct along with them. “That’s the plan, approved by me. Come along.”
Noct closed his eyes for a brief moment. Emotions were ridiculous and he was usually better at keeping his close to his chest, but Gladio’s charming ease and Ignis, so bright, so eager – it was all enough to make Noct visibly unsteady. Luckily, he was also a creature of instinct after so many years with these two and he clamped onto to Gladio’s hand to be pulled along without a fight.
“Okay, okay. A million thanks and then you decide what you want to see next.” Noct threw back his head and let out a joyous laugh. “Lead the way, Specs.”