Chapter Text
Brzzzt, brzzzt!
Brzzzt, brzzzt!
Shock gripped Noctis’ body as the vibration of his phone was louder than its chime against his nightstand, waking him suddenly. It buzzed over top of the end table next to his bed for the second time that morning after he already hit ‘snooze’ thirty minutes prior. He furrowed his brow as he reached over and grabbed the phone from its spot, its charger still connected as he fumbled with it.
Of course, with the room still darkened by the blinds and curtains, the phone’s screen light was like a flash bang as soon as it hit his retinas. Groaning and squinting, Noctis answered the call once he registered that his caller ID showed that it was Ignis Scientia — one of his royal retainers and future Hand of the King.
“... Hello?” Noctis’ voice croaked out.
“Good morning. Did I wake you?” Ignis’ voice did not sound the least bit concerned. He spoke with the ‘royal accent’ of Insomnia — a verbal indicator of those that lived the life of nobility. Usually, anyway.
Noctis had long since dropped his.
“Well, the alarm sure didn’t...” Noctis replied, rolling over in his bed to squint at the green numbers that displayed the time on his alarm clock.
It was 6:33 AM.
“Then I was right to call,” Ignis said, ignoring the fact that Noctis yawned right into the receiver and into his ear.
“But it’s so early.” This was a common complaint from Noctis when it pertained to Ignis waking him up in the morning. The royal retainer had grown so accustomed to hearing it that it was now just something to tune out on many occasions of protest.
“I’m heading over regardless. Make sure you have everything in order before I arrive.”
Noctis let out an annoyed sigh. “Right...”
“And you had best be awake when I get there,” Ignis said, his voice stern. “His Majesty should be eagerly anticipating your arrival.”
“I know. I will be — awake, that is…” Noctis replied, shuffling his comforter off of himself with a lack of any real conviction to his actions.
“Good. I’ll be there soon.” With that, Ignis hung up the phone. With a bit of an amused scoff, Noctis smiled wryly to himself and stretched.
“Guess I’d better get up…” Noctis murmured. He slowly slipped out of the warmth of his bed and planted his feet against the wooden floor. There was much to have been done around the apartment, especially given that he was officially moving out soon as well. Scratching at the back of his head and stifling another yawn, the young prince grimaced to himself. There were a number of things that needed to have been done before he was officially moved out.
‘Should have probably taken Ignis’ advice on packing up a couple weeks before leaving for the wedding,’ Noctis thought to himself with a drawn out sigh.
The apartment was a mess. Clothes were strewn about the floor, comics and games were piled on top of one another messily, and he could already hear Ignis’ sigh of disappointment when it came to the couple boxes of takeout that sat on the kitchen counter. Honestly, anything that was even just slightly out of place, and Ignis’ voice would echo in the back of Noctis’ head: 'It would do you well to keep everything organized and picked up. I won't always be around to pick up after you. And neither will Primam.'
"Yeah, yeah… I know…" Noctis huffed to himself.
Turning on the lights and taking up a black garbage bag, Noctis begrudgingly started to pick up obvious bits of trash. He even went a little extra further and tossed some smaller things as well — plastic seals broken off of drinks and things of the like that he would have normally passed over without a second thought. However, the garbage bag was still only partially filled before he put it aside. He was done with cleaning up for now.
Walking back into his bedroom, Noctis sniffed the shirt he was wearing before picking up another one off the floor and giving it a sniff as well. Smelled fine… Shrugging, he swapped shirts and found some black pants to accompany his lazily thrown together wardrobe.
As soon as Noctis got socks on his feet, the door to his apartment opened, and Ignis walked in. His keys jingled together as he walked further into the abode. Noctis had not even heard the fact that Ignis unlocked the door.
“Noct? I thought I told you to make sure everything was in order before I arrived,” Ignis called out. Noctis could only groan in response before he trudged over to his bedroom entrance.
“I cleaned,” Noctis retorted indignantly once Ignis was in his view. "How much did you expect me to do in the fifteen minutes it took you to get here?"
At this, Ignis looked around the apartment. There were still comics scattered on the coffee table between the couch and the television in the living room, dirty dishes were soaking in the sink, and a pile of still unsorted mail sitting on the dining room table. The apartment was very much still in an unkempt state.
As expected, Ignis gave a sigh of disappointment before adjusting his glasses.
“It’s good that we asked Gladio and Prompto to help with cleaning up. Are you sure you didn’t want to also ask the others for aid?” Ignis asked. He took the shoehorn from the shoe rack at the front to remove his loafers before stepping fully into the apartment while getting the slippers at the step fitted onto his feet.
“Nah, too many people if I did that…” Noctis said. “I wouldn't be able to stand Lyra and Vera bickering over the smallest things. Mollie's…well, she's been busy, hasn't she? Prim and Tandem might have been nice. But since they’ve been made part of the Kingsglaive, it’s been hard to get in touch with them. Kinda frustrating.”
Silence lingered in the air for a moment after Noctis made his statement. It seemed that Ignis was thinking how best to word his thoughts. Though normally composed and tactful, there were times where information had to be digested in the stillness of a pause.
“... Primam was quite distraught by the decision, wasn’t she?” Ignis quietly recollected as he walked to the dining room table to sort through the mail. He started to sort through junk mail, bills, and personal letters.
Noctis shrugged at the question, however. A frown creased on his lips before he replied with, “Their parents were adamant about them being in the Glaive. I remember being there with my father when Gratia and Atticus came to us regarding their change in duty. Blindsided everyone that was there that day.”
“They deserve to be part of the Crownsguard along with me and the other nobles. It's what we've all trained for.” The twinge of frustration was evident in Ignis’ voice. “Being part of the Glaive also removed their chances at studying within any of the colleges in the kingdom. I can’t imagine how it damaged both of them in that respect. Both of them had promising courses they wanted to pursue that would have been a boon to your Council.”
“Too late to do anything about it now….” Noctis meandered toward the coffee table and started to straighten out the comics and game cases at the very least. He did not voice it, but Noctis also found himself frustrated. Part of Noctis felt a small wave of guilt that his words made it feel like he was dismissing what happened to them.
“Maybe when Luna and I are back, I’ll make it one of the first things I do — I’ll make Primam and Tandem into Crownsguard. Arms of the King don’t do me any good if they’re treated like basic infantry and defense,” Noctis said in an attempt to push back that guilt. It seemed futile.
“Yes… Well, we'll worry about that when the time comes. In the meantime, we should get out that door to make it back to the Citadel on time,” Ignis said, checking the watch that adorned his wrist. He went back to the door of the apartment and slipped his shoes back on before heading out. Of course, eager to actually see his own father before they all left for the wedding, Noctis was not far behind.
The car ride was one that Noctis found himself mildly curious about. After all, the car that was being used was his own — a car that was called the ‘Star of Lucis.’ It had been specially made for his twentieth birthday nearly a year prior. It was a big celebration, though Noctis was unable to recall much of it, truth be told. He was not much for celebrations — least of all, big ones.
“Can’t remember the last time I was in this car,” Noctis commented a little ways during their time on the road. The interior of the car still smelled new — like it had been chosen off the lot the past week.
“It would have been about a month ago, I think.” Ignis might have given the impression that he was uncertain of the time frame, but his eidetic memory was certain that it was indeed a month ago.
“Not much reason to use this one since you’re always carting me around in yours.” Noctis looked out the window, watching as buildings went past.
“Forgive me for working too hard,” Ignis replied, sighing in mock exasperation.
“So why this car today?” That really was the main question. Noctis assumed that he would have seen the interior of this car the day he was officially slated to get on out of Insomnia. He already knew that he and the others were going to be traveling out in his dad's old car — a vehicle that had been called the Regalia.
“Captain Drautos mentioned wanting to use it to ferry guests for the signing ceremony,” Ignis briefly explained.
“You don’t say…” Noctis leaned against the door of the car, propping his chin in the palm of his hand.
“After we arrive at the Citadel, I shall entrust it to him.”
“I see… Well, I don’t mind if he uses it for a little while. It’s still practically brand new.”
A red light gave Ignis enough time to glance over at Noctis with the hint of a grin forming on his face.
“You haven’t been behind the wheel in some time, have you? I remember you being rather eager to drive when you got your license.” Ignis’ tone masked the teasing well, but after years of being together, Noctis picked up on it decently enough.
“Yeah, well… There’s traffic everywhere, and it’s not like I can go wherever I want. Having someone else drive is just easier.”
“And it allows you time to sleep.” The light turned green after Ignis spoke, and the car lurched forward before picking up speed.
“You know me so well.” Noctis’ response caused Ignis to chuckle. Though, the prince had to push a question that had been on his mind in the time that they had been on the road discussing everything: “Are you gonna let Prompto drive the Regalia?”
“He seemed quite keen to take the wheel. And what of yourself?”
Noctis gave a smirk. “Think I’ll pass. Probably best if you don’t let him drive, either.”
“There’s no guarantee I’ll be much better. We’re all beginners when it comes to driving outside the capital.” Ignis’ brow furrowed as he contemplated just what was beyond the walls of Insomnia — even more so what was on the opposite side of the magical barrier that protected everyone. “I can’t imagine what it’ll be like out there beyond the material I'd been given to study beforehand.”
“You and I both…” Noctis remarked. He refused to think back on the night the marilith attacked him, his mother, and their guards. But of course…the more he tried not thinking about it, the more it plagued his thoughts.
Silence lingered in the car before Ignis looked down at the time displayed on the clock. Frowning to himself, he applied more pressure to the gas and picked up the pace. Neither of the men had anything further to say as the vehicle sped off toward the Citadel.