prompto age: origins | ringpyre:
ignis looks up to prompto before he takes his hand and gets up. a grunt escapes him as he does so, ( perhaps it’s a good thing he decided to take some respite here in lestallum. ) ( it became less a matter of IF he’d collapse from exhaustion and more of a WHEN. ) ignis can’t seem to recall the last time they did this. it’s strange, he thinks, because even if they do love each other, even though they can find softness and COMFORT in each other, it still feels as if they’re missing something.
he knows, of course, that it is not something but rather someone. and he doubts they’ll talk about noct tonight despite the countless times they’ve stayed awake, sharing their thoughts and mutual affection for him. it would hurt too much, for both of them, in this particular moment. and maybe they won’t ever be able to speak of his absence, not until he’s back, not until he’s RETURNED to them. ( and he will. he will he will he will. he has to — ignis KNOWS it. ) ( for if he started doubting it, then he would’ve fallen out of love long ago, he thinks. ) he is icarus, the wax of his wings scalding his skin, scarring him for the rest of his time with the love he could never keep in check. and perhaps he should fear the inevitable fall — but he knows he will be in good hands.
( the waves bellow the same blue as prompto’s eyes. )
noct’s absence is like a piece of his soul has been torn from him. an emptiness that no amount of work can fill, that no amount of other people can fill. he wonders if prompto shares these sentiments. maybe he should hate noct for never giving him the option of figuring out what life means as an individual, for ensuring it so that he may never know the taste of life without constantly being by his side. but he doesn’t, and he never will.
he could say a million things. i’m happy to see you. it’s been too long. i’m tired. i want to rest. i want to hold you. let’s dance in the dead of the night to music i’ve forgotten the lyrics of. let’s forget for a moment that the world is ending around us. let’s forget for a moment that to each our own, we aren’t whole. but ignis was never one to say so many things all at once if he can sum it up in a few simple words.
so he settles for ❝ i missed you too, prompto. ❞ he hopes prompto picks up on the weight of his words. he hopes prompto doesn’t see the flash of guilt in his eyes. he left him for a bit. left everyone, really, to their own. and he hates himself for it.
but it’s the past, and it’s best to leave it there. for now, prompto is before him, expressing his truths, and ignis feels like a stranger all over again. ❝ i missed you too… ❞ he doesn’t mean to repeat himself. this time softer, quieter, as if reminding himself where he’s at.
prompto is many things . loud . anxious . hyperactive . but above all he's perceptive . not a perception that many pick up on , or that many recognize as perception . he doesn't tend to notice big things , even when people try to point them out . ( especially when his attention's been caught by something else . ) but he does notice other people's emotions . ( he's hardwired to be hypersensitive to them , especially when they're in relation to himself . )
so he doesn't miss the flash of guilt in ignis' eyes . and it hurts . not the fact that ignis left him for a while , although that does hurt too , a bit . ( hurts in that part of him that's always so sure that he's going to end up alone , that everyone he loves will leave him . ) ( but he's getting better at pushing those thoughts away , no matter how they sometimes rear their ugly head . ) no , it hurts more that he even feels that guilt . it's almost unbearable --- the man he loves feeling like that , especially when it's not something that could be helped . ( yes , ignis left , but it's for noct in more than just the way that everything they do is for noct . ) ( there's a part of him that feels like he should resent noct , should be upset that they made themself such a huge part of their lives and then had to leave . ) ( but he could never resent them , not really , and not just because this isn’t their fault . ) ( it seems that his whole life has been spent in pursuit of noctis , has been spent caring for and loving them ; he wouldn't have it any other way . )
it doesn't matter anymore that ignis left , because he's here now , and that's all that matters . ( he's always been understanding when people leave , but this is the first time anybody's ever come back to him . ) ( come back for him , because ignis LOVES him . ) ( and he knows that noct will come back , too . they have to . they will . ) prompto hasn't forgotten that ignis left , hasn't forgotten the nearly-overwhelming loneliness he sometimes feels here in lestallum , it just . . . doesn't matter . not when one of the loves of his life is here . not when he's not alone in this moment , when ignis is going to come with him on this mission that he's so scared of .
prompto doesn't let go of ignis' hand . he runs his fingers across the healing scars ( proof of ignis' devotion to noctis --- not that it's ever been in question ) and squeezes , gently . he takes a deep breath , almost as if he'd forgotten to breathe ( almost as if , when faced with ignis' beauty --- inside and out --- he sometimes forgets how ) and looks up .
and oh , he can barely stand it .
he can barely stand how much time they've been apart , can barely stand how much longer it would be until they're in prompto's apartment , can barely stand them even standing as far apart as they are now , when they're hand in hand . so before he leads ignis to his place , before he curls up holding him in the night , prompto lets go of his hand , and wraps his arms around his neck , tucking his face against his collarbone . he smells like coffee , and glasses cleaner , and the oil he uses to keep his daggers perfect . he smells like ignis . ( he smells like home . )
he lets out a shaky breath and a nervous giggle as he loosens his arms and takes half a step back , and anxiously scratches at the back of his head . ( he knows ignis has never really been one for overwhelming public displays of affection , especially not here . ) ❝ uh , sorry 'bout that , iggy , i just . couldn't help myself . uh . should we . . . head out ? ❞ he was serious about that hot meal --- it's been far too long since he's had any of ignis' cooking .
discoholicmusic
2087
theartofmadeline
areudirty
titsay
jacobvanloon
