Hao Du stood outside the guestroom, shifting uncomfortably. The inn-keeper had thankfully made himself scarce, and the remaining soldiers who hadn't ridden ahead to the Crown Princes' manor were left guarding the perimeter. He had already sent a servant to the market to fetch a clean change of clothes and some medicinal salve. Now all that was left was to wait.
He frowned to himself, thoughts drifting towards the small body that lay covered in reeds behind the inn. The princess had been beside herself when he'd found her, crying inconsolably over the child's death, whoever he was. When she'd finally collapsed in his arms, he'd found himself unable to leave the boy's body behind. His eyelid twitched at the memory, and he could feel a burgeoning headache. If it weren't for the princess, the boy would have remained on the side of the road. Instead, he'd ordered the body be brought with them. It had seemed the best decision he could make at that moment, at least until the Princess woke. He grimaced; his father would say he was weak.
more under the cut or read at ao3.
Before he could question his own actions any further, he heard a crash come from inside, and the sound of the princess crying his name.
"Hao Du!? Hao Du, where are you!?"
He flung open the bamboo door and entered the room in one swift movement, widened eyes fixed towards the bed where the princess was clutching the sheets in fear. The serving girl from before was kneeling on the ground, head pressed to the floor, the upended basin still wobbling from where it had landed, its contents rapidly draining away.
"I'm sorry milord, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle the lady..." the girl continued bowing frantically, her forehead meeting the floor with an audible thump.
But Hao Du only had eyes for the princess, who, upon realizing he was there, launched herself from the bed into his arms, her tiny hands encircling his waist in a desperate hold.
"Hao Du, Hao Du...I thought I was dreaming...but you did find me after all..."
The man in question stood still in shock, unsure how to react. His sword arm lowered to his side, while the other hovered questioningly above the princess' head, and he could feel himself tremble in the effort to resist reaching out to stroke her hair. It was then he remembered that they weren't alone, eyes flicking to the serving girl, who, upon being ignored, was now staring up at the scene playing out before her. Hao Du stiffened further, this time in anger and embarrassment, prying the princess' arms off less gently than he would've liked before depositing her back on the bed. He turned away from her to face the servant.
"Get out."
"Yes milord, I'm sorry milord" the serving girl bowed twice more for good measure before scuttling out of the room, head down. He felt a small hand clutch at his sleeve.
"Hao Du..." he turned back to the princess, stomach suddenly in knots. Had he hurt her..? But the princess was smiling at him gently. A small smile, and a bit sad, but a smile nonetheless.
"Hao Du, I'm sorry. I was just startled, she didn't do anything wrong" the princess looked down, her pale cheeks tinged in embarrassment, struggling to meet his gaze. It was then he noticed how red her eyes were, and that her wan little face was streaked in tears.
"I just had a nightmare, and I thought..." she paused before swallowing. "Hao Du, I'm so glad you're here."
His eyes widened further, this time in awe, and he dropped to his knees, setting his sword down with a click before grasping that small hand in both of his. "Gōng zhǔ, you aren't afraid of me?"
She met his gaze, and her once sparkling eyes looked so very weary. "After all that has happened, why should I be afraid of you?"
His eyes closed and he let out a deep breath he hadn't known he was holding, a feeling of relief washing over him. Then he remembered the amulet.
"Gōng zhǔ, this was yours...maybe it's the heavens will I found it...now I'm returning it to you." He pulled out the small token with its gold and silver stitches, placing it down gently in her little palm.
Her face crumpled a bit looking at it. It felt like years ago now that she had visited the temple. She remembered how carefully she had selected the charms, one for Changge, the other for Shuyu-gege. She had thought it lost all this time when it had been with Hao Du all along.
"If it's the heavens' will, then you should keep it." She pressed it back into his large hands, and couldn't help but wonder at the emotion in his gaze. Slowly, almost reverently, he slipped the amulet back into the pocket of his inner robes, eyes down, as though he was ashamed to meet her own. Then as if he remembered why he'd entered, he leaned forwards distractedly, reaching to pick up the overturned basin.
"Gōng zhǔ, let me call the maid back with more hot water." He rose quickly, but the princess latched onto his sleeve again, shaking her head vigorously.
"It's alright, I can do it myself" and before he could react, she was already standing, lifting the heavy pitcher from the side table and turning to refill the basin.
“...Gōng zhǔ!" he sputtered, hurridly yanking the pitcher out of her hands. Lukewarm water sloshed down the front of his robes, puddling on the floor beneath. They both froze.
Something on Hao Du's face must've registered his immediate horror because the princess let out a quiet giggle. Any attempt at words or thoughts on his part completely short-circuited, and later, he would bury his head in his hands, remembering how he must've looked, gaping like some sort of prize fish, all while the princess continued to laugh, her giggles pealing like small bells despite her attempts to stifle them behind her hands.
"Gōng zhǔ..."
The princess had finally quieted but found herself unable to completely erase the smile that still danced on the edge of her rosebud lips. She looked from Hao Du to the mess on the floor. "I suppose I'll be needing more water after all."
And that was when he spun on his heel, opening the sliding door with a snap and shoving the now empty pitcher into the hands of the serving girl who just happened to be standing outside.
"More hot water. And clean up that mess." The words came out somewhat strangled, and though he'd stalked quickly away, in her retelling, the serving girl would say she was sure that the swordsman was blushing.
hi im making a ficrecs list on my side blog, is it okay if i put your work (enchanted to meet you) and tag you? thanks babe
ohmy! helloooo of course. please that's an honour. i m touched! thankyou for liking my fic enough to recommend it and also wow thankyou for asking. this is new haha <33
Summary: In which Noctis tries to bake a cake for Ignis's birthday at one in the morning and Ignis unwittingly ruins the surprise by waking up.
Day Two of @ignoctweek! Yaaasss~ Prompt was Noctis cooks!
Read on AO3
“Oh, damn.”
He grabbed the oven mitt, wrenching the pan from the oven as it billowed smoke through the kitchen. How hard could this be?? He dropped it into the sink and turned the water on full blast. At this rate, he was going to have Monica and Dustin and Talcott awake, let alone–
“Noct…?”
Oh damn.
Ignis shuffled up next to him, bleary-eyed beneath his glasses but looking at him far too keenly for it. He hadn’t even heard him come down the stairs. The glasses got shoved up the bridge of his nose, a hand running through his limp hair, as he looked on at the burnt mess in the sink. “What are you doing…?”
“Um, just, uh–”
Noct looked at him, wanting to be annoyed that he’d woken up while also wanting to smile because he was up. Normally it would probably be the smiling thing, but… this wasn’t normal. This was meant to be a special occasion.
“Trying to cook? Or… bake?” Ignis asked, squinting at the blackened substance in the pan.
He relented. With a sigh. “Bake,” he muttered. “‘s not going so well.”
“Ah.” Ignis paused, and then the inevitable question came. “It’s past one, why now?” He didn’t stop there. “If there was something you wanted, I could have made it for you earlier.”
Noct shook his head. Get him to spill all his secrets in one go, huh. He was tired and frustrated and would have rathered leave this to the care of someone like Monica, but that defeated the purpose. He’d wanted to do it himself.
Contrary to their– and his own– jokes about his cooking, he wasn’t incompetent. He had done well enough on his own. He just couldn’t whip up all the fancy stuff that Ignis did, and… it was biting him in the ass, now. “I didn’t want it earlier.”
“I gathered.” Iggy turned away to yawn into his hand. “You should go back to bed, Noct. We can handle whatever you’d like in the morning, together.”
“No,” he interrupted. “I’ll try again.” He shoved away from the counter to make another detour back to the fridge. Two eggs, and milk, and at least he hadn’t been able to ruin the cream… you didn’t have to add anything to that, all you had to do was whip it and be done, if he ever got that far.
Iggy was watching him. Probably biding his time so that he could–
Yep, there was his hand, resting on the top of the refrigerator door. “Noct,” he said slowly, and Noctis didn’t rise from rummaging through the fridge. “Is this about more than… what it seems like?”
“What does it seem like?”
“I’m not sure.”
“It’s your birthday, Specs.” Full on resigned exasperation. There was no chance Ignis would leave him without an explanation, and there was no way he was going to surprise him now.
Although… in the dull over-the-stove light in the small kitchen, Ignis might have looked a little surprised just then. Half asleep, hair swept across his forehead, glasses sliding down his nose again as his eyes flickered to the discarded pan in the sink. “… Oh. Were you–”
“Cake.” He nudged the fridge closed behind him. “The chiffon cake you like, except it really hasn’t been going right.”
“Noct… you didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to.”
“At one in the morning?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, you’ve certainly accomplished that.”
He was sure he didn’t mean it condescendingly, but it still felt that way. It didn’t even sound sarcastic, so why did he have to brace his hands against the countertop and try not to snap? Oh right. It was one in the morning and he was a failure.
A hand brushed against his. He looked up, and forced himself to smile at Ignis. It wasn’t a hard as his irritation might have led him to believe. Ignis was, well, cute when he was half asleep. When his guard was down, when Noctis could curl into him and bury his fingers into his hair and fall asleep without Ignis complaining about the drool on his shirt. (He never did complain about that.) It wasn’t an Ignis he got to see often, really. Ignis was the last one to go to bed and the first one awake in the morning, and Noctis liked to sleep. Once or twice, he had planned on getting up earlier or staying up later, but once he sprawled out on a mattress or crawled into the tent, it was all over.
“Thank you.” Ignis pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Noct tried not to pout. “I haven’t done anything…”
“It’s the thought that counts.”
“That’s such a cheap saying.”
“And yet, it’s still true.” Ignis took his face in his hands. “Alright?”
“Why’re you asking me, it’s your birthday,” Noctis murmured, and leaned in to kiss him.
Sleepy and sleep-deprived, and they melted into each other more than usual, Ignis’s hands on Noctis’s face and Noct sliding his arms around Ignis’s waist. Maybe it wasn’t so bad. So what if he had burned the cake? He’d give it another go, just as soon as Ignis pulled back. And if he didn’t want to stop kissing him… well, it was his birthday. He could stay there all day and Noct wouldn’t complain. Not a single time.
“I’ll help,” Ignis murmured. He pressed a kiss to Noct’s forehead and then pulled back.
“No,” Noctis said quickly. “I don’t want you to– it’s your birthday, take it easy.”
“I don’t mind.” Ignis shrugged. “I like it.”
“You don’t like cooking.”
“I like spending time with you.” A quirked smile. Head tilted, eyes closed. The kind of thing that made Noct feel like he was turning into a puddle of goo. “How’s that?”
“… Good.” The prince beamed. “Let me do the heavy lifting, though.”
“Oh, yes.” Ignis rolled his eyes fondly before turning to look for another pan. “I’ll let you lift the cake from the oven, even.”
Noct might have shoved his shoulder, and he might have laughed a little too hard when Iggy shot him an amused look over the rim of his glasses.
Prompto and Gladio found them on the sofa, asleep. The lapels of Ignis’s pajamas had flour dusted on them and there was a band-aid on one of Noct’s fingers. Glasses were pushed up on the top of Ignis’s head and Noct still had an arm around his shoulders. They looked happy. And a little uncomfortable, on the sofa like that, and tired, and well, not very photogenic but Prompto snapped a photo, anyway.
They decided to let them sleep.
(But only for awhile. There was cake downstairs, and it kind of looked amazing.)
AH! The Cassandra/Aveline time loop fic of legend and mystery! You know, even if you did not set out to write it - if this turned into the Cassandra/Vivienne in the way you described (set out to save crush - found love in previously unexpected place instead - with added shared trials and tribulations) I would also be very for it. I love them all. (Ok, now you have got me thinking about this.)
I WOULD NEED TO RE-OUTLINE AND REWRITE THIS THING ENTIRELY!!!! and I just do not have the time!!!!
Writing is so wild sometimes - you never know which piece you’re gonna work on next and suddenly you’re retrieving a piece of work from months ago that’s like, two sentences, and turning it into a 1000 word drabble
