aight katie: royal au + 24 hours to live, ignoct - go! :3c
First of all,Dallie, this is rude. Second, ty ily.
So in a royal au,Ignis is the prince. But the 24 hours to live isn’t magical or anything it’s capture.The Nifs have captured Noctis and put a 24-hour mark over his head unless Ignisturns over the Crystal. This ransom goes to Ignis alone because the king andcouncil wouldn’t hand them that power for just Noct. But they also don’t knowthat Ignis is in love with him (spoiler: Noct doesn’t know either, no one doesexcept the Nifs because they have Le Spy – it’s Loqi) and not his betrothed(which is Aranea because in this fateswap she is the Oracle). Ravus is veryagainst this, and obviously does not understand, because he and Noct neverreally liked each other all that much anyway.
**
“The life of one Lucian is notworth the lives of all,” Ravus insists, planting his hands on Ignis’s desk.
Ignis lifts his head from wherehe’s buried it against his fists, and pulls his arms back into his lap. Helooks up at his shield, whose purpose is the protection of the prince, futureking, and friend. Ravus means well, even though he and Noctis never saw eye toeye. But he doesn’t know,yet Niflheim does. Ignis sighs and stands, moving around the desk, ransom notein one hand as the other reaches up to grasp Ravus’s shoulder. Ravus standsstraight, meeting his gaze.
“I won’t sacrifice him.” ToIgnis, this is the obvious truth. Ravus begins to reply but Ignis interruptshim calmly, “I know my duty, Ravus. I know what this means. But Noct…” Hetrails off, unable to find the words to describe this feeling. “I can’t. I won’t.”
**
So they rally –Luna was the last to see him, Crowe knows her way around the city better thananyone, Nyx is the fastest, and Libertus knows the most people. I don’t know howthey would track their way to Noctis, probably by finding out Loqi has beenspying on them.
**
Rage boils under Ignis’s skinas Loqi fights against his bonds. “Why him?”Ignis asks from behind Ravus, who stands between them.
Loqi stops and looks up at him,the smirk on his face dripping with hatred. “You know why,” he sneers.
He does. He feels fingers diginto his forearm as he flinches forward – likely Luna – and he clenches hishands into fists, itching to pull his daggers from the armiger, drag the bladesslowly across Loqi’s skin until he reveals Noctis’s location.
“How did you know?”
“Ignis,” Ravus interrupts him sharply,but the damage is done.
“So, it’s true?” Loqi laughs,no longer making any effort to struggle. “Fool.”
Ignis knows that too.
**
Eventually they getto Noct – probs getting the information from Loqi in some way, maybe lettingIgnis release a bit of that rage or it happens off screen with one of his Squadgetting it from Loqi with him out of the room. Noct’s obviously beentortured/beaten/etc. He’s been in Niflheim custody for more than a day and theyare Not Nice.
**
“You came for me,” Noctismurmurs, his voice garbled and barely audible. His jaw is purple and his cheekis swollen, one of his eyes is bloodshot. Ignis’s heart leaps and he’s tearingat the ropes around Noct’s wrists.
I did this, hethinks, frantic, but he doesn’t say it.
“I’ve got you, Noct,” hewhispers. “I’m here.”
“The… Crystal,” Noct manages.
“Don’t worry,” Ignis insists,freeing Noctis’s wrists and moving to unbind his legs. “Everything is alright,now. I am going to get you out of here.”
“I’m sorry.” It’s quiet andIgnis almost doesn’t hear him. But it’s said so softly and genuinely that guiltmakes bile rise to the back of Ignis’s throat.
This is not the time or placefor him to argue. He unties Noctis’s ankles and moves back up, gently cradlingNoct’s neck with both hands. “I’ve got you,” he repeats when blue eyes finallylook up at him.
Eyelids fluttering, Noctis’sconsciousness starts to fade. “You’ve got me,” he agrees, letting Ignis catchhim as he falls.
**
So uh yeah. This got longer than it was originally, but Igot really into it. I might turn this into a one-shot, we’ll see. But yeah thiswas fun.
for those 5 word prompts! "you can't be here now" but keep it fluffy and lighthearted to the best of ur ability that is my challenge to u c;
dallie…….this got away from me. know that i love you.
It’s going to be a good night.
He was able to get out of his council meeting early, and Gladio dropped him off in the residential district. He’s meeting Ignis at his place for a change; Ignis had promised to make something good. That means they’ll have a dinner just for the two of them at the table in Ignis’s apartment, which really feels more like a date than anything at Noct’s apartment because Ignis is over there all the time anyway. Then the two of them could just…hang out like usual. Noct could sit on the floor beside Ignis’s armchair, falling asleep with his head against Ignis’s thigh while Ignis holds reports with one hand and cards through his hair with the other.
Yeah, that’d be nice.
And who knows? Maybe they’ll end up making out on the couch or something. He can only hope.
“Ignis?” Noct calls, nudging the door shut behind himself. Usually, Ignis can be found sitting at his kitchen table or curled up in his armchair, drinking coffee while he works through some reports. There’s no sign of him now, and the warm yellow light of the lamp by the armchair is missing. And there’s a curiously sharp smell in the air that he doesn’t quite recognize. He thinks he’s smelled it a couple of times at Prompto’s place or when he’s over at Gladio’s house and Iris is around.
“I’m here!” Ignis calls, voice strained, from across the apartment.
Noct drops his bag to the floor, holding his hand out immediately in anticipation of some sort of blade. He hasn’t decided if it’ll be a dagger or sword yet. “Specs?” he asks quietly. “You good?”
“Apologies, Noct, but-”
“But what?” Noct slides his foot further along the hardwood of the apartment, heading towards the sound of Ignis’s voice. If there’s something or someone here, and Ignis of all people was caught off guard, what could he possibly do to stop that sort of person?
Ignis is silent for a moment, and then his voice sounds through the apartment with a faint echo. Bathroom, then. “You can’t be here now.”
“What’re you doing, though?” He clenches his fingers into a fist, deciding that a dagger would probably be best. He can throw those. He flips it in his hand, stepping closer to the bathroom.
No reply. Maybe a sigh?
“Specs?” he calls lowly, and his heart gives a lurch of fear. Not Specs, not Ignis, c’mon-
He throws open the door and leaps through the doorway, knife poised at the ready.
Ignis stares back at him, wide-eyed, from the bathtub.
Noct banishes the dagger immediately. “Uh.”
“Noct!” Ignis exclaims, cheeks turning scarlet. He’s not even wearing his glasses; his hair lies flat against his forehead like it used to, now a little darker from the steam in the air. “I didn’t think you’d be arriving for some time, Noct, so-”
“I got let out of the meeting early. My dad shut a lot of the council’s suggestions down,” Noct says dumbly instead of getting the fuck out of the bathroom. He should leave. He should leave. He should really leave.
He pauses for a moment, considering all the things Ignis might have been doing in his absence, and he flushes. “I can leave if you’re, y’know. Uh. Busy.” They’re not at that point in their relationship yet, really. He really shouldn’t be here.
Ignis goes even brighter red, eyes widening. “Nothing like that!” he protests immediately. “No, Noct, I wasn’t-”
“I should go,” Noct mutters, and he scrambles for the door handle, about to show himself out of Ignis’s apartment and hide in his own bed for about fifteen years.
“Noct, wait!” Ignis reaches out towards Noct, almost as if he’s about to leap out of the bathtub and chase him down, but he seems to realize what he’s doing, and where he is, and his arm just ends up hanging at the edge of the tub, fingers splayed desperately along the enamel.
Fingers with purple fingernails.
Noctis stares.
Oh, gods.
“Are you painting your nails?”
The smell makes sense now, of course. Holy shit.
“I’m also taking a bath, but…” Ignis trails off, biting thoughtfully at his lip. He seems to come to some sort of conclusion and makes direct, unwavering eye contact with Noct. “Yes. I am painting my nails.”
Noct blinks. “Oh.”
Ignis’s fingernails tap out a restless rhythm on the edge of the tub. Noct can’t stop staring at them. “This isn’t exactly how I wanted to tell you this, Noct.”
“It’s not a big deal.” It’s a big deal.
“To me, it might be,” Ignis argues softly.
Noct winces. He’s said the wrong thing again. Okay. Course correction. Empathy. Conversation. He asks, “Is this why you always wear gloves?”
Ignis looks down; his long eyelashes cast shadows along his cheekbones. “Part of the reason,” he admits. “Or perhaps the gloves just became convenient when I started doing this.” He huffs out a little breathy laugh, startlingly loud in the echoing silence of the bathroom. Maybe the echo makes it resonate all the more in some part of Noct’s chest that he can’t quite name. “It’s embarrassing, really.”
“Nah.” Noct against the doorjamb of the bathroom. “I don’t know why you’re embarrassed about this.”
“It’s improper, Noct.”
“It’s your body.” Noct shrugs. “Who cares what you’ve got on? You’re still doing the job in the same way. The best way,” he adds, and he can’t help the blush that rises back to his cheeks at the words. Gods, is he really complimenting Ignis right after barging in on him in the bath?
Fuck, Ignis is naked right now, isn’t he?
They haven’t gotten too far yet. This is still new territory for both of them, and Noct’s afraid that anything going wrong here could jeopardize everything that they are to each other.
Ignis doesn’t seem to have any such qualms. He lifts his hand - gods, look at those nails - and makes a vague wave over to him. “You can come over here, you know.”
Noct raises an eyebrow and hopes that the expression masks how much his heart begins racing. “You’re sure?”
Ignis blinks at him slowly, tilting his head to the side to study Noctis. His eyes look darker green than usual, or maybe that’s just the lighting. “I’m sure,” he says. “You’ve already gotten this far.”
Noct almost wishes that there had been an intruder. It would be easier than this. It would be easier than a lot of things that have to do with Ignis, and Ignis in the bath, and Ignis in the bath with his nails painted. It would be easier than being faced with every godsdamned reason why he finally decided to ask Ignis if they could start dating. He can already see half his fantasies playing out like a movie behind his eyes, reminding him of every way that he wants Ignis, and more.
The soft rug beside the tub is a welcome feeling beneath his knees, because by the gods, he drops like a rock beside Ignis.
Ignis smiles at him, radiant and soft. “Welcome home,” he murmurs, and that’s no fucking help.
Noctis returns the grin, hoping that he’s not too red in the face. “Good to be home.” That’s good. Good answer. In control.
But up close, he can smell whatever soap it is that is undeniably Ignis. The scent of it reminds him of just how wonderful it is to bury his face in the crook of Ignis’s neck and experience every bit of him, and that’s not helping at all. Thankfully - thankfully? - the shower curtain is drawn enough that it obscures the view of anything too far down in the tub, and the bathwater itself is thick with suds and color. And Ignis. He’s there too. In the bath. Next to Noct.
Gods, he’s in way over his head.
To distract himself, he reaches for the hand that’s still resting on the edge of the bathtub, lifting it up carefully. Ignis lets him without a word of protest, so Noct takes the opportunity to really look at the varnish up close. It’s pleasantly iridescent up close, subtle and elegant while still retaining an air of beauty. Dark purple - wine, coeurl print, the spines of some of Ignis’s favorite books - fits him well. On Ignis, on his fingers, this is dangerous. Noct has always loved Ignis’s hands, capable and deft and deadly.
“I like the color,” Noct tells him. And then, before he can stop himself, he blurts, “You always look good in purple.”
The corners of Ignis’s mouth lift up in a tiny, pleased smile. “Thank you, Noct. I’m glad you think so.”
“Maybe…” He’s pushing his luck, but he’s already here, and he might as well. “Maybe you could try black next time?”
Ignis chuckles. “A bit unsubtle, don’t you think?”
“Well.” Noct lifts the hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the knuckles there. He raises his eyes to meet Ignis’s gaze, unblinking. “It’s my color.”
“Do I look good in black too?” Ignis teases.
“Fishing for compliments, are we?”
“I believe I’m owed a few, after the scare you gave me.”
“Okay. Yeah. Valid. Don’t tell anyone I did that.”
“It’s endearing. Very valiant.”
“Don’t call me valiant.”
“As my prince commands,” Ignis teases, and Noct can’t help but smile. Ignis tugs his hand out of Noct’s grip, studying him quietly for a moment. “I was planning on making something with rice tonight,” he muses. “And after that…you could stay, if you’d like.”
“Stay?”
One of Ignis’s legs shifts in the water, sending ripples of water up to lap at Ignis’s chest. Noct swallows. He’s not going to look. He’s not going to look.
Fuck.
Ignis smiles. “I’d certainly welcome your company.”
Noct breathes out through his nose, controlling himself as much as he can manage. “Will you keep the gloves off?”
Another smile, pleased and soft. “If you’d like. Certainly.”
“One more question, Specs.”
“Better hurry. The bathwater won’t stay warm forever.”
Noct grins. “Can I kiss you now?”
“Thought you’d never ask,” Ignis breathes, and he reaches out to catch Noct at the back of his neck, digging his fingers into the soft skin there as he pulls him close. Noct shivers; he can almost imagine that he can feel the layer of polish there, and he leans in to close the distance between them.
omg could i use the ugly christmas sweater aroace noct art as an icon?? bc hes so cute and i love aroace noct so much he resonates with my s o u l ohmygod hes so cute 😍😍 also ur iggy one is 👌👌👌i lov him
duscaenorange replied to your post “I think my entire police officer!shiro/firefighter!keith au should...”
are we implying that keith probably wrote the "fuck cops" and shiro is the one getting his pic taken with it or
you foole... lance was the one who wrote it, shiro gets his pic taken, and keith is the one taking the picture. (shiro and keith discovered it on one of their Clandestine lunch-break meetings)
either that, or keith is getting his picture taken with it and lance is taking the picture. i cant decide rn. but lance def wrote it bc who else.
1, 4, 7, 9, and 14 (any fandom) for the salty asks? :D
Thank you :D I answered 9 here :)
1.What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?
All the incestuous ships, or the abusive ones between the a protagonist and an antagonist. It’s possible to truly hate someone, without sexual tension or toxic tomantic/sexual feelings for them. My main example is the ones with Ardyn in FFXV. No one in the main characters could have a normal relationship with him. He’s a vilain, he’s a bad guy, and he hurts them during all the game. Same for FFVI’s Kefka. It’s a huge no for me.
4.Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?
Too popular for my taste ? LOL Yes I do have NOTPs in my fandom, and I block the tag on Tumblr so I don’t see them because they annoy me too much. Some of them are popular and others aren’t. These include the incestuous ones and the protagonist/antagonist ones, but I have also some ships I don’t understand, like when two people have known each other for a very short period of time (a few days or 2-3 months, you can’t really fall in love that quickly).
7.Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?
No, I tend to keep my ships :P
14.Unpopular opinion about your fandom?
I think Tumblr is a website for positivity, so when you don’t like a character, a ship or a video game please… keep your opinion for yourself. It’s just so annoying sometimes to read the tags or the comments on my own edits because people complain about the ship or the character -.-
if ur still doing the series asks how about final fantasy vii (crisis core included if u like)?? c:
I am indeed!
Favorite character: Aeris, queen of my heart 5ever
Second favorite character: Cloud
Least favorite character: Seph Mc Toolbag, and Hojo
The character I’m most like:
Favorite pairing: Cloud/Aeris, Zack/Aeris, Tifa/Aeris. basically I’m a shipping slut with Aeris
Least favorite pairing: Cloud/Sephiroth
Favorite moment: this sounds terrible since I love her so much, but Aeris’ death scene. I can’t wait to see what they are going to do with it in the remake.