Have you ever watched Saike K or Dr. Stone? They are both amazing anime with implied ace protagonists.
I appreciate it, anon. Really. But I'll be honest. I'm so over implied ace characters. There's a thousand things I'd rather do than the mental gimnastics to have some representation in media. So this really awakens no interest from me.
Simple: Noctis cooks
>Situational: Fantasy World AU (via Dragon!Noctis)
Summary: After Noctis seeks out a particularly harsh hunt alone, Ignis must track him down in the wild and re-evauate the careful relationship that they’d kept together.
A03 Link
Violin waltz.
A Final Fantasy XV fanfiction
The sun had just about reached its peak when Ignis finally finds the cave.
A particularly well-hidden haven in the heart of the rocky terrain. Not too far above the ground, strangely enough, easily accessible.
He surveys the landscape again as he dismounts from his chocobo, giving it a cursory pat and words of gratitude before turning around and walking inside.
The echo of the wind, that swept past his feet, of his voice trapped in place as he walked on by, mingling together like the singing of nymphs. He could almost delude himself into thinking there was music there, at the edge of his hearing, if he focused on it.
He's getting close. It's confirmed when he feels the air turn to liquid at his fingers, presses down at his lungs and the thrums of piano and violin creates a sorrowful duet, echoing in the large chambers.
He stops at a fork in the path and considers his options...before calling out again anyway.
"Noct?"
There's a rather loud sound to his left and he elects to follow it. The music gets louder and louder and it feels less and less like he's walking and more like he's swimming with the magic that swirled in the air with a familiar, comforting bluish light.
To the point, he felt like he wasn't walking, dragging himself along. Into someone else's rhythm, performing a waltz with the air.
He stops when he reaches a wide area surrounded by several tunnels, one of which he seems to have traversed through. An open area after such narrow tunnels, oddly enough, does nothing to ease his wariness, but it does help the claustrophobia a bit.
Enough room, he thinks grimly, to house a rather large daemon. A Nagarani, perhaps even a Jormungand. But he doesn't see either of them.
The swords, spears, daggers at his feet and buried into the ground certainly didn't help matters.
What he does see is discarded and burnt sticks on the charred ground and several glowing lines of light that illuminated the heart of the haven.
Where his missing liege slept, ever-so-peacefully.
"..."
Merely setting his eyes upon him and Ignis felt it all rushing back; the exasperation, the humor, the stress, the relief, a slow, flickering spark of irritation that he'd learnt all too well to deal with and cope with once he'd entered the Crownsguard service.
And a slower, warmer sense of familiarity.
Ignis sighs and walks towards the center, past the charring, the claw marks on the ground, the faint smell of fire.
Clambering up on the top of the haven stone and settling down carefully on it.
"Noct. Wake up."
An annoyed grunt.
"Noctis." A tap on his shoulder and Noctis shakes it off, rolling over to the side.
Some persistent shaking does get some progress; Noctis groans, pushes his hand away, then groans again and sits up.
At least his eyes are open. Kind of.
Clouded, electric. A wild, bright red staring back at him.
They flicker over, then focus on Ignis and Noctis frowns. "Ignis...?"
"The one and the same."
"Huh. Isn't it...what are you doing here?" Noctis pauses to yawn, "Is it morning already?"
"1 in the afternoon."
"It's still...oh right. The cave." Noctis chooses this point to stretch, reaching his arms up and exhaling as he sits cross-legged on the rock.
Followed by the wings unraveling from his body to stretch out behind him, a royal dark blue that reached towards the lighter colors as it travelled on his webbed wings, glowing the faded, gentle blue color of the magic in the air.
Like the magic that flickered in his eyes.
"...A tough battle?"
"Hm?"
"Your arms."
Noctis looks back down and frowns. His arms were covered with the same dark blue scales as the ones on his back and wings and his talons were fully out.
"...Y-you could say that." Noctis says. He discreetly tries to hide them behind his back and Ignis could already see blue sparks over his skin as his fingers pressed into his palms, "It wasn't a big deal, really."
"...Certainly seemed to be enough of one for you to run away in the dead of night. To fight it. All by yourself."
"Uh." Noctis falters, "You, uh. Sound a bit pissed."
"Worried, mostly."
"Not denying it, huh." Noctis scratches his cheek, sheepish.
By this point, his hand seems to have reverted back to normal.
"Really, it wasn't that bad. It was much more difficult than what we handle usually. Just at...nighttime."
"And was there a particular objective or clause at this hunt of yours that couldn't inform me about this?"
"It was...nighttime?" Noctis repeats lamely.
"..."
Of course, it came back down to that.
"It would be wise to pursue such difficult objectives with backup."
"...Right."
"At the very least, you could prepare to avoid awkward situations such as these."
Ignis hands him the change of clothes he'd brought and Noctis takes a moment to register what that means before his cheeks flush and he accepts the pile in a hurry.
"Yeah, uh. Right." He says again. There's a slight thud as his tail hits the ground in embarrassment.
Still not embarrassed enough to change right away. Ignis frowns.
"Were you injured?"
"Hm? Not badly, it'll heal up in a few days." Is the dismissive reply.
"...Days."
"Days. Uh. It wasn't that tough, but it was a high-level daemon. Which automatically makes it tough and-" Noctis wisely chooses to close his mouth then and hold his now human hands out. With a bad gash down the arm.
The expression on Ignis' face seems to speak volumes.
"It looks worse than it is."
"So I've been told multiple times."
"It's not as bad as last time!"
"I'll have to agree with that. You do seem quite well, if this is any indication." Ignis gestures around them, noting the blue-ish light that marked where his fingers were. Surrounding the tips of his gloves as he carefully wrapped the bandage around the boy's arm.
"That usually happens when I sleep."
"Hm. Quite interesting. Like an practice arena/healing station of sorts."
"Yeah. Uh, Ignis?"
"Yes, Noct?"
"There's possibly another um. Another injury near my neck. It's not too bad, just a scratch and-"
"Noct."
"Right."
Noct nods his head and winces a bit.
The cut on his neck is jagged and rough.
And deep.
"You should see the other guy."
"Daemon corpses evaporate after several seconds."
"Just great." Noctis winces again, but suppresses it somewhat, "Well, the proof is in the sighting. Or lack of it."
"A powerful one like that would be an eyesore in these parts."
"Like I said, it wasn't that bad."
"Says the draconian forced to transform to ensure victory."
"That..."
"Your horns are still out."
"Wait, what?" Noctis' hands shoot up and the movement jostles them both.
"Keep still, Noct."
"Right. Yep. Bad idea."
"And so is having your identity exposed."
"Yep. Worse idea."
"And sleeping in a cave in the midst of the wild."
"Worsest idea."
"Unless you needed healing."
Looking suitably chastised, Noctis looks away.
"...You're acting like a regular dragon of legend."
"Of legend? Like the fairytales you used to read?"
"Something like that. Most of the ones that featured dragons usually had them as the villains or as servants for heroes with a greater cause."
"So, not a good thing." Noctis says with a raised eyebrow.
"And the rare ones who did usually had them as princes suffering from evil curses."
"Oh, princes?" Something seems to occur to Noctis then, "From those witches you used to talk about? The bad ones?"
"Something like that." Ignis sets the bandage on his neck, then runes to ensure faster healing. Presses them on carefully. "It changes on the story. But usually the story outcome is the same."
"And what's that?"
"They're usually transformed back into humans. Usually with a princess' kiss."
Noctis raised his eyebrows, "A princess. Really."
"That, or throwing their clothes on their back. That transforms them back as well."
"Well, we have that covered." Noctis holds his clothes pile up, "So, what, they just go up to them and kiss them?"
"Essentially."
"Huh. Princesses are usually the ones who have to be saved."
"Like me."
Noctis looks at him and then back down again. "You're the one who told me you could handle yourself."
"And you're the one loathe to believe it."
"You're-" Noctis stops himself. Shakes his head.
And he knows.
"Being spirited away helped in that regard." Ignis says simply, "I know my enemies better now."
"...Yeah."
Noctis presses his hands against his horns and Ignis watches as they flicker out of existence, in a blue flash of light.
"That'd help, I guess."
"It does."
"...Sorry. I should have trusted you."
"Apology accepted. But like you said, I was more worried about you than anything."
Noctis does grin then. "Thank goodness. I didn't know what'd happen if my princess was mad at me. ...Hey, don't look at me like that. You said it yourself."
"I suppose I did. Well, here are your clothes, so change back quickly before the clock strikes midnight."
"You're embarrassed." Noctis snickers and pokes Ignis' cheek, "You're definitely fitting the part of blushy maiden right now. What, embarrassed to give me a kiss for good luck?"
And Ignis leans away with as much dignity/grace he could muster. "Pray tell what would the illustrious dragon prince who singlehandedly took down an Adamantoise need luck for?"
"Facing Dad after you told him I went on this hunt alone?"
"Fortune does favor the bold, Your Highness. Make your own luck."
"Traitor."
By this point, he'd pulled his shirt and pants on and stood up, stretching fully and kicking at the dust in his feet.
"Ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Noctis responds.
By this point, the music had died down.
The magic in the air had disappeared.
And Ignis could already feel eyes surround them.
"Wanna bash some heads in?" Noctis asks quietly. Daggers in hand and staring behind Ignis' shoulder.
"Yes, let's."
"Alright." Noctis takes a step towards Ignis then.
Ignis turns and is about to discuss strategies with him, but is stopped when he feels soft lips on his own.
Insistent fingers tugging at his shirt and a gentle, careful hand on his cheek. The warmth of a sigh.
When Noctis pulls back, Ignis swears he feels the ghost of a snake tongue slither between them.
"For good luck." Noct says softly, with a smirk. Then his eyes flash red and warp behind Ignis, stabbing his dagger deep into the daemon's skull.
Ignis, for his part, merely stays in place for a few more seconds before he turns around abruptly.
He had a job to do after all.
This dragon prince couldn't protect him forever or for very long.
He thinks this as he falls into step with Noctis, a smile on his lips as he sees Noctis' childlike expression of wonder.
And into the waltz that only the both of them knew.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
For reference, the music is Noct's cave is: What lies Within: FFXV OST. i adore the dungeon music. so much. the dungeons themselveeees tho lmao they can go burn
Songs used for inspiration:
Dragon Boy: Spirited Away OST
Somnus(sob): FFXV OST
Lost Time Memory: Jin ft IA
