nascere | LET'S PLAY {open post}

( he. knits his eyebrows, lifting up a hand to stop noctis in whatever he was about to say, glancing down at the pile before him. something about that, too, seems odd — something ignis had overlooked in his irritation, something that sticks out like a sore thumb now as he picks up one file and flicks through it once, twice, looking for something — )

These aren't summarized.

( full reports? summarizing these was one of the biggest parts of ignis' job before he left. if his handler hasn't been doing them —

and he hasn't been feeding noct, what has he been doing at all?

watching noctis work now is like knives in his chest — a poor guy with the world on his shoulders, with no help, doing his best to make the impossible possible. the frown is now permanently attached to his face as he takes a seat beside noctis, leaning over to gently take the pen out of his hands. )

Just — stop, for a minute. Just stop.

[ hmm? noctis looks over at him blankly, allowing ignis to take the pen from him as he tries to figure out just where he's coming from. ignis looks displeased, but oddly enough, not at him. ]

Yeah, well -- Terence doesn't really do summaries and stuff.

[ he explains, which is okay, right? it just takes awhile longer but noctis can manage it. but the strangest thing is the look on ignis' face, like he's upset and unhappy but noctis, for the life of him, can't figure out why. in his puzzlement, he puts aside his sullen temper, his hand resting on the open math book he had been planning to study, too. ]

Anyway, I have a test tomorrow --

Shit. ( ignis breathes, completely against his character, taken aback as a realization hits him through noct's words. ) You're in the middle of exams, that's right.

( he rubs a hand over his face. how could he be so blind? so forgetful?

anger at himself and empathy towards noctis focuses down into one emotion entirely — suspicion and loathing in his previous handler's direction. something unmistakably bad has been going on here, and the crown prince has been allowed to suffer all this time, right under their noses. under ignis' — he's allowed it, in his time away. he realizes all at once that he can't work here and leave part of his heart in altissa, so he draws it back in, puts it back in his chest where it belongs. his home is here anyway, his family. he was foolish to think he could've replaced it.

foolish to think he could've replaced noct.

taking a stabilizing breath before he lets his anger show too much, ignis draws a sharp gaze in noctis' direction, although it's definitely not pointed at him, and instead trying to peer through this wall he's had to put up, looking behind the facade to see how their prince is doing really. )

What exactly has Terence done, then?

Edited 2020-03-05 02:32 (UTC)

[ that's new, ignis is cursing. noctis raises his brows at him curiously, still trying to figure out just what it is that set him off. he's pretty sure he hadn't actually said anything to needle him now, so it could mean his work? maybe? is he also mad that noctis can't finish it in time? ]

Yeah, sorry, I haven't had the time to --

[ hmm? he blinks when ignis asks him about what terence does, and he gestures vaguely to the seat before him. ] He usually just sits here and makes sure I'm doing my work, I guess.

[ noctis doesn't recall him doing much else, and he looks back at him, baffled. ]

Why?

He just watches you?

( he asks, incredulous again. he doesn't much conceal his anger this time as he runs a hand through his hair, leaning back somewhat so he doesn't end up smashing something with his fists. he takes a deep breath and sets to cracking all his knuckles, using that as something to focus on, to keep a level head.

the worst part about this even the cruelties done. it's that noctis didn't recognize them, just accepted his abuse as it was handed to him.

has ignis failed him this badly? )

Noct, ( his voice is softer now, pained. ) I've been your right hand for many years, and consider myself something of an expert in that position. Half of my job is summarizing those reports and going to the meetings you miss, so you get an overview of them — I might mention, you should be missing all of them during the week of your exams, no questions asked. ( he shakes his head. ) The other half of my job is feeding you, washing you, making sure you look presentable.

So, if he wasn't going to your meetings, and he wasn't taking care of you, Noctis, what the fuck was he doing?

( simmering now, he shakes his head again, collecting the stacks of papers from in front of him, shuffling them into a neat pile and pulling them against his chest. away from noct and out of his mind. he kneels in front of noctis, looking between each of his eyes, before his free hand reaches out, cupping the side of his cheek. )

I'm so, so sorry, Noct. There will be hell to pay, I can promise you that. Myself included.

Yourself included?

[ wait, why? noctis takes a few moments to digest all of this, and can only come to the conclusion that his temporary caretaker had fucked up big time, and ignis is angry -- but at least ignis doesn't seem angry with him, so maybe that's a little plus in all of this.

what bothers him, however, is how pained ignis sounds, and noctis frowns as he watches ignis take all the texts away, kneeling before him in apology. well, he had thought of ignis doing that time after time, starting from the time he'd asked to stay in altissia and forgo his birthday completely, but that's neither here nor there.

he feels his heart clench, and he leans into his cheek nonetheless, quietly, desperately greedy for ignis' touch, so much so that he hates himself for it. ]

Ignis -- what's all this? You were so willing to leave me. And now --

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