shatteredlenses | LifeAfter Inbox

[Prompto was spending extra time at home to help out, since both Gladio and Ignis had been suffering some consequences since coming back to life. That meant trying to pick up any slack. Something he wouldn't complain about even if it was more than he was used to.

But, that also meant, if it could be believed, more time being with Ignis or Gladio as he tried be their hands.

It was cooking time, and Prompto was doing what he could to help prep food since Gladio couldn't do a lot of meat cutting right now. But, he had some other things on his mind while they were dealing with busy work.]

Hey, Iggy?

[He started softly. He wasn't super nervous about asking about this, but he was wondering if Iggy would think it was weird.]

I've just been thinking. Gladio, uh, thought me 'n Noct had something going on, y'know? I was just kind of wondering if you thought that, too?

[The most frustrating part of Ignis' current state--aside from the fact there is little he can do to hide how his face looks thanks to that constant magenta glow--is that there is really no telling when the pain will become severe enough that he is all but debilitated by it. As much as he hates the idea of stepping away from everything that is going on with the Storyteller and the islands, he's hardly going to be any use to anyone if he can't defend himself. The last thing he needs is another death on his tab, so it's just better to stay near the cottage for the time being. If nothing else, it gives Ignis a good excuse to do as Prompto is and offer his help to Gladio whenever possible. Considering how many of the Shield's skills rely on his strength, it's he who is really struggling right now.

While Prompto works on cutting things for the meal Ignis wants to prepare, the advisor works on grinding up some roasted coffee beans. So far, most of their focus has been turning the beans into coffee, but coffee has been used to season food for a long time. It's about time they tried using it that way as well.

The soft question causes him to pause in his work as he raises his head in Prompto's direction.]

There was a time or two the thought crossed my mind, but I wouldn't say I was ever certain about it.

[After all, romantic relationships weren't something Ignis gave a lot of thought before coming here.]

Does it bother you Gladio was?

Nah, it doesn't bother me.

[That wasn't why he was asking. Maybe, had Gladio asked him immediately after saying it, he would have thought he was bothered. But he'd had some time for that to sink in and now he was more curious. Iggy and Gladio's relationship had come out of left field for him, and he had no idea Gladio had thought he and Noct were a thing, and now he was wondering what he'd hadn't been seeing.]

I feel like maybe there's a lot of things I was missing? I had no idea that you and Gladio... Well. I just had no idea.

What made you think we were together?

[Prompto, you do realize you're asking this of the guy who apparently missed over ten years of signals from Gladio, right?]

It's hard to describe what triggered those thoughts, honestly. You know how Noctis is and you know I've known him since we were both children. He had to learn early on that there were things he didn't let the world see, things he couldn't let the world see. Those emotions, worries and fears he increasingly started to keep from everyone, including Gladio and me.

[A sad look crosses his face, then.]

I wondered sometimes if those close to the king felt the way I did watching the Noct I knew vanish under the weight of the prince he had to be, then he met you and Noctis the teenager--Noctis the friend I had grown up with--suddenly started to appear again. Only a person close to him in a very special way could have done that. Gladio and I couldn't, after all. We were too closely tied to the world that was slowly smothering him.

[It was strange listening to it, because in his time with Noct... Yeah, he'd watched Noct from a distance for a long time. He knew Noct was kind of quiet and by himself. But his time with him had been completely different. He was never a prince around Prompto. There was no moment when Noctis withdrew from Prompto. It was kind of flattering, that Noct had opened up to him like that. He wasn't always sure why. He'd tried so hard. Maybe Noct had seen that and decided to give him a chance.]

I never really thought of him as a prince... I mean. I knew. Obv. But when we started hanging out it just wasn't an issue.

[He sighed thoughtfully. It must have been painful or Iggy to go through that process. In a way, Prompto was lucky, because he never had any particular duties. He was just some random high school kid.]

Maybe in one of these universes he and I are together.

[Which immediately brought forward a more alarming thought.]

O-M-G. What if a version of him comes here from a world where we were a thing and he thinks we're a thing?

[Because it was becoming increasingly likely there were a lot of worlds out there.]

[Prompto was lucky in Ignis mind. He had the freedom to just be Noctis' friend instead of trying to find the balance between doing a duty for 'the prince' and still being just 'his friend.' It was easier when Ignis was young to do that, but the more he took on and the more he understood, that balance slipped away. He doesn't think Gladio had quite the same issue; his difficulty had come in accepting Noctis as worth sacrificing his life for when their prince was struggling so hard just to make it from one day to the next.

Unlike them, Prompto had just been able to look at Noctis and see the normal boy King Regis had sacrificed so much to allow his son time to be.]

It's poss-

[Ignis falls silent when Prompto suddenly continues, first out of worry at the sudden exclamation and then because he's trying so hard not to laugh at the blonde's exaggerated concern.]

Relax, Prompto. No matter what world Noct comes from, he will always respect you and your wishes. He would never push feelings upon you he thought you didn't want or weren't ready for.

[Fear might not have been the exact word to use for it, save for perhaps 'fear of the unknown'. One thing Prompto never had to deal with was pressure to be in a relationship or any romantic expectations. Any expectations came with a fear of failure or rejection. He wasn't afraid of Noctis. He wasn't even particularly afraid of Noctis liking him in and of itself. He was more afraid of messing things up.]

Yeah, I guess you're right. [He let out a breath he'd held onto and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling.] I'd feel bad disappointing him. Guess we'd be super positive that we weren't all from the same place, though.

Indeed we would.

[Ignis is glad to hear that released breath and the movement that comes after it. It's a good indicator that the blonde is less worried than he was before.]

As far as I know, our Noct has only ever held those kind of feelings for Lady Lunafreya. The bonds shared between himself and three of us are strong, but not really in that direction despite what I mentioned about my suspicions earlier.

[There is a reason they always remained suspicions and nothing more.]

Yeah, that's what I always thought about the four of us, too.

[It was good they seemed to be mostly in agreement, but he couldn't help but get a friendly jab in there.]

...Then you and Gladio started banging.

Well, that... I mean...

[Ignis' voice trails off with an obviously faked cough, cheeks flushing slightly. Anyone else hear the record scratch?]

Bonds can change.

[Wonderful comeback there, genius.]

[Wow, he got Iggy flustered? How rare. But kind of fun.]

When 'bonds' change to 'bondage'. [How whimsical.] I'm happy for you guys. Just hoping I didn't miss any other signs.

[Rare, indeed. Enjoy it while it lasts, Prompto.

...

There's actually a lot to enjoy because Ignis' blush visibly darkens as soon as the word 'bondage' leaves the blonde's mouth. How did they get to this topic? Can he have a do-over on this whole conversation?]

Misunderstandings happen. If you did, I'm sure it will all work out eventually.

[The words are mumbled and a lot vaguer than Ignis' usual advice. Excuse him while he scrambles to pull himself back together.]

[Geez Iggy, asking for it like that. How could he refuse to prod when there was such an open opportunity?]

Yeah, we'll work it out. I mean, even if he did kiss me, he probably wouldn't get as handsy as Gladio, right?

[Yeah, yeah, he's really good at digging his own grave when it comes to this topic and the harder he tries to escape, the worse things tend to get.

Ignis clears his throat before responding.]

Do you have much room to talk with how handsy you, yourself, can be?

[The butt slaps man. Pot. Kettle.]

Weeell, I mean. That's different.

[He glanced down at his hands, fiddling around idly with the camera.]

Hey, Iggy? You were usually busy before, so, when Gladio kissed you, was that your first kiss?

Oh, is it now? And why, exactly is that?

[Yeah, he's not letting you get out of it that easy, Prom.]

While you are quite correct about how busy I was, the answer is no. Gladio wasn't my first kiss. Both Soma and Ardyn beat him to that. Why do you ask?

[Actually, Ignis is pretty sure he knows exactly why Prompto asked, but he is going to give the blonde a chance to volunteer the information first.]

I don't linger. Hit and run, man.

[Total bro thing to do.]

Oh, I was just... thinking. He's, uh, the only one who's kissed me, and I thought that might be the same for you, too.

Last I knew there was no requirement when it came to how long contact had to be to be considered 'handsy.'

[Care to try again?]

Had he arrived here with us, it's possible he may have been.

[Though, it's also possible Ignis may have never gone through the development he needed to actually accept and act on his feelings for Gladio.]

He is no Cindy, but hopefully you aren't too upset that he took your first kiss.

It's a little weird to think Gladio was my first kiss, but I can get over it.

[Unexpected, but not traumatic for life.]

Dude, the length of contact is a major factor. Longer than 3 seconds and it gets suspicious.

But he was, uh... Still your first time, right?

Oh? Is that so. I suppose that means I need to break out a stopwatch the next time it happens.

[Not that he can, you know, read a stopwatch, but details.]

If you are referring to the first time I was intimate with someone, then yes, he was.

[There is no blush dusting his cheeks as he says that. Definitely not a repeat of before. Get your eyes checked!]

It's the unspoken rule, man. Like how long it's okay for something to be on the ground before it's not okay to eat anymore.

[Yeah, Prompto would totally follow some of that nonsense. He quieted a bit, a little nervous himself.]

So you were a virgin, too. Guess it's good to know I at least wasn't the only one. Pretty sure Noct is, too. It's, uh, well. Kinda nice not being the odd man out or anything.

[There could be a lot of pressure to have had sex in order to feel manly. But, like with many other things, he didn't have to worry about it as much with the guys.

And it was probably safe to assume Gladio hadn't been a virgin.]

[Prompto, dude, you are getting such a look right now.]

How strange, and here I thought it was a fairly unspoken rule that you don't eat anything that's fallen on the floor no matter how long it's been there.

[Because that is totally the point here, right?]

You may rest assured you were far from the odd man out. I never had time for it before; additionally, I never felt the need to make time for it. Taking care of Noct and learning what I needed to in order to make him successful was all more important to me.

[Interestingly enough, Gladio was the odd man out in this case. Then again, it was a given that he would marry and produce an heir--preferably early considering the danger of the role he held--to make sure that when Noctis produced his own heir, there would be someone ready to take up the role of their Shield.

Was being the key word. The Fall kind of changed all that.]

Dude. 5 second rule. It's saved many cookies.

[He was a poor boy, Ignis. He brushed off a little dirt if he needed to.

Probably a good thing on the islands where they didn't have modern cleaning equipment.]

But you had to think about it, right? I mean. You're a guy.

[It was pretty genuine. Noct had never been as interested as Prompto, but he still knew Noct had to be thinking about it sometimes. It was hard for him to imagine someone not thinking about it.]

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