thenightsky | Victor Road IC Inbox

"Yeah, of course. No one else is here right now," Noctis said as he stepped back to open the door wider as Ash stepped in, motioning for all of his companions to come as well.

"What happened? Noct's known something was up--it has to do with Iggy, huh?" Carbuncle murmured back, nuzzling against his brother with a worried flick of his tail.

Inside, Bean was asleep in the main room but she stirred at the voices, blinking blearily before slowly sitting up. (Thankfully the cottage had a wide open floor plan.) She perked up at the sight of Danny but only briefly as she realized something was wrong, rumbling lowly as she settled down to see what was going on. Floof the Bibarel was curled up on the couch where Noctis had been sitting and waved a fluffy paw at the visitors in a slightly worried manner.

Oh bother..something was wrong.

Ash walked to the main room, but he was too anxious to sit down. He cast a sad glance over Noctis' pokemon. It was clear they could read his energy, even without aura. He sighed out heavily. Danny brushed past him to take Bean's paw and kiss it, while staying close to Ash.
"It's about Ignis. And, how you guys were raised."

Macavity nodded, his ears lowered. "He and Ash had an argument before Christmas. After that Ash has been...polite. But he won't share stories with Ignis anymore, and Ignis is really curt and short to him." Thankfully Macavity didn't have any great love for Ignis' team but poor little An Toirneach, Ash's Pichu, had quickly declared Ignis' Absol her boyfriend. He really hoped this conversation didn't go the way of that talk. He didn't want to meet his brother in short, uncomfortable meetings.

Noctis had moved over to the couch to sink down with Floof when Ash told him what was going on, a confused look passing over the prince's face as the Bibarel crawled into his lap.

"About Ignis? And how we were raised?" he repeated, eyebrow going up. "What about it?"

For Noctis it had been normal. As a little kid he'd just seen it as someone who was practically like a brother that he got to spend all his time with. And when he got older it just continued to be that sort of thing even if he did take advantage of the leeway that Ignis would give him at times. For him it didn't seem wrong; he didn't realize just how bad it all looked--how bad it was.

Bean rumbled gently at Danny and leaned in to bump their heads together, sticking close to him for now.

"Oh no," Carbuncle said softly, ears going back as he looked over at the boys. "I don't want them to fight, brother."

"Neither do I. But Ash is headstrong about this." Macavity murmured. He'd heard Ash get angry over the child soldiers he'd befriended here, before. And he had a feeling this was something similar.

Ash breathed, taking a moment to find the right words. Maybe the words he hadn't used with Ignis. His heart was already thumping. Again, his adrenaline rose, gearing for fight or flight. But he squished it down, managing to limit himself to a slow pacing.

"It's....it's not, normal. Look. Where I came from...we don't take six year olds from their families and tell them they have to serve and work someone else. And I know, I know you were a kid at the time and didn't ask for it and I'm not blaming you. But it's something that really, really bugs me because it's not right."

"Take them...wait but Ignis's family knew..?" Didn't they? That's what he'd always just assumed. His uncle worked in the Citadel and Noctis had just figured it was family ties that had brought them together. Ignis had never really said otherwise.

There's clear confusion on Noct's face as he slides his fingers into Floof's fur, shaking his head a bit as he looks at Ash.

"We grew up together--his uncle worked in the Citadel and Ignis was just..he's practically like a brother," he murmured. "As far as I know his parents weren't ever really in the picture?" So Regis had taken him on and Noctis had just assumed it was just something he and Ignis's uncle had come to an agreement on.

"I don't know if he was literally taken from his parents or what happened there." Ash quickly corrected that, shaking his head. "But, he told me he was to serve you at that age. At six. He was responsible for keeping you company, and helping with your grades and shit. That the King told him, it was his duty to tend to your needs. That if you asked for something, he'd do it for you."

Danny caught Ash's arm and let a wave of aura wash over Ash. Calm. Be calm. Ash breathed in deeply. Thank God for Danny right now.
"And that's really, really fucked up, okay?"

Noctis was quiet, letting Ash get out what he needed to get out and mulling it all over. Honestly he'd..never had it said to him like that; described to him like that and it was..it did seem really bad, didn't it?

"We...I mean he was always there and we just..we did everything together." He'd just always assumed that Ignis helped him with all of that when he was younger because they were both working through school and then Noct's accident happened and he'd needed a lot of extra help while he was in a wheelchair--even after coming back from Tenebrae.

His gaze drops to Floof and the Bibarel let's out a quiet noise, snuggling against his stomach.

"I didn't know..that my dad told him that. He never--neither of them ever told me that. I mean, I knew that Ignis was going to be--meant to be my adviser when the time came but I...he's one of my best friends."

Was Ignis really just a servant? Is that what this had actually been the entire time? Had Noctis seriously misread this entire thing that badly?

"I don't doubt your friendship with him. I really don't." Ash sighed out. This was where he'd gotten stuck with Ignis too. But...God, this was a mess. There was a genuine friendship and he knew that. He'd seen it. And Noctis wasn't the type to put on any sort of act. Hell, he'd been fucking four years old. He wasn't old enough to even know how to put on a fake act.

"But at the same time, him being told that at that age is just, so, so wrong. And I don't care what he says; a six year old, being told by the highest King, that this is his duty - he wouldn't have known how to say no, even if he wanted to. And...I don't know man. You know what he got me for Christmas? A cookbook, full of recipes. But, the thing is; every single recipe he wrote in there, had a 'Noctis' version. A version tailor made for you. That's not...that's not normal. I don't know why he'd include that. I know you're fussy about what you eat but. There's these little things that don't seem right by me, for friends."

Danny rubbed the back of Ash's hand. You're doing okay.

Okay yeah there really wasn't any reason for Ignis to have included that in a gift to Ash. He knows damn well that Noctis will eat what he's given if he has to even if he doesn't always enjoy it. (He just picks out what he doesn't like okay.)

"That..no that is..he didn't need to do that--he shouldn't have done that," Noctis murmured, feeling embarrassed and frustrated now. He had never really put much thought into it because generally when Ignis cooked for them on the road they just all ate the same stuff so he never realized they were tailored dishes. But to have it written out like that was..yeah it did look pretty bad, didn't it?

"Ignis cooked for us all on the road. We each had our thing we did--I fished, Prompto took pictures, Gladio was the camping guru and Ignis took care of meals. I never realized he had specially catered recipes to me. I mean, I knew he avoided using things I didn't like but..." He trails off and just shakes his head, gaze still on Floof as the Bibarel makes happy paws on his thigh.

"I can't speak for what my father did, what he was thinking. He probably did what he thought was best and I'm not--that doesn't make it right--" Noctis looked up, frustration winning over embarrassment now. "--and I get that. I think he just..he wanted someone to be there for me and just went about it the wrong way. I don't think he would have wanted it to seem like that. He just..." Noctis stopped himself well aware that he was making excuse but he honestly didn't think his father had meant it in a bad way, taking Ignis on like that; pairing the two of them together. Regis wasn't that type of person.

Ash gave Noctis a sympathetic look as he tried to figure this out about his dad. He approached him, but stopped short of entering his personal space. "I know man. Look, I-" He sighed. This was one way to end up talking about things, wasn't it?

"You know I think the world of my dad. But I know he's not...he's not what many would call a good man. He was a saint to me, but to other people he's a terrible person. And I mean that; he's done things that hurt others, and I know that when I go back, he's still gonna hurt other people. That's how he makes money. At the end of the day, they're just...people. And people are never just good or bad, they're usually both, even when they don't intend to be."

Macavity brushed against his leg. He nodded, breathing out again. It really, really helped that both his Pokemon were here, and Noctis understood. "Like I said, I don't doubt the two of you are friends. And even if your dad made some questionable choices, I'm not gonna immediately say he was the devil incarnate. But...I just...right, I'll say this. Sometimes the way Ignis acts towards you, it doesn't feel like how a friend would act towards their friend. It's something else. I don't know how to describe it but like, it's worrying. I asked what he did as a kid and it all went back to you. Even when you were apart he was doing something that would help you, or something to do with becoming a steward."

"My dad was a good person, I know that. I will never question that," Noctis said firmly. "His life was basically being drained out of him every day in order to protect the city and keep the wall in place but he never stopped doing what he could to protect me and everyone in the city. He gave everything he had to make sure the people of Insomnia lived good lives." There was probably a lot Noctis didn't know about but he knew enough to know that Regis was a loving, honorable man and he wouldn't let anyone say otherwise.

Carbuncle hopped up onto the back of the couch and the gem on his head started to glow softly, the Espeon soothing Noctis as he stepped onto his shoulder to bump their heads together. With a flick of his tails he looked over at Ash and linked the pair momentarily, allowing Noct to feel what Ash was feeling--to understand a little bit better--and allowing Ash to feel the same in regards to Noctis.

See? Neither of you mean ill will towards the other. It's just a difficult subject. It's okay.

"...I don't want him to act like that towards me. Especially now. I feel like I'm a lot different than I was and I can handle myself. I never..I never realized how bad it was until now and I'm going to do what I can to make it better," Noctis said softly but that was definitely determination in his voice; a promise to Ash. "It's not right, none of it is and I don't want him to live just for me. I want him to be able to live life freely without having to worry about me all the time."

The connection helped a lot. Ash relaxed as he let Noctis' feelings enter his mind. Like a wind whistling over him. Not intrusive or overbearing. Just coming through. Fierce loyalty and love; it wasn't that he didn't hear Ash, but that his feelings on his Dad were resolute and firm. Regis had been a good man, and Noctis had seen that. In contrast Ash's feelings towards his father were just as loyal, but...slightly calmer. A constant warmth, secure in what he knew about him and loving him despite knowing about the shadows he cast.

And both knew that they didn't see each other's fathers as they were from here. It was only what they could know, from what the son in front of them told.

With his tone, Ash finally relaxed and his thoughts calmed, slowing down from their racing. But one thought still pushed forward. "...Don't mention me to him. To Ignis. When I told him it seemed weird, he told me I had no right to comment on it at all, and I don't want him thinking I put you up to anything or are putting words in your mouth."

Carbuncle let out a satisfied twill and let his powers fade, blepping at Ash then nuzzling Noctis. You silly boys. No fighting. He loves you both and wants you happy!

"I won't...I do want to talk to him and address this stuff but..I'll wait awhile. Get my feelings straight and then talk to him about it so it's more my point of view," Noctis said softly, allowing himself to relax now that they both seemed to be at an understanding. Feeling what Ash had been feeling helped a lot and Noctis knew that there was definitely something wrong with his relationship with Ignis.

But he was going to fix things one way or another.

"...Are we okay?" he asked hesitantly after a moment, glancing over at Ash.

Ash smiled, relieved that he wouldn't be brought into it. "Thanks."

He reached out, holding Noctis's shoulder. "We're totally fine. Honestly like...I was just worried you'd think it was nothing." And honestly, should he meet Regis...if they had talked about it in some way, as long as Regis would acknowledge it, he could have accepted that too. Mistakes happen. Good intentions don't turn out as they should. Just having Noctis see it from his point of view and to understand - that's all he had wanted.

"Like I said, I don't doubt your Dad did a lot of good. A hell of a lot of good. And that he was a good King to the people, and Dad to you."

Relief flood Noctis as Ash said they were good, the prince reaching up to rest a hand over the other young man's to give it a squeeze.

"I had just never really gotten it from an outside perspective like that. It was just so normal to me.." He trailed off, letting out a breath before smiling softly. "Thanks for letting me know. For telling me it was bothering you and smacking some sense into me." So to speak. "I appreciate you not just assuming it was something I was okay with or wanted."

Because Noctis had just always seen Ignis as a friend or brother. But now he really needed to look a little more closely at things.

"And I'm sure your dad, despite everything, only had the best intentions for you, Ash. Honestly I think both our dads are pretty great in their own ways."

Ash gave him a small smile when he mentioned Ash's Dad being great. Of course, Ash felt that. He was just, very aware that his dad had different sides to him...there was Oisin, his loving father. And 'Kinnagoe', the Shadowrunner.

"I know you'd never be on board for that sort of thing. And like I said, I know that your friendship is real, not...not something fake or artificial. Who couldn't be friends with you?" He gave Noctis an easy smile.

Around them his Pokemon relaxed, sensing that the danger of an argument had blown over. Macavity trilled and rubbed against both their legs, tail wagging and looking up to the pair of them. Holokai gave a slow cry, jumping up to nuzzle Ash's cheek. And Danny smiled and gave a bark, sending a wave of good energies over everyone present and striding over to Bean, to give her a warm cuddle.

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